Technical Writing

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

SoundCloud Link: 4 Peas in a Pod

@chiggylodha @canenblr @barco96 

@theuncannyprofessoro

#instructionalpodcast #swamptechwriting

[megstechwritingblog]

Dr. Dolittle - Veterinarian

Sent: July 17, 2001 To: [email protected] Subject: Logging Negotiations

Dear Mr. Potter,

I am writing this email to discuss your plans to cut down the forest. I know you and I have had our differences, but I really need you to hear me out. This forest is important for many different species of animals. If you cut it down, they will not have a place to live. As you know, one of these species is the endangered Pacific Western bear.  Now, if you read the Endangered Species Act, you would know that it is illegal to destroy the habitat of an endangered species.  Not only is it illegal, but it is also unethical.  Once that species is gone, we cannot bring it back, so it is important that we protect it. Currently, I am working on getting two of the resident bears to breed in order to help save their species. If you just give me the time, I can guarantee you I will get it done.   There are plenty of other ways to make money for your logging companies. In fact, my hospitals and I are willing to pay you if you agree to leave the forest completely alone. If you still want to cut down the forest, then we can negotiate how much land you can take. Hopefully you will understand that these animals have feelings too and we can come to an agreement. You can contact me at [phone] or reply to this email at [email protected].

John Dolittle, Veterinarian Dolittle Animal Hospital [email protected] [phone]

The character I chose is Dr. John Dolittle, a man who works as both a human doctor and a veterinarian.  He also has the ability to talk to animals. I chose him because I plan on becoming a veterinarian in the future and he values saving forests from being cut down. I am engaging with the course themes by writing a persuasive email to the owner of two logging companies.  Persuasive writing was one of the topics in our textbook and we also went over writing emails in class.

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

Great choice of character and very well structured professional email. You sounded both professional and persuasive throughout the email. You included alternatives for Mr. Potter to make money and included further back up statements to back up why he should not cut down the forest. Great read!

[bribinion-blog]

Dr. Spencer Reid

In the television show, Criminal Minds, Dr. Spencer Reid plays a Supervisory Special Agent with the BAU. Dr. Reid is a socially awkward, genius. He is able to remember key historical facts and details that help his team analyze symbolic clues. For example, in “Aftermath”, Reid seems to be the only team member who notices Elle’s odd behavior, and confronts her; he gets her to open up to him but it does not stop her from spiraling out of control. Dr. Reid’s life and career is far from normal. From his action packed career to his mentally ill mother, Reid has very eventful days. This is a poem written from Dr. Reid’s perspective:

My name is Dr. Spencer Reid,

I do good deeds for those in need.

I am very intelligent, have three Ph.D.’s,

you probably didn’t know that about me.

But my life is quite unusual,

The crime senses I see are very visual.

I analyze the crime scene and people’s mind,

Sometimes the unsub has DNA and clues that they leave behind.

I enjoy reading all types of books,

They help me catch the crooks.

As you can tell my career is far from normal,

My personal life is even more abnormal.

I can be awkward at times,

I have trouble fitting in with the society norms oftentimes.

My mother is schizophrenic,

I am worried because I was told it is genetic.

I want to help her get better,

There are many medications that I have to get her.

The medication doesn’t seem to help her at all,

Thinking of her condition makes me sad and want to bawl.

All in all my life may not be perfect,

But I would never trade it.

A Supervisory Special Agent has many ethical rules that they must follow. Ethical dilemmas is an issue in the professional field that we have discussed. Dr. Reid and his team have been in numerous ethical dilemmas throughout the seasons. It is important to deal with ethical dilemmas in a professional way.  

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

Really loved reading through your poem, it flowed so well! You made a great point that although there are are ethical rules to follow as a Supervisory Special Agent, ethical dilemmas will still occur in the work field. In the event that there is an ethical issue, like you said, it is important to follow a professional manner of dealing with them. Great choice of film character!

