درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose- The irrigated wheat farms of Doroudzan District in Marvdasht County, Fars Province face agricultural water deficit challenges due to mis-management of water resources. This research aims at investigating water conflict strategies among the irrigated wheat farms of Doroudzan Dam Network. Design/methodology/approach- The study was descriptive regarding its nature and used survey research procedure. The statistical population included 803 wheat farmer households residing in Ramjerd 2 and Abarj Dehestans in Doroudzan District. According to Krejcie and Morgan's (1970) sample size table, the samples were 260wheat farmers selected based on simple random sampling technique. Systematic questionnaires were used to collect data by means of face-to-face interviews. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts, and a pilot study was also done to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. The estimated Cronbach's alpha coefficients were between the accepted range (i.e. 0.50 - 0.75) for the different measures used in this study. Findings- Results revealed that the most prevalent conflicts were intra-group conflicts among the counterparts. Verbal conflicts were the current form of water conflicts regarding the conflict intensity in the region. Physical attacks and third party (police) controls were placed in the second and third position. The results of cluster analysis indicated three clusters of farmers; “educated aggressors”, “low-literate aggressors” and “peace-oriented farmers”. All the clusters were statistically different regarding their demographic characteristics (age and education level), farming-system portfolio (area under cultivation, annual income and cost) and water conflict in response to water shortages. According to the contingency table, collaboration strategy was the prominent conflict management strategy among the three groups followed by compromising strategy. Research limitations / implications- The lack of institutional support to get information on conflict attacks among the rural residents and the time-consuming nature of the survey study are the most important challenges in this study. Practical implications-According to the findings, it is of prominent importance to provide the context of problem solving with counterparts. As a result, it needs more attempts to share all the stakeholders’ interests to reach a common decision. It seems that reaching a satisfactory solution needs drawing out different parties’ expectations to help them get organized through collaboration. Originality/value- Numerous studies have been carried out on water deficiencies. However, this study is the first in the context of rural settlement and valued based on the analysis of the conflict management strategies among famer groups that has not been addressed in previous studies.

Purpose- Rural women are the carriers of traditional culture and art of Iranian ethnicities inherited naturally and mainly through generations. Iranian rich and native culture can creatively be presented and protected; this can lead the unemployment to be erased, especially in rural areas, while at the same time rural businesses can thrive by promoting the potential of rural entrepreneurial women. Design/Methodology/Approach- This was a descriptive-analytic study aiming to describe the primary and secondary factors involved in the marketing mix of Iranian local art businesses using a consent-based Likert scale questionnaire developed by Mobaraki et al. (2016). A total of 28 local art entrepreneurs responded to the questionnaire in Tehran and across Iran. The five primary components called 5C including the "networking and communications", "content of local artwork", "creativity", "cultural value" and "artwork creator" and 32 related items were evaluated. Findings- The reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed with the Cronbach's alpha of 0.94. Data were analyzed by comparing the means of variables using the Friedman test. The most influential subset in the marketing mix of local art businesses was related to the category of the artwork content, composition and harmony. And the impact of other elements was also determined by considering their impact factors through mean comparison using the Friedman test. Research Limitations & Implications- There were plenty of shortcomings observed in the theoretical foundations of marketing the artworks and traditional arts, while the number of women active in manufacturing marketing traditional arts and participating in the relevant research processes was very limited. Practical Implications- Relying on the findings of this research and the model presented for the entrepreneurial marketing mix of traditional rural women's arts as well as training, we can expand business establishments active in marketing and also enhance the selling artworks and traditional arts. Originality/value- The results of this research can be applied in marketing the traditional artworks of Iranian rural women.

Purpose- To identify and prioritize factors influencing the creation of rural entrepreneurship opportunities in Iran Design/methodology/approach- A deductive approach was adopted. In this applied research, a mixed method was employed, which consisted of a descriptive-analytical method and a survey. The main data gathering tool was questionnaire. The research population comprised of university professors specialized in the field of rural entrepreneurship, rural entrepreneurs, rural managers and rural experts (n=30). In the first step, based on a review of literature, indicators influencing the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities were identified, and then the ANP-DEMATEL was used for evaluation and prioritization of the indicators. Findings- Based on cause-effect chart, the economic and infrastructural factors were assigned to the category of causes and individual, socio-cultural and political factors to the category of effects. On the other hand, the economic and political factors had the highest and lowest interaction with other factors, respectively. The results of the integrated analytical network process (ANP) and DEMATEL method showed that the economic factor had the greatest effect followed by infrastructural, sociocultural and individual components (with slight weight difference). The political component with the value of 0.1253 not only had the lowest importance, but was significantly different from other factors in terms of weight values. Research limitations/implications- Measuring the effects of factors influencing the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities along with their interrelation and mutual impact using a system approach or ISM technique. Practical implications- Given the myriad of problems affecting rural areas, such as unemployment, migration of rural labor to urban areas and diminished sense of belonging, among other things, it is essential to pay greater attention to entrepreneurship and its implementation to achieve sustainable rural development. Besides, by identifying the root causes and factors influencing rural entrepreneurship, it is possible to offer solutions for organizing entrepreneurship. If policy makers, planners, and rural managers adopt these strategies, sustainable rural development could be reinforced. Originality/value- Providing the most important indicators influencing the creation of rural entrepreneurship opportunities, prioritizing and measuring the impact of those factors on each other using ANP-DEMATEL method. In particular, the results of this research can benefit managers and decision makers in the field of rural entrepreneurship. The results can also be beneficial to universities, higher education institutions and students.

