An overview of multi-criteria decision-making methods in dealing with sustainable energy development issues

© 2018 by the authors. The measurement of sustainability is actively used today as one of the main preventative instruments in order to reduce the decline of the environment. Sustainable decision-making in solving energy issues can be supported and contradictory effects can be evaluated by scientific achievements of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. The main goal of this paper is to overview the application of decision-making methods in dealing with sustainable energy development issues. In this study, 105 published papers from the Web of Science Core Collection (WSCC) database are selected and reviewed, from 2004 to 2017, related to energy sustainability issues and MCDM methods. All the selected papers were categorized into 9 fields by the application area and into 10 fields by the used method. After the categorization of the scientific articles and detailed analysis, SWOT analysis of MCDM approaches in dealing with sustainable energy development issues is provided. The widespread application and use of MCDM methods confirm that MCDM methods can help decision-makers in solving energy sustainability problems and are highly popular and used in practice

Using fahp-vikor for operation selection in the flexible job-shop scheduling problem: A case study in textile industry

Scheduling of Flexible Job Shop Systems is a combinatorial problem which has been addressed by several heuristics and meta-heuristics. Nevertheless, the operation selection rules of both methods are limited to an ordered variant wherein priority-dispatching rules are not simultaneously deemed in the reported literature. Therefore, this paper presents the application of dispatching algorithm with operation selection based on Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and VIKOR methods while considering setup times and transfer batches. Dispatching, FAHP, and VIKOR algorithms are first defined. Second, a multi-criteria decision-making model is designed for operation prioritization. Then, FAHP is applied to calculate the criteria weights and overcome the uncertainty of human judgments. Afterwards, VIKOR is used to select the operation with the highest priority. A case study in the textile industry is shown to validate this approach. The results evidenced, compared to the company solution, a reduction of 61.05% in average delay

An evaluation of three DoE-guided meta-heuristic-based solution methods for a three-echelon sustainable distribution network

This article evaluates the efficiency of three meta-heuristic optimiser (viz. MOGA-II, MOPSO and NSGA-II)-based solution methods for designing a sustainable three-echelon distribution network. The distribution network employs a bi-objective location-routing model. Due to the mathematically NP-hard nature of the model a multi-disciplinary optimisation commercial platform, modeFRONTIER®, is adopted to utilise the solution methods. The proposed Design of Experiment (DoE)-guided solution methods are of two phased that solve the NP-hard model to attain minimal total costs and total CO2 emission from transportation. Convergence of the optimisers are tested and compared. Ranking of the realistic results are examined using Pareto frontiers and the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution approach, followed by determination of the optimal transportation routes. A case of an Irish dairy processing industry’s three-echelon logistics network is considered to validate the solution methods. The results obtained through the proposed methods provide information on open/closed distribution centres (DCs), vehicle routing patterns connecting plants to DCs, open DCs to retailers and retailers to retailers, and number of trucks required in each route to transport the products. It is found that the DoE-guided NSGA-II optimiser based solution is more efficient when compared with the DoE-guided MOGA-II and MOPSO optimiser based solution methods in solving the bi-objective NP-hard three-echelon sustainable model. This efficient solution method enable managers to structure the physical distribution network on the demand side of a logistics network, minimising total cost and total CO2 emission from transportation while satisfying all operational constraints

Hybrid method for selection of the optimal process of leachate treatment in waste treatment and valorization plants or landfills

