281 research outputs found
There's No Place Like Home: Dwelling and Being at Home in Digital Games
This chapter considers the presence, in digital games, of experiences of dwelling. Starting with an engagement with the philosopher Edward S. Casey's distinction between hestial and hermetic spatial modes, the chapter argues that the player's spatial engagement with digital game worlds has tended to align with the hermetic pole, emphasizing movement, traversal and exploration. By contrast, hestial spatial practices, characterized by centrality, lingering and return, are far less prevalent both in digital games themselves and in discussions on spatiality in the game studies discourse. To counter this lack, this chapter draws upon philosophical work on space by Casey, Martin Heidegger, Yi-Fu Tuan and Christian Norberg-Schulz, using these as a conceptual lens to identify spatial structures and practices in digital games that diverge from the hermetic mode. Attention is paid to games that invite pausing and lingering in place, games where the player's relation to place is structured around practices of building, the phenomenology of home and dwelling in games, and familiarity and identity as experiential characteristics of being at home. Minecraft and Animal Crossing: New Leaf are examined in detail as case studies, though the chapter also refers to examples from other games
A study of nano-particle based silane consolidants for Globigerina limestone
This STEPS funded study focuses on the application of hybrid and nanoparticle loaded hybrid silane consolidants for the treatment of 'Franka' type Globigerina Limestone. Consolidants act by gluing the deteriorated stone material to the underlying healthy stone (Dukes, 1972; Gutt, 1973; Alessandrini et al., 1975; Garrod, 2001).
The consolidants evaluated in this work were a laboratory prepared hybrid silane based on a mixture of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and 3-(glycidoxypropyl) trimethoxysilane (GPTMS), the same hybrid consolidant loaded with silica nanoparticles and GPTMS-modified silica nanoparticles. In addition, a consolidant based on the hydrolysis product of TEOS was also tested. Prepared consolidants were applied to Globigerina Limestone test blocks by complete immersion. Untreated stone block were used as benchmarks. Following application of the consolidants, half of the treated limestone blocks were subjected to accelerated weathering.
Non-weathered and weathered limestone blocks were then characterised by optical and electron microscopy and the stone colour before and after treatment with consolidants was assessed by a colorimetric technique. The pore size distribution before and after application of the different consolidant treatments was assessed by Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry. A water absorption by capillarity technique was also carried out to assess how the water uptake rate into the limestone alters with the different treatments. The mechanical properties of the consolidated limestone blocks were assessed by resistance to sodium sulfate crystallisation.
Microscopy observations showed that the consolidants penetrated the stone to different extents depending on the consolidant and the method of application. The hybrid consolidant on its own led to yellowing of the limestone but the addition of nanoparticles to the hybrid (modified or not) appeared to help restore the original colour of the stone. The porosity of the limestone was only marginally affected by the different treatments but the somewhat hydrophobic nature of the consolidants led to a disruption in the capillary flow of water into the limestone.peer-reviewe
A survey of energy drinks consumption amongst medical students and foundation year doctors in Malta
Objectives: To explore the consumption patterns of energy drinks and associated factors, amongst medical students and foundation year doctors in Malta.
Methods: Data was collected from medical students and foundation year doctors from the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, by means of an electronically administered cross-sectional, self-reported survey. The response rate was 42% (n=305). IBM SPSS 23 was used for statistical analysis.
Results:
Energy drinks consumption amongst the sample was 68.2% (n= 208). Most participants (60.1%) started consuming energy drinks between 16-20 years, followed by those between 11-15 years (34.6%). Males are more likely to consume energy drinks than females. Participants who consume energy drinks are more likely to also drink coffee (85.1%), alcohol (88.0%) and smoke tobacco (18.3%). Common reasons for drinking energy drinks were for mixing with alcohol (37.5%) and during studying/major projects (30.8%). The majority of the participants (52.1%) experience psychological side effects due to energy drinks, the most common being stimulating/hyperactivity (42.6%), followed by anxiety (14.8%). Over half of the participants (54.8%) claimed to suffer from physical side effects
Conclusions: Energy drink consumption is common amongst this population and certain aspects of consumption are a cause for concern. Greater public education of the risks of these drinks is recommended especially to young age groups. Legislation may be required to control the marketing and sales and accessibility of these drinks.peer-reviewe
Referral tickets to secondary healthcare : is communication effective?
Communication between primary and
secondary health care relies primarily on referral
tickets. They determine how patientsâ details are
conveyed and hence the quality of care. The aim
of this study was to assess the quality of referral
tickets at the Surgical Outpatients at Mater Dei
Hospital in Malta and to develop
recommendations for improvement. Consecutive
referral tickets between the 7th February and 4th
March 2015 were prospectively included in the
study and analysed for completeness. The data was
entered into a proforma which was revised after
the first ten entries. A total of 351 referral tickets
were included in the study. Names and surnames
were present in all reports and identification
number in 99.42% of cases. 44.16% of referrals
were inappropriate according to clinical details.
