Traditional boats of Malta

Around the shores of the Maltese Islands, one can see various small, working boats which developed over a period of hundreds of years. When we refer to the traditional boats of Malta we refer to the five that have survived and which show the same constructional characteristics. It is interesting to note that one may come across certain local boats which originated after 1800 with the introduction of British rule in Malta but which do not comply with the traditional characteristics .peer-reviewe

The Hospice Movement

The Hospice Movement had its beginning in the U.K. some three decades ago and has now spread to over 70 countries throughout the world. It is rooted in the Christian ethos of profound respect of the human person and of human life threatened by inexorable and progressive disease. It has given rise to the new medical specialty of Palliative Medicine which embraces the most recent advances in scientific medicine and psycho-social science in its daily practice of succour and relief of the suffering of patients and their families. The Hospice idea came to Malta ten years ago. It is now well established as a voluntary organisation providing services to sufferers from advanced cancer and motor neurone disease.peer-reviewe

Windmills and the production of gunpowder in Malta

Each and every discussion revolving around the history of windmills in Malta has always and, wrongly so, focused on their exclusive use for grinding wheat and barley, without taking into consideration that some of these windmills, in particular those situated behind the fortified walls (but not only), could have had a dual function; that of being powder mills and machines for the grinding of corn. Old maps of the Grand Harbour have clearly documented the use of windmills in Malta forthe exclusive production of gunpowder at the turn of the seventeenth century. For security reasons, gunpowder mills were mostly situated within the city walls. However, in the absence of historical records, the major difficulties are: which of these windmills were used for milling grain? Which had a dual function? Which were used exclusively for producing gun powder? This paper seeks to answer these questions.peer-reviewe

Some observations on the employment opportunities created by the export oriented industries in Malta

The Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology was set up way back in 1962 as part of a programme of expanding Technical Education, in anticipation of the demand for large numbers of technologists expected to be created by the projected industrialisation of our Island. It now comprises five major departments. Since the training of engineers and technicians is one of the pillars upon which the industrialisation of any country rests, it would be in- structive to examine the extent to which the progress at this College is related to what is happening in the industrial field. In this respect, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is perhaps by far the more important; hence in this paper I am going to confine my observations to it.peer-reviewe

A territory of grace : Lampedusa during early modern times

On the facade of a monastic church owned by the Discalced Carmelites at Cospicua, one of the cities overlooking the Grand Harbour of Malta, lies a statue of a Madonna with the infant Jesus in her arms. It is sculptured in the classical iconography associated with the Madonna, very common in the Catholic world. This work would have passed unnoticed were it not for the fact that this statue, though old, is a replica of another very famous statue; that of Our Lady of Trapani. However, despite its history hardly anyone in Cospicua knows the connection between the Madonna of Trapani and their hometown, or its relevance to the history of the central Mediterranean in Early Modern times.peer-reviewe

Connective spaces

A new category of connective spaces is defined, which includes topological spaces and simple graphs, and generalizes the concept of connectedness. Not every connective space has a compatible topology; those that do are characterized by compatible partial orders.peer-reviewe

The Christmas bambini tradition in Malta

Simon Mercieca and Joseph Muscat discuss this delightful custom that has taken root in Maltapeer-reviewe