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An-Najah Blogs :: en-usFri, 29 Mar 2024 13:41:26 IDTFri, 29 Mar 2024 13:41:26 IDT[email protected][email protected]Current Data and Conditions and Future Priorities of Palestinian Freight Transporthttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Current-Data-and-Conditions-and-Future-Priorities-of-Palestinian-Freight-TransportPublished ArticlesThis paper presents part of the findings of the World Bank sponsored study updating conditions of the transport sector in the Palestinian territories This study focuses on the freight transport; conditions and needed development programs to enable it to play its role in the economy of the upcoming Palestinian state Freight transport is currently road-based and fully privatized The number of operating vehicles increased drastically after establishing the Palestinian National Authority However due to the current political conditions which resulted in travel restrictions and road closures by the Israeli authorities this number sharply declined and some freight companies closed operation Sizeable percentages of operating vehicles and companies did not renew their registrations because of lack of enforcement and the economic depression The Israeli imposed measures increased travel distances time and costs; therefore freight transport experienced loss or severe decline in services Israel controls border points within the West Bank and Gaza Strip with Israel and the outside world Travel between the West Bank and Gaza Strip which has the only Palestinian airport and the under-construction seaport is severely restricted The paper concludes that the priorities are facilitating freight travel within the West Bank and across Gaza Strip eliminating road closures and movement restrictions constructing freight land border-crossings establishing the free-trade area and assisting in the consolidation of freight services because it is mainly done by the informal sector There should be a comprehensive study to evaluate the inter-modal freight transport at the verge of establishing the Palestinian state Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2006 Paper 06-1416The Framework for the Development of a Medium-Term Transportation Program for an Economy in Transition: The Palestinian Casehttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/The-Framework-for-the-Development-of-a-Medium-Term-Transportation-Program-for-an-Economy-in-Transition-The-Palestinian-CasePublished ArticlesThis paper presents the framework for the development of the transportation sector in the Palestinian territories These territories which are evolving towards being an independent state before the end of 2005 after the planned Israeli withdrawal from Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank starting August 2005 are considered to represent an economy in transition The paper considers a medium-term developmental framework which covers the various components of the multimodal physical transportation system as well as the institutional infrastructure The needs have been identified based on a diagnostic study of the conditions of the transportation system in the West Bank and Gaza Strip The transportation infrastructure suffered for about 28 years of occupation since 1967 as well as for the past five years during the current crisis The recent and expected considerable changes on the ground require reformulation of the transportation sector development strategies The paper presents a suggested outline for a five-year development program for the maintenance rehabilitation and development of the road air and sea transportation infrastructure The program also identifies actions to support the development of public and freight transportation systems It includes as well recommended policy changes to the current institutional regulatory and financial frameworks Finally the program estimates funding requirements for development of the physical infrastructure and technical assistance The required capital investment and recurrent expenditure sum to slightly above one billion US dollars The output can be used to facilitate approaching the international community for anticipated intervention responding to the sectoral needsالتخطيط الإستراتيجي للتعليم العالي في فلسطين: الإطار العام، وجامعة النجاح الوطنية كأنموذجhttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/article-1Published ArticlesSee the attached fileStrategic Planning At An-Najah National Universityhttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Strategic-Planning-At-An-Najah-National-UniversityPublished ArticlesSee the attached fileنحو ربط الطرق الفلسطينية مع شبكة النقل البري العربيةhttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/article-2Published Articlesتعرض الورقة مبررات و دواعي ربط شبكة الطرق في فلسطين مع شبكة النقل البري العربية وذلك بعد أن فصلت عنها قصرا اثر الاحتلال الإسرائيلي للأراضي الفلسطينية و مع امتداد سيطرة السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية على ؟