Abstract: The Covid19 disease, resulting from contamination by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, impacted on the economy, especially in the agricultural sector, which has become more susceptible to these impacts through the rise in costs that are not easily perceived. This study aims to analyze the impact on input acquisition costs, caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, in small family farms, from the perspective of the Total Cost Ownership (TCO) methodology. The methodology used in this research was a case study in 12 family farms, located in the southern region of Brazil, with data collected from April 2017 to March 2020. Four inputs common to all properties were analyzed. The results showed that there was an increase of 39.47% in the acquisition costs of inputs and a weighted average increase of 34.7%, which had a negative impact on the monetary result of family properties. It was concluded that the properties were affected by the effects of the pandemic with regard to the purchase of inputs, mainly with an increase in acquisition costs, due to the shortage of essential supplies for the basic operations of small rural properties.

Resumo: A doença Covid19, resultante da contaminação pelo vírus SARS-CoV-2, causou efeitos na economia, sobretudo no setor agrícola, que se tornou mais suscetível à elevação de custos não percebidos facilmente. Este estudo tem como objetivo analisar o impacto nos custos de aquisição de insumos, ocasionados pela pandemia do Covid-19, em pequenas propriedades rurais familiares, sob a ótica da metodologia Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). A metodologia empregada nesta investigação foi a do estudo de caso genérico em 12 propriedades rurais familiares, situadas na Região Sul do Brasil, com dados coletados entre abril de 2017 e março de 2020. Foram analisados quatro insumos comuns a todas as propriedades. Os resultados demonstraram que houve um acréscimo de 39,47% nos custos de aquisição dos insumos, equivalente a um aumento médio ponderado de 34,7%, o que impactou negativamente no resultado monetário das propriedades familiares. Concluiu-se que as propriedades foram afetadas pelos efeitos da pandemia no que se refere à compra de insumos, principalmente com o aumento dos custos de aquisição, em decorrência do desabastecimento dos suprimentos essenciais para as operações básicas das pequenas propriedades rurais.

Abstract Urban centers have been under a new concept of city. Smart Cities are, in a nutshell, organized communities that feature high communication technology and conscious investments in sustainability, providing dynamic and safe environments. This paper presents a methodology to assess and rank Smart Cities based on a multi-criteria decision-making process. Methodologies that do not consider a pondered approach and filter for specific goals are commonly found in the literature, once there is a great number of criteria involved in these analyses. This work proposes filtering the criteria, considering each specific evaluation and its objectives. Our methodology is based on a multi-criteria analysis and uses AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) to support the process of weights definition and MACBAC (Multi-Attributive Border Approximation Area Comparison) in an application with compensatory characteristics. Through this study, it is possible to conduct the assessment of Smart Cities according to its multiple contexts, viz. its location, decision-makers and the objectives of the analysis. All in all, this research presents novelty related to the organization of the evaluation in accord to the expected resolution and a pondered approach with reduced number of criteria, making the analysis very straightforward.

RESUMO A crescente demanda e a diminuição da disponibilidade de água com qualidade devido à degradação constituem um desafio para os gestores dos recursos hídricos. As águas subterrâneas são recursos hídricos importantes que, em geral, apresentam boa qualidade. Porém, a elevação da contaminação das águas subterrâneas, causada principalmente por atividades antropogênicas e uso do solo, coloca em risco a segurança hídrica. A avaliação dos recursos hídricos subterrâneos e as decisões tomadas para proteção contra a degradação fazem parte de um processo complexo. A avaliação de áreas vulneráveis ao risco de contaminação é uma análise essencial para o planejamento e gestão. Neste estudo, utilizou-se metodologia multicritério para proposição de um modelo de avaliação da vulnerabilidade ao risco de contaminação por meio de informações de poços que fornecem água para o abastecimento público, destacando-se as áreas mais impactadas pela ação antropogênica. Doze poços foram avaliados quanto aos critérios: índice GOD, nitrato, potencial hidrogeniônico, sólidos totais dissolvidos e coliformes totais. A aplicação do método de multicritério AHP e TOPSIS resultou na ordenação dos poços que estão mais vulneráveis e que necessitam de medidas de proteção e controle de degradação. Os poços que são considerados mais vulneráveis estão localizados em meio urbano; assim, pode-se inferir que estão sendo degradados por efluentes lançados no solo sem o devido tratamento.