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

Barry B. Benson

Poem:

I love to make honey,

I’m not in it for the money.

You humans don't treat us right,

And for that I had to fight.

I fought to get it all our honey back,

Not realizing I put the ecosystem under attack.

Now I know if we all work together,

We'll make the ecosystem much better.

I chose the character Barry B. Benson from The Bee Movie, because as a Food and Resource Economics major it was quite difficult to chose a film character that embodies this. However, Barry along with his film cover a lot of the issues that occur in not only the Food and Resource Economics industry, but also agricultural issues which fall under my college the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Barry was so infuriated when he first found out that humans are taking all of the honey from bees to resell at local grocery stores and super markets. He spent his time throughout the movie with Vanessa Bloome, a local florist, and together they fought to return all honey back to the bees. However, they did not predetermine the dangers it would cause to the ecosystem. As they took all the honey, bees no longer needed to pollinate flowers and all the plants and fruits no longer grew. This goes to show the importance that we play in agriculture. By using these natural resources as human we are able to keep the ecosystem going. However, we must use them in moderation any surplus or shortage of resources can cause short run or long run problems in the future. From an economist point of view, it is easy to take as many resources needed from the quantity demanded from consumers. However, this movie sends an important message that bees are endangered so we must take into account ecofriendly methods of breeding bees and acquiring the honey in the most humane possible way. One of the big themes we covered in class is ethical dilemmas. I chose Barry B. Benson because I think he is one of the greatest film characters to portray environmental ethical issues that us as humans can cause. He really puts us in the eyes of a small creature and goes to show what we do to them, such as killing bees through pollution or acquiring their honey and then killing them with toxic sprays.

[gittastuff-blog]

MRIs Scamming the Not-so Sick

How many times have you been referred to receive an MRI in your life? You may have been in a mild car accident once and went to the doctor for some slight neck pain and they immediately tell you to get an MRI scan, even though you most likely just have slight ship lash. Though the invention of the MRI has saved thousands of lives, it has also filled the pockets of doctors who prescribe their patients to use it. This can easily lead to a bias in doctors who want to make a little cash with patients that have nothing wrong with them. 

 Back in 1990, the Government Accountability Office found that Florida doctors ordered 3x as many MRIs, 2x as many CTs and 5x as many ultrasounds if they owed a piece of imaging service. Even though Congress has been attempting to cut down on these self-refferals, claiming they promote doctors to order unnecessary test and inflate health care costs, yet there are loopholes. Doctors are still able to refer patients to scanners/MRIs in their own building, and since time-shares are allowed, doctors are able to send patients during hours they own the machine.

 Looking at doctors who do not have any skin in the game, patients who they prescribe for an MRI only have 23% outcomes with no abnormalities compared to doctors who do receive profit have 42% patients with no abnormalities. This is an issues that must be made aware to the public as these costs are driving up the cost of healthcare and the bills of patients who may not

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

This issue is something that almost angers me after reading through it. It is unfortunate, that often people with higher professions can take advantage of others for the sake of gaining more money. The health care system should ensure that all members are seeking to provide the best care possible rather than seeing what money they can get out of it. It is unfair to those who do not know what may or may not be better for them. Especially since any patients first instinct would be to trust the doctor’s recommendations. 

[state-of-being-happy-and-health]

Dieting vs. Weight Loss

If you have ever watched the Food Network channel on television you have heard about all of the different weight loss, diet, and exercise options that will help you lose weight. These topics are also in almost every women’s magazine and in a lot of national newspapers. Each one has a different way for you to slim your waist or drop a few dress sizes for a low one-time payment. However, none of these reports or advertisements ever talk about ensuring you are dieting healthy, they are only concerned with weight loss.

We should be making sure that people are healthy and eating the right foods instead of being worried about their waist size or weight. If a person has a healthy blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol, then they should consider themselves a healthy person regardless of their weight. People should be advised to avoid eating foods like unprocessed foods, natural grains that are unrefined, and low amounts of sugar. People should be encouraged to eat foods like fruits, lots of vegetables, and whole foods.

