Remarks on the impact of the adopted scale on the priority estimation quality

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is the method that supports people’s decisions in the multi-criteria decision making problems. In this method the decision process is based on pairwise comparing of every two possible alternatives. The decision maker (DM) compares alternatives by choosing an appropriate “linguistic phrase” or a number from a proper set. This set of “linguistic phrases” and/or the numbers connected with them are referred to as the priority scale. There are several different scales that are described in literature and used in AHP practice. In dependence of the scale chosen by the DM, the final decisions might differ. In the AHP it is assumed that DMs make mistakes over comparing pairs of alternatives, but it was also observed that the assumed scale increases these errors as well. In our paper, we investigate the impact of the adopted scale to the number and magnitude of errors in the final decision. Our results show that the choice of the scale has a big impact on the final decision, so it is crucial part of AHP. It turns out that scales with bigger resource of options result in better evaluations of priority vectors

Evaluation of revitalisation projects in Poland using the Maslin Multi-Dimensional Matrix. Heading towards green & social revitalisation

One of the greatest challenges currently facing cities is the evaluation of the revitalisation process, i.e., verifying whether and to what extent it has been successful. This assessment is important as it will determine the extent to which the revitalisation needs of a place have been met. The aim of this article is to present the results of the evaluation of a post-revitalisation space made by its users and to determine the usefulness of the Maslin Multi-Dimensional Matrix (MMDM) method used. This is the first attempt, not previously reported in the literature, to use the MMDM for evaluating revitalisation. According to research, projects of an integration and environmental character and those improving security were the most appreciated and at the same time had the best revitalising effect on the Bydgoskie Przedmieście district in Toruń, Poland. The lowest ratings were given to infrastructural projects or those dedicated to narrow social groups (alternative arts). The MMDM method should be considered an appropriate tool for evaluating revitalisation

Zagadnienie ładu przestrzennego i jego percepcja

Artykuł prezentuje problematykę dotyczącą ładu przestrzennego toruńskiej starówki, analizowanego przez pryzmat opinii mieszkańców miasta. Przedmiotowe zagadnienie zostało odniesione do kwestii nowego urbanizmu, będąc jego integralnym składnikiem. Ład przestrzenny, jako istotny element wpływający na funkcjonowanie miasta, postrzegany jest różnie przez poszczególne grupy wiekowe, które jednak zgodnie twierdzą, że odgrywa on ważną rolę w mieście, ponieważ buduje jego klimat i jest gwarantem dobrej jakości życia. Z przeprowadzonych badań wynika, że Stare Miasto w Toruniu jest enklawą ładu przestrzennego i w ten sposób postrzegane jest przez mieszkańców – użytkowników przestrzeni. Zespół Staromiejski w Toruniu jest przykładem realizacji idei nowego urbanizmu, która łączy kompleksowo uwarunkowania przestrzenne z oczekiwaniami mieszkańców

Stężenie cynku w surowicy krwi kobiet w wieku postmenopauzalnym

Introduction: Demographic facts and forecasts about lengthening life expectancy motivate to systematize the knowledge of health problems experienced by women at the age of 50 and older. It refers to the whole health policy including health economics. Longer female life spans cause that an increasing number of women suffer from health problems associated with the perimenopausal period, and become health care recipients. Also a shift of retirement age is the reason to take interdisciplinary actions for women’s health and quality of life. This study describes a decline in the levels of many bioelements in hair, urine and blood serum, which progresses with age. It not only correlates with a decrease in the synthesis and secretion of estrogen, but also environmental pollution, unhealthy lifestyle and the use of substances. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between serum zinc levels in postmenopausal women and such variables as the use of substances (cigarettes, alcohol) and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT). Material and method: The study was conducted among 152 healthy women being 1-16 years after menopause. The women were divided into study group (MHT users) and control group (MHT non-users). A sub-division criterionwas the use of substances (cigarettes, alcohol). Serum zinc levels were determined in all women. Results: The use of substances significantly contributed to the lowering of serum zinc levels in postmenopausal women. MHT users had statistically higher average zinc levels in blood serum, which referred both to smokers and consumers of alcohol and those who did not use these substances. Conclusions: 1. The use of substances (cigarettes, alcohol) contributes to the lowering of zinc levels in blood serum. 2. MHT positively affects serum zinc levels in postmenopausal women regardless of whether they use substances (cigarettes, alcohol) or not.Wstęp: Fakty i prognozy demograficzne dotyczące stałego trendu wydłużania się średniej długości życia, stają się pilnym postulatem do opracowywania oraz usystematyzowania problemów zdrowotnych kobiet w wieku 50+. Dotyczy to całokształtu polityki zdrowotnej, także w aspekcie ekonomiki zdrowia. Wydłużanie czasu życia kobiet sprawia, że coraz liczniejsza ich populacja doświadcza problemów zdrowotnych związanych ze zjawiskami okresu około-menopauzalnego, co odzwierciedla się dynamiką wzrostu korzystania z opieki zdrowotnej. Opisywane przez Autorów procesy obniżania się stężenia wielu biopierwiastków we włosach, moczu i w surowicy krwi postępują wraz z wiekiem. Zmiany te korelują nie tylko z obniżeniem syntezy i sekrecji estrogenu, ale także zatruciem środowiska oraz niewłaściwym stylem życia, w którym pierwszoplanowym problemem jest rozpowszechnienie stosowania używek. Cel pracy: Określenie zależności pomiędzy stosowaniem używek (papierosy, alkohol) a stężeniem cynku w surowicy krwi u kobiet po menopauzie, oraz wpływu menopauzalnej terapii hormonalnej (MTH) na to stężenie. Materiał i metoda: Badanie przeprowadzone zostało wśród 152 zdrowych kobiet w wieku od 1 roku do 16 lat po menopauzie. Badane podzielono w zależności od tego czy paliły papierosy lub/i spożywały alkohol. U wszystkich oznaczono stężenie cynku w surowicy krwi. Kryterium podziału stanowiło także stosowanie, bądź nie MTH. Wyniki: Stosowanie używek wpływało istotnie na obniżenie stężenia cynku w surowicy krwi kobiet po menopauzie. Kobiety stosujące MTH miały statystycznie wyższe średnie stężenie cynku w surowicy krwi, zarówno te, które paliły papierosy i piły alkohol jak i te, które nie stosowały tych używek. Wnioski: 1. Intensyfikacja edukacji zdrowotnej, mającej na celu zaniechanie stosowania używek może wpłynąć korzystnie na stężenie cynku w surowicy krwi kobiet w wieku postmenopauzalnym, co za tym idzie poprawę ich stanu zdrowia. 2. Upowszechnienie stosowania MHT wpływać może korzystnie na stężenie cynku w surowicy krwi u kobiet po menopauzie zarówno u kobiet stosujących jak i nie stosujących używki (papierosy, alkohol)