ABSTRACT The growing demand and the declining availability of quality water due to degradation are a challenge for water resource managers. Groundwater is a vital water resource that is generally of good quality. However, with the increase of contamination caused mainly by anthropogenic activities, water safety is put at risk. The assessment in groundwater resources and decision-making to protect against degradation is a complex process. Assessing areas vulnerable to contamination risk is an essential analysis for planning and management. In this study, we used the multi-criteria methodology to propose a model for assessing vulnerability to contamination risk through information from wells that provide water for public supply, highlighting the areas most impacted by anthropogenic action. Twelve wells were evaluated under the following criteria: GOD index, nitrate, hydrogen potential, total dissolved solids, and total coliforms. The application of the AHP and TOPSIS multi-criteria methods resulted in the ordering of the wells that are most vulnerable and that need protection and degradation control measures. The wells that are considered more vulnerable are located in urban areas, so it can be inferred that they are being degraded by activities by effluents released into the soil without proper treatment.

Resumo: O estudo tem por objetivo buscar e identificar informações através da análise bibliométrica e sistêmica sobre a integração das ferramentas da qualidade com abordagem dos métodos multicritério. Para atender ao objetivo da pesquisa, o instrumento de intervenção utilizado para selecionar o portfólio bibliográfico, realizar a análise bibliométrica e sistêmica utiliza-se o processo ProKnow-C (Knowledge Development Process – Constructivist). A partir do uso do instrumento, foram selecionados 17 artigos que compõem o portfólio bibliográfico e 351 artigos que compõem o referencial do portfólio bibliográfico. Destacam-se os periódicos: Expert Systems with Applications e Applied Soft Computing Journal. Os artigos com maior representatividade são, “Supplier selection paradigm: An integrated hierarchical QFD methodology under multiple-criteria environment”, e “Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process”. Quanto aos autores do portfólio e do referencial, destaque para: Bhattacharya, A.; Jusoh A.; Kahraman, C.; Mardani, A.; Marini, C.D.; Zavadskas, E.K; Pramod, V.; Tsai, W.-H.; Costa, H.G.; Tzeng, G.-W. e Jagathy Raj, V.P. Na realização da análise sistêmica foram analisadas as seis lentes, de acordo com a afiliação teórica MCDA-C, verificando-se que os artigos não estão alinhados à essa filiação. Destacam-se o AHP e TOPSIS como os métodos multicritério que aparecem com maior frequência nos artigos do portfólio. Verificou-se que a utilização de ferramentas da qualidade com a integração de métodos multicritério possibilitam a criação de modelos de avaliação para tomada de decisão nos diversos cenários presentes nos artigos avaliados do fragmento da literatura em análise.

Abstract: This study aims to identify the integration between quality tools and multi-criteria methods, using a bibliometric and systemic analysis. In order to meet this research objective, the methodology used to select the bibliographic portfolio, perform the bibliometric and systemic analysis was the ProKnow-C (Knowledge Development Process – Constructivist). As result were selected 17 articles that represented the bibliographic portfolio and 351 articles as reference for the bibliographic portfolio. The results highlight the journals: Expert Systems with Applications e Applied Soft Computing Journal. The most aligned articles with the theme were, “Supplier selection paradigm: An integrated hierarchical QFD methodology under multiple-criteria environment”, and “Decision making with the analytic hierarchy process”. In the systemic analysis were considered six lenses, according to the theoretical affiliation MCDA-C, and was concluded that the articles were not totally aligned with this specific affiliation. The AHP and TOPSIS methods stood out as the most used methods in this portfolio. It was verified that the quality tools when used integrated with multi-criteria methods allow the creation of decision making evaluation models for scenarios present in the papers found in this research.

Problems encountered in the context of the maintenance management of water supply are evidenced by the lack of decision support models which gives a manager overview of the system. This paper, therefore, develops a model that uses, in its framework, the multicriteria outranking method ELECTRE TRI. The objective is to sort the areas of water flow measurement of a water distribution network, by priority of maintenance, with data collected from an automated system of abnormalities detection. This sorting is designed to support maintenance decisions in terms of the measure more appropriate to be applied per region. To illustrate the proposed model, an application was performed in a city with 100 thousand water connections. With this model it becomes possible to improve the allocation of maintenance measures for regions and mainly to improve the operation of the distribution network.

Difficulties related to the group decision-making process in the water supply sector, such as physical and economic losses, irrational use of water and maintenance costs, highlight the need to develop procedures to support decisions, reducing unnecessary water use and wastage. This study focused on the rational use of water resources and reduction of water losses, based on the assumption that it is far more economical to develop and improve existing systems rather than build new systems in parallel to the existing one. This study aimed to support a group decision-making process in the maintenance section of a water supply company. A model is proposed consisting of 2 phases, which aggregates individual preferences to achieve a group decision. The first phase is based on the ELECTRE II method, analysing individual preferences, while the second is based on the COPELAND method to aggregate individual preferences. From this model, we developed a software program to prioritise alternatives, simultaneously taking into account subjective and objective criteria, and thereby giving decision makers a clear and comprehensive overview of alternatives, indicating the most suitable alternative based on the preferences of group members from different areas.