structuration theory

The accounting system as a social system is in accordance with the theory of Structuration and is affected by the structure and agency that produce and reproduce accounting in order to achieve the best approach in fulfilling the accounting mission and the goals of the stakeholders. Religiosity as a kind of social norm can influence the pillars of social systems. Therefore, the aim of the current research is to provide a model to explain the function of religiosity in the accounting system with a theoretical method based on the Structuration theory. This article is in the category of qualitative research, which was conducted in line with the purpose of the research by examining 107 scientific and religious sources and interviewing 16 experts in the fields of accounting, sociology and Islamic sciences in 1403. In this study, the obtained information was analyzed using the theme analysis method. The research tools in the qualitative section were in-depth and semi-structured interviews, and the research sample was selected in the text section using the meta-composite method and in the interview section using the snowball method. According to the findings of the research, approaches and systems, frameworks and reporting criteria, elements of the accounting system, dimensions of religiosity were identified as the main themes of the research, which explain the components and pattern of religiosity with an emphasis on the theory of Structuration in the accounting system. The results of the research showed that religious agency in the shadow of Islamic beliefs, rulings and ethics based on the theory of Structuration at two levels of structure and system will affect the performance of the accounting system, the product of which is high-quality, useful and transparent financial reporting with the priority of social benefits based on the framework A theory based on social benefit as the added value of the present research.

Subject and purpose of the article: Improving the quality of disclosure is one of the effective factors for achieving an efficient capital market and optimal capital allocation. Considering the importance of sociological theories in accounting knowledge and using Islamic theoretical foundations, the current research tries to investigate this importance. The current research aims to explain the concept and components of disclosure quality in accounting from the perspective of Islam, focusing on the Structuration Theory.Research This article is in the category of qualitative research, which was carried out in line with the purpose of the research by examining scientific and Quranic texts and interviewing 12 experts and members of the academic faculty of the accounting department with research experience in the fields of sociology and Islamic sciences. In this study, the obtained information was analyzed using the theme analysis method. The research tools in the qualitative part were in-depth and semi-structured interviews, and the research sample was selected using a combination of non-probability, purposeful judgmental, and snowball methods. Research According to research findings, disclosure approach, disclosure framework, disclosure strategies, disclosure levels, and disclosure dimensions were identified as the main themes of the research, which explain the components and quality model of disclosure from the perspective of Islam in the framework of Structuration Theory.Conclusion, originality and its addition to knowledge: the accounting system with the priority of disclosure over moral and social obligations and responsibilities in the framework of the usefulness of information for decision-making, as well as the usefulness and ethics of the accounting system according to the explained components, a new and comprehensive model for Provides quality exposure

From the point of view of Islam, the source of accountability is in the belief in resurrection. Considering that in some sources, accounting is referred to as the language of accountability and the focus of this thinking is Structuration theory, the aim of this research is to studying the effect of reciprocity on the quality of accountability in accounting, emphasizing agency according to Structuration theory. The current research is quantitative in terms of approach. For analysis, correlation method based on emphasis factor and structural equation modeling were used. The statistical population of the research in the time domain of 2022 includes university academic staff members and official auditors who are members of the official accountants community and the sample size was determined according to the structural equation modeling methodology of 243 people. The data collection tool is a questionnaire extracted from previous researches. The data analysis in the form of structural equation model shows that the influence of belief in resurrection on the quality of accountability in accounting is strongly significant, this effect is from the confirmation of three types of relationships in the course of accountability, including 1- The relationship between belief in resurrection and agency, 2- Two-way relationship between agency and structure  3- The relationship between structure and religious, ethical, social, financial and sustainability dimensions; achieved. The results of the research shows that, according to the Structuration theory, the revalidation of agency has an effect on the creation of value and ethical structures and systems, including the accounting system, and the quality of accountability is one of the pillars of the accounting and financial reporting system. The quality of response resulting from the belief in resurrection is based on the five dimensions of faith, moral, social, financial and sustainability. The results of the current research will improve the quality of accountability of the accounting system by emphasizing the reciprocity of agency in both theoretical and practical dimensions.