“The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10098-014-0834-4”Leachate from waste landfill or treatment plants is a very complex and highly contaminated liquid effluent. In its composition, it is found dissolved organic matter, inorganic salts, heavy metals, and other xenobiotic organic compounds, so it can be toxic, carcinogenic, and capable of inducing a potential risk to biota and humans. European law does not allow such leachate to leave the premises without being depolluted. There are many procedures that enable debugging, always combining different techniques. Choosing the best method to use in each case is a complex decision, as it depends on many tangible and intangible factors that must be weighed to achieve a balance between technical, cost, and environmental sustainability. It is presenting a hybrid method for choosing the optimal combination of techniques to apply in each case, by combining a multicriteria hierarchical analysis based on expert data obtained by the Delphi method with an analysis by the method of VIKOR to reach a consensus solution.Martín Utrillas, MG.; Reyes Medina, M.; Curiel Esparza, J.; Cantó Perelló, J. (2015). Hybrid method for selection of the optimal process of leachate treatment in waste treatment and valorization plants or landfills. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy. 17(4):873-885. doi:10.1007/s10098-014-0834-4S873885174Abbas AA, Guo J, Ping LZ, Ya PY, Al-Rekabi WS (2009) Review on landfill leachate treatments. AJAS 6(4):672–684Abood AR, Bao J, Abudi Z, Zheng D, Gao C (2013) Pretreatment of nonbiodegradable landfill leachate by air stripping coupled with agitation as ammonia stripping and coagulation–flocculation processes. Clean Technol Environ Policy 15(6):1069–1076Ahn WY, Kang MS, Yim SK, Choi KH (2002) Advanced landfill leachate treatment using an integrated membrane process. Desalination 149(1–3):109–114Al-Subhi Al-Harbi KM (2001) Application of the AHP in project management. Int J Proj Manag 19:19–27Bernasconi M, Choirat C, Seri R (2014) Empirical properties of group preference aggregation methods employed in AHP: theory and evidence. Eur J Oper Res 232(3):584–592Boopathy R, Karthikeyan S, Mandal AB, Sekaran G (2013) Characterization and recovery of sodium chloride from salt-laden solid waste generated from leather industry. Clean Technol Environ Policy 15(1):117–124Brechet T, Tulkens H (2009) Beyond BAT: selecting optimal combinations of available techniques, with an example from the limestone industry. J Environ Manag 90:1790–1801Canto-Perello J, Curiel-Esparza J, Calvo V (2013) Criticality and threat analysis on utility tunnels for planning security policies of utilities in urban underground space. Expert Syst Appl 40(11):4707–4714Chen Y, Liu C, Nie J, Wu S, Wang D (2014) Removal of COD and decolorizing from landfill leachate by Fenton’s reagent advanced oxidation. Clean Technol Environ Policy 16(1):189–193Chiochetta CG, Goetten LC, Almeida SM, Quaranta G, Cotelle S, Radetski CM (2014) Leachates from solid wastes: chemical and eco(geno)toxicological differences between leachates obtained from fresh and stabilized industrial organic sludge. Environ Sci Pollut R 21:1090–1098Chiumenti A, da Borso F, Chiumenti R, Teri F, Segantin P (2013) Treatment of digestate from a co-digestion biogas plant by means of vacuum evaporation: tests for process optimization and environmental sustainability. 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Environ Monit Assess 135:107–117Heyer KU, Stegmann R (2005) Landfill systems, sanitary landfilling of solid wastes, and long-term problems with leachate. In: Jördening HJ, Winter J (eds) Environmental Biotechnology. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, p 375Hsu CC, Sandord BA (2007) The Delphi technique: making sense of consensus. PARE 12(10):1–7Kjeldsen P, Barlaz MA, Rooker AP, Baun A, Ledin A, Christensen TH (2002) Present and long-term composition of MSW landfill leachate: a review. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 32(4):297–336Lee WS (2013) Merger and acquisition evaluation and decision making model. Serv Ind J 33(15–16):1473–1494Lee GKL, Chan EHW (2008) The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach for assessment of urban renewal proposals. Soc Indic Res 89(1):155–168Li G, Wang W, Du Q (2010) Applicability of nanofiltration for the advanced treatment of landfill leachate. 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A bibliometric study of human–computer interaction research activity in the Nordic-Baltic Eight countries

Human–computer interaction (HCI) has become an important area for designers and developers worldwide, and research activities set in national cultural contexts addressing local challenges are often needed in industry and academia. This study explored HCI research in the Nordic-Baltic countries using bibliometric methods. The results show that the activity varies greatly across the region with activities dominated by Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, even when adjusting for differences in population size and GDP. Research output variations were larger for the top-tier conferences compared to entry-tier conferences and journals. Locally hosted conferences were associated with local increases in research activity. HCI research longevity appears to be an indicator of research maturity and quantity. HCI researchers typically collaborated either with colleagues within the same institution or with researchers from countries outside the Nordic-Baltic region such as US and the UK. There was less collaboration between national and Nordic-Baltic partners. Collaboration appeared especially prevalent for top-tier conference papers. Top-tier conference papers were also more frequently cited than regional-tier and entry-tier conferences, yet journal articles were cited the most. One implication of this study is that the HCI research activity gaps across the Nordic-Baltic countries should be narrowed by increasing the activity in countries with low research outputs. To achieve this, first-time authors could receive guidance through collaborations with experienced authors in the same institution or other labs around the world. More conferences could also be hosted locally. Furthermore, journals may be more effective than conferences if the goal is to accumulate citations.publishedVersio

A Review and Classification of Approaches for Dealing with Uncertainty in Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Healthcare Decisions

The Author(s) 2015. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Abstract Multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is increasingly used to support decisions in healthcare involving multiple and conflicting criteria. Although uncertainty is usually carefully addressed in health eco-nomic evaluations, whether and how the different sources of uncertainty are dealt with and with what methods in MCDA is less known. The objective of this study is to review how uncertainty can be explicitly taken into account in MCDA and to discuss which approach may be appro-priate for healthcare decision makers. A literature review was conducted in the Scopus and PubMed databases. Two reviewers independently categorized studies according to research areas, the type of MCDA used, and the approach used to quantify uncertainty. Selected full text articles wer