Purpose- Today, tourism has become the largest industry in the world with both direct and indirect socio-economic effects. Given the diverse climatic conditions and limited water resources for agriculture in Iran, among various forms of tourism, tourism in desert areas with a multifaceted approach can narrow the gap caused by environmental constraints and play an important role in the development of different areas such as eastern regions of Isfahan province, which have many tourist attractions. In this research, we try to identify and evaluate land suitability for tourism development in counties located in desert areas of Isfahan province. Design/methodology/approach- In this research, the multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) method was used in the GIS environment. Considering the variety of criteria used, before preparing the final map of land suitability, selected criteria were categorized in different groups with regard to topography, climate, land covers and animal species diversity, environment, hazards, socio-economic aspects. Then, land suitability classes in each of the mentioned groups were identified. In the following step, the maps produced in each of these groups were given to the relevant experts to generate the final map of the land suitability according to the current situation, weigh the selected criteria based on the AHP paired comparison, and implement the results of this comparison in the GIS environment through applying weighted linear combination (WLC) method. Findings - The results of multi-criteria evaluation showed that the study area has highly suitable lands in almost all assessment groups, and there were no specific human and natural constraints in this area. The result of the final land suitability map also showed that 21044 square kilometers of the total area (nearly 30 percent) were ranked in the “very suitable” and “suitable” classes, indicating high capacity and capabilities or minimum natural and human constraints for tourism development in the region. Practical implications- Making use of the capabilities of desert areas in eastern regions of Isfahan province and providing the necessary conditions for tourism development with regard to the particular natural and human conditions of this region can offer the best available, affordable, and effective alternatives in the short term to tackle the current problems based on the principles of sustainable development in these areas. The problems include socioeconomic inequalities between developed and underdeveloped regions of Isfahan province, limited water resources for development of agricultural activities, and low ecological capacity of the region for some activities especially in vulnerable communities.

Purpose- The purpose of the present study was to investigate the causes and factors affecting the improvement of rural housing quality (case study: Oraman District, Sarvabad County). Design/methodology/approach- The present study is an applied research in terms of purpose and has a descriptive-analytical nature. Also, in terms of data collection method, it is a documentary-survey research. In the present study, the quality of rural housing was assessed to evaluate the effective factors in improving the quality of rural housing using the relevant indicators. The statistical population of the study was the Oraman District with 2468 households. The samples of the study were selected by simple random method, and the sample size of 345 households was obtained using the Cochran sampling formula. Finding- The results showed that the economic, physical, social and management factors (P <0.000) are effective in improving the quality of housing in Oraman villages. Also, according to the rating level of the indices, the physical dimension with the mean rating of (3.91) has the highest effect and the management dimension with the mean rating of (1.00) has the lowest effect. Research limitations/implications- Due to the low cooperation of local people and the cultural, ethnic and political sensitivities in the region, this study encountered numerous limitations and difficulties during the distribution of the questionnaire which challenged the research work. Originality / value- The earthquake happened in Western Iran destroyed many homes and killed many people, emphasizing the importance and quality of housing. Given that there has been no research on housing, especially its quality in this area, therefore, investigating the factors contributing to the improvement of housing quality in the future can reduce many of the human and financial losses.

