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.

Component-Based Software Trustworthiness Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process Model

For a more accurate and comprehensive assessment of the trustworthiness of component-based soft- ware system, the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is introduced to establish the analysis model. Combine qualitative and quantitative analyses, the impacts to overall trustworthiness by the different types of components are distinguished. Considering the coupling relationship between components, dividing the system into several layers from target layer to scheme layer, evaluating the scheme advantages disadvantages by group decision-making, the trustworthiness of a typical J2EE structured component-based software is assessed. The trustworthiness asses model of the software components provides an effective methods of operation.

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.

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.

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.

Analytic Hierarchy Process for Evaluating Flipped Classroom Learning

In reality,the flipped classroom has gained popularity as a modern way of structuring teaching,where lectures move from in-class procedures to digitally-based assignments,freeing up the debate,and practice exercises class time.Therefore,it is essential to implement and analyze a way of teaching that will improve student performance.The paper aims to develop a model of the method of teaching science in Iraqi schools,and to assess whether teaching flipped classroom affects the achievement,motivation,and creative thinking of students by using the methodology of Multi-Criteria Decision Making(MCDM)in the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP).The AHP approach includes several steps,including setting assessment criteria and their weights,and by assessing the methodology of the flipped classroom as compared to the conventional cognitive learning process.An experiment was carried out in Iraqi secondary schools to examine the attitude of the students towards the subject of Chemistry.The findings have indicated that the students and teachers favored flipped classroom learning more than conventional cognitive learning.The study took the following parameters compared to the traditional approach:teaching techniques,learning flexibility,teaching aids effectiveness,student participation and working environment.This paper indicates that the teachers in Iraqi schools will be able to improve and do more preparation to shift towards flipped learning in the classroom.

Sustainable food waste management using modified fuzzy improved analytic hierarchy process:a study of Malaysia

Food waste generation is a pressing issue that requires urgent attention and concerted efforts worldwide.The staggering amount of food wasted each year not only wastes valuable resources but also exacerbates environmental,economic,and social challenges.Food Waste Management(FWM)consists of a complex array of criteria and sub-criteria,and treatments which seems interdependent.There is a need to evaluate the FWM with the help of important criteria and sub-criteria and treatments to address this challenge.In this study,we identified four important criteria,21 sub-criteria,and four alternatives of FWM for the case of Malaysia using the integrated approach of literature review and expert opinions.Further,we employed the approach of Modified Fuzzy Improved Analytical Hierarchy Process(IAHP)to corroborate the interrelationships among the identified criteria and sub-criteria,and their associated treatments.This study undertakes linear normalization methods to transform data into comparable numerical values and the Geometric Mean method to handle uncertainty in human judgments.Moreover,the Centroid method is employed to convert fuzzy weights into crisp sets for ease of interpretation.The results indicate that environmental is the most essential criterion,followed by social,economic,and technical.In addition,air and water pollution is identified as the most critical sub-criteria.Black Soldier Fly is discovered as the most sustainable FWM treatment,since it performs the best while meeting all the criteria and sub-criteria assessed.Sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the outputs from the proposed method are robust and reliable.The finding suggests a proper and robust approach to help decision-makers select suitable FWM treatments to tackle various criteria and alternatives especially when handling inconsistent and uncertain judgments during evaluation.

Evaluating Public Spaces of Tourist Villages by Combining Analytic Hierarchy Process and Importance-Performance Analysis:A Case Study of Jiaochangwei in Shenzhen,China

While public spaces of tourist villages(PSTVs)have increasingly gained more policy and development attention,their empirical investigations are still limited.This study aims to develop a quantitative methodological approach of assessing PSTVs through the use of Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)to measure tourists’satisfaction.This approach involves experts’and tourists’judgment processes,and the resultant assessment matrix is applied to suggest the strengths and weaknesses of the PSTVs using an Importance-Performance Analysis(IPA).The results from Jiaochangwei Village in Shenzhen suggest that"street spaces,""square spaces,""coastal spaces,""green spaces,""traffic facilities,""public service facilities,""culture,"and"management and maintenance"are key factors to evaluate the use and quality of PSTVs.This paper offers insights into the theoretical investigation and practical development of PSTVs for tourism and village planning decision makers.

