Improving participation in voluntary activities in Iran is important because increasing productivity among young people, given the country's young population, contributes to community sustainability. Therefore, a better understanding of volunteer motivation in Iranian youth is needed. The Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) for assessing volunteer motivations has good psychometric properties and is adapted to several languages, but no validated Iranian translation yet exists. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric characteristics of voluntary functions inventory in members of Iranian Red Crescent Society. Sample size was 595 members of Youth Organization of Iranian Red Crescent Society from 31 provinces and 175 cities of Iran that were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method and responded to voluntary functions inventory. Data were collected using a demographic sample and voluntary functions inventory (VFI). Confirmatory factor analysis using principal components method was used for data analysis. The results of the present study showed that the voluntary functions inventory had validity and reliability. Also, the factor structure showed that 29 items and 6 factors well assess people's attitudes to volunteering, and the structure of this inventory was well-fitted and confirmed all goodness of fit models. The present study provides the use of the Iranian translation of the Voluntary Functions Inventory (6 scales and 29 items) to assess volunteer motivation among young Iranian volunteers.

Background and Aim: Job enrichment is a method that has been used to increase employee satisfaction and work motivation. The Hackman and Oldham job characteristics model (1976) has served as the foundation for many job enrichment efforts. In particular, a considerable amount of research has been devoted to the study of the job characteristics-job satisfaction relations. Te purpose of this study was to statistically determine the relation between job characteristics and job satisfaction among employees of hospitals affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) in 2007. Materials and Methods: This study was a cross-sectional one, including 6 TUMS-affiliated hospitals-Emam, Shariati, Baharlo, Ziaeian, Madaen and Azadi. The sample size was 400, consisting of 200 administrative employees (50%), 151 nurses (38%) and 49 physicians (12%). The random sampling and stratified proportional sampling methods were used to select the hospitals and interviewees, respectively. Two questionnaires were developed and used to identify job characteristics and job satisfaction: 1) job diagnostics surveys (JDS) and 2) Hertzberg's job satisfaction questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaires was ascertained by test-retest using the Pearson correlation coefficient (r = 0.88). Linear-by-linear association and ordinal logistics regression analysis were used for analyzing the data gathered.Results:The relations between the Motivational Potential Score (MPS) and job characteristics (except for feedback) with job satisfaction were statistically significant (p<0.05). Task identity was the most effective determinant of job satisfaction. Conclusion: It appears that all the job characteristics (except feedback) are important determinants of job satisfaction of the hospital employees. Although the work environment is in need of restructuring, it is important to note, from a positive perspective, that the job characteristics discussed in this study are readily amenable to change job satisfaction at the organizational level.

Purpose: In the pathology and treatment of voice, it is essential to understand the problem. In addition, it requires the knowledge of acoustic characteristics of the voice and their relationship with the lesions of the larynx. Functional disphony refers to an impairment of the voice production in the absence of mucosal or neural disease of the larynx, which If left untreated, it leads to laryngeal organic lesion. In this study, to find acoustic differences, the voice of men and women, with Functional voice disorders with or without organic lesion of polyp kind have been examined.Methods: This study was done in the way cohort, non-interventional and retrospective. Subjects included 74 patients age ranged from 20 to 69 years with Functional voice disorder, with and without vocal fold polyp whose voice was analyzed in the vowel /ae/. The data was analyzed using the praat software (version 5.1.05).Results: In men, all the acoustic parameters showed significant differences: fundamental frequency range (p=0.03), Jitter (p=0.01), Shimmer (p=0.006) and harmonics to noise ratio (p=0.002). However, these parameters did not show significant differences in women with Functional voice disorders, with and without organic lesion of larynx (p>0.05).Conclusion: The fundamental frequency range, Jitter, Shimmer and harmonic to noise ratio in men with Functional voice disorder, with or without vocal fold polyp are distinguishable.

Evaluating the cutting rate (CR) of stones is important in the cost estimation and the planning of the stone processing plants. This research used regression models to estimate the stones’ CR based on their physico-mechanical characteristics. Stone processing factories in Mahallat City (Markazi province, Iran) were visited, and the CR of diamond circular saws was recorded on six different travertine stones. Next, the stone block samples were collected from the quarries for laboratory tests. Stones’ porosity (n), uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), and Schmidt hammer hardness (SH) were determined in the laboratory as their physico-mechanical characteristics. Correlation relationships of CR with physico-mechanical characteristics were evaluated using simple and multiple regression analyses, and estimator models were developed. Results showed that multiple regression models are more reliable than simple regression for estimating the stones’ CR. The validity of the developed multiple regression models was verified with the published data of one researcher. The findings indicated that these models are accurate enough for estimating the CR of stones. Consequently, the multiple regression models provide practical advantages for estimating the CR and save time and cost during the planning and design of the stone processing factories.

To investigate the response of corn to combined application of chemical fertilizers with rhizobacteria plant growth promoting, an experiment was conducted in 2017 at Research farm of Agricultural and Natural Resources Campus of Tehran University, Karaj, Iran, in a randomized complete block design with four replications. Four nutritional treatments including T1 (Control treatment without applying fertilizer), T2 (Just PGPRs), T3 (Use chemical fertilizers based on soil test) and T4 (T3 + PGPRs) were considered. According to the results, the highest total dry weight (3.9 kg/m2), crop growth rate (79.8 g.m-2.day-1), net assimilation rate (15.3 g.m-2.day-1) and grain yield (18.2 ton.ha-1) were observed in T4 treatment and T2 treatment produced the highest  leaf area index (5.3), leaf area duration (205.2) and specific leaf weight (78.5 g.m-2) . Also, the lowest value of all traits was observed in in T1 (control) treatment. The results showed that the presence of rhizobacteria plant growth promotioninduction in the corn nutrition program increased the growth and growth indices of the plant. Combined application of chemical fertilizers with rhizobacteria plant growth promoting resulted in the highest growth and final grain yield of corn.

Some geographical areas, in order to prevent the possibility of direct contact and conflict between rival powers, often by mutual or unilateral agreements, function as buffer spaces. These powers are then committed not to trespass on any spaces or take control of them. Buffers as geographical phenomena are as old as mankind, but there have been no academic studies on the subject so far, and only some brief scientific definitions of “buffer states” have been proposed by scientists without dealing with their nature, features and usages. On the other hand, “buffer geographical space” was first used by the authors of this study without prior inclusion in geographical, political and international studies.Rivalry of two powers and existence of a weak space between them with strategic importance for them shifts their attention to this space and a rivalry emerges between them in controlling and maintaining it. Also, such spaces are zones for the incidence of overt and covert rivalries between these powers. Problems that countries, like Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Korea, Afghanistan and Cambodia in Asia, Poland and Belgium in Europe, Uruguay, Nicaragua, in Central America in the twentieth century, have faced or sometimes they still face. Current study, based on descriptive-analytical method, seeks to understand and explain the nature and structural-Functional characteristics of buffer spaces.