Site Evaluation Tool Research Articles

The Quality, Readability, and Accuracy of the Information on Google About Cannabis and Driving: Quantitative Content Analysis

Background The public perception of driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) is not consistent with current evidence. The internet is an influential source of information available for people to find information about cannabis. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the quality, readability, and accuracy of the information about DUIC found on the internet using the Google Canada search engine. Methods A quantitative content analysis of the top Google search web pages was conducted to analyze the information available to the public about DUIC. Google searches were performed using keywords, and the first 20 pages were selected. Web pages or web-based resources were eligible if they had text on cannabis and driving in English. We assessed (1) the quality of information using the Quality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST) and the presence of the Health on the Net (HON) code; (2) the readability of information using the Gunning Fox Index (GFI), Flesch Reading Ease Scale (FRES), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) scores; and (3) the accuracy of information pertaining to the effects of cannabis consumption, prevalence of DUIC, DUIC effects on driving ability, risk of collision, and detection by law enforcement using an adapted version of the 5Cs website evaluation tool. Results A total of 82 web pages were included in the data analysis. The average QUEST score was 17.4 (SD 5.6) out of 28. The average readability scores were 9.7 (SD 2.3) for FKGL, 11.4 (SD 2.9) for GFI, 12.2 (SD 1.9) for SMOG index, and 49.9 (SD 12.3) for FRES. The readability scores demonstrated that 8 (9.8%) to 16 (19.5%) web pages were considered readable by the public. The accuracy results showed that of the web pages that presented information on each key topic, 96% (22/23) of them were accurate about the effects of cannabis consumption; 97% (30/31) were accurate about the prevalence of DUIC; 92% (49/53) were accurate about the DUIC effects on driving ability; 80% (41/51) were accurate about the risk of collision; and 71% (35/49) were accurate about detection by law enforcement. Conclusions Health organizations should consider health literacy of the public when creating content to help prevent misinterpretation and perpetuate prevailing misperceptions surrounding DUIC. Delivering high quality, readable, and accurate information in a way that is comprehensible to the public is needed to support informed decision-making.

Development and testing of the health information website evaluation tool on neck pain websites – An analysis of reliability, validity, and utility

ObjectiveOnline health information contributes to patient education and knowledge on disease management. The aims of this study were to design the Health Information Website Evaluation Tool (HIWET) to evaluate the quality of online information, and to investigate the reliability, validity, and utility of HIWET. MethodsHIWET was developed by a literature search and small-scale pilot testing. Upon development, psychometric properties of HIWET were evaluated on 20 neck pain websites. Reliability was analysed using Intra class correlation coefficient (ICC). Validity was analysed using Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. Utility was analysed using an independent samples t-test. ResultsHIWET demonstrated excellent intra-rater reliability (0.94 (0.98–0.99), p < .001) and fair inter-rater reliability (0.55 (0.88–0.10), p = .04). HIWET demonstrated validity with strong correlation against DISCERN (r = 0.656, n = 20, p = .002) and LIDA (r = 0.564, n = 20, p = 0.010). HIWET was time-efficient when compared to three comparison tools combined. ConclusionHIWET is a reliable and valid tool for evaluating the qualities of online health information. Practical implications: HIWET has the advantages of being a simple, quick to use and freely accessible tool. It can be implemented into clinical practice, education, and research to evaluate quality of online health information.

Uncertainty evaluation and performance assessment of water quality model for mariculture management.

Ecosystem based water quality models are important tools for prognostic site assessment and evaluation of ecosystem-performance of marine fish farms. We present the development and application of a comprehensive Fish Culture Zone Water Quality Model using continuous bi-weekly field data over a six-year period (2012-2017). The model simulates five interacting subsystems: phytoplankton, phosphorus and nitrogen cycles, and the dissolved oxygen (DO) and particulate organic carbon balance. The application of the model to two fish culture zones in Hong Kong shows the model captures the trends of nutrient and DO variation and the performance in quantitative prediction of algal biomass is challenging. The effect of errors in the specification of primary model inputs are evaluated using dimensionless sensitivity coefficients based on First Order Variance Analysis reveals the relative importance of fish stock (loading), physical size (volume), tidal flushing rate and boundary conditions in the prediction of key water quality variables.

Quality of Online Information for Esophageal Cancer.

