Enabling weakened hedges in linguistic multi-criteria decision making

A semantics-based model is proposed to enable weakened hedges, such as ＂more or less＂ and ＂roughly＂ in the context of linguistic multi-criteria decision making. First, the resemblance relations are defined based on the semantics of terms on the domain. Then, the hedges can be represented after the upper and loose upper approximations of a linguistic term are derived. Accordingly, some compact formulae can be derived for the semantics of linguistic expressions with hedges. Parameters in these formulae are objectively determined according to the semantics of original terms. The proposed model presents a more natural way to express the decision information under uncertainties and its semantics is clear. The proposed model is clarified by solving the problem of evaluation and selection of sustainable innovative energy technologies. Computational results demonstrate that the model can deal with various uncertainties of the problem. Finally, the model is compared with existing techniques and extended to the case when the semantics of terms are represented by trapezoidal fuzzy numbers.

Aggregation operators on intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy number and its application to multi-criteria decision making problems

Intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy numbers and their operational laws are defined. Based on these operational laws, some aggregation operators, including intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy weighted arithmetic averaging operator and weighted geometric averaging operator are proposed. Expected values, score function, and accuracy function of intuitionitsic trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are defined. Based on these, a kind of intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy multi-criteria decision making method is proposed. By using these aggregation operators, criteria values are aggregated and integrated intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy numbers of alternatives are attained. By comparing score function and accuracy function values of integrated fuzzy numbers, a ranking of the whole alternative set can be attained. An example is given to show the feasibility and availability of the method.

Prospect Theory Based Hesitant Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making for Low Sulphur Fuel of Maritime Transportation

The environmental impact of maritime transport has now become a relevant issue in sustainable policy formulation and has attracted increasing interest from academia.For the sustainable development of maritime transport,International Maritime Organization stipulates that the sulfur content of ship emissions will reach 0.5 from 2020.With the approaching of the stipulated implementation date,shipowners need to adopt scientific methods to make decision on low sulfur fuel.In this study,we applied a prospect theory based hesitant fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making model to obtain the optimal decision of low Sulphur marine fuel.For this purpose,the hesitant fuzzy decision matrix is established to collect expert opinions,the maximizing deviation method is adopted to determine criteria weights.According to calculate the Euclidean distance from the reference points,we obtain the comprehensive prospect values of alternatives.Lastly,a case study is carried out to illustrate the significance and effectiveness of the proposed methodology.The innovation of this study is that it is the first-time adopting prospect theory and hesitate fuzzy sets to multi-criteria decision making for low Sulphur marine fuel,which provides an effective decision model for shipping companies under Low Sulphur regulations,and can also be extended to other industries.

The Development of the Generation Expansion Planning System Using Multi-Criteria Decision Making Rule

The power expansion planning is large and capital intensive capacity planning. In the past, the expansion planning was established with the proper supply reliability in order to minimize social cost. However, such planning cannot be used in the power markets with many market participants. This paper proposed the power expansion planning process in the power markets. This system is composed of Regulator and Generation Company （GENCO）＇s model. Multi-criteria decision making rule is used for regulator model and several scenarios for GENCO model are applied.

Selection of Renewable Energy Based on Life Cycle Assessment and Multi-Criteria Decision Making

The development of renewable energy has become an important issue nowadays owing to the growing concerns about global warming and shortage of fossil fuels. The present study proposes an approach that integrates life cycle assessment (LCA), 3E (Energy-Economics-Environment) indicators and multi-criteria analysis (MCA) to evaluate environmental impacts and find the best choice or better choices among various renewable energy development plans. Several alternatives of wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) systems are considered in the case study since they are found to be more feasible in Taiwan in a preliminary study. By using the proposed approach, the result indicates that the major environmental impacts arising from the development of wind turbines and PV systems in Taiwan are the generation of respiratory inorganics and minerals as well as the consumption of fossil fuels. Based on experts’ opinions, the outcome of multi-criteria analysis suggests that wind turbines have more advantages than PV systems in Taiwan. In particular, among the studied systems, a 2500-kW offshore wind turbine system has the greatest integrated performance, and a 4500-kW onshore wind turbine system comes in second.

