ISSS608 2016 17T1 Group6 Proposal

Introduction

Project Details

Project Poster

Project Application

Research Paper

Background

The increase in occurrences in terrorist attacks have been alarming. Just in 2016 so far (as of 12 Nov 2016) there has been 1,537 attacks and 13,829 fatalities. The rise in terrorist attacks could be attributed to the rise of the use of terrorists using social media on the internet, in order to recruit followers and spread their extremist ideologies. For example, ISIS has been known for its ability to maximise its reach by exploiting various social media platforms such as twitter. (Source)

Project Motivation

With this project, we hope to find out the changes in the characteristics of terrorist attacks over time. Also, we would want to verify the relationship between terrorism spread and Internet usage, to find if there is indeed a correlation between the two.

By doing so, we hope to provide strategies in media operations in order to combat the threat of terrorism.

Project Objectives

The main goal of this project would be to provide an interactive online visualisation for users. In this visualisation, users will be able to:

1. View the changes in terrorist attacks over time.
2. Understand the methods, motive, and the impact of each terrorist attacks and how these have changed over time.
3. Observe the relationship between internet usage and the change in the types and targets of terrorist attacks.

Hence, this visualisation will help security agencies and government bodies better plan strategies and policies in combatting the threat of terrorism.

Data Sources

• Global Terrorism Database
• World Bank

Key Technical Challenges

Challenges	Our Approach
Unfamiliarity with coding and using d3.js	Search on the internet, looking at d3 examples or templates online Ask seniors and friends who are familiar with coding
Unfamiliarity with usage of visualisations	Independent learning Online sources

Timeline

Related Work

Related Works	Learning Points
Example 1 Source	Interactivity - Being able to click on a country and see the number of fatalities and attacks. Also has the option of clicking on recent attacks and seeing where it occurred on the map. Design - opacity and colours of the proportional symbols allows users to see which areas have been heavily attacked
Example 2 Source
Example 3 Source

Proposed Storyboard

Storyboard	Details
Home Page
Main Visualisation

Approach

To use d3.js to make an interactive application, that allows users to visualise the changes in terrorist attacks over the years. The interactive application will consist of different visualisation techniques.

The main elements of the application consist of the following:

• Terrorist groups involved
• Types of attacks
• Types of victims
• Number of victims/ causualties
• Countries in which these attacks occurred
• Frequency of attacks
• International or Domestic component

The technique that we will be using are as follows:

1. Timeline
• Line Chart: Showing internet penetration globally
• Stacked Bars: Showing number of casualties globally
2. Geospatial Map
3. Word Cloud
4. Cross Filter