The European school of MCDA: Emergence, basic features and current works

Optimal ranking and directional signature classification using the integral strategy of multi-objective optimization-based association rule mining of multi-omics data

Introduction: Association rule mining (ARM) is a powerful tool for exploring the informative relationships among multiple items (genes) in any dataset. The main problem of ARM is that it generates many rules containing different rule-informative values, which becomes a challenge for the user to choose the effective rules. In addition, few works have been performed on the integration of multiple biological datasets and variable cutoff values in ARM. Methods: To solve all these problems, in this article, we developed a novel framework MOOVARM (multi-objective optimized variable cutoff-based association rule mining) for multi-omics profiles. Results: In this regard, we identified the positive ideal solution (PIS), which maximized the profit and minimized the loss, and negative ideal solution (NIS), which minimized the profit and maximized the loss for all gene sets (item sets), belonging to each extracted rule. Thereafter, we computed the distance (d +) from PIS and distance (d -) from NIS for each gene set or product. These two distances played an important role in determining the optimized associations among various pairs of genes in the multi-omics dataset. We then globally estimated the relative closeness to PIS for ranking the gene sets. When the relative closeness score of the rule is greater than or equal to the pre-defined threshold value, the rule can be considered a final resultant rule. Moreover, MOOVARM evaluated the relative score of the rule based on the status of all genes instead of individual genes. Conclusions: MOOVARM produced the final rank of the extracted (multi-objective optimized) rules of correlated genes which had better disease classification than the state-of-the-art algorithms on gene signature identification.

Constructivist multi-criteria model to support the management of occupational accident risks in civil construction industry

Civil construction is one of the industrial sectors with continuous growth globally, particularly in Brazil in the last 50 years. Unfortunately, it is also one of the productive segments with the highest incidence of accidents, which overshadows its merits as a driver of economic growth and job creation. The damage to workers' health caused by accidents at work results from the presence of work environment risk factors. Therefore, this study aims to manage these risk factors for the civil construction industry. The work is original with respect to building a model to support risk management in civil construction for a specific and relevant context. It is ensured by presenting an unprecedented approach to the sector that incorporates information not considered by classic generic approaches. This research, thereby, seeks to build a model to support the risk management of accidents in the workplace in the prefabricated concrete construction industry. It is a case study with a constructivist approach and an exploratory and descriptive character, incorporating the Multicriteria Methodology for Decision Aiding-Constructivist (MCDA-C). The main findings include (i) identifying the strategic objectives: occupational safety policy, work environment, machines and equipment, condition of materials, procedures and methods, and skills, which were operationalized via 58 criteria; (ii) examining the scales of the criteria such as the performance profile of the current situation and the goal, highlighting the vulnerabilities and potentials; (iii) proposing improvement actions for the vulnerabilities, thus supporting risk management in the organization. Among the contributions, managers and professionals in the field contribute to the possibility of using an instrument customized to the context and legitimate to their concerns and values stands out. Furthermore, the contributions of researchers include the challenge of improving their generic models with the knowledge of personalized models.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Food Safety Risk Management: The Case of Dioxins in Baltic Fish

The Swedish risk management case of Baltic fatty fishes, in which dioxin levels may be too high, is a typical multidimensional food safety decision problem involving public health, economic, environmental and socio-cultural aspects. To effectively address the dioxin food safety problem, the multiple dimensions and conflicting interests of stakeholders have to be considered systematically when evaluating competing risk management options. The objectives of this study were to illustrate the applicability of the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method for multidimensional food safety risk management problems, and to evaluate the Swedish dioxin risk management using MCDA. The results show that the MCDA method is indeed a relevant tool for modelling the multifactorial Swedish dioxin problem and for initiating discussions amongst stakeholders to increase the acceptance of chosen strategies. Abolishing the derogation from the European Commission’s maximum limits for the presence of dioxins in Swedish fish is the dominant strategy for risk assessors, whereas the preferences provided by the other stakeholders would suggest a continuation of the derogation without providing consumer information. However, the preferences of female consumers match with the 2011 decision of the Swedish government to ask for a derogation in combination with consumer information. The conclusion drawn from our MCDA analysis is comparable to the government’s decision that—given the gradual reduction in dioxin concentrations in Baltic fish—the decision to continue providing consumer information or not mainly depends on how risk managers balance the preferences of the different stakeholders.

