Causes of the French Revolution :: essays research papers

Causes of the French Revolution The statement citing the essential cause of the French Revolution as the "collision between a powerful, rising bourgeoisie and an entrenched aristocracy defending it's privileges" has great pertinence in summarizing the conflict of 1789. The causes of the French Revolution, being provoked by this collision of powers, was the Financial debt of the government and the long-standing political differences in the government. Over the course of twenty-five years after the Seven Years' War, the government of France--the Bourgeoisie royalty, could not manage it's finances on a sound basis. This was worsened when France aided the American Revolution against Great Britain. The Government had reached great financial debt. The problem lied and continued because of the government's inability to tap the wealth of the French nation by taxation. There was a great paradox in France being a rich nation with a government in poverty. The deteriorating finances of the government is what triggered the prolonged differences between the Bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. The political differences between the monarchy and the nobles came about after the Seven Years' war also. The increasing debt of the government escalated the hope for the monarchy to resume a "absolute power" status as it did with Louis XIV. However this could not be accomplished because of the doubt that the public had towards the present kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, and the public could not be swayed to help. The only result of the attempts for absolutism by the monarchy were a series of new and increase taxes on the nobles. The aristocracy immediately reacted to these taxes as declaring them unfair and would not accept them. Louis XV began with a series of Financial advisors chancellors which all had the intention of saving the monarchy from financial ruin. They made many attempts at taxation, such as a land tax, but each of these were defeated by the nobles -- the Parlements were even destroyed for a brief time, but were later restored by Louis XVI in attempt to gain public support. The government continued to become poorer and poorer and it seemed the only successful taxation was done towards the peasants, whom had the least money. The monarchy eventually fell and caused great unrest

A Handmaids Tale :: Handmaids Tale Essays

A Handmaid's Tale A new society is created by a group of people who strengthen and maintain their power by any means necessary including torture and death. Margaret Atwood's book, A Handmaid's Tale, can be compared to the morning after a bad fight within an abusive relationship. Being surrounded by rules that must be obeyed because of being afraid of the torture that will be received. There are no other choices because there is control over what is done, who you see and talk to, and has taken you far away from your family. You have no money or way out. The new republic of Gilead takes it laws to an even higher level because these laws are said to be of God and by disobeying them you are disobeying him. People are already likely to do anything for their God especially when they live in fear of punishment or death. The republic of Gilead is created and maintains its power structure through the use of religion, laws that isolate people from communication to one another and their families, and the fear of punishment for disobeying the law. The new law would follow God's law that all are brothers and sisters, and according to Aunt Lydia will cause women to live in harmony together and support each other. The wife of the commander, Serena Joy was an strong advocate for submissive female roles and gospel singer before the war and the formation of Gilead. Since the creation of Gilead, she was forced into the submissive role of a housewife. Serena spoke on television about the sanctity of the home and how women should stay in the home. After taking on her new housewife role, "She doesn't make speeches anymore. She has become speechless. She stays in her home but it doesn't agree with her. How furious she must be now that she has been taken at her word" (chapter 8, pg.46). Serena has failed in producing children which is the purpose of woman's life in the beliefs of the Gilead society. She is jealous of Offred because Offred serves as a constant reminder of her failure. She is also resentful of the sexual relatio nship that Offred must have with her husband. A Handmaid's Tale :: Handmaid's Tale Essays A Handmaid's Tale A new society is created by a group of people who strengthen and maintain their power by any means necessary including torture and death. Margaret Atwood's book, A Handmaid's Tale, can be compared to the morning after a bad fight within an abusive relationship. Being surrounded by rules that must be obeyed because of being afraid of the torture that will be received. There are no other choices because there is control over what is done, who you see and talk to, and has taken you far away from your family. You have no money or way out. The new republic of Gilead takes it laws to an even higher level because these laws are said to be of God and by disobeying them you are disobeying him. People are already likely to do anything for their God especially when they live in fear of punishment or death. The republic of Gilead is created and maintains its power structure through the use of religion, laws that isolate people from communication to one another and their families, and the fear of punishment for disobeying the law. The new law would follow God's law that all are brothers and sisters, and according to Aunt Lydia will cause women to live in harmony together and support each other. The wife of the commander, Serena Joy was an strong advocate for submissive female roles and gospel singer before the war and the formation of Gilead. Since the creation of Gilead, she was forced into the submissive role of a housewife. Serena spoke on television about the sanctity of the home and how women should stay in the home. After taking on her new housewife role, "She doesn't make speeches anymore. She has become speechless. She stays in her home but it doesn't agree with her. How furious she must be now that she has been taken at her word" (chapter 8, pg.46). Serena has failed in producing children which is the purpose of woman's life in the beliefs of the Gilead society. She is jealous of Offred because Offred serves as a constant reminder of her failure. She is also resentful of the sexual relatio nship that Offred must have with her husband.

