The breakup of the Soviet Union, the red-unification of Germany , and the elimination of apartheid, are a few examples of nations in transition. How does altering the political structure of a nation effects the everyday life of its people and the day-to-day operation of its government?

Read about an example of hurdles faced by Russia today

 The Task

Your new employer is the recently appointed Minister of Finance. Your boss has an appointment with the United States Secretary of State, whose purpose is to obtain foreign aid for your new government. You must present a strong case for your country's needs. You will need to include societal, economic, and political issues. You are to prepare a five minute presentation for your boss to use as part of the proposal for financial support.

You and your team will be assigned a country in transition by your teacher. Your final product is the presentation and should address the following:

• How does the change in political structure affect the economy?
• How does political transition effect the society?
• What steps is your government currently taking and which of those appear to be successful?
• What alternatives would you suggest as a solution?

The Product

You will research the assigned country and prepare a presentation that could be video, visual, oral, or written which will persuade the U.S Secretary of State to allocate funds to your nation .Your presentation should include an examination of the political, social , and economic hurdles faced by your country and possible solutions.

Click here to look at other product types

Assessment

Complete an Oral Presentation Assesment Tool

Complete a Research Self Assessment

Step One: Questioning

As you look at the task above, list as many questions as you can that will help you to understand and investigate this topic. THINK ABOUT...

What do you already know about the characteristics of a capitalistic economy?

What do you need to know

• to begin your investigation?
• in order to suggest some solutions
• to convince others to support your ideas?

Having trouble getting started? To find out more about the research process visit the What to Do site

Step One: Planning

As you read through your various sources, take notes, write down possible resources. Use a graphic organizer to arrange your information in a meaningful way.

Click here to look at an example of a cluster diagram.
Try this site for an example of note taking skills .

• What basic needs will be addressed in this first proposal for national aid? Why?
• How would this shift in economic principles effect labor issues?
• How will national defense be affected?
• How will social programs be addressed as you plan for the use of your anticipated funding?

In this step you will be using a variety of library In this step you will be using a variety of library resources to find answers to your questions.

Tip:If you did not formulate questions in Step 1, go back and do it now. A topic is not a question.

Gather answers from variety of sources:

• Automated catalog to locate books and videos
• Internet websites
• Magazines
• Electronic databases, such as:
  

Remember to cite your references. Check the MLA guidelines and examples for citing resources; however, your school may use a different format.resources to find answers to your questions.

Working bibliographies change as your research progresses, for information on a working source list visit Developing a Working Source List.

Sort your research findings by using note cards or a graphic organizer to organize your information.
Try this site for an example of note taking skills

Sift through the resources, eliminating those that do not answer your questions.

To avoid risking plagiarism examine this website for acceptable uses of proper paraphrasing.

In order to gain insight about nations in transition you must examine the web sites listed to the right of this page.

You will need to make inferences based on the title of the site.
Scan the site to determine its relevancy to your question.
Sift the website for data that answers your question.

Print Resources

Use the following:

• Automated Card Catalog
  • Use keywords like reunification, transitional governments, economics, capitalism, and the name of your country.
• BCPL online catalog
• Culturegrams

Nonprint Resources

Examine the following web sites for pertinent information on your topic.

• Problems with German reunification.
• Western Europe needs The US and NATO
• A poll of Hong Kong's people
• Hong Kong a dynamo in transition
• China in transition
• Capitalism in Russia
• Canada Helps economies in transition
• Central Europe Online
• Central and Eastern European WWW resources
• South Africa in Transition
• How Russia sees itself after Chechnya
• Central and Eastern Europe
• The crisis in Kosovo
• The Balkan for beginners
  

Tips for using the Internet:

Using Internet Information | Using Search Tools | Comparing Search Tools | Search Strategies | Evaluating Internet Resources

Check point! It is time to assess your progress.You will need to organize and evaluate your research findings.Work with your group to figure out how much you have learned.

• Is the puzzle beginning to take shape?
• Are you able to make out any patterns?
• Try moving your information pieces around until some kind of picture emerges.

You are looking for insight.

• What have you learned so far?
• What more do you need?

You are trying to "tease" meaning out of fragments. Synthesis requires rearranging pieces of information until a new version emerges.

Now that you have gathered information, stop to evaluate your findings.

• Have you found sufficient details to answer all your questions?
• Can you throw away material which is not useful or does not answer your questions?
• Do you need to rearrange the information in different categories?
• Can you condense or combine the information?
• Do you need to develop new questions to adequately cover your topic?

What significance do you think ...

• the effects ...
• the ability of citizens to ...
• the economic ...
• the tactics and strategies ...

Now that you have synthesized your information and evaluated your progress, you are ready to locate additional information to answer your questions and further develop your topic.

Try using a variety of search tools for the Internet. Each search tool will produce a different set of results. 

Synthesis is the act of pulling your research and ideas together to form a new whole.

Recall your thesis statement.

• Do you have supporting information and details?

 Are you ready to prepare your product?

Recall your compelling question or thesis statement.

Review all of your materials to prepare for your final product. It should reflect your efforts during the past steps in the research process.

Questioning and Planning
Gathering, Sorting, and Sifting
Synthesis and Evaluation

Gather all of your materials, decide what are the most important points to support your statement in order to create an effective presentation. 

Are you ready to present your product?

Check out the Guide to Writing a Basic Essay. Learn how to write your

• Outline,
• Thesis statement,
• Introduction,
• Body
• Conclusion