Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Generic Drug Position Paper Research


Think about the need to support further innovation, and simultaneously increase availability of existing medicines at affordable prices.

Links

Tips
Understand the process of drug research and development (cost, time, energy)
Find a balance between access to medicine and encouraging R&D (research and development)
Only include information that is relevant
Come up with a practical recommendation or solution that applies to your country, but can also be expanded to other countries

Questions to consider
Is your country known for being a more wealthy country or a more impoverished country?
Does your country produce a lot of name brand drugs, how about generic drugs? Which does it produce more of? What is the status of any patents your country may have?
Is there a pharmaceutical lobbyist in your country?
Is there a lot of research and development of drugs in your country?
What are some examples of brand name or generic drugs that are made or commonly used in your country?
What are some of the major illnesses that affect your country? Are they communicable or non-communicable? Are drugs commonly and effectively used to combat them?
How is your country involved with WHO?
Who are some of the big players (countries) involved in generic drugs? What opinions would you expect them to have?
What are some other countries that may have an effect on your country?
Is it difficult for people to afford drugs in your country? How about the ones they really need? How much do these drugs cost compared to how much money the average person in your country lives off of daily?

Why is generic drugs an important topic to the United Nations (and to the world in general)?
Why is the topic of generic drugs important to your country, specifically?
What are the actions your country has taken on a nation level to address the problem?
What are the actions your country has taken on an international level to address the problem?
What are the recommendations for WHO, which will be what you want to see in the resolutions at the end of the debate?

Documents

Videos








Friday, November 22, 2013

Understanding Your Country and the Topic of Generic Drugs Assignment (Group 3A)

*THIS ASSIGNMENT IS FOR GROUP 3A ONLY!

At this point, I have reassigned you all partners and new countries. Thank you all for completing the opening speech assignment in class. I will grade these and give them back to you next Thursday. From this point on, we will be leaving the political role of women topic behind and begin the topic of generic drugs (which you will be doing in your new pairs and with your new countries). That being said, I need to give you an assignment to complete and turn in to me next Thursday (you may give it to me in either English or Social Science class). The assignment is a two-part assignment, and you only have to turn in one copy per pair. Thus, I recommend that one person complete the first part of the assignment and that the other partner complete the second part of the assignment.

Part One: The Country Profile

1. Visit The World Factbook website
2. Select your country from the drop-down menu
3. Click on "Introduction" and read the background information about your country
4. On another piece of paper, paraphrase this information in your own words
5. Open up the Country Profile Document and fill out all the information using The World Factbook website (you may print this sheet and fill it out or copy all the information on a separate piece of paper)

Part Two: Understanding Generic Drugs

1. Open the All About Generic Drugs document
2. Open the Understanding Generic Drugs worksheet
3. Read the "All about Generic Drugs" document, and as you do so, you will be answering the questions that are written on the "Understanding Generic Drugs" worksheet (write all of the answers in complete sentences and on a separate piece of paper)
*Also, note that the questions are in order of where you can find the answers in the "All About Generic Drugs" document (i.e. the answer to the first question can be found in the first part of the document and the answer to the last question can be found in the last part of the document)

After completing this assignment, share what you have found with your partner. The point is to have a basic understanding of your country and the generic drug topic so that we can start having discussions about this next class. Good luck, and as always, you may leave a comment below if you have any questions!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Questions for Opening Speech

Do not forget to have these questions answered for next week. Each question should be answered with about 3-4 sentences. If you do this, then writing your opening speech will be very easy.

1. Why is the political role of women important to the United Nations (and to the world in general)?
2. Why is the political role of women important to your country, specifically?
3. What are the statistics that illustrate the problem in your country?
4. How does the issue of the political role of women affect your country?
5. What are the actions your country has taken on a nation level to address the problem?

6. What are the actions your country has taken on an international level to address the problem?

7. What are the recommendations for the committee, which will be what you want to see in the resolutions at the end of the debate?



