University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 Journal of Applied Sociology Journal of Applied Sociology 0 18369 FA Journal Article 2016 06 14 https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18369_e3fadbbdc31971b31dbeb7e3c618592f.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 Sociological Assessment of Job Alienation and its Impacts on Organizational Culture in Educational Organizations (the Case of Educational Staff in Mashhad) Sociological Assessment of Job Alienation and its Impacts on Organizational Culture in Educational Organizations (the Case of Educational Staff in Mashhad) 1 14 18365 FA Mahnaz Bazmi , Islamic Azad University, Dehaghan Branch, Iran Mansour Haghighatian Department of Sociology, Islamic Azad University, Dehaghan Branch, Iran Mohammad Esmaeel Ansari Department of Management, University of Isfahan, Iran Fereydon Vahida Department of Sociology, Islamic Azad University, Dehaghan Branch, Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14   Sociologists believe the existence of corporations is necessary for society so that different roles can be assigned to people, facilitating social interactions and transactions. These roles help people control their social action and leads to relational cooperation. On the other hand, studies on culture are very significant in sociology, in which culture can be seen as a social pattern in society, involving values and believes, which produce a commonsense that leads to stability in social system. Numerous definitions are provided for culture, but one agreed definition comes from Habermas approach, in which culture is seen as a combination of beliefs and values under the name of common knowledge. Organizational culture (OC) includes the combination of patterns that direct staff behavior in organization and motivate their action for goal achievement. One of the important issues in organizational studies is OC, because it is identified as a key factor in organizational success. As a collection of assumptions that determines organizational values and norms, OC also helps in defining organizational goals. Different cultural, social and historical factors can impact OC, and OC itself can impact staff performance, creativity, job satisfaction and commitment. So recognizing the factors that impact OC is important because it has a great deal of influence on organizational outputs. Job alienation is one of the important factors that can impact OC. It leads to conflict between actions and value. In this research, OC is based on Denison model which divides it into 4 component: involvement, adaptation, mission, and integration. Using this model, the present study aims at explaining the impact of job alienation on organizational culture among educational staffs of Mashhad Country in 2013.     Methods & Material s   This is a survey study with descriptive and explanatory elements. Research instrument includes Denison's (2008) questionnaire of organizational culture and Seaman's (1991) questionnaire of job alienation. Research population is consisted of all employees at Mashhad's Organization of Education, of whom a sample of 285 individuals were selected using stratified random sampling method.     Discussion of Results & Conclusions   According to structural equations and goodness of fit statistics, the conceptual model of the study is meaningful. The greatest impact of job alienation is on adaptability component with b =-0/30. The most important component of organizational culture is also adaptability with factor loading of 0/81. Output of LISREL shows that the relationship between job alienation and organizational culture is meaningful. Likewise, both path analysis and factor analysis demonstrate that a meaningful relationship exist between job alienation and organizational culture in the sense that if sentiments of job alienation decrease the grades of organizational culture increase.     Sociologists believe the existence of corporations is necessary for society so that different roles can be assigned to people, facilitating social interactions and transactions. These roles help people control their social action and leads to relational cooperation. On the other hand, studies on culture are very significant in sociology, in which culture can be seen as a social pattern in society, involving values and believes, which produce a commonsense that leads to stability in social system. Numerous definitions are provided for culture, but one agreed definition comes from Habermas approach, in which culture is seen as a combination of beliefs and values under the name of common knowledge. Organizational culture (OC) includes the combination of patterns that direct staff behavior in organization and motivate their action for goal achievement. One of the important issues in organizational studies is OC, because it is identified as a key factor in organizational success. As a collection of assumptions that determines organizational values and norms, OC also helps in defining organizational goals. Different cultural, social and historical factors can impact OC, and OC itself can impact staff performance, creativity, job satisfaction and commitment. So recognizing the factors that impact OC is important because it has a great deal of influence on organizational outputs. Job alienation is one of the important factors that can impact OC. It leads to conflict between actions and value. In this research, OC is based on Denison model which divides it into 4 component: involvement, adaptation, mission, and integration. Using this model, the present study aims at explaining the impact of job alienation on organizational culture among educational staffs of Mashhad Country in 2013.     Methods & Material s   This is a survey study with descriptive and explanatory elements. Research instrument includes Denison's (2008) questionnaire of organizational culture and Seaman's (1991) questionnaire of job alienation. Research population is consisted of all employees at Mashhad's Organization of Education, of whom a sample of 285 individuals were selected using stratified random sampling method.     Discussion of Results & Conclusions   According to structural equations and goodness of fit statistics, the conceptual model of the study is meaningful. The greatest impact of job alienation is on adaptability component with b =-0/30. The most important component of organizational culture is also adaptability with factor loading of 0/81. Output of LISREL shows that the relationship between job alienation and organizational culture is meaningful. Likewise, both path analysis and factor analysis demonstrate that a meaningful relationship exist between job alienation and organizational culture in the sense that if sentiments of job alienation decrease the grades of organizational culture increase.   https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18365_6e64080cc0ca76c19d91ee552944a5e1.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 An Analysis of the Relationship between Media Consumption and Level of Social Trust among Students of the University of Isfahan An Analysis of the Relationship between Media Consumption and Level of Social Trust among Students of the University of Isfahan 15 32 18361 FA Reza Rahbar Ghazi in Political Science, University of Isfahan, Iran Reza Mahmoud Oghli in Political Science, University of Isfahan, Iran Zahra Sadeghi Naghdali Seyad Javad Emamjomehzadeh in Political Science, University of Isfahan, Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14 Introduction <br />Social trust is one of the most important aspects of human life it is one of those social phenomena that plays a crucial role in human interactions and relationships. As an important indicator of social capital, trust is essential for creating coherence and unity in society and facilitating participation in social systems. Trust accelerates cooperation in various fields of economic, social, political and cultural systems and increases individuals' willingness to cooperate with various community groups. Without trust there is no chance for democratic systems to develop also, societal order, stability, balance, solidarity and cohesion will be damaged. In every society several elements play important roles in the formation of trust, among which the role of the media is of crucial importance. Today the media is responsible for shaping the minds of people as actors in social spheres. While influencing people's perceptions, the media provide various information, knowledge and attitudes about different topics. When media information is available to the audience, those interpretations and analyses which are presented gradually form a part of the system of knowledge, in so far as optimistic and pessimistic attitudes of people towards different things is considerably influenced by the type and content of media messages. University students are particularly important as a group of media consumers with great potential to undertake social responsibility in society. Therefore, in this study, with the aim of analyzing the relationship between media consumption and social trust, we want to know how media consumption has affected the level of social trust among university students in Isfahan. <br /> <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />The research is based on quantitative method and questionnaire. The research population is consisted of university students at the University of Isfahan, from all disciplines and both levels of undergraduate and graduate in the academic year of 1392-91. Considering the fact that this research include 7 variables, a sample size of 140 individuals would be a good fit. However, for greater certainty, we included 170 individuals in the initial sample size applying Morgan formula. After eliminating incomplete questionnaires, 158 questionnaires were finally considered for data analysis. The variable of social trust is divided into four dimensions of basic, interpersonal, generalized and political. Also, the variable of media consumption is divided into printed media, visual and audio media and electronic media. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusions <br />The results of the study show that there is a positive and meaningful correlation between media consumption and social trust, in the sense that social media and social trust are 0/74 % correlated at the significant level of 0/50. Our findings indicate that there is not a significant correlation between basic, interpersonal and generalized trust with electronic media consumption. But the use of electronic media and other dimensions of social trust, namely, political trust, and trust in general are meaningfully correlated. The relationship between other forms of median namely, printed, visual, and audio media with social trust is also meaningful. Finally, the results indicate that the higher the level of media consumption among the student, the higher the level of social trust among them. Introduction <br />Social trust is one of the most important aspects of human life it is one of those social phenomena that plays a crucial role in human interactions and relationships. As an important indicator of social capital, trust is essential for creating coherence and unity in society and facilitating participation in social systems. Trust accelerates cooperation in various fields of economic, social, political and cultural systems and increases individuals' willingness to cooperate with various community groups. Without trust there is no chance for democratic systems to develop also, societal order, stability, balance, solidarity and cohesion will be damaged. In every society several elements play important roles in the formation of trust, among which the role of the media is of crucial importance. Today the media is responsible for shaping the minds of people as actors in social spheres. While influencing people's perceptions, the media provide various information, knowledge and attitudes about different topics. When media information is available to the audience, those interpretations and analyses which are presented gradually form a part of the system of knowledge, in so far as optimistic and pessimistic attitudes of people towards different things is considerably influenced by the type and content of media messages. University students are particularly important as a group of media consumers with great potential to undertake social responsibility in society. Therefore, in this study, with the aim of analyzing the relationship between media consumption and social trust, we want to know how media consumption has affected the level of social trust among university students in Isfahan. <br /> <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />The research is based on quantitative method and questionnaire. The research population is consisted of university students at the University of Isfahan, from all disciplines and both levels of undergraduate and graduate in the academic year of 1392-91. Considering the fact that this research include 7 variables, a sample size of 140 individuals would be a good fit. However, for greater certainty, we included 170 individuals in the initial sample size applying Morgan formula. After eliminating incomplete questionnaires, 158 questionnaires were finally considered for data analysis. The variable of social trust is divided into four dimensions of basic, interpersonal, generalized and political. Also, the variable of media consumption is divided into printed media, visual and audio media and electronic media. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusions <br />The results of the study show that there is a positive and meaningful correlation between media consumption and social trust, in the sense that social media and social trust are 0/74 % correlated at the significant level of 0/50. Our findings indicate that there is not a significant correlation between basic, interpersonal and generalized trust with electronic media consumption. But the use of electronic media and other dimensions of social trust, namely, political trust, and trust in general are meaningfully correlated. The relationship between other forms of median namely, printed, visual, and audio media with social trust is also meaningful. Finally, the results indicate that the higher the level of media consumption among the student, the higher the level of social trust among them. https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18361_72e691933b1a2278963d89bb57273812.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 Television and Religious Identity (Case Study: Students of Mazandaran University) Television and Religious Identity (Case Study: Students of Mazandaran University) 33 48 18358 FA Mehrdad Kazemian University of Mazandaran, Iran Masoumeh Eshtiaghi University of Mazandaran, Iran Tohid Alizadeh University of Mazandaran, Iran Mohammad Esmaeil Riahi Department of Social Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14 Introduction <br />One of the features of society and even the human nature is to seek safety and comfort in religion. Fear of death and sufferings, make humans in need of faith in God. As one of the most important social institutions in formulating meaning of life, religion has always had a special place. It is a social as well as divine phenomenon, and as it is mentioned in the holy books, it is sent to save humanity from life's difficulties and tragedies. According to the socio-cultural structure of Iranian society, religious identity has a prominent place among other forms of identities (national, ethnic, gender, etc.). With the development of communication technologies and the emergence of mass media such as newspapers, television and cinema, different aspects of our social activities are affected by these phenomenon. Indeed, it is an agreed-upon fact that in the cotemporary world, the formation of our personality and social identity has been assigned to mass media. In this regard, television has undoubtedly a prominent position. According to Giddens, the advent of television strongly influenced everyday-life patterns, because many people adjust their activities around certain television programs. The entrance of television into Iranian society is almost a new event, but even in this short time, its deep and lasting effects on social relationships and the Iranian-Islamic identity can be seen clearly. The TV provide us with an overall framework and attitude towards social life, and influence our social identity, specially our religious identity. Due to its importance in providing this framework, we need to evaluate its consequences and impacts on social relationships. From this perspective, not only is the TV a mere entertainment provider, but also an active information and communication tool which has lasting effects on reproduction of culture and collective identity of the society. Thus, any study of television effects on religious identity is important. In addition, to identify the rate and type of television usage among students as a young group of society, and its relation to their identity, can help planners and policy makers to design strategies and policies specifically for this group. Because of the complexity of the issue, to examine the effects of television on religious identity, it seems that only one theory is insufficient to explain the issue completely. Therefore, a combined theoretical framework was used in this study to explain the effects of television, on religious identity. The main objectives of this study were to ascertain: 1) the students’ religious identity, 2) the rate and type of television consumption as a cultural commodity, and 3) and the relationship between rate and type of television consumption with religious identity of students. <br /> <br /> <br />Materials & Methods <br />The study has been conducted via survey method. Research population included 12962 formally enrolled students of Mazandaran University, of whom 373 individuals were selected by means of multi-stage cluster sampling method, to fill a self-administered questionnaire. A 14-item scale is used to measure the rate and type of television consumption. Also, a 4 dimensional scale with 26 items was applied to measure religious identity (the dimensions being theological, experiential or emotional, outcome and ritual). The pre-test of final questionnaires was done in two stages among 100 respondents. Finally, all gathered data was analyzed using SPSS software. <br />Discussion of Result & Conclusions <br />The findings of the study indicate that in general students have a high level of religious identity. However, there are some variances as one considers different levels of religious identity by its four dimensions for example, the highest and lowest reported scores belonged to theological (average of 4.61 out of 5) and ritual (average of 3.63) dimensions, respectively. Also, research findings on the rate of television consumption indicate that the status of television consumption among students is at a moderate to low level (average of 2.37 from 5). Furthermore, a considerable number of students (7.5 percent) never watch television. As explained in the Cultivation Theory, as a low-consuming audience of television, students watch TV in a selective and programmed fashion, only for 2 or less hours per day, but the usage of other media, especially the Internet, is higher among them. When Students consume television as a cultural commodity, they try to be "active", which means they try to interpret the content of the received program "actively". It seems that using other mass media (the Internet, books, magazines, etc.), and lack of access to the TV, and/or reluctance to watch national television programs, are responsible for this low level of TV consumption among students. This finding would be more important if one notice that according to sociologists' views (e.g. Giddens), today television could have very serious effects on daily-life patterns. One of the important findings of the present study is that it seems that along with increase in the consumption of national TV among students, the level of religious identity also tends to increase. This finding must be paid attention to by policy makers. <br />Another important result of this study is the content of the programs watched by students as well as their effects on their religious identity. Entertainment and leisure programs (average of 3.29 from 5) were the first favorable programs while the least are those oriented towards religious issues (average of 2.23). <br />The results of this study indicate that a reconsideration of the quality and quantity of religious programs on national TV is important in strengthening students' religious identity. On the other hand, this will have a great influence on the outcome dimension of religious identity. The findings suggest that higher levels of consumption of different TV programs can be effective on traditional religious identity of students. Therefore, filling the leisure time of individuals, especially young students, by television programs, could be seen as an effective strategy to be regarded by the relevant authorities. In fact, working on the quality of television programs and make them adjustable with the need of society, especially young students, is an important way to protect religious identity. Introduction <br />One of the features of society and even the human nature is to seek safety and comfort in religion. Fear of death and sufferings, make humans in need of faith in God. As one of the most important social institutions in formulating meaning of life, religion has always had a special place. It is a social as well as divine phenomenon, and as it is mentioned in the holy books, it is sent to save humanity from life's difficulties and tragedies. According to the socio-cultural structure of Iranian society, religious identity has a prominent place among other forms of identities (national, ethnic, gender, etc.). With the development of communication technologies and the emergence of mass media such as newspapers, television and cinema, different aspects of our social activities are affected by these phenomenon. Indeed, it is an agreed-upon fact that in the cotemporary world, the formation of our personality and social identity has been assigned to mass media. In this regard, television has undoubtedly a prominent position. According to Giddens, the advent of television strongly influenced everyday-life patterns, because many people adjust their activities around certain television programs. The entrance of television into Iranian society is almost a new event, but even in this short time, its deep and lasting effects on social relationships and the Iranian-Islamic identity can be seen clearly. The TV provide us with an overall framework and attitude towards social life, and influence our social identity, specially our religious identity. Due to its importance in providing this framework, we need to evaluate its consequences and impacts on social relationships. From this perspective, not only is the TV a mere entertainment provider, but also an active information and communication tool which has lasting effects on reproduction of culture and collective identity of the society. Thus, any study of television effects on religious identity is important. In addition, to identify the rate and type of television usage among students as a young group of society, and its relation to their identity, can help planners and policy makers to design strategies and policies specifically for this group. Because of the complexity of the issue, to examine the effects of television on religious identity, it