Development

One of the most fundamental executive policies of governments during development programs is creating balanced regional development. Regional inequalities are cited as reasons for growing social unrests, political instabilities, and disintegration. In Iran, these inequalities have been growing at an alarming rate leading to serious problems. So, analysis of development level of regions and consequently, identifying interregional and intraregional inequalities is of great importance in the way of adopting appropriate development policies. The aim of this study is evaluating development level of sub-provinces of Iran and exploring existent inequalities. A system of 54 indicators of different dimensions of regional development was constructed and submitted to Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for this purpose. Analysis of Coefficient of Variation (CV) was also applied to reveal regional inequalities about different dimensions of development. The results of this research showed that there are obvious differentiations among sub-provinces in development level. In addition, spatial distribution of sub-provinces with regards development level indicates that an intensive system of core and periphery exists in the country. So, it is necessary to reduce regional inequalities in Iran to pave way for greater national integration, increase in economic growth and more political stability. 

Information technology by removing the barriers and omitting geographical boundaries washes out the physical distances and dissolves many problems. But at the same time this concern is existed that information technology causes more separation between social classes and so creates a society that divides into two groups that one group is "possessed" and the other "do not possessed" the technology. Accordingly, one of the main challenging issues that social universe has encountered with, is inequality of information and communication technology indicators among regions, which called "digital gap". In order to achieve standard development and to provide geographical and spatial justice, removing the digital gap between regions, and equal and public accessibility of geographical units must be considered as the main priority of planning in field of ICT. The presented research by purpose of spatial analysis and ranking of counties in Isfahan province tries to improve information and communication technology and reduce digital gap. The research method is descriptive- analytic and for ranking and rate of difference among counties the Topsis algorithm is used. The results show that level of possessing ICT was not equal among counties in a way that counties divided into four groups of very high, medium, low and very low, that only the counties of Isfahan is located in very high  group. The dispersal coefficient between counties is 5% that confirms the difference in spatial distribution of indicators. And also there is a direct relationship between development of ICT and population and urbanization percentage, in a way that most of facilities are located in a counties with high percentage of urbanization. At the end some solution is suggested in order to remove the digital gap between counties.

The creation of regional or international organizations is considered as a way to peace building and keeping. In fact, one of the causes of transformation of international organization after the Cold War has been the settlement of peace and security in regional context. Latin America is among strategic regions of the world that has witnessed a new trend of regional integration after the end of the Cold War and the regional states have taken different ways to promote regional cooperation and alliance in different facets and in particular in economic and political realms. So, the research is intended to investigate the role of MERCOSUR in regional peace and development in Latin America. This paper argues that MERCOSUR has been successful, and it is in line with Latin America interests and also can provide a proper pattern of regional integration and interdependence and can be developed among the states which share common political interests.

This paper will discuss about the role of the geopolitical location of South Africa in the development of movie and the cinema industry in this country. Despite of bringing ci-nema to South Africa by white Europeans, but the development of this phenomenon is mostly due to the geopolitical position of this country. It is interesting to know that ci-nema reached Africa in much the same time as it spread across Europe and the United States. Moreover, the South African film industry is one of the oldest in the world, with the first feature film, The Kimberly Diamond Robbery; being shot in 1910. South Afri-can cinema is one of the best and well-developed cinemas in the African continent. Re-garding to the advantages of geopolitics factors in South Africa there are a large number of the US and European active film companies in this country. These factors are in-cluded: Variety of culture, language, religion, climate, wildlife, lower cost of living, and working compare with European and American countries. And also, as South Africa is a country of strikingly beautiful and varied landscape, with a wide variety of climatic zones that range from the Kalahari Desert in the northwest to the dramatic mountain range in the southeast, and from the Mediterranean coastal ridges in the south-central region to the rolling prairie Savanna grassland of the central plateau and the north.

