Running head: WEBSITE CRITIQUE 1

Website Critique
An Assignment Submitted by
Name of Student
Name of Establishment
Class XXXX, Section XXXX, Fall 2012













WEBSITE CRITIQUE 2
Website Critique
Heart diseases are big problem for Canada and for the world. It is the leading
causes of death and disability in the world (Cardiovascular disease, 2008). According
to World Health Organisation, there are more than 17 million people die from heart
diseases every year. And the number of people is increasing. The main causes of this sad
statistic are not only physiological characteristics, but also environmental problems and
unhealthy lifestyle. That is why there are many sites aimed to educate people on the
prevention of heart disease. Thus, it is important that these sites maintain accessible,
relevant and reliable information and meet all the criteria.
One of these sites is the official website of The Heart and Stroke Foundation of
Canada. A feature of this site is that it is designed for any age audience. Despite the fact
that heart diseases are more common among older audiences, scientists have noted that
more and more young people are starting to suffer from heart problems. That is why the
site focuses on recommendations for the prevention of heart disease.
This web site contains information on healthy parenting. Also attention of website
is directed at the prevention of heart disease among women. In addition the site content is
filled with different information, which will be interesting and useful to any user. The site
provides examples of proper nutrition. There are simple recipes of foods that contain
beneficial products for the heart health. Also there are special preventive exercises.
Visitors can carefully review the research conducted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation
of Canada. There is also the opportunity to become a volunteer in this organization. There
are a lot of information are available on this web site, including video stories of people
who have heart disease, recent news and charity events.
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Considered website is the official site of Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
This organization fights heart diseases and promotes healthy lifestyles. According to the
information on this website, the organization was founded in 1952. However, there is no
information about the date of the founding of the website and the beginning of its
operation. There is notable fact that for 60 years of its existence, the Heart and Stroke
Foundation has invested more than a billion dollars into research studies of heart
diseases. This website has become another way to attract public attention to the problems
of heart diseases. This site has been funded by Heart and Stroke Foundation with an
educational purpose and also in order to increase the number of donations. Visitors of this
site have the opportunity to make different types of donations directly on site. But
donation is entirely voluntary. All information is available free of charge to all Canadian
provinces and other countries.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada receives funding from many
international companies. Users can easily find a complete list of corporate partners on the
site. First of all, this foundation is collaborating with international manufacturers and
brands. They include such companies as Danone, Homesav, Danier, Hamilton Beach.
These companies provide a certain amount of money from the sale of their products to
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. This money helps to conduct research studies in
the field of heart diseases.
Also users can find a list of companies that help to fund individual studies and
charity events. With the money of these charities, researches can conduct different
studies; organization buys the necessary drugs and electronic handheld device for people
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suffering from heart diseases. The average amount of funding from each of these
companies starts from twenty-five thousand dollars to one hundred thousand dollars.
It is worth noting which companies fund The Heart and Stroke Foundation of
Canada. Participation in the financing of the foundation by Pfizer is not in doubt. This is
a known pharmaceutical company that is a leader in the global market. It is quite logical
to say that the Pfizer is interested in the fight against heart disease. However, if you ask
about the history of this company, you may find a lot of scandals about it. The biggest
scandal involving the death of children who participated in the research studies of Pfizer
(Donald, 2011).
Among the companies that finance The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada,
you can find Boston Pizza Foundation and Becel. Becel produces a so-called healthy
margarine. But it is widely known that eating fatty foods such as butter and margarine,
fried food like pizza is very harmful to heart health. So there is a question arises about the
goals pursued by the companies sponsoring The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
On the one hand, while the invested money helps people in need and save lives, it
does not matter which company sponsored the foundation. But on the other hand, there
are some doubts about the trust in the foundation, which is fighting against heart diseases
and funded by the companies that are the cause of this diseases.
It is possible to choose the province that interests the users. With this feature,
users of the site can learn about the events and news in his or her province. Each province
has its own local sponsors. These companies are much smaller, but they also support the
fund in small amounts of money.
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The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada site is also collaborates with the site
Canolainfo.org. This site supports a column of healthy eating. Some recipes from the
section "Comfort Your Heart" can be found on the website of The Heart and Stroke
Foundation of Canada. Some tips for healthy eating are from this site too. But despite the
fact that the site is completely dedicated to healthy eating, it is worth noting that the
sponsor of this site is a manufacturer of canola oils. These oils and fats have questionable
impact on the health of the cardiovascular system.
In addition to working with commercial organizations, The Heart and Stroke
Foundation of Canada is also working with the Canadian government. The purpose of
this collaboration is a series of programs and research studies aimed at health
improvement of the population by reducing obesity levels through improved community
design, more active lifestyles, and increased access to healthy food choices (Canada
Newswire, 2011). Such cooperation suggests high confidence in The Heart and Stroke
Foundation of Canada from the government.
Information on this website is presented in different formats, so it is very difficult
to give an overall assessment of the relevance of this content. The news section provides
news and articles in chronological order. So it is very easy to choose the latest news from
the list. However, in most of the articles there are no names of the authors. The
information is most likely has a medical nature, so it is very important to indicate the
name of the author. It allows users to check authors qualifications in this issue and to
determine level of trust to the article.
Many articles from other sections have the date of placement of the article or its
date of modification. Most of the articles have been posted or edited in 2011. This
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suggests that the content of the site is not updated often enough. Moreover, the section
with the statistics of heart diseases is quite out of date. The most recent statistics offered
in 2010.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada site include a privacy statement. This
information can be easily found on the home page. This information is available to all
users. All information provided clearly, so there is no problem with the understanding of
the main points of privacy statement. This document clearly defined all kinds of
information about the users that the site is eligible to receive. This decree also confirms
the non-proliferation of information provided by the users in the registration process on
the website as sponsors or volunteers. This site meets a recognized privacy standard.
Every user who does not satisfy with the privacy policy can either leave the site or
contact the Chief Privacy Policy Officer.
Considered website has both positive and negative sides. On the one hand, the site
is not updated regularly. Some of the information is not relevant. There is no complete
information about the authors of articles. There are certain conflicts of interest arise
between the idea of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and those commercial
entities that finance it. On the other hand, this site contains a lot of useful information. It
plays an important role in educating people. The site provides help in the prevention and
treatment of cardiovascular diseases among the population. This site is easy to use and is
designed for users of all ages.
Administration of the site should update the information and provide more
information about the authors of the articles. And also remove the additional features that
WEBSITE CRITIQUE 7
clutter the interface and does not particularly useful. All of this will not only simplifies
the user experience, but will also improve the quality of provided information.









































WEBSITE CRITIQUE 8
References
Donald, G., McNeil Jr. (2011). Nigerians Receive First Payments for Children Who Died
in 1996 Meningitis Drug Trial. The New York Times. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/world/africa/12nigeria.html?_r=0
Government of Canada and Heart and Stroke Foundation take action on obesity (2011).
Canada Newswire. Retrieved from:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/800937/government-of-canada-and-heart-and-
stroke-foundation-take-action-on-obesity
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. (2012). Retrieved from:
http://www.heartandstroke.com/site/c.ikIQLcMWJtE/b.2796497/k.BF8B/Home.ht
m
World Health Organization (2008). Cardiovascular disease. Global atlas on
cardiovascular disease prevention and control. Retrieved from:
http://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/en/