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MAKING YOUR VOICE HEARD IN THE WORKPLACE WHEN YOU WORK INVOLVES YOU WORKING WITH CHILDREN. CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE AND THIS WEBSITE SHOWS HOW AS EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS THE VOICE IS NEEDED IN THE WORKPLACE TO MAKE DECISIONS. THEY WANT ANYONE WHO IS WORKING WITH CHILDREN TO BE ABLE TO VOICE THEIR CONCERNS THAT WOULD BE BEST FOR THE CHILDREN AND PARENTS WHO ARE INVOLVED. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT TRAINING MODELS YOU CAN TAKE ON THIS WEBSITE THAT CAN LEAD TO LEADERSHIP SKILLS. THE INTENDED AUDIENCE OF THIS WEBSITE IS INDIVIDUALS WHO WORK WITH CHILDREN. THIS COULD INCLUDE TEACHERS, ASSISTANT TEACHERS, DIRECTORS, STATE OR LOCAL ADVOCATES, FACULTY MEMBER AT A COLLEGE, A TRAINER OR ADULT EDUCATOR, AND A PARENT OR GRANDPARENT. THIS WEBSITE IS EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. THIS WEBSITE WORKS WELL WITH WHAT WE HAVE BEEN LEARNING IN CLASS. IT HELPS YOU WITH YOUR WORK WITH YOUR CHILDREN BY HELPING YOU TO DEVELOP YOUR OWN LEADERSHIP AND ADVOCACY SKILLS. THEY WANT TO HELP MAKE BETTER JOBS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS. THIS REMINDS ME OF THE READING ASSIGNMENTS THAT INVOLVED PARENTS INVOLVEMENT IN CHILD CARE. LACK OF CHILDCARE CAN BE A HUGE PROBLEM FOR THE PRESENT AND FUTURE FOR THE CHILD AND THE COMMUNITY. I DEFINITELY FEEL THIS WEBSITE IS VERY CREDIBLE. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT CONTACT NUMBERS TO GET MORE INFORMATION. ALSO IT READS THAT THE WEBSITE IS A PROJECT OF THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION. THIS ASSOCIATION IS EASILY FOUND ELSEWHERE BESIDES THE WEBSITE I AM REVIEWING.

I read that as if you were yelling at me the whole time. Perhaps try and check caps lock next time Teri. You can also edit your posts and fix that by the way. Does sound like a useful website though, good review!

I really enjoyed this website because they have their mission statement on their home page to show everyone what this page is all about. I also like how they address that children are the future and without them, there will not be a future. They stress that now more than ever voices are needed at the workforce for decisions on planning and funding. This website has good credibility and was easy to navigate through. Great job!

1. URL: http://parenthood.library.wisc.edu/Hoffman/Hoffman.html 2. Website Name: The Effects of the Mother's Employment on the Family and the Child Lois Wladis Hoffman, PhD Professor Emerita, Department of Psychology University of Michigan-Ann Arbor 3. Intended Audience: Graduated and Post-grad students, sociologist and economist, single-fathers, single-mothers, divorced fathers and mother, and gay people. 4. Website overview: The University of Wisconsin-Madison General Library System publishes Parenthood. Parenthood in America offers a wide range of topics that focus on the development of children; issues pertaining to work and family; the impact that society has on both children and parents; supporting family and neighborhoods and community resources for families. Overall, this website covers the same topics that were co covered in class this semester. The authors offer an array of wisdom concerning the issues that was covered in class and gives advice on and a logical insight for those in search of knowledge in regards to family and work issues. 5. Article review: The focus of the following article is on the maternal employment and its effects on families and children. Most of the studies concerning maternal employment effects on families and children have its foundation dating back to the 1950's. The statistics was tabulated over a 5-decade period and what it reveals is that a major social change in the United States has occurred in regards to maternal employment over this time span. These statistics is becoming obsolete due to the fact that previous studies conducted in the past are not found in more recent research because of changes in family patterns or in the larger society. Lois Hoffman writes that these changes did not occur in a socioeconomic vacuum; rather maternal employment rates have been accompanied by many other social changes that interact with it. The impetus that has caused this phenomenon is the fluxional nature of family l

