The United States social security system is the nation's largest social insurance program. As such, it has a far-reaching impact throughout the economy, influencing not only old-age economic security but also many behaviors, including corporate employment policy, retirement patterns, and personal saving. In the past, the system's universal coverage and generous benefits ensured popular support to a degree enjoyed by no other form of "big government" social spending. Yet over two-thirds of all Americans today believe that the social security system will face bankruptcy by the time they retire. The question of social security reform—how to reform the system or whether the system needs reform at all—is the subject of heated debate at all levels of government, in the media, and among workers, pensioners, and employers. Prospects for Social Security Reform informs the debate by exploring why the system is at a crossroads today and what to do about it. Contributors detail the size and nature of the problem, explain views of key "stakeholders" regarding reform options, and report new evidence on how reform might affect the economy. Research findings and public opinion polls are analyzed, as are lessons from other countries experimenting with new ways to deliver old-age benefit promises. No other volume includes as diverse and expert a set of perspectives on reform and privatization as those gathered here from economists, actuaries, employers, investment managers, and representatives of organized labor. Among its chapters is the path-breaking study "Social Security Money's Worth," the 1999 winner of the TIAA-CREF's Paul A. Samuelson Award for Outstanding Scholarly Writing on Lifelong Financial Security.

Approximately 80% of the U.S. population now lives in urban metropolitan areas, and this number is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. At the same time, the built infrastructure sustaining these populations has become increasingly vulnerable to climate change. Stresses to existing systems, such as buildings, energy, transportation, water, and sanitation are growing. If the status quo continues, these systems will be unable to support a high quality of life for urban residents over the next decades, a vulnerability exacerbated by climate change impacts. Understanding this dilemma and identifying a path forward is particularly important as cities are becoming leading agents of climate action. Prepared as a follow-up to the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA), Climate Change and U.S. Cities documents the current understanding of existing and future climate risk for U.S. cities, urban systems, and the residents that depend on them. Beginning with an examination of the existing science since 2012, chapters develop connections between existing and emerging climate risk, adaptation planning, and the role of networks and organizations in facilitating climate action in cities. From studies revealing disaster vulnerability among low-income populations to the development of key indicators for tracking climate change, this is an essential, foundational analysis. Importantly, the assessment puts a critical emphasis on the cross-cutting factors of economics, equity, and governance. Urban stakeholders and decision makers will come away with a full picture of existing climate risks and a set of conclusions and recommendations for action. Many cities in the United States still have not yet planned for climate change and the costs of inaction are great. With bold analysis, Climate Change and U.S. Cities reveals the need for action and the tools that cities must harness to effect decisive, meaningful change.

This book discusses various renewable energy resources and technologies. Topics covered include recent advances in photobioreactor design; microalgal biomass harvesting, drying, and processing; and technological advances and optimised production systems as prerequisites for achieving a positive energy balance. It highlights alternative resources that can be used to replace fossil fuels, such as algal biofuels, biodiesel, bioethanol, and biohydrogen. Further, it reviews microbial technologies, discusses an immobilization method, and highlights the efficiency of enzymes as a key factor in biofuel production. In closing, the book outlines future research directions to increase oil yields in microalgae, which could create new opportunities for lipid-based biofuels, and provides an outlook on the future of global biofuel production. Given its scope, the book will appeal to all researchers and engineers working in the renewable energy sector.

A series of investigations, especially in the United States and Britain, have focused attention on the performance of national intelligence services. At the same time, the onset of an era of terrorism and a broad span of trans-national security challenges has highlighted the crucial role of intelligence. This book takes stock of the underlying intellectual sub-structure of intelligence. For intelligence as for other areas of policy, serious intellectual inquiry is the basis for improving the performance of real-world institutions. The volume explores intelligence from an intellectual perspective, not an organizational one. Instead the aim of the book is to identity themes that run through these applications, such as the lack of comprehensive theories, the unclear relations between providers and users of intelligence, and the predominance of bureaucratic organizations driven by collection. A key element is the development, or rather non-development, of intelligence toward an established set of methods and standards and, above all, an ongoing scientific discourse. Here, in the transformation from an experience-based proto-science to a science of intelligence in-being, the book argues, lies perhaps the most fundamental challenge for a field of immense impact on the international community, on nations, and on individuals.

Focuses on performance and reward using systems thinking and a dual model of strategic alignment and psychological engagement.

Bioenergy Systems for the Future: Prospects for Biofuels and Biohydrogen examines the current advances in biomass conversion technologies for biofuels and biohydrogen production, including their advantages and challenges for real-world application and industrial-scale implementation. In its first part, the book explores the use of lignocellulosic biomass and agricultural wastes as feedstock, also addressing biomass conversion into biofuels, such as bioethanol, biodiesel, bio-methane, and bio-gasoline. The chapters in Part II cover several different pathways for hydrogen production, from biomass, including bioethanol and bio-methane reforming and syngas conversion. They also include a comparison between the most recent conversion technologies and conventional approaches for hydrogen production. Part III presents the status of advanced bioenergy technologies, such as applications of nanotechnology and the use of bio-alcohol in low-temperature fuel cells. The role of advanced bioenergy in a future bioeconomy and the integration of these technologies into existing systems are also discussed, providing a comprehensive, application-oriented overview that is ideal for engineering professionals, researchers, and graduate students involved in bioenergy. - Explores the most recent technologies for advanced liquid and gaseous biofuels production, along with their advantages and challenges - Presents real-life application of conversion technologies and their integration in existing systems - Includes the most promising pathways for sustainable hydrogen production for energy applications