To improve the land surface simulation in the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, the observational data from two field experiments in Dunhuang and Tongyu are used to optimize the parameters in the land surfac...To improve the land surface simulation in the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, the observational data from two field experiments in Dunhuang and Tongyu are used to optimize the parameters in the land surface model, BATS, through calibration with the multicriteria method. Sensitivity analysis to the parameters in Dunhuang and Tongyu indicates that different parameters need to be calibrated in two sites with different environmental and climate regimes. Comparison of observed sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, and ground surface temperature with the simulated ones shows the simulations with the optimized parameters have been substantially improved. Especially, the holistic simulations with the calibration of the parameter values are much closer to the observations in the arid region （Dunhuang）, and the energy partition with the calibrated parameters can also be simulated well in the semi-arid region （Tongyu）. Whole results demonstrate that the parameter calibration of the land surface model is important when the model is to be used to investigate the land-air interaction.展开更多
Performance evaluation of facilities management plays a key role in the facilities management process. This paper proposes an optimized multicriteria decision making model to evaluate the performance of facilities man...Performance evaluation of facilities management plays a key role in the facilities management process. This paper proposes an optimized multicriteria decision making model to evaluate the performance of facilities management in schools in Hong Kong. In this model, entropy weights acted as weight coefficients for evaluated criteria in order to avoid uncertainty and randomicity of subjective judgments. Besides, the TOPSIS method was incorporated in this model. Then this model was em- ployed to evaluate the performance of facilities management in classrooms, offices and laboratories and satisfying results were obtained. Moreover, findings indicated that one of the schools could be rehabilitated rather than removed.展开更多
With the fast growth of Chinese economic, more and more capital will be invested in environmental projects. How to select the environmental investment projects （alternatives） for obtaining the best environmental qua...With the fast growth of Chinese economic, more and more capital will be invested in environmental projects. How to select the environmental investment projects （alternatives） for obtaining the best environmental quality and economic benefits is an important problem for the decision makers. The purpose of this paper is to develop a decision-making model to rank a finite number of alternatives with several and sometimes conflicting criteria. A model for ranking the projects of municipal sewage treatment plants is proposed by using exports＇ information and the data of the real projects. And, the ranking result is given based on the PROMETHEE method. Furthermore, by means of the concept of the weight stability intervals （WSI）, the sensitivity of the ranking results to the size of criteria values and the change of weights value of criteria are discussed. The result shows that some criteria, such as “proportion of benefit to project cost”, will influence the ranking result of alternatives very strong while others not. The influence are not only from the value of criterion but also from the changing the weight of criterion. So, some criteria such as “proportion of benefit to project cost” are key critera for ranking the projects. Decision makers must be cautious to them.展开更多
When designing modern cellular networks, it is challenging to account for many contradictory criteria and constantly changing external conditions of the networks (e.g., traffic). We need to solve multicriteria problem...When designing modern cellular networks, it is challenging to account for many contradictory criteria and constantly changing external conditions of the networks (e.g., traffic). We need to solve multicriteria problems with high-dimensional vectors of parameters. A prerequisite to solution of these problems is correct determination of the feasible solution set, which is directly related to the statement of optimization problem. This is a major challenge in all multicriteria engineering optimization problems and represents significant difficulties for the expert. In this paper, we show how to define the feasible solution set for cellular network optimal design problems and thus answer the fundamental question of where to search for optimal solutions in such problems. We use the Parameter Space Investigation (PSI) method implemented in the Multicriteria Optimization and Vector Identification (MOVI) software system and apply it to a mathematical model of cellular network. In addition to developing methodology for stating and solving the problem of multicriteria optimization of cellular network, we have found that 1) defining the feasible solution set is directly related to the correct statement of the optimization problem, 2) once the feasible solution set has been determined, the criteria convolution can be applied to find the optimal solution in the feasible solution set, 3) it is possible to perform online tuning of the cellular network parameters.展开更多
