Developing a green city assessment system using cognitive maps and the Choquet integral

Equitable human well-being and environmental concerns in urban areas have, over the years, become increasingly challenging issues. This trend is related to both the complexity inherent in the multiple factors to be considered when evaluating eco-friendly cities (i.e., green cities) and the way this type of city’s sustainability depends on many evaluation criteria, which hampers all decision-making processes. Using a multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach, this study sought to develop a multiple-criteria model that facilitates the evaluation of green cities’ sustainability, based on cognitive mapping techniques and the Choquet integral (CI). Taking a constructivist and process-oriented stance, the research included identifying evaluation criteria and their respective interactions using a panel of experts with specialized knowledge in the subject under analysis. The resulting framework and its application were validated both by the panel members and a parliamentary representative of the Portuguese ecology party “Os Verdes” (The Greens), who confirmed that the evaluation system created distinguishes between cities according to how strongly they adhere to “green” principles. The advantages and limitations of the proposed framework are also discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Enhancing strategic management using a quantified VRIO: Adding value with the MCDA approach

The field of strategic management has been popularized since the 1960s, as an aid for the search of success factors amongst the internal and external surroundings of an organization. Strategic management has observed and created strategies that are considered as pillars in the present way of applying contemporary management operations. Even though strategic management relies on managers’ capability to comprehend the current economic trends, this area has left a variety of questions unanswered, especially regarding the analyses of the combination of quantitative and qualitative decision criteria. This dissertation aims to enhance strategic management by developing a quantified valuable, rare, inimitable and organized (VRIO) framework, with the aid of the multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) approach. To accomplish this objective, the VRIO framework is combined with the Choquet integral (CI) and a real-life application is carried out to support strategic management. The dual methodology used in this dissertation offers an innovative process for business improvement. The benefits and limitations are also presented and discussed

Desenvolvimento de um sistema de avaliação green city com recurso integrado a mapas cognitivos e ao integral de choquet

A garantia do bem-estar do Ser Humano tem vindo a evidenciar-se, ao longo dos anos, como uma questão cada vez mais desafiante. Tal constatação encontra-se inteiramente relacionada com a complexidade inerente à pluralidade de fatores a ter em consideração no processo de avaliação das green cities. Esta questão também se deve ao facto de a sustentabilidade deste tipo de cidades depender da avaliação de um vasto número de indicadores, algo que dificulta o processo de apoio à tomada de decisão. Neste sentido, através do recurso à abordagem Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), o presente estudo tem como principal objetivo a conceção de um modelo multicritério que permita facilitar o processo de avaliação das green cities, recorrendo para o efeito à conjugação de técnicas de mapeamento cognitivo com o Integral de Choquet. Seguindo uma vertente construtivista, o objetivo passa pela identificação dos critérios e das respetivas interações no contexto da avaliação de green cities. Para o efeito, foram organizadas duas sessões presenciais com um painel de especialistas detentores de conhecimento especializado na temática em análise, possibilitando a aprendizagem e a simplificação do processo de decisão. Os resultados revelam que o sistema de avaliação criado permite descriminar cidades em função do seu grau de adesão ao conceito “green”, tendo sido validados, numa sessão final realizada na Assembleia da República, com um representante parlamentar do partido “Os Verdes”. As vantagens e as limitações decorrentes deste estudo serão também objeto de análise e apreciação.Equitable human well-being in urban areas has been evidenced, over the years, as an increasingly challenging issue. This is related both to the complexity inherent to the plurality of factors to be considered in the evaluation process of green cities and because the sustainability of this type of cities depends on many evaluation indicators, hampering the entire decision-making process. Following a Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach, this study sought to design a multiple criteria model that facilitates the evaluation process of green cities, using for this purpose cognitive mapping techniques and the Choquet Integral. Assuming a constructivist stance, the aim is to identify evaluation criteria and respective interactions using a panel of experts with specialized knowledge in the subject under analysis. The results were validated during a final session at the Assembly of the Republic with a parliamentary representative of the party “The Greens”, and show that the evaluation system created allows cities to be distinguished according to their degree of adhesion to the concept of “green”. The advantages and limitations of the proposed framework are also analyzed