“Fragility”—the combination of poor governance, limited institutional capability, low social cohesion, and weak legitimacy—leads to erosion of the social contract and diminished resilience, with significant implications for peace, security, and sustainable development. This study reviews how the international community has responded to this challenge and offers new ideas on how that response can be improved. Based on that examination, the author seeks to convey the importance of addressing...

In September 2015, world leaders adopted a new post-2015 development agenda, centered on 17 Sustainable Development Goals intended to transform the world. This report provides basic information about the new agenda—its content, aspirations, and global partnership approach. It describes the complex challenges to the agenda’s effective implementation, including the multiplicity of participants, the growing diversity of financing, the need for better knowledge, and the persistence of state fr...

FOREVER HER MANThey'd been together since they were babes. Wil and Issy, joined at the hip. Closer than best friends, they knew each other's minds. They were family.As teenagers, Wil knew Issy would be his forever. But the fiercely independent Isabeau couldn't see the future Wil imagined.He left to become the King's Guard, and returned home after seven long years to fulfill a mission for his king. Still harboring a bruised heart, he could barely stand to be around I...

DREAMS AND OMENSWith a temper fiery enough to warn off any soldier not to take what isn't offered, Lara's reputation as a wildcat is deadly. To add to her troubled life, which keeps most villagers at bay, she was born with the ability to foretell the death of her friends, enemies, and lovers.When Lara's arrested for assaulting a guard, she's cast into servitude under Talon, the king's captain. She's foreseen meeting Talon for most of her life, and is now living her own priv...

A BATTLE OF HEARTSBastard son of a king, Aleksandr has scrimped and saved to attend the races at King Asad's City by the Sea. Nothing will stop Aleksi from returning home with a string of fine horses, a sizable purse of gold, and an easy tempered wife who will bear his children. What he finds is a spitting tigress with unparalleled beauty, a will of iron, and a mare she assures him will beat his stallion. She's also the king's pampered, spoiled daughter and is off limits. But that ...

CLOSING THE CIRCLEAs with all the women in her line, Alina leads with her heart, but she never forgets the lessons of her heritage. Believing she's finally found a man worthy of her love, she's shattered when he betrays her.But the tides change quickly and fate begins to shift to her side.The second son of a laird, Roark is forced to live with a more powerful laird to help his family's fortune. He grows up believing the stories he's told, and accepts his role in a d...

Everyone knows vampires don’t exist.So when Mildred Schmidt, one of Charlie’s customers, is convinced that her next-door neighbor’s house sitter is actually a vampire, Charlie of course has to step in to see what is really going on.What she finds is … disturbing. The house sitter DOES have some peculiar habits—like digging holes in the backyard in the middle of the night.Surely, they aren’t … graves.But then Polly, a local teenager, goes missing.Of c...

Awarded the 2016 Nautilus Gold Medal for Parenting and Family!Spirit Rock founder, author, and teacher James Baraz’s Awakening Joy offers his large and devoted readership a program to gain contentment and happiness by cultivating the seeds of joy within. Here he joins with Michele Lilyanna, a classroom teacher for 25 years, to offer caregivers and children ways to find joy in each day together.This unique offering nourishes both adults and kids. Ja...

Written for the practicing architect, Structural Design addresses the process on both a conceptual and a mathematical level. Most importantly, it helps architects work with structural consultants and understand all the necessary considerations when designing structural systems. Using a minimum of simple math, this book shows you how to make correct design calculations for structures made from steel, wood, concrete, and masonry. What?s more, this edition has been completely updated...

This is the true inspirational story of James "Stocky" Edwards, Canada's top living fighter pilot. The story begins in Battleford, Saskatchewan where Stocky grew up. During his childhood, shooting partridge, and working hard, Stocky learned the lessons that would serve him well during the Desert War. The story progresses through Stocky's training and then his posting over seas to the Desert War where he flew the P-40 Kittyhawk. This is the incredible story of a young Canadian who goes to w...

Zaiya, a powerful phoenix with a terrible past, descends from the skies to find a mate. Instead, captured by Rikka, the sorceress, the firebird is forced to attack a village. When the inhabitants fight back, the phoenix is nearly destroyed.But fate decrees that she is be rescued by a kind carpenter, Kin Woodsmith. As the phoenix and the carpenter grow closer, the young man helps Zaiya to regain her powers and overcomming her past. In return, she gives him special gifts, and togethe...

Tasked by the Clean Water Act to restore and maintain the integrity of their waters, state and local governments must develop systems for assessing the health of the streams within their borders. They quickly find that one size does not fit all when it comes to sampling. Rapid Bioassessment of Stream Health examines the sampling techniques, laborat