javad ghasemi

The present study aimed to assess the impact of the aqueous-ethanolic extract of Zataria multiflora (ZM), carvacrol (Car), and their co-administration with a PPAR activator, pioglitazone (Pio), on oxidative stress and inflammation induced by paraquat (PQ) inhalation at a systemic level.

The rats in the control group were exposed to saline and those of other groups to PQ (54 mg/m3) aerosols for 8 times on alternate days. Nine PQ groups were treated with saline, Car (20 and 80 mg/kg/day), ZM (200 and 800 mg/kg/day), Pio (5 mg/kg/day), dexamethasone (Dexa, 0.03 mg/kg/day), and low-dose ZM or Car + Pio for 16 days during the period of PQ exposure (n=6).

Differential and total WBC counts, and malondialdehyde (MDA), interleukin (IL)-10, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels were enhanced but catalase (CAT), thiol, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels were reduced in the blood in the PQ group (p<0.01 to p<0.001). All measured variables improved in groups treated with both doses of ZM, Car, Pio, ZM + Pio, Car+Pio, and Dexa vs the PQ group (p<0.05 to p<0.001). Most variables were more improved in combined treatment groups in comparison with three agents alone. The combination of ZM or Car, and Pio showed an impact on PQ inhalation-induced systemic changes.

The synergistic effect between Pio with ZM or Car indicates that these substances work together to enhance their individual effects.

Drought-tolerant fodders extension, including sorghum, is of great importance to the Iranian Ministry of Agriculture. Regarding, the limited adoption of fodder sorghum in Iran, this research was conducted to develop strategies for improving fodder sorghum consumption in Tehran province. The statistical population of the qualitative phase was the key informants of sorghum, 18 of whom were selected for in-depth interviews using the purposeful snowball sampling method. Grounded theory was applied to extract strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Two questionnaires were prepared to measure the importance and intensity of external and internal factors, by 10 and 6 experts, respectively. Analyzing the external and internal environment, 21 strategies including eight (SO) strategies, four (WO) strategies, six (ST) strategies, and three (WT) strategies were extracted. Analysis of the strategic space showed (ST) strategies for adopting sorghum among dairy farmers in Tehran province had a higher priority. These strategies were "increasing the information of experts and farmers about the possibility of using sorghum Speedfeed variety in specific cattle or as a percentage of the ration in industrial cattle"; "increasing the information of experts and farmers about sorghum agronomic strengths"; "using sorghum in the ratio of cattle breeds with lower milk yield special milk quality such as Jersey or Simmental or native cattle"; "promoting agronomic strengths of sorghum, especially among farmers owning agricultural land"; "promoting agronomic strengths of sorghum by establishing model sites in dairy farms owning arable land" and "explaining the importance and strengths of sorghum for officials and decision-makers".

Knowledge management in the agriculture sector in order to access farmers to technical knowledge and research findings is one of the goals of the agricultural extension system. This research aimed to analyze knowledge management network in the new agricultural extension system in Iran. In this study, the interaction of three contextual (organizational structure, organizational culture and information and communication technology), process (production, storage, organization and distribution of knowledge) and performance (stakeholders’ access to technical knowledge and research findings) variables on each other has been studied. This study is quantitative in terms of nature of the data, in terms of the amount of control variables is non-experimental, in terms of research method is descriptive-correlational, which was done through a survey technique. The sample of the study included all agricultural extension specialists of Zanjan province and the assistant researchers in the research centers which were 143, and 28 people, respectively. Questionnaire was the main instrument for data collection. Validity of the questionnaire was verified using average variance extracted. Composite reliability coefficients and Cronbach’s alpha were calculated for determining the reliability of the questionnaire. Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling technique using Smart PLS software. Results showed that among the contextual factors, only the relationship between information and communication technology and process variables has become significant. Contextual factors explained 28.9% of the variance of the process variable. There was a positive and significant relationship between knowledge management and performance variable. Knowledge management could explain 53% of the variance of the performance variable.

