Application of the Dominance-based Rough Set Approach to Case-based Reasoning

Marcin Szelg
Institute of Computing Science, Pozna University of Technology, 60-965 Pozna, Poland

12.5.2010

Outline

Introduction

CBR-DRSA Methodology Basic Notions and Denitions Decision Rules Certain and Possible Fuzzy Classication

Conclusions

Introduction

General Motivations

Case-based reasoning (CBR) is a natural way in which people solve problems. It is a process of solving new problems based on the solutions of similar problems from the past. When calculating similarity of two objects, main diculty consists in aggregation of dierent criteria/attributes; usually such aggregation is performed arbitrary, using weights or aggregation operators like sum, average or distance metrics. Therefore, there is a need for multi-criteria/multi-attribute modelling method that allows to include domain knowledge, can handle possible inconsistencies in data, and avoids any aggregation operators.

Information and Decision Table

Information table is dened by a set of objects . Objects are described by a set of criteria and regular attributes. If the set of criteria and regular attributes is divided into two disjoint subsets of conditions and decisions , then information table is called a decision table. Criterion is an attribute with values ordered according to a scale of preference introduced (by a decision maker) as a part of domain knowledge. We distinguish two types of criteria: ordinal, with values expressed on ordinal scale, cardinal, with values expressed on interval or ratio scale.

Multi-attribute Fuzzy Classication Problem Statement

There is given a set of objects described in terms of condition attributes from set , and a set of decision classes , 2. Each decision class , {1, . . . , } is a fuzzy set with membership function : [0, 1]. For given object , value () reects the credibility that object belongs to decision class . There is given a marginal similarity function for each condition attribute , {1, . . . , }, and objects from set () are marked as reference objects (known cases). The task is to build a similarity-based model that is capable of fuzzy classication, i.e., which can assign appropriate membership value to each decision class , for new (test) objects.
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Motivations for Application of DRSA

The problem can be eectively solved using Dominance-based Rough Set Approach (DRSA), which: can handle inconsistences in data (preprocessing), resulting, e.g., from imprecise of incomplete information, takes into account domain knowledge:
domains of attributes, i.e., sets of values that an attribute may take while being meaningful for users perception, division of attributes into condition and decision attributes, monotonicity constraints between attributes, addressed by the dominance principle,

works with heterogenous attributes nominal, ordinal and cardinal (no need of discretization), enables to infer decision rule model from decision table (disaggregation-aggregation paradigm).

Motivations for Using Decision Rule Model

Advantages of decision rules: comprehensible form of knowledge representation, can represent any function (more general than utility functions or binary relations), resistant to irrelevant attributes, do not require aggregation operators, support backtracing, can explain past decisions and predict future decisions.

CBR-DRSA Methodology

Methodology for Solving Fuzzy Classication Problems

Example for fuzzy IRIS problem part of initial data:

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CBR-DRSA

The rst step consists in creation of similarity tables, one for each reference object (). At this stage chosen marginal similarity functions are used to calculate marginal similarities w.r.t. chosen reference objects. Dierent marginal similarity functions can be used, depending on the domain of attribute , {1, . . . , }. The minimal requirement that each such function : [0, 1] must satisfy is that (, ) = 1, where is a reference object.

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CBR-DRSA Marginal Similarity Functions

Numeric attribute with values on interval or ratio scale similarity is dened using a mathematical function, e.g.: = 1 = = ... Attribute with nominal values similarity is dened using a table, e.g.:
() ( ) max min

1 () ( )+1 1 ( () ( ))2 +1

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CBR-DRSA Similarity Table

Example for fuzzy IRIS problem part of the similarity table created for reference object no. 36 (5.1,3.4,1.5,0.2|1.0,0.5,0.4), with = ()1 ( )+1 , for {1, . . . , 4}:

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CBR-DRSA -cuts of Decision Classes

We consider each decision class (fuzzy set) separately from the other classes. For each such class, we identify possible upward/downward -cuts in the following way: = { : ( ) }, = { : ( ) }. For an upward -cut it is required that > min , while for a downward -cut , it is required that < max , where denotes a set of membership values to observed in data.

