Dental scaling has high importance in oral health due to its effect on preventing the teeth root destruction. Moreover, it can influence other health aspects such as reducing the risk factor of infective endocarditis. There are various devices applicable to dental scaling. It is essential to select the most appropriate type of instrument to achieve more efficient scaling. Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) is a mathematical approach widely applied in for selecting the best alternative based on essential criteria. In the present research, several criteria including cost, ease of use and sterilization, durability and effectiveness considered as criteria for device selection. The experts in the related field were asked to score the criteria and corresponded alternative. According to the results, obtained by applying the TOPSIS method, Piezon Master is the most option which is mainly due to its durability and effectiveness. The second rank belongs to Cavitron due to its ease of use and sterilization in addition to affordable cost.

This research proposes a framework to assist wind energy developers to select the optimum deployment site of a wind farm by considering the Round 3 zones in the UK. The framework includes optimisation techniques, decision-making methods and experts’ input in order to help stakeholders with investment decisions. Techno-economic, Life Cycle Costs (LCC) and physical aspects for each location are considered along with experts’ opinions to provide deeper insight into the decision making process. A process on the criteria selections is also presented and seven conflicting criteria are being considered in TOPSIS methods in order to suggest the optimum location that was produced by the NSGAII algorithm. Seagreen Alpha was the most probable solution, followed by Moray Firth Eastern Development Area 1, which demonstrates by example the effectiveness of the newly introduced framework that is also transferable and generic. The outcomes are expected to help stakeholders and decision makers to make more informed and cost-effective decisions under uncertainty when investing in offshore wind energy in the UK.

This purpose of the study presented in this article is to comparing different service quality measurements between Kano and TRIZ that plays the critical roles in the catering industrial. Data collected from a DINESERV questionnaire comprises service-quality standards to increase customer satisfaction of mobile dining car. Finally, the TRIZ is standardized measure designed to improve the idealization of strategy for selecting the most appropriate service quality model. In addition, the preferences of more than one decision maker are internally aggregated into the TOPSIS procedure. All these things provide several important theoretical and practical implications for developing a successful mobile catering app.

Small and medium-sized family farms are the place of life and source of income for about half of the population. The aim of the analysis was to determine the relationship between Eco-Efficiency, Human Capital Efficiency in small and medium-sized family farms. The analyses were carried out using an economic measure (value of agricultural production per work hour calculated per 1 ha) and synthetic measures: human capital and environmental measures. The synthetic measures were determined using the CRITIC-TOPSIS method by defining weights for variables used in the synthetic measures. The analyses covered five countries, namely: Lithuania (960 farms), Moldova (532 farms), Poland (696 farms), Romania (872 farms), and Serbia (524 farms). All the countries qualified for analysis are characterised by a high fragmentation of agricultural holdings. The analyses carried out allowed us to formulate the following conclusions: the Eco-Efficiency and Human Capital Efficiency indexes increase with area for small and medium-sized family agricultural farms. An increase in the Eco-Efficiency index with an increase in farm area leads to a suspicion that the smaller the farm area is, the more extensive the agricultural production being carried out. In addition, an increase in human capital efficiency with an increase in the area of a farm indicates that there is inefficiency in the utilisation of human capital resources in the agricultural farms studied.

The application of multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques in real-life problems has increased in recent years. The need to build advanced decision models with higher capabilities that can support decision making in a broad spectrum of applications, promotes the integration of MCDM techniques with applicable systems, including artificial intelligence, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) are amongst the most widely adopted MCDM techniques capable of resolving water resources challenges. A critical problem associated with water resource management is dam site selection. This paper presents a comparative analysis of TOPSIS and AHP in the context of decision making using GIS for dam site selection. The comparison was made based on geographic and water quality criteria. A ratio estimation procedure was used to determine the weights of these criteria. Both methods were applied for selection of optimal sites for dams in the Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. The results show that the TOPSIS method is better suited to the problem of dam site selection for this case study. Actual locations of dams constructed in the area were used to verify the results of both methods.

This article addresses reinsurance decision making process, which involves the insurance company and the reinsurance company, and is negotiated through reinsurance intermediaries. The article proposes a decision flow to model the reinsurance design and selection process. In contrast to existing literature on pure proportional reinsurance or stop-loss reinsurance, this article focuses on the combination into Proportional-Stop-loss reinsurance design which better addresses interest of both parties. In terms of methodology, the significant contribution of the study is to incorporate Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) into modelling the reinsurance selection. The Multi-Objective Decision Making (MODM) model is applied in designing reinsurance alternatives. Then MADM is applied to aid insurance companies in choosing the most appropriate reinsurance contract. To illustrate the feasibility of incorporating intelligent decision supporting system in reinsurance market, the study includes a numerical case study using simulation software @Risk in modeling insurance claims, and programming in MATLAB to realize MADM. Managerial implications could be drawn from the case study results. More specifically, when choosing the most appropriate reinsurance, insurance companies should base their decision on multiple measurements instead of single-criteria decision making models for their decisions to be more robust.

