مطالب

It is argued in this paper that the non-formation or non-growth of democracy in the Middle East is related to geopolitical centrality. The network analysis of Iran and Saudi Arabia in terms of geopolitical centrality indicates that the high geopolitical centrality of these two countries in the existing geopolitical sub-networks at this region is one of the important barriers against realization and promotion of democracy. In Iran before 1979 Revolution, its high centrality under geopolitical sub-networks of security and the west and also after the 1979 Revolution, its high centrality in several ideological sub-networks have made slower Liberal democratic growth in this region.in contrast In Saudi Arabia, high centrality of this country since 1980s   in ideological sub-networks and its role in geopolitical sub-networks of  west and security  on three past decades has hindered formation of Liberal democracy in this country..

Teacher training programs in Iran have undergone extensive investigations and modifications since the establishment of educational institutions. This interest in teacher education has emerged from the innovative approaches to teaching suggested by the trends and findings of the time. Regarding the importance of curriculum evaluation in the EFL teacher education, this study mainly focused on the adequacy and effectiveness of the latest EFL pre-service teacher education curriculum through the eyes of the key stakeholders. Both quantitative and qualitative data were used in the study. The participants of the study were 227 teachers, teacher educators, and senior student teachers. The data were gathered through a 35-item Likert scale questionnaire on the curriculum courses with stated objectives for each course and semi-structured interviews. The findings revealed that the latest curriculum was adequately laid out and positively evaluated by the participants in terms of pedagogic and linguistic competence although there were some shortcomings and slight differences in the participants' perceptions. There were some slight perceptual differences among the participants. The findings of this study may provide some helpful suggestions for promoting the latest EFL pre-service teacher education curriculum.

Background: Conflicts of interest and the resulting ethical dilemmas play a decisive role in the unethical behavior of independent auditors. The main objectives of this study are to identify different situations of conflict of interest of independent auditors and the resulting ethical dilemmas and also to find strategies for managing and controlling each of these situations. Method: In this paper, the exploratory approach of the mixed research method (qualitative-quantitative) has been applied. The statistical population in the qualitative stage is the experts in the field of independent auditing. Accordingly theoretical sampling and after conducting semi-structured interviews, theoretical saturation was obtained and qualitative content analysis method analyzed the data. In the quantitative stage, a questionnaire is designed based on the results of the qualitative stage and distributed among a random sample of members of the statistical community who are certificated public accountants working in audit firms and the structural equation modeling method used to analyze the data. Results: Findings showed that independent auditors become involved in conflicts of interest and ethical issues when disagreeing with a client they fear of losing, when facing with inappropriate job opportunities, when conducting the review process, and when facing with challenges in performing tasks. Also, managing the conflict of interest of independent auditors require the collective efforts of owners, the community of certified public accountants and independent auditors at the individual level and at the level of the audit firm. Conclusion: The results of this study are important because they can provide a good framework for promoting ethics in the auditing profession.