Public Open Space Development for Elderly People by Using the DANP-V Model to Establish Continuous Improvement Strategies towards a Sustainable and Healthy Aging Society

Using a Hybrid Multiattribute Decision-Making Model for Evaluating the Sustainable Development Potential of Characteristic Towns and Exploring Development Planning Strategies

In recent years, with the development of ’China’s new urbanization, the “characteristic town movement” with the development of industrial economy first has brought problems to a large number of rural settlements, such as no cultural planning, no consumption of industry, and no soul. Then, in reality, there are still a large number of rural settlements under the planning of the upper-level local government, with the goal of developing into a characteristic town in the future. Therefore, this study believes that there is an urgent need to build a framework for evaluating the construction potential of rural settlements with sustainable characteristic towns. Not only that but also a decision analysis model should be provided for real-world empirical cases. This model needs to cover the assessment of the sustainable development potential of characteristic towns as the goal and the formulation of improvement strategies. This study combines the data collection of current characteristic town development rating reports, applies data exploration technology to extract core impact elements and obtain hierarchical decision rules, integrates expert domain knowledge with DEMATEL technology, and establishes an impact network relationship diagram between core impact elements. At the same time, the representative characteristic town cases are assessed for their sustainable development potential, and the modified VIKOR technique is applied to clarify the actual problems of the empirical cases, in an attempt to determine whether the development potential and development plan of the characteristic town meet the sustainable development needs from the pre-evaluation mechanism.

The influencing factors of elder-friendly public open spaces promoting older adults' health in deprived urban neighborhoods: Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling approach

Background

Public open spaces (POSs) is considered a feature of the built environment that is important for physical, mental, and social health during life and contributes to active aging. Hence, policymakers, practitioners, and academics have recently focused on indicators of elder-friendly environments, particularly in developing countries.

Objective

This study aimed to examine the attributes of POSs and socio-demographic status that positively influence older people's health in Tehran's deprived neighborhoods using a pathway model.

Methods

We employed a pathway model to explore the relationships between place function, place preferences, and process in the environment as the perceived (subjective) positive features of POSs associated with older adults' health, compared to the objective attributes of POSs. We also included personal characteristics, including physical, mental, and social dimensions, to explore how these factors are related to the health of older adults. To assess the subjective perception of POSs attributes, 420 older adults were asked to complete Elder-Friendly Urban Spaces Questionnaire (EFUSQ) from April 2018 to September 2018 in the 10th District of Tehran. We used the SF-12 questionnaire and "The self-Rated Social Health of Iranians Questionnaire to measure older people's physical and mental health and elder social health." Geographical Information System (GIS) measures (Street connectivity, Residential density, Land use mix, Housing quality) were derived as objective measures of neighborhood features.

Results

According to our findings, the personal aspect, socio-demographic status (such as Gender, Marital status, Education, Occupation as well as Frequency of being present in POSs), place preferences (Security, Fear of Falling, Way Finding and Perceived Aesthetics), and process in the environment's latent (Social Environment, Cultural Environment, Place Attachment, and Life Satisfaction)constructs collectively influenced the elders' health.

Conclusion

We found positive associations between Place preference, Process-in-environment, and personal health-related factors to elders' health (social, mental, and physical). The path model presented in the study could be guided in future research in this area and inform the development of evidence-based urban planning and design interventions for improve older adults health and social functioning and quality of life.

EXPLORING HOTEL APPRAISAL DETERMINANTS AMID SALES TREND DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: USING A DANP-MV MODEL

In the current hotel sales trend due to COVID-19 pandemic, few empirical studies have discussed hotel appraisal determinants and prioritization in terms of operational efficiency. This paper presents an innovative approach for appraisal practice efficiency based on hotel appraisal approach and the multiple criteria decision making (MCDM). The DANPmV model is used to identify the determinants related to actual hotel appraisal practices, including the techniques of the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), DEMATEL-based ANP (DANP), and modified VIKOR. The result of influential network relationship map (INRM) and the gaps of determinants to the aspiration level may contribute to improving hotel appraisal efficacy. In practice, the “discounted cash flow” becomes the most influential determinant (dimension) and the “market survey” is the most manageable one. More findings together with an action plan are presented and useful in the real world. Therefore, this innovative approach could help hotel appraisers and related parties, such as hospitality managers, investors, lenders, and decision makers, better manage the evaluation determinants of hotel appraisal efficacy.

Smart Memory Storage Solution and Elderly Oriented Smart Equipment Design under Deep Learning

This study explores the memory characteristics of elderly individuals to design effective smart devices based on smart memory storage solutions under deep learning to improve the learning efficiency of elderly individuals. The different memory formation stages in the existing human brain are analysed. A smart memory storage solution based on memory-enhanced embedded learning is constructed based on meta-learning under deep learning, which reduces the cost of learning new tasks to the greatest extent. Finally, the performance of the proposed solution is verified using different datasets. The results reveal that the solution based on deep learning has obvious effects on different datasets, with an average accuracy rate of 99.7%. By synthesizing a large number of target sample features, this solution can lower the learning difficulty and improve the learning effect. The proposed elderly oriented smart device effectively reduces the shortcomings in the current market and lowers the learning difficulty, which provides an important reference for further enriching devices in the ageing market.

A Hybrid Multiple-Attribute Decision-Making Model for Evaluating the Esthetic Expression of Environmental Design Schemes

A built environment with high-quality esthetic expression can positively contribute to key agendas of urban development. Environmental design is the design of physical environments that mainly respond to people’s behavioral needs and sensory preferences based on environment–behavior relations. Practitioners in this industry often work on esthetic quality improvement. Although previous studies have provided valuable knowledge about important elements of built environment esthetic expression, limited research efforts have been devoted to building a systematic framework that comprises key evaluation elements with high local adaptability and the influence relationships among them. The standards and preferences of esthetic expression in environmental design scheme evaluation are context-based. Providing an effective way to clarify evaluation elements with high local adaptability and the relationships among them may help reduce ambiguity, enhance consensus, and increase efficiency in the decision-making process. Therefore, this study adopted the esthetic expression evaluation of environmental design in China as an example and produced a hybrid decision analysis model by integrating the fuzzy Delphi method (FDM), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method to evaluate the esthetic expression of environmental design schemes. A hierarchical evaluation framework composed of 5 dimensions and 18 evaluation elements was constructed in this study. The key design elements under each dimension and the influence relationships among them were also identified. This paper offers insights into the theoretical investigation and practical development of a systematic evaluation of the esthetic expression of environmental design schemes.

Exploring Strategies for Improving Green Open Spaces in Old Downtown Residential Communities from the Perspective of Public Health to Enhance the Health and Well-Being of the Aged

Based on the trend of global aging, people are paying more and more attention to the health of the elderly and the improvement of green open spaces. However, few studies have focused on strategies to improve green spaces in response to this trend. Especially, with the outbreak of COVID-19, an urgent need to develop a sustainable system strategy to improve the health of the elderly in residential communities in old districts has emerged. Traditional improvement strategies based on current situation evaluation often focus on the most prominent practical problems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to provide theoretical research and practical improvement strategies for green open spaces in old downtown residential communities to improve the health and well-being of the elderly. In response to this problem, this research proposes an alternative method based on causality (FDM-DANP-mV model), by extracting 23 green open space elements that affect the health of the elderly and dividing them into three dimensions, to form a preliminary evaluation framework. On this basis, the more effective and feasible standard elements are screened out, and the influence relationship behind the elements is clarified. Then, the sustainable development strategy is systematically discussed in three practical cases. This allows for the analysis of the present situation to not only identify the current significant problems but also to capture the source of the influence behind the real problems based on the clarification of the dominant influence relationship. The actual value of this study is to provide a key design decision basis for the improvement of the green open spaces in old downtown residential communities, aiming at avoiding waste to the greatest extent under the premise of limited resources and gradually promoting the improvement of the urban built environment to promote the health and well-being of the elderly.

