JOURNAL OF RURAL RESEARCH
Year:2019 | Volume:9 | Issue:4 |Papers Count:12

The rate of land fragmentation refers to a problem in land management that can limit agricultural development and reduce the opportunities for sustainable rural development. The purpose of this research was to identify land fragmentation and dispersion variables and to develop indices to measure those variables. The statistical population of the research consisted of agricultural land holders in East Azarbaijan province (N = 212926). A sample size of 380 people was determined by using Cochran's formula. They were selected by stratified random sampling. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire whose validity was examined by using the comments of the researchers and the experts at the Land Affairs Organization. Some local information about the land was obtained and analyzed by using the cadastre database of Land Administration of East Azarbaijan province. The results showed that Bonab and Bostan Abad counties, with the average land area of 2. 28 and 13. 71 hectares respectively, have the smallest and the largest pieces of land. In terms of dispersion, the lands in Bonab and Oscou counties, with the average distance of 3. 8 and 1. 4 kilometers from each other and from the village center, had the highest and the lowest rate of dispersion respectively. In terms of land fragmentation and dispersion rates, obtained through the chemok index, Shabestar and Bostan Abad counties, with the rate of 3. 8 and 1. 3 km / ha, had the most and the least fragmented and dispersed agricultural lands respectively.

The present research was conducted on the typology of mental models of rural women for rural entrepreneurship development in Ilam province. The study deals with the subjective opinions of the participants based on Q methodology. It is applied in terms of goal as well as exploratory and mixed in terms of data collection. The participants of the study consisted of 26 successful female rural entrepreneurs selected by the targeted judgment method. The data were obtained through interviews and a literature review. As many as 49 phrases were selected as Q statements. The SPSS software was applied for data analysis. According to the results obtained from the exploratory factor analysis, the mentality of the participating rural women about promoting rural entrepreneurship was classified into six types including entrepreneurial, market-driven educational, economy-centered, environment-centered, participatory, and supportive types.

In recent years, the Vocational Training Center has played an important role in realizing the ideas of villagers, but there is a bulk of evidence to suggest that only a few of these ideas have reached an operational stage. This study aims at the challenges in operating business ideas from the viewpoint of female rural students. The research method was qualitative and based on a fundamental theory. The statistical population consisted of rural women and girls participating in the courses held by the technical and vocational organization of Kermanshah province. Fifty of these people were selected through qualitative purposeful sampling. The data were collected through participatory and non-participatory interviews, individual interviews, and the formation of 10 groups. The findings of the research showed that the expertise and experience required for making a business plan, marketing, knowledge of laws, lack of personal funds for investment, lack of access to information and information resources, lack of comprehensive support from the beginning to the end of the process of idea operationalization, low risk-taking, fear of failure, and family barriers are the most important challenges for operating business ideas.

Tourist areas have a high potential for employment and entrepreneurship activities especially when human resources are also available. The purpose of this study was to investigate the human resource factors necessary for the development of entrepreneurship in the tourist area of Bisheh in Khorramabad County. The research was quantitative in nature. Also, in terms of purpose, it was a type of applied research conducted using a survey method. The statistical population of the study consisted of 1190 rural people at the age of 15-64 years who were living in Istgahe Bisheh in 2017. The sample size was determined by using Krejcie and Morgan table, and 291 people were randomly selected. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire whose face validity was confirmed by experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was also examined by conducting a pilot study and calculating the Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0. 88-0. 99). The findings showed that the objective driving forces in the Bisheh region were in a medium status. Among the subjective driving forces, only social security ranked higher than standard (3. 80). Based on a cluster analysis, the rural people were divided into three groups: ready, semi-ready, and unready. Analysis of variance showed that, among the objective driving forces, education, counseling and experiences were different in the semi-ready and unready groups. As for the subjective factors, however, they were all different among the groups except for social participation. Finally, based on the results of the research, suggestions were made to develop entrepreneurship activities in the region.

