A raison d’etre for multicultural education in Malta

This paper aims at reflecting on the transformation of educational environments and practices into ones that are just and democratic in increasingly diverse communities. We need to critically analyze the discourses around ethnically diverse children within schools in Malta. Such analysis can raise awareness about their educational experiences and how these are influenced by the ideas, attitudes and actions of the members of mainstream schools. This can in turn lead to a greater commitment towards the democratization of educational practices and the development of educational environments that are responsive to cultural differences. The presence of minority cultures in our schools can thus become a stimulus for developing open-minded citizens that, instead of feeling threatened by the increasing diversity of people in our country, will feel that they have an opportunity for growing into more humane, engaged and active global citizens.peer-reviewe

A case study of a parents' self-advocacy group in Malta : the concepts of 'inclusion, exclusion and disabling barriers' are analysed in the relationship that parents have with professionals

This paper attempts to develop a conceptual framework to understand how parents of a particular support and self-advocacy group in Malta, the National Parents' Society for Persons with Disability, experience difference and difficulty. The objective of this case study with the Parents' Society is to: (1) explore the historical and social context; (2) examine the concepts of inclusion and exclusion; (3) analyse the relationship between parents and professionals, from the former's point of view; (4) define whether the disabling barriers of parents are an issue of voice impediment. Ultimately, the purpose of this paper is to reflect on the experience of parents in this group. The tools used to validate this paper are literature review, my own experiences and involvement with the Parents' Society, documentation review and a mail questionnaire.non peer-reviewe

The relationship between youth and crime in Malta

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between youth and crime in Malta. The relationship between youth and crime is one of the most contentious relationships, both because it is enduring and because certain authors claim it is impervious to psychological and social explanations. Using a semi-structured interview format, this research engaged with five youth workers working with NGOs, state agencies and community organizations, and sought to understand how the social construction of youth crime occurs in Malta. The results were for the most part in line with international findings with education, broader social forces, and family playing key roles as protective or risk factors. Lacunae in praxis from various entities in the youth work field were identified and highlighted how such a fragmentary and piecemeal approach persists and may even contribute to the legitimization of negative systemic messages given to certain categories of youths.peer-reviewe

Emergent realities for social wellbeing : environmental, spatial and social pathways

Multiple sectors of modern society have become dependent on accurate and regular weather forecasts. These allow them to make strategic and informed decisions in order to preserve and maintain their assets. Weather forecasts have also become an integral part of various systems and services, such as Decision Support Systems and Early Warning Systems, all of which play a crucial role in modern societies. Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are used to accurately compute synoptic weather conditions. One of the most commonly used NWP atmospheric simulators is the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model (Lu, Zhong, Charney, Bian, & Liu, 2012; Evan, Alexander, & Dudhia, 2012), (Evan, Alexander, & Dudhia, 2012); Giannaros, Melas, Daglis, Keramitsoglou, & Kourtidis, 2013)). This model is a collaborative design effort between research and operational meteorological communities. It offers a state-of-theart system which is continuously maintained to represent this critical body of knowledge within the scientific community. The WRF model is freeware with a wide variety of applications and which can be transferred and downloaded onto a variety of platforms. It is often used for both research and operational applications (Skamarock, et al., 2008).peer-reviewe

A Population-Based Study of Eating Disorders in Young Persons in Malta: Prevalence in Males Nearly Equals that in Females

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of eating disorders and attitudes to food and eating for youths between 10 and 16 years of age, in order to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders in young people through empirical research in a previously unexamined area. Methods: The tool selected for this population-based study was the ChEAT, i.e. the Children’s Eating Attitudes Test. A representative cohort of 400, randomly sampled, young people aged 10-16, were asked all 26 questions of the ChEAT via telephone, while their parents/guardians were asked socio-demographic questions, Results: 5.5% (2.25% M, 3.25% F) of the cohort scored at or above the cut-off of 20, indicating the presence of an eating disorder. No significant associations were found between disordered eating and socio-demographic data. Conclusions: Findings indicate that males are catching up to females in eating disorder diagnoses. A male slightly higher mean ChEAT ≥20 could denote that disordered eating could be more acute for young men who are between 10 to 16 years old than it is for young women aged 10 to 16. The lack of significant association between the disordered eating and socio-demographic data could be a factor of the ages under examination in this study, and possibly these associations could arise at later ages

Understanding the Valletta community

Valletta is the Capital City of Malta. All citizens of this Country are affianced with Valletta. The beauty of this city is second to none. As a Faculty, in collaboration with a number of stakeholders, we attempted to locate some important issues that have potentially impacted the liveability of this community. As per introduction of the report; ‘This paper discusses findings of a mixed-methods case study on community development with special attention to liveability issues of island state communities that would have held the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) title. The case study context is Valletta – capital city of former colony and EU island state Malta. Valletta held the ECoC title during 2018 (European Commission (EC), n.d.). The empirical study was informed by data contributions from Valletta residents; as well as by government and cultural elites who influenced, to varying degrees, how regeneration and development occurred in Valletta between 2014 and 2019. This timeframe covers the period before, during and exactly after 2018 - when Valletta held the ECoC title (V18).’ Notwithstanding we are such a small Island the complexities that one finds from one town or village to another and even within the same locality is incredible and makes it exciting to research. This study we hope has managed to localise a number of issues that if one reads well into the empirical data can inform our decision makers to take the much-needed actions. Kudos to all the team that was involved in this project.peer-reviewe

The Odyssey of the young female asylum seeker : engaging critically on gendered forced migration

The paper is based on findings of research conducted in Malta towards the end of 2007. In depth interviews were conducted with thirteen young women aged between 20 and 29 hailing from sub-Saharan Africa, who arrived in Malta on a boat that departed from Libya. Each of the young women applied for asylum upon arrival. Our concern in this paper will be what Borg and Mayo (2006) describe as the ‘dominant hegemonic discourse that education and social well-being... are the responsibility not of the state but of the individual.’ In a nutshell, this paper will focus on the social and structural obstacles young female asylum seekers face in continuing their education.peer-reviewe

Attitudes towards the stress created by ever increasing traffic in the Maltese Islands

The relatively large and rapid increase in population in the Maltese Islands over the past decade has placed significant strain on the infrastructure of the country. These factors, together with the fact that issues with the public transport system have never been completely sorted, has led to an over-reliance on private cars as the main means of transport in most cases. Increased transport has been shown to increase stress and aggressive behaviour in drivers, amongst other possible negative consequences, leading to a negative effect on personal wellbeing. In order to assess the perceptions of the Maltese about the stress created by traffic, a cross-sectional study was conducted by means of telephone interviews with a stratified sample of 400 Maltese participants. A purposely designed questionnaire with twelve items scored on a seven-point Likert scale was used for this purpose. While more than four fifths of participants stated that they owned at least one car, and most agreed that traffic increases stress, both in the short and long term, less than one third of participants strongly agreed to preferring to use public transport rather than their private vehicle, even if public transport were more reliable. Females showed more anxiety than males with reference to the traffic situation and 18–29-year-olds showed the lowest level of agreement overall with the statements in the survey – a surprising result given this age group’s awareness of the negative effects of climate change on wellbeing.peer-reviewe