At no point in history have we demanded so much from our agricultural land whilst simultaneously leaving so little room for management error. Of the many possible environmental impacts from agriculture, soil and water salinisation has some of the most long-lived and deleterious effects. Despite its importance, however, land managers are often unable to make informed decisions of how to manage the risk of salinisation due to a lack of data. Furthermore, there remains no universally agreed method for salinity risk mapping. This thesis addresses these issues by investigating new methods for producing high-resolution predictions of soil salinity, soil physical properties and groundwater depth using a variety of traditional and emerging ancillary data sources. The results show that the methodologies produce accurate predictions yielding natural resource information at a scale and resolution not previously possible. Further to this, a new methodology using fuzzy logic is developed that exploits this information to produce high-resolution salinity risk maps designed to aid both agricultural and natural resource management decisions. The methodology developed represents a new and effective way of presenting salinity risk and has numerous advantages over conventional risk models. The incorporation of fuzzy logic provides a meaningful continuum of salinity risk and allows for the incorporation of uncertainty. The method also allows salinity risk to be calculated relative to any vegetation community and shows where the risk is coming from (root-zone or groundwater) allowing more appropriate management decisions to be made. The development of this methodology takes us a step closer to closing what some have called our greatest gap in agricultural knowledge. That is, our ability to manage the salinity risk at the subcatchment scale.

This article seeks to enhance multi criteria decision making by providing a scientic approach for decomposing and structuring decision problems. We propose a process, based on concept mapping, which integrates group creativity techniques, card sorting procedures, quantitative data analysis and algorithmic automatization to construct meaningful and complete hierarchies of criteria. The algorithmic aspect is covered by a newly proposed recursive cluster algorithm, which automatically generates hierarchies from card sorting data. Based on comparison with another basic algorithm and empirical engineered and real-case test data, we validate that our process efficiently produces reasonable hierarchies of descriptive elements like goal- or problem-criteria. (authors' abstract)

At no point in history have we demanded so much from our agricultural land whilst simultaneously leaving so little room for management error. Of the many possible environmental impacts from agriculture, soil and water salinisation has some of the most long-lived and deleterious effects. Despite its importance, however, land managers are often unable to make informed decisions of how to manage the risk of salinisation due to a lack of data. Furthermore, there remains no universally agreed method for salinity risk mapping. This thesis addresses these issues by investigating new methods for producing high-resolution predictions of soil salinity, soil physical properties and groundwater depth using a variety of traditional and emerging ancillary data sources. The results show that the methodologies produce accurate predictions yielding natural resource information at a scale and resolution not previously possible. Further to this, a new methodology using fuzzy logic is developed that exploits this information to produce high-resolution salinity risk maps designed to aid both agricultural and natural resource management decisions. The methodology developed represents a new and effective way of presenting salinity risk and has numerous advantages over conventional risk models. The incorporation of fuzzy logic provides a meaningful continuum of salinity risk and allows for the incorporation of uncertainty. The method also allows salinity risk to be calculated relative to any vegetation community and shows where the risk is coming from (root-zone or groundwater) allowing more appropriate management decisions to be made. The development of this methodology takes us a step closer to closing what some have called our greatest gap in agricultural knowledge. That is, our ability to manage the salinity risk at the subcatchment scale.

At no point in history have we demanded so much from our agricultural land whilst simultaneously leaving so little room for management error. Of the many possible environmental impacts from agriculture, soil and water salinisation has some of the most long-lived and deleterious effects. Despite its importance, however, land managers are often unable to make informed decisions of how to manage the risk of salinisation due to a lack of data. Furthermore, there remains no universally agreed method for salinity risk mapping. This thesis addresses these issues by investigating new methods for producing high-resolution predictions of soil salinity, soil physical properties and groundwater depth using a variety of traditional and emerging ancillary data sources. The results show that the methodologies produce accurate predictions yielding natural resource information at a scale and resolution not previously possible. Further to this, a new methodology using fuzzy logic is developed that exploits this information to produce high-resolution salinity risk maps designed to aid both agricultural and natural resource management decisions. The methodology developed represents a new and effective way of presenting salinity risk and has numerous advantages over conventional risk models. The incorporation of fuzzy logic provides a meaningful continuum of salinity risk and allows for the incorporation of uncertainty. The method also allows salinity risk to be calculated relative to any vegetation community and shows where the risk is coming from (root-zone or groundwater) allowing more appropriate management decisions to be made. The development of this methodology takes us a step closer to closing what some have called our greatest gap in agricultural knowledge. That is, our ability to manage the salinity risk at the subcatchment scale.

