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.
Continue readingHibernating 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?
Continue readingVirtual Assistants: 21st Century’s Towers of Babel?
Virtual assistants, such as Alexa or Siri, are gaining popularity and becoming our new family members. But these technologies are often designed with English in mind. How can we teach our virtual assistants other languages, such as Maltese? THINK’s Christian Keszthelyi speaks with Prof. Patrizia Paggio, Prof. Ray Fabri, and Prof. Albert Gatt from the Institute of Linguistics and Language Technology (University of Malta) to find out more.
Continue readingImplementation of EU Law in Malta
Upon accession into the European Union (EU), Malta vowed to incorporate the entire body of European Union law (known as the acquis) into its legal system. It has been one of the fastest member states to do so, but has it been done properly? THINK magazine’s John Crossan interviews Dr Jelena Agranovska and Dr Ivan Sammut (Faculty of Laws, University of Malta).
Continue readingUncovering history
Commissioned over half a millennium ago, Antonello Gagini’s Madonna and Child has been silently standing tall in a Franciscan church in Rabat for the past five centuries. Little was known about the Renaissance sculpture, but a recent study is tracing the statue’s history. Caroline Curmi speaks to art historian Dr Charlene Vella and University of Malta student Jamie Farrugia about their findings.
Continue readingNothing 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.
Continue readingBellowing 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.
Continue readingMaking home ownership easier for everyone
Dardingli is the brainchild of Beatriz Rodriguez Sanz and Xabi Rivera, two people from very different professional and personal backgrounds. They struggled to find a home, a common problem in Malta, so they decided to solve the island’s real estate woes. Inna Korchilava from THINK magazine finds out more.
Continue readingDictating the Market
What is it about a story that can make us so invested? Antónia Ribeiro muses over marketing, emotions, and Nazis under the light of Dr Mario Cassar’s research in storytelling.
Continue readingA lifetime worth of stories
Like a painting, society is created out of different, colourful brush strokes of social, legal, economic, political, and religious aspects. The work of notary Bernardo Maria Callus depicts the changes and developments, traditions and values, and aspirations of the Order of St John’s as well as Maltese individuals’ needs. The acts of notary Callus are important for the study of continuity, change, and interaction in mid-eighteenth century Hospitaller Malta.
Continue reading