Media as Social Matrix in the United Arab Emirates

Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada et al. (2008) address the media’s social contribution in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the social, political, and economic transformation country. The free flow of information has changed people’s values and understanding of themselves and the world. The authors recognize a need to synchronize the local culture with the global culture and point out that these trends are currently out of hand. The media facilitated the availability of information in society. They opened up the avenue for the western culture to infiltrate the region at the expense of the local culture in entertainment.

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United Arab Emirates Rapid Economic Growth

Rapid economic growth has accompanied these social transformations, which has led to the rise of the cities and individualism and consumerism, which weakened the social fabric, the core of the Arab culture. The United Arab Emirates has risen as a global shopping destination, contrary to which the authors think that the counties retail sector should focus on the local market. The authors, therefore, conclude that the media has made the United Arab Emirates parallel to American society, something that is irreversible. This paper analyses Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada et al. (2008) in an attempt to determine its academic value.
Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada et al. (2008) makes a credible point that the media has had a role in the social transformation in the United Arab Emirates. This is because it acts as an alternative to family, which has weakened the Islamic social code. However, the authors failed to mention alternative sources of social transformation and address why they think why the media has the most significant impact on the social fabric in the United Arab Emirates.
The authors pointed out that the people in the United Arab Emirates react to media by adapting to Western ways of living that often-involved individualism and consumerism, which I concur with. Advertising, which is channeled through the media, fuels consumerism, without which the past generations in the country lived happily.
Furthermore, I agree that the youth prefer American entertainment, something that compromises their commitment to the social Arab lifestyle. Therefore, it is clear that the authors made a good case for the impact that the media has on the social fabric of the United Arab Emirates. The failure to consider other factors and prove that media is a matrix for social transformation in the UAE weakens the authors’ argument.

Methodology: Media as Social Matrix in the United Arab Emirates

The study’s methodology was quite unsound as the authors overlooked the use of the stands format for the research studies and, consequently, making the objectivity of the study questionable. The paper’s overall goal is to examine the change in magnitude to the socialization in the United Arab Emirates and the role the media has played in this. However, the specific objective to be met in the study were not mentioned, contrary to the conventional methodology for social science-related research studies.
It is clear that the author used primary qualitative data for the study, but the particular data collection method used has not been mentioned. The method used in the data analysis, thus leading to the study’s conclusion, was also not mentioned. A sound research study would involve the specific research objectives and what the study aims at achieving, a mention of the method of the data analysis used, the findings obtained as a result of a careful analysis of the data, and the conclusions arrived at.
Additionally, the author needs to show objectivity by showing neutrality to enhance the reliability of the findings made. With the lack of a proper methodology for the study, the paper’s coherence and readability were severely compromised.
Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada et al. (2008) successfully made the case that media has played a significant role in the social transformation of the UAE. The authors presented the paper’s objective to examine socialization by media in the UAE and the impact this has had on cultural penetration. An extensive case is made to prove this point in the various aspects, overemphasizing the impact of media. The authors had preconceived notions against the media and terms it to compromise the Arab culture in the country.

Readability and Credibility

This compromised the paper’s readability and credibility, as no alternative view is pitched and evaluated to prove the legitimacy of the authors’ claim. This study’s core strength was relaying the general impact of media on culture in the United Arab Emirates and the accessibility of the language. On the other hand, the author failed to consider that the people in the country were voluntarily consuming media as a source of information and cultural inspiration. The proper application of the scientific method in this study would have enhanced objectivity and, consequently, the legitimacy of the authors’ claims.

In conclusion, the applicability of Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada et al.’s (2008) relevance in the academic setting is severely compromised by the authors’ failure to incorporate the scientific method and shows objectivity. This would have been enhanced by basing the study on clear and reliable empirical evidence and analyzing this data and the author’s underlying theories to arrive at the conclusions. It would, therefore, be unfit to extract literature from Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada et al.’s (2008) to inform future studies on the media and its impact on culture.

Media as Social Matrix in the United Arab Emirates References

Mourtada-Sabbah, Nada et al. (2008) Media as Social Matrix in the United Arab Emirates. In: Alanoud Alsharekh and Robert Springborg (eds.), Popular Culture and Political Identity in the Arab Gulf States. London: Saqi.