MARCOS technique under intuitionistic fuzzy environment for determining the COVID-19 pandemic performance of insurance companies in terms of healthcare services

A novel two-phase group decision-making model for circular supplier selection under picture fuzzy environment

Circular supply chain management (CSCM), which incorporates circular thinking into supply chain management, promotes supply chain sustainability by offering a novel and compelling viewpoint. In the CSCM, supplier selection is crucial in establishing a competitive edge among businesses by decreasing environmental degradation and related supply chain expenses. This paper aims to propose a novel two-phase group decision-making approach, which combines the picture fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (PF-AHP) and grey Measurement of Alternatives and Ranking According to Compromise Solution (MARCOS-G) model to select railway material suppliers within the scope of circular economy perspective. In group decision-making, a picture fuzzy number-based approach aggregates individual decision makers'(DMs) opinions and provides a lower level of computing complexity and a higher level of performance. The PF-AHP has been used to produce the weights of the criteria, and the MARCOS-G technique has been used to rank the suppliers and choose the most appropriate one. The results and verification of the novel method are carried out throughout a comprehensive sensitivity analysis. For this purpose, 50 scenarios with changes in the weight values of criteria were developed. In the validation analysis, a comparison with other grey COPRAS, TOPSIS, ARAS and WASPAS methods were performed. Due to the ranking results obtained from Spearman's correlation analyses, the MARCOS-G is almost consistent and it can be seen that the A4 remains the top supplier in all 50 scenarios.

An integrated fuzzy MCDM model for prioritizing strategies for successful implementation and operation of the bus rapid transit system

The selection and prioritization of suitable strategies to address the challenges to the successful operation and implementation of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system is a common problem faced by practitioners and decision-makers. Recent research has widely discussed the issue, but such assessments have remained limited in the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania context, where there are mobility difficulties. The present study addresses this research gap and identifies the most critical challenges to BRT implementation and operation, and recommends the most appropriate strategy for overcoming them. Seven strategies are defined. To prioritize these strategies, five criteria are determined. An integrated multi-criteria decision-making model is introduced. Improved Fuzzy Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis based on the Bonferroni operator was used to determine the importance of the criteria. Measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution was applied to assess and rank the strategies. The results indicate that "frequent flooding at the Jangwani bridge bus terminal" and "long waiting time at bus stops" are the most critical challenges while the fourth alternative "strengthening the operation and management" is the appropriate strategy to be implemented for successful operation and implementation of the BRT system. After that, a five-phase sensitivity analysis is performed to observe the robustness of the proposed approach. The results indicate the flexibility and applicability of the proposed approach can address real-life problems. The proposed methodology in this work can be instrumental in assisting mass transit operators with the successful implementation and operation of the BRT system.

Applications to biogas-plant implementation problem based on type-2 picture fuzzy matrix game under new minkowski type measures

To manage ambiguity and uncertainty information in real life problems, certain intellectuals have initiated numerous modifications of fuzzy sets. But, in certain situations, the decision-makers have been neglected to take a feasible decision. For instance, when an intellectual provides information in the form of a two-dimension or type-1 fuzzy set, then the prevailing theories have been neglected. For this, in this study, we elaborated the new idea of type-2 picture fuzzy sets (T2-PFS) and their algebraic laws have been given. Moreover, by using the T2-PFS, Hamacher aggregation operators are proposed and discussed their important properties. The Minkowski sorts of measures under the T2-PFS are also initiated. In the current study, we aim to utilize the matrix game in a type-2 picture fuzzy environment. By using the proposed operators and measures based on the Hausdorff metric. The elaborated idea has been defined with the biogas-plant implementation dilemma to verify the pertinence and authenticity. Lastly, to discuss the sensitivity analysis and geometrical shown of the initiated works, certain examples are illustrated to determine the supremacy and consistency of the proposed approaches.

Interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy rough set system over a novel conflict distance measure with application to decision-making

Conflict analysis is one of the most critical application domains whose importance is increasing rapidly nowadays. Attributes involving conflicts frequently occur with opinion, negotiations, and collaborators in decision-making. Taking advantage of the uncertainty present in decision-making, in this paper, we have proposed a system that can solve the problems involving conflicts more adequately.•A new interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy rough set (IVIFRS) system is introduced to handle a decision-making problem involving a conflict of interests.•The proposed system exploits both the notions of rough set and interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy set theories in sharpening the boundaries of conflicts.•In the IVIFRS system, the disputes amongst the objectives are measured by the novel conflict distance measure. Further, an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy conflict analysis system formulated on the IVIFRS is designed for deciding the conflicting attributesThe formulated system is then studied for weight vectors too. The intended conflict analysis system is studied with reference to the well-known existing intuitionistic fuzzy rough set system. The real-life socio-economic problems are dealt with, and the experimental results validate the efficacy of the proposed system.

Archimedean Aggregation Operators Based on Complex Pythagorean Fuzzy Sets Using Confidence Levels and Their Application in Decision Making

The diagnosed complex Pythagorean fuzzy (CPF) set is a more valuable and dominant tool than the Pythagorean and intuitionistic fuzzy sets to describe awkward and unreliable information more effectively. Further, Archimedean t-norm and t-conorm have a significant influence to depict the relation among aggregated values. To take advantage of the CPF set and Archimedean t-norm and t-conorm, and assume the relation among Archimedean norms and algebraic, Einstein, Hamacher, and frank norms at the same time, in this analysis, first, we proposed the fundamental Archimedean operational laws. Second, based on these laws, we developed confidence CPF Archimedean-weighted averaging (CCPFSAWA), confidence CPF Archimedean-ordered weighted averaging (CCPFSAOWA), confidence CPF Archimedean-weighted geometric (CCPFSAWG), confidence CPF Archimedean-ordered weighted geometric (CCPFSAOWG) operators and implemented their valuable results and properties. We know that Archimedean t-norm and t-conorm are the general form of the all-aggregation operators, so by using different values of t-norm and t-conorm, we explored the confidence CPF-weighted averaging (CCPFWA), confidence CPF-ordered weighted averaging (CCPFOWA), confidence CPF Einstein-weighted averaging (CCPFEWA), confidence CPF Einstein-ordered weighted averaging (CCPFEOWA), confidence CPF Hamacher-weighted averaging (CCPFHWA), confidence CPF Hamacher-ordered weighted averaging (CCPFHOWA), confidence CPF frank-weighted averaging (CCPFFWA), confidence CPF frank-ordered weighted averaging (CCPFFOWA), confidence CPF-weighted geometric (CCPFWG), confidence CPF-ordered weighted geometric (CCPFOWG), confidence CPF Einstein-weighted geometric (CCPFEWG), confidence CPF Einstein-ordered weighted geometric (CCPFEOWG), confidence CPF Hamacher-weighted geometric (CCPFHWG), confidence CPF Hamacher-ordered weighted geometric (CCPFHOWG), confidence CPF frank-weighted geometric (CCPFFWG), and confidence CPF frank-ordered weighted geometric (CCPFFOWG) operators. Then, we developed a multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) method based on the proposed operators. Finally, many examples are used to do comparative analysis among proposed and existing methods to show the validation of the new approaches.

Road safety assessment and risks prioritization using an integrated SWARA and MARCOS approach under spherical fuzzy environment

There are a lot of elements that make road safety assessment situations unpredictable and hard to understand. This could put people's lives in danger, hurt the mental health of a society, and cause permanent financial and human losses. Due to the ambiguity and uncertainty of the risk assessment process, a multi-criteria decision-making technique for dealing with complex systems that involves choosing one of many options is an important strategy of assessing road safety. In this study, an integrated stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) with measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution (MARCOS) approach under a spherical fuzzy (SF) set was considered. Then, the proposed methodology was applied to develop the approach of failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) for rural roads in Cosenza, southern Italy. Also, the results of modified FMEA by SF-SWARA-MARCOS were compared with the results of conventional FMEA. The risk score results demonstrated that the source of risk (human) plays a significant role in crashes compared to other sources of risk. The two risks, including landslides and floods, had the lowest values among the factors affecting rural road safety in Calabria, respectively. The correlation between scenario outcomes and main ranking orders in weight values was also investigated. This study was done in line with the goals of sustainable development and the goal of sustainable mobility, which was to find risks and lower the number of accidents on the road. As a result, it is thus essential to reconsider laws and measures necessary to reduce human risks on the regional road network of Calabria to improve road safety.