أجزاء من الأراضي الفلسطينية و مع الأمل بانشاء دولة فلسطينية على الأرض خلال العامين المقبلين فانه لا بد من ربط هذه الدوله مع الدول العربية المجاورة و ذلك من خلال ممرات و نقاط عبور بري ان مثل هذه الممرات والنقاط ستسمح بالانتقال الميسر للأشخاص و البائع لك و إلى هذه الدول ، و منها إلى باقي الدول العربية والدول الأخرى ولا يقتصر هذا الربط على الحركة من والى فلسطين بل يمكن أن يتعداه إلى ربط بر حققي بين جزئي الوطن العربي ف أسيا و إفريقيا حيث تمت الاشارة في عدد من الدراسات التي أعدت لتخطيط النقل في فلسطين إلى إنشاء ممر يربط الضفة الغربية بقطاع غزةمما يوفر بالتالي ربطا بريا بين الاردن والمشرق العربي من جهة و مصر والدول العربية الافريقية من جهة أخرى و للوصول إلى هذا الرابط لا بد اجراء من الدراسات و إعداد الخطط الازمة للعمل على تكامل و دمج شبكة الطرق في فلسطين مع شبكة النقل البري العربية و تعرض الورقة في هذا المجال إطارا للربط يتناول فيه إبتداءا تصنيفات الطرق في فلسطين و مواقع الاتصال الممكنة مع الشبكة البرية العربية و إطارا للتنبؤ بأحجام المرور المتوقع تدفقها عبر هذه المعابر كما يتناول قضايا ذات أهمية بالغة في هذا المجال منها ما يتعلق بلمواصفات الفنية والمقاييس ومنها ما يتعلق بمعايير الأحمال و الضبط المرور و غيرها و تعرض الورقة أيضا المعوقات التي تعرقل عملية الربط هذه بين شبكة الطرق الفلسطينية و شبكة النقل البري العربية ،و التي من أبرزها المعوقات السياسية و التمويلية و الفنيةفمن الناحية السياسية يعتقد أن استمرار الإحتلال الإسرائيلي على أجزاء من الأراضي الفلسطينية في الضفة الغربية و قطاع غزة ، و المماطلة في السماح بتنفيذ الممر الرابط بينهما،سيشكل إحدى أبرز المعوقات،كما لا بد من التويه إلا انه و بعد عقود من الغحتلال الإسرائيلي و ما نتج عن ذلك من إهمال متعمد لحالة الطرق التي يستخدمها الفلسطينيون على وجه التحديد،أو عدم القيام باعمال الصيانة اللازمة لها،فإنه لابد من برنامج طارىء و مستعجل لتحسين هذه الطرق،و خاصة الرئيسة منها ،من أجل التأكد من التلاؤم بينها و بين شبكات الطرق التي سيتم الربط معها في الدول العربية المجاورةو من الناحية التمويلية،فإن تحسين مستوى الطرق في فلسطين و إنشاء أجزاء أخرى ضرورية لعملية الربط قد تصطدم بمعوقات تتعلق بالتمويلكما يمكن الإشارة هنا إلى عدم وجود مواصفات فنية معتمدة و موحدة يمكن الإستناد إليها في تطوير شبكة الطرق الفلسطينية لتتلاءم مع مثيلاتها في الدول العربية المجاورة و أخيرا،تعرض الورقة عددا من التوصيات التي تساعد في رفع مستوى شبكة الطرق في فلسطين من وضع للخطط الملائمة و اعتماد للأسس الفنية اللازمة لضمان التكامل مع شبكة النقل البري العربية،و ترتيبات مؤسساتية، فضلا عن تجنيد التمويل اللازم لوضع هذه الخطط و البرامج موضع التنفيذ دراسة حول واقع خريجي برامج التعليم الهندسي في فلسطين http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/article-3Published Articlesتعرض الورقة ابتداء واقع التعليم الهندسي في فلسطين ، من حيث البرامج التي تقدم في مجالات التعليم الهندسي في الجامعات الفلسطينية، و إعداد الطلبة الثانى يدرسون في هذا البرنامج و يتخرجون منه و تشير الورقة إلى أن أعداد الخريجين قد تضاعفت عدة مرات ، حتى فاق مؤخرا عدد خريجى الجامعات الفلسطينية المسجلين سنويا كمهندسين جدد في نقابة المهندسين عدد نظرائهم من خارجي الجامعات الأخرى في الخارج و لضرورة تقديم برامج التعليم الهندسي التي تقدمها الجامعات الفلسطينية فما يتعلق بملاءمة البرامج المقدمة للاحتياجات المحلية ، و ذلك حسب وجهةنظر المشغلينفي القطاع الذي يستوعب العدد الأكبر من الخرجين الجدد أي القطاع الخاص ،فى قد تم القيام بدراسة لواقع الخريجين من خلال إستطلاع أراء عدد من هؤلاء المشغلينو قد تم تحديد عدد من نقاط ألقوا و الضعف الخاصة بخريجي كليات الهندسة من الجامعات الأخرى ، و ذلك لعدد من المؤشرات العامة ، و القدرات، و المهارات و تعرض الورقة نتائج الدراسة حيث أشارت إلى أن ابرز نقاط القوة تشمل فهم إحتياجات و متطلبات الواقع المحلي ، و مهارات استخدام الحاسوب بشكل عام أو في المجالات الفنية ، و المهارات العلمية النظرية ، و الكفاءة بشكل عام ، و المهارات اللغوية باستخدام اللغة الأم و في المقابل فقد تبين أن هناك ضعفا لدى خريجي الجامعات الفلسطينية يتمثل في محدودية القدرة و الاهتمام الكافيين في قدرات البحث العلمي و إتقان الكتابة العلمية فضلا عن عدم كفاية التدريب العملي و ضعف المهارات المتعلقة باستخدام اللغة الإنجليزية ، و ضعف الجوانب العملية التطبيقية لديهم و تعرض الورقة أيضا نتائج إستطلاع أراء المشغلين أيضا حول ما يمكن إضافته أو تضمينه لبرامج التعليم الهندسي في الجامعات الفلسطينية كما تعرض الورقة رأي القطاع الأكاديمي، ممثلا بعينة من عمداء كليات الهندسة و رؤساء الأقسام فيها ، حيث تم إستطلاع أرائهم حول نقاط القوة و الضعف ، فقد تم إقتراح عدد من التوصيات ألتي تتعلق بالجامعات ، و القطاع الخاص ، و وزارة التربية و التعليم العالي ، و نقابة المهندسين The Impacts of the Separation Wall on the Sustainability of the Transport Systems and Services in the Palestinian Territorieshttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/The-Impacis-of-the-Segregation-wall-on-tire-sustianability-of-Transporlation-Svstems-and-services-in-the-palestinian-territoriesPublished Articlesthe Israeli occupation authorities started in April 2002 tile construction of the segregation wall on confiscated