The Internet is a readily available source of information, and patients in North America frequently access it. Esophageal cancer is the 7th most common cancer worldwide, but there is a lack of studies examining esophageal cancer website quality. This current study looks to systematically analyze the quality of websites accessed by patients with esophageal cancer. A previously validated website evaluation tool was used to analyze the quality of online esophageal cancer resources for patients. The term "esophagus cancer" was used to retrieve hits from the search engine Google and the meta-search engines Dogpile and Yippy. A 100 website list was compiled using pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Websites were evaluated regarding administration, accountability, authorship, organization, readability, content, and accuracy. The term "esophagus cancer" returned over 500 websites from the search engines. Of the 100 websites included for analysis, 97% disclosed ownership, sponsorship, and advertising. Only 35% identified an author and even fewer (31%) gave the author's credentials. Only 31% declared updates to their information within the past 2years. Readability scores revealed only 9%, and 12% of sites scored at an elementary level, according to the Flesch-Kincaid (FK) and SMOG scoring scales, respectively. The average FK and SMOG scores were 12.6 and 11.0, respectively. Detection was the most accurately described (70%). However, few websites provided accurate incidence/prevalence (28%), stage-specific prognosis (27%), or preventative information (17%). The quality of websites offering information on esophageal cancer is variable. While they overwhelmingly disclose website ownership interests, most do not identify authors, poorly describe important domains of esophageal cancer, and overall readability exceeds the commonly accepted level for non-healthcare professionals.

Development and testing of the Health Information Website Evaluation Tool (HIWET) – An inter-rater reliability analysis study

Development and testing of the Health Information Website Evaluation Tool (HIWET) – An inter-rater reliability analysis study

Effectiveness of stormwater facilities to reduce surface runoff and peak flow at JIExpo Kemayoran using Site Evaluation Tools (SET)

The high rate of urbanization is one of the problems that has occurred in Jakarta as capital of Indonesia. The implication is the change in land use from pervious cover to impervious cover which have an impact on increasing stormwater runoff. Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) is one of commercial complex in Central Jakarta. The complex covered area around 43.59 hectares and highly impervious (approximately 84 percent). This study simulating two stormwater facilities green roofs and permeable pavements, with total area to be converted aproximately 9.21 hectares (21 percent). The modelling run using Site Evaluation Tools (SET) Microsoft Excels spreadsheet to show the both of stormwater facilities effect on the surface runoff and peak flow. The results indicated that the techniques can be used to reduce runoff volume and peak flow. Per unit area, the green roofs better than permeable pavements at reducing the surface runoff evaporation and evapotranspiration. However, permeable pavements were better than green roofs at increasing infiltration. The simulation shows that by the combination of green roofs and porous pavement, the surface runoff can reduced by approximately 57%, the runoff volume can reduced by approximately 1.20% for 2-year daily rainfall, and the peak flow can reduced by approximately 50%. Overall, the SET is easy to use and useful for evaluating the effects of stormwater facilities.

Social no-go factors in mine site selection

When mining companies screen the attractiveness of potential mine sites (greenfield projects), the focus is typically on factors within the fields of geology, mining design, metallurgy, infrastructure, logistics, environment, and politics. Each category has ‘no-go factors’, the occurrence of which makes the company avoid activities in an area. However, social factors are not often part of the equation when calculating attractiveness scores at an early stage. We claim that social factors should be considered by identifying social thresholds and, furthermore, by including social no-go factors in the screening.This opinion piece draws on early findings from a larger research project on the sustainability of the mineral and metal industry. As part of the project, we have participated in discussions with companies, consultants, and researchers about the existing evaluation criteria generally used on greenfield projects. Based on this exercise, a site evaluation tool for mining companies is presently being developed. Based on our knowledge and experience with Social Impact Assessment and mining, we have proposed that social parameters, including no-go factors, are incorporated in the screening tool. This paper presents our arguments for the proposition.

Persian language health websites on Ebola disease: less credible than you think?

