Multi-criteria Analysis Method Research Articles

Development of an Improved Decision Support Tool for Geothermal Site Selection in Nigeria Based on Comprehensive Criteria

Geothermal resource assessment is crucial for the rural electrification of Nigeria. A comprehensive set of criteria was used to appraise promising geothermal sites in Nigeria. The evaluation of the sites was performed using the multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method and taking into account evidence of a wide range of criteria from a set of geological, geophysical, well log, environmental, remote sensing, and geochemical datasets to appraise promising geothermal sites and to add to the current debate on the needed criteria for geothermal development. To gather relevant data, various sources such as bottom-hole temperature (BHT) data from different boreholes and oil and gas wells, aeromagnetic maps, reduced-to-the-pole, magnetic, heat flow, seismic, and geothermal gradient data from aerogravity maps, Bouguer anomaly maps, earthquake epicenter maps, satellite images, and geological maps were obtained from the literature. A case study of the thirty-six states of Nigeria, including the federal capital territory, Abuja (FCT), was conducted to illustrate how these criteria would reveal the technical aspect of the geothermal energy situation. A model was developed to show that the application of a wide range of criteria to the six datasets identified and analyzed in this study reveals that the datasets complement each other and should not be used independently. It can be found from the overall suitability map that more than 20% of the study area is suitable for geothermal energy development. It can also be observed from the map that some of the promising sites in Nigeria may include but are not limited to Bauchi, FCT, Taraba, Ebonyi, Adamawa, Oyo, and Nasarawa states in Nigeria. The opportunities for the further application of the approach are discussed, including the use of the model to help policymakers decide where to invest in the future.

The agrarian landscape and the change in its subdivision of plots

The article presents an analysis of changes in the agrarian landscape and the subdivision of its plots, using three Lithuanian municipalities as examples (Kaunas, Trakai and Šilutė). Statistical, comparative and multicriteria analysis methods were applied in the study. It was found that in all the studied municipalities, the area of the agrarian landscape was decreasing during the study period. The largest decreasing trends were in the municipality of Šilutė district, where the area covered by agrarian landscape decreased by more than 3%. At the same time, in the municipalities of Kaunas and Trakai districts, the area of agrarian landscape decreased quite evenly and did not reach 3%. It was also found that the number of agricultural holdings also decreased: by 27% in Kaunas district municipality and by over 33% in Trakai district municipality, but the area of agricultural holdings increased in all of the studied municipalities: in Kaunas district by over 5%, in Trakai district by over 37% and in Šilutė district by over 8%. The average size of a farm in Kaunas district remained rather stable, increasing by only 1%, in Šilutė district municipality the average farm size increased by more than 71% and in Trakai district municipality the tendency was the opposite, i.e. the average farm size decreased by more than 36%. The multicriteria analysis shows that the most common factors influencing changes in the agrarian landscape and its subdivision of plots vary between municipalities, but in general the following factors influence the changes in the agrarian landscape and its subdivision of plots: the land productivity score, the number of inhabitants, the distance to the centre of the city, the average size of the farms, the number of holdings, and the amount of land area occupied by bodies of water. The information collected and the results obtained show that in the municipalities analysed, the causes of change in the agrarian landscape and its subdivision of plots have a positive impact on the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas.

Selección del modelo de despliegue de la computación en nube mediante el método de análisis multicriterio AHP

Cloud computing is a prominent theme in computing that aims to provide on-demand computing resources over the Internet. Many organizations have already adopted cloud technologies, while others are still analyzing the feasibility of this migration. The objective of this paper is to indicate which cloud computing deployment model is the most appropriate to be adopted in an Information and Communication Technology Board of a public educational institution. To this end, the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) multicriteria analysis method is used to assist in the decision making process. First, based on related works in the literature, the hierarchical structure of criteria and sub-criteria is elaborated, after which questionnaires are applied with the work team to prioritize the factors in levels of importance and then select the alternative. As a result, the security criterion is indicated as the most relevant, followed by availability, scalability and, lastly, cost. The alternative considered as suitable for the board of directors is the hybrid cloud. It is concluded that the AHP method proved efficient to evaluate the complexity of the various criteria involved.

