Iranian Journal of Sociology
Year:2002 | Volume:4 | Issue:2|Papers Count:26

The present paper reports a field study on delinquency among the young adults charged with delinquency and arrested there after in Tehran in 1992. In order to determine the factors and at the same time account for the internal and external forces affecting delinquency, a theoretical framework was developed and applied which was a combination of the Hirshi Social Control Theory and the Sutherland-Kursi theory of differential connection. From among 140 under age boys and 15 under age girls arrested in 1992, 90 boys plus all the 15 girls took part in a structured interview. Four variables indicative of acts of delinquency were measured, together with 81 independent variables including individual characteristics, living conditions and immigration, family support system, beliefs and performances, socializing with delinquents, leisure time and hobbies. The data were reduced into smaller scales through factor analysis, which rendered one factor as contributing to severity of delinquency and 28 factors as representing the independent variables in condensed form. Administration of a multi-regression analysis demonstrated that severity of delinquency is influenced and explained merely by three factors: attachment to the family, beliefs and attitudes, and socializing with delinquents. The findings demonstrate that as family ties become stronger and attachment to the family increases, severity of acts of delinquency decreases; also religious beliefs prevent delinquency, whereas negative attitudes toward rules and regulations, agents of law and social norms encourage delinquency; finally, constant and continuous socialization with delinquents inclines the young adult towards delinquency.

The Islamic Revolution of Iran embraced victory in 1979 in circumstances where sovereignty was divided among different groups who could take the society in their power. The Imperial Army was just one of those groups, which had the opportunity to rule in such time of turmoil. The present article seeks to explain reasons of the army"s declaration of impartiality. Such an explanation requires a survey on the Pahlavi"s structure of oppression. This article takes such a declaration as an index of weakness, the Shah"s structure of oppression was experiencing. The article further investigates the relationship of such a weakness with mutiny within the army, fleeing from barracks by military personnel, and solidarity declaration of the army corps with the late Imam (may God bless his soul), among other developments occurring within the disintegrating army. Based on findings of this research the main reasons of weakness of structure of oppression of the regime were: 1. The command structure was centralized and dependent on the ruler. This would cause inertness in the Shah"s presence and disintegration in his absence. The disintegration was further intensified by the revolutionaries and had weakened the structure of oppression. 2. The role change of the Imperial Army from custodian of the (internal) national security to an agent of international politics, acting as a regional gendarmerie-which was a function of the US-Iran relationship-which resulted in the army"s inability to dominate the internal turmoil and control the Revolution. Key Words: Theories of revolutions of the Iranian political system, Oppression Structure, Imperial Army"s Role, Group Composition and Command Structure of the Iranian Army.

It seems that researches addressing violence against children, particularly in Iran, have not paid due attention to theories which assign such violence to problematic and confused interactions. The present study attempts to emphasize the factors relating to intra-family relationships (order and conflict). It is a survey carried out with 300 families in Tehran. Data were analyzed through correlation index, multi-variable regression and modeling of structural equations. The findings demonstrate that the variables relating to order and conflict in the family have respectively critical and significant effects on violence against children.

This article attempts at a comparative study of religion in the contexts of the Iranian and French Revolutions. A quick survey of the background and formation processes of the French Revolution of 1789 and its consequences indicates that the Catholic Church and the Christian belief as major ingredients of the ruling system contributed to the maintenance of the status quo and thus were disregarded by the revolutionaries and later came under their assault. In other words, Christianity did not only lack a role in the revolutionary mobilization of France, but also it assumed some antimobilizing positions in the radicalization period of the Revolution. The same issue took quite different form and substance in the Iranian Revolution of 1979, where religion through taking ideological position, undertook the leadership and organized the revolutionary mobilization. This recorded a new experience in a chain of revolutions. The comparative survey ofthe Iranian and French Revolutions shows that the respective differences, aside from influencing structures, are due to two factors. First, Islamic and Christian teachings are distinct. The second factor must be sought in the historical performance and synchronic sociopolitical positions of custodians of these two religions Key Words: The French Revolution, The Iranian Revolution, Revolutionary Situation, Revolutionary Mobilization, Mass Mobilization, Mobilization Ideology, Mobilization Leadership, Mobilization Organization, Abnormality.

