Thursday, October 31, 2019

Human Rights Violation of North Korean Refugees Essay

Human Rights Violation of North Korean Refugees - Essay Example Issues related to human rights violation have also emerged and their status under international law as legal personalities have been persistent issues brought under the international courts. This paper shall primarily discuss human rights violations against North Korean refugees. It will first provide an overview of why these North Koreans became refugees in the first place. It shall then discuss how their refugee status has been evaluated under international law. A discussion on the discriminatory acts against these refugees will also be presented. North Korean domestic laws in relation to these refugees shall also be discussed. China’s response to accusations of negative treatment will also be presented. This paper is being carried out in order to establish a clear understanding of North Korean refugees and how their status has been managed under international laws. ... About 90% of its border is shared with China. China has tolerated some of these refugees to a certain extent, however, these refugees are primarily considered as nuisances, especially as these refugees often engage in problematic activities like stealing, human trafficking, forgery of passports, and organized crime5. The international legal resources which provide assistance to refugees include the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol of such convention6. Refugees are defined as individuals fleeing their home country due to persecution of fear of being persecuted by reason of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion and due to these same reasons cannot find protection in his country7. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees is the UN agency which is concerned with the protection of refugees and other individuals displaced by conflicts and disasters. This agency ensures that the human rights of these refugees are protected. North Korean refugee s are under the protection of this agency, however, throughout the years, these refugees have still experienced much hardship from their host countries8. Many of these refugees have suffered various human rights violations from their host countries. Women have been vulnerable to rape, prostitution, and forced marriages. Refugees who have made it to China are said to suffer from the constant threat of being discovered by authorities, and many of them are living in abject poverty or are working low paying menial jobs9. China’s response or policies towards North Koreans has mostly been negative. Although it is party to the Refugee Convention and Protocol, China has prevented the UNHCR access to these refugees, arguing that these refugees

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

INTRO LETTER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

INTRO LETTER - Essay Example I believe that if I give you a breakdown of my typical day, you would better understand how my familial responsibilities have ultimately worked in my favour as a writer. I get up every day at 6 a.m., prepare the children for school and do housework until about 10 a.m. From then until 3 p.m. my time is my own and this time is writing time. Without fail, I go into my small makeshift writing room at 10 a.m. and do not emerge from it until 3 p.m. If I am working on a new concept, I generally spend about 5 days surfing the internet and reading up on it. Following the collection of the necessary data, I enter the development of the concept phase. This entails the exploration of the concept from several perspectives and a critical analysis of all these angels for determination of which one, or combination, I will pursue. After this particular decision is made, I enter the skeleton phase. This entails the drawing up of a skeleton of the project. I construct a comprehensive outline of the project and add details to every point and so know exactly where I am heading and how I am going to get there. The penultimate stage is the fleshing out stage. The writing begins at this point. Following my skeleton, I begin the writing of the project itself. When at this stage I often loose track of the time and often feel that if I donâ₠¬â„¢t adjust my alarm at 3 p.m. I would extend far beyond that. The final phase, the one which I find quite boring, is the revision stage. This entails a tremendous amount of reading through my working, revising, writing and rewriting. It is, however, a necessary stage and the one which distinguishes quality output from less than perfect ones. After the children come home from school, I am generally with them, supervising their homework and preparing supper, until 6 p.m., at which time my husband

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Analysis Of Traditional Utilitarianism

Analysis Of Traditional Utilitarianism Traditionally, utilitarianism principle holds that any action is ethically right if and only if the total outcomes of the same act are more than the outcomes produced by any other action an agent could have done in its place. According to utilitarianism only one action is right in the final analysis: the action whose net benefits are much more when compared to the ultimate benefits of other alternative possibilities. Both the foreseeable future and the immediate costs and benefits provided by each alternative to each individual need to be taken into consideration together with other indirect consequences. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the problem of measurement as one of the traditional problems of utilitarianism. An individual must determine what alternative policies or actions are there for him at any occasion, for every alternative action an individual must estimate both the direct and indirect costs as well as benefits produced by the action on every affected individual by the act on the foreseeable future. Any alternative that gives the biggest sum total of utility need to be chosen as the ethically correct course of action (Paul and Dycus 38). The advantage of utilitarianism is its ability to explain that having some certain types of actions (lying, killing and cheating) are generally wrong in a moral perspective whereas others are ethically right (telling the truth). Traditionally, utilitarians would deny that any form of action is always right or wrong. The utilitarian perspective has been used widely in economics especially in economic techniques such as cost benefit efficiency and analysis. One main set of problems with utilitarianism is centered on the difficulties met in an attempt to measure utility. If we cannot manage to have basic knowledge on which kind of activities will give us the greatest amount of utility, then it will be hard to apply the utilitarian principle. Anything considered valuable is part of the instrumental things because they pave way for other good things. On the other hand intrinsic goods are those that are desirable and independent of other benefits they can produce. Money for instance is an instrumental good while health is an intrinsic good. To effectively compare two actions, there must be some common measure of outcomes. How can one for instance measure child labor? To begin with, it must be noted that the information on the incidence of child labor are very reliable to a point where the exact comparison between the two sources of information is not possible (Weiner 155). According to Bentham, not all individuals are similar when it comes to the issue of capacity to enjoy pain and pleasures. Strength, firmness of mind, health, education lineage, climate, occupation, income, sex among many other things affect individuals sensibility to register and experience pleasures of pain. Actually, Bentham found out that social utility measurement was approximate at its best. It is useless to talk of adding quantities which afterwards after the addition will be distinct as they were before. It is a fact that one mans happiness will not be another mans happiness and a benefit to an individual will not be reflected in a totally diff erent individual. One might pretend to add 20 oranges to 20 lemonsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.this addibility of different forms of happiness may appear false when rigorously considered (Rima 66). Because there was no way to measure happiness or social welfare exactly, some attempt was needed by expediency on the approximate measurement of the net balance. Mill just like Bentham found out that then unifying principle of public policy was the proportion of the good to the number. This means that there should be the greatest good for the greatest number. Mill was very concerned on the exact nature of the general rule in particular with what utilitarianism include in terms of pleasure and pain (Stuart 210). It is very hard to rely on utilitarianism as the only method of making a decision because of the need to assign values to benefits and negative consequences of our actions and compare with the positive and negative consequences that might come up as a result of other actions. It is often impossible or very difficult to measure and compare the values of some costs and benefits. How can we for instance go about assigning a value to art or life? And how can one compare the value of life with that of life, time or human dignity? In addition, can we be ever certain on all of the outcomes of our actions? Our ability to predict and measure harms and benefits as a result of certain moral rule or cause of action is dubious to say the least (Habibi 98). May be the biggest challenge with utilitarianism is that it does not consider justice. Like in the case of doctor/innocent man, such course of action can produce great benefits for the society but the truth is that the action is unjust. When a doctor decides to compromise the life of one healthy who has some organs which can save the lives of five of unhealthy patients, the act appears to be unjust but the benefit is greater. After all one life has been used bring back five other lives that would have otherwise been lost. Utilitarianism argues that it is better to lose one life and save five other lives. Mill found it hard to define whom to include in the Maximand although he managed to answer it on pragmatic perspectives. Also, Mill found it hard to define an individual not to mention social happiness. In his strongest reactions to Bentham, Mill managed to differentiate between an individuals good and happiness. The biggest happiness of the biggest number is to become our invariable guide, and the greatest happiness of living men is not of men to come; for if there is posterity, who can be our guide? Who has the capacity to prejudge our future of men living by that time and how frequent would their biggest form of happiness consist in regard to their biggest errors? (Lacey 210). Utilitarian goal was then reformulated by Mill and in the process rejected what he perceived to be a narrow and excessive definition of utility by Bentham. On his emphasis on spiritual nature, Mill managed to argue that any gain of material nature is not the final goal for any society. A broader notion of improvement and moral tone were then integrated into utilitarian goal. He maintained that utility is part of the ultimate basis for moral obligations. These dimensions had a lot of implications on the economic policy which according to Mill in the minimum terms was to suit and at best improve the publics moral character. Mill however on various occasions questioned the effectiveness of institutional changes that did not intend to bring a moral improvement and eventually not achieve lasting effects (Bay 39). Mill insisted that in utilitarianism the same amounts of happiness are equally needed whether felt by different individuals or the same individual. Mill Championed for equality and impartiality freed both popularly and the enlightened as not corollary individuals of utilitarianism but part of the very meaning of utilitarianism: a principle that is seen to be lacking actions and rationale signification, unless an individuals happiness supposed same in status is counted for precisely as much as someone elses. However, every one has equal claim to all means to happiness. The greatest happiness perception remained problematic nevertheless, because the amount of was not directly measurable as Mills put it supposed equal in degree. The anterior principle of Utilitarianism it is permitted is that the arithmetic rule is applicable to the value of happiness just like all other quantities which can be measured. Mill argued that the only measure of quantity comprised of the verdict of individuals who had encountered different quantities of pleasurable sensations. Infact on a serious point, Mill argued that pleasures differed in type and amounts; but unable to give a clear-cut means of either ranking types of pleasures or measuring total pleasure (Lueck and Allen 66). If our decisions based on morals are to take into account issue of justice, then utilitarianism apparently cannot be the only guiding principle in our decision making process. However, it can play a significant role in the process. Utilitarianism principle invites us to take into account the immediate as well as the long term outcomes of our actions. Provided its insistence on summing harms and benefits of different people, utilitarianism needs us to project our vision beyond our personal interest to avoid favoritism on people affected by our actions. On the issue of perverse pleasures, Mill managed to come up with a very strong conception of ethical values on the basis of consequences of a particular action. He defined in a clear manner the kind of consequences that would count in determining whether the action is right or wrong as pleasure and pain. All living things are trying to avoid pain and seek pleasure. Because the main aim of ethics is to come with the best world, the purpose is to maximize the total pleasure available in the world and minimize the any pain as much as possible. The creed which accepts as the basis of morals, greatest happiness principle or utility, holds that actions are proportionally right because they tend to promote happiness and proportionally wrong when the result is sadness. By happiness is purported pleasure with no pain; by sadness is intended pain and lack of pleasure (wood 100). Initially, it sounded perverse or even trivial to some individuals who believe that pleasure is usually connected to an immoral act. Mill considered pain and pleasure in their most basic stages. For instance hunger is an evil because it causes pain. Mill also pointed out that preventable death is a way of denying one pleasure hence forms part of an evil. The main moral point that Mill is trying to present is that there is need to judge the ethical value of our actions on the general consequences it has for individuals in terms of pain and pleasure. The greatest principle of happiness holds that the less pain and the more the pleasure an action causes, the better it is in moral perspective. We should therefore seek to participate in those activities and be part of policies that lead to greatest happiness.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Oil In America Essays -- essays research papers

