درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose- Empowering women is essential for the development of any country across economic, social, political, and other dimensions. When a woman is empowered, she gains the opportunity to better understand and advocate for her rights, thereby enhancing her economic and social standing. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to identify and examine the most significant factors influencing the empowerment of rural women and to classify these factors based on their relative importance using a qualitative meta-analysis approach. Design/methodology/approach- In this study, from a total of 73 published articles on the topic of rural women's empowerment, 48 relevant articles were selected based on their alignment with the research objectives and their use of fieldwork and literature-based methodologies. The timeframe for the domestic studies ranged from 2012 to and for international studies from 2011 to 2024. Initially, the research problem and objectives were defined, and then, among the available studies, those meeting the inclusion criteria were sampled. The data extracted from these studies were then collected, coded, and categorized based on the research aims. Ultimately, the findings were standardized to a common scale to allow for comparison. The geographical scope of the selected studies included Iran, as well as countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America.  Findings- The results indicate that in the economic domain, income generation (17.1%), employment (13.8%), access to loans and banking facilities, and land ownership (9.2%) are among the most influential factors. In the socio-cultural domain, factors such as literacy and education (8.5%), cultural norms (7.6%), and knowledge and skills (6.7%) play a critical role. In the psychological domain, self-confidence (14.4%), the ability to make independent choices (9.8%), and self-esteem (8.5%) were key determinants. Politically, mobility freedom (26.1%), women's participation in managerial and governmental positions (19.1%), and restrictive governmental regulations (14.2%) were the most significant. Among these categories, political factors accounted for the largest share (12.4%), followed by economic (5.5%), psychological (3.5%), and socio-cultural (3.2%) factors in contributing to the overall empowerment of women. Originality / Value- The findings of this study can contribute to identifying the most critical factors affecting the empowerment of rural women and can inform the development of effective support policies. Such policies may include promoting gender awareness through mass media, forming rural self-help groups through governmental and non-governmental organizations to provide social and economic support and etc.

Purpose- During the 21st century, ecotourism has become a mainstream alternative for tourists. It is a critical approach to integrating economic growth with the protection of the environment, ensuring sustainable tourism while at the same time transforming modalities of tourism. The aim of the research is to evaluate the impacts of ecotourism in the southern slopes of the Alborz region by utilizing the DPSIR approach. Design/methodology/approach- The research location is the old settlements from Kan to Darabad that enjoy a large tourism potential with various attractions (natural, human, infrastructural, and physical). The sites enjoy a combination of tourism activities (ecotourism, cultural, sportive, food, and religious). The research is applied research in objective and descriptive-analytical in method. The data has been collected through library research (statistical and documentary) and field research (survey and interviews). Findings - The research population in this study included 30 experts, including experts in field of tourism, professors from universities, officials from the Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization of Tehran, and officials from various related organizations, selected with the Delphi method. The research tried to evaluate the effects of ecotourism in the southern slopes of Alborz by utilizing the DPSIR approach, which showed that environmental effects at the five-element level -Driving Force, Pressure, State, Impact, and Response- make it possible to undertake a cause-and-effect analysis of environmental pressures from ecotourism. The results of the research identified 10 driving forces, 7 pressure elements, 9 state indicators, and 9 effects. The main response favored policy-making, strategic planning, and management in utilizing natural and human opportunities, capabilities, and resources of the southern slopes of Alborz. The goal is to achieve sustainable development of tourism and the region through nature-based integrated sustainable tourism by converting current challenges and weaknesses into strengths and windows of opportunities. Research limitations/implications - The vast geographical region that is encompassed by the research from Kan to Darabad was prone to numerous limitations, including the non-availability of official data pertaining to the volume of tourists and tourism-based attributes of the research region, non-response of certain tourists to certain questions that were asked during the survey, and time limitations for the completion of the questionnaire. Originality/value - The research employed the use of past research to promote theoretical research discussion and to seek alternative research indicators through the use of scoring with the DPSIR methodology.