This posting from Craig Silva was caught in the error cycle because it
included the heading from Judy Quail...Liz Rykert
>
>> One of the things
>> that is happening with so many people gradually gaining access to
>> the internet is that the health care provider will not be in control
>> of the information partakers receive.
>
>Hmmmmmm? Is that good or bad? Being an info junkie myself I err on the
>side of it being good. But it opens up an important area of
>discussion.
>
>> What is the process of
>> becoming informed?  It seems like there might be external and
>> internal or psychological aspects to this experience. What
>> assistance do people need to help them to access information, to
>> understand it and to begin to make some judgements about it, and
>> then to use it?
>
>A good education? No seriously, the availability of mass information
>requires that everyone should be educated to encourage and develop
>their critical skills so as to be able to assess the quality and also
>more importantly to determine the authenticity of the information
>available.
>
>> What needs to be in place to assist people to find
>> their way through the tremendous amount of information out there.
>
>Libraries and librarians will have an increasingly important role in
>providing indexes of useful and authoritative sources of information.
>Equally, key institutions in a particular area of study can serve a
>similar function.
>
>> It is almost like people will need mini- research skills, because
>> they are going to be learning about information itself, not only the
>> subject matter.
>
>A key question in this is the authority of the information available
>online. The ease with which anyone can publish on the web is a
>two-edged sword. Whilst it has a liberating effect and breaks
>certain information monopolies it also allows any crackpot or
>charlatan to advertise their weird and wonderful views on the world.
>One area that hasn't yet (to my knowledge) been tested is that of
>liability for wrong or inadequate information. The lawyers in the US
>are no doubt wetting themselves over the potential for litigation in
>this area.
>
>>I'd like to do some more reading on this so if
>> anyone can suggest any articles, research studies whatever I'd
>> appreciate hearing from you.
>
>I can't think of any particular work but I'm sure that a search at
>Alta Vista will start you off :->
>
>Regards
>
>Craig
>---------------------------------------------------------
>Craig Silva, Electronic Outreach Program Officer
>Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, Melbourne Australia
>e-mail: [log in to unmask], Tel: 61 3 9345 3211
>---------------------------------------------------------
>
>