Algorithms for probabilistic uncertain linguistic multiple attribute group decision making based on the GRA and CRITIC method: application to location planning of electric vehicle charging stations

Electric vehicles (EVs) could be regarded as one of the most innovative and high technologies all over the world to cope with the fossil fuel energy resource crisis and environmental pollution issues. As the initiatory task of EV charging station (EVCS) construction, site selection play an important part throughout the whole life cycle, which is deemed to be multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) problem involving many experts and many conflicting attributes. In this paper, a grey relational analysis (GRA) method is investigated to tackle the probabilistic uncertain linguistic MAGDM in which the attribute weights are completely unknown information. Firstly, the definition of the expected value is then employed to objectively derive the attribute weights based on the CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) method. Then, the optimal alternative is chosen by calculating largest relative relational degree from the probabilistic uncertain linguistic positive ideal solution (PULPIS) which considers both the largest grey relational coefficient from the PULPIS and the smallest grey relational coefficient from the probabilistic uncertain linguistic negative ideal solution (PULNIS). Finally, a numerical case for site selection of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) is designed to illustrate the proposed method. The result shows the approach is simple, effective and easy to calculate

Wasserstein distance-based probabilistic linguistic TODIM method with application to the evaluation of sustainable rural tourism potential

The evaluation of sustainable rural tourism potential is a key work in sustainable rural tourism development. Due to the complexity of the rural tourism development situation and the limited cognition of people, most of the assessment problems for sustainable rural tourism potential are highly uncertain, which brings challenges to the characterisation and measurement of evaluation information. Besides, decision-makers (DMs) usually do not exhibit complete rationality in the practical evaluation process. To tackle such problems, this paper proposes a new behaviour multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) method with probabilistic linguistic terms sets (PLTSs) by integrating Wasserstein distance measure into TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese of interactive and multicriteria decision making) method. Firstly, a new Wasserstein-based distance measure with PLTSs is defined, and some properties of the proposed distance are developed. Secondly, based on the correlation coefficient among attributes and standard deviation of each attribute, an attribute weight determination method (called PL-CRITIC method) is proposed. Subsequently, a Wasserstein distance-based probabilistic linguistic TODIM method is developed. Finally, the proposed method is applied to the evaluation of sustainable rural tourism potential, along with sensitivity and comparative analyses, as a means of illustrating the effectiveness and advantages of the new method

A double interaction-based financing group decisionmaking framework considering uncertain information and inconsistent assessment

Financing group decision-making (FGDM), which is an important stage of project financing, has unique characteristics: large investments and long payback horizons. Its evaluation results are likely to be distorted if we ignore the uncertain information and inconsistent assessment during the decision-making process. In this study, we propose a double interaction-based FGDM framework under uncertain information and inconsistent assessment. We modify the weight setting of evidence reasoning and aggregation method of probabilistic linguistic term sets to process the above two issues. The proposed framework is applied in a detailed case study analysis to display its effectiveness and stability. We expect the double interaction-based group decision-making framework under uncertain information and inconsistent assessment to be a useful tool to understand FGDM processes

Dynamic reference point method with probabilistic linguistic information based on the regret theory for public health emergency decision-making

Group emergency decision-making is an uncertain and dynamic process, in which the decision makers may be bounded rational and have a risk appetite. To depict the vague qualitative assessments, the probabilistic linguistic term sets are employed to express the perceptions of decision makers. First, considering the regret-aversion of the decision makers’ psychological characteristic, the value function and the regret-rejoice function in the regret theory are modified to adapt the probabilistic linguistic information. Second, the definition and aggregation operators of the probabilistic linguistic time variable are proposed to describe and aggregate the dynamic decision information. Third, the probabilistic linguistic models based on the dynamic reference point method and the regret theory are studied to maximise the expectation-levels of alternatives at the relative time point. The proposed method is applied to select the optimal response strategy for the outbreak of COVID-19 in China. Finally, the comparative analysis is designed to verify the applicability and reasonability of the proposed method

A multidimensional decision with nested probabilistic linguistic term sets and its application in corporate investment

With the rapid development of information, decision making problems in various fields have presented multidimensional, complex and uncertain characteristics. Nested probabilistic-numerical linguistic term set (NPNLTS) is an effective tool to describe complex information due to the nested structure and diverse variables. This paper extends the concept of NPNLTS, and defines an improved form, i.e., nested probabilistic linguistic term set (NPLTS), and then proposes a novel VIKOR method with nested probabilistic linguistic information to solve the model. Within the context of empirical corporate finance, a case study related to corporate investment decision is presented and handled by the novel VIKOR method. After that, comparative analysis is carried out considering other decision-making methods, decision coefficient in VIKOR, and weights of attributes. As a result, the proposed method not only provides a rational and effective solution, but also reveals the rule in the case when decision coefficient and weights of attributes change, respectively. Finally, we discuss the proposed method from the theoretical and application aspects with a view to guiding future research. To a certain extent, this study provides a new decision environment to deal with multidimensional problems

A systematic review on multi-criteria group decision-making methods based on weights: analysis and classification scheme

Interest in group decision-making (GDM) has been increasing prominently over the last decade. Access to global databases, sophisticated sensors which can obtain multiple inputs or complex problems requiring opinions from several experts have driven interest in data aggregation. Consequently, the field has been widely studied from several viewpoints and multiple approaches have been proposed. Nevertheless, there is a lack of general framework. Moreover, this problem is exacerbated in the case of experts’ weighting methods, one of the most widely-used techniques to deal with multiple source aggregation. This lack of general classification scheme, or a guide to assist expert knowledge, leads to ambiguity or misreading for readers, who may be overwhelmed by the large amount of unclassified information currently available. To invert this situation, a general GDM framework is presented which divides and classifies all data aggregation techniques, focusing on and expanding the classification of experts’ weighting methods in terms of analysis type by carrying out an in-depth literature review. Results are not only classified but analysed and discussed regarding multiple characteristics, such as MCDMs in which they are applied, type of data used, ideal solutions considered or when they are applied. Furthermore, general requirements supplement this analysis such as initial influence, or component division considerations. As a result, this paper provides not only a general classification scheme and a detailed analysis of experts’ weighting methods but also a road map for researchers working on GDM topics or a guide for experts who use these methods. Furthermore, six significant contributions for future research pathways are provided in the conclusions.The first author acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministry of Universities [grant number FPU18/01471]. The second and third author wish to recognize their support from the Serra Hunter program. Finally, this work was supported by the Catalan agency AGAUR through its research group support program (2017SGR00227). This research is part of the R&D project IAQ4EDU, reference no. PID2020-117366RB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/ 501100011033.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Distributed Linguistic Representations in Decision Making: Taxonomy, Key Elements and Applications, and Challenges in Data Science and Explainable Artificial Intelligence

Distributed linguistic representations are powerful tools for modelling the uncertainty and complexity of preference information in linguistic decision making. To provide a comprehensive perspective on the development of distributed linguistic representations in decision making, we present the taxonomy of existing distributed linguistic representations. Then, we review the key elements and applications of distributed linguistic information processing in decision making, including the distance measurement, aggregation methods, distributed linguistic preference relations, and distributed linguistic multiple attribute decision making models. Next, we provide a discussion on ongoing challenges and future research directions from the perspective of data science and explainable artificial intelligence.National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) 71971039 71421001,71910107002,71771037,71874023 71871149Sichuan University sksyl201705 2018hhs-5