Method Of Paired Comparisons Research Articles

Многокритериальная оценка безопасности транспортной сети

Road safety is one of the most important factors in the efficiency of a transport network. The purpose of the study is methods for analyzing criteria affecting traffic safety in the transport network. The weight of the criteria was calculated using the paired comparison method. The ranking of alternative routes was carried out using the order of preference technique based on similarity to the ideal solution. The results of the study can be used when choosing a rational route, taking into account not only the speed of movement, but also various risks.

Lighting preferences of Iberian sausages for Spanish observers

We report results of a visual experiment performed by 20 adult Spanish observers using calibrated images of 18 samples of sliced Iberian sausages under 15 illuminations, including 8 illuminants proposed by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) and 7 light sources found in meat sections of supermarkets in Spain and Japan. Visual results from the pair comparison and magnitude estimation psychophysical methods used in our experiment showed a high correlation (Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient r = 0.915). Illumination strongly influenced color preferences of sliced Iberian sausages. For example, using the magnitude estimation method, the average lighting preferences changed about 2.8/10 for the 15 illuminations tested. There were no statistically significant differences between lighting preferences for different kind of sausages. Exploring quality indices of white lights, we found that the correlated color temperature and gamut area index (Color Res. Appl. 33, 192-202, 2008) provided the highest linear correlations with visual preferences in our current experiment. Lights with correlated color temperatures below 3000 K or gamut area indices below 70 were not preferred. The CIE general color rendering and color fidelity indices provided poor predictions of visual preferences in our current experiment.

ALGORITHM OF FUZZY PRIORITIES FOR ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS

It is rather problematic to approximate the real decision management process with a mathematical model. Most decisions in the economy are complex in structure, multi-criteria tasks containing a set of descriptive, probabilistic, undefined characteristics. Such problems are solved by methods of system analysis. One of these methods is the method of analyzing hierarchies, which is used for models of personnel management, resource allocation, and evaluation of investment projects. The possibility of practical application of the method of analysis of hierarchies is limited by the requirement of complete certainty of alternative evaluations. Practical situations are characterized by uncertainty and limited information about the object or the decision-making process. Combining a systems approach with elements of fuzzy logic can correct this situation for the better. System models developed on the basis of the theory of fuzzy sets use the method of paired comparisons to rank management objects by factors and determine the importance of factors within the model. The article examines the algorithm for the synthesis of the vector of weighting coefficients of alternative decisions based on the matrix of pairwise comparisons with fuzzy estimates of alternatives. The possibility of combining elements of the theory of fuzzy sets and the method of analysis of hierarchies for the problem of decision-making is considered.

Intangible cultural heritage in industrial design

Abstract The research aims to develop an original product design using elements of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). It attempts to evaluate the attractiveness of design with elements of ICH in individual countries and on the world stage. A Master of Art History from Korea National University of Arts participated in the analysis and research of ICH objects. Based on the Gmarket online store, the authors conducted fake door testing to determine the attractiveness of this design for consumers. The method of paired comparisons allowed the authors to assess the attractiveness of a design with the ICH elements on the world stage. Following the project’s objectives, the study demonstrated 211 thousand views of the product page with the developed design and 767 thousand views of pages with similar products during one calendar month.

Motivation Risks in Teaching Students at Secondary Technical Schools

Motivation has long been of interest to many educational researchers, as it is seen as an essential ingredient in effective teaching and learning. Motivated students are more likely to be eager to learn and more willing to accept the challenges that come with the learning process. In our research, we wanted to specify the attitudes of secondary technical school students towards their studies and to find out what motivates and demotivates them. We aimed to determine potential risks to motivation (demotivators). We hypothesized that students’ intrinsic motivation could be strengthened by teachers if classes were seen as useful, interesting, and inspiring. Having chosen a questionnaire as our research method, we addressed more than 200 secondary technical schools from a public database and asked their management for permission to send a questionnaire on motivation risks to their students. The body of the questionnaire included items asking students to assess 8 potential negative factors, which could represent risks in motivation. Our research sample included 665 responses from 10 technical study programs. The Fuller method of paired comparison was used for our data analysis. The answers from students from various schools, school locations, years of study, and study programs did not show many differences when respondents indicated the primary motivation risks for their study. The impact of risky situations on students’ motivation to study technical subjects was dominantly connected with their cognitive needs, followed by social needs. Surprisingly, in the students’ answers, not much attention was dedicated to the achievement needs.

