Temporal meta-optimiser based sensitivity analysis (TMSA) for agent-based models and applications in children's services.

With current and predicted economic pressures within English Children's Services in the UK, there is a growing discourse around the development of methods of analysis using existing data to make more effective interventions and policy decisions. Agent-Based modelling shows promise in aiding in this, with limitations that require novel methods to overcome. This can include challenges in managing model complexity, transparency, and validation; which may deter analysts from implementing such Agent-Based simulations. Children's Services specifically can gain from the expansion of modelling techniques available to them. Sensitivity analysis is a common step when analysing models that currently has methods with limitations regarding Agent-Based Models. This paper outlines an improved method of conducting Sensitivity Analysis to enable better utilisation of Agent-Based models (ABMs) within Children's Services. By using machine learning based regression in conjunction with the Nomadic Peoples Optimiser (NPO) a method of conducting sensitivity analysis tailored for ABMs is achieved. This paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach by drawing comparisons with common existing methods of sensitivity analysis, followed by a demonstration of an improved ABM design in the target use case.

Multi-population Black Hole Algorithm for the problem of data clustering.

The retrieval of important information from a dataset requires applying a special data mining technique known as data clustering (DC). DC classifies similar objects into a groups of similar characteristics. Clustering involves grouping the data around k-cluster centres that typically are selected randomly. Recently, the issues behind DC have called for a search for an alternative solution. Recently, a nature-based optimization algorithm named Black Hole Algorithm (BHA) was developed to address the several well-known optimization problems. The BHA is a metaheuristic (population-based) that mimics the event around the natural phenomena of black holes, whereby an individual star represents the potential solutions revolving around the solution space. The original BHA algorithm showed better performance compared to other algorithms when applied to a benchmark dataset, despite its poor exploration capability. Hence, this paper presents a multi-population version of BHA as a generalization of the BHA called MBHA wherein the performance of the algorithm is not dependent on the best-found solution but a set of generated best solutions. The method formulated was subjected to testing using a set of nine widespread and popular benchmark test functions. The ensuing experimental outcomes indicated the highly precise results generated by the method compared to BHA and comparable algorithms in the study, as well as excellent robustness. Furthermore, the proposed MBHA achieved a high rate of convergence on six real datasets (collected from the UCL machine learning lab), making it suitable for DC problems. Lastly, the evaluations conclusively indicated the appropriateness of the proposed algorithm to resolve DC issues.

Diabetes disease prediction system using HNB classifier based on discretization method.

Diagnosing diabetes early is critical as it helps patients live with the disease in a healthy way - through healthy eating, taking appropriate medical doses, and making patients more vigilant in their movements/activities to avoid wounds that are difficult to heal for diabetic patients. Data mining techniques are typically used to detect diabetes with high confidence to avoid misdiagnoses with other chronic diseases whose symptoms are similar to diabetes. Hidden Naïve Bayes is one of the algorithms for classification, which works under a data-mining model based on the assumption of conditional independence of the traditional Naïve Bayes. The results from this research study, which was conducted on the Pima Indian Diabetes (PID) dataset collection, show that the prediction accuracy of the HNB classifier achieved 82%. As a result, the discretization method increases the performance and accuracy of the HNB classifier.

A Comprehensive Collection and Analysis Model for the Drone Forensics Field.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are adaptable and rapid mobile boards that can be applied to several purposes, especially in smart cities. These involve traffic observation, environmental monitoring, and public safety. The need to realize effective drone forensic processes has mainly been reinforced by drone-based evidence. Drone-based evidence collection and preservation entails accumulating and collecting digital evidence from the drone of the victim for subsequent analysis and presentation. Digital evidence must, however, be collected and analyzed in a forensically sound manner using the appropriate collection and analysis methodologies and tools to preserve the integrity of the evidence. For this purpose, various collection and analysis models have been proposed for drone forensics based on the existing literature; several models are inclined towards specific scenarios and drone systems. As a result, the literature lacks a suitable and standardized drone-based collection and analysis model devoid of commonalities, which can solve future problems that may arise in the drone forensics field. Therefore, this paper has three contributions: (a) studies the machine learning existing in the literature in the context of handling drone data to discover criminal actions, (b) highlights the existing forensic models proposed for drone forensics, and (c) proposes a novel comprehensive collection and analysis forensic model (CCAFM) applicable to the drone forensics field using the design science research approach. The proposed CCAFM consists of three main processes: (1) acquisition and preservation, (2) reconstruction and analysis, and (3) post-investigation process. CCAFM contextually leverages the initially proposed models herein incorporated in this study. CCAFM allows digital forensic investigators to collect, protect, rebuild, and examine volatile and nonvolatile items from the suspected drone based on scientific forensic techniques. Therefore, it enables sharing of knowledge on drone forensic investigation among practitioners working in the forensics domain.

Hybrid flower pollination algorithm strategies for t-way test suite generation.

The application of meta-heuristic algorithms for t-way testing has recently become prevalent. Consequently, many useful meta-heuristic algorithms have been developed on the basis of the implementation of t-way strategies (where t indicates the interaction strength). Mixed results have been reported in the literature to highlight the fact that no single strategy appears to be superior compared with other configurations. The hybridization of two or more algorithms can enhance the overall search capabilities, that is, by compensating the limitation of one algorithm with the strength of others. Thus, hybrid variants of the flower pollination algorithm (FPA) are proposed in the current work. Four hybrid variants of FPA are considered by combining FPA with other algorithmic components. The experimental results demonstrate that FPA hybrids overcome the problems of slow convergence in the original FPA and offers statistically superior performance compared with existing t-way strategies in terms of test suite size.