Iranian Undergraduate Students Research Articles

"An L2 Education without Love is not Education at All": a phenomenographic study of undergraduate EFL students’ perceptions of pedagogical love

The role of pedagogical love in second language (L2) education has long remained under-explored due to dogmatic religious and cultural beliefs. There is insufficient scholarship on this construct at undergraduate levels. To bridge this gap, the present study employed a phenomenographic design to uncover Iranian undergraduate students’ perceptions of pedagogical love and its features, realizations, and determinant factors. It invited 22 undergraduate L2 learners to attend a semi-structured interview and complete a narrative frame. The results of content and thematic analysis attained through MAXQDA software (v. 20) revealed that the participants had different perceptions of pedagogical love. They considered it as a non-romantic intimacy and respect, deep care for students and their emotions, and pure love based on mutual trust. Furthermore, it was found that pedagogical love is essential for L2 education as characterized by a mutual trust and respect, kindness, care, bonding, intimacy, and forgiveness. Regarding its realizations, the results demonstrated that pedagogical love shows itself through intimacy, classroom engagement/participation, confidence, academic performance, and mutual care, respect, and responsibility. Moreover, it was identified that teachers’ emotional literacy, teachers’ pedagogical expertise, and positive classroom rapport facilitated the implementation of loving pedagogy at undergraduate level. Finally, the findings indicated that loving pedagogy practice was mostly precluded by strict religious beliefs, stigmatizing socio-cultural norms, emotion expression, fear, and traditional educational systems. Implications for L2 teachers and educators are discussed to augment their understanding of pedagogical love, as an opportunity to grasp the emotional side of language education.

Learning academic vocabulary with digital flashcards: Comparing the outcomes from computers and smartphones

This study systematically evaluates the comparative efficacy of digital flashcards on mobile and computer platforms versus traditional paper-based flashcards in augmenting academic vocabulary knowledge development among Iranian undergraduate university students. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 112 subjects, allocated into three distinct groups: one utilizing digital flashcards via smartphones, another via laptops, and a control group employing paper-based flashcards. Over a five-week period, these participants were exposed to 50 frequently used academic vocabulary items in a self-directed learning mode. Academic vocabulary knowledge of the study participants was assessed pre- and post-intervention, employing an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for statistical evaluation of the test scores. The results demonstrated statistically significant learning gains in vocabulary knowledge across all groups, with the smartphone group showing the most pronounced improvements. The performance of this group notably surpassed that of the laptop group and the control group, underscoring the superior efficacy of mobile devices in facilitating academic vocabulary learning. These findings illuminate the potential of mobile-assisted language learning tools in academic settings and suggest a differential impact of device type on vocabulary acquisition. The broader implications of these outcomes for the design and implementation of technology-enhanced language learning strategies are discussed.

Retraction: Intolerance of uncertainty scale-12: psychometric properties of this construct among Iranian undergraduate students

Retraction: Intolerance of uncertainty scale-12: psychometric properties of this construct among Iranian undergraduate students

A Corpus-based Investigation of Phrasal Complexity Features and Rhetorical Functions in Data Commentary