ANALYSIS OF THE PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCES OF POSTAL OPERATORS

The article analyzes the standard of professional (vocational and technical) education in the profession of postal operator with the aim of establishing their compliance with the modern requirements of employers and determining the modern structure of their professional competence. The purpose of the article is to analyze the standard of professional (vocational and technical) education in the profession of postal operator, to establish the correspondence of the description of the profession with the modern requirements of employers and to determine the modern structure of the professional competence of postal operators. In the process of research, the author used content analysis of regulatory and legal documents and reporting documentation, analysis of scientific and professional literature, the method of paired comparisons for expert assessment of modern competencies, and synthesis for generalization of the obtained results. A comparative analysis of the content of the modules according to the qualifications of each class was carried out. According to the results of the research, the necessity to transform the professional competence of future postal operators, who acquire a profession in professional (vocational and technical) education institutions, has been updated, which will correspond to the trend of rapid introduction of digital technologies into the activities of the postal infrastructure. Taking into account the current trends of rapid transformation of the field of postal communication, based on the results of the analysis of professional competencies of qualified workers of various professions, the websites of JSC Ukrposhta and the company Nova Poshta, the most relevant and necessary competencies for postal operators have been identified. It has been found out that there have been changes in the practical activities of postal operators, which have led to the expansion and transformation of the functions of postal operators. This has made it necessary to update the professional competence of postal operators, its structure and component composition, which must meet the requirements of the National Framework of Qualifications and its descriptors. Based on the analysis of specialized literature and reporting documentation of the most powerful domestic postal operators, a number of professional competencies is proposed: operational, programmatic, reference and informational, interpersonal, financial, statistical, communicative, foreign language, cultural and linguistic. Taking into consideration the results of the discussion with teaching staff of professional (vocational and technical) education institutions that train qualified workers in this profession, expert evaluation by a group of experts consisting of scientists, teachers of special disciplines, and representatives of employers, it was found out that the most important professional competencies of postal operators include operational, programmatic and communicative ones. The structure of professional competence of postal operators is defined, which consists of interconnected components: cognitive (including: knowledge that a qualified worker of this profession should possess: reference and information, financial, technical and technological, normative and legal, etc.), operational (containing a number of such competencies as: operational, programmatic, and financial ones), personal and valuable (representing a set of personal and professional qualities of a future qualified worker, their motivational orientation; the ability to understand themselves and others, a high level of responsibility towards themselves and clients, interpersonal, communicative, cultural and linguistic, and social-psychological competences).

A basic study on presentation of improvement effect of sound environments by use of computational simulation

The purpose of this study is to propose a method of presenting information so that architectural designers who do not specialize in architectural acoustics can easily understand the problems of the sound environment. This paper focuses on presenting the effects of the sound absorbing material using the time domain finite element method (TDFEM) as a computational simulation method. First, the sound fields of different room shapes and sound absorption boundaries are analyzed using TDFEM, and the changes between the sound fields are confirmed by room acoustic parameters at each sound receiving point. Next, visualization and auralization of those sound fields are attempted. The visualization allowed for a detailed capture of changes in sound pressure distribution due to differences in room boundary conditions. As for auralization, subjective differences in sound fields with different boundary conditions were confirmed using the paired comparison method.

