Philosophy(Descartes, Malebranche, Spinoza, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Essay

Philosophy(Descartes, Malebranche, Spinoza, Leibniz, Berkeley, Hume, Locke) - Essay Example Spinoza believes that there is nothing fantastical about the natural way in which things are done. In regards to God and nature, God is simply an extension of nature. He did not create nature, nor does He have any say or anything to do with what happens, as He himself is a part of it. Gottfried Leibniz, however, believed that God was the reason that this universe is the way it is, as opposed to any other possible way. God is the grand architect of the universe, though the act was supposedly done randomly, and not premeditated. Leibniz also stated that only God would know the purpose for the existence of the things living in the universe, and the different concepts that go along with them. It is because of this that Leibniz feels that God’s purpose is to keep these things organized and to be sure that they fulfill their purpose, lest they be pointless and irrelevant to the circle and workings of nature. Part of Leibniz’s philosophy of God’s existence is that, since God decides what does or does not belong in the world, it is up to God on how much good and evil should also exist. God creates good and evil, but He chooses to keep as many perfect things as possible, since God would not want evil when He can present the world with good and wonderful things. The differences between the two separate philosophers and their theories of God is that while Spinoza feels that God is just a part of nature, Leibniz feels that God is the reason life and the universe are the way they are. To one philosopher, God plays a small, typical role that seems to be the same as that of humans and the rest of nature (meaning that God is not held in a high position). Yet, to the other philosopher, God’s role is larger and more relevant to the outcome of the universe, seeing as it is by God’s doing that the universe functions the way that

Agency Protest to a General Accounting Office (GAO) Research Paper

Agency Protest to a General Accounting Office (GAO) - Research Paper Example One of the major initiatives that have been put in place by developed countries is procurement reform. This included the establishment of mechanisms through which offerors can question the officials in charge of the procurement procedures in the government departments. In case the procuring agencies are not compliant with the law and regulations governing the procurement process, the aggrieved parties undertake the bid protest. The major forms of federal bid protest include an agency-level protest, protest through the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the jurisdiction through United States Court of Federal Claims (COFC) (GAO-03-673G Government Auditing Standards, 2012).   Important aspects of Agency Protests Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 33.103 gives the guidelines that must be followed by the agencies in addressing of the protests generated by the offerors. Having being established by the Executive Order 12979, agency protest stipulates that all the concerned part ies must take all the necessary steps to ensure that the conflict is solved in an amicable way. Even though the government has clearly outlined the regulations that control the agency protests, most of the agencies complement the FAR provisions by initiating their own regulations that are not favorable to the offerors. A protest is initiated by an interested party. An interested party is an individual whose economic interest would be adversely affected by the failure to win a contractor through the award of the contact (Robert, 2012). This is one of the major aspects that are common both to agency and GAO protests. There is no jurisdiction on the protests that an agency can handle since it has the authority to deal with all the protests that are related to its contracts. However, according to Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, a protest that is related to delivery order contracts or issuance of the task that can be given to various contractors when an agency is in need of particu lar services or goods cannot be considered by an agency. In such cases, the aggrieved individuals institute a complaint to the delivery order ombudsman as provided by the FAR 16.505 (Federal Acquisition Regulations).  Ã‚