Novel applications of bipolar single-valued neutrosophic competition graphs

Bipolar single-valued neutrosophic models are the generalization of bipolar fuzzy models. We first introduce the concept of bipolar single-valued neutrosophic competition graphs. We then, discuss some important propositions related to bipolar single-valued neutrosophic competition graphs. We define bipolar single-valued neutrosophic economic competition graphs and m-step bipolar single-valued neutrosophic economic competition graphs. Further, we describe applications of bipolar single-valued neutrosophic competition graphs in organizational designations and brands competition. Finally, we present our improved methods by algorithms.     

A fuzzy soft set theoretic approach to decision making problems

The problem of decision making in an imprecise environment has found paramount importance in recent years. A novel method of object recognition from an imprecise multiobserver data has been presented here. The method involves construction of a Comparison Table from a fuzzy soft set in a parametric sense for decision making.     

A fuzzy closeness approach to fuzzy multi-attribute decision making

The aim of this paper is to develop a new fuzzy closeness (FC) methodology for multi-attribute decision making (MADM) in fuzzy environments, which is an important research field in decision science and operations research. The TOPSIS method based on an aggregating function representing “closeness to the ideal solution” is one of the well-known MADM methods. However, while the highest ranked alternative by the TOPSIS method is the best in terms of its ranking index, this does not mean that it is always the closest to the ideal solution. Furthermore, the TOPSIS method presumes crisp data while fuzziness is inherent in decision data and decision making processes, so that fuzzy ratings using linguistic variables are better suited for assessing decision alternatives. In this paper, a new FC method for MADM under fuzzy environments is developed by introducing a multi-attribute ranking index based on the particular measure of closeness to the ideal solution, which is developed from the fuzzy weighted Minkowski distance used as an aggregating function in a compromise programming method. The FC method of compromise ranking determines a compromise solution, providing a maximum “group utility” for the “majority” and a minimum individual regret for the “opponent”. A real example of a personnel selection problem is examined to demonstrate the implementation process of the method proposed in this paper.     

Continuous interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy aggregation operators and their applications to group decision making

In this paper, we introduce a new operator called the continuous interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy ordered weighted averaging (C-IVIFOWA) operator for aggregating the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy values. It combines the intuitionistic fuzzy ordered weighted averaging (IFOWA) operator and the continuous ordered weighted averaging (C-OWA) operator by a controlling parameter, which can be employed to diminish fuzziness and improve the accuracy of decision making. We further apply the C-IVIFOWA operator to the aggregation of multiple interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy values and obtain a wide range of aggregation operators including the weighted C-IVIFOWA (WC-IVIFOWA) operator, the ordered weighted (OWC-IVIFOWA) operator and the combined C-IVIFOWA (CC-IVIFOWA) operator. Some desirable properties of these operators are investigated. And finally, we give a numerical example to illustrate the applications of these operators to group decision making under interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy environment.     

Some similarity measures of intuitionistic fuzzy sets and their applications to multiple attribute decision making

Atanassov (1986) defined the notion of intuitionistic fuzzy set, which is a generalization of the notion of Zadeh’ fuzzy set. In this paper, we first develop some similarity measures of intuitionistic fuzzy sets. Then, we define the notions of positive ideal intuitionistic fuzzy set and negative ideal intuitionistic fuzzy set. Finally, we apply the similarity measures to multiple attribute decision making under intuitionistic fuzzy environment.     

Application of fuzzy decision making to the fuzzy finite element method

In this paper we present a new approach to handle uncertainty in the Finite Element Method. As this technique is widely used to tackle real-life design problems, it is also very prone to parameter-uncertainty. It is hard to make a good decision regarding design optimization if no claim can be made with respect to the outcome of the simulation. We propose an approach that combines several techniques in order to offer a total order on the possible design choices, taking the inherent fuzziness into account. Additionally we propose a more efficient ordering procedure to build a total order on fuzzy numbers.     

Discrete optimization algorithms and problems of decision making in a fuzzy environment

An approach to solving optimization problems with fuzzy coefficients is described. It consists in formulating and analyzing one and the same problem within the framework of mutually related models by constructing equivalent analogs with fuzzy coefficients in objective functions alone. Since the approach is applied within the context of fuzzy discrete optimization problems, modified algorithms of discrete optimization are discussed. These algorithms are based on a combination of formal and heuristic procedures and allow one to obtain quasi-optimal solutions after a small number of steps, thus overcoming the computational complexity posed by the NP-completeness of discrete optimization problems. The subsequent contraction of the decision uncertainty regions is associated with reduction of the problem to multiobjective decision making in a fuzzy environment using techniques based on fuzzy preference relations. The results of the paper are of a universal character and are already being used to solve practical problems in several fields.     

