Multiple Criteria Model Research Articles

Career Guide Expert System for Nigerian Secondary Schools Based on Howard Gardner Categorisation of Intelligence

Career Guide Expert System for Nigerian secondary schools is an applied research targeted at developing a web-based career guidance system for students transitioning from the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Scheme to Senior secondary school (SSS). The transitioning process requires students to choose among groups of subjects (Science, Art, or Commercial) to study in SSS which ideally requires the services of counsellors. However, there is a shortage of counsellors in schools. This research will significantly address the problem of shortage of professional counsellors and inefficient associated manual career guidance, which can negatively affect the career trajectory of students. Three parameters (Howard Gardner Intelligence Categorization, Academic performance and student aspirations) were used in determining which of the three alternatives (Science, Art, and Commercial) suits a student the best. The inference engine of the Expert System was implemented using a weighted sum multiple decision criteria model to determine which alternative suits a student the most based on the data generated from the quiz attempted by a student. The system was validated by a professional counsellor who subjected the system to a test with twenty samples of student data and certified that the system was accurate. Thus, if this system is incorporated into the Nigerian educational system, it will revolutionize the career guidance process, leading to better performance of students and future career satisfaction.

An Optimization Method for Distributing Emergency Materials Which Balances Multiple Decision Criteria

In emergency rescue operations, it is very important for emergency management to arrange emergency materials scientifically and reasonably according to emergency needs. However, the decision criteria for emergency material distribution are often diverse, coupled with the lack of information acquisition due to the suddenness and development complexity of disasters, which makes the scientific decisions about emergency material distribution face great challenges. This paper proposes a multi-criteria decision optimization model of emergency material distribution under uncertainty that combines the 4E criteria of performance evaluation (economic criterion, efficiency criterion, effectiveness criterion and equity criterion). Then, the solution method of the multiple decision criteria model is designed. Finally, a case study of emergency medical material distribution during COVID-19 in China was conducted for model verification. The results show that different decision criteria have an important impact on the distribution of emergency materials, and the proposed model has significant advantages in the allocation of large-scale disaster relief materials, which can provide a useful reference for emergency material distribution under uncertain information conditions.

MULTIPLE CRITERIA APPROACH APPLIED TO DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN FASHION STORES: THE CASE OF PHYSICAL RETAILERS IN SPAIN

In a very open competitive context where pure online players are consistently gaining market share, the use of digital devices is a steady trend which is penetrating physical retail stores as a tool for retailers to improve customer experience and increase engagement. This need has increased with the COVID-19 pandemic as electronic devices in physical stores reduce the contact between people providing a greater sense of health safety, hence improving the customer experience. This work develops a multiple-criteria decision-making model for retailers who want to digitize their physical stores, providing a systematic approach to manage investment priorities in the organization. Important decisions should involve all different areas of the organization: Finance, Clients, Internal Processes and Learning & Growth departments. This strategic decision can be made hierarchically to obtain consistent decisions, also the use of the Order Weighted Average operator allows for alternative scenarios to be presented and agreed among the different areas of the business. The authors develop a use case for a Spanish fashion retailer. In the most widely agreed scenario the preferred devices were more technologically complex and expensive, while in the scenarios where the head of Finance is more predominant, cheaper and simpler devices were selected.

Using the Multi-Criteria Model for Optimization of Operational Routes of Thermal Power Plants

The constant problems evidenced in the Brazilian hydrological scenario, where the source of hydraulic potential corresponds to about 63.9% of the energy matrix, coupled with the exponential growth in the supply of renewable energy, corroborates the importance of thermal power generation as the basis of Brazilian’s energy matrix. With the operation of thermal power plants, which characteristically involve a large number of systems, subsystems, and auxiliary equipment, there is a high demand for the use of methodologies for monitoring and controlling processes, analyzing failures, and implementing improvements and actions that increase the reliability and, consequently, reduce the failure rate. In this context, decision-making about prioritizing criticality for operational monitoring of an asset’s components, from the perspective of operation and maintenance planning and based on reliability-centered maintenance (RCM) concepts, can be considered a complex task. Given this, the research seeks to demonstrate how the “Measuring Attractiveness by a Category Based Evaluation Technique (MACBETH)” method can be applied to the development of a multiple criteria model to support decision making in ordering the criticality of systems in operational inspection routes of thermal power plants, to propose new routines execution methodologies, aiming at increasing the productivity of the operation team. According to the results of the judgment matrix, the ordering proposal allowed a strategy for the execution of the current operational routes, redefining criticality, periodicity, routing, and applied resources, maintaining the reliability of the plant. It limits itself to assessing the criticality of the subsystems and monitored points belonging to the boiler system. These are typical of thermoelectric plants classified within the Rankine thermodynamic cycle and represent a significant part of the evaluation proposal.

Multiple criteria model for allocating new medical robotic devices to treatment centres

This paper presents a multi-criteria methodology for allocating a small number of novel robotic devices to a set of potential treatment centres in the South of the UK. The robotic devices provide a novel means of diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer and are currently in the design phase of an EU-sponsored research project. The aim of the project is to provide enhanced access to the new prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment technology. Hence, location and allocation decisions need to be optimised to facilitate this goal. A fuzzy logic based methodology based on measures of prevalence and current access to treatment centres is developed in order to identify a set of priority locales (postcode districts) for improved access. An extended goal programming facility location model is then formulated which incorporates both priority and general postcode access measures. The p-median, p-centre and coverage variants of facility location are modelled via a set of six goals. A comprehensive weight sensitivity analysis is used to generate 25 distinct solutions across the six-dimensional objective space. Analysis of the results with respect to methodology, location and allocation decisions, number of robotic devices and trade-offs between goals is undertaken and conclusions are drawn.

Knowledge management visualisation in regional innovation system collaborative decision-making

PurposeThis study was developed in response to the need to develop age-friendly smart living environments due to the complex demands placed on society by the ageing of the population. This study aims to analyse the potential that knowledge visualisation offers collaborative decision-making applied to the development of a multiple criteria framework supporting knowledge management (KM) through knowledge collaboration (KC) and knowledge sharing (KS) in the context of regional innovation systems (RIS).Design/methodology/approachUsing a socio-technical approach, knowledgeable and experienced representatives of RIS innovation actors were brought together to develop a constructivist multiple criteria framework that integrates knowledge visualisation and collaborative decision-making techniques (i.e. cognitive mapping and system dynamics).FindingsThe study introduces a multiple criteria model supporting KM encompassing conditions and practices of RIS innovation actors facilitating and encouraging KC and KS. The potential for knowledge visualisation in collaborative decision-making is explored in great depth and illustrated in a case study setting.Practical implicationsThe panel members who participated in this study consider our methodological proposal to be extremely versatile and see great potential for further applications in RIS contexts.Originality/valueThe combined use of cognitive mapping and system dynamics according to the strategic options development and analysis (SODA) approach offers a holistic and well-informed perspective on the issue in question. The literature reports no prior work of this methodological combination in the same research context.

Multiple-criteria Evaluation Model for Medical Professionals Assigned to Temporary SARS-CoV-2 Hospitals

