Journal of Sustainable Rural Development
Volume:4 Issue: 1, Aug 2020

Networks are studied and analyzed in two structural and functional aspects. Within this framework, the structural characteristics of networks are the result of their physical representation and independence of their use. Hence, the structural analysis of the road network enables us to generate semantic information (concerning village dynamics) and enrich useful spatial data. The topology or geometrical characteristics of the network can be analyzed through some algorithms of graph theory. The present research was conducted to analyze the structural pattern of rural road access network based on apple crop and export relationships in Maragheh.

Research data were collected from 43 sample villages and 12 cold stores of agricultural crops (located in some villages) receiving apple crops from other villages. Data were analyzed using the network analysis method through UCINET.6 software.

The results showed that the access network in the study area had a star network pattern and among the studied villages, Gol village had a higher concentration compared to other villages.

Concentration of storage equipment and storage of agricultural products such as cold storage in some villages and also the relatively good condition of access roads to these villages has increased the centrality of the above villages and the formation of a star pattern in the access network of the region. This has led to reduced access and isolation of villages far from the center of the network and thus reduced the incentive to produce in these villages. Therefore, considering the effect that the type of road network model has on the ease of access, distance and cost of villagers' access to services, especially services related to the type of rural products such as warehouses and cold storages of agricultural products, Therefore, it is recommended to provide a link among the villages through clustering to facilitate the access of villagers to the cold stores and save their cost, time, and distance.

Sociologically, conflict is a “struggle over values and claims to scarce status, power and resources”. Land, as a most valuable asset and a source of wealth and power, a basis for livelihood, a subject for geopolitical purposes, a matter of territorial importance, and a substance for cultural identity, is introduced as a subject of conflict in communal pastoral lands of the Milan nomadic tribe in North-west part of Iran. Three actors are recognized in the field that have conflict over the lands; the State, nomads, and peasants. The main objective of this article is to understand contradictory interaction among the actors and analyze the source and dynamics of social conflict among them. To pursue this objective, theories of conflict including Dahrendorf (1959) and the differentiated meaning system approach are adopted.

Applying the Qualitative method, six sub-tribes from Milan (located in winter pastures) and three peasantry villages (located in summer pastures) were selected as samples, and deep semi-structured interviews were conducted.

According to results, it is revealed that conflicts are concentrated around economic, historical, and political incentives, but differentiated meaning systems are also the source of conflict and inconsistencies among the actors.

Our study showed that pastures had a variety of meanings and values for actors: for the State, pastures had political, environmental, and economic importance while for peasants, they merely had economic importance and for nomadic groups, economic, cultural (identity), and territorial factors were prime impetuses. For actors, sources of conflicts, their solutions, and reconciliation strategies are also different and in most cases, they are contradictory.

Conceptualization and evaluation of the level of social sustainability have a special status in sustainable development literature. This study was conducted to evaluate the level of social sustainability and the determinants affecting it in the Harasam Rural District in Western Iran.

Based on the theoretical background and literature, 12 quantitative and 28 qualitative indices were examined in the framework of five components. The population consisted of 1983 households of the mentioned rural district and the sample included 340 people. The research tool was household and village questionnaires. The validity of the tool was confirmed by an expert panel and the reliability by Cronbach's alpha test (α = 0.84). Fuzzy Topsis was used to measure the social sustainability of the villages and path analysis to analyze the data.

The results showed that 100% of the villages of the rural district were in unsustainable or semi-sustainable states. Among the internal components, social justice and quality of life, respectively, had the greatest effect on social sustainability. Examining the external factors showed that the centrality of the settlement service and proximity to urban areas had a positive effect on the social sustainability of the investigated villages. Furthermore, out-immigration had the highest negative effect on the social sustainability of the villages.

This research re-emphasizes the importance of intra-generational justice based on social and spatial justice. Merely in the shadow of reducing social and regional inequalities and equitable distribution of development opportunities, the social sustainability of rural communities can be materialized.

The proper planning for disaster management in local communities does not merely address the vulnerability of the areas and requires the understanding of resilience. This is because identifying the resilience indicators and assessing the strengths and weaknesses if properly managed, can reduce the vulnerability of each community to natural disasters.

This is an applied research in terms of purpose and has a descriptive-analytical nature and is conducted using the survey method and questionnaire tool. The collected data are analyzed by SPSS software. In this study, the researchers investigate the socio-economic structures affecting the resilience of rural settlements and rank the villages of the region in terms of resilience using the TOPSIS FUZZY method by applying the resilience indicators in different dimensions (social, economic, institutional-infrastructural, etc.). The statistical population includes all 18 inhabited villages of Kanduleh County which are studied by random sampling.

The results indicate the low resilience level of Kanduleh villages, and the economic and social factors have a significant role in increasing the resilience of the rural settlements. In addition, there was a significant correlation between different socio-economic, infrastructural and institutional dimensions, social capital, etc. However, there was no significant relationship between the service factor and the dependent variable of socio-economic factors in the villages.

According to the results of the study, the villages of this district were ranked into 8 levels. Tazeh Abad had the highest resilience among the villages, while Kortavij Olya had the lowest resilience.

The present article presents the components of environmental quality of life (with an emphasis on the empowerment mechanism) and their effect on sustainable development. This study was conducted using the descriptive-analytical method in the form of a set of 7 independent variables on the enhancement of environmental quality of life. These variables include Educating and Informing, Cognition and Awareness, Transparency, Creating Equal Opportunities, Assurance, Trust and Empathy, Sense of Belonging and Social Responsibility and Participation. Moreover, a band of 4 dependent variables of the sustainable development were examined which include the Environmental, Social, Economic, Physical, and Infrastructural variables. The results, which have been analyzed by utilizing single-sample T– statistical test, the linkage measure of Kendall’s tau-b correlation, and multivariate regression, using SPSS software, show the low quality of the enhancing components of the environmental quality of life in the study area. Most of the surveyed indicators of the quality of life do not explain the future status of sustainable development of rural settlements in the study area and do not improve its dimensions under the current conditions. Therefore, changing and correcting the existing situation by choosing the appropriate social and economic policies of the state and applying appropriate methods for the empowerment of the rural community has been emphasized.

the purpose of the present research is to determine and identify various forms of thematic tourism and implementation strategies in rural areas of Meyami County for proper planning respecting the current market structure and the region’s tourism potentials.

the present research applied a case study method using various instruments including observation, interview, as well as document references. Interviews were conducted with 30 local stakeholders and experts up to the saturation.

the research led to a set of developing subthemes embodied in the main themes of cultural-historical, pilgrimage, rural life, agriculture and food, industry, health, physical activity, landscape and natural systems, and geology. Respecting each determined theme, a developable tourism form and a set of follow-up operational strategies were provided.

considering the region Caravanserais’ capacities, enhancing tourism infrastructure, designing, developing and marketing of particular forms of tourism for the understudied city, focusing on supplementary plans along with thematic tourism forms, cooperating with influencers such as bloggers, journalists, and even famous tour leaders are critical factors in developing thematic tourism in the rural areas of Meyami County.