نشریه پژوهش مدیریت آموزش کشاورزی
سال هفتم شماره 34 (پاییز 1394)

The aim of this casual research was to analyze the impacts of information technology impacts on knowledge management of Agriculture Organization personnel at Kermanshah Province. Bukowitz and William's seven sections model include getting, using, learning, contributing, assessing, building/maintaining and discarding was used to assess knowledge management of those personnel. The statistical population consisted of 899 Jihad-Agriculture Organization staff (N=899) among them a number of 269 were randomly selected using Krejcie and Morgan's sampling table. The data collection tool was a questionnaire included both standardized and researcher made questions validated by a group of relevant experts. The reliability of the questions was calculated through ordinal Alpha coefficient (α=0.91). Results showed that there was a significant relationship and correlation between knowledge management and information technology variables. Based on the path analysis results, direct and indirect impacts were observed between all information technology variables and knowledge management. Other words, every single information technology variable had a significant impact on knowledge management that means the more improvement in each information technology variable, the more direct impact on knowledge management of the agricultural staff. The most important external variables affecting on knowledge management were determined as information storage and information transformation respectively

Unemployment of a large number of graduates of agricultural majors is blamed due to the failure of agricultural students to acquire skills necessary for carrying out agricultural activities at the job market. As practical solution to resolve this problem is paying more attention to agricultural higher education curriculum, especially practical courses (laboratory courses, agricultural operations, internship). Regarding the importance of practical courses, this study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the challenges of practical courses of agriculture in Payam-E- Noor University of Dehloran from the viewpoint of crop science students. The statistical population consisted of 50 crop science students of Dehloran were investigated. The Validity of the researcher- made questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was calculated using by the Theta coefficient (q= 0.89). Nine factors identified through exploratory factor analysis as challenges of agricultural practical courses, were applied in ordinal regression analysis model and results revealed that four of them as; factors lack of transparency and necessary coordination, problems related to instructors activities, poor planning and shortage of facilities and infrastructures are the main factors as challenges that affect performance of crop science students in these courses which together could in logit equation 95.8 % risk of dependent variable variance ( performance of students in practical courses) has correctly estimated.

Integrating issues related to agriculture and environment (AE) in the curriculum of elementary school provide real life learning experiences to students and form a positive attitude in respect to AE. Elementary teacher's decision and readiness to teach non-required topics like AE are influenced by their personal attitude and ministry of education policy. The purpose of this descriptive- correlational study was to investigate effective factors on the teacher's attitude toward integrating AE in the curriculum. The statistical population consists all 4359 elementary teachers in Zanjan city which 343 of them were selected based on Krejcie and Morgan sampling table and applying randomized stratified sampling method. The validity of research tool was verified by a panel of related experts. A pilot study was conducted and calculated ordinal coefficient theta was at the appropriate level (equals with 0.75). The finding revealed that 78.4% of respondents had a positive attitude toward integrating AE in the curriculum. There were no meaningful correlation between teacher's attitude with their age, education attained, and total teaching experience. But, there was a positive correlation between teacher's attitude and their teaching experience in rural area. Mann-Whitney test applied revealed that teachers with agricultural work experience hold more positive attitude in comparison with teachers of nonagricultural work experience. Also male teachers hold a more positive attitude in comparison with female teachers. Logistic regression revealed that three variables of age, having previous agriculture work experience and teaching experience in the rural area explained 30.8 percent of probability of teachers’ attitude

The main purpose of this study was to investigate relationship between self-esteem, problem solving styles and self-efficacy beliefs among agricultural and natural resource students, of the University of Zabol. The statistical population consisted of 3000 agricultural and natural resources students in 2013-2014 academic year from that, 210 students were randomly selected. Data were gathered through the application of an instrument was given to the academic staff of the department of Agricultural Extension and Education, University of Zabol to test its content validity. Ordinal theta was calculated to measure reliability of items of instrument (θ = 0.76 - 0.89). Results showed that there were a significant relationship between problem solving styles, self- esteem and self-efficacy beliefs. Ordinal Regression analysis indicated that self-esteem and some problem solving styles were significantly correlated with self-efficacy beliefs. Also, the ordinal regression analysis showed that self-esteem and problem solving styles were explained 57.2% of variance of student's self–efficacy beliefs

Students’ perception about the Educational Services Quality (ESQ) is a fundamental key to improve educational activities and students’ academic achievement in higher education institutions around the world. However, the influencing mechanisms of students’ perception of ESQ on academic achievement have not been considered seriously by researchers. Therefore, the aim of this survey was to investigate that how agricultural student’s perception of QES in Ramin University affects on their academic achievement. Statistical population of this research was consisted of M.SC students; from that by using Krejcie and Morgan sampling table 110 participations were selected. Structural Equation Model (SEM) via LISREL software was used to evaluate validity and reliability of the research questionnaire, and also to examine goodness of the latent variables and to test research hypothesizes. The result of confirmatory factor analyses confirm both “the validity and reliability” of the questionnaire and “the goodness the latent variables”. The results of path analysis by using the AMOS software portrayed that the interaction quality and the university’s atmosphere quality have most direct affect on student’s perceive of ESQ and have most indirect affect on student’s academic achievement. In the other where, perception of ESQ and satisfaction in total has most direct affect on student’s academic achievement. Moreover, perception of ESQ has significant affect on students’ academic achievement.