Tri-Intersectional Model of Leadership by Values:A Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Open Technology Assessment System

Purpose-Nowadays successful organizations need to be masters at leadership by values to play in a constantly changing and transforming environment.But how can leaders and organizations effectively convene strategic and culture development based on values?This paper presents the Tri-Intersectional Model of Leadership by Values(TMLV)in which leaders and organizations can integrate a sustainable strategy,as well as a culture and value-based management system that simultaneously leverages human,financial,and social resources.With its three essential axes of values(economic-pragmatic,emotional-development,and ethical-social)at their intersection points,it allows leaders to focus on the strategy linkages:innovation-intersection between the economic-pragmatic values axis and the emotional-development values axis-allows them to develop sustainable innovations;survival-intersection between the economic-pragmatic values axis and the ethical-social values axis-enhances their organization’s survival;finally,sensibility-intersection between the economic-pragmatic values axis and the ethical-social values axis-makes them more humane and more socially-responsible.The application of the TMLV,using the Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Open Technology Assessment System,can be a great inspiration for stimulating and working with values in organizations,as well as allowing leaders to develop a values-based,high-involvement,and performance-oriented culture.Methodology/Approach-This research considers empirical data analysis of the 37 case studies of the EU-InnovatE project(http//www.euinnovate.com)-a pioneering initiative to align innovation values to integrate the end user into the process of innovation and entrepreneurship related to a sustainable lifestyle and the green economy in Europe-using a fuzzy multiple-criteria decision making method and open technologies system,such as server-side PHP language,MariaDB Database,fork of MYSQL Database Management System,and JavaScript libraries to perform operation directly on the user’s browser.Findings-The application of the TMLV model,considering empirical analysis of the extracted values from the case studies,using the Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Open Technology Assessment System,can be a great inspiration for stimulating and working with values in João organizations,as well as allowing leaders to develop suitable strategies and interventions for shaping a sustainable high-performance culture.Research implications-This research can be a starting point for further research to assess the effectiveness of the leadership model based on a decision-making open technology system in any given organization,as well as to invite researchers who have positive passion about working with values to participate in the improvement of this tool.Originality/value-The Tri-Intersectional Model of Leadership by Values using the Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making Open Technology Assessment System is presented as an evolution in leadership models that may be used to fuel innovation,survival,and a sensibility strategic focus that is necessary to optimize human and organizational performance and deliver effective solutions to the massive array of human,financial,and social problems we face today.

A Multi-Criteria Decision Making for the Unrelated Parallel Machines Scheduling Problem

In this paper, we propose a multi-criteria machine-schedules decision making method that can be applied to a produc-tion environment involving several unrelated parallel machines and we will focus on three objectives: minimizing makespan, total flow time, and total number of tardy jobs. The decision making method consists of three phases. In the first phase, a mathematical model of a single machine scheduling problem, of which the objective is a weighted sum of the three objectives, is constructed. Such a model will be repeatedly solved by the CPLEX in the proposed Multi-Objective Simulated Annealing (MOSA) algorithm. In the second phase, the MOSA that integrates job clustering method, job group scheduling method, and job group – machine assignment method, is employed to obtain a set of non-dominated group schedules. During this phase, CPLEX software and the bipartite weighted matching algorithm are used repeatedly as parts of the MOSA algorithm. In the last phase, the technique of data envelopment analysis is applied to determine the most preferable schedule. A practical example is then presented in order to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed decision making method.

