Search Results (10)

University rankings based on scientometric indicators frequently rely on compensatory aggregation models that allow extreme values to dominate the evaluation, while also remaining sensitive to outliers and unstable weighting procedures. These issues reduce the reliability and interpretability of the resulting rankings. This study proposes a hybrid BWM–GRA–PROMETHEE (BGP) framework that combines judgement-based weighting Best-Worst Method (BWM), outlier-resistant normalization Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), and a non-compensatory outranking method Preference Ranking Organization Methods for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE II). The framework is applied to an expert-validated set of scientometric indicators to generate more stable and behaviorally grounded rankings. The results show that the proposed method maintains stability under weight and threshold variations and preserves ranking consistency even under outlier-contaminated scenarios. Comparative experiments further demonstrate that BGP is more robust than Additive Ratio Assesment (ARAS), Multi-Attributive Border Approximation Area Comparison (MABAC), and The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), achieving the highest Spearman. This study contributes a unified evaluation framework that jointly addresses three major methodological challenges in scientometric ranking, outlier sensitivity, compensatory effects, and instability from data-dependent weighting. By resolving these issues within a single integrated model, the proposed BGP approach offers a more reliable and methodologically rigorous foundation for researchers and policymakers seeking to evaluate and enhance research performance. Full article

Human capital management is a strategic element for companies in a globalized world. Therefore, they must use strategies and methods to recruit and select personnel assertively to focus their training, strengthening, and business growth efforts. Personnel selection can be seen as a decision problem and can be addressed in a multi-criteria decision-making context. This work aims to present the selection process of a barista in a Mexican coffee shop. The baristas could be the face of the company to customers, and they could significantly impact their overall experience. The personnel selection process included eleven candidates and three criteria. This process was performed using the ELECTRE-III to model the preferences of a decision-maker and RP2-NSGA-II+H, a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm that exploits fuzzy outranking relations to derive multi-criteria rankings. The ordering obtained with the algorithm did not have any inconsistency concerning the integral preference model, and it allowed for the selection of a candidate to occupy the barista position. The results show the relevance of combining preference modeling with multi-criteria analysis methods for decision-making and artificial intelligence techniques. Full article

The brain is an intrinsic and complicated component of human anatomy. It is a collection of connective tissues and nerve cells that regulate the principal actions of the entire body. Brain tumor cancer is a serious mortality factor and a highly intractable disease. Even though brain tumors are not considered a fundamental cause of cancer deaths worldwide, about 40% of other cancer types are metastasized to the brain and transform into brain tumors. Computer-aided devices for diagnosis through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have remained the gold standard for the diagnosis of brain tumors, but this conventional method has been greatly challenged with inefficiencies and drawbacks related to the late detection of brain tumors, high risk in biopsy procedures, and low specificity. To circumvent these underlying hurdles, machine learning models have recently been developed to enhance computer-aided diagnosis tools for advanced, precise, and automatic early detection of brain tumors. This study takes a novel approach to evaluate machine learning models (support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), gradient-boosting model (GBM), convolutional neural network (CNN), K-nearest neighbor (KNN), AlexNet, GoogLeNet, CNN VGG19, and CapsNet) used for the early detection and classification of brain tumors by deploying the multicriteria decision-making method called fuzzy preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE), based on selected parameters, in this study: prediction accuracy, precision, specificity, recall, processing time, and sensitivity. To validate the results of our proposed approach, we performed a sensitivity analysis and cross-checking analysis with the PROMETHEE model. The CNN model, with an outranking net flow of 0.0251, is considered the most favorable model for the early detection of brain tumors. The KNN model, with a net flow of −0.0154, is the least appealing option. The findings of this study support the applicability of the proposed approach for making optimal choices regarding the selection of machine learning models. The decision maker is thus afforded the opportunity to expand the range of considerations which they must rely on in selecting the preferred models for early detection of brain tumors. Full article

The aim of this research is to propose an improved multidimensional quality of life index, which could replace the current methodology designed by Eurostat and applied by the national statistical institutes of the European Union member states. The novelty of the proposed index is that it is based on a non-compensatory multicriteria decision method (ELECTRE III). All other quality of life indices propose compensatory aggregation methods at some stage in the construction of the index. The data used in this study are openly available on the website of the INE, which is the Spanish National Statistics Institute, and were obtained by INE from population surveys. The data were entered by the authors in the Diviz software to conduct an ELECTRE III method. Three innovative versions for the multidimensional quality of life index are proposed in this study, which are called Basic ELECTRE, Full ELECTRE, and Full Fuzzy ELECTRE. The comparison of the results obtained by INE with the results provided by our proposals shows that it is possible to construct an improved multidimensional quality of life index to be applied by the member states of the European Union. Full article

