Initial findings on UAE residents’ internet usage published

Internet usage by UAE residents is the dominant feature on the current issue of The Global Media Journal - Arabian Edition, which has just been published by the Department of Mass Communication of American University of Sharjah (AUS).

The journal highlights findings of the initial phase of an ongoing study of Emirati use of social media. An essay by Badreya Nasser Abdullah Janaibi of the United Arab Emirates University explores the findings, so far, that led to the study's conclusion that UAE youth are like their counterparts in other countries in their choice and frequency of using YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

Mahboub Hashem and Susan Smith, professors from AUS who released initial findings of their ongoing research said, if at the end of their research there is no evidence to dispute their current conclusion, then the global generation of young people is "addicted" to information technology. The ongoing research, reviewed in the journal by Janaibi, is also centered on youthful usage of social media and Internet-based products.

In this issue, Rasha El-Ibriary from the American University in Cairo examines collective memory of painful images in her study of iconic, photographic images, and concentrates on the pictures taken of two young people: the "Napalm Girl" from Vietnam, and the killing of Mohammed Dorrah, an 11-year-old Palestinian boy who was caught in the crossfire during the 2000 intifada. The images had an impact not only on public consciousness of these two conflicts, but also might have resulted in policy changes by the governments in involved, she concludes.

Another essay by Janaibi explores the cultural impact of how women are depicted in advertising. Janaibi argues that, the way women are presented in advertising images in the region plays a key role in defining and characterizing Arabian women.

In an another essay, Ralph D. Berenger of AUS challenges the commonly accepted scholarly view that media from Western countries is resulting in "cultural imperialism," noting that international Arab media outlets act as a counterbalance and are increasingly influencing the West as much as the West is influencing Arab societies.

In the book review section of the journal, Hania A.M. Nashef of AUS reviews the latest edition of The World News Prism: Challenges of Digital Communication by James Scotton and William Hachten.

The biannual online journal, which is available at www.gmj-me.com, publishes academic articles and book reviews in English and Arabic, with translations of abstracts for each.

It is affiliated with a number of global media journals published in different regions of the world and networked through the Global Media Center at Purdue University's Calumet campus in the United States.