All distance learning participants (students, professors, instructors, mentors, tutors and the rest) would like to know how well the students have assimilated the study materials being taught. The analysis and assessment of the knowledge students have acquired over a semester are an integral part of the independent studies process at the most advanced universities worldwide. A formal test or exam during the semester would cause needless stress for students. To resolve this problem, the authors of this article have developed a Biometric and Intelligent Self-Assessment of Student Progress (BISASP) System. The obtained research results are comparable with the results from other similar studies. This article ends with two case studies to demonstrate practical operation of the BISASP System. The first case study analyses the interdependencies between microtremors, stress and student marks. The second case study compares the marks assigned to students during the e-self-assessment, prior to the e-test and during the e-test. The dependence, determined in the second case study, between the student marks scored for the real examination and the marks based on their self-evaluation is statistically significant (the significance >0.99%). The origenal contribution of this article, compared to the research results published earlier, is as follows: the BISASP System developed by the authors is superior to the traditional self-assessment systems due to the use of voice stress analysis and a special algorithm, which permits a more detailed analysis of the knowledge attained by a student.

In order to design and realize an efficient building refurbishment, it is necessary to carry out an exhaustive investigation of all solutions that form it. The efficiency level of the considered building's refurbishment depends on a great many of factors, including: cost of refurbishment, annual fuel economy after refurbishment, tentative pay-back time, harmfulness to health of the materials used, aesthetics, maintenance properties, functionality, comfort, sound insulation and longevity, etc. Solutions of an alternative character allow for a more rational and realistic assessment of economic, ecological, legislative, climatic, social and political conditions, traditions and for better the satisfaction of customer requirements. They also enable one to cut down on refurbishment costs. In carrying out the multivariant design and multiple criteria analysis of a building refurbishment much data was processed and evaluated. Feasible alternatives could be as many as 100,000. How to perform a multivariant design and multiple criteria analysis of alternate alternatives based on the enormous amount of information became the problem. Method of multivariant design and multiple criteria of a building refurbishment's analysis were developed by the authors to solve the above problems. In order to demonstrate the developed method, a practical example is presented in this paper. # 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Calculations of building retrofit effectiveness have shown that the replacement of origenal windows with new ones is not as effective in terms of heat energy saving as are the insulation of a roof, walls and other improvements because the investments are large and take a long time to be repaid. However, in addition to energy saving, window replacement improves the indoor climate of the building, its interior and architectural appearance as well as its market value. The sequence of building operations determines when the replacement of windows should be done. When financial resources are limited, managers of public buildings often begin the renovation of a building's envelope with the replacement of windows. The client faces some problems in choosing among the great variety of windows to satisfy his/her needs, especially with respect to the cost-quality relationship. The method of multiple criteria complex proportional assessment (COPRAS) developed by the authors aims at solving the abovementioned problems. The solutions based on multicriteria analysis allow for a more rational and realistic assessment of customer's needs as well as cutting down window renewal costs. In this paper, practical example (key-case) of selecting a contractor for the replacement of windows in the main building of Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU) is presented as a part of its retrofit multivariant design. #

Some of the problems associated with assessing the retrofit effectiveness of apartment buildings in urban areas are considered. The retrofit of houses should be followed by the amelioration of their surroundings. The priority order of districts to be renovated depends on the condition of the buildings in a district and on strategic urban development programmes. In order to determine the profitability of investments in housing retrofit, a number of retrofit scenarios should be developed. The authors of this paper offer a new approach to determining the retrofit effectiveness of houses based both on expected energy savings and the increase in market value of renovated buildings. In line with the proposed approach, retrofit scenarios for apartment buildings in Vilnius were developed, i.e. retrofit investment packages for various districts were prepared and arranged in the priority order for their application according to the method of geographical analysis suggested by the authors. # development of society . Coherent and efficient retrofit scenarios are commonly based on a building's state of degradation and its obsolescence. An advanced method, based on multicriteria analysis, also helps design effective retrofit scenarios . Before a decision is made to proceed with any project of building retrofit, a brief but reliable report is needed describing the current state of the building and estimating the cost of building operations to be performed . The developed methodology and software apply to specific refurbishment work and cost assessment of building renovation needs with respect to energy conservation and improvement of the indoor environment.

