Web Bias

“Pay No Attention to That Man Behind the Curtain” - Baum (1900)

Not good advice then and certainly not today. Toto had the good sense to pull the curtain back and reveal that the Wizard of Oz was a façade used to portray a great, powerful and all-knowing wizard when in reality the actual wizard was a mere mortal man with average knowledge and power.

The web provides a good environment and opportunity for facades that disguise biased, unsubstantiated and deceitful information because:

• anyone can publish content without barriers to entry such as editors, censors, watch groups
• it is easy to hide the true authors, agendas, and owners of a website

As critical thinkers, we have guidelines and tools to help us pull back the curtain as Toto did to reveal the truth of what we are viewing.

Guidelines for Evaluating the Website
The article “Evaluating Information Found on the Internet” (http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/#c) offers guidelines to help uncover bias. The following is a partial list:

• Is the author’s name present, recognizable and does it include a biography?
• Is there a name of an organization responsible for the website?
• Is there a method on the website for contacting the owners or webmaster?
• Can the owners of the website be identified?
• Can the point of view be determined? Does the author provide a counterpoint to this point of view?
• Does the author cite references or sources? Are these sources provided or links provided?
  How current is the content? Does the content provide a date of publication or update? Is the information provided or cited also dated? Is a copyright date provided?
• Is the information presented in a way to instill an attitude in its readers? Is the mission of the author or group clear?

Tools and Methods for Evaluating the Website
The Virtual Chase (http://www.virtualchase.com/quality/checklist_print.html) provides tools and methods for evaluating websites in the article called “How to Evaluate Information - Checklist”. These tools and methods assist in:

• checking the ownership of a site
• spotting a fraudulent website address
• identifying phishing scams, fake web pages or websites
• researching the author of content
• how to determine objectivity of the content

Detecting bias on the web is not easy. However the critical thinker will perform due dilligence in evaluating the quality of the information that is presented.

*Oz photo from edspresso.com

Week 4 at NSO: Gatekeeping, The Psychology of Music, and Unplugging from the TEcosystem

Gatekeeping and Concepts of Self in Media


Gatekeepers – Traditional Media
I am at the mercy of gatekeepers in traditional media. I tend to watch and listen to the same channels on television and the radio, therefore I ingest information that has been filtered, edited, carefully crafted and deemed appropriate for the interests of the media outlet and its audience. These news stories are sound bites that fit in a 20 minute format and in the case of local news are ripe with tantalizing headlines dealing with:
• Murder
• Other crimes
• Car accidents
• Political misdeeds

What has changed our news from journalism to a wrapped up piece of sensationalism?

The Tool and Desensitization
Let’s take local television network news for instance. In the case of television news, the tool itself has helped shape what we view now. Due to the length of the actual time allowed (20 minutes) for the news stories and 10 minutes of sponsors’ advertising, it is very difficult to dive too deeply into social issues or other issues of substance. In order to keep the audience interested and not willing to change the channel, the news is filled more with sensationalism than journalism. Can this be due to our (the audience) desensitization from what media is serving up these days such as:
• Violent programming in our homes and theatres
• Sexually explicit programming in our homes and theatres
• Violence in the news
• The ability for us to be closer than ever to public figures through the media

Gone are the days of Murrow, Cronkite, and the Huntley-Brinkley team. These were the unattractive stalwarts of television journalism in the infancy of television news anchormen. Put these anchormen next to Brian Williams of NBC or the line up of lovelies at Fox News today and they would pale in comparison by appearance.

Could This Guy Get a Job in Television Today?




People on television news these days are beautiful. The women on Fox News appear as if they were hatched from a cookie cutter of perfection and eerily look enough alike to be sisters. Are these people who read the news to us becoming as homogenous as the news itself?

I doubt if poor old Chet Huntley could even get an interview these days. He might be brilliant and have much to say, but honestly, could we tolerate his lack of beauty for 20 minutes? I doubt it. I want my news to be buffered by blinding beauty when it is delivered to me. I want to fixate on what the anchor person is wearing or what color tie Brian is wearing or what Gretchen's hair looks like. That will somewhat lessen the impact of the ugliness of the content.

