About diamond

About diamond Introduction â€Å"A diamond is forever† (De Beers Group, 2008) is likely to be one of the best known slogans the mining industry has ever had. Sixty years after the foundation of the De Beers Consolidated Mines in South Africa (CMSA) in 1888 (Epstein, 1982) this slogan represents a campaign aimed at marketing the sale of De Beers diamonds. In the early twentieth century the British South African company monopolised giving them the control over the majority of the worlds diamond supply. To establish the monopoly, Ernest Oppenheimer, considered as â€Å"prototype of the multinational businessman: German by birth, British by naturalization, Jewish by religion, and South African by residence† has perceived that the only way to increase the value of diamonds is to make them scarce† (Epstein, 1982) in 1910. Ernest Oppenheimer has so far laid the foundation for De Beers business strategy of controlling supply that lasted for nearly one century facilitating the process of becoming an international cartel in the late 1930 years. Within the following twenty years, De Beers monopolised the natural diamond industry on a global scale. The company monitored all pipe mines, was â€Å"fully backed by the British, Belgian and French governments [and was considered as] the official channel for the diamond trade† (Epstein, 1982) among all other governments. This distinction only lasted until the 1990s when first threats menaced the monopoly. De Beers has been put face to face with the loss of its position in the worlds diamond producing industry hence they had to cope with a dwindling reputation. To counter this negative trend which not only existed for the diamond industry but also among customers the De Beers Group had to react. Therefore, this business report is going to examine the factors behind any changes that have taken place in the structure of the companys value chain in recent years. It will also explain the reasoning behind any points made. To support the reasoning different business frameworks will be use. The Global Value Chain Competitive Advantage and Value Chain Michael E. Porter, professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, analyses the basis of competitive advantage in his book â€Å"Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance†, that was published in 1998. He explained that it is the companys competitive advantage that leads to value creation, hence to gain leverage among competitors in their particular market segment (Porter, 1998). Porter points out two general distinctions of competitive advantage: either a company can offer benefits at a lower cost than the rival which is called cost advantage or the company surpasses the benefits that are delivered by the competitor which is a differentiation advantage. To create a competitive advantage, irrespective of its nature, so to say by cost or differentiation the business fields resources and capabilities to finally create superior value. To visualise this issue, one can take in regard the resource-based view in the following simplified model (QuickMBA, 2009). Contemplating Fig. 1 there is still one step missing before competitive advantage is attained. It is realised by a range of value creating activities which Porter identified as value chain. He further found out that a company needed to outperform one or more of those activities that are above the overall value which ascertains the company being ahead of its competitors (QuickMBA, 2009). To get a better understanding of what the value chain contains and expresses one should have a look at the figure below that was adapted from (Porter, 1998). Continued The value chain aims at creating the highest possible value for the company and is the last step to gain a competitive advantage as seen in Fig.1. There can be different reasons why a company may add or even lose value. Throughout the years of business, the firm may have to undertake measures to make a change in the firms value chain (e.g. due to external factors). One of these external factors can be the time – in virtue of changing circumstances in the business environment, or a special market. The company needs to move with the times to stay competitive. A negative example that may cause a change in value can be the chaining of unfortunate events (e.g. collapsing market, contract termination with major producers, new competition, and consumers taste shift). This chain of unfortunate events would engender dire consequences that may conduce a company to consider changing or restructuring its value chain to haul itself out of the loophole. In the following section Porters theory of competitive advantage and the value chain will be applied on the particular case of De Beers. Afterwards, any factors of the past decade it will be looked at in detail. These factors include any event that occasioned De Beers to react quickly to