Maps for the new road [Archives:2008/1131/Opinion]

Dr. Raoofa Hassan
Any map can not be understood without containing its dimensions and directions while the new road maps are those originating from peoples' talks and interests for the sake of Yemen. The one, who contemplates on the titles of press articles or readership's comments on the various articles on daily papers and other media means, will find that people in Yemen are extremely concerned about searching a manner to resolve their daily problems.

Pinning hope in representatives of major parties that gain votes of people in the elections in order to dialogue with each other and reach joint persuasions, suspension of their talks and their return to the dialogue table is a matter that requires good coordination for setting a successful map.

Simply, the idea is traceable back to a media theory, which is one of a series of theories concerned with communications between the smaller groups and it is named “Decision Taking Theory”. Small groups are those composed of more or less than 300 people in an attempt to achieve jointly recognized goals and then discuss them face to face or via join communication means.

These groups have their own mechanisms for thinking and then releasing many theories for interaction between groups such as the ones concerned with decision-making, growing patterns, sharp controversies and fantastic analysis of issues.

These theories are part of the courses taken by mass media students at different universities in the Arab world and other world countries, but only a few number of media students apply these theories in real-life situations. Consequently, these theories are issued in countries applying science in real-life situations and none of them was produced by any of the Arab universities.

Differences between dialogue parties: Problem or solution?

The American researcher Carteret Stevens from Kentucky University holds the view that a number of questions have to be raised before thinking on how any group will make decisions and set road maps for their decisions. In this article, I use the same questions while thinking about the dialogue group, be it formed under the chairmanship of President of the Republic or Secretary General of the party that called for the dialogue.

The questions are scientific in nature and not a judgment on a commencement. And, from the theoretical and practical viewpoint, we should start thinking on how to give answers to questions of this type: Why does a small group of people make good or bad decisions? Why do small groups come up with false results, however, it goes without saying that they should reach what is better?

Another question is: Do members of the group dialogue with the aim of coming up with a joint result in a way helping them to express themselves equally? Or, do some of them fear to express themselves? We did not know why some group members feel as if they are not responsible for the results that are jointly attained by the group. They then come out with individual viewpoints contradicting the consensus results. We are also shocked at why leaders of the small groups involved in the dialogue allow their groups to take incorrect decisions.

All those questions don't apply to the groups of individuals who represent their own parties and join the dialogue for the purpose of designing a map for the new decisions, thereby involving different social groups. But, it can apply to the various groups, which we join as human beings in our daily life. People work together in groups everyday, whether in worksites, classrooms, qat sessions, clubs or mosques, and as long as we are members in these groups, it is very important for us to understand how these groups operate and how we can benefit from their experiences.

Dialogue of contrived intents:

According to modern researchers, any results reached by groups will be necessarily more productive more than the results attained by individuals, particularly when the subject in question needs diverse experiences, backgrounds and skills.

One can simply believe that results of dialogues and decisions, which are attained by a group of individuals, are always positive and produce valuable things. In fact, the current complications of life usually lead to the issuance of incorrect decisions and negative results, and this indicates that some group dialogues need to be studied well.

Any beforehand understanding of these possibilities reduces the amount of betting on a great benefit from a meeting involving a small group of individuals. Qat sessions can be taken as an evident example for the large number of meetings with the minimum amount of feasibility or feasible decisions. So, not every meeting is feasible and not every session is destructive.

Media theoreticians tried to explain the negative results, bearing in mind that they are connected with the personal components of individuals within the group, as well as the parties, areas or social groups, which these individuals represent or affiliate with. The kind of dialogue also has its influence on the nature of dialoguing parties, whether they are exclusively males or females, or both males and females.

The factors of power and dominance, enjoyed by certain group members, play a great role in influencing other group members, and the case is similar when it comes to the negotiation skills of some individuals that have a great influence on the way groups think. In addition, the theories of group thinking or those concerned with differences or harmony between group members play a significant role in this respect.

In fact, discrepancy or harmony between group members is, from a theoretical point of view, a very important factor in determining the result. Discrepancy is not necessarily a tool for a negative result, however, it may lead to compromise solutions, which don't seem to be best but they are the most applicable ones. By viewing the T.V. screens and contemplating on faces of the dialogue parties who discuss Yemen's future issues, the designed map will not appear clearly in the faces of dialoguers despite prominent wrinkles of age in their faces.

Source: Al-Thawra State-run Daily.
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