Oil in America America has many problems with it's environment. The facts are clear that most corporations won't take the blame for them. These companies try to find ways out by stating that they are not the ones responsible for these problems. They try to protect themselves from the mistakes they made in the oil industry and the country. The facts are clear that there have been disasters in the oil field industry in the past ten years and they stand out in history. The article "Myths We Wouldn't Miss", by the Mobil Corporation, states that there hasn't been a major off shore oil disaster in past years. That may be true and it tries to get Mobil out of a jam but the underlying fact is that there have been oil spills and pollutants put into the environment and that cannot be excused. There have been facts which prove that there have been decreases in the fish population and in the aquatic life in the regions where the oil companies have been. The negligence of these companies can be shown in different fields. There have been many incidents in the oil field industry dating back to January 28 1969, in Santa Barbara. This may have been a long time ago but this was a disaster this country has never seen. On the 28 a well burst on the Santa Barbara Channel. It "raged for ten days and killed 3 crewmen".(Easton,10) There were major problems stopping this rig and no matter what happened there was already enough damage done. On February 23, the well erupted again. The environmental consequences were evident. As the oil spilled down towards the south the numbers were staggering of how much oil actually was pouring out into the ocean. By the month of march 3,000,000 gallons of oil escaped into the ocean.(Easton,251) Here is where the story is corrupted by the oil companies. Union Oil, the company responsible for this stated that their facts "only showed 250,000 gallons".(Easton,256) There were presidential tests and discovered the oil company was wrong. The most damaging evidence to theses oil companies was the discovery that was made when the government sent a diver under the spill to investigate the well. The source showed that more oil leaked than the oil co... ...panies realize the impact they have on the public and realize they all need the business of the American public. The companies act irresponsibly and do not use the appropriate machinery which is not up to standard. In my own opinion these companies know the consequences of using what they have. There is no excuse for the problems that they have. Human error is not calculated right and there is a disaster. We know the kind of damage that is done in the marine life. Why do we insist on doing this then? Is there any other way to get the oil here and back? Why do the oil companies also try to cover up for the damage that they have done? The Mobil Corporation states it's facts well. Every company shows that their facts make sense and gets them out of any trouble that they might be in. They have cited sources in research books and in the article mentioned in the beginning. These sources are all well and good and they dug up these facts to protect themselves from the truth. It is not something we can pull out of by excuses, but by facing it head on and making it easier on our planet and those who will be there for years to come.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Human Elements In Administration Essay

