This monograph is designed to introduce methods of dealing with uncertainty so often present in problems of accounting. Traditionally, uncertainty in accounting was handled by statistical methods, but this book applies fuzzy logic, the theory of evidence and rough sets to the problem.

This research monograph critically examines convergence of financial reporting in Germany by taking into account the influence of political, social and economic factors on accounting. This study makes an original and significant contribution by examining issues and biases in the convergence process that may challenge the assumption of superiority,

Since the late 1980s, a large number of very user-friendly tools for fuzzy control, fuzzy expert systems, and fuzzy data analysis have emerged. This has changed the character of this area and started the area of `fuzzy technology'. The next large step in the development occurred in 1992 when almost independently in Europe, Japan and the USA, the three areas of fuzzy technology, artificial neural nets and genetic algorithms joined forces under the title of `computational intelligence' or `soft computing'. The synergies which were possible between these three areas have been exploited very successfully. Practical Applications of Fuzzy Sets focuses on model and real applications of fuzzy sets, and is structured into four major parts: engineering and natural sciences; medicine; management; and behavioral, cognitive and social sciences. This book will be useful for practitioners of fuzzy technology, scientists and students who are looking for applications of their models and methods, for topics of their theses, and even for venture capitalists who look for attractive possibilities for investments.

This research monograph examines whether International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are interpreted and applied in a consistent manner within and across countries, and questions the implicit assumption that accounting convergence will automatically lead to comparability in financial reporting.

A mere few years ago it would have seemed odd to propose a Handbook on the treatment of management problems within a sphere of uncertainty. Even today, on the threshold of the third millennium, this statement may provoke a certain wariness. In fact, to resort to exact or random data, that is probable date, is quite normal and con venient, as we then know where we are going best, where we are proposing to go if all occurs as it is conceived and hoped for. To treat uncertain information, to accept a new principle and from there determined criteria, without being sure of oneself and confiding only in the will to better understand objects and phenomena, constitutes and compromise with a new form of understanding the behaviour of current beings that goes even further than simple rationality. Economic Science and particularly the use of its elements of configuration in the world of management, has imbued several generations with an analytical spirit that has given rise to the elaboration of theories widely accepted by the international scientific community. In this work we are proposing something a little more modest: to use, in the best possible way, data and information that are available for drawing up and applying techniques and instruments that are useful for current reality within the world of businesses and institutions, in an attempt to mislead ourselves as little as possible.

The four volume set LNAI 3681, LNAI 3682, LNAI 3683, and LNAI 3684 constitute the refereed proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Knowledge-Based Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems, KES 2005, held in Melbourne, Australia in September 2005. The 716 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from nearly 1400 submissions. The papers present a wealth of original research results from the field of intelligent information processing in the broadest sense. The second volume contains papers on machine learning, immunity-based systems, medical diagnosis, intelligent hybrid systems and control, emotional intelligence and smart systems, context-aware evolvable systems, intelligent fuzzy systems and control, knowledge representation and its practical application in today's society, approaches and methods into security engineering, communicative intelligence, intelligent watermarking algorithms and applications, intelligent techniques and control, e-learning and ICT, logic based intelligent information systems, intelligent agents and their applications, innovations in intelligent agents, ontologies and the semantic web, knowledge discovery in data streams, computational intelligence tools techniques and algorithms, watermarking applications, multimedia retrieval, soft computing approach to industrial engineering, and experience management and information systems.

Since the beginning of the 1980's, a lot of news approaches of biomimetic inspiration have been defined and developed for imitating the brain behavior, for modeling non linear phenomenon, for providing new hardware architectures, for solving hard problems. They are named Neural Networks, Multilayer Perceptrons, Genetic algorithms, Cellular Automates, Self-Organizing maps, Fuzzy Logic, etc. They can be summarized by the word of Connectionism, and consist of an interdisciplinary domain between neuroscience, cognitive science and engineering. First they were applied in computer sciences, engineering, biological models, pattern recognition, motor control, learning algorithms, etc. But rapidly, it appeared that these methods could be of great interest in the fields of Economics and Management Sciences. The main difficulty was the distance between researchers, the difference in the vocabulary used by the ones and the others, their basic background. The main notions used by these new techniques were not familiar to the Social and Human Sciences researchers. What are they ? Four of them are now very briefly introduced, but the reader will find more information in the following chapters.

Talks about the applications of management science to: Multi-Criteria Decision Making, Operations and Supply Chain Management, Productivity Management (DEA), and Financial Management. This book provides an overview of some of the most essential aspects of the discipline. It is suitable for persons interested in management or management science.

A study that investigates the various aspects of the 100 entrepreneurial firms in Australia. It analyses the association between intellectual capital disclosure types on company-sponsored websites, using content analysis, and the corporate growth aspect of reputation of these firms over a three-year period from 2005 to 2007.

Talks about the applications of management science to: Multi-Criteria Decision Making, Operations and Supply Chain Management, Productivity Management (DEA), and Financial Management. This book provides an overview of some of the most essential aspects of the discipline. It is suitable for persons interested in management or management science.