Research and Practice in Multiple Criteria Decision Making

During the past two decades, the consideration of mUltiple objectives in modeling and decision making has grown by leaps and bounds. The nineties in particular have seen the emphasis shift from the dominance of single-objective modeling and optimization toward an emphasis on multiple objectives. The proceedings of this Conference epitomize these evolutionary changes and contribute to the important role that the tield of multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) now plays in planning, design, operational, management, and policy decisions. Of special interest are the contributions of MCDM to manufacturing engineering. For example, it has recently been recognized that optimal, single-objective solutions have often been pursued at the expense of the much broader applicability of designs and solutions that satisfy multiple objectives. In particular, the theme (MCDM and Its Worldwide Role in Risk-Based Decision Making) of the XIVth International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA, June 8-12, 1998) represents the growing importance of risk-cost-benefit analysis in decision making and in engineering design and manufacturing. In such systems, minimizing the of rare and extreme events emerges as an essential objective that risk complements the minimization of the traditional expected value of risk, along with the objectives attached to cost and performance. These proceedings include forty-five papers that were presented at the Conference. A variety of techniques have been proposed for solving multiple criteria decision-making problems. The emphasis and style of the different techniques largely reflect the fields of expertise of their developers.

The Even-Swap Method for Multiple Objective Decisions.- A Methodology for Risk Management of Compound Failure Modes.- Forming Win-Win Strategy - A New Way to Study Game Problems.- Relations among Several Efficiency Concepts in Stochastic Multiple Objective Programming.- Hard to Say It's Easy - Four Reasons Why Combinatorial Multiobjective Programmes Are Hard.- Multiattribute Utility Analysis in the IctNeo System.- Maximal Point Theorems in Product Spaces and Applications for Multicriteria Approximation Problems.- A Robustness Index of Binary Preferences.- Tangent and Normal Cones in Nonconvex Multiobjective Optimization.- Multiobjective Linear Production Programming Games.- Multiple Criteria Subset Selection Under Quantitative and Non-Quantitative Criteria.- Using Block Norms in Bicriteria Optimization.- Multiple Risk Assessment with Random Utility Models in Probabilistic Group Decision Making.- On a Behavioral Model of Analytic Hierarchy Process for Modeling the Legitimacy of Rank Reversal.- Resolution of Variational Inequality Problems by Multiobjective Programming.- An Outer Approximation Method for Optimization over the Efficient Set.- On Efficiency of Data Envelopment Analysis.- Rough Approximation of a Preference Relation by a Multi-Attribute Stochastic Dominance for a Reduced Number of Attributes.- An Evaluation of Multicriteria Decision-Making Methods in Integrated Assessment of Climate Policy.- A Revised Minimum Spanning Table Method for Optimal Expansion of Competence Sets.- Constructing and Implementing a DSS to Help Evaluate Perceived Risk of Accounts Receivable.- Improving Weighting Information in Interactive Decision Procedures: A Visual Guide.- A Multicriteria Framework for Risk Analysis.- Intelligent User Support in Multicriteria Decision Support.-Data Envelopment Analysis with Fuzzy Input-Output Data.- Target Mix Approach for Measuring Efficiency in Data Envelopment Analysis.- The TEAM Model for Evaluating Alternative Adaptation Strategies.- Fuzzy Multi-Criteria DSS: Their Applicability and Their Practical Value.- Problems of Measurement in Decision Analysis.- Multicriteria Decision Aid Techniques: Some Experimental Conclusions.- Cone Decomposition for the Solution of Efficient Extreme Points in Parallel.- Scheduling to Minimize Maximum Earliness and Number of Tardy Jobs Where Machine Idle Time is Allowed.- Using Compromise Programming in a Stock Market Pricing Model.- Redistribution of Funds for Teaching and Research among Universities.- Multicriteria Optimization Accounting for Uncertainty in Dynamic Problem of Power Generation Expansion Planning.- Time-Dependent Capital Budgeting with Multiple Criteria.- Sustainability Indicators for Multiple Criteria Decision Making in Water Resources: An Evaluation of Soil Tillage Practices Using Web-HIPRE.- Soft-OR and Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for Group Decision Support: A Case Study in Fisheries Management.- Problem Structuring and Evaluation Integration: A Case Study in Transportation Planning.- Management of Surgical Waiting Lists in Public Hospitals.- On Designing Health Care Plans and Systems from the Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) Perspective.- Case Studies on the Application of Adaptive Risk Analysis to USDA's Resource Conservation Programs.- Fuzzy Multi-Objective Reconstruction Plan for Post-Earthquake Road-Network by Genetic Algorithm.- Fair Allocations Using Multicriteria Power Indices.- The College Selection Process from a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis Perspective.- Index of Authors.