Study Question:
Discuss the effects of the new communication technology on the levels of information held by the public in the Arab region.
COMA307 identifies and analyzes contemporary trends and debates arising from the information revolution and emerging world communication processes and systems. It intends to position the Emirati and Arab media within a global context, exploring topics such as the cultural and social significance of new media technologies, and the creation and impact of virtual communities and cyber activism.
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13 comments:
The new communication technology is increasing the world information flows. The Internet is fastest mean of exchanging information in the world. The number of Arab Internet users is great reaching around 14 million users. The Internet has created a world of freedom speech, for example in many Arab regions journalists cannot critics the government and its activities in the public, and so they use the Internet to post their articles and criticisms knowing that no one will sue them.
In dealing with this new medium, in many Arab countries governments have applied censorship over a lot of websites, which they consider it as trouble sources on the Internet. They have controlled the access of Arab users over big number of websites, banning them from getting information. Moreover, in counties like Saudi and Tunisia a lot of monopoly over Internet service has occurred due to the competitions between the service providers.
The situation in Bahrain is different, the freedom of surfing the Internet and getting information is limited to access only websites that avoid mentioning the situation in Bahrain itself. Citizens of Bahrain state that this disabling of websites is a violation of freedom of expressions and it’s an end of democracy.
Hind Al Hammadi
The broadband in the Arab region didn’t develop as fast as the other type of the communication did. However some of the countries were leading in providing Internet access to its customer and other were blocking in providing the services. Recently the region start recognizing the benefit of the broadband services
The GSM technology in the region was implemented in the very beginning of the GSM technology, in fact UAE were one of the first countries around the world adopted the GSM in 1993. Currently UAE are still one of the leading countries in 3G and Satellite communications.
The communications revolution has significant impact on the region, which can be summarized in the following points
1- Substantial increase in the TV channels as well as Satellite TV channels
2- Substantial increase in the telecommunications subscribers
3- Resistance of providing broadband service, and once it has been introduced it has been via proxy and especial monitory controls in some part of the region
4- The technology created new jobs, and created professional developers in the region
5- Everything is now online i.e. newspapers, TV broadcasts, radio broadcasts and est.
Elham
Some countries in the Arab region are in high levels of technology and some others are low. It depends on the receivers by how they get the information from different media.
Some countries can’t get the information because of many reasons some of them can’t enter the Internet because of the payment of subscription and some of them cannot enter because of the heavy censorship on the websites. These kinds of the countries with low level of information and technology get affected, because the Internet is taking over all other media. For example people no longer buy newspaper as the can find them online and they are no longer watch TV as all shows are uploaded in the Internet.
On the other hand, people who can enter the Internet easily without any security codes or censorship can get the variety of information. Some of the Arab region countries can also get information directly from different TV channels and some can’t reach all channels. According to an article posted in the Internet, it shows that low level of information country can get from the telephones in Somalia and the high level of information can get from the telephones is Qatar.
Due to the war and other factors Iraq has the lowest Internet users in the Arab region, while the UAE has the highest Internet users. That indicates how these countries differ in the way of receiving information and updates about other parts of the world.
Mahra Al Rais
The technological revolution in the nineties, which introduced new technologies, including the satellites and telecommunication services, has had its huge impact on the Arab region in a number of ways. It had affected its political, economical, social, and cultural actions, and had also created the demand for new platforms in its process of 'transmitting information' that lacked old, traditional ways and mediums of communication, in order to meet the standards of globalization and compete with other countries in terms of digitalization on a regional and an international level.
New technology has influenced not only the habits of the public, but also their thoughts, ideas, and priorities, and set their levels of information.
Many of these countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, and Qatar, have been upgrading and improving their technologies. In a few years, they could be eligible to compete with other countries of the world in terms of having high information and knowledge levels, which increase as the advance of technology increases. However, there still remains the number of countries that are still struggling to develop their technologies and adapt to the latest ones. This is mainly because of reasons associated with poverty and illiteracy, which have stood as obstacles to achieving development and prosperity in all public and private sectors of these countries.
A case of what is called the Digital Divide arises in this situation, when there's a gap of knowledge between countries that have developed technological systems and countries that are developing their technological systems.
