Practical 8

http://www.talkingcock.com/

I like the main page of this website. However, when i clicked to enter to it, the interface does not stay exactly that attractive. However, the content of the site is interesting, applicable to us and humorous. I find that it is a unique website and I have not known about it until I have taken up this module.

I think that it is sustainable as it serves as a tool to bring our people closer together. This will be a place where people can share their thoughts and jokes as well as simliar viewpoints.

I think that people will go back to this website, I think I will too. It is basically to keep updated about what is popular and "IN". For example, topics about "Batman". Games such as 'Save the Maids' indirectly disturbs the fact that death of maids are common and we should try to prevent such incidents from occuing.

This is an interesting and creative website and a place for Singaporeans to appreciate their country better and know her better. This website allows Singaporeans to keep their creative juices flowing. Even the logo is unique as there are the chicken replacing the lion and tiger in our Singapore logo. However, this may be slightly offensive for some, but interestingly creative for many. ;)

If i were the Singapore's Prime Minister... I will be interested in this website. I find that it is a creative way of bonding people together. I may also try to learn some things from there to 'blend in'. I will not ban the website whatsoever as I feel that it actually helps to publicize Singaporeans' talents too such as movies. However, I may find the dirty jokes boring or find many things that may be far too unnecessary.

If I were a Singaporean, I would feel the way I am feeling now and be interested in somethings in the website. I will like to know how the other Singaporeans feel about things or think about things and that may influence me to form some of my opinions too.

If I were a foreigner working and studying in Singapore, I will still find the website interesting but will be very unfamilar about many phrases. I will be extra curious to know about it and bug Singaporean friends about it.

National Institue of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Practical 6

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(National Institutes of Health)

http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/

Aims of the website are to provide awareness to audience on HIV. It is to answer any queries and clear the doubts of people. They conduct experiments in labs and have research projects and clinical studies, programs, volunteer recruitment system etc.

Coverage is rather wide and comprehensive as informtion on Infectious Diseases are given. There is a search engine on the website and when the word "HIV" is being typed in the search engine, I get 12000 number of hits( from www3.niaid.nih.gov). Although the information is only from this site and there are no links to other websites, we get the details of information on HIV and Infectious Diseases that are reliable and supported with evidence and research.


This is an authoritative source. NIAID, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and NIH,National Institute of Health are recognised institutions with recognized knowledge and expertise. The authors can be contacted for more information. There are NIAID staff, NIAID Information Specialists that are at working for the health and research information counter.


Currently, there are no reviews on this official website. The facts in this website are accurate. Clinical studies have been done to prove the sources' reliability. There is no biasness in the source. It is a factual site that contains mainly of information on sources relating to infectious diseases and allergy. Information and latest updates on research funding and funding opportunities are also up on the website.



The facts are accurate and precise. There are news, features and research with much manpower being carried out. Therefore, the sources are reliable. It is a factual website as it is made up of clinical studies and health and science topics. The references are stated clearly and are free from errors. The information is up-to-date and well maintained. Every two months there will be information on the latest funding updates. The site is easily accessible. There is no need for registration and log-ins to know about the website. The information are accessible for free.


The information is well presented and well-arranged. The website is of table-form and there is a user-friendly interface where buttons are placed neatly on top. The search engines are rather effective too. It is easy to use and navigate around. There are user support facilities. My overall impression of the website is that it is a reliable source and organized website.

Comparison and Evaluation on search effectiveness

Meta Engine www.metacrawler.com will search for the word "and" if I type "AIDS" and development. It does not seem to respond to the " " used. Meta engine may be user-friendly and also helpful, however, does not seem to accept this searching technique.

Subject Directory http://www.yahoo.com/ results in lesser number of hits(2016) when the similar phrase was searched on, but they are more relevant as compared to the 132000000 hits returned when yahoo Search Directory is used.

Of the all above, google appeared to be high in popularity and views.

I find that Yahoo ( Directory category) most suitable and effective for me as the sites there are of higher relevance and are related. Although the search results are not of a big number, I would most probably not refer to all of the results and even the first page itself gives me what I need.

Keywords & Keyword Variations

Keywords: AIDS cure. Development. AIDS Research.
Keyword Variations: HIV health issues. Health developments. AIDS news. AIDS Blog. HIV programmes. STD. STD vaccines. Preventive measures.

Search Phrases: AIDS Therapies. Cure for AIDS. Development of AIDS. News on AIDS. AIDS Discussion Forums. Blogs on HIV. AIDS Research and Development. AIDS Research Centers. AIDS Research Strategy. AIDS Development and Evaluation. Preventive AIDS vaccines

Search Engine : Google

Keywords used: "AIDS" development

14,400,000 hits

Search Engine : Yahoo , http://www.yahoo.com/

Keywords used: "AIDS" development

132,000,000 hits

Meta Engine:Meta , http://www.metacrawler/

Keywords used : AIDS development

77 hits

Subject Directory : http://www.yahoo.com/

Keywords used: "AIDS" development

2016 hits

Practical 3

The first resource was Informational.
http://www.iasociety.org/

It was informational because it contains factual information and was about the International AIDS Society and the things that they do. More importantly, world AIDS news are posted up on the website for people to be aware of.


Another resource is of Personal category.
http://texasaidsblog.blogspot.com

This is a blog set up by two individuals, JakesMind and Carolyn. They had also given talks or policy briefings related to AIDS at conferences.


The last report is under the News category. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/hiv-aids/

The latest HIV News & AIDS News articles is published daily. News on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), awareness, preventive measures and treatment options are provided.

Practical 2

Activity 1

I have gone to personal websites as well as organisational websites.

One of the personal websites is that I went is
http://globalsociology.edublogs.org/ . The author of this webpage is SocProf and he produces blog posts on the blog with proper references to sites such as BBC.

One of the organisational website that I visited is http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/ . This is the official website of the National Institutes of Health that provides people with information on clinical studies as well as grants and contracts.


Activity 2

I used http://www.google.com/ , http://www.yahoo.com/ and http://www.mamma.com/ as search facilities. I used words such as "AIDS", "HIV Health issues", "HIV", "HIV prevention", "HIV development" and "HIV/AIDS Research".

Personal websites and organizational websites are different in many ways. Mainly, personal websites are more opinionated whereas organizational websites contains more facts. Organizational websites are usually broken up into many different categories such as news and events whereas personal websites like blogs usually have a main page for the main content.

The biblography of the resources where i obtained information from so far are as follows...

• Korin et al., Virology (2006) "Research Projects." Retrieved 15 May, 2008 from the World Wide Web: http://www.aidsresearch.org/scientific_research/research_projects.html

Practical 1

Topic: Discuss the developments of AIDS research

1) Categories : Discussion Forum
2) Resource Name / My Post :
HealthBoards Health Message Boards -HIV/AIDS Message Board
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=600904

3) Resource Description: Queries and personal experience from members of the forum on HIV /AIDS. People also share information on HIV.

Upon seeing so many threads of posts of worries and complains, I feel that the people out there need to know or be reminded that it is not all over for them. So I started a new thread....

05-07-2008, 02:09 AM
#1
hivwaver
vbmenu_register("postmenu_3559075", true);

Newbie(female)

Join Date: May 2008
Location: Singapore
Posts: 1
Stop fretting . There is Hope.
Hey all. According to what I have researched on.. There's still hope. There are drugs that can treat HIV and help people live longer. However the drugs do not stop people from spreading HIV. The main drug treatment for people with HIV is Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (also called HAART). HAART drugs help to slow the growth of HIV in your body.

1) Categories: Electronic journals and magazine
2) Resource Name / URL: http://www.fda.gov/womens/medicinecharts/hiv.html
3) Resource Description: An article on Drugs that can treat HIV and help people live longer.


1) Categories: WWW site
2) Resource Name / URL : http://www.aidsresearch.org/scientific_research/research_projects.html
3) Resource Description:

Prostratin: A new therapeutic agent targeting viral reservoirs

Microbicides: An essential new HIV prevention strategy