Journal of Sustainable Rural Development
Volume:7 Issue: 1, Jul 2023

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the creative tourism role in the development of Entrepreneurial activities in historic villages of northwestern Iran. The current research is applied using the descriptive-analytical method. The data was collected using a closed-ended questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was reviewed using experts panel and a pre-test. Also, Cronbach's alpha method was used to determine the reliability of the items obtained at 0.868. The statistical population of the study consists of 850 households in four historic-cultural villages of Darsajin (Zanjan province), Kandovan (East Azerbaijan province), Atashgah (Ardabil province), and Hasanlou (West Azerbaijan province) in northwest Iran and by using the Cochran formula, 235 of them were selected as the sample. One-sample t-test, regression, and path analysis were used for data analysis. The results indicated that among the studied indicators, the most profound impact of creative tourism in investment indicators was on tourism activities (3.72) and the development of public tourism infrastructure in the region (3.70). The results of path analysis showed that investment in the field of tourism (0.346) has the biggest direct influence, the 'individuals' and local 'groups' creativity (0.143) has the hugest indirect influence, and the investment in tourism (0.462) has the biggest total influence on rural entrepreneurship improvement through the development of creative tourism. Based on the results, creative tourism plays a significant role in creating and developing entrepreneurship in the historic villages of northwestern Iran. In this way, it has developed public tourism infrastructures and increased investments.

The purpose of this study was to identify the trend of villagers' livelihood asset changes arising from tourism development on livelihood assets of tourism villages of Rudsar county in the north of Iran.

The current research is conducted in 10 selected sample villages by cluster and random sampling. The research method is qualitative with a fundamental theory process based on inductive reasoning. In a snowball and targeted method, interviews were conducted with villagers to collect data. The conceptual framework of the present study is sustainable livelihood, resting on five rural livelihood assets for identifying the tourism development changes.

In several village, changes in the five rural livelihood assets and 11 macro-categories have occurred with different intensities. On the other hand, the changes in the plain and hill villages included all five assets, and coastal villages cover only the natural and physical ones. Also, no changes were observed in mountain villages.

The results suggest that livelihood asset changes have occurred in the studied villages. Nonetheless, the changes had different functions in villages, and in some, they led to the formation of new performances.

The present study aims to plan land use - land allocation - to determine the optimal spaces to develop sustainable rural employment in East Guilan. in this research, the effective and affected variables are first identified, and their general perspective is drawn by compiling optimal maps with the help of future research methods. In the next step, based on the effective and affected variables, the most important descriptors of the research problem are identified, and three possible states are developed for each of the variables obtained from MICMAC software in the Scenario Wizard environment. Then, each state was ranked using the expert opinion, and the scenario was compiled. Based on this, three possible final states are obtained, including the most desirable, middle, and most undesirable. Finally, the status of effective variables in three states of future scenarios was examined and identified. The exploration of the three scenarios indicates that in the first scenario, homogenous employment compatible and incompatible with nature has attempted land allocation so that conflicts between different stakeholders are resolved, and natural resources are not harmed. By weighing and determining the competency, it is found that the second scenario, namely the environmentally friendly employment scenario, such as creating small conversion and complementary workshops, developing tourism and ecotourism jobs, and similar jobs, are more adaptable to the environment and have higher sustainability. In the third scenario, the employment situation and the extent of its damage to natural resources is worse than in the previous two scenarios. In this scenario, the threat of environmental degradation is higher, and with the expansion of jobs, the rate of erosion, damage to natural resources, and the change of use of farms will be evident

Smoking prevalence is pervasive across all regions of Iran, including rural areas. Consequently, developing strategies for reducing smoking in rural communities is imperative. Hence, this study presented a pathological analysis of the factors contributing to smoking prevalence in rural areas of Kermanshah province.

This study employs a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methodologies. The qualitative research method adopted an interpretive paradigm and utilized grounded theory. A sample size of 45 individuals was determined through purposive sampling until saturation was achieved. The participants were categorized into two groups: villagers, members of Islamic councils, and officials and experts in tobacco control. Sampling was facilitated using the snowball sampling technique. The research design incorporates qualitative and quantitative components, employing descriptive and analytical approaches. The statistical population consisted of 417 individuals, with a sample size of 212 people selected from nine villages within Kermanshah province using Cochran's formula. Systematic random sampling was employed in the village setting.

