Moreover, from the pharmaceutical industry's point of view,

bioinformatics is the key to rational drug discovery. It reduces the

number of trials in the screening of drug compounds and in identifying
potential drug targets for a particular disease using high-power computing
workstations and software like Insight. This profound application of
bioinformatics in genome sequence has led to a new area in pharmacology—
Pharmacogenomics, where potential targets for drug development are
hypothesized from the genome sequences. Molecular modeling, which
requires a lot of calculations, has become faster due to the advances in
computer processors and its architecture (Madan, n.d.).

In plant biotechnology, bioinformatics is found to be useful in the

areas of identifying diseases resistance genes and designing plants with
high nutrition value (Madan, n.d.).

How to Check the Reliability of Web Sources

The Internet contains a vast collection of highly valuable
information but it may also contain unreliable, biased information that
mislead people. The following guidelines can help us check the reliability
of web sources that we gather. It is noteworthy to consider and apply the
following guidelines to avoid misinformation. (Lee College Library, n.d.)

1. Who is the author of the article/site?

¢ How to find out?

Look for an “About” or “More About the Author” link at

the top, bottom, or sidebar of the webpage. Some pages
will have a corporate author rather than a single person
as an author. If no information about the author(s) of the
page is provided, be suspicious.

/ __ Does the author provide his or her credentials?

“Y What type of expertise does he or she have on

the subject he or she is writing about? Does he
or she indicate what his or her education is?
 “ What type of experience does he or she have?
Should you trust his or her knowledge of the
subject?
Try searching on the Internet for information about the
author,

“ What kinds of websites are associated with the

author’s name? Is he or she affiliated with any
educational institution?

“ Do commercial sites come up? Do the websites

associated with the author give you any clues to
particular biases the author might have?
2. Who published the site?
e How to find out?

/ Look at the domain name of the website that will

tell you who ishosting the site. For instance, the
Lee College Library website is: http://www.lee.edu/
library. The domain name is "lee.edu." This tells you
that the library website is hosted by Lee College.

Search the domain name at http://www.whois.sc/.

The site provides information about the owners of
registered domain names. What is the organization’s
main purpose? Check the organization’s main
website, if it has one. Is it educational? Commercial?
Is it a reputable organization?

Do not ignore the suffix on the domain name (the

three-letter part that comes after the “.”). The
suffix is usually (but not always) descriptive of what
type of entity hosts the website. Keep in mind that
it is possible for sites to obtain suffixes that are
misleading. Here are some examples:
edu = educational

com = commercial
 -mil = military
-20V = government
-org = nonprofit
Why did the author
What is the main purpose of the site?
write it and why did the publisher post it?
To sell a product?

As a personal hobby?
As public service?

To further scholarship on a topic?

To provide general information on a topic?

To persuade you of a particular point of view?

Who is the intended audience?

Scholars or the general public?

Which age group is it written for?

Is it aimed at people from a particular geographic area?

Is it aimed at members of a particular profession or with

specific training?

What is the quality of information provided on the website?

Timeliness: When was the website first published? Is it

regularly updated? Check for dates at the bottom of each
page on the site.

Does the author cite sources? Just as in print sources,

web sources that cite their sources are considered more
reliable.

What type of other sites does the website link to? Are
they reputable sites?
What types of sites link to the website you are evaluating?
Is-the website being cited by others?-
Examples of Useful and Reliable Web Sources
AFA e-Newsletter (Alzheimer's Foundation of America
newsletter)

American Memory — the Library of Congress historical digital

collection.

Bartleby.com Great Books Online — a collection of free

e-books including fictions, nonfictions, references, and verses.

Chronicling America — search and view pages from American

newspapers from 1880-1922.

Cyber Bullying —a free collection of e-books from ebrary plus

additional reports and documents to help better understand,
prevent and take action against this growing concern.
Drug information websites:
e National Library of Medicine's MedlinePlus

e Drugs.com
e PDRhealth

Global Gateway: World Culture & Resources (from the

Library of Congress)

Google Books

Googlescholar.com

10. History sites with primary documents:

e AMDOCS: Documents for the study of American
history

e Avalon Project: Documents in Law, History and

Diplomacy (Yale Law School)
e Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Colonial
Latin America

e Teacher Oz's Kingdom of History

 LI. Illinois Digital Archives — the Illinois State Library workin
g
with libraries, museums, and historical societies in Illinois
provides this collection of materials related to Illinois history.

12. Internet Archive —a digital library of Internet sites and other

cultural artifacts in digital form.
‘13. Internet Archive for CARLI digitized resources
14, Internet Public Library
15. ipl2 — a merger of Librarians’ Internet Index and Internet
Public Library. Special interest may include the “Literary
Criticisms" page which can be found after clicking on the
"Special Collections” link.
16. Librarians’ Internet Index

17. Making of America — a digital library of primary sources in

American social history.

18. Maps — from the University of Texas at Austin collection.

Includes historical and thematic maps.

19. NationMaster — a massive central data source and a handy

way to graphically compare nations. It is a vast compilation of
data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, UN, and
OECD.
20. Nursing sites:
© AHRQ (www.ahrq.gov)

e National Guidelines Clearinghouse

(www.guideline.gov)
e PubMed (www.nlm.nih.gov)

21. Project Gutenberg — the first and largest single collection

of free electronic books with currently over 20,000 e-books
available.
 Shmoop — literature, US history, and poetry information
written primarily by PhD and masters students from top
universities like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale.
StateMaster — a unique statistical database which allows you
to research and compare a multitude of different data on US
States using various primary sources such as the US Census
Bureau, the FBI, and the National Center for Educational
Statistics. It uses visualization technology like pie charts,
maps, graphs, and scatter plots to provide data.

