Data Mining Explained

Overview

Data mining is the crucial process of extracting implicit and possibly useful information from data. It uses analytical and visualization techniques to explore and present information in a format which is easily understandable by humans.

Data mining is widely used in a variety of profiling practices, such as fraud detection, marketing research, surveys and scientific discovery.

In this article I will briefly explain some of the fundamentals and its applications in the real world.

Herein I will not discuss related processes of any sorts, including Data Extraction and Data Structuring.

The Effort

Data Mining has found its application in various fields such as financial institutions, health-care & bio-informatics, business intelligence, social networks data research and many more.

Businesses use it to understand consumer behavior, analyze buying patterns of clients and expand its marketing efforts. Banks and financial institutions use it to detect credit card frauds by recognizing the patterns involved in fake transactions.

The Knack

There is definitely a knack to Data Mining, as there is with any other field of web research activities. That is why it is referred as a craft rather than a science. A craft is the skilled practicing of an occupation.

One point I would like to make here is that data mining solutions offers an analytical perspective into the performance of a company depending on the historical data but one need to consider unknown external events and deceitful activities. On the flip side it is more critical especially for Regulatory bodies to forecast such activities in advance and take necessary measures to prevent such events in future.

In Closing

There are many important niches of Web Data Research that this article has not covered. But I hope that this article will provide you a stage to drill down further into this subject, if you want to do so!

Should you have any queries, please feel free to mail me. I would be pleased to answer each of your queries in detail.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Data-Mining-Explained&id=4341782

What is Data Mining? Why Data Mining is Important?

Searching, Collecting, Filtering and Analyzing of data define as data mining. The large amount of information can be retrieved from wide range of form such as different data relationships, patterns or any significant statistical co-relations. Today the advent of computers, large databases and the internet is make easier way to collect millions, billions and even trillions of pieces of data that can be systematically analyzed to help look for relationships and to seek solutions to difficult problems.

The government, private company, large organization and all businesses are looking for large volume of information collection for research and business development. These all collected data can be stored by them to future use. Such kind of information is most important whenever it is require. It will take very much time for searching and find require information from the internet or any other resources.

Here is an overview of data mining services inclusion:

* Market research, product research, survey and analysis

* Collection information about investors, funds and investments

* Forums, blogs and other resources for customer views/opinions

* Scanning large volumes of data

* Information extraction

* Pre-processing of data from the data warehouse

* Meta data extraction

* Web data online mining services

* data online mining research

* Online newspaper and news sources information research

* Excel sheet presentation of data collected from online sources

* Competitor analysis

* data mining books

* Information interpretation

* Updating collected data

After applying the process of data mining, you can easily information extract from filtered information and processing the refining the information. This data process is mainly divided into 3 sections; pre-processing, mining and validation. In short, data online mining is a process of converting data into authentic information.

The most important is that it takes much time to find important information from the data. If you want to grow your business rapidly, you must take quick and accurate decisions to grab timely available opportunities.

Outsourcing Web Research is one of the best data mining outsourcing organizations having more than 17 years of experience in the market research industry. To know more information about our company please contact us.

Outsourcing Web Research is one of the best data mining outsourcing organizations having more than 17 years of experience in the market research industry.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Data-Mining?-Why-Data-Mining-is-Important?&id=3613677

CSR in the Extraction Sector

A study commissioned by the Canadian Mining industry found that Canadian mining companies were involved in 4 times as many mining "incidents" as companies from other countries. The study was intended for internal consumption only but has been leaked to the press recently. The study found that Canadian mining companies were involved in nearly two thirds of the 171 "high profile" environmental and human rights violations it studied occurring between 1999 and 2009. Members of the mining industry pointed out that the occurrences are in proportion to their representation on the global mining scene, indicating that they were no better or worse than companies from other countries.

First some background on the study. The study findings were captured in a report titled "Corporate Social Responsibility & the Canadian International Extractive Sector: A Survey". The report was prepared for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) by the Canadian Centre for the Study of Resource Conflict (CCSRC). The purpose of the study was to measure the level of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the "extractive" sector. The extractive sector, for those of us untutored in the terminology means exploration, gas, oil, and mining companies. The document leaked to the press was a first draft of the report, not the final draft. I should also mention that there is a bill, C-300, before the Canadian parliament which would make financing for foreign ventures contingent on meeting federally defined CSR standards. The exploration, gas, oil, and mining companies, and the organizations which represent them are very much against this bill. Leaking the negative aspects of this report was fortuitous for those in support of bill C-300 and disastrous for those opposed to it.

