Books published by Nova Science Publishers Inc

The authors of this book examine the latest developments in environmental research. Chapters include nanostructured porous semiconductors as emerging materials in environmental technology; contrasting fish assemblages in free-flowing and impounded tributaries to the upper Delaware River; effects of the absence of adequate regulatory structure on the conservation of peyote; iridium as the new polluting metal linked to vehicular traffic; application of biogas for sustainable energy development from agricultural residues; combustion of oil layer on the surface of water; weathering effects on the structure and thermal behavior of bituminous coal; the use of lignite for the thermal treatment of waste-tyre on a commercial scale; cadmium uptake and distribution in tissues of sea bream with different cadmium exposure histories; mine closure aspects of balanda opencast mine of jagannath area, Mahanadi coal field; and Bogotá's urban wetlands.

For almost six decades, the United States has played a leading role in global efforts to alleviate hunger and malnutrition and to enhance world food security through international food aid assistance -- primarily through either the donation or sale on concessional terms of U.S. agricultural commodities. Objectives of U.S. foreign food aid include providing emergency and humanitarian assistance in response to natural or manmade disasters and promoting agricultural development and food security. This book includes a description of U.S. international food aid programs under current law; several important policy issues related to U.S. international food aid; and describes Administration and congressional proposals intended to change the nature of U.S. food international aid. This book also reviews the U.S. Agency for International Development''s (USAID) processes for awarding and modifying cash-based food assistance projects and assesses the extent to which USAID and its implementing partners have implemented financial controls to help ensure appropriate oversight of such projects.

Innovation in the United States has been one of the driving forces in our development as one of the leading economies in the world. Small companies comprise the overwhelming majority of all businesses in the United States and they must be able to effectively and efficiently bring their innovative products and services to market and grow. In this book, the U.S. Small Business Administration''s Office of Advocacy focuses on additive manufacturing (also referred to as 3D printing) to determine if barriers, best practices, and big ideas found in that industry are instructive for technology industries generally. Moreover, small firms play an increasingly important role in U.S. manufacturing, and now account for almost half of America''s manufacturing employment. Dense networks of these small manufacturers are vital to the process of taking a product from concept to market, and the exchange of manufacturing know-how across suppliers is essential for the diffusion of the new products and innovative processes that give U.S. manufacturing its cutting edge. However, these small firms face barriers to innovation, a key element in strengthening U.S. competitiveness. The book describes these barriers, and offers suggestions about ways to increase innovation by small manufacturers and improve the flow of innovation and information within supply chains. Furthermore, the accelerator phenomenon has been cited nationally and internationally as a key contributor to the rate of business startup success. Accelerators select and invite a small group of entrepreneurs to startup boot camps, providing mentoring, resources, and, most important, industry connections during these programs. This book aims to help entrepreneurs and policymakers by categorising a variety of startup assistance programs to determine what factors distinguish accelerators from other programs, as well as create a starting point for developing meaningful metrics to determine the relevance of accelerators for policymakers.

To measure the performance of its global distribution pipeline, the Department of Defense (DOD) has established three metrics: (1) logistics response time -- number of days between the time a customer submits an order and receives it, (2) customer wait time -- number of days between the time a maintenance unit, a subset of customers, submits an order and receives it, and (3) time-definite delivery -- a measure of the probability that a customer will receive an order within an established logistics response time. However, these metrics do not provide decision makers with a complete representation of performance across the entire global distribution pipeline. This book assesses the extent to which DOD has established metrics for its distribution performance; is able to accurately measure its performance against distribution standards; and has taken actions to identify causes and develop solutions for any gaps in distribution. Furthermore, the book reviews the extent to which DOD has developed and implemented corrective action plans that address challenges in the three focus areas; an effective program for monitoring and validating the effectiveness and sustainability of supply chain management corrective actions; and an ability to demonstrate supply chain management progress.

Little public data are available to assess the extent to which sponsors of defined benefit plans are offering participants immediate lump sums to replace their lifetime annuities, but certain laws and regulations provide incentives for use of this practice. Although the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has primary responsibility for overseeing pension sponsors'' reporting requirements, it does not require sponsors to report such lump sum offers, making oversight difficult. Pension experts generally agree that there has been a recent increase in these types of offers. Since 2012, a number of large pension plan sponsors have given selected participants a limited-time option of receiving their retirement benefits in the form of a lump sum. Although sponsors'' decisions to make certain lump sum "window" offers may be permissible by law, questions have been raised about participants'' understanding of the financial tradeoffs associated with their choice. This book focuses on the prevalence of lump sum offers and sponsors'' incentives to use them; the implications for participants; and the extent to which selected lump sum materials provided to participants include key information.

