Ggantija and the surrounding lands : insights through a late eighteenth-century contract

The deed through which Giovanni Battista Cassar Desain protected Ggantija is described and possible reasons behind his decision discussed. A plan accompanying the contract has been utilised to throw light on Ggantija and the surrounding late eighteenth-century landscape. Relevant contemporary representations are analysed to throw light on the state of Ggantija before the clearances of the 1820s. Caves, an underground spring, and a forgotten path have been rediscovered, highlighting the fact that the area remains largely unexplored.peer-reviewe

Maurice Caruana Curran : guardian of heritage and justice

The cycle of frescoes of Mal Millieri constitutes a unique treasure-house of inestimable value in Malta's cultural heritage. Along with Din l-Art Helwa, the association founded and presided over by him for more than thirty years, Maurice Caruana Curran played a crucial role in the discovery and preservation of this treasure. His role in the discovery and initial measures for the restoration and valorisation of the Annunciation church and its frescoes are dealt with in other contributions in this volume. Because of word limit constraints, I shall also refrain from going into much detail about the excavation which was conducted by Tom Blagg, Anthony Luttrell and myself in the spring of 1977, the conclusion of which might, or might not, have contributed to the change of the state of health of the frescoes. My contribution will dwell on that episode in the history of Din l-Art Helwa's guardianship of the Annunciation Church of Mal Millieri concerning the urgent measures that needed to be taken to preserve this cycle of paintings after a serious alarm was raised on their deterioration. The solutions that were presented to the Association and the solutions it selected reflect the important and fundamental shift that took place at that time concerning the methodology of preservation of fresco painting from one of 'restoration' (including radical intervention) to the current one of 'conservation' (based on minimal intervention and reversibility).peer-reviewe

Existence results for nonlinear elliptic problems on fractal domains

Some existence results for a parametric Dirichlet problem defined on the Sierpi\'nski fractal are proved. More precisely, a critical point result for differentiable functionals is exploited in order to prove the existence of a well determined open interval of positive eigenvalues for which the problem admits at least one non-trivial weak solution

Understanding Organized Crime Networks: Evidence Based on Federal Bureau of Narcotics Secret Files on American Mafia

Using unique data on criminal profiles of 800 US Mafia members active in the 50s and 60s and on their connections within the Cosa Nostra network we analyze how the geometry of criminal ties between mobsters depends on family ties, community roots and ties, legal and illegal activities. We contrast our evidence with historical and sociological views about the functioning of the Mafia. Much of our findings are remarkably in line with these views, with interesting qualifications. We interpret some of our results in light of a model of optimal vertical and horizontal connections where more connections mean more profits but also a higher risk of defection. We find that variables that lower the risk of defection, among others, kinship, violence, and mafia culture increase the number of connections. Moreover, there is evidence of strategic endogamy: female children are as valuable as male ones, and being married to a "connected" wife is a strong predictor of leadership within the Mafia ranks. A very parsimonious regression model explains one third of the variability in the criminal ranking of the "men of honor," suggesting that these variables could be used to detect criminal leaders. An additional prediction of our simple model is a right-skewed distribution of the number of connections, which is remarkably in line with the evidence of an extremely hierarchical organization.Mafia; Networks; Intermarriage; Assortative Matching; Crime

The Maltese artistic heritage of the Roman period

As for many other fields of the Maltese cultural heritage the study of Roman art in Malta starts with the monumental work of the 17th century of which the Maltese nation is justifiably proud: the Descrittione by Giovanni Francesco Abela. More than a century before the German scholar J.J. Winckelmann laid the foundations for a history of ancient art, Abela was already publishing in that work a series of ancient artistic objects some of which he had acquired for his own personal collection while others were scattered in different parts of the islands. Abela hardly ever attempted a stylistic appreciation of the works of art he published whereas he was sometimes far too rash in his historical judgements, although his identifications were generally correct. The art objects described and illustrated by Abela were also included in the enlarged edition of his work by Giovanni Antonio Ciantar in the 18th century, and in other descriptions of the Maltese islands written by both Maltese and foreign writers in that same century and in the following one.peer-reviewe

Observations on the linguistic epigraphic choice in late antique inscriptions from Malta

The aim of this paper is to reconsider the Maltese epigraphic material from a linguistic point of view, with an attempt to point out what the specific linguistic choice means within the epigraphic context. Analysing the epigraphic data, it is possible to suppose that in late antiquity the Greek-speaking community in Malta was linked to a Jewish community maybe coming from abroad. Furthermore, a parallel can be established with the south-eastern area in Sicily, where there is evidence for the presence of Jewish burial places in Christian necropoleis, with the preponderance of Greek used as epigraphic language. The choice of Greek for the funerary inscriptions from Malta does not tend to be arbitrary, and might indicate the persistent use of the original language of an immigrant community.peer-reviewe

