فصلنامه علوم اجتماعی
سال نوزدهم شماره 4 (پیاپی 59، زمستان 1391)

Family health is an important issue that has attracted the attention of sociologists and psychologist. The current research was conducted with the aim of analyzing family health and some social factors affecting it. Based on current theoretical foundations, a healthy family was conceptualized into six components, including intimacy and empathy, family member's independence, satisfaction, meeting the demands of family members, family cohesion, and observance of ethical and Islamic values in the family. The status of family health was measured through the operational definition of these components. Then, the family health was explained with the help of some relevant variables including health status of families of orientation, similarity of economic and cultural capitals of families of orientation, kinship relations, and social environment of family. The method used in this research was survey method, and its population consisted of about 1,600,000 Tehrani families with at least 1 child and 5 years of joint life. The sample size was estimated as 367 families, which were selected from the city blocks located in 22 districts of Tehran using random sampling, and the data were collected through questionnaires. The results of data analysis showed that the strongest link is between family health and health status of families of orientation. The second significant link is between family health and kinship relations. Similarity of economic and cultural capitals of families of orientation and social environment of family showed no significant relationship with family health.

This study aims to investigate the effect of social capital on mental and social health of teachers in Hamadan city. The method of the study is cross-sectional in a descriptive survey. Statistical population of the survey is composed of all teachers of Hamadan city, in the year 2010-11. Study sample is composed of 375 teachers that were selected by proportional-stratified sampling method. Demographic Data Questionnaire, Social Capital Questionnaire, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and Keyes Social Health Questionnaire were used to evaluation all the individuals. Moreover, correlation coefficient, regression, and path analysis was used for data analysis. The results of the study showed that there is no significant relationship between background variables (age, sex, education and work experience), and social and mental health. Moreover, a significant correlation was observed between social and mental health and the following variables: social participation dimension (0.429, 0.534); relationship with friends and family (0.470, 0.37); social trust (0.593, 0.361); neighborhood relations (0.6, 0.310); social cohesion, (0.406, 0.179); attitude towards others (0.536, 0.283); self-sacrifice for strangers (0.366, 0.136); social support (0.515, 0.329); and interest in society (0.329, 0.276). The overall results of the study indicated that there are significant relationships between social capital and social health (p>0/001 and r =0/429) and social capital and mental health (p>0/001 and r = 0/572). According to the finding of the study, the current research is consistent with previous researches. Therefore, it is recommended that attention be paid to the health promotion and education of teachers through education systems by increasing social capital, utilizing group teaching methods, and creating social networks for scientific, educational, friendship, and entertainment purposes.

The purpose of the present paper is to analyze the relationship between social capital and democratic citizenship among Tehran University students. Democratic citizenship, with two dimensions of right/duty of citizenship, is a basic requirement in the societies seeking real democracy, and is in accordance with the views of thinkers such as Tocqueville, Almond and Verba, Putnam, etc. One of the factors for establishing and promoting democratic citizenship is social capital. Thus, it is necessary to understand the relationship between democratic citizenship and social capital as an effective factor in promoting democratic citizenship. The method of this research was survey, and its population consisted of Tehran University students, with a sample size of 380 who were selected using stratified proportional-to-size sampling. The research instrument was questionnaire, and the collected data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics and using SPSS. The results of the research show that the increase in social capital among students increases the level of democratic citizenship. Moreover, with the increase of social trust, the attitudinal dimension of democratic citizenship, which dominates civil rights, increases, and with the increase of civic participation, behavioral dimension of democratic citizenship, which dominates civil duties, increases. Regarding the demographic variables, the results of the research show that male students are at a higher level with regards to democratic citizenship. Furthermore, among different ethnic groups, Turks are at a higher level compared to other ethnicities.

