I was assigned an edu page. I chose a page from the Harvard Gazette with a URL of news.Harvard.edu titled, “A rippling effect of the Holocaust.” This article was very interesting, it discusses the economic and political impact of World War II on Russia and its middle class, and how some Russian communities still have not recovered. The article states, “The Holocaust wiped out many of the most educated and productive people in western Russia….dramatically reducing the size of the Russian middle class (p. 2).”
The fact that it came from such a prestigious University gave it instant credibility in my view. However, I wanted to really dive into the details of this page to see how it compared to the website evaluation criteria.
The content certainly seems scholarly. The article was written by Steve Bradt, a Harvard Staff Writer. It also states that the study which this article is based on was conducted by Harvard Professor James Robinson, Daron Acemoglu of MIT and Tarek Hassan of Chicago Booth; all very well respected institutions which also add to the credibility of this information. The date of the article is clearly stated. There’s also a Harvard University logo icon on the page that will take you directly to Harvard’s home page. If you click on “international,” which is the section of the Harvard Gazette that this was classified under, you’ll notice that international news articles are added every two weeks.
On the other hand, I found absolutely nothing on this page about Steve Bradt, the author, other than his name and his position (staff writer). For all I know he could be a student, an intern or he could be an authority on this topic. I have no idea because it does not list his education, qualifications, etc. It also does not list a phone number for the author, although it does provide a link to email him. However, from this article you can click on Harvard’s home page to find contact information to the University which I’m sure could confirm the author’s credentials or put you in contact with him directly.
I do trust the information on this page. Edu sites appear to be among the most reliable web sources for information.
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/06/a-rippling-effect-of-the-holocaust/
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What a weekend! The John Rabe film, the Virginia War memorial, the Holocaust museum, my twins’ birthday party, home work assignments, and my sister got engaged; I think it’s fair to say that I experienced almost every emotion at some point this weekend. =)
I learned so much from both visits. This learning experience reminded of a passage from the article “Knowledge among Men”, “Objects are documents to be read as much as the printed page” (pg. 9). The “objects” I “read” at both of these locations jumped off the page! Although I will never be able to even imagine the gut wrenching suffering these victims experienced, I feel like now I have a better understanding of their journey, and for that I am thankful.
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