A multiattribute group decision-making method based on a new aggregation operator and the means and variances of interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy values

The development of information measures associated with interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy values (IVIFVs) has been an important research area over the past few decades. In the literature, the existing decision -making method using IVIFVs has some drawbacks, and the identification degree and information utilization suffer from a gap in the evaluation of alternatives. Therefore, the need for a reliable, useful, and comprehensive decision method is obvious. To obtain more accurate and reliable evaluation results, multiattribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problems, where the same attribute weights given by different decision-makers are different, are studied in this paper. First, the novel operational laws of IVIFVs and a new interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy weighted arithmetic aggregation operator are defined to overcome the drawbacks of the IIFWA aggregation operator and avoid losing or distorting the original decision information in the process of aggregation. Second, the mean and variance of the possibility degrees of IVIFVs are defined based on the concept of a definite integral. Third, a novel MAGDM method based on the new aggregation operator and the mean and variance of the possibility degrees of IVIFVs is proposed to improve the identification of the evaluation results and ensure the effectiveness of the ranking order. Finally, the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed method are verified by an air combat training accuracy assessment example. This example can be used to assist decision-makers in evaluating air combat training hits in a timely and efficient manner, providing an objective, scientific basis for the realization and application of air combat training hit assessment and a new method and idea for MAGDM problems in an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy environment.

Intelligent model for contemporary supply chain barriers in manufacturing sectors under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a shadow on the global economy. Since the beginning of 2020, the pandemic has contributed significantly to the global recession. In addition to the health damages of the pandemic, the economic impacts are also severe. The consequences of such effects have pushed global supply chains toward their breaking point. Industries have faced multiple obstacles, threatening the fragile flow of raw materials, spare parts, and consumer goods. Previous studies showed that supply chain barriers have multi-faceted impacts on industries and supply chains, which demand appropriate measures. In this regard, seven major barriers that directly impact industries have been identified to determine which industry is most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper utilized a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach under a neutrosophic environment using trapezoidal neutrosophic numbers to rank those barriers. The Analytical Network Process (ANP) quantifies the effects and considers the interrelationships between the determined barriers (criteria) involved in decision-making. Subsequently, the Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to the COmpromise Solution (MARCOS) method was adopted to rank six industries according to the impact of those barriers. Results show that the lack of inventory is the largest barrier to influencing industries, followed by the lack of manpower. Sensitivity analysis is performed to detect the change in the rank of industries according to the change in the relative importance of the barriers.

T-spherical uncertain linguistic MARCOS method based on generalized distance and Heronian mean for multi-attribute group decision-making with unknown weight information

The T-spherical uncertain linguistic (TSUL) sets (TSULSs) integrated by T-spherical fuzzy sets and uncertain linguistic variables are introduced in this article. This new concept is not only a generalized form but also can integrate decision-makers’ quantitative evaluation ideas and qualitative evaluation information. The TSULSs serve as a reliable and comprehensive tool for describing complex and uncertain decision information. This paper focuses on an extended MARCOS (Measurement of Alternatives and Ranking according to the Compromise Solution) method to handle the TSUL multi-attribute group decision-making problems where the weight information is completely unknown. First, we define, respectively, the operation rules and generalized distance measure of T-spherical uncertain linguistic numbers (TSULNs). Then, we develop two kinds of aggregation operators of TSULNs, one kind of operator with independent attributes is T-spherical uncertain linguistic weighted averaging and geometric (TSULWA and TSULWG) operators, and the other is T-spherical uncertain linguistic Heronian mean aggregation operators (TSULHM and TSULWHM) considering attributes interrelationship. Their related properties are discussed and a series of reduced forms are presented. Subsequently, a new TSUL-MARCOS-based multi-attribute group decision-making model combining the proposed aggregation operators and generalized distance is constructed. Finally, a real case of investment decision for a community group-buying platform is presented for illustration. We further test the rationality and superiorities of the proposed method through sensitivity analysis and comparative study.

A Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model with Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets for Evaluating Digital Technology Strategies in COVID-19 Pandemic Under Uncertainty

Coronavirus diseases 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is an essential challenge to the health and safety of people, medical members, and treatment systems worldwide. Digital technologies (DTs) have been universally introduced to improve the treatment of patients during the pandemic. Nevertheless, only a few governments have been partly successful in executing the DT strategies. In this regard, it is critical to demonstrate a suitable strategy for the governments. This problem is built based on the experts' opinions with some conflicting criteria to evaluate various types of alternatives. Hence, this research presents a new multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model under uncertain conditions. For this reason, interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IVIFSs) are employed to help decision-makers (DMs) evaluate in a broader area and cope with uncertain information. Moreover, a new extended weighting method based on weighted distance-based approximation (WDBA) and a new combined ranking approach are proposed to determine the DMs' weights and rank the alternatives under IVIF conditions. The developed weighting method is constructed based on computing the DMs' weights with objective criteria weights. Furthermore, a new ranking approach is proposed by obtaining two ranking indexes separately: The first and second ranking indexes are calculated according to the positive and negative ideal solutions distances and the nature of criteria weights, respectively. Afterward, the final values of rankings are computed by considering a new aggregating procedure. The results of the proposed model represent the first alternative as the best strategy. Comparisons between the IVIF-TOPSIS and IVIF-VIKOR methods are also provided to investigate the proposed model to determine the rankings of main alternatives. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to check the reliability and the robustness of the model. For this purpose, criteria weights are analyzed to compute the dependencies' degree of the new extended weighting method. The dependencies of the ranking model are discussed on the criteria weights as well.

The applications of MCDM methods in COVID-19 pandemic: A state of the art review

Likened to the economic calamity of World War Two, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked fears of a deep economic crisis, killed more than six million people worldwide and had a ripple effect on all aspects of life. MCDM (multi-criteria decision making) methods have become increasingly popular in modeling COVID-19 problems owing to the multi-dimensionality of this crisis and the complexity of health and socio-economic systems. This paper is aimed to review 72 papers published in 37 leading peer-reviewed journals indexed in Web of Science that used MCDM methods in different areas of COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, data retrieval follows the PRISMA protocol for systematic literature reviews. 35 countries have contributed to this multidisciplinary research and India is identified as the leading country in this field followed by Turkey and China. Also 36 articles, namely 50% of papers are presented in the form of international cooperation. "Applied Soft Computing" is the journal with the highest number of articles whereas "Journal of infection and public health" and "Operations Management Research" are ranked in the second place. The results indicate that AHP (including fuzzy AHP) is the most popular MCDM method applied in 37.5% of papers followed by TOPSIS and VIKOR. This review reveals that the use of MCDM methods is one of the most attractive research areas in the field of COVID-19. As a result, one of the main purposes of this work is to identify diverse applications of MCDM methods in the COVID-19 pandemic. Most studies i.e. 69% (49 papers) of the papers combined various fuzzy sets with MCDM methods to overcome the problem of uncertainty and ambiguity while analyzing information. Nevertheless, the main drawback of those papers has been the lack of theoretical justifications. In fact, fuzzy MCDM methods impose heavy computational load and there is no general consensus on the clear advantage of fuzzy methods over crisp methods in terms of the solution quality. We hope the researchers who applied fuzzy MCDM methods to COVID-19-related research understand the theoretical basis of MCDM methods and the serious challenges associated with basic operations of fuzzy numbers to avoid potential disadvantages. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge via suggesting a deep vision to critique the fuzzy MCDM methods from mathematical perspective.

The Suitability-Feasibility-Acceptability Strategy Integrated with Bayesian BWM-MARCOS Methods to Determine the Optimal Lithium Battery Plant Located in South America

This study aims to help managers develop a proper strategy and policy for their company’s future. After the global COVID-19 pandemic, developed countries decided to change their production and relocate and re-industrialize. The U.S.’s big electronics and automobile companies are not an exception to this rule. The lithium batteries are the main instrument of mobile phone and electric vehicles. The leading lithium battery supplier for the U.S mobile phone companies is China. Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile (in South America) have some of the largest lithium mines in the world; these countries are known as the lithium triangle. Among the 86 million tonnes of lithium resources worldwide, 49.9 million tonnes exist in this area. The researchers in this study surveyed the best country for constructing a battery for companies in the U.S. Because of the growth of electric vehicles and their use of the lithium battery, the world is facing astronomical prices for lithium. To emphasize this issue and help managers create good policy, this study combined multiple methods. The improved suitability-feasibility-acceptability (SFA) strategy is integrated with the Bayesian best-worst method (BBWM) and measurement of alternatives and rankings according to compromise solution (MARCOS) multicriteria methods to determine the best destination. For comparison, based on the SFA strategy, seven criteria are introduced: commercially viable reserves, national minimum wage, corporate income tax, accessibility to mining companies, accessibility to the waterway, population, and political stability index. The Bayesian BWM analysis reveals that the foremost factor is corporate income tax, whereas MARCOS’s findings indicate that Chile is the best country to construct the lithium battery industry. To verify the proposed approach, a comparison analysis also is performed.

Locating a disinfection facility for hazardous healthcare waste in the COVID-19 era: a novel approach based on Fermatean fuzzy ITARA-MARCOS and random forest recursive feature elimination algorithm

Hazardous healthcare waste (HCW) management system is one of the most critical urban systems affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the increase in waste generation rate in hospitals and medical centers dealing with infected patients as well as the degree of hazardousness of generated waste due to exposure to the virus. In this regard, waste network flow would face severe problems without taking care of hazardous waste through disinfection facilities. For this purpose, this study aims to develop an advanced decision support system based on a multi-stage model that was combined with the random forest recursive feature elimination (RF-RFE) algorithm, the indifference threshold-based attribute ratio analysis (ITARA), and measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution (MARCOS) methods into a unique framework under the Fermatean fuzzy environment. In the first stage, the innovative Fermatean fuzzy RF-RFE algorithm extracts core criteria from a finite set of initial criteria. In the second stage, the novel Fermatean fuzzy ITARA determines the semi-objective importance of the core criteria. In the third stage, the new Fermatean fuzzy MARCOS method ranks alternatives. A real-life case study in Istanbul, Turkey, illustrates the applicability of the introduced methodology. Our empirical findings indicate that "Pendik" is the best among five candidate locations for sitting a new disinfection facility for hazardous HCW in Istanbul. The sensitivity and comparative analyses confirmed that our approach is highly robust and reliable. This approach could be used to tackle other critical multi-dimensional problems related to COVID-19 and support sustainability and circular economy.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10479-022-04822-0.

Analysis of Efficiency and Productivity of Commercial Banks in Turkey Pre- and during COVID-19 with an Integrated MCDM Approach

Above all, this study is original in that it reveals the efficiency and productivity of banks exposed to the current pandemic situation. The aim of this study is to evaluate bank efficiency and productivity of commercial banks operating in Turkey pre- and during COVID-19 by using a novel integrated multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach. We divided the banks into three groups in order to evaluate the differences in terms of their efficiency and productivity: state banks, foreign banks and private domestic banks. This paper fills a gap in the literature by using a novel integrated MCDM approach including SWARA II as a subjective weighting method, MEREC as an objective weighting method, and MARCOS as a ranking method to evaluate bank efficiency and productivity. The results reveal that banks with foreign investors achieved higher productivity than other bank groups and the productivity of state banks decreased especially during the COVID-19 period. It should also be noted that state banks are restricted to certain political objectives.

A Hybrid Intuitionistic Fuzzy Group Decision Framework and Its Application in Urban Rail Transit System Selection

The selection of an urban rail transit system from the perspective of green and low carbon can not only promote the construction of an urban rail transit system but also have a positive impact on urban green development. Considering the uncertainty caused by different conflict criteria and the fuzziness of decision-making experts’ cognition in the selection process of a rail transit system, this paper proposes a hybrid intuitionistic fuzzy MCGDM framework to determine the priority of a rail transit system. To begin with, the weights of experts are determined based on the improved similarity method. Secondly, the subjective weight and objective weight of the criterion are calculated, respectively, according to the DEMATEL and CRITIC methods, and the comprehensive weight is calculated by the linear integration method. Thirdly, considering the regret degree and risk preference of experts, the COPRAS method based on regret theory is propounded to determine the prioritization of urban rail transit system ranking. Finally, urban rail transit system selection of City N is selected for the case study to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the developed method. The results show that a metro system (P1) is the most suitable urban rail transit system for the construction of city N, followed by a municipal railway system (P7). Sensitivity analysis is conducted to illustrate the stability and robustness of the designed decision framework. Comparative analysis is also utilized to validate the efficacy, feasibility and practicability of the propounded methodology.

Rise of multiattribute decision-making in combating COVID-19: A systematic review of the state-of-the-art literature

Considering the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the government and health sectors are incapable of making fast and reliable decisions, particularly given the various effects of decisions on different contexts or countries across multiple sectors. Therefore, leaders often seek decision support approaches to assist them in such scenarios. The most common decision support approach used in this regard is multiattribute decision-making (MADM). MADM can assist in enforcing the most ideal decision in the best way possible when fed with the appropriate evaluation criteria and aspects. MADM also has been of great aid to practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, MADM shows resilience in mitigating consequences in health sectors and other fields. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the rise of MADM techniques in combating COVID-19 by presenting a systematic literature review of the state-of-the-art COVID-19 applications. Articles on related topics were searched in four major databases, namely, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, and Scopus, from the beginning of the pandemic in 2019 to April 2021. Articles were selected on the basis of the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the identified systematic review protocol, and a total of 51 articles were obtained after screening and filtering. All these articles were formed into a coherent taxonomy to describe the corresponding current standpoints in the literature. This taxonomy was drawn on the basis of four major categories, namely, medical (n = 30), social (n = 4), economic (n = 13) and technological (n = 4). Deep analysis for each category was performed in terms of several aspects, including issues and challenges encountered, contributions, data set, evaluation criteria, MADM techniques, evaluation and validation and bibliography analysis. This study emphasised the current standpoint and opportunities for MADM in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and promoted additional efforts towards understanding and providing new potential future directions to fulfil the needs of this study field.

Adapting Urban Transport Planning to the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Integrated Fermatean Fuzzy Model

The critical worldwide problem of adapting urban transport planning to COVID-19 is for the first time comprehensively addressed and solved in this study. It primarily aims to help transport planners increase the resilience of transport systems. Firstly, a multi-level decision-making hierarchy structure based on four main criteria and 17 sub-criteria is introduced for relevant stakeholders to provide a practical framework for assessing existing transport plans. Then, a three-stage integrated Fermatean fuzzy model for adapting urban transport planning to the pandemic is presented. The model hybridizes the method based on the removal effects of criteria (MEREC) and combined compromise solution (CoCoSo) method into a unique methodological framework under the Fermatean fuzzy environment. A case study provides decision-making guidelines on how to adapt transport plans to COVID-19 in the real-world context of Belgrade, Serbia. The research findings show that the pandemic significantly changed the priorities of transport planning strategies and measures. "Non-motorized travel" is now the best alternative since its numerous short-term measures lead to better transport service. The major advantages of the introduced model are higher flexibility and a more precise fusion of experts' preference information. The integrated Fermatean fuzzy model could be used for adapting other emerging problems to COVID-19.

Determinants of Turkish households' out-of-pocket expenditures on three categories of health care services: A multivariate probit approach

This study identifies the driving forces that contribute to the probabilities of incidence of out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures by households in Turkey. Factors affecting the probability of OOP expenditures on medical products/devices/supplies (MP), outpatient services (OTS), and inpatient services (ITS) are examined using the Household Budget Survey data gathered by the Turkish Statistical Institute in 2018. The study applies the multivariate probit model. The incidence of OOP spending varied with 48.9% of the households reporting OOP expenditure on MP, 22.4% on OTS, and 25.4% on ITS. The largest probability changes were associated with household disposable annual income, household type and size, age category, and having private health insurance. Gender and marital status also influenced expenditures in some categories. Lifestyle choices had small and mixed effects, with smoking and alcohol consumption lowering the probability of OOP spending. From a policy standpoint, households with the lowest incomes, large households, and those where the household head was 'others' (retiree, student, housewife, not actively working, etc.) or had a condition preventing employment seemed to report OOP expenditures less frequently and may have chosen not to receive healthcare services, leading to the need for more healthcare services later.