AN APPROACH TO DECISION SUPPORT FOR CHOOSING A TELECOMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER BASED ON AGGREGATION OPERATORS

In the conditions of rapidly changing market environment and an increase of volume of information that requires analysis and processing before making decisions, the task of creating effective decision support systems is becoming increasingly urgent. These systems allow to reduce the time required for data analysis and development of optimal solutions, as well as to increase the accuracy of decisions made. However, most decision support systems are based on classical methods of multicriteria analysis, which have their limitations and disadvantages. This can lead to incorrect decisions and reduce the efficiency of the system. To improve the accuracy and efficiency of decision support systems, this article suggests using the criteria aggregation operator based on the Choquet integral. This method allows you to take into account all the factors influencing decision-making and objectively assess their significance. The article discusses in detail the process of normalization of criteria and identification of a fuzzy measure. There are also specific examples of expert assessments for the criteria that are used when choosing a supplier of telecommunications equipment. Based on these data, suppliers are evaluated and a decision is made to choose the best one. The evaluation results demonstrate the high efficiency of the method and allow us to conclude that the criteria aggregation operator based on the Choquet integral is an effective tool for decision support in conditions of high information load and uncertainty in the market.

Determining Student Achievements using Multicriteria Approach with Electre Method

. In the field of education, assessing student achievement is critical for determining students' levels of success and academic progress. However, the high cost of desire is frequently complicated since it incorporates a variety of student characteristics and aspects that must be taken into account. In this study, a multi-criteria approach using the ELECTRE method was suggested to measure student achievement holistically. The ELECTRE technique is a multi-criteria analysis method that employs a comparison matrix to evaluate alternatives based on a variety of criteria. This way to evaluate student progress allows for more accurate and objective decision-making than a single strategy that focuses on a single factor. An application was created to make its use easier. Applications that can be utilized to assist determine excellent students via black box testing are stated to be successful because 33 features provided in the application work as intended. This study is expected to help improve student accomplishment assessment policies and methods at various levels of education.

Assessing the role of institutional reform in enhancing Balkan sustainable competitiveness: An Entropy-MARCOS perspective

This research paper aims to assess the sustainable competitiveness of Balkan countries. Sustainable competitiveness was measured based on the indicators in The Sustainable Competitiveness Report from 2022, published by Solability. According to this report, sustainable competitiveness is evaluated using six grouped criteria. In this paper, the competitiveness of the Balkan countries was assessed through the application of the multicriteria analysis methods Entropy and MARCOS (Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to the Compromise Solution). The weight of each criterion was determined using the Entropy method. The results highlighted that the most significant criteria were Natural Capital and Resource Efficiency & Intensity, which carried the highest weight, whereas the Social Cohesion criterion was of lesser importance, represented by the lowest weight. Using the MARCOS method, the Balkan countries were ranked, with Greece securing the top position, closely followed by Albania, while North Macedonia exhibited the weakest performance. Sensitivity analysis further substantiated these findings. The outcomes of this study significantly contribute to the academic understanding of sustainable competitiveness and provide valuable practical insights for policymakers and stakeholders interested in advancing sustainable development efforts in the Balkan region.