Considering the environment of risks and influences inherent in the decision-making process for credit-granting operations,it has become a matter of survival for financial organizations to seek to improve how they eng...Considering the environment of risks and influences inherent in the decision-making process for credit-granting operations,it has become a matter of survival for financial organizations to seek to improve how they engage in effective decision-making to ensure that their returns on invested capital will meet the expectations established at the beginning of the process.A credit-granting sorting model for financial organizations is proposed.The model aggregates the perspectives of different decision-makers to support an organization in the process of credit analysis and,consequently,to improve its operationality.The decision-making model is based on the ELECTRE TRI-B multicriteria method.It sorts credit-granting proposals into three classes,namely credit approved,technical analysis,and credit rejected.The group decision emerges from the decision rules of the organization’s executive board.This new proposed approach to dealing with credit-granting results in the systematization of credit analysis,reduction of doubt among decision-makers,avoidance of the emergence of informal groups,reduction of conflicts within a financial organization,and external interferences.展开更多
Decision making in drinking water supply networks is increasingly complex due to the large number of variables involved.In order to make better decisions it is necessary to use adequate and robust methodologies.This p...Decision making in drinking water supply networks is increasingly complex due to the large number of variables involved.In order to make better decisions it is necessary to use adequate and robust methodologies.This paper presents the application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)related to the operation of the drinking water supply network of the city of Chihuahua,Mexico,where two possible alternatives are delineated with the objective to optimize the service.The application of AHP was carried out in 24 sectors that have substantial differences in their efficiency but with instrumentation and measurement in all the variables contemplated by the operating agency,with a population of 221,722 inhabitants which represent a 30%of the total population of the city,the results indicate that the best alternative is the one with less criteria to be controlled and fewer repercussions on the cost of operation and investment in the rehabilitation and replacement of the network.展开更多
Economic valuation of ecosystems is increasingly being recognized as an important exercise to inform sustainable utilization and conservation of natural assets. It helps in planning and establishing fair profit margin...Economic valuation of ecosystems is increasingly being recognized as an important exercise to inform sustainable utilization and conservation of natural assets. It helps in planning and establishing fair profit margins that accrue either directly or indirectly from the consumptive and non-consumptive uses of ecosystem goods and services. This paper is based on a study which estimated the economic values of tourist hunting blocks (HBs) in Tanzania using the Analytic Multicriteria Valuation Method (AMUVAM). The study used a sample size of 12 out of 24 vacant hunting blocks which were to be auctioned to potential hunting companies in December 2022. The economic values of HBs were estimated using the time horizon of 10 years (the mean tenure for winning company). The results show that the economic values ranged from USD 6,215,588 to USD 653,470,695 per hunting block and the Existence Value (EV) constituted about 19% of the Total Economic Value (TEV). EV ranged from USD 632,210 to USD 125,147,285. The study underscores the need for decisions to allocate ecosystems, such as HBs, to both direct and indirect uses, to be guided by a though understanding of their values. We further recommend building the capacity of staff charged with the role of managing and allocating uses of these ecosystems to enable them undertake economic valuation of ecosystems using both simple and more robust analytical tools, such as the GIS, relational databases, and worldwide websites based tools, like InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs), ARIES (Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services), and Co$ting Nature.展开更多
基金supported jointlyby the Chinese Academy of Sciences under Grant KZCX2-YW-220the National Basic Research Program of Chinaunder Grant 2009CB421405the National Natural Sci-ence Foundation of China under Grant No.40730952
文摘To improve the land surface simulation in the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, the observational data from two field experiments in Dunhuang and Tongyu are used to optimize the parameters in the land surface model, BATS, through calibration with the multicriteria method. Sensitivity analysis to the parameters in Dunhuang and Tongyu indicates that different parameters need to be calibrated in two sites with different environmental and climate regimes. Comparison of observed sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, and ground surface temperature with the simulated ones shows the simulations with the optimized parameters have been substantially improved. Especially, the holistic simulations with the calibration of the parameter values are much closer to the observations in the arid region （Dunhuang）, and the energy partition with the calibrated parameters can also be simulated well in the semi-arid region （Tongyu）. Whole results demonstrate that the parameter calibration of the land surface model is important when the model is to be used to investigate the land-air interaction.
基金This paper is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No.70372011.
文摘Performance evaluation of facilities management plays a key role in the facilities management process. This paper proposes an optimized multicriteria decision making model to evaluate the performance of facilities management in schools in Hong Kong. In this model, entropy weights acted as weight coefficients for evaluated criteria in order to avoid uncertainty and randomicity of subjective judgments. Besides, the TOPSIS method was incorporated in this model. Then this model was em- ployed to evaluate the performance of facilities management in classrooms, offices and laboratories and satisfying results were obtained. Moreover, findings indicated that one of the schools could be rehabilitated rather than removed.
基金Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project (T0502)Shanghai Municipal Educational Commission Project (05EZ32).
