Search results

1 – 10 of over 3000

Abstract

Details

The Development of the Maltese Insurance Industry: A Comprehensive Study
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-978-2

Book part
Publication date: 25 May 2021

Anne Marie Thake

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to provide an overview of the extent of labor and skills shortages that exist in the information and communication technology (ICT…

Abstract

Purpose: The main objective of this study is to provide an overview of the extent of labor and skills shortages that exist in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector in Malta and gain insights into the dependency on foreign labor. Methodology: This study draws upon primary data generated from two research instruments, namely in-depth interviews and an online questionnaire. Various in-depth interviews were conducted with key institutional actors. In addition to the interviews, six locally based companies were requested to complete an online questionnaire. Secondary data from ICT surveys, official documents were consulted. Findings: Findings emerged from this study relate to each of the four seminal thematics, namely, demand and supply, rationale for employing foreign labor, wages, and challenges of foreign labor employment. Practical Implications: This study examined the current contribution of foreign labor in the ICT sector. Unsustainable growth in the ICT sector creates a demand for skilled labor which is currently not locally available. Significance: ICT is one of the most rapidly developing economic sectors in Malta. Labor shortages can slow down economic growth, if not addressed. The annual number of ICT graduates is insufficient. For this sector to continue to thrive and further consolidate itself within the Maltese economy, there will be a continued dependency on the importation of highly skilled foreign labor.

Abstract

Details

The Development of the Maltese Insurance Industry: A Comprehensive Study
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-978-2

Book part
Publication date: 2 July 2015

David Van Hooren

Malta is a small, densely populated, and dominantly Catholic island republic not too far off the North-African coast. Before 2002, Malta never had to deal with many irregular…

Abstract

Malta is a small, densely populated, and dominantly Catholic island republic not too far off the North-African coast. Before 2002, Malta never had to deal with many irregular immigrants. Nevertheless, negative stigmas toward “southerners” were pre-existent and seemed to have been around for centuries. This stigmatization was caused by a historical identification of the self of Maltese citizens as Christian Europeans. By 2002, irregular migration patterns changed and thousands of African irregular immigrants started arriving by boat every year. Keeping in mind the smallness of the island, this had a considerable impact on its ethnographic landscape. Pre-existing stigmas strongly persisted, additional stigmas were created, and many supposed inconveniences were fabricated by the Maltese citizenry. The title “outsiders as invaders” is quoted from an interview with a Maltese expert on irregular migration. This brings attention to the fact that stigmatized persons who are living in Malta are still regularly demonized and seen as “the others” by mainstream society. Even today barely any effort is made by Maltese society, institutions, or even its government to support integration and acceptance of non-European outsiders.

Details

Contributions from European Symbolic Interactionists: Conflict and Cooperation
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-856-4

Keywords

Abstract

Purpose

To explore people’s attitudes towards bus service quality and bus use.

Methodology/approach

The study is a natural experiment that uses primary data collected from questionnaires, which were conducted to Maltese residents. The information was collected two months before the bus service reform and one year afterwards.

Findings

Results cast doubt on whether current policy measures regarding bus service quality are adequate to contribute to a modal shift from car to bus use.

Practical implications

Provides insight on whether current policy measures are sufficient in order to obtain an increase in bus patronage.

Originality/value

The case study of the Malta bus service reform provides an opportunity to study people’s attitudes in a quasi-experimental situation. Additionally, the research sheds light on the possible impact that bus service reforms have on people’s attitudes.

Details

Sustainable Urban Transport
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-615-7

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 24 January 2022

Ramon Mizzi, Andre Farrugia and Simon Grima

Insurance in Malta has been very largely influenced by English practice and law. The influence of the English market insurance practice and law not only shaped the Maltese market…

Abstract

Insurance in Malta has been very largely influenced by English practice and law. The influence of the English market insurance practice and law not only shaped the Maltese market but practically that of all common law jurisdictions in former members of the British empire. Since the London insurance market continues to be a very dominant force globally until today, the connection has undoubtedly served Malta well.

The origins of UK insurance principles of utmost good faith and insurable interest under contract law, date back to times which were very different from today and the need to revise the laws has now been felt in the UK as well as in other jurisdictions which were influenced by its law and practice. In Malta, minimal legislative intervention and the Maltese courts were and continue to be mostly guided by English case law, some of which has now been superseded by the updated statute law which was recently introduced in the UK by virtue of the Consumer Insurance (Disclosure and Representations) Act (2012) and Insurance Act (2015).

