JOURNAL OF RURAL RESEARCH
Year:2018 | Volume:9 | Issue:2 |Papers Count:12

This paper aims at a good understanding of a surveyed concept based on the living experiences of local actors. Making use of such an approach in examining the problems of local communities that have a tribal or traditional texture is one of the most required elements of scientific research in this regard. The present research suggests that utilizing a phenomenological approach in surveys about local communities development not only provides a chance to put prevalent development theories into practice but also allows to pay close attention to ignored groups and let them get into social activities and be active in social changes. Based on this reasoning, development is a kind of intervention, and intervention is a kind of facing, or reciprocal penetration of life experiences of different socio-political groups. Therefore teaching stakeholders’ measures and attitudes can be of effect on acceptance and approval of or resistance and opposition to any kind of development.

The purpose of this study is to extract social indicators derived from the Quran and social development of villages. The population of the study consists of rural areas of Sistan province. The sample size was calculated using a formula based on Cochran Sharp. Forty villages were selected, and the sample size was 381 families. The research method is analytical-descriptive based on studies conducted through questionnaires and interviews. Kruskal-Wallis test and ordinal regression were used to test the study hypothesis.Kruskal-Wallis test results showed a significance level (Sig) of less than 01.0 percent for the villages of Sistan region. There were a total of 33 social indicators, including indicators of "health" with a mean of 4.56, "good family" ranking second with an average of 4.54, and "Jihad in the path of God" ranking third with an average of 4.51.The evaluations showed that social development is a prerequisite for the development of other aspects such as political and economic development. It is, in practice, the experience of many countries that a lack of social indicators prevents favorable development in other dimensions.

The decision to return to villages is influenced by different factors. The purpose of this paper is to assess the motivations of reverse migration and its consequences in the villages of Ijroud city in Zanjan province.The research is of an applied type conducted via a survey method. The study population consisted of the migrants returning to villages of Ijroud. The sample size was determined using the Cochran formula (n=125). The respondents in this study were selected using the stratified random sampling method.The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The face validity and the content validity of the questionnaire were confirmed by a panel of experts. A pre-test and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used to measure the reliability (0.79-0.81). Through an exploratory factor analysis, the reverse migration motivations were summarized into four factors including improvement of the welfare and health in rural areas, improvement of the natural attractions of the village and providing a quiet environment, improvement of the prospects for profitability, and improvement of the capacity of agricultural employment in the region. These factors explained 60.80 % of the migration's motivations. Also, using exploratory factor analysis, the consequences of reverse migration to rural area were summarized in three factors including improvement of development and health indexes, increase of rural participation and investment rates, and mental relaxation. These factors explained 33.65 percent of the total variance of the consequences of reverse migration.

The main purpose of this research is to analyze the effects of social capital components on the mental health of rural and nomadic women that were the members of micro-credit funds in Kerman province.The study is a descriptive-correlational research conducted through a survey technique. The statistical population consisted of all the members of the micro-credit funds in Kerman province (N=1146).As many as 300 members were selected as a sample using Krejcie and Morgan sample size table and the stratified random sampling method. The research tool was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by an academic panel of agricultural extension and education and mental health experts. Its reliability was confirmed by using a pilot test and calculating Cronbach's Alpha coefficients (0.72£a£0.89). The findings of the correlational analysis revealed that all the components including social trust, social interaction, social participation, social cohesion, exchange of information with social system, and informal relations positively and significantly correlate with the mental health of women. Furthermore, the results of the regression analysis demonstrated that the variables of social trust, social interaction, social cohesion, and exchange of information with social system have positive and significant impacts on mental health. These variables explained 61.9 percent of the variance of the mental health of rural and nomadic women.

Because of the great friability of ecologic-social systems in desert regions, planning for tourism development and use of its capabilities for rural development need an explanation of rural tourism systems.Mesr village is one of the most important rural tourist regions in Khur-biabank county that, in recent years, has experienced tourism activities development and its changes. This paper aims to recognize a tourism system development model in the village and explain it by approaches and theories related to the development of tourist destinations. For this purpose, qualitative data are prepared through interviews, conversations and surveying observations as well as using theoretical foundations, effective variables, processes and structures in the rural tourism system of Mesr village. After the system is recognized, a model is presented to explain the tourism system development processes. The results of the model show that effective introduction of tourism in the region attracts more visitors, for which the important role of entrepreneurs should be stressed. This role can be played in increasing the number of tourists in an organized manner, increasing the local participation, reduction of migration and so on.In another part of the study, the conformity degree of the model is enquired with chaos and tourism life cycle theories. The system being compatible with and based on the tourism life cycle theory, Mesr is found to be in a satisfactory development stage. Also, it appears that the creative destruction in the chaos theory is compatible with the satisfaction and development stage in the tourism life cycle theory.

The tourism industry is a complex issue which encompasses various components. Tour operating is one of these components which can play an important role in the development of tourism industry because of its connection with residential centers, restaurants, transportation as well as experiences and learnings on tourism destinations. This research aimed to identify the factors affecting the willingness of tourists for tour-based rural trips in Maragheh county. In this study, the data were collected using a questionnaire. The statistical population of the study included the tourists that had traveled to the villages with a high tourism capacity in Maragheh county in 2016. Of these, 200 people were selected using a convenience sampling method. The results of the exploratory factor analysis indicated that people's willingness for tour-centered rural trips is influenced by certain factors sequenced in terms of importance as follows: " a safe environment for family and proper nutrition", "entertainment and security during the trip", "discipline and explicit and appropriate travel plans", "appropriate vehicles and their on-time service", "incentives and privileges of the agency", "an environment for the unmarried”. These six factors explained 65.17% of the variance of willingness of tourists for tour-centered rural trips.

