Multiple-Criteria Decision Making

Decision-making on real-world problems, including individual process decisions, requires an appropriate and reliable decision support system. Fuzzy set theory, rough set theory, and neutrosophic set theory, which are MCDM techniques, are useful for modeling complex decision-making problems with imprecise, ambiguous, or vague data.This Special Issue, “Multiple Criteria Decision Making”, aims to incorporate recent developments in the area of the multi-criteria decision-making field. Topics include, but are not limited to:- MCDM optimization in engineering;- Environmental sustainability in engineering processes;- Multi-criteria production and logistics process planning;- New trends in multi-criteria evaluation of sustainable processes;- Multi-criteria decision making in strategic management based on sustainable criteria

Power System Planning in Disparate Systems: Modeling Sustainability and Electricity Access

Electricity goals around the world tend to focus on increasing social benefit through one of two avenues: (1) increasing overall system sustainability or (2) increasing access to electricity. These goals guide the transition of the power system. In pursuit of these goals decision makers will need modeling tools that can inform decisions, in a way that is flexible enough to include a wide range of preferences and goals. It is clear that the future generation mix of the power system will change, but the most sustainable solution, will change based on a country\u27s goals. This dissertation will explore the various options for power grid expansion in disparate electricity systems. We present three essays that focus on evaluating the sustainability of different electricity futures to allow decision makers to understand impacts and trade-offs between various combinations of power generating technologies. The first two essays are focused on evaluating the sustainability of generation mixes for New England. In the first essay we take a multi-model approach, first determining the reliability of the system overall, then evaluating different generation portfolios based on seven sustainability criteria. In the second essay we expand this work by implementing pumped hydro storage into the model. The sustainability of the system with and without storage capabilities is presented and evaluated. The third essay focuses on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and electricity access in developing countries. Here we present a model that can be used by decision makers in developing countries to determine the best method of grid expansion to meet electricity access goal

Social indicators for use with multi-regional input-output analysis

Accounting for social impacts in supply chain analysis is of increasing importance. Global trade has increased significantly since 1970, as has inequality. As global supply chains have become more prevalent, the need to understand and analyse these supply chains has also grown. Excellent work on quantitative analysis of environmental impacts in supply chains has taken place in the past two decades. However, relatively few methodologies have been applied to quantitative analysis of social impacts in supply chains. This thesis considers how social indicators for supply chain analysis can be developed through the use of socially extended multi-regional input-output analysis. Chapter 1 provides an introduction and context. Chapter 2 considers the history of social accounting. Chapter 3 looks at quantitative accounting for social-economic indicators and the development of national accounts, particularly in reference to standardised collection of data for social-economic indicators and socially-extended input- output analysis. Chapter 4 presents a case study of coltan mining and methodological analysis using deaths in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a social indicator for the electronics supply chain. Chapter 5 analyses the results of the same case study and considers how enumerating social impacts in upstream supply chains can influence environmental and social justice actions in downstream supply chains. Chapter 6 provides a review of input-output analysis used as a tool for analysing consumption since 2010. Chapter 7 proposes the use of a suite of quantitative social indicators for analysis in the form of a social footprint. Chapter 8 provides a conclusion. This thesis tracks the author’s interest in understanding social impacts in global supply chains and proposes a social footprint for supply chain analysis using the multi-regional input output methodology

Collected Papers (on Neutrosophic Theory and Applications), Volume VIII

This eighth volume of Collected Papers includes 75 papers comprising 973 pages on (theoretic and applied) neutrosophics, written between 2010-2022 by the author alone or in collaboration with the following 102 co-authors (alphabetically ordered) from 24 countries: Mohamed Abdel-Basset, Abduallah Gamal, Firoz Ahmad, Ahmad Yusuf Adhami, Ahmed B. Al-Nafee, Ali Hassan, Mumtaz Ali, Akbar Rezaei, Assia Bakali, Ayoub Bahnasse, Azeddine Elhassouny, Durga Banerjee, Romualdas Bausys, Mircea Boșcoianu, Traian Alexandru Buda, Bui Cong Cuong, Emilia Calefariu, Ahmet Çevik, Chang Su Kim, Victor Christianto, Dae Wan Kim, Daud Ahmad, Arindam Dey, Partha Pratim Dey, Mamouni Dhar, H. A. Elagamy, Ahmed K. Essa, Sudipta Gayen, Bibhas C. Giri, Daniela Gîfu, Noel Batista Hernández, Hojjatollah Farahani, Huda E. Khalid, Irfan Deli, Saeid Jafari, Tèmítópé Gbóláhàn Jaíyéolá, Sripati Jha, Sudan Jha, Ilanthenral Kandasamy, W.B. Vasantha Kandasamy, Darjan Karabašević, M. Karthika, Kawther F. Alhasan, Giruta Kazakeviciute-Januskeviciene, Qaisar Khan, Kishore Kumar P K, Prem Kumar Singh, Ranjan Kumar, Maikel Leyva-Vázquez, Mahmoud Ismail, Tahir Mahmood, Hafsa Masood Malik, Mohammad Abobala, Mai Mohamed, Gunasekaran Manogaran, Seema Mehra, Kalyan Mondal, Mohamed Talea, Mullai Murugappan, Muhammad Akram, Muhammad Aslam Malik, Muhammad Khalid Mahmood, Nivetha Martin, Durga Nagarajan, Nguyen Van Dinh, Nguyen Xuan Thao, Lewis Nkenyereya, Jagan M. Obbineni, M. Parimala, S. K. Patro, Peide Liu, Pham Hong Phong, Surapati Pramanik, Gyanendra Prasad Joshi, Quek Shio Gai, R. Radha, A.A. Salama, S. Satham Hussain, Mehmet Șahin, Said Broumi, Ganeshsree Selvachandran, Selvaraj Ganesan, Shahbaz Ali, Shouzhen Zeng, Manjeet Singh, A. Stanis Arul Mary, Dragiša Stanujkić, Yusuf Șubaș, Rui-Pu Tan, Mirela Teodorescu, Selçuk Topal, Zenonas Turskis, Vakkas Uluçay, Norberto Valcárcel Izquierdo, V. Venkateswara Rao, Volkan Duran, Ying Li, Young Bae Jun, Wadei F. Al-Omeri, Jian-qiang Wang, Lihshing Leigh Wang, Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas

Manufacturing Process Causal Knowledge Discovery using a Modified Random Forest-based Predictive Model

A Modified Random Forest algorithm (MRF)-based predictive model is proposed for use in man-ufacturing processes to estimate the e˙ects of several potential interventions, such as (i) altering the operating ranges of selected continuous process parameters within specified tolerance limits,(ii) choosing particular categories of discrete process parameters, or (iii) choosing combinations of both types of process parameters. The model introduces a non-linear approach to defining the most critical process inputs by scoring the contribution made by each process input to the process output prediction power. It uses this contribution to discover optimal operating ranges for the continuous process parameters and/or optimal categories for discrete process parameters. The set of values used for the process inputs was generated from operating ranges identified using a novel Decision Path Search (DPS) algorithm and Bootstrap sampling.The odds ratio is the ratio between the occurrence probabilities of desired and undesired process output values. The e˙ect of potential interventions, or of proposed confirmation trials, are quantified as posterior odds and used to calculate conditional probability distributions. The advantages of this approach are discussed in comparison to fitting these probability distributions to Bayesian Networks (BN).The proposed explainable data-driven predictive model is scalable to a large number of process factors with non-linear dependence on one or more process responses. It allows the discovery of data-driven process improvement opportunities that involve minimal interaction with domain expertise. An iterative Random Forest algorithm is proposed to predict the missing values for the mixed dataset (continuous and categorical process parameters). It is shown that the algorithm is robust even at high proportions of missing values in the dataset.The number of observations available in manufacturing process datasets is generally low, e.g. of a similar order of magnitude to the number of process parameters. Hence, Neural Network (NN)-based deep learning methods are generally not applicable, as these techniques require 50-100 times more observations than input factors (process parameters).The results are verified on a number of benchmark examples with datasets published in the lit-erature. The results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the comparison approaches in term of accuracy and causality, with linearity assumed. Furthermore, the computational cost is both far better and very feasible for heterogeneous datasets

A decision support system for integrated semi-centralised urban wastewater treatment systems

The importance of adequate water supply and sanitation infrastructure as cornerstones for the development of civilizations is undeniable. Although a strategy based on centralised infrastructure has proven to be successful in the past, in some circumstances such conventional systems are inappropriate for future needs. A Semi-centralised Urban Wastewater Treatment System (SUWWTS) may be considered a viable sustainable urban water management solution to promote water security. A SUWWTS merges regulations of traditional centralised systems with the concepts of close-loop and resource recovery of decentralised systems. However, research on the design and feasibility of implementing semi-centralised systems is in its infancy. This Thesis is a first attempt to articulate the complexity, to systematize and to automatize the design of a SUWWTS. Here we show a novel method, referred to as framework, for the development of SUWWTS with allowance for the socio-economic and geographic context of any urban area. To demonstrate the proposed framework a Decision Support System (DSS) was developed; its output is a recommended design comprised of several wastewater treatment plants, their respective technology, and their associated sewerage and reclaimed water distribution networks. The results demonstrate the capabilities and the usefulness of the DSS; it applies the design engineers’ subjective preferences, such as regional technological inclinations and implementation strategies. The results from a feasibility study on the city of Rio de Janeiro validated and demonstrated how the DSS can be used to assist decision-makers. This Thesis discusses the framework, the DSS and the demonstration case. Overall, it will hopefully help both other researchers and practitioners by contributing to the discussion on how to promote urban water security, to decrease urban areas’ dependency on ecosystem services whilst delivering better social welfare

Geographic Information Systems and Science

Geographic information science (GISc) has established itself as a collaborative information-processing scheme that is increasing in popularity. Yet, this interdisciplinary and/or transdisciplinary system is still somewhat misunderstood. This book talks about some of the GISc domains encompassing students, researchers, and common users. Chapters focus on important aspects of GISc, keeping in mind the processing capability of GIS along with the mathematics and formulae involved in getting each solution. The book has one introductory and eight main chapters divided into five sections. The first section is more general and focuses on what GISc is and its relation to GIS and Geography, the second is about location analytics and modeling, the third on remote sensing data analysis, the fourth on big data and augmented reality, and, finally, the fifth looks over volunteered geographic information.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio