Visit ebooknice.

com to download the full version and

explore more ebooks or textbooks

(Ebook) Visual Analytics and Interactive

Technologies: Data, Text and Web Mining
Applications (Premier Reference Source) by Qingyu
Zhang, Richard S. Segall, Mei Cao ISBN
9781609601027, 1609601025
_____ Click the link below to download _____
https://ebooknice.com/product/visual-analytics-and-
interactive-technologies-data-text-and-web-mining-
applications-premier-reference-source-2367810

Explore and download more ebooks or textbooks at ebooknice.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

(Ebook) Biota Grow 2C gather 2C cook by Loucas, Jason; Viles, James

ISBN 9781459699816, 9781743365571, 9781925268492, 1459699815,
1743365578, 1925268497

https://ebooknice.com/product/biota-grow-2c-gather-2c-cook-6661374

(Ebook) SAT II Success MATH 1C and 2C 2002 (Peterson's SAT II Success)

by Peterson's ISBN 9780768906677, 0768906679

https://ebooknice.com/product/sat-ii-success-
math-1c-and-2c-2002-peterson-s-sat-ii-success-1722018

(Ebook) Matematik 5000+ Kurs 2c Lärobok by Lena Alfredsson, Hans

Heikne, Sanna Bodemyr ISBN 9789127456600, 9127456609

https://ebooknice.com/product/matematik-5000-kurs-2c-larobok-23848312

(Ebook) Master SAT II Math 1c and 2c 4th ed (Arco Master the SAT
Subject Test: Math Levels 1 & 2) by Arco ISBN 9780768923049,
0768923042

https://ebooknice.com/product/master-sat-ii-math-1c-and-2c-4th-ed-
arco-master-the-sat-subject-test-math-levels-1-2-2326094
(Ebook) Cambridge IGCSE and O Level History Workbook 2C - Depth Study:
the United States, 1919-41 2nd Edition by Benjamin Harrison ISBN
9781398375147, 9781398375048, 1398375144, 1398375047

https://ebooknice.com/product/cambridge-igcse-and-o-level-history-
workbook-2c-depth-study-the-united-states-1919-41-2nd-edition-53538044

(Ebook) Visual Knowledge Modeling for Semantic Web Technologies:

Models and Ontologies (Premier Reference Source) by Gilbert Paquette
ISBN 9781615208395, 9781615208401, 1615208399, 1615208402

https://ebooknice.com/product/visual-knowledge-modeling-for-semantic-
web-technologies-models-and-ontologies-premier-reference-
source-1838276

(Ebook) Intelligent Soft Computation and Evolving Data Mining:

Integrating Advanced Technologies (Premier Reference Source) by Leon
Shyue-Liang Wang ISBN 9781615207572, 9781615207589, 1615207570,
1615207589
https://ebooknice.com/product/intelligent-soft-computation-and-
evolving-data-mining-integrating-advanced-technologies-premier-
reference-source-1767786

(Ebook) Collaborative Technologies and Applications for Interactive

Information Design: Emerging Trends in User Experiences (Premier
Reference Source) by Scott Rummler, Kwong Bor Ng ISBN 1605667277

https://ebooknice.com/product/collaborative-technologies-and-
applications-for-interactive-information-design-emerging-trends-in-
user-experiences-premier-reference-source-2186538

(Ebook) Technologies for Migration and Commuting Analysis: Spatial

Interaction Data Applications (Premier Reference Source) by John
Stillwell ISBN 9781615207558, 9781615207565, 1615207554

https://ebooknice.com/product/technologies-for-migration-and-
commuting-analysis-spatial-interaction-data-applications-premier-
reference-source-2424254
Visual Analytics and
Interactive Technologies:
Data, Text and Web Mining
Applications

Qingyu Zhang
Arkansas State University, USA

Richard S. Segall
Arkansas State University, USA

Mei Cao
University of Wisconsin-Superior, USA

InformatIon scIence reference

Hershey • New York
Director of Editorial Content: Kristin Klinger
Director of Book Publications: Julia Mosemann
Acquisitions Editor: Lindsay Johnston
Development Editor: Joel Gamon
Typesetter: Milan Vracarich, Jr.
Production Editor: Jamie Snavely
Cover Design: Lisa Tosheff

Published in the United States of America by

Information Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global)
701 E. Chocolate Avenue
Hershey PA 17033
Tel: 717-533-8845
Fax: 717-533-8661
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.igi-global.com

Copyright © 2011 by IGI Global. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or distributed in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without written permission from the publisher.
Product or company names used in this set are for identification purposes only. Inclusion of the names of the products or com-
panies does not indicate a claim of ownership by IGI Global of the trademark or registered trademark.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Visual analytics and interactive technologies : data, text, and web mining
applications / Qingyu Zhang, Richard Segall, and Mei Cao, editors.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: "This book is a comprehensive reference on concepts, algorithms,
theories, applications, software, and visualization of data mining, text
mining, Web mining and computing/supercomputing, covering state-of-the-art of
the theory and applications of mining"-- Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-60960-102-7 (hardcover) -- ISBN 978-1-60960-104-1 (ebook) 1.
Data mining. I. Zhang, Qingyu, 1970- II. Segall, Richard, 1949- III. Cao,
Mei, 1969-
QA76.9.D343V568 2011
006.3'12--dc22
2010042271

British Cataloguing in Publication Data

A Cataloguing in Publication record for this book is available from the British Library.

All work contributed to this book is new, previously-unpublished material. The views expressed in this book are those of the
authors, but not necessarily of the publisher.
List of Reviewers
Mieczysław A. Kłopotek, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
N. Ranga Suri, Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, India
P. Alagambigai, Easwari Engineering College, India
Daniel Rivero, University of A Coruña, Spain
Tri Kurniawan Wijaya, Sekolah Tinggi Teknik Surabaya, Indonesia
Tzu-Liang (Bill) Tseng, The University of Texas at El Paso, USA
Marko Robnik-Šikonja, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Alan Olinsky, Bryant University, USA
Roberto Marmo, University of Pavia, Italy
H. Hannah Inbarani, Periyar University, India
Carson Kai-Sang Leung, The University of Manitoba, Canada
R. Roselin, Sri Sarada College for Women, India
Riadh Hammami, Université Laval, Canada
Anca Doloc-Mihu, Emory University, USA
Mei Cao, University of Wisconsin-Superior, USA
Richard S. Segall, Arkansas State University, USA
Qingyu Zhang, Arkansas State University, USA
Table of Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................................................ xiv

Acknowledgment ................................................................................................................................ xix

Section 1
Concepts, Algorithms, and Theory

Chapter 1
Towards the Notion of Typical Documents in Large Collections of Documents ................................... 1
Mieczysław A. Kłopotek, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland & University of Natural
and Human Sciences, Poland
Sławomir T. Wierzchoń, Polish Academy of Sciences & University of Gdańsk, Poland
Krzysztof Ciesielski, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
Michał Dramiński, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
Dariusz Czerski, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

Chapter 2
Data Mining Techniques for Outlier Detection..................................................................................... 19
N N R Ranga Suri, C V Raman Nagar, India
M Narasimha Murty, Indian Institute of Science, India
G Athithan, C V Raman Nagar, India

Chapter 3
Using an Ontology-Based Framework to Extract External Web Data for the Data Warehouse ........... 39
Charles Greenidge, University of the West Indies, Barbados
Hadrian Peter, University of the West Indies, Barbados

Chapter 4
Dimensionality Reduction for Interactive Visual Clustering: A Comparative Analysis ....................... 60
P. Alagambigai, Easwari Engineering College, India
K. Thangavel, Periyar University, India
Chapter 5
Database Analysis with ANNs by Means of Graph Evolution ............................................................. 79
Daniel Rivero, University of A Coruña, Spain
Julián Dorado, University of A Coruña, Spain
Juan R. Rabuñal, University of A Coruña, Spain
Alejandro Pazos, University of A Coruña, Spain

Chapter 6
An Optimal Categorization of Feature Selection Methods for Knowledge Discovery ........................ 94
Harleen Kaur, Hamdard University, India
Ritu Chauhan, Hamdard University, India
M. A. Alam, Hamdard University, India

Chapter 7
From Data to Knowledge: Data Mining ............................................................................................ 109
Tri Kurniawan Wijaya, Sekolah Tinggi Teknik Surabaya, Indonesia

Section 2
Applications of Mining and Visualization

Chapter 8
Patent Infringement Risk Analysis Using Rough Set Theory ............................................................. 123
Chun-Che Huang, National Chi Nan University, Taiwan
Tzu-Liang (Bill) Tseng, The University of Texas at El Paso, USA
Hao-Syuan Lin, National Chi Nan University, Taiwan

