Fuzzy delphi method: Issues and challenges
The Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) is the modified and enhanced version of the classical Delphi technique. Improvement was made to rectify the imperfection of traditional Delphi Method (DM) that leads to low convergence in retrieving outcomes, loss of important information, and long progress of investigation. Nevertheless, this approach has been employed in various application domains, including humanities, management, business, physical science, and engineering. Furthermore, the literature has exposed numerous key issues in relation to the existing FDM that need to be resolved with regard to the classical DM. Hence, the analysis obtained from the existing literature highlighted two key issues, which were; i) most FDM ignored certain important characteristics of DM, and ii) lack of explanation on how FDM obtained controlled feedback with the lack of iteration process. Additionally, it was observed that there had been lack of comparison between decision outcomes obtained based on FDM and the decision outcomes obtained from the traditional DM.
A Systematic Review of the Delphi–AHP Method in Analyzing Challenges to Public-Sector Project Procurement and the Supply Chain: A Developing Country’s Perspective
The effectiveness of public-sector agricultural development projects in developing countries lies not only in their contributions to agricultural sector growth but also in their contributions to environmental and socioeconomic system growth. As a result, the challenges associated with project procurement and supply chain management need to be carefully analyzed and evaluated. Although there has been reasonable literature on procurement and supply chain management, the limitations include the following: The literature, especially focusing on the analytical methodology, is scarce, as is the case with the developing country public-sector project context. This study, in its own modest way, contributes to this gap. Thus, the goal of this paper is to critically examine the Delphi and/or analytical hierarchy process (AHP), as well as their application and appropriateness in analyzing the challenges in the Bangladesh context, from relevant literature published between 2000 and 2019. A systematic review was carried out using the ABI/Inform, EBSCO, Google Scholar, and Science Direct databases for the study. The review of 2071 articles yielded 37 articles for the study. The Delphi and/or AHP were the most applied tools found in the review. Finally, the study examined 18 articles that applied Delphi and/or AHP methods. The review findings contribute to the literature by providing academics and practitioners with an understanding of the appropriateness of the Delphi-based AHP research framework for analyzing challenges to procurement and supply chain management in public-sector agriculture projects. Following that, a novel best-practice research framework based on the Delphi–AHP method is presented.
Exponential stabilization of an axially moving string with geometrical nonlinearity by linear boundary feedback
This paper addresses the vibration suppression problem of an axially moving string using boundary control. Taking into account large transverse motion of the string via the second-order component of Lagrangian strain, a nonlinear oscillation equation is derived for the problem by employing the Hamilton's Principle. Direct Lyapunov method is then adopted to demonstrate that a linear boundary control of negative speed feedback ensures the vibration response of the moving string exponentially stable. The main contributions are a new stability condition in terms of controller gain parameter, and a detailed demonstration on the equilibrium condition at the boundary where the control is applied.