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The construction of sponge city (SC) public private partnership (PPP) projects is considered to be a feasible measure to solve the "water problems" in China. To ensure the success of SC PPP projects, how to select an appropriate operation mode for SC PPP projects is an urgent problem to be solved. In this paper, first, the evaluation index system of operation mode is established from the aspects of project characteristics, government capabilities, project benefits, project implementation, and cooperative partnership. Second, the DEMATEL method and entropy method are introduced to overcome the drawbacks of a single method, and the combination weights are calculated by game theory. Finally, the decision-making model based on intuitionistic fuzzy soft set (IFSS)-prospect theory and VIKOR approach is constructed to select operation mode for SC PPP projects. In this paper, the framework is applied to select an operation mode for the Qingshan demonstration zone project, and its feasibility and effectiveness are verified through sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis. The results show that BOT is the optimal operation mode for SC PPP projects, and government capabilities and project implementation are critical factors to be considered when selecting an operation mode. This study can provide guidance to the government in the OMS of SC PPP projects and improve the sustainability of the projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic websites are one of the most important criteria to measure university websites worldwide. In this paper a model based on multi-criteria decision-making for measuring university website’s evaluation indicators is introduced. The proposed model has six main dimensions including “usability”, “content”, “functionality”, “student services”, “efficiency” and “reliability” along with fourteen indicators including “understandability”, “coverage”, “accuracy”, “clarity”, “university identity”, “educational information”, “navigability”, “student-centeredness”, “control”, “student web-based support”, “maintenance”, “accessibility”, “speed” and “link error”. In the next step, due to the inherent ambiguity in these concepts of indicators, a combination of fuzzy set method with the VIKOR ranking method has been used to weigh and rank indicators and metrics. In VIKOR method, an attempt is made to select the closest answer to the ideal option. Finally, a detailed evaluation model has been developed to measure academic websites’ quality. Then, by applying the proposed model on the website of top ten universities in Iran, the results are reviewed. According to these results, the “accuracy” index is the most important, and the “link error” indicator is the least important among all indicators. These results also show that there is no significant correlation between “fuzzy-VIKOR” method, “webometrics” method, and “web assessment index” method. The results of this study help university website designers become aware of weaknesses of web designs and use it to strengthen academic websites.

Academic websites are one of the most important criteria to measure university websites worldwide. In this paper a model based on multi-criteria decision-making for measuring university website’s evaluation indicators is introduced. The proposed model has six main dimensions including “usability”, “content”, “functionality”, “student services”, “efficiency” and “reliability” along with fourteen indicators including “understandability”, “coverage”, “accuracy”, “clarity”, “university identity”, “educational information”, “navigability”, “student-centeredness”, “control”, “student web-based support”, “maintenance”, “accessibility”, “speed” and “link error”. In the next step, due to the inherent ambiguity in these concepts of indicators, a combination of fuzzy set method with the VIKOR ranking method has been used to weigh and rank indicators and metrics. In VIKOR method, an attempt is made to select the closest answer to the ideal option. Finally, a detailed evaluation model has been developed to measure academic websites’ quality. Then, by applying the proposed model on the website of top ten universities in Iran, the results are reviewed. According to these results, the “accuracy” index is the most important, and the “link error” indicator is the least important among all indicators. These results also show that there is no significant correlation between “fuzzy-VIKOR” method, “webometrics” method, and “web assessment index” method. The results of this study help university website designers become aware of weaknesses of web designs and use it to strengthen academic websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many practical applications, we have several different criteria for making a decision. In such situations, we need to take all these criteria into account. One of the most widely used approaches for solving such multi-criteria decision making problems was proposed in 1979 by S. Opricovic; it is known as VIKOR. This approach has been widely and successfully used—to the extent that the corresponding 2004 paper became, in 2009, the most cited paper in the field of economics. However, this approach is largely empirical; as a result, it is not clear why this approach has been so successful. In this paper, we provide theoretical justifications for the VIKOR approach and thus explain its empirical success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network slicing in 5G is expected to essentially change the way in which network operators deploy and manage vertical services with different performance requirements. Efficient and secure slice provisioning algorithms are important since network slices share the limited resources of the physical network. In this article, we first analyze the security issues in network slicing and formulate an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) model for secure 5G core network slice provisioning. Then, we propose a heuristic 5G core network slice provisioning algorithm called VIKOR-CNSP based on VIKOR, which is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method. In the slice node provisioning stage, the node importance is ranked with the VIKOR approach by considering the node resource and topology attributes. The slice nodes are then provisioned according to the ranking results. In the slice link provisioning stage, the k shortest path algorithm is implemented to obtain the candidate physical paths for the slice link, and a strategy for selecting a candidate physical path is proposed to increase the slice acceptance ratio. The strategy first calculates the path factor Pf which is the product of the maximum link bandwidth utilization of the candidate physical path and its hop-count, and then chooses the candidate physical path with the smallest Pf to host the slice link. Extensive simulations show that the proposed algorithm can achieve the highest slice acceptance ratio and the largest provisioning revenue-to-cost ratio, satisfying the security constraints of 5G core network slice requests.

Product service system (PSS) is an important strategy for manufacturing companies to improve competitiveness. The extension of supply range forces the manufacturing companies to select service suppliers to support PSS development due to the constraint of resources and capability. VIKOR approach is applied to evaluate the service suppliers based on compromise programming. To deal with the uncertain evaluation information, evaluation data are expressed as vague values by means of vague set theory. In the vague VIKOR, the maximised group utility and minimised individual regret are obtained based on similarity measure between two vague values. A set of criteria weights is a critical input of VIKOR. The traditional weights-determining approaches are subjective and have higher uncertainty such as analytic hierarchy process and analytic network process. Rough set mining approach can be used to obtain the criteria weights according to the surveyed performance information on each criterion and on the whole. The traditional rough set has poor noise-tolerance capability, the variable precision rough set approach is used to mine the criteria weights, and a mining algorithm is proposed in this paper. A case study of rescue service supplier evaluation in excavator PSS development is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assigning precise values for attributes in most engineering applications is almost impossible. It is therefore necessary to consider yarn properties as intervals. Hence, an extended version of VIKOR was employed in this study to select suitable spinning conditions for the weft knitting process among feasible alternatives. Three variables in rotor-spun box were considered and their performances were evaluated based on seven quality parameters using 16 yarn samples. The final ranking was presented according to the relative closeness coefficient of the ideal solution. Consequently, stability of the proposed final ranking was verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]