Module 3: Unrestricted Web Publishing

For this post, I chose to review "Training Dogs to Sniff Out Cancer," which was published in the Well section of The New York Times online.

The 10 webpages below are linked throughout the article. Underneath each link, I provided information on why I believe each source to be credible, using guidelines from "Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources." 

1) "Olfactory detection of human bladder cancer by dogs: proof of principle study"

• This is a government website. The authors names and roles are clearly stated, and their positions align with the content—proving they're an authority on the topic. The article is associated to "PMC, a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine (NIH/NLM)" (National Center for Biotechnology Information). The study is from 2004, and there is a complete list of works cited.

2) "Volatile organic compounds as biomarkers of bladder cancer: Sensitivity and specificity using trained sniffer dogs"

• This is a government website. The authors names are clearly stated. The article is associated to PubMed, which "comprises more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books" (National Center for Biotechnology Information). The study is from 2010-2011, and additional resources are available.

3) "Evidence for canine olfactory detection of melanoma"

• This is a commercial website. The authors names are clearly stated. The article is associated to "Applied Animal Behaviour Science, the official journal of the International Society for Applied Ethology (ISAE)" (Elsevier Inc.) The abstract is from 2004.

4) "Diagnostic accuracy of canine scent detection in early- and late-stage lung and breast cancers"

• This is a government website. The authors names are clearly stated. The article is associated to PubMed, which "comprises more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books" (National Center for Biotechnology Information). The study is from 2006, and additional resources are available.

5) "Olfactory detection of prostate cancer by dogs sniffing urine: a step forward in early diagnosis"

• This is a government website. The authors names are clearly stated. The article is associated to PubMed, which "comprises more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books" (National Center for Biotechnology Information). The study is from 2010-2011, and additional resources are available.

6) "Dogs Sniffing Out Health Problems"

• This is a commercial website from the Well section of The New York Times online. The author's name is clearly stated, and she links to various sources to support her claims, including government studies. The article was published in 2009.

7) "Seizure response dogs: evaluation of a formal training program"

• This is a government website. The authors names are clearly stated. The article is associated to PubMed, which "comprises more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books" (National Center for Biotechnology Information). The study is from 2008, and additional resources are available.

8) "DOGS DETECT PROSTATE CANCER IN MEN AT A REMARKABLY HIGH RATE OF ACCURACY"

• This is an organization's website, associated to the American Urological Association (AUA). The press release cites the study from which the authors gathered information, and there is contact info at the beginning of the piece. It was published this year, in May of 2014.

9) "Key considerations for the experimental training and evaluation of cancer odour detection dogs: lessons learnt from a double-blind, controlled trial of prostate cancer "detection

• This is a government website. The authors names are clearly stated. The article is associated to PubMed, which "comprises more than 24 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books" (National Center for Biotechnology Information). The study is from this year (2014), and additional resources are available.

10) A.T. Charlie Johnson

• This links to an educational website which provides details on a specific professor, including his education, research interests, selected publications, CV file, and more. The page notes copyright from this year (2014) by The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. The webpage provides contact information for the professor, as well as the University of Pennsylvania Department of Physics & Astronomy.

All of the sources above are very detailed, and the authors don't seem to be biased. Almost all of them are professional domains, including .gov, .edu, and .org. The oldest source is from 10 years ago (2004), but many of them are fairly recent.

In "Training Dogs to Sniff Out Cancer," Krisch presents both sides of the debate with sources to back up each. His tone is very matter-of-fact, not persuasive or manipulative.

Potential Impact of Unrestricted Web-Publishing Via Mass Media (as it relates to this article)

If "Training Dogs to Sniff Out Cancer" proves to be fabricated or exaggerated, the consequences wouldn't be severe. However, it would certainly anger a lot of people — as this would mean the author gave the general public false hope. If dogs could sniff out cancer (specifically ovarian) — aiding in the production of nanotechnology sensors — people could be diagnosed sooner, resulting in a greater chance of survival. Ovarian cancers frightens the general public, as it's a "silent killer" without a cure (Dr. Otto, as cited by Krisch). Since many individuals either have cancer or know someone with it, there's a lot of emotion tied to this topic.

News should be factual, credible, and clear, regardless of where it's published—in a paper newspaper or online.

Resources

Applied Animal Behaviour Science (2014). Elsevier Inc. Retrieved from http://www.appliedanimalbehaviour.com/

Krisch, J. (2014). Training Dogs to Sniff Out Cancer. The New York Times Online. Retrieved from http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/training-dogs-to-sniff-out-cancer/

Montecino, V. (1998). Criteria to Evaluate the Credibility of WWW Resources. Retrieved from http://mason.gmu.edu/~montecin/web-eval-sites.htm

PMC. National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed

PubMed. National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/

Module 2: Social Media and Truth

How I Know What I Know
I know what I know from a variety of people, places, and things. My environment, experiences, religion, education, personality, and those I surround myself with all contribute to my knowledge base.

As a baby, I learned from my parents and surroundings. As I got older, I went to school and learned from teachers. Now, while still learning from those around me (colleagues, friends, family, etc.), I also educate myself through my experiences—growing from both successes and failures. Likewise, my curiosity and 'need-to-know' nature cause me to seek out news—reading articles, watching television, listening to the radio, browsing Twitter, and much more.

To put it simply, I know what I know from being alive and aware—an active participant in life. I see, feel, listen, and think, absorbing the world around me.

One New Thing I Learned Via Social Media Today & Why I Believe It's True

Using social media today, I learned my friend Dana delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl.

I believe this to be true because various friends wrote congratulatory messages on her Facebook wall. Her sister posted photos of Dana and her family in a hospital room, holding a newborn baby. Additionally, Dana's husband Chris posted a photo of Dana holding her daughter, tagged with the baby's name: Maria Allyn. There was no denying this special news was true!

Source Used to Acquire This News

I relied on my Facebook friends to acquire this information.

Why Social Media Can Be Reliable for Obtaining Credible Information
In this instance (personal life), I believe social media sites are very reliable for obtaining credible information. Aside from the obvious fact of trusting my close friends, there was physical evidence by way of photos. Plus, the date of the posts matched Dana's due date.

Taking it a step further, I can't even count the number of times I've found out about engagements via Facebook. Most couples share their news with the world by posting a photo of the two of them, basking in happiness with a glass of bubbly and a sparkling diamond.

In the NPR Ombudsman/New Media podcast, Nick Bilton says social media will become “anchoring communities” that actually tame information overload and help determine what news and information to trust and consume and what to ignore.

We all have a group of people with whom we share life's most precious moments, and social media allows us to do this—connecting from near and far. 

Resources
Bilton, N., & Shepard, A. (2010, September 15). NPR Ombudsman/New Media. WOSU
     Public Media. Podcast retrieved from http://wosu.org/2012/allsides/npr-ombudsman-new
     -media/

Module 1: Influence of the Media

Forms of New Media I Use Daily
You can always find me with my smartphone in hand, or at the very least — close by. On a daily basis, I visit Facebook, Google Mail (Gmail), various blogs, news websites, and Google Search. New media helps me feel connected to the world at large.

How New Social Media Influenced My Perspective of Events
Social media has certainly caused me to be more aware of all events. I'm more knowledgeable of what's going on in the world, my town, and my circle of friends. 

Social media influences my perspective based on the number of posts I see about a particular event. The more something pops up in my News Feed, the more important I consider it to be. While an event may be minor, if my Facebook circle is talking about, it becomes a 'major' piece of news to me. I can also admit that I'm also quick to assume my friends' posts are factual, without diving deeper into my own research on the topic.

Social media also influences involvement in events, simply by making it easier to get involved. A recent example of this is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Not only did it flood social media sites, but it also resulted in a large number of charitable donations and comedic videos of friends dumping ice water over their heads. The ability to share, connect, and participate via social media is unmatched. 

In my opinion, social media's influences are both positive and negative. I enjoy staying informed on current events — from pop culture to international issues — and social media is a great resource. Breaking news is often leaked via social media (e.g. the death of actor Robin Williams). However, users must remember to take each post with a grain of salt and not allow others to influence our perspective. We need to obtain the facts and use our moral compass to shape our perspective.