Due to the numerous variables to take into account as well as the inherent ambiguity and uncertainty,evaluating educational institutions can be difficult.The concept of a possibility Pythagorean fuzzy hypersoft set(pP...Due to the numerous variables to take into account as well as the inherent ambiguity and uncertainty,evaluating educational institutions can be difficult.The concept of a possibility Pythagorean fuzzy hypersoft set(pPyFHSS)is more flexible in this regard than other theoretical fuzzy set-like models,even though some attempts have been made in the literature to address such uncertainties.This study investigates the elementary notions of pPyFHSS including its set-theoretic operations union,intersection,complement,OR-and AND-operations.Some results related to these operations are also modified for pPyFHSS.Additionally,the similarity measures between pPyFHSSs are formulated with the assistance of numerical examples and results.Lastly,an intelligent decision-assisted mechanism is developed with the proposal of a robust algorithm based on similarity measures for solving multi-attribute decision-making(MADM)problems.A case study that helps the decision-makers assess the best educational institution is discussed to validate the suggested system.The algorithmic results are compared with the most pertinent model to evaluate the adaptability of pPyFHSS,as it generalizes the classical possibility fuzzy set-like theoretical models.Similarly,while considering significant evaluating factors,the flexibility of pPyFHSS is observed through structural comparison.展开更多
Accurate medical diagnosis,which involves identifying diseases based on patient symptoms,is often hindered by uncertainties in data interpretation and retrieval.Advanced fuzzy set theories have emerged as effective to...Accurate medical diagnosis,which involves identifying diseases based on patient symptoms,is often hindered by uncertainties in data interpretation and retrieval.Advanced fuzzy set theories have emerged as effective tools to address these challenges.In this paper,new mathematical approaches for handling uncertainty in medical diagnosis are introduced using q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets(q-ROFS)and interval-valued q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets(IVq-ROFS).Three aggregation operators are proposed in our methodologies:the q-ROF weighted averaging(q-ROFWA),the q-ROF weighted geometric(q-ROFWG),and the q-ROF weighted neutrality averaging(qROFWNA),which enhance decision-making under uncertainty.These operators are paired with ranking methods such as the similarity measure,score function,and inverse score function to improve the accuracy of disease identification.Additionally,the impact of varying q-rung values is explored through a sensitivity analysis,extending the analysis beyond the typical maximum value of 3.The Basic Uncertain Information(BUI)method is employed to simulate expert opinions,and aggregation operators are used to combine these opinions in a group decisionmaking context.Our results provide a comprehensive comparison of methodologies,highlighting their strengths and limitations in diagnosing diseases based on uncertain patient data.展开更多
BACKGROUND Understanding a patient's clinical status and setting priorities for their care are two aspects of the constantly changing process of clinical decision-making.One analytical technique that can be helpfu...BACKGROUND Understanding a patient's clinical status and setting priorities for their care are two aspects of the constantly changing process of clinical decision-making.One analytical technique that can be helpful in uncertain situations is clinical judgment.Clinicians must deal with contradictory information,lack of time to make decisions,and long-term factors when emergencies occur.AIM To examine the ethical issues healthcare professionals faced during the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic and the factors affecting clinical decision-making.METHODS This pilot study,which means it was a preliminary investigation to gather information and test the feasibility of a larger investigation was conducted over 6 months and we invited responses from clinicians worldwide who managed patients with COVID-19.The survey focused on topics related to their professional roles and personal relationships.We examined five core areas influencing critical care decision-making:Patients'personal factors,family-related factors,informed consent,communication and media,and hospital administrative policies on clinical decision-making.The collected data were analyzed using theχ2 test for categorical variables.RESULTS A total of 102 clinicians from 23 specialties and 17 countries responded to the survey.Age was a significant factor in treatment planning(n=88)and ventilator access(n=78).Sex had no bearing on how decisions were made.Most doctors reported maintaining patient confidentiality regarding privacy and informed consent.Approximately 50%of clinicians reported a moderate influence of clinical work,with many citing it as one of the most important factors affecting their health and relationships.Clinicians from developing countries had a significantly higher score for considering a patient's financial status when creating a treatment plan than their counterparts from developed countries.Regarding personal experiences,some respondents noted that treatment plans and preferences changed from wave to wave,and that there was a rapid turnover of studies and evidence.Hospital and government policies also played a role in critical decision-making.Rather than assessing the appropriateness of treatment,some doctors observed that hospital policies regarding medications were driven by patient demand.CONCLUSION Factors other than medical considerations frequently affect management choices.The disparity in treatment choices,became more apparent during the pandemic.We highlight the difficulties and contradictions between moral standards and the realities physicians encountered during this medical emergency.False information,large patient populations,and limited resources caused problems for clinicians.These factors impacted decision-making,which,in turn,affected patient care and healthcare staff well-being.展开更多
The critical role of patient-reported outcome measures(PROMs)in enhancing clinical decision-making and promoting patient-centered care has gained a profound significance in scientific research.PROMs encapsulate a pati...The critical role of patient-reported outcome measures(PROMs)in enhancing clinical decision-making and promoting patient-centered care has gained a profound significance in scientific research.PROMs encapsulate a patient's health status directly from their perspective,encompassing various domains such as symptom severity,functional status,and overall quality of life.By integrating PROMs into routine clinical practice and research,healthcare providers can achieve a more nuanced understanding of patient experiences and tailor treatments accordingly.The deployment of PROMs supports dynamic patient-provider interactions,fostering better patient engagement and adherence to tre-atment plans.Moreover,PROMs are pivotal in clinical settings for monitoring disease progression and treatment efficacy,particularly in chronic and mental health conditions.However,challenges in implementing PROMs include data collection and management,integration into existing health systems,and acceptance by patients and providers.Overcoming these barriers necessitates technological advancements,policy development,and continuous education to enhance the acceptability and effectiveness of PROMs.The paper concludes with recommendations for future research and policy-making aimed at optimizing the use and impact of PROMs across healthcare settings.展开更多
Understanding the dynamics of decision making in the right way is an important problem for the management of organizations.In today’s business life organizations are becoming more complex,and the environments they ar...Understanding the dynamics of decision making in the right way is an important problem for the management of organizations.In today’s business life organizations are becoming more complex,and the environments they are operating in,are becoming increasingly uncertain.The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of managerial decision-making process in complex internal and external environments by sharing the results of an empirical study(Onuk,2009).While taking the levels of the organizational structure as one of the important dimensions of complex internal environment,complex external environment is reflected within the study as economic crisis.Using the survey tool developed by Onuk(2009),the empirical study realized in the Turkish organization of a large global company investigated decision-making process to understand how decision-making authority for different types of decisions,identified as strategic,tactical,and operational level decisions,was distributed throughout the organization levels,and how this distribution was impacted by economic crisis.The results of the study confirmed the following common expectations:(1)Strategic decisions are mostly taken at upper hierarchical levels of the organizational structure;(2)during times of economic crisis strategic decision making is centralized;and(3)during times of economic crisis distribution of decision-making authority is concentrated at upper management levels.展开更多