The focus of dieting needs to be shifted from weight loss to health. Dieting should be an activity that is done to ensure one’s health, not to be done in order to drop a few pounds. Also, most of the time, if person diets by eating health and does not limit their calories, the person will also drop some weight as a result. Overall, health should be the major consideration when considering a diet, not how much weight they could lose doing it.

I believe weight loss and dieting is very overreported in the field of medicine and health. They issue I saw in most new reports is that the focus around dieting is weight loss, when I believe the focus should be health. My story counteracts this issue by stating the issue and explaining that health should be the major focus instead. I also explains how weight loss can be a result of dieting for health.

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

I have seen countless reports on dieting and weight-loss! From a personal perspective I have seen this reported on almost all media, including Facebook, commercials and even smart phone applications. I agree that these issues are reported more often than general health ever is. The ultimate goal should not be to lose all that weight, specially not in an unhealthy manner that can cause further problems. We should be focusing on the general health of the public instead. You brought light to a very important issue in our country! 

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

Right to Know, GMO!

In the food industry, genetically modified organisms or GMO labeling has always been a strong topic at hand. Considering many of us want to be informed about exactly what it is that we are putting in our bodies, I think it is essential for food companies to provide this information. Many companies will attempt to provide the vaguest descriptions which do not help the consumer, rather it makes it more difficult if the consumer is someone who counts on these labels for his or her diet (vegan, vegetarian or for religious diets).

Living in the United States most of the foods that are produced are for the most part processed foods which is why the public has been requesting for the banning of GMOs or at least more descriptive labeling. However, there are those that are against genetically modified labeling simply claiming that others are not educated enough on the science of genetically modified products and foods. Furthermore, since there are no laws under the the passage of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act, corporations are not legally required to label anything that has been genetically modified.

Since this issue is still underreported, there have been many pro-labeling organizations that are attempting to bring light to this situation. Since there are still no laws to protect those that desire GMO labeling in their foods, it is still an ongoing battle between those who want labeling and those who do not. Many countries have already banned any foods containing anything that was genetically modified; furthermore, some countries legally require GMO labeling on all products. Since the issues are complex, it's safe to say that genetically modified food labeling issues will be a consistent source of debate into the foreseeable future.

[bribinion-blog]

Expensive Pharmaceuticals

I choose to comment on the fact that adults and elders pay a large amount of money for their prescriptions and over-the-counter pills because it is monopolistic and inhumane. The meme shows how pharmaceutical companies overprice prescriptions that are beneficial for many people. Many adults and elders believe that their insurance will cover most, if not all of their cost for their prescriptions. However, they get blind-sided by how much they have to pay. This has been a steadily growing issue within the medical and pharmaceutical fields. Many people take prescriptions for their pain and health problems. They have been prescribed the pills because it can help improve their health conditions, but the price limits many people can afford it. In the recent years, the costs of the prescriptions have increased tremendously. For example, Sovaldi which cures Hepatitis C is currently priced at $1,000 per 400- mg pill, despite its 90% cure rate. The expensive pricing helps the pharmaceutical company but it drastically hurts the elderly who need the pills to help improve their health conditions. It has been found that people over sixty- five years old spend more than three percent of their income on prescription drugs. The percent is even higher even considering over- the- counter prescriptions. Countless adults and elderly people have been put in predicaments where they have to decide if they really need the medication because they can’t afford it. When people can’t afford life- saving medication, they do not get to express their important unalienable rights- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

You made a great point that these prescriptions are often overpriced. When thinking about it it’s quite saddening that some can’t afford prescriptions or over-the-counter pills, especially when they rely on them for their health. The statistic you included about the Hepatitis  C pill honestly baffled me! Your post was very informative and it highlighted the issues of overprice pharmaceuticals and lack of unalienable rights. 

[state-of-being-happy-and-health]

Are our medications worth it?

