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Objective: This study aimed to develop and validate a teacher-leadership model in the education system. Method: This research was conducted using a sequential exploratory mixed-methods approach. Initially, the qualitative section of the study identified the dimensions and components of teacher-leadership through a meta-synthesis method. The qualitative sample included all papers published on teacher leadership from 2012 to 2023, with 48 studies selected through purposive sampling. The selected papers were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding, and a conceptual model of teacher-leadership was developed. Subsequently, the quantitative section validated the proposed model using a correlational method based on structural equation modeling. The quantitative sample included all principals and teachers of public elementary schools in Talesh, Iran, totaling 744 individuals. According to Morgan’s table, 257 individuals were selected through proportional random sampling. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire, whose validity was confirmed by experts and reliability calculated using Cronbach’s alpha (0.93). Quantitative data is analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis in the structural equation modeling by SPSS and SmartPLS4 software. Results: The findings indicated that teacher-leadership in the education system comprises five main dimensions and 15 sub-components: continuous development and improvement (student learning improvement, teacher professional development, improvement of classroom management and teaching), participatory culture (collaboration, sharing, and participatory decision-making), capacity building (facilitation of changes, comprehensive support, and extracurricular communication), leadership behavior (vision development, inspiration, and influence), and professional ethics (ethical considerations, commitment, and appreciation). Conclusion: The people associated with education can use this model to implement teacherleadership in schools and benefit from its advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main objective of this research is to design and present a comprehensive model for evaluating public policies in the tourism industry in Iran, aiming to fill part of the knowledge gap in this area. Design/ methodology/ approach: From the audience's point of view, this research is foundational, and in terms of attitude, it is mixed (qualitative and quantitative), employing non-interventional measures. The qualitative stage involved reviewing relevant literature and conducting semi-structured interviews with experts and specialists in the tourism field. The Delphi method was used in three stages to derive basic and key concepts until categories reached theoretical consensus and an appropriate framework was established. In the quantitative stage, the derived framework was tested, and the proposed model for evaluating policy-making in Iran's tourism industry was compiled and presented through data processing and analysis based on questionnaire results. The statistical population includes tourism experts and specialists, with 21 individuals chosen as the sample. According to the findings, the main elements of the model were identified in five dimensions (problem recognition, compilation, legitimation, implementation, and final evaluation) encompassing 44 concepts related to 14 categories, leading to the design of the comprehensive model. Research Findings: The results indicated that the most important measures for evaluating each of the five dimensions of public tourism policies in Iran are as follows: addressing the main issue of tourism (average score of 2.33), rationality of tourism policies (average score of 2.17), public acceptance of tourism policies (average score of 1.60), practical obligation of tourism policy implementers (average score of 2.26), and consistency in evaluating tourism policies (average score of 2.12). The most significant stages influencing the evaluation of public tourism policies in Iran are legitimizing tourism policies (average score of 3.50) and implementing tourism policies (average score of 3.36). Results from examining the research conceptual framework using AMOS software and goodness-of-fit indices of the confirmatory factor analysis model for evaluating public policies in Iran's tourism were deemed acceptable based on GFI, AGFI, CFI, CMIN/df, and RMSEA statistical tests. Limitations & Consequences One limitation of this research is the broad scope of tourism, which includes various types such as cultural, educational, recreational, commercial, therapeutic, social, athletic, religious, and political. Each type, besides its general and common indices, requires specific measures for policy evaluation, which exceeds the objectives of this research and presents limitations. Addressing these specific measures requires further independent research, which is recommended for future studies. Practical Consequences: The findings of this research, in addition to expanding the theoretical domain, may enhance the applied knowledge of tourism development and improve the performance of tourism regions. They also provide a basis for high-level managers to prioritize the importance of evaluating public policy-making in Iran's tourism sector. Based on the results, the primary priority in evaluating public policies in Iran's tourism industry is the "policy legitimizing stage." Therefore, one practical implication of this research is that policymakers should consider the necessary frameworks for legalizing and legitimizing tourism public policies in regulating and approving upstream documents. Using the model presented in this research, the existing process of public policies in Iran's tourism industry can be evaluated. Furthermore, continuing this research could model and test desirable conditions for tourism industry policy-making in Iran. Given that the evaluation of the policy implementation stage is the second priority in the process of evaluating public policies in Iran's tourism industry, providing an effective mechanism for the precise implementation of Iran's tourism industry policies is another practical implication of this research. Innovation or value of the Article: Since there is no specific, appropriate model that conforms to Iran's existing realities in evaluating tourism policies, presenting this model and filling part of the investigational gap indicates the value of this article. Generalizing tourism policy evaluation to all stages of the policy-making process, rather than focusing solely on final evaluation, demonstrates another aspect of the article's innovation and value. The mixed-method approach and the use of various instruments in designing and presenting a model for evaluating tourism policy contribute to the precision and comprehensiveness of policy evaluation, showcasing another innovative aspect of this research. Paper Type: Original Paper [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the problem of scheduling jobs with non-identical sizes has been studied on a single-batch processing machine, in order to minimize the makespan. Using new lower bounds, a branch and bound algorithm has been proposed to solve the problem. In this algorithm, two new methods have been used to generate lower bounds and results have been compared with the existing lower bound in literature. In order to evaluate the performance of the proposed method, test problems have been randomly generated and branch and bound algorithm has been tested with different lower bounds on these cases. Findings indicated that when the size of the jobs is large compared to the capacity of the machine, the branch and bound algorithm with the new lower bound has the best performance. When the size of the jobs is small compared to the capacity of the machine (up to half the capacity of the machine), the algorithm with existing lower bound has better performance. In addition, when the size of the jobs is neither large nor small, the lower bounds provide the best performance. Introduction: Based on predictions, services are a key component of the growth of the global economy in future (Arnold et al. 2011). Acording to Jane and Kumar (2012), services play a critical role in a supply chain. Also, according to Wang et al. (2015), a "product" or "service" must exist in each supply chain which is produced by the upstream sectors and delivered to downstream. Recently due to increasing customer expectations, companies’ competition has been replaced by the supply chains competition and as a result, competition has been increased in the simultaneous supply of products and services. This has led to challenges in integrating companies and in coordinating the materials, information and financial flow that were previously overlooked. Accordingly, a new managerial philosophy has been developed known as Product-Service Supply Chain (PSSC) (Stanley & Wisner, 2002). This study seeks to develop a performance evaluation model for the product-service supply chain in the home appliance industry, which is finally solved using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). Design/Approach: In this paper, performance evaluation constructs and criteria of service supply chain are identified by reviewing the literature and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and then, the performance evaluation of service supply chains in Iran's home appliance industry has been performed using these constructs, criteria and ANFIS. Findings and Discussion: Based on the findings, ten main extracted constructs can be suggested for the performance evaluation of the supply chain. They include "Operational Performance (OP)", "Strategic Performance (SP)", "Financial Performance (FP)", "Performance of Information and Communication Technology (PICT)", “Return Performance” (REP), “Risk Performance (RIP)”, “Logistic Performance (LP)”, “Market Performance (MP)”, “Internal Structure Performance (PIS)” and “Growth and Innovation Performance (PGI)”, among which, the Strategic Performance (SP) and Return Performance (REP) are the most important and the least important constructs, respectively. Conclusions Based on the findings, the following practical recommendations are suggested to the companies: · Enhancing the demand forecasts performance and utilizing more appropriate methods and software to improve forecasts in demand and order management areas. · Improving the return management status by increased attention and more investment in return management processes. · Effective investment in service development management to enhance the R&D services performance. · Utilizing risk management approaches and methods to identify and take preventive actions on the risks in the companies’ service supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to propose a comprehensive performance evaluation model with emphasis on service performance metrics in the service-product supply chain rather than the production supply chain in the home appliance industry and using neural-fuzzy networks for performance evaluation. The present study is typically a descriptive-exploratory research with survey approach in which, data analysis has been conducted using quantitative method and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. For the purpose of this study, a sample of 58 home appliance companies has been selected and Smart-PLS, SPSS and Matlab software have been used for data analysis. Findings indicated 10 main constructs and 29 performance criteria obtained for evaluating the performance of service supply chain and fuzzy neural networks of several home appliance companies. Introduction: Based on predictions, services are a key component of the growth of the global economy in future (Arnold et al. 2011). Acording to Jane and Kumar (2012), services play a critical role in a supply chain. Also, according to Wang et al. (2015), a "product" or "service" must exist in each supply chain which is produced by the upstream sectors and delivered to downstream. Recently due to increasing customer expectations, companies’ competition has been replaced by the supply chains competition and as a result, competition has been increased in the simultaneous supply of products and services. This has led to challenges in integrating companies and in coordinating the materials, information and financial flow that were previously overlooked. Accordingly, a new managerial philosophy has been developed known as Product-Service Supply Chain (PSSC) (Stanley & Wisner, 2002). This study seeks to develop a performance evaluation model for the product-service supply chain in the home appliance industry, which is finally solved using Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). Design/Approach: In this paper, performance evaluation constructs and criteria of service supply chain are identified by reviewing the literature and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and then, the performance evaluation of service supply chains in Iran's home appliance industry has been performed using these constructs, criteria and ANFIS. Findings and Discussion: Based on the findings, ten main extracted constructs can be suggested for the performance evaluation of the supply chain. They include "Operational Performance (OP)", "Strategic Performance (SP)", "Financial Performance (FP)", "Performance of Information and Communication Technology (PICT)", “Return Performance” (REP), “Risk Performance (RIP)”, “Logistic Performance (LP)”, “Market Performance (MP)”, “Internal Structure Performance (PIS)” and “Growth and Innovation Performance (PGI)”, among which, the Strategic Performance (SP) and Return Performance (REP) are the most important and the least important constructs, respectively. Conclusions Based on the findings, the following practical recommendations are suggested to the companies:  Enhancing the demand forecasts performance and utilizing more appropriate methods and software to improve forecasts in demand and order management areas.  Improving the return management status by increased attention and more investment in return management processes.  