DSS AS AN APPLICATION OF GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY

Distributed decision support and organizational connectivity: A case study

I: General Issues.- Modeling Knowledge: Model-based Decision Support and Soft Computations.- Benefits of Decision Support Using Soft Computing.- Evolving Connectionist-based Decision Support Systems.- An Agent-based Soft Computing Society with Application Applications in Financial Investment Planning.- A Rough Sets/Neoral Networks Approach to Knowledge Discovery for the Development of Decision Support Systems.- II: Applications and Implementations.- Decision Support Systems in Healthcare: Emerging Trends and Success Factors.- A View of Public and Private Sectors for Taiwan's BOT Project Financing Using Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Methods.- Relational Structures for the Analysis of Decision Information in an Electronic Market.- A Fuzzy Evaluation Model: A Case for Intermodal Terminals in Europe.- Application of Kemeny's Median for Group Decision Support.- An Internet-based Group Decision and Consensus Reaching Support System.- Limpio: A DSS for the Urban Waste Collection Problem.- A Decision Support System for Air Quality Control Based on Soft Computing Methods.- Multicriteria Genetic Tuning for the Optimization and Control of HVAC Systems.- Intelligent Information Systems for Crime Analysis.- Application of Fuzzy Decision Trees to Reservoir Recognition.- Introducing SACRA: A Decision Support System for the Construction of Cattle Diets.- Prediction of Parthenium Weed Dispersal Using Fuzzy Logic on GIS Spatial Image.

This paper aims to introduce the Decision Support System (DSS), which is an area informatics approach to area studies, and the research network complex based on DSS's application in Thailand. In particular, the paper presents and discusses current activities of the DSS research network at the national level in Thailand rather than being a theoretical and analytical study of the DSS mechanism or its cases. DSS has wide applications in Thailand, extending to various fields such as agricultural and natural resource management, economic and social management, historical and cultural preservation, and so on. DSS generally refers to a support system embedded into a computer system for providing intellectual resources with the appropriate numerical model necessary for decision making in production activities. Agricultural and natural resources have been the foundation of social and economic development in Thailand since the country's first national plan in the1960s. Decision making to maintain agricultural productivity as well as to protect natural resources requires well-integrated data sets. The Thailand Research Fund(TRF) established a DSS research and development network (TRF-DSS) in 2002 to help various research teams in Thailand develop DSS tools and components for addressing agricultural and natural resource management issues. Using a "systems"approach, the DSS framework allows researchers and users to identify and integrate key components as well as to define databases and model-base management systems. This paper focuses on the TRF-DSS research and development network, which consists of 12 universities, two line agencies in Thailand, and a line agency in Cambodia. During 2002–10, a total of 59 research projects were granted a budget allocation of 140.1 million baht, and a budget of 15.4 million baht was allocated to support activities of the network. In addition, 10 projects were funded to carry out post-project activities, with a total budget of 1.5 million baht. More than 20 DSS tools were developed and implemented by various users, ranging from policy makers to provincial and local government agencies engaged in short- and long-term planning and management. Most DSS tools were designed to allow the integration of biophysical and socioeconomic data as well as the decision support modules for alternatives evaluation and analysis. These approaches support the choices of dynamic simulation models as well as multi-criteria analyses for modelbase software development. They also allow users to evaluate various alternatives in agricultural and natural resource management. Networking is a powerful platform for DSS research and development and maybe applied to other types of research and development agenda in Thailand, such as area study projects. DSS tools contribute to an understanding of sustainability of production systems against a background of climate change, poverty reduction, and food security.

Integrated pest management (IPM) prioritizes non-chemical alternatives for managing pests and/or diseases, reserving chemicals as last solution, when economically and environmentally justified. The holistic consideration of the agroecosystem makes decision-making in crop protection more complex, as it requires selecting the most appropriate action at the right time. Decision support systems (DSS) for IPM help manage the risks of pests and diseases affecting crops by predicting potential threats and suggesting suitable control measures. However, their adoption remains modest among farmers, despite demonstrated benefits. An anonymous online survey was conducted among farmers, advisors, and other agricultural stakeholders to investigate factors influencing DSS uptake, or lack thereof. The survey distinguished between DSS users and non-users, enabling targeted questions on different aspects of DSS use and adoption. In total, 78 respondents were classified as DSS users and 29 as DSS non-users . Data were analyzed through clustering, followed by statistical validation of clusters and induction of a classification tree, to identify the most influential features shaping cluster formation among both DSS users and DSS non-users . The analysis identified four clusters in the DSS users’ dataset and two clusters in the DSS non-users’ dataset. For DSS users , DSS output reliability and usefulness were identified as the most influential features. Membership in a farmers’ network and DSS ease of use also contributed to cluster separation. For DSS non-users , DSS availability for different cropping systems was the most important attribute determining cluster separation. The results indicate that farmer involvement in DSS development and calibration may enhance trust and, therefore, adoption. Moreover, the need for user-friendly systems providing simple and clear information was highlighted. Although the lack of DSS tailored to specific cropping systems emerged as the main barrier, limited awareness and concerns about costs were also important obstacles. The applied methodological approach presents a reproducible and robust AI-based framework, built on open-source tools, to analyze stakeholders’ perceptions of IPM DSS and extract knowledge from complex survey data. This study provides valuable insights to facilitate DSS adoption for more sustainable crop protection and underscores the importance of both DSS technical performance and end-user needs.

