Why do computers have to be so hard to deal with?

Well. Just when I am putting the finishes touches on what I want to have on my project for Cartography and Visualization, I realize that my information is no longer on the computer. All of the work I have done, past and present is gone and I can’t retrieve it. This means that I have to spend the entire day in the lab and try to figure out the project all over again. What a bummer!! Like I already have little time to do anything. Now this. Great!! I am about 85% done know. I uploaded my personal page but I have to figure out how to upload and link the rest of the assignment. I need to be done with this by classtime tomorrow so I am desperately trying to figure this out. Everything is looking okay… I will be adding more stuff for the html documents in the near future. I just need to figure out this business with the links.

What the heck does this extension mean?

.dbf- a file extension that started as dBase II. Works with the Excel spreadsheet to turn data into information on a graph or a map.

.prj- used to save project data and settings. Microsoft Project is an example that uses this extension.

.sbn-used for ESRI software only ArcView is an example of a program that uses this extension.

.sbx- Contains a spatial index for the features in GIS sets.

.shp- One of the ESRI shapefiles that helps with data formatting and models. This along with .shx, .dbf and other extensions must all be used together to get the information displayed correctly for the model. This format deals with the geometry itself.

.shp.xml- metadata in XML format.

.shx-Deals with shapefiles that allows geometry to seek forwards and backwards quickly. This is a popular geospatial vector data format for GIS software. This is for the shape format.

New technology: GIF Animator

For Lab 9, this is how I used the GIF animator to animate my maps.

1. I opened the animator and went to the Animation Wizard.

2. In the Animator Wizard, I went to Add Image…

3. In Add Image…, the screen of my maps (in the GEOG 353/Wheat folder) appears. I make sure that the maps are the selected cropped version from Cropper. All of the maps I wanted to highlight I choose while holding the Ctrl button (there are 11 or 12 of them.)

4. The selected maps and their paths show up on the animated wizard start up screen. I made sure all of them were there.

5. For the frame duration, I decided on 92 for the delay. This way, there is not much of a delay and the maps are transitioning smoothly.

6. The maps download onto the interface. I gave them a preview to make sure that the maps look right (no blurriness, no missing pieces, no glitch in the system.)

7. After confirming that the transfer of the maps and its animation went well, I save the animated files and rename it to something that differentiates it from the regular maps.

Now this looks like a professional animation of the maps I created and how the data changes quickly and smoothly over time.

Changes in Lab 7 again

This lab is very extensive with many different changes in the project. My most recent changes are the classification and modifying some of the exclusions. I alos had to re-import all of my information in order to make sure that the original data and classification schemes are transported to the other data in the scheme. All of my data in the graduated color, graduated symbol, dot density, and proportional symbol schemes have been updated in ArcGIS and the number of layers have been increased due to some complications in the display of ArcGIS. I had to also increase the number of data in the layer from 5 to 6 to show more information in terms of more subtle changes in the population of Oklahoma. I feel more comfortable that the changes will illustrate the population especially in an animation setting. Now I feel that I am ready to start exporting the data on ArcGIS to my web pages.

Colors for the other maps in Lab 7

In addition to the graduated color maps scheme of tan to very dark blue, I chose the following colors for the following maps:

Electron Gold – Graduated Symbol

I chose electron gold to make the area where the population changes stand out. I needed a color that would not blend in to the rest of the map but had the ability to stand out and represent the area in accordance to its size.

Tuscan Red- Proportional Symbol

I chose tuscan red as another color that would stand out in its representation. Tuscan red is fighting the very dark blue colors on the map that is represented by the graduated color map that is combined with it.

Light Pink- Dot Map

I thought the color pink worked well with the layout of the map. The color is not extreme but it is accurately showing the data without it being too much of a distraction.

Changes in Lab 7

I stuck with the 5 class model because I thought that this would give a sense of balance in my data. I altered the break value to where each of the population change has a 0 in it to clearly separate the negative values from the positive values. In some case, there is only one negative and four positive numbers; however, this was not the case for all of the maps. Some of the map showed me that there two or three negative data set values and only two or three positive data set values. The data is still clear in terms of representation on a map with the color scheme telling the story. A loss represents a bland tan color while significant change represents a very dark blue color. The scheme I take chosen seems to work well with what I am trying to convey with population change through different decades in Oklahoma.

What do you see when you compare the different maps? How does the same classification scheme and number of classes effect your different data sets? Are the maps comparable? Yea or nay?