Deciding a Multicriteria Decision-Making (MCDM) Method to Prioritize Maintenance Work Orders of Hydroelectric Power Plants

The current global competitive scenario and the increase in complexity and automation of equipment and systems demand better results from maintenance management in organizations. As maintenance resources are limited, prioritizing maintenance activities is essential to allocate them properly and to meet maintenance management objectives. In the face of these challenges, multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are commonly used in organizations to support decision-making. Nevertheless, selecting a suitable MCDM method for maintenance planning can be complicated given the diversity of methods and their strengths and weaknesses. In this context, this paper proposes a novel knowledge-based method for deciding a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) method to prioritize maintenance work orders of hydroelectric plants. As the main novel contribution, it translates the intrinsic characteristics of the main MCDM methods into questions related to maintenance planning to guide the recommendation of a suitable MCDM method for organizations through a decision tree diagram. This approach was applied to a maintenance case study of a hydroelectric power plant in order to demonstrate its use and contribute to its understanding. These findings contribute to maintenance management in selecting an MCDM method aligned with the context of its maintenance planning for the prioritization of maintenance work orders.

Macro Sustainability across Countries: Key Sector Environmentally Extended Input-Output Analysis

When formulating economic development strategies, the environment and society must be considered to preserve well-being. This paper proposes a comparative sustainability assessment method using environmentally extended input-output analysis and multi-criteria decision aid. Using symmetric input-output tables and sectoral CO2 emissions and employment data for six countries, linkage coefficients are calculated for 163 sectors in each country. Multi-criteria decision aid tool, ELECTRE III, is used to derive outranking relationships among each country’s sectors using these coefficients as criteria, resulting in a hierarchy of sectors ordered by sustainability. Sectors that frequently appear at the top of the six hierarchies included education, health care, construction, and financial intermediation. China’s results differ significantly because of its concentration of economic activity on the primary/secondary sectors. The results can enable identification of key intervention pathways along which sustainable development could be stimulated. Country-specific recommendations and reflections on economic and sustainability policy initiatives are discussed.

Multi-Criteria Seed Selection for Targeting Multi-Attribute Nodes in Complex Networks

Online environments have evolved from the early-stage technical systems to social platforms with social communication mechanisms resembling the interactions which can be found in the real world. Online marketers are using the close relations between the users of social networks to more easily propagate the marketing contents in their advertising campaigns. Such viral marketing campaigns have proven to provide better results than traditional online marketing, hence the increasing research interest in the topic. While the majority of the up-to-date research focuses on maximizing the global coverage and influence in the complete network, some studies have been conducted in the area of budget-constrained conditions as well as in the area of targeting particular groups of nodes. In this paper, a novel approach to targeting multi-attribute nodes in complex networks is presented, in which an MCDA method with various preference weights for all criteria is used to select the initial seeds to best reach the targeted nodes in the network. The proposed approach shows some symmetric characteristics—while the global coverage in the network is decreased, the coverage amongst the targeted nodes grows.

Fusing Multi-Attribute Decision Models for Decision Making to Achieve Optimal Product Design

Manufacturers need to select the best design from alternative design concepts in order to meet up with the demand of customers and have a larger share of the competitive market that is flooded with multifarious designs. Evaluation of conceptual design alternatives can be modelled as a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) process because it includes conflicting design features with different sub features. Hybridization of Multi Attribute Decision Making (MADM) models has been applied in various field of management, science and engineering in order to have a robust decision-making process but the extension of these hybridized MADM models to decision making in engineering design still requires attention. In this article, an integrated MADM model comprising of Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), Fuzzy Pugh Matrix and Fuzzy VIKOR was developed and applied to evaluate conceptual designs of liquid spraying machine. The fuzzy AHP was used to determine weights of the design features and sub features by virtue of its fuzzified comparison matrix and synthetic extent evaluation. The fuzzy Pugh matrix provides a methodical structure for determining performance using all the design alternatives as basis and obtaining aggregates for the designs using the weights of the sub features. The fuzzy VIKOR generates the decision matrix from the aggregates of the fuzzified Pugh matrices and determine the best design concept from the defuzzified performance index. At the end, the optimal design concept is determined for the liquid spraying machine.

