DD6HW2 Chapter 8

Hasty generalization:  I have witnessed this with an employee that I used to work with. My team would be discussing alcohol and other drug use on campus, and among students, and this person was quick to "blame" problems with alcohol on fraternities and sororities. There had been some students who were from these groups, that had been an issue, at one point, but that does not mean that all fraternity and sorority members fall into this problem area.

Deceptive framing of facts:  I have had friends tell me stories or explain situations, but they omit details. They are not lying, but they are being deceptive because having that additional information may make my opinion on the subject change. I feel like this happens a lot during political season with each candidate portraying only "bits and pieces" leaving citizens to believe something to be true that is not.

MEMORANDUM

To:                   Antonnet Johnson, Technical Writing Instructor 

From:              Christiana Castillo, Campus Health Service

Date:               July 26, 2016

Subject:          Evaluating and Interpreting Information

When interpreting and evaluating health data in the Campus Health department, we need to be sure we are not being bias, or making unjust assumptions. As you know, ethics plays an important role in both Technical Communication and Public Health, and we need to ensure we are evaluating the evidence and portraying data results in a professional and ethical manner. 

A hasty generalization occurred when an employee reviewed data showing different groups on campus and their alcohol consumption. One graph showed an increase in alcohol use among fraternities, and an employee made a follow-up statement that all fraternity members have a problem with alcohol, when that was not the case. 

The deceptive framing of facts can also be an issue. When we collect data from our Health & Wellness Survey, we cannot just pick and choose which results we want to show and which we do not. We may highlight areas we believe are important; however, we cannot deceptively misguide our audience. 

It is important to follow ethical guidelines.  Please refer to the Public Health Code of Ethics, as needed.

Cc:       All employees, Campus Health Service