Critical Thinking Assignment: Argument Credibility Peer Evaluation

One of my assignments was to evaluate a peer's assignment. The first section in italics is hers (or his) assignment. The second half is mine.

Title: America's Oil Crisis
Source: CNBC.com
Link: www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=766289001&play=11.

What claims are being made?
There are two claims being made in this video. The first is that the cause of high crude oil prices is due to stagnant supply rather than supply and demand and speculation by investors. The second claim is that the price of crude oil will markedly and rapidly decrease within the next two years.

Do the claims conflict with your personal observations?
The information in this video paints a very different picture of what I am used to hearing and reading. For almost two years now, in regards to crude oil prices, I have heard everything from supply and demand issues to speculation. This individual is explaining the problem in a way that I haven't heard yet. In essence, I would say that it is a conflict but not in the true sense of the word.

What background information do you have about the claims?
The claims are coming from the World Bank, which has been a reputable source of information for almost half a century. Economists have looked to the World Bank's Global Development Finance Report for over forty years now for strategy and information. The claims they are making seem to coincide with how the Energy Market's have been acting in regards to the price of crude oil. (source: worldbank.org)

What is the expertise of the author, if any?
The individual providing the information in the video is Dr. Uri Dudash, the Director of the International Trade Department of the World Bank. Dr. Dudash has been with the World Bank for 16 years and in the field for more than a quarter of a century. He has a BA and MA from the Hebrew University and a PhD from Harvard University. He is defined as an expert in international trade (source: worldbank.org)

Is the author biased and untrustworthy, or unbiased and trustworthy?
I find Mr. Dudash to be very unbiased. He makes the claim that the oil market's are being affected by stagnant supply, but does not discount other areas of concern such as supply and demand and speculation. I have done background research on him, and based on his credentials and reputation in the field, I find him to be very trustworthy.

Do you think your classmate accurately identified the claims? Explain your answer.
I think that the classmate did a great job of identifying the claims of the video. I watched the video several times and could not find anything that I would have commented on differently.

Your classmate has compared the claims against his or her personal observations; how do the claims agree or conflict with your own personal observations? How are the observations made by you and your classmate the same or different?
I would respect anyone’s response to the original question as it is simply asking for input and asking for an opinion in response to a certain topic. I do think that this is an interesting different point of view as to the “oil crisis” but I do not accept it; it is an interesting theory but I side with the supply and demand theories.

Your classmate has compared the claims against his or her background information; how do the claims agree or conflict with your own background information? How are the background analyses of you and your classmate the same or different?
The only background information that I have on this specific topic is what I read about online, what I see on the news, or what I hear about on talk-radio. I applaud the classmate on researching the source of the information; that is the best way to determine the accuracy of the source.

Do you feel your classmate made an accurate judgment about the author’s bias or trustworthiness? Explain your answer.
I think that the classmate made an accurate judgment. Not only did they take what the interviewer said as trustworthy, they researched the author’s credentials and past history.

Which concepts from the feedback tutorial did you use to conduct this peer review?
I feel that being positive is the best way to give constructive criticism. As soon as someone senses a hint of negativity, they become very defensive and it is likely that any criticism, even if valid, will “go in one ear, out the other.”