a negative trend of falling market share and worsening reputation and consequently how the company dealt with the situation to stop this thread. De Beers Competitive Advantage and Value Chain De Beersoperates since its foundation in the late 19th century as already mentioned in the introduction. From scratch it followed a successful strategy that helped controlling the vast majority of the worlds diamond supply and being market leader since the beginning of its operations. In Fig. 3 is shown briefly how De Beers created its competitive advantage over competitors and how the company managed to acquire a market share of some 85% (Irwin, 2001). The activities that created value and in what way the success story of De Beers continued will be explained subsequently. Before analysing the value chain it is expedient to have a look at the De Beers Family of Companies (De Beers, Family of Companies, 2009) showing every single member that is at some extent involved in the companys operations. Looking at Fig.4 one can see that the Anglo American Group, the Central Holdings Group and the Government of the Republic Botswana are the shareholders of the De Beers socià ©tà © anonyme (De Beers sa). The companys head office is located in Luxembourg managing and monitoring the entire business whereas commercial activities are executed from subsidiaries in different parts of the world (De Beers Group, 2008). The Family of Companies is integrated across the breadth of the global diamond value chain. This covers exploration of deposits, sorting and valueing rough diamonds as well as cutting and polishing diamonds. We will have a closer look at these single instances in a little while. De Beers sa shareholders owned and controlled JV and independently subsidiaries and divisions managed subsidiaries Since we now got to know of which arms the Family of Companies consists we can examine De Beers value chain presenting slight changes from Porter De Beers adapted to its business. Since De Beers focused more and more on creating demand rather than controlling supply, they realised that a bad reputation of a consuming good they wanted (and needed) to sell has impacts on demand. De Beers response to face this problem was taking a key role in the implementation of the Kimberley Process which is an international certification scheme that is aimed at controlling the rough diamond trade. It requires a governmental certification of any shipments of rough diamonds proving that diamonds are free from blood – so to say not sold to prolong a conflict. De Beers efforts were being rewarded in January 2001 when Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary General praised the company saying that they â€Å"set an example with its response to criticism of the diamond trade in Africa and its efforts to ensure that traders and consumers of diamonds will no longer unwittingly help to finance warlords† (Irwin, 2001). To recapture the erstwhile good reputation of De Beers they presented two more novelties. Forevermark De Beers needed to establish a brand name first in Europe later in the US. Therefore the company formed a strategic alliance with Moà «t Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) a French luxury goods group (Irwin, 2001). In the hope of creating globally a differentiation between De Beers Forevermark diamonds and stones one can purchase via internet the company put a lot of money into marketing strategies and campaigns to publicise the new brand and create an association with the utterly luxurious high class. A feature that lived through the entire time frame of this partnership is that De Beers jewellery always has been and will be sold exclusively in special De Beers stores. Downloadable Reports In 2001 De Beers published on their website the very first time an annual report revealing details about the workings and profits of the company. It is said that it is â€Å"the most comprehensive view [] that has ever been published† (Irwin, 2001). The intention of this published report was the direct address to shareholders of which a great part resided in the US. Two years later, in 2003, De Beers independent arm the DTC implemented the â€Å"Supplier of Choice† strategy – another project in their strategy shift. It is a sales programme aimed at selecting clients (sightholders) for De Beers. There are special sightholder selection criteria and considerations that provide a framework enabling the DTC to make an objective valuation of applicants. This method contributes to an allocation considered as fair and efficient (De Beers Group, 2008). The next big change in the company was the change of the Managing Director. Gary Ralfe tried his best to help De Beers not to go down fighting within this highly competitive environment over years. He wanted to transform the once successful business steeped in history into a modern competitive market player