A method to multi-attribute decision making problems by using heronian mean operators based on linear diophantine uncertain linguistic settings

In the real decision process, an important problem is how to express the attribute value more efficiently and accurately. In the real world, because of the complexity of decision-making problems and the fuzziness of decision-making environments, it is not enough to express attribute values of alternatives by exact values. For this managing with such sorts of issues, the principle of Linear Diophantine uncertain linguistic set is a valuable and capable technique to manage awkward and inconsistent information in everyday life problems. In this manuscript, we propose the original idea of Linear Diophantine uncertain linguistic set and elaborated their essential laws. Additionally, to determine the association among any numbers of attributes, we elaborated the Linear Diophantine uncertain linguistic arithmetic Heronian mean operator, Linear Diophantine uncertain linguistic weighted arithmetic Heronian mean operator, Linear Diophantine uncertain linguistic geometric Heronian mean operator, Linear Diophantine uncertain linguistic weighted geometric Heronian mean operator, and their properties are also discovered. By using these operators, we utilize the multi-attribute decision-making procedure by using elaborated operators. To determine the consistency and validity of the elaborated operators, we illustrate some examples by using explored operators. Finally, the superiority and comparative analysis of the elaborated operators with some existing operators are also determined and justified with the help of a graphical point of view.

My Industry to Academia Research Journey And Energizing Innovations Among Malaysian Engineers

In this talk, the author would like to share her research journey from industry to academia, first in Malaysia and then in United States. She was fortunate to receive a strong science & mathematical education in Malaysia, trained as an engineer at University of Malaya, worked with a team of talented R&D engineers at Motorola Communication Sectors Sdn Bhd in Penang before she went to United States for graduate studies. In United States, again she was fortunate to have several mentors who helped to inspire her to conduct great research first in industry and then in academia. She will first share her research journal from Malaysia to United States. Next, based on her experience, she will share some main ingredients one needs to cultivate to conduct great research, e.g., curiosity, diligence, and perseverance. Subsequently, she will also share her thoughts on how industry leaders, academic leaders and Malaysian government can collaborate to energize innovations among Malaysian engineers as well as young generations aspiring to be our next generation engineers. Cultivating curiosity in STEM fields at young age, providing opportunities for high school students to appreciate science through solving real life problems with college students, and creating opportunities for faculty members in STEM fields to spend sabbatical semesters at top universities or industry R&D laboratories to horn their skills are necessary steps to energize innovations among Malaysian engineers.

The New Approaches Based on Ant Colony Optimization and Greedy Search Algorithm for Solving Hierarchical Chinese Postman Problem with Stochastic Travel Times

Hierarchical Chinese postman problem (HCPP), a variant of the Chinese postman problem, aims to find the shortest tour or tours by passing through the arcs classified according to precedence relationship. HCPP, which has a wide application area in real-life problems such as shovel snow and routing patrol vehicles where precedence relations are important, belongs to the NP-hard problem class. In real-life problems, travel time between the two locations in city traffic varies due to reasons such as traffic jam, weather conditions, etc. Therefore travel times are uncertain. In this study, HCPP is handled with the chance-constrained stochastic programming approach, and a new type of problem, hierarchical Chinese postman problem with stochastic travel times, is introduced. Due to the NP-hard nature of the problem, the developed mathematical model with stochastic parameter values cannot find proper solutions in large size problems within the appropriate time interval. Therefore, two new solution approaches, a heuristic method based on the Greedy Search (GSA) algorithm and a meta-heuristic method based on ant colony optimization (ACO) are proposed in this study. These new algorithms were tested on modified benchmark instances and randomly generated problem instances with as many as 817 edges. The performance of algorithms was compared in terms of solution quality and computational time.

Harmonic Aggregation Operator with Trapezoidal Picture Fuzzy Numbers and Its Application in a Multiple-Attribute Decision-Making Problem

Picture fuzzy sets (PFSs) can be used to handle real-life problems with uncertainty and vagueness more effectively than intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs). In the process of information aggregation, many aggregation operators under PFSs are used by different authors in different fields. In this article, a multi-attribute decision-making (MADM) problem is introduced utilizing harmonic mean aggregation operators with trapezoidal fuzzy number (TrFN) under picture fuzzy information. Three harmonic mean operators are developed namely trapezoidal picture fuzzy weighted harmonic mean (TrPFWHM) operator, trapezoidal picture fuzzy order weighted harmonic mean (TrPFOWHM) operator and trapezoidal picture fuzzy hybrid harmonic mean (TrPFHHM) operator. The related properties about these operators are also studied. At last, an MADM problem is considered to interrelate among these operators. Furthermore, a numerical instance is considered to explain the productivity of the proposed operators.

