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During the past few decades, production and marketing of functional foods has increased in many countries including Iran. Considering the fact that consumers’ preferences play an important role in the success of marketing a product to increase consumption, this study aims to fill the knowledge gap in this regard in Iran.

The theory of social marketing served as the framework of this study. Qualitative data were collected via eight semi-structured focus group discussions, between May and September 2014. Participants were 65 women (44 housewives and 21 employed women), aged 23-68 years, selected by purposeful sampling technique, considering maximum diversity. All focus group discussions were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Analysis of the qualitative content of the data was conducted using MAXQDA® software.

The findings showed that there were quite diverse preferences among studied women in regards to different aspects of a product and its social marketing strategies. The preferences toward functional dairy products were categorized in four main groups: characteristics of products including sensory and non-sensory characteristics; price; place of the product supply; and promotion strategies of products categorized in three subgroups of informing and educating, advertising and recommending.

This study is the first study in this regard in Iran. Given the novelty of functional dairy products in the market, the diversity of preferences should be considered both in production of dairy foods and their promotion plans. This understanding can contribute to success of interventions to increase consumption of these products among consumers.

Functional dairy products market has been growing steadily in Iran. Awareness and perception related to these products has an important role in consumers’ acceptance and subsequently long-term marketplace success of these products. The purpose of this paper is to fill the knowledge gap in this regard, study conducted in Iran.

The theory of social marketing served as the framework of the study. Qualitative data were collected via eight semi-structured focus group discussions (FGDs), between May and September 2014. Participants were 65 women (44 housewives and 21 employed women), aged 23-68 years, selected by purposive sampling, with a maximum diversity. All FGDs were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative content analysis of the data was conducted by MAXQDA®.

Almost all participants were unfamiliar with the term “functional dairy products,” although, some of them had consumed these products. Apart from perceiving the functional dairy products as unnecessary by some participants, some women did not trust in health claims of these products for various reasons such as distrust in food manufacturers, exposure to contradictory information, and fear of unforeseen and dangerous side effects due to taking them. The participants agreed on the need for more information from a trusted and credible source such as health professionals or authorities through different communication channels like television, training classes, shopping center, and so on.

This study provides a unique insight into consumers’ awareness and perceptions concerning functional dairy products in Iran. To the best of the knowledge, this study is the first study in this regard in Iran. Given the novelty of these products in the market, the findings could provide information for the dairy industry to expand its market and improve its profitability and reliability, as well as public health sector to design and implement intervention programs to promote functional dairy products consumption in the population.

The purpose of this research is to develop a dynamic conceptual framework depicting factors related to the adoption of a healthy diet, which will underpin the development of an agent-based model (ABM) to uncover the dynamic interplay between these factors.

The conceptual framework was developed in three steps using available empirical data from a semi-structured in-depth interview qualitative study, comprehensive systematic literature searches, existing theories and models and expert opinions from across the world.

The conceptual framework explicitly presents intention as the key determinant of the tendency to adopt a healthy diet. Intention is determined by demographic, psychological and behavioural factors and individual dietary mindset factors and dynamically affected by social environment and the person's past behaviour. The relationship between intention and behaviour is dynamically moderated by perceived control factors (price and accessibility of healthy food and time).

The conceptual framework developed in this study is well supported by evidence and experts' opinions. This conceptual framework will be used to design the ABM of this study, and it can be used in future investigations on the tendency to adopt healthy diet and food choices.

Deficiencies or imbalances in dietary fat intake may influence on mental and neurological functions of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study aims to compare body mass index (BMI) and the amount of fatty acids intake in the autistic patients with the comparison group.

This case-control was carried out on 200 randomly selected children from 5 to 15 years old (100 autistic patients as the case group and 100 healthy children as the comparison group) in Tehran, Iran. The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the intake of calorie, macronutrients and different types of dietary fatty acids including saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), linoleic acid (LA), α-Linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and trans fatty acids.

The autistic patients had higher BMI, birth weight and mother’s BMI compared to the comparison group (All p < 0.01). No significant difference was found in the amount of dietary calorie, protein, carbohydrate and total fat intake between two groups. The risk of ASD was associated with higher intake of MUFAs (OR: 3.18, CI%:1.13–4.56, p = 0.04), PUFAs (OR: 4.12, CI95%: 2.01–6.25, p < 0.01) and LA (OR: 4.76, CI95%: 1.34–14.32, p < 0.01).

