On a novel uncertain soft set model: Z-soft fuzzy rough set model and corresponding decision making methods

In this paper, a kind of novel soft set model called a Z-soft fuzzy rough set is presented by means of three uncertain models: soft sets, rough sets and fuzzy sets, which is an important generalization of Z-soft rough fuzzy sets. As a novel Z-soft fuzzy rough set, its applications in the corresponding decision making problems are established. It is noteworthy that the underlying concepts keep the features of classical Pawlak rough sets. Moreover, this novel approach will involve fewer calculations when one applies this theory to algebraic structures. In particular, an approach for the method of decision making problem with respect to Z-soft fuzzy rough sets is proposed and the validity of the decision making methods is testified by a given example. At the same time, an overview of techniques based on some types of soft set models is investigated. Finally, the numerical experimentation algorithm is developed, in which the comparisons among three types of hybrid soft set models are analyzed.     

A survey of decision making methods based on two classes of hybrid soft set models

To the best of our knowledge, the tool of soft set theory is a new efficacious technique to dispose uncertainties and it focuses on the parameterization, while fuzzy set theory emphasizes the truth degree and rough set theory as another tool to handle uncertainties, it places emphasis on granular. However, the real-world problems that under considerations are usual very complicated. Consequently, it is very difficult to solve them by a single mathematical tool. It is worth noting that decision making (briefly, DM) in an imprecise environment has been showing more and more role in real-world applications. Researches on the idiographic applications of the above three uncertain theories as well as their hybrid models in DM have attracted many researchers’ widespread interest. DM methods are not yet proposed based on fusions of the above three uncertain theories. In view of the reason, by compromising the above three uncertain theories, we elaborate some reviews to DM methods based on two classes of hybrid soft models: SRF-sets and SFR-sets. We test all algorithms for DM and computation time on data sets produced by soft sets and FS-sets. The numerical experimentation programs are written for given pseudo codes in MATLAB. At the same time, the comparisons of all algorithms are given. Finally, we expatiate on an overview of techniques based on the involved hybrid soft set models.     

Parameter reductions in N‐soft sets and their applications in decision‐making

Parameter reduction is an important operation for improving the performance of decision‐making processes in various uncertainty theories. The theory of N‐soft sets is emerging as a powerful mathematical tool for dealing with uncertainties beyond the standard formulation of the soft set theory. In this research article, we extend the notion of parameter reduction to N‐soft set theory, and we also justify its practical calculation. To this purpose, we define related theoretical concepts (e.g. N‐soft subset, reduct N‐soft set and redundant parameter) and examine some of their fundamental properties. Then, we argue that the idea of attributes reduction from the rough set theory cannot be employed in the N‐soft set theory in order to reduce the number of parameters. Consequently, we take an original position in order to adequately define and compute parameter reductions in N‐soft sets. Finally, we develop an application of parameter reduction of N‐soft sets.     

软集决策信息系统的属性约简

粗集和软集在解决不确定的问题的决策分析过程中,属性约简是关键和棘手的问题.与粗集理论相比较,利用软集方法能够有效地简化决策过程.决策信息系统用软集形式表示,用软集处理粗集理论中的等价关系,进行有效的属性约简,给出一个属性真度的概念作为反映条件属性重要性的函数,在此基础上给出一种适合软集属性约简的启发式算法,通过分析和实例证明该软集属性约简方法,简化约简过程,降低运算的复杂度.     

Intuitionistic fuzzy rough set model based on conflict distance and applications

Due to the complexity and uncertainty of the objective world, as well as the limitation of human ability to understand, it is difficult for one to employ only a single type of uncertainty method to deal with the real-life problem of decision-making, especially problems involving conflicts. On the other hand, by incorporating the advantages of various theories of uncertainty, one is expected to develop a more powerful hybrid method for soft decision making and to solve such problems more effectively. In view of this, in this paper the thought and method of intuitionistic fuzzy set and rough set are used to construct a novel intuitionistic fuzzy rough set model. Corresponding to the fact that the decision-making information system of rough sets is of intuitionistic fuzzy information system, our method defines the conflict distance by using the idea of measuring intuitionistic fuzzy similarity so that it is introduced into the models of rough sets, leading to the development of our intuitionistic fuzzy rough set model. After that, we investigate the properties of the model, introduce a novel tool for conflict analysis based on our hybrid model, and employ this new tool to describe and resolve a real-life conflict problem.     

The parameterization reduction of soft sets and its applications

In this paper, we focus our discussion on the parameterization reduction of soft sets and its applications. First we point out that the results of soft set reductions offered in [1] are incorrect. We also observe that the algorithms used to first compute the reduct-soft-set and then to compute the choice value to select the optimal objects for the decision problems in [1] are not reasonable and we illustrate this with an example. Finally, we propose a reasonable definition of parameterization reduction of soft sets and compare it with the concept of attributes reduction in rough sets theory. By using this new definition of parameterization reduction, we improve the application of a soft set in a decision making problem found in [1].     

基于软粗糙集的犹豫模糊三支决策方法

三支决策理论采取“三分而治”的处理思路,为复杂问题求解提供了一种简洁高效的解决方案.对此,借助软集理论研究犹豫模糊集和三支决策方法,通过定义犹豫模糊集的值空间和值陪集,引入犹豫模糊集的典范软集、单位区间参数化软集和导出犹豫模糊集等概念,解决犹豫模糊集和软集的相互表示问题.此外,利用软粗糙集理论建立一种基于犹豫模糊集的广义粗糙模型,借助给定的预决策集,计算软上近似集并确定评价函数,进而提出一种基于软粗糙集的犹豫模糊三支决策方法.最后,通过两个数值实例和相关对比分析,验证所提出三支决策方法的合理性和有效性.     

Variable precision intuitionistic fuzzy rough set model and applications based on conflict distance

Due to the complexity and uncertainty of the physical world, as well as the limitation of human ability to comprehend, it is very difficult for any single method of uncertainty to effectively deal with the decision‐making problem that exists in real life. So, it is natural for us to think about incorporating the advantages of various theories of uncertainty to develop a more powerful hybrid method of soft decision‐making. In view of this recognition, the thought and method of intuitionistic fuzzy sets and variable precision rough sets are used to construct a novel intuitionistic fuzzy rough set model. With respect to the fact that the information system is intuitionistic fuzzy, the idea of measuring intuitionistic fuzzy similarity is used to define conflict distance. After that, this concept is combined with the variable precision rough sets so that a variable precision intuitionistic fuzzy rough set model is established, and its properties are investigated. After proposing an attribute reduction algorithm based on variable precision intuitionistic fuzzy rough sets, a case study is used to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of our novel model. The results show that our model indeed improves the classification ability of earlier models and possesses some ability to tolerate faults through adjusting the parameter λ and the confidence threshold β; it realizes the correct classification and extracts the decision rules.     

Possibility neutrosophic soft sets and PNS-decision making method

In this paper, we introduce concept of possibility neutrosophic soft set and define some related concepts such as possibility neutrosophic soft subset, possibility neutrosophic soft null set, and possibility neutrosophic soft universal set. Then, based on definitions of n-norm and n-conorm, we define set theoretical operations of possibility neutrosophic soft sets such as union, intersection and complement, and investigate some properties of these operations. We also introduce AND-product and OR-product operations between two possibility neutrosophic soft sets. We propose a decision making method called possibility neutrosophic soft decision making method (PNS-decision making method) which can be applied to the decision making problems involving uncertainty based on AND-product operation. We finally give a numerical example to display application of the method that can be successfully applied to the problems.     