that at one point can regain a position they once held. Since Gary Ralfe retired in 2006 he could not finish his projects whereas his successor Gareth Penny now was charged with them. And it was this director change that breathed new life into the company. Gareth Penny, who beforehand was the director of sales and marketing of the DTC, his new role as MD was now to face all the issues that Gary Ralfe tried to antagonise. Penny first started to put new efforts on De Beers role in the Kimberley Process, always emphasising that De Beers only trades and sells conflict-free diamonds. To remove any doubts clients might have about the diamonds origin of De Beers jewellery the company in troduced in 2006 the De Beers Passport. This passport accompanies every diamond purchase and certifies that the sold jewellery is certainly blood free. It is the first and only company offering such a certification to clients (De Beers Jewellers, 2009). The second main achievement of Pennys business reshaping plan is a higher concentration on the joint ventures with African governments. Between De Beers and the Government of Botswana a joint venture has been agreed in 1969, 40 years ago (De Beers Group, 2009). Since 1992 this joint venture is called Debswana (cp. Fig.13). A very important step was taken in May 2006 when the Government of Botswana and De Beers signed three very meaningful agreements. Those comprised a regeneration of mining licenses for 25 years, a prolongation of the selling contract for five years and the establishment of the DTC Botswana. It was in the same year that De Beers bettered their diamond production record producing in total 34.3 million carats (De Beers Group, 2008). But the relationship was even more intensified in 2008 when De Beers moved its diamond-sorting facility to Botswana. This facility is the worlds largest and most innovative sorting institution avouching for the precious stones to stay in t he country for a little longer (OConnell, 2009). De Beers or better Gareth Penny does create a lot of good for the country since Botswana counted for a long time to the worlds poorest countries in terms of living condition and development rate. Meanwhile Botswana displays economic growth rates that are highest on a global scale (Morapedi, 2009). De Beers cooperation with the government thereby all foreign direct investment they put in the country forwarded growth within four decades. Nowadays Debswana is the countrys largest non-government employer, since they are giving 25% of the residents a place to work (Morapedi, 2009). Investing in diamond production, De Beers aid contributes to export revenues of 76%. The diamonds create nearly half of the government revenues and they account for a third of Botswanas GDP (Morapedi, 2009). Apart from any foreign direct investment in Africa and conflict free diamond issues an important point to mention last is that Penny always has been very keen on stimulating technology development. Supporting those processes financially the general idea behind was the aim to keep down production and sorting costs. Impacts of 10 years reshaping measures Although all the measures of reshaping the company sound very promising, one would expect a growth in profits and reputation. But these apparently obvious consequences of all the efforts cannot be proven since the strategy shift also affects the companys value chain in a somewhat negative way. One can see the financial situation of De Beers over the past five years. Since 2005 the profits are decreasing continuously whereas the decrease rate of the total costs is minimal, so to say not evident. This phenomenon is going to be proven in the following. decreasing market share The macro-environmental factors that came up throughout the 1990 years are the cause for the negative development of De Beers market share. Summarised, the single reasons were: discovery of rich deposits in Canada emergence of new competition taste shift among customers economic decline in consuming regions and the stigma of blood diamonds. customers turn into competitors The DTC sells the rough diamonds to a range of companies. As far as one is in this â€Å"selling process† these companies are customers of De Beers. But since the companies continue manufacturing the stones, selling them to alternative retailers the diamonds are at one point offered on the market as well as De Beers jewellery. In this sense, De Beers is competing with its customers. commitment to corporate social responsibility De Beers not only concentrates on foreign direct investment in African countries, it also cares for its employees and their families. Among all the activities and measures that are undertaken by De Beers three of them will be highlighted. The employment rate of Historically Disadvantaged South Africans in management roles in the De Beers Consolidated Mines (see Fig.3) was at 45.5% in 2008, the