Books in Decision sciences

121-130 of 142 results in All results

Handbook of Critical Issues in Goal Programming

1st Edition
January 18, 1991
C. Romero
English
eBook
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 5 1 1 - 4

Goal Programming (GP) is perhaps the oldest and most widely used approach within the Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) paradigm. GP combines the logic of optimisation in mathematical programming with the decision maker's desire to satisfy several goals. The primary purpose of this book is to identify the critical issues in GP and to demonstrate different procedures capable of avoiding or mitigating the inherent pitfalls associated with these issues. The outcome of a search of the literature shows many instances where GP models produced misleading or even erroneous results simply because of a careless formulation of the problem. Rather than being in itself a textbook, Critical Issues in Goal Programming is designed to complement existing textbooks. It will be useful to students and researchers with a basic knowledge of GP as well as to those interested in building GP models which analyse real decision problems.

Multicriteria Evaluation in Physical Planning

1st Edition
Volume 185
October 30, 1990
P. Nijkamp + 2 more
D.W. Jorgenson
English
eBook
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 0 8 2 - 9

The aim of this book on the use of multiple criteria analysis in physical planning is to synthesize most of the relevant work in this field. Its first objective is to provide a concise and systematic overview of the state of the art in the area of multiple criteria analysis, with a strong emphasis on practical use and planning. Secondly, this book attempts to show the wealth of potential applications of multiple criteria analysis by providing a presentation and discussion of various real-world uses of multiple criteria decision-making in the practice of physical planning.The book is mainly intended as a textbook for practitioners in the field and for students in the areas of (physical) planning, regional and urban economics, geography, transportation science and environmental management.

Stochastic Models

1st Edition
Volume 2
July 20, 1990
D.P. Heyman + 1 more
English
Hardback
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 4 - 8 7 4 7 3 - 3

One of the central problems in operations research and management science is how to quantify the effects of uncertainty about the future. This, the second volume in a series of handbooks, is devoted to models where chance events play a major role. The thirteen chapters survey topics in applied probability that have been particularly useful in operations research and management science. Each chapter was written by an expert, both in subject matter and in its exposition. The chapters fall into four groups. The first four cover the fundamentals of stochastic processes, and lay the foundation for the following chapters. The next three chapters are concerned with methods of getting numbers. This includes numerical solution of models, parameter estimation for models, and simulation of models. Chapters 8 and 9 describe the fundamentals of dynamic optimization. The last four chapters are concerned with the most important structured models in operations research and management science; queues, queueing networks, inventories, and reliability.

Models and Methods in Multiple Criteria Decision Making

1st Edition
Volume 23
November 30, 1989
G. Colson + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 5 5 6 - 5

This volume is devoted to models and methods in multiple objectives decision making. The importance of the multiple dimensions of decision making was first recognised during the 1960s and since then progress has been made in that theoretical or application oriented contributions may now be categorized under two main headings:- Multiattribute Decision Making (MADM) which concerns the sorting, the ranking or the evaluation of objects of choice according to several criteria and Multiobjective Decision Making (MODM) which deals with the vector optimization in mathematical programming. The above are also presented in the context of various applications, namely banking, environment, health, manpower, media, portfolio and traffic control, resulting in a book for a wide variety of readers.

Symmetry 2

1st Edition
Volume 18
November 1, 1989
I. Hargittai
English
eBook
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 9 4 9 - 5

Symmetry 2 aims to present an overview of the contemporary status of symmetry studies, particularly in the arts and sciences, emphasizing both its role and importance. Symmetry is not only one of the fundamental concepts in science, but is also possibly the best unifying concept between various branches of science, the arts and other human activities. Whereas symmetry has been considered important for centuries primarily for its aesthetic appeal, this century has witnessed a dramatic enhancement of its status as a cornerstone in the sciences. In addition to traditionally symmetry-oriented fields such as crystallography and spectroscopy, the concept has made headway in fields as varied as reaction chemistry, nuclear physics, and the study of the origin of the universe. The book was initiated in response to the success of the first volume, which not only received good reviews, but received the award for "The Best Single Issue of a Journal" by the Association of American Publishers for 1986. The second volume extends the application of symmetry to new fields, such as medical sciences and economics, as well as investigating further certain topics introduced in Symmetry. The book is extensively illustrated and with over 64 contributions from 16 countries presents an international overview of the nature and diversity of symmetry studies today.

