Development of Hierarchical Clustering Techniques for Gridded Data from Mixed Data Sequences

Knowledge discovery in databases is the non-trivial process of identifying valid, novel potentially useful and ultimately understandable patterns from data. The term Data mining refers to the process which does the exploratory analysis on the data and builds some model on the data. To infer patterns from data, data mining involves different approaches like association rule mining, classification techniques or clustering techniques. Among the many data mining techniques, clustering plays a major role, since it helps to group the related data for assessing properties and drawing conclusions. Most of the clustering algorithms act on a dataset with uniform format, since the similarity or dissimilarity between the data points is a significant factor in finding out the clusters. If a dataset consists of mixed attributes, i.e. a combination of numerical and categorical variables, a preferred approach is to convert different formats into a uniform format. The research study explores the various techniques to convert the mixed data sets to a numerical equivalent, so as to make it equipped for applying the statistical and similar algorithms. The results of clustering mixed category data after conversion to numeric data type have been demonstrated using a crime data set. The thesis also proposes an extension to the well known algorithm for handling mixed data types, to deal with data sets having only categorical data. The proposed conversion has been validated on a data set corresponding to breast cancer. Moreover, another issue with the clustering process is the visualization of output. Different geometric techniques like scatter plot, or projection plots are available, but none of the techniques display the result projecting the whole database but rather demonstrate attribute-pair wise analysis

Identificación de barreras administrativas de acceso en el servicio de gineco-obstetricia en cuatro instituciones prestadoras de servicios de salud en Bogotá

El estudio realizado se basó en la aplicación de la metodología de investigación científica y el análisis exploratorio, cuantitativo de tipo descriptivo de corte transversal, utilizando análisis de relaciones de datos obtenidos en cada una de las IPS y relaciones de perfiles entre de la población atendida. El análisis de la información mostró que las barreras administrativas de acceso a los servicios de Gineco-Obstetricia existen en las IPS estudiadas, caracterizando fundamentalmente aspectos relacionados con la falta de registro de información en las historias clínicas de los pacientes, la falta de registro de la no asistencia de un paciente a una cita, la inexistencia de acciones registradas frente a la identificación e inscripción de la población objeto de control prenatal con clasificación del riesgo, el régimen de afiliación, la ocupación, las acciones correctivas por fallas en los servicios de salud, el registro de fallas en los servicios de salud y el nivel educativo. Es valiosa la información que es registrada en las historias clínicas, sin embargo las IPS que participaron en el presente estudio no le dan la importancia necesaria a las evidencias obtenidas, en especial frente a acciones correctivas. Las relaciones entre las variables como el número de embarazos, el número de controles prenatales, el número de abortos, las IPS, los perfiles de la población de pacientes, la falta de registro de la no asistencia de un paciente a una cita, la clasificación del riesgo, el número de partos, el estado civil, los grupos de edad, el nivel educativo, el registro de fallas, el registro de las acciones correctivas y la ocupación, permiten identificar barreras de acceso administrativas. Se realizó una entrevista a los líderes de los procesos de calidad o directores generales de las IPS que participaron en el presente estudio y se encontró que los parámetros de calidad son claros y que la información existe en diferentes proporciones y protocolos institucionales. No obstante, las IPS no aplican en su totalidad el modelo de los canones establecidos. Es necesario que las instituciones apliquen las normas de calidad en su totalidad lo que seguramente las llevará a lograr mejores resultados.

La intuición estratégica como eje dinamizador en la toma de decisiones de las mipymes

El presente trabajo de investigación se centra en hacer un análisis exploratorio sobre la incidencia que tiene la intuición estratégica en el proceso de creación, organización y permanencia de las organizaciones caracterizadas por pertenecer a la categoría de micro, pequeña y mediana empresa (Mipyme) en Bogotá-Colombia. Con este propósito, el estudio se concentra en empresas (MiPyMe) de una muestra pequeña en la ciudad de Bogotá-Colombia que pertenezcan a un sector donde es más difícil contar con información para la toma de decisiones, de tal manera que, de encontrar una relación evidenciable con el uso de la intuición estratégica, se abra espacio para nuevas y más amplias investigaciones al respecto en el mercado Colombiano y Latinoamericano. El estudio se concentra en ver cómo las empresas observadas que se inician y perduran en el tiempo, lo hacen sin tener los respectivos estudios sistemáticos de diagnóstico de su entorno, tales como mercadeo, capacidad instalada, análisis financiero entre otros, pero que pese a esto, logran posicionarse en cada uno de sus mercados. Ante este contexto, se busca determinar si tal éxito obedece a una serie de cualidades, competencias o características de estos emprendedores, asociadas al marco general de la teoría de la intuición estratégica.