year before at 39% (De Beers, Family of Companies, 2009). The De Beers constant workforce consists of 21.8% women. Nearly one fifth of management positions are filled by females. (De Beers, Family of Companies, 2009). De Beers implemented a disease management programme. Their investment supported additional medical treatment offers outside the insurance scheme to all employees and their relatives. Since the exposure of De Beers employees to especially HIV and Aids is dangerous in terms of the workers and workers families health but also in terms of business continuity. The programme focuses on prevention, treatment and care and support (De Beers, Family of Companies, 2009). Despite all the positives points of De Beers CSR activities the company has to be careful with the amount of money it is investing since costs tend to escalate quite easily In Fig. 14. one could already notice that costs are still too high in proportion to the total revenue of the firm. Even though the profits of De Beers are following a downward trend the company is diligently improving to stay highly innovative and portray a serious competitor on the market. The shift to a new business model of creating demand De Beers has made it to a modern competitive player taking continuously measures to add up to its competitive advantage, e.g. steady development and generation of technologies as well as foreign direct investment. The latter means a huge support of a developing country that certainly needs external aid to improve the economic situation inside the country. Conclusion Throughout this business report it was demonstrated that the firm De Beers always has been a very successful company. From scratch of its operations, De Beers followed well-wrought business concepts. Since the company is British-South African by origin methods to internationalise business operations had been very favourable in terms of creating success. The main aspects, making the business growing were 1st investing directly in African countries such as Botswana and Namibia, 2nd exporting directly to Britain and many other countries and 3rd establishing important joint ventures with e.g. African governments. Although De Beers took great risks operating how it finally did it got a maximum reward possible what is likely to be its secret of a successful business. Through the ages De Beers created itself high reputation among customers, further the firm had a competitive advantage benefitting from operating very early on this particular market. The company enjoyed a protrusion of know-how and knowledge about the market manifesting it by locating itself intelligently. All these points favoured De Beers monopoly which they held over decades. Accidentally the luck has turned. In the late 1980 years and throughout the 1990s an unfortunate series of events should end De Beers success story. With increasing frequency international media casted a poor light on De Beers blaming the company to finance civil wars in African countries such as Sierra Leone or Angola. But De Beers had somehow to get through this period full of obstacles since it had a long track record to defend. Furthermore the firm possessed still a good position on the market. To overcome those problems De Beers responded proactively in initiating a multifaceted strategy shift that was realised progressively throughout a decade from 1999 until today. De Beers had to learn a lot about its business environment since they did not operate as a monopoly any longer. But De Beers has a fair chance having learned from its mistakes within those past ten years. The company is likely to grow out of this challenge and might improve operations and achieve higher profits in the future. But since they have to bear additionally caused costs e.g. by the Supplier of Choice strategy and still compete with their customers who possibly could establish own brands which would diminish De Beers power in sales the company exposes itself to a fight that keeps probably extending over several years. Reference list/Bibliography Anglo American plc. (2009). Diamonds. London: Anglo American plc. Banse, F., Jung, A. (2005). Der Stoff aus dem Kriege sind. medico internationl e.V. Frankfurt: s.n. De Beers. (2005, September 29). A financial overview about De Beers. Presentation to Anglo American Analysts and Investment Banks , 99. London. De Beers Group. (2009, June 23). Botswana and De Beers celebrate a 40-year partnership. From De Beers Website Press Releases. [Online] Available at:http://www.debeersgroup.com/en/Media-centre/Press-releases/2009/Botswana-and-De-Beers-celebrate-a-40-year-partnership/ [Accessed 11 November 2009] De Beers Group. (2008). De Beers A diamond is forever. From Home. [Online] Available at:http://www.debeersgroup.com/en/ [Accessed 25 October 2009] De Beers Jewellers. (2009). The De Beers Difference. From De Beers Jewellery. [Online] Available