Chapter 9
Visual Survey Analysis in Marketing ................................................................................................. 151
Marko Robnik-Šikonja, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Koen Vanhoof, University of Hasselt, Belgium

Chapter 10
Assessing Data Mining Approaches for Analyzing Actuarial Student Success Rate ......................... 169
Alan Olinsky, Bryant University, USA
Phyllis Schumacher, Bryant University, USA
John Quinn, Bryant University, USA

Chapter 11
A Robust Biclustering Approach for Effective Web Personalization ................................................. 186
H. Hannah Inbarani, Periyar University, India
K. Thangavel, Periyar University, India
Chapter 12
Web Mining and Social Network Analysis ......................................................................................... 202
Roberto Marmo, University of Pavia, Italy

Section 3
Visual Systems, Software and Supercomputing

Chapter 13
iVAS: An Interactive Visual Analytic System for Frequent Set Mining ............................................. 213
Carson Kai-Sang Leung, The University of Manitoba, Canada
Christopher L. Carmichael, The University of Manitoba, Canada

Chapter 14
Mammogram Mining Using Genetic Ant-Miner ................................................................................ 232
K. Thangavel, Periyar University, India
R. Roselin, Sri Sarada College for Women, India

Chapter 15
Use of SciDBMaker as Tool for the Design of Specialized Biological Databases ............................. 251
Riadh Hammami, Université Laval, Canada
Ismail Fliss, Université Laval, Canada

Chapter 16
Interactive Visualization Tool for Analysis of Large Image Databases .............................................. 266
Anca Doloc-Mihu, Emory University, USA

Chapter 17
Supercomputers and Supercomputing ................................................................................................ 282
Jeffrey S. Cook, Arkansas State University, USA

Compilation of References .............................................................................................................. 295

About the Contributors ................................................................................................................... 328

Index ................................................................................................................................................... 337

Detailed Table of Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................................................ xiv

Acknowledgment ................................................................................................................................ xix

Section 1
Concepts, Algorithms, and Theory

Chapter 1
Towards the Notion of Typical Documents in Large Collections of Documents ................................... 1
Mieczysław A. Kłopotek, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland & University of Natural
and Human Sciences, Poland
Sławomir T. Wierzchoń, Polish Academy of Sciences & University of Gdańsk, Poland
Krzysztof Ciesielski, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
Michał Dramiński, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland
Dariusz Czerski, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

The chapter focuses on how to best represent a typical document in a large collection of objects (i.e.,
documents). They propose a new measure of document similarity – GNGrank that was inspired by
the popular idea that links between documents reflect similar content. The idea was to create a rank
measure based on the well known PageRank algorithm which exploits the document similarity to insert
links between the documents. Various link-based similarity measures (e.g., PageRank) and GNGrank
are compared in the context of identification of a typical document of a collection. The experimental
results suggest that each algorithm measures something different, a different aspect of document space,
and hence the respective degrees of typicality do not correlate.

Chapter 2
Data Mining Techniques for Outlier Detection..................................................................................... 19
N N R Ranga Suri, C V Raman Nagar, India
M Narasimha Murty, Indian Institute of Science, India
G Athithan, C V Raman Nagar, India
The chapter highlights some of the important research issues that determine the nature of the outlier
detection algorithm required for a typical data mining application. Detecting the objects in a data set
with unusual properties is important since such outlier objects often contain useful information on
abnormal behavior of the system or its components described by the data set. They discussed issues
including methods of outlier detection, size and dimensionality of the data set, and nature of the target
application. They attempt to cover the challenges due to the large volume of high dimensional data and
possible research directions with a survey of various data mining techniques dealing with the outlier
detection problem.

Chapter 3
Using an Ontology-Based Framework to Extract External Web Data for the Data Warehouse ........... 39
Charles Greenidge, University of the West Indies, Barbados
Hadrian Peter, University of the West Indies, Barbados

The chapter proposes a meta-data engine for extracting external data in the Web for data warehouses
that forms a bridge between the data warehouse and search engine environments. This chapter also
presents a framework named the semantic web application that facilitates semi-automatic matching of
instance data from opaque web databases using ontology terms. The framework combines information
retrieval, information extraction, natural language processing, and ontology techniques to produce a
viable building block for semantic web applications. The application uses a query modifying filter to
maximize efficiency in the search process. The ontology-based model consists of a pre-processing stage
aimed at filtering, a basic and then more advanced matching phases, a combination of thresholds and
a weighting that produces a matrix that is further normalized, and a labeling process that matches data
items to ontology terms.

Chapter 4
Dimensionality Reduction for Interactive Visual Clustering: A Comparative Analysis ....................... 60
P. Alagambigai, Easwari Engineering College, India
K. Thangavel, Periyar University, India

The chapter discusses VISTA as a Visual Clustering Rendering System that can include algorithmic
clustering results and serve as an effective validation and refinement tool for irregularly shaped clusters.
Interactive visual clustering methods allow a user to partition a data set into clusters that are appropri-
ate for their tasks and interests through an efficient visualization model and it requires an effective
human-computer interaction. This chapter entails the reliable human-computer interaction through di-
mensionality reduction by comparing three different kinds of dimensionality reduction methods: (1)
Entropy Weighting Feature Selection (EWFS), (2) Outlier Score Based Feature Selection (OSFS), and
(3) Contribution to the Entropy based Feature Selection (CEFS). The performance of the three feature
selection methods were compared with clustering of dataset using the whole set of features. The perfor-
mance was measured with popular validity measure Rand Index.
Chapter 5
Database Analysis with ANNs by Means of Graph Evolution ............................................................. 79
Daniel Rivero, University of A Coruña, Spain
Julián Dorado, University of A Coruña, Spain
Juan R. Rabuñal, University of A Coruña, Spain
Alejandro Pazos, University of A Coruña, Spain

The chapter proposes a new technique of graph evolution based ANN and compares it with other sys-
tems such as Connectivity Matrix, Pruning, Finding network parameters, and Graph-rewriting gram-
mar. Traditionally the development of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) is a slow process guided by
the expert knowledge. This chapter describes a new method for the development of Artificial Neural
Networks, so it becomes completely automated. Several tests were performed with some of the most
used test databases in data mining. The performance of the proposed system is better or in par with
other systems.

Chapter 6
An Optimal Categorization of Feature Selection Methods for Knowledge Discovery ........................ 94
Harleen Kaur, Hamdard University, India
Ritu Chauhan, Hamdard University, India
M. A. Alam, Hamdard University, India

The chapter focuses on several feature selection methods as to their effectiveness in preprocessing input
medical data. Feature selection is an active research area in pattern recognition and data mining com-
munities. They evaluate several feature selection algorithms such as Mutual Information Feature Selec-
tion (MIFS), Fast Correlation-Based Filter (FCBF) and Stepwise Discriminant Analysis (STEPDISC)
with machine learning algorithm naive Bayesian and Linear Discriminant analysis techniques. The
experimental analysis of feature selection technique in medical databases shows that a small number of
informative features can be extracted leading to improvement in medical diagnosis by reducing the size
of data set, eliminating irrelevant features, and decreasing the processing time.

Chapter 7
From Data to Knowledge: Data Mining ............................................................................................ 109
Tri Kurniawan Wijaya, Sekolah Tinggi Teknik Surabaya, Indonesia

The chapter conceptually discusses the techniques to mine hidden information or knowledge which lies
in data. In addition to the elaboration of the concept and theory, they also discuss about the application
and implementation of data mining. They start with differences among data, information, and knowl-
edge, and then proceed to describe the process of gaining the hidden knowledge, and compare data
mining with other closely related terminologies such as data warehouse and OLAP.
 Section 2
Applications of Mining and Visualization

Chapter 8
Patent Infringement Risk Analysis Using Rough Set Theory ............................................................. 123
Chun-Che Huang, National Chi Nan University, Taiwan
Tzu-Liang (Bill) Tseng, The University of Texas at El Paso, USA
Hao-Syuan Lin, National Chi Nan University, Taiwan

The chapter applies rough set theory (RST), which is suitable for processing qualitative information,
to induce rules to derive significant attributes for categorization of the patent infringement risk. Pat-
ent infringement risk is an important issue for firms due to the increased appreciation of intellectual
property rights. If a firm gives insufficient protection to its patents, it may loss both profits and industry
competitiveness. Rather than focusing on measuring the patent trend indicators and the patent monetary
value, they integrate RST with the use of the concept hierarchy and the credibility index, to enhance
application of the final decision rules.

Chapter 9
Visual Survey Analysis in Marketing ................................................................................................. 151
Marko Robnik-Šikonja, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Koen Vanhoof, University of Hasselt, Belgium

The chapter makes use of the ordinal evaluation (OrdEval) algorithm as a visualization technique to
study questionnaire data of customer satisfaction in marketing. The OrdEval algorithm has many favor-
able features, including context sensitivity, ability to exploit meaning of ordered features and ordered
response, robustness to noise and missing values in the data, and visualization capability. They choose
customer satisfaction analysis as a case study and present visual analysis on two applications of busi-
ness-to-business and costumer-to-business. They demonstrate some interesting advantages offered by
the new methodology and visualization and show how to extract and interpret new insights not avail-
able with classical analytical toolbox.

Chapter 10
Assessing Data Mining Approaches for Analyzing Actuarial Student Success Rate ......................... 169
Alan Olinsky, Bryant University, USA
Phyllis Schumacher, Bryant University, USA
John Quinn, Bryant University, USA

The chapter entails the use of several types of predictive models to perform data mining to evaluate the
student retention rate and enrollment management for those selecting a major in the Actuarial Science
at a medium size university. The predictive models utilized in this research include stepwise logistic
regression, neural networks and decision trees for performing the data mining. This chapter uses data
mining to investigate the percentages of students who begin in a certain major and will graduate in the
same major. This information is important for individual academic departments in determining how to
allocate limited resources in making decisions as to the appropriate number of classes and sections to
be offered and the number of faculty lines needed to staff the department. This chapter details a study
that utilizes data mining techniques to analyze the characteristics of students who enroll as actuarial
mathematics students and then either drop out of the major or graduate as actuarial students.

Chapter 11
A Robust Biclustering Approach for Effective Web Personalization ................................................. 186
H. Hannah Inbarani, Periyar University, India
K. Thangavel, Periyar University, India

The chapter proposes a robust Biclustering algorithm to disclose the correlation between users and
pages based on constant values for integrating user clustering and page clustering techniques, which is
followed by a recommendation system that can respond to the users’ individual interests. The proposed
method is compared with Simple Biclustering (SB) method. To evaluate the effectiveness and effi-
ciency of the recommendation, experiments are conducted in terms of the recommendation accuracy
metric. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed RB method is very simple and is able
to efficiently extract needed usage knowledge and to accurately make web recommendations.

Chapter 12
Web Mining and Social Network Analysis ......................................................................................... 202
Roberto Marmo, University of Pavia, Italy

The chapter reviews and discusses the use of web mining techniques and social networks analysis to
possibly process and analyze large amount of social data such as blogtagging, online game playing, in-
stant messenger, etc. Social network analysis views social relationships in terms of network and graph
theory about nodes (individual actors within the network) and ties (relationships between the actors).
In this way, social network mining can help understand the social structure, social relationships and
social behaviours. These algorithms differ from established set of data mining algorithms developed to
analyze individual records since social network datasets are relational with the centrality of relations
among entities.

Section 3
Visual Systems, Software and Supercomputing

Chapter 13
iVAS: An Interactive Visual Analytic System for Frequent Set Mining ............................................. 213
Carson Kai-Sang Leung, The University of Manitoba, Canada
Christopher L. Carmichael, The University of Manitoba, Canada

The chapter proposes an interactive visual analytic system called iVAS for providing visual analytic so-
lutions to the frequent set mining problem. The system enables the visualization and advanced analysis
of the original transaction databases as well as the frequent sets mined from these databases. Numer-
ous algorithms have been proposed for finding frequent sets of items, which are usually presented in a
lengthy textual list. However, the use of visual representations can enhance user understanding of the
inherent relations among the frequent sets.
Chapter 14
Mammogram Mining Using Genetic Ant-Miner ................................................................................ 232
K. Thangavel, Periyar University, India
R. Roselin, Sri Sarada College for Women, India

The chapter applies classification algorithm to image processing (e.g., mammogram processing) using
genetic Ant-Miner. Image mining deals with the extraction of implicit knowledge, image data relation-
ship, or other patterns not explicitly stored in the images. It is an extension of data mining to image
domain and an interdisciplinary endeavor. C4.5 and Ant-Miner algorithms are compared and the ex-
perimental results show that Ant-Miner performs better in the domain of biomedical image analysis.

Chapter 15
Use of SciDBMaker as Tool for the Design of Specialized Biological Databases ............................. 251
Riadh Hammami, Université Laval, Canada
Ismail Fliss, Université Laval, Canada

The chapter develops SciDBMaker to provide a tool for easy building of new specialized protein
knowledge bases. The exponential growth of molecular biology research in recent decades has brought
growth in the number and size of genomic and proteomic databases to enhance the understanding of
biological processes. This chapter also suggests best practices for specialized biological databases de-
sign, and provides examples for the implementation of these practices.

Chapter 16
Interactive Visualization Tool for Analysis of Large Image Databases .............................................. 266
Anca Doloc-Mihu, Emory University, USA

The chapter discusses an Adaptive Image Retrieval System (AIRS) that is used as a tool for actively
searching for information in large image databases. This chapter identifies two types of users for an
AIRS: an end-user who seeks images and a research-user who designs and researches the collection
and retrieval systems. This chapter focuses in visualization techniques used by Web-based AIRS to al-
low different users to efficiently navigate, search and analyze large image databases. Recent advances
in Internet technology require the development of advanced Web-based tools for efficiently accessing
images from tremendously large, and continuously growing, image collections. One such tool for ac-
tively searching for information is an Image Retrieval System. The interface discussed in this chapter
illustrates different relationships between images by using visual attributes (colors, shape, and proximi-
ties), and supports retrieval and learning, as well as browsing which makes it suitable for an Adaptive
Image Retrieval Systems.

Chapter 17
Supercomputers and Supercomputing ................................................................................................ 282
Jeffrey S. Cook, Arkansas State University, USA

The chapter describes supercomputer as the fastest type of computer used for specialized applications
that require a massive number of mathematical calculations. The term “supercomputer” was coined in
1929 by the New York World, referring to tabulators manufactured by IBM. These tabulators represent
the cutting edge of technology, which harness immense processing power so that they are incredibly
fast, sophisticated, and powerful. The use of supercomputing in data mining has also been discussed in
the chapter.

Compilation of References .............................................................................................................. 295

About the Contributors ................................................................................................................... 328

Index ................................................................................................................................................... 337

xiv

Preface

Large volumes of data and complex problems inspire research in computing and data, text, and web
mining. However, analyzing data is not sufficient, as it has to be presented visually with analytical ca-
pabilities, i.e., a chart/diagram/image illustration that enables humans to perceive, relate, and conclude
in the knowledge discovery process. In addition, how to use computing or supercomputing techniques
(e.g., distributed, parallel, and clustered computing) in improving the effectiveness of data, text, and web
mining is an important aspect of the visual analytics and interactive technology. This book extends the
visual analytics by using tools of data, web, text mining and computing, and their associated software
and technologies available today.
This is a comprehensive book on concepts, algorithms, theories, applications, software, and visu-
alization of data mining and computing. It provides a volume of coherent set of related works on the
state-of-the-art of the theory and applications of mining and its relations to computing, visualization
and others with an audience to include both researchers, practitioners, professionals and intellectuals in
technical and non-technical fields, appealing to a multi-disciplinary audience. Because each chapter is
designed to be stand-alone, readers can focus on the topics that most interest them.
With a unique collection of recent developments, novel applications, and techniques for visual ana-
lytics and interactive technologies, the sections of the book are Concepts, Algorithms, and Theory; Ap-
plications of Mining and Visualization; and Visual Systems, Software and Supercomputing, pertaining
to Data mining, Web mining, Data Visualization, Mining for Intelligence, Supercomputing, Database,
Ontology, Web Clustering, Classification, Pattern Recognition, Visualization Approaches, Data and
Knowledge Representation, and Web Intelligence.
Section 1 consists of seven chapters on concepts, algorithms, and theory of mining and visualizations.
Chapter 1, Towards the Notion of Typical Documents in Large Collections of Documents, by Mieczysław
A. Kłopotek, Sławomir T. Wierzchom, Krzysztof Ciesielski, Michał Dramiński, and Dariusz Czerski,
focuses on how to best represent a typical document in a large collection of objects (i.e., documents).
They propose a new measure of document similarity – GNGrank that was inspired by the popular idea
that links between documents reflect similar content. The idea was to create a rank measure based on
the well known PageRank algorithm which exploits the document similarity to insert links between the
documents. Various link-based similarity measures (e.g., PageRank) and GNGrank are compared in the
context of identification of a typical document of a collection. The experimental results suggest that each
algorithm measures something different, a different aspect of document space, and hence the respective
degrees of typicality do not correlate.
Chapter 2, Data Mining Techniques for Outlier Detection, by N. Ranga Suri, M Narasimha Murty,
and G Athithan, highlights some of the important research issues that determine the nature of the outlier
 xv

