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This map shows the presidential candidates and their running mates schedules for today 10/22/2012. The map tool could be a very optimal tool in our group project, particularly because it helps to give people a visual take on a topic that might otherwise be a bit boring without some kind of visual aid. Since our topic is based on how the debates effects the winner of the presidential election, having a map that shows the changes in different states and county’s might be a good aid for our project.
Overall I find Google’s my map tool very useful for other projects that I might want to incorporate it into. I recall playing with Google my map about two or three years ago but now that I understand how you can imbed it in your own writings and blog post it makes much more sense to me.
First off, mapping this train route is a very frustrating process. More time consuming than I imagine.
From the beginning I had this mindset that this assignment is going to be a cake walk. I thought I will just Google csv files and imported to Google fusion table and click visualize. Well, that did work out like what I expected because not csv has locations where the fusion table can plotted on the map. That plan failed. So I decide to use http://research.google.com/tables to find one table and click visualizes and writes about it. But my historical morale decide this was too easy and that was not what the professors intended us to learn from it. So I ponder and came to the idea, that lets make a map about my commute to Baruch College. How hard could it be? Right………………?
[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=200302427878000694292.0004cc89a522decb2d381&ie=UTF8&ll=40.71548,-73.89885&spn=0.084069,0.175567&t=m&output=embed&w=425&h=350]
Boy I was WRONG! The plotting was easy but drawing out the exactly route was a pain in a place sun don’t shine. I could honestly say it took me a good 30 minute to an hour trying to draw out the route, while plotting the location only took 5 minute.
While in the process of making this map, it got me to reflect about the historical thinking that can be applied to my journey to Baruch. What was the reason I taking this route? What are other alternates? What is the thought process behind my decision? How did my past route decision affect today? How might my map become a larger argument? How does it involve Spatial history? Does my map tell a story? “how the spatialization of data deepens your understanding of the data itself?”
I took this route because it’s the fastest route. I have taken other route before; its 30 minute slower. Find the fastest route to Baruch, and this route is the fastest.
The hardest question to me is how my map might become a larger argument and how does it involve spatial history? My answer is I’m not sure. My guess is that, my map could be use, if there ever a historical projects done about the commute to Baruch College. It involves Spatial history because it tell a unique individual story about my journey to Baruch College. The only answer I could come up with for the last questions is that my commute is 11.08 miles to Baruch, give or talk few feet.
The end result was not I exactly expected but it was pretty close.
- Source: My Brain , Google Map
[entry-title]
I really struggled to get any sort of map off the ground using Google Fusion Maps. It literally took me the entire weekend just to figure out how to use the right data and how to embed it into the blog and I still don’t think I’m doing this right!!!
I really would LOVE to be able to do this, and maybe if there was a way for my group to find data on Voting Ages in the United States we could use this program, but the fact of the matter is the Fusion Maps is really picky with its data – by that I mean, it really doesn’t work unless you have super accurate data that’s presented in a certain way.
The map shows the life expectancy for countries in Africa between 3 – 100. Red being the youngest deaths and blue being the oldest.
[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=216987665134513771442.0004cc9dbd62678cbb8e8&ie=UTF8&ll=12.991044,-33.9917&spn=80.100339,137.856445&t=h&iwloc=0004cc9ddede31f93b7fe&output=embed&w=425&h=350]
Mapping data will prove essential in visualizing certain raw data we come across. Laying things out visually can prove to give us another perspective on the information. In this example, I’ve highlighted the United States epidemic when it come to incarnation. We are by far leading all of the major powers in the world with the number of people we are imprisoning each year. Our crime rates have fluctuated over the years, but our imprisonment rate has steadily increased. When this data is expressed on a global map, we can comparatively look at the United States and other countries around the world.
I don’t know how either maps or the fusion tables will help us. I don’t think we will use these tools, because we are focused on comparing time rather than space. I actually found them frustrating to use. The Fusion Tables would not show me the location of the points I picked at the optimal view. Additionally, my entries weren’t saved properly, forcing me to make edits. The program is clearly in beta version, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone for serious projects. I also tried My Maps, and I wasn’t satisfied with it as well. Searching for a new location hides all previously marked locations, which might not have been a big deal for somebody else, but it definitely was for me.
I couldn’t write anything positive about my experience of making this map. I wouldn’t use Fusion Tables or My Maps unless I had no other choice. Perhaps there is potential value in using them, but the problems with accessibility make it hard for me to see that value.
[googlemaps https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=203360412770657242127.0004cc5836f0faedca76a&ie=UTF8&t=m&ll=39.783213,-82.65564&spn=0.50656,0.878906&z=10&output=embed&w=640&h=480]
Google mymaps is a great tool for our group, instigators, to use towards our project. After using it I was impressed with the ability to pinpoint locations and it seemed relatively easy to navigate and save the work.
This could be an essential tool for our group because we are focusing on a particular state’s voting behavior in regard to the debates. We can display all the polling areas in a state and as I did, by county. I would like to gain experience with google fusion tables in the future because I think that could also be a huge asset for our project.
