OAR@UM Community:

The story of the minotaur and the science within

Sun, 24 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT

Title: The story of the minotaur and the science within Abstract: Jeremy Grech, inspired by a TED Talk on the Minotaur, has created a show that blends mythology and science for this year’s Science in the City festival. His workshop, MythoXjenza, held at the Catholic Institute in Floriana, uses the story of the Minotaur to explore scientific themes, particularly seismic events.

Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) : annual report 2022

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Research, Innovation and Development Trust (RIDT) : annual report 2022 Abstract: 1/ VELLA, Alfred J. - Message by the chairman -- 2/ KENELY, Wilfred - Message by the CEO -- 3/ RIDT in numbers -- 4/ ALIVE - 10 years of cycling for cancer research -- 5/ Conserving the Great Siege wall paintings cycle -- 6/ BORG, Joseph - Out of this world MALETH II research in space -- 7/ Creating legacies research in ALS -- 8/ Europa Donna sponsors second Ph.D. scholarship -- 9/ Further support for renal research by LifeCycle -- 10/ Chair in Economics Central Bank of Malta re-instates Chair in Economics -- 11/ Women in research -- 12/ Grandmaster's delights an evening of art and beauty at the Grandmaster's Palace, Valletta -- 13/ Christmas celebration concert -- 14/ Communicating our message -- 15/ BUTTIGIEG, Claudette - New position at RIDT -- 16/ Our supporters -- 17/ How can you help? -- 18/ RIDT management accounts December 2022 -- 19/ Thanking all our supports

Connect, collaborate, conquer : how OiPub transforms research discovery and discussion

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Title: Connect, collaborate, conquer : how OiPub transforms research discovery and discussion Authors: Bianchi, Robert Abstract: Keeping up to date with Research is HARD WORK. More and more research is published each year. It is hard to find the research that matters, that elusive work that is perfectly relevant, well written and not 10 years out-of-date. You have got that experiment to run, lectures, various meetings, conferences, articles to write, a few peer reviews and perhaps among all that you might even get some work done on that very important thing you are working on. The one that will hopefully change the world but you never have time for.

The influence of migration on Malta’s demographic transition : an observational study

Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT

Title: The influence of migration on Malta’s demographic transition : an observational study Authors: Grech, Victor; Cuschieri, Sarah; Gatt, Miriam; Cordina, Charmaine; Calleja, Neville; Scherb, Hagen Abstract: The demographic transition model (DTM) refers to the historical change from elevated birth and high death rates to low birth and low death rates in more advanced and higher education societies with higher levels of economic development. Malta is a small, central Mediterranean country (population ≈ 500,000) with a high influx of workers. This study was carried out to ascertain secular trends in births in Malta by nationality of mother, including age standardised fertility rates, population levels and employment trends. The study design uses ecological methodology. Births, age-specific fertility rates (ASFR), population and employment data were analysed for 2000-2020. Total births increased from 4,311 in 2000 to 4,420 in 2021 (p = 0.0001) as did proportion of nonMaltese births from 5.2 to 46.7% (p < 0.0001). Maltese ASFR only was in significant decline (p = 0.0003). Total population increased from 388,759 in 2000 to 520,971 in 2022 (p < 0.0001) as did the proportion of nonMaltese workers, which increased from 2.2% in 2000 to 20.6% in 2022 (p < 0.0001). Maltese and non-Maltese, part-time and full-time employment rates significantly increased (p < 0.0001). The proportion of non-Maltese increased for part-time and full-time workers also increased (p < 0.0001). Fertility is falling almost globally with ageing population and declining births and populations. In Malta, domestic labour supply cannot keep up with an influx of foreign workers, weathering its demographic transition at the expense of a rapidly expanding population but the long-term results are of significant concern as infrastructures may not cope and a substantial worker efflux for whatever reason could potentially precipitate a significant economic downturn.