A Combination of PROMETHEE and Goal Programming Methods for the Evaluation of Water Airport Connections

Greece is a country with a unique morphology. Having an extensive coastline and thousands of islands, the rise of the touristic industry is significant. The recent economic crisis as well as the increased infrastructure construction costs on the islands, created the urge to develop alternative and innovative transport systems. The seaplane, a modern, eco-friendly mode, allows effortless and quick connection between ports and airports from all over the country and distant coastal areas and islands. Seaplanes can be used by both residents and visitors or/and carry shipments. The research presented herein focuses on the development of a methodological framework for the evaluation of different areas for water aerodrome allocation, initially among different islands. Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) was selected among the large spectrum of existing evaluation methods, because it was considered to be the most suitable approach as it gives the opportunity to use diverse criteria, both quantitative and qualitative. Significant criteria include the distance between the origin waterdrome location and protected natural areas, wave and wind data of each area, the operational cost of seaplanes and the number of passenger arrivals and departures. Weights are accorded to the criteria based on experts' opinion and applying goal programming approach. The evaluation of the alternatives takes place with the aid of the PROMETHEE method. The suggested approach is then implemented through a case study; the investigation of the potential connection of Thessaloniki, the second-largest city in Greece and a transportation hub for the southeastern Europe and the Balkans, with the Cyclades islands, in South Aegean Region.

Public Initiatives of Settlement Transformation: A Theoretical-Methodological Approach to Selecting Tools of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

In Europe, the operating context in which initiatives of settlement transformation are currently initiated is characterized by a complex, elaborate combination of technical, regulatory and governance-related factors. A similar set of considerations makes it necessary to address the complex decision-making problems to be resolved through multidisciplinary, comparative approaches designed to rationalize the process and treat the elements to be considered in systematic fashion with respect to the range of alternatives available as solutions. Within a context defined in this manner, decision-making processes must often be used to obtain multidisciplinary and multidimensional analyses to support the choices made by the decision-makers. Such analyses are carried out using multi-criteria tools designed to arrive at syntheses of the numerous forms of input data needed to describe decision-making problems of similar complexity, so that one or more outcomes of the synthesis make possible informed, well thought-out, strategic decisions. The technical literature on the topic proposes numerous tools of multi-criteria analysis for application in different decision-making contexts. Still, no specific contributions have been drawn up to date on the approach to take in selecting the tool best suited to providing adequate responses to the queries of evaluation that arise most frequently in the various fields of application, and especially in the settlement sector. The objective of this paper is to propose, by formulating a taxonomy of the endogenous and exogenous variables of tools of multi-criteria analysis, a methodology capable of selecting the tool best suited to the queries of evaluation which arise regarding the chief categories of decision-making problems, and particularly in the settlement sector.

Integrating knowledge exchange and the assessment of dryland management alternatives - A learning-centered participatory approach

The adoption of sustainable land management strategies and practices that respond to current climate and human pressures requires both assessment tools that can lead to better informed decision-making and effective knowledge-exchange mechanisms that facilitate new learning and behavior change. We propose a learning-centered participatory approach that links land management assessment and knowledge exchange and integrates science-based data and stakeholder perspectives on both biophysical and socio-economic attributes. We outline a structured procedure for a transparent assessment of land management alternatives, tailored to dryland management, that is based on (1) principles of constructivism and social learning, (2) the participation of stakeholders throughout the whole assessment process, from design to implementation, and (3) the combination of site-specific indicators, identified by local stakeholders as relevant to their particular objectives and context conditions, and science-based indicators that represent ecosystem services of drylands worldwide. The proposed procedure follows a pattern of eliciting, challenging, and self-reviewing stakeholder perspectives that aims to facilitate learning. The difference between the initial baseline perspectives and the final self-reviewed stakeholder perspectives is used as a proxy of learning. We illustrate the potential of this methodology by its application to the assessment of land uses in a Mediterranean fire-prone area in East Spain. The approach may be applied to a variety of socio-ecological systems and decision-making and governance scales.

Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis for Health Care Decision Making--An Introduction: Report 1 of the ISPOR MCDA Emerging Good Practices Task Force

Health care decisions are complex and involve confronting trade-offs between multiple, often conflicting, objectives. Using structured, explicit approaches to decisions involving multiple criteria can improve the quality of decision making and a set of techniques, known under the collective heading multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA), are useful for this purpose. MCDA methods are widely used in other sectors, and recently there has been an increase in health care applications. In 2014, ISPOR established an MCDA Emerging Good Practices Task Force. It was charged with establishing a common definition for MCDA in health care decision making and developing good practice guidelines for conducting MCDA to aid health care decision making. This initial ISPOR MCDA task force report provides an introduction to MCDA - it defines MCDA; provides examples of its use in different kinds of decision making in health care (including benefit risk analysis, health technology assessment, resource allocation, portfolio decision analysis, shared patient clinician decision making and prioritizing patients' access to services); provides an overview of the principal methods of MCDA; and describes the key steps involved. Upon reviewing this report, readers should have a solid overview of MCDA methods and their potential for supporting health care decision making.

An MCDA-C application to evaluate supply chain performance

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to develop a performance evaluation model for the operations of the supply chain of an organization of the refrigeration equipment sector. The tool must aid the decision maker in the performance improvement and creation of competitive advantages.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study adopts a mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches and applies them through a case study. The data collection was conducted through unstructured interviews and supplemented by documentary research. The applied intervention instrument is the Multicriteria Decision Aid – Constructivist (MCDA-C).

Findings

– Identification, organization, ordinal and cardinal measurement and integration of the aspects of the context judged as relevant by the decision maker. In addition, it can be highlighted the current situation diagnosis and elaboration of improvement actions related to lean philosophy and advanced planning systems.

Practical implications

– The developed model is being used to aid the decision maker in their decisions concerning the improvement of the supply chain operations.

Originality/value

– The main contributions made by the paper resides in the proposal of solutions for fulfiling gaps identified within the supply chain performance evaluation area and in the application of the MCDA-C to a practical case.

Keywords

Performance, Supply chain, Multicriteria, Decision, MCDA-C

Paper type

Case study

Resumen

Objetivo

Objetivo

– El objetivo de este artículo es desarrollar un Modelo de Desempeño para las operaciones de cadena de suministro de una organización en el sector de equipos de refrigeración. La herramienta debe ayudar a quién toma las decisiones en mejorar el desempeño y crear ventajas competitivas.

Diseño/metodología/enfoque

– El estudio usa una combinación de enfoques cualitativos y cuantitativos aplicándolos a un caso estudio. La recolección de datos se hizo a través de entrevistas no estructuradas y se complementó con investigación documental. El instrumento de intervención usado es el Multicriterio De Apoyo a la Decisión-Constructivista (MCDA-C).

Hallazgos

– Identificación, organización, mediciones ordinales y cardinales e integración de los aspectos de los contextos considerados como relevantes por el tomador de decisiones. Se puede destacar además la situación actual de diagnóstico y la elaboración de acciones de mejoramiento relacionados con la filosofía Lean y los Sistemas avanzados de planificación.

Implicaciones prácticas

– El modelo desarrollado esta siendo usado para ayudar al toma decisiones en las decisiones concernientes con el mejoramiento de las operaciones de la cadena de suministro.

Originalidad/valor

– La mayor contribución hecha por este artículo reside en proponer soluciones para cubrir brechas identificadas dentro el área de Evaluación de Rendimiento en la Cadena de Suministro y en la aplicación del MCDA-C a un caso práctico.

Palabras Claves

Desempeño, Cadena de Suministro, Decisión, Multicriterio, MCDA-C

Tipo de papel

estudio de caso

Resumo

Objetivo

Objetivo

– O objetivo de este artigo é desenvolver um Modelo de Avaliação Desempenho para as operações da cadeia de suprimentos de uma organização do setor de equipamentos de refrigeração. O modelo proposto deve ajudar o tomador de decisões a melhorar o desempenho e criar vantagens competitivas.

Desenho/metodologia/enfoque

– O estudo faz uso de uma abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa aplicada em um Estudo de Caso. A coleta dos dados foi feita por meio de entrevistas abertas, sendo complementada por pesquisa documental. O instrumento de intervenção usado é o Multicriteria Decision Aid – Constructivist (MCDA-C).

Achados

– Identificação, organização, medições ordinais e cardinais, e integração dos aspectos do contexto são considerados como relevantes para o tomador de decisões. Além disso, destacam-se o diagnóstico da situação atual e a elaboração de ações de aperfeiçoamento, nas quais se avaliam os efeitos da implementação da Filosofia Enxuta e de um Sistema de Planejamento Avançado na organização.

Implicações práticas

– O modelo desenvolvido auxilia o tomador de decisões nas decisões concernentes ao melhoramento das operações da cadeia de suprimentos.

Originalidade/valor

– As principais contribuições do artigo residem na proposição de melhorias em lacunas ainda presentes na avaliação do desempenho da cadeia de suprimentos e também na aplicação da MCDA-C em um caso prático.