Maps and fusion tables are quite powerful visual tools that can be used to reflect variety of data from results of the US presidential elections by state to the number of nuclear weapons by country around the world. In this example I used data to generate a gradient map of energy consumption data by state in 2009 [in trillion Btu]. Source: Official Nebraska Government Website
As part of my group’s project, we can present different types of statistic based on geographical comparison for different historical presidential elections. We can look at median income levels by state, unemployment rate, percent of income paid in taxes, republican vs democratic voting states. This will assist us in visually supporting the findings of our team’s research.
My group would benefit a lot if we used maps and data to express our information. Since we are focusing on different elections throughout history, we can use data from voters to how they felt about different president’s campaign. We can take data from individual states or the country as a whole and see how one sets of ideas favored some voters and another set of ideas favored other voters (Republican and Democratic).
The value of mapping can be useful when researching Presidential Elections, because many surveys are presented in a map form. One of the more famous maps is the one that shows which state will go Republican (Red) and Democratic (Blue). Im sure based on the topic of my group’s project we will be looking at this type of map from multiple elections or creating this type of map to help facilitate our project.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr4GDYtOkI0
Blog Work:
By 8 am Monday morning, create a map using Google My Maps or, if you’re ambitious, Google Fusion Tables. You should set aside at least two hours for doing this project.
Remember: no matter which tool you choose, you need data to plot on your map. Data includes photos or videos that you either create or compile from the web (make sure you cite your source), or restaurant reviews that you write yourself. Data also includes datasets like census statistics. You can use any data that you want, including public data you can find via this search and which can easily be integrated with a map using Google Fusion Tables.
Your map can be related to your group’s project, but it doesn’t have to be. You might do a map of voting locations in your borough. Or of votes by age in the election of 1960. Or restaurants in your neighborhood. Or of landmarks you pass on your commute to school. Or of international coffee production. Or of population numbers by county in New York State.
The goal of this project is to choose data, and then to visualize it on a map.
As you create your map, think about how the data you’re plotting might become part of a larger argument. Think about how the spatialization of data deepens your understanding of the data itself.
To use Google My Maps, log in to Google and go to http://maps.google.com.
Then, click on “My Places,” then click “Create Map.”
After doing so, you’ll see an interactive tutorial that will walk you through the process of creating a map.
Here’s a tutorial on using an earlier version of Google My Maps (the first few steps are different, but after that they’re similar)”
And, here’s a tutorial on building maps with Google Fusion Tables:
http://youtu.be/0HdQYl8EBW8
After you’ve created the map, embed it on our blog along with a 2-3 paragraph discussion of the potential value of mapping for your group’s project. Here are instructions for embedding:
From Google Maps:
-Create map
-In Google Maps, click share icon (next to print icon in upper-left hand corner). Copy the embed code (e.g., <iframe width …>).
-On our Blogs@Baruch WordPress site, start a new post.
-Choose “HTML” view in upper-right hand corner of post editor (tab next to “Visual”)
-Past embed code in post editor
-Preview or Publish post and you will see your map embedded
From Fusion Tables:
-Create Fusion Table
-Select Visualize/Map from the top menu
-Click “Get embeddable link” in upper-right hand corner of map (e.g., “<iframe width …>”)
-On our Blogs@Baruch WordPress site, start a new post.
-Choose “HTML” view in upper-right hand corner of post editor (tab next to “Visual”)
-Past embed code in post editor
-Preview or Publish post and you will see your map embedded
Reading:
- Edward Tufte, “PowerPoint is Evil,” Wired, September 2003.
Reading Review
William G. Thomas III and Edward L. Ayers, “The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities.”
- Goals
- Non-linear presentation of data
- Driven by paradox seen in secondary literature: “The difference slavery made is widely recognized to be profound and yet study after study has shown that slavery did little to create differences between North and South in voting patterns, wealth distributions, occupation levels, and other measurable indices.”
- Comparative Case Study
- Why these two counties?
- Mode of Presentation
- Strengths/Weaknesses of Essay
- Validity of question
- Strength of evidence
- Accuracy of interpretation and analysis of evidence
- Technologies (GIS, XML, SPSS)
- Data sets
Group Work
- Historicizing your topic
- Establish a plan for digesting the secondary sources you’ve identified as background reading on your topic by next Wednesday (and any others you’ll need to add).
- Make sure you have a communication system in place and a process for documenting all communication
Examples of Maps
By Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 5:50pm:
- Complete Reading:
- William G. Thomas III and Edward L. Ayers, “The Differences Slavery Made: A Close Analysis of Two American Communities.”
- Also:
- Review the comments we left on your group’s post sharing the secondary sources you’ve identified (we will comment by noon on Tuesday). Someone from each group must respond to our feedback by class time on Wednesday.
- Establish a strategy within your group for digesting the secondary sources you’ve located. This should be the beginning of your background reading, which should NOT be limited to what you’ve selected here. Be prepared to present this strategy to the class on Wednesday.
Group Projects:
- Secondary source: a book or article
- Sharing workload
- Will focus on group projects on Wednesday
Guest Speaker:
Prof. John Maciuika, Associate Professor of Art and Architectural History, Baruch College.
