Experimental feasibility study of using date palm oil as a bitumen Bio-Modifier in HMA pavement

This paper examines the effects of Date palm oil as a bitumen modifier on the compressive strength of bitumen and hot mixed asphalt (HMA) pavement. Date palm oil contains anti-oxidant isomers that have the potential to enhance the performance and durability of bitumen. The compressive strength test of asphalt pavement mixed with Date palm oil was performed in accordance with British Standards BS 1881: Part 116: 1983. The cube specimens of asphalt pavement were manufactured mixing with 0%, 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, and 10% of Date palm oil out of total sample mass. The experimental results suggested that Date palm oil as a bitumen modifier reduced the compressive strength of HMA pavement. The findings of this paper urge for further experiments to understand the effects of Date palm oil on the asphalt pavements under long-term traffic load, environment and surface drainage

Foreign Investments and Stock Market: Evidence From Palestine

Purpose: This study aims to examine the association between the different forms of inbound foreign investments and the Palestine Exchange (PEX) index to shed light on the nature of that impact.   Theoretical Framework: Several academic studies have examined stock market index factors. Chen, Roll, and Ross's (1986) seminal study on macroeconomic conditions and U.S. stock returns provides an example. Interest rate, inflation, industrial production, risk premium movements, and dividend yield positively explain expected stock return. Abusharbeh and Karim (2016) found that interest and consumer price index positively affect banking and investment firm profits on The Palestine Exchange (PEX). Shahbaz (2013) examined how foreign direct investment affects Pakistan's stock market. Results supported foreign direct investment's stock market complementarity.   Design/Methodology/Approach: The market index and panel quarterly data for inward foreign investments are used in this study. From 2009 to 2022, end-of-quarter data were collected on total inward foreign investments, their sub-components (direct investments, stock portfolio investments, and currency and deposits in Palestine), and the market index (Al-Quds index) closing value. Fifty-six observations were gathered.   Findings: The study found that the overall model integrating all three types of inward foreign investments significantly explains the market index. Foreign portfolio investments (FPI) are significantly associated with the stock market index. However, the results showed that inward foreign direct investments (FDI) and foreign deposits and currency investments (FCI) have no significant impact on the stock market index, indicating that they do not complement or substitute each other.   Research, Practical & Social Implications: This study can help the stock market, regulators, and policymakers create incentives and regulations to attract different forms of inward foreign investments. It also examines why foreign direct investments (FDI) and foreign deposits and currency investments do not complement or substitute stock market development.   Originality/Value: This study provides empirical evidence on the impact of the different forms of foreign investment in Palestine on the stock market. Further research is recommended to explore additional variables that might be significant, such as market capitalization and market volume

Relative and Incremental Value Relevance of Traditional and Real Performance Measures: Evidence from Palestine Manufacturing Listed Companies

Purpose: This study seeks to test both incremental and relative value relevance of the Economic Value-Added (EVA) as a real performance indicator and (EPS) as a traditional performance indicator in the context of the Palestine Exchange (PEX) listed manufacturing companies.   Theoretical framework: Previous research provided mixed evidence about the superiority of EVA over the traditional performance measures in predicting market value; some studies supported the superiority of EVA (Zimmerman, 1997; Shishanya et al., 2020), while others denied that superiority (Biddle et al., 1997; Agnatia & Amalia, 2018). Testing the value relevance of EVA compared to EPS was rarely conducted in Palestine.   Design/methodology/approach: Seventy company-year observations were gathered from 10 of 13 manufacturing PEX-listed companies over seven years (2015-2021); the study employed regression and correlation analysis.   Findings: The study found a significant relationship between EPS and stock returns while concluding an insignificant relationship between EVA and stock returns. The study also found that EPS beats EVA. However, the findings showed that EVA adds incremental information content to EPS’s interpretation of stock returns.   Research, Practical & Social implications:  The study outcomes help and direct the investors and analysts, in assessing the company’s performance and predicting stock returns; it also helps policymakers and regulators in directing and updating reporting requirements.   Originality/value: This study adds to the literature on the value relevance of real and traditional performance indices in Palestine. Further research is recommended on other sectors and the whole market

Rules of Sale with Right of Redemption in Lebanese Contract Law and the Possibility of its Application in Jordanian Civil Law•

This study aims at examining the contract of Sale with Right of Redemption in Lebanese Contract Law, and the possibility of its application in Jordanian Civil Law. The Sale with Right of Redemption is defined as a sale with a condition that when the seller refunds the price of the purchase during a fixed time, the purchaser should return to him/her that which was sold. This study started exploring such kind of sale under the Lebanese Contract Law, and then examined whether there are legal or economic justifications to adopt it in Jordanian law. To that intent, the study was divided into two sections: the first examines the position of the two laws under comparison, and the second deals with the possibility of application of rules of contract of Sale with Right of Redemption in Jordanian Civil Law. In the conclusion, the article ended with recommendations that will hopefully be taken into account by legislators in the future

Barriers to Accountability Implementation in the Education Directorates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The study aimed to identify the barriers to accountability implementation in the education directorates and to know the suggestions for applying accountability in the education directorates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the study members’ point of view. For the purpose of achieving the objectives and procedures of the study, the descriptive survey approach was used. The study included all the male and female assistants of the education directors of the boys/girls education affairs, whose number is (90), and all the assistants of the education directors of school affairs whose number is (45). Therefore, the total number of assistants is (135). The study also included all directors and heads of departments and sections belonging directly to the education directors in the regions and provinces, whose number is (540). Hence, the total of the study population is (675). The researcher depended on the questionnaire for data collection, and the most prominent results were: -    There is a number of barriers which may face the implementation of accountability in the education directorates where the majority of the study members’ agreed that the most important of these barriers are: lack of technically qualified human cadres who are needed for the implementation of accountability, rarity of training programs that directed to the implementation of accountability in work, limited availability of appropriate measures to measure performance, and the low level of awareness role of the media of accountability importance. -    The majority of the study members’ agree that there is a number of suggestions which can contribute to the accountability implementation in the education directorates, and they came according to the following grading: using modern technologies to record and classify data and to extract results, specifying work objectives accurately, awareness of the administrative system in the educational directorates by the importance of accountability in work, and spreading the accountability culture and its role in the improvement of educational work. Keywords: Administrative accountability – Barriers of accountability implementation – Accountability in the education directorates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Amorphous metal oxide semiconductor thin film transistors for printed electronics

There is an acute market need for solution-processable semiconductor inks that can form the essential components of the printed analog and digital circuits. Currently, the industry is migrating beyond simply printing conductive metals for interconnects and embracing higher integration by printing transistors directly on the same substrate. This thesis focuses on investigating solution-processed amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) as a semiconducting channel layer of a field-effect transistor to enable low-cost, large-area printed electronics that are physically flexible and optically transparent. Specifically, we aim to achieve field-effect mobility exceeding 1 cm2/Vs, to overcome the limits faced in existing amorphous silicon and emerging organic transistor technologies, through optimizing IGZO ink and studying various thin-film processing conditions. Device approach using solution-processed, high-K aluminum oxide dielectric layer has also been examined in this study. In addition, the effect of low-temperature UV-assisted annealing has been studied which allow the fabrication to be compatible with plastic substrates