Real-time analytics for complex structure data

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.The advancement of data acquisition and analysis technology has resulted in many real-world data being dynamic and containing rich content and structured information. More specifically, with the fast development of information technology, many current real-world data are always featured with dynamic changes, such as new instances, new nodes and edges, and modifications to the node content. Different from traditional data, which are represented as feature vectors, data with complex relationships are often represented as graphs to denote the content of the data entries and their structural relationships, where instances (nodes) are not only characterized by the content but are also subject to dependency relationships. Plus, real-time availability is one of outstanding features of today’s data. Real-time analytics is dynamic analysis and reporting based on data entered into a system before the actual time of use. Real-time analytics emphasizes on deriving immediate knowledge from dynamic data sources, such as data streams, and knowledge discovery and pattern mining are facing complex, dynamic data sources. However, how to combine structure information and node content information for accurate and real-time data mining is still a big challenge. Accordingly, this thesis focuses on real-time analytics for complex structure data. We explore instance correlation in complex structure data and utilises it to make mining tasks more accurate and applicable. To be specific, our objective is to combine node correlation with node content and utilize them for three different tasks, including (1) graph stream classification, (2) super-graph classification and clustering, and (3) streaming network node classification. Understanding the role of structured patterns for graph classification: the thesis introduces existing works on data mining from an complex structured perspective. Then we propose a graph factorization-based fine-grained representation model, where the main objective is to use linear combinations of a set of discriminative cliques to represent graphs for learning. The optimization-oriented factorization approach ensures minimum information loss for graph representation, and also avoids the expensive sub-graph isomorphism validation process. Based on this idea, we propose a novel framework for fast graph stream classification. A new structure data classification algorithm: The second method introduces a new super-graph classification and clustering problem. Due to the inherent complex structure representation, all existing graph classification methods cannot be applied to super-graph classification. In the thesis, we propose a weighted random walk kernel which calculates the similarity between two super-graphs by assessing (a) the similarity between super-nodes of the super-graphs, and (b) the common walks of the super-graphs. Our key contribution is: (1) a new super-node and super-graph structure to enrich existing graph representation for real-world applications; (2) a weighted random walk kernel considering node and structure similarities between graphs; (3) a mixed-similarity considering structured content inside super-nodes and structural dependency between super-nodes; and (4) an effective kernel-based super-graph classification method with sound theoretical basis. Empirical studies show that the proposed methods significantly outperform the state-of-the-art methods. Real-time analytics framework for dynamic complex structure data: For streaming networks, the essential challenge is to properly capture the dynamic evolution of the node content and node interactions in order to support node classification. While streaming networks are dynamically evolving, for a short temporal period, a subset of salient features are essentially tied to the network content and structures, and therefore can be used to characterize the network for classification. To achieve this goal, we propose to carry out streaming network feature selection (SNF) from the network, and use selected features as gauge to classify unlabeled nodes. A Laplacian based quality criterion is proposed to guide the node classification, where the Laplacian matrix is generated based on node labels and network topology structures. Node classification is achieved by finding the class label that results in the minimal gauging value with respect to the selected features. By frequently updating the features selected from the network, node classification can quickly adapt to the changes in the network for maximal performance gain. Experiments and comparisons on real-world networks demonstrate that SNOC is able to capture dynamics in the network structures and node content, and outperforms baseline approaches with significant performance gain

Graph-based Modelling of Concurrent Sequential Patterns

Structural relation patterns have been introduced recently to extend the search for complex patterns often hidden behind large sequences of data. This has motivated a novel approach to sequential patterns post-processing and a corresponding data mining method was proposed for Concurrent Sequential Patterns (ConSP). This article refines the approach in the context of ConSP modelling, where a companion graph-based model is devised as an extension of previous work. Two new modelling methods are presented here together with a construction algorithm, to complete the transformation of concurrent sequential patterns to a ConSP-Graph representation. Customer orders data is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of ConSP mining while synthetic sample data highlights the strength of the modelling technique, illuminating the theories developed

Graph-based discovery of ontology change patterns

Ontologies can support a variety of purposes, ranging from capturing conceptual knowledge to the organisation of digital content and information. However, information systems are always subject to change and ontology change management can pose challenges. We investigate ontology change representation and discovery of change patterns. Ontology changes are formalised as graph-based change logs. We use attributed graphs, which are typed over a generic graph with node and edge attribution.We analyse ontology change logs, represented as graphs, and identify frequent change sequences. Such sequences are applied as a reference in order to discover reusable, often domain-specific and usagedriven change patterns. We describe the pattern discovery algorithms and measure their performance using experimental result

Foundational principles for large scale inference: Illustrations through correlation mining

When can reliable inference be drawn in the "Big Data" context? This paper presents a framework for answering this fundamental question in the context of correlation mining, with implications for general large scale inference. In large scale data applications like genomics, connectomics, and eco-informatics the dataset is often variable-rich but sample-starved: a regime where the number $n$ of acquired samples (statistical replicates) is far fewer than the number $p$ of observed variables (genes, neurons, voxels, or chemical constituents). Much of recent work has focused on understanding the computational complexity of proposed methods for "Big Data." Sample complexity however has received relatively less attention, especially in the setting when the sample size $n$ is fixed, and the dimension $p$ grows without bound. To address this gap, we develop a unified statistical framework that explicitly quantifies the sample complexity of various inferential tasks. Sampling regimes can be divided into several categories: 1) the classical asymptotic regime where the variable dimension is fixed and the sample size goes to infinity; 2) the mixed asymptotic regime where both variable dimension and sample size go to infinity at comparable rates; 3) the purely high dimensional asymptotic regime where the variable dimension goes to infinity and the sample size is fixed. Each regime has its niche but only the latter regime applies to exa-scale data dimension. We illustrate this high dimensional framework for the problem of correlation mining, where it is the matrix of pairwise and partial correlations among the variables that are of interest. We demonstrate various regimes of correlation mining based on the unifying perspective of high dimensional learning rates and sample complexity for different structured covariance models and different inference tasks

Multi-Target Prediction: A Unifying View on Problems and Methods

Multi-target prediction (MTP) is concerned with the simultaneous prediction of multiple target variables of diverse type. Due to its enormous application potential, it has developed into an active and rapidly expanding research field that combines several subfields of machine learning, including multivariate regression, multi-label classification, multi-task learning, dyadic prediction, zero-shot learning, network inference, and matrix completion. In this paper, we present a unifying view on MTP problems and methods. First, we formally discuss commonalities and differences between existing MTP problems. To this end, we introduce a general framework that covers the above subfields as special cases. As a second contribution, we provide a structured overview of MTP methods. This is accomplished by identifying a number of key properties, which distinguish such methods and determine their suitability for different types of problems. Finally, we also discuss a few challenges for future research

Structuring visual exploratory analysis of skill demand

The analysis of increasingly large and diverse data for meaningful interpretation and question answering is handicapped by human cognitive limitations. Consequently, semi-automatic abstraction of complex data within structured information spaces becomes increasingly important, if its knowledge content is to support intuitive, exploratory discovery. Exploration of skill demand is an area where regularly updated, multi-dimensional data may be exploited to assess capability within the workforce to manage the demands of the modern, technology- and data-driven economy. The knowledge derived may be employed by skilled practitioners in defining career pathways, to identify where, when and how to update their skillsets in line with advancing technology and changing work demands. This same knowledge may also be used to identify the combination of skills essential in recruiting for new roles. To address the challenges inherent in exploring the complex, heterogeneous, dynamic data that feeds into such applications, we investigate the use of an ontology to guide structuring of the information space, to allow individuals and institutions to interactively explore and interpret the dynamic skill demand landscape for their specific needs. As a test case we consider the relatively new and highly dynamic field of Data Science, where insightful, exploratory data analysis and knowledge discovery are critical. We employ context-driven and task-centred scenarios to explore our research questions and guide iterative design, development and formative evaluation of our ontology-driven, visual exploratory discovery and analysis approach, to measure where it adds value to users’ analytical activity. Our findings reinforce the potential in our approach, and point us to future paths to build on