Multicriteria ranking using weights which minimize the score range

Various schemes have been proposed for generating a set of non-subjective weights when aggregating multiple criteria for the purposes of ranking or selecting alternatives. The maximin approach chooses the weights which maximise the lowest score (assuming there is an upper bound to scores). This is equivalent to finding the weights which minimize the maximum deviation, or range, between the worst and best scores (minimax). At first glance this seems to be an equitable way of apportioning weight, and the Rawlsian theory of justice has been cited in its support.We draw a distinction between using the maximin rule for the purpose of assessing performance, and using it for allocating resources amongst the alternatives. We demonstrate that it has a number of drawbacks which make it inappropriate for the assessment of performance. Specifically, it is tantamount to allowing the worst performers to decide the worth of the criteria so as to maximise their overall score. Furthermore, when making a selection from a list of alternatives, the final choice is highly sensitive to the removal or inclusion of alternatives whose performance is so poor that they are clearly irrelevant to the choice at hand

From Serendipity to Sustainability: Exploring the Content Creation and Sharing Experiences of Local Travel Influencers in China

The study explored content creation and sharing experiences of local travel influencers in Meishan City, China. A qualitative phenomenological methodology was used to conduct in-depth interviews with 15 local travel influencers based on social exchange theory and its reciprocal principles. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data. Study findings showed that being a local travel influencer was an emerging occupation requiring comprehensive competence in specific contextual and cultural backgrounds. Although travel influencers’ initial rise to popularity was often serendipitous, supportive policies from the local tourism community could assist travel influencers in achieving sustainable tourism. Local travel influencers face several challenges including staying authentic, monetizing content, dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding homogenous content, and managing work load. Local travel influencers could serve as a significant liaison between tourists and the local tourism community by collaborating with local tourism stakeholders, building a local multi-layer media matrix, co-creating promotional content, and live-streaming e-commerce. Study findings have theoretical and practical implications for tourism stakeholders in integrating regional tourism community development with local influencer networks

Exploring the Status Quo of All-for-one Tourism Development in Meishan City, China: Insights from Local Travel Influencers

All-for-one tourism is a newly proposed concept that aims to promote the transformation of national tourism development in China. Few research studies have focused on the current industry practice of all-for-one tourism in China. A qualitative case study, grounded in an interpretivist paradigm, was conducted to investigate the status quo of all-for-one tourism development in Meishan City, China. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 local travel influencers based on opinion leadership theory. Thematic content analysis was utilized to analyze study data. Study findings revealed that implementing all-for-one tourism was limited by the lack of a clear tourism strategy, uncoordinated development, and low-quality public services. But efforts had been made to support all-for-one tourism in the public service system, tourism supply chain, tourism market order, destination brand strategy, and marketing effectiveness

Interrater Variability in Identifying Ventilator Associated Pneumonia Using Six Different Definitions

Objective There is no widely accepted standard definition for Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP). The reliability of the current definitions in use remains controversial. Our objective was to assess the reliability of six commonly used VAP definitions: The Loose, The Rigorous, The Modified Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS), The Canadian Critical Care Trials Group (CCCTG), The International Sepsis Forum Consensus (ISFC) and The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Design We examined the electronic health records of all the consecutively admitted adult patients at our institution who received invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) for ≥ 48 hours, from January 2006 through December 2006.Patients were excluded if they developed pneumonia within the first 48 hours or if they had a tracheostomy before IMV. Two expert intensivists independently reviewed the following data for each patient: indications and duration of IMV, vital signs, oxygen requirements, frequency of respiratory suctioning, amount, color and consistency of secretion, ventilator settings, leukocyte count, microbiologic and radiographic data. Interreviewer reliability in diagnosing VAP independently were compared using Cohen’s-Kappa statistics. Results A total of 115 patients met the initial inclusion criteria of which 47 patients were excluded (40 had pneumonia on presentation, 6 developed pneumonia within 48 hours and 1 had a tracheostomy on admission). The inter-reviewer agreement Kappa for the Loose, the Rigorous, CPIS, CCCTG, ISFC and CDC definitions for VAP were 0.22, 0.49, 0.33, 0.41, 0.38 and 0.68 respectively. Conclusion The CDC definition of VAP proved to be statistically more reliable than other tested definitions of VAP, as demonstrated by the lowest interrater variability between two independent reviewers

Disclosure of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices

This study aimed to depict the disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices of commercial banks in Bangladesh. The sample included annual reports for the year 2018 of twenty-eight commercial banks out of thirty commercial banks listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) as of June 30, 2019. The data were analyzed using the content analysis technique. The findings indicate that commercial banks have made CSR contributions to eight sectors and disclosed CSR information through thirteen sections of the annual report covering a mixture of four tools. Moreover, although most of the commercial banks have disclosed some quantitative data, the aggregate amount of qualitative and mixed types of CSR disclosure is higher than that of purely quantitative ones. Additionally, all commercial banks have utilized ‘other expense' section for CSR expenditures in the body of ‘financial statements', but most of the commercial banks have ignored ‘corporate social responsibility' sub-head and preferred ‘Donation' or ‘Subscription and Donation' sub-heads in the ‘notes to financial statements'. The overall finding indicates that the CSR disclosure issue in Bangladesh has not received sufficient attention from the commercial banks. This study, therefore, recommends that CSR reporting should be formalized and regulated to enhance stakeholders' confidence in an entity's CSR practice

