INNOVATION IN MANAGEMENT EDUCATION (JOURNAL OF MODERN THOUGHTS IN EDUCATION)
Year:2007 | Volume:2 | Issue:4 (8)|Papers Count:11

The purpose of this study was to do a survey on the status of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Islamic Azad University and the extent to which they benefited from ICT facilities in its branches. The population of the research consisted of all ICT managers in all 12 zones of IAU. All the ICT managers acted as samples. To collect data, a researcher-made questionnaire (with 28 close-ended items and two separate open-ended sets of items) was used. To measure the psychometric features of the questionnaire, its content validity was confirmed referring to a group of experts' opinions. Cronbach α was applied to measure the internal consistency among the items (a=0.873). The result of a single group t-Test showed that there was a significant difference between sample mean and the theoretical mean in 23 items, except in using internet to link with other parts of the organization, using ICT to refer to the administrative procedures and correspondence, using ICT in evaluating the staff, infrastructural capacity to benefit from digital library, and the level of internet bandwidth to use digital library. Considering these differences between the mean score and the mean score of the samples and the theoretical mean ( m = 3), it can be concluded that the status of all 12 zones of IAU was less than average in most aspects except the variables of " using on-line courses for professional improvement of the staff", "budgeting for employing ICT experts", "ICT training to staff", "using digital library". It was higher than average regarding the last four variables.

The present study aimed at doing a survey on the marital satisfaction of the marriages among university students and the role of related factors like gender, field of study, language, education, income, and age difference among the couples. It was an applied research which was carried out through causal-comparative method. The number of participants in both control and experimental groups were assigned to be 168. ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Scale and a researcher-made questionnaire were administered. To analyze the data, both descriptive and inferential statistics (t-Test and ANOVA) were applied. The results of the research indicated that there was not a significant difference between mean score of marital satisfaction in both student and non-student, different sexes, same or different language, and income levels. However, the mean score of the marital satisfaction between experimental group and the expected mean of the population, between students of the same or different fields of study, between students of the same or different levels of education, and between students of different ages was significantly different.

The purpose of the research was to study the relationship between organizational health in universities and the amount of bureaucracy in the triple-fold aspects of the organization (Complexity, Formality, and Centralization). Moreover, the amount of bureaucracy in the triple-fold aspects of organizational structure and the type of university were studied. The population included managers and staff (faculty members and administrative staff) of the universities under study. It was a cross-sectional research in which 305 participants (35 managers, 270 staff) were randomly selected in two groups. The tools of research were the scale of the Center for Measuring Organizational Health and Robbins' questionnaire for measuring bureaucracy structure. The findings of the research indicated that the organizational health of the universities were all at a middle level. The result of one-way ANOVA, however, showed that there was not a significant difference between the amount of organizational health in universities. The findings further indicated that the organizational health of the universities was all in all in a middle level of bureaucracy, while the difference was significant regarding their formalities. This study revealed that the triple-fold aspects are in correlation with the type of universities; however, formality with Eta index of 0.576 was of great relationship with the type of universities.

The major purpose of the research was to study the impact of assessment methods on the class atmosphere, affective factors, and students' creativity in elementary schools.480 students (240 from classes with descriptive assessment and 240 from the classes with traditional assessment) were selected through Morgan's method of random sampling (Morgan, 1970) from third-grade students in Chahar Mahal Bakhtiari Province. The research tools were Classroom Life Measure (Johnson & Johnson, 1983), Quality of School Life questionnaire (Ainley & Bourke, 1992), and the pictorial test of creative thinking (Form B). The findings indicated that there was a meaningful difference between the students with descriptive assessment and those with traditional assessment regarding the variables of classroom atmosphere (cooperative learning, individualistic learning, competitive learning, fair scoring, school alienation, class cooperation, and social support), students' affective factors (general satisfaction from school, negative affection, their relation with teacher, social cooperation, opportunity, success, and events) and also students' creativity scores.

Smart schools are the electronic ones in which e-learning is used. The purpose of these schools is to prepare a logical and appropriate structure to intelligently combine Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and school syllabus in a way that ICT turns to be the basis for learning. The aim of this study was to identify and prioritize the factors affecting the realization of smart school project. It was an applied research in its purpose but a descriptive one in method. The population included all high school headmasters in Mazandaran province (N=825). Simple random sampling was applied to select 265 participants as sample group. The data were collected administering a researcher-made questionnaire with reliability index of 0.89. The results of single-group t-Test and one-way ANOVA indicated that appropriate contextualization and preparing the environment suited for ICT in schools, training skilled human resources to be able to work with ICT, and funds and facilities are the major components necessary for the realization of the project. Some suggestions and practical recommendations were also given at the end of the study.

This researcher was aimed at identifying ways and methods of obtaining and identifying different documents and resources, realizing individual and professional characteristics and determining the role of libraries and information centers to satisfy the information needs of the professors, and identifying the problems of the faculty members in retrieving information. The research population was comprised of all faculty members of IAU Roudehen Branch. Regarding the limited number of participants, a list of all full-time and part-time faculty members was taken from the Research Department. The data collection was carried out administering a questionnaire with 21 open and closed-ended items which were designed based on the fundamental research questions.

The aim of the present research was to do a survey on the impact of training entrepreneurship on the entrepreneurial spirit of the high school students in Kazeroun town. The research population included all high school students during semester 2006-07 in Kazeroun. Applying cluster random sampling, 130 were selected as samples. It was a causal-comparative research in which data were collected administering Samad Aghaee's questionnaire for entrepreneurial spirit (a=12.19, p<0.001). The result of statistical analysis indicated that the entrepreneurial spirit of students who have been trained for entrepreneurship was higher than those who was not trained. Moreover, those studying in vocational schools showed higher spirit than those studying in non-vocational schools. There was no significant difference between the entrepreneurial spirit of those with GPA above 17 out of 20 and those with GPA below 14. This variable was significantly different between boys and girls who received training and boys and girls who did not.

This research sought to find the answer to this question: What factors are involved in the development and promulgation of entrepreneurship in universities? This study began with the identification of the barriers and the factors involved in the development and promulgation of entrepreneurship in universities and it finally ended with the practical guidelines to promote the entrepreneurship among university graduates. The research population included faculty members in all branches of IAU in zone 8. The sampling was performed through cluster random sampling method and 600 participants were selected. Data collection was carried out through administering a 20-item questionnaire which was arranged based on Likert scale. The validity was measured through expert opinion and Cronbach α was applied to calculate the internal consistency of the items (a=0.79). Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi Square) were used to analyze the data. The findings of the study were as follows: provoking the university graduates to think about entrepreneurship could be effective in its development. Moreover, technical and practical training in entrepreneurship was of great impact on its development. This research also indicated that introducing the opportunities for entrepreneurship in university could influence a raise in the funds to develop professional and entrepreneurial capabilities. It, furthermore, showed that the current training in university could rarely help to reinforce the motivation for entrepreneurship and the preparation to burden the responsibility in a profession. It finally concluded that the development of entrepreneurship among the students depended, to many extent, upon the development of their entrepreneurial behavior through the promulgation, training, support and discovering the talented students in entrepreneurship.