Machine Learning Methods for One-Session Ahead Prediction of Accesses to Page Categories

This paper presents a comparison among several well-known machine learning techniques when they are used to carry out a one-session ahead prediction of page categories. We use records belonging to 18 different categories accessed by users on the citizen web portal Infoville XXI. Our first approach is focused on predicting the frequency of accesses (normalized to the unity) corresponding to the user’s next session. We have utilized Associative Memories (AMs), Classification and Regression Trees (CARTs), Multilayer Perceptrons (MLPs), and Support Vector Machines (SVMs). The Success Ratio (SR) averaged over all services is higher than 80% using any of these techniques. Nevertheless, given the …

Predicting service request in support centers based on nonlinear dynamics, ARMA modeling and neural networks

In this paper, we present the use of different mathematical models to forecast service requests in support centers (SCs). A successful prediction of service request can help in the efficient management of both human and technological resources that are used to solve these eventualities. A nonlinear analysis of the time series indicates the convenience of nonlinear modeling. Neural models based on the time delay neural network (TDNN) are benchmarked with classical models, such as auto-regressive moving average (ARMA) models. Models achieved high values for the correlation coefficient between the desired signal and that predicted by the models (values between 0.88 and 0.97 were obtained in th…

Studying the feasibility of a recommender in a citizen web portal based on user modeling and clustering algorithms

This paper presents a methodology to estimate the future success of a collaborative recommender in a citizen web portal. This methodology consists of four stages, three of them are developed in this study. First of all, a user model, which takes into account some usual characteristics of web data, is developed to produce artificial data sets. These data sets are used to carry out a clustering algorithm comparison in the second stage of our approach. This comparison provides information about the suitability of each algorithm in different scenarios. The benchmarked clustering algorithms are the ones that are most commonly used in the literature: c-Means, Fuzzy c-Means, a set of hierarchical …

A new method for the optimum generation of real colours on CRT monitors

The use of computers for colour generation is widely extended in colour research. Sometimes the reproduction of colours whose chromaticity coordinates correspond to a specific real standard is fundamental. In this paper we present a review of the capabilities and limitations of CRT monitors to generate colours. Finally, we propose a method for the optimum generation of real colours based on visual perception.

An approach based on the Adaptive Resonance Theory for analysing the viability of recommender systems in a citizen Web portal

This paper proposes a methodology to optimise the future accuracy of a collaborative recommender application in a citizen Web portal. There are four stages namely, user modelling, benchmarking of clustering algorithms, prediction analysis and recommendation. The first stage is to develop analytical models of common characteristics of Web-user data. These artificial data sets are then used to evaluate the performance of clustering algorithms, in particular benchmarking the ART2 neural network with K-means clustering. Afterwards, it is evaluated the predictive accuracy of the clusters applied to a real-world data set derived from access logs to the citizen Web portal Infoville XXI (http://www…

On saturation and related parameters following Guth's ATD colour-vision model

In this work, we have examined the influence of different parameters both on perceived saturation and saturation discrimination with unrelated colours, on the basis of S. L. Guth's CA90 colour-vision model and its subsequent modifications. Our analysis of perceived saturation covered (1) spectral saturation functions at constant luminance, (2) saturation functions in constant colorimetric purity loci, (3) saturation vs. colorimetric purity functions, (4) saturation vs. luminance functions in the 1–1000 td range, and, finally, (5) the equal saturation loci in the xy color diagram. Regarding saturation discrimination, we focused on (1) saturation thresholds from white and from the locus, (2) …

Web mining based on Growing Hierarchical Self-Organizing Maps: Analysis of a real citizen web portal☆

This work is focused on the usage analysis of a citizen web portal, Infoville XXI (http://www.infoville.es) by means of Self-Organizing Maps (SOM). In this paper, a variant of the classical SOM has been used, the so-called Growing Hierarchical SOM (GHSOM). The GHSOM is able to find an optimal architecture of the SOM in a few iterations. There are also other variants which allow to find an optimal architecture, but they tend to need a long time for training, especially in the case of complex data sets. Another relevant contribution of the paper is the new visualization of the patterns in the hierarchical structure. Results show that GHSOM is a powerful and versatile tool to extract relevant …

Corrigendum to “Predicting service request in support centers based on nonlinear dynamics, ARMA modeling and neural networks” [Expert Systems with Applications 34/1 (2008) 665–672]

Assigning discounts in a marketing campaign by using reinforcement learning and neural networks

In this work, RL is used to find an optimal policy for a marketing campaign. Data show a complex characterization of state and action spaces. Two approaches are proposed to circumvent this problem. The first approach is based on the self-organizing map (SOM), which is used to aggregate states. The second approach uses a multilayer perceptron (MLP) to carry out a regression of the action-value function. The results indicate that both approaches can improve a targeted marketing campaign. Moreover, the SOM approach allows an intuitive interpretation of the results, and the MLP approach yields robust results with generalization capabilities.