Book Series: Systems Evaluation, Prediction and Decision-Making

Now an Open-End Book Series of Monographs

Edited by Yi Lin
Published by CRC Press, an imprint of Taylor and Francis, since 2008
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Editorial Board

If you are interested in publishing in this book series, please contact the editor of the series at jeffrey.forrest@sru.edu.

1. Aim

The goal of this research book series is to present in monograph form the most recent scientific achievements in the following areas:

• Evaluation of management practice
• Unconventional methods of prediction and forecasting
• Decision-making theories regarding various managerial scenarios

The books published in this series will crystallize widely cited works—originally published as research articles—into cohesive theories. The series emphasizes theories, methods, and modeling techniques developed to deal with various real-life management situations and predictions of disastrous events involving uncertainties. Due to inevitable uncertainties, brand new theories, methods and modeling techniques are called for.

2. Scope

This book series will contain two catenae. One catena focuses on the theories and methodologies of systems evaluations, predictions and decision-making; the other stresses the practical applications of these theories and methodologies.

3. How to Cover the Aim and Scope

Herbert A. Simon believes that all managerial activities consist of decision-making, which is also the main problem of economics and management. In today’s extremely competitive marketplace, firms and individuals often face complicated decisions involving various kinds of uncertainties needing analyzed. These uncertainties include stochasticities, fuzziness, favoritism, roughness, greyness, etc. Unfortunately, decisions usually must be made in a timely manner, despite these uncertainties. This scenario exists throughout management science, information science, systems science, computer science, knowledge engineering, reliability technology and many other areas of learning.

The foundation of decision-making is evaluation. When faced with situations involving uncertainties, the most important task is to make an objective evaluation or diagnosis in order to understand the decision-making environment. However, all practical decision-making environments are dynamic and evolutionary. Only with scientific predictions can one make the most appropriate decisions. Evaluation, prediction and decision-making are indispensable components in the current theories of economics, management and related applied research.

The authors of the first eight monographs in this book series are associates and members of the grey systems research group at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The team of scholars is ranked first in Jiangsu Province, China for its scientific achievements and practical success in real-life applications. In recent years, the group was awarded and completed over 40 joint projects, aiding economic and social growth. Most of these projects were from international, national, provincial, and ministerial funding agencies of great honor and prestige. As of today, the group has published over 300 research articles in renowned professional journals and over 20 monographs. Their strengths include theoretical and applied areas of evaluations, predictions, decision-making and modeling techniques under the influence of uncertainties. In terms of practical management and related areas, the work and theoretical discoveries of the research group have been successfully employed during the recent Chinese economic boom.

For theoretical studies and practical applications, the research team focused on quantitative methods and modeling techniques, the tight association between theory and practice, and extracting scientific problems in practical areas of applications. They also employed their newly established theories and methods to resolve physical problems, allowing newly discovered theoretical results to be tested and creating economic benefits.

Through many years of theoretical and applied research, this team has produced a great amount of new knowledge in systems evaluation, prediction and decision-making; they have also accumulated a respectable quantity of results in quantified theoretical studies and practical applications. These research outcomes have broadened the applications of evaluations, predictions and decision-making involving uncertainties in practical managerial situations.

Based on the team’s research content and their outcomes, the results can be organized into the following two catenae: (1) the catena on theoretical and methodological research and (2) the catena on applications in various managerial situations. The first catena, the theoretical and methodological aspect, contains monographs focusing on the evaluation, prediction and decision-making of problems with uncertainty, such as grey systems, grey games, irregularities and major disasters, hybrid rough sets, unascertained group decision-making, etc. The second catena, which is on the applied studies in management practices, emphasizes the areas of systems evaluations, predictions and decision-making when used in managerial situations, such as the theory and applications of transferring science and technology, the optimization of regional industrial structures, the evaluation and empirical verification of scientific activity efficiency, etc.

This book series will highlight quantitative methods and modeling techniques while also displaying close associations between theories and practical applications. The monographs will offer many different kinds of scientific, regularized methods and tools for managerial problems encountered in practical situations that require evaluation, prediction and decision-making involving uncertainties. The series aims to resolve many kinds of evaluation, prediction and decision-making problems that may potentially be encountered in a management practices. Each monograph will thoroughly explain the theoretical foundations of various computer software packages, if available, and also contain many case studies from various practical applications.