مطالب

The aim of the current research is to identify the futures of marketing in the banking industry with a focus on blockchain technology. The current research is applied in terms of direction and has a mixed methodology due to the use of qualitative and quantitative methods together. The theoretical population of the research was experts in banking marketing and digital financial technologies, especially blockchain, and the sampling method was done in a judgmental method. The sample size in this study was equal to 15 people. For data analysis, meta synthesis methods, Binominal's statistical test, developed Copras and root definitions tool were used. The tools of data collection in this research were interviews and questionnaires (expert evaluation and priority evaluation questionnaires). 47 drivers were extracted from meta synthesis and these drivers were classified into nine main drivers. The drivers of the research were screened in two stages using theory-based inference screening and Binominal's test, and 12 drivers were considered for prioritization using the Copras technique. The remaining drivers were evaluated using the Copras technique and three criteria of importance, degree of certainty and experts' expertise. The findings showed that the drivers of marketing researchers' interest in digital financial technologies and blockchain and the development of decentralized banking had the highest priority and were selected for scenario planning. Based on these two drivers, four scenarios of crypto bank, conservative banking, pioneer banking and traditional banking were developed. The research proposals were proposed based on the important drivers and the desired scenario (crypto bank).

This study was an attempt to investigate the perception of Iranian senior high school teachers toward critical cultural awareness. The participants of the study comprised of 307 teachers in different high schools in Qazvin. All the participants filled in the Critical Cultural Awareness Questionnaire. The data were then fed into SPSS software and were subjected to Principal Components Analysis. Three factors were extracted and named as CCA in ELT Programs, CCA in ELT Textbooks and Materials, and CCA in General Terms, and the participants’ responses were analyzed based on these factors. The results indicated that the teachers’ critical awareness perception toward ELT Textbooks and Materials was the highest factor. The results of the item analysis revealed that teachers indicate all cultures should have an equal status in ELT textbooks and materials. It was concluded that the teachers’ cultural awareness regarding the integration of culture into mainstream teaching should be raised and they should pay more attention to culture in their classes. One significant implication of this study for EFL teachers and also syllabus designers is that an intercultural curriculum can enable learners to have a better understanding of the target materials.

Formative Assessment plays a significant role in classrooms in understanding how students progress in their learning activities. The attitudes of teachers towards application of Alternative Assessment (AA) strategies in English language classroom are considered important as they can affect the teachers’ overall performance in the classroom. The aim of the current study was to examine EFL teachers’ perceptions regarding alternative assessment strategies and their relationship while correlated with teacher reflections and perceptions. In order to conduct this study, a mixed-methods design was adopted. The participants who attended the quantitative and qualitative phases were 81 students and 30 EFL teachers, respectively. In order to collect the research data, two research instruments were used: the teacher reflection questionnaire (Akbari et al., 2010) and the teachers’ perceptions of alternative assessment questionnaire (Elharrar, 2006). The Pearson correlation coefficient statistical test was run for the quantitative data, and the data of the qualitative nature was processed through content-analysis procedure. The findings from the qualitative data were presented using frequency and percentage. Further discussions were provided using the findings from the quantitative data analysis. The results from this phase of analysis illustrated that there was a significant positive relationship between EFL teachers’ reflection and their experience of implementing alternative assessment strategies. The findings of this study may render implications for EFL teachers, teacher trainers, and the assessment administrates.