jafar towfighi

Thermal cracking of hydrocarbons at 850-900 degree centigrade is the governing technology worldwide for light olefins production. But the most disadvantages of this route is large energy consumption and air pollution because of flue gas emission containing CO2 and NOx. To overcome   these drawbacks catalytic cracking is an important and new field for research. So, in this work the effects of temperature and loadings of cerium and lanthanum over HZSM-5 catalyst for thermal catalytic cracking of naphtha were investigated using response surface methodology. In these experiments, the temperature, Ce, and La loadings were varied from 600 to 700 °C, 4 to 12wt.%, and 0.8 to 3wt%, respectively. The Box-Behnken design was utilized and a set of experiments were designed to obtain the optimum catalyst for maximizing the yield of ethylene and propylene. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out to identify the statistical significance of independent factors and their interactions. The results showed that temperature and Ce loading had the highest effects on the yields of ethylene and propylene, respectively. Based on the multi-objective optimization, the maximum yields of ethylene and propylene (17 and 33wt%, respectively) were obtained at cerium loading of 12 wt.%, lanthanum loading of 1.2 wt.%, and temperature of 700 °C

Technological learning and the drive to self-sufficiency in different industries emphasize the role of companies in the knowledge acquisition from external sources. Iran's petroleum industry is also a suitable case to study in this area, given the large firms on the one hand and the long-term historical partnerships with foreign companies on the other. Some of the industry's achievements, such as sustainability under sanctions, the country's largest source of export and some recent breakthroughs, particularly in the registration of international patents and localization of various technologies, show the success of learning efforts. This study, which examines the learning processes to joint R&D (JRD) projects in the petroleum industry, analyzes the path of technological learning in this industry using a mixed method approach and multi case study method. For this purpose, four successful JRD projects in technological learning in upstream and downstream are selected and 16 interviews are conducted with project managers and experts of selected projects and using the JRD's life cycle to present a technological learning model in JRDs. The results of theme analysis of interviews show that the most important and effective component of the model is "effective factors". The most affected component is "types of learning". Also, the most effective factors and the most effective learning mechanism are "absorption capability", "cultural homogeneity" and "learning by interacting" Respectively.

Student participation in the governance structure within the university is one of the most important issues that the world's leading academic systems have considered for many years. However, this field has been neglected in the domestic research literature. However, this study aims to analyze students' role in governance within the university.

This qualitative research has been compiled with a Conventional Content Analysis strategy. The statistical population of this study consists of Ph.D. students in higher education in all fields in Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, and Allameh Tabatabai universities, who were selected from the mentioned universities using a sampling strategy with a maximum variety of 35 Ph.D. students. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews

In the Findings, the section of barriers for students to participate in six main components; Inefficiency of the governance of the educational system; Intra-academic non-academic governance; Improper teaching and learning system; Dysfunctional rules and regulations; Students' non-participation in governance and cultural weakness was achieved with thirteen subcomponents. Then, corresponding to these six components, strategies for accelerating students' participation in governance within the university were summarized in the form of six main components with thirteen sub-components. Finally, based on the findings, policy recommendations for the Iranian higher education system are stated.

The role of students in governance within the university is an important issue that has been neglected in the domestic research literature. All students participating in this study emphasized the importance of this issue. However, about 38% of students have no experience in participating in university decisions. Accordingly, the findings of this study provide a general representation of the losers and facilitators of student participation in governance that can be the basis for policy in this area.

Innovation and originality: 

Identifying the most important factors preventing students' participation in university governance and providing solutions to remove these factors for greater participation of students in university governance.

Because of the rising global demand for propylene, various extensive studies and research have been done in order to develop alternative ways that are both more energy-efficient and require less energy. In this research, CuBTC is used as a manganese catalyst base in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane to produce propylene. The wet impregnation method is used to manufacture the catalysts.

Wet impregnation is used to prepare the catalysts, which is a step in the manufacturing process. Analyses such as FTIR, XRD, BET, SEM, and EDX are used to examine and describe catalysts that have been created. On the basis of the central composition method, we have investigated the impacts of reaction temperature, manganese loading percentage, oxygen-to-propylene ratio, and their interactions on the synthesis of propylene in this study. The central composite method's input parameters include manganese concentrations ranging from 1 to 5 percent, a propane-to-oxygen ratio ranging from 1 to 3 percent, and a temperature ranging from 140 to 280 degrees Celsius.

After that, it is shown that the projected models for propane conversion, propylene selectivity, and oxidative dehydrogenation efficiency percentage are about 95 percent based on reactor testing and evaluation of the Design-Expert software results. It was possible to improve the efficiency of the oxidation dehydration process by 4.9 percent by using a conversion percentage of 28.38 percent, a selectivity of 18.14 percent at 278 degrees Celsius, a metal oxide loading of 3.74 percent, and propane to oxygen ratio of 1.5 percent. When laboratory data were compared to predicted data, the correlation coefficient was 93% in favor of the laboratory data.

This article which deals with the application of interdisciplinary phenomena,New methods of improving heat transfer of heat exchangers in mechanical engineering have been studied It then applies these methods to chemical reactors.Because in a chemical reactor, in addition to heat transfer and pressure drop, which are two important categories in heat exchangers, a chemical reaction is also added.Therefore, the use of heat transfer improvement methods are examined with more sensitivity so that they have the least pressure drop and the highest heat transfer.In this study, the use of straight and helical longitudinal fins in thermal cracking reactors was investigated And it was found that each of these types of fins increase the pressure drop due to friction or drag force Which have a negative effect on the chemical reaction.Then, by calculating the thickness of the viscous sub lary layer for the gaseous fluid by presenting a new method in converting the flow regime along the wall from laminar to turbulent By performing CFD simulation of peripheral grooves in a pipe Then a conclusion was suggested By using small grooves in the reactor wall can be in addition to reducing the pressure drop caused by drag force,By increasing the radial component of the velocity by more than 3 times the smooth tube, the heat transfer from the pipe wall to the fluid in the boundary layer was improved.

The purpose of this study is the taxonomy of stakeholders and their role in university governance. To achieve this goal, two questions; Decision-makers and decision-makers in governance within the university are divided into how many categories according to the functions? What are the components of a university model with a self-governing structure? Expressed. In this qualitative study, the Meta-synthesis method was used. Findings obtained in the form of 10 primary sub-categories with 24 secondary sub-categories: Participatory Partnership (University Leadership, University Management), Board Activities (Board Structure, Board Functions), Faculty Members Activity (Management of Faculty Members Activities, Human Capital Development of Board Members) Academic, faculty support), student activism (student activity management, student human capital development, student support), university staff activism (human resource management, staff human capital development, staff support), educational and research system (programs Efficient teaching and learning, academic research management), legal mechanisms (drafting new rules for the university, reviewing university rules), financial mechanisms (financial resources mechanisms, financial allocation mechanisms, financial management and planning), university entrepreneurship (university-industry relationship, Entrepreneurship institutionalization) and capacity building (soft capacity development and hard capacity development) were categorized.

The purpose of this study is to redefine the role of faculty members in higher education policy. This qualitative research has been compiled in two steps. First, specialized keywords were searched in international databases using a systematic review method. Second, thematic analysis was performed using Sterberg thematic analysis. Findings of the components of faculty members' role in university governance included: collective decision-making and decision-making (collectivism in decisions, decision-making, transparency and information) and scope of decision-making (university policy-making, university management, university finance, administration and student affairs). . The components considered by university administrators in the participation of faculty members include the eight main components of public governance of the university; Human capital development; Social capital development; University rules and regulations; Incentive mechanisms; Competitive atmosphere; Soft capacities; Hard capacities were subdivided into 16 subcomponents. Components of higher education policy makers also include multilevel governance of higher education (targeted policy-making and efficient management); Rules and regulations (higher education laws and higher education laws).