Risk factors of pelvic organ prolapsed in women qualified to reconstructive surgery – the Polish multicenter study

To evaluate the prevalence rate of various pelvic floor disorders among patients treated in 8 academic centers in Poland due to pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Results: The mean age of affected women with POP was 61,25 years (median 61), and mean BMI – 27.62 (median – 27.29). 80% of women were menopausal. Mean time of symptoms related to disease was 65,6 months; whereas the time relapsed from first doctor diagnosis of POP to hospital admission was 50.6 months. 97.4% affected women were multiparous. Only 1.21% women with POP were nulliparous. Family history of prolapse was found in 13.4% of patients, whereas familial positive history of urinary incontinence was 10%. Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) among the analyzed group were as follows: frequency – almost 50%, urgency 32.2%, feeling of improper voiding – 29,6% and voiding difficulty – 17.7%. Functional disorders of lower bowel were found in 43% of patients and the most prevalent symptom was constipation (31%), followed by empting difficulty (12%), dyschesia (9%), and urge stool empting (7.7%). Cardiovascular diseases were found among 43% of respondents, whereas pulmonary diseases with chronic coughing were present in 20% of the analyzed population. Subjective POP symptoms reported by women were as follows: feeling of heaviness in lower abdomen – 37.8%, perineal pain – 27.8%, lumbosacral pain – 34.2%, and abdominal pain – 28.4%. Female sexual disorders were reported by 9,8% women and dyspareunia was found in 7.6% of responders. POP was the main reason for sexual abstinence only in 1 out of 10 patients. More than 30% of patients from the study group underwent previously pelvic surgery due to various reasons. POP related quality of life measured by VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) was 61.4 points (median – 60). The most common finding during gynecological examination was cystocele – 96.5%, followed by rectoenterocele – 92.7%, and central defect – 79%. Mean POP quantification was stage III in POP-Q scale. LUTS symptoms (urinary incontinence, urgency and voiding difficulties) were present among 81% of patients whereas lower gastrointestinal disorders (constipation, fecal incontinence, dyschesia) were found in 43% of women affected by POP

Relationship between priority ratios disturbances and priority estimation errors

This article is devoted to some problems connected with multicriteria decision analysis. We consider the relationship between the pairwise comparison matrix (PCM) and a priority vector (PV) obtained on the basis of this matrix. The PCM elements are the decision makers’ judgments about priority ratios i.e. the ratios of weights contained in the PV. It is known, that in the case of consistent matrix, we can obtain the exact value of related PV. However, the real-world practice shows that the decision maker does not create a perfectly consistent PCM, and thus usually in such a matrix the judgment’s errors occur. In our paper we use Monte Carlo simulation to study the relationship between various possible distributions of these errors and the distributions of the errors in estimates of the true PV. In these simulation we apply some initial families distribution and some different parameters. We obtain interesting results which show very slight influence families distribution on final PV errors. Our paper show that much bigger influence on simulation result have adopted parameters than selection distribution family

Remarks about geometric scale in the analytic hierarchy process

The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is perhaps the most popular approach to decision-making problems of prioritization. The basis of the AHP is pairwise comparison, which is used to compare alternatives. This comparisons are provided by decision makers usually as linguistic expressions which are next converted to numbers from a fixed set called a scale. The influence of the scale on the quality of prioritization was investigated in a number of papers. One of the most important types of judgment scale is the Geometric Scale. Its elements depend on specific parameters. In this paper, the impact of the choice of this scale’s parameters on errors in priority vectors and on values of the inconsistency indices is studied via Monte Carlo simulations

How to recognize a good repository?

Starannie prowadzone repozytorium to repozytorium dopasowane do całego systemu repozytoryjnego, obejmującego repozytoria instytucjonalne i dziedzinowe oraz repozytoria danych. Wymiana metadanych umożliwia powstawanie agregatorów. Ważna jest nie tylko dostępność treści w Internecie, ale również ich widoczność. Repozytoria mogą poprawiać widoczność zdeponowanych w nich treści uwzględniając wymogi wyszukiwarek internetowych, które dla wielu użytkowników są podstawowym sposobem pozyskiwania informacji naukowej. W artykule przedstawiono generalne zasady poprawiania widoczności w Internecie, a także kilka szczegółowych wskazówek.A carefully conducted repository fits well into the whole repository system, which includes institutional and discipline repositories, as well as data repositories. It is possible to develop metadata aggregators owing to metadata exchange. Visibility is no less important than access to the materials on the Internet. Repositories can improve visibility of the deposited materials by taking into account the requirements of search engines, which are the basic means of obtaining scientific information for many users. The article presents general rules of improving online visibility and a few specific pieces of advice