Axiomatizations of the Choquet integral on general decision spaces

PhDWe propose an axiomatization of the Choquet integral model for the general case of a heterogeneous product set X = X1 Xn. Previous characterizations of the Choquet integral have been given for the particular cases X = Y n and X = Rn. However, this makes the results inapplicable to problems in many fields of decision theory, such as multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA), state-dependent utility (SD-DUU), and social choice. For example, in multicriteria decision analysis the elements of X are interpreted as alternatives, characterized by criteria taking values from the sets Xi. Obviously, the identicalness or even commensurateness of criteria cannot be assumed a priori. Despite this theoretical gap, the Choquet integral model is quite popular in the MCDA community and is widely used in applied and theoretical works. In fact, the absence of a sufficiently general axiomatic treatment of the Choquet integral has been recognized several times in the decision-theoretic literature. In our work we aim to provide missing results { we construct the axiomatization based on a novel axiomatic system and study its uniqueness properties. Also, we extend our construction to various particular cases of the Choquet integral and analyse the constraints of the earlier characterizations. Finally, we discuss in detail the implications of our results for the applications of the Choquet integral as a model of decision making

Electre Methods: Main Features and Recent Developments

We present main characteristics of Electre family methods, designed for multiple criteria decision aiding. These methods use as a preference model an outranking relation in the set of actions - it is constructed in result of concordance and non-discordance tests involving a specific input preference information. After a brief description of the constructivist conception in which the Electre methods are inserted, we present the main features of these methods. We discuss such characteristic features as: the possibility of taking into account positive and negative reasons in the modeling of preferences, without any need for recoding the data; using of thresholds for taking into account the imperfect knowledge of data; the absence of systematic compensation between "gains" and "losses". The main weaknesses are also presented. Then, some aspects related to new developments are outlined. These are related to some new methodological developments, new procedures, axiomatic analysis, software tools, and several other aspects. The paper ends with conclusions

Preference Disaggregation: Towards an Integrated Framework

La desagregació de preferències pretén capturar models de preferències mitjançant la descomposició de la informació obtinguda a partir de preferències indirectes que estan en forma d'eleccions holístiques o judicis. Des d'una perspectiva d'ajuda a la presa de decisions multi criteri, aquesta informació es pren com a punt de partida en un procés d'inferència que condueix a model de preferències basat en punts de vista, generalment conflictius, que conjuntament formen una base per a la decisió. L'estudi de les decisions humanes ha rebut una atenció creixent en els últims anys des de diverses disciplines, que inclouen des de les ciències del comportament (anàlisi de decisions, desagregació de preferències), la intel·ligència artificial (aprenentatge de preferències), fins a l'economia i el màrqueting (teoria de l'elecció). Les tres corrents, encara que originades per diferents filosofies, convergeixen ràpidament cap a una comprensió integral de les preferències, que és l'element bàsic per a les decisions i accions humanes. Aquesta tesi doctoral aprofundeix en aquesta àrea de recerca mitjançant la introducció d'un marc analític integrat que permet capturar les preferències d'una forma complexa a partir de l'observació d'opcions holístiques, decisions i judicis.La desagregación de preferencias pretende capturar modelos de preferencias mediante la descomposición de la información obtenida con preferencias indirectas que están en forma de elecciones holísticas o juicios. Desde una perspectiva de ayuda a la toma de decisiones multicriterio, dicha información se toma como punto de partida en un proceso de inferencia que conduce a modelo de preferencias basado en puntos de vista, generalmente conflictivos, que conjuntamente forman una base para la decisión. El estudio de las decisiones humanas ha recibido una atención creciente en los últimos años desde varias disciplinas, que incluyen desde las ciencias del comportamiento (análisis de decisiones, desagregación de preferencias), la inteligencia artificial (aprendizaje de preferencias), hasta la economía y el márqueting (teoría de la elección). Las tres corrientes, aunque originadas por diferentes filosofías, convergen rápidamente hacia una comprensión integral de las preferencias, que es el elemento básico para las decisiones y acciones humanas. Esta tesis doctoral profundiza en esta área de investigación mediante la introducción de un marco analítico integrado que permite capturar las preferencias de una forma compleja a partir de la observación de opciones holísticas, decisiones y juicios.Preference disaggregation aims at capturing preference models by decomposing indirect preference information that are in form of holistic choices or judgments. From a multiple criteria decision aiding perspective, such information is taken as input to an inference procedure that yields to a preference model based on all the, usually conflicting, points of view that together form a basis for the judgments. Studying human judgments and choices has received increasing attention in the last few years from several disciplines, including behavioral science (decision analysis, preference disaggregation), artificial intelligence (preference learning), and economics and marketing (choice modeling). The three streams, although originated from different philosophies, are converging rapidly to a comprehensive understanding of human preferences, that is the main element of decisions and actions. This doctoral dissertation sheds light on this phenomenon by introducing an integrated analytical framework that allows capturing preferences of a complex form by observing holistic choices, decisions, and judgments

Optimization for Decision Making II

In the current context of the electronic governance of society, both administrations and citizens are demanding the greater participation of all the actors involved in the decision-making process relative to the governance of society. This book presents collective works published in the recent Special Issue (SI) entitled “Optimization for Decision Making II”. These works give an appropriate response to the new challenges raised, the decision-making process can be done by applying different methods and tools, as well as using different objectives. In real-life problems, the formulation of decision-making problems and the application of optimization techniques to support decisions are particularly complex and a wide range of optimization techniques and methodologies are used to minimize risks, improve quality in making decisions or, in general, to solve problems. In addition, a sensitivity or robustness analysis should be done to validate/analyze the influence of uncertainty regarding decision-making. This book brings together a collection of inter-/multi-disciplinary works applied to the optimization of decision making in a coherent manner

Comparative evaluation of PROMETHEE and ELECTRE with application to sustainability assessment

The selection of robust method for sustainability assessment of companies is a challenging decision, particularly for manufacturers with high safety requirements and large number of consumers such as aerospace, automotive components and, oil & gas companies. These overriding industries consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria as well as non-financial factors that have direct effect on infrastructure investments to reach monetary value for its stakeholders and development of a sustainable long term strategy for their portfolio company. These factors however may be often associated with internal and external uncertainties making it difficult to obtain precise sustainability measurement. Actually, the problem comes from addressing 'how' and 'which' questions to select a solid ranking method for sustainability assessment. In this thesis, we investigate the application of outranking based Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods called ELECTRE III and PROMETHEE I & II for sustainability assessment of industrial organizations. ELECTRE III is a preference based method that considers pseudo-criteria which can be applied for uncertain, imprecise and ill-determined data. PROMETHEE I is a positive and negative flow based multi-criteria method that generates partial rankings. PROMETHEE II is net flow based method and generates complete ranking for alternatives. PROMETHEE methods are more compatible with human judgments. To compare the performance of ELECTRE III and PROMETHEE I & II, we conducted a sustainability assessment case study and performed model verification and robustness analysis, model validation and sensitivity analysis. The data for the study was obtained from Sustainalytics, a firm specializing in sustainability. The results of our study show that ELECTRE III method outperforms PROMETHEE I & II and is therefore recommended for sustainability assessment of industrial organizations

Theoretical and experimental investigation of explanations for the Ellsberg Paradox.

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DXN019805 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo