RAHBORD
Year:2013 | Volume:22 | Issue:66|Papers Count:17

Intercultural communications have been frequently discussed in recent years. Bennett has discussed six stages of facing cultural differences which range from absolute ethnocentrism to absolute relativism. This paper aims to answer the question about whether a model based on the Islamic sources will match one of the aforesaid six phases or an independent model for intercultural communications is needed? The results show that this model does not conform to any of the above stages, but is an independent theory and this paper tries to expound its basic principles on the basis of the Quranic verses and Islamic traditions.

This paper asserts that social participation (especially in voluntary form) plays an important role in the accumulation of the social asset. Meanwhile, social asset provides the main ground for participation. In fact, social asset is like the spirit while participation is the embodiment of social and political behavior. Participation is the tangible aspect while social asset is intangible aspect of national wealth. Accumulation and release of this force will guarantee social, political, cultural, and economic development as well as psychological and social security in various levels. The main question of this paper is whether social participation, especially in its voluntary form, and social asset have any place in Imam Khomeini’s thought. It is assumed that social participation, affects people’s sense of belonging to the society. Imam Khomeini had frequently tried to incite people’s voluntary participation in social affairs, on the one hand, while on the other hand, emphasizing on the idea that “the country belongs to you” in order to promote the sense of belonging among the Iranian people.

Although sociologists and scholars in other fields of since are not unanimous about the meaning of social asset, the fluidity of this concept has made it possible to look at it from new angles (which call for different lines of research) and take advantage of its theoretical development for better understanding of social issues and mechanisms used to promote it in the country. Special attention paid by policymakers, politicians and researchers to this issue shows its importance from political, economic, social...viewpoints. The importance of social asset in our country is so high that special attention has been paid to it in the formulation of the 20-Year Perspective Plan one of whose important components is the social asset. The second paragraph of the 20-Year Perspective Plan introduces characteristics of the Iranian society in the next 20 years when Iran would be a country where human resources and social asset plays a great role in the national production. As a result of these considerations and the special attention paid to the issue of social asset in the 20-Year Perspective Plan, it is necessary to discuss requirements and methods for bolstering and promoting social asset in the Islamic Republic of Iran and answer this question: what are the best mechanisms for promoting social asset in view of the 20-Year Perspective Plan?

The main goal of this research is to explain the functions of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) as a public medium for the development of human capacities. This is a qualitative research using grounded theory. During the study, purposive sampling method and snowballing technique has been used to select 15 faculty members in the fields of management, educational science, sociology, economics of development, and communications. Also, people with working experience with respect to the IRIB have been exposed to profound, half-structured interviews. The data have been interpreted through open, axial and selective codification. The findings show that this medium has three main functions for the development of human capacities. The first function of this medium which has been identified in this study is to provide factors mediating development of human capacities by enlightening, motivating, empowering and guiding positive option among people. The second function of this medium is to provide cultural, social, economic, political, legal, environmental, information, and supporting opportunities which pave the way for the development of human capacities. Finally, the use of change strategy, which is based on the presumption of active human as a potential capacity, is the third function of this medium which has been identified in this study.

Ethnic identities and their relation to the national identity is an important issue in multiethnic countries. The quality of the relationship between these two kinds of social identity can affect national solidarity and unity in countries. The present study is the result of the existing concerns about cultural and ethnic diversity in the Iranian society and its consequences. It studies the relationship between ethnic and national identities by taking advantage of the social identity theory, cultural acceptance theory as well as integrative social identity and consolidated multiple identity models. The results of the secondary analysis show that both ethnic and national identities are prominent among Iranian ethnicities. The correlation between the sense of belonging to an ethnicity and attachment to nationality is also positive throughout the cohort. However, the strength of the relationship and its direction is different among various ethnic groups. In addition, findings show that there are various forms of identity among Iranian ethnicities which are of different importance. While consolidated (combined) identity has the highest frequency, other identity situations are found less frequently. Finally, grouping the respondents on the basis of ethnic and national identities sorted by six ethnic groups shows that although consolidated identity is the dominant identity among all ethnic groups, its share differs among various ethnic groups.

