Lab 4

Lab 4

ArcGIS is a geographic information system modeling and mapping program design by ESRI. ArcGIS lets you see so many new aspects of maps. ArcGIS offer so many different features to edit, combine, deletion of attributes. ArcGIS is a little overwhelming at first. It is like any new program you used for the first time. Maybe ArcGIS is more complicated than average Microsoft Office program. Following the ArcGIS tutorial is quite simple if everything is exactly the same, but one those directions asking you extract file from here and there is where the complication occurs.

The first map we had to create was fairly straight forward, but as you continue farther it got complex and intensified. For me and few fellow students had difficult because we did not save it in correct place or continue save in the same folder. We would finish second map only to find that one of the files were missing inside the map, which cause the delays. It was hard to figure out where you had gone wrong because there so many factors you can jumble up in wrong area. I must say there were few frustrated moments where you could not get the program to do what you wanted, but having classmate and TA around really did help a lot going through the tutorial.

One of the disadvantage of ArcGIS is you need to be attention to detail oriented. Biggest problem is that you have read all the direction carefully and do not skip a step in tutorial. Skipping one page can mess up the whole map easily. Now I can really see why you do need to do the lab three times to be familiar with basic tool of ArcGIS. It is definitely not a program you can go quickly in you must take the time and be patient.

ArcGIS can be prevailing and influential to the world without most people even knowing it. There are so many possibilities with incorporating with everyday information. I would like to learn more about how to combine ArcGIS to the business world. One thing I did notice when I look at how much it cost to buy ArcGIS license it was about $1500 for one license. So owning ArcGIS for the average student is a little outrageously pricey. The only way for a student to use the program is taking GIS class or working for company that uses ArcGIS. This program is more for education institution and private firm that specialize in Geographic information systems.

Lab 3

Lab 3: Neogeography

View Silicon Valley Fortune 1000 Companies in a larger map

My Mashup Map

I never knew you could create your own map on anything you wanted. This was my first introduction to Google My Map option. I am glad that we learned about it. It is always great learning new hidden gems within products we already use. There is thousands of technology companies located in Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is known as technology start-up center for anyone who wants to do anything with technology. I decide to make my map on technology companies in Silicon Valley, but to narrow down the list of companies in Silicon Valley I choose to pick companies that made the Fortune 1000 list. During my research I found out that majority companies are located long 101 Bayshore Freeway. It was interesting learning about how this small area in northern California has highest medium income $141,000 in United States.

Neogeography has become such a new and big thing as technology continues to grow. Now that we have Web 2.0 which lets us now create and be interactive with the web has change completely in the last 6-7 years. Web 2.0 has made the world a lot smaller to connect with rest of the world. Social network like Facebook and Myspace has let us interact with others by posting messages, videos, and pictures with few click of a button. With all these open source programs and application being available on internet it’s never been easier to create your own media, blog, video, application without any intensive knowledge of web programming.

The pitfall of neogeography is the way information is stored and shared. Now we hear a lot about people cyber hacking into our bank account or stealing our Identity. Identity thief is a national concern. People say that we post and reveal too much about ourselves on web. This causes us to be greater risk to become a victim of identity thief. I think it is true that we post overly too much about ourselves. There are many debates about Wikipedia, which is open source encyclopedia that anyone can add or delete content. The argument of Wikipedia is that since anyone can edit it how much information is actually correct or reliable. Does someone actually patrol what been posted on Wikipedia? Can we trust site like Wikipedia or other open source sites?

Lab 2: USGS Topographic maps

Lab 2

1. Beverly Hills Quadrangle
2.

• Canoga Park
• Van Nuys
• Burbank
• Topanga
• Hollywood
• Venice
• Inglewood

3. 1966
4. North American Datum of 1927 and National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929
5. Scale 1:24,000
6.a) (1/24,000) x (5cm/x) = 120,000cm. (120,000/100m)= 1200m
b) (1/24,000) x (5in/x)= 120,000in. . (120,000in/63,360in)= 1.89 miles
c) (1/24,000) x (x/ 1 mile)= 0.00004167 miles. (0.00004167 miles) X (63,360in/1 mile) = 2.64 inches
d) 3 kilometer = 1/24,000) x (x/3km) = 0.0001250km. (0.0001250km) X (100m/1km) X (100cm/m ) = 12.501cm
7. 20 Feet
8.a) the Public Affairs Building;
Latitude 34.07403°, Longitude 118.43916°
Latitude 34° 4′ 26.508″, Longitude 118° 26′ 20.976″
b) the tip of Santa Monica pier;
Latitude 34.00748°, Longitude 118.49994°
Latitude 34° 0′ 26.928″, Longitude 118° 29′ 59.7834″
c) the Upper Franklin Canyon Reservoir;
Latitude 34.12046°, Longitude 118.41012°
Latitude 34° 7′ 13.656″, Longitude 118° 24′ 36.432″
9.a) Greystone Mansion (in Greystone Park);
560Ft and 170.73 meters
b) Woodlawn Cemetery;
155Ft and 47.256 meter
c) Crestwood Hills Park;
730Ft and 222.56 meter
10. UTM 11 Zone
11.
Y axis: 3763000 m
X axis: 3615000 m
12. 1km x 1km= 1,000,000 sq. meter
13.
14. UTM Grid and 1999 Magnetic North Declination. Positive 14
15. North to South
16.