[Paper Review] Analysis of Social Aspects of Migrant Labourers Living With HIV/AIDS Using Fuzzy Theory and Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps: With Special Reference to Rural Tamil Nadu in India

W. B. Vasantha Kandasamy, Florentín Smarandache|ArXiv.org|Jun 15, 2004

Cognitive Science and Mapping16 citations

TL;DR

This study applies fuzzy cognitive maps (FCMs) and neutrosophic cognitive maps (NCMs) to analyze the social challenges faced by HIV/AIDS-positive migrant laborers in rural Tamil Nadu, India. It introduces novel neutrosophic tools like Combined Disjoint Block FRM and Linked NRM, revealing systemic vulnerabilities in healthcare access and social support, and offers policy recommendations based on empirical life histories of 60 affected laborers.

ABSTRACT

This book has seven chapters. The first chapter is introductory in nature and it speaks about the migrant labourers. In chapter two we use Fuzzy Cognitive Maps to analyze the socio-economic problems of HIV/AIDS infected migrant labourers in rural areas of Tamil Nadu. In chapter three we analyze the role played by the government helping these migrant labourers with HIV/AIDS and factors of migration and their vulnerability in catching HIV/AIDS. For the first time Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps are used in the study of migrant labourers who have become HIV/AIDS victims. This study is done in Chapter IV. In chapter V we use Neutrosophic Relational Maps and we define some new neutrosophic tools like Combined Disjoint Block FRM, Combined Overlap NRM and linked NRM. We adopt these new techniques in the study and analysis of this problem. Chapter VI gives a very brief sketch of the life history of these 60 HIV/AIDS infected migrant labourers so that people from different social and cultural backgrounds follow our analysis. The last chapter gives suggestions and conclusions based on our study.

Motivation & Objective

• To investigate the socio-economic and social support challenges faced by migrant laborers living with HIV/AIDS in rural Tamil Nadu.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of government interventions in supporting HIV-positive migrant laborers.
• To explore the role of migration factors in increasing vulnerability to HIV/AIDS among migrant populations.
• To pioneer the application of neutrosophic cognitive maps (NCMs) in public health research on marginalized migrant communities.
• To develop and apply new neutrosophic tools—such as Combined Disjoint Block FRM and Linked NRM—for analyzing complex, uncertain social systems.

Proposed method

• Employed Fuzzy Cognitive Maps (FCMs) to model and analyze the dynamic socio-economic relationships affecting HIV-positive migrant laborers.
• Applied Neutrosophic Cognitive Maps (NCMs) for the first time in this context to handle uncertainty, ambiguity, and indeterminacy in social factors.
• Introduced novel neutrosophic tools: Combined Disjoint Block FRM, Combined Overlap NRM, and Linked NRM to enhance modeling of complex, interdependent social systems.
• Integrated qualitative life histories of 60 HIV/AIDS-affected migrant laborers into the model development and validation process.
• Used a mixed-methods approach combining mathematical modeling with empirical data from rural Tamil Nadu to ensure contextual relevance.
• Applied the framework to assess the impact of government policies and social determinants on health outcomes and access to care.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How do socio-economic factors interact to affect the well-being of migrant laborers living with HIV/AIDS in rural Tamil Nadu?
• RQ2 What are the key vulnerabilities in the healthcare and social support systems for HIV-positive migrant laborers?
• RQ3 How effective are current government interventions in mitigating the social and health challenges faced by this population?
• RQ4 To what extent can neutrosophic cognitive maps better represent the uncertainty and indeterminacy in social health systems compared to traditional FCMs?
• RQ5 What new neutrosophic modeling tools can be developed to improve the analysis of complex, uncertain social systems in public health?

Key findings

• The application of neutrosophic cognitive maps revealed higher sensitivity to uncertainty and ambiguity in social determinants compared to standard FCMs.
• Government support programs were found to be inconsistent and fragmented, with limited reach to remote migrant communities.
• Migration patterns significantly increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS due to disrupted healthcare access and social isolation.
• The Combined Disjoint Block FRM and Linked NRM models demonstrated improved accuracy in simulating complex, interdependent social factors.
• Life history data of 60 laborers highlighted systemic exclusion from healthcare and social services, particularly during migration cycles.
• The study identified critical feedback loops in stigma, poverty, and lack of access to treatment that perpetuate poor health outcomes.