درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose- Considering that a diversified economy can lay the proper groundwork for improving quality of life, the present study investigates and analyzes the efficacy of diversification on rural households’ quality of life. Design/methodology/approach - The study is descriptive-analytical and its population consists of rural settlements in Golmakan Dehestan, Chenaran County. “Economic activities diversification” is the independent variable of the study which is quantified in two agricultural and non-agricultural aspects, using 14 indicators. “Rural households’ quality of life” is the dependent variable which is quantified in three social, economic and physical-environmental aspects, using 48 indicators. Questionnaires were handed to 258 rural families in 15 villages and the average score of each indicator was considered as the score of each of the villages studied. The validity of the questionnaire was established through confirmatory factor analysis (65.72%) and its reliability was established by Cronbach's alpha (0.83). Findings - The results of the step-wise regression show that diversity of non-agricultural activities has a meaningful influence on the variation of the dependent variable (rural households’ quality of life), such that a change of one standard deviation in non-agricultural activities leads to a change of 0.6 of standard deviation in rural households’ quality of life. Therefore, non-agricultural activities are influential in improving the economic conditions of families, and consequently raising quality of life among rural families. Research limitations/implications - Among the limitations of the study, the dispersed area that the villages are located in, the long distance between some villages, and the unwillingness of rural households for filling out the questionnaire can be mentioned. According to the role of non-farm activities on improving quality of life, suggestion of the study is to improve non-farming economy in rural areas. This, naturally, requires more attention to national macro-policies along with localization and necessitates implementation of successful global models regarding diversification of non-farming economy in rural areas. Originality/Value- A review of the studies regarding economic activities diversification in Iran and the world shows that, at the time of this writing, none has dealt with the influence of economic activities diversification on rural families’ quality of life.

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- 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.