Relationship of public preferences and behavior in residential outdoor spaces using analytic hierarchy process and principal component analysis—a case study of Hangzhou City, China

This study examined public attitudes concerning the value of outdoor spaces which people use daily. Two successive analyses were performed based on data from common residents and college students in the city of Hangzhou, China. First, citizens registered various items constituting desirable values of residential outdoor spaces through a preliminary questionnaire. The result proposed three general attributes (functional, aesthetic and ecological) and ten specific qualities of residential outdoor spaces. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was applied to an interview survey in order to clarify the weights among these attributes and qualities. Second, principal factors were extracted from the ten specific qualities with principal component analysis (PCA) for both the common case and the campus case. In addition, the variations of respondents’ groups were classified with cluster analysis (CA) using the results of the PCA. The results of the AHP application found that the public prefers the functional attribute, rather than the aesthetic attribute. The latter is always viewed as the core value of open spaces in the eyes of architects and designers. Fur-thermore, comparisons of ten specific qualities showed that the public prefers the open spaces that can be utilized conveniently and easily for group activities, because such spaces keep an active lifestyle of neighborhood communication, which is also seen to protect human-regarding residential environments. Moreover, different groups of respondents diverge largely in terms of gender, age, behavior and preference.

Energy Efficiency Evaluation Based on Data Envelopment Analysis Integrated Analytic Hierarchy Process in Ethylene Production

Energy efficiency data from ethylene production equipment are of high dimension, dynamic and time sequential, so their evaluation is affected by many factors. Abnormal data from ethylene production are eliminated through consistency test, making the data consumption uniform to improve the comparability of data. Due to the limit of input and output data of decision making unit in data envelopment analysis(DEA), the energy efficiency data from the same technology in a certain year are disposed monthly using DEA. The DEA data of energy efficiency from the same technology are weighted and fused using analytic hierarchy process. The energy efficiency data from different technologies are evaluated by their relative effectiveness to find the direction of energy saving and consumption reduction.

Landslide susceptibility analysis of Karakoram highway using analytical hierarchy process and scoops 3D

Landslides are prevalent,regular,and expensive hazards in the Karakoram Highway(KKH)region.The KKH connects Pakistan with China in the present China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC)context.This region has not only immense economic importance but also ecological significance.The purpose of the study was to map the landslide-prone areas along KKH using two different techniquesAnalytical Hierarchy Process(AHP)and Scoops 3 D model.The causative parameters for running AHP include the lithology,presence of thrust,land use land cover,precipitation,and Digital Elevation Model(DEM)derived variables(slope,curvature,aspect,and elevation).The AHP derived final landslide susceptibility map was classified into four zones,i.e.,low,moderate,high,and extremely high.Over 80%of the study area falls under the moderate(43%)and high(40%)landslide susceptible zones.To assess the slope stability of the study area,the Scoops 3 D model was used by integrating with the earthquake loading data.The results of the limit equilibrium analysis categorized the area into four groups(low,moderate,high,and extremely high mass)of slope failure.The areas around Main Mantle Thrust(MMT)including Dubair,Jijal,and Kohistan regions,had high volumes of potential slope failures.The results from AHP and Scoops 3 D techniques were validated with the landslides inventory record of the Geological Survey of Pakistan and Google Earth.The results from both the techniques showed similar output that coincides with the known landslides areas.However,Scoops 3 D provides not only susceptible zones but also the range of volume of the potential slope failures.Further,these techniques could be used in other mountainous areas,which could help in the landslide mitigation measures.

