STRATEGIC RESEARCH ON SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN IRAN
Year:2022 | Volume:11 | Issue:1|Papers Count:6

Introduction Higher education is expected to encourage students to participate in the comprehensive development and solution of social crises and problems and improve the level of public knowledge and culture in addition to its traditional mission of knowledge production (Ghofrani, 1385: 75). Playing such roles requires implications and provision of conditions, the most important of which are scientific independence and freedom. Universities can use these two characteristics to play an effective role in scientific development and ultimately comprehensive and sustainable development. However, the study of academic freedom in different countries of the world shows that this fundamental value in higher education institutions has always faced problems and threats. In Iran, too, given that higher education institutions have been established to train the human resources needed in the industrial, agricultural, and service sectors from the beginning, the social view of these institutions as part of the government bureaucracy and in line with the role assigned to them has always been considered as a tool (Raziq Marandi, 2014: 20). Javadani et al. (2008) consider centralism, the rule of traditional bureaucracy, and the lack of scientific independence, as one of the weaknesses of Iran's higher education and thus regard government intervention in the higher education system as a serious threat to it. In addition, a review of research on academic freedom in Iran shows that it has paid less attention to barriers to academic freedom, coping strategies, and consequences of such a situation. Based on such necessities, this study, with a sociological perspective and analysis, examined the bottlenecks, strategies, and consequences of scientific freedom in education and research aspects, as well as dissemination from the faculty members’ perspectives in Iranian public universities. Materials and Methods This research was conducted with a qualitative research approach and the method of Grounded Theory of Corbin and Strauss, 4th edition. The study population included the faculty members of public universities across the country. The data collection tool was in-depth semi-structured interviews with 35 professors in the form of theoretical sampling, which provided a comprehensive condition for this study. To analyze the collected data, the coding process was performed in the 3 levels of open, axial, and selective modes. Consequently, an analytical model of the challenges and bottlenecks of academic freedom was extracted from the data. Discussion of Results and Conclusions Scientific freedom in the Iranian university environment is struggling with many different bottlenecks. The factors that have created these bottlenecks and the negative consequences that have resulted from them are not exclusive of any of the social spaces of science both from inside and outside. Such a finding is largely consistent with Mojabb (1995), he pointed out that the problems related to academic freedom come from various sources, such as governments, societies, and also higher education institutions themselves. The type of political atmosphere and the way governments behave, as well as the political relations of governments with each other, along with centralism in the structure of higher education and weak participation, lead to government’s control and independence of action from the university. In addition, the shortcomings of oversight and coordination and the culture that governs the university environment make the optimal implementation of scientific activities challenging. Cultural conditions prevailing in the society, the existing socio-political conditions, lack of serious support for the professional activities of academics outside the institution of science and not providing conditions for using scientific capacities to solve the country's problems have caused isolation of academics and separation between university and society. The unfavorable economic conditions of the country, financial dependence of the universities on the government, and lack of providing the required expenses along with livelihood concerns have also challenged the optimal implementation of professional responsibilities. Lack of job stability and mental concerns due to the contractionary and expansionary policies of governments and individual personality traits and excessive conservatism have reduced the focus on scientific activities and undermined the quality of higher education. The sum of these factors has overshadowed the proper functions of universities and lowered their efficiencies. Therefore, the Irainian government’s legal support and guarantee of academic freedom for universities are essential for the higher education system to adhere to its professional mission and reach its effectiveness and efficiency.