Lack of an appropriate linkage between extension and research, is one of the problems of the agricultural extension system. After the implementation of the agricultural extension new system, "senior extension researchers" and "supportive researchers" were defined in order to play a more organized role in the agricultural knowledge network. Accordingly, the purpose of this research was to analyze the challenges and strategies to improve the performance of supportive researchers in the agricultural knowledge network of Iran. The statistical population of the study consisted of research network (N= 1876), out of whom 348 people determined as sample using Daniel's sampling formula and simple sampling technique. Data were collected through a questionnaire; validity of questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity (AVE Index). In order to measure the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR) were calculated. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS22 and Smart PLS3 software. Results of prioritizing challenges facing supportive researchers indicated that "infrastructural-supportive" dimension was in the highest, and "functional" dimension was in the lowest ranks. Also, results of prioritizing performance improvement strategies for supportive researchers showed that "infrastructural-supportive" dimension was in the highest, and "policy making-planning" dimension was in the lowest ranks. In addition, the results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that challenges and performance improvement strategies models had four dimensions (i.e. functional, infrastructural-supportive, structural and policy making-planning). At last, some recommendations were presented due to the research results in order to improve the performance of supportive researchers.

The linkage between research and extension has always been considered as one of the most important and challenging issues in agricultural innovation systems. After the implementation of the agricultural extension new system, the linkage between these two sectors was considered as an important component. The main purpose of this survey research (which was done in 2021-2022) was to analyzing effective linkage mechanisms between research and extension in the agricultural extension new system in Iran. The statistical population of the study consisted of extension agents (N= 1113) in Alborz, Fars, Sistan & Baluchestan and Lorestan Provinces, out of whom 291 extension agents determined as sample using Krejcie and Morgan sampling table and proportionate stratified sampling technique. Data were collected through a questionnaire, validity of which was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity (AVE Index). Reliability of the questionnaire was approved by calculating the Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR). The collected data were analyzed by SPSS22 and Smart PLS3 software. Results of prioritizing effective linkage mechanisms between research and extension indicated that "motivation" and "monitoring and evaluation" mechanisms, respectively, with the average of 3.85 and 3.80 were in the highest ranks and "structural-functional" and "participatory" mechanisms, respectively, with the average of 3.66 and 3.67 were in the lowest ranks. In addition, the results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that these mechanisms had eight components (i.e. motivation, participation, infrastructure-support, legal-policy, structural-functional, monitoring - evaluation, communication and training-empowerment), that “motivation” and “communication” components had the highest and lowest values of standard coefficient (0.964 and 0.786). Accordingly, it is recommended to improve the linkage between research and extension through: motivation, participation in the multilevel planning process, using the capacities of the non-governmental sector, training and empowerment programs, structural reforms, providing the necessary facilities and infrastructure and use of information and communication technology.

Rural youth, regarded as the future workforce in agriculture and the driving force behind rural development, play a crucial role in achieving sustainable progress. Despite the expectation that Iran's agricultural extension system would hold a pivotal position in the development of human resources in the agricultural sector, it has encountered various challenges. This research aimed to identify the obstacles facing rural youth capacity development programs within Iran's agricultural extension system, utilizing a qualitative approach. Employing purposive sampling and theoretical saturation criteria, 24 participants, including faculty members, managers, and relevant experts, were selected for the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect pertinent information. Data analysis employed qualitative content analysis with systematic coding, facilitated by Maxqda 12 software. The findings revealed a total of 68 challenges categorized into two main components: 1) Challenges associated with the agricultural extension and education system, encompassing institutional-organizational, cultural-social, human resources, and scientific-specialized sub-components, and 2) Major challenges linked to rural villages and societies, comprising policy and planning, spatial, economic, educational, and cultural-social sub-components. To overcome these challenges and enhance the role of the agricultural extension system, recommendations are made based on the research findings. Successful capacity development in rural youth necessitates formal and long-term planning, involving active participation from all relevant institutions and organizations, with clearly defined roles and functions for each.

Extension activities to improve irrigation and farm management will have an effective role in increasing yield and optimal use of water and soil resources. Yield gap is considered as one of the important issues in farm management, and it is very important to know the factors affecting it. One of the problems of farmers is their little knowledge in the field of water and soil. If they have access to modern knowledge and farm management, they can make an effective contribution in managing water use and increasing production. One of the solutions that can be effective in the field of optimal management of water consumption and other production inputs is to increase the knowledge, attitude and skills of farmers. The main goal of this research was to investigate and analyze the role of extension activities implemented in model sites located in the northern region of Khuzestan province in increasing yield and improving water productivity.

