reza kamari; Abbas Assadi; Amir Hesam Eshaghi
Abstract
Social networks, more commonly known as mobile platforms, provide an informal but pervasive means for the creation and circulation of significant rumors and disinformation. These acts can have profoundly negative effects on individuals and society at large, making them a highly problematic issue. Underlying ...
Read More
Social networks, more commonly known as mobile platforms, provide an informal but pervasive means for the creation and circulation of significant rumors and disinformation. These acts can have profoundly negative effects on individuals and society at large, making them a highly problematic issue. Underlying causes and potential measures to curb the proliferation of this anomalous phenomenon of virtual communication are crucial for mitigating its adverse consequences on individuals and society as a whole. Rumors are commonly studied within social networks as it is the primary platform for user-driven information sharing, increasing the risk of the spread of misinformation and invalid information.
The present study aimed to identify the various forms of gossip and to analyze its discourse in cyberspace using the theme analysis technique. For this purpose, we examined relevant scientific sources, specifically articles, dissertations, and relevant databases. Among the varied techniques of theme analysis, we employed the theme network technique. The primary purpose of theme analysis is to distill meaning and identify patterns from qualitative data. This analytical method allows for the transformation of scattered and disparate data into rich and detailed insights. The study of rumors and virtual space is a relatively recent field of expertise involving the examination of online communication dynamics and its potential impacts. The method used in the present research was quantitative and involved a thematic analysis approach. A total of 30 data points (articles, dissertations, and research plans) were collected and examined after an exhaustive analysis of relevant literature spanning recent studies and investigations. Additionally, a total of 15 data samples were analyzed to identify codes and concepts. As per the organization of the study and the classification of themes, we have the overarching theme, "form and discourse of rumors in cyber space," consisting of three organized themes and 19 basic themes. The overview of the thematic organization and categorization is shown in Table 1.
Table No. 1: List of overarching themes, organized themes and basic themes
Overarching themes
Organized topics
Basic themes
The format and discourse of rumors in cyberspace
Informality of the source
Non-news content
Changeable content
Believable content
Folk content
Undocumented and non-scientific content
Unclear content and ambiguity
Exaggerated content
Fiery content
A disastrous combination
truth seeker
critical
freedom seeking
human rights
emotional
prophetic
Background
Special topics
Social-civil
political-security
Rumor is a kind of social phenomenon that spreads rapidly and on a large scale through communication circuits, earning its notoriety as an abnormal occurrence that social scientists have investigated extensively. Some methods have emerged that can effectively counter its proliferation. Rumors are not a modern phenomenon but a historical problem, whose significance has only increased in contemporary times. Ever since ancient Rome, rumors have posed a constant headache for rulers and authorities. Some individuals even resorted to manipulating and exacerbating rumors for their own benefit. They were named informants or rumor mongers.
The examination of data has indicated that political instability and a widening gap between nation and government have resulted in a general atmosphere of suspicion and mistrust, enabling rumors to thrive. Additionally, the availability of unrestricted news and information on the virtual space has allowed rumors to proliferate unopposed, pervading people's logical reasoning and influencing their beliefs and behaviors. In societies going through a transition, a close relationship between political and economic systems is evident. Political challenges lead to economic fluctuations in various aspects of people's lives, triggering concerns and uncertainties.
While the social, political, and economic dimensions act as the underlying or determining factors of rumors, there is strong evidence that the format and discourse used in the virtual space can exert an influence on these parameters. Previous data, mentioned earlier, illustrates that other variables, such as trust in virtual spaces, public awareness, social class, and participation with the message, can also be involved in rumor production and effectiveness. Therefore, it is recommended that future research explores these variables in relation to the discourse's main component, context, and format. In conclusion, rumor is recognized as a threat and societal ill with far-reaching implications. The importance of the mass media in rumor production and proliferation can't be overlooked. In order to lengthen and intensify the impact of rumors on public opinion, the purveyors seek out ways to infiltrate the mass media, as it possesses a crucial role in influencing this matter. Rumor is a societal issue and danger, which has become increasingly prevalent due to the impact of the digital media. By exploiting the power of the virtual space, rumor-mongers have managed to infiltrate the mass media, leading to the spread and propagation of rumors. Understanding the factors underlying the production and disseminating rumors is crucial for effectively countering the issue, mainly through examining the role played by the discourse structure, format, and context. Following is an overview of the key features of these parameters.
In conclusion, rumor is regarded as a social malaise and danger. Considering what has been highlighted, it is possible to highlight the significance of the mass media (or virtual space) in producing and disseminating rumors. The rumor-mongers are on the lookout for ways to infiltrate the mass media, as it has a significant bearing on the longevity of rumors within the public domain.
arman heidari; vahid dastyar; Fatemeh Jafari
Abstract
Being absent in traditional sociological analysis, today the body and the body concept is at the heart of our sociology, social life, and identity self-concept. With the development of modern media and communication technologies, one of the most important challenges in the field of body management relates ...