How culture influences human development Essay

This essay is an attempt to show how culture influences human development and interpretation of the world. Therefore, to start with this essay will define culture by different scholars. It will then show the types of culture and give a brief account on what culture constitutes (characteristics of culture). Furthermore, the concept of human development will be discussed briefly to give the reader a more clear understanding of the topic at hand. With clear examples, the essay will then show how culture influences human development and their interpretation of the world. Finally, a conclusion summarizing what the essay will discuss will be drawn. The attempt to define culture is elusive as many may suggest. Nevertheless, there are certain paradigms that constitute the sum total of culture and underlie cultural images and identity construction. It is the close affinity between cultural image and human identity that makes the definition of culture complex. The most complex and yet comprehensive definition of culture is that arrived during the ‘Mondiacult’ in Mexico city which has continued to be the most operationalised definition of culture: ‘Culture is the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material and intellectual features that charactorise a society or social group. It includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of human beings, value systems, traditions and beliefs.’ Young Kate (1993) in a report said, culture is seen in the African social context as transcending the arts or artifacts, folklores, literatures, music, dance and other artistic paraphelia. According to Taylor (1996) culture refers to the patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in social groups learn, create, and share. Culture distinguishes one human group from others. It also distinguishes humans from other animals. A people’s culture includes their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic systems. Culture can also be defined as a set of values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors shared by a group of people, communicated from one generation to the next via language or some other means of communication (Barnouw, 1985). An American sociologist Ogburn has divided culture into two parts: Material culture which consists of tangible things and tools used to express the way of life such as machines, dwellings, manufacture of goods and transportation; and Non material culture which consists of non tangible aspects such as norms, values, customs and practices that are exhibited in social institutions such as the family, religion, economy and education. Some of the characteristics of culture is that it is symbolic, meaning it is based on symbols or abstract ways of referring to and understanding ideas, objects, feelings, or behaviors-and the ability to communicate with symbols using language; it is shared meaning people in the same society share common behaviors and ways of thinking through culture(Bodley ,1997); it is learned socially (Archer, 1996); it is adaptive, that is to say people use culture to flexibly and quickly adjust to changes in the world around them (Findely, and Rothney, 2006); it is social meaning culture does not exist in isolation; it is transitive as it is transmitted from one generation to another; and it is continuous and cumulative because it exists as a continuous process. Various people understand human development on a wide variety of aspects. Human development can be intellectual, biological, social, economical, and many others. Human development involves all the individual’s activities starting from birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, through to adulthood. Therefore, human development and people’s view of the world during all these stages of a person’s life is influenced by people’s exposure to various cultures in so many ways. Usually when a child is born, it is born into a particular family that has a certain way of life. Members of this family will have a language they usually use, type of food they usually eat, religion or church they are part of, a way they dress, a type of people they interact with, types of social  activities they engage in, and so on. All this is part of their culture as a family. That child will grow up and adapt to that culture because the family is its first agent of socialization. As the child grows and develops into an adolescent, then into an adult, his or her view of the world will greatly be influenced by this socialization of the family. The way in which he or she will interact with others will depend on how he or she has been brought up to do. Some individuals are shy and reserved while others are talkative. In the past, the African culture socialized girls and women to maintain their place which was in the kitchen and to be respectful towards men. In as much as this was a form of gender inequality, this culture also brought some form of human development as the men went out to provide for their families as well as develop their communities, while the women stayed at home cooking, taking care of the children and doing household chores which is a form of human development (social) were socializing of the children is involved. So, in this type of way of life the women interpreted or viewed men as being superior over them and the men viewed the women as being their helpers. However, over the years this sort of view has changed (though not everywhere) due to the fact that culture is not static, it is an adaptive mechanism that constantly adjusts to satisfy human biological and social needs. Because of this dynamic tendency of culture, cultural communities continue to change as do individuals. A community’s history and relations are part of cultural process which intern lead to various human developments. A good example that can be cited is that of the Khoi Khoi and san people of the past who hunted and gathered food for their survival. It is very rare to find any kind of people in this day and age who still follow that kind of lifestyle. Culture is not the same everywhere, it varies greatly and this great diversity can sometimes be confusing to others. For instance, the thought of children handling knives makes many American parents very nervous, yet toddlers in some parts of Africa safely use machetes. Similarly, infants in middle-class communities in the United States are often expected to sleep  alone by the time they are only a few months old while many low and middle-class Zambian children typically share their mother’s bed through their toddler years. These striking differences in child rearing practices reflect the diverse range of what is considered developmentally appropriate for children around the world, depending on their cultural circumstances (Roggof, 2003). Therefore, people from, say, these two types of societies will interpret child rearing practices differently from one another. Another example by Barbara Roggof (2003) which results in a great difference in interpretation due to the diversity of culture is the comparison between the United States and Mayan community in Gautemala. The United States is a highly age-segregated society, with children spending much of their time away from activities of adults. That segregation removes children from important opportunities to observe and learn from elders by participating in valued community activities, said Roggof. In contrast, in the Mayan community in Gautemala, children often learn through the process of observation and supportive guidance as they engage in community activities. Young Mayan girls, for instance, regularly observe women weaving complicated patterns because weaving is a daily household activity. Experienced weavers watched for their daughters to express interest and then set up a simple project beside their own which allows them to offer, what Roggof calls ‘guidance embedded in activity’. So unlike in the United States community were learning is often pegged to age and managed in specialized child settings, instruction in this Mayan community is generally triggered by the child’s interest in becoming involved in valued family community activities. This shows that human development in some cultures is influenced by age, while in others by interest. Cultural diversity shows that there are different viewpoints and ways of interacting with the world as there are cultures (Young, 1993). However, cultural difference may sometimes become problematic. Because different people are part of different cultures and backgrounds, people tend to see or interpret things through their background. ‘That is, culture acts as a filter, not only when perceiving things, but also when thinking about  interpreting events.’ For example, Mary Banda may interpret Aisha Yusuf’s habit of over spicing her food whenever she is cooking as a sign that Aisha is not a very good cook as she uses these spices as a disguise of her lack of talent. Mary might even conclude that people from her own culture are better cooks than that of Aisha’s because she does not need spices to make her food taste good. Mary Banda, in this example, is interpreting someone else’s behavior from her own cultural background and based on her own beliefs of culture and behavior. This is an act of ethnocentrism, which is the viewing and interpretation of the behavior of others through one’s own cultural glasses (Giddens, 1989). This is a form of biasness which is also closely linked to stereotypes. For example, suppose someone is having a conversation with another person from a culture different from their own. While he is talking to this person, he notices that she does not really make eye contact with him when he speaks. Also, she does not really look at him when he speaks. On the few occasions when her eyes look his way, she quickly averts her gaze if their eyes meet. From his cultural background he may interpret that she does not feel very positive about his interaction. He may even put off and reject any attempts at