Version [1.1]- [Crispyn — A Python library for determining criteria significance with objective weighting methods

This paper presents an extension of the developed crispyn Python package providing weighting methods for multi-criteria decision analysis. The crispyn package, including until now eleven objective methods for determining criteria weights, was supplemented with four subjective weighting methods. The extension of the crispyn package significantly expands its scope of applications for decision problems requiring considering subjective criteria preferences of decision-makers’ for example, in reliable sustainability assessment.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to Evaluate Sustainability and Circularity in Agricultural Waste Management

Agriculture is a major contributor to global anthropogenic emissions, such as waste production and greenhouse gases. In order to reduce these negative impacts, a circular economy should be applied to agriculture waste management. Processes for evaluating treatment and valorization options are fundamental to the implementation of long-term, economically viable, ecologically sound, and socially acceptable policies and practices. In this field, multi-criteria decision analysis methods (MCDAs) can offer a holistic perspective on the decision-making processes. This study deeply explores this area of research by conducting an extensive and critical review of the studies that have used MCDA approaches to support agricultural waste management. The aim is to better understand how MCDA methods have been applied (in an integrated manner or as complementary approaches) and how stakeholders have been involved. The research conducted underlines how MCDAs are now widely used to support decision-making in this area, as well as being increasingly applied in multi-methodologies. This study is part of an ongoing Next-Generation-EU-integrated, large-scale, multi-disciplinary research program, The National Research Centre for Agricultural Technologies.

Multi-criteria decision analysis of succinic acid production using hesitant fuzzy analytical hierarchy process

The selection of a large-scale succinic acid (SA) production process usually considers issues related to technology, economics, and the environment by performing techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA). This work improves such a decision-making process by additionally applying the hesitant fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (HFAHP) as a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method considering expert’s opinions in linguistic fuzzy terms. The production route is chosen from four alternatives. The first alternative (AL-1) utilizes both C-6 and C-5 sugar of corn stover for SA and lignin for electricity production. Alternative 2 produced SA, furfural, and electricity from C-6, C-5, and lignin respectively, whilst alternative 3 considered SA production from C-6 sugar and biogas from C-5 sugar for electricity production along with lignin. Alternative 4 produced SA using a fossil-based route. The HFAHP includes a hierarchical decision model consisting of an upper layer with two main criteria and a lower layer with four and three sub-criteria related to the main criteria techno-economics and the environment, respectively. Based on the preferences given by experts for the main criteria, sub-criteria and alternatives, the results indicated a higher weightage of the techno-economic criterion (55.0%) than the environmental criterion (45.0%). Waste (ST-2) and damage to resources (SE-3) were identified as the most influential sub-criteria with an assigned weightage of 32.0% and 34.0%, respectively. Least weightage (12.0%) was assigned to feedstock input (ST-3). An equal weightage (33.0%) was assigned to damages to human health (SE-1) and damages to the ecosystem (SE-2). AL-1 was found to be the best alternative with 35.0% weightage, followed by AL-3 (24.0%), AL-2 (22.0%), and AL-4 (19.0%). The sensitivity analysis demonstrated that AL-1 remains the best alternative and least sensitive in the range of 0.10–1.00 fraction variations of the main criteria weightage.

Antecedents of trustworthiness of social commerce platforms: A case of rural communities using multi group SEM & MCDM methods

Business’ ethics have changed the landscape of commerce around the world lately. Legitimacy, robustness, and morality are among the most important factors that build trustworthiness of any platform. Consequently, the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Trust Commitment Theory have become the most relevant frameworks for explaining customers’ behaviour towards the ethics of social commerce platforms. The current study aims to investigate the influence of the variables belonging to the above-mentioned theories, such as information quality, website quality, information credibility, consumer-peer interaction, interface design, trust, relationship commitment, and the trustworthiness of social commerce platforms. With an investigation into the role of privacy concern mediation. Furthermore, this study focused on studying two groups; the male group, which consisted of 386 respondents, and the female sample, which included 415 respondents in rural communities of Malaysia (e.g., Kedah, Perak, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Perlis). Multi-criteria decision analysis methods were used to rank customers in rural areas based on their perceptions of the trustworthiness of social commerce platforms. The study expanded the scope of the theories by revealing interesting results that establish significant relationships between Elaboration Likelihood Model and Trust Commitment Theory variables and the trustworthiness of social commerce platforms. Finally, ranking customers from best to worst based on perceptions gained from the trustworthiness of social commerce platforms provides an immediate solution to policymakers and practitioners to focus on opinion leaders to win the loyalty of existing customers and attract potential customers in future.

