The Philosopher and the Revolutionary State: How Karl Popper’s Ideas Shaped the Views of Iranian Intellectuals

The present paper is an attempt to explore the impact of Karl Popper’s ideas on the views of a number of intellectual groups in post‐revolutionary Iran. Throughout the text, we have tried to make use of original sources and our own personal experiences. The upshot of the arguments of the paper is that the Viennese philosopher has made a long‐lasting impression on the intellectual scene of present‐day Iran in that even those socio‐political groups which are not in favour of his ideas, especially his model of critical rationalism, have felt the urgent need to make themselves familiar with them. Moreover, many of Popper’s ideas have directly or indirectly influenced the thinking of the decision‐makers in Iran since 1978.     

Conception of Adulthood Among Iranian Emerging Adults

Using a questionnaire adapted from Arnett and Padilla‐Walker (2015), the authors examined the concept of adulthood among 366 Iranian emerging adults ages 17 to 29. Results suggested that the concept and criteria of adulthood are influenced by the cultural context. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

A Qualitative Assessment of the Sex Education Needs of Married Iranian Women

Despite a comprehensive reproductive health program there is little sex education available in Iran. In this article we present results of a study conducted to identify content area for a proposed sex education program for married Iranian women. Twenty-one married female clients (23–45 years) and 18 reproductive health providers, recruited from urban health clinics in Tehran using non-probability sampling, participated in four focus group discussions. Sexual health information needs related to reproductive tract and sexually transmitted infections, “acceptability” of certain sexual practices such as oral and anal intercourse, and the sexual response cycles and physiology of men and women. Women’s sexual concerns related to communication, incompatibility of sexual interests and desire, and their ability to maintain a strong marriage. Two themes cut across women’s responses to all questions: modesty and maintaining a strong marriage. Results contributed to the design of a sex education program that addressed the specific information needs and concerns of Iranian women.     

A Lotus 1-2-3-based system for recording and maintaining body weight of laboratory animals

Body-weight maintenance is required in a variety of behavioral and physiological studies. A PC-based animal-weighing system is described; it features automated data collection and allows for accurate control of body weight in test animals via manipulation of food intake. Major system components are a PC XT-compatible computer, Lotus 1-2-3 and National Instruments Measure software, and a digital electronic balance. The system is controlled by Lotus macros, which present menus to the user. Menus provide for the basic operations of the system, including establishing new data files, collecting weight data, printing, and transferring files to a laboratory minicomputer. The optional weight-maintenance algorithm calculates the amount of food necessary to maintain target body weights. Some important aspects of this algorithm, including maintenance-feeding and gain parameters, can be manipulated to reduce weight oscillation in test animals or to accommodate the maintenance of body weight of different animal species. The system facilitates acquisition and recording of weight data, minimizes the frequency of error, and reduces variability both within and across animals when body-weight maintenance is required.     

The final imperative

THE FINAL IMPERATIVE: AN ISLAMIC THEOLOGY OF LIBERATION. By SHABBIRAKHTAR. London: Bellew, 1991. 117pp. Pb. £9.95. ISBN 0-947792-93-7.     

躯体性和心理性应激对大鼠血浆皮质酮变化的影响

本实验以血浆皮质酮分泌量为大鼠应激反应指标。实验分三阶段进行:Ⅰ期.适应(第1～7天),在此期所有动物对环境及实验盒适应性训练。Ⅱ期.心理性应激的形成(第8～14天).随机分三组进行:对照(C)组仅给不规则光;规则光(R)组给光后再于尾部施电刺激,光与电刺激间隔恒定;不规则光(Ⅰ)组给光和电刺激,但两者间隔随机。C、R、I三组所接受的光刺激量相等,R、I组所接受的电刺激量相等。Ⅲ期.心理性应激的记忆(第15天).此期各组电刺激均撤除,余同第Ⅱ期。结果显示,在Ⅱ期末及Ⅲ期,R、I组血浆皮质酮均明显高于C组,I组高于R组。     

