Considering the Context

Considering the Context
What is it?	The context generally refers to any information about the author's circumstances when s/he wrote the piece that may have a bearing on the reliability of what s/he wrote. It may include the time period and the cultural environment. It may also include the motives or purposes for writing the article.
Why do it?	The context in which the piece was written could provide a great deal of information about its reliability. For example, if someone was paid to write an article about the benefits of a particular vitamin and its manufacturer published the article on the internet, it would probably be considered less reliable than an article published by a non-profit health organization or medical school.
How do you do it?	You consider the information you have about the source in light of the information itself. Would the author have been in a position to have expertise in the information in question? If S. Jones is an expert on the pharmaceutical composition of vitamins, does that qualify him to offer an expert opinion on airplane safety? Would the author have been in a position to have special knowledge of the information in question? Does S. Jones have special knowledge which would permit him to testify at a trial about a price-fixing scheme that upper layer management agreed to in a closed-door meeting he did not attend and of which he had no knowledge? Is the author in a position to write without bias? If S. Jones is employed by a vitamin manufacturer and is asked to write an article about the benefits of that vitamin, is he free to write about the negative effects, as well as the positive ones?
Task #27	Read the linked article. Evaluate the source of the information as in Task 26 . Then make a list of the general categories of things that the writer is discussing in this piece. Next to each topic, write your conclusions about the context in which he is writing, the nature of his knowledge of the subject, and your own conclusions about how reliable the information he provides should be considered. For example, one thing that Reverend Cooper states is that "the care of the indigent, aged, and crippled children, and those unemployed through no fault of their own, is a most worthy objective." (Paragraph 3) What is the writer's expertise? He is a minister. I think most of us would agree that he possesses expertise that would qualify him to say that such an activity is a worthy objective. Now make a list of the other positions he takes, consider his expertise in the matter, and then draw a conclusion about the reliability or validity of the information he is giving. Post your answers on the Forum.