Soft fuzzy rough sets and its application in decision making

Recently, the theory and applications of soft set has brought the attention by many scholars in various areas. Especially, the researches of the theory for combining the soft set with the other mathematical theory have been developed by many authors. In this paper, we propose a new concept of soft fuzzy rough set by combining the fuzzy soft set with the traditional fuzzy rough set. The soft fuzzy rough lower and upper approximation operators of any fuzzy subset in the parameter set were defined by the concept of the pseudo fuzzy binary relation (or pseudo fuzzy soft set) established in this paper. Meanwhile, several deformations of the soft fuzzy rough lower and upper approximations are also presented. Furthermore, we also discuss some basic properties of the approximation operators in detail. Subsequently, we give an approach to decision making problem based on soft fuzzy rough set model by analyzing the limitations and advantages in the existing literatures. The decision steps and the algorithm of the decision method were also given. The proposed approach can obtain a object decision result with the data information owned by the decision problem only. Finally, the validity of the decision methods is tested by an applied example.     

Pythagorean Fuzzy Multigranulation Rough Set over Two Universes and Its Applications in Merger and Acquisition

Pythagorean fuzzy set, an extension form of intuitionistic fuzzy set, which owns many advantages for dealing with uncertainties, and it has been developed to deal with various complex decision‐making problems. Furthermore, based on lower and upper approximations induced by multiple binary relations, the multigranulation rough set has become one of the most promising directions in rough set theory. To combine the two ideas and explore the practical decision‐making problems, we develop a new multigranulation rough set model, called Pythagorean fuzzy multigranulation rough set over two universes. In the framework of our study, we introduce the models of Pythagorean fuzzy rough set over two universes and Pythagorean fuzzy multigranulation rough set over two universes, respectively. Both the definition and basic properties are explored. Finally, we give a general algorithm, which is applied to a decision‐making problem in merger and acquisition, and the effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated by a numerical example.     

Soft sets and soft rough sets

In this study, we establish an interesting connection between two mathematical approaches to vagueness: rough sets and soft sets. Soft set theory is utilized, for the first time, to generalize Pawlak’s rough set model. Based on the novel granulation structures called soft approximation spaces, soft rough approximations and soft rough sets are introduced. Basic properties of soft rough approximations are presented and supported by some illustrative examples. We also define new types of soft sets such as full soft sets, intersection complete soft sets and partition soft sets. The notion of soft rough equal relations is proposed and related properties are examined. We also show that Pawlak’s rough set model can be viewed as a special case of the soft rough sets, and these two notions will coincide provided that the underlying soft set in the soft approximation space is a partition soft set. Moreover, an example containing a comparative analysis between rough sets and soft rough sets is given.     

Fuzzy rough set on probabilistic approximation space over two universes and its application to emergency decision‐making

Probabilistic approaches to rough sets are still an important issue in rough set theory. Although many studies have been written on this topic, they focus on approximating a crisp concept in the universe of discourse, with less effort on approximating a fuzzy concept in the universe of discourse. This article investigates the rough approximation of a fuzzy concept on a probabilistic approximation space over two universes. We first present the definition of a lower and upper approximation of a fuzzy set with respect to a probabilistic approximation space over two universes by defining the conditional probability of a fuzzy event. That is, we define the rough fuzzy set on a probabilistic approximation space over two universes. We then define the fuzzy probabilistic approximation over two universes by introducing a probability measure to the approximation space over two universes. Then, we establish the fuzzy rough set model on the probabilistic approximation space over two universes. Meanwhile, we study some properties of both rough fuzzy sets and fuzzy rough sets on the probabilistic approximation space over two universes. Also, we compare the proposed model with the existing models to show the superiority of the model given in this paper. Furthermore, we apply the fuzzy rough set on the probabilistic approximation over two universes to emergency decision‐making in unconventional emergency management. We establish an approach to online emergency decision‐making by using the fuzzy rough set model on the probabilistic approximation over two universes. Finally, we apply our approach to a numerical example of emergency decision‐making in order to illustrate the validity of the proposed method.     

