Site audit :
United States Senate
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www.senate.gov
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Emilie SCHUTZ, Sabine
LEGRAND
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I.
Introduction
"America is a
continent where a citizen will cross oceans to fight for democracy and won't
cross a street to vote in a national election"
This quotation
shows all the paradox that characterises USA. It is a very democratic country,
but people are not enthusiast concerning politics.
In fact,
Senate represents this double face. It is a very important institution. It has
an lofty historical background. And its role is fundamental, it can vote the
laws with the House of Representatives and decide the future of the Nation. Moreover,
it still has the power to vote impeachment. On the other hand, participation
for local elections is very low and people are not very interested. They should
be because senators represent the different states and they act directly for
their citizens.
We think
this subject is very perceptive. It is very topical, especially after the re
election of W Bush. The balance in the Senate is still crucial, even if the
Republicans represent the majority. Moreover, we wanted to see how such an
institution can exist, because it represents 52 states. It could be a good
perspective for an european senate
II.
Complete inventory
1.
Form
Design
This web
site seems to be very clear, even welcoming.
The using
of different tones of blue gives an impression of dynamism and movement. The links are always
underlined in red.
On the main
page, we can find the symbol of the institution, with the catch phrase :
“e pluribus
unum”. We know immediatly the topic of the site, the presentation of the
Senate.
The
internet user can start a research by state, in order to find his senator or
special informations about his town or state. The site is divided in 5 subsites
: Senators, Committees, Laws and Records, History, Visitors and References.
Each topic has a link written in a little red box.
Every pages
have the same presentation : a blue background and two navigation bars. The one
on the left, in blue, concerns the topics treated, like a list. The one on the
right, in brown, presents some special informations, like schedule, statistics,
meetings and breaking news.
Fonctionality
This web
site is very functionnal. The user can easily find a lof informations. The
creator of the web site gives proeminence to the links because of the red
color. So it is very simple to move from a topic to an other. Moreover, the web
site is full of links to smaller sites, like senator’s site, committees’
site...
To
conclude, the fonctionality remains a positive point for this web site
2.
Contents
Quantity /
Quality
There are
different subsites :
- ‘Senators’ : here is the
list of the members of the Senate. They are filed by name. But the user can
search a senator with his name, or sate, or class. Class means the year of
election. The side bar on the right presents informations on senators:
meetings, schedule..., the one on the left shows two new classifications :
by state and leadership
- ‘Committees’: it shows
the list of the committees with links to the web site of each committee. Moreover,
there is the list of members of each committee, the day of meeting, the assignement.
The page explains the system of committee and caucuses (kind of groups on
special topic, like” Groupe de Reflexion” in the french Assemblee
Nationale)
- ‘Legislation and Records’ : this page concerns the work of the Senate : ediction of bills, laws...it
is a kind of law library because the user can find all the texts that the
Senate has voted : bill, treaties, active legislation...and print them.
The navigation bar on the left shows the latest laws
- ‘Art and History’ : it shows the
importance of art in Senate. The user can see that the Senate is more than
a legal institution. All the sculptures, painting can be seen on the web
site, with a system of photographys. Moreover, there are biographies of
popular Senators, Great Men and Women.
- ‘Visitors” : with the
informations presented on this page, you can organise a trip to visit the Senate
·
‘References’ : here are a bibliography and a lot of informations concerning the institution
: glossary, How to find something...and the reader can read funny things like
the menu from the dining room, the weather...
Diversity
The
diversity is well represented. There are a lot of informations, links to the activities
of the Senate and Senators. In fact, this diversity shows that this Institution
is not fixed. The senate is double – faced : it is an historical place, inhabited
by the spirits of great men with lot of paintings and sculpture. But the Senate
remains in constant movement, by voting laws and deciding the future of the
nation.
III.
Critical analysis
1.Form
J
Positive points
The analyse
of this web site reveals several positive points:
The
web site is very simple to use
there
is a lot of links, dispatching to various topics, from the biography of a
Senator to the paintings in the building.
The
navigation bar on the right is very interresting because it reveals a lot of
informations, sometimes funny, like the meals in the restaurant
A
lot of pictures and photographys embellish the web site
The
internet user can visit virtually the Senate before planning his trip to
Washington.
The
color blue is very pleasant : the color calls up dynamism. This gradation of
blue is really relaxing for eyes. The reader is not stressed. We can
characterise this web site : it is“beautiful”
L
Negative points
We noticed
some negative points:
there
are too many links, it is hard to find something precise with all these topics
the
reader can loose himself, the web site looks like a kind of maze
the
important informations are not obvious, they are not underlined enough
concerning
the side bar : the one on the left contains too many informations. The one on
the right looks sometimes like advertising because of the color beige.
the
web site could be clearer concerning the commitees for example. It sends back
directly to the web site of the committee. It could be bettre to have a glimpse
of the work of the commettee and a link sending to the web site
a
special site should be created for art and history topic. It could underline
que quality and the historical value of the works of art present in the
building.
2.Contents
J
Positive points
Here are
the positive points:
the
information is free, it means you can access to a lot of texts of law without
giving money
people
can easily find their senator. They are able to hit up the dossier of a
senator, with his name, his work, his proposals...
the
topic of art is very perceptive. This web site can be used by people who want
to increase their culture. Moreover, it must be recommanded, either to
students, in politics and art or to purpils. The last can lear a lot on the
history of their country
the
references are interresting. They make the web site quite amusing, with
informations like the weather in the town, the time of dinner...
The
web site seems to be accessible to everybody, not only for lawyers, because it
contains informations on every subjects linked to the institution and to the
history and art of the building.
L
Negative points
Here are
the negative points:
the
reader is deludged by informations. In other words, there are too many things
in the pages. The reading becomes arduous as the reader goes along.
The
internet user cannot exactely find where is the information he needs. Indeed,
the navigation bars are not very helpful because the titles are sometimes too
general or evasive.
This
web site presents, at first sight, a very clear organisation. But it becomes
quickly unlit. In fact, this site is very efficient if you are looking for a
precise information or text. Generality is not possible.
3.Form / Contents
The connexion is obvious, the form is indisputably
appropriate to the contents
The form fits very well to talk about serious topics like
laws, bills...The web site remains very sober. The reader is well directed, he
can find what he want
IV. Verdict
This site
must be retained, clearly! Indeed, this site is a governmental one, so probably
made by specialists of communication and computer science. It remains quite
difficult to criticise. This web site is very interresting to audit, because of
that challenge.
This web
site is very nice and pleasant to read. It is not ‘fluffy’ but very clear and ventilate.
It is very
important to have a web site that can be understood by every citizen of the
USA. The Senators stays, as a matter of fact, representative of people. So
their work can be understanfding by every one.
In fact, the french web masters should inspire
themselves from this web site. Indeed, the french sites of Assemblée Nationale
and Senat are quite ugly. They are full of links on only one page and it is
very difficult to move from a reference to an other, to find an information. It
shows the supremacy of United States concerning Internet and Computer Science!