Sunday, January 31, 2016

Evaluation of General Sources

As I've been researching the topic I want to discuss during Project 1, I've found numerous sources of information. I'm going to discuss a couple of these momentarily. I'm just excited by the amount of information I'm finding, and the volume of people interested and talking about this topic. Oh, I haven't even said what topic I'm researching yet!! I want to talk about the recent budget proposal from Speech Pathology Australia made to the Australian Treasury for the 2015-2016 federal budget. They want to require that medicare make rebates available for the treatment of stuttering in children, but only if they are treated through the Lidcombe program.

Source 1: The ASHA Leader Blog article

URL

The URL for this website is .org. This was originally used for non-profit "org"anizations, but nowadays it can be used by anyone who will pay the registration fees. This is still a more reliable source than .com. It is the most likely to be credible information.

Author

The article is stated to have been written by Craig Coleman, and his name on the page is a hyperlink to his articles written on the website, and a statement saying he is a member of the American Speech-Lanuage-Hearing Association (ASHA). It also contains a short biography of the author toward the end. I researched him even further to be sure, and he is a very accredited authority on the subject.

Last Updated

The web page says the article was last updated on March 12, 2015. There are many links throughout the article, including a hyperlink to a source whenever there is a reference made. The links still work. It also has Coleman's email address stated at the bottom so that he can be contacted if there are any issues or concerns with the information.

Purpose

The author is in the state of mind of both informing the audience and persuading them. He states his opinion throughout the entirety of the article. It isn't promoting anything except seeing the budget proposal as a grave limitation on the treatment of stuttering.

Graphics

There is a graphic at the top of the article, though it is a graphic of the word "Medicare". It aims to draw attention to the medicare proposal, which kinda makes sense. I feel as though he should have included pictures of children if he wanted to induce more feelings of sympathy toward the children who stutter, however.

Positon on Subject

Coleman definitely writes in a one-sided manner, even though he (very) briefly wrote about the other side of the issue. No one really profits if people believe Coleman to be true. The only thing that would come from disagreeing with the proposal would be the failure of it to pass. I guess I just contradicted myself, because if that happens then other organizations would still be able to treat children with a stutter rather than simply Lidcombe benefitting solely. Links in the article connect to reputable sources that concur with the things presented in this article. There are also MANY other sources that state roughly the same thing.

Links

The source includes links throughout the entire article, and at the end of the original article, there is a reference page for all of Coleman's references. There is a link to the original budget proposal and other articles containing information about the subject. It's overall very well set up in an order that gives the reader someplace to go.

Source 2: Stammering Centre Latest News

URL

Again, I chose one with a .org URL in order to get more reliable and edited information. I hope most of my information can be gained from websites such as these.

Author

The author in this case is the International Fluency Association. They issued a press statement, and this website has the press statement printed. Considering it comes directly from the association, information about them is quite easy to find.

Last Updated

Since it was a press release, the information can't be updated technically. There are more links on the website that provide further information, but the link I have chosen specifically hasn't been updated since the day of its release. There are many links, however, to places where there is more information provided. The links also include links to blogs and podcasts about the issue.

Purpose

The text is vocally expressing the position of the IFA. It is informing the reader of both the story, and the opinion of the association. It doesn't seem to be promoting anything, however.

Graphics

There are no graphics involved in the press release. There is, however, a link to a podcast, which doesn't really count as 'graphics', but it does provide a change of pace from the monotonous search for written information.

Position on Subject

The piece is quite obviously against the budget proposal. They do it in a relatively nice way, however. Continuously reinforcing their standing on the subject, they still present the pros that would come from the proposal. This is a hallmark of a good writer and reporter.

Links

The page has links to further information regarding the issue. It is extremely welcome to have many links at the bottom leading to further investigating.

scbailey "Four children reading the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss" 11/4/2007 via Wikipedia. Attribution 2.0 Generic Licensing.
 


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