Analytical Techniques
Analysis of Competing Hypotheses Software
15/06/08 17:54
I came across a very useful little piece of software
last week while I was grappling with a particularly
sensitive analytical problem. I couldn’t afford to be
wrong and I was worried that my biases might mislead
me. With that in mind I decided to use Analysis of
Competing Hypotheses (ACH). Unfortunately there were
so many little bits of evidence that the pen and
paper method soon bogged down. A quick search on
Google however led me to PARC ACH.
PARC ACH is a rather utilitarian little piece of software. There is no glitz. The UI is basic. Little glitches are inclined to spring up. I can’t seem to get it to print on my MacBook Pro. But what it does it does well.
PARC ACH is a rather utilitarian little piece of software. There is no glitz. The UI is basic. Little glitches are inclined to spring up. I can’t seem to get it to print on my MacBook Pro. But what it does it does well.
The dirty work of ACH is
much easier with the PARC software. It handles both
inconsistency and weighted inconsistency scores. You
can sort evidence by order addedd, diagnosticity,
type, credibility, relevence, or even user criterion.
Best of all it comes with a built in ACH tutorial
that will guide you through the process if you are a
newbie or just a little rusty.
If you hooked your laptop to a large screen monitor
or multimedia projector PARC ACH would make a good
collaborative tool. The whole team could readily see
the effects of changes without being slowed by the
need for someone with neat handwriting.
Did I mention that it is free?
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Learning to Think Analytically with Video Games
26/04/08 09:15
According to Wired US intelligence agencies are using
custom video games to teach analytical thinking.
Despite what the graphics might suggest the games'
emphasis is on critical thinking skills and the use
of the analytical process rather than violence.
I'd love to see an NGO version of something like this. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with an interesting story with a humanitarian slant that would challenge the players reasoning. Perhaps based on Darfur with the player attempting to shift through opposing claims and counter claims. Or how about a scenario based in Gaza?
Only the eight principles of intelligence analysis can save him? Oh my Gawd! I don't remember them! I'm hoping that its Richards J. Heuer's eight step Analysis of Competing Hypotheses otherwise little DIA dude is doomed.
I'd love to see an NGO version of something like this. It shouldn't be too hard to come up with an interesting story with a humanitarian slant that would challenge the players reasoning. Perhaps based on Darfur with the player attempting to shift through opposing claims and counter claims. Or how about a scenario based in Gaza?
Only the eight principles of intelligence analysis can save him? Oh my Gawd! I don't remember them! I'm hoping that its Richards J. Heuer's eight step Analysis of Competing Hypotheses otherwise little DIA dude is doomed.
Black Swan Lessons - You Can't Graph the Future
22/04/08 07:47
Something about most UN and NGO security reports has
always made me uneasy. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not
that they aren’t thorough. A lot of work goes into
fact checking and ensuring that what they say is
’correct’. It’s just that the typical security report
is a comprehensive list of recent past incidents
combined, if we are lucky, with their assessed
causes. Incident statistics are then charted and
'trends' are identified. This always made me a little
nervous.
To be fair I never really knew why it made me nervous until I read “The Black Swan”. Nicholas Taleb raises several points that help explain my unease.
The first is that more information is not necessarily better. Its very easy to get bogged down in detail that has no real relevance to the issue at hand.
The second factor is what Nicholas calls the Ludic Fallacy. In brief this is the assumption that the unexpected can be predicted by extrapolating from statistics based on past observations. Nicholas argues that while this holds true for theoretical models based on games of chance it seldom holds true in the real world for the following reasons:
∗ We don’t know what we don’t know. (See the Unknown Unknown)
∗ Very small (perhaps imperceptible) changes in the variables can have a huge impact in the outcome. This is commonly referred to as the Butterfly Effect.
∗ Theories based on experience are fundamentally flawed as events that have not occurred before (or are outside living memory) cannot be accounted for.
The Washington Post graphic below, which shows the frequency and lethality of suicide attacks since 1981, illustrates the problem. If we had examined the chart in 2000 would it have led us to predict 9/11(a classic Black Swan)? If we had re-examined it in 2003 would it have led us to predict the sudden increase in the frequency of attacks in 2007? What does 2007 tell us about 2008? Looking at the trend from 1981 to 1989 how many researchers would have concluded that suicide attacks were in decline and opined that such attacks were ineffective in accomplishing the attackers goals.