Introduction: In academic written texts, linguistic and rhetorical features are often interactively used as a vehicle for writers to construct their texts in order to accomplish specific communicative purposes. However, the effective integration of these resources may pose challenges for developing writers.
 Purpose: This study employed a corpus-based genre analysis approach to investigate phrasal complexity features and rhetorical functions in data commentaries written by Iranian undergraduate and graduate students. Through this approach, we aimed to examine a relatively unexplored genre of data commentary in terms of its phrasal complexity features, rhetorical functions, and their relationships. By analyzing these relationships, we sought to provide insights into the writing practices of Iranian undergraduate and graduate students in the context of data commentaries.
 Method: This study employed a convenient sampling method to select a total of 76 university students, which included 47 undergraduate students and 29 graduate students. The participants were involved in generating a corpus of 380 data commentaries, which were then thoroughly examined and compared. To identify instances of phrasal complexity features, the researchers utilized the AntConc software tool, applying regular expressions (regex) to extract potential occurrences. Additionally, a Python program was developed and implemented to calculate the frequencies of the identified PCFs. The researchers manually annotated the rhetorical function of the data commentaries to determine their specific usage.
 Results: Statistical analysis such as Mann Whitney U test and Spearman correlation test, revealed that graduate students significantly utilized more phrasal complexity features including attributive adjectives, nominalizations, and prepositional phrases (of) compared to undergraduate students. However, a qualitative analysis showed that the use of these linguistic features is influenced by the writing topics. Regarding rhetorical functions, graduate students used more moves and/or steps related to presenting and commenting data, while undergraduate students produced more moves or steps concerning personal asides. Moreover, certain phrasal complexity features and the moves and/or steps were found to be correlated, aligning with recent corpus-based studies.
 Conclusion: The study concludes with pedagogical implications.

Psychometric analysis of a tool to assess metamotivational strategies in undergraduate anesthesia students

Background & Objective: Undergraduate anesthesia students benefit from motivational self-regulation strategies when facing specific academic challenges to maintain and improve their academic motivation. Due to the absence of valid and reliable instruments to assess these strategies, the present study aimed at the psychometrical analysis of MSMQ (Metamotivational Strategies in Medical Students) which is used to measure meta-motivational strategies in undergraduate anesthesia students. Materials & Methods: In this psychometric study, 358 undergraduate anesthesia students were selected by convenience sampling method. The research community included undergraduate anesthesia students in Iran, and the MSMQ questionnaire was provided for them to complete. Its validity was determined by face and content validity methods, and its reliability was determined by the internal consistency method. The confirmatory factor analysis method was used to check construct validity. Results: The CVI and CVR values were obtained at ≥ 0.80 for all items. In the confirmatory factor analysis, the factor loading of all items was reported to be ≤ 0.40, and the mentioned instrument enjoyed the goodness of fit indices (RMSEA = 0.064, NNFI = 0.96, CFI = 0.97, SRMR = 0.06, GFI = 0.86). Acceptable reliability coefficients were obtained for the subscales, and Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the whole questionnaire was 0.922. Conclusion: As evidenced by the results of this study, the MSMQ questionnaire is a valid and reliable instrument; therefore, it can be used for Iranian undergraduate anesthesia students.

Persian version of nursing students’ perceptions of an Online course scale: Translation and psychometric testing

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the student perceptions of an online course (P-SPOC) measure among Iranian nursing students. In this cross-sectional study a total of 302 Iranian undergraduate nursing students filled the online questionnaire between October and December 2021. Validity (construct, convergent and divergent), and reliability of the P-SPOC were evaluated. For ensuring high quality the presence observational study the STROBE checklist was fulfilled. Total variance explained of the P-SPOC for the two factors namely course components and course format was estimated 51.84%. Using confirmatory factor modeling two factors have acceptable composite reliability, convergent and divergent validity. These results confirmed that the Persian version of the SPOC is a reliable and valid measure to assess nursing student perceptions of online courses in Iran.

Iranians as real estate purchasers and international students: Transformation of Turkish-Iranian migration corridor

ABSTRACT In case of migration of Iranian nationals, while Mediterranean countries are hesitant to accept Iranian undergraduate students and do not admit applications from Iranian citizens due to sanctions, Turkey has increasingly been preferred by Iranian students and individuals who purchase real estate in Turkey in return of residency permit in the last decade. By revealing the South-South migration in context of capital intensified migration in Turkey, the article argues that the introduction of citizenship-by-investment category in 2016 regulating the exceptional acquisition of Turkish citizenship and increasing quotas for international students have motivated more Iranian students to apply undergraduate programs in Turkey and Iranian nationals to buy real estate in Turkey. This transformation in Turkish migration domain isin line with the neoliberal logic and demands of market by commodifying both citizenship and education. In unfolding motivations of Iranians, the research utilizes qualitative data collection technique in which I conduct twenty-five semi-structured interviews with Iranian undergraduate students and real estate purchasers. Interviews suggest that the mobility of Iranian students and investors offers a unique example in the Mediterranean region as Turkey has become a plausible option for Iranian nationals who can obtain an alternative way to exit from Iran.

Effects of anticipatory socialization, professional commitment, and moral intensity on whistleblowing intentions by accounting students: a moderated mediation analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive conceptual internal whistleblowing model for accounting students and then test it empirically. To this end, by considering the mediating role of professional commitment (PC) and the moderating effect of the perceived moral intensity (PMI), the anticipatory socialization's impact on whistleblowing intentions has been investigated.Design/methodology/approachAn ex-post quantitative research design has been adopted for this survey study. The statistical population of the study consisted of Iranian undergraduate accounting students close to graduation in 2020. The study utilized a self-administered survey of 211 accounting students from 8 public universities; besides, to examine the proposed hypotheses, it utilized the partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis.FindingsThe results of testing the hypotheses indicate that the constructs of anticipatory socialization (AS), PC and PMI have positive effects on whistleblowing intentions; besides, PC in the relationship between AS and whistleblowing intentions plays a complementary partial mediating role. In addition, PMI moderates the effect of PC on whistleblowing intentions, as well as the mediated effect of AS on whistleblowing intentions via PC.Social implicationsThe results of this study indicate the importance of considering trait syntheses of ethics education for undergraduate students, and the need to address and familiarize students with ethical principles, goals and missions of the accounting profession in society.Originality/valueThis study, by providing a moderated mediation conceptual model, examines the important functions that AS, PC and PMI might have created in the whistleblowing process, and also provides some empirical evidence in this area; As a result, it leads to the expansion of theoretical and empirical knowledge in this field.

TÜRKİYE-İRAN GÖÇ SİSTEMİ: SÜREKLİLİK VE DEĞİŞİMLER

Amaç: Son yıllarda Türkiye’ye dair göç çalışmalarında ciddi bir artış gözlense de Türkiye-İran göç koridoruna dair araştırmalar sınırlı sayıdadır. Bu makalede Türkiye-İran Göç sisteminde son dönemde yaşanan gelişmeler incelenecektir. Bu bağlamda tartışılacak üç kategori: yıllardır süregelen uluslararası korumaya tabi kişiler; sayıları gittikçe artan uluslararası öğrenciler ve yatırım yoluyla vatandaşlık hareketliliklerini kapsamaktadır.Yöntem: Türkiye-İran göç koridorunda son yıllarda artış gösteren öğrenci hareketliliği ve konut alımı ile aynı süreçte Türkiye’ye gelerek sığınma başvurusunda bulunan İranlı bireylerin sayısında ciddi azalma olmuştur. Tarihsel süreçte bu değişimi iz sürme yöntemiyle sunan çalışma bu noktada verilerin ne ifade ettiğini göstermek adına TÜİK, YÖK ve GİB’den yararlanmaktadır. Azalan ve artan trendi anlamak adına ise makro politikalardaki değişiklikleri analiz ederek, makro değişimlerin yeni olan etkisini ortaya çıkarmaktadır.Bulgular: 1980’lerin başından itibaren İranlı bireylerin sığınma temelli Türkiye’ye olan hareketliliğiyle sınırlı olan Türkiye-İran göç koridorunda 2011 sonrası süreçte önemli bir dönüşüm yaşanmıştır. Özellikle 2011 sonrası dönemde İranlı öğrenciler ile İranlı ailelerin Türkiye’de konut edinimi yoluyla göçü her yıl sürekli olarak artış göstermektedir. Bu iki kategorinin varlığı ilk olarak Türkiye ve İran arasındaki göçü bir göç sistemine dönüştüğünün göstergesidir. Daha da önemlisi çalışma, bu iki düzenli göç kategorisinin varlığı Türkiye’nin göç politikalarının neoliberalleşmesiyle ilgili olduğunu tartışmaktadır.Özgünlük: Türkiye’ye olan İranlı bireylerin hareketliliği temel olarak İranlı sığınmacı ve mülteciler ile onların üçüncü ülkelere yerleştirilmesi üzerinden tartışılmıştır. Son dönemlerde Türkiye’de artan sayıdaki İranlı yabancı lisans öğrencisi ve konut satın alan İranlı bireyler akademik olarak yazında irdelenmemiştir. Çalışmanın özgün tarafı bu iki kategorileri makro politikalardaki değişikler ile ilişkilendirmesi, Türkiye-İran arasındaki hareketliliğin bir göç sistemine dönüşmesini göstermesi ve Türkiye göç yönetiminin giderek piyasa mantığına uygun politika tercihleriyle neoliberalleşmesini göstermektir.