Factors Affecting Selection of Elective Courses:The Use of Multi-Criteria Decision Making Model

Elective course selection has always been a serious and important decision making process for students in institutions. The aim of this study is to determine weights of factors affecting elective course selection from students' perspective. So as to solve the problem, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) based model was used. Factors which affect the elective course selection from students' point of view include five main criteria and 13 sub-criteria which were indicated by students. An online questionnaire containing demographic questions, enabled each student to compare the relative priority of criteria with all of the other criteria. The responses were evaluated via Super Decisions software, and priorities were determined using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). According to the analysis of 40 experts (i.e., graduate students studying in engineering programs), course schedule and teaching staff related factors are the two most important factors affecting the elective course selection. A real- life situation which will help students who are indecisive and hesitates while selecting an elective course was observed. AHP contributes to develop an analytic and comprehensive framework decision making. The method should be considered by faculty member involved in decisions about curriculum update and offering new courses.

Novelty of Different Distance Approach for Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Challenges Using q-Rung Vague Sets

In this article,multiple attribute decision-making problems are solved using the vague normal set(VNS).It is possible to generalize the vague set(VS)and q-rung fuzzy set(FS)into the q-rung vague set(VS).A log q-rung normal vague weighted averaging(log q-rung NVWA),a log q-rung normal vague weighted geometric(log q-rung NVWG),a log generalized q-rung normal vague weighted averaging(log Gq-rung NVWA),and a log generalized q-rungnormal vagueweightedgeometric(logGq-rungNVWG)operator are discussed in this article.Adescription is provided of the scoring function,accuracy function and operational laws of the log q-rung VS.The algorithms underlying these functions are also described.A numerical example is provided to extend the Euclidean distance and the Humming distance.Additionally,idempotency,boundedness,commutativity,and monotonicity of the log q-rung VS are examined as they facilitate recognizing the optimal alternative more quickly and help clarify conceptualization.We chose five anemia patients with four types of symptoms including seizures,emotional shock or hysteria,brain cause,and high fever,who had either retrograde amnesia,anterograde amnesia,transient global amnesia,post-traumatic amnesia,or infantile amnesia.Natural numbers q are used to express the results of the models.To demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the models we are investigating,we compare several existing models with those that have been developed.

Multi-criteria decision making method based on improved cosine similarity measure with interval neutrosophic sets

Purpose–The fuzziness and complexity of evaluation information are common phenomenon in practical decision-making problem,interval neutrosophic sets(INSs)is a power tool to deal with ambiguous information.Similarity measure plays an important role in judging the degree between ideal and each alternative in decision-making process,the purpose of this paper is to establish a multi-criteria decision-making method based on similarity measure under INSs.Design/methodology/approach–Based on an extension of existing cosine similarity,this paper first introduces an improved cosine similarity measure between interval neutosophic numbers,which considers the degrees of the truth membership,the indeterminacy membership and the falsity membership of the evaluation values.And then a multi-criteria decision-making method is established based on the improved cosine similarity measure,in which the ordered weighted averaging(OWA)is adopted to aggregate the neutrosophic information related to each alternative.Finally,an example on supplier selection is given to illustrate the feasibility and practicality of the presented decision-making method.Findings–In the whole process of research and practice,it was realized that the application field of the proposed similarity measure theory still should be expanded,and the development of interval number theory is one of further research direction.Originality/value–The main contributions of this paper are as follows:this study presents an improved cosine similarity measure under INSs,in which the weights of the three independent components of an interval number are taken into account;OWA are adopted to aggregate the neutrosophic information related to each alternative;and a multi-criteria decision-making method using the proposed similarity is developed under INSs.

INTEGRATING COMPLEX SYSTEM DYNAMICS OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA WITH A MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING MODEL FOR EVALUATING PUBLIC HEALTH STRATEGIES

Recent developments in computational sciences and computer modeling have allowed emergency preparedness exercises to include simulation models as supporting tools. These simulation models are generally built for predicting temporal and geographic patterns of disease spread. However sole use of simulation models in exercise design falls short in terms of incorporating policy decision makers＇ preferences into decision-making processes. In this paper, a general framework for exercising public health preparedness plans with a decision support system is presented to integrate estimation of key epidemiological parameters with a system dynamics model of an outbreak. A multi-criteria decision making framework, an Analytical Hierarchy Process model, is then developed and integrated with the simulation model to help public health policy makers prioritize their response goals and evaluate mitigation strategies in a table-top exercise environment.

