Action research and reflective thinking can enhance learning since both processes provide students with the opportunities to step back and think about how they actually solve problems. While there is a robust academic inquiry on reflection practices and AR in the educational setting, investigating learners’ reflections through AR practices can shed more light on related research. This study implemented reflective journal writing through AR and aimed to investigate the participants’ views about reflective journal writing, the effects of journal writing on (...) RT development, and the learners’ grammar use in writing. Eighty language learners formed the two experimental and control groups of the study. The possible relationship between the RT level and participants’ final exam was checked. Analyses of the participants’ journals, the semi-structured interview, the questionnaires’ results, and the final exam scores were considered. The findings showed that the participants had positive views about journal writing, and they could enhance their level of RT as well as their grammar use in writing; nevertheless, no relationship between the RT level and final exam scores of the participants was found. The methodology and the results of the study could be conducive to welcoming alternative methods of teaching and assessment that encourage the learners’ reflective practices and active engagements in language classes. (shrink)

Focusing on the pedestrian space and the meaning of the pedestrian self in Tehran, the chapter shows how the pedestrian space becomes central in the relationship between people and the government in so far as the government is the responsible power for the safety and welfare of the citizens. It raises issues of citizenship, by analysing the way in which the government deals with the needs of different groups of people. The chapter illustrates this point through the dichotomy between the (...) old Persian words piyâdeh as opposed to savàreh, which seems to reflect the social dichotomy of the worth of human beings. The different use of public space brings about the creation of different groups of citizens with different rights and privileges. This is reflected in the different perceptions that different groups of people have of the modern urban landscape and their use of public space. (shrink)

Efforts to promote ethical behaviour in business and academic contexts have raised awareness of the need for an ethical orientation in business students. This study examines the similarities and differences between the personal values of Iranian and Australian business students and their attitudes to cheating behaviour in universities and unethical practices in business settings. Exploratory factory analysis provided support for three distinct ethics factors—serious academic ethical misconduct, minor academic ethical misconduct, and business ethical misconduct. Results reveal statistically significant differences between (...) the two cultural groups for ethical (altruism/universalism) values, and for attitudes to serious academic misconduct. No differences were found between the two groups for attitudes to minor academic unethical practices or unethical business practices. Gender influenced responses where females were found to indicate higher levels of unacceptability of unethical practices in academic and business settings than males. This pilot study highlights the need for higher education institutions to develop and enforce policies and practices to publicise, encourage and reinforce higher awareness of the need for adhering to ethical behaviour in university studies as a necessary component of training business professionals. (shrink)

BackgroundConsidering ethical issues in midwifery care is essential for improving the quality of health services and the client's satisfaction. This study aimed to develop and validate the code of ethics for Midwives in Iran (ICEM).Materials and methodsThis was a mixed sequential study that was performed in three phases including a qualitative study, a review, and the content validity assessment. The first phase was a qualitative study with a content analysis approach. The data were collected by conducting in-depth semi-structured individual interviews (...) with 14 midwifery and ethics experts. The purposive sampling method was used to recruit the participants and sampling continued until data saturation. The data were analyzed using the conventional content analysis described by Graneheim and Lundman. Lincoln and Guba’s criteria were used to confirm the trustworthiness of the data. Then, a narrative review of the selected national and international codes of ethics for Midwives was performed to complete the items of the ICEM. For validity assessment, the face and content validity of the items of ICEM was assessed by 15 experts to calculate the content validity ratio (CVR) and index (CVI).ResultsFourteen experts were interviewed in the qualitative phase, and 207 codes were extracted from a content analysis which were categorized into 23 sub-categories and 6 main categories. The extracted codes were considered as the items for ICEM that were completed by a review of the selected national and international code of ethics for Midwives. The content validity and ratio assessment of the items demonstrated an average CVI = 0.92 and CVR = 0.85. Then, the final version of ICEM was developed with 92 items in 6 domains about; 1) "professional Commitments" with 30 items; 2) "providing midwifery services to the client and her companions” with 26 items; 3) “relationship with colleagues" with 11 items; 4) “herself” with 6 items; 5) “education and research” with 8 items; and, 6) “management” with 11 items.ConclusionICEM was prepared with 92 items in six sections that facilitate its use for midwives who are working in the different fields of care, counseling, education, research, and management. In this new version of the ICEM, the items related to recent social-, scientific, and technical improvements were considered for providing ethical midwifery care. (shrink)

