Media Habits

In light of how the knowledge society may give rise to new forms of inequity in schools, the purpose of this article is to examine the stratification of Swedish schoolteachers' access to and use of ICT. The empirical data consist of a nationwide survey conducted in 2010, involving 6000 Swedish teachers in all grades (except pre-school and university). Accounting for teachers' age, gender, grade, and principal organization, bivariate analyses were conducted. The study finds significant differences between teacher's age and principal organization, indicating a growing gap between teachers in public versus independent schools. The finding is discussed in relation to the current research and its potential consequences for equitable learning activities.

New media have encroached into the lives of Middle Eastern youth in ways unimaginable just ten years ago.  Upon visiting any Middle Eastern city, observers are struck by the number of satellite dishes covering the diverse landscape, spanning the impoverished as much as the affluent neighborhoods.  Internet penetration rates across the region continue to grow exponentially, while governments in panic acknowledge this growth with hasty policies and regulations.  On almost every winding street of a Cairo, Beirut, or Damascene old town, a plethora of Internet cafes serve and entertain a vibrant youthful population.  Cell phone ringtones have become as familiar as calls to prayer.  Signs of youth increasingly succumbing to a global information saturated culture attract heated debates across the political, commercial, cultural and religious spheres, with predictions about its impact ranging from an acceleration in democratization and development, to a facilitation of Western cultural colonization and a breakdown in social traditions and norms.  Despite this intense interest in how, why and what media do Middle Eastern youth consume and produce and with what potential effects, there remains a dearth of scientific data critically needed to inform this topic.

Different kinds of media play significant roles in consumer behavior specifically in evaluating and choosing products or services. Actually, consumers are attracted to different kinds of products through a variety of media such as television, newspaper, magazine, internet, printing material, etc. In fact, dissimilarity among male and female in terms of their perceptions and taste clarify the prominent role of gender in this issue and contribute ways in which personality characteristic of audience may shape the kind of media which they choose to be exposed to.