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.

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.

Extension of Paraconsistent Many-Valued Similarity Method to Group Decision

The Paraconsistent Many-Valued Similarity (PMVS) method for multi-attribute decision making will be incomplete as a decision model if it is not extended to the realm of group decision-making. Therefore, in this article, our primary objective is to show how the paraconsistent many-valued similarity method can be used to solve group decision-making problems involving choice making or ranking of a finite set of decision alternatives. Moreover, since weights are very important parameters in multi-attribute decision-making, we have introduced the Borda rule to calculate the weights of experts and that of every criterion under consideration. To demonstrate how the proposed method works, a numerical example on energy sources of an economy from the points of view of a group of experts is investigated. Further, we compare the results of this new approach with that of fuzzy TOPSIS group decision-making method to illustrate the robustness and effectiveness of the former.

Non-Cooperative Behavior Management in Large-Scale Group Decision-Making Considering the Altruistic Behaviors of Experts and Its Application in Emergency Alternative Selection

Emergency decision-making problems usually involve many experts with different professional backgrounds and concerns,leading to non-cooperative behaviors during the consensus-reaching process.Many studies on noncooperative behavior management assumed that the maximumdegree of cooperation of experts is to totally accept the revisions suggested by the moderator,which restricted individuals with altruistic behaviors to make more contributions in the agreement-reaching process.In addition,when grouping a large group into subgroups by clustering methods,existing studies were based on the similarity of evaluation values or trust relationships among experts separately but did not consider them simultaneously.In this study,we introduce a clustering method considering the similarity of evaluation values and the trust relations of experts and then develop a consensusmodel taking into account the altruistic behaviors of experts.First,we cluster experts into subgroups by a constrained Kmeans clustering algorithm according to the opinion similarity and trust relationship of experts.Then,we calculate the weights of experts and clusters based on the centrality degrees of experts.Next,to enhance the quality of consensus reaching,we identify three kinds of non-cooperative behaviors and propose corresponding feedback mechanisms relying on the altruistic behaviors of experts.A numerical example is given to show the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed method in emergency decision-making.The study finds that integrating altruistic behavior analysis in group decision-making can safeguard the interests of experts and ensure the integrity of decision-making information.

A Multi-Attribute Decision-Making Method Using Belief-Based Probabilistic Linguistic Term Sets and Its Application in Emergency Decision-Making

Probabilistic linguistic term sets(PLTSs)are an effective tool for expressing subjective human cognition that offer advantages in the field ofmulti-attribute decision-making(MADM).However,studies have found that PLTSs have lost their ability to accurately capture the views of decision-makers(DMs)in certain circumstances,such as when the DM hesitates between multiple linguistic terms or the decision information is incomplete,thus affecting their role in the decision-making process.Belief function theory is a leading streamof thought in uncertainty processing that is suitable for dealing with the limitations of PLTS.Therefore,the purpose of this study is to extend PLTS to incorporate belief function theory.First,we provide the basic concepts of the extended PLTS(i.e.,belief-based PLTS)through case analyses.Second,the aggregation operator of belief-based PLTS is defined with the ordered weighted average(OWA)-based soft likelihood function,which is improved by considering the reliability of the information source.Third,to measure the magnitude of different belief-based PLTSs,the belief interval of singleton is calculated,and the comparison method of belief-based PLTS is constructed based on probabilities.On the basis of the preceding discussion,we further develop an emergency decision framework that includes several novel techniques,such as attribute weight determination and decision information aggregation.Finally,the usefulness of the framework is demonstrated through a case study,and its effectiveness is illustrated through a series of comparisons.

Multi-Criteria Group Decision-Making Method Based on an Improved Single-Valued Neutrosophic Hamacher Weighted Average Operator and Grey Relational Analysis

This paper proposes a multi-criteria decision-making (MCGDM) method based on the improved single-valued neutrosophic Hamacher weighted averaging (ISNHWA) operator and grey relational analysis (GRA) to overcome the limitations of present methods based on aggregation operators. First, the limitations of several existing single-valued neutrosophic weighted averaging aggregation operators (i.e. , the single-valued neutrosophic weighted averaging, single-valued neutrosophic weighted algebraic averaging, single-valued neutrosophic weighted Einstein averaging, single-valued neutrosophic Frank weighted averaging, and single-valued neutrosophic Hamacher weighted averaging operators), which can produce some indeterminate terms in the aggregation process, are discussed. Second, an ISNHWA operator was developed to overcome the limitations of existing operators. Third, the properties of the proposed operator, including idempotency, boundedness, monotonicity, and commutativity, were analyzed. Application examples confirmed that the ISNHWA operator and the proposed MCGDM method are rational and effective. The proposed improved ISNHWA operator and MCGDM method can overcome the indeterminate results in some special cases in existing single-valued neutrosophic weighted averaging aggregation operators and MCGDM methods.

Multi-attribute group decision making algorithm for web services selection based on QoS

To address the problem of web services selection based on quality, an approach of multi-attribute group decision making algorithm is proposed. Based on the Borda social choice function, the group decision making algorithm aggregates the results of multiple methods with different principles which are used to obtain constantly changing quality of service, thus increasing the confidence to select the most appropriate web service for a special task. The experimental results indicate that the proposed approach has better scalability and can be applied to large-scale distributed service computing environments. It is also shown that the proposed group decision making approach can effectively optimize the services selection and outperforms the random and robin policies. By using this approach, it can extend a method to obtain constantly changing quality of service and construct a synthetic information entity with multi-level knowledge, which guarantees the accuracy of services selection.

Novel combinatorial algorithm for the problems of fuzzy grey multi-attribute group decision making

To study the fuzzy and grey information in the problems of multi-attribute group decision making, the basic concepts of both fuzzy grey numbers and grey interval numbers are given firstly, then a new model of fuzzy grey multi-attribute group decision making based on the theories of fuzzy mathematics and grey system is presented. Furthermore, the grey interval relative degree and deviation degree is defined, and both the optimistic algorithm of the grey interval relational degree and the algorithm of deviation degree minimization for solving this new model are also given. Finally, a decision making example to demonstrate the feasibility and rationality of this new method is given, and the results by using these two algorithms are uniform.

Multi-attribute group decision making method under 2-dimension uncertain linguistic variables

A method is proposed to deal with the uncertain multiple attribute group decision making problems,where 2-dimension uncertain linguistic variables(2DULVs)are used as the reliable way for the experts to express their fuzzy subjective evaluation information.Firstly,in order to measure the 2DULVs more accurately,a new method is proposed to compare two 2DULVs,called a score function,while a new function is defined to measure the distance between two 2DULVs.Secondly,two optimization models are established to determine the weight of experts and attributes based on the new distance formula and a weighted average operator is used to determine the comprehensive evaluation value of each alternative.Then,a score function is used to determine the ranking of the alternatives.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed method is proved by an illustrated example.

Power Aggregation Operators of Simplified Neutrosophic Sets and Their Use in Multi-attribute Group Decision Making

The simplified neutrosophic set(SNS) is a useful generalization of the fuzzy set that is designed for some practical situations in which each element has different truth membership function, indeterminacy membership function and falsity membership function. In this paper, we develop a series of power aggregation operators called simplified neutrosophic number power weighted averaging(SNNPWA) operator, simplified neutrosophic number power weighted geometric(SNNPWG) operator, simplified neutrosophic number power ordered weighted averaging(SNNPOWA) operator and simplified neutrosophic number power ordered weighted geometric(SNNPOWG) operator. We present some useful properties of the operators and discuss the relationships among them. Moreover, an approach to multiattribute group decision making(MAGDM) within the framework of SNSs is developed by the above aggregation operators.Finally, a practical application of the developed approach to deal with the problem of investment is given, and the result shows that our approach is reasonable and effective in dealing with uncertain decision making problems.

Pythagorean Uncertain Linguistic Variable Hamy Mean Operator and Its Application to Multi-attribute Group Decision Making

Pythagorean fuzzy set(PFS) can provide more flexibility than intuitionistic fuzzy set(IFS) for handling uncertain information, and PFS has been increasingly used in multi-attribute decision making problems. This paper proposes a new multiattribute group decision making method based on Pythagorean uncertain linguistic variable Hamy mean(PULVHM) operator and VIKOR method. Firstly, we define operation rules and a new aggregation operator of Pythagorean uncertain linguistic variable(PULV) and explore some properties of the operator.Secondly, taking the decision makers' hesitation degree into account, a new score function is defined, and we further develop a new group decision making approach integrated with VIKOR method. Finally, an investment example is demonstrated to elaborate the validity of the proposed method. Sensibility analysis and comprehensive comparisons with another two methods are performed to show the stability and advantage of our method.

Fuzzy interval linguistic sets with applications in multi-attribute group decision making

Uncertain and hesitant information, widely existing in the real-world qualitative decision making problems, brings great challenges to decision makers. Hesitant fuzzy linguistic term sets(HFLTSs), an effective linguistic computational tool in modeling and eliciting such information, have hence aroused many scholars’ interests and some extensions have been introduced recently.However, these methods are based on the discrete linguistic term framework with the limited expression domain, which actually depict qualitative information using several single values. Therefore,it is hard to ensure the integrity of the semantics representation and the accuracy of the computation results. To deal with this problem, a semantics basis framework called complete linguistic term set(CLTS) is designed, which adopts a separation structure of linguistic scale and expression domain, enriching semantics representation of decision makers. On this basis the concept of fuzzy interval linguistic sets(FILSs) is put forward that employs the interval linguistic term with probability to increase the flexibility of eliciting and representing uncertain and hesitant qualitative information. For practical applications, a fuzzy interval linguistic technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution(FILTOPSIS) method is developed to deal with multi-attribute group decision making(MAGDM) problems. Through the cases of movie and enterprise resource planning(ERP) system selection, the effectiveness and validity of the proposed method are illustrated.

