THE GIS PROFESSIONAL ETHICS PROJECT: PRACTICAL ETHICS EDUCATION FOR GIS PROS

GIS professors and GIS professionals are separate but overlapping populations, in the U.S. at least. Both communities care about the moral and ethical implications of geospatial technologies and practices. They tend to express their concerns in different ways, however. Over the past 20 years scholars (particularly those affiliated with the discipline of Geography) have contributed critiques of the instrumental nature of GIS as well as reflective case studies that seek to demonstrate how the technology can be used to promote social justice. During the same period a profession of GIS coalesced; by mid- 2009 over 4,500 individuals had earned certification as GIS Professionals. Requirements for professional certification in the U.S. include practitioners' commitment to comply with a formal Code of Ethics and Rules of Conduct. Meanwhile, U.S. higher education institutions have rushed to develop practice-oriented certificate and degree programs in