“Tax system reform plan” is one of the basic parts of socio-economic development strategies in Iran. This reform is based on a comprehensive program for developing and deploying new Information Technology (IT) and improving the efficiency of the tax system. In this program, integrated tax software and databases are created and developed in order to tackle tax evasion and tax fraud. Despite the social agreement about the necessity of technological reform in tax system, changes are slow and no expected results have been achieved. Factors, such as delays in the implementation of this plan and ambiguity about its socio-economic effects, along with the conflicts of interest of the different groups involved in changes, have led to different perceptions among tax system actors and caused resistance to change. Understanding the actors’ perceptions, possible conflicts, and agreements facilitates the design and implementation of technological programs, as well as dealing with social resistances. This research focused on 3 groups of actors involved in technological changes of tax system: policy makers (top managers of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and tax administration) as the strategists of reform plans and tax officers and taxpayers, who were users of the new information system. In this article, the different actors’ perceptions about technological changes in the tax system were studied. In this regard, a sociological approach was deployed by using the concepts of structuration. In addition to Giddens’s dimensions of the duality of structure, “duality of technology” as the Structuration model of technology was considered by the authors. This conceptual framework allowed a deeper and more dialectical understanding of the interaction between technology, organizational structure, and actors. 

Matching the concepts of Structuration theory with the subject of this article, the actors’ discursive and practical awarenesses were considered as a manifestation of their perceptions. The actors’ discursive consciousness about the interactions between IS and the tax system structure was assumed as their explanation of the ideal state of this phenomenon. On the other hand, their practical consciousness was considered as their real experiences about it. According to Giddens, structure is the sum of “rules and resources organized as the properties of social systems”. In this article, the structures included rules, such as laws, policies, strategies, formal organizational structures, and internal and external organizational resources, including budget, technical equipment, human resources, and knowledge. In this study, a narrative research method was used to go beyond personal opinions and recognize collective views and mindsets. From among the narrative research types, “analysis of narrative” was chosen. The stories were collected as data and analyzed with paradigmatic processes. Paradigmatic analysis results in the descriptions of the themes that are held across the stories or in the taxonomies of types of stories, characters, or settings. Applying this method allowed the researchers to achieve a general model based on the common themes by combining individual experiences. In this study, two different tools were used to collect the actors’ stories. Due to the difficulty of accessing the policy makers and senior officials of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the tax system, their narratives were collected by referring to the texts of the interviews and the ministers’ official reports of economy and heads of the Tax Organization. Through judgmental sampling of the texts, 11 interviews and reports were selected and analyzed. The stories of the tax officers (18 persons were interviewed) and tax payers (24 persons were interviewed) were collected through in-depth interviews.

The narratives of each group of actors reflected their priorities and expectations of technological changes, as well as their experiences in this regard. The results revealed the actors' perceptions about the consequences of technological changes in the tax system, the rules and resources that affected it, and how technology interacted with those rules and resources. In addition, the conflicts and agreements related to the actors’ perceptions were identified. According to the analysis results of the narratives, the tax policy-makers believed that the reform plans had improved the rules and regulations of the tax system and enhanced its performance. They emphasized on the role of IS in facilitating the collection of taxpayers' financial information (as the most important factor in tax audits), implementing new risk-based tax audit methods, and deploying BI as a tool. In contrast, the tax officers and taxpayers believed that the reforms had not met the expectations due to the lack of training programs and cultural challenges. They believed that deploying IT had complicated work processes and increased conflicts between the tax officers and taxpayers.

Accountability-based accounting theoretical framework emphasizes the need for accountability in the accounting system. The present study, considering the importance of sociological theories in accounting knowledge and using Islamic theoretical foundations, seeks to investigate this important issue. The purpose of this study is to explain the concept and components of accountability in accounting from the perspective of Islam with a focus on Structuration Theory. The present article is in the category of qualitative research that has been done in line with the purpose of the research by reviewing scientific and Quranic texts and interviewing 15 Quranic science experts and faculty members of public and private universities in the fields of accounting, sociology, and Islamic sciences. In this study, the obtained information was analyzed by the theme analysis method. The research tools in the qualitative section were in-depth and semi-structured interviews and the research sample was selected using a combination of non-probabilistic, purposeful judgment, and snowball methods. According to the research findings, accountability approach, accountability levels, accountability dimensions, accountable elements, accountability principles, accountability reinforcement were identified as the main research themes that explain the components and model of accounting accountability from the perspective of Islam in the framework of Structuration Theory. The results show that the Islamic model, focusing on agency in Structuration Theory, covers the weaknesses of this theory, including ignoring ethics and strong intentions in an agency. Strengthening agency will lead to strengthening the structure and finally strengthening social systems. This will lead to the flourishing of accountability language in the accounting system.

