A General Overview of Francisella tularensis and the Epidemiology of Tularemia in Turkey

Tularemia, caused by the facultative intracellular gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis, is a multisystemic disease in humans and some animals. Tularemia occurs predominantly between 30° and 70° latitude in the northern hemisphere, but has rarely been found in the southern hemisphere. F. tularensis can infect a wide range of animals (more than 250 animal species). Small rodents are the main natural hosts, and blood-sucking ectoparasites are the most important vectors. Humans can acquire the infection through bites from infected arthropods (usually ticks), contact with infected animal tissues or fluids, ingestion of contaminated water or food, or inhalation of aerosolized bacteria. The clinical picture and severity of the disease in humans vary depending on the route of transmission, the infecting dose, the Francisella subspecies involved, and the immune status of the host. Clinical presentations include the six classic forms of tularemia: ulceroglandular, glandular, oculoglandular, oropharyngeal, typhoidal, and pneumonic. Tularemia was first recognized in Turkey in 1936, when an outbreak occurred in a military garrison and rural community in the Luleburgaz region. Since then, tularemia epidemics have been reported from different regions of Turkey, but the majority of outbreaks have occurred in the Marmara and western Black Sea region. To date, more than 2000 cases have been serologically confirmed. Recently, tularemia outbreaks emerged in several provinces, mainly located in the central parts of the country. In this review, general characteristics of F. tularensis and the epidemiology of tularemia in Turkey are summarized

Selecting The Best ERP system for SMEs using a combination of ANP and PROMETHEE methods

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, which integrates all of the units within an organization at the information level, plays an important role for a successful enterprise. With the right ERP system, it is easier to provide coordination.between the units, eliminate waste and make faster and better decisions. Adopting an ERP system is a significant investment decision for a firm, therefore a great deal of attention should be given to the selection of the right system. Since there are a large number of criteria to consider in selecting an ERP system, the process itself is regarded as a complex multi-criteria decision making problem. In this study, two prevalent multi-criteria decision making techniques, Analytic Network Process (ANP) and Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), are used in combination to better address the ERP selection problem. First, ANP is used to determine the weights of all criteria, and then, the obtained weights are used in the PROMETHEE method for optimal ranking of the alternative system choices. To demonstrate the viability of the proposed methodology, an application case is performed on the ERP selection problem for the Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Istanbul, Turkey. The proposed hybrid methodology successfully ranked the alternatives and identified the best ERP system based on the information obtained from a number of SMEs participated in this study. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Modified two-phase fuzzy goal programming integrated with IF-TOPSIS for green supplier selection

The environmental consciousness of society and globally competitive market have considerably increased thanks to the scientific studies, media, governmental and non-governmental organizations. In this regard, environmental factors have been considered within the supplier selection process which is a major decision point in supply chains. Hence, in addition to the optimization of the traditional criteria, green criteria have also started to take its place in the supplier selection problem. In this study, an integrated methodology including the Intuitionistic Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (IF-TOPSIS) and a modified two-phase fuzzy goal programming model are proposed to better address this selection problem in a multi-item/multi-supplier/multi-period environment. The detailed steps are explicitly provided within the proposed methodology. In this respect, the criteria importance weights are determined via IF-TOPSIS which enables the opportunity to handle the vagueness within the evaluation process of decision-makers. Afterward, the obtained importance weights are used in the modified two-phase fuzzy goal programming model for selecting the best suppliers. An application in the air filter industry is performed to demonstrate the validation of the proposed methodology. Consequently, the proposed methodology successfully provides the best selection of suppliers by satisfying both classic and green criteria. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Big data analytics capabilities and firm performance: An integrated MCDM approach

This study explores the interdependence of big data analytics (BDA) capabilities and the impact of these capabilities on firm performance using an integrated multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methodology. Drawing on a rich data set obtained from selected case study firms in Pakistan, three MCDM tools, namely, intuitionistic fuzzy decision-making trial and evolution laboratory (IF-DEMATEL), analytic network process (ANP), and simple additive weighting (SAW), are employed to assess the relative importance of BDA capabilities and the relationship of these capabilities with the firm performance. The results show that BDA capabilities are interdependent, and infrastructure capabilities are the highest-ranked among all, followed by management and human resource capabilities, respectively. The SAW results indicate an association between BDA capabilities and firm performance. Moreover, BDA capabilities are more strongly related to operational performance than to market performance

Comparison of municipalities considering environmental sustainability via neutrosophic DEMATEL based TOPSIS

