The share of factors of production in the GDP of a country represents an overall picture of its aggregate production technology. The share of reproducible factors (i. e., physical capital and human capital), and the share of non-reproducible factors (i. e., natural capital and unskilled labor) from total production varies considerably across different countries. In this paper, the impact of nonrenewable resource abundance or dependence on various factor shares is studied. Cross-sectional data of countries using OLS and 2SLS estimates are investigated. The results show that the share of natural capital in GDP is higher in the countries that are more dependent on nonrenewable RESOURCES or enjoy resource abundance. Moreover, human capital share and unskilled labor share are both lower in countries with higher degrees of resource dependence. Further research is needed to shed light on how resource abundance or dependence affects factor shares of economies.

Purpose: The purpose of this applied research is to study the effectiveness of gamification on corporate training.  Methodology: A gamified course was designed and implemented to train the location of Fire Hosing Cabinet for 24 employees of a firefighting maintenance company in Iran Mall shopping Center in Tehran. Using a quantitative quasi-experimental research plan (post-test only control group design) the participants of the study were randomly assigned to treatment (12) and control (12) groups and trained for a week.  Conclusion: The descriptive and interpretive result of the posttest analyses indicated the effectiveness of gamification of the training performed for the employees of the firefighting maintenance company in Iran Mall shopping Center in Tehran. Moreover, the descriptive result of Gamification Acceptance Questionnaire answered by the members of the experimental group after gamified training indicated that all the participants in the experimental group were satisfied with the gamified training course.

Nowadays, greenhouse gas emissions and consumption of fossil fuels has led to environmental problems such as global warming which result in using low carbon energy sources and renewable energy as a potential substitute for fossil fuels and nonrenewable energy. This study is going to investigate Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for 11 elected OPEC countries, from 1980 to 2013 by using nonlinear quadratic model. The consumption of renewable and nonrenewable energy are considered together in this model which has been carried out by PMG (Pooled Mean Group). According to the outcomes of the research the Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is confirmed in these selected countries and studied period. The coefficient of nonrenewable energy consumption is statistically significant at the 0.01 significance level. Its estimated coefficient is 0.67 and states a 1% increase in nonrenewable energy consumption which leads to CO2 emission rise by 0.67%. It indicates that overusing of nonrenewable energy and fossil fuels increases environmental and air pollution. Also, the coefficient of renewable energy consumption is -0.005 that it is not statistically significant.

The rise in the global population has led to an increase in energy requirements. In addition to the prospect of a future energy crisis resulting from the depletion of fossil fuel reserves, the provision of energy that continues to rely on nonrenewable RESOURCES, leads to a decline in environmental support capacity owing to CO2 gas pollution. Bioenergy derived from microalgae is a potential future fuel source. Bioenergy development of microalgae is seen as having several benefits, including plentiful RESOURCES, ease of development, a high oil content with the potential to be produced as biofuels, the ability to grow in a variety of water and waste conditions, and the ability to cut CO2 emissions. This research was conducted using a combination of literature analysis and prior study observations. The findings indicate that microalgae have enormous potential for development as bioenergy and may aid in the resolution of environmental issues, particularly those associated with the reduction of CO2 emission gases and the decrease of pollutant levels in liquid waste.

Harirud river with an international nature is shared between Afghanistan, Iran and Turkmenistan and currently there is no treaty among these states regarding the division of its water RESOURCES. In recent years, after the construction of the Doosti Dam by Iran and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, as an upstream state is moving towards hydro-hegemonic policy in the region by building various dams which restrain and divert the water flow of this river in order to decrease the downstream countries’ water rights. On the other hand, due to the high importance of Harirud water RESOURCES for Iran, continuing this type of behavior by Afghanistan might cause conflicts and create security risks among these countries in the near future. Therefore, employing a descriptive-analytical approach, the study aims at examining the issue according to international legal documents in the field of sharing common water RESOURCES. Finally, the findings indicate that the best and most practical method for exploitation of Harirud water RESOURCES is based on the theory of limited territorial sovereignty and implementation of the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization of common water RESOURCES by Afghanistan, without causing significant harm to downstream states.

