راضیه نامدار

The population growth and the increase in human nutritional needs have led to an increased demand for agricultural food products. In fact, food security is a goal behind which there are hidden social and economic objectives, each of which is of great importance. Attention to food security in Iran has always been one of the main goals of rural and agricultural development programs. Studies show that in rural societies, the lack of provision for basic needs, including food insecurity in part of the rural population, is one of the most significant problems in rural areas. Therefore, considering the role of food security in human health and development, the aim of the present study was to explore the components of food security in rural households in Shiraz County.

This research is descriptive, using a survey technique, and in terms of the amount and degree of control, this research was field-based. The collection of information has been investigated through library studies. The face validity of the questionnaire was also confirmed by the professors of the agricultural extension and education department. The reliability of the questionnaire was done by conducting a guide study and calculating Cronbach's alpha coefficient, which for all three variables of food security, social capital and social health, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.68, 0.72 and 0.79, respectively. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 21 software and statistical methods. The statistical population of this research included all rural households in Shiraz city. This city consists of three main parts: Central, Dasht Arjan and Zarghan. According to Morgan's table, 384 households were selected and after determining the sample size according to each village and the population of each village, sampling was done.

The results of the survey of the food security situation of the villagers of Shiraz show that 24.7% of the studied people are in very food safe conditions, 21.9% are in food safe conditions, 30.5% are in moderate conditions, and 13.5% are in food insecure conditions and 9.4% are in very food insecure conditions. According to the findings of the research, four components for food security include availability, benefit, accessibility and sustainability. Among the four components of food security, according to the average, availability (23.23), utility (16.30), accessibility (13.57) and sustainability (10.96) have the greatest effect. Also, the findings of the research showed that there is no significant relationship between age, the number of breadwinners in the household and food security. But there is a significant relationship between the number of family members, the level of education, the amount of land (hectares) and the number of training courses attended in the past year. This issue can help policy makers and other related institutions to improve the food security situation in rural communities.

In the studied area, the food security situation had worsened compared to the past, and the households had no hope that this situation would be improved in the future. Financial problems, rising food prices, seasonal fluctuations and temporary job loss caused this component to be low in the studied areas. The results showed that in the studied villages, the prices of the agricultural products of the villagers are low and they are not supported, the jobs are seasonal, the lack of job variety and the unemployment of the villagers or unstable employment has caused the villagers to not have the ability to prepare high-quality food as before, and to use only the foods that only satisfy them and to ignore the consumption of foods that have a high price. The weakness of the price control system and also the weak monitoring of the prices is one of the weak points that affect their food security through various ways such as increasing the cost and reducing the liquidity of the household.

Food literacy has significant potential for improving some aspects of food insecurity by increasing flexibility and maximizing the use of available resources. The aim of this study was to investigate the indicators and factors affecting food literacy among rural households by survey method among the statistical population of rural households in Dashti city of Bushehr province. The number of samples was selected based on Cochran's formula and 232 households by multi-stage sampling method. The data collection tool was a questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed by the pilot and the opinion of faculty of agricultural extension and education and data analysis was performed using SPSS25 software. The results showed that the average food literacy among rural households with different levels of education and income level was significantly different. The results of examining the causal relationship in the form of path analysis test showed that among the variables included in the model, the use of ecosystem services (effect of 0.725), attitude towards conventional agriculture (effect of 0.577) and food security (effect of 0.465) had the highest effect (sum of direct and indirect effects) on food literacy and the age variable (effect of 0.225) had the lowest. In order to improve the food literacy of rural communities, it is recommended to identify the scientific methods that can be offered in formal and informal education courses, and pay more attention to the empirical knowledge of villagers regarding food, as well as appropriate educational management.

One of the basic preconditions for achieving sustainable development and the most basic criteria of welfare in any society is promoting social health.The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of social capital as one of the most important social factors affecting social health in rural households, which on the one hand, measures the various dimensions of social health and, on the other hand, analyzes the relationship between this phenomenon and social capital and its dimensions. This research is a descriptive-survey study that has investigated the structural relations of social health with five dimensions based on the theoretical foundations of Keyes theory and social capital with three dimensions of Nahapiet, and Ghoshal. The statistical population included rural households (384 people) in Shiraz. To estimate the reliability of the indicators, and measuring the reliability of each indicator using the Cronbach's alpha test, the comosite reliability index of social capital and social health was calculated to a desirable level (CR=0.72 and 0.82). The results showed that factors such as age, level of education, number of household members, amount of arable land and number of training courses had a significant relationship with social health and there was a causal relationship between the components of social capital and health with desirable indicators (RMSEA=0.07). The promotion of structural, communication and cognitive indicators of social capital are effective in the development of social health indicators in the society.

Migration is the most important phenomenon that can endanger the existence and survival of the rural community. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of social capital components and place attachment on the migration of people in the villages of Jiroft County, which was done with a quantitative approach. The statistical population of the study was the active rural population. Krejice and Morgan table was used to determine the sample size (n=382). A stratified random sampling method was used to select the sample. A questionnaire was used for data collection that its validity was confirmed by a panel of experts. Furthermore, in order to assess the reliability of the research tool, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient was calculated (0.71≤α≤0.83). The results of the Pearson correlation analysis showed that increasing the distance between rural and urban areas leads to more migration. Also, the decrease in social capital among the villagers leads to an increase in their migration. The results of path analysis showed that all components of social capital have direct and significant effects on migration, and among these, social participation has the most significant direct effect on rural migration. At the same time, place attachment also has a significant direct negative effect on migration. All components of social capital have a significant direct positive effect on place attachment. This means that the higher the level of social participation, social cohesion, social trust, social awareness and social relations of the people in rural communities, the higher the probability that their place attachment will be increased and consequently, the lower the likelihood of migration among them.

Rising demand for food production is a serious threat to global food security and future generations face food shortages and poverty. Today, common ways to increase food production are in responding to food security threats, including population growth, limited production resources, climate change, and political instability, does not meet the world's needs. Scientific developments and biotechnological applications such as transgenic products are of importance. Transgenic products, are a new scientific development that is of particular importance because of their significant impact on key areas such as food production. If transgenic products are a solution to the world's food challenges, it is important for officials to know and understand the core of society's responses to scientific innovations and their products.Therefore, this study was conducted to analyze the factors affecting the consumption of transgenic products and food integrity.This research has been conducted using survey technique. The measurement tool in this study was the researcher-made questionnaire with closed-ended questions. The validity of questionnaire was confirmed using the opinions of faculty members in Shiraz University and the reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach's alpha tests for variables measured using the Likert spectrum among students outside the study community. The statistical population of the present study includes 15575 students of Shiraz University. The sample size was estimated at 385 according to Morgan's table. The study samples were selected by stratified random sampling method with appropriate proportions for participation in the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. Statistical tests showed that the alpha coefficients of the scales for measuring variables in the questionnaire were in acceptable position. Based on the findings, some variables include trust, moral norms, environmental concerns and attitudes towards genetics and transgenic products showed high correlations with the consumption of transgenic products. Structural equation modeling showed that the food integrity variables, as a mediating variable, showed a good prediction of transgenic products consumption. The food integrity variable coefficient has affected (0.62) the consumption of transgenic products. Then, among the variables explaining the consumption of transgenic products, the variables of environmental and environmental concerns (0.43) and attitude towards transgenic products with path coefficient (0.28) and health concern (0.22), respectively had the greatest effects. Cultural factors (0.12) attitudes toward genetic science (0.11), and the variable of knowledge about transgenes with a path coefficient (0.04) showed the least impact on the consumption of transgenic crops. In addition to the information provided, some important relationships in the model and the indirect effects of variables in relation to the consumption of transgenic products are mentioned. The findings of this study indicate the importance of sensitivity to determinants of food integrity, as well as factors including environmental concerns, health and ethical norms as important factors predicting the consumption of transgenic products. This results in the fact that the consumption of transgenic substances is not only affected by the specific conditions of production of these products, but also by several factors in the various processes of processing and distribution of products and consumer conditions affecting consumption.