Purpose - In a good governance pattern with a broad participation of people, increasing self-reliance, pluralism, cooperation between actors, and the transfer of power to local levels can be key to solving the problem of rural development, increasing the quality of settlements and the quality of life of villagers; hence creating sustainable villages. Accordingly, the main purpose of this paper was to investigate the effect of good governance on the increase of the physical quality of rural settlements. Design/methodology/approach- The present study is descriptive-analytic. Questionnaires were used to collect data. After applying the Cochran formula, 192 questionnaires were prepared. The population of this study is 13 villages with local managers in Neyshbur. In order to measure the purpose and analyze data, one-sample T-test, Pearson correlation and structural equation modeling using smart PLS software were used. Finding- The results of the research showed that, based on the T-test, there was not a favorable situation in both good rural governance and physical quality of rural settlements. Based on Pearson's test, it was found that in the seven villages of Khanlogh, Sarachah, Bashnij, Mobarakeh, Bahrodi, Hoseinabad and Mirabad the relationship between good governance and physical quality of rural settlements was significant. The results of the PLS model also indicated that a good rural governance of 62% affects the improvement of the physical quality of rural settlements. Practical implications- Proposals that can be effective in improving good governance practice in order to improve the physical quality of rural settlements include: informing and educating people about the principle of construction in villages, effort-making of local managers to attract the cooperation of relevant organizations to improve the physical quality of rural settlements, creating a suitable field for attracting people's conscious participation in improving their physical condition, creating coordination and interaction between local managers to solve physical problems in the village. Originality/value - This study was innovative because it focused on the impact of good rural governance on the increase of the physical quality of rural settlements. In fact, in this research for each of these two variables, separate indices have been considered and the relationship between them has been evaluated.

Purpose - Nowadays due to the variety of hazards and inappropriate location of some villages, the necessity of their displacement and resettlement is sometimes unavoidable. In order to resettle the villages, they should consider a wide range of social, economic, environmental and political issues so that resettled villages can survive. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of resettlement on the quality of life of the earthquake-stricken villages and explain the factors affecting it in the resettled villages of Varzaghan County. Design/methodology/approach - The research methodology is descriptive and analytical and the required data were collected using the questionnaire instrument. The study population was 7975 people living in 11 resettled villages in Varzeghan County. The sample size was 382 people who were randomly selected. The validity of questionnaire was confirmed by experts and its reliability was also obtained 0.921 using Cronbach Formula. Finding- Results indicate that the quality of life of villages in Likert six-point scale was equal to 3.47, and the highest and lowest levels of satisfaction are related to the areas of infrastructure, employment and income. In addition, the results of the factorial analysis were identified in four dimensions for quality of life. In this regard, the four factors of physical, economy, psychology, and housing clearly explain the 90.95% of the variance of quality of life. The results of T, Tukey, and Scheffe tests also showed a significant difference between the resettlement patterns and the quadruple dimensions of quality of life. Practical implications- With respect to the importance of quality of life in the development and welfare of human societies in resettlement projects, it is necessary to considerate the effects and consequences concerning the quality of life in addition to selecting the optimal rural site in order to improve the residents’ wellbeing while identifying the strengths and weaknesses of these projects.

Purpose - Land subsidence is caused by natural factors and human activities around the world. Fars Province, located in the south of Iran, is subject to land subsidence due to the uncontrolled exploitation of groundwater, causing damages to the population and human settlements and also environmental, social and economic areas. Design/methodology/approach - The present research is descriptive in terms of describing land subsidence in the case study region, whereas it is also analytical as time series analysis techniques based on Radar Interferometry (InSAR) is applied to monitor temporal changes in subsidence in Darab and Fasa Plains, including 470 rural points. Using 8 ENVISAT ASAR images spanning between 2005 and 2010, nine Interferograms were processed. In the study area. Geographic Information System (GIS) is then used to study groundwater level decline at the well locations in a 24-year period (from 1991 to 2015). Findings - The results of the research confirm that there is a significant correlation between groundwater water level decline and land surface subsidence. Time series analysis of the processed Interferograms indicate the mean displacement velocity map, demonstrating the maximum subsidence rate of 25 cm/yr. The InSAR analysis reveal within the study area subsidence rate of 25 cm/year in 24 years period and locally exceeding 30 cm/yr in the last decade. This area of significant subsidence is limited in its spatial extent to the agricultural land and is partly influenced by the large-scale over-exploitation of groundwater resources in the region study. The temporal and areal relationships of subsidence and groundwater level data suggest that a significant part of the observed subsidence in the Darab region is caused by intense groundwater extraction which has led to widespread compaction within the upper parts of the up to 300m. Socioeconomic analysis and the subsidence hazard map show that 105523 people are generally at risk of subsidence, of 65068 who are at high risk. In addition, there are 2679 socioeconomic infrastructures such as public service at risk of damage by land subsidence. Research limitations/implications - Limitation in In SAR data access, especially for long-term data was one of the main limitations in land subsidence research and also in this research. Practical implications - Integrated water resource management and the observed extraction of groundwater could influence the subsidence rate in the regions exposed to land subsidence. Originality/value - This research will be important to provide vulnerability in regions with groundwater overexploitation.