Papers by Mohammad Chizari
International journal of Advanced Biological and Biomedical Research, Dec 1, 2014
راهبردهای اصلاح محیط فیزیکی آموزش باغبانی برای هنرجویان با نیازهای ویژه
این پژوهش، به دنبال شناسایی و ارزیابی راهبردهای اصلاح محیط فیزیکی آموزش، توسط آموزشگران باغبانی، ... more این پژوهش، به دنبال شناسایی و ارزیابی راهبردهای اصلاح محیط فیزیکی آموزش، توسط آموزشگران باغبانی، برای کار با هنرجویان با نیازهای ویژه در ایران بود. مرحله‌ی نخست این پژوهش، با استفاده از فن دلفی اصلاح شده انجام گرفت. جامعه آماری شامل 31 نفر از آموزشگران باغبانی در سازمان آموزش و پرورش استثنایی ایران بود. نتیجه این مرحله از مطالعه شناسایی 27 راهبرد اصلاح محیط فیزیکی آموزش بود که با نیازهای ویژه هر هنر‌آموز متناسب می‌شود. تکرار و تمرین در محیط‌های اصلاح شده‌ی آموزشی، آموزش عملی بیش‌تر در محیط‌های متناسب شده (مانند گلخانه)، ساخت میز کاشت و میز کار برای هنرجویان با معلولیت‌های جسمی حرکتی، از مهم‌ترین راهبردهایی بودند که پاسخ‌گویان با آن‌ها موافق بودند. هم‌چنین، یافته‌ها گویای آن بودند که پیش از آغاز آموزش، یک آموزشگر باغبانی باید درباره‌ی هنرجویان با نیازهای ویژه شناخت کاملی داشته باشد تا بتواند بازخورد و راهبرد مناسبی ارایه کند. مرحله‌ی دوم تحقیق، یک بررسی پیمایشی بود. جامعه آماری این مرحله، 80 نفر از آموزشگران باغبانی بودند. یافته‌های این مرحله از تحقیق نشان داد که 8/34 درصد آموزشگران ...
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, Jan 10, 2009
Nowadays, more attention is being paid to customers' satisfaction as funding decisions are made. ... more Nowadays, more attention is being paid to customers' satisfaction as funding decisions are made. Extension organization, which plays an important role in educating farmers, must know how far the learners are satisfied with its educational program. Accordingly, this study was conducted in Yazd Province (Iran) with the main objective of investigating the pomegranate growers' satisfaction with their extension-education courses. A survey method was adopted for the study and 150 people were selected as sample out of 478 learners participating in the courses from 2003-2004 throughout the province. A questionnaire was developed as the tool of study. The questionnaire was found to be valid and reliable (Cronbachs' alpha was 0.93). The results showed that the courses did not achieve many of their teaching objectives and were assessed as achieving their goals to a moderate extent. The contents of the courses were assessed as being comprehensive, applied, and new to a high, moderate, and low extent, respectively. The respondents are very satisfied with teachers' characteristics and with the locality and facilities of courses, but were satisfied with teaching methods to a low extent. They generally had a positive and favorable attitude towards the pomegranate extension-education courses. According to the study there were significant relationships between learners' satisfaction with courses and their annual income, pomegranate yield, pomegranate production, times of participation in courses, and attitude toward the courses. Stepwise regression analysis indicated that three variables, attitude toward the courses, pomegranate yield and pomegranate production totally accounted for 77.8 percent of variations in learners' satisfaction with the pomegranate extension-education courses.
Frontiers in sustainable food systems, Dec 15, 2022
Introduction: The transfer of sustainability training means applying the skills, attitudes, and k... more Introduction: The transfer of sustainability training means applying the skills, attitudes, and knowledge acquired from training to the workplace to help sustainability and environmental protection. This study aimed to conduct a behavioral analysis of sustainability training transfer among farmers that had attended extension-training courses on the Land and Conservation Agriculture Project (LCAP) in Iran. Methods: This research is quantitative and applied research that was carried out via a standardized survey. The research population was composed of all farmers who attended LCAP extension training courses in the three provinces of Golestan, Fars, and Khouzestanin, Iran (N=). farmers were selected through stratified random sampling. A panel of experts established the content and face validity of the questionnaire. A pilot study was conducted to check the reliability by calculating Cronbach's alpha. Results and discussion: Findings indicated that most farmers had sustainability training transfer at a high level. The analysis with a structural equation model revealed that perceived content validity, transfer design, opportunity to use, supervisor support, trainer characteristics, peer support, motivation to transfer, transfer e ort-performance expectations, performance coaching, and personal capacity for transfer influenced farmers' intention to transfer sustainability training significantly and positively. Furthermore, farmers' intentions had a significant e ect on their transfer of sustainability training. It can be concluded that a sustainability training transfer system is applicable to a training context related to sustainable agriculture and can provide a useful instrument for agricultural education organizations when investing in farmers' training.
