Lab 4: ArcGIS

ArcGIS is a complex and sophisticated software that appears to have unlimited poetical. In my first encounter with the program, I was overwhelmed at the amount of information that was available. There seemed to be endless tabs and commands which can be a little intimating. However, this complexity is a reflection of the control that exists in ArcGIS. This powerful software allows the user to use what seems like limitless controls to express their ideas. Thus ArcGIS really provides the tools for map makers to express their information in a unique and creative manner.

            Another powerful tool that really reflects the poetical of ArcGIS is the amount of data that can be accesses through the program. ArcGIS has a huge interface that allows for the exchange of large sets of data. This allows map makers to seamlessly interface large data pools with map making devices and thus creating productive and informative maps. However, these devices seem to be extremely complex so I did not get a full chance to see its benefits.         

              These two ideas seem to support the greatest asset of ArcGIS and that is its applicability. ArcGIS has so many different functions that the program really can benefit anyone. The ability to express information clear and coherently on a map can be used to supplement almost any industry. These benefits could be for capital gains, such as mapping out areas of high demand for a product, or environmental, using maps to identify areas of endangered species. These benefits are clear even to a new user of the program.

            It is hard to discuss the pitfalls of ArcGIS because of limited interaction with the program. Most of my frustrations that arose with ArcGIS, probably stemmed from my lack of experience with the software. However, just because ArcGIS is a powerful information system doesn’t mean the material being produced is always factual. Thus the one pitfall I would see in using ArcGIS, is human bias and error. The users interacting with the software can use its powerful imagery to construct diligent maps of USELESS information! ArcGIS is still at the mercy of the user and can only be as productive and useful as the person who is commanding the software. 

Lab 3

My Map

View Gyms and Yoga Studios for UCLA Students in a larger map

Neogeography allows you to share your personal interpretations of the space around you. This allows for unique personalized visions of the same geographical space. These interpretations are easily reflected with the ever expanding neogeopgrahy technology. This new technology has made it both easy and entertaining to create personalized maps. Also these maps have become very engaging which makes for a great learning experience. As the space becomes more and more personalized, or more and more maps are made of the same area, the mapping begins to take on more meaning. The layers of personalized maps add a social interpretation of the geographical space and in construct these maps actually map out as much socially as they do geographically. However, this broad information source does contain some risk and poetical downfalls depending on how the information is interpreted and used.
Neogeography allows for a powerful exchange of ever enhancing personal information. As this information becomes more and more readily available the dangers associated with this exchange become more apparent. Personalized information, such as political alliance or sexual orientation, becomes readily available for a wide array of users. This combined with geographical location means that people can be poetically be targeted and located for extortion and crimes. This introduces the idea of “too much information” in that these maps can be seen as a threat to privacy and sercurity. If this problem is exaggerated to the highest level, than the picture of the infamous Big Brother begins to form. The only way to hedge yourself from this danger is controlling the amount of information you include on your map. The problem truly lies in how the information is used which, unfortunately for us, is almost impossible to control.

Lab 2

1.      1. Beverly Hills Quadrangle

2.      2. Topanga (East),  Hollywood (West),  Van Nuys (North), Venic e (South)

3.      3. The mapping of the United States by the USGS began in 1879.

4.      4.  National Geodetic Vertical  Datum of 1929.

5.      5. 1: 24,000. Representing that one inch on the map is 24,00 inches in real world.

6.      6.

a.       1200 meters

b.      1.89 miles

c.       2.64 inches

d.      125 cm

7.  

7    7. The Contour interval is 20 feet

8.      
8. 

a.                      a. 118° 26’ Longitude and 34° 4’ 30’’ Latitude 

                             i.      118.43° and  34.075°

b.      118° 30’ and 34° 00’ 30’’

                             i.      118.5° and 34.008°

c.       118° 24’ 40’’ and 34° 6’

                             i.      118. 41° and 34.1°

9    9. 

a.       560 feet

b.      40 feet

c.       800 feet

1   10. TM zone 11

1.  11. 3,763,000 feet northing/3,620,000 feet easting.  

     12. 1,000,000 m2 in each UTM square.

     13.     

  

     










  
1    14. The magnetic declination of the map is 14° E

15. The stream between the 405 Fwy. and Stone Canyon Reservoir 

16.