The relationship among soft sets,soft rough sets and topologies

Molodtsov’s soft set theory is a newly emerging tool to deal with uncertain problems. Based on the novel granulation structures called soft approximation spaces, Feng et al. initiated soft rough approximations and soft rough sets. Feng’s soft rough sets can be seen as a generalized rough set model based on soft sets, which could provide better approximations than Pawlak’s rough sets in some cases. This paper is devoted to establishing the relationship among soft sets, soft rough sets and topologies. We introduce the concept of topological soft sets by combining soft sets with topologies and give their properties. New types of soft sets such as keeping intersection soft sets and keeping union soft sets are defined and supported by some illustrative examples. We describe the relationship between rough sets and soft rough sets. We obtain the structure of soft rough sets and the topological structure of soft sets, and reveal that every topological space on the initial universe is a soft approximating space.     

犹豫模糊软集

犹豫模糊集是对模糊集的一种推广,它是一类关于域中每个元素所含隶属度的集合,常应用于群决策中,但由于其本身在参数工具上的缺乏使得难于处理不确定数据。为了提高决策的精确性,将软集与犹豫模糊集结合起来,提出犹豫模糊软集的概念,并给出犹豫模糊软集的基本运算法则和性质。     

On lattice ordered soft sets

Certain type of linguistic terms such as satisfactory, good, very good and excellent have an order among them. In this paper we introduce a new concept of soft sets with some order among the parameters. Some properties of lattice ordered soft sets are given. Lattice ordered soft sets are very useful in particular type of decision making problems where some order exists among the elements of parameters set.     

Knowledge acquisition in vague objective information systems based on rough sets

Abstract: The growing volume of vague information poses interesting challenges and calls for new theories, techniques and tools for analysis of vague data sets. In this paper, we study how to extract knowledge from vague objective information systems (VOISs) based on rough sets theory. We first introduce the basic notion termed rough vague sets by combining rough sets theory and vague sets theory. By using the rough vague lower approximation distribution in the VOIS, the concept of attribute reduction is introduced. Then, we develop an algorithm based on a discernibility matrix to compute all the attribute reductions. Finally, a viable approach for extracting decision rules from the VOIS is proposed. An example is also presented to illustrate the application of the proposed theories and approaches in handling medical diagnosis problems.     

Knowledge Engineering for Rough Sets Based Decision‐Making Models

In this paper, a review of decision‐making models based on the rough set theory is presented. The use of these techniques allows for the presence of uncertainty in computer models that are developed for decision making, and to formulate the decision‐making models using the experiences of previous decisions made. Since the formulation of these models differs from the classical approach of decision‐making models, in this paper, the models are analyzed and a method is proposed for its implementation.     

基于软直觉multiplicative集的决策方法

针对软直觉模糊集在决策中出现的部分反直觉的现象,结合直觉multiplicative集,首先提出了一种新的软集模型——软直觉multiplicative集,推广了软集和直觉multiplicative集;然后,研究了软直觉multiplicative集的基本运算和性质,同时,给出了基于软直觉multiplicative集理论的决策算法;最后,给出软直觉multiplicative集在决策中的一个应用实例,通过实例说明了该方法的正确性和有效性。     

On fuzzy-rough attribute selection: Criteria of Max-Dependency,Max-Relevance,Min-Redundancy,and Max-Significance

Attribute selection is one of the important problems encountered in pattern recognition, machine learning, data mining, and bioinformatics. It refers to the problem of selecting those input attributes or features that are most effective to predict the sample categories. In this regard, rough set theory has been shown to be successful for selecting relevant and nonredundant attributes from a given data set. However, the classical rough sets are unable to handle real valued noisy features. This problem can be addressed by the fuzzy-rough sets, which are the generalization of classical rough sets. A feature selection method is presented here based on fuzzy-rough sets by maximizing both relevance and significance of the selected features. This paper also presents different feature evaluation criteria such as dependency, relevance, redundancy, and significance for attribute selection task using fuzzy-rough sets. The performance of different rough set models is compared with that of some existing feature evaluation indices based on the predictive accuracy of nearest neighbor rule, support vector machine, and decision tree. The effectiveness of the fuzzy-rough set based attribute selection method, along with a comparison with existing feature evaluation indices and different rough set models, is demonstrated on a set of benchmark and microarray gene expression data sets.