For example, even though there are more than 1700 newspapers distributed all over Morocco on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, readership levels increase slightly because of the high level of illiteracy in the country. Several factors contribute to illiteracy, including the lack of availability of new technology that could be utilized for teaching/learning purposes, thus increasing the number of readers in the country.
Generally, communication technologies allow an individual to carry on a variety of activities, such as like online shopping, photo sharing and blogging, chatting with friends and family, sharing opinions and expressing thoughts and opinions through forums and message boards, watching movies, listening to music, reading news, advertising, making films, socializing, etc.
They are used for getting messages across, too. Many organizations use communication technologies to achieve social change, such as organizations that stand for different kinds of causes. They establish online websites to raise people's awareness and campaign their causes. This also introduces these causes and familiarizes people with ways that they could contribute to this cause. It is wise for them to use this medium of communication; the Internet is the fastest medium of communication and the easiest to use.
Another effect, which serves those with physical disabilities, such as the deaf, is the SingTel Interpreter. It is a program that works on Windows that translates the spoken and written English into sign language, which appears on the computer screen. As stated in its official website, the SingTel Interpreter, the program will give the hearing and the deaf a chance to interact easier with each other, especially in the workplace where communication and understanding is crucial for the smooth flow of work. Inventions like these ensure that there might be more job opportunities for the deaf in the coming years.
New communication technology has, indeed, changed our world in many positive ways. The demand for its constant development is important to our nation's success in all sectors of the country.
-Aysha Bin Zayed
H00058096
The new communication technology has obvious effects on the levels of information held by the public in the Arab region. In the past, there were few methods to get the latest news and to know what are happening around the world. As a result, there were few participants that are interested to get these information and news because of the lack of the methods provided, but recently the world became a small village for the people because of vast development in the communication technology. Today, the number of participants in the Arab region has reached impressive levels, both on the satellite TV and Internet sides. The number of TV channels viewers has increased rapidly with the modern and well-produced content of information that it offers for its audience, also the number of satellite TV channels has increased and people has a variety of choices to view what they are interested in because of the diversity of the channels. Moreover, people nowadays can get what they need to know by one click only using the internet; they can surf in the internet and visit different websites to view the latest news easily from their home desk. This huge development in communication technology made it easier for people to get the information they need easily and saved their time.
Mashael Hashim
The new communication technology has obvious effects on the levels of information held by the public in the Arab region. In the past, there were few methods to get the latest news and to know what are happening around the world. As a result, there were few participants that are interested to get these information and news because of the lack of the methods provided, but recently the world became a small village for the people because of vast development in the communication technology. Today, the number of participants in the Arab region has reached impressive levels, both on the satellite TV and Internet sides. The number of TV channels viewers has increased rapidly with the modern and well-produced content of information that it offers for its audience, also the number of satellite TV channels has increased and people has a variety of choices to view what they are interested in because of the diversity of the channels. Moreover, people nowadays can get what they need to know by one click only using the internet; they can surf in the internet and visit different websites to view the latest news easily from their home desk. This huge development in communication technology made it easier for people to get the information they need easily and saved their time.
Mashael Hashim
Discuss the effects of the new communication technology on the levels of information held by the public in the Arab region.
New Communication Technology gives the opportunity to the Arab region to widen their connections throughout the world and learn from information from different prospectives. It also plays a major role in educating and raising awareness amongst its society as the more they communicate the more they get the opportunity to learn from other regions.
New Communication Technology may raise a gap between the poor and and the rich in the Arab region nevertheless the whole world as it could also raise an educational gap between for example the internet users and the non internet users.
In conclusion, in my opinion the new communication technology is a two edged weapon where it could benefit the arab society greatly but it could also raise a gap which could cause the society to fall apart.
In recent years, the information and communication technologies combined with the rapid growth of global networks increased such as the Internet, television, radio and even newspapers have changed businesses, markets, ways of learning and knowledge-sharing. This generated global information flows, empowered citizens and communities in new ways that redefine governance, and created significant wealth and economic growth in the Arab region.
The information and communication technology is one of the highest growing sectors because people living in the Arab region depend on the new ways of communication to get their information about every subject in the world. This technology on the other hand, has a negative side as well, because many individuals faced jail time, conflicts with the government and even death.
