GLOBAL MEDIA JOURNAL
Year:2015 | Volume:9 | Issue:2|Papers Count:9

Introduction and problematic of the research: The paper begins its argument with an axiom on how Internet access and progress of online journalism has caused news websites to do the journalistic duties based on their users’ needs. It has also made journalists aware of their audience more thoroughly than ever. These developments are generally called interactivity. Formation of such interactive journalism has given rise to transferring more roles to its audience than could ever be seen in the past. Nevertheless, it seems that in Iranian news websites, interactivity and elements of interactive journalism are not as common as in countries with strong journalistic traditions. Lack of interactivity in Iranian news websites could widened the gap between journalists and their audience and it might even decrease the media influences on citizens. It can eventually become even an obstacle to the development of digital democracy. In the 1950s only a handful media were available to the citizens, this is while people now in the 21st century, can use numerous media as various as print media, broadcasting media and/or online media. In a much competitive atmosphere, these media have to meet their audiences’ needs and desires; something that can be seen in interactivity of online journalism and is the best tool so far developed. Theory and Method: Traditionally, various types of media have had a degree of interactivity level by passing feedbacks on to the journalists. Emergence and convergence of Social media combined with the traditional media platforms and functions has now brought about a milestone of change in communication processes. This is especially true as one observes that such convergence has made possible the interactive relations between journalists and audiences and even between several audiences to become simpler, faster and broader. On the base of “ uses and gratification theory” , we assume that if a news website is more interactive, it could satisfy and then gratify the users and their needs. The extent to which an individual perceives gratification obtained, it could contribute to his/her positive attitudes and direct his/her future intention to seek similar experiences in the same medium. To put it simply, when a website can make more gratification for its users, the users in turn, tend to visit the same website more in the future. Interactivity has important role in this kind of gratification. So more interactive news websites could have more visitors and then would absorb more advertisement. Our argument is that the high or low number of visitors of the Iranian news websites is not related only to one cause, i. e., interactivity, nevertheless it can be said that interactive relations in news websites might have a major role in the rate of visiting them. Methodologically, in order to assess the rate of interactivity between news websites and users, we selected 80 Iranian news websites that had the highest traffic rate or hyperlinked in other important news websites. Using a content analysis methodology, we then studied them. In content analysis method, we considered 43 parameters as units of observation because they represented each medium’ s interactivity and human interactivity. In this research, interactivity variables and traffic rate for news websites were calculated. Two types of news websites were also considered as follows: 1) formal news websites concentrating on standard news values and formal literature, and; 2-entertaining news websites paying attention to celebrities’ news and informal language. In this study, as the Chan Yun Yoo proposed in his paper, we defined two types of interactivity index for news websites: 1-human interactivity; and, 2-medium interactivity. We considered human interactivity to mean a two-way communications among users or between users and journalists. In addition, we considered medium interactivity to mean exchange relation between users and contents. After calculating these two indexes, we determined audience interactivity index for news websites by summing up the numbers together. Findings and Conclusion: Descriptive statistics and interactivity indexes frequencies show that Iranian news websites covered in this study, on average use only one-third of online journalism interactive tools. Although some interactive instruments like website email, RSS, last news, commenting, print edition or simple search are popular interactive tools, others such as chat room, forum, reporter email or blog have almost been ignored in Iranian news websites. “ khabaronline. ir” , a formal news website, had the most audience interactive rate, i. e., 28 out of 43 that is the highest numerical rate. The lowest audience index is 5. These findings indicate that even the most interactive Iranian news website does not use one-third of possible interactive tools. Average audience indexes in entertaining news websites amounted to 12. 07 and it reached 15. 64 in formal ones. Medium interactivity index on average is 6. 30 out of 22, the highest possibility in entertaining news websites and 9. 19 in formal websites. On the other hand, average human interactivity indexes are 6. 33 out of 21, which was the highest possibility. In addition, in formal websites, the human interactivity reached to an average of 6. 44 and in entertaining websites, it was 5. 76. Using the T Student Test, we figured out that interactivity in entertaining news websites significantly is different from interactivity in formal news websites: Interactivity in formals is more. Because Pearson Correlation Test between advertisements and interactivity did not show to be significant, we cannot determine if the interactivity in a news website increases, then the amount of its advertisements will also rise. It is hard to recognize the real advertisements in Iranian news websites, so we could not reach the real correlation. Our hypothesis was as follows: if a news website were more interactive, it would be visited more. For testing this hypothesis, we calculate interactivity indexes and visiting website rates in “ Alexa. com” . Spearman correlation test showed that there is a significant correlation between low traffic rates of news websites and high levels of their interactivity. In other words, when Interactivity in a website increases, the number of its visitors will also rise. Therefore, we can say that although Iranian news websites are poor media in terms of interactivity and that two-third of capacity in this field do not used from journalists, there are some evidences that if a website tries to use more of either medium or human interactive tools, it could hope to be visited by more audiences. There was not a simple correlation and one-variable relation between interactivity and visiting a website. Factors such as complicated journalism sphere, numerous cultural, economic, social and political causes might have influences on the visiting rate of a news website in Iran. Therefore, we cannot reduce all the causes to only interactivity. However, interactive tools have important role in today online journalism and we suggest that a news website will be more successful if it is more interactive. In this situation, we can raise the interactivity in a news website, in order to increase the audiences’ gratification. This is when, we can make the influence on them deeper and eventually improve the digital democracy weaknesses.

