Analysis of the potentials of multi criteria decision analysis methods to conduct sustainability assessment

Sustainability assessments require the management of a wide variety of information types, parameters and uncertainties. Multi criteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been regarded as a suitable set of methods to perform sustainability evaluations as a result of its flexibility and the possibility of facilitating the dialogue between stakeholders, analysts and scientists. However, it has been reported that researchers do not usually properly define the reasons for choosing a certain MCDA method instead of another. Familiarity and affinity with a certain approach seem to be the drivers for the choice of a certain procedure. This review paper presents the performance of five MCDA methods (i.e. MAUT, AHP, PROMETHEE, ELECTRE and DRSA) in respect to ten crucial criteria that sustainability assessments tools should satisfy, among which are a life cycle perspective, thresholds and uncertainty management, software support and ease of use. The review shows that MAUT and AHP are fairly simple to understand and have good software support, but they are cognitively demanding for the decision makers, and can only embrace a weak sustainability perspective as trade-offs are the norm. Mixed information and uncertainty can be managed by all the methods, while robust results can only be obtained with MAUT. ELECTRE, PROMETHEE and DRSA are non-compensatory approaches which consent to use a strong sustainability concept, accept a variety of thresholds, but suffer from rank reversal. DRSA is less demanding in terms of preference elicitation, is very easy to understand and provides a straightforward set of decision rules expressed in the form of elementary “if … then …” conditions. Dedicated software is available for all the approaches with a medium to wide range of results capability representation. DRSA emerges as the easiest method, followed by AHP, PROMETHEE and MAUT, while ELECTRE is regarded as fairly difficult. Overall, the analysis has shown that most of the requirements are satisfied by the MCDA methods (although to different extents) with the exclusion of management of mixed data types and adoption of life cycle perspective which are covered by all the considered approaches

Relazioni compatte per il progetto di costellazioni satellitari

In questo lavoro saranno individuate equazioni originali in grado di descrivere gli effetti perturbativi di lungo periodo, sugli elementi orbitali classici, di un satellite posto sotto l’influenza di un terzo corpo, nel caso più generale in cui quest’ultimo descriva un’orbita ellittica ed inclinata rispetto all’equatore del corpo primario del satellite. Tali equazioni, unitamente a quelle in grado di stimare gli effetti perturbativi dovuti all’asimmetria del geopotenziale, saranno utilizzate per giungere- analiticamente- a polinomi risolutivi per orbite dedite all’osservazione ambientale (orbite periodiche sincrone e multi-sincrone con il moto apparente del Sole). Saranno dunque fornite relazioni compatte originali per il disegno rapido di costellazioni basato sulla disposizione delle tracce a terra di satelliti posti su una comune orbita periodica, valutata mediante l’uso dei polinomi risolutivi che tengono conto degli effetti perturbativi dell’asimmetria del geopotenziale e del terzo corpo, della quale sono state accuratamente scelte le caratteristiche di osservazione. Data l’estrema semplicità di queste relazioni, ne è possibile l’implementazione su appositi codici che consentiranno di disegnare le costellazioni e valutarne le prestazioni nell’ambito dell’osservazione planetaria, con estrema facilità ed accuratezza. Sono proposti esempi applicativi atti a validare sia le equazioni funzionali alla stima degli effetti perturbativi di terzo corpo che le relazioni compatte per il disegno rapido di costellazioni di satelliti per l’osservazione ambientale

Comparison of tools for the sustainability assessment of nanomaterials

Nanomaterials are becoming widely used in areas such as biomedical applications, food, environmental protection, energy production, information technology and agriculture. As such, more research has been conducted on their synthesis and manufacturing from a variety of feedstocks. However, concerns regarding their impact on human health and the environment leads researchers to conduct a variety of ‘sustainability’ assessments. The purpose of this paper was to review the current opinion of sustainability assessments concerning nanomaterials. Major assessment tools were reviewed including life cycle assessment, risk assessment and multi-criteria decision analysis, along with subcategories. The review found that each assessment tool did positively contribute to sustainability assessments, but each also had drawbacks of varying degrees. In particular, multi-criteria decision analysis provides the most relevant tool for conducting a sustainability assessment as it can handle criteria of any typology and provide multiple types of decision recommendations, including rankings, scores and classifications

Advancing sustainable nanotechnology with multiple criteria decision aiding

Nanotechnology is currently emerging as the next industrial revolution. It enables the production of goods (i.e. nanoproducts, NPs) with enhanced functionalities, which have nonetheless caused mounting concerns about the potential implications they can have on the environment, economy and society. This thesis employs Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA), one form of decision support, to aid the sustainable development of nanotechnology. The first original contribution of this doctoral research is the development of a framework of sustainability assessment criteria for NPs, through a three-phase procedure based on the MCDA process, including a literature review, a pilot and a main survey. It lead to a comprehensive framework of 68 criteria, ranked according to their relative importance, allocated to six main domain areas: (i) economic performance; (ii) environmental impacts; (iii) environmental risk assessment; (iv) human health risk assessment; (v) social implications; and (vi) technical performance. All the criteria are reliable and can be used in real case studies to increase the knowledge about the sustainability of NPs. The second original contribution presented in this thesis is a robust model (DRSA-based model) based on green chemistry principles implementation for the classification of synthesis processes of nanomaterials in preference-ordered classes. This tool was developed through knowledge elicitation techniques based on coconstructive MCDA with the collaboration of two experts (the decision makers) in synthesis of nanomaterials. The robustness of the ensuing model was assessed (and confirmed) by means of another model developed ad hoc (ELECTRE-based model), structured on an MCDA method implementing a stochastic multiple criteria classification strategy. The results confirm that MCDA is an effective decision support approach to foster sustainable development of nanotechnology, providing that the analysts who apply it take these considerations into account. They must ensure that (1) multidisciplinary teams are created to perform comprehensive and credible sustainability evaluations; (2) problem structuring and model construction are as important as (if not more important) than the results (i.e. decision recommendations) themselves; (3) identification of the appropriate MCDA method depends on the problem at hand and not vice-versa; and (4) the credibility of the decision recommendations is subject to the preferences of the decision-makers. If these considerations are accounted for, the possibility of advancing nanotechnology on a sustainable path is very concrete and realistic

