Japan, in the mid-1930s following an economic depression, was heavily reliant on other countries such as China and the Unites States for natural resources, including petroleum and rubber. In a bid to expand its empire into South East Asia, Japan declared war on China in 1937 (Asia for Educators, 2009). At the time, China was already a colony to other states such as USA, France, and England. USA, not approving of Japan’s move on China, declared oil, steel and iron ore embargo on Japan to try to force Japan reconsider this declaration out of trade ties with China. The embargo left Japan in a deplorable state and was taken as an aggression. Japan relied on the USA for 80% of its oil (Asia for Educators, 2009). Leadership of the country was under Emperor Hirohito, while General Hideki Tojo headed the military. Prime Minister Konoe attempted to ease the tension and revive the oil deal with USA through diplomacy, but he failed. After Konoe’s diplomacy failure in 1941, General Hideki Tojo took over from Konoe and planned to attack the USA. Emperor Hirohito blessed General Hideki Tojo’s plan to attack the USA, which led to the December 1941 attack on the Pearl Harbor. In a desperate move against the USA, this attack declared war on USA and what is known as the Pacific war began (Asia for Educators, 2009).

            During WW2, the Japanese army employed the use of Kamikaze tactics that involved the use of suicide bombers who would fly their planes into American vessels under the command of the General. The emperor encouraged this approach saying “I praise the Army for cutting down like weeds large numbers of the enemy” (Wikipedia, 2014).

           

            The culture in Japan was the center of its actions during the World War 2 (WW2). Despite the knowledge that its chances of winning the war were slim, Japan went to war even so, owing to its undying hunger to colonize resources in South East Asia. In the Japanese military, death in service to the nation or the Emperor was considered an honorable cause. One of the most astonishing cases was that of Lieutenant Hiroo Onada, who fought in the Japanese army. On 9 March 1974, 29 years after the end of WW2, Onada was found in Lubang on the Philippine Islands. When he was found, he refused to surrender vowing to fight on to the last soldier standing (Powers, 2011).

            Morally speaking, according to Japanese culture, death in service to the country was justified and, in fact, honorable, if it meant that the death of one person would save another. The Samurai believed that one was only worthy of the Samurai title if he or she was willing to die in a noble cause for the lord, in this case, the Emperor (Powers, 2011). Death in the hands of the enemy was shameful in Japanese culture. They preferred to either fight to the death in service to the country or commit suicide while in battle. On the other hand, the certainty that death carried in such harsh circumstances was truly horrific, even though culture stated otherwise. Although service required a soldier to risk their own life, the truth was that some of the soldiers had hopes and dreams. From a humanistic point of view, it would be rightfully assumed that some of the soldiers were horrified at the knowledge that their service to their country meant that their hopes and dreams would be shuttered. Ethically, a burden of that magnitude would be heavy on anyone’s shoulders. The obligation to send oneself to certain death was both wrong and truly too much to ask.

            .

            General Tojo’s policy of death over surrender led several Japanese soldiers to certain death (Powers, 2011). The concept of pacifism proposes that violence is unjustifiable; any conflicts should be resolved peacefully, contrary to Tojo’s policy. Although Tojo did not directly kill his soldiers, he was indirectly responsible for their death, which was his greatest undoing against the very soldiers he was supposed to lead and protect, as should any other leader. The death of the soldiers was also against Emperor Hirohito’s known preference of peace over violence (Asia for Educators, 2014). Despite the death of the soldiers in battle being tremendously sacrificial on their part, it led to the redemption of the Japanese civilians under attack from the country’s enemies. One would also argue that it was an honorable deed for the General to suffer the loss of his soldiers to save the lives of innocent civilians. Harry S. Truman, the president of the United States made the hardest decision ever made which was ordering the nuclear bombs attack.

            The attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 was America’s biggest blow to Japan. The atomic bombs were dropped on Japan towards the end of hostilities in WW2 as a test hit for America’s nuclear weapon (BBC, 2012). It caused significant impact whose effects were experienced decades after the historic attack.