Reading Review:
Richard White, “What is Spatial History?” Spatial History Lab: Working paper; Submitted February 1, 2010.
- The Spatial Turn
- Collaborative process of creating “visualizations”
- “Space itself is historical” [it is something that humans produce over time, especially through movement]
- Relation of representational space to actual space — can be revealed through layering of data
- Representations of space and representational space
- Mapping as a tool for *doing research,* not just communicating information
In order to mine relevant data for an issue such as the War on Drugs effectively during the 2012 Presidential Election, Contra as a team must first understand what we are looking for. The current theme as we are proceeding with is a bit too vast and overwhelming tapping into all aspects of government. Although during the debates, there won’t be much mention of the War on Drugs we can focus on policies supported as well as prior speeches. It would be vital to focus on keywords and build upon the candidate’s position on the current drug problems. What is not said will be just as important in our research in an attempt to fully understand where the candidates stand.
With this information, we can relate it with the context of their respective parties and through qualitative research of history, we can project and imagine how the War on Drugs will unfold in the near or distant future. It is an absolute necessity to find and choose authentic sources of information in order to successfully paint a slight picture of our task at hand. Upon sifting through all of these sources, we can attempt to answer the question we are proposed.
It seems like a very complicated move; the transformation and innovation to the internet and its progressive data bases. However, it could be simply explained by looking at the transformation our world has gone through, is going through, and try to plan and predict future transformations. The technological advances that we have gone through are sometimes taken for granted or sometimes not even noticed, but thats not the point i am trying to make. The point i am trying to make is that technological innovations drive our world and more specifically our daily lives. As you can see from the reading more and more; people are working on moving their work online. The benefit of it being online is far beyond anyone could have ever imagined. Having your work online means that everyone across the world can access it, thus people can help with their input and corrections/additions. Also it means that it will never decease, once its online, especially in multiple places it is practically impossible for it to just disappear. Of course there are down sides to it being online as well.
My group picked a few topics to focus on, one of them is the affect of the internet and its tools like twitter, Facebook, and other social websites have of presidential elections. We could show different statues from various people like the presidents themselves, vice presidents, and from educated people and see how the discussion on the posts develops in favor of the candidate. Also since most younger people use these social websites you can target them on those websites and educate them about the elections. Danny Hayes points out that the way the candidates are portrayed via the social media affects whether people vote for them. He also shows that the way things are phrased make a difference to the public. This mainly has to do with younger people that use the internet, by younger people i mean the generation that actually uses the internet. As the internet became the primary source (in the sense of the main source) people get their information from it also divides the voters since some actually do not use the internet, which is perfectly fine as long as its a credible source and you double check the information portrayed to you from the TV, Newspaper, or radio.
With all the debates that the presidential candidates do before the election, usually, it ends up that there is just too much data for any one person to process and analyze. In order for our group, Contra, to attempt to answer the correlation with the War on Drugs and Presidential Elections, we would seek to use data mining software to weed out information that is not pertinent to our project when we analyze presidential debates.
As the War on Drugs is not a widely talked about topic for presidential elections, the use of data mining softwares will be beneficial in helping us find out exactly how often phrases such as “drugs”, “cartels”, “anti-(fill in whatever drug)” come up during the debates. Then we would use this information to come to a conclusion on how much emphasis is put on the War on Drugs during the presidential elections and hopefully we can answer some of the questions that our group posed for our project.
Secondary Sources for Group 1:
1.) PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION
This document goes in to great detail how the Internet has become a factor during Clinton’s Presidency and how Bush Jr was the first president to establish a Twitter account and the significance of how social media and the Internet became an integral part of the election process from that point.
2.) Does the Messenger Matter? Candidate-Media Agenda Convergence and Its Effects on Voter
By using data during the early stages of the 2006 Texas midterm election, Danny Hayes show how media coverage of candidates affects the willingness for voters to vote for them. The findings in Hayes pieces show the value for candidates of enlisting new media to help pass along their message and to strengthen their influence as a political candiate.
In this piece, the authors discuss how the internet divides voters. The piece talks about how just like the elderly, those less well educated, and some minorities are less likely to use the Internet than other Americans, candidates for lower-level offices are less likely to use it than presidential and congressional candidates.
How could your group use text mining to answer the historical question(s) you’ve proposed thus far?
Our group could use text mining to answer the historical questions we had proposed by narrowing down keys word, sort different type of document, seek out specifics information, and determine correlation between different documents.
First off, our group could start text mining for keys words from website or blog through wordle.com. Then, we can create a list of words that appear the most. Following that, we can theorize the relationship between the words and find out why it appears. The finding might surprise us and guide us in a different direction.
Second, we can sort out documents that are irrelevant to our research because through the general search, when we enter the war on drugs in a normal search engine, we can get ton of results. Out of all the result we get back from a regular search engine, we could get tons of unrelated hits to our topics. So by using text mining, we can sort out the irrelevant information and go to more the specifics of our search.
Finally, with text mining we can figure out the relationship between documents that might not be present in the document itself. For example, an article or report writing in 2012 might has something do with a document in the 1960s.
In conclusion, text mining is extremely useful tool to use for research and to get A in digital history class at Baruch.
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