To be fair I never really knew why it made me nervous until I read “The Black Swan”. Nicholas Taleb raises several points that help explain my unease.
The first is that more information is not necessarily better. Its very easy to get bogged down in detail that has no real relevance to the issue at hand.
The second factor is what Nicholas calls the Ludic Fallacy. In brief this is the assumption that the unexpected can be predicted by extrapolating from statistics based on past observations. Nicholas argues that while this holds true for theoretical models based on games of chance it seldom holds true in the real world for the following reasons:
∗ We don’t know what we don’t know. (See the Unknown Unknown)
∗ Very small (perhaps imperceptible) changes in the variables can have a huge impact in the outcome. This is commonly referred to as the Butterfly Effect.
∗ Theories based on experience are fundamentally flawed as events that have not occurred before (or are outside living memory) cannot be accounted for.
The Washington Post graphic below, which shows the frequency and lethality of suicide attacks since 1981, illustrates the problem. If we had examined the chart in 2000 would it have led us to predict 9/11(a classic Black Swan)? If we had re-examined it in 2003 would it have led us to predict the sudden increase in the frequency of attacks in 2007? What does 2007 tell us about 2008? Looking at the trend from 1981 to 1989 how many researchers would have concluded that suicide attacks were in decline and opined that such attacks were ineffective in accomplishing the attackers goals.
Darfur, Afghanistan, Beer, and Breakfast
13/04/08 07:41
Google Trends can be a useful tool for context
analysis. If you've ever wondered why your security
budget is dwindling despite the rise in security
incidents or why the head office seems to have
forgotten you it can be a pretty useful tool.
For those who haven't seen it before Google Trends compares the relative Google search frequency of up to five user specified terms. For example if you want to compare relative search interest in various hot beverages you might enter "coffee, tea, cocoa" and press search. Google Trends returns a nice neat chart that shows how many searches were made for each term over time. It also shows a "news reference volume" chart, or in other words the frequency with which the term has shown up in the media.
For those who haven't seen it before Google Trends compares the relative Google search frequency of up to five user specified terms. For example if you want to compare relative search interest in various hot beverages you might enter "coffee, tea, cocoa" and press search. Google Trends returns a nice neat chart that shows how many searches were made for each term over time. It also shows a "news reference volume" chart, or in other words the frequency with which the term has shown up in the media.
The chart above was
generated when I compared relative interest in
Darfur, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Congo, with Sweden
as a control.
The results were pretty interesting. Searches for
Iraq seem to correspond with increases in media
coverage. No surprises there. The big surprise for me
was Sweden. Google user are more interested in Sweden
than they are in Darfur, Afghanistan, and the Congo.
Talk about forgotten conflicts!
Flag B is interesting. It marks George Bush's call
for more NATO troops in Afghanistan and clearly shows
an increase in media coverage of Afghanistan. It even
overtook coverage of Iraq for a short while. However,
the general public took no notice.
The regions chart is
enlightening. Americans are predominantly interested
in Iraq and seem to have forgotten about Afghanistan.
The Canadians, who have troops in Afghanistan but not
Iraq seem equally interested in both countries. And
finally, the Swedes seem to be totally obsessed with
Sweden.
Not without trepidation
replaced Sweden with "beer" in my search terms. I
shouldn't have. I now know that your average computer
using westerner is more interested in beer than they
are in Iraq and Afghanistan combined. "Darfur?...
never heard of it... do they have good beer?"
If you are feeling particularly masochistic try
breakfast
or worse boobs.
For a brief while in 2004 your average Google user
was more interested in what was happening in Iraq
than what they were going to have for breakfast.
That aberration hasn't repeated itself since. Its
also interesting to note that while American's
seem equally fascinated by Iraq and breasts,
Canadians have a distinct preference for the
later.
Pakistan: Shifting Targets?
17/03/08 21:41
Kidnapped Aid Workers Reportedly Killed in Afghanistan
27/02/08 04:49
Aid workers Cyd Mizell and Muhammad Hadi have
apparently been killed in Afghanistan according to
this statement by Asian Rural Life Development
Foundation. The pair had been kidnapped by armed men
in Kandahar while they travelled to work in the
morning.
Our prayers are with the families and friends of Hadi and Cyd.