            Considering the fact that Japan had already lost the war by 1945, America’s actions were inhuman. Worse yet, the effects of the atomic bomb saw the Japanese suffer adverse health effects of radiation, ranging from cancer and body malformation to long-term illness that inevitably led to death. Weakened by the ending war, Japan had minimal defense systems in place to deal with an attack of that proportion. Fortunately, following the attack on Hiroshima, civilians in Nagasaki were evacuated, which helped to reduce the number of potential casualties (Lillian Goldman Law Library, 2008). Despite Japan’s defenselessness, the decision was right because Japan needed to learn a lesson in the dangers of greed and pride. Its insatiable hunger for resources that they had, through trade deals with other countries, saw it remain in ruins after the end of the war. Its inability to surrender and salvage the little it had, when it was clear that it was defeated, gave the US the right to avenge the attack on the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack and to save American soldiers.  

            War in itself is immoral, and from an ethical point of view, given the war was a fight over domination, not over values or beliefs, the decision to continue to fight was not right. The case of sparing more people to save others is simply a case of determining which of the two options is less evil.

Based on the choice of the lesser evil, the decision to proceed with the attack was right because of the numerous lives from both parties were saved. Estimates shows that at least 5 million would have been killed if these bombs were not engaged and Japan was determined in fighting to the last soldier. Although it was a morally tough decision to make, the choice to sacrifice thousands of lives to save millions of others was heroic. On the contrary, America would have simply chosen to go the pacifist’s way and refused to resort to violence (BBC, 2014). America had an upper hand, since it was winning against Japan. The US would have simply called for a truce to avoid further loss of lives. The choice to withdraw from the war would have been the honorable choice.

References

Asia for Educators. (2009). Japan’s quest for power and World War 2 in Asia. Retrieved 25 May 2014 from

<http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1900_power.htm>.

BBC (2014). Ethics guide. Pacifism. Retrieved 25 May 2014 from

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/war/against/pacifism_1.shtml>.

BBC (2014). WW2 people’s war. Fact file: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Retrieved 25 May 2014 from

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/timeline/factfiles/nonflash/a6652262.shtml>.

Lillian Goldman Law Library. (2008). The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: The attacks. Retrieved 25 May 2014 from

<http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mp07.asp>.

Powers, D. (2011). Japan: No surrender in World War 2.

Retrieved 25 May 2014 from <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/japan_no_surrender_01.shtml>.

Wikipedia. (2014, 6 1). Pacific War. Retrieved 6 1, 2014, from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_War

 Space Tourism

                 Space tourism is a term used to describe the exploration of space travel just for leisure, recreation or business. Presently, there are many companies involved in the business since it seems very lucrative. They have emerged with the increasing trends in space travel. These companies include Virgin Galactic, Orbital and Russian Space Agency providing relatively affordable space transportation currently. The other two companies mentioned in this report are either very expensive or not fully equipped with the resources for safe space transportation (Manber, 2009).               

                 During 2010 Russia stopped space tourism. This country experienced an increase in the International Space station crew which did not allow space for passengers. The seats were preferably used for expeditions by crew members and not leisure as many tourists would want to enjoy. These expedition crews, however, paid the full fare as space flight participants. These flights were expected to resume in 2013. By this time the Russian company hopes to provide many more single-use three-person Soyu launches. They are promising increases in the business projected for the next 5- 10 years (Manber, 2009).          

         Globalization and social change have forced business as well as millionaires to think outside the box. The space tourism is one such adventure when people want to move outside of earth into the galaxies exploring the grandeur of others worlds. There have been speculations that people live on other planets. Space tourism concept and companies involved in the business offer opportunities to the rich who can pay for this service to explore these features of life for pleasure at their leisure (Knight, 2002).                  

            Many companies were prompted to enter into the business after the immense successes in space exploration whereby man landed on the moon. Much research was conducted into space tourism opportunities before the first tourists landed in space. However, some companies/organizations do not want to use the term tourism. Instead they refer to the phenomena as personal space flight. Commercial Spaceflight Federation is one company that has adapted this alternative terminology for space tourism. A Citizen in Space project has also utilized an alternative to the word tourism, citizens’ space exploration (Stenovec, 2012).              

