Amin Bahador and Mahnaz Mahmudi Zarandi
The emergence of Covid-19 and its epidemic features have affected many people around the world. Regardless of the physical and psychological problems caused by it, people must…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of Covid-19 and its epidemic features have affected many people around the world. Regardless of the physical and psychological problems caused by it, people must isolate themselves from their surroundings. This problem is more intense in urban areas where people live in crowded apartments and high-rise buildings. During the lockdown, residents of such buildings suffered from disconnection from nature, in addition to the lack of communication with others. As most multi-story apartments and residential complexes do not have separate green spaces and do not provide a safe connection to nature for occupants, it is very tough for the residents of these buildings to endure the disease, and occupants are more vulnerable to disease. Accordingly, this study proposes the biophilic design as an effective approach to provide a secure connection with nature in residential complexes and high-rise apartments.
Design/methodology/approach
The questionnaire method was used in this study to analyze the raised hypotheses. Two types of residential zones were selected for the survey and comparing the results. One is apartment units without dedicated green space, and the other is villa houses with private green space. Size of the sample population include 300 people (150 residents of an apartment block and 150 residents of villa homes).
Findings
Strict restrictions during the pandemic have prevented people from connecting with nature, especially in urban areas, owing to the lack of separated and dedicated green spaces, whereas connection with nature can be healing and lead to relieving anxiety and stress in this era based on the approved research. Accordingly, applying a biophilic approach to the design process would be helpful.
Research limitations/implications
The lack of a biophilic project to observe was one of the limitations of this study. Being an available biophilic project in the surroundings could be very helpful to observe and acquire comprehensive knowledge and experiences from the handlers and users of biophilic buildings.
Practical implications
This study can be beneficial for patients, individuals and occupants of apartments and residential complexes in urban areas who suffer from distance from nature and green spaces during the restrictions of pandemics such as Covid-19.
Originality/value
This study proposes the use of biophilic architecture in the design process of residential complexes and high-rise apartments to provide isolated and dedicated green spaces for occupants, especially during the lockdown when people have been deprived of parks and public green spaces.
Details
Keywords
The rapid change in the context of urban housing and the spatial organization of contemporary houses caused the alteration and elimination of spaces that met the social needs of…
Abstract
Purpose
The rapid change in the context of urban housing and the spatial organization of contemporary houses caused the alteration and elimination of spaces that met the social needs of residents for centuries. With the advent of multistorey flats, houses became denser and interactive areas became more limited and were gradually eliminated. Therefore, these changes caused the loss of interaction among occupants and social stability in today's residential complexes. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to improve interactions between residents and raise the level of social sustainability in residential complexes by reviving the lost interactive spaces and meeting the social needs of inhabitants.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, that is, applied research, the library method and a questionnaire have been used to conduct the study. The questionnaire consists of 13 questions categorized based on five hypotheses.
Findings
Existing public open spaces between the blocks of residential complexes are not efficient enough to raise the interaction between residents because of some problems such as difficult access for middle and upper floors, lack of separate territories and spaces, lack of proper control and supervision and lack of privacy and security.
Practical implications
This paper can be helpful for researchers, designers and mass builders in the field of housing to pay attention to the social needs of occupants, as the basic needs of humans, and improve the quality of interactive spaces by realizing their problems and shortcomings.
Originality/value
This paper tries to improve the quality of interactive spaces based on the social needs of residents to increase the level of interaction between dwellers and creates social sustainability in the residential complexes.
Details
Keywords
Shankar Chelliah, Mohammad Jamal Khan and Amir Bahador Atabakhshi Kashi
This study aims to investigate the relationship between travel motivation, perceived risks, travel constraints and perceived beneficial destination image that leads to visit…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between travel motivation, perceived risks, travel constraints and perceived beneficial destination image that leads to visit intention among Middle-Eastern medical tourists. Some previous studies have explained these factors in detail, however, studies that explore the relationship between these factors in the Iranian context is scarce. Moreover, there are relatively very few studies, which focused on actual medical tourists in empirical investigation, therefore, there is still a lack of clarity in the literature regarding travel behavior and travel decision-making of medical tourists.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was performed on 161 Middle-Eastern medical tourists who visited Iran in early months of 2018. Purposive sampling method was used to collect the data from two private hospitals. Structural equation modeling with partial least square (PLS) approach was used and PLS 3.2.8 data analysis tool was used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The data analysis results have found that perceived destination image was the strongest predictor of visit intention among medical tourists. The results have also found a positive effect of travel motivation and negative effect of perceived travel risks on perceived beneficial destination image.
