White Dwarf Issue 110 5th March 2016 Tablet Edit

Ten Strategies of a World-Class Cyber Security Operations Center conveys MITRE's accumulated expertise on enterprise-grade computer network defense. It covers ten key qualities of leading Cyber Security Operations Centers (CSOCs), ranging from their structure and organization, to processes that best enable smooth operations, to approaches that extract maximum value from key CSOC technology investments. This book offers perspective and context for key decision points in structuring a CSOC, such as what capabilities to offer, how to architect large-scale data collection and analysis, and how to prepare the CSOC team for agile, threat-based response. If you manage, work in, or are standing up a CSOC, this book is for you. It is also available on MITRE's website, www.mitre.org.

An all-encompassing guide to skeptical thinking from podcast host and academic neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine Steven Novella and his SGU co-hosts, which Richard Wiseman calls "the perfect primer for anyone who wants to separate fact from fiction." It is intimidating to realize that we live in a world overflowing with misinformation, bias, myths, deception, and flawed knowledge. There really are no ultimate authority figures-no one has the secret, and there is no place to look up the definitive answers to our questions (not even Google). Luckily, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe is your map through this maze of modern life. Here Dr. Steven Novella-along with Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Bernstein-will explain the tenets of skeptical thinking and debunk some of the biggest scientific myths, fallacies, and conspiracy theories-from anti-vaccines to homeopathy, UFO sightings to N- rays. You'll learn the difference between science and pseudoscience, essential critical thinking skills, ways to discuss conspiracy theories with that crazy co- worker of yours, and how to combat sloppy reasoning, bad arguments, and superstitious thinking. So are you ready to join them on an epic scientific quest, one that has taken us from huddling in dark caves to setting foot on the moon? (Yes, we really did that.) DON'T PANIC! With The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, we can do this together. "Thorough, informative, and enlightening, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe inoculates you against the frailties and shortcomings of human cognition. If this book does not become required reading for us all, we may well see modern civilization unravel before our eyes." -- Neil deGrasse Tyson "In this age of real and fake information, your ability to reason, to think in scientifically skeptical fashion, is the most important skill you can have. Read The Skeptics' Guide Universe; get better at reasoning. And if this claim about the importance of reason is wrong, The Skeptics' Guide will help you figure that out, too." -- Bill Nye

This publication covers global megatrends for the next 20 years and how they will affect the United States. This is the fifth installment in the National Intelligence Council's series aimed at providing a framework for thinking about possible futures and their implications. The report is intended to stimulate strategic thinking about the rapid and vast geopolitical changes characterizing the world today and possible global trajectories during the next 15-20 years by identifying critical trends and potential discontinuities. The authors distinguish between megatrends, those factors that will likely occur under any scenario, and game-changers, critical variables whose trajectories are far less certain. NIC 2012-001. Several innovations are included in Global Trends 2030, including: a review of the four previous Global Trends reports, input from academic and other experts around the world, coverage of disruptive technologies, and a chapter on the potential trajectories for the US role in the international system and the possible the impact on future international relations. Table of Contents: Introduction 1 Megatrends 6 Individual Empowerment 8 Poverty Reduction 8 An Expanding Global Middle Class 8 Education and the Gender Gap 10 Role of Communications Technologies 11 Improving Health 11 A MORE CONFLICTED IDEOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE 12 Diffusion of Power 15 THE RISE AND FALL OF COUNTRIES: NOT THE SAME OLD STORY 17 THE LIMITS OF HARD POWER IN THE WORLD OF 2030 18 Demographic Patterns 20 Widespread Aging 20 Shrinking Number of Youthful Countries 22 A New Age of Migration 23 The World as Urban 26 Growing Food, Water, and Energy Nexus 30 Food, Water, and Climate 30 A Brighter Energy Outlook 34 Game-Changers 38 The Crisis-Prone Global Economy 40 The Plight of the West 40 Crunch Time Too for the Emerging Powers 43 A Multipolar Global Economy: Inherently More Fragile? 46 The Governance Gap 48 Governance Starts at Home: Risks and Opportunities 48 INCREASED FOCUS ON EQUALITY AND OPENNESS 53 NEW GOVERNMENTAL FORMS 54 A New Regional Order? 55 Global Multilateral Cooperation 55 The Potential for Increased Conflict 59 INTRASTATE CONFLICT: CONTINUED DECLINE 59 Interstate Conflict: Chances Rising 61 Wider Scope of Regional Instability 70 The Middle East: At a Tipping Point 70 South Asia: Shocks on the Horizon 75 East Asia: Multiple Strategic Futures 76 Europe: Transforming Itself 78 Sub-Saharan Africa: Turning a Corner by 2030? 79 Latin America: More Prosperous but Inherently Fragile 81 The Impact of New Technologies 83 Information Technologies 83 AUTOMATION AND MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES 87 Resource Technologies 90 Health Technologies 95 The Role of the United States 98 Steady US Role 98 Multiple Potential Scenarios for the United States' Global Role 101 Alternative Worlds 107 Stalled Engines 110 FUSION 116 Gini-out-of-the-Bottle 122 Nonstate World 128 Acknowledgements 134 GT2030 Blog References 137 Audience: Appropriate for anyone, from businesses to banks, government agencies to start-ups, the technology sector to the teaching sector, and more. This publication helps anticipate where the world will be: socially, politically, technologically, and culturally over the next few decades. Keywords: Global Trends 2030 Alternative Worlds, global trends 2030, Global Trends series, National Intelligence Council, global trajectories, global megatrends, geopolitics, geopolitical changes

