{"id":981,"date":"2016-10-17T13:02:36","date_gmt":"2016-10-17T20:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/?p=981"},"modified":"2016-10-17T13:03:50","modified_gmt":"2016-10-17T20:03:50","slug":"what-we-buy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/2016\/10\/17\/what-we-buy\/","title":{"rendered":"What We Buy"},"content":{"rendered":"

I examined the What We Buy<\/a> dataset which reveals what the city of Los Angeles buys for its dwellers using their taxpayer money. The information is presented in the form of 15 datacards<\/a>, grouping the dataset into relevant chapters:\u00a0 <\/span>$12.3 million on 1 AW139 twin-turbine helicopter, $21,929 on 72 pairs of custom fit motorcycle patrol boots, $1,159,775 on leased golf carts, $8,549 on 6,670 soccer balls, $646,533 on 100 Radar Speed Signs, $6,797 on 2,723 basketball nets, $629,218 on 6,492,750 ballots, $4,638,600 on 4,339,676 lbs of thermoplastic marking material, $21,243 Graffiti Buster $530,238 on 5 Toro Groundmaster 5900 Rotary Riding mowers, $13,368 on Federal L.U.S.T. Tax, $1,348,566 on 7,617 fire hoses, $10,654 on 11,988 high visibility white traffic gloves, $161,628 on 30,685 wet mops, and $129,218 on 52,100 frozen rats.\u00a0The datacards demonstrate that the city spends a lot of tax payer money on recreational sports, policing, traffic systems, medical research, janitorial practices, gardening, petroleum spills, and fire emergencies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Each datacard then goes into more detail about why the city invests in the object, by answering the following questions: \u201cWhat\u2019s this?\u201d, \u201cWhy do we buy this?\u201d, \u201cDid you know?\u201d In this way, the makers of the LA Control Panel microsite are able to directly communicate with their primary audience: Los Angeles taxpayers and government officials. The questions provide justification for tax money investment decisions by the city government. <\/span><\/p>\n

From the dataset, the user can see what problems or situations Los Angeles is facing, and the city\u2019s priorities and values. For example, the spending in soccer balls and basketball nets demonstrate that Los Angeles strives to create sports and recreational spaces. The city values building a sense of community through athletics.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are definitely gaps in the data collection. The data cards are not transparent about which companies and brands these purchases are made from. It would be interesting to see how these objects and materials are distributed throughout the city. The taxpayer demographic is also unclear, besides the fact that they are Los Angeles residents. But how old and which neighborhood?<\/span><\/p>\n

Wallack\u2019s and Srinivasan\u2019s define a dataset\u2019s ontology as follows: \u201cCommunities\u00a0<\/span>and states\u2026[such as Los Angeles] represent the realities around them through distinct ontologies, or systems of categories and their interrelations by which groups order and manage information about the people, places, things, and events around them\u201d (p. 1). The \u201cWhat We Buy\u201d dataset is a way of organizing a dataset into a relevant framework for the intended audience in a way that makes its content accessible.<\/span><\/p>\n

If I were to start over with the data-collection process, I would be interested in focusing on instances where the city wastes taxpayer money, or makes investments that aren\u2019t relevant to the people\u2019s wishes. I\u2019d juxtapose surveys by Los Angelenos about how they want their tax dollars spent, alongside the expenditure decisions by government officials. Every citizen has a different set of values and priorities for their community. Where is the overlap and how do cities compromise their spending decisions? Are there alternative\u00a0ways of sourcing these things for the city. Perhaps purchasing used basketballs from the Lakers or local college basketball teams, rather than buying new ones.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2016-10-17-at-12-56-09-pm\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I examined the What We Buy dataset which reveals what the city of Los Angeles buys for its dwellers using their taxpayer money. The information is presented in the form … Continue reading “What We Buy”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/981\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miriamposner.com\/classes\/dh101f16\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}