Introduction: to select a foreign market is one of the most critical decisions for video media firms, which the media managers make to outline the policies for their internationalization process. Any error in selecting the right target country/market can have long-term consequences on the firms’ future success. The media industry in Iran also has some unique characteristics that require accurate analyses of the market. It is based on this axiom that we outlined the objective of this paper to be an identification of the factors affecting selection of global markets for video media products. We then came up with a model that could best fit such objective. To test the model with statistical techniques, data from 29 Iranian Video Media firms were used. We then distributed some 100 questionnaires among managers and professionals not only in person but also through electronic means to collect the necessary data. For analytical purposes, we used multiple regression method in order to test the research hypotheses, i. e., factors such as content adaptation and the characteristics of the target country affect how the media select a market. Some of the results showed that all components of the host country, exporting companies, the competitive situation and content adaptation have a significant, positive impact on the selection of the target market. While the overall effect of the specific characteristics of the host country showed to be higher compared to other variables, the adaptation of content appeared to be the most effective when selection of the target foreign market is concerned. Theory and Methodology: almost all media firms have entered global markets over the last century; however, some of them certainly have not yet standardized their market selection models. Intensive research conducted on global market selection in the manufacturing sector indicates how important these models are. In media economics research, only a few studies on the media selection of global markets are available. For example, Chan-Olmsted et al. (2008) which supports early theories of internationalization, found that economic environment, geographical proximity, technological infrastructure, and market size influenced the selection of foreign market. In addition, they show that countries with better economic environments, implementation of intellectual property rights, political rights, larger market size and cultural differences, and language similarity seem to import more heavily video media products from the United States. Similarly, Picard (2003) argued that in order for a company to successfully benefit from global markets, it is necessary for the company to accommodate a variety of factors that influence such expansion. Certain environmental and market factors are necessary for multimedia businesses to operate effectively. The businesses also must accommodate content requirements as they expand their markets and they must ensure that internal resources and structures are available. We have assumed a strategic approach in this research to address its problematic. Our objective is to contribute to the body of knowledge in this field and to answer the question of how media firms undertake selection of a country for their marketing purposes. How can we construct a country selection model (CS-model)? Besides the steps in construction, it is necessary to consider the role of pre-decision and context factors, especially corporate principles, goals and strategies, and also to take into account the international experience of managers, who have the decision-making power. We also need to take into consideration the correcting function of the model. Based upon literature review, key strategic factors are determined as four groups: host-country characteristics, firm-specific factors, competitive situation and content adaptation. It was based on this model that the necessary data were collected from 29 Video Media firms in Iran. Then, we distributed 100 questionnaires in person and through electronic means among managers and professionals. Using some regression technique, the study has confirmed a positive and meaningful relationship between dependent (international market selection) and independent (key factors) variables. Findings and Discussion: In short, this study identified four main types of factors that affect media firm’ s development at international locations; the first group consists of the host-country characteristics such as market potential, accessibility, media infrastructure and supporting capabilities, the second group consists of the firm-specific factors such as organizational and managerial capabilities, the third group consists of the competitive situation such as market structure and business environment, and the forth one consists of the content adaptation such as social and cultural adaptation. Also, results show that content adaptation has the highest effect on the international market selection in media industries. The media companies need to consider local market circumstances and content adjustment while in the process of internationalization of their products and services. Film producers and broadcasters have long understood that information and entertainment in domestic language(s) and their media content that reflects a more local culture and lifestyle – or at least the ones that do not offend local culture – is/are more attractive and successful in encouraging audiences and consumers to purchase it. The first strategy in meeting content requirements is thus to consider an adjustment to the language of the foreign markets in which a firm would like to operate. The video media industries have accommodated this through translation of their products into major languages (dubbing), or promote subtitling, voicing over and/or adding narration. Although the five largest language groups in the world include Chinese, Hindi, and Arabic, they are not among the five following languages in which most audio-visual materials are translated: English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. These languages are used because they provide better access to markets that are currently larger or more lucrative. Finally, it should be noted that media products are closely related to a society’ s tradition and culture. As this study has shown, localization plays a key role in global media companies’ operations. These types of companies have to localize their products to some degree in the international media markets. Less cultural distance (e. g., common language and culture) may improve the demand for imported media contents from certain countries, as well as reduce risks for the product exporters from those countries. In fact, since each media market is unique in its own way, it has become increasingly common among international media operators to tailor their product offerings to local demands.

