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This article explores the effect of iconicity and textual cohesion on processing causal relations in Persian discourse using an experimental method. A reading-time task with a within-subject design was set up. Twelve 3-sentence experimental scenarios and 12 filler scenarios were constructed. Iconicity and cohesion were the independent variables and participants’ reaction time (RT) was the dependent variable. The cohesion variable manipulated the degree of cohesion between the first and second sentences of scenarios. The iconicity variable manipulated the order of the second and third (cause and effect) sentences of scenarios. Forty-eight participants read the scenarios and verified if the target sentence, which asserted the implicit causal relation between the second and third sentences of scenarios, was correct. The RTs of the participants were collected using DMDX program. The data were then submitted to a mixed-model analysis in R. The main effect of iconicity and cohesion on participants’ RTs was found. There was no interaction effect between iconicity and cohesion. The target sentence had the shortest RT in the condition with iconic and high-cohesion scenarios. Also, the target sentence in the condition with iconic but low-cohesion scenarios was processed as fast as the target sentence in the condition with non-iconic but high-cohesion scenarios. The findings confirm the facilitatory effect of iconicity on understanding causal sequences. The results also show that if, for discourse reasons, information is provided non-iconically, the existence of highly cohesive relations between the causal sequences and the previous context can compensate the non-facilitatory effect of non-iconic sequences.

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The Ministry of Agriculture Jihad in Iran implemented contract farming (CF) for wheat in 2021 to address marketing issues. This study compares agricultural sustainability for farmers participating in and not participating in CF. Agricultural sustainability was assessed by applying a combined index approach that considers economic, social, and environmental dimensions. The required data came from 620 wheat farmers in Golestan province, sampled using the multi-stage randomization technique. The data were evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and clustering methods. The findings indicated a significant difference in the performance of economic and environmental sustainability dimensions between two groups of wheat farmers. For the participants, 14.2% were deemed unsustainable, 47.7% were considered partially sustainable, and 38.1% were classified as sustainable. For non-participants, the figures were 38.7%, 47.7%, and 13.5%, respectively. Therefore, it is suggested to provide more opportunities for participation in this program and expand it to other key crops. Additionally, authorities should provide more information about the benefits of the CF plan.

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This research aimed to explain and validate the green curriculum’s (GC) characteristics based on the critical competencies of education for the 21st century. Hence, a mixed research method was used. In the qualitative section, being used for identifying characteristics of GC, experts who have scientific experience(s) related to sustainability in Iran's higher education system were selected using snowball sampling, data were collected and analyzed through semi-structured interviews and content analysis, respectively. The validity of the identified GC characteristics was examined quantitatively based on the Lawshe method. In this section, based on the Lawshe method, 40 faculty members and doctoral students in educational sciences were selected using simple random sampling to evaluate the characteristics’ appropriateness by a three-level scale. Based on the results, 50 characteristics were extracted from the interviews and the documents. However, two of them were not acceptable based on the Lawshe method. Moreover, results revealed that each of the five competencies defined for education in the 21st century (including learning to know, learning to be, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to transform oneself and society) is aligned with several characteristics of the green curriculum. Finally, some of our suggestions to operationalize the mentioned competencies in the format of GC can be offered as follow; considering environmental management in academic curricula in various fields, defining practical projects for students to apply whatever they have learned, encouraging students to communicate with environmental organizations, and also global research communities to widen their horizons toward environmental issues.
 

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Climate change (CC) is one of the major challenges of our time that impacts rangelands regionally and globally. The rising vulnerability among pastoralists highlights the need to prioritize resilience thinking. Pastoralists' resilience refers to the ability of rangeland businesses to endure, adapt to, and remain flexible in the face of threats or challenges. This research was conducted with the primary goal of analyzing the factors that influence resilience from the perspective of pastoralists in Tehran province under CC conditions. This research was both goal-oriented and exploratory in methodology. The study sample consisted of 317 pastoralists selected through stratified random sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. Software SmartPLS was used for data analysis. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed using the average variance extracted, while its reliability was established by calculating composite reliability and Cronbach's alpha. Data were analyzed using the structural equation modeling technique with Smart PLS software. The structural equation modeling indicated that economic, institutional, ecological, physical, social, educational and extensional and individual factors had the greatest impact on Pastoralists' Resilience under Climate Change (PRCC) conditions. These factors explained 75.5% of the PRCC conditions.
 

