Calendar of dates for 2008-2009 (tentative):
October 17, 2008 First practice problem must be postmarked.
November 6 Evaluator's training at FPC at 6pm.
December 31, 2008 Second practice problem must be postmarked.
January 9, 2009 Scenario entries must be postmarked.
January 26, 2009 CmPS preliminary report must be postmarked.
March 9, 2009 CmPS final report must be postmarked.
March 29-April 1 State competition, Port Canaveral
May 28-31 International competition, Lansing, Michigan
FPS topics for the 2008-2009 school year are:
- Topic 1: Olympic Games (descriptor comes from the Future Problem Solving International website www.fpspi.org
- Once the Olympics was the symbol of pure sport and world peace. Yet over the years, we have seen terrorism, politics and economics tarnish it. Currently, we have professional athletes competing, steroid use, biased judging, bribing of officials, and corruption at the highest levels of the IOC. In addition, there are political and economic implications of hosting it. what is the role of the Olympics in the future?
- Topic 2: Cyber Conflict (descriptor comes from the Future Problem Solving International website www.fpspi.org )
- When the Internet was first envisioned, there was probably no thought as to how the use of computers and computing could potentially become an instrument of war. However, with the increased reliance on the computer for maintaining and even operating the critical infrastructures that are key to the smooth operation of not only businesses, but also governments, and the conduct of war, this probability has become reality. The art of war requires that soldiers be able to shoot, move and communicate. With the increased reliance on computers and computer chips to operate vehicles, weapons systems, and communications nodes, it is evident that attacking those computers from a distance becomes desirable. How will these challenges be addressed even as technological advances increase the possibility of cyber warfare?
- Topic 3: Space Junk (descriptor comes from the Future Problem Solving International website www.fpspi.org )
- Since the early days of space flight, a wide variety of discarded materials have been left floating in multiple orbits around the earth. Will this space junk pose a peril for future flights? When the discards fall to earth as meteorites, what damage might occur on Earth? Who should be responsible for the management on Earth?
- Topic 4: Counterfeit Economy (descriptor comes from the Future Problem Solving International website www.fpspi.org)
- At the store in the mall, on the streets of any major city, even on the internet, consumers are bombarded with a variety of merchandise, which is a copy of the original. This can include the clothes on our backs, the music we listen to, the movies we watch, and there is no guarantee that the baseball in your bedroom was actually signed by that favorite athlete. Although some copies may be legal, many are not. The counterfeit economy presents several problems to the consumer, retailers, as well as manufacturers. What are these issues and how can they be addressed within the scope of the global economy?
Congratulations to Jessica Brousseau, Patty O'Brien, Kim Pack and Maureen Timlin who won a spot in the FPS Northeast Florida Future Problem Solving District Writing Bowl on Saturday, February 23, 2008 and won an invitation to the state competition, April 13-16, held at the Radisson at the Port, 8701 Astronaut Blvd., Cape Canaveral, FL. 32920.
Congratulations also to Project.gov, Project Aids and Project Dig-it participants for being selected to attend the state competition, April 13-16, to be held at the Radisson at the Port, Cape Canaveral, FL. Project.gov includes members Zane Lipsey, Patty O'Brien, Kim Pack and John Timlin. Project Aids includes members Brian Bennett, Emerick Larkin, Marlee Norris and Taylor Tofal. Project Dig-it, a joint FPC-MHS project, includes Megan Lowe.