Iranian State Research Articles

An Evaluation of a Training Course on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) for Care Centre Personnel in Iran

ABSTRACTTraining courses on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are required to meet the needs of the increasing numbers of children attending schools and care centers with a diagnosis of this condition internationally. A 14-day active learning course was developed based on three self-contained workshops which took place nationally in Iran over a 6 month period. In all, 162 personnel attended the training course. Participants were more disposed to including children with ASD in centers and their knowledge had significantly improved at the 3-month follow-up. The course was fairly effective in meeting its aims, although greater emphasis needs to be placed on supporting staff ‘on-the-job’ to implement their learning; a role that local tutors could undertake when they present the course.Abbreviations: ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children) ISEO (Iranian Special Education Organization) ISWO (Iranian State Welfare Organization)

A Qualitative Study of the Challenges Experienced by Iranian Infertile Couples After Unsuccessful Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Objectives: Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) give hope to some infertile couples; however, in vitro fertilization (IVF) is expensive and not subsidized by the Iranian state. More than 75% of IVF cycles in Iranian couples are unsuccessful. The aim of this study is to describe the challenges experienced by infertile couples after unsuccessful treatment. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive qualitative study, 36 participants including 29 Iranian infertile couples recruited after unsuccessful ART treatments, five infertility treatment team members and 2 relatives of infertile couples were interviewed at an Infertility Center in Northeastern Iran from April 2016 to June 2017. Data were collected using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews. Data analysis was carried out following Sandelowski. Results: Iranian infertile couples’ experiences following failed ART cycles are described. The findings presented here show that Iranian infertile couples experience stressors during treatment cycles and systemic challenges which may be unique to the Iranian cultural context. Conclusions: Iranian infertile couples face particular challenges related to the cultural context in which ARTs are delivered. Further exploration of the effects of culture on the experiences of failed ARTs needs to be considered by infertility clinics in Iran.

“History is repeated”: The representation of Persepolis in the Iranian press of the 1930s

Abstract From spring 1931 to autumn 1939, the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute conducted the first scientific excavations at Persepolis. The excavations coincided with a decade of profound change in Iran’s state and society. Under the rule of Reżā Shāh (1925-41), the Iranian state implemented a comprehensive nationalist and modernist reform agenda and propagated a distinctive national identity. The press played a crucial role in this process, informing the public about the excavations at Persepolis, a site that is highly significant for the narrative of the nation’s past. This article traces how Eṭṭelāʿāt, a leading Tehran newspaper, covered Persepolis and the archaeological excavations there. The aim in doing so is to illustrate how the Iranian press developed during the 1930s, a period during which the press was commercialized and professionalized and experienced increasing interference from the state’s censors.

English Language Teachers’ Vision and Motivation: Possible Selves and Activity Theory Perspectives

Recent research has identified a direct link between language teachers’ self and motivation, and their relationship with conceptual change and professional development. A better understanding of the exact manner in which language teachers’ perceptions of self interact with their motivation, however, requires further empirical evidence from a variety of contexts employing various research methods. Drawing upon possible selves theory and Activity Theory, the present mixed-methods research explored language teacher vision and its relationship with motivation in the Iranian state sector language education context. In the first qualitative phase, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 teachers on their vision and motivation to teach English. In the second quantitative phase, a researcher-developed questionnaire informed by the interview data was electronically administered to in-service language teachers (N = 211). Data analysis identified a typology of English language teacher vision and a positive relationship (r = .59) between vision and motivation. A coefficient determination of around 35% showed the degree of covariance between the two constructs. Furthermore, the study indicated that some contradictions among the rules, tools, community, and division-of-labour components of language teacher motivation activity system mediated the motivational force of vision. The study implies that teacher education programmes should raise English language teachers’ awareness of the positive motivational force of vision.