Incremento de la salud financiera mediante la utilización de la relación estratégica comunitaria y marketing.

Debido a las crisis mundiales, la perdurabilidad empresarial se ha convertido en la primera preocupación de las organizaciones, puesto que los problemas económicos en otros países pueden generar un efecto negativo en las condiciones del mercado doméstico, que junto con el entorno empresarial complejo y dinámico en el que se deben desempeñar las empresas hoy en día gracias a la globalización, sumado al aumento en la competitividad nacional e internacional, la perdurabilidad de las empresas se está viendo seriamente comprometida. Lo anterior, ha llevado a las empresas a buscar nuevas formas de mejorar su salud financiera. Para medir la salud financiera empresarial, se pueden usar distintos indicadores como lo es el flujo de caja que está asociado con la rentabilidad, el patrimonio que está asociado a las dificultades financieras, entre otros, o a través de varios modelos de bancarrota, los cuales, por medio de un conjunto de ratios financieros, reflejan el estado actual de la organización y su probabilidad de fracaso en el futuro. Las estrategias comunitarias y el marketing permiten incrementar la salud financiera de las empresas a través de la orientación al cliente y el establecimiento de relaciones gana-gana a largo plazo con las diferentes comunidades con las que se relaciona la organización.

Menores y ocio digital en el siglo XXI : an??lisis exploratorio de perfiles de usuarios de v??deojuegos en Espa??a

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

The Importance of Work, Family and Leisure among Girls Finishing Compulsory Education

Resumen basado en el de la publicación

Serum proteomic abnormality predating screen detection of ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is characterized by vague, non-specific symptoms, advanced stage at diagnosis and poor overall survival. A nested case control study was undertaken on stored serial serum samples from women who developed ovarian cancer and healthy controls (matched for serum processing and storage conditions as well as attributes such as age) in a pilot randomized controlled trial of ovarian cancer screening. The unique feature of this study is that the women were screened for up to 7 years. The serum samples underwent prefractionation using a reversed-phase batch extraction protocol prior to MALDI-TOF MS data acquisition. Our exploratory analysis shows that combining a single MS peak with CA125 allows statistically significant discrimination at the 5% level between cases and controls up to 12 months in advance of the original diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Such combinations work much better than a single peak or CA125 alone. This paper demonstrates that mass spectra from the low molecular weight serum proteome carry information useful for early detection of ovarian cancer. The next step is to identify the specific biomarkers that make early detection possible.

Asset allocation, cross-class correlation and the structure of property returns

Practical applications of portfolio optimisation tend to proceed on a “top down” basis where funds are allocated first at asset class level (between, say, bonds, cash, equities and real estate) and then, progressively, at sub-class level (within property to sectors, office, retail, industrial for example). While there are organisational benefits from such an approach, it can potentially lead to sub-optimal allocations when compared to a “global” or “side-by-side” optimisation. This will occur where there are correlations between sub-classes across the asset divide that are masked in aggregation – between, for instance, City offices and the performance of financial services stocks. This paper explores such sub-class linkages using UK monthly stock and property data. Exploratory analysis using clustering procedures and factor analysis suggests that property performance and equity performance are distinctive: there is little persuasive evidence of contemporaneous or lagged sub-class linkages. Formal tests of the equivalence of optimised portfolios using top-down and global approaches failed to demonstrate significant differences, whether or not allocations were constrained. While the results may be a function of measurement of market returns, it is those returns that are used to assess fund performance. Accordingly, the treatment of real estate as a distinct asset class with diversification potential seems justified.

When rules and principles are not enough: insiders’ views and narratives on the global financial crisis

Much has been written about Wall Street and the global financial crisis (GFC). From a fraudulent derivatives market to a contestable culture of banking bonuses, culpability has been examined within the frames of American praxis, namely that of American exceptionalism. This study begins with an exploratory analysis of non-US voices concerning the nature of the causes of the GFC. The analysis provides glimpses of the globalized extent of assumptions shared, but not debated within the globalization convergence of financial markets as the neo-liberal project. Practical and paradigmatic tensions are revealed in the capture of a London-based set of views articulated by senior financial executives of financial service organizations, the outcomes of which are not overly optimistic for any significant change in praxis within the immediate future.