Developing physical softness models for facial tissue products

A series of physical softness models were developed for facial tissue products. To this end, subjective softness data were obtained by panelists by means of round-robin pair-comparison methods. Overall softness was found to mainly consist of bulk and surface softness. Bulk softness was determined by measuring the tensile modulus (TM) from tensile testing. In contrast, the surface softness considered the mean absolute deviation (RMAD) from the roughness average (Ra) and the mean absolute deviation (FMAD) from the average coefficient of friction (), respectively, which were determined by profilometry. The developed models exhibited strong correlations with subjective softness. In particular, surface softness was found to contribute more to the overall softness than bulk softness. Overall, the developed models can serve as guidance for developing tissue products.

IMPROVING THE MECHANISM OF ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL ENSURING OF THE FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC SECURITY OF THE STATE

The main purpose of the article is to improve the mechanism of administrative and legal ensuring for the financial and economic security (FES) of the state. The object of the study is to ensure the FES of the state. The scientific task is to formulate blocks for improving the mechanism of administrative and legal ensuring for the FES of the state, taking into account measures to counter the negative impact of threats to this type of security at the state level. The methodology includes methods, such as the method of analysis and synthesis for research and work with information and information on the issue, as well as the abstract-logical method, which helped to generalize this and draw conclusions, expert analysis to determine the main threats and the method of paired comparisons to streamline administrative and legal measures to counter the main threats to ensure the FES of the state, which serves as the basis for improving the mechanism. The study proves that the mechanism of administrative and legal ensuring for the FES of the state should include measures to counter the negative impact of the main threats, the influence of which is increasing due to the dynamism of the external environment. A methodology for determining the priority of implementing administrative and legal measures to counter threats to ensuring the FES of the state is presented, which served as the basis for improving the mechanism. The author's novelty lies in the presentation of the improvement process the mechanism of administrative and legal ensuring for the FES of the state. The study has two main limitations: not taking into account all possible threats during the expert analysis and taking into account the specifics of only Ukraine and its characteristics and conditions for the development of security as a result of the war.

Magnetic cortical oscillations associated with subjective auditory coolness during paired comparison of time-varying HVAC sounds.

The impressions of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) sounds are important for the comfort people experience in their living spaces. Revealing neural substrates of the impressions induced by HVAC sounds can help to develop neurophysiological indices of the comfort of HVAC sounds. There have been numerous studies on the brain activities associated with the pleasantness of sounds, but few on the brain activities associated with the thermal impressions of HVAC sounds. Seven time-varying HVAC sounds were synthesized as stimuli using amplitude modulation. Six participants took part in subjective evaluation tests and MEG measurements. Subjective coolness of the HVAC sounds was measured using the paired comparison method. Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) measurements were carried out while participants listened to and compared the time-varying HVAC sounds. Time-frequency analysis and cluster-based analysis were performed on the MEG data. The subjective evaluation tests showed that the subjective coolness of the amplitude-modulated HVAC sounds was affected by the modulation frequency, and that there was individual difference in subjective coolness. A cluster-based analysis of the MEG data revealed that the brain activities of two participants significantly differed when they listened to cooler or less cool HVAC sounds. The frontal low-theta (4-5 Hz) and the temporal alpha (8-13 Hz) activities were observed. The frontal low-theta and the temporal alpha activities may be associated with the coolness of HVAC sound. This result suggests that the comfort level of HVAC sound can be evaluated and individually designed using neurophysiological measurements.

Subjective salience and the effects of familiarity with birdsongs and insect songs in noise environments

In Japan, birdsong is used to communicate the position of stairwells to visually impaired people at train stations. However, more than 40% of visually impaired people reported that such sounds were difficult to identify. Train companies seek to present sounds that are loud enough to be detected, but not loud enough to cause annoyance in noise environments. In this study, we examined the salience of different types of bird and insect songs in noise environments. We evaluated the subjective saliences of bird and insect songs with equal sound pressure levels using paired comparison methods. A total of 25 participants evaluated six types of bird and insect songs under three noise conditions. The relationships among subjective salience, physical parameters, and familiarity were examined. The results indicated that the sounds of Horornis diphone and Meimuna opalifera were the most salient types of birdsongs and insect songs, respectively, in noise environments. The degree of temporal and spectral change, binaural similarity, pitch, pitch strength, and familiarity were significant predictors of the subjective salience of birdsongs and insect songs in noise environments.This study contributes to enhance the safety of visually challenged people and to create a more attractive sound environment.