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The use of pozzolans is very necessary and inseparable for the sustainable development and better performance of the concrete industry. In the production of concrete, the combination of iron powder, fly ash, metakaolin and limestone powder under the name of fracking is used as materials and substitutes for cement in different percentages. The compressive strength of this concrete is higher than normal concrete. This type of concrete is a very new concrete that few tests have been done on it in the world, so there is not lot of information available about it. According to the studies, the most important features of this concrete are the use of iron waste, reduction of air and environmental pollution, cost savings and higher compressive strength than ordinary concrete. In this research, in order to protect the environment and reduce environmental pollution, fracking has been used as a relative substitute for cement. After obtaining the appropriate proportions, the frac mixture with percentages of 0, 3, 6, and 9 was considered as a substitute for cement. There were 8 tests in this research, 4 tests of the first category were carried out with the mentioned percentages of frac and 0% of steel fibers, but in the 4 tests of the second category, the volume of 1% of steel fibers was considered in the mixture. In this research, a total of 16 concrete samples were made, of which 8 of the first batch were used for pre-heating tests and 8 of the second batch were used to collect the results and performance of the concrete after heating. took After making the concrete samples and performing the necessary processes, the concrete samples were molded and placed on the vibrating table in order to make them denser and prevent voids in the concrete. After vibrating for a sufficient time, the samples were placed in the open space for 24 hours and then placed in the water basin for the processing process. A group of samples was taken out of the pond after 7 days to perform compressive and tensile strength tests (at the age of 7 days, due to the freshness of the concrete, exposure to high heat was not done) . After 28 days, the second batch was removed from the water and prepared for testing. The tests performed on these samples include compressive strength before and after heating, bending strength before and after heating, ultrasonic before and after heating, and water absorption before and after high heat. To test the performance of the samples after heating, the samples were placed in the furnace at a temperature of 450 degrees Celsius for 60 minutes (one hour) and after one hour, the samples were removed from the furnace and The samples were cooled at a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius. After the cooling of the samples, the tests were conducted on the samples, and the results indicated that the increase in the amount of frac leads to a 16% increase in the compressive strength before heating and improving its mechanical properties compared to ordinary concrete.

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The effective design of structures resistant to seismic vibrations is one of the main concerns of structural engineers to deal with damages caused by earthquakes, which can withstand more earthquake forces with methods such as energy dissipation. Recent earthquake records show that the earthquake record characteristic of the near area differs from the earthquake records of the far area. Among these characteristics, it can be mentioned that the pulse-type state of these records, as well as the high maximum speed and ground displacements. For this reason, these types of records increase the seismic requirements of the structure compared to normal earthquakes. The map of faults and seismic zoning of Iran shows that important urban points such as Tehran, Tabriz, etc. have high seismicity and are located near the fault. Therefore, it is necessary to design and build structures that can properly withstand the features of near-fault earthquakes, this issue reveals the understanding and recognition of the behavior of structural systems and the structure's response to the special features of near-fault earthquakes. This article first investigated the seismic evaluation of three existing 4, 8, and 12-story steel structures with lateral load-resisting systems. Then the desired structure was strengthened using a friction damper, and finally, the acceleration recorder was applied to the structure in the near- and far-fault earthquake zone case study. The seismic demand of the retrofitted structure was investigated in ANSYS Workbench finite element software, which was done in the form of modal analysis, floor drift displacement, structure acceleration response, and von Mises stress. For seismic validation, a two-story, single-span steel frame has been used. The dynamic load used was 0.5g based on the north-south component of the El Centro earthquake (1940) with a maximum acceleration scaled to 50 cm/s. To validate the numerical results, the horizontal displacement of two points on the first and second floor was compared with experimental data, and an acceptable accuracy was obtained. The results of the maximum acceleration at the highest point of the building showed that in a far-fault earthquake zone, the best effect of dampers was on 8-story buildings with a 77% decrease, and in a near-fault earthquake zone, it was related to a 4-story building with a 66.4% decrease in acceleration. Stress in near- and far-fault earthquake zones, the best effect of dampers was on 4-story buildings with 83% and 84% reduction, respectively. In a far-fault earthquake zone, the best effect of dampers was on 8-story buildings with a 44% reduction in maximum displacement, and in a near-fault earthquake zone, it was related to a 4-story building with a 61% reduction in acceleration.
 

