[Air-L] Introducing open-source tool “Mecodify” for simplifying big data analysis and visualisation

[Ines Drefs]

   MECODEM OFFERS OPEN-SOURCE TOOL "MECODIFY" FOR SIMPLIFYING BIG DATA
   ANALYSIS AND VISUALISATION
   How often has the hashtag #paybackthemoney been used on Twitter around
   Jacob Zuma's 2015 State of the Nation Address to the South African
   parliament? Who were the most influential tweeters in the trolling
   attacks on Serbia's ombudsman?
   These are just two of the questions MeCoDEM researchers tackled in
   their analyses of social media's contribution to the dynamics of
   democratisation conflicts in Egypt, Serbia, South Africa and Kenya.
   They used "Mecodify" - a tool developed as part of MeCoDEM's work
   package "ICTs and democratisation conflicts" - which helps to extract,
   analyse and visualise tweets in relation to particular events. Mecodify
   is now available for public use.
   Download, free demo and more information are available here:
   http://www.mecodem.eu/mecodify/
   Mecodify's interface was built in such a way that it allows users to
   utilise its service without having to learn coding or acquire any
   technical skills. It is a simple and effective tool even for newcomers
   to big data analysis who don't have vast technical experience. The
   following features help to produce insightful analyses:
        * TABLES & GRAPHS: Mecodify can be used to extract, analyse and
   visualise data in the form of tables and graphs with timelines and many
   features such as overlays and flags - for example for comparing real
   events with Twitter activity.
        * USEFUL FILTERS: By providing a set of filters, Mecodify makes it
   is possible to inspect data thoroughly and focus on different segments
   of interest and create graphs - for example to measure the usage of
   Twitter hashtags.
        * NETWORK ANALYSIS: While the timeline graph gives details of
   messages over time, one can also plot graphs of users and analyse
   relationships that emerge from the data - for example for identifying
   influential tweeters.
   Note: Mecodify is in its initial stage of development and currently
   only supports Twitter but aims to expand to support other platforms
   that have APIs for data extraction. If you wish to volunteer your time
   by coding, testing, helping us get funding, or with any other ideas, we
   would love to hear from you.
   ABOUT MECODEM:
   MeCoDEM began on 1 February 2014 and will run over three years. The
   project investigates the interplay of communication and democratisation
   conflicts in four countries, Egypt, Kenya, Serbia and South Africa,
   each of them representing unique aspects of transitional /
   post-transitional divisions. Based on a comparative case study design,
   the research covers constitutional conflicts, civic conflicts and
   conflicts surrounding accountability and good governance. These
   conflicts constitute arenas of dispute where the media interact with
   the communicative strategies of governments on the one hand, and
   political activists and political movements struggling for recognition
   on the other. MeCoDEM is funded by the European Union within the EU's
   Seventh Framework Programme. With a budget of 2.2 million Euros, the
   project consortium includes eight partner institutions from six
   countries: University of Leeds (coordinating institution), University
   of Belgrade, University of Hamburg, University of Cape Town, University
   of Oxford, Stockholm University, Ruhr University Bochum and American
   University in Cairo.
   FOR FURTHER ENQUIRIES:
   Dr Walid Al-Saqaf | walid.al-saqaf at ims.su.se
   MECODEM CONTACT:
   Prof Barbara Thomass | Barbara.Thomass at rub.de
   Website: www.mecodem.eu | Twitter:@MeCoDEM