                The cost advertised for flights brokered by Space Adventures to the International Space Station on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft is in the range of US $20–40 million. This cost was the going rate between the years 2001–2009.  The business has become so successful that many space tourists have entered contracts with third party entities for the purpose of research while enjoying their space ecstasy. From an ethical standpoint space tourism seems to highlight another disparity within the global society (Lander, 2012).

           When the cost is evaluated how many people on earth can say they can visit other planets beginning with space tourism. With this enormous cost just the very rich can afford this price. Besides, just as how on earth man has upset the delicate balances of nature through pollution; cutting down the forest and destroying important wild life, which is much needed today; in my opinion after billions shave been accrued from this project, then someone will discover the danger that space tourism is bringing to earth.

               Is it ethical to destroy the earth's environment just to please a few rich people who do not really care what affects the poor people on earth.  More importantly, a study that was viewed from in the Geophysical Research Letters forged space tourism criticisms. Precisely, it revealed that with the situation of global warming industries promoting space tourism have the potential to worsen this situation as one which disturbs the balance of nature. Aerospace Corporation financed the research. One thousands suborbital hybrid rockets were launched from one place. Their calculation revealed that an estimated six hundred tons of black carbon could be delivered into the stratosphere form these activities. With ozone layer disturbances the ethical implications of space tourism should be further investigated in terms of the survival of people on earth (Lander, 2012).

               My position on space tourism is quite clear. If the majority will suffer due to the lack of consideration of the few rich people in our society then space tourism should be stopped immediately. However the global culture is one in which the poor are helpless and remain that way until they are almost destroyed. My point of view has not emerged from envy since it is impossible for me to go on a space flight due to finances.

             Ethical positions concerning the poor and helpless must be understood. Always the rich prosper at the expense of the poor. Just as how colonialism developed Europe, in the same way space tourism will enrich Russian companies that are becoming increasingly rich from this venture. The World Health Organization ought to expend dollars on research using some of these rich space tourist resources for funding to identify the real impacts of this practice on the health of humans still living on earth.

References

Lander, S. (June 20, 2012). Fly me to the moon! Company offers lunar holidays (but it

             could cost you £100 million). The Daily Mail

Manber, J. (2009). Selling Peace: Inside the Soviet Conspiracy That Transformed the U.S. Space

                    Program. Burlington, Ont: Apogee

Knight, W. (April 20, 2002). "'Space tourist' insists on pioneering role". New Scientist.

Stenovec, T. (March 22, 2012). Space Tourism Expected To Be $1 Billion Industry Over

                  Next 10 Years, Says FAA.  Huffington Post.

Who owns your knowledge?

Ken is a process engineer for Stardust Chemical Corp., and he has signed a secrecy agreement with the firm that prohibits his divulging information that the company considers proprietary. 

Stardust has developed an adaptation of a standard piece of equipment that makes it highly efficient for cooling a viscous plastics slurry. (Stardust decides not to patent the idea but to keep it as a trade secret.) 

Eventually, Ken leaves Stardust and goes to work for a candy-processing company that is not in any way in competition. He soon realises that a modification similar to Stardust's trade secret could be applied to a different machine used for cooling fudge and, at once, has the change made.

Has Ken acted unethically?


In this case, it is obvious that Ken's act was unethical. Since the improvement adapted by Stardust was not either developed or patented by Ken, he had no right of sharing this development  with any other company without the permission of Stardust. Even though he should find solutions to the problems found in the new job, however he is legally committed by the secrecy agreement undertaken by himself

On 24 April 2013 an 8-storey commercial building collapsed in Savar, a sub-district of the Greater Dhaka area, the capital of Bangladesh. Casualties: 1,129 dead, 2,515 injured. It has been called the deadliest accidental structural failure in modern human history.

The building contained clothing factories, a bank, apartments a& several other shops. The shops & the bank on the lower floors immediately closed after cracks were discovered in the building. Warnings to avoid using the building after cracks appeared the day before were ignored. Garment  workers were ordered to return & the building collapsed during the morning rush-hour

Description the collapse of the building

The garment factory at Rana Plaza building which is located in the suburb of Savar in Dhaka in Bangladesh collapsed on April 24, 2013. The story of the collapse was due to the use of  sub-standard material in constructing the factory and to the use of heavy machineries, equipments and generators to operate the factory. On the day before the occurrence of the collapse, the workers in the factory felt shakes and cracks in the building. They ran away out of the building because they felt that the building was going to collapse.  The owner and manager of the factory brought an engineer to check the building, the engineer warned them that the building was not safe and it might collapse at any time. The manager and the owners didn’t pay attention to the report of the engineer and they asked the workers to continue their work. On the day of the collapse, the workers arrived at the factory and they started to operate the various machinery and the generators. The vibrations of the generators an of other machinery affected seriously on the structure of the building and it collapsed. A lot of workers died in this collapse. It is estimated that the number of death cases reached 1127.  The collapse was one of the serious crises that garment industry faced in the history of Bangladesh. The owner, the manager and the engineers involved in building the factory were caught and put into prison.

Who were blamed for the building collapse?

Many people were blamed for the factory collapse. The owner of the factory was the first person to be blamed for the collapse. At the beginning of establishing the factory, the owner chose a weak area where he could establish the factory. The owner also built 3 extra floors on the top of the five floors that he was allowed to. Additionally, the owner was told about the possibility of the factory collapse one day before the incident and he asked the workers to complete their work.

The engineers who designed and constructed the factory were also blamed for the collapse. The engineers were aware of the use of under standard materials. They also were aware that the base of building is weak to carry extra three floors. The engineers from the municipality falsify their report when they were asked to inspect the building.

The manager of the factory and his assistance were also blamed of the collapse. The manager knew that using of heavy machinery and a number of vibrating generators would increase the heaviness of the roof and it may collapse.

 The Bangladeshi government was also blamed for the collapse. The government did not play role in inspecting the materials of building. The government also did not intervene to stop the owner from building extra three illegal floors.

Ethical issues involved in the case

The manager of the factory was involved in unethical behavior. He did not pay care to the health and safety of workplace.  When he knew about the possibility of the building collapse, he did not pay any attention.  The manager was only seeking the satisfaction of the owner and to be in his position.  The manager was looking only for his benefits even this led to the loss of the life in the workers around him.

The owner of the factory was involved in a lot of unethical behaviors. He did not make strong base for the factory. He built illegal extra floors. He implemented heavy machinery and generators in the building. The owners did all this unethical behavior to gain much profit and income.

The engineers who built the factory and who inspected its structure were also involved in a lot of unethical behavior. They used under standard material which made the building more weak.  The engineers also reported that the building is safe after inspecting it. The engineers might come across using the personal position for inappropriate gain. The engineers seemed to exploit their positions to achieve personal gain instead of protecting the life of people.

Conclusion

The collapse of garment factory happened because of the unethical behavior of the engineers who participated in building and testing the factory and the greedy owner who was only concerned with saving costs and increasing profits.  The engineers left the engineering code of honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering profession to achieve personal gains.

References

·         Ahmed, F. & Watkins, T.   (May 4, 2013), Report: Heavy machinery blamed for Bangladesh collapse, Retrieved March 14, 2014 from: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/03/world/asia/bangladesh-building-collapse/

·         Bangladesh factory collapse toll passes 1,000, (May 10, 2013), Retrieved March 16, 2014 from:  http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22476774

·          Neate, R. ( February 24, 2014),  Bangladesh factory collapse: big brands urged to pay into help fund, Retrieved March 13, 2014 from: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/24/bangladesh-factory-collapse-big-brands-urged-pay-help-fund

·         Than, K. (April 25, 2013), Bangladesh Building Collapse Due to Shoddy Construction, Retrieved March 15, 2014 from:  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130425-bangladesh-dhaka-building-collapse-world/

Human rights

Human rights

The American Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, thatall men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau:

"Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains" That was the first sentence of Rousseau's "The Social Contract."

