مجله پژوهش های راهبردی مسائل اجتماعی ایران
سال یازدهم شماره 3 (پیاپی 38، پاییز 1401)

Introduction :

It is about two decades that corruptions, especially administrative corruption, in different developed and underdeveloped societies have been the focus of researchers. In Iran, this issue has been criticized and explored thoroughly; however, a comprehensive review of the relevant articles and summarization of their results have not been undertaken in an organized manner. The purpose of this study was to summarize the results of these researches and provide a new understanding of this phenomenon in Iran. Administrative corruption is often defined as using administrative facilities for the benefits of individuals or groups, including employees and managers. Political corruption is also considered as a branch of administrative corruption, including any illegal, immoral, or unauthorized abuse of a public official for personal or temporary benefits. The present study first examined administrative corruption as one of the main types of corruptions and next analyzed political corruption since these two types of corruptions were closely related and most of the political corruptions were implemented and applied through the channel of the administrative system. The main questions of this article were as follows: 1) What results and findings have been reported in the scientific-research articles related to the mentioned topic in Iran? 2) How many studies related to the issues of administrative and political corruptions have been done in Iran? 3) Which groups are the target populations in the studies? 4) What research designs and sampling methods have been used in the studies? 5) What are the fields, backgrounds, and hypotheses of the research literature? 6) What are the research results and what reviews have been done in a general and comprehensive way?

All the scientific research articles, which had addressed administrative corruptions and had been published between 2001 and 2019 and indexed in the 3 databases of Normags, Magiran, and SID as the important scientific databases of domestic publications in Iran were included in this research. In the first stage, the total number of articles (N=410) published in this field in different journals were identified. In this step, some of the pure professional scientific articles and extended ones were removed. In the second stage, based on the criterion of being scientific articles, 310 articles were excluded from the review process and 100 scientific-research articles were retained. In the third stage, after reviewing the articles and matching their topics with the topic of this research, i.e. having the names of administrative and political corruptions in their titles, 21 articles were discarded and 79 articles were left for final screening. The method of this research was based on a systematic review and to this end, a checklist tool was used to collect the data.

Most of the articles on administrative corruption were written in the field of management and organization and those published in the field of sociology were scant. Thus, sociologists should present more articles and studies in this field; otherwise, we will suffer from reductionism in such a way that its social and cultural roots are ignored because attention has been paid only to its managerial and organizational issues. The lack of a theoretical field and structuring of the framework were evident in the articles on administrative and political corruptions. The spatial distributions of the studies conducted in the subject area of this research showed inappropriate distributions of the studies in different provinces. Considering the administrative, political, and economic concentrations of Tehran as the capital of Iran, greater numbers of universities and monitoring centers in it, as well as occurrence of most of the media corruptions in Tehran, it seemed that Tehran Province was a more suitable research field for researchers compared to other provinces. A systematic review of the current articles clearly showed inadequacy of the methods used in relation to the issue of corruption. On the one hand, the natures of corruptions were hidden. It was necessary to investigate this issue more in its natural environment with a qualitative research method, which had been used in only 5% of the total researches and thus, quantitative methods prevailed. In relation to political corruption, a small number of field works had been done. In terms of both the causes and methods of corruptions, most of the articles had emphasized economic factors (salary and wages) and cultural factors (ethics) and thus, the economic consequences of corruption had been emphasized. Most of the proposals were about social, educational, cultural, and economic issues.In total, the statistics showed the upward trend of the studies related to corruptions in Iran. The growing trend of examining these issues could be related to the growing number of corruption cases and their media coverage in the society. The levels of international sanctions had become more serious after 2013 and due to the need for secrecy to meet the needs of the country, the unfavorable economic conditions that had led to the widespread issuing of banknotes, reductions in the levels of domestic productions, sharp increase in the level of inflation, and as a result, disruption in the banking system in the country had become the basis for the emergence of a larger volume of corruption cases. In this situation, it seemed logical that the society had become more sensitive to this issue. Thus, the academic community should investigate this issue with more sensitivity.The results revealed that both agent-oriented and structural views in these articles, but the structural views were stronger in relation to the causes of corruption. They could appropriately explain why corruption had occurred in Iran. By referring to all the findings of the reviewed researches, it could be concluded that corruption in Iran was not an individual issue lacking moral qualities, but a structural inefficiency that exposed people to corruption.

