The Most Important Skills an Urban Planner Needs In a Developing Country; The Case of Iran*

Differences in the context of developed vs. developing countries require different kinds of urban planning skills in each group. This paper intends to figure out the most important skills an urban planner should have in a developing country. A total of 341 questionnaires were filled by professionals, instructors, students, and graduates. The result shows that team work, research method and data collection, and technical skills are the most important skills at the undergraduate level, in Iran, while problem definition, analytical skills, and oral presentation are the most important ones at the graduate level. Managerial skills, at neither level, show any significance.     

When parents use drugs: key findings from qualitative research on parenting and children in Iran

This paper reports on the finding of a grounded theory study on drug dependency and parenting in Iran. This study is qualitative in nature; data were obtained through semi‐structured interviews. The grounded theory method was used to guide the analysis. Interviews with 41 opium‐ and heroin‐dependent parents selected from a treatment centre in Rasht, Iran provided detailed information on the impact of drug dependency on parenting. The study focused on drug dependency and parenting and explored the links between them in order to understand the impact of drug dependency on parental duties and responsibilities. The findings showed that parental drug dependency affects various aspects of parenting, including children’s material needs and basic requirements; parent–child relationships; parent–child communication; and the disciplinary strategies of parents. The results showed that children’s material needs and basic requirements may be overshadowed by parents’ drug dependency. It was also discovered that abuse of children by drug‐dependent parents was manifested in three major forms. This study also found that the bonds within families of drug‐dependent parents tended to weaken and that control over children almost disappeared in many cases. Intervention and prevention programmes should be offered to the children of drug‐dependent parents.     

Bounding the total domination subdivision number of a graph in terms of its order

The total domination subdivision number \(\mathrm{sd}_{\gamma _{t}}(G)\) of a graph G is the minimum number of edges that must be subdivided (each edge in G can be subdivided at most once) in order to increase the total domination number. In this paper we prove that \(\mathrm{sd}_{\gamma_{t}}(G)\leq \lfloor\frac{2n}{3}\rfloor\) for any simple connected graph G of order n≥3 other than K ₄. We also determine all simple connected graphs G with \(\mathrm{sd}_{\gamma_{t}}(G)=\lfloor\frac{2n}{3}\rfloor\).     

Towards pluralistic and grassroots national identity: a study of national identity representation by the Kurdish diaspora on social media

ABSTRACT

This study examines the distinctive roles that social media play for the diasporic Kurds in regard to the political and nationhood process. It attempts to understand how the notion of Kurdayeti [Kurdish nationalism] has been affected by the growth of Kurdish social media. It argues: although the Kurdish political activism has been accelerated by the rise of social media and the ethnic identity discussions have become much more visible, the idea of a unified imagined Kurdish nation has been affected by the existing socio-political fragmentations among the Kurds and transformed into a participatory and pluralistic imagined community.     

“I’m Part of This Family”: How Five Care-Giving Partners of Gay Men Story Their Experiences

This study explores how five care-giving partners of gay men with chronic illness “story” their experiences, or how they construct their experiences in narrative form. Participants, all of whom were recruited with the help of local social service agencies, took part in two in-depth semi-structured interviews intended to invoke their stories as care-giving partners of gay men. Narrative analysis was used to conceptualize the respondents’ experiences. Several themes emerged in the study, many of which arguably related to participants’ real or perceived need to negotiate expressions of homophobia and heterosexism in the context of their care-giving narratives.     

How a Divorcee’s Sexual Life Is Socially Constructed and Understood in the Iranian Culture

Sexual well-being is an important factor in postdivorce adjustment and presents various challenges for divorced women in Iran. With an alarming number of marriages ending in divorce in Iran, the postdivorce sexuality adjustment process has become a major concern. Meanings attached to the sexuality of a divorcee necessitate different adjustment and coping strategies among women. How these meanings are generated, negotiated, and modified in Iranian contexts has yet to be explored. We used a grounded theory approach to analyze the extensive, rich data obtained through sustained interaction with the informants as well as through in-depth individual interviews and focus group discussions. “Sociosexual problems” was found to be one of the main domains in our study. Participants experienced a negative impact from divorce on their sexual lives, including sexual interactions. Social isolation and social exclusion resulted from the avoidance of stereotypic interactions and were often a consequence of difficulties with concealment of sexual needs due to stigma. Women discussed a range of negative experiences arising in response to their sexual needs in postdivorce life. The analysis revealed the complexities of gendered postdivorce sexual trajectories. Based on the findings, articulating a sexual health model specific for divorced women seems important.     

The Role of Metacognition in the Development of EFL Learners’ Listening Skill

This study investigated the impact of metacognitive instruction on the listening skill, and metacognitive knowledge of a group of male students (N = 30) who were learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Iran. The study participants spoke Persian as a first language and were high-intermediate EFL learners. The participants received a guided lesson plan in metacognition (planning, monitoring, and evaluation) through a pedagogical cycle approach over a semester (eight weeks). International English Language Testing System listening tests (practice) were used to track the participants’ listening performance. Participants also completed a Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire, which examined their use of metacognitive awareness when engaged in listening tasks. Results indicated that the students improved their listening skill after being taught about metacognition; however, no significant use of metacognitive awareness was reported. This study concludes with a discussion of some potential implications, and provides scope for future research.