future interactions. He may not feel trusting or close to her. But she may come from a culture were direct gazing is discouraged or even a sign of arrogance. She may actually be avoiding eye contact not because of any negative feelings, but because of difference and politeness to him. Of course these potential problems have real and practical implications in everyday life. Such scenarios may occur in a job interview, in a teaching or learning situation at an elementary school, at a business negotiation, or even in a visit with a doctor. It is always hard for people to separate themselves from their own cultural backgrounds and biases to understand the behaviors of others. However, this is not to say that all cultures are different or diverse. There are always cross-cultural tendencies or behaviors that are shared in most cultures. For instance, in most cultures people burry their dead, celebrate at weddings, mourn at funerals, name their children, wear clothes (do not  move naked), and many others. CONCLUSION In conclusion, culture is basically people’s way of life or way of doing things or even way of thinking. Be it how they comb their hair, dress, worship, eat, time they sleep at night, and so on. Culture is material and non material, and therefore, influences a great deal of people’s lives. This influence of culture can be on their human development from birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence, through to adulthood. Jean Piaget talked about four stages human beings pass through as they develop. These include the sensory motor stage (0-23 months old), pre-operational stage (2-7 years old), concrete operational stage (7-11 years old) and formal operational stage (11 years and above). Through all these stages, human development occurs in various ways. And this can be intellectually, socially, economically, and biologically. It can also influence how people interpret the world or other people around them as illustrated in the few examples in mentioned in the text. REFERENCES Archer, M. S. (1996). _The place of culture in social theory_. New York: Cambridge University Press. Barnouw, V. (1985). _Culture and personality (_4th edition_)._ Wales: Dorsey Press. Bodley, J. H. (1997). _Ethnology_ (4th edition). Mountain View cliff: Mayfield Publishers. Co. Dressler, D. et al (1976). _Sociology: The study of Human interactions_ (3rd edition). New York: Alfred A. Knopt. Findely, & Rothney, (1996). _Twentieth century world_ (6th edition). London: McMillan Press Ltd. Furedidi, F. (1997). _Population and development: A critical introduction_ (3rd edition). Britain: Polity Press. Giddens, A. (1989). _Sociology_ (6th edition). Britain: Polity Press. Rogoff, B. (2003). _The cultural nature of human development._ New York: Oxford Press. Taylor, (2006). _Principles and practice of stress management_ (3rd edition). New York: Guilford Press. UNESCO, (1982). _Cultural industries: A challenge for the future._ Paris: UNESCO. Valsiner, J. (2000). _Culture and human development: An introduction._ Britain: Polity Press. Young, K. (1993). _Planning development with women: Making a world of difference._ London & Basinstokei: McMillan Press Ltd.

A Technology of Life

The rising rate of technological development brings significant contribution to today’s ongoing fast pace of life. It has significantly impacted people’s lives that their ways of doing things as well as their means of doing things have already changed to conform to technological trends.Its powerful effect on almost every person’s life is remarkably manifested in the people’s enthusiastic acceptance and immersion to change brought about by technology. Indeed, technology influences people’s mode of thinking, behaving, and doing things. It has also directly and indirectly shapes certain behavior patterns and values among people especially the young generation. It has even become a guide for social interaction and thus, has already become part of everybody’s every day life.The rapid technological change brings both desirable and undesirable changes in our culture. Technology development can only be viewed as a cultural progression if its desirabl e impact to the culture and society is capitalized.Further, technology is considered a cultural progression if changes brought about redound to the highest interest of an organization and to the society as a whole. It should not only create convenience but should facilitate optimum outcome and productivity of anything where technology is used or applied. Some of the considerable beneficial effect of technology is it works to decrease business cost in the industry sector while, technology, particularly communication bridges the distance between individuals. Also, it must be noted that technology now promoted and encouraged continuous invention and innovation.However, one should always be reminded of the fact that too much of anything is dangerous, thus too much dependence to technology might also demean natural creativity and intelligence of people and foster