detection algorithm required for a typical data mining application. Detecting the objects in a data set with
unusual properties is important; as such outlier objects often contain useful information on abnormal be-
havior of the system or its components described by the data set. They discussed issues including methods
of outlier detection, size and dimensionality of the data set, and nature of the target application. They
attempt to cover the challenges due to the large volume of high dimensional data and possible research
directions with a survey of various data mining techniques dealing with the outlier detection problem.
Chapter 3, Using an Ontology-based Framework to Extract External Web Data for the Data Ware-
house, by Charles Greenidge and Hadrian Peter, proposes a meta-data engine for extracting external
data in the Web for data warehouses that forms a bridge between the data warehouse and search engine
environments. This chapter also presents a framework named the semantic web application that facili-
tates semi-automatic matching of instance data from opaque web databases using ontology terms. The
framework combines information retrieval, information extraction, natural language processing, and
ontology techniques to produce a viable building block for semantic web applications. The application
uses a query modifying filter to maximize efficiency in the search process. The ontology-based model
consists of a pre-processing stage aimed at filtering, a basic and then more advanced matching phases,
a combination of thresholds and a weighting that produces a matrix that is further normalized, and a
labeling process that matches data items to ontology terms.
Chapter 4, Dimensionality Reduction for Interactive Visual Clustering: A Comparative Analysis,
by P. Alagambigai and K. Thangavel, discusses VISTA as a Visual Clustering Rendering System that
can include algorithmic clustering results and serve as an effective validation and refinement tool for
irregularly shaped clusters. Interactive visual clustering methods allow a user to partition a data set into
clusters that are appropriate for their tasks and interests through an efficient visualization model and
it requires an effective human-computer interaction. This chapter entails the reliable human-computer
interaction through dimensionality reduction by comparing three different kinds of dimensionality re-
duction methods: (1) Entropy Weighting Feature Selection (EWFS), (2) Outlier Score Based Feature
Selection (OSFS), and (3) Contribution to the Entropy based Feature Selection (CEFS). The performance
of the three feature selection methods were compared with clustering of dataset using the whole set of
features. The performance was measured with popular validity measure Rand Index.
Chapter 5, Database Analysis with ANNs by Means of Graph Evolution, by Daniel Rivero, Julián
Dorado, Juan R. Rabuñal, and Alejandro Pazos, proposes a new technique of graph evolution based ANN
and compares it with other systems such as Connectivity Matrix, Pruning, Finding network parameters,
and Graph-rewriting grammar. Traditionally the development of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) is
a slow process guided by the expert knowledge. This chapter describes a new method for the develop-
ment of Artificial Neural Networks, so it becomes completely automated. Several tests were performed
with some of the most used test databases in data mining. The performance of the proposed system is
better or in par with other systems.
Chapter 6, An Optimal Categorization of Feature Selection Methods for Knowledge Discovery,
by Harleen Kaur, Ritu Chauhan, and M. A. Alam, focuses on several feature selection methods as to
their effectiveness in preprocessing input medical data. Feature selection is an active research area in
pattern recognition and data mining communities. They evaluate several feature selection algorithms
such as Mutual Information Feature Selection (MIFS), Fast Correlation-Based Filter (FCBF) and Step-
wise Discriminant Analysis (STEPDISC) with machine learning algorithm naive Bayesian and Linear
Discriminant analysis techniques. The experimental analysis of feature selection technique in medical
databases shows that a small number of informative features can be extracted leading to improvement
xvi

in medical diagnosis by reducing the size of data set, eliminating irrelevant features, and decreasing the
processing time.
Chapter 7, From Data to Knowledge: Data Mining, by Tri Kurniawan Wijaya, conceptually discusses
the techniques to mine hidden information or knowledge which lies in data. In addition to the elaboration
of the concept and theory, they also discuss about the application and implementation of data mining.
They start with differences among data, information, and knowledge, and then proceed to describe the
process of gaining the hidden knowledge, and compare data mining with other closely related terminolo-
gies such as data warehouse and OLAP.
Section 2 consists of five chapters on applications of mining and visualizations.
Chapter 8, Patent Infringement Risk Analysis Using Rough Set Theory, by Chun-Che Huang, Tzu-
Liang (Bill) Tseng, and Hao-Syuan Lin, applies rough set theory (RST), which is suitable for processing
qualitative information, to induce rules to derive significant attributes for categorization of the patent
infringement risk. Patent infringement risk is an important issue for firms due to the increased apprecia-
tion of intellectual property rights. If a firm gives insufficient protection to its patents, it may loss both
profits and industry competitiveness. Rather than focusing on measuring the patent trend indicators and
the patent monetary value, they integrate RST with the use of the concept hierarchy and the credibility
index, to enhance application of the final decision rules.
Chapter 9, Visual Survey Analysis in Marketing, by Marko Robnik-Šikonja and Koen Vanhoof, makes
use of the ordinal evaluation (OrdEval) algorithm as a visualization technique to study questionnaire
data of customer satisfaction in marketing. The OrdEval algorithm has many favorable features, includ-
ing context sensitivity, ability to exploit meaning of ordered features and ordered response, robustness
to noise and missing values in the data, and visualization capability. They choose customer satisfaction
analysis as a case study and present visual analysis on two applications of business-to-business and
costumer-to-business. They demonstrate some interesting advantages offered by the new methodol-
ogy and visualization and show how to extract and interpret new insights not available with classical
analytical toolbox.
Chapter 10, Assessing Data Mining Approaches for Analyzing Actuarial Student Success Rate, by
Alan Olinsky, Phyllis Schumacher, and John Quinn, entails the use of several types of predictive mod-
els to perform data mining to evaluate the student retention rate and enrollment management for those
selecting a major in the Actuarial Science at a medium size university. The predictive models utilized
in this research include stepwise logistic regression, neural networks and decision trees for performing
the data mining. This chapter uses data mining to investigate the percentages of students who begin in a
certain major and will graduate in the same major. This information is important for individual academic
departments in determining how to allocate limited resources in making decisions as to the appropriate
number of classes and sections to be offered and the number of faculty lines needed to staff the depart-
ment. This chapter details a study that utilizes data mining techniques to analyze the characteristics of
students who enroll as actuarial mathematics students and then either drop out of the major or graduate
as actuarial students.
Chapter 11, A Robust Biclustering Approach for Effective Web Personalization, by H. Hannah In-
barani and K. Thangavel, proposes a robust Biclustering algorithm to disclose the correlation between
users and pages based on constant values for integrating user clustering and page clustering techniques,
which is followed by a recommendation system that can respond to the users’ individual interests. The
proposed method is compared with Simple Biclustering (SB) method. To evaluate the effectiveness and
efficiency of the recommendation, experiments are conducted in terms of the recommendation accuracy
 xvii

metric. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed RB method is very simple and is able
to efficiently extract needed usage knowledge and to accurately make web recommendations.
Chapter 12, Web Mining and Social Network Analysis, by Roberto Marmo, reviews and discusses
the use of web mining techniques and social networks analysis to possibly process and analyze large
amount of social data such as blogtagging, online game playing, instant messenger, etc. Social network
analysis views social relationships in terms of network and graph theory about nodes (individual actors
within the network) and ties (relationships between the actors). In this way, social network mining can
help understand the social structure, social relationships and social behaviours. These algorithms dif-
fer from established set of data mining algorithms developed to analyze individual records since social
network datasets are relational with the centrality of relations among entities.
Section 3 consists of five chapters on visual systems, software and supercomputing.
Chapter 13, iVAS: An Interactive Visual Analytic System for Frequent Set Mining, by Carson Kai-Sang
Leung and Christopher L. Carmichael, proposes an interactive visual analytic system called iVAS for
providing visual analytic solutions to the frequent set mining problem. The system enables the visualiza-
tion and advanced analysis of the original transaction databases as well as the frequent sets mined from
these databases. Numerous algorithms have been proposed for finding frequent sets of items, which are
usually presented in a lengthy textual list. However, the use of visual representations can enhance user
understanding of the inherent relations among the frequent sets.
Chapter 14, Mammogram Mining Using Genetic Ant-Miner, by Thangavel. K. and Roselin. R, applies
classification algorithm to image processing (e.g., mammogram processing) using genetic Ant-Miner.
Image mining deals with the extraction of implicit knowledge, image data relationship, or other patterns
not explicitly stored in the images. It is an extension of data mining to image domain and an interdisci-
plinary endeavor. C4.5 and Ant-Miner algorithms are compared and the experimental results show that
Ant-Miner performs better in the domain of biomedical image analysis.
Chapter 15, Use of SciDBMaker as Tool for the Design of Specialized Biological Databases, by Riadh
Hammami and Ismail Fliss, develops SciDBMaker to provide a tool for easy building of new specialized
protein knowledge bases. The exponential growth of molecular biology research in recent decades has
brought growth in the number and size of genomic and proteomic databases to enhance the understanding
of biological processes. This chapter also suggests best practices for specialized biological databases
design, and provides examples for the implementation of these practices.
Chapter 16, Interactive Visualization Tool for Analysis of Large Image Databases, by Anca Doloc-Mihu,
discusses an Adaptive Image Retrieval System (AIRS) that is used as a tool for actively searching for
information in large image databases. This chapter identifies two types of users for an AIRS: an end-user
who seeks images and a research-user who designs and researches the collection and retrieval systems.
This chapter focuses in visualization techniques used by Web-based AIRS to allow different users to
efficiently navigate, search and analyze large image databases. Recent advances in Internet technology
require the development of advanced Web-based tools for efficiently accessing images from tremendously
large, and continuously growing, image collections. One such tool for actively searching for information
is an Image Retrieval System. The interface discussed in this chapter illustrates different relationships
between images by using visual attributes (colors, shape, and proximities), and supports retrieval and
learning, as well as browsing which makes it suitable for an Adaptive Image Retrieval Systems.
Chapter 17, Supercomputers and Supercomputing, by Jeffrey S. Cook, describes supercomputer as
the fastest type of computer used for specialized applications that require a massive number of math-
ematical calculations. The term “supercomputer” was coined in 1929 by the New York World, referring
xviii

