INNOVATION IN MANAGEMENT EDUCATION (JOURNAL OF MODERN THOUGHTS IN EDUCATION)
Year:2009 | Volume:4 | Issue:3 (15)|Papers Count:8

The main purpose of the present research was to study the psychological environment and its components in Islamic Azad University (IAU). The population of the study included all the IAU managers in different branches. Stratified random sampling was used to select 540 managers and 3 employees under their supervision which amounted to 1620. A researcher-made questionnaire about psychological environment was administered to collect data from managers and their employees. One-way ANOVA and LSD follow-up test indicated that: 1) There are not significant differences between the psychological environment indices of the IAU branches in different districts. 2) There are significant differences between the components of reward, friendship, support, and autonomy. 3) There are not significant differences between the components of conflict, job control, interpersonal relationships, job commitment, job stress, organizational respect and validation in different districts of IAU.

The present research has been done to recognize the relation between personality features and attachment styles with the level of risk-taking young Islamic Azad University (IAU) students, as well as the effect of dwelling place on their personality features and risk-taking. 120 students were selected as members of the sample, including 58 men and 62 women. Out of them 77 were indigenous and 43 people were not, with the average age of 22.22. Neo-FFI questionnaire, Hazan-Shaver questionnaire, and risk-taking questionnaire were administered to evaluate personality features, attachment styles, and risk taking respectively. The findings of research have been formulated in two parts: descriptive and inferential. In inferential part, ANOVA and multiple linear regressions were used. The results of regression imply that the quintuple dimensions of personality features, attachment style, sexuality, and dwelling place altogether determine 24% of the youths total level of risk-taking. Among them, the sexuality, age, extraversion and agreeableness have a significant predictive effect on the youth total level of risk-taking.

The main purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of family life education (FLE) on tension reduction of mothers with learning disorder (LD) children in reading and writing. To obtain the necessary research data, the pre-test and post-test experimental design with control group was adopted. To this end, 60 out of 154 mothers with LD children in reading and writing, whose disorder was confirmed by LD centers in Rasht city, were randomly selected. All mothers answered 33 questions about parental tension under four subcomponents of depression, feeling of competence, social isolation and parental health, related to parental stress index (PSI), the dependent variable, before and after applying FLE. To analyze the data and compare the two groups, the t-student parametric test was used. The results show that mothers’ characteristics resulting from increasing parental tension can be changed through FLE model and programs. This means that increasing these mothers’ child rearing skills, on the one hand, and changing their perception toward LD children on the other hand can reduce their tension, depression, and social loneliness and enhance their sense of efficiency and health.

Learning strategies have been the focus of much attention during the last decades. This research has been done to study the relationship between learning and study strategies and academic achievement of students of Islamic Azad University (IAU) in Mazandaran province. Correlation was the method of the research and the population included all students studying in different branches of IAU in Mazandaran province. The sample consisted of 386 students who were selected using random sampling method. The main components of learning and study strategies were measured through the standard learning and study strategies inventory (LASSI). Through Pearson correlation, the relation between three main components of skill, will and self regulating with academic achievement (grade point average) were investigated. ANOVA and Tukey's tests were used to determine the effect of field of study on three main components of learning and study strategies. The findings revealed that there were statistically significant relationship between all three components of learning and study strategies with students’ academic achievement. Also, there were statistically significant differences between students based on field of study. Moreover, there were differences between profile of learning and study strategies of female and male students and also there was a considerable difference between profile of learning and study strategies of IAU students in Mazandaran province in Iran and the norm of American students.

The main purpose of the present research is to study the desirable characteristics of the professors as perceived by students in Islamic Azad University (IAU), Islamshar branch. The focus of study is mainly investigating the instructional, behavioral, and ethical characteristics of the professors as perceived by the students of art, engineering, humanities, basic sciences, and physical education. The population of the study included all the students in IAU, Islamshahr branch in the above fields. Out of them 600 students were selected (120 from each of the above fields) using systematic random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire reliability index of 0.87. The results of one-sample t test and ANOVA indicate that instructional and behavioral characteristics are the major characteristics of professors as perceived by students of art, basic sciences, and physical education.

This study mainly aims at investigating the relationship between learners’ use of learning strategies in the process of English language learning and their command of English among English students in university. Out of 368 freshmen English language students, 189 students studying English Language at Islamic Azad University - Roudehen Branch were selected applying cluster random sampling. Oxford's Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) and an ETS version of TOEFL examination (2003) were administered. The findings indicated that participants’ use of learning strategies in their study had correlation with their English proficiency level. Moreover, there is no significant difference between male and female students regarding the use of learning strategies in relation with their proficiency level.

The purpose of this project is to study the nanotechnology researchers’ information needs and information retrieval behavior. Its Methodology is questionnaire survey. Research instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire whose reliability was calculated through Cronbach a (a=0.914) and whose content validity was analyzed and approved through expert opinions.1225 researchers in nanotechnology are included as the research population out of whom 291 researchers, based on Krejcie and Morgan table, were selected using cluster random sampling method. Out of distributed questionnaires (500), 243 of them (84% of the sample) were returned completed. Statistical analyses were carried out in SPSS and Excel environments. The results of research indicate that, 69.7% researchers mainly use articles, 58.8 % of them e-journals, and a few of them use bibliographies as formal sources. Their ideal type of resource is e-resources. Their motives to use information are mainly conducting research projects and updating their field-related information. Academic centers are where they usually refer to address their information needs. The major problems to access information are inappropriate internet services and lack of access to certain data bases due to subscription issues.

To investigate the effect of community of inquiry method on improvement of interpersonal relationship skills, based on Lipman’s theory, an experiment was conducted in Tehran primary schools among students of third, fourth and fifth grade. 190 boy and girl students were randomly selected (97 boys, 93 girls) and assigned to experimental and control groups (88 experimental, 102 control). The experimental group was taught based on community of inquiry method for twelve 90-minute sessions. Cooper, Ardly & Asher questionnaire for students and Vir & Davin questionnaire for teachers were used as the instruments of the study for collecting data about interpersonal relationship skills. To examine the effect of treatment, the collected data were analyzed using various descriptive and inferential statistical techniques such as mean, standard of deviation, ANOVA, paired and independent T test. The comparison of pre-test's means of both experimental and control group didn't show any significant difference. But the results of pre-test and post-test of both experimental and control group indicate that the mean of post-test in experimental group is relatively more than that of pre-test in interpersonal relationship skills while the mean score of control group hasn't undertaken a significant difference in post-test. Moreover, the mean of experimental group in post-test is higher than that of control group in post-test. Besides, to investigate insolubility of implementation effect, again the students were rechecked after 4 months. The results have indicated the insolubility of effect. Therefore, this semi-experimental study has shown that implementing community of inquiry method has positively affected interpersonal relationship skills of the experimental group. The effect that remained unchanged for at least 4 months.