حمید شایان

Purpose - The study of social capital in the context of location/space is a new approach that is dominated by the science of geography, and is seen as a way of distinguishing it from other sciences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of livelihood capitals on social capital in rural areas of Bojnourd County. Design/methodology/approach - This study was a fundamental research, conducted in a descriptive-analytical method. Documentary methods and field works have been employed to collect the data. The population consisted of 22 villages with more than 20 households in Bojnourd County, selected from various population classes and distances from Bojnourd. Using Cochran formula and random sampling method, 298 households were selected from a total of 4849 households in the rural areas of the study area. Partial least squares technique and Smart PLS software were used to test the conceptual model of the research and the impact of livelihood capitals on social capital. Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) was used to evaluate the model efficiency at Bojnourd County level. Findings - According to the results, the coefficients of T among the main variables of the study were above 2.58, which means the relationship is significant and direct. Thus, local-spatial factors have a significant and positive effect on social capital. Based on total coefficients, human capital with the coefficient of 0.348 and physical capital with the coefficient of 0.136 respectively had the most and the least effect on social capital. The results of spatial analysis using GWR showed that the impact coefficient of livelihood capitals on social capital was highest in the villages of Atrabad Olia and Gharajeh, and in total about 45% of villages in the study area had an impact coefficient of 0.90 to 0.91. Research limitations/implications - As the study of livelihood capitals and analysis of their relationship with social capital is a fundamental challenge in achieving sustainable rural development that is missing in current studies, it is recommended that future studies pay more attention to social capital and the impact of livelihood capitals on its creation and rural development. Practical implications - Rural areas suffer from the lack of social capital, which is one of the most important types of development capital required to achieve sustainable rural development. Thus, enhancing the social capital and informing the villagers about the value and importance of local-spatial factors and the material and non-material capitals available in rural areas should be on the agenda of rural development researchers and planners.

Purpose- Planning for optimum distribution of physical services and furniture in order to improve people’s welfare is one of the major purposes for rural planners. Rural furniture is the main purpose of developing rural settlements to decrease environmental side effects. The quality of human environments in villages highly depends on the quality of infrastructures of physical welfare including rural furniture. Rural furnitur e not only improves the quality of villages, but also keeps them consistent and permanent. The present study involves analyzing rural furniture and their effects on the environmental quality of rural settlements in Zoeram Dehestan, Shirvan. Design/methodology/approach- In this research we used an analytical-descriptive approach and data was gathered through library information and field study. Statistical population involves all rural families of Zoeram that equals to 258 families randomly selected through Cochran Formula with error level of 0.06. We used a questionnaire that its reliability was confirmed by a specific academic panel and its validity was calculated through α-Chronback coefficient. We also used SPSS software to analyze the data. Findings - The results obtained from Chi Square Test show that among all dimensions, aesthetic and visual beauty factors with mean of 2.70 and among all rural furniture, infrastructural furniture with mean of 3.17 are the most effective factors in increasing the quality of physical environment. Also, results from Spearman Correlation and Simple Linear Regression Models show that there is a strong, direct, and meaningful relationship (Sig: 0.000) between rural furniture and the quality of physical environment. In the end, using Gray Correlation Analysis and Vikor Method, we get the results that in these villages with different qualities in rural furniture, environmental quality is not the same level and according to Spearman Correlation there is a strong, meaningful relationship between the quality of rural furniture and the quality of environment. Practical implications- Today it is vital to consider and improve the quality of rural settlements, since it has been a major concern of local administrators and rural planners. In this respect, analyzing and measuring the level of available rural accommodations can be a helpful tool to understand and to show differences and inequalities in villages in order to provide better life quality in rural areas and be able to obtain more successful goals and objectives in establishing rural stable development and constant population growth. Originality/value- No direct research and study considering changes in the quality of rural settlements due to establishing rural accommodations have been done so far. Therefore, it is worth performing a thorough, comprehensive research and study regarding both rural accommodations and quality of environment to show the differences and innovations in this field.

Purpose - Today, tourism is mentioned as a suitable approach for socio-economic and physical development in rural areas. Therefore, rural areas have capabilities and potentials in terms of tourist attractions; however, not all areas have the same capabilities for development. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the ecological potential of the study area and to find the relationship and alignment between tourism capacity and ecological potential in rural areas of Mashhad tourism sphere of influence. Design/methodology/approach - The present theoretical study was conducted with applied purposes using the descriptive-analytical method. GIS and SPSS software and CoCoSo multi-criteria decision-making model were used to analyze the data. Findings- According to research findings the most influential indicator was the distance to tourism water resources and the least influential indicator was the distance to fault. Therefore, the highest ecological potential belongs to the foothill villages of the study area. Also, in terms of tourism capacity, the most effective factors have been the natural attractions of the village and its suburbs and the quality of village road. Original/value - On this basis, the highest tourism potentials belong to villages of Pivehzhan, Virani, and Radkan, respectively. According to the results of the study there is a significant positive relationship between ecological potential of the studied villages and their tourism capacity and there is no relationship between the number of tourists and ecological potential of the studied villages.