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Mineral anions are among the most important toxic substances harmful to humans and animals even in low concentrations. Nitrate ions are considered important surface and groundwater pollutants for their high solubility in water. Nitrate is converted to nitrite and N-nitroso in the human body through certain reactions. N-nitroso combinations are considered carcinogenic and the primary cause of methemoglobinemia diseases. The existing nitrate in water resources is not easily separated for it is highly soluble and therefore the methods usually used for this purpose are very costly. Various methods can be used to remove or reduce the concentration of nitrate. Reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, electrocoagulation, ion exchange, and membrane processes are among the physicochemical methods of nitrate purification. Among the types of nitrate purification methods, biological processes with relatively high efficiency, the possibility of complete removal of the pollutant, and less harmful effects on the environment, are some of the most suitable options for the decomposition and removal of nitrate from water and groundwater. In a situation where the contaminated area is wide and it is not possible to pump water due to economic reasons or the large volume, treatment using in-situ methods will be a more suitable option. One of the types of in-situ biological treatment processes is the use of the permeable reactive bio-barrier (PRBB) method. PRBB is one of the novel and reliable methods used for in-situ groundwater remediation.  A PRBB is an emplacement of reactive media in the sub-surface designed to intercept a contaminated plume, provide a flow path through the reactive media, and transform the contaminant(s) into environmentally acceptable forms to attain remediation concentration goals down the gradient of the barrier. PRBB can degrade nitrate at a high rate under anaerobic conditions. In this research, different concentrations of four chemical substances including ZVI, nZVI, NaS2O3, and Na2S2O5 were used as Oxygen Capturing Compounds (OCC) in the removal of nitrate from polluted water in the PRBB process on a laboratory scale. Based on the obtained results, these substances affect the parameters of DO, pH, MLSS, turbidity, nitrate concentration, durability of DO, and ORP. After laboratory tests and taking into the opinion of experts, the qualitative effect of each parameter was calculated quantitatively and through the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), the best oxygen-capturing compound was selected. The results obtained from AHP (with an inconsistency ratio of 0.063), revealed that the priority of choosing OCC from three technical, economic, and environmental aspects is related to the concentrations of 750 mg/l ZVI, 240 mg/l Na2S2O3, 85 mg/l Na2S2O5 and 550 mg/l nZVI respectively. The concentration of 750 mg/l ZVI (the best OCC) during the experiments was able to reduce the DO from 7 to 0.05 mg/l in approximately 500 minutes and within the ideal range of the denitrification process (DO<0.05 mg/l). In addition, after the durability of DO tests, it was found that this substance has maintained its deoxygenation properties for longer than other used compounds. Also, based on the results, the concentration of 750 mg/l ZVI had a positive effect on the increase of MLSS and removal of nitrate. 

