Application of DEA method in efficiency evaluation of public higher education institutions

Public higher education sector is under a growing pressure worldwide to increase efficiency and improve the quality of its activities. Limited financial resources as well as detailed regulations and supervision of their spending are the important features of the public higher education sector. Another important and debated issue is the division of public money among higher education institutions (HEI). It is therefore crucial to create stimuli for the rational management of public funds by HEI and for the quality improvement of HEI services. One of the proposed ways to achieve the desired result is the comparative efficiency assessment of HEI activities. Setting clear reference points for HEI, such assessment may be treated as a substitute for market competition. This paper describes a comparative efficiency study of 19 Polish universities of technology. Detailed analysis of potential input, output and environmental variables describing the HEI efficiency model was carried out. The study used the CCR-CRS output-oriented DEA model. It was assumed that HEI had more influence on achieved results than on the amount of their resources. The economies of scale were also studied in relation to the efficiency achieved. Sensitivity of the model to data errors was tested. First published online: 28 Jan 201

The twentieth anniversary of the journal: editor's introduction

„The twentieth anniversary of the journal: editor's introduction" Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 20(2), p. 181-18

The 25th anniversary of the journal: editor’s introduction

"The 25th anniversary of the journal: editor’s introduction", Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 25(3), 365-368

Conceptual modelling of sustainable Vilnius development

This research consists of 5 stages: comparative description of the sustainable urban development in developed countries and in Vilnius; a comparison and contrast of sustainable urban development in developed countries and Vilnius; a development of some of the general recommendations as how to improve the efficiency levels for a sustainable Vilnius; submission of particular recommendations for the city of Vilnius; a multiple criteria analysis of sustainable urban development's components and a selection of the most efficient version of sustainable urban development life cycle. The obtained results have partially confirmed the available data, and interesting trends of the development of established cities have been noted. In order to demonstrate the application of the above research, concrete examples of Vilnius will be considered in this paper. Santrauka Šis tyrimas apima penkias pakopas: išsivysčiusių šalių miestų ir Vilniaus darnaus vystymosi lyginamasis aprašymas; išsivysčiusių šalių miestų ir Vilniaus darnaus vystymosi skirtumų nustatymas; bendrų pasiūlymų, kaip pagerinti Vilniaus darnos lygį, kūrimas; konkrečių pasiūlymų pateikimas Vilniaus miestui; miestų darnaus vystymosi komponentų daugiakriterinė analizė ir efektyviausio miesto darnaus vystymosi gyvavimo ciklo varianto parinkimas. Tyrimų rezultatus iš dalies patvirtina turimi duomenys, aprašytos kai kurios žinomų miestų vystymosi tendencijos. Tyrimas iliustruojamas Vilniaus pavyzdžiu. First published online: 21 Oct 2010 Reikšminiai žodžiai: darnus miestų vystymasis, globalinės vystymosi tendencijos, alternatyvos, Vilnius, konceptualus modeliavimas

Assessing the environmental competitiveness of cities based on a novel MCDM approach

Many factors affect the competitiveness of cities. One of the most important of these factors is the environmental dimension, which can affect and be influenced by economic and sociocultural aspects of urban competitiveness. The present study assesses the environmental competitiveness of cities with populations of more than 500,000 in Iran. Our research weighting approach consists of integrated ITARA FUCOM methods to obtain nine criteria weights based on actual data evaluation and expert ideas. In addition, experts' statements are presented using gray logic and transformed into crisp numbers. Then, a modified MARCOS method that uses logarithmic normalization is introduced and implemented to assess fourteen target cities. Finally, The results of MARCOS-LN are compared to those of MARCOS itself, as well as three more MCDM methods (EDAS, CODAS, TOPSIS) and their versions, which utilize logarithmic normalization. The research findings showed that the city of Rasht is the most environmentally competitive, while the city of Kerman is the least competitive (rank 14) among the Iranian cities with populations greater than 500,000. The research results indicate that to improve the competitive position of Iranian cities, the internal capacities, relative advantages, and the competitive role each city can have on a transnational scale, their internal capacities should be paid attention to. This requires decentralized national and transnational planning and development competitiveness scenarios for medium and long-term periods

Integrated multi-criteria evaluation of house’s plan shape based on the EDAS and SWARA methods

With this article we strive to create a theoretical valuation model based on multiple criteria mathematical methods by selecting a basic shape of single-family residential house‘s plan. Most of the researches and analysis discuss the interfaces of architectural shapes of the buildings with sustainability only in the buildings with unique design. Meanwhile, the model comprising a selection of a basic shape of the singlefamily house was not implemented. Our study evaluated the individual parameters associated with selection of the house shape: compactness, safety, material input, variability of premises and spaces. The SWARA (Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) method is applied in the calculation of the relative importance of the criteria and the EDAS (The Method of Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution) method was used to prioritize the alternatives

A model of sustainable urban development formation

Life in any modern city of the world is concentrated mostly in a particular ever‐changing environment. Micro, meso and macro environments have a direct impact on sustainable urban development opportunities. This may facilitate sustainable urban development or, on the contrary, it may create constraints. Micro, meso and macro environments must be considered as an aggregate of forces influencing sustainable urban development and combining both the factors that have a direct impact and those whose impact is indirectly. This researches aim was to develop a model of sustainable urban development formation by undertaking a complex analysis of micro, meso and macro environmental factors affecting it and to present recommendations for the increase of its competitive abilities. First Published Online: 18 Oct 201

Steep increases in biomass demand: the possibilities of short rotation coppice (SRC) agro-forestry

At current usage levels, short rotation coppice (SRC) biomass could be considered as an untapped resource. There is a worldwide interest to extend its sustainable production significantly in a decade to come. However, the cultivation of energy crops is very site-specific and the exploitation of SRC biomass is a relatively new trend in biomass application for heat and power production with little information on its cultivation patterns and appropriate combustion technologies. In fact, documented biomass conversion technologies’ impacts in the energy sector and their commercialisation are limited. This paper aims to present a summary of technical characteristics for different biomass conversion technologies. These characteristics are not necessarily unique to all types and possible modifications of the biomass conversion technologies applied for many countries. However, the lack of technical knowledge have created situations that were previously impossible to be solved without the aid of numerous research and development activities. The developers did not capture all of the economic benefits that the technology provides which would help to reach its technical accomplishment and commercial execution

70th anniversary of the birth of Academician Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas

"70th anniversary of the birth of Academician Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas review."Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 20(2), pp. 182-19

Solving construction project selection problem by a new uncertain weighting and ranking based on compromise solution with linear assignment approach

Selecting a suitable construction project is a significant issue for contractors to decrease their costs. In real cases, the imprecise and uncertain information lead to decisions made based on vagueness.  Fuzzy sets theory could help decision makers (DMs) to address incomplete information. However, this article develops a new integrated multi-criteria group decision-making model based on compromise solution and linear assignment approaches with interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IVIFSs). IVIFSs by presenting a membership and non-membership degree for each candidate based on appraisement criteria could decrease the vagueness of selection decisions. The proposed algorithm involves a new decision process under uncertain conditions to determine the importance of criteria and DMs, separately. In this regard, no subjective or additional information is needed for this process; only the input information required is an alternative assessment matric. In this approach, weights of criteria and DMs are specified based on novel indexes to increase the reliability of obtained results. In this respect, the criteria’ weights are computed regarding entropy concepts. The basis for calculating the weight of each DM is the distance between each DM and an average of the DMs’ community. Furthermore, the linear assignment model is extended to rank the candidates. A case study about the construction project selection problem (CPSP) is illustrated to indicate the application of proposed model