نشریه زن در توسعه و سیاست
سال هفتم شماره 3 (پاییز 1388)

Attention to issues of female faculty members in higher education demands extended research and study, thus assessing their social status is considered as one of the most useful methods in understanding their structural as well as functional problems. This provides different fields of growth and development for this elite group and thus resolves their social and cultural problems. This study, using meta –analysis, strategic-oriented assessment and studies concerning Social status of female faculty members examines compatibility of such social status with related resolutions of Higher Council of Cultural Revolution and provides appropriate suggestions. Findings show increase in the number of female faculty members; low participation in managerial positions, influential decisions and policy making in universities, congresses and seminars; as well as a feeling of discrimination or lack of organizational justice. In spite of various educational opportunities in universities and higher education, cultural and social problems such as spousal and maternal roles as well as attitude towards women at work lead to incomplete actualization of their capabilities and talents. Applicable solutions may include a change of thoughts; improvement of their scientific, educational level as well as taking part in managerial positions of higher education.

Fashion is an aspect of Tehran's (and Iran) modernity which represents itself in various forms and is thus changing rapidly. This study aims to illustrate various forms of fashion (women's clothing and hair coverings) in Tehran by means of photos and statements. In this survey 2 main questions are answered: "what are different forms of fashion?", which factors control the development and spread of fashion and how is fashion formed? ”. This survey is a case study and the samples are selected from shopping centers related to fashion. In this research in addition to recording different forms of fashion, interviews are conducted with those involved in fashion using a questionnaire. Different kinds of clothing and hair covering, from the simplest forms to the most up to date fashion, are thus categorized. In addition, using Zimel theory, the development and spread of fashion in the society is discussed, mainly focusing on three factors including fashion consumers, fashion distributors and society. It is concluded that, although development and spread of fashion is affected by global society and distributors, the main interacting factor is the consumers that while accepting it, make changes especially in its usage and meaning

Safety in urban environments is considered to be one of requirements of life quality. Safety improvement has a direct relationship with mental calmness and also with sense of belonging to life environment. Although safety factors are important for everybody, research show that sensitivity to safety level is different for different age and sex groups and also for people with different social and physical capabilities. Considering urban public places, especially with regards to the need of various groups, social dimensions have more importance. This study investigates the safety of urban environments focusing on gender. The main point of this study is distinguishing between Subjective and objective aspects when evaluating the concept of safety, analyzing it and offering suggested solutions regarding women. The Study includes collecting theories and related experiences and adopting them with cultural conditions of the country. The next step is to conceptualize and draw out aspects and indices and variables. The data is collected through a questionnaire. Considering the social capacity of public urban spaces, the Study zone selected for the research is south of Imam Khomaini avenue, between Naser Khosro street to Vahdat Eslami street. The study aims to survey people's perception of safety level of the environment. It also examines the rate of traffic and space use and the relationship between them. The results show that there is direct relationship between people's sense of safety from a place and traffic amount and place use. Considering the indices of social-physical dimensions, the study also probes into the degree of familiarity, and reputation of the urban environment. Regarding social dimension, social equity of urban space and importance of sexual proficiency in women’s sense of safety have been studied.

From the early 1970S, cooperative approaches, especially rural women’s cooperation in development received great attention at national and international levels. Drawing rural women’s participation in development requires proper strategies in order to inspire existability, mobility, empowering and self-respect spirit. One of these strategies is "facilitating project" in which women chosen as "facilitators" or "propagation assistants" assist rural women in various economic-social aspects, and provide them with a higher possibility of participation in cooperative fields. Since 1380, "facilitating project" has been carried out as a pilot study in Mazol village of Neishabour by Jahad Agriculture Organization in Khorasan province. In development and planning literature, "assessment" is one of necessary processes of planning, and considering its importance and improvement of further projects, making decisions and planning of sustainable development it is more vital than ever before. This article, has utilized analytic and descriptive methods and field research in 18 sample villages of this district as well as interviewing 375 rural women.The results show that this project has promoted facilitator women’s self-confidence so as to lead to greater participation of women in rural development plans which can be a suitable pattern for other rural women. Nevertheless the project didnt achieve its assigned aims and didnt affect the reciprocal relationship between governmental agents and rural women. Younger and more educated facilitators, financial and non-financial governmental support, supervision on project administration, repeated elections, length of facilitating project, all contribute to project improvement.

One of the most important criteria in assessing the development level of a country is how significantly women play a role in different scientific, economic, social and political fields. Women's employment as one of the components of the economic development has always been evaluated and scaled. It also forms a template for prospective planning of countries. Competition among countries in the Middle East in different fields has also targeted the development of women's employment and the Islamic Republic of Iran tries to reach the highest peak of development in the outlook of 2025. Naturally women's employment growth compared to that of other countries in the region will be considered particularly. This article is a summary of a related research. The samples are collected from a 35-year period. The research has utilized time series method for comparing the situation of women's employment in the Middle Eastern countries and also presenting a vision of women's employment in the region especially Iran in the year 2025. The research shows that Iranian women have access to better job opportunities compared to other women in the region and are ranked in the fifth place of the region. Considering the growth of women's employment relative index, it is predicted that Iranian woman can even reach first or second rank in the Middle East.

Over the past decades, participatory approaches to development have been the center of attention not only as a means to sustainable development but also as an end. Although women's role in rural development is emphasized, their participation in extension educational programs is nevertheless limited. Using Sherry Aronstein theoretical framework, the descriptive-survey research aims to determine the level of participation among rural women. Considering Krejcie and Morgan (1980) table of sample size, multistage random sampling is used to select 120 rural women. The results follow Sherry Arnstein's ladder from bottom to top sequentially as manipulation, therapy, informing, consultation, placation, partnership, delegated power, and citizen control. Findings reveal that rural women are more on manipulation level (non-participation) and less on placation level (tokenism). Results also show that there is a significant difference between women's participation and educational level as well as marital status. Finally, recommendations are provided to enhance rural women's participation in extension education programs.

This paper examines the question of women’s self in virtual space and analyzes how women in the city of Saghez, in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, experience “self”. Methodologically, the researcher conducts the survey based on the data provided by a case study among 15 to 29 years old female internet users in the city of Saghez. The problem of this analysis lies in the question of how the experience of "female’s self" takes place through the communications of female users. In order to tackle this problem, Lacanian theory of self (Lacan, 1988; Shawver, 1998) and Zizek’s (2008) considerations regarding formation of self in virtual space are utilized. A field study based on qualitative approach of collecting data consisting of direct observation and written and oral structured interviews is carried out. The data is then categorically coded and is classified. The findings are thus used to support our theoretical framework. The results of this study indicate that the experience of female self in internet-based communication is affected by some type of lack of confidence that the users felt was present in the virtual space. Meanwhile, the users combine their confidence anxieties with established norms and beliefs which they had learned in the real world.