System-Theoretic Methods in Economic Modelling II

1st Edition
Volume 22
August 22, 1989
S. Mittnik
English
eBook
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 6 2 3 - 4

System-Theoretic Methods in Economic Modelling II complements the editor's earlier volume, bringing together current research efforts integrating system-theoretic concepts with economic modelling processes. The range of papers presented here goes beyond the long-accepted control-theoretic contributions in dynamic optimization and focuses on system-theoretic methods in the construction as well as the application stages of economic modelling. This volume initiates new and intensifies existing debate between researchers and practitioners within and across the disciplines involved, with the objective of encouraging interdisciplinary research. The papers are split into four sections - estimation, filtering and smoothing problems in the context of state space modelling; applying the state space concept to financial modelling; modelling rational expectation; and a miscellaneous section including a follow-up case study by Tse and Khilnani on their integrated system model for a fishery management process, which featured in the first volume.

Advances in Project Scheduling

1st Edition
June 1, 1989
R. Slowinski + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 0 7 2 - 0

This multi-author volume, containing contributions from international experts in the field, presents recent developments in project scheduling for both theory and practice. It is organized in three parts: I. Basic deterministic models; II. Special deterministic models; III. Stochastic models. A variety of approaches is presented dealing with multiple-category resource constraints, different mathematical models of activities, and various project performance measures in single and multiobjective formulation. Exact and heuristic algorithms are presented for both deterministic and stochastic project description.The volume will be of special interest to scientists, students, decision makers, executive managers, consultants and practitioners involved in systems management or operations research, in particular in business, engineering, and finance, but also in other areas of pure and applied sciences.

System-Theoretic Methods in Economic Modelling I

1st Edition
Volume 19
May 22, 1989
S. Mittnik
English
eBook
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 6 2 2 - 7

The value of applying system-theoretic concepts to economic modelling problems arises from the fact that it offers a unifying framework for modelling dynamic systems. In addition to offering this powerful conceptual framework, it provides a wide range of tools useful in applied work. System-theoretic techniques enter predominantly two stages of economic modelling efforts: the stage of model construction and the stage of model application in accordance with the modelling. The objective of this and subsequent volumes on System-Theoretic Methods in Economic Modelling I is to initiate and/or intensify dialogues between researchers and practitioners within and across the disciplines involved. This first volume brings together papers exhibiting a wide range of system-theoretic techniques and applications to economic problems. The papers have been divided into two groups, following roughly--but not necessarily--the above classification into the construction and application stages of economic modelling. The papers in the first group focus on the identification of dynamic and static systems, while the papers in the second group address dynamic optimization problems.

Fuzzy Sets in Psychology

1st Edition
Volume 56
September 1, 1988
T. Zetenyi
English
eBook
9 7 8 - 0 - 0 8 - 0 8 6 7 1 0 - 6

This volume provides an up-to-date picture of the current status of theoretical and empirical developments in the application of fuzzy sets in psychology. Fuzzy set theory could benefit researchers in at least two ways: first, as a metaphor or model for ordinary thought, and secondly, as an aid to data analysis and theory construction. One can find examples for both kinds in the volume, which will be of interest both to the advanced student in the field as well as to anyone possessing a basic scientific background.

Spatial Analysis and Planning under Imprecision

1st Edition
April 1, 1988
Y. Leung
Ake E. Andersson
English
eBook
9 7 8 - 1 - 4 8 3 2 - 9 0 0 9 - 6

The book deals with complexity, imprecision, human valuation, and uncertainty in spatial analysis and planning, providing a systematic exposure of a new philosophical and theoretical foundation for spatial analysis and planning under imprecision. Regional concepts and regionalization, spatial preference-utility-choice structures, spatial optimization with single and multiple objectives, dynamic spatial systems and their controls are analyzed in sequence.The analytical framework is based on fuzzy set theory. Basic concepts of fuzzy set theory are first discussed. Many numerical examples and empirical studies are provided to substantiate the theoretical arguments and empirical relevance of this approach.The book provides a more comprehensive perspective on uncertainty and a flexible framework for analysis in the real world, for problems such as commonly encountered spatial problems, urban and regional economic problems, and planning problems. Though the treatment is unconventional, it generally includes conventional analyses as special cases.