at: http://www.debeerseu.com/Bridal-link/De-Beers-Passport/page/debeerspassport [Accessed 7 November 2009] De Beers, Family of Companies. (2009). Report to Society 2008. London: De Beers Group. DTC. (2009). DTC Sightholders. From About DTC Sightholders. [Online] Available at:http://www.dtcsightholderdirectory.com/Sightholder/modules/introducing/IntroDefault.aspx [Accessed 7 November 2009] Epstein, E. J. (1982). The Diamond Invention. [e-Book] London: Hutchinson. Even-Zohar, C. (2006, October 27). Diamond Value Chain. Mining Journal . Irwin, R. (2001, May 7). De Beers in Need of a Polish. brandchannel . Lee, H., Ko, H., Mehta, S., Rozwat, A., Smailagic, G. (2007). Marketing Plan. [Online] Available at:http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~gsmailag/portfolio/B4%20-%20Marketing%20Final%20Paper.pdf [Accessed at 23 November 2009] medico international e.V. (2007). medico-Kampagnen Fatal Transactions. From medico-international. [Online] Available at:http://www.medico-international.de/kampagne/fatal/ft_br2005_fatal.asp [Accessed 10 November 2009] Morapedi, C. (2009). Botswana and De Beers celebrate a 40-year partnership. Gaborone: De Beers Group. OConnell, P. (2009, January 6). De Beers Multifaceted Strategy Shift. From BusinessWeek. [Online] Available at:http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jan2009/ca2009016_644338.htm [Accessed 23 November 2009] Porter, M. E. (1998). Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. [Book] New York: The Free Press. QuickMBA. (2009). Competitve Advantage. From Quick MBA Strategic Management. [Online] Available at:http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/competitive-advantage/ [Accessed 28 October 2009] UNDP. (2009). Statistics of the Human Development Report. From Human Development Reports. [Online] Available at:http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/ [Accessed 10 November 2009] Williams, L. (2008, January 30). Diamond demand exceeds supply but many juniors still suffering. From Mineweb. [Online] Available at:http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page37?oid=45568sn=Detail [Accessed 8 November 2009]

Self-reliance :: essays research papers

The idea of self-reliance is an American idea. Self-reliance is a way of life when one is reliant on one's own capabilities, judgment, and resources. When someone is self-reliant they are completely Independent. Many American authors have used examples of this idea, self-reliance, in a lot of their writing. For example, in a Progress to the Mines by Byrd examples of self-reliance are present. In the beginning of the story Byrd writes about a character who Ò... rode eight miles together over a stony road,Ó in order to get to a house. This shows self-reliance because riding eight miles, all by himself, is a hard task to accomplish. Especially back then when the story took place because there werenÕt very many people around to help one if one got into trouble. Byrd shows another example of self-reliance when he was describing one of the main characters who ran an iron mill. He described him as Ò...so great a master in the mystery of making Iron, where in he had led the way and was the tubal-cain of Virginia.Ó This shows self-reliance because Byrd shows that this character is the best iron maker around and that heÕs self-reliant in doing it. Byrd shows self-reliance once again while describing this same character. He said ÒHe was... first in North America who had erected a regular furnace.Ó This shows self-reliance because he set up this iron mill and furnace in the middle of nowhere with no help from anyone else. All three of these examples show that Byrd has examples of self-reliance in his writing. Another American writer who has examples of self-reliance in his writing is Franklin. In FranklinÕs Poor RichardÕs Almanac he shows many examples of self-reliance. Franklin says that ÒGod helps them that help themselves.Ó This greatly advocates self-reliance. Franklin is saying that you should help yourself, i.e. be self-reliant, before looking to God, or anyone else, for help. Franklin shows self-reliance again when he says ÒKeep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee.Ó Franklin is saying that if you work hard at something like keeping a shop you will be supported by that hard work and that you will be self-reliant. Franklin shows self-reliance once again by saying, ÒAt the working manÕs house hunger looks in, but dares not enter.Ó In this quote Franklin is saying that if you work hard youÕll never be hungry, youÕll never have to depend on someone else for food, and that youÕll be self-reliant. These three examples show that Franklin has examples of self-reliance in his book Poor RichardÕs Almanac. In an other piece of writing by Franklin, The Auto-Biography, examples of self-reliance are also present. In this book Franklin writes about his childhood.

