How farmers perceive the impact of dust phenomenon on agricultural production activities : a Q-methodology study

Dust as one of the environmental concerns during the past decade has attracted the attention of the international community around the world, particularly among West Asian countries. Recently, Iran has been extremely affected by the serious impacts of this destructive phenomenon, especially in its agricultural sector. Management of dust phenomenon increasingly calls for initiatives to understand the perceptions of farmers regarding this phenomenon. Farmers' views about dust phenomenon can affect their attitude and their mitigating behavior. This can also make a valuable frame for decision and policy-makers to develop appropriate strategies for mitigating dust phenomenon impacts on the agricultural sector. In line with this, a Q methodology study was undertaken to identify the perception of farmers toward dust phenomenon, in Khuzestan province, Iran. Sixty participants completed the Q sort procedure. Data analysis revealed three types of perceptions toward dust phenomenon: health adherents who seek support, government blamers who seek support, and planning adherents who seek information. Awareness of these perspectives is expected to promote the exchange of thought and knowledge among policy and decision-makers, and to support the development of a shared vision on dust phenomenon management

The role of earnings management and dividend announcement in explanation of information asymmetry: Evidence from Tehran Stock Exchange

This study examines the relationship between earnings management and information asymmetry based on some companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange over the period of 2005-2010. The study only uses qualified samples by taking into account all limitations and necessary criteria. Based on the results of this survey, we can conclude that there is not a significant relationship between earning management and information asymmetry in Tehran Stock Exchange. There is also not a significant relationship between low or high earning management and information asymmetry. Estimated dividend announcement has information content and it can influence on information asymmetry. Finally, in Tehran Stock Exchange, there is information asymmetry and after dividend announcement, its value is more than before

Analytic study of some poems of Amir Hushang Ebtehaj compared with major poems of Manuchehr Atashi

The present study was conducted to carry out an analytic study of some poems of Amir Hushang Ebtehaj compared with major poems of Manuchehr Atashi. To this end some verses from the poem books of Hushang Ebtehaj and Manuchehr Atashi were extracted and then they were analyzed and explicated respectively. The major findings of the study show that the aforementioned poets are among the contemporary stylistic and movement maker poets who have created artistic works in both areas of traditional and modern poetry styles and have special linguistic structure and modern imaging. Atashi and Ebtehaj fell in love with Nima School and first they write their poems in accord with Nima’s poetry and in line with him. This significance started from before the revolution and just from the beginning of the contemporary era and has continued up to now. The elements of nature in the poetry of Atashi and Ebtehaj are among the most significant raw materials to make images. The main difference between the linguistic mechanism of the traditional poetry of Atashi and Ebtehaj is that the poetry image in Ebtehaj’s works is not quite various and this feature has lead to the ‘univocal’ quality of the poetry. While Atashi in modern poetry tries to go beyond the transference of meaning and create a new world of words, sounds and colors and create the ‘polysemy’ language in his poetry

Sustainability indicators of Iran's developmental plans : application of the sustainability compass theory

The main purpose of this study was to analyze Iran's developmental plans in order to examine and compare their direction and conformity with the sustainable development theory via the compass of sustainability. The approach involves a content analysis used in line with qualitative research methodologies. The results indicated that, in the first developmental plans, there was no direct reference to sustainable development. In the second to fifth plans, the main focus was on the social, environmental, and economic dimensions of development; which were common elements seen in the policies of all the plans. An analysis of the fourth plan revealed that expressions related to sustainable development appeared more frequently, indicating a stronger emphasis on sustainable development by decision-makers

A world without hunger : organic or GM crops?