Introduction Deprivation implies an unequal situation between the components of a society, a situation in which some citizens enjoy more facilities, privileges, and benefits than others. Members of a deprived group have a feeling of deprivation considering the ratio of their status to the status of other groups. The main reason for deprivation, which seems abnormal, is social changes and leaving a traditional static society and entering an industrial or industrialized society (Emam Jome Zadeh, 2011: 49). Modernization, industrialization, and urban population in the world's major cities are growing, hence, due to more opportunities and facilities in urban areas, people migrate to cities and settle around them because of having low incomes. In fact, they create a rich island surrounded by a black belt of deprivation and misery in the name of marginalization (Bazzi et al., 2015: 1). In the contemporary "urban society", these areas are low-density and dependent areas around the city center (Moos & Mendez, 2015). It can be said that these areas are characterized by such characteristics as poor social services, poor basic health facilities, insecure incomes, and unsustainable livelihoods (Binte Latif et al., 2016, Zulu et al., 2011). Experiencing and encountering the living conditions in suburbs bring more challenges to girls. These deprivations are not experienced only in the economic dimension. The frameworks and closed space of the social environment hinder the independence of girls' actions and lead to their isolation from the society in some cases. Therefore, this study, with an emphasis on the community of marginalized girls, tried to analyze their lived experiences of deprivation and achieve a deeper identification and understanding of their challenges in their living environment. Materials & Methods A qualitative method was used with an emphasis on phenomenological approach. The target population of the present study was the marginalized girls in "Dolatabad region" of Kermanshah Province. They were interviewed based on the purposive sampling method. The criteria for accepting the samples were being a native girl over 18 years old or a girl, who has lived in the suburbs for more than 10 years of her life, and interested in being interviewed. It should be noted that the duration of more than 10 years of living in the marginal environment had to be precisely determined for dealing with the issues. In this study, the researcher saturated the data by interviewing 18 people. Then, the data were collected based on these questions: What is your mental image of deprivation? How do you describe it? And what circumstances have affected your deprivation or been affected by it? The quotations containing important statements for expressing how the participants experienced the phenomenon were extracted, from among which the important topics were then extracted. The researcher conducted the interview process by taking into account ethical considerations, which took an average time of 45-60 minutes per interview. Discussion of Results & Conclusions The increase in marginal settlement and its aftermath and emergence of poor and vulnerable groups have created an unfavorable image in the urban context. This has created multiple deprivations for the residents of suburbs. Marginalized people are among the most deprived sections of the urban society and endure the bitter experience of deprivation more dramatically. The vulnerable, including girls in the suburbs, suffer more from these conditions. They are much more controlled and monitored due to the dominance of traditional networks and common intellectual forms. The deprivation of girls not only stems from the ideas of a limited format, but also from the construction of a suburban society. Widespread poverty has left them with constant doubts about their own futurism and progress because the filthy conditions of the suburban space lead to their withdrawal from social and cultural activities. In this study, according to the interviews conducted, the respondents considered the themes of "unfavorable economic conditions" and "conventional stereotypes" as the main roots of deprivation. In many cases, these factors were considered important in the formation of other areas of deprivation. The issue of deprivation and its consequences can be investigated by implementing useful programs and using social experts’ opinions, to offer appropriate solutions to it via online and offline social networks.

Introduction Teachers face a high workload and pressure due to working conditions. One of the major issues that is usually seen as a reaction to job and organizational pressures among teachers is the phenomenon of burnout. Burnout refers to teachers' severe reactions to their inabilities to successfully adapt to their job stresses and pressures. Discovering the causes of burnout helps to understand how it is motivated. Teacher burnout depends on several factors. The quality of management and leadership in schools is one of the most prominent factors. Not all school leaders are necessarily effective and have the right qualities. This is where the dark edge of leadership (toxic leadership) comes into play as a hidden and strict dimension of leadership. Another factor that causes teachers' burnout is organizational silence. Teachers have information, ideas, and perspectives that can be useful for work and organization. They sometimes express their information and ideas and sometimes remain silent. Organizational silence is a new term that refers to employees' refusal of commenting on organizational and management problems. Another factor that increases the rate of teachers’ burnout is organizational obstruction. Comprehensive materials and emotional supports provided by the Organization of Education increase teachers' desire to stay and work harder in the system of education. However, this organization sometimes shows itself on the