Users volatility on Reddit and Voat

Social media platforms are like giant arenas where users can rely on different content and express their opinions through likes, comments, and shares. However, do users welcome different perspectives or only listen to their preferred narratives? This paper examines how users explore the digital space and allocate their attention among communities on two social networks, Voat and Reddit. By analysing a massive dataset of about 215 million comments posted by about 16 million users on Voat and Reddit in 2019 we find that most users tend to explore new communities at a decreasing rate, meaning they have a limited set of preferred groups they visit regularly. Moreover, we provide evidence that preferred communities of users tend to cover similar topics throughout the year. We also find that communities have a high turnover of users, meaning that users come and go frequently showing a high volatility that strongly departs from a null model simulating users' behaviour

A framework of criteria for the sustainability assessment of nanoproducts

AbstractNanotechnology applications (nanoproducts) have entered the market or are expected to do so in the near future. Robust and science-based criteria are required to appraise and manage their sustainability. This paper describes the approach used to develop a comprehensive and reliable framework of criteria, which was missing until now, for evaluating the sustainability of nanoproducts. A literature review of the frameworks and tools employed to assess nanoproducts sustainability implications was firstly performed to select an initial set of criteria. A survey of experts in the sustainable nanotechnology domain was then conducted to elicit their knowledge in terms of completeness, reliability and validity of the criteria set. Ranking and correlation analyses completed the research by identifying the parameters of major interest as well as the links and dependencies between them. A total of 54 and 65 experts replied to the pilot and main survey, respectively. The reliability and validity of the criteria was assessed with the responses from both questionnaires, whereas the answers from the main survey were used to calculate the relative index of the criteria as well as their correlations. This research resulted in a framework composed of 68 criteria, which are structured into six main areas: (i) economic performance; (ii) environmental impacts, (iii) environmental risk assessment; (iv) human health risk assessment; (v) social implications and (vi) technical performance. This study helps to broaden the understanding on the identification of criteria for sustainability assessments. It also provides those interested in evaluating nanotechnology implications with the basis for real case studies, possibly by integrating available information with the stakeholders using tools that support decision-making

A framework for designing medical devices resilient to low-resource settings

Background: To date (April 2021), medical device (MD) design approaches have failed to consider the contexts where MDs can be operationalised. Although most of the global population lives and is treated in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMCIs), over 80% of the MD market share is in high-resource settings, which set de facto standards that cannot be taken for granted in lower resource settings. Using a MD designed for high-resource settings in LMICs may hinder its safe and efficient operationalisation. In the literature, many criteria for frameworks to support resilient MD design were presented. However, since the available criteria (as of 2021) are far from being consensual and comprehensive, the aim of this study is to raise awareness about such challenges and to scope experts’ consensus regarding the essentiality of MD design criteria. Results: This paper presents a novel application of Delphi study and Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to develop a framework comprising 26 essential criteria, which were evaluated and chosen by international experts coming from different parts of the world. This framework was validated by analysing some MDs presented in the WHO Compendium of innovative health technologies for low-resource settings. Conclusions: This novel holistic framework takes into account some domains that are usually underestimated by MDs designers. For this reason, it can be used by experts designing MDs resilient to low-resource settings and it can also assist policymakers and non-governmental organisations in shaping the future of global healthcare

30 years of European Commission Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring Database (REMdb) – an open door to boost environmental radioactivity research

Abstract. The Radioactivity Environmental Monitoring data bank (REMdb) was created in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident (1986) by the European Commission (EC) – Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC), sited in Ispra (Italy). Since then it has been maintained there with the aim to keep a historical record of the Chernobyl accident and to store the radioactivity monitoring data gathered through the national environmental monitoring programs of the member states (MSs). The legal basis is the Euratom Treaty, Chapter III Health and Safety, Articles 35 and 36, which clarify that MSs shall periodically communicate to the EC information on environmental radioactivity levels. By collecting and validating this information in REMdb, JRC supports the DG for Energy in its responsibilities in returning qualified information to the MSs (competent authorities and general public) on the levels of radioactive contamination of the various compartments of the environment (air, water, soil) on the European Union scale. REMdb accepts data on radionuclide concentrations from EU MSs in both environmental samples and foodstuffs from 1984 onwards. To date, the total number of data records stored in REMdb exceeds 5 million, in this way providing the scientific community with a valuable archive of environmental radioactivity topics in Europe. Records stored in REMdb are publicly accessible until 2011 through an unrestricted repository "REM data bank – Years 1984–2006" https://doi.org/10.2905/jrc-10117-10024 (De Cort et al., 2007) and "REM data bank – Years 2007–2011" https://doi.org/10.2905/de42f259-fafe-4329-9798-9d8fabb98de5 (De Cort et al., 2012). Access to data from 2012 onwards is granted only after explicit request, until the corresponding monitoring report is published. Each data record contains information describing the sampling circumstances (sampling type, begin and end time), measurement conditions (value, nuclide, apparatus, etc.), location and date of sampling, and original data reference. In this paper the scope, features and extension of REMdb are described in detail