Some Topological Approaches for Generalized Rough Sets and Their Decision-Making Applications

The rough set principle was proposed as a methodology to cope with vagueness or uncertainty of data in the information systems. Day by day, this theory has proven its efficiency in handling and modeling many real-life problems. To contribute to this area, we present new topological approaches as a generalization of Pawlak’s theory by using j-adhesion neighborhoods and elucidate the relationship between them and some other types of approximations with the aid of examples. Topologically, we give another generalized rough approximation using near open sets. Also, we generate generalized approximations created from the topological models of j-adhesion approximations. Eventually, we compare the approaches given herein with previous ones to obtain a more affirmative solution for decision-making problems.

iWeek experience: the innovation challenges of digital transformation in industry

Information Technology, communication, and innovation require specific, essential competencies that employers look for in engineers. Responding to this, Tecnologico de Monterrey has been implementing the Tec21 Educational model to foster students' competencies by involving them in challenge-based learning (CBL). The iWeek is one of the first implementations of this model, where students experience immersive learning for a whole week. This study presents the iWeek Innovation Challenge to improve students' innovation and information technology and communication skills through a CBL didactic technique. During this iWeek, a group of students developed efficient solutions with Microsoft Power Apps to solve real challenges confronting a global company. The results proved that students could quickly learn and apply knowledge and develop practical, innovative solutions to real problems in Industry. It was a revelation to the stakeholders to notice how fast students can become familiar with new information technology tools to propose solutions that positively impact the company. Strong partnerships between academia and industry are crucial to developing student disciplinary and transversal competencies by challenging them to solve real-life problems in real-world environments. This work presents a roadmap for planning and designing a CBL iWeek with an educational partner from Industry. It includes the implementation details, assessment instruments, and results analysis. Finally, we also highlight the significant contributions of iWeek to explain the value of this immersive experience in the teaching–learning process.

The Role of Smart Technologies to Support Citizen Engagement and Decision Making

Smart government relies both on the application of digital technologies to enable citizen's participation in order to achieve a high level of citizen centricity and on data-driven decision making in order to improve the quality of life of citizens. Data-driven decisions in turn depend on accessible and reliable datasets, which open government and social media data are likely to promise. The SmartGov project uses digital technologies by integrating open and social media data in Fuzzy Cognitive Maps to model real life problems and simulate different scenarios leading to better decision making. This research performed a multiple-case analysis in two pilot cities. Both municipalities use the technologies to find the best routes: Limassol to improve the garbage collection and Quart de Poblet to improve the walking routes of chaperones guiding children to school. The article proposes a generic framework for Smart City Governance focusing on the inputs and outcomes of this process in the use of technologies for policy making built based on the analysis of the SmartGov.

Tolerating Ambiguity: Reflections on the Schrems II Ruling

This paper considers the European Court of Justice’s Schrems II ruling from a variety of angles. From a strictly legal point of view, considering the GDPR, the CJEU came to a logical conclusion. In this paper, I nevertheless try to think about other ways of understanding the dispute and the ruling. In addition to data protection law, the case is about surveillance, platform power, resistance, global politics, data territoriality and the Court’s competence. These sensitive issues come forth when the strict data protection issues are set aside and a slightly more open analysis undertaken. In the end, however, the ruling does bring about real-life problems that pertain to data protection law. Transfers of data to third countries are a pressing problem that no one seems to know how to solve.

NITRO CELLULOSE POWDER CHARGES OF LONG SERVICE LIFE: PROBLEMS AND THEIR POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

One of the components of the problem of Ukraine's national security is the loading of warehouses with a variety of ammunition with an expired guaranteed storage period. The experience of storing ammunition shows that during long-term storage, propylene powder used in ammunition is capable of spontaneously undergoing various physical and chemical transformations, which negatively affects the ballistic characteristics of ammunition. The lack of ammunition production in Ukraine has led to the fact that ammunition is currently in operation, the storage time of which reaches 25-30 years or more. This article analyzes publications devoted to scientific research related to the problems of ballistic stability of propellants. A number of factors are presented that affect the physicochemical stability of powder charges during their long-term operation. The generalizing data on changes in the main ballistic characteristics of ammunition at different periods of their storage are presented. It is assumed that one of the ways to improve the ballistic and energy characteristics of ammunition with long service lives can be the regeneration of nitrocellulose powder charges. It is shown that at present there are no methods for the regeneration of propellant charges of long service life. However, there are encouraging data on the treatment of propellants with hydrogen peroxide, on the basis of which a technology can be developed for the complete or partial restoration of the ballistic and energy characteristics of the propellant charge. It is presented that the predictive assessment of changes in the characteristics of ammunition with long service lives does not correspond to their real indicators. It has been determined that the problem of nitrocellulose propellants of long service life is complex and, on the basis of its solution, theoretical and methodological foundations of the regeneration of nitrocellulose propellant charges can be developed to homologate the ballistic and energy characteristics of ammunition.

Nikczemne skrzaty i inne (nie)baśniowe potworności dzieciństwa w „Złodziejach snów” Małgorzaty Strękowskiej-Zaremby

The first part of the article provides a short outline of the works by Małgorzata Strękowska-Zaremba, a well-known and critically acclaimed Polish children’s author, and gives special attention to her interest in certain popular literature genres. Among her works, a prominent place is occupied by three books in which the writer uses various genres and conventions of the fantastic to discuss important real-life problems: parents’ divorce and homelessness in Złodzieje snów [The Dream Stealers] (2008/2019), domestic violence in Dom nie z tej ziemi [The Otherworldly House] (2017), and depression in Lilana (2019). The main part of the paper covers an analysis of Złodzieje snów, which is focused on monsterological plots and motifs shown in the context of the use of fairytale conventions in the book. Strękowska-Zaremba utilises the figure of demonic gnomes (derived from French folklore) who in the story are believed to have stolen the dreams of the protagonist, little Basia, after her parents separated. However, as the author of the article claims in its last part, in Złodzieje snów, these creatures from the folk imagery are much less monstrous than real-life problems, including separation and divorce, loneliness, and homelessness. This also applies to Dom nie z tej ziemi and Lilana, which is briefly stated in the conclusion.