A procedure is presented to evaluate the appropriateness of alternative methodologies for analyzing a specified problem. This procedure is illustrated by identifying desirable characteristics of nuclear power plant site selection methodologies and evaluating the adequacy of methodologies that...

Choices that require multiple stakeholders to balance conflicting objectives are among today's most controversial decisions. Although many techniques exist for helping decision makers to select among projects, little attention has been given to processes for identifying improved alternatives...

This paper addresses the problem of constructing a group cardinal social welfare function whose arguments are the individual utility functions of group members. Representation theorems are given which show that the social welfare function is restricted to special forms if certain "reasonable"...