مطالب

Research findings reported to date indicate that carefully planning speech while performing a task increases second language (L2) learners’ attention to formal aspects of their discourse. The evidence, however, is mostly based on performance analysis with respect to the linguistic measures of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. To enhance the psycholinguistic validity of current findings, the present research adopted a process-product approach to analyze L2 learners’ performance and attention shift as indicated by the occurrence of pauses in their speech. The study involved thirty Iranian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) who were divided into two groups of fifteen. Whereas participants in the first group were given unlimited time to carefully plan while performing a narrative task, their counterparts in the other group completed the same task under time constraint. Following participants’ performance, both performance analysis and retrospective interviews were conducted to collect their protocol data. The results revealed that carefully planned speech is characterized by increased complexity and accuracy and reduced fluency stemming from attention being primarily focused on syntactic encoding, lexical choice, and phonology instead of conceptualizing the message. The outcomes are discussed in light of their theoretical and pedagogical implications.

Allusions in literary texts are among the elements which can cause intercultural misunderstanding. In this study, the translation of the  allusions of two narrative poems selected from Nizami’s The seven Images (Haft Gonbad) were studied. To this end, the frequent types of implicit allusions were extracted from the poems: The Black Dome and The White Dome . Next, the original text was compared with its English translations to identify whether these allusive meanings were found and transferred in their translations. To achieve this goal, Leppihalm’s (1997) model of translation strategies for key-phrase (KP) allusions was employed. The findings indicated that the most frequent strategy selected by the translators is literal translation. Rendering the poems into English literally, the translators ignored the implicit meanings underlying the allusions. The findings can have implications for translating literary texts.

INTRODUCTION: At the time of natural disasters, various organizations are responsible for crisis management. Each organization holds responsibilities corresponding to its mission statement. The absence of coordination is one of the primary obstacles regarding crisis management at the time of the disaster, caused by inconsistent decisions and a lack of mutual perception of the crisis. The more compatible the strategy selection process of organizations is, the fewer natural disaster casualties will be. METHODS: This study aims to strategically analyze the crisis management of April 2019 Golestan floods through the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) method, highlighting the role and performance of the Red Crescent Society. The selected tool was a descriptive-analytic field-based documentation survey questionnaire providing the chance to investigate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Finally, we determined the optimal strategy. FINDINGS: The results revealed that the average values of internal and external factors for all units were above 2.5. Therefore, SO is the optimal strategy whose emphasis is on using the strengths and opportunities faced by the Red Crescent Society to the fullest and other flood management bodies. CONCLUSION: Considering that the crisis-management-related agencies ought to operate as a unified system to decrease casualties, the need to adopt proper strategies to enhance coordination in associated organizations is one of the leading priorities of Golestan Province.