Effective investment in service development management to enhance the R&D services performance.  Utilizing risk management approaches and methods to identify and take preventive actions on the risks in the companies’ service supply chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Organizations are depending on marketing, innovation and learning indicators to increase organizational performance and competitive advantage. By taking advantage of appropriate marketing and innovation capabilities, in addition to profitability and competitive advantage, product life cycle prolongation and stability in the competition scene are provided for organizations. The rapid changes in production technologies necessitate the strengthening of human resource capabilities for all elements of organization. Methodology: The effect of marketing capabilities, innovations, learning of employees on the performance of wooden office furniture companies with the approach of structural equations has been investigated using the structural equations approach. The statistical population of this research consists of managers and engineers working in wooden office furniture companies located in industrial towns in Tehran and Alborz provinces. Sampling method was classified and Crecy-Morgan table was used to determine the sample size (92 people). Initial effective indicators were selected by studying the available sources and the conceptual model of the research considering the performance of the organization (company) as a dependent variable and marketing, innovation and learning variables as independent variables. The main tool for collecting information for this research was a questionnaire. Correlation and confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling based on partial least squares method were used to investigate the research hypotheses and analyze the structural relationships between variables. Results: The results showed that innovation, marketing and learning capabilities had a positive effect on the performance of wooden furniture companies. In addition, these capabilities complement 96.9% of the changes in the dependent variable of the company's performance. The results of the model quality evaluation index show that marketing capability (strong effect), innovation capability (medium effect), learning capability (weak effect) have the greatest impact on company performance. Finally, the results of this study remind the various companies producing wood furniture industry products that are constantly looking to export their goods, unlike the non-competitive domestic market, to compete with other companies in target markets. Due to factors such as marketing, innovation and learning improve products quality, reduce costs and ultimately increase company performance. Conclusion: The use of appropriate marketing methods, innovative capabilities and increasing human resource capabilities in order to strengthen organizational learning in wooden furniture industry companies will strengthen the performance and position of the mentioned companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aimed to identify the behavioral Models of stakeholder groups in corporate governance within Iran's Social Security Organization and its affiliated companies. In other words, it explored corporate governance from a behavioral perspective. Methodology: To conduct the research, a theoretical behavioral model was developed based on a review of the literature. This model identified six common behavioral indicators among stakeholders. Subsequently, a questionnaire with 36 questions was designed and distributed to experts in the field of corporate governance. A total of 207 responses were received, and the instrument's reliability was confirmed with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.933. Furthermore, exploratory factor analysis using the principal component method was employed to explain the factors of the model, which represented a classification of stakeholder groups. To validate these findings, confirmatory factor analysis was used to evaluate the proposed theoretical model. Findings: The results yielded a CMIN value of 2.694, which is below the critical value of 3. The root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) was 0.097, falling within the acceptable range of 0.05 to 0.1. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was 1812, closer to the saturated model index (1404) compared to the independent model (5660), indicating a good fit of the model. Originality/Value: Overall, six stakeholder groups were identified in the corporate governance of companies affiliated with the Social Security Organization: institutional stakeholders, government, political stakeholders, social networks, economic stakeholders, and shareholders. Additionally, six common behavioral indicators were identified among stakeholder groups: conflict resolution, building trust in the board of directors, political bargaining, power-politics relationships, goal setting, and decision-making processes. To assess the impact of each behavioral indicator, a parametric t-test and mean comparisons were used. The results showed that institutional stakeholders, the government, and political stakeholders had a significant and greater impact on governance in the Social Security Organization compared to others. Moreover, government interventions in goal setting, political bargaining, building trust in the board of directors, and conflict resolution had a significant and above-average impact on the governance of the studied companies. On the other hand, political groups had a significant and above-average impact on the corporate governance of companies affiliated with the Social Security Organization in terms of decision-making processes, goal setting, and power-politics relationships. The evaluation of behavioral indicators among stakeholder groups revealed that the shared focus of these groups was primarily on three indicators: goal setting, decision-making, and power-politics relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A key requirement for fostering entrepreneurship is addressing the role of institutional factors in local policymaking and governance, which can enhance efficient property rights and support the development of economic enterprises in rural areas. Accordingly, this study aims to identify the institutional variables influencing entrepreneurship in the rural area of Nesa, located in Karaj County. This research is both fundamental and applied in nature, employing a descriptive survey design for data collection. The statistical population consists of residents from the rural area of Nesa in Karaj County, with a sample of 216 individuals selected using Cochran's formula and random sampling. A researcher-designed questionnaire was used as the primary data collection tool. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis, one-sample t-tests, and Friedman's ranking test. The findings indicate that self-employment, primarily through small family businesses and lacking innovation, is the dominant form of entrepreneurial activity. The overall average of seven institutional factors influencing rural entrepreneurship--namely property rights, reward systems, economic stability, transaction costs, litigation costs, transparency and accountability, and the education and skills training system--was 2.16, below the expected average. Litigation costs recorded the highest average (2.37), followed by transaction costs (2.25), while economic stability had the lowest average (1.94). These findings suggest that the entrepreneurship landscape is suboptimal, necessitating the reorganization of institutional structures to align with national production and employment policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction During the last few decades, all studies carried out on social deviances have encountered some ambiguity in defining deviant behavior. Generally speaking, deviant behavior refers to all acts and attitudes which are in contrast to the expectations of individuals, groups and institutions and are in conflict with the moral principles and common rules of the society, and therefore face legal hindrances or ethical and social disapproval. In addition, such behavior is considered to be abnormal, hurtful, unethical, harmful and blameworthy. Social deviance is a social phenomenon which is relative according to time, place, social position, individuals, different cultures and subcultures, and diverse ideologies and social groups. On the whole, deviant behaviors are those which are not approved by the society; they lie in the category of the community-oriented disorders, implying that such disorders are somewhat optional, in which case they are different than anxiety and mental disorders. In other words, although anxiety disorders and depression are the problems experienced by people, community-oriented disorders and substance abuse are the cases wherein people engage. The major characteristic of such people is that they do not bind themselves by social rules and may even enjoy violating from them. Studentship period plays an important role in job and future social formation due to transition from adolescence and entry to the young age. Student life results from academic, intellectual, scientific, guild, political, social, art, and dormitory-residential experiences, and although it is a super-instructive course which is also encompasses official academic activities, it is restricted to them, and includes such activities as attending clubs, teams, reactions, types of constructive and destructive behaviors, discussions, and student interactions inside and outside the university. In other words, student life is a reflection of the sense of identity, distinctive behavioral patterns, ideal-seeking, curiosities, interactions, and subcultures of students in experiencing living with one another which they share upon entering the university. When it comes to school and university students, deviant behaviors could be consumption of any drugs and addictive substance, vandalism, robbery, sexual perversion and so on. Multiple studies have been conducted on identification of the factors behind emergence and development of deviant behaviors among samples of school and university students in local and international research which undoubtedly point to significance of investigating this matter. Considering the extensiveness of the issue, lack of precision instruments for measuring deviant behaviors shows a gap ignored in the previous research, such that one could claim that in none of the studies carried out in Iran, constructing measurement tools and scales for deviant behaviors and their normalization have not yet been taken into account by the researchers dealing with this area. Of course, each of the tools available for measuring deviant behaviors in different countries have specific features and characteristics and their goals, target population and construction underlying theories are completely different. At the same time, the most important issue is constructing a tool based on definition(s) and instances of deviant behaviors according to the intended context. Another important point is designing and constructing such tools on the base of recent theories of measurement. Since the issue of measuring deviant behaviors and constructing its measurement tools and scales have not seriously considered in Iran thus far, and in view of dire need of the society and various organizations, particularly the Ministry of Science and National Youth Organization, presence of scientific measurement tools which are in agreement with the cultural structure of Iran is demanded more than ever. herefore, developing the relevant tests given the social culture is necessary and essential so that they assist the authorities, decision-makers, counselors and therapists and thereby one could ultimately prevent or reduce the damages and ills experienced by the students, and accordingly, their families. In view of the foregoing, this paper is primarily aimed at developing a standard tool for measuring students' deviant behaviors. Materials and Methods The research method in this study is survey and of cross-sectional nature. The statistical population is composed of all male and female students studying in Tehran state-run universities in the academic year 2012-2013, to whom a total of 440 questionnaires were distributed. Once the incomplete questionnaires were eliminated, 416 questionnaires were analyzed. In order to select the research sample random sampling method was used by which Tehran and AllamehTabatabae universities were selected from among the state-run universities located in Tehran. Next, the respondents at each university were selected with access method. In order to gather the data, self-reporting technique was employed. The initial researcher-developed scale for deviant behaviors deals with some of the instances of such behaviors in six general aspects (substance abuse, use of psychedelia and alcoholic drinks, vandalism, robbery, cheating, aggression and sexual perversion), designed based on Likert scale and its primary form has 26 items out of which, in the item analysis process, the items that had low correlation with the other items of each aspect and were in contrast with them were treated as inappropriate items, and ultimately 21 items were designated as the final form of this scale. In order to analyze the data, SPSS and Amos software programs, item analysis method (loop), construct validity and content validity (factor analysis) and reliability (computing the coefficient of Cronbach'sa for all items) were adopted. Reliability of the final form of the research scale using Cronbach'sa was put at 0.924. Discussion of Results and Conclusion According to results of the factor analysis, four factors were identified, namely “substance abuse, use of alcoholic drinks, psychedelia and sexual perversion”, “vandalism and robbery”, “cheating”, and “aggression”. Reliability of this scale was put at 0.924 according to calculation of the Cronbach'sa. According to the research results, one could state that this scale is adequately valid and reliable and the factors originating from the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses can appropriately measure the students' deviant behaviors. This scale could be applied by the researchers in humanities research, especially in the area of social science, and may therefore be employed as a tool for determining the students' weaknesses and strengths with respect to deviant behaviors for the purpose of taking decisions to decrease their deviant behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflecting the destruction of the environment has led production organizations towards green management and acceptance of social responsibility. The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility and its environmental performance. The statistical population of this research includes all senior managers and experts of production companies located in Semnan city; In order to investigate the relationships, 200 standard questionnaires were distributed in the statistical society of the research using the available sampling method. The current research is descriptive-survey in terms of its practical purpose and in terms of data collection method. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed based on the opinions of the supervisor and a number of experts in the field of environment and through confirmatory factor analysis, and its reliability was confirmed through the calculation of Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The research hypotheses were analyzed using the structural equation method and the partial least squares approach. The results of the research show that corporate social responsibility does not have a positive and significant effect on environmental performance, but it does have a positive and significant effect on green innovation and environmental strategy. Also, the results showed that the corporate social responsibility has a positive and significant effect on the environmental performance of the organization due to the mediating role of green innovation. Based on the results of the research, it was suggested to the managers to improve the environmental performance of their organization by using methods related to green innovation, creating areas of corporate social responsibility and promoting the environmental literacy of employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's changing world, team creativity and its effect in the work environment has become one of the most important concerns of educational organizations. Therefore, the current research was conducted with the aim of investigating the factors affecting team creativity, including entrepreneurial leadership style and psychological safety of the team. The research population consisted of 620 teachers of work and knowledge schools and technical conservatory in Shiraz city, and a sample of 237 people was selected from this population by simple random sampling based on Cochran's formula. The research method was quantitative, descriptive and causal studies. To collect research data from entrepreneurial leadership questionnaires; Team psychological safety and team creativity were used. To determine the reliability and validity of the tool, Cronbach's alpha and confirmatory factor analysis techniques were used to determine the reliability and validity of the instrument, the results indicated the desired reliability and validity of the tool. Data analysis using the structural equation model and with the help of two Spss software. 25 and Lisrel. 8.8 done. The results of the analysis showed that: entrepreneurial leadership has a direct, positive and significant effect at the 0.05 level on team creativity and team psychological safety; Also, entrepreneurial leadership has an indirect, positive and meaningful effect on team creativity through the mediating role of psychological safety of the team. Finally, in order to be able to react appropriately to the changes and innovations of the dynamic environment around them, educational organizations and schools should use the entrepreneurial leadership style of fear and anxiety of the team of teachers to express innovative ideas. reduce as much as possible and in this way increase their team creativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, technological advances have led to dramatic changes in the financial ecosystem and momentum in the traditional structure of the banking industry and the need to review the traditional business models of banks. Therefore, the current study has been conducted with a qualitative-quantitative approach to explain the open banking business model in the Middle East Bank. The statistical population of this research in the qualitative part consists of middle managers of various branches of the Middle East Bank active in the field of open banking and managers of fin-techs whose statistical sample size was equal to 10 people. Also, the quantitative population of this study is the managers and employees and natural and legal customers of 16 branches of the Middle East Bank in Tehran, which was determined based on Cochran's formula equal to 370 people. The data collection tool in this study is semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews, the data of which were analyzed using the soft systems research method, and in the quantitative part, the data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire were collected and then analyzed by using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations. Based on this, 94 codes extracted from interviews with experts, were classified into 74 concepts, 16 subcategories and 3 categories of customer-oriented banking, API management and regulatory developments. Quantitative findings also confirm the positive and significant impact of these three components on the open banking business model of the Middle East Bank. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insurance frauds are one of the most harmful concerns of insurers and policyholders in all insurance products. One of the most important factors affecting insurance fraud in this research is religiosity, individualism, social welfare and trust. Frauds cause mistrust and disintegration of the social and economic system. The purpose of this research is to investigate social factors affecting third party insurance frauds. This research is based on a mixed approach applying a exploratory approach. In the qualitative part,the statistical population included all experts in the field of insurance and economic sociology which reached the saturation limit of 26 experts using the purposeful and Snowball sampling method. In the quantitative part, the statistical population includes 4,652,510 third-party insurance policyholders in Tehran,which 384 individuals were selected as a sample by cluster sampling method. The validity of a questionnaire was confirmed by the face validity method and its content and reliability was confirmed by using Cronbach's alpha method. The qualitative data analysis was done through thematic analysis method and the quantitative data was done through confirmatory factor analysis method with the aim of Amos 21 computer software. Among the social factors, social welfare, trust, religiosity and individualism are respectively -0.56, -0.52, -0.43 and 0.36 directly and religiosity with factor load (-0.447) indirectly from the model have supported the measurement. According to the findings of the qualitative part of the research, a total of 57 basic themes, 19 organizing themes, and 4 overarching themes(social welfare, trust, religiosity and individualism) have been identified that could be effective on third party insurance frauds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The field of education is one of the broadest fields of public administration in the country, and in recent years, many criticisms have been raised about its performance, especially in the field of policy making. However, it seems that the use of people's participation in the field of education policy can have valuable results, although this issue has received less attention so far. Therefore, the aim of the current research is to design a model of public participation in the policy making process of the country's official education based on the knowledge system of the Holy Quran. Method: This research is developmental-applicative in terms of purpose and is considered as a mixed research. In the qualitative step, the texts of the Holy Quran and its interpretations were examined and the data were analyzed by thematic analysis method. Also, in the quantitative stage, confirmatory factor analysis method was used to validate the model. For this purpose, 115 managers and experts in the Ministry of Education were asked for their opinions with a researcher-made questionnaire. At this stage, the sample size calculation method was Cochran's formula and simple random sampling method. Results: For the three-dimensional research model, central, process and contextual factors as well as 25 components were identified. Also, the findings of the factor analysis show the confirmation of the structure of the research model and the coefficient of determination calculated for the central, process and contextual factors are 0.679, 0.571 and 0.628, respectively, which shows that they are suitable values. Conclusion: The knowledge system of the Holy Qur'an emphasizes people's participation in various matters, including formal education policies, and the use of its guidelines in this field can be helpful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The world is facing unprecedented environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, resource depletion, and pollution. These challenges are serious threats to human welfare, economic development, and social stability. To face these challenges, there is a need for innovative solutions, such as green entrepreneurship, which can create positive environmental and social effects and economic value. Along with sustainable socioeconomic development, therefore, green entrepreneurship helps save the environment from destruction by maintaining the potential of the ecosystem, adaptation to climate change, water resource management, agricultural value chain improvement, the development of multi-functional agriculture, and the health of society. Greenhouses can present an alternative to transform and maintain a commercial and sustainable business over time. The growing number of greenhouse production systems has increased environmental concerns regarding energy consumption related to temperature control (heating/cooling), water resource management, excessive use of fertilizers, and agricultural chemicals. Green entrepreneurship in a greenhouse helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, grants environmental sustainability, and increases productivity by creating green economy opportunities. Paying attention to greenhouse cultivation and its development is one of the best strategies to change the cultivation pattern from traditional to scientific in arid and semiarid provinces of Iran with limited water resources, including Golestan province. This region plays an important role in increasing production, employment, income, and productivity in water consumption and provides sustainable food security and water security. The development of greenhouse cultivation systems is necessary in Golestan province for continuous cultivation with environmental considerations, its superiority of the dry and semi-arid climate due to the increase in temperature, the dependence of agriculture on dry farming, the limitation of water resources, the decrease of rainfall, and the need to save and change cultivation. This research mainly aims to investigate the achievements that are realized through the establishment of green entrepreneurship in line with sustainability considerations in the production units of vegetable greenhouses. Methods: The current research is an applied and descriptive study in terms of the objective data collection method, respectively, as well as inferential research with a variance matrix analysis and cross-sectional in terms of time. The statistical population of the study includes all the vegetable greenhouse producers in Golestan province, among which about 70 people were selected by total population sampling. The data collection tool was a questionnaire that was completed in the field through interviews. Its internal reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability. The validity (face and content) of the questionnaire was confirmed based on the collective opinion of entrepreneurship and environmental experts and university faculty members. The convergent and discriminant validity of the model were respectively confirmed using the extracted mean variance index and the Fornell and Larcker matrix. Data were analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) based on the partial least squares method using Smart PLS version 3.0 software. Results: This research mainly aimed to categorize the explanatory components of the green entrepreneurship establishment from the viewpoints of vegetable and summer greenhouse owners with the CFA method in Golestan province. The green entrepreneurship achievements were identified using two groups of obvious and hidden variables. In total, achievement indicators with 18 items and 6 components were entered into CFA. According to the research, the achievements of the green entrepreneurship establishment to achieve the sustainable development of rural entrepreneurship were investigated in three economic, social, and environmental dimensions. The main components of the green entrepreneurship achievements based on the path coefficient (in brackets), respectively, include six components. (1) Promoting community health and safety behavior (0.833), (2) participation and empowerment of agriculture (0.814), (3) consumer satisfaction and trust (0.632), (4) product market guarantee (0.553), (5) competitiveness in the market (0.442), and (6) promoting green operations management (0.370). Conclusion: Green entrepreneurship is a type of entrepreneurship with innovation, which