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In order to mitigate/prevent the risks of landslides, one of the essential tools that can be used to manage and plan the development of human settlements is landslide susceptibility. The two metaheuristic algorithms explored in this paper are the SCE and VSA algorithms used to optimize the artificial neural network (ANN) model. By integrating the two algorithms with the artificial neural network model, we try to determine its optimum computational parameters in order to generate the landslide susceptibility mapping for the Kurdistan province in Iran. Sixteen causative factors of landslides are included in the spatial database. The landslide susceptibility maps were generated in a GIS medium, and in order to evaluate the employed predictive models, the criterion of the area under the curve (AUC) was employed. This investigation includes 1072 landslide events, which are divided as follows: one-third as testing data and two-thirds as training data (i.e., a 75:25 ratio). The results indicate that after using the abovementioned algorithms, the AUC increased noticeably from 0.708 to 0.788 for SCE-MLP and from 0.744 to 0.818 for VSA-MLP in the training phase. The criterion of the area under the curve was utilized in order to evaluate the accuracy of the employed probabilistic models. Incidentally, the comparable AUCs calculated for the VSA-MLP testing databases and the obtained AUCs were 0.818, 0.801, 0.791, 0.786, 0.784, 0.778, 0.777, 0.776, 0.754 and 0.744, respectively for population size in training databases equal to 50, 350, 500, 150, 450, 200, 400, 300, 100 to and 250. Also, in case of SCE-MLP, the training and testing AUC were found (0.878, 0.865, 0.851, 0.850, 0.819, 0.816, 0.815, 0.781, 0.760, and 0.756) and (0.788, 0.782, 0.759, 0.744, 0.727, 0.720, 0.718, 0.713 and 0.708). The best fit for swarm size conditions of the SCE-MLP and VSA-MLP model showed 150 and 350, respectively. The acquired results indicate that the VSA-ANN model has a better predictive capability in optimization of the structure of the artificial neural network model and computational parameters in comparison with the SCE-ANN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recruiting a qualitative phenomenological approach, the present study aimed to reflect on the first-grade teachers' lived experiences of the major challenges facing online education in Iran's primary schools in the academic year 2020-21. The total number of participants was 10 first-grade teachers working in primary schools in the city of Yazd, Iran, selected using the purposive sampling method. The data collection tool was also a semi-structured interview, whose outcomes were analyzed via the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) developed by Smith et al. (1997). To determine the validity of the data obtained, the opinions of some qualitative researchers!and participants, were exploited. Coding was further performed and then compared by the researcher and one other expert in qualitative research. Ultimately, the firstgrade teachers' lived experiences of online education were delineated and developed into 7 main themes and 30 subthemes. Accordingly, the main themes of "evaluation", "uncertainties and limitations", "emerging issues", and "interactions", were established with reference to the first research question, focused on the online education challenges perceived by these teachers. Then, the main themes of "creative adaptability" and "production and exploitation" were created in response to the second research question about teachers' strategies adopted to cope with online education challenges. The main theme of "experience formation grounds", comprised of the sub-themes of "specific grounds" and "general grounds", was further achieved concerning the third research question, namely, the grounds of teachers' experience formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dust storm is a major environmental problem affecting many arid regions worldwide. The novel contribution of this study is combining indicators extracted from RS- and statistic-based predictive models to spatial mapping of land susceptibility to dust emissions in a very important dust source area in the borders of Iran and Iraq (Khuzestan province in Iran and Al-Basrah and Maysan provinces in Iraq). In this research, remote sensing (RS) techniques and machine learning techniques, including multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS), random forest (RF), and logistic regression (LR), were used for dust source identification and susceptibility map preparation. To this end, 152 DSA for the period of 2005–2020 were identified in the study area. Of these DSA data, 70% was assigned to the Dust Source Susceptibility Mapping (DSSM) (training dataset) and 30% to model validation. Consequently, six factors (i.e., soil, lithology, slope, normalized vegetation differential index (NDVI), geomorphology, and land use units) were prepared as DSA's independent and effective variables. The results of all three models indicated that land use had the most impact on DSA. The validation results of these models using the test data showed sub-curves of 0.92, 0.86, and 0.76 for the RF, MARS, and LR models, respectively. Also, results showed that the RF model outperformed MARS (AUC = 0.89) and LR (AUC = 0.78) methods. In all three models, high and very high susceptibility classes generally covered a large percentage of the case study. The