This website is dedicated to helping children improve their lives by allowing them to grow up with committed and involved fathers. This is a great website because unfortunately it is the father that is not involved in the kids life if one of the parents is not. This site tries to educate fathers on the importance of their role in their child's life. They appear on tv or on the website. the site has a dads club and an email so that they can get all the information on being a better father. They will send out weekly hints and emails to the fathers to help them out. According to the site one out of three children live in fatherless houses. This is a big deal because female only houses have a poverty rate of almost 40 percent while married households are only at 8 percent. This shows how important it is to have a father in the household. It is just too hard trying to raise a child on your own. This website is for fathers of any age. It is there to help them understand the importance of them to their child's life. This is relevant because to have a proper family you have to have a father in the house. It is very hard as a mother to be the breadwinner and the caregiver as well at the same time basically. I feel like this website can help to show how important a father is to the household in general as well as the child. No father wants their child to grow up in a poverty filled life so they need to take responsibility and raise the children that they have.

Hi Zach, I really liked the website you picked. I also liked your review, but I have to disagree that, "it is the father that is not involved in the kids life if one of the parents is not," because I have 3 male friends who have sole custody of their children due to absentee mothers; one child has special needs. I can attest to the fact that it is just as hard being a single father, if not harder, than a single mother, because I think as a society we have a prejudice against men playing a traditionally female role, at least that is the picture that was painted in a lot of our lessons this year. Women probably have a lot more support than men do, either because men are not welcome (picture a single dad at an all mommy playgroup) or they are embarrassed to ask for help. I enjoyed that, though this site is tailored to fathers, there's a lot of information that is practical for any parent. The part that I found really touched me was the section for double duty dads; dad's that already have one family but pledge to mentor another family that doesn't have a father figure. There are no words for what a loving and self sacrificing role that is for that man to play. I would hope my husband would participate in a site like this if I wasn't around, at least for support alone; the articles and forums are great! He has me to research and obsess over our parenting currently. I love that there is a resource just for dads. Both your and Kenneth's statistics were shocking and eye opening. I had no idea.

This is a great site and great topic. I agree that there needs to be more emphasis placed on the role of fathers in the context of family. I like the idea that there are parenting resources geared for dads and a system of support. I think more fathers would get involved in their children's lives if they felt comfortable and had some support or encouragement to do so. At the same time, I think some of the facts cited by the website are slanted toward a particular point of view. Though I do think, for the most part, children benefit from growing up in two-parent homes, they are not always the ideal. For instance, the site says, "A study of 3,400 middle schoolers indicated that not living with both biological parents quadruples the risk of having an affective disorder." Maybe there is a correlation (not causation) between living with both biological parents and affective disorders. However, were adoptive children taken into consideration? Do that parents have to be biological? What if there is a step-parent in the home? Does that reduce the risk of developing particular disorders? It seems a little vague and slanted to me.

The Center for the Child Care Workforce focused their attention on a few categories in tabs on their page. These topics included; a home tab, about us, research and resources, take action, public policy, and news to use. The first thing one would notice on this website is their mission, "to improve the quality of early care and education for all children by promoting policy, research and organizing that ensure the early care and education workforce is well-educated, receives better compensation and a voice in their workplace." (Center for the Child Care Workforce). The point is to help others acknowledge that children need proper care, and how child care providers can do this effectively. The intended audience would be grown adults, specifically adults whom are involved in young children lives. The Center for the Child Care Workforce discusses how this group, "literally hold the future in [their] hands." (Center for the Child Care Workforce). What they are trying to say, is that it is the older generation, which needs to teach and provide education for the young generation, so they are knowledgeable. This website is good about providing all the information needed to understand their point and how they are trying to fulfill it. I believe that this site is credible. They provide many sources of where their focus came from. The Center for the Child Care Workforce, mentioned the Worthy Wage Campaign, stated as, "a grassroots effort led by child care teachers, family child care providers, school age teaching staff, Head Start teachers and others who work directly with children to mobilize to improve the compensation and work environments for the early care and education workforce." (Center for the Child Care Workforce). Many others points included, facts about "high-quality early childhood education programs results [and what] high-quality early childhood programs include." (Center for the Child Care Workforce). There are pdf files of