At no point in history have we demanded so much from our agricultural land whilst simultaneously leaving so little room for management error. Of the many possible environmental impacts from agriculture, soil and water salinisation has some of the most long-lived and deleterious effects. Despite its importance, however, land managers are often unable to make informed decisions of how to manage the risk of salinisation due to a lack of data. Furthermore, there remains no universally agreed method for salinity risk mapping. This thesis addresses these issues by investigating new methods for producing high-resolution predictions of soil salinity, soil physical properties and groundwater depth using a variety of traditional and emerging ancillary data sources. The results show that the methodologies produce accurate predictions yielding natural resource information at a scale and resolution not previously possible. Further to this, a new methodology using fuzzy logic is developed that exploits this information to produce high-resolution salinity risk maps designed to aid both agricultural and natural resource management decisions. The methodology developed represents a new and effective way of presenting salinity risk and has numerous advantages over conventional risk models. The incorporation of fuzzy logic provides a meaningful continuum of salinity risk and allows for the incorporation of uncertainty. The method also allows salinity risk to be calculated relative to any vegetation community and shows where the risk is coming from (root-zone or groundwater) allowing more appropriate management decisions to be made. The development of this methodology takes us a step closer to closing what some have called our greatest gap in agricultural knowledge. That is, our ability to manage the salinity risk at the subcatchment scale.

Disertacijoje nagrinėjamos statybos projekto valdymas, jame dalyvaujan-čios ir savo tikslus siekiančios įgyvendinti suinteresuotos grupės bei valdymą veikianti išorinė makro- ir mikroaplinka. Norint sukurti ir pasiekti efektyvų statybos projektų valdymą, reikia atlikti kompleksinę jo etapų analizę. Be to, reikia atsižvelgti į projekto, organizacinės ir išorinės aplinkos veiksnių poveikį. Nagrinėjamas statybos projektų valdymo efektyvumo didinimas, panaudojant daugia¬kriterinės analizės sprendimų paramos metodus ir informacines techno-logijas. Darbo tikslas – įvertinti ir pagerinti statybos projektų valdymo efektyvu-mą, naudojant sukurtą Integruoto projektų valdymo modelį. Naudojant šį mo-delį buvo sukurta Daugiakriterinė statybos projektų valdymo sprendimų para-mos sistema, pagrįsta sudėtingų sistemų teorija ir daugiakriterinės analizės bei variantinio projektavimo metodais. Darbą sudaro įvadas, trys skyriai, išvados ir pasiūlymai, literatūros sąrašas. Pirmame skyriuje apžvelgiama esama situacija ir pasiekimai projekto val-dymo srityje, valdymo metodai ir sistemos, vertinimo kriterijai ir valdymo pro-ceso modeliavimo principai. Antrame skyriuje analizuojamos marketingo sistemos, efektyvumo para-metrai ir aprašomas sukurtas Integruoto projektų valdymo modelis. Trečiame skyriuje aprašomi sprendimų paramos sistemos elementai, pla-čiai aprašomi sistemos vertinimo komponentų sukūrimas. Pasiūlytasis metodas iliustruotas aprašant aktualaus praktikoje uždavinio sprendimą... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The dissertation investigates management of construction project, that of the participating and pursuing the aims interested parties and that of external macro-micro environment influencing the process. Aiming for efficient design and construction project management an integrated analysis of the process stages is needed. The contribution of project, organizational and external envi-ronment factors should also be taken into account. The investigated problem is assigned to an increasing the efficiency of construction project management via employing the multiple criteria decision support methods and information technologies. The aim of the dissertation is the evaluation and enhancement of the effec-tiveness of construction project management by employing the created Model for Integrated Project Management. This model is used to develop the Con-struction Project Management Multiple Criteria Decision Support System based on the complex systems theory and methods of multiple criteria analysis and multi alternative design. The thesis consists of an introduction, three chapters, conclusions and sug-gestions, and the list of references. The first Chapter introduces the current situation and achievements in con-struction management, approaches and systems in construction, valuation crite-ria and modeling principles of the process. The second Chapter is assigned to analysis of marketing systems, effi-ciency values and the developed model for integrated project management. The third... [to full text]

Šio baigiamojo magistro darbo tikslas yra patobulinti kiekybinį pastatų gaisrinės saugos ir rizikos vertinimą, įtraukiant gaisrinės saugos (rizikos) rodiklius į daugiatikslės analizės uždavinius. Darbą sudaro dvi pagrindinės dalys. Pirmoje teorinėje darbo dalyje aprašomi kiekybinio gaisro rizikos vertinimo modeliai, gaisro rizikos privalumai ir trūkumai, daugiatikslės analizės modeliai, daugiatikslės analizės uždavinio sprendimas ir sprendimo kriterijai, aptariamas gaisrinės rizikos vertinimo ir daugiatikslės analizės derinimo poreikis. Antroje darbo dalyje yra sprendžiamas daugiatikslio pastato projektavimo uždavinys. Kaip uždavinio objektas pasirenkamas daugiaaukštis administracinis pastatas. Vertinamos trys skirtingos aukštų plano alternatyvos: atviro, koridorinio ir mišraus tipo. Taip pat šiame skyriuje yra apibrėžiami daugiatikslei analizei tinkantys gaisro rizikos rodikliai. Taikant kompiuterinį modeliavimą apskaičiuojami evakuacijos ir nepakeliamų sąlygų laikai, suskaičiuojami ekonominiai rodikliai ir apklausos būdu įvertinamas alternatyvių pastato aukštų patrauklumas. Visi šie rodikliai įtraukiami į daugiatikslės analizės uždavinį ir matematiniu būdu nustatoma geriausia alternatyva. Išsprendus uždavinį pateikiamos išvados ir pasiūlymai. Darbo pabaigoje pateikiamas literatūros šaltinių sąrašas. Darbo apimtis – 58 p. teksto be priedų, 22 iliustr., 11 lent., 52 biografiniai šaltiniai. / The aim of this postgraduate thesis is to improve quantitative building fire safety and risk assessment, including fire safety (risk) indicators in the analysis of multi-criteria tasks. The work consists of two main parts. The first part is theoretical, it describes the quantitative fire risk assessment models, fire risk advantages and disadvantages, multi-criteria analytical models as well as the solution of multi-criteria analysis problem and solution parameters. The assessment of fire risk and the need for conformance of the multi-criteria analysis is also discussed. The second part of the work, focuses on the multi-criteria building design task. A multi-storey office building has been selected as the task object. Three different floor plan types are evaluated: open space, one with the corridor and the mixed type. In addition fire risk indicators suitable for the multi-criteria analysis are defined in this section. Using computer modeling times of evacuation, unbearable conditions and economic indicators are calculated, then the attractiveness of alternative building storey is assessed according to a survey. All these indicators are included in the task of multiple-criteria analysis and the best solution is determined using mathematical method. After solving the task at the end of the paper findings and recommendations are presented followed by references. Thesis consist of: 58 p. text without appendixes,22 pictures, 11 tables, 52 bibliographical entries.

