From A-to-Z Review of Clustering Validation Indices

Data clustering involves identifying latent similarities within a dataset and organizing them into clusters or groups. The outcomes of various clustering algorithms differ as they are susceptible to the intrinsic characteristics of the original dataset, including noise and dimensionality. The effectiveness of such clustering procedures directly impacts the homogeneity of clusters, underscoring the significance of evaluating algorithmic outcomes. Consequently, the assessment of clustering quality presents a significant and complex endeavor. A pivotal aspect affecting clustering validation is the cluster validity metric, which aids in determining the optimal number of clusters. The main goal of this study is to comprehensively review and explain the mathematical operation of internal and external cluster validity indices, but not all, to categorize these indices and to brainstorm suggestions for future advancement of clustering validation research. In addition, we review and evaluate the performance of internal and external clustering validation indices on the most common clustering algorithms, such as the evolutionary clustering algorithm star (ECA*). Finally, we suggest a classification framework for examining the functionality of both internal and external clustering validation measures regarding their ideal values, user-friendliness, responsiveness to input data, and appropriateness across various fields. This classification aids researchers in selecting the appropriate clustering validation measure to suit their specific requirements.

Evaluating e-Government Services in Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research Using the EGOVSAT Model

Office automation is an initiative used to digitally deliver services to citizens, private and public sectors. It is used to digitally collect, store, create, and manipulate office information as a need of accomplishing basic tasks. Azya Office Automation has been implemented as a pilot project in Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research (KISSR) since 2013. The efficiency of governance in Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research has been improved, thanks to its implementation. The aims of this research paper is to evaluate user satisfaction of this software and identify its significant predictors using EGOVSAT Model. The user satisfaction of this model encompasses five main parts, which are utility, reliability, efficiency, customization, and flexibility. For that purpose, a detailed survey is conducted to measure the level of user satisfaction. A total of sixteen questions have distributed among forty one users of the software in KISSR. In order to evaluate the software, three measurement have been used which are reliability test, regression analysis and correlation analysis. The results indicate that the software is successful to a decent extent based on user satisfaction feedbacks obtained by using EGOVSAT Model.

Cat Swarm Optimization Algorithm -- A Survey and Performance Evaluation

This paper presents an in-depth survey and performance evaluation of the Cat Swarm Optimization (CSO) Algorithm. CSO is a robust and powerful metaheuristic swarm-based optimization approach that has received very positive feedback since its emergence. It has been tackling many optimization problems and many variants of it have been introduced. However, the literature lacks a detailed survey or a performance evaluation in this regard. Therefore, this paper is an attempt to review all these works, including its developments and applications, and group them accordingly. In addition, CSO is tested on 23 classical benchmark functions and 10 modern benchmark functions (CEC 2019). The results are then compared against three novel and powerful optimization algorithms, namely Dragonfly algorithm (DA), Butterfly optimization algorithm (BOA) and Fitness Dependent Optimizer (FDO). These algorithms are then ranked according to Friedman test and the results show that CSO ranks first on the whole. Finally, statistical approaches are employed to further confirm the outperformance of CSO algorithm.