This was the concept of ‘the noble savage’.

Thomas Hobbes:

"In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain, and consequently, not culture of the earth, no navigation, nor the use of commodities that may be imported by sea, no commodious building, no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force, no knowledge of the face of the earth, no account of time, no arts, no letters, no society, and which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Design, production & ethical issues

Design, production & ethical issues

Aluminium cans

Approximately 1 billion are produced in the USA each year. The first can was designed in 1958 by Kaiser Aluminium. This metal proved ideal as it was a lightweight, flexible material that allowed manufacturing of the bottom & sides of the can from a single sheet, leaving the top to be added after the can was filled.

The first cans were opened with a separate opener but this was inconvenient so Ermal Fraze designed a small lever attached to the can which was removed as the can was opened.

The design was workable but after a while it created an ethical dilemma:
The dilema was partly human and partly environmental although both are linked

So in 1976 Daniel F. Cudzik invented a simple, stay-attached opener of the sort familiar today.

As improvements were made in the design & production of aluminium cans, various  ethical problems arose concerning:

a.      Human safety: 

Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A, more commonly known as BPA, is a chemical used in some hard plastics and the lining of some aluminum beverage cans, and the government is trying to determine whether BPA poses any health risks. In 2008, the FDA reported that food-related materials on the market that contained BPA were safe, but the Department of Health and Human Services is conducting additional tests to better evaluate any potential health risks from exposure to BPA.

Alzheimer's Disease

There's a myth that exposure to aluminum might increase your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. Some people have worried over the years about using aluminum cans, pots and pans, and antacids and antiperspirants with aluminum. The theory developed in the 1960s and 1970s, but the Alzheimer's Association reports that there have been no studies since then to suggest that aluminum can cause Alzheimer's.

b.     Environmental pollution: From an environmental point of view, using aluminum cans instead of other materials can contribute to a safer environment because they are easily recycled. The Aluminum Association reports that in a world concerned about sustainability, "no other package can match aluminum's 60-day turnaround from used beverage container to new can." The industry group calls the aluminum can the "world's most sustainable package."

c.      Convenience:Drinks cans are a practical form of packaging, offering a durable and infinitely recyclable way for brands to store their products. But as the drinks can has evolved, it has become much more than this. Cans are now 360-degree billboards offering a direct way to promote a brand’s messaging to customers with eye-catching designs.

d.     Money:

• The aluminum can is the most valuable container to recycle and highest consumer recycling rate in the U.S.
• Each year, the aluminum industry pays out more than $800 million dollars for empty aluminum cans — that’s a lot of money that can go to organizations like Habitat for Humanity, the Boy or Girl Scouts of America or even a local school. Money earned from recycling cans helps people help themselves and their communities. Recycling helps build new homes, pays for a group trip, supports a project or buys a lunch!
• Today it is cheaper, faster and more energy-efficient to recycle aluminum than ever before. The aluminum can is 100 percent recyclable and can be recycled indefinitely. The can remains the most recyclable of all materials.
• Other types of aluminum, such as siding, gutters, car components, storm window frames and lawn furniture can also be recycled.
• Aluminum has a high market value and continues to provide an economic incentive to recycle. When aluminum cans are recycled curbside, they help pay for community services.

Ethical grey areas are those cases in which white and black are not clear any more and there is no absolute right thing to do in these cases. Ethical decisions are not always clear cut. Examples of those cases are many. For example, killing a human is always wrong in terms of humanity; however, if this person had murdered another one, people would still dispute the issue weather to execute the murderer which is also killing a human or to jail him a life time. What if we say that the murderer had a daughter who was raped by the murdered person; in this case, is it really a crime to kill the rapist out of pure jealousy and rage of doing such a thing to a small girl? Or is the murderer justified to the cause? Who is right and who is wrong? 

In these cases I think that everyone would decide what to be done with the murderer based on his or her education, religion, life experience, laws and even their personal feelings. Personal feeling plays a major role in this case. for those who say that the murderer should not have killed the rapist, what if this was your own daughter: how would you react?. Understanding those feelings might also help make a fair decision.