Fabrication, characterization, and optimization selection of ceramic particulate reinforced dental restorative composite materials

The objective of the article is to explore the fabrication of dental restorative composite materials and the ranking order using the preference selection index (PSI) as a multi criteria decision making (MCDM) technique under a set of conflict performance defining criteria (PDCs). The polymer matrix of the dental restorative composite was prepared using bisphenol a-glycidyl methacrylate (55 wt.%), triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (44 wt.%), camphorquinone (0.3 wt.%), and ethyl 4-(dimethylamino) benzoate (0.7 wt.%). Five different dental restorative composite material compositions were fabricated using hybrid nSiO2-TiO2 particulates with a variation of nSiO2 (0, 2, 4, 6, 8 wt.%) while TiO2 is constant (15 wt.%). The results revealed that an increasing trend has been found in compressive strength, flexural strength, Vickers hardness, etc., while a decreasing trend has been shown in depth of cure, polymerization shrinkage, degree of conversion etc. The performance analysis of five dental composite formulations via the PSI method shows the following ranking order: nS4 > nS6 > nS2 > nS0 > nS8. The obtained experimental results are associated with the ranking order of the different sets of dental composite formulations. Hence, the preference selection index approach is one of the best techniques among MCDM techniques for ranking under different PDCs.

Sustainable High-Tech Brick Production with Energy-Oriented Consumption: An Integrated Possibilistic Approach Based on Criteria Interdependencies

Brick making contributes significantly to the of supply materials for the building industry. The majority of brick production sectors, especially in developing countries, employ polluting and energy-inefficient technologies. Due to the increasing pressures on manufacturing firms to improve economic performance and growing environmental protection issues, sustainable and clean production is the main concern for brick makers. This paper considers the technological, economic, environmental, social, and energy-oriented criteria to select the optimal brick production technologies. Therefore, technology selection is viewed as a multi-criteria group decision-making (MCGDM) problem. This research proposes a novel hybrid fuzzy MCGDM (HFMCGDM) model to tackle the problem. In this respect, first of all, the modified triangular fuzzy pair-wise comparison (MTFPC) method is proposed to compute the local weights of criteria and sub-criteria. Then, a fuzzy DEMATEL (FDEMATEL) method is presented to calculate the interdependencies between and within the criteria. Moreover, the integration of MTFPC and FDEMATEL methods is applied to calculate the global criteria weights. Afterward, a novel method is proposed to determine the experts’ weight. Considering the last aggregation approach to diminish data loss, a new version of a fuzzy TOPSIS method is proposed to find the local and global priorities of the candidates. Then, a case study is given to demonstrate the applicability and superiority of the proposed methodology. To get a deeper view about considering kilns, energy and environmental performance of which has been investigated. Moreover, a comparative analysis is presented to illuminate the merits of the proposed methodology. Eventually, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to peruse the influence of criteria weights on ranking order.

Do house price-earnings ratios in England and Wales follow a power law? An application of Lavalette’s law to district data

This paper considers Lavalette’s function and its applicability to district house price-earnings ratios. Drawing on work in the urban scaling literature and Zipf’s law, in conjunction with finance theories of pricing and affordability, the paper considers how stable the distribution of ratios is over time, how robust the ranking order of ratios is in the face of variations in affordability over 2004–2019, and proffers an explanation for the shape and movement of the distribution. It draws on issues found in the economic growth literature where sigma-convergence is applied to spatial variables, and a narrowing of the distribution is said to indicate convergence. It proposes that, when plotted over time, the Lavalette exponent and Spearman’s correlation coefficient point to divergence and rank-order stability.

Analysis of Standard Operational Procedure Hotel Using AHP to Get the Best Ranking Order

Standard Operating procedure accounting system, controlling model management of hotel administration credit approval to facilitate the supervision of companies that will apply for credit. Credit meetings to be able to control the account provided by the credit facility. Direct meeting to ensure that all booking or activities that result in billing are billed directly to avoid. Credit card procedure to make sure the financial controller is responsible for developing a system and following procedures are placed. Foreign currency loss/gain, not front office to make sure all profit and loss associated with foreign exchange transaction must be reflected in profit and loss account unless the management contract states otherwise. Collection to make a sure timeline of billing accuracy of data and effective method and follow up. Use the collection agencies/attorney to ensure the issuing billing is carried out the control so that there are no arrears. Collection letters to maintain a highly professional business image through consistent verbal and written collection efforts. Accounts receivable balancing to ensure the accuracy of the records and can avoid billing errors and causes of loss of revenue. Payment receivable to avoid data error regard payment made posting to city ledger establish debt bad provision to maintain provision for bad debt to cover.

