Evaluating the Main Battle Tank Using Fuzzy Number Arithmetic Operations

Since the descriptions and judgements on weapon systems are usually linguistic and fuzzy,it is more realistic to evaluate weapon systems in the framework of fuzzy sets theory. In thispaper, a new method to evaluate the best main battle tank is proposed. It can be seen that theproposed method is more efficient due to the fact that, by canonical representation of arithmeticoperation on fuzzy numbers, simple arithmetic operations on crisp numbers are used, instead ofcomplicated fuzzy numbers operations. In addition, the final scores of each alternative can berepresented as crisp numbers. As a result, the order of alternatives can be determined withoutthe procedure of ranking fuzzy numbers. Finally, a numerical example to evaluate the best mainbattle tanks is used to illustrate the efficiency of the proposed method

Interaction among the Criteria Affecting Main Battle Tank Selection: An Analysis with DEMATEL Method

Main battle tanks (MBTs) have always been in the heart of all military campaigns and have enabled armies to fight across the full spectrum of war. Countries need to consider the complex interactions between subsystems of MBTs in the decision phase of a design process or MBT acquisition. In order to define the interaction among the subsystems of ‘system of systems’, which is MBT system for this case, this study aims to determine the criteria and their sub criteria affecting MBT selection problem and to analyse the cause and effect relations among these criteria. The criteria and the complex interaction among them have been determined by consulting a group of experts. Because of multiple complex criteria interactions in MBT selection problem, decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method is used as a multiple criteria decision making method. DEMATEL method is applied on the main and the sub criteria separately to understand the cause and effect relations. The results show that Survivability main criterion has the strongest central role among the main criteria for MBT selection, while the followers are firepower, mobility and command and control (C2). It is also shown that, in terms of sub criteria for MBT selection, ballistic protection, a sub criterion of survivability main criterion, has the highest degree of influence over most of the other sub criteria. However, physical dimensions/silhouette, another sub criterion of survivability, is the most affected sub criteria. The top five sub criteria in terms of central role are determined as physical dimensions/silhouette, ballistic protection, power/weight ratio, ground pressure and suspension system

Experts’ Agreement of the Personalized m-Learning Curriculum Model Based on Fuzzy Delphi Method

The purpose of this study was to identify the experts’ agreement on the suitability of the personalized m-learning curriculum model. A total of 25 experts were selected to evaluate the model. A Fuzzy Delphi Method was used to identify suitability of the elements in personalized m-learning model. Based on the overall findings, all the items have met the requirements needed in the triangular ­­­­­­­­­fuzzy number and meet the deffuzification process (more than the Alpha α - cut value of 0.5). This revealed that all the experts consensually agreed with all questionnaire items. Hence, the proposed personalized m-learning curriculum implementation model is suitable to serve as a guideline for the instructor in implementing personalized m-learning. The new personalized m-learning elements for another course or programme could be determined based on the experts’ opinions. This will enable the development of personalized m-learning model that could be implemented for any course or programme

Supplier selection in risk consideration: a fuzzy based topsis approach

Supplier selection, the process of finding the right suppliers who are able to provide the buyer with the right quality products and/or services at the right price, at the right time and in the right quantities, is one of the most critical activities for establishing an effective supply chain. In classical Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, the ratings and the weights of the criteria are known precisely. Owning to vagueness of the decision data, the crisp data are inadequate for real-life situations. Since human judgments including preferences are often vague and cannot be expressed by exact numerical values, the application of fuzzy concepts in decision making is deemed to be relevant. On the other hand, it is a hard problem since supplier selection is typically a MCDM problem involving several conflicting criteria on which decision maker’s knowledge is usually vague and imprecise. In the present work, a risk-based suppliers’ evaluation module is proposed. Linguistic values are used to assess the ratings and weights for the risk based supplier selection factors. These linguistic ratings can be expressed in triangular fuzzy numbers. Then, a hierarchy MCDM model based on fuzzy-sets theory is proposed to deal with the supplier selection problems in the supply chain system. According to the concept of the fuzzy TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution), a closeness coefficient is defined to determine the ranking order of all suppliers by calculating the both fuzzy positive-ideal solution and fuzzy negative-ideal solution, simultaneously. Empirical data have been analysed and results obtained thereof, have been reported to exhibit application potential of the decision-support systems in appropriate situation

Performance drivers of green innovation under incomplete information

AbstractThe environmental management practices have been well studied; few studies are presented the firm's green innovation activities. This study is adopted to evaluate the green innovation for environment management, with a particular focus on managerial, process, product and technological aspects. The empirical analysis from Taiwanese printed circuit board manufacturing firm's reveals that such studies does exist and that the effect of focal firm's green innovation activities has been evaluated. This study identified the appropriate green innovation criteria for the case firms and developed the following selection method: (i) evaluate the weights of aspects, criteria and alternatives as described both by linguistic preferences; and (ii) rank alternative suppliers using a grey relational analysis with entropy weight. This study presents theoretical and empirical evidence of green innovation drivers in the domains of environmental management and has interesting implications for operations management research and practices. This knowledge may contribute to better decision-making towards implementing green innovation practices

A NOVEL RISK EVALUATION APPROACH FOR FREQUENTLY ENCOUNTERED RISKS IN SHIP ENGINE ROOMS

The purpose of this study is to evaluate risks which are frequently encountered in the engine room on-board. In this context, twenty common risks are assessed using the neutrosophic analytic hierarchy process (N-AHP) and trapezoidal fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TrF-TOPSIS). In maritime risk evaluation, since it is frequently required the linguistic assessment of decision-makers to achieve a robust risk assessment tool, neutrosophic sets and fuzzy sets are used together in this study. Neutrosophic sets represent real-world problems effectively by considering all aspects of decision-making situations, (i.e. truthiness, indeterminacy, and falsity). Therefore, AHP is integrated with neutrosophic sets to assign weights of risk parameters initially. Then, the encountered risks are prioritized by TrF-TOPSIS. Finally, preventative actions for the risks have been discussed. In conclusion of the study, it is shown that skin exposure to the fuels/oils, exposure to chemicals and exposure to high pressure and temperature liquids are the most important risks through the engine room on-board. This study both emphasizes the importance of preventing damage to crew in the risk assessment of ship engine rooms and aims to increase the level of safety control and minimize the potential environmental impacts of a ship\u27s damage

A Fuzzy Based Decision Making Approach for Selecting and Evaluating Green Suppliers

In a competitive business environment, green supplier selection approach plays a pivotal role in supply chain management, because, due to growing global concern of environmental protection, green production has become an important factor for almost every manufacturer and will influence the sustainability of a manufacturer in the long run. A performance evaluation system for green suppliers is therefore required to determine the suitability of suppliers to cooperate with the industry. Supplier selection is basically depends on decision makers’ (experts’) assessments. This process inevitably involves various types of uncertainties such as deception, fuzziness and incompleteness due to the shortcomings of the human being’s subjective judgment and it’s variance from one human being to another. However, the existing methods cannot properly integrate uncertainties into the determination of green suppliers and their selection. Nowadays, many companies have begun to implement green supply chain management and to consider environmental issues and the measurement of their suppliers’ environmental performance. Here we have adopted, an effective method for selecting and evaluating green supplier selection; TOPSIS (Technique for order preference by similarity to Ideal Solution