In addition, some regions in the Arab world are not yet fully developed because of the lack of technology and resources in their region.
Amna Altayer
We all can see how the new communication technology now plays a big role in spreading the news across the globe in seconds unlike in the past it was hard to get live feed from certain places in the world due to limitations, in the past they did not have the technology available right now such as; internet, video phones, and better satellites, also the limitations can include the lack of transportation to isolated areas, also lack of funds and knowledge. The Internet explosion helped a lot in taking the communication to the next level, the level of fast spreading news and it helped also in globalization. Now people in the United Arab Emirates can get news from the other side of the world, or even watch online shows. Unlike the past they used to wait for news papers daily or sometimes weekly and monthly. However after the new technology, you can check the news from your phone while you are on the go or even get text messages of breaking news.
As examples of live feed is the massacre that happened in Gaza, everyone was able to watch, read and listen to what was happening.
Aisha Saif
Mariam K.
200322721
Although new communication technology is stating us in the top of the countries in regards with modern life, I find it very attacking to teenagers in a very enormous way, especially the Internet, after the spread of it. In our region, the Middle East, almost 98% of teenagers have free access to Internet. In the UAE, I would say that almost 100% have access to the Internet. I believe that teenagers need to have a limit to the new communication technology; otherwise it will turn to be a very incorrect usage of it. Teenagers at their age need to be practicing different activities for the sake of their learning process, instead of having a full time usage of Internet.
Our parents and grand parents maybe have used the Internet at their time, but mainly their focus was on their body activities as an alternative to just sit on a desk and use the Internet. They were just using it for a purpose or specific job. On the other hand, we can see that almost all of the teenagers here use the Internet as a basic tool towards communications and free time activity. As I see it, reading books, practicing sports, visiting families and friends, enjoying other body actions is the most powerful way to educate people and make them benefit from the time they use the Internet in. at the end, I think that this will affect teenager’s mentalities and will make it less active.
As every one knows that communications is the fastest business in the world, which it’s the way of transforming information easier around the world. Besides, the development of the country is the main reason of including the new communication technology that helps in one hand and effects badly on the other hand. The elements that changed by adding new communication technologies in the Arab world is the culture, economy, education and politics, that all happened, because of the different information that wasn’t included before in the Arab region formed from different backgrounds. More to the point, I see that the level of information that Arabs are getting is high and people around know what other Arab countries are doing and keen to do. It’s important for Arab regions to come together to form a strong relation to have strong information about other countries and to avoid the embracement and argument of not knowing what’s going on in and around the countries.
Noora Al Hawi
Discuss the effects of the new communication technology on the levels of information held by the public in the Arab region
The information revolution that had happened in the past decade helped people to know what was going in the other countries in a few seconds. This marvelous development that has occurred in the means of communication and information technology also helped people to communicate with friends and family without the need for travel and spend large amounts of money to meet them. But now they are able with one click to send text messages, make video conversations, and send electronic data to any place in the world.
As I see it, this development in information technology has a negative impact on society especially on the Arab World. For example, in the United Arab Emirates any member of society, whether male or female, young or child can use the Internet at any place and time. So, these people can access information, images, and news freely from other countries, which sometimes have a negative impact on people’s thinking in the country.
This has made the local telecommunications companies to protect the community through controls on the networks that opposes the beliefs of the Islamic world and against the culture and customs of the UAE. So, this impacts on the level of information that reaching us in the country and enjoys kind of information.
On the other hand, if I compare the UAE with another State like Sudan, I find that the level of information in the UAE very high more than Sudan. The reason of this gab is because in UAE people can use the Internet very easily and according to jazarah.com they rated UAE as ahead in terms of Internet penetration in the Arab world with 49.8% of the population. Moreover, in each house in the UAE you can find computer and in some houses each member can own personal laptop. While in Sudan people can’t offer computer and Internet as much as UAE and that make them no fully aware of what is happening around the world.
Over all, I believe that the revolution that had happened in the Information Technology helped countries to be closer to each other by knowing what was going in the countries and interact with them at the same time. But this move also created gab between the rich and the poor countries because the rich countries can provide its population with the best technologies while the poor countries can’t and that will lead to the gap in education, economy, and information, which could lead to crises and wars between these counters.
Afra Matar
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