CULTURAL STUDIES & COMMUNICATION
Year:2005 | Volume:1 | Issue:2-3|Papers Count:19

In this paper, by explaining some hypothesis about the relationship between the internet and drug abuse, I will try to answer to the following questions. Does the internet facilitate or prevent the tendency of the individuals toward drug addiction? Which of them, the internet content, or the internet technical structure, is more important in promoting the tendency of the individuals toward drug addiction? The symbolic interaction theory and the exchange theory will be the theoritical structure for discussion the main questions of this paper.

This paper is an attempt to explain the supportive functions of strong and weak social ties for reducing social and mental pressure. It then deals with the relationships between these ties and drug addiction. Then, by comparing face-to-face interaction with computer-supported communication networking, I will point out the advantages that the expanding internet communication networks create for supplying sound and proper services through the social network for returning the ex-addict to a safe social life.

This paper is on internet gambling. Internet gambling includes any activities that occurs through internet, and includes any involvement in lotleries, sweeps takes, or any activity based on chances for winning money, prizes or any kind of privileges. According to this paper, internet gambling can lead to problems which include wastage of time and energy, less rate of production, lower efficates in organizations and money laundering.

This paper is an analysis comparison of the position of women in the real and virtual worlds. Among the social problems, women face an important one which can be articulated here is that of security. Although, women harassment on the internet is not a serious problem in Iranian internet networks, but it is a main treat against women rights at the global level that is growing rapidly. Finally, the paper, in general, tries to present a criminological typology of those who are considered as major threats for women within cyberspace.

This paper tries to deal with cybercrimes from a criminological perspective. Then, it examines national and international practices for fighting these crimes at the national and global levels. Finally, the paper will explain the social, moral and juridical challenges for defining and fighting such crimes.

The virtual city theoretically is affected by the 'dual globalization paradigm'. According to this paradigm two synchronic spaces, the real and virtual, while distinct from each other, are explained as two interlinked and complementary space survive without the other. The Virtual city is all industrial and all information based and it is the outcome of 'simultaneous communication industry'. The use of information and communication industries in commercial transactions as grown tremendously since the mid-1990s; this is particularly true regarding the use of the internet and e-commerce. The argument here is that 'vireal' city planning is an opportunity for all advanced cities to deal with their city problems in a new manner this is particularly true in the megalopolis and the megacity in developing countries through virtualization and 'virealization' of city services, which eventually will minimize unnecessary transportation of the population.

Using the experiences of users gained through engagement in the virtual reality environment and making a special reference to the Iranian social standards, this article offers an explorative-empirical perspective in order to conceptualize the internet pathological behaviors. The objective of this conceptualization is to propose an all-encompassing definition for social and internet pathological behaviors. The article then goes on to identify and categorize new and presently unidentified types of socially pathological behaviors in accordance with the experienced and unexperienced and conceptual connections to the Internet sites. The article will also critically review the traditional modes of analyzing pathological behaviors. This review aims at presenting an empirical-theoretical study of identity changes of the young generation in Iran as a dependent variable, which is depended upon the frequencies of referring to the virtual world. This will result in formulating a reasonable theoretical frame thea can be used to study the all-encompassing internet pathological behaviors. The benefit of this logico-empirical attempt is to clarify the ambiguities which contribute to reification and fabrication attempt is to clarify the often used by power institutions. This clarification is done by means of providing empirical instances that show social change, new identity formations and their empirical indexes should not be mistaken with socially pathological behaviors. In the end, the elements that need to be addressed in providing a new typology of internet pathological behavior will be discussed.

Today, globalization and ICTs, in particular the internet, have facilitated drug-related crimes. Although, internet-related deviants use cyberspace and the internet for some profit-making activities like child abuse and economic crimes, but there are some evidences for increasing use of ICTs and the internet for trafficking and distributing drugs. UN reports show that there are many websites in the internet used for the transaction of drugs-from heroin to extacy pills. The drug sellers use private chat rooms for the transaction of illegal drugs.

This paper is an examination of social anomie in virtual communities in the internet network. The Expansion of internet networks and the acceleration of virtual communities has led to important questions whether the internet network can be considered as an anomic space and whether we can speak of an invisible social order which is based on social norms embodied in a virtual reality form?

The main goal of this paper is to study the impact of I.R.I.B Television programs on religious rituals such as Azadri (mourning celebrations). Therefore, the basic question of the paper is whether the TV religious programs will led to a cultural change or whether they will have a pathological impact on the content of the religious rituals.

This Article deals with the impacts of religiosity on collective actions in social dilemma situations. Religiosity is one of the factors that effect on actions in social dilemma situations. In this article, we have tried to deal with the impact of religiosity on collective actions using rational choice approach. Research independent variables were: religiosity and cooperative actions based on religion. The results showed significant relations of religiosity and cooperative actions based on religion with cooperative actions in social dilemma situations .So we conclude that the rate of cooperative actions in social dilemma will increase by increasing the rate of religiosity and the hypothesis of research is satisfied.

The present paper tries to show how Western media through promoting a kind of Western feminism has potential for changing cultural patterns in Iranian society.Considering the master force role of the mass media, one can argue that IRIB can also works as a role model for changing cultural pattern in Iranian society according to Islamic values.

This paper is an epistemological and conceptual discussion on the relationship between culture, identity and globalization. Although, new orthodox theory of modernity tries to prevent from the weakness of the theory of cultural imperialism, but not only neglects the role of the economic factors in impact of globalization upon culture, but also criticize it as a kind of reductionism consciously. The political economy of production and consumption of cultural goods shows that either globalization has any clear meaning of it will be a process of Americanism or westernization. Therefore, the new orthodoxy theory cannot explain the relationship between culture and identity in the real situation of the global world, as well.

This paper tries to explore Iranian individualism by reviewing the foreign interventions in Iran after the Safavid period. Here the egoistic aspect of individualism will be examined and thought this paper by referencing historical evidence we will articulate on two important outcomes:1) Iranian people are collectivist in the family and religious spheres and 2) Individualist / egoist in political or governmental sphere.