seems that only one theory is insufficient to explain the issue completely. Therefore, a combined theoretical framework was used in this study to explain the effects of television, on religious identity. The main objectives of this study were to ascertain: 1) the students’ religious identity, 2) the rate and type of television consumption as a cultural commodity, and 3) and the relationship between rate and type of television consumption with religious identity of students. <br /> <br /> <br />Materials & Methods <br />The study has been conducted via survey method. Research population included 12962 formally enrolled students of Mazandaran University, of whom 373 individuals were selected by means of multi-stage cluster sampling method, to fill a self-administered questionnaire. A 14-item scale is used to measure the rate and type of television consumption. Also, a 4 dimensional scale with 26 items was applied to measure religious identity (the dimensions being theological, experiential or emotional, outcome and ritual). The pre-test of final questionnaires was done in two stages among 100 respondents. Finally, all gathered data was analyzed using SPSS software. <br />Discussion of Result & Conclusions <br />The findings of the study indicate that in general students have a high level of religious identity. However, there are some variances as one considers different levels of religious identity by its four dimensions for example, the highest and lowest reported scores belonged to theological (average of 4.61 out of 5) and ritual (average of 3.63) dimensions, respectively. Also, research findings on the rate of television consumption indicate that the status of television consumption among students is at a moderate to low level (average of 2.37 from 5). Furthermore, a considerable number of students (7.5 percent) never watch television. As explained in the Cultivation Theory, as a low-consuming audience of television, students watch TV in a selective and programmed fashion, only for 2 or less hours per day, but the usage of other media, especially the Internet, is higher among them. When Students consume television as a cultural commodity, they try to be "active", which means they try to interpret the content of the received program "actively". It seems that using other mass media (the Internet, books, magazines, etc.), and lack of access to the TV, and/or reluctance to watch national television programs, are responsible for this low level of TV consumption among students. This finding would be more important if one notice that according to sociologists' views (e.g. Giddens), today television could have very serious effects on daily-life patterns. One of the important findings of the present study is that it seems that along with increase in the consumption of national TV among students, the level of religious identity also tends to increase. This finding must be paid attention to by policy makers. <br />Another important result of this study is the content of the programs watched by students as well as their effects on their religious identity. Entertainment and leisure programs (average of 3.29 from 5) were the first favorable programs while the least are those oriented towards religious issues (average of 2.23). <br />The results of this study indicate that a reconsideration of the quality and quantity of religious programs on national TV is important in strengthening students' religious identity. On the other hand, this will have a great influence on the outcome dimension of religious identity. The findings suggest that higher levels of consumption of different TV programs can be effective on traditional religious identity of students. Therefore, filling the leisure time of individuals, especially young students, by television programs, could be seen as an effective strategy to be regarded by the relevant authorities. In fact, working on the quality of television programs and make them adjustable with the need of society, especially young students, is an important way to protect religious identity. https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18358_542677e9d2543bbc575efce2fb449c90.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 An Examination of the Political and Social Literacy of Adult Citizens in Isfahan An Examination of the Political and Social Literacy of Adult Citizens in Isfahan 49 60 18359 FA Fatemeh Sadat Mousavi Nadoshen University of Isfahan, Iran Setareh Mousavi University of Isfahan, Iran Mohammad Reza Nili Ahmadabadi Department of Educational Sciences, University of Isfahan, Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14 Introduction <br /> Literacy is a fundamental right and a springboard not only for achieving "education for all", but also for eradicating poverty and increasing participation in society. Political and social literacy is about understanding how politics and social behaviors shape our daily lives. In order to improve the political and social literacy process, it is highly important to recognize effective factors in shaping People's awareness. This study is performed to determine students' points of view concerning such factors. Responsible citizens respect others and participate in political, economic, social and cultural life. The present study aims at examining the level of political and social literacy of adult citizens participating in unofficial adults training centers in Isfahan city. <br /> <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />According to the purpose of the research which was to measure the extent of social and political literacy of adults, the research method in this study is descriptive. Research population include 2572 adults (above 35 years old), who attended in instructional programs of the training centers of Isfahan's public agencies in 2011. The estimated number of sample size is 380 who were randomly selected through multistage cluster sampling method. The instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire comprising of 29 items which is designed in two political and social dimensions, with an acceptable level of reliability test (0.84), via Cronbach’s Alpha. The collected data were analyzed through one-sample T-test and ANOVA. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusions <br />Findings showed that: 1) adults’ social literacy is higher than political literacy, 2) in a significant way, the political literacy of adults is not in good shape, 3) there is a significant difference between averages of political and social literacy in terms of education of adult citizens, 4) there is a significant difference between the averages of political and social literacy in terms of sex: level of political literacy among men is higher than women, whereas social literacy is not significantly different between the sexes, 5) there is a significant difference between the averages of political and social literacy in terms of age: people older than 30 years have more social and political literacy, 6) there is a significant difference between the average of political literacy in terms of place of living but not in social literacy. In general, training centers should be considered as social and political means of development for adult education. Higher levels of political and social literacy will result in better Citizens, whose behaviors lead to lower rates of social and political disorders. In fact, political and social literacy is one of the main components of today’s healthy communities. Political and social literacy are a vehicle to support the achievement of developmental goals and empowerment of the poor in particular. As a component of basic education and a foundation for life-long learning, political and social literacy are the key to enhancement of human capabilities and achieving citizenship rights. It carries wide-ranging benefits not only for individuals but also for families, communities and societies as a whole. <br />Curriculum planners need to use effective approaches in political and social education in order to provide essential and required content for learners according to community needs. It is necessary for them to consider curriculum revisions and develop extra curriculum contents. Considering the effect of political and social literacy on the development of the country, it is recommended to apply these issues in teaching courses which requires deep learning and high levels of understanding. Introduction <br /> Literacy is a fundamental right and a springboard not only for achieving "education for all", but also for eradicating poverty and increasing participation in society. Political and social literacy is about understanding how politics and social behaviors shape our daily lives. In order to improve the political and social literacy process, it is highly important to recognize effective factors in shaping People's awareness. This study is performed to determine students' points of view concerning such factors. Responsible citizens respect others and participate in political, economic, social and cultural life. The present study aims at examining the level of political and social literacy of adult citizens participating in unofficial adults training centers in Isfahan city. <br /> <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />According to the purpose of the research which was to measure the extent of social and political literacy of adults, the research method in this study is descriptive. Research population include 2572 adults (above 35 years old), who attended in instructional programs of the training centers of Isfahan's public agencies in 2011. The estimated number of sample size is 380 who were randomly selected through multistage cluster sampling method. The instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire comprising of 29 items which is designed in two political and social dimensions, with an acceptable level of reliability test (0.84), via Cronbach’s Alpha. The collected data were analyzed through one-sample T-test and ANOVA. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusions <br />Findings showed that: 1) adults’ social literacy is higher than political literacy, 2) in a significant way, the political literacy of adults is not in good shape, 3) there is a significant difference between averages of political and social literacy in terms of education of adult citizens, 4) there is a significant difference between the averages of political and social literacy in terms of sex: level of political literacy among men is higher than women, whereas social literacy is not significantly different between the sexes, 5) there is a significant difference between the averages of political and social literacy in terms of age: people older than 30 years have more social and political literacy, 6) there is a significant difference between the average of political literacy in terms of place of living but not in social literacy. In general, training centers should be considered as social and political means of development for adult education. Higher levels of political and social literacy will result in better Citizens, whose behaviors lead to lower rates of social and political disorders. In fact, political and social literacy is one of the main components of today’s healthy communities. Political and social literacy are a vehicle to support the achievement of developmental goals and empowerment of the poor in particular. As a component of basic education and a foundation for life-long learning, political and social literacy are the key to enhancement of human capabilities and achieving citizenship rights. It carries wide-ranging benefits not only for individuals but also for families, communities and societies as a whole. <br />Curriculum planners need to use effective approaches in political and social education in order to provide essential and required content for learners according to community needs. It is necessary for them to consider curriculum revisions and develop extra curriculum contents. Considering the effect of political and social literacy on the development of the country, it is recommended to apply these issues in teaching courses which requires deep learning and high levels of understanding. https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18359_d9574c697fa00145cd914608efc3e22a.