Effective Vowel Stimuli for Measuring Occlusion Effect in the Pediatric Population

Past studies have reported that there are higher sound-pressure levels for each vowel in a child’s ear canal than those in adults due to reduced volume and a shorter ear canal. Furthermore, longer vocal tracts are associated with lower formant frequencies, and vice versa. The structural differences in this regard may reflect the difference in the occlusion effect. Thus, the present study compares the sound pressure levels (SPLs) and first formant frequencies of children and adults with normal hearing and determines the best vowel stimulus to assess the occlusion effect. A repeated measures research design was utilized to investigate the best stimulus with which to measure the occlusion effect among children and adults. Group 1 included ten children, and Group 2 comprised ten adults with normal hearing. The SPLs at frequencies between 200 Hz and 1000 Hz for three uttered vowels, with steps of 100 Hz, were measured using a hearing aid analyzer. The recorded vowels were saved in a ‘.wav’ format for formant frequency analysis. Furthermore, a paired comparison method was used to identify the vowel stimulus that most effectively induced the occlusion effect. A significantly higher SPL was observed for children compared to adults for each vowel. The formant frequency F1 value was higher for children than adults for each vowel, constituting a significant finding. In the paired comparison, the occlusion effect was reported to be significantly greater with respect to the vowel /u/ among adults, while it was reported to be greater in relation to the vowel /i/ among children. The vowel /u/ was the best stimulus with which to assess the occlusion effect among adults. The vowel /i/ was the best stimulus with which to assess the occlusion effect among children.

Determining the relative salience of recognised push variables on health professional decisions to leave the UK National Health Service (NHS) using the method of paired comparisons

ObjectiveThe primary and secondary impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic are claimed to have had a detrimental impact on health professional retention within the UK National Health Service (NHS). This study...

Оценка диагностических параметров сложных систем на водном транспорте на основе энтропийного подхода

The purpose of the work is to develop and improve the methods of computer modeling and digitalization of the choice of diagnostic parameters of complex technical systems to the maximum informativeness. The entropy method 
 of estimating the technical state of systems is based on the existence of a functional dependence of random variables characterizing the behavior of elements, which is always between two critical states: absolute integrity and complete additivity. The complexity of the interaction of elements in stochastic systems determines the need to search for effective algorithms based on fundamental entropy models and methods for finding the best solutions for monitoring and control. Models and algorithms for estimating the parameters of the technical condition and operational indicators of systems in the process of monitoring are improved on the MATLAB digital platform and its applications. It is noted that for systems of high complexity, a method of control is proposed, based on the entropic assessment of information as the most universal and applicable in technical, biological, economic, social and other systems that are difficult to analyze and formalize. It is shown that the entropic method of selecting the most informative control nodes in the design of diagnostic systems for technical means and technological processes at water transport facilities can significantly increase reliability and ensure the trouble-free operation of controlled facilities. The entropy method of estimating information content, based on the difference in entropies of the initial and subsequent states of the system, is used to solve specific problems given in the examples. An algorithm for ranking diagnostic parameters based on the method of pair comparisons is proposed, on the basis of which the minimax problem is solved: the maximum information content of the selected diagnosable nodes of the system is ensured with a minimum set of controlled parameters.

