Institutions In Iran Research Articles

Discourse Analysis of Questions in Teacher Talk

This study is an investigation of certain aspects of classroom verbal interaction with a focus on description and analysis of questions in teacher talk. Transcriptions of recorded classroom sessions were analyzed to identify the type of the questions used by an Iranian EFL teacher, teaching in a language institute in Iran. After data analysis of 8 sessions of instruction, the researcher identified four categories of teacher questions and their related frequency across the discourse of teacher talk.

Public Participation in Environmental Education Centers

This paper presents participation of faculties and Heads of Department (HODs) in environmental education. For this purpose 60 HODs/faculties from polytechnic colleges of Tamilnadu, India and 100 HODs/ faculties from Associate Degree Level Technical Institutions in Iran from civil engineering branch were selected. Several hypotheses were formulated to achieve certain objectives of the study. The results revealed that there are significances between Iranian and Indian HODs/faculty on arrangement of industrial visits/field trips for students; laboratory resources for practical works and also teaching environmental subjects. The results also show a good agreement on students undertaking project work on environmental topics, teaching prevention of pollution and protection of environment in theory classes and evaluation of environmental related programs.

Using Podcasting as a Revision Tool by Iranian EFL Learners

This study was an attempt to investigate the effect of using podcasting as a revision tool in the recall of English vocabulary items after the teaching program and prior to the examination among Iranian EFL learners. It applied a quasi experimental approach to determine whether the students who were exposed to podcasting were better in recalling the learning material or not. For this purpose, 68 EFL learners were selected from an English teaching institute in Iran as participants. They were divided into two groups. The first group was exposed to the vocabulary items as presented in their textbooks by means of their conventional teacher student classroom settings, textbooks and hand written notes. The second group received the same material as audio recordings on podcasts. At the end of the semester (after 2 months), both groups were examined by the same multiple-choice test to assess their performance on the material. The results confirmed the positive effect of using podcasts as a revision tool in learning English vocabulary and better recalling of the words.

The Compatibility of Cultural Value in Iranian EFL Textbooks

One of the major issues in critical linguistics and language education is analyzing the ideological content of textbooks. The dialectical connection between language and culture has always been a concern of L2 teachers and educators. Therefore, in this paper, the researcher has looked for the cultural values depicted in EFL books and tried to find their influence on Iranian learners as well as, the differences between cultural and language among learners and assesses the relative importance of language. In this study, one set of textbooks -interchange series- that are taught in English language institute in Iran are analyzed. The cultural values portrayed in these books were extracted, defined and exemplified in this paper. This study depicts that new interchange series do contain cultural values. However, shows that cultural impact does not occur through one book only. On the other word, the results found by the researcher indicated that these cultural values did not influence learners studying these books differently from those who study English through another set of books.

Feedback Strategies in Foreign Language Reading Classes

In today’s schools, reading in an L2 is a very challenging task, and it is impossible to ignore the role of feedback in optimizing reading achievement. The present study was an attempt to investigate the type of both positive and corrective feedback moves utilized by L2 teachers in L2 reading comprehension classes. The study concentrated on six different kinds of corrective feedback, namely, explicit correction, recast, clarification request, metalinguistic feedback, elicitation, and repetition, as well as four positive feedback techniques: acknowledgment, acceptance, rephrasing, and repetition. To this end, 40 participants were selected from a total population of 52 female EFL learners, aged 20-25, from an English language institute in Iran. In order to ensure the homogeneous entry behavior of the participants in terms of proficiency, the Oxford Placement Test (OPT), with reasonable measures of validity and reliability, was used to screen the students. All that happened in reading comprehension classes were audio recorded, transcribed, coded, and analyzed. To ensure about the consistency of the researchers in coding the data, the inter-coder reliability was run using Cronbach’s Alpha. Statistical analysis of the results revealed that repetition was the most frequently provided positive feedback by L2 teachers (53%), followed by rephrasing (27%). Regarding corrective feedback, explicit correction was the most frequent feedback technique and elicitation the second one utilized by L2 teachers (49% & 19%, respectively). The results of Chi-square test showed that there was a significant difference among the frequencies of the feedback types. Hopefully the findings of this research study would help L2 teachers to have a more profound understanding of what goes on in their classes.

