Media Regulations in the GCC Countries

The issues of freedom of speech as well as the freedom of expression in journalism are actively discussed in the context of media regulations that are used in different countries to control the media sphere.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Media Regulations in the GCC Countries specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In his article â€Å"Arab Media Regulations: Identifying Restraints on Freedom of the Press in the Laws of Six Arabian Peninsula Countries† that was published in 2014, Matt Duffy analyzed specific media regulations that are followed in six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in contrast to traditional regulations typical for the Western countries or international approaches (Duffy, 2014, p. 2). Thus, Duffy states that media regulations characteristic for such GCC countries as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are stricter than the regulations ado pted in the Western countries because the discussed legislation is also developed to control the relationship between media and the public order as well as prevent false news and issues of defamation. Summary of the Main Points The article presents the analysis of the media regulations in the GCC countries in comparison with the international regulations and policies adopted in the Western world. The events of the ‘Arab Spring’ are discussed by Duffy as the trigger to pay attention to the role of media in influencing the public views and movements in the Arab world (Duffy, 2014, p. 1). The further discussion of the media regulations is provided based on the analysis of primary and secondary sources. Duffy chose to analyze the legislation related to the media spheres in the GCC countries and such secondary sources as newspaper articles and blogs in order to identify how media regulations can affect the character of the information presentation in press and online. The an alysis was supported with the theoretical framework based on the statements from the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) regarding the correlation between the right to free expression and legal obligations.Advertising Looking for critical writing on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, the analyzed media regulations were divided into those ones correlated with the international norms according to the ICCPR and the legislation that was found outside the framework (Duffy, 2014, p. 10). The analysis and comparison of the regulations was also supported with the provided recommendations to balance the freedom of expression against the existing legislation in the GCC countries. Significance of the Author’s Ideas and Arguments In his research, Duffy focuses on a range of points that are important to be discussed in the context of the media regulations and t heir role to support the freedom of expression in the GCC countries. Duffy’s research can be considered as rather unique in its area because there is a significant research gap in the field due to the lack of unbiased studies conducted by non-Arab scholars (Duffy, 2014, p. 7). From this point, the author’s work is important to add to the limited knowledge in the sphere of medial regulations and the GCC countries. The researcher found that the differences of the regulations in the GCC countries in comparison with the international approaches are the result of the specific cultural background. Therefore, defamation can become a criminal case, the issue of truth is controversial, and the public figure is more protected in the Arab societies. Furthermore, the proposed media regulations are oriented not only to limit the journalists’ freedom of speech but also to protect the public order, reputation of public figures and rulers, and national security (Duffy, 2014, p. 16). As a result, Duffy concluded that journalists are significantly limited in their rights to free expression because of many unclear or broad laws with controversial formulations.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Media Regulations in the GCC Countries specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Significance of Duffy’s ideas is in the fact that the researcher discussed the problem of media regulations in the large social context while identifying the problematic issues, determining the causes for the problem, and recommending the ways to overcome the issues of strict media regulations. The author chose to discuss the problem in the international context, explaining the freedom of expression as the basic human right. Significance of the Findings in Relation to the International Media From this perspective, it is important to discuss significance of Duffy’s findings in relation to the context of in ternational media. The author pays much attention to comparing the media regulations in the GCC countries with the approaches in the Western countries directly. As a result, it is possible to focus on the features of both perspectives. Thus, the author noted that state-controlled media systems can develop in opposition to the norms typical for the democratic societies. Therefore, protection for public figures and officials is accentuated in the GCC countries, criminal cases on freedom of speech develop, and self-censorship is one of the main characteristic features of journalism in the GCC countries. Duffy paid attention to the fact that such media regulations are unfavorable for journalists seeking truth, it is impossible to speak about the press freedom, licensing can limit journalists, and they can be often abused if their actions are discussed as violating the public order or security. In this context, using the examples of the international approaches Duffy claims that media re gulations should be clear and free expression should be protected along