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Concrete slabs subjected to near-field explosion loading often fail in a brittle manner. Common failure types include spalling and scabbing. Brittle failure leads to an inflexible and brittle structural response, producing small and large fragments that can be extremely dangerous due to their high velocities. Therefore, designing concrete slabs for explosive loading requires methods that either prevent or mitigate brittle failures or transform them into ductile failures. This study validates numerical models using LS-DYNA finite element software and compares them with reputable research. Simulations of concrete slabs were conducted using conventional methods, reinforced concrete slabs with steel plates, reinforced concrete slabs with wire mesh, and ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) slabs. The analysis of five slab types under similar explosion loading reveals that UHPC slabs exhibit less deflection and damage compared to other types, while conventional concrete slabs experience greater deflection and damage. The optimal reduction in damage for reinforced concrete slabs occurs when a steel plate measuring 2 by 4.2 meters and 0.5 centimeters thick is applied to the backside. Additionally, using wire mesh dimensions 25% larger than the initial slab damage yields the best performance. A comparative analysis of explosion-induced damage across different slab types indicates that reinforced concrete slabs with a 0.5-centimeter thick steel plate exhibit the largest damage area (8m²); whereas UHPC slabs show no damage, resulting in the smallest damage area. Further investigations into the dynamic response of these slabs demonstrate that advanced materials and reinforcement techniques significantly enhance their resilience against explosive forces. This study emphasizes the importance of innovative design strategies in civil engineering, highlighting that the adoption of UHPC slab minimizes structural damage and improves safety in high-risk environments. These findings underscore the necessity of incorporating modern materials and methodologies in protective structure design, ensuring better performance and longevity under extreme loading conditions. A comparative analysis of various methods for strengthening concrete slabs using identical materials shows that UHPC slabs outperform others in reducing deflection and failure. This illustrates their exceptional ability to withstand explosive dynamic loads. However, the primary limitation of UHPC slabs is their high cost and complexity of implementation. Reinforcement with steel sheets has proven more effective than wire mesh in minimizing deflection. In models reinforced with 0.5 cm steel sheets, deflection was reduced by 50% compared to conventional concrete slabs. The slabs reinforced with wire mesh demonstrated a significant decrease in failure rates compared to conventional slabs, with reductions ranging from 75% to 80% across various reinforcement methods using the same materials. Conversely, some models reinforced with steel sheets exhibited increased failure rates. The findings indicate that, in most cases, slabs with greater flexibility, such as those reinforced with wire mesh, sustained less damage. This can be attributed to the enhanced flexibility and ductility of wire mesh-reinforced slabs compared to those reinforced with steel sheets.
Concrete slabs subjected to near-field explosion loading often fail in a brittle manner. Common failure types include spalling and scabbing. Brittle failure leads to an inflexible and brittle structural response, producing small and large fragments that can be extremely dangerous due to their high velocities. Therefore, designing concrete slabs for explosive loading requires methods that either prevent or mitigate brittle failures or transform them into ductile failures. This study validates numerical models using LS-DYNA finite element software and compares them with reputable research. Simulations of concrete slabs were conducted using conventional methods, reinforced concrete slabs with steel plates, reinforced concrete slabs with wire mesh, and ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) slabs. The analysis of five slab types under similar explosion loading reveals that UHPC slabs exhibit less deflection and damage compared to other types, while conventional concrete slabs experience greater deflection and damage. The optimal reduction in damage for reinforced concrete slabs occurs when a steel plate measuring 2 by 4.2 meters and 0.5 centimeters thick is applied to the backside. Additionally, using wire mesh dimensions 25% larger than the initial slab damage yields the best performance. A comparative analysis of explosion-induced damage across different slab types indicates that reinforced concrete slabs with a 0.5-centimeter thick steel plate exhibit the largest damage area (8m²); whereas UHPC slabs show no damage, resulting in the smallest damage area. Further investigations into the dynamic response of these slabs demonstrate that advanced materials and reinforcement techniques significantly enhance their resilience against explosive forces. This study emphasizes the importance of innovative design strategies in civil engineering, highlighting that the adoption of UHPC slab minimizes structural damage and improves safety in high-risk environments. These findings underscore the necessity of incorporating modern materials and methodologies in protective structure design, ensuring better performance and longevity under extreme loading conditions. A comparative analysis of various methods for strengthening concrete slabs using identical materials shows that UHPC slabs outperform others in reducing deflection and failure. This illustrates their exceptional ability to withstand explosive dynamic loads. However, the primary limitation of UHPC slabs is their high cost and complexity of implementation. Reinforcement with steel sheets has proven more effective than wire mesh in minimizing deflection. In models reinforced with 0.5 cm steel sheets, deflection was reduced by 50% compared to conventional concrete slabs. The slabs reinforced with wire mesh demonstrated a significant decrease in failure rates compared to conventional slabs, with reductions ranging from 75% to 80% across various reinforcement methods using the same materials. Conversely, some models reinforced with steel sheets exhibited increased failure rates. The findings indicate that, in most cases, slabs with greater flexibility, such as those reinforced with wire mesh, sustained less damage. This can be attributed to the enhanced flexibility and ductility of wire mesh-reinforced slabs compared to those reinforced with steel sheets.

