The research of the first year entitled, "A study on the expansion of shopping malls in the Gulf region and the cultural code among the Arab Muslims: A case study of malling in Dubai", examines the cultural code among the Arab Muslims from the perspec ...
The research of the first year entitled, "A study on the expansion of shopping malls in the Gulf region and the cultural code among the Arab Muslims: A case study of malling in Dubai", examines the cultural code among the Arab Muslims from the perspectives of consumerism with a emergence of global 'malling' culture in the Gulf area. As in many cities in the rest of the world, the mall has become a major social hub in this region as it offers a locus for people who seek various social activities, such as shopping, eating, entertaining, and socializing, all in one place. While discussing structures and functions of malls in the Gulf area, this study analyzes the cultural code that emerges in the process of localization of a global consumption space among the Arab Muslims in the Gulf area.
This study takes Dubai as a case study for exploring the cultural code among the Arab Muslims as a result of the expansion of malls in the Gulf area. Although the population of local natives does not exceed 20% of the total Dubai population, Dubai is the proper place for an investigation of malling culture and cultural code as it provides mall-goers the most recent global consumption culture, luring various mall-goers from all over the world. The data for this study was collected through the field work carried out from the 16th to the 22nd of February, 2009 in the major malls in Dubai.
The second year studied about gift, which is a useful material that creates and maintains social ties among the people. The category of gift is very wide. It covers both material goods and non-material acts of people exchanged at the time of special events or everyday life. Gift also includes one's spontaneous help, care, or hospitality offered to other persons. All these types of gifts share one common character. It have been given out of free will and are not being dictated by any economic rule such as fair exchange or barter. However, driving force behind gift-giving is based on feelings of mutual obligations and reciprocity. People's relations are interwoven by the duties to 'give', 'take' and 'return'. These three cyclic duties are the main mechanisms that operate gift-giving activity. Failure to reciprocate means disruption of the relations. Having the nature of the gift-giving in mind, the aim of this study is to explore how gift is used in creating and maintaining people's relations among the Arab Muslims, taking the UAE as a case study.
The third year which entitled "A Study on the advertisement strategies for advancement of Islamic market through Muslim consumption trend: Focused on the Gulf Region", explores the current consumption patterns emerged among the middle and upper class young Muslims, taking the Gulf region as a case study, in order to devise effective advertisement strategies. For the purpose, this study starts with the introduction of the history of the advertisement viewed from Islamic perspective, and analyses resurgence of Islamic tastes from political, religious and cultural aspects among the educated Muslim elites in the region and its impact on the decision-making process in consumerism. In order to build practical strategies for the young Muslims in the region, the study also discusses the young Muslims' new, however, 'ironic' taste, which are ever-changing according to their value and ideal, and suggests advertisement strategies from the aspects of contents, methods, and period.