درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose- One of the most important strategies facing drought and agriculture water shortage in North-West Iran is developing pressurized irrigation systems (PISs). In this regard, the present study aims to investigate the factors determining the adoption of the PISs by farmers in Ardabil Province. Design/methodology/approach- First, by drought zoning of Ardabil Province (by SPI method and GIS software), three regions including regions with mild, moderate and severe drought levels were determined. In the second step, using multi-stage cluster sampling, adopter and non-adopter farmers of the PISs were selected from three regions of study (n= 415). Also, the logistic regression was used to determine the affective and distinctive factors of farmers' groups. Findings- According to the results of logistic regression analysis, the predictive power of model was 0.622 and the sensitivity of the regression model to determine the model validation was obtained as 85.8%. Also, from among 17 factors of study, 7 factors of education level, farm income, knowledge about the PISs, the infrastructure for PISs, the effect of local weather conditions, the trust towards the optimality of PISs and the improvement in farm water management, positively impacted on the adoption and use of PISs. Among effective factors, knowledge about the PISs (Wald: 32.676), the trust towards the optimality of PISs (Wald: 27.855) and the infrastructure for PISs (Wald: 21.648) were the most important factors predicting to the decision to adopt and use PISs among farmers. Research limitations/implications- Since the study was carried out in a large area of the province, accessing the farmers and experts in the Ardabil Province was difficult and time consuming. Practical implications- The agricultural extension and education programs and PRA method, can provide the basis for the adoption of PISs among most of the farmers. Also, the infrastructure programs for the implementation and setting up of PISs are the priority of governmental projects to develop the PISs in the regions of the study. Originality/value- It seems that identifying and providing the necessary infrastructure for implementing pressurized irrigation programs should be based on the scientific needs assessment of the agricultural fields’ conditions in different regions. Also, proper the appropriate government funding and financial support for the appropriate infrastructure of PISs will increase the willingness of farmers to adopt and use of the PISs.

Purpose- Place attachment is not just dependent on the place of birth and, as phenomenologists have acknowledged, "experience," is the most significant element of the perception of concepts and meaning of a place; accordingly, meaning in a place is directly related to the way of human perception and its related categories. The main objective of the present study is to investigate and analyze the spatial-geographic factors affecting place attachment of the Kurdish immigrants in Rudbar, Guilan province. Design/methodology/approach- This study is quantitative in terms of the nature of the research and is descriptive-analytical in terms of data analysis. Data collection was done using library and documentary as well as field and survey methods. The statistical population of the study consisted of the Kurdish villages of Guilan province in Rudbar with 12 villages and a total population of 2,955 people. Using Morgan's table, the number of samples was determined as 340 people. To increase the level of confidence and reduce the error in data, the number of samples was increased and 355 questionnaires were finally completed. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a number of professors in the geography department of Guilan University. Moreover, to determine the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha was run. The value of 0.874 was obtained for the coefficient. Findings- The results of the study showed that there was a negative relationship between the location of the villages and the level of education and place attachment of the villagers in the way that the more the distance between the villages and districts, towns, and cities, the lower the sense of place attachment of the villagers would be. Based on the coefficient of determination (R2), 4.5% of the variance of place in the rural households under study was explained by these indicators. Also, with the increase in the education level of the villagers, place attachment is reduced. On the other hand, there was a direct and positive relationship between the duration of residence in the village and place attachment to the village, which means that people who had lived longer in the village had also more sense of place. The obtained results showed the effect of spatial-geographic factors on place attachment of rural households. Based on the coefficient of determination (R2), 99.1% of the variance of place attachment was explained by spatial, economic, and socio-political factors. Research limitations/implications- A limitation of this study was the lack of easy access to the Kurdish villagers in the above-mentioned villages. Originality/value- By providing the ideal conditions for living in different spatial (geographical) dimensions, one can strengthen place attachment in the villagers and significantly reduce its harmful consequences. For instance, despite the great ethnic and cultural differences with the host society within a long period of residence, the immigrant Kurds in Rudbar have been able to have pleasant feelings towards their place of life and somehow attach to it due to the existence of certain desirable spatial, social, and economic features and potentials such as proper and safe physical environment, intergroup and intragroup interactions, as well as desirable areas for earning money and employment.