The paper designs a quantum model of decision-making (QMDM) that utilizes neuroscientific evidence. The new model provides both normative and positive implications to economics. First, it enhances the study of decisio...The paper designs a quantum model of decision-making (QMDM) that utilizes neuroscientific evidence. The new model provides both normative and positive implications to economics. First, it enhances the study of decision-making which is an extension of the expected utility theory (EUT) in mathematical economics. Second, we demonstrate how the quantum model mitigates drawbacks of the expected utility theory of today.展开更多
Urban planning decision-making is an activity for the decision-makers to collect information, judge function of cities, select project and make policy which is ainaed at the problem of urban planning that have taken p...Urban planning decision-making is an activity for the decision-makers to collect information, judge function of cities, select project and make policy which is ainaed at the problem of urban planning that have taken place, is taking place and will take place. Using historical review and comparative analysis, the articles summarizes planning decision-makings of Shanwei city and it's problem, and makes some suggestions to urban planning decision-making system of Shanwei city in the new period.展开更多
This paper reviews the economic methodology used to justify a proposed 357 hectare (800 acre) Industrial Park that would breach the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, a boundary that had b...This paper reviews the economic methodology used to justify a proposed 357 hectare (800 acre) Industrial Park that would breach the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, a boundary that had been established to constrain urban sprawl and protect the surrounding wetlands and farmlands. We will examine the socio-economic setting of the region, the ownership of the farmland parcels designated to become industrial sites, and the misuse of the promoters’ narrow economic analysis. Then we shall explain and compute correctly the likely job creation based on the author’s own survey of recently constructed industrial plants similar to those proposed for this site. Rather than an industrial park, we offer instead a newly-designed multi-purpose Recreational–Ecological–Agricultural Park (REAP) & Nature Preserve which would maintain the integrity of the rural landscape, connect the densely-populated neighborhoods to the mangrove shoreline, and open nature’s treasure chest to urban Miami and the wider public.展开更多
Decision-making and motion planning are extremely important in autonomous driving to ensure safe driving in a real-world environment.This study proposes an online evolutionary decision-making and motion planning frame...Decision-making and motion planning are extremely important in autonomous driving to ensure safe driving in a real-world environment.This study proposes an online evolutionary decision-making and motion planning framework for autonomous driving based on a hybrid data-and model-driven method.First,a data-driven decision-making module based on deep reinforcement learning(DRL)is developed to pursue a rational driving performance as much as possible.Then,model predictive control(MPC)is employed to execute both longitudinal and lateral motion planning tasks.Multiple constraints are defined according to the vehicle’s physical limit to meet the driving task requirements.Finally,two principles of safety and rationality for the self-evolution of autonomous driving are proposed.A motion envelope is established and embedded into a rational exploration and exploitation scheme,which filters out unreasonable experiences by masking unsafe actions so as to collect high-quality training data for the DRL agent.Experiments with a high-fidelity vehicle model and MATLAB/Simulink co-simulation environment are conducted,and the results show that the proposed online-evolution framework is able to generate safer,more rational,and more efficient driving action in a real-world environment.展开更多
Carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual-carbon)are important targets for the international response to climate change.The Silk Road Economic Belt is a strategic resource region and is important for future ecological en...Carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual-carbon)are important targets for the international response to climate change.The Silk Road Economic Belt is a strategic resource region and is important for future ecological environment and tourism development.Based on the“dual-carbon”targets,the Single index quantification,Multiple index synthesis,and Poly-criteria integration evaluation model were used in this study to measure the coordinated development index of the ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt and to analyze its spatial and temporal evolution.Further,it explores the dynamic evolution and development trend of the three systems using the Kernel Density and Grey Markov Prediction Model.The results show that the coordinated development index along this region needs to be improved during the study period.Furthermore,the coordinated development index of the Southwest region is relatively higher than that of the Northwest region.From the development trend of the three systems,all of them develop in a stable manner;however,the tourism economy system is easily affected by external disturbances.The coordinated development index of the three systems changes dynamically and tends to be in a good state of coordination.There is a certain spatial and temporal heterogeneity.The gravity center of the coordinated development index has been in the Southwest region.During the forecast period,the coordinated development index along this region will improve significantly,while insufficient and unbalanced development will continue.展开更多
The literature on urban vitality tends to focus on the built environment.This paper argues that some important processes in shaping vitality may be overlooked without examining the intensity and diversity of economic ...The literature on urban vitality tends to focus on the built environment.This paper argues that some important processes in shaping vitality may be overlooked without examining the intensity and diversity of economic and human activities.Using newly developed spatial big data and adopting the methods of multi-indicator measurement and spatial analysis methods,we analyzed the pattern of urban vitality in Chongqing,a provincial city in western China and,on this basis,evaluated the creation and maintenance of urban vitality from the economic and human activities perspective.Our findings indicate that the impacts of economic and human activities are positive and significant.Among the three intensity and diversity indicators,economic intensity and population density show an effect on urban vitality stronger than that of economic diversity.However,economic diversity has the strongest superposition or interactive effect,and is thus an important foundation dynamic.The positive effect of population density on urban vitality is largely a result of Chongqing’s jobs-housing balance.The case of Chongqing highlights the importance of topographic features,historical inheritance,large-scale migration,and cultural activities in shaping the distinctive vitality pattern of a city.This study contends that the creation and maintenance of urban vitality can not be fully explained without incorporating the impacts of economic and human activities.It contributes to a comprehensive measurement of urban vitality and enriches its connotations.展开更多
While autonomous vehicles are vital components of intelligent transportation systems,ensuring the trustworthiness of decision-making remains a substantial challenge in realizing autonomous driving.Therefore,we present...While autonomous vehicles are vital components of intelligent transportation systems,ensuring the trustworthiness of decision-making remains a substantial challenge in realizing autonomous driving.Therefore,we present a novel robust reinforcement learning approach with safety guarantees to attain trustworthy decision-making for autonomous vehicles.The proposed technique ensures decision trustworthiness in terms of policy robustness and collision safety.Specifically,an adversary model is learned online to simulate the worst-case uncertainty by approximating the optimal adversarial perturbations on the observed states and environmental dynamics.In addition,an adversarial robust actor-critic algorithm is developed to enable the agent to learn robust policies against perturbations in observations and dynamics.Moreover,we devise a safety mask to guarantee the collision safety of the autonomous driving agent during both the training and testing processes using an interpretable knowledge model known as the Responsibility-Sensitive Safety Model.Finally,the proposed approach is evaluated through both simulations and experiments.These results indicate that the autonomous driving agent can make trustworthy decisions and drastically reduce the number of collisions through robust safety policies.展开更多