In this study, the supply, access and use of high-quality threads required for production of silk carpets is discussed as one of the crucial issues that rural carpet weavers or producers deal with. This is the process that affects their production, productivity and income. The purpose of this study is to understand the sources and methods that rural carpet weavers apply to get an access to various threads used in silk carpets. The data were collected using a case study methodology through techniques focusing on groups, semi-structured interviews, diagramming, document analysis and observation. The participants were 90 rural household silk carpet weavers in 23 villages of Zanjan county and the market actors in the cities of Zanjan, Qom, Esfahan, Tabriz and Kashan. According to the results, access of the rural weavers to threads for producing carpets is different in terms of production methods. Investigating the methods of supplying handmade silk carpet threads in Zanjan county showed they depend on the methods of carpet production. Rural carpet weavers produce carpets through a self-production method and an entrepreneurial wage-based production method. The silk threads required for carpet production are used in different types including, thick weft, wrap threads and knots. In the self-production method, all the production inputs including threads are provided by carpet weavers.

Nowadays, most governments try to learn more about their risk management procedures so that, in the case of any damage caused by drought, they can reduce the adverse impacts.This study aims to reduce the vulnerability of farmers against drought impacts with an emphasis on risk management. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect the data. The questionnaires were distributed in fifteen villages. SPSS software was used for data analysis, the hierarchical technique of AHP for prioritization of strategies and the Prometea model for ranking the villages in the risk management framework. The study population consisted of 4463 households living in the rural city of Zarrindasht.Out of this population, a sample of 360 heads of families were selected by a simple random sampling.The validity of the questionnaire was assessed by scientific and administrative experts, and Cronbach's alpha was used to assess its reliability, which turned out to be 67 percent. The results indicated that the drought risk management approach can reduce the vulnerability of agriculture. This approach can reduce the economic, social and environmental consequences of draught in rural areas through mitigating the damages caused.

The aim of the present study is to identify the factors of effect on the sense of place, analyze its change in the displacement of Kanzaq village after an earthquake, and evaluate the influence of physical factors in the new village in order to upgrade or decrease the sense of place and unity of people. Using an analytical-descriptive method, the parameters of sense of place were discussed in four categories including community, social interactions, identity, and passion for place and location. The data were gathered by means of a validated questionnaire (74.0=a). As many as 278 people were questioned. The data analysis was done by using the Spss software, single-sample t-test and Pearson correlation. The displaced Kanzaq village is not in the old village design. It is assumed that using the old architecture pattern of Kanzaq can upgrade the sense of place in the new Kanzaq village. As a conclusion, by relocating the village and maintaining certain factors such as the materials of the old village, it will be possible to enhance people’s sense of identity in the new location. Surprisingly, failure to follow the form and plan of the old houses also creates a sense of place, but it is expressed with a delay. Indeed, the impact of the factors affecting the sense of place depends on the comfort and convenience of the residents.

The question of revitalizing rural and peripheral regions through the promotion of entrepreneurship in agriculture has attracted considerable attention. The main purpose of this descriptive–correlative research is to analyze individual and social effects on the development of rural entrepreneurship with an emphasis on the agriculture sector. The population of the study consisted of the landowners in Kamfiruz district (N=3106). According to the table devised by Bartlett et al., a sample of 197 was selected using the stratified random sampling technique. A questionnaire was used to collect the data. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts. The construct validity and the composite reliability of the research instrument were tested by estimating the measurement model, and they became satisfactory after necessary corrections were made. The data were analyzed using SPSSwin22 and AMOS21 software programs. The results showed that the main hypotheses of the research were confirmed, and five constructs of individual and social factors (i.e. social capital, subjective norms, perceived family support, self-efficacy belief, and local institutes) had a positive and significant effect on the dependent variable. The constructs totally explained about 54 percent of the variances of the development of rural entrepreneurship with an emphasis on agriculture in Kamfiruz district. Finally, some recommendations were made based on the research findings.

Considering the importance of renewable energy technologies in reducing global climate changes and carbon dioxide emissions in agriculture, the present study seeks to analyze the barriers to the development of renewable energy technologies at a farm level from the perspective of farmers. The research was done using the confirmatory factor analysis method. The statistical population of the study consisted of 2501 farmers in Larestan county, Fars province, Iran. The individuals were selected by the stratified random sampling method, and the sample size was estimated to be 331 according to Morgan and Kerjesian tables. According to the findings, the farmers believed that the main obstacles to the development of renewable energy technologies in the economic sector were high initial investment costs, lack of financial resources or loans, and inadequate farmers' capital for projects. Next to this economic dimension, there were institutional, legal, social awareness, technological and infrastructural barriers, all of which were confirmed in a confirmatory model using the LISREL software (LISREL 8.72). Considering that, in our agricultural sector, there is an increase in energy demands and environmental pollution control is one of the important issues nowadays, a number of planned measures are necessary to eliminate the barriers to the development of renewable energy technologies at the farm level.

Sustainable livelihood has been one of the best ways to address poverty and empowerment of the poor over the past years. It is also one of the most innovative approaches to rural development. The general objective of this research is to identify and analyze the factors affecting the sustainable livelihood of farmers in Shazand. The statistical population of the study consists of the heads of rural families in Shazand city, N=22101). The sample size with a sampling error was 0.05, and, using the Cochran formula, 377 households were calculated. To determine the villages and to select the sample of households, the cluster analysis method was applied to the classification of villages, and the sample villages were randomly selected. Finally, sampling from each village was done in proportion to its population. The data collection method was library, and the field study tool was a questionnaire. In order to analyze the data, SPSS software was used, and the statistical operations included single-sample T-test and linear regression.The results of the research showed that the sustainable livelihood of rural households is not desirable, and structures and processes are the most important factors in the sustainability of rural household livelihood.