فصلنامه جامعه شناسی کاربردی
سال سی و سوم شماره 2 (پیاپی 86، تابستان 1400)

Social inequality has been considered by social scientists from the past to the present time. There are several factors that cause formation and spread of inequalities in societies. In the present study, the effects of social capital and quality of educational services on the feeling of inequality among secondary school students were investigated. Feeling of inequality is closely related to deprivation. In this case, it can be said that a gap would be created between people's expectations (feeling of what they should have) and their perceptions (what they have alresdy received) if facilities and resources are distributed unequally in a society. This would ultimately create a feeling of social inequality. In explaining the impact of social capital on the feeling of social inequality, we can say that membership in a family, group, or organization through kinship, friendship, and trust gives individuals an access to facilities and resources. This process creates a feeling of inequality and deprivation in people, who have been deprived of these relationships. In this way, social capital creates a feeling of social inequality. Numerous studies have been conducted on the factors affecting this feeling. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of social capital and quality of educational services on the feeling of social inequality among high school students in Izeh City. In line with the research objectives, two general questions were raised: 1) What state of inequality has been created among the male and female high school students in Izeh city? 2) Is there a significant relationship between social capital and quality of educational services and the feeling of social inequality among the students?  

This research was based on a survey method and the statistical population included all secondary school students (6345 students) in Izeh City in the academic year of 2019-2020. From among them, 362 students were chosen by using a stratified random sampling method. A questionnaire was employed to collect the data. In this regard, the variables of inequality and social capital were respectively examined in the 4 dimensions of feelings of economic, political, gender, and educational inequalities and 3 dimensions of structure, communication, and cognition (Nahapiet and Goshal questionnaire), along with the quality of educational services (model SERVQUAL), at the 5 levels of physical, trust, accountability, guarantee, and empathy. According to the measurement level of the research variables, Pearson correlation test was utilized to analyze the data by using SPSS16 software. Also, to measure the validity of the conceptual model and test the hypotheses, the method of structural equations and factor analysis were applied together with the Linear Structural Relations (LISREL) tool. The results obtained from the data analysis through Pearson correlation test, structural equations, and factor analysis confirmed the two mentioned hypotheses, as well as the effects of social capital and quality of educational services on the feeling of social inequality. 

The aim of this study was to investigate the feeling of social inequality among the mentioned secondary school students. Using Bourdieu's theory of social reproduction, it could be said that the students' access to educational resources and facilities through relationship and acquaintance had led to the deprivation of other people and this process had created a feeling of social inequality among the students. Deming believes that when there is a gap between a customer's expectations and his/her perceptions, a feeling of dissatisfaction is formed in him/her. Accordingly, it can be noted that unequal distribution of educational facilities leads to a gap between students' expectations and their perceptions and the continuation of this process creates and expands a sense of social inequality. The results obtained from the data analysis corroborated the research hypotheses and overlapping of the research achievements with the mentioned theories (Bourdieu, Deming) and the past research (Jaston Baugh, 2017; Barglowski, 2018; Linglin, 2020).

Segregation is one of the undeniable realities in urban communities. One of the contexts for occurrence of this phenomenon at metropolitan areas is socio-economic distinctions, which lead to unequality allocations of resources, opportunities, and services. For this reason, measuring the degree of segregation has been one of the most controversial topics discussed by urban reseachers over the last few years. Through these topics, they wish to be able to study and analyze this phenomenon and reduce its negative consequences. Isfahan metropolis is the third most populous city in Iran (National Statistical Center of Iran, 2016) and has 15 municipal districts, as well as residents with different religions (Isfahan City Statistics, 2017). The city consists of neighborhoods with different and sometimes conflicting qualities of life. Its different socio-economic conditions and characteristics has led to segregation and polarization phenomenon in this city. Since major occupational and educational groups can represent socio-economic differences in cities, this study aimed to measure the segregation between the major occupational and educational groups in the metropolitan neighborhoods of Isfahan.  

This study was categorized as an applied research in terms of purpose and as a descriptive-analytical researchin terms of method. In this study, the degree of segregation was measured according to the 5 dimensions proposed by Massey and Denton (1988). These dimensions included evenness, exposure, concentration, clustering, and centralization. The latest census data released by the National Statistical Center of Iran in 2011 were applied to measure the segregation indices by using the variables of education and occupation in 192 neighborhoods of Isfahan City. For this purpose, 13 one-group indices were first calculated using Geo Segregation Analyzer software. Then, 7 multi-group indices were measured with the help of the same software. The variables were categorized in GIS software. Also, Location Quotients (LQs) were utilized to identify the spatial accumulations of the occupational and educational groups.

