Search results for "AHP"

Optimization of photovoltaic solar power plant locations in northern Chile

2017

The optimization of photovoltaic solar power plants location in Atacama Desert, Chile, is presented in this study. The study considers three objectives: (1) Find sites with the highest solar energy potential, (2) determine sites with the least impact on the environment, and (3) locate the areas which produce small social impact. To solve this task, multi-criteria decision analyses (MCDAs) such as analytical hierarchy process and ordered weighted averaging were applied in a GIS environment. In addition, survey results of social impacts were analyzed and included into the decision-making process, including landscape values. The most suitable sites for solar energy projects were found near roa…

Consistent Clustering of Elements in Large Pairwise Comparison Matrices

2018

[EN] In multi-attribute decision making the number of decision elements under consideration may be huge, especially for complex, real-world problems. Typically these elements are clustered and then the clusters organized hierarchically to reduce the number of elements to be simultaneously handled. These decomposition methodologies are intended to bring the problem within the cognitive ability of decision makers. However, such methodologies have disadvantages, and it may happen that such a priori clustering is not clear, and/or the problem has previously been addressed without any grouping action. This is the situation for the case study we address, in which a panel of experts gives opinions…

Using AHP methodology for prioritizing the actions in the transport sector in the frame of SECAPs

2020

The drafting of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan, required for the local authorities joining the Covenant of Mayors initiative, is an opportunity to plan actions reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. Choosing the measures to implement requires the application of a methodology that compares them, considering costs and impacts in terms of energy consumption, emissions reduction, and social benefits. The paper aims to develop a method based on the typical approach of the Analytical Hierarchy Process, supporting decisions in the transport sector in the frame of the drafting of SECAP. The method allows determining the priority actions and the optimal allocation…

Addictive neurons

2017

Since the reward center is considered to be the area tegmentalis ventralis of the hypothalamus, logically its neurons could mainly be responsible for addiction. However, the literature asserts that almost any neurons of CNS can respond to one or another addictive compound. Obviously not only addictive nicotine, but also alcohol, amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, heroin and morphine may influence dopaminergic cells alone in VTA. Moreover, paradoxically some of these drugs ameliorate symptoms, counterbalance syndromes, cure diseases and improve health, not only those related to the CNS and in adults, but also almost all other organs and in children, e.g. epilepsy.

Strategic analysis of transit service quality using fuzzy AHP methodology

2013

Customer satisfaction analyses are deeply based on customers' judgments and as consequence, they can be characterized by a certain degree of uncertainty generally ascribed to coexistence of three relevant aspects: vagueness, imprecision and subjectivity. In the present paper, a methodology able to handle such uncertainty, based on the ServQual discrepancy paradigm and that uses in combined manner the AHP method and the Fuzzy Sets Theory is proposed in order to overcome limitations of the traditional service evaluation approaches. Subsequently, by considering the Italian public transit service sector, a service quality analysis is conducted and the overall transit service quality structure i…

GLI ELEMENTI DETERMINANTI PER LA COMPETITIVITA’ DEL TURISMO NAUTICO: IL CASO DELLA SARDEGNA

2014

Characterization of the consistent completion of analytic hierarchy process comparison matrices using graph theory

2019

Decision-making is frequently affected by uncertainty and/or incomplete information, which turn decision-making into a complex task. It is often the case that some of the actors involved in decision-making are not sufficiently familiar with all of the issues to make the appropriate decisions. In this paper, we are concerned about missing information. Specifically, we deal with the problem of consistently completing an analytic hierarchy process comparison matrix and make use of graph theory to characterize such a completion. The characterization includes the degree of freedom of the set of solutions and a linear manifold and, in particular, characterizes the uniqueness of the solution, a re…

Some awkward issues on pairwise comparison matrices

2017

Many decision-making techniques use pairwise comparisons (PCs) elicited by one or more stakeholders involved in a given corresponding decision-making process. In very complex problems, the number of criteria or options to be compared may be too large, thus limiting PC applicability to large-scale decision problems due to the so-called curse of dimensionality, that is, a large number of pairwise comparisons need to be produced from a decision maker. For example, in AHP, Saaty [1] recommends that to obtain a reasonable and consistent PC matrix, the number of comparing elements should be at most seven. In [2] and [3], arguing on limitations of the human capabilities, the maximum number of elem…

Esquema de derivación consistente de prioridades en un marco de consenso

2019

La toma de decisiones impregna la actividad humana. Con frecuencia, la decisión no es simple porque involucra elementos cualitativos, subjetivos, intangibles. En diversos métodos de decisión multi-criterio, los elementos protagonistas de tales procesos son comparados por pares, y tales comparaciones se utilizan para construir una matriz de comparaciones, de cuyo estudio emerge la decisión. En AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process), por ejemplo, las prioridades se obtienen vía el vector propio de Perron de tales matrices. Para que la decisión sea adecuada, no obstante, las comparaciones deben ser aceptablemente consistentes. Pero cuando se comparan muchos elementos, la consistencia puede flaquear,…

Transport policy and climate change: How to decide when experts disagree

2008

Abstract Transport is the sector with the fastest growth of greenhouse gases emissions in many countries. Accumulation of these emissions may cause uncertain and irreversible adverse climate change impacts. In this context, we use the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to face the question on how to select the best transport policy if the experts have different opinions and beliefs on the occurrence of these impacts. Thus, both the treatment of uncertainty and dissent are examined for the ranking of transport policies. The opinions of experts have been investigated by a means of a survey questionnaire. A sensitivity analysis of the experts’ weights and the criteria’ weights confirms the robus…