Oh, there goes Lala! She carries a pot of water around the corner, down the block, and over the fence, to a patch of dirt and concrete where tiny weeds sprout. \\\"Hello, hello, friends!\\\" she whispers. Lala waters the plants every day, but it is her kind words that make them sway and nod....

How fast and how far China’s fertility declined in the 1990s had long been a matter of considerable debate. The very low fertility, despite consistently being reported in a number of statistical investigations over time, was attributed to underreporting of births....

This book presents innovative theories, methodologies, and techniques in the field of risk management and decision making. It introduces new research developments and provides a comprehensive image of their potential applications to readers interested in the area....

An overview of innovative and successful business applications of neural networks, this book addresses important modeling issues in using neural networks for forecasting and methods to improve forecasting performance....

Forecasting is one of the most important activities that form the basis for strategic, tactical, and operational decisions in all business organizations. Recently, neural networks have emerged as an important tool for business forecasting. There are considerable interests and applications in forecasting using neural networks....