Computerized support systems for emergency decision making

In all fields of human society, occasional emergencies are almost inevitable. Once an emergency occurs, rapid and proper decision making is required. The purpose of this paper is to explore the design and development of computerized support systems for emergency decision making (EDM). First the characteristics of EDM problems are examined. Then, in view of limited human computer rationality, requirements for a computerized support system for EDM are determined. A conceptual structure for knowledge-based distributed emergency decision support systems is proposed. Finally, a prototype system for safety protection and disaster response in coal mines, developed using the proposed structure, is briefly described.This work is partly supported by the State Science and Technology Commission of China, the National Key Laboratory on Industrial Control of China and Fok Ying Tung Education Foundation.     

A fuzzy-stochastic OWA model for robust multi-criteria decision making

All realistic Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problems face various kinds of uncertainty. Since the evaluations of alternatives with respect to the criteria are uncertain they will be assumed to have stochastic nature. To obtain the uncertain optimism degree of the decision maker fuzzy linguistic quantifiers will be used. Then a new approach for fuzzy-stochastic modeling of MCDM problems will be introduced by merging the stochastic and fuzzy approaches into the OWA operator. The results of the new approach, entitled FSOWA, give the expected value and the variance of the combined goodness measure for each alternative. Robust decision depends on the combined goodness measures of alternatives and also on the variations of these measures under uncertainty. In order to combine these two characteristics a composite goodness measure will be defined. The theoretical results will be illustrated in a watershed management problem. By using this measure will give more sensitive decisions to the stakeholders whose optimism degrees are different than that of the decision maker. FSOWA can be used for robust decision making on the competitive alternatives under uncertainty.     

Organizational decision support systems: Centralized support for decentralized organizations

Organizations are becoming increasingly decentralized in their operations and decision making. Advanced information technologies provide the glue that holds such organizations together and facilitates their operations. Organizational decision support systems (ODSSs) provide mechanisms for ensuring that the decisions being made throughout such organizations are consistent with each other and with the overall organization goals. Through means of an ODSS, information and guidance is automatically passed from higher levels to lower levels for use in decision-making models.     

Multi-criteria decision making approaches for supplier evaluation and selection: A literature review

Supplier evaluation and selection problem has been studied extensively. Various decision making approaches have been proposed to tackle the problem. In contemporary supply chain management, the performance of potential suppliers is evaluated against multiple criteria rather than considering a single factor-cost. This paper reviews the literature of the multi-criteria decision making approaches for supplier evaluation and selection. Related articles appearing in the international journals from 2000 to 2008 are gathered and analyzed so that the following three questions can be answered: (i) Which approaches were prevalently applied? (ii) Which evaluating criteria were paid more attention to? (iii) Is there any inadequacy of the approaches? Based on the inadequacy, if any, some improvements and possible future work are recommended. This research not only provides evidence that the multi-criteria decision making approaches are better than the traditional cost-based approach, but also aids the researchers and decision makers in applying the approaches effectively.     

An intelligent-agent-based fuzzy group decision making model for financial multicriteria decision support: The case of credit scoring

Credit risk analysis is an active research area in financial risk management and credit scoring is one of the key analytical techniques in credit risk evaluation. In this study, a novel intelligent-agent-based fuzzy group decision making (GDM) model is proposed as an effective multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool for credit risk evaluation. In this proposed model, some artificial intelligent techniques, which are used as intelligent agents, are first used to analyze and evaluate the risk levels of credit applicants over a set of pre-defined criteria. Then these evaluation results, generated by different intelligent agents, are fuzzified into some fuzzy opinions on credit risk level of applicants. Finally, these fuzzification opinions are aggregated into a group consensus and meantime the fuzzy aggregated consensus is defuzzified into a crisp aggregated value to support final decision for decision-makers of credit-granting institutions. For illustration and verification purposes, a simple numerical example and three real-world credit application approval datasets are presented.     

Orderings based on the banks set: Some new scoring methods for multicriteria decision making

This article introduces new methods for ranking alternatives in multicriteria decision making situations. Each is based on the normative position that the strength of an alternative is inversely related to the number of alternatives that could prevent it from being chosen. The scores discriminate among elements of the Banks set (Banks, Soc Choice Welfare, 1985, 1, 295–306). The new scoring methods are compared to traditional scoring methods and related to the amount of intransitivity (specifically, the size of the top‐cycle) of aggregated preference. The new scores are shown to measure important aspects of alternatives not captured by extant scoring methods and are illustrated in collective choice settings. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 20: 63–76, 2015     

The effects of mental model formation on group decision making: An agent‐based simulation

We investigated dynamics of group decision making on complex problems when agents can form mental models of others from discussion history. Results indicated that as the agents' memory capacity increases, the group reaches superficial consensus more easily. Surprisingly, however, the shared mental model of the problem develops only within a limited area of the problem space, because incorporating knowledge from others into one's own knowledge quickly creates local agreement on where relevant solutions are, leaving other potentially useful solutions beyond the scope of discussion. The mechanisms stifling group‐level exploration and their implications for decision making research are discussed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 16: 49–57, 2011     

Least squared estimation for distributed parameter systems with uncertain observations: Part 1: linear prediction and filtering

The least mean squared error linear one-stage predictor and filter are derived for discrete-time distributed parameter systems with uncertain observations. The measurements are taken at several fixed points of the spatial domain. We have used an orthogonal projection approach. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extensions of TOPSIS for large scale multi-objective non-linear programming problems with block angular structure

This paper focuses on multi-objective large-scale non-linear programming (MOLSNLP) problems with block angular structure. We extend the technique for order preference by similarity ideal solution (TOPSIS) to solve them. Compromise (TOPSIS) control minimizes the measure of distance, provided that the closest solution should have the shortest distance from the positive ideal solution (PIS) as well as the longest distance from the negative ideal solution (NIS). As the measure of “closeness” L_P-metric is used. Thus, we reduce a q-dimensional objective space to a two-dimensional space by a first-order compromise procedure. The concept of a membership function of fuzzy set theory is used to represent the satisfaction level for both criteria. Moreover, we derive a single objective large-scale non-linear programming (LSNLP) problem using the max–min operator for the second-order compromise operation. Finally, a numerical illustrative example is given to clarify the main results developed in this paper.     