African Journal of Business Management, Sep 30, 2011
This study compares sericulture extension models from the views of extension agents and sericultu... more This study compares sericulture extension models from the views of extension agents and sericulturists for silkworm cocoon production management in Iran. To achieve this aim, 316 sericulturists were selected through stratified random sampling technique and 58 sericulture extension agents were studied by census. Research methodology applied in this study was a combination of descriptive-analytical and quantitative methods and statistical method included path analysis. The results showed that the affecting factors for silkworm cocoon production management from the sericulturists' view were effective in training presentation and participation, respectively. Based on the extension agents' model, the affecting factors on the production management of silkworm cocoon were extension agents' training methods, effective training presentation to extension agents and infrastructures. Accordingly, effective training should be presented for extension agents and sericulturists. In the extension agents' model, the most important impacts on the sericulture extension resulted from the marketing and extension agents' training methods. Also, in sericulturists' model, marketing had effect on attitudes towards extension. Therefore, both sericulturists and extension agents believed that extension department should improve sericulture marketing activities.
The purpose of this study was to identify external factors affecting strategic management in agri... more The purpose of this study was to identify external factors affecting strategic management in agricultural knowledge and information system and to examine their relative importance from experts' point of view. Five factors were identified based on the interviews, examination of relevant literature and previous researches; in line with that, a questionnaire was developed to suit this purpose. Face and content validity of the research instrument verified by the research committee. To determine the reliability of the instrument, a pilot study was conducted with 30 Agriculture-Jihad Organization personnel from Qazvin Province. The reliability coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) was computed 0.95, which indicated that the questionnaire had a high reliability index. External factors consisted of sociocultural, policy, economic, technological, and ecological factors. The statistical population was consisted of line and staff experts of Agriculture Organizations of Alborz and Tehran Provi...
The purpose of the study reported here was designing Information Dissemination System (IDS) based... more The purpose of the study reported here was designing Information Dissemination System (IDS) based E-learning in agricultural of Iran. A questionnaire was developed to designing Information Dissemination System. The questionnaire was distributed to 96 extension agents who work for Management of Extension and Farming System of Khuzestan province of Iran. Data collected were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Appropriate statistical procedures for description (frequencies, percent, means, and standard deviations) were used. In this study there was a significant relationship between the age , IT skill and knowledge, years of extension work, the extend of information seeking motivation, level of job satisfaction and level of education with use of information technology by extension agent. According to extension agents five factors were ranked respectively as five top essential items to designing Information Dissemination System (IDS) based E-learning i...
Participatory Technology Development (PTD) project was one of the elements of the comprehensive m... more Participatory Technology Development (PTD) project was one of the elements of the comprehensive management plan of Honam watershed that was performed in collaboration with ICARDA 1 to improve the livelihood resilience of poor farmers in the Honam watershed area. The purpose of this study was to analyze factors affecting success of Participatory Technology Development (PTD) project in Honam watershed of Lorestan province. This study was conducted as a survey research. Statistical population consists of187 farmers in the project which126 people of them were chosen as statistical samples through simple random sampling; and finally 114 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. In experts' section of theproject, 78 people were selected through census and eventually, 67 questionnaires were collected. Face and content validity of the questionnaire was assessed by six professors in agricultural college of Tehran University and Tarbiat Modares University; and its reliability was betwee...
Agriculture, 2021
Agriculture is the origin of existence and survival in any society. However, this sector is alway... more Agriculture is the origin of existence and survival in any society. However, this sector is always associated with risk and uncertainty, and farmers are faced with many challenges. Therefore, the main aim of this research was to explore the (production) risk factors of irrigated wheat production systems among farmers in Kermanshah province, Iran. The exploratory nature of this study on the one hand and the need for expert judgment on the other hand necessitated a Delphi research design. Thus, this study utilized a three-round Delphi technique. The population comprised of 10 subject-matter experts (SME) and 32 agricultural extension experts in two climates (warm and semi-arid and cold and moderate) in seven counties in Kermanshah province. A purposeful (complete) sample of 42 experts in the agricultural field participated in this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire designed on the basis of the Delphi technique. The findings indicated that, after three rounds of Delphi te...
Information and communications technologies (ICTs) represent an important strategy that can be us... more Information and communications technologies (ICTs) represent an important strategy that can be used in attaining food security. The main purpose of research is to identify the effectiveness of ICTs in improving the food availability of Iranian rural households. The situation of food security in Iranian rural households was medium, but that ICTs could play an important role in improving the situation. Regressions analysis showed that increasing food production, transferring of new methods and technologies, improving interactions and communications, providing information about cultivation and harvest, facilitators and content of old technologies were determined to account for 71% of the food availability.
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2020
The present study aimed to identify strategies for the application of pro-environmental technolog... more 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 (0.710.82), 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-enviro...
