Knowledge aggregation in people recommender systems : matching skills to tasks

People recommender systems (PRS) are a special type of RS. They are often adopted to identify people capable of performing a task. Recommending people poses several challenges not exhibited in traditional RS. Elements such as availability, overload, unresponsiveness, and bad recommendations can have adverse effects. This thesis explores how people’s preferences can be elicited for single-event matchmaking under uncertainty and how to align them with appropriate tasks. Different methodologies are introduced to profile people, each based on the nature of the information from which it was obtained. These methodologies are developed into three use cases to illustrate the challenges of PRS and the steps taken to address them. Each one emphasizes the priorities of the matching process and the constraints under which these recommendations are made. First, multi-criteria profiles are derived completely from heterogeneous sources in an implicit manner characterizing users from multiple perspectives and multi-dimensional points-of-view without influence from the user. The profiles are introduced to the conference reviewer assignment problem. Attention is given to distribute people across items in order reduce potential overloading of a person, and neglect or rejection of a task. Second, people’s areas of interest are inferred from their resumes and expressed in terms of their uncertainty avoiding explicit elicitation from an individual or outsider. The profile is applied to a personnel selection problem where emphasis is placed on the preferences of the candidate leading to an asymmetric matching process. Third, profiles are created by integrating implicit information and explicitly stated attributes. A model is developed to classify citizens according to their lifestyles which maintains the original information in the data set throughout the cluster formation. These use cases serve as pilot tests for generalization to real-life implementations. Areas for future application are discussed from new perspectives.Els sistemes de recomanació de persones (PRS) són un tipus especial de sistemes recomanadors (RS). Sovint s’utilitzen per identificar persones per a realitzar una tasca. La recomanació de persones comporta diversos reptes no exposats en la RS tradicional. Elements com la disponibilitat, la sobrecàrrega, la falta de resposta i les recomanacions incorrectes poden tenir efectes adversos. En aquesta tesi s'explora com es poden obtenir les preferències dels usuaris per a la definició d'assignacions sota incertesa i com aquestes assignacions es poden alinear amb tasques definides. S'introdueixen diferents metodologies per definir el perfil d’usuaris, cadascun en funció de la naturalesa de la informació necessària. Aquestes metodologies es desenvolupen i s’apliquen en tres casos d’ús per il·lustrar els reptes dels PRS i els passos realitzats per abordar-los. Cadascun destaca les prioritats del procés, l’encaix de les recomanacions i les seves limitacions. En el primer cas, els perfils es deriven de variables heterogènies de manera implícita per tal de caracteritzar als usuaris des de múltiples perspectives i punts de vista multidimensionals sense la influència explícita de l’usuari. Això s’aplica al problema d'assignació d’avaluadors per a articles de conferències. Es presta especial atenció al fet de distribuir els avaluadors entre articles per tal de reduir la sobrecàrrega potencial d'una persona i el neguit o el rebuig a la tasca. En el segon cas, les àrees d’interès per a caracteritzar les persones es dedueixen dels seus currículums i s’expressen en termes d’incertesa evitant que els interessos es demanin explícitament a les persones. El sistema s'aplica a un problema de selecció de personal on es posa èmfasi en les preferències del candidat que condueixen a un procés d’encaix asimètric. En el tercer cas, els perfils dels usuaris es defineixen integrant informació implícita i atributs indicats explícitament. Es desenvolupa un model per classificar els ciutadans segons els seus estils de vida que manté la informació original del conjunt de dades del clúster al que ell pertany. Finalment, s’analitzen aquests casos com a proves pilot per generalitzar implementacions en futurs casos reals. Es discuteixen les àrees d'aplicació futures i noves perspectives.Postprint (published version

