Synopsis

Some thoughts by Kathy Rutkowski 

My own thoughts and an example in WebCredibility

Some interesting thoughts by Kathy Rutkowski regarding: SLITHERING ALONG IN THE SPRINGTIME OF THE EDUCATION INFORMATION HIGHWAY:

Clifford Stoll, ex-Internet Geek and author of Silicon Snake Oil:Second Thoughts on the Information Highway, publicly turned his attention to (sigh) education. In a May 19, 1996 New York Times Op-Ed article entitled, "Invest in Humanware," Mr. Stoll, the anti-Internet Guru and savior of Contemporary Society and now schools, chastised those who would promote the use of the Internet and other advanced technologies in the classroom. ** He offered his not-so-novel opinion that new technologies do very little to help improve teaching and learning and are expensive toys of questionable educational value.

There are lessons here for those of us who have worked long and hard to understand how new technologies can help promote meaningful change in education. Spring has arrived and we must be more careful because technological vibrations are bringing out the snakes, the snake oil salesmen, and the would-be snake charmers along the Education Information Superhighway. We may think that the snakes are our worst enemies but in fact ignorance is. Our greatest challenge in the months and years ahead is to be patient, vigilant and active searchers/disseminators of the truth. Misunderstanding and misinformation will lead to bad policies that will not only impact on technology in schools but more significantly on the quality of teaching and learning in our public education systems and ultimately on the future of our nation and the well-being of society.

"Side effects" of the Internet Revolution:

It is true that almost anyone can put up a web site even one that looks “informative”.  However the unsuspecting viewer may not think question the purpose behind a professionally looking website which contains a lot of apparently relevant information.  Doing a Google search on the words “side effects”, turns up as one of the top hits: Zoloft Side Effects Lawyer - suicide, withdrawal, agitation, aggression, hostility.  This is the title embedded in the HTML code of the Zoloft Side Effects Lawyer website.  The keywords embedded in the HTML are: zoloft, zoloft side effects, ssri, antidepressant, sertraline, side effects of zoloft, zoloft withdrawal, zoloft information, antidepressant side effects,zoloft withdrawal symptom, zoloft effects, zoloft lawsuit, zoloft antidepressant, zoloft sertraline, zoloft lawyer, zoloft attorney.  So it is a good bet that someone using almost any search engine for information on side effects of Zoloft and other antidepressants will hit upon this site.

The group, Consumer WebWatch, has proposed the following guidelines regarding Web credibility:

CONSUMER WEBWATCH GUIDELINES

We believe Web sites will promote Web credibility if they adopt these basic policies:

1

Identity:
Web sites should clearly disclose the physical location where they are produced, including an address, a telephone number or e-mail address.

Sites should clearly disclose their ownership, private or public, naming their parent company.

Sites should clearly disclose their purpose and mission.

2

Advertising and Sponsorships:
Sites should clearly distinguish advertising from news and information, using labels or other visual means. This includes "in-house" advertising or cross-corporate ad sponsorships. Search engines, shopping tools and portals should clearly disclose paid result-placement advertising, so consumers may distinguish between objective search results and paid ads.

Sites should clearly disclose relevant business relationships, including sponsored links to other sites. For example: A site that directs a reader to another site to buy a book should clearly disclose any financial relationship between the two sites.

Sites should identify sponsors. The site's sponsorship policies should be clearly noted in accompanying text or on an "About Us" or "Site Center" page.

3

Customer Service:
Sites engaged in consumer transactions should clearly disclose relevant financial relationships with other sites, particularly when these relationships affect the cost to a consumer.

Sites should clearly disclose all fees charged, including service, transaction and handling fees, and shipping costs. This information should be disclosed before the ordering process begins.

Sites should clearly state and enforce policies for returning unwanted items or canceling transactions or reservations.

4

Corrections:
Sites should diligently seek to correct false, misleading or incorrect information.

Sites should prominently display a page or section of the site where incorrect information is corrected or clarified.

Sites should strive to mark content with its published date when failing to do so could mislead consumers.

Sites should clearly state their policy on a consumer's rights if a purchase is made based on incorrect information on the site.

5

Privacy:
Site privacy policies should be easy to find and clearly, simply stated.

Sites should clearly disclose how personal data from site visitors and customers will be used. Personal data includes name, address, phone number and credit card number.

Sites should disclose whether they use browser-tracking mechanisms such as "cookies," and other technologies such as Web beacons, bugs and robots.

Sites should explain how data collected from them will be used.

Sites should notify customers of changes to privacy policies, and provide an easy opt-out alternative.

***

We believe Web site readers should be able to find these policies easily, on an "About Us" or "Site Center" page navigable from the home and other site pages.

 

The Zoloft Side Effects Lawyer website brakes many of these guidelines.  While the word “lawyer” should be a giveaway in the title and URL, there is no “About Us” or disclosure page.  The address given at the bottom of the home page and a URL (no link) on the “contact” page do indeed lead to the law firm: Baum, Hedlund, Aristei, Guilford & Schiavo.  An advertisement under the “Practice Areas” page of the law firm’s website states: “Antidepressant Product Liability Cases: Since 1988, Baum, Hedlund, Aristei, Guilford & Schiavo has represented victims in drug product liability litigation against pharmaceutical companies arising out of the use of potentially harmful drugs that may cause serious injury or death”. 

The Zoloft Side Effects Lawyer website states “Zoloft causes some people (3-5%) to experience a suicidal event”.  This is based upon the several studies from the early 1990s on the potential effects of ssri antidepressants in enhancing suicide ideation.  But of course the website fails to cite more recent studies and reports including the following web report: Suicidal and violent behavior associated with the use of fluoxetine, published by Dr. James D. Hegarty who wrote the report for the Drugs and Devices Information Line at the Harvard School of Public Health.  Dr. Hegarty concludes this web report by stating: “In conclusion, the available evidence supports only an equivalent or decreased risk for emergent SI or aggression during fluoxetine therapy as compared to other antidepressant medications”. 

Not only does the Zoloft Side Effects Lawyer website not site Dr. Hegarty’s report but it only selectively cites reports showing “bad” side effects of this medication.  While numerous scary sounding side-effects are pronounced on the site there is no mention of the fact that the FDA labeling for the drug puts things in perspective:

Suicide - The possibility of a suicide attempt is inherent in depression and may persist until significant remission occurs. Close supervision of high risk patients should accompany initial drug therapy.  Prescriptions for ZOLOFT should be written for the smallest quantity of tablets consistent with good  patient management, in order to reduce the risk of overdose.  Because of the well-established comorbidity between both OCD and depression and panic disorder and depression, the same precautions observed when treating patients with depression should be observed when treating patients with OCD or panic disorder. 

Misinformation has always been a part of society.  As a way of making a profit and of promulgating certain views, I am sure that it has been used endlessly.  The World Wide Web provides an easy conduit for misinformation.  However those utilizing the Web also have access to authoritative information sites.  In the pre-Internet days, lay persons receiving misinformation via available media (print, radio, television, etc.) did not have easy access to more reliable sources.  With a good understanding of the limitations and benefits of this new web medium, including a recognition of best practice uses as proposed by groups such as Consumer WebWatch, web using consumers have the opportunity to make informed choices in evaluating the information and misinformation pervasive in our society.