International Journal of Arts & Sciences

Promoting research across the disciplines + study abroad programs

     
Click the above buttons for the other conferences.
GOZO, MALTA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
February 15-18, 2010 (Carnival)


Oline submissions


 
The International Journal of Arts & Sciences (IJAS) in collaboration with the University of Malta's Gozo Campus is once again hosting a refereed conference for professors and students in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Nestled sixty miles under Sicily, the Maltese Islands are a unique mix of Sicilian and British cultures while the underlying native language, Maltese, is a Semitic language.

Beaches are everywhere. Thousands-year old temples overlook the fishing boats trawling the crystal clear blue waters.

These islands of beauty and peace are the European Union's gems in the Mediterranean, a rejuvenating magnet for lovely country walks, full of pleasant cultural surprises.

During February, they provide one of the warmest spots. The sun loves the islands. However, during the same month, the weather may vacillate within a couple hours, creating summer and winter sensations in one day.

The name "Malta" is somewhat confusing because sometimes it denotes the largest island and sometimes it refers to the three islands - Malta, Gozo and Comino - as one nation state. Our conference with be hosted in pristine Gozo, the second largest island, about half an hour by boat from the largest island, Malta.

The main university on the islands is the University of Malta. Our conference will be hosted by the University's Gozo complex which was transformed into a conference center in the last few years.

Besides offering you the opportunity of sharing your research with an international audience, the conference will facilitate your participation, free-of-charge, in (i) a one-day program around Gozo, and (ii) a one-day program around Malta, discovering both islands' major touristic and cultural areas by bus and some walking.

Faculty who opt for any or both of these day programs will be assigned a presentation slot on a different day to assure a conflict-free schedule.
 
 

Carnival is celebrated in style on the islands in a perfect mix of cultural jambalaya that serves Malta well in the crossroads of the Mediterranean.
 
 
We invite abstracts, papers, and proposals in any of the following four tracks: 
  • Social Sciences and Humanities,
  • Business and Economics,
  • Teaching and Education, and
  • Science and Technology.

The best paper in each of these tracks will be recognized through an engraved plaque. The reviewers will select the winning papers.

The accepted submissions will be clustered around their common topics and areas of interest. As is typical of multidisciplinary conferences, the final program - released about three weeks before the conference - will mirror the research agendas of the delegates rather than a pre-conceived list of arbitrary topics.

It is up to each delegate how much to submit or publish. Some authors may publish only an abstract in the proceedings. Others may prefer to publish a full-length manuscript in the journal.

Delegates may also attend a conference without submitting or publishing any research.

Authors may deliver their work during the conference either as (i) a regular presentation, (ii) a poster session, (iii) a panel, or (iv) a workshop.
 
 
 
Plenary Speaker

Universities, the Internet and Open Learning: An Innovative Approach to Teaching and Learning

Dr John Biggam
Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland
Author of: Succeeding With Your Master's Dissertation: A Step-By-Step Handbook, Open University Press.
 
 
 
 
 
Complimentary Early Bird Special (14 Feb 2010. Walk starts at 1:00 pm - Victoria Bus Terminus)
On Sunday afternoon, February 14, the day before the conference starts, IJAS will host a guided walk through the narrow streets of Victoria, and the surrounding countryside. The walk will be available free of charge. It will be open to anyone and everyone and no booking is required. The only prerequisite for this moderately-paced walk will be a good pair of walking shoes.

The 2.5-mile walk will originate at 1:00 pm, in the Victoria Bus Terminus. We will walk to St George's Square in Victoria, with immediate access to the narrow streets that snake through the town. The streets were purposely built this way to help the town defend itself from the Moors who would invade, pillage and carry the locals as slaves to North Africa. The winding streets made it difficult for the invaders to visualize what awaited them ahead on the rooftops, in the windows, and on the ground. 
Countryside view of a Gozitan village
The group will then proceed to the open countryside for the rustic views that adorn the island. The destination of the walk will be Xlendi Bay, Gozo's most cosy bay during the winter months. At Xlendi, the group members will have free time for walks around the bay, tea, etc.

Group members  then take the 3:24 pm or 4:24 pm bus to Victoria where another Carnival evening of merriment would be in full action.
 
Complimentary Day Program Around Gozo (Tuesday, 16 February 2010) 
The Gozitans are addicted to "pastizzi"
The day program around Gozo starts with complimentary cappuccinos and pastizzi (filodough stuffed with white cheeselets or mashed peas and served hot) in a no-name bakery nicknamed by the locals as "Tal-Patri" at St. George's Square in Victoria. The power of branding hasn't yet come to the island and word-of-mouth is what guides the locals to the best pastizzi in Gozo, at "Tal-Patri."

