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The primary purpose of this study was to assess farmers' Sustainable Agricultural Practice Needs (SAPN) as determined conversely by their level of technical knowledge and understanding of sustainable corn farming practices. The population of this study consisted of all corn growers in Fars, a southern province of Iran. A questionnaire was developed to gather the information required from 159 randomly selected farmers. Farmer’s demographic and professional characteristics, including their level of technical knowledge, access to information sources, and level of mechanization were considered to be independent variables of the study. The SAPN was the dependent variable of the study. The result showed that a considerable numbers of farmers (46%) have a "high" level of needs concerning sustainable agricultural practice. The farmers' level of technical knowledge showed to have a substantial (r= -0.64) and negative association with their SAPNs. Multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that 49.3% (R2=0.493) of the variance in SAPNs could be explained by the farmers' age, their access to information sources, and their level of technical knowledge. This implied that a substantial amount of variability (about 51%) in SAPNs are explained by other variables that were not studied in this research. Further study is needed to determine factors affecting SAPNs and ex-tend of the impact.

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Aim: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the safety and protective behavior of farmers in relation to the application of chemical pesticides in the fields and the factors influencing their behavior.
Methods: This quantitative and survey research was conducted in Mahidasht County, Kermanshah Province, in 2016. The population consisted of 170 farmers (N=200) Mahidasht County, who were determined by randomly method. Questionnaire used as a research tool. Validity and reliability of the tool were confirmed by a panel of experts and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Correlation coefficient and statistical test was used for analyzing the data by SPSS20.
Findings: Most people have poor performance in the use of protective equipment when spraying pesticides. There was positive correlation between safety behavior of using pesticides, work experience, economic status, attitudes toward the correct application of pesticides, and participating in training.
Conclusion: Due to the farmers' inappropriate performance in safety and protection actions and significance relationship between participation in the training programs and safety behavior, it is necessary to design education programs to improve their knowledge.

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The aim of the present study was to investigate the students' learning styles and their influence on performance in various question types of IELTS examination and also in gaining higher band scores. In order to find answers to research questions, the researcher first used Kolb's questionnaire to recognize individual learning styles of candidates which were accordingly categorized into four classes as activists, theorists, pragmatists and reflectors. According to the results of the ANOVA, in listening comprehension section only some of the mean differences between groups were statistically significant in different question types. In note completion, multiple choice, and matching question types researchers faced a statistically significant difference. The results of the comparison between performances of the four groups in the IELTS reading test revealed that the mean score of the theorist group was higher in matching tasks and multiple choice questions and reflectors out-performed the others in task completion questions while activists had better performance in yes, no, not given tasks and pragmatics were better performers of short answer questions. So, researchers were on the safe side to say that variation due to belonging to different learning style groups causes variation of performance in different question types.
 

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The primary purpose of this research study was to determine the major factors affect-ing the implementation of national agricultural mechanization programs in Iran. The sec-ondary purpose of this study was to assess the agricultural mechanization level practiced by farmers. This project consisted of two phases. In the first phase of the study, a Delphi technique was used to gather experts' points of view on variables affecting agricultural mechanization implementation programs in Iran. The second phase of the study was de-signed to assess the agricultural mechanization level practiced by farmers growing sun-flower seeds. The Delphi technique investigation showed that the main constraints on farm mechanization were “small farm size” and “fragmentation of holdings”. The find-ings of the second phase of this research indicated that the mean agricultural mechaniza-tion level practiced on the sunflower producing farms was about 0.5 kW per ha of culti-vated land. However the amount of energy input varied between 0.0149 to 3.4973 kW. Multivariate linear regression of the study indicated that 46.9% (R2= 0.469) of the vari-ance in the level of agricultural mechanization practiced could be explained by variables such as income, total farming land, and land holdings under sunflower seed cultivation.