Palestinian land for claimed security reasons ignoring the international law which does not allow tile occupier to do that The Wall when completed will Isolate parts located between the wall :aid tile 1949 Armenistic Line Forming 46 of the total area of tile West Bank l lie results of the field study indicate that there w III be severe impacts of the wall in the field of transportation l lie Wall will lead to severe deterioration in tile Palestinians quality of life as it will restrict the movement and free transportation for 647 thousand Palestinians forming one third the Palestinian liking ill the West Bank including restricting their ability to reach their agricultural land The Wall cuts off public transportation lines for a number of communities which the wall isolates The number of links connecting a community with others is reduced tier clan of the impacted communities while about half the total length of the roadway network In the West Bank will lie behind the Wall The Israeli measures cause the length of and travel time on The roads connecting these impacted communities to at least double on the average and therefore result in a similar increase the travel cost Therefore the Wall will affect the sustainability of tile transportation systems and will prevent such system from playing the role they should proved towards sustainable development ill the Palestinian territories The paper presents a number of recommendations to pressure the Israeli authorities to stop building the wall And to assist the Palestinians living in the impacted areas in their struggle against the challenges they are lacing through means that lessen the negative impacts of the Wall Especially those which affect tile sustainability of the transportation systemsAccident Analysis for Economies in Transition using Spatial Analytical Tools: The Palestinian Territories Casehttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Accident-Analysis-for-Economies-in-Transition-using-Spatial-Analytical-Tools-The-Palestinian-Territories-CasePublished ArticlesAbstract Since the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority PNA in 1994 on parts of the Palestinian territories after years of Israeli occupation changes in the political demographic and economic conditions have been observed Such changes resulted in increased motorization levels higher travel activities and consequently higher traffic accidents As a general background it can be stated that during the period from 1970 to 1998 the number of reported accidents in the Palestinian territories increased from 908 to 5945 The fatality rate per 10000 vehicles reached to 142 in 1998 Such rate is about 4 times that of Israel but forms about 750 of the respective rate of neighboring Jordan Despite this no major improvements have been observed either in the transportation infrastructure and services or in traffic control and enforcement The PNA only started taking limited actions towards improving roadway safety In order to tackle the traffic safety problems and to reduce the social and economic costs of traffic accidents in the Palestinian territories roadway safety programs are be developed Such programs should be directed towards identifying the causes of traffic accidents and the locations that have safety problems usually called as hazardous locations This should be followed by establishing engineering education enforcement and legislative countermeasures and corrective actions to lessen the impacts of traffic accidents Along the direction indicated above this paper lays the foundation for a model of a national accident roadway safety program in a developing country considered to represent an economy in transition where the Palestinian territories are evolving as a separate entity Such a model can be achieved through the development of a mechanism to analyze traffic accidents and facilitate the arrival at proper corrective measures Efforts have been observed towards rational collection of data accidents in the Palestinian territories during the past few years Proper use and analysis of such data is the cornerstone in understanding the causes of accidents identifying accident-prone locations and aiding in the choice of proper safety programs or countermeasures The objective of this study is therefore to contribute towards the increase in the level of safety in the Palestinian territories case by integrating collection of traffic accident data with developing a spatial database and an analytical framework for traffic accidents and arriving at the proper corrective measures The analytical tool used in this study is that based on utilizing the geographic information systems GIS in constructing the road safety spatial database and in analyzing the aspects of the various road accident parameters GIS has the ability to capture store update manipulate