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 Suicidality among Students: An Experiment of Agnew's General Strain Theory Suicidality among Students: An Experiment of Agnew's General Strain Theory 61 79 18368 FA Neda Usefi Mazandaran University, Iran Akbar Aliverdinia Department of Social Sciences, Mazandaran University, Iran 0000-0003-0512-7839 Journal Article 2016 06 14 Introduction <br />Agnew's general strain theory is one of the best known theories of criminology. The popularity of this theory is derived from its scope and breadth which allows researchers to investigate about the effects of a variety of structural and psychological stressors on a range of deleterious outcomes. Although this theory is developed and tested to explain crime, it can also be applied to explain behaviors such as substance abuse and suicide. The main objective of this study is to provide a sociological explanation of suicidality among students of Mazandaran University. Accordingly, the main research question is: "how suicidality can be explained among students on the basis of Agnew's general strain theory. Suicide is described as the endpoint of a continuum that begins with suicide ideation (consideration of suicide), followed by planning and preparing for suicide and finally attempting and completing suicide. It is one of the problems of the present era. According to statistics, the number of younger individuals who attempt suicide is increasing. Based on available statistics and studies worldwide, suicide is the third cause of death in the age group of 15-24 years, and is the second cause of death among college students. According to a study in the United States (2001), in the period of 1999 to 2000, 9.5% of students reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide and 1.5% of students reported that they had attempted suicide within the last school year. In Iran, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, between the years of 1998 to 2004, 292 suicide attempts were reported among students, of which 25 cases (8/6 percent) were successful. Also, Panaghi and others demonstrated that during the years of 2006 to 2008, 230 suicide attempts have occurred among student. Based on the maximum rate of student suicide in Iran, this is means 3 individuals out of 100000 have committed suicide. So we can say that as a young people of society, university students are vulnerable to suicide. The purpose of this study is to study a range of stressors which can explain suicidality from the viewpoint of Agnew’s general strain theory. <br /> <br /> <br />Materials & Methods <br />Research method in this study is surveys and data collection is done via questionnaire. In this study, dependent variable is suicidality and independent variables include relational strain, status strain, removal of positive stimuli and exposure to negative stimuli. The research population is consisted of all students enrolled at Mazandaran University in the academic year 2011-2012, of whom a sample of 438 individuals were selected using random stratified sampling method. The data is analyzed using SPSS software and utilizing multiple regression analysis. To examine the validity of the questionnaire, face validity and content validity were used. To determine the reliability of the study, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. <br /> <br />Discussion of Result & Conclusions <br />This study examined the impacts of several variables from Agnew’s general strain theory on suicidality. The results suggest that general strain theory is to some extent effective in explaining students' suicidality and can provide a theoretical model for studying suicide. The results of the study show that there is direct and significant relationship between removal of positive stimuli and suicidality, in the sense that by increasing in the likelihood of this variable, the rate of suicidality also increases. So when a person tries to deal with removal of positive stimuli, he or she is more likely to engage in deviant behaviors such as suicide. The results also suggest that students with status strain are more likely to experience suicidality. Likewise, students with relational strain are more likely to experience suicidality. A person who is exposed to more negative relationships with others, will be more likely to committee suicide. Thus, the findings suggest that a positive relationship with family and peers is an important protective factor against suicidality. Multiple regression analysis also shows that independent variables of this study are strong predictors of suicidality, they include removal of positive stimulus (beta coefficient=0/147), status strain (beta coefficient=0/140), relational strain (beta coefficient=0/127). Introduction <br />Agnew's general strain theory is one of the best known theories of criminology. The popularity of this theory is derived from its scope and breadth which allows researchers to investigate about the effects of a variety of structural and psychological stressors on a range of deleterious outcomes. Although this theory is developed and tested to explain crime, it can also be applied to explain behaviors such as substance abuse and suicide. The main objective of this study is to provide a sociological explanation of suicidality among students of Mazandaran University. Accordingly, the main research question is: "how suicidality can be explained among students on the basis of Agnew's general strain theory. Suicide is described as the endpoint of a continuum that begins with suicide ideation (consideration of suicide), followed by planning and preparing for suicide and finally attempting and completing suicide. It is one of the problems of the present era. According to statistics, the number of younger individuals who attempt suicide is increasing. Based on available statistics and studies worldwide, suicide is the third cause of death in the age group of 15-24 years, and is the second cause of death among college students. According to a study in the United States (2001), in the period of 1999 to 2000, 9.5% of students reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide and 1.5% of students reported that they had attempted suicide within the last school year. In Iran, according to the statistics of the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, between the years of 1998 to 2004, 292 suicide attempts were reported among students, of which 25 cases (8/6 percent) were successful. Also, Panaghi and others demonstrated that during the years of 2006 to 2008, 230 suicide attempts have occurred among student. Based on the maximum rate of student suicide in Iran, this is means 3 individuals out of 100000 have committed suicide. So we can say that as a young people of society, university students are vulnerable to suicide. The purpose of this study is to study a range of stressors which can explain suicidality from the viewpoint of Agnew’s general strain theory. <br /> <br /> <br />Materials & Methods <br />Research method in this study is surveys and data collection is done via questionnaire. In this study, dependent variable is suicidality and independent variables include relational strain, status strain, removal of positive stimuli and exposure to negative stimuli. The research population is consisted of all students enrolled at Mazandaran University in the academic year 2011-2012, of whom a sample of 438 individuals were selected using random stratified sampling method. The data is analyzed using SPSS software and utilizing multiple regression analysis. To examine the validity of the questionnaire, face validity and content validity were used. To determine the reliability of the study, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. <br /> <br />Discussion of Result & Conclusions <br />This study examined the impacts of several variables from Agnew’s general strain theory on suicidality. The results suggest that general strain theory is to some extent effective in explaining students' suicidality and can provide a theoretical model for studying suicide. The results of the study show that there is direct and significant relationship between removal of positive stimuli and suicidality, in the sense that by increasing in the likelihood of this variable, the rate of suicidality also increases. So when a person tries to deal with removal of positive stimuli, he or she is more likely to engage in deviant behaviors such as suicide. The results also suggest that students with status strain are more likely to experience suicidality. Likewise, students with relational strain are more likely to experience suicidality. A person who is exposed to more negative relationships with others, will be more likely to committee suicide. Thus, the findings suggest that a positive relationship with family and peers is an important protective factor against suicidality. Multiple regression analysis also shows that independent variables of this study are strong predictors of suicidality, they include removal of positive stimulus (beta coefficient=0/147), status strain (beta coefficient=0/140), relational strain (beta coefficient=0/127). https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18368_124964438431d59179515be5dbfa3c45.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 Social Obstacles of Thinking in the Islamic Model of Progress based on Grounded Theorizing in the Quran Social Obstacles of Thinking in the Islamic Model of Progress based on Grounded Theorizing in the Quran 81 96 18364 FA Ali Rahbani Khorasgani اصفهان دانشگاه اصفهان-دانشکده ادبیات وعلوم انسانی- گروه علوم اجتماعی Seyyed Ali Nagi Ayazi University of Isfahan, Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14 Introduction <br />The current paper aims to study sociologically the obstacles of thinking and its consequences in the progress model which is based on the teachings of the Quran. Accordingly, the main questions are as follows: what are the social obstacles of thinking in the Islamic model of progress based on the teachings of the Quran? What are the solutions to eliminate these obstacles? The following steps have been taken to respond to these questions: (1) referring to the Quran and identifying its sociological propositions, (2) recognizing the verses that deal with these issues, (3) fractionating the interpretational issues of each verse into the principal and sub elements and concepts in addition to the areas, situations, circumstances, and the relationships between phenomena, (4) translating the elements, concepts, and the specified relationships into a sociological language, (5) preparing and presenting the contents into a logical thematic explanation and interpretation. <br /> <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />Grounded theory is one of the qualitative research methods which is suitable when there is inadequate knowledge about an issue (Farahani and Arizi, 1996 Glaser and Strauss) or there is no relevant theory on which it would be possible to formulate assumptions (Mansourian, 2006: 3). It is a methodology which aims at developing theories with medium range (Merton, 1967) and is interesting for description of applied sciences. Additionally, today, grounded theory plays a particular role in social sciences (Hildenbrand, 2004: 22). <br />In grounded theory, theories are extracted from data which are gathered and analyzed during the research. In this method, information gathering, analysis, and the final theory have a close relationship with each other and the researcher do not initiate the work with a theory in mind unless it is a generalization of an available theory. In the contrary, it is started in reality and lets the theory be formulated based on gathered data. Researcher's creativity is one of the main characteristics of this method (Strauss and Korbin 2012: 34). <br />Thus we utilized grounded theory as a qualitative research due to information restrictions and noncompliance of progress concept with the current terms in religious sources on the one hand, and lack of extraction of such a progress model in these sources on the other hand. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusions <br />The results showed that obstacles of thinking can be classified into five categories of individual, social, macro, procedural, and contextual obstacles. All of these categories and concepts are to be found in interactive frameworks, interactions, contexts and intruding conditions. They explain the impact and contribute to the lack of thinking outcomes. <br />Disorder in socialization process, lack of appropriate thinking training, lack of tolerance, and absence of open-mindedness are the results of pervasive selfishness. The common interactions between these variables can explain the contribution of wisdom in progress of a society. <br />Cultural and political obstacles are mentioned in the Quran are fundamental for change in the essence of knowledge. Also, social obstacles involve those governments that not only do not consider development of science and technology as a necessity for their society, but see it as something which is inconsistent with their own long-term interest. <br />Lack of the required knowledge and wrong beliefs in social actions contribute to obstacles of thinking in the progress model and change the form of knowledge. Finally, corrupted social environment and inattention to the fate of other nations are considered as contextual obstacles of thinking. Introduction <br />The current paper aims to study sociologically the obstacles of thinking and its consequences in the progress model which is based on the teachings of the Quran. Accordingly, the main questions are as follows: what are the social obstacles of thinking in the Islamic model of progress based on the teachings of the Quran? What are the solutions to eliminate these obstacles? The following steps have been taken to respond to these questions: (1) referring to the Quran and identifying its sociological propositions, (2) recognizing the verses that deal with these issues, (3) fractionating the interpretational issues of each verse into the principal and sub elements and concepts in addition to the areas, situations, circumstances, and the relationships between phenomena, (4) translating the elements, concepts, and the specified relationships into a sociological language, (5) preparing and presenting the contents into a logical thematic explanation and interpretation. <br /> <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />Grounded theory is one of the qualitative research methods which is suitable when there is inadequate knowledge about an issue (Farahani and Arizi, 1996 Glaser and Strauss) or there is no relevant theory on which it would be possible to formulate assumptions (Mansourian, 2006: 3). It is a methodology which aims at developing theories with medium range (Merton, 1967) and is interesting for description of applied sciences. Additionally, today, grounded theory plays a particular role in social sciences (Hildenbrand, 2004: 22). <br />In grounded theory, theories are extracted from data which are gathered and analyzed during the research. In this method, information gathering, analysis, and the final theory have a close relationship with each other and the researcher do not initiate the work with a theory in mind unless it is a generalization of an available theory. In the contrary, it is started in reality and lets the theory be formulated based on gathered data. Researcher's creativity is one of the main characteristics of this method (Strauss and Korbin 2012: 34). <br />Thus we utilized grounded theory as a qualitative research due to information restrictions and noncompliance of progress concept with the current terms in religious sources on the one hand, and lack of extraction of such a progress model in these sources on the other hand. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusions <br />The results showed that obstacles of thinking can be classified into five categories of individual, social, macro, procedural, and contextual obstacles. All of these categories and concepts are to be found in interactive frameworks, interactions, contexts and intruding conditions. They explain the impact and contribute to the lack of thinking outcomes. <br />Disorder in socialization process, lack of appropriate thinking training, lack of tolerance, and absence of open-mindedness are the results of pervasive selfishness. The common interactions between these variables can explain the contribution of wisdom in progress of a society. <br />Cultural and political obstacles are mentioned in the Quran are fundamental for change in the essence of knowledge. Also, social obstacles involve those governments that not only do not consider development of science and technology as a necessity for their society, but see it as something which is inconsistent with their own long-term interest. <br />Lack of the required knowledge and wrong beliefs in social actions contribute to obstacles of thinking in the progress model and change the form of knowledge. Finally, corrupted social environment and inattention to the fate of other nations are considered as contextual obstacles of thinking. https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18364_e1ea017a5842b8f0daf549fbc81b2945.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 Sociological Explanation of Social Factors Effective on Divorce (The Case of Ghaemshahr City) Sociological Explanation of Social Factors Effective on Divorce (The Case of Ghaemshahr City) 97 116 18366 FA Aghil Asadyan Payamenoor University, Iran Kamran Sadaghat Department of Sociology, Tabriz Jahad Daneshgahi, Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14     Introduction   One of the most important social problems with complex dimensions is divorce, which brings about the devastation of family life. Family is perceived as one of the fundamental pillars and main institutions of every society. Therefore sociologists cannot afford to keep themselves away from family analysis and its changes. They have always tried to study it via certain and special perspectives. Moreover, everybody agrees that in none of the previous historical eras the family has been so widely suffered from the problem of divorce and its side effects than our contemporary era. The rates of marriage and divorce registered in Iran indicate that the number of divorces is increasing more than the number of marriages. So this phenomenon in Iran is considered as a challenge or serious social problem. A review of divorce's statistics in Iran during 2012 (6 percent growth in proportion to the previous year) indicates the increasing rate of this problem in general and particularly in the region under study in this paper. It appears that the more industrialization in cities and villages, the more new conflicts in previously traditional communities. Such modern changes have devastated the institution of family rather than protecting it, and this can have wide effects on the health of divorced couples, and children. This indicates a critical condition which needs to be studied in order to protect the family and reduce the rate of divorce. Because social damages depend on each other, expansion in one may cause others to expand as well so we must study divorce to prevent other problems from happening and/or expanding.       Materials and Methods   The research method is casual-comparative. For comparability, it was tried to converge two groups i.e. divorced and non-divorced individuals. Statistical population includes two groups of divorced and non-divorced of citizens in the city of Ghaemshahr. Sample size include 180 divorced subjects whose formal process of divorce have been finished in the court, and another group of 100 married subjects who live in their families and are not separated. Sampling method for non-divorced group was snowball sampling and for divorced group, convenient sampling, both of which are non-random methods of sampling.     Discussion of Results and Conclusions   The Results of the study indicate that the variable of educational differences may lead to disability in satisfying the spouse's expectations . Also, opinion-related difference of the couples, interference of family members in the couple`s marital life, and unsuitable job condition can be considered as effective variables on increasing divorce. The interesting point is that difference in birthplace has no effect on divorce occurrence in contrast to the research primary pre-assumption. Also, the discussion about research hypotheses and their theoretical analysis can be explained according to exchange theory, as it predicts that when a person (husband or wife) assesses the costs of a relationship more than its interests, in this regard such person assumes the relationship unequal and will become disappointed to get satisfied in his/her expectations for the other party. As a result, we may expect a rupture in the relationship and consequently occurrence of divorce. Our research findings indicate that those spouses who were not able to meet their spouse's expectations, they face divorce more than others. This finding approves exchange theory and also the findings of Rousta (2010), Riahi & colleagues (2007) and Dohrati (2007).           Introduction   One of the most important social problems with complex dimensions is divorce, which brings about the devastation of family life. Family is perceived as one of the fundamental pillars and main institutions of every society. Therefore sociologists cannot afford to keep themselves away from family analysis and its changes. They have always tried to study it via certain and special perspectives. Moreover, everybody agrees that in none of the previous historical eras the family has been so widely suffered from the problem of divorce and its side effects than our contemporary era. The rates of marriage and divorce registered in Iran indicate that the number of divorces is increasing more than the number of marriages. So this phenomenon in Iran is considered as a challenge or serious social problem. A review of divorce's statistics in Iran during 2012 (6 percent growth in proportion to the previous year) indicates the increasing rate of this problem in general and particularly in the region under study in this paper. It appears that the more industrialization in cities and villages, the more new conflicts in previously traditional communities. Such modern changes have devastated the institution of family rather than protecting it, and this can have wide effects on the health of divorced couples, and children. This indicates a critical condition which needs to be studied in order to protect the family and reduce the rate of divorce. Because social damages depend on each other, expansion in one may cause others to expand as well so we must study divorce to prevent other problems from happening and/or expanding.       