Perbandingan Metode Smart dan Maut untuk Pemilihan Karyawan pada Merapi Online Corporation

<p>Penelitian ini merancang sistem untuk menentukan pemilihan karyawan terbaik menggunakan Sistem Pendukung Keputusan (SPK). Perhitungan sistem menggunakan metode SMART dan MAUT. SMART merupakan metode pengambilan keputusan multiatribut yang setiap alternatif terdiri dari sekumpulan atribut dan setiap atribut mempunyai nilai-nilai. Sedangkan MAUT didasarkan pada konsep dimana pembuat keputusan dapat menghitung utilitas dari setiap alternatif menggunakan fungsi MAUT dan dapat memilih alternatif dengan utilitas tertinggi. Metode SMART digunakan karena perhitungannya lebih sederhana dan memungkinkan penambahan serta pengurangan alternatif tanpa mempengaruhi perhitungan pembobotan mengingat jumlah karyawan bisa berkurang dan bertambah secara tidak teratur. Sedangkan metode MAUT digunakan karena memunculkan hasil urutan peringkat dimana akan muncul hasil nilai terbesar sampai nilai terkecil sehingga dapat diketahui karyawan dengan terbaik dengan nilai tertinggi. Sehingga dapat mengambil keputusan dengan efektif atas persoalan yang kompleks dengan menyederhanakan dan mempercepat proses pengambilan keputusan. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode pengembangan sistem model waterfall, metodologi ini terdapat tahapan-tahapan kegiatan yang harus dilakukan dalam merancang suatu sistem. Perhitungan menggunakan 30 sampel data karyawan dan empat kriteria penilaian. Empat kriteria tersebut adalah presensi dengan bobot 40, masa kerja dengan bobot 30, ijin dengan bobot 20, dan disiplin dengan bobot 10. Data karyawan yang digunakan adalah karyawan yang sama dalam kedua metode serta mempunyai data penilaian yang sama. Hasil perhitungan menggunakan SMART dan MAUT menunjukkan bahwa keduanya dapat diimplementasikan dan berfungsi dengan baik untuk menentukan karyawan terbaik. Dengan menggunakan data alternatif, nilai alternatif, dan bobot kriteria yang sama diperoleh hasil bahwa metode SMART memberikan hasil yang lebih baik dengan 22 peringkat, sedangkan metode MAUT menghasilkan 18 peringkat. Semakin banyak jumlah peringkat yang muncul maka semakin baik karena mampu meminimalisir nilai preferensi yang sama, sehingga perankingan alternatif dapat dilakukan dengan baik.</p><p> </p><p><em><strong>Abstract</strong></em></p><p class="Judul2"><em>This study designed a system to determine the best employee selection using a Decision Support System (SPK). System calculations using the SMART and MAUT methods. SMART is a multi-attribute decision making method in which each alternative consists of a set of attributes and each attribute has values. Whereas MAUT is based on the concept where decision makers can calculate the utility of each alternative using the MAUT function and can choose alternatives with the highest utility. The SMART method is used because the calculation is simpler and allows the addition and subtraction of alternatives without affecting the weighting calculation given the number of employees can be reduced and increased irregularly. While the MAUT method is used because it raises the ranking order results in which the largest value will appear until the smallest value so that it can be known by the employee with the highest value. So that they can make decisions effectively on complex issues by simplifying and accelerating the decision making process. The research method used is the method of developing the system waterfall model, this methodology there are stages of activities that must be carried out in designing a system. The calculation uses 30 employee data samples and four assessment criteria. The four criteria are presence with a weight of 40, tenure with a weight of 30, permission with a weight of 20, and discipline with a weight of 10. Employee data used are the same employees in both methods and have the same assessment data. The results of calculations using SMART and MAUT indicate that both can be implemented and function properly to determine the best employees. By using alternative data, alternative values, and the same criteria weights, the results obtained that the SMART method gives better results with 22 ratings, while the MAUT method yields 18 ratings. The more number of ratings that appear, the better because it is able to minimize the same preference value, so that alternative ranking can be done well.</em></p><p><em><strong><br /></strong></em></p><p class="Abstrak"> </p>

MCDM Applied to the Evaluation of Transitional and Post-Mining Conditions—An Innovative Perspective Developed through the EIT ReviRIS Project

In mine design and planning, the identification of an appropriate Post-Mining Land Use (PMLU) is necessary and crucial to achieve environmental quality, socio-economic renewal, and social acceptance of mining projects. In this context, Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods support decision-makers and stakeholders, identifying the relevant factors and criteria, so that, different available alternatives can be evaluated, compared, and contrasted with each other. With the vision to enable its wide application, 15 mine profiles are identified which, combined with selected MCDM methods and relevant factors, results in a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework for PMLU. In this preliminary framework, the MCDM methods selected are SIMUS, TOPSIS, and SMARTER. They serve different problems and, therefore, are used in different profiles: SIMUS is applied to complex profiles, TOPSIS to the lesser ones, and SMARTER is used due to its capacity of assigning weights to criteria based on Ranking Order Centroid calculations. This preliminary MCDA structure gives the possibility to include the complexity (technical and decisional) and a participatory process, for all stakeholders involved concerning PMLU.

