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Showing 211 results for Oral


Volume 0, Issue 0 (2-2024)
Abstract

In this study, Virtual Reality (VR) was employed in an English course intended to promote oral presentation skills in Iranian academia, and the possible impact of the course on learners’ self-efficacy regarding presenting, Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA), and speaking skills was investigated. Eight participants attended a 6-session course, and practiced academic oral presentation in a virtually simulated environment. Prior to the course, semi-structured interviews were administered; in addition, participants’ weekly reflection notes and self-assessments were gathered throughout the course. Moreover, post-course semi-structured interviews and written follow-up interviews were conducted afterward. The findings revealed that the learners reported higher levels of self-efficacy regarding presenting after the course, due to a perceived improvement in their presenting style, as well as their presentation content and slides. Additionally, the course had contributed to lowering the learners’ FLA due to presence in the Immersive Learning Environment (ILE), ample practice opportunities, and collaborative avatar interactions. Moreover, the learners mentioned that the course had helped them to improve their speaking skills due to academic vocabulary expansion, pronunciation enhancement, fluency upgrade, and grammatical adjustment. The findings can provide insights for language educators with regard to the use of virtual reality for simultaneously fostering language and academic skills, as well as facilitating internationalization in higher education.

Volume 0, Issue 0 (1-2024)
Abstract

Climate change (CC) is one of the major challenges of our time that impacts rangelands regionally and globally. The rising vulnerability among pastoralists highlights the need to prioritize resilience thinking. Pastoralists' resilience refers to the ability of rangeland businesses to endure, adapt to, and remain flexible in the face of threats or challenges. This research was conducted with the primary goal of analyzing the factors that influence resilience from the perspective of pastoralists in Tehran province under CC conditions. This research was both goal-oriented and exploratory in methodology. The study sample consisted of 317 pastoralists selected through stratified random sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Software SmartPLS was used for data analysis. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed using the average variance extracted, while its reliability was established by calculating composite reliability and Cronbach's alpha. Data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique with Smart PLS software. The structural equation modeling indicated that economic, institutional, ecological, physical, social, educational and extensional and individual factors had the greatest impact on Pastoralists' Resilience under Climate Change (PRCC) conditions. These factors explained 75.5% of the PRCC conditions.
 

Volume 0, Issue 0 (1-2024)
Abstract

Traditional farming faces significant challenges to sustainable development due to climate change, water scarcity, and environmental, social, and economic threats. Adopting complementary activities like agritourism can help address these challenges and promote sustainable village development. This study examines farmers' behavioral intentions and willingness to participate in agritourism as a supplementary activity. Data were collected through questionnaires using stratified random sampling with proportional assignment from farmers in five agriculturally diverse villages in Marvdasht County, Fars Province, Iran. The data were analyzed using the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which explained 78.8% of farmers' behavioral intentions and 61.8% of their actual behavior. The results show that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control—traditional TPB constructs—significantly influence farmers' intentions to adopt agritourism. Additionally, self-identity, social capital, environmental values, and the perception of farmer’s risks enhance the predictive power of farmers' behavioral intentions. However, perceived behavioral control did not significantly impact farmers' actual behavior, while their intentions had the strongest positive influence on agritourism adoption. These findings suggest that promoting farmers' attitudes, beliefs, and self-confidence through training and information campaigns can increase their engagement in agritourism. Policymakers should implement cultural programs, incentives, and social networks to enhance agritourism's occupational value and encourage collaboration within the agricultural sector. Furthermore, measures should ensure agritourism aligns with environmental goals and educate farmers about the risks of traditional farming practices. Such efforts can foster sustainable development and strengthen the role of agritourism as a complementary activity to traditional farming.

 

Volume 1, Issue 1 (1-2013)
Abstract

 One of the important subjects in folk literature is to compare an oral version of a text with its written version. In this article, the oral narrations of Bahman saga has been compared to its written version. Among the written texts, Bahman Saga in Shahnameh Ferdowsi, Tarikh-e-Thaalabi (The Thaalabi History) and Bahman-Nameh of Iranshah-ibn Abelkheyr, and among the oral narrations, 16 of them have been chosen. The writer has tried to show the linguistic and narrative differences between the written and oral versions of this saga. This is the first study conducted in this field.
 
