JOURNAL OF RURAL RESEARCH
Year:2012 | Volume:3 | Issue:3 (11)|Papers Count:10

Extended Abstract:Introduction: Urbanization in developing countries has caused many problems, such as increase in urbanization, lack of housing and employment, migration and stagnation of villages, and promoting villages to towns is one of the main policies to reduce these problems. Development of small and intermediate urban centers has, for the past several years, been canvassed by many scholars and international aid agencies as an appropriate middle course which combines the advantages of urban as well as rural development, without the shortcomings of excessive metropolitan growth or of the wide dispersal of limited resources in scattered rural villages too small to support basic services. Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, there has been a re-thinking of the nature and the impact of rural-urban linkages, with much emphasis placed upon the mutual dependency of rural and urban areas, and the critical role of town and city networks in the process of regional and local economic development…

Extended Abstract:Introduction: The historical experience of development process in developed countries revealed that rural development is a basic requirement for national development and that it should be considered and given high priority. Accordingly in Iran, the government also paid more attention to rural development in recent years. In this regard, different methods and approaches were implemented due to social and economic development of rural regions. A large number of these strategies and industrial projects focus on the development of rural areas. One of the main strategies for development is industrialization and establishment of industry in rural regions. These industrial projects have been initiated to alleviate poverty and unemployment, and to deal with the insufficient food supply. Although these projects were assumed to be beneficial for rural people, they often had unintended negative impacts on the environment and local communities. Evidence suggests that while sustainability is a crucial and independent dimension of development, it has most often been neglected when planning these industrial projects. These projects have been faced with numerous challenges such as a growing sense of rural households’ dissatisfaction, negative attitudes, and conflicts with the industrial projects, un-sustainability and in many instances complete failure…

Extended Abstract:Introduction: Agriculture still constitutes the backbone of the rural economy and is an engine of rural household income growth in developing countries. According to the evidence, agriculture sector has an important role also in rural economy in Islamic Republic of Iran. Thus, in order to promote rural economy, rural development programs and policies have been focused on agricultural investments. Although the focus was on agriculture, investment in agriculture has not been completely successful and has been faced with challenges in recent years. In particular, in Zanjan Province, most agricultural investments have been from Small and Medium Agricultural Enterprises (SMAEs) development over the period of 2005-2010. The facts indicate that SMAEs development has not been completely successful, and so, alongside favored SMAEs projects, there are some unsuccessful SMAEs projects. Therefore, there are two groups of investment projects (successful, failed). Failure is resulted in losses of resources and it has high costs for the firm, the society and finally the country’s economy, so, in order to prevent losses of resources and for the best resource allocation, Success/failure projects should be recognized and separated beforehand. This study aims to introduce a pattern for recognizing and predicting failure of agricultural enterprise projects by classifying failed projects from non-failed projects based on predictors’ variables…

Extended Abstract:Introduction: Although based on the development literature, achieving sustainable development is one of the most important aims of many developed as well as developing countries, institutional experts argue that development of various institutions could be the base point in these countries. Labor market, one of the most important institutions, with a comprehensive look at this market and the geographical characteristics of each country, is separable in both rural and urban sectors. In this regard, to achieve sustainable development in any country, focus on its regional development is necessary. Furthermore, access to better jobs is amongst the reasons of migration through rural areas into urban areas, especially in economic transition phase in developing countries. This subject is confirmed based on Iran’s economic data and is in concord with presented models for migration, particularly Harris-Todaro Model which assumes that the significant reason for migration from rural areas is to achieve a better occupation and higher revenue in urban areas…

Extended Abstract:Introduction: Knowledge is continuously being produced in the process of formulating and implementing rural development projects. The capital is available without any cost, but it is neglected. Knowledge has been distributed along the extensive network through the country. If knowledge management is recorded and exploited, it could lead to dramatic changes as a result of the butterfly Approach…

Extended Abstract:Introduction: Today, the mentality should be revised that a village is an atmosphere bounded in a special place with a set of economic and geography circumstances. A better understanding of rural features requires a deeper understanding of our rural areas where social relations and gender relations are well understood. Rural areas, like other geographic areas, are highly generized spaces and all behaviors and actions reflect attitudes, beliefs and opinions concerning the status, roles and responsibilities of both sexes. The role of women in Iran has been a relatively traditional one due to the strong cultural customs. The process of Development has caused many changes in social relations in rural areas. These changes are more significant in women's role and status…

Extended Abstract:Introduction: Sustainable agriculture can be more objective than fit into the conceptual framework and it is closely associated with rational behavior. The result of such perspective is that sustainable agriculture is an activity based on rationality. The beginning of the formation of stable rationality requires training to create intellectual flexibility for the farmers in order to acquire knowledge and understanding of these issues. In the meantime, partnership is an approach that has an important role in solving this problem and has the ability to create the space for learning to understand the concepts of sustainable agriculture and rational behavior of operators. In fact, participation is a process with mental flexibility and mobility of thought in its heart and by creating a space for dialogue between farmers, agricultural promoters and service organizations, it provides the ground for training and information exchange and it is effective in achieving the objectives and principles of sustainable agriculture…

Extended Abstract:Introduction: Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy in Iran and it is highly dependent on the climate. The impact of global climatic change on agriculture has recently become an issue of increasing importance. The global climate change has been drawing attention of many to this very important topic of climate change, though it was a difficult proposition for many to accept whether or not the farmers have the ability to perceive the changes in the climate that have already occurred. Understanding global climate and its changes is prerequisite to take appropriate initiatives to combat climate change. Adaptation to climate change requires the farmers to first notice that the climate has altered. The farmers then need to identify potentially useful adaptations and implement them. Changes in the climate impact on cropping patterns, water availability and to some extent, productivity of crops as well. Climate change is expected to have serious environmental, economic, and social impacts. In particular, rural farmers, whose livelihoods depend on the use of natural resources, are likely to bear the brunt of adverse impacts. The extent to which these impacts are felt depends, in large part, on the extent of adaptation in response to climate change. Adaptation is widely recognized as a vital component of any policy response to climate change. Without adaptation, climate change would be detrimental to the agricultural sector, but with adaptation, vulnerability can be significantly reduced…

Introduction:Tourism is an ancient phenomenon which has existed in human societies for many years. With the development of humankind in different historical periods, tourism has gradually changed to a technical, economical and social subject. An important part of world tourism activities is based on a powerful tendency to use nature, known by “Ecotourism”. Ecotourism is an international concept that emphasizes on conservation of natural resources and wishes inexhaustible development. Job creation and local development are the results of ecotourism. Good Climate, geographical and topographical characteristics, exceptional ecological conditions, forest and ranch coverage, green regions, wild world and innumerous hunting grounds are among the greatest tourism attractions of Kurdistan province. Out of all the cities and villages in Kurdistan, “Awraman Takht” is one of the most important centers of tourism attraction and has got a very rich history which is regarded by all tourists. The main aspects of this village in this regard are as follow: unique natural attractions, special environment, historical sight, mountains and valleys, variety of the weather during the year and variety of plants...