Chapters authored
Disaster Risk Assessment Developing a Perceived Comprehensive Disaster Risk Index: The Cases of Three Chilean Cities
A significant increase in the impacts caused by extreme events, of both natural and anthropogenic origin, has been observed in recent decades at a global scale. Chile is no exception to this dynamic. Hazards of various origins and their interactions with socioeconomic, urban, and demographic changes, combined with governance issues have led to a significant risk increase. An accurate assessment of this risk is a significantly complex problem and a holistic approach is required. To address this issue, a multi‐criteria decision model has been designed, using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), which includes qualitative and quantitative variables. The model can be adapted to different contexts, generating a comparable metrics (commensurable) for different cities. The three cities analyzed in this study (Iquique, Puerto Montt, and Puerto Varas) show different levels of risks as a result of a synergic and dynamic combination of factors related not only with natural and physical conditions but also particularly with the variables related to social vulnerability and resilience capacity.
Part of the book: Applications and Theory of Analytic Hierarchy Process
Measuring in Weighted Environments: Moving from Metric to Order Topology (Knowing When Close Really Means Close)
This chapter addresses the problem of measuring closeness in weighted environments (decision-making environments). This chapter show the importance of having a trustworthy cardinal measure of proximity in weighted environments. A weighted environment is a nonisotropic structure where different directions (axes) may have different importance (weight), thus there exist privilege directions. In this kind of structure, it would be very important to have a cardinal reliable index that can say the closeness or compatibility of a set of measures of one individual with respect to the group or to anyone other. Common examples of this structure are the interaction between factors in a decision-making process (system-values interaction), matching profiles, pattern recognition, and any situation where a process of measurement with qualitative variables is involved.
Part of the book: Applications and Theory of Analytic Hierarchy Process