Iranian Context Research Articles

Unlocking the power of public awareness: paving the way for sustainable wetland management in Anzali, Iran

The Anzali Wetland, located in the Guilan Province of Iran, is a vital ecosystem with significant ecological value. However, it faces numerous environmental challenges due to pollution, habitat degradation, and unsustainable resource use. This paper aims to assess the awareness and perceptions of local communities regarding the Anzali Wetland, Iran, and its management and how these factors might influence the implementation of the CEPA program. A quantitative survey based on a structured questionnaire was designed and administered to local communities within the wetland’s watershed. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results indicate that local communities have limited knowledge about the wetland, often associating it solely with Anzali Lagoon. Despite this lack of awareness, most participants recognize the wetland’s importance in conserving wildlife. Further, participants identified domestic and industrial wastewater pollution as the most significant threat to the wetland. Additionally, education at the school level, the Internet, and virtual networks were perceived as effective means of raising awareness among the local population. The study highlights the importance of increasing public participation and interaction among different social groups to enhance awareness of the wetland’s value and environmental issues. It also emphasizes the need for coordinated efforts among stakeholders in wetland management and policy-making, including government agencies and civil organizations. By examining the significance of public awareness in the Iranian context, the study provides unique insights into wetland conservation efforts in a specific geographical and ecological setting. Furthermore, by considering the perceptions and opinions of these stakeholders, the study offers a holistic understanding of the diverse perspectives and interests related to wetland conservation, which adds depth and richness to the analysis.

The Linkage Between University Students’ Academic Engagement and Academic Support: The Mediating Role of Psychological Capital

Purpose: Despite the importance of university students' academic engagement and the role of academic support in facilitating their success, there appears to be a dearth of research investigating the mediating effect of psychological capital in this relationship, highlighting a significant gap in the existing literature. Methodology: This research was quantitative on the basis of the natural and general features and employed a descriptive-correlational approach based on the structural equation model (SEM). The statistical population of the research included all undergraduate students of Farhangian University of Kerman, approximately 2100 students. Out of this statistical population, 677 participants responded to the online survey. The sampling method was convenience sampling and the data was collected in the first semester of the academic year 1401-1402 (From Aban to Azar). Sands and Plunkett’s (2005) academic support scale, Reeve and Tseng’s (2011) academic engagement scale, and Luthans and Avolio’s (2007) psychological capital scale were used to gather data. The statistical analyses were conducted with SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23.0. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the validity of the scales used in the Iranian tertiary context. Correlational results indicated that the relationships among main research variables were significant. Findings: Structural equation modelling (SEM) indicated that psychological capital mediated the linkage between academic support and academic engagement (β = 0.58, p < 0.01). The results also revealed that academic support (β = 0.69, p < 0.01) and psychological capital (β = 0.39, p < 0.01) were predictive of university students’ academic engagement. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that providing academic support has the potential to influence students' psychological capital, resulting in their active engagement and participation in educational and learning endeavors. The limitations of this study and the future directions will be discussed.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Validation of the Interview Satisfaction Questionnaire (ISQ) to Assess Unmet Health Communication Needs of Iranian Breast Cancer Patients

ABSTRACT Autonomous and patient-centered health communication (PCHC) between a healthcare provider (HCP) and a client (HCC) is a critical fundament for successful healthcare outcomes. A standard and validated data collection tool for studying the satisfaction of Iranian breast cancer patients (BCPs) with various aspects of their health communication with HCPs does not exist. The current study assessed the application, feasibility, and cultural appropriateness of the Persian-translated version of the interview satisfaction questionnaire (ISQ) in the Iranian context. A standard translation/back-translation procedure was used to prepare a preliminary Persian version of the ISQ (ISQ-P) which was then evaluated for content and face validity by a panel of experts. The study data were collected from 200 breast cancer patients and used to estimate the internal consistency measure of Cronbach’s alpha and intra-class correlation coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to verify the compatibility of the instrument’s identified dimensions with the original ISQ’s factor structure. The calculated content validity index (CVI = 0.89), content validity ratio (CVR = 0.49), and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.79) indicated the appropriateness of the ISQ-P for its intended purpose. The CFA’s outputs (root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.09, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.954, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.931, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.04) affirmed the fitness of the study data to the original 4-factor conceptual model. The study findings supported the suitability of ISQ-P for assessing health communication episodes by Persian-speaking BCPs. However, due to cultural variation, cross-border diversity of health systems, and organizational circumstances, further validity and reliability appraisal of the ISQ-P in distinct sub-samples is recommended.