МЕКТЕП ОҚУЛЫҚТАРЫНДАҒЫ МӘТІН СИПАТТАМАСЫ МЕН ЭЛЕМЕНТТЕРІН ДИДАКТИКАЛЫҚ БАҒАЛАУ

The article considers the issue of their qualitative and quantitative analysis in order to assess the amount of information contained in school textbooks and its complexity. To solve it, the method of paired comparison of the complexity of concepts was used and an analysis was carried out using special computer programs. Programs for counting the number of names of scientific terms in texts contained in school textbooks allow you to compare the didactic complexity of textbooks. All this makes it possible to assess the level of complexity and information saturation of various topics of the school. A textbook on the subject "Mathematics" was offered for study.

Years lived with disability of cancer in China: findings from disability weights measurement with a focus on the effect of disease burden

Disability weights are crucial for quantifying health loss associated with non-fatal outcomes and were not well assessed in different countries, especially for specific cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to identify disability weights with a focus on specific cancer in a large Chinese population. Two types of web surveys were conducted, and 254 health states, including 30 new states for specific cancer, were investigated using paired comparison methods. The years lived with disability (YLDs) of cancer were calculated as the sum of the prevalence of each sequela of cancer multiplied by its relative disability weight. In total, 44,069 participants were eligible for the disability weights study. The disability weights of 254 health states were estimated. Among those, the disability weights of 18 specific cancer types varied greatly at diagnosis and primary treatment stage, with the value ranging from 0.619 (95% uncertainty interval (UI) 0.606–0.632) for brain cancer to 0.167 (95% UI 0.158–0.176) for oropharyngeal cancer. The discrepancy in YLDs calculated by different disability weights was high, and the largest gap for all cancer combined was approximately 30.14%. When calculated using the cancer-specific disability weights, a total of 1,967,830 (95% UI 1,928,880–2,008,060) YLDs of cancer were recorded in China. The disability weights of cancer varied greatly among cancer types and populations, which had considerable influence on the estimation of the disease burden. Cancer-specific disability weights could provide a more accurate evaluation of the cancer burden.

Analisis kesediaan membayar dan kesediaan menerima tata kelola bencana banjir pada daerah aliran Sungai Wosi

Wosi is a sub-district located in Manokwari Regency and is a part of the Wosi River Alisan Area (DAS) which has vulnerability to forest cover due to the conversion of settlements and trade centers. Based on this, it is necessary to mitigate the flood disaster structure or carry out flood risk management. One of the government's efforts or policies in flood risk management in Wosi Village is to restore the function of the Wosi watershed through relocation. The Willingness to Pay (WTP) and Willingness to Accept (WTA) approaches related to relocation problems can estimate the WTP and WTA values so that they can optimize the form of policies in reducing flood risk. The results of the analysis show that first, Willingness to Pay flood disaster management through relocation is significantly influenced by education level, income, number of dependents, length of stay and area of residence. Willing to accept a compensation fund of approximately Rp. 32,000,000 to Rp. 506.666,666 and Total WTA is around 1,096,000,000. WTP funds that are willing to be paid are Rp. 82,655,533 (Average WTP) and Rp. 2,479,666,000 (Total value of WTP). The amount of Willingness to Accept is smaller than Willingness to Pay, proving that the paired comparison method can reduce the WTA-WTP gap. In addition, the community's understanding of flood risk reduction in the Wosi watershed is still not optimal, so that the efforts of all parties, especially the local government, in carrying out various policies, plans, and programs that can contribute to risk reduction.

Investigation of Text-Background Lightness Combination on Visual Clarity Using a Head-Up Display under Various Surround Conditions and Different Age Groups

Up until now, head-up displays (HUDs) have been installed in front of the driver’s seat to provide drivers with auxiliary information. It may be used in various surroundings, ranging from very dark to very bright environments, such as daylight. A suitable text-background lightness combination can improve the driver’s visual clarity and efficiency when identifying displayed information to raise driving safety. Although many kinds of HUDs are designed to improve visual clarity by adjusting brightness, few studies have investigated the influence of the text-background lightness combination of a HUD on visibility, especially as the lighting level of the driving condition changes dramatically. In the study, 60 observers, comprising 20 young, 20 middle-aged, and 20 older participants, evaluated the visual clarity of 20 text-background lightness combinations on a HUD using paired comparison methods under dark and daylight surroundings (i.e., 300, 1500, and 9000 lx conditions). As a result, the combination of white text on a black background and black text on a white background presented the most significant preference and the best visual clarity under dark and daylight surroundings, respectively, improving visual safety when driving.

