Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)

One of the most fundamental executive policies of governments during development programs is creating balanced regional development. Regional inequalities are cited as reasons for growing social unrests, political instabilities, and disintegration. In Iran, these inequalities have been growing at an alarming rate leading to serious problems. So, analysis of development level of regions and consequently, identifying interregional and intraregional inequalities is of great importance in the way of adopting appropriate development policies. The aim of this study is evaluating development level of sub-provinces of Iran and exploring existent inequalities. A system of 54 indicators of different dimensions of regional development was constructed and submitted to Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) for this purpose. Analysis of Coefficient of Variation (CV) was also applied to reveal regional inequalities about different dimensions of development. The results of this research showed that there are obvious differentiations among sub-provinces in development level. In addition, spatial distribution of sub-provinces with regards development level indicates that an intensive system of core and periphery exists in the country. So, it is necessary to reduce regional inequalities in Iran to pave way for greater national integration, increase in economic growth and more political stability. 

The technological revolution has spread over today's world, and it is clearly seen in banking, especially electronic banking. E-Banking has many dimensions, criteria, and components, and judging its progress based on dimensions leads to difficulty and bias. There is also a lack of comprehensive information references in the literature. Therefore, introducing a combinational index to accurately assess its progress is inevitable. In this research, the E-Banking Progress Index (E-BPI), which focuses on the infrastructures and the tools of e-banking and has five dimensions: Technical and Communicational Infrastructures; Services; Cultural-Educational Infrastructures; Security and Supervision; and Legal-Regulatory Infrastructures is created. It also has several applications in investigating the progress of e-banking in a bank or a country and comparing it among banks or countries. This research, using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), leads to the introduction of a combinational index to measure the progress of e-banking, which is able to analyze its strength and weakness. E-BPI provides a score between 0 and 1. The more the score, the stronger the e-banking is.

BACKGROUND: Timely delivery of emergency care and reducing the transmission time of injured people to health centers is very effective in reducing the number of deaths and injuries in accidents. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factors affecting road traffic accident relief in Iran with an emphasis on air transport. METHODS: The present study was performed through resorting to Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM) statistical techniques and operation research like analytic hierarchy process (AHP) by means of establishing hierarchy process, pairwise comparisons, combining weights, analyzing sensitivity, and ranking method, which were compatible with the research methods and type of variables. The study population consisted of 3759 managers, faculty members, experts in the field of rescue, and relief, and traffic users. 349 participants were selected using Cochran sampling method. They answered a researcher-made questionnaire about the factors affecting road traffic accident relief in Iran, which validity and reliability were approved. The collected data and research hypotheses were considered through statistical test. Expert Choice software was used to facilitate the process of research. RESULTS: Human factors, equipment factors, managerial factors, and environmental conditions criteria with relative weights of 0.3810, 0.3738, 0.2149, and 0.0303, respectively, had the highest effect on human casualties in rescue operations. Assessment of sub-criteria showed that the lack of a functional structure and appropriate organization to lead rescue operations, emergency and hospital personnel with lack of enough expertise and skill, and delays in rescue and increase in the time of rescue had the first places of importance, respectively. Finally, prioritizing rescue operations based on the type of transportation indicated that air emergency, ground emergency, and Red Crescent rescue and relief, had respectively the first, second, and third places in affecting the decrease in human casualties. CONCLUSION: Lack of expertise and skills of staff, equipment failure, and lack of systematic structure in relief systems have increased damage to the injured, and by creating substructure, air rescue is a priority in reducing human casualties compared to land relief.

INTRODUCTION: Natural hazards, especially earthquakes, have resulted in mass casualties and damages in different parts of Iran. Therefore, it is necessary to take required measures in relation to risk reduction, preparedness and coping with earthquake effects. Regarding the fact that resilience is a relatively new concept, despite the great attention to this term and its abundant application in different fields, measuring the level of earthquake resilience, as well as creating and improving it in urban settlements is a challenging necessity. METHODS: The review of literature was carried out first and the physical resilience indicators were deduced. Subsequently, a questionnaire was prepared for experts with the aim of weighting and prioritizing the indicators. Then the weight of them was calculated using the Expert Choice software and AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process). After weighing, the indicators were prioritized. In the next step, the required information layers were prepared in accordance with the inferred indices in GIS software. After preparing the required layers and maps, a fuzzy function was used to standardize. Then, the weight of the layers was multiplied in the standardized indicators, and after calculating the layers, the final map of the physical resilience of Karaj City, Iran, against earthquake was prepared and analyzed. FINDINGS: Karaj City is one of the most vulnerable areas to earthquake due to its place located in the southern slopes of Alborz and on active faults. According to the maps prepared in this paper, large areas of Karaj City, especially in the central regions, have formed vulnerable places, which in the event of an earthquake, will have huge casualties and damages in the urban areas. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that the physical resilience of the living environment within the case study should be in accordance with the prioritization obtained in the article: 1) infrastructures, 2) buildings, 3) urban structure and 4) land use and natural factors. Also, spatial priorities should be observed in promoting urban resilience in accordance with the final map.

INTRODUCTION: Medical centers are directly involved in health of the individual and society and quick and cheap access to these centers in urban communities is of great importance. In providing urban services, considering some principles, including the principles of passive defense in structures, increases the efficiency of the urban system in the area of provision of better services to citizens and also the development of a sustainable city. This study aims to address the spatial analysis of medical centers in Omidiyeh City, Iran, based on the passive defense principles. METHODS: The present study was applied in terms of purpose and descriptive-analytical in terms of nature and method. The data collection method included the library and survey studies. The technique used in the analysis was also the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) based on the experts’ opinion and a pairwise comparison between the indicators in the geographic information system (GIS). FINDINGS: Combining the layers of population density, land use, communication network, medical centers, distance from industrial centers, and distance from fire stations as well as creating the final map, a suitable area for medical centers was identified. CONCLUSION: The study findings indicated that the distribution pattern of the health centers in Omidiyeh is not in accordance with the principles and criteria of passive defense and the establishment of new urban medical centers using the GIS capabilities in the city can be useful in providing services to citizens.

The purpose of this study is identify factors affecting the tourism industry in Iran and prioritize them by the AHP method.There are 4 main factors and 8 indicators that affect these factors. Of course, it should be pointed out that these factors may vary according to the culture and politics of different countries. The five main factors in terms of prioritization are as follows: 1. Policy and institutional factors, 2. Economic factor  ,  3. Organizational factor, 4. Social and cultural factors. The main factor is Policy and institutional. Therefore, according to these studies, the main factor that managers and investors must understand government policies about the tourism industry before making any decisions in this industry and make their decisions based on them so that they will not fail in the future. But, the least value is about Social and cultural, but this does not mean that it should be ignored. Each of the above factors should be considered in its place, and the lack of attention to any of these may put the tourist industry in recession.This research can help you better decide on the development of the tourism industry and advancement in this industry and provide the basis for future research.