Because infants are the most vulnerable members of a community, their deaths – and the resulting infant mortality rate (IMR) – are said to signal more fundamental problems that are likely to affect the general health of a community. However, a focus on proximate- and intermediate-level risk factors in epidemiological analyses presents a decontextualized picture and ignores the role of larger forces on health, disease, and illness. In response to this trend, this project will contribute to a revitalization of the use of infant mortality as an index of larger social problems by tempering statistical analyses with critical reflection regarding the effects of the liminal position of Malta within the British imperial system, prior to the Second World War. In addition, by bringing together several analytic approaches which often proceed in parallel, rather than in dialogue – historical epidemiology, social history, and the analysis of colonial discourse – this dissertation highlights the problematics of knowledge production at both the theoretical and methodological level. As a result, my work is not just about Malta, one moment in history, the calculation of infant mortality rates, or the disentanglement of various determinants of infant mortality in this context; it is about the dynamics and repercussions of power differentials and of social, economic, and political inequalities, as they define and structure health outcomes and experiences. Specifically, I will show that fluctuations in international tensions affected Malta’s population on a number of levels because of the island’s importance as a British military and naval base and its location in the middle of the Mediterranean. I will demonstrate how Malta’s “strategic position” restricted political and economic development in the island and articulated with colonial perceptions of the Maltese as “Other” and Malta as “overpopulated.” Finally, I will argue that international tensions, Malta’s location within Empire, and perceptions of the island and its inhabitants in the early twentieth century affected the ways in which infant deaths were explained and understood and the strategies of intervention initiated in the island to curtail infant mortality – all of which had a tremendous impact on the rates at which infants in Malta died.

Because infants are the most vulnerable members of a community, their deaths – and the resulting infant mortality rate (IMR) – are said to signal more fundamental problems that are likely to affect the general health of a community. However, a focus on proximate- and intermediate-level risk factors in epidemiological analyses presents a decontextualized picture and ignores the role of larger forces on health, disease, and illness. In response to this trend, this project will contribute to a revitalization of the use of infant mortality as an index of larger social problems by tempering statistical analyses with critical reflection regarding the effects of the liminal position of Malta within the British imperial system, prior to the Second World War. In addition, by bringing together several analytic approaches which often proceed in parallel, rather than in dialogue – historical epidemiology, social history, and the analysis of colonial discourse – this dissertation highlights the problematics of knowledge production at both the theoretical and methodological level. As a result, my work is not just about Malta, one moment in history, the calculation of infant mortality rates, or the disentanglement of various determinants of infant mortality in this context; it is about the dynamics and repercussions of power differentials and of social, economic, and political inequalities, as they define and structure health outcomes and experiences. Specifically, I will show that fluctuations in international tensions affected Malta’s population on a number of levels because of the island’s importance as a British military and naval base and its location in the middle of the Mediterranean. I will demonstrate how Malta’s “strategic position” restricted political and economic development in the island and articulated with colonial perceptions of the Maltese as “Other” and Malta as “overpopulated.” Finally, I will argue that international tensions, Malta’s location within Empire, and perceptions of the island and its inhabitants in the early twentieth century affected the ways in which infant deaths were explained and understood and the strategies of intervention initiated in the island to curtail infant mortality – all of which had a tremendous impact on the rates at which infants in Malta died.

Zugl.: Wien, Univ., Dipl.-Arb.