highest percentage of dust source points was also in this susceptibility category. Overall, the results of this study can be useful for planners and managers to control and reduce the risk of negative dust consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study calculates the temporal value of energy money based on green scenario of tax on the dispersion of bioenvironmental pollutants using global trade analysis project-energy substitution (GTAP-E) and investigates the changes brought about in carbon dioxide, GDP along with CIF for 2016 in Iran and eventually presents an evaluation of such sectors as coal, oil, gas, and petroleum products. The results indicated that the implementation of green tax scenario along with technological progress causes reduction by −0.19% in temporal value of pollution money in coal sector and the effect of monetary value of energy carriers on oil was also found reduced by −0.67% and the percentage reduction is about −0.1 in contrast to the other countries. At first, the direct and indirect coefficients (Leontief inverse) and the multiplying coefficients of bioenvironmental pollutants were computed using input-output matrix table technique. It was figured out that the highest pollution is caused by CO2 in this sector. But, the highest pollution in agriculture and mine sectors, substantially as a result of gasoil consumption, is caused by CO that is currently showing an ascending trend. Thus, it is recommended that the government should provide with the possibility of having access to modern global technologies via making imports. In the energy sector, Iran is recommended to reduce its CO2 production compared to what is currently being produced. The speed of pollutants emissions can be reduced by raising taxes in the energy sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evidence on the predictors of mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed contradictory findings, which prevent effective screening for mental health assistance. This study aims to identify the predictors of mental health issues, specifically examining age as a nonlinear predictor. Based on a survey of 474 adults using snowball sampling under the COVID-19 pandemic during April 1th–10th, 2020, in Iran, we found that age had a curvilinear relationship with nonsomatic pain, depression, and anxiety. Specifically, it predicted pain, depression, and anxiety disorders, negatively among adults younger than 45 years, yet positively among seniors older than 70 years. Adults who were female, were unsure about their chronic diseases, or exercised less were more likely to have mental health issues. This study, being the first paper to examine age curvilinearly, suggests future research to pay more attention to nonlinear predictors of mental health disorders in the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The BIM building envelope integrates a BIM building's internal and external environments, improving energy efficiency and substantially lowering energy usage. This research aimed to assess the energy efficiency of typical building envelope materials in Iran. To do this, we used Autodesk Revit® to generate a generic model and DesignBuilder® to conduct an energy analysis. The BIM building envelope integrates a BIM building's internal and external environments, improving energy efficiency. A BIM building envelope energy analysis was performed on 58 local wall constructions material in Iran. Then, the energy consumption of a BIM building's HVAC system was then compared against the costs of all external wall alternatives to determine the optimal layer combination. Consequently, the energy simulation results demonstrated that the double external wall structure, 2AAC block core, with XPS (CFC) insulation exterior wall and the single external wall, PERLEX Ultra-Lightweight (PUW) wall performed better. In addition, the clay block wall is found to be the optimum solution for the case study location. The applicability of the proposed system is validated with a case study of a traditional residential building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An implicit assumption of most sedimentary provenance analyses is a direct link between source and sink. However, recycling of sedimentary detritus from pre‐existing strata interrupts the direct source‐to‐sink link and can result in incorrect interpretations of paleogeography and paleodrainage. Detrital zircon is the favoured proxy of contemporary provenance studies, but its physiochemical resilience makes it particularly prone to recycling. In this study, we integrate geochemical (age, isotope, and trace elements) and grain roundness data of multiple detrital minerals with different physiochemical stabilities (zircon, tourmaline, rutile, and apatite) to evaluate the importance of recycling in an ancient sedimentary basin. We focus on the early Cambrian Lalun Formation of Iran, which forms part of a laterally extensive sandstone‐rich succession deposited along the northern margin of Gondwana. The Lalun Formation preserves a distinct change of compositional maturity between lower arkose and shale units and an upper unit of quartz‐rich sandstone. Detrital zircon, rutile, and apatite data demonstrate that all units of the Lalun Formation share a common source in the Arabian‐Nubian Shield. Whole‐rock geochemical data further indicate that all units have similar chemical alteration indices, suggesting the change in compositional maturity is not a product of