IntroductionSustainability in agriculture at regional scale is about balancing food security with maintaining environmental health. Therefore, agricultural operations are sustainable when they maintain the health of the environment, the interaction between plant and animal production, social acceptance and economic benefits (Kumaraswamy, 2012). Excessive use of environmental RESOURCES and excessive consumption of chemicals in agriculture have caused environmental problems and reduced sustainability (Quintero-Angel & Gonzales-Acevedo, 2018). Therefore, it is necessary to study the patterns of energy consumption and efficient use of energy in agriculture, which is one of the basic principles in sustainable agriculture. Emergy analysis, as suitable tool for this purpose, is used in the various ecosystems (Odum, 2000; Brown & Ulgiati, 2004). Emergy analysis is able to determine the degree of sustainability of connected ecological and economic systems. Emergy indices are effective tools for integrating ecological-economic systems and make it possible to measure and compare all aspects of these ecosystems (Patterson et al., 2017). The purpose of this study was to evaluate sustainability indices for rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) production systems using emergy indices and provide suggestions for sustainable product of the crop in Kalaleh county. Materials and MethodsIn this study, production systems of rapeseed were evaluated using emergy sustainability indices in Kalaleh County (Golestan province), during the period of 2018-2019. For this purpose, 50 rapeseed fields were selected as Cochran equation. First, the spatial and temporal boundaries of the system were defined (Odum, 1996; Odum, 2000) and RESOURCES were divided into four categories: renewable environmental RESOURCES, nonrenewable environmental RESOURCES, purchased renewable RESOURCES and purchased nonrenewable RESOURCES (Amiri et al., 2019). Emergy flow for each input was multiplied by their transformities in joules and grammes (Odum, 2000). Finally, emergy indices such as renewability, emergy yield ratio, emergy self-support ratio, environmental loading ratio and emergy sustainability index were calculated and evaluated in rapeseed production systems. Results and DiscussionTotal emergy input for the rapeseed production was estimated as 1.64E+16 sej ha-1 year-1. In rapeseed production, dependence on environmental and nonrenewable inputs was higher than purchased and renewable inputs. Soil erosion emergy was the largest emergy inputs of the total in rapeseed production system with share of 47.31%. Also, fossil fuel emergy was the largest emergy inputs of the purchased with share of 38.41%. In this research, we calculated the transformity equal to 2.59E+05 sej j-1, specific emergy equal to 7.33E+09 sej g-1, emergy renewability equal to 8.16%, emergy yield ratio equal to 2.17 and emergy investment ratio equal to 0.85. Also, emergy self-support ratio, standard environmental loading ratio, modified environmental loading ratio, standard emergy sustainability index, and modified emergy sustainability index were estimated 0.54, 13.81, 11.27, 0.16 and 0.19, respectively. Despite the higher contribution of environmental RESOURCES in the rapeseed production system, the high share of soil erosion as a NON-RENEWABLE input along with the unreasonable consumption of some nonrenewable purchased inputs, such as fossil fuels, led to a decrease in renewability and an increase in environmental load. Based on evaluation of emergy indices, rapeseed ecosystem had the high production efficiency and resource consumption efficiency and it had the great potential to increase economic productivity. However, rapeseed production in Kalaleh county had low environmental and economic sustainability. The implementation of conservation tillage methods and the modernization of machinery can contribute to a reduction in the consumption of nonrenewable and economic inputs in rapeseed production ecosystems. This reduction in input consumption not only alleviates environmental pressure but also enhances sustainability. By prioritizing the use of renewable environmental inputs and minimizing the utilization of nonrenewable and economic inputs, the emergy sustainability index can be improved.ConclusionThe rapeseed ecosystems exhibited high production efficiency and resource consumption efficiency, along with significant potential for increasing economic productivity. However, despite the substantial contribution of environmental RESOURCES in these systems, the prevalence of soil erosion as a significant portion of the total emergy input resulted in a decline in renewability, an escalation in environmental burden, and ultimately a decrease in sustainability. It appears that enhancing management methods to minimize the consumption of nonrenewable and economic RESOURCES would be effective in bolstering the environmental and economic sustainability of rapeseed farming ecosystems in Kalaleh county.

Introduction: Agriculture is a major consumer of chemical RESOURCES. Increasing use of the inputs in agriculture has led to numerous environmental problems such as high consumption of nonrenewable energy RESOURCES, loss of biodiversity and pollution of the aquatic environment. This environmental change will have the serious impacts on different growth and development processes of crops…..

Comparison of energy productivity of different crops can be used as an effective tool to prioritize crops planting in each area. This study was conducted in order to compare of wheat and barley farms of Sistan and Blochestan province in relation of various aspects of energy consumption at 2009. 100 wheat and 100 barley fields were selected randomly from Zahedan, Zabol, Saravan, Khash, Iranshahr, Gasht, Sib and Soran, Zaboli, Nahok, Jalegh and Nikshahr cities. Inputs data and yield of wheat and barley fields were collected in the form of questionnaires in a face-to-face interviewing. Results showed that total energy inputs of wheat and barley fields were 32492.97 and 25655.81 MJ.ha-1, respectively. Total energy outputs for wheat and barley fields also were 48517.24 and 49800.87 MJ.ha-1, respectively. Based on these results the amount of energy use efficiency for wheat and barley fields were 1.49 and 1.94 respectively, and the amount of energy productivity for mentioned fields were 0.056 and 0.066. The share of renewable energy as one of the sustainability index of agricultural systems was 19.60 for wheat and 14.60 for barley fields. Therefore, it seems that barley production is more efficient from various aspects of energy consumption rather than wheat in Sistan and Blochestan province.

The purpose of this study was to determine used energy input and output analysis in commercial and traditional potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) production, in Kurdistans, Iran. For this purpose, the data were collected from 50 commercial and 50 traditional potato farms. Farms were selected based on random sampling methods and inquiries were conducted in a face-to-face interviewing from May 2008 up to August 2009. The results indicated that the total energy inputs for commercial and traditional farms were 93330.67 and 44279.52 MJ ha-1, respectively. In commercial system the share of agrochemicals, diesel fuel plus machinery, seed, irrigation water, farmyard manure, and human labor were 42.5, 25.06, 15.40, 10.47, 4.34 and 1.76%, respectively; while in traditional system the amount of mentioned items were 18.21, 27.51, 18.96, 26.28, 1.80 and 7.05%, respectively. About 21.47% of the used total energy inputs in commercial potato production were renewable energy (such as human labor, seeds and farmyard manure) that is increased up to 27.81% for traditional system. Mean energy use efficiency, specific energy, energy productivity and net energy of commercial system were 1.37, 2.62 MJ.kg-1, 0.38 kg.MJ-1 and 34913.07 MJ.ha-1, respectively and in traditional system the rate of mentioned parameters were 1.41, 2.55 MJ.kg-1, 0.39 kg.MJ-1 and 18174.91 MJ.ha-1, respectively.