https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/2685 2026-04-14T03:28:42Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/2790 Title: Assessing participatory Geographic Information Systems for the ecoGozo initiative Abstract: Advances in information technology have enabled lay people to create, use and share geographical data in an increasingly accessible fashion. Such citizen-generated spatial data is usually referred to as Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI). The tools used in such a journey are undoubtedly web applications which have stepped up to the plate when it comes to the collection and analysis of geographic data. In order to deal with these challenges and improve the utility of VGI, this research underwent the study of whether the Public Participatory Geographic Information Systems meet good governance in the ecoGozo initiative. It also queried the assumption that the participatory application of the GozoMap tool is effective, meets the content needs and satisfies the underlying interests of local people. The ecoGozo concept provided an unprecedented exercise outlining the long term path to sustainable development in Gozo. Such a holistic project cannot bare fruition without citizen participation. Henceforth, the appropriate frequency between decision makers and civil society has been set up. As a preliminary work to explore PPGIS opportunities in Gozo, a framework of the different types of VGI is followed by a review of the challenges and solutions related to the utilization of VGI. The development of the GozoMap tool served as a platform for the evaluation of selected themes from the ecoGozo action plan. On the other hand, participants interacted with the application to provide, explore and visualise citizen-generated spatial data from all the localities in Gozo. Findings revealed that the implementation of geo-visualization techniques enabled users to gain new insights on the data collected. Moreover, the PPGIS framework designed for this study provided several opportunities to propose and implement the interests and views of diverse stratas of society. Henceforth, the citizens will acknowledge the spatial implications of policies and actions and policy makers can appreciate the legitimacy of local interests in Gozo. Description: M.SC.SUS.DEVELOPMENT 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/2789 Title: A comparative study of the beliefs and practices of novice and experienced teachers of literacy in Malta Abstract: Literacy is a social practice that goes beyond the mere acquisition of reading and writing skills (Kostogritz, 2011). It is a determiner of cultural and social transformation that acquires meaning through the interpretation of those who teach it and learn it (Freire and Macedo, 1987). This has strong implications for the quality of the teaching in schools. This study investigated the beliefs and practices of novice and experienced teachers in the teaching of literacy in Malta. The first part of the study explored, through questionnaires, the sense of efficacy in the teaching of literacy of a small sample of novice and experienced teachers in seven state primary schools. A comparative analysis of the responses revealed that teachers’ sense of efficacy in literacy teaching was related to the number of years of teaching experience but not to the level of preparation of the teachers. These results were then compared to the personal constructions of literacy teaching of three novice and three experienced teachers that were obtained through interviews. This analysis showed that the novice and experienced teachers construed their sense of efficacy differently, yet shared similar beliefs about the teaching of literacy. These beliefs were then explored within the context of classroom literacy practices. Observations of English literacy lessons revealed that classroom teaching practices were closely related to the teachers’ professed beliefs about the teaching of literacy. Similarities in the teaching methods adopted indicated that teachers shared a common core of pedagogies that reflected a professional cohesiveness, in spite of the perceived differences in methods. Recommendations for professional development are put forward on the basis of the insights obtained from the data. Description: M.A.COMP.EURO-MED 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/2786 Title: The incoming of the other : a comparative study of published narratives of mothers of children with disability Abstract: This study is addressing the way disability is lived and constructed by the mothers as recounted in their writing. This is done through five different narratives written by mothers of children with disability. These mothers’ experiences were compared in order to make sense of the way they construct their lives before and after learning about their children’s disability and during the changes that occurred in their lives. Particular reference was made to their relationship with the medical spectrum, other family members, society, educational institutions and their child. The themes elicited from the narratives were scrutinized under the philosophical ideas of Edward Said and Jacques Derrida. The main focal theme is that of otherness, which is about deconstructing fixed meanings and perceptions. This was used to read the mothers’ narratives away from any close reading of texts influenced by normative discourses about people with disabilities. The different philosophical ideas drawn from Said and Derrida, which were crucial during the reading of the stories and also during their deconstruction, show that the way we tend to organise lives around particular norms restricts and pushes people with disabilities and their mothers into margins. As a matter of fact, the issue of ‘perfection’ and ‘normality’ is often raised. This study is also a study of my own sense of otherness as the author of this thesis, a mother-to-be and a teacher. In this study I am not a spectator but I am part of the narratives as well because I am in the process of becoming a mother but at the same time I am not yet a mother of a child who has been profiled with a disability. The fundamental target of this study is not to provide a solution or a set of innovative ideas but it aims to push the reader away from his comfort zone and set him thinking. Description: M.A. COMP.EURO-MED 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z