differential weathering of the source region. Analysis of grain roundness reveals that detrital zircon, rutile, and tourmaline in the upper quartz‐rich unit are typically more rounded than those in the underlying arkose and shale units. In contrast, detrital apatite grains are nearly all angular in the quartz‐rich unit but mostly rounded in the lower arkose and shale. Together, the detrital mineral provenance, whole‐rock geochemistry, and morphological data are consistent with recycling of the lower arkose and shale units of the Lalun Formation into the uppermost quartz‐rich unit, with the latter also receiving a component of first‐cycle detritus represented by angular detrital apatite. Our findings demonstrate that integrating the features of detrital minerals acquired during a sedimentary cycle (grain rounding and diversity of mineral assemblages) with features inherited from their ultimate source rocks (age, isotopic, and geochemical proxies) can assist in recognising sediment recycling in ancient strata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the financial crisis of 2007–2008, macro‐prudential policies have been widely used to achieve financial stability. Moreover, for most oil‐exporting economies, oil revenues are an essential source of fluctuations in macroeconomic variables, which necessitate the adoption of macroeconomic stabilization policies. By constructing a macro‐financial DSGE model, this paper examines the role of macro‐prudential policies in financial stability and how they interact with macroeconomic policies in an oil‐exporting economy. Applying quarterly data of the economy of Iran during 1990–2017, the results show that macroeconomic stabilization policies are not considered as sufficient condition for financial stability. The implementation of macro‐prudential instruments is necessary to reduce financial instability. Moreover, the results indicate that the cooperation of the macro‐prudential and monetary authorities increases the effectiveness of the macro‐prudential and monetary policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Markazi Province has high potential for residential development due to its geopolitical location in the central part of Iran. This study investigated the possibility of residential area development in Markazi Province using a GIS‐based analytic network process. ArcGIS Version 10.6.1 and Super Decision Version 3.2 software were utilized for the zoning and assessment of criteria. All criteria, and their sub‐criteria, and limitations were gathered using national standards, literature review, and experts. According to the final residential area land suitability map, 16.74% of Markazi Province is highly or very highly suitable for urban development, even though 57.55% of the province's area (i.e., 30% of its current cities) are located in the exclusion zone. Results suggested that most parts of the province do not have desirable conditions for residential zoning. Further attention and deepened GIS monitoring over an extended period would be beneficial before future development is considered. In particular, the natural limitations in the region—such as slope—impede development potential. The study provides an alternative quantifiable and verifiable approach for sustainable urban planning from a land use policy perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although fractal mathematics has been commonly used to quantify particle size distribution (PSD), limited attention has been paid to the fractal dimension of the infiltration curve (DI). Therefore, it is necessary to determine whether the DI and fractal dimensions of PSD (Dm, Dclay, Dsilt and Dsand) can reflect the infiltration process, and soil erodibility and degradation. Accordingly, this study aimed to provide new information on the quantification of infiltration processes, and soil erodibility and degradation, using DI and Dm in the Soorak basin in the northern part of Iran. The soil and infiltration properties were calculated by field and laboratory practices on 46 topsoil samples and 34 infiltrometer double‐ring tests. Correlation, regression and redundancy analysis (RDA) were used to identify relationships between the infiltration curve and PSD coordinates with soil and infiltration properties. Results indicated that the DI was significantly linearly correlated with other infiltration curve characteristics, with the correlation coefficient ranging from −0.737 to −0.403 (sig. = 0.000–0.037). However, there was no significant correlation between DI and Dm, Dclay, Dsilt and Dsand. Different erodibility factors, especially KUSLE, had significant relations with Dm, Dclay, Dsilt, Dsand and DI (p <.01), suggesting that these fractal dimensions are indicators of soil degradation. Other findings indicated that the land use had no significant effect on DI and infiltration properties, whereas KUSLE, Dm, Dclay, DSilt and DSand were significantly affected by land‐use patterns (p <.01). These findings demonstrate that fractal dimensions of PSD and infiltration can be practicable indices to analyse soil degradation under different land‐use types. Highlights: How fractal geometry adds to understanding of the infiltration process and soil degradation.Fractal dimensions of infiltration (DI) can describe the infiltration process.Fractal dimensions of soil (Dm) and DI can be used as indicators of the soil erodibility.Erodibility and fractal properties of soil were significantly affected by