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Chapter 13Web Sight: Critical Thinking and the

InternetSecond Thoughts, 4th ed.

Wanda TeaysMcGraw-Hill Higher Ed

©2010. Wanda Teays. All Rights Reserved.

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The World Wide WebWe reaffirm this powerful link between people every time we access the Internet.

Each “www” we type reminds us that we are inextricably bound to one another in the World Wide Web.

The Internet has fundamentally changed our lives. It has the potential to democratize knowledge, by making available a seemingly limitless range of possibilities for investigation and the communication of ideas and information.

It has no geographic boundaries.

And lots of people use it! In 2009 there were 199 million Internet users in the U.S., according to Pew Research Center.

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Imaging the InternetThink of terms like “World Wide Web,” “Internet,” and “cyberspace.” All three (webs, nets, and spaces) have physical correlates that are instructive to contemplate.

The Web may seem fragile, but is a well-constructed series of links with almost limitless possibilities.

The Internet really is a kind of net.

In spite of attempts to set down some limits—such as protections for children who may be vulnerable to predators—much of the Internet is wide-open territory.

In that sense, cyberspace really is a kind of space.

People, as well as corporations, have staked out territory, attempted to set down guidelines, and enforce rules of conduct

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Web Hoaxes and Trickery

The Web lends itself to practical jokes and hoaxes.

Some websites play on people’s gullibility and curiosity, but are otherwise quite innocent. Others try to manipulate users.

Deceit and trickery with domain names: A person, business or organization may have the same or similar name of a much more famous person or organization—thus leading to confusion on a user’s part.

EXAMPLES:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals didn’t like it that People Eating Tasty Animals having the domain name www.peta.org – and sued to get it!

The Islamic Society of North America, one of the biggest Islamic groups, does NOT own www.isna.org. This website is run by the Intersex Society of North America!

Southwest Airlines URL is not www.swa.com (the home of Simpson Weather Associates).

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CybersquattingCybersquatting is where someone buys up the name of some well-known company and then demands money to give it up

“Is cybersquatting devious and misleading?” you wonder. Or are people just gullible to assume www.whatever.com will be the website they seek? It certainly has created havoc for companies, groups, and individuals.

In recognition of the greedy or malevolent acts by some cybersquatters, Congress enacted the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) in 1999.

This act allows publishers to take civil action against anyone with bad-faith intent to profit from use of an identical or confusingly similar domain name.

Those who don’t want to sue can fight the cybersquatter using an international arbitration system created by the Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers.

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Web ResearchAsk yourself:

Will you access good information?

This is a search question.

Can you distinguish higher-level from lower-quality websites and documents?

This is an evaluation question.

We need to look at both of these questions.

The first one involves being able to search the Web. For that, you need to know how to use search engines, when to try more than one search engine, and other ways to access reference material.

The second question involves analysis—putting our critical thinking tools to work.

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Pearls of Wisdom: First 5 of 10 

1. Research Takes Time: Allow time to follow links and links within links to investigate the resources out there. If you do, you may find far more than you ever imagined possible.

2. Think like a Fox: Maybe you’ll find great stuff after your first search, maybe not. Be prepared to try different Search Engines and different ways of formulating questions or search terms. 

3. Be imaginative: Be crafty when phrasing search terms. If one doesn’t work, try another. Try different search engines and electronic databases, and approach the topic through various avenues.

4. Libraries are Good Things: Use library websites and resources. Try local library resources (e.g., lapl.org), university library websites, the Library of Congress, and so on.

5. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel: Investigate professional organizations. Remember laws and legal decisions are available on line (e.g. U.S. Supreme Court site), as well as statistics, government documents, photo archives, historical papers, music and film reviews, and other hard-to-find resources

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Pearls of Wisdom: Last 56. Know Your Friends: Publishers’ websites are good places to

scout for documents; government sites can be a treasure trove, as can national archives, newspapers online, online journals, and meta-search engines.

7. Consider Unlikely Suspects: Go to sites that seem tangential. These may not directly relate to your search, but may provide a back door to the topic, or to links and resources.

8.  Network: E-mail professionals, organizations, or other online contacts if you have questions or concerns that their expertise can help. Remember to be as precise as you can in your request.

9. Ask Questions. It helps in navigating search engines and using search tools to be able to formulate your search as a question. Plus, at a website, you may need to clarify what you seek or have to rephrase or narrow down the search.. Questions help us stay focused.  

10. Keep an Open Mind. Be receptive to new ideas and fresh perspectives. Try a variety of approaches. The answer to our prayers may be staring us in the face, but we need to be perceptive and receptive to different ways of seeing the world. 

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Web AnalysisThere are two major areas of web analysis.

ONE: Assessing the webpage to determine credibility. This focuses on the source of the information—the site itself and its legitimacy.

TWO: Assessing the quality of the article(s) found on a given webpage or website. This focuses on the content of the webpage—the quality of the reasoning found there.

The first issue is to get to a legitimate source of information and ideas—-one where the authors have the appropriate qualifications or credentials, and where the site itself is subject to review.

The second issue is one of content. Here we are concerned that with the quality of the reasoning set out in the articles and other material found at the site.

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Assessing the Credibility of Web PagesAmerican Library Assn. Tips

Accuracy: Who wrote the page and how can you contact them? What is the purpose of the document and why was it produced? Is this person qualified?

Authority: Who published the document? What is the domain of the document? Is there an institutional affiliation listed? 

Objectivity: What goals or objectives does this web page meet? How detailed is the information? Does the author express any opinions? Is the web page a mask for advertising? Do you detect any bias? Why was this written and who is the intended audience? 