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CBR-DRSA Dominance Relation for Pairs of Objects

The dominance relation between pairs of objects (, ) and (, ), w.r.t. set of condition attributes is dened as: (, ) (, ) : (, ) (, )

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CBR-DRSA Dominance Cones

Given and , , let:

+ -positive dominance cone (, ) = { : (, ) (, )}, -negative dominance cone (, ) = { : (, ) (, )}.

In the pair (, ), is considered to be a reference object, while is called a limit object, because it conditions the membership of + in (, ) and (, ).

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Contextual Approximations of -cuts of Decision Classes

Denitions of contextual -lower approximations:
+ (, ) }, ()( ) = { : (, ) }. ()( ) = { :

Denitions of contextual -upper approximations: + ()( ) = { (, )}, ()( ) = { (, )}. Denitions of contextual -boundaries: ()( ) = ()( ) ()( ), ()( ) = ()( ) ()( ).

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Approximations of -cuts of Decision Classes

Denitions of -lower approximations: ( ) = () ()( ), ( ) = () ()( ). Denitions of -upper approximations: ( ) = () ()( ), ( ) = () ()( ). Denitions of -boundaries: ( ) = ( ) ( ), ( ) = ( ) ( ).

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CBR-DRSA Decision Rules

Decision rules are induced in order to identify similarity-based patterns in data. All pairs of objects (, ), where belongs to lower approximation of some or , are basis for induction of certain rules. All pairs of objects (, ), where belongs to upper approximation of some or , are basis for induction of possible rules.

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CBR-DRSA Decision Rules

Exemplary certain decision rule, for upward union 0.8 , generated for decision class setosa: If - (, 3.4) 0.59 - (, 1.5) 0.91 then belongs to class setosa to degree at least 0.8. Exemplary possible decision rule, for downward union 0.5 , generated for decision class versicolor : If - (, 6.5) 0.5 then could belong to class versicolor to degree at most 0.5.

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CBR-DRSA Decision Rules

There is a problem which decision rules resulting from lower/upper approximations of -cuts , should be used for classication. The minimal set of certain/possible rules is non-unique. The choice of such a set is arbitrary and non-trivial. On the other hand, (explicit) generation of a set of all certain/possible rules is computationally hard.

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CBR-DRSA Decision Rules

Proposed approach: Certain knowledge minimal set of certain rules (MCR), generated from lower approximations of and , independently for each decision class . Possible knowledge minimal set of possible rules (MPR), generated from upper approximations of and , independently for each decision class . Only minimal certain/possible rules are taken into account. Decision rules are generated by VC-DomLEM [1,2] algorithm.

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CBR-DRSA Fuzzy Classication of New Objects

Fuzzy classication of a new (test) object is performed independently for each decision class . For each such class two suggestions can be calculated: certain suggestion, resulting from application of MCR, possible suggestion, resulting from application of MPR. Each suggestion is obtained using a VC-DRSA classier [5].

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Summary and Conclusions

DRSA is a exible modelling method that allows to include domain knowledge and can handle possible inconsistencies in data by calculating lower and upper approximations of sets. DRSA allows to work with heterogenous attributes nominal, ordinal and cardinal (no need of discretization). DRSA can be applied to multi-attribute similarity-based fuzzy classication problems, that employ pairwise comparisons expressed in similarity table. Rule model has many advantages, e.g., comprehensibility, generality, lack of aggregation operators, predictive power, resistance to irrelevant attributes. Denitions of rough approximations and syntax of decision rules in CBR-DRSA are based on ordinal properties of similarity relations only unlike in other methods (e.g., k-NN), no aggregation operators are used.
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References

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