Hospitals around the world, as health institutions with a key role in the health system, face problems while providing health services to patients with various types of diseases. Currently, those problems are intensified due to the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus. This pandemic has caused an extreme spread of the disease with constantly changing needs of patients which impacts the capacities and overall functioning of hospitals. In order to meet the challenge of the COVID-19 (COronaVIrus Disease- 2019) pandemic, health systems must adjust to new circumstances and establish separate hospitals exclusive for patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus. In the process of creating COVID-19 hospitals, health systems face a shortage of medical professionals trained for work in COVID-19 hospitals. Using this as a starting point, this study puts forward a two-phase model for the evaluation and selection of nurses for COVID-19 hospitals. Each phase of the model features a separate multiple-criteria model. In the first phase, a multiple-criteria model with a dominant criterion is formed and candidates who meet the defined requirements are evaluated. In the second phase, a modified multiple-criteria model is formed and used to evaluate medical professionals who do not meet the requirements of the dominant criterion. By applying this model, two groups of medical professionals are defined: 1) medical professionals who completely meet the requirements for working in COVID-19 hospitals and 2) medical professionals who require additional training. The criteria for evaluation of medical professionals in this multiple-criteria model are defined based on research conducted on medical professionals assigned to the COVID-19 Crisis Response Team during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Serbia. The model was tested on a real example of evaluating medical professionals assigned to the COVID-19 hospital in Sombor. The model for evaluating medical professionals presented in this paper can help decision makers in hospitals and national policy makers to determine the readiness level of hospitals for working in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as underline the areas in which hospitals are not ready to meet the challenges of the pandemic.

Sustainable Strategies for Marathon Tourism in the Time of Pandemics

This study established a new assessment framework to explore the mutual influences of the international marathon tourism indices. A hybrid multiple-criteria decision-making model was used to determine solutions. The surveyed expert team revealed that satisfaction with the Kaohsiung International marathon indices requires improvement, especially in the age of pandemic crisis. To make marathon tourism sustainable, we propose the following systematic improvement procedures: Decision-makers should improve the manager’s professional capabilities and ability to use a comprehensive thinking model to solve problems. Next, managers should invite tourism practitioners from neighboring areas to provide more diverse food and performances along the marathon route. Citizens should be invited to join the cheerleaders to create a lively atmosphere. In addition to the full marathon and half marathon, a completion certificate and a better gift should be provided to participants of races of other distances to increase their sense of self-worth and to encourage more runners to participate, thereby ensuring a more robust crowd of runners at the starting line.

Solving inverse problems for steady-state equations using a multiple criteria model with collage distance, entropy, and sparsity

In this paper, we extend the previous method for solving inverse problems for steady-state equations using the Generalized Collage Theorem by searching for an approximation that not only minimizes the collage error but also maximizes the entropy and minimizes the sparsity. In this extended formulation, the parameter estimation minimization problem can be understood as a multiple criteria problem, with three different and conflicting criteria: The generalized collage error, the entropy associated with the unknown parameters, and the sparsity of the set of unknown parameters. We implement a scalarization technique to reduce the multiple criteria program to a single criterion one, by combining all objective functions with different trade-off weights. Numerical examples confirm that the collage method produces good, but sub-optimal, results. A relatively low-weighted entropy term allows for better approximations while the sparsity term decreases the complexity of the solution in terms of the number of elements in the basis.

Multiple-criteria analysis model to the location of dry ports in urban areas: a case study in Garuva City, Santa Catarina State

Abstract This article studied the location of dry ports from the perspective of reducing impacts caused by seaport activities on the urban environment. The main objective was to construct a model based on multiple-criteria decision analysis coupled with the geographical information system for selecting areas subject to the location of dry ports. An important point was the definition of restriction and factor criteria for the preparation of this model. The distance from the seaport was defined as the most relevant criterion, followed by the road hierarchy network, population density, vegetation, and declivity, respectively. The predominant restrictive criteria were: permanent conservation areas and non-building zones. For the validation of the model presented, it was necessary to perform a case study on a city located near a seaport, and that has been legalized seaport activities in its legislation. The result showed that the areas nearest to the port, with less density of household units, and located near main roadways are the most feasible for location of dry ports. It was proven that the usage of multi-criteria analysis for selecting areas subject to the location of dry ports can be a manner for added support in the preparation of master plans for cities surrounded by seaport areas.

Višekriterijumski BWM-COPRAS model za izbor optimalnog terenskog vozila za prevoz putnika

Višekriterijumski BWM-COPRAS model za izbor optimalnog terenskog vozila za prevoz putnika

Developing a green city assessment system using cognitive maps and the Choquet Integral

Equitable human well-being and environmental concerns in urban areas have, over the years, become increasingly challenging issues. This trend is related to both the complexity inherent in the multiple factors to be considered when evaluating eco-friendly cities (i.e., green cities) and the way this type of city’s sustainability depends on many evaluation criteria, which hampers all decision-making processes. Using a multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach, this study sought to develop a multiple-criteria model that facilitates the evaluation of green cities’ sustainability, based on cognitive mapping techniques and the Choquet integral (CI). Taking a constructivist and process-oriented stance, the research included identifying evaluation criteria and their respective interactions using a panel of experts with specialized knowledge in the subject under analysis. The resulting framework and its application were validated both by the panel members and a parliamentary representative of the Portuguese ecology party “Os Verdes” (The Greens), who confirmed that the evaluation system created distinguishes between cities according to how strongly they adhere to “green” principles. The advantages and limitations of the proposed framework are also discussed.

Are the current methods for the distribution of public funds in secondary education effective? Multiple criteria model in the Czech Republic

The aim of the paper is to analyse the current financing system for schools in the Czech Republic and the subsequent formulation of criteria for improving the redistribution of funds from public sources. First, the method of retrospective analysis of expenditures on education financing at European level and the developed countries of the OECD. Second, the multiple criteria model for the distribution of funds is established using Expert Choice. Finally, a method of guided interviews will be exploited in order to detect attitudes, priorities of representatives from the education department and the economic department in the Czech Republic. In the analysis of secondary school finance decision-making, individual solution options and key criteria were specified. The criteria include justice, motivation, stability, controllability and simplicity. Based on the multi-criteria evaluation output, it is possible to recommend the inclusion of three elements in the current financing system of secondary education in the Czech Republic. These are the tracking of graduates in the labour market, assessment of schools and teachers.

A Game Theoretic Approach for the Real-Life Multiple-Criterion Vehicle Routing Problem With Multiple Time Windows

This paper presents a new framework for the optimization of real-life multiple-objective vehicle routing problems with multiple time windows. This framework uses a hybrid variable neighborhood tabu search heuristic that chooses Pareto nondominated solutions from the search space of solutions that satisfy a set of Nash equilibrium conditions for a multiple-agent game theory model. Even though the framework is general and can tackle different classes of vehicle routing problems, it is herein tested on three objectives: minimizing the total travel cost (expressed in time units), maximizing the minimal customers’ utility, and maximizing the minimal drivers’ utility. The results on real-life instances provided by a Canadian transportation company highlight the benefits of the multiple-criteria model; an important motivation to the transportation industry for its real-life implementation.

P771 Diagnostic performance of low haemoglobin density (LHD%) for detecting iron deficiency in patients with inflammatory bowel disease

In the absence of a feasible, non-invasive gold standard, iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) is best measured using multiple indicators. However, the choice of an appropriate single iron biomarker to replace the multiple-criteria model for IDA screening at the population level continues to be debated. Recently, low haemoglobin density (LHD%) from Coulter counters has been suggested as a useful tool to detect iron deficiency1. Its diagnostic performance in an IBD population has not been evaluated. Using the mathematical sigmoid transformation LHD% = 100×√ (1−(1/(1 + e (1.8 (30-MCHC)))), this study investigated the reliability of LHD% for the assessment of iron status in iron deficiency anaemia (IDA), anaemia of chronic inflammation (ACD) and mixed IDA/ACD. The study population consisted of 93 patients with IBD (53 CD/40 UC, age 36.40 years ±13.14, 67% female), who consecutively attended the Crohn Colitis Centre Rhein-Main, Frankfurt for routine evaluation between October 2014 and November 2017. Blood count, transferrin saturation (TSAT), serum ferritin and C-reactive protein (CRP) were determined by routine assays. Patients with anaemia were classified as having IDA if active inflammation (CRP <5 mg/l) was absent, TSAT<20% and ferritin level <30 µg/l; patients were classified as having ACD if active inflammation was present (CRP ≥5 mg/l),TSAT<20% and ferritin level ≥100 µg/l; patients were classified as having IDA/ACD if active inflammation was present, TSAT< 20% and ferritin level >100 µg/l.2 Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to evaluate the performance of LHD. Results: In ferropoenic IBD patients, LHD% values (cut-off 4.1%1) were not statistically different in patients with IDA compared with the IDA/ACD group (30.6 vs. 29.3%; p = 0.888). In addition, no significant difference was observed between patients with ACD (LHD 19.1%) compared with the ACD/IDA group (LHD 29.3%, p < 0.281). ROC analysis for LHD% in the detection of iron deficiency showed the following: Area under the curve 0.772; cut-off 4.1%, sensitivity 62.5%, specificity 94.3%. Conclusion: These results clearly demonstrate that LHD% is a reliable biomarker for the detection of iron deficiency in IBD patients with anaemia regardless of whether inflammation is present. Our findings indicate that LHD can provide added value in diagnosing iron deficiency in anaemic IBD patients. 1. Martin-Cabrera P, et al. Clinical use of low haemoglobin density, transferrin saturation, bone marrow morphology, Perl’s stain and other plasma markers in the identification of treatable anaemia presenting for cardiac surgery in a prospective cohort study. J Clin Pathol, 2015;68:923–30. 2. Weiss G, Goodnough LT. Anaemia of chronic disease. N Engl J Med, 2005;352:1011–23.

Multiple-criteria decision analysis of the transformable low-rise building technological construction process

One of the promising areas of improving the constructive and technological solutions of low-rise buildings is the fast-erecting systems. Increase of efficiency of the erection process of these systems can be implemented on the basis of the results of a multiple-criteria analysis of the organizational and technological processes by decomposing it into separate technological processes and operations and assessing their impact on the overall building erection process. The structure of a multiple-criteria model includes such indexes as the duration of separate technological processes and the operation of the overground part in the building erection. The subject of the study – technological operation parameters during the installation process of the transformable low-rise buildings with sandwich panel walls. Based on selection, classification, and systematization of the factors determining the resultant indicators, the relationship between the effective indicator (function) and the factors (arguments) was studied and their forms of dependence were determined based on the linkage modeling. The calculation of the influence of various factors and their assessment on the change in value of the effective indicator was performed. The selected factors include several parameters in the form of technological operations, which are expressed in hours. The simulation of technological process using a multiple-criteria model allows determining the efficiency reserves of the developed technology. Its application in installation control processes could help the construction industry with transformable low-rise building erection.

A multiple-criteria approach to human resource management assessment in organizations with respect to industry

PurposeThis paper aims to develop a multiple-criteria model for the assessment of human resource management (HRM), focusing on groups of organizations with respect to industry.Design/methodology/approachThe approach presented in this paper follows the framework procedure for multiple-criteria decision-making based on the Quantified Dialectical Systems Theory. It considers the factor analysis results in structuring the problem. By considering several experts’ judgments already when measuring the importance of criteria, it enables respondents to omit those sets of criteria for which they are neither experts nor responsible.FindingsThe paper shows that the factor analysis results can also be used in structuring the multi-dimensional concept in multiple-criteria model for assessing HRM – a step forward to multi-methodology. The obtained aggregate values show human resource managers the key success and failure factors to adopt an integrated/requisitely holistic and innovated strategy related to HRM in organizations.Research limitations/implicationsThe approach presented in this paper helps managers in developing and implementing a requisitely holistic model of HRM, adapted to several groups of organizations, such as with respect to their industry, in any country.Practical implicationsThis paper provides recommendations for HRM in organizations.Originality/valueThis paper fills the gap in the research on multiple-criteria HRM assessment in organizations with respect to their industry by developing a multiple-criteria model for the assessment of HRM in groups of organizations, with application based on their industries.

