The paper offers a distinctive reading of Popper’s work, suggesting that his Logic of Scientific Discovery (LScD) might be re-interpreted in the light of his Open Society. Indeed, Popper can be interpreted as criticising certain aspects of his first book, and as a result improving upon them, in his second. It suggests translating what Popper says about ‘conventions’ into his later vocabulary of ‘social institutions’. Looking back, I believe that Popper never intended the language of conventions and decisions to be read individualistically. I remain unsure whether Popper was himself quite as clear about this as he could have been.  My reading makes Popper a pioneer in the sociology of science. Scientific institutions are arenas of Political power; but Popper did not discuss the structure and inter-relations of the social institutions of science, or offer a politics of science in the context of his methodology. What is missing from the skeletal sociology of LScD is the politics. We could put it in Popperian terms this way: scientific institutions are both open and closed. They are closed, firmly, to the inexpert, to the non-members; supposedly they are open to the qualified, provided the prerogatives of seniority and leadership are acknowledged. Despite these shortcomings, Popper’s critical and rational approach and his insistence on openness and intellectual honesty are still important today.

Background: Vascular access (VA) is a prerequisite for initiation of hemodialysis (HD) in patients with end- stage renal disease (ESRD). Frequency and potency of V A types are varibus in different societies. We have done this study to achieve this goal. Materials and Methods: This descriptive retrospective study was performed over two months (august and September 2003) iq four HD centers in Isfahan, Iran. All of the patients who were treated with HD for more than 1 month were studied for the number, type of V A and some demographic factors. The questionnaires were completed at the patient"s bedside. Results: There were 320 patients. (199 male and 121 female). Mean age was 50.64± years. Among 412 permanent VAs which were created in the duration of HD, only 4 and 7 of them were graft and dual _ lumen cuffed catheters, respectively. All of the others were arterio venous fistula (AVF).The mean number of created permanent VAs in females was more than males. It was increased by some factors such as increasing the duration of HD, increasing the interval between creating permanent VA and initiation of HD. Although the latest was not statistically significant. 1 Year, 2-year, 3-year and 5- year survival of AVF was 80%, 78%, 73% and 69%, respectively. Primary failure of AVF was. 13%. Conclusion: Regarding the statistics of other centers, survival of AVF was low in Isfahan. The prevalence of grafts & dual - lumen cuffed catheters is lower than other countries. The majority of our patients use AVF as a VA. The earlier the patient is encouraged to create a permanent VA before initiation of HD, the AVF survival is higher.

Our analysis of Popper’s philosophy of science focuses on his concepts of tradition and situational analysis. These concepts represent innovative Popperian contributions to a historical and hermeneutical turn in philosophy of science that most of his critics, especially Kuhn, fail to recognize. According to his historical view, Popper conceives sciences as a complex of traditions in continuous transformation and progress by means of rational discussion of theories. In order to grasp the rational progress of scientific traditions, Popper proposes an original method that he calls “situational analysis”. This hermeneutical method seeks to understand the concepts, hypotheses, actions, practices, controversies and products that scientists made to solve problems in their specific historical contexts to improve the truth content of theories. In addition to his historical and hermeneutical turn, Popper also inquired about the social and Political conditions for the progress of scientific traditions by means of intersubjective criticism of theories and conjectures. According to him, the rational discussion of ideas requires, as necessary conditions, plurality of ideas, intellectual humility, and freedom of thought and communication that can only exist in an open and democratic society. With these considerations, we may say that in addition to a historical and hermeneutical turn, Popper also contributed to a social and Political turn in the philosophy of science

The primary objective of this article is to elucidate that a comprehensive understanding of Greek Political thought necessitates an examination of its origins in Ancient Greece. Traditional scholarship in Greek Political thought has typically assumed that it originated concurrently with philosophy and the establishment of the polis. In this research, drawing upon the visions of Eric Voegelin and Leo Strauss, we endeavor to establish a refined definition of Political thought while challenging the aforementioned conventional assumption. It is argued that Political reflection remains intimately intertwined with the theological-mythological beginning of thought in Greece. This theological-mythological mode of thinking initially found expression in the works of Homer and Hesiod, with these poets serving as the foremost intellectual authorities and initial educators of the Greeks. The Greeks, in their self-perception, viewed themselves through a lens of religion and in the mirror of gods and divine forces. Consequently, any exploration into Greek Political thought must acknowledge the works of these poets as the seminal intellectual foundations of Greek thought. It is imperative to recognize that Political thought in Ancient Greece did not commence with philosophy or the emergence of the polis, but rather with poetry and a distinct form of religious-mythical experience, namely theologia-muthologia.

Purpose: The flourishing of Political parties and currents is one of the signs of the degree of development in societies. In contemporary Iran and since the formation of the constitutional movement, Political currents have gone through many ups and downs and it can be said that Political currents in Iran after the Islamic Revolution have not yet reached the stage of institutionalization and stability. A characteristic feature of Political currents in Iran is the divergence and division among Political currents in recent decades, and this can be one of the reasons for the instability and cross-sectional and seasonal activity of Political parties in Iran. Therefore, the necessity of leading research seeks to answer the question of how factors and divergence among Political currents in Iran after the victory of the Islamic Revolution can be analyzed? And what are the scenarios for the advancement of Political currents in Iran?Method: To answer this question, the method of causal-layer analysis, which is one of the qualitative methods in futures research, has been used.Findings: The research findings indicate that this divergence is due to a wide range of reasons from the level of causal systems (from the institutionalization of power to the formation of parties as elitist initiatives), worldview and discourse (from charismatic Political authority to culture). Subsidiary-follower politics to myth-metaphor (Iranian individualism to belief in a strong state-weak society) can be analyzed.Conclusions: Three scenarios for the future of Iranian Political currents can be considered: integration of currents as the security valve of the Political system, the collapse of Political currents in the traditional form, integration and consolidation in new social movements (virtualized parties).

In this paper, I address the issue of the possible applicability of the ideas of Karl R. Popper’s social and Political philosophy in the contemporary Political life of postcolonial countries. Through reference to the reception of Popper’s philosophy in Central and Eastern Europe, I argue that Popper’s writings were effective in catalysing the Political wholesale transformation by undermining Marxists’ pretensions to scientific status rather than through his anti-utopian and anti-revolutionary Political recommendations. In the context of attempts to apply Popper’s ideas in postcolonial countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, I claim that the influence of Popper’s social thought on the politics of those countries may not be as effective as expected or desired.

There exists in the literature of Political sociology a paradoxical relationship between corruption and Political stability. Some researchers believe that corruption tends to create Political instability; others claim that corrupt governors buy their opponents in a manner conforming to the rule of Political corruption. This article adopts the conservative approach; one that claims corruption tends to create Political instability. Moreover, the authors here add the effect of income inequality to such a relationship and claim that income inequality can regulate this relation to the effect that it as a mediator can accentuate the impact of control of Political corruption on Political stability. The authors' claim is tested by the data gathered by some international institutions for 208 countries in the period of 1996-2009. Results support the authors claim about the effect of control of Political corruption on Political stability. Yet as to the regulatory effect of income inequality on this relationship, results show a week influence in total. Such results are indicative that only in Asian countries this effect is significant.