Showcase: World Regional Geography Map Projects

The Fall 2013 semester marked another successful cycle of Geographic Information Systems Projects (GIS) at the University of Montevallo. In GEOG 231 World Regional Geography with Virginia Ochoa-Winemiller, students explored issues like immigration, wage earnings according to gender, education attainment, and economic growth in the wake of Disney World. The groups were instructed to identify several indicators and represent social changes over time via Google Fusion Tables. Here's a sample list of projects:  

• The Impact of the Creation of Disney World  
• Elderly Voting in the 2008 Election 
• Between Religion and Poverty: Megachurches and Poverty in California 
• Immigration: Crossing the Line  
• Gay Marriage and Population  
• Gender Wage Gap in the U.S.A.: 1999 vs. 2012  
• Comparison of Graduation Rates and Median Income Levels in Alabama Counties 
• Population Change in Arizona After the 2008 Recession

In one of my favorite projects, Emma Schlesinger, Maggie Thompson, Lauren Davis, and Shyanne Erickson discovered that even though legislation like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 has been passed, wage inequality across gender lines persists across the United States, and Alabama ranks near the bottom in terms of pay equality.

A map that represents home values in the U.S. The darker green represents higher percentages of homes (by county) that are owner occupied and worth less than $50,000. I made this map in five minutes.

In 2014, GIS studies in Montevallo are made even better by the Carmichael Library's permanent acquisition of Social Explorer. This Oxford University Press resource presents current and historical U.S. Census data and make it exceedingly easy to create visually appealing maps.

GIS is not just a tool of learning for Geography classes; just about any question or concept can be mapped. Get in touch with librarians at Carmichael if you are interested in exploring map-based  learning in your classes.

Accessing U.S. Census Data During the "Shutdown"

We're about a week into the government shutdown, and even though the House of Representatives has passed a bill to restore the lost wages of furloughed federal workers, we still do not have access to the U.S. Census database or many other government sources of data. It's almost certain that the House will not pass a bill to retroactively compensate people for their undue suffering when they lose access to SNAP benefits. Similarly, it is unlikely that the House vote to restore the lost learning opportunities the college students that have happened because of the shutdown. I digress.

Fortunately, we do have alternate sources of key U.S. Census data. The Carmichael Library has secured a month-long trial of Social Explorer. Social Exlorer, published by Oxford University Press, is an interactive data and mapping tool. Anyone can create an account, download data from historical censuses, and create visually attractive maps. If you're working on a project that requires you to find demographic or geographic data, this site should connect you with most (but not all) of the information you need.

Even if we did have access to American FactFinder, Social Explorer is a valuable tool to develop GIS projects. Consider this map I made about educational attainment in the U.S.

 This map explores the percentage of U.S. Citizens who have earned a Master's degree and expresses that in terms of a size bubble for each county in the United States. It's easy to annotate the maps you create, develop projects that feature sequences of maps, and share your maps with other people.

Take a look at Social Explorer. If you like it, please let us know by responding to our trial database survey form.