This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice.This comprehensive guide explores the intricate relationship between fiber optics and cybersecurity, delving into the vulnerabilities and strengths of this critical infrastructure. You'll gain a deep understanding of how fiber optic networks function, the various threats they face, and the most effective strategies for safeguarding data integrity. The book examines the unique properties of fiber optic cables, including their susceptibil...

This edited volume examines mass media portrayals of women leaders and other powerful women in popular culture. Contributors argue that increased media visibility and representation can lead to more widespread acceptance of women as societal leaders.The book employs an interdisciplinary, intersectional, and international approach to its coverage of these portrayals and their meanings for society and gender norms. Through a feminist lens, contributors examine these ...

Spaces of Creative Resistance: Social Change Projects in Twenty-First-Century East Asiabrings together an exciting cross-regional interdisciplinary group of scholars, scholar activists, artists, and others for a collection that addresses the last two decades' hollowing out of social connections, socioeconomic income gaps, and general precarity of life in East Asian societies. Written by authors from China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, each chapter is focused on peopl...

An up-to-date reference book on phylogenetic methods and applications for evolutionary biologistsThe increasingly widespread availability of genomic data is transforming how biologists estimate evolutionary relationships among organisms and broadening the range of questions that researchers can test in a phylogenetic framework. Species Tree Inference brings together many of today’s leading scholars in the field to provide an incisive guide to the latest pr...

The pomegranate, Punica granatum L., is one of the oldest known edible fruits and is associated with the ancient civilizations of the Middle East. This is the first comprehensive book covering the botany, production, processing, health and industrial uses of the pomegranate. The cultivation of this fruit for fresh consumption, juice production and medicinal purposes has expanded more than tenfold over the past 20 years. Presenting a review of pomegranate growing, from a scientific and hort...

Europe’s banking system is weighed down by high levels of non-performing loans (NPLs), which are holding down credit growth and economic activity. This discussion note uses a new survey of European country authorities and banks to examine the structural obstacles that discourage banks from addressing their problem loans. A three pillared strategy is advocated to remedy the situation, comprising: (i) tightened supervisory policies, (ii) insolvency reforms, and (iii) the development of distress...

The global population is projected to reach almost 10 billion by 2050, and food and feed production will need to increase by 70%. Wheat, maize and sorghum are three key cereals which provide nutrition for the majority of the world's population. Their production is affected by various abiotic stresses which cause significant yield losses. The effects of climate change also increase the frequency and severity of such abiotic stresses. Molecular breeding technologies offer real hope for impro...

The long history of tiny matter(s) in the sciences, thought, and cultureWinner of the Modern Language Association Prize for an Edited CollectionFrom catastrophic weather and steady warming caused by the accumulation of carbon particles in the Earth’s atmosphere to societies brought to a standstill by microscopic viruses, the new millennium has reminded us of how the minutest of phenomena can have outsized effects. This notion is one that ha...

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence.In the latest edition of Social Policy Review, experts review the leading social policy scholarship from the past year.The book addresses current issues and critical debates within the field, with a particular focus on intergenerational research. Contributors also explore key social policy and research developments across a wide range of themes, including the impact of COVID-19 on eldercare and homelessness, rese...

Climate change is a key threat to agriculture. Modelling is fundamental to assessing its potential impacts. This collection summarises the wealth of research on improving climate impact models and their use in assessing impacts on different regions.Modelling climate change impacts on agricultural systems reviews research on developing models in areas such as improving data flows, incorporating genetic information and dealing with uncertainty. This collecti...

Anthologies, awards, journals, and works in translation have sprung up to reflect science fiction's increasingly international scope. Yet scholars and students alike face a problem. Where does one begin to explore global SF in the absence of an established canon? Lingua Cosmica opens the door to some of the creators in the vanguard of international science fiction. Eleven experts offer innovative English-language scholarship on figures ranging from Cuban pioneer Daína Chaviano to Nigerian ...

Covering the ancient period through to the 21st century, this book examines how landscapes have changed across East Asia over time. Featuring examples of a variety of landscapes, from the riverine and agricultural to the urban and aesthetic, this books thus presents a comprehensive review of East Asian environmental history.The eleven chapters, written by an international team of leading scholars, provide analysis of a wide range of spatial, temporal, and thematic considerations. S...