People are the most important element in an organization whether it’s a business enterprise, a school, an army or hospital. School administrator and supervisors must be prepared to deal effectively with the people involved because they have the most difficulty in understanding and dealing with the human elements of administration. The administrator must understand certain fundamental concepts of motivation. He must have an insight into the nature of authority and influence. And most of all, he must have the ability to analyze specific problems and to carry out his intentions successfully. Technical skills, administrative skills and human skills are the three kinds of skills a successful administrator must possess. * Technical Skills – pertains to methods, techniques and processes. * Administrative Skills – ability to see the organization as an entity and the interrelationship of its various parts * Human Skills – refers to the ways of dealing effectively w ith people. 3 Distinct elements: *Skill in understanding the basic human forces active in the organization. *Skill in analyzing complex human situations. *Skill in implementing a plan of action. It is said that man is a wanting animal. As soon as one of his needs is satisfied, another appears in its place. Man’s needs are organized in a series of levels or a hierarchy of importance according to the theory of Maslow. Psychological needs – to be alive and to stay alive. Safety needs – to feel safe from accidents or pain, from competition or threat. of his behaviour. Ego needs – relate to one’s self – esteem and one’s reputation. Self – fulfilment needs – for continued self – development, for realizing one’s own potentialities. Understanding basic needs of an individual is important for the administrators and supervisors because deprivation of those needs has behavioural consequences on the part of one’s individual. It is also important to understand because of the fact that an individual whose lower level needs are satisfied, he is not any longer motivated to satisfy his psychological and safety needs. Rather, he shifts towards the satisfaction of the other needs in the hierarchy. Unless there are opportunities at work to satisfy these needs, the individual is deprived and his consent behaviour will reflect the deprivation. A New Theory of Management Proposition on the theory of new management’s task by McGregor harnessing human energy to organizational requirements are stated as follows: 1. Management is responsible for organizing the elements of productive enterprise – money, materials, equipment and people – in the interest of economic needs 2 A process of directing peoples efforts, motivating, controlling their actions and modifying their behaviour to fit the needs of the organization 3. It is the responsibility of the management to recognize and develop the individual’s potential for development, his capacity for assuming responsibility, his readiness to direct behaviour toward organizational goals. 4. The essential task of management is to arrange organizational conditions and methods of operation in order to achieved desired goals and objectives. New theory of management relies on self – control and self – direction; it treats people as a matured adults and it is management by objectives, Advantages 1. it does not involve the relinquishing of leadership, the abdication of management or the lowering of standards 2 it is a process of creating opportunities, encouraging growth, releasing potential, removing obstacles and providing guidance Some applications of the new theory: 1. Decentralization and Delegation – freeing people from too close control of conventional organization. 2. Job Enlargement – encourages the acceptance of responsibility at the bottom of the organization. 3. Participation and Consultative Management – people are encouraged to direct their own creative energies towards organizational objectives and giving them some voice in decisions. 4. Performance Appraisal – individuals are involved in in setting targets and objectives for himself and in a self – evaluation of performance semi – annually or annually. Close supervision tends to be associated with high productivity, general supervision with high productivity. The importance of supervising subordinates as a group are as follows: a.) discuss work problems with the group, b.) group performs well even when the supervisor is absent, c.) foster teamwork and group loyalty and d.) involves group participation in making decisions. THE ADMINISTRATOR OF SCHOOL FINANCING The welfare of the state depends largely upon the education of its citizens. Filipino people recognized the importance of sending children to school whenever and wherever possible. Our leaders and framers of Constitution see to it that the Magna Carta contains a provison that the state should establish and maintain a complete and adequate system of education and provide at least free primary for all education of school age. Since school population keeps on growing and the salaries of the teachers are keep on increasing, more and more funds are needed. However, present financial capability becomes inadequate and need to augment financial resources to keep up with increasing educational needs. In general, the sources for government income for education are the following: 1. Taxes imposed by law for the support of the government such as the real – property tax, specific tax, and import and export taxes. 2. Tuition fees imposed on students in public high schools, vocational schools, regional normal schools, and chartered colleges and universities. 3. Matriculation fees collected from public secondary school students, vocational schools, and chartered colleges and universities. There were also a matriculation fee charged in the intermediate grades but the fee was abolished by R. A. 4092 effective the school year 1964 – 1965. 4. Rental for lease of school sites and sales of schools products. 5. Land grants and donations. 6. Voluntary contributions. 7. Special fees such as miscellaneous fees charged from college students for entrance, registration, library, athletics, and laboratory, medical and dental clinics, school paper, diplomas, graduations and R.O.T.C. Support for Elementary Education The Educational Act of 1940 which nationalized the support of all elementary schools in municipalities and municipal districts saved the situation for the poor communities. The Educational Act of 1940 forbids the collection of tuition fees in the intermediate grades although it permits the matriculation fees in an amount to be determined by the President not exceeding two pesos for each pupil enrolled in the intermediate grades in municipalities and municipal district. The proceeds from this matriculation fee accrue to the fund of the National Government to purchase of library books and equipment and 40% for financing athletic activities in the intermediate grades. While the acquisition of school sites and construction of temporary school buildings remain the responsibility of the local governments. The law abolished the share of municipalities and municipal districts in the internal revenue collections, percentage taxes on the agricultural products and income tax. Support for Public Secondary Schools The financial support for the maintenance and operation of public secondary schools provided for by the provincial and city governments. Generally, the majority of provinces do not have adequate funds to support the schools properly. This deficiency in finances gives occasional difficulty in the payment of secondary teacher’s salary. The sources of provincial income are the following: 1. Internal revenue allotments from the national government. 2. Share from local taxes. 3. Fees from services rendered. 4. Income from miscellaneous receipts. Support for secondary schools 1. Tuition and matriculation fee levied by the Provincial Board on all high school students 2. Board uses parts of its general fund in case of shortage or the Board passes a resolution increasing the rate of tuition 3. Through the enactment of R. A. No. 3478, the National Government has been granting annual national aid to general provincial and municipal high schools beginning with the school year 1963 – 1964, primarily intended for salary adjustments of teachers and other secondary school personnel 4. Voluntary contributions and donations by private individuals and civic organizations Support of barrio experimental high school, the Bureau of Public Schools in its Memorandum No. 86, issued on August 1, 1966, states as follows: 1. The tuition fee to be charged should not be less than â‚ ±80.00 a year. 2. 50% of the 10% real estate tax proceeds allotted to barrios in accordance with the revised Barrio Charter should be set aside and used solely for the improvement of instruction in the barrio high schools. No amount accruing from this fund should be spent for salaries of teachers and other school personnel. 3. All feeder barrios should share the expenses for the improvement of instruction, the share of each to be proportionate to the number of students from the feeder barrios attending barrio high school. 4. All resolutions of the barrio councils regarding the funding of barrio high schools should be approved by the Municipal Council concerned. Support of Public Schools in Chartered Cities 1. Tuition fees and city funds   2. National Government allots lump sums as aid to cities for their educational needs. 3. National aid for salary adjustments of teachers and other secondary school personnel. The law was amended by R.A. No. 4128so as to include all city high schools except Manila and Quezon City. Support of Vocational Schools Vocational schools usually come under two categories – the provincial trade school and the provincial agricultural school. The source of income comes from the national contribution, tuition and other fees and income from school products. The so – called rural high schools which are agricultural in nature are jointly supported by the provinces and municipalities and the National Government. Support of Normal Schools Regional normal schools are also national like the vocational schools. There are still seven regional normal schools located in strategic places in the country serving the needs of the students in the surrounding places. Sources of income of these schools are national contribution and tuition fees. The city or municipality where they are located may also appropriate funds for the normal training department. Support of Special Schools The Philippine Nautical School located in Pasay is supported entirely by the National Government which offers courses for employment as merchant marine officers. The School for the Deaf and Blind under the Bureau of Public Schools is supported by the government with occasionally aid from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes. Support of Chartered Government Colleges and Universities The support of chartered government institutions like University of the Philippines comes from the tuition and matriculation fees of students and comes from national funds appropriately annually by Congress. Special aids for the construction, repair and improvement of the buildings are given in special legislation or taken from the pork barrel fund. The tendency of the request by these institutions is to increase every year. Thus, the burden of the National Treasury for the support of these schools keeps on increasing. Other Agencies in helping the Financing of Public Schools A number of foreign agencies give some material aid to the schools aside from the National Government. Among these agencies are the following: * AID – NEC – provided in 1966 appropriations for buildings including the constructions of dormitories and also for typewriters, mimeographing machines and professional books for the Bureau of Public Schools. * UNICEF – gave aid in kind such as educational kits, globes, tape recorders, laboratory equipments and vehicles. * The American Foundation for Overseas Blind – donated Braille type writers, paper headsets, etc. * The Pilot Applied Nutrition Project (Bayaribang) – is a joint venture of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). These entities gave help in the form of technical services, training stipends, vehicles for supervision and various types of supplies and equipments for kitchen, laboratory and agricultural uses. * The Agency for International Development (AID), National Economic Council (NEC), and the Bureau of Public Schools (BPS) – jointly undertook a textbook production project which started on July 1, 1960 and terminated on June 30, 1965 to help solve the problem of lack of textbooks. The project was expected to print and distribute around 25 million of copies of textbooks within a 5-year period at an estimated cost about â‚ ±59.5 million. Support for Private Schools All private schools, colleges and universities derive their income mostly from tuition fees and miscellaneous fees from students. There is no law prescribing the maximum rate of tuition fees so there is no uniformity and limit in the tuition fees being charged by private schools. Quality schools with good standards among the religious institutions charge relatively higher rates than the ordinary schools. Some of the religious schools are partly supported from their properties. Some non-sectarian schools operating specially for profit charged comparatively lower tuition fees and even permit their students to pay on easy instalments to attract as many students as possible.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Foundations of the U.S. Federal Government Worksheet

