JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION RESEARCH
Year:2019 | Volume:- | Issue:48 |Papers Count:10

Virtual social networks (VSNs) as one of the human's important achievements in updating information can provide a lot of opportunities for academic communities in particular for the students. Accordingly, the primary purpose of this study was to analyze the agricultural students' attitude towards virtual social networks associated with improving learning activities. The study's population included 523 both graduate and undergraduate students at Bu-Ali Sina University in 2017 academic year. A number of 217 students were randomly selected as samples using Morgan's sampling size table. In order to validate the questionnaire and access to reliable variables both panel of experts and a pre-test method were used. The validity of the questions was verified by experts’ views of Bu-Ali Sina University and the reliability of the questionnaire estimated with ordinal teta (Ɵ =0. 88). Results showed that majority of the students (52. 4 %) agreed to virtual social networks with a positive attitude. The students on graduated level and female students use VSNs more than other groups. The factor analysis results from the effects of social networks on improvement of learning activities showed that the most important factors were the exchange of information with classmates and professors, improving the culture of study and learning, improving personal and social communication and increasing the probability of job placement. These factors explain 61% of the total variance of all variables. Also, the results of Spearman correlation coefficient showed that there was a significant relationship between gender and educational level of agricultural students with their attitude toward using social networks at the level of 99%, and also the results of Kruskal Wallis test indicated that between the attitude of male and female students towards social networks was different at 99 percent significantly.

Entrepreneurial education provides the basis for balanced development of learners' competencies in the teaching-learning process. The number of proposed strategies for establishing entrepreneurial education requires that strategies be most adapted to the country's education system. With this approach, the purpose of this applied research was to rank strategies for realizing entrepreneurial education in the agricultural higher education system. Based on the literature, the components of entrepreneurial education were extracted and networked with relevant concepts. 21 experts were selected for multi-criteria decision making and ranking of entrepreneurial education strategies. Based on the process of network analysis, which is the general theory of relative measurement, and in order to conclude from previous relative scales, the individual components of the network of relationships between the criteria and the strategies constituting entrepreneurial education have been measured in a decision-making environment. The Super Matrix solution of the Super Decision software aid showed that the interaction between industry and the university in a network structure as a more appropriate strategy plays a role in meeting the criteria of agricultural entrepreneurship education. The result of the sensitivity analysis also showed that the proposed network structure can be repeated.

The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ attitudes toward academic cheating and its effecting factors in the Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan. This research has been done through a descriptive-correlational method and data were gathered through a questionnaire. The statistical population of the study consisted of 1456 undergraduate students of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, among whom 232 were selected by using a stratified sampling method. The results of the research showed that the most common methods of cheating in exams are to look at the sheets and write on paper, and the most common methods of cheating in homework are getting articles from the Internet and taking homework from classmates. The results of correlation analysis showed that there is a negative and significant relationship between the mean of the variable and the attitude toward cheating. The results of the Mann Whitney test also showed that there is a significant difference between the attitudes of people with a dismissed background and those who do not have a dismissed background. According to the results of Kruskal Wallis test, there is a significant difference between the students of the three colleges regarding of attitude towards cheat, and students of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Rrural Development had a more negative attitude towards cheating. The results of factor analysis also showed that two factors of educational planning weakness and situational factors can explain more than 40% of variance in the motivation of academic cheating.

One of the essential needs of human nutrition is animal protein. In recent years, poultry meat is used as a valuable source of protein in human nutrition in Iran and the world. Triple diseases (influenza, bronchitis, Newcastle) have been the main causes of poultry mortality in most countries. Therefore, recognizing poultry farmers’ knowledge and managerial behavior about triple poultry diseases helps development actors’ effort to improve production and increase efficiency in this sector. Promoting poultry farmers’ knowledge and management practices are the basic ways to achieve the goals in development of poultry industry. This study was conducted to investigate factors influencing knowledge, awareness and management practices of poultry farmers in Bushehr province about poultry diseases. The statistical population was 220 poultry farmers in Bushehr province. Based on Cochran sampling formula, 140 samples were selected. Data collection tool was a questionnaire that its validity was confirmed by experts and its reliability by Ordinal theta coefficient (theta=0. 078-0. 90). Results showed that knowledge of persons who are more educated and have access to more information significantly more. Knowledge of the disease, triple, social norms and access to information are variables affecting poultry farmers’ management practices.

Universities have a moral responsibility for increasing social awareness, knowledge, skills, and values to creating a sustainable future. However, integration sustainable development issues in higher education structure remains in its early stages and faces many challenges. Therefore, identify factors that affecting on outspread of sustainable higher education are an undeniable fact to achieve to sustainable higher education and overcoming challenges facing the university to achieve sustainability. From 1810 individual of statistical population, 189 students were selected as sample using stratified random sampling (based on gender and degree). A researcher-made questionnaire was the main tool for collecting research data which experts confirmed its validity, and its reliability confirmed by calculating the ordinal theta (θ = 0. 83 – 0. 91). Data were analyzed using SPSSWin20 and R software. The findings of exploratory factor analysis revealed that seven factors include commitment to sustainability, knowledge, education for sustainability, cooperation and participation, attitude towards sustainability, support from top-managers of university and infrastructures, and organizational culture affecting on university’ s activities to achieve to sustainable higher education. Results of ordinal regression indicated that the identified factors are good predictor for outspread of sustainable higher education and in total explained about 52. 1% of variances of Sustainable higher education.