A consistency improving method in the analytic hierarchy process based on directed circuit analysis

Test of consistency is critical for the analytic hierarchy process(AHP) methodology. When a pairwise comparison matrix(PCM) fails the consistency test, the decision maker(DM) needs to make revisions. The state of the art focuses on changing a single entry or creating a new matrix based on the original inconsistent matrix so that the modified matrix can satisfy the consistency requirement. However, we have noticed that the reason that causes inconsistency is not only numerical inconsistency, but also logical inconsistency, which may play a more important role in the whole inconsistency. Therefore, to realize satisfactory consistency, first of all, we should change some entries that form a directed circuit to make the matrix logically consistent, and then adjust other entries within acceptable deviations to make the matrix numerically consistent while preserving most of the original comparison information. In this paper, we firstly present some definitions and theories, based on which two effective methods are provided to identify directed circuits. Four optimization models are proposed to adjust the original inconsistent matrix. Finally, illustrative examples and comparison studies show the effectiveness and feasibility of our method.

Evaluation and Optimization of the Logistics Service of Agricultural Products:an Empirical Analysis Based on Analytic Hierarchy Process

This research,from the theories of management science,supply chain management and logistics engineering,on the basis of extensive investigations,and using the method of analytic hierarchy process(AHP),evaluates the present situation of logistics service of agricultural products.Taking Nanping City(Nanping)as a case,it explores the obstacles existing in current logistics service system and the factors limiting the development of agricultural product logistics service.Combining with the theory of modern logistics system,it reveals the problems in the logistics system and the causes,and then constructs the strategy of optimization for agricultural product logistics service in Nanping.The conclusion of the study can be references for the government to make scientific strategies for the development of the agricultural product logistics service and help logistics enterprises improve their service level.

Groundwater Exploration Using Multi Criteria Decision Analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Central Nigeria

There exists a growing demand for potable water resources to fill the abysmally insufficient water needs for domestic and industrial especially in the Basement Complex terrains of Nigeria. This situation is attributable to its complex hydrogeologic character. The present challenge has worsened due to the non-incorporation of integrated methods in groundwater exploration campaigns. To effectively combat the challenge of unacceptable failure rates in drilled water well development, there is a need for innovative scientific principles and quantitative assessment of groundwater resources to enhance sustainable and proper utilisation of these resources. Hence, it is the objective of this research to exploit the potential application of remote sensing, Geographic Information System (GIS), and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques and freely open datasets in mapping groundwater potential zones. Seven thematic maps have been produced based on factors that are deemed to influence and deemed to have significant control on the occurrence and movement of groundwater. These factors are geology, lineament density, slope, drainage density, rainfall, land-use/land cover, and soil class. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to assign normalised weights to the thematic maps based on the various relative contributions to groundwater occurrence and movement. These thematic maps were then processed in a GIS environment using the Weighted Overlay tool which implements the MCDA. The resulting Groundwater Potential Zones (GPZ) of the area gave rise to Five classes viz: Very good, Good, Moderate, Poor and Very Poor representing 19%, 8%, 14%, 47% and 13% respectively. It is recommended that the GPZ map should be used as a reconnaissance tool for selecting prospective sites for detailed groundwater resource exploitation.

Construction of Value Models of Consumer Creation for Agricultural Products Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)

With the increased competition of modern economy and globalization,consumer creation which based on the analysis of consumer behavior was more and more attentioned and respected by business.Based on the meaning and characteristics of agricultural product consumer creation,index system of value model of agricultural product consumer creation was put forward through analytical hierarchy process（AHP）.The weights of the indicators and related indicators of impact on the value were analyzed,and value models of agricultural product consumer creation were constructed to provide ideas for development of agricultural product consumer market and research of consumer value.Consumer creation was constructed to provide ideas for development of agricultural product consumer market and research of consumer value.

Spatial analysis and evaluation of a coal deposit by coupling AHP & GIS techniques

Nowadays,the evaluation of coal deposits becomes crucial,due to many uncontrollable factors,which affect the energy sector.A comparative evaluation of coal deposits is essential for their hierarchical classification regarding their sustainable exploitation,when compared to other coal deposits or competitive fuels,which may be used as alternative solutions for electricity generation.In this paper,a method for spatial analysis and evaluation of a lignite deposit is proposed,by creating four spatial key indicators via GIS analysis,which are then aggregated by applying a weighted linear combination.The analytical hierarchy process is applied to estimate the relative weights of the indicators,in order to perform a weighted cartographic overlay.Through the synthesis of the indicators,an overall,total spatial quality indicator is calculated.The weighted analysis was shown to be more effective compared to the unweighted one,because it can provide more reliable results regarding the exploitation of the examined lignite deposit.The implementation of GIS-based analytical hierarchy process in spatial analysis and evaluation of lignite deposits,in terms of sustainable exploitation,demonstrates that this method can be extensively applied for evaluating the economic potential of mineral deposits.

Fuzzy Risk Analysis of Harbour Engineering Investment by Hierarchy System Approach

The present risk analysis model of engineering investment is built by fuzzy hierarchy approach under the assumption of maximizing the revenues of the project during its whole life cycle of operation. It can reasonably be expressed by a system evaluation analysis. As a matter of fact, the system, aimed by its system goal can be modelled by a set of factors, constitutively structured by certain links between them, to form a factorial network chart, which represents the essentials of the system behaviours, the nodes of which represent the factors concerned. The weight distribution between factors located at the same level can be determined by the eigen-value problem of a 'pair comparison' relation matrix. The weight distribution of factors at each level is successively manipulated until the fuzzy synthetic risk assessment. As an example of risk analysis of engineering investment, a harbour construction project is presented for illustration.

Power Quality Assessment Based on Rough AHP and Extension Analysis

Due to the increasing power consumption of whole society and widely using of new non-linear and asymmetric electrical equipment,power quality assessment problem in the new period has attracted more and more attention.The mathematical essence of comprehensive assessment of power quality is a multiattribute optimal decision-making problem.In order to solve the key problem of determining the indicator weight in the process of power quality assessment,a rough analytic hierarchy process(AHP)is proposed to aggregate the judgment opinions of multiple experts and eliminate the subjective effects of single expert judgment.Based on the advantage of extension analysis for solving the incompatibility problem,extension analysis method is adopted to assess the power quality.The assessment grades of both total power quality and each assessment indicator are obtained by correlation function.Through a case of 110 kV bus of a converting station in a wind farm of China,the feasibility and effectiveness of the propose method are demonstrated.The result shows that the proposed method can determine the overall power quality of power grid,as well as compare the differences among the performance of assessment indicators and provide the basis for further improving of power quality.

Using DEA and AHP for Ratio Analysis

This research proposes an integrated approach to the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodologies for ratio analysis. According to this, we compute two sets of weights of ratios in the DEA framework. All ratios are treated as outputs without explicit inputs. The first set of weights represents the most attainable efficiency level for each Decision Making Unit (DMU) in comparison to the other DMUs. The second set of weights represents the relative priority of output-ratios using AHP. We assess the performance of each DMU in terms of the relative closeness to the priority weights of output-ratios. For this purpose, we develop a parametric goal programming model to measure the deviations between the two sets of weights. Increasing the value of a parameter in a defined range of efficiency loss, we explore how much the deviations can be improved to achieve the desired goals of the decision maker.This may result in various ranking positions for each DMU in comparison to the other DMUs. An illustrated example of eight listed companies in the steel industry of China is used to highlight the usefulness of the proposed approach.

Landfill Siting Using GIS and AHP （Analytical Hierarchy Process）： A Case Study AI-Qasim Qadhaa, Babylon, Iraq

The selection of a landfill site is considered as a complicated task because this process is based on many factors and restrictions. For Al-Qasim Qadhaa, which is situated in the southern part of the Babylon Governorate, Iraq, there is no landfill site in that area that conforms to the scientific criteria for selecting sites for landfill. For this reason, 15 criteria were adopted in this study （groundwater depth, rivers, soil types, agriculture lands use, land use, elevation, slope, gas pipelines, oil pipelines, power lines, roads, railways, urban centers, villages and archaeological sites） using GIS （geographic information system）, which has a large ability to manage input data. In addition, the AHP （analytical hierarchy process） method was used to derive the relative weightings for each criterion using pair-wise comparison. To obtain the suitability index for candidate landfill sites, a weighted linear combination method was used. After combining these methods, two suitable candidate landfill sites, with areas of 2.766 km2 and 2.055 km2, respectively, were found to satisfy the scientific and environmental requirements. The area of these sites can accommodate solid waste from 2020 until 2030 based on the required area, which was 0.702 km2.

Application of Choquet Integral-Importance-Performance Analysis and TOPSIS Methods in Approaching the Preference Factors of Calligraphy and Seal Engraving Imagery

Classical Chinese characters,presented through calligraphy,seal engraving,or painting,can exhibit different aesthetics and essences of Chinese characters,making them the most important asset of the Chinese people.Calligraphy and seal engraving,as two closely related systems in traditional Chinese art,have developed through the ages.Due to changes in lifestyle and advancements in modern technology,their original functions of daily writing and verification have gradually diminished.Instead,they have increasingly played a significant role in commercial art.This study utilizes the Evaluation Grid Method(EGM)and the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)to research the key preference factors in the application of calligraphy and seal engraving imagery.Different from the traditional 5-point equal interval semantic questionnaire,this study employs a non-equal interval semantic questionnaire with a golden ratio scale,distinguishing the importance ratio of adjacent semantic meanings and highlighting the weighted emphasis on visual aesthetics.Additionally,the study uses Importance-Performance Analysis(IPA)and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS)to obtain the key preference sequence of calligraphy and seal engraving culture.Plus,the Choquet integral comprehensive evaluation is used as a reference for IPA comparison.It is hoped that this study can provide cultural imagery references and research methods,injecting further creativity into industrial design.

Expert elicitations of smallholder agroforestry practices in Seychelles:A SWOT-AHP analysis

Agroforestry can leverage the co-benefits of climate change adaptation and mitigation while conserving biodiversity and restoring degraded and deforested lands.The preference of relevant stakeholders regarding agroforestry practices enhances sustainable land management through strategic decision-making in Seychelles and other island states.A suitable approach for assessing stakeholders'preferences of agroforestry is the implementation of the strengths,weaknesses,opportunities,and threats(SWOT)approach in combination with the analytic hierarchy process(AHP)method.The entry point of this study is an extensive literature review process,during which 28 SWOT factors were identified.These SWOT factors were deliberated on during a half-day workshop with agricultural experts who agreed on 20 SWOT factors that reflect the local realities of the Seychelles through a consensus approach.Using the SWOT-AHP approach,focus group discussions were conducted to examine the perceptions of researchers and extension workers about the adoption of agroforestry in Seychelles.The results indicated that the positive aspects of smallholder agroforestry outweigh the negative aspects.For example,increased agricultural production,control runoff and soil erosion receive the highest scores among the strength factors perceived by researchers and extension workers,respectively.The willingness of international organizations to fund agroforestry-related projects and the existence of native tree species on farmlands have the highest scores among the opportunity factors.The lack of education,information,and communication between the government and farmers,and the small land size and crop competition have the highest scores among the weakness factors.Lastly,change in government policies on land use has the highest score among the threat factors by researchers,whereas the most significant threat is climate change and variability for the extension workers.The provision for a 30-year land lease agreement in the National Agroforestry Policy of Seychelles is viewed by both groups as an incentive that could potentially drive the adoption and acceptability of agroforestry.Furthermore,better coordination of various efforts to promote agroforestry and more substantial extension services for farmers,especially the role of technologies for optimal production on small plots of land,can enhance climate resilience in Seychelles and other small island developing states.

