Assessing the realization of contemporary urban space based on an intercultural approach; Case study of Kianpars west coast of Ahvaz

Document Type : Thesis

Authors

• Ayoub Kahkesh ¹
• Behnaz Babaeimorad ²

¹ Msc.Student of Urban Design, Department of Urban Planning, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

² Assistant professor in urban planning, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

Highlights

6. Data analysis

In this study, a questionnaire was used to collect the information required for this study.

Both descriptive and inferential statistics methods were used to analyze the collected data, as well as to describe the research variables in the form of tables and graphs and also to describe the general status of answering the questionnaire questions in the form of descriptive statistics from SPSS software. , PLS, EXCLE is used. In the inferential statistics section, correlation, ANOVA, t-test and regression tests were used to analyze the research data to judge the research hypotheses after determining whether the data were normal or not.

6-1-Descriptive findings of demographic variables

The results of the study in relation to the age status of the respondents showed that of the total respondents in this study, the minimum age was 22 years and the maximum age was 57 years, also the average age of citizens in this study was 32.5 years. About 71% of the surveyed citizens in area one of the two districts of Ahvaz are natives and about 28% of these citizens are non-natives. Also, the statistics extracted in relation to the level of education of the respondents show that about 46% of these respondents have a bachelor's degree, and about 9% have a master's degree. About 70% of the respondents (mostly) lived and about 29% of the respondents lived up to ten years. About 68% of the surveyed citizens are men and about 31% of these respondents are women.

6-2-Descriptive statistics of respondents' evaluation

Table4: Descriptive statistics of participants in each of the indicators

An intercultural index has been used to evaluate and measure contemporary urban space. These variables consisted of a total of 23 items at the level of sequential measurement and were designed in the form of a Likert spectrum in the form of five options. Rank, a distance variable obtained, a score of 115 indicates a very high and a score of 23 indicates a very low level of the independent variable. According to the above table, it can be said that the factor and index of intercultural communication has the highest average (20.02). The findings also show that all three levels are above average for respondents, so it can be concluded that for respondents and citizens, event, interactive and evolutionary indicators in terms of intercultural communication in area one From the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz has a relatively good vigour.

Figure1: Descriptive statistics of participants in each of the indicators

6-3-Description of the cross-cultural communication dimension index from the respondents' point of view

Table5:  Description of the cross-cultural relationship dimension and the aggregation of these dimensions

The results of Table (5) show that the highest mean was related to the interactive-evolutionary index with an average of 3.71, and the lowest mean was related to the event index with an average of 3.60 in relation to describing the intercultural relationship and the aggregation of this Dimensions are among the respondents in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz.

6-4- Description of the cross-cultural meaning dimension index from the respondents' point of view

Table 6 - Description of the index of the cross-cultural meaning dimension and the aggregation of these dimensions

The results of Table (6) show that the highest mean was related to the retention index with an average of 3.21, and also the lowest mean was related to the absorption index with an average of 2.72 in relation to the description of intercultural meaning index among respondents. Therefore, among all intercultural indicators, the index of attraction among citizens has the lowest average.

6-5- Description of the three indicators of contemporary urban places

Table 7 - Description of the three indicators of contemporary urban space

The results of Table (7) show that the highest mean was related to the Behavior and Activity Index with an average of 3.29, and also the lowest mean was related to the Spatial Satisfaction Index with an average of 2.296 in relation to the description of the three indices of contemporary urban location. Therefore, according to the respondents, the most important factors of contemporary urban location are indicators of behavior and activity, environmental quality and spatial satisfaction, respectively.

6-6-Testing Hypotheses

In this research, three hypotheses have been tested with the help of inferential statistics. The type of test of research hypotheses is decided based on the normality and absence of research variables. The following research hypotheses are tested.

6-6-1-Test the first hypothesis

The first hypothesis of the research is: It seems that there is a significant relationship between the dimensions of intercultural communication with the creation of contemporary urban space in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz.

Table 8- Regression coefficients for regression dimension of intercultural communication in achieving contemporary urban location

Table (8) shows the regression equation of the relationship between the dimension of intercultural communication with the creation of a contemporary urban location in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz. The value of multiple correlation coefficients between the mentioned independent variable and contemporary urban location is equal to 0.421. The value of the coefficient of determination of 0.352 indicates the explanation of 35% of the variance of the dependent variable from the citizens' point of view. The value of F = 13.35 and the level of significance of 0.0005 depicts the statistically significant relationship between the dimension of intercultural communication with the creation of contemporary urban space and thus the research model is confirmed. On the other hand, the value of beta coefficients shows that the dimension of intercultural communication affects the creation of contemporary urban space. Therefore, there is a direct relationship between the dimensions of intercultural communication and the creation of a contemporary urban place in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz according to the respondents.