I chose to make a meme of the “not sure” guy to represent how people may not be educated about the prescriptions that their doctors prescribe them. In today’s society, whenever we get sick, feel anxiety, can not perform sexually, or have basically any medical issues at all we go to the doctors. Sometimes the doctor will give advice like drink more water or reduce your stress, but other times they will write you a prescription to help fix the problem. Although many times these prescriptions are helpful, this is not always the case.

Regardless of whether a medicine helps a person or not, there are always side effects that come along with them. For example, many common side effects of medications are headache, drowsiness, and irritation. These are side effects common with many medications but are worth the risk to most people because they help us with whatever illness we are taking them for. However, there are other side effects less common like heart attack, stroke, suicidal thoughts, and even death. These side effects are less acceptable to people since they are more serious, but people still decide to take medications that have these risks.

These risks are always made aware to the patient taking them, but I do not believe that they always fully understand what they are agreeing to. I believe that most patients listen to their doctor or the television commercial ramble on about side effects and they say okay when they finally stop talking. I think that this should change in our society because it is dangerous.

Therefore, I chose to make this meme because I wanted to make an image describing how people risk their lives every day by taking medications that may harm them. Additionally, I wanted to show what people should be doing when considering taking a medication. Patients should be wondering if the drug they take is worth the risk they are taking with the side effects.

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

This was the perfect meme to represent the way people who are not as aware of what elements can be within certain prescriptions. I think that a lot of people have a high dependency on what their doctor prescribes, so they believe whatever he or she prescribes them will automatically be beneficial to them while disregarding or not taking into account the side effects. I think this brings light to the issue that often patients don’t take into consideration the harm that some prescriptions could cause. 

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

As a food and resource economics major, most of the debates that we take a look at are based on food pricing, consumer behavior and the allocation of food. We take into consideration that, like in all other businesses, there is a certain amount of supply coming from companies and a demand from consumers. 

In the past few years, prices for organic food have risen, while fast food chains keep lowering their prices and increasing the number of franchises. In some cases, people may think the solution to fixing issues in America, such as obesity, is just by lowering the food prices of “healthier alternatives”. However, as any economist would say, there is much more to it than just that. Considering the physical work, time and resources it takes to produce and manufacture organic food or fresh food, the resulting price will be higher than that of frozen "beef" patties and other fast food elements. While this does seem like a decent solution, fast food restaurant franchises have taken over a huge part of the food industry already and it would take some time to modify this issue as these franchises don’t want higher expenses. 

I chose this meme because it reminded me of a friend that was angry about this topic as well. She was wondering how obesity rates would ever decrease if we continue to raise prices for ‘healthier’ alternatives and keep opening more fast food restaurants. The man in the meme is angry and calling out a contradictory point. In this case how do you expect obesity to end if healthy food is basically getting more and more expensive. He is representing all those that are bothered by this situation, but are not aware of all the economics and food allocations that play a role in this.

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

FEATURES OF AN IPHONE 8

The iPhone 8 is a sleek and modern all-glass smartphone with some of the world’s greatest mobile device features. It has a minimalistic design which allows it to differ from countless other mobile devices on the market. The term smartphone originated from the 1980’s as telephone enhanced with computer technology. It is now defined as a mobile phone that performs many of the functions of a computer, typically having a touchscreen interface, Internet access, and an operating system capable of running downloaded apps. Compared to older and similar versions such as the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, the iPhone 8’s new features go beyond those expectations.