The present paper aims at analyzing TDF (Theatre for Development) within a framework of theoretical developments in development communication. TDF was the result of two paradigm shifts in development communication from the optimistic theories of “modernization school” to critical theories of “dependency school”, and was formed within the frameworks of “Another Development” and theories of “participator communication”. It gained an important place in new development and communication programs especially in Latin America. “Theatre for Development” is based on the combination of “entertainment” and “education”. Using general experiences and capacities, it utilizes theatre to encourage the community to express its concerns, problems, and possible solutions, and to educate people in the path of development. This paper is an attempt to describe and explain communication characteristics and distinctions of “Theatre for Development” using Paulo Freire’s theoretical approach towards education and Augusto Boal’s approach towards applied theatre.

Contemporary theoretical approaches have emphasized the role of education in general and higher education in particular in strengthening public communicative actions, social responsibility, and social solidarity, producing new social capital, and moderating social and cultural particularism. However, it is necessary to reflect on the status of cultural and ethnic particularism in the universities and the success of the social structure of education in moderating ethnocentrism. Thus, the present paper, using survey as its method of research, aimed at investigating the role of social structure of education in moderation of ethnocenterism in the universities of Sanandaj city. The population of the research consisted of all the students of universities of Sanandaj, including State, Azad, and Payam Nour universities, in the academic year of 1390-91 (2011-12). Total 600 students were selected based on Cochran's method of sample estimation and using Stratified random sampling. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. The results of the data analysis indicated that the mean score of ethnocentrism (total sample) was 54.15, which was determined based on a 0-to-100 scale. According to the results of the study, the variables of student's academic age, interactional learning, social interactions, and associational relationships have negative impacts on ethnocenterism, and are responsible for 40 percent of moderation of ethnocenterism among students. At the end of the paper, the implications of the results and findings of the research for peaceful management of cultural changes in university settings is discussed.

The purpose of the present paper is to analyze the social responsibility of the youth and the cultural and social factors affecting it. The theoretical framework of the research was eclectic, combining elements from the theories developed by Weber, Durkheim, Parsons, Bourdieu, and Ross. The method of the research was survey method, and the data collection instrument was questionnaire. The population consisted of the youth (aged 20-29 years) of Hamadan city in the year 1390. The sample was selected using multi-stage cluster sampling, and the data were collected through house-to-house questionnaire.The findings of the research show that the overall social responsibility of the youth of Hamadan is average. The responsibility of the youth in economic, political, societal, and cultural dimensions is different. The lowest responsibility of the youth belongs to the political dimension. The emotional and behavioral levels of responsibility also varied. The results of the data analysis confirmed the hypotheses of the research, and showed significant relationships between the main independent variables of the study, including universalism, social trust, use of mass media, religiosity, social status, and ethnicity. Universalism was shown to have the strongest effect on the social responsibility.

The importance of the role of mass values in the transition to democracy has become more prominent in recent years. In recent decades, and especially with Almond and Verba's The Civic Culture, the analysis of political culture has attracted more attention. Moreover, considering its emphasis on social ties and loyalties, the social capital approach seems to be important for constructing a culture appropriate to democracy. The present study aimed to assess the indexes of social capital and political culture studies, as well as to introduce new ideas and experiences about the values.The method of the research is descriptive and non-experimental, and involves secondary analysis. The data for testing the main hypothesis of the study was obtained from World Values Survey dataset, the wave of surveys in 2005 – 2008, and the Cultural Department of the Interior Ministry. In 2007, the values survey in Iran was carried out with sample of 2,667 people. In that project, the provinces with samples less than 40 people were excluded from the study. Thus, the analysis involved 21 provinces or Iran. However, the data of the two provinces of South and North Khorasan were integrated with that of Khorasan Razavi Province. Therefore, the analyses only involve 19 provinces.The results indicated that the social capital indicators have different impacts on democratic political culture. Some indicators such as trust and participation (neo-Tocqueville indicators) have positive impacts on democratic political culture. To the contrary, confidence in institutions has negative impact on the emergence of these values. Civic righteousness had no significant effect on democratic political culture.