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Toni Davidson

Family Support America - td - 0 views

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    PART 1 OF 4 Title: Family Support America - http://www.familysupportamerica.org Purpose and content: The purpose of the website seems to be to provide educational and/or public service information for parents, teachers, and caregivers. The content is basically brief definitions and information regarding child abuse prevention, tips to avoid lashing out at your children, tips on adoption, education, daycare, divorce with children, work and family balance, caregiving, and links to other web resources. Accuracy of information: None of the information is comprehensive in nature. However, the brief text that is present does seem believable. It seems the purpose is to direct visitors to outside sources -- or to the "sponsors" shown at the bottom of most pages, which are for-profit businesses. All the information on the pages within this website seemed to be generic tips and definitions that could have been copied and pasted from almost any other website with similar information. Qualifications of the author or group that created the site: There is nothing on this website to determine the author's identity or establish any qualifications, expertise, or credibility of anyone associated with this website or organization.
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    PART 2 OF 4 Title: Family Support America - http://www.familysupportamerica.org/ Author's identity: I was not able to find out the author's identity. There is no information on the website itself to indicate who the author is except for the contact email address and mailing address of 307 W 200 S, Suite 2004, Salt Lake City, 84101, found on the Contact page. Clues of authorship the URL provided is that the site is a non-profit organization. The domain extension is .org. There is nothing in the footer other than © 2012. The contact information is generic. The About page does not state this information. However, in running a Whois domain inquiry on familysupportamerica.org, I found that a person by the name of Avid Amiri is the registrant, administrative, and technical contact of the domain and that the address shown in all three of the contacts for familysupportamerica.org is the same address shown on the website for Family Support America. This does not necessarily mean this person is the author of the website, but it does provide another clue toward the assumption that this is the person that represents Family Support America. There is a phone number attached to the domain contacts, but it is no longer in service.
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    PART 3 OF 4 Title: Family Support America - http://www.familysupportamerica.org The domain Whois report shows Avid Amiri to own about 17 other domains and is associated with over 1,000 more. This is not concrete evidence that information is biased and the site is actually for advertising, but it is conspicous. Either Avid Amiri is the person hired by the organizations to register and host the domains -- which does not seem plausible since the address is the same for all contacts and the organization -- or Avid Amiri is in fact also the author. If the latter, I would venture to presume Avid Amiri is using domains as an underhanded method of search engine optimization (SEO) for the for-profit businesses shown as sponsors on many pages of the website. Further investigation of Avid Amiri revealed there is one with the name Avid Amiri located in the Salt Lake City area that is a member of LinkedIn and Twitter. When looking at the Twitter page connected to that Avid Amiri, that person is in fact a consultant specializing in search engine optimization. Contact information / means of communication with author or webmaster: On the Contact page there is an email address that looks like it is attached to administration -- whether it intends to be web administration or organizational administrative staff member or author is not clear. The address is admin@familysupportamerica.org. There is a mailing address on the Contact page as well. It lacks the two-letter state abbreviation. There is no phone number. There are no specific contacts displayed. Broken links: The link to the "learning center" hangs on a blank page and is therefore broken (http://www.familysupportamerica.org/familysupportamericalearningcenter.html). The Links and Resources page does not provide any links or resources at all.
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    PART 4 OF 4 Title: Family Support America - http://www.familysupportamerica.org/ Design, organization and ease of use: The overall appearance of the website is generic. It is what I call a "cookie-cutter" template. It is easy to read and navigate, but that is because there isn't much on it. The home page template is fractured, i.e., the left panel link image is too large for what is allowed in the template causing a fracture in the design elements. A site map is available, but the learning center link does not work. There are no help screens. There is no search available within the site. Final evaluation remarks: At first glance, this site is revealed as a non-profit site (.org domain extension) sharing family support information. At second glance, it appears to be a bare bones approach to direct visitors to other sites for more comprehensive assistance and/or information. The home page reads they can help with child abuse, alcoholism, and more, but continues that if they cannot help, they can direct the visitor to someone who can. There are no individuals featured. There is nothing to indicate anyone has any credentials of any type in the field of Family Support. Again, it appears to be directing visitors to other sites and it does not appear to do that well. The closer look reveals misrepresentation and sneaky SEO tactics to pump up search results for the businesses shown as "sponsors" on many of the pages. I will say the information that is on the pages is not useless and it does pertain to families and work as I feel the real-world pressures of work and bills to pay has a lot to do with family abuse and the ability or non-ability to deal with those issues.
Joshua Allen