a technology-dependent society.Technology has undeniably successfully change people’s values, beliefs, and ways of beha ving which are aspects that reflect the culture of the new society.The unstoppable development in technology and its affordability has triggered a domino effect that has changed how people and society behaves. It has created a cultural change as people in today’s environment has no option to keep abreast with the modern world but to embrace technology and its resulting change, and learn to use and live with it.Technology provides people with the tool to deal and live with the demands of the changing environment especially the industrial world. It creates competitive advantage that in the corporate world â€Å"technology now is power† (Coon).It is a fact that this rapid technological change creates convenience among people even in industrial organizations.   According to Hannagan (1998), â€Å"the introduction of technology has speeded up global communication and made possible for information to be transmitted immediately†   (p. 602) facilitating immediate tr ansaction.These developments have served to facilitate global business developments as well as individual relationship. In fact one of the most concrete examples of the beneficial use of technology to communication is well articulated in the statements of Davis and Meyer (1999) that â€Å"the development of mobile technologies have made connection available to anyone, anytime, and any place† (p. 9). Technology serves to speed up business and personal transactions maximizing productivity and usability of time.The communication revolution has a profound effect on the lives of people. This effect makes the new communication technology essential to people lives. To concretize this is to relate my experience with that of my mother when communication technology was not yet developed. During their time, distance can really create so much challenge as immediate communication was not available.However, in my time now, owning mobile phone is not a luxury but already a necessity. It hel ps one to receive important information immediately, facilitate immediate deals and decision making, communicate and â€Å"stay close† with the family and significant people, and socialize with friends. Its added attributes like calculator, calendar, camera and others can also help the owner or user in various ways making life easier and less complicated. Indeed, technology has really provided practicality and convenience to its user and to the modern society.Reference ListCoon, D. Technology’s positive effect on culture, class, and gender. Retrieved March 14, 2007from http://www.leon.leon.k12.fl.us/lion/dept/science/coon/Vita/techclass.htmlDavis, S. & Meyer, C. (1999). Blur: The speed of change in the connected economy. USA:Perseus Publishing.Hannagan, T. (1998). Management: Concepts and practices (2nd ed). Great Britain: PearsonEducation Limited.  

Small Scale Production of Yogurt

SMALL SCALE PRODUCTION OF YOGURT Yogurt is a sour milk product. Its sour taste is attributed to the presence of lactic acid yielded by bacteria through fermentation. Bacteria that are commonly used in yoghurt production are Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus. These bacteria have the ability to break down sugars in the milk producing lactate or lactic acid as by-product. Below is a step-by-step procedure in the production of yogurt. Find out from the procedure why yogurt has low fat content.Note: Practice aseptic technique. Wash hands before proceeding and wear lab gown, head cap, latex gloves and if necessary, facial mask to prevent unwanted contamination of the pre-yogurt mixture. Ingredients (good for one group) 1. 500 mL homogenized pasteurized milk (to be bought and brought as 1L pack good for two groups) to be provided: 2. 15 grams skim milk powder (SMP) 3. 50 grams refined sugar 4. 40 ml starter culture bacteria from natural yoghurt prepared as follows : % skim milk powder in distilled water, yoghurt or yakult, incubated at 43o to 46o for 3 to 4 hours till clotted Procedure 1. In a clean container, carefully transfer the milk and carefully dissolve the SMP and sugar. Cover with aluminum foil and heat the mixture at 90oC (water bath) for 10 minutes. 2. Cool down to 50oC in a bath of ice water. 3. Meanwhile shake the culture of the starter bacteria to free it from lumps and carefully add (inoculate) to the milk. Make sure that the temperature of the container is cool enough to touch.Mix to evenly distribute the starter culture. 5. Transfer the inoculated milk into the plastic container provided. Seal the lid with masking tape and label the container properly (group number, section and instructor). 6. Incubate the milk at 43oC to 46oC in an incubator overnight. At this point this will be taken cared of by the lab technicians and will be chilled at 4C thereafter. Reference: Davide, Clara L. 1996. Microbial Production of Yoghurt and Cheese . Training Seminar sponsored by PSM held at Ateneo de Manila, January 29-30.

