Investigating Subjective and Objective Quality of Life in Rural Areas: the Case of Tehran Province in Iran

Given the importance of measuring QOL and the need for sound and efficient planning to improve and enhance the well-being of citizens, the objective of this study was to investigate QOL in rural areas of Tehran province, Iran. To this end, the relevant literature and secondary sources were used to develop a questionnaire whose validity was determined by a panel of experts. To the best knowledge of the authors, no similar study has assessed QOL in rural areas of Tehran province and none of them has compared objective and subjective QOL in rural areas. The findings showed that in terms of objective QOL, which indicates the minimum living standards, the villagers in Tehran province were in a moderate to high status, but in the subjective QOL, about 20% of the villagers were rated as poor. According to the findings, there was a significant difference between the residents of different rural areas of Tehran in terms of objective and subjective QOL at the 99% level, but the differences were not the same. This calls for policymakers’ attention. In this regard, policies should be put on the planning agenda to reduce rural migration by adopting a coordinated approach to rural and urban development and improving the physical and environmental conditions of rural communities to provide welfare services and reduce the disparity between urban and rural areas.

     

Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions of Agricultural Professionals Toward Genetically Modified (GM) Foods: A Case Study in Southwest Iran

While there has been a number of consumers’ studies looking at factors that influence individuals’ attitudes and behavior toward GM foods, few studies have considered agricultural professionals’ intentions in this regard. This study illuminates agricultural professionals’ insights toward GM foods in Southwest Iran. A random sample of 262 respondents was studied. The results indicated that the majority of the respondents had little knowledge about GM foods. They perceived few benefits or risks of GM foods. Their perceived benefits and trust in individuals and institutions had positive impacts on the behavioral intentions of the agricultural professionals. The results also revealed that the low knowledge level of the respondents had a negative impact on the behavioral intentions toward GM foods. This state of affairs is problematic, either GM foods have serious problems or the knowledge conveyed to the Iranian agricultural experts is inappropriate. We recommend a well defined communication strategy to provide information in such a way that allows individuals to feel adequately informed about GM foods. Furthermore, the development of trust and knowledge regarding GM foods can be greater when risk analysis frameworks are transparent, risk assessment methodologies are objective, all stakeholders are engaged in the risk management process, and risk communication focuses on consumers.     

Multi Stakeholders’ Attitudes toward Bt rice in Southwest,Iran: Application of TPB and Multi Attribute Models

Organisms that have been genetically engineered and modified (GM) are referred to as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Bt crops are plants that have been genetically modified to produce certain proteins from the soil bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), which makes these plants resistant to certain lepidopteran and coleopteran species. Genetically Modified (GM) rice was produced in 2006 by Iranian researchers from Tarom Mowla’ii and has since been called ‘Bt rice’. As rice is an important source of food for over 3 billion inhabitants on Earth, this study aims to use a correlational survey in order to shed light on the predicting factors relating to the extent of stakeholders’ behavioral intentions towards Bt rice. It is assumed and the results confirm that “attitudes toward GM crops” can be used as a bridge in the Attitude Model and the Behavioral Intention Model in order to establish an integrated model. To this end, a case study was made of the Southwest part of Iran in order to verify this research model. This study also revealed that as a part of the integrated research framework in the Behavior Intention Model both constructs of attitude and the subjective norm of the respondents serve as the predicting factors of stakeholders’ intentions of working with Bt rice. In addition, the Attitude Model, as the other part of the integrated research framework, showed that the stakeholders’ attitudes toward Bt rice can only be determined by the perceived benefits (e.g. positive outcomes) of Bt rice.     

The Relationship Between Trust-in-God,Positive and Negative Affect,and Hope

We aimed to test the relationships between Trust-in-God, positive and negative affect, and feelings of hope. A sample of university students (N = 282, 50 % female) completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale, and a Persian measure of Trust-in-God for Muslims. The results of a series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that Trust-in-God was positively associated with participants’ scores for hope and positive affect but was negatively associated with their scores for negative affect. The results support the relationship between Trust-in-God and indices of mental health.     

Developing an Output‐Oriented Super Slacks‐Based Measure Model with an Application to Third‐Party Reverse Logistics Providers

Outsourcing is an increasingly significant topic pursued via corporations seeking enhanced efficiency. Third‐party reverse logistics involves the employ of external firms to carry out some or all of the firm's logistics activities. Output‐oriented super slacks‐based measure (SBM) model is one of the models in data envelopment analysis (DEA). In many real‐world applications, data are often stochastic. A successful approach to address uncertainty in data is to replace deterministic data via random variables, leading to chance‐constrained DEA. In this paper, a chance‐constrained output‐oriented super SBM model is developed and also its deterministic equivalent, which is a nonlinear program, is derived. Furthermore, it is shown that the deterministic equivalent of the stochastic output‐oriented super SBM model can be converted into a quadratic program. In addition, sensitivity analysis of the stochastic output‐oriented super SBM model is discussed with respect to changes on parameters. Finally, a numerical example demonstrates the application of the proposed model. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The development and validation of a Fear of Death Scale based on the cognitive approach of Avicenna

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to develop a culturally sensitive approach assessment instrument that measures cognitive beliefs related to Iranian Muslim salient fear of death. This paper discusses the development and validation of Avicenna Fear of Death Scale (AFDS). The results of confirmatory factor analysis resulted in an instrument (AFDS) consisting of five cognitive concerns related to the fear of death including complete annihilation, severe pain of death, consequences of sins, interpersonal attachment, and attachment to estate. Twenty-two statements overall were offered using a Likert scale to measure related cognitive beliefs. Results from a convenience sample of 291 college students, showed the AFDS to have favourable psychometric properties (e.g., adequate reliability and validity). The total alpha coefficient was .85, suggesting that the items have relatively high internal consistency and the item-total correlation between .28 and .63 (p<.001) indicates that the items are discriminating well. Overall, results suggest that cross-cultural differences render a culturally sensitive approach to assessment and diagnosis essential, and therefore a culture-based scale like Avicenna AFDS might be fruitful extensions of the current death anxiety scales like Templer Death Anxiety Scale within the context of Iranian-Islamic culture. This diagnostic tool can help in the cognitive treatment of fear of death.