The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive model for Accountability in accounting from an Islamic perspective with a focus on Structuration Theory from the field of social theories.

The present study is quantitative in terms of implementation method. In a quantitative way, the correlation method based on confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling was used. The statistical population of the study includes public sector accountants and auditors and members of the Society of Certified Public Accountants who were selected by available sampling method of 250 people. The research tool is a questionnaire extracted from the research literature.

Analysis of data in a quantitative part in the form of structural equation model showed that the effects of 6 areas including accountability approach, accountability levels, accountability dimensions, accountability elements, accountability principles, accountability strengthening on accountability of the accounting system were significant.

Islamic model with focus on agency in the theory of construction and emphasis on moral values in the formation of social systems, the language of accountability in the accounting system evolves and dynamics.

The objective of the present study is to review the impact of the challenges of political development on the process of coalition and unification in the foreign policy when there is lack of relative agreement among the elites and so the political parties are not institutionalized in society. The method of study is descriptive analysis and the structuration theory was used to show that the challenges of political development in the country not only damage the coalition of parties but also would lead to losing the international opportunities. Islamic Iran’s experience of having differing political orientations and lack of relative agreement among intellectual and political elites in giving a clear definition of national interests has led to the throwback to the past and as a result, a decline in the efficiency of foreign policy. In this regard, paying attention to upstream documents, the constitution, the 20-year perspective, developmental plans, red lines, boosting the culture of political participation, responsibility, institutionalization of parties, coordination among powers, transparency in the definition of national objectives and interests, on the one hand, and overall cognition to the environment, resources, regulations, and international norms and principles, on the other hand, can tremendously decrease the challenges of political development and hence increase the efficiency of Iran’s foreign policy.

Zionist regime has faced numerous problems because of not being known legitimate from the side of Arabic and non-Arabic countries; especially Islamic Republic of Iran. To come out of political isolation and being known as a legitimate regime,Israel has turned its attention to unity with Islamic non-Arabic countries in western Asia; especially the Kurds.. The reason why Kurds play an important role in peripheral unity policy is that the Kurds are the biggest nation without a government in the world and therefor promise for an independent Kurdish government is considered to be a strong motivation for them to cooperate with regional and non-regional powers. This article is an attempt to answer questions: How are geopolitics of post-Saddam Iraq, and Kurdistan region in the frame work of structuration theory explained? How are Israel’s activities in Kurdistan in the frame work of structuration theory explained? How do these activities change power balance in western Asia? The investigated data are gathered using library method and also via interviewing Iranian diplomats occupying political positions in Kurdistan. analyzed on the basis of the concepts sources, rules, power and signification. Studies show Israel’s activities in Kurdistan is an attempt to gain sources with the aim of gaining legitimacy and signification for its presence in next steps through ratifying Kurdistan’s independence.

The principle of the status transformation, as a social reality, can be examined based on sociological studies and in harmony with Anthony Giddens’ Structuration Theory. This theory is founded on the inseparability of two dimensions, i. e., agency and structure, in the realization of social events. Likewise, his other ideological approaches evoke the establishment of a certain type of human relationship and the realization of utopia. Based on Structuration Theory, the role of women in the realm of literature, in harmony with the motivations of works’ agent/creator, and the spatial-temporal requirements, has experienced numerous ups and downs. The presence of this element in the poems of the Iraqi poet, Abdul Wahab Al-Bayati, and those of the Iranian poet, Ahmad Shamlou is significantly frequent. In this paper, the suggested solutions of Giddens are examined; in addition, to depict the process of the transformation of woman’ social status in the poems of these two poets, woman has been studied as an expression of personal love, along with the reflection of social commitment and in conflict with imaginative realism. The results revealed that the poets noticeably converge in the first two levels whereas they diverge as far as the third stage is concerned.