Our prayers are with the families and friends of Hadi and Cyd.
A Periodic Table of of Visualization Methods
08/12/07 09:51
Visual-literacy.org
has a great periodic table of visualization
methods. You can find something here to help
tackle the most complex of analytical problems.
Periodic Table of Visualization Methods
Thanks Rick!
Periodic Table of Visualization Methods
Thanks Rick!
Smart Clothes for Disaster Relief
04/11/07 10:33
Disaster relief workers may soon benefit from a new
'smart' suit being
developed by I-Garment. The suit is intended to
help remedy safety and communications problems
faced by fire fighters but I can see its utility
for humanitarian disaster response as well.
The suit is intended to address three familiar problems;
1. the unavailability of standard communications means during disasters,
2. the lack of information as to the whereabouts and safety of relief workers during emergency efforts, and
3. the problem of acquiring and distributing timely geospatial data during an emergency.
If one were to combine the suit with CSIRO’s proposed power generating shirts it could even be self powered.
The suit is intended to address three familiar problems;
1. the unavailability of standard communications means during disasters,
2. the lack of information as to the whereabouts and safety of relief workers during emergency efforts, and
3. the problem of acquiring and distributing timely geospatial data during an emergency.
If one were to combine the suit with CSIRO’s proposed power generating shirts it could even be self powered.
Twitter Tracking for Security and an Answer
07/10/07 13:03
Twitter has added the
ability to track keywords. Now
whenever someone sends a public update
containing your word or phrase of interest
you’ll receive a copy of the update. How is this
useful for NGO security officers? I’m currently
tracking several towns in trouble areas,
Tsunami, and a variety of other keywords. You’re
only limited by your creativity. One word or
warning though: you’ll get ALL public updates
with the search term, even ones in languages you
don’t speak.
I've also finally added the solution to our geographic distribution analysis problem.
I've also finally added the solution to our geographic distribution analysis problem.
Geographic Distribution Analysis Tools - Old School
16/09/07 08:08
You don’t need the latest and greatest GIS program to
do Geographic Distribution Analysis. While working in
the Allai valley after the Kashmir earthquake we
initially used a hand drawn map to plot community
sizes and locations, IDP movements, NFRI distribution
data, helicopter landing zone locations, and security
incidents. The original map was reproduced by the
simple expedient of tracing it on to new paper. For
several weeks it was the most accurate and most used
map of the valley.
How to make an all-weather, no power, low failure, Geographic Distribution Analysis system.
Step 1 - Assemble the following items:
• A map of the appropriate area
• Clear transparent self-adhesive laminate – Sometimes it is sold as shelf paper in the house wares section of department stores. Con-Tact or any similar brand will work.
• Chinagraph pencils – Also known as grease markers, Chinagraph pencils can be used on almost any surface, including Con-Tact paper.
• Paper – Ruled paper makes creating sketch maps easier.
• Toilet paper
• A large re-sealable plastic freezer bag.
Step 2 - Cover the map with the laminate. Its easier if you work with a partner. Cut a piece of laminate slightly larger than the map. Separate the laminate from its backing and slowly lower the laminate onto the printed side of the map. You’ll need to let it sag slightly in the middle so that your partner can press the laminate to the map starting at the centre and working slowly to the edges. If you practice a couple of times on a large sheet of paper you should be able to do it without trapping any air bubbles or making a lot of wrinkles.
You’ll now be able to use the Chinagraph pencils to mark the covered map. The annotations are waterproof but they can easily be removed by rubbing them with a bit of the toilet paper.
Step 3 - Fold the map.
Step 4 - Place everything inside the re-sealable bag.
That's all there is to it. Put the whole thing in your field bag or cargo pant pocket and it'll be ready whenever you need it. You can plot security incidents, checkpoints, IDP locations, damaged infrastructure, photo locations or any other location based data.
Tip: You might be tempted to use permanent markers on your Con-Tact covered map. Don't. The marker will slowly bleed into the soft plastic eventually leaving a permanent stain that even rubbing alcohol will not be able to remove.
How to make an all-weather, no power, low failure, Geographic Distribution Analysis system.
Step 1 - Assemble the following items:
• A map of the appropriate area
• Clear transparent self-adhesive laminate – Sometimes it is sold as shelf paper in the house wares section of department stores. Con-Tact or any similar brand will work.