helps improve the life quality of communities by following the principles of sustainable development and preserving the environment and optimal consumption to utilize creative opportunities for economic benefits in society. To achieve this goal, it is necessary that green entrepreneurship contribute to the context of education and promotion with cultural creation and media advertising in the field of healthy domestic product brands for culture-building and awareness of green products and to increase the demand for green products. Moreover, institutional and government support should be provided by subsidizing healthy production inputs, such as organic pesticides, genetically modified seeds, and subsidizing irrigation equipment (e.g., drip irrigation), soil testing, and chemical pesticide residues, to encourage farmers to produce green crops. Accordingly, coordination of different public and private sectors, development of local networking, promotion of local women and youth employment, support of green product production cooperatives, promotion of healthy crop insurance, and access to the electronic market for buying and selling green products can be synergistically and effectively help in achieving economic, social, and environmental sustainable development achievements of green entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lack of social life and interactions creates many problems, leading to a lack of development of individuals, and consequently a lack of development of society. It is absolutely imperative, therefore, for people to be more and better present in the community. Given the fact that today’s dimensions of human social life are ignored, whilst in the past, these aspects were taken more seriously, this paper aims to explore and analyse the effective ways to create and strengthen sociability in successful historical cities in order to use them in modern urbanism and architecture. Accordingly, the historical fabric of Bushehr city, which has been one of the successful examples in presence of the people regardless of different cultures and religions, was selected as the study case. The questions are ‘what is the relationship between the urban body of the historical fabric of Bushehr with the presence and socialability of the people?’ and, ‘what factors causes this level of sociability? In response, the study was conducted using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods in a descriptive-analytical way. The research structure was set up in two parts; The theoretical and literature section was done qualitatively and using library resources to extract the factors of the model. The field section was conducted quantitatively using a questionnaire and for testing model, using a binominal test in SPSS software and confirmatory factor analysis of users' opinions in Lisrel statistical software. Based on the research findings, the validity of the conceptual model was confirmed by convergent construct validity technique and its reliability was confirmed by composite reliability technique. The proposed model's fit of confirmatory factor analysis (5 Parts of the historical fabric of Bushehr including square, piazza, street, sidewalks and alleys and 4 factors affecting socialability including environmental comfort, security, welfare, diversity and attractiveness) based on factor loading of t, RMSEA, RMR, P-value, GFI, AGFI, etc., was confirmed at the confidence level, 95%. The results showed that the extracted model and its factors are suitable for measuring the amount of Socialability in the historical fabric of Bushehr, and among the factors, the index of welfare and diversity and attractiveness in the square space has the highest priority for users.

Background and Objective: The possible effects on risky driving of young drivers such as age and gender cannot be changed, however, to know the interventions to reduce risky driving behaviors, young drivers, examining psychological variables can be helpful. Coping appraisal and threat appraisal variables from protection motivation theory can help to understand young drivers› decision-making for risky driving behavior. Materials and Methods: This research consists of two parts. The first part was to investigate the psychometric properties of risk perception scale in young drivers based on the theory of protection motivation. For instrument validity, content validity with the opinion of 11 experts, face validity, construct validity (confirmatory factor analysis) and convergent validity were used, and its reliability was checked by internal consistency method (Cronbach’s alpha). And the second part was conducted in the form of route analysis to investigate the decision-making model of young drivers to carry out risky driving behavior. The present sample consisted of 350 young drivers of Ahvaz city, who were selected by available and voluntary sampling method. Subjects responded to driving risk perception questionnaires based on protection motivation for 5 fatal factors, driving risk perception and risky driving behavior. The current questionnaire contains 30 items, which include two subscales: confrontational assessment and threat assessment. Results: After going through the validity and reliability stages of the questionnaire, from the initial 30 questions, 3 questions were removed in the form and content validity check stages, and finally 27 questions remained. Examining the results of construct validity using confirmatory factor analysis showed (RMSEA=0.07) and χ2/df=2.76 (p<0.001). The reliability of the instrument was obtained using internal consistency (0.92-0.95). In the second part of the research, using path analysis, the relationship between coping evaluation variables and threat evaluation with risky driving behavior of young drivers was modeled with the mediation of perceived risk in two models of inconsistent and protective decision making. Both maladaptive and protective models showed a good fit with the data (RMSEA=0.04 and RMSEA=0.06). The threat assessment model was able to explain about 50% of the variance of perceived risk and the general model about 30% of the variance of risky driving behavior. In addition, in this model, the path between perceived severity and perceived risk had the highest relationship value (β=0.56). In the second model, i.e. protective path, coping evaluation explained 14% of the variance of perceived risk and the overall model explained 34% of the variance of risky driving behaviors. Also, in the protective pathway model, the relationship between response costs and perceived risk was the highest (β=-0.55). An interesting result in this study was the mediation of perceived risk between reward and response costs with risky driving behavior. Conclusion: the scale of risk perception in young drivers based on the theory of protection motivation as a reliable and valid tool can be used together with other psychological investigations and high risk behaviors of drivers and our insight about the influencing factors on how young drivers make decisions to design interventions in to improve their driving safety. Also, examining the relationships between variables in the form of path analysis helps us understand the factors that encourage young drivers to engage in risky driving behaviors (threat-inconsistent path) and why young novice drivers may decide not to engage in risky driving (protective path) it helps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted with the aim of presenting the model of political intelligence of human resources with the approach of social accountability of the public sector of Iran. The method of this research is correlational and descriptive, and a quantitative approach was used to present the model of political intelligence of human resources. The statistical population of the study was 488 people, from whom 216 subjects were selected through Cochran's formula sampling. The tool used in this research was a questionnaire, which was distributed and completed by the participants. The validity of the tool was confirmed through the advice and guidance of the supervisors, and its reliability was also calculated through Cronbach's alpha coefficient above 0.7. The inferential statistics were used to quantitatively analyze the model through confirmatory factor analysis with the help of SPSS25 and Lisrel 8.8 software. Statistical analysis was conducted on 31 categories and 103 subcategories (causal category including 4 themes, contextual category including 5 themes, interventional category including 5 themes, main core including 6 themes, strategies including 6 themes, and consequences including 5 themes) that formed the conceptual framework of the research. Based on the findings, it can be said that the current proposed model can increase the political intelligence of public sector managers by emphasizing accountability. Moreover, the significant T-value test, which was observed to be greater than 1.96, shows the fit of the structural model and the confirmation. The results of the structural model also showed that research variables have a positive effect on each other with path coefficient and T-value. Finally, other indicators of the fit of the structural model also helped to confirm the quantitative and conceptual model, and in the end, some suggestions were presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Many urban planners and designers have considered the topic of the quality of the emotional relationship between man and their place of residence, or place attachment, in recent years. In the past, the relationships between neighborhood residents who knew each other and were aware of each other’s circumstances contributed to healthy, familiar emotional relationships among them. In other words, neighborhoods, being familiar social units, involved profound cultural roots, pursued certain traditions and customs, and even continued the rites and ways of life and the norms and customs inherited from the past. In modern cities, however, kinship, shared religious beliefs, and moral values give way to anonymity and individualism as the emotional bonds of the local community weaken. Over time, neighborhood connections have lost some of their function. Lack of familiarity with people in the neighborhoods, lack of joint activities, and lack of ethnic, linguistic, religious, and cultural ties as firm as before have reduced people’s levels of emotional connection, i.e. their senses of place attachment with their residential neighborhoods. Therefore, this article aimed to provide structural modeling to investigate the aspects effective on attachment to residential areas. Theoretical Framework In recent years, many researchers have examined the aspects of place attachment through structural equation modeling, providing a framework for their classification. Understanding the dimensions of place attachment through structural equation modeling allows researchers to better explore the potentials of this concept and its complexity, which makes up the objective of this study along with identification of the dimensions. The construct of spatial attachment consists of spatial identity, spatial dependence, spatial social bonding, and spatial emotion. Methodology The development of a valid, trustworthy method to measure and evaluate the dimensions of place attachment has been the focus of numerous studies in recent years, with quantity-oriented academics highlighting the multidimensionality of the construct. However, no one, simple scale of measuring is agreed upon by academics and researchers in the field due to the diversity of the methodologies used in the operationalization of the idea and the levels of relevant multi-dimensionality. Because of this significance, this research sought to investigate the dimensions affecting the level of residents’ place attachment. Since this was not easily possible, the indexing technique was used for examination. In this technique, indicators were considered to identify the dimensions, and questions were asked in the questionnaire to measure them. For assessment of the respondents’ opinions about the research topic, their responses were measured with a 5-point Likert scale. Moreover, a simple random sampling method was used to select the sample in the Haft Chenar neighborhood. The sample size was 687, and data analysis was made using the SPSS software version 22. For this purpose, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used. Results and Discussion The findings demonstrated that the level of attachment of the Haft Chenar neighborhood residents is high. On the other hand, the results of the analysis of the structural model of the research supported the hypothesis that place attachment is a quadratic component consisting of the four identified dimensions of spatial identity, spatial affect, spatial dependence, and social connection with the place. It is noteworthy that among all these four dimensions, social connection with the place was identified as the most powerful predictor of place attachment in the research, indicating that the level of social connection in a neighborhood is high, which can directly increase the level of residents’ attachment to the place. Meanwhile, spatial identity received the lowest score for the Haft Chenar neighborhood. Therefore, it seems that residents’ identity to place can be expected to increase due to the experiences formed in the context given that this factor has won the lowest score among the residents, who can realize this by planning and designing an active node and center in the context of these residential neighborhoods and by creating attractive, pleasant places for socializing and embedding community places in the long run. Moreover, a number of solutions were provided for urban planners and designers to increase attachment in the Haft Chenar neighborhood given that these four dimensions of convergent narrative for the structure indicated spatial attachment. Conclusion The spatial attachment model was experimentally tested given spatial attachment as a secondary component and the claim of this research that spatial dependence, spatial identity, spatial affection, and