Illustrate from ‘The Pardoner’s Tale and Prologue’ the Pardoner’s skill as a preacher

People sought salvation with devotion as The Black Death swept across Europe. The pre-science era when Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales meant priests faced an increasing workload, introducing monetary payments in exchange for remission of sin or penances (punishment). The responsibility of the collection of this money went to quaestores. These quaestores1 did not always have a firm connection with the Church, and definitely not with the artes praedicandi, the collected thought embodied in the theory and art of preaching. However, the new direction the Church took became a rampant breeding ground for forgers and confidence tricksters such as the Pardoner, preying upon the fears of the diminishing population for personal gain. The artes praedicandi was divided into two areas, the moral and the technical. With the moral, the preacher, genuinely inspired, was to be the mouthpiece for the Holy Spirit. There is no question that Chaucer's Pardoner is a completely immoral creature, his motives selfish and his interests in human art more important than guidance from God. However, in the technical aspect of preaching he excels. Medieval practice and sermon called upon the preacher to provide religious teaching as well as entertainment.2 Gardiner writes of elements of convention in the traditional Medieval religious lesson and the Pardoner covers all of them. The first, statement of theme, is a biblical text and in the Pardoner's case it is, ‘Radix Malorum Est Cupiditas', the love of money is the root of all evil.3 ‘The Exemplum', a story to illustrate the text, is taken care of in the tale of the riotours' search for death. The discourse of the sins of drunkenness, gluttony, gambling, blasphemy and swearing could be considered the dilatatio, detailed explaining of the text, and set after the story's close, the peroration, a discussion and application of the text. The Pardoner's Prologue sets up a universally held view, that the Pardoner is full of the very sins he preaches against, he seeks to become sin itself and is master of his own damnation. The Pardoner has with him firm establishment of authority and credibility, ‘bulles of popes and cardinales' that grant him powers of absolution. â€Å"And I assoille him by the auctoritee Which that by bulle ygraunted was to me† By this gaude have I wonne, yeer by yeer, An hundred mark sith I was pardoner† (103-6) The Pardoner also has a piece of the sail of the ship St. Peter had sailed upon the Sea of Galilee, the Virgin Mary's veil and a relic that cures jealousy and helps livestock and their farmers and the magic mitten! As part of the audience of pilgrims and readers, we are aware that these holy relics are pure counterfeit, but to the frightened believer in an age of magic surrounded by death, the Pardoner's offer of help seemed sensible rather than silly. Chaucer gives us here a visual image laid so over the top of ‘heer as yelow as wex', that it allows room for him to describe the physical movements of the fake. The Pardoner evangelises with energy- â€Å"Thanne payne I me to strecche forth the nekke And est and west upon the peple I bekke, As dooth a dowve sittinge on a berne Minde handes an my tonge goon so yerne† (108-11) And authority- â€Å"I stonde lyk a clerk in my pulpet† (107) His storytelling is full of naturalistic dialogue and personification, the ‘riotoures thre' representing the condemned sins of drunkenness, gambling and blasphemy. The latter of these also helps to pull his congregation or customers in with the tactic of shock. He incorporates everyday experience in to the sermon. Cookery and wines are mentioned in verse of political consumer advice. There is even a laugh to be had when he describes a drunk man snoring: â€Å"And thurgh thy dronke nose semeth the soun As though thou soydest ay ‘Sampsoun! Sampsoun!' And yet, God woot, Sampsoun drank nevere no wyn† (267-9) If that doesn't seal the deal, the one about the adulterous wife with two to three priests should! It is clear the Pardoner values entertainment highly, and this is in place to draw in those who have no interest in God. An important component of fourteenth century ministering was the recommendation of the use of ensamples, specific incidents used to prove or push a general assertion. To the â€Å"lewed† the Pardoner may appear as a learned man,, drawing on works from the stoic philosopher Seneca and philosopher and scientist Avicenna (Ibn Sina). He makes reference to De Contemptu Mundi by Pope Innocent III, the theologian St. Jerome's Adversus Jovinianum and St. John of Salisbury. His knowledge of the Bible is as impressive as his secular incorporatings. He quotes or hints at the contents of Genesis, Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus, the Gospels and the epistles of St.Paul. He refers to a wide variety of texts, and if they were obscure the more likely they would be associated solely with the Pardoner, perhaps of his own invention. His tongue of â€Å"hauteyn† tone uses a number of stylistic devices, common among legitimate preachers. Repetition is the most common; overuse of the biblical passage and over-stressing of the same five sins is practised, making sure words are stuck firmly in the memory or minds of the listeners through its amplification and emphasis. Onomatopeia, as mentioned is used to imitate the heavy breathing of a drunk, and the glutton, â€Å"That may go thurgh the golet softe and swoote, Of spicerie of leef and bark and roote† (257-8) He also uses apostrophe, â€Å"O wombe! O bely! O stinking cod!† (248) His narration is packed with exclamation, as he uses heavy punctuation to increase emotional impact. His tale and sermon manipulate suspense, his voice, playing each of the parts, shifts in tone and volume. From complexity to simplicity and back, the lesson is rich in climax and anti-climax. He is a natural performer and a cunning predator, â€Å"For though myself be a ful vicious man, A moral tale yet I yow telle kan, Which I am wont to preche for to winne† (173-5) c. Andrew Luke 2002

The 21 March 1960 Sharpeville Massacre

The 21 March 1960 Sharpeville Massacre On 21 March 1960 at least 180 black Africans were injured (there are claims of as many as 300) and 69 killed when South African police opened fire on approximately 300 demonstrators, who were protesting against the pass laws, at the township of Sharpeville, near Vereeniging in the Transvaal. In similar demonstrations at the police station in Vanderbijlpark, another person was shot. Later that day at Langa, a township outside Cape Town, police baton charged and fired tear gas at the gathered protesters, shooting three and injuring several others. The Sharpeville Massacre, as the event has become known, signaled the start of armed resistance in South Africa, and prompted worldwide condemnation of South Africas Apartheid policies. Build-up to the Massacre On 13 May 1902 the treaty which ended the Anglo-Boer War was signed at Vereeniging; it signified a new era of cooperation between English and Afrikaner living in Southern Africa. By 1910, the two Afrikaner states of Orange River Colony (Oranje Vrij Staat) and Transvaal (Zuid Afrikaansche Republick) were joined with Cape Colony and Natal as the Union of South Africa. The repression of black Africans became entrenched in the constitution of the new union (although perhaps not intentionally) and the foundations of Grand Apartheid were laid. After the Second World War the Herstigte (Reformed or Pure) National Party (HNP) came into power (by a slender majority, created through a coalition with the otherwise insignificant Afrikaner Party) in 1948. Its members had been disaffected from the previous government, the United Party, in 1933, and had smarted at the governments accord with Britain during the war. Within a year the Mixed Marriages Act was instituted – the first of many segregationist laws devised to separate privileged white South Africans from the black African masses. By 1958, with the election of Hendrik Verwoerd, (white) South Africa was completely entrenched in the philosophy of Apartheid. There was opposition to the governments policies. The African National Congress  (ANC) was working within the law against all forms of racial discrimination in South Africa. In 1956 had committed itself to a South Africa which belongs to all. A peaceful demonstration in June that same year, at which the ANC (and other anti-Apartheid groups) approved the Freedom Charter, led to the arrest of 156 anti-Apartheid leaders and the Treason Trial which lasted until 1961. By the late 1950s, some of ANCs members had become disillusioned with the peaceful response. Known as Africanists this select group was opposed to a multi-racial future for South Africa. The Africanists followed a philosophy that a racially assertive sense of nationalism was needed to mobilize the masses, and they advocated a strategy of mass action (boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience and non-cooperation). The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) was formed in April 1959, with Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe as president. The PAC and ANC did not agree on policy, and it seemed unlikely in 1959 that they would co-operate in any manner. The ANC planned a campaign of demonstration against the pass laws to start at the beginning of April 1960. The PAC rushed ahead and announced a similar demonstration, to start ten days earlier, effectively hijacking the ANC campaign. The PAC called for African males in every city and village... to leave their passes at home, join demonstrations and, if arrested, [to] offer no bail, no defence, [and] no fine.1 On 16 March 1960, Sobukwe wrote to the commissioner of police, Major General Rademeyer, stating that the PAC would be holding a five-day, non-violent, disciplined, and sustained protest campaign against pass laws, starting on 21 March. At a press conference on 18 March, he further stated: I have appealed to the African people to make sure that this campaign is conducted in a spirit of absolute non-violence, and I am quite certain they will heed my call. If the other side so desires, we will provide them with an opportunity to demonstrate to the world how brutal they can be. The PAC leadership was hopeful of some kind of physical response. References: 1. Africa since 1935 Vol VIII of the UNESCO General History of Africa, editor Ali Mazrui, published by James Currey, 1999, p259-60.    Next page Part 2: The Massacre Page 1, 2, 3

Chesapeake Bay dbq essays

Chesapeake Bay dbq essays In the late 17th century many English people had arrived in the New England and Chesapeake Bay regions of America. New England was the northern region while the Chesapeake Bay region was more of a southern region. As the English settled in these two regions, they became two distinct societies. The two societies of the New England and Chesapeake Bay regions were formed because of the types of people living in both regions. The people of New England formed a family oriented and religious based society while the people of the Chesapeake Bay formed a more rowdy and independent region. As indicated by the Ships List of Emmigrants Bound for New England the groups of people who settled in New England were mainly families and slaves. This allowed for the region to be very family oriented and to focus not only as individuals but also as a group of people. The New England colonies were also very religious. The first article in the Articles of Agreement for Springfield Massachusetts states We intend by Gods grace, as soon as we can, with all convenient speed, to procure some Godly and faithful minister with whom we purpose to join in church covenant to walk the ways of Christ. This article clearly shows that the main focus of Massachusetts is very religious. The New England colonies religious and family oriented society set them apart from the Chesapeake Bay society. The Chesapeake Bay society was a very independent society. The Ships List of Emmigrants Bound for Virginia shows that most of the settlers of the Chesapeake Bay region were men and very few were women. Men are typically more rowdy and independent then women, thus causing the society to be very rowdy and independent. Very few families settled in the Chesapeake Bay region, which also causes the region to be very independent because there is no family members which the settlers to depend on and look ou...