Development of a Model for Evaluating the Efficiency of Transport Companies: PCA–DEA–MCDM Model

The efficiency of transport companies is a very important factor for the companies themselves, as well as for the entire economic system. The main goal of this paper is to develop an integrated model for determining the efficiency of representative transport companies over a period of eight years. An original model was developed that includes the integration of DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis), PCA (Principal Component Analysis), CRITIC (Criteria Importance Through Inter criteria Correlatio), Entropy and MARCOS (Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to the COmpromise Solution) methods in order to determine the final efficiency of transport companies based on 10 input–output parameters. The results showed that the most efficient business performance was achieved in the period 2014–2017, followed by slightly less efficient results. Then, extensive sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis were performed, which confirmed, to some extent, the previously obtained results. In the sensitivity analysis, 30 scenarios with changes in the weights of criteria were created, while the comparative analysis was carried out with three other MCDM (Multi-Criteria Decision-Making) methods. Finally, the rank correlation index was determined using the Spearman and WS (Wojciech Salabun) correlation coefficients. According to the final results, very efficient years can be separated that can be the benchmark for furthering the business.

Multi-criteria decision-making for coronavirus disease 2019 applications: a theoretical analysis review

The influence of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is being felt in all spheres of our lives and has a remarkable effect on global health care delivery occurs amongst the ongoing global health crisis of patients and the required services. From the time of the first detection of infection amongst the public, researchers investigated various applications in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak and outlined the crucial roles of different research areas in this unprecedented battle. In the context of existing studies in the literature surrounding COVID-19, related to medical treatment decisions, the dimensions of context addressed in previous multidisciplinary studies reveal the lack of appropriate decision mechanisms during the COVID-19 outbreak. Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) has been applied widely in our daily lives in various ways with numerous successful stories to help analyse complex decisions and provide an accurate decision process. The rise of MCDM in combating COVID-19 from a theoretical perspective view needs further investigation to meet the important characteristic points that match integrating MCDM and COVID-19. To this end, a comprehensive review and an analysis of these multidisciplinary fields, carried out by different MCDM theories concerning COVID19 in complex case studies, are provided. Research directions on exploring the potentials of MCDM and enhancing its capabilities and power through two directions (i.e. development and evaluation) in COVID-19 are thoroughly discussed. In addition, Bibliometrics has been analysed, visualization and interpretation based on the evaluation and development category using R-tool involves; annual scientific production, country scientific production, Wordcloud, factor analysis in bibliographic, and country collaboration map. Furthermore, 8 characteristic points that go through the analysis based on new tables of information are highlighted and discussed to cover several important facts and percentages associated with standardising the evaluation criteria, MCDM theory in ranking alternatives and weighting criteria, operators used with the MCDM methods, normalisation types for the data used, MCDM theory contexts, selected experts ways, validation scheme for effective MCDM theory and the challenges of MCDM theory used in COVID-19 studies. Accordingly, a recommended MCDM theory solution is presented through three distinct phases as a future direction in COVID19 studies. Key phases of this methodology include the Fuzzy Delphi method for unifying criteria and establishing importance level, Fuzzy weighted Zero Inconsistency for weighting to mitigate the shortcomings of the previous weighting techniques and the MCDM approach by the name Fuzzy Decision by Opinion Score method for prioritising alternatives and providing a unique ranking solution. This study will provide MCDM researchers and the wider community an overview of the current status of MCDM evaluation and development methods and motivate researchers in harnessing MCDM potentials in tackling an accurate decision for different fields against COVID-19.