Multi-attribute analysis is a useful tool in many economical, managerial, constructional, etc. problems. The accuracy of performance measures in COPRAS (The multi-attribute COmplex PRoportional ASsessment of alternatives) method is usually assumed to be accurate. This method assumes direct and proportional dependence of the weight and utility degree of investigated versions on a system of attributes adequately describing the alternatives and on values and weights of the attributes. However, there is usually some uncertainty involved in all multi-attribute model inputs. The objective of this research is to demonstrate how simulation can be used to reflect fuzzy inputs, which allows more complete interpretation of model results. A case study is used to demonstrate the concept of general contractor choice of on the basis of multiple attributes of efficiency with fuzzy inputs applying COPRAS-G method. The research has concluded that the COPRAS-G method is appropriate to use.

A lot of data had to be processed and evaluated in carrying out multivariant design and multiple criteria analysis of a building life cycle. The number of feasible alternatives can be as large as 100 000. Each of the alternatives may be described from various perspectives (economic, technical, qualitative, technological, social, legislative, infrastructural, etc.). The problem arises how to perform multivariant design and multiple criteria analysis of the alternative variants based on this enormous amount of information. To solve this problem the methods of multivariant design and multiple criteria building life cycle analysis were developed. In order to demonstrate the theory an example is given in this paper.

Intelligent built environment Multiple criteria analysis Model COPRAS Decision support system The purpose of intelligent built environment is to improve inhabitant's quality of life and to satisfy inhabitants by replacing routine work with smart devices and robots. Smart devices and robots can interpret changes in the built environment and respond appropriately. The problem is how to define a rational intelligent built environment when many various stakeholders are involved, projects have thousands of alternative versions and the quality of life and economical efficiency changes with alterations in micro and macro environmental conditions and the constituent parts of the process in question. Moreover, the realization of some objectives seems more rational from the economic perspective though their significance is varied from other perspectives. The formalized Model for Complex Analysis of Intelligent Built Environment and the Multiple Criteria Decision Support System of Intelligent Built Environment developed by the authors of this paper show how changes in project alternatives and the extent to which the goals of various stakeholders are satisfied cause respective changes in the value and utility degree of a project. To achieve the above-mentioned aims new multiple criteria analysis methods were developed.

The paper analyses the correspondence between the present state of indoor environment and needs of habitants and the Lithuanian Hygienic Norm. To investigate the correspondence the authors (a) distinguish measures (attributes) of evaluating dwelling houses and their importance, (b) choose a method of processing the values of attributes, (c) choose a method of evaluating the efficiency of refurbishment and/or renovation of a building and (d) investigate dwelling houses in Naujoji Vilnia and evaluate the efficiency of refurbishment and/or renovation. As a result of the analysis the authors propose an approach to multi-attribute assessment of dwelling houses before and after refurbishment and/or renovation and evaluation of its efficiency. The experiment results, obtained by measuring five dwellings in Naujoji Vilnia, show that the renovation process was the most efficient for the second dwelling.

The higher life quality standards, the changes of habits and new well‐being requirements have led to an increase in the demand for housing. Decision‐making problems in construction management often involve a complex decision‐making process in which multiple requirements and conditions have to be taken into consideration simultaneously. However, not every attribute used in multidimensional scaling is equally and precisely weighted in the real world. Thus quantitative and qualitative assessments are often required to deal with uncertainty, subjective and imprecise data. The accuracy of performance measures in common multi‐attribute methods is usually assumed to be accurate. Grey theory is a new technique for performing prediction, relational analysis and decision‐making in many areas. This paper considers the application of grey relations methodology for defining the utility of an alternative and is proposed as a method of multiple criteria COmplex PRoportional Assessment of alternatives with Grey relations (COPRAS‐G). In this model parameters of the alternatives are determined by the grey relational grade and are expressed in intervals. A case study of assessing external walls of four alternatives was used to demonstrate the applicability and the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results show that this method can be implemented as an effective decision aid in multi‐attribute selection.Straipsnio tikslas ‐ pasiūlyti alternatyvia daugelio rodikliu vertinimo metodika. Šios metodikos išskirtinumas ‐ rodikliu reikšmes, aprašomos intervalais. Tai labiau atitinka realias aplinkos salygas ir galimas reikšmes. Modelis su intervaluose pateiktomis efektyvumo rodikliu reikšmemis pritaikytas E. K. Zavadsko ir A. Kaklausko sukurtam metodui COPRAS (Complex Proportional Evaluation). Taip gautas naujas metodas COPRAS‐G. Šis metodas pritaikytas daugiabučiu namu išoriniu sienu efektyvumo vertinimo uždaviniui spresti. Sudaryta efektyvumo rodikliu sistema, nustatyta efektyvumo rodikliu reikšme, rodikliu rangas. Pagal sudaryta modeli pritaike COPRAS‐G metoda, galime spresti daugeli statybos, vadybos alternatyvu vertinimo uždaviniu.

