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One of the most important parameters affecting the quality of tourism is the climate and weather conditions of the tourist destination. Most of the studies have focused on the seasons and months that are suitable for tourism. However, to determine the right time for tourism, this study has examined the differences in hours conditions during the whole of the year in Alangdareh Forest Park, Golestan province. To do this, meteorological data from the statistical period (2017-2022) was used to calculate the average value of the SET index (standard effective temperature). Then, this index was evaluated as an indicator of thermal comfort using Rayman software. Meteorological data, including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and cloudiness were entered into the software five times a day. Based on the results, the comfortable days were divided into two separate periods. The first period starts in the middle of April and continues until the middle of May, and the second period is in October. The results of the SET index in terms of hours showed the best time for tourists to visit the park during the winter season is between 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM and during the summer season at 6:30 AM. This information can help tourists choose the best travel time according to their personal preferences. Additionally, the results indicate a continuous increase in the SET index during the six years of the statistical period which indicates a warming climate and a decrease in thermal comfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Migrant children and adolescents face a significantly increased risk of mental health issues. Focusing on this population's mental health issues is fundamental and requires more attention to detect and reduce these burdens in adulthood. Nevertheless, life skills intervention can improve mental health. Its effects on Arab migrant adolescents have not been tested. Here, an evaluation protocol of the effect of an online life skills-based intervention for improving depression, anxiety, stress, self-efficacy, and coping skills among Arab adolescents in Malaysia will be examined. Material and methods: This cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) will involve 207 Arab students (14–18 years old) from 12 Arabic schools in the Klang Valley. The schools will be assigned randomly to an intervention (online life skills programme) or control group at a 1:1 ratio. The researcher will deliver eight one-hour sessions to the intervention group weekly. The control group will receive the intervention at the evaluation end. Both groups will complete assessments at baseline, and immediately and three months after the intervention. The primary outcome is anxiety, depression, and stress [Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21)]. The secondary outcomes are self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale) and coping skills (Brief COPE Inventory). Data analysis will involve the Generalised Estimation Equation with a 95% confidence interval. P <.05 will indicate significant inter- and intra-group differences. Discussion: This will be the first cluster RCT of an online life skills education programme involving Arab adolescent migrants in Malaysia. The results could support programme effectiveness for improving the participants' mental health problems (depression, anxiety, stress), increasing their self-efficacy, and enhancing their coping skills. The evidence could transform approaches for ameliorating migrant children and adolescents' mental well-being. Trial registration: The study is registered with the Clinical Trial Registry (Identifier: NCT05370443). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The SWOT technique provides strategies to improve the management situation by examining and evaluating strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Therefore, the current research was conducted to provide a strategic plan for the management and sustainable development of tourism in Gorgan using the SWOT. So, a list of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats was identified and provided as a questionnaire with a Likert scale which was filled out by the experts. Then, their results were analyzed and weighted. Next, the SWOT matrix was formed based on internal (IFE) and external (EFE) factors, and the best strategies for tourism management in the study area were presented. According to the results, the existence of recreational areas such as Naharkhoran and Alangdareh near Gorgan City is considered the most important opportunity for tourism development in the study area. At the same time, the criteria of low level of sanitary conditions and lack of service facilities in recreational areas is the most important threat related to tourism development in the region. Also, from the point of experts' view, the existence of beautiful landscapes, numerous waterfalls, and unique forest areas in the vicinity of Gorgan city are the most important strengths in tourism development. On the other hand, the lack of entertainment for tourists and the lack of guarantee for the sustainability of investment in this industry are the most important weaknesses. In this research, strategies and suggestions were presented to improve the current situation and to manage sustainable and successful tourism in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing demand and the use of recreational areas have exacerbated the effects of nature-based tourism (NBT) on the environment. Assessment of NBT potential can be an approach to identify suitable areas for recreational development and prevent its development in areas without this capability. This not only reduces the environmental impacts of NBT but also ensures its sustainability. This study applied a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) approach using the weighted linear combination (WLC) method to identify suitable areas for developing NBT in the watershed of Gorgan, northern Iran. The effective criteria which determining suitable areas for recreation were identified and weighted by the Delphi method in three phases. A consensus of opinions was achieved in the third phase with Kendall’s W test factor of 0.608. Therefore, 8 main factors (including 38 sub-factors) and 8 constraints were identified. Then, layers of the factors and constraints were prepared to achieve the MCE process through WLC. Separate MCEs were made for developing extensive and intensive tourism (EX and IT), respectively. In the next step, the recreational potential (low, average, & and high) of the area was identified using a zonal land suitability (ZLS) module based on three scenarios with rigorous, intermediate, and lenient approaches. Results of the scenarios showed that the major areas of the region are suitable for ET development and only small areas are suitable for IT development. The final areas for NBT planning were selected through integrating triple MCE scenarios and achieving ZLS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanization has altered the environment and climate, necessitating a thorough grasp of urban thermal dynamics for sustainable development. The lack of detailed urban information poses a considerable challenge. This study employs the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) framework to delve into the intricate relationship between land surface temperature (LST) zones and both 2/3D urban characteristics. The LCZ map for Bojnourd city, Iran, was prepared, consisting of eleven classes categorized into five built types and six land cover types. The mean LST in the summer of 2021 was derived from Landsat8 using the split-window algorithm (SWA) and divided into seven thermal zones. The research reveals distinctive spatial patterns of LCZs across various Land LST zones. Notably, LCZ2 (Compact mid-rise) and LCZ 3 (Compact low-rise), despite differing heights, share the same thermal zone (Zone3), suggesting influences beyond height on thermal zoning. In contrast, LCZ5 (Open midrise), situated in a cooler thermal zone (Zone2), features more vegetation and taller trees, exhibiting a lower LST range compared to LCZ2 and LCZ3. Class-level metrics (AREA_MN and LPI) offer a similar description of LCZ spatial patterns, while landscape-level metrics like SHDI and IJI provide a more insightful depiction of spatial patterns. The study found that the most appropriate spatial pattern for improving urban thermal conditions involves considering a set of factors such as vegetation presence, land cover proximity, height, and density. This ensures sustainable and green urban development that is in tune with climate change and promotes balanced and harmonious thermal patterns in the urban environment. • LCZs exhibited displayed unique spatial distributions within various LST zones. • Urban thermal environment diversity is crucial for climate change mitigation. • PLAND is key in revealing LCZ dominance and thermal zone contributions. • Neighborhood and proximity of LCZs affect thermal zone formation. • In Zone 1, the cooling effect is notably influenced by LCZ A with dense and tall trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use changes associated with urbanization often have negative impacts on scenic beauty. In this paper, we explore and compare the visual impact of two different scenarios of urban growth including historical urban growth (HUG) and aesthetically sound urban growth (AUG) with two different categories of height for buildings in the city of Gorgan, Iran. This was done by viewshed and landscape metric analysis of different viewpoints and 3D representation of each scenario. The results show that with the AUG scenario, viewsheds are less impacted by new developments than the HUG scenario in all the viewpoints. It can be concluded that building locations can considerably affect the landscape visibility while building height does not impact to the same degree as location. The results of this research, as a Spatial Decision Support System, would help the managers for better understanding of different patterns of urbanization and its effect on landscape view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study demonstrates the integration of landscape aesthetic quality and probable urban growth patterns in urban landscape modelling. This was performed using SLEUTH as a scenario-based urban growth model in Gorgan City of Iran. Future urbanization was predicted under developing three different scenarios including historical, managed and aesthetically sound urban growth up to the year 2030. Multi-Layer Perceptron neural network model was conducted for mapping the aesthetic suitability of the study area. The aesthetic suitability layer was used in the third scenario of SLEUTH model as the excluded layer to protect the scenic patches in future. The results showed that by correct implementation of urban growth policies, 323 ha in the second scenario and 650 ha in the third scenario would be saved. This integrated model would help the planners for a better management of urban landscapes as a Spatial Decision Support System. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and adolescents are at a significantly high risk of mental health problems during their lifetime, among which are depression and anxiety, which are the most common. Life skills education is one of the intervention programmes designed to improve mental well-being and strengthen their ability to cope with the daily stresses of life. This review aimed to identify and evaluate the effect of life skills intervention on the reduction of depression, anxiety and stress among children and adolescents. Following the Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome (PICO) model and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) 2009 checklist, eight databases (Academic Search Complete, CINAHL, Cochrane, MEDLINE, Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science) were systematically reviewed from 2012 to 2020. The search was limited to English papers only. It included published experimental and quasi-experimental studies addressing the effect of life skills interventions on the reduction of at least one of the following mental health disorders: depression, anxiety and stress among children and adolescents (from the age of 5 years old to 18 years old). We used the Joanna Briggs Institute checklist for experimental and quasi-experimental studies to evaluate the quality of the included studies. This study was registered in PROSPERO [CRD42021256603]. The search identified only 10 studies (three experimental and seven quasi-experimental) from 2,160 articles. The number of the participants was 6,714 aged between 10 years old and 19 years old. Three studies in this review focused on depression and anxiety, whereas one study investigated depression and the other anxiety. Three studies targeted only stress and two examined the three outcomes, namely, depression, anxiety and stress. Almost in all studies, the life skills intervention positively impacted mental disorders, considering the differences among males and females. The overall methodological quality of the findings was deemed to be moderate to high. Our results clearly indicated the advantages of life skills programmes among adolescents in different settings and contexts. Nonetheless, the results highlight some important policy implications by emphasising the crucial roles of developers and policymakers in the implementation of appropriate modules and activities. Further research examining life skills intervention with a cultural, gender perspective, age-appropriate and long-term effect is recommended., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest None., (© Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2023.)

This study aimed to assess the prevalence and risk factors of depression, anxiety, stress and low self-esteem among institutional Malaysian adolescents. This cross-sectional descriptive study included 287 adolescents aged 12-18 years living in six selected orphan homes. Study's instruments included Socio-demographic questionnaire, validated Malay version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. The findings revealed that 85.2, 80.1 and 84.7% of participants had depression, anxiety and stress respectively. Females were more likely to be depressed. Furthermore, anxiety was significantly associated with race and age but no significant associations between stress and the demographic factors were found. The study also showed that 70.8% of males and 69.2% of females had low self-esteem and the self-esteem was associated with depression, anxiety and stress.Therefore, mental health problems are very common among adolescents in Malaysian orphanages. Results reveal the urgency of immediate actions to reduce the mental health problems among Malaysian institutional adolescents.

Competing Interests: Conflict of interests The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.

Competing Interests: Conflict of Interests The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests.