Showing 711 results for Type of Study: Research
Afshin Karami,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
In centralized political systems, the government-municipality or government-local governance relationship follows a hierarchical structure, where the independence of municipalities is overshadowed by their financial dependence on the government or state-affiliated organizations. In Ahvaz, the metropolitan area under study in this research, in addition to this type of governmental dependence, urban management may be subject to another form of financial dependency. The prominent presence of companies and industries operating at regional and supra-regional scales – such as Khuzestan Steel Company, petrochemical industries, the National Iranian Oil Company, and its affiliated organizations in Ahvaz and Khuzestan region – and their interactions with urban management can significantly influence municipal performance. This research seeks to examine the political-economic effects of regionally and nationally scaled companies and organizations on spatial-political management and urban governance. In other words, it aims to answer the question: To what extent can the financial dependence of urban management on one or more national/regional companies affect the optimal performance of municipalities? This study employs the policy network model as its research framework. The policy network was visualized using Gephi software, followed by network analysis. The research findings indicate that the political economy of these corporations' presence can be summarized in two dimensions: a) Positive economic impacts b) Urban management challenges.
Dr Abed Golkarami, Dr Mohammad Yousefi Shatouri, Dr Afshin Mottaghi,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
Water diplomacy, as one of the effective tools in the management of shared water resources—particularly in regions with transboundary rivers—plays a crucial role in reducing tensions and strengthening regional cooperation. This study, employing an applied approach and a descriptive–analytical method, provides a geopolitical analysis of water diplomacy in Iran’s border rivers. To better conceptualize the issue, three converging theoretical frameworks in international relations—neoliberal institutionalism, liberalism, and constructivism—are utilized. Accordingly, the main research question explores how these theoretical approaches can contribute to an effective analysis of water diplomacy in Iran’s transboundary river basins. The central hypothesis posits that an integrative application of these theories can lead to a more accurate understanding of geopolitical relations, reduction of regional tensions, and enhancement of cooperation mechanisms between Iran and neighboring countries in managing shared water resources. The findings—drawn from the application of these approaches to three case studies (Helmand, Harirud, and Aras rivers)—indicate that despite their theoretical differences, all three frameworks emphasize institutional capacity building, economic interdependence, and the formation of shared identities and norms. These elements, in turn, can provide a solid foundation for enhancing water diplomacy across Iran’s borders. The study also highlights that adopting a synthesized approach can significantly assist policymakers in formulating comprehensive and multi-dimensional strategies for the sustainable management of transboundary water resources.
Dr Ata Ghaffari Gilandeh, Ms Homa Vaezi, Mr Navid Ghaffari Chanzanagh,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
New urban fabrics in our country, despite previous planning efforts, often face quality crises. In this context, the present research evaluates the quality of urban spaces in the new urban fabric of Ardabil, emphasizing the components of environmental psychology. Initially, through a review of the theoretical literature, the effective components of environmental psychology on the quality of urban spaces were identified, comprising 20 components across three dimensions. These components were then assessed through a questionnaire. The statistical population of the research includes residents of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Sabalan Township, Rezvan Township, Sina Township, and Zaranas Township that its population is about 198644 people. The sample size is 384 individuals. The validity of the questions was confirmed by three university lecturers and experts in this field, and the Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.845 indicated the reliability of the questionnaire. For the analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaires, all statistical calculations were performed using SPSS and LISREL software, employing structural equation modeling and second-order confirmatory factor analysis methods. The results from the model fit indicated the correlation between latent variables and observed variables, as well as the calculated T-values for all first-order and second-order factor loadings, demonstrating the external validity of the research model. According to the findings, the environmental health component with a factor loading of 0.75 in the content factors category, the spatial readability component with a factor loading of 0.80 in the physical factors category, and the accessibility to daily commercial services component with a factor loading of 0.58 in the functional factors category have the most significant impact on improving the quality of urban space in the new fabric of Ardabil. The research findings indicated that the average quality of the components of environmental psychology, according to respondents, reflecting the moderate level of these components in the studied area.
Mr Masoud Safari Aliakbari,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
In the current situation, artificial intelligence can improve rural management performance through optimizing resource use, predicting environmental changes, and making intelligent decisions.The aim of the present study is to investigating the impact of artificial intelligence on rural management performance with the mediating role of environmental dynamics in rural areas of Kermanshah county. This research is descriptive in terms of method, applied-practical in terms of purpose, and correlational in terms of nature. The statistical population includes 1300 village heads and council members in the villages of Kermanshah city. The sample size using the Morgan table is 297 people and the sampling method is simple random. The research tools include standard questionnaires for artificial intelligence from Carl Albrecht (2003) with 21 items, for measuring environmental dynamics, the Vera and Crossan questionnaire (2009) with 5 items, and for measuring performance, the Patterson questionnaire (1970) with 15 questions. The validity was confirmed by face, content and construct methods and the reliability was confirmed by Cronbach's alpha at 0.861. The collected data were analyzed based on structural equation path analysis in PLS software. The results showed that artificial intelligence had a positive and significant effect on rural management performance with an impact coefficient of 0.889 and a T value of 217.42, artificial intelligence had a positive and significant effect on environmental dynamics with an impact coefficient of 0.876 and a T value of 0.044, and environmental dynamics had a positive and significant effect on rural management performance with an impact coefficient of 0.273 and a T value of 4.938. Also, the results of the Sobel test showed that artificial intelligence had an effect on rural management performance with a mediating role of environmental dynamics with a T value of 9.361. Therefore, artificial intelligence can play a very important role in rural management performance, especially in optimizing resources, improving public services, environmental management and increasing agricultural productivity.
Dr Saeed Zanganeh Shahraki, Mr Amin Mahmoudiazar, Mr Mostafa Tavakoli,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
Official statistics show that the housing situation in many countries of the world, including Iran, cannot be defended. Despite global issues in the field of housing and the environment, the necessity of developing "sustainable affordable housing" has been widely accepted among urban thinkers. This necessity is intensified with the expansion of urbanization and population growth. To realize this, there is a need to identify the components of affordable-sustainable housing, which has been investigated in this study in the neighborhood, which is the most important place of residential use. In this research, the aim is to investigate sustainable affordable housing indicators in different urban areas. Using Cochran's formula, the number of samples in various locations is determined and finally, sampling is done using the systematic sampling method. The validity of satisfaction questionnaires that include the perceptions section has been confirmed by 5 professors and its reliability has been measured using Cronbach's alpha. The resulting studies show that 36 quantifiable indicators in the field of attaining affordable housing can be identified from various articles using the synthesis method, and by examining them in different planned areas, the program unplanned and old in the city of Urmia, it can be concluded that Urmia's neighborhoods with an average score of 3.87 have a good status in the social sector and with an average score of 2.23 in the economic sector, they have an unfavorable situation and the environmental indicators and Physically, they have different statuses between the localities and have marked the differences. In this way, the planned neighborhoods have a good situation in obtaining affordable housing, and the old and unplanned neighborhoods are placed in the next position.
Dr Marjan Badiee Azandahi, Mr Ehsan Motaghian,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
In recent decades, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology and its expanding applications in human life have brought about extensive transformations across various sectors, particularly in the economic sphere. This has significantly heightened the importance of developing this technology for major global powers. Mineral resources serve as the essential raw materials for manufacturing AI-related hardware; consequently, access to these resources is crucial for nations and companies active in this field. Within the geopolitical competition to acquire these mineral resources, the means of controlling and accessing them can be utilized as leverage to exert pressure and impose restrictions on the development of AI technologies. Consequently, countries possessing these resources are pursuing stockpiling and even exploiting resources from other nations to not only increase their own influence and control but also to secure their future access to these materials.
This study is applied research conducted using a descriptive-analytical method. The main research questions are: What role do mineral resources play in the development of AI technology, and how does the geopolitical competition among great powers for acquiring these resources unfold? Based on the research findings, mineral resources, as critical raw materials for manufacturing equipment and a source of capital, significantly impact the production of AI technology hardware. The competition among great powers for these mineral resources often manifests through strategies such as stockpiling, price manipulation, and resource processing. The results indicate that access to, control over, and supervision of the mineral mines used in AI hardware production enable major powers like the United States and China not only to influence the global trajectory of this technology's development and utilization but also to prevent the entry of rival actors into this arena or diminish their potential role.
