The companies that provide the Internet to the rest of the world do not have the luxury of setting high expectations and assuming they will be met. These Internet infrastructure companies (IICs) are responsible for delivering the Internet's promise, including everything from eBusiness and mobile Internet applications to optical services and high-speed access. The Internet's audience takes this promise for granted, and IICs face the daunting challenge of making the Internet, and networks like it, do what the audience expects them to. To meet the expectations they face, IICs must harness the power of their operations support systems (OSSs) - the software systems in the background they use to create, manage, maintain, manipulate and adapt their networks to serve customers reliably and rapidly.
Broadband Infrastructure: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding and Delivering OSS/BSS is a "how to" book for Internet infrastructure companies to help them prepare for the decisions they will face when constructing their core OSS strategies and infrastructure. This book provides a source of reference and education to learn the language, methods, and technologies associated with the OSS market. It examines the Internet infrastructure supply chain and how it will be automated. Finally, it brings together a wealth of proven knowledge and advice, gathered from BusinessEdge Solutions' extensive OSS experience, that broadband providers can use to minimize their OSS risks while maximizing their ability to differentiate and compete.

Television as we knew it is irrevocably changing. Some are gleefully announcing the death of television, others have been less sanguine but insist that television is radically changing underneath our eyes. Several excellent publications have dealt with television's uncertain condition, but few have taken the specific question of what television's transformations mean for the discipline of Television Studies as a starting point. The essays collected in this volume aim to fill this void. Two fundamental questions string the various contributions together. First, is television really in crisis or is the present not so extraordinary when revisiting television's development? Second, should we invent new theoretical concepts or are our old ones still perfectly relevant? To answer such questions the authors in this volume take up diverse case studies, ranging from the academic series Reading Contemporary Television to Flemish Fiction, from nostalgic programming on broadcast television to YouTube, from tell-sell television shows to public television art in the 1980s.

While many discussions of the economic crisis of 2007-2008 have sought to explain the causes of the financial collapse, this volume looks to supplement these accounts by exploring possible alternatives for the post-crisis world in which we now live. However, rather than offering a strictly economic approach, Cultural Studies and Finance Capitalism argues that the crisis was as much cultural as economic, and that any way forward must understand the complex relationship between media, culture and the economy. The chapters in this volume deal with a wide range of themes including celebrity culture, media coverage of the economy, examinations of economic theory and financial markets. They bring together research that combines an historical perspective with a view towards the future of critical cultural and political analysis. In a period marked by anxiety and economic austerity, this volume offers the reader tools for understanding the place and importance of cultural research in the post-crisis era. This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Cultural Studies.

This book draws on clinical research findings from the last three decades to offer a review of current psychological theories and therapeutic approaches to understanding and treating auditory hallucinations, addressing key methodological issues that need to be considered in evaluating interventions. Mark Hayward, Clara Strauss and Simon McCarthy-Jones present a historical narrative on lessons learnt, the evolution of evidence bases, and an agenda for the future. The text also provides a critique of varying therapeutic techniques, enabling practice and treatment decisions to be grounded in a balanced view of differing approaches. Chapters cover topics including: behavioural and coping approaches cognitive models of voice hearing the role of self-esteem and identity acceptance-based and mindfulness approaches interpersonal theory. Psychological Approaches to Understanding and Treating Auditory Hallucinations brings together and evaluates diffuse literature in an accessible and objective manner, making it a valuable resource for clinical researchers and postgraduate students. It will also be of significant interest to academic and clinical psychologists working within the field of psychotic experiences.

This book draws on clinical research findings from the last three decades to offer a review of current psychological theories and therapeutic approaches to understanding and treating auditory hallucinations addressing key methodological issues that need to be considered in evaluating voice hearing interventions. Mark Hayward, Clara Strauss and Simon McCarthy-Jones present a historical narrative on lessons learnt, a state of the art, and an agenda for the future. The text also provides a critique of different therapeutic techniques enabling practice and treatment decisions to be grounded in a balanced view of differing approaches. Chapters cover topics including: behavioural approaches cognitive models of voice hearing the role of self-esteem and identity acceptance-based and mindfulness approaches interpersonal theory. Psychological Approaches to Understanding and Treating Command Hallucinations will be of significant interest to academic and clinical psychologists working within the field of psychotic experiences.The book brings together and evaluates diffuse literature in an accessible and objective manner and will therefore also be a valuable resource for clinical researchers and postgraduate students.

This collection brings together established and emerging scholars in communication studies to examine the relationship between communication and the economy in contemporary society. Providing context for ongoing debates in the field as well as opening new areas of research, the collection brings a sense of continuity and coherency to an area of study that, until recently, has received little commentary at the level of disciplinary objectives and commitments. Through concrete case studies and theoretically informed essays, the chapters explore a range of important disciplinary topics - from the rhetoric of economics to the role of language in mediating financial crises. Written with an eye towards engaging a wide audience, this collection is a welcome addition to any course that focuses on the relationship between culture, the economy and communication including the rhetoric of economics, political economy and communication and cultural studies of the economy.