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Most of the research has been concentrated on the effects of the horizontal components of near-field earthquakes on the dynamic behavior of the embankment dams. In this paper, the effects of the vertical components will be considered. One of the important characteristics of the near-field ground motions, is the noticeable vertical component with the high frequency content that can exceed considerably, in many cases, the horizontal component of the same earthquake. So far, few studies have been done in this area. In order to investigate the effect of the vertical ground motion on the dynamic behavior of embankment dams, a two dimensional numerical model of the Alborz dam is analyzed by using finite difference method which is used in FLAC2D code. It should be noted that the Alborz dam is a rockfill type with clay core and a maximum height of 78 m located on the Babol River in the north of Iran. The Mohr Coulomb elastic perfectly plastic constitutive model was used to simulate the stress-strain behavior of the dam body and its foundation during the static and dynamic loading. Steps of modeling are as follow: At first stage, construction was carried out in 16 layers. At this step, coupling analysis were done in order to simulate the consolidation and build up of pore pressure in clayey core, with respect to the real time of construction for each layer. Then the analyses were continued to modeling of the impounding. So at this stage the reservoir was raised to the normal water level and the model were analyzed to the steady state seepage condition. Records of near-field and far-field were selected from the same earthquake to provide better and more accurate comparison. Before applying the earthquake records to the base of the foundation in the model, they must be modified. So deconvolution analyses were done by using SHAKE2000 code in order to get the target motion with peak ground acceleration of 0.52g at the surface of the foundation (maximum credible earthquake level at the site of Alborz dam). In addition filtering process, baseline correction and conversion the acceleration time history to the stress time history were done. Results of analysis show that the vertical component of near-field ground motion has considerable effect on the magnitude of strains and deformations including: increasing the settlement of the dam crest to about 45 percent, increasing the deformation of the horizontal axis of the dam, reduction of the magnification factor of the dam crest and especially in the case of near-fault, which the occurrence of near-field earthquakes is more probable. Therefore, this issue should be considered in locating the embankment dams regarding the seismic potential and the distance from the fault, and in the design of them.

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The main purpose of this study was to investigate the factors causing the rural underdevelopment in Iran. To fulfill this objective, Delphi technique, as a method of refining group opinions and substituting computed consensus for an agreed-upon majority opinion, was used. The study used a series of three steps questionnaires. Findings indicated that lack of a coherent strategy for sustainable rural development, unavailability of appropriate infrastructures in rural regions, lack of coordinated programs in rural development, weak management of governmental structures and lack of diversification in non-agricultural activities such as tourism are the most important challenges which can create an inappropriate condition for the development of Iranian rural communities.

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A novel geometrically nonlinear high order sandwich panel theory for a sandwich beam under low velocity impact is presented in this paper. The equations are derived based on high order sandwich panel theory in which the Von-Karman strains are used. The model uses Timoshenko beam theory assumptions for behavior of the face sheets. The core is modeled as a two dimensional linear elastic continuum that possessing shear and vertical normal and also in-plane rigidities. Nonlinear equations for a simply supported sandwich beam are derived using Ritz method in conjunction with minimum potential energy principle. After obtaining nonlinear results based on this enhanced model, simplification was applied to derive the linear model in which kinematic relations for face sheets and core reduced based on small displacement theory assumptions. A parametric study is done to illustrate the effect of geometrical parameters on difference between results of linear and nonlinear models. Also, to verify the analytical predictions some low velocity impact tests were carried out on sandwich beams with Aluminum face sheets and Nomex cores. In all cases good agreement is achieved between the nonlinear analytical predictions and experimental results.

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The extensive use of traditional irrigation systems has led to overexploitation of groundwater and overuse of surface water in theUrmia  Lake Catchment (ULC) area ofIran. The purpose of this study was to model the adoption process of drip irrigation system (DIS) by apple orchardists (AOs) using the five stages of Roger’s model for Innovation Decision Process (IDP). Survey method of applying questionnaire and interview technique was used to collect data from 136 AOs. The results of the study indicated that, first, AOs’ knowledge level was “relatively low” and the majority of them were in the early stages of IDP. Secondly, applying an ordinal logistic regression, up to 36.3% of knowledge level variability, could be explained by variables consisting of: the contact level with extension agents, educational level, rural-urban commuting and information sources. Thirdly, using binary logistic regression, up to 74.1% of probability of adoption, could be explained by variables consisting of source of irrigation, knowledge scores, and orchard size. Fourthly, the main barriers for adoption were high costs, lack of license for semi deep wells, need to grow alfalfa, poor knowledge, and low surface area, respectively. Fifthly, about 0.5% of AOs had already implemented DIS. These findings were instrumental for localizing a model and developing the needed policy and institutional interventions falfa, poor knowledge, and low surface area, respectively. Fifthly, about 0.5% of AOs had already implemented DIS. These findings were instrumental for localizing a model and developing the needed policy and institutional interventions.

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The main purpose of this study was to investigate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of rural tourism in East Azarbaijan Province of Iran. To fulfill this objective, SWOT model analysis with Delphi technique was used as a method of refining group opinions and substituting computed consensus for an agreed-upon majority opinion. Findings indicated that favorable climate conditions, environmental potential, natural, historical and cultural tourism zones are the most important strengths, while lack of information and promotional activities to introduce rural tourism attractions and limited education and training of the villagers in how to deal with the tourists are the main weaknesses. Also, the most important opportunities include an increasing tendency to use nature for calmness and recreational activities, a growing attention by province management toward rural tourism, and investment in folklore such as music, local and traditional dress, Cultural Heritage, Handicraft, and Tourism Organization's efforts to rehabilitate and repair historic and cultural buildings, an increasing interest to visit the rural tourism areas, employment in tourism-related activities in rural areas, and appropriate legislation for the development of rural tourism. On the other hand, destruction and gradual extinction of plant and animal species caused by tourists' intervention, demolition of historic villages, lack of attention to rural tourism by extension and rural sector in the Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture, lack of or limited service providers or travel agents to visit rural areas, waste emissions and environmental damages are the main threats in this study.