The main task of this paper is to analyse and explicate the social reality of citizenship in post-Revolutionary Iran. It aims to provide a sociological analysis concerning the formation process of citizenship in Iran along with citizenship-forming mechanisms. It is the configuration of citizenship, as a modern phenomenon in post-Revolutionary Iran, in its social type, social content, social form and social domain, that is considered here, seen through its civil, political and social aspects. The social theory of citizenship, constitutes the theoretical framework, and the method is historical sociology. The article sets forth three questions concerning the nature of processes affecting citizenship formation and examines mechanisms influencing it, among which are structures of citizenship configuration, and three related hypotheses. These hypotheses would indicate the efficacy impact of the discourse between the substantive (legislative) and constitutional laws. They also look at the orientation of developement paIns, and formation of modern socio-political demnads.

In 2001, a study was carried out in Lorestan province to examine the factors encouraging misbehavior among high school students in the three towns of Khorram Abad, Boroujerd, and Nour Abad.From among the male and female high school students in different fields of study, 975 were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. The study examined the relation between students misbehavior and some individual characteristics, such as educational level, sex, some family features, students self- concept, students relationship with parents, students self image, job ideals, students impression of his/her family income, and students impression of rules of order in school. Selection of variables was mostly based on the theories of social control as presented by scholars such as Gutt Fredson and Travis Hirshi. The findings demonstrate that in-school and out-of-school misbehavior both have common causes, and should therefore not be treated as two separate phenomena. With regard to the significance of the relation between misbehavior and the above mentioned variables, findings suggest that factors influencing students misbehavior at school are: relationships in the family and at school, students self-concept, students impression of the family income, fathers job, students impression of school rule of order, educational achievement and sex. They also suggest that some variables such as educational achievement, sex, and relationship with mother play a greater role in out-of-school misbehavior. The findings are statistically significant.

Low civil participation of the Iranian citizens in general and of the Iranian women in particular is considered to be one of the most fundamental problems of the Iranian transitional society. Without acquiring knowledge about the obstacles to civil participation, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to plan for its promotion, to manage social conflicts, and to persue order and development in Iran. The main goal of this articles is to describe and analyze civil participation in Iran from a sociological perspective. Theoretically, the article is based on meta-analysis of the results obtained through review of the literature. A new integrative conceptual framework is worked out by which main hypotheses are developed. Methodologically, definition of concepts, scaling, evaluating validity and reliability of the measuring tools, data collection, and analysis techniques are introduced. On the data analysis by pointing to the characteristics of positive and normative environments, the following factors have been described women"s residence in township and in provinces, the special condition of their socialization in ethnic and familial setting, the output of their socialization process such as their statuses and roles in the society, their feelings and perceptions of the cultural and social objects, values and attitudes, social identity and the output of their personality system. Such a description is carried out in a way to allow portraying the relation of women"s civil participation to each of the aforementioned factors. These factors are explained at macro, meso, and micro levels, and the respective shares of basic factors in explanation and prediction of the variation of women"s civil participation in Iran have been determind. Finally, based on the research"s findings, we present some fundamental strategies for the promotion of civil participation of the Iranian citizens in general, and of the Iranian women in particular.

The concept of commitment or non-commitment of crime clearly depends on the situation and cost of assessment and the usefulness of the convicted individual. Imprisonment, as the main punishment for criminals, is a major and officially acknowledged cost of crime commitment, and at the same time leads to various social losses and damages, such as losing ones job, social rejection, lower social status, etc. On the other hand, there is a relation between the individuals first and later instances of imprisonment. Moreover, learning specific techniques of re-commitment, making new acquaintances, escaping legal punishments, and the effects of all these depend on various factors such as internal conditions of the prison, its facilities and management, and individual variables. Under the present conditions, there exists a conflict between a criminals attempt to conform to the values and norms dominating the prison, and the advice he receives from ordinary people who try to encourage him to avoid crimes. The conflict remains unresolved unless new techniques are sought to modify the situation.

