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Showing 11 results for Empowerment

Framarz Barimani, Zahra Nikmanesh, Sohyla Khodaverdiloo,
Volume 1, Issue 1 (12-2012)
Abstract

The empowerment of rural women and their involvement in decision making process is being considered as one of the prerequisite for achieving sustainable development. Access to small credit could well facilitate the empowerment mechanism. This study tries to answer the following question: Could access to small credit be influential on economic and psychological empowerment of women? The research method of this study is based on survey technique, filling questionnaire and documentation. The sample of this study is all of the woman of Lakestan Sub-District Salmas out of which 225 were extracted through quota sampling technique. Data were analyzed through application of T test. This paper suggests that access to small amount of credits could have a great impact on rural women's empowerment. That is those who were awarded loan were more capable and possess more self-confidence comparing with the ones who did not receive it.


Hossein Farahani, Zahra Asdaghi-Saraskanrood, Mehrshad Tulabi-Nejad,
Volume 2, Issue 5 (12-2013)
Abstract

Nowadays, empowerment is being considered as one of the most applicable ways regarding development achievement. This is more applied to vulnerable rural peasants. It is argued that development without empowerment considerations in general namely as far as the rural settlers are concerned is an incomplete concept. Targeted subsidy could be very influential regarding empowerment of the rural settlers which is the main contribution of this paper. The research method has applied as well as analytical and descriptive nature. Data gathering was done through both survey and documentation procedure. It is followed by distributing questionnaire and conduction of personal interviews of household heads. As such, 10 villages (35%) out of 28 villages located in Jaider district of Poldokhtar were selected. Furthermore, 80 households were interviews via random stratified sampling technique. This is followed by application of SPSS and Wilcoxon non-parametric statistical test. This study suggests that there exists positive relationship between the received targeted subsidy and economic empowerment level of the rural settlers. That is one could observe relativity high purchasing power, increase in saving, reduction of poverty and increase in household welfare. However, the reductions in arable land, as well as decrease in agricultural investment level, high inflation and mortgages are among the main important negative impacts.

Sadegh Asghari Lafmejani, Eisa Shahraki, Mahdi Naderian Far,
Volume 5, Issue 15 (5-2016)
Abstract