Recent major advances in the field of comparative genomics and cytogenomics of plants, particularly associated with the completion of ambitious genome projects, have uncovered astonishing facets of the architecture and evolutionary history of plant genomes. The aim of this book was to review these recent developments as well as their implications in our understanding of the mechanisms which drive plant diversity. New insights into the evolution of gene functions, gene families and genome size are presented, with particular emphasis on the evolutionary impact of polyploidization and transposable elements. Knowledge on the structure and evolution of plant sex chromosomes, centromeres and microRNAs is reviewed and updated. Taken together, the contributions by internationally recognized experts present a panoramic overview of the structural features and evolutionary dynamics of plant genomes.This volume of Genome Dynamics will provide researchers, teachers and students in the fields of biology and agronomy with a valuable source of current knowledge on plant genomes.

A modern look at state estimation, targeted at students and practitioners of robotics, with emphasis on three-dimensional applications.

This report is intended to stimulate thinking about the rapid and vast geopolitical changes characterizing the world today and possible global trajectories over the next 15 years. As with the NIC's previous Global Trends reports, we do not seek to predict the future, which would be an impossible feat, but instead provide a framework for thinking about possible futures and their implications. In-depth research, detailed modeling and a variety of analytical tools drawn from public, private and academic sources were employed in the production of Global Trends 2030. NIC leadership engaged with experts in nearly 20 countries, from think tanks, banks, government offices and business groups, to solicit reviews of the report.

The State of the World's Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture presents the first global assessment of biodiversity for food and agriculture worldwide. Biodiversity for food and agriculture is the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms at genetic, species and ecosystem levels, present in and around crop, livestock, forest and aquatic production systems. It is essential to the structure, functions and processes of these systems, to livelihoods and food security, and to the supply of a wide range of ecosystem services. It has been managed or influenced by farmers, livestock keepers, forest dwellers, fish farmers and fisherfolk for hundreds of generations. Prepared through a participatory, country-driven process, the report draws on information from 91 country reports to provide a description of the roles and importance of biodiversity for food and agriculture, the drivers of change affecting it and its current status and trends. It describes the state of efforts to promote the sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity for food and agriculture, including through the development of supporting policies, legal frameworks, institutions and capacities. It concludes with a discussion of needs and challenges in the future management of biodiversity for food and agriculture. The report complements other global assessments prepared under the auspices of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which have focused on the state of genetic resources within particular sectors of food and agriculture.

Are we alone? asks the writeup on the back cover of the dust jacket. The contributors to this collection raise questions that may have been overlooked by physical scientists about the ease of establishing meaningful communication with an extraterrestrial intelligence. By drawing on issues at the core of contemporary archaeology and anthropology, we can be much better prepared for contact with an extraterrestrial civilization, should that day ever come. NASA SP-2013-4413.