The results indicated a high degree of segregation among all the occupational and educational groups in the neighborhoods of Isfahan according to the one-group and multi-group indices. However, the degrees of segregation varied based on the different dimensions. In Table 4, the value of each dimension is separately specified for the related indicators based on the occupational and educational groups. In addition, the LQ index for the occupational groups represented spatial accumulation of the low occupational group in the suburbs and far from the city center. Furthermore, this index showed spatial accumulation of the high educational group in the southern neighborhoods of the city and both sides of Zayandehrood River. Therefore, these groups were more segregated in comparison with two other occupational/ educational ‎groups.It is worth noting that by moving from the central districts to the suburbs, the high educational group had a very low distribution and the low educational group was very intense. This fact was true for the occupational groups as well. This meant that the distributions of the high and low occupational groups decreased and increased by moving to the suburbs, respectively. Despite the high rate of segregation of the occupational and educational groups in the neighborhoods of Isfahan, this separation had not yet reached the stage of city polarization. It seemd that the spatial structure and configuration of Isfahan City, including the vertical axis of Chaharbagh and the horizontal axis of Zayandehrood, had been effective in not polarizing the socio-spatial structure of the city.However, continuation of this trend could lead to complete segregations of the high educational and low occupational groups, especially in the southern areas of the city, including Districts 5 and 6, and some areas of Districts 2, 11, and 14, respectively.

Human beings have numerous needs and try to satisfy them in different ways. One of their most important needs is shelter. Having a shelter is very important since having a proper house has been stated as a right for every Iranian family in the 31st principle of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Also, providing a minimum shelter for all Iranian citizens has been considered as the duty of the government in the 29th and 42nd principles of the constitution. Housing has an important role in the economy of a country and since a house is not transportable, it has a capital value that can affect any country’s development. Owning a house has become more difficult in recent years due to economic fluctuations and households’ decreased purchasing power. Hence, renting a house has become a common phenomenon. In fact, both the number of tenants and even duration of renting are increasing. Meanwhile, each social class may be involved in different levels of intensity related to this social problem. Therefore, it can be said that the difficulties imposed on the middle- and lower-class households have more intensities. This procedure is more prominent in larger cities, especially in Esfahan where new marginal towns are being formed. Accordingly, this study aimed to investigate the role of unequal political and economic relations in this process and show the issues and complications of the mentioned groups of people.  

The present research followed the method of critical ethnography with Carspecken's approach. Critical ethnography has been widely used as a study method for dealing with the issues of low-income groups in recent years. This approach aims at redefining some social situations and phenomena by revealing the hidden hypotheses and utilizing the principles of critical theories with the aim of making a link between social phenomena and socio-historical events.Carspecken's 5-stage approach starts with non-participatory field observations so that the researcher first acts as an anonymous observer in the research field and makes initial notes according to his/her observations. The second step is to do a prior structural analysis. In this stage, the researcher organizes his/her in-filed observations and provides an initial analysis of them. He/she raises his/her interpretations in the form of basic categories by using an etic approach and then prepares the conditions to enter the 3rd stage that involves a clear conversation without intermediaries. In this stage, the researcher enters the field again by informing the participants. The second step in this stage is gathering information from the subjects’ ideas and views obtained from personal interviews. The extracted data from these interviews can verify or reject the researcher’s knowledge obtained in the former steps. The 4th and 5th stages are followed together through an etic approach. In these 2 stages, the data obtained via available theories and intersystem relations are analyzed. Accordingly, after conducting primary studies based on the etic approach, filed investigations, initial observations, and identification of tenants in this research, 19 tenants were chosen for a deep interview through an emic approach. Then, the gathered data were coded. The main categories included political and economic inequalities, trading in the housing market, inefficient tax system, economic and political de-subjectifications, tenant merchandising, unequal life and subjectivity, experience of an added class gap, and fear and hope of economic protest.