The website I chose to review for this paper is http://www.familysupportamerica.org/. I really have no clue as to who created this site or who is involved in contributing to the website. The "About Us" page simply states, "Here at Family Support America, we are dedicated to providing the information, support, and connections that families need to survive. Whether you have questions about child abuse, alcoholism, disciplining children, divorce, or other topics related to families, we can help. And if we cannot help, we will direct you to someone who can." They give absolutely no clue as to who they are at Family Support America. Are they a group of parents, business owners, teachers, or what? Also, the contact page gives the following contact information, "Email admin@familysupportamerica.org Mail 307 W 200 S Suite 2004 Salt Lake City, 84101" This also gives the viewer absolutely no clue as to the identity of the webmaster. I can only assume that they intended audience is parents, but even that isn't real clear. I guess the topics of childcare, child abuse and education are what led me to this conclusion. The homepage does little to excite me. The second paragraph talks about feeding your children only additive-free foods and avoid high-fructose corn syrup and products with MSG. They also suggest you avoid giving your kids juice. Already, I hate the site for feeling the need to counsel me on what to feed my children. I'm not against healthy foods, but I believe that all additives are not bad and as long as I feed these to my children in moderation, they'll be ok. At the bottom of the homepage are links to other websites. These sites are not labeled as supporters of this site, but the absurd collection and lack of relativity make me believe they must be sponsors, otherwise, what does dancewear, micro-bead pillows and scrubs have to do with F

And, here's the rest.... what does dancewear, micro-bead pillows and scrubs have to do with Family Support America? The links down the left page of the home page do provide some valuable information. They also link to some credible websites that offer more information than this parent site. Also, though, at the bottom of each page there is another ad for some product or business that is irrelevant in my opinion. The "Links and Resources" page does not have any working links. Also, the "FAQ" page is blank. The copyright date at the bottom of each page is 2011 so it's quite possible that the site is still under construction. The site has a consistent layout, but that's about the only thing positive I have to say about it. I don't think this website is a very good example of one that focuses on balancing work and home issues. Its main focus seems to be on preventing stress and child abuse at home. These are credible issues, but I don't think this site offers much useful information than the basics. I would not recommend this website to any one.

Erika - I had a very similar experience with my site, http://www.weareoneillinois.org/ They gave little information as to who actually started the site or who maintains it, other than the fact that mine listed a group of entities that support the movement now. Also, to digress quickly, it looks like we are all posting in different ways somehow. The site seems to distinguish between 'bookmark' and 'topic'. When I click 'topic' (under 'Filter' towards the top of the screen) it shows only my two posts, suggesting that everyone else made a 'bookmark', whatever that actually means. Anyway I thought you gave a good review to what sounds like a pretty bad website. If a website administrator is not finished with any part of a site, he/she should have the decency to post a 'coming soon' or something similar. I am somewhat curious because of how poor you made it sound as to who is running it and if they have any idea what they're doing frankly.

Website Overview: Flex+Strategy Group's website is extremely basic and clean, showing employers that they don't want to waste their time or dazzle them with showiness. The website is easy to find one's way around and is laid out in more of a site map fashion than anything else and it has very few embedded photos. This appearance says, "we don't need smoke and mirrors, we get you results." They present their mission statement, in a dissected way on one page, that quickly describes benefits which specifically cater to the employer as opposed to the employee, which I find very smart. They include links to a few actual business plans they created and implemented for their clientele, which includes huge corporations that everyone's heard of such as Quaker/Tropicana and the U.S Navy. Who wouldn't want to participate in a plan that such successful companies have implemented? To the left as you click through the website are non-invasive testimonials super imposed over the words "transform, inspire, move." There are tabs along the top to help you drill down, more specifically, to other areas or, depending on who you are, portals that apply to just you. Intended Audience: The intended audience is obviously employers who may be curious about flexing their staff but most likely have a somewhat closed-minded approach because the website is very much trying to sell whoever is looking at it on the idea and the fact that they need a consulting service to accomplish the task. Relationship to work, family, community class: A large portion of our class was spent discussing the points at which families and work intersect and how they are usually an inverse property to one another and how more time spent at one detracts from the other in a negative way. We've read about how our society is affected when employers are not understanding about people needing to be home for their children at certain times and in certain instances and also to care for

This was a great website Becky! The Credit Union that I work for recently acquired a Credit Union in California that offered a great deal of flexibility in the workplace. They offered babies in the workplace, flexible schedules, and people to work out of their homes to save them an hour commute. The employees really appreciated that their employer put their needs first.

This is an OUTSTANDING website and I am so glad you shared this with us. I really particularly liked the "tips" for individuals. It is so true when they say small changes in your "fit" can make a difference and that you often don't want to work less, but differently. Even small changes can make a big difference. I'm reminded of the "Amerco" employees we read about who, even with flexible workplace options, still ended up working long hours. Even tweaking things a bit can make a big difference. I remember when I once had to start work at 7:15 a.m. My daughter was experiencing a lot of challenges and, due to me having to get to work so early, she often had to make it to school on her own. Because of this, she was late to class many times due to falling back asleep after I woke her up. When I dropped her off at school, she would have to wait outside (in the freezing cold during winter) for over half an hour before someone could let her inside the building. My work start time really caused me a lot of anxiety regarding my daughter... either worrying that she was alone in the cold or sleeping in bed when she should have been on her way to school. I asked my boss if I could change my start time to 7:30 and stay 15 minutes later. She agreed and things worked out to where I was able to drop my daughter off at the bus stop where many of her classmates also waited for the bus. That greatly eased my stress level and anxiety over my daughter's safety. Just something as simple as starting work 15 minutes later worked wonders.

Care.com is an excellent resource that I personally have used for years and have referred many people to. Basically, care.com is a website which helps families find and hire caretakers of all kinds: nannies, babysitters, last minute back-up childcare, elderly care, pet sitters, special needs care, housekeeping, and even "care gigs" which might include help with errands like grocery shopping or other random help. Of course, this means job opportunities for those being hired as well. Users report that the candidates found through the website are generally higher-quality candidates than those found through agencies because there is a wider base. Anyone can join care.com for free! Families and caregivers can create profiles and post jobs. Background checks can be purchased through the website either by caregivers or by families who are interested in hiring a caregiver who has not purchased a background check. Caregivers can upgrade their profiles for $20 a month which enables them to actually contact families about jobs based on their profiles before the families even post a job, and the caregivers can then also post about their desired job and even be featured as a "featured area caregiver" in search results. There are also articles about hiring a caregiver/finding a care job, and hotlines to call for advice. Also, there is a branch of care.com called "workplace solutions" for companies which hire care.com to help them meet their employees care needs by offering custom-designed websites, seminars, and other help to easily connect caregivers with employees of that company. Care.com reports that "as a result of using the care.com employee benefit" there are shown to be advantages such as: "92% of employees can focus better at work with their family's care needs met", "More than 91% feel more positively regarding their employer", and "More than 60% have been able to improve their focus and work more hours". A few of the companies listed as us

I forgot to mention that you can find a tutor through care.com, or of course seek a tutoring job.