24. Virtual Reference — selected web resources compiled by the

Library of Congress. .
One can also visit the university library and seek help from librarians
as they are knowledgeable and the library has a rich collection of online
library resources that are very useful for academic and research purposes.

ii *
Nowadays, information could be shared or transferred quickly.
People are becoming more interested in sharing information about
themselves. Various aspects of our society are also being influenced by the
Information Age especially communication, economics, industry, health,
and the environment. The rapid upgrade of information poses both positive
and negative impacts to our society. Therefore, we need to carefully check
our motives before disseminating information and we also need to verify
information before believing them and using and sharing them. We should
share information that could help improve our lives and others.

peeTHINK ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS

1. Who are the contributors of the technological advances of the
Information Age?

2. Aside from communication, what other aspects of society is/

are being influenced in the Information Age?

3. What other technological advancements can possibly be

developed in the future?
 a
J |
f
1. Video presentation. Form groups consisting of three to five
members each and prepare a video presentation that focuses
on the evolution of transmission of information in various
time periods and areas of the world. Refer to Table |
presented in the discussion. The members may act in the video
presentation and they can use props or materials to improve
the presentation. Limit the video presentation in three to five
minutes.

2. Creative work. Think of a device with special features that

you can develop to help improve lives of people in our
society. It could be something that you can develop to help in
communication, transportation, health, and the like. Illustrate
your device in a short bond paper. Show your output in class
and explain. ft

Nagata Gas :
Harris, R. (n.d.). “Truths of the Information Age.” Accessed February
26, 2017. http://www.virtualsalt.com/infotrue.htm.
Illinois Valley Community College. (n.d.). "List of useful and reliable
web sources." Accessed August 2, 2017. https://www.ivcc.edu/
library.aspx?id=4038.
Lee College Library. (n.d.). “How CanI Tell ifa Website is Reliable?”
Accessed August 2, 2017. https://www.edb.utexas.edu/petrosino/
Legacy_Cycle/mf_jm/Challenge%201 /website% 20reliable. pdf.

Madan, M. (n.d.). “Bioinformatics-an aid for biological research.”

Accessed August 2, 2017. http://www.mrc-Imb.cam.ac.uk/
genomes madanm/articles/bioinfo.htm.
Messenger, J. R. (1982). “The Theory ofthe Information Age.” Accessed
February 26, 2017. http://www.informationage.org/bri
efhistory,
html.
 Shmoop — literature, US history, and poctry information

tw
ra
Written primarily by PhD and masters students from top
Universities like Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and Yale.
StateMaster — a unique statistical database which allows you
'
~~

to research and compare a multitude of different data on US

States using various primary sources such as the US Census
Bureau, the FBI, and the National Center for Educational
Statistics. It uses visualization technology like pie charts,
maps, gniphs, and scatter plots to provide data.
24, Virtual Reference — selected web resources compiled by the
Library of Congress.
One can also visit the university library and seck help from librarians
as they are knowledgeable and the library has a rich collection of online
library resources that are very useful for academic and research purposes.

SENSE -*
Nowadays, information could be shared or transferred quickly.
People are becoming more interested in sharing information about
themselves. Various aspects of our socicty are also being influenced by the
Information Age especially communication, economics, industry, health,
and the environment. The rapid upgrade of information poses both positive
and negative impacts to our society. Therefore, we need to carefully check
our motives before disseminating information and we also need to verify
information before believing them and using and sharing them. We should
share information that could help improve our lives and others.

eee TONESaN HAS (UO

1. Who are the contributors of the technological advances of the
BS Information Age?
O 2. Aside from communication, what other aspects of socicty is/

|
a are being influenced in the Information Age?

> 3. What other technological advancements can possibly be

developed in the future?
ra
 as
fs

Video presentation. Form groups consisting of three to five

members each and prepare a video presentation that focuses
on the evolution of transmission of information in various

——
time periods and areas of the world. Refer to Table |
presented in the discussion. The members may act in the video
presentation and they can use props or materials to improve
the presentation. Limit the video presentation in three to five
minutes.

Creative work. Think of a device with special features that

you can develop to help improve lives of people in our
society. It could be something that you can develop to help in
communication, transportation, health, and the like. Illustrate
your device in a short bond paper. Show your output in class
and explain. J

*
eee

Harris, R. (n.d.). “Truths of the Information Age.” Accessed February

26, 2017. http://www.virtualsalt.com/infotruc.htm.
Illinois Valley Community College. (n.d.). "List of useful and reliable
web sources.” Accessed August 2, 2017. https://www.ivec.edu/
library.aspx?id=4038.
Lee College Library. (n.d.). “How CanI Tell ifa Website is Reliable?”
Accessed August 2, 2017. https://www.edb.utexas.edu/petrosino/
Legacy_Cycle/mf_jm/Challenge%201/website%20reliable.pdf.
Madan, M. (n.d.). “Bioinformatics-an aid for biological research.”
Accessed August 2, 2017. http://www.mre-lmb.cam.ac.uk/
genomes madanm/articles/bdioinfo.htm.
Messenger, J. R. (1982). “The Theory ofthe Information Age.” Accessed
February 26, 2017. http://www.informationage.org/briefhistory.
html. "