Over 100 irrigation projects and systems can be found on Indian reservations primarily across the western United States. The scarcity of water in much of the western United States makes irrigation critical to agricultural activities. The Department of the Interior''s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) manages 16 irrigation projects on Indian reservations in the western United States. This book focuses on BIA''s estimated deferred maintenance cost for its irrigation projects; shortcomings that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified in BIA''s management of its irrigation projects; and issues GAO identified that needed to be addressed to determine the long-term direction of BIA''s irrigation program.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provides funding to contractors for research and development of new technologies. To incentivise participation in federal research projects and promote the use of federally funded inventions, the 1980 Bayh-Dole Act and other laws and regulations allow contractors receiving federal research and development funds to retain ownership of inventions they create so long as they adhere to certain requirements, including disclosing inventions developed with agency funding. DOE''s ability to protect its interests in these inventions -- including their utilisation and domestic manufacture -- depends on its knowledge of their existence. This book examines DOE funding for contractor research for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 and how DOE ensures that contractors disclose agency funded inventions; the challenges DOE faces in ensuring invention disclosure and actions it is taking to address them; and the challenges DOE faces in protecting its interests in these inventions and the actions it is taking to address them. Furthermore, the authors of this book review the policies and procedures used to determine whether march-in authority should be exercised in the Bayh-Dole Act; how the march-in authority has been used; and what barriers and disincentives have been encountered in exercising the march-in authority.

This book was written by two experts in the field, and as its name implies, the book discusses sexuality, relationships and love in a lighthearted fashion. The book is composed of descriptions of our emotional, psychological and physical functioning which affect sexuality. Theoretical descriptions, questions that we are frequently asked along with the answers we provide, as well as tips about sexuality, sexual practices and intimate relationships are described in everyday language peppered by humorous stories and accounts from our clinical practices, relevant jokes, and pearls'' uttered by public figures. This comprehensive, easy to understand, yet humorously written book addresses healthy and dysfunctional relationships, fulfilling sex, and unsatisfying sexual escapades. It can be read for learning, enriching good relationships, learning new things about sex, its humor, and getting a behind-the-door look at what actually happens in a sexual therapist''s office. It''s a riveting look at what people like, dislike and request as far as sex and love are concerned. Some of the topics include such sections on: the beauty and pain of love; love, sex and what''s between them; sterile sex; men and women; many ways to enjoy sex - frontal, back door, orally and manually; GPS to the G Spot; sex in later years; and the pathway to love and laughter.

Education is the harbinger of change; technological learning in the Information Age is at the cusp of that change, bringing new technologies, enhanced interfaces, dialogue, mobile learning and networked resources that shape content, sharing and distribution of information. These aspects influence the people and society of the "climate century". The Information Age follows the production of data in previously unheard quantities. In the early days of widespread computer usage, we had a plethora of theories with only a paucity of data. Now, the data we produce is so large that it requires new analytics and new patterns of interpretative meaning. New methods of storage and analysis are needed in order to quantify big data.'' But we live in uncertain times, in which even the climatelike financial markets is more volatile than it was in the pre-industrial second millennium, making technological adaptation ever more critical. This technological adaptation needs to occur in conjunction with an attitude which fosters a caring curiosity'' for the biosphere which sustains us. Education is about gaining qualifications, but it is also about intrinsically dispelling uncertainty in the quest for knowledge and techniques to enhance the experience of life and living. Cloud 9: Learning in the Information Age explores some of the methods and learning techniques and technologies that help us to do this.

This series examines issues and economic matters particular to small businesses. The term Small Enterprise (or Small Organisation) is sometimes used for this same category of business or organisation. A small enterprise/organisation may also be a nonprofit organisation. This volume covers several topics including small business management and technical assistance training programs; federal broadband deployment programs and small business; women-owned small business programs; and cosponsored activities that can benefit small businesses but lack a consistent feedback mechanism. 

At approximately noon on Saturday 9 August 2014, Officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police Department (FPD) shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old. The Criminal Section of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, the United States Attorney''s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (collectively, "The Department") subsequently opened a criminal investigation into whether the shooting violated federal law. The Department has determined that the evidence does not support charging a violation of federal law. This book details the Department''s investigation, findings, and conclusions.

According to the Census Bureau, approximately 27 percent of the U.S. population lives in a rural area. The smallest water systems account for 77 percent of all systems, and many water systems are not in compliance with drinking water regulations. Seven federal agencies provide funding or technical assistance to rural communities in developing drinking water and wastewater systems and complying with federal regulations. The nation faces costly upgrades to aging and deteriorating drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. Many rural communities face significant challenges in financing the costs of replacing or upgrading aging and obsolete drinking water and wastewater infrastructure. This book focuses on the federal agencies that provide funding or technical assistance to rural communities and fiscal year 2014 funding; and issues identified that affect rural communities'' ability to obtain funding for water and wastewater infrastructure. Furthermore, this book summarises the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and its major programs and regulatory requirements. 

A pension is a voluntary benefit offered by employers to assist employees in providing for their financial security in retirement. Public and private sector defined benefit pension plans are subject to different rules and guidance regarding discount rates -- interest rates used to determine the current value of estimated future benefit payments. This book addresses the significance of differences in approaches used to determine discount rates among public and private plans; purposes for measuring the value of a plan''s future benefits and key considerations for determining discount rate policy; and approaches selected countries have taken to choose discount rates.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a responsibility for ensuring the safety and proper labeling of more than 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, including an increased volume of imported food. The FDA''s foreign offices have engaged in a variety of activities since 2010 to help ensure that imported food is safe. This book examines these activities as well as the extent of the foreign offices'' contributions to the safety of imported food; and the extent to which FDA has engaged in workforce planning for its foreign offices.