A Scientometric Study of Iranian Scientific Productions in the Field of ‎Substance Use and Addiction Research in the Years 2008 to 2012‎

Background: We aimed to evaluate the current status of scientific production in the field of substance use and addiction in Iran, to determine its trend and pattern during a 5 years period (2008-2012). Methods: Using relevant keywords, we searched three international databases (Web of Science, Medline, and Scopus) and two local databases (SID and Iranmedex) to locate the papers published in the field of addiction by Iranian researchers during 2008-2012. Findings: The results indicated a significant increase in the number of studies published in the field during the 5 years study period, with more than half of the papers published in the last 2 years. Results also indicated that over half (53.5%) of the papers were published in Persian-language Iranian Journals, but the rate of increase in the number of papers published in English was slightly higher than that of Persian ones. Opioid substances were found to be the topic of approximately 75% of the papers. Studies on key topics, including national surveys, evaluation of current programs, addiction in women and children, and so forth, were found to be highly lacking. Conclusion: Results suggested a significant growth in the scientific production of Iran in the field of substance use and addiction. However, considering the significance of substance use and dependence in the country, and compared to the scientific production of developed countries, the amount of research conducted in the field of addiction in Iran is still limited

Importance of good groundwater governance in economic development: The case of western Iran

peer reviewedOver the previous half century, increased groundwater mining has had significant social and economic implications that are still going on. Many solutions and frameworks have been proposed in the world to overcome these problems. In this study, we attempted to analyze the conditions of Hamedan-Bahar plain in terms of groundwater governance (GG). The groundwater governance indicators were evaluated using the Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). In general, the status of the groundwater governance (GG) indicators in the region shows that these indicators are all lower than the standard level and are not in good condition. Based on the results, the constructs of policy-making (β = 0.867), information and data (β = 0.866), and stakeholder engagement (β = 0.859) had the greatest effect on the latent variable (i.e., groundwater governance), while the other constructs had a moderate effect. Among the three constructs of water governance, the efficiency construct (β = 0.404) with the indicators of information and data, budget, legislation, and innovative measures had the greatest impact on the governance of groundwater resources in Hamedan-Bahar plain. Finally, the overall goodness of fit (GOF = 0.77) reflects the excellent fit of the model. According to the results obtained, the water system managers and policy makers in the province should increase stakeholders' knowledge and awareness about new frameworks of water resources governance. A robust framework is presented for policy makers and planners to identify the gaps and problems of water resources. Furthermore, various aspects and features should be emphasized simultaneously so as to achieve sustainable governance of groundwater resources