autonomy

Postmodernism represents skepticism toward metanarratives and universal ideologies that dominated the modernist era. The study focuses on three key postmodernist concepts - alternative assessment, process syllabi, and self-directed learning. Alternative assessment emphasizes evaluating the learning process over summative testing. Process syllabi focus on the learning experience rather than rigid outcomes. Self-directed learning enables student responsibility in setting learning goals and processes. This paper examined the effects of postmodernist educational concepts on improving Iranian EFL learners’ autonomy. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design was utilized with 60 intermediate level Iranian EFL students divided into an experimental and control group (n=30 each). The experimental group received instruction utilizing the three postmodernist concepts over 14 weeks, while the control group received traditional modernist instruction. Autonomy was measured using a validated questionnaire before and after the intervention. The results showed the experimental group demonstrated significant increases in autonomy compared to the control group. Paired sample t-tests revealed significant differences between pre-test and post-test autonomy for the experimental group across all three postmodern concepts - alternative assessment, process syllabi, and self-directed learning. This suggests postmodernist concepts that decentralize instruction and emphasize student process over outcomes can enhance Iranian EFL learners’ self-direction and responsibility for language acquisition. The study implies EFL syllabus designers and instruction should transition to postmodern models centered on individualized assessment, flexible syllabi, and student-guided learning to boost autonomy. Further research can expand sample sizes and explore additional postmodernist concepts across diverse demographics.

Introduction: Suicide occurs in people of any age and background, which negatively affects families and communities. According to the statistics provided by the World Health Organization, suicide is the cause of death of more than 700,000 people in the world, seventy-seven percent of which occur in low- and middle-income countries. Therefore, suicide has become an international problem in global health. There is a main moral issue regarding suicide, and that is whether suicide is morally permissible or not, and if so, under what circumstances? Therefore, the authors of the present study decided to examine suicide through the view point of ethics. Materials and Methods: The research was a review method, in order to achieve the goal of the research, in addition to electronic education books and virtual education in this field, articles related to the research keywords from 2004 to 2022 from the databases of Elsevier, Proquest, Pubmed, Researchgate, Science direct, was reviewed. Conclusion: According to ethical codes, each person has independence and autonomy. An autonomous and independent person has the possibility to make any decision, provided that his decision does not lead to harm to others or damage to the natural environment. Therefore, according to ethical codes, a person can decide for his life, he can even commit suicide.

The present study aimed to represent the autonomy of teachers adopting the grounded theory semantically. The research approach of this study was qualitative, and the theory method was grounded theory. The statistical population included all primary school teachers and principals in Lorestan, Iran. To collect qualitative data, interviews were conducted with 45 experienced teachers, school principals, specialists, and professors. In this study, the purposive sampling method was used for participant selection. The sampling method was purposefully continued until the researcher reached theoretical saturation. The basic indicators of the model of autonomy of schoolteachers were identified using a review of the research background and content analysis of the interviews. Next, the three stages of axial coding, selective coding, and main category resulted in six main categories: axial Phenomenon, Causal Conditions, Background Conditions, Interfering Conditions, Strategic Conditions, and Consequences Conditions. Teachers' Autonomy Model was developed, including 23 axial codes in the form of six selective codes for the six dimensions of axial Phenomenon, causal conditions (with four axial codes), background conditions (with two axial codes), interfering factors (with two axial codes), strategy (with seven axial codes), and consequences (with four axial codes). The extracted qualitative model can be used in policy-making and professional autonomy planning, especially in the professional development of teachers.

This paper aims at studying governance and distribution of autonomies in Tehran City Islamic Council in the process of performing intra/inter-organizational functions. According to current theories on governance, there are three types of governance according to the kinde of involvement. Authority involvement, interactive involvement and persuasion involvement, in Tehran City Islamic Council in the process of forming and implementing urban regulations. On the other hand, Tehran City Islamic Council could have three kinds of autonomies to be effective: autogeny, heterogeny and discretion. Good governance model for Tehran City Islamic Council is an optimized combination of involvements and autonomies designed by polling the elites a mathematical model analysis. To study the current governance status in Tehran City Islamic Council, a questionnaire is used and the interval is estimated by single T-test. The findings indicate that in terms of involvement and autonomy, Tehran City Islamic Council has a remarkable distance from optimized governance model.

