Ethics in Technical Communication provides students and practitioners with a clear introduction to ethics--from Aristotle through the present--and suggests how these accounts can help technical communicators think through the kinds of dilemmas that inevitably arise in their working lives. Markel critiques current scholarship linking ethics and technical communication, then presents a flexible model for ethical decision-making that draws on the values of rights, justice, utility, and care. He then applies the model in examining the technical communicator's obligations in five critical areas: truthtelling, liability, multicultural communication, intellectual property, and codes of conduct. Markel first defines key terms, justifies the examination of ethics and technical communication, surveys the scholarly literature on the subject, and describes some of the basic assumptions underlying a serious study of ethics. Next, he presents concise overviews of Kantian rights and utilitarianism, the transitional ethical theories of the early 20th century, and several strands of contemporary ethical theory, including virtue ethics, the ethic of care, and postmodern ethics. He then explores his own approach, which calls for a fluid, non-hierarchical analysis conducted in an open-, non-coercive environment, as described in contemporary accounts of discourse ethics. This approach is used in the second part of the book, which focuses on truthtelling, liability, multiculturalism, intellectual property, and codes of conduct. In each of these chapters, Markel defines the problem, summarizes and critiques the scholarly literature, presents an approach to thinking about the problem sensitively andrealistically, and concludes with a case and a response to it.

From acclaimed author Michelle Markel and Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet comes this true story of Clara Lemlich, a young Ukrainian immigrant who led the largest strike of women workers in U.S. history. This picture book biography includes a bibliography and an author's note on the garment industry. It follows the plight of immigrants in America in the early 1900s, tackling topics like activism and the U.S. garment industry, with handstitching and fabric incorporated throughout the art.

When Clara arrived in America, she couldn't speak English. She didn't know that young women had to go to work, that they traded an education for long hours of labor, that she was expected to grow up fast.

But that didn't stop Clara. She went to night school, spent hours studying English, and helped support her family by sewing in a shirtwaist factory.

Clara never quit, and she never accepted that girls should be treated poorly and paid little. Fed up with the mistreatment of her fellow laborers, Clara led the largest walkout of women workers the country had seen.

From her short time in America, Clara learned that everyone deserved a fair chance. That you had to stand together and fight for what you wanted. And, most importantly, that you could do anything you put your mind to.

Supports the Common Core State Standards.

"Ethics in Technical Communication" provides students and practitioners with a clear introduction to ethics--from Aristotle through the present--and suggests how these accounts can help technical communicators think through the kinds of dilemmas that inevitably arise in their working lives. Markel critiques current scholarship linking ethics and technical communication, then presents a flexible model for ethical decision-making that draws on the values of rights, justice, utility, and care. He then applies the model in examining the technical communicator's obligations in five critical areas: truthtelling, liability, multicultural communication, intellectual property, and codes of conduct.

Markel first defines key terms, justifies the examination of ethics and technical communication, surveys the scholarly literature on the subject, and describes some of the basic assumptions underlying a serious study of ethics. Next, he presents concise overviews of Kantian rights and utilitarianism, the transitional ethical theories of the early 20th century, and several strands of contemporary ethical theory, including virtue ethics, the ethic of care, and postmodern ethics. He then explores his own approach, which calls for a fluid, non-hierarchical analysis conducted in an open-, non-coercive environment, as described in contemporary accounts of discourse ethics. This approach is used in the second part of the book, which focuses on truthtelling, liability, multiculturalism, intellectual property, and codes of conduct. In each of these chapters, Markel defines the problem, summarizes and critiques the scholarly literature, presents an approach to thinking about the problem sensitively and realistically, and concludes with a case and a response to it.