Thursday, November 7, 2013

Political Role of Women Position Paper Reminders

Add yourself to the Global Classrooms group on the IES Doctor Marañón social network to have access to even more resources (you will find more sample position papers and a grading rubric among other great things):

IES DM Social Network

Find useful facts and statistics at the World Economic Forum website:

Facts and Statistics

If you find any really useful websites, share them with your classmates.
Finally, don't forgot to ask questions and use all the resources that we have given you. Good luck!

Monday, October 28, 2013

Assignment #1 - Plagiarism and MLA Citation

This assignment is not very long, but you will not do a very good job if you wait until the last minute to start it. Get started right away!
To complete the assignment for this week, follow these steps:

1. Read this document VERY carefully (maybe even twice)...
How to Avoid Plagiarism: Step-by-Step Guide
This document will tell you how to avoid plagiarism and how to properly cite your work.
(Refer back to it when necessary)

2. Read the following articles:
NPR Article on Drugs
NPR Article Transcript
Your assignment will be written about these articles - they are very short!

3. On a SEPARATE PIECE OF PAPER write your full name, the assignment title, and which class you are in. Now answer the following question: Do you think it is better to buy brand name or generic medicine? Your answer should be 5-7 sentences and in PARAGRAPH FORM. Make sure to use only one DIRECT QUOTE and to PARAPHRASE when necessary. Remember that any idea that is not yours or common sense, needs to be referenced. On the backside of your assignment, I want you to create your WORKS CITED page. This is what you will be turning in to me.

Tip: If you have any questions, refer to the resources on this blog (especially those under the Plagiarism and MLA Citations section). Otherwise, you have a week to ask me any questions about this assignment. Good luck!

Another picture of what a work cited page looks like. For this assignment, you only have to reference one article so you will only have one reference. However, this should be done correctly!

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Researching Topics

Research Organizer:

Getting to Know Your Country (Use the CIA World Fact Book Below to Find This Info)

Links that will help you find the information that you need:

Official Model UN Page of Research Links (Tips for Starting Your Research)

Tips for Researching Your Country or Topic (More General Tips)

What You Should Know About Your Country

What You Should Know About Your Topic

How the UN Relates to Your Topic and Country (General Structure of the UN)

Finding UN Documents (Great for the International Section of Your Paper)

A List of Great Research Links

CIA World Fact Book (Learning more about your country)

Deciding whether a source is reliable or not:

Good and Bad Sources

After you have researched your topic and country, make sure to have the following questions answered:

Position Paper Outline

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Short Stories

Here are a couple American short stories:

The Lottery

The Tell-Tale Heart

Plagiarism and MLA Citations


Make sure to check out the guide below:

How to Avoid Plagiarism: Step-by-Step Guide

Other Helpful Links:

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism Quiz

In-Text Citations

Works Cited Page



Writing a Position Paper

Here is the Powerpoint that I shared with you on how to write a position paper (there are helpful tips for writing the position paper at the end):

Position Paper Powerpoint - Pizza Edition

Simplified Guides:

Position Paper Outline

Important Position Paper Documents

Here is a sample position paper:

Violence Against Women

Position paper rubric:

Rubric

Remember that your position paper should have 4 distinct parts:
1. Introduction
2. Information about the issue domestically
3. Information about the issue from an international level
4. Conclusion
*Use statistics and quotes SPARINGLY and only when they have a "WOW-factor" to them (only 2-4 MAX per essay).

Formatting:
1.     Your heading should only include the following:
Your name(s)
Committee Name:
Country:
Topic:

*You do NOT need a separate cover page or additional heading, but don’t forget your WORKS CITED page (which will go on a separate piece of paper)
2.     Please use: 12 point (size), Times New Roman font, single spacing through your ENTIRE essay; maximum length is 1 page.

3.     Do use paragraphs; you should end up with about 4 paragraphs for your essay (this is not a strict requirment, you may have one or two more paragraphs).

Intro to the UN and Global Classrooms

The following is a link to the Powerpoint where you will find a brief introduction to the UN, Global Classrooms, and a timeline of how the year will look:

Intro to UN/GC Powerpoint

Here are the millennium development goals:

Millennium Development Goals

More About the MDGs

A document with everything you need to know about the UN:

Everything about the UN

The UN Bodies

A video on how the UN works: