question: private Object _evaluateLeftLessRight ( Object element , String lvalue , String rvalue ) { if ( element instanceof List ) { return evaluateLeftLessRight ( ( List ) element , lvalue , rvalue ) ; } else { return evaluateLeftLessRight ( ( StructuredContent ) element , lvalue , rvalue ) ; } }
target:  This internal method simply makes a type safe call the the proper abstract method based on the type of element passed.