درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose- The aim of this study was to investigate the mental image of local residents of tourism destination villages in Karaj city regarding the economic and social effects of tourism and its effect on tourism development tendency. Design/methodology/approach- This research is based on an applied and descriptive-analytical method. Data related to any of the variables have been collected through questionnaires and interviews. The statistical population of the study is the residents of the villages of tourism destination in Karaj city. Out of this, 365 local residents of the villages were selected according to Cochran formula as the sample population. To analyze the research findings, AMOS and SPSS software were used. Findings- The results of this study showed that the mental image of the local residents of the tourism destination villages in Karaj is positive about the economic and social effects of tourism development. Also, the satisfaction of local residents from economic dimensions of tourism with a factor of 0.77 compared to their social mental image with a factor of 0.70 has a greater impact on the local community's desire for tourism development. Research limitations/implications- The difficulty of crossing the mountainous slopes of Chalous Road, the unwillingness of some respondents in the studied villages for individual and social reasons, the lack of sufficient statistics and information about the province of Alborz due to the newly established and non-differentiated statistics from the Tehran province are among the limitations of the research. Practical implications- Neglecting local communities in tourism industry activities is a major bottleneck in participatory planning in order to achieve sustainable development of tourism. In this regard, planners and custodians of tourism in the studied villages should develop sustainable tourism to meet the needs and desires of local residents, while the development of sustainable tourism will be impossible without the participation of local residents and their loyalty toward tourists. In this way, the maximum satisfaction of the local community is realized as an indispensable necessity for the successful development of tourism. Originality/value- In this research, we tried to provide a comprehensive and systemic approach which is a geographical attitude to evaluate the tendency of local residents of target tourism villages of Karaj County about tourism effects. In addition, the effect of this attitude was examined on local community satisfaction using structural equation modeling.

Purpose - The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of improving the dimensions of social capital in the spatial evolution of rural settlements in Esfandagheh. Design/methodology/approach - This study is a quantitative survey conducted using questionnaires distributed among 400 households in 30 sample villages. Descriptive-analytical measures such as mean, variance, standard deviation, Kendall Tau-b correlation coefficient, and multiple regression were used to analyze social capital's status in the spatial evolution of rural settlements in the study area. Findings - The findings revealed that the six dimensions of social capital, including social awareness, social organizations and groups, social networks and relations, social participation, social cohesion, and social trust have a positive and significant relationship with the dimensions of the spatial evolution of rural settlements. Moreover, there is a positive and significant relationship between social capital and spatial development dimensions in the studied villages' four environmental-ecological, social, economic, and physical-infrastructural dimensions. Also, social awareness, social participation, social cohesion, social trust, social networks and relations, and social organizations and groups with a variance of 0.433% were explained as predictors of spatial changes in the Esfandagheh rural district. Research limitations/implications - The variable of social capital plays an essential role in the spatial transformation of rural settlements because improving the dimensions of spatial transformation regardless of the dimensions of social capital faces a crucial challenge. In other words, social capital is influential in various areas of life, from the local and micro-level to the national and macro-level; it can empower the villagers in dealing with the socio-economic problems of their village. Practical implications - Paying attention to the dimensions of social capital in terms of approaches and planning and policy-making system of rural development and subsequently emphasizing the status of social capital as one of the most important intangible assets to improve the spatial evolution of rural settlements. Originality/Value - This study investigated the effects of all dimensions of social capital on all four dimensions of geographical space. In such a way, the attention of policymakers and development planners to the outcome of this research provides a more effective planning ground for developing the rural space based on people's views and the conditions of each region.