Government transparency in the U.S?: the ethics, functional literacy, and usability of open geographic government data

Abstract

This presentation reports on interviews conducted with Open Code Orlando Brigade members in regards to public information and geodata. Open Code Orlando Brigade is a volunteer group of coders who strive to make public data accessible for both business and public use. However, the public data which they gain access to is often released in static PDFs or file formats which rely on expensive software to open. Therefore, the members of the Brigade must find work arounds to make public information dynamic and useful for public use. The research reports on the ethics and usability of this open public data