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1. Categorical Exploratory Data Analysis: From Multiclass Classification and Response Manifold Analytics Perspectives of Baseball Pitching Dynamics

   https://doi.org/10.3390/e23070792  

   Hsieh, Fushing; Chou, Elizabeth P. (July 2021, Entropy)

   All features of any data type are universally equipped with categorical nature revealed through histograms. A contingency table framed by two histograms affords directional and mutual associations based on rescaled conditional Shannon entropies for any feature-pair. The heatmap of the mutual association matrix of all features becomes a roadmap showing which features are highly associative with which features. We develop our data analysis paradigm called categorical exploratory data analysis (CEDA) with this heatmap as a foundation. CEDA is demonstrated to provide new resolutions for two topics: multiclass classification (MCC) with one single categorical response variable and response manifold analytics (RMA) with multiple response variables. We compute visible and explainable information contents with multiscale and heterogeneous deterministic and stochastic structures in both topics. MCC involves all feature-group specific mixing geometries of labeled high-dimensional point-clouds. Upon each identified feature-group, we devise an indirect distance measure, a robust label embedding tree (LET), and a series of tree-based binary competitions to discover and present asymmetric mixing geometries. Then, a chain of complementary feature-groups offers a collection of mixing geometric pattern-categories with multiple perspective views. RMA studies a system’s regulating principles via multiple dimensional manifolds jointly constituted by targeted multiple response features and selected major covariate features. This manifold is marked with categorical localities reflecting major effects. Diverse minor effects are checked and identified across all localities for heterogeneity. Both MCC and RMA information contents are computed for data’s information content with predictive inferences as by-products. We illustrate CEDA developments via Iris data and demonstrate its applications on data taken from the PITCHf/x database. 

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2. Categorical Nature of Major Factor Selection via Information Theoretic Measurements

   https://doi.org/10.3390/e23121684  

   Chen, Ting-Li; Chou, Elizabeth P.; Fushing, Hsieh (December 2021, Entropy)

   Without assuming any functional or distributional structure, we select collections of major factors embedded within response-versus-covariate (Re-Co) dynamics via selection criteria [C1: confirmable] and [C2: irrepaceable], which are based on information theoretic measurements. The two criteria are constructed based on the computing paradigm called Categorical Exploratory Data Analysis (CEDA) and linked to Wiener–Granger causality. All the information theoretical measurements, including conditional mutual information and entropy, are evaluated through the contingency table platform, which primarily rests on the categorical nature within all involved features of any data types: quantitative or qualitative. Our selection task identifies one chief collection, together with several secondary collections of major factors of various orders underlying the targeted Re-Co dynamics. Each selected collection is checked with algorithmically computed reliability against the finite sample phenomenon, and so is each member’s major factor individually. The developments of our selection protocol are illustrated in detail through two experimental examples: a simple one and a complex one. We then apply this protocol on two data sets pertaining to two somewhat related but distinct pitching dynamics of two pitch types: slider and fastball. In particular, we refer to a specific Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher and we consider data of multiple seasons. 

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3. Unraveling Hidden Major Factors by Breaking Heterogeneity into Homogeneous Parts within Many-System Problems

   https://doi.org/10.3390/e24020170  

   Chou, Elizabeth P.; Chen, Ting-Li; Fushing, Hsieh (February 2022, Entropy)

   For a large ensemble of complex systems, a Many-System Problem (MSP) studies how heterogeneity constrains and hides structural mechanisms, and how to uncover and reveal hidden major factors from homogeneous parts. All member systems in an MSP share common governing principles of dynamics, but differ in idiosyncratic characteristics. A typical dynamic is found underlying response features with respect to covariate features of quantitative or qualitative data types. Neither all-system-as-one-whole nor individual system-specific functional structures are assumed in such response-vs-covariate (Re–Co) dynamics. We developed a computational protocol for identifying various collections of major factors of various orders underlying Re–Co dynamics. We first demonstrate the immanent effects of heterogeneity among member systems, which constrain compositions of major factors and even hide essential ones. Secondly, we show that fuller collections of major factors are discovered by breaking heterogeneity into many homogeneous parts. This process further realizes Anderson’s “More is Different” phenomenon. We employ the categorical nature of all features and develop a Categorical Exploratory Data Analysis (CEDA)-based major factor selection protocol. Information theoretical measurements—conditional mutual information and entropy—are heavily used in two selection criteria: C1—confirmable and C2—irreplaceable. All conditional entropies are evaluated through contingency tables with algorithmically computed reliability against the finite sample phenomenon. We study one artificially designed MSP and then two real collectives of Major League Baseball (MLB) pitching dynamics with 62 slider pitchers and 199 fastball pitchers, respectively. Finally, our MSP data analyzing techniques are applied to resolve a scientific issue related to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. 

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4. Fast and Sample Efficient Inductive Matrix Completion via Multi-Phase Procrustes Flow

   Zhang, Xiao; Du, Simon; Gu, Quanquan (July 2018, International Conference on Machine Learning)

   We revisit the inductive matrix completion problem that aims to recover a rank-r matrix with ambient dimension d given n features as the side prior information. The goal is to make use of the known n features to reduce sample and computational complexities. We present and analyze a new gradient-based non-convex optimization algorithm that converges to the true underlying matrix at a linear rate with sample complexity only linearly depending on n and logarithmically depending on d. To the best of our knowledge, all previous algorithms either have a quadratic dependency on the number of features in sample complexity or a sub-linear computational convergence rate. In addition, we provide experiments on both synthetic and real world data to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm. 

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5. An encoding approach for stable change point detection

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s10994-023-06510-x  

   Wang, Xiaodong; Hsieh, Fushing (July 2024, Machine Learning)

   Abstract Without imposing prior distributional knowledge underlying multivariate time series of interest, we propose a nonparametric change-point detection approach to estimate the number of change points and their locations along the temporal axis. We develop a structural subsampling procedure such that the observations are encoded into multiple sequences of Bernoulli variables. A maximum likelihood approach in conjunction with a newly developed searching algorithm is implemented to detect change points on each Bernoulli process separately. Then, aggregation statistics are proposed to collectively synthesize change-point results from all individual univariate time series into consistent and stable location estimations. We also study a weighting strategy to measure the degree of relevance for different subsampled groups. Simulation studies are conducted and shown that the proposed change-point methodology for multivariate time series has favorable performance comparing with currently available state-of-the-art nonparametric methods under various settings with different degrees of complexity. Real data analyses are finally performed on categorical, ordinal, and continuous time series taken from fields of genetics, climate, and finance. 

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