An extended MAIRCA method using intuitionistic fuzzy sets for coronavirus vaccine selection in the age of COVID-19

All over the world, the COVID-19 outbreak seriously affects life, whereas numerous people have infected and passed away. To control the spread of it and to protect people, appreciable vaccine development efforts continue with increasing momentum. Given that this pandemic will be in our lives for a long time, it is obvious that a reliable and useful framework is needed to choose among coronavirus vaccines. To this end, this paper proposes a new intuitionistic fuzzy extension of MAIRCA framework, named intuitionistic fuzzy MAIRCA (IF-MAIRCA) to assess coronavirus vaccines according to some evaluation criteria. Based on the group decision-making, the IF-MAIRCA framework both extracts the criteria weights and discovers the prioritization of the alternatives under uncertainty. In this work, as a case study, five coronavirus vaccines approved by the world's leading authorities are evaluated according to various criteria. The findings demonstrate that the most significant criteria considered in coronavirus vaccine selection are “duration of protection,” “effectiveness of the vaccine,” “success against the mutations,” and “logistics,” respectively, whereas the best coronavirus vaccine is AZD1222. Apart from this, the proposed model's robustness is verified with a three-phase sensitivity analysis.

Assessment of alternative fuel vehicles for sustainable road transportation of United States using integrated fuzzy FUCOM and neutrosophic fuzzy MARCOS methodology

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are one of the biggest challenging environmental problems globally, which leads countries to reduce their environmental impact in various disciplines. One of the most negative effects on the environment can be seen in the transportation area. It has been seen as a promising way to reduce emissions from transport with various alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs). This study aims to develop a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methodology to prioritize the various AFVs for sustainable transport. The assessment of AFVs can be considered an MCDM problem due to the involvement of several conflicting criteria. We thus develop a novel multi-criteria decision-making methodology based on fuzzy Full Consistency Method (FUCOM-F) and neutrosophic fuzzy Measurement Alternatives and Ranking according to the COmpromise Solution (MARCOS) framework for the assessment of the AFVs. The proposed methodology is applied to prioritize the various AFVs in New Jersey, U.S. According to the findings, the most significant drivers for AFV selection are purchase cost, energy cost, and social benefits, respectively. The evaluation results also show that electric vehicles can serve as an effective approach to reducing carbon emissions for New Jersey. In addition, a comparative analysis is conducted to indicate the out-performance of the proposed multi-criteria methodology.

Three-Way Multi-Attribute Decision Making Based on Outranking Relations under Intuitionistic Fuzzy Environments

With the increasing complexity of the human social environment, it is impossible to describe each object in detail with accurate numbers when solving multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) problems. Compared with the fuzzy set (FS), the intuitionistic fuzzy set (IFS) not only has obvious advantages in allocating ambiguous values to the object to be considered, but also takes into account the degree of membership and non-membership, so it is more suitable for decision makers (DMs) to deal with complex realistic problems. Therefore, it is of great significance to propose a MADM method under an intuitionistic fuzzy environment. Moreover, compared with the traditional 2WD, by putting forward the option of delay, the decision-making risk can be effectively reduced using three-way decision (3WD). In addition, the binary relations between objects in the decision-making process have been continuously generalized, such as equivalence relation which have symmetrical relationship, dominance relation and outranking relation, which are worthy of study. In this paper, we propose 3WD-MADM method based on IF environment and the objective IFS is calculated by using the information table. Then, the hybrid information table is used to solve the supplier selection problem to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Status evaluation of provinces affected by COVID-19: A qualitative assessment using fuzzy system

The outbreak of COVID-19 had already shown its harmful impact on mankind, especially on health sectors, global economy, education systems, cultures, politics, and other important fields. Like most of the affected countries in the globe, India is now facing serious crisis due to COVID-19 in the recent times. The evaluation of the present status of the provinces affected by COVID-19 is very much essential to the government authorities to impose preventive strategies in controlling the spread of COVID-19 and to take necessary measures. In this article, a computational methodology is developed to estimate the present status of states and provinces which are affected due to COVID-19 using a fuzzy inference system. The factors such as population density, number of COVID-19 tests, confirmed cases of COVID-19, recovery rate, and mortality rate are considered as the input parameters of the proposed methodology. Considering positive and negative factors of the input parameters, the rule base is developed using triangular fuzzy numbers to capture uncertainties associated with the model. The application potentiality is validated by evaluating Pearson’s correlation coefficient. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to observe the changes of final output by varying the tolerance ranges of the inputs. The results of the proposed method show that some of the provinces have very poor performance in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in India. So, the government needs to take serious attention to deal with the pandemic situation of COVID-19 in those provinces.