The paper presents attribute based characterization of nanomaterials method for computer storage and retrieval as knowledgebase. The knowledgebase permits indepth understanding and comparison between nanomaterials available with the scientists and product developers to satisfy their research and development (R & D) needs. Techniques for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is proposed to evaluate nanomaterials in the presence of multiple attributes. The method normalizes attributes to nullify the effect of different units and their values in the range of 0 to 1. The relative importance of different attributes for different applications is considered. The weight vector is derived using Eigen value formulation. The positive and negative benchmark solutions are derived. Euclidean distance of alternatives from these best and worst solution leads to the development of proximity /goodness/suitability index for ranking. Final decision is taken by decision makers by SWOT analysis and short and long term strategies of the organisation. The methodology is illustrated with the help of an example and step-by-step procedure. Results, discussion and conclusion highlights the importance and practical application.

Supplier selection is one of the most important multi criteria decision making (MCDM) problems for decision makers in competitive market. Organizations of today’s world are seeking new ways to reduce negative effects of their organizations to the environment and to reach a greener system. At this point, green supplier selection concept has gained great importance with its ability on incorporating environmental or green criteria into the classical supplier selection practices. Therefore, in this study, it is aimed at proposing a multi-phase MCDM model based on Best-Worst Method (BWM) and interval type-2 fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). A case study in a plastic injection molding facility in Turkey is performed to show the applicability of the proposed integrated methodology. The paper ensures insights into the decision making, methodology, and managerial implications. Results of the case study are examined and suggestions for future research are provided.

This paper focuses on evaluating airline service quality from the perspective of passengers view. Until now a lot of researches has performed in airline service quality evaluation in the world but a little research has been conducted in Iran, yet. In this research a framework for measuring airline service quality in Iran is proposed. After reviewing airline service quality criteria, SSQAI model was selected because of its comprehensiveness in covering airline service quality dimensions. SSQAI questionnaire items were redesigned to adopt with Iranian airlines requirements and environmental circumstances in the Iran's economic and cultural context. This study includes fuzzy decision-making theory, considering the possible fuzzy subjective judgment of the evaluators during airline service quality evaluation. Fuzzy TOPSIS have been applied for ranking airlines service quality performances. Three major Iranian airlines which have the most passenger transfer volumes in domestic and foreign flights, were chosen for evaluation in this research. Results demonstrated Mahan airline has got the best service quality performance rank in gaining passengers' satisfaction with delivery of high quality services to its passengers, among the three major Iranian airlines. IranAir and Aseman airlines placed in the second and third rank, respectively, according to passenger's evaluation.Statistical analysis have been used in analyzing passenger responses. Due to abnormality of data, Non-parametric tests were applied. To demonstrate airline ranks in every criterion separately, Friedman test was performed. Variance analysis and Tukey test were applied to study the influence of increasing in age and educational level of passengers' on degree of their satisfaction from airline's service quality. Results showed that age has not significant relation with passenger satisfaction of airlines, however increasing in educational level demonstrated a negative impact on passengers' satisfaction from airline's service quality.

Today project management in every field of life is prerequisite for the success of project by increasing quality reduces cost and schedule. But selecting tools and techniques to achieve our objectives and implement our plan fully is very difficult task because choice creates complexity. So, we discuss AHP to make decision simple. Ranking critical success factor, cloud computing services, risk prioritization, selection of right ETL software and many other systems AHP plays its important role. For the improvement of today’s complex systems it is very important to prioritize and select projects to remove the root cause of the problem. To attain the right selection of construction equipment for carrying out schedule tasks with high efficiency, production and financial capability is the main purpose of procurement of construction equipment process. Certain conflicts can occur due to the construction of UML models in a collaborative way. AHP is used to remove these conflicts and for establishing and evaluating modelers judgments. Nowadays it is very important and critical decision to choose the best option from multiple alternatives for a successful career after passing 12th standard and also it affects our future. “AHP and TOPSIS” methods are used for this purpose. In this paper, an “AHP and Fuzzy AHP” based hierarchical trust model has been used to rate the service providers and their various plans for infrastructure as a service.

