Investigation on Technical Efficiency of Agronomy and Horticulture Sub Sectors Products in Khorasan Razavi Province: Application of Integrated Neural Network and Fuzzy Clustering Approach

A survey of the natural resources situation in the Khorasan Razavi province reveals that this sector is faced with problems such as negative balance of water in the plains, soil salinity, and soil erosion. This study tries to estimate the technical efficiency of the states of the Khorasan Razavi province in agronomy and horticulture subsectors with attention to restriction of water resources. Required data is collected from yearbooks of Jihad Keshavarzi and Regional Water Organization of Khorasan Razavi province for years 1997, 2002 to 2004 and 2006. This study uses an integrated neural network and fuzzy clustering algorithm. Mean of technical efficiency in the case of considering water resource limitation is 77 percent while as in the case of not considering water recourse limitation is about 74 percent. Results indicate that considering water recourse limitation in agricultural production in each region can affect results of technical efficiency assessment for each state

Job satisfaction and its related factors among faculty members of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences

Introduction: Understanding determinants of job satisfaction may increase faculty members' motivation towards their educational and research goals. This study aims to determine job satisfaction among faculty members of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences in 2012.Method: This is a cross sectional analytic study carried out on 60 faculty members of North Khorasan University of Medical Science in 2012. Herzberg standard questionnaire which had 11 sections of job satisfactions were used to collect data. Data Analysis were done using SPSS V. 19.Results: The highest average score were reported for the nature of the academic activities and related communications and the lowest scores were reported for the political environment, salary, job security and work environment. In total, the overall job satisfaction rating of faculty members was 3.26±0.37. There were statistical significant relationship between marital status, academic position, type of employment, place of work, type of provided services and job satisfaction (P-value<0.05).Conclusion: The results showed that job satisfaction of the faculty members was average. Thus, it is essential for university managers to take more attention to the factors that may increase motivation and satisfaction of faculty members in North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences