Information and communications technology in Urban Management
H. Mobini; D. Crozat; B. Shabani; M. Haghi
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Due to the development of Information and communication technologies, data clouds produced by several sources containing vital information about cities, give more opportunities to tourists to access more information and services. Tourists can overcome challenges such as movement ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Due to the development of Information and communication technologies, data clouds produced by several sources containing vital information about cities, give more opportunities to tourists to access more information and services. Tourists can overcome challenges such as movement and finding information and services by improving the digital Tourism System’s efficiency. Digital tourism system can help tourists to move and to live in unfamiliar destinations, know different cultures, and buy services and productions more easily and independently. Therefore, digital tourism systems and their efficiency are a significant concern, which this research aims to address by evaluating the position of digital tourism systems and identifying the dimensions and influential factors affecting their efficiency.METHODS: This study was a quantitative research and its target population consists of tourists or residents of the city of Mashhad use digital tourism systems. Due to the large population size, encompassing nearly 3 million residents and 20 million tourists annually, and considering the methods for determining the sample size for this study due to limitations arising from COVID-19, online questionnaires were utilized for data collection. Out of a total of 778 distributed questionnaires, 389 questionnaires were fully and accurately completed. The collected data was analysed using SPSS data analysis software to assess the analysis and relationships between the factors affecting the efficiency of digital tourism systems in Mashhad.FINDINGS: The results showed that more than 82% of respondents are using digital tourism system for managing their travels and three main functions of digital tourism system mentioned by tourists are “reservation services” (41%), “take information” (31%), “moving, find destination” (28%). Additionally, in brightness of this study, it demonstrated that digital tourism system usually uses smart recommender systems to personalise its recommendations, which need tourists' information. However, many of tourists (56%) are unwilling to share their personal information. one of the most important finding of this research is that receiving social content significantly correlates with users' confidence in digital tourism system for sharing their personal information.CONCLUSION: The findings showed that digital tourism system can optimise its personalisation process by using social content. It can ameliorate the users’ confidence in digital tourism system for sharing their personal information, which will increase the efficiency of digital tourism system. This finding cannot only be a solution to overcome tourists' challenges but also is a key factor for tourism companies that are the beneficiaries of digital tourism system to achieve their business goals. Moreover, it is a wake-up alert for the public sector to accept its responsibility for legislating, monitoring and producing social content in digital tourism systems.
Urban architecture, design, development and planning
M. Jahanbani; E. Lashkari
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Irregular and unplanned development of cities has led to some difficulties with the natural environment and human well-being reflected in the inappropriate spatial structure. Perception of physical-spatial pattern leads to the invention of appropriate policies to equitable ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Irregular and unplanned development of cities has led to some difficulties with the natural environment and human well-being reflected in the inappropriate spatial structure. Perception of physical-spatial pattern leads to the invention of appropriate policies to equitable distribution of services in urban areas and achievement of balanced development. This study aims to analyze the physical-spatial pattern of the Mashhad City from 1986 to 2016 conducted based on GIS data of the census blocks of Mashhad.METHODS: The current study was performed using descriptive-analytical method. In order to achieve that, spatial statistics tools including Moran coefficient, hotspots and directional distribution (standard deviational ellipse) have been used on ArcGIS PRO 2.5 software as well as Holdren model. Population is one of the prominent variables affecting growth and physical-spatial development of the city, therefore, the population has been considered as an indicator in this research.FINDINGS: The obtained values of the Moran Index (1986=0.13, 1996=0.14, 2006=0.15, and 2016=0.15) represented that the population pattern of the city was clustered, compact and continuous. Likewise, Hotspots revealed high population density in the continuous area from east to northwest in addition to the neighborhoods around the Vakil Abad highway. Standard deviational ellipse of the population illustrated that the population distribution was heading to the northwest. Applying Holdren model and data analysis showed that Mashhad experienced the horizontal and sprawl growth.CONCLUSION: Obtaining balanced future development and avoiding unplanned encroachment of the city boundary are integral issues. As a result, the current and legal city limit must be maintained and inner development and compact pattern must be implemented.
Human capital in urban management
A. Faez; A.K. Salehi; S. Ghane
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The study aims to use the opinions of experts to analyze the factors involved in the financial empowerment of hotels in crises, with an emphasis on the prevalence of COVID-19 in five-star hotels.METHODS: The population consists of administrative and managers, and the sample ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The study aims to use the opinions of experts to analyze the factors involved in the financial empowerment of hotels in crises, with an emphasis on the prevalence of COVID-19 in five-star hotels.METHODS: The population consists of administrative and managers, and the sample size consisted of 384 members of the studied hotels. The questionnaire was sent to the sample members via social media, or they answered the online questionnaire. Smart PLS software was used to analyze the raw data and the research model was designed using structural equation modeling.FINDING: According to the main hypothesis, controlling coronary disease will improve the financial condition of hotels, and this hypothesis was confirmed with a coefficient of β: 0.781. As sub-hypotheses of factors of creating consistent use, consistent use change, reducing unnecessary costs, maintaining customer relationship and marketing in proportion to the coefficients of β:0.594, 0.506, 0.591, 0.623, 0.523 were confirmed as effective factors in financial empowerment. On the other hand, restricting businesses, reducing unnecessary traffic, and emphasizing social distance with coefficients of β: 0.498, 0.522, 0.618 were approved as effective factors in disease control. CONCLUSION: Because the specific time for the end of the Coronavirus epidemic is not known; therefore, closure is not a good solution to overcome the virus in the hotel industry. Adapting the business to the new conditions can be a good way to financially empower the hotel industry. On the other hand, observing the factors discussed in disease control in the present study can cause disease control; since disease control is ultimately directly related to the hotel's financial empowerment. Finally, it should be said that the most important achievement of the present study is to present a financial crisis management approach during its occurrence.