درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

Purpose- Ineffectiveness and unsustainability of classic approaches to respond to socioeconomic challenges in rural areas is one of the biggest barriers to sustainable development and achieving its goals. Hence, modern tourism as a new strategy has been able to be effective in the evolution of sustainable development in rural areas. Such that today emergence of postmodern tourism has made the tourists be more willing to use cultural attractions and unique experiences in tourism destinations, and the big entertaining places are not attractive to them anymore. On the other hand, rural areas have constantly faced difficulties in attracting tourists because of poverty and economic problems; therefore, creative tourism has been presented as an appropriate approach in developing rural tourism, since it does not need huge investments and uses the existing cultural and natural aspects. Therefore, the present study aims at investigating the role of creative tourism in rural sustainable development and ranking the sample villages according creative tourism components. Design/methodology/approach- The present study is an applied study with regard to function and is a descriptive-analytic study with regard to its nature. We used field and library methods based on observation and questionnaire for data collection. Validity of the questionnaire items was confirmed by experts and using Cronbach alpha formula (0.856). The statistic population includes the households of six historic-cultural villages in northwest of Iran; 313 household heads were randomly selected using the Cochran formula. Statistical tests such as one sample t-test, multi-variate linear regression, and Kruskal–Wallis test were used for data analysis. Findings- The results indicated that the mean values are higher than 3 for all the components of creative tourism except risk taking which is 2.99; the components are also significant at 0.01 level indicating desirable conditions of the target villages with regard to creative tourism. Investigation of regression fitness model indicated that 0.83 of the positive effect of tourism on rural sustainable development is due to creativity in tourism. Also, according to beta values, among the five components of creative tourism, participation (0.286) and and risk taking (0.181) were the most and least effective factors in rural sustainable development through tourism, respectively. The results of Kruskal–Wallis test indicated that Kandovan (65.257) was at the first rank and Varkaneh (41.71) was at the sixth rank with regard to creative tourism and the consequent sustainable development.

Purpose - Spatial equilibrium at different stages, especially at the district level, is the most significant purpose of spatial development planning that is the focus of attention in Iran's policy and planning system. In this regard, spatial recognition and analysis of the components and the criteria of eligibility are significant in the context of the existing development concept. By identifying the eligibility components of rural settlements, it is possible to identify low eligibility of spatial areas affected by adverse socio-economic and spatial processes. Accordingly, the research team attempted to examine this criterion in the district of Khorramabad. Design/methodology/approach - The research method was descriptive-analytical. The statistical population was the villages of Khorramabad county (Given the frequency of a statistical population, 150 villages out of 647 were selected as the sample using stratified- random sampling. The required data (35 indices) were collected by the library method (using population and housing census and statistical yearbook of 2016). Data analysis was done using FANP model (for summarizing the indices and determining their weight), VIKOR technique (for ranking the villages), and finally, path analysis test for determining the influence degree of the factors on the level of development. According to the research findings, the following results were obtained; Finding - The process of development in Khorramabad county, is in relatively in good condition. In this process, Integrated development has not been considered. Some components (access to services, economic participation and, economic welfare) are in good conditions while some other components (agricultural production, education and population growth) are not. These conditions resulted in a decline in some villages. The level of development in Khorramabad county has been confronted with spatial inequality not just in terms of topic-specific but an area-specific aspect. This inequality resulted in the formation of the center-periphery spatial pattern that causes the marginalization (and deterioration) of disadvantaged villages.

Purpose- This study aimed to analyze the effects of saffron cultivation on the quality of life of rural households in Rostaq Dehestan in Khalilabad county. Design/methodology/approach- This is an applied study based on a descriptive-analytical method used to examine the understudy parameters. The data were collected from 337 sample households based on field studies and by the Cochran sampling method. Then, the data were also collected based on selected indicators and using a household questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated by the university professors of geography and rural planning and agricultural promotion and training. The validity coefficient of the questionnaire was obtained using the SPSS software of 0.85. Kendall's statistical tests and one-way variance analysis was used in SPSS software to analyze the collected data. Findings- The research findings show that Neghab village with a similarity index of 0.48 has the greatest impact of saffron cultivation on the quality of life of the households among the villages of Rostaq Dehestan. On the other hand, the results of the Kendall test confirmed the relationship between saffron cultivation and quality of life with 99% confidence. Moreover, the results of one-way ANOVA showed that the economic dimension among other effective dimensions of the saffron cultivation on the quality of rural households is more pronounced. Research limitations/implications- The lack of access to statistical information when visiting the Agricultural Jihad of Khalilabad, Khalilabad Governorship, the Natural Resources Administration of Khalilabad, as well as completing the questionnaire depending on the issue at the village level are some of the challenges of the present study. Practical implications- According to the research findings, solutions to promote and train the ways for production and productivity of households in this village are recommended for the cultivation of this supra-strategic product (Saffron). Originality/value- The present study is important since it focuses on the impact of saffron cultivation for improving the quality of life of rural households with respect to the income generation process of this product.