جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « Commodification » در نشریات گروه « علوم انسانی »

These days, unlike the past, the celebration of weddings in major cities has become less participatory, and various stages of it are mostly entrusted to commercial institutions from start to the end. These conditions indicate that in today's society, an industry called the wedding industry is emerging, and weddings are increasingly becoming commercialized. The aim of this article is to understand the characteristics of this emerging industry in the city of Hamedan and study its various aspects. Regarding the wedding industry, there are various theories, research, and perspectives that generally emphasize the women’s agency, consumerism, and the commodification of the capitalist system. These perspectives are reviewed in the article. This article utilizes a qualitative research method, and its data is collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 individuals working in the wedding industry in the city of Hamedan. The fundamental concepts of the interviews are then extracted using thematic analysis technique, and the analyses are finally structured based on nine core themes. The results of this research indicate that the expansion of the wedding industry, with its prominent feature of "commercialization," encompasses "feminine subjectivity" and reinforces the culture of "individualism" and "commodification," leading to the weakening of local wedding ceremonies.

The wedding industry is a complex combination of commercial and cultural activities, goods, and services, fundamentally reflecting the cultural attitude towards marriage ceremonies in a consumer society. Modern wedding celebrations, as a standardized and prevalent pattern, have been normalized in many societies and appear natural. Over time, this industry has diversified and evolved to the extent that it has now created a significant consumer market for wedding ceremonies. Wedding celebrations in the city of Hamedan have gradually come under the influence of this consumer market. The central objective of this article is to understand and analyze the elements of the wedding industry in this city. Accordingly, the research questions are:1) What characteristics and features do workers in the wedding industry in Hamedan attribute to this industry?
2) What social and cultural mechanisms does the commercialization trend of wedding celebrations in Hamedan encompass, and which social trends is it potentially susceptible to?

Commercial wedding celebrations have been examined by various researchers from various perspectives, and this article focuses on their concepts and approaches. In summarizing the theoretical literature, the review of these studies reveals that in Western studies on wedding celebrations, concepts of "consumerism" and "individual choice" are frequently emphasized, and this consumer culture is primarily directed towards women in the first place. Additionally, non-Western researchers in their studies have delved into the discussion of imitation and harmony with global wedding patterns and focused on the cultural and social mechanisms of this industry in non-Western societies.

This article employs a qualitative methodology, utilizing narrative interviews. Researchers conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 16 individuals in the wedding industry, focusing on their lived experiences to identify the characteristics and capabilities of the wedding industry in Hamedan. The choice of interviewing individuals in the wedding industry was driven by their deep connection to the industry and their profound understanding of the governing mechanisms in this field. The research field was Hamedan, and the sampling method was purposeful and chain-referral. Interviews continued until the data started to repeat. To ensure not to lose information and narratives and with the participants' consent, the interviews were recorded and transcribed after the interviews. Each interview lasted between 15 to 60 minutes. Furthermore, data analysis in this article follows the thematic analysis method, considering the individual as the unit of observation and analysis, with a focus on fine-grained levels of analysis.

In this article, the focus is on the study of Hamedan, one of the western cities of Iran. Similar to many geographical regions in Iran, this city has been influenced by the expanding wedding industry, leading to transformations in local wedding ceremonies. Hamedan is a relatively large city with a socio-cultural structure that combines both modern and traditional elements. Additionally, globalization and the culture of global capital consumption have spread in this city, transforming its market and business environment.
In this article, narratives from 16 individuals working in the wedding industry in Hamedan were explored to understand the characteristics of this industry. Participants identified 9 features based on their lived experiences in the business environment of Hamedan. These features include "Significant and Inevitable Celebration", "Transformation of Collective-Collaborative Rituals", "Commercial and Commodity Complex", "Feminine Consumerism", "Subjectivity, Selectivity, and Choice," "Specialization in Commercialized Weddings", "Risk Mitigation Management", "Aesthetic Recognition of Wedding Ceremonies and Representation of the Best Text", and "Globalization and Cultural Homogenization of Wedding Celebrations".