The Effectiveness of Hybrid and Pure Problem-Based Learning in the Productive Skills and Critical Thinking of Iranian Undergraduate Students through MALL Application

Hybrid problem-based learning (HPBL) as a learner-oriented method involves learning through collaboration while finding solutions to real-world problems. It has been employed in the education of English as a foreign language (EFL) students recently. Implementation of it in an EFL classroom, though might be a challenging task, has been approved a useful method for improving learning of the students. The current study, using a quasi-experimental design, IELTS pretests-posttests, and Honey’s critical thinking questionnaire, attempted to find out the effectiveness of HPBL method in the productive skills and critical thinking of the students by implementing it in an EFL classroom using eight teacher’s made problems through Mobile Assisted Language Learn (MALL) application. The subjects were 60 Iranian undergraduates grouped as one control group (CG) being instructed based on the traditional lecture-based method and two experimental groups being instructed based on HPBL and Pure Problem-Based Learning (PPBL) methods conveniently. Findings of one-way MANOVA, one-sample, and paired-samples t-test revealed that HPBL students had significantly higher mean scores than the PPBL students who were in turn superior to their CG counterparts in terms of productive skills and critical thinking. This study has the potential to advance new ideas and perceptions which can be implemented by EFL learners in improving the productive skills and critical thinking of the learners. Therefore, the findings might bear implications for students, teachers, university curriculum designers, and decision-makers to design more effective curriculums for the teaching of productive skills to the students.

THE EFFECT OF TRANSLATOR' GENDER ON THE CENSORSHIP OF TABOOS IN IRANIAN CONTEXT

This research attempted to conduct an empirical study to investigate the differences in the way male and female translators use censorship to deal with the translation of taboo expressions, and also to find the correlation between genders' habitus and the censorship of taboo words. To this end, 60 Iranian undergraduate students in the field of "English Translation" were selected as the participants of this study. An English proficiency test was given to them to ensure they were all intermediate and upper. A sexually-loaded text with a full-frontal description of a woman's body and a text full of swear words were extracted from two different books and given to the participants to translate. To examine different censorship strategies, Brownlie’s category was adopted as the framework of the research. Analysis of the data revealed a significant positive relationship between translators' gender, their habitus, and the degree of censorship they used. Based on the findings of this study, due to the robust habitus in the mind of female translators, they tried to use censorship more than the male participants. Males felt more freedom in choosing proper equivalences and sometimes intensified the vulgarity of taboos by applying dysphemism in some cases. This paper also explains the reason for the robust habitus and the higher degree of censorship in female translators' work.