Iran is a multi-ethnic country and this has made paying attention to ethnic issues always one of the concerns of policy-makers and officials. Paying attention to the issue of race and ethnicity can be considered in different frameworks. Some experts see ethnic diversity as a threat and some see it as an opportunity and hence, the convergence of ethnic groups. Iran is a country that includes many ethnic groups with very different sub-cultures. On the one hand, it has created a very rich cultural context and on the other hand, it has created disputes and conflicts among different ethnic groups in some cases. Integration is effective in providing national unity and ethnic integration can be strengthened by policy. Considering that a large population of Ahvaz City consists of the two ethnic groups of Arabs and Bakhtiaris and that no independent research has been done to investigate inter-ethnic integration in this city so far, it was necessary to conduct a research and investigate this issue among the mentioned groups living in this city. The present study was carried out to investigate the factors affecting inter-ethnic integration in the city of Ahvaz. In this research, the variables of cultural capital, legalism, sense of social belonging, social trust, ethnocentrism, and the amount of using mass media were used as the independent variables. Then, the following question was raised: To what extent could these variables have an effect on inter-ethnic convergence in Ahvaz City?

This research was based on a survey method and the data collection tool was a questionnaire. The statistical population included people over 16 years of age from both Bakhtiari and Arab tribes living in Ahvaz City. The sample size was determined to be 384 people based on the Cochran formula. A standard questionnaire was used to collect the data. The structural equation modeling was utilized for confirming the validity and reliability of the research variables. The results of the measurement model showed that the indicators had favorable levels of validity and reliability. 

The findings of this study indicated the significant effects of the research variables on the level of inter-ethnic convergence among the respondents. According to the results, the influences of the variables of cultural capital, legalism, amount of using mass media, social trust, sense of social belonging, and ethnocentrism had the values of 0.327, 0.312, 0.256, 0.185, 0.114, and -0.187, respectively. According to these significant figures, it could be concluded that the research hypotheses were confirmed in the structural model. Therefore, the effects of the mentioned variables on the inter-ethnic integration stated by the respondents were corroborated. The results of the structural equation modeling also revealed the effects of the variables of cultural capital, legalism, amount of using mass media, social trust, sense of social belonging, and ethnocentrism on the variable of inter-ethnic convergence, respectively. In addition, the research variables were able to explain 44.2% of changes in the variable of inter-ethnic convergence.Finally, the results of the research demonstrated that the level of this convergence could be enhanced by increasing the levels of social trust, sense of social belonging, cultural capital, tendency towards legalism, and amount of using mass media and decreasing the level of ethnocentrism among the respondents.

After the experiences of inefficiency in societies managed by the governments based on authority-oriented methods, today, governance is considered the result of not only government actions, but also various social forces, including the private sector, the third sector or non-governmental organizations, influential groups, etc. Governance refers to the criteria that include creating rules for exercising power and resolving conflicts within the framework of those rules (Graham, 2003:57). The World Bank considers governance as a method, based on which power is exercised over the economic management of a country and its social resources to achieve development (World Bank Report, 2009:69). This approach focuses on changing the traditional power structure and is based on crushing and distributing power between government and non-government levels, decentralizing, and encouraging participation. At the same time, non-governmental economic organizations are under the influence of governmental governance and rule over their members. In fact, governance of non-governmental economic organizations affects the activities of their members just as government rulers’ decisions affect the activities of those organizations. In Iran, non-governmental economic organizations are not still involved as one of the important players in the public sector of the economy and do not play a significant role in policy-making or executive programs. Due to the lack of good governance in the system of non-governmental economic organizations of Iran, there are conflicts between the members of the government. Due to lack of good governance and non-participation of members, there are conflicts between economic non-governmental organizations and their members.

Considering the unfavorable situation of governance in the system of non-governmental economic organizations of Iran, this research, looked for the typology of obstacles to the government's good governance over non-governmental economic organizations and their members via identification of structural weaknesses and performance of governance institutions with the approach of institutional analysis.This research was based on a qualitative approach and a thematic analysis. The research community included the members of Iranian Household Appliance Industry Association. 21 persons were selected gradually and purposefully. The data were collected through episodic interviews and analyzed by the coding method.

The findings showed that the government’s governance over non-governmental economic organizations did not comply with the components of good governance. A chain of negative effects of its unfavorable governance had caused the increase of exchange costs in the system of Iranian non-governmental economic organizations, which had a negative domino effect on the country's development process. The government did not accept non-governmental economic organizations as the main beneficiaries in the country's economy. For this reason, there was a conflict and a gap of trust between the government and non-governmental economic organizations. Therefore, these organizations considered the government as the cause of damage to them and their members. The scope of this mistrust was extended by the conflict between the private sector and the government, the results of which were reflected on the country's failure to develop.Non-governmental economic organizations were facing many issues in the field of governing their members. These included the problems of rotation of power, transparency, efficiency, financial independence, acquisition of economic resources, specialized and skilled personnel, members’ low participations, and conflicts between the managers of economic non-governmental organizations and their members.To improve the governance system of non-governmental economic organizations over the members, the members’ roles in public assemblies should be recycled optimally. Governance in the system of non-governmental economic organizations in Iran has been authority-oriented until now. Due to the changes in the country's cultural, social, and economic structures, the paradigm of protector-oriented is no longer compatible with the actors’ spirits of the economic non-governmental organizations. and the patterns of patriarchal and authoritarian governance in these organizations are declining. This system is changing from the state of other-headship to the state of self-headship. In fact, the system of non-governmental economic organizations in Iran is leaving the authority-oriented paradigm and entering a participation-oriented discourse.