What an excellent resource for parents! I am not a parent, but the majority of my friends are. Finding quality childcare proves to be quite a challenge, and there is still concern. WIth the website offering back ground checks and referrals you would really get a sense of security that your child is in a safe place.

The TWIGA foundation is a consulting group in Bosie, Idaho which is "dedicated to being a voice for family consciousness to strengthen each individual's commitment to themselves, their family, their work-life, and their community". They seem to have many affiliations and programs, from "Block Fest", basically an advertisement for a kit which helps families teach their children cause and effect, and basic logic, math, and science skills, to affiliations with "Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free Foundation" and the "Alfred P. Sloan Foundation". They basically thrive on the consulting services offered to businesses who desire to be more family friendly and offer more flexibility in the employee's work schedules. This foundation can basically be hired by companies to help them become more family-friendly by measuring their employees needs and the company's needs, helping establish telecommuting employee programs, health and wellness programs, etc. Apparently "twiga" is Swahili for giraffe, their mascot of sorts, because giraffes apparently "are keenly aware of and protective of their young", "have the largest hearts of all land mammals", and "are the tallest animals in the world and exemplify great vision". The website is really very attractive and well-laid out and appears welcoming, friendly, and trusting. At first, I found it difficult to find out exactly what they "do", because there is so much "warm and fuzzy" information about helping families and promoting healthy, balanced lifestyles that I wasn't sure how the foundation was really accomplishing until I noticed the "Consulting Services" tab. The website is definitely intended for employers, and the foundation basically pulls together resources from here and there to provide consulting services for these employers/companies. While it sounds like a nice concept, honestly, if I were an employer I probably wouldn't be too interested in paying for their servi

Too long again... here is the rest: While it sounds like a nice concept, honestly, if I were an employer I probably wouldn't be too interested in paying for their services because it really seems like a few people with business management degrees spent some time pulling together other foundation's resources and partnered with many others and probably charge a lot of money to do some testing/polling and provide recommendations.

The Company That Cares website is an effective website that focuses on making companies socially responsible. The website offers three action programs, AIM High, Invisible Differences, and CareDays all stemmed towards developing children for college, helping those with disabilities gain skills to enter the workforce and address other significant issues throughout society. The not-for-profit company is founded by Marci Koblenz, Founder and President, Sandra Cunningham, Founder, Mary Ellen Gornick, Founder. The website also educates employers about the many issues that may be faced by their employees, especially those living in poverty. This website ties into our involvement in MGT 444 in many ways. The website makes employers aware of the many issues that employees face outside of the workplace which can have a direct impact on an employees work life. I feel that websites such as this one make it easier for employers to implement family friendly policies and be more open to the societal issues many employees face. Those companies involved with Companies That Care will more likely handle employees with conflicts between work and home life in more effective ways and the website is funded by companies that care. The companies that help fund this website have definately made a step at understanding the many issues employees face and will be more likely to deal with these issues in a way that will retain workers in the face of some family based conflicts. The Companies That Care's website provides a code of conduct that has ten characteristics. One of the characteristics is to encourage work/life balance and another characteristic is to enable the well-being of individuals and their families through compensation, benefits, policies and practices. Due to these and other of the ten characteristic codes of conduct I think it is clear that Companies That Care encourages family friendly policies in the workplace and more websites such as this should exist.

From Companies that Care: "Center for Companies That Care is a national, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to enhancing the well-being of employees and communities by educating and inspiring employers to practice employer engagement and integrate the 10 Characteristics of a Socially Responsible Employer into their daily business practices. Our Community of Caring is making a difference in communities and workplaces nationwide through community-building initiatives and education about how to be a company that cares." The intended audiences of Companies that Care are employers and managers. Companies that Care seeks to resolve many of the work, life, time, community, and family balance issues identified in our studies this semester. They identify the 10 Characteristics of Socially Responsible Employers and also have created an Honor Roll to recognize companies that meet their standards of social responsibility. The website openly identifies the corporate connections of their board members and sponsors. This could lead the organization to be biased towards their sponsor when awarding their Honor Roll recognition, but it could also be an indication that these companies value the advocacy of social responsibility in the corporate world.

