Quick Facts
- Instructor: David DiBiase
- Course Structure: Online, 10-12 hours a week for 10 weeks
Overview
Prepares current and aspiring professionals to recognize, analyze and address legal and ethical issues in the GIS&T (geospatial) field. GEOG 581 is for students who are concerned about the ethical implications and social impacts of geospatial technologies and methods. It traces the roots of Spatial Data Science Ethics in moral philosophy, professional ethics frameworks, and critical studies in the geospatial field. Students analyze non-trivial ethical case studies in which right and wrong actions are not clear-cut. They compare and critique relevant legal and policy issues in the U.S. and abroad. They evaluate the organizational ethics of firms and agencies (including current or potential employers) that provide spatial data science products and services, and they create and refine a proposed “ethics of digital care” for leading balanced digital lives. Finally, they develop a research Term Project to conceptualize and interrogate ethical issues related to their own research work. Course activities include readings, case study analyses, bi-weekly presentations, class discussions, and scholarly Term Project written reports.
Learn more about GEOG 581, Spatial Data Science Ethics (2 min, 40 sec)
Want to join us? Students who register for this Penn State course gain access to assignments and instructor feedback and earn academic credit. For more information, visit Penn State's Online Geospatial Education Program website. Official course descriptions and curricular details can be reviewed in the University Bulletin.