Models and Methods for Supporting Decision-Making in Human Health and Environment Protection : Design Principles, Applications and Controversies

This book aims to present models and methods for objective analysis associated with human health and environment protection. The content deals mainly with specific models based on statistics, operational research and mathematical logic, as well as the need for developing efficient software. Other books have approached the themes covered in this volume. However, they do not simultaneously include statistics, operations research, and computing aspects needed for developing efficient decision support procedures. Under this perspective, the concept behind the organization of this work is to provide a reference for exploring models, explaining features and interpreting aspects in detail as well as training the readers to fit them in practice. This collection describes not only the models, but also presents real applications based on the authors' experiences. The model-based analysis, the software procedures and the real study cases emphasize the relevance of both theoretical and practical expertise. The readership target groups are graduate students or researchers in statistics, operations research, and computing; professionals dealing with psychometric, social, biomedical, and pedagogical sciences. The first five chapters address statistic issues applied to human health and environment protection. The next four chapters concern the use of mathematical logic to improve modelling and decision-making. The last five chapters deal with operational research. Moreover, readers interested in more advanced topics will obtain references for consulting contemporary literature on several themes.