Domains of competence in midwifery students: a basis for developing a competence assessment tool for iranian undergraduate midwifery students

BackgroundCurrent study was conducted with the aim of explaining domains of clinical competence in undergraduate midwifery students so that it addresses the challenges in midwifery curriculum and improving clinical assessment methods in Iranian undergraduate midwifery students.MethodsQualitative approach and conventional content analysis were used in the design of the present study. The research setting included midwifery and nursing schools and hospitals and health centers affiliated to Tehran and Guilan universities of medical sciences in Iran. The target population consisted of undergraduate midwifery students in the fourth to eighth semesters of school, midwives working in hospitals and health centers, midwifery faculty members, and obstetricians. The participants were selected through purposive maximum variation sampling, which continued until data saturation. After in-depth semi-structured interviews, the content of the interviews was analyzed according to the steps proposed by Zhang & Wildemuth.ResultsTwenty-four people participated in this study, including seven midwifery students, seven midwives, nine midwifery and reproductive and sexual health faculty members, and one obstetrician. The participants were aged 20–56 years and their mean age was 39.75 years. Their level of education varied from midwifery student to PhD. The mean work experience of the participants was 13.62 years and the mean duration of the interviews was 48 min. The analysis of the data obtained from the experiences of the participants led to the formation of the four categories of ethical and professional function in midwifery, holistic midwifery care, effective interaction, and personal and professional development, along with ten subcategories.ConclusionThe findings of the present study showed that clinical competence in midwifery students involves different domains that correspond well overall to the general definitions of clinical competence in different sources. These findings can be used as a basis for the design and psychometric assessment of a clinical competence assessment tool for undergraduate midwifery students.

Moderating role of compassion in the link between fear of Coronavirus disease and mental health among undergraduate students.

BackgroundThe societal challenges presented by fear related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic may present unique challenges for an individual's mental health. However, the moderating role of compassion in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and mental health has not been well-studied. The present study aimed to explore the association between fear of COVID-19 and mental health, as well as test the buffering role of compassion in this relationship.MethodsThe participants in this study were 325 Iranian undergraduate students (228 females), aged 18–25 years, who completed questionnaires posted on social networks via a web-based platform.ResultsThe results showed that fear of COVID-19 was positively related with physical symptoms, social function, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. The results also showed that compassion was negatively associated with physical symptoms, social function, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms. The interaction-moderation analysis revealed that compassion moderated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and subscale of mental health.ConclusionResults highlight the important role of compassion in diminishing the effect of fear of COVID-19 on the mental health (physical symptoms, social function, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms) of undergraduate students.

Unraveling Advanced EFL Learners’ L2 Willingness to Communicate in Extramural Digital Settings

Considering the importance of willingness to communicate (WTC) as a critical component of effective pedagogy (MacIntyre et al., 1998), the present qualitative study investigated the affordances extramural digital settings (EDSs), as newly emerged popular environments, offer to advanced EFL learners. To this aim, we asked a purposeful sample of 8 Iranian undergraduate English students of both genders (4 males, 4 females), with an age range of 19 to 21, to partake in the study. Results of the analysis of semi-structured interviews suggested that despite providing advanced EFL learners with unique opportunities for the use of the target language, different aspects of EDSs might have diverse effects on each individual''s L2 WTC. More specifically, L2 WTC was subject to considerable fluctuations because of the simultaneous and aggregate effect of different factors and the fluctuations exhibited substantial variation from learner to learner, moment to moment and in accordance with different purposes. The factors identified were classified into three major categories: Affective (attitude and self-confidence), contextual (interlocutor, social disapproval and cultural influences), and linguistic (language proficiency) variables. The findings of the study may offer insights into materials development by suggesting the integration of some activities and tasks which focus on the use of various social media platforms to the course materials. Moreover, English instructors need to acquire information on which social media platforms are more appropriate and could create an interesting and collaborative environment for students to communicate in the target language. For instance, they could form groups on social media to engage students in regular authentic interaction in L2 outside of the classroom context.

Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12: Psychometric Properties of This Construct Among Iranian Undergraduate Students.