Hadith Asemani Kenari, Aliakbar Jafari,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
The South Caucasus is a semi-mountainous region located between the Caspian and Black Seas which has always enjoyed a geopolitical and geostrategic position throughout history. The conflicts between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the South Caucasus, which led to remove the seizure of the disputed territory of Karabakh by the Republic of Azerbaijan, have made it difficult to reach a lasting peace in the South Caucasus due to some fundamental differences such as how to access Nakhchivan region. The Republic of Azerbaijan wants unhindered extraterritorial access, which Armenia and Iran strongly oppose due to the severance of land communication between the two countries and the creation of a geopolitical bottleneck. Given the importance of the South Caucasus and the impressionability of Iranian policies from any geopolitical changes and developments in the region, the present study, using a descriptive-analytical method, seeks to answer the question: "What strategies has the Iranian foreign policy apparatus adopted since the beginning of the conflicts to manage the post-Karabakh war developments in order to prevent any border changes and becoming it into a lasting geopolitical bottleneck?" The result of research show that the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been a combination of declaring a firm position in oppositing to any border changes and while avoiding tension and increasing cooperation in order to prevent any change in the geopolitical situation to the detriment of Iran's interests, especially in the North-South Corridor. These policies have been pursued at various economic, military, and political levels in interactions with the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Dr Ali Haghizadeh, Mr Nooraldin Moridi, Mrs Leila Ghasemi, Mrs Atefeh Bosak,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
Evaporation is considered a critical factor in water balance systems, accounting for substantial water loss from lakes. With advancements in remote sensing technologies and computational algorithms, the estimation of evaporation from water surfaces has undergone significant transformation. This study employed the SEBAL algorithm within the Google Earth Engine platform to estimate evaporation from the Ayvashan Dam reservoir. Landsat 8 satellite imagery was processed in Google Earth Engine (GEE) to compute pixel-level evapotranspiration using the SEBAL algorithm. The results revealed that across all three study dates (10/07/2024, 04/08/2024, and 26/08/2024), the evaporation rate near the center of the dam reservoir was consistently higher than in peripheral areas. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that implementing the SEBAL algorithm in the Google Earth Engine platform maintains reasonable accuracy despite challenges such as limited access to pan evaporation data and the 11 km distance between the meteorological station and study area - a finding supported by statistical metrics (RMSE = 2.4 and Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient of 0.83). Calculated evaporation rates for July, August, and September were 9.15 mm, 12.7 mm, and 9.34 mm respectively, indicating substantial water loss from the reservoir. These findings underscore the algorithm's effectiveness in evaporation estimation even under constrained ground data conditions. Given that precipitation in the study area occurs primarily as short-term episodic events with predominantly dry conditions throughout the year, water conservation during arid periods becomes particularly crucial.
Dr Mohammad Shali, Hosna Emamzadeh,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
Informal settlements, as one of the most important challenges of urban management in Iranian metropolises, require the adoption of new approaches with an emphasis on public participation and a community-based approach in the field of local planning and development. Within this framework, facilitation offices have been established in some informal neighborhoods with the aim of raising awareness and empowering residents, strengthening the relationship between official institutions and the local community, and improving social, economic, and physical indicators. However, the effectiveness of these offices in practice has been less evaluated structurally and empirically. The present study aimed to analyze the performance of facilitation offices in four neighborhoods of Tabriz metropolis, focusing on its relationship with empowerment, social participation, and physical, economic, and social outcomes.The research method is descriptive-analytical and applied. Data were collected in the field using a researcher-made questionnaire from 396 residents of neighborhoods with facilitation offices in 1401 and analyzed using structural equation modeling in SmartPLS software. The results showed that the performance of the offices had a direct effect on empowerment with a coefficient of 0.907 and on local participation with a coefficient of 0.636. Participation also played a significant mediating role in improving social indicators with a coefficient of 0.438, economic indicators with a coefficient of 0.294, and physical indicators with a coefficient of 0.266. Also, educational measures, transparent information, and interaction with local institutions were among the most important influential factors in the neighborhood development process. Accordingly, the research findings can be a basis for reviewing urban policies and creating participation-based institutions in the process of recreating and developing informal settlements
Phd Student Farahnaz Khoramabadi, Master Seyyed Abolfazl Masoudian, Assistant Professor Mohammad Sadeq Keykhosravi Kiani,
Volume 0, Issue 0 (3-1921)
Abstract
Global warming is one of the most challenging climatic phenomena of the current era, accompanied by a rise in the average temperature of the Earth's oceans and land over the past few decades. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the temporal and spatial changes in Iran's maximum temperature over the last four decades, using ERA5 reanalysis data.