Commercializing wedding celebrations in Hamedan provides opportunities for creating unique social and cultural interactions and poses both opportunities and threats. The wedding industry in Hamedan allows couples, especially brides, to engage in subjectivity, shaping and managing their wedding celebrations according to their desires with the help of industry professionals. The wedding celebration emerges as a social construct, where Hamedani brides assert their agency and organize their identity as the "ideal bride." This industry empowers young Hamedani women, granting them more freedom of choice and agency.
Moreover, in the past decades, Hamedan's wedding celebrations were based on simplicity, fostering collaborative teamwork and strengthening collective spirit. However, today, the commercialization of these celebrations in Hamedan, in sync with the expansion of consumer culture, reflects more prominently the role of wedding service providers in the community, ultimately imposing exorbitant costs on couples and their families. Furthermore, the commercialization of wedding celebrations in the modern consumer culture of Hamedan has the potential to deepen social divides, increase social comparison, amplify relative deprivation, and ultimately intensify the sense of social inequality.

This article is derived from a doctoral thesis in cultural sociology at the University of Guilan. The authors express their gratitude to all individuals who participated in and supported this research.

In less than two decades, the Arbaeen walking ceremony attracted many enthusiasts from all over the world, including about 3 million Iranians. Much has been said about the achievements of this ceremony for the Shiite world. But naturally, such a population can cause harm for the ceremony, too. One of these damages is the touristic view that some pilgrims have of the Arbaeen walking ceremony; That is, sometimes they expect the same services that are provided on a leisure trip to be available to them on the Arbaeen pilgrimage. The purpose of this article is to show the negative impacts of the touristic gaze in addition to examining the contexts and dimensions of the formation of such a level of expectations.The main research method was ethnography, which used participant observation (the author's experience of attending the Arbaeen ceremony) and semi-structured interviews with 62 people. The collected field data were categorized and finally content analysis was done along with the documentary data.In this way and based on the approaches that have investigated the concept and behavior of "Tourist Gaze" in anthropology of tourism researches, an attempt was made to address the impacts of the prevalence of this gaze among Arbaeen pilgrims. The findings show that the change in the subculture of performing this ceremony based on the pilgrims' expectations and marginalization of the religious and epistemic authenticity of this ceremony is one of the main harms and impacts of the spread of this view in the Arbaeen walking ceremony.

The current sociological research was carried out regarding three specific goals: firs, to investigate the social contexts of the formation of privatization of education in Iran. Second, to examine the social consequences of the development of private schools, especially regarding the situation of the realization and development of educational and social justice, and, third, to analyze and explain the strategies to face the privatization of education in Iran. In order to achieve the aforementioned goals, this research has used in-depth semi-structured interviews along with utilization of historical documents and texts. And the data has been analyzed through historical texts and documents. The findings of this study showed that the privatization of education in Iran was reconstructed from different social contexts such as the post-war crisis, outsourcing and laws. The consequences of this privatization can be analyzed in three levels of inequality, classification and commodification of education. The participants of this research indicated and argued two strategies in facing the privatization of education: privatizing and making schools fair.

Contrary to widely conceived notions, university as an institution does not contribute much in fostering professionals and guaranteeing vocational and financial successes. Such is a result of pathological development in relation to higher education. This paper, using narrative review method, looks into the contributions of women in university, including developing the academia as well as opportunities and problems they come across. Over the years, women’s academic life has been investigated widely with many articles primarily focusing on the causes of significant increase in number of girls’ enrolment in universities and what are the motivating factors. Also, given the unemployment of educated women, some articles addressed the factors contributing to this issue. A significant number of papers have also discussed the impact of higher education on empowering women. With the increase in female graduates, several papers have been published on gender inequality in academia. It seems that over time investigating the role of women in university has been moved from comparing facts and figures of women in various disciplines to a deeper investigation into their academic life. However, addressing the challenges of female students continue but in a subjective form. Talking about women without any difference, social classes, ethnic affiliations, age differences, social attitudes, and cultural preferences are not present in these articles. Additionally, none of these papers have addressed recent developments in transformation of university as commodification. They looked into its cultural effects such as drop in scientific level and cultural atmosphere of universities, increase in plagiarism, getting degrees without any scientific motives (with motives such as occupational promotion, social prestige, and versatility in life), making academic career unstable, and low numbers of faculty members.