Les grilles de calcul et le “cloud computing” permettent de distribuer un ensemble de ressources informatiques, telles que du stockage ou du temps de calcul, à un ensemble d’utilisateurs en fonction de leurs demandes en donnant l’illusion de ressources infinies. Cependant, lorsque l’ensemble de ces ressources est insuffisant pour satisfaire les exigences des utilisateurs, des conflits d’intérêts surgissent. Ainsi, un libre accès à des ressources limitées peut entraîner une utilisation inefficace qui pénalise l’ensemble des participants. Dans de tels environnements, il devient nécessaire d’établir des procédures d’arbitrage afin de résoudre ces conflits en garantissant une distribution équitable aux différents utilisateurs. Nous présentons une nouvelle classe de problèmes : celle des ordonnancements multi-utilisateurs. Cette thèse aborde la notion d’équité au travers de problèmes d’allocation de ressources sous incertitudes et d’ordonnancement de tâches périodiques. / Grid and Cloud computing make possible the sharing of computer system resources, such as storage or computation time, among a set of users, according to their requests, thereby creating an illusion of infinite resources. However, as soon as those resources are insufficient to meet users’s expectations, conflicts of interest arise. Therefore, unlimited access to limited resources may lead to inefficient usage which penalizes the whole set of users. In such environments, arbitration becomes necessary in order to settle those conflicts and ensure a fair allocation to all users. We present two classes of problems : multi-user resource allocation under uncertainty and multi-user periodic task scheduling. We tackle these problems from the point of view of fairness.

Yes / Electronic government services (e-services) involve the delivery of information and services to stakeholders via the Internet, Internet of Things and other traditional modes. Despite their beneficial values, the overall level of usage (take-up) remains relatively low compared to traditional modes. They are also challenging to evaluate due to behavioral, economical, political, and technical aspects. The literature lacks a methodology framework to guide the government transformation application to improve both internal processes of e-services and institutional transformation to advance relationships with stakeholders. This paper proposes a cognitive analytics management (CAM) framework to implement such transformations. The ambition is to increase users’ take-up rate and satisfaction, and create sustainable shared values through provision of improved e-services. The CAM framework uses cognition to understand and frame the transformation challenge into analytics terms. Analytics insights for improvements are generated using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). A classification and regression tree is then applied to DEA results to identify characteristics of satisfaction to advance relationships. The importance of senior management is highlighted for setting strategic goals and providing various executive supports. The CAM application for the transforming Turkish e-services is validated on a large sample data using online survey. The results are discussed; the outcomes and impacts are reported in terms of estimated savings of more than fifteen billion dollars over a ten-year period and increased usage of improved new e-services. We conclude with future research.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo definir uma metodologia para escolha de locais visando, para um grupo de cidades, a instalação de centrais de tratamento, triagem e destinação final de resíduos sólidos urbanos, utilizadas através de consórcio intermunicipal, diminuindo custos e minimizando o impacto ambiental. Cidades (com suas taxas diárias de geração de resíduos sóIidos) posicionadas dentro de uma região com malha rodoviária definida, podem, através do uso de algoritmos matemáticos e abordagem multicriterial, ser divididas em grupos que otimizam o número de instalações, cada grupo tendo um ponto para destinação final de resíduos sólidos urbanos mantido através ele um consórcio intermunicipal. Estes pontos são definidos em locais que respeitam as restrições do ponto de vista ambiental (abordagem multicriterial), otimizando os custos de transporte do ponto de vista logístico (algoritmos matemáticos). / The work has been developed as objective or supplying for a group of cities, the best number of installations for the final destination of the urban-solid residues avaiable through the intermunicipals partnerships, decreasing rates and minimizing the environmental impact. Cities with daily rates of generation of residues posicionated within a region with a defined network, can be divided in clusters through the mathematics algorithms and multiple criteria analysis which optimize the number of installations, each group will have a point of final destination of urban-solid residues kept through an intermunicipal partnership. These points will be localized in locals which will respect the restraints of the ambiental point of view optimizing the rates of the transportation from the logistic point of view.