Introduction
Although poverty is a global problem, it is more drastic in villages and is considered as the most prominent problem of rural areas. Therefore, poverty alleviation, providing basic needs, and empowering the poor play important roles in rural development. In this way, rural development can be even introduced as an approach to poverty alleviation in rural areas. Regarding the fact that Iranian Rural society is noticeably confronted with unemployment (overt and covert), it can be said that empowering of villagers is a good strategy to resist against poverty and unemployment. So, different welfare organizations and institutions have been launched in Iran following supportive strategies for fighting against poverty and income inequalities as well as empowering of rural societies.
Imam Khomeini Relief Committee is one of these institutions that has been established by the purpose of recognizing material and spiritual deprivation of people and deprived classes in order to alleviate poverty by providing financial, health care, and educational services, together with self-sufficiency programs for the poor and needy. Even though the mentioned institution has already offered valuable services in Sistan to support the process of antipoverty, the drastic reduction in Helmand water and loss of livelihood activities have caused a majority of rural households in the region completely lose their sources of income. Then, the number of poor people and those under the protection of supportive-relief organizations has been increased.
Considering the increasing and alarming trends in the number of households protected by the Relief Committee, it is inevitable to recognize barriers and constraints facing economic and social empowerment of rural households under the protection of this institution in order to identify effective factors through which we can make better decisions toward the empowering of this group of society. This research intends to recognize barriers and constraints facing the economic and social empowerment of rural households under the protection of relief committee in Sistan villages as well as investigating their range of effectiveness and the most important ones.
Methodology
The present research is a descriptive- analytical one. The Statistical Society of this research consists of rural households protected by the Relief Committee in Sistan region. Household sample size has been detected through the specification of villages of more than 50 households under the protection of Relief Committee. Based on the number of villages under the protection and using sharp and correcting formula, a number of 40 villages have been introduced as sample villages. In the next step, sample villages have been randomly chosen among the villages of more than 50 households under the protection of Relief Committee. The number of households under the protection was reported 3071, among which a number of 341 households were calculated as household sample size using Cochran formula. For calculating research indicators, in addition to documentary and library studies appropriate to the conditions prevailing in the rural areas of Sistan region, a set of indicators associated with constraints and barriers to economic and social empowerment of rural households protected by the Relief Committee has been determined (tables 2 & 3). Household questionnaires have been completed by the heads of households or their spouses. The village questionnaires have also been completed by three members of the village council, the local experts or elders living there. SPSS and ArcGIS software have been used to analyze the data from the questionnaires of families and villages, as well as analysis of field observations forms. In this regard, in order to calculate the impact of restrictions and barriers facing economic and social empowerment of households, based on analytical hierarchy process (AHP), several steps have been done including formation of evaluation matrix, determination of the weight of the relevant indicators (in Expert Choice) and standardization of data. To sum up data weighted combination method has been used.
Discussion and conclusion
Considering the empowerment as a processes by which people find even more control over their working affairs and they can properly steer the direction of their lives with more power and control over resources, trust, capacity building and active participation, it is of particular interest to scholars. Results from the study indicate that barriers and restrictions facing the empowerment of households protected by the Relief Committee carry strongly different effects. According to ANOVA, the intensity have been explained in the form of fourteen main obstacles or restrictions. In this division, the highest rate was reported for the impact of water resource constraints on economic activity by a factor of 502/0.
Based on the findings
, organizational problems and personality and individual traits of the head of the household are accounted as the second and third obstacles raised in empowering households under the study. According to the overall conclusions based on the total descriptive and analytical results, it is understood that due to the limitations originated from water entering the Helmand River from Afghanistan, those households living in Sistan villages are faced with numerous problems. In addition, lack of access to water resources has been very influential on reducing employment and income, increasing and intensifying poverty and social instability in rural households, either directly or indirectly. Therefore, during the years 1375 to 1390 (the same time as the intensification of water limitations arising from Helmand of Afghanistan and the beginning of droughts or Sistan water scarcity), an increase of more than four times in the number of people protected by Imam Khomeini Relief Committee is obvious. Comparing to other institutions, it is the responsibility of the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee (RA) to alleviate poverty and empower deprived people. Considering "empowerment" as a tool for performing antipoverty programs, it is recommended to pay especial attention to the followings to help us continue the empowering process even stronger than before.
- Due to the fact that the most important factor affecting the progress of economic empowerment of rural households protected by the committee is considered to be the elimination of the constraints originated from Sistan villages being dependent on Afghanistan to supply the water needed, so the ongoing efforts of government seems essential to do something in the framework of international law to get the water rights of Sistan region and Hamoon international wetland from Hirmand river.
- Sistan northern and eastern borders with Afghanistan have created a perfect opportunity to develop the rural economy of the region. On the other hand, establishing border markets in North, East and SouthEast of Sistan, and providing the possibility of cross-border exchanges will be a good opportunity to reduce rural limits.

Hamed Aramesh, Atefeh Ras, Soheila Keshavarz,
Volume 9, Issue 34 (2-2021)
Abstract

Introduction
Today, the rise of the global economic system, which has created great wealth and the spread of economic contradictions such as the gap between rich and poor, has brought about wide-ranging social changes and has led to the introduction of entrepreneurial ideas in the field of social issues. In recent years, social entrepreneurship has been identified as an important source of social, economic, cultural and environmental wealth. Due to lack of resources and facilities and remarkable population growth, communities, nowadays, are facing many problems, among which is the problem of unemployment. Because the employment situation of women in Iran, like in many developing countries, is not favorable, women always have fewer job opportunities and often work in the informal sector with low wages.
Given that half of people in any society are women, women's participation in various jobs and entrepreneurship is necessary for the growth and development of society. Women's participation in various economic, social and other fields is one of the indicators of the country's production. One of the main issues in development is the proper use of the capabilities and talents of human resources in society.
In the suburban area of ​​Chabahar, there is a traditional view and disbelief in the abilities of women. Most of the women in this area are divorced or heads of households and do not have a good economic situation. Since the situation of women in each region is reflecting the social and economic improvement of the regions, and also, due to the appropriate commercial and economic situation of Chabahar region, there are many opportunities for job creation and empowerment of women in this region. It seems that one of the ways to discover these opportunities and empower women in this region is to regard and implement social entrepreneurship. So far, domestic research with a social entrepreneurship approach has not examined the empowering factors of rural women. Therefore, this study aims to provide a model of social entrepreneurship in order to empower women in the suburban region of Chabahar in a comprehensive way, to extract effective indicators and answer the research questions.
1. What factors affect the empowerment of women in Chabahar suburbs?
2. What is the impact of each of these factors on the empowerment of women in Chabahar suburbs?
3. What is the framework to implement the drivers of empowerment for women in Chabahar suburbs?
 
Methodology
This research is mixed in terms of purpose, application and in terms of data type. The qualitative part uses the Meta synthesis method. For data analysis, the software used in the quantitative section was SmartPLS2 for the first questionnaire and Expert choice software for the second questionnaire. The statistical population of the study is all Baluch women living in Chabahar.
 
