A fuzzy AHP approach to construct international hotel spa atmosphere evaluation model

Governments in all over the world put great efforts on promoting domestic leisure and tourist activities, which leads to the enhancement of market potential and opportunities. Among all hospitality businesses such as restaurants, clubs, recreational villa, spa and beauty salon, international hotels is generating most percentage of profit in this sector. International hotels not only provide basic equipment and intimate service, but also emphasize on extreme quality of atmosphere sensation for customers. This study utilizes a two-step method with Delphi in the first and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) (FAHP) in the second phase. The first phase is to collect information and knowledge to construct an AHP hierarchy to evaluate hotel atmosphere. The second phase incorporates a FAHP method to integrate experts’ knowledge and calculate priorities of criteria. This research provides insights of international hotel atmosphere evaluation and directions for future development of hotel atmospheres for decision makers.     

A fuzzy service quality based approach for performance evaluation of educational units

Educational unites try to make efficient use of resources to achieve higher service qualities. This paper presents a new hybrid fuzzy approach based on service quality for performance evaluation of educational units. The proposed approach includes four stages: firstly, evaluation and gap analysis of students' expectations and perceptions in the service quality of educational units are performed based on fuzzy SERVQUAL questionnaires. In the second stage, the corresponding weights of dimensions and sub-dimensions of SERVQUAL are determined via fuzzy AHP method. In the third stage, the educational units are ranked using fuzzy TOPSIS method with respect to service quality sub-dimensions. Finally, a fuzzy DEA method is applied to determine the efficiency of educational units based on their service quality ratings. The approach is used for performance evaluation of eight higher education institutes in Iran. The proposed approach increased the accuracy of performance evaluation of educational units based on service quality.     

基于层次分析法的旅游电子商务评价研究

根据评价指标体系构建的基本原则,同时结合旅游电子商务网站的特性,文章选取了网站设计、网站内容和网站效应作为评价指标体系,并应用层次分析法模型对我国旅游网站进行评价,从中分析出影响我国旅游电子商务网站重要性的因素。     

流域初始排污权分配的AHP法及其应用研究

流域初始排污权分配是流域排污权交易制度实施的基础。流域排污权的初始分配存在二级分配模式,一是将总排污权分配到流域内各行政单元,二是由各行政单元把分配到的排污权再分配到辖区内的各排污企业。本文基于效率和公平并重的原则,综合考虑流域内各行政单元的社会、经济与环境因素,给出了流域初始排污权分配的AHP方法,并以太湖流域为例进行了实证分析。     

A fuzzy group decision-making approach in quality function deployment

Quality function deployment (QFD) is comprised of two major group decision-making processes. One is to collect the customer requirements from a group of customers, whereas the other is to determine the relationship between customer requirements and technical measures by a cross-functional team. Generally, different and/or even subjective opinions are quite often in a group decision-making process due to the limitations of experience and impreciseness. Obviously, the importance of each customer requirement and the relationship between customer requirements and technical measures are determined by a group of people with imprecision and vagueness. Under such circumstances, a fuzzy group decision-making approach can be applied in QFD to deal with a group decision-making process when the information is imprecise and fuzzy. Moreover, an example is provided as well as the computational steps to show this fuzzy group decision-making approach can be effectively used in QFD to make decisions with imprecision and vagueness.     

Identification of backward district in India by applying the principal component analysis and fuzzy approach: A census based study

India is a large country with several axes of inequality. Among the various axes of inequality, the regional disparity is the prominent one. This study aims to find out the most backward districts in India with the help of the latest available statistics data. For this purpose, 25 indicators are selected and these are further categorized into six dimensions based on their characteristics. The principal component analysis is applied in R Studio for the data dimension reduction and the calculation of weight. Later on, the fuzzy approach is taken into consideration for integration purposes. The final output shows that 80 districts that are located mainly in Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Bihar are the most backward. Contrary to this, 73 districts that are located mainly in the western coastal plain and north-west India are the least backward. Besides, this study also observes that development patterns in India are not uniform in character. Most of the developed districts are concentrated in few pockets. The suitability of this study is analyzed in comparison to other studies. The result shows comparatively better acceptability of this model in comparison to other studies.     