Materials and Methods   The research method is casual-comparative. For comparability, it was tried to converge two groups i.e. divorced and non-divorced individuals. Statistical population includes two groups of divorced and non-divorced of citizens in the city of Ghaemshahr. Sample size include 180 divorced subjects whose formal process of divorce have been finished in the court, and another group of 100 married subjects who live in their families and are not separated. Sampling method for non-divorced group was snowball sampling and for divorced group, convenient sampling, both of which are non-random methods of sampling.     Discussion of Results and Conclusions   The Results of the study indicate that the variable of educational differences may lead to disability in satisfying the spouse's expectations . Also, opinion-related difference of the couples, interference of family members in the couple`s marital life, and unsuitable job condition can be considered as effective variables on increasing divorce. The interesting point is that difference in birthplace has no effect on divorce occurrence in contrast to the research primary pre-assumption. Also, the discussion about research hypotheses and their theoretical analysis can be explained according to exchange theory, as it predicts that when a person (husband or wife) assesses the costs of a relationship more than its interests, in this regard such person assumes the relationship unequal and will become disappointed to get satisfied in his/her expectations for the other party. As a result, we may expect a rupture in the relationship and consequently occurrence of divorce. Our research findings indicate that those spouses who were not able to meet their spouse's expectations, they face divorce more than others. This finding approves exchange theory and also the findings of Rousta (2010), Riahi & colleagues (2007) and Dohrati (2007).       https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18366_8ff81968496c7d6a66c52896d81f1800.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 The Situation of Tendency towards Critical Thinking in Students of the University of Isfahan and Some Factors Related to It The Situation of Tendency towards Critical Thinking in Students of the University of Isfahan and Some Factors Related to It 117 138 18367 FA Masoud Kianpour Department of Social Sciences, University of Isfahan, Iran Soraya Memar Sahar Khojasteh University of Isfahan, Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14 Introduction <br />21st world is witnessing the advent of a critical movement and consequently the creation of a new view towards the issues governing societies. With the advent of this movement, a tradition of criticizing and challenging supposed foundations appeared in different fields of intellectual work and science, leading scholars to endeavor for expanding critical thinking among the public. While in the middle of the 20th century critical thinking was considered as an educational requirement, now required measures are defined to put this concept into academic curriculums, developing therefore habit of critical thinking in all learners. Regarding the necessities and importance of critical thinking in every society, the present study indents to evaluate tendency of students in critical thinking as they are indeed the forerunners of social change in Iran. In addition to examining this phenomenon, we also want to know how some specific factors are related to it. These factors include academic motivation, economic-social status, sex and field of study. <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />The method employed in this study is cross-sectional survey. Data collection process included two standard questionnaires (Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CTDI) and Academic Motivation Scale (AMS)) and one researcher-made questionnaire. The first questionnaire, designed by Ricketts, includes three dimensions of engagement, innovativeness and cognitive maturity. The second questionnaire, designed by Vallerand et al. (1992), is a seventh-grade Likert scale questionnaire including 28 items, which are divided into 7 subscales: intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, intrinsic motivation toward accomplishment, intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, external regulation and amotivation. The last questionnaire is a Our last questionnaire, designed by the authors, starts with three question of "field of study", "year of enrolling" and "sex" and continues with 8 items for evaluating the economic-social status. To evaluate the economic-social status, 5 dimensions of education, occupational rank, income, house price and car price were considered. <br />Respondents of the present study included students of faculties of Humanities and Engineering of the University of Isfahan, whose total number was 833 individuals. Overall, 310 individuals were selected to constitute sample size using stratified probability sampling. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusions <br />The data obtained from the study was analyzed descriptively and inferentially at two univariate and bivariate levels. The most important findings of the study are as follows: <br />The results of the study indicate that around % 82 of students have a high tendency towards critical thinking. Also, around %93 of them have the high educational motivation. When it comes to socio-economic status, around %71 of students belong to the middle class. <br />In addition, to examine research hypotheses, the data at the bivariate level was analyzed descriptively and inferentially with the follow results: <br />1. The level of significance (Sig=0.000) was obtained from testing correlation between the two variables of tendency towards critical thinking and academic motivation, indicating there is a meaningful correlation between these two variables. <br />2. The analysis of the correlation between the two variables of tendency towards critical thinking and sex indicates that there is a meaningful correlation between these two variables (Sig=0.028). <br />3. The descriptive analysis of the correlation between the two variables of tendency towards critical thinking and economic-social status indicates that there is positive, albeit weak, correlation (0.007) between two variables. However, this correlation is not meaningful and may be due to sampling error because the level of significance for this test is above 0.05. <br />4. The Goodman & Kruskal's tau coefficient (0.049) to examine the correlation between two variables of tendency towards critical thinking and field of study means that only about 0.05 of the changes of students' tendency towards critical thinking is correlated with their field of study and yet this correlation seems to be meaningless because significant level is not acceptable in the test. Introduction <br />21st world is witnessing the advent of a critical movement and consequently the creation of a new view towards the issues governing societies. With the advent of this movement, a tradition of criticizing and challenging supposed foundations appeared in different fields of intellectual work and science, leading scholars to endeavor for expanding critical thinking among the public. While in the middle of the 20th century critical thinking was considered as an educational requirement, now required measures are defined to put this concept into academic curriculums, developing therefore habit of critical thinking in all learners. Regarding the necessities and importance of critical thinking in every society, the present study indents to evaluate tendency of students in critical thinking as they are indeed the forerunners of social change in Iran. In addition to examining this phenomenon, we also want to know how some specific factors are related to it. These factors include academic motivation, economic-social status, sex and field of study. <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />The method employed in this study is cross-sectional survey. Data collection process included two standard questionnaires (Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CTDI) and Academic Motivation Scale (AMS)) and one researcher-made questionnaire. The first questionnaire, designed by Ricketts, includes three dimensions of engagement, innovativeness and cognitive maturity. The second questionnaire, designed by Vallerand et al. (1992), is a seventh-grade Likert scale questionnaire including 28 items, which are divided into 7 subscales: intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, intrinsic motivation toward accomplishment, intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, external regulation and amotivation. The last questionnaire is a Our last questionnaire, designed by the authors, starts with three question of "field of study", "year of enrolling" and "sex" and continues with 8 items for evaluating the economic-social status. To evaluate the economic-social status, 5 dimensions of education, occupational rank, income, house price and car price were considered. <br />Respondents of the present study included students of faculties of Humanities and Engineering of the University of Isfahan, whose total number was 833 individuals. Overall, 310 individuals were selected to constitute sample size using stratified probability sampling. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusions <br />The data obtained from the study was analyzed descriptively and inferentially at two univariate and bivariate levels. The most important findings of the study are as follows: <br />The results of the study indicate that around % 82 of students have a high tendency towards critical thinking. Also, around %93 of them have the high educational motivation. When it comes to socio-economic status, around %71 of students belong to the middle class. <br />In addition, to examine research hypotheses, the data at the bivariate level was analyzed descriptively and inferentially with the follow results: <br />1. The level of significance (Sig=0.000) was obtained from testing correlation between the two variables of tendency towards critical thinking and academic motivation, indicating there is a meaningful correlation between these two variables. <br />2. The analysis of the correlation between the two variables of tendency towards critical thinking and sex indicates that there is a meaningful correlation between these two variables (Sig=0.028). <br />3. The descriptive analysis of the correlation between the two variables of tendency towards critical thinking and economic-social status indicates that there is positive, albeit weak, correlation (0.007) between two variables. However, this correlation is not meaningful and may be due to sampling error because the level of significance for this test is above 0.05. <br />4. The Goodman & Kruskal's tau coefficient (0.049) to examine the correlation between two variables of tendency towards critical thinking and field of study means that only about 0.05 of the changes of students' tendency towards critical thinking is correlated with their field of study and yet this correlation seems to be meaningless because significant level is not acceptable in the test. https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18367_5c681d9a2efc5c4a564b331ead10f6ec.