FCA: Family Caregiver Alliance Home - 1 views

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    The family Caregiver Alliance is an organization dedicated to giving a public voice for the caregivers; those who use their time outside of work to care for "loved ones with Chronic, disabling health conditions." The site provides more than advocacy and support. It presents educational materials, valuable information and research as well. "The Family Caregiver Alliance was the first community based nonprofit in the country to address the needs of families and friends providing long-term care at home." The site aims to address the concerns and support those who care for their loved ones in a diminished capacity. They offer information for public seminars, online webinars, and workshops that address specific needs. The Family Caregiver Alliance website is intended directly for those families and individuals that provide at home care for an individual in a severe diminished capacity. Although many of the seminars and newsletters address specific concerns in San Francisco and California, many of the topics and articles are relevant in every state. It provides information on how to communicate to doctors, how to take care of you as a caregiver, and provides information on more specialized care such as nursing homes, behavior specialist, and assisted living centers. It also creates a forum within seminars and webinars for individuals to communicate with others that are experiencing similar challenges and concerns. It offers online, unmoderated forums for open discussion from caregivers. They also offer support groups as well.
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    The Family Caregiver Alliance website is very professional, functional, and straight forward. The site is quite legitimate, publishing newsletters, articles, and sponsoring events to address the concerns caregivers face. Their list of sponsors and endorsements include AARP, the Administration on aging, the Archstone Foundation, and several California counties and California based organizations. Although they do not have a stated bias or affiliation to any political party, they do address that family care giving creates a lessening dependency on Medicaid and encourages the administration to support an agenda that addresses family caregiver concerns. . The site also details the eligibility criteria for each state's programs to assist caregivers in an easy to read chart. It is designed to be very user friendly and informational.
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    Elder care has become a more severe concern as the baby boomer population ages. Many of this generation are expected to be within the retirement phase anywhere from 20 to 40 years. With the increase in medical expenses and the increase in life expectancy, many families rely on their children to provide care and support for that aging generation. This time commitment can create a strain on the already complicated work-family balance. An interesting section concerned states legislation with respect to care giving. In the state of Illinois, "HB 493 (enacted 2003) Appropriated funds for senior caregivers of adult disabled children. It is informative to have knowledge of public assistance programs that may be available to help a family. Government and private industry often have policies and programs that are aimed to assist families in need with support, but the lack of knowledge regarding the programs often allows an individual in need to overlook the opportunity. Overall, the site is informative, clean, updated, and user friendly. There is plenty of information, but it is organized in an easily discernible fashion. There is a host of resources for further information and a variety of programs designed to inform and involve the caregiver with others that are in similar circumstances.
ashley wilson