Complete the chart below by identifying the three branches of government and their entities.U.S. ConstitutionTrue or False1. The Tenth Amendment limits the power of states. FALSE 2. The Constitution signed in 1787 contained the Bill of Rights. FALSE 3. The Constitution created a system of dual sovereignty, meaning the federal government has exclusive power in interstate commerce. True 4. The president and vice president are part of the legislative branch. FALSE 5. Congress can impose federal mandates, which require the state government to comply with its orders. True or FalseMultiple Choice6. The concept of dual federalism D: viewed federal and state power as fixedd. The Bill of Rights isC: the first 10 amendments to the Constitutione. The legislative branch is composed of which of the following:a. The House of Representatives and Senatef. The First Amendment of the Constitution regards which of the following:D: Freedom of religion, of speech, of the press, to assemble, and to petiti ong. The modern-day structure of categorical federal grants-in-aid came into being D: in the mid-1960sShort AnswerRespond to each question in 75 to 100 words.h. What are some of the historical events that shaped the formation of the U.S. federal government? Select one event you think had a major effect on the federal government. How does this event affect U.S. citizens today? A historical event would bei. Who were some of the early philosophical contributors to U.S. government? How did their ideas help shape the current government of the United States? Some early philosophical contributors were Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, that believed all men were created equal and jean-Jacques Rousseauj. Describe the historical role of the Supreme Court in federalism cases and the direction it has taken since 1990. The historical roles the Supreme Court took on federalism cases was changing the tenth amendment and revamping it so that it would be fair to all involved. It challenged both state and f ederal laws and eased out mixed signals and confusion brought on by the tenth amendment. Because of the Supreme Court, it reaffirmed laws such as limiting the Congress’s power over the interstate commerce and Gun Free Zones Act of 1990 that banned the possession of a firearm within feet of a school.k. What is the main function of the legislative branch? What role does the executive branch play in the formation of laws? Summarize how these two branches work together.The main function of the legislative branch is to pass laws and it also oversees the execution of these laws, while the executive branch main function is to execute laws created by Congress. The Executive branch is made up of the President and the Vice President and their main purpose is to execute the laws created by congress. The legislative branch is composed of the House of Representatives and the senate, these two make up Congress, who creates the laws.l. What is the role of the judicial branch? Who elects mem bers of this branch? Briefly describe the judicial process. The Judicial branch is made up of courts: the Supreme, Circuit, the magistrate, which is local, and Municipal (city) courts. This branch interprets the laws. State judges are elected by the citizens, rather than being appointed. Their duties include interpreting state laws, settling legal disputes, punishing violators of the law, hearing civil cases and protecting rights granted by the state constitution. They also determine the guilt and innocence of those accused of violating criminal laws of the state and they act as a check upon the legislative and executive branches of government.Short Essaym. In 250 to 300 words, define federalism and summarize its role relative to the current U.S. political climate.Federalism is a political system allows states united under a central government to maintain a measure of independence. This basically means that it allows each state to have their own set of laws but everyone follows the laws of the nation. There are certain things that can be done in Louisiana that are illegal in Texas. In some states it’s legal to have medicinal marijuana but not in Louisiana and in other states a man can be legally married to a man but in Louisiana their marriage is not considered legal. This among other things is made possible because of federalism

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Consequences of the Time Travel

The Consequences of the Time Travel The time travel issue is one of the most controversial questions in the filed of philosophy because it is based on the discussion of different types of the time, causes and consequences of actions, casual loops, and on analysing the past, the present, and the future as providing a range of possibilities or a range of facts.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Consequences of the Time Travel specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is important to pay attention to the fact that the possibility of the time travel is discussed with references to the consequences of such a journey. In his paper, William Grey is inclined to present a list of the time travel’s consequences which are characterised as intolerable because of their connection with the time travel paradoxes. Thus, the time travel can lead to the intolerable and even threatening consequences because of influencing the principle of the cause and effect in relat ion to the past and future, as a result, the most threatening are the effects of the reverse causation and casual loops associated with the fact of the time travel. The time travel is possible only with references to the Parmenidean view of reality according to which the past, the present, and the future can exist not only eternally but also during the same time period. From this point, the past, the present, and the future exist at the same moment, and any changes as the result of the time travel are impossible, but the possibility of that fact provokes the discussion of intolerable consequences. According to Grey, the intolerable consequences of the time travel if it is admitted by the philosopher are the reverse causation, casual loops, the correlation between the personal and external time, and the psychological perspective connected with the time traveller’s perception of his journey and observed anomalous reality (Grey 1994, p. 35). Grey’s argument is based on th e evidences discussed in the article by David Lewis, and it can be considered as rather persuasive because the time travel is analysed as the event which can change the reality even if this reality cannot be changed because of the Parmenidean vision of it. Thus, the most threatening effects or time travel consequences are expected in relation to the phenomena of the reverse causation and casual loops along with the closed casual chains.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Grey states that sharing the idea of the time travel, it is important to rely on the opinion that the events discussed in relation to the past and future are facts, not possibilities, because â€Å"cause and effect both exist, though temporally separated, and †¦ these two existing events stand in the casual relation† (Grey 1994, p. 37). From this perspective, the reverse causation supports the idea that time travellers cannot change the history because of principles of fatalism as accepting all the events as given facts. Grey claims, â€Å"We are all fatalists about the past, but reverse causation extends the same considerations to the future† (Grey 1994, p. 37). That is why, casual loops and the phenomenon of the reverse causation are effective for preventing time travellers from changing the history in relation to the external time. However, the problem is in the fact that time travellers remain to be able to change their personal histories in relation to the personal time. As a result, it is possible to speak about the ‘grandfather paradox’ and impossibility to change the future because of the reverse causation and necessary correlation between the personal and external time (Lewis 1976, p. 148). Thus, relying on the causal sequence as the fundament for placing the events in relation to the time, it is important to predict the possibilities to change th e reality of the past or future as well as impossibility to change anything because of the strong cause-and-effect relations. If a time traveller performs his or her journey while visiting the past, the effects of this journey are observed in the present at the moment of the journey. Thus, these two processes are possible because all the events and phenomena are facts and not possibilities. In this case, the idea of fatalism is related to the four-dimensional world and reality. On the one hand, the threatening effects are impossible because of the impossibility to change the reality and choose between the alternatives.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Consequences of the Time Travel specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On the other hand, the threatening consequences are possible, and the time travel and the prevention of the negative effects are possible with references to focusing on the separated and even unequal t ime periods or amounts of the time in order to perform the journey (Nahin 2001, p. 102; Richmond 2001, p. 306). To meet the serious threats caused by the time travel, it is necessary to concentrate on not changing the reality significantly in order to preserve the consistency of the casual loops. The range of possibilities should be discussed as the range of facts because alternatives are not relevant in the Parmenidean perspective of the world where the past, the present, and the future are equally real and eternal and, as a result, are characterised by the real causes and consequences related to any acts. One more satisfactory way to avoid any threats of the time travel is the ignorance of any effects and consequences because people really cannot change the past with the help of the time travel as they cannot change the past with the power of their thought (Goddu 2003, p. 17). Moreover, it is impossible to change the future that is why it is impossible to realise any actions in or der to meet the possible threats appropriately. Grey pays attention to the fact that â€Å"neither what has happened nor what is going to happen can be changed. It is a mistake to suppose that we can change either† (Grey 1994, p. 37). From this perspective, any actions of a person in relation to this or that problem related to the time travel and its consequences seem to be useless because the future exist at the same moment when the problem is discussed, and it cannot be changed or influenced. The time travel is the complex issue which involves a lot of problematic philosophical questions. The time travel is threatening because of the associated reverse causation in relation to the past and the future and impact on the casual loops regarding the personal and external time which should be correlated. The present cannot exist if the past was changed, and this fact is the main threat of the time travel.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Nevertheless, the past, the present, and the future exist simultaneously, and it is impossible to change them. That is why, intolerable consequences of the time travel can be prevented not only because of avoiding changes in the past or future but also because of the inner impossibility of such changes in relation to the Parmenidean paradigm. Reference List Goddu, G 2003, ‘Time travel and changing the past (or how to kill yourself and live to tell the tale)’, Ratio, vol. 16. no. 1, pp. 16-32. Grey, W 1994, ‘Some problems about time travel’, ATS1835 Study Guide, vol. 1. no. 1, pp 34-40. Lewis, D 1976, ‘The paradoxes of time travel’, American Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 13. no. 2, pp. 145-152. Nahin, P 2001, Time machines: time travel in physics, metaphysics, and science fiction, Springer, USA. Richmond, A 2001, ‘Time-travel fictions and philosophy’, American Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 38. no. 4, pp. 305-318.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Companies’ behavior towards changes in the external environment The WritePass Journal