Discussion and conclusion
Calculation of final weight and prioritization of effective indicators on women's empowerment in Chabahar suburban areas based on AHP method shows that among the identified indicators, women's self-confidence with a final weight of 0.457 has been identified as the most important effective indicator on women's empowerment, and motivational indicators, job creation and education with the final weight of 0.423 and 0.387, are, respectively, in the second and third place. Existence of social support for female heads of households and quality of life with a final weight of 0.030 has been identified as the least effective indicator among the indicators.
By meta-synthesis method, 21 indicators, 4 components and 2 dimensions were identified. The results showed that all variables except the variable of having sufficient skills, lead to empowerment of women in the suburban area of Chabahar. Also, all environmental variables lead to the empowerment of women in this area.
The most important indicators of women's empowerment in the Chabahar suburbs is self-confidence. Furthermore, the indicators of job creation motivations, level of education, elimination of labor market discrimination, and government support policies are ranked second to fifth, respectively, with regard to the importance of empowering women in this region.

Alireza Karimi, Hossein Daneshmehr,
Volume 10, Issue 37 (12-2021)
Abstract

Introduction
Social capital is a way of economic empowerment of local and rural communities with which they can overcome the poverty in these communities. Bourdieu underscores the convertibility of various forms of capital and the final alteration of all forms of capital into economic capital. He believes that among all types of capital, economic capital has the ability to convert to other capitals easily and quickly. However, social capital is no only difficult to convert, but also it cannot be easily used as a direct alternative for other forms of capital. Actors can have direct access to economic resources and capital through social capital.
In developing countries such as Iran especially in rural areas, social capital as an independent variable and its effects on economic empowerment or as Bourdieu argues the conversion of social capital into economic capital has been less investigated. This must be also the case for the areas in border of Marivan County. A large part of the borderline region of Marivan County in Kurdistan Province includes the villages of Khav and Mirabad Districts. Economic empowerment is crucial for these villages to maintain their population and hence the border security particularly for the piggyback cross-border smuggling phenomenon.  Accordingly, economic empowerment of the border villagers of Marivan County is an absolute necessity. The main questions of this study are: 1. What is level the economic empowerment of villagers and their social capital? 2. What is the relation of social capital to economic empowerment of the villagers?

Methodology
A survey method was used for a quantitative data collection by a questionnaire. The statistical population of the study is the villages of Khav and Mirabad District of Marivan County in Kurdistan Province. Khav and Mirabad District comprises one rural district including 39 villages, 32 of which are inhabited. Khav and Mirabad District is located in the west of Marivan County and the Iran-Iraq border.  The samples were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling. From a total of 32 inhabited villages in Khav and Mirabad District, 22 villages were selected as the sample. The selection of these villages is inconsistence with their geographical location and population. The selection of these villages is based on their geographical location and population. The independent variable of study or social capital was measured via 7 indicators. The indicators used are subjective participation, objective participation, social interactions, social cohesion, in-group trust, out-group trust and institutional trust. The dependent variable of the research or the economic empowerment of the villagers, examines the extent of the villagers' ability to increase income, create new jobs, save money, repay bank installments, etc.

Discussion and conclusion
Findings of this study show that social capital has inverse relation to the economic empowerment of the villagers. However, examining the indicators and their significance indicate that in-group social capital in the community has strengthened and out-group social capital has weakened. The relation of indexes of out-group social capital such as out-group social trust and institutional trust with economic empowerment was not significant, but their direction is positive. Although in-group social capital in the rural community has beneficial functions in rural ceremonies and collective actions, the emphasis on that and ignoring out-group social capital lead to reproducing traditional capabilities. Weak rural communication network and emphasis on in-group communication reduces the likelihood of novel activities and capabilities in rural communities. In fact, localized networks are good for developing small enterprise like farming, animal husbandry and retailing in the rural community, or latest informal jobs like piggyback cross-border smuggling and construction workers in Tehran.
Planners and public administrative in rural development have been taking the simplest way to empower the rural community, which is the allocation of small loans or a kind of distribution of money in the rural community. Despite its inefficiency, it remains the most common method of economic empowerment in rural communities. Gaining the trust of the villagers by rural community institutions, teaching new and relevant skills to the rural community, avoiding the money distribution among the villagers in the form of loans, using social capital within the villagers to form cooperatives production are the strategies with durability and more effectiveness

Saeed Azizi, Masoud Mahdavi Hajiloui, Ribaz Ghorbaninejad,
Volume 10, Issue 38 (3-2022)
Abstract

Introduction
 Empowering the villagers - as a new approach to development - is very effective in increasing the income and development of rural settlements. In other words, Rural development is not possible without empowering the villagers. Because the change and development of knowledge, skills and attitudes of the villagers from the empowerment process is the basis of sustainable rural development, and as the villagers welcome new ideas and methods, their thoughts change followed by it. As a result, a new attitude is created in them towards agricultural and other economic activities in rural areas and by promoting their cognitive capacities (awareness and knowledge), they provide the conditions for sustainable rural development.
The purpose of this study was to rank rural settlements in terms of factors affecting the empowerment of villagers in the Chandar district in Savojbolagh county.