When I look at the maps, I see specified change. From the 1900-1910 population population change map to the 1910-1920, I see a world of change in the population increase. Most of the area in the 1900-1910 map is empty while the 1910-1920 map is practically full. The map truly reflect the change in all of the regions of the map. Most areas do not significantly change over time because most of the area changes together. There are some standouts and I recognize them immediately.

The same classification schemes affected the different data sets by providing a balance to the areas of growth. I chose 5 classes (the default) because this seems the most logical for presenting graduated colors. The colors (from yellow to dark blue) clearly show the information of the population change and where the population change is moving rapidly or being stagnant. The maps are similar and comparable since the classification shows major changes in the data. If I wanted to make clear more subtle changes in the data then I would increase the number of classes.

Lab 5 Questions and Definitions

Change the projection of your map, and its center, to something more appropriate than the default (as discussed in the lectures on Map Projections). Note which projection you choose and why in your Lab Log.

I used the Albers conical projection. The Albers projection is very close to the default Peters projection. The shape is minimally distorted between the two ends of Oklahoma. The ends are drawn upwards to meet the North Pole. The land area of the map did not change and the only adjustment I had to make was that I had to re-center it back to -90.

• DBF4 / Dbase4 file- This file format is used for ArcGIS in Microsoft Excel. The cells in which the information is in is used as data in ArcGIS when it is transferred for states and countries for population and other statistics about the countries.
• Select by Attributes- Shows different words in which helps you develop the query you need for analysis of a specific phenomenon for a map.
• Query- a formula where you create a certain equation for a state. For example, if you want to create a formula for the age in the state of Ohio, you would select the state “+” the attribute you want “+” anything else you want to add in the query for your viewing.
• Fields (in a Table)- Shows you values of a statistic in a table for a country or a state.
• Records (in a Table)- results show in the ArcGIS relational database.
• Attributes- an entity or any value of calculation used for analysis in ArcGIS.
• Relational Database- Shows the attributes of a particular data set, in this case, the state that is being viewed.
• Join function- Used to merge statistics about a state into the created map on ArcGIS. This shows the relationship between a particular region of the created map and the time period or other facts that is detailed in the statistics.
• Calculate / Field Calculator- Calculates the particular value you want to evaluate in ArcGIS. For example, the year 1910-the year 1900 vs. the year 1920 vs. the year 1910.

New ArcGIS and other interests in ESRI

The ArcGIS looks more like the Google Earth many people use. ArcGIS is becoming more versatile, suiting the mobile, desktop, and server. I like the fact that ArcGIS is becoming more accessible to the people and that the programs are integrated into modern society especially with the mobile features. You can use ArcGIS while you are on the field site of your research or you can use it in the comfort of your own home. Everything from Web applications to students using the ArcGIS program can benefit since its range is that diverse.

In the ESRI Support Center, there are a couple of cool downloads that caught my eye. I wanted to see the downloads for what they benefit. ArcGIS is heavily used in the information technology, which is what I am in. Knowing that ArcGIS can help with things such as patching programs, data modeling, and scripting, I see that ArcGIS is heavily involved with managing computers and its resources to provide the best quality software and hardware if that is necessary.

Initial impressions of ArcGIS

I felt that ArcGIS would be beneficial to the support of any research I planned to do- and it is. I like how simplified to use- I originally ArcGIS was going to be this complicated piece of program that is difficult to use compared to Google Earth but on the contrary, it is easy to use. The information in ArcGIS to form a detailed map who lots of data is endless and I can be very creative in drawing attention to the details I want to show. There are numerous features that I have yet to try out but I think I will be getting around to that in the near future, exploring the bounties of exciting detail-oriented information for upcoming projects. Initially, I thought ArcGIS was going to be tricky but now, I want to use and learn more about ArcGIS because of its vast features.

Definitions from Lab 4

• Map Document (.mxd files)- A saved storage area where the files of all of your map documents are located.
• Table of Contents- A listing of all of the GIS related content you need for creating information for your map.
• Data Frame- A frame that shows you a particular piece of information such as the location of your area on the map in GIS. States, countries, oceans, and other prominent features (projection features) can be used for a data frame. This is also used as a base to start off map projects.
• Map Layer- Any feature that you add on to the data frame- this includes rivers, areas of interest such as historical locations, and other features of a city or country.
• Attribute Table- Shows and highlights the particular details such as longitude and latitude in the country or city you are looking at.