Changing systems for supporting farmers' decisions: problems, paradigms, and prospects

: Workshops in the late 1990's launched the commitment of the U.S. Geological Survey's Biological Resources Division (BRD) to develop and implement decision support systems (DSS) applications. One of the primary goals of this framework document is to provide sufficient background and information for Department of the Interior (DOI) bureau stakeholders and other clients to determine the potential for DSS development. Such an understanding can assist them in carrying out effective land planning and management practices. This document provides a definition of DSS and its characteristics and capabilities. It proceeds to describe issues related to meeting resource managers needs, such as the needs for specific applications, customer requirements, information and technology transfer, user support, and institutionalization. Using the decision process as a means to guide DSS development and determine users needs is also discussed. We conclude with information on methods to evaluate DSS development efforts and recommended procedures for verification and validation.

Modeling the Didactic Core of 'Contemporary' Decision Support Systems

Model-based Decision Support Systems (DSSs) employ various types of models, such as statistical, optimization, simulation, or rule-based. Models are used to assess and analyze the given decision situation, and on this basis advise the decision-maker. Generally, the DSS development process involves three steps: (1) model development, (2) implementing the model(s) in a DSS, and (3) using the DSS. In this chapter, we focus on two model development approaches: Data Mining and Expert Modeling. We advocate for combing the two in order to get better models and better DSSs in general. We illustrate some points and potential pitfalls using an example of the PD_manager DSS, which is aimed at supporting medication change decisions in the management of Parkinson’s disease. Based on the experience from PD_manager and some other DSS development projects, we propose the so-called 5C requirements for better DSS models: correctness, completeness, consistency, comprehensibility, and convenience. Finally, we summarize the lessons learned and give advice to DSS developers and researchers.

Developing systems to effectively support managerial decision making has always been difficult. Although there may be no one best approach, most decision support systems (DSSs) are developed, implemented, and evaluated with methods that differ significantly from traditional methodologies. This article examines the definition of a DSS, discusses the methods most often used in DSS development, and suggests future trends in this area.

There are several spatial problems in the water resources sector such as flood control and management, which can be managed efficiently if there is a case-based decision-making process. These types of problems need human intervention and amicable management is possible by decision making based on various possible alternatives. The recent advances in computational facilities, quick and real time access to various types of data and development in graphical user interface (GUI), have led to the frequent application of decision support system (DSS) in complex water resources management problems like flood management. This review paper summarises past efforts employing DSS, risk-based DSS and future research for DSS used in flood management. The main purpose of this review is to assess the progress made in the development of DSS and to understand how efficient it is in solving flood management problems.

Background The authors study the development of decision support system (DSS) for designing the bottom-hole assembly (BHA) while drilling, as well as the development of software that implements the DSS. DSS includes expert system, knowledge base, analytics and modeling subsystem, database of drilling equipment. The analytics and modeling subsystems contain algorithms for drilling calculation of the optimal BHA parameters in accordance with the requirements for the well profile, rate of penetration and reduction of sticking danger. The authors discuss how to use the developed expert system as part of an automated control system for directional well drilling. The studied drilling equipment consists of: drill bits, calibrators, downhole screw motors, drilling jar, heavy-weight drill pipes and heavy-wall drill pipes. Analyzed the main parameters of drilling equipment affect sticking danger, rate of penetration and well trajectory. The developed database structure of drilling equipment allows you to calculate the above parameters. The result of the work of the decision-making software is a report defining the types and sequence of installation of the necessary downhole drilling equipment. Aims and Objectives For DSS development for the BHA designing while drilling is necessary to develop an expert system, a knowledge base, analysis and modeling subsystem, a database of drilling equipment to implement this DSS as a part of an automated control system for directional well drilling. Results The authors developed an ontological model for describing and choosing effective BHA design by the Protege software based on evaluation and analysis of the main attributes of BHA selection experience. The authors also developed the drilling equipment database structure for BHA equipment selection based on deductive inference mechanism for decision rules of the knowledge base.