Due to ever-growing soccer data collection approaches and progressing artificial intelligence(AI) methods, soccer analysis, evaluation, and decision-making have received increasing interest from not only the professio...Due to ever-growing soccer data collection approaches and progressing artificial intelligence(AI) methods, soccer analysis, evaluation, and decision-making have received increasing interest from not only the professional sports analytics realm but also the academic AI research community. AI brings gamechanging approaches for soccer analytics where soccer has been a typical benchmark for AI research. The combination has been an emerging topic. In this paper, soccer match analytics are taken as a complete observation-orientation-decision-action(OODA) loop.In addition, as in AI frameworks such as that for reinforcement learning, interacting with a virtual environment enables an evolving model. Therefore, both soccer analytics in the real world and virtual domains are discussed. With the intersection of the OODA loop and the real-virtual domains, available soccer data, including event and tracking data, and diverse orientation and decisionmaking models for both real-world and virtual soccer matches are comprehensively reviewed. Finally, some promising directions in this interdisciplinary area are pointed out. It is claimed that paradigms for both professional sports analytics and AI research could be combined. Moreover, it is quite promising to bridge the gap between the real and virtual domains for soccer match analysis and decision-making.展开更多
Humans are experiencing the inclusion of artificial agents in their lives,such as unmanned vehicles,service robots,voice assistants,and intelligent medical care.If the artificial agents cannot align with social values...Humans are experiencing the inclusion of artificial agents in their lives,such as unmanned vehicles,service robots,voice assistants,and intelligent medical care.If the artificial agents cannot align with social values or make ethical decisions,they may not meet the expectations of humans.Traditionally,an ethical decision-making framework is constructed by rule-based or statistical approaches.In this paper,we propose an ethical decision-making framework based on incremental ILP(Inductive Logic Programming),which can overcome the brittleness of rule-based approaches and little interpretability of statistical approaches.As the current incremental ILP makes it difficult to solve conflicts,we propose a novel ethical decision-making framework considering conflicts in this paper,which adopts our proposed incremental ILP system.The framework consists of two processes:the learning process and the deduction process.The first process records bottom clauses with their score functions and learns rules guided by the entailment and the score function.The second process obtains an ethical decision based on the rules.In an ethical scenario about chatbots for teenagers’mental health,we verify that our framework can learn ethical rules and make ethical decisions.Besides,we extract incremental ILP from the framework and compare it with the state-of-the-art ILP systems based on ASP(Answer Set Programming)focusing on conflict resolution.The results of comparisons show that our proposed system can generate better-quality rules than most other systems.展开更多
Constructing a cross-border power energy system with multiagent power energy as an alliance is important for studying cross-border power-trading markets.This study considers multiple neighboring countries in the form ...Constructing a cross-border power energy system with multiagent power energy as an alliance is important for studying cross-border power-trading markets.This study considers multiple neighboring countries in the form of alliances,introduces neighboring countries’exchange rates into the cross-border multi-agent power-trading market and proposes a method to study each agent’s dynamic decision-making behavior based on evolutionary game theory.To this end,this study uses three national agents as examples,constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model,and analyzes the evolution process of the decision-making behavior of each agent member state under the initial willingness value,cost of payment,and additional revenue of the alliance.This research helps realize cross-border energy operations so that the transaction agent can achieve greater trade profits and provides a theoretical basis for cooperation and stability between multiple agents.展开更多
Stroke is a chronic cerebrovascular disease that carries a high risk.Stroke risk assessment is of great significance in preventing,reversing and reducing the spread and the health hazards caused by stroke.Aiming to ob...Stroke is a chronic cerebrovascular disease that carries a high risk.Stroke risk assessment is of great significance in preventing,reversing and reducing the spread and the health hazards caused by stroke.Aiming to objectively predict and identify strokes,this paper proposes a new stroke risk assessment decision-making model named Logistic-AdaBoost(Logistic-AB)based on machine learning.First,the categorical boosting(CatBoost)method is used to perform feature selection for all features of stroke,and 8 main features are selected to form a new index evaluation system to predict the risk of stroke.Second,the borderline synthetic minority oversampling technique(SMOTE)algorithm is applied to transform the unbalanced stroke dataset into a balanced dataset.Finally,the stroke risk assessment decision-makingmodel Logistic-AB is constructed,and the overall prediction performance of this new model is evaluated by comparing it with ten other similar models.The comparison results show that the new model proposed in this paper performs better than the two single algorithms(logistic regression and AdaBoost)on the four indicators of recall,precision,F1 score,and accuracy,and the overall performance of the proposed model is better than that of common machine learning algorithms.The Logistic-AB model presented in this paper can more accurately predict patients’stroke risk.展开更多
The strategy evolution process of game players is highly uncertain due to random emergent situations and other external disturbances.This paper investigates the issue of strategy interaction and behavioral decision-ma...The strategy evolution process of game players is highly uncertain due to random emergent situations and other external disturbances.This paper investigates the issue of strategy interaction and behavioral decision-making among game players in simulated confrontation scenarios within a random interference environment.It considers the possible risks that random disturbances may pose to the autonomous decision-making of game players,as well as the impact of participants’manipulative behaviors on the state changes of the players.A nonlinear mathematical model is established to describe the strategy decision-making process of the participants in this scenario.Subsequently,the strategy selection interaction relationship,strategy evolution stability,and dynamic decision-making process of the game players are investigated and verified by simulation experiments.The results show that maneuver-related parameters and random environmental interference factors have different effects on the selection and evolutionary speed of the agent’s strategies.Especially in a highly uncertain environment,even small information asymmetry or miscalculation may have a significant impact on decision-making.This also confirms the feasibility and effectiveness of the method proposed in the paper,which can better explain the behavioral decision-making process of the agent in the interaction process.This study provides feasibility analysis ideas and theoretical references for improving multi-agent interactive decision-making and the interpretability of the game system model.展开更多
Context/Objective: High blood pressure (HBP) currently represents the most widespread chronic non-communicable disease in Cameroon. The increase in its prevalence in the country is the result of multiple factors inclu...Context/Objective: High blood pressure (HBP) currently represents the most widespread chronic non-communicable disease in Cameroon. The increase in its prevalence in the country is the result of multiple factors including economic stress imposed by precariousness, poor living conditions, sources of anxiety, anguish, depression and other behavioral disorders. Economic stress is a globalizing concept that integrates into a purely hermeneutic approach, a particular functioning of the nervous system of an individual who faces employment problems and precarious remuneration conditions. The non-satisfaction by an individual of his basic needs due to insufficient financial means can cause him to become irritable, aggressive, and socially and symbolically isolated, thereby increasing the desire to resort to morbid life models such as excessive consumption of narcotics and other psychoactive substances often associated with high blood pressure. The fight against the emergence of BPH is a complex, multifaceted and multifactorial reality that requires taking into account economic stress. The main objective of this survey is to describe the situation of economic stress within the Cameroonian population, which imposes precariousness and life models at risk of high blood pressure. Specifically, we determined the level of household income and the sources of income. Methods: A cross-sectional survey with a descriptive aim among five hundred households in the Central Region of Cameroon was conducted. A probabilistic technique called simple randomness was used. The number of households to be surveyed was determined indirectly using the Cochrane formula. Data collection in face-to-face mode using a physical questionnaire took place from July 1 to August 31, 2023, after obtaining ethical clearance from the Regional Health Research Ethics Committee, Human from the Center and an administrative authorization for data collection. Regarding their processing, the data was grouped during processing in Excel sheets. Normality and reliability tests of the collected data were carried out. For this, the Chi-square test was used for data with a qualitative value and that of Kolmogorov-Sminorf for data with a quantitative value. Descriptive analysis was possible using R software version 3.2, SPSS version 25.0, XLSTAT 2016, PAST and EXCEL programs from Microsoft Office 2013. Results: The main results highlight economic stress, with 45.60% of households surveyed earning less than US$154 per month;55% of household heads were women in single-parent families;14% of household heads were unemployed, 22% worked in the private sector and 19% were self-employed. This general economic situation leads to precarious living conditions, thereby increasing the risk of high blood pressure among the Cameroonian population.展开更多
Bovine tuberculosis is one of the zoonoses which has a very significant socio-economic importance due to the losses in agribusiness and hampers commercial exchange of animals and products. The present study highlights...Bovine tuberculosis is one of the zoonoses which has a very significant socio-economic importance due to the losses in agribusiness and hampers commercial exchange of animals and products. The present study highlights the risk of considerable potential economic and health impacts of this major zoonosis. It was carried out at the Bobo-Dioulasso slaughterhouse, in Burkina Faso over 3 years. A retrospective study was conducted based on bovine tuberculosis suspected carcass seizures during primary meat production between January 1st, 2020 and December 31st, 2022. The diagnosis and the criteria for suspecting bovine tuberculosis were addressed by post-mortem inspection. All carcasses were examined for tuberculosis lesions detection. All cattle slaughtered in the abattoir for primary meat production during the study period were included. Economic losses were determined from recorded seizure data and we included all the cattle slaughtered during the study period. Three thousand two hundred ten (3210) bovine carcasses were seized on a total of 180,827 cattle slaughteredwith a prevalence of 19.48%. Economic loss was estimated to be 53,505,000 F CFA, while the average quantity of animal protein lost was 4746 kg, 435 kg, and 13,445 kg for the carcass, livers, and lungs, respectively. The various results show a real health issue linked to exposure to M. bovis for agents and stakeholders in the primary meat production chain, processors and consumers. In addition, the survey conducted over the study period, reveals important material seized and destroyed. This leads to significant loss in rural agriculture and also in the primary meat production industry for the population. The figures are enormous and impact both the nutritional intake linked to animal protein consumption and the livelihood of the beef industry. The Burkinabe administration should invest in biosecurity and biosafety measures to minimize the risks of the disease and also provide compensation for losses recorded among breeders and butchers.展开更多
Purpose–Material selection,driven by wide and often conflicting objectives,is an important,sometimes difficult problem in material engineering.In this context,multi-criteria decision-making(MCDM)methodologies are eff...Purpose–Material selection,driven by wide and often conflicting objectives,is an important,sometimes difficult problem in material engineering.In this context,multi-criteria decision-making(MCDM)methodologies are effective.An approach of MCDM is needed to cater to criteria of material assortment simultaneously.More firms are now concerned about increasing their productivity using mathematical tools.To occupy a gap in the previous literature this research recommends an integrated MCDM and mathematical Bi-objective model for the selection of material.In addition,by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS),the inherent ambiguities of decision-makers in paired evaluations are considered in this research.It goes on to construct a mathematical bi-objective model for determining the best item to purchase.Design/methodology/approach–The entropy perspective is implemented in this paper to evaluate the weight parameters,while the TOPSIS technique is used to determine the best and worst intermediate pipe materials for automotive exhaust system.The intermediate pipes are used to join the components of the exhaust systems.The materials usually used to manufacture intermediate pipe are SUS 436LM,SUS 430,SUS 304,SUS 436L,SUH 409 L,SUS 441 L and SUS 439L.These seven materials are evaluated based on tensile strength(TS),hardness(H),elongation(E),yield strength(YS)and cost(C).A hybrid methodology combining entropy-based criteria weighting,with the TOPSIS for alternative ranking,is pursued to identify the optimal design material for an engineered application in this paper.This study aims to help while filling the information gap in selecting the most suitable material for use in the exhaust intermediate pipes.After that,the authors searched for and considered eight materials and evaluated them on the following five criteria:(1)TS,(2)YS,(3)H,(4)E and(5)C.The first two criteria have been chosen because they can have a lot of influence on the behavior of the exhaust intermediate pipes,on their performance and on the cost.In this structure,the weights of the criteria are calculated objectively through the entropy method in order to have an unbiased assessment.This essentially measures the quantity of information each criterion contribution,indicating the relative importance of these criteria better.Subsequently,the materials were ranked using the TOPSIS method in terms of their relative performance by measuring each material from an ideal solution to determine the best alternative.The results show that SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM are the first three materials that the exhaust intermediate pipe optimal design should consider.Findings–The material matrix of the decision presented in Table 3 was normalized through Equation 5,as shown in Table 5,and the matrix was multiplied with weighting criteriaß_j.The obtained weighted normalized matrix V_ij is presented in Table 6.However,the ideal,worst and best value was ascertained by employing Equation 7.This study is based on the selection of material for the development of intermediate pipe using MCDM,and it involves four basic stages,i.e.method of translation criteria,screening process,method of ranking and search for methods.The selection was done through the TOPSIS method,and the criteria weight was obtained by the entropy method.The result showed that the top three materials are SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM,respectively.For the future work,it is suggested to select more alternatives and criteria.The comparison can also be done by using different MCDM techniques like and Choice Expressing Reality(ELECTRE),Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory(DEMATEL)and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation(PROMETHEE).Originality/value–The results provide important conclusions for material selection in this targeted application,verifying the employment of mutual entropy-TOPSIS methodology for a series of difficult engineering decisions in material engineering concepts that combine superior capacity with better performance as well as cost-efficiency in various engineering design.展开更多
基金supported by the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at Qassim University(QU-APC-2024-9/1).
文摘Due to the numerous variables to take into account as well as the inherent ambiguity and uncertainty,evaluating educational institutions can be difficult.The concept of a possibility Pythagorean fuzzy hypersoft set(pPyFHSS)is more flexible in this regard than other theoretical fuzzy set-like models,even though some attempts have been made in the literature to address such uncertainties.This study investigates the elementary notions of pPyFHSS including its set-theoretic operations union,intersection,complement,OR-and AND-operations.Some results related to these operations are also modified for pPyFHSS.Additionally,the similarity measures between pPyFHSSs are formulated with the assistance of numerical examples and results.Lastly,an intelligent decision-assisted mechanism is developed with the proposal of a robust algorithm based on similarity measures for solving multi-attribute decision-making(MADM)problems.A case study that helps the decision-makers assess the best educational institution is discussed to validate the suggested system.The algorithmic results are compared with the most pertinent model to evaluate the adaptability of pPyFHSS,as it generalizes the classical possibility fuzzy set-like theoretical models.Similarly,while considering significant evaluating factors,the flexibility of pPyFHSS is observed through structural comparison.
文摘Accurate medical diagnosis,which involves identifying diseases based on patient symptoms,is often hindered by uncertainties in data interpretation and retrieval.Advanced fuzzy set theories have emerged as effective tools to address these challenges.In this paper,new mathematical approaches for handling uncertainty in medical diagnosis are introduced using q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets(q-ROFS)and interval-valued q-rung orthopair fuzzy sets(IVq-ROFS).Three aggregation operators are proposed in our methodologies:the q-ROF weighted averaging(q-ROFWA),the q-ROF weighted geometric(q-ROFWG),and the q-ROF weighted neutrality averaging(qROFWNA),which enhance decision-making under uncertainty.These operators are paired with ranking methods such as the similarity measure,score function,and inverse score function to improve the accuracy of disease identification.Additionally,the impact of varying q-rung values is explored through a sensitivity analysis,extending the analysis beyond the typical maximum value of 3.The Basic Uncertain Information(BUI)method is employed to simulate expert opinions,and aggregation operators are used to combine these opinions in a group decisionmaking context.Our results provide a comprehensive comparison of methodologies,highlighting their strengths and limitations in diagnosing diseases based on uncertain patient data.
文摘BACKGROUND Understanding a patient's clinical status and setting priorities for their care are two aspects of the constantly changing process of clinical decision-making.One analytical technique that can be helpful in uncertain situations is clinical judgment.Clinicians must deal with contradictory information,lack of time to make decisions,and long-term factors when emergencies occur.AIM To examine the ethical issues healthcare professionals faced during the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic and the factors affecting clinical decision-making.METHODS This pilot study,which means it was a preliminary investigation to gather information and test the feasibility of a larger investigation was conducted over 6 months and we invited responses from clinicians worldwide who managed patients with COVID-19.The survey focused on topics related to their professional roles and personal relationships.We examined five core areas influencing critical care decision-making:Patients'personal factors,family-related factors,informed consent,communication and media,and hospital administrative policies on clinical decision-making.The collected data were analyzed using theχ2 test for categorical variables.RESULTS A total of 102 clinicians from 23 specialties and 17 countries responded to the survey.Age was a significant factor in treatment planning(n=88)and ventilator access(n=78).Sex had no bearing on how decisions were made.Most doctors reported maintaining patient confidentiality regarding privacy and informed consent.Approximately 50%of clinicians reported a moderate influence of clinical work,with many citing it as one of the most important factors affecting their health and relationships.Clinicians from developing countries had a significantly higher score for considering a patient's financial status when creating a treatment plan than their counterparts from developed countries.Regarding personal experiences,some respondents noted that treatment plans and preferences changed from wave to wave,and that there was a rapid turnover of studies and evidence.Hospital and government policies also played a role in critical decision-making.Rather than assessing the appropriateness of treatment,some doctors observed that hospital policies regarding medications were driven by patient demand.CONCLUSION Factors other than medical considerations frequently affect management choices.The disparity in treatment choices,became more apparent during the pandemic.We highlight the difficulties and contradictions between moral standards and the realities physicians encountered during this medical emergency.False information,large patient populations,and limited resources caused problems for clinicians.These factors impacted decision-making,which,in turn,affected patient care and healthcare staff well-being.
文摘The critical role of patient-reported outcome measures(PROMs)in enhancing clinical decision-making and promoting patient-centered care has gained a profound significance in scientific research.PROMs encapsulate a patient's health status directly from their perspective,encompassing various domains such as symptom severity,functional status,and overall quality of life.By integrating PROMs into routine clinical practice and research,healthcare providers can achieve a more nuanced understanding of patient experiences and tailor treatments accordingly.The deployment of PROMs supports dynamic patient-provider interactions,fostering better patient engagement and adherence to tre-atment plans.Moreover,PROMs are pivotal in clinical settings for monitoring disease progression and treatment efficacy,particularly in chronic and mental health conditions.However,challenges in implementing PROMs include data collection and management,integration into existing health systems,and acceptance by patients and providers.Overcoming these barriers necessitates technological advancements,policy development,and continuous education to enhance the acceptability and effectiveness of PROMs.The paper concludes with recommendations for future research and policy-making aimed at optimizing the use and impact of PROMs across healthcare settings.
文摘Understanding the dynamics of decision making in the right way is an important problem for the management of organizations.In today’s business life organizations are becoming more complex,and the environments they are operating in,are becoming increasingly uncertain.The aim of this paper is to contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of managerial decision-making process in complex internal and external environments by sharing the results of an empirical study(Onuk,2009).While taking the levels of the organizational structure as one of the important dimensions of complex internal environment,complex external environment is reflected within the study as economic crisis.Using the survey tool developed by Onuk(2009),the empirical study realized in the Turkish organization of a large global company investigated decision-making process to understand how decision-making authority for different types of decisions,identified as strategic,tactical,and operational level decisions,was distributed throughout the organization levels,and how this distribution was impacted by economic crisis.The results of the study confirmed the following common expectations:(1)Strategic decisions are mostly taken at upper hierarchical levels of the organizational structure;(2)during times of economic crisis strategic decision making is centralized;and(3)during times of economic crisis distribution of decision-making authority is concentrated at upper management levels.
文摘The paper designs a quantum model of decision-making (QMDM) that utilizes neuroscientific evidence. The new model provides both normative and positive implications to economics. First, it enhances the study of decision-making which is an extension of the expected utility theory (EUT) in mathematical economics. Second, we demonstrate how the quantum model mitigates drawbacks of the expected utility theory of today.
基金Acknowledgments The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by Foundation for Distinguished Young Talents in Higher Education of Guangdong, China (Project No: wyrnl1049) and the Natural Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 40901066).
文摘Urban planning decision-making is an activity for the decision-makers to collect information, judge function of cities, select project and make policy which is ainaed at the problem of urban planning that have taken place, is taking place and will take place. Using historical review and comparative analysis, the articles summarizes planning decision-makings of Shanwei city and it's problem, and makes some suggestions to urban planning decision-making system of Shanwei city in the new period.
文摘This paper reviews the economic methodology used to justify a proposed 357 hectare (800 acre) Industrial Park that would breach the Urban Development Boundary (UDB) in Miami-Dade County, Florida, a boundary that had been established to constrain urban sprawl and protect the surrounding wetlands and farmlands. We will examine the socio-economic setting of the region, the ownership of the farmland parcels designated to become industrial sites, and the misuse of the promoters’ narrow economic analysis. Then we shall explain and compute correctly the likely job creation based on the author’s own survey of recently constructed industrial plants similar to those proposed for this site. Rather than an industrial park, we offer instead a newly-designed multi-purpose Recreational–Ecological–Agricultural Park (REAP) & Nature Preserve which would maintain the integrity of the rural landscape, connect the densely-populated neighborhoods to the mangrove shoreline, and open nature’s treasure chest to urban Miami and the wider public.
基金the financial support of the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2020AAA0108100)the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Major Project(2021SHZDZX0100)the Shanghai Gaofeng and Gaoyuan Project for University Academic Program Development for funding。
文摘Decision-making and motion planning are extremely important in autonomous driving to ensure safe driving in a real-world environment.This study proposes an online evolutionary decision-making and motion planning framework for autonomous driving based on a hybrid data-and model-driven method.First,a data-driven decision-making module based on deep reinforcement learning(DRL)is developed to pursue a rational driving performance as much as possible.Then,model predictive control(MPC)is employed to execute both longitudinal and lateral motion planning tasks.Multiple constraints are defined according to the vehicle’s physical limit to meet the driving task requirements.Finally,two principles of safety and rationality for the self-evolution of autonomous driving are proposed.A motion envelope is established and embedded into a rational exploration and exploitation scheme,which filters out unreasonable experiences by masking unsafe actions so as to collect high-quality training data for the DRL agent.Experiments with a high-fidelity vehicle model and MATLAB/Simulink co-simulation environment are conducted,and the results show that the proposed online-evolution framework is able to generate safer,more rational,and more efficient driving action in a real-world environment.
基金supported by the Hebei Province Cultural and Artistic Science Planning and Tourism Research Project[Grant No.HB22-ZD002].
文摘Carbon peak and carbon neutrality(dual-carbon)are important targets for the international response to climate change.The Silk Road Economic Belt is a strategic resource region and is important for future ecological environment and tourism development.Based on the“dual-carbon”targets,the Single index quantification,Multiple index synthesis,and Poly-criteria integration evaluation model were used in this study to measure the coordinated development index of the ecological environment,public service,and tourism economy along the Silk Road Economic Belt and to analyze its spatial and temporal evolution.Further,it explores the dynamic evolution and development trend of the three systems using the Kernel Density and Grey Markov Prediction Model.The results show that the coordinated development index along this region needs to be improved during the study period.Furthermore,the coordinated development index of the Southwest region is relatively higher than that of the Northwest region.From the development trend of the three systems,all of them develop in a stable manner;however,the tourism economy system is easily affected by external disturbances.The coordinated development index of the three systems changes dynamically and tends to be in a good state of coordination.There is a certain spatial and temporal heterogeneity.The gravity center of the coordinated development index has been in the Southwest region.During the forecast period,the coordinated development index along this region will improve significantly,while insufficient and unbalanced development will continue.
基金Under the auspices of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42071178,41671139)。
文摘The literature on urban vitality tends to focus on the built environment.This paper argues that some important processes in shaping vitality may be overlooked without examining the intensity and diversity of economic and human activities.Using newly developed spatial big data and adopting the methods of multi-indicator measurement and spatial analysis methods,we analyzed the pattern of urban vitality in Chongqing,a provincial city in western China and,on this basis,evaluated the creation and maintenance of urban vitality from the economic and human activities perspective.Our findings indicate that the impacts of economic and human activities are positive and significant.Among the three intensity and diversity indicators,economic intensity and population density show an effect on urban vitality stronger than that of economic diversity.However,economic diversity has the strongest superposition or interactive effect,and is thus an important foundation dynamic.The positive effect of population density on urban vitality is largely a result of Chongqing’s jobs-housing balance.The case of Chongqing highlights the importance of topographic features,historical inheritance,large-scale migration,and cultural activities in shaping the distinctive vitality pattern of a city.This study contends that the creation and maintenance of urban vitality can not be fully explained without incorporating the impacts of economic and human activities.It contributes to a comprehensive measurement of urban vitality and enriches its connotations.
基金supported in part by the Start-Up Grant-Nanyang Assistant Professorship Grant of Nanyang Technological Universitythe Agency for Science,Technology and Research(A*STAR)under Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering(AME)Young Individual Research under Grant(A2084c0156)+2 种基金the MTC Individual Research Grant(M22K2c0079)the ANR-NRF Joint Grant(NRF2021-NRF-ANR003 HM Science)the Ministry of Education(MOE)under the Tier 2 Grant(MOE-T2EP50222-0002)。
文摘While autonomous vehicles are vital components of intelligent transportation systems,ensuring the trustworthiness of decision-making remains a substantial challenge in realizing autonomous driving.Therefore,we present a novel robust reinforcement learning approach with safety guarantees to attain trustworthy decision-making for autonomous vehicles.The proposed technique ensures decision trustworthiness in terms of policy robustness and collision safety.Specifically,an adversary model is learned online to simulate the worst-case uncertainty by approximating the optimal adversarial perturbations on the observed states and environmental dynamics.In addition,an adversarial robust actor-critic algorithm is developed to enable the agent to learn robust policies against perturbations in observations and dynamics.Moreover,we devise a safety mask to guarantee the collision safety of the autonomous driving agent during both the training and testing processes using an interpretable knowledge model known as the Responsibility-Sensitive Safety Model.Finally,the proposed approach is evaluated through both simulations and experiments.These results indicate that the autonomous driving agent can make trustworthy decisions and drastically reduce the number of collisions through robust safety policies.
