https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/2538 2026-04-14T04:40:17Z 2026-04-14T04:40:17Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145387 2026-04-08T05:58:47Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The emotional state of nurses who provide end-of-life care in a geriatric setting Abstract: As the demand for end-of-life care in geriatric settings continues to grow, nurses play a vital role in providing compassionate, patient-centred care while managing their own emotional well-being. This delicate balance between professional responsibilities and personal emotional investment often exposes nurses to significant emotional strain. Forming close relationships with patients and their families while witnessing patient deterioration and death can lead to profound emotional challenges. At the same time, the opportunity to offer comfort, dignity, and support at the end of life provides a deep sense of fulfilment, shaping the emotional experiences of nurses in complex and meaningful ways. This study adopts a qualitative approach to explore the emotional state of nurses who provide end-of-life care in long-term geriatric settings. It investigates how nurses navigate grief, maintain emotional boundaries, and cope with the pressures of their role. Additionally, it examines the impact of patient relationships on their emotional health and how they balance empathy with professional detachment. The study also considers the role of relationships and institutional support in promoting emotional resilience. Through in-depth semi-structured interviews, the research captures the nuanced emotional experiences of nurses working in this specialised field. It highlights both the challenges and rewards inherent in end-of-life care and identifies effective coping strategies employed by nurses. Finally, the study offers practical recommendations to enhance emotional support for nursing staff, improve workplace well-being, and strengthen the overall quality of end-of-life care in geriatric settings. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/145385 2026-04-08T05:29:17Z 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Beautiful broken bodies : exploring embodiment and risk in boxing Abstract: This dissertation investigates how local Maltese boxers embody a boxer’s habitus and risk culture. This is achieved using a qualitative research design, incorporating both semi-structured interviews and a vignette interview. Specific attention is given to how boxers internalise training habits and routine whilst analysing the lived experience of boxers with special reference to the physical and psychological risks faced within the industry. Findings reveal that boxers embrace a strong sense of boxer’s habitus, characterised by rigorous training regimens and a deep sense of a boxer’s identity. A correlation between this and a high extent of risk acceptance is discovered. In fact, boxers are desensitised to injury and trivialise risk, viewing it as an inevitable element to achieve excellence in the sport, despite being aware of the potential long-term health consequences. The dissertation also explores factors which shape risk perception, including family, work, coaching and the risk culture existing within the industry. It highlights how dedication to boxing, echoed within the embodiment of the sport, often supersedes concerns for personal safety. The dissertation provides valuable insights into the lived experiences of Maltese boxers and offers a foundation for further research into risk culture and embodiment in other sport contexts. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/144592 2026-03-04T13:45:34Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The people and its enemies : a discourse theoretical approach to populism and the European Union Abstract: This study investigates how the European Union (EU) discursively constructs its institutional rationality and manages dissent during moments of political crisis. Anchored in the post-2008 financial and sovereign debt context, it analyses how the EU responded to two major challenges: the election of the left-populist Syriza government in Greece (2015) and the Brexit referendum in the UK (2016). The study aims to understand not only how the EU reacted to populist dissent, but how it constructs its own hegemonic self-image, rationalities, and regimes of truth in the face of political rupture. Bringing together Foucauldian framework of governmentality, Poststructuralist Discourse Theory (PDT), and psychosocial analysis, the study offers an original theoretical framework for studying EU institutional discourse. It conceptualises EU discourse as a site where technocratic rationality is not merely deployed but affectively invested in, sustained through fantasy, and disrupted by symptoms of ambiguity, contradiction and dislocation. The methodology combines a retroductive research strategy with lexicometric analysis and multimodal NVivo coding, applied to a corpus of 316 documents spanning six years. The findings show that the EU constructs itself as a morally superior, expert-led, post-national polity, projecting dissent as irrational, irresponsible or populist. In doing so, it masks the political contingency of its governance model. While Syriza was punished for challenging austerity, the EU internalised many of the grievances central to Brexit, a move that may reflect a broader hesitation in how the union engages with political dissent. Ultimately, the study exposes the limits of technocratic governance and argues for a renewed, critical engagement with EU politics that foregrounds contingency, conflict, and democratic openness. Description: Ph.D.(Melit.)

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/135068 2025-05-06T13:20:05Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The navigation of endometriosis-a struggle for coherence a Maltese perspective Abstract: Endometriosis is a chronic gynaecological condition affecting millions of women worldwide. It is characterized by the presence of endometrial-like tissue outside of the uterus, often resulting in severe pelvic pain, infertility, psychological stress and other symptoms. Furthermore, the probability of persistent, recurrent symptoms and the absence of a definite explanation are likely to exacerbate endometriosis. These detrimental effects, causing a reduction in the quality of life are well represented in international literature. Illustrations, regarding the interactions with the medical profession are also represented. However, no study to date, was carried out regarding women’s lived experience of endometriosis within the Maltese context. To this end, a qualitative study was carried out, with the aim of providing a deep understanding of the impact of endometriosis on the lives of eight Maltese women by utilising in-depth interviews. The data illustrated the deep impact that endometriosis had on the lives of these participants, the delay in diagnosis and the dismissive attitude and lack of knowledge of the medical profession when interacting with the participants. This was mostly attributed to the normalisation of symptoms by family, friends, medical professionals and even the participants themselves. Finally, the findings highlight an urgent necessity of increasing awareness among the public as well as the medical profession, regarding this insidious disease. Description: M.A.(Melit.)

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z