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Entropy
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Information Theories Based on Belief Functions for Decision-Making Support
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Information Theories Based on Belief Functions for Decision-Making Support

A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Information Theory, Probability and Statistics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2019) | Viewed by 33479

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Florentin Smarandache

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematics, University of New Mexico, Gallup, NM 87301, USA
Interests: neutrosophic probability; neutrosophic statistics; neutrosophic algebraic structures; plithogenic set; unmatter; superluminal physics; paradoxism; quantum paradoxes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Jean Dezert

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
ONERA, Chemin de la Huniere, 91120 Palaiseau, France
Interests: reasoning about uncertainty; belief functions; decision-making support; multicriteria decision making; risk assessment; classification and clustering; multisensor multitarget tracking

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The field of information fusion has been developed and explored very much in the last two decades due to its multiple practical applications in target tracking, situation analysis, drones, target identification, etc.
We invite you to submit state-of-the-art papers on information fusion theories and their applications.

Scope:

Information fusion is involved in almost all modern information systems dealing with multiple sources, as well as at low level fusion (sensors level) or at high level (human level), or both. Its requirement is primordial for reliability and security improvement purposes, and that is why it has been developed and explored intensively in the last two decades. Its practical applications are multiple, e.g., for situation analysis, target tracking and identification, biometrics, network surveillance, medicine, remote sensing, robot perception, etc. This Special Issue is devoted to information theories (typically Dempster–Shafer theory, Dezert–Smarandache theory, transferable belief model, etc.) dealing with uncertainty thanks to the belief functions representation for information fusion, information/uncertainty characterization (e.g., entropy-alike measures) and for decision-making support. You are welcome to submit your state-of-the-art papers and original research papers related to these Special Issue topics. 

Prof. Florentin Smarandache
Dr. Jean Dezert
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Entropy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Dempster–Shafer theory (DST) and applications
  • Dezert–Smarandache theory (DSmT) and applications (http://fs.unm.edu/DSmT.htm)
  • Transferable belief model (TBM) and applications
  • Fusion rules
  • Static and dynamic fusion
  • Qualitative fusion
  • Quantitative fusion
  • Fusion of highly conflicting sources of information
  • Situation analysis
  • Multiple sources of information
  • Image classification
  • Approximate reasoning
  • Probabilistic transformation
  • Data classification and clustering
  • Information theories
  • Quantitative and qualitative entropies
  • Entropies-alike measures