to tabulators manufactured by IBM. These tabulators represent the cutting edge of technology, which
harness immense processing power so that they are incredibly fast, sophisticated, and powerful. The use
of supercomputing in data mining has also been discussed in the chapter.
All chapters went through a blind refereeing process before final acceptance. We hope these chapters
are informative, stimulating, and helpful to the readers.

Qingyu Zhang
Arkansas State University, USA

Richard S. Segall
Arkansas State University, USA

Mei Cao
University of Wisconsin-Superior, USA
 xix

Acknowledgment

The publication of a book is a cooperative and joint effort and involves many people. We wish to thank
all involved in the solicitation process of book chapters and the review process of the book, without
whose support the book could not have been completed.
Special thanks and gratitude go to the publishing team at IGI Global, in particular to the development
editor Joel Gamon and the acquisition editorial assistant Erika Carter, whose contributions throughout
the process of the book publication have been invaluable.
We want to thank all the authors for their excellent contributions to this book. We are also grateful to all
the reviewers, including most of the contributing authors, who served as referees for chapters written by
other authors, and provided constructive and comprehensive reviews in the double-blind review process.

Qingyu Zhang
Arkansas State University, USA

Richard S. Segall
Arkansas State University, USA

Mei Cao
University of Wisconsin-Superior, USA

May 2010
Random documents with unrelated
content Scribd suggests to you:
industriously throw themselves in your way upon every occasion,
that their personal attractions may not escape your observation. To
families where there are daughters, nieces, or cousins, who conceive
themselves ripe for the gordian knot, you may assure yourself of
being called in a short time; for as you are such “a charming man” in
your appearance, (and so admirably fitting for a husband) there
can’t be the least reason to doubt your professional qualifications.
You may perhaps start some doubts, (or conscientious qualms may
arise) how these appearances are to be supported in the infancy of
business, without any great personal property to sanction or justify
the attempt; in such diffidence you perfectly display, not only your
pusillanimity, but want of knowledge and experience; for certainly
out of the above description of females, who will constantly pay
court to your consequence, and by a thousand modes solicit your
attention, surely some one of the best possessions may be obtained,
whose fortune, and advantage of family connection, may answer
your most sanguine expectations: but should fate conspire against
you in both business and marriage, you will have the consolation of
having made a bold push, and failing in the attempt, you only
become a fashionable adventurer, and gratefully pay your creditors
nothing in the pound.
Having gone through a chain of circumstances and instructions,
necessary for the support of your public appearance, it will be
naturally expected I shall revert to the modes of behaviour that are
to constitute your private character, in the professional transactions
that you conclude will daily occur. First, let it be your constant
observance to be equally reserved and difficult of access—whenever
your opinion is required, even in your own shop, appear there with
tedious reluctance, as if privacies of the utmost consequence
prevented your earlier attendance; this will not only add to your
medical weight, but raise your reputation for good breeding and
intercourse with the polite world; for it is universally known, none
but the inferior orders are introduced to each other without
ceremony; it would be therefore highly ridiculous in you to practise a
mode of behaviour in use only with the lowest classes of mankind.
Never leave home without letting your horse be held long enough at
the door to be observed by the surrounding neighbours; the most
trifling indication of business is a point in your favour, and ought by
no means to be omitted. By the invariable good effect of which rule,
no messenger whatever should arrive from the country for
medicines, but he must be detained as long as possible; his
preparations should never be ready when called for; on the contrary,
his horse should be hung or held at the door for half an hour at
least; a double advantage is derived from this necessary caution—
the horse at the door will prove a striking object to the public, and
the messenger will assure the family you attend, that, nothing but
your great hurry occasioned the delay in his return.
It will be strictly proper for you, upon all occasions, to preserve the
most inflexible serenity of countenance, even to extreme gravity;
and this injunction becomes the more immediately necessary, as
there are a vast variety of unexpected causes for laughter, to which
you will be open, in the frequent applications of unpolished rustics,
for your great opinion and assistance. One class will “beg the favour
of you to subscribe for their complaints;” another “hopes you won’t
be offended, but he is come to insult you upon his case;” these
instances are so exceedingly common, that you will often meet with
them, where they are least expected. There now lives an alderman,
in a very capital town and place of royal residence, who, a few years
since, labouring under an epidemic complaint, was told that
symptoms were alarming, and a glyster was unavoidably necessary;
to which representation he expostulated, begging the apothecary “to
lay aside his intention, and give him any thing to take inwardly, but
for God’s sake, to have no cutting and slaying.”—Another of the
same learned body corporate (for they have both kissed the K—g’s
hand) said “he bore the severity of his complaint with more
patience, now he was manured to it.”
To prove the frequency of these accidental slips, it is impossible to
resist the present temptation of introducing a few more, that occur
to memory in the present recital. A lad upon the borders of
Northamptonshire, being sent in the night to a medical practitioner
at Banbury, and calling him out of bed, told him, “he must come
immediately to his mistress, for she had got a Vistula!”——“Where?
In ano?” “No, Zir, in the next parish to’t.”
In an excursion to Surrey, I was solicited in a parish near Chertsey,
to give my advice to a master carpenter there, who had been a long
time indisposed; but my prescription having had the desired effect,
and the poor man getting abroad, he very gratefully declared to all
his friends, “I was the best musician that ever came into the
country.”—In the county of Berks, an elderly woman came to consult
me upon the bad state of her daughter’s health; and after
animadverting upon symptoms, told me in a whisper, “that her
daughter was to have been married to a young man some time
since; but something happening to break it off, she really believed
’twas nature turned inward in her.”
Paying a visit, in my earlier days, to the lady of a good old country
alderman of a borough in Hertfordshire, she, after many aukward
apologies for the indelicacy of the subject, tremblingly told me, “she
had been very uneasy for some days, with a violent heat in her
firmament.”—By way of suppressing those risible emotions in my
disposition I have before described, I, for a moment, changed the
subject, by enquiring the health of her husband; to which she
replied, with thanks, “he was exceedingly well, but gone to make an
exerescence into the country;” plunged deeper in difficulty, and
nearer the laugh than before, which was now become hard to
suppress, I applied myself to her snuff-box, then on the table, and
passing a few encomiums on its neatness, she said, it was very
much admired, being a gypsey’s pimple set in pinch-gut.
You will, no doubt, be now prepared for such unexpected
misapplication of words, such sublimity of expression, and regulate
the rigidity of your frontal muscles accordingly; when called to a
patient, let your personal address and behaviour be modelled
entirely by the state of his property; if he is your superior in rank
and condition, every action of yours must denote it most strikingly;—
you approach with respect—you dictate with submission—your
mildness and affected penetration must be perceptible in all your
enquiries, making the most scrupulous observations how far you
seem to gain upon the credulity and good opinion of your subject,
taking leave with all those attracting expressions of tenderness and
sympathy, (highly tinctured with respect) that may give your patient
a favourable idea of the integrity, it can never be your interest to
possess.
On the contrary, when your advice and assistance is required to a
patient, whose feelings are equally wounded by bodily affliction and
the barbed arrow of adversity, you may safely reverse the whole
mode of behaviour, and put into practice your personal pride, even
to perfect impudence. This will be in many respects a consistency of
conduct; it will be convincing them, as you have nothing to hope
from their affluence, you have certainly nothing to fear from their
poverty.
Let what will be the condition of your patient, you are not to act as
some few conscientious practitioners do, explaining what you
conceive to be the nature of the case, original cause of complaint, or
from what operation you expect expeditious relief; this may be the
best practice with those unfashionable formal old fellows, who
received their medical instructions near half a century since, and
pique themselves upon what they call their integrity; but it will be
perfectly illiberal in you, who have received a more modern, and
polished education. Ambiguity, and true medical mystery, will be
your best guide upon every occasion; by not naming the case, or
cause of complaint, you can never be accused of having mistaken it;
and by letting the property of the medicine you administer remain a
matter of secrecy with all but yourself, you reserve the
incontrovertible power of saying, “it has had the very effect you
intended,” whether it operates by vomit, stool, urine, perspiration, or
sleep: these are precautions a wise man always takes, a fool never,
and may be deemed something similar to the conduct of Bayes’s
troops in the Rehearsal, who, the warlike messenger said, “were
stealing a march in stilts.”
During the indisposition of your patient, ’tis your duty to think much
more of the emolument that will arise from the protraction of his
case, than the expedience of his cure. You must have it ever in
mind, that he has paid you the the greatest compliment one man
can possibly pay another on earth; he has placed an implicit
confidence, and entrusted you with the care of his constitution and
the key of his cash; in fact, he has put both his life and property into
your hands; and the respect you owe to self-preservation renders it
necessary you make the most of both. Let your attachment to his
health and interest be demonstrated by the frequency of your
attendance; it will be impossible for you to give a greater proof of
your disinterested friendship, than by your large and constant
supplies of different medicines; too great a quantity, too great a
variety cannot be introduced; they all tend to a promotion of your
emolument, and the sum total of your bill will be considered a
striking proof of your merit and assiduity.
If you find the family and friends not perfectly satisfied with your
conduct, that there is the least coolness and discontent perceptible,
