Cultural factors

Many factors may be involved in determining why some students are more and some are less proficient in language. This study tried to explore the factors affecting Iranian EFL learners’ proficiency. 221 students at second, third and fourth year of university, including 50 male and 171 female were selected randomly to participate in the study. A researcher-made questionnaire and a proficiency test comprised the data collection instruments. The researchers were able to identify three factors affecting language proficiency. They were classified as social factors, cultural factors and linguistic factors, Then a model was developed to represent the relationship among these factors and language proficiency. In line with Bourdieu’s (1986), the results of data analysis indicated that social factors are among the most dominant factors affecting the learners’ language proficincy.

Cultural geopolitics refers to a complex set of interactions among government, power, culture and geographical environment through which the cultural factor, along with the spatial-locational processes formed by the city government, engages actors from various social strata in interaction. It is then very important to identify relationships between the components of the smart urban governance and cultural geopolitics in the political-regional development of metropolises and their globalization process. This developmental research employed a descriptive-analytical method, and the necessary data were collected through library and field research. The collected data were analyzed through decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique using Excel software, and finally, a network of factors was extracted and plotted using Microsoft Visio software. Based on the strength of interaction and affectability of the factors, a network of relations was obtained. The most affecting factor was found to be the participation in decision-making on electronic issues, and the least affecting factor was the political vision and strategy. The other affecting factors were ICT network scope and internet access, online public services, information transparency, and ethnic and national identity (nationalist belonging), respectively. In addition, the most affected factor was the geographical and spatial-locational belonging, and the least affected factor was the political vision and strategy.

Aim and Background: The factors of complicated grief are unclear, and many studies have referred to it as a socio-cultural phenomenon. Therefore, the present research aims to study the risk factors of complicated grief qualitatively.Method: This investigation's theoretical framework and research methodology were based on quality and phenomenology type. The study included grieving participants (n=15) and psychologists (n=4) specialised in grief and loss counseling. Data was collected through in-depth interviews from December 10, 2022, to April 30, 2023, using purposive sampling (n = 19), and data saturation determined the sample size. Interviews were conducted either online or face-to-face by one well-trained researcher, depending on the participants' convenience. The interviews were conducted in 4 sessions, each lasting about 60–90 min, and simultaneously collected and analyzed the data. The analysis approach of this study was grounded theory.Results: After transcribing and documenting the interview content, revisited the coding process, yielding 230 distinct codes, and carried out the selective and axial coding processes after extracting the codes. Researchers categorized the codes whittled down to 52 primary codes. These were then divided into three theme clusters (psychological, social, family, and cultural factors). psychological factors such as loss, social factors such as lack of social support, and cultural factors such as wrong comforting behaviors can be effective in complicated grief.Conclusion: This study suggests that various psychological, cultural, and social determinants contribute to the evolution of grief into a pathological condition, making it a cultural and social phenomenon.