This book describes an original approach to solving tasks of individual and collective choice: classification, ranking, and selection of multi-attribute objects. Object representation with multisets allows considering simultaneously numerical and symbolic variables. In group verbal decision analysis, judgments of all participants are taken into account without a compromise between contradictory. Natural language is used to describe problems and objects, formalize knowledge of experts and preferences of decision makers, and explain results. Verbal methods and technologies are more transparent, less laborious for a person, and weakly sensitive to measurement errors. The book also includes examples of applying new tools in real ill-structured high-dimensional choice tasks. It is intended for researchers, managers, consultants, analysts, and developers as well as for teachers and students of applied mathematics, computer science, information processing, engineering, economics, and management.

A central problem of prescriptive decision making is the mismatch between the elegant formal models of decision theory and the less elegant, informal thinking of decision makers, especially when dealing with ill-structured situations. This problem has been a central concern of the authors and their colleagues over the past two decades. They have wisely (to my mind) realized that any viable solution must be informed by a deep understanding of both the structural properties of alternative formalisms and the cognitive demands that they impose on decision makers. Considering the two in parallel reduces the risk of forcing decision makers to say things and endorse models that they do not really understand. It opens the door for creative solutions, incorporating insights from both decision theory and cognitive psychology. It is this opportunity that the authors have so ably exploited in this important book. Under the pressures of an interview situation, people will often answer a question that is put to them. Thus, they may be willing to provide a decision consultant with probability and utility assessments for all manner of things. However, if they do not fully understand the implications of what they are saying and the use to which it will be put, then they cannot maintain cognitive mastery of the decision models intended to represent their beliefs and interests.

As effective organizational decision making is a major factor in a company's success, a comprehensive account of current available research on the core concepts of the decision support agenda is in high demand by academicians and professionals. Through 110 authoritative contributions by over 160 of the world's leading experts the Encyclopedia of Decision Making and Decision Support Technologies presents a critical mass of research on the most up-to-date research on human and computer support of managerial decision making, including discussion on support of operational, tactical, and strategic decisions, human vs. computer system support structure, individual and group decision making, and multi-criteria decision making.

FLINS, originally an acronym for Fuzzy Logic and Intelligent Technologies in Nuclear Science, is now extended to Computational Intelligence for applied research. The contributions to the eighth edition in the series of FLINS conferences cover state-of-the-art research, development, and technology for computational intelligence systems in general, and for intelligent decision and control in particular.

The book reports on the latest advances and challenges of soft computing. It gathers original scientific contributions written by top scientists in the field and covering theories, methods and applications in a number of research areas related to soft-computing, such as decision-making, probabilistic reasoning, image processing, control, neural networks and data analysis.

In two volumes, this new edition presents the state of the art in Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Reflecting the explosive growth in the field seen during the last several years, the editors not only present surveys of the foundations of MCDA, but look as well at many new areas and new applications. Individual chapter authors are among the most prestigious names in MCDA research, and combined their chapters bring the field completely up to date. Part I of the book considers the history and current state of MCDA, with surveys that cover the early history of MCDA and an overview that discusses the “pre-theoretical” assumptions of MCDA. Part II then presents the foundations of MCDA, with individual chapters that provide a very exhaustive review of preference modeling, along with a chapter devoted to the axiomatic basis of the different models that multiple criteria preferences. Part III looks at outranking methods, with three chapters that consider the ELECTRE methods, PROMETHEE methods, and a look at the rich literature of other outranking methods. Part IV, on Multiattribute Utility and Value Theories (MAUT), presents chapters on the fundamentals of this approach, the very well known UTA methods, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and its more recent extension, the Analytic Network Process (ANP), as well as a chapter on MACBETH (Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique). Part V looks at Non-Classical MCDA Approaches, with chapters on risk and uncertainty in MCDA, the decision rule approach to MCDA, the fuzzy integral approach, the verbal decision methods, and a tentative assessment of the role of fuzzy sets in decision analysis. Part VI, on Multiobjective Optimization, contains chapters on recent developments of vector and set optimization, the state of the art in continuous multiobjective programming, multiobjective combinatorial optimization, fuzzy multicriteria optimization, a review of the field of goal programming, interactive methods for solving multiobjective optimization problems, and relationships between MCDA and evolutionary multiobjective optimization (EMO). Part VII, on Applications, selects some of the most significant areas, including contributions of MCDA in finance, energy planning problems, telecommunication network planning and design, sustainable development, and portfolio analysis. Finally, Part VIII, on MCDM software, presents well known MCDA software packages.

MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS: State of the Art Surveys is the most comprehensive work available to survey the state of the art in MCDA to date. Its 25 chapters are organized in eight parts and are written by 52 international leading experts. Each of these parts covers one of the central streams of multiple criteria decision analysis literature. These literature streams are: MCDA today, Foundations of MCDA, Our Ranking Methods, Multiattribute Utility Theory, Non-Classical MCDA Approaches, Multiobjective Mathematical Programming, Applications, and MCDM Software. The handbook presents the most up-to-date discussions on well-established methodologies and theories in the field, while systematically surveying emerging fields in MCDA such as conjoint measurement, fuzzy preferences, fuzzy integrals, rough sets, etc. MULTIPLE CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS: State of the Art Surveys is a valuable reference volume (more than 2000 references) for the field of decision analysis. It provides graduate students, researchers, and practitioners with a sweeping survey of MCDA theory, methodologies, and applications. It is a handbook that is particularly suitable for use in seminars in Decision Analysis, Decision Support, and Decision Theory.

This volume of Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing contains papers presented in the main track of IITI 2016, the First International Conference on Intelligent Information Technologies for Industry held in May 16-21 in Sochi, Russia. The conference was jointly co-organized by Rostov State Transport University (Russia) and VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava (Czech Republic) with the participation of Russian Association for Artificial Intelligence (RAAI) and Russian Association for Fuzzy Systems and Soft Computing (RAFSSC). The volume is devoted to practical models and industrial applications related to intelligent information systems. The conference has been a meeting point for researchers and practitioners to enable the implementation of advanced information technologies into various industries. Nevertheless, some theoretical talks concerning the-state-of-the-art in intelligent systems and soft computing are included in the proceedings as well.

This book contains papers presented in the main track of IITI 2018, the Third International Scientific Conference on Intelligent Information Technologies for Industry held in Sochi, Russia on September 17–21. The conference was jointly co-organized by Rostov State Transport University (Russia) and VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava (Czech Republic) with the participation of Russian Association for Artificial Intelligence (RAAI). IITI 2018 was devoted to practical models and industrial applications related to intelligent information systems. It was considered as a meeting point for researchers and practitioners to enable the implementation of advanced information technologies into various industries. Nevertheless, some theoretical talks concerning the state-of-the-art in intelligent systems and soft computing were also included into proceedings.

This book gathers papers presented in the main track of IITI 2019, the Fourth International Scientific Conference on Intelligent Information Technologies for Industry, held in Ostrava–Prague, Czech Republic on December 2–7, 2019. The conference was jointly organized by Rostov State Transport University (Russia) and VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava (Czech Republic) with the participation of the Russian Association for Artificial Intelligence (RAAI). IITI 2019 was devoted to practical models and industrial applications of intelligent information systems. Though chiefly intended to promote the implementation of advanced information technologies in various industries, topics such as the state of the art in intelligent systems and soft computing were also discussed.