• Chinagraph pencils – Also known as grease markers, Chinagraph pencils can be used on almost any surface, including Con-Tact paper.
• Paper – Ruled paper makes creating sketch maps easier.
• Toilet paper
• A large re-sealable plastic freezer bag.
Step 2 - Cover the map with the laminate. Its easier if you work with a partner. Cut a piece of laminate slightly larger than the map. Separate the laminate from its backing and slowly lower the laminate onto the printed side of the map. You’ll need to let it sag slightly in the middle so that your partner can press the laminate to the map starting at the centre and working slowly to the edges. If you practice a couple of times on a large sheet of paper you should be able to do it without trapping any air bubbles or making a lot of wrinkles.
You’ll now be able to use the Chinagraph pencils to mark the covered map. The annotations are waterproof but they can easily be removed by rubbing them with a bit of the toilet paper.
Step 3 - Fold the map.
Step 4 - Place everything inside the re-sealable bag.
That's all there is to it. Put the whole thing in your field bag or cargo pant pocket and it'll be ready whenever you need it. You can plot security incidents, checkpoints, IDP locations, damaged infrastructure, photo locations or any other location based data.
Tip: You might be tempted to use permanent markers on your Con-Tact covered map. Don't. The marker will slowly bleed into the soft plastic eventually leaving a permanent stain that even rubbing alcohol will not be able to remove.
Analysis 101: Geographic Distribution Analysis 2
27/08/07 17:59
As Paul pointed out it would be
beneficial to compare our office location (the
blue square) with the IED incidents. We’ve also
added military installations (the green squares)
and the primary military convoy routes (marked
in orange dashes) as these are likely targets.
A search for more information reveals the following:
You have two small low-key programs operating in town.
The bulk of programming takes place in other areas of the country but staff travelling to the field offices are forced to take one of the major roads.
The main road to the east is the only viable route to access offices in the east.
Local staff travel back and forth to work by public transport or personal vehicles using all the main roads.
International staff travel to and from work in agency vehicles.
The first military convoys of the day are usually between 0600 and 0900.
A search for more information reveals the following:
You have two small low-key programs operating in town.
The bulk of programming takes place in other areas of the country but staff travelling to the field offices are forced to take one of the major roads.
The main road to the east is the only viable route to access offices in the east.
Local staff travel back and forth to work by public transport or personal vehicles using all the main roads.
International staff travel to and from work in agency vehicles.
The first military convoys of the day are usually between 0600 and 0900.
Analysis 101: Geographic Distribution Analysis
25/08/07 08:53
Geographic distribution analysis is a method of
examining the occurrence of security incidents or the
distribution of entities over a particular geographic
area to determine what can be concluded about the
incidents or entities. The analysis is usually
performed on a map but the final results can also be
expressed in a descriptive manner, as in a written
report.
To complete a distribution analysis, data on the locations of violent incidents, entities of interest, etc. should be collected and plotted on a map that covers the area in question. Next the map is reviewed to produce a summary and to draw conclusions about what it might mean.
At its simplest geographic distribution analysis might only represent one dataset e.g. a plot of violent incidents on a city map. While this can be useful in itself, as a weekly briefing update perhaps, we can delve much deeper by synthesizing two or more datasets on the same map. We could compare a plot of violent incidents and criminal activities against a plot of proposed office and residence locations. As another example we could compare the locations of narcotic growing areas and smuggling routes with an overlay of violent incidents targeting NGOs.
To illustrate lets look back at our previous problem. As you’ll recall we did a time series analysis of a series of IED attacks. Although we were able to make some basic and tentative conclusions we knew we needed to do further analysis and geographic distribution is a good next step.
After plotting the IED incidents you come up with a map that looks like this.
What are your conclusions now? Would you change or amplify your advice?
To complete a distribution analysis, data on the locations of violent incidents, entities of interest, etc. should be collected and plotted on a map that covers the area in question. Next the map is reviewed to produce a summary and to draw conclusions about what it might mean.
At its simplest geographic distribution analysis might only represent one dataset e.g. a plot of violent incidents on a city map. While this can be useful in itself, as a weekly briefing update perhaps, we can delve much deeper by synthesizing two or more datasets on the same map. We could compare a plot of violent incidents and criminal activities against a plot of proposed office and residence locations. As another example we could compare the locations of narcotic growing areas and smuggling routes with an overlay of violent incidents targeting NGOs.