Grey Incidence Analysis Applied to Civil Aircraft Customization Process

The airlines need to select the optional equipment according to their individual development demands and the manufacture′s standard specification manual when purchasing a new airplane.For this customization process,the selection theory is mainly based on qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis.The grey incidence analysis(GIA)is used for modeling,which evaluates the correlations between optional equipment and airlines′individual demands.Meanwhile,the customization demands are quantitatively processed as different weights in evaluation index system with analytical hierarchy process.Then,the value of grey incidence degree is obtained which shows whether the optional equipment is on the purchasing list or not.Finally,two airlines′customization demands are applied in the example of aircraft cabin′s seats,so two different purchasing priorities and equipment installation lists can be obtained.The results and comparisons verify the reasonable of modeling,which provides an objective scheme of aircraft equipment selection.

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.

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.

Integrated use of GIS, remote sensing and multi-criteria decision analysis to assess ecological land suitability in multi-functional forestry

The Zagros forests are a treasure of valuable oak forests, but they have been severely degraded from long-term misuse. Geographic information systems （GIS） and multi-criteria decision analysis （MCDA） have been increasingly used to improve the management of vulnerable ecosystems to prevent further degradation and increase the sustainability of land use. This study presents a methodology to assess land suitability using remote sensing （RS） to obtain wall-to-wall data for the calculations, GIS to analyze the data, and MCDA to rank alternative land uses. The criteria and subcriteria affecting the suitability of land for different uses were identified and weighted using an analytic hierarchy process. Variables used as subcriteria were assessed using satellite data and other sources of information such as existing maps and field surveys. Numerical values for the subcriteria were classified, and each class was given a priority rating according to expert judgments. Based on the ratings and weights of the subcriteria, a priority map was created for each land use using the weighted linear combination method. The priority maps for different land uses were overlaid to obtain a preliminary land use map, which often indicated several simultaneous land uses for the same location. The preliminary map was further edited by removing unrealistic, mutually exclusive land-use combinations. The study tested and demonstrated the potential of integrating RS, G1S and MCDA techniques for solving complicated land allocation problems in forested regions using a scientifically sound and practical approach for efficient and sustainable allocation of forestland for different uses.

Ecological and Economic System Health Assessment Based on Fuzzy Set Pair Analysis:A Case Study of Northwest Region,China

Due to the increasingly serious environmental pollution and destruction,especially humans' unreasonable activities,the ecological and economic system(EES) issues of Northwest region in China have attracted more and more attention of the researchers.Aiming at evaluating its ecological and economic system health,a multi-objective evaluation framework called PressureState-Response(PSR) was established to describe the ecological and economic health situations.Meanwhile,an integrative set pair model combining set pair analysis(SPA) and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process(FAHP) was proposed to assess the ecological and economic system.Then the EES status of five northwest provinces(Shanxi,Gansu,Qinghai,Ningxia and Xinjiang) of Northwest region in China was evaluated during 1985 to 2009.The EES development trends of five provinces are obtained.In general,the health values of five provinces showed a rising trend.The health values of five provinces grew rapidly during 1985 to 2000.After 2000,the health values of five provinces still followed the present growth trend,but the growth is relatively smooth.The results show that the method proposed is effective for assessing the health of ecological and economic system.

Harmoniousness analysis of total amount control of water use

Based on the fundamental principles of total amount control of water use, the harmony theory was used in this study to develop a concept of the degree of harmony of total amount control of water use. Based on this concept, the harmoniousness of total amount control of water use was analyzed in terms of the supply and demand of water resources, water resources management, water use benefits, and water-saving level. An evaluation index system of the degree of harmony of total amount control of water use was established, and a method for calculation of the degree of harmony of total amount control of water use was developed based on the analytic hierarchy process （AHP） and fuzzy comprehensive analysis （FCA） methods. The new evaluation index system was applied to a certain area in Jiangsu Province, China. The degree of harmony of total amount control of water use over this area was calculated for different years. Results indicate that the evaluation index system and calculation method proposed in this study are feasible, and such a harmoniousness analysis can provide scientific references for the strict water resources management system that will be implemented in China in the near future.

Operation safety risk analysis method of hydropower project considering time-dependent effect

In order to consider the time-dependent characteristic of risk factors of hydropower project,the method of stochastic process simulating structure resistance and load effect is adopted.On the basis of analyzing the structure characteristics and mode of operation,the operation safety risk rate assessment model of hydropower project is established on the comprehensive application of the improved analytic hierarchy process,the time-dependent reliability theory and the risk rate threshold.A scheme to demonstrate the time-dependent risk rate assessment method for an example of the earth-rock dam is particularly implemented by the proposed approach.The example shows that operation safety risk rate is closely related to both the service period and design standard;considering the effect of time-dependent,the risk rate increases with time and the intersection of them reflects the technical service life of structures.It could provide scientific basis for the operation safety and risk decision of the hydropower project by predicting the trend of risk rate via this model.

Effect of Healthcare Failure Mode and Effect Analysis on Reducing Error Risk of Neonatal Parenteral Nutrition Solution Dispensing

[Objectives]To investigate the effect of healthcare failure mode and effect analysis(HFMEA)on reducing error risk of neonatal parenteral nutrition solution dispensing.[Methods]A research team was established to identify the failure mode(FM)in each link of the formulation process of neonatal parenteral nutrition solution by HFMEA,quantify the severity(S),occurrence(O)and detection(D)of FM,and evaluate FM by risk priority number(RPN).For FM with the values of RPN>16,failure cause analysis was conducted,and corresponding improvement measures were formulated.The weight coefficient and random consistency ratio(CR)of deployment process were calculated in Matlab R2018a by compiling the Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP)program.Six months after the implementation of improvement measures,the implementation effect was evaluated by comparing the changes of the values of RPN which was evaluated comprehensively and the rate of dispensing errors before and after the implementation of HFMEA.[Results]In the preparation process of neonatal parenteral nutrition solution,a total of 13 FMs with medium and above risk were found,the weight coefficient of medical order review,dosing and mixing was 0.2703,the weight coefficient of drug dispensing check and review was 0.1432,the weight coefficient of print label was 0.1015,the weight coefficient of distribution was 0.0716,and CR=0.0491<0.1.After six months of intervention,the total RPN value decreased by 64.81%from 127.8 to 45.0.The deployment error rates were significantly lower after the implementation,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).[Conclusions]HFMEA can effectively reduce the error risk in preparation of neonatal parenteral nutrition solution,improve the quality of dispensing and promote the safety of neonatal medication.

The mechanical response of multi-tower continuous-span suspension bridge deck pavement based on whole bridge analysis

The effect of multiple span suspension structure on the mechanical response of bridge deck pavement was studied, and finite element analysis (FEM) of stress and strain of pavement according to the bridge floor system features of super-long and high flexibility was made. Meanwhile, the FEM results were compared with those of the single span suspension structure. Three-stage analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is developed to analyze the mechanical response including whole bridge analysis, partial beams section analysis and orthotropic plate analysis. The most unfavorable load position was determined by the numerical solutions acquired from each stage to study the main mechanical index of multiple span suspension structure. The FEM results showed that the mechanical response numerical solutions by using the three-stage AHP are greater than those by simplified boundary condition, and the force condition of multiple span suspension structure is worse than that of the single span suspension structure.

Potential Analysis of Inefficient Garden Land and Residual Forest Land Remediation in Comprehensive Land Remediation of the Whole Region—A Case Study of Zhemu Town, Guilin City, China

The remediation of inefficient garden land and defective forest land is one of the important sources and types of supplementary cultivated land in the comprehensive land remediation of the whole region. The remediation and development of inefficient garden land and defective forest land will effectively alleviate the multiple pressures faced by cultivated land at present. Taking Zhemu Town, Guilin City, China as an example, on that basis of the data of the third national land survey, using analytic hierarchy process, this paper selects six evaluation factors, including water source, traffic, slope, field concentration, farmland infrastructure and villagers’ will, to study the remediation potential of inefficient garden land and defective forest land in Zhemu Town, and delimits four potential divisions, in order to provide the basis for the arrangement of land remediation projects in Zhemu Town. The results show that the northern, central and western regions of Zhemu Town have great remediation potential.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Usage Based Optimization of Powertrains

The electrification of powertrains leads to an increasing diversification of powertrain configurations. Each single configuration has its specific advantages which appear depending on the usage profile. To find the usage based optimal powertrain in consideration of a variety of evaluation criteria, the powertrains have to be optimized for the usage profile and characteristics have to be extracted from the usage profile. The carbon dioxide emissions of the optimized powertrains and usage based criteria are used in a multi-criteria decision analysis to determine the optimal powertrain for a specific usage profile. The description of characteristic maps forms the objective function of a minimization problem. The determined carbon dioxide emissions are one criterion in a multi-criteria decision process. All considered criteria are at least partly objective so that subjective ratings are eliminated as far as possible. The result is an optimized powertrain for a desired usage under the consideration of objective criteria that are extracted from the usage profile.

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.