A Discourse Analytic Study of Vehicle Writings in the Iranian Context

Language, nowadays, as a means of communication, is scrupulously overhauled and dealt with in all disciplines, from social sciences to politics, especially through the lens of critical discourse analysis (CDA), for deciphering encrypted power and prestige encoded by pragmatic features. This study aimed to examine vehicle writings and inscriptions as a discourse form by adopting a discourse-pragmatic analytical approach to extract the key features of language practices of Iranian drivers through the medium of writing. The inscriptions on cars and automobiles were examined for the pragmatic features built on the Gricean model to excavate the existing conversational implicatures and for the critical interpretation through the insight of CDA to unearth the subtle nexus of power, prestige, privilege, control, authority, resistance, dominance, hegemony, inequality and discrimination. The findings uncloaked the evolving turns of Iranian vehicle writings in terms of form and meaning au courant with the quotidian modus operandi. Tradition is seen to be enlaced with a la mode scripts. The traces of power practice in the discourse of the powerless were found as a means of projection on the roads. The blatant instances of flouting maxims were evidenced in all four types of the principles drawn on the criteria.

Playing with words across visual humor in an Iranian EFL context with Arab students: Pedagogical translanguaging for enhancement of multicultural spaces in language education

This study focuses on how translanguaging in language instruction with the aid of audiovisual materials can teach Iranian EFL students with Arab ethnicity wordplay in English . Given the significant role wordplay plays in generating humor within TV shows, it can provide a challenge for EFL learners to understand both the humor and cultural nuances of such audiovisual materials. To this end, this study initially selected two popular series, Friends and The Simpsons, translated into Persian. The researchers taught linguistic and translation models to 15 EFL students with Arab ethnicity to identify and categorize the diverse types of wordplay and strategies used to translate them from English to Persian. Students participating in the action research found that the most commonly utilized wordplay and translation strategy were lexical-semantic wordplay and no wordplay strategy, respectively. They also reported that the equivalents were not appropriate in many instances. Interview results with these learners demonstrated the participants' enhanced understanding of wordplay, with translanguaging through translated audiovisual materials identified as a motivating and effective approach for language learning. Ultimately, this research has important implications for teaching English within the expanding cycle of world Englishes with the possibility of promoting translanguaging and intercultural competence.

The Power of Memes in Crisis: the potential for emotional contagion of memes during a crisis

The subject of the research is the study of the influence of memes during crises. Internet memes as a communication tool and new media languages are able to create and spread emotions that can promote social cohesion, as well as increase social confidence, which is considered vital during crises. Given the importance of Internet memes as a powerful tool to strengthen social cohesion and trust in difficult times, it is important to give an idea of how memes and emotional contagion can be used in crisis communication. The aim of the study is to provide a more complete understanding of the role of Internet memes, especially during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, in emotionally affected Iranian social media users. To achieve this goal, the study used a mixed-method approach, content analysis including COVID-19 memes on Iranian social networks and a quantitative survey using a questionnaire developed by the researchers. The statistical sample of the study consisted of 150 Iranian social media users who were randomly selected. The novelty of the research lies in the study of the function of memes in crisis communication and emotional contagion, especially in the context of Iran. The study expands the boundaries and offers new insights into how memes can be an effective tool to strengthen social cohesion and increase trust in difficult times. The focus of the study on the Iranian context also adds to its novelty, as it provides specific information that is not available in the existing literature. The study provides empirical support to politicians, especially Iranians, in tracking public opinion on critical topics, or in managing collective emotions via the Internet and stimulating and mobilizing public action by individuals. Memes can be used for crisis communication and public participation. The results of the study indicate the widespread use and recognition of memories in Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of income tax information for expressing feelings and interest. Emotional contagion through memes is moderate and mostly mental, with respondents believing that memes are more effective, fast, and desirable than other types of messages and posts.

