Ethical Scenarios

Adapted from Bedford/St. Martin's Bits Blog

1. You need an illustration for a pamphlet you are designing. You have saved the perfect image of the Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, but you cannot remember the source and do not know whether the image is free to use under Creative Commons or in the public domain. You decide to use it anyway and hope for the best. Is the choice right?

2. The disposable knives, spoons, and forks that your company manufactures are not recyclable. Though they are made with 10% recycled materials, they go to the landfill, not the recycling bin. A customer has asked on your company Facebook page whether the spoons are eco-friendly, and the social media manager has replied that they are. Has he made the right choice?

3. You meet a refugee family at the Haywood Lane apartments during our Halloween event, and they provide you with their story of fleeing their home country to arrive in the United States. While you were able to understand most of what they were saying, you wonder if it would be okay to fill in the details that weren't communicated to you as clearly as it could have been. In addition, you forgot to obtain a "permission to share" signature from the family even though you have an image you would like to use for your pamphlet. What is your response?

4. In creating a document for NICE, you want to find an image that captures the cultural diversity of immigrants. You find an image from a recent dinner event called Taco Tuesday for Immigrants that works perfectly for your flyer to prospective donors to the organization. This image contains a hispanic family from South America with tacos on the table in front of them and a mariachi band serenading them from behind. Are there any ethical issues you might need to consider before deciding to use this image?