with proposing effective laws to protect the public order (Duffy, 2014, p. 18). Although the media regulations seem to follow international standards in some aspects, there are many areas for improvements in legislation.Advertising Looking for critical writing on communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Strengths and Weaknesses of the Research Strengths of Duffy’s research are in the fact that the author provides the detailed discussion of primary and secondary sources while proposing the effective classification to categorize regulations that can affect freedom of expression significantly in the GCC countries. The author identified the necessity to modify the current legal approaches and proposed gradual changes for the sphere of media regulations that need to become the part of civil law (Duffy, 2014, p. 29). However, there are also weaknesses in the discussion. In spite of focusing the attention on the role of social media to oppose the model of the state-controlled media, the author does not provide the broad discussion of the topic to support the idea of widespread censorship in the GCC countries. In addition, more attention should be paid to the discussion of the problems of protecting public health and morals with references to the media regulations in the GCC countri es because of the aspects of the culture and religion (Duffy, 2014, p. 18). Thus, not all restrictions can be avoided because they are supported with the culture, and they are not discussed in the society as violations of rights. Possible Agreements and Disagreements It is possible to agree with Duffy’s idea that strict media regulations prevent journalists from being objective and make them focus on self-censorship. The author is also good in providing the large and detailed discussion of the problems associated with different laws with the focus on specific articles. Furthermore, the author focuses on the limitedness of journalists’ rights when they need to mandate truth. However, providing recommendations for the legislation improvements, the author does not refer to the fact that the freedom of speech is often an issue in the GCC countries because it can be limited even in constitutions, as it was stated by the author in other sections of the article. Associated As sumptions and Biases Focusing on the author’s discussion of limitations, it is possible to assume that the analysis of the secondary sources cannot be discussed as fully accurate because of the issues associated with censorship followed by journalists. Moreover, the discussion of the GCC countries’ media regulations in the context of ICCPR laws can also be viewed as biased because the proposed framework is rather broad and not completely related to the context of the Arab world. As a result, Duffy accentuated the â€Å"broad† and â€Å"unclear† character of the majority of proposed regulations in the region (Duffy, 2014, p. 18). In fact, while focusing on the ICCPR statement, the media regulations in the GCC countries can be discussed as aligned with international principles only in several cases. Thus, Duffy’s approach seems to be limited or based in its nature. Related Questions The questions related to the research are the following ones: (1) Is the impact of culture and religion significant to influence the formulation of media regulations in the region? (2) What benefits does the used theoretical framework provide for the research? (3) How do the findings support the idea about the restriction of freedom of expression in the GCC countries? (4) What effects can the current media regulations have on the further development of journalism in the region? Conclusion Referring to Duffy’s research, it is possible to state that the GCC countries do not provide the balanced approach to formulating regulations to guarantee the freedom of expression. However, these regulations are directed to protecting the public other basic rights important in the Arab societies. Therefore, these regulations should be discussed in the context of culture and religion instead of being compared with the international approaches. Reference Duffy, M. J. (2014). Arab media regulations: Identifying restraints on freedom of the press in the laws of six Arabian Peninsula countries. Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern Islamic Law, 6(1), 1-30. This critical writing on Media Regulations in the GCC Countries was written and submitted by user Paula E. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Paper Essays - National Accounts

Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Paper Essays - National Accounts Fundamentals of Macroeconomics Paper ECO /372 July 6, 2015 Now a days we know that there are numerous issues that actually affect our economy, things such as gross domestic product (GDP), nominal GDP, real GDP, inflation rate, unemployment rates, and as well as interest rates. Now as we all know all of these area actually can have massive influences over how we purchase groceries, weather there will be a large amounts of layoffs to employees, and even decrease in taxes that year. What is Gross Domestic Products basically its the market value of services and goods that are produced in the country at any given time. Which this is usually considered an indication of the normal living situation within a country. However real GDP measures of the value of economic output that adjust for price changes. While Nominal GDP is a gross domestic product figure that has not been adjusted for inflation. In many way the unemployment rate are usually the measure of the frequency of unemployment and its calculated by dividing the number of people that are unemployed by the percentage of individuals that are actually working. While inflation rate is the percentage rate of change in price levels of over time, usually from one year to the next. Now let us also focus on the interest rate and the rate which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender. All of these factors are related to our everyday lives and how we manage our money, what we spend our money on, and when we spend our money from simple things like buying groceries, but when you are on a very tight budget as some of us have experienced it can be pretty stressful and of whelming when just last week you were able to buy strawberries and this month they price have went high and its just beyond your budget. You began to see how the cost of groceries affects the government because this is a good way that products are produced and sold within our country; which affects GDP, real GDP, and nominal GDP. Even though we know that this is directly related to consumers spending and in times of a recession consumers pull back on their spending and go into savings mode. When consumers go into savings mode this affect every type of business because production is down and this could cause layoffs. Even though buying groceries can affects households, because thousands of people stru ggle every day to provide for their families and when the cost of goods constantly goes up but wages don't this makes it really difficult to live and to provide for families. As we know massive layoffs affect people's standard of living and that is what the GDP is centered around; having to many layoffs can have a dramatic effect on the unemployment status which causes the economy to have a higher unemployment rate which causes salaries to go down so what their spending is down. Layoffs has a vicious cycle and globally in 2012, 200 million people were without employment and this shows the slowdown in employment growth. Companies were not hiring and people were not spending like they once was Layoffs affected the economy dramatically because it had a huge impact on consumer spending thing about it if no one is buying then production is down and that's how layoffs happen, and this affects households, businesses, and the government itself, personally its like a domino effect when one falls they all fall. Think about it tax decreases can stimulate economic growth because if people are paying less in taxes, and at the end they have more money to spend. It has been proven over the year after year that when taxes decreases it can generate economic growth and federal. If you think about it we all spend more during tax season, because we usually get a good return; since I file as a parent and full-time student with a disable child, qualify for various tax breaks. In so many ways tax decreases can help a business if their taxes are decreased the organization will payout less and have more income. As we compare GDP,

HUMAN AGENCY AND COMMUNITY IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD Term Paper

HUMAN AGENCY AND COMMUNITY IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD - Term Paper Example The human individual has to face different social events that are continuously influencing many aspects of his or her community. Humans, as agents of social modification and development, face the challenges of world events. Through the presence of globalization, people become more aware of different views and ways of life while being vulnerable to being engulfed by such new ideas. They are susceptible to incorporating new perspective in their practice. Thus, the human individual as social agent has a big role in restructuring or maintaining the norms and traditions of his or her society. In this paper, an exploration will be presented about how a human individual in a globalized world setting is acting upon the events and changes happening in his or her society. In light to the discussion, narratives from Ha Jin’s book will be studied focusing on the issues of changing societies and human individuality. Two instances of globalization from Ha Jin’s book will be discussed and will be examined using Amartya Sen’s and Kwame Anthony Appiah’s comments and discussions in connection with globalization and the status of human individual in the global community. ... One instance of globalization that is illustrated in the book is that of the situation of the narrator in the ‘An Entrepreneur Story’ where he experienced how money and capitalism influences many things in the world (Ha 116-126), if not all. In this example, capitalism as used by international community as political and economic strategy is being projected in the narrator’s thoughts and intention. Generally, capitalism becomes central to the theme of the story. The implicit and explicit conditions of people in a nearly capitalist community as influenced by world economic politics are depicted. Another event in the book where implications of globalization can be found is that of the story of a man in the title story. The story narrating about a man named Baowen, a husband, (Ha 91) arrested because of the ‘crimes’ of homosexuality is quite surprising. In the story, homosexuality is viewed to be like an illness that needs clinical cure. In here, we see h ow myths about the matter are being shown implying the deep-rooted political and social factors influencing it. This instance is also related to the outside phenomenon happening outside the setting’s local community. In the global society, certain views and modifications about the issue of gender and homosexuality have circulated and startled people from different parts of the world. This matter is just one of the prominent issues talked about in the international communities. Thus, it is apparent that the characters in the story, representing ‘the human individuals’ in the community, are affected by the circulating views and perspectives introduced by globalization. In reading Ha Jin’s stories, particularly those instances