A short reflection on values and educational research

Value free research is a highly controversial and subjective proposition. Aspects including epistemological, ontological, and political issues make it very difficult to achieve neutral based research. Issues that cause educational research to be rated as inferior and second best include the fact that besides being criticized as being non cumulative, it is unrealistic and distant from practice. Educational researchers are also shackled by the dogma of unattainable ideality of neutrality and non-partisanship. In the attempt to imitate and fit in the deterministic and empirical ways of the natural sciences they disregard the uniqueness of their research.peer-reviewe

The ghost in the machine. A structurational interpretation of Maltese policies on ICT and education

The unprecedented expansion of digital technologies has been likened to nothing less than the efficient spread of a biological virus (Schmidt and Cohen, 2013). The omnipresence of Information Systems and digitally mediated attitudes is now a prominent feature in contemporary society, not the least in education. With many world governments, including Malta, now boasting of well-established and ambitious educational policies that range from pre-school to lifelong learning, a chronological portrayal and Structurational interpretation of an evolving recursive dialogue taking place between socioeconomic influences and inherent qualities of published Maltese ICT educational policies is hereby presented.peer-reviewe

Living deep-water Lophelia and Madrepora corals in Maltese waters (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea)

The occurrence of living deep-water corals, Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata, from stations 21-42 km off the southern and south-western coast of Malta is reported. Fragments of living colonies of both species, as well as some large pieces of Lophelia frameworks were recovered from depths of 390-617 m together with the solitary coral Desmophyllum dianthus (= cristagalli). The accompanying biota included the barnacle Pachylasma giganteum, the gastropod Coralliophila richardi, the bivalves Asperarca nodulosa and Spondylus gussonii, and the polychaete Eunice norvegicus, all of which are frequently associated with deep-water corals. The occurrence of the Lophelia-Madrepora- Desmophyllum triad, the large pieces of coral frameworks consisting predominantly of live, healthy polyps, and the associated biota, suggest that coral patches may be present in at least some of the investigated localities, rather than just fragmented remains or isolated colonies.peer-reviewe

Keeping education relevant in times of change

The recursive interactions between the inherent qualities of technology and human intellect enabled us to overcome our limitations and extend the capabilities of the same technologies beyond what they may have been originally designed to do. From a deterministic point of view it can be assumed that technology will always tail and sustain human progress but as a new class of intelligent machines permeates and gains a strong foothold within our economic scenarios, then that is about to change. The consolidation of a new generation of autonomous intelligent machines, that are capable of working independently of human supervision are provoking a new culturally and technologically driven reality. Such autonomous machines, may for now be limited in their functions. However, as they become progressively more sophisticated, we can potentially be facing thinking machines which as they seamlessly merge within what humans do, then several human administered jobs will be transferred to the machines, inducing redundancy from work.peer-reviewe

Litter as a source of habitat islands on deepwater muddy bottoms

Certain types of marine litter, usually considered as pollutants, may also be a resource, serving as artificial reefs on sedimentary bottoms. In order to study this aspect, marine debris was collected by bottom trawl from muddy bottoms (depths of 45-700m) in the waters around the Maltese islands, during July 2005. The associated fauna was identified and quantified. Litter was found to support a higher abundance of organisms than the surrounding sediment, but a lower species richness. However, the suite of epifaunal species on the debris was different from the infauna of the surrounding substratum. Thus litter was found to increase the overall biodiversity of particular areas.peer-reviewe

Distribution and density of discarded limestone slabs used in the traditional Maltese lampuki fishery

The Maltese Coryphaena hippurus fishery employs fish aggregating devices anchored to the seabed by limestone slabs that are discarded after each season. It is estimated that more than 15,000 such slabs are deposited on the seabed each year, thus the number of limestone blocks left on the seabed by the decades-old fishery must be quite high. This study attempted to estimate the distribution and abundance of limestone slabs in the sea around Malta. The abundance of slabs was much less than expected, implying that a mechanism that gradually removes slabs from the surface of the seabed is operating in the area studied.peer-reviewe

Commercial and non-target species of deep water trawled muddy habitats on the Maltese continental shelf

Prior to joining the European Union, Malta operated a 25nm Exclusive Fishing Zone that was retained as a Fisheries Conservation Zone (FCZ) following EU membership. The present study was conducted in this FCZ as part of the ongoing MEDITS trawl survey programme. Otter trawl samples were collected from muddy bottoms at depths of 100-300m. The catch from each haul was sorted into commercial and non-commercial components, and fauna were identified and counted. Samples for analyses of infauna and sediment characteristics were collected using a 0.0625m² capacity box-corer. Macrofaunal abundance data for the stations were analysed using ordination techniques (nMDS) and relationships between environmental variables and faunal assemblages were explored by superimposing individual variables on the two-dimensional nMDS plots. The analyses clearly separated the commercial species into two distinct groups of assemblages that seemed to be defined principally by depth: those from inshore and south-eastern stations (depth range 100-250m) and those from north-western stations (depth range 250-300m). The non-commercial species showed a similar pattern with assemblages from inshore stations grouping together; however, the offshore stations had a greater variability in non-target species composition, especially for infauna. For the offshore stations, geographical position seemed to be important since stations off the north-western coast of the Maltese islands grouped separately from those off south-eastern Malta.peer-reviewe

Differences in demersal community structure and biomass size spectra within and outside the Maltese Fishery Management Zone (FMZ)

We examined the protection effect of a long-established fisheries protection zone by studying the demersal communities and the biomass size spectra of specific taxonomic groups. The results and the relevant management implications of the community analysis are discussed within the context of the MEDITS trawl survey program, from which the data was derived. The demersal fishery resources on the muddy bottoms of Maltese trawling grounds were found to be stratified in four main depth ranges: 83 to 166 m (outer continental shelf), 140 to 230 m (shelf break), 270 to 440 m (shallow slope), and 466 to 701 m (deep slope). Significant differences were detected between the inside and outside zones of the outer continental shelf. Stations from this stratum inside the protected zone had twice as much biomass as those outside as well as larger individuals of some species (e.g. elasmobranchs). The depth strata identified do not coincide with those sampled in existing trawl survey programmes in the Sicilian Channel, which were set up without reference to demersal assemblage structure and its relation to depth. It is therefore clear that characterisation of the biotic assemblages is important in order to obtain a better sampling representation of each depth-stratum/assemblage type, and this should be considered in the survey design.peer-reviewe

Role of environmental variables in structuring demersal assemblages on trawled bottoms on the Maltese continental shelf

Demersal assemblages from trawl surveys made at depths of 45-800m in trawled areas within the 25NM Fisheries Management Zone round the Maltese Islands were related to environmental characteristics on the seabed. Depth, temperature, and mean grain size all affected the structure of the demersal assemblages but depth and temperature gradient were overall the most important in that order; while mean grain size seemed more important for relatively shallow bottoms (<80m) than for deep ones.peer-reviewe