H-index and promotion decisions

Two disciplines, medicine and health management & information sciences which offer graduate programs were studied. From well known citation databases, it was found that significantly higher number and impact factors of journals of high consensus disciplines indicate a higher chance of publication for the faculty members of these disciplines compared with low consensus disciplines. Due to the shortcomings of current scientometric indexes and movement towards new generation universities, it seems imperative for evaluation and promotion committees to reconsider the criteria which are largely publication-based. It is suggested that potential differences across disciplines as well as individual competencies and differences within disciplines betaken into consideration in decision making about promotion of faculty members

H-index and promotion decisions

171-175Two disciplines, medicine and health management & information sciences which offer graduate programs were studied. From well known citation databases, it was found that significantly higher number and impact factors of journals of high consensus disciplines indicate a higher chance of publication for the faculty members of these disciplines compared with low consensus disciplines. Due to the shortcomings of current scientometric indexes and movement towards new generation universities, it seems imperative for evaluation and promotion committees to reconsider the criteria which are largely publication-based. It is suggested that potential differences across disciplines as well as individual competencies and differences within disciplines be taken into consideration in decision making about promotion of faculty members

Effective organizational factors in adopting e-Learning in education: extracting determinants and frameworks

Organizational contextual factors, influencing the implementation of any new system, either in a business enterprise or an education institution, should be taken into consideration when comprehensive implementation of new system is considered.  This scoping review was conducted with the aim of identifying the effective organizational factors in adopting e-learning. Data collection was carried out by searching the related keywords Web of sciences (WOS) and Scopus, with no limitation on date of publication. Different search strategies were applied to find the related articles. The content of the articles was analyzed by using a qualitative synthesis approach, and according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The search resulted in 21 articles eligible for analysis, which showed 20 effective organizational factors in adopting e-learning. These factors were classified in to four main themes: 1) institutional infrastructure and compatibility, 2) resources allocation, 3) organizational support and monitoring, and 4) motivation, innovation & change management. The results also showed that Unified Theory of Acceptance Model (UTAUT) was the most prevalent adoption theory in the studies, followed by Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). This study reviewed the literature pertaining to the organizational effective factors in adopting e-learning. The results acknowledged that organizational factors are the backbone of e-learning adoption in universities and institutions. This fact should be taken into consideration by mangers and policy makers, especially in developing countries

Applying Electronic Medical Records in health care Physicians’ perspective

Summary Background: In order to fulfill comprehensive interoperability and recognize the electronic medical records (EMRs’) benefits, physicians’ attitudes toward using and applying EMR must be recognized. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to present an integrated model of applying EMRs by physicians. Methods: This was a cross sectional study in which a sample of 330 physicians working in hospitals affiliated to the Tehran University of medical sciences (TUMS) was selected. Physicians’ attitudes toward using and accepting EMR in health care have been analyzed by an integrated model of two classical theories i.e. technology acceptance model (TAM) and diffusion of innovation (DOI). The model was tested using an empirical survey. The final model was tested by structural equation modeling (SEM) and represented by Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS). Results: The results suggest that the hybrid model explains about 43 percent of the variance of using and accepting of EMRs (R2=0.43). The findings also evidenced that Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEOU), Relative Advantage, Compatibility, Complicatedness and Trainability have direct and significant effect on physicians’ attitudes toward using and accepting EMRs. But concerning observe ability, significant path coefficient was not reported. Conclusions: The integrated model supplies purposeful intuition for elucidates and anticipates of physicians’ behaviors in EMRs adoption. The study identified six relevant factors that affect using and applying EMRs that should be subsequently the major concern of health organizations and health policy makers

Factors influencing the adoption of E-learning in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Background: Electronic Learning (E-learning), is the use of electronic technology in education via computer and the internet. Despite its slow adoption by faculty members, e-learning provides several benefits to individuals and organizations. This study was conducted to determine the factors influencing the adoption of e-learning by faculty members in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. Methods: This was a cross- sectional study, in which a sample of 190 faculty members of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences was randomly selected, using stratified sampling. A Conceptual Path Model of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was applied to assess the faculty members’ attitude towards e-learning. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS16, using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The model was tested by structural equation modeling (SEM) and was finally represented by Analysis of Moment Structures. Results: The results evidenced that UTAUT model explains about 56% of the variance for adoption of elearning. The findings also revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influences and behavior indentation had direct and significant effects on faculty members’ behavior towards the use of e-learning. However, facilitated condition had no significant effects on the use of e-learning. Conclusion: The authorized model provides considerable insight for perception and anticipation of faculty members’ behaviors in adopting e-learning. The survey clearly identified significant and non-significant factors that may affect the adoption of e-learning. The results of this study could help the policy makers when successful adoption of e-learning is in their agenda