   The present study sought to investigate the situation of tenants throughout Esfahan City from a critical view. Renting is not a new phenomenon, but a struggle for the households, most of whom are from the middle class and have no power for buying a house. It is not a choice for experiencing different houses, but a coercion for the middle-class people. It is a permanent coercion that destroys some family members’ personal development opportunities. Since the families’ incomes are mostly paid for rent day after day, this situation makes them less capable for long-term planning. The biggest concerns imposed on tenants are financial worries and economic fluctuations, unbalanced average income and everyday expenses, as well as the lack of management in the housing sector. Since political affairs affect people’s lives, along with economic affairs, especially more intensely in developing societies, tenants are more involved in the implacability of life capacities. In fact, when both economic and political fields play roles to decrease citizens’ welfare, people fall by default at a distance from their decision-making fields. These people usually get a defensive position in response and decrease their needs though suffering from their social class decline anyway. The results in this study showed that economic fluctuations had disrupted Esfahani tenants’ lives, which were fluctuating themselves like financial markets. Their life qualities had decreased, while they were experiencing an increasing class gap. As a result, marginal living around big cities was being increasingly formed.

Today, business environment is changing rapidly and increasingly. This has caused organizations to face the fundamental challenges of competing with each other. Therefore, in such circumstances, organizations need to think beyond adaptation to the environment and seek to take advantage of potential opportunities and cope with new changes. In the current competitive environment, human resources have become a vital factor for the success of organizations. Therefore, organizations should always seek to attract competent human resources and properly manage their capabilities in order to achieve their strategies.   

The present research was of an applied type in terms of purpose and an exploratory mixed study in terms of research method. Thus, in this study, a rich literature was first created in the research field by reviewing the texts and the experimental and theoretical backgrounds and then, an interview method was applied based on thematic analysis to design a native model in the field of human resource management as the initial goal. Afterwards, a questionnaire was used to determine the pattern fit and prioritize the subsystems in the quantitative part. In simple terms, the qualitative and Delphi approach were taken to design the model and identify the components and competencies in the first stage and the quantitative method was applied to implement the model and analyze the data in the next stage. The statistical population in the qualitative sector included banking and academic experts in the field of human resources, who had executive backgrounds at management levels. Seventeen people participated in the semi-structured interview process following targeted snowball sampling. The statistical population in the quantitative section included all senior managers, heads of departments, and heads of the branches of Isfahan Saderat Bank. A total of 400 people were determined to participate in this study by using stratified random sampling. To analyze the qualitative data, a coding process was taken based on thematic analysis. Structural equation modeling and the related software (SPSS and PLS) were employed to quantify the research data obtained from the questionnaires and data analysis.Based on the research findings, the model of a competent human resource management system was designed based on a succession approach (recruitment, training, performance, appraisal, and compensation) including the 5 main themes of competency, foresight, comprehensiveness, justice, and flexibility. 

Achieving an integrated and dynamic model for competent human resource management can simplify complex events by recognizing the relationships between vital elements and facilitate the success rate of the succession program in different situations. Therefore, in this study, two general objectives were pursued: 1) designing a model that could predict the success rate of the staff replacement system according to human resource management subsystems and announce the success rate with an almost certain estimate and 2) designing a competent human resource management system that could lead to the expansion of this system and give more coherence to its activities.Successful implementation of succession programs requires a proper link between human resource management and succession management, while their implementation will be fruitless without human resource actions. In fact, if a logical and correct relationship between the two is not established, the succession program will fail. The establishments of a succession management and rule of meritocracy in the processes of selection, training, performance, appraisal, and compensation would put employees in the psychological circle of security. This means that they ensure the human resource system is based on competencies and the bank will easily accept their promotion and not exclude them from the scope of organizational activity for no reason if they have competence and an ability to work. It can be a motivation and a tool to improve organizational productivity.

After the 2008 crisis, the concept of resilience was introduced as one of the most important key factors in reducing vulnerability to crises. After this period, studies were more intensively done around this concept, to which special attention was paid in social sciences and sociology. Yet, studying the concept of resilience and paying attention to it in different dimensions is more important to countries with a high risk. One of the most risky countries with both natural and unnatural causes is Iran, a country that frequently faces various economic shocks and crises in terms of both its geographical location and type of connection to the outside world. Each type of crisis can threaten livelihoods of families and reduce welfare in the society. Lack of attention to the concept of resilience has caused the Iranian society to undergo a crisis period in recent years. It no longer has its normal function. In such an event, people's participations in the overcoming process of crisis have decreased and the negative effects of risks have increased. Due to the high impact of resilience on enhancing social resistance and the declining trend of social harms, as well as the need for the further study of the Iranian society in this area, the present research focused on the concept of resilience despite providing its accurate description. Also, it tried to identify the extent of its impact on the economic actions of households in adverse economic conditions with regard to its current situation in various dimensions.  