Multi-criteria linguistic interval group decision-making approach

For group decision-making problems with linguistic assessment information, a new method based on two-tuple and WC-OWA operator is proposed, in which the criteria＇s weights and the decision-makers＇ preference information might take the form of linguistic grade, or might be between two continuous linguistic grades, or might be linguistic interval, or might be default. In this method, all linguistic values are transformed into two-tuple, and an aggregative decision-making matrix is obtained by using interval operation. The group aggregative values of each criterion on alternatives are computed by using a WC-OWA operator, the aggregative values on alternatives are worked out, and transformed into two-tuple. And the rank of the alternatives is obtained by using the order property of two-tuple. An example shows the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Multi-criteria decision making for nuclear power plant selection using fuzzy AHP:Evidence from Indonesia

In terms of planning aspect,nuclear power plant(NPP)development needs analyses,consideration,and right decision making due to multi criteria involved.This study prioritizes the best site development of Indonesian NPPs in terms of 21 social,economic,and technical perspectives which comprise transmission network,oper-ating cost,economic impact,geology,geotechnic,seismology,population density,environment,cooling water,meteorology,hydrology,proximity to hazardous facilities,topography,land use,proximity to wetland,evacu-ation route,security,transportation network,legal consideration,impact of tourism,land ownership,historical places,and public acceptance,all identified to be considerations for the best sites.Two Fuzzy algorithms(Chang’s Extent Analysis and Buckley’s Fuzzy AHP)were used to determine the criteria priorities as well as NPP site feasibility of two locations in Indonesia.The results found that geology,geotechnic,and seismology(SA1);security(SO1),population density(SA2),environment(SA3),and cooling water(SA4)had the highest priorities among the 21 criteria.Based on the 5 top priority criteria,West Kalimantan and East Kalimantan provinces serve as the best candidates for the NPP sites.Such an innovative and novel multi criteria Fuzzy AHP–based decision making(MCDM)approach has been proven to become a useful reference to select NPP sites in Indonesia.

Method for triangular fuzzy multiple attribute decision making based on two-dimensional density operator method

Aiming at the triangular fuzzy(TF)multi-attribute decision making(MADM)problem with a preference for the distribution density of attribute(DDA),a decision making method with TF number two-dimensional density(TFTD)operator is proposed based on the density operator theory for the decision maker(DM).Firstly,a simple TF vector clustering method is proposed,which considers the feature of TF number and the geometric distance of vectors.Secondly,the least deviation sum of squares method is used in the program model to obtain the density weight vector.Then,two TFTD operators are defined,and the MADM method based on the TFTD operator is proposed.Finally,a numerical example is given to illustrate the superiority of this method,which can not only solve the TF MADM problem with a preference for the DDA but also help the DM make an overall comparison.

Tjong:A transformer‐based Mahjong AI via hierarchical decision‐making and fan backward

Mahjong,a complex game with hidden information and sparse rewards,poses significant challenges.Existing Mahjong AIs require substantial hardware resources and extensive datasets to enhance AI capabilities.The authors propose a transformer‐based Mahjong AI(Tjong)via hierarchical decision‐making.By utilising self‐attention mechanisms,Tjong effectively captures tile patterns and game dynamics,and it decouples the decision pro-cess into two distinct stages:action decision and tile decision.This design reduces de-cision complexity considerably.Additionally,a fan backward technique is proposed to address the sparse rewards by allocating reversed rewards for actions based on winning hands.Tjong consists of 15M parameters and is trained using approximately 0.5 M data over 7 days of supervised learning on a single server with 2 GPUs.The action decision achieved an accuracy of 94.63%,while the claim decision attained 98.55%and the discard decision reached 81.51%.In a tournament format,Tjong outperformed AIs(CNN,MLP,RNN,ResNet,VIT),achieving scores up to 230%higher than its opponents.Further-more,after 3 days of reinforcement learning training,it ranked within the top 1%on the leaderboard on the Botzone platform.

