International Journal of Body, Mind and Culture
Volume:5 Issue: 3, Summer 2018

 Online social networking has reduced the distance between people with different languages and cultures through allowing individuals in distant geographical locations to form interpersonal relationships. Adopting the Internet as the medium for online interactions, the current study aimed to compare and contrast Native American and Persian speakers’ compliment responses in this environment.

 Data were collected from online social networks by saving archived conversations of 15 chat participants who were selected through snowball sampling from each group of English and Persian chat users. The conversations were produced from January 2009 to May 2012. The compliment exchanges made by the two groups were examined and contrasted with each other in terms of compliment response strategies.

 Chi-square test and z-score results indicated that the two groups of participants differed significantly in adopting strategies for responding to compliments.

 American speakers employed acceptance significantly more than Persian speakers. This is while Persian chat participants used self-praise avoidance significantly more than their American counterparts. Comparing the results of the study with other studies on compliment responses realization, it is suggested that communicative acts which take place in anonymous social networks mirror the cultural values of the language community of text-talk users and the medium of interaction did not restrict participants' cultural preferences in complimenting responses. However, they used some text-talk features in the online environment which indicates the need for using compensatory strategies due to the mode of interaction.

When we talk about observation, an abundance of theories in science come to our mind whose discussions are on how observation of natural sciences is susceptible or non-susceptible to observers' objectives and their previous experiences epistemologically, semantically, psychologically, or socially. The objects of observation in these schools are natural objects and phenomena the subject matter of which is something other than the human being. However, it is not merely natural objects which are the human being in the history of development and evolution of knowledge; the human being has also become his own object and has been studied. The body has become the object of human being in medicine and psyche, and individual and social behaviors the object of research of the human being himself in human sciences. As the object of observation is the psyche of the human being, the characteristics of observation are examined in this article from Foucault's view since its object is also the psyche of the human being. It is also shown that observation in this domain is not only a political act but an identity-making one. Due to this characteristic, "observation" was used as a technique for the treatment of psychological diseases, especially in the case of madness, until the 19th century. This led to the emergence of psychology.

Health anxiety disorder (HAD) is defined as anxiety about having a serious illness or fear of a serious illness, despite the assurances of doctors to the contrary. The purpose of this study was to review HAD, its diagnostic criteria, and its impact on health services utilization in a review article in 2018. For this aim, articles in ProQuest, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and ISI Web of Science databases were selected without a publication time limit, and then, data on the nature, diagnostic criteria, and the effect of HAD on health services utilization were extracted. HAD is a relatively common disorder that persists in the absence of suitable management and results in excessive utilization of health services, avoidance of health care, and disruption of the function of individuals. Therefore, with early diagnosis, repetition of counseling, clinical trials, and the use of health services is avoidable and will prevent cost increases. Consequently it is better to have consensus on the diagnosis criteria of this disorder and, if diagnosed, the person is treated.

Previous studies have shown that adversity, sexual violence, prostitution, and addiction can increase the risk of HIV/AIDS infection. Providing an overview of the risk factors of this disease is significantly important in preventing its spread. It was therefore decided to focus this research on the determination of cultural and social factors that increase the risk of HIV/AIDS among women in Tehran, Iran.

 The present study was a qualitative research. The study group consisted of 13 women with HIV/AIDS infection who are members of the positive HIV club of the Iranian Welfare Organization, their sexual partners, and 10 experts and specialists of HIV/AIDS in Tehran. The qualitative approaches of interviewing the infected women and holding group discussion with experts and politicians were applied for data gathering. The analysis of data was carried out using grounded theory based on basic concepts, organizational concepts, comprehensive concepts, strategies, and consequences.

 As a result of data analysis, 73 basic concepts, 61 organizational concepts, and 151 comprehensive concepts (73 social and 78 cultural factors) were obtained.

 The most important factors are lack of information and sexual awareness within the mentioned group, the educational level of parents and children, unprotected sexual intercourse among polygamous partners, prostitution, homosexuality, divorce, cultural shift in women’s role in the family, discrimination, poverty, marginalization, men’s dominance in the intercourse, and unprotected sexual intercourse. Increasing women’s awareness through training in order to affect their sexual behavior is suggested as a solution in this regard. Moreover, welfare and wellbeing must be improved in the society so that low-cost health care is available and accessible to all members.

 This study was performed to determine the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on decreasing the rate of postpartum depression (PPD) in two women referred to one of the obstraction offices of Ahvaz, Iran. Two women with PPD and their husbands were selected through a clinical diagnostic interview and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) ‎and based on the study inclusion and exclusion criteria and lectures in health center in Ahvaz.

This study was a single-subject and non-congruent multiple baseline experimental study. Data analysis was conducted using visual depiction, reliable change index (RCI), and recovery percentage. In this study, two women with PPD underwent CBT and data were collected at baseline, during therapy, and at the one-month follow-up, and they completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-13).

 The findings indicated 24.17% and 20.92% recovery percentage in depression in the first and second woman, respectively, as a result of CBT.

 The results of the present research illustrate the efficacy of CBT in improving depression in women with PPD.