iDecide: supporting inclusive decision-making in European schools

iDecide is a KA3 - Support for policy reform project with partners from public and private sectors- from Cyprus, Romania, Greece, Ireland and Portugal. iDecide was conceptualised with the aim of supporting school leaders and teachers in their efforts marginalised groups, and to support their learning in their everyday decision-making. The iDecide toolkit supports the decision-making processes that the majority of schools face every day in all aspects of school life (visits and excursions, school projects, parental involvement, school canteen, homework, students’ council etc). The iDecide toolkit has the capacity to provide teachers and school leaders with practical guidelines for these common decisions in straightforward, simple language. It also gives school leaders the opportunity to retrieve pupils’ and parents' opinions through online polls and forum discussions. This short paper describes the iDecide toolkit functions.     

Risk management: a competitive advantage in the purchasing function

This paper aims to explore the purchasing function on behalf of the provider, when the purchasing takes the form of a request for proposals (RfP) from the client. A methodology for handling the bidding process is presented, illustrated by a case study from the IT sector. The proposed methodology places risk as a factor for the selection of the best and final offer of the provider in addition to the traditional decision factors: delivery time, product cost and performance. The method is supported by a structured corporate memory and a decision support system based on the analytical hierarchy process.     

Exploring the Role of Greece in the Development of Infrastructure Networks in Southeastern Europe

This article presents the role and perspectives of Greek policy regarding the development of extra-local-range infrastructure networks in the Southeastern Europe and Mediterranean region. A series of plans, projects and international agreements concerning the infrastructure of road, rail, maritime and air transport networks, freight villages, information and communication technologies, and oil and gas pipelines are analyzed. The intrasectoral (vertical) and intersectoral (horizontal) effects of those plans are examined with regard to the goals of strengthening Greek competitive position in the wider area, as well as to environmental sustainability and energy saving.     

The q-Bernstein basis as a q-binomial distribution

The q-Bernstein basis, used in the definition of the q-Bernstein polynomials, is shown to be the probability mass function of a q-binomial distribution. This distribution is defined on a sequence of zero–one Bernoulli trials with probability of failure at any trial increasing geometrically with the number of previous failures. A modification of this model, with the probability of failure at any trial decreasing geometrically with the number of previous failures, leads to a second q-binomial distribution that is also connected to the q-Bernstein polynomials. The q-factorial moments as well as the usual factorial moments of these distributions are derived. Further, the q-Bernstein polynomial B_n(f(t),q;x) is expressed as the expected value of the function f([X_n]_q/[n]_q) of the random variable X_n obeying the q-binomial distribution. Also, using the expression of the q-moments of X_n, an explicit expression of the q-Bernstein polynomial B_n(f_r(t),q;x), for f_r(t) a polynomial, is obtained.     

Determining attribute weights using mathematical programming

Group decisions are an important element of successful knowledge management in organizations. Such decisions are difficult to make, however, especially when they involve a large set of attributes that require decision-makers to develop rankings. This paper presents a goal programming model for determining constrained regression estimates of attribute weights. The model is developed using pair-wise comparison ratings that are derived by using triads of the attributes. In addition, metrics are presented for measuring individual and group consensus. A specific application to the health care industry is presented to illustrate results that are obtained from the model.