A hybrid multi-criteria decision-making model for firms competence evaluation

In this paper, we present a hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model to evaluate the competence of the firms. According to the competence-based theory reveals that firm competencies are recognized from exclusive and unique capabilities that each firm enjoy in marketplace and are tightly intertwined within different business functions throughout the company. Therefore, competence in the firm is a composite of various attributes. Among them many intangible and tangible attributes are difficult to measure. In order to overcome the issue, we invite fuzzy set theory into the measurement of performance. In this paper first we calculate the weight of each criterion through adaptive analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach (A³) method, and then we appraise the performance of firms via linguistic variables which are expressed as trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. In the next step we transform these fuzzy numbers into interval data by means of α-cut. Then considering different values for α we rank the firms through TOPSIS method with interval data. Since there are different ranks for different α values, we apply linear assignment method to obtain final rank for alternatives.     

基于相似度的多粒度不确定语言群决策方法

针对具有多粒度不确定语言评价信息的多属性群决策问题,提出了一种基于区间二元语义信息处理和矢量相似度的群决策方法,弥补了基于距离测度的决策方法易造成信息混淆的不足。该方法首先使用二元语义转换函数对多粒度区间语言评价信息进行一致化处理;然后通过建立使备选方案对正理想解相似度最大、负理想解相似度最小的最优化模型来获得相应的属性权重;最后利用区间二元语义的集结算子对评价信息进行加权集成,并通过优序数排序法实现对各方案的排序。实例分析说明了该方法的可行性和有效性。     

Prevalence and personality correlates of Facebook bullying among university undergraduates

The purpose of the present study was to examine the prevalence of cyber-bullying through Facebook in a sample of 226 Greek university undergraduates, and to explore whether big five personality characteristics, narcissism, as well as attitudes toward Facebook, technological knowledge and skills were predictive of such behavior. Participants completed a self-report questionnaire measuring the above constructs. Results indicated that almost one third of the sample reported Facebook bullying engagement at least once during the past month, with male students reporting more frequent involvement than females. Bullying through Facebook was predicted by low Agreeableness and more time spent on Facebook only for males, whereas for females none of the studied variables predicted engagement in Facebook bullying. Findings are discussed in terms of prevention and intervention strategies.     

A procedure for the generation of interval type-2 membership functions from data

This paper proposes a new interval type-2 fuzzy set taking extended π interval type-2 membership function (IT2 MF) as its values, and presents a new procedure for generating a set of extended π IT2 MFs from data for an interval type-2 linguistic variable. An extended π IT2 MF is defined as the min and max of two extended π (type-1 or ordinary) membership functions. The procedure has the following steps: (i) for each interval type-2 linguistic variable, specifying the number of membership functions to be generated, i.e. the granularity level, (ii) choosing two fuzzy exponents to be used, (iii) for each fuzzy exponent, applying the fuzzy c-means variant (FCMV) proposed by Liao et al. [1] to obtain the corresponding centers and membership values, and (iv) carrying out parametric optimization by applying a metaheuristic or a hybrid metaheuristic algorithm to determine the optimal parameters associated with the extended π IT2 MFs so that the mean squared error (MSE) or sum of squared errors (SSE) between the membership values obtained by FCMV and those predicted by the extended π IT2 MFs is minimized. The proposed procedure was illustrated with an example and further tested with iris data and weld data. The effects of using two different interval distance measures and the cluster means obtained by the FCMV as part of the initial solutions in the differential evolution metaheuristic were also investigated and discussed.     

Stable indirect adaptive interval type-2 fuzzy sliding-based control and synchronization of two different chaotic systems