Companies’ behavior towards changes in the external environment Introduction: Companies’ behavior towards changes in the external environment Introduction: Supply and Demand and how do they effect the price and the Market Equilibrium:   Gaining the customer loyalty: Five advantages for making a first time customer a lifetime purchaser (Loyal customer):   Conclusion:   Reference listRelated Introduction: Ash from Iceland’s eyjafjallajokull volcano triggered an unprecedented shutdown of European airspace for six days until the 21st of April 2010, paralyzing many airports and trapping hundreds of thousands of tourists and business travellers. The flight ban was compulsory because ash can turn to molten glass in the high temperatures of an aircrafts turbine and cripple the engine. The safety and   security of travellers was the first priority of the airlines’ companies and accordingly they had to stop all their flights within Europe, which in turn affected the whole tourism’s industry including hotels. BBC, 2010) However, each company had their own point of view on the best actions that can be taken in these types of situations and unique circumstances, depending on some of the business and economical theories and concepts. Nevertheless, to demonstrate and understand these actions Mrs. Judith Piggott’s experience with British airways and a local hotel is used. In this report, these theories will be presented and analyzed; in addition the way that the companies implemented them in this case will be exposed. Supply and Demand and how do they effect the price and the Market Equilibrium:   To understand the local hotel’s attempt, which is lowering their price, the terms supply, demand and Market Equilibrium must be known. Firstly, the term demand means â€Å"the want or desire to possess a good or service with the necessary goods, services, or financial instruments necessary to make a legal transaction for those goods or services† (see appendix 1), and the relationship between price and quantity demanded is an inverse or negative relationship. This means that when price goes up quantity demanded goes down, and when price goes down quantity demanded goes up true for individuals, modules (e.g. Groups of consumers), whole markets. Secondly, the word supply in economics means â€Å"the amount of a product that the firm is able and willing to put on the market over a specified period† (see appendix 1). The market supply is the sum of the supply of all firms at any given price, there is a positive relationship between price and quantity, when price goes up quantity supplied goes up (Tucker, 2008). Finally and the most important term for our case is the Market Equilibrium, where the supply and demand intersect or in another words when the quantity of product supplied equals the quantity of product demanded at any given price (see appendix 2). (Wessels, 2006) Therefore, the Market Equilibrium is the goal for any firm to avoid any surpluses (see appendix 3) or   shortages (see appendix 4). By understanding these concepts we can recognise that the local hote   were concerned that because of the ash clouds, the coming customers’ numbers will be less than usual adding to that the other competitors in the market which will even lower the numbers more, consequently minimising the hotel’s chare from the whole market. Therefore, the hotel had to lower their prices firstly to avoid surpluses of empty rooms, and secondly to compete with the other hotels in the market. Gaining the customer loyalty: The regular company in the UK wastes from 20-40% of its customers each year.   By acknowledging   this issue and its negative influence on the company competitiveness and profitability, a firm must swap from the long accepted market share strategy to a completely different long-term approach   to business, which is building the customer loyalty (Bell and Patterson, 2004). Boosted loyalty can bring cost savings to a firm in at least six areas: Reduced marketing costs (customer gaining or attracting costs require more pounds). Lower switching costs such as contract negotiation and order processing. Reduced customer turnover costs (fewer lost customers to replace). Increased cross-selling success leading to larger share of market. More positive word of mouth and better company image. Reduced collapse costs. Five advantages for making a first time customer a lifetime purchaser (Loyal customer): Sales go up, because the customer is purchasing more from the firm. The firm is strengthening their situation in the marketplace, when clients are buying from them instead of their competitors. Marketing costs decrease when the firm doesn’t have to spend a huge amount of money to attract repeat customers, since they already have them.   In addition, as satisfied customers they tell their friends (Word of mouth marketing) thereby decreasing your need to advertise. Therefore, decreasing marketing costs. Avoiding price competition with competitors, because a loyal customer is less expected to be attracted away to another competitors by a discount of a few pounds. Finally, a satisfied customer is expected to sample the firm’s other product lines thus helping to achieve a larger share of customers. When a firm is spending less to attract new customers, it can afford to pay their staff’s better wages. Better salaries prompt a chain reaction, with huge benefits. If a company is able to maintain good workers, the company’s loyalty both internally and externally improves. Just as customer retaining has a positive influence on profitability, customer defection can have a negative influence.   Defection by a long-term customer (Loyal customer) can cause an intense loss and affect the bottom line faster than defection by a new customer. Both of customer loyalty and satisfaction are two words that go into the Sales Strategic Plan. (Lawfer, 2004). Both of British airways and Thomson’s holidays tried to gain the customer’s loyalty and expand their customers’ base by their actions. For example, British airways paid off their customers the extra nights hotel’s fees, and they did that in a short period of time. Whereas companies such as Ryan air refused to do so. In addition, Thomson holidays were so generous and caring with their customers they paid for the extra nights, food and they even send their cruises to pick their clients and return them home. While, other companies where so mean and untruthful to their clients, they promised to pay for the meals and then retreat and demanded money for them. Which had a negative impact on their customer base. Thus lowered the number of returning customers and that can be seen clearly from Ryan air customer’s feedback. Even though British airways and Thomson holidays lost a huge amount of money on the short run, but they gained their customer’s loy alty and trust. Consequently, expanded their customers’ base, which will recover their losses in the long run (Reichheld, 1996).   Conclusion:   To sum up, the Iceland’s volcanic ash had a strong impact on the airlines industry and   forced the companies to stop all their flight within Europe, which in turn affected the tourism industry as a whole. Companies’ actions towards this incident varied from one   to another, depending on some of the commercial and economical theories and principles. Some of the companies such as British airways and Thomson holidays were   looking more on the future and tried to maintain their customer base and gain their trust, by being helpful and truthful with their clients. On the other hand companies such Rayan air and some of the other holiday’s firms, were dishonest and looked more on the   present and how to avoid losses. Even though British airways and Thomson lost a huge amount of money on the short run, but maintaining their customer base will allow them to cover these losses in the long run.In terms of pricing strategies the local hotel depended on the great u nderstanding of the economical terms supply, demand and Market Equilibrium. They pushed the price down   so they can raise the demand up and achieve the Market   Equilibrium, and in turn avoid   surpluses or shortages in rooms. Moreover, pushing the prices down will able them to compete with other competitors in the market and expand their market share. In my opinion British airways and Thomson holidays made the right strategic decision and approached the right actions, because of the advantages of increasing the loyalty and maintaining loyal customers that I mentioned previously. In addition, I think the local hotel were also successful in their pricing strategies, because if they did not push the prices down there would had been a huge numbers of unequipped   rooms, and their losses would had been even grater. Reference list BBC (2010) Icelandic volcanic ash alert grounds UK flights. April 15, 2010 [online]. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8621407.stm [Accessed on April 22, 2011] Bell, C. And Patterson, J. (2004) Customer Loyalty, Guaranteed: Create, Lead, And Sustain Remarkable Customer. Massachusetts: Adams Media Lawfer, M. (2004) Why Customers Come Back: How to Create Lasting Customer Loyalty. New Jersey: The Career Press Reichheld, F. (1996) The loyalty effect: the hidden force behind growth, profits, and lasting value. Massachusetts: Harvard Business School Press Tucker, I. (2008) Macroeconomics for Today. Ohio: Cengage Learning Wessels, W. (2006) Economics. New York: BARRON’S

