This wide-ranging introduction to the psychology of human language use offers a new breadth of approach by breaching conventional disciplinary boundaries with examples and perspectives drawn from many subdisciplines - cognitive and social psychology, psycholinguistics, neuropsychology and sociology. After an exploration of the diverse nature of communication, using examples throughout the animal kingdom, the authors focus on the range of human communicative channels, the nature of human language and the variations occurring between and within societies and cultures. Subsequent chapters cover speech production as a psycholinguistic skill; the coordination of verbal and non-verbal channels; the structure and management of conversations; language perception and comprehension; the cognitive neuropsychology of language, and the development of communicative skills. The book also presents an informative and entertaining historical perspective, and illustrates the fact that insights gained into controversial problems in other fields and at other times can shed light on many of today's most contentious debates in psychology.

Telecommunications have underpinned social interaction and economic activity since the 19th century and have been increasingly reliant on optical fibers since their initial commercial deployment by BT in 1983. Today, mobile phone networks, data centers, and broadband services that facilitate our entertainment, commerce, and increasingly health provision are built on hidden optical fiber networks. However, recently it emerged that the fiber network is beginning to fill up, leading to the talk of a capacity crunch where the capacity still grows but struggles to keep up with the increasing demand. This book, featuring contributions by the suppliers of widely deployed simulation software and academic authors, illustrates the origins of the limited performance of an optical fiber from the engineering, physics, and information theoretic viewpoints. Solutions are then discussed by pioneers in each of the respective fields, with near-term solutions discussed by industrially based authors, and more speculative high-potential solutions discussed by leading academic groups.

Ethnic conflict is the major form of mass political violence in the world today, and it has been since World War II. Dramatic acts of terrorism and calculated responses to them may distract the attention of policymakers and the public, but ethnic and nationalist conflict continues to pose the greatest challenge to peace and security across the globe. Causes of such conflict and ideas about how to address it are hotly debated in the literature that has emerged over the past fifteen years. This volume offers a unique overview of research and policy approaches to ethnic conflicts. It is the first book to bring together experienced policymakers and key scholars from all disciplines. They debate how to best understand the rise and escalation of ethnic conflict, assess different strategies for peacemaking, mediation, and reconciliation, and evaluate the prospects for conflict management through institutional design. In contrast with a more enthusiastic assessment of the willingness and capacity to successfully intervene in ethnic conflict, this volume documents the new realism that has emerged over the past decade. It recognizes the complex and protracted nature of such conflicts and demands a multifaceted, case-by-case approach sustained by long-term political engagement. Published in co-operation with the Center for Development Research, University of Bonn.