Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Concept Drift Detection'

In this paper, the phenomenon of changes in item characteristics over time (often referred to as drift) is discussed from several theoretical perspectives, and a new procedure for the detection of Item Parameter Drift (IPD) is proposed. An initial evaluation of the utility of the proposed procedure is conducted using simulated data modeled by the 2-Parameter Logistic (2PL) Item Response Theory (IRT) model. In addition to the proposed procedure, an IPD analysis of the simulated data is conducted using two known methods: Kim, Cohen, and Park's (1995) extension of Lord's (1980) Chi-square test of Differential Item Functioning (DIF) to multiple groups, and logistic regression. The results indicate high agreement and accuracy in the detection of true IPD using the two known methods, but poor performance of the proposed procedure. Possible explanations of the findings and future directions are discussed.<br>Education, Faculty of<br>Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of<br>Graduate

Concept drift detection, the identfication of changes in data distributions in streams, is critical to understanding the mechanics of data generating processes and ensuring that data models remain representative through time [2]. Many change detection methods utilize statistical techniques that take numerical data as input. However, many applications produce data streams containing categorical attributes. In this context, numerical statistical methods are unavailable, and different approaches are required. Common solutions use error monitoring, assuming that fluctuations in the error measures of a learning system correspond to concept drift [4]. There has been very little research, though, on context-based concept drift detection in categorical streams. This approach observes changes in the actual data distribution and is less popular due to the challenges associated with categorical data analysis. However, context-based change detection is arguably more informative as it is data-driven, and more widely applicable in that it can function in an unsupervised setting [4]. This study offers a contribution to this gap in the research by proposing a novel context-based change detection and adaptation algorithm for categorical data, namely Fine-Grained Change Detection in Categorical Data Streams (FG-CDCStream). This unsupervised method exploits elements of ensemble learning, a technique whereby decisions are made according to the majority vote of a set of models representing different random subspaces of the data [5]. These ideas are applied to a set of concept drift detector objects and merged with concepts from a recent, state-of-the-art, context-based change detection algorithm, the so-called Change Detection in Categorical Data Streams (CDCStream) [4]. FG-CDCStream is proposed as an extension of the batch-based CDCStream, providing instance-by-instance analysis and improving its change detection capabilities especially in data streams containing abrupt changes or a combination of abrupt and gradual changes. FG-CDCStream also enhances the adaptation strategy of CDCStream producing more representative post-change models.

Continuous change and development are essential aspects of evolving environments and applications, including, but not limited to, smart cities, military, medicine, nuclear reactors, self-driving cars, aviation, and aerospace. That is, the fundamental characteristics of such environments may evolve, and so cause dangerous consequences, e.g., putting people lives at stake, if no reaction is adopted. Therefore, learning systems need to apply intelligent algorithms to monitor evolvement in their environments and update themselves effectively. Further, we may experience fluctuations regarding the performance of learning algorithms due to the nature of incoming data as it continuously evolves. That is, the current efficient learning approach may become deprecated after a change in data or environment. Hence, the question 'how to have an efficient learning algorithm over time against evolving data?' has to be addressed. In this thesis, we have made two contributions to settle the challenges described above. In the machine learning literature, the phenomenon of (distributional) change in data is known as concept drift. Concept drift may shift decision boundaries, and cause a decline in accuracy. Learning algorithms, indeed, have to detect concept drift in evolving data streams and replace their predictive models accordingly. To address this challenge, adaptive learners have been devised which may utilize drift detection methods to locate the drift points in dynamic and changing data streams. A drift detection method able to discover the drift points quickly, with the lowest false positive and false negative rates, is preferred. False positive refers to incorrectly alarming for concept drift, and false negative refers to not alarming for concept drift. In this thesis, we introduce three algorithms, called as the Fast Hoeffding Drift Detection Method (FHDDM), the Stacking Fast Hoeffding Drift Detection Method (FHDDMS), and the McDiarmid Drift Detection Methods (MDDMs), for detecting drift points with the minimum delay, false positive, and false negative rates. FHDDM is a sliding window-based algorithm and applies Hoeffding’s inequality (Hoeffding, 1963) to detect concept drift. FHDDM slides its window over the prediction results, which are either 1 (for a correct prediction) or 0 (for a wrong prediction). Meanwhile, it compares the mean of elements inside the window with the maximum mean