Lesson 11: Natural Resources

Assignment: What's the Conflict with Diamonds?

In this exercise, you will further explore the issues relating to conflict diamonds and consider how the United States of America is addressing conflict diamonds.

You will find a form in the Lesson 11 folder of ANGEL called "What's the conflict with diamonds?" Submission Form. This is where you will submit your responses to the graded questions in this activity.

Goals

The goals of the exercise are to review legislation regarding conflict diamonds, consider the value/worth of synthetic diamonds, and think about the connections between jewelers and consumers and conflict diamonds.

Background

To review, conflict diamonds are those sold in order to fund armed conflict and civil war. Profits from the trade in conflict diamonds, worth billions of dollars, were used by warlords and rebels to buy arms during the devastating wars in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Wars which have cost an estimated 3.7 million lives.

While the wars in Angola, Liberia, and Sierra Leone are now over, and fighting in the DRC has decreased, the problem of conflict diamonds hasn't gone away. Diamonds mined in rebel-held areas in Côte d'Ivoire, a West African country in the midst of a volatile conflict, are reaching the international diamond market. Conflict diamonds from Liberia are also being smuggled into neighbouring countries and exported as part of the legitimate diamond trade.

Suggestions for tackling the assignment

  1. It is suggested that you first read through the questions being asked for this assignment (below).
  2. Review the "Resources to help you get started" (below). You are encouraged to start your Internet search with the Internet links provided below. Be very careful with what you find online in your own searches - evaluate the source and authors of the Web sites you view.
  3. Copy the questions below to a Microsoft Word file and work there on developing your responses. This is a safeguard against any Internet and/or ANGEL glitches that might occur while you are drafting your work. Remember that you should provide clear and thoughtful responses to each question with enough detail to support your point of view.
  4. When finished, submit your paper to the Turnitin.com Inbox for "What's the conflict with diamonds?" to confirm you have no accidental occurrences of plagiarism.
  5. After you have your report back from Turnitin.com, copy and paste your responses into the boxes in the "What's the conflict with diamonds?" Submission Form.

Keep in mind... I am going to assume that everyone knows nothing about Africa's issues relating to conflict diamonds! So your job in this course is to prove to me that you are learning something! I will look for details and evidence that you have thought about the material. And trust me, I can see through "fluff" that is copied directly from the Internet!

Assignment Questions

  1. Summarize (in your own words) the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
  2. Is the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme too little, too late? Explain.
  3. Summarize (in your own words) the Clean Diamonds Trade Act.
  4. Since the Act applies to diamonds in the USA, will this Act make a global difference and impact? Explain.
  5. Should American jewelers care and be concerned about conflict diamonds? Explain.
  6. Should American consumers care and be concerned about conflict diamonds? Explain.
  7. Can an increase in demand for synthetic diamonds make a difference in the war against conflict diamonds? Explain.
  8. Will a demand for synthetic diamonds help or hurt the economy of African diamond nations? Explain.
  9. Now that you have learned about conflict diamonds... how do you feel about diamonds? Do you still think diamonds should be the most sought-after gemstones? Explain.

Resources to help get you started

  1. Kimberley Process Certification Scheme: site 1, site 2, site 3 (video), site 4
  2. Clean Diamond Trade Act: site 1 (the text of the Act), site 2, site 3 (*NOTE: the old version of this Act that was not approved was titled "Clean Diamonds Act - be careful as you do Internet searches that you reading information about the correct Act)
  3. Synthetic diamonds: site 1, site 2, site 3
  4. As usual, Turnitin.com is available to check your assignment before you submit.

Deadline

All responses must be uploaded in the ANGEL no later than 11:00 PM on the due date (see Calendar tab in ANGEL). Note that is 11:00 PM by ANGEL's clock, not by the clock on your computer! The submission form will disappear at 11:00 PM, and this assignment will not be accepted late under any circumstances. I have no problems giving students a zero for an assignment if they do not take the responsibility to submit by the deadline, so don't even think about trying to submit this late!

Grading criteria

Here is how the assignment will be graded.

Questions #1 and 3 will be graded out of 3 points each. Questions #2, #4-9 will be graded out of 5 points each (which means more detail and more thought should go into your responses).

As for your references, I am looking for correct format in APA style. If you do not have the correct style, then I reserve the right to deduct 15 points off of your final assignment grade (once it is scaled to 100%) for inaccurate documentation. If there is an academic integrity violation, I will puruse the procedures outlined in Lesson 0. If you do not use any references for this assignment besides the links provided, please write "no additional sources used" in the space provided.

Your final assignement score based out of 41 points will be scaled out of 100%.

How do you find out your assignment grade?

One week after the assignment is due, the submission form will become "active" again. You need to go back into the form and click on your responses to see your score and my comments. Again, I will be recording in my gradebook your score based out of 100%.

If you have any questions...

...on this assignment, on Africa, on anything! Don't hesitate to get in touch with me via phone or email ASAP. I would not recommend waiting until Sunday evening to contact me, as I cannot guarantee a response before the assignment deadline.