- Email: [email protected]
The Heritage Foundation Website
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Reviews / Journal of Government Information 28 (2001) 303 – 366
The Heritage Foundation Website Washington, DC, visited May 14, 2000, URL: http://www.heritage.org The Heritage Foundation is the largest and most well-known nonpartisan conservative think-tank in the United States, with a large number of supporters and, according to the Foundation’s annual report, a yearly income of over US$43 million. The mission statement that is part of this report lists free trade, limiting government, supporting individual freedom, upholding family and religious values, and the provision of a strong national defense system as major support issues. The main thrust of the organization is active involvement with policymakers providing information and discussion to encourage the adoption of the Foundation’s viewpoints. The information on the website indicates most of the organization’s income is spent to cover the costs of research and hiring experts to support the Foundation’s positions. The intended audience is members of Congress and their staffs, policymakers in the executive branch, the media, other institutions, and the general public. The website serves as a catalyst to pull together information about major organizational issues. An example of this is the full-text annual report, which is divided into major areas of action and details the organization’s involvement in policy decisions that relate to the mission of the organization. The first page of the website provides links to not only the annual report, but also to position papers, hot issues, press releases, speeches, and conferences that support the viewpoints of the organization. The subjects listed in the frame can be accessed throughout the website. The frame includes information on membership, publications, and features such as the mandate 2000 for leaders, schedules of special events, as well as additional kinds of resources. The resources include policy experts, speakers, a job bank, and other helpful links. The speaker pages provide a picture of the speaker, their expertise, and the subject matter of the speeches. The frame also includes a list of links to other Heritage Foundation websites. An example of one of the links is to the Foundation’s Asian studies information center website. The center is designed, according to the website, to provide information that develops an understanding of Asian economic, political, and security issues in order to influence future policies. Links are given to studies and reports supporting the Foundation’s Asian views. The amount of information and the number of links for each topic could contribute to a certain measure of confusion for the user. Some links go back to information already covered or links are provided for even more information. This reviewer suggests that the user should consider limiting the number of topics covered to achieve a comprehensive view of the Foundation’s position on a certain topic. The links to other public policy organizations and think tanks include the Cato Institute, another nonpartisan organization dedicated to conservative issues. According to the website, the Institute supports libertarian issues and sponsors policy forums around the world to support the organization’s views. The policy debates include support positions on limited government, individual liberty, and peace. Links are made to the Institute’s research areas and library and a link to career opportunities. This website is not as extensive as the Heritage Foundation website, but with a much smaller budget and staff, the website nevertheless gets the Institute’s message across to the user.
Reviews / Journal of Government Information 28 (2001) 303 – 366
307
Martha Jo Sani William M. White Business Library University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309-0419, USA PII: S 1 3 5 2 - 0 2 3 7 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 2 8 3 - 0
Broadband Today: A Staff Report to William E. Kennard, Chairman Federal Communications Commission on Industry Monitoring Sessions Convened by Cable Service Bureau Accessed May 2000. (Hereinafter referred to as Broadband Today) hhttp://www.fcc.gov/ bureaus/cable/reports/broadbandtoday.pdf i What government agency would be more appropriate than the FCC for the posting of documents and other information on the World Wide Web (WWW)? Available through the Federal Communications Commission WWW site (www.fcc.gov), Broadband Today sets the stage for the future in terms of access to different communication media through the Internet. In .pdf format, the report itself is 47 pages long with extensive endnotes, appendices, and a broadband glossary. On a personal note, this reviewer would like to see more formats available for downloading including WP, Word, and ASCII. However, kudos to the FCC for going with the freely available Adobe Reader. If one is going with only one format, a free, well-known one is a good choice. The Report summarizes a series of ‘‘Monitoring Sessions’’ requested by William Kennard, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Report is the output of the FCC and its many divisions and offices, including the Common Carrier Bureau, the Office of Plans and Policy, and the Office of Engineering and Technology. Attendees from the private sector included representatives from Internet service providers (ISPs), online service providers (OSPs), local exchange carriers (LECs), long distance telephone companies (IXCs), local franchising authorities (LFAs), and financial analysts, among others. The glossary in Broadband Today defines a broadband communications system as: ‘‘a network such as a cable system capable of delivering multiple high capacity services simultaneously.’’ Similar definitions can be found in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). To better understand the makeup of these Monitoring Sessions, one should familiarize oneself with the many acronyms used in the telecommunications industry. A less succinct definition for broadband transmission can be found using the Webopedia located at http://webopedia.internet.com: A type of data transmission in which a single medium (wire) can carry several channels at once. Cable TV, for example, uses broadband transmission. In contrast, baseband transmission allows only one signal at a time. Most communications between computers, including the majority of local-area networks, use baseband communications. An exception is B-ISDN networks, which employ broadband transmission.
