Global Positioning System

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the development, implementation and availability to civilian use of the global positioning system (or commonly known as the GPS). The paper discusses the history of the GPS from the days of the Cold War. It then discusses the negative aspects of having this technology available, but concludes that technology can be used for good or bad and that the technology itself is not necessarily a problem.

From the Paper:

"Again, whatever technology brings, be it the GPS or another one that would come our way in the next few years or the next few decades, it is up to us either individually or collectively to determine its use. What ever we hold, it could be use for good or for evil. Take for example the ongoing debate on guns and gun control. Those against radical gun control will give compelling reasons why only law enforcement and military personnel should be allowed to carry guns. But if you look at the gun lobbyists, they, too have logical reasons on why we should have "the right to bear arms" not only in terms of the constitutional rights but in moral and ethical aspects as well. Much as the debate will never stop and there would always be two or more schools of thoughts on matters, this is the thing that makes technology more interesting, not just the development, manufacturing and the evolution of the technology, but the application people would put them to."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bellis, Mary. 2006. "History of the global positioning system - GPS." http://inventors.about.com / od/gstartinventions/a/gps.htm (accessed April 27, 2006).
• Chadha, Kanwar. 1998. "TA 1.3: The global positioning system: challenges in bringing GPS to mainstream consumers." Computer Network Laboratory, Department of Computer and Information Science, National Chiao-Tung University. http://netlab18.cis.nctu.edu.tw/html/ paper/2001_11_06/Challenges%20in%20bringing%20GPS%20to%20Mainstream%20Consumers.pdf (accessed April 27, 2006).
• Dobson, Jerome E. 2000. "The 'G' in GIS: what are the ethical limits of GIS?" GeoWorld 13(5). http://www.geoplace.com/gw/2000/0500/0500g.asp (accessed April 27, 2006).
• Dobson, Jerome E. and Peter F. Fisher. 2005. "Geoslavery: a new ethical dilemma for geographic information science." University Consortium for GIS: Leesburg, Virginia. http://www.ucgis.org/priorities/research/2002researchPDF/shortterm/c_social_implications.pdf (accessed April 27, 2006).
• Institute of Physics. 2006. "Curiosity-driven research GPS - global positioning system." IOP Publishing Limited: London, U.K. http://policy.iop.org/Policy/GPS-1.pdf (accessed April 27, 2006).

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