The impact of COVID-19 on Iranian politics

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 465-473
Author(s):  
Luciano Zaccara

The first city officially affected by COVID-19 was Iran’s religious centre, Qom, on 19 February 2020. However, as this paper shows, Qom is not only the Islamic Republic’s most important city when it comes to religious matters, but also when it comes to political issues. In consequence, the pandemic quickly spread from the initial epicentre throughout the country in three waves with, to date, more than 600,000 positive cases and 36,000 deaths. In stark contrast to other countries, a very large proportion of members of Iran’s clerical and political establishment as well as government institutions had been infected.Despite the alarming figures, Iranian authorities tried to avoid strict confinement measures to prevent not only the healthcare system but also the already enormously strained economy from collapsing. COVID-19 in combination with crippling US sanctions have had severe impacts on the Iranian economy and its government, whose credibility and performance had already been called into question.The article provides an early analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on the Islamic Republic and its political system, enquiring into immediate and future challenges for the current and the next government in dealing with the effects of the pandemic in combination with the US’s maximum pressure campaign.

Author(s):  
Maysoon Karim Al-Khatatneh

The study aimed to identify the level of creative behavior, and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the variables of creative behavior (brainstorming, ability to change, problem solving) in government institutions in Jordan. The study aimed to identify the level of institutional performance, and analyze the impact of creative behaviors of employees on the performance of government institutions in Jordan. The study adopted descriptive & analytical methodology based on a questionnaire applied to a sample of 50 employees in government institutions. The study found that there is a statistically significant relationship between the creative behaviors of employees and performance in government institutions in Jordan, and in the light of the findings, the study reached the recommends to increase attention to the creative behavior of employees in government institutions.    


2005 ◽  
pp. 53-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kapeliushnikov ◽  
N. Demina

The paper provides new survey evidence on effects of concentrated ownership upon investment and performance in Russian industrial enterprises. Authors trace major changes in their ownership profile, assess pace of post-privatization redistribution of shareholdings and provide evidence on ownership concentration in the Russian industry. The major econometric findings are that the first largest shareholding is negatively associated with the firm’s investment and performance but surprisingly the second largest shareholding is positively associated with them. Moreover, these relationships do not depend on identity of majority shareholders. These results are consistent with the assumption that the entrenched controlling owners are engaged in extracting "control premium" but sizable shareholdings accumulated by other blockholders may put brakes on their expropriating behavior and thus be conductive for efficiency enhancing. The most interesting topic for further more detailed analysis is formation, stability and roles of coalitions of large blockholders in the corporate sector of post-socialist countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-151
Author(s):  
Noora Ahmed Lari ◽  

The State of Qatar has implemented several family policies in order to improve the wellbeing of Qatari families and ensure fair distribution of development benefits for both men and women. However, there is a linkage between female employment outside the home and instability in the marriages of Qatari families. This paper investigates the impact of female employment on marital stability, based on the results of primary data collected in Qatar, a questionnaire that consisted of several sections such as challenges in the workplace, supervisor, family and spouse relations, work motivation and performance. Of the 824 questionnaires that were returned, 807 were completed and valid for analysis. Regression analysis and an ANOVA test have been used to test the relationship between the variables. The results of the research have produced mixed findings about how wives’ employment increases marital instability and have yielded few significant differences on mean scores of discuss on work demands, insufficient time together, housework, financial matters, communication, relatives and rearing children. The results indicates that in general Qatar working women face several challenges in relation to their marital life as part of cultural and social constraints.


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-63
Author(s):  
Mariana Sandu ◽  
Stefan Mantea

Abstract Agri-food systems include branching ramifications, which connect in the upstream the input suppliers with farmers, and downstream farmers, processors, retailers and consumers. In the last decades, at the level of the regions, food systems have undergone rapid transformation as a result of technological progress. The paper analyzes the changes made to the structure, behavior and performance of the agri-food system and the impact on farmers and consumers. Also, the role of agricultural research as a determinant factor of transformation of agri-food system is analyzed. The research objective is to develop technologies that cover the entire food chain (from farm to fork) and meet the specific requirements of consumers (from fork to farm) through scientific solutions in line with the principles of sustainable agriculture and ensuring the safety and food safety of the population.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-315
Author(s):  
V.V. Smirnov

Subject. The article discusses the momentum in finance. Objectives. The study reveals the impact of financial momentum as the unity of antipodes in the development of the national economy. Methods. The study is based on a systems approach and methods of descriptive statistics. Results. I discover the ultimate goal of globalization, i.e. the substantive simplification of national economies and strengthening of global economic ties. The goals determine the logic tendency of national economies for reducing the interest rate so as to gain the financial momentum and, consequently, fanning the crisis risk in the global financial system. The global financial system became the substance of global economic processes, which determined development opportunities of national economies. I reveal what countries have the high and low financial momentum. Conclusions and Relevance. Being the unity of antipodes in the modern economic development, financial momentum causes countries to lose their economic identity, making them just functions of the global financial system. The cyclical development model of national economies is replaced with the metron model that rests on fluctuating advanced economies with the low financial momentum at its bottom and emerging economies at its top. The findings crystallize the concept and new competencies for a person who decide on the determination and performance of financial regulation activities.


Author(s):  
Ana Rita Damas Oliveira ◽  
Paulo Alexandre Guedes Lopes Henriques ◽  
Teresa Cristina Clímaco Monteiro de Oliveira

Much has been written about the link between HR and performance, however consensus has yet not been found concerning the understanding on how that relationship comes together. Empirically, no direct impact has been found and research has only suggested an indirect impact. Consequently, the Strategic HRM field is particularly interested on the understanding of the mediating variables that impact the organization performance. Besides the integrated and business strategy alignment of the HR function, it should be considered that it is the people (HR) of the organization and not their practices that determine the company´s competitive advantage. (Messersmith & Guthrie, 2010) argue that it is the impact of those practices that represent “the true resource and enable a sustainable advantage over industry rivals”. The objetive of this research proposal is to study the impact of strategic human resources practices on the organization performance through a case study methodology, supported by longitudinal data. Namely, the project aims to achieve a deeper understanding of the variables that affect the process stream during strategy implementation. How the HR practices impact on people? And why human resources are the most valuable asset? These core premises are in line with the most recent economic concerns about people productivity, employment policies and labor flexibility.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 268-288
Author(s):  
Dlan Ismail Mawlud ◽  
Hoshyar Mozafar Ali

The development of technology, information technology and various means of communication have a significant impact on public relations activity; especially in government institutions. Many government institutions have invested these means in their management system, in order to facilitate the goals of the institution, and ultimately the interaction between the internal and external public. In this theoretical research, I tried to explain the impact of the new media on public relations in the public administration, based on the views of specialists. The aim of the research is to know the use of the new media of public relations and how in the system of public administration, as well as, Explaining the role it plays in public relations activities of government institutions. Add to this, analyzing the way of how new media and public relations participate in the birth of e-government. In the results, it is clear that the new media has facilitated public relations between the public and other institutions, as it strengthened relations between them


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pereira ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel ◽  
Elizabeth Ann Harris

Political misinformation, often called “fake news”, represents a threat to our democracies because it impedes citizens from being appropriately informed. Evidence suggests that fake news spreads more rapidly than real news—especially when it contains political content. The present article tests three competing theoretical accounts that have been proposed to explain the rise and spread of political (fake) news: (1) the ideology hypothesis— people prefer news that bolsters their values and worldviews; (2) the confirmation bias hypothesis—people prefer news that fits their pre-existing stereotypical knowledge; and (3) the political identity hypothesis—people prefer news that allows their political in-group to fulfill certain social goals. We conducted three experiments in which American participants read news that concerned behaviors perpetrated by their political in-group or out-group and measured the extent to which they believed the news (Exp. 1, Exp. 2, Exp. 3), and were willing to share the news on social media (Exp. 2 and 3). Results revealed that Democrats and Republicans were both more likely to believe news about the value-upholding behavior of their in-group or the value-undermining behavior of their out-group, supporting a political identity hypothesis. However, although belief was positively correlated with willingness to share on social media in all conditions, we also found that Republicans were more likely to believe and want to share apolitical fake new. We discuss the implications for theoretical explanations of political beliefs and application of these concepts in in polarized political system.


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