The intended extension method in this research was a model site based on which each model site has a main user and between 20 and 25 functional users. Functional units included farmers who, while visiting the main site, applied all or part of the recommendations used in the main site in their own farm.In order to transfer knowledge, increase yield and water productivity at on-farm scale, 52 extension model sites in the regions of Dezful, Shush, Shushtar and Andimshek located in the north of Khuzestan, Iran, (2017-2019) and in the technical packages (balanced nutrition, cultivation, optimal length of border irrigation, cultivar, low tillage methods, modified irrigation method) were done according to different crops. The crops were included wheat, corn, canola, sugarbeet, mung bean, onion, cabbage, lettuce, eggplant, beans and citrus fruits. In addition to model sites, control farms under traditional management were also investigated and evaluated. The result of comparing the average values of advanved management treatment (main site) and traditional management (control) was with t-test indicates the existence of a significant difference in yield and water productivity. Water productivity was obtained from the ratio of yield (kg/ha) to irrigation water. The guaranteed selling price of wheat, canola and sugar (beet) was 115 thousand rials, 235 thousand rials and 230 thousand rials, respectively. All measures in two parts of the farm were carried out by the operator under technical supervision and all measurements were carried out by the researcher.

The results of extension activities conducted by researchers and agricultural experts in the faremer condition and with the participation of 1201 of them, showed that if the results are widespread, the total amount of crop production will increase despite the reduction in irrigation water consumption. The amount of expected increase in the production of wheat, Canola, sugar beet, corn, mung bean and citrus fruits in Shush region was 14857 tons, 13347 tons, 8303 tons, 6225 tons, 221 tons and 870 tons respectively; The expected increase in the production of wheat, Canola and beans in Shushtar region was 19750 tons, 2028 tons and 83 tons, respectively; The expected increase in the production of wheat, Canola and beans in Shushtar region was 19750 tons, 2028 tons and 83 tons, respectively; The expected increase in wheat, corn and eggplant production in Andimshek region was 21966 tons, 3792 tons and 71 tons respectively and The expected increase in the production of wheat, Canola, sugar beet, corn, onion, lettuce, cabbage and citrus in Dezful region was 9447 tons, 20107 tons, 717 tons, 1594 tons, 2478 tons, 3610 tons, 5749 tons and 19232 tons respectively. The increase in water productivity by using specific technical packages for each crops compared to the control for wheat, canola, sugar beet, corn, vegetables, beans, mung bean, and citrus fruits is 10, 35, 9.6, 21.4, 42.5, 11.1, 50 and 168 percent respectively.

Considering the nature of the model sites, which is accompanied by the participation of the users in the processes of learning and applying techniques, the continuation of these activities can help the development and sustainability of the aforementioned achievements.

Agricultural Education Network is the educational network based on the website of the Institute of Agricultural Education and Extension, to improve the level of knowledge and job skills and professional behavior of agricultural stakeholders. The multiplicity of effective factors and variables in e-learning makes it necessary to pay attention to the quality of educational services in this system. Accordingly, the main purpose of this survey research was to analyzing components of service quality model of agricultural education network (SHAK) as perceived by learners. Statistical population of the study consisted of learners (N= 19310), out of whom 388 people determined as sample using Cochran's formula and stratified random sampling. Data were collected through a questionnaire; validity of questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity (AVE≥0.96). Reliability of the questionnaire was approved by calculating the Ordinal Theta (θ≥0.93) and composite reliability (CR≥0.87). The collected data were analyzed by SPSSwin22 and LISREL software. The overall ranking of the SHAK service quality components showed that from the point of view of learners, the "educator" and "content" components were in the highest ranks and "planning and implementation" and "infrastructure - support" components were in the lowest ranks. Additionally, the results of the confirmatory factors analysis illustrated that the service quality model of the agricultural education network has six main components including: infrastructural-support, planning and implementation, content, educator, learners and results. Accordingly, it is recommended to improve the SHAK service quality through: improving the notification of courses, system upgrade, planning, adapt courses to the needs of the learners, updating the content, improving teaching skills and motivating learners.

According to the geographical and agricultural conditions, production of flowers and ornamental plants have a suitable situation in Iran. Alborz province is one of the potential areas in this field. Thus, this study aimed to analyze flower and ornamental plants development strategies in this province. The statistical population of study consisted of growers of flower and ornamental plants in Alborz province (N= 1260), out of which 135 people determined as sample using Cochran sampling formula and simple sampling technique. A questionnaire was the main tool of study. Validity of the questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity using AVE Index. In order to measure the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR) were calculated. The data were analyzed by SPSS22 and Smart PLS softwares. The finding revealed that, "facilitation-support" and "production process improvement" strategies were in the highest ranks and "research and technology" and "agricultural education and extension and human resources development" strategies were in the lowest ranks for development of the flower and ornamental plants industry. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that, flower and ornamental plants development strategies' measurement model consist of seven main elements: "marketing and sales", "agricultural education and extension and human resources development", "infrastructure and facilities development", "production process improvement", "expert development", "research and technology" and "facilitation-support" was homogeneous and the reliability of the Indicators was approved.

Given the rise in popularity of ecotourism, investigating its impacts on the local community is of great importance. Thus, this study aimed to analyze ecotourism’s effects on the empowerment of local communities. In this regard, based on the empowerment wheel conceptual framework (Mendoza-Ramos, 2013) a survey was conducted in Savadkuh County. The sample size was calculated to be 240 people according to Daniel's sampling formula and was accessed through the convenience-sampling method. Data were collected through a questionnaire, the validity of which was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity (AVE Index). The reliability of the questionnaire was approved by calculating Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR). The data were analyzed by SPSS22 and Smart PLS software. Besides the confirmation of indicators’ homogeneity and reliability, the results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that local community empowerment's measurement model had five components (i.e. psychological, environmental, political, economic, and social). In addition, results revealed that the total mean score of local people empowerment was 3.1 out of 5. The highest mean scores were for the psychological (3.35) and environmental (3.22) dimensions of empowerment, respectively. The lowest mean scores were for the political (2.89) and economic (2.96) dimensions of empowerment, respectively. The social empowerment dimension (3.10) was almost at a moderate level. Accordingly, it is recommended to improve the political and economic empowerment of Savadkuh County’s local people through participatory approaches and facilitation techniques.

Interaction with research institutes and centers is one of the components of the new agricultural extension system in Iran. In order to play an appropriate role of researchers in the agricultural knowledge network, senior extension-researchers and supportive researchers were defined as two main actors.Accordingly, the main purpose of this survey research was to evaluate effectiveness of senior extension-researchers in the new agricultural extension system of Iran. Statistical population of the study consisted of research network (N= 1908 pepole),out of whom 320 people determined as sample using Daniel's sampling formula and simple sampling technique. Data were collected through a questionnaire; validity of questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity (AVE≥0.51). Reliability of the questionnaire was approved by calculating the Ordinal Theta (θ≥0.77) and composite reliability (CR≥0.77). The collected data were analyzed by SPSSwin22 and Smart PLS3 software. Results of prioritizing showed that, in the context dimension, “compatibility of senior extension-researchers’ objectives with policies of the agricultural sector”; in the input dimension, “technical ability of senior extension-researchers”; in the process dimension, “participating in E-learning courses as teacher”; and finally, in the product dimension, “applicability of the recommendations to target users” were in the highest ranks. Also, results of prioritizing effectiveness evaluation dimensions of senior extension-researchers indicated that "product" was in the highest rank and "input" was in the lowest rank. Besides the confirmation of indicators’ homogeneity and reliability, the results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that effectiveness evaluation model had four components (i.e. context, input, process and product).

The flower and ornamental plants industry, play an important role in the agricultural economy of Iran and many countries of the world; nevertheless, this industry is facing many barriers and challenges. Alborz province has an appropriate capacity for the development of flower and ornamental plants industry; accordingly, the main purpose of this descriptive - survey research was to identify the barriers and challenges of flower and ornamental plants industry development in Alborz province. The statistical population of study consisted of flower and ornamental plants growers in Alborz province (N=1260), out of whom 135 people determined as sample using Cochran's sampling formula and simple sampling technique. A questionnaire was the main tool of study. Validity of the questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity using AVE Index. In order to measure the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR) were calculated. The data were analyzed by SPSS22 and Smart PLS software. Prioritizing of barriers and challenges showed that, “high price of the product” and “policy making, planning and supportive” were in the highest ranks and “human resources” and “research, education and extension” were in the lowest ranks. The results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that, barriers and challenges’ measurement model consist of 10 main elements: “high price of the product”, “infrastructure / technology”, “production quality”, “financial”, “human resources”, “research, education and extension”, “marketing and sales”, “consumers”, “export” and “policy making, planning and supportive” was homogeneous and the reliability of the indicators was approved. Accordingly, it is recommended to identifying and solving barriers and challenges through a comprehensive and holistic approach.

In order to interact with research institutes and centers, as one of the main components of the agricultural extension new system, "supportive researchers" were defined.The main purpose of this survey research was to validate the CIPP model in evaluating the effectiveness of supportive researchers.Statistical population of the study consisted of agricultural extension network (N= 9627),out of whom 566 people were determined as samples using Daniel's sampling formula and simple sampling technique.Data were collected through a questionnaire; validity of the questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts,construct validity and discriminant validity.Reliability of the questionnaire was approved by calculating the Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability.The collected data were analyzed by SPSS22 and Smart PLS3 software. Results of prioritizing indicated that, in the context dimension, “completeness of duties and responsibilities of supportive researchers”; in the input dimension, “technical ability of supportive researchers”; in the process dimension, “providing technical recommendations to the extension agents and farmers”; and finally, in the product dimension, “applicability of the recommendations to target users” were in the highest ranks. Also, results of prioritizing effectiveness evaluation dimensions of supportive researchers indicated that "context" was in the highest rank and "process" was in the lowest rank.Besides the confirmation of indicators’ homogeneity and reliability, the results of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the effectiveness evaluation model of supportive researchers had four components (i.e. context, input, process and product).Considering the comprehensiveness of the CIPP model, therefore, it is recommended to use this model in evaluating the effectiveness of supportive researchers.

The main objective of this quantitative-qualitative research was to analyzing the mental preferences of paddy farmers towards second cultivation in Rasht County. The statistical population of the study consisted of 30 progressive farmers in Rasht County who were selected by purposive sampling technique. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS22 and Expert Choice11 softwares. The reliability and Validity of the questionnaire was approved by calculating the Cronbach's alpha and construct validity.The Findings showed that "lack of government support for the production and sale of these products, lack of successful model farms in cultivating alternative crops under government management" and "lack of an appropriate market for these products» with a ratio of 93, 90 and 73%, were the most important barriers to farmers' willingness to second cultivation, respectively. Also, the most important factors determining the type of cultivation were revenue generation, production costs and market for products, respectively. The results showed that, ratoon and local beans were in the highest ranks in the farmers' mental preferences in growing crops based on revenue generation, sales and production cost criteria, but in terms of water scarcity and employment criteria, local beans and forage were in the highest ranks, respectively. Overall, the results showed that, ratoon with a weight value above 0.453 was in the first priority in second cropping pattern and local beans and forage (with 0.353 and 0.087 weights) were in the next priorities, respectively. Designing an optimal cropping pattern, guaranteed purchase, establishing model farms and development of conversion industries are suggested.

Lung cancer (LC) is the most common type of cancer and causes of death among males. This study aims to estimate the survival rate of lung cancer patients by employing the benefits of Bayesian modeling in determining factors affecting the survival of lung cancer in Kerman province, Iran.

We conducted a historical cohort study of 195 patients with lung cancer from 2016 to 2018. In this study, we used linear dependent Dirichlet process (LDDP), and employed some results of the previous study as informative prior for better estimation.

Of the 195 patients, 160 died. The mean age of patients at the time of diagnosis was 62.43±12.55. The median survival time of patients was 10.4 months. Men accounted for 75.9% of the total patients. One, two, and three-year survival rate was 44.5%, 22.9%, and 16.4%, respectively. The multivariable model results showed that treatments were significant. Other variables had no significant effect.

Our study highlights the importance of prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment in improving the survival rate of lung cancer patients. We found that patients who received at least one usual lung cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery, had higher survival rates compared to those who did not receive any treatment. While our study has some limitations, such as its retrospective design, our use of Bayesian modeling techniques allowed us to effectively incorporate prior information from previous studies to improve estimation accuracy.

Rural tourism is one of the most important and growing types of the tourism sector, which includes various activities, relying on natural and cultural resources and human-centered orientation. In recent decades, due to the recession in the industrial and agricultural sectors and the living problems of the society, development policymakers have always emphasized the importance of the development of the tourism industry as a strategy to help economic prosperity due to the currency appreciation of the tourism industry. Rural tourism has not been an exception to this rule. In Iran, the issue of rural tourism as one of the sub-branches of the tourism sector has been considered by development thinkers in various scientific branches such as geography, social sciences, and rural development since the early 2001s. There is no complete agreement among thinkers on the definition of rural tourism. Researchers from different countries have developed their definitions based on their country's unique experiences or backgrounds. The concept of rural tourism includes any type of leisure and leisure activity that is associated with receiving services such as food, accommodation, and local products from local residents and takes place in a place that is in accordance with current laws and regulations of the country or in terms of nature.

The present study, which was conducted to identify and analyze the consequences of tourism development in rural areas of Esco, in terms of the degree and degree of control of variables, non-experimental and descriptive, in terms of data collection, field and in terms of generalizability, It was a survey. The statistical population of this study consisted of 550 villagers living in Aq Gonbad village. According to the Karajsi-Morgan table, 225 of them had to be selected by random sampling to conduct research to increase the confidence of the number. 240 people were considered. The data required for this analysis were of the primary data type, which was collected using a questionnaire tool. This researcher-made questionnaire had three sections: individual and professional characteristics (4 variables), positive consequences of the development of tourism activities (22 variables), and negative consequences of the development of tourism activities (21 variables), which were in the form of a spectrum. Five-level (from very low to very high) levels were measured. Based on the conceptual research model, 22 variables related to positive outcomes, and 21 variables related to the negative consequences of tourism activity development as described in Table (1), each was assigned to each of the four factors mentioned in the research conceptual model. In order to estimate the validity of the structure of the questionnaire, factor analysis was used. For this purpose, the following steps were taken: 1) Carrying out exploratory factor analysis in order to determine the basic factors, 2) Deciding on the number of required factors. To explain the observed variables, 3) to rotate the factors and omit the variables that have a weak relationship with the extracted factors or introduce more than one factor, and 4) to perform a confirmatory factor analysis of the remaining variables to confirm the theoretical structure of the tool. Research and its goodness with the observed data Cronbach's alpha were also used to determine the reliability and internal consistency of the research instruments, the values of which were obtained for the main sections of the questionnaire as described in Table (1). The calculated coefficients are higher than 0.7 and acceptable. Data analysis was performed using SPSS23 and LISREL8.5 software, and the statistical methods used included exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. However, in this study, according to the purpose, only the measurement model was calculated and it was determined by how the latent variables are measured according to the visible variables, for which the operating load of each indicator on The structure was estimated (above 0.5 is acceptable) and its significance was investigated using t-value.

Based on the findings of the study, it was found that most of the respondents (86.7%) were men and the rest (ie 13.3%) were women. Their average age was 29.5 years and their standard deviation was 9.66. In addition, the expected age was 21 and 70 years, respectively. In terms of academic status, descriptive results showed that 40% of respondents had a bachelor's degree and 26.7% had a bachelor's degree or higher, and only 33.3% had lower education than a bachelor's degree. As mentioned above, in order to classify and identify the underlying factors and to exclude variables that have a weak relationship with the extracted factors, it is also necessary to determine the amount of variance explained by each of the variables in the form of categorized factors. Exploratory factor analysis was used. In order to determine the appropriateness of the data related to the set of analyzed variables regarding the positive consequences of rural tourism development, Bartlett test and KMO index were used. The significance of the Bartlett test at a 99% confidence level and the appropriate value of KMO indicated the correlation and appropriateness of the variables to perform factor analysis. The extracted factors of the analyzed set, along with the specific value, percentage of variance, and the percentage of cumulative variance are presented in Table (3). As can be seen from the results, these four factors accounted for a total of 67.99% of the total variance, which indicates the appropriate variance rate explained by the extracted factors. Meanwhile, the first factor, the "economic factor," alone explained the 22.74 percent variance of the entire analyzed set. Then, respectively, the "infrastructure" factors of 20/33; the "social" and the "cultural-educational" accounted for 8.37 percent, respectively. The position of the set of variables related to the positive consequences of the development of rural tourism activities, according to the extracted factors, assuming that the variables with a factor load greater than 0.5 after the rotation of the factors by the Vermox method, is presented in Table (2). In addition, one variable was removed from the analysis after the factor rotation, two variables due to the low factor load.

Application of biofertilizer is governed by different factors whose identification and knowledge will play a great role in farmer acceptance of the fertilizers. The present quantitative study was conducted to identify the factors involved in the use of biofertilizers by farmers in Yengijeh village, Zanjan, Iran. The statistical population consisted of all the local farmers (N=313). Using Yamane formula, the sample size was calculated at 175 but data were ultimately collected from 165 farmers through the convenience sampling method. For this purpose, a questionnaire was used whose face validity had been approved by an expert panel and its reliability was computed via Cronbach' alpha (α˃ 0.7). Binary logit regression was employed to examine the effects of two categories of variables on biofertilizer consumption; these included farmers' individual characteristics (including attitude toward and knowledge about biofertilizers and communication channels) and perceived innovation characteristics (including compatibility, trialability, observability, complexity, and relative advantage). Results revealed that while the three innovation characteristics of trialability, observability, and complexity had significant effects on fertilizer consumption, farmers' individual characteristics had none whatsoever.