Positive and negative perfectionism of EFL and non-EFL major graduate students

Perfectionism as a multidimensional personality construct is not a deeply explored land since accumulated evidence has mainly focused on negative perfectionism while very few studies have investigated positive perfectionism worldwide and particularly in Iran. Overall, not only has no comparison been made between general perfectionism of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) majors vs. non-EFL majors but also no study has yet investigated the Iranian graduate students’ perfectionism. To fill these gaps, this study compared the positive and negative perfectionism of EFL and non-EFL major graduate students and investigated whether there is any possible relationship between the participants’ major and positive and negative perfectionism development. To these aims, 73 graduate students (26 History and Philosophy of Education and 47 Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) students) from two Iranian state universities completed the 40-item Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (PANPS) of Terry-short, Owens, Slade, & Dewey (1995). The results of the independent samples t-test revealed that while both groups suffered from a slight degree of negative perfectionism, they equally benefited from high levels of positive perfectionism. These results may implicate strengthening the literature findings that positive perfectionism is corroborated during the Iranian early childhood bearing practices or the household child-parent interactions through the emphasis on the concepts of the best, flawlessness, orderliness, and positive striving. Moreover, they lend credence to the fact that the later-coming variables of academic major or EFL learning act have no considerable impact on the development of perfectionist attitudes.

Islam and cannabis: Legalisation and religious debate in Iran

Iran is currently discussing cannabis and opium regulations, which could bring a legalisation of drug consumption through a state supervised system. The article engages with the question of cannabis by looking at the legal interpretation of religious authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The choice of Iran is justified for several reasons: firstly, Iran has a long history of drug use and cannabis has been part of the country’s intoxicant traditions since times immemorial; secondly, the Iranian state is unique in that it combines religious exegesis with political machination through official channels; finally, among all Middle East and Islamic countries, Iran is at the avant-garde in experimenting in the field of drugs policy which makes an excellent case for the study of cannabis regulation. The article is the result of a direct engagement with Iran’s leading Shi’a authorities, the maraje’-e taqlid, ‘source of emulation’. The authors redacted a list of eight questions (estefta’at) about the status of cannabis in Iranian society. It questioned cannabis’ legality in Islam, its potential medical use, the feasibility of domestic production and other relevant aspects of its social-religious life. Based on the responses, the authors analysed the difference in opinions among the religious scholars and speculate on the possibility of policy reform. Given the dearth of scholarly work about illicit drugs in the Islamic world, about which many readers might not be familiar, the article opens with an overview of the place of cannabis in the history of Islamic societies. It discusses terminological ambiguities, references in religious texts and traditions, and the general interpretations within Muslim religious schools of thought. Then, it discusses the status of cannabis in contemporary Iran before tackling the responses provided by the religious scholars. Eventually, the paper puts forward reflections about the potential implications for future policy developments on cannabis.

جوڵانەوەی سیاسی کوردستان: لە ستراتیژی سیاسی و پەیوەندییەکانی دەوڵەتی ئێراندا ١٩٦٨-١٩٧٥

جوڵانەوەی سیاسی کوردستان: لە ستراتیژی سیاسی و پەیوەندییەکانی دەوڵەتی ئێراندا ١٩٦٨-١٩٧٥

The morbid dance of ideology on the scaffold: On subjectivity and capital punishment in Iran

In this paper we examine the discursive structures adopted by the Iranian state in the context of public execution. Specifically, we argue that the state’s insistence upon executing an offender in public is nourished by an intangible yet efficacious violence that has politically and psychically determinative consequences. As such, what is foregrounded in this paper are not the legal aspects of executing the offender and the act itself, but the visibility of this act and its after-effects in terms of the formation of particular subjectivity. The paper’s analysis draws on examinations of the psycho-discursive structure of the punitive state from the points of view of thinkers such as Foucault, Butler and Lacan.

On The Factor Structure (Invariance) of the PhD UEE Using Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling

The aim of the current study was twofold: (1) to validate the internal structure of the general English (GE) section of the university entrance examination for Ph.D applicants into the English programs at state universities in Iran (Ph.D. UEE), and (2) to examine the factor structure invariance of the Ph.D. UEE across two proficiency levels. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the responses of a random sample of participants (N=1009) who took the test in 2014 to seek admission to English programs at Iranian state universities. First, four models (unitary, uncorrelated, correlated and higher-ordered) were estimated and compared to find the model that best represented the data. Then, the factor structure invariance of the test across two proficiency levels was explored using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. The higher-order and correlated three-factor model showed the best fit to the data. The result also showed that the structure of the test remained invariant across both proficiency levels. These results supported the multi-componential view of language proficiency. It was found that there is no relationship between levels of language proficiency and the structure of the test. However, the results called into question the score-reporting policy for the PhD UEE and led to the conclusion that a single total score does not reflect the structure of the test.

