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http://www.stayhitched.com/balance.htm This website is called marriage success training, with the tagline of building the foundation for your lifetime together. They sell seminars for engaged couples who want premarital counseling. They cover many issues that engaged couples encounter from cohabitation, relationships with each other's families, and even how long couples should wait following the wedding to have children. The intended audience of this website seems to be couples, who are considering marriage. Either engaged or considering getting engaged. The knowledge assumed is that you are either an engaged heterosexual couple or a newly married couple. The information on this site seems reliable as a counseling resource for couples. This website does have bias towards religion and spirituality, even though it says there is no specific religion as its basis. On the homepage there are reviews from prior users of these services. They are quoted in the New York Times, as well as seen on WNBC TV news. They are holding seminars in Chicago next spring. They have Facebook pages as well as Twitter. I looked at their Facebook page, it looks like they don't really keep up on it, and they only have 75 fans. I think that any avenue that keeps a couple communicating is a positive thing for a relationship. This website did discuss many valid points for couples that may be entering that next phase of life that would encounter. In relationship to Work, Family, and Community this website brought up many good discussion topics for couples, such as how would household work be divided, would one parent stay home with children, and many other topics that may be otherwise taken for granted in a young relationship situation.

Help! Without an associated name, I'm having trouble figuring out who amers921 is. Please identify yourself so I can give you credit for posting your website review.

An interesting website, and there are some gems of information spread throughout. I especially liked the following pages of the website... http://www.stayhitched.com/mother.htm http://www.stayhitched.com/finance.htm Two of the most stressful parts of a new marriage, the moms of the parents, and struggling with the finances!

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies is a research and public policy organization dealing with issues such as minority public policy, minority political participation and minority health policy

The website is a key tool in disseminating the in-depth research, analysis, and other resources that the Joint Center contributes to the nation's public policy discussions. Relationship to work, family, community class: The Joint Center for Political and Economical Studies relates to work, family, community class because the joint center is focused on providing a forum for discussion and policy action on issues of critical interest in the black community. The mission of the Civic Engagement and Governance Initiative is to explore new avenues for increasing and enhancing the effectiveness of political participation by minority citizens, as well as providing them with tools for civic engagement and opportunities to advance their skills. One of the topics that we covered in the class was Community which is described as being based on the idea that what we share exceeds what divides us, and that we gain more by working together than alone. The Joint Center is all about working together. General Observations: By exploring the site I learned that The Joint Center formed the National Policy Alliance. This alliance is comprised of key membership organizations representing black elected and appointed officials at every level of government to provide a forum for discussion and policy action on issues of critical interest in the black community. Today, on issues ranging from job creation and the economy to environmental concerns and equitable access for quality health care, the NPA is active and engaged in giving voice to more than 11,000 African American leaders and the millions of constituents they represent.

According to the website, the Joint Center for Political and Economical Studies is the leading national public policy institute focused on issues affecting African Americans and other people of color. The Joint Center works with legislators, policy makers, civil rights organizations, and advocacy groups to identify effective public policy solutions that ensure the inclusion of diverse voices in the national debate. Other comments: I thought that the website was both informative and educating and provides an open forum for exchange of information and ideas.

Workplace Options http://www.workplaceoptions.com Workplace Options sums up its company mission in one, concise statement: "Strengthening workplace effectiveness through employee engagement and support." From the website, "Workplace Options is a leader in customized work-life and employee support benefits to EAPs, individual companies, government employees, universities, hospitals and other organizations, all over the world. "Currently serving over 32.5 million employees worldwide, Workplace Options has 30 years of experience as a leading work-life services provider, and more than 15 years of experience innovating EAP services outside the U.S. "Founded in Raleigh, NC in 1982, we began our company by providing work-life consulting and training to corporations - including work-life needs assessments, policy development, implementation, and corporate on-site child care center design and development. Then in 1997, we launched a new business model that focused exclusively on providing resource and referral solutions to EAP and third-party organizations. That change allowed Workplace Options to better leverage its expertise in dependent care and convenience referrals and to partner directly with clients to develop and deliver innovative work-life products and services." The website's information regarding the management team at Workplace Options reveals a very strong management team with a wealth of talent and experience in the EAP services industry. Credibility stems from such talented managers as Mary Ellen Gornick, a nationally recognized expert in the employee assistance and work-life industry and Rita Piper, with 30 years experience as a work-life/wellness professional, trainer, project administrator, account manager and sales executive. Workplace Options website brings availability of services to the web in an on-demand capacity. Some of the services provided include dependent care assistance, support for care of an elderly relative, and a compr

