Second assignment, due Thurs Sept 24, 2009

In Chapter 1 of your textbook, Geographic Information Systems and Science 2nd edition there is a list of geographic problems, followed by a section describing several ways that you can classify geographic problems.

This assignment is to help you start thinking about a topic for your GIS project/portfolio. Describe two (yes, that's 2) different geographic problems - at least one of these geographic problems should be something you're interested in finding more about or working on. Your description doesn't have to be long, just one or two sentences. It can't be anything from the book, though the book may give you some ideas to expand on or you could do a variation on a problem discussed in the book. I am also including some websites below that might provide some ideas.

If you are having problems thinking in terms of a geographic problem, you can also think of it in terms of a question that has some sort of geographic component to it. For instance, suppose you are frustrated with parking (or lack thereof) around campus. What areas around the campus could potentially be converted to parking lots? is a valid geographic question that is related to a problem: not enough parking.

There are three bases for classifying geographic problems given in Chapter 1; please also describe how your two geographic problems or questions fit into each of these classifications. For instance, insufficient parking areas around campus would be considered a strategic (long term planning) issue by the University, but it is a much more immediate or tactical issue for a student.

You can either add this assignment to your portfolio (please email me to tell me that you've posted it), or you can just email it to me. It should be formatted like this:

Your name
Geographic problem/question #1:
A.
B.
C.
(where A, B, C are your description of how the problem fits into the three different types of classifications)

Geographic problem/question #2:
A.
B.
C.

Again, I encourage you to pick at least one problem/question that you would like to pursue for your class project. I will try to provide feedback on whether I think this would be a good topic. One of the limiting factors of many ideas is availability of data.

The next step in your class project (Assignment #3) will be to write a "project prospectus" which will be a brief outline of what you intend to do, how you intend to do it, and what data you intend to use and where you'll get it from. This will require some research on your part to make sure the data you need for your project is available (googling may not be enough; you might actually have to make some phone calls or emails). Or if you plan to create or collect your own data, demonstrate how you plan to do it within the time frame of the semester - collecting data can be very time consuming).

The due date for Assignment #2 is Thurs. Sept 24. The tentative due date for the draft project prospectus (Assignment #3) is Oct 16.

Some websites to get you started
(or Google any keywords with GIS, such as "parking GIS" or education majors might want to try "GIS lesson plans")
UW's own GIS center: www.uwyo.edu/wygisc - click on Research projects
Wyoming Geolibrary: www.uwyo.edu/wygisc - click on GeoData
http://www.directionsmag.com/mapgallery/
http://www.gis.com/
http://training.esri.com/library/
http://www.geodata.gov/