مطالب

This study was conducted for designing and explaining the convergence-based financial services marketing model in Tehran Stock Exchange. This study was mixed (qualitative-quantitative), and in the qualitative phase, a group of experts in the field of financial services marketing and senior managers of asset management companies were selected and unstructured interview was done for modelling based on ground theory. In the quantitative phase, customers of asset management companies were considered as the statistical population and 500 statistical samples were selected and questioned by questionnaires and 26 hypotheses derived from the initial model were tested. All hypotheses were confirmed but the effect of risk-taking and history of financial services providers on convergence of trends and indexes were rejected. There was also no relationship between history and requirements. Also, conditions and economic fluctuations governing the society and history of financial services providers did not have a significant effect on adherence to requirements of stock exchange.   Finally, the results led to the design of convergence-based financial services marketing model in Tehran Stock Exchange (based on the structure of the paradigm model). Comparing the model of the present study with previous models in the field of financial services marketing, an important and innovative point is the attention of asset manager companies to convergence in the financial markets, which was identified as one of the effective strategies for promoting perceived value and customer loyalty and its effect was also proved. Paying attention to the concept of convergence and contagion between markets and paying attention to parallel markets to get more returns is a significant factor in attracting financial services customers.

In comparison with similar age groups in the general population, students who are studying in universities are more at risk of having mental health problems. Surprisingly, several studies reveal that international students are highly affected by mental health issues than their local counterparts. Seemingly, it is more related to their decision to study overseas that might present them several challenges, including mental health issues. Malaysian universities host a substantial number of international students but the issue of international students’ mental health lack substantial attention there. The current research applying a mixed method, aims to address the mental health issues of newly registered international students at Universiti Sains Malaysia. In-depth discussion on the study findings’ implications for practice, policy, and research for social work profession will be addressed in this research paper.

This study aims to predict the relationship between organizational solidarity and external image in Iranian technical and vocational training organization with mediating role of response to environment. Research population include employees and stakeholders all of organizations. As such, 224 people from each group were selected as sample through multistage cluster sampling as well as available sampling methods in the southwestern Iranian province of Fars. Research instruments used in this study include a set of questionnaires on organizational solidarity, response to environment and external image which were distributed among samples and collected after calculating their reliability and validity. Results showed that organizational solidarity is the positive and significant predictor of external image and the power of response to environment. In addition, this showed that organizational solidarity with a mediating role of response to environment is a positive and significant predictor of external image.

In this study, the use of speech-like pragmatic markers in Iranian EFL students’ academic writing was investigated. Speech-like pragmatic markers, such as I think, well, I guess, actually, anyway, anyhow, etc. are linguistic components that are more specific to conversation than writing, and writers may wrongly include them in their academic writing. To examine the students’ use of speech-like pragmatic markers when writing an essay, samples of Iranian students’ and English native students’ argumentative essays were analyzed using Contrastive Interlanguage Analysis (CIA). Moreover, the overuse or underuse of such items was compared between English native students and Iranian EFL students. Native English data were collected from the Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (LOCNESS) and non-native English data were gathered from Iranian students’ essays during an academic semester from Islamic Azad University of Najafabad, Islamic Azad University of Abadan and Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz in Iran. Iranian participants were 71 EFL upper-intermediate (based on the Oxford Placement Test) graduate students that were selected randomly from male and female students. A frequency analysis of pragmatic markers indicates significant differences between Iranian students’ and English native students’ use of speech-like pragmatic markers. Quantitative analyses of the non-native corpus data revealed that students apply these spoken components in their argumentative essays, which may adversely affect their text in terms of a correct style and tone. By investigating the results, the language teachers and materials writers are recommended to recognize the features of Iranian English students’ interlanguage and to provide them with planned input about appropriate use of pragmatic markers.