Challenges in the Business Environment Essay

There has been no change to Apple Code of Conduct policy since 2014 when Apple started taking previous audit scores into consideration and conduct detailed risk assessments with suppliers who had not been audited in the past before awarding the new business. In 2014, we reviewed 459 suppliers, and factored their responsibility performance into our decisions. This engagement has allowed Apple to address over 700 findings related to labor standards, worker safety, permits, environmental hazards, and chemical management before production began (Apple – 2014 Supplier Code of Conduct). Apple has made significant progress, gaps still exist, and there is more work to do. Apple knows that workers are counting on them and they will not stop until every person in their supply chain is treated with the respect and dignity they deserve (Apple – Supplier Responsibility 2015 Progress Report). Apple believes that it is not enough to just set high standards they must work every day to make sure they’re upheld. Apple Supplier Code of Conduct is among the toughest in the industry. To track working conditions at suppliers’ facilities, we conduct regular, in-person audits deep into the supply chain. Audits remain essential to Apple work, but they’re only the beginning. Apple reports monthly on working hours for over one million workers with hopes that their openness will inspire other companies. But more important, Apple believe the feedback that transparency invites makes us even better (Apple – Supplier Responsibility 2015 Progress Report). Apple’s suppliers are required to provide safe working conditions, treat workers with dignity and respect, act fairly and ethically, and use environmentally responsible practices wherever they make products or perform services for Apple. Apple requires its suppliers to operate in accordance with the principles in this Apple Supplier Code of  Conduct (â€Å"Code†) and in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. This Code goes beyond mere compliance with the law by drawing upon internationally recognized standards to advance social and environmental responsibility. This Code outlines Apple’s expectations for Supplier conduct regarding labor and human rights, health and safety, environmental protection, ethics, and management practices. Apple assesses its suppliers’ compliance with this Code, and any violations of this Code may jeopardize the supplier’s business relationship with Apple, up to and including termination. This Code applies to Apple suppliers and their subsidiaries, affiliates, and subcontractors (each a â€Å"Supplier†) providing goods or services to Apple, or for use in or with Apple products (Apple – 2014 Supplier Code of Conduct). To show that Apple believes that it is not enough to just set high standards and that they must work every day to make sure they’re upheld. In 2014, over 2.3 million workers were trained on Apple’s Co de and their rights. Apple invested millions of dollars to expand our Supplier Employee Education and Development (SEED) program since it began. SEED now totals 48 classrooms in 23 facilities equipped with iMac computers, iPad devices, education software, video conferencing systems, and more. To make sure the standards were upheld Apple performed 633 audits covering over 1.6 million workers in 2014. Apple also audited suppliers in 19 countries and calls were made to 30,000 workers to make sure their rights were being upheld (Apple – 2014 Supplier Code of Conduct). Apple Suppliers Understanding of Their Standards, Responsibilities, and Company Relationship Apple is proud of the strong relationships they have built with their suppliers, many of whom have been working with them for years. Apple periodically reviews their relationships and adds new suppliers as needed. Apple requires each of its suppliers to meet the highest standards for all goods and services. Our requirements include a commitment to rigorous quality assurance. In addition, suppliers must be committed, as we are, to ensuring the highest standards of soci al responsibility. The ideal suppliers are those who understand our culture and expectations. We value suppliers who take the time to learn about and understand our business and who look for ways to add value. These suppliers know the importance of making and meeting commitments and delivering the highest quality goods and services (Apple – Apple and Procurement). Apple business environment is  competitive and fast-paced. Apple suppliers must understand this dynamic and be agile and flexible in responding to changing business conditions. All over the world, people are building Apple products and Apple has a responsibility to make sure that each person is treated with dignity and respect. It’s a massive challenge where Apple work is never done, but each year they implement meaningful, lasting changes across their supply chain. Because of this around the globe, Apple employees are united in bringing equality, human rights, and respect for the environment to the deepest layers of their supply chain. Apple goes deep into their supply chain to enforce their social and environmental standards by empowering workers through education, demanding that suppliers treat workers fairly and ethically at all times, having safe and healthy facilities, and hold their products and processes to the highest environmental standards (Apple – Supplier Responsibility 2015 Progress Report). Apple believes that in order to make impactful changes across their supply chain, it’s important to understand firsthand what’s