Sustainable ecotourism is a nature oriented tourism that maintains a sound relationship with the natu-ral environment, and contributes to its conservation. Ecological understanding is a prerequisite of sus-tainable ecotourism. Nature conservation and ecotourism are interdependent. There should be a sym-biotic relationship between the two, in which, both derive sustainable benefits in a lengthy period of time. In order to decrease natural deterioration, the present ecotourism economic and financial assess-ment should be challenged. Sustainable ecotourism demands new managerial methods that can esti-mate both environmental inputs and outputs in every single ecotourism venture and meets the required criteria of both. Triple-bottom-line accounting approach provides a foundation for assessment of envi-ronmental, social, and financial costs and benefits of ecotourism ventures. Ecotourism companies can allocate some of their resources to the nature conservation and people education. This is how they can obtain a positive triple bottom line. Developing environmental management strategies, programs and procedures with measurable objectives, and allocating adequate funds for their effective implementa-tion is recommended in this article. Effective financial management system with capable accounting mechanisms would provide the ecotourism organizations with the necessary foundations for transition towards sustainability.

Participation is a process in which people involved to make endeavors aiming at a common goal; and they do this actively, freely with awareness and accountability. Women participation as one of the principles for development can be studied from different perspectives. The objective of the present study is to investigate social and cultural factors influencing social participation of rural women in the developmental process. The theories of experts in modernism domain in general and feminism theories like liberal feminism in particular, are theoretical bases of this study. This research was conducted through interviews (during October 2002 to May 2003) in one of the villages of Azerbaijan Sharghi province; where 155 women with the average of 15-60 were selected as subjects whose answers were then analyzed. The average rate of social participation of rural women based on this research is shown to be low and only 4 percent of respondents had a high participation rate. Their type of participation was mainly traditional and religious including participation in birth anniversary, religious get-to-gether and health houses; it in fact manifests a kind of passive participation. However, based on the data there was a correlation between the social participation of rural women and variables relevant to women’s attitude and self-concept (internal factors), age, education (background factors), their access level to urban centers, and the media (structural factors).

In this article, it will be shown that philosophers/theoreticians of justice, such as John Rawls, are engaged in a kind of performative contradiction, since despite their implicit call for justice, their mere academic activities in developing a theory of justice, does not really help the cause of justice in society. Then by referring to thoughts of Heidegger, Levinas, and Nietzsche, among others, it will be shown that although the struggle to achieve social justice is necessary and has the highest priority, it is an impossible task; and yet human beings are existentially obliged to engage in this unavoidable task. Finally, it will be shown as why this "task of social justice" will be best achieved as, what could be called, "authentic development" or horizontal development at the bottom, and playing chess with the powers that be. In defining "authentic development," it will be compared with what Denis Goulet calls by the same name; where he defines the desired development with its results, rather than its process.

Democratic family, as a new phenomenon in Iran, is based on some fundamental principles such as liberty, equality, rule of law, and tolerance. In this article, some of the important aspects of a democratic family in Iran will be explained and evaluated by applying conceptual analysis and critical evaluation. The family, which is characterized by middle class, rights, population and urbanization, marriage and divorce, violence, and nuclear family, lead to reasonable decision-making through dialogue and cooperation. The patriarchal mode of management in Iranian family has gradually changed into a collective decision-making, in which, the role of boys and girls are significant. These characteristics indicate that Iranian democratic family is a transitional process of social and political development in Iran.

During Qajar era, superstition and anti-superstition have had great impact on Iran's political thought. Superstitious context as an irrational process and major obstacle to the growth of political thought in Iran, exhorted the society towards subjectivist and reductionist approach. Rational intellectuals, on the other hand, endeavored to erode superstitious trends for pushing the society towards rationality and development. This article with a qualitative historical and analytical methodology and through collecting the library data tries to answer the question that "how superstitious culture had influenced the political thought of Iran during the Qajar period?" The hypothesis of the research is that the culture of superstition and irrationality through subjectivism and reductionism influenced the political thought of Iran during Qajar era, which in its turn led to the "intellectual despotism" and consequently to the "political tyranny". Based on the Giddens conception of the interaction between structure and agency, the article concludes that the contextual factors notably the superstitious culture led to the despotic mindset of Iranian rulers during Qajar period.