I feel that the website is biased towards dealings with companies that care. The corporate connections they hold are what I feel demonstrate support by other companies that value the family friendly policies this website endorses. I feel the website is credible by being able to pull the support of other organizations, seemingly those involved in healthcare are the websites main supporters, but the few supporters they have underline the fact that the organization is having it's effects on businesses who hold similar values. I expect this website to grow and obtain more support as they seem very genuine.

From Unmarried America: "Unmarried America is an information service for America's 106 million unmarried adults -- who head up a majority of the nation's households. Our services focus on your interests as employees, consumers, taxpayers, and voters, regardless of your household size or family structure. You will not find a more comprehensive or reliable source of information about this special population anywhere on the Internet. Unmarried America is a function of Spectrum Institute, a nonprofit corporation with federal tax exempt status." The intended audience of Unmarried America is basically anyone who is not married. This can included single individuals with or without children, gay couples, straight unmarried couples, single adults who live at home, etc. This website says it is targeted towards a special class of citizens, the unmarried. While I appreciate their attempt to keep the category broad and not to discriminate against anyone (except for married folks), their focus ends up being so broad as to not be of much benefit to anyone. Everyone who isn't married isn't really specific enough to constitute a "special population." The website is run by the Spectrum Institute which they state is a registered nonprofit. They do not provide any further information about their registered nonprofit regarding what its goals are, how they are funded, or what they have accomplished. They hint at advocating for the interests of unmarried individuals, but I found no evidence of any actual research or activities on their part. At its root, Unmarried America appears to be four people with an opinion that re-blog news stories.

A large part of their website appears to be broken for me, many things that looks like they should be links are either plain text or broken. I was able to read through several parts of the site though, and it is interesting. I do believe that the site slightly mispresents itself. They seem to be focused on equal rights for everyone, including things like homosexual marriage, and ending discrimination.

Christine, sounds like a lot of us are having the same issues with a lack of credentials on sites. You have to wonder if at least some of this is perhaps intentional. Sounds like an odd organization to me, and I think your opinion about it "their focus ends up being so broad as to not be of much benefit to anyone" is spot on. Really sounds like a 'what organization can we start that a huge number of people will automatically fall into and likely donate'? Seems completely unnecessary to me. As to the website problems - it's always a prudent idea to check your webmaster's final product (especially if he's not actually your employee) because they could easily put up something minimal and take the money and run. However, I will say that people who choose to not be married could be a different demographic deserving their own group. Just doesn't make sense to have it so broad like you point out. Also very ironic that it appears to only have four members in whatever respect you were referencing. Sounds very sketchy.

Center for Women and Work is a part of Rutgers School of Management and Labor relations and part of the Institute for Womens Leadership (IWL). Founded in 1993 by Proffessor Sue Cobble, the Center for Women and Work was created to study public policies, do research, and provide education to women. Particularly interesting about this website is its far reaching goals to help low-income working women and to extend it's efforts to help proffessional women such as lawyers and others in the corporate atmosphere deal with issues of obtaining and retaining employment. Also, helping proffessional women achieve and retain effectiveness in their roles as leaders, The Center for Women and Work is a company which should be commended for their efforts of addressing the needs of women. The center consist of two workforce development programs, one which aids the state, county and local governments of New jersey with implementing technology based programs, such as, online learning, for non-college grads. The second program is developing web applications that seek to teach literacy and work readiness skills. The center also offers a nationally-recognized program that provides research on gender equity and career development. Finally, the center does much research into the laws that working families need to balance their work and home lives. These laws could include paid time off, and flexible schedules. The intended audience for this website is very broad, although it seems to be geared towards the needs of working women. The website is assessible to the general public and can be intended for companies, and politicians with a desire to increase the effectiveness of women in the workplace. The website also ask the general public as well as businesses for support and list information needed to make donations to keep the company thriving. This website is definately credible as it stems from its connection with Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations in

Also, this website, is biased towards the positive interactions of women in the workforce. The website is specifically designed to assess the needs of women on a ground roots level by providing education and training. Also, by being involved in research and politics and trying to develop research that will influence legislation the benefits women in the workforce.