Video stimuli reduce object-directed imitation accuracy: a novel two-person motion-tracking approach

Imitation is an important form of social behavior, and research has aimed to discover and explain the neural and kinematic aspects of imitation. However, much of this research has featured single participants imitating in response to pre-recorded video stimuli. This is in spite of findings that show reduced neural activation to video vs. real life movement stimuli, particularly in the motor cortex. We investigated the degree to which video stimuli may affect the imitation process using a novel motion tracking paradigm with high spatial and temporal resolution. We recorded 14 positions on the hands, arms, and heads of two individuals in an imitation experiment. One individual freely moved within given parameters (moving balls across a series of pegs) and a second participant imitated. This task was performed with either simple (one ball) or complex (three balls) movement difficulty, and either face-to-face or via a live video projection. After an exploratory analysis, three dependent variables were chosen for examination: 3D grip position, joint angles in the arm, and grip aperture. A cross-correlation and multivariate analysis revealed that object-directed imitation task accuracy (as represented by grip position) was reduced in video compared to face-to-face feedback, and in complex compared to simple difficulty. This was most prevalent in the left-right and forward-back motions, relevant to the imitator sitting face-to-face with the actor or with a live projected video of the same actor. The results suggest that for tasks which require object-directed imitation, video stimuli may not be an ecologically valid way to present task materials. However, no similar effects were found in the joint angle and grip aperture variables, suggesting that there are limits to the influence of video stimuli on imitation. The implications of these results are discussed with regards to previous findings, and with suggestions for future experimentation.

Menopausal status: A possible predictive factor for recurrence in women with cancer of the uterine cervix without pelvic lymph node metastasis

Objectives: To evaluate risk factors for recurrence of carcinoma of the uterine cervix among women who had undergone radical hysterectomy without pelvic lymph node metastasis, while taking into consideration not only the classical histopathological factors but also sociodemographic, clinical and treatment-related factors. Study design: This was an exploratory analysis on 233 women with carcinoma of the uterine cervix (stages IB and IIA) who were treated by means of radical hysterectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy, with free surgical margins and without lymph node metastases on conventional histopathological examination. Women with histologically normal lymph nodes but with micrometastases in the immunohistochemical analysis (AE1/AE3) were excluded. Disease-free survival for sociodemographic, clinical and histopathological variables was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify the independent risk factors for recurrence. Results: Twenty-seven recurrences were recorded (11.6%), of which 18 were pelvic, four were distant, four were pelvic + distant and one was of unknown location. The five-year disease-free survival rate among the study population was 88.4%. The independent risk factors for recurrence in the multivariate analysis were: postmenopausal status (HR 14.1; 95% CI: 3.7-53.6; P < 0.001), absence of or slight inflammatory reaction (HR 7.9; 95% CI: 1.7-36.5; P = 0.008) and invasion of the deepest third of the cervix (FIR 6.1; 95% CI: 1.3-29.1; P = 0.021). Postoperative radiotherapy was identified as a protective factor against recurrence (HR 0.02; 95% CI: 0.001-0.25; P = 0.003). Conclusion: Postmenopausal status is a possible independent risk factor for recurrence even when adjusted for classical prognostic factors (such as tumour size, depth of turnout invasion, capillary embolisation) and treatment-related factors (period of treatment and postoperative radiotherapy status). (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Lokal utveckling och företagssamverkan i träbranschen : Dokumentation och preliminär analys av ett 30-tal fall

Networks and cooperatives have become very common in the woodworking industry during the1990’s. As part of a research project on small enterprise development in the woodworking industry within the Target 6 area (in Sweden) of the European Community, this study follows the development of a dozen cooperative projects during the period 1997-2000. In order to broaden the knowledge base of the study, in 1998 we carried out a survey of cooperative ventures in the woodworking industry in the rest of the country, and collected information about their history, present situation and future strategy. Together with our own material we achieved a body of material consisting of some 30 cases which were subjected to exploratory analysis. We identified the following categories of projects and cooperative ventures; ”Local development projects”, ”Development networks”, ”Producer networks” and ”Development supporting networks”. Most of the producer networks were horizontally integrated but some of them were vertically integrated, along the processing chain from the forest to the customer. Nearly all the local development projects and the networks had been initiated within the last four years. It is, therefore, too early to make any conclusions about their success. Our main finding, so far, is that local development and the establishment of networks requires ”driving forces” in the form of committed individuals, time, money and project organisation. Most of the projects and networks were supported by public funds.

