سید امیرمحمد علوی زاده

Purpose- Village as a residential system has always suffered a lot of damage due to natural hazards such as drought throughout history, and due to the dependence of the rural economy on the agricultural sector, any threat against this sector leads to the weakening of the economic foundations, the village and eventually the economic stagnation of the country. Therefore, the aim of the current research is to evaluate the drought-resilient measures to reduce the vulnerability of rural households located in Rastaq district in Khalil-Abad City, Khorasan-Razavi Province.Design/methodology/approach- The type of research is applied research, and the data was collected by applying a descriptive-analytical method by using documentary sources and field studies (questionnaire). The statistical population of the research is comprised of the heads of rural households living in the study area. As a result, 337 people were selected using Cochran's method. For ranking and spatial analysis of the village, Copras and Vicor techniques were used, and Shannon technique and SPSS software were used for statistical data analysis.Findings- The results showed that among the weights obtained from the paired comparison of the dimensions raised in resilience measures with drought in reducing the vulnerability of rural households, modern irrigation measures with a score of (0.290) have the highest score in resilience measures. Avarane took over with the drought. Finally, in the study area, Niqab village performed better than other villages in terms of resilience measures in dealing with drought.Research limitations/implications- Not having access to statistical information when referring to Jihad Agriculture and Governorship, as well as filling out the questionnaire depending on the topic at the village level and the costs of conducting this research are among the challenges of the present research.Practical implications- In the end, according to the obtained results, it is considered necessary to provide solutions for the resilience of rural households at the level of the villages of this district and to implement the solutions.Originality / value- The present research is significant due to its expression and recognition of different issues surrounding the resilience of households in the face of drought. An important step can be taken in the direction of reducing the vulnerability of rural households to deal with drought in the coming years.

Purpose- Due to its special geographical location in the arid and semi-arid climate belt of the world, Iran suffers from water scarcity and limited usable water resources, notably considering the population growth and increasing demand for water and food. High water consumption in agriculture as one of the main water use sectors is estimated as 90% of total water, thereby necessitating consideration of water conservation methods. However, there are a number of barriers to use the current water conservation practices. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the barriers to equipping agricultural lands with the new irrigation technologies in Shahrabaad rural district, Bardaskan city. Design/methodology/approach- This is an applied study in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of method, carried out using the random sampling method. The sample size was 338 households in the research area which was determined using Cochran's formula. Data were collected based on field and library studies. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by university professors and experts. The reliability coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.78 using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Moreover, the TOPSIS fuzzy model was used to rank the villages in terms of the effect of barriers to using the new irrigation technologies, and SPSS software was used for analyzing the research questions. Findings: Results showed that the economic dimension was the most important barriers to using the new irrigation technologies. In addition, low-socioeconomic status of the farmers and small loans are the most prominent barriers to equipping agricultural lands with the new irrigation technologies in the research rural district. Research limitations/implications - unavailability of statistical information when referring to the agricultural jihad and the governor’s office, and completing the questionnaire, depending on the subject at the village level, is one of the main challenges of the present study. Practical implications - Given the specific research findings, it is necessary for agriculture and water policy-makers take serious measures concerning the incentive (low-interest and long-term loans, micro-land integration and the like) and punitive (imposing restrictions on traditional land users and stipulating other supports to change the irrigation method) instruments, because otherwise water restriction and the consequences of water scarcity will be challenging in  many areas and even may lead to a serious crisis. Originality / value: This study is prima facie significant in terms of statement of the reasons for the barriers to equipping agricultural lands with the new irrigation technologies from the users' perspective and then, in terms of a more detailed analysis of the research findings to change the implementation of traditional irrigation methods.

Purpose- This study aimed to determine the constructive components of livable rural communities. To this end, it investigates the status of livability from the viewpoint of rural population in villages of Kashmar County. Design/methodology/approach- This is a descriptive-analytic study. In the first stage, indicators were extracted by reviewing the relevant literature. Then, a questionnaire was developed based on the Likert scale. Using the Cochran formula, 350 samples were selected and were randomly distributed. Finally, the data were analyzed using the SPSS software and employing correlation and Friedman tests. Finding- The results of the Spearman test showed no significant relationship between individual characteristics (age, sex, education) and livability indicators. On the other hand, the results of the Friedman test revealed that villages have higher livability in terms of the environmental dimension than other dimensions. In terms of the social dimension, recreation and leisure time indicator had the highest rank from respondents’ viewpoint (5.50), and other indicators were also effective in varying degrees. Respondents were more satisfied with public space than other indicators. Originality/value - Due to the novelty of the subject in Iran, and since it has received low attention in the relevant global literature, more time is needed to carry out further studies. The results of this study may be useful for rural officials and planners, rural students and researchers.

Purpose- This study aimed to analyze the effects of saffron cultivation on the quality of life of rural households in Rostaq Dehestan in Khalilabad county. Design/methodology/approach- This is an applied study based on a descriptive-analytical method used to examine the understudy parameters. The data were collected from 337 sample households based on field studies and by the Cochran sampling method. Then, the data were also collected based on selected indicators and using a household questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by the university professors of geography and rural planning and agricultural promotion and training. The validity coefficient of the questionnaire was obtained using the SPSS software of 0.85. Kendall's statistical tests and one-way variance analysis was used in SPSS software to analyze the collected data. Findings- The research findings show that Neghab village with a similarity index of 0.48 has the greatest impact of saffron cultivation on the quality of life of the households among the villages of Rostaq Dehestan. On the other hand, the results of the Kendall test confirmed the relationship between saffron cultivation and quality of life with 99% confidence. Moreover, the results of one-way ANOVA showed that the economic dimension among other effective dimensions of the saffron cultivation on the quality of rural households is more pronounced. Research limitations/implications- The lack of access to statistical information when visiting the Agricultural Jihad of Khalilabad, Khalilabad Governorship, the Natural Resources Administration of Khalilabad, as well as completing the questionnaire depending on the issue at the village level are some of the challenges of the present study. Practical implications- According to the research findings, solutions to promote and train the ways for production and productivity of households in this village are recommended for the cultivation of this supra-strategic product (Saffron). Originality/value- The present study is important since it focuses on the impact of saffron cultivation for improving the quality of life of rural households with respect to the income generation process of this product.