Working Mom Time-Saving Tips, at Work and at Home - 2 views

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    Part one the URL: http://www.workingmother.com/ A brief overview of the website: This site covers everything a working mother would want to know, or read about. Of course like the two main categories for working mothers, they have the two main tabs on the site being at home and at work. They also have three sub tabs including: best companies, research institute, and conference and events. The at home tab has tips, ideas, and inspiration to help working moms balance household, family and me time. When you explore this section it offers many articles that address different topics concerning the home. For example, there is an article about pinkeye prevention. There is also an article about six family friendly earth day activities. Under the articles there is also a bunch of working mom blogs that you can read that pertain to subjects about the home. At work tab, is the other major tab on this site. This tab offers career tips and advice for every working mom at every stage of life. This tab offers a new range of articles that have to do with work. Some of the topics range from training you brain for pregnancy to stay sharp on the job, and how to ace an interview. Like the home tab this tab also has work mom blogs, but these blogs deal with the work side of life instead. The best companies tab has the latest news, tips, and trends on work-life and the advancement of women from Working Mother's signature initiatives. This include articles about the best working mother companies to work for, as well as updates on family policies and benefits.
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    Part 2 A brief overview continued: The next tab is the research institute tab. This tab has twenty-five years of data and studies targeting the key concerns impacting working mothers today. This tab also has articles which are backed by data. Instead of the working mom blogs, it has what is called thought leaders. These blogs have successful women's talking about how mothers and women can become successful leaders as well. Conferences and events is the last major tab section on this website. This is a way for working mothers to engage the working mother community. This included events from the working mother media, NAFE, and diversity best practices. This is a great way for working mother to see what events are coming up, as well as share knowledge and insights with each other. The intended audience: Like the title clearly states this site is geared towards working women. If it was not clear in the title, it would be clear in the tabs and information. It is all about women, and families, and how to balance your work thrown in the mix while still being successful. This information is for the general public. It is very relatable for any skill level. It talks about basic information, and offers many tips including tips to help further your career. Creditability: This website has a tab dedicated solely for the purpose of research. Working Mother Research Institute spends time doing relative research as well as pare with other creditable sources to get more information. They work with the best companies initiatives, an also NAFE initiatives. They also work with other publications and sites including diversity best practices, and WOW! Facts which both offer more information about this subject matter. When you dive into reading some of the articles based on research it will document the source of the study and information. Some of the reports are from non-profit sources such as the national institute for health care reform. They also gain some of th
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    Part 3: Creditability continued: from other publications like the American Scientist. This website seems to do their research to make sure they have relevant information that is up to date, and backed by studies, and research while also throwing in opinions, and helpful tips. Observations and relation to Work, Family & Community: This website explores all the different issues and concerns working mothers can have. They offer get research, tips, and opinions that help make the work and life balance a little easier. These women are successful, and still make time for their families. They do their best at trying to help working mothers manage the two major parts of their lives: their work and their family. I think this site is a great and helpful tool to use for working mothers, and provides a vast array of useful information from the experts themselves. The end :)
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    Thank you for the review of this site. I was at first intimidated by the vast amount of information and links on the site, but after a bit of browsing, it did seem to flow more smoothly. I like the way that they have subdivided the topics by "@Home" and "@Work". This makes it easier to move throughout the site and locate more relevant information. The part that I thought was most valuable was links to blogs of other mothers. It is good for individuals to be able to network and create a community with other individuals that are experiencing similar problems or concerns. Community can be a great asset to obtaining information, and the blogs allows for a virtual community. I also like the fact they had information about family friendly employers to work for. This could be valuable to anyone who is looking for a new career and has to balance a family as well. Overall, I feel there is a great deal of information and the site serves a great purpose. Thank you again for your review. Joshua
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    Great review, Ashley. I enjoyed browsing the website as it seems to be full of great information for working moms (whether they work inside or outside of the home). I have to say, though, that this site seemed to be mostly for entertainment factor until I found the research library. The library is full of great information and research relevant to work/life/family/community challenges. I also found several resources specific to women (gaps and stats of careers/salaries/education of men and women). Overall I thought this was a great site that somewhat solidified what we've read/learned over the course of this semester.
lbracy

Lee Bracy's Website Review of Urban Institute - 2 views

1 URL :http://www.urban.org/center/ibp/index.cfm 2. Website overview: The Website for the Urban institute is very organized and has links to pages on its website in its heading titled Current Proj...

started by lbracy on 07 May 12 no follow-up yet
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