Disability weight measurement for the severity of different diseases in Wuhan, China

BackgroundMeasurement of the Chinese burden of disease with disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) requires disability weight (DW) that quantify health losses for all non-fatal consequences of disease and injury. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2013 DW study indicates that it is limited by lack of geographic variation in DW data and by the current measurement methodology. We aim to estimate DW for a set of health states from major diseases in the Wuhan population.MethodsWe conducted the DW measurement study for 206 health states through a household survey with computer-assisted face-to-face interviews and a web-based survey. Based on GBD 2013 DW study, paired comparison (PC) and Population health equivalence (PHE) method was used and different PC/PHE questions were randomly assigned to each respondent. In statistical analysis, the PC data was analyzed by probit regression. The probit regression results will be anchored by results from the PHE data analyzed by interval regression on the DW scale units between 0 (no loss of health) and 1 (loss equivalent to death).ResultsA total of 2610 and 3140 individuals were included in the household and web-based survey, respectively. The results from the total pooled data showed health state “mild anemia” (DW = 0.005, 95% UI 0.000–0.027) or “allergic rhinitis (hay fever)” (0.005, 95% UI 0.000–0.029) had the lowest DW and “heroin and other opioid dependence, severe” had the highest DW (0.699, 95% UI 0.579–0.827). A high correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r = 0.876; P < 0.001) for DWs of same health states was observed between Wuhan’s survey and GBD 2013 DW survey. Health states referred to mental symptom, fatigue, and the residual category of other physical symptoms were statistically significantly associated with a lower Wuhan’s DWs than the GBD’s DWs. Health states with disfigurement and substance use symptom had a higher DW in Wuhan population than the GBD 2013 study.ConclusionsThis set of DWs could be used to calculate local diseases burden for health policy-decision in Wuhan population. The DW differences between the GBD’s survey and Wuhan’s survey suggest that there might be some contextual or culture factors influencing assessment on the severity of diseases.

Cognition Test Battery Survey: Development of a Single Alertness and Mood Score for Short- and Long-Duration Spaceflight

Astronaut behavioral and mental health are key factors for space mission success. NASA’s Cognition test battery is often preceded by a brief 18-item Alertness and Mood Survey (AMS) adding subjective assessments to Cognition’s 10 objective neuropsychological tests. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to generate a single AMS summary score for short (&lt;6 months) and long (&gt;6 months) space missions based on the relevance of individual items. With the paired comparison (PC) method, 19 subject matter experts (SMEs) were asked to rate the relevance of 14 AMS items for astronaut behavioral health. Boredom (22.1% of comparisons), monotony (23.1%), and sleepiness (35.6%) were considered the least relevant, and health (74.3%), depression (76.5%), and crew conflicts (77.9%) were considered the most relevant by SMEs. Six of the fourteen items differed statistically significantly between PCs for short- and long-duration missions: sleepiness, tiredness, energy level, and mental status were considered more relevant for short-duration missions, while monotony and loneliness were considered more relevant for long-duration missions (all adjusted p &lt; 0.05). We also demonstrated systematic changes in AMS summary scores during a 60-day 6° head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR) study, with increased alertness and mood disturbance during and after the HDBR period relative to pre-HDBR levels. This analysis identified the AMS domains considered most relevant for space mission success by SMEs, and highlighted differences between long- and short-duration missions. The resulting AMS summary scores were based on item relevance and will be useful for monitoring astronaut behavioral health on short- and long-duration space missions.