Methodology
This research is applied in terms of purpose and quantitative (survey) in terms of research approach. The statistical population includes the residents of 10 densely populated villages of Chandar district of Savojbolagh county with a population of 12764 people and the sample size was obtained using Cochran's formula of 384 people and based on the population of each village, the sample ratio of each village was determined. To compare and rank the villages, based on library studies, six combined indicators (components) including interest and motivation, education, participation of villagers, tourism, relief committee services and geographical capacities have been used as factors affecting empowerment. The data collection tool is a researcher-made questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed using the opinions of five experts and its reliability was obtained using Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.82 for a total of six indicators. The villagers' answers to the questions were entered into SPSS21 software and the average of each index in the villages was calculated. Then Dematel method was used to weight the indicators. Vikor technique was used to rank the villages in terms of empowerment indicators.

Savojbolagh county with an area of about 2785 square kilometers is located in the west of Alborz province. It consists of three districts called Markazi, Chandar and Chaharbagh, nine townships named Saeedabad, Hugh, Chandar, Baraghan, Ramjin and Chahardangeh and fore cities named Hashtgerd, Hashtgerd new city, Taleghan and Chaharbagh. According to the 2016 census, the population of Chandar district is equal to 28841 people. Among the villages in this section, 10 villages with a larger population were selected for this study.

Discussion and Conclusion
Given that a quarter of the country's population lives in rural areas and still faces deprivation and underdevelopment in many areas, many urban problems, such as marginalization and urban poverty, are rooted in unresolved issues in rural areas; Therefore, rural development is a priority in planning. In this direction, one of the important approaches for rural development is the empowerment of local and rural communities. Empowering villagers will alleviate poverty and reduce deprivation, increase rural entrepreneurship, and promote rural justice. The empowerment of the villagers themselves is influenced by factors. In fact, empowerment needs stimulants and reinforcers. In this study, six factors of interest and motivation, education, participation of villagers, tourism, relief committee services and geographical capacities were selected as effective factors on empowerment of villagers in Chandar section of Savojbolagh county.
According to the ranking of Vikor index from the lowest score to the highest score, Kordan village is ranked first, followed by Ghezel Darreh Farm, Fashand, Hassanabad Farm, Aznagh, Sebistan, Harjab, Kooshk Zar, Imamzadeh Shah Hossein and BanuSahra are located respectively. Among the indicators affecting empowerment, the indicators of participation, interest and motivation, respectively, had the most role, followed by the geographical capacity, training and services of the Relief Committee in the next ranks. The tourism index is in the last place with a difference. With this study, in addition to ranking the villages in terms of the level of empowerment, the importance of indicators to influence the empowerment variable was also determined and the indicators of participation, interest and motivation, environmental capacity and education can be emphasized more. On the other hand, villages that are in the lower ranks in terms of capability, such as BanoSahra, Shahzadeh Imam Hussein, Koushk Zar, Harjab, Sebistan and Aznagh should also be given priority in the programs.
Thus, by studying the status and level of empowerment indicators in other villages, it is possible to understand the spatial and content priorities of planning for empowerment measures in rural communities. It is obvious that for this purpose, several indicators in individual, institutional and environmental dimensions must be used.

 

Bahram Imani,
Volume 10, Issue 38 (3-2022)
Abstract

Introduction
The role and position of villages in the process of economic development, Social and political in different scales and the consequences of its underdevelopment such as poverty, Inequality, Immigration and unemployment, fast population growth, It has caused attention to rural development and its priority over urban development. Since the Today, the main economic problem of rural communities is Their inability to understand the available resources and facilities and not recognizing priorities, It is necessary to get the rural economy out of the current situation. therefore, Identifying the components of branding have a direct impact on achieving these benefits, Because in addition to solving problems, it can also have positive consequences. Ardabil is one of the agricultural poles of the country, Which has considerable potential in relation to product branding And more than four million tons of agricultural products are produced in the province. therefore, Branding in rural areas of the province can Lead to the organization and prevention of sporadic action in rural development programs And this through branding of agricultural products, Numerous tourist attractions And handicrafts And creating a target market for export products is possible, Because in recent years, economic constraints that have been accompanied by a significant reduction in manpower in the work process have affected the conditions of the rurals. according to this, Identifying and evaluating brand components is essential in order to achieve economic empowerment. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the analysis of rural brand components on economic empowerment in rural areas of the central part of Ardabil city.