analyze and display information related to the various forms of spatially referenced traffic accidents This helps in studying and analyzing the effects of the main factors involved in traffic accidents in order to arrive at the most suitable solutions to reduce the occurrence or severity of traffic accidents to the most possible extent The developed GIS-oriented analytical model is being applied to Nablus City which is considered as the economic capital of the Palestinian territories This case study application can be considered as a sample that demonstrates the developed tool capabilities which can utilized in other Palestinian urban areas and in other similar cases of economies in transition The paper shows how the developed tool is used in the analyses of road accidents It demonstrates how to come with answers to accident-related inquires are and to identify the hazardous locations Using GIS tools has been proven to be more efficient and the resulting information is better understood when compared with the traditional analysis methods of visually inspecting paper maps and running database inquires The paper shows how the tool is used as well in improving quantitative accident data analysis and safety management The paper illustrates the utilization of the results of the GIS-based analysis towards the evaluation of countermeasures and improvements Illustrated examples of traffic accidents analysis for the urban area case study such as pedestrian-related accidents along arterials CBD accident pattern schoolchildren accident involvement and major intersection accidents demonstrate the tools capabilitiesAssessment of the output of local engineering education programs in meeting the needs of the private sector for economies in transition: The Palestinian territories casehttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Assessment-of-the-output-of-local-engineering-education-programs-in-meeting-the-needs-of-the-private-sector-for-economies-in-transition-The-Palestinian-territories-casePublished ArticlesThis paper presents the methodology and the results of a study which assessed the output of local engineering education systems for an economy in transition The paper considers the case of engineering education in the Palestinian Territories which are evolving towards becoming an independent entity The assessment was performed from the viewpoint of private sector customers in order to examine to what degree local engineering education programs were meeting their expectations The approach investigated the areas of strengths and weaknesses of the local universities engineering graduates compared to their counterparts in universities abroad The results indicated that local university graduates possessed overall competence and were strong in many aspects such as theoretical and analytical abilities and computing skills However there were weaknesses in their applied skills and practical training technical writing and scientific research capabilities and English language skills The results were utilized to establish the outcomes that engineers should achieve One recommendation is modifying the curricula by accommodating specific topics and courses and enhancing the students abilities and skills that are identified as needing to be upgraded Another recommendation is increasing the interaction between the private sector and the universities and establishing university-industry partnership programsأثر الإشارات الضوئية على تلوث الجو واستهلاك الوقود في وسط مدينة نابلسhttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/articlePublished Articlesإن حركة سير المركبات وسرعتها أو تباطؤها يرتبط بشكل مباشر بكمية ومعدل استهلاك الوقود وانبعاث الغازات الملوثة من عوادمها وتستهلك وسائل المواصلات في فلسطين حوالي 60 من كمية الوقود المستوردة لذا، فإن الاستمرار في ازدياد أعداد المركبات بشكل عام، والمركبات الخاصة بالذات، سيؤدي إلى زيادة استهلاك الوقود والتلوث الجوي في المنطقة وتهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تقييم أثر الإشارات الضوئية وتحسينها على حركة السير ومعدل تأخير المركبات، وربط ذلك بمعدل استهلاك الوقود وتلوث الهواء الناجم عن الغازات المنبعثة من عوادم المركبات في وسط مدينة نابلس وتعتمد هذه الورقة في حساباتها على استخدام برنامج المحاكاة المحوسب في مجال هندسة المرور CORSIM لقد أثبتت الدراسات العالمية أن تحسين الإشارات الضوئية داخل المدينة قد يؤدي إلى انخفاض استهلاك الوقود بنسب تتراوح ما بين 25 65 أما في وسط مدينة نابلس، فقد أدى تحسين الإشارات الضوئية على بعض التقاطعات والممرات، عن طريق اختيار الزمن الأمثل للدورة وخطة التنسيق المقترحة بين التقاطعات، إلى تخفيض الزمن الضائع بنسب تتراوح ما بين 3 إلى 57، وتخفيض استهلاك الوقود بنسب تتراوح ما بين 2 إلى 25، وتخفيض تلوث الهواء الناتج عن أكاسيد الكربون المنبعثة بنسب تتراوح ما بين 2 إلى 10 ويوصي البحث بضرورة استخدام إجراءات تحسين الإشارات الضوئية والتنسيق بينها على مستوى شبكة الطرق في وسط المدينة، وكذلك ضرورة تطبيق مبادئ إدارة