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TOPIC DESCRIPTORS 2007-2008
PROBLEM 1: BODY ENHANCEMENT
Tattooing is an ancient cultural and spiritual rite of passage for Polynesians and Melanesians; body piercing has been used for millennia; plastic surgery originally developed to assist soldiers and airmen badly burnt and wounded during war. Nowadays plastic surgery has become more and more of a cosmetic procedure with people choosing to enhance and change many parts of their bodies. People are flying to third world countries for cheap cosmetic surgery treatments and ending up with lifelong medical problems as a result. In some cultures, tattooing and excessive body piercing are seen as antiestablishment while in others indigenous peoples are reverting to these anticient practices as a statement of their cultural belonging and pride. Where might the seeming need to enhance the body by cosmetic and other means end up?
PROBLEM 2: SIMULATION TECHNOLOGY
As computer technology improvevs, photos can be "corrected" to show perfection. Video of any individual can be altered to show whatever the programmer chooses. This could be a wonderful opportunity for actors to vacation while movies that include them are made. It might also allow someone who is overweight to see what they might look like as a thin person or for parents to see what their new baby will look like as a child or an adult. Images can be manipulated to show almost anything. How will this impact court evidence? Could this impact employment? What other amazing things could be accomplished with this technology?
2008 STATE BOWL QUALIFIER:
NEUROTECHNOLOGY
Neurotechnology is technology that makes it possible to manipulate the brain. Already one young patent has a chip embedded in his brain, which allows him to control a computer using his thoughts. Instruments and techniques used in developing neurotechnology include brain imaging systems (MRI, PET, EEG), biochips (DNA microarrays, protein chips, RNA chips), genetic engineering techniques, cellular implantation, and electronic stimulation. Neurotechnology offers hope to sufferers of brain disorders and spinal cord injuries to lead a normal life again. It also has the potential to enhance brain functions in normal people. What are the ethical implications of neurotechnology? Should it be used for recovery from illness and injury or is the use of it for augmentation also possible?
2008 STATE BOWL
DEBT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
For many years, the world's poorest countries have been forced to take out loans in order to afford essential goods and services for their people, such as national security, healthcare, public safety, and education. In the short term, deficit spending can create jobs and fulfill basic needs. But it also leads to higher interest rates that stifle economies, and imposes obligations on future generations to repay the debt. Many activists and world leaders now argue that the debts of developing countries, which are largely owed to wealthier foreign governments and multinational corporations, amount to a substantial obstacle to sustainable development, security, and stability in these countries. Pleas to forgive the debt of poor nations have evoked much sympathy in recent years, but opinions remain divided over how best to remedy the situation.
2008 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
CHILD LABOR
Child labor is a pervasive problem throughout the world, especially in developing countries. Africa and Asia together account for over 90% of total child employment. Children often work because of poverty, particularly in areas where the capacity to enforce minimum age requirements for schooling and work is lacking. They are major contributors to family income in developing countries. Traditional cultural and social factors increase child labor. Child laborers are often subjected to extreme exploitation, leading extremely deprived lifestyles. There is no international agremeent defining child labor, making it hard to isolate cases of abuse, let alone abolish them.
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