The two volume set LNCS 3173/3174 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Symposium on Neural Networks, ISNN 2004, held in Dalian, China in August 2004. The 329 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from more than 800 submissions. The papers span the entire scope of neural computing and its applications; they are organized in 11 major topical parts on theoretical analysis; learning and optimization; support vector machines; blind source separation, independent component analysis, and principal component analysis; clustering and classification; robotics and control; telecommunications; signal image, and time series analysis; biomedical applications; detection, diagnosis, and computer security; and other applications.

This volume offers a general view of recent conceptual developments of Soft Computing (SC). It presents successful new applications of SC to real-world problems leading to better performance than "traditional" methods. The edited volume covers a wide spectrum of applications including areas such as: robotic dynamic systems, non-linear plants, manufacturing systems, and time series prediction.

This book is a major contribution to the debate on the nature of the relationship between drugs and crime, and provides an authoritative and much-needed overview of the range of issues associated with drugs-related crime.

This book studies China’s urbanization with the theory of production of space. The authors redefine the production of space and build a new theoretical framework for understanding the evolving relations between urbanization and spatial production. Since the reform and opening-up, especially in the last twenty years, the logic of spatial production has dominated China’s urbanization. The authors choose the most representative cases, such as the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, Jiangsu Province, National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, New Urban District, State-Level New Area, University Town, and some villages, to conduct a series of empirical studies on production of space at the macro-, meso-, and micro-scales. Through an in-depth analysis of the interaction between social spaces and urbanization influenced by power, capital, and class, the book reveals that the essence of China’s urbanization is dominated by the logic of spatial production. The authors finally propose that an important shift toward humanism should be made in the future development of China’s new-type urbanization, emphasizing more even and adequate development between different regions and between urban and rural areas, which also provides new ideas for the theory and practice of urbanization worldwide. This book can be read and referenced by researchers in the fields of urban and regional studies, geography, sociology, urban and rural planning, management, etc. It can also be used as a teaching reference book for teachers, researchers, and students of scientific research institutions in related fields.

How homophobic backlash unexpectedly strengthened mobilization for LGBT political rights in post-communist Europe While LGBT activism has increased worldwide, there has been strong backlash against LGBT people in Eastern Europe. Although Russia is the most prominent anti-gay regime in the region, LGBT individuals in other post-communist countries also suffer from discriminatory laws and prejudiced social institutions. Combining an historical overview with interviews and case studies in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic, Conor O’Dwyer analyzes the development and impact of LGBT movements in post-communist Eastern and Central Europe. O’Dwyer argues that backlash against LGBT individuals has had the paradoxical effect of encouraging stronger and more organized activism, significantly impacting the social movement landscape in the region. As these peripheral Eastern and Central European countries vie for inclusion or at least recognition in the increasingly LGBT-friendly European Union, activist groups and organizations have become even more emboldened to push for change. Using fieldwork in five countries and interviews with activists, organizers, and public officials, O’Dwyer explores the intricacies of these LGBT social movements and their structures, functions, and impact. The book provides a unique and engaging exploration of LGBT rights groups in Eastern and Central Europe and their ability to serve as models for future movements attempting to resist backlash. Thorough, theoretically grounded, and empirically sound, Coming Out of Communism is sure to be a significant work in the study of LGBT politics, European politics, and social movements.

Should Turkey become a part of the European Union? This heated debate has been going on for many years now, always under the assumption that it is the membership candidate alone who needs to adjust to the EU’s influence. The book’s main argument is precisely that the Turkish accession needs to be analyzed not only by looking at the EU’s impact on Turkish transformation but also from an angle that captures the Turkish role in recasting Europe.

This book explores how better governance can help Africa to achieve structural transformation (understood to be the reallocation of factors of production across and within sectors to better support inclusive development), which history has shown to be key to sustained, inclusive growth. The book begins with a review of the existing literature on the links between governance and structural transformation and the success or otherwise of various sub regions in achieving structural transformation. It continues with a range of contributors addressing original empirical research on the relationships between different approaches to institutions and trade and industrial policies and structural transformation in Africa. The book makes recommendations for a new approach to governance in Africa that can deliver the structural transformation that the continent needs for Africans to enjoy shared prosperity, poverty reduction and development.