The Effect of Classical Music on the Reading Comprehension of Iranian Students

The influence of music on language learning and performance has been the subject of study for many years. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of classical music (Mozart Sonata) on the reading comprehension performance of two groups of Iranian students in an English institute in Iran. To this end, the study compared two groups of Iranian English students (N=60) over a period of three months: one was taught reading comprehension with a music background and the other with no music background whatsoever. The results of the study showed a significant difference between the performance of the group exposed to music and the performance of the other group not exposed to music. The group taught reading comprehension with a music background outperformed the other taught it with no music background.

The Iranian version of the exercise self-efficacy scale (ESES)

Purpose: The exercise self-efficacy scale (ESES) is largely used among diabetic patients to enhance exercise behaviour. However, the Iranian version of ESES was not available. The aim of this study was to validate ESES in this country. Method: Data were collected from 348 women who referred to a diabetes institute in Iran through convenience sampling procedure. In this cross-sectional study, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine construct validity of scale. Results: Through exploratory factor analysis, 18 items of the scale converged to three factors with rotation. Construct validity was determined by confirmatory factor analysis through which modified model of self-efficacy scale with 17 items was supported and cross validated. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the whole scale was obtained as .92, which indicates the reliability of the scale. Conclusion: In general the findings suggest that the ESES with some minor changes is a reliable and valid measure of exercise self-efficacy among the Iranian diabetic population. However, further studies are needed to establish stronger psychometric properties for this scale.

Studying Performance Management in Iran Using an Adapted Performance Management Analysis

An important factor to increase the results of an organization is to foster the performance drive of the workforce. Recently a tool called the performance management analysis (PMA) was developed that helps an organization evaluate its degree of performance drive. The PMA until now has been only used in Western countries. In this article the application of the PMA in a non-Western setting is described. The PMA was first adapted to the local context of Iran, using the Analytical Hierarchy Process. Then the adapted PMA was applied in Melli Bank, one of the foremost institutions in Iran. The results of the research show that the adapted PMA is fully useful in Iran, to not only gauge the performance drive of the bank but also to come up with recommendations for further improvement.

Validity and Reliability of the Social Support Scale for Exercise Behavior in Diabetic Women

The present study aimed at examining the reliability and validity of the Persian version of Sallis's Social Support Scale for Exercise Behavior. It also aimed at measuring the predictive power of this scale among diabetic women. confirmatory factor analysis was used to identify potential differences between English and Persian versions and construct validity of the scale. Cronbach's α coefficients were determined to estimate internal consistency of the scale. A total of 348 women who referred to a diabetes institute in Iran filled in the questionnaire. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the friend factor of the scale completely. However, it modified the family factor and reduced the English items. That is, it changed the items into 13 and generated 3 subfactors with a different structure. Cronbach's α coefficients for the family and friend support were .89 and .86, respectively. Therefore, this scale consisting of 18 items can be used to assess the social support (friend and family) in exercise behavior. In diabetic patients, emotional support subfactor was found to be the most predictive subfactor for physical activity in family social support scale. This 18-item scale was valid and reliable and can be used for diabetic women to evaluate their exercise social support. The results showed that consideration of emotional support is the most important point in promotion of exercise among diabetic women in Iran.

A survey of marketing barriers of sport institutions in Iran

Purpose – Preparing and presenting proper marketing programs are of paramount importance in establishing and developing sport activities in any country. The reasons behind the apparent lack of such programs in Iran are not the result of unwillingness of sport institutions to adopt these programs but are mainly because of numerous barriers and problems facing these organizations. This paper aims to clarify and examine these barriers.Design/methodology/approach – By extensively studying electronic databases of Iran and some other countries, we recognized that there were two kinds of problems: internal problems and external ones. The internal problems were deemed more important and were further categorized into problems and barriers involving: management (five factors), goals and strategies (three factors), marketing policy (six factors), culture structure (three factors), employees (three factors) and finally organizational structure (three factors). After all the 23 obstructive factors were determined, spo...