Social health is one of the most important dimensions of public health in society along with other mental, spiritual, medical, etc. dimensions. It plays a significant role in the sustainable development of society in order to prevent social harm and pave the way for the participation of individuals in all areas of society.  Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the social health of rural households in Shiraz and the factors affecting it. The research method is survey and the statistical population consists of rural households in Shiraz city, the number of which is 384 households based on Morgan table and selected by stratified random sampling method. Based on the reported values of fitness indicators, it was found that the model of confirmatory factor analysis of the research, based on five dimensions, has a suitable and acceptable fit (RMSEA = 0.04) and the components can be used to estimate social health and therefore the structure used to measure social health has an acceptable validity. The measured model showed that social health can be a function of five factors of social cohesion, social acceptance, social participation, social adaptation and social prosperity derived from Keyes theory of social health and all selected indicators of research except one indicator in the component of social acceptance, have shown their significant effects in measuring social health. Based on the results of the regression test, the adjusted coefficient showed that 64.9% of social health changes are explained by independent variables. Finally, suggestions for promoting social health are provided.

Today, achieving food security is far more difficult than in previous decades, despite the growing climate change, the increasing population of the world, and the degradation of nature's environmental capacity to produce food. Food literacy as an emerging concept has been proposed a viable way to achieve food security and is a promising approach to healthy and proper nutrition for society, as it emphasizes the essential aspects of food, including skill, health, and environmental protection. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dimensions and factors affecting food literacy among postgraduate students of Shiraz University. According to the research findings, the total means of students studied was at a desirable level in terms of food literacy, but in terms of factors such as nutrition style and environmental literacy at a low level and in terms of environmental concerns at very low level. The study found that there was no difference between students in terms of food literacy and different levels of household income and major. But married students had higher levels of food literacy than single students. The results of the causal relationship test in the form of path analysis test showed that among the variables included in the path analysis, environmental literacy (0.43) and environmental concern (0.29) were the most influential in terms of food literacy and the use of media and information resources (-0.06) showed the least impacts. Based on the results, some recommendation have been made to improve food literacy.

Responsibility as one of the aspects of morality, means that a person performs her moral duty and action with her own consent and is accountable for it. Responsibility encompasses a wide range of dimensions. The present study aimed to determine relationship between the levels of responsibility (Zamhos), and intention to receiving career counseling towards Shiraz university undergraduate agricultural students. The research population includes 875 undergraduate agricultural students were studying in the first semester of 2018-2019 academic year. According to Morgan’s table and to reach the number of valid samples (T. Student), 330 subjects were selected by two-stage stratified random sampling. For gathering information use semi-structured questionnaire. Validity of questionnaire was confirmed by panel of experts of agricultural extension and education and the reliability was confirmed by Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (0.95) and SPSS software used for data analysis. The results showed that personal responsibility has a direct and weak relationship with intention to receiving career counseling. Although general social responsibility has a direct and strong relationship with religious responsibility.

Given the strategic importance of soil resources in the context of global changes, protecting them is a top priority for increasing food security and adopting environmental policies. Conservation activities to protect resources, such as soil, were initially attributed to "technical" and "technological" issues, however in recent decades the "social" and "individual" dimensions of these resources have been emphasized. It has been proven that humans with their behaviors towards the environment can destroy and threaten the environment. Therefore, this article examines the soil protection behavior of wheat growers and also presents a behavioral model that leads to their conservation actions toward the soil. The innovation of the present study is that despite many studies in the field of soil protection, one important issues in most of these studies have been ignored; in these studies human behavioral models have been neglected or they have been addressed incompletely and insufficiently. As a result, in this paper, considering this important aspects, the main goal is to extract a suitable pattern of protective behavior of farmers towards arable soils. Another distinguishing feature of this research is the use of phenomenology method which are less commonly has been used in these types of studies. Phenomenology is essentially the study of live experience or the world of life. It emphasizes the depth of experience and increases our understanding of life experiences. As a result, the findings of this type of research has directly related to one's lived experience and so it has fewer errors.

For this purpose, phenomenology research method was used. The data collection tool was an open-ended questionnaire and the method of completing this questionnaire was an in-depth interview. Using purposeful sampling and through snowball sampling technique, 28 wheat growers were selected, so that each of the farmers introduced the next research subject who was in a similar situation to them.

The results showed that the most important concepts perceived by studied farmers in effective factors of their environmental conservation behaviors were: lack of economic justification of soil conservation activity, contradiction, crop type, reduce the amount of crop harvested, lateral employment, cost reduction of livestock feed, fortune and destiny, facing legal issues, avoiding to burn plant residues, lowering crop yields, decrease in crop quality, loss of interest and motivation towards agriculture and the feeling of being deceived. On the other hand, the only protective behavior of farmers towards soil is avoiding to burn plant residues and most of the experienced behaviors by farmers are destructive and the most important destructive areas include not changing the way of tillage, dumping of plastic wastes, lack of water refinery, abandonment of agricultural inputs packages on the farmland, not doing the soil test, overuse of fertilizers and pesticides and lack of crop rotation.

The findings showed that studied farmers did not have good soil conservation experiences, their beliefs were incorrect and did not even have a proper definition of soil conservation, which caused them to not behave properly. Also, if they have weak forecasting of the future soil situation, they couldn’t or have no willingness to reveal their proper behavior.

Agricultural extension, as an informal educational system, is one of agricultural development tools that lean on human capitals. Inefficiency of public bureaucracy on the one hand, and managerial problems on the other hand, as well as neglecting real needs of beneficiaries in planning, have determined responsible to transfer administrative tasks to the private sector and reduce government''s tenure. This survey was conducted in Kerman as the first ranked province of pistachio production in Iran to investigate attitudes about extension private services among pistachio farmers. A questionnaire was used as the research tool for data collection. Face validity of the questionnaire was verified by extension experts and Cronbach''s alpha computation showed that reliability of the questionnaire was between 0.8 and 0.89. The study ran among pistachio farmers of five counties (Rafsanjan, Sirjan, Zarand, Kerman and Ravar). Random cluster sampling method, with a sample size of 382 respondents was applied. Finally, the collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results revealed that several factors such as education level, participating in extension activities, innovation acceptance, membership in associations, cosmopolitan, positive attitude toward knowledge and information, applying numerous information resources, pistachio yield per hectare, area of the pistachio garden and satisfaction of the private consultants had relation with attitude toward privatization of extension. Also, the level of participation in extension activities and attitude toward the public extension could explain 24.8 percent of changes in attitude toward private extension.

Environmental crises are one of the major challenges that the human community is facing. This study was conducted in response to the existence of environmental crises despite the establishment of related institutions and the comprehension of related concepts to sustainable development, and the evolution of the status of the environment and how human beings interact with it in Islamic thought. The purpose of this study, which has been accomplished using a descriptive method of documentary analysis, is to explain, analyze, and compare the three stages of logical, critical, and philosophical thinking of sustainable development. Criticism and analysis of existing perspectives indicate that, in addition to significant advances in the world and the establishment of international treaties, conventions and symposia on sustainability are not intended to preserve the environment and human survival and have a merely technical and material look, So far, it has not responded to the issues of development and sustainability. Therefore, achieving long-term sustainability horizons and their dimensions requires a deeper perspective and beyond purely technical issues and secular science. This study suggests philosophical thinking that is based on Islamic ethics and philosophy and emphasizes the study of environmental crises with the simultaneous help of reason, mysticism, ethics, Qur'an, and Shari'a.

The main purpose of present study was to investigate the effects of valued-cultural orientations (fatalistic, individualistic, egalitarian, and hierarchical) and environmental concern on farmers' soil conservation behavior. Present study is an applied research which was carried out though a cross-sectional survey. The statistical population under the study was the villages of Miandoab County (N= 22750) from which 378 farmers were selected as a sample using Krejcie and Morgan sampling table. A multi-stage stratified random sampling method was employed in order to select the samples. Research tool was a questionnaire which its validity confirmed by a panel of academic experts. A pilot test and Cronbach's alpha coefficients were used to examine the reliability of the questionnaire (0.73≤α≤0.91). The results revealed that environmental concern towards soil conservation had significant positive effect on soil conservation behavior of farmers. Moreover, egalitarian and hierarchical value orientations towards soil conservation had also significant and positive effects on environmental concern towards soil conservation. However, individualistic and fatalistic value orientations towards soil conservation had significant and negative effects on environmental concern towards soil conservation. The results revealed that independent variables within the framework could account for 42.5 % of variance change in dependent variable (soil conservation behavior).

