https://jsc.daneshpajoohan.ac.ir/ Sociology of Social Communication en daily 1 Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0330 Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0330 https://jsc.daneshpajoohan.ac.ir/article_737399.html in response to emerging security threats primarily manifested through hybrid and cognitive warfare this study investigates the role of media as the second line of offense and defense within the national defense architecture. The research is situated within the broader transformation of the concept of national security and the growing importance of narrative construction and psychological operations in international confrontations. Employing a descriptive-analytical method, the study draws upon library resources and comparative analyses to explore its central question: how can media, as a secondary offensive and defensive force, contribute to countering hybrid threats and reinforcing national cohesion?The research is founded on the hypothesis that media, when equipped with well-defined strategies, robust infrastructure, and effective collaboration with relevant institutions, can play a decisive role in managing cognitive warfare. The findings indicate that, in its offensive capacity, media contributes to strengthening political legitimacy and social cohesion through the production of targeted content and the weakening of adversarial narratives. In its defensive role, media plays a critical part in safeguarding the psychological security of society by countering rumors, disinformation, and enemy psychological operations. Moreover, media is instrumental in rebuilding public trust and reinforcing collective memory.The study concludes with two strategic recommendations: first, the establishment of a specialized center for media and cognitive security to formulate coordinated policies and monitor soft threats; second, the development of a national media literacy program aimed at enhancing the cognitive resilience of society. Through a strategic lens, this research seeks to redefine the role of media in preserving national stability. https://jsc.daneshpajoohan.ac.ir/article_738877.html With the rapid expansion of social media platforms, ephemeral digital content, particularly Instagram Stories, has become one of the most influential tools for user engagement and brand communication. Despite the widespread adoption of this feature, understanding users’ behavioral patterns when interacting with ephemeral content—especially among Iranian Instagram users—remains an important research area. Therefore, this study aims to analyze Instagram users’ behavior toward ephemeral digital content and describe their patterns of interaction with Instagram Stories. This applied research adopted a descriptive–analytical design. The statistical population consisted of Instagram users, and data were collected through a structured questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software. In addition to demographic characteristics, the study examined daily Instagram usage, frequency of viewing Instagram Stories, daily time spent watching Stories, purchase frequency influenced by brand Stories, and the categories of products purchased through Instagram Stories. The findings revealed that participants exhibited different patterns of Instagram Story usage. Significant variations were observed in daily Instagram use, Story viewing frequency, time spent viewing Stories, and purchasing behavior influenced by brand Stories across different user groups. The results indicate that Instagram Stories serve not only as a communication tool but also as an effective medium for product information, brand engagement, and purchase behavior. Understanding users’ behavioral patterns toward ephemeral digital content provides valuable insights for marketers, brand managers, and digital content creators in designing more effective social media marketing strategies. The findings also contribute to the growing body of knowledge on consumer behavior in social media environments. https://jsc.daneshpajoohan.ac.ir/article_738878.html Persuasion is one of the fundamental concepts in the fields of communication and social psychology, referring to the deliberate process of attempting to change the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors of audiences through the transmission of targeted messages. In the contemporary world, where individuals are constantly exposed to media and advertising messages, understanding the mechanisms of persuasion and the factors influencing the acceptance or rejection of messages has gained particular significance. One of the prominent approaches in the analysis of persuasion is Quintilian’s classical perspective, which regards persuasion as more than a linguistic skill and associates it with the moral virtue of the speaker. According to this view, three primary elements play a central role in persuasion: the credibility and character of the speaker, the logic and reasoning of the message, and the arousal of the audience’s emotions .However, audience responses to persuasive messages are not uniform, and individual differences play a crucial role in this regard. The present study was conducted using a descriptive-analytical method. To provide a scientific explanation for these differences, the Five-Factor Model of personality was employed, which categorizes human personality into five principal dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience. Furthermore, the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) was utilized to explain how persuasive messages are processed. This model posits that individuals process persuasive messages through two primary routes: the central route, which is based on logical analysis and careful evaluation of arguments, and the peripheral route, which relies on superficial cues such as source attractiveness, emotions, and social signals .The findings indicate that personality traits can influence the