Table 9 - Model ratio test results

Table (9) shows the value of Chi-square statistics 240/522 which is the result of the difference between the value of model zero and the final model. It is less than the significance level of 0.01 and the final model has been able to neutralize the zero model and is a suitable model for predicting the dependent variable of contemporary urban location by independent variables such as interactive-evolutionary and event.

Table 10 - Goodness of fit

Table (10) shows the results of the good fit test of the model, what is the likelihood ratio to obtain a good model. Chi-square Pearson statistics show whether the observed data are consistent with the fitted model or not? Significance levels of 0.99 and 0.79, which are above 0.05, indicate that all independent variables such as interactive-evolutionary and event have the power to explain contemporary urban location.

6-6-2-Test the second hypothesis

The second hypothesis of the research is that there seems to be a significant relationship between the dimension of intercultural meaning and the creation of a contemporary urban place in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz.

Table 11- Regression coefficients for regression of intercultural meaning dimension by creating a contemporary urban place

Table (11) depicts the meaning of intercultural meaning with contemporary urban location in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz. The value of multiple correlation coefficients between the mentioned independent variable and contemporary urban location is equal to 0.314. The value of the coefficient of determination of 0.254 indicates the explanation of 25% of these two variables relative to each other. The value of F = 56.98 and the significance level of 0.000 show the effect of the intercultural meaning dimension with the contemporary urban place and thus the research model is confirmed. On the other hand, the value of beta coefficients shows that there is a significant relationship between the dimension of intercultural meaning and contemporary urban location.

Table 12 - Model ratio test results

Table (12) shows the Chi-square statistic value of 665/365, which is the difference between the value of the zero model and the final model. It is less than the significance level of 0.01 and the final model has been able to neutralize the zero model and is a suitable model for predicting the dependent variable of contemporary urban location by independent variables such as retention and absorption.

Table 13- Goodness of fit

Table (13), the significance level of 0.90 and 0.62, which is above 0.05, shows that all independent variables such as persistence and absorption have the power to explain the contemporary urban place.

6-6-3- Test the third hypothesis

The third hypothesis of the research is: It seems that there is a significant relationship between all intercultural dimensions with contemporary urban location in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz.

Table 14- Regression coefficients of intercultural dimensions with contemporary urban location in area one of two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz

Table 14 shows the regression equation of intercultural dimensions with contemporary urban location in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz. The value of multiple correlation coefficients between the mentioned independent variables and contemporary urban location is equal to 0.514. The value of the coefficient of determination of 0.365 explains the variance of the dependent variable in the sample population. The value of F = 21.45 and the significance level of 0.000 indicate the approval of the research model and the impact of intercultural dimensions (relationship and meaning) with the contemporary urban location in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz.

Table 15. Model ratio test results

Table (15) shows the chi-square statistic value of 275/360, which is the difference between the value of the zero model and the final model. Is less than the significance level of 0.01 and the final model has been able to neutralize the zero model and a suitable model for predicting the dependent variable of contemporary urban location in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz by the sum of independent variables in all intercultural dimensions such as: The dimension of communication (interactive-evolutionary and event) and the dimension of meaning (permanence and absorption).

Table 16- Good fit

Table (16), the significance level of 0.321 and 0.635 which is above 0.05 shows that the sum of independent variables in all intercultural dimensions such as: relational dimension (interactive-evolutionary and event) and meaning dimension (sustainability and absorption).

6-7-Multivariate regression analysis:

         Regression analysis is a post-correlation step. In this study, multivariate regression has been used to measure the independent variables. In this multivariate regression, the independent variables are measured simultaneously with the dependent variable.

Table 17, statistical indices of regression of independent and dependent variables

According to Table (17), the value of (R) is equal to 0.443 indicates a simple correlation between two variables and in other words shows the intensity of the correlation between the two variables. As can be seen from the value of R (Pearson correlation between two variables), there is a correlation between the two variables. The coefficient of determination was equal to 0.326, which indicates the relatively prominent role of independent variables in explaining the variance of the dependent variable. As this coefficient shows, 39% of the total changes of the dependent variable will be related to two independent variables with names (intercultural relation and meaning). The rest of these changes are influenced by variables outside the model.

Table 18, Regression Statistical Indicators (ANOVA)

Table 18 is called factor analysis. This table shows whether the regression model can significantly and appropriately predict the dependent variable changes. For a meaningful review, look at the last column of the table (sig). This column shows the statistical significance of the regression model that if the value obtained is less than 0.05, we conclude that the model used is a good predictor for the dependent variable. Significance level of 0.000 which is less than 0.05 is 0.

Table 19 - Statistical indicators of regression test

Table 19 gives us information about the predictor variables. This table provides the information we need to predict the dependent variable. We see that the fixed value of 25. 326 and the independent variables (dimensions of intercultural communication and meaning) are meaningful in the model. The standardized regression coefficient or (Beta) indicates the effect of all independent variables on the contemporary urban location in the area. It is one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz according to the respondents.

