Multi-criteria Index Research Articles

A multi-criteria index for ecological evaluation of tropical agriculture in southeastern Mexico.

The aim of this study was to generate an easy to use index to evaluate the ecological state of agricultural land from a sustainability perspective. We selected environmental indicators, such as the use of organic soil amendments (green manure) versus chemical fertilizers, plant biodiversity (including crop associations), variables which characterize soil conservation of conventional agricultural systems, pesticide use, method and frequency of tillage. We monitored the ecological state of 52 agricultural plots to test the performance of the index. The variables were hierarchically aggregated with simple mathematical algorithms, if-then rules, and rule-based fuzzy models, yielding the final multi-criteria index with values from 0 (worst) to 1 (best conditions). We validated the model through independent evaluation by experts, and we obtained a linear regression with an r2 = 0.61 (p = 2.4e-06, d.f. = 49) between index output and the experts’ evaluation.

World Tax Index: New Methodology for OECD Countries, 2000–2012

Abstract This paper follows our previous article, Kotlán and Machová (2012a), which presented an indicator of the tax burden that can be used as an alternative to the tax quota, or for implicit tax rates in macroeconomic analyses. This alternative is an overall multi-criteria index called the WTI - the World Tax Index. The aim of this paper is to present the new World Tax Index 2013 and its methodology, which allowed us to compute it for all 34 OECD countries for the 2000-2012 period, with special references to methodology changes from the previous version. We show that, using the WTI, the highest tax burden is measured for Denmark, Belgium and Turkey, while the lowest tax burden is in Switzerland, Ireland, Chile or Japan. The total ranking of the countries is from 66% correlated with the ranking according to the tax quota, mainly due to a strong correlation in the case of property taxes, personal income taxes and VAT-type taxes. In these cases, the tax quota seems to be a good approximator of the tax burden. However, there is no correlation between corresponding tax quotas and WTI sub-indices for corporate taxes or selective consumption taxes. In those cases, the tax quota apparently fails and is not suitable for use in further analyses.

Development of a multi-criteria index ranking system for urban runoff best management practices (BMPs) selection

Low impact development best management practices (LID-BMPs) are considered to be cost-effective measures for mitigating the water quantity and quality impact of urban runoff. Currently, there are many types of LID-BMPs, and each type has its own intrinsic technical and/or economical characteristics and limitations for implementation. The selection of the most appropriate BMP type(s) for a specific installation site is therefore a very important planning step. In the present study, a multi-criteria selection index system (MCIS) for LID-BMP planning was developed. The selection indexes include 12 first-level indices and 26 second-level indices which reflect the specific installation site characteristics pertaining to site suitability, runoff control performance, and economics of implementation. A mechanism for ranking the BMPs was devised. First, each individual second-level index was assigned a numeric value that was based on site characteristics and information on LID-BMPs. The quantified indices were normalized and then integrated to obtain the score for each of the first-level index. The final evaluation scores of each LID-BMP were then calculated based on the scores for the first-level indices. Finally, the appropriate BMP types for a specific installation site were determined according to the rank of the final evaluation scores. In order to facilitate the application of the MCIS BMP ranking system, the computational process has been coded into a software program, BMPSELEC. A case study demonstrating the MCIS methodology, using an LID-BMP implementation planning at a college campus in Foshan, Guangdong Province, is presented.

Vliv zdanění korporací na ekonomický růst: selhání daňové kvóty?

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of taxation on long-term economic growth with special emphasis on corporate taxation using alternative indicator of tax burden which is called World Tax Index (WTI). The WTI was constructed by authors using hard data as well as soft data expressing qualified expert opinion gained from a questionnaire survey conducted among tax specialist from OECD countries. It is a multi-criteria index consisting of several sub-indices that deal with different groups of taxes, which are basically consistent with the classification according to the OECD. All the parts are used in further regression analysis to approximate the tax burden in growth model. As an alternative, also the tax quota is used, being the most applied indicator of tax burden. Results show that tax quota is not suitable for tax burden approximation, especially in case of corporate taxes or VAT. Corporate tax burden negatively influence long-term economic growth, as suggested by economic theory.

MeSO: simulation optimization using a multicriteria process capability index and evolutionary algorithms

A successful implementation of a simulation-optimization (SO) methodology is presented. Based on evolutionary algorithms with a multicriteria fitness function, the new SO is used to developed weekly schedules at a ship building factory that manufactures around 60 jobs per week. Simulation modeling is used to account for randomness on the input data, as well as to correctly abstract the complex operations carried out in the real system. A variant of genetic algorithms is used to search for the appropriate schedule. Its fitness function is a multicriteria process capability index that aggregates three individual criteria, namely, makespan, line blockage and idleness of resources. The index is based on the satisfaction of thresholds for each and every criterion, thresholds that are tightened as improved schedules are found. The thresholds are also used to reject non-promising alternatives without having to perform the same number of runs as for the candidates that stand out for implementation. The name of the methodology is meSO: multicriteria evolutionary SO.

Application of Expert Evaluation Method to Determine the Importance of Operating Asphalt Mixing Plant Quality Criteria and Rank Correlation

Road asphalt concrete pavement is usually laid of hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixture. HMA mixture is produced in an asphalt mixing plant (AMP) according to the technology applied in its structure. AMP shall meet certain requirements set in the norms not only to the quality of HMA mix produced in it, but to environmental protection as well. A possibility to produce an HMA mixture of all required types and marks in it shall be available through the use of various materials and additives, including reclaimed asphalt pavement. HMA mixture production costs shall be as low as possible. AMP shall be of appropriate technical condition, and with proper equipment, which mostly influence the technological, ecological, and economic parameters. Its actual productivity shall meet the required scope (HMA mixture amount) of road construction works carried out in the serviced region. The article presents 9 criteria of operating AMP quality, mathematical models of determining their significance through the application of an expert research method as well as expert opinion correlation values. Ranks of AMP quality criteria are replaced by their weight indices through the application of 2 different methodologies. Quality criteria weight indices may be used according to an additive model through the calculation of operating AMP quality multi-criteria index. A numerical sample is presented at the end of the article.

Design of Multi-Criteria PI Controller Using Particle Swarm Optimization for Multiple UAVs Close Formation

Close formation flight is one of the most complicated problems on multiple Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) coordinated control. This paper proposes a new method to achieve close formation tracking control of multiple UAVs by applying Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) based Proportional plus Integral (PI) controller. Due to its simple structure and effectiveness, multi-criteria PI control strategy is employed to design the controller for multiple UAVs formation, while PSO is used to optimize the controller parameters on-line. With the inclusion of overshoot, rise time, and system accumulated absolute error in the multi-criteria performance index, the overall performance of multi-criteria PI controller is optimized to be satisfactory. Simulation results show the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

ANÁLISE DO DESEMPENHO ORGANIZACIONAL NO AGRONEGÓCIO BRASILEIRO: APLICANDO À AGROINDÚSTRIA DE PAPEL E CELULOSE

Agribusiness is one of the most important sectors in the Brazilian economy and its industrial segment has performed an increasingly significant role. Due to this relevance, technical and management issues concerning the segment requires closer attention. This article attempts to provide a comprehensive discussion of the organizational performance of Brazilian, paper and cellulose companies with accounting and financial information as a reference point. By applying Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), we sought to identify a multi-criteria performance index for each company and to provide a benchmark analysis that would show what inefficient companies should do to become efficient. The results showed that better ranked companies were those that were most successful at mixing its inputs (the lowest, the best indexes) in the search of outputs (the greatest, the best indexes). Further, the worst ranked companies were those that required profound changes in its input and/or output levels in order to reach the maximum performance.

Índice multicritério de bem estar social rural em um município da Região Amazônica

Neste artigo propôs-se a construção de um índice multicritério para avaliar o bem estar social de um grupo de agricultores. Abreviadamente, o índice foi designado de "bem estar rural". Para a construção do índice foram considerados aspectos relacionados às condições de habitação, saúde, trabalho e infra-estrutura. Na determinação dos pesos para a construção do índice, usou-se tanto a abordagem MACBETH clássica, quanto uma variante otimista, que leva em conta os pesos mais favoráveis dentro do intervalo definido pelo MACBETH. Esta atitude é motivada por uma premissa de otimismo. Esta justifica-se pelo fato de os pesquisadores de campo terem constatado que os agricultores valorizavam mais aquilo que possuíam em detrimento do que não tinham. Os resultados da aplicação desse modelo indicaram uma tendência de crescimento médio do bem estar rural, no grupo avaliado.

System-Based and Concurrent Design of a Smart Mechatronic System Using the Concept of Mechatronic Design Quotient (MDQ)

A mechatronic system needs an integrated, concurrent, and system-based design approach due to the existence of interactions among its subsystems, and also the existence of interactions between the criteria involved in a realistic evaluation of a mechatronic product. This paper presents a systematic methodology for a detailed mechatronic design based on a mechatronic design quotient (MDQ). MDQ is a multicriteria index, reflecting a system-based evaluation of a mechatronic design, which is calculated using soft computing techniques, thereby accommodating interactions between criteria and human experience. A niching genetic algorithm is utilized to explore the huge search space raised due to concurrent and integrated design approach, with the aim to find the elite representatives of different possible configurations. To demonstrate the method, it is applied to an industrial fish cutting machine called the Iron Butcher-an electromechanical system that falls into the class of mixed or multidomain systems.

Ranking the Azorean Natural Forest Reserves for conservation using their endemic arthropods.

Endemic arthropods were used to evaluate the conservation value of the 16 Natural Forest Reserves (NFRs) of the Azores (Macaronesia). For each of the 280 known Azorean endemic species of arthropods, a rarity index was calculated, using distribution and abundance data obtained from the literature. In addition, several scoring indices were used to rank the 16 NFRs. Frequency distributions of the rarity index indicated that there was a tendency for a greater proportion of the commonest species being represented in the NFRs in contrast with a lower representation of the rarest species. About 60% of the endemic arthropod species that were recorded from the NFRs are ‘single NFR endemics’, that is, are known from only one of the 16 NFRs. Species richness was considered to be a very good surrogate measure of the conservation value of the 16 NFRs under study. The fact that the six highest ranked NFRs (using a composite multi-criteria index) are located in different islands has some important conservation management implications; to preserve a large proportion of the Azorean arthropod biodiversity there is a need to protect sites in all islands. If the five highest ranked NFRs are correctly managed in terms of conservation, then at least 80% of the endemic arthropods known from the NFRs could be protected. Most of the tested taxa (Acari-Oribatei; Lepidoptera; Diptera; Coleoptera) are good surrogates of the overall total set of species present in the 16 NFRs when using a species richness index.