This Resource Guide is designed to help you get started when preparing for your debates. There are two parts to the Resource Guide. The first is a set of questions that invite you to consider the scope of the debate and which direct you to some issues that may be important. The second is a small list of resources available on the internet that you may find useful when you begin your research.

The Resource Guide is not a substitute for proper preparation, and its aim is simply to help you prepare your own case. You should not structure your case around the questions asked, nor should you rely too heavily only on the articles to which we provide links. Adjudicators are not asked to read the Resource Guide, so any ideas that it gives you will need to be explained just like any other material.
Good luck!

C Grade

1. That we should lift the international ban on commercial whaling

Questions

• Why was commercial whaling banned?
• What sort of products were created from commercial whaling?
• Is whaling similar to any other industries?
• Does society accept cruelty to animals?
• Do animals have rights?
• Is the current ban achieving its aims?
• How can whaling of any kind be controlled?

Resources:

http://www.animalliberation.org.au/whalehist.php

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6059564.stm

http://www.actnow.com.au/Issues/Whaling.aspx

http://www.sivglobal.org/?noframes;read=138

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2006/jun/19/food.fishing

2. That we should outlaw Alcohol

Briefing:

Consuming alcohol, particularly in excessive amounts, has numerous detrimental effects on people. As with any drug, health, safety, wellbeing and even employment can be put at risk if people abuse alcohol. Proponents of a ban believe the government should do this to stop people from harming themselves or  to uphold public morality. There have been repeated attempts over the years to stop the consumption of alcohol, including the widely publicised “prohibition” era in the United States. The effectiveness of such laws has been questioned, particularly where they have led to high levels of associated crime and smuggling. Civil liberties groups also oppose such restrictions, as they believe the government should not make choices for people. Rather, they believe individuals should choose for themselves, as they are best able to weigh advantages and disadvantages.

Questions:

•               Is alcohol harmful to people, if so how, and when is it?
•               Which groups might be harmed more than others by alcohol?
•               Should the government stop people from harming themselves?
•               Should people be allowed to choose to harm themselves?
•               Are there ways to consume alcohol that are not dangerous?
•               Can people always freely choose to consume alcohol?
•               Has this been tried before?

Resources:

http://www.alcohol.gov.au/internet/alcohol/publishing.nsf/Content/guidelines

http://www.menzies.edu.au/pls/portal30/docs/FOLDER/PUBLICATIONS/PAPERS/KATHRPT.PDF

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prohibition_in_the_United_States

http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/beyond-the-binge/2008/03/11/1205125914982.html

ROUND THREE
Advised Topic – “Olympics”

C grade round 3 resource guide:
Advised topic “The Olympics.”

The Olympics are being held this year in China. As with every Olympics, there are many questions being raised. What role will drugs play in during the games? Do the modern Olympics still maintain the traditional Olympic ideals? Is China’s human rights record a problem for the Olympics? Do the Olympics still have meaning in modern society? 

http://en.beijing2008.cn/

http://china.hrw.org/

http://history1900s.about.com/library/weekly/aa081000a.htm

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/03/18/asia/react.php

What is an advised topic?

An advised topic is essentially a secret topic, however the students know in advance the subject area or theme that their topic will be on to make preparation a little easier.

How to prepare for an advised topic.
1. Think about general case preparation principles for debating. Revise your speaker roles and think about the most effective way of preparing a debate within one hour. You don't want to forget to contextualise or define the topic or anything else in the debate. Also remember everything you know about how to make logical, rational arguments in the most persuasive way.

2. Explore any general principles related to your advised topic area. For example, if the advised topic was 'Crime and Punishment', you might want to examine principles behind the aims of the criminal justice system (punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation and community protection), think about different stakeholders in these issues (prisioners/criminals, society, police, courts, victims etc) and so on. A lot of these principles will be relevant regardless of the topic that you are given!

3. Research specific topics in the advised topic area. The websites following are just to give you some ideas to get started. You can get ANY topic that is related to your advised topic area, so the more you issues you read about, the more prepared you will be for the debate! Make sure you keep an eye on the newspaper for current issues, and think about controversial issues in the field.

Finally...
There's no need to be nervous about advised topics. The adjudicators know that this will probably be the first time you have prepared a topic in an hour without any help, and the other team will be in exactly the same position! You are not expected to have lengthy statistics and quotes about the topic - the focus is on how well you can logically explain your ideas, how well your team can discuss the central issues of the topic, and how persuasive you are in the way you present your material!

Remember when you get to B grade next year, three out of five rounds will be completely secret topics so this is an excellent chance for you to get some practice and experience at the style of preparing secret topics!

Good Luck!

ROUND FOUR
(secret topic)

Have a look at our secret topic preparation guide under "resources" on the homepage!


ROUND FIVE – 26/7/07

Briefing::

Last year, social networking sites became the most used, and most created sites on the internet. MySpace and Facebook have millions of members, and facilitate communication between all races, religions, cultures and genders. With this avenue of communication has come many issues; the safety of minors, privacy, and cyber bullying to name a few. The role and ability of governments and server providers to regulate and ensure the safety of members of these networking sites is also an ongoing issue.

• Where does privacy fit in the context of the internet?
• Who is responsible for the content on social networking sites?
• Who are the groups that could be in danger of abuse via networking sites?
• How important is unlimited communication for the 21st century?
• Whatare the effects of choice in this debate?

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/tech/tec13.shtm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/sep/10/socialnetwork

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST06-003.html

This link is a page that shows various published books, and conference papers concerned with the topic. Many of the books will be available for various libraries, such the State Library, Monash and Melbourne Univserity libraries. The conference papers are often available on line, just by clicking on the link.

http://www.danah.org/SNSResearch.html