Computer Utilization in the UAE as Compared to the US - Essay Example

Computer Utilization in the United Arab Emirates as compared to the United s BY YOU YOUR SCHOOL INFO HERE HERE Computer Utilization in the United Arab Emirates as compared to the United States Introduction The United Arab Emirates is becoming a more developed country in terms of how computers play an active part of their busy professional and educational lifestyles. There are many cultural differences between the UAE and the United States in terms of what is considered to be socially acceptable. For example, in the United Arab Emirates, there is a collectivist background built on rich history and tradition that tends to have some rigid beliefs on gender roles and the method by which business is conducted is quite different than in the U.S. However, despite these social differences at the cultural level, the UAE is quickly becoming one of the most progressive users of computers in the world in areas of business, education, and general consumer society. Arabic Internet Usage In the United States, it is quite common to find people of varying demographics using the Internet for personal needs, varying from social networking sites, to online shopping, to even education by attending distance learning universities. There is no specific user profile for the Internet in the United States simply because it is quite common for people of all age and educational demographics to have a personal computer in their households. However, in the United Arab Emirates, the Internet user profile is typically a younger and professional male compared to the United States (Shen & Shakir, 2009). Where in the U.S. it is common to find a young male or female visiting social networking sites such as YouTube or Facebook, this goes against the traditional collectivist principles that founded the UAE regarding what is considered acceptable for gender roles. Many Arab youth females cannot show their faces to anyone unless they are in their close family and because of this they often do not play online games, visit chat rooms, or even send emails (Shen & Shakir). This cultural difference tends to limit the Internet user profile to mostly professional and educated young men. Yahoo! Is becoming the number one Internet website in the UAE, where this is not especially true in the United States. Regular Yahoo! users in the UAE have crossed 1.5 million (ameinfo.com, 2006). In the U.S., it is common to have youths visiting Yahoo! for its Chat, Games and Music options. However, the UAE commonly finds people over the age of 30 on Yahoo! utilizing its more professional services such as Yahoo! News and Finance (ameinfo.com). This is a demographic difference in computer utilization between the UAE and the U.S. where in the West sites like Yahoo! are more for recreation where in the UAE it is for learning purposes primarily and for business needs. Even though the Internet is quickly becoming a way of life for the people of the UAE, the amount of people with broadband connections vary vastly, which is likely due to the high volume of young women who are not allowed to use the Internet for social purposes. There are only 557,600 broadband connections in the UAE (Beckstrom, 2010). However, the United States has more than triple this amount of broadband connections since it is more appealing to multiple demographics with vastly different online needs. Government Usage of Computers There is a similarity between the United States and the UAE in terms of how the government uses computer systems. In the U.S., it is quite common, today, to find a great deal of government services online, such as the Secretary of State office for license plate renewals or methods by which to contact many different Federal agencies over the Internet. This is becoming quite true of the United Arab Emirates as well. In recent years, the Ministry of Finance and Industry in the UAE began to use computer software systems to aid in opening multiple levels of government to the citizens of the country. The leadership in the UAE developed what is known as the e-Dirham Card that acts as an electronic purse where citizens can have money loaded onto it and then use this card, along with a personalized PIN number, to access and purchase a variety of governmental systems (ameinfo.com, 2003). What this means is that there is a similar reliance, at the governmental level, on computer systems to create a more effective interface between society and leadership and also ensure easier and more convenient service-based transactions. This is also true of the United States. Education The UAE is even more reliant on computer systems than the United States in terms of education. The Emirates has launched a national educational portal that is accessible to 30,000 students without cost (siveco.ro, 2010). This provides online educational information from any computer system and was designed for administrative personnel, parents and students. There is no such educational portal in the United States as this is big business for universities and colleges and is usually contained within these facilities with a price tag to match. In the U.S., a recent survey found that 39 percent of teachers use computers in the classroom to create materials for the curriculum or for Internet assistance (Almekhlafi & Almeqdadi, 2006). This study found that it was novice teachers that were more likely to use computer systems in the classroom over the more seasoned instructor. This is quite different from the UAE where education is a crucial part of lifestyle and governmental influence and can be found important with not only educators, but the general public and governmental leadership as well. Conclusion At the social level, the United States is more progressive and has a wider Internet user profile that makes use of the World Wide Web for recreational purposes as well as educational. This is due to the cultural traditions found in the UAE regarding female lifestyle. However, both countries are quite similar in the commonality of using computers as lifestyle tools that builds better government and even better payment systems for governmental services. It was found that educational use and availability of information using computer software varied greatly in the United States versus the United Arab Emirates. This is likely due to the fact that education is controlled at the university level and represents considerable wealth for individuals that have control over the educational system. There is a broader demand for education and knowledge in the UAE than in the United States that makes these services more available without cost than in the capitalistic United States. References Almekhlafi, A. & Almeqdadi, F. (2006). “Teacher’s Perceptions of Technology Integration in the United Arab Emirates School Classrooms”, Educational Technology & Society, 13(1), pp.165-175. Ameinfo.com. (2003). “UAE Ministry of Finance and Industry to offer e-Dirham Services”, p.2. Retrieved September 27, 2010 from http://www.ameinfo.com/17712.html. Ameinfo.com. (2006). “Yahoo! users in the UAE cross 1.5 million”. Retrieved September 26, 2010 from ameinfo.com/71229.html. Beckstrom, Rod. (2010). “Launch of UAE’s Internationalized Domain Name”, pp.1-2. Retrieved September 27, 2010 from http://www.icann.org/en/presentations/uae-opening-statement-26may10-en.pdf Shen, Kathy & Shakir, Maha. (2009). “Internet Usage Among Arab Adolescents: Preliminary Findings”, European and Mediterranean Conference on Information Systems, p.2. Retrieved September 26, 2010 from http://www.iseing.org/emcis/CDROM%20Proceedings%20Refereed%20Papers/Proceedings/Presenting%20Papers/C2/C2.pdf Siveco.ro. (2010). “Integrated e-learning solution for United Arab Emirates schools”. Retrieved September 26, 2010 from http://www.siveco.ro/web/content.jsp?page=3498&language=2 Read More