Our findings revealed that smoking prevalence in rural communities can be attributed to five primary cultural and social factors, economic influences, infrastructural items, urban-rural dynamics, media impact, and factors associated with health and education. Effective strategies include educating residents, expanding healthcare services, developing infrastructure, creating employment opportunities, addressing rural deprivation, and fostering a culture of non-smoking to mitigate tobacco consumption in rural areas. Furthermore, Spearman's correlation analysis indicated a significant relationship between smoking prevalence and the seven mentioned components. These items significantly impact the prevalence of smoking in rural areas.

Misconceptions regarding the absence of tobacco in villages, skepticism toward medical science, and limited educational attainment pose significant challenges to tobacco reduction programs in rural areas. Moreover, government negligence and insufficient investment by public institutions contribute to the smoking prevalence.

Many countries see digital entrepreneurship as central to economic growth, job creation and innovation. Digital entrepreneurship is one of the new opportunities to create new investments and transform existing businesses by developing new digital technologies. Due to being environmental-friendly, this emerging phenomenon provides social and cultural participation of different members of society and is a suitable means for the sustainable development of rural areas. Therefore, this research aims to identify and prioritize effective factors in exploiting digital entrepreneurship opportunities in rural areas with a sustainable development approach. This research was based on exploratory mixed methodology, including qualitative and quantitative. In the first part, conducting interviews with 17 researchers of rural development, rural planning and digital entrepreneurship, we identified the factors affecting the exploitation of digital entrepreneurship opportunities in rural areas with a sustainable development approach. In the next part, the study used hierarchical analysis and paired comparison questionnaires from 108 experts and business owners in information technology in rural areas. The findings led to the identification of 8 main factors and 14 sub-factors. Among the main essential factors are telecommunication technology in rural areas, knowledge management of rural entrepreneurs, sustainability of rural businesses, and cultural-behavioral context. Also, sub-factors include training and empowerment, marketing strategy, entrepreneurial alertness, infrastructure and facilities in rural areas, staff skills and systemic thinking. The research results indicate that to benefit digital entrepreneurship opportunities in rural areas, we need macro and inter-sectoral thinking so that comprehensively and systematically, all economic, social and cultural factors alongside technical and technological infrastructures and the characteristics of the entrepreneur can develop. Suggestions are presented at the end of the paper to improve using digital entrepreneurship opportunities in rural areas.

Rural entrepreneurship has been studied from several angles, and everyone agrees that it is required as an efficient technique for village economic growth. Women's entrepreneurship in the village is a multifaceted phenomenon driven by various circumstances. Women have played a significant and expanding role in the field of business in today's Iranian society. Establishing long-term job prospects is seen as promoting and constructing various enterprises in the village, which is considered a means of developing entrepreneurship. This study aims to analyze and explain the role of female entrepreneurs in the economic growth of the 'Sowme'eh Sara communities.

The current study employs and is based on library, documentary, and field research. SPSS software, integrated models (FARAS+FCOPRAS), and the WASTPAS fuzzy model were used to analyze the data.

The research found a substantial and beneficial association between the economic development of the Sowme'eh Sara communities and female entrepreneurs. The results also revealed that the income development index, with a score of 71.66, employment with a score of 71.51; investment, with a score of 71/45; and facilities, with a score of 71/31, have the highest and lowest level of influence on the role of female entrepreneurs in the villages of Sowme'eh Sara city. The results revealed that the central sections, with a weight of 3.976, the Tolam section, with a weight of 3.743, and the Mirza Kochak section, with a weight of 3.667, have the highest and lowest levels of economic development, emphasizing the role of female entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship in the rural areas of Sowme'eh  Sara's central region is an economic strategy in which the villages of this region are a product, and each house is a factory, and production is spatially vital in the competition for establishing entrepreneurial areas.