In this article, the policymaking of higher education in the 2000s in Iran and the commodification of knowledge are discussed. The main indicator of the commodification of knowledge is defined in the type of financial relationship between the student and the university. The more the university's funding and expenses are financed by the student, the more commoditization has occurred. The research method for this study was historical-documentary, and data was collected by referring to first-hand or second-hand sources. The findings of this study showed: During the 2000s, the amount of student enrollment in the tuition fee section has increased by 146%. While in the free tuition section, only 32% increase in the amount of student recruitment has taken place. In explaining the causes of commodification of knowledge in the 2000s, there are two main reasons that together explain the situation. The first factor is higher education and privatization policymaking, and downsizing of the government after the revolution. The second factor is the increase in the age range of applicants for higher education in the 2000s.

Each concept in each paradigm, ideology and sociology-economic system finds its own and its particular meaning. The concept of the place is no exception. "Place" in "Capitalism system" has a particular meaning too. The place in the capitalism system is only as an "object" in front of "subject", not with it. This object must necessarily be beneficial matter to the subject. Selling place and economic benefit is the beginning of the "commodification of place" in capitalist system. In other words, the dialectic between the intrinsic features of capitalism such as abstraction of time, the nature of capital and the capitalism ontology and epistemology ultimately leads to the commodification of place. In fact, the capitalist system only with continuous production of place and space can survive, while, "place in phenomenology" is the opportunity to live for humans. "Place" is a concept that constituted over time (concrete time) by the local community finds its meaning, in a capitalism system where profit is generated by capital investment in selling place leads to commodification of places, people and society that will lose their identity and historical-cultural background. This article explores why capitalism willing to commodification of place and what is its consequences

This study seeks to analyze new biological technologies with a focus on technologies in the field of fertility and their impact on children throughout human society, including Iran. In this regard, a qualitative approach and exploratory method and documentary analysis have been used. The results show that growth and development in the field of reproductive biotechnologies leads to the following:  1. Gene transfer and trade in order for states to acquire or maintain superior genes and to destroy other human genes. 2. Production of two- or multi-linear humans, or embryos composed of dissimilar genetic components and in The result of the extinction of racial and genetic diversity 3- The export or import of simulated human embryos and the consequent normalization of human trade, the homogenization of human beings 4- Genetic manipulation and joint reproduction between humans and animals 5 - Creating black markets in the field of informal economy for buying and selling biological goods (cells, eggs, sperm, etc.) 6- Determining the genetic pattern of children in advance and producing a child with the desired genotype 7- Sex discrimination in simulation 8 - Reproduction of single people - Homosexuals 9 - Replacement of dying people 10 - Abortion and violation of the right to life of children during the embryonic period to obtain stem cells. Such developments lead to ambiguity and confusion in the structural and semantic contexts associated with children. Semantic and structural ambiguity leads to systematic violence and semantic violence against children and is intensifying day by day; the target of such violence is all the current children of the society, even the potential children and future children who will be born in the continuation of such a situation.