University autonomy and accountability have been playing such a vital role in all aspects of university governance that their importance cannot be over emphasized. Autonomy can be defined as “the right of a group of people to govern itself or to organize its own activities” and being autonomous means “being independent and having the power to make your own decisions”. On the other hand, accountability means being responsible for decisions or actions and being required or expected to justify them. The purpose of this study is to examine and assess the degree and sufficiency of university autonomy in the four area of institutional, financial, staff, and academic and also the degree of accountability of universities to their external stakeholders. The instrument for gathering data was a researcher-made questionnaire with a five- point Likert scale and its calculated Alpha was above ./70. This means that the instrument was reliable. Data were obtained randomly from university managers at Islamic Azad University branches in Qazvin province. The data were analyzed using percentage and five-point Likert scale to objectively determine the degree of accountability and the sufficiency of the university autonomy for good governance of their branches at the four area of autonomy from the view point of university chancellors, vice-chancellors, Dean and Head of the Departments. The analysis of data in relation to research questions were investigated, using one-sample t-test by means of version 18 of SPSS software. The findings indicate that the degree of autonomy in the four area is not sufficient to govern the university well and the University administrators suggest that granting more autonomy from the central administration of Islamic Azad University and Ministry of Science, Technology and Research to the university branches may hold them to be more accountable to internal and external stakeholders.

Abstract The necessity of using online education during the Coronal virus pandemic and the barriers created by the absence of face-to-face instruction has shifted the researchers’ focus to web-based instruction and assessment. In this regard, an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was selected to consider the effects of web-based dynamic assessment (DA) on learners' grammar accuracy, autonomy, and attitudes. To this end, a convenient sample of 60 male English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners was chosen and categorized into two groups of web-based dynamic assessment and a control group. The data collection tools were a pretest and posttest of grammar, a pretest and posttest of autonomy, and a semi-structured interview. The participants were exposed to web-based DA via a designed web based on the level and the students’ needs in grammar, whereas the learners in the control group learned the grammar through the traditional method of instruction. Based on the results of ANCOVA and Mann-Whitney U test, the learners’ grammar accuracy and autonomy mean scores in web-based DA increased compared to those of the control group. In addition, the results of interview showed that the learners had a positive attitude toward web-based dynamic assessment treatment. The results of the semi-structured interview with the experimental group verified the quantitative results. The platform and methods employed in this study suggest encouraging implications for the field of language instruction which will be discussed.

In the multifaceted landscape of entrepreneurship, this research delves into the intricate relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial intention, focusing specifically on the final-year female undergraduates in Nigerian federal universities. Grounded in the Human Capital Theory (HCT), this study uncovers profound insights into the multifaceted relationships between various entrepreneurial traits and their influence on entrepreneurial intentions. The findings reveal a nuanced relationship between traits such as autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, risk-taking, self-esteem, and the sense of inclusion with entrepreneurial intentions. Autonomy and competitive aggressiveness emerge as significant influencers, while risk-taking displays a non-significant association. Self-esteem holds profound implications, while the sense of inclusion exerts a more subdued impact on entrepreneurial intentions. Theoretical implications challenge and expand existing frameworks, notably HCT. While HCT posits that investments in education and training foster entrepreneurial traits, this study suggests a more intricate relationship. The non-significant association of certain traits, despite their emphasis in HCT, underscores the need for a nuanced understanding, possibly integrating other theoretical frameworks. From a practical standpoint, these findings guide policymakers and educators in designing targeted interventions. Specialized training programs, workshops, and courses emphasizing autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, and self-esteem can be developed. Integrating competitive elements, like business plan competitions, can nurture students' competitive drive. Policy recommendations include tailored entrepreneurial education, fostering inclusive environments, promoting a risk-taking culture, supporting longitudinal studies, and enhancing collaboration between educational institutions and industry.

The identification of the cognitive, affective, social and even physiological factors affecting second or foreign language learning routes and rate has for long been a challenging aspiration for second language researchers. However, a recent preoccupation of the researchers in this area has been the study of the combinatorial impacts of such factors on second or foreign language learning processes and products. As a partial undertaking in this regard, this study investigated the relations pattern among some psychological and cognitive variables and foreign language learning achievement rate. The studied factors were self-regulation, goal-orientation, tolerance of ambiguity, and autonomy on the one hand and English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ ultimate achievement on the other hand. To this end, 250 Iranian BA level EFL students majoring English literature or English translation were selected based on convenience sampling procedure. Next, having obtained the participants' informed consent to participate in the study, the researchers administered Trait Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ), Goal Orientation, Tolerance of Ambiguity, and Learner Autonomy scales to them. In addition, concerning their L2 achievement rate measure, their BA level general English courses' GPA was obtained from the education office of the related universities. The data were statistically analyzed and the hypothetical model of interrelations among the given variables was tested using Structural Equation Modeling procedures. The results indicated that goal orientation and self-regulation significantly predicted L2 achievement; however, tolerance of ambiguity and learner autonomy were not found as strong predictors of L2 achievement. On the other hand, while self-regulation strongly predicted goal orientation, it was not verified to be a strong predictor of tolerance of ambiguity. The results also showed that goal orientation could strongly predict learner autonomy. A ready-made implication of the findings might be that the combinatorial effects of the psychological variables on cognitive processes like second language learning is quite complicated and different from the effects of each individual variable.      