Research Methods
The present study in terms of applied purpose And is based on a descriptive-analytical nature. The statistical population of the study includes two groups of experts and local people in the villages of the central part of Ardabil city. Panel members (experts) in this study in the form of non-probabilistic purposive sampling, 30 qualified people were selected. To obtain the required sample among the local community using cluster sampling in five rural areas of the central part, Initially, six villages from each district And from each village, 436 people were randomly selected as a sample. Data collection method To answer research questions It has been in the form of a library and a questionnaire. To measure research variables, In the variable part of the effects of brand components, Four indicators in the form of 30 indicators and 13 indicators in the economic empowerment variable were used. The validity of the questionnaire was examined by a panel of experts and experienced in this field And confirmed. To determine the reliability of the questionnaire, 30 questionnaires were distributed in the same area And the total reliability of the questionnaire was estimated to be 0.917. Analysis of the findings of the questionnaire using the opinion of experts, Mick Mac software was used. In order to analyze the views of the local community, Spss software was used, Where Pearson correlation coefficient to examine the relationship between research variables, Multivariate regression coefficient was used to determine the effect of brand effects on economic empowerment of villagers.

Discussion and conclusion
The results based on the effective and influential rural brand plan indicate that: The system is in an unstable state And most of the factors are scattered around the diagonal axis and are in a similar position to each other And only their weakness and intensity are different from each other. The results were 100% desirable after 4 spins of cross-effect data. And this indicates the favorable validity of the questionnaire. The filling rate of the matrix is 92.62% Which shows that more than 92% of cases, the factors in question have affected each other. After scoring and analysis by Mick Mac model, 15 factors were selected as key factors And from the 15 factors extracted, Five factors of the existence of facilities, Animal species, Local business development, Handicrafts Proper waste disposal was more important. Findings are based on multivariate regression Considering the level of significance of the test with a confidence level of 0.95 among the four effects of the rural brand, Physical effects index with beta coefficient of 0.855 had the greatest effect on the dependent variable And 0.723 of the total variance explains economic empowerment. On the other hand, The environmental effects of the brand with a beta coefficient of 0.640 have had the least effect in explaining economic empowerment And explains only 0.391 of the variance. The results also showed Pearson correlation coefficient, Between the effects of rural branding and economic empowerment, There is a positive and significant relationship. According to the results obtained, it can be said, Economic empowerment is one of the dimensions of sustainable development Emphasizing the existing capacities and potentials in the region, Provides employment and income generation and strengthens production. Pay attention to capabilities And the potential capabilities of these areas And given the existence of a strong and motivated workforce, By investing and branding through flagship agricultural products, Numerous tourist and handicraft attractions and creating a target market for export products And income generation for the villagers, Provided the necessary ground for their economic empowerment.

Haniyeh Haghpanah, Tahereh Sadeghloo ,
Volume 10, Issue 38 (3-2022)
Abstract

Introduction
One of the ways to empowering rural women is to provide them with the opportunity to participate in economic activities, especially the sale of agricultural products and handicrafts, which requires the provision of favorable conditions, including the creation of suitable markets for these products. Women's empowerment is a way to increase women's individual and social capacity through their political, social, educational or economic power, and a way to promote the status of women is one of the most neglected conditions in society. One of the ways to improve the level of empowerment of rural women is to provide the conditions for their presence in economic activities and the sale of agricultural products and handicrafts. It is necessary to create suitable markets for these products. In recent years, structural changes in societies and changes in the lives of individuals and communities have led housewives to show great interest in working outside the home. Increasing income through job creation has positive effects on their material life, promoting self-esteem, improving basic and essential needs and creating independence among them.
So that having job opportunities increases their role in economic, family and social decisions. In this regard, local markets play an important role in local economic and social developments and fundamental changes in the physical situation, production, employment and economic activity of villages. Local markets are places where, in addition to selling goods, villages will be exchanged with cities. Many small-scale producers (especially rural women) bring very few products to these markets during the month, and by offering these products at a price, they generate income for the household, which is very important for the rural household economy. The present study seeks to examine the conditions of these local markets and their role in empowering rural seller women in these markets.

