Massey Documents by Type
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Item Unintended Maladaptation: How Agritourism Development Policies in Iran Have Increased Vulnerability to Climate Change(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2023-08-29) Torabi Z-A; Khavarian-Garmsir AR; Hall CM; Khatibi NB; Borghi ADImplementing appropriate policies is crucial for adapting the agricultural sector to climate change. However, adopting incorrect policies can exacerbate unsustainable development. Hence, this study investigated the unintended consequences of agritourism development policies as a climate change adaptation strategy in the villages of Shahrud, Iran. It demonstrated how such policies have inadvertently heightened farmers’ vulnerability to climate change impacts. Data were collected through 44 semi-structured interviews, which underwent thematic analysis to identify emerging patterns. The study’s findings indicate that the rapid expansion of Agritourism in Iran, aimed at addressing climate change, has failed to achieve its intended goals. Inadequate government support, increased supply, legal gaps, and lack of empowerment were identified as contributing factors leading to unsustainable development and financial losses. Consequently, smallholder farmers were found to harbor negative perceptions of agritourism and expressed dissatisfaction with existing policies. These findings underscore the necessity of comprehensive policies and support systems to facilitate the effective implementation of sustainable agritourism by stakeholders in Iran.Item Environmental Concerns and Water Conservation Behavior in Desert Tourism: Applying the Extended Norm Activation Theory for Gen Z Tourists(MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2025-03-12) Torabi Z-A; Hall CM; Azarniou N; Borzu G; Álvarez- García J; Ramón-Cardona J; Sánchez-Fernández MDThis study examines the influence of environmental concerns on water conservation behaviors among Gen Z tourists in Iranian desert regions by extending the Norm Activation Theory (NAT). Adopting a quantitative approach, data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 330 Gen Z tourists (born between 1997 and 2012) who visited four Iranian desert villages (Qale Bala, Mesr, Abyaneh, and Rezaabad) between April and July 2023. Using systematic sampling, every fifth Gen Z tourist was selected. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Results show that environmental concerns, situational responsibility, and personal norms positively impact water conservation behaviors, while denial of responsibility negatively affects them. Personal norms positively influence pride and guilt emotions, which in turn promote water conservation behaviors. The extended model, incorporating environmental concerns, demonstrated improved explanatory power over the original NAT. This research contributes to sustainable tourism literature by integrating environmental concerns and moral emotions into the NAT framework, offering insights into psychological mechanisms driving pro-environmental behaviors among Gen Z tourists in desert environments.Item Organizational Compliance During COVID-19: Investigating the Effects of Anxiety, Productivity, and Individual Risk Factors Among Iranian Healthcare Employees(Frontiers Media S.A., 2021-02-08) Rahmani D; Zeng C; Goodarzi AM; Vahid F; Ahmed RThis study investigates the impact of anxiety, productivity, and individual characteristics on employee compliance in an Iranian medical science university during the COVID-19 outbreak. The data of 160 healthcare employees of various professions were collected with reliability and validity on the measurements performed. Two regression tests revealed that higher anxiety reduces and higher productivity increased compliance. Participants with higher education and non-medical professions were found to have higher compliance. Productivity was also found to be positively associated with tenure and having a medical position. Implication and limitation are discussed.Item The concurrent accuracy of the modified telephone interview for cognitive status and mini-mental state examination tools in detection of cognitive impairment among older adults(Scientific Electronic Library Online, 2022-09) Laghousi D; Aminisani N; Shamshirgaran SM; Javadpour A; Gholamnezhad Z; Gilani N; Asghari-Jafarabadi M; Alpass FDue to the need for face-to-face administration of many cognitive screening tests, it is not always feasible to screen large-scale samples. Objective: This study aimed to assess the discriminant validity of the Persian version of Telephone Interview for Cognitive Status (P-TICS-m) and Mini-Mental State Examination in the middle-aged Iranian population. Methods: The P-TICS-m and MMSE were administered to 210 randomly selected middle-aged community-dwelling adults who had been registered in the Neyshabur Longitudinal Study on Ageing. Participants also underwent psychological examination by two neurologists to assess cognitive impairment based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) criteria. To evaluate the discriminant validity of P-TICS-m and MMSE with DSM-V criteria, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV), and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR+ and LR−) were calculated. Results: The mean age of the participants was 59.6±6.8 years. The TICS and MMSE were highly correlated (r=0.635, p<0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, LR+, and LR− to discriminate cognitive impairment were, respectively, 83%, 92%, 68%, 96%, 10, and 0.182 for MMSE and 100%, 13%, 19%, 100%, 1.16, and 0 for TICS-m. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis results showed no statistically significant differences between P-TICS-m and MMSE. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the TICS-m test can be used as a screening tool instead of the MMSE. Due to the low specificity and low PPV of the TICS-m compared to MMSE, the diagnosis should be confirmed using definitive diagnostic tests when a subject is classified as having cognitive impairment.Item Don't Let Diplomacy Down(LSE Middle East Center, 2017-02-16) Amerian SItem Foreign policy discourses of the United States and Iran regarding the Syrian Civil War, 2011-2015 : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics at Massey University, Manawatū, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Lee, Joo HanThis thesis offers a detailed and systemic analysis of the recent foreign policies on Syria crafted by the United States and Iran. In particular, it identifies the major ways in which key institutions from both countries’ political systems represent various aspects of the Syrian civil war before comparing the similarities and differences among these representational practices. It argues that, between 2011 and 2015, both countries’ foreign policies used humanitarian concern in order to legitimise their respective postures on Syria, though the pursuit of their respective national interests widened the scope for new opportunities to act, including the use of armed force, in the Middle East. Drawing on Norman Fairclough’s model of Critical Discourse Analysis as a means of framing its analysis, the thesis finds that diplomatic language expressing views on matters of war and peace is seldom