مجله پژوهش های راهبردی مسائل اجتماعی ایران
سال دهم شماره 3 (پیاپی 34، پاییز 1400)

Love which encompasses a wide range of emotions such as passion, intimacy, companionship, and togetherness manifests itself in a variety of areas. With the advent of the Internet, love and romantic relationships in the online space have been gradually formed between people. The online love is related to lacking an in-person experience of love that has been created and developed through the Internet and social networks. This new experience has made a difference in building a romantic relationship and understanding love. Hence, we are facing a new form of modern love. Accordingly, the purpose of this article was investigate the semantic developments of love and procedures of romantic actions in the context of online communication experiences in social networks. In this context, there are theoretically different views on love experience. The theory of love triangle developed by Robert Sternberg considers love to be a 3-dimensional phenomenon, having the 3 main components of intimacy, sexual desire, and commitment as the sides of a triangle. According to Sternberg, these components are not balanced in every type of love. In other words, their different levels can create several types of love in human life although a perfect and valuable love is the love in which all the 3 mentioned components are balanced and maintained in the long run in Sternberg's view. With the development of Sternberg theory and consideration of love in the heart of virtualization of love experience in modern times, Ben Ze-ev (2004) believed that an intense intimacy required in love could be usually formed in romantic online relationships, which is sometimes more intense than in ordinary romantic relationships.

The research method was based on an epistemological approach associated with qualitative methodology and phenomenological analysis. The data analysis was done through a 7-step Colaizzi process. The sample size contained 19 people, with whom in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted. The durations of interviews were 50 to 90 min. The selection of the sample members was done based on the logic of maximum diversity and research purpose. The sample size was selected according to the logic of theoretical saturation in qualitative studies.

Based on all the research steps taken in Colaizzi’s strategy, 13 sub-categories were divided into 4 categories that were capable of fully describing the research topic. The 1st category considered love in a range of meanings such as coexistence, companionship, and equal exchange of emotions. This category and its sub-categories showed that an individual's presence in the online space could orient the actors’ perceptual layers towards establishing a romantic relationship and possibly experiencing it. The 2nd category was about the evolution of actors’ perceptual layers towards establishing a romantic relationship in the online space, something like artificialization of emotions, fluidity of relationship, desiring renewal of relationship instead of repairing it, and breaking collective taboos. The 3rd category described the forms of action in a virtual romantic relationship. In this category and its sub-categories, our results revealed that some actors took steps to start a relationship by actively proposing directly or indirectly and commenting on and liking the posts of those they were interested in, while some others were waiting for the followees to start coming to them. Finally, the 4th category was concerned with an individual’s behavioral procedures when beginning, continuing, and ending a relationship, thus showing that ending or forgetting a virtual romantic relationship was much easier than stopping or forgetting a real world relationship.

Despite the continuing roles of cultural and religious values in family attitudes and behaviors, it seems that some transformations in the family system have happened in Iranian social beliefs. Divorce is one of such changes. The annual growth of divorce rate was about 6.2% during 1996-2016. The increase in divorce rates has largely eliminated its social stigma. Research has shown that a key determinant in this event is the attitude towards divorce. It should be noted that attitudes can vary between different generations. This variation in societies like Iran, which is experiencing a transition, is so crucial since its generational differences have been the source of widespread changes in family values. This paper aimed to examine such differences between Iranian generations and their changes over the last two decades. Margaret Mead's theory was applied to classify the generations. She did it based on differences in the economic and social conditions of a society. In the present study, three generations were distinguished to have undergone the influence of the Islamic Revolution in 1979: first, the generation before the revolution, who was born in the 1940s and 1950s; second, the people born in the 1960s and 1970s, who were called the generation of war and revolution; and finally, the generation born in the 1981s and 1991s.

This study was based on a secondary analysis that used the 4th, 5th, and 7th waves of the World Values Survey (WVS) in Iran, in the years of 2000, 2005, and 2020, the sample sizes of which were 2535, 2667, and 1499 people, respectively. Thus, the information of 67101 people was analyzed. The statistical population comprised all the Iranians, who were 15 years old and older. A multistage cluster random sampling method was utilized for selecting the people. In addition to using a descriptive analysis, multilevel regression was applied for multivariate data analysis.

The results revealed that there were significant differences in the attitudes of the different studied generations towards divorce. The younger generations at all ages had a more positive attitude towards divorce. The third generation had a higher level of education than their predecessors and had more access to mass media, especially social media and hence, they were more connected to other cultures. It could reasonably lead to getting impressed by the issues like divorce or other emerging family behaviors among them. The findings also indicated that the attitudes of the studied generations had always changed in favor of divorce over time. This was true about all the generations. The bivariate analyses showed that urban dwellers had a more positive attitude towards divorce than those living in rural areas. The traditional atmosphere of the villages and the divorce stigma in rural communities and high frequency of divorce and individual anonymity in urban areas could be the most important reasons for these differences. Men had a more negative attitude towards divorce than women. Also, the never-married people had a more positive attitude than the married ones. The relation between education and divorce attitudes was also significant. People with higher education had a more positive attitude. Education spontaneously changes people's behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs and higher education usually means having modern views on the family. Unexpectedly, the attitudes towards divorce did not differ significantly between the ethnic groups.The results of the multilevel models demonstrated that although some differences in the attitudes towards divorce were rooted in individual characteristics, such characteristics of the generations as university education, secular values, gender equality, and modern family values had affected their attitudes towards divorce.Finally, a clear gap was witnessed between today’s generations although their attitudes towards divorce had been slightly close in the past. Especially, the youngest cohort had segregated itself from older generations. The growing positive attitude towards divorce was expected to persist due to the continuation of the cohort replacement process, acceleration in urbanization, cultural globalization, education expansion, development of new communication and information technologies, mass media, and social networks.

In the last two years, due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences for the society, such issues as health behavior have attracted the thinkers and experts’ attention. The health behavior includes the activities performed to prevent or diagnose diseases and improve health. This concept like other phenomena is influenced by many factors. In this study, the role of the variables of attitude towards Covid-19 and health literacy in Ahvaz citizens’ health behaviors were investigated. The main aim was to study the mediating role of attitudes towards Covid-19 in the relationship between health literacy and the citizens’ health behaviors.

This research was based on a survey method. The statistical population of this study included 15-65-year-old citizens in Ahvaz City (839148 people), of whom 384 people were selected as the study sample based on Cochran's formula by using multi-stage cluster sampling method. The research instruments consisted of the Health Behavior Scale used by Lou et al. (2020), the Health Literacy questionnaire by Zareban et al.  (2016), and the Attitude questionnaire by Hanawari et al. (2020). In the current study, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to estimate the reliability of the scale. The research data were analyzed by using SPSS2 and AMOS 18 software.

Discussion of Results & Conclusions :

The results of this study indicated that the level of Ahvaz citizens’ health behaviors was higher than the average. The results of the correlation test between the variables of attitude towards Covid-19 and health-oriented behaviors were as follows:1) There was a significant relationship between the attitudes towards Covid-19 and health behaviors in the Covid-19 pandemic period.2) The correlation between health literacy and health behavior was significant in the Covid-19 pandemic period.  The results of path analysis showed that the variables of health literacy and attitude towards Covid-19 had a high power for predicting health behavior in such a way that these two variables could explain 51% of the variance of health behavior among Ahvaz citizens. In general, it could be concluded that health literacy and attitude towards Covid-19 played a key role in improving the citizens' health behaviors. Upon comparing the beta coefficients, it could be concluded that the total effect of Covid-19 attitude was 0.679 more than that of the variable of health literacy. Consistent with this finding, the results obtained by Rinken Orib et al. (2021) revealed that the attitude towards Covid-19 prevention had a significant effect on health behavior in the Covid-19 pandemic period. The Knowledge-Attitude-Behavior (KAB) model also demonstrated that changes in the health behaviors occurred gradually. Therefore, the content of the knowledge-attitude-behavior theory was congruent with the research findings.Given the importance of health literacy and attitude towards covid-19 in the development of health behavior during corona outbreak, it is necessary to invest in the promotion of health literacy. Based on the research findings, physicians and scientific, sports, religious, and artistic reference groups in Khuzestan Province are suggested to emphasize observing social distance in the social media and networks so as to promote a responsible attitude towards Covid-19 and health behavior. It is suggested that Khuzestan Health Center set up free online and telephone counseling centers in cooperation with academic elites, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and psychologists to ameliorate the citizens’ health-promoting behaviors in the Covid-19 pandemic period. One of the limitations of the present research was the prevalence of the Covid-19 pandemic in Ahvaz at the time of data collection. This limitation was partially overcome by teaching how to collect the data in corona conditions and observing health protocols when collecting data.

Service and educational organizations as the basis and foundation of cultural, social, economic, and political developments of any society are considered as one of the important pillars of growth and development in all countries, while their employees are under constant pressure to satisfy stakeholders. The improvement of organizational productivity is often faced with stress and other difficult conditions that affect employees’ well-being. One of the major issues that is usually seen as a reaction to job and organizational pressures among employees is the phenomenon of burnout. Considering the role of teacher burnout in reducing the productivity and effectiveness of schools, it is necessary to be aware of this phenomenon and identify its areas of occurrence, as well as its consequences in schools, so as to prevent them. The teacher burnout depends on several factors. The quality of management and leadership in schools is one of the most prominent issues. Not all school leaders are necessarily effective and have the right qualities. This is where the dark edge of leadership, that is destructive leadership, comes into play as its hidden, rigid, and negative dimension. Another factor affecting teacher burnout is procrastination. According to Simpson and Pichel (2009), procrastination is an important factor influencing the teacher burnout. Perceived injustice is another factor that causes teacher burnout. Considering the importance of burnout among teachers, especially elementary teachers and lack of indepth research in this area, an attempt was made in this study to identify the factors affecting teacher burnout and investigate how it happens.