Palavras-Chave

Desempenho, Cadeia de Suprimentos, MCDA-C, Decisão, Multicritério

Tipo de papel

estudo de caso

Decision support models for solid waste management: review and game-theoretic approaches

This paper surveys decision support models that are commonly used in the solid waste management area. Most models are mainly developed within three decision support frameworks, which are the life-cycle assessment, the cost-benefit analysis and the multi-criteria decision-making. These frameworks are reviewed and their strengths and weaknesses as well as their critical issues are analyzed, while their possible combinations and extensions are also discussed. Furthermore, the paper presents how cooperative and non-cooperative game-theoretic approaches can be used for the purpose of modeling and analyzing decision-making in situations with multiple stakeholders. Specifically, since a waste management model is sustainable when considering not only environmental and economic but also social aspects, the waste management bargaining game is introduced as a specific decision support framework in which future models can be developed.

Multiple criteria decision analysis for health technology assessment

OBJECTIVES

Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been suggested by some researchers as a method to capture the benefits beyond quality adjusted life-years in a transparent and consistent manner. The objectives of this article were to analyze the possible application of MCDA approaches in health technology assessment and to describe their relative advantages and disadvantages.

METHODS

This article begins with an introduction to the most common types of MCDA models and a critical review of state-of-the-art methods for incorporating multiple criteria in health technology assessment. An overview of MCDA is provided and is compared against the current UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence health technology appraisal process. A generic MCDA modeling approach is described, and the different MCDA modeling approaches are applied to a hypothetical case study.

RESULTS

A comparison of the different MCDA approaches is provided, and the generic issues that need consideration before the application of MCDA in health technology assessment are examined.

CONCLUSIONS

There are general practical issues that might arise from using an MCDA approach, and it is suggested that appropriate care be taken to ensure the success of MCDA techniques in the appraisal process.

A multi-objective approach to solid waste management

The issue addressed in this paper consists in the localization and dimensioning of transfer stations, which constitute a necessary intermediate level in the logistic chain of the solid waste stream, from municipalities to the incinerator. Contextually, the determination of the number and type of vehicles involved is carried out in an integrated optimization approach. The model considers both initial investment and operative costs related to transportation and transfer stations. Two conflicting objectives are evaluated, the minimization of total cost and the minimization of environmental impact, measured by pollution. The design of the integrated waste management system is hence approached in a multi-objective optimization framework. To determine the best means of compromise, goal programming, weighted sum and fuzzy multi-objective techniques have been employed. The proposed analysis highlights how different attitudes of the decision maker towards the logic and structure of the problem result in the employment of different methodologies and the obtaining of different results. The novel aspect of the paper lies in the proposal of an effective decision support system for operative waste management, rather than a further contribution to the transportation problem. The model was applied to the waste management of optimal territorial ambit (OTA) of Palermo (Italy).

ANSWER SET PROGRAMMING AND COMBINATORIAL MULTICRITERIA DECISION MAKING

The majority of approaches to multicriteria optimization are based on quantitative representations of preferences of a decision maker, in which numerical procedures of multicriteria analysis are used for aggregation purposes. However, very often qualitative data cannot be known in terms of absolute values so that a qualitative approach is needed. Moreover, the multicriteria methods are directly applicable when alternatives are individuals-then they may be explicitly listed and ordered by an agent. However, sometimes the set of alternatives has combinatorial structure and it must be selected from the set of Cartesian products of value domains of attributes satisfying certain constraints. Then, the space of possible alternatives has a size exponential in the number of variables and ranking all alternatives explicitly is a complex and tedious task. In this paper we propose logic programming with ordered disjunction as a qualitative approach to combinatorial multicriteria decision making, allowing a concise representation of the preference structures, and a human-like form of expressions, being close to natural language, hence providing a good readability and simplicity. A combinatorial multicriteria decision making problem is encoded as a logic program, in which preferences of the decision maker are represented qualitatively. The optimal decision corresponds exactly to the preferred answer set of the program, obtained via the well-known methods of multicriteria analysis.

Generalizations of Semiorders: A Review Note

Semiorders may form the simplest class of partially ordered sets that accommodate thresholds of discriminability in binary comparisons. Many other classes of ordered sets that generalize the uniform-threshold feature of semiorders have been studied in recent years. This note describes a variety of generalizations and their interrelationships, including equivalences and proper inclusions between classes. Nine nonequivalent classes are designated as interval orders, bisemiorders, split semiorders, unit tolerance orders, unit bitolerance orders, tolerance orders, bitolerance orders, semitransitive orders, and subsemiorders. Each is defined by an interval representation or by a few minimal forbidden configurations. All proper inclusions between classes are identified along with equivalences to other classes. Copyright 1997 Academic Press. Copyright 1997 Academic Press