Three Ritual Steps between India and Iran

Abstract The use of triadic patterns is a well-known modality occurring in some Indo-Iranian mythological contexts. This fact has been considered as a phenomenon too generic, and its presence just noted as an unimportant evidence. But, in reality, this procedure, despite its potentially perplexing background, produces some symbolic implications, whose frequent occurrence should be better observed. For instance, within the Vedic and Brāhmaṇic framework, Viṣṇu makes three steps in order to enlarge the universal space, and for this reason this god is also called Trivikrama-, “Having Three Steps”. The present sequence, with its space-time implications, finds a correspondence in the disposition of the Vedic altar of Fire, which needs three footsteps of ground. Even more fitting and pertinent are the inevitable speculations emerging from the ritual meaning of the pebbles or stones called svayamātr̻ṇṇā, “naturally perforated”, placed by the Adhvaryu in the first, third and fifth layer of the brick-altar of the Agnicayana. They have a patent cosmological identity (see, e.g., ŚB 8.7.3.9–10). Within the Iranian context, references to the number three are equally relevant and not just meaningless. Three are the main steps of the soul of the dead after their meeting with the daēnā-, explicitly corresponding to three different cosmic levels, while the vara- of Yima, and the baršnūmgāh, a place of ritual purification, are divided in three parts, and in any case everything connected with them follows a triadic basis with multiples or submultiples of “three”, or again with fractions with an expressed denominator “three”. The act of piling up the perforated stones on the three layers of the Vedic fire altar presents deep cosmological implications, strictly connected also with the holes through which an imaginary column arises. The act of piling up (cinute) resounds the action to be performed by the soul in the Mazdean choreography of the afterlife, when the bridge (pərətu-) allowing the crossing of the intermediate space (that links earth and heaven) is piled up (by one who is cinuuaṇt-, presumably the soul itself). But piling the bricks and tending the fire are ritual performative actions expressed with the same verb and with actions, which inevitably resonate, as in the image of the third prince appearing within the afterlife choreography presented as a vision to the Sasanian Great Priest Kerdir. These occurrences, already focused on in past studies, evoke direct correspondences in ritual procedures emphasizing a definitive transition into another status, so that any triplication or any trifold implement has a special force and completeness.

A meta-analysis on the relationship between media with violence and aggression in Iranian sports

The present research aimed to conduct a systematic study on violence and aggression in the context of Iranian sports and perform a meta-analysis to investigate the association between the media and violence and aggression in sports. The research encompassed all relevant studies available in scientific databases within Iran (such as Magiran, Seyed, Civilica, Normagz, Humane resource study, and police publications), as well as dissertations from the information and scientific documents database. The selected timeframe for this analysis covered the years 2001 to 2018 in the Iranian context. Through this process, 209 studies related to the subject were identified, out of which 10 studies were included in the meta-analysis based on the research protocol investigating the relationship between media and violence and aggression in sports. Data analysis was performed using SPSS25 and CMA2 software. The results showed several variables played prominent roles in the researches on violence and aggression in sports, including media performance, referees’ performance, stadium amenities, law enforcement and security factors, external and internal stadium environment, coach’s behavior, social control, family influence, education, socio-economic factors, substance abuse, players’ behavior, influence of friends, managerial aspects, and cultural and political factors. Inferential statistics indicated effect size for the relationship between media and violence and aggression, under the fixed model, was determined to be 0.259, and under the random model, it was 0.306, both of which were statistically significant. Consequently, based on the findings from the meta-analysis, a significant direct relationship between media and violence and aggression in sports was established.