In the 1970s, Anthony Giddens presented the Structurational Theory. This theory and the term derived from it were mostly sought after by the fact that it could overcome the duality of agency and structure. Defining the concepts of agency (action) and the structure and impact of each of them on social transformation is one of the main themes of the prevailing views of modern sociology, in which the delimitation of these theories is shaped based on how each of them is conceived of the above concepts. The opinions of the perpetrators in social events ignore the role of structures, and structuralist ideas do not consider actors to be effective in the development of change. In this context, Anthony Giddens's " Structuration " theory, with a new look at the above concepts and the presentation of new definitions of them, considers social developments to be mutually affected by these two concepts, thereby enhancing their ability to explain social phenomena. This paper examines Giddens construction theory and examines the place of action and structure in it, considering the position of sociology theories in the field of accounting, the construction theory to interpret the interaction between the stakeholders, against the image of their relative impact and their values (or Their viewpoint about the importance of events) and the definition of organizational accountability model.

This study concerning explanation of Changing Process in Public sector accounting with approach the Structuration Theory, aims to understand the specifications of active/inactive agency and supportive/unsupportive structure of Public sector accounting change. In this study, the specifications of active/inactive agency and supportive/unsupportive structure of Public sector accounting change, were recognized using the case study methodology and were categorized and analyzed by qualitative content analysis method. Then, through execution of Gidden's structuration theory, dualism role of agency and structure in the change of Public sector accounting was discussed. The source for gathering the data includes interview, observation and document analysis and research literature and participants, staff, accounting chiefs and financial managers of the University of Tehran. Finally, four organizational situations predictable in accounting change matrix and the specifications of each status were presented. According to the findings, the active agency specifications in change of Public sector accounting at the University of Tehran as compared to the inactive agency specifications and also the unsupportive structure specifications of the change in Public sector accounting at the University of Tehran as compared to the its supportive structure were more active.

The Palestinian issue is the oldest and the most complex crisis in the world and can be considered one of the most important Middle East conflicts in the twentieth century, especially after World War II. Many years have passed since the crisis started, and many plans have been put forward to deal with it, none of which have had any positive effect and the consequences of the crisis have affected the inhabitants of this land. Not paying attention to the realities on the Palestinian side has caused a lack of success of the plans. In order to provide a proper solution, recognizing the complexities of the crisis is necessary. So the main question is why, despite more than half a decade of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this issue has remained unresolved, and none of the proposals have been able to end this issue? Our answer to this question is multidimensional and includes several agents and structural factors that are discussed here using Anthony Giddens's structuration theory. According to this theory, both agents and structures together form phenomena and no one can be given priority over the other. Accordingly, the findings of this study indicate that the structure of the region and the world should be prepared for resolving this problem. Without the agreement and the partnership of the world powers and regional countries no solution will be effective. Furthermore, the agents on both sides of the crisis should reach an internal consensus. That they only be representatives of a part of the ruling body and authority in their own land will not be enough.