Current trends of globalization have influenced the social, economic, and political framework of national media worldwide. In recent years, the field of media studies has focused on globalization as a phenomenon that has greatly impacted the production and reception of media formats. By reshaping local economies, diversifying societies, and introducing digital technologies, the globalization of media has enacted a process of re-definition of national and local broadcasting. Beyond Monopoly: Globalization and Contemporary Italian Media examines the impact of globalization on contemporary Italian media. By engaging both the production and reception levels of different media, this volume assesses the extent to which Italian media have been part of current trends of media flows and have responded to the centrifugal and centripetal forces of globalization. The contributors to this edited volume touch upon a wide diversity of issues, such as foreign ownership on Satellite TV, the effects of digital technology on media policy making, and the framing of "Otherness" in the news. Beyond Monopoly provides a unique case study of the complexity of national media in the era of globalization that will appeal to students as well as scholars of global and national media systems.

While many discussions of the economic crisis of 2007-2008 have sought to explain the causes of the financial collapse, this volume looks to supplement these accounts by exploring possible alternatives for the post-crisis world in which we now live. However, rather than offering a strictly economic approach, Cultural Studies and Finance Capitalism argues that the crisis was as much cultural as economic, and that any way forward must understand the complex relationship between media, culture and the economy. The chapters in this volume deal with a wide range of themes including celebrity culture, media coverage of the economy, examinations of economic theory and financial markets. They bring together research that combines an historical perspective with a view towards the future of critical cultural and political analysis. In a period marked by anxiety and economic austerity, this volume offers the reader tools for understanding the place and importance of cultural research in the post-crisis era.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Cultural Studies.

Broadband Infrastructure: The Ultimate Guide to Understanding and Delivering OSS/BSS is a "how to" book for Internet infrastructure companies to help them prepare for the decisions they will face when constructing their core OSS strategies and infrastructure. This book provides a source of reference and education to learn the language, methods, and technologies associated with the OSS market. It examines the Internet infrastructure supply chain and how it will be automated. Finally, it brings together a wealth of proven knowledge and advice, gathered from BusinessEdge Solutions' extensive OSS experience, that broadband providers can use to minimize their OSS risks while maximizing their ability to differentiate and compete.

This collection brings together established and emerging scholars in communication studies to examine the relationship between communication and the economy in contemporary society. Providing context for ongoing debates in the field as well as opening new areas of research, the collection brings a sense of continuity and coherency to an area of study that, until recently, has received little commentary at the level of disciplinary objectives and commitments. Through concrete case studies and theoretically informed essays, the chapters explore a range of important disciplinary topics - from the rhetoric of economics to the role of language in mediating financial crises. Written with an eye towards engaging a wide audience, this collection is a welcome addition to any course that focuses on the relationship between culture, the economy and communication including the rhetoric of economics, political economy and communication and cultural studies of the economy.

An invaluable guide to dealing with distressing voices from leading experts Hearing voices can be highly distressing and impact our health, well-being and day-to-day lives. This self-help guide explains what voices are, what causes them and how to cope with this distressing experience.. Using clinically proven cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques, this book will help you to recognise the link between your thoughts, beliefs and relationships, and the distressing voices you hear. This book will help you to: * Understand the voices and cope with them more effectively * Explore and re-evaluate beliefs that you hold about yourself and the voices * Develop some assertiveness skills * Set personal goals for the future

Practical help for managing distressing voice hearing experiences Have you ever heard someone talking to you, but when you turned around no one was there? Voice hearing is more common than might be expected. Many of those who experience this phenomenon won't find it distressing, while some may find it extremely upsetting and even debilitating. Although the causes of voice hearing are many and varied, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been found to be a highly effective treatment for distressing voices. CBT can provide a powerful and positive way of coping with distressing voices, helping people to live well, even though the voice hearing may continue. Written by experts, this accessible self-help manual takes those affected by distressing voices on a journey of recovery and healing, based on the latest psychological research. This fully revised and updated edition includes: * Clear explanations of what distressing voices are and what causes them * Techniques to explore and re-evaluate the links between self-esteem, beliefs about voices and feelings * Practical steps to reduce the distress that hearing voices causes * Consideration of the impact on friends and family, and advice for how they can help Overcoming self-help guides use clinically-proven techniques to treat long-standing and disabling conditions, both psychological and physical. Many guides in the Overcoming series are recommended under the Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme. Series Editor: Professor Peter Cooper

A celebrated theorist examines the conditions of work, employment, and unemployment in neoliberalism's flexible and precarious labor market. In Experimental Politics, Maurizio Lazzarato examines the conditions of work, employment, and unemployment in neoliberalism's flexible and precarious labor market. This is the first book of Lazzarato's in English that fully exemplifies the unique synthesis of sociology, activist research, and theoretical innovation that has generated his best-known concepts, such as "immaterial labor." The book (published in France in 2009) is also groundbreaking in the way it brings Foucault, Deleuze, and Guattari to bear on the analysis of concrete political situations and real social struggles, while making a significant theoretical contribution in its own right. Lazzarato draws on the experiences of casual workers in the French entertainment industry during a dispute over the reorganization ("reform") of their unemployment insurance in 2004 and 2005. He sees this conflict as the first testing ground of a political program of social reconstruction. The payment of unemployment insurance would become the principal instrument for control over the mobility and behavior of the workers. The flexible and precarious workforce of the entertainment industry prefigured what the entire workforce in contemporary societies is in the process of becoming: in Foucault's words, a "floating population" in "security societies." Lazzarato argues further that parallel to economic impoverishment, neoliberalism has produced an impoverishment of subjectivity-a reduction in existential intensity. A substantial introduction by Jeremy Gilbert situates Lazzarato's analysis in a broader context.