We shall walk through the town's narrow streets radiating outwards from its suq ("market"). In Independence Square, we shall watch an audiovisual show about the history of the island. A brief tour of the Citadel follows, rising majestically above the town, with comprehensive views of the island. The Citadel was built by the Knights of St John.

A private bus will then pick us up and take us to watch the island's other picturesque spots including:

Marsalforn, Gozo's most popular bay during summer;

Ramla, a wide, pristine beach carpeted with red sand;
Dwejra's rocky cliffs under the village of San Lawrenz, which we will also tour by a very short boat ride (if the weather permits); and

The Ggantija Temples, older than Stonehenge.

The islands are hilly and as a result the scenery keeps changing even over small distances. This keeps a bus tour refreshing with one surprise after another. There is always something different to see round every corner. Everything tends to be on a miniscule scale in comparison to the vast open space that one is accustomed to in the United States. The compactness of the island makes it possible to get off the bus and tour the various spots of interest on foot as opposed to witnessing it all through the bus windows.
   
Complimentary Day Program Around Malta (Wednesday, 17 February 2010)
We will cross over by boat to the sister island, Malta, for this complimentary day program by private bus.

The main highlights of this tour will be the two main historical cities of Malta:

Mdina is the silent city of narrow streets, where one must allow time for a visit to at least one of its adjacent catacombs; and

Valletta is the current capital, a UNESCO designated city built as a major fortification under Grandmaster LaVallette of the Knights of St John. Places to visit in Valletta include the Barrakka for a view of one of the deepest harbors in the world and the Knights' St John Church whose carved walls and engraved floor slabs are a tribute to the European nobility that sponsored the Order.

Attendees will have free time to enjoy Valletta since there is so much to see and everything is within close walking distance.

Early in the afternoon we will visit a traditional glassmaking factory where master craftsmen dazzle with their centuries old artisanship. 




Fishing in Valletta (Photo by Gord McKenna)
 
Photos and Videos

Gozo in the eyes of the UK's Travel Channel may be seen by clicking here. For an article (complete with video and slide shows) in The New York Times about the Maltese Islands, click here.

Through YouTube, one may also catch a glimpse of the typical dancing on the streets of Victoria, Gozo, during Carnival. Carnival will coincide with our conference week, momentarily waking up the otherwise sleepy island from its hibernation.
 
 
Why The Bus Tours Matter
The two bus tours seek to practically cover an entire country in two days.

To understand the importance of these bus tours as part of the IJAS experience in fostering study abroad programs and joint reserch, please click here.
  
 
 
 

Submit Your Research
To submit your abstract for presentation at this conference, click here.

The most important dates to remember are as follows: 
    • The registration deadline is January 15, 2010.
    • The conference will be held during February 15 - 18, 2010.
    • For publication purposes, all final-formatted versions of abstracts or full papers should be submitted up to one week after the conference. However, for a properly formatted manuscript to be considered for a track award, it must be emailed to us at least five weeks before the conference.
Within a few days of receiving your online abstract submission, we will notify you of the reviewers' acceptance or rejection, for the conference.

If we inform you that it is an acceptance and you would like to publish your research, follow the model format here and email your formatted document to us.

Abstracts and summarized articles will be published in the proceedings entitled Conference of the International Journal of Arts and Sciences, in CD-ROM format (ISSN 1943-6114).

Full length manuscripts may be published in the International Journal of Arts and Sciences, also in CD-ROM format (ISSN 1944-6934). The review process for the journal is slower (since it involves an extra stage of reviewing) and more demanding in its standards. Although both the proceedings and the journal are refereed, research that meets the refereed standards for the conference may not meet the refereed standards for the journal. Also, a conference delegate may either publish in the proceedings or the journal, not both.

The journal used to be distributed by IJAS in hard copy format. It is now in CD-ROM format since this makes it easier to disseminate articles (click for examples). Each registered author will receive a complimentary copy of the CD-ROM. 

Registered authors who prefer a hard copy of the proceedings or journal may download the entire CD-ROM on their own computer and publish and order a hard copy of it from Lulu.com for their own personal use.

Our publications are indexed in both American and European databases.

There is no page limit on articles. We welcome both short and lengthy submissions. We don't impose a financial penalty on lengthy manuscripts.

Each registered author, irrespective of whether he or she submits a formatted abstract or paper, will receive a Certificate of Participation.

Powerpoint Presentations
At the conference, the presentation room will be equipped with a laptop, a digital projector and a projector screen. The laptop will be set up for Powerpoint presentations. Linux and Mac users are asked to save their presentations in a compatible format. In the evolving world of Microsoft, save down to the 97-2003 format in order to ward off any problems. Make sure to bring with you about 15 hard copies for the attendees.

Questions about your submission and presentation should be emailed to: conference@internationaljournal.org.
     