Integrated evaluation of the performance of phosphogypsum recycling technologies in China

The Chinese government is implementing policies, such as the “Guidance on comprehensive utilization of bulk solid waste for the 14th Five-Year Plan period”, to stimulate phosphogypsum (PG) reduction and recycling. Thus, the comprehensive evaluation of PG recycling technologies for sustainable development is crucial. This study proposes a novel multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) method that considers the criteria of resources, environment, economy, and society and risk attitudes of decision-makers and integrates game theory (GT) and utility theory for criteria weighting and ranking to assess industrial-scale PG recycling technologies in China. The results demonstrate that GT provides more reasonable criteria weights than individual weighting methods. PG-based lightweight plaster is the top performer in the resource and environmental dimensions owing to its exceptional resource and energy efficiency. PG utilized for dry-mix mortar and organic fertilizer production exhibited the best utility performance of 0.74 and 0.73, respectively. Measures, such as subsidies and product publicity, should be implemented to promote these technologies. However, technologies with poor performance, such as PG used for the co-production of sulfuric acid and fertilizer or cement, may require optimization or substitution for the sustainable recycling of PG. The proposed MCDA method is robust and can serve as a reliable decision-making tool for other waste-recycling technologies. However, caution must be exercised when determining risk attitude using the MCDA method as it may vary with the number of technologies and affect the final rankings.

A DEMATEL-based approach of multi-criteria evaluation for urban fire and emergency facilities

With the increasing complexity of rapidly growing urban environments and the interactions of humans and socioeconomic and political systems, the global urgency for applying sustainable risk management planning strategies, comprehensively for urban fire risk reduction activities, becomes increasingly evident in most fire-prone megacities worldwide such as Istanbul. The current research aims to examine the complex interrelationships and levels of influence among the criteria previously determined for optimally selecting new urban infrastructure for fire and emergency services in Istanbul as part of the fire risk mitigation planning efforts applying the multi-criteria decision analysis method of the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL). Useful insights were generated from the study by constructing an intelligible structural model visually in the form of a digraph involving analysis of causal relationships among criteria and their directional influences, as well as corresponding degrees of strength. The findings reveal that high population density is the most critical criterion followed by the density of hazardous materials criterion in effectively planning new urban facilities for fire and emergency services, thus significantly influencing and impacting all the other criteria, while the distance-to-earthquake risk criterion does not influence any other criteria and consequently is not essential in the planning procedure. The DEMATEL model results were validated in terms of levels of criteria significance using previous studies and shown to be in high correlation. In this regard, these contextual relationships established would contribute toward an integrated fire risk mitigation planning policy formulation in urban environments through the engagement of all decision-makers across various backgrounds and disciplines such as urban and city planners, engineers, emergency and risk managers and administrators, socioeconomic and environmental experts, fire service industry practitioners, and local community leaders.

A large-scale prioritisation to strengthen the resilience of communities in Italian territorial contexts

In the aftermath of the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, the Italian government issued significant measures to stimulate seismic prevention in its territories. To this end, billions of euros were distributed to the twenty Italian Regions in proportion to their seismic risk and according to the requests of public administrators and private taxpayers. However, the distribution of resources among the Regions took place without considering important aspects of resilience such as the emergency management and recovery, as well as the integration and social cohesion of populations. This article proposes a framework to identify a large-scale prioritisation of the Italian Territorial Contexts (TCs) recently defined for civil protection purposes in order to allocate economic resources among Regions in accordance with the resilience deficiencies of their communities. The proposal is based on known methods of multi-criteria analysis that are commonly used in the engineering field, and as a first application, it has been applied to all TCs of five Regions of southern Italy. The results of this study may be useful for policy makers to develop a national resilience policy.