In this description, I will explain the basic features of an iPhone 8: Touch Screen & All Glass Cover, Home Button, Charging Port and Cameras. 

iPhone 8’s Touch Screen & All Glass Cover

The iPhone 8’s 5.5” Retina HD Display along with an all glass cover gives the iPhone 8 an impeccable look and sleek touch. The all glass display is not just for the looks and the touch screen. It allows the iPhone 8 to resist water and dust and enables easy wireless charging. The Retina HD Display comes with True Tone Technology that automatically adjusts white balance to match the light around the user (Apple). The use of this True Tone Technology improves the iPhone 8’s displays for better viewing in any kind of surroundings. In addition, the color variety is so diverse it makes the images come to life at the palm of one’s hand. One can also purchase an enlarged version of this iPhone, the iPhone 8 Plus which gives an ever greater surface are of display.

iPhone 8’s Home Button

The sensitivity of the iPhone 8’s Home Button allows it to instantly detect the presence of the user’s fingertip. With the first simple press of the button one can unlock this device and pressing it 3 times allows for different commands, which one as a user can set up manually. Some of these commands include “Grayscale”, which changes the display to black and white to conserve battery or “Accessibility Touch” which serves as a tool on the screen for quick commands such as ‘Lock’, ‘Mute’, ‘Notifications’ and more. The home button can also detect the user’s finger print once it has been added to the iPhone’s Security Settings. By adding the finger print, the user can then complete quick ‘Touch ID’ commands such as locking or unlocking the iPhone, installing applications or even completing purchases within iTunes and other ‘Apple Pay’ compatible sources.

iPhone 8’s Charging Port

The iPhone 8’s Charging Port is located in the center bottom of the device as shown in Figure 2. This iPhone provides rapid charging allowing a 50% battery charge in just 30 minutes (Digital Trends). However, it doesn’t only have to be charged via this port. The all glass cover allows for fast wireless charging. This charger port also serves as a medium between the iPhone and a laptop. Simply connect a USB cord to a laptop and the charging port and the iPhone and it now serves as a link between devices. This will allow the user to download or upload music, applications, photos and other forms of media from or to the iPhone. The charging port can also be used as an auxiliary to play music or sounds as well as the main earphone port.

iPhone 8’s Cameras

A 12 mega-pixel main shooter along with fast sensors allows the iPhone 8 Camera to capture incredible lighting and astonishing photographs. The wide‑angle and telephoto lenses on iPhone 8 Plus, which is another more enlarged version of the iPhone 8, enables optical zoom, as well as digital zoom of up to 10x for photos and 6x for videos. With a simple tap on the touch screen or clicking the “Volume Up” Button as shown in Figure 3, one can capture a “studio-lighting” style portrait using “Portrait Mode” and “Studio Light” effects or captivating HD videos using the “Video Mode”. Additionally, the iPhone 8 comes with a 7 mega-pixel camera in the front which allows the user to take front facing images and for features such as FaceTime to make video calls to other iPhone users.

There is a very promising future for this smart phone as it provides some of the newest high-tech features that are a necessity to the tech-savy population of this generation!

[megstechwritingblog]

UF Exotic Animal Club

Platform: Facebook

Handle: UFExoticAnimalClub

The UF Exotic Animal Club is a great way for students who love animals and wildlife to get involved on campus.  The UF Exotic Animal Club’s Facebook page makes meeting dates/times and other opportunities readily available for students.  The page also uses visuals to grab a reader’s attention and encourages people to get involved in the club.

On the left side of the Facebook page, there are links that direct students to information about the club, its members, photos, events and more.  When you click on the event tab, you can see all the meetings, social events, and service events.  The calendar makes finding event dates incredibly simple.  The club officers will also post reminders about meeting dates in case people forget.  The individual event pages give students information about event times, locations, and a synopsis about what the event is about.  The event summary is short and only gives the information the students need to know about the event so they don’t get bored.  The event pages also include a funny picture to get students interested in going to the event.

The Facebook page has many other ways that students can get involved with the club apart from the events themselves.  There are frequent polls which allow members to choose what event dates and times work best for their schedule.  This increases member participation and helps students feel like they have an impact on the club itself.  There are posts that link students to outside information that might interest them.  For example, one of the club officers made a post about Ellen Degeneres’ Wildlife Fund T-shirts and included a link to the webpage, which would help raise money for the conservation of endangered gorillas.  In addition, the club also allows some students to post their own information if they find something exciting related to exotic animals or even if they have a question about college in general.