BackgroundEthical care provided by nurses to earthquake victims is one of the main subjects in nursing profession.ObjectivesGiven the information gap in this field, the present study is an attempt to explore the nurses’ experience of ethical care provided to victims of an earthquake.Research design and methodA hermeneutic phenomenological study was performed. The participants were 16 nurses involved in providing care to the injured in Kermanshah earthquake, Iran. They were selected using purposeful sampling, and in-depth and semi-structured interviews were carried out. (...) The transcribed interviews were analyzed based on the hermeneutic approach using the analysis method proposed by Diekelmann et al.Ethical considerationsThe study was approved by the Research Council and Ethics Committee of Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Iran.FindingsData analyses revealed four themes and 10 sub-themes that illustrated nurses’ experience of ethical care during earthquake. The themes were (1) Respecting humanistic values (sacrifice, stepping beyond task description, and voluntary work), (2) Commitment to ethics (honesty, confidentiality, and trustworthiness), (3) Respecting dignity of victims (respecting cultural values, maintaining privacy, having humanistic perspective, and effective communication), and (4) Spiritual support (helping patients to do religious rituals Psychological support).ConclusionThe results showed the nurses’ experience with providing care to earthquake victims. The findings underlined ethics and ethical values in providing nursing care during disasters. It is suggested that special courses on the importance of nursing ethics in critical situations be incorporated into nursing curriculums and in-service educations. (shrink)

BackgroundGenetic disorders due to kindred marriages are common medical conditions in Iran; however, the legal aspects of abortion remain controversial. This study was undertaken to determine physicians' opinions regarding the termination of pregnancy for three genetic diseases: thalassemia major, hemophilia, and Down's syndrome.MethodsA questionnaire was administered to selected physicians by stratified random sampling to determine the following: age, gender, knowledge about prenatal diagnosis of diseases in high risk pregnancies, agreement with abortion, recommended gestational age for abortion, and, if opposed to (...) abortion, the reason.ResultsOf 323 physicians, who participated in the study, 91.3(295), 40.6(131), and 78.6%(254) were in agreement and 8.7(28), 59.4(192), and 21.4%(69) were opposed to abortion for thalassemia major, hemophilia, and Down's syndrome, respectively. Among 289 physicians opposed to abortion in respect of each of all three conditions, the following reasons were cited: religion, 18; emotional, 10; quality of care, 23; hope to find a new treatment option in the future, 103; miscellaneous reasons, 6; and a combination of these reasons, 129. Among 680 physicians in agreement with abortion in relation to all of the diseases, 4.6%(31) were agreed with abortion in less than 12 weeks gestation, 79.2%(538) in less than 16 weeks gestation, 5.6%(38) in less than 20 weeks gestation, 2.2%(15) in less than 24 weeks gestation, and 8.4%(58) were agreed with beyond the 24 weeks of gestational age.ConclusionThe majority of physicians were in agreement with abortion for thalassemia major and Down's syndrome because of the overall prognosis, but opposed to abortion for hemophilia. (shrink)

In pediatric cohort studies, disclosing findings and providing treatment counseling to parents, legal guardians, or other authorized representatives is an ethical imperative. Keratoconus (KC) is a corneal degenerative disease that can progress to severe vision impairment and need for corneal transplantation. This report concerns the disclosure of results to the parents of children who were diagnosed with KC in the Shahroud Schoolchildren Eye Cohort Study and received essential treatment in a timely manner.

BackgroundGenetic disorders due to kindred marriages are common medical conditions in Iran; however, the legal aspects of abortion remain controversial. This study was undertaken to determine physicians' opinions regarding the termination of pregnancy for three genetic diseases: thalassemia major, hemophilia, and Down's syndrome.MethodsA questionnaire was administered to selected physicians by stratified random sampling to determine the following: age, gender, knowledge about prenatal diagnosis of diseases in high risk pregnancies, agreement with abortion, recommended gestational age for abortion, and, if opposed to (...) abortion, the reason.ResultsOf 323 physicians, who participated in the study, 91.3(295), 40.6(131), and 78.6%(254) were in agreement and 8.7(28), 59.4(192), and 21.4%(69) were opposed to abortion for thalassemia major, hemophilia, and Down's syndrome, respectively. Among 289 physicians opposed to abortion in respect of each of all three conditions, the following reasons were cited: religion, 18; emotional, 10; quality of care, 23; hope to find a new treatment option in the future, 103; miscellaneous reasons, 6; and a combination of these reasons, 129. Among 680 physicians in agreement with abortion in relation to all of the diseases, 4.6%(31) were agreed with abortion in less than 12 weeks gestation, 79.2%(538) in less than 16 weeks gestation, 5.6%(38) in less than 20 weeks gestation, 2.2%(15) in less than 24 weeks gestation, and 8.4%(58) were agreed with beyond the 24 weeks of gestational age.ConclusionThe majority of physicians were in agreement with abortion for thalassemia major and Down's syndrome because of the overall prognosis, but opposed to abortion for hemophilia. (shrink)

Genetic disorders due to kindred marriages are common medical conditions in Iran; however, the legal aspects of abortion remain controversial. This study was undertaken to determine physicians' opinions regarding..