The autistic children had higher BMI and higher intake of unsaturated fatty acids except for omega-3 fatty acids. Further longitudinal studies are warranted.

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected many different aspects of people’s lives around the world, including household food security. This study aims to investigate the food security status and its determinants, with emphasis on perceived social support among the Iranian population during the epidemic..

This cross-sectional study was conducted among 2,871 Iranian adults by social media in all provinces of the country. Demographic and socioeconomic information, household food security status and perceived social support status were assessed by the validated questionnaires. Data was analyzed by statistical package for the social sciences version 22.0, with one-way ANOVA, Chi-square and multinomial logistic regression tests.

The prevalence of food security among the studied population was 55.2%. The results indicated that perceived social support plays a protective role on food security [odds ratio (OR) = 1.07, confidence interval (CI) = 1.06, 1.09, P-value < 0.001]. Reduced income during the epidemic [OR = 0.29, CI = 0.17, 0.47, P-value < 0.001] and presence of an old person (>65 years old) in the household [OR = 1.72, CI = 1.14, 2.60, P-value < 0.05], were significantly higher among moderate to severe food insecure group than food-secure group. More monthly income [OR = 0.28, CI = 0.13, 0.57, P-value < 0.001] and homeownership [OR = 1.83, CI = 1.22, 2.75, P-value < 0.05] were also predictors of food security status.

The development of supportive strategies which act immediately can protect vulnerable people against the consequences of the epidemic, including food insecurity. Long-term planning should also be considered to improve society’s resistance against such disasters.

The purpose of this paper is threefold, first to investigate if ISO 9001 certified companies in an Iranian province (Kermanshah) perform better than non-certified ISO 9001. Second, what is the main motivation of the manufacturing companies of Kermanshah province on obtaining ISO 9001 certification, i.e., internal or external motivations. And finally, if ISO 9001 certified companies with high scores of internal motivations, show better levels of performance in comparison with certified companies obtaining low scores of internal motivations.

A survey questionnaire was distributed to the 350 companies with ISO 9000 certification, and a total of 287 usable responses were returned. Using a structural equation model, this study empirically examines the relationship between ISO 9000 implementation and firm performance, and the moderating role of firm motivation on organizational performance.

The results demonstrate that ISO 9001 certified companies show better organizational performance than non-certified ISO 9001 companies and internal motivations play more important role on obtaining ISO 9001 certificate than external motivations. Also ISO 9001 certified companies with high scores of internal motivations show better levels of performance than those ISO 9001 certified companies with low scores of internal motivations.

The sample is restricted to only a single region and manufacturing, so it would be strongly recommended that data be gathered from various parts of Iran including both manufacturing and service industries. As in this study the data gathered were cross-sectional, it is recommended in order to gain deeper understanding of the cause-and-effect relationship among the variables data to be gathered longitudinally.

This study represents a first attempt to construct a conceptual framework that integrates the motivations behind implementing ISO 9000 certification, and ISO 9000 performance in the context of Iran and gives a particular focus on the Iran manufacturing companies.

This paper evaluates the working capital management (WCM) efficiency of the Indian manufacturing industries through data envelopment analysis (DEA) and empirically investigates the influence of several exogenous variables on the WCM efficiency.

WCM efficiency was calculated using BCC input-oriented DEA model. Further, the panel data fixed effect model was used on a sample of 1391 Indian manufacturing firms spread across nine industries, covering the period from 2008 to 2019.

Firstly, the WCM efficiency of Indian manufacturing industries has been stable over the analysis period. Secondly, the capacity to generate internal resources, size, age, productivity, gross domestic product and interest rate significantly influence WCM efficiency.

First, the selected study period has observed various economic uncertainties including demonetization and recession, so the scenario might differ in normal conditions or country-wise. Second, the findings might not be generalizable to the developed economies, since the current study sample belongs to a developing economy, which further provides scope for comparative study.

An efficient model for managing the working capital comprising most vital determinants could enhance the firms' valuation and goodwill. Also, this study would be helpful for financial executives, manufacturers, policymakers, investors, researchers and other stakeholders.

This study estimates the industry-wise WCM efficiency of the Indian manufacturing sector and suggests measures to the concerned parties on areas to focus on and provide evidence on the estimated relationships of firm-level and macroeconomic determinants with WCM efficiency.

In this research, which has involved collecting Iranian faculty members' accounts of their experiences of sabbaticals, the authors are seeking to understand how faculty members make sense of events throughout the process of sabbatical, construction these events into episodes and thereby maintaining unity within their lives.

Using narrative qualitative method and episodic interviews the researchers collected and analyzed the data by applying MAXQDA 2020 software. In this study, the impact of sabbatical leave on faculty members' academic achievement was measured in three ways: individually, professionally and organizationally.

Sabbatical leave changed their academic and personal values. In addition, the results of the narrative analysis showed that sabbatical leave experience could enable faculty members to change themselves in terms of their lifestyle and attitudes. A considerable influence on their families was also found. Moreover, from individual dimension, it was found that participants' engagement with their colleagues and their sense of social responsibility especially in environmental protection zone area had increased. Furthermore, in professional and academic area, the participants reported tendency toward more team work, more creative approach and they developed a sense of innovation and willingness to take risks.

The findings of the study showed that faculty members sabbatical leave experience could stimulate their global thinking toward foreign overseas universities, their students and colleagues and they could have more publications in foreign languages. Based on the findings of the study some reconsiderations in administrative regulations should be taken into account in order to enable volunteer faculty members to take part in sabbatical leave programs.

The authors demonstrate that how Iranian higher education regulations and dominated patriarchy, deprive female faculty members from sabbaticals. In addition, the results indicate that using sabbatical leaves by males, and mostly in STEM fields in Iran are fundamental in producing and reproducing inequalities regarding gender and academic field.

The paper addresses an important topic and by using a relevant qualitative method for examining participants' views in the study has added complementary information to the literature of faculty members' professional development. The study has been conducted in a particular context with a different understanding of the topic, since studying such a topic in Iran is missing almost in the literature.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between weight status and food environments, peer influence and dietary intake among high-school students in Shiraz, Iran.

Applying a case-control design, 406 adolescents (n = 203 overweight or obese and n = 203 normal weight) aged 14–18 years were selected using a multistage cluster random sampling method. Demographic information, physical activity level and anthropometric indices were collected. Dietary intake was determined using a 147-item food frequency questionnaire. Food environment (home and out of home) and peer influence were determined by a validated questionnaire.

The type of food purchased using pocket money was different between adolescents with overweight or obesity and normal weight adolescents (p < 0.001). The out-of-home food environment score was not different between groups, but the home food environment score (p = 0.004) and the peer influence score (p = 0.001) were higher in normal weight adolescents. Adolescents with overweight or obesity consumed higher amounts of carbohydrate (p = 0.006) and lower amounts of protein (p = 0.01) and more sweet junk foods (p = 0.01), nonstarchy vegetables (p = 0.03) and fruits (p = 0.01) compared to the normal weight group.

Home food environment, peer influence, differences in macronutrient intake and dietary patterns may be contributing factors to adolescent weight status.

The study aims to analyze the synergy of artificial intelligence (AI), with scientometrics, webometrics and bibliometrics to unlock and to emphasize the potential of the applications and benefits of AI algorithms in these fields.

By conducting a systematic literature review, our aim is to explore the potential of AI in revolutionizing the methods used to measure and analyze scholarly communication, identify emerging research trends and evaluate the impact of scientific publications. To achieve this, we implemented a comprehensive search strategy across reputable databases such as ProQuest, IEEE Explore, EBSCO, Web of Science and Scopus. Our search encompassed articles published from January 1, 2000, to September 2022, resulting in a thorough review of 61 relevant articles.

(1) Regarding scientometrics, the application of AI yields various distinct advantages, such as conducting analyses of publications, citations, research impact prediction, collaboration, research trend analysis and knowledge mapping, in a more objective and reliable framework. (2) In terms of webometrics, AI algorithms are able to enhance web crawling and data collection, web link analysis, web content analysis, social media analysis, web impact analysis and recommender systems. (3) Moreover, automation of data collection, analysis of citations, disambiguation of authors, analysis of co-authorship networks, assessment of research impact, text mining and recommender systems are considered as the potential of AI integration in the field of bibliometrics.

This study covers the particularly new benefits and potential of AI-enhanced scientometrics, webometrics and bibliometrics to highlight the significant prospects of the synergy of this integration through AI.