۱.
Though personality factors and language learning strategies have been extensively examined over the last three decades, we have witnessed a dearth of studies zooming in on these issues from a cultural perspective within the Iranian context. Additionally, few studies have investigated whether personality factors can predict the choice of language learning strategies in an Iranian EFL context. In response to these shortcomings, a group of Iranian EFL learners were administered Big Five Factors Inventory (Goldberg 1993), Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (Oxford 1990) and Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory (Mokhtari & Reichard 2002). It was found that the Iranian EFL learners could highly or moderately used the language learning strategies. It was also found that personality factors could predict the use of some language learning strategies in the cultural context of Iran. It was concluded that cultural norms could modulate some aspects of personality and language learning strategies and consequently some aspects of personality could predict the choice of particular language learning strategies. An awareness of learners’ personality factors and the way they shape the language learning strategies can contribute to successful language learning and optimally help teachers devise appropriate teaching techniques.
۲.
In this article, a contrastive analysis of reformists and fundamentalists’ press texts, related to nuclear talks has been performed in specific periods of time, before and after the last round of nuclear talks between Islamic Republic of Iran and the 5+1 group, especially the United States’ related texts in Iran’s Persian newspapers as representatives of the two opposite discourses, from the perspective of the Critical Discourse Analysis approach by using socio-semantic features of Van Leeuwen’s model (2008). This study goes beyond the structural description of the discourse practices and examines the ways through which a system and structure make possible a special type of action. To do so, discursive texts of the two Iranian Persian publications belonging to two rival groups: E’temad as the representative of reformists and Keyhan, the fundamentalists’ representative, have been analyzed, both qualitatively and quantitatively. In response to the research questions (How is the linguistic realization of the discursive structures performed in the given texts? And are Socio-Semantic features determined by power relations?)The result shows that the opposite ideologies dominating the minds of journalists of the two political groups are reflected in the texts and statistical analysis of the corpus also states that the Socio-Semantic features are determined by different ideologies, related to power relations. In other words, language and discourse at underlying levels are laden with ideology, power relations and dominance, and at surface levels, with discursive features and structures.
۳.
Archaeologists define the Proto-Elamite phenomenon by the appearance of Proto-Elamite writing, the first form of local writing in Iran on tablets in many cases together with specific types of other management tools and pottery, over a vast geographical territory across the Iranian plateau. Different explanations have been offered to account for this spread and the shift from a Mesopotamian-oriented culture during the earlier period (Late Uruk) to a predominantly Iranian-oriented culture during the late fourth and early third millennium BCE. However, up to now, most of these explanations have been concentrated on the recovered material culture from Fars in the southern part of the plateau and Khuzestan in the southwest. New discoveries from sites on the northern fringes of the plateau depict a fresh and more complete picture of this enigmatic phenomenon. The new excavations and surveys conducted in the settlements that contain the material culture of this horizon have significantly added to our knowledge about the formation and spreading processes of this horizon. Cultural material recently recovered from these sites have extended the Proto-Elamite territory even further, have changed our understanding of the relationships among them and the potential ways this cultural horizon was shaped and diffused. In this paper, we present some of the newly discovered evidence from these sites including but not limited to: Sofalin, Shoghali, Ozbaki, Gholi Darvish and compare them with our older understanding of the presence of this cultural horizon in the center and northern parts of the Iranian plateau.
۴.
The royal institution in ancient Iran involved implications such as race, splendor, and personality. Ahura Mazda brokerage, construction and development, border protection, justice, and religiosity were the functions of royal institution and developed according to the requirements of the time. However, with the arrival of Islam, the royal institution was initially rejected and discouraged; but after a while, it prevailed on the Arab tribal teachings and became the supreme prototype of governance pattern. Investigation of Iranian rulers after Islam and even during Arab caliphs on whether or not the requirements of the royal institution were responsible for its functions (referred to the duties of caliph or Islamic rulers) indicates the importance of these elements in that period. In some texts of the Islamic period including the letter of Tahir to his son Abdullah, we can find the reflection of the aforementioned royal functions; but due to a change in some of the requirements and functions, the book Siyâsat-Nàma of Nizam al-Mulk is the first text of the Islamic period that has focused on them fully and comprehensively. With emphasis on the central role of the king and the royal institution functions, Nizam al-Mulk tried to change the Seljuk tribal government into the one with Iranian governance pattern. Taking into account an analytical approach, this paper tries to investigate the functions and requirements of the royal institution that is the center of Iranian governance pattern in Siyâsat-Nàma and effort of Nizam al-Mulk for changing Seljuk tribe's attitude.
۵.
Philip Larkin in his two poems ‘Church Going’ and ‘The Whitsun Weddings’ moves away from doubt to certainty as regards the function of the two social institutions of church and marriage. This is a shift away from doubt in the functionality of these two institutions to certainty of their functionality and usefulness for society. These poems are the poems of thought in which he starts off by looking doubtfully at church and marriage so much so that when one reads the poems one thinks that Larkin is a disbeliever but gradually Larkin confirms church and marriage as great institutions. The shift in pronoun from ‘I’ to ‘we’ and ‘my’ to ‘our’ at the end of these two poems endorses his shift from individualism to socialism and makes the poems humanist poems.
۶.
The artifacts belonging to the Mannaean culture that are preserved in major museums worldwide display symbolic images indicating hidden values and meanings derived from their common beliefs and traditions. An analytical study of the reminiscence of the symbols used in these objects reveal the influence of religion and ritual traditions in Mannaean societies and their deep relations with the Neo-Assyrian culture. In this research, by examining and analyzing the most prominent symbolic images such as the sacred tree, winged gods, mythological creatures, Ishtar goddess on golden plaque, earthenware, ivory plaques and other objects found in Ziwiye, Hasanlu and Qalaichitepes as well as ivory objects with pictures of battle scenes, chariot riding and formal ceremonies found at Mannaean sites, we try to take a closer look at the impact of the Neo- Assyrian art on the Mannaean art and culture.