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Business Process Engineering for Transparent Workflow Weaving

This paper is a scholarly review of the article titled Implicit BPM: A Business Process Platform for Transparent Workflow Weaving. The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of workflow weaving with regard to integration of business management processes into organization’s applications.   The paper will also look at the relevancy of the conclusion of the article under review, to the business process management, as well as drawing comparisons between the ideas of other articles within the context of the focus topic with ideas advocated by the main article being reviewed.   Integration of the business process or workflow into existing organization’s application can be a costly affair to implement due to the limited interoperability capabilities of the organizations applications. This is occasioned by isolated nature of applications development that is not considerate of integration of business activities into one seamless platform for greater efficiency and performance. The under review therefore, put fort or suggest a concept of reducing the cost of integrating business process or workflow with the existing applications. To look at how this is achieved, we review relevant aspects or framework of the concept that leads to achievement of the set objective of the article. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) The article opines that building business systems from scratch is no longer feasible and tenable considering the major business workflow overhaul required in order to implement an entirely new system. The integration process on the other hand requires combination of different innovations and designs that that again requires considerable amount of funds to implement. This assertion is true considering that any business activity implemented by an organization must first by affordable by the organization and secondly will improve the revenue bottom line of the implementing organization. For these reasons, many organizations tend to view business process integration project as a costly affair that may take time before the organization break even on the cost of the project. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014)   The article suggests a technique that will ease the process of integrating the business process with the organization’s applications. The Aspect oriented programming abbreviated as (AOP) technique suggested is viable option of resolving limitations due to generic nature of the integration process as well as the transparency limitations associated with the process of workflow and organizations integration. To further simplify the process of integration, the articles suggest a black-box approach to implement the Aspect Oriented Programming rather than a clear-box approach. The former approach indeed doesn’t require much detailed knowledge of the code internals of the program. It uses a wrapping technique that focus on simplest form of integration that is cost effective as opposed to detailed integration approach.   The authors of the article postulates that the workflow weaving technique they are proposing enables the integration of the business process in a transparent manner in that the technique does not require fundamental changes in the organizations applications and at the same time it can bring together a myriad of heterogeneous web applications into one platform as an integrated end product. Analyzing the concept it is easy to see that when an integration technique doesn’t require extensive changes, then the process is likely to be cost effective in manner that encourages business or organizations to adapt this technique when aiming to integrate their workflow or business processes. The article uses the example of two sample applications one of The Pet Store which is built on Java EE platform and a generic accounting application that manages the books and clients for an organization. The two applications which have been implemented using Model View Controller, MVC framework are i ntegrated together for seamless processing of the business workflow. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) The resultant outcome of the fusing is an innovation that combines purchasing and accounting process in one platform. For example, from the Pet Store MVC application home page the user can search fro an item he or she intends to purchase. If the item is found or located, the same is added to the shopping cart where the client can proceed to checkout.   Once the payment as been confirmed, the accounting application also running on MVC approach is triggered and the book balance for the company is updated accordingly. The accounting application will then adjust stock and register the client. On its home page the accountant can be able to see the updated processes in the system thus making work easier for him or her.   This is an example of how the business process has been integrated into one interrelated platform for seamless running of the organizations activities. (Trkman et al., 2015) In isolated applications say with different purchasing application as well as the accounting ap plication, each business activity would have been handled separately. For example, when the item was searched and purchased by the client or the customer the accountant would have to physically look for the sales report to know which items were sold and the prices. The accountant would then proceed to include or update his system on actual book balance and number of items remaining probably to ensure the same is replenished. This is a tedious process that is simplified by integrated business processes. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) The MVC approach utilized by this innovation allows black-box modeling approach that provide for codes injection at strategic points of the web application framework. Although the outcome is a generic model that lacks a distinct brand, it serves the purposes of integrating the organizations workflow. To provide better correspondence between the software i.e. the programs and the designs, the hardware material the innovation used in the example above uses the crosscutting interface. Analysis of this interface reveals a flexible approach that enables the integrated applications to work together while at the same time creating a contract between the intercepted system and the platform. This further make the process of integration easier and simple which can make business sense to organizations aiming to integrate their business processes.   In order to eliminate the need of having Aspect Oriented Program (AOP) expert at the IT department, the article proposed use of Domain Specific Language (DSL) in the integration process that inhibit the inherent complexities associated with AOP approach or technology. With DSL technology the organization will avoid dealing with underlying AOP framework. The use of DSL therefore reduces the amount of resources needed for implementation of this integrated business processes model. The fact that the organizations will have this advantage makes this innovation appealing to the business. (Seethamraju, 2012) The cost associated with employing different experts for the integrated innovation coupled by the benefits it brings to the organization is likely to make business sense to the management of the organizations. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) The article has also implemented the business process management approach in order to realize the proposed innovation. The innovation has two separate parts the front –end and the back-end parts which are connected via web mechanism that not only makes the combination flexible but also scalable. With the front-end having interception and reflection components among other features, the innovation is capable of drawing up various relationships such as when a client initiates a search of a particular item the integrated system can be able to provide him or her with other similar items to the one being searched by the client. In effect what this means is that the client will have various options of similar product. (Seethamraju, 2012) This is a striking feature for any business which can make the idea of business process integration a worthwhile venture to invest on when you analyze it from business perspective. The back-end part of the innovation is the support part where the who le innovation gets various interpretations of command, coordination, and repository among other support features. To repository feature of this innovation is another plus for the innovation in businesswise as well as the general functioning of the innovation. This feature allows the innovation to keep memory of the actions or commands in the system for easier retrieval when the same action pattern is repeated. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) One important feature of any innovation is the scalability option. With the web standard approach connection between the front-end and back-end that gives this innovation its scalability or extensibility feature, the innovation would be easier to be adopted by a growing organization. Growth and development is part of every organization. It will not be commercially viable to invest in an innovation that will require major changes when the organization expands or grows. At the back of every business decision is the financial benefit an investment has on business either directly or indirectly. This innovation sufficiently answers this question in that apart form streamlining the business process it can be scaled without major financial implications should the implementing organization expand. It worth noting that this is one of the challenges associated with the integration of the business workflow. With this feature it will be easier for the organization to buy into this innovation. (M ondà ©jar et al., 2014)   In its conclusion the article reiterate the importance of integrating business processes with the existing organization application into one system as well as acknowledging the cost implication of the process. This is relevant observation in business process management in that there is no evidence of an existence of business entity that is interested in making loses. The cost implication is always a fundamental question in every business decision and business processes integration is not an exception. The web platform of this innovation which enables it to enjoy various platforms such as cloud computing which comes with web applications platforms will further underline the issue of cost factor in this innovation. Comparing the ideas of this article with ideas of other similar article within the context of the topic under discussion; business processes management, a number of similarities and differences are noted. The book by Radelf Peterson titled â€Å"Using BPEL processes in Web Sphere Business Integration Server Foundation† postulates the same idea as the main article under review in that, they both focus on utilizing web based approaches that enables the innovation utilize the cloud computing. (Petrson, 2004) On the other El-Halwagi in his article have a solution which is not web based. This involves developing a BPM program from the scratch that overhauls the business process and applications. (El-Halwagi, 2006) It is suitable for startups which do not have existing application in place yet. As noted before in this review the cost-benefit analysis is always an important question to any business entity. The solutions with such wholesale changes would the make business case for new entities looking to launch operations for the first time. Systemic process improvement advocated by Mutafelija and Stromberg, is also in tandem with the ideas of the article under review. According to this book business process management should always have capabilities fo r continuous improvement. (Mutafelija and Stromberg, 2003) The web design of the innovation proposed by the main article under review and the fact that it uses black-box approach where only strategic interceptions are made, enable this innovation to be open to continuous improvement and scalability as noted by Mustafelija and Stromberg. (Mondà ©jar et al., 2014) In conclusion, that the use of web designs in this innovation among other features enables it to have desirable capabilities that will make organizations consider integrating their business processes without finding it challenging with the cost of the implementation of the program. The scalability feature of the proposed innovation is also on of the important aspect that breaths live to its implementation.   Al-Mashari, M. (2011). Business process management ? major challenges. Business Process Management Journal, 8(5). El-Halwagi, M. (2006). Process Integration. Burlington: Elsevier. Harmon, P. (2009). Business Process Change. New York: Elsevier. Mahmoodzadeh, E., Jalalinia, S. and Nekui Yazdi, F. (2009). A business process outsourcing framework based on business process management and knowledge management. Business Process Management Journal, 15(6), pp.845-864. Marjanovic, O. and Freeze, R. (2012). Knowledge-Intensive Business Process: Deriving a Sustainable Competitive Advantage through Business Process Management and Knowledge Management Integration. Knowledge and Process Management, 19(4), pp.180-188. Mondà ©jar, R., Garcà ­a-Là ³pez, P., Pairot, C. and Brull, E. (2014). Implicit BPM: A Business Process Platform for Transparent Workflow Weaving. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp.168-183. Mutafelija, B. and Stromberg, H. (2003). Systematic process improvement using ISO 9001:2000 and CMMI. Boston: Artech House. Petrson, R. (2004). Using BPEL processes in WebSphere Business Integration Server Foundation. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identified]: IBM, International Technical Support Organization, pp.7-23. Seethamraju, R. (2012). Business process management: a missing link in business education. Business Process Management Journal, 18(3), pp.532-547. Trkman, P., Mertens, W., Viaene, S. and Gemmel, P. (2015). From business process management to customer process management. Business Process Management Journal, 21(2), pp.250-266. Wysocki, R. (2004). Project management process improvement. Boston: Artech House.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Agricultural Climate Adaptation Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Agricultural Climate Adaptation Plan - Essay Example A climate change adaptation plan needs a set of responses that will highly improve rice production despite the changing climatic conditions rather than just maintaining the existing level of production. In rice production, adaptation to climate change is quite complex, and it is essential for it to entail a range of social, economic and environmental factors. It must also entail technological and financial constituents that are creative. This may include: improved awareness and application of indigenous knowledge and managing strategies. Climate change and global warming have negative impacts on rice production. Typhoons are a current occurrence in Luzon Island cause damages to the crops which in turn minimizes crop yields, cause destruction to forests; forests are responsible for maintaining water table balance, cause an increase in the cost of the rice transportation and affects access to water. Rainfall shortages and the long dry spells in the area make farmers rely more on irrigation that is quite expensive and cause rice paddies to have very little water because of high vapor transpiration. Floods in the area make the islands water sources to be saline which in turn results to degradation of cultivated land by making the soil saline and damages crops and cause yields to decrease. It is imperative for adaptation strategies to be employed. These include Biophysical, economic and socio-cultural adaptation strategies (Chen et al. 28). Adaptation process involves strategic, incremental and transformational adaptatio n. According to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, transformational adaptation results to changing of the basic features of the system while responding to climate change and its impacts Incremental adaptation is considered to be developing of activities and behaviors that are present downsize the losses or ameliorate the benefits that are as a result of natural climate shift and extreme events. One of the adaptation responses would be a