 
 

Volume 1, Issue 2 (2-2009)
Abstract

Today’s study of the common effect condition on color revolution in target countries is one of the important issues on political sociology. In this paper, we used the John Stewart Mill’s method for finding the common cause factors. These factors are social movement, civil institutions, political culutres in societies, structures, national and international situation of government and hegemony power inventing. They have an important role in the of achievement color revolution. In this paper, we used new social movement theories, mass public behavioral theories and revolution theories through comparative analysis of the most important factors in color revolution on target countries. Then we compared the same factors in the condition of Iranian society. The results indicated that Iranian society suffers for the following: miss trust, lock of team work behavior, weakness of civil institutions development, incomplete modernization expeperience, and lack of preparedness for accepting the structural changes. Also, due to lack of strong opposition power and other factors, the probability of color revolution in Iran is very weak.

Volume 1, Issue 2 (6-2013)
Abstract

Aims: The oral health is one of the most of public health problems and women with pregnancy have high risk for dental caries and need more attention. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a health education intervention based on the Health Belief Model (HBM) on oral health behavior in pregnant women. Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study carried out on 130 pregnant women selected with random sampling method from health centers in Arak in 2011 (case and control groups each of 65 women). Data collection with questionnaire was based on construct HBM, as well as their knowledge and performance about oral health. The women of the case group participated during the two month of intervention and again two month after، with 2 session meeting classes as the follow up after intervention. The data were collected 3 months after intervention and analyzed. Findings: Our findings indicated that mean scores of HBM Model variables, i.e susceptibility, severity, benefit and barriers perceived, were significantly increased in the case group compared to the controls after intervention. Also, oral health care (before intervention 45 ±9.2, after three months 77±9.7) improved significantly among the case group, compared to the controls (p<0/001). Conclusion: Applying the HBM Model is very effective for developing an educational program for oral health in pregnant women. Besides such programs, follow up education on controlling and monitoring is highly recommended.

Volume 1, Issue 2 (6-2016)
Abstract

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a major public health problem leading to chronic pain and increased years lived with disability This study aimed to assess lifestyle behavioral management in patients with Knee osteoarthritis among Iranian patients up to 6 months.
Methods and Materials: This study conducted at the Rheumatology Research Center of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in Tehran, Iran. In this educational controlled trial study, 130 eligible participants took part in control group (n = 66) and received just prescribed medications, or intervention group (n = 64) who received the lifestyle behavioral management plus medication. The program involved three two-hour and two one-hour group sessions over a one-week period. Data based on demographic characteristics and risky behaviors questionnaire as well as Functional Knee Assessment Test (FKAT) were collected at initial, 3-, and 6-month follow ups and analyzed by using SPSS18.
Results: Of 130 participants, five individuals from intervention and eight individuals from control group were excluded over 6 months. Totally, 117 eligible participants in two groups of intervention (n = 59), and control (n = 58) completed the study. The mean age of participants in intervention and control group at base line was 59. 03 ± 6. 13 and 57. 85 ± 9. 31 years respectively. Despite being the same at initial time (P > 0. 05), Repeated Measure ANOVA test showed Significantly better improved disability in intervention group over time (P < 0. 001). Compared with control group, preventive behaviors were improved significantly in intervention group (P < 0. 05)
Conclusions: This study revealed that the multidisciplinary program could significantly reduce risky behaviors and disability up to six months in intervention group. Thus, due to lack of lifestyle behavioral management in health care system of Iran, to embedding this program into clinical practice for managing knee OA pain is recommended.

Volume 1, Issue 2 (12-2019)
Abstract

Introduction: As one of the oldest and the most dynamic branches of political geography, Electoral geography has experienced ups and downs more than other branches of political geography. The objective ontology of the phenomenon of vote and its spatial distribution have linked this branch to spatial approach so that a large proportion of works in the area of Electoral geography have been written based on this approach. With the fall of positivism, the researches of Electoral geography also decreased. On the other hand, domination of descriptive, case, and applied studies without a robust theoretical and philosophical basis on theoretical and basic writings, is the main deficiency of Electoral geography in International and Iranian level. The aim of the present theoretical-fundamental study was to explain the dominant theoretical approaches in Electoral geography.
Conclusion: The Electoral geography can be explored in five theoretical approaches. The first approach is the traditional approach that deals with the spatial patterns of voting in the form of a regional school and human-environment relations. The second one is a spatial-behavioral approach that examines the voting behavior according to the measurement and analysis of key spatial variables based on the spatial school. The third approach is a radical approach that base on radical geography school deals with the theoretical articulation and revealing mechanisms that form Electoral processes. The fourth approach is a location-based approach that focuses on the impact of geographic-historical context on electoral behavior on the basis of the humanistic geography school and structuration theory. And, the fifth approach is a critical approach that criticizes the current approaches to the study of electoral geography and the presesentation of alternative readerships of electoral geography based on schools such as feminism, post-structuralism, and post-modernism.

