مطالب

The purpose of this study is to explore the effective factors on the productivity of human capital via an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) in General office of Sports and Youth in Khorasan Razavi Province. The present study is a qualitative research with an analytical nature and it is also an applied one that was conducted via interpretive structural modeling. Literature review, interviews and ISM questionnaires were used for data collection. The research population included professors and experts in sports management, managers, deputies and staff of the General office of Sports and Youth in Khorasan Razavi, of which 35 people were totally selected through purposeful sampling in three stages of this study. According to the research findings, 59 effective indicators were identified under seven major dimensions playing role in improving the productivity of human capital, which were classified into five levels. Motivational factors, organizational culture and work environment, the relationship between managers and employees along with individual factors, the quality of labor force, and finally the technology factor were identified under five levels of the model. Finally, it can be concluded that managers in sports organizations should pay special attention to the technology factor and its indicators, which have been identified as the foundation of improving employees’ productivity, which then provides the ground for exploiting other dimensions at higher levels.

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale for measuring the service quality in sport scientific journals. A mixed approach was conducted to fulfill the research objectives. In qualitative phase 15 sport paper writer were interviewed and in quantitative phase, 357 sport researchers were studied through systematic random sampling. The face and content validity of the scale was confirmed by 15 experts and the final questionnaire of the scientific journals service quality was provided to 29 subjects. 26 items were ranked in five factors (accountability speed, executive structure, trustworthiness, employees and updating) based on exploratory factor analysis with orthogonal rotation. Cronbach's alpha, KMO, Bartlett Test and confirmatory factor analysis were used by SPSS and LISREL for data analysis. It is worth noting that the results of confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0.91) supported the five-factor structure of JourQual scale and confirmed its validity and reliability.

In this paper, the effect of income distribution on divorce in Iran has been investigated using micro data of Household Expenditure and Income Survey of urban households in 2014 and applying the Quasi-panel data method. Primary data included 18885 urban households. At first, sub-section of the data were selected including divorced and married male and female (16503 Households) and clustered in provinces. The data was then analyzed based on the initial and categorized data. In the next step, using the Deaton (1985) Quasi-panel data, Logit model is estimated with the Maximum likelihood method. The results of first estimation indicate that household per capita income reduces the probability of divorce, and the result of the secondary model (the initial model with including the square of per capita income) indicates a U shape effect of per capita income on the probability of divorce. That is, the probability of divorce in the two groups of income (low and high) is higher than the middle income holders. Threshold per capita income is estimated equivalent to 1275 thousand Toman on average and monthly for urban households or 5100000T in a month for a family of four in 2014. Also, having job reduces the probability of divorce. Therefore, unemployment reduction policies and supportive policies to reduce income inequality in society will be a way to reduce the probability of divorce.

Whether acknowledged or neglected by educators, the hidden curriculum is present in every institute. Therefore, studying the hidden curriculum is essential to understand how it functions within an English language institute’s setting and among those within it. The purpose of this study was to design and validate a scale to measure language teachers’ perspectives on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) hidden curriculum by the application of the Rasch model. The review of the literature indicated the lack of sufficient research on the investigation of EFL hidden curriculum components in the view of EFL teachers. To fill the existing gap in the literature, a 40-item questionnaire was devised and validated, then 164 Iranian EFL teachers, teaching at different language institutes were asked to reply to the questionnaire. In this study, hidden curriculum components were based on Saylor, Alexander, and Lewis’ (1981) perspectives. Accordingly, items were classified into three different constructs, namely the social atmosphere (including 15 items), the organizational structure of the English Language Institute (consisting of 14 items), and the interaction between teachers and learners (including 11 items). The results showed that the questionnaire items fitted the Rasch model after removing six items from the scale. Moreover, it was confirmed that the scale enjoyed suitable reliability. This proposes that the questionnaire is potentially valid and can be used as a measure of EFL hidden curriculum. One of the study implications is that the questionnaire designed and validated in this study can be used as a research tool in future research to assist policymakers and material designers, institutions’ administrators, and language teachers to be considered for future decision making, and designing materials. It also can be used as a research tool to measure the relationship between EFL hidden curriculum and other variables in future research.