INTRODUCTION: In recent years, the community-oriented approach has been proposed as one of the approaches used in crisis management. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the factors affecting community-oriented crisis management in Iran. METHODS: Initially, the subject of the study was defined and initial exploratory and library studies were conducted. Subsequently, the relevant factors and components were identified through the Delphi method and a researcher-made questionnaire and were then provided to the experts to give their opinions. These factors and components underwent analysis by statistical methods after that the qualitative and quantitative corrective opinions of the experts were received. Finally, the experts' consensus was reached regarding the appropriateness of the model, components, and the combination of factors. The study population in this section consisted of 28 academics and professionals familiar with the subject selected using a judgmental sampling method. Subsequently, to test the model, a researcher-made questionnaire was distributed among 353 selected individuals of the local community of South Khorasan Province, Iran, who were selected by random clustering method. The collected data in this section were analyzed in Smart PLS software (version 3) using confirmatory factor analysis. FINDINGS: The research findings included the validation of the model through the Delphi method and the test of the final model through confirmatory factor analysis. CONCLUSION: The results showed that four categories of preventive, preparatory, confronting, and reconstructive factors were effective on community-oriented crisis management, among which, preparatory factors with an impact factor of 33.5 had the greatest impact on community-oriented crisis management.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to investigate the impact of transformational leadership and organizational climate on the organizational self-esteem of the Mashhad Fire Department. METHODS: The present applied research is a descriptive survey. The statistical population of this study consists of all 210 firefighters in Mashhad fire headquarters. The sample size was calculated according to Morgan's table comprising 132 individuals selected through simple random sampling. Data collection was accomplished through three questionnaires: Bass and Avolio's (2000) Transformational Leadership Questionnaire (TLQ), Sussman and Deep's (1989) Organizational Climate Questionnaire, and Pierce et al.'s (1989) Organizational-Based Self-Esteem Questionnaire, whose validity and reliability were confirmed. The collected statistical data were analyzed within SPSS and Smart PLS software. FINDINGS: Data analysis confirmed all research hypotheses. Transformational leadership has a direct impact on organizational self-esteem with a path coefficient of 0.62. The organizational climate has a direct impact on organizational self-esteem with a path coefficient of 0.63. Components of transformational leadership including idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration affect organizational self-esteem. Components of organizational climate including clarity of and agreement on organizational goals, clarity of and agreement on role, satisfaction with rewards, satisfaction with and agreement on procedures, and effectiveness of relations affect organizational self-esteem. CONCLUSION: Managing directors ought to reinforce employees' self-esteem to improve the performance of employees and boost productivity in the organization. In this regard, they must exercise an appropriate style in dealing with employees, which is the transformational leadership style. Moreover, a decent organizational climate should be created to build and boost self-esteem in employees and consequently enrich their performance towards fulfilling organizational goals.

INTRODUCTION: Nowadays, paying attention to the significance of football stadiums as important urban facilities and applying the principles of passive defense in them are among critical areas in the field of urban management. Given that, the primary goal of the present research is to investigate the pathology of football stadiums with an emphasis on passive defense. METHODS: The present study is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of the research approach. Data collection was accomplished through documentary and field studies. In the documentary domain, information and data were gathered from the website of sports complexes, publications, and brochures. Regarding the field domain, spatial data related to the city of Mashhad were collected from the database and field studies in the form of observations and interviews with stadium officials. The target stadiums in the present study are Takhti and Imam Reza stadiums, which were studied based on two main criteria of design and location selection based on the principles of passive defense. After specifying the indicators, Arc GIS software was used to perform data analysis and spatial analysis operations. FINDINGS: The research findings indicate that the most significant weaknesses of Takhti Stadium are the lack of access to first and secondary arterial roads, the presence of intersections and heavy traffic near the stadium, inadequate open space and parking lots, and lack of automatic fire suppression systems. The drawbacks of Imam Reza Stadium include the absence of shelter, no access to the subway stations, no direct access to primary arterial roads, and the absence of entrance and exit passageways in the stadium. CONCLUSION: The results indicate the fact that paying attention to the indicators and criteria of passive defense can extensively conserve and maintain sports facilities at times of crisis.

INTRODUCTION: The efficiency and development of any organization largely depend on the proper use of human resources. In today's organizations, to reduce organizational silence, employees express their ideas and share their views to increase organizational efficiency. This study was conducted to qualitatively explain the cultural and environmental factors that reduce organizational silence in government organizations. METHODS: This applied study was conducted based on a descriptive-analytical approach and implemented through the field research method. The samples (n=18) were selected among senior managers of government organizations using purposive sampling and the sample size required amount was based on theoretical saturation criterion. The required data were collected through holding interviews and they were analyzed using the grounded theory method. FINDINGS: The results showed that the four selective codes of "progress", "appropriate cultural background", "lack of proper attribution" and "increasing culture in the field of teamwork" could explain the concept of organizational silence. CONCLUSION: According to the results, the roots of the formation of this destructive and inhibitory organizational phenomenon are lied in the context of social, cultural, and political interactions, identified under the influence of "environmental and cultural factors", and started via social learning. These environmental and cultural factors can be programmed and corrected to guide and control organizational silence and direct the constructive voice of the organization.