The healthcare environment presents a large volume of personal and sensitive patient data that needs to be available and secure. Information and communication technology brings a new reality to healthcare, promoting improvements, agility and integration. Regarding high-level and complex decision-making scenarios, the Brazilian Navy (BN), concerning its healthcare field, is seeking to provide better management of its respective processes in its hospital facilities, allowing accurate control of preventive and curative medicine to members who work or have served there in past years. The study addresses the understanding, structure and clarifying variables related to the feasibility of technological updating and installing of a Hospital Information System (HIS) for BN. In this scenario, through interviews and analysis of military organization business processes, criteria and alternatives were established based on multi-criteria methodology as a decision aid. As methodological support for research and data processing, THOR 2 and PROMETHEE-SAPEVO-M1 methods were approached, both based on the scenarios of outranking alternatives based on the preferences established by the stakeholders in the problem. As a result of the methodological implementation, we compare the two implemented methods in this context, exposing the Commercial Software Purchase and Adoption of Free Software, integrated into Customization by the Marine Studies Foundation, as favorable actions to be adopted concerning HIS feasibility. This finding generates a comprehensive discussion regarding the BN perspective and changes in internal development in the military environment, prospecting alignment to the culture of private organizations in Information Technology for healthcare management. In the end, we present some conclusions concerning the study, exploring the main points of the decision-making analysis and for future research. Full article

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. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic and the related infodemic generated confusion and increased demand of various pharmaceuticals, ushering in the opportunity for illicit online vendors to fill a gap in the marketplace using potentially dangerous products. The aim of our study is to provide evidence regarding increased demand, online availability and consumer accessibility of ivermectin, an anthelmintic agent, without substantiated indications in reference to SARS-CoV-2. In our study, we combined infodemiology methodology aligned with search engine result assessment and website analytics to evaluate patient safety risks. Users’ Google queries regarding ivermectin were trending and peaked during the last week of November 2020 and March 2021. Consumers more likely found links leading directly or indirectly (via redirection) to illegal online retailers representing nearly half (53.3%) of search engine result links regarding the first three result pages in December 2020 and topped off at 73.3% by March 2021. Illicit medicine retailers outnumbered and outranked their legitimate counterparts and dominated the first search engine results page. A vast majority (77.7%) of the identified online pharmacies were characteristically rogue; more than half (55.5%) offered prescription-only products without a valid medical prescription. Our results illustrate connection between infodemic and its consequences on the illicit online pharmacy market Full article

This paper presents a new approach based on Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA), named PROMETHEE-SAPEVO-M1, through its implementation and feasibility related to the decision-making process regarding the evaluation of helicopters of attack of the Brazilian Navy. The proposed methodology aims to present an integration of ordinal evaluation into the cardinal procedure from the PROMETHEE method, enabling to perform qualitative and quantitative data and generate the criteria weights by pairwise evaluation, transparently. The modeling provides three models of preference analysis, as partial, complete, and outranking by intervals, along with an intra-criterion analysis by veto threshold, enabling the analysis of the performance of an alternative in a specific criterion. As a demonstration of the application, is carried out a case study by the PROMETHEE-SAPEVO-M1 web platform, addressing a strategic analysis of attack helicopters to be acquired by the Brazilian Navy, from the need to be evaluating multiple specifications with different levels of importance within the context problem. The modeling implementation in the case study is made in detail, first performing the alternatives in each criterion and then presenting the results by three different models of preference analysis, along with the intra-criterion analysis and a rank reversal procedure. Moreover, is realized a comparison analysis to the PROMETHEE method, exploring the main features of the PROMETHEE-SAPEVO-M1. Moreover, a section of discussion is presented, exposing some features and main points of the proposal. Therefore, this paper provides a valuable contribution to academia and society since it represents the application of an MCDA method in the state of the art, contributing to the decision-making resolution of the most diverse real problems. Full article

The core aim of this paper is to provide a new multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) model, namely bipolar fuzzy ELimination and Choice Translating REality (ELECTRE) II method, by combining the bipolar fuzzy set with ELECTRE II technique. It can be used to solve the problems having bipolar uncertainty. The proposed method is established by defining the concept of bipolar fuzzy strong, median and weak concordance as well as discordance sets and indifferent set to define two types of outranking relations, namely strong outranking relation and weak outranking relation. The normalized weights of criteria, which may be partly or completely unknown for decision makers, are calculated by using an optimization technique, which is based on maximizing deviation method. A systematic iterative procedure is applied to strongly outrank as well as weakly outrank graphs to determine the ranking of favorable actions or alternatives or to choose the best possible solution. The implementation of the proposed method is presented by numerical examples such as selection of business location and to chose the best supplier. A comparative analysis of proposed ELECTRE II method is also presented with already existing multiple-attribute decision making methods, including Technique for the Order of Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and ELECTRE I under bipolar fuzzy environment by solving the problem of business location. Full article

The aim of the paper is to rank the agro-energy regions according to their potentials of biomass production in the Region of Central Macedonia (RCM). For this reason, a model of Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCDA) is developed with the ELimination and Et Choix Traduisant la REalite (ELECTRE) ΙΙΙ method, with the construction of outranking relations. The aim is to compare in a comprehensive way each pair of action, in our case the agro-energy regions of the RCM, in order to satisfy the main goal which is to rank the seven regions as regards their biomass production. The final goal is to select the optimal crop plan as a pilot case for biomass production in the region. In the case of ELECTRE III multicriteria model, we used several conflicting criteria such as the farm income, the biomass production from crop residues, the variable costs, and the production of thermal energy and electrical energy. Alongside a technical and economic analysis of the study area is conducted for the existent crop plans of each agro-energy region. The results show that agro-energy regions with cereals and arable crops have better results than regions with fruit trees and other crops. Full article