An agent-based hybrid framework for database mining

While knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) is defined as an iterative sequence of the following steps: data pre-processing, data mining, and post data mining, a significant amount of research in data mining has been done, resulting in a variety of algorithms and techniques for each step. However, a single data-mining technique has not been proven appropriate for every domain and data set. Instead, several techniques may need to be integrated into hybrid systems and used cooperatively during a particular data-mining operation. That is, hybrid solutions are crucial for the success of data mining. This paper presents a hybrid framework for identifying patterns from databases or multi-databases. The framework integrates these techniques for mining tasks from an agent point of view. Based on the experiments conducted, putting different KDD techniques together into the agent-based architecture enables them to be used cooperatively when needed. The proposed framework provides a highly flexible and robust data-mining platform and the resulting systems demonstrate emergent behaviors although it does not improve the performance of individual KDD techniques. <br /

Applying Data Mining Methods to Understand User Interactions within Learning Management Systems: Approaches and Lessons Learned

This article describes our processes for analyzing and mining the vast records of instructor and student usage data collected by a learning management system (LMS) widely used in higher education, called Canvas. Our data were drawn from over 33,000 courses taught over three years at a mid-sized public Western U.S. university. Our processes were guided by an established data mining framework, called Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD). In particular, we use the KDD framework in guiding our application of several educational data mining (EDM) methods (prediction, clustering, and data visualization) to model student and instructor Canvas usage data, and to examine the relationship between these models and student learning outcomes. We also describe challenges and lessons learned along the way

Elements About Exploratory, Knowledge-Based, Hybrid, and Explainable Knowledge Discovery

International audienceKnowledge Discovery in Databases (KDD) and especially pattern mining can be interpreted along several dimensions, namely data, knowledge, problem-solving and interactivity. These dimensions are not disconnected and have a direct impact on the quality, applicability, and efficiency of KDD. Accordingly, we discuss some objectives of KDD based on these dimensions, namely exploration, knowledge orientation, hybridization, and explanation. The data space and the pattern space can be explored in several ways, depending on specific evaluation functions and heuristics, possibly related to domain knowledge. Furthermore, numerical data are complex and supervised numerical machine learning methods are usually the best candidates for efficiently mining such data. However, the work and output of numerical methods are most of the time hard to understand, while symbolic methods are usually more intelligible. This calls for hybridization, combining numerical and symbolic mining methods to improve the applicability and interpretability of KDD. Moreover, suitable explanations about the operating models and possible subsequent decisions should complete KDD, and this is far from being the case at the moment. For illustrating these dimensions and objectives, we analyze a concrete case about the mining of biological data, where we characterize these dimensions and their connections. We also discuss dimensions and objectives in the framework of Formal Concept Analysis and we draw some perspectives for future research

Concept analysis-based association mining from linked data: A case in industrial decision making

International audienceLinked data (LD) is a rich format increasingly exploited in knowledge discovery from data (KDD). To that end, LD is typically structured as graph, but can also fit the multi-relational data mining (MRDM) paradigm, e.g. as multiple types and object properties may be used in the dataset. Formal concept analysis (FCA) has been successfully used as theoretical framework for KDD in a variety of applications , primely in clustering and association rule mining (ARM) tasks. As FCA applicability to LD is limited by its single data table input format, relational concept analysis (RCA) was introduced as a MRDM extension that successfully deals with links in the data, including cyclic ones. While RCA has been mainly adapted for conceptual clustering in the past, we present here an RCA-based ARM method. It exploits the iterative nature of pattern generation to cut cyclic references with a minimal loss of information. The utility of the rules discovered by our method has been validated by an application as a decision support in the aluminum die casting industry

Conversion Prediction Using Multi-task Conditional Attention Networks to Support the Creation of Effective Ad Creative

Accurately predicting conversions in advertisements is generally a challenging task, because such conversions do not occur frequently. In this paper, we propose a new framework to support creating high-performing ad creatives, including the accurate prediction of ad creative text conversions before delivering to the consumer. The proposed framework includes three key ideas: multi-task learning, conditional attention, and attention highlighting. Multi-task learning is an idea for improving the prediction accuracy of conversion, which predicts clicks and conversions simultaneously, to solve the difficulty of data imbalance. Furthermore, conditional attention focuses attention of each ad creative with the consideration of its genre and target gender, thus improving conversion prediction accuracy. Attention highlighting visualizes important words and/or phrases based on conditional attention. We evaluated the proposed framework with actual delivery history data (14,000 creatives displayed more than a certain number of times from Gunosy Inc.), and confirmed that these ideas improve the prediction performance of conversions, and visualize noteworthy words according to the creatives' attributes.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted at The 25th ACM SIGKDD Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD 2019) as an applied data science pape

Exploiting Cognitive Structure for Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning, also known as adaptive teaching, relies on learning path recommendation, which sequentially recommends personalized learning items (e.g., lectures, exercises) to satisfy the unique needs of each learner. Although it is well known that modeling the cognitive structure including knowledge level of learners and knowledge structure (e.g., the prerequisite relations) of learning items is important for learning path recommendation, existing methods for adaptive learning often separately focus on either knowledge levels of learners or knowledge structure of learning items. To fully exploit the multifaceted cognitive structure for learning path recommendation, we propose a Cognitive Structure Enhanced framework for Adaptive Learning, named CSEAL. By viewing path recommendation as a Markov Decision Process and applying an actor-critic algorithm, CSEAL can sequentially identify the right learning items to different learners. Specifically, we first utilize a recurrent neural network to trace the evolving knowledge levels of learners at each learning step. Then, we design a navigation algorithm on the knowledge structure to ensure the logicality of learning paths, which reduces the search space in the decision process. Finally, the actor-critic algorithm is used to determine what to learn next and whose parameters are dynamically updated along the learning path. Extensive experiments on real-world data demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of CSEAL.Comment: Accepted by KDD 2019 Research Track. In Proceedings of the 25th ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining (KDD'19

Actionable knowledge discovery : methodologies and frameworks

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.Most data mining algorithms and tools stop at the mining and delivery of patterns satisfying expected technical interestingness. There are often many patterns mined but business people either are not interested in them or do not know what follow-up actions to take to support their business decisions. This issue has seriously affected the widespread employment of advanced data mining techniques in greatly promoting enterprise operational quality and productivity. In this thesis, a formal and systematic view of actionable knowledge discovery (AKD for short) has been proposed from the system and microeconomy perspectives. AKD is a closed-loop optimization problem-solving process from problem definition, framework/model design to actionable pattern discovery, and to deliver operationalizable business rules that can be seamlessly associated or integrated with business processes and systems. To support AKD, corresponding methodologies, frameworks and tools have been proposed with case studies in the real world to address critical challenges facing the traditional KDD and. to cater for crucially important factors surrounding real-life AKD. First, a comprehensive survey and retrospection on the existing data mining methodologies, issues and challenges in actionable knowledge discovery are reviewed. Second, a practical data mining methodology: domain driven data mining is addressed. Third, several frameworks have been proposed to support domain drivenactionable knowledge discovery. Fourth, case studies of domain-driven actionable pattern mining in stock markets and social security data are presented to demonstrate the usefulness and potential of the proposed domain driven actionable knowledge discovery. In summary, this thesis explores in detail how domain driven actionable knowledge discovery can be effectively and efficiently applied to the discovery and delivery of knowledge satisfying both technical and business concerns as well as to support smart decision-making in the real world. The issues and techniques addressed in this thesis have potential to promote the research on critical KDD challenges, and contribute to the paradigm shift from data-centered and technical significance-oriented hidden pattern mining to domain-driven and balanced actionable knowledge discovery. The proposed methodologies and frameworks are flexible, general and effective to be expanded and applied to mining real-life complex data for actionable knowledge