Properties of comprehensive incidence degrees

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the properties of comprehensive incidence degrees of closeness incidence degrees and similitude incidence degrees.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the new definitions of the closeness incidence degree and the similitude incidence degree, the properties of comprehensive incidence of closeness incidence and similitude incidence are studied in this paper. It is proved that weighted arithmetic average of two closeness incidence degrees as well as power product (including weighted geometric average) of two closeness incidence degrees is still closeness incidence degree; and arithmetic weighted average of two similitude incidence degrees as well as power product (including weighted geometric average) of two similitude incidence degrees is still similitude incidence degree. Mixed weighted arithmetic average of closeness incidence degree and similitude incidence degree and mixed power product (including weighted geometric average) of closeness incidence degree and similitude incidence degree are closeness incidence degrees.

Findings

The result shows that the effect of closeness incidence degree is stronger than similitude incidence degree. As long as the weight of closeness incidence degree is not equal to zero, the comprehensive incidence degree results are closeness incidence degrees.

Practical implications

Grey incidence degrees have been widely applied in many fields, such as the test of grey model's forecasting effect, the system analysis and so on. The obtained result in this paper is to illustrate two kinds of incidence degrees are incompatible, namely there does not exist both closeness and similitude incidence degree.

Originality/value

The paper succeeds in showing that the attempt to get comprehensive incidence degree by arithmetic or geometric weighted average of closeness incidence degree and similitude incidence degree to reflect both closeness and similarity is in vain. And it is undoubtedly a new development in grey system theory.

Citation

Wei, Y. and Zeng, K. (2014), "Properties of comprehensive incidence degrees", Grey Systems: Theory and Application, Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 426-435. https://doi.org/10.1108/GS-07-2014-0026