My Geographic Information Journal

  In this lab we learned how to insert written script into ArcGIS Pro notebook and then find bugs and fix them This was different than anything I have done before, so it took me a while to differentiate a spot where an int needed to be a string. Once I finally figured this out, the rest felt easy. We then had to write our own code to take the written script of the dice game and make it play out and then remove a specified integer from it. A lot of the language, especially complex statements like having the program take the count of the # of times the integer appears and remove them from the list. Some of the ways you put these statements together still feels different, but I am getting the hang of it. I tried to make my script of the game sound a bit more interactive like a video game, so I made it say "Removing..." as if it was actively working on doing this task. 

  I thought this module lab was fairly easy to comprehend and perform, up until creating the flowchart for the math problem. We input an already written script into Python IDLE, which created our course and module folders for us. I thought this was a pretty interesting concept because it standardizes things that would be somewhat time consuming throughout the course. Now we don't have to focus on naming conventions as much, as the entire course folder is already created. The flowcharting, though, I found to be a bit more difficult. I have never done anything like this, but while reading and watching the module materials, it seemed pretty straight forward. Once I actually was presented with the problem of converting 3 radians into degrees, I became confused about how to break it down into a flowchart. Was I supposed to detail each individual number and unit first? It was feeling very foreign to me. So, I went back through the materials and watched some youtube videos about this conc...

  In this lab we learned how to depict elevated precipitation data accurately using both continuous tone and hypsometric tint approaches. We used the hillshade effect to present the data in a way that reflects the elevation in a 3D format. We also overlayed contour lines on top of the hypsometric tint to display the different classes being presented. We learned about the PRISM method of collecting precipitation data with climate and landscape adjustments. 

  This module we learned how to create a choropleth map by using two parts of the data from a set and creating graduated color symbology that reflects the ratio of these two parts. This map was wine consumption to population density in each country. We used the histogram to evaluate the breaks in the data and then utilized classification methods, data exclusion, labeling, and symbology to make the map portray the data in an accurate and interesting way. I used natural breaks (jenks) classification method, which really groups together the data in an accurate way that isn't monotone. It gives the viewer a sense of where the countries group together on this topic. 

This weeks lab taught about types of classification schemes and thematic maps. The task was to create a layout to compare and contrast these different methods and reasons for using each. The first of the two layouts was created by inputting the percentages of Age 65 Up census data for Miami-Dade counties. It uses 4 of the classification schemes; natural breaks, quantile, equal interval, and standard deviation. This evaluation of percentages shows us how the different methods highlight certain aspects of a data field, and that they can be utilized in appropriate situations.   The second layout shows the same census data but with the input being based on the population count normalized by area. This type of data scheme is used to highlight population density. It shows where actual numbers are, not just percentages of various amounts. 

 Good morning, Maps and everything that comes with them can be informative and well thought out as possible, but be lacking in the visual appeal that portrays a message or tells the story on the surface when first reaching the audience. These visual appeal can be difficult to achieve when map components look clustered or even too empty in some areas. That is the purpose of doing this lab was to practice strategies and steps to giving a map the needed visual appeal to portray the right message in the easiest way. The easier the map is to interpret for its given audience, the better its message is. With this specific map, I utilized layers from the class repository drive, or from ArcGIS Online, to give a combined look at Florida's main river systems, its large swamp/wetland areas, and its major cities. After adding all of the layers, I went through each and picked out the information I wanted to be showing without clogging up the map. Then went through and made all of their symbology...

 This assignment was to evaluate a well done map and a poor map based off of cartographic design principles.  1. -This was the example of a well designed map I decided to evaluate. Overall this map was created with purpose, and utilized colors and symbols that portrayed that purpose. It used neutral colors for the topic of hazardous fuels treatment, as to not evoke emotions about this from the viewer. It uses topographic design to show a relative size of these areas to the mountainous landscape, also giving the viewer an idea of the lands value. It gave an appropriate amount of information for a college-educated audience, likely working in the energy, conservation, environmental, or land management fields. It did a good job of highlighting the focus-area, and greying out irrelevant areas. Texts were easy to read, but not over-bearing. The symbol for highways and rivers, however, looked too similar and should probably have been different colors. The layout of all the pieces are...