What impact and reflection the Islamic Revolution of Iran has had on the theories of revolution? This is the question the present article seeks to answer. After a glance over the theories of revolution at the time when the Islamic Revolution was underway, a glance which is carried out based on two important works: Jack Goldstone (1980) and Stan Tylor (1984) the writer follows the impact of the Islamic Revolution in two areas which are the third generation of theories of revolution, and, more importantly, the formation of the fourth generation of theories of revolution, whose departure point and origin of formation is Islamic Revolution. These four approaches derived from the Islamic Revolution are: 1. Cultural Approaches (with many thinkers). 2. The Third World social revolution approach of John Foran. 3. The Spiritual Approach of Michele Foucault. 4. Metaphysical or Gnostic Approach of Leyli Eshghi. These four approaches are described and explained relatively in detail in the text of the article. Thus, this article, in addition to introduction and conclusion, consists of two main sections with the headings of theories of revolution prior to the Islamic Revolution of Iran, which is comprised of the classical and modern literature and theories, and theories of revolution after the Islamic Revolution of Iran, which, in turn, consists of two sub-categories of revision applied by some theorists of the third generation in their theories, and the birth of the fourth generation of modern theories ofrevolution. It is in this final section that the four approaches of Cultural, Third Word, Spiritual, and Gnostic are discussed in detail. Key Words: Islamic Revolution of Iran, Theories of Revolution, Cultural Approach, Third Word Approach, Spiritual Approach, Metaphysical or Gnostic Approach.

The economic aspects of addiction are not restricted to consumer behavior, production mechanisms and motivations, drug trafficking and distribution, and the role of price and income; rather these aspects should mainly deal with the structure of political economy. At the beginning, the topic was treated in general articles and sometimes in reductionist explanatory studies based on neo-classical hypothetical models, and received limited distribution. Along with it, radical economists critically discussed the different politico-economic and socio-economic aspects of addiction. And today various types of critical and systemic studies and economic researches dealing with addiction are being carried out. The present article deals systematically with the structures of political economy and social economy related to drug trafficking and addiction in general, and assumes that there exist strong motivations for production and consumption. Ruling out individual and exceptional cases,these motivations are rooted in factors which themselves contribute to perpetuation ofthe abnormal social structure and encourage drug abuse. The increase of drug addiction is induced by confusions resulting from complications in political economy, such as poverty, unemployment, deprivation, and existence of a strong drug trafficking network, which is seriously related to political management. But basic solutions are possible only after the major preventive factor is eliminated and structures inducing the situation are altered. However, despite the persistence of the basic structures which generate the abnormalities, serious and effective control can be exercised and social costs can be immensely reduced through adoption of radical approaches.

Trust comprises the core concept of the classical sociological theories, and is the main axis of new theories on social capital. It is also the context in which social interactions and social relations take place. The results of many recently performed national studies are indicative of the relative reduction of such a variable (trust) among different strata of the community. These studies have considered varying socioeconomic factors such as the following, as the main reasons and major factors contributing to the present situation: rapid uplift of the educational level and increasing number of increased access to and consumption of the media and especially the presence of the new media such as Internet in the country"s communication, the drastic population growth and the rapid expansion of cities. Nonetheless, few studies have taken into account the effect of gender variable and its abstract impact on trust. The present study calls attention to significance of women"s membership in the community, and following Schumpeter, it considers women"s role as a crucial factor in the national development. The study, while attempting to understand the dimensions and levels of mutual trust, taken together as one of the main topics in social trust, examines factors, which exert influence on trust. It takes up to measure and compare gender influence on trust with other considered variables. The study has been carried out in 28 Iranian provinces, with a sample size of 8206, in the Iranian calendar year of 1381.

The paper starts with a definition of crime and crime statistics, thendescribes the types of crime statistics and assesses each in terms of its positive and negative points. The rest of this paper deals exclusively with crime statistics in Iran. The results of the present study demonstrate that there are three official sources for producing crime statistics in Iran: Bureau of Statistics and Data Processing at the Ministry of Justice, Bureau of Statistics at the Police Force Dept. of Plans and Programs, and The Iranian Prison, Security and Training Organization. For numerous reasons, including inefficiency of crime classification and its confusion with crime statistics and files statistics, the statistics concerning the convicted and the indicted, and restriction of the crime statistics to national and provincial levels, together with lack of distinction between urban and rural crime statistics, no realistic reports can be produced of the situation of delinquency, delinquency rates and estimation of the probability of crimes. The paper elaborates on the technical weaknesses of crime statistics in Iran and presents solutions for its modification.