Originality/value
This study aims to enrich the body of knowledge by investigating the relationship between the factors, which have important roles in travel behavior and decision-making of medical tourists. The study also bridges the gap in the literature by explaining the behavior of actual medical tourists. The findings of the study provide the much needed insight on the behavioral intention of medical tourists, which will help the service providers and policymakers to reform their strategies and policies accordingly.
Details
Keywords
Ahmed Attalah Hassan Al-Fhdawi and Adel Mashaan Rabee
The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of environmental pH on production of biofilms and virulence genes expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of environmental pH on production of biofilms and virulence genes expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Design/methodology/approach
Among 303 clinical and environmental samples 109 (61 + 48) isolates were identified as clinical and environmental P. aeruginosa isolates, respectively. Clinical samples were obtained from patients in the Al-Yarmouk hospital in Baghdad city, Iraq. Waste water from Al-Yarmouk hospital was used from site before treatment unit to collect environmental samples. The ability of producing biofilm at various pH levels was examined by microtiter plate and the prevalence of Alg D, Psl A and Pel A was determined by quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).
Findings
This study showed that the ability of clinical and environmental isolates to biofilm development was observed in 86.9% and 85.42% of clinical and environmental isolates, respectively. As well as, the environmental P. aeruginosa isolates showed the highest biofilm production at pH 7. Clinical isolates showed the highest genes expression of Alg D, Psl A and Pel A as compared to environmental isolates with pH change. In general, both clinical and environmental isolates formed biofilm and carried AlgD, PslA and PelA genes. Also, alkaline pH was favored for biofilm production.
Originality/value
There are very few studies done to find out the influence of environmental pH on production of biofilms and virulence genes expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This study is unique as it has highlighted the influence of environmental pH on the ability of clinical and environmental isolates to biofilm development and genes expression.
Details
Keywords
Geometry, as the visual depiction of mathematics, has always comprised a major communicative language in architecture. Thus, geometry has traditionally been taught in…
Abstract
Purpose
Geometry, as the visual depiction of mathematics, has always comprised a major communicative language in architecture. Thus, geometry has traditionally been taught in architectural education to produce the perspective view of spaces from plans and elevations. This process is understood as a move from the actual to the abstract. The purpose of this paper is to show how the author has applied the geometry of perspective backwards to generate, from photos, the 3D reconstruction of a space that no longer exists.
Design/methodology/approach
What are the original form and the morphological evolution of Amir‐Chakhmagh Square? To address this question, the author processed photos of the square through geometric simulation. After verifying that the photos are taken from the same square, the author developed a geometrical reconstruction process to come up with the plan and elevations of the spaces, which is enough to reconstruct the 3D model. Finally, by virtue of these documents, the author analyzed the historical evolution of the square.
Findings
The main contribution of this research is recreating the architectural plans of the square, as well as introducing a simple method to extract plans and elevations from a given perspective.
Originality/value
The case study presented is the Amir‐Chakhmagh Square in the historic core of Yazd‐Iran. This square with an adjacent bazaar is one of the most important urban spaces of Iran, and was partially demolished in the modernizations of the 1920s. The need to renovate the remains of the square has called for new attempts to understand its original form.
Details
Keywords
The main purpose of this study is to determine the antecedent factors of digital financial disclosure language adoption and its impact on decreasing financial information…
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this study is to determine the antecedent factors of digital financial disclosure language adoption and its impact on decreasing financial information asymmetry and increasing its quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The data was obtained from 116 financial managers, who are working and responsible for preparing and filing financial statements reports in listed Jordanian firms in the Amman Stock Exchange. The partial least squares structural equation modeling approach is used for data analysis.
Findings
The empirical results revealed that the adoption of digital financial reporting is positively influenced by perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Besides, the outcomes also confirm that the adoption of digital financial reporting positively influences accounting information quality, and hence hypotheses H1, H2 and H3 were accepted.
Originality/value
This study varies from previous studies because it is considered among the first empirical studies that determine the antecedent factors of digital financial reporting adoption and its impact on improving accounting information quality and sustainability in an empirical setting from a developing country perspective such as Jordan.