Evaluation of Digital Library Services at Virtual Faculties of Universities in Iran from the Perspective of Graduate Students

This paper was conducted to evaluate digital library services of virtual faculties of Medical Universities in Iran from the perspective of graduate students of e-learning. This study was an applied survey conducted among graduate students studying in the virtual centers in Ministry of Health and Medical Education and Ministry of Science Research and Technology in 2017-2018. The instrument of the study was a questionnaire, the inter-item reliability of which was measured, by Cronbach\u27s alpha coefficient (0.90). The reliability was measured by using Pearson correlation coefficient (0.79). A sample size of 378 students was selected through Cochran formula and Morgan table. The data were collected through email, online and in-person. The study was performed in 9 months (June to February 2018) and 257 completed questionnaires were analyzed by SPSS software version 18. The findings indicated 63.3 % and 36.2 % of participants belonged to MOHME and MOSRT .There were 44.7% of women and 54.9% of men. 79.3% of the virtual education centers of MOHME and 45.2% of the centers of MOSRT have been affiliated with the Central Library.The most used sources of information, in MOHME with 48.8% and in MOSRT with 63.4%, were databases. In MOHME with 31.1%, the main problem was the excessive amount of unrelated information on Internet sites, and in MOSRT with 53.8%, it was the limited availability and lending of resources from libraries with a significant level (pvalue\u3e0.001). Students in both groups used library resources aimed at doing homework assignments (MOHME was 76.8% MOSRT 57.3%), and theses (MOHME with 57.9% and MOSRT with 51.6%. Considering the results, specific measures should be taken to improve the access to online library resources and services for students. Resources such as textbooks, theses, relevant websites and required information of virtual students should be taken into consideration

Effectiveness of training intervention to improve medical student’s information literacy skills

This study aimed to assess the efficiency of delivering a 4-month course of “effective literature search” among medical postgraduate students for improving information literacy skills. This was a cross-sectional study in which 90 postgraduate students were randomly selected and participated in 12 training sessions. Effective search strategies were presented and the students’ attitude and competency concerning online search were measured by a pre- and post-questionnaires and skill tests. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 16 using t-test. There was a significant improvement (p=0.00), in student’s attitude. The mean (standard deviation [SD]) was 2.9 (0.8) before intervention versus the mean (SD) 3.9 (0.7) after intervention. Students’ familiarity with medical resources and databases improved significantly. The data showed a significant increase (p=0.03), in students’ competency score concerning search strategy design and conducting a search. The mean (SD) was 2.04 (0.7) before intervention versus the mean (SD) 3.07 (0.8) after intervention. Also, students’ ability in applying search and meta search engine improved significantly. This study clearly acknowledges that the training intervention provides considerable opportunity to improve medical student’s information literacy skills

Comparison of the effects of vid-cast and lecture-based training courses on burn knowledge among medical interns at the Motahari burn hospital

Background: A training course on burn infection and care is one of the courses that medical students take during their internship. This training course has not yet been taught through e-learning in medical schools in Iran. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the effects of two methods: traditional lecturing and employing a vid-cast with interactive electronic content, on the knowledge of interns in a training course on burns. Methods: This quasi-experimental study with a pre-post non-equivalent group design was conducted among medical interns taking burn rotation training courses at the Motahari burn hospital, affiliated with the Iran University of Medical Sciences. The two groups were given a pre-test at the beginning of the course. One group was given in-person lectures, and the other was given the same content in the form of a vid-cast with interactive electronic files. At the end of the rotation course, a post-test was administered on the planned content, and scores of both groups were compared. Results: The pre-test mean scores in the lecture group before and after the training intervention were 8 and 14.2, respectively; this difference was significant (P<0.001). The difference between the pre-test and post-test mean scores in the vid-cast group was also significant (P<0.001).The mean of post-test scores in the lecture group was 14.92 and 17.24 in the e-learning group; this difference was also significant (P<0.001). Conclusion: Post-test scores in the e-learning group were higher with a significant statistical difference, suggesting that the e-learning outperformed their counterparts in the traditional lecture model. It is recommended that e-learning be used either as a supplementary or the main method of training in burn infection and care for interns