文摘With the fast growth of Chinese economic, more and more capital will be invested in environmental projects. How to select the environmental investment projects （alternatives） for obtaining the best environmental quality and economic benefits is an important problem for the decision makers. The purpose of this paper is to develop a decision-making model to rank a finite number of alternatives with several and sometimes conflicting criteria. A model for ranking the projects of municipal sewage treatment plants is proposed by using exports＇ information and the data of the real projects. And, the ranking result is given based on the PROMETHEE method. Furthermore, by means of the concept of the weight stability intervals （WSI）, the sensitivity of the ranking results to the size of criteria values and the change of weights value of criteria are discussed. The result shows that some criteria, such as “proportion of benefit to project cost”, will influence the ranking result of alternatives very strong while others not. The influence are not only from the value of criterion but also from the changing the weight of criterion. So, some criteria such as “proportion of benefit to project cost” are key critera for ranking the projects. Decision makers must be cautious to them.
文摘When designing modern cellular networks, it is challenging to account for many contradictory criteria and constantly changing external conditions of the networks (e.g., traffic). We need to solve multicriteria problems with high-dimensional vectors of parameters. A prerequisite to solution of these problems is correct determination of the feasible solution set, which is directly related to the statement of optimization problem. This is a major challenge in all multicriteria engineering optimization problems and represents significant difficulties for the expert. In this paper, we show how to define the feasible solution set for cellular network optimal design problems and thus answer the fundamental question of where to search for optimal solutions in such problems. We use the Parameter Space Investigation (PSI) method implemented in the Multicriteria Optimization and Vector Identification (MOVI) software system and apply it to a mathematical model of cellular network. In addition to developing methodology for stating and solving the problem of multicriteria optimization of cellular network, we have found that 1) defining the feasible solution set is directly related to the correct statement of the optimization problem, 2) once the feasible solution set has been determined, the criteria convolution can be applied to find the optimal solution in the feasible solution set, 3) it is possible to perform online tuning of the cellular network parameters.
基金Brazilian Research Council(CNPq)-Process:309143/2014-4。
文摘Considering the environment of risks and influences inherent in the decision-making process for credit-granting operations,it has become a matter of survival for financial organizations to seek to improve how they engage in effective decision-making to ensure that their returns on invested capital will meet the expectations established at the beginning of the process.A credit-granting sorting model for financial organizations is proposed.The model aggregates the perspectives of different decision-makers to support an organization in the process of credit analysis and,consequently,to improve its operationality.The decision-making model is based on the ELECTRE TRI-B multicriteria method.It sorts credit-granting proposals into three classes,namely credit approved,technical analysis,and credit rejected.The group decision emerges from the decision rules of the organization’s executive board.This new proposed approach to dealing with credit-granting results in the systematization of credit analysis,reduction of doubt among decision-makers,avoidance of the emergence of informal groups,reduction of conflicts within a financial organization,and external interferences.
文摘Decision making in drinking water supply networks is increasingly complex due to the large number of variables involved.In order to make better decisions it is necessary to use adequate and robust methodologies.This paper presents the application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)related to the operation of the drinking water supply network of the city of Chihuahua,Mexico,where two possible alternatives are delineated with the objective to optimize the service.The application of AHP was carried out in 24 sectors that have substantial differences in their efficiency but with instrumentation and measurement in all the variables contemplated by the operating agency,with a population of 221,722 inhabitants which represent a 30%of the total population of the city,the results indicate that the best alternative is the one with less criteria to be controlled and fewer repercussions on the cost of operation and investment in the rehabilitation and replacement of the network.
文摘Economic valuation of ecosystems is increasingly being recognized as an important exercise to inform sustainable utilization and conservation of natural assets. It helps in planning and establishing fair profit margins that accrue either directly or indirectly from the consumptive and non-consumptive uses of ecosystem goods and services. This paper is based on a study which estimated the economic values of tourist hunting blocks (HBs) in Tanzania using the Analytic Multicriteria Valuation Method (AMUVAM). The study used a sample size of 12 out of 24 vacant hunting blocks which were to be auctioned to potential hunting companies in December 2022. The economic values of HBs were estimated using the time horizon of 10 years (the mean tenure for winning company). The results show that the economic values ranged from USD 6,215,588 to USD 653,470,695 per hunting block and the Existence Value (EV) constituted about 19% of the Total Economic Value (TEV). EV ranged from USD 632,210 to USD 125,147,285. The study underscores the need for decisions to allocate ecosystems, such as HBs, to both direct and indirect uses, to be guided by a though understanding of their values. We further recommend building the capacity of staff charged with the role of managing and allocating uses of these ecosystems to enable them undertake economic valuation of ecosystems using both simple and more robust analytical tools, such as the GIS, relational databases, and worldwide websites based tools, like InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs), ARIES (Artificial Intelligence for Ecosystem Services), and Co$ting Nature.