Daily maximum temperature data was extracted from ERA5 products in HDF5 file format and processed using the Python programming language. For data analysis, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used for dimensionality reduction, and Ward's clustering method was employed to determine homogeneous climatic regions based on the similarity of weather elements. The long-term mean maximum temperature for the country during this period was estimated at 24.2∘C, with a range of variation from −0.4∘C to 53.7∘C. The results from smoothing the data's time series showed a significant temperature jump around the year 1998, which led to an increase in the mean maximum temperature from 23∘C to 25∘C. In the spatial dimension, the maximum temperature was directly influenced by topography, altitude, and latitude. The southern and southeastern regions were identified as the warmest, while the high-altitude areas of the west, north, and northeast were the coolest. The results of the PCA showed that the first two components explained more than 78% of the spatial variance and 93% of the temporal variance, respectively. This indicates the existence of consistent and interpretable climatic patterns. Additionally, the Ward's clustering analysis, which divided the data into five distinct clusters, reflected the diversity of temporal behavior of the maximum temperature across the country.
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Volume 1, Issue 1 (9-2002)
Abstract
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Volume 13, Issue 29 (9-2013)
Abstract
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Volume 13, Issue 29 (9-2013)
Abstract
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Volume 14, Issue 32 (6-2014)
Abstract
Volume 15, Issue 38 (4-2015)
Abstract
Saeed Zanganeh,
Volume 15, Issue 38 (4-2015)
Abstract
Abstract
Urban form can be affected by diverse factors in different times. Socio- economic, political and physical factors are among the main contributors. So, one of the most important challenges of urban planners is measuring and identifying urban development pattern in order to direct and strengthen it to sustainable pattern and right direction. The case study of the present paper is the city of Yazd, a middle-sized city in the center of Iran, and the studied years are 1975, 1987, 2000 and 2010. To achieve the main objective of the paper, measuring Yazd growth and expansion by spatial metrics, it has used remote sensing data and satellite imageries and ArcGIS software. The conclusion revealed that in four periods of study, complexity or irregularity of the urban patch shapes has increased, centrality or average distance of the dispersed parts to the city center has decreased, compactness or the number and area of patches their distance from each other has decreased, porosity or ratio of open space has increased and finally population density of city has decreased in a large amount. Therefore, all perimeters show that the temporal - spatial form of Yazd has moved from compact to sprawl. Due to many undesired impacts of urban sprawl, urban planners and authorities are required to use adherent techniques and policies to control urban sprawl and to direct it toward more sustainable directions.
Zahra Hejazizadeh, Parisa Sadat Ashofteh, Ebrahim Fatahi, Zahra Gholampour,
Volume 15, Issue 38 (4-2015)
Abstract
Abstract
In this study, the predicted monthly temperature and rainfall data from HadCM3 model (base period, ۱۹۷۲-۲۰۰۱) and next period (۲۰۱۱-۲۰۴۰) under A2emission scenario were used to investigate the impacts of climate change on runoff variations in the Kor river basin. HadCM3 model output was downscaled based on a temporal downscaling approach (Change Factor) and spatial downscaling approach (Proportional) for the basin. The time series of monthly temperature and precipitation were produced in future period. The results showed that temperature and rainfall will increase and decrease in the future period relative to the base period, respectively. Then, the calibrated IHACRES model was used to model rainfall-runoff relationships in the Kor river basin. Then, the downscaled monthly temperature and rainfall time series in next period were employed to rainfall-runoff model and the monthly runoff time series were simulated for period ۲۰۱۱- ۲۰۴۰. The comparison of future period runoff relative to observed period showed that the annual runoff in the basin for period ۲۰۱۱-۲۰۴۰ will decrease about ۹٫۴۳% with respect to base period.
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Volume 15, Issue 38 (4-2015)
Abstract
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Volume 15, Issue 38 (4-2015)
Abstract
Gholamabbas Falah Ghalhari, Fahimeh Shakeri,
Volume 15, Issue 38 (4-2015)
Abstract
