Site: www.unionfacts.com Center for Union Facts
1. Evaluate content of site. This site is very eye catching. It has a moving billboard type banner with two photos, and headlines with links. At first I thought this was a pro-union site because it has links to learn more about Congressional bills and understanding employee rights. Of the two photos with people in them, both photos are of Asian people. The first are Koreans, the former leader and his son, and the second is not identified. The first photo is to say that American Unions are like North Korea. Videos of the organization’s TV ads are on the front page. I read everything more carefully (the small print) and realized this seems more like an anti-union organization. They do not support the teacher’s union. They accuse labor leaders of corruption and anti-worker activities. Their main target seems to be labor leaders. I’m not sure they have proved their arguments with good references.
Useful to the general public? Yes, in some ways. The menu to the different labor unions brings up information on each union like the address, number of members, type of benefits and number of dollars in assets. They also have a webpage for listing the strikes that are ongoing right now. This page gives the Employer/Location, Union, number of days of the strike and number of workers on strike.
2 Where in American Government website would site fit? The US Dept. of Labor’s e-laws-Employment guide at http://www.dol.gov/compliance/guide/index.htm and Office of Compliance Assistance Policy “Help Navigating DOL Laws and Regulations http://www.dol.gov/compliance/. For users these would be two government sites where the facts on www.unionfacts.com could be compared to the laws and regulations.
3. Evaluate Ease of use. The Home page is easy to read and divided into easy to identify sections. The information on the site needs to be studied to understand what the underlying message is because there isn’t much general support for unions here that I could find.
Site: www.democrats.org Democrats: Change that matters
1. Evaluate content of site. This site is running President Obama against Mitt Romney in the Presidential election that is coming up. A big moving billboard type headline runs all the way across the page. You can click to find videos showing Romney’s gaffes and the way Romney would deal with women’s issues. For women’s history month there are links to stories about women’s rights and to protecting the early vote. The link to protecting the vote had a lot of interesting information. There is a link to a page designed with graphics to see how a person’s taxes compare to Mitt Romney’s that is gimmicky but interesting. The site is available in Spanish and English. This site is clear about being a site for Democrats and supporting the Obama-Biden ticket.
Useful to the general public? The site is useful to people that know they will vote for the Democratic ticket. They can find links to information and facts as well as merchandise like t-shirts and bumper stickers. I would say it is useful for Independents who are trying to decide how they are going to vote. People who have decided to vote Republican would need to have open minds or using this website will only make them angry.
2 Where in American Government website would site fit? This would fit at the educational site for lessons about the presidents. It would fit in a lesson about how modern presidential elections use the Internet. http://edsitement.neh.gov/feature/pbs-presidents-edsitements-related-lesson-plans-and-websites#node-22254
3. Evaluate ease of use This website is very easy to use. The divisions between links to the different subject areas are very clear, each link has its own box or highlighted information. The Democrats update page was good because it included the most recent Twitter’s from elected Democrats and Democratic state parties. Also the news updates are recent, a Twitter with a link from @TheDemocrats had been update 2 hours ago.
Site: www.commoncause.org Holding Power Accountable
1. Evaluate content of site The content of the site is interesting especially for people who want to become more active in politics. There is a button for “Activist Kit” that gives practical information about how one person can make a difference. How a person can lobby is explained, when to lobby, how laws are passed in Congress, how to contact elected officials and 10 things you can do are part of the Activist Kit so it is educational and useful. The 10 Things you can do include things like contacting your representatives, mentoring and staying informed. The ninth is to join a Common Cause email alert System and the 10th is to vote. Number 9 is self serving but not pushy. There is also an interesting page on government accountability. The site is clearly against big money and corporations being involved in the political process. That is easy to understand and they offer links for factual information to back up their arguments.
Useful to the general public? The information on “Activist Kit” is useful to the general public and has good ideas for better understanding the process of making laws in Congress and how a person can give their opinion to their own representatives and senators. The election reform page had a lot of useful information about the voting process.
2. Where in American Government website would site fit? This would fit with the Office of the Clerk for the House of Representatives http://clerk.house.gov/legislative/legvotes.aspx because there is information available about current legislation and how representatives voted. Also it would go with the Senate voting web page http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/a_three_sections_with_teasers/votes.htm.
3. Evaluate ease of use. This is an easy to use and easy to understand site even though there is a lot of information available. There aren’t so many links on each page that it makes the site confusing to use.
Site: quackwatch.org Your guide to Quackery, Health Fraud, and Intelligent Decisions operated by Dr. Steven Barrett, M.D.
1. Evaluate content of site The site has a lot of links with interesting information and links to other QuackWatch websites. The topics are myths and frauds in the medical community. It is operated by a medical doctor who is very thorough about offering as much referenced information as possible. For example on the acuwatch.org website, the history and use of acupuncture is described. Dr. Barrett makes no secret that his article is a warning “Be Wary of Acupuncture, Qigong, and “Chinese Medicine.” He includes in his article another doctor’s study that does give a somewhat positive opinion of acupuncture for pain control which indicates some balance. There are about 40 embedded links for people to read other references so he is open to people making up their own minds. The article about children’s immunization written by Dr. Barrett and a doctor of infectious diseases is really important. It is short, factual and offers 10 references which is much easier to handle than 40.
Useful to the general public? This is an important resource for the general public. For example an article on children’s immunizations gave three good links to (a) the recommended schedule, (b) Children’s Hospital Vaccine Information Center and (c) Science Based Medicine Blog.
2. Where in American Government website would site fit? This website would fit in with the www.healthfinder.gov site which has a health encyclopedia, health news, services and information. It is easy to use. QuackeryWatch could be a myths and health fraud link.
3. Evaluate ease of use. This site had so much information that it took time to read all the choices for topics and articles. There is a good search engine if you know exactly what information you want. The red color for the biggest paragraph at the top of the page was hard on the eyes. I didn’t find the website easy to navigate.
Site: www.Aljazeera.net/English World News
1. Evaluate content of site It is a news site that has a lot of important information that I haven’t seen other places. News is available from many countries in Africa, for example. Also it turns out that elections are taking place in the Senegal, Russia, Iran and Iraq so those are very interesting to learn about, plus AJE reports on the US elections. The content is divided into different parts of the world. TV programmes offered that specialize in topics such as People and Power which has global documentaries each made by a different filmmaker. A really interesting program is The Stream where people can send in videos, tape record comments and are invited to be part of the show by adding information. It is designed like an online social community but it focuses on media. This is a great way to get reports from people on the street using technology. The content is varied. Beneath each article is a list of people, places and organizations named in the article so references can be checked.
Useful to the general public? This is a great website for the general public to find news about all the different parts of the world. Opinion pieces are there from Americans and people from other countries. It is interesting to see what other people think and not just keep hearing the same thing over and over.
2. Where in American Government website would site fit? This website would fit in well with the World News Connection http://wnc.fedworld.gov/. It is a foreign news service from the US government that adds updates 24 hours a day.
3. Evaluate ease of use. Even though a huge amount of information is available the site is easy to use. The front page is like a newspaper with color pictures and videos that sit over the headline or beginning of the news story. There is a toolbar at the top which has the menu divided by areas of the world or type of news you are looking for (like the weather or business news). On the bottom is a menu which is in table form which is another way to find topics. In the right column there is a “What’s Hot” menu to find the most popular stories.
