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A Language Analysis of Atlantic County, NJ using ACS

A Language Analysis of Atlantic County, NJ using ACS

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A Language Analysis of Atlantic County, NJ using ACS

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  1. A Language Analysis of Atlantic County, NJ using ACS • The following “language analysis” takes a spatial look at the diverse languages spoken by Atlantic County residents and their English proficiency levels. Having them mapped out geographically gives readers a sense of the cultural diversity of county residents. I aim to link language diversity with the issue of local casino employment, layoffs associated with the current recession and rising competition, and their economic effects on the local population. The language analysis was done on a census tract level of Atlantic County, as I was most interested in the county population, especially regions in and near Atlantic City, where all the casinos are located. • Additionally, I used this project to explore data error issues by testing out the reliability, strength and limitations of the American Community Survey (ACS), which can serve as a tool for future GIS students in their work with data from ACS. Specifically, I used the ArcGISACSMapping tool in order to calculate the Coefficient of Variation (CV) of ACS estimates, which is an indicator of how reliable those estimates are. In addition to mapping out ACS estimates and CVs at the census tract level, I mapped them at the county level in order to show that larger sample sizes generate greater reliability.

  2. There is a diverse array of languages spoken in Atlantic County. The most dominant language, other than English, is Spanish, which is found to be spoken by at least 5% of the population in census tracts throughout the county. Census tracts with other popular languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, German, Persian, Tagalog, Urdu and Vietnamese, are spoken by at least 5% of the population in areas closer to the southeastern shoreboard, where the casinos are located. Language spoken at home by 5% or greater of Atlantic County residents 5 years and over Arabic Spanish Chinese Tagalog Urdu German Vietnamese Persian

  3. The top languages outside of English spoken by Atlantic County residents are Spanish (spoken by 44% of total county population), Urdu (spoken by 11% of total county population), and Vietnamese (spoken by 12% of total county population). This map shows census tracts where at least 10% of the population in those tracts speak a language other than English. Language spoken at home by 10% or greater of Atlantic County residents 5 years and over Spanish Urdu Vietnamese

  4. Since ACS estimates are based on a sample, data are published with margins of error (MOEs) for every estimate. Based on the MOE, the “Coefficient of Variation” (CV) is used to discern the level of reliability of an estimate. ACS estimates of Atlantic County census tract populations that speak English “very well” are relatively reliable, as the majority of CVs fall under 12, exhibiting high reliability, with only a couple of tracts exhibiting CVs of medium reliability.

  5. The mapping of ACS estimates where residents speak English “less than very well” is comparably less reliable than ACS estimates where residents speak English “very well.” All tracts here have medium or low reliability. This is probably due to the fact that the sample size of residents that speak English “less than very well” is smaller than the sample size of residents that speak English “very well,” and thus the margin of error (MOE) for the former is higher.

  6. Larger samples have smaller MOEs and thus data proved to be much more reliable at the county level as compared to the tract level. The ACS estimates of those that speak English “very well” have such good reliability that no CVs even surpass 1, which is extremely low (as compared to tract level CVs). The lower the CV, the more reliable the data.

  7. Again, the county ACS estimates prove to be much more reliable than tract ACS estimates. Data for those that speak English “less than very well” at the county level had much greater reliability than at the tract level, with almost all NJ counties, except Salem, exhibiting high reliability in its ACS estimates.

  8. Atlantic County Context The casino industry employs a significant amount of people from Atlantic County • Direct casino employment represented 35% of all wages in the county in 2009 Due to the economic recession and rising regional competition in PA, DE and NY, many jobs have been cut and might continue to be • The 2009 unemployment rate for Atlantic County rose to double digits (10.8%) for the first time in over twenty years Atlantic City’s casinos employ very diverse people that have a spectrum of English proficiency, including low-proficient speakers • In 2006, 70% of the non-supervisory casino workforce self-identified as a member of a racial-ethnic minority and approximately 50% of them were foreign born If the casinos continue to downsize, the many employees that speak English non-fluently and have low educational attainment will have a hard time obtaining and adapting to a new job Photo source unknown

  9. Cartographer: Janet Lau Class: Intro to GIS, Spring 2012 • Map projection: NAD 1983 State Plane New Jersey FIPS 2900, Meter

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