SMART IMAGE-GUIDED NEEDLE INSERTION FOR TISSUE BIOPSY

M.S

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF IT MANAGEMENT ON TALENT MANAGEMENT AND SUCCESSION MANAGEMENT IN SOCIAL SECURITY ORGANIZATION OF IRAN

Abstract. Increasing growth of using information technology in organizations has led to a rapid increase in information and more dependence of organizations on the technology. The purpose of present study was to investigate the effect of IT management on talent management and succession management in Social Security Organization of Iran. Present study is an applied research in the term of its purposes and a survey-descriptive one in the term of data gathering method. Data gathering tools included library studies and field study using questionnaire. The statistical population of present study included 518 employees of Social Security Organization and samples were selected using simple random sampling method. Inferential statistics were used to survey research questions in the statistical population and the statistical methods of regression analysis 1 and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) 2 were used for this purpose. Factor analysis using orthogonal axis rotation (Varimax rotatioin) was used to obtain pure factors and evaluate the structural validity of used questionnaire as well as confirmation of under study factors. For this purpose, KMO 3 indicator and Bartlet’s Test of Sphericity were used. The reliability of questionnaire was measured through Cranach’s alpha. The obtained results indicated a good correlation between latent variables of talent management and succession management at the level of 0.52 as well as a good correlation between latent variables of IT management and succession management at the level of 0.38. Also there was a very good correlation between latent variables of IT management and master management at the level of 0.72.Key words: IT management, talent management, succession management, Social Security Organization

A New Hybrid Methodology for Nonlinear Time Series Forecasting

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are flexible computing frameworks and universal approximators that can be applied to a wide range of forecasting problems with a high degree of accuracy. However, using ANNs to model linear problems have yielded mixed results, and hence; it is not wise to apply them blindly to any type of data. This is the reason that hybrid methodologies combining linear models such as ARIMA and nonlinear models such as ANNs have been proposed in the literature of time series forecasting. Despite of all advantages of the traditional methodologies for combining ARIMA and ANNs, they have some assumptions that will degenerate their performance if the opposite situation occurs. In this paper, a new methodology is proposed in order to combine the ANNs with ARIMA in order to overcome the limitations of traditional hybrid methodologies and yield more general and more accurate hybrid models. Empirical results with Canadian Lynx data set indicate that the proposed methodology can be a more effective way in order to combine linear and nonlinear models together than traditional hybrid methodologies. Therefore, it can be applied as an appropriate alternative methodology for hybridization in time series forecasting field, especially when higher forecasting accuracy is needed

INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF IT MANAGEMENT ON TALENT MANAGEMENT AND SUCCESSION MANAGEMENT IN SOCIAL SECURITY ORGANIZATION OF IRAN

Abstract. Increasing growth of using information technology in organizations has led to a rapid increase in information and more dependence of organizations on the technology. The purpose of present study was to investigate the effect of IT management on talent management and succession management in Social Security Organization of Iran. Present study is an applied research in the term of its purposes and a survey-descriptive one in the term of data gathering method. Data gathering tools included library studies and field study using questionnaire. The statistical population of present study included 518 employees of Social Security Organization and samples were selected using simple random sampling method. Inferential statistics were used to survey research questions in the statistical population and the statistical methods of regression analysis 1 and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) 2 were used for this purpose. Factor analysis using orthogonal axis rotation (Varimax rotatioin) was used to obtain pure factors and evaluate the structural validity of used questionnaire as well as confirmation of under study factors. For this purpose, KMO 3 indicator and Bartlet’s Test of Sphericity were used. The reliability of questionnaire was measured through Cranach’s alpha. The obtained results indicated a good correlation between latent variables of talent management and succession management at the level of 0.52 as well as a good correlation between latent variables of IT management and succession management at the level of 0.38. Also there was a very good correlation between latent variables of IT management and master management at the level of 0.72.Key words: IT management, talent management, succession management, Social Security Organization

Assessing the Efficiency of Continuous Flow Column of Pine Fruit Powder in Removal of Chromium (VI) from Aqueous Solution

The hexavalent chromium is one of the toxic and soluble heavy metals, which is absorbed and stored in human body through the digestive system and skin. Therefore, the aim of this study was to adsorb the hexavalent chromium from aqueous media using continuous flow fixed bed of pine fruit. The adsorbent was prepared in laboratory scale and pulverized by standard ASTM sieve (100 mesh). Stock solution of chromium was prepared using potassium dichromate and the unknown concentration of hexavalent chromium was determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. In order to study the behavior of the sorbent in the fixed-bed column, we used glass column with the length of 25 cm and diameter of 2.5 cm. The effect of initial concentration of chromium and flow rate were examined. Test results showed that the maximum uptake of Cr(VI) obtained was 38.748 mg/g in a flow rate of 12 ml/min and initial concentration of 0.11 mg/l. According to the obtained results, the total amount of chromium absorbed and the adsorption capacity of the column decreased by increasing the concentration of initial chromium concentration. The maximum adsorption of Cr(VI) using the pine fruit powder achieved at flowrate of 4 ml/min and initial concentration of adsorbent of 0.15 mg/l. our findings confirms the capability of pine fruit powder application as an effective and cheap method for the removal of Cr(VI) from polluted effluents

Investigating Effective Strategies on Drinking Water Demand Management in Birjand City

Water is considered a passive defense means. One of the strategies of enemy invasion, especially in the border areas of the country (such as South Khorasan) is to dominate the minimal water resources in the region. Also, the growth in demand and the constant volume of renewable fresh water resources has led to water scarcity which in turn has provided the grounds for the development of science and economics theories on the issue of scarce resources allocation. The purpose of this study was to investigate effective factors on drinking water consumption pattern for scarce resources using experts' opinions and employing Analytical Hierarchy and Topsis Analysis (TOPSIS) techniques. The results showed that the strategies of applying tariffs in accordance with the conditions and costs of producing and distributing, preparing and applying water efficiency labels on all equipment and household appliances, using educational catalogs and advertising warnings to reduce water consumption, installing equipment for water use in schools and educational centers and some mosques, and comprehensive water resources (which we lack in Iran) are the best strategies among drinking water consumption patterns in arid regions. The results of this study indicated that the combination of the Hierarchical Analysis Process model and the Ideal Likelihood Option (TOPSIS) can be used to examine and prioritize the patterns of drinking water consumption

Adsorption Efficiency of Olive Powder in Removal of Chromium Ions from Aqueous Solutions using Continuous Flow Method

Water crisis has become one of the mankind issues in recent decade. The need for supplying and developing water resources is a crucial task for conserving and extending water resources. Releasing of heavy metals in the environment caused by industrialization and urbanization is a worldwide concern. These pollutants have attracted the attention of researchers due to their high toxicity, non-degradability, and cumulative effects. In the present study, absorption of chromium (VI) was assessed in continuous flow mode using fixed bed column of dark olive powder and the performance of the adsorbent column was evaluated by changing the flow rate and initial chromium concentration. The results showed that the break curve of the adsorption column is depended on the variables studied. Moreover, the total amount of chromium ion adsorbed and the column adsorption capacity decreased with increasing flow rate but increased by increasing the concentration of initial chromium. The maximum chromium adsorbed was 85% at flow rate of 4 ml/min and Cr(VI) of 0.07 mg/l. Hence, the as-prepared olive powder adsorbent could be used as a cheap adsorbent for removal of chromium from aqueous media because of its natural abundance, low preparation cost, simple preparation methodology, compliance with environment and having high adsorption capacity. It is recommended that the continuous flow method with reference to the parameters optimized be used in the chemical treatment processes of water and wastewater

Multi-Cultural Curriculum Planning Approaches in Higher Education

Curriculum as a political document in every society must reflect its values and basic policies. In this research some approaches to multi-cultural curriculum planning in higher education have been presented, the results of which could be applicable in the Ministry of Higher Education (for all Universities), Farhangian University, and Shahid Rajaiee Teachers’ Training University. The research is a practical one using a descriptive-analytical methodology and library or documented study. It has also carried out a field survey obtaining the needed info through interviews and questionnaires. Using Cochran Model, the sampling consisted of 373 persons from the statistical population of 10000 professors, staff,  and university students studying within the period of 1391 to 1396, pursuing their continuous Bachelor Degree in Farhangian University. In this research SWOT method has been used for analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and presenting the most important policies of multi cultural curriculum. Moreover, the strategic model of SOAR has been applied to planning the strategy of strengths and explaining the opportunities, ideals, and results. Then with applying the quantitative strategic planning matrix, the various strategy choices have been identified and assessed. We can sum پ up the best strategy for multi-cultural curriculum planning as setting up the curriculum and syllabus on the basis of the whole country's cultural diversity to the extent that the policy of “unity in plurality” will be implemented properly

A competency Model of the Organization's Strategy Consultant

Today, the use of strategy consultancy in most organizations is not a choice, but a necessity. Strategy consultants have irreplaceable role in the success of organizations. Competency and competency-based management has been considered widely in recent years. Despite this fact, less attention has been paid to competencies of strategy consultants. This study aims to discover the competencies, determine the relative importance of each competency and finally suggest a comprehensive competency model for strategy consultants. So a mixed (qualitative-quantitative) research was conducted. At the first stage (qualitative research) based on the data approach of Glaser grounded theory and through deep interviews with 21 experts in strategy consulting, 25 competencies of strategy consultants were identified. At the second stage (quantitative research), by fuzzy Dematel method, relative importance of these competencies and the relationships between them have been identified and finally a comprehensive model has been presented. Among the important results of this research is that at the level of main categories, personality competencies and at the level of sub-categories, management and organizational knowledge, strategic thinking, mindfulness and leading the leaders are of the highest importance and effectiveness

Soft Data Modeling via Type 2 Fuzzy Distributions for Corporate Credit Risk Assessment in Commercial Banking

The work reported in this paper aims to present possibility distribution model of soft data used for corporate client credit risk assessment in commercial banking by applying Type 2 fuzzy membership functions (distributions) for the purpose of developing a new expert decision-making fuzzy model for evaluating credit risk of corporate clients in a bank. The paper is an extension of previous research conducted on the same subject which was based on Type 1 fuzzy distributions. Our aim in this paper is to address inherent limitations of Type 1 fuzzy dis-tributions so that broader range of banking data uncertainties can be handled and combined with the corresponding hard data, which all affect banking credit deci-sion making process. Banking experts were interviewed about the types of soft variables used for credit risk assessment of corporate clients, as well as for providing the inputs for generating Type 2 fuzzy logic membership functions of these soft variables. Similar to our analysis with Type 1 fuzzy distributions, all identified soft variables can be grouped into a number of segments, which may depend on the specific bank case. In this paper we looked into the following segments: (i) stability, (ii) capability and (iii) readiness/willingness of the bank client to repay a loan. The results of this work represent a new approach for soft data modeling and usage with an aim of being incorporated into a new and superior soft-hard data fusion model for client credit risk assessment