Chemical pesticides are the most important pollutants in the environment and groundwater. Accordingly, the objective of this survey research was to explanation of factors affecting the pro-environmental behavior of apple gardeners in Meshkin Shahr County in Ardabil province. Statistical population of the study consisted of 1492 apple gardeners out of which 200 gardeners selected as sample using Cochran formula and multi- stage sampling technique. Data were collected by applying a questionnaire developed for the study and were analyzed using SPSS23 and Smart PLS2. Validity of the questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity using AVE Index. In order to measure the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR) were calculated. The results showed that, the information Resources variable explained 25% of the variance of apple gardeners' environmental knowledge; environmental knowledge and information Resources variables explained 71% of the variance of their environmental attitude; and finally, environmental attitude and knowledge variables explained 58% of the variance of apple gardeners' pro-environmental behavior.

Addressing students’ employability by agricultural colleges has been highlighted due to dramatic changes in agricultural graduates’ labor market in recent years. Thus, this study was conducted to measure the agricultural students’ employability (N= 715) and its correlation with some variables in agriculture and natural resources university college, University of Tehran. Sample size was determined via Cochran formula (n=190). Sample were accessed through stratified proportional sampling. Data were collected via a questionnaire, validity of which was confirmed by a panel of experts and its reliability was examined by computing Cronbach’s alpha. Data were analyzed using SPSS20 software. Results revealed that agricultural studentschr('39') employability skills mean score was 3.3 from 5 which was inferred as moderately higher than average. Students were weaker in work and life experience (mean core= 2.72) and degree subject knowledge and skills (mean core= 2.81). Furthermore, perceived importance of employability skills development, agricultural experience, being interested in the field of study, non- agricultural experience, assignment of responsibilities in childhood by family were significantly correlated with studentchr('39')s employability. Male students reported higher scores in all employability components i.e experience (work & life); degree subject knowledge, understanding and skills; generic skills; emotional intelligence and overall employability mean scores. These differences were significant except for generic skills and emotional intelligence. Generally, it is recomeneded to integrate employability in agricultral collges educational programs. This integration should be gender-sentive for considering female studentschr('39') weakness in most of emaployability components.

Perceived innovation characteristics are one of the components affecting innovation adoption. Accordingly, present study aimed to investigate the perceived bio-fertilizers characteristics impact on consumption of these bio-fertilizers. Statistical population of this study constituted of all farmers were working in Yengijeh Village in Zanjan county (N= 313) from which 161 farmers were accessed through convenient sampling. Sample size was determined according to appropriate sample size for multivariate statistical techniques. The appropriateness of determined sample size was also confirmed by Cochran formula. Data collected through a questionnaire that its validity and reliability were examined respectively by a panel of experts and Cronbach's alpha (α ≥ 70). Stepwise discriminant analysis was applied to examine the effect of innovation characteristics including "perceived compatibility", "perceived observability", "perceived complexity", "perceived trialability" and "perceived relative advantage" on bio-fertilizers consumption. Discriminant analysis revealed that "perceived relative advantage" was the only bio-fertilizers' characteristic that could distinguish consumer farmers from non- consumer farmers. Other variables entered the discriminant function lacked acceptable discriminant power for separating consumer farmers from non-consumer farmers. In this study farmers' perception of bio-fertilizers may could affected by their financial, technical conditions and skills. Thus, it is suggested that farmers' individual and social characteristics considered, besides, bio-fertilizers perceived characteristics.

Learners vary in understanding, organizing, and retaining information or experience, called preferred learning style. We administered Reid’s (1984) Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire to 235 Iranian EFL learners to determine their styles and the role of some variables in their preference. Kinesthetic, auditory, visual, and tactile learning styles came out as major category while individual and group learning styles appeared as minor type. Furthermore, females, not males, prefer auditory learning. Also, age makes a significant difference in preferring only tactile learning style. However, graduate students differed significantly in tactile and visual learning styles from undergraduate students, due possibly to the low number of graduate participants. Yet, participants differed across disciplines of English literature, translation, and TEFL in only tactile learning style. Post-hoc comparisons indicated more preference of tactile style for TEFL students. Other variables investigated showed no significant difference. Thus, Iranian language teachers should be considerate and provide various teaching methods and materials selectively to respond to the diverse learning styles of the learners with different age, gender, and discipline.

