This thesis is an exploration of the engagement of young Emirati tertiary students (aged 18-25) with digital technologies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). International research in recent years has documented the access to, and use of, digital technologies by young people in many parts of the world, largely in response to claims made at the turn of the century about posited characteristics of young people today, referred to in the debate as digital natives. In reaction, governments and educational institutions in many parts of the world have considered or accepted the need for a rethink of their educational systems, with an emphasis on increased integration of technology into teaching and learning, in an apparent endeavor to remain relevant to students of today, and the society of the future.The documentation of the impact of technology on the young Arab population of the UAE, however, is an important contribution to this debate, where most research to date has been conducted in more developed countries. This research also considers the historical, socio-economic, linguistic and cultural context of the UAE within which technological changes have occurred, as well as the impact of digital technologies which in turn have continued to influence social and cultural change. Consideration of the inter-relationship between technology and the environment in which it has impacted has enabled a challenging of the determinist arguments put forward in the wider digital natives debate.This research used a mixed-method approach involving multiple tertiary educational institutions in the UAE, and included students from a wide variety of geographical locations and academic disciplines within the country. Mixed methods research was eminently suited to this exploration, to enable both internationally comparable data on Emirati youth as a result of use of an adapted survey instrument (N=587), and insight into possible local implications and influences of cultural, educational and language factors by also using semi-structured interviews (N=15). This is the first extensive, multi-institutional research project to address this topic in a region which includes a very high population of young people, who are increasingly wired and educated, at a time of remarkable change and challenges in the Middle East.The primary aim in this research project was to determine the extent to which Emirati higher education students were engaged with digital technologies, including the Internet, and whether this level of engagement was similar to patterns internationally. Six major findings emerged from the data.ii Firstly, data confirmed that most Emirati tertiary students have almost comprehensive access to broadband Internet, both from home and their place of study, using mobile technologies such as tablets or mobile phones, as well as laptops or desktops. Educational improvements in the UAE have been pivotal as an impetus for technological changes, with digital technologies now ubiquitous within tertiary education institutions, as well as ...

No abstract

abstract:Librarians from Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) report on an empirical evaluation of the relevance and value of Infoasis (http://www.zu.ac.ae/infoasis), a Webbased information literacy tutorial developed and tailored to the Arab student population of the Emirates. After the successful implementation of this project, questions arose about the value of maintaining Infoasis, given the time intensive nature of this activity. Was the tutorial relevant and useful to students? Was it being used by students, and what factors contributed to the engagement (or not) of students with the tutorial? Survey results concluded that students found the tutorial both relevant and useful to their studies and that the design features tailored to the needs of the undergraduate Arab population were effective in ensuring usability. Reasons for poor usage of Infoasis outside the classroom are discussed.

Janet Martin, Muscovy's northeastern expansion: the context and a cause. Muscovite expansion to the northeast occurred in two stages. The first, which resulted in the annexation of the Vychegda-Vym' region in the fourteenth century, was an outgrowth of Muscovy's relations with Novgorod. The second, which took place in the latter half of the fifteenth century, led to the subordination of Viatka, Perm' Velikaia, and some of the Voguly and Iugra tribes as far away as the Ob' river. The second stage was closely connected with two competing influences, Muscovy's relations with the Khanate of Kazan' and its internal relations with Ustiug. An examination of the chronicle accounts of the measures taken to subordinate the peoples on the Viatka, upper Kama, and Ob' rivers suggests that these episodes were initiated by Ustiug. That northern trade center was evidently trying to secure a trade route that would link it via Cherdyn' to the fur-supplying northeastern tribes; that route would bypass Ustiug's rival, Kazan'. Moscow, which benefited from the ventures through the receipt of tribute payments in sable from the subordinated tribes, supported Ustiug's drive to the northeast despite the fact that it provoked hostile responses from Kazan'. But Moscow withdrew its support after 1487, when the assumption of the Kazan' throne by a pro-Muscovite khan altered the nature of Muscovy's relations with its Tatar neighbors. Those relations then took precedence over Ustiug's pressures as a determinant of Muscovy's northeastern policies. Moscow, with the exception of a few incidents that occurred when its relations with Kazan' were strained, refrained from pursuing its aggressive policies in the northeast well into the sixteenth century.

No abstract