Week 6 disc Tchaikovsky Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 6 disc Tchaikovsky - Assignment Example Apart from the sound of the fire cannons, there are also sounds of what appears to be fireworks, usually used to exhibit a celebratory mood. Probably one of the reasons why Tchaikovsky’s compositions have continued in popularity in the contemporary society is that is it portrays the themes of war that were experienced in the early 1800’s: His compositions i.e. the 1812 Overture exhibits both sadness and joy that were associated with the war. Perhaps, his compositions have continued to gain popularity owing to the fact that they remind the contemporary populace the history of war. Currently, â€Å"Only in America†, a song that was composed by Brooks and Dunn in 2004, just before the 9/11 terrorist attack, has been considered one of the most nationalistic and patriotic songs in the contemporary world. Its popularity can also be attributed to the fact that it was used during the re-election of George W. Bush during this

Case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Case analysis - Essay Example This is not the case in other countries such as the U.S. and the European markets, where there seem to have a relatively sluggish economic growth consequently resulting to decreasing disposable income. The levels of disposable income in any particular country will affect the demand of the motorcycles. Most people will tend to determine whether a motorcycle is a luxurious good or an alternatively cheaper means of transport. If for instance the motorcycle is considered a luxurious good, any sort of an increase in the level of disposable income would lead to increase in demand of the motorcycle and vice versa. On the contrary, if a motorcycle is widely considered as a cheaper option for transport, decrease in the level of disposable income will increase the demand for the motorcycle and vice versa. The company scenario planners take the varying levels of income into consideration. They plan to establish market segments where different motorcycles would be sold depending on the needs of the market. In addition, scenario planning has led to developing strategies that ensure that motorcycles are developed to meet the different economic conditions (Fred, 2011). The company will thus be in a better position to compete well in the market. Other influences such as trade barriers in terms of tariffs are highly affecting the number of motorcycles imported within any particular country. This excludes the countries that are engaged in agreement of free trade and reduction of trade barrier. The free trade agreement has also increased the opportunity of international trade of motorcycle. Legislations regarding noise and emission levels have set the standards within certain countries. Thus, the motorcycles have to be made to comply with such standards (Fred, 2011). Harley Davidson Company continuously monitors the changes of laws and regulations in the market and other political issues that might hamper the sales efforts such as war. Over the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The Pillars of Policing Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

