Economic evaluation of the spanish port system using the promethee multicriteria decision method

Due to legislation changes during the Nineties, the Spanish Port System has gone through a series of changes that, simultaneous with a period of economic expansion and generalized marine traffic growth, have affected the Port System’s composition, organization and operation. The gradual transformations produced by this context, give shape to a new model of operation for Port Authorities, which now start to be managed under business criteria and procedures of functional autonomy, competition, effectiveness and profit, moving away from State dependency, and at the same time allowing greater participation of regional governments. As a result, general purpose Spanish ports develop their activity in a very competitive market, where self financing and financial sufficiency prevail as high-priority management goals. Our work considers these circumstances from the approach offered by multiple objective decision models, in order to study the performance evolution of Port Authorities, using certain ratios with economic meaning which will allow determining how their relative ranking within the national set has varied. The great variety of available business ratios and the different concepts to analyze give the problem a discrete multicriteria dimension. Thus we have chosen the Promethee method for our analysis, given its results simplicity and easy understanding for the decision agent, the economic interpretation of its parameters, and the stability of its results. In addition, scale effects between different alternatives are eliminated, allowing the possibility of incomparability among them and offering a sensitivity analysis of the effects.

Operationalizing the circular city model for naples' city-port: A hybrid development strategy

The city-port context involves a decisive reality for the economic development of territories and nations, capable of significantly influencing the conditions of well-being and quality of life, and of making the Circular City Model (CCM) operational, preserving and enhancing seas and marine resources in a sustainable way. This can be achieved through the construction of appropriate production and consumption models, with attention to relations with the urban and territorial system. This paper presents an adaptive decision-making process for Naples (Italy) commercial port's development strategies, aimed at re-establishing a sustainable city-port relationship and making Circular Economy (CE) principles operative. The approach has aimed at implementing a CCM by operationalizing European recommendations provided within both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework-specifically focusing on goals 9, 11 and 12-and the Maritime Spatial Planning European Directive 2014/89, to face conflicts about the overlapping areas of the city-port through multidimensional evaluations' principles and tools. In this perspective, a four-step methodological framework has been structured applying a place-based approach with mixed evaluation methods, eliciting soft and hard knowledge domains, which have been expressed and assessed by a core set of Sustainability Indicators (SI), linked to SDGs. The contribution outcomes have been centred on the assessment of three design alternatives for the East Naples port and the development of a hybrid regeneration scenario consistent with CE and sustainability principles. The structured decision-making process has allowed us to test how an adaptive approach can expand the knowledge base underpinning policy design and decisions to achieve better outcomes and cultivate a broad civic and technical engagement, that can enhance the legitimacy and transparency of policies

Public initiatives of settlement transformation. A theoretical-methodological approach to selecting tools of multi-criteria decision analysis

In Europe, the operating context in which initiatives of settlement transformation are currently initiated is characterized by a complex, elaborate combination of technical, regulatory and governance-related factors. A similar set of considerations makes it necessary to address the complex decision-making problems to be resolved through multidisciplinary, comparative approaches designed to rationalize the process and treat the elements to be considered in systematic fashion with respect to the range of alternatives available as solutions. Within a context defined in this manner, decision-making processes must often be used to obtain multidisciplinary and multidimensional analyses to support the choices made by the decision-makers. Such analyses are carried out using multi-criteria tools designed to arrive at syntheses of the numerous forms of input data needed to describe decision-making problems of similar complexity, so that one or more outcomes of the synthesis make possible informed, well thought-out, strategic decisions. The technical literature on the topic proposes numerous tools of multi-criteria analysis for application in different decision-making contexts. Still, no specific contributions have been drawn up to date on the approach to take in selecting the tool best suited to providing adequate responses to the queries of evaluation that arise most frequently in the various fields of application, and especially in the settlement sector. The objective of this paper is to propose, by formulating a taxonomy of the endogenous and exogenous variables of tools of multi-criteria analysis, a methodology capable of selecting the tool best suited to the queries of evaluation which arise regarding the chief categories of decision-making problems, and particularly in the settlement sector

A Methodology for the Selection of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Methods in Real Estate and Land Management Processes

