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- 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- 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:  In recent years, it has become more necessary to seek and apply new strategies to strengthen the foundations and diversification of economic activities in rural areas. Accordingly, in the context of the new theories of sustainable development, one of the approaches that is of great importance for the growth and sustainability of businesses in today's complex environments is branding. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to identify businesses with branding potential in Turkmen Sahara of Golestan province in Iran. The overwhelming limitations of product marketing are supporting the declining revenues of traditional sources in dealing with competitive markets as well as trying to expand, making available and identifying regional products with a branding approach Design/methodology/approach: In this study, we first identified and localized the branding indices and then identified the brand-liable products in the region using the Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS) method in multi-criteria decision making. Findings: The results showed that among the indicators of brand products in rural areas, satisfaction index with weight of 0.095 was put in the first place followed by adaptability with weight of 0.091, quality-orientation approach with a weight of 0.086 and valuable with a weight of 0.081. Also, among the common businesses and products in the region, cotton cultivation with a coefficient of 0.971 was the first priority followed by carpet weaving with a coefficient of 0.966, traditional foods with a coefficient of 0.952, Turkmen horse breeding with a coefficient of 0.943 and eco-tourism with a coefficient of 0.924 for planning the branding of products and services based on Brand Explanatory Indexes and using ARAS method. Practical implications: The study provides a perspective on the process of branding products and services in rural areas. Originality/value:  This paper makes two major contributions: first, the introduction of branding indicators for rural businesses, and second, applying decision making models in the process of branding products and services with brand potential in rural studies.

Purpose- The purpose was to measure the social capital of rural settlements in Hassan Abad rural district of Islamabad-e Gharb as well as ranking and leveling the villages under study was based on social capital. Design/methodology/approach- The study was applied, quantitative, and survey, where documentary study and field research were used for data collection. The documentary method was used in problem statement, theoretical foundations, and the literature. The data were collected from the villages using field research and the questionnaire tool. SPSS software was used in statistical analyses. It is worth mentioning that the field operations were done by direct questioning. Findings- The villages examined were categorized into three levels of high, medium, and poor in terms of social capital. Out of 22 villages examined, 9 villages (40.90%) were considered to have high social capital, 5 villages (22.73%) medium, and 8 villages (36.37%) poor social capital. Moreover, Siah Khor Village with 128.44 was in the highest rank whereas Kamar Zard Village with the score of 114.09 was in the lowest rank. Research limitations/implications- In the present study, there were some problems including, scarcity, sometimes the lack of comprehensive information resources, limited access to the resources, scattered villages, the lack of appropriate access routes, low cooperation, and sometimes the lack of cooperation between some organizations and institutions. Practical implications- In sum, one can state that some significant ways to strengthen social capital. They were the presence of local authorities in the villages, holding forum meetings with villagers and presenting performance report to the people, using education and increasing the awareness of villagers about the importance of participation and its role in society, strengthening the norms and values and promoting them. Originality/value- Local planners and institutions associated with the village can use the results.