Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is considered the fourth leading cause of death in Palestine, with a prevalence of 9.1% in patients aged 20-79 years, and is predicted to increase to 20.6% by 2020. This study aims to estimate DM costs, compare DM total health care cost among patient characteristics and DM management (e.g. Anti-diabetic medications and alternative medicine), as well as assess MA and its predictors including patient characteristics, DM management, alternative medicine use, and DM costs. A cross-sectional study was conducted for the past one year among 479 diabetic patients, selected by convenience sampling and snowball sampling methods via electronic post of an online questionnaire including a web link to the questionnaire page in a Google Form via email or public social media pages and applications. Data on patients' socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, medication profile, use of medicinal plants as alternative medicine, costs, and Medication Adherence (MA) were collected. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS v. 25) was used to perform a descriptive, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, univariate analysis, Mann-Whitney or Kruskal-Wallis test, multiple linear regression, binary logistic regression, and multiple logistic regression analysis. A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. More than half of the participants were male and living in villages (50.7%, 59.1%, respectively). Approximately 51.4% received Oral Hypoglycemic Drugs (OHDs) and only 16.1% received insulin. The participants receiving ≤3 medications daily acquired the highest percentage (55.7%), and less than half received medicinal plants as an alternative medicine for the management of DM. The estimated total DM health care cost per 1 year incurred by patients and family members was Israeli Shekel 988,276 (US Dollar 307,590). More than half of the participants were considered adherent with the Eight-Item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) score ≥6. It is noteworthy that the use of alternative medicine was significantly associated with total health care cost and MA. Furthermore, DM duration was significantly associated with MA. These are results worth taking into consideration. This study reflects the need for strengthening the patient-health care professionals' relationship, and to enhance the role of preventive education, and the importance of awareness about MA, DSCMBs, and the use of alternative medicine based on evidence-based strategies to improve MA, glycemic control, meanwhile reducing the costs incurred by patients and family members.

AbstractThis article aims at investigating rework cost, factors and effects in residential building projects in the West Bank – Palestine. Questionnaire survey is used to collect and rank the main factors and effects of rework from consultants' and constructors' point of view. Respondents show that more than 80% of the projects completed with rework cost of value greater than 5% of the total project cost. Overall, respondents' view concludes that the top rework factors include: mistakes in design, unskilled labors, unqualified subcontractors, non-conformance with required specifications, and bid awarding policy. Respondents indicate that the main effects of rework are cost overrun, project time extension, material waste excess and profit reduction. Spearman correlation test concludes a good correlation between contractors and consultants in ranking of rework factors and effects. Data collected from 47 residential projects reveal a high rework impact on cost overrun in construction projects. The results of this study would be helpful for researchers and professionals to guide their efforts to minimize rework in construction projects and to improve projects outcomes in term of cost, time and quality.

AbstractThis article aims at illustrating the major factors of construction firms' failure from the perspective of constructors. Thirty-seven (37) factors are illustrated in this article. The factors are divided under 3 groups: financial, managerial and external. The study used the field survey technique (questionnaire) to collect the necessary data that serves its purpose. Results illustrate that the top 5 contributors are: delay in collecting payments from owner (financial group), poor work experience (managerial group), bidding strategy (managerial group), local political conditions, low profit due to high competition (financial group). Results indicate that the top factors are internal factors which could be handled and controlled by the company itself. The results of this study are the first step towards identifying the problems of contracting companies in order to understand them and try to find solutions that will raise the level of companies and ensure their continuity and success.

AbstractThis paper aims to recognize the effect of material waste on cost increase in Palestinian construction projects. The study used questionnaire survey to achieve its objectives. The target population of the study are constructors and consultants involved in construction projects. The study also predicts the effect of cost overrun on material waste in some construction activities, namely: ceramic and brick works. The collected data were analyzed using statistical analyses. The study has established that among the various factors that affect cost overrun, experience in the line of work, conflicts among project participants, payments delay, and political situation are the key factors. While the analysis revealed that the main material waste factors are: poor site management, using untrained labors, rework due to workers' mistakes, selecting the lowest bidder contractor/subcontractor, and frequent change orders. Data from 55 building projects constructed in the West Bank between 2015 and 2020 were collected to test the relation between material waste and cost increase. Two mathematical models were developed: Model (l) links cost increase and waste in ceramic works. It indicates that if waste increases by 1%, the cost will increase by 1.07%. Model (2) links between cost increase and material waste in brick works. It tells that if waste increases by 1%, cost will increase by 1.25%. R square of value &gt;0.7, for both models, indicates a strong linear relation between cost increase and material waste. This is the first study that predicts the effect of material waste on cost increase in Palestinian construction sector. The study encourages different parties related to construction projects to manage factors of cost overrun and material waste to enhance the sector of construction.

Maintaining a high standard of nursing care is imperative for ensuring patient safety. Several factors significantly impact the provision of nursing care, including work environment resources, personnel coordination, work systems, and head nurse leadership. In addition, each nurse's clinical and academic career also plays a role in shaping the quality of care provided to patients. This article reports results of a cross-sectional study aimed to identify the different types of missed nursing care and the factors that contribute to them, as perceived by nurses, and second, to investigate how nurses' characteristics may relate to the occurrence of missed nursing care. Data for this study were obtained through a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to participants working in an intensive care unit. The study included a final sample size of 176 participants, all of whom worked in intensive care unit hospitals located in the north region of Palestine. The study found that handwashing, setting up meals for patients who feed themselves, discharge planning, and response to a call light were the most frequently missed nursing care activities. The primary factors identified as reasons for missed nursing care were inadequate availability of labor and material resources, along with communication issues. Efforts to address these identified issues can potentially lead to improved quality of nursing care in intensive care units.

Abstract This research focuses on an increasingly important question associated with the state of military occupation as part of International Humanitarian Law, namely, to what extent the rights and duties of an occupying power are to be broadened or otherwise minimized when an occupation of a foreign territory lasts for a long period of time? This question is necessitated by the practices of some occupying powers that claim their ‘original’ authority over occupied areas should exceed the original rights embodied in the legal corpus on military occupation due to the prolonged nature of their military presence. This research focuses on the state of the Israeli military occupation over the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs.) and found that the Israeli practices are calculated in this direction, i.e., the expansionist policy, which ultimately conflict with the corpus of rules of international law on military occupation.