One of the observations the report makes is that adoption of formal CSR policies by companies with international interests is "remarkably low", but that those companies which have adopted CSR policies have experienced positive outcomes. The CCSRC contacted 584 companies which they felt met their criteria to participate in the study. Of those, 202 chose to participate. The first survey question was "Do you have a CSR policy or Code of International Business Conduct?" 56 of the 202 companies had documented policies in place. The study broke the 202 companies they surveyed into "junior" and "major" companies. 50% of the companies designated as major had documented CSR policies while only 21% of junior companies had one.

The survey also asked about the positive effects of a CSR policy. 24% of respondents claimed a reduction in conflicts or complications, 62% claimed better community relations (relations with the communities they were doing business in), and 25% reported increased shareholder interest. On the downside, 24% reported increased administration costs and 25% reported increased operating costs. One question they failed to ask was whether the benefits outweighed the costs.

The information I've stated in the preceding 2 paragraphs was gleaned from the final draft of the report. I don't have access to the first draft but apparently it described some of the 171 violations they were addressing in the study. I reported on one such violation in Project Management Tips section of this web site under the title "CSR Problems". The incidents reported on reflect the difficulty faced by companies who conduct business in some international locations. These incidents juxtapose our Canadian values and ethics with those of the countries our exploration, gas, mining, and oil companies do business in. One incident reported on, and attributed to the mining company's lack of CSR by the media, pitted one host community against another with the resulting violence blamed on the Canadian mining company. I'm not suggesting here that these companies have not made mistakes in the past, or that improvements cannot be made in their CSR efforts, I am suggesting that we should have realistic expectations about the effectiveness of a CSR policy to prevent any problems in a foreign venture.

A reasonable expectation in some cases would be that the company have a documented CSR policy which conforms to the standards and ethics of this country (Canada), abides by the laws of the host country, and conforms to the standards and ethics of the host country. The expectation should be tempered with the acknowledgment that the operating environment these companies encounter in host countries can be radically different than that found here. For example, when one community is in conflict with another over whether a mining operation should take place, we tend to look to non-violent forms of dispute resolution where some countries may resort to extreme violence to settle the dispute. Canadian companies frequently hire locals as security guards to protect their property as local authorities cannot perform this duty for one reason or another. It is reasonable to expect the hiring company to do its due diligence in hiring these people to ensure they don't create a threat to the surrounding community. It is not reasonable to expect that there will be no conflicts arising out of these situations. Where it is suspected that a security guard overstepped their authority, or engaged in illegal behaviour, it is reasonable to expect the employer to cooperate with the local authorities in the investigation.

North American companies doing business internationally have long had to deal with conflicts between acceptable corporate behaviour in their own country and acceptable behaviour in the host country. Bribery is the classic example. There are countries where bribery is not only accepted but essential to conducting business. Our laws will convict anyone proved to have offered a bribe but failure to pay the bribe may result in a failure to perform on the part of the North American company. Failure to perform might result in the loss of all or part of the company's investment in the project. Holding a company to this type of double standard can only result in one of 2 outcomes: the company will break the rule against bribery, or the company will cease to do business in that host country.

Since this web site is aimed at the project management community, let's draw some conclusions from the survey and CSR in general that may help project managers. The first conclusion I would draw from all of the above is that the CSR policy that governs your project must describe achievable goals. By this I mean that the goals, objectives, and standards stated in the policy must be within the project's power to achieve, or comply with. The second conclusion is that the right CSR policy carefully implemented can provide a business benefit to the organization. It is the project manager's job to ensure that those benefits are realized.