 

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In this paper it is argued that the idea of “from socio-political to supported by Habermas has raised much theoretical and practical challenges. One of these challenges concerns with Habermasian trilogy of between facts and norms, communicative action, and discursive ethics. In the present paper the author, instead of liberal law-ethics theories, has concentrated on discursive law-democracy theory as an alternative to the first ones. To support this argument the writer has attempted to show and explain both the normative analytical merits of the chosen and supported theory and its limitations.ethical-legal

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Formalin is a common disinfectant and therapeutic agent in fisheries-related activities. Considering large variation in susceptibility of different species to formalin toxicity, it is necessary to determine its toxicity and safety margins in different species, separately. Therefore, to investigate formalin acute toxicity and safety margins on Caspian roach, an experiment was conducted in 1g Caspian roachs Rutilus rutilus caspicus. Fish were exposed to 0, 30, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 70, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 and 400 ppm formalin and mortality was recorded after 0.5, 1, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96h. 0.5-96 h LC50 values were 49-246 ppm. The lowest observed effect concentrations (LOEC) were found to be 40-150 ppm at different periods. No observed effect concentrations (NOEC) were 30-100 ppm at different periods. According to regression model for NOEC versus time, concentrations of 88.4, 80.3, 51.2 and 40.1 ppm are suggested as the maximum concentrations for 0.5, 1, 12 and 24 h bath treatment, respectively. Results showed the recommendations for formalin safety in the literatures are not applicable and valid for Caspian roach. Such differences could be due to species or experimental differences which should be taken into account before treating.

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The main aim of this paper is to analysis of chemical performance of hydrogen peroxide based on numerical and parametric methods. The proper chemical function of the catalytic bed, as one of the components of monopropellant thruster, plays a significant role in achieving the two design main goals in (minimizing mass and maximizing the specific impulse). To this end, the effect of catalyst diameter (granules) on the bed chemical performance, optimal length and pressure drop, simulations for beds with different catalytic pellet diameters have been made to 0.4-0.9 cm diameters. Hydrogen peroxide with a concentration of 90% is defined as an inlet fluid at 0.014 m/s in simulations. The calculation of flow pressure drop across the catalyst bed is one of the activities undertaken in this study. The results of this study indicate that with increasing the pellet diameter, the reaction effective surface is reduced and the catalyst bed length is increased for complete decomposition of the propellant. In addition to the required length for complete decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, the pressure drop in various catalyst beds have also been calculated and evaluated. The results of the catalytic bed drop evaluation indicate that at a specific flow rate, a minimum pressure drop will be made in a specific diameter. The reason for this is the interaction of reaction surface and catalyst bed lengths on the pressure drop generated during the propellant decomposition process. Verification and validation of achieved results was conducted by comparing with experimental results.

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Abstract
In recent decades, much research has been conducted in the context of domestic violence, especially violence against women and children; But in related to another form of domestic violence, or sibling abuse, not only has little attention been paid by researchers, but most parents also ignore their children's violent behavior toward each other as a common childish behavior. However, most of these cases have profound and destructive effects on children's social development and cognition, and consequently increase the likelihood of committing criminal behaviors. Among these, social and cultural factors are a hidden phenomenon that determines the shape of individual relationships in families. The present study describes the prevalence of sibling abuse with the aim of examining the economic, cultural and social contexts of student families.
     The survey study was conducted among 600 high school students in districts one and six of Mashhad using a researcher-made questionnaire in two sections: self-reported victimization and delinquency with Cronbach's alpha 0.918, and was conducted in the academic year 2020-2021. Data analysis shows that the cultural and social characteristics of families such as inadequate parental education, poverty and unemployment, affect the prevalence of sibling violence, and violence among students with lower levels of family background was more prevalent in compare to others.
    This study shows that social factors and cultural level within families affect the level of violence between children; therefore, if a society can strengthen the normative and cultural components of families through education and the media, it can improve the health of families. The Iranian legislature has taken an important step to combat this type of behavioral violence by passing the Child and Adolescent Protection Act 2020.
 
