Iranian Distance Education

Website is the first interaction tool between user and organization in every online business. The basic goal of every website is to provide information through its content. Nowadays, website content is considered to be a strategic issue for online businesses which will contribute to user attraction and retention. In this paper a soft decision making approach is taken towards the website content selection problem. To tackle this problem, a multi criteria decision making algorithm is proposed based on PROMETHEE outranking methodology. To overcome the shortening of this methodology facing the inherent uncertainty in decision problems, a new method is developed, where the characteristics of the alternatives are represented by intuitionistic fuzzy sets. Finally, a numerical example for content selection of Iranian universities’ website is given to illustrate application of the intuitionistic fuzzy PROMETHEE method. The outcome shows the effectiveness of intuitionistic fuzzy PROMETHEE in accommodating the imprecise information in comparison with fuzzy PROMETHEE and original PROMETHEE.

Faculty members are of the main components of the higher education system and universities with a significant role in educating entrepreneurs. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between thinking styles and entrepreneurship characteristics of faculty members of distance learning. The study was descriptive-correlational considering the method and applied in terms of purpose. The population was all faculty members (contractors, covenants, formal and adjunct professors) of distant learning universities in West Azarbaijan, teaching at the university in the first semester of 2012-2013, who were 2000 people. From among the population, 270 subjects were selected as the sample by cluster sampling. The data was collected using two standard questionnaires. One questionnaire was related to thinking styles with Cronbach's alpha of 0.87 and the other one was related to entrepreneurship characteristics with Cronbach's alpha of 0.89. Data were analyzed using SPSS, Pearson correlation, and multivariate regression analysis. The results suggested that pragmatic thinking positively and realistic thinking negatively are related to entrepreneurial characteristics, and other thinking styles have no significant relationship with entrepreneurial characteristics. Moreover, the findings showed that realism and pragmatism have a larger share in explaining the entrepreneurial characteristics of faculty members in the distance education system. Accordingly, it is suggested that the thinking styles of the faculty members be considered while recruiting them.

Nowadays, fast technological development has increased society's dependence on information technology. One of the technology variants is the online learning, which is one of the challenges of a higher education’s institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine simple and multiple relationships among perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness with E-learning acceptance. The methodology of this study was descriptive-correlation method and conducted at the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili during the fall semester of 2014-2015. The data were collected via a questionnaire with high level of reliability (Cronbach’s alpha=.86) from 146 university instructors. The sampling method was proportional and randomized. The authors used correlation and regression to analyze the simple and multiple relationships between variables. The results revealed that the perceived usefulness (Beta =.210) for predicting E-learning acceptance was statistically significant, but for the Perceived ease of use (Beta = .013), it was not statistically significant. The study found that perceived usefulness had a positive effect on e-learning acceptance. Hence, perceived usefulness is an influential factor on instructors’ intention and their actual use of the systems adoption. Furthermore, Perceived ease of use didn’t show a significant relation on E-learning acceptance. Thus, further research could be directed to [study] this issue.

The present study aims at identifying the appropriate approach to improve the quality of e-learning in Payame Noor University. The research is applied in terms of purpose, is descriptive in terms of nature, and is a mixed method in terms of implementation applying an interview and a survey. The research population consists of all professors and students in e-learning department of Payame Noor University studying in academic year of 2016-2017. The research samples, consisting of 327 students and 291 professors, were selected through stratified random sampling. For data collection, in the first stage, after reviewing the related literature and conducting a semi-structured interview with distance education professionals and experts, the quality indexes in e-learning were identified. Then, in the second stage, two researcher-made questionnaires, based on a 5-likert scale, were prepared and after verifying the content and construct validity and calculating the reliability through Cronbach's alpha formula above 0.70, they were distributed among students and professors. The results of study suggest that if we are to take steps to improve the quality of e-learning in PNU, in addition to paying attention to maintaining the current quality and keeping its improvement through two components of strategies, policies, and general objectives and technology infrastructures, which had the greatest impact on e-learning quality, we should also take action through these factors to increase the impact of other components. Also, in order to improve the quality of e-learning in PNU, strategies such as paying attention to the quality of interaction, preventing significant changes in management decisions at the university, and paying attention to the empowerment of all human factors were suggested.

The purpose of this study was to determine the predictive power of goal orientation and mental health according to psychological needs of students in distance education System in the academic year of 2016-2017. The statistical population of the study was 1471 students in distance education system among which, by using Cochran formula, 295 individuals were selected as participants through simple random sampling method. The research instruments consisted of three questionnaires measuring goal orientation, psychological needs, and mental health variables. The results show that the components of psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and interactions) have predictive power of goal orientation and mental health. In conclusion, it is necessary to pay attention to the components of psychological needs (autonomy and independence, competency and interactions) in students' educational environments in order to reduce stress levels, to create relaxation and strengthen the targeting. Although, in modern teaching methods, the emphasis is placed on students 'autonomy and independence, the use of combined teaching methods with regard to the benefits of communicating as well as paying attention to students' autonomy is a good way of enabling university students to have mental health and transition goals.

This study aimed to explain a role of faculty development on social capital in distance education. The research method was descriptive and data analysis method was SEM that Sample size was determined 181 faculty members of Tehran branch of Payam Noor University by Stratified random sampling. Faculty development made questionnaire design with the reliability [α =0/94] and social capital questionnaire of Nahapiet & Ghoshal[1998] with the reliability [α=0/92] were used to collect data. Results showed faculty development and social capital of sample size higher than the average and faculty development [r=0/71] had a significant positive correlation with social capital of sample [p