6-8- Modelling structural equations of research hypotheses

In this model, using Smart Pls3 software, the effect of all research variables (interactive-evolutionary, event, sustainability, absorption) on the dependent variable of creating a contemporary urban place by citizens based on a survey of citizens in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz is presented.

Figure 2 - Structural equation model related to the effect of intercultural dimensions on contemporary urban space

In this regard, the main hypotheses were examined again in the form of structural equation model in Figure (2) and the path of the structural model was evaluated. Testing each hypothesis by examining the sign, size and statistical significance of the path coefficient (beta) between each latent variable and the dependent variable. The higher the path coefficient, the greater the predictive effect of the latent variable than the dependent variable. On the other hand, the findings show that the set of independent variables (factor-evolutionary, event, persistence, absorption) are related to the dependent variable of contemporary urban location in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz. The path coefficients indicate that the independent variable of intercultural meaning with eight subgroups has the most impact and explanatory power on the dependent variable of contemporary urban location. Also, according to the respondents, the dimension of intercultural communication is 0.572, in the subsets of permanence and absorption, respectively, has the least impact on contemporary urban space. It should be noted that in connection with showing the main research model and the final relationship of the independent variable on the dependent variable, it should be added that a total of two variables (intercultural communication and meaning) together with a total of 0.813842 0's explanatory power. It has one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz. Given that the purpose of drawing structural equations is to connect theoretical structures with the experimental model of research, so the research model is presented and drawn as follows.

Figure 3 - Theoretical model of research

7. Conclusion

7-1-Univariate descriptive results

To evaluate and measure the contemporary urban place, the intercultural index has been used. According to the research results, it can be said that:

- The factor and index of intercultural communication has the highest average of 20.02. Also, all three levels are above average for the respondents. Therefore, it can be concluded that from the respondents' point of view, event and interactive-evolutionary indicators in the index of intercultural communication in area one of the two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz have a relatively good strength.

Also, according to other research results, the highest mean was related to the interactive-evolutionary index with an average of 3.71 and the lowest mean was related to the event index with an average of 3.60 in relation to describing the dimension of intercultural communication and aggregation of these dimensions among respondents. The site is under study.

- The highest average was related to the survival index with an average of 3.21. Also, the lowest mean value to the absorption index with an average of 2.72 is related to the description of the cross-cultural meaning index among the respondents. Therefore, among all intercultural dimensions, the dimension of attraction among citizens has the lowest average.

- The highest average was related to the Behaviour and Activity Index with an average of 3.29, also the lowest average value was related to the Spatial Satisfaction Index with an average of 2.296 in relation to the description of the three indicators of contemporary urban space in the eyes of respondents. Therefore, according to him, the most important factors in creating a contemporary urban place are the indicators of behaviour and activity, environmental quality and spatial satisfaction, respectively

.

7-2-Inferential research results

The results show that there is a significant relationship between all intercultural dimensions with the creation of contemporary urban space in an area of ​​two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz. The research model confirms the research model and the impact of intercultural dimensions (relationship and meaning) with the creation of contemporary urban space. Because this final model has been able to neutralize the zero model and is a suitable model for predicting the dependent variable of contemporary urban space by the sum of independent variables in all intercultural dimensions such as communication dimension (interactive-evolutionary and event) and meaning dimension (sustainability). And absorption). Also, the results of the model fit test show how much the likelihood ratio is to get a good model. Chi-square Pearson statistics show whether the observed data are consistent with the fitted model or not? Significance levels of 0.321 and 0.635, which is above 0.05, show that the sum of independent variables in all intercultural dimensions such as communication dimension (interactive-evolutionary and event) and meaning dimension (persistence and absorption) is compatible.

8- Summarizing and presenting suggestions:

According to the findings of the present study, there is a direct and significant relationship between all intercultural dimensions including meaning and relationship with the creation of contemporary urban space including behaviour and activity, satisfaction and environmental quality in an area of ​​two metropolitan areas of Ahvaz. According to the findings of domestic and foreign researches, the emphasis is on the moral obligation to plan and design especially in contemporary multicultural or intercultural urban places. Its intercultural activities such as holding conferences and seminars, annual art-cultural festivals, as well as holding cultural programs, exhibitions and seasonal markets to present Khuzestan handicrafts and art goods, creating public spaces and providing the necessary incentives such as special accommodation discounts, services Restaurants, cheap tickets, discounts for visiting the cultural sections of the site under study, training of specialized human resources to provide services in various fields to tourists and their satisfaction, creating a complete database with information and better introduction of attractions, capacities and capabilities and Intercultural programs through various virtual networks, exhibition tours and printing of posters and catalogues are among the effective solutions.

Keywords

• Intercultural Approach
• Contemporary Urban Location
• Structural Equations
• West Kianpars Coastline
• Ahvaz

Main Subjects

• Urban Development