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Large and/or complicated sandwich structures are often manufactured by connecting pre-fabricated sandwich panels by means of connections, adhesive or bolts. In nearly all sandwich constructions certain types of joints have to be used for assembly but little is known about their mechanical behavior. This paper deals with the investigation of the behavior of two aluminum joints with different geometries under low velocity impact tests. These two joints are used to connecting sandwich panels with glass-epoxy skins and aluminum honeycomb core. The joints and sandwich panels are connected by means of epoxy resin. After construction of the specimens, low velocity impact tests were performed on the specimens. Finite element analysis were used to simulate the behavior of sandwich panels with connection. Verification of the numerical results was performed by comparing the numerical and experimental results. There was a good compliance between numerical and experimental results. Also, the effect of increasing the length and the thickness of the connections on the behavior of the sandwich panel was done through a parametric study using the FEM model.

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Despite the broad applications of nanotechnologies in the present age, there are concerns about its ecological consequences. In this regard, the purpose of this study was to analyze ecological consequences of nanotechnology in the field of agriculture. The research method was descriptive, which was carried out by a survey technique for gathering data. The statistical population of the study included all researchers, experts, and faculty members of national agricultural research institutes and centers across Iran (N=190); out of them, 123 individuals were selected by using Krejcie and Morgan sample size Table along with stratified random sampling method with proportional assignment (n=123). The research instrument was a questionnaire whose face and content validity was confirmed by a number of faculty members of agricultural extension and education and experts in the field of nanotechnology. The reliability of ecological consequences of nanotechnology items was also obtained by a pilot study using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient (α= 0.78). To identify the ecological consequences of nanotechnology by taking advantage of factor analysis, five factors entitled “social consequences”, “health-care consequences”, “economic consequences”, “cultural consequences”, and “biological consequences” were extracted. As a whole, these factors explained 58.40 percent of the total variance of ecological consequences of nanotechnology in the field of agriculture.

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Implementation of Conservation Agriculture (CA) project is a process of multi-participation that involves actors from agricultural researchers and scientists, extension agents, private consulting firms, pioneer farmers, rural cooperatives, family members, peer farmers, etc. The social interactions between farmers and actors drive the CA development. Therefore, this study analyzes the social network structures and characteristics of various actors by social network analysis in seven processes of applying CA in Iran. The research sample was composed of farmers who participated in the CA project in three provinces of Fars, Golestan, and Khuzestan (n= 133). The research instrument was a questionnaire that was designed as a matrix. The findings showed that pioneer farmers, CA farmers, and family members were the main actors in the farmers' social network. It can be concluded that these actors were the main social power in applying CA principles by farmers and they constituted the main centrality of the farmers' social network. It means that farmers are more likely to interact with local actors, and they interact less with the government and the actors outside the rural community. Therefore, it can be recommended that social power should be identified and project management should be organized through them in attempts to implement CA.
 

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Electronic commerce (E-commerce) is a contemporary concept with huge potential that is fundamentally changing how business is done. This paper describes robust E-commerce strategies for trading agricultural goods and services. The purpose of this study was to enhance the efficiency of E-commerce in the export of agricultural commodities. Since the SWOT method is a key tool used by businesses to formulate strategic plans, this study conducted a SWOT analysis of E‐commerce to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by E‐commerce in current scenarios. A random sampling method was used to select the statistical population, which was composed of 96 experts from the Ministry of Agriculture. Seventy-five questionnaires were distributed to the experts (N= 75) using Morgan and Krejsi's table, of which 59 questionnaires were filled (n= 59). The questionnaire consisted of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to E-commerce development and it was prepared using the Delphi technique. The important results of SWOT analysis constituted a framework to help planners and managers realize their goals and enhance the export of agricultural commodities. The resulting SWOT matrix analysis was located in the area of WO (conservative strategy). Accordingly, it is recommended that for proper exploitation of environmental opportunities, organizational weaknesses should be taken into account. Some important strategies suggested based on this study are enforcing laws and providing effective incentives to reduce production costs relative to global prices as well as creating innovation in the export process using E-commerce.
 

