An emergency decision making method based on the multiplicative consistency of probabilistic linguistic preference relations

A Multiattribute Group Decision-Making Method With Probabilistic Linguistic Information Based on an Adaptive Consensus Reaching Model and Evidential Reasoning

This article proposes a new multiattribute group decision-making (MAGDM) method with probabilistic linguistic information that considers the following three aspects: an allocation of ignorance information, a realization of group consensus, and an aggregation of assessments. To allocate ignorance information, an optimization model based on minimizing the distances among experts is developed. To measure the consensus degree, a consensus index that considers the information granules of linguistic terms (LTs) is defined. On this basis, a suitable optimization model is established to realize the group consensus adaptively by optimizing the allocation of information granules of LTs with the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. With an objective to reduce the information loss during aggregation phases, the process of generating comprehensive assessments of alternatives with the evidential reasoning (ER) algorithm is presented. Therefore, a new method is developed based on the adaptive consensus reaching (ACR) model and the ER algorithm. Finally, the applicability of the proposed method is demonstrated by solving a selection problem of a financial technology company. Comparative analyses are conducted to show the advantages of the proposed method.

Multiplicative consistency of linguistic preference relations with weakened hedges

Preference relations are often used to derive the priority of attributes and/or alternatives. Linguistic term with weakened hedges (LTWH) as a type of complex linguistic expressions can more straightforwardly describe the linguistic information provided by DMs when evaluating under uncertainties. The preference relations represented by LTWHs are an effective tool to model linguistic information. The concept and properties of additive consistency have been proposed before. This paper aims to study the multiplicative consistency of preference relations expressed by LWTHs. This paper constructs the principle of inspection for multiplicative consistency. Especially, the theories and algorithms for consistency checking and improving are proposed. We develop an automatic approach to improve a LWHPR that is not multiplicatively consistent. Finally, we demonstrate the practicality of the proposed method through a case study of evaluating the attributes in the prevention of haze pollution in China.

The research for PLTS normalization method based on minimum entropy change and its application in MAGDM problem

In the problem of multiple attributes group decision making (MAGDM), the probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs) is an useful tool which can be more flexible and accurate to express the evaluation information of decision makers (DMs). However, due to the lack of time or knowledge, DMs tend to provide the evaluation information by incomplete PLTSs (InPLTSs) which contain missing information. The process to estimate the missing information of InPLTSs is essential, which is called the normalization of InPLTSs. By analyzing the previous methods, the existing defect is that the original uncertainty information of InPLTS can be hardly retained after normalizing. Moreover, the literature that considers the normalization method from perspective of entropy change is absent. Thus, to overcome the shortcoming and fill the research blank, we propose two optimization models based on minimum entropy change of InPLTSs, which can remain the original uncertainty information of InPLTSs to the greatest extent. Inspired by entropy measure of PLTSs, the novel concepts related to entropy measure of InPLTS are developed. In addition, based on the novel normalization method, a decision model is constructed to solve the MAGDM problem. To verify the feasibility and superiority of the proposed method and model, a case about the selection of five-star scenic spots is given and we conduct to have comparative analysis with other methods.

The Research on Consistency Checking and Improvement of Probabilistic Linguistic Preference Relation Based on Similarity Measure and Minimum Adjustment Model

In the process of decision making, the probabilistic linguistic term set (PLTS) is a useful tool to express the evaluation information provided by decision makers (DMs). On the basis of PLTS, the probabilistic linguistic preference relation (PLPR) has been proposed, which can well describe the uncertainty of preferences when experts conduct pairwise comparison between any two alternatives. The consistency analysis is an essential process to check whether the preferences are reasonable and logical. For the consistency checking and improvement of PLPR, some methods have been developed to conduct the work. However, the previous methods seldom consider whether the information of original preferences is distorted after the adjustment of inconsistency preferences, and the adjustment processes are complicated in much of the literature. To overcome the defects of existing methods, we developed a novel PLPR consistency analysis model, and this paper mainly contains two sections. On the one hand, a new consistency index and the consistency checking method are proposed based on similarity measure, respectively. On the other hand, based on the idea of minimum adjustment, we constructed an optimization model to improve the consistency level and develop the process of decision making on the basis of consistency analysis. A numerical example about talent recruitment is given to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. We have a comparative analysis with Zhang’s method from many aspects including the decision results, consistency checking and improvement, as well as adjusted preferences, adjustment costs and consistence threshold. At length, the conclusion of this research is that the proposed consistency analysis model is superior to the previous method on the determination of adjustment parameter, as well as the adjustment cost and the retention of original preferences. To show the effectiveness and superiority, we have a comparative analysis with other approaches. At length, the conclusion of this study is drawn.