KONTRIBUSI IRAN TERHADAP SEJARAH PEMBAHARUAN HUKUM KELUARGA ISLAM: Potret Sistem Kewarisan Islam dan Wasiat Wajibah di Iran

<p><em>This article aims to analyze the extent to which the Iranian state, which is predominantly Shiite Muslims contribute in reforming the Islamic legal system, especially on inheritance by right and inheritance by will (wajibah). Both are interestingly studied because in the study of jurisprudence this term is a very fundamental topic (religious affairs involving others). Since this study is only a study of texts, the approach taken is to look at some of the chapter in the laws relating to inheritance prevailing in Iran and to relate them to the majority of schools there. This article concludes that in the Iranian shrimp system, a wife will get all the inheritance of her husband, not just half of heritage. She also obtained to get her husband's land that was previously banned in the old law. The cause of renewal of inheritance law in Iran state can not be separated from some aspects, covering normative and socio-political aspects as well as social reality, including the turbulence of difference of schools. All material of inheritance law and family is based on Shi'ah Itsna ‘Asyariyah (Ja‘fari) family law.</em></p>

The Pain of Others: Framing War Photography in Iran

ABSTRACTWar photographs have remained essential to the propaganda machinery of the Iranian state since the inception of the war with Iraq. These photographs contribute to the visual culture of martyrdom and are celebrated within a dominant meaning-making regime. However, there are rare counter-narratives that unsettle the master narrative of the Iranian state and I turn to that of a war photographer whose work is side-lined by the state. I explore this counter-narrative to discover the workings of the state-sanctioned narrative through modes of reception of the photographs by Iranians both inside and outside Iran. I strive to trace the reception of the pain of others through politics of frame and the ethnography of the visual culture of martyrdom after almost three decades since the war.

Saudi Clerics and Shiʿa Islam

Saudi Clerics and Shiʿa Islam

Governmental Discourses in Advertising on Iran's State

Governmental Discourses in Advertising on Iran's State

DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLANNING MODEL FOR PLANNING IN IRANIAN UNIVERSITIES

Strategic planning for universities is a necessity. Using the strategic planning process, it is possible to develop appropriate and effective solutions and initiatives for the universities growth and development and confrontation to the external environment in national and universal dimensions. Despite the history and valuable results of strategic planning for commercial and trading organizations and business sector, the application of this planning for universities is less historic and its results has not been successful and satisfactory. In the paper, an interactive indicator-oriented 9-step model was developed for strategic planning in Iranian state universities of technology. The model is yield of the documents study, quality analysis of performed studies and content analysis of existing strategic plans documents. In this model, it is considered to the reasons for the failure in strategic planning for universities and the main differences between the commercial and university models. The model with focus on key performance indicators and interactive of past, present and future, is nine steps continuous process: Step 1: Design, installation and promotion of USP structure, Step 2: Mission review and determining and design of the KPIs, Step 3: Data gathering and study and analysis of internal status, Step 4: Data gathering and study and analysis of external status, Step 5: Design and codify the development vision and goals, Step 6: Design and codify the university development strategies, Step 7: Design the development solutions and operational actions, Step 8: Preparing the development execution plan documents, Step 9: Monitoring and evaluate programs status and progress.

Far Away, So Close: Transnational Activism, Digital Surveillance and Authoritarian Control in Iran

Transnational information flows and advocacy networks are among the challenges of a globalizing world to which contemporary authoritarian rulers need to adapt. Drawing on research into the repressive strategies of the Iranian state against exiled human rights activists and journalists, I show how digital surveillance allows the regime to monitor political activity outside the country and to prepare counter-measures projecting power beyond borders. With the help of digital media, state authorities can expand the scope and scale of potential threats against outside activists and their ties into the country. The repressive practices of the Iranian state are not only a response to the transnationalisation of political activism but also result of a global securitization of online space. The Iranian case thus demonstrates how contemporary authoritarian power is built and sustained in processes no longer bound to a specific state or territory.

Maintaining disorder: the micropolitics of drugs policy in Iran

This article analyses the ways in which the state ‘treats’ addiction among precarious drug (ab)users in Iran. While most Muslim-majority as well as some Western states have been reluctant to adopt harm reduction measures, the Islamic Republic of Iran has done so on a nationwide scale and through a sophisticated system of welfare intervention. Additionally, it has introduced devices of management of ‘addiction’ (the ‘camps’) that defy statist modes of punishment and private violence. What legal and ethical framework has this new situation engendered? And what does this new situation tell us about the governmentality of the state? Through a combination of historical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, the article analyses the paradigm of government of the Iranian state with regard to disorder as embodied by the lives of poor drug (ab)users.