基金supported by the National Key Research,Development Program of China (2020AAA0103404)the Beijing Nova Program (20220484077)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (62073323)。
文摘Due to ever-growing soccer data collection approaches and progressing artificial intelligence(AI) methods, soccer analysis, evaluation, and decision-making have received increasing interest from not only the professional sports analytics realm but also the academic AI research community. AI brings gamechanging approaches for soccer analytics where soccer has been a typical benchmark for AI research. The combination has been an emerging topic. In this paper, soccer match analytics are taken as a complete observation-orientation-decision-action(OODA) loop.In addition, as in AI frameworks such as that for reinforcement learning, interacting with a virtual environment enables an evolving model. Therefore, both soccer analytics in the real world and virtual domains are discussed. With the intersection of the OODA loop and the real-virtual domains, available soccer data, including event and tracking data, and diverse orientation and decisionmaking models for both real-world and virtual soccer matches are comprehensively reviewed. Finally, some promising directions in this interdisciplinary area are pointed out. It is claimed that paradigms for both professional sports analytics and AI research could be combined. Moreover, it is quite promising to bridge the gap between the real and virtual domains for soccer match analysis and decision-making.
基金This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Nos.U22A2099,61966009,62006057the Graduate Innovation Program No.YCSW2022286.
文摘Humans are experiencing the inclusion of artificial agents in their lives,such as unmanned vehicles,service robots,voice assistants,and intelligent medical care.If the artificial agents cannot align with social values or make ethical decisions,they may not meet the expectations of humans.Traditionally,an ethical decision-making framework is constructed by rule-based or statistical approaches.In this paper,we propose an ethical decision-making framework based on incremental ILP(Inductive Logic Programming),which can overcome the brittleness of rule-based approaches and little interpretability of statistical approaches.As the current incremental ILP makes it difficult to solve conflicts,we propose a novel ethical decision-making framework considering conflicts in this paper,which adopts our proposed incremental ILP system.The framework consists of two processes:the learning process and the deduction process.The first process records bottom clauses with their score functions and learns rules guided by the entailment and the score function.The second process obtains an ethical decision based on the rules.In an ethical scenario about chatbots for teenagers’mental health,we verify that our framework can learn ethical rules and make ethical decisions.Besides,we extract incremental ILP from the framework and compare it with the state-of-the-art ILP systems based on ASP(Answer Set Programming)focusing on conflict resolution.The results of comparisons show that our proposed system can generate better-quality rules than most other systems.
基金National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2022YFB2703500)National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.52277104)+2 种基金National Key R&D Program of Yunnan Province(202303AC100003)Applied Basic Research Foundation of Yunnan Province (202301AT070455, 202101AT070080)Revitalizing Talent Support Program of Yunnan Province (KKRD202204024).
文摘Constructing a cross-border power energy system with multiagent power energy as an alliance is important for studying cross-border power-trading markets.This study considers multiple neighboring countries in the form of alliances,introduces neighboring countries’exchange rates into the cross-border multi-agent power-trading market and proposes a method to study each agent’s dynamic decision-making behavior based on evolutionary game theory.To this end,this study uses three national agents as examples,constructs a tripartite evolutionary game model,and analyzes the evolution process of the decision-making behavior of each agent member state under the initial willingness value,cost of payment,and additional revenue of the alliance.This research helps realize cross-border energy operations so that the transaction agent can achieve greater trade profits and provides a theoretical basis for cooperation and stability between multiple agents.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.72071150).
文摘Stroke is a chronic cerebrovascular disease that carries a high risk.Stroke risk assessment is of great significance in preventing,reversing and reducing the spread and the health hazards caused by stroke.Aiming to objectively predict and identify strokes,this paper proposes a new stroke risk assessment decision-making model named Logistic-AdaBoost(Logistic-AB)based on machine learning.First,the categorical boosting(CatBoost)method is used to perform feature selection for all features of stroke,and 8 main features are selected to form a new index evaluation system to predict the risk of stroke.Second,the borderline synthetic minority oversampling technique(SMOTE)algorithm is applied to transform the unbalanced stroke dataset into a balanced dataset.Finally,the stroke risk assessment decision-makingmodel Logistic-AB is constructed,and the overall prediction performance of this new model is evaluated by comparing it with ten other similar models.The comparison results show that the new model proposed in this paper performs better than the two single algorithms(logistic regression and AdaBoost)on the four indicators of recall,precision,F1 score,and accuracy,and the overall performance of the proposed model is better than that of common machine learning algorithms.The Logistic-AB model presented in this paper can more accurately predict patients’stroke risk.
文摘The strategy evolution process of game players is highly uncertain due to random emergent situations and other external disturbances.This paper investigates the issue of strategy interaction and behavioral decision-making among game players in simulated confrontation scenarios within a random interference environment.It considers the possible risks that random disturbances may pose to the autonomous decision-making of game players,as well as the impact of participants’manipulative behaviors on the state changes of the players.A nonlinear mathematical model is established to describe the strategy decision-making process of the participants in this scenario.Subsequently,the strategy selection interaction relationship,strategy evolution stability,and dynamic decision-making process of the game players are investigated and verified by simulation experiments.The results show that maneuver-related parameters and random environmental interference factors have different effects on the selection and evolutionary speed of the agent’s strategies.Especially in a highly uncertain environment,even small information asymmetry or miscalculation may have a significant impact on decision-making.This also confirms the feasibility and effectiveness of the method proposed in the paper,which can better explain the behavioral decision-making process of the agent in the interaction process.This study provides feasibility analysis ideas and theoretical references for improving multi-agent interactive decision-making and the interpretability of the game system model.