Knowledge aggregation in people recommender systems : matching skills to tasks

People recommender systems (PRS) are a special type of RS. They are often adopted to identify people capable of performing a task. Recommending people poses several challenges not exhibited in traditional RS. Elements such as availability, overload, unresponsiveness, and bad recommendations can have adverse effects. This thesis explores how people’s preferences can be elicited for single-event matchmaking under uncertainty and how to align them with appropriate tasks. Different methodologies are introduced to profile people, each based on the nature of the information from which it was obtained. These methodologies are developed into three use cases to illustrate the challenges of PRS and the steps taken to address them. Each one emphasizes the priorities of the matching process and the constraints under which these recommendations are made. First, multi-criteria profiles are derived completely from heterogeneous sources in an implicit manner characterizing users from multiple perspectives and multi-dimensional points-of-view without influence from the user. The profiles are introduced to the conference reviewer assignment problem. Attention is given to distribute people across items in order reduce potential overloading of a person, and neglect or rejection of a task. Second, people’s areas of interest are inferred from their resumes and expressed in terms of their uncertainty avoiding explicit elicitation from an individual or outsider. The profile is applied to a personnel selection problem where emphasis is placed on the preferences of the candidate leading to an asymmetric matching process. Third, profiles are created by integrating implicit information and explicitly stated attributes. A model is developed to classify citizens according to their lifestyles which maintains the original information in the data set throughout the cluster formation. These use cases serve as pilot tests for generalization to real-life implementations. Areas for future application are discussed from new perspectives.Els sistemes de recomanació de persones (PRS) són un tipus especial de sistemes recomanadors (RS). Sovint s’utilitzen per identificar persones per a realitzar una tasca. La recomanació de persones comporta diversos reptes no exposats en la RS tradicional. Elements com la disponibilitat, la sobrecàrrega, la falta de resposta i les recomanacions incorrectes poden tenir efectes adversos. En aquesta tesi s'explora com es poden obtenir les preferències dels usuaris per a la definició d'assignacions sota incertesa i com aquestes assignacions es poden alinear amb tasques definides. S'introdueixen diferents metodologies per definir el perfil d’usuaris, cadascun en funció de la naturalesa de la informació necessària. Aquestes metodologies es desenvolupen i s’apliquen en tres casos d’ús per il·lustrar els reptes dels PRS i els passos realitzats per abordar-los. Cadascun destaca les prioritats del procés, l’encaix de les recomanacions i les seves limitacions. En el primer cas, els perfils es deriven de variables heterogènies de manera implícita per tal de caracteritzar als usuaris des de múltiples perspectives i punts de vista multidimensionals sense la influència explícita de l’usuari. Això s’aplica al problema d'assignació d’avaluadors per a articles de conferències. Es presta especial atenció al fet de distribuir els avaluadors entre articles per tal de reduir la sobrecàrrega potencial d'una persona i el neguit o el rebuig a la tasca. En el segon cas, les àrees d’interès per a caracteritzar les persones es dedueixen dels seus currículums i s’expressen en termes d’incertesa evitant que els interessos es demanin explícitament a les persones. El sistema s'aplica a un problema de selecció de personal on es posa èmfasi en les preferències del candidat que condueixen a un procés d’encaix asimètric. En el tercer cas, els perfils dels usuaris es defineixen integrant informació implícita i atributs indicats explícitament. Es desenvolupa un model per classificar els ciutadans segons els seus estils de vida que manté la informació original del conjunt de dades del clúster al que ell pertany. Finalment, s’analitzen aquests casos com a proves pilot per generalitzar implementacions en futurs casos reals. Es discuteixen les àrees d'aplicació futures i noves perspectives

Fuzzy Techniques for Decision Making 2018

Zadeh's fuzzy set theory incorporates the impreciseness of data and evaluations, by imputting the degrees by which each object belongs to a set. Its success fostered theories that codify the subjectivity, uncertainty, imprecision, or roughness of the evaluations. Their rationale is to produce new flexible methodologies in order to model a variety of concrete decision problems more realistically. This Special Issue garners contributions addressing novel tools, techniques and methodologies for decision making (inclusive of both individual and group, single- or multi-criteria decision making) in the context of these theories. It contains 38 research articles that contribute to a variety of setups that combine fuzziness, hesitancy, roughness, covering sets, and linguistic approaches. Their ranges vary from fundamental or technical to applied approaches

Decision analysis in the UK energy supply chain risk management: tools development and application.

The aims of this thesis are developing decision-making tools for risk identification, risk causal relationships analysis, risk prioritisation, and long-term risk mitigation strategy recommendations in the UK energy supply chain. The thesis is comprised of four study phases in eight chapters. In phase I, a framework is introduced including 12 risk dimensions, and 5 classification perspectives. Then, in phase II, the Neutrosophic Revised Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (NR-DEMATEL) method has been utilised in order to analyse the 12 identified risk dimensions based on the causal interrelationships between them. Additionally, a novel Hesitant Expert Selection Model (HESM) to systematically assist researchers with the expert selection process is proposed. In phase III, two extensions of the original Best-Worst Method (BWM) are proposed in order to contribute to the theoretical development and application of the BWM in energy supply chain risk prioritisation. The Neutrosophic Enhanced BWM (NE-BWM) and hybrid Spanning Trees Enumeration and BWM (STE-BWM) are introduced to enhance the efficiency of the original BWM in dealing with uncertainty in experts’ subjective judgements. In phase IV, a novel stratified decision-making model is introduced. It is based on Concept of Stratification (CST), game theory and Shared Socio-economic Pathway (SSP) to deal with long-term risk mitigation planning for the most critical identified risks. The model has been applied in the region of Highland and Argyll in Scotland based on the primary data obtained from experts to prioritise flooding risk mitigation strategies which were recommended by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The stratified decision-making model is aimed at taking into account both UK socio-economic situations and flooding risk impacts for the long-term decision making

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Strategic and Operational Decision Making

openEffective decision making lies at the core of organizational success. In the era of digital transformation, businesses are increasingly adopting data-driven approaches to gain a competitive advantage. According to existing literature, Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents a significant advancement in this area, with the ability to analyze large volumes of data, identify patterns, make accurate predictions, and provide decision support to organizations. This study aims to explore the impact of AI technologies on different levels of organizational decision making. By separating these decisions into strategic and operational according to their properties, the study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the feasibility, current adoption rates, and barriers hindering AI implementation in organizational decision making

Multi-Objective and Multi-Attribute Optimisation for Sustainable Development Decision Aiding

Optimization is considered as a decision-making process for getting the most out of available resources for the best attainable results. Many real-world problems are multi-objective or multi-attribute problems that naturally involve several competing objectives that need to be optimized simultaneously, while respecting some constraints or involving selection among feasible discrete alternatives. In this Reprint of the Special Issue, 19 research papers co-authored by 88 researchers from 14 different countries explore aspects of multi-objective or multi-attribute modeling and optimization in crisp or uncertain environments by suggesting multiple-attribute decision-making (MADM) and multi-objective decision-making (MODM) approaches. The papers elaborate upon the approaches of state-of-the-art case studies in selected areas of applications related to sustainable development decision aiding in engineering and management, including construction, transportation, infrastructure development, production, and organization management

Uncertain Multi-Criteria Optimization Problems

Most real-world search and optimization problems naturally involve multiple criteria as objectives. Generally, symmetry, asymmetry, and anti-symmetry are basic characteristics of binary relationships used when modeling optimization problems. Moreover, the notion of symmetry has appeared in many articles about uncertainty theories that are employed in multi-criteria problems. Different solutions may produce trade-offs (conflicting scenarios) among different objectives. A better solution with respect to one objective may compromise other objectives. There are various factors that need to be considered to address the problems in multidisciplinary research, which is critical for the overall sustainability of human development and activity. In this regard, in recent decades, decision-making theory has been the subject of intense research activities due to its wide applications in different areas. The decision-making theory approach has become an important means to provide real-time solutions to uncertainty problems. Theories such as probability theory, fuzzy set theory, type-2 fuzzy set theory, rough set, and uncertainty theory, available in the existing literature, deal with such uncertainties. Nevertheless, the uncertain multi-criteria characteristics in such problems have not yet been explored in depth, and there is much left to be achieved in this direction. Hence, different mathematical models of real-life multi-criteria optimization problems can be developed in various uncertain frameworks with special emphasis on optimization problems

A survey of recommender systems for energy efficiency in buildings: Principles, challenges and prospects

Recommender systems have significantly developed in recent years in parallel with the witnessed advancements in both internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Accordingly, as a consequence of IoT and AI, multiple forms of data are incorporated in these systems, e.g. social, implicit, local and personal information, which can help in improving recommender systems' performance and widen their applicability to traverse different disciplines. On the other side, energy efficiency in the building sector is becoming a hot research topic, in which recommender systems play a major role by promoting energy saving behavior and reducing carbon emissions. However, the deployment of the recommendation frameworks in buildings still needs more investigations to identify the current challenges and issues, where their solutions are the keys to enable the pervasiveness of research findings, and therefore, ensure a large-scale adoption of this technology. Accordingly, this paper presents, to the best of the authors' knowledge, the first timely and comprehensive reference for energy-efficiency recommendation systems through (i) surveying existing recommender systems for energy saving in buildings; (ii) discussing their evolution; (iii) providing an original taxonomy of these systems based on specified criteria, including the nature of the recommender engine, its objective, computing platforms, evaluation metrics and incentive measures; and (iv) conducting an in-depth, critical analysis to identify their limitations and unsolved issues. The derived challenges and areas of future implementation could effectively guide the energy research community to improve the energy-efficiency in buildings and reduce the cost of developed recommender systems-based solutions.Comment: 35 pages, 11 figures, 1 tabl

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