Workplace Options website brings availability of services to the web in an on-demand capacity. Some of the services provided include dependent care assistance, support for care of an elderly relative, and a comprehensive work-life website with a comprehensive library of online resources for a wide variety of issues around parenting, elder care, relationships, wellness, work, and everyday life. Further, content includes over 5,000 regularly updated articles, 45 financial calculators, 70 interactive health and emotional health assessments, 77 streaming audio, and over 300 video files covering a range of health and emotional health topics, over 100 ready to use legal documents, and 92 SkillBuilder online training programs. Homepage content such as featured articles and polls are updated monthly, and website resources are reviewed and updated daily. Users can also take advantage of 9 interactive self-search locators for: child care, elder care, adoption, education, pet sitting, private and public colleges, volunteer opportunities, and attorneys. In addition, webinars are available each month on a different work-life topic. Previous webinars are archived for easy download. A Spanish version of the Advantage Work-Life Website is also available. Workplace Options is more of a globally-based provider than Deer Oaks (my first website review) is. As such, I feel that the nature of their programs is more universal and less company- generated than that of Deer Oaks' programs. However, the work-life website could be a good starting point for members to understand the options available in dealing with their own personal work-life issues.

Interesting review Michael. As I looked at the site, I found it similar to Work and Family Conflict, another site that essentially is in business to sell employers methods to make employees more efficient. While establishing the basis for driving employee engagement, it does so on the employees back. Selling employers tools they can use to garner the best employees, while at the same time also laying a foundation to minimize their overall impact. For myself, the credibility of this site is lacking as it has the employer in mind more than the employee. Work Life balance is a product that can be bought and sold. Mitch

Target audience, purpose and content: The purpose of the website is to share research results and action programs with women's perspectives. The target audience is women and men who wish to make a difference in women's lives. Accuracy of information: This site seems credible. It has clear contacts that include divisions, phone numbers, and email addresses. It also includes a list of resources for those who are in need of services, although they do not provide direct care. Links to their Board and directions to the actual brick & mortar location on the Wellesley College campus in Wellesley, Massachusetts. The Wellesley Centers for Women is a community of scholars engaged in research and training. The list of scholars and trainers is on the appropriate page with photos and links to bios with credentials. These are all determining factors that enable me to trust the accuracy of the information on this site. Qualifications of the author or group that created the site: Again, the scholars and trainers are listed with their bios, photos, and history of accomplishments. There are also events, publications, projects, and news. There are plenty of ways to communicate with someone associated with this site to confirm the reliability of the information shown. Contact information / means of communication with author or webmaster: There is plenty of contact information on the Contacts page listed under divisions with phone numbers and email addresses. A fax number is also included as well as directions to the organization's physical location. Design, organization, navigation, links, and ease of use: I did not discover any broken links or hanging pages. Each page was clearly titled and subtitled, showing it as part of the Wellesley Centers for Women site. Navigation was clear and pages loaded quickly. The site is easy to read and is not overloaded with gaudy text design or unnecessary graphics. The colors are soothing and easy on the eye. Th

Wellesley Centers for Women - continued .... part 2 of 2 due to the character limit cutting off the text............. The colors are soothing and easy on the eye. There is also a working search utility within the site. Final evaluation remarks: This is a credible, informative website with many sources, resources, and publications. Its purpose is to generate gender-focused changes in attitudes, practices, and public policy through research and action. It's an interesting site that is easy to read and navigate. Since this site focuses on gender research, I feel it does have much to do with family/work balance. As we have learned in this class, the roles of men and women and how they are defined in relation to work and family are a major aspect of balance.

Website Overview: The Families and Work Institute is a think-tank organization based on non-profit efforts to critically review the emerging issues of family, work and community. They are action oriented while also conducting massive amount of research in challenging traditional mindset and blending conventional approaches. The non-partisan organization generates research then utilizes it to build the work and family model through awareness and support. Intended Audience: The purpose of this website is to reach men and women in the efforts to communicate issues and best practices for working families. The intended audience are all those affected by work-family issues despite age, race, gender or culture. Critique: Families and Work Institute is a great resource for those battling the work-family struggles that affect our daily lives. The website is very well put together with every link I used fully functional and supported with information. As I explored the website I didn't feel like there was any unnecessary information. The newsroom portion of the website which gave updates on current events was a bit out dated however the appropriate links were in place to direct visitors to other non-profit programs. . It was a well planned out website with limited links which helped keep the site from feeling overwhelming. Overall the information on the website was appropriate and easy to follow. Relationship to work, family, community, class: The Families and Work Institute are committed to their mission of researching and creating awareness of emerging family-work issues. They insist on driving their agenda, on doing work they truly believe in, on doing work of the highest quality and on achieving results. There challenge is that, together and with help, they can maintain commitment to excellence in providing research assist those in the work family circle Other comments: I was impressed with this website both with the setup of the overall website and communi