The Plausibility of Applying Dogme Language Teaching Approach in Iranian EFL Classes from Teachers’ Perspective

Over-dependency on manufactured materials and fixed syllabuses in language classrooms hamper both teachers and students from achieving communicative ability. In the Dogme language teaching approach or unplugged teaching, teachers do not rely on these predetermined procedures and they have the freedom to choose the class activities based on the situation of the classroom. This study was an attempt to investigate Iranian English language teachers’ perspectives on the possibility of the application of the Dogme approach as an unplugged teaching methodology in Iranian high school English classes. 100 Iranian EFL teachers took part in the study. The teachers were given a questionnaire aiming to reveal their opinions about the general principles of the Dogme language teaching approach. Then, a semi-structured oral interview was conducted. The analysis of their responses led to the conclusion that the Dogme approach was generally unknown by many Iranian teachers. Only a few teachers applied this approach in their classes. Therefore, it is suggested that the Dogme approach should be introduced and integrated into mainstream English as a foreign language program in Iranian contexts through workshops and in-service classes.

Persian Handwriting Assessment Tool: Reliability in Students with Specific Learning Disorders

Background: Handwriting is one of the most common reasons for referral to occupational therapy among children with specific learning disorders (SLDs). The Persian handwriting assessment tool (PHAT) is a valid assessment instrument. It is important to clarify the reliability of this assessment tool for the accuracy of results and certain clinical uses in Iranian children with SLDs. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the internal consistency, test-retest, and inter-rater reliability of the PHAT in children with SLDs aged 10 to 12 years in the Iranian context. Methods: Thirty children (mean ± SD 132.33 ± 53.8 months) with SLDs, studying in grades 4 to 6, were recruited from special education schools and rehabilitation clinics from January to May 2022. Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated to determine internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability, respectively. The standard error of measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable change (MDC) were computed to establish absolute reliability. Results: Internal consistency was excellent (α = 0.98 to 0.99), as was inter-rater reliability (ICC = 0.95 to 1.00). Test-retest reliability was good to excellent (0.86 to 1.00). The SEM and MDC values for test-retest reliability were 0 to 0.47 and 0 to 1.29, respectively. Finally, the SEM (0 - 0.21) and MDC (0 - 0.57) values were acceptable for inter-rater reliability. Conclusions: The PHAT is a reliable assessment tool for Iranian children with SLDs aged 10 to 12 years. Further, clinicians can utilize this tool to identify handwriting difficulties in children with SLDs aged 10 to 12 years, which leads to more targeted interventions.

Association between Social Mobility and Quality-of-Life Index in Women of Rasht: A Population-Based Study in the Iranian Context.

Life course research has shown that socioeconomic conditions in childhood have a profound impact on adult health. However, little is known about the different health effects of social mobility. This study was conducted to answer whether the intergenerational social mobility of women in Rasht is related to their quality of life index. This cross-sectional survey conducted in 2020-2021, in which the researcher created a social mobility questionnaire, was used to study the association between social mobility and the quality of life index of women aged 30-65 in Rasht. The current socioeconomic status of 784 married women in this city was compared to the previous socioeconomic status of their parents. Also, Ferrans and Power's quality of life index questionnaire was used. Data analysis was done using t-test and ANOVA. The mean (SD) score for the overall quality of life index was 21.60 (4.23) of 30. The majority of participants had immobility (350 of them or 44.6%). There was no statistically significant correlation between women's intergenerational mobility and their quality-of-life index (P = 0.734). Still, there was a statistically significant difference between the average score of the quality of life in the socioeconomic groups of the participants. Findings show that the women in Rasht did not have opportunities to promote their status or could not take advantage of these possibilities. Although our results did not show evidence for the effects of social mobility on quality of life, some scholars' findings support the idea of the impact (negative or positive) of intergenerational upward mobility on well-being.

Emotion and cognition are two wings of the same bird: Insights into academic emotion regulation, critical thinking, self-efficacy beliefs, academic resilience, and academic engagement in Iranian EFL context

Academic emotion regulation (AER), critical thinking (CT), self-efficacy belief (S-EB), academic resilience (AR), and academic engagement (AE) are all important factors for the success of university students, but their connections have not been thoroughly investigated in Iran. This study aimed to address this research gap by exploring the impact of AER and CT on the state of S-EB, AR, and AE among university students in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context of Iran. The Academic Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Form A, the Self-efficacy Scale, the Academic Resilience Scale, and the SInAPSi Academic Engagement Scale were administered to 411 Iranian EFL university students. The results of structural equation modeling demonstrated that high levels of AER were associated with higher levels of S-EB, AR, and AE. Additionally, CT was found to positively impact S-EB, AR, and AE. The findings contribute to the understanding of the relationships between AER, CT, S-EB, AR, and AE and have practical implications for the implementation of AER and CT in L2 classrooms.

Psychometric Assessment of Infant Colic Scale in Iranian Population.

Infant colic, causing excessive crying, poses anxiety for parents and a challenge for pediatricians and nurses. The Infant Colic Scale (ICS) serves to assess the severity and causal factors of colic. Despite its significance, the psychometric properties of ICS have not been evaluated in the Iranian population. This study seeks to address this gap by assessing the psychometric properties of ICS in Iran. A sample of 220 mothers with 2-16-week-old term infants diagnosed with infantile colic was selected through convenience sampling. Following forward and back-translation, the face validity, content validity, and construct validity of ICS were systematically evaluated. Reliability was examined through both internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and test-retest stability methods. Content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) values for ICS were 0.94 and 0.81, respectively. The good fit indices confirmed the validity of the five-factor structure. Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were 0.71 and 0.94, respectively. The Persian version of ICS is a valid and reliable tool, suitable for assessing infantile colic in the Iranian population. Future studies and clinical practice can utilize this tool to identify major causes of this disorder in the Iranian context.

A Sociocognitive Account of Willingness to Communicate from the Perspective of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory

This study investigates the dynamic nature of second language willingness to communicate (L2WTC) exploring the numerous factors that contribute to the construct. Drawing upon the sociocognitive perspective, we analyzed the environmental, individual, and linguistic factors that influence the development of L2WTC in an Iranian language learning context. Data were collected through interviews, stimulated-recall sessions, journal keeping, and observations from an intact class of five students. The environmental factors identified throughout the analysis stage were interlocutor familiarity, topic, teacher influence, task type, discussion dynamics, and family dynamics. The individual factors that were found to play a role in the development of L2WTC included anxiety, motivation, self-confidence, security, shyness, perfectionism, perceived need for the target language use, cultural identity, personality, interest in the topic, fear of failure, seeking validation, cultural adaptation, and emotional state. Finally, perceived and actual linguistic competence were among the linguistic factors that influenced L2WTC. Overall, the findings of this study confirmed that L2WTC is a multifaceted complex system that is constantly reacting to environmental changes.

The role of clandestine assessment in Iranian EFL context: a teacher’s perceptions about the impact of educational digital-based games on teaching and learning English

The role of clandestine assessment in Iranian EFL context: a teacher’s perceptions about the impact of educational digital-based games on teaching and learning English

Ontological Metaphors and Interdiscursivity/ Recontextualization in Iranians’ Political Comments on Instagram

With the significance that linguistic or discursive creativity has achieved in the last decade, it becomes incumbent on researchers to examine this phenomenon in political discourse in varying contexts. Therefore, in this study, the researchers sought to examine five ontological metaphors (at a linguistic/pragmatic level) as well as interdiscursivity and recontextualization (at a discourse analytical level) in Instagram comments in the Iranian context. Accordingly, the researchers employed Al-Hindawi and Al-Saate’s (2016) model of ontological metaphors as well as Jones’ (2010) interdiscursivity and recontextualization as discursive strategies. The analysis of Instagram comments indicated that overall Iranian social media users drew on various types of ontological metaphor in their Instagram comments. More specifically, among the ontological metaphors, metonymy and idiomatic expressions were the most commonly used metaphorical strategies followed by simile, with hyperbole and personification being the least frequently utilized metaphors. Additionally, results indicated the Iranians users’ resort to interdiscursivity and recontextualization as discursive strategies in their attempt to bring about political and social change. More specifically, the users employed ideas from various discourses such as sports, religion and literature to emphasize the need for political and social change. The findings may have implications for linguists, discourse analysts, politicians, and pragmaticians.