Read More
Being absent in traditional sociological analysis, today the body and the body concept is at the heart of our sociology, social life, and identity self-concept. With the development of modern media and communication technologies, one of the most important challenges in the field of body management relates to the uncertainty of the impact of global forces or local contexts. Drawing on the world-localization approach and based on the Robertson’s, Goddens’s, Fiderstone’s and social acceptance theories, this paper has investigated the impact of modern media use on body management mediated by social acceptance among club women in Noorabad Mamassani. In his research, the survey methodology was used, the data were collected using a questionnaire, and the sample was selected through simple random sampling. According to the results of the research, women mostly used modern media, respectively: knowing about the sports equipment and use of them, search for fitness patterns, and knowing about fashion and clothing (the Internet); the use of fashion advertising networks, watching science, medical, sports, and commercial (satellite) programs. Among the multiple indicators of body management construct, sports and fitness, surgery and beauty of the body and quality of clothing were the most influential indicators. Comparing the impact of modern media (0.81) and social acceptance (0.17) on body management, it can be said that modern media significantly increase women's attention to body management more than social acceptance in different aspects.
maryam pourjamshidi; akbar momeni rad; Afshin Afzali
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions of social life of citizens and their impact on cyberspace in Hamadan province. The method of the present study is a mixed-type consecutive exploration design. Qualitative participants included experts in Hamadan province in the field of social ...
Read More
The purpose of this study was to identify the dimensions of social life of citizens and their impact on cyberspace in Hamadan province. The method of the present study is a mixed-type consecutive exploration design. Qualitative participants included experts in Hamadan province in the field of social issues, among whom 10 were selected as well as theoretical research related literature among which 7 books, 131 articles, and 10 theses were selected purposefully. The study population in the quantitative section includes the citizens of Hamadan province, from which 400 people were selected by stratified random sampling. A researcher-made questionnaire and semi-structured interview were used for data collection. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and its construct validity through confirmatory factor analysis. The results were obtained in the qualitative section of 6 categories including social security and health, citizenship awareness, contrasting tradition and modernity, social ethics, social participation, and social responsibility. In the quantitative part, the results also showed that the largest use of cyberspace is in terms of quantity for entertainment and the least is commercial and economic activities. In terms of usage, communication is first and then entertainment, learning, and business activities, respectively. Also, the impact of cyberspace was negative on three categories of social issues including social security and health; citizen awareness; and the contrast between tradition and modernity
ehsan Mobaraki; Mohammad Sharafi
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relation of the use of modern communication technologies (satellite, Internet, and virtual social networks) on students' attitude toward the friendship with the opposite sex before marriage in the context of the "Cultivation effects" frameworks, "effects ...
Read More
The purpose of this study is to investigate the relation of the use of modern communication technologies (satellite, Internet, and virtual social networks) on students' attitude toward the friendship with the opposite sex before marriage in the context of the "Cultivation effects" frameworks, "effects of consequences". The method of this study was correlation and data were collected by using a questionnaire from male and female students of state universities, Payame Noor, Islamic Azad University and Arak Medical Sciences University, which were selected by inappropriate Stratified sampling method. Pearson correlation coefficient and hierarchical regression were used to analyze the data. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis showed that among the research variables, using virtual and satellite social networks after sex control, religious beliefs, and the relationship between parents and their children, 26% of the changes in the attitude towards friendship with the opposite sex can be explained. Also, there was no significant relationship between the use of the Internet and the attitude toward the friendship with the opposite sex. Among the variables of control, gender, and religious beliefs, they significantly related the attitude toward the friendship with the opposite sex. In general, the use of satellite, the use of virtual networks, gender, and religious beliefs have been able to explain 62 percent of the variation of the dependent variable in the statistical population of the research.
Seyyed Rouhollah Hadj Zargarbashi; Ehsan Movahhedian
Abstract
The subject of this article is “U.S Cyber Diplomacy Influence on Viewpoint of Iranian Users of Cyberspace(Case Study: USA Dar Farsi Facebook Webpage)”. Nowadays, using Internet and social networks to advance foreign policy goals and national interests, has become one of the most important ...
Read More
The subject of this article is “U.S Cyber Diplomacy Influence on Viewpoint of Iranian Users of Cyberspace(Case Study: USA Dar Farsi Facebook Webpage)”. Nowadays, using Internet and social networks to advance foreign policy goals and national interests, has become one of the most important issues. From 40’s and during World War II, U.S government tried to implement various cultural programs, stuent exchange programs, and use publications, the media and movies to convince residents of different countries about its foreign policy goals, and it became known as public diplomacy. Considering Iran’s high stance in U.S foreign policy, United States Department of State implemented various cyber diplomacy projects to influence Iranians public opinion that include launching USA Dar Farsi Facebook Webpage. In this thesis, the Author tried to answer one key question concerning this important strategy within US foreign policy system: What is the Influence of USA Dar Farsi Facebook Webpage, as a tool of U.S Cyber Diplomacy, on Viewpoint of Iranian Users of Cyberspace? For this purpose, qualitative content analysis of USA Dar Farsi Facebook Webpage and sending questionnaires to its users and other Iranian users of Internet has been used. The hypothesis is that, comparing to Iranian Internet users who do not read USA Dar Farsi Facebook Webpage content, the USA Dar Farsi Facebook Webpage users are more influenced by cyber diplomacy content and messages and this leads to negative attitude towards Iranian society.
saeid ghanbary; Soodeh Javadi; davood abdollahi
Abstract
Target: Since today, religious content has been widely disseminated on the Internet, and the audience is using it according to the style of their media consumption, this study aimed at studying has been various components on the consumption of religious content based on the concepts of active audience ...