The goals and objectives of the project must include goals and objectives in support of the CSR policy. Those goals and objectives should be spelled out in the Project Charter and the connection between those goals and objectives and the CSR policy clearly defined. Make sure that the CSR related goals and objectives you set for the project are clearly defined, measurable, and obtainable and then agree with your stakeholders on the conditions that will indicate the goals have been met. Check for CSR policy goals and objectives that might conflict with each other and any of your project's goals and objectives, both CSR related and non-CSR. Goals and objectives you feel might conflict with each other, or with the CSR policy should be resolved by senior management. Start your escalation by drawing the project sponsor's attention to the conflict and ask for their help with resolution.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?CSR-in-the-Extraction-Sector&id=5675024

The Coal Mining Industry And Investing In It

The History Of Coal Usage

Coal was initially used as a domestic fuel, until the industrial revolution, when coal became an integral part of manufacturing for creating electricity, transportation, heating and molding purposes. The large scale mining aspect of coal was introduced around the 18th century, and Britain was the first nation to successfully use advanced coal mining techniques, which involved underground excavation and mining.

Initially coal was scraped off the surface by different processes like drift and shaft mining. This has been done for centuries, and since the demand was quite low, these mining processes were more than enough to accommodate the demand in the market.

However, when the practical uses of using coal as fuel sparked industrial revolution, the demand for coal rose abruptly, leading to severe shortage of the coal output, gradually paving the way for new ways to extract coal from under the ground.

Coal became a popular fuel for all purposes, even to this day, due to their abundance and their ability to produce more energy per mass than other conventional solid fuels like wood. This was important as far as transportation, creating electricity and manufacturing processes are concerned, which allowed industries to use up less space and increase productivity. The usage of coal started to dwindle once alternate energies such as oil and gas began to be used in almost all processes, however, coal is still a primary fuel source for manufacturing processes to this day.

The Process Of Coal Mining

Extracting coal is a difficult and complex process. Coal is a natural resource, a fossil fuel that is a result of millions of years of decay of plants and living organisms under the ground. Some can be found on the surface, while other coal deposits are found deep underground.

Coal mining or extraction comes broadly in two different processes, surface mining, and deep excavation. The method of excavation depends on a number of different factors, such as the depth of the coal deposit below the ground, geological factors such as soil composition, topography, climate, available local resources, etc.

Surface mining is used to scrape off coal that is available on the surface, or just a few feet underground. This can even include mountains of coal deposit, which is extracted by using explosives and blowing up the mountains, later collecting the fragmented coal and process them.

Deep underground mining makes use of underground tunnels, which is built, or dug through, to reach the center of the coal deposit, from where the coal is dug out and brought to the surface by coal workers. This is perhaps the most dangerous excavation procedure, where the lives of all the miners are constantly at a risk.

Investing In Coal

Investing in coal is a safe bet. There are still large reserves of coal deposits around the world, and due to the popularity, coal will be continued to be used as fuel for manufacturing process. Every piece of investment you make in any sort of industry or a manufacturing process ultimately depends on the amount of output the industry can deliver, which is dependent on the usage of any form of fuel, and in most cases, coal.

One might argue that coal usage leads to pollution and lower standards of hygiene for coal workers. This was arguably true in former years; however, newer coal mining companies are taking steps to assure that the environmental aspects of coal mining and usage are kept minimized, all the while providing better working environment and benefits package for their workers. If you can find a mining company that promises all these, and the one that also works within the law, you can be assured safety for your investments in coal.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Coal-Mining-Industry-And-Investing-In-It&id=5871879

Junk Car Removal Services: Lucrative Way to Bid Farewell to Scrap Cars

Are your still wondering if it is the time to call a junk car removal company?

Well, you should call a reliable scrap car removal company, when any one of the below situations is true:

- Your car has a very low trade-in value

- Despite repeated repairs, your car is not working well.

- The vehicle has been in an accident and declared a total loss.

- When you think of selling it, you hardly find any positive points to sell it for a substantial price.

- Your car has become a stationary object.

There are many important benefits of hiring scrap car removal services

- Get a good amount of cash

It may come as a surprise, but your useless car can fetch you a handsome sum. The junk car removal companies will always find something worthy of attention in your piece of junk. In fact, these companies have numerous uses for your car.

They can repair and reuse the broken-down parts of the cars. In case, your entire car has turned into scrap then too, you should contact a junk car removal company. It will save you from being duped.

These companies have experts, who can find multiple utilities for your car and quote a suitable price, accordingly.