The theory of the culture industry as one of the most important philosophical views of the philosophers of Frankfurt School philosophers has been considered with The focus on the concept of commodification of Art in the production of art works and the superficiality of culture versus elite and sublime art and culture. from this point of view, the emerging forms of popular Music as an example of worthless cultural goods were able to dominate the life of the mass; hence, any attempt for rationality within a class of people who, according to adorno, are a classless society, will be failed. what is considered as the main subject of the present research is the impact analysis of culture industry theory on Iranian Music in various aspects, including Iranian Music, as well as the growing influence of popular culture on Iranian Music rows which during 60s and under the influence of Neo Marxists has increased in iran. Also, in the present study, an attempt has been made of present a structured analysis of the culture industry theory in the process of commodification in popular Iranian Music, through which aspects such as standardization and mass production of art works under the influence of mass media and market domination system are considered.

Through a phenomenological approach and using the theory of functionalism, the authors of the present study have explored the lived experience of women involved in the phenomenon of surrogacy. Participants in this study were selected through visits to infertility treatment centers. Due to the high infertility rate in Iran, the extreme wealth inequality and the dominance of the male sexual order, it seems likely that we will see the rapid growth of this new method of pregnancy in Iran. The results of the study suggest that although women come to have children through this method, they do not lose the remorse of infertility. Also, women who come to have children through surrogate mothers feel that their experience of being a mother is not complete and experience a type of defective motherhood. Therefore, they take some measures to engage in nursing the surrogate mothers in order to contribute to the process of pregnancy and motherhood. In this study, we have shown how this method of having children has led to the commodification of childbearing and motherhood processes.

One of the concerns of most social scholars is the commodification of altruistic activities. In the conventional economics, it sometimes happens that some human activities that concern supporting others are looked upon as commodities and trade of goods. This article deals with western scholars' view on the mentioned issue. Using a library research, the critical views of scholars such as Polany, Sandel, Slater, Tonkiss, Frey, are reviewed and their criticisms in two philosophical-fundamental and economic-psychological areas are taken into account. The sum of these views ultimately lead to three propositions: 1- literal commodification results in real commodification 2- monetary validation causes the emergence of crowding-out and framing effects among those involved 1- in regard to altruistic functions, internal impetus is more effective than external one.

The phenomenon of the theses and dissertation ghost writing is based on a number of conditions, overlapping procedures, conjuncture of policies and all kinds of policies, legislation, and practices in the academic institution. In this study, first, the growth trend of universities and academic institutions in the last two decades and then, the transformation in the policy of promoting professors was examined, and mass student entry policy was discussed. Along with the increase in the number of students, the rules for defending graduate dissertations and the new promotion rules for faculty members became a factor in emphasizing the status of the article in Iranian universities. All of these factors should be seen in addition to the development of a number of scientific research journals. Because of policy of the independent article has been transformed into the co-writing of articles extracted from theses and dissertations. In this article, we will show that over the past two decades, articles published in journals have often been extracted from student dissertations. Thus, the policy of promoting professors, resumes reinforcement through chairing and co-chairing of more dissertations, enabling students to defend their theses and dissertation, or continuing their education by publishing an article extracted from theses and dissertations, has led to this change. Therefore, the articles extracted from the theses and dissertations have found both financial and legal value for promotion and status. Because of such a situation, the theses and dissertation and their related products have become a valuable commodity for the black market outside the university.

Commodification of affairs and concepts and justifying them to physical goods is the process that began from formation of conventional economics. At this process gradually it has been struggled to put up all affairs and concepts below economic logic and marketized them to transaction. Knowledge is a concept that commoditized after 1950s. This article has been written in analytical method on the base of economic philosophy by critical approach to commodification of knowledge. Knowledge in capital and transactive structure has been entered into economic literature and formed Economics of Science. Based on Economics of Science, knowledge can enter to transaction as commodity on one hand and as capital into economic growth function to improve production and wealth. Staying knowledge as market agent defined market as main motivator of knowledge production and ignored other motivators like need, culture, politics, security, wish and taste. Changing of conditions from marketized knowledge to progressive and perfect knowledge needs some institutions that can satisfied scientist’s wishes and incentives in to parallel Priority.

