On Dynamic Consensus Processes in Group Decision Making Problems

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Consensus in group decision making requires discussion and deliberation between the group members with the aim to reach a decision that reflects the opinions of every group member in order for it to be acceptable by everyone. Traditionally, the consensus reaching problem is theoretically modelled as a multi stage negotiation process, i.e. an iterative process with a number of negotiation rounds, which ends when the consensus level achieved reaches a minimum required threshold value. In real world decision situations, both the consensus process environment and specific parameters of the theoretical model can change during the negotiation period. Consequently, there is a need for developing dynamic consensus process models to represent effectively and realistically the dynamic nature of the group decision making problem. Indeed, over the past few years, static consensus models have given way to new dynamic approaches in order to manage parameter variability or to adapt to environment changes. This paper presents a systematic literature review on the recent evolution of consensus reaching models under dynamic environments and critically analyse their advantages and limitations

Decision support systems for large dam planning and operation in Africa

Decision support systems/ Dams/ Planning/ Operations/ Social impact/ Environmental effects

Modern software cybernetics: new trends

Software cybernetics research is to apply a variety of techniques from cybernetics research to software engineering research. For more than fifteen years since 2001, there has been a dramatic increase in work relating to software cybernetics. From cybernetics viewpoint, the work is mainly on the first-order level, namely, the software under observation and control. Beyond the first-order cybernetics, the software, developers/users, and running environments influence each other and thus create feedback to form more complicated systems. We classify software cybernetics as Software Cybernetics I based on the first-order cybernetics, and as Software Cybernetics II based on the higher order cybernetics. This paper provides a review of the literature on software cybernetics, particularly focusing on the transition from Software Cybernetics I to Software Cybernetics II. The results of the survey indicate that some new research areas such as Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, cyber-physical systems, and even creative computing are related to Software Cybernetics II. The paper identifies the relationships between the techniques of Software Cybernetics II applied and the new research areas to which they have been applied, formulates research problems and challenges of software cybernetics with the application of principles of Phase II of software cybernetics; identifies and highlights new research trends of software cybernetic for further research

Modern software cybernetics: New trends

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Software cybernetics research is to apply a variety of techniques from cybernetics research to software engineering research. For more than fifteen years since 2001, there has been a dramatic increase in work relating to software cybernetics. From cybernetics viewpoint, the work is mainly on the first-order level, namely, the software under observation and control. Beyond the first-order cybernetics, the software, developers/users, and running environments influence each other and thus create feedback to form more complicated systems. We classify software cybernetics as Software Cybernetics I based on the first-order cybernetics, and as Software Cybernetics II based on the higher order cybernetics. This paper provides a review of the literature on software cybernetics, particularly focusing on the transition from Software Cybernetics I to Software Cybernetics II. The results of the survey indicate that some new research areas such as Internet of Things, big data, cloud computing, cyber-physical systems, and even creative computing are related to Software Cybernetics II. The paper identifies the relationships between the techniques of Software Cybernetics II applied and the new research areas to which they have been applied, formulates research problems and challenges of software cybernetics with the application of principles of Phase II of software cybernetics; identifies and highlights new research trends of software cybernetic for further research