Understanding how rural communities meet their needs and enhance their well-being while promoting social cohesion, equitable access to resources and services, and fostering community resilience is of utmost importance when investigating the social sustainability of rural areas. Social dimensions often receive inadequate attention during the appraisal of rural development projects. Consequently, the main aim of this study is to create social sustainability indexes that can effectively support the evaluation of sustainable rural development. To achieve this aim, a proposed methodology is presented, which utilizes Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to estimate the coefficients of indexes about rural social sustainability (RSS). This approach constructs a Structural Equation Model (SEM), offering insights into the potential of these indexes for driving long-term improvements in social sustainability within rural areas. The results of the CFA analysis show the variables of quality of life (QOL), social participation (SP), and social responsibility (SR) enhance the sustainability of rural, and the positive effect is more prominent among rural areas that had high social solidarity. Moreover, the construct validity of RSS-SEM model was (P = 0.166, Chisquare/df = 1.229IFI = 0.971, CFI = 0.969, NFI = 0.861, and RMSEA = 0.054). The application of the SEM (Social-Economic-Environmental) model is recommended for assessing rural projects as it provides a comprehensive framework that complements environmental and economic sustainability assessments. By incorporating social factors into project evaluations, the SEM model enables a more holistic understanding of rural development's social, economic, and environmental dimensions, ultimately contributing to more effective and sustainable outcomes.

 Today, the location and development of airports have economic, social, visual, etc., effects on the surrounding areas. Therefore, investigating the spatial effects in different dimensions (economic, social, physical, and environmental) caused by airport activity is necessary and important for planning and development in rural areas. Therefore, the present study aims to roleplay the Chabahar international airport in the sustainable development of rural areas. This is applied-quantitative research. Data were collected using the library (tracking notes, internet) and field studies (questionnaire). The statistical population included two parts. In the first part, the statistical society was the residents of Chabahar City. The sample size was 384 people using Cochran's Alpha formula. The second part of the statistical society was the expert people; 30 subjects in this part were selected using targeted sampling. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and the Fuzzy model of F-BMW.   according to the T-test, there was a medium to high range effect of the airport on the development of rural areas in Chabahar in terms of economy, social, and environmental (except the items of environmental health with a score of 2.15, reducing the sewage smell with the score of 2.33, reducing infectious diseases with the score of 2.17), physical, and infrastructure dimensions. The highest level of effectiveness of the airport was observed in the items of purchasing power (0.072) in the economic dimension, the development opportunity (0.075) in the social dimension, the access to green spaces (0.063) in the environmental dimension, and the increasing rural tourism facilities (0.075) in the infrastructure. Chabahar International Airport has had a significant impact on the growth of economic and social activities and, consequently, the rapid movement of people, goods, and services, which consider a key role in regional development.

 Today, failure to pay attention to the housing needs of low-income groups in the official and planned cities causes the creation of slums and informal settlements, especially in the outskirts of metropolises, which causes a rentier economy, especially in land and housing. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the role of the rentier economy on the land use changes of peripheral rural areas (case study: peripheral rural areas located in district 19 of the Tehran metropolis). 

This analytical-descriptive study is quantitatively applicable regarding objectives and methodology. Data were analyzed using SPSS (through single sample T-test and factor analysis) and ArcGIS software through RS techniques to Land use classification using artificial neural network method. The statistical population of this study included elites, specialists, managers, and university professors in District 19 of the Tehran metropolis, which was selected by the Non-probability snowball sampling method [N=150].

Based on the T-test, there was an Unsuitable condition of land use changes in the peripheral rural area of District 19 of Tehran city. The results of the factor analysis test showed that the rentier economy in District 19 of Tehran city caused the land use changes of settlements in the peripheral rural areas. The land use classification by neural network method showed that the area of agricultural lands decreased from 8386 hectares in 2000 to 5562 hectares in 2022, which indicated the loss of farming lands and growth of physical spaces of urban. 

 There was a rentier economy of the land transactions and unique distinction in the rural settlements in the peripheral villages, located in area 19 of Tehran city, so the agricultural lands were changed to residential land use.

 The present study aimed to investigate the role of economic components on the sustainability of small businesses of the pensioners of the Imam Khomeini Committee in the villages of Khalil Abad city.  This research is practical in terms of purpose and quantitative and survey in terms of research method, and the required data has been collected by documentary-questionnaire method. In order to analyze data, the SPSS software (F-Mamdani) model and combined models (FARAS + FKOPRAS) were used.  The results of one sample T-test showed that the status of the economic component in the indicators (wealth of the individual, the individual's attitude towards the economic situation and rural production, the attitude towards the impact of the formation of new companies, the income status and employment status); with the value higher than the average number (3), was evaluated as desirable in the studied villages. In order to relate the economic component and the small businesses' stabilization of the clients, Spearman's correlation test was used. The results showed that, among the indicators of stabilization of small businesses, at a significance level of less than 0.05, a significant and positive relationship with the economic component existed. In the following, the ranking results of each of the micro business stabilization indicators (based on their importance and effectiveness of the economic component) showed that economic growth with a value of 72/76, and compatibility with the environment with 72/21, have assigned the highest and the lowest level of importance and influence from the experts' point of view. Finally, it was found that Naqab village has the highest level of sustainability, and the villages of Kalate Shadi, Nasrabad, and Haftkhane have the lowest ranking in sustainability of small businesses. The development of economic components can be an influential factor in the sustainability of micro-businesses through the elimination of poverty, income increase, creation of job opportunities for unskilled people, capital accumulation via increasing efficiency productivity in the rural area, and prevention of urbanization and excessive immigration, It helped the process of developing small businesses in the villages of Khalil Abad and brought economic growth to the villages.

Among the essential needs to achieve sustainable rural development, resource protection is of particular importance, and ecotourism can provide the necessary foundation for implementing development programs and preventing the destruction of natural and cultural resources. The present study was conducted with the aim of influencing the practical components of rural ecotourism in the sustainable development of Riab village, Gonabad city. The statistical population consists of 200 researchers, officials, experts, and tourism elites in Gonabad city. The sample size of this study is 132 people selected according to the Cochran method. The data collection tool is a questionnaire that includes sections on respondents' characteristics, the development of ecotourism, and six factors: economic, infrastructure, political, cultural, geography, and education influence the outcome of ecotourism. To determine the validity of the questionnaire, in addition to seeking expert opinion (face validity), convergent validity was used. To calculate its reliability, two Cronbach's alpha methods were used. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 26. The results of stepwise regression showed that infrastructural, cultural, educational and promotional, political and economic, geographical, and natural factors explained a total of 96% of the variance in the variable of ecotourism development in the village (Riab) of Gonabad city. Considering that tourists visit different places for entertainment and relaxation, infrastructure such as transportation, shopping malls, accommodation, and amenities, entertainment should be provided. Entertainment, health care, and restaurants to develop sustainable eco-tourism in rural areas.

This research aimed to identify the factors influencing the rearrangement of rural production cooperatives (RPCs), recognize the need for their expansion, and align their goals with the current situation to bridge existing gaps.

This research employed a descriptive-analytical method. Statistical populations consisting of managers and members of RPCs, as well as non-member villagers residing in the areas where 673 RPCs operate. To form a representative sample, 67 RPCs were selected, considering factors such as the number of provinces, the number of cooperatives, and the cooperative's activity status. 67 managing directors and 67 Chairmen of the Board of Directors were selected using a census method. In addition, Cochran's formula was applied to determine a sample size of 189 RPCs members. Furthermore, a cluster classification sampling method was employed to select 192 rural non-members for the study. Data were collected using documentary and field methods (researcher-designed questionnaire).

The 26 factors categorized under "attraction of active cooperation of members" account for a cumulative variance of 17.42% regarding their influence on rearranging the organizational model of RPCs. Among the 11 elements comprising the second factor, "self-reliance," it is evident that having substantial working capital and initial cooperative capital will be pivotal in fostering self-reliance among RPCs. The third factor, labeled "legal acceptability," encompasses 16 items and contributes to 11.92% of the overall variance in rearranging the organizational model of RPCs. Twenty-seven items represent the fourth factor, "empowerment," of RPCs. The fifth factor, which involves "supporting and organizing cooperatives" during rearrangement, comprises 24 items.

The findings indicate that the five mentioned factors collectively account for 62% of the variance in rearranging the organizational model of RPCs.