In the debate over Social Security reform, most of the work on individual accounts has focused on how individuals would save and manage those accounts during their working lives. Uncharted Waters goes further and addresses the often neglected questions about how and under what circumstances funds could be withdrawn from these accounts. In Uncharted Waters, a panel of recognized experts created a framework for determining how benefits might be paid if private accounts become a new part of the Social Security system or are created separate from Social Security. This important volume analyzes the potential implications of different policy choices. It considers the ramifications of payout rules for families at different stages of life, particularly for economically disadvantaged groups. The contributors also address how any new individual account program would fit with traditional Social Security, employer-based pensions, and tax-advantaged individual retirement savings (401(k)s and IRAs). As the debate over individual savings accounts rages, Uncharted Waters offers a sound framework for informing public policy on both sides of the argument.

The emerging three-dimensional (3D) chip architectures, with their intrinsic capability of reducing the wire length, promise attractive solutions to reduce the delay of interconnects in future microprocessors. 3D memory stacking enables much higher memory bandwidth for future chip-multiprocessor design, mitigating the "memory wall" problem. In addition, heterogenous integration enabled by 3D technology can also result in innovative designs for future microprocessors. This book first provides a brief introduction to this emerging technology, and then presents a variety of approaches to designing future 3D microprocessor systems, by leveraging the benefits of low latency, high bandwidth, and heterogeneous integration capability which are offered by 3D technology.

øCorporate Wellness Programs offers contributions from international experts, examining the planning, implementation and evaluation of wellness initiatives in organizations, and offering guidance on how to introduce these programs in to the workplace.

Inhaltsangabe:Einleitung: In den letzten zwei Jahrzehnten sind die Auswirkung industrieller Aktivität auf die Umwelt immer mehr zu einem Thema in der gesellschaftlichen Diskussion geworden. Unternehmen sind heutzutage mit hohen Erwartungen in Bezug auf die Umweltfreundlichkeit ihrer Aktivitäten konfrontiert. Diese Diplomarbeit konzentriert auf das Konzept der Abfallvermeidung, das den meisten Umwelt-Strategie zugrunde liegt. Viele Unternehmen haben Abfallvermeidung bis zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt jedoch noch nicht eingeführt. In dieser Arbeit wird Abfallvermeidung vornehmlich aus dem Blickwinkel dieser Unternehmen analysiert. Ein kurzer Überblick über die relevanten Begriffe und Konzepte wird gegeben. Danach werden die Bedrohungen für die Unternehmensleistung erörtert, die von ökologischer Gesetzgebung, versteckten Kosten, ISO Standards und den Erwartungen diverser Stakeholder herrühren. Anschließend werden die potentiellen, von Abfallvermeidung bewirkten Nutzen und Vorteile, die die gesamte Organisation umfassen, beschrieben und evaluiert. Diese sind unter anderem zu finden in Effizienzsteigerungen, Stärkung der Organisationsstruktur und Mitarbeiter-Engagement. Eine kritische Analyse dieser Vorteile führt nicht zu fundamentalen Kritikpunkten, sondern unterstreicht eher die Notwendigkeit für eine rationale Herangehensweise an ökologisches Management. Zum Abschluss werden Empfehlungen zur Einführung von Abfallvermeidung in Unternehmen, die dieses Strategie noch nicht verfolgen, gegeben. Darunter fallen unter anderem die Integration von Abfallvermeidung in die übergreifende Strategie, Kostenidentifikation und Abfallvermeidungsprogramme, die zum Empowerment von Mitarbeitern beitragen. Schlussendlich wird betont, dass Abfallvermeidung erst der erste Schritt in Richtung nachhaltiger ökonomischer Entwicklung ist. Abstract: During the past two decades the impacts of industrial activities on the environment have become a prominent issues in debates on economic development. Nowadays, Companies are confronted with high expectations in terms of environmental protection. This thesis focuses on the concept of pollution prevention, which underlies most environmental strategies. Many companies, however, have not yet implemented pollution prevention. In this thesis pollution prevention is primarily evaluated from the perspective of such firms. As a starting point a short overview of terms and concepts in the pollution prevention area is given. Following this [...]

Autonomous cars, drones, and electronic surveillance systems are examples of technologies that raise serious ethical issues. In this analytic investigation, Martin Peterson articulates and defends five moral principles for addressing ethical issues related to new and existing technologies: the cost-benefit principle, the precautionary principle, the sustainability principle, the autonomy principle, and the fairness principle. It is primarily the method developed by Peterson for articulating and analyzing the five principles that is novel. He argues that geometric concepts such as points, lines, and planes can be put to work for clarifying the structure and scope of these and other moral principles. This geometric account is based on the Aristotelian dictum that like cases should be treated alike, meaning that the degree of similarity between different cases can be represented as a distance in moral space. The more similar a pair of cases are from a moral point of view, the closer is their location in moral space. A case that lies closer in moral space to a paradigm case for some principle p than to any paradigm for any other principle should be analyzed by applying principle p. The book also presents empirical results from a series of experimental studies in which experts (philosophers) and laypeople (engineering students) have been asked to apply the geometric method to fifteen real-world cases. The empirical findings indicate that experts and laypeople do in fact apply geometrically construed moral principles in roughly, but not exactly, the manner advocates of the geometric method believe they ought to be applied.

For millennia, humanity has looked to the stars with wonder and longing. The dream of taking flight and exploring the solar system was realized in the 1950s, when the first satellites and manned orbital missions were launched. Humans continue to send scientific instruments, telescopes, and astronauts into space in an effort to learn more about the universe and about Earth. This title will explain the practical and scientific benefits of space exploration, from tracking climate change to global cooperation through shared research.

This volume will explore how financial decision-making changes at older ages, how and when financial advice can be useful for the older population, and what solutions and opportunities are needed to resolve the likely problems that will arise.

The chemical industry is one of the largest industrial sectors in the world and is expected to grow fourfold by 2060. Indeed modern life without chemicals would be inconceivable. Given the potential environmental and human health risks from exposure to chemicals, governments and industry have a ...