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The behauiours of clay minerals and the extent of clay-heavy metals interactions are functions of CEC and the exposed SSA of the clay minerals. The type and the quantity of double layer cations have an essential impact on this process. This work aimed to investigate the behaviour of Na-montmorillonite and Ca-montmorillonite in interaction with Pb as a heavy metal ion. The results showed that although the buffering capacity pattern of montmorillonite and different concentrations of NaCl is relatively similar, the contaminant retention property of montmorillonite is a function of the quantity of sodium ions with which the soil is treated. In Ca-montmorillonite, in spite of very small change in its buffering capacity in comparison with that of montmorillonite, a noticeable change in contaminant retention was observed. This emphasizes the limitation of buffering capacity experiment to determine the extent of soil-contaminant interaction. On the other hand, retention experiment was able to differentiate between the behaviour of these two samples. Finally, the results of the interaction process of sodium- and calcium- montmorillonite with heavy metal contaminant were compared using the XRD experiments.

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Agricultural sustainability refers to the ability of a farm to produce food indefinitely, without causing irreversible damage to ecosystem health. The main objective of this study was to formulate a structural model to analyze the effects of ecological, social, and economic factors on sustainable agricultural development in Qazvin Province of Iran. To achieve this aim, a structural model with 4 latent variables and 14 observed indicators was used. Required data were collected by questionnaire from 220 wheat cropping farmers who were selected through a stratified sampling design from four counties located in Qazvin Province. Linear structural relationships were used to calculate the impact of various factors on sustainability of agriculture. The computer software of LISREL was used to specify, fit, and evaluate structural equation model. The result of the analysis showed that ecological, social, and economic sustainability positively affected the agricultural sustainability, but, ecological sustainability had a greater impact on agricultural sustainability (0.642) than economic (0.604) and social (0.568) sustainability. The model gives right signals on what has been happening to agricultural development in Iran. The result of this study can also assist agricultural planners and policy-makers in identifying appropriate policies and in monitoring the effectiveness of policy interventions.

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Small and medium-sized enterprises, by increasing job creation and reducing poverty, lead to the economic and social growth of developing countries. Today, these companies face rapid market shifts and budget cuts that have reduced their ability and, consequently, increased risk of planning. Therefore, the need for a new system of governance, called the clean production system, is felt. Lean production is a production method that deliver quality products to customers while eliminating any process that is not worthwhile for the customer. The main objective of the present research is to determine the factors affecting the implementation of the principles of lean production in food industry small and medium-sized enterprises of Khuzestan province. The statistical population of the study consisted of all managers of food industry small and medium enterprises of Khuzestan (N = 307). By using Krejcie and Morgan’s Table and stratified random sampling with proportional to size 170 of them (n = 170) were selected as sample. Of these, 161respondents completed the questionnaires. The results of correlation analysis showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between the factors affecting the implementation of the principles of clean production, including the management of the relationship with the supplier and the use of information technology by implementing the principles of lean production. According to the results of regression analysis, three variables of customer relationship management, human resources management and empowerment of employees have the most effect in implementing the principles of lean production.
 

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Sustainable coastal fishing management includes different components and factors. One of the practical initiatives to achieve sustainability is to evaluate or measure different criteria of sustainability and measuring sustainability of each system needs its own indicators. This study aimed to investigate different criteria of sustainable coastal fishing management in Beach Seine Cooperatives (BSC) in Guilan Province of Iran and to analyze different aspects of sustainable coastal fishing management in the cooperatives. The statistical populations of the research were 58 active BSC’s of Guilan Province, 36 of which were determined through formula of Cochran and were selected randomly. Sampling was done from September 2011 to April 2012.The method used in this research was descriptive-survey research and data was gathered through questionnaires. Reliability of the questionnaire was confirmed with Cronbach's Alpha that was calculated for each of the seven criteria of the questionnaire (Cronbach's α coefficients ranging from 0.78 to 0.93). The construct validity was analyzed with a factorial analysis of the main components whose applicability was verified by means of Bartlett’s test of sphericity and the KMO test (acceptable with values above 0.6). Technique used in this study was Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA), a general approach that can analyze complex problems involving multiple criteria used in sophisticated systems such as fishing. MCA is a decision-making tool to analyze and evaluate multiple indicators under a participatory group decision-making environment. Seven variable criteria of sustainability indicators including ecological, economic, social, institutional, coastal management, restocking the reserves, and resource conservation indicators were investigated. According to the results, social sustainability in BSC cooperatives had the best situation among different criteria of sustainable coastal fishing management, while the economic coastal management and resource conservation criteria had unfavorable status of sustainability.

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Considering the importance of investment in renewable energies and the numerous uses of this technology in the agriculture sector, the present research was conducted with the aim of investigating the factors affecting the decision-making process in renewable energies investment in the agricultural sector in Iran. This study is a non-experimental survey research in which structural equations modeling method was used for data analysis (LISREL 8.72). The statistical population consisted of 130 investors of active companies in the area of renewable energies in the agriculture sector throughout Iran. Using Krejcie and Morgan Table as well as simple random sampling method, 97 (n= 97) individuals were chosen as the sample size. The main data collection instrument was questionnaire, whose validity was confirmed by a panel of experts. To measure the reliability of the research tool, 30 copies of the questionnaire were completed by active investors in the area of renewable energies as well as the experts of Iranian Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization. Then, Cronbach Alpha coefficient was calculated by SPSS 22 for different sections of the completed questionnaire, which showed a good reliability. Based on the results, since the calculated Composite Reliability (CR) index was larger than 0.6 and the Average Variance Extracted (AVE) was larger than 0.5 for each of the five external and internal latent studied variables, the latent variables had convergent and divergent validity. The results indicated that among the studied variables, knowledge of renewable energy technology, a priori beliefs, market policy preferences, institutional pressure, and attitude toward radical technological innovations had the greatest impact on the renewable energies investment decision-making process in the agriculture sector, respectively.
 

