https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/70402 Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:39:30 GMT 2026-04-24T16:39:30Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/123263 Title: The biological geography of the freshwater systems of Maltese widien Abstract: Aim: This thesis addresses the plant biogeography of Maltese widien. Widien are valley and gorge-like landforms in the Maltese Islands. Previous biogeographical studies on widien are limited in extent and have mostly approached the characterisation of widien-associated habitats based strictly on phytosociology(that is, based on the identity of the plant species present) but the relationship of the vegetation to the abiotic environment was generally not considered systematically. In this study, characterization of habitats was based on character sets of ecological significance, which included both species and key environmental factors that control the spatial distribution of plant assemblages in the Maltese Islands, and has adopted an objective statistical approach. Location: This work provides a quantitative analysis of vegetation-environment relationships of the widien-associated habitats of the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean). Methods: Twenty-six widien were selected as type representatives from the range of landforms in the Maltese Islands that channel water flow, or have the potential to do so, even if some are now more or less permanently dry. For each of these widien, sectors were selected such that each sector had fairly constant bio- geographical 'conditions' on the landscape scale and each sector occupied moderately large sections of the wied. From one to four sectors were chosen within each wied, depending on its environmental heterogeneity at the landscape level. In each sector, a 1 Orn-wide belt transect (running from one crest to the crest of the opposite side) was used for data collection; in all, 41 transects of various lengths were utilised. Within each transect, a stratified random sampling strategy was used to obtain data for eight environmental variables within randomly placed quadrats in pre-selected wied units ('strata') as follows: channel bed, channel banks, wied floor, wied slope, wied crest and abandoned fields. The eight variables measured for each quadrat were: rock type, inclination, aspect, substrate type, substrate depth, exposure (to sun and wind), canopy cover and cover of each plant species. A total of 5843 quadrats were sampled from all widien studied. The following data for the whole wied section were also recorded: the height, angle and material of the side slopes; type, size, land-use and vegetation of the pseudo-floor; dimensions and sediment type for the channel bed; dimensions, material composition and vegetation for the channel banks. Quadrats were clustered on the basis of the species present and their percentage cover using Ward's Method, which is based on a hierarchical, error sum of squares algorithm, as implemented by the SAS software package. Four cluster analyses were performed with output set at 10-, 20-, 40- and 1 GO-clusters. The 40-cluster run was adopted as the basis for data interpretation as it offered a sufficient resolution without being too massive to analyse. The 40-cluster output was cross-matched with the physico-geographical data for the quadrats to produce one matrix containing all data in clustered form. Individual clusters were extracted and analysed in conjunction with data from the whole wied sections of origin [...] Description: PH.D. Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/123263 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/122731 Title: Piano recital Abstract: Since the invention of the pianoforte in the early 1700s by the Italian Bartolomeo Cristofori in Florence, the piano evolved through the decades, reaching new sonorities and power. The first pianos invented in the early 1700s were mentioned in an inventory by the Medici and described as an arpicimbalo, which was an instrument resembling a harpsichord but with dampers and hammers, with two keyboards having a range of four octaves. Cristofori's instrument, the gravicembalo col piano, e forte was thus described by poet and journalist Scipione Maffei in 1711. An inscription made by Federigo Meccoli states that another instrument called arpi cimbalo del piano e forte was made by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700. Cristofori's survived pianos are in different countries, with one built in 1720 now in New York City's Metropolitan Museum; the one built in 1722 in Rome at the Museo Strumenti Musicali and another built in 1726 at the Musikinstrumenten-Museum, of Leipzig, Germany. The one in New York is the oldest existing piano. The piano's shape is close to that of an Italian harpsichord with a single keyboard. The other piano in the same museum contains a mechanism which is similar to the una corda as we know it today, in which the action is shifted laterally so that only one of the two strings will be struck. The piano built in 1720 has 54 keys, thiimer strings and harder hammers which has a timbre closer to a harpsichord rather then a modem Steinway piano. Description: B.A.(HONS)MUSIC Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/122731 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/101021 Title: Composition portfolio Abstract: This dissertation analyses the five compositions included in my D .Mus. composition portfolio, namely the Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano, Un reste de Suite for harp solo, Repliements et depliements for clarinet in E flat, 2 clarinets in B flat and bass clarinet, the Flute Concerto, and Psalms for Today for tenor, baritone, chorus, and chamber orchestra. I introduce the dissertation by depicting my profile as a composer: my formation, short remarks on several of my earlier compositions, influences and favourite composers. Then I explain my approach to composition in general, illustrating . what I am saying by giving more detailed notes about seven other compositions. The introduction ends with an explanation of the "method". This consists of an outline of the background and history of each composition, followed by a more detailed analysis of the form, the scalic, melodic and harmonic materials upon which the work is based, as well as the consideration of other musical parameters, such as rhythm, instrumentation and texture. Chapter One analyses the Trio for clarinet, violin and piano, by studying the form and the main material, as well as the way the instruments are used. Basically it boils down to a consideration of how a "root chord" is utilised during the work, with the final movement returning to the chord after starting away from it. The second chapter studies a Harp Suite. It shows how a scale, that has a Mediterranean character, is used throughout, and how the traditional movements of a Baroque suite are distorted. At times, this chapter analyses in depth, by using rather extensive music examples, how the melodic-harmonic background is objectified throughout particular movements. The third chapter considers the shortest piece in the portfolio, Repliements et Depliements for clarinet quartet. It shows how we have a process of folding (narrowing) and unfolding (widening again) of the texture in this piece. All this is shown within the framework of the development of the thematic material. Chapter Four concerns the Flute Concerto. It is studied within the context of the evolution of the relationship between soloist and orchestra in the concerto form. There is detailed analysis of form and of the basic motivic material upon which the work is built. The final chapter considers the major work of the portfolio, the Psalms for Today. A new element is introduced in this composition: the use of voices, and the concomitant relationship between text and music. The use of simultaneous texts with different - and sometimes opposing - attitudes is reflected into multilayered textures. Naturally, form, thematic material, instrumentation and other parameters are also analysed. The Conclusion consists of some brief remarks concerning mainly what I think I achieved in these compositions, and addresses some of the problems in completing my work. Description: PH.D. Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/101021 2007-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/101018 Title: Effects of actor training on personality Abstract: The terminology of the theatre-maker and choreographer Rudolph Laban is applied as a point of departure for the development of new approaches to the study of personality - broadly defined as relatively stable patterns of behaviour - in the context of interdisciplinary performance research. The work is conducted under the aegis of the xHCA programme at the University of Malta, in which actor training is also investigated from the perspectives of the life sciences and the social sciences. It is argued that aspects of Laban Movement Analysis provide a meeting point for communication between artist and scientist. The potential for the theatre pedagogue is illustrated by demonstrating the congruence of many of Laban's ideas with issues related to contemporary training in improvisation, and by applying variants of the terminology as a tool for the organization of observational records of sessions of creative movement by actors and apprentice actors. The potential utility to interdisciplinary researchers is shown by deriving quantitative correlates of the terminology through integration with computer-based recording and analysis (motion capture) and applying the results in two pilot studies of differences in movement style between actors and non-actors on a series of improvisational tasks. The thesis concludes by proposing extensions to this approach including training in a master class based on feedback from computer models, as well as suggestions for future research projects encompassing learning and memory, personality research, and creativity studies. Description: PH.D. Wed, 01 Jan 2003 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/101018 2003-01-01T00:00:00Z