INVESTMENT PROJECT SELECTION BY APPLYING COPRAS METHOD AND IMPRECISE DATA

Investment projects can have a significant impact on the functioning and development of acompany. Therefore, the selection of one or more investment projects from the set of possible is animportant and difficult task for decision makers. This paper considers the investment projectsselection based on financial analysis criteria and use of imprecise data. In the proposed model, thealternative projects performances are expressed using crisp and interval values, and then the bestproject from the available is selected by using COPRAS and COPRAS-G methods. A numericalexample is given to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach

Electrochemical Characterisation of Sol-Gel Derived SnO2 for Supercapacitor Application

Pseudocapacitive properties of SnO2 and Sb-doped SnO2 were determined in 0.5 mol dm–3 KCl solution. The samples were prepared by sol-gel method and analysed by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE SEM). Rietveld refinement of XRPD data showed the changes in unit cell parameters due to the incorporation of Sb3+ into the host SnO2 lattice, while FE SEM pointed out the differences in morphology caused by doping. Specific capacitance values of 3.67 and 6.89 F g–1 were obtained for SnO2 and Sb-doped SnO2, respectively. Reaction mechanism of SnO2 that corresponds to the obtained mass change was proposed. It was shown that redox reactions of SnO2 and Sb-doped SnO2 are dependent on structural changes since different mass change properties were obtained in comparison to the previous reports carried out for other metal oxides. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

The effect of macroeconomic determinants of the Chinese economy on the copper price movements

The main goal of this work is to identify and analyze the impact of the Chinese economy key determinants on the global market copper price movements. Our research is based on a multilinear regression analysis of the historical data of the time period from 2003 until 2017. The presented multilinear regression model constitutes the 4 (four) statistically most significant macroeconomic variables, that is, determinants of the Chinese economy, which are used for clarifying current trends and can predict the future movements of prices on the global copper market. Statistically significant determinants are the inflation in China, the Chinese export of goods and services, Chinese import of copper, and consumption of refined copper in China. Obtained results of the research show a dominant role of the demand factor and significant influence of the Chinese economy on the movements of the global copper price. At the same time, the results imply that movements of the copper price on the global market can be an indicator of the economic activities slowing down or speeding up, in the countries which are the major traders of this metal

An integrated SWOT–extended PIPRECIA model for identifying key determinants of tourism development: The case of Serbia

This paper proposes a new integrated model based on SWOT and extended PIvot Pairwise RElative Criteria Importance Assessment (PIPRECIA) that offers a systematic approach to strategic planning in tourism. The applicability of the proposed integrated model is demonstrated through a case study defining the main determinants of tourism development in Serbia. The result emphasizes the strategy Improving the organization, management, and enhancement of tourism development as the highest priority for implementation. The model facilitates decision-making in tourism, and its key advantages are its suitability for application in group decision-making and its simplicity

Improvement of business decision-making in the IT industry using the MCDM approach

The selection of suitable individuals for critical roles within the organization can significantly affect the business efficiency and performance of the organization. For this reason, this article presents a multiple-criteria decision-making procedure for candidates' assessment in the Information Technologies industry (IT) using the integrated PIPRECIA-S and WS-PLP methods. The introduced approach involved defining the criteria' significance with the help of the PIPRECIA-S, while the WS-PLP method was used to evaluate candidates and harmonize the views of decision-makers attitudes. The applicability of the suggested technique was reviewed in the situation of selecting an IT Project Manager in an IT company. However, it can easily be adapted for similar cases of candidate selection

A multiple-criteria approach for the evaluation of comparative indicators of sustainable tourism

In this paper, a multiple-criteria approach has been applied to evaluate and rank types of development indicators of sustainable tourism. Groups of indicators whose comparison was presented through evaluation and prioritization are economy, the satisfaction of tourists, social and cultural elements, as well as environmental ones. The types of indicators discussed in the paper are designed to provide guidelines for measuring the degree of compliance. Using Pivot Pairwise Relatives Criteria Importance Assessment (PIPRECIA) method we have defined the evaluation of the mentioned indicators and their importance. The primary goal of the paper is to demonstrate the practical sides of the Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods in this sort of analysis while highlighting the most crucial sustainable tourism indicators

