Every 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau collects population data in order to accommodate changing populations in distribution of electoral votes, Congressional seats, and program funding. The three maps I have created represent "Black Alone", "Asian Alone", and "Other Race Alone" respectively. The data displayed is divided by county, and shows the percentages of each demographic ("Black Alone", "Asian Alone", and "Other Race Alone") that is located within each county. The percentage is calculated by taking the county population of each demographic and dividing it by the total county population. The legend shows that the higher the percentage of the particular demographic, the darker the color of the county. Some counties lacked demographic population data, so they are portrayed blank or white.
My overall impressions of GIS thus far are mostly positive. It amazes me how relatively user-friendly ArcGIS software is. As we have progressed in our labs, my completion of tasks in ArcGIS has become much quicker. Some may observe simplicity of programming as a negative trait, as those who perform GIS become less unique in their skills. However, ArcGIS seems to balance that trait with it's wide array of customization options. Thus, it seems that unskilled people can easily learn how to operate ArcGIS software, but it takes understanding of map presentation to make effective maps.