Two-Stage IoT Computational Task Offloading Decision-Making in MEC with Request Holding and Dynamic Eviction

The rapid development of Internet of Things(IoT)technology has led to a significant increase in the computational task load of Terminal Devices(TDs).TDs reduce response latency and energy consumption with the support of task-offloading in Multi-access Edge Computing(MEC).However,existing task-offloading optimization methods typically assume that MEC’s computing resources are unlimited,and there is a lack of research on the optimization of task-offloading when MEC resources are exhausted.In addition,existing solutions only decide whether to accept the offloaded task request based on the single decision result of the current time slot,but lack support for multiple retry in subsequent time slots.It is resulting in TD missing potential offloading opportunities in the future.To fill this gap,we propose a Two-Stage Offloading Decision-making Framework(TSODF)with request holding and dynamic eviction.Long Short-Term Memory(LSTM)-based task-offloading request prediction and MEC resource release estimation are integrated to infer the probability of a request being accepted in the subsequent time slot.The framework learns optimized decision-making experiences continuously to increase the success rate of task offloading based on deep learning technology.Simulation results show that TSODF reduces total TD’s energy consumption and delay for task execution and improves task offloading rate and system resource utilization compared to the benchmark method.

A Large-Scale Group Decision Making Model Based on Trust Relationship and Social Network Updating

With the development of big data and social computing,large-scale group decisionmaking(LGDM)is nowmerging with social networks.Using social network analysis(SNA),this study proposes an LGDM consensus model that considers the trust relationship among decisionmakers(DMs).In the process of consensusmeasurement:the social network is constructed according to the social relationship among DMs,and the Louvain method is introduced to classify social networks to form subgroups.In this study,the weights of each decision maker and each subgroup are computed by comprehensive network weights and trust weights.In the process of consensus improvement:A feedback mechanism with four identification and two direction rules is designed to guide the consensus of the improvement process.Based on the trust relationship among DMs,the preferences are modified,and the corresponding social network is updated to accelerate the consensus.Compared with the previous research,the proposedmodel not only allows the subgroups to be reconstructed and updated during the adjustment process,but also improves the accuracy of the adjustment by the feedbackmechanism.Finally,an example analysis is conducted to verify the effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed method.Moreover,compared with previous studies,the superiority of the proposed method in solving the LGDM problem is highlighted.

Ten misconceptions regarding decision-making in critical care

Diagnostic errors are prevalent in critical care practice and are associated with patient harm and costs for providers and the healthcare system.Patient complexity,illness severity,and the urgency in initiating proper treatment all contribute to decision-making errors.Clinician-related factors such as fatigue,cognitive overload,and inexperience further interfere with effective decision-making.Cognitive science has provided insight into the clinical decision-making process that can be used to reduce error.This evidence-based review discusses ten common misconceptions regarding critical care decision-making.By understanding how practitioners make clinical decisions and examining how errors occur,strategies may be developed and implemented to decrease errors in Decision-making and improve patient outcomes.

An Effective Prediction Method for Supporting Decision Making in Real Estate Area Selection

Real estate has been a dominant industry in many countries. One problem for real estate companies is determining the most valuable area before starting a new project. Previous studies on this issue mainly focused on market needs and economic prospects, ignoring the impact of natural disasters. We observe that natural disasters are important for real estate area selection because they will introduce considerable losses to real estate enterprises. Following this observation, we first develop a self-defined new indicator named Average Loss Ratio to predict the losses caused by natural disasters in an area. Then, we adopt the existing ARIMA model to predict the Average Loss Ratio of an area. After that, we propose to integrate the TOPSIS model and the Grey Prediction Model to rank the recommendation levels for candidate areas, thereby assisting real estate companies in their decision-making process. We conduct experiments on real datasets to validate our proposal, and the results suggest the effectiveness of the proposed method.