This book covers methods based on a combination of granular computing, rough sets, and knowledge discovery in data mining (KDD). The discussion of KDD foundations based on the rough set approach and granular computing feature illustrative applications.

The two volume set LNAI 3641 and LNAI 3642 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Rough Sets, Fuzzy Sets, Data Mining, and Granular Computing, RSFDGrC 2005, held in Regina, Canada in August/September 2005. The 119 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 277 submissions. They comprise the two volumes together with 6 invited papers, 22 approved workshop papers, and 5 special section papers that all were carefully selected and thoroughly revised. The first volume includes 75 contributions related to rough set approximations, rough-algebraic foundations, feature selection and reduction, reasoning in information systems, rough-probabilistic approaches, rough-fuzzy hybridization, fuzzy methods in data analysis, evolutionary computing, machine learning, approximate and uncertain reasoning, probabilistic network models, spatial and temporal reasoning, non-standard logics, and granular computing. The second volume contains 77 contributions and deals with rough set software, data mining, hybrid and hierarchical methods, information retrieval, image recognition and processing, multimedia applications, medical applications, web content analysis, business and industrial applications, the approved workshop papers and the papers accepted for a special session on intelligent and sapient systems.

This volume contains the papers selected for presentation at the 9th International Conference on Rough Sets, Fuzzy Sets, Data Mining and Granular Computing (RSFDGrC 2003) held at Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, P.R. China, May 26–29, 2003. There were 245 submissions for RSFDGrC 2003 excluding for 2 invited keynote papers and 11 invited plenary papers. Apart from the 13 invited papers, 114 papers were accepted for RSFDGrC 2003 and were included in this volume. The acceptance rate was only 46.5%. These papers were divided into 39 regular oral presentation papers (each allotted 8 pages), 47 short oral presentation papers (each allotted 4 pages) and 28 poster presentation papers (each allotted 4 pages) on the basis of reviewer evaluations. Each paper was reviewed by three referees. The conference is a continuation and expansion of the International Workshops on Rough Set Theory and Applications. In particular, this was the ninth meeting in the series and the first international conference. The aim of RSFDGrC2003 was to bring together researchers from diverse fields of expertise in order to facilitate mutual understanding and cooperation and to help in cooperative work aimed at new hybrid paradigms. It is our great pleasure to dedicate this volume to Prof. Zdzislaw Pawlak, who first introduced the basic ideas and definitions of rough sets theory over 20 years ago.

Welcome to the 12th International Conference on Rough Sets, Fuzzy Sets, Data Mining and Granular Computing (RSFDGrC 2009), held at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, India, during December 15-18, 2009. RSFDGrC is a series of conferences spanning over the last 15 years. It investigates the me- ing points among the four major areas outlined in its title. This year, it was co-organized with the Third International Conference on Pattern Recognition and Machine Intelligence (PReMI 2009), which provided additional means for multi-facetedinteractionofboth scientists andpractitioners.Itwasalsothe core component of this year's Rough Set Year in India project. However, it remained a fully international event aimed at building bridges between countries. The ?rst sectin contains the invited papers and a short report on the abo- mentioned project. Let us note that all the RSFDGrC 2009 plenary speakers, Ivo Düntsch, Zbigniew Suraj, Zhongzhi Shi, Sergei Kuznetsov, Qiang Shen, and Yukio Ohsawa, contributed with the full-length articles in the proceedings. The remaining six sections contain 56 regular papers that were selected out of 130 submissions, each peer-reviewed by three PC members. We thank the authors for their high-quality papers submitted to this volume and regret that many deserving papers could not be accepted because of our urge to maintain strict standards. It is worth mentioning that there was quite a good number of papers on the foundations of rough sets and fuzzy sets, many of them authored byIndianresearchers.ThefuzzysettheoryhasbeenpopularinIndiaforalonger time. Now, we can see the rising interest in the rough set theory.

During the past few years, data mining has grown rapidly in visibility and importance within information processing and decision analysis. This is par ticularly true in the realm of e-commerce, where data mining is moving from a "nice-to-have" to a "must-have" status. In a different though related context, a new computing methodology called granular computing is emerging as a powerful tool for the conception, analysis and design of information/intelligent systems. In essence, data mining deals with summarization of information which is resident in large data sets, while granular computing plays a key role in the summarization process by draw ing together points (objects) which are related through similarity, proximity or functionality. In this perspective, granular computing has a position of centrality in data mining. Another methodology which has high relevance to data mining and plays a central role in this volume is that of rough set theory. Basically, rough set theory may be viewed as a branch of granular computing. However, its applications to data mining have predated that of granular computing.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Rough Sets, Fuzzy Sets, Data Mining, and Granular Computing, RSFDGrC 2007, held in Toronto, Canada in May 2007 in conjunction with the Second International Conference on Rough Sets and Knowledge Technology, RSKT 2007, both as part of the Joint Rough Set Symposium, JRS 2007.

This book provides two general granular computing approaches to mining relational data, the first of which uses abstract descriptions of relational objects to build their granular representation, while the second extends existing granular data mining solutions to a relational case. Both approaches make it possible to perform and improve popular data mining tasks such as classification, clustering, and association discovery. How can different relational data mining tasks best be unified? How can the construction process of relational patterns be simplified? How can richer knowledge from relational data be discovered? All these questions can be answered in the same way: by mining relational data in the paradigm of granular computing! This book will allow readers with previous experience in the field of relational data mining to discover the many benefits of its granular perspective. In turn, those readers familiar with the paradigm of granular computing will find valuable insights on its application to mining relational data. Lastly, the book offers all readers interested in computational intelligence in the broader sense the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the newly emerging field granular-relational data mining.

This book organizes key concepts, theories, standards, methodologies, trends, challenges and applications of data mining and knowledge discovery in databases. It first surveys, then provides comprehensive yet concise algorithmic descriptions of methods, including classic methods plus the extensions and novel methods developed recently. It also gives in-depth descriptions of data mining applications in various interdisciplinary industries.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the First International Conference on Rough Sets and Knowledge Technology, RSKT 2006, held in Chongqing, China in July 2006. The volume presents 43 revised full papers and 58 revised short papers, together with 15 commemorative and invited papers. Topics include rough computing, evolutionary computing, fuzzy sets, granular computing, neural computing, machine learning and KDD, logics and reasoning, multiagent systems and Web intelligence, and more.

This book constitutes the refereed conference proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Rough Sets, Fuzzy Sets, Data Mining and Granular Computing, RSFDGrC 2015, held in Tianjin, China in November 2015 as one of the co-located conference of the 2015 Joint Rough Set Symposium, JRS 2015. The 44 papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 97 submissions. The papers in this volume cover topics such as rough sets: the experts speak; generalized rough sets; rough sets and graphs; rough and fuzzy hybridization; granular computing; data mining and machine learning; three-way decisions; IJCRS 2015 data challenge.