Carnival in Gozo
 
 
 
 
Do you require a visa to enter Malta?
Malta is an EU member. To find out if you require a visa for Malta, click here. In several countries, it's the Italian and Austrian embassies that are entrusted with issuing visas for Malta. To find out where to apply for a visa, click here. For more information about visa applications, fees, and required supporting documents, click here. Please note that it may take a number of weeks to secure a Maltese visa.
 
 
Lodging
 
SORRY, THE CONVENT
IS NOW FULLY BOOKED!
Since this will be carnival week, the demand for lodging on the island will be heavier than usual. Please do not postpone your lodging reservations until the very last minute.

The Maltese government's Ministry for Gozo recommends several hotels on its website. The website provides a list of hotels, guesthouses, farmhouses and apartments. Be careful not to select the Hotel Comino on the list since it isn't located on the island of Gozo but on the island of Comino.

GTAHotels.com and Booking.com are search engines that include Gozitan hotels. Enter "Gozo,Malta" as the destination but be careful since the resulting list is a mixture of hotels in both the island of Gozo and the island of Malta.

For the bus schedule between Gozo's various villages and the Victoria bus terminal at the heart of the island, click here. Cabs in Gozo are reasonably priced (as long as you agree on the price with the cab driver beforehand) and will fill the gap in the bus schedule.
For those who would like to lodge in a historical setting, IJAS has once again reserved a small block of rooms and dorm beds (three per room) at the Augustinian Convent in Victoria. The Convent (see the three photos below) dates back to 1666, the year of the great fire of London. It was built out of huge stones to withstand incursions by the North African corsairs that in those days roamed the Mediterranean and came ashore to capture the islanders as slaves for their galleys. The building houses a small group of Augustinian monks who were first documented in Gozo in the third quarter of the fourteenth century. The location of the monastery in Victoria is within walking distance of the bus terminal, the transport hub for Gozo. It's about a ten-minute walk to the carnival parade; at the same time it's away from all the hustle and bustle, guaranteeing a quite and peaceful stay for its guests. The booking form (including rates) for lodging at the Convent is available here.

Gozo has two official languages, Maltese and English. Practically everyone speaks both languages. This makes it easy to navigate around and ask for directions.
 
Welcome back to 1666
 
 
 
 
How to get to Gozo and the Conference Center
Fly to Malta's Luqa Airport (MLA). Inside the arrivals section of the airport, at the official taxi office, ask and pay for a cab for the Gozo boat. You will be assigned a cab driver who will walk with you from the cab office to his cab outside. The cab journey to Cirkewwa takes less than one hour. At Cirkewwa, the boat officers will take your heavy luggage and carry it safely for you for the short 25-minute journey. Once you get off the boat in Gozo, they will hand you back the luggage. At this point take a cab to your lodging or take public bus #25 to the Victoria bus terminus. From the Victoria bus terminus you may then take a cab or another bus to your hotel (if it isn't in Victoria).

There is also a bus service between Luqa Airport and Cirkewwa. It is cheaper than using a cab. Click here for this special schedule. During Carnival several boats will crossing between the two main islands round the clock, without any timetable constraints; otherwise, for the usual boat schedule, click here.

If you plan to rent a car, rent it in Gozo. Otherwise you may have to wait in line to board the boat for about four hours since the boat holds a limited amount of cars and cars will be lining up for the Gozo Carnival.

You really don't need a private car in Malta or Gozo. The public bus system is very efficient even if to an outsider it may seem somewhat disorganized. For the bus schedule in Gozo, click here.

The hub of the public bus system in Gozo is the Victoria Bus Terminus (just as on the island of Malta the hub is the Valletta Bus Terminus). One will find both public buses and private cabs at the terminus. Taxi rides from Victoria, at the center of the island, to anywhere else on the island cost about 5 to 10 Euros. No matter where you stay in Gozo, the most economical way to travel is to take a public bus to the Victoria Bus Terminus for about half a Euro.

To go to the University of Malta Conference Center in Xewkija, Gozo, you may take one of the buses that run from the Victoria Bus Terminus to the Gozo Boat (instead of to Xewkija), which will drop you a stone's throw away from the conference building. Alert the driver that you want to get off the bus at Xewkija in the vicinity of the University Center. This will be a short 8-minute trip.

An alternative is to get a cab from the Terminus that will take you to the University Center. A big sign next to where the cabs line up shows how much a cab would cost from this point to anywhere in Gozo. Nonetheless, try to agree on a specific price before you get into the cab.

If you're waiting for a bus, keep in mind that it will likely arrive a few minutes late. Such is the culture. If you have been scheduled to present a paper at a specific time, don't panic if you're late. Gozo has been advertised over the years as the island where time stands still.