I thought the website was very informational and easy to navigate. I did a review on the national organization of women and had no idea it even existed. Seeing this site and all they do for women as well is truly amazing. The history part of Center for Women and Work really caught my attention. It said one of their main goals is to promote how and why women lead, and prepare women of all ages to lead effectively. Props to this website and a very good review!

Maternal Employment and Nonmaternal Care During the Early Years 1. URL: org http://www.epi.org/publication/briefingpapers_124/ Economic Policy Institute - www.epi.org---- Working mothers in a double bind: Working moms, minorities have the most rigid schedules, and are paid less for the sacrifice By Elaine McCrate | May 1, 2002 By Elaine McCrate | May 1, 2002 2. Intended Audience: Low, working and middle class income workers, graduate and post-graduate students and working women of all ethnic classes. 3. Website overview: The economic policy institute is a think tank as it's name suggests and it conducts research and engages in the following areas: non-profit, non-partisan issues. It was officially established in 1986 and it's intent was to propose solutions that will defend and ameliorate the minimal pay and harsh working condition of the low and middle class worker. The EPI serves as the voice of the working class people. The sole purpose of Economic Policy institute is to bring forth awareness concerning economic policies and how these economic policies are benefiting the needs of low, working and middle-income workers. One of EPI beliefs is that every working person, regardless of wage status deserves equality in terms of fair pay and working conditions. Their method of impregnating the public perception with accurate and timely knowledge according to the EPI website is by "producing a plethora of research papers and policy analyses; sponsors conferences and seminars; briefs policy makers at all levels of government; provides technical support to national, state, and local constituency and advocacy organizations; testifies before national, state, and local legislatures; and provides information and background to the media." According to the website, the EPI values are: EPI Values * Helping Working People Economic policy should focus on improving conditions for working people. * Truth and Accuracy Matter EPI research should be honest and rigorous. *

The Foundation for Child Development is a philanthropy that is dedicated to the principle of all families having all materials necessary to raise their children to be healthy, educated, and productive members of society. The website includes an "About Us" and an "Our Work" sections that describe what the foundation does and includes links to programs the foundations supports. The website is informative and only slightly persuasive. There was tons of information that include current efforts being made, historical data, and information on how to get involved made available but few towards persuading the visitor. The only thing I might consider slightly persuasive was the links to programs the foundation supports. I am not sure if there is an intended audience. There was no indication or hint towards one but if I had to choose an audience it would be parents or any adult interested in assisting the foundation in whatever way possible. The website though was very general and provided thorough knowledge and information accessible to anyone. The website is defiantely credible. Though I cannot designate an author for the website, all material and resources are cited, dated, and current and easily accessible and readily available. Under the "Resource" tab there is also a library search the visitor can conduct as well as related articles that are also cited and dated. There is also a "Contact" tab that supplys an email, telephone, and address for further questions, comments, and concerns. From viewing the website I found several things related to work, family, and community that include the rising need for assistance in the area of education and volunteer opportunties. The FCD started out as a voluntary agency that worked with AACC and continues to volunteer in whatever way they can in communties.

The website looks like a great source for some original research. Their intended audience is not very clearly spelled out, but given their research and focus, I believe their target audience are decision makers and stakeholders in school systems. Their research on education, prinicpals, and leadership in schools are all very targeted forms of leadership that hopefully can help schools make better decisions, and provide better leadership for their teachers.