It has been estimated that the world population will increase to 9.2 billion by 2050; supplying the growing population with food will require a significant increase in agricultural production. A number of agricultural and ecological scientists believe that a large-scale shift to organic farming (OF) would not only increase the world's food supply, but might be the only way to eradicate hunger sustainably. Nevertheless, OF has recently come under new scrutiny, not just from critics who fear that a large-scale shift in this direction would cause billions to starve but also from farmers and development agencies who question whether such a shift could improve food security. Meanwhile, the use of genetically modified (GM) crops is growing around the world, leading to possible opportunities to combat food insecurity and hunger. However, the development of GM crops has been a matter of considerable interest and worldwide public controversy. So far, no one has comprehensively analyzed whether a widespread shift to OF or GM would be the sole solution for both food security and safety. Using a literature review from databases of peer-reviewed scientific publications, books, and official publications, this study aims to address this issue. Results indicate that OF and GM, to different extents, are able to ensure food security and safety. In developed countries, given that there are relatively few farmers and that their productivity, even without GMOs, is relatively high, OF could be more a viable option. However, OF is significantly less efficient in land-use terms and may lead to more land being used for agriculture due to its lower yield. In developing countries, where many small-scale farmers have low agricultural productivity and limited access to agricultural technologies and information, an approach with both GM and OF might be a more realistic approach to ensure food security and safety

Impact of agricultural land conversion on climate change

Climate change and land use conversion are two major global environmental issues. A claim is made that climate change has brought new challenges for global land use, while land use conversion is hardly realized as a major driver for climate change. Using mapping techniques, this study aims to investigate the relationship between climate change and agricultural land conversion (ALC), by which land is converted from agricultural to other uses (e.g., urban areas, national and natural parks, roads, industrial areas, and afforestation projects). CO2 emission is considered as the main impact of climate change, and agricultural land conversion is regarded as the most important global land use. In this study, data are obtained from two databases: the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for the period of 1962-2011. Considering the FAO (2015) classification, the countries are categorized into five different groups (high-income non-OECD, high-income OECD, upper-middle-, lower-middle-, and low-income countries). Economies were divided into several income groups according to 2014 gross national income per capita. The results show that agricultural areas in high-income countries have decreased, while in low- to middle-income countries, they have increased. The highest CO2 emissions can be observed, especially in high-income countries, whereas the lowest CO2 emissions happen in the low- and lower-middle-income countries. The results further show that there is a positive relationship between CO2 emissions and ALC across the world. It can be observed that CO2 emission is increasing where agricultural area is declining. On the contrary, CO2 emission is declining where agricultural area is increasing

The relationship between intellectual capital and earnings predictability in the companies listed in Tehran stock exchange

In this paper the researchers examined the relationship between intellectual capital and the earnings predictability of companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange. The study was carried out in a period of time, between the years 2007 to 2011 which involved 101 companies listed in the Stock Exchange of Tehran. Research hypotheses, consisted of two main hypotheses, the first of which also included three sub- hypotheses. Research variables included components of intellectual capital as an independent variable and earnings predictability as the dependent variable. Firm size is also considered as a moderator variable. In order to test the research hypotheses, the researchers collected the necessary information from various sources, the Pulic model was used for estimating the value of intellectual capital and the Francis model was used to assess the earnings predictability. To summarize the data, the variables were fed into the Excel and then were processed by means of Eviews7 software for testing the hypotheses. The method used in this study was panel data with fixed effects. The results of testing the research hypotheses indicated that there is a significant relationship between intellectual capital and earnings predictability companies listed in the Stock Exchange of Tehran. It also shows that firm size as a moderator variable, affects the relationship between intellectual capital and earnings predictability in this corporation

The relationship between intellectual capital and earnings predictability in the companies listed in Tehran stock exchange

In this paper the researchers examined the relationship between intellectual capital and the earnings predictability of companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange. The study was carried out in a period of time, between the years 2007 to 2011 which involved 101 companies listed in the Stock Exchange of Tehran. Research hypotheses, consisted of two main hypotheses, the first of which also included three sub- hypotheses. Research variables included components of intellectual capital as an independent variable and earnings predictability as the dependent variable. Firm size is also considered as a moderator variable. In order to test the research hypotheses, the researchers collected the necessary information from various sources, the Pulic model was used for estimating the value of intellectual capital and the Francis model was used to assess the earnings predictability. To summarize the data, the variables were fed into the Excel and then were processed by means of Eviews7 software for testing the hypotheses. The method used in this study was panel data with fixed effects. The results of testing the research hypotheses indicated that there is a significant relationship between intellectual capital and earnings predictability companies listed in the Stock Exchange of Tehran. It also shows that firm size as a moderator variable, affects the relationship between intellectual capital and earnings predictability in this corporation