Managing Perceived Loneliness and Social-Isolation Levels for Older Adults: A Survey with Focus on Wearables-Based Solutions

As an inevitable process, the number of older adults is increasing in many countries worldwide. Two of the main problems that society is being confronted with more and more, in this respect, are the inter-related aspects of feelings of loneliness and social isolation among older adults. In particular, the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and its associated restrictions have exacerbated the loneliness and social-isolation problems. This paper is first and foremost a comprehensive survey of loneliness monitoring and management solutions, from the multidisciplinary perspective of technology, gerontology, socio-psychology, and urban built environment. In addition, our paper also investigates machine learning-based technological solutions with wearable-sensor data, suitable to measure, monitor, manage, and/or diminish the levels of loneliness and social isolation, when one also considers the constraints and characteristics coming from social science, gerontology, and architecture/urban built environments points of view. Compared to the existing state of the art, our work is unique from the cross-disciplinary point of view, because our authors' team combines the expertise from four distinct domains, i.e., gerontology, social psychology, architecture, and wireless technology in addressing the two inter-related problems of loneliness and social isolation in older adults. This work combines a cross-disciplinary survey of the literature in the four aforementioned domains with a proposed wearable-based technological solution, introduced first as a generic framework and, then, exemplified through a simple proof of concept with dummy data. As the main findings, we provide a comprehensive view on challenges and solutions in utilizing various technologies, particularly those carried by users, also known as wearables, to measure, manage, and/or diminish the social isolation and the perceived loneliness among older adults. In addition, we also summarize the identified solutions which can be used for measuring and monitoring various loneliness- and social isolation-related metrics, and we present and validate, through a simple proof-of-concept mechanism, an approach based on machine learning for predicting and estimating loneliness levels. Open research issues in this field are also discussed.

Enhancing the Health and Well-Being of People with Chronic Diseases: Assessment and Sustainable Development Planning for Therapeutic Landscapes after Urban Expansion

Under the influence of economic, environmental, and social structural changes, urban space expands and contracts to varying degrees and the everyday urban landscape changes in response. Over the past 20 years, a large number of cities in China have undergone a brief but rapid urban expansion and are moving toward shrinking cities. Most of these cities are now facing social problems such as an aging population and a high prevalence of chronic diseases. Therefore, the “therapeutic” role and impact of everyday landscapes in these cities need to be examined in the context of urban development processes through appropriate assessment methods. Therefore, this study applies the ANP-mV model to examine the therapeutic nature of everyday urban landscapes in different development periods, with the aim of enhancing the health and well-being of people with chronic diseases. Firstly, this study uses the city of Jinzhou in Northeast China as an example to develop a framework for assessing the therapeutic nature of everyday urban landscapes based on the health care needs of people with chronic diseases; secondly, it examines the therapeutic nature of the former Jinzhou Suburban Riverfront Forest Park as it has developed and evolved over the past 16 years; finally, it explores place-making and regeneration strategies for therapeutic landscapes from the perspectives of dynamic impact and sustainable development to enhance chronic illness patients' well-being. At the theoretical level, this study contributes by providing a methodology and research ideas for examining the “therapeutic” nature of everyday urban landscapes and proposing further development plans for renewal, constructing a framework for assessing therapeutic landscapes, and elucidating the relationship between networks of influence and the relative importance of various assessment dimensions/elements. At the practical application level, the contribution of this study is to provide local policymakers with a key decision basis for the future development planning of the East Lake Forest Park. The aim is to explore landscape creation and regeneration strategies for the East Lake Forest Park in the context of Jinzhou's progressive move toward a shrinking city, in order to sustain the well-being of the chronically ill.

Using DANP-mV Model to Improve the Paid Training Measures for Travel Agents amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic bringing travel to a standstill, an initiative of paid training for travel agencies was launched by the government. The purpose of this research is to improve the effectiveness of this measure, which is fundamental to the next tourism crisis management. Based on the related theories of tourism crisis management, organizational learning, and behavior adaption, the DANP-mV model developed an evaluation system for examining the training measure. The result of an influential network relationship map (INRM) shows that using influential effects, the “policy object” dimension and its criterion “subsidiary” should be the first improvement priority. To effectively achieve the aspiration level, the gap values point out “training courses” dimension and its criterion “excellent services” are first to improve. An action plan is produced containing all the findings and made available for easy indexing. It may contribute to the current measure improvements. Therefore, this innovative approach could help decision makers with tourism crisis policy making and help the sector with evolving learning readiness to remain sustainable.

The Key Success Factors for Attracting Foreign Investment in the Post-Epidemic Era

The global economy has been hit by the unexpected COVID-19 outbreak, and foreign investment has been seen as one of the most important tools to boost the economy. However, in the highly uncertain post-epidemic era, determining how to attract foreign investment is the key to revitalizing the economy. What are the important factors for governments to attract investment, and how to improve them? This will be an important decision in the post-epidemic era. Therefore, this study develops a novel decision-making model to explore the key factors in attracting foreign investment. The model first uses fuzzy Delphi to explore the key factors of attracting foreign investment in the post-epidemic era, and then uses DEMATEL to construct the causal relationships among these factors. To overcome the uncertainty of various information sources and inconsistent messages from decision-makers, this study combined neutrosophic set theory to conduct quantitative analysis. The results of the study show that the model is suitable for analyzing the key factors of investment attraction in the post-epidemic period. Based on the results of the study, we also propose strategies that will help the relevant policy-making departments to understand the root causes of the problem and to formulate appropriate investment strategies in advance. In addition, the model is also used for comparative analysis, which reveals that this novel approach can integrate more incomplete information and present expert opinions in a more objective way.

Application of Hybrid Multiple Attribute Decision-Making Model to Explore the Design Strategies of Children's Facilities in Neighborhood Open Spaces Based on Sensory Integration Theory

In recent years, the prevalence of sensory integration disorders in children in urban areas has increased. Most existing sensory integration treatments are located in hospital-based sensory integration units; however, medical resources are extremely limited, making it difficult to guarantee the appropriate treatment time and intervention results for many children. The concept of sensory integration therapy must be disseminated widely and correctly to meet these children's needs. Although most urban communities have a high number of children's spaces, these spaces require improvement. This study proposes the incorporation of the concept of sensory integration therapy into neighborhood open spaces for children to positively impact children's sensory development. The purpose of this study is to determine the effective facility factors of an occupational therapy room, translate them into a community facility design, clarify the categories and relative importance of each design attribute, and explore the design strategies of the children's facilities in neighborhood open spaces based on the sensory integration theory. This study investigates the importance of the sensory integration treatment level. The facilities in neighborhood open spaces for children can be considered systemic structures consisting of five partitioned units with different levels of importance among the synergistic components within each unit. These structures will enable children to experience sensory stimulation during daily outdoor play and will serve as preventive and therapeutic tools.

Improvement Path for Resource-Constrained Cities Identified Using an Environmental Co-Governance Assessment Framework Based on BWM-mV Model

Global warming and extreme weather have increased most people’s awareness of the problem of environmental destruction. In the domain of sustainable development, environmental governance has received considerable scholarly attention. However, protecting and improving the environment requires not only substantial capital investment but also cooperation among stakeholders. Therefore, based on the network structure of stakeholders, the best–worst method (BWM) and modified Vlsekriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje method were combined to form an environmental co-governance assessment framework that can be used to evaluate the effects of various policies and identify strategies for further improvement through data analysis (henceforth the BWM-mV model). This mechanism is not only useful for evaluating the effectiveness of environmental governance policies but also for generating suggestions to enhance these policies. Hence, the BWM-mV model is particularly suitable for local governments with limited resources in time, money, or labor. Pingxiang City Government is currently subject to such limitations and was therefore selected as the subject of an empirical case study. The results of this study revealed that the aspects (i.e., criteria) the Pingxiang City Government should urgently improve on pertain to a high-quality information communication platform (C₁₃) and smooth joint decision-making by stakeholders (C₂₄).

Systematic Evaluation Model for Developing Sustainable World-Class Universities: An East Asian Perspective

Due to the unbalance between Asian and Western countries in terms of higher education development and pressure from global competition, universities in several East Asian countries have striven to become world-class universities (WCUs) by actively assessing themselves using various global ranking systems and subsequently investing in key performance indicators. Numerous scholars have suggested that for these East Asian catch-up universities (EACUs), independently improving the elements related to high-weight indicators could produce short-term increases in ranking performance; however, this approach is not conducive to sustainable development. In addition, little is currently understood regarding sustainable development strategies for developing EACUs into WCUs. This study proposes a systematic evaluation model for self-assessment and the creation of strategies to transform EACUs into sustainable WCUs. The fuzzy Delphi method was used to determine criteria for a new evaluation framework, and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method was employed to construct the influential relationships among the criteria. Two cases were then selected to demonstrate the superiority of the model for creating sustainable development strategies for EACUs. This study provides a systematic perspective and a useful tool for decision-makers at EACUs to achieve sustainable development goals.