The insular nature of the Maltese archipelago provides a unique opportunity to explore trade and cultural change from the Neolithic to the Bronze Ages in the central Mediterranean. I hypothesize that, during the period in which the Maltese islands were experiencing a form of isolation—owing either to their distance from Sicily and other populated regions, to the collective formation of an inwardly-focused culture, or to a combination of these factors—it is unlikely that pottery played a significant role as either an import or export in the archipelago’s exchange relationships with other communities in the central Mediterranean. I accordingly propose that ceramics were only significant in the interaction networks between Malta and its neighbors during periods when the archipelago was culturally connected to Sicily. Except for a limited number of archaeometric studies (Barone et al. 2015; Molitor 1988; Mommsen et al. 2006), analysis of similarities among ceramic wares produced in Malta and elsewhere that allow archaeologists to draw conclusions about the nature of Malta’s connectivity to other communities has been based on macroscopic observation. The present study builds on the few archaeometric studies by determining the provenance of ceramic samples based on their trace elemental composition. Included in this study were both clay samples and ceramic artifacts representing each of Malta’s chronological phases from the Neolithic to the Bronze Ages. Specifically, in order to address the question of the role that pottery played in the prehistoric trade of the Maltese islands, 392 Maltese ceramic sherds were analyzed using a Bruker III-V handheld portable X-ray fluorescence device, which revealed the relative abundance of six trace elements, namely thorium, rubidium, strontium, yttrium, zirconium, and niobium. The trace elemental composition of the Maltese pottery was compared with that of 18 Sicilian ceramic sherds and clay samples from both Malta and Sicily. The results of this research support my hypothesis in part, suggesting that neither ceramics nor raw clay materials played a significant role in overseas trade during Malta’s period of cultural isolation, which extended from the Ġgantija phase to the end of the Tarxien phase. On the other hand, ceramics played a more active role in Malta’s interaction networks during periods of connectivity with Sicily, for instance in the Neolithic Age. This study also provides the first chemical evidence that Malta exported pottery to Sicily during the Bronze Age and that Malta’s contact with Mycenaeans was indirect in nature. The findings presented here thus contribute to understanding Malta’s role in trade and interaction networks from the Neolithic to the Bronze Ages and point to new approaches to exploring the cultural change that becomes apparent in the Maltese Temple Period.

Cette thèse étudie la dynamique de la végétation Holocène pour Burmarrad dans le NW Malte et fournit une reconstruction paléoclimatique quantitative à base de pollen pour cet archipel méditerranéen situé au centre. Le record de pollen donne un nouvel aperçu l'échange végétation 7280-1730 cal BP qui correspondent bien avec other régional dossiers. La reconstruction du climat fournit également forte corrélation avec les sites du sud (en dessous de 40oN) de la Méditerranée. L'interprétation suggère un paysage initialement ouvert au début du néolithique, se développer en un dense Pistacia brousse ca. 6700 calBP. Depuis environ 4450 calBP le paysage devient de nouveau ouvert, coïncidant avec le début de l'âge du bronze sur l'archipel. Cette période coïncide avec une instabilité accrue du climat (entre 4500 et 3700 calBP) qui est suivie par une diminution progressive de la disponibilité de l'humidité de l'été à la fin de l'Holocène. Durant la période romaine début de l'occupation (1972-1730 calBP) le paysage reste généralement ouvert avec une augmentation modérée de Olea. Cette augmentation correspond à des preuves archéologiques pour la production de l'huile d'olive dans la région, avec l'augmentation des taxons cultivés des cultures et des espèces rudérales associés, ainsi que d'une hausse des cas d'incendies. Cette thèse propose également une synthèse des résultats d'un autre noyau (BM1) provenant de la même zone de chalandise, ainsi que les résultats d'une étude préliminaire de la pluie de pollen de surface moderne. L'archipel fournit des indications sur la végétation, les impacts humains et les changements climatiques dans un contexte de l'île au cours de l'Holocène. / This thesis investigates the Holocene vegetation dynamics for Burmarrad in north-west Malta and provides a pollen-based quantitative palaeoclimatic reconstruction for this centrally located Mediterranean archipelago. The pollen record from this site provides new insight into the vegetation changes from 7280 to 1730 cal BP which correspond well with other regional records. The climate reconstruction for the area also provides strong correlation with southern (below 40oN) Mediterranean sites. The interpretation suggests an initially open landscape during the early Neolithic, surrounding a large palaeobay, developing into a dense Pistacia scrubland ca. 6700 cal BP. From about 4450 cal BP the landscape once again becomes open, coinciding with the start of the Bronze Age on the archipelago. This period is concurrent with increased climatic instability (between 4500 and 3700 cal BP) which is followed by a gradual decrease in summer moisture availability in the late Holocene. During the early Roman occupation period (1972 to 1730 cal BP) the landscape remains generally open with a moderate increase in Olea. This increase corresponds to archaeological evidence for olive oil production in the area, along with increases in cultivated crop taxa and associated ruderal species, as well as a rise in fire events. This thesis also provides a synthesis with the results from another core (BM1) taken from the same catchment area, as well as results of a preliminary modern surface pollen rain study. The Maltese archipelago provides important insight into vegetation, human impacts and climatic changes in an island context during the Holocene.

The aim of this paper is to provide a comprehensive overview of information about the destination of Malta in terms of tourism. The first part deals with a general description of the country: geography, population structure, political structure, etc. Subsequently, it focuses on tourism: the conditions for its development in the breakdown of stimulation, positioning and implementation, current status and performance of tourism in Malta, governance and funding from state funds and also from funds of the European Union. I examine mutual relations in the field of tourism between Malta and the Czech Republic: Czech travel agencies organizing tours to Malta and vice versa Maltese tour operators who have in their offer tours to the Czech Republic. All obtained information is finally used within the compilation of the SWOT analysis and assessment of assumptions and challenges for further tourism development in Malta.

Prejjem is a style of guitar music that is practiced in the Maltese islands and its diaspora as part of the għana folksinging tradition. Although għana has been studied by a number of ethnomusicologists, anthropologists, sociologists and linguists, its guitar aspect has been almost entirely overlooked by academia. Emerging in Malta over a century ago, prejjem is analogous to the guitar component of flamenco or fado. It, too, is a complex improvised guitar tradition that serves to accompany and complement a vocal tradition and which simultaneously exists as a separate instrumental ensemble practice. Guitarists maintain a close-knit association with the għana community, but they also engage in a set of activities and behaviours with one another that are unique to their position within it. In this thesis, I examine both the social and musical attributes of prejjem and its communities of guitarists, employing a range of methodologies and theories drawn from a number of disciplines to reveal the totality of the practice as it exists in Malta and its diaspora (specifically Australia). Drawing extensively upon ethnographic fieldwork research that I have undertaken in Malta and Australia, I explore the material culture of prejjem, its musical forms, its history, its performance environments, the sociability of its participants and the means by which performers develop musical ability. These topics are bound together as a holistic investigation into how knowledge about prejjem exists in the għana community, how social factors shape the forms of this knowledge and, most importantly, how this knowledge is transmitted and transformed as it passes between members of this community.