The paper proposes TOPSIS method for solving multi-objective multi-level programming problem (MO-MLPP) with fuzzy parameters via fuzzy goal programming (FGP). At first, - cut method is used to transform the fuzzily described MO-MLPP into deterministic MO-MLPP. Then, for specific , we construct the membership functions of distance functions from positive ideal solution (PIS) and negative ideal solution (NIS) of all level decision makers (DMs). Thereafter, FGP based multi-objective decision model is established for each level DM for obtaining individual optimal solution. A possible relaxation on decisions for all DMs is taken into account for satisfactory solution. Subsequently, two FGP models are developed and compromise optimal solutions are found by minimizing the sum of negative deviational variables. To recognize the better compromise optimal solution, the concept of distance functions is utilized. Finally, a novel algorithm for MO-MLPP involving fuzzy parameters is provided and an illustrative example is solved to verify the proposed procedure.

The airport ground handling service (AGHS) equipment vendor selection (AGHSEVS) problem is critical for ramp work safety management, because AGHS equipment malfunctions affect airport ramp work safety. Appropriate vendor selection can prevent aircraft damage and delays in airlines schedules, and ensure reliable and high-quality ground handling service. The AGHSEVS problem is a time-consuming and complex process that requires professional knowledge and experience to make judgments. Specifically, AGHSEVS is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. Previous research has seldom integrated MCDM methods with linear and goal programming to solve the AGHSEVS problem. The objective of this study was to develop a new system evaluation model for AGHSEVS by considering both qualitative and quantitative methods. We test the proposed approach on an AGHS company in Taiwan.

The diverse socio-economic and environmental impacts that the set-up of a new photovoltaic installation has must be weighed carefully in order to reach the best possible solution. Among the different photovoltaic systems there are several classification criteria, depending on the technology, application and the size of the modules that define them. The size (installed nominal capacity) stands out as an impartial and critical measure in the decision making process. In this article we use a multi-criteria decision making method to analyse the responses of five experts to a detailed questionnaire in which several different criteria are correlated with various photovoltaic installation sizes. The limitation associated to the low number of experts is addressed with a robustness and sensitivity analysis. With this study we seek first, to apply and demonstrate the feasibility of a methodology which combines technical information with multi-criteria decision making methods, and second, to obtain a clear result oriented that increases the benefits of a forthcoming photovoltaic installation of modules in distributed generation adding up to 1GW total peak power in standard conditions. We observe a consistent result in which smaller photovoltaic modules are the ideal solution that maximises the socio-economic benefits of any installation. If a decision has to be taken about the type of photovoltaic plant to be installed, the conclusion is clear: given a certain size, small, easily scalable installations are the best solution for stake-holders, for the inhabitants, and for the environment.

A conventional electrical grid mostly depends on the electrical power generated from fossil fuels. However, the pollutants from fossil fuels are the key factors for adverse climate change. Most of the developed countries of the world have already recognized the fact that the energy mix requires to be diversified by incorporating renewable energy. This is especially relevant for many of the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), consisting of 57 countries, whose abundance of fossil fuel reserve indicates that much of their electric power is still generated from fossil fuels. In order to integrate renewable energy sources into the hybrid energy mix, an existing conventional grid needs to undergo drastic changes. Alongside this, the population boom in the OIC member countries has caused higher demand for a steady supply of electricity that the conventional grids have long been struggling to cope with. With a view to solving this multifaceted problem, incorporation of the smart power management schemes is indispensable using a smart electrical grid, where information and communications technology is integrated into its major building blocks. This allows advanced applications of a grid, such as the formation of micro-grids, demand-side management, energy storage, high-tech power electronic converters, etc. As the smart grids are being adopted by many developed countries, it is high time for the OIC member countries to pay due attention to this development, if they have not already done so. This paper explains, with special focus on the OIC member countries, the various smart power management technologies, their operations and applications, and the benefits and challenges. Then it goes on to carry out the Strength-Weakness-Opportunity-Threat with Analytical-Heuristic-Procedure (SWOT-AHP) analysis to evaluate its feasibility of incorporation and the underlying strategies appropriate for its implementation. Furthermore, a Hybrid Multi-Criteria-Decision-Making (MCDM) analysis is performed to evaluate the sequence of the emphasis that should be given on each of the technologies from those available for the smart power management initiative. Finally, the study reinforces the stance by drawing parallels from the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and highlights the importance of the smart grid in line with the global vision of SDG. This paper aims at assisting the decision-makers in implementing smart power management schemes in the OIC member countries, in particular, and other countries of the world, in general.