A Hybrid MADM Model for Newly Graduated Nurse's Competence Evaluation and Improvement

Nursing departments in hospitals must evaluate the practical competency of newly graduated nurses and assist them to increase their competence. Competency assessments often consider multiple qualitative attributes and use expert knowledge as the basis for decision-making. This study proposes a hybrid multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) model that determines practical competency of the newly graduated nurse as an evaluation framework. A causal influence-network diagram (CIND) and influential weights are obtained from nursing experts' clinical experience using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL)-based analytical network process analysis (DANP). The MOORA-AS method is then used to evaluate the ability expectation ratio-gap for newly graduated nurses in practice. The CIND is used to allow each newly graduated nurse to reduce the performance ratio-gaps between the current level and the aspirational level from a systematic perspective. The empirical data applies to a third-class and a first-class hospital in China. The results show that the proposed hybrid MADM model has reliable results and allows nursing department decision-makers/managers to easily evaluate and systematically improve competencies for newly graduated nurses.

Eliciting Correlated Weights for Multi-Criteria Group Decision Making with Generalized Canonical Correlation Analysis

The proper solution of a multi-criteria group decision making (MCGDM) problem usually involves a series of critical issues that are to be dealt with, among which two are noteworthy, namely how to assign weights to the (possibly distinct) judgment criteria used by the different decision makers (DMs) and how to reach a satisfactory level of agreement between their individual decisions. Here we present a novel methodology to address these issues in an integrated and robust way, referred to as the canonical multi-criteria group decision making (CMCGDM) approach. CMCGDM is based on a generalized version of canonical correlation analysis (GCCA), which is employed for simultaneously computing the criteria weights that are associated with all DMs. Because the elicited weights maximize the linear correlation between all criteria at once, it is expected that the consensus measured between the DMs takes place in a more natural way, not necessitating the creation and combination of separate rankings for the different groups of criteria. CMCGDM also makes use of an extended version of TOPSIS, a multi-criteria technique that considers the symmetry of the distances to the positive and negative ideal solutions. The practical usefulness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through two revisited examples that were taken from the literature as well as other simulated cases. The achieved results reveal that CMCGDM is indeed a promising approach, being more robust to the problem of ranking irregularities than the extended version of TOPSIS when applied without GCCA.

Strategies of Managing Coach Driver Job Stress for Sustainable Coach Tourism Industry—The Use of DANP-V Model

Coach drivers are integral to the coach tourism industry. However, they are susceptible to job stress in the tourism context. Few studies address this problem from a job stress theory and tourism scenario. This study, thus, examines the network relationships between criteria and proposes a physical and workable improvement plan. A novel DEMATEL-based ANP and VIKOR (DANP-V) model is used to examine the job stress criteria based on the transaction stress framework in the tourist coach context of Taiwan. The expert survey produced useful results. The influential network relation map (INRM) illustrates the sequence of improvement is job stressors, cognitive coping strategies, and stress outcomes. The gap values of the modified VIKOR suggest the first priority to reach the aspired level is reducing stress outcomes. However, teaching active action as a strategy to cope with job stress is a long-term goal. These results are formulated into an action plan and can be easily indexed and followed. The findings have practical implications for decision-makers and coach drivers and may contribute to coach driver job-related stress management, ultimately, helping the sustainability of coach tourism.

Application of the Kano Model and DEMATEL Technique to Explore Sustainable Promotion Strategies for Thai-Chinese Temples as Tourist Attractions