An Overview of the Analytic Hierarchy Process （AHP） and Its Applications to Determine Benchmarking Criteria in Industrial Companies

This paper determines benchmarking criteria from the actors＇ point of view, who are involved in benchmarking processes within four Libyan industrial companies （LICs）. It also describes an application of the analytic hierarchy process （AHP）, which can help an organization to determine its benchmarking criteria. It presents a structured hierarchy for assessing the key capabilities using the AHP. The hierarchy is illustrated using the four main criteria that manufacturing companies will consider when carrying out benchmarking. AHP and benchmarking techniques make the implementation and analysis studies more effective, easy, and applicable to companies. Further, AHP is used to calculate the relative weights of criteria, sub-criteria, and specific sub-criteria, to prioritize them, and finally to select the important benchmarking criteria within each of the four companies investigated. The overall findings suggest that quality control is the most important criterion considered to be benchmarked in companies Q and R. Meanwhile, cost control is considered as the most important criterion to be benchmarked in companies S and T1.

The Use of Analytic Hierarchy Process （AHP） in the Determination of Earnings Quality： The Case of UAE

The purpose of this study is to review and demonstrate how analytic hierarchy process （AHP） can be employed to determine earnings quality. The AHP technique can make the analysis studies more effective, easy, and applicable to companies to calculate the relative weights of each dimension, sub-dimension, and specific sub-dimension of earnings quality. A common understanding of earnings quality is difficult to define and even more difficult to measure precisely. In addition to this, the earnings quality is influenced by factors which are often intangible and immeasurable and, as such, when assessing earnings quality, judgments will be largely subjective. Further, earnings quality is related to business concepts or practices and affected by other factors such as the nature and source of earnings. In relation to this, earnings quality would be directly influenced by the conservatism of the chosen methods. However, earnings quality relates to the persistence of earnings and to the likelihood of cash realization on reported eamings. Overall, the results presented from the paramorphic model under AHP are meant to be descriptive of the decision process of five investment analysts within three different companies. The results in this study offer valuable insights into how a small population of investment analysts actually decides the relative importance of various earnings quality dimensions.

Evaluation of ERP Systems Quality Model Using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Technique

The Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system is a complex and comprehensive software that integrates various enterprise’s functions and resources. ERP system cleanly encapsulates crosscutting concerns which cannot be encapsulated by other types of information systems like data synchronization and standardization, system complexity and system modularity. Many studies are conducted to propose software quality models with their quality characteristics. However, there is currently no dedicated software quality model that can describe and involve new features of ERP systems. Thus, this study has proposed an ERP system quality model (ERPSQM). Analytic Hierarchy Process AHP has been employed to evaluate the quality of ERPSQM. Furthermore, this proposed model can be used to make a comparison of ERP systems to help companies implement better systems.

Measuring the Complexity of Business Organization and Business Software Using Analytic Hierarchy Process （AHP）

The paper shows a proposition of metrics for measuring the complexity of the business organization and business software. The metrics is based on a subjective estimation of complexity of the elements from a part of the structure of business organization or business software in relation to other elements from the observed part. Estimation is performed based on the measuring scale for comparison of complexity of elements, and reaching a final conclusion on the complexity of elements in relation to other elements, through the Analytic Hierarchy Process （AHP）. Defined in this manner, the metrics represents a unique metrics for measuring the complexity of elements of business organization and business software, which enables their comparison. The paper also presents a short overview of existing metrics for measuring the complexity of business organization and business software.

中国新能源汽车海外市场开拓的影响因素——基于ISM-AHP模型分析

把握新能源汽车在海外市场开拓过程中的影响因素,对于更好地实现我国新能源汽车的战略目标极为重要。影响新能源汽车海外市场的开拓因素归纳为新能源汽车产品生产、东道国市场条件、新能源汽车产品营销、新能源汽车技术支持、我国政策条件五个层面共22个子要素,并构建我国新能源汽车海外市场开拓影响因素的解释结构模型(ISM),运用层次分析法(AHP)确定各直接影响因素的相对重要性。基于此,提出要注重产品研发、优化出口策略、提升用户黏度、优化政策体系,以提升我国新能源汽车的发展动力,夯实发展基础,并更好地应对替代产品威胁。