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 Relationship between Norm of Social Reciprocity and Law-breaking among Motorcycle Users in Yazd Relationship between Norm of Social Reciprocity and Law-breaking among Motorcycle Users in Yazd 139 158 18362 FA Ebrahim Masoudnia Department of Social Sciences,Guilan University , Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14 Introduction <br />Crime, irregularity and fear of insecurity, are the most important determinants of a community's failure to achieve collective goals in the path to individual and social well-being. Hence, to ensure security and prevent anti-social behavior, human societies created a set of rules and norms for monitoring and controlling anti-social behavior. But in all societies, especially developing ones, there are people who ignore these rules. Inattention to these rules can lead to road accidents, high mortality, physical damage, disruption of family after accident, and costly financial damage. According to estimates, in 2020, road traffic accidents will become the third leading cause of death worldwide. In Iran, traffic accidents, has been on an increasing path to the extent that its growth is 10% and the rate of deaths from traffic accidents, is 15 times higher than that of the developed countries. Previous research on the etiology of law breaking among motorcycle users often focused on physical and psychological risk factors. This study aims at explaining the relationship between the norm of reciprocity (as a component of social capital) and violation of traffic rules by motorcycle users based on social capital theory. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Materials and Methods <br />This study was conducted with descriptive and case-control design. Two groups of motorcycle users (192 law-breakers and 192 law-abiding users) were classified and compared according to driving indices of the police. Law-abiding users were distinguished from law-breakers considering how they obey riding rules such as wearing crash helmet, stopping before the red traffic light, having motorcycle riding license, having necessary policy, and moving in correct line designed for motorcycle users. Low-breakers were those who did not observe the above behaviors, and instead showed behaviors such as careening among cars, riding in sidewalks, and bothering pedestrians. Three traffic experts of the police identified law-abiding and law-breaker users. The subjects were selected using multi-phase cluster random sampling method. The instrument of data collection is a standardized scale called Norm of Reciprocity (NRS). The data was analyzed using independent-samples T-test method. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results and Conclusions <br />Three hundred and eighty-four motorcycle users in two groups of law-abiding users (192) and law-breaking users (192) were investigated. The mean age of law-abiding users was 26.07 and the standard deviation was 8.61, the mean age of law-breaking users was 24.60 and its standard deviation was 7.74. Most of the samples were in the age group of 15-30 year-old. Concerning the percentage of users who had primary education, it was higher among low-breaker users (41.8%) than the other group (32.9%). The groups were relatively similar regarding income, residency, marital status, and purposes of using motorcycles without any significant differences. Concerning the frequency of having experiences of breaking rules, they were different. That is the frequency of violating traffic rules was significantly higher in law-breakers’ group (23.9% compared to 13%). Comparing these groups, level of reciprocity was not similar. Results revealed that there is a significant difference comparing their total social support (P Introduction <br />Crime, irregularity and fear of insecurity, are the most important determinants of a community's failure to achieve collective goals in the path to individual and social well-being. Hence, to ensure security and prevent anti-social behavior, human societies created a set of rules and norms for monitoring and controlling anti-social behavior. But in all societies, especially developing ones, there are people who ignore these rules. Inattention to these rules can lead to road accidents, high mortality, physical damage, disruption of family after accident, and costly financial damage. According to estimates, in 2020, road traffic accidents will become the third leading cause of death worldwide. In Iran, traffic accidents, has been on an increasing path to the extent that its growth is 10% and the rate of deaths from traffic accidents, is 15 times higher than that of the developed countries. Previous research on the etiology of law breaking among motorcycle users often focused on physical and psychological risk factors. This study aims at explaining the relationship between the norm of reciprocity (as a component of social capital) and violation of traffic rules by motorcycle users based on social capital theory. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Materials and Methods <br />This study was conducted with descriptive and case-control design. Two groups of motorcycle users (192 law-breakers and 192 law-abiding users) were classified and compared according to driving indices of the police. Law-abiding users were distinguished from law-breakers considering how they obey riding rules such as wearing crash helmet, stopping before the red traffic light, having motorcycle riding license, having necessary policy, and moving in correct line designed for motorcycle users. Low-breakers were those who did not observe the above behaviors, and instead showed behaviors such as careening among cars, riding in sidewalks, and bothering pedestrians. Three traffic experts of the police identified law-abiding and law-breaker users. The subjects were selected using multi-phase cluster random sampling method. The instrument of data collection is a standardized scale called Norm of Reciprocity (NRS). The data was analyzed using independent-samples T-test method. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results and Conclusions <br />Three hundred and eighty-four motorcycle users in two groups of law-abiding users (192) and law-breaking users (192) were investigated. The mean age of law-abiding users was 26.07 and the standard deviation was 8.61, the mean age of law-breaking users was 24.60 and its standard deviation was 7.74. Most of the samples were in the age group of 15-30 year-old. Concerning the percentage of users who had primary education, it was higher among low-breaker users (41.8%) than the other group (32.9%). The groups were relatively similar regarding income, residency, marital status, and purposes of using motorcycles without any significant differences. Concerning the frequency of having experiences of breaking rules, they were different. That is the frequency of violating traffic rules was significantly higher in law-breakers’ group (23.9% compared to 13%). Comparing these groups, level of reciprocity was not similar. Results revealed that there is a significant difference comparing their total social support (P https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18362_3c5b8853c168934b72638eaac271f6cb.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 An Investigation of the role of Cyber Networks in Cultural Identity of Students at the University of Isfahan An Investigation of the role of Cyber Networks in Cultural Identity of Students at the University of Isfahan 159 170 18360 FA Negin Barat Dastjerdi Department of Psychology and Education, University of Isfahan, Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14 Introduction <br />The fast growth of cyber networks has exposed students to various kinds of information and applications. It has also created numerous changes in different aspects of their lives, including their identity and culture. In today's Iranian society, cyber networks have created a new situation for users and defined new boundaries with respect to the formation of youths' subcultures, values and identity. Anonymity, communication speed and fluidity of cyber networks have conveyed broad messages with regard to the communication patterns of youths (Zokaee, 2010: 2-3). Students are regarded as the biggest group of cyberspace users and audience. They become familiar with the cyberspace at university since they have access to the internet there. The cyberspace affects cognitive, emotional, cultural and practical orientation of students, influencing all aspects of their lives. This fact has led to putting the focus on the cultural identity of students exposed to the cyberspace. Given the pivotal role of cyber networks in changing the identity of youths, especially their cultural identity, the current study seeks to examine the relationship between exposure to the cyberspace and cultural identity of students at Isfahan University. The study will also examines the relationship between reasons and goals behind using cyber networks and the cultural identity of students. <br /> <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />The research method is descriptive .The study population is consisted of all students of Isfahan University, of whom 200 individuals were selected using random sampling method. The questionnaire used for gathering information was made by the researcher herself and its validity and reliability was confirmed. The data was analyzed by SPSS software in descriptive and inferential fashions. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusion <br />The results of descriptive analysis show that research subjects visit the cyberspace 1-2 hours per week on average. Social, communicative, personal, and cultural goals are the main reasons for using cyber networks by the students. The inferential analysis of the study indicates that there is a significant relationship between using cyber networks and cultural identity of students. This finding could be attributed to the fact that a new type of life has taken shape in the cyberspace with the advent of the Internet, transforming communication methods and new social relationships (Barani, 2012). Another finding of the research indicates that there is a significant relationship between goals behind using cyber networks and cultural identity of students. Important goals for using cyber space are: social, communicational, personal and cultural. The results also reveal that a significant relationship exists between the motive for using cyber networks and cultural identity. Using demographic variables (age, gender, education degree), a significant relationship is observed between the cyberspace and cultural identity. Features of electronic communication in the cyberspace have created different conditions than face-to-face communication. Speed, anonymity, etc. have created equal conditions for cyberspace users disregarding their gender, class, ethnicity, race and location, providing them with different experiences. Interactions that take place in the cyberspace provide users with a new mentality and tendency that could slightly change their behavior and interactions in real life (Noormohammadi, 2004). So, it is suggested that relevant planners and managers identify the needs of youths, manage the cyberspace properly, and produce proper and healthy content in attractive formats fitting the needs of youths in virtual networks. Besides, proper cultural grounds should be provided so as to pave the way for students to use cyber networks for higher goals. Introduction <br />The fast growth of cyber networks has exposed students to various kinds of information and applications. It has also created numerous changes in different aspects of their lives, including their identity and culture. In today's Iranian society, cyber networks have created a new situation for users and defined new boundaries with respect to the formation of youths' subcultures, values and identity. Anonymity, communication speed and fluidity of cyber networks have conveyed broad messages with regard to the communication patterns of youths (Zokaee, 2010: 2-3). Students are regarded as the biggest group of cyberspace users and audience. They become familiar with the cyberspace at university since they have access to the internet there. The cyberspace affects cognitive, emotional, cultural and practical orientation of students, influencing all aspects of their lives. This fact has led to putting the focus on the cultural identity of students exposed to the cyberspace. Given the pivotal role of cyber networks in changing the identity of youths, especially their cultural identity, the