Language, moral order and political praxis

The paper argues that the debate between objectivist criticism and postmodern critique represents a fracturing of the modes of mundane social and linguistic practice. The two together miss the open-textured character of language-in-use and the reflexive properties of situated human practice. Both difference and agreement are grounded in the multiplicity of criteria that are a feature of the logical grammar of language, and therefore of everyday praxis, including that of critique. To escape the duality of foundationalism on the one hand, and radical relativism on the other, attention to the praxiological details of human action and reasoning is needed. The paper draws on Wittgensteinian philosophy and ethnomethodological studies of reasoning to make its case.     

Zur Rekonstruktion der Philosophischen Hermeneutik

Towards a reconstruction of philosophical hermeneutics. Following Nietzsche, Heidegger and, on the other hand, Cassirer and Wittgenstein, a philosophy of interpretation, i.e. a relativism of world-views, is at present increasing in continental as well as in analytical philosophy. From the basis of a critical fallibilism the shortcomings of the new epistemological antirealism are pointed out in general, and, hence, consequences are drawn for the more specialized case of metahermeneutics (hermeneutics being defined as a sort of pragmatical semiotics). A combination of realistic and antirealistic elements is recommended as unevitable. According to this, firstly, the key-concepts of hermeneutics must be differentiated, and, secondly, a fundamental set of criteria can be established that bridges the gap between metahermeneutics and hermeneutical practice.

---

Der Artikel führt den überwiegend kritisch gerichteten Beitrag Thesen zur Philosophischen Hermeneutik, Internationale Zeitschrift für Philosophie 1993/1, 173–188 nach der konstruktiven und systematischen Seite hin weiter.     

On Variant Selection Mechanisms in Interactive MCDA – Engineering versus Reverse Engineering

In the paper, we focus on the engineering and the reverse engineering paradigms in the context of multiple criteria decision analysis. We argue and demonstrate that if variant selection mechanisms are reverse engineered, they are simple and intuitive to understand, making multiple criteria decision analysis marketable to operational research practitioners. We present a reverse engineering scheme for variant selection mechanisms, and we illustrate its working with instructive examples. We also present some experience with that scheme gathered when teaching a multiple criteria decision analysis course to students. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a Robust Multicriteria Classification Model for Monitoring the Postoperative Behaviour of Heart Patients

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia occurring in 2% of the general population, while the assuming projected incidence in 2050 will rise to 4.3%. This paper presents a multicriteria methodology for the development of a model for monitoring the post‐operative behaviour of patients who have received treatment for AF. The model classifies the patients in seven categories according to their relapse risk, on the basis of seven criteria related to the AF type and pathology conditions, the treatment received by the patients and their medical history. The analysis is based on an extension of the UTilités Additives DIScriminantes (UTADIS) method, through the introduction of a two‐stage model development procedure that minimizes the number and the magnitude of the misclassifications. The analysis is based on a sample of 116 patients who had pulmonary veins isolation in a Greek public hospital. The classification accuracy of the best fitted models scores between 71% and 84%. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The contributions of multi‐criteria decision making to the development of decision support systems subspecialties: an empirical investigation

This study focuses on examining the structure of decision support systems (DSS) research, with a particular emphasis on assessing the contributions of multi‐criteria decision making (MCDM) to the development of each of the DSS subspecialty areas. This study traces how concepts and findings by researchers in the MCDM area have been picked up by DSS researchers to be applied, extended and refined in the development of DSS research subspecialties. In doing so, factor analysis is applied to an author cocitation frequency matrix derived from a large database file of comprehensive DSS literature. This study concludes that researchers in the MCDM area have made crucial contributions to the development of DSS research subspecialties. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Choice Behaviour in a Computer-Aided Multiattribute Decision Task

Choice behaviour in an interactive multiple-criteria decision-making environment was examined experimentally. The main purpose was to investigate whether subjects are more comfortable in processing criterion/attribute information simultaneously (in parallel) or sequentially. As a research instrument, three different interactive software systems were used on a microcomputer by management students at the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration and the Institute of National Economy in Moscow to solve essentially the same problem of buying/leasing a home tailored to the respective decision environments. The experiments also provided us with a possibility to learn useful lessons about how human subjects make computer-supported choices. The results of the experiments are discussed. Furthermore, questions for future research are suggested. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ranking water resource projects and evaluating criteria by multicriterion Q-analysis: an Austrian case study

A multicriterion decision-making (MCDM) concept is applied not only to provide possible solutions for a hydroecological problem but also to shed light on the discriminating capabilities of criteria. The aim is to identify a subset of a given set of criteria used to seek a satisfactory solution among several possible water resource projects being designed for the Austrian part of the Danube between Vienna and the Slovakian border. In this section the Danube is still a free-flowing river and possesses a high ecological value. There are three conflicting interests relative to this particular area, namely economic, ecological and sociological interests. The so-called multicriterion Q-analysis (MCQA) technique is applied to generate more effective discussions between conflicting groups than there have been in the past. The most preferred alternatives from among 12 possible projects, including several different hydroelectric power stations and National Park plans, are to be identified. The MCQA procedure is implemented to analyse the water resource projects with emphasis on criterion evaluation. In order to facilitate ranking alternatives, criteria with discriminating power have to be defined. For this purpose a new concept, MCQA-III, is developed and shown to be a useful tool to distinguish between important and less important criteria. MCQA techniques are based on Q-analysis, which describes the geometrical structure of the relationship between two finite sets, here the set of projects and the set of criteria. By using MCQA-I, MCQA-II and MCQA-III, a ranking of both alternatives and criteria is obtained. The MCQA-III procedure is applied to find an order among criteria which should give us more information on their importance for ranking alternatives, leading to a possible reduction of the number of criteria. This aspect plays a central role for an institution which must base its decision on a small but highly informative set of criteria. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensitivity analysis with interdependent criteria for multicriteria decision making: The case of soil pollution treatment

This paper is focused on interdependences between criteria in multicriteria decision analyses. Such interdependences are usually ignored in sensitivity analyses. After a discussion on the nature of interdependences, methods are presented to deal with interdependences in the context of Monte Carlo experiments. These methods are applied in the context of soil pollution treatment alternatives. It is shown that ignoring interdependences may have a distorting effect on the results of sensitivity analysis on rankings of alternatives.     

多维效标测量的构成

通过为某机床企业销售员制定一套自我绩效评定迫选量表,收集判断性效标测量和非判断性效标测量,研究判断性效标测量和非判断性效标测量与自我绩效评定迫选量表中各工作行为的关系,验证了两个假设：(1)任一效标测量不可能与所有有效工作行为显著相关;(2)在效标测量中,既应采用判断性效标测量,也应采用非判断性效标测量,二者互相补充,不可替代。