Identification of factors influencing the performance of government organisations and undertakings in India using analytic hierarchy process

There are various factors that are responsible for influencing the performance of any government organisation. By employing a multiple-criteria decision-making model (MCDM), the study is an attempt to measure preference and thereby identify factors influencing the performance of government organisations and undertakings in India. Important factors that are likely to influence the performance of government organisations and undertakings, including those significant in the current scenario, have been considered. The data were collected from government organisations and undertakings representing different sectors to ensure that the selection of factors was unbiased and fairly accurate. A well-known method for prioritisation in case of MCDM known as analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been employed. The average value obtained for every criterion was used to prepare the paired comparison matrix. Results have showed that e-governance practices and process standardisation exhibit greater influence on the performance of government organisations as compared to the other factors.

Multiple criteria optimisation in coated abrasive grinding of titanium alloy using minimum quantity lubrication

This paper investigates the influences of minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) to material removal, surface integrity and temperature in the grinding of titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V) using coated abrasive discs. Titanium alloys are used for the slumping moulds when shaping soda-lime glass, due to their good corrosion resistance. However, during the grinding process the temperature can be over 300°C in microseconds due to the inherent low thermal conductivity of titanium alloys, leading to a degradation of surface quality and integrity. In this work, the developed grinding model considers the effects of grit number, grinding speed, normal load pressure and MQL on the grinding force ratio. The developed model, which was composed of operating parameters, was calibrated by experimental results such as grit number, grinding speed, normal load pressure and the use of MQL to a precision level of 83.98%. The produced ultra-fine surface (~Ra 0.1µm) demonstrates the progression of the adhesion, the plastic deformation following the fretting and sealing actions on the workpiece surface. The improvement of the surface integrity in its microhardness (~395HV0.025) prolonged the tool life and benefited the productivity. The observed objectives in the material removal rate and surface quality are influenced by the operating abrasives, grinding speed, normal loading pressure and blasting pressure in the grinding action. The control of the thresholds in the load and temperature could vary the surface conditions; whilst MQL provided instant effects to the work's hardening and thermal softening in grinding. The developed multiple criteria model in the response surface method (RSM), suggests the optimised parameter set and results when weightings of surface roughness and material removal rate are given.

An integration of theoretical knowledge, day by day experience and multicriteria methods to support the entrepreneurial learning process

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide to the entrepreneurs, and propose to the scientific community, a newly structured knowledge system that includes the quality of customers and suppliers, to facilitate learning processes about the current state of the enterprise and new strategic approaches.Design/methodology/approachThe knowledge system is elaborated combining a long day-by-day experience in a specific Italian field [the independent after market (IAM)] with the theoretical knowledge of both economic and financial issues and multiple criteria (MC) methods of decision aid. The economic and financial key performance indicators are generatedad hocfor a specific sector and created with the concept that a company is in the center of a network composed of its suppliers, customers, competitors and the State. An MC model easily and consistently includes aspects that are different in terms of source and formal language. An MC method transparently synthesizes all these elements in relation to a specific decision problem. Integrating the potential of MC models and methods with economic and financial issues and context experience facilitates an effective knowledge transfer to the operators of the sector.FindingsThis methodology is oriented to the companies involved in the IAM and in particular to the manufacture, distributor and spare parts dealer categories (in Italy, almost 500 manufacturers, 150 distributors and 5,000 dealers). Manufacturers can use the methodology and its results to know the economic and financial performances of their customers, distributors can identify their strengths and weaknesses and the situation of their competitors and dealers can identify the most reliable future partners. Also, foreign manufacturers may be interested in this analysis, before selling in Italy, and banks and financiers could consult our knowledge frameworks to analyze the risk default.Originality/valueThe added value of this approach is to allow even small and medium enterprises, without an internal know-how for economic analyses, to use tools that clarify their relations with the interested parties of the macroeconomic system and facilitate the quality assessment of their portfolio of customers/suppliers.