Conflicts in the Use of Geographic Information

在美国，地理信息技术的使用遍及商业、政府、工业和科学界。 对于使用地理信息系统及其附属数据库的人、实施这种系统的人以及设计下一代空间信息技术的人来说，每天都在发生冲突。 如何平衡相互竞争的利益和解决使用这些技术所涉及的冲突，是社会中许多方面日益面临的问题。 最令人关注的问题领域包括个人信息隐私、地理信息的知识产权、使用地理数据集的责任、公众获取政府地理数据集、图书馆地理信息的公益方面以及政府机构销售地理信息。这项研究涉及一项试点研究，该研究将证明使用和创建地理信息系统的人以及此类系统中包含的主体认为存在冲突的程度。 研究人员将开发和试点基于网络的问卷调查，以确定是否以及在多大程度上的利益和价值选择之间的抽样组的系统开发人员，用户和数据主体在每个主要的问题域不同。如果有证据表明受影响各方之间存在重大差异，研究人员将根据实践中目睹的经验制定冲突情景。 将充分探讨和记录每个主要问题领域内的各种地理信息冲突问题。 从实践中得出的情景和问题将为后续研究奠定方法和实质性的基础，在后续研究中可能会寻求潜在的解决方案。 最后，将确定解决具体冲突的优先选择，并提出指导原则。 在试点期间收集的数据和制定的设想方案，以及在今后研究中制定和探讨的建议原则，将成为地理信息科学界进行广泛道德和伦理讨论的基础。

The use of geographic information technologies is pervasive throughout business, government, industry and the scientific community in the United States. Conflicts are arising on a daily basis for those using geographic information systems and their affiliated databases, for those implementing such systems, and for those designing the next generations of spatial information technologies. Balancing among competing interests and resolving conflicts involved in the use of these technologies are growing problems for numerous parties within society. Among the problem domains of greatest concern are those involving personal information privacy, intellectual property rights in geographic information, liability in the use of geographic data sets, public access to government geographic data sets, public goods aspects of geographic information in libraries, and sales of geographic information by government agencies. This research involves a pilot study that will evidence the extent to which conflicts are perceived to exist by those using and creating geographic information systems and by those who are the subjects contained within such systems. Researchers will develop and pilot web-based questionnaires to determine whether and to what extent interest and value choices differ among sampled groups of system developers, users, and data subjects within each of the major problem domains. Where significant differences are evidenced as existing among affected parties, researchers will develop conflict scenarios patterned after experiences witnessed in practice. The full range of geographic information conflict issues within each of the major problem domains will be fully explored and documented. The scenarios and the problems drawn from practice will set the methodological and substantive stage for follow on research in which potential solutions may be sought. Eventually, preferences for resolving specific conflicts will be determined and guiding principles will be suggested. Gathered data and scenarios developed during the pilot, as well as suggested principles to be developed and explored in future research, will form the foundation for broad-ranging moral and ethical discussions within the geographic information science community.