محمدرضا سرمدی

Textbooks are the most important forms of media in open and distance universities. As a result, they should have features that enable the distance learners to attain in-depth learning without the presence of an instructor. This study aims to design a comprehensive model for open and distance university textbooks through analyzing the textbook concept using the hybrid model. In the initial stage, a review of literature up to 2011 was done (119 cases) using several databases.  Then, a field study was carried out by assessing 2 textbooks from open universities of England. Finally, data collected from the two previous stages were analyzed and evaluated, using Strauss and Corbin's method, and a proper model was proposed for open and distance university textbooks.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the design of a model based on the impact of information technology on the empowerment components of professors with mediating role of social resilience in the Payame Noor University of Mazandaran province. The research method was descriptive-correlational. Method: The statistical population of this research included all professors (scientific and invited) in Payame Noor University of Mazandaran (2539 people). In this study, 280 people were selected as the sample from three branches of Mazandaran Payame Noor University using randomized cluster method. Three standard questionnaires used as the measurement instruments in this research were Ghasemi’s information technology questionnaire, Spreitzer’s empowerment questionnaire, and Connor and Davidson’s resilience questionnaire. In the descriptive statistics part, plotting charts and calculating the statistical indices were used to describe the hypotheses. Structural equation modeling test was used to analyze the data. The data were analyzed using SPSS22 and Amos software. Results: The findings of this research indicated that the design of the model based on information technology influences the empowerment components of professors with mediating role of social resilience in the Payame Noor University of Mazandaran province and all the paths of the effect of the exogenous variables on endogenous variables and endogenous variables on exogenous variables are significant at the level of a = 0.05. Also, all direct and total effects of the endogenous and exogenous variables were significant (p0.05), and all indirect effects of the exogenous and endogenous variables on the endogenous variables were significant. In the final model of information technology and faculty empowerment variables, the highest path coefficient was for the path from information technology to faculty empowerment (0.72) and then from the components of faculty empowerment to resilience (0.71). Conclusion: Information technology and mediating empowerment components have a resilient effect on empowerment components and have shown their mediating role well.

Purpose: The purpose of the present research is to review the effectiveness of philosophy education program for children on critical thinking and its components in elementary fourth-grader girl students. Material and method: This was a semi-experimental study with designing pretest and posttest and the control group with following-up phase. Findings: This statistical population consists of elementary fourth-grader girl students in Arak, district 2. The sample of this research consists of 50 students that were selected by convenience sampling method and divided to two control and test groups. Shabani (1999) critical thinking questionnaire was used for data collection. Discussion: The results of covariance analysis showed that execution of the philosophy education program for children improves critical thinking, recognition ability, analogizing, and judgments in children (P<0.05). Furthermore, the effectiveness of philosophy education program for children was durable in fallowing-up test.

To empower the farmer villagers, execution of training programs including semi-presence training, open training and virtual training is essential. The main purpose of the present research is to determine the factors affecting the enabler trainings to farmer villagers with an emphasis on the component of culture and education technology using the interpretative structural modeling together with structural equation modeling. The combined method has been used as the research method. At the first stage, the main indices were extracted by data collection via Delphi method from the knowledge transfer and management and their validity were determined, and at the qualitative stage the questionnaire was given to the participants after determining the reliability. The statistical population consists of 1930 individuals including faculty members, promoters, educational instructors and those employed in agriculture research centers and institutes. With regard to Morgan table, the sample size has been estimated to 641 individuals by separation of groups per their population and the samples have been selected using the stratified random sampling method. The research question was examined and standardized using factor analysis and Cronbach's alpha. Research findings elaborate the component of remote education technology and organizational culture as the dimensions of management and electronic knowledge transfer. It is suggested to the managers at agriculture information and knowledge system to take action to expand the agriculture service centers and equip them with information and communication technology facilities for fast transfer of research findings to farmers and culturalization in sharing the research findings.