In a post-apocalyptic America, desperate survivors have banded together in redoubts to pool their resources and provide defense against marauding bands of raiders. A bedraggled soldier presents himself to a group of survivors in their redoubt, offering military skills and training in return for food and shelter. Despite their misgivings about the soldier's dark, sinister past, they accept him into the redoubt. He transforms them from farmers and ranchers into a workable militia. And just in time, too, as bands of raiders cast their covetous eyes on the survivor redoubt and make their plans for attacking and pillaging.

In addition to their jobs, workers have obligations (civic, familial, and personal) to fulfil that sometimes requires them to be absent from the workplace (e.g., to serve on a jury, retrieve a sick child from day care, or attend a funeral). The U.S. government generally has allowed individual employers to decide whether to accommodate the non-work activities of employees by granting them leave, with or without pay, rather than firing them. In other countries, national governments or the international organisations to which they belong more often have developed social policies that entitle individuals to time off from the workplace (often paid) for a variety of reasons (e.g. maternity and vacations). This book examines the incidence of different types of paid leave that U.S. employers voluntarily provide as part of an employee's total compensation.

Prepared by the Task Committee on the Sustainable Design of Pipelines of the Pipeline Location and Installation Committee of the Pipeline Division of the Utility Engineering and Surveying Institute of ASCESustainable Design of Pipelines: Guidelines for Achieving Advanced Functionality, MOP 151, provides a conceptual tool and a decision process that can be used to evaluate the potential impacts of a project and promote improvement in sustainable planning, design, construction, and operation to create a project that goes beyond the typical standards of care for pipelines used by the water, wastewater, and storm water industry. This Manual of Practice demonstrates how to develop sustainable solutions through a well-defined process that includes Transparent and inclusive sustainability assessment methodology, Clear problem definition, Clear and measurable criteria to assess sustainability (Triple Bottom Line) as defined in the Envision Guidance Manual, Full suite of alternatives for assessment, and Consideration of collateral impacts. This MOP is designed for engineers, planners, owners, and public officials to utilize within the pipeline industry.