Society Archives – Page 9 of 36

What COVID-19 has taught us about education

While sitting in my living room and staring at a computer screen split into 4 squares (each with its own head), I talked with Dr Charmaine Bonello, Dr Tania Muscat and Dr Josephine Deguara from the Department of Early Childhood and Primary Education (DECPE), at the University of Malta (UM). I was curious about the changes in the education system during the pandemic. While the pandemic has allowed some of us to work from home, the education sector has faced certain challenges. I talked with the three researchers about how the pandemic has affected the education system, with a focus on five particular stakeholders in Early and Primary Education.

“Blockchain Island”

Malta’s steps towards becoming the ‘Blockchain Island’ have seen some criticism lately. Dr Joshua Ellul is the chairperson of Malta’s Digital Innovation Authority and co-ordinates UM’s Masters Degree in Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies, both new enterprises. Jonathan Firbank is in conversation with Dr Ellul about Malta’s efforts.

blockchain cryptocurrency joshua ellul malta Technology Assurance Sandbox

Peeling Away the Layers of Time

THINK takes a trip to explore research and archaeological work taking place at Borġ in-Nadur, overseen by Heritage Malta, which will see the Neolithic site freed from modern-day debris and accumulated material to show the original prehistoric structure in all its glory.

archaeology Architecture Borġ in-Nadur Davide Tanasi Department of Classics & Archaeology fragsus Heritage Malta James Moffett Josef Caruana Katya Stroud monuments Nicholas Vella University of Cambridge university of malta

An Ancient History of Bread (part 2): Bread for an Emperor

If our mutual friend Bread could pass a global decree I believe it would include the mandatory separation between dining and politics. It would absolutely prohibit political discussions when consuming bread. Even if politics is your favorite topic, from its cheap slogans and broken promises, it’s still not a good idea to discuss with your friends while enjoying a soft loaf. It brings back painful memories of a controversial time in Bread’s life–a time when it felt used, helpless, like a puppet in the hands of manipulative elites.

Ancient Rome bread breadmaking History

The Psychology Behind Conspiracy Theories

When times are hard, frustrated people question why. Conspiracy theories offer attractive answers, sometimes false and sometimes true. Andrew Firbank explores the psychology behind conspiracy theories: Why are they so enticing? What are the risks? And should they be challenged?

Conspiracy Conspiracy theory Coronavirus fake news psychology

Revisiting Cultural Traditions With Open Eyes

Nicholas Gambin analyses Maltese cultural traditions that have stopped, remained, rebirthed, or changed in some way in today’s society.

Il-Ġostra luzzu Maltese traditions michael spagnol Nicholas Gambin Qarċilla żeppoli

Commuters, Ahoy!

Travel time studies are important for transport geographers, especially on island archipelagos. Small islands like Gozo depend on outside links for their infrastructure. My (Marthese Cini) research study focused on Gozitan commuters working in Malta and the recent discussions on ‘connecting’ the islands. Specifically, I studied whether a ferry or a tunnel would be more suitable for their needs.

commuters Gozo marthese cini prof. maria attard transport

Hibernating Humans

As lockdowns spread worldwide and grounded planes crippled international tourism, humanity cut the environment some long-awaited slack. With the climate change debate heating up (proportionally to the planet’s temperatures), THINK investigates what would happen if humanity’s only chance to preserve our planet is a yearly 3-month lockdown?

Christian Keszthelyi climate change Environment Francois Zammit idea lockdown marie briguglio

Nothing to see here

Two years after Cisse’s murder, which was ostensibly motivated by racial hatred given that neither of the shooters knew anything about the victim except his skin colour, the report remains a secret.

asylum seekers humanity julian delia migration preservation racism

Bellowing from the Rooftops

It’s a topsy turvy ole world isn’t it? One moment we’re not allowing certain plays to be staged, the next there are journalists being locked up in a room in Castille, and before we know it, Donald Trump is banging on social media’s door asking to be let back in.

debate freedom of speech pia zammit