فهرست مطالب i. malakmohammadi

This research was conducted with the aim of designing a strategic extension-education theoretical model for agricultural waste management to sustain agricultural development in Mazandaran Province. The statistical population of this study included experts, gardeners, and farmers in Mazandaran Province, among whom 30 people were selected using the purposeful sampling method and snowball technique. A semi-structured interview was conducted to collect research data. The data collection process continued until the theoretical saturation level. A qualitative data analysis was performed using MAXQDA12 software. Analyzing this model showed that factors affecting agricultural waste generation consisted of five categories as, respectively, farming practice, market and transportation, processing procedures, agricultural and natural and support policies, based on their impact factors. In addition, 12 factors within these categories affected the establishment of agricultural waste management extension education were identified. Based on their impact factors in the model, these categories included class participation, food processing industry development and expansion, general knowledge and information about agricultural waste, appropriate farming practice education, educational workshop participation, farm visits, farmers and gardeners education, listening to the radio and TV educational programs, group discussion participation, transfer of new applied waste management technologies, and contact with agricultural extension agents, respectively. Therefore, it is highly recommended to put in action the theoretical model provided in this research for the sake of agricultural development in Mazandaran, Iran.

International trade theories have highlighted the importance of specialization of countries to benefit from the global trade network. In addition to foreign currency earnings, the development agricultural exports can play an important role in ensuring food security and improving the level of resilience of agricultural sector in Iran. One of the approaches to analyze export development process is to study export possibilities from the perspective of comparative export advantage and specializing in the framework of advantage dynamics. So the present study seeks to explore the following research question: has the exports of selected Iranian agricultural products (pistachio, saffron, dates, raisin, apple, cucumber and kiwi) has moved towards specialization in the global market? To achieve this goal, we assess the specialization pattern of Iran over the period 2001 to 2017. Findings reveal that all the selected products had a comparative export advantage during the selected period, but none of them has moved towards specialization. In other words, despite having the export comparative advantage, Iran has not have long-term plans to promote exports of selected products in the global market. The analysis in the form of panel data during the two periods of 2001-2009 and 2010-2017 also indicates that the export of selected products do not support dynamism and specialization over time. Regarding the export capacities of Iran's agricultural sector, it is recommended to enter into long-term contracts in the target markets in order to increase the export share of selected products through adaptation and implementation of continuous production and export policies.

The portrait of the world in the Digital Era indicates that we are facing critical challenges in providing food for growing population, while sustaining infrastructural resources are under vital question of technology application communication. If knowledge is power, then poverty means lack of knowledge that is in turn, information and knowledge poverty as the result of lack or poor communication. Development, also is the result of solving problems of advancement toward the better life. It can be concluded that development needs communication to empower people with knowledge to overcome their problems. The purpose of this paper is to link communication to development through the strategic modeling for empowerment and poverty abolition. Rhetoric analytical methodology applied to review literature, field experiences, and evaluation of extension project implemented to put theories into action to develop sustainable agriculture. Taking the advantage of reviewing different technology acceptance models (TAM1, TAM2, TAM3, and UTAUT2), theories of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Planned Behavior (TPB), the prophesy of communication to development, complementary role of extension education and strategies of adaptable technology transfer, from one hand along with integration of advance management theories (strategic, foresight, agility and chaos theories), as well as regarding behavioral engineering process (optimization cycle) along with generative extension versus authoritative public extension in the context of chaotic agricultural industry, from the other over-determined “development communication/ user empowerment/ sustainable agriculture model”, to visualize concepts of persuative communication in ultimate way of knowledge based technology transfer and application and boosting technology applicants self-efficacy.