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 3145 KiB  
Article
A Novel Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model for Building Material Supplier Selection Based on Entropy-AHP Weighted TOPSIS
by Chun-Ho Chen
Entropy 2020, 22(2), 259; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22020259 - 24 Feb 2020
Cited by 226 | Viewed by 13654
Abstract
The type of criterion weight can be distinguished according to different decision methods. Subjective weights are given by decision makers based on their knowledge, experience, expertise, and other factors. Objective weights are obtained through multi-step calculations of the evaluation matrix constructed from the [...] Read more.
The type of criterion weight can be distinguished according to different decision methods. Subjective weights are given by decision makers based on their knowledge, experience, expertise, and other factors. Objective weights are obtained through multi-step calculations of the evaluation matrix constructed from the actual information about the evaluation criteria of the alternatives. A single consideration of these two types of weights often results in biased results. In addition, in order to build an effective supply chain source, buyers must find suitable quality products and/or service providers in the process of supplier selection. Based on the above reasons, it is difficult to accurately select the appropriate alternative. The main contribution of this paper is to combine entropy weight, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) weight, and the technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) method into a suitable multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) solution. The TOPSIS method is extended with entropy-AHP weights, and entropy-AHP weights are used instead of subjective weights. A novel decision-making model of TOPSIS integrated entropy-AHP weights is proposed to select the appropriate supplier. Finally, we take the selection of building material suppliers as an example and use sensitivity analysis to show that the combination of the TOPSIS method based on entropy-AHP weights can effectively select the appropriate supplier. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Information Theories Based on Belief Functions for Decision-Making Support)
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27 pages, 1087 KiB  
Article
Linear Programming and Fuzzy Optimization to Substantiate Investment Decisions in Tangible Assets
by Marcel-Ioan Boloș, Ioana-Alexandra Bradea and Camelia Delcea
Entropy 2020, 22(1), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/e22010121 - 19 Jan 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4529
Abstract
This paper studies the problem of tangible assets acquisition within the company by proposing a new hybrid model that uses linear programming and fuzzy numbers. Regarding linear programming, two methods were implemented in the model, namely: the graphical method and the primal simplex [...] Read more.
This paper studies the problem of tangible assets acquisition within the company by proposing a new hybrid model that uses linear programming and fuzzy numbers. Regarding linear programming, two methods were implemented in the model, namely: the graphical method and the primal simplex algorithm. This hybrid model is proposed for solving investment decision problems, based on decision variables, objective function coefficients, and a matrix of constraints, all of them presented in the form of triangular fuzzy numbers. Solving the primal simplex algorithm using fuzzy numbers and coefficients, allowed the results of the linear programming problem to also be in the form of fuzzy variables. The fuzzy variables compared to the crisp variables allow the determination of optimal intervals for which the objective function has values depending on the fuzzy variables. The major advantage of this model is that the results are presented as value ranges that intervene in the decision-making process. Thus, the company’s decision makers can select any of the result values as they satisfy two basic requirements namely: minimizing/maximizing the objective function and satisfying the basic requirements regarding the constraints resulting from the company’s activity. The paper is accompanied by a practical example. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Information Theories Based on Belief Functions for Decision-Making Support)
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14 pages, 284 KiB  
Article
TOPSIS Method for Probabilistic Linguistic MAGDM with Entropy Weight and Its Application to Supplier Selection of New Agricultural Machinery Products
by Jianping Lu, Cun Wei, Jiang Wu and Guiwu Wei
Entropy 2019, 21(10), 953; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21100953 - 29 Sep 2019
Cited by 96 | Viewed by 4575
Abstract
In multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) problems, uncertain decision information is well-represented by linguistic term sets (LTSs). These LTSs are easily converted into probabilistic linguistic sets (PLTSs). In this paper, a TOPSIS method is proposed for probabilistic linguistic MAGDM in which the [...] Read more.
In multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) problems, uncertain decision information is well-represented by linguistic term sets (LTSs). These LTSs are easily converted into probabilistic linguistic sets (PLTSs). In this paper, a TOPSIS method is proposed for probabilistic linguistic MAGDM in which the attribute weights are completely unknown, and the decision information is in the form of probabilistic linguistic numbers (PLNs). First, the definition of the scoring function is used to solve the probabilistic linguistic entropy, which is then employed to objectively derive the attribute weights. Second, the optimal alternatives are determined by calculating the shortest distance from the probabilistic linguistic positive ideal solution (PLPIS) and on the other side the farthest distance of the probabilistic linguistic negative ideal solution (PLNIS). This proposed method extends the applications range of the traditional entropy-weighted method. Moreover, it doesn’t need the decision-maker to give the attribute weights in advance. Finally, a numerical example for supplier selection of new agricultural machinery products is used to illustrate the use of the proposed method. The result shows the approach is simple, effective and easy to calculate. The proposed method can contribute to the selection of suitable alternative successfully in other selection problems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Information Theories Based on Belief Functions for Decision-Making Support)
16 pages, 819 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Big Data Scheduling in Social Networks
by Weina Fu, Shuai Liu and Gautam Srivastava
Entropy 2019, 21(9), 902; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21090902 - 17 Sep 2019
Cited by 242 | Viewed by 5523
Abstract
In social network big data scheduling, it is easy for target data to conflict in the same data node. Of the different kinds of entropy measures, this paper focuses on the optimization of target entropy. Therefore, this paper presents an optimized method for [...] Read more.
In social network big data scheduling, it is easy for target data to conflict in the same data node. Of the different kinds of entropy measures, this paper focuses on the optimization of target entropy. Therefore, this paper presents an optimized method for the scheduling of big data in social networks and also takes into account each task’s amount of data communication during target data transmission to construct a big data scheduling model. Firstly, the task scheduling model is constructed to solve the problem of conflicting target data in the same data node. Next, the necessary conditions for the scheduling of tasks are analyzed. Then, the a periodic task distribution function is calculated. Finally, tasks are scheduled based on the minimum product of the corresponding resource level and the minimum execution time of each task is calculated. Experimental results show that our optimized scheduling model quickly optimizes the scheduling of social network data and solves the problem of strong data collision. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Information Theories Based on Belief Functions for Decision-Making Support)
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20 pages, 1777 KiB  
Article
Does Classifier Fusion Improve the Overall Performance? Numerical Analysis of Data and Fusion Method Characteristics Influencing Classifier Fusion Performance
by Sandra Rothe, Bastian Kudszus and Dirk Söffker
Entropy 2019, 21(9), 866; https://doi.org/10.3390/e21090866 - 5 Sep 2019
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3859
Abstract
The reliability of complex or safety critical systems is of increasing importance in several application fields. In many cases, decisions evaluating situations or conditions are made. To ensure the high accuracy of these decisions, the assignments from different classifiers can be fused to [...] Read more.
The reliability of complex or safety critical systems is of increasing importance in several application fields. In many cases, decisions evaluating situations or conditions are made. To ensure the high accuracy of these decisions, the assignments from different classifiers can be fused to one final decision to improve the decision performance in terms of given measures like accuracy or false alarm rate. Recent research results show that fusion methods not always outperform individual classifiers trained and optimized for a specific situation. Nevertheless fusion helps to ensure reliability and redundancy by combining the advantages of individual classifiers, even if some classifiers are not performing well for specific situations. Especially in unexpected (untrained) situations, fusion of more than one classifier allows to get a suitable decision, because of different behavior of classifiers in this case. Nevertheless, there are several examples, where fusion not always improves the overall accuracy of a decision. In this contribution fusion options are discussed to overcome the problem to overcome the aforementioned problem and to define influencing factors on overall fusion accuracy. As a results requirements for good or guaranteed or possibly increased fusion performance and also suggestions denoting those options not leading to any kind of improvement are given. For illustrating the effects a practical example based on three characteristics of fusion methods (type of classifier output, use of these outputs and necessity of training) and four data properties (number of classes, number of samples, entropy of classes and entropy of attributes) are considered and analyzed with 15 different benchmark data sets, which are classified with eight classification methods. The classification results are fused using seven fusion methods. From the discussion of the results it can be concluded, which fusion method performs best/worst for all data sets as well as which fusion method characteristic or data property has more or less positive/negative influence on the fusion performance in comparison to the best base classifier.Using this information, suitable fusion methods can be selected or data sets can be adapted to improve the reliability of decisions made in complex or safety critical systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Information Theories Based on Belief Functions for Decision-Making Support)
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