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The
Scenario
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The year is 1995 and French President
Chirac has just announced France's intentions to renew
nuclear testing at the Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific.
The immediate uproar to the decision was monumental.
Protests organized by Greenpeace and other anti-nuclear
groups sprung up at French embassies all around the world.
The governments of Japan and Australia, issued firm warnings
to the French, subtly threatening economic sanctions if the
tests were to continue. Within the borders of France, the
populous reacts with mixed emotions, but the overall sense
of nationalism brings enough of the people together to
support this final set of testing.
While France has determined to hold its
ground and has refused to back away from its decision to
continue with the testing, the Chirac administration has
agreed to attending a Nuclear Testing Summit before the
first test. However, the first test has been scheduled for
two days into the three day summit. France, Japan,
Australia, the United States, and the organization
Greenpeace have been invited by the overseeing group of
moderators from the United Nations to attend the
conference.
It will be the responsibility of the
moderators to bring all the nations/organization together in
an organized and productive manner, that will allow all
sides to explain themselves and there position on this
sensitive issue. Additionally, all participants must
contribute to, and later sign, a treaty that will redefine
the issue of nuclear testing in the South Pacific drafted by
the neutral moderators.
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The
Task
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At the end of this unit each group will
have completed the following:
- Designate roles within each
group,
- research topic using provided or
otherwise found resources,
- develop an an argument for the
nation/organization being represented by each
group,
- support stance with relevant
information,
- prepare any visual aids for
presentation and report,
- create questions to address possible
weaknesses in opponents' arguments,
- submit written report of all
findings,
- present argument at final
summit,
- and participate in the drafting of a
nuclear testing treaty.
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The
Players
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Each group has been
provided with a specific set of resources on the below
linked pages. Additionally, a set of General
Resources are
available for all groups to assist in your
research.
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France is the country that has caused all of
the commotion. It was their decision to continue
nuclear testing in the South Pacific that started
this debate.
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Australia holds a particular interest in nuclear
testing in the South Pacific because of the
proximity to its shores. Australia has always stood
strong against nuclear testing
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Greenpeace has conducted massive campaigns to stop
testing, and numerous environmental tests to show
its damage to the environment.
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Being the only nation to fall
victim to the devastation of the atomic weapons,
Japan feels it is its duty to fight any
attempt at renewed testing and developing of
nuclear devices.
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Being the world's nuclear
powerhouse, the United
States finds itself in
an interesting role. The U.S. has opposed all
nuclear testing, but understands France's desire
for national security. The U.S. must make its
opinion known, but must not attempt to dominate the
negotiations.
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Moderators
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This role is very important to
the summit at the end of the week. The moderating
group will be responsible for conducting the
summit, asking follow up questions, and drawing up
a treaty to be signed by all members at the end of
the summit.
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The
Process
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During the next week, you will be doing a
number of different tasks that will ultimately lead to a
summit conference where the future of nuclear testing in the
South Pacific and the world will be discussed. You will need
to follow the instructions provided by your teacher and
outlined below to complete the worked needed to participate
fully in the summit.
- You will first be given a short
introduction to nuclear testing and its brief, but
brilliant history. A special history of nuclear
testing page has been set up
for you to reference while conducting your research.
- Build Teams, Assign
Country/Organization, and Select Roles
You will be divided into six teams and assigned a
country/organization by your teacher. Within each group
you will decided who will be assigned to each role
described below, with the exception of the moderating
group whose instructions can be found on the moderating
page. Some of you may end up
doing two or three of the jobs depending upon your group
and how you delegate responsibility.
- President - Organizes team activities and monitor
completion of assignments. Coordinate and assign
research topics to team members.
- Secretary - Take notes at team meetings and in charge
of the final written report.
- Delegates - Two people will sit at the conference
table and will present the main points and arguments
(questions can be asked by all members!).
- Artist - In charge of gathering appropriate
images, creating maps and other artwork.
- Spy
- Examine arguments of other parties. Come up with
counter-arguments. In charge of not being caught
off-guard.
- Researchers - Everyone will act as a researcher in some
capacity.
- And so it
begins...
At this point you will examine the page specific to your
team, and begin research. Each nation/organization page
has questions to be addressed and links to find useful
information. Library research should supplement the
Internet resources. Once you have a good idea as to the
stance you want to take on the issue, begin doing
specific research to the topics you will be addressing in
your presentation.
Research
Position
From data collection and research activities your team
will assemble a report containing and information
supporting the stance the nation/organization will be
making. A set of questions specific to each group has
been provided to get students started off in the right
direction. These questions are only starters, they do not
address the entire issue as should be seen by each
nation/organization. The report should include the
following information:
- Introduction/Stance on nuclear
testing
- Research
- Maps, Charts, and other
images
- Possible solutions
- Conclusion
- Conduct International
Summit
On the summit day, your classroom will be organized to
best suit the needs of the conference. Be sure to have
all of your materials ready for your presentation. The
moderating group should have already determined the order
of presentations. Make sure to listen closely to all of
the other presenters. Ask any questions you have to the
presenting group (at the end of their presentation),
whether they oppose or agree to your stance on the
issues.
The moderating group is responsible for running the
summit, you will need to follow the guidelines they have
set up for you.
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Evaluation
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Two rubrics are being designed to grade
you both individually and as a group.
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Conclusion
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At the end of this unit you will be
familiar with the threat nuclear technology still poses in a
post-Cold War world. Additionally, you have worked as a
group to help solve this problem. While this has only been a
simulation of a real life issue, it has allowed you to
examine the evidence and argue a position that may or may
not be close to your heart. It is important to see all
angles and to understand why an individual, organization, or
nation acts the way it does, often in opposition of what has
been deemed right.
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