Aggregation of fuzzy preference relations to multicriteria decision making

Weighted aggregation of fuzzy preference relations on the set of alternatives by several criteria in decision-making problems is considered. Pairwise comparisons with respect to importance of the criteria are given in fuzzy preference relation as well. The aggregation procedure uses the composition between each two relations of the alternatives. The membership function of the newly constructed fuzzy preference relation includes t-norms and t-conorms to take into account the relation between the criteria importance. Properties of the composition and new relation, giving a possibility to make a consistent choice or to rank the alternatives, are proved. An illustrative numerical study and comparative examples are presented.     

Application of fuzzy soft set in decision making problems based on grey theory

There are many uncertain problems in practical production and life which need decisions made with soft sets and fuzzy soft sets. However, the basis of evaluation of the decision method is single and simple, the same decision problem can obtain different results from using a different evaluation basis. In this paper, in order to obtain the right result, we discuss fuzzy soft set decision problems. A new algorithm based on grey relational analysis is presented. The evaluation bases of the new algorithm are multiple. There is more information in a decision result based on multiple evaluation bases, which is more easily accepted and logical to one’s thinking. For the two cases examined, the results show that the new algorithm is efficient for solving decision problems.     

Application of fuzzy soft set in decision making problems based on grey theory

There are many uncertain problems in practical production and life which need decisions made with soft sets and fuzzy soft sets. However, the basis of evaluation of the decision method is single and simple, the same decision problem can obtain different results from using a different evaluation basis. In this paper, in order to obtain the right result, we discuss fuzzy soft set decision problems. A new algorithm based on grey relational analysis is presented. The evaluation bases of the new algorithm are multiple. There is more information in a decision result based on multiple evaluation bases, which is more easily accepted and logical to one’s thinking. For the two cases examined, the results show that the new algorithm is efficient for solving decision problems.     

Approaches to collective decision making with fuzzy preference relations

Recent experimental studies show that the predictive accuracy of many of the solution concepts derived from the collective decision making theory leaves much to be desired. In a previous paper the author attempted to explain some of the inaccuracies in terms of the fuzzy indifference regions of the individuals participating in the voting game. This paper gives straightforward generalizations of the solutions concepts in terms of the fuzzy social or individual preference relations. It turns out that some of these new solution concepts cotain their nonfuzzy counterparts as subsets. Others, in turn, are subsets of their nonfuzzy counterparts. We also discuss a method of aggregating individual nonfuzzy preferences so as to get a fuzzy social preference relation and, furthermore, a nonfuzzy social choice set.     

Intuitionistic fuzzy soft graphs with applications

We present different types of new concepts, including intuitionistic fuzzy soft graphs, complete intuitionistic fuzzy soft graph, strong intuitionistic fuzzy soft graph and self complement of intuitionistic fuzzy soft graph. We describe various methods of their construction, and investigate some of their related properties. We also discuss applications of intuitionistic fuzzy soft graphs in communication network and decision making.     

Correlation coefficient of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets and its application to multiple attribute group decision making problems

In this paper, we investigate the group decision making problems in which all the information provided by the decision-makers is presented as interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrices where each of the elements is characterized by interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy number (IVIFN), and the information about attribute weights is partially known. First, we use the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy hybrid geometric (IIFHG) operator to aggregate all individual interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrices provided by the decision-makers into the collective interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrix, and then we use the score function to calculate the score of each attribute value and construct the score matrix of the collective interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrix. From the score matrix and the given attribute weight information, we establish an optimization model to determine the weights of attributes, and then we use the obtained attribute weights and the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy weighted geometric (IIFWG) operator to fuse the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy information in the collective interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrix to get the overall interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy values of alternatives, and then rank the alternatives according to the correlation coefficients between IVIFNs and select the most desirable one(s). Finally, a numerical example is used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach.     