Predicting the factors affecting human’s active behaviors following disastrous crises can lead to understanding and preventing potential illogical behaviors. Humanistic behaviors are normally influenced by observations, experiences, and personal interactions, which can potentially change perceptions and intensify the effects of an event. A dramatic collective behavior is identified by structureless, spontaneous, emotional, and unpredictable patterns. Any kinds of instant, unpredicted, and unstable stimulants can motivate people to show a dramatic collective behavior. Previous studies have shown that during the prevalence of a disease, people experience anxiety, loss of appetite, and social isolation, while demonstrating excessive emotional problems and dramatic collective behaviors. Most of the research has focused on anxiety among the patients, but the truth is that during the prevalence of a deadly disease like covid-19, the fear of that disease and death makes healthy people become involved in the disease-based illness as well. Therefore, the feeling of fear and worry, stress and clinical anxiety, intrusive thought and action, and dramatic collective behavior are related to the disease (Alizadefar and Safarinia, 2020, 130-131). During the prevalence of covid-19, people all over the world and Iranian people, especially the citizens of Bushehr, were in touch with a lot of dramatic collective behaviors due to international water borders and free tourism zones, which led to the creation of feelings, such as anxiety, stress, mass hysteria, fear, insanity, rumor, mania, etc. This study aimed to investigate the sociological aspects of dramatic collective behaviors caused by the prevalence of covid-19 in Bushehr City.

This study was done based on a quantitative approach and a descriptive survey. The statistical population included all Bushehr citizens aged above 15 years (197864 people according to the census conducted in 2016), from among whom 384 citizens were selected by using Cochran’s formula. Multi-phase cluster sampling was used to select the samples. The data were gathered by using a researcher-made questionnaire, for which face validity assessment was performed. Finally, the questionnaire was approved by the members and used as the source of collecting the data. Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis technique were applied to estimate the validity and find the construct validity, respectively.

The results showed that the experimental average amount of the respondents’ dramatic collective behaviors was 3.48, which was higher than its theoretical average value (3). It could be argued that the respondents had a dramatic collective behavior, which was higher than the expected average value. In the prevalence of this virus in the society, we witnessed emergence of structureless, spontaneous, and mostly emotional patterns of some people and communities, all of which showed the people’s fear and lack of logical actions, which stimulated them to show illogical reactions. The results of the present study revealed that the average value of the 6 factors of dramatic collective behavior in the people of Bushehr was higher than the expected value. During the spread of covid-19, these people tended to show more dramatic collective behaviors and the prevalence of social media usage contributed to the rise of such behaviors. During this time, parties, gatherings, seminars, and even daily conversations and social interactions decreased and this was caused by the fear of being infected with covid-19. The studied people used social media more and the effectiveness of social media rose. This effectiveness was represented in form of different entertainments like paying attention to clothing style and cosmetics. Some people watched the actors or other influencers and wanted to feel a distinct emotional experience by doing this behavior. As an emotional atmosphere in the society can lead to the development of dramatic collective behavior and change it from its normal condition, it is suggested that the media reflect realities comprehensively so that the people are not involved in rumors and dramatic collective behaviors.

In all historical periods, special types and forms of concerns have appeared for young people at the community level. With changes in social structures and occasions, not only these concerns, but also their meanings for young people undergo changes and transformations. Social and economic conditions, technological progress, emergence of numerous fields of study and new specializations, and lengthening of the period of education at the beginning of the 20th century have created a context in need of special attention to be paid to the youth period. Some theorists have considered youth to be full of excitement and enthusiasm with many tensions and pressures. Adolescents face changes and transformations that cause swings in their behaviors and feelings, besides encountering contradictions in their feelings and physiological and hormonal stimulations. Accordingly, the youth period is a difficult and conflicting period of life. Young people face physical, psychological, and cognitive changes in their behaviors in addition to undergoing general changes. There is a lot of pressure and worry in the youth period because  young persons show some kinds of reaction to natural changes and developments during this exciting period. Many behavioral and social deviations of people start from this period and become more stable and difficult to be modified with aging. Parents’ information about psychological, social, maturity, and adolescence characteristics can create a suitable relationship between them and the young people. In this research, by examining different backgrounds, some sensitive concepts were selected for acquiring a theoretical sensitivity. The first concept was the life-world. It is clear that the life of young people redefines their life-worlds in an interaction with their expectations. Therefore, their actions for building their life-worlds in the research field were investigated by designing the related interview protocol. The concept of value had a similar role and the relevant questions were asked based on the interview protocol. Social relations and the formation of expectations were other sensitive concepts that were emphasized by the researchers. Physical and body issues were also focused on and the issue of family support was emphasized as well. Finally, the reactions and activities were put into focus so that the outcomes of the processes could be better studied.