social connection with place constitute different primary dimensions of place attachment. Hence, the validation factor analysis method confirmed the validity of the spatial attachment structure as a quadratic component consisting of four dimensions. As demonstrated by the fitness indices of the model, it is suitable for research data. Acknowledgment This article is taken from Amir Ebrahimi Hasanakloo’s Master’s thesis entitled “Investigation and evaluation of factors affecting the increase of residents’ attachment to residential neighborhoods (with an approach to Haft Chenar neighborhood - District 10 of Tehran)” which was supervised by Dr. Naser Bonyadi and Dr. Atoosa Modiri in the urban planning department of the Islamic Azad University of Central Tehran branch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to identify the effective factors of knowledge-based administrative system to implement the administrative general policies. The study is practical and descriptive-survey. The data is mixed, qualitative and quantitative. The sampling in the qualitative phase is purposeful and snow ball. In the quantitative phase, the sampling was random grouped sampling. The population in the qualitative phase was 20 experts and in the quantitative phase was 1472 staff of the central bank of Tehran, out of which 305 individuals were selected. The content analysis in the qualitative phase employed Kendal index, and in the quantitative phase, the confirmatory factor analysis and AHP were used. The results in the qualitative phase confirmed the theoretical model in 7 aspects, 28 elements, and 91 indexes. The data was collected through researcher-made questionnaire, and analyzed by SPSS, Liserl, and Expert choice. The findings showed that the most important aspects were knowledge management, information coherence, government-related factors, environmental aspects, organizational aspects, infrastructural and Islamic variables, respectively. The path index and t-test showed that the seven factors had a direct and significant relationship with the knowledge-based administrative system elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, networking in the organization can increase a person's credibility in a way that leads to a higher position and a sense of career success. Increasing the seller's network behaviors effectively helps to promote practical insight and overall creativity in the work and improve sales performance. Therefore, the purpose of the present study is to investigate the effects of sales networking through creativity and job satisfaction on sales performance. The statistical population of this research is the sales staff of Kosar insurance agencies in Mashhad, numbering about 400 people, 250 of them were selected by simple random method. The data collection tool was a questionnaire with 28 questions whose face validity was confirmed by experts and its construct validity was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis, and its reliability was confirmed by composite reliability. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling using SPSS22 and Smart PLS3 software. The results showed that sales networking behavior has a positive and significant effect on sales performance mediated by creativity and job satisfaction. Also, the positive and significant effect of professional and customer networking behavior on creativity was confirmed. In addition, the effect of networking behavior with peers and customers on job satisfaction was confirmed. Finally, the positive and significant effect of creativity and job satisfaction on sales performance was confirmed. However, the effect of networking behavior with peers on creativity and professional networking behavior on job satisfaction was not confirmed. Introduction Although people's effort to develop and maintain relationships with people who are likely to help them in their profession or job is an important job skill set and a proactive approach to individual growth and development, networking behavior has also been less addressed in the insurance industry. Therefore, since the research literature mentions possible differences in the way women and men network, as well as how they benefit from network behaviors, research on possible differences in sales could also be beneficial. Therefore, according to the mentioned cases, the model in this research relates the three common forms of networking behavior to job satisfaction, creativity, and sales performance of the salesperson. Methodology This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive and survey in terms of the data collection method. The statistical population of this research consists of the sales staff of Kosar Insurance agencies in Mashhad, numbering about 400 people. The sampling method in this random study is simple and the sample size is 196 people using Morgan's table. After identifying the full-time and part-time sellers of 10 existing agencies of Kosar Insurance in Mashhad and preparing a list of them, and considering the fact that some of the questionnaires were not returned, 250 questionnaires were distributed in person, of which 215 questionnaires were collected. And 204 questionnaires were usable. The questionnaire used in this research included 4 general questions about gender, age, and education, and 28 questions related to research variables. The rating scale of each question was prepared from completely agree to completely disagree based on a score of 1 to 5. The data collection tool was a questionnaire with 28 questions whose face validity was confirmed by experts, its construct validity was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis, and its reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling using SPSS22 and Smart PLS3 software. Findings Before evaluating the presented structural model, it is necessary to check the significance of the factor load of different constructs of the questionnaire in predicting the relevant items in order to ensure the suitability of the measurement models and the acceptability of their indicators in the measurement of the constructs. This was done using the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) technique and Smart PLS3 software. Considering that in the fitted model, the factor load of all variables in predicting questionnaire items was significant (above 0.4) and at the confidence level of 0.95, none of the items were excluded from the analysis process. The coefficient of determination (R2) is the most important measure that can be used to explain the relationship between one or more independent variables and the dependent variable. This coefficient expresses the percentage changes of the dependent variable by the independent variables. According to the presented results, the coefficients of determining the dependent variables can be seen in the fitted research model, which are all acceptable numbers. In order to fit the final model of the research in the PLS software, another index called the goodness of fit index (Gof) is used. According to the obtained results, the structural model of the research has a suitable fit. Conclusion In this research, the effect of sales networking through creativity and job satisfaction on sales performance was investigated. The effect of networking with customers and professional networking on a salesperson's creativity was confirmed, but the effect of networking with peers on creativity was rejected. In the fourth and sixth hypotheses of the research, the positive and significant effect of networking with employees and customers on a salesperson’s job satisfaction was confirmed. But in the fifth hypothesis, the effect of professional networking on a salesperson's job satisfaction was not confirmed. In the seventh and eighth hypotheses, the positive and significant effect of creativity and satisfaction of the seller on sales performance was confirmed. In the ninth and tenth hypotheses, the mediating role of creativity and job satisfaction in the relationship between sales networking and sales performance was confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The present study was conducted to present a model for reducing behavioral emotions through the mindset of Social Security employees. Methods: it is applied and developmental research in nature. The research method is mixed (qualitative-quantitative). This research used a non-random and snowball sampling method to collect the opinions of 30 participants (university professors and staff of the Social Security Organization) within three phases. The statistical population included all managers and employees of the Social Security Organization, which was about 420 people, of whom 200 people were selected as the sample size according to the Krejcie and Morgan Table. Also, the Fuzzy Delphi method was used to identify the components, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to determine the effect of the identified variables. Results: The results identified 76 themes and factors. Twelve sub-indices for behavioral emotions were classified in the form of variables, including descriptive observation, conscious deed, acceptance without judgment, and lack of reaction. Another 12 sub-indices for mindfulness were classified in the form of variables, including anger, anxiety, stress, fear, and sadness. Conclusion: Considering high occupational tension and the Social Security Organization workplace, it is possible to reduce behavioral emotions by providing a calm and stress-free workplace for the staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays many factors cause stress due to the complexity of societies. Especially when students move from school to college, they are vulnerable to stress due to being in a new environment. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the Post- Secondary Student Stressors Index (PSSI), i.e. reliability, validity, confirmation of its factorial structure in the student population of University of Zanjan in the academic year 2020-2021. PSSI is a 43-item self-assessment questionnaire which includes five subscales: academic, learning environment, university environment culture, interpersonal and personal. 345 students were selected by convenience sampling and according to Cochran Cochran's sample size formula and were asked to complete the student life stress scale. In order to determine the validity of the construct using the factor analysis method, Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used to determine the internal consistency. In the analysis of data, the reliability using Cronbach's alpha coefficient for five scales: education, learning environment, university environment culture, interpersonal and personal communication were 0.80, 0.82, 0.80, 0.78 and 0.88, respectively. Convergent validity was estimated through the correlation of PSSI with the score obtained from the Godzella student stress questionnaire, and the correlation between the total score of the two tests was 0.64, which is statistically significant (P<0.05). The construct validity of PSSI was also checked and modified through confirmatory factor analysis. In general, it can be concluded that the student stress scale is a valid and reliable tool for measuring student stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current research is to identify and analyze the effective factors of developing the E-government considering the general policies of administrative system in tax affairs organizations of Tehran. The objectives are practical, employing the mixed method. The population of the study was 15 experts in the qualitative phase of the study, and in the quantitative phase, 1097 staff members of the tax affairs organizations in Tehran, from which 285 were selected. The sampling, in the qualitative phased, was done purposefully through snow-ball sampling, and in the quantitative phase, it was done through clustering and random sampling. To analyze the data qualitatively, Kendal agreement was used, and in the quantities phase, confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical analysis were employed. The suggested model included six factors and 19 elements. The required data was extracted through a questionnaire consisting 54 items, which were analyzed through SPSS, PLS, and Expert Choice software. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses suggested three elements for the human, technological, economic-financial, sociocultural, and organizational-managerial capitals, and four elements for political-regulatory aspects. Considering the effect size and t-test, six elements were identified to have a significant impact on the development of E-government. Also, the findings indicated that the technological element attracted 0.263 weighted index, which was the first and most effective factor of developing E-government. This was followed by human, sociocultural, political-regulatory, organizational-managerial, and economic-financial capitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of information technology capabilities on the competitiveness of sports stores with the mediating role of social innovation. This research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive and survey in terms of method. The statistical population studied were all the sellers of sports stores in the Monirieh district of Tehran in 2021. The number of the statistical population under study was unknown. The number of statistical samples was estimated to be 127 people through G-Power software. The sampling method was available. The tool for collecting the data was a questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were checked and confirmed. A total of 127 respondents answered the distributed questionnaires perfectly. Structural equation modeling including confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis was used for data analysis. The software used for data analysis was SPSS and SMART PLS. The results showed that social innovation plays a mediating role in the relationship between information technology capabilities and the competitiveness of sports stores. Therefore, the use of information technology and social innovation by sports store sellers is necessary to achieve a better position than competitors. 