This study aims to analyze the position of student institutions in governing higher education. The qualitative research happened in two phases. First, it employed a principled review approach in order to extract the keywords such as student and university governance, student voices at university, student and decision making at university, and self-governance of the students in valid international data centers like Science Direct, Springer, Eric, Emerald, Sage, and Online Library Wiley from 1995 to 2020. After that, 39 articles were selected through PARISMA form. In the second phase, using the three-stage thematic analysis of Walcot (2008), the selected articles were investigated. The findings regarding the student institutions in the governance of higher education were 6 primary and 13 secondary peripheral themes. These themes included para-university governance (para-university policy making and para-university management), inner-university governance (inner-university policy making and inner-university management), discourse of students (the structure of student institutions, student agency, and student role), student development (developing human resources and developing social capital of students), supportive and legal systems (supportive and encouraging systems and legal systems), and soft capacities of university (cultural values and social values). In this regard, introducing encouragements for increasing the students’ motivation for contribution, establishing student cooperatives, university culture for supporting the student contribution, and collective decision making at university were the most significant elements. Finally, some general policies for Iran’s higher education were suggested..

The primary sources of energy for countries rich in oil and gas like Iran are petroleum, petroleum products, and natural gas resources. Foreign investments in the petroleum industry are concluded in the form of collaboration agreements, and the key to developing countries’ success in such agreements is technological learning. In the present study, we use mixed-method research to analyze different aspects of technological learning in such agreements.  We started by interviewing experts of the field to arrive at an approach for this study  Our second step was to devlop questionnaires verified by the experts.  We then distributed the questinnaires among the statistical population, and the analyzed the results using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and SMART PLS software. In the study, the technological learning pattern (model) was categorized and tested for 84 indices (primary codes), 18 components, and 5 major classes.

Buy back contracts have been one of the most common upstream contracts in the oil industry. This investment method allows the government to attract foreign capital and technical services and knowledge, while at the same time reducing the cost of foreign trade and increasing export capacity. On the other hand, Learning is one of the most important functions of technological collaboration, to which the success of collaborations will largely depend. This study, is a qualitative study with a case study strategy, attempted to determine the dimensions of learning in buy back contracts  with a case study on the North Azadegan Field Development Contract.  Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and document review. Purposeful sampling was used to interview the experts in this project. Data analysis was done by thematic analysis and a qualitative research model was designed by MAXQDA. According to the findings of this study, the technological learning framework has five main themes including contract features, infrastructure, learner characteristics, external peer characteristics, and the nature of knowledge and technology. The findings also indicate that informal and informal factors have a direct and indirect impact on technological learning, and their attention is very important.

Each organization and institution is formed in the context of the necessity and need in the substrate of the social changes of its duration, and grows with the continuity of interaction with the same community that emerged from it. The higher education system will also be upgraded with a proper understanding of its position and mission, while paying attention to national needs along with developments in the global system. In the Twenty-year Program Document, Iran was aimed to be ranked first in science and technology as well as economic in Southwest Asia. Major efforts of the government and decision-makers of the country were to achieve this goal. This important will not be achieved except by materially and spiritual investment and the development of scientific infrastructures with a fundamental transformation in the country's higher education system. IR Iran Academy of Sciences, together with other institutions that have influenced the development of the macro policies of higher education, and the commitment to their long-standing role in the advancement of science and knowledge, need to pay attention to the importance of empowering the country's higher education system.