Experiential learning is a fundamental model of teaching and learning in agricultural education. Accordingly, the purpose of this survey research was to analysis the elements of experiential learning in Iranian higher agricultural education system. The statistical population of the study consisted of 20518 graduate students of Iranian agricultural colleges out of which 380 students selected as sample, using Cochran formula and proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected by applying a questionnaire developed for the study and were analyzed using SPSSwin/v.19 and LISREL/v8.5. Validity of the questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity using AVE Index (AVE= 0.84-0.96). In order to measure the reliability of the questionnaire, ordinal Alpha coefficient and composite reliability (CR) were calculated (α= 0.83-0.93; CR= 0.96-0.98). Results of prioritizing dimensions of four elements of experiential learning in higher agricultural education system indicated that in the element of curriculum, educational evaluation held the highest and educational needs and goals held the lowest ranks; in the element of teacher’s characteristics, skill dimension held the highest and motivational – interactive dimensions held the lowest ranks; in the element of student’s characteristics, motivational dimension held the highest and interactive dimension held the lowest ranks and in the element of organizational factors, infrastructure dimension held the highest and financial dimension held the lowest ranks. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that indicators used for measuring curriculum, instructors' characteristics, learners' characteristics and organizational factors were appropriate and models fitness indexes were at desirable level.

The purpose of this survey research was to design entrepreneurial self-efficacy development model based on experiential learning in Iranian Agricultural Higher Education System. The statistical population of the study consisted of 20518 graduate students of Iranian agricultural colleges out of which 380 students selected as sample, using Cochran formula and proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected by applying a questionnaire developed for the study and were analyzed using SPSSwin/v.19 and LISREL/v8.5. Validity of the questionnaire was approved by a panel of experts and construct validity using AVE Index. In order to measure the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach Alpha coefficient and composite reliability (CR) were calculated. The results showed that, in Iranian higher agricultural education system, teacher’s characteristics influences student’s practical and experiential skills and personal and interpersonal skills; student’s characteristics influences their technical skills related to career success and organizational factors influences student’s practical and experiential skills, technical skills related to career success, personal and interpersonal skill and analytical skills. Also, practical and experiential skills and technical skills related to career success influences entrepreneurial self-efficacy.

Previously, decision about granting facilities to clients of banks in Iran were made based on personal judgment about the risk of failure in reimbursement. But, increasing demand for bank facilities by economic firms and households in one hand, and increasing extensive commercial competition among banks and economic- credit companies in the country and their efforts to alleviate the risk of failure in reimbursement of facilities on the other hand, have resulted in using modern methods such as statistical methods in this area. Today, to predict the possibility of failure in reimbursement of facilities and to classify their applicants, banks use the credit ranking of their clients. Savings in time and costs, removing personal judgments and increasing the accuracy of evaluating applicants of various facilities are some of the benefits gained in this method. There are various statistical methods such as audit analysis, logistic regression, nonparametric smoothing and other methods including neural networks which have been used in ranking the credits. Among these methods, neural network method is of higher flexibility and has attracted more attention in recent years due to its ability to classify, generalize and learn the patterns. In this paper, firstly we select some of the important criteria in granting various credit facilities such as financing loan, civil partnership, installment sale and unilateral contract to natural clients of a private bank in the country using questionnaire and the opinions of elite people in the field of banking. Then, we classify them by presenting four models of neural networks namely MOE, MLP, LVQ and RBF and evaluate the accuracy of the ranking of these models. The obtained results indicate that MOE model is more accurate compared to MLP and RBF models and LVQ has not acceptable accuracy for ranking the credits of bank applicants.

The purpose of this descriptive- correlational research was to investigate factors affecting use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by agricultural extension experts. The statistical population of the study consisted of the Agricultural Extension experts in the Khorasane Razavi Province out of whom 196 individuals were taken as sample, using Cochran Formula and Proportional Stratified Sampling Technique. A questionnaire was designed as the main tool of the study. The validity of the questionnaire was verified through the judgment of a panel of faculty members (University of Tehran), considered as experts in the field. To assess the reliability of the questionnaire, Cronbach Alpha coefficients were found out for the main scales of the questionnaire (0.87 to 0.95). The data were analyzed through SPSS-win software. The results of stepwise regression analysis indicated that English proficiency skill, knowledge of computer,application, age and years of job experience, respectively explained 54.1 percent of the variances in knowledge on Information and Communication Technology. Also, extent of knowledge in computer skills, as well as in Internet skills, and English proficiency, explained 68.8 percent of variances in use and application of Information and communication technology by agricultural extension experts.