We herein lay out a case study of the development of utmost good faith and insurable interest in insurance contracts within the Maltese legal context, based on empirical literature findings and semi-structured interviews together with several legal experts who are specialized in the field and experienced insurance professionals.

Details

Insurance and Risk Management for Disruptions in Social, Economic and Environmental Systems: Decision and Control Allocations within New Domains of Risk
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80117-140-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 25 September 2020

Mario Thomas Vassallo and Manwel Debono

This qualitative study seeks to explore the grounded realities of live-in care workers in Malta. The growing economic affluence in Malta, coupled by an ageing population and the…

Abstract

This qualitative study seeks to explore the grounded realities of live-in care workers in Malta. The growing economic affluence in Malta, coupled by an ageing population and the lowest fertility rate in the European Union, is resulting in a greater demand for live-in care givers, particularly from the Philippines. Reinforced through public policy wherein families who employ a qualified live-in carer are benefiting from government subsidy to ease burden on the state’s residential homes, Malta appears to be moving from a passive to a more active international recruitment of domestic migrant workers. This inquiry provides an evidence-based contribution to the appeal of the European Economic and Social Committee of the EU calling for more research about the rights of live-in care workers in Europe which has long remained almost invisible to EU and Member State policymakers. The majority of the findings reflect some of the concerns that have already been identified in international literature, like higher levels of precariousness, contractual agreements not being honoured, psychological obligations, fraudulent agents and the lack of separation between work and personal life. Other findings have endogenous characteristics that are closely linked to the island state of Malta, namely its safe environment, Catholic culture, bilingual coexistence of Maltese and English and the competitive nature of Filipino community groups that may discourage further social engagement. The chapter concludes with brief policy suggestions to trigger improvements in the wellbeing and dignity of migrant carers.

Details

Uncertainty and Challenges in Contemporary Economic Behaviour
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-095-2

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 26 November 2014

Michael Briguglio

This chapter analyses the politics of bird hunting in relation to the empowerment of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) in the European Union (EU), with specific…

Abstract

This chapter analyses the politics of bird hunting in relation to the empowerment of environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) in the European Union (EU), with specific reference to Malta’s first years of EU accession.

In particular, the analysis focuses on the activism of Maltese and International ENGOs – with special focus on Birdlife Malta and Birdlife International – on this issue, which is characterized by extensive EU legislation and by constant lobbying.

This chapter argues that ENGOs, both Maltese and European, were influential on State power in Malta, especially by resorting to the EU, and also being given prominence by the media. Yet the hunting lobby was influential too, and its influence on Malta’s main political parties is an overdetermining factor, which remained in place even after EU accession.

This chapter concludes that despite Malta’s EU accession, national political factors remain highly influential in the Maltese hunting issue, and that one can expect more antagonism in the years to come.

Details

Occupy the Earth: Global Environmental Movements
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78350-697-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 1986

Lillian Sciberras

A chronological outline of library and bibliographic development prefaces this case‐study. It is not exhaustive and is meant to be only indicative of the evolution of library and…

Abstract

A chronological outline of library and bibliographic development prefaces this case‐study. It is not exhaustive and is meant to be only indicative of the evolution of library and bibliographic services and does not in itself replace a detailed history of the subject area.

Details

Library Management, vol. 7 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 30 July 2020

Jean Claude Cachia, Fabrizio Ellul, Mark Harwood and Carmen Sammut

The purpose of this paper is to analyse why Malta continues to show the highest level of turnout for European Parliament (EP) elections in a country where voting is not…

1162

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse why Malta continues to show the highest level of turnout for European Parliament (EP) elections in a country where voting is not obligatory. By analysing the Maltese EP elections from 2004 to 2019, the paper seeks to understand why the Maltese engage with a second order election to the degree that they do.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, first assessing the context of the 2019 elections, the historical trends and then the factors that help explain why the Maltese continue to engage with EP elections.

Findings

The paper finds that the Maltese political system, highly polarised and dominated by two parties, primarily galvanises people to engage with elections, that it is more about party leadership than actual engagement with Europe and that second order elections in Malta are often run as first order elections.

Originality/value

This paper is the only systematic evaluation of the 2019 EP elections in Malta, discusses categorically that EP elections are rarely about Europe while also showing clearly that political parties can make second-order elections appear as first-order elections should the stakes be high enough.

Details

Review of Economics and Political Science, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2356-9980

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 3000