To illustrate lets look back at our previous problem. As you’ll recall we did a time series analysis of a series of IED attacks. Although we were able to make some basic and tentative conclusions we knew we needed to do further analysis and geographic distribution is a good next step.
After plotting the IED incidents you come up with a map that looks like this.
What are your conclusions now? Would you change or amplify your advice?
Analysis 101: Time Series Analysis Answers
18/08/07 13:41
Earlier in Analysis
101: Time Series Analysis I introduced an
analytical problem and asked a few questions.
You can find some possible answers here. CtJ also
has some hypotheses that might serve
as a good starting point for further analysis.
Analysis 101: Times Series Tools
10/08/07 08:28
Old School
To do basic time series analysis all you really need is graph paper and a pen or pencil. The down side is that this method is very labour intensive and as the dataset becomes larger most of us can’t cope.
Middle of the Road
The next step up is to use something like Excel. There are some useful free or low cost tools that can simplify time series analysis. In a previous post we saw how to use Excel to do some simple analysis. The sample templates we used are located here.
I’ve developed a Cumulative Security Incident workbook that I use to track longer-term trends. It is available on the downloads page. It’ll produce charts like this one.
Vertex 42 has a free Excel template that can help you create simple timelines. While it might seem to be better suited to presenting a final analytical product it can also be used in the analytical process. Back in the days of the First Gulf War I used a timeline similar to this in an effort to gain a better understanding of Saddam Hussain.. Above the line I plotted significant events in Saddam Hussain’s personal life. Below the line I plotted significant historical impacting Iraq. The exercise proved very revealing and shed light on the man behind the myth.
Some people use Gantt Chart software to do time series analysis but I find it awkward and time consuming.
Bleeding edge
If you are going to do a lot of time series analysis or if you need to analyse large quantities of data you should probably consider a product like Analyst’s Notebook by i2. It can handle a time series of several thousand incidents with relative ease. It is also beneficial in many other types of analysis so you’ll probably here me refer to it again. Be warned though, it is expensive.
To do basic time series analysis all you really need is graph paper and a pen or pencil. The down side is that this method is very labour intensive and as the dataset becomes larger most of us can’t cope.
Middle of the Road
The next step up is to use something like Excel. There are some useful free or low cost tools that can simplify time series analysis. In a previous post we saw how to use Excel to do some simple analysis. The sample templates we used are located here.
I’ve developed a Cumulative Security Incident workbook that I use to track longer-term trends. It is available on the downloads page. It’ll produce charts like this one.
Vertex 42 has a free Excel template that can help you create simple timelines. While it might seem to be better suited to presenting a final analytical product it can also be used in the analytical process. Back in the days of the First Gulf War I used a timeline similar to this in an effort to gain a better understanding of Saddam Hussain.. Above the line I plotted significant events in Saddam Hussain’s personal life. Below the line I plotted significant historical impacting Iraq. The exercise proved very revealing and shed light on the man behind the myth.
Some people use Gantt Chart software to do time series analysis but I find it awkward and time consuming.
Bleeding edge
If you are going to do a lot of time series analysis or if you need to analyse large quantities of data you should probably consider a product like Analyst’s Notebook by i2. It can handle a time series of several thousand incidents with relative ease. It is also beneficial in many other types of analysis so you’ll probably here me refer to it again. Be warned though, it is expensive.
Analysis 101: Time Series Analysis
08/08/07 13:36
A time series analysis is a security analysis
technique that is used to examine the occurrence of
similar security incidents over time. In this case
time refers not only to time of day but also day of
the week and the day of the month. Longer-term
analysis can also include month and season.
By way of example let us imagine that during the past month there have been twelve Improvised Explosive Device attacks in the district where your organization is working. The attacks have occurred at ten separate locations. Victims have included soldiers, police officers, and civilians alike. The only apparent pattern seems to be that the attacks have all taken place on or near main roads. To make matters worse your country director wants to be briefed in four hours.
To aid your analysis we will make a quick Excel chart with the time of day on one axis and the incidents on the other. For each incident we put an X the the row that represents the time of day that the IED attack occurred. The chart should look something like this one.