Most studies examining the impact of violence in TV programs on children"s behavior are based on the stimulus (scenes oiViolence on TV) and response (child behavior). The studies are mainly inspired by the theories of mass society and of magic ballets, which hold that watching violence on TV leads to violent behavior among children. Focusing on the theory of structural functionalism, the present study examines other factors, such as socio-economic status, and parent"s behavior toward children as processes mediating between watching TV violence and children"s behavior in Iran. It also examines the role of these factors in the extent and intensity of the impact of TV violence on children belonging to different socio-economic statuses and parent styles.

Modern or modernist ideologies, based on tbe understanding, which now runs almost as a consensus among the thinkers, replace traditional religions and are considered secular pieties. Nevertheless, compared with other pieties or allegiances, which attempt at replacing them, these secular pieties are faced with problems, inadequacies and difficulties. Most important among these difficulties is the inability of these ideologies to create social movements and to mobilize people politically, that is, to have extensive and sustained influence among them, and to make people willing to sacrifice. There are certain characteristics attributed to nationalistic secular ideologies. It is upon these characteristics that there is a discussion on power of these ideologies in creating social movements, and on potency of their historical influence. This article, through investigating the characteristic of nationalistic ideologies, argues that such a conception of secular ideologies is erroneous, in that instead of reasoning for its weakness.

Merton was born in the United States in 1910. After receiving his Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University, he accepted the invitation to work at the University of Columbia. He has written extensively on the theories and methods in sociology, particularly sociology of science, social problems and deviance. He was interested mostly in structural functionalism and functional analysis. Reviewing the rules and principles of classic functionalism, Merton tried to incorporate theoretical and empirical principles into the middle range theory, introduce samples of this theory from masters of classical sociology like Durkheim and Weber, present middle range theories in sociology of science and social deviance, and establish a link between sociology and everyday issues, all of which played a significant role in the development of sociology. After so many years of research, education and management in sociology and receiving Honorary Ph.D. degrees from twenty accredited universities and scientific centres worldwide, Merton died in 2003, at the ageof 93.

In recent years, due to expansionof modernismand modernization at a global scale, there have been developments at cultural and structural levels resulting in changes in social roles, women"s awareness. The expansion of education and of employment amongst women have, on the one hand, reduced the utility ofthe traditional model of woman, and on the other have created difficulties in coordinating traditional roles with those required by the modern roles. This would lead to an identity crisis for women. The sole solution envisages that women"s social identity be defined by women themselves. This research studies the factors, which have made women think about their traditional identity, resist the gender stereotypes, and redefine their social identity. The study using the survey method carries out its analysis at two levels, individual and structural. The result of the survey shows that amongst the total factors under study, education has rendered most effects in redefining women"s social identity. Next to education are values, views, life style, and the dominant role identity. Each of these has respectively played a greater role in redefining women"s social identity. In addition, structural position, as compared with individual identity, has had greater effect in women"s redefined social identity. Of the two factors of education and employment, education, which equips women with identity-creating cultural resources, has been more efficient, compared to employment, which renders independence and the necessary material resources, in redefinition of women"s and in helping them resist stereotypic beliefs based on gender difference.

Islamic Revolution is growing old beyond a quarter of century, having passed through different challenges, it is now faced with a high tide, complex anG dynamic process called globalization. The significance of globalization is such that the fate of many political and intellectual systems as well as social movements depends on how they encounter and interact with this process. The present article seeks to explain Islamic Revolution"s ideals, and to analyze probable aspects of globalization, and to propose guidelines for successful transition through this historical stage. Islamic Revolution"s nature, as well as its ideals are mainly shaped through an emphasis on late Imam Khomeini"s (may God bless his soul) views and ideas. Different aspects of globalization are extracted through views of those who are well-informed on the issue. This article will attempt to present an analytic account of globalization as well as the probable challenges between globalization and Islam, while proposing guidelines. It is hoped that the guidelines be used so that the carriers of the Islamic Revolution would continue propagating and solidifying their ideals in an age whose most constant characteristics are change and transformation.