Real estate and land management are characterised by a complex, elaborate combination of technical, regulatory and governmental factors. In Europe, Public Administrators must address the complex decision-making problems that need to be resolved, while also acting in consideration of the expectations of the different stakeholders involved in settlement transformation. In complex situations (e.g., with different aspects to be considered and multilevel actors involved), decision-making processes are often used to solve multidisciplinary and multidimensional analyses, which support the choices of those who are making the decision. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) methods are included among the examination and evaluation techniques considered useful by the European Community. Such analyses and techniques are performed using methods, which aim to reach a synthesis of the various forms of input data needed to define decision-making problems of a similar complexity. Thus, one or more of the conclusions reached allow for informed, well thought-out, strategic decisions. According to the technical literature on MCDA, numerous methods are applicable in different decision-making situations, however, advice for selecting the most appropriate for the specific field of application and problem have not been thoroughly investigated. In land and real estate management, numerous queries regarding evaluations often arise. In brief, the objective of this paper is to outline a procedure with which to select the method best suited to the specific queries of evaluation, which commonly arise while addressing decision-making problems. In particular issues of land and real estate management, representing the so-called “settlement sector”. The procedure will follow a theoretical-methodological approach by formulating a taxonomy of the endogenous and exogenous variables of the multi-criteria analysis method

Visual management of performance with PROMETHEE productivity analysis

Multi-criteria decision analysis has been used to solve many problems. Here we describe an adaptation of PROMETHEE for measuring productivity. The results of PROMETHEE productivity analysis are displayed graphically, permitting the user to distinguish easily between four types of action: efficient, effective, frugal and inefficient actions. The productivity graph can be used for visual management and provides a simple, effective means of improving information communication within an organisation. It enhances transparency and promotes continuous improvement. Steps can be taken to improve ineffective actions using peer(s) on the frontier as example. To illustrate the use of the method we analysed the productivity of British universities. Only two old and two of the most recent universities were found to be on the frontier. Almost all of the most recent universities were classed as frugal and post-92 universities tended to be inefficient. Large old universities were generally classed as effective.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ): A Comparison between TOPSIS- and PROMETHEE-Based Approaches for Indirect Eliciting of Category Weights

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) has received a great deal of attention in recent years due to the relationship between worker comfort and productivity. Many academics have studied IEQ from both a building design and an IEQ assessment perspective. This latter line of research has mostly used direct eliciting to obtain weights assigned to IEQ categories such as thermal comfort, visual comfort, acoustic comfort, and indoor air quality. We found only one application of indirect eliciting in the literature. Such indirect eliciting operates without the need for imprecise direct weighing and requires only comfort evaluations, which is in line with the Industry 5.0 paradigm of individual, dynamic, and integrated IEQ evaluation. In this paper, we use a case study to compare the only indirect eliciting model already applied to IEQ, based on TOPSIS, to an indirect eliciting method based on PROMETHEE and to a classical direct eliciting method (AHP). The results demonstrate the superiority of indirect eliciting in reconstructing individual preferences related to perceived global comfort

Cyber-Physical Systems: a multi-criteria assessment for Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems

This research work was partially supported by funds provided by the European Commission in the scope of FoF/H2020-636909 C2NET, FoF/H2020-723710 vf-OS and ICT/H2020-825631 ZDMP.This article addresses a multi-criteria decision problem regarding the more suitable device (system) to perform a task for cyber-physical systems. New embedded systems provided everyday makes engineers’ decision very difficult. Components are proposed to formally describe solutions, criteria, constraints and priorities, taking into account users’ specific aspects. To materialise all formal descriptions, a model-driven approach is followed, allowing the design of enablers for interoperability with standards. It is enabled the use of different software languages and decision methods. Proposed framework enables a better Internet-of-Things system selection, and therefore stakeholders can perform a more suitable design of their cyber-physical enterprise systems.authorsversioninpres

Industry 4.0—from Smart Factory to Cognitive Cyberphysical Production System and Cloud Manufacturing

This book focuses on recent developments in new industrial platforms, with Industry 4.0 on its way to becoming Industry 5.0. The book covers smart decision support systems for green and sustainable machining, microscale machining, cyber-physical production networks, and the optimization of assembly lines. The modern multiobjective algorithms and multicriteria decision-making methods are applied to various real-world industrial problems. The emerging problem of cybersecurity in advanced technologies is addressed as well

MCDA for sustainability assessment – insights to Helmholtz Association activities

The "MCDA for sustainability assessment – insights to Helmholtz Association activities" Working Paper aims to compile and reflect previous and on-going work within the Helmholtz Association related to MCDA, in particular, to present use cases and key methodological aspects. It has a focus on but is not limited to energy technologies and systems and is mainly based on the presentations held at the online workshop “Multi criteria decision analysis for sustainability assessment of energy technologies and systems”. The workshop was organized within the activities of the Helmholtz program ESD Topic 1 "Energy System Transformation" and took place on November 22nd, 2021