أنظمة المرور القليلة التكلفة السريعة التنفيذ، وذلك من أجل تحسين حركة السير وتخفيض معدل استهلاك الوقود في المدن الفلسطينية مجلة جامعة النجاح للأبحاث - العلوم الطبيعية أ ISSN: 1727-2114 المجلد 18 ، العدد 1 ، 2004 ، الصفحات: 097-114تأثير جدار الفصل العنصري على استدامة‏‎ ‎أنظمة النقل والمواصلات وخدماتها ‏في فلسطينhttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/-----rlmlrm-lrm----rlm-Published Articlesلقد باشرت سلطات الإحتلال الإسرائيلي في نيسان 2002 إنشاء جدار الفصل العنصري على أراضٍ قامت بمصادرتها من أصحابها الفلسطينيين، حيث قررت إنشاء الجدار عليها لأسباب أمنية مدعاة، ضاربة بعرض الحائط القوانين الدولية التي لا تجيز ذلك للمحتل وسيعزل الجدار، عند اكتمال بنائه، أجزاء تقع بين الجدار وخط الهدنة لعام 1949، تُشكل حوالي 46 من مجمل مساحة الضفة الغربية وتبين نتائج الدراسة الميدانية حول تأثير الجدار السلبي في مجال النقل والمواصلات أن الجدار سيؤدي إلى تدهور خطير في نوعية الحياة للمجتمعات الفلسطينية، حيث يقيد أو يمنع الحركة وحرية الانتقال لحوالي 647 ألف فلسطيني، أي ثلث الفلسطينيين المُقيمين في الضفة الغربية، بما في ذلك إمكانية وصولهم الى أراضيهم الزراعية وفضلاً عن هذا، فإن هناك تأثيرا غير مباشر سيطال بالتأكيد باقي الفلسطينيين حيث إن التأثير سيكون على جانبي الجدار الفاصل كما يقطع الجدار خطوط المواصلات العامة تماما لعدد من الأماكن الواقعة خلف الجدار، مما سيؤثر بشكل مباشر على إمكانات الوصول الدائمة لذوي الدخل المحدود وخاصة في المناطق الريفية ويقلص الجدار، بشكل ملموس، عدد الطرق التي تربط العديد من التجمعات السكانية الفلسطينية بغيرها، كما يعمل، عند اكتمال إنشائه، على التهام ما يقارب نصف مجموع أطوال الطرق في الضفة الغربية وتؤدي هذه الإجراءات الى مضاعفة أطوال الرحلات وأوقاتها في المناطق المتأثرة بالجدار بما لا يقل عن الضعفين، مما يرفع كلفة المواصلات بشكل ملموس لذا فإن جدار الفصل سيؤثر على استدامة أنظمة النقل والمواصلات وخدماتها، وسيحول دون أن تؤدي هذه الخدمات والأنظمة الدور المفترض في الوصول إلى تنمية مستدامة في الأراضي الفلسطينية وتعرض الورقة توصيات خاصة بالعمل لثني سلطات الاحتلال الإسرائيلي عن المضي قدماً في تنفيذ الجدار، كما تعرض اقتراحات لمساندة صمود الفلسطينيين القاطنين في المناطق المتأثرة، ومساعدتهم في البقاء رغم قيود الجدار، وذلك من خلال وسائل تسهم في الحد من الآثار السلبية للجدار، وخاصة فيما يتعلق بآثاره على استدامة أنظمة النقل والمواصلات مجلة جامعة النجاح للأبحاث - العلوم الطبيعية أ ISSN: 1727-2114 المجلد 18 ، العدد 2 ، 2004 ، الصفحات: 281-309 Traffic Signal Impacts on Air Pollution and Fuel Consumption in Downtown Nablus Cityhttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Traffic-Signal-Impacts-on-Air-Pollution-and-Fuel-Consumption-in-Downtown-Nablus-CityPublished ArticlesAbstract Fuel consumption and exhaust emissions are directly related to traffic movement and vehicle speed and accelerationdeceleration Vehicular traffic in the Palestinian areas consumes approximately 60 percent of the total fuel consumption Therefore the continuous growth in the number of vehicles in general and passenger cars in particular will increase fuel consumption and emissions in the area The objectives of this study are to evaluate the impact of traffic signals and their improvements on traffic movement and delay and to link traffic measures of effectiveness MOE with fuel consumption and air pollution in Nablus City downtown area CORSIM simulation model was used as a tool to estimate traffic and environmental MOE Studies showed that traffic signal improvements in urban areas could lead to a reduction in fuel consumption and exhaust emissions in percentages ranging from 25 to 65 percent 1 this study traffic signals were improved at study intersections and corridors in downtown Nablus City using optimum cycle length signal timing and progression These improvements resulted in reducing average delays by 3 to 57 percent fuel consumption by 2 to 15 percent and carbon oxides air pollution by 2 to 10 percent The study recommends improving traffic circulation and reducing fuel consumption and emissions using traffic signal improvement plans at the network level in downtown Nablus City The implementation of traffic systems management which includes low cost and quick to implement plans is also recommended to improve traffic and environmental conditions in Palestinian citiesAn Optimum Design Approach for Flexible Pavementshttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/An-Optimum-Design-Approach-for-Flexible-PavementsPublished ArticlesAn optimum approach for the design of flexible pavements has been developed which utilizes the anticipated performance of pavement and its life-cycle cost The optimum approach developed has been applied to the design method recommended by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials AASHTO for the design of flexible pavements Pavement performance defined using the initial and terminal serviceability indices is a major design parameter that directly affects future pavement condition initial construction cost and maintenance and added user costs The