Methodology
The present research is of applied type with descriptive and analytical methodology. Library and field methods based on the researcher-made questionnaire were used to collect information. The sample size of this study includes 80 rural women from 21 villages of Ghaen Township who were present in the local markets as a seller during the field studies.
After determining the samples, data were collected in the field through a researcher-made questionnaire. To evaluate the validity of the research variables, two methods were used using the study background as well as the specialized panel of university professors and experts. Cronbach's alpha test was also used to evaluate the reliability of the data, which the results indicate a high level of data reliability for the study. To analyze data from descriptive and inferential statistics (one-sample t-test, multivariate regression and one-way analysis of variance) in SPSS software and to rank villages in terms of market role variables in women's empowerment, from the multi-criteria decision model of Cocoso (Weighting used is entropy) and GIS software was used to display the obtained rank.
Ghaen Township is one of the areas where the villagers sell their products during the week in the form of weekly markets that are temporarily or permanently formed in Ghaen city and the villages of Afriz, Tighab, Chahak and Mousavieh. These markets, regardless of size (small and large), have a significant impact on the economic situation of the family, especially rural families. Some rural female vendors in these markets, which have more than 600 mobile units, have a good opportunity to supply their products, which are mainly agricultural products and vegetables and dried vegetables. In the present study, the role of the weekly markets of this city on the empowerment of women active in these markets has been investigated.

Discussions and Results
The present study examines and analyzes the role of local markets in empowering rural women in economic, social, personal and psychological dimensions (at the level of indicators such as income and savings, finance, employment, product supply, participation and cooperation, improving welfare and awareness, trust Self and voluntary decision making).
The highest average in assessing the market impact on women's empowerment belongs to the employment index with an average of 3.41 and the lowest average belongs to the optional decision index with an average of 2.90. The independent variable in this study is market conditions, which is measured by three indicators: infrastructure-space conditions, supply and demand, competition and social market conditions. Among the market conditions indices, the highest average belongs to the market social conditions index with an average of 3.44 and the lowest average belongs to the infrastructure-spatial index with an average of 2.96. The results show that in the studied villages, the situation of supply and demand and competition and the social conditions of the market and infrastructure-space are in a good situation, which has caused the market to play a positive role in changing and improving empowerment indicators.
The case study women, have received the most impact from market conditions from the individual dimension. Local markets also had the greatest impact on the empowerment of women living in the villages of Qomanjan, Tightar and Rome.

Masoumeh Pazkoi,
Volume 11, Issue 40 (9-2022)
Abstract

Introduction
 The entrepreneurship approach, suggested by planners, is a strategy for Overcoming the socio-economic problems facing rural communities. Facilitating innovations and entrepreneurial activities with high effectiveness are the tools to achieve economic development in rural areas. Another necessary condition for the development of any society, especially rural communities, are the main components of social capital, namely, the expansion of social cohesion, the development of social participation and, most importantly, mutual trust (between the private sector and the government). To achieve the development of entrepreneurial activities in rural areas, planning for the existing resources in rural areas, especially human resources, is essential through empowerment and resilience. The variables of social capital, empowerment and resilience must be considered in achieving innovative performance. Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the social capital relationship with the innovative performance of rural entrepreneurs in the rural district of Filestan in Pakdasht County according to the variables of resilience and empowerment.

 Methodology
The present research is an applied study, and due to the nature of the subject, the approach to the research process is descriptive-analytical. The statistical population of the study was villagers in villages with more than 20 households in Filestan Rural district. According to Cochran's formula, 353 households from 5 villages were obtained as a research sample. Then, based on the number of households in each village and by stratified sampling method, the number of samples in each village was calculated. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed according to the opinion of experts in geography and rural planning. Its reliability was obtained by Cronbach's alpha method, and data analysis was performed using SPSS software and ARAS, CODAS, WASPAS, COPELAND and MULTI-MOORA techniques.