The Persuasive Role of Music

Music can change our perception of what we are viewing. By changing the tone, rhythm or melody, the audience can be transported from a scene of serenity to one of danger. If the visual is changed, only it is changed, not the music. However if the music is changed, the essence of the visual is changed. When music is combined with a visual, is the music the core of the media experience?

Nostalgia
Some music brings back memories of a visual. The music may have been written long before the visual was produced that it is associated with, but it can certainly transport one back to that associative instance when it was heard in the context of the film:

- “Shout” – Otis Day and the Knights, Animal House
- “Damn it Feels Good 2 Be a Gangsta” – The Geto Boys, Office Space
- “Bohemian Rhapsody” – Queen, Wayne’s World
- “An der schönen blauen Donau” – Johann Strauss II, 2001 a Space Odyssey
- “Also Sprach Zarathustra” – Richard Strauss, 2001 a Space Odyssey (and countless Elvis concerts)

Shopping
Music plays a very large role in shopping. Have you noticed the music in department stores, grocery stores, even at gas pumps? I wonder if it is so pervasive that people don’t notice it unless it is annoying. Music can:
- energize people shopping for clothes
- soothe people at spas
- provide a sense of well-being at grocery stores
- provide entertainment at gas pumps

Of course on the flip side, it can be annoying if it is not used appropriately. How about heavy metal at the spa? Or classical music at Old Navy? To be affective, the audience and their activity have to be considered. In other words, when used to persuade shoppers, music has to be in context to be affective.

Despite where it is used and why, music continues to be the age old tool that moves us.

How Plugged in Are You?

Uber Worker
I picture our world as a giant network of millions of wires connecting people, places and things. Connectivity has accelerated to a point that there is now a blur of that previous sacred line that separated “at work” and “not at work.” The benefits of being able to conduct work from anywhere away from the office are huge. One of the benefits is the potential for increased productivity. By being plugged in via the iPhone, Blackberry, laptop with wireless or broadband, or a home-bound computer, workers can communicate easily with clients, vendors and co-workers and perform work from anywhere.

Leisure Time
If our productivity and time “at work” are increasing, then our leisure time is suffering. Our way of life is more hurried and we are rushing our children along with us. The art of relaxation seems to be lost. People appear to have a need to be plugged in whether they are playing video games or listening to their iPods. Is this relaxation for them? Probably not in the sense of truly removing all external stimuli and just “not doing” for a while. As we are on the treadmill of living, do we realize that the progress of technology has set us back to earlier days when (due to a lack of technology) we worked very long hours to ensure productivity was optimal? Have we really progressed as a society?

Learnings from the Critical Thinking Portion of NSO

Three Things I Didn’t Know Before:
- Kubrick selected the music for “2001 A Space Odyssey”
- Music is a powerful influencer
- I probably knew this but didn’t consider how much time I spend “plugged in” to work even when I’m not there


Two Things I Will Tell Colleagues:
- My professors are incredibly talented individuals and I’m lucky to get to work with them
- The NSO Santa Barbara was an inspiring time that allowed for thinking, learning and exploring


One change I Will Make in My Own Professional Practice
I will tell my team about the power of critical thinking which will help them dealing with often illogical and emotional situations.

Urban Legends

Horror, Humor, Caution, Morals and Riches
Urban legends can provide horror, humor, caution, moral lessons, the opportunity for riches and more. We humans (yes, I’m one of them) love a good story that almost seems too good to be true. Occasionally there is just enough substance to the story to make it believable. If the story is told by someone the recipient knows, a certain level of credibility is established. Adding that the story involved someone known to the story teller increases the level of credibility because the recipient thinks that he or she are no more than two degrees of separation from the source of the story.

We have adopted brevity in our informal communication due to post-Internet methods and tools including but not limited to:

• Email
• Twitter
• Facebook
• MySpace
• Text Messaging via cell phones

Due to this, communication has become quick, sometimes obscure and void of substantiating facts which serves urban legends very well. Combine this style of communication with the Internet as the source of the legend or story, and the original source is difficult to verify especially if the sender wishes to obscure that source.