Solution to multiple attribute group decision making problems with two decision makers

A kind of multiple attribute group decision making （MAGDM） problem is discussed from the perspective of statistic decision-making. Firstly, on the basis of the stability theory, a new idea is proposed to solve this kind of problem. Secondly, a con- crete method corresponding to this kind of problem is proposed. The main tool of our research is the technique o~ the jackknife method. The main advantage of the new method is that it can identify and determine the reliability degree of the existed decision making information. Finally, a traffic engineering example is given to show the effectiveness of the new method.

Method for multi-attribute group decision-making based on the compromise weights

Multi-attribute group decision-making problems are considered where information on both attribute weights and value scores of consequences is incomplete.In group decision analysis,if preference information about alternatives is provided by participants,it should be verified whether there exist compromise weights that can support all the preference relations.The different compromise weight vectors may differ for the ranking of the alternatives.In the case that compromise weights exist,the method is proposed to find out all the compromise weight vectors in order to rank the alternatives.Based on the new feasible domain of attribute weights determined by all the compromise weight vectors and the incomplete information on value scores of consequences,dominance relations between alternatives are checked by a nonlinear goal programming model which can be transformed into a linear one by adopting a transformation.The checked dominance relations uniformly hold for all compromise weight vectors and the incomplete information on value scores of consequences.A final ranking of the alternatives can be obtained by aggregating these dominance relations.

Clustering Analysis of Black-start Decision-making with a Large Group of Decision-makers

The optimization of black-start decision-making plays an important role in the rapid restoration of a power system after a major failure/outage.With the introduction of the concept of smart grids and the development of real-time communication networks,the black-start decision-makers are no longer limited to only one or a few power system experts such as dispatchers,but rather a large group of professional people in practice.The overall behaviors of a large decision-making group of decision-makers/experts are more complicated and unpredictable.However,the existing methods for black-start decision-making cannot handle the situations with a large group of decision-makers.Given this background,a clustering algorithm is presented to optimize the black-start decision-making problem with a large group of decision-makers.Group decision-making preferences are obtained by clustering analysis,and the final black-start decision-making results are achieved by combining the weights of black-start indexes and the preferences of the decision-making group.The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by a practical case.This work extends the black-start decision-making problem to situations with a large group of decision-makers.

Multi-attribute Decision Making Method Based on the Attribute Difference Degree and Its Application in Rice Breeding

[Objective]The aim was to establish a multi-attribute decision making method and introduce its application in rice breeding.[Method]Based on the defined closeness degree among attributes,the difference degrees among attributes were discussed.Furthermore,the weights of attributes were determined based on the difference degrees among the attributes.[Result]A multi-attribute decision making method based on difference degrees among attributes was established,the feasibility of applying it in rice breeding was also analyzed.[Conclusion]This study enriched the methods to determine attribute weights in multi-attribute decision making and provided the necessary theoretical support for selecting rice varieties scientifically and rationally.

Interactive group decision making procedure based on uncertain multiplicative linguistic preference relations

Group decision making problems are investigated with uncertain multiplicative linguistic preference relations.An unbalanced multiplicative linguistic label set is introduced,which can be used by the experts to express their linguistic preference information over alternatives.The uncertain linguistic weighted geometric mean operator is utilized to aggregate all the individual uncertain multiplicative linguistic preference relations into a collective one,and then a simple approach is developed to determine the experts＇ weights by utilizing the consensus degrees among the individual uncertain multiplicative linguistic preference relations and the collective uncertain multiplicative linguistic preference relations.Furthermore,a practical interactive procedure for group decision making is proposed based on uncertain multiplicative linguistic preference relations,in which a possibility degree formula and a complementary matrix are used to rank the given alternatives.Finally,the proposed procedure is applied to solve the group decision making problem of a manufacturing company searching the best global supplier for one of its most critical parts used in assembling process.

Multi-attributed decision making for mining methods based on grey system and interval numbers

In the case of unknown weights, theories of multi-attributed decision making based on interval numbers and grey related analysis were used to optimize mining methods. As the representative of independence for the indicator, the smaller the correlation of indicators is, the greater the weight is. Hence, the weights of interval numbers of indicators were determined by using correlation coefficient. Relative closeness based on positive and negative ideal methods was calculated by introducing distance between interval numbers, which made decision making more rational and comprehensive. A new method of ranking interval numbers based on normal distribution was proposed for the optimization of mining methods, whose basic properties were discussed. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of this method were verified by theories and practice.

Extension of TOPSIS for fuzzy multi-attribute decision making problem based on experimental analysis

This paper is concerned with a technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution（TOPSIS） method for fuzzy multi-attribute decision making,in which the information about attribute weights is partly known and the attribute values take form of triangular fuzzy numbers.Considering the fact that the triangular fuzzy TOPSIS results yielded by different distance measures are different from others,a comparative analysis of triangular fuzzy TOPSIS ranking from each distance measure is illustrated with discussion on standard deviation.By applying the most reasonable distance,the deviation degrees between attribute values are measured.A linear programming model based on the maximal deviation of weighted attribute values is established to obtain the attribute weights.Therefore,alternatives are ranked by using TOPSIS method.Finally,a numerical example is given to show the feasibility and effectiveness of the method.