The present research was based on a descriptive-correlation method with an applied purpose. The statistical population of this study included all the primary school teachers in District 3 of Shiraz in 2000. A sample of 322 people was determined based on Morgan’s table by using a random sampling method. Standard questionnaires were utilized to collect the required data. The destructive leadership questionnaire of Lou et al. (2012) with 20 items and 4 subscales (leadership corruption, over-strictness of subordinates, abuse of subordinates, and lack of professional ethics), organizational justice questionnaire of Niehoff & Morman (1993) with 20 items and 3 subscales (distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactive justice), procrastination questionnaire of Saffarinia and Amirkhani Razligi (1390) with 25 items and 3 subscales (inefficiency, anxiety, and disgust with homework), and Maslach burnout questionnaire (1981) with 22 items and 3 subscales (emotional fatigue, depersonalization, and lack of personal success) were employed in the 5-, 5-, 5-, and 7-point Likert scales, respectively.

The aim of this research was to investigate the role of destructive leadership in burnout mediated by organizational justice and procrastination. The results showed that the variable of destructive leadership had a direct, positive, and significant relationship with burnout and negligence of teachers and a direct, negative, and significant relationship with organizational justice at the level of 0.05; organizational justice had a direct, negative, and significant relationship with burnout and negligence of teachers at the level of 0.05; procrastination had a direct, positive, and significant relationship with teacher burnout at the level of 0.05; due to organizational justice and procrastination, destructive leadership had an indirect and significant relationship with teacher burnout at the level of 0.05; and organizational justice had an indirect and significant relationship with teacher burnout due to negligence at the level of 0.05. In terms of implications, to reduce teacher burnout, it is suggested that education officials and school principals reduce the levels of negligence and burnout by being aware of the dark and hidden angles and unfortunate consequences of destructive leadership and observing justice among teachers.

Today, personal relationships and marital satisfaction of couples within families have been affected by rapid developments and prevalence of individualism in societies. Marital satisfaction as one of the indicators of the quality of marriage has changed. In other words, exposure to individualistic ideas has changed marital patterns. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to predict marital satisfaction based on individualism and intimacy.

This study was an applied research based on a descriptive survey method. The statistical population included all the married people over 18 years old living in Bojnord City, Iran in 2021. According to the population and housing census, there were 191027 people in this city in 2017. Due to the fact that the research was a correlational study, a sample power was applied to determine the sample size. The required sample size for the effect size of 0.19, error of 0.05, and test power of 0.80, which were agreed upon by the researchers, was equal to 957 people, who were selected by using the multi-stage cluster sampling method. Also, Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression were utilized to analyze the data using SPSS and AMOS software.

