Continuous development has been occurring in the area of decision support systems. Modern systems focus on applying decision models that can provide intelligent support to the decision maker. These systems focus on modelling the human reasoning process in situations requiring decision. This task may be achieved by using an appropriate decision model. Multicriteria decision making (MCDM) is a common decision making approach. This research investigates and seeks a way to resolve various issues associated with the application of this model. MCDM is a formal and systematic decision making approach that evaluates a given set of alternatives against a given set of criteria. The global evaluation of alternatives is determined through the process of aggregation. It is well established that the aggregation process should consider the importance of criteria while determining the overall worth of an alternative. The importance of individual criteria and of sub-sets of the criteria affects the global evaluation. The aggregation also needs to consider the importance of the sub-set of criteria. Most decision problems involve dependent criteria and the interaction between the criteria needs to be modelled. Traditional aggregation approaches, such as weighted average, do not model the interaction between the criteria. Non-additive measures such as fuzzy measures model the interaction between the criteria. However, determination of non-additive measures in a practical application is problematic. Various approaches have been proposed to resolve the difficulty in acquisition of fuzzy measures. These approaches mainly propose use of past precedents. This research extends this notion and proposes an approach based on similarity-based reasoning. Solutions to the past problems can be used to solve the new decision problems. This is the central idea behind the proposed methodology. The methodology itself applies the theory of reasoning by analogy for solving MCDM problems. This methodology uses a repository of cases of past decision problems. This case base is used to determine the fuzzy measures for the new decision problem. This work also analyses various similarity measures. The illustration of the proposed methodology in a case-based decision support system shows that interactive models are suitable tools for determining fuzzy measures in a given decision problem. This research makes an important contribution by proposing a similarity-based approach for acquisition of fuzzy measures.

<p>This thesis was aimed at the development of a Geographical Information System (GIS) based model to support the Rwanda Land Use and Development Master Plan. Developing sustainable land management is the main task of this master plan. Stakeholder’s involvement was of key importance. Their demands should be analysed and visualised to support discussions and the decision-making process. Spatial Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is a proven method for land-use planning purposes. However, most land-use planning applications focus on a specific theme, such as urban development. In addition, land-use planning is often limited to a relatively small area. This thesis focused at the development of a countrywide GIS model, containing all land-uses accommodated in three main land-use categories: urban, agriculture and conservation. The GIS model was largely based on the Land-Use Conflict Identification Strategy (LUCIS) model. Many of the goals, objectives, and subobjectives that described the earlier mentioned land-use categories were adopted from the original model. However, a significant number of them were dropped, and new were created to suit the Rwandan situation. Stakeholder’s involvement was realized by assigning weights to the goals and preference maps. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as weighting method. ESRI’s ArcGIS ModelBuilder was used to give the model shape in the GIS. Firstly, suitability maps were created of all elements in the model. The suitability maps were then transformed into preference maps by weighting them. In the next step the preference maps were collapsed in three classes: low, medium and high preference. Finally, the preference maps of the three land-use categories were combined, in order to visualize conflict areas. Ortho photos proved to be useful when acting as reference for the suitability and preference maps. Despite a large number of missing datasets, the GIS model was executed to simplify the understanding. However, many of the obtained results were unreliable because of the incompleteness of datasets, and can therefore not be used for decision-making.  Unfortunately, due to the stage of the project it was not possible to obtain weights from the stakeholders, and should therefore be done when the time is right. Right Choice DSS, a very user-friendly decision support application, was proposed to use for calculating weights. To conclude, the developed GIS model integrated countrywide land-use suitability mapping and stakeholders’ wishes that can be used for discussions and decision making.</p>