If you try to sell your car to a scrap dealer, then you will get the price of scrap and not of the car.

- Sell any model from anywhere

A junk car removal company will never be choosy regarding the make of the car. Other alternatives like the towing companies have a definite list of models of cars that they tow. In case your vehicle does not belong in the list, then they will refuse you out rightly.

Moreover, towing companies do not have the expertise or equipment to work under challenging situations. For instance, if your scrap car has been parked for long and is stuck in debris, then a towing company may not be able to help you.

On the other hand, a junk car removal company is well equipped with work force, and the latest technology to deal with every situation.

It will reach your junk car and tow it away. When you call them for fixing an appointment, they will ask you what the destination of the car is. Provide them with the details. Then, just wait for them to arrive and help you in getting rid of the scrap.

You may have the latest model or an old one, if your car is not living up to your standards, then it is time to call the junk car removal company.

- Fix timing at your convenience and receive prompt services

When you have decided to sell your junk car to a company, you can enjoy the liberty of carrying out the transaction any time you want.

Yes, being the owner of the car, you are free to decide the timing of its pick-up. The scrap car-removal companies are very particular regarding timings.

- Environment-friendly option

The junk car removal companies adopt an earth-friendly approach while getting rid of the junk cars. A trash car pollutes the environment by releasing harmful gases. The companies ensure that every car that it has picked goes through several levels of checks.

During the process, all the parts, which can be reused in any form, are extracted and recycled. Only those parts, which cannot be put into use, in any form, are taken to the junk yard.

Thus, by opting for a scrap car removal company, you are saving the environment and helping in keeping your surroundings clean and healthy.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Junk-Car-Removal-Services:-Lucrative-Way-to-Bid-Farewell-to-Scrap-Cars&id=7206487

Websites Can Contractually Restrict Third Party Scraping of Their Data

E-commerce service providers can contractually prevent other websites from copying factual information from their website for commercial use, such as for price comparison purposes.

On 15 January 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed in a preliminary ruling that websites not protected by a database right, are free to impose contractual restrictions on the use of their data. Interestingly, the CJEU acknowledged that the contractual restrictions could – if national law permits - be imposed through the website’s terms and conditions.

Let’s have a quick look at how this matter arose. Since the early days of online reservations, some websites discovered that they could attract a lot of visitors by comparing the online prices displayed by e-commerce websites selling competing goods and services. Originally such third party websites were called “content aggregators” and today one particular type, so-called “price comparison” websites, is widely-known.  To be able to aggregate such content and create added-value for the consumer, these websites use automated software that visits the e-commerce websites and copies the latter’s pricing information in real time. This practice is often referred to as “screen scraping” and frequently occurs in the online travel reservation business. Some of these third party websites do not only show the compared prices of airline tickets but act as an intermediary for booking travel packages, including car and hotel rental services on top of the airline ticket, often after adding a commission.

In response, low-cost airlines quickly started taking legal action against such screen scraping practices, fearing the loss of such additional, revenue-generating services to these third party websites and also through suffering reputational damage when consumers were not properly informed about issues such as flight changes and cancellations. In these circumstances there was one case between the low-cost airline, Ryanair, and the third party website owner, PR Aviation BV, in which the Dutch Supreme Court made a preliminary ruling request to the CJEU.

The CJEU, in its preliminary ruling on the scope of database protection and contractual freedom, ruled in Ryanair’s favour. It concluded that, in the absence of any database related copyright or sui generis protection on Ryanair’s website, Ryanair was expressly allowed to lay down contractual limitations on the use of its website by third parties. Ryanair would not have had such contractual freedom if its database enjoyed copyright or sui generis database protection (due to the restriction laid down in Article 15 of the Database Directive 96/9/EC). Ryanair’s terms and conditions, to which users had to visibly agree when searching for flights (but without needing to explicitly tick a box), indeed stated that the use of any automated system or software to extract data from its website for commercial purposes was prohibited. Ryanair even went as far as to explicitly state that other websites could not sell its flights and that price comparison websites had to enter into a written licence agreement with Ryanair,
to access Ryanair’s price, flight and timetable information for the sole purpose of price comparison.