BackgroundEbola virus disease is an emergency situation in the area of international public health for which currently, there is no standard treatment. Thus, there is an essential need for awareness of individuals about the Ebola disease and consequently its prevention. Internet and health websites are considered a source of health information about certain diseases. Therefore, in this study, the credibility of Persian-language websites on Ebola is assessed.Materials and methodsThe term “Ebola” was searched using the Yahoo, Google, and Bing search engines. The first 30 websites resulting from each search engine were studied. Persian language was a prerequisite for inclusion. Duplicate and inaccessible websites were excluded and 62 websites were retained for evaluation. These websites were manually assessed by the researchers. The research tool was HONcode official toolbar as well as the checklist set by the researchers based on the HONcode of Conduct tool. The data were analyzed using SPSS 18.0 software.ResultsNone of the retrieved websites was officially approved by the HONcode of Conduct. Moreover, the manual evaluation showed that none of them had fully considered the eight criteria of HONcode. The results showed that most of the retrieved websites (62%) were commercial. The justifiability criterion had been considered in 89% of the studied websites, but the authority criterion had been considered by only 16% of the websites.Conclusion and recommendationsRegarding the poor reliability of Persian websites on the Ebola disease, and considering that Persian language people prefer to read the information in their native language, it is recommended that the authorized health organizations introduce reliable health websites in the Persian language. This will help them to take part in active healthcare decision-making and disease prevention. Moreover, it is necessary to educate people especially Persian language ones about the website evaluation tools, which can be used to assess the credibility of health websites before consuming the information on those websites.

Developing a Web Credibility Evaluation Tool Using PROMETHEE Method

In recent years, the Internet has become an indispensable way for users to find information which is almost instantaneously available. However, the presence of information on different websites makes the user needs to pre-check the credibility of the selected websites. Most users find it difficult to assess website credibility in terms of its particular characteristics or factors. Accordingly, we proposed an automated evaluation tool which considers various factors to assess the credibility of different websites and rank them from the highest credibility score to the lowest in order to allow the user to select the most credible website. We used the Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMOTHEE). The latter is one of the Multi-Criteria Decision Making methods (MCDM). It combines pairwise comparison and outranking methods in order to give more accurate and superior credibility scores due to its enrichment evaluations. For the proposed tool to be acceptable, we carried out a correlation analysis to determine the coefficient of correlation between human judges and the proposed tool. We found the coefficient of correlation rho is 0.943 which indicates that there is a strong correlation between the human judges&amp;rsquo; ranking and the ranking given by the proposed website evaluation tool.

Expanded Application of the Passive Flux Meter: In-Situ Measurements of 1,4-Dioxane, Sulfate, Cr(VI) and RDX

Passive flux meters (PFMs) have become invaluable tools for site characterization and evaluation of remediation performance at groundwater contaminated sites. To date, PFMs technology has been demonstrated in the field to measure midrange hydrophobic contaminants (e.g., chlorinated ethenes, fuel hydrocarbons, perchlorate) and inorganic ions (e.g., uranium and nitrate). However, flux measurements of low partitioning contaminants (e.g., 1,4-dioxane, hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-s-triazine (RDX)) and reactive ions-species (e.g., sulfate (SO42−), Chromium(VI) (Cr(VI)) are still challenging because of their low retardation during transport and quick transformation under highly reducing conditions, respectively. This study is the first application of PFMs for in-situ mass flux measurements of 1,4-dioxane, RDX, Cr(VI) and SO42− reduction rates. Laboratory experiments were performed to model kinetic uptake rates and extraction efficiency for sorbent selections. Silver impregnated granular activated carbon (GAC) was selected for the capture of 1,4-dioxane and RDX, whereas Purolite 300A (Bala Cynwyd, PA, USA) was selected for Cr(VI) and SO42−. PFM field demonstrations measured 1,4-dioxane fluxes ranging from 13.3 to 55.9 mg/m2/day, an RDX flux of 4.9 mg/m2/day, Cr(VI) fluxes ranging from 2.3 to 2.8 mg/m2/day and SO42− consumption rates ranging from 20 to 100 mg/L/day. This data suggests other low-partitioning contaminates and reactive ion-species could be monitored using the PFM.

The Navigability Validation for Middle East E-governments Websites

The current study aimed to guarantee websites quality, we should evaluate them depending on certain criteria, this is to achieve the best service. This work aimed to build a platform to evaluate the navigability validation for some e-government websites. As a contribution to the field of websites evaluation, this study evaluates the quality of e-government portal website for 15 countries in the Middle East by using common automatic website evaluation tools. The proposed websites evaluation approach is conducted according to certain metrics based on five automatic website tools which are: Link checker, Xenu, page rank, Alexa, and TAW, those tools are freely available for evaluation purposes. The assessment of these websites helps their developers for improving them and following the quality principles. We tested accessibility, usability and page rank as three criteria of websites quality assessment. Our findings may improve some standards when building and developing Middle East E-government websites, finally, they presented some recommendations to avoid the weak points in these websites.

Criteria for evaluating global health partnerships in colleges of pharmacy and health sciences

Background and purposeThe demand for international experiences as part of education and training for healthcare providers continues to increase. As schools/colleges of pharmacy increase training opportunities in global health, there is a demand for a strategic way to evaluate opportunities. Evaluation tools can be utilized to facilitate this type of assessment. Educational activity and settingThe purpose of this article is to highlight two different international experiential education site evaluation tools, discuss lessons learned when applying these tools in the field, and outline steps for a college of pharmacy to create their own tool to meet institution specific needs. FindingsThe involvement of key stakeholders is important to developing an evaluation tool. Identification and prioritization of key criteria for assessing partnerships is essential. There are many criteria and each institution may consider a unique set of criteria, the most appropriate way to evaluate these, and who should be completing this evaluation. Discussion and summaryAn evaluation tool may serve as a framework of discussion for new and existing international partnerships. The use of a global partnership evaluation tool allows for a more consistent discussion when deciding if the partnership is appropriate for both parties, helps the involved faculty know what criteria are required to be evaluated and outlines what resources should be considered.

Investigating casino event management integration: The case of East and South Asia casinos

The aim of this study is to investigate the gap of event management in East and South Asia’s casinos throughout the information provided by casinos on their websites. Main objective is to identify the differences and similarities of event holding in East and South Asia’s casinos and suggest future directions for casino managers and event organizers. Four research questions were developed to provide ourselves a goal, as well as to further our understanding of our investigation. There are two steps to structure our study. First is to evaluate the performance of 138 casino’s websites, which were obtained from worldcasinodirectory. com by using a website evaluation tool that we have constructed. In the second step, we conduct a content analysis for the website so we can identify what kind of events are organized in the area on our samples. The data of the content analysis provides a comparison of events in our sampling, such as the event’s size, type, and frequency of holding an event. We believe that our research would contribute to event organizers and large scale corporations to give them an insight on the overall efficiency of websites, as well as the frequency of events around East and South Asian casinos.

Handling Internet-Based Health Information: Improving Health Information Web Site Literacy Among Undergraduate Nursing Students.

Patient care problems arise when health care consumers and professionals find health information on the Internet because that information is often inaccurate. To mitigate this problem, nurses can develop Web literacy and share that skill with health care consumers. This study evaluated a Web-literacy intervention for undergraduate nursing students to find reliable Web-based health information. A pre- and postsurvey queried undergraduate nursing students in an informatics course; the intervention comprised lecture, in-class practice, and assignments about health Web site evaluation tools. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon and ANOVA signed-rank tests. Pre-intervention, 75.9% of participants reported using Web sites to obtain health information. Postintervention, 87.9% displayed confidence in using an evaluation tool. Both the ability to critique health Web sites (p = .005) and confidence in finding reliable Internet-based health information (p = .058) increased. Web-literacy education guides nursing students to find, evaluate, and use reliable Web sites, which improves their ability to deliver safer patient care. [J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(2):110-114.].

An Examination of Web-Based Information on the Transition to School for Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Both prior to and during the transition from early intervention (EI) to school, parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing (d/hh) need crucial information about the transition process and school services. Given the ubiquitous nature of computers and Internet access, it is reasonable to assume that web-based dissemination of information would be a highly efficient tool for parents. However, little is known about how organizations use websites to provide information on school entry. An investigation of government, outreach programme, EI agency, and school district websites in the Canadian province of British Columbia was conducted to examine the availability, accessibility, and content of information on the transition to school for d/hh children. Roberts’ website evaluation tool was used to assess the websites, while thematic content analysis was used to examine the content of web-based documents that described the transition process. Results indicate that the majority of agencies involved in the transition offer scant web-based information for this transition, with limited availability, particularly in rural areas, and limited accessibility, particularly for individuals with disabilities or with lower English literacy skills. The little information that was available emphasized the importance of teamwork, parent involvement, and joint decision-making regarding services and placement. This article highlights the need for government and outreach programmes, early intervention agencies, and school districts to provide richer and more accessible web-based content for families of children with hearing loss who are transitioning from EI to kindergarten.

Digital Discernment: An E‐Commerce Web Site Evaluation Tool

ABSTRACTStudents entering the business workforce today may well share some responsibility for developing, revising, or evaluating their company's Web site. They may lack the experience, however, to critique their employer's Web presence effectively. The purpose of developing Digital Discernment, an e‐commerce Web site evaluation tool, was to prepare students for this work. The tool provides them with a listing of criteria with which to assess e‐commerce sites, lets them evaluate pre‐selected sites qualitatively and quantitatively, and allows them to compare their evaluations with their peers. In this article, we discuss and examine the effectiveness of this tool and consider the ways in which it can help students in their future business careers.

An initial screening tool for water resource contamination due to development in the Olympic Park 2012 site, London

Groundwater is the primary source of potable water in southeast England. Its protection in urban environments is of paramount importance. Following a scoping study the British Geological Survey (BGS) established a project to develop an initial screening tool (IST) to assist the planning community in the assessment of the potential risk to ground and surface waters from contaminants mobilised as a consequence of redevelopment. The tool has been designed in the context of the source-pathway-receptor paradigm that informs Part IIa of the UK Environmental Protection Act (1990). Building on the work of previous screening tools and in particular ConSEPT, a BGS contaminated site evaluation and prioritisation tool, the IST incorporates significant refinements to scoring methodologies and takes the prioritisation approach into the 3-D environment. Implemented as a customised GIS application and utilising surfaces extracted from 3-D geological modelling, the tool collates and interrogates a range of geoscientific information, including contaminant scale, geological, historic land use, groundwater level and hydrogeological domain data. The IST facilitates the ranking of various proposed development scenarios through a semi-quantitative assessment of contamination potential, via a number of pollutant linkages, providing planners with reports on the type, spatial distribution and hazards associated with potential contaminant sources within their area. To achieve this, a range of evaluation factors applied to the sources, pathways and receptors are scored through a combination of spatial and attribute queries, then assessed on the basis of potential linkages. The initial research area selected for the application of the IST was the Olympic Park site, London.

Experimental Validation of a Marine Current Turbine Simulator: Application to a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator-Based System Second-Order Sliding Mode Control

This paper deals with the experimental validation of a Matlab-Simulink simulation tool of marine current turbine (MCT) systems. The developed simulator is intended to be used as a sizing and site evaluation tool for MCT installations. For that purpose, the simulator is evaluated within the context of speed control of a permanent magnet synchronous generator-based (PMSG) MCT. To increase the generated power, and therefore the efficiency of an MCT, a nonlinear controller has been proposed. PMSG has been already considered for similar applications, particularly wind turbine systems using mainly PI controllers. However, such kinds of controllers do not adequately handle some of tidal resource characteristics such as turbulence and swell effects. Moreover, PMSG parameter variations should be accounted for. Therefore, a robust nonlinear control strategy, namely second-order sliding mode control, is proposed. The proposed control strategy is inserted in the simulator that accounts for the resource and the marine turbine models. Simulations using tidal current data from Raz de Sein (Brittany, France) and experiments on a 7.5-kW real-time simulator are carried out for the validation of the simulator.

Modeling the Effects of Low Impact Development on Runoff and Pollutant Loads from an Apartment Complex

The effects of low impact development (LID) techniques, such as green roofs and porous pavements, on the runoff and pollutant load from an apartment complex were simulated using the Site Evaluation Tool (SET). The study site was the Olympic Village, a preexisting apartment complex in Seoul, South Korea, which has a high percentage of impervious surfaces (approximately 72% of the total area). Using the SET, the effects of replacing parking lots, sidewalks and driveways (37.5% of the total area) having porous pavements and rooftops (14.5% of the total area) with green roofs were simulated. The simulation results indicated that LID techniques reduced the surface runoff, and peak flow and pollutant load, and increased the evapotranspiration and soil infiltration of precipitation. Per unit area, the green roofs were better than the porous pavements at reducing the surface runoff and pollutant loads, while the porous pavements were better than green roofs at enhancing the infiltration to soil. This study showed that LID methods can be useful for urban stormwater management and that the SET is a useful tool for evaluating the effects of LID on urban hydrology and pollutant loads from various land covers.

Health information and the internet: The 5 Cs website evaluation tool

As more people use the internet to access health information, nurses need to become skilled in systematically reviewing websites so that they can guide patients to the most appropriate sites. The 5Cs website evaluation tool provides a structured guide to such evaluation, giving tips and suggesting key considerations. The 5 Cs are the key areas that need to be addressed in a comprehensive evaluation--credibility, currency, content, construction and clarity.