文摘Context/Objective: High blood pressure (HBP) currently represents the most widespread chronic non-communicable disease in Cameroon. The increase in its prevalence in the country is the result of multiple factors including economic stress imposed by precariousness, poor living conditions, sources of anxiety, anguish, depression and other behavioral disorders. Economic stress is a globalizing concept that integrates into a purely hermeneutic approach, a particular functioning of the nervous system of an individual who faces employment problems and precarious remuneration conditions. The non-satisfaction by an individual of his basic needs due to insufficient financial means can cause him to become irritable, aggressive, and socially and symbolically isolated, thereby increasing the desire to resort to morbid life models such as excessive consumption of narcotics and other psychoactive substances often associated with high blood pressure. The fight against the emergence of BPH is a complex, multifaceted and multifactorial reality that requires taking into account economic stress. The main objective of this survey is to describe the situation of economic stress within the Cameroonian population, which imposes precariousness and life models at risk of high blood pressure. Specifically, we determined the level of household income and the sources of income. Methods: A cross-sectional survey with a descriptive aim among five hundred households in the Central Region of Cameroon was conducted. A probabilistic technique called simple randomness was used. The number of households to be surveyed was determined indirectly using the Cochrane formula. Data collection in face-to-face mode using a physical questionnaire took place from July 1 to August 31, 2023, after obtaining ethical clearance from the Regional Health Research Ethics Committee, Human from the Center and an administrative authorization for data collection. Regarding their processing, the data was grouped during processing in Excel sheets. Normality and reliability tests of the collected data were carried out. For this, the Chi-square test was used for data with a qualitative value and that of Kolmogorov-Sminorf for data with a quantitative value. Descriptive analysis was possible using R software version 3.2, SPSS version 25.0, XLSTAT 2016, PAST and EXCEL programs from Microsoft Office 2013. Results: The main results highlight economic stress, with 45.60% of households surveyed earning less than US$154 per month;55% of household heads were women in single-parent families;14% of household heads were unemployed, 22% worked in the private sector and 19% were self-employed. This general economic situation leads to precarious living conditions, thereby increasing the risk of high blood pressure among the Cameroonian population.
文摘Bovine tuberculosis is one of the zoonoses which has a very significant socio-economic importance due to the losses in agribusiness and hampers commercial exchange of animals and products. The present study highlights the risk of considerable potential economic and health impacts of this major zoonosis. It was carried out at the Bobo-Dioulasso slaughterhouse, in Burkina Faso over 3 years. A retrospective study was conducted based on bovine tuberculosis suspected carcass seizures during primary meat production between January 1st, 2020 and December 31st, 2022. The diagnosis and the criteria for suspecting bovine tuberculosis were addressed by post-mortem inspection. All carcasses were examined for tuberculosis lesions detection. All cattle slaughtered in the abattoir for primary meat production during the study period were included. Economic losses were determined from recorded seizure data and we included all the cattle slaughtered during the study period. Three thousand two hundred ten (3210) bovine carcasses were seized on a total of 180,827 cattle slaughteredwith a prevalence of 19.48%. Economic loss was estimated to be 53,505,000 F CFA, while the average quantity of animal protein lost was 4746 kg, 435 kg, and 13,445 kg for the carcass, livers, and lungs, respectively. The various results show a real health issue linked to exposure to M. bovis for agents and stakeholders in the primary meat production chain, processors and consumers. In addition, the survey conducted over the study period, reveals important material seized and destroyed. This leads to significant loss in rural agriculture and also in the primary meat production industry for the population. The figures are enormous and impact both the nutritional intake linked to animal protein consumption and the livelihood of the beef industry. The Burkinabe administration should invest in biosecurity and biosafety measures to minimize the risks of the disease and also provide compensation for losses recorded among breeders and butchers.
文摘Purpose–Material selection,driven by wide and often conflicting objectives,is an important,sometimes difficult problem in material engineering.In this context,multi-criteria decision-making(MCDM)methodologies are effective.An approach of MCDM is needed to cater to criteria of material assortment simultaneously.More firms are now concerned about increasing their productivity using mathematical tools.To occupy a gap in the previous literature this research recommends an integrated MCDM and mathematical Bi-objective model for the selection of material.In addition,by using the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution(TOPSIS),the inherent ambiguities of decision-makers in paired evaluations are considered in this research.It goes on to construct a mathematical bi-objective model for determining the best item to purchase.Design/methodology/approach–The entropy perspective is implemented in this paper to evaluate the weight parameters,while the TOPSIS technique is used to determine the best and worst intermediate pipe materials for automotive exhaust system.The intermediate pipes are used to join the components of the exhaust systems.The materials usually used to manufacture intermediate pipe are SUS 436LM,SUS 430,SUS 304,SUS 436L,SUH 409 L,SUS 441 L and SUS 439L.These seven materials are evaluated based on tensile strength(TS),hardness(H),elongation(E),yield strength(YS)and cost(C).A hybrid methodology combining entropy-based criteria weighting,with the TOPSIS for alternative ranking,is pursued to identify the optimal design material for an engineered application in this paper.This study aims to help while filling the information gap in selecting the most suitable material for use in the exhaust intermediate pipes.After that,the authors searched for and considered eight materials and evaluated them on the following five criteria:(1)TS,(2)YS,(3)H,(4)E and(5)C.The first two criteria have been chosen because they can have a lot of influence on the behavior of the exhaust intermediate pipes,on their performance and on the cost.In this structure,the weights of the criteria are calculated objectively through the entropy method in order to have an unbiased assessment.This essentially measures the quantity of information each criterion contribution,indicating the relative importance of these criteria better.Subsequently,the materials were ranked using the TOPSIS method in terms of their relative performance by measuring each material from an ideal solution to determine the best alternative.The results show that SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM are the first three materials that the exhaust intermediate pipe optimal design should consider.Findings–The material matrix of the decision presented in Table 3 was normalized through Equation 5,as shown in Table 5,and the matrix was multiplied with weighting criteriaß_j.The obtained weighted normalized matrix V_ij is presented in Table 6.However,the ideal,worst and best value was ascertained by employing Equation 7.This study is based on the selection of material for the development of intermediate pipe using MCDM,and it involves four basic stages,i.e.method of translation criteria,screening process,method of ranking and search for methods.The selection was done through the TOPSIS method,and the criteria weight was obtained by the entropy method.The result showed that the top three materials are SUS 309,SUS 432L and SUS 436 LM,respectively.For the future work,it is suggested to select more alternatives and criteria.The comparison can also be done by using different MCDM techniques like and Choice Expressing Reality(ELECTRE),Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory(DEMATEL)and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation(PROMETHEE).Originality/value–The results provide important conclusions for material selection in this targeted application,verifying the employment of mutual entropy-TOPSIS methodology for a series of difficult engineering decisions in material engineering concepts that combine superior capacity with better performance as well as cost-efficiency in various engineering design.