https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/51556 Thu, 15 Oct 2026 15:25:14 GMT 2026-10-15T15:25:14Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149534 Title: Differential representation and epistemic inequality : how generative AI systems frame overdevelopment and ecological harm in Malta Authors: Erben, Şeyma Esin Abstract: This study examines how generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) systems represent overdevelopment and associated ecological harm in Malta. The analysis draws on 96 out puts from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and DeepSeek, coded at the meaning-unit level using a comparative qualitative approach and a hybrid deductive–inductive framework. Representations varied across systems and prompt conditions. Consequence-oriented prompts foregrounded habitat loss, biodiversity decline, and ecosystem degradation, while causal prompts made speculative development pressures, regulatory weaknesses, and construction-driven economic growth more visible. These between-family differences are treated primarily as task-conditioned variation rather than, by themselves, as evidence of epistemic inequality. Actor visibility also varied within comparable prompt conditions. The Planning Authority and environmental NGOs appeared relatively frequently, whereas local councils, EU institutions, and citizens/residents showed more pronounced prompt-specific gaps within the expected-actor framework. The study therefore distinguishes differential representation from epistemic inequality: the former concerns variation in the actors, ex planations, and policy responses made visible, while the latter is used more narrowly for prompt-specific uneven visibility of expected actors beyond what follows from the prompt task. The findings position Gen AI systems as components of epistemic mediation rather than neutral channels of information. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149534 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z 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/123456789/147838 Title: Monitoring media pluralism in the European Union : results of the MPM2026. Country report : Malta Authors: Mallia, Megan; Vassallo, Louiselle; Mallia, Ġorġ Abstract: This report presents the results of the implementation of the Media Pluralism Monitor in Malta for the year 2025 (MPM2026). The MPM is a holistic tool aimed at assessing the risk to media pluralism in the EU member states and candidate countries. It considers legal, political, and economic variables relevant for analyzing the levels of media pluralism in a democratic society. The Media Pluralism Monitor has been implemented annually by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom since 2013/2014. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147838 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146021 Title: Negotiating generative artificial intelligence in animal rights activism : a qualitative study in Türkiye Authors: Erben, Şeyma Esin Abstract: This phenomenological study examines how animal rights activists in Türkiye understand and engage with generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI). The research is based on semi-structured interviews with seventeen activists and ten months of digital observation. Thematic analysis generated three themes: ethical and value- based compatibility, practical applications in activism, and effectiveness and accessibility. Activists often relied on Gen AI to sustain campaign communication during periods of intensified mobilisation, while continuing to question its ethical compatibility and uneven accessibility. The study conceptualises activists’ engagement with Gen AI as an ongoing negotiation shaped by ethical concerns and practical demands. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146021 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z