Read More
Target: Since today, religious content has been widely disseminated on the Internet, and the audience is using it according to the style of their media consumption, this study aimed at studying has been various components on the consumption of religious content based on the concepts of active audience approach and the theory of Uses and Gratification. Method: This research was a questionnaire in terms of method, survey and data gathering tool. The mean reliability coefficient of its indices was estimated as 0.76 according to Cronbach's alpha. The sample size was estimated based on Cochran formula 384 and the required information was collected from 385 people by cluster sampling. Findings: The findings of this research showed that there are a direct and significant relationship between the components of answering questions, eliminating doubts, quality of family education, easy access to the media and raising awareness with the amount of religious content consuming. In this regard, based on regression analysis, the components of easy access and awareness raising Arrangements have the most predictive power of the dependent variable.
Hossein Motahhari Nejad; Mohadeseh Ghasemi Nejad
Abstract
The use of internet in all areas, is increasing. Students are among the main users of the Internet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of internet parenting styles on the actual use of the Internet by students at home. For this purpose, 300 parents of ninth grade students were selected ...
Read More
The use of internet in all areas, is increasing. Students are among the main users of the Internet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of internet parenting styles on the actual use of the Internet by students at home. For this purpose, 300 parents of ninth grade students were selected using cluster sampling. They responded to a questionnaire consisting of parents and children characteristics, use of the internet, and internet parenting styles with two dimensions: parental control and parental warmth. The results showed that the majority of families have access to the Internet at home (78%) and the authoritative parenting style was dominant (43.7%). Parents’ access to the internet at home is related to their age and education. As well as parenting styles influenced by gender, age, education, experience and attitude of the parents. Internet parenting styles also affect students’ internet usage. The highest child usage level is perceived when parents adopt a permissive parenting style and the lowest level is observed when parents adopt an authoritarian parenting style. Education, control, experience and gender of parents predict internet usage of students at home (R2= .21). Finally, it was concluded that internet parenting styles is a new factor to explain and predict the acceptance and use of the Internet by students.
Alireza Hoseyni Pakdehi; Hosnieh Al-sadat Shobeyri
Abstract
In different countries, media literacy education methods and success rates differ. For example, Canada, with its profound history in media literacy education, is the most successful country in the world, but despite widespread importance of media in Iran, media literacy education in this country is relatively ...
Read More
In different countries, media literacy education methods and success rates differ. For example, Canada, with its profound history in media literacy education, is the most successful country in the world, but despite widespread importance of media in Iran, media literacy education in this country is relatively new.The present study compared performance of a model country in teaching media literacy (Canada) with a country new on this way (Iran). Therefore, the performance of Canadian Media Awareness Network that provides media literacy education via “Media Smarts Website” and Iranian “Media Literacy Website”, the only Persian website providing media literacy education, were compared using “content analysis" method. The main results are as follows: majority of the contents in Iranian Website were "informative" and "alarming", but most of the contacts in Canadian Website had features of a real “educational sources. Canadian Website developed educational contents using the theories proposed by media literacy experts; While Iranian website has not used these valuable sources.
Seyyed Mohammad Tabatabaei; Hosein Salimi; Ehsan Movahedian
Abstract
The subject of this article is “U.S Cyber Diplomacy Influence on Viewpoint of Iranian Users of Cyberspace (Case Study: Voice of America Website)”. U.S government tried to implement various cultural, social and educational programs to convince people about its foreign policy goals, and it ...
Read More
The subject of this article is “U.S Cyber Diplomacy Influence on Viewpoint of Iranian Users of Cyberspace (Case Study: Voice of America Website)”. U.S government tried to implement various cultural, social and educational programs to convince people about its foreign policy goals, and it became known as public diplomacy. Considering Iran’s high stance in U.S foreign policy, its Department of State launched various cyber diplomacy projects including Voice of America website to influence Iranians.The key question of this article is: What is the Influence of Radio Farda website, on Viewpoint of Iranian Users of Cyberspace? For this purpose, qualitative content analysis of Voice of America website and sending questionnaires has been used. The hypothesis is that, comparing to Iranian Internet users who do not read Voice of America website content, the Voice of America website users are more influenced by cyber diplomacy content and messages and this leads to negative attitude towards Iranian society in economic, social, cultural and political aspects.