PTSD Prevalence in the Aftermath of Natural Disaster Happened in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This item is only available electronically.Background: Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common and highly invalidating psychological disorder observed in the aftermath of natural disasters. Research has demonstrated that people living in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMIC) are particularly threatened by PTSD when natural disasters strike. The aim of the current thesis is to ascertain the prevalence of PTSD in the aftermath of natural disasters occurred in LMIC through a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: Thirty-eight studies were identified from a systematic search of the PubMed, PsycInfo, Embase and Scopus databases. The combined prevalence of PTSD was estimated by using the Freeman-Tukey double arcsine transformation method and a random-effects model, in addition to 95% confidence intervals, p-values and heterogeneity statistics. Subgroup analyses were conducted using the following variables: gender, bereavement, level of education and time of PTSD assessment. The combined prevalence and heterogeneity statistics were calculated for each population, and a Chi-squared test was performed within each subgroup as to test for significant differences. Results: The combined prevalence of PTSD obtained was 25.68% (95% CI: 20.57- 31.15 %). A high degree of heterogeneity (I-squared = 98.8 %; p < 0.001) was observed. The subgroup analyses showed that PTSD prevalence was significantly higher in women, bereaved individuals and individual assessed within the first year from the occurrence of the natural disaster. Conclusion: The results obtained expand the knowledge about the course of PTSD in LMIC affected by natural disasters. The estimates obtained will hopefully be useful as to inform future research and interventions.Thesis (B.PsychSc(Hons)) -- University of Adelaide, School of Psychology, 202

Mir-riforma socjali ghall-investigazzjoni tal-bniedem : ulied in-nanna Venut fl-Amerka ta' Gwann Mamo bhala allegorija tal-kundizzjoni ezistenzjali umana

Dan I-istudju huwa r-reazzjoni ghall-klassifikazzjoni tal-irwol ta' Mamo f'Ulied in-Nanna Venut fl-Amerka bnala riformatur socjali, gudizzju Ii jillimita I-valur estetiku tat-test billi jirrendih relevanti gnal zmienu biss. II-hrug tar-rumanz minn dan I-gheluq isir primarjament permezz tal-identifikazzjoni tal -funzjoni allegorika tar-rakkont, u kif tghin biex eventwalment tinbena I-vizjoni awtorjali. Ghal dan il-ghan it-test ta' Mamo jibda jinftiehem ahjar fil-kuntest tal-metafizika ta' Martin Heidegger. L-attenzjoni tinxtehet I-aktar fuq it -twebbil li jemigraw lejn I-Amerka, u kif il-mod Ii bih tittiehed id-decizjoni jirrifletti x'tip ta' karattri huma.peer-reviewe

Il restauro del monumento Gravina Bonanno di Montevago nel camposanto di S. Orsola a Palermo

Oggetto della pubblicazione è la tomba mausoleo nel cimitero di S. Orsola di Palermo per Pellegra Gravina Bonanno di Montevago, ultima discendente ed unica erede dei principi di Montevago, tra i cui congiunti erano illustri personalità come il generale Federico Carlo Gravina (lo sconfitto della battaglia di Trafalgar) e il Cardinale Pietro, arcivescovo di Palermo. Il monumento, che si configura come un tempio distico in antis dorico siculo e risente anche di influenze canoviane, viene qui attribuito alla progettazione dell’architetto Emmanuele Palazzotto (1798-1872), autore di importanti architetture a Palermo, tra cui i campanili neogotici sul Palazzo Arcivescovile, e all’esecuzione di Giuseppe Monroy conte di Ranchibile, ora inedita figura di dilettante di architettura. Inoltre si definisce con precisione la datazione dell'opera posticipandola di quasi vent'anni al 1855, rispetto a quanto riportato finora dagli studi specifici. I testi si avvalgono delle indagini diagnostiche e delle osservazioni compiute durante i lavori di restauro, nonché dei numerosi documenti d’archivio reperiti per questa occasione, in maniera da contestualizzare le ragioni della committenza, il decorso del cantiere e l’esito artistico dello stesso in generale e nel contesto della produzione dell'architetto Palazzotto

Infinitely Many Solutions for Perturbed Hemivariational Inequalities

Abstract We deal with a perturbed eigenvalue Dirichlet-type problem for an elliptic hemivariational inequality involving the -Laplacian. We show that an appropriate oscillating behaviour of the nonlinear part, even under small perturbations, ensures the existence of infinitely many solutions. The main tool in order to obtain our abstract results is a recent critical-point theorem for nonsmooth functionals