Association between adolescent rough-and-tumble play and conduct problems,substance use,and risk-taking behaviors: Findings from a school-based sample

Rough-and-tumble play (RTP), also known as play fighting, is a common form of play frequently reported and studied by researchers. However, one important limitation of past research in the area of RTP has been the neglect of the adolescence period. Consequently, little is known about the function of adolescent RTP as well as about clinical characteristics of youth who engage in this activity after childhood. In a school-based sample of 1,771 middle school students (ages 9–16 years), the current study sought to address this gap by examining, via bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses, the potential cross-sectional associations of adolescent RTP with (a) selected demographic variables, (b) conduct problem symptoms, (c) substance use, and (d) risk-taking behaviors, including adjustment for several demographic confounders. Results indicated that adolescents reporting higher rates of conduct problem symptoms were more likely to report a recent participation in RTP. In addition, substance use (experimentation and current consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana) and risk behaviors assessed all were strongly associated with an increased likelihood of reporting an engagement in RTP. This finding suggests that participation in this activity probably implicates particular phenotypic characteristics including the propensity to engage in health-damaging behaviors. But the most profound issue raised by this research concerns the strong relationship between RTP and great levels of conduct disorder symptoms, suggesting a possible significant change in the functional significance of RTP in the adolescence period.     

“No,You're Playing the Race Card”: Testing the Effects of Anti-Black,Anti-Latino,and Anti-Immigrant Appeals in the Post-Obama Era

Despite a sizable literature on racial priming, scholars have failed to account for the shifting nature of racial appeals. First, theories of racial priming have not yet been widely applied to increasingly common anti-immigrant and anti-Latino political appeals. Second, theories of racial priming have not adequately accounted for both an increasingly racialized political climate and increased tolerance for explicit anti-minority appeals. In two survey experiments fielded both before Trump's rise and after his presidential victory, we find the Implicit-Explicit (IE) model always fails for anti-black appeals, sometimes fails for anti-immigrant appeals, but consistently holds for anti-Latino appeals. While we find the null effects of implicit versus explicit anti-black and anti-immigrant appeals are partly driven by tolerance for the explicit appeals, we also find evidence that white Americans are adept at recognizing the racial content of appeals featuring widely used, congruent issue-group pairs. Our findings shed light on conditions under which the IE model does and does not hold in the current political era.     

Leibnizian Identity and Paraconsistent Logic

The standard Leibnizian view of identity allows for substitutivity of identicals and validates transitivity of identity within classical semantics. However, in a series of works, Graham Priest argues that Leibnizian identity invalidates both principles when formalized in paraconsistent semantics. This paper aims to show the Leibnizian view of identity validates substitutivity of identicals and transitivity of identity whether the logic is classical or paraconsistent. After presenting Priest's semantics of identity, I show what a semantic expression of Leibnizian identity does amount to. Then, I argue that Priest's semantic definition of identity is not Leibnizian. Finally, I offer a semantics characterization of identity in paraconsistent logic that is truly Leibnizian. I demonstrate that the correct formalization of Leibnizian identity in paraconsistent logic also validates substitutivity of identicals and transitivity of identity.     

Prevention of the development of problem behavior: A laboratory model

Few studies have isolated the preventive efficacy of common behavioral strategies like noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) and differential reinforcement of alternative behavior (DRA). The purpose of the current study was to develop and evaluate a laboratory model of these two problem behavior prevention strategies. Undergraduate students participated in a computer simulation, in which clicks to a designated area of the computer screen were analogous to the emergence of problem behavior. The responding of participants in a control group, who experienced a percentile schedule used to mimic the shaping of problem behavior, was compared to that of participants in two experimental groups, each with a history of either DRA or NCR. Between‐subjects group comparisons showed that both intervention strategies were equally effective in the prevention of our analog to problem behavior when compared to the control group. The strengths and limitations of a laboratory model for prevention are discussed in light of recent applied work in this area.