Also, some Gozitan retailers don't seem to have mastered well the skill of giving back the correct change.  

While in Malta, if you would like to visit Sicily for a couple of days, or any other nearby country, Air Malta's Flyaway Tours will likely be your best bet for economy and service.
 
 
 
AIR MALTA
Official IJAS Carrier



Air Malta offers IJAS delegates a 10 percent discount on published pricing for travel in Air Malta services. This discount (valid for travel between 6 and 28 February 2010) is applicable only through the booking engine http://booking.airmalta.com/KM/login.html . This is not applicable to Code share flights operated by other carriers. To book through this site, you will need to input the following identifying information:

USER NAME: IJAS
PASSWORD: VaGQCMsh

Air Malta also operates  http://www.airmalta.com through which one can find other suitable connections including other airlines, mainly code share partners. Through this second site the 10 percent discount does not apply.

Air Malta's fleet is composed of A320s and A319 aircraft with an average age of 2.7 years. It is thus one of the youngest fleets throughout the world.
 
 
 
 


Conference Registration
All registration fees are in American dollars.
For all alternative ways of paying the registration fee, click here. 


  
Gozo Registration Fee:
Name/s of Attendee/s:
ID Number: XEW _ _ _ (if any):

$340 - Malta (Feb. 2010) Conference Registration: 
Valid for all 4 days.
Valid for one person for all conference events, on and off conference premises. Includes all tours.


  

$225 - Malta (Feb. 2010) Conference Registration:
Valid for 1 day only.
Valid for one person, for one day only, on conference premises. Does not include any tours but includes the early bird special Sunday tour.
 


$540 - Malta (Feb. 2010) Conference Registration for 2 persons:
Valid for all 4 days 
Joint registration for yourself and a fellow co-author or guest, valid for all conference events, on and off conference premises. Includes all tours.


$155 - How to Organize a Study Abroad Program
A one-credit hour graduate level course with the University of San Diego.
For information and separate registration click here.



  

 
 
 
 

Maltese Food

The Maltese cuisine is a standard bearer of the Mediterranean diet and reflects the regional influences that left their mark on the islands over the centuries. 

During your visit, we recommend the following for your enjoyment:
Maltese small dishes with crackers, bean paste, olives and goat cheese. (Photo: Tpe1002)
  • Aljotta (a.k.a. "Maltese Fish Soup"). Made from fresh fish, herbs, garlic and tomatoes.
  • Mqarrun il-Forn (a.k.a. "Maltese Baked Macaroni"). This is a mixture of macaroni, eggs, bolognese sauce, peas, and bacon.
  • Ross il-Forn (a.k.a. "Baked Rice"). Eggs, bolognese sauce, peas and bacon are added to a dish of rice, spiced with curry, and baked.
  • Rabbit Stew. It probably qualifies as the most traditional Maltese dish, typically served over spaghetti.
  • Qargha Baghli Mimli (a.k.a. "Maltese Stuffed Marrows"). Enriched with beef and fresh herbs and, preferably, baked.
  • Pastizzi and Qassatat. Filodough filled with fresh Maltese fresh cheeselets or peas. The dough in qassatat is less oily.
  • Hobz tal-Malti (a.k.a. "Traditional Maltese Bread"). Shaped like a cannon ball succumbing under its own weight. Its hard crust encases a soft delicious interior.
  • Kinnie. Malta's traditional soft drink. Tastes like a Campari turned into a soda without the alcohol.

The above are our favorites from a longer list that you may read about by clicking here.


 
 

Photos from the February 2009 Conference in Gozo


 

For an article about an American professor's participation in this conference, click here.


 
Valletta: Enjoying the view of one of the deepest natural harbors in the world.
 
 
Prof. Heavner serenades the attendees.
Dr. Balvin enjoys Mdina
Ismael recites poetry on the tour bus.
 
 
Some of the IJAS participants in front of the Maltese Prime Minister's office
 
 

Best Paper Awards. From left to right, Joseph Azzopardi (University of Malta) who presented the plaques to Tracy Heavner (University of South Alabama), Bechir Kenzari (United Arab Emirates University), Erman Kaplama (University of London), Qahtan Al-Yarubi (University of Huddersfield), and Jong-Seo Choi and Young-Min Kwak (Pusan National University). 


  
 
 
 

In Case of Questions About...


your submission or the conference:


events sponsorship:


tourism on the islands:


International Journal of Arts & Sciences
Attn: Conferences Department
99 Sleepy Hollow Dr.
Cumberland, RI 02864-3236
USA
E-mail: conference@internationaljournal.org


Dr. Joseph Azzopardi
Head of Department
Faculty of Economics, Management & Accountancy
University of Malta
Msida
Malta


For useful contacts in Gozo, click here.

For an events calendar, click here.

For a map of the islands, click here.