Keywords: Domestic Violence, Brother-Sister Abuse, Victim Self-Report, Crime Self-Report, Mashhad High School Students

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Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) and Lasioderma serricorne F. are destructive pre-harvest and post-harvest pests of many plants in the family Solanaceae, and stored foodstuffs and non-food items, respectively. In this study, some biochemical characteristics of cellulase in the larval digestive tract of these pests were studied. Endo-β-1, 4-glucanase activity was measured against the substrate carboxyl methyl cellulose. Maximum activity of the enzyme in L. decemlineata and L. serricorne occurred at pH 7.0 and pH 6.0, respectively. The enzymes from L. decemlineata and L. serricorne were maximally stable at pH 7.0 and pH 5-6, respectively. However, the enzyme extracted from L. serricorne is more stable than that of L. decemlineata. Cellulase activity was in the highest level at 50 °C in both species. EDTA and SDS reduced cellulase activity, while the Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Na⁺ ions had a significant increasing effect on cellulase activity. K⁺ did not have any significant effect on the enzyme activity. The values of Km and Vmax were 0.608 % and 0.0187 µmol min^-1 mg^-1 protein in L. decemlineata, and 0.99 %, and 0.0035 µmol min^-1 mg^-1 protein in L. serricorne, respectively. Zymogram studies revealed two bands of cellulase activity in the digestive tract of both species.  

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The current study suggests the utilization of steel wool as an extended anode electrode in an electrochemical process to en­hance the efficiency of Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR) re­moval from wastewater. The effect of the operating parameters of initial pH, applied current, supporting electrolyte, and initial dye concentration on textile dye removal efficiency was inves­tigated to determine the optimum conditions of the process. Ki­netic studies were performed in the optimum conditions. Scan­ning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray fluorescence (XRF) were carried out to determine the morphology and characteri­zation of the extended anode surface. Under the optimum con­ditions, the dye and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal were obtained 99.42% and 72.72%, respectively. The reaction kinetic data of the electrochemical process was followed by the pseudo-second-order kinetic rate equation (R² = 0.99). These findings might be useful in treating the various pollutants in industrial wastewater.

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Mercury levels in hepatopancreas, muscle and exoskeleton tissues of male and female green tiger prawn, P.semisulcatus, from the Persian Gulf were compared. Significantly higher levels (p<0.05) of mercury in female prawn and hepatopancreas tissue were encountered (p<0.05). Significantly higher concentration (p<0.05) of the mercury was also observed in summer than in winter season. This variation could result in internal biological cycle of the organism or variation in bioavailability of mercury in environment.

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The spatial boundaries are not just important in the macro and international levels, but also are significant at the local, regional and national levels. They are significant in areas such as Mamasani County in which the social structure has the tribal nature. The spatial-identity boundaries are appeared due to the dominant tribal atmosphere. On this basis, the areas of culture, society and politics are overshadowed. Tribalism and socio-political boundaries in these areas consolidate each other through factors such as identity, geographic space; the creation of symbols and values; the emphasis on the notions of one's self and others; friendship, hostility and competition and the elections in local level (city council and village or parliament). This kind of solidarity plays an important role in stabilizing local- tribal and traditional political behavior on the one hand and perceptual and spatial boundaries on the other. This situation has consequences such as tribal divergence, cultural introspection and border demarcation. The current research is based on the question of what is the relationship between tribalism and socio-political boundaries in Mamasani. In explaining the research hypothesis, it seems that tribalism and socio-political boundaries mutually reinforce each other. The research is conducted using the descriptive-analytical method and the required data have been collected through library, documentary and field (observation) methods. The findings show that tribalism and socio-political boundaries had mutual effects on each other so that tribes were socialized and politicized during the reign of the Khans and after the fall of the Khans, tribal boundaries have also been influential in intensifying clannish attitudes.
 


 

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