基于AHP的第三方物流服务商选择

随着市场竞争的加剧,越来越多的企业选择物流外包,而物流服务商的选择成为企业进行物流外包的首选目标。文章根据企业对于物流服务的要求建立了指标体系,并提出应用层次分析法来选择最佳物流服务商。     

A framework to measure relative performance of Indian technical institutions using integrated fuzzy AHP and COPRAS methodology

There are many opportunities and challenges in area of Indian technical education due to liberalization and globalization of economy. One of these challenges is how to assess performance of technical institutions based on multiple criteria. This paper is focused on performance evaluation and ranking of seven Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) in respect to stakeholders’ preference using an integrated model consisting of fuzzy AHP and COPRAS. Findings based on 2007–2008 data show that performance of two IITs need considerable improvement. To the best of our knowledge it is one of few studies that evaluates performance of technical institutions in India.     

Optimal combination of Arctic sea ice extent measures: A dynamic factor modeling approach

The diminishing extent of Arctic sea ice is a key indicator of climate change as well as being an accelerant for future global warming. Since 1978, Arctic sea ice has been measured using satellite-based microwave sensing; however, different measures of Arctic sea ice extent have been made available based on differing algorithmic transformations of raw satellite data. We propose and estimate a dynamic factor model that combines four of these measures in an optimal way and accounts for their differing volatility and cross-correlations. We then use the Kalman smoother to extract an optimal combined measure of Arctic sea ice extent. It turns out that almost all weight is put on the NSIDC Sea Ice Index, confirming and enhancing confidence in the Sea Ice Index and the NASA Team algorithm on which it is based.     

Assessment of CSR based supply chain performance system using an integrated fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS approach

The objective of this research was to identify Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) criteria as well as propose and prioritise the alternatives to improve the supply chain performance system of an organisation. To meet the objective, firstly, CSR-based criteria, sub-criteria and alternatives were identified based on the literature review and discussion with the field experts, taken from automobile industries located at the Delhi region of India. Then, kappa statistics has been applied to check the internal consistency between identified criteria and sub-criteria. After finding the evidence of internal consistency, a hierarchical-type model has been developed and analysed using a multi-criteria decision-making as an integrated fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and a fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) approach. To make the results more robust and feasible, a sensitivity analysis has also been performed.     

A note on the AHP and expected value theory

It is shown here that one cannot simply take columns of numbers, normalize them and add to obtain results corresponding to operations in the AHP. This is what traditional expected value theory using a single scale would lead one to do. Care needs to be exercised. What one must do is to interpret the data represented by each column according to relative importance to a decision maker so that the alternatives under each criterion are pairwise compared according to the fundamental scale used to represent judgments. This procedure then leads to a set of vectors which belong to the same ratio scale and they can now be combined by using the weights of the criteria.     

基于AHP的高铁客运服务质量评价研究

高速铁路客运以其迅捷的运输速度、舒适的站车环境、便利的购票方式、公交化运营模式、全程自助无干扰服务方式等众多优势吸引了广大旅客。与既有线相比较,客运专线由于其本身的特点,所吸引的旅客群体主要为高中端旅客,旅客消费心理和需求都有很大的变化,对旅行过程中的服务质量有更高的预期。影响客运服务质量的因素众多,大部分指标难以量化。文章采用层次分析法建立了高铁客运服务质量评价指标体系,使用模糊综合评价法进行评价,通过应用实例分析,取得了较好的效果。     

Ranking of sectors based on fuzzy importance measure

The changing nature of policy variables specific to any planned developmental programme often leads to conflicting decisional problems regarding the identification of thrust areas. Hence the inherent requirement is for a composite index which eases out such ambiguous choice issues. The present paper introduces the measure of sectoral importance which is capable of encompassing different variables with their associated weights and ranks sectors in an economy based on such a measure. However, the term importance suggests the qualitativeness and subjectivity involved in defining such a concept and thus establishes the need for the concepts of fuzzy mathematics. The theory of fuzzy subsets is capable of dealing with qualitative variables within a quantitative framework. The sectoral importance measures derived from the sectoral output linkages, employment multipliers and value added multipliers, have been represented as fuzzy subsets, or to be precise, as fuzzy numbers. A comparison of these numbers through the binary approach of determination of the measure of relative strength provides the basis for the ranking of sectors. The novelty of the approach lies in its simplicity and flexibility in treating qualitative factors which characterise most decision support socio economic planning problems. The validity of the exercise has been tested by applying it to the economy of West Bengal, a State of India.     

