JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Year:2018 | Volume:5 | Issue:11 |Papers Count:12

This article primarily aims to provide research-based evidence to explore the changes in behavior and attitude towards drugs and smoking during tertiary education. Methodologically, this study employs retrospective longitudinal method. The research data have been collected through a survey. The survey includes a sample of 299 male and female students of Kharizmi University in Tehran. They have been selected on the basis of a non-probabilistic proportional sampling method. According to the results of this study, the university students’ attitudes towards drugs and smoking have changed during their tertiary education: approximately one-third of them changed their attitudes positively, and the attitudes of almost another one-third changed negatively. However, the results suggest that the changes in the university students’ behavior towards drugs and smoking during their tertiary education are significantly associated with such determinants as gender and field of study. On the one hand, about two-third of the sample have reported no significant behavior change regarding the use of drugs and smoking during their tertiary education. On the other hand, the proportion of those who started or increased the use of drugs and smoking during tertiary education (positive behavior change) exceeds the proportion of those who stopped or reduced the use of drugs and smoking during tertiary education (negative behavior change). In sum, the results of this study indicate the fact that tertiary education tends to enhance the positive behavior change in the consumption of drugs and smoking.

Wastes separation and recycling are of the most important environmental and economic characteristics of a society. The key aim of this study is to examine socio-cultural determinants of participation in wastes separation. The research findings of this paper are based on a survey including 384 people aged 15-75 years old who have been selected on the basis of random and multistage cluster sampling methods. According to the results of this analysis, the participation in wastes separation is significantly affected by these key determinants: citizenship responsibility, false beliefs, the usefulness of wastes separation, attitudes toward municipality, and attitudes towards environment. Moreover, multivariate results of this analysis show that these factors particularly citizenship responsibility and false beliefs have significant effects on the participation in wastes separation.

The institution of education is one of the most important social institutions that serve to transfer knowledge and cultural heritage across generations. However, the success of educational institution depends mainly on such organizational characteristics as commitment, justice and social capital. Accordingly, the present study primarily aims to explore the association between social capital, organizational justice and commitment. The discussion of this paper is based on a survey conducted in Golestan Province. The survey includes 199 educational staff members. The results of this research indicate the lack of significant association between social capital and organizational commitment. The results, however, support that organizational justice and commitment are significantly correlated. In addition, the results of regression analysis show that 9. 09 per cent of the changes in organizational commitment can be explained by procedural justice.

The present study focuses the NGOs involved in social problems and examines their resilience and survival challenges with specific reference to the state. Theoretically, this study employs the grounded theory and empirically it uses the method of semi-structured in-depth interviews. The interviewees are 25 people who are active in the NGOs. According to the research findings of this analysis, the NGOs encounter with crucial internal challenges including the insufficient monetary resources, the lack of social capital and common motives, and incomprehensive approach towards social problems. Furthermore, these research findings show that the most important external challenges imposed on the NGOs are mainly a matter of ‘ communication’ , either the communications within all NGOs or the NGOs’ communications with individuals, society and the state. Finally, the presence of the following determinants leads to further challenges in communication between the NGOs and the state: insufficient regulations for the establishment of the NGOs, insufficient coordination both within the relevant governmental agencies and within the NGOs, the NGOs dependency on the state both financially and non-financially, the lack of appropriate supervision mechanism and inefficient bureaucratic system of the state related to the NGOs activities.

The increasing expansion of tertiary education has led to women’ s presence at the universities and has increased women’ s awareness about their legal rights. Further, the experience of tertiary education and the university atmosphere can have substantial effects on individuals’ identity. Theoretically, this study is based on an anthropological approach. The results of this study indicate that tertiary education has these consequences for women: achieving and enhancing the non-traditional skills and approaches and modern values, combining traditional and modern gender roles. This leads to develop a new form of identity combined with individualism which provides the potential for changes in both individual and social lifestyle. In such a context, university plays a key role for identity change.

Iran has witnessed substantial fall in birth rate during the recent three decades. This has also attracted an increasing number of researchers to investigate the patterns and determinants related to Iran's fertility swings. The present study uses the Ingelhart’ s value theory and the second demographic transition theory initiated by van de Kaa and Lesthaeghe. The results of this study are based on a survey conducted in Tehran. The survey includes 400 couples aged 15-49 years old. According to the results of this study, around 88 per cent of the sample holds a high level of secular orientation. Furthermore, these results indicate that while religion is highly accepted in the private domain, it is declining in the public domain. According to the results of this study, a larger proportion of the couples believe that the disadvantages of having a child (such as costs, limitations and struggles imposed on parents) exceed its advantages including reproduction and generation continuation. In sum, the results of this study confirm this concluding point that there is a significantly revers association between secularism and child value: the higher the former, the lower the latter.

Folklore music is a kind of music that has the closest and the strongest relation with the host society’ s culture. It also plays a crucial role to attract cultural tourists. Theoretically, the present study uses the grounded theory. It employs a variety of methods in order to collect the research data including interview, observation and documents collection techniques. The interviewees include experts in the field of folklore music and tourism industry. The results of this study identify three main determinants including the lack of knowledge, infrastructural disorders, and governmental barriers. According to the results of this study, the following solutions are suggested: assemblies with reference to folklore music, joint festivals with countries sharing common language and cultural similarities, presenting folklore music in public places.

Iran’ s national income has been relied substantially on oil since 1960s. This study examines the state’ s policy-making on bureaucracy institution in two varying time periods: 1972– 1976 and 2004 – 2009. These are two time periods that represent fundamental differences from historical, ideological and structural perspectives. Accordingly, this study examines whether the effects of oil income on state’ s policy-making in bureaucracy institution vary across these two time periods. Theoretically, the present study is based on the weak state theory developed by Karl Lynn Terry. It refers to the state’ s weak institutional frameworks and the lack of efficient infrastructures established over a long historical time. Methodologically, this study employs the comparative retrospective method and uses the technique of path dependency and the method of agreement table developed by Mill in order to compare research findings. According to the results of this study, there are almost similar patterns of state’ s policy-making on bureaucracy institution in two varying time periods: 1972– 1976 and 2004 – 2009. Further, the results from a historical perspective indicate that the weak state is the most important factor, while the partial effect of two other factors, including the presence of rentier state and the spectacular increase in oil price, should be also taken into account.

The changes in the Western societies arising from modernity have also affected the rest of the world. This also applies to Iran. Familism is recognized as a key component of each culture and is mainly based on such characteristics as loyalty, trust and cooperation amongst family members. However, familism is also changing in the contemporary societies. The research findings discussed in this paper is based on a survey conducted in Esfehan City. The survey includes a sample of 665 individuals who were selected on the basis of the quota sampling method. The collected research data were then analyzed by using SPSS software. According to the results of this analysis, modernity and familism are significantly correlated. Furthermore, although the key components of modernity (such as rationality, individualism, and positive attitude towards women's employment) are growing substantially, familism still holds a high value and the family sustains.

This paper primarily aims to investigate the attitudes of teachers towards the role of school effectiveness in the development of students’ citizenship competencies. This paper is based on a survey conducted in Kerman city and the sample includes 260 teachers who have been selected on the basis of the simple random sampling method. According to the results of this study, there is a significantly positive association between school effectiveness and the development of students’ citizenship competencies. Moreover, the results suggest that the development of students’ citizenship competencies is significantly associated with such determinants as learning assessment, school and classroom leadership, students’ participation, curriculum, teaching and learning, educational-occupational planning, and the home-school-society communications. Furthermore, the results of logistic regression analysis show that the most influential predictors for the development of students’ citizenship competencies include, in order, the home-school-society communications, students’ participation, curriculum, teaching and learning, and educational-occupational planning. In sum, the underlying conclusion of this study emphasizes the fact that schools play a vital role in the development of students’ citizenship competencies.

The main objective of this study is to examine the value differences across the generations. Theoretically, this study is based on the grounded theory and social interpretive theory. Methodologically, the present study employs the qualitative method. The research data have been collected through the in-depth interview technique with a sample belonging to two varying generations in rural and urban areas of Roudbar: 12 individuals of the old generation and 15 individuals of the young generation. According to the research findings of this analysis, the two generations represent varying value orientations. This suggests that while the old generation represents predominantly a retrospective value orientation, the young generation’ s orientation is substantially centered on welfare and material values. As a result, these two generations tend to behave differently despite sharing a similar context of behavior. The young generation is increasingly attracted by modern and material values which not only enlarge the generational gap but also can lead to a value disconnection across the generations.

This study aims to examine the association between internal-external activities of banking system’ s social responsibility and the key components of social capital including trust and participation. The results of this paper are based on a survey conducted among two sample groups: 384 clients and 352 staff members of Melat Bank in Tehran. The results of this study support that there are a significantly positive association between internal-external activities of banking system’ s social responsibility and social capital components, that is, social trust and participation. In addition, the results suggest that the dimensions of banking system’ s social responsibility are significantly different: humanitarian and non-discrimination dimensions hold the lowest level of importance as compared with other dimensions of internal and external activities of banking system’ s social responsibility, respectively.