The purpose of this quantitative research was to investigate the effective dimensions of social capital and organizational commitment on organizational learning in Fars Jihad-e-Agriculture organization. The statistical population of research consisted of 300 members of the Fars Agriculture Jihad organization which according to Bartlett et.al. ’s table, a sample size of 124 was selected using stratified random sampling based on organizational sections. Questionnaire was used to collect the data. The face validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of experts and the reliability of the scale used in the study was assessed by calculating Cronbach’s alpha coefficient test and the result was 0.94. For primary analysis of data SPSS software was used. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate the effects of research variables on the basis of multivariate techniques using the LISREL 8.8 software. The results of correlation test showed that there is a positive and significant correlation between organizational commitment and social capital with organizational learning. Structural equation modeling analysis, showed that hypotheses were approved, with a very good level of model indices (RMSEA = 0.066). The findings show that the three dimensions of social capital, including structural, cognitive, and cognitive dimensions, and two dimensions of organizational commitment, including dimensions of normative commitment and continuous commitment, affect the organizational learning of employees. More precisely, in order to achieve and enhance organizational learning, it is recommended to strengthen the dimensions of social capital of the employees and improve organizational commitment.

The need for changes in extension organizational structure to promote developing countries, including Iran, is noteworthy from expert’s opinion and this is considered by scholars in this field. Agricultural extension is one of the agricultural development tools, that rely on human capital. This survey is conducted to investigate preference and approaches in privatization strategies of pistachio growers in Kerman province. Questionnaire was used as research tools for data collection. Face validity of questionnaire was verified by three experts and Cronbach's alpha computation showed that reliability of the questionnaire was between 0.8 and 0.89. The study ran among pistachio farmers of five cities. Random cluster sampling method, with a sampling size of 382 responders was determined as the method and size of the investigation. Finally collected data was analyzed using SPSS software. Results revealed that among the types of privatization services methods, private and extension consultant company and contract with agricultural experts constituted in the first and second priority of pistachio growers. Preferences issues related to receiving services from the perspective of pistachio growers include "all issues of pistachio orchards" and pests and diseases of Pistachio". Two model contract among the number of pistachio growers with a private company and consultancy extension contract with an agricultural expert from the perspective of these farmers were the best privatization options.According to the priorities identified by the pistachio farmers it is proposed that contract with the extension private company will be the first and contract with agricultural experts the second priority. The majority of respondents verify agricultural organization as special accident and reference to the proposed. So, it is proposed that experts /private companies approved and introduced by the director of agricultural organization

Sustainable development is an approach for live and work in twenty one century. Review of development literatures shows that sustainable development has three important and fundamental dimensions including: economic, social and environmental sustainability. On the other hand nowadays, sustainability issues are the headpiece of all development activities and programs, including rural development. Emerging environmental problems and their increasing trends are the most important concern for international organizations and scientist. "Human" is an influencing factor and instantaneously, the victim of this crisis. This study was conducted aiming to access to most important factors influencing environmental behaviors of farmers, with qualitative approach, and grounded theory method. Briefly, in this study by revising interviews and frequent referral to data, 158 concepts was recognized and assorted. From these concepts, three ones namely: "environmental attitude", "economic situation" and "environmental policies" were identified as primary categories and 6 categories were assigned as subsidiary categories, which include: access to recourse, background issues, education, technology, Cooperation and Partnership, fellow influence and indigenous experience. Recognizing core category, the paradigm was sketched, finally.

The purpose of this study was investigation of the situation and the obstacles of agricultural graduates to the employment, that was quantitative research, which conducted by survey method. Statistical population include all graduates (n=280) from Kerman University of Applied Science and Technology. Required information included individual and educational data was extracted directly from education records and filling questionnaires. Finally, 188 questionnaires were analyzed, (return rate of 67.14%). Reliability of indexes was confirmed by Cronbach's Alpha (0.82- 0.90). Kruskal-Wallis test reveals that there were no meaningful differences among respondents’ view about different agricultural minor to have job, and society need to their minors. Logistic regression results showed that the variables entered in the model, including major, gender, age, type of diploma and acceptance quota could explain 32% of employment variable. After factor analysis, barriers to employment from the perspective of the respondents was categorized into individual-academic, structural-financial and traditional-cultural obstacles. These barriers in total were explained the 56.215% of the total variance.