Introduction: This paper offers an investigation into the strategies of selecting advertising media, based on consumer behavior. Our primary axiom is to accept the fact that this is a competitive world, in which only those organizations, which make their decisions and acts strategic and choose the best possible strategies will be successful and will survive. One of the key issues that organizations are facing with is the choice of an appropriate strategy for advertising. With the same token, one of the essential parts of the advertising strategy is the strategy of selecting an appropriate media for advertising. Accordingly, the main objective of this paper is to provide a scientific approach to the selection of advertising media from among various advertising companies. We also wanted primarily study various types of media in a company operating in the field of automotive parts industry. Secondary objectives of our research included: studying the impact of the target audiences on the selection of media, rankings various media in the industry in terms of access to audiences, and allocating the budget between various media by an imaginary (hypothetical) company in the automotive industry. We utilized the concept of media allocation in our research, in order to study the strategy of selecting advertising media. To do so, we evaluated advertising media in four categories as follows: television, radio, newspapers, and the internet. First, through using a telephone questionnaire we determined the level of audiences’ attention given to each of the target media. Then, using the output of the first stage, multi objective linear programming model was implemented for the media allocation. The paper includes problem statement, theoretical framework (which presents a review on the concept of advertisement, and then presents the theories on media allocation and related approaches in this field), research methodology, analysis of findings, and conclusions and discussion. Theoretical framework: Scholars have offered several explanations and definitions on advertisement strategies. The choice of advertising media is a common point, which is noted in the majority of these definitions. To plan an advertisement program, marketing manager should make five decisions which involve: determining advertising mission, determining advertising budget (money), determining advertising message, selecting media, and evaluating the advertisement (measurement). Accordingly, an integral component of advertisement is to select the advertising media. Advertising media is a communication tool that is responsible to transmit messages to a group of audience. Various categories of advertising media have been proposed by previous studies. These categories include various types of media such as television, radio, newspaper, billboard, print, and email advertising. Because there is a variety of media in place for managers to choose from, the subject of media allocation is very determining. Media allocation is the selection of appropriate media and the calculation of costs or the number of advertisement cases in each media. Media allocation should be applied so that the message reaches the target audience. Accordingly, to select advertising media the field of activity of advertising company should be considered. In addition, the media preferences of target audiences and consumers should be taken into account, and it would be determined based on the question of which media can better cover wider range of consumers. When reviewing the literature we realized that the majority of models on media allocation are quantitative models. Quantitative models in the literature which have been used to solve the problem of media budget allocation are classified into simulation, heuristic, and multi criteria decision making. Some studies have used a combination of such methods. Among the quantitative methods used whether in theoretical and/or in practical studies on advertising media allocation, we noticed that multi criteria decision making models have been used more than other types of statistical programming approaches. Among the multi criteria decision making models, linear programming model is more common. In view of the theoretical basis, this research aimed at utilizing the multi objective linear programming model for the allocation of advertising media. Our hypothesis is that the multi objective linear programming model is a suitable model for media allocating. Research Methodology: The research methodology of this study included two different steps. Firstly, through using a telephone questionnaire we evaluated the population of consumers in the automotive parts industry and determined the level of audiences’ attention paid to each of the four targeted media i. e. television, radio, newspapers, and internet. In this part of the study, car owners were selected as the target audience. Samples were randomly selected from among all car owners in Iran. After determining the sample size, which amounted to one hundred and eighty-five individuals, we decided to increase the reliability and accuracy through increasing the number of samples. That was the reason that the final sample size increased to one thousand and six hundred and six people. After collecting the data, we calculated the average time devoted to each of the desired media by the target population, and the percentage of target population that used each of the desired media. In the second step, using the output of the first stage, and taking into account the views of managers, multi objective linear programming model was implemented and media allocation was carried out via running the model. Conclusion and Discussion: Some of findings including the results of the telephone survey, indicates that the average times devoted to TV, Radio, newspapers, and Internet were 65. 74, 37. 67, 17. 52, and 9. 35 minutes, respectively. In addition, some tables were produced to show the percentage of people using a composite media. The results indicate that the percentage of people who use TV, Radio, newspapers, and Internet were 67. 47, 43. 3, 44. 42, and 8. 44 percent, respectively. Subsequently, we took into account the hypothetical limitations of the management-which included five limitations – and implemented multi objective linear programming model. According to the results of the model, from the total budget of fifteen billion Rials, 9 billion Rials had been allocated to television ads, 4. 2 billion Rials to radio, 1. 8 billion Rials to newspapers, and zero Rials to internet. According to the results of this study and based on the theoretical foundations, the selection of advertising media for companies should be based on the target population and audience in the target industry. It is of utmost importance to determine what type of media the target audience uses and which ones are more accessible to them. As was observed in this study, since TV media has taken the major part of attention of the target audience in the automotive industry, our model indicated that the highest amount of budget of the hypothetical company was also allocated to the same media.

Introduction and statement of problem: Troll, or more precisely, Rage Comic (RC), is a newly born phenomenon in cyber space, which we identify as an Alternative Media (AM). RC offers Jokes and comical cartoons; representing ideas, points of view, beliefs, or social facts. Furthermore, RC is an opportunity for a specific social practice; derive from individuals’ social experiences and perceptions. Thus, the importance of the present study lies in the fact that one can express through this AM, what cannot be expressed through main-steam communication channels. Although, there is a complicated interrelation between New Media (NM) technologies and their former peers, it can be perceivably assumed that “ each form of NM, necessarily, is the result of its predecessor forms’ development and conformation” . In RC, these technical forms consist of: 1) comic strip/cinema/story board, 2) Cartoons, and 3) joke (lingual irony). Theoretical Considerations: Troll as an AM enables users to share whatever they think, and as Walz (2005) points out, these are the media who have come to being oppositional to other media products. However, Chris Atton (2002) does not accept the conception of “ non-mainstream” as sufficient definition, and thus recognizes six characteristics in radical and alternative media’ s typology: “ 1) Content (politically radical, socially/culturally radical); news values, 2) Form – graphics, visual language; varieties of presentation and binding; aesthetics, 3) Reprographic innovations/adaptations – use of mimeographs, IBM typesetting, offset litho, photocopiers, 4) ‘ Distributive use’ – alternative sites for distribution, clandestine/invisible distribution networks, anti-copyright, 5) Transformed social relations, roles and responsibilities – reader-writers, collective organization, de-professionalization of e. g., journalism, printing, publishing, 6) Transformed communication processes – horizontal linkages, networks. ” These characteristics sufficiently demonstrate AM’ s innovative tendencies in utilizing New Media’ s tools. Furthermore, AM is put to work by minority and opposing groups, who are, in effect, either less represented in main-stream media, or their representation involves stereotyping. This fact motivates their innovative usage of New Media. As Lievrouw (2011) points out, AM not only reflects and criticize mainstream media, but also combines and manipulate them. Methodology: In this study, 128 RC uploaded on a Facebook page – one of the most popular containing similar Persian contents – has been analyzed. These comics were posted during a week-from 17th to 24th of June 2012 that according to a report provided Facebook; the page was visited the most. In addition, according to the same report, this page’ s audiences consists of 18 to 24-year-old youngsters, from whom, boys constitute the greater portion. Because this phenomenon is somehow new and unexamined, we have adopted an exploratory method to our description and analysis. Accordingly, our approach consists of two major waves; in the first wave, each case was analyzed separately to the point of exhausting all its technical forms. In the second wave, contrasting the technical forms developed from the first wave to the contents, leaded us to some frequent “ subject matters” and “ points of view” . Lastly, we show that a specific dualistic view – that of real and imagination – is one of the most effective points of view in formation of RC, and it can be traced in almost all its cases. Findings and Results: We have attempted to argue that RC is an AM, and thus transcend its users from the masses by our conception of AM. It seems obvious that arguing the activist nature of users of any media depends on an argument indicating the users form a consistent social group. Therefore, we were left with a bilateral approach. On the one hand, we had to show that RC users constitute a specific social group that can be recognized objectively and, thus, their construction is more than construction of a users group. On the other hand, we had to show that the mediated social act that constitutes the users as a group, expresses more than just a subjective, unique aspect of its creator. We are aware that none of these two approaches alone can be sufficient to argue for a consistent social group, but we hope to have developed a strong and enough argument for our purposes. As mentioned above, the present study is an exploratory attempt to RC practice. The analysis has been presented in two parts. In the first part, we have classified RC’ s techniques in three main categories (lingual techniques, cartoon, and comic strip), each of which consists of several subcategories. In the second part, contents and messages of studied RCs have been presented in five categories: Trolling, social criticism, norms and maxims along with forthright criticism, and real/imaginary dualism in trolls, last of which is heavily depended to our analysis in the first part of the paper.

Introduction and problematic of research: The major objective of this paper is to study and shows how the frequency of blogging has been reduced in post-2010 period. And this, in turn, has resulted in the abandonment of blogging in more recent years. A historical review of the issue indicates that since 2001, when the first Iranian blog appeared on the internet, blogging received a remarkable and enthusiastic body of users among Iranians. Subsequently, the Persian language became the fourth global blogosphere. This process, however, did not continue something that needs to be academically addressed. An empirical field research was launched in order to explore the main reasons behind blogging and its demise and or its abandonment. Here in this paper, I will explore the reasons for abandonment of blogging. I will use a psycho-sociological analysis of the characteristics of bloggers to account for the abandonment of blogging. Theoretical framework: I used three theoretical approaches to address the issue, as follows: first, I used the theories concerned with the psychology of communication and social psychology (i. e., Lipiansky, 2005 and 1992; Picard and Edmond, 1991). Second, I used social philosophy approach (i. e., Honneth, 2007) to combine it with psychological factors involved in blogging, and finally, I used the theories that are concerned with social networking (i. e., Merklé , 2011 Lardellier, 2010). Here, psychology of communication played the major role to outline the theoretical background of the paper on which the theoretical framework of this study was based. I would like to emphasize that being recognized plays an important role in identity construction of the bloggers and if that is not met through blogging there is no reason for the blogger to continue blogging. Lipiansky (2005) and Picard and Edmond (1991) show that for the most part, subjective identity is shaped through contact with the others. Thus, the search for recognition is one of the fundamental dynamics of interpersonal relationships/communication. Lipiansky (2005) identifies five principles identity needs, the existence, valorization and integration of which are addressed. Cooley creates the concept of looking-glass self, stating that a person's self grows out of social interpersonal interactions and the perceptions of the others. According to Mead, judgment of others plays an important role in self construction. Axel Honneth (2007) identifies three spheres of interaction which are connected to the three “ patterns of recognition” necessary for an individual’ s development of a positive relation-to-self. These are love, rights, and solidarity. Thus, he speaks about the need of recognition and the individual needs that his or her abilities are recognized. This recognition brings social esteem for him. The third part of the theoretical framework concerns theories of social network on the internet in communication studies. They show how theses social networks (Facebook and Google Reader in our research) help the user to create a relationship or save it. Methodology: To complete our investigations, we selected two technologies that will enable us to collect the needed information. First, to study the content of messages sent by bloggers, I made a manual thematic content analysis of six months of thirty blogs and their comments, a technique that promotes a systematic and objective description of the content of the texts. Secondly, to get deeper with the observations and analysis of the blog posts, I conducted some semi-structured interviews with the authors in summer 2007. In 2011, we conducted second round of interview to know des reasons of abandonment of blogging. We had five criteria to choose the blogs: 1) the blog should be active 2) it should be written in Persian 3) self-expression: he or she must have spent the majority of his or her posts to explain his or her life. 4) the reader must be able to comment on the posts, 5) the blog must have at least one year of seniority. Findings and Discussion: First, we show that the bloggers begin to write their blogs in order to meet some psycho-social needs: need of recognition and affirmation. The bloggers affirm that receiving comments is one of the principal reasons of blogging. They also obtain recognition via the comments of their readers. Thus, the need of existing and valorization are satisfied. Furthermore, they satisfy the need of integration via friendship circles. The satisfaction of the identity need makes the blogger to continue blogging. Then, we show if these identity needs are not satisfied, bloggers abandon their blog or make use of other means of cyber space. This research shows that the different elements as filtering, control and social pressure and other emerging media like social networks play a role in the abandonment of the blog, because they make the blogger unable to meet their identity needs or they allow to better meeting them. Thus, three principal reasons of this phenomenon are technical problems, social pressure and social network on the internet. The technical problems such as filtering and the internet flow prevent the readers to access simply to blogs, so the number of readers decreases and bloggers miss the motivation to continue blogging. The control and the pressure from entourage as family, friends or colleagues is the second reason. These factors lead the bloggers self-censorship and finally the abandonment of blog. At least, the social network on the internet gives the best opportunity if self-expression to the user who is able to receive comments and create relationships. Facebook and Google Reader are two social networks used by surveyed bloggers. According to them theses social networks have more advantage compared to blog, can easily replace blog and satisfy the identity need.

Introduction: Information sources of customers have a significant influence on their attitude and behavioral intentions. Social media is now one of the most important information sources of customers. The purpose of current study is to investigate the impact of social media on customer's attitude towards brand and their intention to purchase. This study was done based on the theory of planned behavior. The target population for this research included the customers of IranKhodro Company in the area of Tehran. Using a self-administrated questionnaire and employing convenience-sampling method, 210 respondents were asked to fill out the survey questionnaire....

Introduction and problematic of research: The youth now constitute a considerable part of Internet users in the world as they spend more time on the Web than other age groups. Their objective mostly include promoting their communication skills, finding new friends, etc. Some of the unwilling consequences of the excessive Internet use, however, might lead them to some kind of dependency issues (addiction) while it might also increase their rate of satisfaction consistently. This problem is especially noticeable in educational and academic centers due to the consequences of excessive use of internet on the young users. Moreover, the subject is nowadays attractive to many researchers and some of them even believe that “ Internet is changing students’ lifestyle increasingly and they suggest a substitution of the internet by off-line social actions (Frenet, Yves, 2005). Accordingly, I felt this problematic needs academic attention and I felt I could study this subject matter. Considering the fact that internet-use may create even more serious problems than mentioned here, among users as they are connected most of the time at university, in their dormitory or in home which is accompanied by feeling of satisfaction, I decided to make my point by studying the subject among university students in two countries. This was especially of my curiosity to see how similar patterns of usage can be found in two countries with different cultures, such as that of Iran and France. Employing the survey method, I concentrated on the students of two main campuses, i. e., at the university of Tehran and university of Lorraine. In addition to determining typology of Internet users, I measured the rate of satisfaction of young students on internet. I also, measured their level of dependency on Internet use. This paper is partly based on the results of my PhD dissertation and is an attempt to develop and argument on the satisfaction rate of Internet users and their dependence on it. The study had taken place among the students in Iran and in France aiming to explain and analyze the subject matter by using a comparative method. Theory and Method: Theoretically, I used two approaches, first of which is normally called «Uses and Satisfaction» approach developed by Mcquail (1993). The second approach is known as «Usage and Dependence» which was developed by Rubin et. Windahl (1986). I used the first approach to account for the tendency of internet users in Iran and France to use internet for satisfaction purposes. Then I combined it with the second approach to account for processes through which dependency on internet takes place. Methodologically, this research paper focuses on measuring the rate of satisfaction as the users work with internet. This is followed by measuring the dependency of internet users on internet use. The unit of analysis in this research is consisted of two sections; 1) internet users in University of Tehran, Iran; and, 2) internet users in University of Lorrain, France. The research method is based on application of a quantitative method that aims at comparing the two units of analysis at University of Tehran and at University of Lorraine. The basic empirical analysis is done based on two survey data, and I used Ben Youssef’ s scales to measure users’ satisfaction, then it is followed by Hadhari’ s dependence study that uses Test of Orman. This research has taken place in Tehran and Metz using a sample size of 300 students from the discipline of social sciences. Findings and Conclusion: In addition to distinguishing the typology of Internet users of two societies, I used a comparative method to see if the phenomenon is evident in both countries. I also tried to study and measure the rate of uses and satisfaction among students. This had to be followed by analysis of the dependency rates on Internet. The paper then indicates the differences and the similarities of the Internet users in two countries despite the cultural and social differences. Some of the results show that approximately one third of Iranian and French internet users are satisfied with Internet. This is while French internet users (students) are a bit more satisfied with Internet than Iranian students are. In addition, the number of Internet users who are considered as dependent on internet (with a small difference) is lower than 10 % while Iranian internet users are more dependent than French internet users are. In comparison to Iranian internet users, the findings indicate that the French users use internet more frequently for educational objectives than do the Iranian students.

Introduction: With the emergence and development of ICTs and the context in which Internet and virtual social networks function, people, in general and the youth in Isfahan in particular, are increasingly facing different and diverse sources of identification issues. Each identity, in turn and on the one hand, brings about its own specific set of values and lifestyle. On the other hand, boundaries of identity formation, such as the family, neighborhood, ethnicity and nationality are forced to become enormously flexible. With the development of virtual space, universalization of particular issues, and interconnectedness of the world, the youth are even becoming more and more confused as to how to choose one or a set of consistent and united identities. Their identity has become what experts call "bricolage identity. " Therefore, what we see now is not a normal and traditional transition of identity from one generation to another. Rather it is a transitional period accompanied by identity crises. This in turn, can result in further and subsequent identity issues. Problematic of Research: Individual and social consequences of development of virtual social networks such as Facebook among Iranian youth constitute increasingly important research issues. Yet experts and social scientists, especially sociologists, pay little attention to it. This study intends to explore the relationship between using Facebook and being active in carrying a modern identity. We want to know what role Facebook plays in the construction of modern identity of its young users in Iran and especially in the city of Isfahan. Theory and Method: Theoretically, it can be argued that Internet has the capability of empowering individuals to develop new understanding about their selves in the new world. Such situation creates new horizons for individuals which could be totally invisible in the real world or do not have any material existence. However, what makes virtual social networks attractive is their ability to provide individuals with an environment in which they can embark upon a process of "identity statement", namely, the public announcement that an individual makes about his or her identity in direct or indirect ways. The direct way could be seen in writing a biography. The indirect way, however, which is more common, entails expressions that users give about themselves while interacting with others. For example, individual users provide lists of group memberships or express specific tastes and priorities regarding everyday life hobbies. Putting the above points in perspective, this study methodologically, adopted a mixed-method approach to study such phenomena. We began our study first by a quantitative survey research and for further explorations; we used a quantitative study as well. In the quantitative part, we used an internet-based questionnaire to collect our online survey data. Research population in this part included young citizens of Isfahan who were Facebook users. We used a non-probability sampling method based on availability of Facebook users in order to finalize our sampling. Overall, we sent out the questionnaire to more than 5000 potential respondents. Eventually, 424 completed questionnaires returned to us and we launched our analysis on that basis to close this part of the research. In the qualitative part, we first selected 13 young users of Facebook before reaching to informational saturation and then used semi-structured interviews to collect necessary information for this part of the research. We used purposeful sampling here to select research subjects, and used inclusion criteria such as 1-being between the ages of 18 to 30 years old; and, 2-having at least two years experience as a Facebook user. Findings and Discussions: The results of the study in the quantitative part indicate that there is a significant and positive relationship between Facebook membership period, the amount and frequency of usage, the amount of participation and activity, and taking Facebook's content as real. Such real content meanwhile expresses a modern identity. In addition, in the qualitative part we realized that Facebook has a self-revealing ability, which helps its users to present their true selves, true likes and dislikes. By doing so, they can experience some kind of emotional discharge which has therapeutic function. Other elements of modern identity, according to these findings, include acquiring up-to-date abilities, which function as a new window to the global space, and experiencing a feeling of cosmopolitanism. By interacting in Facebook, young users reduce the gap between their real self and their ideal self, emphasizing a series of positive characteristics about themselves. Such characteristics are more socially acceptable, and can contribute to their chance of being rated as popular among peers. Therefore, there is a process of prioritizing personal characteristics, which can be described as "selective presentation of identity". Internet in general; and, virtual social networks in particular, reduce the importance of visual signs, and provide some sort of unknown ability in their environment. Users can use such environment to form and develop their relationships in communities that are cut from reality. This provides an exceptional opportunity for the youth to experience an identity in innovative ways. During this process, other's reflections about the question of who are we? and peer comparisons are of crucial importance. Experiences such as separation of space and time, making intimate and friendly contacts with the diversified others who share a sense of mutual commitment in the relationship, trust in others while taking into consideration potential dangers and challenges, freedom, independence, personal empowerment, fluidity, and constant reflectivity, all are elements of modern identity that the youth create and experience in Facebook.

