Job satisfaction amongst agricultural extension personnel in Kurdistan Province of Iran

Understanding behaviour of an individual in an organization requires knowing something about organization and some psychological factors as well as job satisfaction. Job satisfaction broadly is considered to be as attitude of a person reflecting the degree to which his/her important needs are satisfied by this job. To study the job satisfaction level and factors associated with job satisfaction of Extension personnel, a sample of 74 extension personnel from Kurdistan province of Iran were selected. To study the job satisfaction level among respondents, Bray Field and Rothe Job Satisfaction Index was used. A data form was used to collect information about selected personal variables. The reliability and validity of the Bray Field and Rothe Job Satisfaction Index were determined. Cronbach's alpha computed to measure reliability of the 20 items of scale was 0.82. The data were analyzed using statistical methods such as frequencies, percentage, mean score, standard deviation, and product moment correlation and regression analysis. The findings of the study revealed that the majority of the extension personnel (51.4%) belonged to high level of job satisfaction, followed by 35.1 and 13.5 percent belonging to medium and low level of job satisfaction, respectively. The index items most suggesting negative job satisfaction was unclear promotion policy in organization and low salary, respectively. According to regression analysis educational level, level of job diversity and salary were found to have contributed to the increase of job satisfaction among extension personnel. South African Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol. 35 (2) 2006: pp. 176-18

Ovarian Aging-Like Phenotype in the Hyperandrogenism-Induced Murine Model of Polycystic Ovary

There are prominently similar symptoms, effectors, and commonalities in the majority of characteristics between ovarian aging and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Despite the approved role of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of PCOS and aging, to our knowledge, the link between the PCO(S) and aging has not been investigated yet. In this study we investigated the possible exhibition of ovarian aging phenotype in murine model of PCO induced by daily oral administration of letrozole (1 mg/kg body weight) for 21 consecutive days in the female Wistar rats. Hyperandrogenization showed irregular cycles and histopathological characteristics of PCO which was associated with a significant increase in lipid peroxidation (LPO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decrease in total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in serum and ovary. Moreover, serum testosterone, insulin and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels, and ovarian matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) were increased in PCO rats compared with healthy controls, while estradiol and progesterone diminished. Almost all of these findings are interestingly found to be common with the characteristics identified with (ovarian) aging showing that hyperandrogenism-induced PCO in rat is associated with ovarian aging-like phenotypes. To our knowledge, this is the first report that provides evidence regarding the phenomenon of aging in PCO

Communication and socio-personal factors influencing adoption of dairy farming technologies amongst livestock farmers in Iran

East Azerbaijan of Iran was purposively selected as a specific area for this study. There are a great scope and potential for enhancing livestock production and productivity in the state. Research provides technologies to help in achieving production and productivity increases but technologies need to be transferred to farmers to ensure its impact. To study adoption level of dairy farming technologies and factors associated with adoption of dairy farming technologies among livestock owners a sample of 154 farmers from a total of eight villages, four villages from higher plain areas and four villages from lower plain areas, by the use of “stratified two-stage random sampling” method were selected. Data were gathered with the use of structured interview schedule. The criteria like frequencies, percentage, mean and product moment correlation were calculated. Also t-test and multiple regression analysis were used to analysis the data. Based on the results, it can be concluded that 59.09% of livestock farmers of the two groups were found belonging to medium level of adoption behavior, followed by 22.75 and 18.18 percent livestock farmers with high and low level of adoption behavior with respect to dairy farming technologies. Information input, information output, farmer intra-system communication, farmer-researcher communication, farmer-extensionist communication, availability of input facilities and overall knowledge level about dairy farming technologies had positive and highly significant relationship (

Learning by doing and sharing: Participatory environmental appraisal

This paper draws concepts from the experiences in Saravahgamish village in Kurdistan, Iran. The Participatory Environmental Approach was employed to analyse the appraisal results because of the dismal failures of conventional top-down methods. In this research environmental problem in two areas including natural resources and human environmental management was studied by use of Participatory Environmental Appraisal approach. Environmental problems identified and classified by sharing and learning from local people which are important sources in participatory approach, then delivered solutions and actions for solving problems by use of participatory methods. During research process several participatory techniques such as resource mapping, semi-structured interview, brain storming, action identification diagram and potential matrix were used to gather and analyse the data. Results showed that most important problems could be classified into two categories of environmental management and sanitation problems, and destruction of natural resources. Different levels of solutions and potential actions were forwarded for dealing with the causes and consequences of the recognized problems. Finally, according to participatory appraisal and perceptions of the various social actors, organizations and institutions as potential partners involved in solving problems of Saravahgamish community about management of environmental and natural resources were recognized. Keywords: Participatory environmental appraisal, Learning by doing and sharing, Human environment management, Natural resources management Journal of Environmental Extension Vol. 6 2007: pp. 92-9

Job performance of the agricultural extension experts of Yazd province, Iran

No Abstract. Journal of Agriculture and Social Research Vol. 7 (2) 2007: pp. 1-1

Effects Of Educational Workshops On Farmers’ Pest Management Training Needs

The heavy use of pesticides in Iran not only has critically harmful health effects on the farmers, but also harms the environment and consumer’s health. One of the best approaches for overcoming this problem can be adoption of pest management practices and IPM (integrated pest management) systems by farmers. Farmers’ pest management training needs has been considered, as prerequisites to IPM adoption. In Iran the most prevalent training method for training farmers in different fields such as IPM is extension education workshops. The main purpose of this study was to investigate and to compare workshop effect on farmer’s pest management training needs. A survey was conducted among 90 farmers inKaraj County that included 30 workshop participants, 30 farmers who had exposed to workshop participants, and 30 randomly selected farmers. A questionnaire to assess pest management competencies were designed. Data were collected through structured interviews with respondents at their farms. The study found that training needs ranking among threegroups was different. For example top three training needs of workshop participants, non workshop participants and control group were: biological control for pests, identification of various types of insect damage, recognition of major crop diseases versus knowledge of pest control options, knowledge of IPM and biological control for pests and versus identify application times frequency, method and amount, awareness of different pesticides and pesticide safety, respectively