مطالب

Purpose- Due to the dewatering of Karun Dam, the village of Southern Donbaleh Roud of Izeh County has been surrounded by water since 2004 until now and has been deprived of services and amenities and communication. Moreover, their access to the cities of Dehdez and Izeh has been limited. Given the importance of the issue, the aim of this study is to assess and evaluate the sustainability of development in rural areas of Southern Donbaleh Roud District. Design/methodology/approach- This research is based on the applied purpose and has an analytical- descriptive nature. Required data were collected using library and field (questionnaire) method. The area under study includes 18 villages and 1460 households. The sample size was estimated based on Cochran formula of 300 family guardians and the questionnaires were distributed among them. To analyze the data from the questionnaire, the Prometheus model (in the visual Prometheus software environment) and the fuzzy inference system (in MATLAB software) were used. Finding- Based on the Prometheus model, the villages are ranked according to three positive (Phi+), negative (Phi-) and pure flows. The villages with the highest positive minimum negative flows are in the first place, and the villages with the least positive and the most negative flows are at the last place of development sustainability. The results obtained from the Fuzzy inference system also indicate that the sustainability of the studied rural area is between the medium and low levels. Originality/value - There have been a lot of changes in spatial organization of the studied villages due to water logging of the villages. These changes have created disruptions in the system and functioning of the settlements and have affected the quality of life and wellbeing of the inhabitants. Because the construction of dams has destroyed the communicative routes between villages and the city, agricultural lands and gardens, schools, rural healthcare centers, residential houses, provincial villages and… and the villages have been left behind the dam so far. Therefore, considering the special circumstances of these settlements, the problems of these villages have been scientifically examined and addressed to planners and officials. Because, through this, the authorities and development experts gain knowledge about the opportunities and capabilities, limitations and impasse of the villages.

Purpose- This study aimed to determine the constructive components of livable rural communities. To this end, it investigates the status of livability from the viewpoint of rural population in villages of Kashmar County. Design/methodology/approach- This is a descriptive-analytic study. In the first stage, indicators were extracted by reviewing the relevant literature. Then, a questionnaire was developed based on the Likert scale. Using the Cochran formula, 350 samples were selected and were randomly distributed. Finally, the data were analyzed using the SPSS software and employing correlation and Friedman tests. Finding- The results of the Spearman test showed no significant relationship between individual characteristics (age, sex, education) and livability indicators. On the other hand, the results of the Friedman test revealed that villages have higher livability in terms of the environmental dimension than other dimensions. In terms of the social dimension, recreation and leisure time indicator had the highest rank from respondents’ viewpoint (5.50), and other indicators were also effective in varying degrees. Respondents were more satisfied with public space than other indicators. Originality/value - Due to the novelty of the subject in Iran, and since it has received low attention in the relevant global literature, more time is needed to carry out further studies. The results of this study may be useful for rural officials and planners, rural students and researchers.

Purpose- This study tries to evaluate rural governance and identify its effective factors in a rural area, around Karaj Metropolis, for the achievement of local governance in central Iran. Design/Methodology/Approach - In terms of goal and nature, it is practical, while with regards to its methodology, it serves as a survey. The statistical populations of this research include 53 rural managers of rural settlements as rural governors (Dehyar), 105 rural councils, and 366 heads of village households, selected based on classification sampling within a multi-stage process. Both techniques of PROMETHEE and Analytic Network Process (ANP) have been employed for analysis, level evaluation, and classification of governance in the studied rural area. Findings- Based on the parametric method, results show that out of 53 studied local government, 53% had good governance; 25%, average governance; and 22%, weak governance. Furthermore, based on ANP Technique, the rural district (Dehestan) of Adran had the highest governance rank, while the rural district of Kamal Abad had the lowest. In general, the findings show that governance level in the studied local governments were quite desirable. Research limitations/Implications- Governance is a multidimensional issue with various definitions and theories thereof the villagers’ attitude towards rural governance and its indicators is restricted. Practical implications- In the study area, rural governance is in a good position, but some of the rural governance components and indicators are in an unsatisfactory and critical situation and require serious attention for improvement. Originality/Value- So far, there has been little attention paid to rural governance in the cities, especially in the peripheral regions of metropolitan areas. Accordingly, the present study is of considerable importance.

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.