基于层次分析法的广州市可持续发展能力的综合评价

文章通过建立广州市的可持续发展指标体系,运用层次分析法对广州市可持续发展能力进行了系统地综合评价,同时利用模糊隶属度函数,对广州市的资源环境、社会、经济系统之间协调性进行研究,从更深入的层次上对广州市可持续发展能力给与评价。     

Long term electricity consumption forecast in Brazil: A fuzzy logic approach

The energy companies are always facing the challenge of producing more accurate load forecasts. A fuzzy logic methodology is proposed in order to extract rules from the input variables and provide Brazil's long-term annual electricity demand forecasts. In recent literature, the formulation of these types of models has been limited to treating the explanatory variables in the univariate form, or involving only the GDP. This study proposes an extension of this model, starting with population and the GDP additional value. The proposed model is compared with the official projections. The obtained results are quite promising.     

A new methodology for multidimensional poverty measurement based on the capability approach

We propose a methodology based on the use of clustering techniques derived from data analysis and multi-attribute decision analysis methods aiming at purposeful multidimensional poverty measurement. Our contribution to methodological knowledge insists on the necessity to build “meaningful measurements” for policy making and policy implementation. Our standpoint underlines the necessity to consider the problem of poverty measurement as a decision problem and to tackle its measurement issue with that in mind. We also show that such an exercise can be useful to develop a better operational definition of poverty and to solve the aggregation issues.     

A fuzzy clustering approach used in evaluating technical efficiency measures in manufacturing

Comparing analytical approaches is crucial when important policy decisions of corporations or government agencies may be influenced by results that depend on the methodologies certain disciplines customarily use. Technical efficiency can be measured by a full-frontier production function model or by linear programming specifications. By using these modeling approaches observations pertaining to three linerboard manufacturing facilities are classified as efficient, inefficient, scale inefficient, and other. However, observations may or may not be consistently classified into these four groups when employing the two modeling approaches. In order to validate the efficiency designations of the two modeling approaches and to determine the uniqueness of observations, a fuzzy K-means clustering approach that uses a modified hat matrix H ^* as a similarity or information matrix is employed. This approach permits observations to be allocated to clusters in a fuzzy way by defining a membership function from 0 to 1. As the degree of fuzziness increases, a sensitivity analysis with respect to individual observations belonging to some cluster can be evaluated. At the same time, this fuzzy approach assists the analyst to assess the inconsistencies that can arise when using the mathematical programming and full-frontier modeling approaches of technical efficiency.The refereeing process of this paper was handled through Rolf Färe. The majority of this research work was completed when Bill Seaver was at the Department of Management Information Resources, College of Business Administration, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL 61455.     

基于AHP的平潭综合实验区科技创新模式选择研究

从自身实力、国家宏观环境、技术状况及产业状况四个方面选择平潭综合实验区的科技创新模式,在此基础上运用层次分析法来确定各个指标体系的权重,采用层次分析法专用软件yaahp0．6．0算得到自主创新、合作创新与模仿创新三个创新模式的权重系数,得出最适合平潭综合实验区的科技创新模式。     

A fuzzy set theory based computational model to represent the quality of inter-rater agreement

In this paper we present a method to evaluate the quality of a rater’s judgement, which can integrate and enrich the use of inter-rater agreement as a reliability measure. Our proposal is an integrative one and evaluates the quality of a rater’s performance through an analysis of the profile of that individual rater’s performance. We discuss its rationale on the basis of the interpretation of inter-rater agreement, highlighting some critical issues. For this purpose, we adopt a computational model based on fuzzy set theory, demonstrating its main characteristics with an exemplary case study.