DA around the World
Column Editors: Chen (Mavis) Wang and Matthias Seifert
In this column we introduce Decision Analysis communities around the world with the purpose of promoting their visibility and strengthening the ties between DA researchers and practitioners across borders. In the current issue we would like to summarize two exciting events that took place during the summer break. The first one relates to the DA cluster at the 2016 International INFORMS meeting in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii, which was coordinated by Vicki Bier and John Celona. The second one is a wrap up of the International Decision Conferencing Forum (IDCF), which was hosted by Carlos Bana e Costa, Ana Vieira, Mónica Oliveira and João Lourenço in Lisbon, Portugal. For any enquiries or follow up information on these two events, please do not hesitate to contact the responsible organizers (contact details are provided below).
2016 INFORMS International Conference Review
The 2016 INFORMS International Conference was held from June 12-15 in Hawaii, a wonderful place with unparalleled scenic beauty and cultural heritage. About 1,000 researchers and practitioners were attracted to the conference and presented topics covering a full range of operations research and analytics.
Vicki Bier (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and John Celona (Decision Analysis Associates) coordinated the Decision Analysis cluster at the conference, which consisted of the following seven sessions.
- Foundations and Applications of Satiation Preferences (Session chair: Manel Baucells)
- Deterrence Analysis (Richard John)
- Decision Analysis Arcade (John Celona)
- Behavioral Decision making: Methods and Applications (Yitong Wang)
- Trade-offs in Prescriptive Applications of Decision Analysis (Jay Simon)
- Legal Applications of Decision Analysis (John Celona)
- Revisiting the Foundations of Decision Analysis (Salvatore Greco and Fabio Maccheroni)
“The cluster was held at a fabulous location, but was also a fabulous experience,” Vicki said. “First, it was truly international, with session chairs from Australia and Italy in addition to the U.S., and speakers and attendees from a number of other countries, especially in Asia. So, the event provided an excellent opportunity for international exchange.”
“The cluster also covered an interesting and varied set of topics. For example, we had sessions on legal applications of decision analysis, on how to model satiation preferences in utility theory, and on foundations of decision analysis, among others. With seven sessions spread out over four days, the cluster was busy enough to give attendees a stimulating intellectual experience, but not so busy that they couldn't enjoy the sights in Hawaii and sample sessions from other clusters.”
She also added, “I especially want to thank my cluster co-chair, John Celona of Decision Analysis Associates in California, for helping to organize the cluster, chairing a couple of sessions, and giving an interesting presentation on the use of decision analysis in litigation.”
The following pictures show DAS members at the conference presentations and with the fabulous scenery in sunny and breezy Hawaii.
Co-chairs Vicki Bier & John Celona
Conference Venue: The Hilton Waikoloa Village
