Visual
Analysis of Streaming Data with SAVI and SenseMAP
Entry Name: MDX-Xu-MC3
VAST
Challenge 2014
Mini-Challenge 3
Team Members:
Kai
Xu, Middlesex University, k.xu@mdx.ac.uk
PRIMARY
Phong
Nguyen, Middlesex University, p.nguyen@mdx.ac.uk
Bob
Fields, Middlesex University, b.fields@mdx.ac.uk
Student Team: No
Team Number: 57
Streaming User ID: k.xu@mdx.ac.uk
Analytic Tools Used:
·
SAVI (Social Analytics VIsualization), developed at the Interaction
Design Centre of Middlesex University.
·
SenseMAP (Sense Making with Analytic Provenance), developed
at the Interaction Design Centre of Middlesex University.
·
AlchemyAPI (for text analysis): http://www.alchemyapi.com/
Approximately how many hours were spent
working on this submission in total? 100
person-hours
May we post your submission in the
Visual Analytics Benchmark Repository after VAST Challenge 2014 is complete? Yes
Video: http://invisque.com/timesets/mc3.mp4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions
Please note - this challenge
contains a question that is time-dependent.
Within 3 hours of starting the final data stream, send an email to VASTChal2014MC3@vacommunity.org containing your answer to question
MC3.1. Please include a copy of your
answer to MC3.1 in your final answer form also. Your answers to MC3.2 and
MC3.3, along with your video, are due July 8.
The
responses to these questions should be incrementally built, as you (the
contestant) acquire information from each streaming data segment you
receive. Your submission will answer these questions in consideration of
all of the streaming data segments.
MC3.1 -
Within 3 hours after start the final data stream, send an email to VASTChal2014MC3@vacommunity.org containing:
a.
An image showing the streaming data in
your visual analytics tool. In this image, identify an event of interest that
you intend to investigate further.
Below is the screenshot of the shooting event we identified that
requires further investigation. Our tool runs on two monitors, so there are two
images. The first one is a timeline and shows all the related messages in
temporal order. We selected these messages using our tool to provide an overview
of the event, but didn’t include every single message that is related.
The second part of the screenshot shows the
location of the shooting on the Abila map (the blue circle). Below the map are the messages at that
location that are included in the timeline view.
b. The content of the final message in the data stream
23 Jan 2014 21:32:00
gardener4958:
RT @KronosStar There
has been an explosion from inside the apartment building. Several people are
down. #KronosStar #DancingDolphinFire #AFDHeroes
MC 3.2 - Describe the timeline of up to five major
events that you discover in the streaming data. This timeline should
include information from
all three segments of the data stream if needed. Use
specific microblog records and call center data to support your description,
but do not simply mimic back the data stream. Provide a concise
description of important participants,
locations and durations.
Focus your response on the events themselves, rather than on the individuals
reporting the events. Please limit your answer to no more than ten images and 1500 words.
1.
POK
Rally
The image below shows the
timeline of the POK rally. Twenty-two messages were selected using our tool to
provide an overview of the event. All the messages are aligned along the time
axis, with the circle at the time it happened. Each message starts with its
author and then the actual message text. The circle color indicates message
sentiment: red for negative, green for positive, and white for natural.
Among these 22 messages, those
showing the event location, duration, and participants are duplicated in dialog
boxes at the top for easy inspection, ordered from left to right in
chronological order. There are also a few message boxes in the bottom-right
corner about police presence and road closure.
·
The rally is at the Abila City Park starting from about
17:00.
·
POK leader Sylvia Marek began the rally with opening
remark.
·
The next Speaker is Lucio Jakab,
who is a POK member and previously co-founder of “Save
Our Land”.
·
After that is the performance from the local band
Victor-E.
·
This is followed by the speech from Professor Lorenzo Di
Stefano, who teaches environmental science at the University of Abila
·
The last talk is by special guest Dr Audrey McConnell
Newman, who is an environmental activist.
·
The rally finished at about 19:00 with closing remarks by
Sylvia Marek.
The map blow shows the location of the
rally (the blue circle).
2.
Apartment Fire
The answer is in the same format as last
event. Thirty-one messages are selected using our tool to give an overview of
the event. Those containing important information are repeated in the dialog
boxes around the messages.
·
The fire trucks were dispatched at 18:42
·
The fire is at the Dancing Dolphin apartment at the corner of Achilleos
and Madeg.
·
Apartment has six floors; bottom three are
occupied.
·
Smoke from the first two floor.
·
18:53 Apartment residents were evacuated.
·
18:53 Fire department ordered evacuation of nearby buildings.
·
19:25 Evacuation area was expanded, and police asked residents to leave.
