Short EssayPlease read the GIS Ethics Story in the attachment, then write up a 750 word essay explaining what would you do. Discuss the following:1) Obligations to Society2) Obligations to Employers and Funders3) Obligations to Colleagues and Profession4) Obligations to Individuals in Society.
codeofethics_pr_1_.pdf

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CODE OF ETHICS
The GIS Certification Institute
This Code of Ethics is intended to provide guidelines for GIS (geographic
information system) professionals. It should help professionals make
appropriate and ethical choices. It should provide a basis for evaluating their
work from an ethical point of view. By heeding this code, GIS professionals will
help to preserve and enhance public trust in the discipline.
This code is based on the ethical principle of always treating others with respect
and never merely as means to an end: i.e., deontology. It requires us to consider
the impact of our actions on other persons and to modify our actions to reflect the
respect and concern we have for them. It emphasizes our obligations to other
persons, to our colleagues and the profession, to our employers, and to society as
a whole. Those obligations provide the organizing structure for these guidelines.
The text of this code draws on the work of many professional societies. It is not
surprising that many codes of ethics have a similar structure and provide similar
guidelines to their professionals, because they are based upon a similar concept
of morality. A few of the guidelines that are unique to the GIS profession include
the encouragement to make data and findings widely available, to document data
and products, to be actively involved in data retention and security, to show
respect for copyright and other intellectual property rights, and to display
concern for the sensitive data about individuals discovered through geospatial or
database manipulations. Longer statements expand on or provide examples for
the GIS profession.
A positive tone is taken throughout the text of this code. GIS professionals
commit themselves to ethical behavior rather than merely seeking to avoid
specific acts. The problems with listing acts to be avoided are: 1) there are usually
reasonable exceptions to any avoidance rule and 2) there is implicit approval of
any act not on the list. Instead, this code provides a list of many positive actions.
These explicit actions illustrate respect for others and help strengthen both an
understanding of this ethos and a commitment to it.
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This code is not expected to provide guidelines for all situations. Ambiguities will
occur and personal judgment will be required. Sometimes a GIS professional
becomes stuck in a dilemma where two right actions are in conflict with each
other or any course of action violates some aspect of this code. Help might come
from talking with colleagues or reading relevant works such as those listed in the
bibliography. Ultimately, a professional must reflect carefully on such situations
before making the tough decision. Contemplating the values and goals of
alternative ethical paradigms may be useful in reaching a decision:




I.
View persons who exemplify morality as your own guide (Virtue Ethics)
Attempt to maximize the happiness of everyone affected (Utilitarianism)
Only follow maxims of conduct that everyone else could adopt
(Kantianism)
Always treat other persons as ends, never merely as means (Deontology)
Obligations to Society
The GIS professional recognizes the impact of his or her work on society as a
whole, on subgroups of society including geographic or demographic minorities,
on future generations, and inclusive of social, economic, environmental, or
technical fields of endeavor. Obligations to society shall be paramount when
there is conflict with other obligations. Therefore, the GIS professional will:
1.
Do the Best Work Possible





Be objective, use due care, and make full use of education and skills.
Practice integrity and not be unduly swayed by the demands of others.
Provide full, clear, and accurate information.
Be aware of consequences, good and bad.
Strive to do what is right, not just what is legal.
2. Contribute to the Community to the Extent Possible, Feasible, and
Advisable



Make data and findings widely available.
Strive for broad citizen involvement in problem definition, data
identification, analysis, and decision-making.
Donate services to the community.
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3.
Speak Out About Issues



II.
Call attention to emerging public issues and identify appropriate responses
based on personal expertise.
Call attention to the unprofessional work of others. First take concerns to
those persons; if satisfaction is not gained and the problems warrant, then
additional people and organizations should be notified.
Admit when a mistake has been made and make corrections where
possible.
Obligations to Employers and Funders
The GIS professional recognizes that he or she has been hired to deliver needed
products and services. The employer (or funder) expects quality work and
professional conduct. Therefore the GIS professional will:
1.
Deliver Quality Work





2.
Be qualified for the tasks accepted.
Keep current in the field through readings and professional development.
Identify risks and the potential means to reduce them.
Define alternative strategies to reach employer/funder goals, if possible,
and the implications of each.
Document work so that others can use it. This includes metadata and
program documentation.
Have a Professional Relationship









Hold information confidential unless authorized to release it.
Avoid all conflicts of interest with clients and employers if possible, but
when they are unavoidable, disclose that conflict.
Avoid soliciting, accepting, or offering any gratuity or inappropriate
benefit connected to a potential or existing business or working
relationship.
Accept work reviews as a means to improve performance.
Honor contracts and assigned responsibilities.
Accept decisions of employers and clients, unless they are illegal or
unethical.
Help develop security, backup, retention, recovery, and disposal rules.
Acknowledge and accept rules about the personal use of employer
resources. This includes computers, data, telecommunication equipment,
and other resources.
Strive to resolve differences.
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3.
Be Honest in Representations





III.
State professional qualifications truthfully.
Make honest proposals that allow the work to be completed for the
resources requested.
Deliver an hour’s work for an hour’s pay.
Describe products and services fully.
Be forthcoming about any limitations of data, software, assumptions,
models, methods, and analysis.
Obligations to Colleagues and the Profession
The GIS professional recognizes the value of being part of a community of other
professionals. Together, we support each other and add to the stature of the
field. Therefore, the GIS professional will:
1.
Respect the Work of Others.







2.
Cite the work of others whenever possible and appropriate.
Honor the intellectual property rights of others. This includes their rights
in software and data.
Accept and provide fair critical comments on professional work.
Recognize the limitations of one’s own knowledge and skills and recognize
and use the skills of other professionals as needed. This includes both
those in other disciplines and GIS professionals with deeper skills in
critical sub-areas of the field.
Work respectfully and capably with others in GIS and other disciplines.
Respect existing working relationships between others, including
employer/employee and contractor/client relationships.
Deal honestly and fairly with prospective employees, contractors, and
vendors.
Contribute to the Discipline to the Extent Possible



Publish results so others can learn about them.
Volunteer time to professional educational and organizational efforts:
local, national, or global.
Support individual colleagues in their professional development. Special
attention should be given to underrepresented groups whose diverse
backgrounds will add to the strength of the profession.
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IV.
Obligations to Individuals in Society
The GIS professional recognizes the impact of his or her work on individual
people and will strive to avoid harm to them. Therefore, the GIS professional
will:
1.
Respect Privacy


2.
Protect individual privacy, especially about sensitive information.
Be especially careful with new information discovered about an individual
through GIS-based manipulations (such as geocoding) or the combination
of two or more databases.
Respect Individuals




Encourage individual autonomy. For example, allow individuals to
withhold consent from being added to a database, correct information
about themselves in a database, and remove themselves from a database.
Avoid undue intrusions into the lives of individuals.
Be truthful when disclosing information about an individual.
Treat all individuals equally, without regard to race, gender, or other
personal characteristic not related to the task at hand.
Bibliography
American Institute of Certified Planners. 1991. AICP Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct, http://www.planning.org/ethics/conduct.html.
ASPRS. 2001. Code of Ethics of the American Society for Photogrammetry and
Remote Sensing,
http://www.asprs.org/asprs/membership/certification/appendix_a.html.
Association for Computing Machinery. 1992. ACM Code of Ethics and
Professional Conduct, http://www.acm.org/constitution/code.html.
Craig, William J. 1993. A GIS Code of Ethics: What Can We Learn from Other
Organizations? Journal of the Urban and Regional Information Systems
Association, 5(2): 13-16. See http://www.urisa.org/certification/craigeth.pdf.
Edson, Curtis, Brian Garcia, Jordan Hantman, Nicole Hartz, Hannah Jensen, Jill
Leale, Kelley Lewelling, John Marks, Jeff Maxted, Bruce Moore, Brendan Vierk
Rivera, Anna Weitzel. 2001. “Code of Ethics for GIS Professionals,” paper for IES
400, GIS and Society, Institute for Environmental Studies, University of
Wisconsin-Madison. See
http://www.ersc.wisc.edu/academics/courses/IES400GISandSociety/Code%20o
f%20Ethics/ethics_code1.pdf
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Kidder, Rushworth M. 1995. How Good People Make Tough Choices, New York:
William Morrow and Company, Inc.
Olson, Andrew. 1998. Authoring a Code: Observations on Process and
Organization,
http://www.iit.edu/departments/csep/PublicWWW/codes/coe/Writing_A_Cod
e.html, Center for Study of Ethics in the Professions, Illinois Institute of
Technology.
Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors, 1998. Manual of Practice for
Professional Land Surveyors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
http://www.psls.org/info/manualpractice.htm
Rachels, James. 1999. The Elements of Moral Philosophy, Boston: McGraw-Hill
College.
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