other side and diminishes teachers’ morale and hope for the future by creating obstacles in the way of achieving their goals. Such a phenomenon is called organizational obstruction in the organizational studies. A review of the research literature shows that no research at home and abroad has examined the simultaneous relationship of toxic leadership, silence, and organizational obstruction with teachers' burnout so far. Given the research gap mentioned in this study, we aimed to investigate the causes of teachers’ burnout by determining how toxic leaders provide the grounds for teachers' burnout in schools through mediation of organizational obstruction and silence. Materials & Methods The present study pursued an applied purpose by using a descriptive-correlation method. The study population included all the teachers (2140 people), who were teaching in the schools of District 3 in Shiraz City in the academic year of 2020-2021. The sample size of 324 teachers was determined based on Systematic Random Sampling (SRS) and Cochran's formula. To collect the data, Schmidt’s toxic leadership questionnaire (2008) with 28 items and 5 subscales (offensive leadership, authoritarian leadership, narcissism, ambition, and unpredictability), organizational Obstruction described by Gibney et al. (2009) with 16 items and 4 subscales (interference in job performance, obstruction of personal goals, obstruction of career goals, and inattention to employee well-being), organizational silence described by Dimitres and Vakola (2005) with 13 items and 3 subscales (defensive silence, obedient silence, and friendly silence), and burnout described by Maslash & Jackson (1981) with 22 items and 3 subscales (emotional fatigue, depersonalization, and lack of personal success), were used in the 5-point Likert scale. Data analysis was performed by using structural equation modeling and SPSS and LISREL software. Discussion of Results & Conclusions The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between toxic leadership and teachers' burnout due to the mediating role of organizational obstruction and silence. The results showed that toxic leadership had a direct, positive, and significant relationship with the variables of burnout, organizational obstruction, and organizational silence at the level of 0. 05. Organizational obstruction was directly, positively, and significantly related to burnout. Also, organizational silence had a direct, positive, and significant relationship with burnout. Toxic leadership caused by organizational obstruction had an indirect, positive, and significant relationship with burnout at the level of 0. 05. Moreover, toxic leadership caused by organizational silence had an indirect, positive, and significant relationship with burnout at the level of 0. 05. Therefore, it could be said that organizational obstruction and silence played a mediating role in the relationship between toxic leadership and burnout. Finally, to reduce teachers’ burnout, it is suggested that the education officials of the 3rd district of Shiraz City choose ethical principals, who are aware of positive and negative aspects and characteristics of different styles. Leadership is concerned with a firm belief in the core mission of education and schools. Managers, who value teachers' opinions, suggestions, and well-being and provide suitable conditions for their success in various fields, must be considered for managing the schools.

Introduction One of the important issues in organizational management is to study the patterns of control, supervision, and protection of employees and human capital from deviant work behaviors that change organizational norms and threaten the health of the organization and its employees. Deviant behaviors in the workplace can be costly for organizations if they are not constructive. Loss of organizational resources, reduction of employee productivity, reduction of organizational performance, disorder, injustice, stress, etc. are some of the adverse consequences of deviant behaviors that can be eliminated if we pay attention and identify solutions to them. Behaviors, or even constructive behaviors, can lead to health, productivity, and creativity throughout the organization. They provide circumstances that will make the organization much more active to compete with other organizations. Now that more than a few decades have passed since the beginning of research on deviant behaviors in the workplace, its importance is becoming more and more evident. The purpose of this study was to design a model for managing deviant behaviors in the workplace at the Islamic Azad University. Materials and Methods The present study was a qualitative researche and its data collection approach was based on the grounded theory. The required data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews with 20 experts and specialists in the field of management and organization, university professors, and senior university administrators, who were selected by the theoretical sampling method. Using Strauss and Corben’s method, a set of basic themes was collected during re-coding and the categories were extracted from them. Then, in the axial coding stage, the relationship between these categories was determined under the headings of causal conditions, axial phenomena, strategies, contextual conditions, intervening conditions, and consequences. To evaluate validity of the qualitative data, reliability, transferability, reliability, verifiability, authenticity, and criteria, the data foundation theory, including consistency, comprehensibility, and generality, was utilized. Discussion of Results and Conclusions The interviews were examined thoroughly via a systematic method and conducted through the 3-phase coding. Overall, 999 open codes were obtained. The classification of codes continued and they were reduced to 666 codes in the central phenomenon phase. Then, they were