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The climate is changing and agriculture sector is heavily dependent on climatic changes. Considering the key role of perception and its impact on behavior and given the importance of climate changes in today’s world, the present research was conducted with the aim of investigating the factors affecting perception and adaptation behavior of farmers in response to climatic changes in Hamedan, Iran. For this aim, first, the factors affecting the farmers’ perception and adaptation behavior were extracted from literature review. Then, a questionnaire was developed, and to determine its validity, the questionnaire was examined by a panel of experts. Further, to measure the reliability of the research instrument, a pilot test was conducted. The statistical population of the research consisted of 115,160 farmers in Hamedan Province and the sample size based on Krejcie and Morgan table was determined as n= 384 farmers. Then, a stratified random sampling with proportional allocation was used. The findings indicated that among the studied variables, knowledge, perception, and belief with path coefficients of, respectively, 0.53, 0.32, and 0.18 had the maximum impact on the adaptation behavior, while the maximum impact on perception belonged to belief and knowledge with path coefficients of, respectively, 0.56 and 0.35. According to the results, knowledge, which had the highest contribution in explaining behavior, was not seen in the Arbuckle et al. (2015) model. Therefore, to make it easier for the farmers to communicate and facilitate the transfer of information on climate change, establishment of community-based organizations is suggested. In addition, by enhancing the level of farmers awareness about climate-smart agriculture, it is possible to take major steps to improve their adaptation to climate changes.

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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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 Lean production system is a new management approach and a business strategy that results in the elimination of waste (costs and time) and improvement of the performance and overall value of an organization. The main objective of this study was to investigate factors influencing implementation of Lean Production Principle (LPP) and its relation with the performance of Small and Medium-sized Food Industry Enterprises (SMFIEs) in Khuzestan Province. This study was a kind of descriptive-correlation and causal-relation that was conducted through a survey technique. Statistical population of the study consisted of all managers in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Khuzestan food industry (N= 307). By using Krejcie and Morgan’s tables and stratified random sampling method, 170 person were selected as sample, of which 161 person completed the research questionnaires (return rate 94.7%). The results show that among the eight factors that influence the implementation of LPP, three variables of “customer relationship management”, "human resource management”, and “employees’ empowerment” have the most direct effects on LPP and, ultimately, the highest total effect on SMFIEs performance. The implementation of LPP could explain about 31 percent of variances in SMFIEs performance. Conducting justification and education workshops not only enhances the knowledge of SMFIEs managers, but also helps implement the LPP and, subsequently, improves the performance of SMFIEs.

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Among the key strategies in higher education is to prioritize the development of the entrepreneurial university. In this regard, the University of Applied Sciences and Technology (UAST) is one of the main institutions involved in vocational higher education, especially in the agricultural sector, which aims to help graduates acquire the knowledge and skills they will require. To this end, the university needs to plan for and develop entrepreneurial educations in its training system. Accordingly, the present study aimed to strategically analyze entrepreneur UAST in the agricultural sector. The statistical sample included 19 individuals, who were presidents, deputies, and managers of a university or managers of agricultural applied science and technology centers. After interviews and reaching theoretical saturation, the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities of the agricultural applied sciences and technology centers were specified. The results of the SWOT matrix show that the aggressive strategy (SO) is the most appropriate strategy for the agricultural centers of UAST. The most important strategies within this approach included ‘organizing and developing agricultural applied sciences and technology programs in a balanced manner’; ‘designing and implementing a province-wide educational need assessment model for the agricultural sector’; ‘developing agricultural modular curricula and getting involved in new labor market potentials with the aid of the executive agencies’; ‘enhancing the quality of agricultural training components’; ‘developing financial resources and the use of the existing potentials of the agricultural sector with no financial burden on the government’; ‘basing decisions on research’; and ‘setting policies based on the modern agricultural and natural resources’ technology’.

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Fisheries tourism is one of the types of tourism that has not received much attention in Iran, despite its good status. The benefits of the tourism industry with the high potential of the fisheries and fishing industry can provide an ideal option to connect the two industries in order to leave the difficult conditions of the fishery areas and move toward development. The first step in planning for fisheries tourism development is to accurately identify the potentials and fisheries' attractions to absorb tourists. Thus, the present study aimed to identify the tourists’ attractions of fisheries using a qualitative methodology with an exploratory approach. This research was applied in terms of purpose, and is descriptive and survey in terms of nature and method. The statistical population of this study was relevant subject experts. Using the purposeful snowball sampling method, 23 experts were selected to determine the panel of the experts based on their subject expertise, experiences, and the theoretical adequacy principle. In three rounds, the attractiveness and attractive fisheries activities for tourism were identified using the Delphi technique. In the first round of Delphi, 30 attractions and attractive activities for fisheries tourism were introduced by experts. After the removal of the less important items in the second and third round of Delphi, finally, the consensus was reached about 12 attractions of fisheries tourism, in three categories of fishing and fishery, fisheries industries, and coastal aquaculture.