Volume 1, Issue 3 (12-2013)
Abstract

Aim: Oral health is one of the most important parts of public health which significantly affects on quality of life. The purpose of this study is to assess the socio-economic statues as well as oral health behaviors among a sample of Iranian students studying in elementary level. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study which was conducted from April 2012 to November 2012. Data obtained from a face-to-face interviews with students studying in elementary schools of Chahbahar, Iran. Considering inclusion criteria, 300 eligible students were selected through a two - stage random cluster sampling. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics using SPSS version 11.5. Finding: Totally 300 students who studying in grade four or five of elementary schools took part in the study. The mean age of subjects was (11± 2.81). Of all students, 11/7% (n = 35) never brush their teeth, 18% (n=54) never floss and 20% (n= 62) never used mouth wash. Furthermore, 94 students (31%) of students had no dental visits regularly. As the results showed, there were significant relationship between lower parents’ educational level (P=0.02), not to access to dental caries services (P=0.04) and lower income (P=0.03) and reasons for not doing oral health behaviour. Conclusion: According the results of this study the students who were in lower socio economic levels, doing less dental healthy behaviors.

Volume 1, Issue 3 (12-2013)
Abstract

Aim: Promotion of oral health in schools is one of the recommended polices of WHO. The aim of this study was to determine the role of Oral Hygiene Beliefs according to the Health Belief Model in regular brushing behavior, among the 9-10 years old female students. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on the female students of Rasht-Iran in 2012. Applying the statistical estimation, the sample population was determined 265 who were selected from 22 schools using systematic sampling method. Nearly 12 students were selected from each school using simple randomized method. Data collection instrument was a questionnaire and the results were analyzed using descriptive methods, and analytical methods including Chi-square, Mann-Whitney U test and Logistic regression. Finding: Among the samples, 17.4% brushed at least twice a day. The logistic regression analysis indicated that perceived severity (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.27- 0.86, P = 0.014), perceived barriers (OR = 1.97, 95% CI = 1.29- 3.02, P = 0.002) and mothers' educational level (OR = 4.78, 95% CI = 1.24- 18.46, P = 0.023) were the significant predicting factors for tooth brushing twice a day or more. There are significant statistical correlations among the perceived severity of loosing good eating and good speaking, and perceived barriers of tiredness, laziness and impatience with desirable behavior. Overall 66.5% agreed with one of the two physical barriers: painful tooth brushing and gums bleeding. Conclusion: Promoting educational level and educational programs for Iranian women are recommended. Planning useful educational interventions for the students of concrete operational stage is required attention to the application of Piaget’s Theory of cognitive development. Educational interventions should focus on items of beliefs named above. At least 70 percent of Iranian people need to learn the correct ways of brushing teeth.

Volume 1, Issue 3 (12-2019)
Abstract

Introduction: Place is the center of geography and identity is the manifestation of culture in place. Regarding the belonging to different places, people have different actions, approaches, and tendencies. As a political event, parliamentary election plays an important role in the representation of voters’ place identities. Affected by its location, Iran, throughout history, has had a wide variety of place identities; parliament election plays a key role in revealing the diversity of identities and, consequently, the diversity of spatial pattern of voting. The present research, which has a descriptive-analytical nature, relies on the hypothesis that place identities, resulted from the diversity of dialect and the feeling of rejection due to the distance dimension, have affected the spatial pattern of voting in the form of heterogeneity of votes, dissipation of votes, and spatial conflicting relationships in Meymand district and Firoozabad constituency. To collect the data, library research method (using books and journals) and field study (questionnaire) were used.
Copnclusion: Spatial conflicts and distances from the central core of the Meymand district led to the heterogeneity of votes, the dissipation of votes, and the dispersion of votes; this spatial pattern of voting is accompanied by reducing the Maymand's influence on the overall results of the constituency.
 

 

Volume 1, Issue 4 (12-2013)
Abstract

Based on the morphology and corallites structures, seventeen species of scleractinian corals in seven families were described from the Chabahar Bay, fourteen species of which are being reported for the first time from this bay. The identified species include  Acropora valida Dana, 1846,  Acropora clathrata Brook, 1891 and  Acropora nausta Dana, 1846 belonging to Acroporidae, Favia matthai Vaughan, 1918, Favites complanata Ehrenberg, 1824, Favites flexusa Dana, 1846, Leptastrea purpurea Dana, 1846, Faviafavus Forskal, 1775 and Cyphastrea microphtalma Lamarck, 1816 belonging to Favidae, Acanthastrea hillae Wells, 1955 and Scolymia australis Milne Edwards and Haime, 1849 belonging to Musidae, Pocillopora damicornis Linnaeus, 1758 belonging to Pocilloporidae, Porites solida Forskal, 1775 and  Porites compressa Dana, 1846 belonging to Poritidae, Coscinaraea wellis Veron & Pichon, 1980 and Pseudosiderastrea tayami Yab and Sugiyama, 1935 belonging to Siderastreidae and Turbinaria peltata Esper, 1794 belonging to Dendrophylliidae, were identified.

Volume 2, Issue 1 (3-2022)
Abstract

While sports are often viewed from a health perspective or with an emphasis on economic aspects, in this article, the author tries to examine the ethical function of sports and show its dimensions. The existence of some common patterns and attitudes towards sports and the dominance of medical or commercial attitudes towards them has prevented attention to the fundamental ethical aspects of sports. While sports, especially aerobic and non-competitive, are tied to moral virtues. With this in mind, the author suggests that non-competitive endurance sports have three moral functions in the long run. First, it leads to self-understanding, self-awareness and self-knowledge, second, it leads to domination of the body, emotions and feelings, and third, it cultivates many moral virtues, including courage, order, tolerance of pain and wisdom.
 

Volume 2, Issue 2 (6-2017)
Abstract

Background: One approach to face with Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) is to perform Relaxation Behavior (RB). The aim of this study was to assess the factors predicting the behaviors of relaxation among the patients with CLBP in Yazd, Iran.
Methods: This descriptive study conducted on 182 patients with CLBP, referring to the pain clinic in Yazd, Iran from October to December 2016. A socio-demographic questionnaire and a 14-item questionnaire regarding RB based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) were used to collect the required data. Data were fed into SPSS software v.23 and AMOS software v. 23 and analyzed using linear regression analysis procedures.
Results: A total of 182 individuals with mean age of 42/18 ± 13/12 years participated in this study. The results showed that attitude towards the behavior was a good predictor of intension to do RB (p < .001). However, subjective norm was not a good predictor of intention to do relaxation behavior (p = .058). This study showed that intention was a good predictor for doing relaxation behavior (p = .042).
Conclusion: Based on the results of this study, the health care providers are recommended to change RB beliefs of the patients suffering from chronic low back pain in order to persuade them to do regular relaxation behaviors to improve their pain.

Volume 2, Issue 3 (9-2014)
Abstract

One of the newest and the most comprehensive models for the behavior change is Information- Motivation- Behavioral skills (IMB) model. It is both simple and economic, and is of proper efficacy in the studies. IMB model as a health behavior change model is based on integration of the theories in social psychology and health education and promotion, emphasizing on information, motivation and behavioral skills as the basic determinants of the health-related behaviors The purpose of this article is to introduce the IMB model and by review of some studies based on this model; suitability of the model for health education and promotion interventions to be discussed. Iranian and foreign studies conducted using this model reveal the model's effectiveness in various health education disciplines. Although the IMB model has restrictions and disadvantages as any other health education and promotion model, IMB model-based interventions' advantages show that it is an applied model for changing health behavior.

Volume 2, Issue 4 (4-2011)
Abstract

The quality of relation between religiosity and electoral behavior as the research main question derives observation of the paradoxical result of some researches about the relation of these two variables. For deeper understanding of the relation between these two variables, the scale of religiosity, and electoral behavior in two levels of voting attitude and voting participation were analyzed. According to the review of the theoretical and experimental literature, two hypotheses were proposed as fallows: increasing in the scale of the religiosity leads to higher voting participation and voting to Osulgarayan, and decreasing in the scale of religiosity leads to lower voting participation and voting to Eslahtalaban. The research method was survey with questionair and three observational questions. The statistical population of the current research was Tarbait Modares University students. Through nonprobability sampling, 376 students were purposefully selected as sample size. Some descriptive statistics and analytical techniques were used (mean, frequency distribution cross tables, T test, linear and logistic regression). According to the findings, the scale of religiosity has a significant effect on electoral behavior (voting attitude and voting participation), such that increasing in the scale of religiosity leads to voting toosulgarayan and increasing in the voting participation, while decreasing in the scale of religiosity leads to voting to Eslahtalaban and decreasing in the voting participation.