Apple Products Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Apple Products - Research Paper Example et, after the discontinuation of the product one month after its launch according to OGrady Jason (29), the Apple II began its operations in 1977 and later discontinued as a result of poor performance and numerous complaints from users. At the same period, there was the introduction of the Disk II drives and the Apple Silen type printers. Software’s present, at the moment, included the Apple Writer 1.0. At the onset of the 1980’s, there was the introduction of the Apple III which came along with other products including; modem IIB, printers, monitors and disk III drives. As a result of competition, there was an introduction of the Macintosh (128k) compact and Macintosh External Disk Drive. Introduction of the Macintosh IIfx in the 1990’s according to Edson, John, and Ernest Beck (212) created a bigger step in establishing articulate technology advancement. The programs that came with the product included the Centris, Quadra and the PowerBook 165c. At the onset of the year 2000, there was an introduction of the PowerBook and the IBook. The Server Macintosh is also efficient. The Xserve Cluster Node helped to establish an arp server. Later in 2004, the AirPort Express got launched and was in use together with the iPod launched the same year. In 2007, the Apple TV became operational, while the same year, there was launching of the iPhone and the Mac Mini (Schneiders, Sascha 20). Currently, there are iBooks Author, the MacBook Pro and iPhone 5. Apple Inc. sells products and services to consumers, businesses as well as governments. They offer special pricing and promotional packages focusing on government officials. In general government officials receive a lower price compared to commercial customers (Apple). Apple Inc attempts to fulfill the social co-operative responsibilities via protecting environment, providing community services and impose of code of ethical conduct in business. Company ensures providing confidentiality for the customers’ details and

BIO Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

BIO - Essay Example Its posterity would inherit that preference and pass it on to their posterity. The inferior (distraught) parts of the same species would slowly vanish, leaving just the predominant (advantaged) parts of the species. Natural selection is the protection of a functional advantage that empowers members of a species to contend better in nature. Natural selection is the naturalistic equal to local rearing (Vincent and Joel 67). Throughout the hundreds of years, human breeders have delivered sensational changes in local creature populaces by selecting people to breed. Breeders eliminate out undesirable attributes bit by bit over time. Additionally, natural selection wipes out inferior species step by step over time. However, a concept referred to as uniformitarianism is against the theory of natural selection. The theory states that the evolution took place through the influence of some natural forces such as earthquakes and floods. The climate of the earth has changed during the course of history. The majority of scientists agree that human activities are resulting to the increase of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere. Human activities since the period of the industrial revolution have increased the level of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide one of the major greenhouse gasses is produced through the process of burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and land use changes (Woodward 69). Methane the second type of greenhouse gasses is produced through the process of decomposing wastes in landfills, rice cultivation, and manure management. This means that human activities such as farming and use of fossil fuels have increased the level of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. In my area of origin, there is the problem of contamination of drinking water. This is occurring through the contamination of rivers, reservoirs, and lakes in the region. The government is trying to guarantee that there is a proper way of disposing of waste from the factories in