Discussion and conclusion
The crucial strategy for survival in today's fast-paced world for the villages is the use of all available resources and the empowerment of all the capacities available to the villagers. Choosing this path requires providing a suitable platform that allows the emergence of creative skills and tactics, and entrepreneurial activities. In the current research, the relation of social capital with the innovative performance of rural entrepreneurs in the villages of Filestan Rural district was studied with regard to resilience and empowerment variables. According to the results of Shannon's entropy method, among the criteria of social capital effective on resilience, the criterion of knowledge and awareness with a weight of 0.9981 has the most importance. A rural society with stronger social capital in comparison with other villages has stronger social cohesion, social support, informal social relations, social interactions, social justice, justice in the distribution of resources, and resilient innovative practices and entrepreneurial activities. According to the COPELAND technique, the indicators of the desirability of innovation at the end of the work and the holding of classes related to entrepreneurship in the village were ranked first in significance. The ranking based on the MULTI-MOORA method shows that the villagers of Golzar village are more capable in terms of innovative practices and entrepreneurial activities compared to other villages. The results of the WASPAS technique show that the village of Golzar has a superior position compared to other villages in the Filestan Rural district from the point of view of different dimensions of social capital that are effective in the resilience of innovative and entrepreneurial practices with a Qi equal to 0.8764 and acts stronger. The results of the CODAS technique show that the role of social capital on the performance of rural entrepreneurs in Golzar village has been more than in other villages of the Filestan Rural district. This means that based on the results of this research, the self-confidence of entrepreneurs in this village, along with planning, training, skill acquisition, competitiveness, flexibility and increasing participation, should lead to a diversity of employment and improvement of household income in addition to creating social cohesion. Therefore, this village has stronger social capital than other villages. In fact, social capital leads to common ideals, social harmony, social cohesion, motivation, trust, creativity, and forward-looking, which can directly affect the innovative performance of rural entrepreneurs through empowerment and resilience.
The following suggestions are presented in order to improve the conditions of entrepreneurship according to the variables of empowerment, resilience and entrepreneurship in the study area:
  • Creating the environment and background for entrepreneurship (capacity building); 
  • Applying the necessary self-confidence and empowerment strategies through specialized training in the field of starting entrepreneurial businesses and innovative actions;
  • Applying resilience-building strategies through specialized training in order to increase the ability to return to the conditions before the tension and after the accidents and the flexibility and creativity of entrepreneurs;
  • Providing the necessary support to entrepreneurs in the fields of removing administrative formalities and facilitating loan conditions;
  • Personal and occupational insurance and the establishment of markets for the sale of agricultural and rural products;
  • Intensifying the expansion of entrepreneurial activities by creating mobility and activity.

Nahideh Mohammadi, Bijan Rahmani, Naser Shafiei Thabit,
Volume 11, Issue 40 (9-2022)
Abstract

Introduction
The extensive experience of many countries shows that the success of development programs in rural areas has not been favorable due to some limitations, especially the lack of participation of the beneficiaries or the villagers. Since it is only the villagers who can effectively identify their perceived problems and needs, therefore their participation in the management process and planning of rural development and transformation - in all its stages - is essential. In this regard, local people can participate fully and effectively when they are organized and trained to make a united and continuous effort. Therefore, in this context, non-governmental organizations, as people-oriented and participatory institutions, are known to be the most important main means of achieving this goal, which can penetrate rural communities and involve villagers in the process of participatory and sustainable development. Therefore, since the late 1980s and especially in the 1990s, and with the introduction of the community-oriented approach, non-governmental organizations have received attention. Because the ability of local stakeholders in community-oriented development is a fundamental factor in enabling them to participate and influence the development and spatial developments have a special place. Therefore, it is necessary to make an effort to empower the villagers in order to reduce the negative consequences of their weak intervention in the process of development and spatial development. On this basis, to improve the organized participation of villagers in the framework of non-governmental organizations, it is necessary to develop planning and policies in order to invest in the improvement of the facilitators of the empowerment of villagers, such as; Education, awareness raising, trust and confidence, cohesion and solidarity, etc. should be placed in order to provide the necessary grounds for the formation of non-governmental organizations. In this framework, the analysis of the growth and expansion of non-governmental organizations in the spatial transformations of rural settlements, taking into account the improvement of empowerment indicators, is a new approach that has been addressed in this research.

 Methodology
In the present study, based on a descriptive-analytical method and based on a questionnaire, the relationship between rural empowerment facilitators in the formation of non-governmental organizations and the relationship between these organizations in The process of spatial transformation of rural settlements (in the form of 15 indicators) was measured at the level of 30 villages and 300 sample households in the villages of Javanrood township. The collected data were processed using SPSS software and using correlation test statistics, and univariate and multivariate regression.

Discussion and conclusion
Findings showed that there is a significant relationship between the improvement of empowerment indicators and the rate of formation and expansion of non-governmental organizations in the direction of the spatial transformation of rural settlements. But, this relationship has been decreasing-decreasing, which has revealed the inappropriate position of research variables in the study area. In other words, the implementation of empowerment methods due to the dominance of the "top-down" and "state-based" approach has not been able to create a sense of power and empowerment in the local stakeholders and their effective and organized participation in the framework of non-governmental organizations. The low level of participation of non-governmental organizations has caused failure in the spatial development of rural settlements in economic, social, physical and environmental-ecological dimensions. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to and improve the facilitation indicators of rural empowerment such as; Education and awareness, knowledge and skills, cohesion and solidarity, trust and confidence, participation, institutionalization and political support of the government, and changing the approach to "community-based" and "bottom-up", are a good ground for their participation with the aim of creating non-governmental organizations in the direction the spatial transformation of rural settlements.

