Decision support system for the environmental impact of e-business

Yi, Lan 2007. Decision support system for the environmental impact of e-business. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.

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Abstract

With less than half a century's development, e-business and the Information and Communication Technologies it relies on, have been growing rapidly. With an even shorter history than the technology itself, the study of its impact on the environment and sustainable development in general, is still in its infancy. A review of past literature has revealed that the problem is complex. Both negative and positive impacts have been identified. Traditional systematic approaches have been found to be insufficient for this research topic. To explore the relationship further, a new methodology is proposed in this thesis. In particular the main objective of this PhD study is to demonstrate and develop an Expert Decision Support System at the meso level, to simulate the relationship between e-business and the environment. In pursuit of this aim, results are presented of two surveys that were conducted to collect data and build a knowledge base. Analysis of the data using various techniques was considered, based on data mining technologies and Fuzzy Logic. The development of the Expert Decision Support System is then discussed, adopting a two-way simulation approach. The forward chain of the system is developed based on Decision Support System technology, with the heart of the system built on Neural Networks. Calculation, estimation and prediction of environmental indicator values based e-business indicators are conducted in this part. The backward chain is based on Expert System technology, where conditions and rules are presented to reach certain pre-defined environmental targets. An individual company should then be able to use this system within a certain industry, for example, to simulate its environmental performance by adopting or limiting Information and Communication technologies. A demonstration of how the system can be used and operated on various occasions for different purposes is presented, based on four application scenarios: predictions, simulations, comparisons and solutions. It is claimed that the results from the Expert Decision Support System, which ideally should be integrated into a company's financial system and other information management systems, will provide important information that could be incorporated into a company's strategic plans, action plans and technological reformation. The research presents a pilot study which tries to not only build a quantitative model but also to construct a decision support system to simulate this relationship in the real world. It is claimed that the work both extends research methodologies in this field and endows traditional Neural Network applications with new meanings and challenges.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Engineering
Subjects:	T Technology > TD Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
ISBN:	9781303208331
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Last Modified:	19 Mar 2016 23:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/54572

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