Considering the increasing risk of various events to the environment, environmental sustainability has taken much more attention both by the academics and practitioners than the other topics. Every organization has its own responsibilities. However, public institutions have a more important role, since they have direct effect on all the community considering environmental sustainability. At this point, the performance evaluation of the municipalities becomes important and enables an effective management by not only indicating the existing status of the municipalities but also revealing the gaps for improvement. Hence, regarding the importance of environmental sustainability and performance evaluation, this study firstly provides the environmental sustainability dimensions with related indicators and presents an integrated methodology based on Neutrosophic Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (N-DEMATEL) and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for the performance comparison of municipalities. Different from the classical DEMATEL, NDEMATEL addresses the inherent ambiguity and indeterminacy of decision making process while revealing the importance of factors considering the interaction between them. Afterwards, TOPSIS is used to determine the rank of the municipalities. So as to show the applicability of the proposed methodology, an application is performed in the district municipalities of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality

An integrated decision analysis methodology based on IF-DEMATEL and IF-ELECTRE for personnel selection

Due to its complex, time-demanding, and multifaceted structure, personnel selection is considered as a multi-criteria decision-making problem, the framework of which includes both qualitative and quantitative criteria. Although various techniques have been proposed to address this problem in various industries, a robust methodology that is capable of explicitly considering the presence of uncertainty/vagueness is still a necessity. Therefore, with this study, we propose an integrated methodology that leverages Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Elimination and Choice Expressing the Reality (ELECTRE) methods under Intuitionistic Fuzzy (IF) environment. Within the proposed methodology, firstly, the IF-DEMATEL method is employed to obtain the importance-weights of the elicited criteria, and then the IF-ELECTRE method is formulated and applied to rank the candidates based on cardinal and ordinal evaluations. To illustrate the viability of the proposed methodology, an application case is performed at an air-filter manufacturing company. Hence, this study aims to contribute to the theoretical and practical extent of the related literature by proposing and illustrating an integrated analytics methodology capable of addressing personnel selection decisions in complex and imprecise real-world scenarios

Green Supplier Selection via an Integrated Multi-Attribute Decision_x000D_ Making Approach

The environmental awareness of society and the global competition market has increasedsignificantly due to the environmental problems that happen today. Companies have recognizedthe importance of focusing on environmental issues in order to be strong in a moderncompetitive business environment. Therefore, environmental factors are taken intoconsideration during the supplier selection process, which is an important decision point in thesupply chain. In this study, two robust multi-attribute decision making techniques, IntuitionisticFuzzy AHP (IF-AHP) and PROMETHEE, are used in an integrated way to better handle thisselection problem. The steps are clearly explained in the proposed methodology. First, therelative weights of the criteria are determined by IF-AHP, which allows decision makers (DMs)to deal with the uncertainty of the evaluation process. Subsequently, the weights of criteriaobtained are used in the PROMETHEE method for the best ranking of alternative suppliers. Anapplication is performed in the air filtration industry to demonstrate the validity of the proposedmethod

Design of kitting system in lean-based assembly lines

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical model for designing the kitting system by determining the optimum values of the related design parameters. Design/methodology/approach - Main assembly feeding systems are explained with their advantages and disadvantages. Related literature is reviewed and gaps are determined. To fill the void and to be beneficial for real life lean assembly systems, the elements of the kitting system are explained in detail and a mathematical model minimizing the cost consisting of Work In Process (WIP) and number of workers for the design of a kitting system is developed. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the applicability of the model. Findings - This paper provides a mathematical model that provides the required design parameters for a kitting system such as the tour period, the number of workers and the quantities of the kits by minimizing WIP and labor costs. Originality/value - The paper provides a mathematical model for the design of a kitting system

The use of multi-criteria decision-making methods in business analytics: A comprehensive literature review

Business analytics (BA) systems are considered significant investments for enterprises because they have the potential to considerably improve firms' performance. With the value offered by BA, companies are able to discover the hidden information in the data, improve decision-making processes, and support strategic planning. On the other hand, because there are multiple criteria and multiple alternatives involved in most decisionmaking situations, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods play an important role in BA practices. Providing inputs to the components of descriptive or predictive analytics or being used as a decision-making tool for evaluating the alternatives within prescriptive analytics exemplify the roles. Therefore, the use of hidden information discovered by business analytics and the need for utilizing the right MCDM method for optimal decision-making made these two concepts inseparable. In this paper, in order to review the use of MCDM methods in BA, the subject of BA is investigated from a taxonomical perspective (descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive), and its connection with MCDM techniques is revealed. Similarly, MCDM methods are studied using two main categories, multi-attribute decision making (MADM) and multi-objective decision making (MODM) methods. Furthermore, tabular and graphical analyses are also performed within the proposed review methodology. To the best of our knowledge, this review is the first attempt that holistically considers the use of MCDM methods in BA