One of the important factors affecting the optimal functioning of any human or non-human system is the identification of its damages. Such identification is considered the building block of modification and improvement. Ignoring the damage to any given element within a system not only will intensify the damage, but also will, on the basis of the principle of interrelationship among elements, cause damage to other elements of the system. This may lead to increased and complex damages, which in turn, cause serious interruptions to the system and eventually lead to its failure. The pathology of all social systems, both micro- or macro- systems, is therefore one of the most important means of modification and improvement of their dynamism. In the present study the authors attempt to identify through experimentation the damages of the social system as a whole, by exploring the attitudes of the people of Isfahan toward six topics: security-judicature, position of the clergy, economic corruptions, turning to or away from religion, characteristics of government authorities and administrators, and hopefulness about the future. This paper presents a pathology of the social system in Iran, together with suggestions for its modification from the viewpoint of the research population. It also examines the impact of the above social damages on religious drawback.

The purpose of this article is to examine the outcomes and impacts of the nihilism advocated by post-structuralism and neo-liberalism on the development of social theory in the final decades of the twentieth century. The cultural atmosphere surrounding the issue implies that the reconstruction of social theory is irregular and useless. Elaborating on the various factors which can explain the principles and areas of this anti-theory, the present article argues that the serious need for reconstructing a social theory requires shifting from clear-cut extra- specialist perspectives (which is the legacy of positivist tradition) to collectivism and theoretical universalism (holism).

The legitimacy of political systems is measured by degree of homogeneity between beliefs and values of the populace, on the one hand, and the theoretical basis upon which the political ruling strata justify their dominance, on the other, Any factor affecting social beliefs and values may also affect legitimacy of political systems by exposing them to new challenges. On such basis, this article seeks to investigate quantitative and qualitative population changes in the years following the Islamic Revolution, changes such as growth of literate, higher education graduates, and urban sections of the population, The article also tries to survey impact exerted by such population changes on religious beliefs of the society, considering these beliefs as the most important basis for the legitimacy of the political system. It tries to answer the questions: What impact population changes has exerted on religion"s status in Iran. What implications are likely to be brought about by an assumed change of religion"s status on a religion-based state?

In recent years a considerable arguments on of social ideas and views dealing with problems and constrains encountered by women, has been published. Moreover, the priority set be the society to move in the path of economic development has made entrepreneurship a topic of interest to the scientific circles. This article attempts to incorporate these two rather distinct domains (women"s issues and economic development) and thereby tries to arrive at an explanation concerning the low efficiency of entrepreneurship as regards the employed Iranian women. The auther recognizes the natural differences between males and famales while holding the belief that the existing gender inequalities in Iran, reflecting rather a cultural aspect, would reduce women"s entrepreneurship potential. In this regard, the article discusses the family roles, education system, stereotypic beliefs, incompatibility between role expectations and relations dominating the work organization.

Utilizing the statistical data provided by a national research project, this article initially attempts to explain rural women"s activity situation, education, leisure, and consumption of cultural commodities. Then it proceeds, referring to feminist theories, to present an analysis concerning inequality or gender distinction in country"s villages. The results of this research, in the main part, supports assumptions concerning the patriarchal/authoritarian held views, mode of production and social division of labor as they seemingly constitute a system based on either gender or values and views reflecting gender distinction. Nonetheless, the gender distinction in terms of artistic and sport activities, evident in early childhood development years, is partially confirmed Bythe assumption maintaining different natural endowments as seen in certain dispositions in men and women. Due to certain bio-psychological traits, somewhat independent of sodo-cultural processes, girls and boys form different inclinations. These inclinations, however later in life, tend to be emphasized and hence intensified. Moreover, based on the findings of this research, it has become clear that because of the increased need of women"s social presence, the expansion of modern education, and ongoing modernization process in villages, all have introduced changes in the traditional view, the view which would reduces women"s role to housekeeping and child care, and such changes are expanding.