An authoritative introduction to the exciting new technologies of digital money Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies provides a comprehensive introduction to the revolutionary yet often misunderstood new technologies of digital currency. Whether you are a student, software developer, tech entrepreneur, or researcher in computer science, this authoritative and self-contained book tells you everything you need to know about the new global money for the Internet age. How do Bitcoin and its block chain actually work? How secure are your bitcoins? How anonymous are their users? Can cryptocurrencies be regulated? These are some of the many questions this book answers. It begins by tracing the history and development of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and then gives the conceptual and practical foundations you need to engineer secure software that interacts with the Bitcoin network as well as to integrate ideas from Bitcoin into your own projects. Topics include decentralization, mining, the politics of Bitcoin, altcoins and the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the future of Bitcoin, and more. An essential introduction to the new technologies of digital currency Covers the history and mechanics of Bitcoin and the block chain, security, decentralization, anonymity, politics and regulation, altcoins, and much more Features an accompanying website that includes instructional videos for each chapter, homework problems, programming assignments, and lecture slides Also suitable for use with the authors' Coursera online course Electronic solutions manual (available only to professors)

The Eagle-Award winning barbarian parody series is collected at last! Thrud the Barbarian leads a simple life, one of popping down to his local pub, quaffing a few tankards of ale and starting a fight in which everyone else is beaten senseless. After which comes the wenches! Hurrah! Trouble is, there always seems to be someone with a quest to interrupt his peace, quiet and packet of crispsÉ In his first-ever collection, Thrud faces down a necromancer (FWAP! SPLATT! THOWK!), protects his beer against fierce Frost Giants (THWOP! KER-THUNK!), faces his arch-nemesis (MASH! TWHACK! THUNKTHUNKTHUNK!), assumes the role of the king he accidentally killed (POK!), and gets his pint spilled on a mission into the depths of the jungle (SPLUTCH!)!

The automotive industry appears close to substantial change engendered by “self-driving” technologies. This technology offers the possibility of significant benefits to social welfare—saving lives; reducing crashes, congestion, fuel consumption, and pollution; increasing mobility for the disabled; and ultimately improving land use. This report is intended as a guide for state and federal policymakers on the many issues that this technology raises.

A quantitative introduction to atmospheric science for students and professionals who want to understand and apply basic meteorological concepts but who are not ready for calculus.

Authoritative reviews on the wide-ranging ramifications of climate change, from an international team of eminent researchers.

Data Mining: Concepts and Techniques provides the concepts and techniques in processing gathered data or information, which will be used in various applications. Specifically, it explains data mining and the tools used in discovering knowledge from the collected data. This book is referred as the knowledge discovery from data (KDD). It focuses on the feasibility, usefulness, effectiveness, and scalability of techniques of large data sets. After describing data mining, this edition explains the methods of knowing, preprocessing, processing, and warehousing data. It then presents information about data warehouses, online analytical processing (OLAP), and data cube technology. Then, the methods involved in mining frequent patterns, associations, and correlations for large data sets are described. The book details the methods for data classification and introduces the concepts and methods for data clustering. The remaining chapters discuss the outlier detection and the trends, applications, and research frontiers in data mining. This book is intended for Computer Science students, application developers, business professionals, and researchers who seek information on data mining. Presents dozens of algorithms and implementation examples, all in pseudo-code and suitable for use in real-world, large-scale data mining projects Addresses advanced topics such as mining object-relational databases, spatial databases, multimedia databases, time-series databases, text databases, the World Wide Web, and applications in several fields Provides a comprehensive, practical look at the concepts and techniques you need to get the most out of your data

The cost and frequency of cybersecurity incidents are on the rise, is your enterprise keeping pace? The numbers of threats, risk scenarios and vulnerabilities have grown exponentially. Cybersecurity has evolved as a new field of interest, gaining political and societal attention. Given this magnitude, the future tasks and responsibilities associated with cybersecurity will be essential to organizational survival and profitability. This publication applies the COBIT 5 framework and its component publications to transforming cybersecurity in a systemic way. First, the impacts of cybercrime and cyberwarfare on business and society are illustrated and put in context. This section shows the rise in cost and frequency of security incidents, including APT attacks and other threats with a critical impact and high intensity. Second, the transformation addresses security governance, security management and security assurance. In accordance with the lens concept within COBIT 5, these sections cover all elements of the systemic transformation and cybersecurity improvements.