Improvements or Consequences

According to Google, the term plasticity refers to being easily molded or shaped. When it comes to the brain and our every changing society this seems great. Alvaro Pascual-Leone, a researcher at Harvard Medical School argues that plasticity can be both a blessing and a curse. Once pathways in our brains are formed and routines are set in place it is highly difficult to undo the process.

Learning has shifted to a world where everything can be searched online. This process weakens the brains ability to pull from the long-term memory to recall information. The brain is being trained to be distracted at all times. New York Times created a map comparing Internet usage to the country’s wealth. Their findings led them to the conclusion that distraction is a rich country’s problem.

Another problem with the search phenomenon is that students are replacing memorizing with searching. This lack of memorization takes away from our creation of knowledge. Schuurman talks about the many Internet based distractions that are everywhere in our daily lives. Several programs are even fostering a life of distraction by allowing the viewer’s brains to skip from topic to topic within seconds.

“As we embrace a more rapid-fire, concise process of knowledge acquisition at the expense of our capacity for profound concentration, perhaps the most we can hope for is that we are attentive to how we are evolving and at what cost.” (Schuurman)

Schuurman, N. (2013). Tweet me your talk: Geographical learning and knowledge production 2.0. The Professional Geographer, 65(3), 369-377.

Maps and Myths: John Snow and the Cholera Epidemic

In this article, Brody et al. discuss the legend of John Snow and his use of the spot map to "predict" cholera and track its spread while solving the cause of it. However, John Snow's map, which he first made in December 1854, was incorrect in some ways, and the "government" actually had a more accurate and detailed map. This article also discusses Edmund Cooper's map which he made before Snow. Cooper was an engineer for the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers and was the first to make a map of the outbreak.

Brody, H., Rip, M. R., Vinten-Johansen, P., Paneth, N., & Rachman, S. (2000). Map-making and myth-making in Broad Street: the London cholera epidemic, 1854. The Lancet, 356(9223), 64-68.

Mixed Land Use and Obesity

The article covers the topic of whether or not there is a correlation with land use and obesity. To test this there was either a circle drawn around the house with a decided upon radius or there was a limit of number of blocks that equaled the same number. The land was then split up between different categories that would determine the ability to walk the area. The difference in landscapes can then develop patterns in which the people of study could move. A city with a lot of parks and a proximity to work would score a higher chance of walking to work and in some cases it would have low correlation with obesity. Certain things that could affect the probability of someone walking can be things like a nearby grocery store or places where social interaction are common. When a person is surrounded by only one type of land and is not within walking distance to other needs (food or work) they probably won't walk much.

In most cases if there was a diverse surrounding with different types of landscape it was more likely that walking would occur in those areas. When the people of the study were walking more frequently to nearby things instead of other means of transportation they tended to be on average less obese.

Socioeconomic Impact on Obesity and Diabetes Among Mexican-Americans

Socioeconomic standing was used in this study to compare the probability that Mexican-Americans in Brownsville, Texas would have poor health, and how likely they were to go undiagnosed for diabetes.  Those in the lowest of the socioeconomic quartiles were the most likely to go undiagnosed for diabetes, mainly because they did not have health insurance and were too young to be eligible for medicaid.  The only significant difference found between those in the first and third socioeconomic strata was the proportion of those who had graduated high school.  GIS was used in this study to study the distribution of those in each socioeconomic quartile within the city of Brownsville, along with data about the population in each area.  The houses were placed on the map using GPS cross checked with the actual street addresses to ensure accuracy.  Demographics about each area were also included in the map-making to show the distribution in each neighborhood.

Geopolitics and the Antropocene: Five Propositions for Sound by Anja Kanngieser

Kanngieser investigates sound beyond its physical characteristics, soaring through space at 299,792,458 meters per second.  It has complex political meanings that get lost within the sound ricocheting around in the ear. Due to sound's dissipation into space, it has geographical implicaitons, only those around to hear its desperate echo.  She finds a "crossroads" in which to explore sound in its many forms: "disciplines concerned with sound (music, poetry), the politics of language (cultural, literary, and gender studies), and the physical and philosophical world (biology, philosophy, geography)." 

Sound is deceptive in its complex intangibility.  Sound is an inherently political medium and can probe five concepts in which Kanngieser sets forth.  Inequality.  Sound transcends the anthropocene in its "undermin[ing]" of "human exceptionalism," unequal in that it puts humans on a pedestal over every being in existence.  Imperceptibility.  Lack of sound can be just as powerful as its boisterous brother.  "Listening very carefully to the imperceptible" is a symbolic method in which to push away from anthropocentrism.  Translation.  Translation of sound manifests in a plethora of different mediums: oral, written, and other forms of language, and is necessary.  "Skepticism is necessary to suspending assertions about what knowledge is and how it should be produced."  Listening to new articulations can dissipate the natural or social divides between mediums.  Commons.  Sound has the potential to penetrate all matter and beings, constructing common ground between humans and the world alike; "the would is not for humans," "[it] is with humans."  Futures.  Sound is an ultimately ambiguous phenomenon.  Giving conclusive meaning to its nature would be naive.  It is an unstable element that resonates through time, through space, connecting matter with accelerated intent.

GeoDesign

In Dr.Lee’s article, he demonstrate a new area, GeoDesign. “This is one of the newest buzzwords circulating around the GIS community over the past few years”.  GeoDesign provides a design framework and supporting technology for professionals to leverage geographic information, resulting in designs that more closely follow natural systems(1). In a word, GeoDesign merges both GIS and design. Carl Steinitz of Harvard University and Bill Miller of GeoDesign Service at Esri both made definitions of GeoDesign. “Changing geography by design” and “design in geographic space”.  Thomas Fisher, Dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota argued three things that occurred as a result of one invention and the Enlightenment that came from: The partitioning of knowledge into disciplines, the separation of humans and nature and  the abstraction of reality.  And these changed two big discoveries in 20th century, ecology and computing. GeoDesign brings geospatial computing capacity into the process of design. Using design methodology as spatial planning making of GIS and at the meantime let designers to consider geographic data as a part of creative decision. Some scholars believe that there is a need to move beyond the GeoDesign that it can be taught within the context of existing curricula offered by academic institutions. So that there is an effort begun, like a proposed Bachelor of Science degree program in GeoDesign at University of Southern California, an online extension program in GeoDesign at Pennsylvania State University and so on. There are a lot GeoDesign programs under developing.

(1) Geodesign | Integrating GIS with Geodesign. (n.d.). Retrieved May 19, 2016, from http://www.esri.com/products/arcgis-capabilities/geodesign

Lee, M. (n.d.). Teaching GeoDesign: A Campus-Wide Initiative.

Chevron's use of GIS for Possible Drilling Sites

In this journal, Laura Lang is doing a case study on how Chevron decides where to continue drilling for oil and gas in Nigeria. Chevron used GIS technology to survey areas that can be possible drilling sites in the future. Using GIS, Chevron has a better understanding of the land and can use that information for analysis. If an area has too much water it is not sustainable for drilling, as the figure below shows that the blue lines represent rivers and Chevron ultimately decided not to drill for gas or crude there. Another thing Chevron takes into consideration is the population of people in those areas and how drilling will contribute to their environment. It is important not to contaminate their environment and because of this, Chevron can decide exactly where is best for the drilling to take place. 

Lang, L. (1998). Managing natural resources with GIS. Environmental Systems Research Institute.

Urban Displacement in San Francisco

The most noticeable effect of gentrification is the displacement of the working classes. This shift can take place in various forms, but occurs mainly based on the housing situation. With the increase in urban wealth, property value increase therefore causing strain to the working class in regards to rent. In cases where movements occur voluntarily, these are usually due to an effect of rejection by the state of degradation of the neighborhoods, by the payment of incentives in exchange for their abandonment to renters with armored contracts or the sale of the property. Once this displacement occurs, the neighborhoods are revalued, are renovated and are often sold to individuals of a higher income. A prime example of this would be the city of San Francisco. It was concluded by scholars in UC Berkeley that in 2013, 48% of census tracts that were analyzed and more than 53% of low-income households lived in neighborhoods were at risk of or already experiencing displacement and gentrification pressures (Zuk, 2015). Neighborhoods with rail stations, historic housing stock, and rising housing prices were especially at risk of losing low-income households. Low income neighborhoods were not the only ones experiencing displacement pressures – many higher income neighborhoods that still house low income households were also rapidly losing low income population (Zuk, 2015).

Figure 1. Median hold income in 1990

Figure 2. Median household income in 2000

                                                         Figure 3. Median household income in 2013.

 In addition to the displacement and land revaluation other common processes such as reduced occupancy rates of housing (the number of people per household) and the population density of the neighborhood or perceived changes from the affected area. Also, if in the neighborhood predominated the rent will be a progressive transformation of the mode of occupation in rent for the property occupancy. The number of tracts at risk of displacement are 123% higher than the numbers already experiencing them, indicating that the transformation of the Bay Area will continue to accelerate.

Zuk, Miriam. 2015. "Gentrification, Displacement and the Role of Public Investment,"            (Berkeley:University of California)

Summary of Tweet Me Your Talk by Nadine Shuurman 

In the rapidly-changing, ever-evolving technological world we live in, it's no wonder our minds try to play catch-up almost every second we are awake.  The human brain was made to be malleable, meaning it can change and adapt to nearly every situation it is put in.  With the fast paced manner in which we conduct our every-day affairs on the Web, our brains are adjusting to intake as much information as quickly as possible, thus changing the fundamental way in which humans learn.  The accessibility of information lessens the need for humans to completely learn information, and the quick pace at which we "read" articles diminishes reading skills.  Because we've become so accustomed to getting information quickly and effectively, humans have become almost expert scanners.  This implies that instead of taking the time to actually read full works, we simply scan for key terms and ideas.  How academic journals and scholarly articles are being accessed is changing because of this.  Abstracts and short blurbs are more readily available, so as not to lose the reader's interest by having them search for it.  There seems too much importance placed on aesthetics, rather than on the content itself.  This distraction that is happening, almost at a world-wide level, is also changing how we make our decisions.  When given too much information, all at once, it becomes difficult to remember the previous options presented, forcing us to choose one of most recent options, and not necessarily the best.

The implications of this phenomenon suggests that it is becoming more difficult to get people to delve deeper into issues, because they quickly become distracted by the next headline.  While this is something that is occurring primarily in more developed countries such as the United States and Western Europe, the Internet is something that is now available all over the world, making it easier for everyone to access.

USING VIEWSHED MODELS TO CALCULATE INTERCEPTED SOLAR RADIATION: APPLICATIONS IN ECOLOGY

There are well documented ways of seeing how much sunlight hits the Earth’s surface. What is far more rare however is the ability to accurately model this light. In this study they came up with a “flexible and efficient” algorithm that can be used to quickly calculate the solar radiation that makes contact with Earth. They calculated the radiation by using the direct and diffuse irradiation from all directions. The next step they took was to calculate all radiance, including that coming from reflections and accounting for the angles of the light. Next they evaluated any obstructions in the sky. They did this by using aerial photographs of the area during the times of interest. This study is important because it has major applications in agriculture, forestry, hydrology, and ecology. Solar radiation is the most potent form of energy we have on Earth, with these types of studies and models we can learn how to better utilize this energy source. Using these models we can improve agriculture and eventually even improve our ability to use solar power.

Rich, P. M., Dubayah, R., Hetrick, W. A., & Saving, S. C. (1994). Using viewshed models to calculate intercepted solar radiation: applications in ecology. American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Technical Papers. In American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (pp. 524-529).