As a consequence of the CJEU’s ruling, any website making available mere factual information not protected by any legal right, can still prevent others from using such information through its terms and conditions. Clearly, that website will have to demonstrate under applicable (national) law that the website visitor is contractually bound, in particular because it validly agreed to such terms and conditions. Depending on the applicable law, such agreement by the consumer could be considered as having taken place by ticking a box or merely after having been made aware of the website’s terms and conditions.

The CJEU’s ruling is likely to impact upon the business model of a number of content aggregating/price comparison websites. The ruling’s concrete relevance, however, will have to be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Source:http://www.timelex.eu/en/blog/detail/websites-can-contractually-restrict-third-party-scraping-of-their-data

Top Tips for Data Mining Success

You may have trieTips for data mining successd data mining before but you seem to be lost in the maze of confusion, data overload, and a number of strange terms and icons. Do not fret, you are not alone. There may be a number of first timers who are in the same boat as you do. Stop, refocus and start all over again with the following tips in mind.

It is important that proper handling of the data mining procedure must be employed. Easy as it may sound, it can only bring in great results when it is placed in the expert hands and when done according to the right patterns and processes. This is not to say that data mining is only successful for a gifted and trained few. It means serious consideration, preparation, and training must be part of the groundwork before disembarking into it.

The most practical and tested tips are: know your desired outcomes; set expectations; assign the right personnel; avoid data dump; create a deployment scheme; develop a maintenance plan.

Know your desired outcomes

As the major proprietor of your business, you of all people should have a clear view in mind of what you really want for your business. Thus, before trying on new strategies and techniques that are recommended to you, you must know what your desired outcomes are. For instance, if your business is in real estate, you must be able to foresee which direction your market should go. Are you going up on skyscrapers or towards the horizons in the countryside? From great lengths, you go to the specifics and clearly spell out what you want and where it should be.

Set expectations

In connection with identifying your outcomes, you must also set realistic and attainable expectations. These are the very things that preclude possible obstacles and frustrations in the coming years. You can see where your business is going by web research or data mining. You can see the past and present of your competitors and you can also set your own future based on the experiences of others. It is often wise to set expectations that you have not attained before. It is like plowing and preparing the ground because you know rain is coming and it is the right time to plant and gain great harvest.

Assign the right personnel

When you find the right person as well as the right data mining service, you can cut short tiresome planning, devising and preparation. If you are in a small enterprise, you can spearhead the procedure but if you have enough staff at your disposal, choose one who is not only knowledgeable but also reliable and dedicated. You do not want someone who is only a good starter and one who would leave you hanging when the going gets tough.

Avoid data dump

Being sure of what you want can help you avoid unnecessary data. Data mining like real mining is being able to know where the gold is and is able to get it done in the most efficient and effective way. Being able to identify the legal sites and reliable, well researched information is the short cut to finding the right and exact data. It would be a waste of time and effort if you are aimlessly opening and clicking on unsure and ambiguous websites. There are a lot of links that lead you to more links and are simply making money out of others’ ignorance.

Create a deployment scheme

Like any other venture, you must also be able to delegate the task as well as the information that you gather. Since you are not a superhuman, learn to seek the assistance of others and be sure that you know who to trust. In addition, you must have a classification and segregation of the needed materials so that these will be easy to locate and analyze. In other words, order and proper organization is another tip in order to achieve success in data mining.

Develop a maintenance plan

Finally, along with orderliness and efficiency, you must see to it that you have an effective maintenance plan. What to do with old data and where to store the vital ones are concerns that need to be considered too. In addition, there is a need for a watchdog in the whole duration of your business venture. This will not only assure you of security of your data but also keep you on healthy and solid ground. This maintenance can be both a cleaning and healing spot for your business’ overall life and sustainability.

So much can be said about how to go about with your business using data mining but there is a factor that is uniquely your own. Above and beyond all these techniques and strategies, trust your instincts. You are the better judge of your desires and actions; thus, you must spend time alone in reflection, contemplation and retrospection. Being silent and alone can make you see things that are missed among all the movements and noise. Once in a while, leave the scene and look objectively at your work. Remember, there is wisdom in alienation and objectivity.

Source: http://www.loginworks.com/blogs/web-scraping-blogs/213-tips-for-data-mining-success/