Volume 2, Issue 4 (12-2022)
Abstract

In Sadra's philosophy, existence is introduced as good, and levels of existence are also levels of goodness. He in his Ethics believes in intrinsic and rational goodness and ugliness. In this article, we will discuss the relationship between these two parts of Sadra's thought and we will show that Originality of existence can be a rational basis for defending inherent goodness and ugliness. The main claim is that the originality of existence and levels of existence also have normative dimensions. In the following, Sadra's ethics will be compared with the view of his two contemporary philosophers and it will be argued that Sadra's moral system is opposed to Cartesian voluntarism because he defends moral goodness by relying on intellect and does not consider moral rules to be subject to human will. Also, his realistic ethics is different from empirical utilitarianism and because he accepts the relation between existence and goodness, his ethics is a practical obstacle against meaninglessness and nihilism.
 

Volume 2, Issue 4 (12-2022)
Abstract

In his book, Finite and Infinite Goods, The prominent Christian philosopher, Robert Adams, defends a weak version of divine command theory. According to this view, the nature of moral obligations is identical with being commanded by God. His argument for view has two stages. In the first stage he tries to show that the notion of moral obligation is essentially social in its nature. That is, moral obligations are constituted by social notions such as demands or commands of a third party such as a third person or the moral community. In the second stage he argues that this third party cannot be anything but God. In this paper I will try to criticize his argument in its first stage. I will show that his reasons and arguments for the claim that moral obligations have a social nature are inconclusive.

 

Volume 2, Issue 7 (12-2021)
Abstract

Volunteers are an organization's most complete human resource to hold a successful sporting event. Maintaining a volunteer workforce and motivating volunteers to continue their activities is one of the most important tasks of sporting event managers. This study aimed to investigate how volunteers' involvement in the 14th Sports Olympiad for University Students in Iran affected their behavior. For this purpose, 157 volunteers present at the 14th Sports Olympiad for University Students in Iran were randomly selected as the research sample. Researchers collected data using the Zitsmal et al. (1996) Modified Scale of Behavioral Intentions, Doherty's community involvement scale (2009), and Zaichkowsky's Event Involvement Questionnaire (1994). In order to test the hypotheses, structural equation modeling was used. The results showed that the measurement model has appropriate internal consistency, convergent validity and Discriminant validity. It was confirmed that all variables used in the study were accurate. In the structural model results, the index for determining the coefficient of behavioral intentions was 0.44. Showed that social participation and event participation had a moderate and positive correlation with each other (0.40), and community involvement and event involvement, respectively, with path coefficients of 0.45 and 0.34, had an effect on behavioral intentions, so it can be concluded that understanding the psychological and behavioral aspects of volunteers, such as types of involvement, helps sports organizations in attracting volunteers. In this way, they can maximize the willingness of volunteers to involvement in the future.

Volume 3, Issue 1 (3-2015)
Abstract

Aim: Considering the fundamental role of parents' function and family dynamics including the importance role of family communication pattern on preventing early-onset substance use in children, the present study aimed to determine the correlation between family communication pattern and mothers' preventive behavioral intention regarding preventing early-onset substance use in children. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out among 234 Iranian mothers in Tehran who were randomly selected to participate voluntarily in the study. The participants filled out a self-administered questionnaire including I- demographic information; II- family-based behavioral intention regarding preventing early- onset substance use in children; and III- family communication pattern. Data were analyzed by the SPSS software (ver. 21.0) using Pearson's correlations, independent t-test, and ANOVA at 95% significant level. Findings: The results reported a correlation between conversation (r=0.509**& P≥0.001), conformity orientation (r= -0.150*& P=0.022) and behavioral intention; as well as between conversation conformity orientation (r= -0.382*& P≥0.001), and conversation (r=0.218**& P=0.001), conformity orientation (r= -0.105& P=0.108) and age. Conclusion: The findings suggest that to develop a preventive program, it will be useful to increase family communication pattern, specially conversation orientation to prevent the onset of substance use in children.

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