Enhancing Sustainable Assessment of Electric Vehicles: A Comparative Study of the TOPSIS Technique with Interval Numbers for Uncertainty Management

The subject of electric vehicles (EVs) is constantly relevant from the perspective of climate change and sustainability. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods can be successfully used to evaluate models of such vehicles. In many cases, the MCDA methods are modified to account for uncertainty in the data. There are many ways to express uncertainty, including more advanced ones, such as fuzzy sets, for example, but expressing attributes in terms of interval numbers remains a popular method because it is an easy-to-implement and easy-to-understand technique. This study focuses on interval extensions of the TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) method. It aims to compare the most popular extension proposed by Jahanshahloo and the proposed new modification, which returns the result in an interval form. Certain inconsistencies of the Jahanshahloo extension are discussed, and it is explained how the new extension avoids them. Both extensions are applied to an EV evaluation problem taken from the literature as an example for sustainable assessment. The results are then analyzed, and the question of whether the input data of the interval should receive an evaluation in the form of interval results is addressed.

Spatial Analysis of Built-Up Land Suitability in Ternate Island

The population of Ternate City which is increasing every year can certainly cause the need for land as a space for their activities to increase and will lead to a kind of competition to get a suitable space and in accordance with the various interests and needs of the community there. This study aims to spatially analyze the suitability of built-up land on Ternate Island, North Maluku Province. This research uses Spatial Multi Criteria Analysis method using variables of terrain shape, slope, distance from road, distance from river, distance from economic activity center, and disaster prone area of Mount Gamalama. The results showed that 49.12% of the Ternate Island area was in the suitable area, 29.57% of the research area was in the less suitable class and the unsuitable class had an area of 21.31% of the total research area. The results of this study are expected to be a reference and input for the evaluation of the Ternate City RTRW in the future.

Selection of Photovoltaic Panels Based on Ranges of Criteria Weights and Balanced Assessment Criteria

In recent years, the share of PV (photovoltaic) panels in the generation of renewable energy has been dynamically growing. During this time, the Polish government introduced numerous programs to assist households in switching to PV panels as the primary source of energy. Therefore, the aim of the article is to indicate the PV panels that are best suited to work for individual users in households in Poland. PV panels were assessed using the PROSA multi-criteria decision analysis method, supported by a stochastic approach, based on the Monte Carlo method. This approach made it possible to choose the most balanced solutions, in terms of individual criteria, and to take into account the uncertainty and imprecision of the weights of the assessment criteria. In particular, the use of reliable weight ranges in the Monte Carlo simulations allowed the construction of a whole spectrum of evaluation and ranking models. These models indicate the PV panels that best meet the requirements and have the best balance between the individual assessment criteria. As a result of the research, it was found that the requirements of PV installations in households in Poland are best met by panels produced in China and in the Chinese–Polish cooperation. Panels of Polish production ranked further down, which means that Polish producers do not offer products that are tailored to the needs of PV installations for households in Poland.

Indicators as a Tool for Assessing the Level of Sustainable Urban Freight Logistics

Urban transport system planning has been moving towards sustainability in recent years, and the concept of urban freight logistics is an integral part of this planning. Urban freight logistics involves many stakeholders that participate in its operation and should be considered in the system planning process. The paper presents one of the approaches to the methodology for the selection of key indicators suitable for the evaluation and monitoring of a sustainable system of urban freight logistics in such a way that it reflects as much as possible the needs of all involved stakeholders. This is done by applying the selected method of multi-criteria analysis with the involvement of various urban freight logistics stakeholders. Based on the proposed methodology, the paper defines significant indicators that can be considered for further evaluation of the level of a sustainable urban freight logistics system. In addition to the possibilities of further development of this methodology, the application of determined significant indicators for calculating the proposed index of sustainable urban freight logistics is discussed. The proposed procedure can be implemented in the preparatory steps in the framework of the creation of sustainable urban logistics plans (SULPs).