Commentators oft cite the rather grand claim that for Hegel there was no concept of individual personality, subjectivity nor personal autonomy in Ancient Greece. Hegel’s claim is either taken as orthodox and making sense in the Hegelian historical system as a whole and so little discussed; or is flatly ignored as the worst kind of metaphysical obfuscation; a response a little too comfortable for liberal thinkers. Neither reaction is entirely satisfying. Not enough attention has been paid to it, especially for the vast majority of social and political thinkers who would find it at least contentious, so the present paper aims to assert its significance both for Hegelian politics as a whole and to pay enough attention to it in order to make it very difficult for those who find it a contentious statement to continue to ignore it. One wants to ask what it might mean for one’s self-understanding to be so radically different that, as a human being, I understand myself as first and foremost (and perhaps completely) not as a subjective individual. It is conceptually very difficult to be a self-conscious individual -- in even a minimal sense -- without some idea of being an atomic, individual unit. It is the claim of the following argument that a full understanding of this distinction, between ancient and modern self-understandings, would lead to a revision of Hegel’s liberal credentials, though not entirely for liberal reasons.

Investigating learners' motivational factors from Basic Psychological Needs (BPN) has been prevalent in a foreign/second language domain, but there is a dearth of well-documented research on ESP instruction. This study addressed the void by scrutinizing ESP learners' BPN of relatedness, competence, and autonomy using a validated and reliable BPN instrument to assess online ESP practices and challenges within unideal EFL situations. A total of 617 ESP students and 94 ESP lecturers from 14 universities across provincial areas of Indonesia participated in the study. A mixed-method design administering questionnaire and interview was applied to draw ESP students' BPN from the perspective of lecturers and students. The results revealed significant differences between lecturers' and learners' perceptions regarding several indicators of relatedness, competence, and autonomy categories. While the lecturers' questionnaire and interviews reported that the ESP students had an acceptable level of engagement with wider ESP communities, the students mentioned their low engagement with content lecturers, stakeholders/experts, and communities. These differences are then utilized as a stepping stone to design a more 'ideal' ESP program using a specific BPN framework to enhance ESP lecturers' and students' specific English and content knowledge under the online learning platforms. The study implies that to help ESP students learn English, online ESP programs should be collaboratively designed by involving English lecturers, content lecturers, ESP stakeholders from relevant fields, and technology-related materials that meet English and specific content knowledge needs.

Objective: Intimate partner violence represents a prevalent issue for women and is strongly correlated with mental health difficulties. Previous research has primarily concentrated on identifying factors that can anticipate intimate partner violence, specifically individual and interpersonal factors. This investigation examines the structural associations between autonomy and IPV among Iranian women who have encountered such violence, shedding illumination on the intricate factors contributing to IPV and potential avenues for intervention. Methods:  The research method is a correlation, and the structural equation modeling method was used to test the proposed model. The statistical population was all women referred to counseling clinics in Bandar Abbas City in 2023. Data were collected from a sample of 306 Iranian women who had undergone IPV via purposive sampling method, utilizing a domestic violence questionnaire (Mohseni Tabrizi et al., 2013), basic psychological need satisfaction scale (La Guardia et al., 2000), and Rosenberg self-esteem scale (Rosenberg, 1979). Results: The findings corroborated the appropriate fit of the proposed model and disclosed that autonomy exerted noteworthy direct and indirect effects on IPV, which were mediated through self-esteem. Conclusion: The findings show that with the increase in women's autonomy, intimate partner violence decreases, and self-esteem plays a moderating role in the relationship between these two variables. These outcomes provide valuable novel insights into the intricate dynamics of IPV and hold promise for the development of targeted interventions aimed at preventing IPV and supporting the well-being of affected individuals.

This mixed methods nationwide research aimed to examine the relationships between three variables; namely, self-efficacy (S-E), emotional intelligence (EI), autonomy (A), their sub-constructs and reading comprehension ability of Persian second language (PSL) students. Participants were 141 PSL students from 28 different countries studying at 12 universities across Iran. Data were collected through S-E, EI, A scales, and a reading comprehension test and were analyzed using Pearson correlation. The results revealed that there were significant links between the variables and their sub-constructs and reading comprehension ability. Also, structured interviews were administrated with 45 participants, the results of which confirmed those obtained from quantitative instruments. Moreover, structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to access more in-depth perception of the variables and explore the strengths of the causal relationships. The three independent variables strongly predicted reading comprehension, with S-E being the strongest predictor. Also, three out of four sub-constructs of EI, and two out of three sub-constructs of A were powerful predictors of reading comprehension. In terms of the increasing number of PSL learners, the findings of the present study could be helpful for L2 (particularly PSL) teachers, learners, and academic policymakers.