IntroductionUrban spaces have always expressed the demands and desires of their users. So, reading of these spaces, as a text, which is possible by understanding the meaning making process in its context, could be beneficial to perceive lots of urban issues. Throughout the production of meaning in urban spaces, human gets into interaction with his surroundings and his mind is united with the environmental context of meaning. This process leads to make a legible space for its users with specific structural and behavioral characteristics.
This study is aimed to discuss the meaning making process and space reading from a special point of view. The main subject of this study is the analysis and description of how to produce and reproduce meaning in urban spaces. The emphasis of this study is on social and cultural contexts of urban spaces as a readable “text”. Accordingly, the issue of meaning making process has been studied from a specific approach that is founded on “semantics” in linguistics, including two main perspective: “Structuralism” and “Interpretation of the reader”. Based on Structuralism perspective meaning is the product of “syntax of elements” in sentence and the “text”. So, meaning comes from the language structures and the author has a critical role in meaning making. On the other hand, in interpretive perspective, meaning is product of paraphrasing and interpretation of the reader. So, the reader “discovers” the meaning and “creates” it. The second approach has an interactive perspective. According to this approach meaning is the result of both, “structure” and “interpretation” or in other words, “language” and “the world”. Today, this approach has lots of advocators due to its inclusion and multidimensional substance. This approach is widely used in explaining issues in many fields of human sciences. “Structuration theory” of Anthony Giddens in sociology is one of this theories that has been fed from the interaction concept in semantics. This theory consists of two main themes: “structure” and “human agency” in social phenomena. The term “structure” generally refers to "rules and resources" and more specifically to "the structuring properties allowing the 'binding' of time-space in social systems". These properties make it possible for similar social practices to exist across time and space and that lends them "systemic" form. Agency, as Giddens calls it, is human action and is critical to both the reproduction and the transformation of society. The theory of structuration is a social theory of the creation and reproduction of social systems that is based on the analysis of both structure and agents , without giving primacy to either. Comparison and accommodation of this viewpoint with context of city and urban spaces, as a text, leads to form a framework for analysis of meaning making factors in urban spaces.
Description of procedures and determining the factors of meaning production throughout this point of view could help to define a proper framework for improving the knowledge and practice of designers to create the meaningful spaces.
MethodologyThe methodology of this study, is mainly formed on an explanatory and interpretative method. This study is inspired by semantic theories and approaches about reading a text that is generalized to social science to conceive social phenomenon in “life text”. Accordingly, the urban space has been considered as a text and its meaning production processes have been addressed in this paper. First, the idea of “urban space as a text” has been explained and then, the parameters of its meaning combination has been analyzed. Finally, the hypothesis has been examined in urban context, “Persian Bazar”.
Results and discussionBy accommodation of characteristics of society and spaces, and considering it as a “text” the structuration theory could be generalized to urban spaces. The urban space as a text, includes mental and spatial aspects that is describable and is connective like the language and also makes situations that human proof himself.
It has been concluded that written space (structure) and verbal space (act of interpretation) are the main factors in reading and interpretation of living spaces. The meaningful space, on one hand, has the practical conditions of people daily lives and their mental structures and on the other hand provides a place for arranging the act and behaviors that are based on beliefs, attitudes, goals, choices of their users. So, the structure of space along with cultural and social properties which are expressed in behavioral patterns of the users, produce meaning.
For examining this result, Persian Bazar has been studied throughout the concept of structuration theory. Bazar has been considered as a meaningful place with a legible and coherent structure and as a collection of behavioral patterns and social acts that represent the Islamic-Iranian lifestyle. The study shows that the association and contribution of spatial structure and physical characteristics with current activities of this spaces make Bazar meaningful.
ConclusionThis study tries to discuss meaning production in urban spaces by utilizing the “linguistics” and “Sociological" approaches. The method that has been applied in this study is a viewpoint for perceiving meaning from the text in linguistics and extending it to urban spaces. Since meaning production in a text depends on “language structure” and “interpretation” of it, so in generalizing this concept to space, two parameters have been considered: “structure of space” and “human agency”. So, syntax of space and combination of physical elements with behavioral acts in space lead to emerging meaning.
In conclusion, acts and behaviors of human that origin from his cognition about the world, have significant place in perceiving the city and communicating with its spaces. In other words, Interactions between human agency and environmental structure, cause the meaningful perception from the space and connection to environment.

For rethinking the Anthony Giddens’s theory on “Reflection”, it is necessary to reconsider his general approach to social reality, and then, situating the concept of “reflection” in the context of his general approach. Thus, three-steps will be studied in the article: First, Structuration theory that is most important opposition in his social theory. Then, Giddens's notion of tradition and modernity. For Giddens, human history share in two “episodes” or “discontinuities” that is completely separated. And third one, Giddens, looks discontinuity points as specific time and place interruptions. To accomplish these three steps, First, we get a model of the process of modernity. And then, we will focus on Giddens's theory of reflection. Finally, we extract concepts essential to explore the tradition.

Anthony Giddens is one of the major theorists of this century in the sociological sphere. His importance as a most influential theorist of modernity, more than anything is because of the creation and presentation of the Structuration theory. Giddens tries to give a clearer vision about the nature of the contemporary world. Hence he raises his third view as Structuration combining structure and agent that can give us more accurate analysis in the contemporary world. This article tries to mention the importance of structuration theory through a brief explanation of the role of agency and structure in this theory and its epistemological, ontological and methodological roots. Finally we leave some of the shortcomings of this theory to a brief discussion.