Extension of the TOPSIS method for decision making problems under interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy environment

TOPSIS is one of the well-known methods for multiple attribute decision making (MADM). In this paper, we extend the TOPSIS method to solve multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) problems in interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy environment in which all the preference information provided by the decision-makers is presented as interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrices where each of the elements is characterized by interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy number (IVIFNs), and the information about attribute weights is partially known. First, we use the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy hybrid geometric (IIFHG) operator to aggregate all individual interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrices provided by the decision-makers into the collective interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrix, and then we use the score function to calculate the score of each attribute value and construct the score matrix of the collective interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrix. From the score matrix and the given attribute weight information, we establish an optimization model to determine the weights of attributes, and construct the weighted collective interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy decision matrix, and then determine the interval-valued intuitionistic positive-ideal solution and interval-valued intuitionistic negative-ideal solution. Based on different distance definitions, we calculate the relative closeness of each alternative to the interval-valued intuitionistic positive-ideal solution and rank the alternatives according to the relative closeness to the interval-valued intuitionistic positive-ideal solution and select the most desirable one(s). Finally, an example is used to illustrate the applicability of the proposed approach.     

Hesitant fuzzy information aggregation in decision making

As a generalization of fuzzy set, hesitant fuzzy set is a very useful tool in situations where there are some difficulties in determining the membership of an element to a set caused by a doubt between a few different values. The aim of this paper is to develop a series of aggregation operators for hesitant fuzzy information. We first discuss the relationship between intutionistic fuzzy set and hesitant fuzzy set, based on which we develop some operations and aggregation operators for hesitant fuzzy elements. The correlations among the aggregation operators are further discussed. Finally, we give their application in solving decision making problems.     

An adjustable approach to fuzzy soft set based decision making

Molodtsov’s soft set theory was originally proposed as a general mathematical tool for dealing with uncertainty. Recently, decision making based on (fuzzy) soft sets has found paramount importance. This paper aims to give deeper insights into decision making based on fuzzy soft sets. We discuss the validity of the Roy-Maji method and show its true limitations. We point out that the choice value designed for the crisp case is no longer fit to solve decision making problems involving fuzzy soft sets. By means of level soft sets, we present an adjustable approach to fuzzy soft set based decision making and give some illustrative examples. Moreover, the weighted fuzzy soft set is introduced and its application to decision making is also investigated.     

Multi-attribute decision making with generalized fuzzy numbers

This paper proposes a multi-attribute decision-making method with generalized fuzzy numbers (GFNs). In the proposed method, the distance between GFNs is calculated using the Hausdorff distance. Based on the maximizing deviation degree, the attribute weights are determined by a linear programming model. Furthermore, a ranking formula with a modified possibility degree is adopted to rank alternatives. A numerical example is introduced to validate the proposed model, and the results indicate that the proposed model offers a practical and effective way to meet the different assessment requirements of decision makers.     

The extended QUALIFLEX method for multiple criteria decision analysis based on interval type-2 fuzzy sets and applications to medical decision making

QUALIFLEX, a generalization of Jacquet-Lagreze’s permutation method, is a useful outranking method in decision analysis because of its flexibility with respect to cardinal and ordinal information. This paper develops an extended QUALIFLEX method for handling multiple criteria decision-making problems in the context of interval type-2 fuzzy sets. Interval type-2 fuzzy sets contain membership values that are crisp intervals, which are the most widely used of the higher order fuzzy sets because of their relative simplicity. Using the linguistic rating system converted into interval type-2 trapezoidal fuzzy numbers, the extended QUALIFLEX method investigates all possible permutations of the alternatives with respect to the level of concordance of the complete preference order. Based on a signed distance-based approach, this paper proposes the concordance/discordance index, the weighted concordance/discordance index, and the comprehensive concordance/discordance index as evaluative criteria of the chosen hypothesis for ranking the alternatives. The feasibility and applicability of the proposed methods are illustrated by a medical decision-making problem concerning acute inflammatory demyelinating disease, and a comparative analysis with another outranking approach is conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.     

An adjustable approach to intuitionistic fuzzy soft sets based decision making

Molodtsov initiated the concept of soft set theory, which can be used as a generic mathematical tool for dealing with uncertainty. There has been some progress concerning practical applications of soft set theory, especially the use of soft sets in decision making. In this paper we generalize the adjustable approach to fuzzy soft sets based decision making. Concretely, we present an adjustable approach to intuitionistic fuzzy soft sets based decision making by using level soft sets of intuitionistic fuzzy soft sets and give some illustrative examples. The properties of level soft sets are presented and discussed. Moreover, we also introduce the weighted intuitionistic fuzzy soft sets and investigate its application to decision making.