Wind funnelling underneath the Hagar Qim protective shelter

It is often said that wind and associated processes induced by it have caused damage to the megalithic temples at Hagar Qim over the years. The aim of this paper is to explore whether wind funnelling is taking place beneath the protective shelter that now covers the Hagar Qim temple complex. A project was set up to test the extent to which the wind speeds beneath the new protective shelter differ from those outside it. Wind speeds were measured inside and outside the shelter in 25 different places and in four directions over a period of four months. The results were mapped using a Geographic Information System facility. It was concluded that wind speed does not increase beneath the protective shelter except at certain points within the temple structure itself.peer-reviewe

Borders, Common Currencies, Trade, and Welfare: What Can We Learn from the Evidence?

Recent evidence indicates that the intensity of economic exchange within and across borders is significantly different: linkages are much tighter within, than among, nation-states. These findings, however, do not necessarily imply that borders and separate national currencies represent significant barriers to trade that should be removed, since the evidence is also consistent with the alternative hypothesis, that domestic exchange is more efficient because domestic producers are better able to satisfy the requirements of local consumers, owing to common tastes and institutions and the existence of local information and social networks. Focusing primarily on trade linkages within and between Canada and the United States, the authors review the evidence on the extent to which national borders lessen the intensity of international economic linkages, primarily trade in goods and services, and the effects on domestic welfare. They also examine the evidence on the impact of common currencies on trade and welfare. They determine that, since the empirical models employed to date in this research cannot distinguish between alternative explanations of the evidence, it is not yet possible to draw firm conclusions for policy-making.

Coastal land use in the Maltese islands: a description and appraisal

The area of the Maltese Islands is 316 km , and with an official coastal length of 180 km(^2) possess a high ratio of coastal length to area. The physical properties of the coast include a highly indented and largely accessible coastline having a low sloping profile, on the north, east and south-east littoral of Malta, presenting inlets, bays and deep harbours. Most of the recreational, industrial and coastal residential areas are situated around these areas together with a wide range of fortifications and military defensive structures built as part of the coastal defensive network of Malta over the last five centuries. In contrast, the other parts of the coast, including Gozo, consists of a largely inaccessible coastline made up of cliffs and boulder scree slopes with the few indentations marking sandy beaches. These areas have a high aesthetic quality. The rapid pace of development over last half-century has witnessed an economic transformation from an economy based on British military spending to one based on the development of coastal areas for marine-related services, tourism and residential and second-home development. Coastal land use conflicts have intensified with economic development and as people have sought to make a more use of the coast. This thesis is concerned with the evaluation of the coastal land use in the Maltese Islands. A historical overview of the coast is first presented, then a methodology for the mapping, surveying and estimation of the land uses along the coastal zone of the Maltese Islands is developed. This is based on a number of coastal field surveys that the author participated in between 1989 and 1998. The coastal zone was divided into sixteen segments and mapping is covered by sixteen land uses. The main results were that coastal development was centred in areas where a high natural coastal indentation and good physical accessibility of the coast were present, these, in turn, gave rise to land use conflict. In addition, civil engineering works and modifications such as rock-cutting, jetties, breakwaters and, in densely populated areas, promenades, intensified land use conflict. A notable difference in the type of coastal development processes to the north (tourism) and south (industry) of the Great Fault is evident. The thesis also includes the part played by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority in influencing coastal land uses, the main land use modifications proposed in the European Union accession talks and a brief assessment of the land use situation in selected localities in 2003

Il-ġeografija ta' Ħal-Kirkop

This document includes a list of the Parish priests at Ħal-Kirkop.Jidher li Ħal Kirkop (Figura 1 [1985]) irreżista l-bidliet kbar ta' matul dan iż-żmien, il-bidla politika, ekonomika u strutturali li għaddew minnha l-Gżejjer Maltin. Dan sar minħabba d-daqs tal-popolazzjoni, il-firxa tal-bini, l-ekonomija u l-użu ta' l-art ta' madwar ir-raħal (Figura 2). L-iskop ta' dan il-kapitlu hu li jippreżenta l-ġeografija ta' Ħal Kirkop u l-inħawi ta' madwaru. Għaldaqstant, huwa tajjeb li wieħed jibda b' deskrizzjoni tal-ġeografija fiżika taż-żona, u jkompli b'deskrizzjoni tal-ġeografija tal-popolazzjoni, ta' l-aħħar imsawra fuq l-aħħar mitt sena.peer-reviewe