land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many factors are involved in urban heat island development, such as lack of green spaces, improper choice of building materials, densification, and other human activities. The aim of this research was to quantify the effects of land-use/land-cover (LU/LC) changes on urban land surface temperature (LST) during a 25-year period (1993–2018) for the semiarid Shiraz City in southern Iran using Landsat data (TM, ETM+, and OLI/TIRS) and machine learning algorithms. Five main LU/LC classes, such as orchard, vegetation, bare surface, asphalt cover, and built-up areas, were identified using a support vector machine algorithm. Landsat images were used to retrieve normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI). The results showed that the mean LST over the entire study domain increased considerably between 1993 and 2018, due to urbanization, decrease of green areas, and increasing industrial areas. Built-up areas increased considerably by 25.8% from 80 to 100.6 km2 between 1993 and 2018, while vegetation cover decreased dramatically by 69.3%. Mean LST increased from 38.4 to 40.2°C during the 25-year period with a significant increase of 3.9°C between 2013 and 2018. In addition, the Urban heat island Ratio Index (URI) displayed a substantial upward trend during the 25-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to design a model for consumer willingness to buy domestic products. Certain important concepts that are linked to willingness to buy include consumer consciousness, product judgment, and consumer attitude towards domestic products. First, we present a literature review on consumer consciousness and willingness to buy domestic products, and we derive an initial research model. Second, we use qualitative techniques to collect primary data. This work was conducted through 16 interviews, in which interviews were held among academic experts and industry experts. The academic experts were those who specialize in international marketing or beverage industry, and industry experts were sales managers or marketing managers of beverage companies in Iran. We analyzed the data obtained from the qualitative research phase through content analysis, and based of this analyses, we derive onother research model. Finally, in the final model, we tried to match the derived model from the qualitative phase with the research literature. The results of this research confirmed the research literature and, to some extent, improved it. According to the results, consumer consciousness and its dimensions (dimensions that exist in literature and religious consciousness) affect willingness to buy domestic products. Also, this relationship can be moderated by domestic product judgment and attitudes toward domestic products. The sample was chosen from the beverage industry experts in Iran. Hence, when generalizing across other religions and cultures we must do so with caution. A future, largerscale survey using a questionnaire would be useful in confirming the qualitative results drawn from this study. The main contribution of this study is the introduction of religious consciousness in Islam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bondar Hanza porphyry Cu deposit, hosted by a granitoid stock, is located 120 km south of Kerman city in the elongated NW–SE trending Urumieh‐Dokhtar magmatic arc (UDMA), Iran. The granitoid stock is a multiphase intrusive body, 2 km2 in surface area, which comprises microdiorite–microquartz diorite and granite–granodiorite. Petrological and geochemical analyses show that granitoids are peraluminous, magnesian, calcic to alkali‐calcic, and non‐adakitic intrusions characterized by negative Eu* anomalies. Thermobarometric and oxygen fugacity calculations indicate that magma emplacement occurred at 719–784°C, <100 MPa, and at a log fO2 of NNO +1.6 to +3.2. Sulphur isotopic composition of sulphide minerals (δ34S = 5.0–6.8 ‰) are similar to other porphyry Cu deposits worldwide. Molybdenite separates yield Re–Os ages of 28.22–28.03 Ma, indicating that the Cu mineralization and associated magmatism occurred during the Oligocene. The Bondar Hanza is one of the several granitoids from small porphyry Cu deposits in the UDMA that is related to island arc sub‐productive granitoids. It seems that the largest ore‐hosting porphyry systems within the UDMA are generally restricted to Miocene intrusions with adakitic affinity (e.g., Sarcheshmeh granitoids) and that the temporally discrete non‐adakitic magmatic systems are sub‐productive to barren. These data are interpreted to show that magmatism in the Bondar Hanza region was likely associated with partial melting of juvenile lower crust induced by north‐eastward subduction of the Neo‐Tethys oceanic lithosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Meteorological extreme events have a major impact on water resources, economic development, and ecosystem health. In this study, maximum precipitation and maximum temperature indices were derived for Isfahan province, in central Iran, over the historical (1992–2017) and future (2020–2100) periods. Precipitation and maximum temperature data from the REMO model under RCP4.5 scenario were used to investigate changes in extreme values over the future period. The results showed that extreme precipitation in the historical and future periods has respectively a decreasing and increasing trend. Based on the extreme indices, temperature in the study area has a significant increasing trend in the baseline and future period. Various combinations of extreme precipitation indicators were created for joint modeling by copula theory. Copula modeling for the three weather stations for which REMO had satisfactory performance in simulating extremes over the historic period showed that the average return period of extreme precipitation combinations will be reduced in the future period compared to the historical period at Daran and Shahreza, while the average return period of combinations will have both increasing and decreasing trends at Naeen. Recommendations for Resource Managers Knowing information about the probability of occurrence of extreme precipitation with a certain value that exceeds a certain threshold will help planning for water resource systems under drought conditions and future increasing temperature.The joint return period of extreme precipitation can help to know the return period of extreme events such as floods and droughts.The findings of this study are important to assess the prediction of climate extreme. Also, these results can be useful to provide the appropriate strategies for water resources managers in drought conditions under future increasing temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quality compliance checking of urban private constructions in Iran follows a fragmented pattern. By considering this fragmentation along with the inherent complexities of the quality compliance checking, it becomes urgent to look closer at this mechanism to find a way for making improvements. Since there is no determination to change the existing mechanism, this study discusses the use of virtual organizations as a strategy to enhance the level of quality. To this end, according to the intended approach for developing virtual organizations, this study identifies the capabilities of this type of systems in the first step. Then, this research evaluates the impacts of virtual organization absorption on the quality of urban private constructions. In this evaluation, the paper applies the system dynamics approach as the modeling tool due to its ability to address complexities and feedback structures. The resulted dynamic model needs initial values and requires functions to be able to run the simulation. In this case, the Delphi Technique is used to extract the functions and the values. After importing the resulted values and functions into the model, the focus group is used for the validation. The result of this analysis represents the positive impacts of the virtual organization absorption in the quality compliance checking mechanism. Fifty-percent improvement in the quality level of urban private constructions after a twenty-year period is one of the results, which could be considered as an indicator of virtual organization impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was aimed at evaluating the capabilities of geostatistical methods in constructing a two-dimensional subsurface geological model of soil categories (with a geotechnical insight) along a part of the Tabriz subway (metro) line 2, East Azarbayjan Province in Iran, using three geostatistical methods. One of the important features about the geostatistical predictions, besides their accuracy and reasonability, is the evaluation of uncertainty for the produced models for supporting decision making about the coming steps e.g. in construction and maintenance of tunnels. Indicator Kriging (IK) besides the Sequential Indicator Simulation (SIS) and Generalized Coupled Markov Chain (GCMC) techniques were applied in this study to predict the geological categories at unknown locations. The used dataset came from 11 boreholes and wells along a part of this metro line. First, indicator variables of each soil category were assigned to sampling points along the boreholes. These indicators were then used to model the spatial variability structure of the categories using the indicator variograms and transition probabilities. These models were then used to predict the geotechnical categories at unsampled locations and the model spatial uncertainty. Finally, the reproduction of the indicator variograms and proportions as well as the geological plausibility of the outcomes were assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Rapid industrialization has led to an extraordinary increase in environmental pollution in Arak, Iran. This study classified the distribution of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) in sediments and soils of Mighan Playa (Iran) and analysed the pollution sources using geostatistical methods. Samples were taken from 250 points and the data analysed by means of SPSS, GS+ and ArcGIS. The soils were moderate to considerable polluted with Pb and high to very high polluted with Cd. The comparison of the maps of EF for Pb and Cd with the maps of their total contents indicated they have two different distributions in the region. Lead was enriched near the pollution sources. However, Cd accumulated at the centre of Mighan Playa apart from the pollution sources, meaning Cd was highly mobile in the studied wet and salty soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The provision of care to patients with psychiatric disorders and working in a challenging environment lead to many problems among psychiatric nurses. The aim of this study was to explore the challenges nurses faced while working in acute psychiatric wards. Design: A qualitative design using content analysis was used. Fifteen nurses working in psychiatric wards in hospitals affiliated to a university hospital in an urban area of Iran were chosen using a purposive sampling approach. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. An inductive content analysis method was used to analyse the collected data. Results: Four themes were developed based on the analysed data: "experiencing psycho-social challenges," "experiencing psychological challenges," "encountering catalysts causing challenges," and "employing various strategies for coping with challenges." Conclusions: Given the importance of physical and mental wellbeing of nurses and the moral and professional responsibility of an organization to protect staff health, it is of prime importance to examine the inpatient psychiatric nurses' experiences to better understand them and hopefully use such knowledge so as to improve their work life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous research on application adoption has partly advanced our understanding of factors affecting the adoption of mobile applications, less attention has been given to the whole process of application development, from idea characteristics to the supportive activities after launch. In particular, less is known about these factors in the context of developing countries, where mobile applications are gaining increasing popularity. In this vein, this paper, adopting a grounded theory approach, aims to identify factors influencing the adoption of entertainment mobile application from the developer's points of view focusing on different phases of application development in the novel context of Iran. The authors' in-depth semi-structured interviews with experts in mobile application development firms indicate 15 factors classified within four categories based on the application development process, entailing idea characteristics, design, marketing communications and supportive activities. The implications of these findings provides valuable insight into why some mobile applications are more successful than others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease with complex genetic inheritance that affecting different organs and systems. STAT4 has been newly identified as a susceptible gene in the development of SLE. According to recent studies, STAT4 has been associated with SLE in various populations. We investigated whether STAT4 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with susceptibility and clinical features of SLE in Iranian patients. The study group comprised 280 patients with SLE and 281 sex-, age-, and ethnicity-matched healthy controls of Iranian ancestry. Two SNPs (rs7574865 and rs7601754) were genotyped using the TaqMan MGB Allelic Discrimination method. Our results showed a significant association betweenrs7574865 T allele (odds ratio (OR) = 1.50, 95 % CI = 1.18-1.92, P = 0.002) and susceptibility to SLE. The rs7574865TT genotype ( P = 0.02, OR = 1.94, 95 % CI = 1.74-3.19) and GT genotype ( P = 0.008, OR = 1.71, 95 % CI = 1.19-2.45) showed a significant association with the risk of SLE in the Iranian population. We concluded that STAT4 rs7574865 is associated with SLE susceptibility in the Iranian population and this SNP might be a factor in the pathogenesis of SLE. However, further studies are required to investigate the mechanism by which polymorphisms in this gene lead to SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors aimed to understand the social bridges and social barriers to women's health in Iran. We used a qualitative content analysis method and interviewed 22 women. The participants identified appropriate employment, physical exercise, and cultural and educational development as social bridges to women's health. Social barriers to women's health included gender inequalities, burden of responsibility, and financial difficulties. Based on the results of this study, we suggest an interdisciplinary approach to plan social-based health programs in order to improve women's health outcomes in the developing countries such as Iran. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychiatric nurses play an important role in the process of caring for mentally ill patients and are continually faced with the numerous challenges and complex issues related to this field. This study aimed to understand the perspectives of psychiatric nurses regarding the issues they face while providing care and examine the possible solutions for improvement of inpatient care in clinical settings. The study adopted a qualitative approach that utilized a content analysis of audio taped, semi-structured interviews that had been conducted with 24 nurses. Two main themes emerged from the data. The first, Challenges in Providing Care within Psychiatric Wards, had the following subthemes: Politics and Rules of Organization, Safety and Security Issues, Uncertainty about the Role, Lack of Trained Staff, and Sociocultural Issues. The second theme, Solutions for Improving Psychiatric Care, had the subthemes of Empowerment across four domains: Psychiatric Nurses, Mentally Ill Patients and their Families, The Psychiatric Mental Health System, and the Cultural Context. The results indicated that if nurses are expected to provide optimal nursing care within a psychiatric ward, then there is a need for a stable and responsible organizational structure, skilled psychiatric nurses, and community-based care along with an anti-stigma program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]