Databases contain data which is converted to Information by Datamining
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This use of a database is often called a Data warehouse
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You extract data and the apply Decision Support tools which are essentially Optimization systems to extract Information
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High Visibility Commercial Applications are:
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Using customer purchase information to optimize store layout. Which products should be placed where, when.
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Using Credit card data, plan optimal mailings with "offers" which customers are likely to accept. For instance credit cards may show customer is a football fan who likes to spend Xmas in Florida.
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August mailing will discount combination of Florida trip with Syracuse University Football tickets
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Using Medicare data to identify fraudulent practices identified as being anomalous (e.g. Doctors claiming to see unusually many patients in a day etc.)
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Optimization tools will be those we study in Case Study I)
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Thinking Machines produced a package (called Darwin originally) featuring Genetic algorithms, Neural Nets etc.
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