Model for evaluating the security of wireless sensor network with fuzzy number intuitionistic fuzzy information

Many experts and scholars focus on the Maclaurin symmetric mean (MSM) equation, which can reflect the interrelationship among the multi-input arguments. It has been generalized to different fuzzy environments and put into use in various actual decision problems. The fuzzy data intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (FNIFNs) could well depict the uncertainties and fuzziness during the security evaluation of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). And the WSN security evaluation is frequently viewed as the multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) issue. In this paper, we expand the generalized Maclaurin symmetric mean (GMSM) equation with FNIFNs to propose the fuzzy number intuitionistic fuzzy generalized MSM (FNIFGMSM) equation and fuzzy number intuitionistic fuzzy weighted generalized MSM (FNIFWGMSM) equation in this study. A few MADM tools are developed with FNIFWGMSM equation. Finally, taking WSN security evaluation as an example, this paper illustrates effectiveness of the depicted approach. Moreover, by comparing and analyzing the existing methods, the effectiveness and superiority of the FNIFWGMSM method are further certified.

A collaborative emergency decision making approach based on BWM and TODIM under interval 2-tuple linguistic environment

Emergencies require various emergency departments to collaborate to achieve timely and effective emergency responses. Thus, the overall performance of emergency response is influenced not only by the efficiency of each department alternative but also by the coordination effect among different department alternatives. This paper proposes a collaborative emergency decision making (CEDM) approach considering the synergy among different department alternatives based on the best-worst method (BWM) and TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese of interactive and multiple attribute decision making) method within an interval 2-tuple linguistic environment. First, the evaluation information provided by decision makers (DMs) is represented by interval 2-tuple linguistic variables to reflect and model the underlying diversity and uncertainty. On the basis of the DMs' evaluations, the individual and collaborative performance evaluations of multi-alternative combinations composed of different department alternatives are constructed. Then, the BWM is extended into interval 2-tuple linguistic environment to obtain the weights of evaluation criteria, where the group decision making is taken into account in an interval fuzzy mathematical programming model. Furthermore, to derive more practical and accurate decision results, an interval 2-tuple linguistic TODIM (ITL-TODIM) method is proposed by considering the DMs' psychological behaviours. In the developed ITL-TODIM method, both the gain and loss degrees of one alternative relative to another are simultaneously computed. Finally, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the applicability of the proposed method. Sensitivity and comparative analyses are also provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed approach.

Local adjustment strategy-driven probabilistic linguistic group decision-making method and its application for fog-haze influence factors evaluation

Unlike other linguistic modellings, probabilistic linguistic term sets can express clearly the importance of different linguistic variables. The notion of Probabilistic Linguistic Preference Relations (PLPRs) constitutes an extension of linguistic preference relations, and as such has received increasing attention in recent years. In group decision-making (GDM) problems with PLPRs, the processes of consistency adjustment, consensus-achieving and desirable alternative selection play a key role in deriving the reliable GDM results. Therefore, this paper focuses on the construction of a GDM method for PLPRs with local adjustment strategy. First, we redefine the concepts of multiplicative consistency and consistency index for PLPRs, and some properties for multiplicative consistent PLPRs are studied. Then, in order to obtain the acceptable multiplicative consistent PLPRs, we propose a convergent consistency adjustment algorithm. Subsequently, a consensus-achieving method with PLPRs is constructed for reaching the consensus goal of experts. In both consistency adjustment process and consensus-achieving method, the local adjustment strategy is utilized to retain the original evaluation information of experts as much as possible. Finally, a GDM method with PLPRs is investigated to determine the reliable ranking order of alternatives. In order to show the advantages of the developed GDM method with PLPRs, an illustration for determining the ranking of fog-haze influence factors is given, which is followed by the comparative analysis to clarify its validity and merits.