The purpose of this study was to assess the relative importance of factors affecting the differentiation of income levels and the success of investment in agricultural businesses in the villages of Islamshahr. Differences in the rates of effectiveness and profitability of agricultural activities exacerbate economic dispersal, difference in the levels of farmers' livelihood, and the imbalance among the economic costs of agricultural jobs in a rural area. Regarding the diversity of cropland sizes in the region, the stratified sampling method was used to appropriately select a sample size of 195 people who took part in interviews and completed questionnaires. In this study, based on a descriptive and inferential approach, the three-branch model framework and the multiple discriminant analysis were used to evaluate the relative importance of the factors that affect the inequality of income levels of rural farmers. The results showed that most of the farmers were land owners and held secondary high school degrees. Also their average farming experience was about 20 years, and their main occupation was agriculture. Most agricultural lands in the region were found still using traditional irrigation methods, and more than 28% of the farmers did not consider the accessibility of water desirable. The results also showed that structural and environmental factors were the most important factors affecting the income gap among the farmers in the region. From the structural point of view, the type of land ownership and land size emerged as the most important factors to determine the probability of being in the lowest-income group.

The main purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of livelihood risks on food insecurity in rural households. This research is a quantitative in terms of its purpose and descriptive in terms of data collection. The analyses are of correlation type. The statistical population of this study consisted of all the small-scale farming heads of households in Divandarreh County of Kurdistan province. Using Krejcie and Morgan sampling table and the stratified proportional sampling method, 375 persons were selected as the study sample. The data collection tool of the study was a questionnaire whose validity was confirmed by a panel of experts, and its reliability was established by calculating Chronbach's Alpha Coefficient (α > 0. 7). The results showed that the studied farmers had high levels of food insecurity and were highly exposed to livelihood risks. Also, the correlation analyses showed positive and significant relationships between livelihood risk variables and food insecurity. The variables included agronomy (0. 639), agricultural trade (0739), price (0. 524), employment (0. 474), health (0. 541), policy making (0. 425), and demographic features (0. 387). In addition, as the logistic regression sequences indicated, of the livelihoods risks, agricultural production risk (0. 074) had the greatest impact on the food insecurity of households.

In recent years, repeated droughts have had negative impacts on agricultural products. Farmers can reduce the effects of droughts by using adaptive strategies. The aim of this study was to investigate farmers' strategies in response to drought consequences and to examine the factors affecting the use of these strategies. In terms of purpose, the study is an applied one, and the method is descriptiveanalytical. The data gathering tool was a questionnaire and interviews. The statistical population of the research consisted of the rural households in Roshtkhar County (N = 13716). Using the Cochran formula, 373 farmers were selected as the sample. For data analysis, the unlimited exploratory uncertainty test and the binary logistic model (LM-Newton-Marcard-Raphson method) were used. The results showed that decreased water resources (0. 882), reduced crop area (0. 735) and increased living expenses (0. 698) were the most important consequences of drought. Drought-tolerant plants such as saffron, irrigation, and non-agricultural jobs were the most important strategies adopted by the farmers in response to drought consequences. Variables such as age, sex, indigenous knowledge, labor force, income, farmers’ experience, and farm size were significantly associated with the application of strategies. The results of the research can be used for more adaptation of farmers to drought consequences in the villages of the county.

Constructing reservoir dams for inter-basin water transfer has been considered as one of main strategies of policy makers for managing water shortage in recent decades. However, this strategy can lead to negative social, economic and environmental consequences. The purpose of this paper is to study the views of local rural and urban households regarding the social effects of constructing the Behesht Abad reservoir dam and the inter-basin water transfer project on the local communities. The research was conducted in Behesht Abad watershed, as the origin basin, located in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province. It aimed at how local rural and urban communities would be affected if a dam was constructed. In this survey, a sample of 200 out of 3514 households was randomly selected, and the data were collected through structured interviews using a questionnaire. From the perspective of the local communities, the dam construction would increase the emigration of local people, leading to marginalization of emigrants in the outskirt of cities; weakening the local households' participation in their communities and increase of job vulnerability, particularly such activities as crop farming, animal husbandry and the related services. Also, land prices in the area would be adversely affected by the dam construction. This perspective was significantly affected by variables such as respondents' age, education level, and households' animal units. This shows that the respondents at higher ages, more children, and more animal units assessed the impact of the dam construction more negatively, while more educated people had more positive attitudes toward this issue.

The present study aims to qualitatively explore the meaning of the architecture of the native houses in the Mokrian region, Iran, from a phenomenological point of view. The ultimate goal is to catch a clear sight of that architecture so as to discover and reveal the semantics derived from the creation, development and essence of the houses. The approach of the study is phenomenology, and the data analysis is qualitative. It is conducted based on Max van Manen’ s theory and the MST method. The researcher attended the study area, scrutinized the architecture of the houses, conducted open and deep interviews, and recorded the accounts given on personal life experiences, heard experiences, and characteristics of residence in that area. From the data obtained, important commentaries, 87 sentences and 15 themes were selected as the main defining features of the native houses in Mokrian. By integrating, comparing and pondering those features, a core title was developed to represent the true meaning of the houses. It read "Mokrian House Marks Self-Representation, Sense Manifestation, and Human Life Depiction” .

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of norms in the formation of rural houses in the cold and mountainous zones of Ardabil province. Rural settlements with the height of 1500 to 2150 meters above sea level in the cold and mountainous zones of the province were selected through random cluster sampling. The settlements were located in 176 villages 85 of which had a population of over 200 people. Finally, 27 villages were selected as the study sample, 10 residents in each and totally 270 selected in a targeted manner. The research method was of a causal-correlation type conducted to survey and examine the villagers' view of the norms. The participants answered 50 questions on a questionnaire to express their opinions on housing in their villages. The reliability of the questionnaire was found to be approximately α = 0. 905. Path analysis and regression analysis were done, and the direct and indirect effects of the variables on the norms of rural house formation were identified. The findings of the study showed that the coherent variables of housing and climate norms, as independent factors, have directly affected the way the houses are formed. Also, economic considerations, scales and proportions, and traditional norms, as intermediary factors, have affected rural housing formation. The study of the effects of these variables on the norms of rural housing formation showed that the proposed model is capable of explaining these norms. The strongest predictor of the rural housing formation norms proved to be economy, scale and proportion, and structural similarity in house construction.

In water resource planning, due attention should be paid to the sustainable management of water resources and the use of unconventional water in the agricultural sector. The purpose of this applied research is to investigate the factors affecting the attitudes of villagers toward consuming products irrigated with purified wastewater. The statistical population consisted of the villagers who consumed this type of products in Khorramabad County (N = 1601). The sample size determined by Cochran's formula was 200 people. The data were collected with a questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed respectively by the content validity method and Cronbach's alpha coefficient (0. 751). The data were analyzed by the SPSS software. As the results showed, there was a positive and significant relationship between the attitudes of the villagers and such variables as their awareness of the wastewater purification process and its use in the agricultural sector, the level of trust in the wastewater purification system, the tendency to use the products irrigated with purified wastewater, the level of trust in the healthiness of those products, the villagers’ evaluation of the quality and the smell of the products and the monthly cost of households. All the relationships were significant at the level of 1%.

Achieving sustainable development and using resources effectively and efficiently depends on a thorough and accurate knowledge of the available facilities and capabilities as well as the limitations that deter desirable situations. Development and maintenance of ecological power occurs when the land is used in proportion to its capabilities. In QalehGanj County, situated in Kerman province and with an area of about 10440 km2, people experience different environmental conditions with different environmental potentials for agriculture. In this research, environmental power was investigated as a way of determining the agricultural capability of the region. The main goal was to specify a proper location for agriculture development, which would, in turn, bring about the most productive output both at the present time and in the long run. The process of ecological capability evaluation in the present study was conducted using a multivariate evaluation (MCE) method. Once the specific usages were defined, appropriate metrics for each use were selected using Moodood's evaluation models for macro applications and expert opinions. These criteria were divided into two categories, factor and limit. After that, the standardization of the maps was done based on two fuzzy and Boolean logics. Also, weighing the factors was done using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The output of the weighted combinations would be indicative of the competence for locating each user. Applying this method, appropriate areas with high ecological power for agriculture (with an area of 34615. 89 hectares) were recommended in QalehGanj County. The Expert Choice and IdrisiSelva software programs were applied in this study.