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2011
The main purpose of this study was to identify training needs of agricultural and natural resourc... more The main purpose of this study was to identify training needs of agricultural and natural resources faculty members in the use of information technology (IT) for educational and research activities. This study used a descriptive and correlational survey method and the population of the study included all faculty members at the Tehran and Tarbiat Modares Universities, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (N=267). According to Krejcie and Morgan (1970), the sample size for a population of this size was 158. A systematic sampling technique was used to select faculty members in the study. The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the instrument was 0.82. Findings in respect to training needs of faculty members showed that “theories and models of online education” appeared at the top of the list of training needs and the lowest level of
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2019
Implementation of Conservation Agriculture (CA) project is a process of multi-participation that ... more 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 mai...
The lack of accountability of government organizations to address the needs of stakeholders and t... more 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 n...
The purpose of this study was to identify Professional Competencies (PCs), including General and ... more The purpose of this study was to identify Professional Competencies (PCs), including General and Specific Competencies (GSCs), of Agricultural Teachers (ATs) working with Students with Special Needs (SSNs), known as exceptional students (1,013 people), in Vocational High School Education System (VHSES) in Iran, within two phases. Accordingly, the main objective of the first phase was to identify General Competencies (GCs) of these teachers. Therefore, in the first phase, the components of teachers’ GCs were taken from theoretical literature and research documents via content analysis and the findings revealed that the GCs encompassed 6 components of Instruction Design (ID), Professional Development (PD), Professional Ethics (PEs), cooperation, Perceived Student Diversity (PSD), and technology. The objective of the second phase of this study was also to find Specific Competencies (SCs) of ATs working with SSNs. This phase of the study was conducted using the classical 3-step Delphi t...
The structure of agricultural extension in Iran is conventional and service is provided to the li... more The structure of agricultural extension in Iran is conventional and service is provided to the limited groups of farmers. The purpose of this study was to investigate the new role for agricultural extension in providing services to small size food industries in the rural areas. In this regard, 60 cases of active small food industries were studied and 111 managers were interviewed. Findings show that advisory service from Ministry of Agriculture is considered to be a source to obtain license for starting the business activities. There has been some advisory service for them in the stage of receiving license, but after that they have problems in different ongoing activities of firm while it is really hard to find a reliable source of information and knowledge. This lack of consultation in addition to special constrains in rural areas and in small businesses, makes competition difficult for managers so about 40 percent of manufactures which received license from MoA were not active at ...
International Journal of Scientific & Technology Research, 2018
the main issue in water management is how to meet the needs of a growing population without sacri... more the main issue in water management is how to meet the needs of a growing population without sacrificing the sustainability of freshwater resources, which are both limited and vulnerable. The development of new technologies for groundwater exploitation consequent to increased demand has led to the overdraft of groundwater resources and thus, many environmental problems. Similarly, Rafsanjan Plain has faced extensive groundwater extraction, most of which is used for pistachio as the only crop produced in the area. Therefore, the agricultural sector has a crucial role in a water crisis. The purpose this study was to investigate the role of agriculture in Rafsanjan’s groundwater governance. Necessary information for this purpose was collected through interview and observation techniques as well as studying statistics and relevant documents. The method used in this research was a focus group to answer questions. A total of a number of 15 agricultural experts from public and private secto...
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2000
The purpose of the study was to identify and prioritize the educational needs and support needed ... more The purpose of the study was to identify and prioritize the educational needs and support needed by agricultural extension agents in Isfahan, Islamic Republic of Iran. The target population for the study consisted of S3 agricultural extension agents in Isfahan province. Census population were used therefore, sampling procedures were not utilized and genera I izability of the results was limited to study population. Results indicate the five most highly ranked items on educational needs of extension agents were: extension philosophy, instructional technology, innovation and adoption process, adult education, and extension methods. Respondents indicated that the major support needed were availability of subject matter specialists to help them with their technical and communication methods.
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2019
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have affected all sectors including the agricul... more Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have affected all sectors including the agricultural sector. ICTs play an essential role in sharing knowledge and information and networking among different actors of the agricultural sector. Agricultural researchers, as the main actors of generating and developing knowledge and technology, need to use the unique capacities of ICTs. The current situation of access to ICTs and the extent and skill of agricultural researchers in using ICTs need to be evaluated to take advantage of this capacity. In this study, 141 researchers from six agricultural research institutes of Iran were selected by multi-stage random sampling method to survey their access, purpose, skill, and extent of using ICTs. The findings indicated that researchers had access to the main ICT tools such as computers and the Internet. Researchers mainly used ICTs for information acquisition, chatting and sending messages, and finding educational materials and resources. Mo...
Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology, 2020
Human well-being is one of the main goals of sustainable rural development. Indeed, human well-be... more 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 sampl...
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Papers by Mohammad Chizari