Author: jmpowell

Chapter 4: File Geodatabases

I found Chapter 4 to be easy as it focused on how to import data into geodatabases and how to create different queries.  This chapter focused on data how it can be used to modify the attribute tables in ARCGIS which you then are able to calculate and create different queries to get the information you need for new fields that you create for the attribute table.  Overall this chapter was straightforward and easy to follow and I didn’t run into any issues.

Chapter 5: Spatial Data

I found Chapter 5 to be the most time consuming chapter.  This chapter looked at map projections, coordinate systems, and looking at and working with US Census Bureau spatial and tubular data.  This chapter started off easy and I found doing the map projections to be simple and fun.  Changing a map’s coordinate system was also easy and I found the first half of the tutorials for this chapter to be very straightforward and easy to follow.  Likewise working with the US Census Bureau data was also easy to follow and this chapter also showed how to join data and create choropleth maps.  Creating the choropleth maps was easy but time consuming as there were a lot of different factors to take into consideration and I somehow managed to spend a good amount of time on tutorial 5 of chapter 5.  The rest of the chapter was easy.

Chapter 6: Geoprocessing

Chapter 6 was very easy to follow through.  I don’t really have any comments on this chapter as it focused on different geoprocessing features and how to edit and change them.  Overall very simple and easy.

Chapter 7: Digitizing

Chapter 7 was really fun to go through as it looked at editing and changing polygon features and learning how to use cartography tools.  Moving the features and using the different edit tools was very easy and fun to do.  I also found it interesting the different cartography tools and how it is able to smooth out various polygons that represent land and water.  The final tutorial of this chapter was the most interesting as it showed how to transform polygons.

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Chapter 8 looked into geocoding and I ran into an issue with the collect events tool as I could not get it to work.  This chapter was very short and so it was the least time consuming and was very straightforward with the instructions.

Chapter 1: Introducing ArcGIS

I found Chapter 1 to be really easy as it was just basic stuff that I have seen in other programs.  Chapter 1 focused on explaining the basics of the ArcGIS software along with explaining how to navigate maps.  Another thing that is shown in the tutorial for Chapter 1 is the introduction of feature classes and how they are displaced on the map and in the software itself and the way that it is ordered.  This chapter also looked into how to access the map and the various things you can do within.  Then bookmarks were discussed and how they are useful for zooming in and highlighting a specific area of a map so that you don’t have to spend time trying to find it again and is essentially like a shortcut.  Going back to the feature classes, this chapter also explains how to label them and how to symbolize them by going over how to rename and choose the symbol and other small details of a feature class.  I didn’t have any issues with tutorials 1-1 to 1-4 and overall found it to be very simple and fun.  I found the part where you have to change the colors to symbolize feature classes to be fun.

Chapter 2: Map Design

Chapter 2 was also really easy to go through.  This chapter further looked at symbolizing maps along with showing how to create other map types.  The first few sections of this Chapter focused on symbolizing maps, and gave an extensive look into labeling.  Labeling and symbolizing maps is super important because it allows for the map to be more accessible and easy to understand.  For labeling this chapter explained how to choose different categories for labeling depending on what you want to be displayed on the map.  For example in this chapter it explains how to choose zones for labeling the areas in the city which uses specific zoning codes which allows for easy readability for developers and planners and also makes the map look less cluttered and easier to follow.  The following sections of this chapter discussed choropleth maps and dot density maps along with how to display data using graduated and proportional point symbols; this is helpful on a 2D map as it allows you to see different attributes that are in a single layer.  Choropleth and dot density maps are both helpful as they visually provide information that you wouldn’t otherwise notice.  Overall I found this chapter to be easy to follow and I enjoyed labeling and changing the symbols for the various feature classes.