reduced to 25 codes in the selective phase. After the experts confirmed the validity, one code was omitted and finally, 32 codes were considered in 6 main categories. The analysis of the interviews led to the identification of 6 main categories, which were causal conditions, phenomenon-oriented conditions, contextual conditions, interventionist conditions, strategies, and consequences. To reach these categories, first, each interview was analyzed. Then, the codes extracted from the interviews were categorized in open and centralized coding. Finally, the central codes were included in the 6 categories based on the foundation's data method. The research findings included identification of the causal factors, underlying factors, interfering factors, pivotal phenomena, strategies, and consequences of deviant behaviors in the workplace. Causal conditions included: 1) job and organizational attitudes, 2) organizational factors, 3) individual factors, 4) management weakness, 5)existence of power networks, 6) authoritarian leadership, 7) weakness of organizational resource management systems, and 8) unhealthy physical and mental atmosphere of the workplace. Axial phenomena for managing deviant behaviors in the workplace and intervening conditions included: 1) personality traits, 2) beneficial behaviors, 3) political factors, 4) job position, and 5) university environment. Background conditions included: 1) weak organizational culture, 2) political behavior of officials, 3) not meeting the needs of employees, 4) social factors, and 5) cultural factors. Strategies included: 1) management of deviant behaviors, 2) changing deviant behaviors, 3) and controlling deviant behaviors, Consequences included: 1) improving the university situation, 2) increasing individual commitment, 3) group consequences strengthening group values, 4) cultural consequences strengthening organizational culture, and 5) social consequences increasing social capital.

Introduction Today, compared to the past, more people are being survived despite diagnosed with cancer. Cancer survivors are considered an important community for being studied. Based on the survivors’ lived experiences, cancer surviving can be defined as a life after cancer, which is a phenomenon beyond physical survival. The survivor’s type of existence and life is a major turning point for the disease. Thus, cancer survival has important socio-cognitive aspects. However, in the previous studies conducted on cancer, social explanations have been very limited compared to micro-and psychological explanations. The aim of this study was to understand the cognitive model of cancer survivors in Urmia City, which is one of the high-risk provinces in terms of cancer prevalence. In this regard, this article addressed two basic questions as follows: (1) Is the transition from cancer disease to its recovery and survival associated with cognitive changes? (2) What cognitive experiences and lessons are learned about the phenomenon of cancer survival and what themes explain this phenomenon? Materials & Methods Considering the purpose and questions of the present study, which was to explore the meaning and nature of survival experience, an interpretive phenomenological method was used. In this study, the main data collection tool was an in-depth semi-structured interview. The interviews were conducted at medical centers (Omid Hospital and alternative treatment centers, including Homeopathy Center). The interviews were recorded and immediately transcribed verbatim. The collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. The inclusion criteria were having an experience of a total or partial recovery from cancer, having completed at least 5 years of recovery, and being over 20 years old. Totally, 19 survivors (9 male and 10 females) were studied. After the interviews, the data were saturated. Lincoln and Guba’s criteria were used to ensure the accuracy and robustness of the research. Discussion of Results & Conclusions A society needs models to explain not only the diseases, but also the transition from them to recovery. To answer the first question of what the cognitive pattern is before experiencing the cancer, 6 main items, including “the first steps of socialization in chaotic transference”, “living in the struggle of mistake with perfection”, "bias", "emotional strategies", "obedience", and “fate perceptions”, were recognized. To organize the 6 themes related to the initial cognitive reserves, an initial cognitive model was presented. As the survivors’ experiences showed, this early cognitive pattern was derived from the first experiences of socialization over the previous years. Therefore, to understand this pattern, one must understand the survivors’ socialization paths and their social actions resulting from the historical combination of past and present. To answer the second question, the main theme of the new cognitive perception was obtained, which represented a secondary cognitive pattern that was affected by re-socialization due to the cancer. The new cognitive content was a kind of contemplative and rethinking pattern compared to the original pattern, which was often suggestive and unconscious. Paying attention to the subjective and objective conditions affecting health and disease is the most concentrated solution, which can guide governments and policymakers to rethink the governing policies in addition to taking preventive actions at all the 3 levels of disease prevention in healthy people, disease prevention in the people at risk caused by misconceptions and dominated situations, and health restoration in sick people through socio-cognitive interventions. In other words, building a society with a healthy lifestyle through allocating resources and budgets to alleviate poverty, teaching the ways of changing perception, and problem-solving knowledge about health is more cost-effective than spending money on treatment.