Currency: When was it produced—and last updated? How up to date are the links (if any)? Are there any dead-links are on the page?

Coverage: Is the information presented cited correctly? Are there links to more detailed documents or related resources? What function do the visual images (or sound/videos) serve?

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Content Checklist

1. Assess Thoroughness. Check for information and resources, as well as links and hyperlinks.

2. Determine Frame of Reference. Consider other perspectives and how things would change if other voices were heard.

3. Examine Reasoning. Check key claims and the structure of any arguments on the web page or associated articles.

4. Analyze and Evaluate. Look at the quality of the arguments and assess their strengths and weaknesses.

5. Check Use of Language. Watch for loaded terms, biased language, asymmetrical descriptions, repetition, metaphors

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Content Checklist continued

6. Watch for Fallacies. The Internet is not immune from fallacious reasoning.

7. Watch for Diverse Perspectives. Examine the values and worldview implicitly presented,

8. Assess Visual and Verbal Messages. Check the presentation and the use of images. See if they are relevant to the topic.

9. Assess Ads. Figure out the ad’s purpose and likely connection to the material on the webpage and the website in general.

10. Watch References and Links: Examine the use of references, documentation, citation, and associated links.

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BlogsWeb logs or “blogs” are websites that function as online journals.

Blogs can be about anything—and bloggers can be anyone. No one checks credentials for bloggers to get online.

Blogs can be great resources, especially on current events or specialized topics. They have certainly had an enormous impact on mainstream media.

But the lack of accountability or qualifications on the part of the blogger, tells us this: Blogs must be viewed with care and occasionally caution.

Watch for credibility on the part of the source and have your critical thinking tools at your disposal.

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Fab-Five Wiki TipsOne: Check the editors’ credentials and/or personal bio to determine their qualifications.

Two: Try to determine if anyone can edit their wiki, or if there are restrictions (e.g., use of offensive language or negative remarks about a person or group) or controls as to who can post or edit their material.

Three: Check out at least 3-4 of the wiki entries randomly chosen—case them out! Draw some inferences about the quality and note if it falls short of what you ought to expect.

Four: Pick one or two of the entries you examined and run a verifiability check—see if a known reputable sight either collaborates the information or at least does not contradict it.

Five: Don’t you get hooked—if it smells fishy or looks shoddy, look elsewhere or do a double check on the credibility of the author(s) and/or reliability of the website.

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The Internet and Intellectual Freedom

“Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us.”

So says Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. Seconding this view is the American Library Association (ALA).

A key issue is the censorship of ideas or information that individuals or groups find objectionable or dangerous:

The free expression of ideas as embodied in the First Amendment is a basic human right. As American citizens, we have the right to read what we want to read, hear what we want to hear, watch what we want to watch and think what we want to think.

Intellectual freedom is the right to seek and receive information from all points of view, without restriction, even those ideas that might be highly controversial or offensive to others.

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Intellectual Freedom: Libraries

What about the fact that libraries “discriminate” in what books and videos they purchase for their library?

One criterion for selecting what to buy is quality.

Does the filtering process that libraries use in purchasing materials for the library have a parallel in the cyberworld?

Their argument is this:

Libraries don’t stop this material from being published

They just don’t make it accessible from their library.

Human filters have been in place since public libraries first opened.

We ordinarily set limits around what is socially permissible.

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Censorship & The Internet

It’s interesting to consider the censorship of the Internet alongside censorship of books.

Obviously there are many similarities, but there are some key differences too.

One key difference is how easy it is to access Internet sites in the privacy of your own room.

Thus, unsupervised children may come upon (or seek out) material that parents would not normally allow them to access and libraries would not likely contain (e.g., pornography and hate speech).

The question is whether those differences are sufficient to suggest a different policy for the Internet than for novels and other books.

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Hate Speech on the Web

The Web is no more immune from hate speech that other vehicles of communication without strict controls in place.

The existence of hate-filled websites creates a controversy around freedom of speech and freedom of information.

Many say—Err on the side of freedom and let the audience decide for themselves.

On the other hand, some are alarmed at the rise of hate-sites—They worry that the ease of access of the Web means those most vulnerable (e.g., children) may become victims.

The White Supremacy (alias “White Nationalist”) website called Stormfront is said to be the Web's first hate site and the most-visited white supremacist site on the Net.

EXERCISE: What should be done about racist websites focusing on a particular group or groups (e.g., Blacks, Jews, Muslims, Gays and Lesbians, abortion rights groups, etc.)? Should there be any restrictions, so long as they do not advocate violent acts? Set out your recommendations and state your reasons for them.

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Online dating [is] the Web's largest trackable source of consumer dollars. Prisons, one of America's largest industries, are worth an estimated $40 billion.

Convict matchmaking giants like prisonpenpals.com and jailbabes.com claim between 7,000 and 10,000 ads, and scores of competitors: from the straightforward (inmate.com) to the suggestive (ladiesofthepen.com). Notoriety seems to almost guarantee mail—and proposals.  

Penpal sites make their money by charging inmates (roughly $40 to $75) to post their ads and print and forward any responses, or by charging pen pals [usually around$20] for inmate addresses.

Few US prisoners are allowed access to e-mail or the internet, so most never see their listings. Some sites boast pages of testimonials: from soon-to-be- released convicts who've found love to death-row inmates who say letter-writing has given them a way to come to peace with dying.

Some states take an active stand against the sites. The Oklahoma Department of Corrections issues "misconduct" citations to inmates for violating the department's policy that "inmates may not directly or indirectly use any Internet services."

Case Study: Online Dating & Prisons