Pegah Roshanshomal; Hasan Saraie; Ardeshir Entezari; Mahmoud Moshfegh
Abstract
In recent years, many family concepts have undergone semantic changes. Since the child is the main focus of the family, parents and women's understanding of this concept will determine many decisions in the field of fertility. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the "meaning of a child" and examine ...
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In recent years, many family concepts have undergone semantic changes. Since the child is the main focus of the family, parents and women's understanding of this concept will determine many decisions in the field of fertility. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the "meaning of a child" and examine women's understanding of this concept. This research describes the actor's understanding of the meaning of a child with a qualitative approach. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with twenty married women with children and without children in Tehran by purposive sampling and analyzed by using Smith's six-step technique. The main theme of the research showed that a child is a dynamic and influential concept. In the emotional view, the themes of "good feeling," "filling the scene of life," and "hardness and sweetness" and in the supportive view, the themes of "generational support," "old age support," and "spiritual support" emerged from the findings. A child is a double-edged sword, which means that it is both an obstacle to growth and a factor for success and growth. Growth and development in the personal and marital sphere is one of the most important meanings of a child. A child is a container for filling emotions, which contributes to the stability and continuity of marriage by injecting good feelings. The findings of this study were able to present a clear picture of the meaning of a child.Keywords: Qualitative Method, Theme Analysis, Meaning, Child, Women, Tehran. IntroductionAs a result of the transition of the family after the Industrial Revolution, the form of families changed from extended to nuclear, and after that, choosing a spouse changed from an unconscious and forced state to a conscious and selective action. Accordingly, the age of marriage and after that the age of having children increased, and the family became more damaged in terms of continuity. Behind all these changes, what is important is the change of the most important function of the family, i.e. reproduction of the generation. In the necessity and importance of the issue, it is enough to pay attention to the age pyramid of the population, which is moving towards old age. What has happened in the field of reproductive behavior and leads the population towards old age is the concern of many thinkers. Therefore, focusing on the child and its meaning, in the first step, is much more important and necessary than establishing positive laws. The changes that have occurred in the field of family and fertility behavior indicate that deeper and more radical changes have occurred in the mind, i.e. the bed of meaning formation, the result of which was determined in practice.Research Question(s)What is the understanding of "child" by women in Tehran?What does a child mean from the point of view of married women?What meaning do the activists attribute to the child?What is the variety of the mental meaning of the activists of the child?Literature ReviewKarimi and Samani's findings showed that Iran has been a child-loving society and infertile people or people who do not have children for any reason are under severe pressure from the society. This causes many newlyweds to try to "be like everyone else" in order to gain social approval (Karimi 2016: 111). The results of Farahani and Kayani's research showed that the meaning of a child has changed over time. The view of today's women has changed compared to the women of previous generations. The change of meaning with the passage of time does not mean a change in the value of the child, because perhaps with the passage of time, not only the value of the child has not decreased, but a rational, perfectionist, and measured look for the decision on the time of childbearing and its number, is indicative of the value and quality of the child. So people tend to prepare the conditions in such a way that they can raise a child with better quality (Farahani 2015: 99). The findings of Hashminiya's research showed that economic components, parents' lost opportunity costs, family income, and employment status are influential in the attitude towards the child and shaping its meaning (Hasheminia 2017: 61).Kagi's research results indicate three different types of credits for children; 1. The economic value and benefit that requires the material participation of children in the family. (In childhood as a labor force and in adolescence and youth as a provider of old age security) 2. Psychological values, including happiness, pride, fun, love, hope, and companionship 3. Social and traditional values referring to the social acceptance of parents (Kagitcibasi: 2015: 374). Deir realized that happiness and personal well-being are among the meanings that parents attach to their children. Children are necessary to maintain the security of the marriage bond and create social security for parents in their old age and to preserve the lineage and name (Dyer 2007: 73). The findings of Rani and Babu's research indicated that economic, social, demographic and psychological factors are mixed with the explanation of the concept of child. In developing countries like India, economic drivers influence fertility behavior. The economic value of children includes their participation in work and creating a sense of security for parents in their old age. If children can be useful to their parents in these two areas, then having many children seems completely rational (Rani 2003).Materials and MethodsThis research, with a qualitative approach, has reconsidered the awareness of the meaning of child among married women with and without children. In choosing the questions to start the interview, along with exploratory interviews, we benefited from the meaning-oriented theories in the sociology of knowledge school, and from the child-oriented theories in the field of demography. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews with 25 married women (with children and without children) in the age range of 30 to 50 years old in Tehran, with targeted sampling and with maximum diversity, and using thematic content analysis (TA), analysis and the final report was prepared.ResultsThe meaning of a child from women's points of view is the result of the interaction of cultural and social contexts in which a person is located at a certain point in time. The meaning of a child from women's points of view is the result of many factors and events. What is considered as meaning is the result of gathering a set of external and internal factors that the actor encounters throughout his life. Considering the mentioned fact and the analysis of available data, the main theme of this research is that: "A child is a conceptual combination of emotional, intellectual, individual and collective fluid elements. This cultural entity gives meaning to a mother's life and plays a significant role in the construction of personal, sexual, and adult identity and the development of activist rationality.ConclusionThere are benefits and losses in every choice made by an active community activist, and no choice is without cost. The fertility behavior of the studied women (having or not having a child) is a kind of selective and conscious action along with rationality, which is formed in the context of child perception. How women see a child in society and what position and meaning they attach to it is the turning point that makes them choose to have or not have a child. In choosing not to have children, the activist experiences both personal growth and a degree of deprivation. On the other hand, having a child can be both a factor of destruction and a factor of growth.
Hassan Saraie; Abolfazl Fathabadi
Abstract
Some of thinkers put an emphasis on the role of tribal Asabiyyah, and some of them emphasize the role of religious Asabiyyah to explain the development of Safavid government and all of them, neglect the process of affinity and synergy of these factors in this respect. Therefore, the article tries to ...
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Some of thinkers put an emphasis on the role of tribal Asabiyyah, and some of them emphasize the role of religious Asabiyyah to explain the development of Safavid government and all of them, neglect the process of affinity and synergy of these factors in this respect. Therefore, the article tries to reveal the process of affinity and synergy of these two factors in the development of the Safavids on the base of Ibn Khaldun’s political theories and with descriptive-analytical study and using of archival research method and studying the related historical texts. Findings show that Shah Ismail, by applying Sufi Walayah, has provided the affinity of tribal Asabiyyah within each tribe, religious Asabiyyah within each tribe and religious Asabiyyah between all tribes and accordingly, was able to create unity and cohesion among several tribes which were under his commands and by using the double power, which has been the product of affinity and synergy of tribal Asabiyyah and religious Asabiyyah, has defeated other contenders and has succeeded in developing the Safavid government. This means, two aspects of Asabiyyah, of course with the precedence of religious Asabiyyah over tribal Asabiyyah, have taken role in the process of the development of this government.
Sociology
Hasan Saraie; Morteza Khoshamadi
Abstract
Each form of religiousness grows at the heart of a “religious society”, and a “religious” society is always to some extent organized. In the “sociology of religion”, the study of social dynamics related to the religious society is defined under the concept of “religious ...
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Each form of religiousness grows at the heart of a “religious society”, and a “religious” society is always to some extent organized. In the “sociology of religion”, the study of social dynamics related to the religious society is defined under the concept of “religious organization”. From long ago, one of the concerns of sociology of religion has been to study and understand the various methods of organization in religious societies. Through an analytical-descriptive study of different approaches and the transformations in this field, the present paper aims to extract “the main criteria” of these typologies. Extracting “the main criteria” would familiarize us with the logic of these typologies, and it shall contribute to presenting alternative, domestic typologies in the framework of Islamic tradition. Therefore, the method of research is documentary, and the main purpose of the study is to understand the fundamental dynamics of the typologies of mystical organizations in theoretical literature. With this purpose in mind, we have examined the available literature through two general approaches: a) a formal approach to the typology of religious organizations; and b) a quantitative approach to the typology of religious organizations. The formal approach is mainly based on Weber’s theories, however, the quantitative approach has been put forth in critique of the formal approach. By studying various typologies and their theoretical principles, we see that the two criteria of a) the extent of organization and b) the extent of tension against the host culture enjoy central importance in the typology of religious organizations.
