After continuing to play with the first network within Cytoscape, I now digitized a second network as an excel file since additional columns can contain edge attributes. The Excel file then can be imported into Cytoscape where no further data input should be necessary on the edges. I took the work “Luchaire, Allivane and the Euro-Explosives Cartel c. 1980-9” which can be seen online here and which I scanned from the Preparatory Drawings booklet by Pierogi. The goal was to get closer to an ideal infrastructure and to get a first estimate on how much work is necessary.

In Excel I could generate a drop down selection for the edge type. It took me about 40 minutes to put the 97 relations into the excel. In order to keep track, I opened the scan in paint and crossed out every node and edge documented so far. This is the result:

Another 10 minutes took the import to Cytoscape and the classification of the nodes as persons or institutions. I think one should then add another hour for proofreading everything. I’m quite sure that I did not get all names from the drawing correctly.

It is time for another network analysis then:

The GraphML data is on the networks page. Here is the Cytoscape visualization with a visual style that uses edge types (you see influence, association and financial transaction plotted correctly). So far I found no way to have Cytoscape use curved edges, this might change with upcoming Cytoscape 3.

I can give costs some thoughts now. With this experiment I assume 2 hours for about 100 relations in a drawing with 77 nodes. This amounts to 1:12 min per relation, which also includes a fraction for the classification of nodes. This figure is better that for the first network, I assume that this is a learning curve and that I’m simply getting more skilled.

I cannot tell from the reproduction the original size of the Luchaire work, for now I assume that it is 29,7 x 42,0 cm (german A3 format), giving about 1250 square centimeters. This then leads to predicted costs of about 5,76 seconds per square centimeter. Now, if the BCCI, ICIC & FAB, 1996–2000 drawing is of size 132.9 × 353.1 cm, we can predict about 75 hours of work for digitizing it.This is about two working weeks.