The descriptive findings showed that 43.5% (416 people) and 56.5% (541 people) of the statistical population were women  and men, respectively. Most of the respondents were between 25 and 34 years old and the oldest ones were between 45 and 55 years old. In terms of education level, 35.9% (344 people) and 1.64% (613 people) were undergraduate and graduate individuals, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between individualism and marital satisfaction (0.576). It meant that marital satisfaction was enhanced with increasing individualism. In such a circumstance, individual expectations and desires of married life had become an important factor for family continuity. In fact, with the rise of individualism and the values associated with free choice, more attention was being paid to the quality of relationship and enjoyment of life. In an individualistic society, a new category of marriage that is not considered in a traditional society becomes important. In a modern society, paying attention to individual desires that are accepted and respected by couples is more important, while these behaviors are against the rules in a traditional society. In a modern society, husbands and wives reduce tensions by respecting each other's individual desires, which are often ignored in a traditional society. In fact, woman, as well as their rights and desires, are ignored in most cases due to the patriarchal nature of the latter societies. In an individualistic situation, individual competition, which is considered essential in the realm of production, is met with an inverse demand within the family and in marital relationships, while emphasizing respect for one of the partner's desires. In other words, according to Bowen, the differentiation of self in non-traditional societies creates a dialogue between couples and gives people the ability to accept opposing views without a conflict and enjoy an open and free communication. These results are in contrast with those obtained by Dehghan (2016), but are in line with the theories of Giddens, Cheal, Ulrich Beck, Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim, Jallinoja, and Bowen. In our study, there was a positive and significant relationship between intimacy and marital satisfaction (0.53), indicating enhanced marital satisfaction with increasing intimacy. Therefore, a change in intimacy and awareness of the concept of love and affection would lead to marital satisfaction. The results of this part of the research are in support of the theories of Giddens, Cheal, Ulrich Beck, Elisabeth Beck-Gernsheim, Jallinoja, and Bowen. The multivariate regression analysis showed that individualism and intimacy could explain 39.0% of variation in marital satisfaction. Intimacy is considered as one of the basic foundations of marital relationship and predicts relationship satisfaction in an individualistic society. Couples' relationships, either emotionally or physically, do not last long without intimacy. The results of the structural equation model revealed that individualism with the coefficient of effect of 0.42 had the most direct impact on the variable of marital satisfaction. Also, intimacy had a direct positive effect on marital satisfaction with the coefficient of effect of 0.25. Individualism had an indirect impact on marital satisfaction through intimacy as well. Taken together, these results confirmed the theoretical model of the present study. In general, the most important feature of marital satisfaction influenced by the prevalence of individualism in modern life is paying attention to individual desires and even prioritizing them, along with maintaining family life. In such a condition, continuity of the relationship entirely depends on each couple’ situation. Couples are trapped in a relationship that they can end at any time. In this situation, marital relationship is a contract between individuals and its continuation strongly depends on the terms of this contract. To maintain balance, we sometimes need exchange of values and sometimes a lot of sacrifice and forgiveness. According to Giddens, marital satisfaction arises from a pure relationship, which comes, first of all, in the realm of marriage and a close friendship. The reason for the emergence of a pure relationship is having a feeling of deep satisfaction that comes from coexistence and good communication. As Alrish Beck believes, prevalence of individualism inversely connects men and women and increases marital satisfaction. Thus, contrary to the view that modernity and its consequences, such as individualism, have caused the decline and collapse of families, the results indicated that the family continues to live in a new way and is still the most important social institution.

Introduction :

 One of the important areas of urban governance is urban policy-making. Due to the increasing population and urbanization, attention to the issue of urban governance as the basis of urban policy-making and urban planning has doubled. For this purpose, there must be a clear understanding of the referentials, through which with policy-making and planning for urban people can be proceeded. Determining this big picture in the Islamic Republic of Iran causes a coherent plan in cities and avoids daily decisions, thus creating competitive, cohesive, and accountable cities. The urbanization trend in Iran is increasing in a way that its urban population has increased from 54.3 to 74% from 1986 to 2016. Therefore, in the present study, the various themes existing in the 6 development programs of the Islamic Republic of Iran were examined, along with the growth of population, to become more familiar with the resulting changes in the policy-makers’ mindset. Urban policy-making is a branch of public policy-making knowledge, which enables urban policymakers to become aware of policy-making and its network in urban areas.

Analysis of themes provides data reduction, through which qualitative data are segmented, classified, summarized, and reconstructed. In the current research, the theme position model was used in the theme network. This method has the 3 levels of basic themes, organizing themes, and global themes.

Discussion of Results & Conclusions  :  

In the summary of the existing development programs in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the aspects of efficiency, decentralization, equality, transparency, accountability, spiritual heritage, health, and security, which were appropriate to the specific culture and conditions in Iran, could be seen. 24 basic themes, including the use of new technologies, culture of productivity, local income, attention to each region, government, downsizing, delegation, strengthening civil society, proper communication with the private sector, poverty reduction, attention to specific groups, attention to women, historical heritage, preservation of prior identity, access to resources, monitoring and evaluation, citizenship rights, citizenship education, effective civil society participation, crime prevention policies, social problems, health policy, food policy, environmental protection, and pollution prevention, were identified. The organizing themes were made of 12 components, including performance promotion, financial independence, subsidiarity, sustainability, attention to minorities, equitable access, preservation of national-religious heritage, transparency, citizen-centered governance, civic participation, human security, and environmental health. The specific referential point in the documents of Islamic development in Iran could be mentioned as follows: the global theme of efficiency focused on the basic theme of productivity, which had the characteristics of attracting specialized manpower, training managers, and work conscience. The global theme of decentralization was the basic theme of attention to each region, in which attention was paid to education and cultural, artistic, and sports services in each region. In the global theme of equality, special attention was paid to the themes of special attention to groups, such as veterans, martyrs' families, education of exceptional children, attention to women, and strengthening family institution. The global theme of preserving and strengthening spiritual heritage referred to features, such as paying attention to celebrities, the infallible Imams’ manners, preservation of Persian scripts and language, and Islamic-Iranian civilization. Finally, the global theme of both security and health focused on social issues, such as eradication of addiction and fighting against it and psychosis and mobilization of all government agencies. In comparison with the international documents and indicators, the special points of Iranian development programs included productivity culture, attention to each region, attention to specific groups and women, preservation of a priori identities, and social problems.