In Sam Dragga’s (1996) article, “‘Is This Ethical?’ A Survey of Opinion on Principles and Practices of Document Design” he determined that the “ability to design information gives the technical communicator a new rhetorical power and imposes new ethical obligations on using that power” (p. 256). Dragga supported the appearance of power in document design by surveying five hundred technical communicators and five hundred technical communication teachers to discover their opinion of the ethics of seven document design cases, he also asked the reader to answer seven survey questions to better understand the argument, showcased the specific characteristics of the participants, and showed an apparent consensus in the data. Dragga’s purpose was to propose that “Periodic self-examination is thus important as a way of orienting ourselves again as professionals and reaffirming the principles of ethical communication. Quite possibly the most ethical thing we can do as a profession is to nourish the ongoing discussion of ethical issues” (p. 264). Dragga’s intended audience was teachers of technical writing and professional communicators who might need a quick reminder of what’s considered ethical and how to examine their own practices. Dragga formatted his argument in an effective and logical way that clearly illustrated his point and invited the reader to be an active participant in his survey on ethics.
Tag: Ethics
Katz, S. B. (1992). The ethic of expediency: classical rhetoric, technology, and the holocaust. College English, 54(3), (pp. 255-275).
In Steven B. Katz’s (1992) article, “The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology, and the Holocaust” he illustrated that “much of Hitler’s ethical and political program is also directly or indirectly based on the ethic of expediency first treated by Aristotle, and is thus amenable to analysis from an Aristotelian point of view” (p. 259). Katz analyzed the ethical problem in rhetoric, the possibility of being too technical and too logical, utilized Aristotle’s theory on rhetoric to support his claims, the deliberative discourse of the holocaust memo was based on the ethic of expediency, the issue of objectivity in technical writing, the majority of technical communication is deliberative, the appearance of Hitler’s attempt to be ethical in his technical execution of his program, the use of science and technology as a basis for a powerful ethical argument, the technological ethos used to create a powerful Nazi rhetoric of propaganda, and the final problem of the expediency in technological capitalism. Katz’s purpose was to propose the solution of “recognizing the essentially ethical character of all rhetoric, including our writing theory, pedagogy, and practice, and the role that expediency plays in rhetoric” (p. 272). Katz’s intended audience was individuals who practice in writing theory and instructors that may not be aware of their ethical responsibility in technical communication. Katz demonstrated a clear understanding of both Aristotle’s theories and Hitler’s programs, but he seemed to be digging himself into an ethical hole throughout the article.
Dombrowski, P. M. (2007). The evolving face of ethics in technical and professional communication: challenger to Columbia. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 50(4), (pp. 306-319).
In Paul M. Dombrowski’s (2007) article, “The Evolving Face of Ethics in Technical and Professional Communication: Challenger to Columbia” he deliberated “not only with ethics with respect to technical, scientific, and professional communication, but also with a broader scope to include such areas as environmental ethics, feminist ethics, and cultural ethics” (p. 307). Dombrowski evaluated the historical progression of ethics, the broadening of ethics relating to pedagogy, the critical theory surrounding ethical writing, feminist and gender issues, the ethics within environmental and visual issues, the parallels and differences between the Challenger and Columbia reports, and the normalization of deviance. Dombrowski’s purpose was to demonstrate that “Part of being human is having a sense of responsibility for what we do” (p. 317). Dombrowski’s intended audience was technical writers of influential reports responsible for upholding ethical standards. Dombrowski skillfully set up the ethical background to support the comparison of the Challenger and the Columbia reports.
Colton, J. S. & Walton, R. (2015). Disability as insight into social justice pedagogy in technical communication. The Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy 8, (pp. 1-13).
In Jared S. Colton and Rebecca Walton’s (2015) article “Disability as Insight into Social Justice Pedagogy in Technical Communication,” they proposed that, “considerations of disability can provide insight into the relevance of social justice to technical communication practice” (p. 1). Colton and Walton analyzed the definition of social justice, reviewed the various aspects of social action (e.g., service learning, community-based research, action/activist research, civic engagement), the establishment of an ethical framework to insight social justice, the individualistic aspect of the virtue of ethics, studied three designed undergraduate courses with various methods for collecting data about the relationship between social justice and technical communication, discovered an emerging pattern of the students’ need and ability to engage in inclusive and accessible communication design, and the students’ awareness of the connections between social justice and technical communication. Colton and Walton’s purpose was to propose the strategy of “introducing issues of social justice to students by initially pointing their attention to disability and its immediate and more accessible exigency to communication design” (p. 8). Colton and Walton’s intended audience was instructors wishing to implement social justice practices with communication design and students becoming more aware of social justice in the classroom. Colton and Walton demonstrated a clear understanding of the topic they were arguing and approached their study in an ethical way that benefited both the instructors and the students.
ENG 591 Tech. Comm. 