Scalable Collaborative Filtering Technique based on Adaptive Clustering (적응형 군집화 기반 확장 용이한 협업 필터링 기법)
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- Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
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- v.20 no.2
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- pp.73-92
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- 2014
An Adaptive Clustering-based Collaborative Filtering Technique was proposed to solve the fundamental problems of collaborative filtering, such as cold-start problems, scalability problems and data sparsity problems. Previous collaborative filtering techniques were carried out according to the recommendations based on the predicted preference of the user to a particular item using a similar item subset and a similar user subset composed based on the preference of users to items. For this reason, if the density of the user preference matrix is low, the reliability of the recommendation system will decrease rapidly. Therefore, the difficulty of creating a similar item subset and similar user subset will be increased. In addition, as the scale of service increases, the time needed to create a similar item subset and similar user subset increases geometrically, and the response time of the recommendation system is then increased. To solve these problems, this paper suggests a collaborative filtering technique that adapts a condition actively to the model and adopts the concepts of a context-based filtering technique. This technique consists of four major methodologies. First, items are made, the users are clustered according their feature vectors, and an inter-cluster preference between each item cluster and user cluster is then assumed. According to this method, the run-time for creating a similar item subset or user subset can be economized, the reliability of a recommendation system can be made higher than that using only the user preference information for creating a similar item subset or similar user subset, and the cold start problem can be partially solved. Second, recommendations are made using the prior composed item and user clusters and inter-cluster preference between each item cluster and user cluster. In this phase, a list of items is made for users by examining the item clusters in the order of the size of the inter-cluster preference of the user cluster, in which the user belongs, and selecting and ranking the items according to the predicted or recorded user preference information. Using this method, the creation of a recommendation model phase bears the highest load of the recommendation system, and it minimizes the load of the recommendation system in run-time. Therefore, the scalability problem and large scale recommendation system can be performed with collaborative filtering, which is highly reliable. Third, the missing user preference information is predicted using the item and user clusters. Using this method, the problem caused by the low density of the user preference matrix can be mitigated. Existing studies on this used an item-based prediction or user-based prediction. In this paper, Hao Ji's idea, which uses both an item-based prediction and user-based prediction, was improved. The reliability of the recommendation service can be improved by combining the predictive values of both techniques by applying the condition of the recommendation model. By predicting the user preference based on the item or user clusters, the time required to predict the user preference can be reduced, and missing user preference in run-time can be predicted. Fourth, the item and user feature vector can be made to learn the following input of the user feedback. This phase applied normalized user feedback to the item and user feature vector. This method can mitigate the problems caused by the use of the concepts of context-based filtering, such as the item and user feature vector based on the user profile and item properties. The problems with using the item and user feature vector are due to the limitation of quantifying the qualitative features of the items and users. Therefore, the elements of the user and item feature vectors are made to match one to one, and if user feedback to a particular item is obtained, it will be applied to the feature vector using the opposite one. Verification of this method was accomplished by comparing the performance with existing hybrid filtering techniques. Two methods were used for verification: MAE(Mean Absolute Error) and response time. Using MAE, this technique was confirmed to improve the reliability of the recommendation system. Using the response time, this technique was found to be suitable for a large scaled recommendation system. This paper suggested an Adaptive Clustering-based Collaborative Filtering Technique with high reliability and low time complexity, but it had some limitations. This technique focused on reducing the time complexity. Hence, an improvement in reliability was not expected. The next topic will be to improve this technique by rule-based filtering.
Dasiraegi is a traditional funeral rite performance of Jindo located in the South Jeolla Province of South Korea. With its unique stylistic structure including various dances, songs and witty dialogues, and a storyline depicting the birth of a new life in the wake of death, embodying the Buddhism belief that life and death is interconnected; it attracted great interest from performance organizers and performers who were desperately seeking new contents that can be put on stage as a performance. It is needless to say previous research on Dasiraegi had been most valuable in its recreation as it analyzed the performance from a wide range of perspectives. Despite its contributions, the previous researches were mainly academic focusing on: the symbolic meanings of the performance, basic introduction to the components of the performance such as script, lyrics, witty dialogue, appearance (costume and make-up), stage properties, rhythm, dance and etc., lacking accurate representation of the most crucial element of the performance which is sori (song). For this reason, the study analyzes the music of Dasiraegi and presents its musical characteristics along with its scores to provide practical support for performers who are active in the field. Out of all the numbers in Dasiraegi, this study analyzed all of Geosa-nori and Sadang-nori, the funeral dirge (mourning chant) sung as the performers come on stage and Gasangjae-nori, because among the five proceedings of the funeral rite they were the most commonly performed. There are a plethora of performance recordings to choose from, however, this study chose Jindo Dasiraegi, an album released by E&E Media. The album offers high quality recordings of performances, but more importantly, it is easy to obtain and utilize for performers who want to learn the Dasiraegi based on the script provided in this study. The musical analysis discovered a number of interesting findings. Firstly, most of the songs in Dasiraegi use a typical Yukjabaegi-tori which applies the Mi scale frequently containing cut-off (breaking) sounds. Although, Southern Kyoung-tori which applies the Sol scale was used, it was only in limited parts and was musically incomplete. Secondly, there was no musical affinity between Ssitgim-gut and Dasiraegi albeit both are for funeral rites. The fundamental difference in character and function of Ssitgim-gut and Dasiraegi may be the reason behind this lack of affinity, as Ssitgim-gut is sung to guide the deceased to heaven by comforting him/her, whereas, Dasiaregi is sung to reinvigorate the lives of the living. Lastly, traces of musical grammar found in Pansori are present in the earlier part of Dasiraegi. This may be attributed to the master artist (Designee of Important Intangible Cultural Heritage), who was instrumental in the restoration and hand-down of Dasiaregi, and his experience in a Changgeuk company. The performer's experience with Changgeuk may have induced the alterations in Dasiraegi, causing it to deviate from its original form. On the other hand, it expanded the performative bais by enhancing the performance aspect of Dasiraegi allowing it to be utilized as contents for Performing Arts. It would be meaningful to see this study utilized to benefit future performance artists, taking Dasiraegi as their inspiration, which overcomes the loss of death and invigorates the vibrancy of life.
Recently concerns have been raised due to the unbalanced supply of crops: the price of crops has been unstable and at one point the price went up so high that the word Agflation(agriculture+ inflation) was coined. Korea, in particular, is a small-sized country and needs to secure the stable supply of crops by investing in the produce importation at a national level. Investment in foreign produce importation is becoming more important as a measure for sufficient supply of crops, limited supply of domestic crops, weakened farming conditions worldwide, as well as recent changes in the use of crops due to the development of bio-fuels, influence of carbon emission on crops, the price increase in crops, and influx of foreign hot money. However, there are many problems with investing in foreign produce importation: lack of support from the government; lack of farming information and technology; difficulty in securing the capital; no immediate pay-off from the investment and insufficient management. Although foreign produce is originally more price-competitive than domestic produce, it loses its competiveness in the process of importation (due to high tariffs) and poor distribution system, which makes it difficult to sell in Korea. Therefore, investment in foreign produce importation is being questioned for feasibility; to make it possible, foreign produce must maintain the price-competitiveness. Especially, harvest of agricultural products depends on natural and geographical conditions of each country and those products have indigenous properties, so distribution system according to import and export of agricultural products should be treated more carefully than that of other industries. Distribution costs are differentiated into each item and include cost of sorting and wrapping, cost of wrapping materials, cost of domestic transport, cost of international transport and cost of clearing customs for import and export. So transporting and storing agricultural products generates considerable costs compared with other products. Also, due to upgrade of dietary life, needs for stability, taste and visible quality toward food including agricultural products are being raised and wrong way of storage causes decomposition of food and loss of freshness, making the storage more difficult than that in room temperature, so storage and transport in distribution of agricultural products needs specialty. In addition, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. However, existing distribution system of agricultural products is exposed to various problems including problems in distribution channel, making distribution and strategy for distribution and those problems are as follows. First, in case of investment in overseas agricultural industry, stable supply of the products is difficult because areas of production are dispersed widely and influenced by outer factors due to including overseas distribution channels. Also, at the aspect of quality, standardization of products is difficult, distribution