optimum design is the one associated with the optimum terminal serviceability index and corresponds to the most cost-effective design Cost-effectiveness is defined using a parameter called pavement life-cycle disutility which is the ratio of the pavement life-cycle cost to the pavement life-cycle performance identified by the area under the corresponding performance curve The optimum pavement design is the one associated with the minimum pavement life-cycle disutility value and yields the optimum terminal serviceability index The optimum terminal serviceability index value replaces the general AASHTO design index recommendations of 20 and 25 for minor and major roads respectively A performance curve is generated for a particular pavement structure using an incremental solution of the AASHTO basic design equation It is shown that pavements should be designed for higher terminal serviceability index values than currently recommended International Journal of Pavement Engineering Volume 4 Number 1 August 2003 pp 1-1111 An Overview of Road Safety in the Palestinian Territorieshttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/An-Overview-of-Road-Safety-in-the-Palestinian-TerritoriesPublished ArticlesOne of the major problems facing the newly established Palestinian National Authority PNA is traffic accidents Several thousands of casualties are injured or killed in road accidents each year In addition the accidents form a considerable burden on the developing Palestinian economy Since the establishment of the PNA in 1994 on parts of the Palestinian territories after years of Israeli occupation changes in the political demographic and economic conditions are observed Such changes resulted in increased motorization levels and higher travel activities and traffic accidents This paper addresses the developments in road safety in the Palestinian territories during the period 19701998 During this period the number of reported accidents increased from 908 to 5945 The fatality rate per 10000 vehicles reached to 142 in 1998 Such rate in the Palestinian territories in 1996 is about 4 times that of Israel but forms about 75 of the respective rate of Jordan The paper analyzes the development of road safety indicators before and after the establishment of the PNA It investigates differences in road safety between the two physically-separated parts of the Palestinian territories the West Bank and Gaza Strip which exhibit different socio-economic characteristics as well The paper also presents the major causes of accidents Finally a number of strategies policies and actions are suggested to improve road safety in the Palestinian territories Traffic and Transportation Studies 2002Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Traffic and Transportation Studies Forecasting Automobile Demand for Economies in Transition: A Dynamic Simultaneous-Equation System Approach http://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Forecasting-Automobile-Demand-for-Economies-in-Transition-A-Dynamic-Simultaneous-Equation-System-Approach-Published ArticlesThe dynamic characteristics of automobile demand are critical for national economic and revenue predictions Automobile demand and ownership level forecasts are also the basis for travel demand models land-use-transport interaction models and transport policies and regulations In this article a dynamic automobile demand simulation model is developed utilizing a simultaneous-equation system The system considers the interaction between supply and demand and the resulting equilibrium Although forecasting automobile demand has been previously investigated it has not been within such a dynamic simulation framework Our model includes the current and lagged automobile quantity and price variables; economic financial and operating cost variables; and income and government policy variables The capabilities of the model are then demonstrated through performing a number of simulation experiments considering various growth-development scenarios changes in operating costs government policies towards automobile imports and demographicemployment shifts Relevant tests are applied to examine the econometric specifications and to evaluate the simulation model performance Transportation Planning and Technology Volume 25 Issue 4 2002 pages 311 - 331Traffic Systems Management Studies for Palestinian Cities: Implementation Assessmenthttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Traffic-Systems-Management-Studies-for-Palestinian-Cities-Implementation-AssessmentPublished ArticlesSeveral Traffic Systems Management TSM studies for Palestinian cities were conducted since 1995 Their objectives were better traffic circulation less traffic congestion management of the CBD parking management of public transportation traffic engineering improvement and enhancement