Predicting social unrest events in South Africa using LSTM neural networks

dc.contributor.advisorNyirenda, Juwa
dc.contributor.authorZambezi, Samantha
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-21T17:03:13Z
dc.date.available2021-09-21T17:03:13Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.date.updated2021-09-21T17:02:30Z
dc.description.abstractThis thesis demonstrates an approach to predict the count of social unrest events in South Africa. A comparison is made between traditional forecasting approaches and neural networks; the traditional forecast method selected being the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA model). The type of neural network implemented was the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network. The basic theoretical concepts of ARIMA and LSTM neural networks are explained and subsequently, the patterns of the social unrest time series were analysed using time series exploratory techniques. The social unrest time series contained a significant number of irregular fluctuations with a non-linear trend. The structure of the social unrest time series suggested that traditional linear approaches would fail to model the non-linear behaviour of the time series. This thesis confirms this finding. Twelve experiments were conducted, and in these experiments, features, scaling procedures and model configurations are varied (i.e. univariate and multivariate models). Multivariate LSTM achieved the lowest forecast errors and performance improved as more explanatory features were introduced. The ARIMA model's performance deteriorated with added complexity and the univariate ARIMA produced lower forecast errors compared to the multivariate ARIMA. In conclusion, it can be claimed that multivariate LSTM neural networks are useful for predicting social unrest events.
dc.identifier.apacitationZambezi, S. (2021). <i>Predicting social unrest events in South Africa using LSTM neural networks</i>. (). ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Statistical Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33986en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationZambezi, Samantha. <i>"Predicting social unrest events in South Africa using LSTM neural networks."</i> ., ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Statistical Sciences, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33986en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationZambezi, S. 2021. Predicting social unrest events in South Africa using LSTM neural networks. . ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Statistical Sciences. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33986en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Master Thesis AU - Zambezi, Samantha AB - This thesis demonstrates an approach to predict the count of social unrest events in South Africa. A comparison is made between traditional forecasting approaches and neural networks; the traditional forecast method selected being the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA model). The type of neural network implemented was the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network. The basic theoretical concepts of ARIMA and LSTM neural networks are explained and subsequently, the patterns of the social unrest time series were analysed using time series exploratory techniques. The social unrest time series contained a significant number of irregular fluctuations with a non-linear trend. The structure of the social unrest time series suggested that traditional linear approaches would fail to model the non-linear behaviour of the time series. This thesis confirms this finding. Twelve experiments were conducted, and in these experiments, features, scaling procedures and model configurations are varied (i.e. univariate and multivariate models). Multivariate LSTM achieved the lowest forecast errors and performance improved as more explanatory features were introduced. The ARIMA model's performance deteriorated with added complexity and the univariate ARIMA produced lower forecast errors compared to the multivariate ARIMA. In conclusion, it can be claimed that multivariate LSTM neural networks are useful for predicting social unrest events. DA - 2021 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town KW - Statistical Sciences LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2021 T1 - Predicting social unrest events in South Africa using LSTM neural networks TI - Predicting social unrest events in South Africa using LSTM neural networks UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33986 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/33986
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationZambezi S. Predicting social unrest events in South Africa using LSTM neural networks. []. ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Statistical Sciences, 2021 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/33986en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066eng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Statistical Sciences
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Science
dc.subjectStatistical Sciences
dc.titlePredicting social unrest events in South Africa using LSTM neural networks
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationlevelMSc
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