Enhancing ELECTRE I Method with Complex Spherical Fuzzy Information

This article is concerned to delineate the strategic approach of ELiminating Et Choice Translating REality (ELECTRE) method for multi-attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) in terms of complex spherical fuzzy sets. The feasible, well-suited, and marvelous structure of complex spherical fuzzy set compliments the decision-making efficiency and ranking calibre of ELECTRE I approach to present a beneficial and supreme aptitude strategy for MAGDM. Beside the proposed methodology, a few non-fundamental properties of complex spherical fuzzy weighted averaging (CSFWA) operator inclusive of shift invariance, homogenous, linearity, and additive property are also explored. The proposed procedure validates the individual opinions into an acceptable form by the dint of CSFWA operator and the aggregated opinions are further analyzed by the proposed complex spherical fuzzy- ELECTRE I (CSF-ELECTRE I) method. Within the consideration of proposed methodology, normalized Euclidean distances of complex spherical fuzzy numbers are also contemplated. In CSF-ELECTRE I method, the score, accuracy, and refusal degrees determine the concordance and discordance sets for each pair of alternatives to calculate the concordance and discordance indices, respectively. Based on aggregated outranking matrix, a decision graph is constructed to attain the ELECTREcally outranked solutions and the best alternative. This article provides supplementary approach at the final step to profess a linear ranking order of the alternatives. The versatility and feasibility of the presented method are embellished with two case studies from the business and IT field. Moreover, to ratify the intensity and aptitude of the presented methodology, we provide a comparative study with complex spherical fuzzy-TOPSIS method.

Assessment of external defects at mechanical engineering enterprises

The methodology for calculating the constituent elements that form external defects in the manufacture of engineering products is considered. A classic quality control tool, a Pareto chart, is proposed to analyze the causes of defects and their cost. When testing the methodology on the example of the production of gearboxes, it was revealed that the number of defects has a different ranking order relative to the assessment of external losses. For the formation of corrective and preventive actions, it is recommended to use two diagrams at the same time. Keywords: external defect, losses, quality control tools, Pareto chart. [email protected]

Drivers of immersive virtual reality adoption intention: a multi-group analysis in chemical industry settings

The present study uses the modified Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 to examine the effect of factors such as performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), and hedonic motivation (HM) that may motivate operators and employees to adopt IVR-based technology into their training. Results of a multi-group analysis based on nationality, prior IVR experience, and/or length of work experience, to analyse the potential similarities and/or differences in perception and acceptance towards using IVR-based technology are also presented. The quantitative research data were gathered using an online questionnaire from 438 chemical operators and/or employees who either speak German, French, or English. Partial least squares structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis based on SmartPLS™ version 3 were used to carry out the path and multi-group analyses. The results show that the behavioural intention (BI) towards adoption of IVR was influenced by PE, EE, and HM for all abovementioned subpopulation. However, the relationship of SI to BI was not supported for respondents with prior IVR experience and for respondents coming from Western region. Although Henseler’s-based multi-group PLS analysis reveals that there was no significant difference between the group comparisons, it is still important to take into account these socio-demographic factors as there are definite group differences in terms of the ranking order of each construct for the IVR adoption intentions among each subpopulation. The implications and future directions were discussed.

To Post or Not to Post: Does Applicants’ Social Media Affect Family Medicine Resident Recruitment?

Background and Objectives: Current literature on review of applicant social media (SoMe) content for resident recruitment is scarce. With the recent increase in the use of privacy settings, and the cost of the recruitment process, the aim of this study was to describe the practice and outcomes of review of applicant SoMe in resident recruitment and its association with program director or program characteristics. Methods: This study was part of the 2020 Council of Academic Family Medicine’s Educational Research Alliance (CERA) annual survey of family medicine residency program directors (PDs) in the United States. Results: The overall response rate for the survey was 39.8% (249/626). About 40% of PDs reported reviewing applicant SoMe content. The majority (88.9%) of programs did not inform applicants of their SoMe review practices. The most common findings of SoMe review were that the content raised no concerns (38/94; 40.4%) or was consistent with the application material (34/94; 36.2%). Forty PDs (17.0%) have ever moved an applicant up or down the rank list based on SoMe review. Review of applicant SoMe was not statistically associated with program size, program type, PD age, PD SoMe use, or program SoMe use. Conclusions: SoMe review has not become routine practice in family medicine resident recruitment. The outcome of SoMe review was mostly consistent with the applicant profile without any concerns and only very few changed the ranking order. This calls for more studies to explore the value of SoMe review for resident selection regarding its effect on future performance.