Wybór projektu ośrodka przy użyciu programowania kompromisowego

Serbia is a landlocked country deprived of the possibility of developing maritime tourism. On the other hand, it has the opportunity to develop the other types of tourism, such as: mountain tourism, spa tourism, rural tourism, etc. Serbia has to improve its tourism infrastructure in order to achieve better quality and meet tourists’ requirements. In that sense, it is necessary to enhance the number of the accommodation facilities that will meet set standards. The selection of the type of the accommodation facility, as well as its location, is a very delicate issue because the right choice influences future operations and revenue. Making a decision without considering the problem from every available aspect could lead to making the wrong decisions. Multiple Criteria Decision Making methods are imposed as the logical approach to solving problems in an effective manner. In this paper, the ranking and selection of the optimal resort project focused on the tourism development of Bačka and is performed using compromise programming.Wybór obiektu noclegowego i jego lokalizacji jest kwestią bardzo delikatną, ponieważ właściwy wybór ma wpływ na przyszłe operacje i przychody. Podjęcie decyzji bez rozważenia każdego możliwego aspektu tego zagadnienia może prowadzić do nieoczekiwanych rezultatów. Stosuje się metodę wielokryterialnego podejmowania decyzji (ang. multiple criteria decision making, MCDM), ponieważ logiczne podejście do skutecznego rozwiązywania problemów jest nieefektywne. W niniejszym artykule proponuje się zastosowanie programowania kompromisowego do wyboru optymalnego projektu ośrodka dla inwestycji. Zastosowanie tej metodologii ukazano na przykładzie czterech projektów resortów w Bačce, zachodniej Wojwodinie, w Serbii. Zostały one wybrane na podstawie sześciu kryteriów, których wagi są określane przy użyciu metody SWARA

An ADAM-based approach to unveiling entrepreneurial ecosystems in selected European countries

Purpose– This study aims to integrate the resource-based view (RBV) with other theories that consider external factors necessary to respond successfully to dynamic and uncertain entrepreneurial business conditions. Design/methodology/approach– The paper introduces an multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach, utilizing the axial-distance-based aggregated measurement (ADAM) method with weights determined by the preference selection index (PSI) method, to rank eight European countries based on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) data. Additionally, the paper extends the existing entrepreneurial ecosystem taxonomy (EET), offering an additional classification. Findings– The performed analysis emphasizes the importance and necessity of involving different dimensions of EE in assessing the countries’ entrepreneurship performance, which facilitates creating adequate policy measures. Research limitations/implications– The crucial limitations are assessments based only on the GEM data from a particular period, possibly leading to a certain bias. Future research should involve data from various resources to increase the results’ reliability. Originality/value– The ranking results and country classification obtained using the ADAM-based approach and two distinct taxonomies served as the basis for formulating tailored policy recommendations, aiming to formulate tailored policy implications for increasing the number of new entrepreneurs and improving innovativeness, sustainability and internationalization of existing entrepreneurs for each group of countries

Inflammatory cardiovascular risk markers and silent myocardial ischemia in type 2 diabetic patients

Background/Aim. A special feature of coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is that it is often a symptomatic and occurs as a consequence of cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy. Dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system is associated with elevated values of inflammatory markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and interleukin- 6 (IL-6), which accelerate atherosclerosis and the occurrence of cardiovascular complications in patients with T2DM. The aim of the study was to evaluate the importance of determining inflammatory cardiovascular risk markers IL-6 and hs-CRP in screening for the presence of CHD in asymptomatic patients with T2DM. Methods. The study included 169 patients with T2DM without any symptoms and signs of CHD. Ergometric testing proved or ruled out the presence of silent CHD. The levels of hs- CRP and IL-6 were determined by ELISA. Results. IL-6 values were significantly higher in patients with a positive ergometric test (6.83 ± 1.99 pg/mL) compared to patients with a negative ergometric test (3.04 ± 1.39 pg/mL) (p < 0.001). We also found that hs-CRP values in patients with a positive ergometric test were significantly higher compared to patients with a negative ergometric test (6.37 ± 2.25 vs 1.67 ± 1.41 mg/L; p < 0.001). Combinations of IL-6 and hs-CRP with age, HbA1c values, and duration of diabetes, presented through three binary logistic regression models, are significant predictors of silent CHD proven by ergometric testing, ie, with their increase, the probability of a positive ergometric test also increases (p < 0.01). The sensitivity of the associated finding of elevated IL-6 and hs-CRP values in the detection of silent CHD by ergometric testing was 90%, and the specificity was 86%. Conclusion. Hs-CRP and IL-6 are significant predictors of silent CHD, and their determination could be recommended for improving cardiovascular risk stratification in asymptomatic patients with T2DM