Structural-Functional Analysis of Rural Guide Plans in Improving the Quality of Villagers’ vitality in Panj Hezareh Rural Area located in central part of Behshahr County

Promoting and improving the quality of villagers’ vitality is looked upon as the main objective of implementing rural development programs and from which the most important ones, the guide plans, are considered as the most relevant local development plans. In this regard, it has been of vital importance to implement the necessary evaluation after several years of conducting the guide plans. This evaluations, on one hand aims to determine the consequences of the plan implementing on the  quality of villagers’ vitality and on the other hand, by identifying the strengths and weaknesses, necessary information are obtained for better management of the mentioned projects in order to achieve optimal improvement in the quality of villagers’ vitality. Therefore, this research was carried out to implement structural-functional analysis of rural guide plans in improving the quality of villagers’ vitality in the Panj Hezareh Rural Area located in the central part of the Behshahr County. The purpose of this study is the structural-functional analysis of rural guide plans in improving the quality of the villagers’ vitality in Panj Hezareh Rural Area located in the central part of the Behshahr County. In terms of form, the research is quantitative, with regards to the purpose, it is the applied one and with the view to the data collection, it is considered as a descriptive survey. Moreover, according to the time, the research is cross-sectional and data collections were done during specific span of time in 2019.The statistical population of the study was 3772 people including all the population of villages where guide plans were implemented. The sample size was calculated with error of 0.07 based on Cochran software and the questionnaires were distributed randomly among the villagers. The validity of the questionnaires was done through face validity and several stages of reviews and revisions which were accepted by the professors and experts. To determine the reliability of the questionnaire, the pre-test with 25 questionnaires was conducted and obtained Cronbachchr('39')s alpha coefficient was 0.745 indicating the validity of the designed questionnaire.  Descriptive (frequency and percentage),inferential statistical methods (including chi-square test, one-sample t-test, Spearmanchr('39')s coefficient, and analysis of variance) and VIKOR model were used to analyze the data. The viewpoints of the locals in 9 villages of this county were investigated, then for fulfilling the set goals, the study took the advantages of descriptive and inferential statistical methods including chi-square test, one-sample t-test, Spearmanchr('39')s coefficient, analysis of variance and VIKOR model. The findings show that the implementation of rural guide plans for improving the quality of studied villagers’ livelihoods has influenced the quality of economic, social, cultural, environmental, infrastructural and physical livelihoods. Furthermore, distinguished changes in the cultural and physical indices were higher than the other indices; this result is natural and common due to the fact that implementing the guide plans are integrated more closely with the form and aesthetics modifications of rural areas. Besides, the function of these projects, the attitude of the people towards the quality of livelihood, the way the villagers treat each other and the preservation of the environment, etc. have also changed and in comparison to the past, people have applied more effort and gained further confidence. Otherschr('39') research indicates that the results of these kinds of projects in rural areas have led to a relative improvement in economic and social indicators. The present study suggests that the function of implementing guide plans in rural settlements not only affect the economic and social and economic indicators positively, but also it has provided the opportunity to improve the physical, infrastructural, environmental and cultural fields and ultimately has increased the quality of vitality in the studied rural areas. The findings of the Vikor model indicate that the spatial analysis of the villages and rural distributions by the indicators of economic, social, cultural, environmental, infrastructure and physical, implies a significant difference in the study area. So that according to the quality of vitality among the studied villages, Pasand village with 0 point has the highest rank due to proximity to rural center and access to services and Chaklade village with 0.983 point has the lowest rank owing to its distance from the center of the rural center and the factor of the geographical isolation.