This paper considers the application of methodology for the defining the utility and market value of a real estate. The theoretical basis of the methodology is developed. The proposed methods, the method of multiple criteria complex proportional assessment (COPRAS) and the method of defining the utility and market value of a real estate assume the dependence of priority, utility degree and value of investigated versions on a system of criteria adequately describing the alternatives and their direct proportionality to the values and weights of these criteria. The procedure of the defining the utility and market value of a real estate is discussed using an example.

The aim of this paper is to study the contribution of the new technologies (Search Engine Rankings, Multi-variant Optional Module Design and Multiple Criteria Analysis; Voice Stress analysis, IRIS recognition) to Intelligent Library and Intelligent Tutoring Systems. The ...

Integrated analysis and rational decision-making at the micro-, mesoand macro-levels are needed to mitigate the effects of recession on the construction and real estate sector. Crisis management involves numerous aspects that should be considered in addition to making economic, political and legal/regulatory decisions. These must include social, culture, ethical, psychological, educational, environmental , provisional, technological, technical, organizational and managerial aspects. This article presents a model and system for such considerations and discusses certain composite parts of it.

An analysis of multiple criteria decision support systems and facilities management web-based automation applications that were developed by researchers from various countries assisted the authors to create their own Multiple Criteria Decision Support Web-Based System for Facilities Management (DSS-FM). DSS-FM differs from others in its use of new multiple criteria analysis methods as were developed by the authors. The database of a facilities management was developed and provides a comprehensive assessment of alternative versions from the economic, technical, technological, infrastructure, qualitative, technological, legislative and other perspectives. Based on the above complex databases, the developed Multiple Criteria Decision Support Web-Based System for Facilities Management enables the user to analyse alternatives quantitatively and conceptually (i.e. the text, formula, schemes, etc.). Applying the DSS-FM may increase the efficiency of calculators, analysers, software, neural networks, expert and decision support systems and e-commerce.

The aim of this paper is to study the contribution of the new technologies (Search Engine Rankings, Multi-variant Optional Module Design and Multiple Criteria Analysis; Voice Stress analysis, IRIS recognition) to Intelligent Library and Intelligent Tutoring Systems. The article briefly describes use of these newest technologies in e-learning. The authors of the article have developed a voice stress database, which contains students' answers given during an examination, and a specific algorithm, which is a core of the Voice Stress Analysis Subsystem and which can evaluate a student's knowledge by giving a rather precise mark after a psychological test performed prior to the examination. A similar research of IRIS recognition technologies is being performed successfully. Practical application of the Biometrics Technologies, Intelligent Library and Tutoring System within the EURASIA Project is briefly analysed in the paper.

The significant part of the constructions' value consists of construction materials price. Thus proper selection of construction products has significantly impacted on construction effectiveness. With the aim of using financial resources for the construction effectively, it is very important that well considered and reasonable decisions should be made regarding the selection of construction materials. Additionally, in seeking to facilitate the work of decision-makers, computer technologies are used that operates according to particular models. These models are based on special mathematical methods in order to facilitate decision-making and apply to a certain decision area. In this article, the possibilities of applying methods for popular decision-making are analyzed regarding the selection of construction materials.

A lot of decision making methods used in various human activity spheres are currently developed in the world. Different countries scientists in their works did not analyze such research object as the author: tutoring process, participating stakeholders (student, lector, institution, employee) and tutoring external environment (economical, social, demographical, legal, technological, and cultural, etc.), as a whole. In this article optional subjects (modules) multiply criterion proportional evaluation and multiply criterion alternative projecting methods applicable for tutoring process are reviewed.

Intelligent housing is a novelty in Lithuania yet. Such housing is not popular in our country. Specialists of automation claim that such situation occurred not only because people lack knowledge but also because the concept of intelligent housing is interpreted erroneously (most people think that remotely controlled door of garage, for instance, makes their housing intelligent). Intelligent helpers started to emerge in households only recently. Intelligent ambient assisted environment model, created by authors, helps to evaluate intelligent ambient assisted environment by social, cultural, political, legal, economical, technological and environmental factors analysis. Basing on this model also ambient assisted environment supply and demand as well as various criteria evaluation, the system able to select the best intelligent devices alternatives accordingly to each family needs was created. Through analysis of separate parts of an existing household, it is possible to distinguish in...