Effective Factors in Achieving Sustainable Agriculture

Problem statement: The indiscriminate use of chemical inputs led to severe degradation of resources in Iran. Therefore, considering the increasing population and growing demand of agricultural products, it seems necessary to achieve a sustainable agriculture. In this study, sustainable agriculture refers to a kind of agriculture which is ecologically appropriate, economically justifiable, and socially desirable. Approach: There were two objectives for this study .The first objective of this study was to identify the effective factors in achieving sustainable agriculture. The second objective was to categorize the effective factors in achieving sustainable agriculture. In this study the Delphi technique has been used. Sustainable agriculture expert researchers of statistical and related issues were 56 scholars selected from the experts in the research centers of Tehran and Yazd provinces. The instruments used in data collection were three series of questionnaires sent to the researchers via email, fax and mail. Results: Findings have shown that the researchers have identified effective factors in achieving sustainable agriculture in Iran as the sections of Infrastructure, policy-making, economy, society, participation, research, extension and education. From the 35 factors exposed to the researchers, the factors of attainment of researches related to sustainable agriculture by agricultural research institutions in Iran, Interaction and participation of researchers, extension educators, farmers and policy-makers of sustainable agriculture, attempt to give priority to those who are the most appropriate from the standpoint of practically creating interactive, logical as well as flexible planning system between different sections dealing with sustainable agriculture have gained the agreement of 100% researchers. Conclusion: The important conclusion is that the communication between extension, farmers and policymaker should be strengthened. So extension organization should attempt to promote working relationships with research institution, NGOs, agricultural institutions and decision-making systems of policymakers and putting efforts to use participatory approaches in this respect.

Analysis of Iranian postage stamps belonging to the Qajar dynasty (18th–20th century's) by micro‐PIXE

AbstractEighteen historical Iranian postage stamps belonging to the Qajar dynasty were analyzed by micro‐particle induced X‐ray emission (PIXE) and complementary techniques using Van de Graaff accelerator in the Nuclear Science and Technology Research Institute in Iran. The aim of this study was to determine the elemental composition of different papers and inks of Iranian stamps printed in the Netherlands, Austria, France and Iran. The results obtained in this work show differences between elemental composition of stamps printed in different places and indicate that micro‐PIXE is a suitable technique for this kind of analysis. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Field screening of canola ( Brassica napus) cultivars against wild mustard ( Sinapis arvensis) using competition indices and some empirical yield loss models in Golestan Province, Iran

In order to evaluate the competitive ability (CA) of canola cultivars against wild mustard, two experiments were conducted at the Gorgan Institute in Iran during the 2005–2007 cropping seasons. The experimental factors were canola cultivars (1st year: Zarfam, Option500, Hayola330, Hayola401, Talayh, RGS003 and Sarigol; 2nd year: Zarfam, Hayola330, RGS003 and Option500) and weed density (1st year: control and 30 plants m −2; 2nd year: control, 4, 8 and 16 plants m −2). The result of the first year of experiment indicated that the grain yield and competitive indices differed significantly between the cultivars. Cultivar Zarfam showed a high ability to withstand competition (AWC = 47%), high competitive indices (CI = 1.79 and CI 2 = 10 1.83) and low grain yield in the weed-free plots (1729 kg ha −1). The cultivar Option500, a less competitive cultivar had the lowest ability to withstand competition (AWC = 4%) and the lowest competitive indices (CI = 0.09 and CI 2 = 0.11) amongst the cultivars. However, the cultivar Option500 showed more grain yield in the weed-free plots (2333 kg ha −1) than cultivar Zarfam. In the second year of the experiment, the result of the yield loss models showed that the lowest and highest yield loss belonged to cultivars Zarfam and Option500 (50 and 95% respectively). A comparison of different empirical models revealed that the empirical yield loss model based on weed relative leaf area was more reliable for predicting canola yield loss according to a high coefficient of determination ( R 2 = 0.99). The relative damage coefficient ( q) of the weed relative leaf area model showed that wild mustard was more competitive than canola ( q > 1).