system is quite complicated and unreasonable due to long distribution channels according to international trade and financial and institutional support is not enough. Especially, there are quite a lot of ineffective factors including multi level distribution process, dramatic gap between production cost and customer's cost, lack of physical distribution facilities and difficulties in storage and transport due to lack of wrapping containers. Besides, because import and export of agricultural products has been manages under the company's own distribution according to transaction contract between manufacturers and exporting company, efficiency is low due to excessive investment in fixed costs and lack of specialty in dealing with agricultural products causes fall of value of products, showing the limit to lose price-competitiveness. Especially, because lack of specialty in distribution and circulation such as storage and wrapping does not solve limit factors in distance, the distribution and circulation has been limited to a form of import and export within short-distant region. Therefore, need for distribution out-sourcing which can satisfy specialty in managing distribution and circulation and it is needed to establish more effective distribution system. Second, among tangible and intangible services which promote the efficiency of the whole distribution, a function building distribution environment which includes distribution information, system for standard and inspection, distribution finance, system for diversification of risks, education and training, distribution administration and tax system is wanted. In general, such a function building distribution environment is difficult to be changed and supplement innovatively because its effect compared with investment does not appear immediately despite of its necessity. Especially, in case of distribution of agricultural products, as a function of collecting and distributing is performed individually through various channels, the importance of distribution information and standardization is getting more focus due to the problem of repetition of work and lack of specialty. Also, efficient management of distribution is quite difficult due to lack of professionals in distribution, so support to professional education is needed. Third, though effort to keep self-sufficiency ratio of staple food, rice is regarded as important at the government level, level of dependency on overseas of others crops is high. Therefore, plan for stable securing food resources aside from staple food is also necessary. Especially, governmental organizations of agricultural products distribution in Korea are production-centered and have unreasonable structure whose function at the aspect of distribution and consumption is quite insufficient. And development of new distribution channels which can deal with changes in distribution environment and they do not achieve actual results of strategy for distribution due to non-positive strategy for price distribution. That is, it implies the possibility that base for supply will become vulnerable because it does not mediate appropriate interests on total distribution channels such as manufacturers, wholesale dealers and vendors by emphasizing consumer protection excessively in the distribution of agricultural products. Therefore, this study examined fundamental concept and actual situation for our investment to overseas agriculture, drew necessities, considerations, problems, etc. of overseas agricultural investment and suggested improvements at the level of distribution for price competitiveness of agricultural products cultivated in overseas under five aspects; government's indirect support, distribution's modernization and distribution information function's strengthening, government's political support for distribution facility, transportation route, load and unloading works' improvement, price competitiveness' securing, professional manpower's cultivation by education and training, etc. Here are some suggestions for foreign produce importation. First, the government should conduct a survey on the current distribution channels and analyze the situation to establish a measure for long-term development plans. By providing each agricultural area with a guideline for planning appropriate production of crops, the government can help farmers be ready for importation, and prevent them from producing same crops all at the same time. Government can sign an MOU with the foreign government and promote the importation so that the development of agricultural resources can be stable and steady. Second, the government can establish a strategy for an effective distribution system by providing farmers and agriculture-related workers with the distribution information such as price, production, demand, market structure and location, feature of each crop, and etc. In order for such distribution system to become feasible, the government needs to reconstruct the current distribution system, designate a public organization for providing distribution information and set the criteria for level of produce quality, trade units, and package units. Third, the government should provide financial support and a policy to seek an efficient distribution channel for foreign produce to be delivered fresh: the government should expand distribution facilities (for selecting, packaging, storing, and processing) and transportation vehicles while modernizing old facilities. There should be another policy to improve the efficiency of unloading, and to lower the cost of distribution. Fourth, it is necessary to enact a new law covering exceptional cases for importing produce in order to maintain the price competitiveness; currently the high tariffs is keeping the imported produce from being distributed domestically. However, the new adjustment should be made carefully within the WTO regulations since it can create a problem from giving preferential tariffs. The government can also simplify the distribution channels in order to reduce the cost in the distribution process. Fifth, the government should educate distributors to raise the efficiency and to modernize the distribution system. It is necessary to develop human resources by educating people regarding the foreign agricultural environment, the produce quality, management skills, and by introducing some successful cases in advanced countries.