مطالب

Objective: This study aimed to explore the individual, relational, and contextual factors that shape how parents respond to their children’s negative emotions. Methods and Materials: A qualitative design was employed to capture the lived experiences of parents in managing children’s emotional challenges. Twenty-two parents from Chile participated in semi-structured interviews, focusing on their perceptions, attitudes, and practices when responding to children’s negative emotions such as sadness, anger, and frustration. Participants were recruited through community centers and parenting networks, ensuring diversity in socio-demographic backgrounds. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using thematic analysis with the support of NVivo 14 software. Data collection continued until theoretical saturation was reached. Trustworthiness was ensured through peer debriefing, reflexive memos, and constant comparison during coding. Findings: Analysis revealed four overarching themes. (1) Emotional awareness and regulation in parents highlighted recognition of children’s emotions, self-regulation strategies, empathy, cultural norms in emotional expression, and awareness of emotional contagion. (2) Parenting beliefs and attitudes encompassed views on discipline, developmental understanding, attitudes toward emotional expression, emotion-coaching roles, intergenerational patterns, and moral or religious values. (3) Contextual and social influences included family environment, societal expectations, work–life balance, socioeconomic challenges, peer and social networks, and media exposure. (4) Coping strategies in responding to children’s negative emotions featured immediate reactions, long-term approaches, distraction and redirection, seeking external support, and communication techniques. Illustrative quotations underscored the variability and complexity of parental practices. Conclusion: The findings suggest that parents’ responses to children’s negative emotions are multifaceted, shaped not only by individual self-regulation and beliefs but also by cultural expectations, social contexts, and available coping resources. These insights underscore the need for interventions that support parental emotional awareness, resilience, and communication skills, while addressing contextual stressors to promote more adaptive emotion socialization.

Objective: This study aimed to design and validate a structural model of marital satisfaction based on the components of systemic–spiritual couple therapy, with the mediating role of the family power structure. Methods and Materials: The research adopted a descriptive–correlational design with an applied objective. The statistical population included all couples in Isfahan who had been married for at least five years. Using convenience sampling, 384 participants (192 couples) were selected from counseling centers. Participants completed the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire, the Family Power Structure Questionnaire, and the Systemic–Spiritual Couple Therapy Scale. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, multiple regression, and structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS software. Findings: Results showed that systemic–spiritual couple therapy had a significant positive effect on marital satisfaction (β = 0.54, p < 0.001) and on the family power structure (β = 0.61, p < 0.001). The family power structure also significantly predicted marital satisfaction (β = 0.24, p < 0.01), confirming its mediating role. The overall model demonstrated good fit indices, supporting the hypothesized relationships among variables. Regression analysis also revealed that the components of systemic–spiritual couple therapy and family power structure together explained 25% of the variance in marital satisfaction (R² = 0.25, F = 66.51, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The findings support the effectiveness of systemic–spiritual couple therapy in enhancing marital satisfaction, both directly and indirectly through improvements in family power dynamics. The proposed model underscores the importance of integrating spiritual and systemic interventions with structural family variables to improve relationship outcomes.

In the digital economy era, the widespread use of smartphones has brought about new information security threats, increasing the risk of data leakage from personal devices. Digital literacy, defined as the skills and knowledge needed to navigate digital life effectively, offers new perspectives and motivation for safeguarding personal information security. This study investigates the relationship between digital literacy and smartphone users’ intention to protect their information security. Drawing on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and Technology Threat Avoidance Theory (TTAT), a theoretical model was developed to examine both the direct and indirect effects of digital literacy on users’ information security protection intentions. Questionnaire data from 372 smartphone users in China were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The results reveal that digital literacy has a significant positive impact on users’ response efficacy, self-efficacy, and their intention to protect information security. Moreover, digital literacy influences protection intention indirectly through self-efficacy and response efficacy. However, perceived threat, although positively influenced by digital literacy, does not have a significant effect on users’ protection intention. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and businesses in promoting a secure mobile environment and provides practical recommendations for enhancing personal information security in the digital age.

The excess volatility puzzle refers to the observation of returns that cannot be explained only by fundamentals, and this research attempts to explain such volatilities using the concept of endogenous jumps and modelling them based on the generalized Langevin equation. Based on stylized facts, price behaviour in financial markets is not simply a continuous process, but rather jumps are observed in asset prices that may be exogenous or endogenous. It is claimed that the source of exogenous jumps is news, and the source of endogenous jumps is internal interactions between the agents. The goal is to extract these endogenous jumps as a function of the state variable and time. For this purpose, the generalized Langevin equation is introduced and it is shown that the parameters of this model can be extracted based on the Kramers-Moyal coefficients. The results of self-consistency tests to evaluate the accuracy of the Kramers-Moyal method in extracting the generalized Langevin equation show that this method has good accuracy. In a practical application of the aforementioned method, Ethereum cryptocurrency price data was used between October 2017 and February 2024 with a sampling rate of one minute. By simulating the extracted dynamics, the probability distribution of the first time passage of this cryptocurrency from a specific level was calculated, and an examination of the price behavior of this asset shows that the aforementioned distribution was extracted with good accuracy. The potential function, which is calculated from the first KM coefficient, will be a quadratic parabola for the studied process, and as a result, we have a stable equilibrium at the zero point. Also using the extracted dynamics we show that this model has good out-of-sample prediction ability.

While there are varying perspectives on the bases of reflective practice within the teaching context, there is a broad consensus that reflection is fundamental to building a teacher's professional identity and improving their development. This study sought to investigate the perceptions of EFL teachers of reflective skills of Iranian effective teachers. To this end, a grounded theory design was used. Participants consisted of 30 conveniently selected female intermediate EFL learners from a language institute in Mashhad. For data collection, semi-structured interview and written reflective journal were used. Data analysis was done through manual thematic analysis via open, axial and selective coding. The results showed the following perceptions of EFL teachers of reflective skills of Iranian EFL effective teachers: 1. Behaving in a socially acceptable manner; 2. Being able to motivate students; 3. Managing classroom; 4. Attending to students' diversity of needs; 5. Planning appropriate teaching and evaluation methods and strategies; etc. Moreover, according to the results, the least important reflective skills of Iranian EFL effective teachers were attending to students' diversity of needs, and being able to motivate students. In addition, the most important reflective skills of Iranian EFL effective teachers were evaluating one's own teaching, making appropriate modifications in one's own teaching, thinking skillfully, planning appropriate teaching and evaluation methods and strategies, and managing classroom. The results have some implications for policymakers, teacher educators, authorities in charge of recruiting teachers.

This study investigates EFL teachers’ perceptions of ChatGPT as a tool for English language instruction, focusing on its perceived benefits, challenges, and pedagogical implications. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with ten EFL teachers currently working in different language-related educational centers in Iran. Participants represented diverse educational contexts, including universities, public schools, and private language centers. Thematic analysis of the interview data revealed that while teachers generally expressed positive attitudes toward ChatGPT, recognizing its flexibility, time-saving capabilities, and potential to enhance students’ writing skills and learner autonomy, they also voiced concerns regarding overreliance, inaccuracies, ethical challenges related to academic dishonesty, and limitations in supporting listening and speaking skills. The findings suggest that ChatGPT is viewed as a supplementary educational tool rather than a replacement for traditional pedagogy. Teachers emphasized the necessity of critical supervision, ethical guidelines, and professional development to ensure effective and responsible integration of AI technologies in EFL instruction. This study contributes to the growing body of research on AI integration in education, offering practical insights for teachers, policymakers, and researchers seeking to harness the potential of AI in language learning while mitigating its challenges.

Academic writing has emerged as a central area of inquiry among researchers specializing in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing. Utilizing a mixed-methods research design, the current study aimed to explore the mediatory role of digital literacy in the writing improvement of EAP learners in a ChatGPT-supported writing course. Following the administration of the Oxford Placement Test (OPT) and digital literacy questionnaire, a cohort of 100 upper-intermediate learners from a non-profit university in Mazandaran, Iran was randomly selected. The participants were then split into two experimental groups (high vs. low digital literacy) and two control groups (high vs. low digital literacy), with each group consisting of 25 participants. The experimental groups received writing instruction that incorporated ChatGPT, while the control groups were taught implementing traditional pedagogical methods devoid of ChatGPT. Data were gathered through pre- and post-writing assessments along with semi-structured interviews. Results from the pre- and post-tests indicated that the experimental groups with either high or low digital literacy exhibited significantly superior academic writing outcomes compared to the control groups. However, no notable disparity was evidenced between the two experimental groups. Analysis of the interviews revealed that ChatGPT contributed greatly to their writing accuracy and fluency, while creating several challenges namely the generation of inappropriate responses and limited access. On implication side, suggestions are offered for prospective EAP students, teachers, teacher educators, and syllabus designers along with a sketch of possible avenues for further exploration.