or symptoms of present or approaching danger, strongly recommend
the presence of a better opinion in the form of a physician; this will
prove an exertion of the soundest policy—double the quantity of
medicines will be thrown into his prescription for the promotion of
your interest, an act that the present danger will amply justify, and
should the unhappy victim be doomed
“To pass that bourne,
From whence no traveller returns,”
You have nobly and skilfully slipped your neck out of the collar, and
left all the credit of killing (as you really ought to do) to your
superior, whose diploma entitles him to the preference; and, vice
versa, should you perceive the patient and family become dupes to
your affected sincerity, and that you are daily raising yourself in their
estimation, erect a structure of professional applause upon the basis
of their credulity; insinuate every possible degree of self praise, and
set the advice of a physician in the most contemptible point of view.
—Affect unlimited attachment to the interest of your patient, and
say, “you would recommend much better advice than your own, if
you could do it with a conscientious consistency; but it had ever
been an opinion of yours (which was still unaltered) if the
apothecary could not plunder a family sufficiently, the better method
would be to adopt a consultation, when it might be done to a
certainty.”
This open manner of dealing instantly enhances you in the
estimation of patient and friends, and you will consequently stand so
high in opinion that you may proceed deliberately in your spoils
without interruption, for where there are no daily fees (swallowed up
in the vortex of the college) your more trifling depredations will not
be considered as matters of medical magnitude or imposition.
In all kinds of inferior practice render every look, every thought and
action, subservient to your general intent of personal rank and
pecuniary consequence; it must be your particular study to inculcate
every idea in the lower class, of your great penetration and abilities;
by your minute investigations, cross-examinations, and applicable
nods of significance (implying the most extensive knowledge) you
will discover remote symptoms, that once explained to the
complaining patient, will give them reason to believe (which they
very readily do) you are a supernatural agent; and one fool of this
denomination, who firmly believes you know the state of his health
by the wrinkles in his forehead, or the cloud in his urine, will soon
infect a whole county with the certainty of your infallible
qualifications. This opinion once founded, the effect is absolutely
incredible, an instance of which may be found in various parts of
England, but more particularly in a very large and populous town,
not forty miles west of the metropolis, where fools from every part
of the county are constantly driving (their pockets laden with
chamber-lye) to a famous inspector of urinals, vulgarly denominated
a piss-pot doctor, who, to magnify the report of his incredible skill
and penetration, has adopted a certain method to impose upon the
minds of the multitude, and prey upon the little pecuniary collections
they can make, to become the dupes of his villainy and their own
infatuation.
The mode of imposition, I shall explain in a fact as communicated by
one of his most intimate friends, and leave the story itself to applaud
his ingenuity:—He has (in a very respectable habitation) a small
private room, to which every patient or messenger is conducted
(upon a plea that the doctor is not at home, or is particularly
engaged) here an emissary (as if casually) asking certain questions,
hears the whole story, examines the urine, and descends to
particulars—the doctor is in the adjoining apartment (calculated by a
thin partition and certain openings, invisible to the unsuspecting
visitor) where he minutely hears the entire conversation; the
necessary secrets being obtained, he makes his appearance with the
most commanding aspect; at this awful ceremony, the fascinated
patient almost feels the effect of ANIMAL MAGNETISM; the approach
of so much wisdom deprives him for a moment of speech, and the
poor devil undergoes a kind of temporary annihilation. An instance
of this occurred not long since, when a country fellow having
journeyed twelve miles to the doctor with a bottle of his wife’s
chrystal stream, communicated the necessary particulars to the
agent, when the doctor, in possession of the secret, made his
appearance.—“Well, friend!”—“I have brought your honour my wife’s
water, she could not rest any longer without your device.”—“Your
wife’s water—very well—let me see!—aye, I perceive she has bruised
her shoulder.”—“Yes, Sir, she has indeed.”—“By this water (it is
perfectly clear) she has fallen down stairs.”—“Yes, your
honour!”—“She is not injured in any other part by the fall?”—“Only
complains a little at the bottom of her belly, your honour.”—“Well,
she fell from the top of the stairs to the bottom, I see?”—“No, your
honour, she had gone down two steps before she fell.”—“Indeed!
why then you have not brought me all her water.”—“No, your
honour, there was a little the bottle would not hold.”—“Why then,
sirrah, the two stairs are left behind.“——This circumstance, (of a
thousand that might be quoted) is sufficient to demonstrate the
ridiculous credulity of the multitude in all matters of quackery, and
leaves us to lament, that the ignorance of one class, should become
so wretched a prey to the deliberate villainy of another.
The long experience you have had, in charging and posting your
accompts, under different masters of equal judgment and
experience, leaves little room for instruction under that head; it may
however not prove inapplicable to remind you, it is no matter how
incoherent or unintelligible the writing is, provided your figures are
bold and conspicuous; so long as you can convince them how much
they have to pay, it is a total matter of indifference to you, how
much they have received.
There is one caution however exceedingly necessary to be
advanced, to prevent your becoming subject to a reproof given by
the celebrated Dean Swift to his apothecary, for presuming to be
handsomely paid for the confidence of putting himself upon an
equality with his superiors. This is the impropriety of letting the word
”visits“ constitute a part of your charge, instead of the more modest
term of ”journeys,“ or ”attendance.“
The Dean having been afflicted with a long and severe fit of illness,
requested, soon after recovery, the apothecary’s bill; which having
perused, and finding a sum total very much beyond his expectation,
he proceeded to dissection, and perceiving almost every third article
to announce the honour of a ”visit,” at five shillings each, he
satirically adopted the following plan to punish Mr. Emetic, for what
the Dean considered a piece of consummate assurance.—Having
required his attendance to receive his demand, he paid down a
certain sum of money, which the mortified apothecary continued to
tell over, and repeatedly compare with the figures denoting the sum
total; but still continuing to tell and compare, without seeming to get
at all nearer the point of satisfaction, the Dean, in compassion to the
confusion he visibly laboured under, observed, as he did not seem to
be perfectly clear in his arrangement of the accompt, he would set
him right.—If he would but deduct the amount of the “visits” from
the sum total of his bill, he would find it exactly right; for being now
pretty well recovered, he intended paying him his “visits” again one
at a time.
You will now naturally conclude every instruction that can be
possibly necessary, has been submitted to your consideration, for
the promotion of your prosperous and profitable career through the
medical journey of life; it is not so; for although we have gone
through the usual forms of sickness, to either recovery or death,
there is still one remark necessary, to the completion of consistency,
in your professional character. It is a few observations, in derision of
that truly contemptible burlesque upon propriety, in following the
corps of your patient to the grave; a folly originating in ignorance,
and established by custom; a circumstance so truly ridiculous and
farcical, that it did not escape the penetration and sarcastic wit of
our Aristophanes of the present century, who attacked it with the full
force of his satire, in the description given by a taylor, in one of his
celebrated comedies, who says, “as he was going home to a
customer with a pair of breeches under his arm, he perceived his
neighbour Gargle, the apothecary, following a corps to the grave,—
so says he, Master Gargle, I see you are going home with your work
too.” The justice of this remark renders the circumstance so truly
ridiculous, that it is a matter of admiration, how any man of the
most common understanding can ever submit to an indignity so truly
laughable. It certainly bears the appearance of your not being
content with preying upon the property of the deceased, during their
last hours of sublunary affliction, but you meanly pursue their very
remains to the grave, and obtain a paltry hatband and gloves, at the
expence of decency and discretion. Exclusive of this very striking
obstacle, there is one of equal weight in the scale of your
professional reputation—it certainly can add none to the eminence of
your character, that the contents of the coffin was publickly known
to be a subject of your skill and experimental practice.
You will certainly experience some difficulty in evading a compliance
with many requests, made to you for this purpose; but I would
recommend it to you to encounter displeasure, rather than become
the dupe of so great an absurdity. To inculcate by example, what I
have strongly recommended in precept, you may be assured, that I
have, during my long practice, retained so great an aversion to this
inconsistency of character, that I rendered myself totally incapable of
compliance, by never having in possession a suit of mourning; this
resource has always proved my never failing friend, when no other
apology would be accepted; and by never seeming to recollect the
want till a few hours before the funeral, a written apology has
always proved a respectable substitute, to which there was no
alternative.
Having descended to the very minutiæ of a long, extensive, and
successful practice, to form your mind, and regulate your manners in
every professional transaction of your life, I cannot doubt, but rules
so directly consonant to your personal interest and reputation, will
receive every assistance from your unerring consistency and
perseverance, conveying a perfect corroboration of the gratitude you
feel, for the intrinsic worth of so liberal and friendly a
communication.
 TO
THE CHYMISTS AND DRUGGISTS.
It will create no surprise that you bring up the rear of this medical
exhibition, when it is remembered that the most opulent, eminent,
or respectable, generally close every public procession.—You are to
the faculty, what the hammerman is to the forge; you are in fact the
arterial reservoir, from whose source flow the rich streams, that feed
the venal divisions in every branch of the profession, whether in
town or country. To the fertility of your genius, to the extent of your
commerce, to the enterprising spirit of your pecuniary embarkations,
the faculty are indebted for the great variety and striking novelties,
that render them so much the subjects of admiration.
You happily derive your affluence from dealing innocently around
you the various instruments of death, with an indifference that
sufficiently exculpates you from the suspicion of murder, even as
accessaries before the fact.—Your constant, and extensive inventions
(for the promotion of private emolument and public good) rank you
high in general estimation, and you prudently recommend yourselves
to the attention of the most learned, by your very frequent and
extraordinary discoveries.—Your advertisements (with which almost
every literary vehicle teems) are alike calculated to excite wonder
and approbation; they seem to indicate proofs, that you alone
exceed the limits of human penetration, and display a hope of
perpetual existence, by setting mortality at defiance; like a groupe of
desperate hazard players, you are “at all in the ring,” and with a
degree of emulative opposition to each other, produce from your
alembics—bolt heads, and balneum arenæs, antidotes to every ill:
the only ray of consolation to the less learned is, that death (often
an unexpected visitor) opens the eyes of the world to the arts of
your deception, and you slide into the grave with the calm and
unobserved obscurity of your neighbours. The wonderful extent of
your fertile abilities are constantly conveyed to public attention,
through the pompous medium of “Letters Patent” and “Royal
Authority,” that are at length become (from the higher arts) the
fashionable introduction to a breeches ball; a tincture for the tooth
ach; a blacking cake, or a gamboge horse ball.
While I lament this degradation, this prostitution of patronage, to
such trifling, such contemptible efforts of sterility, I cannot but
consider how gratefully, how extensively, you are bound to a
credulous and indulgent public, who implicitly sanction with their
patronage, every production of genius or dullness, whether in a
philosophic taper, a concentrated acid of vinegar, or a salt of
lemons; they are undoubtedly discoveries of immense magnitude to
the public at large; and experience has sufficiently proved, that so
much patriotic virtue should meet its own reward.
Notwithstanding the superiority and extent of your knowledge, so
visibly displayed in the sublimity of your frequent experiments, that
have raised you to such a great degree of professional eminence,
there may yet be some profitable principles of practice, inculcated by
a long and studious observer, that will evidently add to your
emoluments, if not to the encrease of your reputations.
Your peculiar modesty may have prevented your attaining the
utmost perfection of your art, and left you strangers to the very
great and undiscovered advantages, that the privileges of your
profession so singularly entitle you to; for though you may hitherto
have reconciled yourselves to a paltry mechanical profit of thirty-five
or forty per cent. what law forbids you making the “most of your
market,” and enhancing those profits to such state, as may best
accord with your idea and gratification of city eminence—rural ease
—external appearance, and domestic hospitality? To insure these
comforts to a certainty, accept such instructions, (as closely adhered
to) will inevitably produce the purposes for which they are
introduced.
Hitherto, a stranger to the happy effects of necessary adulteration, it
may not be inapplicable to say a few words upon its numerous
advantages; first, at your embarkation, you should adopt it as the
ultimatum of all your professional views, and render it as subservient
to your wishes, as the lover’s invariable observance of “persevere
and conquer,” is to his. Adulteration has many pleasing advantages
annexed to its practice; by the applicable introduction of an harmless
ingredient, you may reduce the dangerous property of a drastic
purgative, and render a powerful poison less destructive; by such
acts you will enjoy the inexpressible consolation of hourly
contributing to the safety of your fellow-creatures, in exertions of
humanity, that will do you the greatest honour.
The prelude to the Pharmacopœia, sufficiently informs you, the
College of Wigs are empowered by royal sanction to invent, or
constitute forms, and the cabinet to enforce them; but your superior
knowledge sets such arbitrary dictation at defiance, and your
practical arts will ever supersede their theoretical penetration. Let
them happily enjoy the power to alter names, and improve forms of
all the compositions in that laughable farrago, their new
dispensatory; they have the province to direct, and you have the
pleasure to evade; obeying their injunctions no farther than is strictly
consistent with your own interest and convenience. To assist the
aptitude of your fertility, let me introduce to your attention (as
specimens of what may be done) some few of the advantageous
alterations that may be made in medicinal composition, to promote
your certain emolument, without arraigning your integrity.
In that expensive preparation confectio cardiaca (newly named by
college sagacity confectio aromatica) opportunity offers to display a
part of your privilege in substituting the use of saffron paper, which
will impart to the composition the rich colour of the original crocus;
for those other high priced articles cardamoms, cinnamon, nutmegs,
and cloves, applicable and proportional quantities of those cheaper
(and equally efficacious) cordials and carminatives, ginger, grains of
paradise, or any of the inferior spices may be added. In large
preparations of the electarium lenitivum, an introduction of the pulp
of prunes for the pulp of cassia, will save much additional expence
and trouble.—In the syrupus e spina cervina, treacle is certainly
preferable to the finest lump sugar, with this advantage, that the
predominant nausea will prevent the discovery.
Experience will convince you that spiritus c. c. (per se) obtained by
distillation from the accumulated stale urine of a parish workhouse,
or the bones of animals, will be by far preferable to that drawn from
the purest cornu cervi; as are the rasura c. c. from the shank bones
of horses, or cows, preferable to all other.—Sp. terebinthinæ
(carefully and proportionally incorporated) becomes an admirable
associate with the ol. juniperi.—Ol. amygdalinum (and many other
articles blended secundum artem) form an excellent combination
with, and increase the stock of ol. anisi verum.—Genuine gum
guaiacum—galbanum—storax, and bals. tolutanum, may undergo
the process of purification much better, if impregnated with the
occasional assistance of either the resina nigra, or flava.—The
various unguents will derive advantage from the salutary
introduction of auxungiæ porcincæ, as a substitute for those more
expensive and unnecessary articles cera flava and ol. olivarum.
Pulv. anisi verum will be much more easily reduced from the cakes,
after the seed has been expressed, the oil obtained, and their
medical virtue entirely extracted; it is an article only in use for
horses and cows; whether they are killed or cured, is an object not
worthy your consideration. Liquorice, fenugreek, diapente, turmeric,
and elecampane, are to receive their basis from horse beans ground
(at the medical mills) exceedingly fine, and to be impregnated
properly with the different articles from which they derive their
names, so as to retain each their predominant effluvia; and as these
are articles in use for cattle only, you will give proof of your
humanity, by drenching them with food instead of physic. The
species hiera will be much more certain in its effects, if prepared
with the Barbadoes, instead of the Succotrine aloes; and the true
Dutch biscuit powder, will form no unprofitable union with the
powder of Salop. In fact, innumerable instances of professional skill
and œconomy might be introduced, extending instructions to a
much greater length than originally intended; protracting the
explanatory parts beyond the limits of utility, an accusation it has
been my principal care to avoid.
It may perhaps be almost unnecessary to remind you, how
absolutely needful it will be, to reduce to impalpable pulverization
and complicated forms, all inferior and damaged drugs of every
denomination; in powders, tinctures, electuaries, and other
preparations, their defects will not be perceptible, and it will prove
matter of no small gratification to you, that many practitioners are
very inferior judges of the compositions they constantly prescribe; to
these may be added the still greater number, that never condescend
to undergo the task of inspection, forming together a major part of
the very numerous and respectable body I have undertaken to
instruct.—If you are a dispenser of chemicals and galenicals by
retail, one additional observation will prove worthy your attention—
never let your shop, or dispensary, get into disrepute by too much
modesty, in saying you are without the most obsolete or ridiculous
article that can be enquired for; if oil of swallows, oil of bricks,
lobsters’ blood, or milk of lilies, should be the objects in request, let
the fertility of your invention instantly furnish a substitute for either;
of these, such a great variety are always to be found, the least
enumeration becomes unnecessary.
The series of instructions advanced for the promotion of professional
interest, have been promulgated without a fear of offence, or hope
of reward; amidst the very great number of different practitioners,
into whose hands these admonitions must inevitably fall, happy he
who can exultingly exclaim,
“Let the gall’d jade wince, our withers are unwrung.”
From the physician, who lingers out a life of studious suspense, and
derives a scanty subsistence from the alternate labour of morning
visits and evening lectures—from that dignified “member of the
corporation,” whole mercurial abilities are thrust into the hand of
every dirty passenger, in the more dirty avenues of the metropolis—
from that industrious accoucher, whose incessant nocturnal labour
renders him, in common life, little superior to the nightman, and that
equal drudge the metropolitan pharmacopolist, I can have little to
expect but universal denunciation of vengeance, and threats of
malevolence: to the effect of these, I oppose the stability of truth,
that will render me invulnerable to all their attacks.
A steady observance of the iniquity of medical practice has long
since powerfully convinced me of the absolute necessity of
professional reformation, and should I (by arming the public with a
weapon of self-defence) succeed in producing a change in the
systematic imposition of one, and preventing perpetual depredation
upon the other, every idea of personal ambition will be fully gratified,
for
“So little slave to what the world calls fame;
As dies my body—so I wish my name.”
But this obscurity in the present instance is much more anxiously to
be hoped than expected, for there cannot be the least doubt
entertained but some one of his Majesty’s ministers (who are ever
anxious for the public good and increase of revenue) will, through
the medium of the publisher, discover the joint secret of name and
residence, that by placing the author in the TREASURY, CUSTOMS,
or some office equally lucrative, they may avail themselves of his
INTEGRITY, not hesitating a moment to believe, that so just an
investigator of professional impositions upon individuals, must
unavoidably render the STATE adequate service, in the discovery of
official depredations upon the PUBLIC.
FINIS.
 BOOKS lately published by G.
KEARSLEY,
At DOCTOR JOHNSON’s HEAD, No. 46, FLEET-STREET, LONDON.
Where all New Publications may be had on the shortest Notice.