The main aim of research was to investigate factors which distinct two categories of intention in Business Startup Behavior Based on student's entrepreneurial passion among University students. Research method was descriptive correlation study. The statistical population comprised of senior and junior undergraduate students as well as graduate students of the University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Tehran University. 205 students were selected using the Daniel formula through quota sampling method. Research instrument was a questionnaire whose validity and reliability were reviewed and approved. A dominant statistical method was binary logistic regression. The results of this empirical study indicate that a significant variable in predicting entrepreneurial passion is entrepreneurship Intention. It was also found that only students who have experienced high levels of entrepreneurial passion, experience a salient intention to startup businesses. The results of the sensitivity analysis for logit models showed satisfied performance in the separation of intentions levels according to entrepreneurial passion. Also experiences in entrepreneurship course could result in willingness among students to start a business but did not show significant role of gender in this regard.

The main purpose of this study was to assess the information literacy among agricultural students of Tarbiat Modares University. Research design was descriptive- correlation and survey method used to gathering the data. Statistical population of study consisted of all agricultural post graduate students in Tarbiat Modares University (N =764). The sample size was determined by using Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) Table (n =256). Samples were selected through stratified random sampling method. Research instrument was a questionnaire. Face and content validity of the questionnaire revised and confirmed by a panel of agricultural extension and education experts. The results showed that information literacy level of students was moderate. In the second information literacy standards (effective and efficient access to needed information), students had the highest skill and they were weak in the fifth standard (familiarity with legal issues relating to access and use of information). Based on the Pearson correlation results, there were positive and significant relationships between student’s age, hours of work with computers and the internet, the research skills (knowledge of the English language, computers, internet and office software), the average scores of passed credits, with their information literacy. Regressions analysis revealed that average scores at present level, research skills and hours of work with computers and internet could explain about 21 percent of the variation in the information literacy. T-test results showed there is no significant difference between information literacy of students with different levels of education (M.Sc. and Ph.D.), gender (male and female) and participation or not participation in library tour. Based on other part of results, kind of undergraduate university affects the student's information literacy and there is no significant difference between the student's information literacy with different academic majors and various employment situations.

This study aims to identify psychological and sociological characteristics associated with the entrepreneurial spirit in students. Research method of this study was survey research. The data collection tools was a researcher-made questionnaire plus two standard tests. Total population was 262 graduate students of Ramin Agricultural and Natural Resources University and 170 persons of them were selected randomly by Krejcie and Morgan Table. Based on the results the entrepreneurial spirit in our study was relatively poor and the majority of student's had quite desirable characteristics of creativity, Internal control center, need for achievement, dedication and determination but undesirable risk taking Propensity and independence features. In the level of Ninety-five percent, there is a significant statistical difference between entrepreneurial spirit in terms of educational and employment history. also in the level of Ninety-five percent and Ninety-nine percent, there is a significant difference in terms of faculty and academic disciplines, is in the creativity feature, Thus agricultural and rural engineering college student and Mechanization Department, compared to other faculties and disciplines have been more creative. In the level of Ninety-five percent, there is a positive correlation between entrepreneurial spirit and need for achievement with educational level and in the level of Ninety-nine percent there is a negative correlation between dedication and determination with birth order. In the level of Ninety-five percent there is a positive correlation between creativity with Education level of mother

Early research which focused on the direct effects of personality traits on entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours have been criticized for their low predictive capacity. Recently researchers suggest that personality characteristics may affect entrepreneurial intentions and behaviours via entrepreneurial perceptions and motivational factors. The primary purpose of this study was to incorporate an important personality trait (namely, proactive personality) into the theory of planned behavior to examine the extent to which motivational factors (namely, attitudes toward entrepreneurship and perceived behavioral control) mediate the effects of students’ proactive personality on entrepreneurial intentions. Data was collected using a questionnaire survey from a sample of 300 senior agricultural students at four public universities in the west of Iran. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. The reliability of the research instrument was determined using Ordinal Theta coefficient (θ =0.75-0.82). Structural equation modeling and bootstrap procedure were used to analyze the data. Results indicated that attitudes toward entrepreneurship and perceived behavioral control fully mediate the relationship of student subjective norms, proactivity and entrepreneurial intentions. The findings have implications for explaining attitudes toward entrepreneurship and perceived behavioral control and direct attention on proactivity as an essential competence in the entrepreneurial process. Theoretical and practical implications for entrepreneurial intentions and education are discussed

The purpose of this research was to study the barriers affecting the level of students’ entrepreneurial skills. The statistical population of the research consisted of all postgraduate students of agricultural majors at the University College of Agricultural and Natural Resources in the University of Tehran (N= 1188). According to the Krejcie and Morgan table, a sample size of 291 students was selected using a stratified random sampling technique. Researcher- made questionnaire was used to collect data. Content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. Construct validity and composite reliability of the research instrument were tested by estimating the measurement model and they were satisfactory after making necessary corrections. The data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling. Results showed that, five factors including: lack of entrepreneurial educational content, communicative- informational weakness, weakness of practical and innovative skills, motivational issues and weak planning had significant negative effect on the level of students’ entrepreneurial skills, explaining 72 percent the probability of its variances. Also, Results indicated that structure of the research model was confirmed based on the model fit indices and theoretical framework of the research was consistent with reality.