Artwork, including film, is a tool to represent and identify discourses in any society. Cinemas of various genres, including social, drama, sacred defense or war, have serious, transcendental contexts that reflect the qualities of social relationships and the daily lives of people. This study seeks to study the representation of the social relations commodity in cinema in the 2000s and 2010s. The conceptual framework is inspired by the ideas of Marx, Lukacs and Polanyi who have long been concerned with the domination of commodity logic and market relations over the social sphere of the modern world. Five of the films were purposely selected and reviewed. The findings show that in all the films studied and in different genres the dominance of commodity logic and market system values in individual, social, emotional, and so on relationships is evident and the social and ethical spheres are dominated by economic logic and favorable intentions. But the most common in the social and sacred genres has been the emphasis on differences in samples of the two genres.

In contemporary consumer society, people pay attention to their health and happiness, because any social and cultural activity and any form of self-construction is bodily oriented. Body management, in its complicated form, is completely pervasive among most of the social classes and groups. This research is about to study the contexts and reasons of people’s interests in consuming medical commodities and drugs among Sanandaj inhabitants. So the theory of consumer society is the theoretical framework of this research. The method of study is grounded theory and the data were gathered by way of individual deep interview, as a qualitative technique. Theoretical-purposeful sampling was selected to select the interviewed. The findings show that social-normative expectations and financial-cultural challenges are facilitating contexts, while commodification of health and beauty and consumerism are casual conditions of this phenomena. Gaining social approval, social opportunities and identification are the main reasons, moreover, commodification of body, individualization of identity and mental disorders are the most important consequences of this phenomena.

The current global economic governance is dominated by the ideology of neoliberalism and contemporary globalization has been driven by neoliberal ideas. Neoliberalism has been severely criticized from different types of perspectives. In this article, the question is related to the major devastating consequences of neoliberalism from perspectives of critical theory. This article argues that neoliberal capitalism has expanded the relationships based on domination and repression in the current world.

Nowadays, no cultural factor seems to be safe from the reign of consumption and commodification; it is even true for identity components. The cooperation of contemporary artists with commercial businesses, and reproduction of the logic of market is an example of cultural commodification in postmodern capitalism. As an instance, the renowned Iranian artist, “Farhad Moshiri” teamed up with Louis Vuitton, to dressing it’s windows and making custom tableaux for the brand's first stores in the UAE. Such cooperation might be considered as an important collaboration of art and market. Moshiri’s “Iranian” pop art, which contain distinct references to the cultural characters of Iran and middle east, was a suitable option for expanding the worldwide activities of an institution, which only justified the commercial and profiteering purposes by the ideological slogan of “interconnection of art and fashion”. The current study seeks to explain the Processes of collaboration of art and market by analyzing the Vuitton-Moshiri project as a “local postmodernism” discourse; and it is fulfilled by adopting the method of critical discourse analysis. The obtained results show that, contrary to the claim of “popularization” of art, this cooperation has no objective as the true general art's objective of letting people to “experience art”, and also encouraging awareness, but rather it is the utilization of art for praising the “consumerism”, and serving the market. Also the cultural identity will be trapped by commodification, if the cultural characters are utilized for art productions which are suitable for capitalization.

The development of the process of modernization and the integration of the capitalist system into Islamic countries has led to challenges for the Islamic lifestyle. In recent decades, this challenge has emerged in the area of the consumerist culture of the capitalist system. Turkey, as an Islamic country neighboring Europe, has faced the effects and consequences of the capitalist system and its consumerist culture. Meanwhile, the discussion of the influence of consumerist culture on the Islamic lifestyle and the transformation of Islamists and religious people in the last two decades has attracted the attention of many scholars and sociologists. Using the conceptual framework of consumerist society and a descriptive-analytical method, this paper aims to study the impact of consumerist culture on the Islamic culture and lifestyle in Turkey. Regarding the impact of consumerist culture, findings point to the commodification of religious symbols, the escalation of worldliness, and the spread of luxury and secularism among Islamist and religious classes in Turkey.