A TOUR through HOLLAND, DUTCH BRABANT, the

AUSTRIAN NETHERLANDS, and Part of FRANCE:
In which is included a Description of Paris and its
Environs.
By the late HARRY PECKHAM, Esq.
One of his Majesty’s Counsel, and Recorder of the City of
Chichester.
Price 3s. 6d. half bound, with a Map of the Low
Countries.
Of Kearsley may also be had, in Pocket Volumes, together
or separate,
The TOUR of FRANCE, with two Maps, price 3s. 6d.
TOUR of ITALY, with a Map, 4s. 6d.
TOUR of SWITZERLAND, including M. De SAUSSURE’s
Account of his Expedition to the Summit of MONT BLANC,
with a Map, 2s. 6d.
Each of these TOURS contains all the Information that
can be useful to TRAVELLERS and entertaining to
READERS; among which are the Expences upon the
Road, regulated by the Mode of travelling; the best
Hotels, Inns, and Lodgings, are accurately reported; also
the Distances between the Towns; curious Collections and
public Buildings. To which is added, An Account of the
Coins of each Country, the Customs and Manners of the
Inhabitants, &c. &c.

The following entertaining Collection was compiled by a

Person of distinguished Abilities, for the Use of young
People, and as a Guide to the curious Traveller who
intends to visit these Regions, which contain so many
Wonders of Art and Nature.
A Description of S I C I L Y and M A L T A, With an Account
of the late Earthquake at Messina; the Eruptions of Mount
Etna; the Destruction of Hybla; the present State of
Palmyra; the Customs and Manners of the Sicilians; their
Marriages, Carriages, &c. Account of Syracuse, and the
Knights of Malta; with a great Variety of curious and
singular Descriptions, extracted from the Travels of
Brydone, Swinburn, Sir William Hamilton, and other
respectable Writers.
Price Three Shillings and Sixpence bound.

The FLOWERS of MODERN TRAVELS.

Being elegant, entertaining, and instructive Extracts,
selected from the Works of the most celebrated
Travellers; such as, Lord Lyttelton, Sir W. Hamilton, Baron
de Tott, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Moore, Dr. Troil, Addison,
Brydone, Coxe, Wraxall, Savary, Topham, Sherlock,
Douglas, Lady M. W. Montague, &c. &c. &c.—Intended
chiefly for young People of both Sexes.
By the Rev. JOHN ADAMS, A. M.
Here you may range the world from pole to pole,
Increase your knowledge, and delight your soul;
Travel all nations, and inform your sense,
With ease and safety, at a small expence.
Anon.
Two Vols. Price Six Shillings sewed.
 The FLOWERS of ANCIENT and MODERN HISTORY.
Comprehending, on a new Plan, the most remarkable and
interesting Events, as well as ancient and modern
Characters; designed for the Improvement and
Entertainment of Youth.
By the Rev. JOHN ADAMS, A. M.
Omne tulit punctum, qui miscuit utile dulci. Hor.
Two Volumes, Price Six Shillings sewed.
Either Volume may be had separate.

RECREATION for YOUTH.

An useful and entertaining EPITOME of GEOGRAPHY and
BIOGRAPHY.
The first Part comprising a general View of the several
Empires, Kingdoms, Republics, States, remarkable
Islands, Mountains, Seas, Rivers, and Lakes, with their
Situation, Extent, Capitals, Population, Produce, Arts,
Religion, and Commerce. Including the Discoveries of
Captain Cook and others.
The second Part including the LIVES of the most eminent
MEN who have flourished in Great Britain and its
Dependencies.
By JOHN PATERSON SERVICE.
Price Three Shillings and Sixpence bound.

With five new Plates, from the Designs of Mr. Nixon,

The Tenth Edition of that pleasing Selection,
The BEAUTIES of STERNE.
Calculated for the Heart of Sensibility.
This Volume contains a Selection of Mr. Sterne’s Familiar
Letters, the Story of Le Fevre and Uncle Toby, Maria,
Shandy’s Bed of Justice, Yorick’s Horse, Corporal Trim’s
Brother, the Dwarf, the Pulse, the Pye-man, the Sword,
the Supper, the Starling, the Ass, Dr. Slop and Obadiah,
Dr. Slop and Susan, &c.
Also several of his most celebrated Sermons and elegant
Sentiments.
Price Three Shillings and Sixpence sewed.

Illustrated by a great Number of Plates, which include

above One Thousand Examples,
The Sixth Edition, including a Variety of Additions and
Improvements, both in the Plates and Letter-press,
A Short and Easy INTRODUCTION to HERALDRY, in Two
Parts.
Part I. The Use of Arms and Armory, Rules of Blazon and
Marshalling Coats of Armour, with engraved Tables upon a
new Plan, for the Instruction of those who wish to learn
the Science.
Part II. A Dictionary of Heraldry, with an Alphabetical List
of the Terms in English, French, and Latin; also the
different Degrees of the Nobility and Gentry of England,
with Tables of Precedency.
The whole compiled from the most approved Authorities.
By HUGH CLARK and THOMAS WORMULL.
Price Four Shillings in boards.

The POEMS of Mr. GRAY.

With Notes by Gilbert Wakefield, B. A. late Fellow of Jesus
College, Cambridge.
Welcome to our website – the ideal destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. With a mission to inspire endlessly, we offer a
vast collection of books, ranging from classic literary works to
specialized publications, self-development books, and children's
literature. Each book is a new journey of discovery, expanding
knowledge and enriching the soul of the reade

Our website is not just a platform for buying books, but a bridge
connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With
an elegant, user-friendly interface and an intelligent search system,
we are committed to providing a quick and convenient shopping
experience. Additionally, our special promotions and home delivery
services ensure that you save time and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and

personal growth!

ebooknice.com