46622 research outputs found
Sort by
Human Factors in Remote Ship Operations
No full textHuman Factors in Remote Ship Operations examines the psychological, ergonomic and cognitive challenges faced by remote ship operators as maritime navigation shifts from traditional crew experience to technology-driven remote monitoring and control. Readers will learn strategies to enhance human performance in remote maritime environments through case studies, best practices and design guidelines. The book delivers valuable insights into designing effective remote operations centres, enhancing situational awareness, addressing sensory input challenges and implementing appropriate training methodologies – all essential for ensuring safety and operational excellence in autonomous shipping. This comprehensive guide is written for maritime professionals, instructors, researchers and policymakers involved in the technological evolution of the maritime industry. It serves as a resource for maritime education and training institutions developing programmes for remote-control operators, as well as for professionals seeking to understand the human factors critical to the successful implementation of maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS). The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 International license
Nuclear Power
No full textThis open access book offers a comprehensive overview of nuclear technologies and the nuclear supply chain. It explores nuclear energy as a critical resource through economic, geopolitical, and social lenses, assessing its potential role in combating climate change. The book also addresses key challenges, including nuclear waste management, decommissioning, and back-end operations. By examining both historical hurdles and future policy and industry obstacles, it provides valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and industry professionals navigating the evolving landscape of nuclear energy
The Human Right to Democracy in Multilevel Systems at a Time of Democratic Backsliding: Global, Regional and European Union Perspectives
No full textThis open access book takes stock of the current situation of the human right to democracy in multilevel systems of government - at a time of renewed struggles with antidemocratic forces (democratic backsliding). It tries to answer three questions: (1) Is there a human right to democracy in contemporary global and regional international law as well as European Union law and what consequences does that have for the States’ governmental structure (top-down perspective on national democracy)? (2) Does the human right to democracy also extend to decision-making at the international and supranational level (bottom-up perspective on international/supranational democracy)? (3) What is the relation between national democracy and international democracy and the corresponding human entitlements (interdependence perspective)? The first part of an answer to these questions derives from the elements of democracy proclaimed by the United Nations as a universal value. The second part results from an investigation of the national and international democratic ingredients of the right of self-determination of peoples, whose recognition and codification is the mainstay of the human rights revolution since 1945. The third part is added by a survey and comparison of the various democratic rights included in the global and regional human rights treaties that constitute the subjective cornerstones of democracy. The fourth part is devoted to analysing the EU as exemplary but imperfect multilevel democracy. In all these parts, the enforcement of democratic entitlements are also discussed. In the fifth part, conclusions will be drawn. The book is addressed to international and EU law experts as well as political scientists
Climate Change Issues and Social Sciences
No full textAs the climate crisis worsens, governments around the world are calling for carbon-neutral societies and urging individuals to take responsibility for their climate-related behavior. However, despite growing awareness of the urgent need for climate action, meaningful change remains limited at the governmental and individual levels. This book presents bold and innovative approaches to addressing climate change, from social visions and sustainable business models to transformative shifts in environmental policy, law, and markets aimed at driving global progress toward net-zero emissions. The book covers topics ranging from everyday choices, such as meat consumption, to major systemic changes, such as the adoption of renewable energy. It offers a comprehensive look at how individuals, businesses, and governments can disrupt the current inertia surrounding climate behavior. By analyzing the cultural, economic, and political forces that shape environmental outcomes, the book provides a clear roadmap to carbon neutrality. It is a valuable resource for climate researchers, sustainability practitioners, and policymakers, while also inspiring engineers and technology developers to create the tools needed for a greener, more sustainable future. This is an open access book
Reflexivities and Knowledge Production in Migration Studies
No full textThis open access book brings together cutting-edge work on reflexive approaches within migration studies and emphasizes the boundedness and political character of knowledge production. Beyond presenting a state-of-the-art of the problematic aspects of knowledge production in migration studies, this volume is innovative insofar as the contributions all formulate alternatives. They should lead to transform knowledge production in relation to migration and therefore contribute to alter our ways to do research and tackle established power relations. By discussing a diverse range of topical subjects – among others, epistemology, power, ethnocentrism, racism, decoloniality, gender and methodology – this volume is a great resource to students, to junior and senior academics in migration studies and social sciences more general as well as to policy-makers in European countries
Corporate Accountability for Human Rights Violations
No full textThis edited volume is the first collection to critically explore the role, limitations, and internal fragmentation of social activism for corporate accountability across Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe. It analyses a variety of NGOs, trade unions, and grassroots movements and their transnational mobilizations for holding accountable business actors involved in human rights violations and environmental degradation. The book emphasizes the diverse visions and strategies extolled by these civic actors: from civil and criminal litigations, efforts to prohibit and punish business misconduct through national and international legislation, to boycotts, and memorialization projects. By adopting an actor-focused perspective and examining their national and transnational activism, the collection provides an innovative perspective across three main themes: civil society and social movements as key drivers of corporate accountability efforts; the fragmentation of the global corporate accountability movement across ontological, ideological, regional, and professional lines; the Janus-faced paradigm of transnational activism for corporate accountability. The volume argues that corporate accountability coalitions are successful especially when social actors form alliances across borders and professional sectors. Such transnational and intersectoral engagements create counter-hegemonic discourses against corporate impunity, push for more inclusive justice projects, and multiply spaces and ideas of accountability. Yet, civil societies and social movements themselves are fragmenting over the meaning, scope, and tactics of corporate accountability due to different local, national and regional contexts, ideological variations regarding human rights and economic development, and diverse professional understandings of accountability processes. This is an open access book
Hybrid Energy Storage
No full textThis is an open access book that addresses the need for hybridization in energy storage, offering a fresh perspective on integrating diverse storage solutions to support a successful energy transition. It fills a significant gap in the literature by presenting a comprehensive collection of case studies and real-world examples, while tackling challenges across multiple sectors, including industrial operations, grid, off-grid systems, transportation, and smart building applications. Authored by a multidisciplinary team of leading experts, the book explores technology-neutral requirements for different applications and examines the key drivers behind system installations. It proposes innovative hybrid energy storage solutions grounded in detailed techno-economic and sustainability analyses. Furthermore, by identifying untapped opportunities for electrification and system integration, the book positions itself as a valuable resource for advancing the European Union’s goals of decarbonization and energy security. By addressing critical hybridization needs, offering a thorough literature review, and presenting application-oriented solutions, it empowers researchers, industry professionals, and policymakers to make informed decisions, while also educating the next generation of scientists and engineers in innovative energy storage approaches
Explainable Artificial Intelligence
No full textThis open access five-volume set constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second World Conference on Explainable Artificial Intelligence, xAI 2025, held in Istanbul, Turkey, during July 2025. The 96 revised full papers presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 224 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Volume I: Concept-based Explainable AI; human-centered Explainability; explainability, privacy, and fairness in trustworthy AI; and XAI in healthcare. Volume II: Rule-based XAI systems & actionable explainable AI; features importance-based XAI; novel post-hoc & ante-hoc XAI approaches; and XAI for scientific discovery. Volume III: Generative AI meets explainable AI; Intrinsically interpretable explainable AI; benchmarking and XAI evaluation measures; and XAI for representational alignment. Volume IV: XAI in computer vision; counterfactuals in XAI; explainable sequential decision making; and explainable AI in finance & legal frameworks for XAI technologies. Volume V: Applications of XAI; human-centered XAI & argumentation; explainable and interactive hybrid decision making; and uncertainty in explainable AI