The majority of the forms had a history of
presenting complaint (98.29%) while the past
history, drug history / allergies and examination
findings were available in 69.23%, 67.81% and
76.64% respectively. The source of referral was
not clear in 56.13%. Only 69.23% of all referral
tickets were completely legible while 30.77% were
partly legible. This study shows the need for an
overhaul in the referral system. Recommendations
include the use of electronic referrals and the
introduction of feedback letters by hospital
specialists.peer-reviewe
Copy or authentic : analysis of a Phoenician gold ring from the National Museum of Archaeology, Valletta, Malta
The present work is a study of a Phoenician finger ring from the collection of the National Museum of Archaeology, Malta. The item was first described by the museumâs director Themistocles Zammit in 1925, and is believed to date to the 6th century BC. The ring consists of two stirrup-shaped hoops, which can be worn separately or fitted together and worn as a single piece. Inscribed on the bezel surface is a seafaring vessel. Zammit described the artefact as manufactured in pure gold, quoting its mass as 9.65 g. The ring in the collection fits Zammitâs description but differs significantly in weight. The aim of this paper is throw light on the authenticity of this ring using documentary sources and non-invasive scientific techniques of analysis. Optical and electron microscopy allowed a thorough description of the manufacturing technique, while the material analysis was conducted via energy dispersive spectrometry. As a result of these analyses, it was concluded that the ring is not authentic, but is most probably a copy, possibly commissioned by Zammit himself.peer-reviewe
De-roling from experiences and identities in virtual worlds
Within dramatherapy and psychodrama, the term âde-rolingâ indicates a set of activities that assist the subjects of therapy in âdisrobingâ themselves from their fictional characters. Starting from the psychological needs and the therapeutic goals that âde-rolingâ techniques address in dramatherapy and psychodrama, this text provides a broader understanding of procedures and exercises that define and ease transitional experiences across cultural practices such as religious rituals and spatial design. After this introductory section, we propose a tentative answer as to why game studies and virtual world research largely ignored processes of ârolingâ and âde-rolingâ that separate the lived experience of role-play from our everyday sense of the self. The concluding sections argue that de-roling techniques are likely to become more relevant, both academically and in terms of their practical applications, with the growing diffusion of virtual technologies in social practices. The relationships we can establish with ourselves and with our surroundings in digital virtual worlds are, we argue, only partially comparable with similar occurrences in pre-digital practices of subjectification. We propose a perspective according to which the accessibility and immersive phenomenological richness of virtual reality technologies are likely to exacerbate the potentially dissociative effects of virtual reality applications. This text constitutes an initial step towards framing specific socio-technical concerns and starting a timely conversation that binds together dramatherapy, psychodrama, game studies, and the design of digital virtual worlds.peer-reviewe
Report on the excavation of a Punic tomb
On 19th November 2001, while two of us (DB, NJC)
were preparing a drawn record of the Punic tomb
that is situated on Bajda Ridge, Xemxija, a small
ceramic bowl (100211) was uncovered from below
a few centimetres of soil that covered the inner part
of the threshold to the rock-cut chamber (Fig. 1).
An official from the Museums Department was
informed of the discovery on the same day and a
site inspection was carried out. It was realised that
more artefacts could lie undisturbed within the
chamber and a decision was taken to excavate the
deposit. Authorisation for the Department of
Classics and Archaeology, University of Malta, to
undertake the excavation was received from the
Director, Museums Department, and the excavation
was completed on the 22nd November.
The tomb is located on the ridge, near a path that
diverges eastwards from the track that links Pwales
valley to the Mistra valley. It is cut in the Upper
Coralline limestone that outcrops in the area on a
North-South axis and consists of a sub-rectangular
chamber that is reached through a low entrance at
the bottom of a rectangular shaft (Fig. 1).
The tomb appears in an inventory for the first time
in 1996 when it was listed in the survey of
archaeological sites prepared by Malta University
Services for the Planning Authority by Anthony
Bonanno in connection with the preparation of the
North-West local plan for Malta. The tomb had been
examined and photographed by one of us (NCV) in
1992. At the time, it was littered with debris and it
was only with difficulty that a view of the chamber
could be achieved through the entrance that was
partly concealed by an irregular blocking stone. Late
in 2000, members of the St Paul's Bay Heritage
Group lifted the debris from the trench and cleared
the area around the site.peer-reviewe
Fictional games : a philosophy of worldbuilding and imaginary play
A foreword to the book Fictional Games: A Philosophy of Worldbuilding and Imaginary Play, by Stefano Gualeni and Riccardo Fassone.peer-reviewe
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