دوافع استخدامات الوافدين في سلطنة عمان لوسائل الإتصال المختلفة و لإشباعات المتحققة : دراسة ميدانية

Abstract EN

This survey study was conductcd on a random sample of 517 expatriates from three different ethnic groups, namely Arabs, Asians and Europeans working in Oman.

The aims were to investigate their using habits of 10 different electronic, print and personal media in conjunction with their using motives.

Results were theoretically explained in light of the Uses and Gratifications approach.

Different statistical analyses, including ANOVA, correlations and frequencies were used.

Results have shown that expatriates were able to identify certain expectations and hence use the media that most satisfy these expecta¬tions.

This gives evidence to the active audience argument where respondents have prior conception to why they use certain media.

In retrospect, television was found to be the most widely used medium, while the Internet, Radio and the Cinema were the least used, respectively.

Television was found to satisfy instrumental and ritualistic needs or motives, while personal communication through friends was found to satisfy the needs for escapism, entertainment and affection.

The results also showed that the salient motives for expatriates’ use of different media were surveillance (news and information) learning new things, getting in touch with their home-country and companionship (feeling less lonely).

The results also showed that home-country mass media satisfy expatriates’ needs more than Omani, Arabic or interna¬tional mass media.

A number of socio-economic factors were found to predict expatriates’ uses of media.

Length of stay, ethnicity and number of people the expatriate is living with, influence his/her motives of using media.

Respondent personality (introvert or extravert) was also associated with using media to satisfy instrumental or ritualistic motives.

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