<p>There are a number of decision making problems in which Geographical Information System (GIS) has employed to organize and facilitate the procedure of analyzing the problem. These GIS-based decision problems which typically include a number of different criteria and alternatives are generally analyzed by Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA).Different locations within a geographical area represent the alternatives by which the overall goal of the project is achieved. The quality of achieving the goal is evaluated by a set of criteria which should be considered in the work. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which is a powerful method of MCDA generally can organize spatial problems and decides which alternatives are most suitable for the defined problems. However due to some intrinsic uncertainty in the method, a number of authors suggest fuzzifying the method while others are against fuzzification of the AHP.</p><p>The debate over fuzzifying AHP is going on and attempt for finding that was mostly in theory, and little, if any; practical comparison between the AHP and fuzzified AHP has done. This work presents a practical comparison of AHP and fuzzy AHP in a GIS-based problem, case study, for locating a dam in Costa Rica, considering different criteria. In order to perform the AHP and fuzzy AHP in the GIS-based problem and calculating weights of the criteria by the methods, some computer codes have written and developed in MATLAB.</p><p>The comparisons between the AHP and fuzzy AHP methods are done on result weights and on the result final maps. The comparison between the weights is repeated on different levels of uncertainty in fuzzy AHP then all the results are compared with the result of AHP method. Also this study for checking the effect of fuzzification on results is suggested Chi-Square test as a suitable tool.</p><p>Comparisons between the resulting weights of the AHP and fuzzy AHP methods show some differences between the methods. Furthermore, the Chi-Square test shows that the higher level of uncertainty in the fuzzy AHP, the greater the difference in results between the AHP and fuzzy AHP methods.</p>

This study defines the optimum route planning for Electric Transmission Lines by Multicriteria Decision Analysis which is based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Determination of the optimum route is performed by using both the spatial and Euclidean distances between two points located on the Earth&rsquo / s surface. The criteria needed to be taken into account to define the route of the Electrical Transmission Lines were evaluated with help of the experts who are doing this business in the available system and for this study the decision about the usage of needed data such as landuse map, landuse capability map, geology map, road map, zone plan and digital elevation models is also made with their knowledge. A Matlab code, which computes the optimum distance between two transformers by using real distance (spatial distance) method and by considering materials mentioned above is written. The results are compared with the ones found from the Euclidian distance, which is the common distance finding method in the available commercial GIS softwares. The spatial resolution effect in finding the spatial distance is also analyzed. The routes obtained by two different distance computation methods are compared with the existing route. The economical expectations in finding the optimum route are also discussed.

This thesis was aimed at the development of a Geographical Information System (GIS) based model to support the Rwanda Land Use and Development Master Plan. Developing sustainable land management is the main task of this master plan. Stakeholder’s involvement was of key importance. Their demands should be analysed and visualised to support discussions and the decision-making process. Spatial Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is a proven method for land-use planning purposes. However, most land-use planning applications focus on a specific theme, such as urban development. In addition, land-use planning is often limited to a relatively small area. This thesis focused at the development of a countrywide GIS model, containing all land-uses accommodated in three main land-use categories: urban, agriculture and conservation. The GIS model was largely based on the Land-Use Conflict Identification Strategy (LUCIS) model. Many of the goals, objectives, and subobjectives that described the earlier mentioned land-use categories were adopted from the original model. However, a significant number of them were dropped, and new were created to suit the Rwandan situation. Stakeholder’s involvement was realized by assigning weights to the goals and preference maps. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as weighting method. ESRI’s ArcGIS ModelBuilder was used to give the model shape in the GIS. Firstly, suitability maps were created of all elements in the model. The suitability maps were then transformed into preference maps by weighting them. In the next step the preference maps were collapsed in three classes: low, medium and high preference. Finally, the preference maps of the three land-use categories were combined, in order to visualize conflict areas. Ortho photos proved to be useful when acting as reference for the suitability and preference maps. Despite a large number of missing datasets, the GIS model was executed to simplify the understanding. However, many of the obtained results were unreliable because of the incompleteness of datasets, and can therefore not be used for decision-making.  Unfortunately, due to the stage of the project it was not possible to obtain weights from the stakeholders, and should therefore be done when the time is right. Right Choice DSS, a very user-friendly decision support application, was proposed to use for calculating weights. To conclude, the developed GIS model integrated countrywide land-use suitability mapping and stakeholders’ wishes that can be used for discussions and decision making.