Value Added
Some of these stories provide a useful service by helping us navigate through a life of potential hazards and helping us to live a moral life. A few examples are:

• slashers hiding under cars in parking lots at malls (safety tip)
• waking up without our kidneys after drinking in bars with prostitutes (moral guide)
• being killed by an escaped lunatic with a hook for a hand if you are underage and necking in a car out in the woods (moral guide)

Your Luck is About to Change

On the low end of the ”credibility scale” are the emails from important sounding people with a very important message to the recipient. These people are trying to settle an estate for a deceased client and you (the recipient of the email) are the lucky heir. The only catch is that the "heir" pays the "attorney" for the inheritance. This defies logic and common sense but people continue to believe and answer these emails sometimes to the detriment of their financial state.

Unquestionable Faith
Why do we want to believe unbelievable stories? Is there something in our makeup as humans that make us believe without question? Certainly people practice religions without questioning the proof of existence of what and/or who they are worshiping. They just believe. Has this been training over the centuries for believing “authority” without questioning?

Veritas
Information should be analyzed no matter what media it is delivered through. A critical thinker will try to determine the original source and presence of bias (agenda, funding source). In short, a critical thinker will get as close to the truth as possible.

A Definition of Critical Thinking

As a result of reading the suggested articles, Felix postings and some independent study, I think critical thinking is defined as not coming to a conclusion without careful consideration and analysis of the information put forth. The information should be approached and analyzed with:

• qualities of critical thinking;
• elements of thought;
• intellectual standards applied to those elements of thought.
  
  

Qualities of Critical Thinking

The following partial list of qualities of critical thinking is from The Critical Thinking Community (http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/valuable-intellectual-traits.cfm).

• Intellectual Integrity - the problem or issue is approached in a consistent manner with an open mind and fairness to one’s opposition
• Intellectual Humility - thinking is free of prejudice and one is honest about his/her level of knowledge about the subject
• Intellectual Perserverance - adherence to logical and rational principles is followed despite the irrational and illogical opposition of others

The Elements of Thought

The Foundation of Critical Thinking (http://www.criticalthinking.org/starting/Begin-CTModel.cfm) considers the following to be the eight elements of thinking:

• Purpose - What is the objective, why is this being presented, questioned?
• Question at Issue - Is this question clear? Does it clearly describe what the issue is
• Information - What information is available to answer this question? Is this information accurate and reliable? Do I need more information?
• Interpretation and Inference - Is my conclusion logical?
• Concepts- Are there alternate concepts to the key concepts?
• Assumptions- Are my assumptions (or those of the presenter) based upon sound evidence?
• Implications and Consequences - What result/results will my action/actions cause
• Point of View - How am I approaching this information? How would others approach it?

Intellectual Standards

According to The Foundation of Critical Thinking (http://www.criticalthinking.org/starting/Begin-CTModel.cfm), the following are a few of the intellectual standards which should be applied to the elements of thought:

• Clarity - Are there examples, illustrations? Can this be elaborated more?
• Accuracy - Is this information tested and verified?
• Precision- Are there more details? Has this been considered in detail?
• Relevance - Is this related to the issue?
• Depth - What are the complexities or difficulties of this issue?
• Breadth - Has this been addressed from multiple viewpoints?
• Logic- Does this make sense?
• Significance - Is this the most important fact?
• Fairness- Am I a neutral observer/assessor/analyst of this information?

*"Official Initech Jump to Conclusions Mat" image found(http://www.thinkgeek.com/books/humor/8e6c/images/2070/); the creator's name is not clear

Roz Savage - Ocean Rower

This lady named Roz Savage is rowing across the Pacific Ocean which in itself is a remarkable feat. But what I think is amazing is that she is able to communicate with us from the middle of nowhere.

The reason that this is so remarkable to me is that if you view her tracker and go to the following approximate coordinates (16.9 N, 169 W) you will see Johnston Atoll - my old home. When I first arrived there in 1987 we did not have satellite phones, the Internet, nor email. Our only methods of communication were old rotary dial telephones that were hooked up to a switchboard (with limited lines out) and communications were carried through cables sitting on the floor of the Pacific Ocean. We also had a weekly flight that carried mail in and out. The phones improved around 1990 and we got the Internet and email around 1995.

My point is that in a short 20 years, a lady has the technology tools to communicate from a tiny pinpoint of fiberglass (or whatever her boat is made of) and include us in her adventure.