Estimating linkages between forest structural variables and rainfall interception parameters in semi-arid deciduous oak forest stands

An understanding of the relationship between canopy structure and the water balance is needed for predicting how forest structure changes affect rainfall partitioning and, consequently, water resources. The objective of this study was to predict rainfall interception (I) and canopy storage capacity (S) using canopy structure variables and to investigate how seasonal changes influence their relationship. The study was conducted in twelve 50m×50m plots in the Zagros forest in the western Iranian state of Ilam, protected forests of Dalab region. Average cumulative I was 84.2mm, accounting for 10.2% of cumulative gross precipitation (GP) over a 1-year period. Using a regression based method, S averaged ~1mm and 0.1mm in the leafed and leafless periods, respectively. There were no relationships between tree density and I:GP or S, but I:GP and S increased with leaf area index, canopy cover fraction, basal area, tree height, and diameter at breast height in the leafed period. In addition, wood area index and canopy cover fraction were related to I:GP or S in the leafless period.

Picturing Pasargadae: Visual Representation and the Ambiguities of Heritage in Iran

For Graham SealThis paper probes the relationship between visual representations and visitation practices at Pasargadae, a UNESCO World Heritage site in southern Iran. Presenting a systematic analysis of publicly available online images of Pasargadae, the paper examines the complex relationship between the place and its visual representations. Through analysis, the paper elaborates on a sense of intimacy that, while grounding Pasargadae, is also a potential common ground in pre-Islamic heritage in which the Iranian state and society could at once meet and contest versions of identity. Examining this relationship facilitates reflections into both heritage and the peculiarities of its visual representation in the Iranian context.

Cultural Globalization and Foreign Policy Strategies of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Case Study; the Seventh and the Ninth Governments)

Nowadays, cultural globalization is one of the most important aspects of expansion and deepening of capitalistic relations. This process exerts a great influence on all communities, especially non-Western societies, so that it has prompted them to adopt different approaches towards it. Thus, understanding the phenomenon of globalization for countries such as Iran that insists on their specificity (especially on their indigenous cultural values), to identify threats and crises which this phenomenon will be looking for them is of high importance. So, the main purpose of this research is to analyze how the seventh and the ninth governments of Islamic Republic of Iran dealt with the issue of globalization, particularly, its cultural aspect. Indeed, with realization of the differences between post-revolutionary Iranian state and most of existing ideologies in the world and also its geopolitics and strategic sensitive location in the region; all Iranian post-revolutionary governments adopted logical and rational policies in dealing with this worldwide wave. However, as regards the specific national, regional and international conditions, the seventh and the ninth governments were much more exposed to globalization and taking a clear stance. Research findings, according to the theory of ‘James N. Rosenau “Fragmegration” show that the seventh government, based on adopting political culturalism, sought for interaction and ‘convergence’ in the form of “dialogue between civilizations" as well as pacifism in addition to criticizing world’s dominant relations. Whereas, the ninth government adopting justice-oriented approach and political spirituality in the form of public participation and management in managing the world led to “divergence” of the existing global order considering realistic and power-based relations of international order.

Iran’s Changing Foreign Policy Trends

The changes in international politics caused change in foreign policies of the states. The governments of many countries began to develop foreign policies to alliances and relations. According to with the "Look to the Iranian government, the East" can serve Iran's national interests and can break dependence on the West and balanced foreign policy problems: political isolation logical isolation. These are caused by Iran's foreign policy; Iran has rejected the prevailing norms of the international system and the regional dynamics. The immediate consequences are: political showdown with the West particularly the U.S. and in the region tensions have increased with the neighbors. At the same time Iran heavily relies on its oil and gas revenue to achieve an economic growth. At this time when Iran is facing increasing international isolation, "Look to the East" policy can serve as fine recipe for its stagnated oil business and the Asian nations. Iranian state is looking proactively towards the Asian Countries especially India. Iran’s foreign policy raises many unanswered questions. The objectives of study to provide an account and assessment of Iran’s relations with the outside world within these new systemic conditions and account of Iran’s relations with the rest of the world will be preceded by a brief historical account of these relations. The study tries to highlight about Iran’s foreign policy? How does Iran define its interests and choose to pursue them? Is this a matter to be explained or to be understood? Is its foreign policy based on words or deeds, behavior or action?