The purpose of this study was to analyses the features of good faculty from students’ perspectives. The design of the study was descriptive survey research. The target population consisted for the study was 155 Master of Science Students at Agriculture College of Tarbiat Modarres University. A simple random sampling method was used to select 110 students as sample of the study. A questionnaire was used as an instrument for data gathering. Face validity of the questionnaire was established by using a panel of experts in agricultural extension and education. A pilot test was conducted to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. Cranach’s alpha was estimated about.0.82. The results of means comparison tests showed that students’ gender and majors did not have any significant effects on their perspectives toward good faculty characteristics. In other words, students in different fields of study had the same view point toward good faculty characteristics. Factor analysis results showed that approximately %73 variances of good faculty characteristics determined by educational, behavioral, technical, communication and personal factors.

The main purpose of this survey was to assess research-oriented competencies (systematic inquiry and situational analysis competencies) needed by experts and evaluators in the ministry of Jihad-e Agriculture. A survey method was employed and data collected through questionnaire the reliability of which was approved through a pilot test with Cronbach's Coefficient Alpha=0.97. Validity of the research instruments was achieved through consultation with Tarbiat Modares, Tehran and Shiraz universities’ experts. Statistical population for the study consisted of evaluation specialists and the agricultural personnel involved in program evaluation in the Ministry of Jihad-e Agriculture, Iran (N=140). A stratified random sampling technique, and Morgan's table were utilized to select sample (n=107). The data was analyzed through SPSS-Win software and application of such appropriate statistical methods as correlation, t test as well as regression. “Being up-to date in evaluation knowledge” and “analyses data” were the two first priorities of experts in delivered competencies. According to the obtained results there were significant differences between males and females in the needed competencies. The findings revealed that there were positive significant correlations between work experiences plus educational background of experts, and their needed professional competencies. Also findings showed that there were significant differences between gender along with educational levels of experts, and their research oriented competencies. The results of multiple regression indicated that the most important variables, describing 24 percent of variations in the needed professional competencies were work experience and educational background.

The main objective of this research is to investigate professional competenciesneeded by evaluation experts in the Ministry of Jahad-eKeshavarzi in Iran. This studywas conducted by survey method. Data was collected through the questionnaire that itsreliability was approved by Cronbach's coefficient alpha (α = 0.97). Validity of theresearch instrument was achieved through consulting with professors of TarbiatModares, Tehran and Shiraz universities. Statistical population for this study consistedof evaluation specialists involved in program evaluation in the Ministry of Jihad-e-Keshavarzi in Iran (N=140). A stratified random sampling technique was used.Morgan's table was utilized to select sample (n=107). All evaluation competencies wereinvestigated in six categories of systematic inquiry, managerial skills, situationalanalysis, reflective practice, professional practice, and interpersonal competencies.According to results "systematic inquiry", "professional practice", and "reflectivepractice" were the most important factors and "interpersonal competencies" was theleast important competence needed by evaluation experts. Hence improving determinedcompetencies causes promotion of knowledge, skills, and professional development ofevaluators.

The main purpose of this descriptive – survey research was to study extension experts’ attitudes about effective factors in consumption of organic products and in Iran. The main population consisted of 1200 extension experts in Iran. 289 samples of extension experts’ were selected through randomized sampling to answer the questionnaire. The validity was cheked by a panel of agricultural extension experts the university of Tehran. Reliability was measured by Cronbach''s - alpha formula and? = 0. 92 showed the reliability of the questionnaire was acceptable. SPSS Win Software was used for data analyzing، and factor analysis method was employed in this research. According to the results the main communicative channel was TV and radio and the main supply method was labeled organic products in the markets. The results of factor analysis showed that effective factors explained 59. 17 percent of the whole variance. In conclusion، four factors extracted، the first factor was educational – supportive، as the first factor، broadcasting، constructive- institutional and infrastructure factors. Also the result of t- test showed that was not different between women and men attitudes.