https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/4993 2026-04-08T19:21:33Z 2026-04-08T19:21:33Z Baldacchino, Pamela https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/5053 2018-03-13T08:09:56Z 2015-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The nurse is present : a review exploring the temporality of illness through presence and narrative, an artist's perspective Authors: Baldacchino, Pamela Abstract: “Illness works to deform and distort all the meaning and value one gives to one’s life” (Ahlzén, 2011, p.325). A feeling of terminal loss is experienced within the physical body as chaos floods the brain. Even language is incapable of fully addressing the internal tension that comes with illness, because it strives to make articulate the unpresentable or the abject. This review is directed towards analysing the experience of embodiment in illness, one’s relation to the self and to others, all within a particular context such as a place of constraint (hospital) or exchange (museum). The mediation between care and art practice, in fact, allows for the emergence of similar states that fluctuate between closeness and distance and between the unpresentable and the presentable as they enter in a process of dialogue. Such states allow the nurse and the artist to engage freely with the Other in a space defined by the intensity of the present moment and its assimilation through the path of narrativity. An empathic audio-visual tool called Sanctuary was created to serve a narrative, the ill person’s narrative. It is presented in the form of a visor which allows the viewer to enter a ‘bunker-like’ space. An empathic encounter with the self, aims to be triggered through the process of participation in the artwork. The play of tension within a restorative, sheltering space is followed with planned empathic dialogue between the nurse and the ill person.

2015-05-01T00:00:00Z Pace, Martha Calleja, Nadine https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/5052 2018-02-27T09:37:13Z 2015-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Investigating the effect of long-term musical experience on the auditory processing skills of young Maltese adults Authors: Pace, Martha; Calleja, Nadine Abstract: Learning and practising a musical instrument has recently been thought to ‘train’ the brain into processing sound in a more refined manner.As a result, musicians experiencing consistent exposure to musical practice have been suspected to have superior auditory processing skills. This study aimed to investigate this phenomenon within the Maltese context, by testing two cohorts of young Maltese adults. Participants in the musician cohort experienced consistent musical training throughout their lifetime, while those in the non-musician cohort did not have a history of musical training. A total of 24 Maltese speakers (14 musicians and 10 non-musicians) of ages ranging between 19 and 31 years were tested for Frequency Discrimination (FD), Duration Discrimination (DD), Temporal Resolution (TR) and speech-in-noise recognition. The main outcomes yielded by each cohort were compared and analysed statistically. In comparison to the non-musician cohort, the musicians performed in a slightly better manner throughout testing. Statistical superiority was surprisingly only present in the FD test. Although musicians displayed a degree of superiority in performance on the other tests, differences in mean scores were not statistically significant. The results yielded by this investigation are to a degree coherent with implications of previous research, in that the effect of long-term musical experience on the trained cohort manifested itself in a slight superiority in performance on auditory processing tasks. However, this difference in scoring was not prominent enough to be statistically significant.

2015-05-01T00:00:00Z Adebimpe, Wasiu Olalekan https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/5051 2017-06-08T10:35:24Z 2015-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Community awareness and perception towards rodent control : implications for prevention and control of Lassa Fever in urban slums of South-Wetsern Nigeria Authors: Adebimpe, Wasiu Olalekan Abstract: Domestic rodents have been implicated in the community transmission of Lassa fever (LF). Community awareness of vector control could lead towards control of LF, most especially in densely populated and overcrowded slums. The aim of the study was to assess knowledge and attitude towards rodent control in relation to LF in Southwestern Nigeria. This descriptive cross-sectional study of LF and rodent control was carried out among 500 community members selected using a multistage sampling method. The research instrument was a self-administered semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS software. 101 participants (20.2%) had heard about LF. Mean composite scores showed 19.4%, 14.1%, 17.0% and 13.9% of respondents to have good knowledge of occurrence, causes, disease transmission, as well as prevention and control of LF respectively. 215 participants (43.0%) lived in overcrowded rooms and only 36 (9.1%) claimed to never have seen a rat in their houses. 206 respondents (41.2%) said they often saw rats crossing between houses. Some recommendations for rodent control were suggested. It was concluded that poor awareness and knowledge of LF, together with poor housing facilities, characterised the communities studied. There is a need for relevant stakeholders to ensure better community health education and improved housing conditions in Southwestern Nigeria, with an emphasis on slum areas.

2015-05-01T00:00:00Z Spiteri, David Scerri, Christian A. Valdramidis, Vasilis P. https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/5050 2022-03-03T06:42:25Z 2015-05-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The current situation for the water sources in the Maltese Islands Authors: Spiteri, David; Scerri, Christian A.; Valdramidis, Vasilis P. Abstract: This commentary addresses issues related to the scarcity of water in the Maltese Islands and its main causes. Some basic metrics related to the abstraction of freshwater, contamination of groundwater by nitrate and the limitations and challenges of the water sources in the Maltese Islands are highlighted. Hereafter, the relation between water scarcity, rainfall and population density, as well as the resultant effects on the sustainability of the freshwater sources of the Maltese Islands are presented. The current focus is on the production of good quality water based on a number of Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants that are found around the Maltese Islands. The significant energy requirements of this technology are compared with those for groundwater and wastewater treatment production. Current practices in the Maltese Islands regarding the treatment and use of sewage effluent by Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) are described. The use of treated sewage effluent as an alternative source of water to RO water and of groundwater for second class uses is discussed. This paper concludes that the technology needed to employ treated effluents for unrestricted agricultural use and also for aquifer recharge is now in existence.

2015-05-01T00:00:00Z