Welsh Novices 2015

Welsh Novices 2015 (November 7th)
R1: THW ban video games in which the player engages in brutal and immoral violence in a realistic setting
R2: infoslide: [A map was shown alongside this text] The Gulf States (with the exceptions of Jordan, which has accepted a significant number of refugees) have so far provided limited aid and support to refugees during the current crisis Motion: THW continue trade deals with the Gulf States on the condition that they take control of the refugee crisis.
R3: THBTschools should motivate children to believe that anyone can succeed through hard work regardless of their background.
R4: THBT schools should motivate children to believe that anyone can succeed through hard work regardless of their background.
Final: Infoslide: Prison Manufacturing is a massive business in America, that enables them (as an industry) to compete internationally Inmates are paid below minimum wage and have little to no rights as workers, whereas free American citizens have the right to a minimum wage, fair working hours and the right to unionise to resolve disputes. If an Inmate is fit and well, refusal to work often results in punishments, up to and including isolation Motion: THW extend workers rights to the prison population, but not the right to refuse work.



Westminster Open (November 7th)
R1: THW ban cosmetic surgery
R2: THBT African countries should adopt English as the principal language of instruction in schools
R3: Infoslide: In the UK, NICE (the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) evaluates the efficacy of NHS policies by measuring QALYs. 'Quality Adjusted Life Years' (QALYs) are a way of measuring the effectiveness of healthcare treatments. They are calculated by combining both the number of years added to lives, and the quality of life after receiving treatment. So a medicine which provides 1 extra year of good quality life is credited just as much as one which adds 2 years of life where the quality of those years is deemed 'half as good'. QALYs prioritise length of life over quality of life (e.g. people with short life expectancy, less severe diseases). Treatments which do not increase life expectancy are often difficult to calculate. Motion: THW only fund medicine based on its impact on Quality Adjusted Life Years.
R4: TH, as the West, would cooperate with Russia in its military intervention in Syria (with info slide re Russia’s recent aggression vs. rebels/ISIS)
Novice Final: THBT the media should not report on the private lives of politicians
Semi Finals: THBT female game designers should prioritise over everything else the creation of female characters
Final: THW ban scientific research into the genetics of race