The Role of Ethics, Culture, and Artistry in Scientific Illustration

Science Communication Online: Engaging Experts and Publics on the Internet

“…It is notable that researchers studying scientific visualizations have gone so far as to argue that certain kinds of visual forms operate not only as a part of knowledge-making genres, such as the scientific research article or blog, but as a genres themselves. Ross (2017) writes that "scientific illustrations constitute an identifiable scientific genre, " and he continues, citing Miller's (1984) work on genre, echoing her argument, saying "genre itself is contextually relative because of its dependence on human action" (p. 148). These visuals, instead, act as genres themselves-and potentially as agents for genre change-to construct meaning and reflect values in our assessment of information and data.…”

Audubon's Bird of Washington: unravelling the fraud that launched The birds of America

“…(Cassin 1856: 205) Nevertheless, despite the objections of the Philadelphians, the Bird of Washington myth continued to spread, propelled by its symbolic name. Ross (2017) wrote that 'Audubon's status as a celebrated naturalist and accomplished artist pushed the eagle into the realm of controversy' when in fact it was the other way around: Audubon rode the Bird of Washington to stardom. His apparently fabricated anecdotes were repackaged and elaborated in St. John (1856), one of the first popular biographies to appear after his death.…”

4. (Teaching) Ethics and Technical Communication

“…Intercom Magazine: The Magazine of the Society for Technical Communication, for example, regularly runs an ethics column which offers insights, discussions, and cases on ethics. Past cases include issues of use of inferior materials (Ross, 2013), Facebook use in the workplace (Hockenhull et al, 2013), business startups (Everett, 2014), insurance claims (Gosser, 2015), expediency (O'Neil & Cooney, 2015), edutainment (Lambert, 2016), group work (Grisham, 2016), use of common knowledge (Gehrke, 2016), conflicts of interest (Bippes, 2017), implementation of care ethics in style guides (Karr, 2017), creative messaging (Generaux, 2018), and more. Including even just one of these cases in an extended writing and discussion session in class can be valuable.…”