Introduction Development is a process that should principally show that the set of social system has emerged from the undesirable state of the past and moved towards a state of life that is materially and spiritually better in accordance with the various basic needs and desires of individuals and social groups within the system. The formation of development in the West and the transition from a traditional society in the context of the modern nation-state atmosphere have caused other countries to pay attention to this issue. The Western-educated intellectuals themselves compare their countries with the West and ask why they have falled behind. Iran is no exception to this rule. In Iran, some people know the way of progress in relation to the outside world and some people know the way out of backwardness inside. Izadi considered backwardness in Iran to be caused by Iranian peoples’ temperaments (Izadi, 2006). Zibakalam sought the cause of backwardness in the decline of science (Zibakalam, 2006). Alamdari considered backwardness to be caused by the Iranians themselves and their land (1999). And Reza Gholi emphasized that the cultural factor prevented the formation of creative and constructive thinking (Reza Gholi, 2010). By examining the factors of backwardness from the experts’ perspectives in this field, it can be said that each of them, has considered some factors as the obstacles to development by examining the history of the Iranian society. As mentioned, from the different thinkers’ points of view, different variables have been considered as the development barriers. The variable examined in this study was political tribalism. Tribalism has various manifestations in different areas. In the social arena, it manifests itself in one style and context and in another way in the religious arena. In the arena of livelihood and politics, it appears in various other ways. Since it was not possible to provide an analytical study without considering the existing structure and context in the society, the present study considered underdevelopment caused by tribalism reigns just in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. Despite the nation-state formation and the transition from tribal structures, the population in the province was still based on the tribal context and tribalism manifested itself in various areas to the extent that political culture was dominated by the tribal culture. This culture was reflected in electoral activities, recruitments, dismissals, and political and administrative appointments. Now, according to the issues raised, the researchers’ concern was to explore the process of political tribal mentality and underdevelopment in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. Materials & Methods The present study took a qualitative approach with a systematic method. The research field was Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province and the scientific and political elites of this province were considered. After the presence of the researchers in the research field and based on the data obtained from the field, in-depth interviews with the individuals were conducted. The participants included all the scientific and political elites, who lived in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, as well as in Fars and Tehran provinces. The most important parameter for selecting these people was their level of reflection and concern about each of the two variables in recent years. A total of 12 people were interviewed. In the current study, purposeful and theoretical samplings were used to select the participants and concepts. The collected data went through 3 coding steps to build the theory. To formulate the theory in the first stage, the researchers began their work with open coding, based on which axial coding was performed. In fact, the researchers identified an open coding category and focused on it as the central phenomenon. The third step was selective coding. At this stage of coding, the researchers made a model. In the selective coding stage, the categories were described in relation to each other in the form of a supply model. Discussion of Results & Conclusion The results showed that tribalism had several positive mechanisms and functions, the capacities and potentials of which had not been used properly. Accordingly, in the participants’ opinions, tribalism characteristics, such as solving ethnic problems, controlling forces, and reducing some social harms, forces for supervision, forces for public promotion, etc., had to be highlighted and magnified in the society Tribalism and tribal relations had to be planned on these axes. Tribal functions had to be highlighted in the society rather than only in the political arena. In Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, these positive functions of tribalism were not used properly. Tribalism had entered the political arena, which was the subject of conflict and challenge between tribalism and development of the society. Accordingly, in the context of tribalism and political tribalism, there was no possibility of meritocracy and social justice could not grow and expand in the society. The central phenomenon in the present study was political tribalism, which was repulsive and hindered development in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province. Based on the participants’ views and perceptions, it could be said that political tribalism acted as a force that had hindered development in the province. Therefore, there was minimal possibility of the growth and expansion of the components and indicators of development in this society. It can be concluded that achieving development in tribal and tribal-based political societies is almost impossible.