Examining the chart we see that most of the incidents have occurred between 0600 and 0900. Of these half occurred between 0800 and 0900. We'll highlight these incidents in blue to remind us that they seem to be part of a grouping. There are also four incidents that don't fit the general pattern. We've marked these in red.
With the information you have now what assessment can be made? What would you advise the country director?
Lets take it one step further and make a new chart that plots the incidents against the day of the week.
At first glance there doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern here but on closer examination you'll notice that all of the ‘red’ events that were highlighted earlier fall on a Friday except for one that occurred early on Saturday morning. The remaining events all occurred on weekdays (Friday and Saturday are considered the weekend where you are working).
What does this new information suggest to you? What can you tell the country director? What recommendations can you make? What additional information do you need to seek out? What additional analysis can you do?
By way of example let us imagine that during the past month there have been twelve Improvised Explosive Device attacks in the district where your organization is working. The attacks have occurred at ten separate locations. Victims have included soldiers, police officers, and civilians alike. The only apparent pattern seems to be that the attacks have all taken place on or near main roads. To make matters worse your country director wants to be briefed in four hours.
To aid your analysis we will make a quick Excel chart with the time of day on one axis and the incidents on the other. For each incident we put an X the the row that represents the time of day that the IED attack occurred. The chart should look something like this one.
Examining the chart we see that most of the incidents have occurred between 0600 and 0900. Of these half occurred between 0800 and 0900. We'll highlight these incidents in blue to remind us that they seem to be part of a grouping. There are also four incidents that don't fit the general pattern. We've marked these in red.
With the information you have now what assessment can be made? What would you advise the country director?
Lets take it one step further and make a new chart that plots the incidents against the day of the week.
At first glance there doesn’t seem to be much of a pattern here but on closer examination you'll notice that all of the ‘red’ events that were highlighted earlier fall on a Friday except for one that occurred early on Saturday morning. The remaining events all occurred on weekdays (Friday and Saturday are considered the weekend where you are working).
What does this new information suggest to you? What can you tell the country director? What recommendations can you make? What additional information do you need to seek out? What additional analysis can you do?
The Analysis Gap
07/08/07 18:19
There is a real gap in the availability of good
analytical training and resources for NGO security
officers. Most NGO security manuals introduce the
topic by stressing the importance of good analysis
and an understanding of the local context. They might
then go on to briefly cover actor mapping, and if we
are lucky incident plotting. Beyond that the reader
is left to his or her own devices.
Admittedly there have been a number of recent analytical studies that examine the patterns of violence against NGOs. These studies come replete with multiple regression analysis and complex equations like this one; "Sec100k = -1.384 + 1.691*BorderPak + -0.00011*Poppy + 0.036*Homeradio". I’m sure these studies are useful for developing policy and keeping underemployed academics out of the soup lines. However, they are unlikely to provide much solace when the country director wants to know how he can safely keep program running despite the recent spate of IED attacks.
In order to try and address these shortcomings I am opening the conversation on security analysis for NGOs. We’ll start with simple, robust, and inexpensive tools and techniques that can be used anywhere under any conditions. We’ll also examine more advanced tools that take advantage of the latest in ICT.
Anyone who wants to share tips and techniques should feel free to do so. It doesn’t matter to me whether you do your analysis on the back of an empty cigarette package under a sputtering lantern or on the latest networked GIS platform in a brightly light office. The goal is to identify and share best practices and to encourage the development of new tools and techniques.
I'll post the first technique shortly.
Admittedly there have been a number of recent analytical studies that examine the patterns of violence against NGOs. These studies come replete with multiple regression analysis and complex equations like this one; "Sec100k = -1.384 + 1.691*BorderPak + -0.00011*Poppy + 0.036*Homeradio". I’m sure these studies are useful for developing policy and keeping underemployed academics out of the soup lines. However, they are unlikely to provide much solace when the country director wants to know how he can safely keep program running despite the recent spate of IED attacks.
In order to try and address these shortcomings I am opening the conversation on security analysis for NGOs. We’ll start with simple, robust, and inexpensive tools and techniques that can be used anywhere under any conditions. We’ll also examine more advanced tools that take advantage of the latest in ICT.
Anyone who wants to share tips and techniques should feel free to do so. It doesn’t matter to me whether you do your analysis on the back of an empty cigarette package under a sputtering lantern or on the latest networked GIS platform in a brightly light office. The goal is to identify and share best practices and to encourage the development of new tools and techniques.
I'll post the first technique shortly.
Data Visualization
05/08/07 06:31
Smashing Magazine
has an excellent summary
of current innovative data visualization
techniques that’ll leave your PowerPoint
presentations crying in the corner. There are
plenty of ideas and links to get the analytical
juices flowing. I’ve run across several of the
resources before and for me two stand out.
The first is Dr Hans Rosling’s now legendary talk at TED wherein he explains a new approach to presenting complex statistical data. His Trendalyzer software turns decades of complex data into colourful animations that make world trends come to life. He takes mountains of publicly funded information, normally squirreled away in UN data silos, and turns it into knowledge that can be acted upon. Watch the whole video and see if it doesn’t change some of what you think you know.
The second is newsmap. This enlightening application displays the dynamic content of Google News as blocks. The more websites and news services that carry a headline the larger the block becomes. As the creator points out newsmap displays the underlying patterns in the news media, reflecting and highlighting it bias. How is this useful? Well consider this. The headlines that make it onto the newsmap display are the ones that are bombarding the senior decision makers, donors, and general public. Where does your particular issue fit in? Has it made the headlines?
The first is Dr Hans Rosling’s now legendary talk at TED wherein he explains a new approach to presenting complex statistical data. His Trendalyzer software turns decades of complex data into colourful animations that make world trends come to life. He takes mountains of publicly funded information, normally squirreled away in UN data silos, and turns it into knowledge that can be acted upon. Watch the whole video and see if it doesn’t change some of what you think you know.
The second is newsmap. This enlightening application displays the dynamic content of Google News as blocks. The more websites and news services that carry a headline the larger the block becomes. As the creator points out newsmap displays the underlying patterns in the news media, reflecting and highlighting it bias. How is this useful? Well consider this. The headlines that make it onto the newsmap display are the ones that are bombarding the senior decision makers, donors, and general public. Where does your particular issue fit in? Has it made the headlines?
Silobreaker - Online Analyical Tool
31/07/07 13:39
Online research can be a great tool but as anyone who
has used Google can attest there is a lot of
information out there and most search tools just dump
out an endless list of links. Sorting through it,
discarding the irrelevant, and putting the remainder
into some usable form is a task left to the user. Any
tool that allows the already busy Security Officer to
spend less time searching for information and more
time assessing and analysing it is of value. Silobreaker is one of
these tools. In the words of Silobreaker,
"Silobreaker looks at the data it finds like a
person does. It recognises things - companies,
people, topics, places - and puts them in
context".
While I was testing the public Beta I quickly discovered its utility. A basic search for the term 'suicide bomber' brought up the type of content you might expect but with some preliminary organization. There was a top stories pane, a search result timeline frame, an entity list, a "Quotes" pane, a more traditional search results list and a network visualization diagram. The sidebar also has a list of entities related to your search; cities, people, companies etc.
Since I'm currently in Sri Lanka I "drilled down", as Silobreaker calls it, to Sri Lanka. The result were now much more relevant and lo and behold there were items of interest and relationship that hadn't captured my attention before.
As one would expect with a Beta there is still some work to be done. Even on my relatively fast connection the site seemed slow at times. One very useful feature that counters the sluggishness is the liberal use of hover overs allowing a quick preview of content before you commit to clicking on a link or entity.
Silobreaker is currently allowing free public access to its online Beta. I recommend you give it a try and see if it meets your needs.
While I was testing the public Beta I quickly discovered its utility. A basic search for the term 'suicide bomber' brought up the type of content you might expect but with some preliminary organization. There was a top stories pane, a search result timeline frame, an entity list, a "Quotes" pane, a more traditional search results list and a network visualization diagram. The sidebar also has a list of entities related to your search; cities, people, companies etc.
Since I'm currently in Sri Lanka I "drilled down", as Silobreaker calls it, to Sri Lanka. The result were now much more relevant and lo and behold there were items of interest and relationship that hadn't captured my attention before.
As one would expect with a Beta there is still some work to be done. Even on my relatively fast connection the site seemed slow at times. One very useful feature that counters the sluggishness is the liberal use of hover overs allowing a quick preview of content before you commit to clicking on a link or entity.
Silobreaker is currently allowing free public access to its online Beta. I recommend you give it a try and see if it meets your needs.