current study seeks to examine the relationship between exposure to the cyberspace and cultural identity of students at Isfahan University. The study will also examines the relationship between reasons and goals behind using cyber networks and the cultural identity of students. <br /> <br /> <br />Material & Methods <br />The research method is descriptive .The study population is consisted of all students of Isfahan University, of whom 200 individuals were selected using random sampling method. The questionnaire used for gathering information was made by the researcher herself and its validity and reliability was confirmed. The data was analyzed by SPSS software in descriptive and inferential fashions. <br /> <br />Discussion of Results & Conclusion <br />The results of descriptive analysis show that research subjects visit the cyberspace 1-2 hours per week on average. Social, communicative, personal, and cultural goals are the main reasons for using cyber networks by the students. The inferential analysis of the study indicates that there is a significant relationship between using cyber networks and cultural identity of students. This finding could be attributed to the fact that a new type of life has taken shape in the cyberspace with the advent of the Internet, transforming communication methods and new social relationships (Barani, 2012). Another finding of the research indicates that there is a significant relationship between goals behind using cyber networks and cultural identity of students. Important goals for using cyber space are: social, communicational, personal and cultural. The results also reveal that a significant relationship exists between the motive for using cyber networks and cultural identity. Using demographic variables (age, gender, education degree), a significant relationship is observed between the cyberspace and cultural identity. Features of electronic communication in the cyberspace have created different conditions than face-to-face communication. Speed, anonymity, etc. have created equal conditions for cyberspace users disregarding their gender, class, ethnicity, race and location, providing them with different experiences. Interactions that take place in the cyberspace provide users with a new mentality and tendency that could slightly change their behavior and interactions in real life (Noormohammadi, 2004). So, it is suggested that relevant planners and managers identify the needs of youths, manage the cyberspace properly, and produce proper and healthy content in attractive formats fitting the needs of youths in virtual networks. Besides, proper cultural grounds should be provided so as to pave the way for students to use cyber networks for higher goals. https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18360_287a4932ae5506c3b4a1b6ba8035b00f.pdf

University of Isfahan Journal of Applied Sociology 2008-5745 25 2 2014 04 21 Analyzing the Relationship between National Identity and Ethnic Identity with emphasis on the role of Religiosity: the Case of High-School Students of Yasuj Analyzing the Relationship between National Identity and Ethnic Identity with emphasis on the role of Religiosity: the Case of High-School Students of Yasuj 171 188 18363 FA Sayeed Fakhrodin Behjati Asl University of Shahed Tehran, Iran Arman Heidari Department of sociology, Yasuj University, Iran Majid Movahed Department of sociology, Shiraz University, Iran Journal Article 2016 06 14   Introduction   Nowadays, with the development of mass media and the universalization of culture, the decreasing effect and the shivering position of governments as the most important players of the world after the Cold War, has become one of the most important concerns of politicians and statesmen National identity defines one of the chief and widest rings of our what-ness and who-ness in the modern era, and modifies both the universalistic and particularistic extremities like a communicative vessel. Effective factors on national identity can be analyzed along two intersecting axes of external (supra- national factors) /internal (sub- national factors) as well as centrifugal (sense of deprivation) and centripetal (common culture and religion) forces. In recent years, one of the most important foundational changes in history has been the alteration of the relationship between religion and collective identities. During the Enlightenment to the last decades of the 20th century, many scientists, under the radiance of secularization theories, believed that modernism and developments in literacy would lead to the limitation of religious influence on the realm of private life and the destruction of the collective correlation function of religion. Today, with the collapse of communism and the emergence of new countries out of it, whose national identities are often based on religion, as well as the noticeable inauguration of religious movements worldwide, the effect and importance of religion has steadily attracted attention in the manifestation of collective interactions and social unity or collapse.     Material & Methods   We assumed that religion, as one of the chief factors in attaching the ethnic group of Lors to the bigger Iranian community, can prepare the background for their sense of belonging and unity with the bigger community to a great extent. In other words, according to the religious comm::::union:::: between the Lors and the bigger Iranian community, religion was assumed as one of the chief centripetal forces among the Lors, which can prepare the background for the cultural unity of the Iranian community. The society under study was the high-school students of Yasuj in which over 90 percent of the population belong to Lor ethnicity. The method undertaken was quantitative and surveying, and the data was collected via the questionnaire. Independent and dependant variables of the study were ethnic identity and national identity, respectively. The religiosity variable (in the form of the four-dimensional belief, affection, rite, and consequence) was assumed to be the modifying variable in the relationship between these two collective identities.     Discussion of Results & Conclusions   According to the results, of the dimensions of religiosity, only correlation between the consequential dimension and national identity was meaningful and positive. Also, correlation between all dimensions of religiosity and national identity was meaningful and positive. Besides, the amount of the correlation between dimensions of religiosity and national identity was more than that of the correlation between the consequential dimension and ethnic identity. In accordance with the results of the detailed correlation test, the correlation between the two variables of ethnic and national identities decreased, after controlling the effect of the dimensions of religiosity (0.02 percent which is not considerable). Based on the results from regression, it can be said that the two dimension of belief and consequence, respectively, as the most influential dimensions of religiosity variable, could determine 14 percent of the variance of the national identity. The results of the study indicate that religion, as one of the most important cultural capitals of Lor people, has had a great influence on attaching them to the bigger Iranian community. But according to the measure of the mutual correlation, the detailed correlation coefficient, and regression results, there should be no exaggeration about the influence and no neglect for other influential factors on the social and cultural unity of the Lor people with the bigger society.        Introduction   Nowadays, with the development of mass media and the universalization of culture, the decreasing effect and the shivering position of governments as the most important players of the world after the Cold War, has become one of the most important concerns of politicians and statesmen National identity defines one of the chief and widest rings of our what-ness and who-ness in the modern era, and modifies both the universalistic and particularistic extremities like a communicative vessel. Effective factors on national identity can be analyzed along two intersecting axes of external (supra- national factors) /internal (sub- national factors) as well as centrifugal (sense of deprivation) and centripetal (common culture and religion) forces. In recent years, one of the most important foundational changes in history has been the alteration of the relationship between religion and collective identities. During the Enlightenment to the last decades of the 20th century, many scientists, under the radiance of secularization theories, believed that modernism and developments in literacy would lead to the limitation of religious influence on the realm of private life and the destruction of the collective correlation function of religion. Today, with the collapse of communism and the emergence of new countries out of it, whose national identities are often based on religion, as well as the noticeable inauguration of religious movements worldwide, the effect and importance of religion has steadily attracted attention in the manifestation of collective interactions and social unity or collapse.     Material & Methods   We assumed that religion, as one of the chief factors in attaching the ethnic group of Lors to the bigger Iranian community, can prepare the background for their sense of belonging and unity with the bigger community to a great extent. In other words, according to the religious comm::::union:::: between the Lors and the bigger Iranian community, religion was assumed as one of the chief centripetal forces among the Lors, which can prepare the background for the cultural unity of the Iranian community. The society under study was the high-school students of Yasuj in which over 90 percent of the population belong to Lor ethnicity. The method undertaken was quantitative and surveying, and the data was collected via the questionnaire. Independent and dependant variables of the study were ethnic identity and national identity, respectively. The religiosity variable (in the form of the four-dimensional belief, affection, rite, and consequence) was assumed to be the modifying variable in the relationship between these two collective identities.     Discussion of Results & Conclusions   According to the results, of the dimensions of religiosity, only correlation between the consequential dimension and national identity was meaningful and positive. Also, correlation between all dimensions of religiosity and national identity was meaningful and positive. Besides, the amount of the correlation between dimensions of religiosity and national identity was more than that of the correlation between the consequential dimension and ethnic identity. In accordance with the results of the detailed correlation test, the correlation between the two variables of ethnic and national identities decreased, after controlling the effect of the dimensions of religiosity (0.02 percent which is not considerable). Based on the results from regression, it can be said that the two dimension of belief and consequence, respectively, as the most influential dimensions of religiosity variable, could determine 14 percent of the variance of the national identity. The results of the study indicate that religion, as one of the most important cultural capitals of Lor people, has had a great influence on attaching them to the bigger Iranian community. But according to the measure of the mutual correlation, the detailed correlation coefficient, and regression results, there should be no exaggeration about the influence and no neglect for other influential factors on the social and cultural unity of the Lor people with the bigger society.      https://jas.ui.ac.ir/article_18363_6fe9d08de4244cacb3543436fc2b5dac.pdf