Implementing Corporate Social Responsibility Policies in a Developing Country-A Study of Iran

The scant literature on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in developing countries where CSR is relatively underdeveloped, has recently suggested that CSR in developing countries is different and reflects specific social and political background. So far, empirical research on this topic has been scarce. The purpose of this thesis is to discover how CSR practices can be implemented in a developing country such as Iran by exploring the role of the economy, state and societal culture. Qualitative research and semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers of some of the largest publicly held companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. The analysis of data established that in developing countries, such as Iran, markets are imperfect and incomplete with lack of competition and strong government interference. This thesis also revealed that good-law-on-the-books does not necessarily ensure economic development but rather economic development comes before the rule of law. Other mechanisms such as competition, trust, legal compliance level and government interference level are more influential. The results of these data also provided that stakeholders have very limited impact upon the decision-making process in Iranian companies and the attitude of the managing director is the most important driver of CSR policies. It was recognized that Western style of economic development may not happen in Iranian business environments. Business strategies that depend on influencing the strengths of the existing market environment outperform those that focus on overcoming its weaknesses. The interesting finding was that despite the strong agreement amongst the interviewees on weak performance of the government in all aspects and constant call for lowering its interference level, all of them believed that the government plays the most important roll in promoting CSR policies. Finally it was concluded that Iran is not still ready and does not have necessary economic and cultural level for promotion of CSR policies

Experiences with vaccines against cutaneous leishmaniasis: of men and mice

The need for a vaccine(s) against cutaneous leishmaniasis and the populations at risk for whom such vaccines should be developed are briefly discussed. The current human vaccine studies are reviewed, as are some experimental mouse studies with emphasis on Leishmania major infection relevant to vaccine development. Based on the information available from the mouse model and those data which are being sought in human studies, the benign nature of the cutaneous disease, the ease with which L. major can be manipulated to yield the required material, and the ongoing practice of leishmanization which allows rapid evaluation of candidate vaccine(s), it is suggested that a vaccine, at least against L. major, is imminent in the not too distant futur

Immunological stimulation for the treatment of leishmaniasis: A modality worthy of serious consideration

Instead of relying on drugs to reduce the parasite burden of leishmaniasis, and waiting for the effector immune response to develop in time to control the parasites, immunotherapy in conjunction with chemotherapy can rapidly induce the effector immune response. With a safe and potent drug plus an affordable therapeutic vaccine (immunostimulant), which remains to be developed, a single visit by patients with visceral or cutaneous leishmaniasis might be sufficient to induce a quick and lasting recovery. Drug toxicity and the emergence of resistance could also be dramatically reduced compared with present long-term monotherapy. Immunotherapy could be an effective addition to chemotherapy for leishmaniasi

The Effect of Spiritual and Religious Group Psychotherapy on Suicidal Ideation in Depressed Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Suicide is a great economical, social and public health problem. It is prevalent worldwide and has a lot of negative effects on individuals, families and society. Depression is often prelude to Suicide. An important part of the treatment of the mentally ill patients is spiritual-religious psychotherapy which should be done after physical treatment. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of spiritual and religious group psychotherapy on suicidal ideation in depressed patients. Methods: 51 depressed patients with suicidal ideation from Razi hospital (Tabriz, Iran) participated in this clinical trial. To collect Data questionnaire was used which included demographic and Beck Suicide Scale Ideation. Experimental group participated in 10 sessions of group psychotherapy. Each section lasted 1 hour. Two weeks after the last section post test was done. Statistical software SPSS ver 13 was used for data analysis. Results: Results of independent t-test revealed no difference between two groups in terms of suicidal ideation before intervention but after study there is a statistical difference. Also the results of ANCOVA test showed a significant relationship between spiritual group therapy and decrease in suicidal ideation, so that this intervention can make 57% of variance in suicidal ideation of experimental group.Conclusion: Regarding positive effect of spiritual and religious group psychotherapy on decreasing suicidal ideation of depressed patients, we suggest this intervention to be held in Psychiatric Wards and also more study on depression and other psychiatric patients with greater sample size would be helpful

Exploring Jahrom Medical University students' attitudes towards the Islamic self-evaluation in 2015