The current investigation was of a survey type, besides being of an applied type due to the possibility of using its results by the authorities. The statistical population of this study included all the household heads in Mashhad City in 2022. According to the statistical yearbook of 2016, this city had a population of 3001184 people and consisted of 817250 families. It should be noted that the sample individuals had the necessary dispersion to obtain valid and generalizable information and data. In other words, different social classes were sufficiently present in the sample. Using Cochran's formula, the sample size was calculated to include 399 people, which increased to 450 people so as to better allocate the sample to the subgroups of the statistical population and prevent error reduction. Finally, by removing the unusable items, the sample size was determined to consist of 427 people. Also, a proportionally allocated stratified sampling method was applied. In this way, an attempt was made to equally examine the different social classes of the households. 

In summary, it should be noted that the subjects’ economic actions were analyzed in the 3 areas of resistance, recovery, and creative economic actions, the application of each of which was affected by different variables. The important point to be mentioned in this section was the household heads’ tendencies to use resistance and then recovery actions. In other words, in the current situation, the heads of the households first tried to use resistance economic actions to earn a living and lead their daily lives. The majority of people sought to provide subsistence for themselves and their families on a daily basis and was less inclined to take long-term economic actions. This was understandable in our society, where most people had an income of less than 5 million tomans. By increasing the cost of living in the society, only the extended use of resistance actions could sustain household economy. The results also showed that the households tended to use economic recovery actions. This tendency, however, was more prevalent in the middle-class households. In other words, the households that were relatively better off financially tried to return to their pre-crisis conditions (recent economic turmoil and Corona epidemic) by using actions based on ​recovery strategies. Regarding creative actions, the results revealed that the use of these actions was increasing with the increase of the households’ social class.Creative economic activities had the highest average level in the upper classes and the lowest average level in the lower classes. This result is in line with those obtained by Royla et al. (2017). The researchers also found that by changing the social classes of the households and individuals, their types of action and economic action strategies altered. Finally, according to the results of the present study, it should be noted that paying attention to the concept of resilience can be very effective in overcoming the difficult and critical situations in societies. In addition to reducing the destructive effects of various economic shocks, resilience of any societies and their individuals provides the conditions for their growth and progress.

Introduction Environmental sustainability is an essential element of sustainable development. Poverty and environmental degradation are perhaps the two main obstacles to achieving sustainable development. In addition to having a negative impact on obtaining sustainable development, poverty and environmental degradation have complex relationships. Therefore, during the last few decades, the role of people, especially poor people, and consequently poor countries in environmental degradation has become one of the most challenging issues among economists, biologists, and environmental experts. However, the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation is still unclear and is often challenged by various researchers. It should be noted that environmental degradation is a complex issue and other factors such as new technologies, customs, national programs, and strategies are also involved in this process. Most classical hypotheses and paradigms consider poverty to be the driving force of environmental degradation. This approach can be clearly seen in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which regards sustainable development to be dependent on eradicating poverty. In contrast, new approaches and theories have maintained that the negative roles of the poor and poor countries in environmental degradation are less than those of the rich and rich countries. Ecological Footprint (EF) index in accordance with the Treadmill of Production theory is the most important approach that emphasizes this belief. The differences in the views and results, as well as various indicators, have made it necessary to study the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation. Therefore, in this study, the relationship between poverty, income, and Environmental Performance Index (EPI) was quantitatively examined at the country level by reviewing the literature and research background.  Materials & Methods In the present research, EPI (EPI) and the Percentage of Population below national Poverty (PPP) lines were used to examine the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation. The EPI data for 155 countries were obtained from a report issued by Yale University in 2020. Their national PPP data were also obtained from the World Bank website. Pearson correlation and linear regression were applied in SPSS software to analyze the relationship between the two parameters. Then, using World Bank income grouping, the study countries were divided into the 4 groups of low-income, lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income, and high-income countries. Correlation analysis was separately utilized for each group. The Ecological Footprint (EF) of each group was also taken from the Global Footprint Network (GFN) site and analyzed.  Discussion of Results & ConclusionsThe findings showed that the overall correlation between the EPI and PPP was -0.505. Thus, reduction of poverty could improve the EPIs of the countries. The regression analysis between the two variables also revealed that about 25% of the changes in the dependent variable could be explained by the independent variable. In addition, correlation analysis with respect to the income group of the countries demonstrated that there was a negative and significant relationship between poverty in the low-income countries and their EPI scores. Therefore, the poor countries could increase their EPI scores by eradicating poverty. In the other groups, this relationship was weak and not significant. The findings also indicated that the average EF of the low-income countries was a little more than 1 in global hectare (1.06 gha/person), but they had a higher biocapacity (5.63 gha/person). The lower-middle-income, upper-middle-income, and high-income groups had a footprint of 1.85, 2.75, and 4.98 global hectare, respectively. Therefore, the average EF of the groups increased with an increase in the incomes. The high- compared to the low-income countries put 5 times more pressure on ecological resources. Thus, the high-income and rich countries had a more negative effect on global environmental degradation in comparison with the low-income and poor countries.