Universities play an important role in the economic and social development of a knowledgebased economy, and to this end, it is important to use all capacities, including intellectual capital, as intangible assets. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between human capital and performance measurement of agricultural Jihad higher education centers with emphasis on the mediating effect of communication capital. This research is applied in terms of purpose and field of data collection. The statistical population of this study consisted of 220 faculty members and lecturers of Higher Education Centers of Agricultural Jihad in the academic year of 2017-18. Native and narrator standard questionnaires were used for data collection. Content validity, convergent and divergent reliability and combined reliability of 0. 831 and ordinal theta were 0. 772. Structural equation modeling using SMARTPLS3 software showed that both human capital and communication capital variables have a positive and significant effect on the performance of these centers. In addition, the communication capital variable plays a mediating effect on the relationship between human capital and performance.

The rapid increase in world population and urban migrationhas led to an increase in demand for food, which in turn leads to the production of a large amount of agricultural waste, although it has been determined that waste accumulation has very harmful effects on humans and the environment, Such wastes, if properly managed, could be a important biological source for increasing food security in agricultural societies. However, despite the benefits of using agricultural wastes in terms of environmental and economic sustainability, such behaviour has not yet been accepted among farmers. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to analysis psychological factors affect farmers' behaviour to reuse agricultural wastes. To achieve this goal, the theory of planned behaviour was used as the main framework. The population of the study was consisted of Farmers in Khoram Abad Township that according to Krejcie & Morgan table, the sample size was determined (n=375). A questionnaire was used to collect data. To analyze the data used structural equation modeling with using software AMOS24. The results of a Mann– Whitney showed thatthere is a significant difference between farmers who have participated in extension classes of waste management with farmers who have not participated in these classes in terms of behavior, attitude, subjective norm and behavioral beliefs. Also, the results showed that attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control have a positive relationship with farmers' behavior to reuse agricultural wastes. In addition, the results showed that the attitude had the most direct effect and behavioural beliefs had the most indirect effect on farmers' behaviour.

This research was conducted with the aim of qualitative explanation of a conceptual model for academic brand development in higher agriculture education. Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources was studied as a case. This qualitative research was done by the descriptive phenomenological method. Data collection was conducted using semi-structured deep interview. The statistical population of the study consisted of the university community, including students, faculty members, graduates, administrative and managerial staff. Through purposeful theoretical sampling, 20 respondents were selected from the university community. The information gathering process continued to the level of theoretical saturation and the usefulness of the available information. Data collection process was continued until reaching theoretical saturation and usefulness threshold of available information. The qualitative thematic content analysis was carried out to analyze the collected data. The findings of this research resulted in identifying and defining 116 indicators for the development of the university brand. The four-layer indicator set consists of 14 components. The first layer is the brand image of the university (brand equity); six components include brand awareness (5 indicators), brand association (6 indicators), brand superiority (5 indicators), brand emotional response or brand effect (6 indicators), brand identification (6 indicators), and brand resonance, including brand communication, loyalty, and support (with 9 indicators). The second layer, entitled University Experience, consists of three categories or components including relational-social Experience (8 indicators), personal development experience (9 indicators), and emotional experience (3 indicators). The third layer, or perceived service quality of the university, includes three components of educational quality (10 indicators), quality of life (8 indicators), and the quality of human and social relationships in the university or academic community (14 indicators) and the effects and outcomes of the university or the social presence of the university (14 indicators). The fourth layer, the perception of the quality of the host community of the university (university place brand), is described with 10 indicators. These findings inform knowledge about the positioning and developing university brand image in the higher agricultural education.

Scholars behieve that studnets’ employability skills and career adaptability have a significant effect on thier stable employment in the future. Accordingly, this correlation-casual study was conducted to investigate the relationship between employability skills and career adaptability among agricultural students. The study population was 1300 senior bachelor agricultural students of Bu-Ali Sina University and Arak University in the academic year 1396-1397. According to the table of Krejcie and Morgan, 341 of them were selected through proportional stratified sampling. A questionnaire was used to collect data. Validity of the questionnaire was approved based on the opinions of faculty members at Bu-Ali Sina University. A pilot study was conducted to determine the reliability of the instrument, which the Cronbach's alpha values for the main scales of the questionnaire, was at the appropriate level (in the range of 0. 80 to 0. 93). The collected data was analyzed using Canonical Correlation Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling techni que by the help of SPSS and AMOS software. The results showed that there is a significant positive relationship between employability skills and career adaptability. Notably, problem solving skills were significantly related to the four sub-scales of career adaptability (career concern, career control, career confidence and career curiosity). The results of structural equation modeling showed 24 percent of the career adaptability variance could be explained by employability skills. The results of the study reveal the importance of developing students' employability skills in order to strengthen their career adaptability.

To succeed in the field of biotechnology, there is a need for trained human resources in all sectors. Comprehensive training is a prerequisite for the training of human resources. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting on the educational requirements of the agricultural biotechnology development from the viewpoint of agricultural researchers. The statistical population consisted of 421 researchers which worked in 14 agricultural research centers. The Cochran formula was used to determine the sample size. The sample size was 201, which increased to 216 researchers to reduce the error and also to cover the unanswered questionnaires. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire which its validity confirmed by Professors of Tehran University and the reliability of the variables was confirmed by a pretest and ordinal coefficient theta (θ = 0. 87) through R software. The results of the factor analysis showed that the factors affecting on educational requirements of agricultural biotechnology development can be classified in 6 groups. These were: the Policy making, Managerial, Researches, Extension, agricultural, and Consumable. These factors explained 49 percent of the total variance changes.