Multicriteria rankings of open-end investment funds and their stability

For research purposes, three multicriteria outranking methods (PROMETHEE, WSA and TOPSIS) were used to construct rankings of investment funds to assess their performance in the time period from January to July 2008. Nine indicators related to the distributions of return rates, purchase and management costs and to customers’ convenience were included in the set of criteria. The weight of each criterion was calculated on the basis of the relative volatility rate of the given criterion. In order to assess the stability of the rankings, the weight of a single criterion was changed (using each criterion in turn) and new rankings were constructed using the modified weights. The similarity of rankings built before and after these changes was assessed on the basis of the maximum difference between ranks and the Spearman correlation coefficient. The results obtained enable assessment not only of the stability of each outranking method, but the similarity of results obtained by different methods as well. All calculations were done using the SANNA software.investment funds, outranking methods, PROMETHEE method, WSA method, TOPSIS method, stability of rankings

Is small beautiful? A multicriteria assessment of small-scale energy technology applications in local governments

In its 2003 White Paper the UK government set ambitious renewable energy targets. Local governments and households have an increasing role in the overall energy system as consumers, suppliers of smaller-scale applications and citizens discussing energy projects. In this paper, we consider if small-scale or large-scale approaches to renewable energy provision can achieve energy targets in the most socially, economically and environmentally (SEE) effective way. We take a local case study of renewable energy provision in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in Yorkshire, UK, and apply a multi-criteria decision analysis methodology to compare the small-scale schemes implemented in Kirklees with large-scale alternatives. The results indicate that small-scale schemes are the most SEE effective, despite large-scale schemes being more financially viable. The selection of the criteria on which the alternatives are assessed and the assigned weights for each criterion are of crucial importance. It is thus very important to include the relevant stakeholders to elicit this information

Economic evaluation of the spanish port system using the promethee multicriteria decision method

Due to legislation changes during the Nineties, the Spanish Port System has gone through a series of changes that, simultaneous with a period of economic expansion and generalized marine traffic growth, have affected the Port System’s composition, organization and operation. The gradual transformations produced by this context, give shape to a new model of operation for Port Authorities, which now start to be managed under business criteria and procedures of functional autonomy, competition, effectiveness and profit, moving away from State dependency, and at the same time allowing greater participation of regional governments. As a result, general purpose Spanish ports develop their activity in a very competitive market, where self financing and financial sufficiency prevail as high-priority management goals. Our work considers these circumstances from the approach offered by multiple objective decision models, in order to study the performance evolution of Port Authorities, using certain ratios with economic meaning which will allow determining how their relative ranking within the national set has varied. The great variety of available business ratios and the different concepts to analyze give the problem a discrete multicriteria dimension. Thus we have chosen the Promethee method for our analysis, given its results simplicity and easy understanding for the decision agent, the economic interpretation of its parameters, and the stability of its results. In addition, scale effects between different alternatives are eliminated, allowing the possibility of incomparability among them and offering a sensitivity analysis of the effects.

Economic Evaluation of the Spanish port System Using the Promethee Multicriteria decision Method

Due to legislation changes during the Nineties, the Spanish Port System has gone through a series of changes that, simultaneous with a period of economic expansion and generalized marine traffic growth, have affected the Port System's composition and organization. The gradual transformations produced, give shape to a new model of operation for Port Authorities, which now start to be managed under business criteria and procedures of functional autonomy and competition.Our work considers these circumstances from the approach offered by multiple objective decision models, using certain ratios with economic meaning which will allow determining how their relative ranking within the national set has varied. The great variety of available business ratios gives the problem a discrete multicriteria dimension. Thus we have chosen the Promethee method for our analysis, given its results simplicity and easy understanding for the decision agent, the economic interpretation of its parameters, and the stability of its results.Spanish Port System, Multicriteria Analysis, Promethee Method.

Multicriteria analysis under uncertainty with IANUS - method and empirical results

IANUS is a method for aiding public decision-making that supports efforts towards sustainable development and has a wide range of application. IANUS stands for Integrated Assessment of Decisions uNder Uncertainty for Sustainable Development. This paper introduces the main features of IANUS and illustrates the method using the results of a case study in the Torgau region (eastern Germany). IANUS structures the decision process into four steps: scenario derivation, criteria selection, modeling, evaluation. Its overall aim is to extract the information needed for a sound, responsible decision in a clear, transparent manner. The method is designed for use in conflict situations where environmental and socioeconomic effects need to be considered and so an interdisciplinary approach is required. Special emphasis is placed on a broad perception and consideration of uncertainty. Three types of uncertainty are explicitly taken into account by IANUS: development uncertainty (uncertainty about the social, economic and other developments that affect the consequences of decision), model uncertainty (uncertainty associated with the prediction of the effects of decisions), and weight uncertainty (uncertainty about the appropriate weighting of the criteria). The backbone of IANUS is a multicriteria method with the ability to process uncertain information. In the case study the multicriteria method PROMETHEE is used. Since PROMETHEE in its basic versions is not able to process uncertain information an extension of this method is developed here and described in detail. --

Election of Water Resources Management Entity Using a Multi-Criteria Decision (MCD) Method in Salta Province (Argentine)

At present, the water resources are a strategic element each time more necessary and limited becoming a source of conflicts. For that, it is fundamental to create an independent and competent entity with good reputation and social acceptation. This entity must be able to obtain, store and process all data dispersed in different entities creating a network for these purposes. Finally, it must be able to organize different branches between the government and the final users. Using one of the wellknown Multicriteria Decision Methods(MCDM) with several realistic alternatives and several criteria identified in expert seminars in Salta and Madrid, we have obtained hopeful results and more recently new modifications introduced have generated better results