Fetishizing Dialogue and Commodifying Peacemaking

This paper assesses the ongoing dialogue and student exchangebetween the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and one ofthe most violent institutions in Iran, the Imam Khomeini Educationand Research Institute (IKERI). I will use this relationshipbetween theMCC and IKERI to examine the broader question ofinterreligious transnational dialogue and peacemaking.After a brief background of this somewhat “secretive” dialogue/student exchange, I will evaluate its effects. Of particular interestwill be the following questions: How do we responsibly shapeMuslim–non-Muslim dialogue for peace and understanding in aglobal context that is inevitably shaped by an imbalance of powerand representation? How are the acts of resistance undertaken bythe disenfranchised local/diasporic Iranian communities and thesustained systematic violence against them impacted by a peacefulfaith community such as the Mennonites? How does the absolutizationof “dialogue” coupled with self-proclaimed theologicalmandates effectively strip away the archives of violence from livingmemories and histories?What can examining the decade-longdialogue between the MCC and IKERI reveal about the mechanismsof perpetuation and dissimulation of imperial dominationand control? How can transnational interreligious interventions bethe nexus for infusing sensitivity and expecting accountability?I argue that a fetishization of dialogue and a commodification ofpeacemaking took place between the MCC and IKERI, resultingin the patronage of the sign systems of existing normative ideologiesof violence ...

Thematic Evolutionary Analysis of Core Agricultural and Natural Resource Academic Journals in Iran

ABSTRACT For a core journal to be developed, fruitful research articles, diversity, and continuity of research topics are essential. The main goal of this study was to trace the thematic evolution (historical development) of agricultural and natural resource academic journals (ANAJs) published by public academic institutions in Iran. To this end, the study analyzed 2,961 articles published from 1905–2003 in all publicly-funded ANAJs in all contributing agricultural and natural resource academic majors (subfields), examining the scientific domain, research subject, research method, citations, impacts, and the aggregation level of journals on academic majors and academic majors on journals. Less than 5% of the articles were qualitative and cited theoretical frameworks. Over 95% were quantitative articles as their publications progressed. Thematically, agronomy and plant breeding, with 31.68%, had the highest aggregation level among academic majors; whereas, agricultural extension and education, with 2.08%, had the lowest.

Stability and potency studies of anthrax vaccine (Bacillus anthracis 34F2 Sterne strain) in Iran

For evaluation the stability and potency of anthrax vaccine prepared in Razi Vaccine and Serum Research Institute in Iran, samples of different batches of vaccine were kept at 4-8 °C (refrigerator), 20-25 °C (room temperature) and 37 °C (incubator).The viable spores/ml of vaccines were determined using plate–counting method before and after holding at different temperatures monthly. Vaccine potency and duration of immunity conferred by the vaccine in animals were determined by challenging each group of vaccinated animals with virulent strain of Bacillus anthracis at 6 months intervals up to 24 months post vaccination. The results showed that the spores in vaccine remained viable at the recommended level for up to 3 years at 4 °C, 2 years at room temperature and 2 months at 37 °C. All the vaccinated animal groups resisted and survived against challenge 6, 12, 18 and 24 months post vaccination. So, it is concluded that the anthrax vaccine could be stable up to 3 years at 4-8 °C and the immunity conferred by vaccine in sheep and goats lasts for 24 months post vaccination.

Analysis of 18th–19th century’s historical samples of Iranian ink and paper belonging to the Qajar dynasty

Thirteen historical Iranian manuscripts belonging to the Qajar dynasty (18th–19th Century BC) were investigated by micro-PIXE technique using Van de Graaff accelerator in the Nuclear Science & Technology Research Institute in Iran.

