SITE LOCATION ANALYSIS GY454 and GY454G

PREREQUISITE: This course is an advanced course using ArcGIS from ESRI. GIS510 OR GY307 OR equivalent prior experience with ArcGIS is absolutely required.

12062 Section 001 (undergraduate) OR 12063 002 (graduate) WWW Blackboard http://jsu.blackboard.com 3 semester hours

Professor: Dr. Miriam Helen Hill
Office: 205 Martin Hall
Office Hours: Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. OR by appointment and through Blackboard IM, Blackboard Virtual Office Hours, or AOL IM
E-mail addresses: mhill@jsu.edu that will go to hillmir@aol.com
Telephone: 256-782-8063 (please, contact me by e-mail)

Course Description: Site Location Analysis (3). Emphasis on evaluating existing site location efficiencies, determining of appropriate point site and area site locations for organizational entities, and analyzing environmental impact analyses using GIS.

Purpose of the Course: This course is to designed to build skills working with raster GIS applications including both display and analysis. Topics include image enhancement, spectral signatures, unsupervised and supervised classification, environmental analysis, surface creation and analysis.

Learning Outcomes: The student will be able to:
  1. differentiate thoroughly between using raster and vector data models
  2. differentiate between various raster data formats
  3. use different types of raster data for display and analysis
  4. apply image enhancement to remote sensing imagery and identify spectral signatures
  5. perform unsupervised and supervised classification
  6. create continuous surface maps, straightline and cost-weighted distance surfaces, contours, density maps, hillshading, viewshed analysis, and neighborhood and zonal analysis
  7. apply map algebra in spatial analysis
Text: Kathryn Keranen and Rober Kolvoord, Making Spatial Decisions Using GIS and Remote Sensing ESRI Press, 2013, 978-1589483361

Software required ArcGIS 10.x (available from professor), MS Office 2007 or 2010 or newer, USB 2 G jump drive, headset

Class Homepage: The class homepage is at http://www.jsu.edu/depart/geography/mhill/SLA/index.html and is linked to Dr. Hill's webpage at http://www.jsu.edu/depart/geography/mhill/index.html. This site is mirrored at http://www.aegis.jsu.edu/mhill/index.html. The syllabus is, also, linked to the class homepage.

Mandatory Assignment: Completion of a two part post-test is required. This will be limited to one attempt. Failure to complete it will reduce the final grade by 10%.

Grading: The class will have three categories of assignments for grading purposes. The first are lesson assignments. These are based upon working through the textbook materials and Blackboard lessons. Assignments are equally weighted and count for 50% of the coursre grade. The final exam will contain several activities. The final exam will be worth 20% of the course grade. A portfolio will be produced and submitted and will count for 30% of the course grade. Graduate students are required to complete additional graduate assignments to pass the course and are expected to conform to higher academic standards. Final scores: above 90% A; 80-90% B; 70-80% C; and for undergraduates only 60-70% D; below 700 (graduates) and 600 (undergraduates) F. All work MUST be submitted before the DUE date. All work must be submitted through Blackboard. Invalid data submissions will receive no credit. Failure to complete any part of the two part post test will reduce the final grade by 10%.

Reading Assignments: Reading assignments will be combined with the laboratory modules. Use the attached schedule to complete the work BEFORE the due dates as indicated. Work may be completed early! Complete the assignments in Blackboard.

Assignments and Laboratory Modules: Laboratory modules are provided through the textbook and Blackboard. Complete the modules indicated in Blackboard before the dues dates. Each module will have an assignment consisting of selected questions from the lessons and relevant materials. Occasionally, map outputs will be required. Submit the required materials to Blackboard BEFORE the deadlines. Pay close attention to deadlines and work ahead of the schedule. You are expect to complete the exercises to gain the experience and to add the results to your portfolio.

Midterm and Finals: The midterm grade will be based upon assignment scores. No midterm exam will be given. The final examination will have multiple parts and will be comprehensive from course material and prior GIS work. Blackboard scoring and timing constitute official records.