In this study, sonochemical synthesis was used to prepare nanostructured HZSM-5 catalysts. The three most effective ultrasound related variables including ultrasound power, irradiation time, and sonication temperature were investigated. The combined effect of these variables on relative crystallinity and mean crystal size of HZSM-5 nanocatalysts was studied using a central composite design. Higher crystallinity and lower crystal size were obtained by increasing ultrasound power, irradiation time, and sonication temperature while there was an optimum range for mentioned variables. The maximum relative crystallinity and minimum mean crystal size were obtained as 55.51% and 62.37 nm, respectively, under the optimal conditions of ultrasound power (231 W), irradiation time (21.18 min), and sonication temperature (42.68 °C). The results confirmed that sonochemical method considerably increased crysatllinity and reduced crystal size of HZSM-5 nanocatalysts at lower time. Hydrothermal method produced catalyst with full crystallinity and mean crystal size of 893 nm with 120 min aging and 48 h crystallization in autoclave while sonicated HZSM-5 catalyst with 21 min sonication and 4 h crystallization has 55.51% crystllinity and 62.37 nm mean crystal size. On the other hand, no HZSM-5 phase was formed in hydrothermal method with 120 min aging and 4 h crystallization in autoclave. These results strongly suggests that a catalyst with smaller crystal size, higher crystallinity and BET surface area at lower crystallization time can be obtained by using ultrasound instead of aging step in HZSM-5 synthesis

Due to increase in global demand of propylene, many extensive studies and research have been done to find alternative method for lower energy consumption and efficiency. In this research, gamma alumina is used for molybdenum catalyst base in oxidative dehydrogenation ‎process of propane, in order to produce the propylene. The catalysts are prepared based on wet impregnation method. The analysis of  FTIR, XRD, BET, SEM, and XRF are done to evaluate and determine the  characteristics of prepared catalysts. Central composition method is employed to study the influence of reaction temperature, molybdenum ‎loading percentage, oxygen to propane ratio, and the effect of interactions between them in propylene ‎production. The molybdenum in the range of 4-16%, propane to oxygen ratio in ‎the range of 1-3%, and temperature in the range of 380-540 ºC are the input parameters of ‎the central composite method. Finally, according to reactor test and analysis of the results of the Design expert software, it is shown that the predicted models for propane conversion, propylene selectivity, ‎and efficiency persentage of oxidation dehydrogenation are about 95%. Maximum of efficiency percentage with a value of 14.02% is obtained at 487 ºC, 11.22% molybdenum‎ percentage, and propane to oxygen ratio of 1.5, which in experimental results, achieving an accuracy of 94% is possible as compared to the optimal design of the test design model.

this study aimed to investigate managing “Competency” as well as educational program developing in Information Technology undergraduate at different countries or jurisdictions as well as comparison with its situation in Iran. The methodology of this study is Mixed-Intertwined-method and methods including Documentary Study and Survey. In the Documentary Study, the population includes international and national reference documents, articles and scientific researchs. In Survey that the research tools include semi-structired interview, questionnaire and Delphi thecniqu, the population and sample is determined according to the each tool. The results showed that the interpretation of competency impact on managing “competency” and educational program developing. Other findings indicated that in engineering field especially Information Technology, “Competency” will be developed, assessed, maintained and expanded during the four stages that is known “Engineering Competency Cycle”. In different countries or jurisdiction, almost similar models are be presented to appropriately establish “Competency Cycle” in engineering field especially Information Technology. Also, findings showed that in Iran a proper model has not for managing Competency Cycle in Information Technology undergraduate and this Cycle has not been properly established.

The innovation system emphasizes on importance of adapting university to environment and the need to reengineer the organizational structure, roles, and functions of higher education. However, this study aimed to provide a comprehensive and operational model for development of entrepreneurial university at state universities in Iran. This was a qualitative study which used Grounded Theory. The statistical population consisted of policy makers and professors in higher education and entrepreneurship, managers of entrepreneurship growth centers and science and technology parks, industry department authorities, and PhD candidates. Using purposeful sampling method, 20 people were selected as key informants. The data were collected through a generalized and semi-structured interview. Two methods including reviewing the participants and reviewing non-participating experts in research were used to obtain valide and reliable data. The data were analyzed by open, axial, and selective coding. At initial stage, 462 conceptual propositions were obtained; in second stage, they were classified in 126 categories. At axial coding stage, 22 key items were counted. The major categories and key categories in the form of causal conditions (commitment and tendency of management and leadership to entrepreneurship, internationalization), contextual (flexibility of laws and regulations, financial support, and entrepreneurial investment), intervener (university and industry commitment, and over-­organizational support), strategies (curriculum with entrepreneurship approach, formal and informal education for entrepreneurship, and coordination of entrepreneurship corridors), and outcomes (quality improvement, social and economic development, and student satisfaction) were promoted to a higher abstract level and a research paradigmatic model was provided.

