A Royal Geographical Society’s Ask the Geographer podcast about the responsible and ethical use of location data.

In the wide ranging discussion on ethics Specht discussed why the Society has joined the Locus Charter, and how these kinds of frameworks can help support better use of data. Specht also warns though that these kinds of voluntary charters can only go so far, and while they offer a good starting point, there is more work to be done in this area.

Ask the Geographer is the Royal Geographical Society’s award-winning podcast, and aims to bring the latest in geographical research to classrooms from a host of experts. To supplement their free-to-listen podcasts, they also have accompanying learning activities, glossaries of key terms, and further reading available for School Members.

You can listen to this episode below, or on the RGS website.

 

Resources

Doug and colleagues from the University of Westminster have produced some introductory resources to provide some extra guidance and support around ethics and data use for the NEA.

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About
Doug Specht is a Reader in Cultural Geography and Communication, a Chartered Geographer (CGeog. FRGS), and Assistant Head of School in the School of Media and Communication at the University of Westminster.

His research examines how knowledge is constructed and codified through digital and cartographic artefacts, focusing on development issues in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, where he has carried out extensive fieldwork. He also writes and researches on pedagogy, and is author of the Media and Communications Student Study Guide.

He speaks and writes on topics of data ethics, development, education and mapping practices at conferences and invited lectures around the world. He is a member of the editorial board at Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, and the journal Anthropocenes – Human, Inhuman, Posthuman. He is also Chair of the Environmental Network for Central America.