Reviews / Journal of Government Information 28 (2001) 303 – 366
The Heritage Foundation Website Washington, DC, visited May 14, 2000, URL: http://www.heritage.org The Heritage Foundation is the largest and most well-known nonpartisan conservative think-tank in the United States, with a large number of supporters and, according to the Foundation’s annual report, a yearly income of over US$43 million. The mission statement that is part of this report lists free trade, limiting government, supporting individual freedom, upholding family and religious values, and the provision of a strong national defense system as major support issues. The main thrust of the organization is active involvement with policymakers providing information and discussion to encourage the adoption of the Foundation’s viewpoints. The information on the website indicates most of the organization’s income is spent to cover the costs of research and hiring experts to support the Foundation’s positions. The intended audience is members of Congress and their staffs, policymakers in the executive branch, the media, other institutions, and the general public. The website serves as a catalyst to pull together information about major organizational issues. An example of this is the full-text annual report, which is divided into major areas of action and details the organization’s involvement in policy decisions that relate to the mission of the organization. The first page of the website provides links to not only the annual report, but also to position papers, hot issues, press releases, speeches, and conferences that support the viewpoints of the organization. The subjects listed in the frame can be accessed throughout the website. The frame includes information on membership, publications, and features such as the mandate 2000 for leaders, schedules of special events, as well as additional kinds of resources. The resources include policy experts, speakers, a job bank, and other helpful links. The speaker pages provide a picture of the speaker, their expertise, and the subject matter of the speeches. The frame also includes a list of links to other Heritage Foundation websites. An example of one of the links is to the Foundation’s Asian studies information center website. The center is designed, according to the website, to provide information that develops an understanding of Asian economic, political, and security issues in order to influence future policies. Links are given to studies and reports supporting the Foundation’s Asian views. The amount of information and the number of links for each topic could contribute to a certain measure of confusion for the user. Some links go back to information already covered or links are provided for even more information. This reviewer suggests that the user should consider limiting the number of topics covered to achieve a comprehensive view of the Foundation’s position on a certain topic. The links to other public policy organizations and think tanks include the Cato Institute, another nonpartisan organization dedicated to conservative issues. According to the website, the Institute supports libertarian issues and sponsors policy forums around the world to support the organization’s views. The policy debates include support positions on limited government, individual liberty, and peace. Links are made to the Institute’s research areas and library and a link to career opportunities. This website is not as extensive as the Heritage Foundation website, but with a much smaller budget and staff, the website nevertheless gets the Institute’s message across to the user.
Reviews / Journal of Government Information 28 (2001) 303 – 366
307
Martha Jo Sani William M. White Business Library University of Colorado Boulder, CO 80309-0419, USA PII: S 1 3 5 2 - 0 2 3 7 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 2 8 3 - 0
Broadband Today: A Staff Report to William E. Kennard, Chairman Federal Communications Commission on Industry Monitoring Sessions Convened by Cable Service Bureau Accessed May 2000. (Hereinafter referred to as Broadband Today) hhttp://www.fcc.gov/ bureaus/cable/reports/broadbandtoday.pdf i What government agency would be more appropriate than the FCC for the posting of documents and other information on the World Wide Web (WWW)? Available through the Federal Communications Commission WWW site (www.fcc.gov), Broadband Today sets the stage for the future in terms of access to different communication media through the Internet. In .pdf format, the report itself is 47 pages long with extensive endnotes, appendices, and a broadband glossary. On a personal note, this reviewer would like to see more formats available for downloading including WP, Word, and ASCII. However, kudos to the FCC for going with the freely available Adobe Reader. If one is going with only one format, a free, well-known one is a good choice. The Report summarizes a series of ‘‘Monitoring Sessions’’ requested by William Kennard, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The Report is the output of the FCC and its many divisions and offices, including the Common Carrier Bureau, the Office of Plans and Policy, and the Office of Engineering and Technology. Attendees from the private sector included representatives from Internet service providers (ISPs), online service providers (OSPs), local exchange carriers (LECs), long distance telephone companies (IXCs), local franchising authorities (LFAs), and financial analysts, among others. The glossary in Broadband Today defines a broadband communications system as: ‘‘a network such as a cable system capable of delivering multiple high capacity services simultaneously.’’ Similar definitions can be found in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). To better understand the makeup of these Monitoring Sessions, one should familiarize oneself with the many acronyms used in the telecommunications industry. A less succinct definition for broadband transmission can be found using the Webopedia located at http://webopedia.internet.com: A type of data transmission in which a single medium (wire) can carry several channels at once. Cable TV, for example, uses broadband transmission. In contrast, baseband transmission allows only one signal at a time. Most communications between computers, including the majority of local-area networks, use baseband communications. An exception is B-ISDN networks, which employ broadband transmission.