observed so far; subsequently, a significant difference between the two means, upper-bounded by the Hoeffding inequality, indicates the occurrence of concept drift. The FHDDMS extends the FHDDM algorithm by sliding multiple windows over its entries for a better drift detection regarding the detection delay and false negative rate. In contrast to FHDDM/S, the MDDM variants assign weights to their entries, i.e., higher weights are associated with the most recent entries in the sliding window, for faster detection of concept drift. The rationale is that recent examples reflect the ongoing situation adequately. Then, by putting higher weights on the latest entries, we may detect concept drift quickly. An MDDM algorithm bounds the difference between the weighted mean of elements in the sliding window and the maximum weighted mean seen so far, using McDiarmid’s inequality (McDiarmid, 1989). Eventually, it alarms for concept drift once a significant difference is experienced. We experimentally show that FHDDM/S and MDDMs outperform the state-of-the-art by representing promising results in terms of the adaptation and classification measures. Due to the evolving nature of data streams, the performance of an adaptive learner, which is defined by the classification, adaptation, and resource consumption measures, may fluctuate over time. In fact, a learning algorithm, in the form of a (classifier, detector) pair, may present a significant performance before a concept drift point, but not after. We define this problem by the question 'how can we ensure that an efficient classifier-detector pair is present at any time in an evolving environment?' To answer this, we have developed the Tornado framework which runs various kinds of learning algorithms simultaneously against evolving data streams. Each algorithm incrementally and independently trains a predictive model and updates the statistics of its drift detector. Meanwhile, our framework monitors the (classifier, detector) pairs, and recommends the efficient one, concerning the classification, adaptation, and resource consumption performance, to the user. We further define the holistic CAR measure that integrates the classification, adaptation, and resource consumption measures for evaluating the performance of adaptive learning algorithms. Our experiments confirm that the most efficient algorithm may differ over time because of the developing and evolving nature of data streams.

Submitted by Geyciane Santos (geyciane_thamires@hotmail.com) on 2015-11-12T20:17:58Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Márcia Henke.pdf: 2984974 bytes, checksum: a103355c1a7895956d40d4fa9422347a (MD5)<br>Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-11-16T18:36:36Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Márcia Henke.pdf: 2984974 bytes, checksum: a103355c1a7895956d40d4fa9422347a (MD5)<br>Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-11-16T18:43:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Márcia Henke.pdf: 2984974 bytes, checksum: a103355c1a7895956d40d4fa9422347a (MD5)<br>Made available in DSpace on 2015-11-16T18:43:03Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese - Márcia Henke.pdf: 2984974 bytes, checksum: a103355c1a7895956d40d4fa9422347a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-30<br>CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior<br>Electronic messages (emails) are still considered the most significant tools in business and personal applications due to their low cost and easy access. However, e-mails have become a major problem owing to the high amount of junk mail, named spam, which fill the e-mail boxes of users. Among the many problems caused by spam messages, we may highlight the fact that it is currently the main vector for the spread of malicious activities such as viruses, worms, trojans, phishing, botnets, among others. Such activities allow the attacker to have illegal access to penetrating data, trade secrets or to invade the privacy of the sufferers to get some advantage. Several approaches have been proposed to prevent sending unsolicited e-mail messages, such as filters implemented in e-mail servers, spam message classification mechanisms for users to define when particular issue or author is a source of spread of spam and even filters implemented in network electronics. In general, e-mail filter approaches are based on analysis of message content to determine whether or not a message is spam. A major problem with this approach is spam detection in the presence of concept drift. The literature defines concept drift as changes occurring in the concept of data over time, as the change in the features that describe an attack or occurrence of new features. Numerous Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) use machine learning techniques to monitor the classification error rate in order to detect change. However, when detection occurs, some damage has been caused to the system, a fact that requires updating the classification process and the system operator intervention. To overcome the problems mentioned above, this work proposes a new changing detection method, named Method oriented to the Analysis of the Development of Attacks Characteristics (MECA). The proposed method consists of three steps: 1) classification model training; 2) concept drift detection; and 3) transfer learning. The first step generates classification models as it is commonly conducted in machine learning. The second step introduces two new strategies to avoid concept drift: HFS (Historical-based Features Selection) that analyzes the evolution of the features based on over