Introduction: Self- evaluation is the process of designing, building and maintaining human behaviors that can lead to maturity and perfection. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine Jahrom Medical University students' attitudes towards the Islamic self-assessment in 2015.Method: This cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out on the students of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Using purposive sampling, 223 samples were selected.Collection tool was Islamic self-assessment questionnaire in the form of 20 items based on the Likert scale consisting stipulation, calculating, meditation and expostulation. Data analysis was performed using statistical software SPSS 11 and paired T-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation.Results: 223 students participated in this cross-sectional and descriptive study.68.2% were female and the rest were male. Their average age was 2.18 ± 20.4 in the range of 15 to 45 years.28.7 percent of students were medical field and 27.8 percent from the field of Anesthesiology.71.3% were undergraduates. The results of Pearson correlation coefficient showed that there was a significant correlation between the components of Islamic selfevaluation (stipulation, calculating, meditation, expostulation) and Islamic self-evaluation (P-value <0.05).Conclusion: The students of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences are in relatively good condition in terms of the four stages of Islamic self-evaluation.Keywords: Islamic self-evaluation, students, Jahrom University of Medical Science

The knowledge and the use of psychological skills of anger management skills at the bedside by the physicians and nurses of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in 2013

Although all individuals could be exposed to the outburst of anger, a group of them are more at risk than others because of the nature of their work and responsibilities, that the physicians and nurses are placed in this group. In the field of psychology, different skills such as social protection systems, problem-solving skills, self-relaxation system, use of humor skills and communication and negotiation skills have been proposed to control anger. Given the importance of anger management in the prevention of job violence in the health environment and its impact on psychological health of psychiatrists and nurses and also the lack of information and research on the topic, this study aimed to study the knowledge and the use of psychological skills of anger management at the bedside by the physicians and nurses of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences.Methodology: This study is a cross-sectional and descriptive research, its studied sample included 259 general practitioners, specialists and nurses working in two general hospitals affiliated to Jahrom University of Medical Sciences. They were included in the study by the census method. The data was collected by the self-report method and two researcher-made questionnaires: a questionnaire of the knowledge of the psychological skills of anger management and a questionnaire of the use of anger management skills at the bedside and their validity (face and content) and reliability were examined before performing the research. Data analysis was performed with descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, percentage) using SPSS software.Results: The mean of the knowledge of the physicians and nurses of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences from the psychological skills of anger management was 30.2 (standard deviation is equal to 1.53) that based on the classification of the scores of related questionnaire, it was at a good level. Also, the results showed that the mean of the use of psychological skills of anger management at the bedside by the physicians and nurses working in Jahrom University of Medical Sciences was 39.54 (standard deviation is equal to 1.28) that based on the classification of the scores of related questionnaire, it was at a good level.Conclusion: According to the results, the knowledge and the use of psychological skills of anger management skills at the bedside by the physicians and nurses of Jahrom University of Medical Sciences were at the desired level, however, it is proposed to use other evaluation and assessment methods which have no limitations of self-report method in future studies.Keywords: anger management skill, nurses, physician

The effect of job-stress on patient-safety in hospitals affiliated to Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Iran

BACKGROUND: Patient-safety is one of the main pillars of healthcare. Given that nurses are the largest group associated with patients, so with safety harms, job-stress among then can reduce patient-safety in hospitals. The aim of this article was to investigate the effects of job-stress on patient-safety in hospitals affiliated to Alborz University of Medical Sciences, Karaj, Iran.METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, data gathering tools consisted of a reliable researcher-made job-stress questionnaire, and a patient-safety checklist. 320 nurses in hospitals affiliated to Alborz University of Medical Sciences, who were selected using simple randomized sampling method, completed the questionnaire, and the checklist was filled by the researcher. Data were analyzed at two levels of inferential and descriptive statistics.RESULTS: Job-stress and also patient-safety were at average levels in studied hospitals. Among the demographic factors, only the relationship between job-stress and marital status was statistically significant (P < 0.050). There were no significant relationships between different aspects of job-stress among nurses and patient-safety.CONCLUSION: According to average level of job-stress among studied nurses, the quality of offered services would decrease and patient-safety would become undermined, if no action take place to reduce the job-stress among them. Therefore, it is necessary to increase nurses’ physical, psychological, and social health to increase patient-safety