فصلنامه علوم اجتماعی
سال بیستم شماره 3 (پیاپی 62، پاییز 1392)

This research is a comparative survey of harmonious development in South Asian countries. In this research, the role of four basic, top-level variables in the harmonious development of these countries is examined in four different social aspects. A fuzzy comparative analysis5 is used, and paths to follow and not to follow in the course of development are explored. Results of the study showed that the development process of these countries was affected by a mixed causal connection of the following four variables: economic freedom, weak government, cultural heterogeneity, and principled population. Based on the findings of the study, in the South Asian and comparable countries, economic freedom as a single factor does not lead to a harmonious development, and it requires certain circumstances alongside in order that the development will be harmonious. The findings indicate that a strong government and its measures operate as an independent variable with strong and efficient influences on the process of development. In case the government is weak and its performance inefficient, then other causal connections of the other three variables, i.e. cultural heterogeneity, economic freedom and, most particularly, a principled and orderly population, can bring about a harmonious development. Among the latter three variables, the role of a principled population is crucial and it is a necessary condition for attaining to a harmonious development.

This study examines level of religiosity among university students in Qom city and creates a typology of their different types of religiosity. Glock and Stark model was used for testing level of religiosity. For identifying types of religiosity, a combinations of different theories on the topic was used and seven types eventually selected for the statistical population. The seven types included: layperson, devout, established, modernist, secular, laïc and hybrid religiosity. Peter Burger analysis was used for the two descriptive hypotheses of the study. Independent variables of the study were extracted from the following theories: Berger’s theory of modernization and secularization, Wach’s theory of socio-economic status, Putnam’s social capital theory, Berger’s theory of social life-word, and Grebner’s cultivation theory. A survey method was used in this study. The statistical population included all students of universities in Qom province (43718 students) in 2010-2011. The sample included 354 students selected using quota sampling. The study started with two descriptive hypotheses: “level of religiosity in university students is generally high”, and “varied types of religiosity is observable in university students”. Independent variable of the study included: academic education, socio-economic status, amount of social capital, being a student at the Islamic seminary, and amount of using public communication media. According to the findings, relationship of level and type of religiosity with “amount of cultural capital” and “amount of using public communication media” as independent variables was approved, while with “socio-economic status” and “being a student at the Islamic seminary” not approved. Variables “academic education” and “geographical origin” had a relationship with level of religiosity, but no relationship between them and types of religiosity was found.

Media literacy, as the new kind of literacy in the 21st century, involves a person’s ability in accessing, analyzing, assessing, and communicating with media messages in different forms, as well as his or her ability in critical thinking. The fundamental question of this study was studying high school students’ media literacy and its relationship with their sex, high school major and socio-economic status. This study was carried out using a survey method and a questionnaire, and the sample consisted of 400 students chosen through multilevel cluster sampling in Kerman high schools. Data was collected to address two questions and five hypotheses of the study. Findings revealed that level of media literacy was higher in male high school students, and that there was a significant relationship between level of media literacy and the three variables (sex, major, and socio-economic status). The study also showed that media literacy in students of last year of high school, who are human outputs of Ministry of Education average, was average in general.

The study of effects of culture on a purposeful life as an important factor of psychological health and an influential factor on setting goals and ordering their priorities is a challenging and exciting topic for researchers. The aim of the present research was to study the role of culture in how Iranian and American university students ordered priorities of their goals and aspirations. A descriptive method was used in the design and implementation of this study.. The sample consisted of 216 Iranian students and 164 American students. All students completed the Goals and Aspirations Questionnaire. In addition to descriptive statistics indicators for data analysis (mean and standard deviation), methods of inferential statistics (analysis of multivariate variance, MANOVA) were used. Analysis of the findings indicated that the top three priorities for the American students as a whole were dependence, self-acceptance, and health, respectively, and for Iranian students were self-acceptance, health, and financial success, respectively. Comparing sexes, the top three priorities for American female students were dependence, self-acceptance, and helping the society and for Iranian female students were self-acceptance, health, and helping the society. Also, the top three priorities of American male students were dependence, self-acceptance and health while for Iranian male students were self-acceptance, financial success and health. Results of MANOVA test showed that there was a significant different between Iranian and American students in terms of subgoals, which were categorized as spirituality, health, dependence, conformity, popularity, body image and financial success.

Few studies have been carried out to investigate public and governmental supports during the time of the (Iraqi imposed) war and after it. A group of women living in Beheshti township of Mashhad who were victims of the war, who realized it and its aftermaths very deeply, and who are among the most important narrators of the war, are, unfortunately, absolutely neglected in historiography of the (Iraqi imposed) war. Having realized this gap, the present paper employs a qualitative content analysis method to identify themes of public and governmental supports by analyzing part of findings of a MA thesis which included these women’s narrations of war extracted from narrative interviews with them. Available content was eventually categorized into five themes: the government’s support of victims of the war, public support of victims of the war, victims’ supports of each other, victims’ supports of fellow countrymen and the government, and public support of fellows and the government. The most important implication of this typology is the realization of presence of positive values in Iran’s cultural potential which, on the one hand, allows for immediate acts of support in the time of war, and, on the other hand, shows the important role of social capitals of victims of war, particularly the family and relatives, in forming sustainable, inclusive support.

This paper investigates an aspect of new sectarianism with special emphasis on New Spirituality in Iran. It uses the theory of subjectivism proposed by Canadian thinker, Charles Taylor, alongside Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis to analyze signs of new spiritualism. Data was collected through examining available resources and through deep interviews with advocates of this discourse. Examining available resources revealed that the semantic system of spirituality is as a discourse based on a number of themes and signs, including: centrality of the self, i.e. a journey from a life in line with external demands to an authentic, original life in the inside, individualism, holistic attitude, hybridity, and using psychology and individuality. Empirical studies have proven that the formation of new spiritualism as a discourse was an indication of internal conflicts and ambiguities in making sense of religious discourse. This issue was a challenge for the development of religious discourse and a threat to its face as the dominant discourse, which finally opened up the gates for discourse of spirituality. Studies indicate that this discourse is still in the phase of formation in Iran. In other words, it is not yet stable and its meanings are not yet clear, and, therefore, is far from turning into a hegemonic discourse.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of aspects of social trust and social participation in citizens of Yazd. A survey method was used for data collection. The questionnaire used in this study is both reliable and valid, and the sample consisted of 316 citizens. Result of the data analysis showed that the interpersonal and generalized aspects of social trust were unsatisfactory and that social participation was unsatisfactory in its concrete aspect but it was more satisfactory in the mental aspect. Also, Pearson's correlation coefficient showed that there was a significant relationship between social trust and social participation. Results of MANOVA test revealed that there was a significant relationship between interpersonal and generalized aspects of trust and the concrete and mental aspects of social participation.