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This article presents the engineering design and preliminary testing of the AfariTM mobility device and the integrated IntracTM activity tracking system. The patented Afari design is a three-wheeled device that assists users of any age with mobility impairments with outdoor exercise and movement in various environments and surfaces. We devised methods for testing of the Afari to ensure safe and flexible mobility assistance and demonstrated a high level of stability and structural integrity suitable for vigorous outdoor exercise. A smartphone-based sensing system, the Intrac, was designed for and integrated with the Afari to monitor the user's interaction forces and important gait parameters. The Intrac offers a graphical user interface for displaying and sharing measurements with users and providers, and the accuracy of its measurements was validated by testing its individual components. A preliminary subject study showed that the participants could use the Afari for various levels of weight compensation during walking, while the Intrac enabled the measurement of interactive forces on their arms and key gait parameters. The results demonstrate the potential of the Afari and Intrac to provide a safe walking experience in a variety of terrains and continuously monitor users' gait. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction This research took an interdisciplinary approach to the literature on sanctions. It examined the reasons for sanctions, as well as the effects and consequences of sanctions in general with a focus on anti-Iranian sanctions. The research aimed to represent and analyze the behaviors of the components within the digital network of sanctions. Iranian Twitter users were the target community for this article. However, the digital social reality of sanctions on Twitter was the result of all users who thought about, acted on, and were concerned with Iran sanctions. As a widely used social network where political news and interactions were frequently expressed and trending, Twitter was the most important community for investigating Iran sanctions. This was because those who imposed sanctions, as well as their defenders and opponents, were all present on this platform. As a result, a debate was unfolding on Twitter. Users on Twitter reproduced and redefined sanctions as an intertextual phenomenon, reintroducing it into the cycle of social reality production in the form of informal but impactful propositions. In general, the researchers in this study were aiming to conduct a big data analysis of the reactions and responses of activists within the Twitter space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Illegal bird hunting in and around the Fereydunkenar International Wetland in Iran has a long history but one with serious ecological consequences. Such hunting has involved the mass killing of critically endangered species – such as Siberian cranes, white-headed ducks, geese, lapwings and wintering raptors – and has caused damage to regional ecosystems. The outcome has been described by conservationists and regional news commentators as a "bird genocide." This study addresses some of the significant problems created by the illegal bird market of Fereydunkenar and explores the reasons for both the actors' participation and the market's resilience. The paper draws on original fieldwork – data from qualitative, in-depth interviews with 21 participants actively involved in this bird market. Actors provided various justifications and explanations for their activities, such as food and income, the ineffectiveness of formal controls alongside the supportiveness of informal social norms, and the ability to create an enterprise and attract capital based on simple commodification of nature. The case study illuminates how a traditional practice and a narrowly-focused set of behaviors persist despite the impact of related cascade effects causing harm to ecosystems that push some species to the edge of extinction. The paper therefore serves as an interdisciplinary contribution to green criminology and conservation criminology, as well as to ecological sciences, more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the neural coupling between upper and lower limbs and the importance of interlimb coordination in human gait, focusing on appropriate arm swing should be a part of gait rehabilitation in individuals with walking impairments. Despite its vital importance, there is a lack of effective methods to exploit the potential of arm swing inclusion for gait rehabilitation. In this work, we present a lightweight and wireless haptic feedback system that provides highly synchronized vibrotactile cues to the arms to manipulate arm swing and investigate the effects of this manipulation on the subjects’ gait in a study with 12 participants (20-44 years). We found the developed system effectively adjusted the subjects’ arm swing and stride cycle times by significantly reducing and increasing those parameters by up to 20% and 35%, respectively, compared to their baseline values during normal walking with no feedback. Particularly, the reduction of arms’ and legs’ cycle times translated into a substantial increase of up to 19.3% (on average) in walking speed. The response of the subjects to the feedback was also quantified in both transient and steady-state walking. The analysis of settling times from the transient responses revealed a fast and similar adaptation of both arms’ and legs’ movements to the feedback for reducing cycle times (i.e., increasing speed). Conversely, larger settling times and time differences between arms’ and legs’ responses were observed during feedback for increasing cycle times (i.e., reducing speed). The results clearly demonstrate the potential of the developed system to induce different arm-swing patterns as well as the ability of the proposed method to modulate key gait parameters through leveraging the interlimb neural coupling, with implications for gait training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fereydunkenar county hosts millions of migratory birds in the southern parts of the Caspian Sea in the second half of every year. Despite the global prevalence of environmental crime, there is still a dearth of large-scale, empirical analyses of environmental crime in the Middle East. This study compared two well-established criminological frameworks rooted in social learning (neutralization theory and differential association theory) to compare four environmental crimes in Iran: illegal bird hunting, fishing without a license, water pollution, and soil pollution. We surveyed male villagers (N = 400) in the county of Fereydunkenar, which is located in the Mazandaran Province of Iran and hosts millions of migratory birds every year. Variables from neutralization theory (condemnation of the condemners, denial of victim and injury, and appeal to higher loyalty) and differential association theory (frequency of differential association with family and friends, and intensity of differential association) were measured. Approximately 75% of respondents had engaged in illegal bird hunting and nearly 53% of respondents had engaged in fishing without a license. However, water and soil pollution behaviors among the respondents were at low levels. The independent variables explained ∼53, 20, and 18% of the variance in the variables of water/soil pollution, illegal bird hunting, and illegal fishing, respectively. The frequency of differential association with family and intensity of differential association had the largest influences on illegal bird hunting and illegal fishing. The intensity of differential association, appeal to higher loyalty, and condemnation of the condemners had significant positive effects on water and soil pollution behaviors. Based on our models, we concluded that, compared to neutralization variables, differential association variables had greater effects on numerous environmental crimes in Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the presence of the punishment mechanisms in Iran's criminal law to deal with illegal fishing, this crime remains a major problem in the country, threatening the sustainability of the targeted species and affecting the livelihoods of the communities that depend on it as a significant source of protein. Applying the lens of environmental criminology, specifically the routine activities approach, this research seeks to examine the major driving factors of illegal fishing in the Mazandaran Province in Iran. Data for this study were collected through a survey questionnaire administered to villagers in the city of Fereydunkenar. Using proportionated stratified random sampling, we collected data from 400 respondents on various variables designed to measure the routine activities constructs. Nearly 53% of respondents engaged in fishing without a license. Structural equation models indicate that the presence of a capable guardian, the presence of the economically motivated offender, and market demand had the greatest influence on illegal fishing. The market demand had significant direct effect on the economically motivated offender, who then engaged in illegal fishing. Policy implications are discussed in light of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between crime and unemployment based on previous researches in Iran. It summarizes, using meta-analysis techniques, results from 20 studies concerning the unemployment/crime relationship. Coded studies and contextual features in the form of moderators have been used to explain the variation in research findings. The moderator of the different time periods compared the effects of unemployment on crime in periods before and after 2006. Significant links were found between unemployment and crime. Results of categorical moderators indicated that the effect of unemployment on crime after 2006 in Iran was more than that of unemployment on crime before 2006. Examination of the economic policies of the Khatami (1997–2005) and Ahmadinejad governments (2005–2013) explains the results of this study. The economic disorganization in the Ahmadinejad government brought about bankruptcy for production units as well as an increase in unemployment rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the socio-political changes in the views and attitudes of religious leaders of Shia Islam in Iran. Particular focus is given to the historical period of the Constitutional Movement in 1906 and the National Movement in 1952. The views of the religious leaders about governmental modernization during the two periods are compared.