https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/698 2026-09-20T05:22:52Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149184 Title: The fertility rate in social context Abstract: In this opinion piece, I look beyond Malta’s record-low fertility rate and ask what lies behind it. Having children is deeply personal, but our choices are also shaped by housing, employment, relationships, values, aspirations, work-life balance and wider social circumstances. I also discuss individualisation, migration, social rights and the role of family policy. 2026-09-06T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148904 Title: Summer sounds at 6am Abstract: In this article I leave the headphones off during an early-morning journey through Sliema and simply listen. Birds, the sea, cars and motorbikes, construction vehicles, different languages on the bus, smartphones and the often-invisible work of bus drivers all form part of an everyday soundscape. I use these observations to reflect sociologically on the interaction between nature, society and technology—and on a deceptively simple question: who gets to decide what counts as sound, and what counts as noise? 2026-08-30T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148829 Title: Social disablers in public space Abstract: In this article, I look at how society itself can create barriers to participation through inaccessible pavements, transport, public spaces, poor infrastructure and everyday behaviour. I argue that social inclusion is not only about welfare policy: it is also about whether people can comfortably and safely participate in everyday life. I propose systematic, professional on-the-ground monitoring to identify the social disablers—and enablers—in our communities. 2026-08-16T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148828 Title: For socially sustainable maritime reforms Abstract: In this article I discuss why Europe’s maritime transition needs to be not only greener, but also socially sustainable. For Malta, decarbonisation raises important questions about our small-island realities, connectivity, workers and communities, competition from non-EU ports, and how the costs and opportunities of environmental reform are distributed. I argue that blue justice should be part of the equation: who benefits, who pays, and whose voices and experiences are taken into account? 2026-08-23T00:00:00Z