Topic Analysis Briefing

Additional topic resources

October 2011 Public Forum Analysis – 187.37 Kbytes

Additional Research Links

For September, the NFL partnered with the Open Society Foundations (OSF) and the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) to facilitate Public Forum debates that evaluate the balance between liberty and security. The September resolution, chosen by NFL members, coincides with the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the worst terrorist attack ever on American soil.

To facilitate debate on the resolution, the OSF and IDEA are pleased to make available for free the background and research materials provided by Planet Debate for this topic.

In addition, by accessing this material for free, you are being given the opportunity to provide additional recognition opportunities to your students on a global level. The NFL and the International Debate Education Association have partnered to provide the world forensic community with an international honor society, which is being created to further recognize and reward public speaking, education, and civic engagement among young people throughout the world. Participation in both NFL “point eligible” activities as well as additional engagement and enrichment opportunities will allow students to earn honor and status on an international level.

Later this year, students will be able to start earning recognition status in the international honor society, and even engage in online debates on the new idebate.org website. Coaches also earn points for activities their students complete. The more points earned, the higher degree awarded, just like NFL. As your NFL honors grow, so will your international honors. The international honor society is free to join and will remain free to use. The only requirement is that you are already a member of the NFL. You may leave the international honor society at any time, although we hope you’ll stay and enjoy even more rewards for participating in the activity you love!

To access the free materials, simply log in to your existing Planet Debate member account, direct your browser to http://www.planetdebate.com/specialoffer, and access any of the materials in the special IDEA/OSF subscription level.

If you do not currently have a Planet Debate account, you may create a free account at http://www.planetdebate.com/subscriptions, then follow the above directions to access the materials.

If you are already a Planet Debate subscriber (Public Forum or Master), simply log in, then click on the file ( http://www.planetdebate.com/files/view/4526). If you are a current subscriber, you do not need to agree to the Terms and Conditions to join the international honor society to access the material.

You can also purchase an individual copy of the file if you are not a subscriber and you do not wish to join the international honor society.

IDEA is also making a free print book available to all U.S. schools on the general topic of security vs. liberty. It can be ordered online at http://www.idebate.org/securingliberty/get_the_book.php.

The con team of Zachary Posess and James Weldon from The Delbarton School (New Jersey; coached by Brother Kevin Tidd) defeated the pro team of Ashwath Chennapan and Julian Crown from Leland High School (California; coached by Gay Brasher) on an 11-4 decision.

In addition to Lincoln Financial Group’s scholarships to the national champions, the Arthur N. Rupe Foundation has allocated the following amounts to the top 14 teams:

1. $10,000 – James Weldon and Zachary Posess (Delbarton HS, NJ)
2. $9,000 – Ashwath Chennapan and Julian Crown (Leland HS, CA)
3. $5,000 – Tejus Pradeep and Brian Moore (Ridge HS, NJ)
4. $5,000 – Brianna S. Petersen and Andrew D. Sligar (Monett HS, MO)
5. $3,000 – Nicholas Wu and Jordan Olmstead (Leland HS, CA)
6. $3,000 – Ariel Katz and Jordan Baker (Durham Academy, NC)
7. $3,000 – Christopher Winter and Adam Badrawi (Ridge HS, NJ)
8. $3,000 – Hersh V. Agarwal and Noah Kirsch (University HS, OH)

Octafinalist teams receive $2,000 each.
9. Aaron Sowards and Thao Anh Mai (Parkview HS, MO)
10. David R. Simpson and Ilana R. Urman (Cherry Creek HS, CO)
11. Nancy Gao and Joe Margolies (Nicolet HS, WI)
12. Katie Wong and Thomas Lloyd (Bronx Science HS, NY)
13. Sanjana Puri and Matthew R. Hinojosa (Flower Mound HS, TX)
13. Matthew Gold and Czar Bernstein (Ft. Lauderdale HS, FL)
13. Purrington and Avis Rodriguez (Cypress Woods HS, TX)

Click here for complete results.  Official results appear in the September issue of Rostrum.

April Update

Additional information provided by Donate Life:

Munich Poster

Mackinac Viewpoint

Project Organ Donor

Opinion by Dr. Gregg

• Topic Analysis

• A New Approach to Organ Donation – CATO article advocating financial incentives
• A ‘Gift of Life’ With Money Attached – Article from the New York Times by Dr. Sally Satel advocating a carefully regulated system of financial incentives
• Battling over bone marrow – Recent Los Angeles Times article detailing the follies of financial incentives for bone marrow
• Financial Incentives For Cadaveric Organ Donation: An Ethical Analysis – Article from The Internet Journal of Law, Healthcare and Ethics analyzing the ethical dimensions of financial incentives
• Financial Incentives for Organ Donation – Public announcement from the National Kidney Foundation opposing financial incentives
• Financial incentives for organ donation : an investigation of the ethical issues – Paper from the Netherlands’ Centre for Ethics and Health detailing the ethics of financial incentives
• Financial Incentives for Organ Procurement: Ethical Aspects of Future Contracts for Cadaveric Donors – American Medical Association report discussing the ethics of financial incentives
• Great Debate: Should Organ Donors Be Paid? – Live Science article detailing the debate about financial incentives
• Iran Sets Innovative Example For Organ Donation – NPR article detailing Iran’s successful financial incentives program
• Kidney Vending: The “Trojan Horse” of Organ Transplantation – Essay from the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology evaluating financial incentives
• National Organ Transplant Act – Full text of the National Organ Transplant Act of 1984, including later amendments and revisions
• Organ donations fall short; financial incentives can help – Opinion editorial from  USA Today supporting financial incentives
• Paying for Bodies, But Not for Organs – CATO paper detailing the harms of the current system of donation, arguing for financial incentives
• Paying for organs for transplantation – Article from Bioethics opposing financial incentives.
• Public to have say on organ donation incentives – BBC article detailing the debate over financial incentives in the UK
• Supply, Demand, and Kidney Transplants – Article by Dr. Sally Satel through the Hoover Institute concerning poor kidney donation policies
• The Failure of U.S. Organ Procurement Policy – CATO paper detailing the failed organ policies and potential solutions, such as financial incentives
• The Meat Market -  Wall Street Journal article examining in detail financial incentives, including current programs across the world
• Wait-Listed to Death – Wall Street Journal article detailing financial incentives and the current situation

Resolved: The United States federal government should permit the use of financial incentives to encourage organ donation.

April Materials:

Intro to the April

TopicApril Analysis

April Bibliography

April Pro Cards

April Con Cards

April Pro Case

April Con Case