Strategic landscape analysis relating multicriteria analysis and socioeconomic and environmental context to define potential areas for active restoration in São Paulo, Brazil

To optimize forest restoration initiatives, landscape planning emerges as a strategy. Thus, this work aims to determine the active restoration potential in Vale do Paraíba, a Brazilian region inserted in the Atlantic Forest biome, using multicriteria analysis and analyzing the result in light of socioeconomic and environmental contexts. Land use and land cover (LULC), hydrography, and slope variables were used in the multicriteria analysis, while average municipal income per capita, availability of restoration areas on rural lands, and water supply basins were used as socioeconomic and environmental variables. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Inference by the gamma operator were employed as multicriteria analysis methods. Two comparisons were performed with AHP, resulting in weights of 0.6 (LULC) and 0.2 (slope and hydrography) for AHP 1, and 0.5 (LULC) and 0.25 (slope and hydrography) for AHP 2. Values of 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8 were used in the gamma operator in Fuzzy Inference. Comparing results with restoration sites already implemented, AHP 2 was considered the best method. The restoration potential of each municipality was determined. Then, we grouped those with more areas for restoration, as an opportunity to develop common forest restoration programs. Ten water supply basins were identified with more than 40% of region extension with high restoration potential. Municipalities with a lower average per capita income and higher restoration potential were identified, highlighting a potential to generate income through restoration. The study concluded that Vale do Paraíba has a high potential for active restoration.

Analysis of spatial characteristics and influence mechanism of human settlement suitability in traditional villages based on multi-scale geographically weighted regression model: A case study of Hunan province

Traditional villages are invaluable cultural heritage sites in China, reflecting a rich historical and cultural legacy. However, rapid urbanization has led to the destruction and loss of numerous traditional villages. The remaining traditional villages also face challenges in preserving their original living environment. In order to assess human settlement suitability and identify potential factors, this paper proposes a village-scale model for assessing human settlement suitability. This paper used an eight-factor evaluation system, multi-criteria decision analysis and spatial visualization methods to evaluate the scores and spatial characteristics of human settlement suitability of 688 traditional villages in Hunan Province. This paper also examines the factors affecting cluster suitability using geographic detectors and multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) models. This study found that the quality of human settlement suitability varied widely. The overall quality is low and very few areas achieve medium or higher scores. Among them, the traditional villages in Huaihua city, Zhangjiajie junction, southern Hengyang city, northwestern Yongzhou city, central Chenzhou city and Changsha city exhibit higher scores. Secondly, the commercial facility density and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) are important factors driving the spatial changes. And there is a significant interaction effect between them. Additional factors impacting spatial variation include annual average temperature, per capita disposable income, and average house price. This comprehensive assessment reveals spatial characteristics and potential influencing factors. The results of the study provide an empirical basis and decision-making foundation for the protection and development of traditional villages, which will ultimately contribute to the sustainable development of China's rural areas.

Climate-Related Vulnerability Assessment Toward Disaster Risk Reduction: Insight from Pakistan

Abstract Globally, climate-related disasters (CRDs) have become a common phenomenon in the last few decades, increasing vulnerability and causing disaster mortality. To manage disaster risk, the global Sendai Framework for disaster risk reduction (SFDRR) provides a solid action plan for disaster risk reduction (DRR) considering all the dimensions of vulnerability. However, countries are still less receptive at the local level to adopting the SFDRR. Also, the global research community did not explore vulnerability features based on the Sendai Framework nor integrated such features with the four priorities of SFDRR. Based on the case of Pakistan, this study seeks to bridge the gap through three objectives. The first objective of the study is to identify the vulnerability features cited in the SFDRR. In addition, the research aims to develop a new vulnerability model by integrating SFDRR’s four priorities. As a second objective, it is intended to develop a decision support framework for ranking and evaluating each of the SFDRR priority action areas under local conditions. A third objective is to assess the impact of climate-induced environmental, socioeconomic and political vulnerabilities on climate-driven mortality. To meet these three different objectives, the authors have adopted a multi-method approach by using multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) and binary logistic regression method (BLRM). Based on the assessment, the authors suggested some policy implications.