Coffee shop, which is considered a post-modern phenomenon by some people and is a place that has created a social image via a proper interaction with its space and semantic system. It has occurred along with the evolution of coffee houses in Iran and become a Patogh (haunting place) for young people. This article aimed to reflect young people’s experiences in coffee shops and rethink their system of semantic relationships, besides seeking to answer why young people welcome coffee shops in Bojnord City. The research also tried to understand what semantic relationships had been produced and reproduced in coffee shops with an increasing popularity among young people in Bojnord. The conceptual framework of the study was set by emphasizing the concepts of Patogh, public sphere in Habermas's votes, place consumption in Henri Lefebvre's votes, Rey Oldenburg's third place, and place identity in Edward Ralph's votes so as to verify the coffee shop concept.  

An interpretive paradigm dominated this research. The research attempted to identify the system of semantic relations governing coffee shops through semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the findings was done via the Grounded Theory Method (GTM). The required information was collected by simultaneously using the two methods of purposeful sampling for selecting the interviewees in an accessible way and based on the criterion of maximum diversity and theoretical sampling for identify the number of people and finding the research path. The study was conducted through an interview with 36 young people (16 boys and 20 girls) living in Bojnord City with an average age of 21 years (age range of 18-25 years) in the spring of 2021. Sampling was completed after obtaining the theoretical saturation. 

The research results led to extracting 90 basic concepts, 22 sub-categories, and 7 major categories. After extracting the concepts and identifying the categories, all the categories were combined with each other and the underlying model of youth presence in coffee shops for the young people living in Bojnord City was designed. This study also provided a grounded model that could extract the consumption of place in order to produce the exclusive lifeworld of youth as the main phenomenon through semi-structured interviews. The causal condition for the presence of young people in coffee shops is liberation from structural domination. Young people consider their living conditions along with imposition of violence or, in other words, imposition of domineering structures on their values, attitudes, and actions. These domineering structures take refuge in a safe place called a coffee shop. Also, young people can show a place-dependent agency by being in coffee shops, an agency that has the power to change and produce new values ​​and practices and depends on a place called a coffee shop. This meaning is considered as the contextual condition for the presence of young people in coffee shops. Other reasons for them to have place consumption practices in order to produce their own exclusive lifeworld are associated with the idea of ​​globalization and conformity with myths. Young people feel the need to ride the wave of globalization, whether by being in places comparable to transnational and global environments like coffee shops or by spreading global ideas, such as individualism, while avoiding any discrimination of place manifested in a coffee shop. Additionally, identification of myths for young people and association of the name of cafe with the memory of myths have made young people inclined to being in coffee shops and practice their consumption so as to produce their exclusive lifeworld as a main phenomenon called a Patogh, which is a place to express the glory of the youth and protect young people’s lifestyle.Young people with a civilized living strategy based on the special etiquette of coffee shop, which can be said to be the transition period of a civilized life, can lead peaceful conversations, while respecting their differences in an atmosphere free of discrimination and consuming cultural goods. This reflects the aspirations and wishes of the youth. The consequence of consumption of place for producing the exclusive lifeworld of the youth is the birth of peace derived from invitation to stay in a coffee shop and the result of a sense of security and tranquility in a place that revitalizes the youth. Young people come to the coffee shop to spread the culture of peace in its peace-oriented place by preparing themselves for the new civilized life that is romantic and non-discriminative. Paying attention to changes in the system of semantic relationships in a third place like a coffee shop from the perspective of young people can pave the way for a better understanding of their relationship with this place and identification of their spatial-semantic needs.