درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose - The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of improving the dimensions of social capital in the spatial evolution of rural settlements in Esfandagheh. Design/methodology/approach - This study is a quantitative survey conducted using questionnaires distributed among 400 households in 30 sample villages. Descriptive-analytical measures such as mean, variance, standard deviation, Kendall Tau-b correlation coefficient, and multiple regression were used to analyze social capital's status in the spatial evolution of rural settlements in the study area. Findings - The findings revealed that the six dimensions of social capital, including social awareness, social organizations and groups, social networks and relations, social participation, social cohesion, and social trust have a positive and significant relationship with the dimensions of the spatial evolution of rural settlements. Moreover, there is a positive and significant relationship between social capital and spatial development dimensions in the studied villages' four environmental-ecological, social, economic, and physical-infrastructural dimensions. Also, social awareness, social participation, social cohesion, social trust, social networks and relations, and social organizations and groups with a variance of 0.433% were explained as predictors of spatial changes in the Esfandagheh rural district. Research limitations/implications - The variable of social capital plays an essential role in the spatial transformation of rural settlements because improving the dimensions of spatial transformation regardless of the dimensions of social capital faces a crucial challenge. In other words, social capital is influential in various areas of life, from the local and micro-level to the national and macro-level; it can empower the villagers in dealing with the socio-economic problems of their village. Practical implications - Paying attention to the dimensions of social capital in terms of approaches and planning and policy-making system of rural development and subsequently emphasizing the status of social capital as one of the most important intangible assets to improve the spatial evolution of rural settlements. Originality/Value - This study investigated the effects of all dimensions of social capital on all four dimensions of geographical space. In such a way, the attention of policymakers and development planners to the outcome of this research provides a more effective planning ground for developing the rural space based on people's views and the conditions of each region.

Purpose - Gender analysis is a sort of methodology offering a comprehensive image of the contribution and role of women and men in the economy of a community. In this exploration, it has been endeavored to investigate the role and contribution of women in producing and profiting from the financial benefits of saffron as an essential and exportable economic product. Design/methodology/approach- For this purpose, 253 saffron producers in 9 villages of the cities of Torbat-e-Jam and Bakherz were studied as a statistical sample using descriptive-analytic research method, including a questionnaire and a semi-organized interview. Data were analyzed by T-test, MANOVA, Duncan and Fisher test using SPSS software and Rural Participatory Appraisal (PRA) research. Finding - The outcomes of the study exhibited that there is a significant difference between the participation of family members in the studied area during different phases of production (planting, harvesting, cropping, marketing, and sales). Moreover, the inferential findings revealed that although the men's participation ratio of only 24% is significantly higher than women's participation in the production of saffron, the benefit rate of the gained saffron production profit for the men (i.e. 74/16%,) is significantly higher than the benefit rate for women (i.e. 25/84%). The Rural Participatory Appraisal method also revealed that there is a significant difference between the physical participation and saffron income between males and females. In other words, men possess almost all the financial benefits of saffron production; in fact, women are deprived of the sources that can help them be empowered in economic and social areas. Of course, rural women in the study area did not express dissatisfaction with this issue, and they believed that this income would be well spent for the whole family.

Purpose- During recent decades, rural settlements in developing countries have undergone significant changes in global development and in pursuit of development, in accordance with the geographic conditions governing them. The intensity and direction of these changes have been different. The study of functional changes of rural settlements located in the central district of Ravansar County is the main objective of this study. Design/methodology/approach- This applied research is a qualitative research that has been carried out using Grounded Theory Method. The methodological approach of the dominant theory in this research is the Glaser’s (1978) approach. Finding- The findings of the research indicate that during a systematic process, rural subsistences have progressed towards gradual economic development through the two concepts of agrarian reforms and mechanization of the agricultural sector. This positive trend, with institutional interferences and inefficient rural development policies, the economic downturns of villages have finally provided the ground for the functional development of villages through the implementation of inheritance law, poor management of environmental resources, cross-sectoral supportive policies, and targeted subsidies. This functional development of villages has many symbols, including a strong tendency towards service activities, the prevalence of consumerism, the formation of affiliated villages, a strong market dependence, and so on. It should be noted that in the present research, "inefficient rural development policies" have been identified as a central issue. Research limitations/implications- Low familiarity of the rural population with Persian language (due to the fact that the inhabitants of the study area are Kurds), the high cost of commuting to the villages, the difficulty of establishing trust with villagers, and the lack of welcoming support from institutions related to rural affairs for the researchers in the various stages of the research were the most important limitations of this research. Practical implications- A fundamental revision of rural development policies in view of the changes that have taken place in rural settlements, in accordance with the geographic conditions governing them, is the most important scientific solution of the present research. Originality/value- In the current research, for the first time in Iran, functional changes in villages have been deeply studied through Grounded Theory Method.

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.