Introduction and the research problem: This paper is an attempt to determine the impact level of violent TV news reports on emotional experiences. There are seven main feelings that are expressed in all cultures with the similar facial expressions. These feelings include sadness, anger, fear, surprise, disgust, contempt and joy. These global facial expressions are considered as intrinsic and innate part of the nature of human beings, which means they are not there to be learned. Even people who are borne blind and never see the others’ faces, reflect the seven facial expressions in a similar fashion as the other people do. Because violence appears in many different forms, it is thought that the effect will not only affect the subjective feelings of fear, but it also affects a wide range of (mostly negative) emotions. One of the questions this article plans to answer is about how the viewers of television news experience the subjective feelings. The other question is about what the intensity of the emotions is. This type of conceptualization is considered as somewhat simplistic conceptualization of emotional effects, and has come under heavy criticism. Most studies also address behavioral effects of the media violence, especially the effects on aggressive behavior (Murray, 2003). In contrast, not many scholars have not been systematically addressed the emotional effects (other than effects on fear) thus far. I will address this problem in the following argument. Theoretical framework: The dominant theoretical framework that deals with the question of emotions is appraisal theory. There is a widely held belief that emotions are caused by information processing that links an individual's situation and specific events to goals, needs, and concerns on the one hand, and capacity to adapt, on the other. A prominent appraisal model is the component process model of emotion proposed by Scherer (1997). Conceptualizing emotion as a process, defines emotion "as an episode of interrelated, synchronized changes in the states of all or most of the five organismic subsystems in response to the evaluation of external or internal stimulus event as relevant it major concerns of the organism” (Scherer, 2001, p. 93). This is where I situate my theoretical position and will be addressing the problematic of the research. Methodology: my research was based on an experimental study of short-term laboratory type. For such an experiment, I asked some 80 students of arts and culture discipline from the University of Applied Science and Technology to take part voluntarily in the research. Then I presented them with 10 news reports that showed five different levels of violence. This study planned to measure five emotions from amongst seven negative emotions. Moreover, I asked them to ignore the two senses of wonder and delight. The study utilized a two-factorial design. The first factor included five negative emotions such as sadness, anger, fear, disgust and contempt. The second factor included the type of violence that had five levels as follows: 1. no violence 2. Intentional violence against humans, 3. Unintentional violence against humans, 4. Intentional violence against objects and 5. Unintentional violence against objects. News reports were then presented through a series of reports broadcasted by the Iranian TV, Channel six news and the news network. It was designed similar to a typical news report in which main news on executive managers were introduced first and then the weather report came in the end of the news. I asked the participants to express their level of subjective feelings after every NEWS reports, using Likert’ s scale degrees. I measured each negative feeling using a five-item scale. Findings and Discussion: Measuring the two factors of “ type of violence” and “ type of viewers’ feelings” indicated that depending on the type of violence screened, violence in TV reports summon up negative emotions. Overall, “ humiliation and fear” is the least experienced feeling when the violent news reports are broadcasted and the audience watching violent news reports rather seems to react to other important emotions such as wrath and hatred. This indicates that there is some kind of concern about social order consistency and the lack of endorsement by others. I also noticed that the subjects of my experiment mentioned the emotions such as those expressed in reaction to others’ pain such as sorrow and fear, rarely. As mentioned before, the purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how violence in TV news influences emotional responses, especially subjective feeling, of viewers. The results indicate that the type of violence portrayed in a news report influences the intensity and mixture of the experienced subjective feeling. Viewers of news reports express more so-called negative feelings when violent images are presented on television. This is especially true when compared to watching nonviolent news images. When exposed to news content that portrays intentional violence, stronger negative feelings are reported compared to exposure to unintentional violence. In contrast to our expectations, participants mainly reported more anger, and they also reported more feeling of fear and sadness. To conclude, the study demonstrates that depending on what type of violence in a news report is reported by means of appraisal processes we can conclude that it will influence the emotional mixture of subjective feeling experienced by the viewers. Contrary to the prominent role of fear in existing research, our results indicate that violence affects a wide range of emotions, especially feeling of anger, sadness, and disgust. Ultimately news produces an interesting and highly sophisticated mixture of experienced feeling that is interwoven with expected gratifications. This leaves the strong impression that watching TV news is deeply rooted in emotional processes of media reception. The findings of the study mainly indicate that a complicated network of interrelations exists between variables such as media, characteristics of viewers and emotional processes.