happening inside their suppliers’ facilities. That’s why they don’t simply employ and review audits from behind a desk in Cupertino. Instead, they directly gauge how their supplier facilities are doing by regularly visiting and partnering with their suppliers around the world, so when they discover a problem, they can work together to get it fixed (Apple – Accountability). To make sure the standards are understood and upheld Apple performed 633 audits covering over 1.6 million workers. Apple also audited suppliers in 19 countries and calls 30,000 workers to make sure their rights are being upheld. Every audit is led by an Apple auditor and supported by local third-party auditors. These third parties are experts in their fields and all have been trained to use our detailed auditing protocols. During each audit, Apple grade suppliers on more than 100 data points corresponding to each category of our Supplier Code of Conduct (Apple – Accountability). Apple auditors are highly skilled at identifying when suppliers are covering up information. Apple audits are proven to improve supplier compliance. Each year we review and raise our already strict requirements, and suppliers continue to meet our increasingly stringent standards. In 2014, facilities audited two times scored 25 percent higher than those facilities with first-time audits. Facilities audited three times or more scored 31 percent higher than facilities audited  for the first time (Apple – Accountability). In addition to these regular, prescheduled audits, Apple randomly select facilities to audit unannoun ced. These surprise audits help ensure that our suppliers continue to meet our standards at all times not just during scheduled visits. Apple conducted 40 surprise audits in 2014, where their team visited suppliers on the spot and inspected the facility within hours. After the audit Apple conducts physical inspections, reviews documents, and interviews workers in their native languages, without their managers present. Afterward, workers are given a phone number, so they have the opportunity to securely and confidentially provide additional feedback about a facility to our team, including anything they consider to be unethical behavior. Apple encourages workers to report any retaliation to us, and we follow up with all suppliers to address each reported issue (Apple – Accountability). Inclusion these audits, code of conduct, and standards give Apple suppliers the understanding of what it means to be part of the company. Reference Apple – Accountability. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 7, 2015, from http://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/accountability/ Apple – Apple and Procurement. (2015, January 1). Retrieved March 7, 2015, from http://www.apple.com/procurement/ Apple – 2014 Supplier Code of Conduct. (2014, January). Retrieved March 3, 2015 from https://www.apple.com/ca/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_Supplier_Code_of_Conduct.pdf Apple – Supplier Responsibility Progress Report. (2015, January). Retrieved March 3, 2015 from https://www.apple.com/supplierresponsibility/pdf/Apple_Progress_Report_2015.pdf

Does the End Justify the Means? Essay

The ‘end justify the means’ is a philosophical maxim popularized by Niccolo Machiavelli during the renaissance era. This maxim is supposed to justify the actions of a leader or what Machiavelli calls ‘the Prince’, to do whatever is in his power in so far as the ‘end/s’ justifies the ‘means’ of attaining it. Machiavelli highlighted that the ‘end’ that a ‘Prince’ or a leader should focus on is the maintenance of his regime, authority or power. This theory is often mistaken as a standard principle usually by a few who rules a group of people, a community or a nation. They always believe that what they are doing redounds to the benefit of the majority. This few will not accept that what they have done is evil even if it produced good results for many people. History will tell us that many events in the past have gained favorable comments from some individuals but different from the point of view of the majority. Take the case of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing by the American forces during the war to weaken the morale of the invading Japanese forces in the Far East, which resulted to a lifetime tragic memory for thousands of Japanese victims (Walzer, 2004). If we are part of that era, perhaps we would simply say that it was the only way to stop the Japanese aggressors. For the Japanese and its allies, it was an evil act for the Americans to involve innocent Japanese civilians in the war. Leaping forward to the present era where people have become broad-minded and peace-oriented, many Americans have condemned the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a number of big organizations have initiated moves to restore America’s image to the world especially to the Japanese people. But there are also sectors including the military who believe that the war would not have ended if the bombing was not done. Does the end justify the means in this case? Certainly not; according to Christine Smith in her article entitled, The End does not justify the Means, committing any acts of evil, regardless of any given circumstances, is always considered wrong. This writer may be right in saying this except that she fails to manifest the exact definition of evil in her statement. When the national interest is at risk to preserve democracy, the military is given a free-hand by the government to thwart rebellion. After a series of democratic process with