درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Learners’ perception of culture on receptive skills more specifically on reading comprehension has been an area facing a big challenge contemporarily. The current research aimed to investigate the cultural perception of Iranian EFL learners on reading comprehension ability. To conduct the study, a mixed-methods design consisting of a questionnaire and interview study was used. Participants, 50 intermediate EFL learners (25 males, 25 females), were randomly selected using Oxford Placement Test. The participants were provided with two passages with different cultural contents (one containing Iranian culture and another containing culture of English spoken countries). Then participants were required to fill in a Likert-scale questionnaire which was distributed through Google form online platform. Also, an interview session was conducted to gather more detailed data. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded to find common themes. Analysis of interview and questionnaire data showed that learners hold similar cultural perceptions on reading comprehension ability by gender and social class has no significant impact on learners' perceptions. The results of the study specified that Iranian EFL learners held a positive attitude towards the integration of cultural materials into reading passages to better comprehend the target language. Moreover, it was seen that gender and social class did not impact significantly learners' cultural perceptions of English reading comprehension. The findings imply that ESL students with various reading levels or capabilities can learn from materials that are culturally diverse, specifically the ones at higher reading proficiency levels.

This paper presents a 'spontaneous location' theory to explain the choice and appropriation of s treet spaces by s treet vendors for their private enterprises in the central division of Kampala city. It provides for how s treet space locations are chosen and acquired for vending activities. To attain an appropriate sample size, the concept of saturation was used, whereby respondents were selected based on the type of goods sold, how goods were sold, the s treet occupied, time of vending, gender, age, and spatial dis tribution on the s treets. Subsequently, 90 respondents were sampled from 30 s treets. The selection of s treets was based on the exis ting land uses the intensity of vending, and their spatial dis tribution. In the s tudy, direct observations and interviews were used to collect data. Reference was made to location theories and business location decisions. Results indicate that s treet vendors tend to locate their enterprises on roads and paths with high human traffic that offers a market for their goods. We conclude that the ambiguity of government agencies towards s treet vendors and the audacity of s treet vendors as citizens with rights to urban space could promote more random locations of s treet enterprises and set a s tage for further s treet space use contes tation. To avert further conflict arising from the appropriation of spaces, we recommend that s treets identified by s treet vendors for their s treet enterprises be assessed for feasibility and valorized by city authorities to allow the enterprises to take place and generate revenue for the city. 

Purpose- Since the development of entrepreneurial activities in rural areas reduces many initial costs, and because the agricultural production is centered in rural areas, agricultural graduates can make closer and easier relationships with beneficiaries. Therefore, the current research was conducted aimed at analyzing the rural entrepreneurial intentions of agricultural students of Hamadan University based on the extended theory of planned behavior. Design/methodology/implications- The population of the study were all senior agricultural students of Bu Ali Sina University, Hamadan (N = 420). The simple random sampling method and Krejcie and Morgan table were used respectively to sample the research population and to determine the sample size (n = 200). A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. To verify the reliability of the research tool, a pilot study and the calculation of the ordinal theta coefficient were also conducted. Findings- The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the indicators used to measure the latent attributes studied in this research are consistent with the factor structure and the theoretical basis of the research. The results showed that three main components of TPB (attitude, perceived behavioral control and social norms) had a positive and significant effect on rural entrepreneurial intentions of students, which predicts 51% of the variance of rural entrepreneurial intentions. In addition, adding six entrepreneurial skills to the model, the predictive power of TPB increased by 19%. Research limitations/implications- One of the most important limitations was the accurate assessment of the entrepreneurial skills. Practical implications- Considering the interaction of motivational and skill components, it can be inferred that students’ confidence in their entrepreneurial abilities and skills in order to launch and manage a new business gives them the power to have creative intentions and decisions to start a new activity. Originality/value- This study contributed to integrate skills and behavioral components for improving the rural entrepreneurial intentions of agricultural students. The results contribute to enriching the literature on rural entrepreneurial intention. This study documents the entrepreneurial intention and skills as important precursors to students’ decision to create new agricultural business.