Portfolio: A PowerPoint portfolio of your professional accomplishments from the course will be submitted in Blackboard. This portfolio should have two parts. The first part provides documentation of the important processing activities from the course with the goal to help you remember what and how things were done. The second part archives the best work that you did through the course, the types of maps and materials that you might want to show your accomplishments for a job interview.

Class Membership: Class members are expected to answer and ask questions, be involved in activities, and to facilitate an educational academic atmosphere. Proper attitude and behavior are expected. At all times presence should facilitate a smooth flow of intellectual ideas, knowledge, and intelligent discussion. Failure to contribute or promote this important goal demonstrates poor professional development.

Note: All materials presented in this class are done so with educational goals in mind and are not intended to cause distress of any nature. Please be aware that controversial materials, theories, exhibits, etc. will be presented in this class. If you are unwilling or unable to view these presentations in the educational light in which they are presented, then you need to reconsider your enrollment in this class.

Answers and grading will usually be succinct and to the point. No value judgment of you, your personality, character, or your intelligence is intended. Feedback is provided so that you can learn from your mistakes and improve the work that you are doing. The focus will center on what you can improve, and it is up to you not to lose sight of the accomplishments and progress that you are making. Do not get discouraged, but you must strive continually to improve your work. GIS is complex and multifaceted, and your work will contain far more things done correctly than the few things highlighted for improvement.

Citation of Sources: All sources must be properly credited. Work containing copyright violation or plagiarism will be rejected. Use Turabian format AS DEFINED by Microsoft Word 2007 (2010) for the documentation format. Entering the requested information correctly into the software with the Turabian setting will automatically generate the correctly formated information.

Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty is defined to include any form of cheating or plagiarism. A discussion of the topic is set forth in the student handbook. Working and studying with classmates are beneficial and to be encouraged. Copying work is not to be confused with comparing work and discussing similarities and differences. You are responsible for both understanding answers submitted and the completion of the materials. The material in this course is important not just for your grade but also for your future profession. All of the work is open book. SafeAssign will be used to check for plagiarism. Thoroughly document your work!

Notice: This syllabus is in no way binding. All information is subject to change. Any changes made by the instructor will be announced to the class through emails or posting to the Announcements area of Blackboard.

Questions or problems: Please contact the professor. Asking questions is an extremely important part of the learning process. Be specific. Incomplete information and vague questions only expand the time it will take for you to get an adequate response. Expect that I will ask you questions to ascertain what you understand so I can begin the answer from that point.

Making Contact: When e-mailing the professor, provide detailed information. Identify yourself, the course, the level, and the specific assignment. This will facilitate a more rapid and accurate response. We will use Blackboard IM to facilitate communication. If GEM (JSU e-mail system) is not your primary e-mail, place a forward on that account, and test it to be sure that it is functional. Blackboard uses GEM for e-mail contacts.

Disabilities: According to Public Law 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, Jacksonville State University will provide reasonable access and appropriate accommodations for otherwise qualified disabled students. If you need such access or accommodations, please consult with Disability Support Services and your professor immediately. Where extended testing sessions are allocated, Blackboard continues to function after the original time settings are reached, and the scores and actual times used are reported. By clicking on the ! or grade, both student and faculty can view these reports and verify completion within the appropriate time limits.

Class Schedule: Use the outline provided to complete the assignments BEFORE the designated dates.

GY 454 and 454G Spatial Data Collection and Management Syllabus* F17

DATEWEEK TOPIC Comments
August 23-291Module 1pretest
August 30-September 52Module 2  
September 6-123Module 3  
September 13-194Module 4  
September 20-265Module 5  
September 27-October 36Module 6  
October 4-107Module 7 midterm grade computation
October 11-178Module 8  
October 18-249Module 9  
October 25-3110Module 10  
November 1-711Module 11  
November 8-1412Module 12  
November 15-2813Module 13  
November 29-December 413FINAL EXAMINATIONposttest/LO
*Any major changes to this schedule will be announced. All grades are final at 11:55 p.m., Tuesday, December 5, 2017.