فصلنامه مطالعات عملیات روانی
پیاپی 40 (تابستان 1393)

In order to compare the marital life satisfaction and mental health of the Tehrani female viewers of the GEM Persian-language satellite TV with those of the women who did not watch satellite TV programs, a group of 420 women were studied in 2013. The main research questions were: ‘What is the relationship between marital life satisfaction and watching the GEM Persian-language satellite TV?’ and ‘What is the relationship between mental health and watching this TV channel?’ To develop the theoretical model, the utilization and satisfaction theory, cultivation theory and Allport’s theory have been employed. The research method was survey and a questionnaire was employed for data collection. Data analysis was carried out using the SPSS software. Also, to display findings, descriptive statistics devices including frequency distribution tables and parametric tests (Pearson, Cramer, regression and chisquare) were utilized. The results showed that marital life satisfaction and mental health of the female viewers of the GEM Persian-language satellite TV were lower than those of the women who did not watch satellite TV programs. Also, there was a meaningful negative relationship between marital life satisfaction and mental health and the extent of watching the GEM Persian-language satellite TV. The results further indicated a meaningful relationship between marital life satisfaction and mental health of the female participants in the study.

The aim of the present study is to detect the virtual space damages among the students of the state universities, Islamic Azad universities and Shahid Sadouqi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd. To this end, the descriptive-survey method was utilized to identify the familial, educational, congenial, ideological-liturgical and mental dimensions of virtual space damages. The statistical population included all the students of state universities, Islamic Azad universities and Shahid Sadouqi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd. Using the simple random sampling method and the Morgan & Krejcie Table, a sample of 427 subjects were selected from among the students. The research instrument was a researcher made questionnaire with 30 close-ended questions, 2 open-ended questions and 1 question for prioritizing solutions. Data analysis was carried out through descriptive statistics and ANOVA with repeated quantities. The results indicated that utilization of effective instruments in virtual space has a negative effect on the familial, educational, congenial, ideological-liturgical and mental dimensions of students’ lives. Among these instruments (the Internet, computer games, television, satellite and mobile phone), the highest damage belongs to mobile phone and the lowest one belongs to computer games. Therefore, the findings of the study suggest that the enemies intend to damage the foundations of our land. They have targeted educational and congenial status and even the spirituality of the youth and students so that they can pave the way for behavior change and disintegration of the Islamic system from the inside.

The importance of the communications age and its prodigious developments is not hidden for any scholar and responsible official. Neglecting these developments and failures will lead to irreparable losses. The Internet phenomenon with all its potentials and threat-oriented and opportunity-oriented capacities has created a particular space and entering this space intelligently and purposefully will enable people and nations to utilize its significant and suitable potentials well. The discovery of this phenomenon by Americans provided an opportunity for them to design and launch massive Internet sites and consequently gain enormous economic, social, cultural, security and military advantages. On the other hand, the strategies of the Internet operators in the West, the structural complexity of the Internet and the lack of tight international rules to govern this space have made the virtual powers the unrivalled directors of this realm. However, due to the special properties and features of the Internet, they have not been able to have its full utilization and exploitation under their control. Hence, others nations including the Islamic Republic of Iran have the chance to play a decisive role in the management and exploitation of this immense and wide-ranging communication medium by investing widely and having strong willpower. Having intelligence, strategy and long-term goals and investing appropriately are the requirements and necessities of remaining active in this arena.

The Syrian War started about three years ago with the aim of putting Assad’s government aside. Due to the intervention of foreign powers in this war, some have called it a ‘vicarious war’. To win this battle, the enemies of the Syrian government, convened in a group called "the Friends of Syria", utilized a variety of tools including provision of financial and military assistance for the terrorist groups and implementation of psychological operations and propaganda against Assad’s Government. This article, first, introduces the actors in the Syrian War and, then, explores the process of psychological operations in this war and their objectives. The main objective of all instigations in Syrian was to put side Assad’s Government; therefore, the main goal of all the psychological operations conducted in the Syrian War was to prove the illegitimacy of Assad's Government, introduce the terrorist operations as public uprising and pave the way for foreign intervention. Given that after about three years of fighting, the enemies of Assad's Government have not been able to fulfill their objectives yet and the terrorists groups have been defeated in most war fronts, this article, finally, examines the causes of the failure of the psychological operations against Assad’s Government.

This piece of writing, entitled "the role of sacrifice in enhancing the combat power of armed forces", has been influenced, on the one hand, by spiritual-mental potentials originating from the heroic and martyrdom-seeking mood of Muslim combatants in Badr, Kheibar and Khandaq battles, Ashura, the Sacred Defense, battles of Hamas and Hezbollah, etc. and, on the other hand, by the heavy blows that the Islamic System received in such events as Ohod and Seffein battles, Imam Hassan’s (a.s.) peace, etc., due to the fact that self-sacrifice had not been embedded in the personality of combatants. In this study, religious resources and the speeches of Imam Khomeini (rah.) and Imam Khamenei have been utilized as the main documents for the recognition and delineation of the concept of self-sacrifice. This is a descriptiveanalytic study whose data was obtained from library resources, the Internet sites, questionnaires and interviews. Using Cochran’s formula, 85 subjects were selected from among 300 people and were given a questionnaire to fill out. According to the calculations, the self-sacrifice factor with a mean of 4.84, 84 degree of freedom and 0.000 significance level, has a decisive role in the combat power of armed forces.

Most pundits and authors consider psychological operations as measures that help influence the emotions, views and finally behavior of the target group. These are the measures commonly utilized in battle fields and even in political conflicts today. This study examines the psychological tactics employed by the international coalition forces led by the U.S. against Iraq in the twenty-three-day war in 2003. This is an applied research work conducted on the basis of the descriptive-analytic method and by the utilization of written resources, articles, interviews and visual communication media. The findings suggest that the third Persian Gulf war, which was waged following September 11 attacks, was basically proceeded on the basis of psychological approaches and measures. Hence, it can be said that, for the first time, military operations were supplemented by psychological operations. Undoubtedly, evaluation of the U.S. psychological operations strategies and tactics in the third Persian Gulf war and encounter with the new international environment can offer the Islamic Republic of Iran new strategies for dealing with the U.S. threats in this environment.

Psychological operations is one of the instruments man has utilized to fulfill his goals since the beginning of creation. After nation states were established in 1648 and international relations became more complicated over time and governments required political negotiations, especially after the first and second world wars, it became more common to utilize psychological operations as a handy instrument. Psychological operations are used as a backup mechanism in political negotiations. During negotiations, psychological operations experts try to make friends and allies follow them and put the negotiating rival team under pressure. Having an accurate planning, knowing the addressees, having them under control and being cognizant of the extent of the influence of psychological activities are considered significant issues in putting the negotiating team under pressure and advancing psychological operations. This article attempts to examine the role of psychological operations in political negotiations and explore the importance of this issue in political negotiations and the ways of averting extreme impact of psychological operations on political negotiations.