https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/296 Thu, 27 Aug 2026 06:33:39 GMT 2026-08-27T06:33:39Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148440 Title: On the swing : temporariness and intercultural communication competence among migrants from Türkiye in Malta Authors: Erben, Şeyma Esin Abstract: This study examines the intercultural communication competencies (ICC) of migrants from Türkiye living in Malta. The research employs mixed-methods research design, combining a questionnaire completed by 105 participants with six months of participant observation. The study engages in a critical theoretical dialogue with approaches that treat ICC as an individual skill repertoire and instead discusses ICC as a relational practice shaped by structural and contextual conditions. The findings indicate that while language proficiency is significantly related to ICC, its explanatory power remains limited. The length of stay in Malta does not appear to be directly related to ICC. Field observations suggest that this may be linked to a widespread experience of transience, with many participants positioning Malta somewhere between permanent settlement and a stopover. In this context, migrants frequently socialize within their own cultural groups and other international migrant networks; Malta's character as a society shaped by intensive migration may further sustain this pattern. A negative relationship is observed between social network homogeneity and ICC, while a positive relationship emerges between ICC and openness to the local community. These findings suggest that treating ICC as a relational practice shaped by social network structures, settlement intentions, and the migration context may offer greater explanatory value than approaches focused on individual skills alone. This study contributes to existing discussions in the ICC literature by highlighting the structural and relational dimensions of ICC from the Maltese context.; Bu çalışma, Malta'da yaşayan Türkiye doğumlu göçmenlerin kültürlerarası iletişim yetkinliklerini (KİY) incelemektedir. Araştırma, 105 katılımcıyla gerçekleştirilen bir anket ile altı aylık katılımcı gözlemini birleştiren karma yöntemli bir araştırma tasarımı kullanmaktadır. Çalışma, KİY'yi bireysel bir beceri repertuarı olarak ele alan yaklaşımlarla eleştirel bir kuramsal diyalog kurmakta ve KİY'yi yapısal ve bağlamsal koşullar tarafından şekillenen ilişkisel bir pratik olarak tartışmaktadır. Bulgular, dil yeterliğinin KİY ile anlamlı biçimde ilişkili olduğunu ancak açıklayıcı gücünün sınırlı kaldığına işaret etmektedir. Malta'da kalış süresinin KİY ile doğrudan ilişkili olmadığı görülmektedir. Alan gözlemleri, bu durumun yaygın bir geçicilik deneyimiyle ilişkili olabileceğini ve birçok katılımcının Malta'yı kalıcı yerleşim ile geçici bir durak arasında konumlandırdığını düşündürmektedir. Bu bağlamda göçmenler sıklıkla kendi kültürel grupları ve diğer uluslararası göçmen ağları içinde sosyalleşmekte; Malta'nın yoğun uluslararası göç alan bir toplumsal yapıya sahip olması da bu örüntüyü pekiştirebilmektedir. Sosyal ağ homojenliği ile KİY arasında negatif bir ilişki gözlenirken KİY ile yerel topluma açıklık arasında pozitif bir ilişki ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu bulgular, KİY'nin yalnızca bireysel beceriler üzerinden açıklanmasının sınırlı kalabileceğine ve sosyal ağ yapıları, yerleşme niyetleri ve göç bağlamı tarafından şekillenen ilişkisel bir pratik olarak ele alınmasının daha açıklayıcı olabileceğine işaret etmektedir. Bu çalışma, Malta bağlamından hareketle KİY'nin yapısal ve ilişkisel boyutlarını görünür kılarak KİY literatüründeki mevcut tartışmalara katkıda bulunmaktadır. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148440 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148427 Title: Lexically mediated compensation for coarticulation still as elusive as a white christmash Authors: McQueen, James M.; Jesse, Alexandra; Mitterer, Holger Abstract: Luthra, Peraza-Santiago, Beeson, Saltzman, Crinnion, and Magnuson (2021) present data from the lexically mediated compensation for coarticulation paradigm that they claim provides conclusive evidence in favor of top-down processing in speech perception. We argue here that this evidence does not support that conclusion. The findings are open to alternative explanations, and we give data in support of one of them (that there is an acoustic confound in the materials). Lexically mediated compensation for coarticulation thus remains elusive, while prior data from the paradigm instead challenge the idea that there is top-down processing in online speech recognition. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148427 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148118 Title: Greenwashing : awareness and perception of responsibility among graphic designers Abstract: This thesis explores the awareness and sense of responsibility of creative communication agency leaders regarding greenwashing. Greenwashing is a misleading communication practice that abuses consumers’ growing concern for sustainability, leading to growing mistrust of consumers around truly sustainable products and slowing down the sustainability movement. While the legal responsibility lies with the client commissioning the misleading visuals, graphic designers and other creatives function as the mediator between the client and the consumer, thereby carrying out the practical work. This thesis uses a qualitative approach to explore the awareness of four Maltese creative communication agencies’ leaders around greenwashing and to explore their potential responsibility as communicators. The study draws its importance from the 2024 introduced ‘Green Transition Directive’ (EU 2024/825) that turns a moral consideration for graphic designers into a legal wrong. Firstly, the interviews revealed that “greenwashing” can easily be mixed up with other issues within the wider domain of sustainability in designers’ minds. Another finding is that a potential lack of sense of responsibility among creatives may be explained by the belief that individual action does not have a sufficient impact to tackle those problems. Since lawmakers and companies are perceived as more powerful, some interviewees attribute the main responsibility for introducing positive environmental change to these parties. All agencies interviewed have principles for the selection of their clients and declined clients for ethical reasons. Being able to be selective and act ethically also depends on the establishment of an agency. At the beginning of one’s career, however, there can be the temptation to overlook design ethics in an effort to establish professional acumen and market exposure. Description: B.Comms. (Hons)(Melit.) Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148118 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147894 Title: Theoretical perspectives on generative and agentic AI adoption in service environments Abstract: The editors of this special issue particularly welcome submissions that explicitly draw upon, refine or combine well-established theories that have been influential in service and technology research, including (but not limited to) the following ones (as discussed in Camilleri & Troise, 2023): Anthropomorphism theory (e.g., human-likeness, emotional attachment and/or moral attributions to AI). Affordance theory (perceived action possibilities enabled or constrained by GenAI and/or Agentic AI interfaces). Assemblage theory (AI as part of dynamic socio-technical service systems). Behavioral reasoning theory (reasons for and against AI use in service encounters). Cognitive fit theory (task–AI alignment and decision quality). Commitment–consistency theory (habit formation and sustained AI use). Communication accommodation theory (linguistic and stylistic adaptation in human–AI interaction). Contingency theory (contextual conditions that can have an impact on AI effectiveness). Diffusion of innovations theory (organizational and market-level adoption trajectories). Expectancy and expectation-violation theories (surprise, delight, discomfort or distrust in AI services). Flow theory in computer-mediated environments (engagement, creativity and immersion). Functionalist theory of emotion (affective responses to AI-enabled services). Human–computer interaction / human–machine communication theories. Information systems success model (service quality, satisfaction and net benefits of AI). Politeness theory (face-management and social norms in AI communication). Self-determination theory (autonomy, competence and relatedness in AI use). Situational theories of problem-solving and publics. Social cognitive theory (learning AI use through observation and social influence). Social presence and social response theories. Structural role theory (AI as role-performing service actors). Technology acceptance model (TAM) and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Theory of conversation. Theory of planned behavior (TPB) and its related theory of reasoned action (TRA). Trust–commitment theory. Uses and gratifications theory. Submissions that integrate multiple perspectives, compare existing conceptual frameworks and develop new theoretical models specific to GenAI and Agentic AI in services are especially encouraged for this special issue. Illustrative research questions may include (but are not limited to): How and to what extent do customers and employees anthropomorphize Generative versus Agentic AI in service encounters? Which GenAI and Agentic AI affordances drive value co-creation, trust, reliance or resistance in services? How do emotional cues, social presence and politeness strategies influence engagement with AI-driven service agents? Under what contingencies does AI adoption enhance or undermine service quality, relationships and well-being? How do expectations and expectation violation aspects influence satisfaction and continued use of AI-enabled services? How do organizations implement Agentic AI within broader service systems? What ethical, relational, psychological and accountability tensions emerge from sustained human–AI interactions, particularly when AI acts autonomously? The special issue welcomes conceptual, qualitative, quantitative, experimental or mixed-methods approaches, provided that the contributing authors demonstrate strong theoretical grounding and relevance to the underlying objectives of this journal. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147894 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z