By withdrawing from Afghanistan, the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended in the 1990s. Throughout that decade, western governments forgot the people of Afghanistan. But the 1998 attack on the U.S. interests in Africa and al-Qaeda attacks of the September 11, 2001 reintroduced the foreign aggression of the Western governments’ coalition against Afghanistan. In the late 2001, NATO countries led by the United States brought down the Taliban regime. Concomitantly, the UN conducted a conference in Bonn, Germany in which political and paramilitary groups agreed to form an inclusive government without presence of the Taliban. The Bonn Agreement contents show that most of its principles are based on the doctrine of Liberal Democracy. Accordingly, in most of the ratified articles of the Eighth Constitution of Afghanistan the doctrine of liberal democracy is reflected. In a country where many political regimes and systems were experienced, the effectiveness of Liberal Democracy doctrine was expected. Meanwhile, Liberal Democracy faced challenges and nation-state building development process witnessed deficiencies. The present paper uses systemic analysis of the liberal nation-state (system input, policy design, policy implementation, evaluation and outcome) to respond the research question. The question is, how have the nation-state building process and political development in Afghanistan been affected by the Bonn Agreement and liberal democracy doctrine? And has that led to the deficiencies in nation-state building and political development in the country? Hypothetically, nation-state building and political development in Afghanistan based on the Bonn Agreement suffered from deficiencies due to the following reasons: disregarding the historical-traditional contexts of Afghanistan, the weak presence of liberal democrats in power, disregard for the demands of the fragmented society, the continuation of nationalist policies, and the incorrect public-private divide in the liberal structure of democracy.

Purpose- Employment and unemployment, which are very important issues in rural areas, can be solved in general through home-based businesses and their development. The issue of home-based businesses can be very influential in creating employment in rural areas The main purpose of this study is to provide a paradigmatic model of home business development in rural areas of Isfahan province based on basic theory. Design/Methodology/Approach- This study was conducted in 2020. The present research is among the basic and qualitative researches that have been done with the approach of the foundation data theory approach. The interview collection tool was structured. The interviews were conducted among experts and experts in the field of home-based jobs, and the opinions of the interviewees were theoretically saturated from the 29th interview. Findings - After the emergence of concepts (139 references) and open, central, and selective coding, led to the design of the conceptual framework of the research model and the presentation of the paradigm model. Based on the results of the Grounded Theory, the pattern of home-based businesses to achieve development in rural areas of Isfahan province has been drawn. This model includes causal conditions (including managerial factors and comprehensive policy system), intervening conditions (educational-promotional factors, motivational factors, and attitudinal factors), contextual conditions (infrastructure factors, marketing, skill factors, and promotion of financial and credit resources). This includes strategies (stakeholder participation, information system, and support factors) and social consequences (increasing the level of participation and sense of responsibility and cooperation among residents, reducing social harms, empowering local people, Reduce the migration of local people to the city, move towards sustainable development) and economic consequences (rural growth and development, reducing the dependence of local people on government credits and facilities and assistance such as subsidies, promoting economic welfare, improving local livelihoods) has it. Research limitations/implications- The limitations of the present study include the following: Research is time-consuming; some people are not cooperating to collect data, it is difficult to assess the relative importance of the components and factors of the proposed theory.

This study aimed to explain a role of faculty development on social capital in distance education. The research method was descriptive and data analysis method was SEM that Sample size was determined 181 faculty members of Tehran branch of Payam Noor University by Stratified random sampling. Faculty development made questionnaire design with the reliability [α =0/94] and social capital questionnaire of Nahapiet & Ghoshal[1998] with the reliability [α=0/92] were used to collect data. Results showed faculty development and social capital of sample size higher than the average and faculty development [r=0/71] had a significant positive correlation with social capital of sample [p

Different world views and philosophies in defining development problems and their solutions derive currently from different disciplines. They refer in many respects to the principle of cause-effect as a fundamental relationship between phenomena. The history of differing values and attitudes presented in management and design indicates the importance of this relationship. This sort of knowledge and some of the values and attitudes needed by built environment professionals can be explored by the Endogenous Development Model and its associated internal paradigms of production-process and supply-demand relationships. The first is responsible for the evolution of thought in a diachronous space-time dimension and the second causes the generation of typologies created in a synchronous three-dimensional space. Particular emphasis is placed on the meaning of development in the context of endogenous people-centred development. The paper addresses the fact that the means of production and the associated supply-demand mechanism are generated in the west. Indeed, for some today, what is seen as the historical process of “Westernization” may well be rejected outright as a goal for developing countries.