Littoral land use competition at Xemxija a touristic area in the Maltese Islands

The Maltese Islands are a group of central Mediterranean islands lying 93 km from the southern Sicilian coast and 352 km north of Tripoli on the coast of the North African mainland. The basic spatial and demographic data for the three inhabited islands making up the archipelago show marked differences with Malta having 246,000 people and Gozo 29,000 (Census, 1995). It has long been recognised that the economic areas that the Maltese Islands should principally promote are tourism and manufacturing. Following the phasing out of the British Military presence (1958-1979) and the granting of independence in 1964 investment in tourism started to gain ground. Figures 1 and 2 give a graphical account of the development of tourism over a seventeen year period. Essentially, it has been a success story especially with the multiplier effects that were generated as a result.peer-reviewe

Small bowel radiation enteritis diagnosed by capsule endoscopy

Our patient is a middle-aged woman who had been diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma for which she underwent total abdominal hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. She received adjuvant radiotherapy which was delivered over a period of 4 weeks and which involved 20 fractions of 225cGy each for a total of 4500cGy, followed by a further two courses of pelvic radiotherapy in view of local recurrence. She presented to us with severe transfusion-dependent anaemia associated with loose stools and abdominal pain 1 year after initial surgery. Abdominal CT and oesophagogastroduodenoscopy were normal and a colonoscopy revealed large stains with fresh blood and small clots on normal mucosa in the caecum and ascending colon. Since the impression was that the source of bleeding was from the small intestine the patient was thus scheduled to have video capsule endoscopy (VCE) after ensuring that there was no retention of the patency capsule.peer-reviewe

Traditional use of shore platforms:a study of the artisanal management of salinas on the Maltese Islands (Central Mediterranean)

Shore platforms and salinas in the Mediterranean region have a long-standing relationship, rooted in the traditional practice of salt making. On small islands with limited natural resources, the production of salt from seawater, through insolation and intense human endeavour, offered numerous economic benefits. Salt has been a foremost natural resource for millennia with a range of uses from preserving edible foods to cooking, cleaning, laundry, and hygiene, and for medicinal uses in dilute solutions. Within the Maltese Islands, this traditional activity was developed primarily on the soft limestone shore platforms situated along low-lying rocky coasts. Although coastal production has declined in number over the years, a few salinas have persisted in their artisanal practice and are becoming a cultural geo-heritage attraction. The aim of this article is to explore the multiple geographies of this industry on two shore platforms by examining the complicated relationships that have emerged and molded between the physical landscape and human culture. Mapping out these relations through the traditional but complex management systems at two salinas, that is, the salinas at Delimara Point (Malta) and those at Xwejni Bay (Gozo), highlights the delicate nature of these relations as well as the need to support them in order to continually reproduce the cultural micro-landscape. The resultant micro-landscape is becoming an increasingly important living expression of the cultural geo-heritage of the Maltese Islands, which requires careful understanding and management of these relations if it is to be maintained as a vibrant geo-tourist attraction.peer-reviewe

Character Education: How Does it Affect Student Self-Perception of Both Character and Achievement in an Integrated Curriculum?

Over the last few decades, change in communities, families, and education has placed an increasing demand on teachers to supplement societal deficiencies at school with hopes of improving the quality of child and adolescent development. In an effort to address this growing need, educators have revamped their traditional teaching styles to meet the educational needs of all students. This has been accomplished by initiating integrated curriculums that create more inviting, student-centered environments that focus on authentic education. The goal is to teach content through real-world scenarios in hopes to supplement valuable life lessons. This study focused on 48 students in a unique integrated curriculum within Penfield High School, a predominately white middle to upper class suburb of Rochester, New York. It was determined through surveys, one-on-one interviews, focus group feedback, teacher checklists, exit reflections, and field notes that character education in an integrated environment, that focused on specific instructional strategies, improved student self-perception of both character and academic performance

Aspiration of a speaking valve

Foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a relatively common and serious condition that can result in a spectrum of presentations ranging from incidental to acutely life-threatening. Described here is a case of aspiration of a tracheo-oesophageal speaking valve through a permanent tracheostomy that went unnoticed for a number of years, and an overview of the technique used for its removal. A 70-year-old ex-heavy smoker with a permanent tracheo-oesophageal fistula presented with a relatively recent history of increasing shortness of breath, sputum purulence and haemoptysis. Further investigation with a CT scan and bronchoscopy revealed the presence of a foreign body within his right lower lobe bronchus which was later removed by advancing a flexible bronchoscope over a rigid one.peer-reviewe