·
20:05 A firefighter was injured and rescued.
·
20:33 Top floor of the apartment collapsed.
·
20:52 Fire department shifted focus to protect nearby buildings to stop
fire spreading.
·
21:30 There was an explosion at the apartment.
The map blow shows the location of the
apartment fire (the blue circle).
3.
Hit and Run
The answer is in the same format as last
event. Twenty-seven messages are selected using our tool to give an overview of
the event. Those containing important information are repeated in the dialog
boxes around the messages.
·
19:19 A car was hit by a black van on Souliou
Street
·
19:21 A cyclist was hit on the 500 block of Schaber
·
19:22 Police release partial license plate number L829
·
19:35 – 19:39 Police pursuit from Egeou Ave/Nia
Ave to N Limnou St/N. Alexandrias
The map blow shows the various location of the hit & run. The blue circles are likely
to be the same black van, which was later stopped by police close to Gelato
Galore (close to ‘police pursuit 3’ location), where the shooting started.
4.
Shooting
The answer is in the same format as last
event. Twenty-five messages are selected using our tool to give an overview of
the event. Those containing important information are repeated in the dialog
boxes around the messages. It is very likely that this is the same van as in
the ‘hit & run’ event.
·
19:40 A van was blocked by the police at the
Gelato Galore, and the van drivers started shooting.
·
19:41 A police officer is shot
·
19:55 SWAT team arrived.
·
19:58 There was hostage inside the van.
·
20:10: Police negotiated with the gunmen.
·
21:13 Gunmen surrendered and the standoff was over.
·
There were two suspects, one male and one female, and two hostages, both
female.
The map blow shows the location of the
shooting/standoff (the blue circle).
MC 3.3 – Select one of your five major events from question
MC 3.2 that you consider to be most likely to provide additional clues to the
investigation of the GASTech disappearances. Describe the roles of
the participants. Describe how other events you identified in MC3.2 may
have influenced your selected event. Provide a hypothesis and evidence as to whom you suspect as
being directly involved in the GASTech disappearances, either as perpetrators
or victims. Please limit your response to no more than five images and 500 words.
The event we would like to investigate
further is the ‘Apartment Fire’ described in the MC 3.2.
Influence from other events:
We hypothesize that the top three
floors of the Dancing Dolphin Apartment might be used by the kidnappers (the
floors were unoccupied). The fire at the apartment forced the kidnappers to
move out of the building together with the hostage. The kidnappers used a black van to move the
hostage and drove erratically, which caused the collisions with a car and late
a cyclist (‘hit & run’ event). This led to police pursuit, which eventually
cornered the van at the Gelato Galore, and the shooting started (‘shooting’
event). We don’t think there is any direct connection between the kidnapping
and the POK rally in the park.
Description:
The image below shows the additional
message that we think are relevant, besides what are mentioned in the
‘Apartment Fire’ in MC 3.2 alreay.
The Map tool
allowed us to locate key tweets that are geographically clustered around the
fire event.
Hypotheses (with evidence)
Main
hypothesis: fire, hit-and-run, and shooting are linked and are connected to the
GAStech disappearances.
·
DDA contains empty floors that could
have been a base for the kidnappers.
@HomelandIlluminations: 18:50:21 - Residents report top
floors of apartments were unoccupied.
·
The kidnappers may have been holding GAStech hostages, and may caused the fire (possibly something electrical).
There was complaint from @GreyCatCollectibles about the building work in the DDA:
17:16 - They've been ripping up our building for weeks now - when will it stop?
#nopeace
Smell complaint: @GreyCatCollectibles
18:30 - Yuck - electrical smell is getting worse
·
@GreyCatCollectibles
hasn’t seen Rachel for several days. Rachel may be involved – either as
kidnapper or hostage (one of the kidnappers is a woman).
@GreyCatCollectibles 18:52:27 - haven't
heard from rachel in days….
·
@GreyCatCollectibles also
noticed some people that he/she didn’t know:
18:59 - Where did all these people come
from? #worstblockpartyever
·
When the fire starts, the kidnappers
need to evacuate the building and take the hostages with them. They escape in a
black van. Outside the building are many police and fire vehicles and officers.
·
Given the unplanned exit and hurried
escape from the fire and the police, the van driver is careless.
·
Carelessness leads to the minor crash
and the hit & run.
See evidence from the ‘hit & run’
event in MC 3.2.
·
Poor driving attracts police
attention, leading to the car chase and subsequent shooting.
See evidence from the ‘shooting’ event in MC
3.2.
·
The explosion at the end of the
scenario (21.30) is also suggestive of terrorist activity.
21:30
GreyCatCollectibles: OH NOOOOOOOOO that
sounded like an explosion