Autonomous ships, like autonomous cars, can guide themselves without human conduction. AI and the future of computers taking over the art of driving is now our reality. The autonomous ship is a vessel that can operate fully on its own, without a crew, and is equipped with software to manage its movements. The interest in this field is growing rapidly with conferences dedicated to this specific technology. Forbes has stated that autonomous ships increase efficiency, improve safety, and reli...

Tai Tsun Wu (1933–2024) passed away in July 2024 at the age of 90, leaving behind a towering legacy that continues to shape the frontiers of theoretical and mathematical physics. A prodigious talent, he earned his PhD in applied physics from Harvard University at the age of 22, and was soon named a Junior Fellow of the Harvard Society of Fellows — before beginning a professorship career at Harvard that would span more than six decades.Renowned for his pioneering research in antenna...

This book explains global trends and strategies in the shipping business, looking at the role of logistics service providers and at how information technology can help shipping operations. It also introduces best practices and advice that will allow professionals to improve the management of shipping and logistics activities.The book consists of sections examining shipping and trade, business strategies for shipping, intermodal container transport operations, and ports.This...

This book presents theory-driven discussion on the link between implementing green shipping practices (GSP) and shipping firm performance. It examines the shipping industry’s challenge of supporting economic growth while enhancing environmental performance.Consisting of nine chapters, the book covers topics such as the conceptualization of green shipping practices(GSPs), measurement scales for evaluating GSP implementation, greening capability, greening and performance relativity (...

Music education today requires an approach rooted in care and kindness that coexists alongside the dismantling of systems that fail to serve our communities in higher education. But, as the essayists in Sound Pedagogy show, the structural aspects of music study in higher education present obstacles to caring and kindness like the entrenched master-student model, a neoliberal individualist and competitive mindset, and classical music’s white patriarchal roots. The editors of this v...

The first volume in a new Springer Series on Shipping and Transport Logistics, Oil Transport Management provides a full historical account of the evolution of the oil transport industry since the 1800's. In this comprehensive guide, the authors investigate the industry and describe the shipping market and its structure, as well as forecasting, location plan and the transportation chain. They dedicate a separate chapter to each topic to cover various concepts, including:an introduct...

Shipping and Logistics Management serves to consolidate the knowledge its authors have acquired from being educators and observers of the shipping industry. Against the background of a global business environment, it explains how the shipping market functions, examining the strategic and operational issues that affect entrepreneurs in this industry.The authors discuss global trends and strategies in the shipping business, looking at the role of logistics service providers and at ho...

An in-depth review of hybrid control techniques for smart prosthetic hand technology by two of the world’s pioneering experts in the fieldLong considered the stuff of science fiction, a prosthetic hand capable of fully replicating all of that appendage’s various functions is closer to becoming reality than ever before. This book provides a comprehensive report on exciting recent developments in hybrid control techniques—one of the most crucial hurdles to be overcom...

Teaching and Learning Chinese as a Second or Foreign Language, edited by Ko-Yin Sung, addresses three emerging themes in the field of Chinese language teaching and learning. (1) Increasingly ubiquitous in all language learning and teaching, and for the learning of Chinese as a second language in particular, information and communication technology (ICT) can serve as an important and effective tool. Several chapters focus on how certain emerging ICT tools are applied in teaching and learnin...

The enduring repercussions of the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the worsening global economy following the burst of the dotcom bubbles in 2001, the financial tsunami in 2008, and the incessant rise in customer demand for better services have all contributed to shrinking profit margins for businesses around the world. To cope with these challenges, firms are discovering logistics as a competitive weapon when looking for ways to strengthen and preserve their market positions. One successfu...

This useful textbook/reference presents an accessible primer on the fundamentals of image texture analysis, as well as an introduction to the K-views model for extracting and classifying image textures. Divided into three parts, the book opens with a review of existing models and algorithms for image texture analysis, before delving into the details of the K-views model. The work then concludes with a discussion of popular deep learning methods for image texture analysis.Topics and...

Edge AI at Home: Run Local LLMs on Your Windows GPU is a practical, step-by-step handbook for anyone who wants to run powerful AI locally—right on a Windows GPU laptop or desktop—without relying on the cloud.Instead of getting stuck in theory, you'll follow clear, hands-on instructions to set up a local AI environment and start using it immediately for real work and creative projects. You'll learn how to run local models, build privacy-friendly workflows, and turn your own PC into ...