continued..Past project reports are available for purchase. There has also been research done involving the elderly and family caregivers. I was not aware of the amount of research this institute performs until I accessed the projects pages and saw that the list of past and current topics is somewhat significant. The most interesting research is the ongoing study on the changing workforce that currently compiles research from the last 20 years. I also learned that the healthcare industry offers the best flexibility work schedule options to their workers. Manufacturing, Hotel and Restaurant businesses offer the least flex scheduling options.

This is a pretty good site, They seem to do important work, with our ever changing economy and jobs going to foreign countries, it is very important to have an organization other than the government studying the cause and effects of the system around us. the site was easy enough to find my way around. I plan to look at it a little more.

Inspired by Secretary Clinton's leadership, No Limits Foundation is a non-partisan, non-political organization which aims to help "make the case" that foreign policy matters, and that an active and engaged America working with allies around the world will help to build the safe and secure future we want for our children.

No Limits foundation http://nolimits.org/ As per their about us page "No Limits Foundation is a non-partisan, issues-based organization that enables members to stay informed and active on a range of domestic and international policy issues through information, education, and advocacy." The three main issues this site overviews are "stronger communities, a safer and secure world, and human rights home and abroad." Under the "stronger communities" section there is a link to work family issues and in the work family issues section you will find issues that relate to and were covered by our class to include better leave policies for American families and greater support for caregivers to name a few. This site was easy enough to navigate, simple yet effective. There are many links to supporting sites who are working on such issues for the working families. This site claims to be inspired by our own Hillary Clinton but doesn't really point to how much the Secretary of State is involved, if any at all. As for an intended audience, this site would work for anyone wanting to get involved with their core issues or research information on these issues. In this case, less is more. I liked the site, it was relevant and informative.

National Fatherhood Initiative http://www.fatherhood.org/ Overview: The National Fatherhood Initiative is a webpage for the organization with the same name who attempts to minimize the amount of children that grow up without their fathers in their lives. The organization is devoted to making sure fathers are there for their children as much as possible. Through its 3-E strategy, Educate, Equip, and Engage, the National Fatherhood Initiative has successfully helped more than two million children live with their fathers, along with reaching 1 million fathers with skill building resources. The webpage as a whole seems to promote the efforts of the organization a great deal as well as reaching out to potential donors. Intended Audience: The intended audience of the webpage is aimed at fathers who feel like they need to be more involved with their children. The website offers a number of help brochures and books in order to better fathers who are not as involved in their children's life as they could be; for a small fee of course. Critique: The first and most annoying aspect of reviewing this webpage was the lack of information available to the reader. The organization is a non-profit organization however it would seem otherwise from browsing through their website. There is a donate link on nearly every page of the site, making it frustrating to navigate as every link eventually takes you to either a donate page or a page that wants you to buy something. The four key tabs are For Fathers, For Organizations, For Media, and Donate. Choosing one of the four tabs basically takes you to a link where the viewer can give them money. If you are a father you can search their Father SOURCE collection in order to buy materials to learn how to be a better father. If the viewer is involved with an organization he/she can learn how to donate money and if you are a media member, then the viewer can learn how to hire one of the organizations speakers to do a presentation. Almo

Here is the remainder of the review as it seems to have been cut short Almost everywhere you go the webpage is attempting to get money from the viewer. The whole page is virtually an advertisement for the organization. On a positive note, the organization does seem to be very good at collecting money and aiding fathers in need. The organization has been associated with companies such as Disney, Nissan, FedEx, the NBA, and the NFL. Having an affiliation with all of these companies does go to show that the organization is achieving their mission. The website also has an interesting section labeled statistics; the section details some interesting statistics relating to the effects of fathers missing from their children's lives. All of the statistics are very well documented and precise with accurate source material. They webpage also has a number of ways to contact the organization all labeled on the bottom of the webpage. As a whole I would say that the webpage is very credible in its information, it's just a shame there is not much information to look at without having to dish out some money to see it. Relationship to Work, Family, Community class: The obvious connection to the concepts that we have learned this semester can be found in amount of work/family conflicts that result from overworked parents neglecting their families in favor of financial growth. As we have learned, fathers tend to be the parents who are more often than not placed in the role of bread winner. As a result of the amount of pressure that is placed on fathers, they are typically responsible for failing to be there for their children as they are growing up. I believe that the National Fatherhood Initiative is definitely attempting to shed some light on a less talked about subject matter; however I feel that the way that they are attempting to achieve their goal is somewhat disappointing. If as a non-profit organization you have some piece of knowledge that is going to help fathers ach