An indirect approach to adaptive interval type-2 fuzzy sliding mode control is proposed for the stable synchronization of two different chaotic nonlinear systems with different initial conditions under the presence of uncertainties involving process noises and external disturbances. The indirect model-based approach to adaptation is promoted here as a more suitable strategy for the fast changes that occurs in chaotic systems. In other words, the usual direct adaptive strategies may be too slow to respond to the inherently fast changing dynamics of chaotic systems. Using Lyapunov analysis, the sliding mode approach illustrates the asymptotic convergence of synchronization error to zero as well as good robustness against external disturbances. The interval type-2 structure aims to remedy the undesirable chattering phenomenon that is common in most conventional sliding mode control applications. It also provides a more effective equivalent model in the indirect approach, which leads to improved handling of the chaotic variations and uncertainties. Two numerical pairs of chaotic systems, i.e. the Lorenz and Chen’s systems and the Rössler system and modified Chua’s circuit are considered. In particular, in comparison with its type-1 fuzzy counterpart, the control effort is reduced by an average of 26.25% and 17.4% for the synchronization of the two corresponding systems, respectively. Furthermore, the integral of squared error is also improved by an average of 27.2% and 25.33%. This is while convergence time is reduced to less than 0.5 s and 1.5 s.     

Ant colony optimization with dynamic parameter adaptation based on interval type-2 fuzzy logic systems

A dynamic parameter adaptation methodology for Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) based on interval type-2 fuzzy systems is presented in this paper. The idea is to be able to apply this new ACO method with parameter adaptation to a wide variety of problems without the need of finding the best parameters for each particular problem. We developed several fuzzy systems for parameter adaptation and a comparison was made among them to decide on the best design. The use of fuzzy logic is to control the diversity of the solutions, and in this way controlling the exploration and exploitation abilities of ACO. The travelling salesman problem (TSP) and the design of a fuzzy controller for an autonomous mobile robot are the benchmark problems used to test the proposed methodology.     

不完备区间值信息系统中邻域粗集模型

目前对未知区间值的研究还处于起步阶段。以包含复杂的遗漏型未知区间值不完备信息系统为研究对象,提出了一种基于灰格运算和Hausdorff距离的新的邻域关系。在此基础上,依次提出了邻域关系、最大相容类和邻域系统3种灰色粗集模型。进一步讨论了3种灰色粗集模型之间的上、下近似空间,以提高近似空间的精确度,并用实例进行了分析及验证。     

Interval observers for linear time-invariant systems with disturbances

It is shown that, for any time-invariant exponentially stable linear system with additive disturbances, time-varying exponentially stable interval observers can be constructed. The technique of construction relies on the Jordan canonical form that any real matrix admits and on time-varying changes of coordinates for elementary Jordan blocks which lead to cooperative linear systems. The approach is applied to detectable linear systems.     

On the robustness of Type-1 and Interval Type-2 fuzzy logic systems in modeling

Research on the robustness of fuzzy logic systems (FLSs), an imperative factor in the design process, is very limited in the literature. Specifically, when a system is subjected to small deviations of the sampling points (operating points), it is of great interest to find the maximum tolerance of the system, which we refer to as the system’s robustness. In this paper, we present a methodology for the robustness analysis of interval type-2 FLSs (IT2 FLSs) that also holds for T1 FLSs, hence, making it more general. A procedure for the design of robust IT2 FLSs with a guaranteed performance better than or equal to their T1 counterparts is then proposed. Several examples are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodologies. It was concluded that both T1 and IT2 FLSs can be designed to achieve robust behavior in various applications, and preference one or the other, in general, is application-dependant. IT2 FLSs, having a more flexible structure than T1 FLSs, exhibited relatively small approximation errors in the several examples investigated. The methodologies presented in this paper lay the foundation for the design of FLSs with robust properties that will be very useful in many practical modeling and control applications.     

Conceptual design evaluation using interval type-2 fuzzy information axiom

Concept selection is the most critical part of the design process as it determines the direction of subsequent design stages. In addition, it is a difficult task because available information for decision-making at this stage is imprecise and subjective. This necessitates the need for fuzzy decision models for selecting the best conceptual design among a set of alternatives. Although ordinary fuzzy sets cover uncertainties of linguistic words to some extent, it is recommended to use interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2FS) to capture potential uncertainties of words. This paper presents a new concept selection methodology that extends the fuzzy information axiom (FIA) approach to incorporate IT2FSs. The proposed methodology is called interval-type-2 fuzzy information axiom (IT2-FIA). IT2-FIA method is also enriched by using ordered weighted geometric aggregation operator to include the decision maker's attitude during the aggregation process. A case study is given to demonstrate the potential of the methodology.