I think this website could be a great help. It provides information that can be helpful to childhood development. I like how you talked about the need for assistance in education because this is definitely true. I like that it has a contact tab so that you can ask them any other questions that you have. Great Review!!

Women Employed is a non-profit advocacy organization that is working to improve the conditions of working women, especially in the areas of economic and educational opportunities. Women Employed has fought against pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment, while supporting better work/family benefits for working women. The website discusses major workplace issues affecting women, provides likes to resources regarding workplace rights, and seeks to be a vehicle for networking between other women. Visitors can also donate to the group and become a member via the website, as well. The intended audience for this site is clearly working women who are struggling in the employment area, whether in terms of compensation or in the area of work/family benefits. Someone who wanted to improve their career options or outlook would benefit from this website. Additionally, those who simply want to know what their rights in the workplace are would also learn some beneficial information. Information on workplace rights and why "work isn't working" is ready available and easily accessible to the general public. The website highlights several facts, including the fact that there are 30 million low-wage workers (defined as workers earning less than $8.70/hr or $16,704 per year). Of those 30 million, 60% are women. According to this site, only a third of workers have paid sick time to take care of their children and over three-fourths of the lowest paid workers have NO paid sick time at all. I find this website pretty credible. They seem to be basing their facts upon government statistics, including those from the Labor Department. Though visitors are asked to donate to the group's efforts, no donation is required to access the information or resources. The website's initiatives are also very positive and very needed ones: promoting equal pay for equal work, promoting work/family balance, strengthening Affirmative Action policies (which include women), and en

Website Overview: This website's motto spells out what this webpage is about, "A World That is Good For Women is Good For Everyone." This organization believes that furthering pursuits of, and bettering the lives of, women will benefit society and the greater good. The website outlines how they do this, through studies, seminars and education and action and assitance programs, not necessarily just benefitting women but as the site says, "put(ting) women's perspectives at the center of inquiry." Intended Audience: The intended audience that this website is attempting mostly to appeal to are philanthropists; those who would be sympathetic to their cause and who would donate money to further it and also those who would spread the word about them, though, it also looks as though they are simultaneously attempting to target educators and/or those who would be educated, to get them on board with what they are doing with the hopes of spreading their theories. There is a calendar of events page that lists several upcoming seminars relating to their work and findings. Relationship to work, family, community class Women in the workforce, as well as in familial roles, and everything in between, were extensively discussed this semester. Women seem to shoulder a lot of the responsibility for society's problems, whether warranted or unwarranted, especially in relation to children and working mothers. We have learned that women's roles are still fiercely debated to this day and that even people who are for working mothers have completely different thoughts about what it means to treat a woman "equally." Should women be treated no differently than men at work or should those women who wish to be recognized as different than men have schedules and benefits tailored to their needs, otherwise referred to as being placed on the "mommy track" which is referenced in our text written by Ann Bookman? This seems to be happening on a case by case basis excep

(the remainder of my post, which was cut off).... t where the government steps in, such as FMLA time vs. maternity leave which sometimes only applies to the person who physically had the child (a mother) or parental leave which usually includes a male parent. Women, whether working or not were vital to our class discussions, whether it pertained to the work force or the family dynamic and therefore, this website, that promotes the betterment of women is absolutely relevant to our class.

I like this website because it gives a wide range of information. What I do not like about it is that it is not real easy to access. To get it you have to call a phone number because most of it is not on the website. I feel like this website can help families in many ways. It talks about parenting, the workforce, and the workplace. This site is targeted to about any adult male or female. It is very relevant to our class. It talks about how to separate work life from the family life. I think this has been lost in many families today because the two almost seem to run together. The site also shares information on how to discipline children as well as parenting information. This site can just about help you with any problem that you may have in your life. It also just goes to show that you are not alone in your problems because there are many other people on there that have the same problems. I also liked that they have seminars scheduled where they will show the information that they have gathered if you are interested in going.