Manpower planning is among the most important issues of every organization which includes diverse, attractive and yet complex issues. As a result of profound developments in the management of human resources and attention to meritocracy in organizational planning, human resources planning based on merits has become more important. Study of different models of manpower planning based on merits shows that attention to outlook, mission, strategy and goals of an organization as well as its structure are indispensable components of successful manpower planning. Merit-based planning of human resources needs a major paradigm which would change the way that human resources planners think about people and the organization.The following research (titled: Designing General Conceptual Model for Indices and Components of Manpower Planning Based on Merits) uses documentary and library research methods in a bid to present a general practical approach to designing a conceptual model of manpower merits for manpower planners in state organizations affiliated to the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In this study, main concepts of human resources planning have been expounded followed by contextual analysis of such concepts as merit, meritocracy and various approaches to this issue. Finally, in view of the data gathered through library and documentary methods and the concepts of merit-based manpower planning and also as a result of special attention to the country’s values in the field of organizational manpower (such as religious and ethical commitments) various components have been ranked and a general and comprehensive model for the components and indices of merits to be used for the assessment of managers and staff of various organizations have been offered with the main goal of improving management of human resources. In doing this, senior managers of the concerned organizations have been interviewed and SWA technique has been used. Obviously, components and indices of the models of merits and human resource management are affected by both the large-scale instruments and the tasks assigned to every organization, which should be discussed separately. Therefore, the following proposed model is simply a general model for the Iranian organizations and its components and indices may change according to conditions of those organizations. However, it is a generally comprehensive model which can be employed by most organizations as a general basic model.

Oil and gas industry is strategically important for Iran and, therefore, it is very important to know about social context of its development as well as the quality of the interaction between the oil industry and local communities living in oil-rich and operational regions. The present paper first discusses evidence about the discontent of local communities with the method used for the development of the oil industry in those regions before going into the reasons behind that discontent and analyzing theoretical approaches underlying oil industry development method and clarifying the root cause of the problem. The basic argument of the paper is that development planning using growth pole model, which is demand-based, has caused local social capacities for participation in the development process to be ignored. The paper also delves into certain institutional processes which have led to problems in oil-rich and operational regions of the oil industry to delineate their impact on the existing problems. The paper reviews some new approaches to developmental planning which can lead to positive interaction with local communities and create strategic social security needed for the development of oil industry in oil-rich regions.

Globalization affects all aspects of life. Its impact is not only visible on economy, politics and social relations, but also on various cultures, educational systems and identity of peoples. In our time, effective planning and innovation in higher education would not be possible without due attention to the impact of globalization on the national identity of the youth and university students. Due to the importance of this issue and its unknown angles, the present research aims to assess the impact of globalization on the national identity of students. The method used in this research is descriptive survey with the cohort encompassing all the faculty members of the Isfahan University in the academic year 2009-10, whose number stood at 518. Out of the cohort and using stratified random sampling, a total of 184 persons were chosen as the population. Analysis of information was carried out at two levels of descriptive statistics (including mean, standard deviation, and variance) and inferential statistics. Findings show that the mean for such components as national affiliation as well as national unity and solidarity, sacrifice, and self-sacrifice for the homeland stood at an average (3) while the mean for the Persian language has been higher than the average level (3). It can be concluded that from the viewpoint of faculty members of Isfahan University, globalization has affected national identity of the students. Findings also showed that there is no meaningful difference between the viewpoints of faculty members according to gender, but there is meaningful difference when it comes to teaching records and the course of study.

The post-metaphysical thought emerged out of criticism of metaphysics. By proposing transition from metaphysical components of human thought, it is trying to get rid of metaphysical limitations and binds. Politics and political thought has been one of the most important areas in which this idea has been progressing. In fact, the main presumption of post-metaphysics is that objective and real social phenomena such as politics should not be assessed with metaphysical standards. Metaphysical standards are built on a pre-arranged order and, therefore, they try to adapt the world of politics to fixed and unchanging principles and standards. On the opposite, the post-metaphysical thought claims that the rationality of politics should not be assessed according to pre-arranged and pre-experimental principles and values. In this way of thinking, rationality, more than anything else, is related to trends and processes in which political components, especially the consensus and agreement arising from social interactions, play a crucial part. The post-metaphysical thought has many theoretical origins all of which have been busy building the post-metaphysical thought from past to present. Jurgen Habermas is one of those people who have characterized this thought with such markers as precedence of action over theory, negation of logocentrism, linguistic twists, and attention to contextual wisdom.