Chapter 3: Maps for End Users

I found chapter 3 to be easy to follow as well.  This chapter focused on ArcGIS online along with how to build map layouts and charts.  I found building the layout to be the easiest part as it reminded me of using Adobe programs with the guidelines and the overall distribution of where the maps and legends go.  Likewise creating the charts reminded me of using other Microsoft programs.  The third tutorial in this chapter focused on how to create a story which I assume is basically just a website but it was very interactive and easy to navigate through.  It was similar to a program I have used before called Notion with the text blocks and other elements that were available to be used for creating the story page.  The final part of this chapter was creating a dashboard.  This chapter focused on how to share files and this part also follows that by showing how to create a dashboard which according to the chapter “are visual displays of data feeds in an easy-to-understand format”.  Overall this chapter was fun and I enjoyed following the tutorials.

                                                                         

Chapter 4: Mapping Density

Chapter 4 focuses on mapping density and how it is done and the reason why it is needed.  Mapping density allows you to see where the highest concentration of features is.  Density is more useful when it comes to looking at patterns than individual features.  Mapping density is also useful when trying to map areas.  This chapter then talks about how you can use GIS to map the density of points or lines.  There are two different ways of mapping density; those being mapping density by defined area and mapping density by density surface.  When mapping density by defined area you can use a dot map or calculate each density value for each specific area.  By using a dot map to represent the density of individual locations, each dot would represent a specific number of features.  The closer the dots are on this map the higher the density is.  Then on the map each area is shaded based on these density values which allows for the viewer to see which areas have a higher density.  Mapping density by density surface is usually done in the GIS through a raster layer.  To create density surface various information related to specific features and location would be needed.  This method is more time consuming but is the more accurate method.   Each method is useful for its own reason.  For example mapping by defined area would be more effective if you already have the data summarized but mapping by density surface is more effective when you want to see a specific points concentration.  Creating a dot density map allows for the viewer to have a summarized and easy to understand way of seeing the density of a specific area.  Density surfaces are created in GIS as raster layers.  There is a specific density value for each cell in each layer.  This helps to show which points or lines are the most concentrated.

Chapter 5: Finding What’s Inside

Chapter 5 discusses the importance of mapping and why it is important to see what is located inside an area.  By mapping a specific area it allows for the viewer to be able to see specific patterns and to have an idea of what is occurring.  A map condenses and summarizes a specific feature or thing in a location.  By having this map it allows us to be able to see where in an area there is more and less of something.  When deciding what is inside of your map it is important to take into consideration the data that you are using.  It is also important to think about whether you are finding what’s inside a specific single area or finding what’s inside several areas.  A single area would be easier to monitor as it would give specific summarized information.  With multiple areas it would be more useful for making comparisons.  Another important thing that this chapter talks about is considering whether features inside are discrete or continuous.  Discrete features are unique and identifiable features and something that you can easily list or count.  Continuous features on the other hand aren’t as straight forward and instead represent a variety of different things.  GIS is helpful when trying to decide what information you may need from the analysis such as asking the question of whether or not you need a list or a count or a summary.  GIS can be used to find out if a specific individual feature is inside an area.  There are three ways of finding what’s inside; those being drawing areas and features, selecting the features inside the area, and overlaying the areas and features.  Drawing areas and features is useful as it allows for you to have a visual representation of which features are inside or outside the area.  Selecting the features inside the area is useful for getting a list or an overall summary of the features inside a specific area or group of areas.  Overlaying the areas and features is useful for finding which features are in a specific area. 

