فصلنامه پژوهشهای روستایی
سال یازدهم شماره 2 (پیاپی 42، تابستان 1399)

The rural development policymaking system has different agents including the public and private sectors. If the system continuously receives field information from rural and nomadic areas and processes them correctly, it can provide and implement efficient policies for achieving the supreme goals and a desirable future. In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, a traditional paradigm was used to govern development. In this paradigm, based on the modernization doctrines and technocratic and bureaucratic principles, development merely referred to the economic growth; the participation of local communities had no value in the policy-making and management of development. In the present study, grounded theory has been employed as a method to analyze the statements made by Ayatollah Khomeini and Ayatollah Khamenei, respectively, as the former and current supreme leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran and extract the features and functions of the jihadi style of management. The aforementioned approach of the present study was adopted based on the fundamental role of these two supreme leaders in the formation and guidance of the Jihad of Construction. According to the experiences of Jihad of Construction, the perspective of the policymaking system of rural and nomadic development in Iran must be empowering and elevating people and making a good life possible through simultaneous attention to material and spiritual aspects of the lives of villagers and nomads. In recent years, owing to the dominance of hardware and basic needs approaches, the villagers and nomads have become passive settlers, whereas human capital is the main axis of development.

The present research seeks to detail a phenomenological conceptualization of institutional core with a retroductive-deductive research strategy in the spatial planning of environmental quality in the case study. Planning polices in these settlements do not include stakeholders’ participation and are often top-down. Also, specialization and sectorial view in the planning of sustainable spatial development of the villages and the existence of a prevailing physical approach that did not pay attention to economic, socio-cultural, and ecological issues, led to the change of land use. Agricultural land has been used by other users, and with the passing of time, urbanism has become more popular with the spirit of consumerism, weakening of production morale, reducing the level of economic productivity, and eventually reducing the environmental quality of these villages. According to the lived experiences of the rural inhabitants and the participants, by focusing on rural groups and customs and behavioral patterns in their daily lives in the form of participatory workshops and using the snowball method, this study examined the environmental quality. In addition, in the framework of these two methods of planning, the methodology of participatory assessment of environmental quality and participatory assessment of rural communication were used to analyze the concepts with tools such as interviews and group discussions, which included 9 semi-structured interviews and 9 participatory workshops with the presence of rural groups, and the institutional cores were determined from the point of view of the participants in the definition of village, quality of values, knowledge, leadership, strategic planning, integration, rural-urban linkages and citizenship rights.

Liveliness and vitality have been considered one of the indicators of rural development since 2000 by international organizations, especially the United Nations, to determine the level of rural development and the development of countries. Most development-related organizations have referred to vitality as one of the important indicators of rural development. However, one of the most important issues in studying vitality in rural areas is identifying the factors affecting it. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors affecting the liveliness of rural households. The present study employs a descriptive-analytical method and is applied in terms of purpose. The data collection tools were questionnaires and interviews with a sample selected from 170 households in Fuman County (N = 18675). Descriptive statistics, unlimited heuristic coefficient rank test, and structural equation modeling were used to analyze the data. The results of measuring rural households’ liveliness using the Fordyce Emotions Questionnaire showed that households' liveliness was at a desirable level. The results of the indices affecting vitality showed that out of 30 indices, 18 indices had the most effect on households’ happiness. In addition, the results of structural equation modeling suggested that the second-order standard model of households' liveliness and path coefficients are influenced by institutional-managerial, physical, economic, personal-psychological, social, environmental, geographical, and occupational factors, respectively. The p-values of all of the lambda parameters in the above model indicate that all relationships are confirmed.

In recent decades, the process of returning rural migrants to their original place of residence can be considered one of the most important trends in demographic mobility. That is due to the general trend of changing living conditions and its relative improvement in the villages compared to the past and the fact that the primary reasons for migration no longer exist or the benefits of living in the city as a destination have decreased. Given the importance of analyzing such trends in the region and the field of city and village relations, the present article seeks to investigate the causes and motivations of return migration among rural migrants in the city of Khorram Abad. The present research is an applied research of the descriptive-correlational type and the statistical population includes all rural immigrants who have returned to their villages during the years 2006-2016(N=24160).The research instrument is a researcher-made questionnaire and the validity and reliability of its form and content have been confirmed using the opinions of experts in the fields of economics and rural development as well as the Cronbach's alpha test. The results of independent t-test also suggested that there is a significant difference in the rate of desire to return between the group of landowners and non-owners in the village, people who have temporary and permanent jobs in the city, those who own agricultural land, and those who own only residential land in the village.

"Selseleh Regional Development Plan" is an endogenous approach  with the aim of empowering villagers of Selseleh County (Aleshtar) located in the north of Lorestan province. It was conducted between 1973 and 1978. The present study was conducted with the aim of identification of strategies for increasing partnership of Rural community in the "Selseleh Regional Development Plan". This is a qualitative and exploratory-descriptive Research. The research method is inductive qualitative content analysis. Purposive sampling was used and initial coding was done inductively based on the contents of the documents of the "Selseleh Regional Development Plan". Finally, the categories were extracted. 47 concepts were extracted from the primary and secondary codes of the documents. They were grouped into three main categories: institutions, groups, and individuals. In the next step, based on axial coding, three constructs were identified as the context and mechanism of participation: institutional and social constructs and attitudes.  Based on the findings, "Selseleh Regional Development Plan" has increased the participation of the villagers in two ways: (a) increased participation context; (b) increased level of participation. The result is increased engagement through providing local staff, creating a mechanism of participation, research and innovation, budgeting, and training. Increased participation has also been achieved through the provision of infrastructure services and addressing the communication, water supply, cooperative, and public affairs of Aleshtar.

Nowadays, due to resource constraints and increasing demand for energy, the use of static systems in designs that can provide thermal comfort without the need for fossil fuels is important. In this study, the extent of the indigenous architecture of the village was studied in the context of static heating because, in the eco-design, attention to the culture and elements of the native and traditional nature and architecture of each area can be a useful inspiration to the designers. In this study, Kong village with stepped typology in cold mountainous climate was selected as a case study. The research method used in this study is qualitative and analytical, which describes the climatic factors in the village and then using documentary and field studies, the criteria and sub-criteria of static heating systems in the village of Kong have been analyzed and ranked according to Habitat Climatic Index (AHP). And at the end of the research, it was concluded that the best habitat pattern with respect to priority and rank is the rectangular flat roof pattern. The results of this study show that the design and construction of Kong village houses are shaped by the contextual and climatic conditions and can be said to have an approach based on natural constructivism in which natural materials and passive methods of regulating environmental conditions provide a suitable model for sustainable architecture.

The purpose of this research is to determine the tourism social carrying capacity of the host society and identify the factors affecting it in the coastal villages of Mahmoodabad. The research method is descriptive-analytic based on surveying. The statistical population of the study is all the household heads of the coastal villages of Darwishabad and Chucksar in the North Daboi District of Mahmoodabad Township. The statistical population of the study consists of 343 household heads. The research data were collected through a questionnaire. Data were analysed by one-sample t-test, paired t-test, and correlation, multiple regression, and path analysis. The results of the studies show that, overall, the social carrying capacity of the host society for tourism development is higher than the average level and the assumed mean rank. Therefore, the social carrying capacity of the host society has not yet reached the saturation level. The results also indicate that among the factors affecting the level of the social carrying capacity of the host society, residents’ attitude towards the economic effects of tourism development has the most direct effect and the variable of residents' attitude toward the environmental impacts of tourism development has the most significant reverse effect on the social carrying capacity of the host community.

Given the importance of the role of agricultural cooperatives in agricultural and rural development, the need to identify the factors that improve the competitiveness of these organizations is strongly felt. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between organizational learning, organizational innovation, and competitiveness. The present study was conducted by exploratory mixed method. The statistical population in the qualitative section consisted of 25 experts in the cooperative sector and the quantitative section included 335 members of the cooperatives who were studied by the class method with appropriate attribution. To analyze qualitative data, qualitative content analysis was used with the help of MAXQDA software, and in a small part, structural equation modeling was used with the help of LISREL program. Organizational learning components in the dimensions of team learning, knowledge management in cooperatives, systemic thinking and organizational learning culture; organizational innovation components in the dimensions of market innovation, innovation support, innovation in behavior, innovation in strategy and production and process innovation; and components of competitiveness in agricultural cooperatives in the dimensions of financial market development, technical and technological readiness, market size and efficiency available, and adaptation to the external environment were identified. In the quantitative section, it was found that organizational learning and organizational innovation can explain 41% of the changes in competitiveness, and organizational learning can explain 55% of the changes in organizational innovation in agricultural cooperatives.

One of the most important economic strategies for regional development is viewing the rural tourism destinations as a place for small businesses. In other words, the pattern of tourism space is located in a rural environment like mosaics along with other activities and it usually promotes the demand for handicrafts, traditional arts, and activities that require more human labor, thereby promoting the entrepreneurial spirit among the villagers. Therefore, the purpose of the present article is to identify and explain the effects of propellant components of entrepreneurship development in rural tourism destinations of Samen district, Malayer County. The research method is descriptive-analytical and applied. The statistical population of this study consisted of 100 business owners in the field of furniture and carving. The data collection tool was a questionnaire whose reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha test for six components including entrepreneurial spirit, tourism opportunities, and economic, social, physical and environmental components, was calculated respectively 0.99, 0.90, 0.90, 0.99 and 0.97. The results showed that there is a strong correlation between some of the propellant components and the variable of rural tourism entrepreneurship. Components of tourism opportunities and environmental, physical components as well as individual entrepreneurial spirit explain 98% of the total changes in the entrepreneurship development in rural tourism destinations variable. Among them, the most direct effects were related to tourism opportunities and the most indirect effects were explained by the environmental component.

The aim of the present study is to identify the most suitable land uses with the highest efficiency and least vulnerability at the lowest costs. Among various land uses, due to the direct connection between agricultural land uses and environment, environmental evaluation become very sensitive. And in fact, when the potentials of the natural environment are identified, we can expect to achieve sustainable agriculture. The present study is aimed at environmental evaluation for determining potential lands for agriculture and pasturage in Neyshabour County to achieve sustainable agriculture. Therefore, systematic research method was used, and at the first stage, environmental potentials and resources were identified in the region. Then, the collected information was analyzed and combined based on the systematic approach, and finally was organized in the form of information layers. The environmental potential was determined by the measurement of extracted units with ecological criteria. And finally, the spatial correlation of distribution of villages in high potential lands for agriculture and pasturage was determined by the Moran index. The results of the research showed that the region enjoys high potential for class 3 agriculture and pasturage, and then for class 1 and 2. It was also shown that the region has the least potential for class 4 agriculture. It also identified an impressive level of area for irrigated farming, gardening, animal husbandry, aviculture, and beekeeping. The results of the Moran index indicate that spatial distribution of villages is cluster one type, with the Moran index of 0.244 and confidence level of 99 percent.

Cash-rent farming has developed during recent years in Iran; this phenomenon has had a greater impact especially in fertile regions with the abundant sources of water and soil. Meanwhile, Kermanshah province ranks as one of the agricultural centers in the country that is no exception when it comes to having fertile lands. During recent years, the farmers of Mahidasht district in Kermanshah County have rented their agricultural lands. So, the aim of the present qualitative study is to investigate the consequences of this phenomenon in Mahidasht district. For this purpose, the event tree analysis technique (ETA) was used. The required data was gathered through singular unstructured in-depth interviews, concentrated groups, group discussion with 32 of district landlords, and direct observation. Generally, the results showed that the development of the cash-rent farming phenomenon has two groups of consequences in the studied district: environmental and sociocultural consequences. The environmental and sociocultural problems include changes in the soil structure and pattern, changes in the quality and quantity of water sources, the incidence of plant pests and diseases, increase in the migration from rural areas to towns, social difficulties in rural areas and increase in the legal implications between landlords and tenants. Finally, it should be noted that our findings support the Marshallian perspective.

One of the most important issues in prehistoric societies has been human habitation, which has undergone complex changes and stages and has ultimately led to the accomplishment of innovative architectural works in rural areas. Since architecture can reflect the climate, economy, livelihood, and structure of past societies, studying and examining the evolution of architecture is a suitable way to clarify the situation in rural communities. North-central Iran is one of the geographical areas in which the evolution of architecture in different periods can be studied. The most important questions in the context of the study of architectural developments in the prehistoric villages of northern-central Iran in this article are as follows: What are the characteristics of the architectural works of the early villages in the north-central areas of Iran during this period? What changes have taken place in the architecture of these villages in the process of transition from Sialk I to II? What were the reasons for these changes in the architecture of the study areas? Comparing the architecture of the villages of the Sialk I and II periods, while examining the course and development and introducing the architecture of this period, the architecture of the Sialk I and II periods can be considered as a document for introducing the native architecture in the central plateau of Iran, estimating its antiquity and demonstrating its progress. Through a careful study of the architectural evolution of the rural population living in north-central Iran during this period, changes and internal progress become evident.