Although political development, which means promoting participation of all people in determining the fate of political entities, can be achieved through a variety of methods, it is the common goal of all developmental viewpoints. Elections as the most prominent method and manifestation of that participation have been of great importance to theorists of social and political science and also to politicians. An important question for both groups has been to explain the election behavior of people and various social groups. Study of election behavior has been also a serious concern for researchers in relevant fields in the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially during the past decade. The main question of this paper is what norms and criteria shape election behavior of university students which is among main indices of political development, and what role is played by social networks in setting and directing those norms? The goal of this paper is to study the relationship between social networks and election behavior of students at Isfahan University. By dividing social networks into three categories of vertical, horizontal, and qualities of social networks, and also by focusing on four dimensions of political participation, namely, subjective, official, unofficial, and objective dimensions, it has become clear that horizontal networks have had the highest impact on the political participation of students with the lowest effect proven for the qualities of social networks.

The Fifth Economic Development Plan Act plays a key role in the realization of the 20-Year Perspective Plan’s goals because the former plan contains guidelines about the general characteristics of the growth and development of various sectors, including the science and technology sector. The goal of this research is to answer this basic question: has the Fifth Economic Development Plan Act paid due attention to policies underlined by other large-scale instruments? This is a descriptive-analytical study using content analysis and documentary method. The cohort includes certain large-scale instruments including nine instruments which have been selected in a purposive way as sample of available instruments. Note taking, checklist and researcher-designed forms have been main tools used to gather data. An analytical and descriptive method has been used to analyze the data. Based on the findings, major policies have been divided in such categories as culture, education, technology, empowerment of human resources and development of infrastructure, trans-sectoral and international cooperation, accountability, encouragement and participation. Finally, the part of the Fifth Economic Development Plan Act related to science and technology has been compared with the main policies of other large-scale instruments. Findings show that due attention has been paid to policies prescribed by the large-scale instruments for the formulation of those articles of the Fifth Economic Development Plan Act which are related to science and technology.

Russia’s relations with Hamas organization are very important. On the one hand, the organization is on the list of terrorist organizations in the United States and Europe while, on the other hand, Moscow’s relations with this Palestinian group are characterized by a host of political contradictions. Hamas, at least in words, has always supported Islamist movements across the world, including the Chechen separatist movement in North Caucasus. Following the second war with Chechnya, the Kremlin has been always warning about a new plot to establish Islamic caliphate. However, despite opposition of the United States and Israel, which have close ties with Moscow, relations between Hamas and Russia have been on the rise since the organization was established. The present research tries to answer this question: Why Russia considers relations with Hamas important? To answer that question, their relations as well as various grounds, factors, goals and consequences of those relations have been studied. Evidence shows that by expanding ties with Hamas and playing the role of a balancing factor, Russia has been trying to disturb the United States unilateral world order and improve its position as an effective international power.

The present article discusses the root causes of the ongoing financial crisis facing the European Union (EU) before analyzing the policies, attitudes and economic plans of the EU’s economic powerhouse, Germany, for dealing with and managing the crisis. The theoretical framework known as intergovernmentalism is used here to better understand the current trends and developments of the EU. In conclusion, the author will discuss scenarios ahead of the EU before introducing the most possible option to end the financial crisis and European convergence on the basis of the existing trends.

One of the ambiguous and much discussed but still unknown aspects of the Western philosophy is two-thousand-and-odd-years critique of the Western philosophers on the Platonic philosophy of art. They believed that the Platonic Utopia is an anti-poetic no-man’s-land which has its root in the exile of artists from urbanity. This anti-Platonic position of the Western philosophy indicates the existence of a mysterious philosophy in the critical views of Plato about the truth of art within framework of city and citizenship. The present paper seeks to provide brief explanation of Plato’s critique on realism in art which aims to unveil the truth. This tendency has been turned into the main current in modern mass media after invention of such modern media as photography and cinema. Plato’s explanation of this artistic tendency can be taken as a key strategy in the area of applied art and a fundamental approach to configuration of media and artistic works. The main question of this research is whether the aesthetics theory of Plato can be simply decoded within framework of the Platonic system of realism or is, per se, capable of being presented as a paradigm? Is Plato’s “realism” based on a system of rational figures and his ethereal world, or on the opposite, the rational figures are based on the realism where “rational ideas” are taken as “figures of truth?” Why from Plato’s viewpoint, art is not an image of the Nature, but is the “dream of Nature” coming true? The Plato’s criticism of realism in art is the criticism of theorization on the “beauty of Nature” without taking a mystic approach to “nature of beauty.” It means to prevent “truth” from being victimized for the “real” and draw attention to pristine truth of the existence as opposed to reducing the artist’s perspective to lenses which just record the physical and material world.