With the development of the modern social economy, temple tourism has become a lucrative industry. Because of their distinct architecture, rituals, and history, temples have become an important part of the sustainable development of temple economies. Thailand, a tourism-rich country in Southeast Asia, has many Chinese temples, most of which have developed into well-known tourist attractions. However, little research has explored attraction factor categories of Thai-Chinese temples as cultural tourist attractions, and also the relationships among these factor categories. This knowledge is important for assessing and developing improvement strategies of Thai-Chinese temples for achieving a sustainable temple economy. Thus, this study aims to identify appropriate ways to identify the constituent attraction factor categories of Thai-Chinese temples as cultural tourist attractions and how they are prioritized, considering the complex interaction relationships among them. The research findings show that 12 main factor categories under the three dimensions, three attributive classifications with different priorities to which the 12 categories belong, and the complex interaction relationships among factor categories are identified. Combining the priorities on attributive classifications and the priorities on interaction relationships, the sustainable improvement strategies of Thai-Chinese temples are established. This paper extends previous research on Chinese temples, offers insights into the theoretical investigation of Thai-Chinese temples as tourist attractions, and provides decision makers with an integrated and practical way to establish priorities of multiple attraction factor categories, in order to make sustainable improvement strategies of Thai-Chinese temples under the consideration of rational allocation of resources.

The Impact of Street Space Perception Factors on Elderly Health in High-Density Cities in Macau—Analysis Based on Street View Images and Deep Learning Technology

The urban space environment has been proven to be related to the health of the elderly. However, as a high-density city, Macau’s limited urban space must cope with the growing population and the arrival of an aging society. In the existing studies, less attention has been paid to Macau, especially the relationship between Macanese elderly and urban space. This study uses Baidu Street View (BSV) on the Macau Peninsula and conducts field surveys to obtain street view data to evaluate the openness, greenness, interface coverage, and road area ratio of street space and its association with the physical and mental health of the elderly and social health. The results show that the data truly reflect the overall street space conditions on the Macau Peninsula. The street openness, greenery rate, and interface enclosure are all related to the elderly in various evaluations in areas with a higher population dependency index and aging index. Human space perception is related to health gain, and road area ratio is weaker than other indicators. The research results have certain policy implications and have practical significance for city managers and designers.

Reform of Chinese Universities in the Context of Sustainable Development: Teacher Evaluation and Improvement Based on Hybrid Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Model

China is pushing universities to implement reforms in order to achieve the sustainable development goals, but with the development level of teachers becoming the key restricting factor. In this sense, teacher evaluation and improvement act as positive factors for China to achieve the 2030 sustainable development goals. Previous studies on teacher evaluation have usually assumed that the relationship between the evaluation criteria is independent, with the weights of each standard derived from this assumption. However, this assumption is often not in line with the actual situation. Decisions based on these studies are likely to waste resources and may negatively impact the efficiency and effectiveness of teachers’ sustainable development. This study developed an integrated model for the evaluation and improvement of teachers based on the official teacher evaluation criteria of China’s International Scholarly Exchange Curriculum (ISEC) programme and a multiple criteria decision-making methodology. First, a decision-making trial and a laboratory-based analytical network process were used to establish an influential network-relation diagram (INRD) and influential weights under ISEC standards. Next, an important performance analysis was used to integrate the weight and performance of each standard to produce a worst-performance criterion set for each university teacher. Finally, the worst performance set used an INRD to derive an improvement strategy with a cause–effect relationship for each teacher. This study chose a Chinese university that has implemented teaching reform for our case study. The results show that our developed model can assist decision-makers to improve their current evaluations of teachers and to provide a cause–effect improvement strategy for education reform committees and higher education institutions.

Neighborhood Experiences of People Over Age 50: Factor Structure and Validity of a Scale

Background and Objectives

Various aspects of the neighborhood environment have been shown to correlate with older adults’ health. Socio-ecological models of health posit that interventions in the living environment can influence population health. Yet, there are no scales to comprehensively measure older people’s experiences of their neighborhoods especially in dense urban contexts. This study analyzes the psychometric properties and factor structure of a holistic measure of Older People’s Neighborhood Experience (OpenX) to understand constituent factors of residential satisfaction and well-being in dense urban contexts.

Research Design and Methods

Participants were 1,011 community-dwelling older adults aged 50 and older in Singapore. Face-to-face interviews were conducted. Questions were drawn to measure physical and social aspects of the neighborhood as well as sociodemographic variables. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to obtain a shorter version; content validity, internal consistency, and external validity were assessed.

Results

The OpenX has a 4-dimensional structure, explaining 45.5% of the variance of neighborhood experience. They are communal affordance, embeddedness, environment pleasantness, and time outdoors. Good reliability and validity were found, including Cronbach’s alpha of 0.827. The correlation between neighborhood experience and objectively measured proximity to parks and fitness corners approached significance (p = .082).

Discussion and Implications

The 16-item OpenX demonstrated good psychometric properties. With reference to the transdisciplinary neighborhood health framework, it is useful for assessing older adults’ neighborhood environment, identifying neighborhoods for pilot population health interventions, and understanding how the neighborhood environment affects older adults’ health.

A Qualitative-Quantitative Evaluation Model for Systematical Improving the Creativity of Students’ Design Scheme

For teaching architectural design, if creativity in students’ practice assignments can be effectively evaluated, it will help make certain the ranking of the performance of different design schemes and provide a critical decision basis for the continuous improvement of each scheme. Based on the review of related literature, this study integrates the grounded theory (GT) from the social sciences’ domain and the method of multiple attribute decision making (MADM) from operations research by analyzing their advantages and congruence to create a qualitative–quantitative evaluation model such as the GT-DANP-mV (GT, DEMATEL-based analytic network process [ANP] with modified VIKOR) model. Then, the characteristics and advantages of this evaluation model were examined by applying it to empirical research. Overall, this evaluation model fully utilized the advantages of the analytical techniques of GT and the MADM method to solve the corresponding problems at different stages of the evaluation study, which realizes their complementary advantages. More crucial is that, whether in the related evaluation study or practice assignments, the application of the GT-DANP-mV model could facilitate the formulation of continuous improvement strategies for architectural design schemes based on performance evaluation results under conditions of limited resources.

Developing a Sustainable Long-Term Ageing Health Care System Using the DANP-mV Model: Empirical Case of Taiwan

Most of the baby boomers born after the Second World War (WWII) have passed the age of 65, meaning they have gradually lost their social functions and positions, and are facing the need for care. In Taiwan, the lack of a long-term care mechanism is having a certain degree of impact on society as a whole, and thus, it is important to have a mechanism to take care of the elderly. In order to make this system sustainable, sufficient funds and continuous improvement are important factors. In the past, in order to avoid the illegal transfer of benefits, the social welfare mechanism avoided the use of for-profit organizations. However, as the economic environment declines, the role of for-profit organizations should be considered. This study defines the long-term ageing health care system using five major dimensions and 20 criteria. The DANP-mV model was used to analyze Taiwan's current system and identify problems, and then to develop a continuous improvement strategy from the perspective of the source of the problem in order to improve long-term ageing health care.

Improving Sustainable Mobile Health Care Promotion: A Novel Hybrid MCDM Method

Identifying the key influencing factors that affected users’ adoption of sustainable mobile health care and improving alternative mobile health services continuously can help ordinary consumers (especially vulnerable populations) use extensive health resources cheaply and conveniently; which can increase the quality and equity of health services; so as to promote the sustainable development of medical resources. We integrated decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMETEL)-based analytic network process (DANP) and a modified VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method to form a DDANPMV (DEMATEL+ DANP + Modified VIKOR) model to examine consumers’ adoption of mobile health care. This method was developed to not only help decision-makers evaluate alternative mobile health care and determine the best option, but also use to identify and improve the performance gap of alternative products with the goal of satisfying the aspirations of consumers. Four types of mobile health care products were analyzed. The results indicate that social norms; product image; and consumer trust are three key factors in consumer adoption. The results can guide policy design and implementation. The government and enterprises should improve mobile health care through these three aspects.

Use of a Modified DANP-mV Model to Improve Quality of Life in Rural Residents: The Empirical Case of Xingshisi Village, China

Climate change-related anomalies have increased public concern regarding environmental protection. This has opened newer rural development avenues. In this regard, livability of villages is crucial; it can be evaluated based on the villagers’ quality of life (QoL). The WHOQOL-BREF, a comprehensive cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary scale proposed by the World Health Organization to assess QoL, has aided in assessing and improving QoL in different regions. However, the factors of this instrument are mutually influential, necessitating an improvement strategy considering the entire system. This problem may be resolved using the DANP-mV model. However, the traditional DANP-mV model includes many items and responding to all of them is difficult for experts. Therefore, by using the case of Xingshisi Village in China, this study proposed a modified DANP-mV model to provide additional suggestions for systematic improvement of the QoL and livability in the village. Xingshisi is a model village built according to an aspirational benchmark; however, different from the traditional definition of a benchmark, this village exhibits room for improvement. Although the modified model reduces the number of questions from 650 to 168, its effect remains similar to that of the traditional model. Moreover, in the modified model, physical capacity (D₁) presented the largest dimensional gap. The interaction among the factors indicated that considering the effect of the environment (D₄) and developing a systematic improvement strategy are necessary to improve the livability of villages facing limited resources.

Impacts of Leisure and Tourism on the Elderly’s Quality of Life in Intimacy: A Comparative Study in Japan

Highly social activities like leisure and tourism are considered to have positive effects on the elderly’s mental health. Taking Japan as a case study, this research aims to clarify how leisure and tourism contribute to the elderly’s quality of life (QOL) in the domains of leisure and intimacy by comparing populated and depopulated areas. Such research has strong implications for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through healthy aging, but relevant efforts are quite limited. In this study, leisure and tourism behaviors are captured by visit frequency, travel party and expenditure. Quality of life is measured by happiness and life satisfaction in different life domains, in line with the life-oriented approach. Data were collected in 2014 via a nationwide online survey in Japan. Applying a structural equation model (SEM) approach, it is found that leisure behavior contributes to maintaining the elderly’s QOL in leisure life and intimacy domains. Tourism behavior only contributes to QOL in populated areas. Leisure activities strongly enhance QOL in terms of intimacy and improve the neighborhood relationship of the elderly in depopulated areas and family life in populated areas. Enriching daily leisure activities for the elderly would improve their intimate relationships in depopulated areas.

Using Location Quotients to Determine Public–Natural Space Spatial Patterns: A Zurich Model

The layout relationship between the public space system and the natural system of cities determines the trend of urban spatial forms. From the perspective of the integration of landscape architecture and urban design discipline, this paper generalizes three restriction/dependence relationship modes between urban public space and natural landscape layout: (1) overlapping mode, (2) separation mode, and (3) the mode of edge combination. Using Zurich, Switzerland, as a case study, this paper quantitatively explores the layout relationship between public space and natural landscape using the location quotient method. The research findings reveal an obvious layer distribution trend of Zurich urban public space and natural factors: the public space and mountain layout have a clear separation relationship. The regressive equation is PQ = −0.188lnMQ + 0.660, forming the mutually supplementary mechanism of the advantageous resources of public activities. The Zurich model shows that when a proper relationship is established among the natural system and the urban public space, human activities, and the public activity centers of the city, the new system provides significant ecological and social benefits. This finding provides an exemplary reference for urban construction in other countries.

Using the D-DANP-mV Model to Explore the Continuous System Improvement Strategy for Sustainable Development of Creative Communities

With globalization, the notion of “creative city” has become a core concept of many cities in the world development policies, with real properties being upgraded or used to change, renewal is being conducted, and creative industries are emerging. This trend has reached its peak in the past decade, with different forms and scales gathering global development momentum among the creative communities to promote the development of creative economies. In recent years, however, there was still skepticism about the sustainability of the current creative communities. Many scholars have pointed out that signs of unsustainability have begun to appear in many creative communities. To overcome these obstacles, the development of rational and highly effective improvement strategy requires a dynamic thinking process. Therefore, this study employs the DEMATEL-based ANP with modified VIKOR (D-DANP-mV) model in presenting an assessment framework for the sustainability of creative communities. This system is used to assess the sustainability of current creative communities and determine how to solve their problems. Thus, continuous and systemic improvement strategies can be developed to achieve the aim of sustainable development. Two creative communities in Taiwan, Taichung Cultural and Creative Industries Park (TCCIP), and Shen-Ji New Village (SJNV), are used as case studies in this study. Based on the concept of systematic improvement from fundamental issues, the results indicate that the improvement priorities can be determined by applying the D-DANP-mV model. This approach is different from those found by a conventional method with the hypothesis of independent criteria (e.g., diversification of creative talents in TCCIP), and cannot use for performance improvement (e.g., only can be used for ranking and selection among alternatives). Considering these points, unreasonable premises, biased errors, and lack of some real application functions in the process of resource allocation could be more efficient improvement strategies generated in this proposed model.