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.. date: 2013/07/03 09:16:24
.. title: How Can Data Visualization Expose Trends Related to Violence? The Case of Small Arms and Ammunitions
.. slug: gustavo_diniz

**Gustavo Diniz**

*Instituto Igarapé*

This talk aims to introduce the features behind the Mapping Arms Data (MAD) visualization project. MAD (http://balder.prio.no/armsglobe2/index.php) is an interactive data visualization platform of the exports/imports of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition from more than 262 states and territories between 1992 and 2011. Its dataset contained more than one million data points from 37 different sources. The MAD tool was built using the open source platform WebGL Globe , which uses WebGL — a technology that allows accelerated graphics processing in web browsers like Google Chrome to render the globe an interactive 3D graphics.
 
The MAD tool facilitates the understanding of trends and patterns about a complex issue. Using a navigable histogram, users may click on a country to see specific arms transactions through that nation over the years, and limit the display to only certain data, such as imports or civilian weapons. By mapping the data in this way, users may see, for example, how the global trade in ammunition rivals the global trade in actual weapons, and how the arms trade relates to specific conflicts worldwide.

Developed by the Igarape Institute and the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in partnership with Google Ideas, the MAD tool is a prominent example of big data processing coupled with data visualization. By allowing users to interact with the data in an intuitive and visually appealing way, MAD tool content can reach a wider audience.
 
The solutions and challenges related to the development of the project may provide important lessons for the public health field when dealing with big data and data visualization.