selection of the message-processing route. For instance, individuals high in openness to experience and conscientiousness tend to favor the central route and pay closer attention to logical arguments, whereas individuals who are extraverted, agreeable, or high in neuroticism are more likely to be influenced by peripheral and emotional cues. Moreover, in the field of media, the strategic integration of logical and emotional elements can enhance the effectiveness of persuasive messages. https://jsc.daneshpajoohan.ac.ir/article_740961.html The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the extent of media literacy skills utilization and trust in the national media, as well as to identify the impact of each of its components—namely cognitive, aesthetic, ethical, and emotional—on the variable of trust in the national media. This research is applied in terms of purpose and was conducted using a descriptive-survey method. The statistical population comprised all employees of Sadad Data Processing Company (affiliated with the National Bank of Iran), totaling 700 individuals. The sample size was determined as 292 participants based on Cochran's formula, and a random sampling method was employed. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire. For data analysis, after constructing univariate tables, the research hypotheses were tested using Pearson correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression analysis via statistical software. The findings indicated that all dimensions of media literacy-including cognitive, ethical, emotional, and aesthetic components- significantly influenced trust in the national media. Furthermore, the emotional, cognitive, aesthetic, and ethical components of media literacy, respectively, exerted the greatest impact on the trust variable toward the national media. https://jsc.daneshpajoohan.ac.ir/article_741695.html The new middle class is one of the most significant outcomes of the modernization process and the expansion of economic, social, and administrative relations in contemporary Iran. Emerging gradually since the 1950s, this class expanded with the development of higher education, the growth of bureaucracy, the expansion of industrial and service sectors, and the increasing prevalence of specialized, professional, and managerial occupations. The new middle class has played an important role in the social and political transformations of contemporary Iran and has acquired a distinctive position within the country’s social structure through its access to education, expertise, professional occupations, income, and differentiated lifestyles. This article aims to reassess the status of Iran’s new middle class over a period of approximately three decades by comparing its characteristics and social position during its formative and consolidating stages with its situation in the 2020s. The comparative findings indicate that, although the number of employed individuals exhibiting the characteristics of the new middle class has increased in quantitative terms compared with the 1980s, and the share of specialized, professional, and service-sector occupations has also expanded, the most significant transformation over the past three decades has been the emergence of a form of downward social mobility among a considerable segment of this class in terms of economic status. At the same time, the expansion of a rentier economy and the migration of a portion of the country’s skilled and highly educated workforce have emerged as other consequences of this condition. Accordingly, although Iran’s new middle class in the 2020s continues to possess considerable social capacity in terms of education and cultural resources, it has experienced a process of economic weakening and, in some strata, faces the risk of downward class mobility. This transformation may affect the capacity of the new middle class to fulfill its historical role in Iran’s processes of social and economic development. https://jsc.daneshpajoohan.ac.ir/article_741615.html Transformations in the healthcare system, the expansion of digital media, the increasing complexity of the communication environment, and the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic have underscored the necessity of redefining the role of communication in health governance and service delivery. The central problem of this research is to elucidate the position of public relations as an organizational actor within the architecture of health communication and to determine the components of its strategic role in Iran. This study was conducted using a review method, and the findings of domestic and international research in the fields of health public relations, health communication, strategic communication, stakeholder engagement, digital communication, internal organizational communication, risk communication, infodemic management, and trust in health organizations were analyzed and synthesized. The findings encompass the identification of eight interconnected components for the strategic role of public relations: audience identification and analysis, strategic communication management, stakeholder relationship management, media and digital communication, intra-organizational communication, risk and crisis communication, misinformation and infodemic management, and trust-building and social participation. A comparison of the findings with previous studies indicates that these components align with research evidence concerning the importance of audience-centeredness, participation, information quality, communication evaluation, team communication, infodemic management, and organizational trust. Accordingly, the conceptual framework of this article positions public relations as the coordinating link among the health organization, professionals, media, society, and other stakeholders. This framework is conceptual in nature, and field research and model testing are required for its empirical validation.