Institutional Problems of the Emerging Scientific Community in Iran

This article attempts to explore the concept of scientific community at the macro-national level in the context of Iran. Institutionalisation of science and its professional growth has been constrained by several factors. The article first conceptualises the notion of science community as found in the literature in the context of Iran, and attempts to map through some indicators. The main focus, however, lies in mapping some institutional problems through empirical research. This was undertaken in 2002–04 in order to analyse the structure of the scientific community in Iran in the ‘exact sciences’ (mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and earth sciences). The empirical work was done in two complementary perspectives: through a questionnaire and statistical analysis of it, and through semi-structured interviews with the researchers. There are number of problems confronting scientists in Iran. Facilities provided by institutions is one of the major problems of research. Another is the tenuous cooperation among scientists. This is reported by most of the researchers, who deplore the lack of cooperation among their group. Relationships are mostly with the Ph.D. students and only marginally with colleagues. Our research shows that the more brilliant the scientists, the more frustrated they are from scientific institutions in Iran. Medium-range researchers seem to be much happier about the scientific institution to which they belong than the brighter scholars. The scientific institutions in Iran seem to be built for the needs of the former rather than the latter. These institutions seem not to play a positive role in the case of the best scientists. On the whole, many ingredients of the scientific community, at least at its inception, are present among Iranian scientists: the strong desire for scientific achievement in spite of personal, institutional and economic problems.

Transnational Institutions in Developing Countries: The Case of Iranian Civil Aviation

The proliferation of transnational institutions in the form of protocols, conventions, regimes and standards is a growing influence on organizational practice. Recent work on the origins and impact of transnational institutions focuses upon processes in ‘core’ states, but their influence in developing countries has not received much attention. In this paper we narrate a case study of the diffusion of two institutional regimes represented by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Iranian civil aviation. The case study describes a seemingly frictionless and uncontested embedding of the emergent international aviation regime in post-World War II Iran and a severe challenge to those institutions in the years following Iran's Islamic revolution. We characterize the rise and decline of these regimes as a double process of institutionalization and de-institutionalization, and identify political and technical factors that drive institutional change. We discuss several theoretical and policy implications stemming from the experience of transnational aviation institutions in Iran.

Transureteral lithotripsy in pediatric practice.

The present study reviews ureteroscopy intervention for the treatment of ureteral stones in pediatric patients in the last 6 years at three institutions in Iran. Sixty-six ureteroscopies were performed in 66 prepubertal patients (mean age 9 years; range 2-15 years) with a male/female ratio of 31/35. Ultrasonography, plain film, or intravenous urography was performed in all cases. The mean stone size was 8 mm (range 5-15 mm). All the interventions were performed under general anesthesia with semirigid ureteroscopes of 8F to 11.5F. The stone was located in the left ureter in 32 patients and in the right in 34 patients. Stones were located in the distal ureter in 59 patients, in the midureter in 5, and in the proximal ureter in 2. Before ureteroscopy, ureteral dilatation with a balloon was done to 12F if necessary. If the calculus could not be removed with the basket (stone.8 mm), lithotripsy using ultrasonic, electrohydraulic (EHL), or pneumatic equipment was performed. Ureteroscopy with an 11.5F, 9F, 8.5F, or 8F ureteroscope were performed in 26, 14, 5, and 21 patients, respectively, and ureteral dilatation was necessary in 23, 0, 0, and 2 cases, respectively. We were unable to introduce the ureteroscope into the ureter in three patients (two boys with an 11.5F ureteroscope and one girl with an 8.5F ureteroscope) with distal ureteral stones. The stones moved to the kidney in four patients. Stone management was with basketing alone in 14, EHL in 3, ultrasonic lithotripsy in 8, and ballistic lithotripsy in 34 patients. The stone-free rate was 88% (58 patients) at 48 hours postprocedure. The complication rate was 23% and included renal colic (1), gross hematuria (11), and pyelonephritis (3). No patient had obvious perforation or stricture of the ureter at 3-month follow-up. Our series demonstrates the high success rate that can be achieved with ureteroscopic removal of ureteral calculi in children. Ureteroscopic treatment, especially with a small-caliber ureteroscope, should be considered the first choice for treatment of calculi in the distal ureter in children.