Dinâmica tecnológica no agronegócio brasileiro : uma análise de alguns indicadores de capacitação tecnológica de empresas privadas de sementes

A indústria de sementes vem ao longo do tempo tornando-se um fator de grande importância para o desempenho da agricultura. Nos últimos anos, a importância do setor pode ser percebida pela nova dinâmica da indústria de sementes, a partir das mudanças cada vez mais constantes e profundas tanto no plano econômico, como no tecnológico. A emergência da biotecnologia agrícola está muito imbricada com as fusões e aquisições recentes, envolvendo a indústria de sementes, mas também o setor agroquímico, o novo aliado estratégico das empresas de sementes. A importância do mercado brasileiro de sementes é evidente. O Brasil detém a sexta posição no mercado para o consumo de sementes –estimado em US$ 1.200 milhões, o que se traduz em 4% do mercado mundial, que movimenta aproximadamente US$ 30 bilhões ao ano. Esta importância justifica este trabalho, que faz uma análise exploratória da capacitação tecnológica das empresas privadas de sementes no Brasil, sob a luz da teoria neoschumpeteriana. Metodologicamente os dados foram coletados junto às principais empresas privadas (de capital nacional e estrangeiro) produtoras de sementes básicas. As informações foram obtidas através de entrevistas com os diretores de P&D, referentes ao período de 1999-2002. Dentre os principais resultados obtidos pode se destacar o uso da biotecnologia no desenvolvimento de sementes geneticamente modificadas, ou seja, a produção de sementes transgênicas, a busca constante de técnicas de aperfeiçoamento do melhoramento genético de plantas, o desenvolvimento de sementes cada vez mais resistentes a pragas e doenças, e as crescentes parcerias na condução das atividades tecnológicas. Foi possível também concluir que tecnologicamente os dois tipos de empresas são similares em termos de capacitação de recursos humanos (qualificação e número de pesquisadores). A aquisição e a disponibilidade de recursos financeiros é a diferença mais relevante entre os dois tipos de empresas. Também se concluiu que a extensão e o potencial agrícola torna o Brasil um país atrativo tanto para o desenvolvimento de novas técnicas utilizadas no desenvolvimento de novas sementes, quanto na instalação de empresas multinacionais como ponto de partida para a atuação das mesmas em todo o mercado latino-americano.

Uma investigação empírico-exploratória acerca da rentabilidade dos clientes freqüentes e esporádicos no varejo eletrônico brasileiro

o presente estudo de caso investiga, empiricamente, a rentabilidade associada aos consumidores do varejo eletrônico de bens duráveis no Brasil. Para tal, o arcabouço teórico baseia-se em teorias rivais, notadamente as expostas na literatura tradicional do Marketing de Relacionamento - que discute os beneficios da retenção de clientes - e nas recentes publicações que questionam tal abordagem - argumentando que os consumidores esporádicos podem se mostrar mais valiosos que os freqüentes. Nas duas empresas investigadas, os clientes esporádicos demonstram-se mais rentáveis que os freqüentes. Entretanto, a análise exploratória dos dados qualitativos demonstra que ambas utilizam abordagens transacionais para interagir com os consumidores. O cruzamento das evidências quali-quantitativas sugere que o declínio do valor dos clientes freqüentes está associado a práticas gerenciais que não se encontram em conformidade com a literatura convencional de marketing. Por conseguinte, as evidências quantitativas parecem não representar anomalias perante a teoria vigente, segundo a qual os beneficios inerentes à retenção de consumidores fazem sentido apenas para as empresas que estiverem orientadas a clientes e puderem interagir de forma relacional com os mesmos. O estudo possibilita supor que o valor dos clientes está associado à forma como as empresas se relacionam com o mercado. A adoção de práticas transacionais, a baixa diferenciação e a competição baseada em descontos parece potencializar a sensibilidade ao preço por parte dos consumidores, principalmente daqueles mais freqüentemente.

Uma análise empírico-exploratória acerca do impacto do teletrabalho na carreira do teletrabalhador

This dissertation aims at understanding the impacts of telework in the teleworker's career by means of an empiric-exploratory analysis. To this end, we have analyzed the speech of teleworkers of an American multinational company in order to achieve an interpretation capable of identifying common aspects of said speeches. In this process, we have also dealt with issues such as infrastructure, social isolation, productivity, familiar environment, contact with other co-workers, allocation of private and work hours, and elements which motivated the choosing of work option. These factors were highly important for providing a better understanding of the work environment, and for completely covering the impacts of telework in the teleworker¿s career.