time historical; and SFS (Similarity-based Features Selection) that analyzes the evolution of the features from the level of similarity obtained between the features vectors of the source and target domains. Finally, the third step focuses on the following questions: what, how and when to transfer acquired knowledge. The answer to the first question is provided by the concept drift detection strategies that identify the new features and store them to be transferred. To answer the second question, the feature representation transfer approach is employed. Finally, the transfer of new knowledge is executed as soon as changes that compromise the classification task performance are identified. The proposed method was developed and validated using two public databases, being one of the datasets built along this thesis. The results of the experiments shown that it is possible to infer a threshold to detect changes in order to ensure the classification model is updated through knowledge transfer. In addition, MECA architecture is able to perform the classification task, as well as the concept drift detection, as two parallel and independent tasks. Finally, MECA uses SVM machine learning algorithm (Support Vector Machines), which is less adherent to the training samples. The results obtained with MECA showed that it is possible to detect changes through feature evolution monitoring before a significant degradation in classification models is achieved.<br>As mensagens eletrônicas (e-mails) ainda são consideradas as ferramentas de maior prestígio no meio empresarial e pessoal, pois apresentam baixo custo e facilidade de acesso. Por outro lado, os e-mails tornaram-se um grande problema devido à elevada quantidade de mensagens não desejadas, denominadas spam, que lotam as caixas de emails dos usuários. Dentre os diversos problemas causados pelas mensagens spam, destaca-se o fato de ser atualmente o principal vetor de propagação de atividades maliciosas como vírus, worms, cavalos de Tróia, phishing, botnets, dentre outros. Tais atividades permitem ao atacante acesso indevido a dados sigilosos, segredos de negócios ou mesmo invadir a privacidade das vítimas para obter alguma vantagem. Diversas abordagens, comerciais e acadêmicas, têm sido propostas para impedir o envio de mensagens de e-mails indesejados como filtros implementados nos servidores de e-mail, mecanismos de classificação de mensagens de spam para que os usuários definam quando determinado assunto ou autor é fonte de propagação de spam e até mesmo filtros implementados em componentes eletrônicos de rede. Em geral, as abordagens de filtros de e-mail são baseadas na análise do conteúdo das mensagens para determinar se tal mensagem é ou não um spam. Um dos maiores problemas com essa abordagem é a deteção de spam na presença de concept drift. A literatura conceitua concept drift como mudanças que ocorrem no conceito dos dados ao longo do tempo como a alteração das características que descrevem um ataque ou ocorrência de novas características. Muitos Sistemas de Deteção de Intrusão (IDS) usam técnicas de aprendizagem de máquina para monitorar a taxa de erro de classificação no intuito de detetar mudança. Entretanto, quando a deteção ocorre, algum dano já foi causado ao sistema, fato que requer atualização do processo de classificação e a intervenção do operador do sistema. Com o objetivo de minimizar os problemas mencionados acima, esta tese propõe um método de deteção de mudança, denominado Método orientado à Análise da Evolução das Características de Ataques (MECA). O método proposto é composto por três etapas: 1) treino do modelo de classificação; 2) deteção de mudança; e 3) transferência do aprendizado. A primeira etapa emprega modelos de classificação comumente adotados em qualquer método que utiliza aprendizagem de máquina. A segunda etapa apresenta duas novas estratégias para contornar concept drift: HFS (Historical-based Features Selection) que analisa a evolução das características com base no histórico ao longo do tempo; e SFS (Similarity based Features Selection) que observa a evolução das características a partir do nível de similaridade obtido entre os vetores de características dos domínios fonte e alvo. Por fim, a terceira etapa concentra seu objetivo nas seguintes questões: o que, como e quando transferir conhecimento adquirido. A resposta à primeira questão é fornecida pelas estratégias de deteção de mudança, que identificam as novas características e as armazenam para que sejam transferidas. Para responder a segunda questão, a abordagem de transferência de representação de características é adotada. Finalmente, a transferência do novo conhecimento é realizada tão logo mudanças que comprometam o desempenho da tarefa de classificação sejam identificadas. O método MECA foi desenvolvido e validado usando duas bases de dados públicas, sendo que uma das bases foi construída ao longo desta tese. Os resultados dos experimentos indicaram que é possível inferir um limiar para detetar mudanças a fim de garantir o modelo de classificação sempre atualizado por meio da transferência de conhecimento. Além disso, um diferencial apresentado no método MECA é a possibilidade de executar a tarefa de classificação em paralelo com a deteção de mudança, sendo as duas tarefas independentes. Por fim, o MECA utiliza o algoritmo de aprendizagem de máquina SVM (Support Vector Machines), que é menos aderente às amostras de treinamento. Os resultados obtidos com o MECA mostraram que é possível detetar mudanças por meio da evolução das características antes de ocorrer uma degradação significativa no modelo de classificação utilizado.