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The present study aimed to identify strategies for the application of pro-environmental technologies for greenhouse vegetable production in Tehran Province, Iran. It is an applied research type whose main instrument is a questionnaire. The population of the study consisted of 109 experts in Tehran Province, of which 86 experts were selected by stratified random sampling method (based on Krejcie and Morgan’s table). The questionnaire was revised with the help of the experts who had significant experience in crop protection to ensure the validity of the instrument. A pilot study was conducted on 22 experts in Alborz Province to determine the reliability of the questionnaire. Cronbach’s Alpha scores were acceptable for different sections of the questionnaire (0.71-0.82), so, the instrument was reliable. The research methodology is descriptive, and the SWOT analysis was used. First, the internal environment was analyzed to prepare a list of strengths and weaknesses in applying pro-environmental technologies, and then, a list of opportunities and threats were identified by analyzing the external environment. Some derived strategies include the development of appropriate mechanisms to control the sale and use of pesticides by removing barriers to registration, mass production, storage, handling, transport and consumption of biological agents, and reinforcement of the knowledge of greenhouse owners regarding biological control.
 

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Human well-being is one of the main goals of sustainable rural development. Indeed, human well-being demonstrates rural societies’ quality of life. This concept consists of objective and subjective well-being dimensions. Although it is assumed that objective well-being is rationally related to subjective well-being, this relationship has not been fully confirmed in past studies. Three main reasons including the geographical level of assessment, the type of data used, and different epistemological perspectives have separated objective well-being assessment from the subjective one. We used the same geographical level, type of data used, as well as epistemological perspective in order to evaluate the relationship between objective well-being and subjective well-being among rice farmers. Using a questionnaire, a survey was carried out among 384 rice farmers (Response rate= 92.3%) in the main rice cultivation areas in Iran. The study sample was chosen by a two-stages cluster random sampling technique. Face to face personal interview was also used as the form of data collection. The results of structural equation modeling illustrated that farmers’ perception of economic, social, and environmental well-being as objective well-being domains significantly explained their subjective well-being constructs including happiness as well as life satisfaction. In fact, life satisfaction and happiness would be changed once farmers mentally perceive objective well-being domains. Therefore, objective well-being indicators can affect subjective well-being constructs, including life satisfaction and happiness, if they are assessed based on farmers’ self-evaluation.

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At the colleges of agriculture in Iran, lecture is used as a dominated teaching method. Team learning is one of the most commonly used educational methods in the present erea. The aim of this study was to compare the Team Member Teaching Design (TMTD) and the regular lecture method on the academic achievement and teamwork behavior of agricultural students. A within-subject design was followed for two courses in which students first attended a series of lectures and then participated in team teaching. Differences between lecture and team teaching methods were examined for their academic achievement and teamwork. The study samples were taken of Agricultural Extension and Education Department of the University of Tehran during the academic year of 2017-2018. The mean scores of academic achievement and the teamwork behavior of students were compared. In compared coursess, the effect of TMTD method on the academic achievement of students was shown. The results of means comparison tests indicated a significant difference between the two methods of teaching in the field of academic achievement and the strengthening of the teamwork behavior of students. The paper further discusses team method implementation and its implication for teaching and proffers the way forward for an effective use of teaching methods for better results in the classroom teaching and learning process.

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The lack of accountability of government organizations to address the needs of stakeholders and the private sector and the provision of low-quality services to clients has increased dissatisfaction with government services. Therefore, providing quality services is essential to increase satisfaction with government organizations. Extension services are one of the main components of sustainable agriculture development in Iran and are provided to farmers through the Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension Organization (AREEO). Considering the low level of farmers' satisfaction with extension services, development of a system for assessing farmers' satisfaction as a strategic project has been emphasized. This study was conducted to develop the components of farmers' satisfaction with extension services and determine the factors affecting their satisfaction, in 2019. In this study, the classic Delphi method was used during three rounds. The expert panel consisted of nine university faculty members, 14 faculty members of AREEO, and 19 headquarters extension experts (n= 42). Delphi results led to the selection of 37 components to assess the satisfaction of farmers with the extension services. These components were classified using the constant comparative method in four main factors. These factors include technical and professional features of the extension experts, service quality, perceived effectiveness, and policy, management, and planning.

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This study adopted a survey approach to address and determine the effects of educational system components on strengthening the teamwork behavior of students in the agricultural higher education system of Iran. The statistical population consisted of all agricultural students in five universities of Iran. A sample of 291 students was selected using random stratified sampling method with proportional allocation. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were analyzed by structural simulation technique using Smart PLS software. The results showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between teamwork behavior of students and the components of the higher education system, which included the teacher, student, curriculum, and the learning environment. The results also showed that the curriculum component had the most impact compared to other components. Also, the presented Applied Structural Equation Model is a strong theoretical model for predicting the teamwork behavior of the students.