"Following the Arab Spring, the use of social media has become instrumental in organising activist movements and spreading political dissent in the Middle East. New online behaviours have transformed traditional communication channels, enabling young people of all backgrounds to feel politically emp
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owered. But now that spring has turned to winter, what are the long-term implications of internet activism in the region? Social Media in the Arab World provides a unique insight into the role of online communications as a force for change in the Gulf States. Featuring examples as diverse as neo-patrimonial politics in Saudi Arabia and the ways an online presence affects the status of women in Kuwait, the chapters examine shifts in the political, social and religious identities of citizens as a result of increased digital activism. With contributions from a variety of inter-disciplinary experts, this wide-ranging study examines the consequences of changing power dynamics brought about by popular social media." (Publisher description)
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"Internet Studies has been one of the most dynamic and rapidly expanding interdisciplinary fields to emerge over the last decade. The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies has been designed to provide a resource in this area, bringing together scholarly perspectives on how the Internet has been studie
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d and how the research agenda should be pursued in the future. The book aims to focus on Internet Studies as an emerging field, each chapter seeking to provide a synthesis and critical assessment of the research in a particular area. Topics covered include social perspectives on the technology of the Internet; the Internet's role in everyday life and work; implications for communication, power, and influence; and the governance and regulation of the Internet. The book aims not only to help to strengthen research on the key questions, but also to shape research, policy, and practice across many disciplines that are finding the Internet and its political, economic, cultural, and other societal implications increasingly central to their own key areas of inquiry." (Publisher description)
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"News Media in the Arab World: A Study of 10 Arab and Muslim Countries is based on ongoing research at the Department of Media and Communication, University of Leicester, and has investigated the rapidly changing nature of the news media in Arab countries. They have investigated the role of newspape
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rs and television in news provision and the impact of new media developments, most especially the emergence of the internet as a platform for news distribution and of international satellite television channels such as Al Jazeera. Examining the constantly developing nature of news, the collection contains separately authored chapters produced by the researchers responsible for each original analysis, covering Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates." (Publisher description)
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"The purpose of the study was to investigate patterns of major local and non-local news suppliers operating across a range of media – broadcast and print – and relationships between Libyan undergraduate students’ consumption of different news media platforms. A survey was administered to a sam
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ple of 400 students at Al-Fateh University using a stratified random sampling approach with sampling strata set by demographic groups. The new TV news services played an important role in attracting young Libyans with information they desire. The spread of new news media sources (TV, radio and print) in Libya has created a new type of news product that transcends national boundaries. The findings indicated that there were distinct news consumption-related population sub-groups defined in part by news platform (TV versus radio versus print) and in part by type of news supplier (local versus international TV news operations). These findings indicated the emergence of new niche markets in news in Libya." (Abstract)
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"This study investigates the relationship between Libyan university students' consumption of Libyan and international Arab satellite TV news services and their perceptions of gratifications received from these news services. A self-completion questionnaire survey was administered to a sample of 400
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university students that asked about the news consumption habits, reasons for watching specific TV news services, and personal details. The findings revealed that time spent with local TV news was negatively related to reported use of international TV channels. Students said that they got less news than they desired from local TV, especially the long-established Al-Jamahiriya TV channel. The data indicated that the new satellite broadcast international news service, Al Jazeera, played an important role in serving these young Libyans with the types of information they need. The findings are discussed in relation to the growing impact of international satellite broadcast news services and the need for local TV news services to find ways of making themselves distinctive in a way that provides an alternative but still relevant and valued news source." (Abstract)
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