Effects of face to core particle size ratios on properties of particleboard manufactured from Ethiopian highland bamboo - Yushania alpina.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of face to core proportion of particles on the mechanical and physical properties of oriented particleboard produced from Ethiopian highland bamboo (Yushania alpina). Three-layered oriented particleboards were manufactured from 4 face to core particle proportions at 750 kg/m3 target density. Urea formaldehyde resin (10%) was used as a binder. Strength and dimensional stability performances of all boards were assessed based on ISO standards. The results showed that the Modulus of rupture (MOR) and Modulus of elasticity (MOE) increased by 23 to 34 per cent and 9 to 20 per cent respectively, with an increase of fine particles at face layer from 20 per cent to 25 per cent and 30 per cent. A further increase of the ratio beyond 30 percent at face layer could not improve MOR and MOE. Decreasing core layer ratios below 50 per cent resulted in the improvement of internal bond (IB) strength. Higher surface screw withdrawal resistances were obtained for boards made with 25 per cent and 30 per cent fine particles at face layers. On the other hand, edge screw withdrawal resistance showed an increasing trend with increase of IB strength. Increase in fine particles proportion from 20 per cent to 25 per cent and to 30 per cent reduced thickness swelling by 11 and 21 per cent, respectively. However, further increase to 40 per cent increased the thickness swelling significantly. According to the results, bamboo boards made with the ratio efface to core particle being 30:40:30 have highly improved properties than others. Generally, Y. alpina culms are suitable raw material for the production of high performance regular purpose particleboards

Degradation of organic pollutants in leachate from a garbage incineration plant: Exploring Electrochemical oxidation for the treatment of membrane bioreactor (MBR) effluent

Leachate is one of the significant environmental pollutions in municipal solid waste incineration plants (MSWIP), requiring efficient treatment to achieve the discharge standard. Upon treatment of this leachate from MSWIP in the MBR, the resultant effluent contains a large amount of recalcitrant organic pollutants characterized by the high concentration of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and resists biological degradation. Thus, the electrochemical oxidation technology to oxidize such pollutants was introduced. This study studied the degradation of organic contaminants in leachate from the MBR effluent in MSWIP. Electrochemical oxidation (EO) degradation was stimulated in a batch electrochemical reactor employing graphite carbon electrodes as anode and cathode without an electrolyte. The effect of working variables such as current density, electrolysis time (up to 240 min), the inter-electrode distance between the electrode and initial solution pH were studied. The COD removal rate of 83% was obtained at the current density of 0.8 A/m2, and an operation time of 180 min. The optimal inter-electrode distances and the initial pH were 2cm and 5.04, respectively. It was found that the elevated current densities, high electrolysis time, and alkaline conditions substantially affected the COD removal efficiency. The EO is a useful technology for the degradation of recalcitrant organic pollutants in the MBR effluent for leachate treatmen

Realization of SOC behavior in a dc glow discharge plasma

Experimental observations consistent with Self Organized Criticality (SOC) have been obtained in the electrostatic floating potential fluctuations of a dc glow discharge plasma. Power spectrum exhibits a power law which is compatible with the requirement for SOC systems. Also the estimated value of the Hurst exponent (self similarity parameter), H being greater than 0.5, along with an algebraic decay of the autocorrelation function, indicate the presence of temporal long-range correlations, as may be expected from SOC dynamics. This type of observations in our opinion has been reported for the first time in a glow discharge system.Comment: Key Words: Glow discharge; Self Organized Criticality; Hurst exponent; R/S technique; Power spectrum; Autocorrelation function; Nongaussian probability distribution function. Phys Lett A (article in Press

A Novel K-Means Clustered Support Vector Machine Technique for Prediction of Consumer Decision-Making Behaviour

A greater number of consumers are using social networks to express their feedback about the level of service provided by hotels. Online reviews from patrons can be used as a forum to enhance the level of service of hotels. Customer reviews are indeed a reliable and dependable source that aid diners in determining the quality of their cuisine. It is critical to develop techniques for evaluating client feedback on hotel services. In order to accurately anticipate the consumers' decision-making behaviors based on hotel internet evaluations, this study proposes a novel K-Means Clustered Support Vector Machine (KMC+SVM) technique. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is employed to determine the characteristics from the preprocessed data while the Min-Max normalization approach is used to standardize the raw data. The performance of the suggested technique is then evaluated and contrasted with a few other methods that are currently in use in terms of accuracy, sensitivity, RMSE, and MAE. The findings demonstrated that segmenting customers based on their online evaluations can accurately predict their choices and assist hotel management in establishing priorities for service quality enhancements