The UF Exotic Animal Club’s Facebook page is a great platform to find out more about the club and to get involved.  

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

This club sounds so cool! I had never heard of it before but looking at the UF Exotic Animal Club Facebook account, it was pretty easy to navigate. I like how much they engage with club members through the polls and event pages. I agree that writing concise amount of text in the event pages and including a funny graphic is a great way to captivate the member’s attention! It’s a simple platform that provides quick information to its members. 

[adamhochberger-deactivated20210]

Facebook: UF ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) 

Main website: ufacm.xyz/

The University of Florida chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery provides a meaningful outlet for resources that allow people of all backgrounds to learn about and practice programming in a friendly environment.

An environment like the UF ACM club is something that is not often portrayed in the computer science field; a friendly and social space that is accommodating of new learners and willing to answer questions that they have. On their website, there is a tab for special interest groups, or SIGS, that houses different fields that people might have interest in like artificial intelligence or virtual reality, however, most notably, there is a group for first-time programmers at the University of Florida. All of the group links on this section redirect back to corresponding open Facebook groups within the University of Florida page which allows integration between events on Facebook and resources from the website. In tandem, these pages offer a great tool for informing people interested in this field of study that it can be accessible to anyone and that the community is active.

Without the proper integration of Facebook events, the website would be the only location to keep information about upcoming events in the club, which would likely prevent outsiders from knowing any details. The proper usage of Facebook events provides a more friendly means of promoting club information and getting many kinds of people interested in occasions like hack-a-thons, guest speaker presentations, or even learning sessions. This interaction emphasizes the social nature of the club and how important it is for anyone visiting to feel welcome in the atmosphere they provide.

The Association of Computing Machinery chapter is a great example of how social media can emphasize a message through both the words on a page and in the actions they take to provide a welcoming atmosphere to anyone that visits. They offer the perfect balance between having resources for experience people already in the club and information from newcomers who are curious about the computer science field could have for them.

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

Hey Adam, I totally agree that The University of Florida chapter of the Association of Computing Machinery’s Facebook page does a great job at engaging more people and getting them to know more about events. I hadn’t visited this page before but after looking at it I see how it would be very easy for newcomers to navigate. They made a great use of graphics and event pages like you mentioned. 

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

Platform: Twitter 

Handle: @UFCALS 

The twitter account run by the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences department has nearly 4,500 followers and 6,500 tweets. It serves as a platform to update students, professors, alumni and all those interested on current events related to the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences as well as other main school events. 

Posts are made on a day-to-day basis, both text and graphics. Since the text per post is limited to 140 characters per tweet, all posts are concise and straightforward. Posts that are indicated to show more information often have either an informational graphic or video attached with news, facts, congratulatory remarks, and more. 

The account also makes use of hashtags such as #UFAnsci for Animal Science related tweets, #UFABE for UF Agricultural and Biological Engineering, #UFAEEO for UF Field Ecology of Aquatic Organisms and a variety of others. These hashtags allow the reader to navigate easier through their platform as it allows them to narrow down the tweets if they are looking for specific information.

UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences’ twitter account also comments back and retweets tweets from other platforms such as other UF Clubs or organizations that relay or contain relatable and important information. All posts appear in chronological order of when the account holder; in this case UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences; posts, quotes or retweets a tweet.

In summary, this site does an impressive job of keeping students, professors and those other interested, updated on current events and relaying both important information and interesting facts. With the use of hashtags and concise text, a student could find it easy to navigate through the substantial amount of information that the account holds. It serves as a perfect platform for students to use, as students are usually “on-the-go” and this site can be easily viewed through a mobile application on almost any smart phone or tablet. One does not even have to have a twitter account to access this information, it is just quick access information and quite simple to use.