Spatial multicriteria decision support for robust land-use suitability: The case of landfill site selection in Northeastern Greece

Multicriteria spatial decision support systems (MC-SDSS) have emerged as an integration of geographical information systems (GIS) and multiple criteria decision aid (MCDA) methods for incorporating conflicting objectives and decision makers’ preferences into spatial decision models. In this paper, we present spatial UTASTAR (S-UTASTAR), a raster-based MC-SDSS for land-use suitability analysis. The multicriteria component of the system is based on the UTA-type disaggregation-aggregation approach. S-UTASTAR is applied in a raster-based case study concerning land-use suitability analysis to identify appropriate municipal solid waste landfill (MSW) sites in Northeast Greece. Moreover, robustness analysis tools are implemented to guarantee robust decision support results. More specifically, during the aggregation phase, the Stochastic Multiobjective Acceptability Analysis (SMAA) is used to indicate the frequency at which a site achieves the best ranking positions within a large set of alternative landfill sites.     

IPSSIS: An integrated multicriteria decision support system for equity portfolio construction and selection

A fundamental principle of modern portfolio theory is that comparisons between portfolios are generally made using two criteria, corresponding to the first two moments of return distributions, namely the expected return and portfolio variance. According to this model and according to most of the portfolio models derived from the stochastic dominance approach, the group of portfolios open to comparisons is divided into two parts: on the one hand there are the efficient portfolios (those that are not dominated by any other portfolio in the group), and on the other, those that are dominated. In other words, these models do not solve for one optimal portfolio, but rather solve for an efficient set of portfolios, among which the investor must choose, given his preference system. One criticism over these models, which has often been addressed both by practitioners and academics, is that they fail to embody the objectives of the decision maker (DM), through the various stages of the decision process. Our purpose in this article is to present an integrated and innovative methodological approach for the construction and selection of equity portfolios, which will take into account the inherent multidimensional nature of the problem, while allowing the DM to incorporate his preferences in the decision process. The proposed approach, which grounds its basis on the field of multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) and more specifically on multiobjective mathematical programming (MMP), is implemented in the IPSSIS (Integrated Portfolio Synthesis and Selection Information System) decision support system (DSS). The validity of the proposed approach is tested through an illustrative application in the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE).     

New stability criteria for a class of neutral systems with discrete and distributed time-delays: an LMI approach

In this paper, a problem of the asymptotic stability for a class of neutral systems with multiple discrete and distributed time-delays is considered. Lyapunov stability theory is applied to guarantee the stability for the systems. New discrete-delay-independent and discrete-delay-dependent stability conditions are derived in terms of the spectral radius and linear matrix inequality. By mathematical analysis, the stability criteria are proved to be less conservative than the ones reported in the current literatures. A numerical example is given to illustrate the availability of the proposed results.     

Designing man–machine interactions for mobile clinical systems: MET triage support using Palm handhelds

The Mobile Emergency Triage (MET) system is a clinical triage support system that aids physicians in making triage decisions as to whether a child presenting in the Emergency Department of a hospital with a specific pain complaint should be discharged to a family physician, needs to be admitted for further investigation/observation, or requires an urgent specialist consult. The system’s mobile component is designed to work on handheld computers. This paper presents our experience and discusses our original solutions with regard to designing man–machine interactions for mobile clinical support systems. The specific interactions adopted in the MET design that are discussed in the paper were created in consultation with potential end-users and tested at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.     

OPTIMAL INTERIOR PARTIAL REGULARITY FOR NONLINEAR ELLIPTIC SYSTEMS UNDER THE NATURAL GROWTH CONDITION： THE METHOD OF A-HARMONIC APPROXIMATION

In this article,the authors consider the nonlinear elliptic systems under the natural growth condition.They use a new method introduced by Duzaar and Grotowski, for proving partial regularity for weak solutions,based on a generalization of the technique of harmonic approximation.And directly establish the optimal Holder exponent for the derivative of a weak solution.     

Regularity for nonlinear elliptic systems with dini coefficients under natural growth condition for the case: 1 < m < 2

In this article, we consider interior regularity for weak solutions to nonlinear elliptic systems of divergence type with Dini continuous coefficients under natural growth condition for the case 1 < m < 2. All estimates in the case of m ≥ 2 is no longer suitable, and we can't obtain the Caccioppoli's second inequality by using these techniques developed in the case of m ≥ 2. But the Caccioppoli's second inequality is the key to use A-harmonic approximation method. Thus, we adopt another technique introduced by Acerbi and Fcsco to overcome the difficulty and we also overcome those difficulties due to Dini condition. And then we apply the A-harmonic approximation method to prove partial regularity of weak solutions.