a-political and can be shaped significantly by institutional practices and socio-cultural contexts.Item Gender, migration and politics : pre- and post-migration experiences of Iranian women in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2019) Kooshesh, ParisaIslam and Muslim women have become objects of considerable political controversy in countries such as Australia, France, and the USA, although less so in New Zealand. The dress-codes, customs and political allegiances of Muslim women are all debated for political reasons, and yet the diversity among these women is commonly overlooked. However, this study of women who have come to New Zealand from an orthodox Islamic regime shows quite different political orientations and issues in regards to migrant females from Muslim countries in the West. The main aims of this study are to examine the motivations of Iranian females to emigrate from Iran to New Zealand, and to investigate how they redefine their individual and social identities in the new country. The researcher involved semi-structured interviews with 34 Iranian females who migrated to New Zealand between 1979 and 2012. Their lived experiences (pre- and post-migration) are interpreted in the context of wider political ideologies, institutions, laws, social norms, and practices (of Iran and New Zealand) to show how political context influences what people can or cannot do in everyday life. In terms of the women’s motivations for migration, the study shows considerable variety. The participants’ stories reveal how the prevailing political ideology and gender-related policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran affected their daily lives, and how these policies influenced decisions to emigrate. These decisions are both ‘political acts’ and personal choices, involving personal aspirations as well as resistance to Iran’s political ideology and gender discrimination. In terms of post-migration experiences, this study illustrates how New Zealand’s social and political context has influenced the participants’ self-perceptions, their social roles as women, and the ways they relate to public institutions. The study also explores how these changes have affected power-relations within their families. Migration for Iranian females can involve a mixture of gains and losses to quality-of-life. Most commonly, however, these women find that adjusting to a new society and its more liberal, gender-equal environment means greater autonomy and agency. This study also investigates how participants redefine their post-migration social identities. The large majority of participants create a secular social identity after migration. They report being judged according to stereotypical expectations of Muslims, and they use diverse strategies to redefine who they are.Item Living in a dangerous neighbourhood : Iran and its quest for security through nuclear deterrence : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Politics at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand(Massey University, 2015) Gharekhanian, HamidThe ongoing dispute between Iran and certain members of the international community over Iran’s nuclear programme has attracted academic debate, significant media attention, and much diplomatic anxiety over the past two decades. While the Iranian Government maintains that its nuclear programme is based upon peaceful purposes and primarily aimed at enhancing energy efficiency to meet the country’s increasing domestic demand, this thesis argues that key factors informing Iran’s nuclear ambitions include its overarching security concerns which transcend the use of nuclear energy for economic ends. Iran’s nuclear policy has largely been shaped by the insecurities caused by its neighbouring countries, some of which are nuclear-armed states. Iran’s sense of insecurity has been compounded by the presence of US armed forces in the region, whose military superiority cannot be overcome by Iran’s conventional army alone. This thesis contends that Iran’s leaders continue to pursue a nuclear programme in the face of the international community’s objections because they believe that nuclear weapons represent a credible military deterrent and, as such, form a vital part of its quest for national security.Item The ties that bind : Iran and Hamas' principal-agent relationship : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Politics at Massey University, Turitea, New Zealand(Massey University, 2012) Thomson, AmyThe evolution of the Iran-Hamas relationship can be mapped using Principal-Agent analysis. It is a cost-benefit approach based on rational choice theory. In contrast to narrowly emphasising these actors‘ rhetoric, which is often used to mislead others, Principal-Agent analysis focuses on how these two actors react, or are perceived to react, to events to infer how their cost/benefit calculi change. This is in contrast to narrowly emphasising their rhetoric, which is often used to mislead others. The types of costs and benefits the actors receive from the relationship remain the same, although the changing geostrategic environment since the Iranian Revolution has increased and decreased their relative importance. For Iran, the relationship is most important for its ability to enhance legitimacy on the Arab Street, commit to retaliation, and plausibly deny responsibility helping to prevent conflict escalation with Israel. However, there are significant costs arising from the relationship for Iran because the effectiveness of Iran‘s control mechanisms is constrained by the influence of the Palestinian people over Hamas. Thus, when Palestinian preferences diverge from Iran‘s, the state‘s ability to control the organisation is limited. For Hamas, the funding and training it receives from the relationship are crucial. Despite this, the control mechanisms Iran attempts to place on Hamas can be damaging and contribute to divisions within the organisation when Palestinian preferences diverge from Iran‘s. Most of the time, however, the costs for Hamas are minor compared to other violent non-state actor/state Principal-Agent relationships.Item Outside influences and ruling Iran : the emergence of the rift with the West : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts (Defence and Strategic Studies) at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand(Massey University, 2009) Campbell, AlanaSince the establishment of a united, Shi’a Persian empire in 1501 through to the overthrow of the last Shah in the Islamic Revolution, Iran and the Iranian leadership has been subject to significant international influences. These influences took the form of outside powers working to gain a position of strategic advantage within Iran to satisfy their own strategic interests. The impact these outside influences had on the last Shah, and on powerful domestic groups within Iran, led to discontent and contributed to the eventual overthrow of the Shah in the Islamic Revolution. The revolution itself had an impact on domestic groups, the domestic political structure, and on Iran’s position within the international community. The pattern of outside influences on rulers and the ruled saw radical change in Iran’s domestic political structure, and an international stance resulting in a rift with the west.