In this study, characterization of vanadia supported on Al-modified titania nanotubes (TiNTs) synthesized by the alkaline hydrothermal treatment of TiO2 powders has been reported. A promising catalyst for oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane was prepared via the incipient wetness impregnation method. The morphology and crystalline structure of TiNTs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). TiNTs provided large specific surface areas of about 408m2/gr and 1.603cm3/gr for pore volume. Rapid sintering and anatase to rutile phase transformation occurred in presence of vanadia in the catalysts at high calcination temperature. Al-promoted TiNTs considerably inhibited the loss of surface area so that a superior catalytic activity was observed in the ODH of propane along with amelioration of structural properties. The results showed 49.7% increase in propane conversion and 22.6% increase in propylene production at 500οC for Al-modified catalyst.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the tasks of Information Technology specialists; determining their competency for performing tasks and tasks of IT educational programme in order to foster competency, and also evaluating IT undergraduate programme efficiency in Iran. A qualitative case study research methodology was chosen for this study. Research tools included documentary studies and semi-structured interviews. The results showed that IT specialists’ tasks take place in thirty two occupations. Other findings revealed that IT specialists competency in Iran included eighteen elements, some of which are: academic education, knowledge for problem solving, problem analysis, design and development of solutions, modern tool usage, individual and teamwork skills, communication, professionalism, ethics, lifelong learning, cultural awareness, accountability, judging and work autonomy. Results also showed competency should be fostered through two stages, namely an “accredited educational program” and “formative development”, and measured through a “competency test” and be maintained and continued through “continuing professional development”. This process is known as the “engineering competency lifecycle”. A lack or inefficiency of a stage will have undesirable effects on other stages. International reference bodies such as «IEA», «ENAEE» and the «CDIO» project are benchmarking and determining IT international educational standards and criteria for standardization and quality improvement of engineering programs. All IT undergraduate programs in Iran should be developed in accordance with international criteria. Findings showed that IT undergraduate programs in Iran do not meet international criteria and should be modified.

Technological learning is deemed an important factor in the innovation system of petroleum industry in Iran which, as a developing country, requires expediting its’ development process. Repeated execution of development projects in petroleum industry shows that technological learning has not had a favorable occurrence. This paper aims to identify the factors affecting technological learning in large socio-technical systems. In this paper, a process model is provided for technological learning in petroleum industry and the bottlenecks are identified as well. The results of field study and empirical evidence in petroleum industry reveal that the institutional regime of petroleum industry weakens technological scenarios. This regime suffers a lock-in which leads to the "negative co-evolution" of active industry actors and subsequently impairment of technological learning. The negative co-evolution creates a change of strategy in the supply side. Suppliers try to adopt strategies which are in favor of the current regime in order to safeguard their position in the market. This leads to dominancy of obsolete technological routines in the firms and ultimately failure of technological learning in the petroleum industry.

The "1988 Act of Establishing Boards of Trustees for Iranian Universities and Higher Education Institutions” has defined fourteen responsibilities and functions for boards of trustees. The present study is designed and conducted to evaluate responsibilities and functions of public universities’ boards of trustees affiliated to Ministry of Science, Research & Technology. Using stratified random sampling, 20 universities were selected and 237 minutes of meetings during 1991-2006 with 3501 agendas were contently analyzed. Results of this study revealed that most decisions in these meetings were made regarding to faculties and financial affairs, and only 14 percents of approvals were related to policy making. In general, all universities functioned similary, but type 1 universities showed more activities in approval of administrative organization (p<0.019) and fund raising (p<0.046).