of administration and training capabilities Each study identified an action plan for the respective city The Municipality was identified as the primary agency that should carry on the TSM plans with local and international assistance Several years after the completion of the TSM studies the interaction of municipalities with the recommended action plans varied among these cities The impact of the TSM studies in each city after several years have passed was evaluated Interviews with city officials were conducted to assess the status of following through study recommendations Some action plan items were conducted because of their high priority availability of funds and public demand Other improvements were not implemented because of their low priority lack of funds high cost public objection and political conditions Traffic And Transportation Studies 2002Macroscopic Optimum System for Management of Pavement Rehabilitationhttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Macroscopic-Optimum-System-for-Management-of-Pavement-RehabilitationPublished ArticlesA macroscopic pavement management system has been designed to yield optimum pavement conditions under constrained budgets The system can predict future pavement conditions from performance curves generated using the serviceability concept developed by the American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials AASHTO The pavement performance curves are generated using an incremental analysis of the AASHTO basic design equation The system then applies an effective optimum decision policy that aims toward maximizing the annual average network present serviceability index according to the expected outcomes of predefined major rehabilitation actions and subjects to budget constraints In contrast to the microscopic approach that considers short pavement sections the macroscopic approach to pavement management uses long pavement sections ie projects Each project is constructed of the same pavement structural section and possesses a unique performance curve Pavement projects with similar performance trends are grouped into six classes with each class treated as a single entity The system is particularly beneficial in establishing long-term pavement rehabilitation policies in terms of planning scheduling and budgeting Journal of Transportation Engineering Vol 127 No 6 NovemberDecember 2001 pp 493-500 doi 101061ASCE0733-947X2001127:6493Modeling Automobile Demand and Driver Population in Palestinian Territories: Simultaneous-Equation Estimation Methodhttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Modeling-Automobile-Demand-and-Driver-Population-in-Palestinian-Territories-Simultaneous-Equation-Estimation-MethodPublished ArticlesAutomobile demand has been extensively investigated because of its direct effects on many related fields including travel behavior public policy and management and transportation impact analysis A modeling framework is developed to estimate aggregate automobile demand using simultaneous-equation regression analysis This modeling approach is used to estimate automobile demand and driver population in the Palestinian Territories where major changes in the political socioeconomic and infrastructure systems are currently under way The developed model captures a number of relevant socioeconomic and political variables believed to affect automobile ownership in the Palestinian Territories The findings suggest that there is a strong interrelationship and simultaneity between automobile ownership and the population of drivers Relevant tests are applied to examine the econometric specifications of the presented models which indicate that income price demographic and employment variables are considered significant in the simultaneous-equation model The model can be used as a basis for forecasting automobile demand Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board Volume 1752 2001 Developing and Implementing an Integrated Pavement Monitoring and Management Approach for the Palestinian Territorieshttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Developing-and-Implementing-an-Integrated-Pavement-Monitoring-and-Management-Approach-for-the-Palestinian-Territories-1Published ArticlesThe provision of proper transportation services would play a basic role in future development plans for the Palestinian territories The road network which forms the backbone of the transportation system in the Palestinian territories suffered seriously from the constraints imposed on its development by the Israeli authorities Since the establishment of the Palestinian authority few years ago limited budgets were allocated to maintain the road network in the Palestinian territories Therefore it is necessary to develop and implement a pavement monitoring and management system aiming at identifying the prevailing