Large cities and metropolitan areas in developing countries are growing rapidly. These areas grew by attracting all facilities, services and capital of the country. Tehran has been the major city and center for decision and policy making in various administrative, political, economic and socialaspects. This political focus has brought economic, social, educational focus that attracted a vast majority of students of Iran. Based on measures by TOPSIS technic, Tehran province has ranked 19th in terms of development Indicators; therefore, its status is not favorable. There are total of 91 universities or educational institute in Tehran province 75 of which are located in the city of Tehran. There are 527 thousand students currently studying in these institutions which itself indicates the focus on capital city, especially in the field of education. National programs should take decentralization policies from growth poles. Decentralization of higher education as an integrated development policy for Tehran province and the country can bring many fruitful results. Based on recent policy on decentralization, cities of FiroozKooh and Damavand are proposed for attracting students of Azad universities and Varامین is proposed for attracting Payam-e- Noor students of the province and Hashtgerd is proposed for accepting part of activities of governmental universities for undergraduate studies as appropriate locations for identical spatial distribution.

Development and progress are ideals that always different countries have pursued. Everybody welcomes a developed country with people free from development obstacles. Indeed, realization of such a goal requires developmental planning in national and local scales taking into account the population growth rate, economical, social, cultural, and political problems, and generally, imbalances and dualities from which the whole country suffers. Hence, it seems inevitably and vitally necessary to pay attention to regional planning in Iran, and, more rapid growth and development of the country can be achieved with the aid of such planning and through growth and flourishing of different regions commensurate with their capacities and capabilities. The current paper is attempted to comparatively assess the performance and efficiency of Iranian provinces in terms of development level using Taxonomy and Morris models. It also aims at analyzing statuses of Iranian in terms of inequality extent in enjoying development benefits using standard score method. The research results are suggestive of the fact that Sistan and Baluchistan Province assumes the lowest rank (30th among the 30 provinces) in all three methods under study. Due to presence of some obstacles and lack of proper grounds, it is an inevitable necessity to rethink and make fundamental planning in this respect.

Economic diplomacy, in terms of the importance of economic relations in foreign relations, is one of the important tools to advance the long-term goals of economic growth and development and even increase the security of countries.Recently, Afghanistan, India and Iran have reached an agreement called the Chabahar Agreement. Due to its location, this port has the appropriate geopolitical, geo-economic and geostrategic potentials in comparison with the ports of the countries in the region and has a very high security margin; in addition, the port at the intersection of the North-South and East-West corridors can serve as a gateway for transportation, in other words, a central trade link between Central Asia, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia and Europe. In this research we want to answer this question: What impact can economic diplomacy have on post-Taliban developments in Afghanistan? And what is the position of Chabahar port in that country's economic diplomacy? The findings of this descriptive-analytical library research show that: Economic diplomacy in the post-Taliban era by adopting programs such as; attracting foreign investment and expandingrelations with the countries of the region and constructive interaction with them, has been able to have positive effects on development in Afghanistan; And the port of Chabahar, as a field for attracting foreign investment on the one hand and its role in xpanding Afghanistan's relations with countries in the region on the other, has found a special place in the country's foreign policy. 

This study aimed to identify effective factors to the development of blended learning from the perspective of faculty members of PNU. For this purpose, after the study of contemporary research findings, effective factors to the development of blended learning were divided in five groups of structural, planning, information systems, nature and workplace and support factors for each of these components were determined. In order to assess the effective factors to the development of blended learning from the perspective of faculty members, a researcher-made questionnaire was designed. The questionnaire was with 40 questions using a Likert scale. Its validity was confirmed through content validity and its reliability through Cornbrash's alpha (α=91%). After determining the sample size using Morgan table by simple random sampling, questionnaires were distributed to faculty members. The research findings were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. To analyze the data, SPSS and LISREL softwares were employed. Results indicate that among the identified factors, the most important and influential factors to the development of blended learning from the perspective of administrators was related to structural factors.