1. Introduction One of the characteristics of successful companies is competitiveness (Zandhasami & Ashtianipour, 2012). Competitiveness is one of the most important concerns of business and activity in a dynamic and competitive environment (Bălan, Balaure & Vegheş, 2009). In the meantime, information technology capabilities can be used as organizational capabilities to achieve competitive advantages (Wade & Hulland, 2004). Information technology capabilities alone are not enough to achieve competitiveness (Doğan, 2016). In fact, one of the distinctive features of our society is the continuous effort to create, adopt, and spread innovations (Cajaiba-Santana, 2014). There are different types of innovation: example commercial, social, and artistic. Most of these innovations are no longer limited to the field of technology, and a broader concept includes dynamic management, new marketing methods, external cooperation, intelligent activity, and human resource management. These innovations are called “social innovation” (Pol &Ville, 2009). Social innovations can bring many benefits, including increasing the level of trust in the government and improving decision-making processes (Vasin, Gamidullaeva & Rostovskaya, 2017). Therefore, according to the above material and referring to the importance of the discussed variables in all areas, especially marketing and sports stores, the current research seeks to answer two research questions: Do information technology capabilities have an effect on the competitiveness of sports stores or not? And what is the role of social innovation in this connection? 2. Methodology The current research is applied in terms of purpose and descriptive and survey methods in terms of fieldwork. In terms of the relationship between the variables, it is of the correlation type and in terms of time, it is cross-sectional. The statistical population was all the sellers of sports stores in the Monirieh district of Tehran in 2021. The number of statistical population was unknown. Based on the uncertainty of the number of the statistical population, G-Power software was used to estimate the size of the statistical sample. Then, 127 samples were considered as the minimum sample size. Data collection was done in two library and field phases. In the library phase, books, articles, and theses were used, and in the field phase, a questionnaire was used. A total of 147 questionnaires were distributed among sports sellers in the Monirieh area of Tehran by the non-probability sampling method. Finally, 127 complete questionnaires were used for case analysis. After collecting information through questionnaires, descriptive statistics were used to describe sample sizes. In the continuation of the analysis, parametric statistical methods were used. That is, to determine the construct validity of the questionnaires, confirmatory factor analysis was used, and structural equation modeling was used to predict the contribution and role of the predictor variable on the criterion variable and the mediator variable. In this regard, SMART PLS and SPSS software were used. 3. Findings The descriptive statistics of the present study showed that most people in the age group of 21 to 25 years and 26 to 30 (34 people in each category) were males (120 people) and have Bachelor's degrees (45 people). The results showed that technological capability has a positive and significant effect on the competitiveness of sports stores, and the amount of this effect is equal to 0.28. Technology capability has also a positive and significant effect on the social innovation of sports stores and the amount of this effect is 0.48. Social innovation also has a positive and significant effect on the competitiveness of the sports store and the amount of this effect is 0.27. Also, social innovation plays a mediating role in the relationship between technology capabilities and the competitiveness of sports stores. That is, part or all of the effect of technological capabilities on the competitiveness of sports stores depends on the presence of the social innovation variable. 4. Conclusion In general, the main finding of the current research was that social innovation plays a mediating role in the relationship between information technology capabilities and the competitiveness of sports stores. As a result of the capabilities of information technology and social innovation, it affects the competitiveness of sports stores in the Monirieh area of Tehran. Therefore, the sellers of sports stores in the Monirieh area of Tehran should effectively use information technology capabilities, new and updated websites, and new innovations in order to provide the products needed by consumers with the desired quality. In general, it is suggested that the sellers of sports stores introduce their quality and more diverse products through new technologies, including websites and virtual networks. Sports marketers should raise awareness about social innovation and plan to create social innovation activities. It is also suggested that sports stores use information and communication technology for activities related to the design of the store's products. 5. Acknowledgments This study is taken from the Master's thesis of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Sports Management, Shahrood University of Technology, under the title of the effect of information technology capabilities on the competitiveness of sports stores with the mediating role of social innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current research is to investigate the relationship between marketing innovation capability and communication network with brand specific value with the mediating role of cooperation value and customer value. This descriptive-survey study is applied in terms of purpose based on structural equation modeling approach. The statistical population of the research consists of all the employees of singlebranch private banks in Zahedan city, including Aindeh, Pasargard, Parsian, Saman banks, numbering 130 people. Then, 95 people were selected as the sample size using the Morgan table and the available sampling method. A standard questionnaire tool was also used to collect the data, and the validity of the tools was checked and verified by confirmatory factor analysis and reliability using the combined reliability method and Cronbach's alpha. In order to analyze the data, the structural equation modeling method was used in the environment of Smart PLS version 3. The results of the research showed that there is a significant relationship between marketing innovation capability and communication network with special brand value with the mediating role of cooperation value and customer value. Also, there is a significant relationship between marketing innovation capability and brand specific value with the mediating role of collaboration value, and between marketing innovation capability and brand specific value with the mediating role of customer value. The relationship also exists between communication network and brand specific value with the mediating role of collaboration value, and between communication networks and value. There is a significant relationship between brand characteristics with the mediating role of customer value. Introduction: In the present world, the increasing variety of choices is not just confined to the consumer market customers the banking industry is also filled with diversity and choice. Developing new products and banking services, globalization, and intense competition have made this industry focus on competitive advantage and value creation and trying for improved performance. Thus, several tools such as innovation capabilities in the marketing process, communication networks, branding, collaboration value, customer value, maximized market share, profit, and customer outcomes such as satisfaction have been highlighted (AlTaweel & Al-Hawary, 2021). The present study aims to answer the question of whether there is a relationship between marketing innovation capability and communication network with the brand-specific role with the mediating role of collaboration value and customer value in private banks of Zahedan, Iran. Methodology: The study is applied in terms of purpose. This structural equation modeling-based descriptive survey explains the effect of marketing innovation capabilities and communication networks on brand-specific value with the mediating role of collaboration and customer value. The statistical population of the study included all 130 employees of single-branch private banks in Zahedan, including Ayandeh, Pasargad, Parsian, and Saman Banks. Using the convenient sampling method by Morgan Table, ninety-five individuals were selected as the research sample. Research data were collected using desk and field studies. The research conceptual model was identified by reviewing books, documents, articles, theses, databases, and internet networks. The model was validated using a field study. To verify the questionnaire validity and the accuracy of latent variables by observed variables, the convergent and divergent validity was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. The reliability of the questionnaire was verified using Cronbach's alpha coefficients and compositional reliability. The research data were analyzed using SPSS and SmartPLS3 and structural equation modeling. Findings: The non-experimental causal relationship between research variables was verified using multivariate analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) through the partial least squares method. According to the estimations, the research model fitness was verified. Furthermore, the research’s main hypothesis testing also revealed that the marketing innovation capabilities variable indirectly predicts 27.8 and 35.9% of the brand-specific value variance through collaboration value and customer value, respectively. In addition, the communication network variable can indirectly predict 31.8 and 23.7% of the brand-specific value variance through collaboration and customer values. The positive path coefficients and significance level of <0.001 indicate that the independent variable can highly explain the dependent variable variance. Moreover, collaboration and customer value variables also mediate the relationship between marketing innovation capabilities and communication networks with brandspecific value. Thus, the research hypothesis is maintained. Conclusion: According to business managers and academic scholars, a brand-specific value is the missing link between today’s economy and business to introduce the lost trust of businesses. Innovation capabilities, communication, collaboration value, and customer value are the influential factors. Based on research results, the potential ability of private banks to adapt to the current and changing situation to develop new products, technology, and advances in achieving competitive advantages is essential in maintaining growth, survival, and competitive advantage. Hence, marketing innovation capabilities and communication networks would increase loyalty and value creation by focusing on customers and encouraging collaboration between customers and banks. According to the research results, it is recommended that private bank authorities adopt innovative managerial approaches for customers, take risks in attaining new opportunities in the market, and dedicate adequate sources for developing new services and products. It is also suggested that they enhance their positive relations with business partners, assign some people for customer relations, and enhance brand-specific value, collaboration value, and customer value through networking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the sustainability challenges is the gap between sustainability guidelines and action-based decisionmaking by the target communities. Farmers' behavior as a decision-maker is also a factor influencing the future of sustainability. Interdisciplinary approaches such as human-environmental systems are effective for sustainable management and solving the challenges of sustainability. For this purpose, this study was conducted to investigate the sustainable behavior of agricultural stakeholders and evaluate the separation of behavioral antecedent levels of capability based on sustainability indicators in the form of five capitals and individual characteristics of farmers. The statistical population of this study included 5024 agricultural stakeholders of Ghalehgang County, of which 389 people were selected as a sample by stratified sampling method with appropriate proportion, and two behavioral antecedents of perceived usefulness and perceived compatibility were measured. The research tool was a questionnaire and its validity and reliability were assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient and confirmatory factor analysis using Lisrel 8.80 software. The statistical method for distinguishing and predicting the status of behavioral antecedents was binary logistic regression using SPSS 25 software. The overall result of the research shows that physical stability indicators are an important variable in predicting the behavior of users. It also turned out that the residence location is effective in predicting behavior. Regarding the individuals' perceived usefulness component, human indicators and the type of water source are significant, while for the perceived compatibility component, social indicators and the type of agricultural activity have a more significant predictive effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The occurrence of all kinds of errors and mistakes imposes many costs on the hospital and society. Whistleblowing and error reporting plays an essential role in preventing and reducing errors, but the rate of error reporting in hospitals is low. This research was conducted in order to investigate the effect of selected individual factors on whistleblowing of hospital employees. Materials: The research was conducted as a descriptive correlational study. 229 nursing and para clinic staff of a hospital in Tehran were selected by random sampling. A standard questionnaire with 69 items from valid questionnaires of selected factors, including organizational commitment, source of control, moral judgment, altruism, individual's attitude towards whistleblowing and intention to whistleblowing was collected and its validity and reliability were confirmed. The method of data analysis was confirmatory factor analysis and SPSS and Amos software were used as well. Results: The variables of organizational commitment, altruism and individual's attitude towards whistleblowing have an effect on the intention of whistleblowing, and moral judgment and source of control have no effect on the intention of whistleblowing. Also, individual variables such as age, gender, and work experience did not have a significant effect on the intention to blow the whistle. Conclusion: Strengthening organizational commitment, altruism of employees and the positive attitude of the individual toward whistle -blowing play an important role in improving error reporting. Hospital management methods can strengthen or weaken these factors. Participatory management style, job empowerment, supporting and creating a safe environment for reporting, promoting employees' ethical and professional principles, and learning and sharing medical errors are effective measures in promoting whistle -blowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem definition: The issue of participation has become very important in recent decades in relation to such issues as democracy, development, etc. Participation and rural development have been proposed as two related and complementary elements and increasing the level of participation among villagers is considered as a sign and means of rural development. This can be useful for future policies and planning for rural areas. Purpose: Social participation is a broad concept that includes dimensions, such as social trust, empowerment, and norms, which are discussed today in socio-economic analyses of rural development. The purpose of this article was to show the role of social participation in rural development. Methodology: The statistical population of the study consisted of 4200 rural women aged 15 years and older in Fereydunshahr City and the sample size was determined to be 240 people by using Cochran's formula. Results: Data analysis was performed using SPSS software and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). In this study, the observed variables for the two components of empowerment and social trust were obtained. Two first-order factor analysis models were developed and validated to measure two subscales of social participation. Finally, the roles and effects of the observed variables and their dual components on social participation as the main latent dependent variable, as well as the relationships between them were analyzed by using a two-factor structural model of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). The results showed the acceptable fit and validity of both models of measuring social participation and achieving goals, as well as the second-order three-factor model for examining social participation, based on the collected data. Also, social empowerment (0.65) and trust (0.78) had an effect on social participation. Innovation: In the present study, for the first time, the issues of participation and rural development were investigated by performing the structural analyses of the two categories of social trust and social empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: The aim of this study was to translate and psychometrics the Cervical Cancer Screening Self-Efficacy Scale. Materials and Methods: A standard forward-backward translation method was used to develop the Persian version of the cervical cancer screening self-efficacy scale. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed through face validity (qualitative and quantitative), content validity (qualitative and quantitative) and construct validity (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis) in 400 women. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by test-retest method (calculation of intra-class correlation coefficient) and also internal correlation (calculation of Cronbach-alpha coefficient). Statistical analyzes were performed by SPSS24 and lisrel 8.8 software. Results: The range of calculated CVR and CVI of scale items was (0.92-1.00) and (0.92-1.00) impact score of all items was more than 1.5. The range of Cronbach’s alpha and ICC were calculated for the reliability of scale items respectively (0.66 – 0.85) and (0.846- 0.977). The three factors of “Confidence in controlling tangible barriers of Pap Smear test “, “Confidence in following Pap Smear test Instructions” and “Confidence in controlling intangible barriers of PAPS”. In confirmatory factor analysis the fitted model based on these factors explained 58.29%of the self-efficacy in performing Pap Smear test. These factors confirmed by CFA (X2/df =3.3, CFI=0.91, GFI= 0.96, RMESA=0.081). Conclusion: Psychometric of Persian version of the cervical cancer screening self-efficacy scale with 8 items and 3 domains has proper validity and reliability to evaluate the cervical cancer screening self-efficacy in females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Couples’ communication interactions in the context of social networks have been challenged. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a tool for measuring the consequences of virtual social media on marital life by factor analysis. Materials and Methods: This tool is a qualitative methodology based on the exploration of views and perceptions of married men and women about the consequences of virtual social networks on married life. The validity of the questionnaire was assessed through face validity (qualitative and quantitative), content validity (qualitative and quantitative) and construct validity (exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis) in 700 married individuals. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by the test-retest method (calculation of intra-class correlation coefficient) and internal correlation (calculation of Cronbach-alpha coefficient). Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS24 and AMOS24 software. Results: The initial instrument consisted of 20 items from a qualitative study, which after psychometrics, 4 items were removed and 12 items remained. The range of values calculated for the ratio and content validity index of the items were (0.83-1) and (0.66-1), respectively, and the impact score of all of them was higher than 1.5. The Intra-class correlation coefficient and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the questionnaire were obtained at 0.864 and 785, respectively. The results of exploratory factor analysis were four factors: «Threat of marital commitment», “individualization of cohabitation”,” Threat to privacy” and “Faded intimacy”. In confirmatory factor analysis the fitted model based on these four factors explained 43.75% of the consequences of social media presence on couples› lifestyle. Conclusion: Psychometric results in this study showed that a tool with 20-iteme and 4 domains for measuring the consequences of social media presence on couples’ lifestyles has good validity and reliability and it can be used as a suitable tool in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural development is one of the main concerns of developing countries. The consequences of lack of development in rural areas such as widespread poverty, unemployment and migration have led to more attention to rural development. According to the latest report of the Statistics Center of Afghanistan (2020), out of the total population of this country, about 23.4 million people (71%), live in rural areas. At the same time, rural areas face various economic, social, cultural, managerial and environmental challenges. Therefore, identifying Afghanistan's rural development challenges is a prerequisite to developing policies, plans, and providing a flexible model for achieving sustainable rural development. In this regard, the main purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the major challenges of rural development in Afghanistan. The statistical population included 60 experts on agricultural and rural development. The data collection tool was a questionnaire and its method was face-to-face interview. For data analysis, coefficient of variation and confirmatory factor analysis were used. The results of this study showed that several challenges including economic (such as lack of credits and investments in rural areas), social (such as women's low participation in rural activities), environmental (such as improper exploitation of groundwater), physical (such as the weakness or lack of rural-urban network), and managerial (especially the dominance of unskilled laborers in rural economic activities) challenges, have influenced rural development in Afghanistan, respectively. Undoubtedly, any effort to eliminate them will play a significant role in achieving sustainable rural and consequently national development of this country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, global competition, changing markets and new technologies by creating value chains have led to increased value in manufactured products. The purpose of creating value chains, especially in the livestock sector, is to improve performance, reduce operating costs and reveal opportunities in the business. Recognition of the effective factors and obstacles in the sheep value chain is one of the most important factors of the development of these chains. Thus, in this study, effective factors and the challenges facing the development of the value chain of sheep meat in Lorestan province were studied. The main paradigm of research was mixed. In the quality section, 43 people were selected through the targeted and snowball method. In the quantitative section, 382 people were selected and examined in two stages by the simple cluster sampling method. The results showed that social problems explain 24.21% of the variance of the challenges facing the development of sheep value chain in Lorestan province, management problems 14.21%, financial problems 8.67% and technical problems 6.67%. Modeling of interactive structural equations in SMART-PLS3 software showed that the overall goodness-of-fit criteria of the confirmatory factor analysis had a moderate fit in the current model. Then, the measurement model showed that the economic factor, government policies and information technology with a coefficient of determination of 35% have the greatest role in the development of the value chain of mutton in Lorestan province. In this regard, in the present study strategies have been proposed to reduce the cost of the sheep meat value chain through governmental policies and exploiting the opportunities hidden in information and communication technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to design and validate a model in assessing and evaluating competence based academic achievement of middle school students. The statistical population of the study includes principals, teachers, deputies and counselors of public-secondary schools in West Azerbaijan province. 296 people were selected as the sample using the cluster sampling method. The data collection tool was a the researcher-made questionnaire with 71 items in Likert scale, which were designed according to the research literature. Date was collected by two methods of online questionnaire and mailing of the questionnaire. In order to determine the reliability of the test, a preliminary study on 30 sample members, Through Cronbach's alpha method was used. Using the SPSS statistical software, the reliability of the questionnaire calculated at 0.96. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics including exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis using PLS software. Findings showed that the competency model includes 56 indicators in the form of 13 factors including cognitive ability, learning skills, research skills, emotional skills, attitude structure, personality traits, hard work, lifestyle, and health skills. Social and communication skills, work and technology skills, and social attitudes are also included. Results showed that these 13 factors related to the competency-based evaluation model explained a total of 79.57% of the variance. Also, the competency-based evaluation model presented had an acceptable relative fit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to design an e-learning culture model for the adoption of information technology and Social Customer Relationship Management (SCRM) deployment. In this research, mixed research method was used. For this purpose, using semi-structured interview and thematic analysis method, qualitative analysis and after obtaining the main indices of each of the relevant components, based on soft data obtained from experts in this field were analyzed. Findings of the research indicate seven main themes including structural factors, behavioral factors, environmental factors, processes, output, effect and outcome. In the quantitative part of the research, using Cochran formula, out of 922 people, as statistical population of the shargh Cement staff, 271 persons selected by simple random sampling as the sample size. The questionnaire from the qualitative categories was quantified using the Likert scale and analyzed using LISREL software. Collected data was first analyzed by exploratory agent. Then, in the next step, using confirmatory factor analysis, the validity of the research structures was tested and the statistical relationship between the variables and its indicators were confirmed with an average response between 2.19 and 4.35. These numbers indicate that the responses are in the right range and that there is a relationship between the main factors and its sub-components. To test the statistical hypotheses, Student t-test was used to infer the confirmation or rejection of the statistical hypotheses of the research. As a result, the three main