A Sensitivity Based Generalization Error Model for Supervised Learning
                                  Problems

                                  Abstract



Generalization error model provides a theoretical support for a
classifier's performance in terms of prediction accuracy. However, existing
models give very loose error bounds. This explains why classification
systems generally rely on experimental validation for their claims on
prediction accuracy. In this talk we will revisit this problem and explore
the idea of developing a new generalization error model based on the
assumption that only prediction accuracy on unseen points in a
neighbourhood of a training point will be considered, since it will be
unreasonable to require a classifier to accurately predict unseen points
"far away" from training samples. The new error model makes use of the
concept of sensitivity measure for multiplayer feedforward neural networks
(Multilayer Perceptrons or Radial Basis Function Neural Networks). The new
model was developed for both single and multiple classifier systems. Its
usefulness is demonstrated in the problems of architecture selection and
feature reduction for RBFNN classifiers. A number of experimental results
on image classification, content based information retrieval and bankruptcy
prediction will be presented.








                                 The Speaker
                               Daniel S Yeung

         Chair Professor, School of Computer Science and Engineering
           South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
      Junior Past President, IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society
                             Fellow of the IEEE

Biography:

Daniel S. Yeung (Ph.D., M.Sc., M.B.A., M.S., M.A., B.A.) is the Junior  Past
President of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics (SMC) Society,  a  Fellow of
the IEEE and an  IEEE  Distinguished  Lecturer.  He  received  the  Ph.D.
degree in applied mathematics from Case Western Reserve University.  In  the
past, he has worked as an Assistant Professor of  Mathematics  and  Computer
Science at Rochester Institute of Technology, as  a  Research  Scientist  in
the General Electric Corporate Research Center, and as a System  Integration
Engineer at TRW, all in the United  States.  He  was  the  chairman  of  the
Department of Computing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic  University,  Hong  Kong,
and a Chair Professor from 1999 to 2006. Currently he is a  Chair  Professor in
the School of Computer Science and Engineering,  South  China  University of
Technology, Guangzhou, China.

His current research interests include neural-network sensitivity  analysis,
data mining, and fuzzy rough set. He was the  Chairman  of  IEEE  Hong  Kong
Computer Chapter (91and 92), an associate editor for both IEEE  Transactions on
Neural Networks and IEEE Transactions  on  SMC  (Part  B),  and  for  the
International Journal on Wavelet  and  Multiresolution  Processing.  He  has
served as the President (2008 and 2009), President-Elect  (2007),  a  member of
the Board of Governors, Vice  President  for  Technical  Activities,  and Vice
President for  Long  Range  Planning  and  Finance  for  the  IEEE  SMC
Society. He co-founded and served as a General Co-Chair since 2002  for  the
International Conference on Machine Learning and Cybernetics  held  annually in
China. He also served as a General Co-Chair (Technical  Program)  of  the 2006
International  Conference  on  Pattern  Recognition.  He  is  also  the
founding Chairman of the IEEE SMC Hong Kong Chapter.

His past teaching and academic  administrative  positions  include  a  Chair
Professor and Head at Department of Computing,  The  Hong  Kong  Polytechnic
University, the Head of the Management Information Unit  at  the  Hong  Kong
Polytechnic University, Associate Head/Principal Lecturer at the  Department of
Computer Science, City Polytechnic of  Hong  Kong,  a  tenured  Assistant
Professor at the School of Computer Science and Technology and an  Assistant
Professor at the Department of Mathematics, both at  Rochester Institute  of
Technology, Rochester, New York.

He  also  held  industrial   and   business   positions   as   a   Technical
Specialist/Application Software  Group  Leader  at  the  Computer  Consoles,
Inc.,  Rochester,  New  York,  an  Information  Resource   Sub-manager/Staff
Engineer at the  Military  and  Avionics  Division,  TRW  Inc.,  San  Diego,
California,  and  an  Information  Scientist  of  the   Information   System
Operation Lab, General Electric Corporate Research and  Development  Centre,
Schenectady, New York.