https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/7913 2026-04-08T16:35:34Z 2026-04-08T16:35:34Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/8164 2016-09-28T08:34:40Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Places of peace and memory : achieving interfaith dialogue in Malta Abstract: The attainment of meaningful dialogue between diverse faith communities is increasingly necessary in securing peace and stability, both nationally and internationally. This comes in response to processes of globalisation that continue to bring groups from different cultural and faith traditions into proximity. These processes have created opportunities for mutual enrichment, and concurrent risks of conflict escalation. The goals of interfaith dialogue fall within the larger work of cultural diplomacy, which has traditionally been concerned with cultural relations between nations and regional groups. This dissertation shall show that the aims of cultural diplomacy must expand to include programmes of ‘internal’ cultural diplomacy. These must address the presence of non-dominant cultural communities within a nation, accompanied by a reassessment of national identity. By focusing on Malta, particularly the capital city of Valletta, the dissertation explores ways in which Maltese culture has rendered certain spaces culturally inhospitable to such communities. Examining this phenomenon, the dissertation analyses Malta’s historical experience of modernity and its impact on Maltese Catholicism. This is followed by an exploration of the construal of national memory and its emplacement within the capital city, with repercussions for the remembrance and emplacement of the non-Christian in Malta’s cultural spaces. The results of this study uncover the need for Valletta, and by extension Malta, to engage dominant Catholic narratives more fully within contemporary discourses of intercultural and interfaith dialogue. Such an engagement must be accompanied by a secular commitment to the work of cultural diplomacy. Ultimately, these goals may only be achieved by a transformation of national policy strategies, acknowledging a responsibility to foster interfaith dialogue and prioritise the inclusion of diverse faith communities in Malta. Description: Dual Masters; M.SC.CONFLICT ANALYSIS&RES.; M.A.CONFLICT RES.&MED.STUD.

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/8163 2017-08-10T08:39:18Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Exploring issues of relative deprivation in the Zabaleen community in Cairo Abstract: This thesis explores the effects of waste management privatization, a neoliberal policy, on a marginalized community in Cairo known as the Zabaleen. This study first introduced the economic systems such as neoliberalism and privatization while also focusing on marginalized communities. Furthermore the study looks at Egyptian identity as well as the economic policies of three of Egypt’s former leaders, Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak. The study specifically focuses on the effects on the Zabaleen community and subsequently the waste management privatization that occurred in Cairo in 2002-2004. By examining published sources, such as media documents, brochures from international organizations, and documentary, codes and coding categories were established. Those coding categories through thematic analysis yielded four themes, which articulated the effects of privatization on the ix Zabaleen through a thematic narrative. The results of this study added to previous literature on the effects of privatization and neoliberalism while also confirming the research on marginalized communities. Finally this study could offer guidance and understanding to those in positions of power in how to engage with those who are marginalized within a society. Description: Dual Masters; M.SC.CONFLICT ANALYSIS&RES.; M.A.CONFLICT RES.&MED.STUD.

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/8162 2017-08-10T10:01:15Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Exploring the impact of values education on youth's attitudes towards African migrants in Malta Abstract: This study utilized a cross-sectional survey distributed to Maltese youth and quantitative statistical analysis to answer this question. Increasing anti-immigration sentiments throughout Europe have become even more present in Malta following the arrival of thousands of asylum-seekers from the African continent. Negative attitudes towards such migrants have become a source of prejudice and discrimination and an obstacle to the successful integration of African and Maltese communities. Participants’ experience with Values Education is analyzed alongside their attitudes towards African migrants to demonstrate that Values Education is a significant driver of positive attitude formation. This study suggests that this educational approach, more so than a ‘higher education’ alone, is more strongly correlated to positive attitudes towards migrants. Most significantly, Values Education experiences within the classroom which emphasize the application of positive, pro-social values through concepts such as discrimination and racism are most strongly correlated to positive attitudes. It is suggested that cognitive processes of attitude formation are aided by the tendency for such concepts to move learners beyond an abstract conception of values through an emphasis on the logic and rationale behind the application of certain values over others. This may increase the likelihood that such values will be internalized. It is shown that Values Education may act to mitigate the impact of other negative attitude drivers and improve public attitudes towards migrants. As such, Values Education could serve as a potential driver of the positive attitudes necessary for the relations between these two communities to improve thereby increasing the opportunities for their successful integration. To achieve this, educational policy-makers, community leaders, and families in Malta should take note of these implications and work to harmonize and consistently emphasize Values Education activities throughout all spaces within society. Description: Dual Masters; M.SC.CONFLICT ANALYSIS&RES.; M.A.CONFLICT RES.&MED.STUD.

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/8133 2017-10-03T13:05:04Z 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Religious appropriation in European football : incorporation of Jewish identity and discourse by Ajax Amsterdam and Tottenham Hotspur Abstract: The thesis explores the discourse created by the supporters of two of Europe’s more popular football clubs in order to determine how and why they have socially constructed identities that involve Jewish songs, images and symbols. Ajax Amsterdam and Tottenham Hotspur of London, England are considered “Jewish” clubs based on their self-identification as “Super Jews” and “Yids" respectively. These identities are sometimes misinterpreted by outside groups which have led to anti-Semitic abuse over the years. By analyzing what the parties are saying about themselves, discourse analysis allowed for this research to understand the context and history that led to the creation of these identities and how they have been misinterpreted by opposing football supporters and other members of society. A comparison of how each club uses songs, symbols, and publications to maintain and create their discourse is followed by a synthesis of similarities and differences. Reviewing theories of appropriation and agency, this research concludes that the two supporters groups have legitimately constructed new forms of Jewishness that borrow songs and symbols from previous types of Jewishness by injecting new meaning into them. The world of sports offers unique challenges and specific opportunities for social scientific research. Understanding how identities are created, maintained, and interpreted by multiple parties inside a football grounds could provide useful insight into how identity-based abuse occurs all over the world. Description: Dual Masters; M.SC.CONFLICT ANALYSIS&RES.; M.A.CONFLICT RES.&MED.STUD.

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z