[itsanashakblog-blog]

Grey’s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 13

Episode: “Stairway To Heaven” 

In this episode, there were two patients, one little boy, Jackson, in need of a liver and one serial killer, William, who desperately needed surgery and he also happened to have a liver that was the perfect match for Jackson. Some of the doctors were willing to let William die because he is sentenced to die in five days.

Dr. Yang discovers what Dr. Grey’s intentions are and will not allow her to let William die. After William realizes he actually does not want to die, Dr. Yang pages the neurosurgeon and gets the patient immediately into surgery. While this is going on, Jackson’s health is deteriorating fast unless he gets a liver soon. While his mom is consoling him, his doctor walks into the operating room where William is being operated on and requests the doctor to let this man die, but after carefully thinking about what she was asking she realizes she is wrong and lets the surgery go on. 

Meanwhile, Jackson starts to “code” and has to be rushed into surgery. William ends up making it through his surgery asks Dr. Grey to be at his execution. Jackson ends up getting a liver and makes it through the surgery. Dr. Grey ends up going to William’s execution and finally realizes she was ethically wrong for wanting William to die. 

I believe this was a very complex ethical situation because who are we to decide who gets to live and die. From a utilitarian perspective, letting William die so Jackson could have the organs he needed would bring “the greatest good for the greatest number of people,” but from an ethical standpoint, it was wrong for the doctors to save one life by taking someone else’s, no matter who they are. 

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

I remember watching this episode and I could not believe the circumstances at hand; I don’t think any one would ever want to be in Dr. Grey’s position at that point. Looking at it from an ethical standpoint, purposely taking anyone’s life is morally and ethically wrong under any circumstances. It was difficult for Dr. Grey to want William to die, but at the same time he knew it was for Jackson’s sake. If it wasn’t for Dr. Yang it is possible that Dr. Grey would’ve gone through with letting William die and saving Jackson, which is socially and personally unethical. 

[chintyleruf-blog]

Shameless S6 E12

Episode: “Familia Supra Gallegorious Omnia!”

In this episode, Ian Gallagher is put into an ethical dilemma. In the previous episode, Ian’s EMT captain, Rita, found out that he lied on his job application, and promptly fired him from the job because lying on the application was against the company’s policy. But in this episode, Ian decides to make a stand and fight to get his job back.

Ian suffers from bipolar disorder, which is a mental illness that causes huge swings in the personality of the person. Ian lied about not having a history of mental illness on his application because he knew that it would be hopeless for him if he told the truth, even though he received perfect scores on both the verbal and written EMT tests. He knew that although he was technically fired for lying on the application, he was really let go because of his disorder.

It is when Ian goes back to fight for his job that professional ethics are brought into play. Ian provided a very strong case to Rita that he should be able to work there because people with other handicaps, such as HIV or a physical handicap, are able to. Ultimately, Rita does allow Ian to return to work with the promise that if any of the other EMT’s think he is acting strange, that he will go home immediately. In the case of this episode, I think professional ethics are challenged. They are challenged because while professional ethics does call for the termination of Ian’s job due to the dishonesty on his application, he had all other necessary requirements and qualifications to work as an EMT as well as being properly medicated for his disorder.

Personally, I believe that Ian should still not have been allowed to come back to work. There are laws in place to prevent people with mental illness from working certain jobs because of their unpredictability. Professional ethics are put in place to maintain professionalism, equality, and safety workplace.

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

I remember watching this episode of Shameless and siding with Ian because I felt bad for him after everything he had already been through. However, looking at it now it is important to take a step back and look at the ethical issues at hand. It is clear that Ian has a bipolar disorder and although there are other handicaps, his condition is mentally unpredictable. With a job like EMT, it is crucial that they are able to provide their undivided attention and in one of Ian’s bipolar episodes that would not be possible. Lying in his application and lying to Rita were both unethical and after looking at this review again, it is clear Ian should not have gotten that position. 

[ferncamachoblog-blog]

Orange is the New Black “We Have Manners. We’re Polite” Season 2 Episode 13