dimensions of processes, factors and outcomes and components related to the model were confirmed at a 95% confidence level. According to the final research model, it can be concluded that the proposed model has causal relationships between the dimensions of the model in standard and significant conditions and the obtained results can be cited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Given the importance of ethics in the success and performance of Educational organizations, the purpose of this study was to providing a Model for Promoting Ethics Education in Schools. Materials and Methods: The present study was a combination of exploratory sequencing. The statistical population of the research in the qualitative section was education specialists of Tehran city that among them 20 individuals using purposeful sampling method and Based on saturation principle were selected. In the quantitative section, 300 individuals of second-year high school students in Tehran city were selected as a sample by multi-stage cluster sampling Method using Cochran's formula. Data collection tools in the qualitative section were included semi-structured interviews methods, and in the quantitative section, the researcher-made questionnaire was used That formal validity of which was examined through the experimental implementation of the questionnaire, the content validity of that through the judgment of experts and the construct validity of its using factor analysis Examined. Also, the reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient and retesting method. Data analysis in the qualitative part was done by content analysis and in the quantitative part exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and single sample t-test, was performed using SPSS-V22 and Lisrel-V8 / 8 software. Results: The results showed that Ethics education includes 4 dimensions of educational, social, environmental and doctrinal that components of the educational dimension are (teacher, curriculum, classroom space, school management), components of the social dimension (group values, empathy, social trust, respect for each other), components of the environmental dimension (ethical atmosphere, encouragement and punishment, parents' literacy and income levels, individual socio-economic base) and components of the beliefs dimension are (adherence to Religious values, religious beliefs, chastity). Conclusion: The research findings showed that the presented model in this study to promote Ethics education in schools is in a good fit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: In psychology and in the field of social cognition, avoidant behaviors can be influenced by the extent to which that people feel vulnerable to infectious diseases. The present study aimed to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Persian version of Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire (P-PVDQ). Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional-analytic study. 500 students from Tehran University were recruited through convenience sampling from six different faculties and the participants completed Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire, Disgust Scale-Revised and Health Anxiety Questionnaire (the two latter ones used for convergent validity). The process of translation and back translation was conducted for PVDQ. After data collection, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, reliability coefficients and convergent validity were conducted by SPSS18 and AMOS20. Results: Exploratory factor analysis showed two factors: “Perceived Infectability” and “Germ Aversion”. Moreover, this two-factor model has good fit indices in Confirmatory factor analysis including 1.68 for CMIN/DF and 0.05 for RMSEA. This questionnaire showed enough convergent validity and had enough cronebach’s alpha (α=0.83) and test-retest reliability coefficients. Conclusion: Except item 13 which has loaded on the different factor in the Persian version, compared to the original questionnaire, the Persian version of Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Questionnaire is consistent with the English version and has enough psychometric properties and can be applied in research which needs to evaluate self-reported perceived vulnerability to disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present research is to investigate the position of rural production cooperatives in the formation and of social capital. This study is descriptive-analytical survey-based study. Data were collected using library studies and field method using a questionnaire. The statistical population of the study consisted of 1655 members of rural production cooperatives in Hamadan, Iran, out of whom 180 were selected using Cochran formula by proportional random sampling method. Content validity of the questionnaire was assessed by subject matter experts. The construct validity and reliability of the construct were confirmed by calculating the composite reliability and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The results showed that the level of capacity building of bonding and linking social capital was medium and low, respectively. Pearson correlation results confirmed the significant relationship of age, membership experience in the cooperative, agricultural experience and number of training courses with the variables of capacity building of linking and bonding social capital. In this regard, there was no significant difference between men and women in terms of capacity building of bonding social capital but capacity building of linking social capital of men was significantly higher than women. The results obtained in relation to the values of the fit indices showed that both the models of measuring capacity building of bonding and linking social capital had good fitting indices. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the bonding interaction (λ = 0.83) was the strongest indicator of the capacity building of bonding social capital and formal relationship network (λ = 0.84) was the strongest indicator of the capacity building of linking social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objective: Given the necessity of assessing knowledge and practice of individuals to prevent the Aflatoxin contamination in pistachio in order to develop appropriate educational interventions, design and validating a standard tool is essential. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and validate an instrument to determine the knowledge and performance of pistachio farmer in terms of Aflatoxin contamination and the methods to prevent its production in pistachio product. Materials and Methods:In this research, initial items of instrument were designed based on literature review and interview with experts and farmers. The face validity, Content Validity Ratio (CVR) and Content validity Index (CVI) of instrument were determined by interview with farmers and through opinions of experts' panel respectively. Test-retest analysis was conducted to test the stability of the instrument. Also, according to the data of 380 farmers, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed. Results: The results showed that CVI and CVR of items of instrument were ≤0.79 and ≤0.62 respectively. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a good fit for the data. EFA Analysis showed that KMO is suitable for 3 groups of Knowledge and also for practice. Bartlett's test was significant and zero hypothesis of data was rejected. According to factor load higher than 0.3 for every question, neither of them was removed. Finally, questionnaire of Knowledge was confirmed with 18 and Practice questionnaire was confirmed with 10 questions. Conclusion: The developed instrument can be used to measure the knowledge and practice of pistachio farmers about Aflatoxin contamination, as a research tool, to be used to develop appropriate educational interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1- Introduction One of the most well-known strategies for rural development, tourism and related opportunities are in the field of entrepreneurship. Identification of opportunity is one of the key factors in the survival and development Villages Like's cities are full of new and undetected opportunities that not discover and exploit these opportunities and creating new businesses and competitiveness basis it cans be Significant economic benefits for the villagers. Dimensions in order to identify environmental, social and economic potential context in each area, are an important issue to be considered in any assessment that has significant effect on the success of planning. Therefore adopt a systematic approach to social issues, economic and environmental planning will be critical. In this alienated explaining the current situation of rural in terms of population, infrastructure attractions a presence of ranging from natural and artificial are of special importance. Scientific studies on a list of indicators of social, economic, environmental and ecological potential of entrepreneurship in the tourism sector in rural areas in line with the pillars of entrepreneurship development. Most, research efforts in this regard, it has been a significant impact on the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities in the tourism sector with the use of the else studies in this filed and also voting of specialists and experts through the Delphi technique method to provide rural tourism sector. 2 - Research Methodology With regard to the subject goals the research method is descriptive and casual analysis foundation in the library studies and record subject to review study based on indicators related obtain relevant in the indicators of impact in creating of entrepreneurial opportunities in the tourism sector of the study and written document from Delphi technique was used in the area. The software then uses factor analysis and classification was reduced variable R factors obtain in this way since they were not homogeneous therefore confirmatory factor analysis was used and the structural equation model using the Lisrel software to measure and verify its validity was assessed and approved. 3 - Discussion To obtain the effective indices in the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities in the tourism sector of the study this questionnaire was designed this work in which the question was posed with this title: What in your view the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities in the tourism sector are effective? Experts were asked their opinions freely the comments in the 2nd questionnaire after which the categories were summed and again for the professional consensus in this area was it should be noted that in the first stage 120 questionnaires form post e-mail (E-mail) and 40 questionnaires were manually placed at the disposal of specialists and experts from the 56 questionnaires were completed and expert and scholar of geography, tourism, entrepreneurship, management, economics, sociology, declared their own opinions.In the present study for the summary indices of R-type factor analysis with Principal component method is used 48 indicators used to 9 operating through varimax rotation has been reduced. So Eigenvalue greater than 1 and 9 so that the operating pebbles figure confirmed these nine factors. One of the main steps in factor analysis is the name given to the opinions of different experts are of There was some heterogeneity in the operating variables, so named factors was not possible to resolve the problem of structural equations was used This study examined variables in the six operating principles and the study was summarized by After developing a conceptual model for validation of structural equation models by entering data into the desired end, the model was examined Using indicators such as root mean square residual goodness of fit index, comparative fitness ... and fit was evaluated. after identifying the variables they validate, the linear regression to determine the ci contribution of each of the factors influencing entrepreneurial opportunities were used to perform this operation, the coefficient Ci expert opinions through techniques Tapsis was calculated, then the coefficient indices to the numerical factor was obtained After this number was calculated for all factors, then all the factors together and total number of factors were obtained for all The calculated data were transferred to SPSS software, The total number of factors as the dependent variable and each of the socioeconomic factors, cultural, educational and ... Were considered as independent variables, And thereby share any of the factors identified in the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities. With regard to the statistics that Sig [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Purpose of this study was to analyzing the solutions of microcredit funds to empower rural women (ERW) in Lorestan province. Statistical population of this research consisted the rural women of micro credit fund members in Lorestan province (N= 772) that 160 of them determined as a statistical sample by using Cochran's formula. Samples were selected based on multi stage sampling method and data were collected by questionnaire. Questionnaire's reliability and validity were confirmed respectively through computing Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.89) and content validity. Data analyzed by SPSS20 and LISREL8.8 software. According to results of the exploratory factor analysis solutions of microcredit fund in the ERW in Lorestan province categorized in five factors that in order of importance are: 1) supporting members and directing their activities; 2) providing training to members and the board; 3) improving fund management; 4) utilizing side capacities; and 5) enhancing participatory spirit among Members. These solutions explained 68.3% of the total variance. Results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated the significance of these factors as solutions for improve the functioning of microcredit funds to ERW in Lorestan province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]