This research was based on qualitative methodology and the grounded theory approach (systematic method). Coding was done via an open, axial, and selective coding method. The data were collected from the newly arrived young students at Yazd University, who were aged 18-19 years. It was tried to conduct the interviews in different places, including green spaces, university campus, student dormitories, and the like. Durations of the interviews varied between 30 minutes to 1 hour and 45 minutes. There were 20 participants, from among whom 10 and 9 students were respectively boys and girls and 1 person was transgender. The necessary criteria to achieve the research validity and reliability were also obtained.

Discussion of Results & Conclusion:

The findings were presented in 12 main categories, including value generation gap, problematic family support, limitation on life-world, humiliating comparison, multiple expectations, and dare normalization. The core category was increasing expectations/resilient life-word. Then, the paradigmatic model and substantive theory were presented. The results indicated that the increasing expectations turned the youth from passive subjects to social and resistant subjects. Iran is experiencing complex values, as well as attitudinal and behavioral processes and developments. In this process, young people have a very prominent role. They are the ones, who are exposed to discourse processes and the discourse order makes them passive subjects; Thus, this process seems to have not been very successful. It is taken for granted that discourse subjects not only pass through the discourse order, but also try to create increasing expectations at the boundaries of discourse. In fact, many of these developments and processes are followed by younger generations. The life-words of young people, especially those on the threshold of youth, are accompanied by increasing expectations and an active resistance in defense of everyday life. This fact has changed them from passive subjects to social and resistant subjects. Indeed, the needs of young people are not limited to food, clothing, and housing nowadays; rather, they play their own special roles with the complexity of different needs. They do not get enough attention and reversely face multiple limitations in their lives in the fields of commuting, communication with friends, and entertainment, as well as restrictions in choosing a field of study and employment, etc. In their mental worlds, an epistemological revolution has occurred, while their activism and subjectivity have become radical in the backyard of social realities and in the context of the society. They experience scenes of resistance, while living in the boundaries of discourse. Ignoring or suppressing this situation will have no results other than creating a deeper gap in epistemological developments and internal revolutions.

Resilience is not something that is only good to have but a necessity. That is why investing in resilience is said to be an opportunity. Increasing resilience and facilitating recovery of damaged social structures and behaviors are the inherent missions of social resilience. If we consider resilience as synonymous with flexibility, the society or organization that has it has a constant power in the face of change and adaptation to its new needs. The family also provides stability and coordination and growth of family members by creating a stable and supportive environment. It reinforces social behaviors that are resistant to the negative effects of crisis or stress. In contrast, a poorly functioning family environment leads to anxiety, depression or general anxiety, and inability to cope with trauma or other challenges. Heads of households in Ramhormoz are also vulnerable to the issue of generation gap due to the speed of lifestyle changes, especially with the outbreak of Covid 19 virus. To deal with their problems, their resilience must be identified and scrutinized. Moreover, payment solutions must be provided since they can improve the resilience of heads of households and thus make it easier for them to deal with issues and tensions. In this regard, in this study, we examined some of the factors affecting social resilience of household heads in Ramhormoz City.

This research was conducted through a survey method in Ramhormoz City in 2021. The data collection tool was a questionnaire. The statistical population of the study included the heads of households in Ramhormoz. According to the last census in 2016, its population was equal to about 127.20 households. Based on Cochran's formula and multi-stage cluster sampling method, 384 households were selected as the sample size. In the present study, social resilience as the dependent variable with the 5 dimensions of connection and caring, resources, transformative potential, disaster management, and information and communication and the 3 variables of cultural capital, hope for the future, and perceived social support as the independent variables were examined. Pearson’s correlation coefficient test was used to examine the significance of the relationship between the dependent and independent variables.

Discussion of Results & Conclusion:

In this study, social resilience of the heads of households in Ramhormoz City and some sociological factors affecting it were investigated. The results demonstrated that the average social resilience of the household heads was 87.36. It also showed an upward average trend on the scales under study. The dimension of connection and care had a higher average value. The correlation results also showed that social resilience had a significant relationship with the variables of cultural capital, perceived social support, and hope for the future. The findings of the path analysis showed that the direct and indirect effects of the entire structures of social support and cultural capital on the research were significant. By comparing the beta coefficients, it could be said that the total effect of the structure of cultural capital (0.39) was greater compared to those of the other variables included in the model, i.e., hope for the future and social support. In total, the mentioned variables were able to explain 0.20 changes in the variable of social resilience.