La recherche qui fait l'objet de cette thèse a pour but de combler une lacune sur la connaissance des choix patrimoniaux en époque moderne d’un grand acteur territorial, l’Ordre souverain militaire hospitalier de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem, de Rhodes et de Malte. L’historiographie relative au cheminement de cet Ordre en époque médiévale est considérable et des historiens de grande envergure se sont occupés d’en reconstruire les caractéristiques et les mécanismes administratifs dès son commencement, de Jérusalem à Rhodes. Au contraire, l’étude de l’histoire des chevaliers à l’époque moderne souffre de lacunes: d’une part à cause du fait que de nombreux documents se sont perdus avant l’arrivée de l’Ordre à Malte en 1530, d’autre part, parce qu’il y a de considérables difficultés à repérer les sources parsemées dans les Archives d’État de toute l'Europe. À cette époque historique, quasiment chaque État se précautionnait d’ordres laïcs chevaleresques ou religieux-militaires, mais ceux qui maintinrent une adhérence au modèle original sont en prévalence ceux d’origine médiévale. Certains d’entre eux ont survécu jusqu’à nos jours, en renonçant au versant militaire et en trouvant une nouvelle substance dans l’action charitable : l’Ordre des Chevaliers de Malte est l'un des rares Ordres, sinon le seul, qui a su se reconstruire entièrement. Par apport aux autres ordres religieux-militaires, l’Ordre de Malte se caractérise autant pour sa solide structure hiérarchique administrative, qui se maintient inaltérée pendant des siècles, que pour sa nature patrimoniale et territoriale, qui lui consent d’accroître incessamment sa domination à niveau international, de Jérusalem à Rhodes et Malte, jusqu’à atteindre toute l’Europe de cette époque. Appréhender la hiérarchie administrative de l’Ordre est très important pour reconstruire les retombées directes sur les biens à niveau territorial, notamment à travers le système des commanderies. La consolidation de ce dernier, à partir de l’époque moderne, est pour les chevaliers de Malte un aspect fondamental à fin d’obtenir les ressources économiques nécessaires pour mener à terme la construction de «la ville de l’Ordre», La Valette, à partir de 1565. Les relations établies entre les Grands Maîtres, les papes et les princes italiens et étrangers à la fin du XVIe siècle trouvent une démonstration directe même sous le plan de l’architecture : les échanges épistolaires entre l’Empereur Charles Quint et l’Ordre religieux-militaire suite à la donation de Malte en 1530, et celui entre le Grand Maître Jean de La Valette et Cosme Ier de Toscane concourent à l’idéation d’une ville qui réfléchisse, même sous l’angle architectural, la puissance chrétienne dans la Méditerranée, tels qu’était le cas pour l’Ordre de Malte. À la fin du XVIe siècle, il y a un foisonnement d’idées autour du thème de la ville idéale: il suffit de penser à Vitry-le-François (1545), Carlentini (1551) e Palmanova (1593). Les plus grands ingénieurs militaires de l’époque furent appelés dans les plus importants États italiens et étrangers afin de réaliser les ambitions des papes, ducs, princes et empereurs, en facilitant en Europe la migration de style du langage architectural de la Renaissance tardive ainsi que du Maniérisme. Les voyages d’une ville à l’autre de ces célèbres ingénieurs militaires comportent une retombée directe autant sur les choix du langage architectural, que pour ce qui concerne l’échange constant de main-d’œuvre locale, comme c’est le cas pour la capitale de l’ordre à La Valette. De plus, il y a un rapport symbiotique entre les ingénieurs choisis par l’ordre qui portent de nouveaux modèles architecturaux et urbanistiques et la main-d’œuvre maltaise, formée dans la tradition, qui transmettent le style de la Renaissance tardive même aux plus petites agglomérations. / This dissertation aims to fill the knowledge gap about the property choices – during the Modern Age – of a great territorial mover, the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta. The historiography about the events of this Order during the Middle Ages is considerable and very prominent historians have worked to reconstruct its features and administrative machinery from its dawning, from Jerusalem to Rhodes. On the contrary, the research of Knights’ history during the Modern Age is full of lacunae: partly because a lot of documents are lost before the Order arrival in Malta on 1530 and partly because finding the sources – lost in the State Archives of all Europe – is more difficult. During this historical period almost each State has secular orders of knighthood or military-religious orders, but the ones who kept their own adherence to the original model have principally a medieval origin. Some of them survive up to the present day, renouncing the military aspect and finding new life in the charitable spirit: among them, the Order of Malta is one of the few, maybe the only one, that was been able to be completely reconverted. Compared to the other military-religious orders, the Order of Malta is characteristic of both the solid hierarchical administrative structure, all but intact during the centuries, and its property and territorial nature allowing to widen continuously its international rule, from Jerusalem to Rhodes and Malta, and the then known Europe. It is very important to understand the order administrative hierarchy to reconstruct the direct repercussions on the international goods through the system basically of recommendation, which consolidation is – from the Modern Age – an essential aspect for the Knights of Malta to get the economical resources needed to achieve the construction of the so-called “City of the Order”, Valletta, from 1565. The relations existing between the Grand Masters, the popes and the Italian princes to the end of Cinquecento find a direct confirmation in the architectural feature too: the epistolary correspondence between the Emperor Charles V and the military-religious order following the deed of donation of the Maltese Island in 1530, and the one between the Grand Master Jean de Valette and Cosimo I de’ Medici concur to the invention of a city mirroring, also from an architectural point of view, the Christian power in the Mediterranean Sea, as the Order of Malta was. At the end of Cinquecento the ideas about ideal cities topic proliferate: only think about Vitry-le François (1545), Carlentini and Palmanova (1593). The greatest military engineers of the period are called into the more important Italian and foreign States to achieve the ambitions of popes, dukes, princes and emperors, simplifying the style migration of the late Renaissance and Mannerism architectural language in all Europe. The journeys of these famous military engineers from a city to another involve a direct repercussion on the architectural language choices, both in the measure of a constant exchange with the local workers, and as it happens in Valletta, the capital of the order. Moreover, there is a symbiotic relationship between the engineers the order chose, bringing new urban architectural models, and the Maltese workers, grown up in their tradition, handing on the late Renaissance style also to the most minute settlements.

The diploma thesis deals with development and properties of historic mortars, evolves and optimizes recipe of historicizing universal mortar with mixture binder, which have been evolves in previous phase. Binder system is based on lime hydrate and metakaolin and is modified with fast-pacing gypsum. Thesis follow up technological properties of mixtures of historicizing mortars and modifies them for current construction industry. It also follows effect of modification to phase composition of binder system and eventually rise of AFt phases.

This thesis is focused on the study of the properties of mortars and pastes with active pozzolanic materials. It deals with monitoring cementitious composites which describes both the effect of compensation pozzolanic cement mortar admixtures active based on amorphous silica and the modifying polymeric additive. The main criteria for the assessment of these modified mortars and pastes are particularly adhesive and achieved strength compared with the reference mortar. The detailed work also examined the microstructure past through images from REM, records RTG, DTA and high pressure mercury porosimetry.