BackgroundUncertainty intolerance (IU), the tendency to think or react negatively toward uncertain events may have implication on individuals’ mental health and psychological wellbeing. The Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-12 (IU-12) is commonly used across the globe to measure IU, however, its’ psychometric properties are yet to be evaluated in Iran with a Persian-speaking population. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to translate and validate the IU-12 among Iranian undergraduate students.Materials and MethodsThe multi-stage cluster random sampling was employed to recruit 410 Iranian undergraduate students (260 females) from the Azad University to complete the IU-12, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-2, and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in a cross-sectional design. In this study, face validity, content validity, construct validity, and concurrent validity were measured and Construct Reliability (CR) and Cronbach’s alpha were used to measure reliability.ResultsThe impact score of the translated IU-12 indicated acceptable face validity (value of impact score was greater than 1.5). The value of Content Validity Index (CVI) and the value of Content Validity Ratio (CVR) were above 0.7 and 0.78, respectively. The values of CVI and CVR indicated the items had acceptable content validity and were deemed essential to the measure. The measurement model analysis showed the measure with two subscales had good fit indices (CMIN/df = 2.75, p < 0.01, RMSEA = 0.07, TLI = 0.94, CFI = 0.95, GFI = 0.94). A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicated the scale was composed of the two subscales found in the English-version of the scale (prospective anxiety and inhibitory anxiety), and no items were removed from the scale. The values of CR (0.86) and Cronbach’s alphas (0.89) showed the measure had appropriate internal consistency.ConclusionThe findings support the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the IU-12. This scale could be used to reliably and accurately measure uncertainty intolerance among undergraduate students in Iran.

Psychometric Assessment of the Persian Translation of the Interpersonal Mindfulness Scale With Undergraduate Students.

Interpersonal mindfulness is a construct that significantly contributes to social interaction. To date, no validated measure assessing interpersonal mindfulness has been developed in Iran. Therefore, the aim of this study was to translate and validate the Interpersonal Mindfulness Scale (IMS) among Iranian undergraduate students. Participants in the study (370 undergraduate students; 220 females) from the Azad University completed the translated IMS, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Scale. The translated measure demonstrated acceptable face validity. All items had acceptable content validity and were deemed essential to the scale. The results of a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) confirmed a scale with four subscales (presence, awareness of self and others, non-judgmental acceptance, and non-reactivity), with acceptable internal consistency. The findings support the psychometric properties of the Persian translated Interpersonal Mindfulness Scale, which could be used to measure interpersonal mindfulness among undergraduate students in Iran.

Preferences for Hotels with Biophilic Design Attributes in the Post-COVID-19 Era

Since the COVID-19 crisis has caused the cancellation of a great number of travel plans in the last two years, this study examines the prospects of the post-COVID-19 era, during which we expect tourism will return strongly. The impact of the epidemic on people’s attitudes toward tourism, particularly their tourist choices, appears to be a major challenge for post-COVID-19 international tourism development. Very little is known about tourists’ accommodation preferences during the period emerging after the COVID-19 crisis. With a long and challenging experience of lockdowns, stress, and fear of disease, the current study attempts to examine peoples’ preferences for hotel attributes during the post-COVID-19 era. It examines factors contributing to peoples’ preferences for hotels with biophilic attributes. A total of 507 Iranian undergraduate and graduate students participated in the study. They answered questions on their perceived stress, level of depression, the specific burden of COVID-19, the perceived benefits of nature, and their preferences for biophilic design attributes in their accommodation. The online survey was conducted from August to October 2021. We found that the burden of COVID-19 increased the stress level of the respondents, which consequently increased the chance of depression. We further found that perceived stress and the benefits of nature significantly affect tourists’ preferences for exposure to nature and hotels with biophilic attributes. Based on the data, we suggest that the demand for biophilic buildings will be strongly increased during the post-COVID-19 era.