conditions of the pavement structures assessing these conditions and defining the proper corrective measures The paper highlights the approach which was developed to assist Palestinian decision-makers to evaluate and define the measures to rehabilitate the damaged pavement structures of the road network in the Palestinian territories First the paper presents a general background related to road conditions in the Palestinian territories This is followed by a presentation of the suggested methodology to develop an integrated tool to evaluate maintain and rehabilitate road pavements in the Palestinian territories The paper presents a number of case studies performed for three different urban and rural locations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip The paper ends with conclusions and recommendations which include the need to apply the indicated approach as a first step to develop a comprehensive program for the establishment of a pavement management system for the Palestinian territories Keywords: pavement evaluation pavement maintenance pavement rehabilitation pavement monitoring and management An-Najah University Journal for Research - Natural Sciences A ISSN: 1727-2114 Volume 15 2001 Pages: 099-118 Public Utilities in the West Bank and Gaza Striphttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Public-Utilities-in-the-West-Bank-and-Gaza-StripPublished ArticlesThis study constitutes part one of the contribution made by Dr Sameer A Abu-Eisheh Al-Najah University West Bank to the intersectoral project of the UNCTAD secretariat on Prospects for sustained development of the Palestinian economy in the West Bank and Gaza Strip The opinions expressed in this study are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the secretariat of the United Nations The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country territory city or area or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries Dynamic Traffic Equilibrium with Discrete/Continuous Econometric Modelshttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Dynamic-Traffic-Equilibrium-with-DiscreteContinuous-Econometric-ModelsPublished ArticlesA procedure is developed to simulate the spatial and temporal distribution of traffic flows on a simplified highway network for home-to-work commuter trips The procedure is based on a discrete continuous econometric framework in which travelers\ choices of route and departure time are modeled Equilibrium traffic flows are determined using the estimated econometric models in a classic supplydemand equilibrium The potential usefulness of the approach is demonstrated through a number of simulation runs in which equilibrium traffic flows are determined under network capacity constraints and alternate signal timing strategiesDiscrete/Continuous Analysis of Commuters' Route and Departure Time Choiceshttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/DiscreteContinuous-Analysis-of-Commuters-Route-and-Departure-Time-ChoicesPublished ArticlesAn analysis of commuters choices of routes and departure times is undertaken using a discretecontinuous econometric modeling structure The modeling system is estimated with morning work trip data collected in State College Pennsylvania The estimation results provide interesting insights into the behavioral aspects motivating route and departure time choices and underscore the need for proper econometric specification in discretecontinuous model structures Overall the model estimations provide surprisingly good fits and show promise for applications in a traditional user equilibrium framework This paper appeared in Transportation Research Record No 1138 Capturing the Dynamics of Travel Behavior Traffic forecasting for small- to medium-sized urban areashttp://blogs.najah.edu/staff/emp_3022/article/Traffic-forecasting-for-small--to-medium-sized-urban-areasPublished ArticlesIn recent years there has been a noticeable shift away from the application of computer-based transportation modeling methods in small- to medium-sized urban areas^In many cases this shift has resulted from a disenchantment with the complex modeling methodologies used in the late 1960s and early 1970s^The expense of such methods in terms of data collection and computational costs was simply not worth the marginal improvement in forecasting accuracy over ``quick-response`` methods^This article describes a recently developed methodological package that can be readily applied to forecast the traffic-related impacts of a wide range of transportation-facility-related improvements^The package uses some of the most advanced transportation analysis techniques to predict traffic flows and measure the performance of specific highway links and the network as a whole^In addition an attempt is made to keep data requirements to a minimum ITE J ; VolIssue: 56:10