Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities

Abstract Climate change stands as one of the most critical environmental challenges of our time, with a global consensus on its significance. The complexity and multidimensional nature of this issue have led not only the natural sciences but also the humanities to engage with it. In other words, climate change can be regarded as one of the most prominent interdisciplinary subjects, requiring comprehensive analysis from the perspectives of various academic disciplines. Among the branches of the humanities, social sciences in general and communication studies in particular hold significant potential to contribute meaningfully to this discourse. The central question of this research is how communication studies can contribute to addressing the challenge of climate change. This study first examines the nature of climate change, its dimensions, and specifically climate justice. Subsequently, the role of communication and media in the context of climate change is discussed. A review of existing research in this field indicates that, in most developed countries, communication and media are widely recognized as key factors in both practical and academic engagements with climate change. However, in Iranian society, there has been no substantial attention to the relationship between media/communication and climate change at any level. Therefore, it is imperative to integrate climate communication into both academic research and practical applications.

Abstract This paper aims to analyze the discourse on Iran’s water problem in mainstream newspapers of the 90s. To achieve this goal, critical discourse analysis (CDA) has been applied and contents of four mainstream newspapers have been reviewed over a period of nine years (between 2011 and 2020). The conceptual framework of this research is derived from development journalism and environmental journalism. Based on the findings, the dominant discourse of "Shargh" newspaper shows that macro policies and a wrong approach to development led to the water problem in Iran. This discourse emphasizes that, the solution to water problem in Iran is "changes in policies and production structures" and "adaptation to the nature". Instead, the discourse of "Iran" newspaper emphasizes that macro-structures (Iran's political economy, individualism) have led to consumerism and water crisis. "Iran" newspaper’s discourse serves to eliminate the responsibility of the government in solving the water problem. It also makes the government’s role in creating the problem invisible. In the discourse of "Donyaye Eghtesad" newspaper, multiple factors (water ownership system, politicians, people and officials) have created water problem. Raising water price is the solution this newspaper offers to resolve the crisis. "Kayhan" yet another newspaper skip over the discourse on the water crisis. Therefore, in the discursive formation of "Iran" and "Kayhan" newspapers, water problem is not due to the policies and power relations. This kind of discursive formation can be considered as a result of development journalism.

Abstract Water Withdrawal in Iran is more than the capacity of renewable resources. In addition, Iran is facing a decline in surface water and groundwater. But, it seems the water problem is not well understood in society. Furthermore, there is no consensus in perception of this problem. The media can play an important role in this regard. In recent years, as the problem became more serious and its consequences more apparent, media attention to this issue has increased. But, how the media portrays this issue is unclear. So, this study aims to identify the representation of Iran’s water issue in mainstream newspapers. To achieve this goal, quantitative content analysis has been applied and contents of four mainstream newspapers have been reviewed over a period of seven years. Based on the findings, natural factors are the most prominent cause of water problems and the authorities’ views are more and the people’s views are less distinguished in these newspapers. In other words, the content of newspapers is consistent with the government’s views. "Crisis", "Water scarcity" and "drought" are the most highlighted vocabularies in headlines. These words hide the role of people and officials in creating the problem and represents water problem as a natural problem. Furthermore, water is highlighted as a problem that must be addressed by the government and the role of people is reduced to saving. Whereas, a good governance requires involvement of civil society in decision making.

Abstract This research aimed at analyzing research on "social media and political participation" in two levels of external and internal research, first of all, to examine the strengths and weaknesses of these studies and then compare them. In this meta-analysis, 17 research (9 external and 8 internal) were studied in three theoretical sections (4 criteria), a method (10 criteria) and a cognitive (2) criterion. The meta-analysis shows that the most important strengths of research, the diversity of theoretical approaches, the use of the integrated theoretical framework, the diversity of the statistical society, the variety of sample selection methods, the use of various statistical tests, and, at the same time, with high statistical power, attention The level of micro analysis, diversity in the social media, and attention to the various impacts in the results section And the weaknesses of the researches, the use of some unrelated theoretical approaches and approaches in theoretical foundations, the weak use of the theoretical frameworks defined in the analysis of the findings, the inability to explain the dimensions of political participation in the theoretical discussions, the overcoming of the proof paradigm And the method of scrolling, the inability to use qualitative and combination methods, the lack of consideration of tool validity, the lack of use of statistical tests to determine the normality of the sample size for measuring parametric tests, the disability in indexing From political participation in the questionnaire and achieving contradictory results in the discussion of the type of effect.

Abstract Extensive changes in today’s world, especially in the field of communications, has brought to the fore the role of public relations. This field requires professional experts with specific competences in each of its sub-sectors. Managers are always the most important people of an organization, within which the role of public relations managers is of paramount importance. The main aim of this article is to present a conceptual framework of managers’ competency model of public relations by using theoretical approaches to management and communication science. In pursuit of this goal, the article proceeds in two steps. First, the design of the initial conceptual framework for the research and secondly, measurement of the conceptual framework validity. We referred to academic literature and surveyed the employment indices of the focus group for managers. Firstly, we extracted dimensions, factors and indicators from patterns of national and international competence, and secondly we surveyed and verified the validity of the theoretical framework in consultation with communication science and public relation experts. The statistical population consisted of experts in communication science, public relations and management. A focus groups was put together 15-strong focus group, which was selected from the statistical population through the use of the judgmental method, arrived at the indicators and the factors after going through two steps of confirmation of dimensions and components of the conceptual framework. Because of the increased importance of the role of public relations in communication competence and organizational success, the conceptual framework put forward in this article can be of use to managers of organizations.

Abstract Different aspects of the poetry of Hafez have been studied so far.  The material and non-material features of his poetry have been examined in different fields such as literature and anthropology. Due to the influence and importance of Hafez’s poetry, it seems that it can be studied from the perspective of other fields as well. Communications science is among these fields, dealing with how and why communications are established between the speaker and the audience. In the present article the nonverbal aspects in the poetry of Hafez are studied. It seems that the verbal aspects of his poetry are not the only factors that have made it remain popular with the audience through generations; nonverbal aspects have played a great part as well. This article aims to examine the literary work in terms of nonverbal communications in order to demonstrate the skill of the poet in establishing communications with its audience beyond the boundaries of speech; the poet’s mastery over this feature is also culturally interpreted. The utilized method is qualitative content analysis.