There are a number of decision making problems in which Geographical Information System (GIS) has employed to organize and facilitate the procedure of analyzing the problem. These GIS-based decision problems which typically include a number of different criteria and alternatives are generally analyzed by Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA).Different locations within a geographical area represent the alternatives by which the overall goal of the project is achieved. The quality of achieving the goal is evaluated by a set of criteria which should be considered in the work. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) which is a powerful method of MCDA generally can organize spatial problems and decides which alternatives are most suitable for the defined problems. However due to some intrinsic uncertainty in the method, a number of authors suggest fuzzifying the method while others are against fuzzification of the AHP. The debate over fuzzifying AHP is going on and attempt for finding that was mostly in theory, and little, if any; practical comparison between the AHP and fuzzified AHP has done. This work presents a practical comparison of AHP and fuzzy AHP in a GIS-based problem, case study, for locating a dam in Costa Rica, considering different criteria. In order to perform the AHP and fuzzy AHP in the GIS-based problem and calculating weights of the criteria by the methods, some computer codes have written and developed in MATLAB. The comparisons between the AHP and fuzzy AHP methods are done on result weights and on the result final maps. The comparison between the weights is repeated on different levels of uncertainty in fuzzy AHP then all the results are compared with the result of AHP method. Also this study for checking the effect of fuzzification on results is suggested Chi-Square test as a suitable tool. Comparisons between the resulting weights of the AHP and fuzzy AHP methods show some differences between the methods. Furthermore, the Chi-Square test shows that the higher level of uncertainty in the fuzzy AHP, the greater the difference in results between the AHP and fuzzy AHP methods.

One of the serious and growing potential problems in most large urban areas is the shortage of land for waste disposal. Although there are some efforts to reduce and recover the waste, disposal in landfills is still the most common method for waste destination. An inappropriate landfill site may have negative environmental, economic and ecological impacts. Therefore, it should be selected carefully by considering both regulations and constraints on other sources. In this study, candidate sites for an appropriate landfill area in the vicinity of Ankara are determined by using the integration of Geographic Information Systems and Multicriteria Decision Analysis. For this purpose, sixteen input map layers including topography, settlements (urban centers and villages), roads (Highway E90 and village roads), railways, airport, wetlands, infrastructures (pipelines and power lines), slope, geology, land use, floodplains, aquifers and surface water are prepared and two different MCDA methods (Simple Additive Weighting and Analytic Hierarchy Process) are implemented in GIS environment. Comparison of the maps produced by these two different methods shows that both methods yield conformable results. Field checks also confirm that the candidate sites agree well with the selected criteria.

The research applied multi-criteria decision-making analysis to donor decisions regarding the choice of a particular charity in order to identify which donor attitudes are significant in the giving decision. Factors affecting the appeal of major charities in Health and Disability were compared. The giving decision has not been widely researched overseas and particularly in New Zealand there is a need to do this in order to better manage Not-for-profit marketing resources. 24 factors associated with giving decisions were identified and quantified giving rise to a fully-specified giving model and potentially direct benefits to charitable organizations. The research has made a contribution to our understanding of donor choice determinants and giving models.