A Triangulated Approach toward the Needs Assessment for English Language Course of Iranian Undergraduate Students of Library and Information Science

This study investigated the perceptions of in-service librarians, EAP professors and Library and Information Science students about the English language needs to find why librarians cannot deliver appropriate English services. Through 60 semi-structured interviews, the researchers perceived the librarians, professors, and students' English needs. The results of the first phase led to development of a Library and Information Science needs questionnaire analysis, which was administered to 198 undergraduate students of Library and Information Science in universities located in Tehran to understand if the identified English needs were covered through the syllabus or not. The results of the interviews showed that librarians need such English skills as speaking, listening, reading and writing to be successful in their profession. Nonetheless, the data collected from the questionnaires revealed that practicing skills are totally neglected in the Library and Information Science syllabus. A proper syllabus should include the new concepts on specialized English and the sections intended for practicing the four skills such as offering library services in English, official letter writing, translation, note-taking, summary writing, working with the databases and searching the internet. Most students agreed completely to speak English in their classes, and they introduced not using the language skills as the most important reason for not getting satisfactory results in EAP classes.

Religious Perfectionism Scale: Assessment of Validity and Reliability Among Undergraduate Students in Iran.

Religious perfectionism is a construct that may help to either improve mental health or cause mental health difficulties. The Religious Perfectionism Scale (RPS; Wang in J Relig Health 59: 318-333, 2020) is a useful tool for assessing religious perfectionism around the world, but its psychometric properties have yet to be tested in Iran. The sample in the present study consisted of 300 Iranian undergraduate students (180 females) from Azad University who completed the RPS, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-2, and the Moral Perfectionism Scale. The impact score was used to determine face validity, and the values of the impact score for all translated items were greater than 1.5, meaning that the items had satisfactory face validity. The Content Validity Index (CVI) values were above the acceptable cutoff score of 0.7, indicating the acceptable content validity of items. The Content Validity Ratio (CVR) scores were greater than the cutoff score of the Lawshe table (.78), indicating the satisfactory essentiality of the items. To measure construct validity, the results of a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using AMOS software confirmed the scale with two subscales (zealous religious dedication and religious self-criticism). No item was removed from the scale as all factor loading values were greater than 0.49. The findings support the psychometric properties of the scale for measuring religious perfectionism among undergraduate students in Iran.

The impact of narrow personality traits on entrepreneurial intention in developing countries: A comparison of Turkish and Iranian undergraduate students using ordered discrete choice models

This study aimed to examine the potential determinants of the entrepreneurial intention (EI) levels of Turkish and Iranian undergraduate students with an emphasis on the narrow personality traits that could predict such students’ EI levels. For this purpose, a well-established written questionnaire was administered to a total of 875 undergraduate students from both countries. Due to the ordered nature of the dependent variable, the data were analyzed using the ordered logit, generalized ordered logit, and partial proportional odds models. The results of the study showed significant differences between the Turkish and Iranian undergraduate students’ EI levels. That is, the presence of an entrepreneur in the family increased the Turkish undergraduate students’ EI levels whereas the Turkish undergraduate students whose household heads were government officials or retirees had lower EI levels than those whose parents were self-employed. The Turkish undergraduate students who saw themselves as having much enthusiasm and having the tendency to become tense and to do things efficiently had a higher intention to found a business venture in the near future compared to those who did not have such traits. In contrast, the Turkish students who saw themselves as having the tendency to persevere until their task is finished, to be moody, and to make plans and implement them had lower EI levels than those who did not have these traits. Openness (with significant narrow personality traits such as having the tendency to be original, to come up with new ideas, and to have an active imagination) was found to be the Big Five personality trait with the greatest positive impact on the Iranian undergraduate students’ EI levels whereas the Iranian undergraduate students who saw themselves as ingenious, deep thinkers, and worriers had lower EI levels. It was also shown in this study that the Iranian undergraduate students with a monthly income from a job in addition to their stipend from their family were more likely to have higher EI levels than those whose monthly funds came only from their parents. In addition, the male Iranian students were found to have lower EI levels than their female counterparts. This study contributed to the existing literature by conducting a cross-cultural comparison of two developing countries using the ordered discrete choice modeling approaches, and its empirical findings may assist policymakers in coming up with effective policies for promoting entrepreneurship.