Multiple Group Decision Making for Selecting Emergency Alternatives: A Novel Method Based on the LDWPA Operator and LD-MABAC

When an emergency event occurs, it is critical to respond in the shortest possible time. Therefore, the rationality and effectiveness of emergency decisions are the key links in emergency management. In this paper, with aims to investigate the problem of emergency alternatives selection, in which a large number of experts from multiple groups consider the linguistic evaluations of emergency alternatives and prior orders of criteria, a novel emergency decision method is proposed. First, many experts from multiple subgroups are employed to evaluate the emergency alternatives associated with multiple criteria in the format of linguistic terms. Then, linguistic distribution evaluations for the emergency alternatives of the criteria associated with each subgroup are constructed. With respect to the linguistic distribution evaluations associated with the different subgroups, the linguistic distribution power average (LDPA) and linguistic distribution weighted power average (LDWPA) operators are developed so as to aggregate the subgroups' evaluations. Next, based on the linguistic distribution multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (LD-MABAC) method, the distance matrix of the emergency alternatives is calculated. Furthermore, the prior weights of the criteria are determined based on the distance values. Finally, the ranking result of the emergency alternatives is derived. A practical example of emergency alternatives selection is adopted to illustrate the availability and practicability of the proposed method.

An Emergency Decision-Making Method for Probabilistic Linguistic Term Sets Extended by D Number Theory

Emergency decision-making has become as one of the hot issues in recent years. The aim of emergency decision-making is to reduce the casualties and property losses. All the processes of emergency decision-making are full of incompleteness and hesitation. The problem of emergency decision-making can be regarded as one of the multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) problems. In this manuscript, a new method to solve the problem of emergency decision-making named D-PLTS is proposed, based on D number theory and the probability linguistic term set (PLTS). The evaluation information given by experts is tidied to be the form of PLTS, which can be directly transferred to the form of the D number, no matter whether the information is complete or not. Furthermore, the integration property of D number theory is carried out to fuse the information. Besides, two examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. Compared with some existing methods, the D-PLTS is more straightforward and has less computational complexity. Allocation weights that are more reasonable is the future work for the D-PLTS method.

Probabilistic Hybrid Linguistic Approaches for Multiple Attribute Group Decision Making with Decision Hesitancy and the Prioritization of Attribute Relationships

Focusing on ill-structured multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) problems, including decision hesitancy and attribute prioritization relationships, this paper investigates appropriate approaches for decision making. Firstly, we introduce the probabilistic hybrid linguistic term set (P-HLTS) for capturing probabilistic preferences about possible linguistic labels belonging to a wide range of hesitant linguistic term sets. Entropy and distance measurements for P-HLTS are developed without arbitrary complementing operations. To facilitate decision making with attribute prioritization relationships, we present a probabilistic uncertain balanced linguistic-prioritized weighted average (PUBL-PWA) operator and the probabilistic uncertain balanced linguistic-induced prioritized ordered weighted average (PUBL-IPOWA) operator. In terms of the strength of the above tools, we further construct two multiple attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) approaches under P-HLTS environments, namely, an approach for decision-making situations where attribute prioritization relationships are known in advance and the relative importance of decision makers (DMs) or decision-making units (DMUs) is not required for consideration, and second approach for decision-making situations where both attribute prioritization relationships and the weighted vectors of DMs or DMUs are explicitly unknown. In general, our proposed approaches are more flexible and practical when considering heterogeneous opinions, avoiding information distortion brought about by complementing operation-based distance measures. Furthermore, illustrative application studies are conducted to verify our developed approaches.