Although the relation between industry and university has always been a very important issue, today, in a knowledge–based and innovative economy, it is considered to be vital and inevitable. These two institutions are the main actors in national innovation systems and their redefined relation plays the most important role in commercialization of scientific knowledge and in economic development. Besides their traditional mission in higher education and research, universities hold new responsibilities in technology development and in entrepreneurship. They produce knowledge with economic value, providing background for knowledge–based innovation for industry and economic firms. Fortunately, the approach of the 4th Five Year Economic, Social and Cultural Development Plan in our country is toward the knowledge–based development. The most important requirement for this mode of development is redefinition of the role of university and industry and facilitation of internalized relation between these two organizations. In order to explore the main obstacle of university–industry relation, the cycle of knowledge production and the demand for knowledge should be analyzed precisely. For years, universities were mainly involved in education and fundamental research, whereas the content of this education and research was not always necessarily relevant to the needs and expectations of industry. Regarding the demand for knowledge, on the other hand, industry was mainly based on the technology imported from abroad, and needless to the scientific achievements of universities and research centers, it was proceeding its own policies. This defective cycle has pushed the universities to the margin of the society and also has caused the industry to suffer from lack of technological innovations. As a consequence, the technology development system has not been established in the country and the concepts like entrepreneurship and innovation have not found an appropriate position in our economic system. In this article some factors which have disturbed the cycle of production and the demand for knowledge and weakened university–industry relation are reviewed. Also some capacities of 4th Five Year Development Plan to facilitate and strengthen this relation are explored.

The responsibilities of boards of trustees in Iranian universities are more restricted comparing to those in the developed countries. Therefore, doing a comprehensive study in order to develop the functions and authorities of boards of trustees in Iranian universities is of a great importance. The aim of the present study was to find the opinions of members of universities’ boards of trustees and councils about the domain of their responsibilities and their role in the autonomy of public universities affiliated to Iran Ministry of Sciences, Research and Technology. First, a questionnaire consisted of 66 items listing the responsibilities of boards of trustees in the universities of some other countries was prepared. Then, by using stratified random sampling 20 universities were selected and their members of boards of trustees and councils were asked to indicate their level of agreement for the 66 listed items of the prepared questionnaire as well as their opinions about the universities’ autonomy and role of boards of trustees in this regard. From 230 respondents, 83% agreed with the appropriateness of 55 functions for boards of trustees in Iranian universities. Means (±SD) of agreement with listed functions, universities autonomy and role of boards of trustees in it were respectively 3.60 (±0.59), 3.49 (±0.65), and 3.18 (±0.72) that all are significantly higher than the accepted levels (p<0.001). There was no significant difference between the members of boards of trustees and councils in regard to the appropriateness of the listed functions. In whole, the appropriateness of the listed functions for boards of trustees in Iranian universities, autonomy of universities and role of boards of trustees in this relation were approved respectively by 83%, 86.7% and 76.5% of the respondents. In order to give more autonomy to the universities, it is recommended that the functions of boards of trustees in Iran universities to be reviewed and modified by using the appropriate agreed functions yielded in this research.

In this work, mathematical modeling of microbial (Trichosporon sp.) biomass production in a stirred tank bioreactor and in an external airlift bioreactor has been investigated. A model based on a tanks-in-series model without back-flow has been used to simulate the production of single cell protein in the external airlift bioreactor under an unsteady condition and without oxygen limitation, utilizing cheese whey as a substrate. The kinetic parameters of cell growth and substrate consumption including mm(maximum specific growth), Ks(growth associated parameter), g(saturated constant) and l(non growth associated parameter) were determined based on experimental data derived from the batch process in the stirred tank reactor and the kinetic model, which resulted in 0.59 h-1, 46.84 g/l, 0.383 and 1.275, respectively. Estimated biokinetic parameters were applied to find the profiles of biomass and lactose in the airlift bioreactor. MATLAB software was used to find kinetic parameters and solve the equations of the tanks-in-series model. The number of stages of the tanks-in-series obtained equals 16.