maximum tolerance and the rebels adhere to their hard-line principle of a â€Å"coup d‘etat,† the military has the ultimate option to use arms. On the side of the relatives and advocates of the aggressive movement this could be evil, but on the side of the government and those against undemocratic process of government take-over, this could be reasonable. Let’s analyze another case, the downing of Korean Airlines Flight 007 in Russia way back 1983 which carried 269 passengers including the crew where most of the victims were Americans and Koreans. It was argued by Russia that the plane violated its airspace, with a hint that it was a spy plane, which led to its ultimate decision to shoot it down, while the U. S. quickly denounced the brutal act of Russia, justifying the cause of air space violation as an aeronautical miscalculation of the pilot. As far as the Russians are concerned, the end justified the means, but on the side of the Americans and Koreans, that was an act of terrorism. In this particular case, the element of ideology has to be refuted. While the brutal act was considered by the Russians as a way to suppress any threat to their ideology, they did it in any way possible even if the world would condemn it as an evil act. Russians believed that the tragic end has justified the means involving the interest of the Soviet Union. Given that it was an aeronautical error to violate airspace, Russia should have instructed the pilot of the ill-fated airplane to follow an emergency landing for investigation concerning the alleged espionage instead of downing it, considering that it was a passenger aircraft and not a military one. Even assuming that it was a language barrier between pilots that could have been the cause of the immediate military response, still it can never be justified. On the part of the victims’ relatives, the incident was intentionally done and Russians must be stiffly penalized. For a few who ruled the military, it was part of an exercise. For communist allies, it was the right thing to do, but for the rest of the world, it would be remembered as a massacre in the sky. Same is true for any kind of religion which has a great concern for human life; the act was inspired by the devil. In cases of tortures, human rights abuses, military actions and capital punishments, the end may not justify the means. Even if the ultimate result is good for the majority or even to a nation, if the means was done in a vicious way, then, that could never be justified. But for soldiers who are engaged in war, it is entirely a different philosophy. A soldier has to follow orders from his superiors to protect the sovereignty of a nation, that’s his duty. When he goes to the jungle in search for the enemies, he carries with him a mandate from his superiors. But when he is out there to engage in combat, a different scenario occurs. He becomes primarily concerned about his own life and to return to his family alive, the mandate becomes secondary. Very few want to be a hero and much lesser to be friendly with the enemies. A soldier is a military machine, that’s how he was honed and oriented; he has to kill the enemy before the enemy kills him. He has to execute a rapid action if his life is endangered. That’s the game of war, that’s the game of chance if he wants to survive. But if a soldier is engaged in killing innocent people just because he could not identify the enemy exactly, then, his action does not justify his motive. If he tortures an enemy or a group of people in search for truth, it can be held unjust. If he is trigger-happy and involved in mass execution because he fails to identify the enemies exactly, he must be condemned and be subject to a court-martial. There can never be an excuse for killing people at an instant without concrete evidence backed up by reliable logistics, and in so doing, his conscience must be directly involved. But how do we gauge and monitor his professionalism in the battlefield? A soldier is dispatched with a troop and a leader who keeps track of all his moves. There is a saying that â€Å"foul odor will always come out in the open,† especially when the victim’s relatives submit a complaint with corresponding evidence. Let’s take a look at Teresa M. Hudock’s article entitled, ‘The End Does Not Justify The Means’. She said that the best example of a credible perfectionist is one who does not use military force and violence in any given circumstances, even in self-defense, and he must be an advocate of human rights. This might be an ideal scenario. War or no war, when life is at stake magnanimity will be a subject for legal arguments especially when self-defense is in question. No person will allow others to take his life without doing anything except for born-heroes. Therefore, justifying the end by the course of action taken depends on how people look at it and it varies on the standpoint of different sectors of the society. In essence, the end does not always justify the means. Nonetheless, there are extreme instances or ‘supreme emergencies’ wherein the ends bring about the greater good which justifies the means of attaining it. References: Hudock, T. M. The End does not Jusifies the Means. Retrieved on January 26, 2009, from http://www. usc. edu/dept/LAS/ir/calis/pdfs/171w. PDF Machiavelli, N. (1515). The Prince. http://www. constitution. org/mac/prince00. htm Smith, C. (2008). The End does not Justify the Means. Retrieved on January 25, 2009, from http://www. nolanchart. Com/ article4573. html Walzer, M. (2004). Emergency Ethics. New Haven and London. Yale University Press. P. 33-55