Browsing by Subject "Multiple criteria decision making"
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Item A multiple objective decision making model for materials management of end-of-life electronic products(Texas Tech University, 2002-08) Jin, KaiDue to customers' demand for new technology, and their increasing consumption of electronics, more attention has been paid to the take-back and recycling of end-of-life (EOL) electronic equipment and computers, in particular. Disposal of electronic products in landfills is discouraged, due to the limitations of landfill space and the presence of leachable lead. In addition, electronic products also contain precious metals and plastics as well as ceramic and glass materials that may be reused if proper materials separation and recycling are provided. This research focuses on exploring a systematic approach to en\ironmental impact analysis and decision making in the end-of-life electronics takeback and recycling process. The objective of this research is to develop a theoretical scheme of multiobjective decision-making (MODM) for material management of end-of-life electronic products. The research results in a structured decision support system to help analysts and decision-makers think systematically about the selection of recycling scenario. Although a decision support system is an efficient tool that has been widely used in management areas, it still encounters some problems when it is implemented in the environmental decision making problem. Those problems include lack of sufficient and reliable data on environmental impact of end-of-life product treatment, material composition analysis, proper expression of users' aspiration levels, system architecture, and the proper multiple objective decision making methodology. The environmental oriented decision making system presented in this dissertation can solve those problems. The MODM method in this research is based on an interactive reference point method and fuzzy logic theory. The decision making model consists of four phases: quantifying, re-scaling, aggregation, and interactive decision making process. The prototype of the environmental decision support model is developed using Microsoft Visual Basic and Access.Item Effect of cue type on situation awareness(Texas Tech University, 1996-12) Jones, Debra GipsonSituation Awareness (SA) is a vital element of decision making in dynamic environments. As such, SA errors can impede and degrade decision making performance. One particularly troublesome SA error is the representational error which occurs when the wrong mental model is used to interpret information (resulting in an inaccurate understanding of the situation), when in fact it should provide a cue that the wrong mental model is in effect. This dissertation investigates what characteristics of information are likely to cause a person to adjust a mental model rather than falling prey to a representational error. Since the literature on this issue is sparse, findings from schema literature were used as a starting point for investigating this question. From the schema Iherature, two hypotheses were formulated involving the effect of cues on SA: (1) schema bizarre information will impact SA more than schema irrelevant information, and (2) schema unexpected information will impact SA more than the absence of schema expected information. A high fidelity simulation of an air traffic control task was used to test these hypotheses. Certain misinformation was provided to the controllers and then cues to this error were provided in the form of schema bizarre cues or irrelevant cues, schema unexpected cues or absence of expected cues. The controllers were expected to ascertain from these cues that the current mental model was not adequate to account for the cue (thus, the cue signified that an error had been committed) and that the error needed correcting. If the significance of the information was comprehended, an overt action was required.Item Subject understanding of ill-structured problems: an information systems perspective(Texas Tech University, 1991-12) Khazanchi, DeepakMany of the problems faced by managers generally fall in the ill-defined, ill-structured category. This is especially true of problems handled by strategic decision makers. Decision makers perform various activities that help them understand such ill-structured problems. These activities are tightly coupled to an individual manager's cognitive orientation. This research explores, from a cognitive perspective, the nature of information systems (IS) support that might facilitate a decision maker's understanding of ISPs. Four research questions are investigated: (1) Can a conceptual model be developed that incorporates a cognitive perspective of IS support for ISPs? (2) What cognitive activities could help a decision maker's understanding of ISPs? (3) What type of IS support might promote understanding? (4) Can a prototype be built to provide this IS support? The answers to these questions are based, in part, on the argument that IS support for promoting understanding of ISPs should be provided "through" the cognitive orientations of decision makers. This research has developed a new notion called the "cognitive lens," and has designed, constructed and tested a prototype "cognitive lens support system" (CLSS) to support various types of inquiry modes in understanding problems—especially ill-structured problems (ISPs). A cognitive lens captures a decision maker's encapsulation of information in the form of constructs and relationships that are in reality an unabridged representation of the decision maker's viewpoint (i.e., all a priori perceptions, values, knowledge, experience, and beliefs) of a problem domain.