abstract: Sinaloa, a coastal state in the northwest of Mexico, is known for irrigated conventional agriculture, and is considered one of the greatest successes of the Green Revolution. With the neoliberal reforms of the 1990s, Sinaloa farmers shifted out of conventional wheat, soy, cotton, and other commodities and into white maize, a major food staple in Mexico that is traditionally produced by millions of small-scale farmers. Sinaloa is now a major contributor to the national food supply, producing 26% of total domestic white maize production. Research on Sinaloa's maize has focused on economic and agronomic components. Little attention, however, has been given to the environmental sustainability of Sinaloa's expansion in maize. With uniquely biodiverse coastal and terrestrial ecosystems that support economic activities such as fishing and tourism, the environmental consequences of agriculture in Sinaloa are important to monitor. Agricultural sustainability assessments have largely focused on alternative agricultural approaches, or espouse alternative philosophies that are biased against conventional production. Conventional agriculture, however, provides a significant portion of the world's calories. In addition, incentives such as federal subsidies and other institutions complicate transitions to alternative modes of production. To meet the agricultural sustainability goals of food production and environmental stewardship, we must put conventional agriculture on a more sustainable path. One step toward achieving this is structuring agricultural sustainability assessments around achievable goals that encourage continual adaptations toward sustainability. I attempted this in my thesis by assessing conventional maize production in Sinaloa at the regional/state scale using network analysis and incorporating stakeholder values through a multicriteria decision analysis approach. The analysis showed that the overall sustainability of Sinaloa maize production is far from an ideal state. I made recommendations on how to improve the sustainability of maize production, and how to better monitor the sustainability of agriculture in Sinaloa. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Sustainability 2011

Notre travail de recherche traite la problématique de la conception d’une chaîne logistique multi-niveaux tout en tenant compte du cycle de vie du produit. Par cycle de vie du produit, nous voulons dire la succession des quatre phases de commercialisation que traverse un produit à travers le temps, à savoir : l’introduction, la croissance, la maturité et le déclin. L’objectif est de mette en place un modèle mathématique qui soit fondé sur une analyse approfondie des différents acteurs de la chaîne, selon la phase du cycle de vie du produit.Trois principaux modèles ont été développés dans cette thèse. Chacun fait l’objet d’un chapitre à part entière.Le premier modèle développé vise à concevoir une chaîne logistique de coût minimum, tout en prenant en considération l’efficacité des différents acteurs potentiels calculée selon plusieurs critères (coût, qualité, innovation, qualité du service, délais de livraisons, …), ainsi que sa variation au cours du cycle de vie du produit. Un deuxième modèle a été mis en place pour la conception d’une chaîne logistique durable, tout en prenant en considération le cycle de vie du produit. Dans ce modèle, trois objectifs différents ont été pris en compte à la fois, à savoir, un objectif économique, un objectif environnemental et un objectif social. Dans les deux premiers modèles, nous avons supposé que le produit aura un cycle de vie classique. Cependant, dans la réalité, ceci n’est pas toujours le cas. En effet, quelques produits connaissent des cycles de vie très atypiques et donc très éloignés de la courbe d’un cycle de vie théorique. Pour ce faire, un troisième modèle stochastique a été proposé pour la conception d’une chaîne logistique robuste, tenant compte des différents scénarios du cycle de vie du produit. / Our research addresses the problem of designing a multi-level supply chain, while taking into consideration the product life cycle. By product life cycle, we mean the succession of the four marketing stages that a product goes through since its introduction to the market and until it will be removed from. All products have a life cycle which can be classified into four discrete stages: introduction, growth, maturity and decline.Depending on the product life cycle phases, and based on a thorough analysis of the different supply chain potential actors, this study aims to establish mathematical models to design an efficient supply chain network. Three main models have been developed in this thesis. The first proposed model aims to design a product-driven supply chain with a minimal total cost, taking into consideration the evaluation of the different potential actors effectiveness, according to several criteria (cost, quality, innovation, quality service, timely delivery, ...).A second model was developed to design of a sustainable supply chain network, taking into account the product life cycle. In this model, three different objectives at the time were considered, namely, an economic objective, an environmental objective and a social objective.In the two previous models, we have assumed that the product has a classical life cycle. However, in the reality this is not always the case. Indeed, some products have very atypical life cycles, whose curves are very different from the classical one. To tackle this problem, in the third part of this thesis, we propose a stochastic model to design a robust supply chain network, taking into account the different product life cycle scenarios.