Sociology
Hasan Nazari; Seyfollah Seyfollahi; Hasan Saraie
Abstract
The present study has been conducted with the aim of offering a sociological examination and explanation of the discourse of political identity in Iran after the revolution. Therefore, the concept of political identity has been the focus of the investigation, and its semantic transformations has first ...
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The present study has been conducted with the aim of offering a sociological examination and explanation of the discourse of political identity in Iran after the revolution. Therefore, the concept of political identity has been the focus of the investigation, and its semantic transformations has first been studied in the macro semantic spectrum of the Islamic Revolution, and then in the two discourses of reformist and conservative parties in the framework of intra and inter-textual analysis according to discourse theory and using critical discourse analysis in six historically important and influential junctures during these years. Subsequently, as a way of extra-textual analysis, the historical, economic, political and cultural context of each period has been examined. Finally, this analysis and explanation have depicted a series of final typologies regarding the topic, mainly being: The desired political identity of the legal positivist liberal subject, the democratic anti-tyranny subject, the religious justice-seeking subject, the revolutionary obligation-centered subject, the populist anti-abuse subject, the moderate, justice-oriented critic subject.
hassan saraei
Abstract
the purpose of this study is to determine how attitude towards education and the decision to continue education can affect first fertility among women who are about to marry in Neishabur. This article is based on a scaling on 415 women of 10 to 39 who are about to marry. These women referred to the Main ...
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the purpose of this study is to determine how attitude towards education and the decision to continue education can affect first fertility among women who are about to marry in Neishabur. This article is based on a scaling on 415 women of 10 to 39 who are about to marry. These women referred to the Main Clinic in Neishabur to give premarital tests in October and November 2013 for their first marriage. The tool used to gather information is a questionnaire. The dependant variable is the decision to postpone fertility since marriage, and the independent variables are the attitude towards education and continuing education, and the confounding variables are and some demographics variables.Results: women's attitude towards education and their decision to continue education after getting married has high significance on the intention to postpone fertility since getting married to the first fertility. It can be considered in planning. Positive attitude towards education and the decision to continue education after getting married in spite of the low age of marriage in the case studied have a great impact on fertility behavior by postponing the first fertility. That is to say the interference in women's education and their fertility is usually responded by spacing between marriage and the first fertility. This response has a direct impact on the fertility amount and fertility behavior in the society studied. Therefore, population policies can be more effective by planning to adapt the motherhood role with continuing education after getting married.
Hasan Saraei
Abstract
The aim of this study was to distinguish conditions and factors of low fertility in Iran and to suggest direct paths along which policies with regard to fertility could be adopted and implemented. First, we observed that current state of Iran’s population is exceptionally favorite for development ...
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The aim of this study was to distinguish conditions and factors of low fertility in Iran and to suggest direct paths along which policies with regard to fertility could be adopted and implemented. First, we observed that current state of Iran’s population is exceptionally favorite for development and consequently for the youth employment and marriage. In fact, correct and on time utilization of the available opportunities provided by current state of population transition not only makes conditions conductive for increased level of fertility in Iran, it also enhances effectiveness of factors upon which direct paths to increased fertility are founded. Second, direct paths to increased fertility were inferred from a theoretical model in which current level of fertility considered to be a function of intended parity (IP) and it’s six adjusting factors. Excluding two robust and less effective factor (gender preference and replacement effect ), remaining factors , based on adopted theoretical approach and with regard to their inferred policy orientation, classified as (1) consistent (sub/infecundity and tempo effect ) and (2) potentially consistent or non-consistent(competition and unwanted fertility) with women’s wants an desires . Then, potential of each factor and the prospect of it’s corresponding path to increased fertility was studied and evaluated.
Ismaeel Alizad; Hasan Saraei