Yet another look at strategies for learning grammar: Validating the Grammar Learning Strategy Inventory in the Iranian EFL context

This study aimed to validate the 70-item Grammar Learning Strategy Inventory (GLSI), originally developed in Poland, in the Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) context. A heterogeneous sample of 605 Iranian EFL university students completed the GLSI. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a seven-factor model, allowing for the construction of a reduced version of the GLSI including 36 items. The underlying structure of grammar learning strategy (GLS) use corresponded to the classification that served as a basis for the GLSI. Thus, the division into metacognitive, social, affective, and cognitive GLS, the latter of which are further subdivided into focus-on-form GLS, explicit knowledge GLS, implicit knowledge GLS, and corrective feedback GLS, is conceptually valid in the Iranian context. However, the drastic reduction in the number of items might indicate that the actual nature of learning L2 grammar in the Iranian context might be different and that the GLSI may have failed to capture some GLS that Iranian students may draw upon. More research, preferably such that would combine quantitative and qualitative methodologies, seems indispensable for developing a research tool that can be more reflective of the specificity of GLS use in the context under investigation.

Jews and Education in Modern Iran: The "Threat of Assimilation" and Changing Educational Landscapes

Abstract: In the 1960s and 70s, several transnational Jewish organizations—the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Alliance Israélite Universelle, Ozar Hatorah, and the Jewish Agency—expressed dire concern over the purported assimilation of Jews into Iranian society, claiming that it stemmed from their upward mobility and increasing enrollment in non-Jewish schools. Drawing on previously untapped archival documents, printed materials, and oral histories in Persian, French, Hebrew, and English, I argue that it was mainly foreign Jews, and not Iranian Jews themselves, who feared the specter of assimilation. In fact, Iranian Jewish parents viewed their children's attendance in non-Jewish schools as integral to their economic and social prosperity in a Muslim-majority country. Ultimately, because Iranian Jews were not as preoccupied with assimilation as their non-Iranian coreligionists, I suggest that an examination of assimilation in the Iranian context can help us complicate the importance of this concept in modern Jewish historical scholarship.

Jews and Education in Modern Iran: The "Threat of Assimilation" and Changing Educational Landscapes

Abstract: In the 1960s and 70s, several transnational Jewish organizations—the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Alliance Israélite Universelle, Ozar Hatorah, and the Jewish Agency—expressed dire concern over the purported assimilation of Jews into Iranian society, claiming that it stemmed from their upward mobility and increasing enrollment in non-Jewish schools. Drawing on previously untapped archival documents, printed materials, and oral histories in Persian, French, Hebrew, and English, I argue that it was mainly foreign Jews, and not Iranian Jews themselves, who feared the specter of assimilation. In fact, Iranian Jewish parents viewed their children's attendance in non-Jewish schools as integral to their economic and social prosperity in a Muslim-majority country. Ultimately, because Iranian Jews were not as preoccupied with assimilation as their non-Iranian coreligionists, I suggest that an examination of assimilation in the Iranian context can help us complicate the importance of this concept in modern Jewish historical scholarship.

Linking Entrepreneurial Passion to Entrepreneurs’ Life Satisfaction: The Mediating Role of Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Work Engagement

Although scholars suggested that entrepreneurial passion may be related to entrepreneurs’ life satisfaction, the mechanism underlying this association remains unclear. Drawing upon the self-determination theory, this study aimed to explore the mediating roles of basic psychological needs satisfaction and work engagement in the relationship between entrepreneurial passion and entrepreneurs’ life satisfaction in an Iranian context. Data for this study were collected from a convenience sample of 102 rural entrepreneurs using a self-administered survey. The results of structural equation modelling indicated that basic psychological needs satisfaction and work engagement mediated the relationship between entrepreneurial passion to entrepreneurs’ life satisfaction, both in series and in parallel. Overall, these findings advance the understanding of how entrepreneurial passion leads to rural entrepreneurs’ life satisfaction. A discussion of the findings, contributions, limitations and future directions is provided.