It seems that everyone is willing to provide help to anyone for a price. I wonder how much of the money they raise actually goes to help fathers have better and stronger relationships with their children. I took a look at this website and it appears to just give enough information to try and draw someone in so that they will pay to learn more. It may be very credible but I think fathers would be better off finding an organization in their community that offers meetings where fathers can get together and talk about issues and a facilitator donates their time to help.

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.

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

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.

This website is a work in progress by the School of Management and Labor Relations Center for Women and Work. Their main focus areas include 1) Workforce Development, 2) Education and Career Development, 3) Women's Leadership and Advancement, and 4) Working Families. The main mission of this group is to address the advancement of women in the workplace, conduct cutting-edge research on successful public and workplace policies, provide technical assistance and programs to educators, industry, and governments, and engage issues that directly affect the living standards of New Jerseys' and the nations' working families. Gender equity projects and research is also at the heart of their mission. Overall this website is very informative for all viewers. It is a good source of information and research on a wide range of topics that deal with women, work and families. It is a credible website with much information and the capability to take donations. They have links to the Working Poor Families Project and other related blogs and organizations. I am impressed with the New Jersey Time To Care project. This is a project to offer paid leave to workers faced with family illness or crisis for a six-week period of partial wage replacement over a 12-month period. This initiative will cover leave to bond with a newborn or newly adopted child or to care for a seriously ill child, parent, spouse, domestic partner or civil union partner. This will cover all workers who have earned $143.00/per week for 20 weeks. Great for part timers who would usually only be granted unpaid leave. (This in itself is a separate website that is very informative, as well.) I like the design of the (CWW) site and the way they offer links to those who may want or need more information. The Sloan Center on Innovative Training and Workforce Development is also packed full of good information. Their link takes you to The Center of Women and Work's (CWW) Innovative Training and Workforce Development (ITW

The Center for Women and Work website is full of information to help women better themselves and their families. I like how they included their link to twitter, it shows that they are really trying to reach out to women of all generations. Kristin

Thank you for your review of this site. There is a great deal of information available with relation to women in the workplace. Diversity is important in any organization. The companies that have the strength and talent of minds from differing backgrounds and needs can anticipate factors more fully. It is refreshing to see an organization that provides so much information. I agree with Kristin that utilizing social media shows the passion they feel for their mission. I was also impressed that they had current and relevant articles available to be read and commented on by visitors. Thank you again for your presentation of this site. Joshua

The Future of Children is an organization that focuses on the best social science research about children and youth translated into information that useful to many groups (policymakers, practitioners, grant-makers, advocates, the media, etc.). The organization is a collaboration of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution. The research, articles, and other information on this site are written in non-technical terms for easy understanding by a wide range of readers. At first glance, and after a deeper dive into the site, it appears to be a credible source of information. It is free of advertisements and other marketing propaganda. As well, the collaboration between a renowned and accredited university (Princeton) and a Washington D.C.-based public policy organization (Brookings) suggest the resources available on the site are factual and reliable. There are several sub-sites to the parent site: - About: o Overall explanation of the organization, its goals and mission. o People: credentials of the varying level of contributors to the site's content. o Policies and Procedures: copyright information and guidance on how to cite content from the site. - Publications: o A wide variety of literature written by Princeton and Brookings contributors. o Includes journals, executive summaries, policy briefs, article summaries, journal highlights, and research data and figures. - Media: o Press releases, newsletters, other honorable mentions in the media. - Events: o Provides information on upcoming events hosted by, or affiliated with, the Future of Children organization. - Webcasts - FAQs - Resources - Blog While the name of the site suggests that its contents are directly related to children (policies and practices that affect them), there is just as much content that is indirectly related.

[Continued...] Many of the webcasts and written literature relate to marriage and family, work-life, diversity in children, community and school research, civic engagement, military transition, etc. This is website is not full of fuzzy, feel-good literature. It is research-based content which is a great source of reference for the facts.