The aim of this work is to report on an activity carried out during the 2010 Recognized Environmental Picture experiment, held in the Ligurian Sea during summer 2010. The activity was the first at-sea test of the recently developed decision support system (DSS) for operation planning, which had previously been tested in an artificial experiment. The DSS assesses the impact of both environmental conditions (meteorological and oceanographic) and non-environmental conditions (such as traffic density maps) on people and assets involved in the operation and helps in deciding a course of action that allows safer operation. More precisely, the environmental variables (such as wind speed, current speed and significant wave height) taken as input by the DSS are the ones forecasted by a super-ensemble model, which fuses the forecasts provided by multiple forecasting centres. The uncertainties associated with the DSS’s inputs (generally due to disagreement between forecasts) are propagated through the DSS’s output by using the unscented transform. In this way, the system is not only able to provide a traffic light map (run/not run the operation), but also to specify the confidence level associated with each action. This feature was tested on a particular type of operation with underwater gliders: the glider surfacing for data transmission. It is also shown how the availability of a glider path prediction tool provides surfacing options along the predicted path. The applicability to different operations is demonstrated by applying the same system to support diver operations.

Digital tools, particularly specialised decision support systems (DSSs), can be utilized to assist in the complex process of brownfield redevelopment. Existing brownfield DSSs typically focus on site-specific, late-stage applications, and socioeconomic factors are often overlooked. In this paper, we present a novel DSS aimed at providing support for early-stage, city region-scale brownfield land use planning and redevelopment. The proposed DSS is a prototype WebGIS application that enables land use planners and other brownfield regeneration professionals to examine a region and a set of sites during the initial planning phase for brownfield redevelopment. The DSS includes three bespoke modules comprising: (1) Land Use Potential (residential, commercial, and public open space), (2) risks posed by contamination and geotechnical hazards, (3) data pertinent to brownfield economic viability assessments. We outline a use case for this DSS, developed through comprehensive user-requirements gathering, and subsequently describe the techniques employed to construct the DSS modules and user interface. Finally, we present the results of user testing, wherein case-study stakeholders assessed the DSS. The feedback obtained during user testing aided in the identification of areas for improvement with regard to the functionality, usability, and effectiveness of the DSS in supporting decision-makers. The feedback was utilized to implement iterative improvements to the DSS and to plan future developments for the prototype DSS.

The growth in the number of cloud computing users has led to the availability of a variety of cloud based services provided by different vendors. This has made the task of selecting suitable set of services quite difficult. There has been a lot of research towards the development of suitable decision support system (DSS) to assist users in making an optimal selection of cloud services. However, existing decision support systems cannot address two crucial issues: firstly, the involvement of both business and technical perspectives in decision making simultaneously and, secondly, the multiple-clouds services based selection using single DSS. In this paper, we tackle these issues in the light of solving the problem of cloud service discovery. In particular, we present the following novel contributions: Firstly, we present critical analysis of the state-of-the-art in decision support systems. Based on our analysis, we identify critical shortcomings in the existent tools and develop the set of requirements which should be met by a potential DSS. Secondly, we present a new holistic framework for the development of DSS which allows a pragmatic description of user requirements. Additionally, the data gathering and analysis is studied as an integral part of the proposedDSS and therefore, we present concrete algorithms to assess the data for an optimal service discovery. Thirdly, we assess our framework for applicability to cloud service selection using an industrial case study. We also demonstrate the implementation and performance of our proposed framework using a prototype which serves as a proof of concept. Overall, this paper provides novel and holistic framework for development of a multiple cloud service discovery based decision support system.

The increasing frequency of disasters highlights the critical need for efficient and adaptable humanitarian logistics systems.To enhance decision-making in these complex environments, it is essential to incorporate advanced mathematical models through the development of Decision Support Systems (DSS).This study presents the development of a DSS prototype aimed at optimizing the location of temporary Points of Distribution (PODs) following a large-scale earthquake scenario in Alto Selva Alegre, Arequipa, Peru.The system distinguishes between two types of PODs: fixed PODs, which remain operational throughout all periods and serve as stable infrastructure during both the response and recovery phases, and temporary PODs, which are activated only during the initial response to maximize proximity to the affected population.The DSS is composed of four core components-a database, an optimization model, a user interface, and a communication layer-and is structured into five interactive tabs. The Data tab presents input information; Optimization tab enables model execution and parameter adjustments based on decision-maker knowledge, resource availability, or operational priorities; Solution visualizes results by period; andComparative allows users to analyze, and contrast saved configurations.Results show that small changes in input parameters-such as the number of modules or active PODs-can lead to significant improvements in coverage and travel distance, with only modest increases in cost.The DSS also adapts well to operational constraints, providing feasible solutions even when some sites are unavailable.By combining mathematical modelling with interactive usability, it supports quick scenario comparison and informed decision-making, offering a practical tool for humanitarian logistics planning.