Chapter 6: Finding What’s Nearby

Chapter 6 discusses the importance of finding what is nearby a feature and how to do so.  Using GIS you can find what is nearby a feature and you can set a specific distance.  By monitoring what is nearby it allows more information to be able to plan.  To find out what is nearby you can measure straight-line distance, measure distance or cost over a network, or measure cost over a surface.  Kind of similar to the previous chapter but it emphasizes that you need to have an idea of what information you want from the analysis.  There are three ways of finding what’s nearby: that is by using straight-line distance, distance or cost over a network, and cost over a surface.  With straight-line distance you have to specify the main feature that you want to use as the source and what distance you want the GIS to look into for finding the surrounding features within this specific distance.  This is useful for when you need to create a boundary.  Another way of finding what is nearby is by distance or cost over a network.  Another way of finding what is nearby is through cost over a surface.  This method is useful for calculating overland travel costs.  The easiest method for finding what is nearby is straight-line distance.  Straight-line distance is a simple way of seeing which features are in a given distance of the main source feature you want to find what is nearby.  The next thing this chapter talks about is creating a buffer.  In order to create a buffer you have to specify the source feature and then the specific buffer distance; this helps for finding what is inside a specific boundary or area.  Once this buffer is created then you can use it to select what features you want to fall within it which allows for you to get a summarized list or count of the features.  Overall these chapters have focused more on the content of the maps in comparison to previous chapters from last week which focused on the creation of maps.

Chapter 1: Introducing GIS Analysis

Chapter 1 discusses what GIS analysis is along with the types of geographic features and how they are used.  “GIS analysis is a process for looking at geographic patterns in your data and at relationships between features” (Mitchell 22).  GIS analysis is used to figure out why things are where they are and allows for data to be processed in a way that allows you to visually see how it correlates.  There are three types of geographic features, those being discrete, continuous phenomena, and summarized by area.  These geographic features have an effect on the analysis process.  Discrete features allow for the actual location to be highlighted.  Continuous phenomena is continuous data that are values such as precipitation or temperature that can be measured at any part of the map.  Features summarized by area is data that is summarized in a way that counts the total number of specifics such as the total population for example.  There are two ways of representing geographic features.  Those two ways are using different models called vector and raster.  The vector model appears to be more organized with each geographic feature being in a row that is in a table.  The raster model on the other hand the features are represented in a flush and continuous way.  Each geographic feature has a specific attribute that gives information as to what the feature is.  The different types of attribute values according to the book are categories, ranks, counts, amounts and ratios.  Categories allow data to be organized in groups which helps to condense the information.  Ranks put features in order from high to low and are specifically used when it’s hard to get direct measures.  Counts and amounts both show a total number and allows you to see what actual value of a feature is.  Ratios show the relationship between two quantities by dividing one by another.  An important part of GIS analysis is data tables.

Chapter 2: Mapping Where Things Are

Chapter 2 focuses on how maps are made, used and analyzed.  Maps allow for people to be able to see where or what something is.  By looking at these individual features it reveals patterns that can then further be analyzed.  By using these patterns it can answer questions related to individual features.  GIS can be used to map the location of different types of features to see whether certain types of these individual features occur in the same place.  The most important thing about maps is that they must use certain keys and categories to allow for the person viewing to be able to easily process the information that is being presented.  Using specific locations is also important when mapping in case someone viewing it is unfamiliar with the location.  This chapter further explains how to prepare data for creating a map and lists the most important steps being to assign geographic coordinates, and category values.  The geographic coordinates and category values allow for the information to be more identifiable to the GIS system.  For creating maps you have to use this information and tell the GIS which features you want to be shown and what symbols to attribute to them that will be drawn on the map.  For mapping a single type you use the same symbol; this is often seen on basic maps that just focus on a specific feature and what patterns can be revealed.  The GIS uses the geographic coordinates to draw the features at the coordinate that is listed.  To map areas the GIS uses these coordinates to create an outline which is then filled with a specific color or pattern.  Another way of mapping is using a subset of features which allows for all types of a specific category values to be shown which can reveal patterns because not all features are shown.  While this is helpful for mapping features in a very specific location sometimes this isn’t helpful as more context is needed.  The book uses an interesting example of types of zoning and how it might be beneficial to see all the different zones in a lighter color to be able to see the areas around in order to highlight how much area of the map this zone takes up.  To map larger areas you would have to take into consideration the scale of the map and the amount of categories that would be used and how you can group them in order to maintain the easy readability of the map.

Chapter 3: Mapping the Most and Least

Chapter 3 focused on explaining why you have to map the most and least.  This chapter also gives further information about mapping.  The reason for mapping the most and least is to be able to reveal a relationship between places.  Mapping the amount can be crucial as it gives a bigger picture besides just showing where something is which is what mapping the locations of a feature is.  Going back to the idea presented in Chapter 1 related to geographic features you can map quantities that are associated to discrete features, continuous phenomena and the data summarized by area.  By taking these geographic features into account it helps for deciding how to present a map.  I feel as though this chapter is very statistics based and focuses on how to properly document and map a specific quantity of a feature.  The chapter then further talks about how it is important to understand quantities and how when mapping the most and least you should assign specific symbols that correlate with the features that are based on the specific attributes of these quantities.  Relating back to Chapter 1, the specific attribute values can also be used here to map the most and least.  Count or an amount can be used to see the value of a feature.  Ratios can be used to help identify and reveal relationships between two quantities.  Ranks are helpful towards putting features in a specific order which is from high to low.  Taking these quantities into consideration allows for the next step which is to decide how you want this data to be displayed on the map.  I think to be able to determine which attribute value would be useful you would have to take into consideration the data you have.  Once you figure out how to classify and organize the data then a map can be created as it places the information that is given and in turn reveals patterns related to what was inputted.

Hi, my name is Jes Powell.  I’m a senior and I am majoring in Studio Art.  I am from the Cayman Islands and I live/grew up on the beach.  I love photography and writing.

Chapter 1 of Schuurman’s GIS: A Short Introduction discusses the importance of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and how it can be found everywhere.  GIS is used for a variety of different tasks and oftentimes people don’t realize how extremely impactful it can be.  To each individual GIS is important and effective for various different personal reasons.  For example in a city GIS can be crucial when it comes to planning residential, industrial, and commercial zones; this is just one of the many ways that GIS can be used.  GIS uses mapping and data analysis to find solutions and allows for data to be interpreted in a way that can be an aid for planning and research.  There are two main components of what the acronym GIS stands for; this being GISystems and GIScience.  GISystems more so focuses on ways of analyzing and mapping out data and is more commonly thought of when considered the acronym GIS.  On the other hand GIScience focuses more on the overall explanation of questions related to how GIS software puts out its output.  I think it’s interesting that there are two different meanings to the acronym of GIS and that it is not just simply Geographic Information Systems.  The most important part about these two faces of GIS discussed in this section of the chapter is how spatial phenomena is translated into digital terms; this is essentially what connects both GISystems and GIScience.  GIS is an extremely diverse tool that impacts everyday life for a majority of people.  I think most people don’t realize that GIS goes beyond just something that is technological as it can be the deciding factor for numerous things.  GIS technologies have a major role in food production and agriculture, and can impact government and business decisions.  GIS technologies impact every part of our life and it is an important tool to understand what is used for and what exactly it means and what type of data is getting taken in and what data is being outputted.

GIS Applications

1. I looked up how GIS applications are used for the Cayman Islands and I found how it can be used in Grand Cayman (the main island)  to determine which areas are more exposed to flooding and which areas are more exposed to specific hurricane categories.  I think this is important information to take into consideration as it can be necessary for future plans of how land is used and what developments are made.
   
   https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-010-9539-0
2.  The second thing I looked up related to GIS applications is how it can be used to see the specific areas in the Cayman Islands that are turtle habitats.  This is important as these areas are protected during turtle nesting season and there are specific turtle nesting sites that you are not allowed to go to so that the process isn’t disrupted.  I think the use of GIS applications to be able to see this information is crucial because it ensures that these marine animals are able to safely and effectively go through their normal process of nesting and returning to the ocean without natural and man made obstacles that would otherwise prevent them from doing so.
   
   https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.663856/full