سامان مهری

The study aims to evaluate the effective factors on creating a social bond in religious tourists using the services of recreational-sports complexes in Mashhad. The research method was quantitative with a structural equation model approach. The statistical population of the study was religious tourists who used the services of recreational-sports complexes in Mashhad. A total of 388 tourists were selected as the sample by convenience sampling. The measurement tool was a modified Adamczyk 25-item questionnaire based on expert opinions, which has four subscales (intimacy, security, passion, and commitment). The face and content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by experts while the construct validity was confirmed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Reliability was also obtained by more than 0.7 using Cronbach's alpha. To analyze the data, descriptive and inferential statistical methods were used. Finally, the results revealed that the components of secure and intimate bonding are the most essential elements of creating a social bond in religious tourists using the services of recreational-sports complexes in Mashhad, respectively. Consequently, this study emphasizes strengthening indicators such as infrastructure development, equipment, and facilities to reduce risks, using new marketing methods, protecting the tourist information, attention to the opinions, interests, and values of religious tourists, creating an intimate and social atmosphere, creating a secure and reassurance environment, etc. to create a social bond in religious tourists using the services of recreational-sports complexes.

This study investigates the role of religious tourism and experimental marketing in developing entrepreneurial sports opportunities in Mashhad. As the first step, the study's statistical population consisted of all tourists in Mashhad who have been there for at least one week for religious tourism and have also visited this city's recreational and sports centers. Moreover, three standard questionnaires were used to collect data and to analyze the data, the Skewness and Elongation tests were used to determine the data distribution, one-sample t-test to compare the mean of variables with the hypothetical standard, Kendall W test to prioritize the components from the sample view and modeling equations were used; on top of that, all analysis was performed using SPSS software version 23 and SmartPLS version 3. The results showed that the average score of religious tourism, experimental marketing, and entrepreneurial sports opportunities and their components are relatively good. Hence, their average score was more than three. Results also showed that religious tourism and empirical marketing positively and significantly affect developing entrepreneurial sports opportunities in Mashhad. Finally, the structural equation model of the relations of the three main variables of this research and their components had a suitable fitting.

Small and medium industries are considered as the critical platforms for entrepreneurship growth. Examining and identifying initiatives for developing small and medium-sized sports businesses in Iran can greatly contribute to the progress of this field. Therefore, this research aims to identify the initiatives for the prosperity of small and medium sports businesses in Iran. This study is a qualitative and exploratory research. The participants included faculty members in sports management, marketing, and managers and other sports experts interviewed through a purposeful sampling approach. To collect data, in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted and finally theoretical saturation was achieved with 25 interviews. To analyze the data, the thematic analysis method was used. The results show that the initiatives for developing small and medium-sized sports businesses in Iran consist of five main categories, including “economic measures, communication-information initiatives, practical training, support structure, and internal organizational policies”. Finally, according to the initiatives for the prosperity of small and medium sports businesses, it might be necessary to implement the necessary measures and appropriate programs in this field to deal with the situation efficiently.

Background: Sports and physical activity are important for the healthy growth and development of children. However, various contextual and interfering factors can hinder the development of sports and physical activity in children.   Aim : The purpose to identify the contextual and interfering factors affecting the development of sports and physical activity in children. Material and Methods: The present study adopts a combinatory approach, where the first stage is qualitative and exploratory, and the second stage is descriptive-survey. In the qualitative stage, 16 experts in the field of children's sports were interviewed using purposive sampling, and the collected data were analyzed using MAXQDA 2020 software. In the quantitative stage, SPSS software version 26 was used for exploratory factor analysis and t-tests, while PLS 3 software was used for confirmatory factor analysis. Results: The results of this study suggest that there are five contextual factors-personal and family, infrastructure and equipment, supportive, economic and managerial as well as five interfering factors-human resources, organizational, media activities, control and evaluation, and legislation. Furthermore, the results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the research measurement model was validated. Conclusions: In conclusion, it can be acknowledged that by considering the identified factors in the development of sports and physical activity in childhood, it is possible to address some of the challenges in the field of children's sports.