 

Mahmoud Ganjipour, Mustafa Taleshi, Mohsen Shaterian,
Volume 11, Issue 42 (1-2023)
Abstract

Introduction
One of the most important goals of forming states is to provide welfare and development for society, and the development process always calls for the state's action. Therefore, the nature of states, political and ideological philosophy and its structure play a key role in the development process, including rural development. Since the formation of the centralized state in Iran and after 1316, planning has started in its current form, and after 60 years, 12 programs have been prepared in the country, 11 of which have been implemented. During the years before the revolution, 6 programs were prepared, and 5 programs were implemented. After the revolution, 6 programs were prepared and 5 programs were implemented, and the sixth program is being completed. In Iran, most of the stages of rural development have been done within the framework of five-year plans, and investment is the most important tool of the state to achieve rural development. The rural management approach until 1970, in most countries of the world, was influenced by the dominance of top-down development management policies and approaches, which followed the emergence of environmental challenges and socio-economic inequalities, the field of attention and change in the bottom-up development approach. It has been provided since the 1980s in order to balance rural settlements. Therefore, in recent decades, empowerment has been proposed as a mechanism for rural development in Iran. However, were the realities that took place in the country's rural homogeneous with the demands and goals of the programs? In other words, considering the high volume of credits spent every year in rural settlements, the question can be raised: What does investing in rural settlements have to do with empowering the villagers? Has the agent of change being able to bring about the necessary changes and transformations in order to empower the villagers? In this study, by recognizing state investments in rural and their role in empowering villagers, how they affect the rural of Kashan was analyzed.

 Methodology
The method of the present study is descriptive-analytical. The statistical population was 15255 rural households in Kashan district, and the sample size was 316 people. In this research, using the classification method and using a three-dimensional matrix, indicators such as state investment (effective index), geographical location of the rural and population were considered as effective indicators for determining the sample. Finally, 12 villages were selected. In this article, SPSS software was used to assess the validity and reliability of the questionnaire so that using the KMO test, the validity of the rural household head questionnaire to measure the level of rural empowerment is equal to 0.867 and the validity of the rural household head questionnaire to measure investment The state is calculated to be 0.826. Also, based on the results of the structural validity test, Cronbach's alpha coefficient obtained from the rural household heads questionnaire to measure the level of rural empowerment is equal to 0.974, and the rural household heads questionnaire to measure state investment is equal to 0.846. In this way, the validity and reliability of the questionnaire are confirmed. Furthermore, to explain the relationships between independent and dependent variables, regression analysis and coefficient of determination (R2) were used, and for other spatial analyses, SPSS software was used. 

Discussion and conclusion
Findings from field studies indicate a strong, positive and direct relationship between the two variables of investment and rural empowerment (P = 0.000). In other words, based on the coefficient of determination, 13.5% of the variance of rural empowerment is explained by state investment. According to multivariate regression analysis, the variables of physical-spatial investment (BETA = 0.301), social investment (BETA = 0.256) and ecological investment (BETA = 0.228) had the greatest impact on the empowerment variable. As a result, regression analysis shows that with increasing state investment in the studied villages, the rate of rural empowerment also increases. 
Therefore, rural empowerment is studied as a new approach to the development of rural areas, with a systematic, integrated and combined view so that self-determination, competence, impact, significance and trust emerge and organize as the driving force of empowerment in rural communities. In this way, the right to development and honorable life in rural areas can be realized objectively. In fact, due to their structural and functional nature, villages are related to all factors of human life, and the challenges cannot be solved with a one-dimensional view. In the integrated view, all factors effectively empower the villagers, and the absence of one of the factors challenges the process of empowering rural communities. According to what has been said, the results of the article provide some strategic points: Lack of careful study and evaluation of developments in rural areas after the arrival of investments. On the other hand, different perceptions of the concepts of capacity building and empowerment in practice have maintained problems in rural society. Finally, in order to achieve the empowerment of local communities through the role of the state in the development of a list perspective, there are significant proposals that should be pursued through the state, realistic and targeted facilitation models. Thus, in sustainable rural development programs, participatory and facilitator planning, realistic, bottom-up and decentralized, conducting regional and local planning studies, deepening indigenous knowledge bases in rural issues, promoting individual responsibility at the design levels, and program implementation must be considered. 

 


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