The Pillars of Policing - Dissertation Example Through the use of the first pillar of helping to create a safe and secured environment the police department focuses on activities like tracking criminals, curbing criminal and vandalistic activities in the region and efficiently dealing with incidents of significant criticality. The second pillar of policing helps Sussex Police in making them better visible and approachable by the general public. Through this pillar the police department of Sussex endeavors to closely knit their activities with different communities to perform in a proactive manner. This practice also helps the police department to retrieve quality information and responses from the people which thereby helps them in curbing crimes. The third pillar is used by the police force to make efficient and optimal use of the human and financial resources of the police organization to effectively track down the criminal operations of the region. (Three Pillars, n.d.). The police force of Scotland operates on the basis of fi ve basic principles to promote a safer region for the citizens to dwell in. These operational principles or the pillars of Scotland police consist of acts like safeguarding the society from criminal activities, breaking the network of drug trafficking, reassuring the general people that they are safe through the conducting of patrolling operations, prioritizing the safety of the road environment for the driving and daily commuters, and finally helping the police force to become increasingly advanced and trained to handle complexities. (Central Scotland Police, n.d.). Similarly the community policing activities of United Kingdom are also based on eight operational pillars which can be enumerated as follows. The first operational pillar of community policing is to reduce the rate of criminal activities and the rate of disorderliness in the region. Secondly the actions of the police must be conducted of, by and for the general public and not for the sake of meeting operational guidelin es. Public approval for police operations is highly essential for reducing the former’s conflicts with the administration. Thirdly following the above context the police administration of a region must reflect a high amount of honor for the citizens of a country in desiring them to abide by the rule of the land. Fourthly the police administration of a country must endeavor to minimize the use force on making the people abide by the rules of the land physical torture affects the cooperative mechanism of the society with the administration. The fifth operational pillar of community policing states however justifies the use of force when all other arbitration mechanisms fail to reduce public tension. Sixthly more specifically the police system in the society must visualize itself as a key force in restoring safety and harmony in the community and thus be socially accountable. Seventhly the operational pillar also holds that the police system must not augment its potential throug h judicial involvement but must depend on its own actions. Finally in the eighth position the operational pillar holds that measurement of true efficiency of the police force is done on by observing the rate of absence of crime and social disorder and not merely the police’s actions related to such. (Special Feature: Historical Perspective, n.d.). The paper in this context draws a comparison of the police actions of United Kingdom with that of United States. The Police system in United

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 29

Homework - Essay Example The affected age group being mostly children, the analysis is that OM generates indirect costs owing to lost time from school and work creating a significant social burden. A good nurse protocol for otitis media in children aged six to twelve years old should clearly define OM; identify its natural history without antibacterial treatment, measure relative effectiveness of these antibacterial regimens in prevention of clinical failure (Forgie and Zhanel et al., 2009, p. 457). Otitis media is the presence of purulent fluid inside the middle ear, which is associated with symptoms and signs of systemic or acute local illness. It is most prevalent during winter months in children especially six to seven years old and below. Otitis media is commonly seen after a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. It has been especially noted to result from dysfunction of the Eustachian tube preventing the effective drainage of middle ear fluid. The clinician or nurse should be aware that the client has an antecedent event, either an allergy or infection that results in congestion and edema of the mucosa of the middle ear, Eustachian tube, as well as the nasopharynx. Flow of the middle ear secretions is impeded following the Eustachian tubes congestion. This often increases negative pressure further causing fluid to be pulled into the middle ear. Increase in middle ear secretions causes growth of microbial pathogens resulting in otitis media. Treatment protocol in diagnosis and prescription establishes common pathogens as Streptococcus pyrogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Moraxella catarrhalis, as well as viral infection. Recent studies show that in 6 – 12 year olds infections have increased because of organisms that produce beta-lactamase and bacterial resistance to drugs (Barnett and Klein,

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Case analysis - Essay Example This is not the case in other countries such as the U.S. and the European markets, where there seem to have a relatively sluggish economic growth consequently resulting to decreasing disposable income. The levels of disposable income in any particular country will affect the demand of the motorcycles. Most people will tend to determine whether a motorcycle is a luxurious good or an alternatively cheaper means of transport. If for instance the motorcycle is considered a luxurious good, any sort of an increase in the level of disposable income would lead to increase in demand of the motorcycle and vice versa. On the contrary, if a motorcycle is widely considered as a cheaper option for transport, decrease in the level of disposable income will increase the demand for the motorcycle and vice versa. The company scenario planners take the varying levels of income into consideration. They plan to establish market segments where different motorcycles would be sold depending on the needs of the market. In addition, scenario planning has led to developing strategies that ensure that motorcycles are developed to meet the different economic conditions (Fred, 2011). The company will thus be in a better position to compete well in the market. Other influences such as trade barriers in terms of tariffs are highly affecting the number of motorcycles imported within any particular country. This excludes the countries that are engaged in agreement of free trade and reduction of trade barrier. The free trade agreement has also increased the opportunity of international trade of motorcycle. Legislations regarding noise and emission levels have set the standards within certain countries. Thus, the motorcycles have to be made to comply with such standards (Fred, 2011). Harley Davidson Company continuously monitors the changes of laws and regulations in the market and other political issues that might hamper the sales efforts such as war. Over the

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 29

Homework - Essay Example The affected age group being mostly children, the analysis is that OM generates indirect costs owing to lost time from school and work creating a significant social burden. A good nurse protocol for otitis media in children aged six to twelve years old should clearly define OM; identify its natural history without antibacterial treatment, measure relative effectiveness of these antibacterial regimens in prevention of clinical failure (Forgie and Zhanel et al., 2009, p. 457). Otitis media is the presence of purulent fluid inside the middle ear, which is associated with symptoms and signs of systemic or acute local illness. It is most prevalent during winter months in children especially six to seven years old and below. Otitis media is commonly seen after a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract. It has been especially noted to result from dysfunction of the Eustachian tube preventing the effective drainage of middle ear fluid. The clinician or nurse should be aware that the client has an antecedent event, either an allergy or infection that results in congestion and edema of the mucosa of the middle ear, Eustachian tube, as well as the nasopharynx. Flow of the middle ear secretions is impeded following the Eustachian tubes congestion. This often increases negative pressure further causing fluid to be pulled into the middle ear. Increase in middle ear secretions causes growth of microbial pathogens resulting in otitis media. Treatment protocol in diagnosis and prescription establishes common pathogens as Streptococcus pyrogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Staphylococcus aureus, Moraxella catarrhalis, as well as viral infection. Recent studies show that in 6 – 12 year olds infections have increased because of organisms that produce beta-lactamase and bacterial resistance to drugs (Barnett and Klein,

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Game Theory Essay Example for Free

Game Theory Essay Game theory happens to be a branch of applied mathematics which is used in social science. Its main objective is to capture behaviors but in this case mathematically in strategic situations where the success of an individual in choice making is largely dependent on the choices that are made by other people. This is the base or the main theme that underlies in the game theory. This is the same theme that is supposed to be articulated in this article. The author ignores the fact that game theory come in different types and only expresses one type of game theory specifically zero sum and non zero sum game theory. He concentrates only on this type of game theory leaves the reader with little or no information concerning the other types of game theory. (Miller, 2003) However, in the article, the author only concentrates on only one aspect of game theory and goes ahead and offers solutions or recommendations to that one aspect that he deals with. Game theory has gone ahead and included other aspects in the line of business other than the competition. This competition was only of one individual based on the expense of the other person which was commonly referred to as zero sum games. These happen to be the only issue that is covered here by the author of this article. I can therefore say that this article fails to present all the aspects which are involved or which matters as far as game theory is concerned. I can therefore say that there is more to game theory and that the recommendations proposed may not be that effective even if implemented. Some of the recommendations may therefore be said to deviate from the core subject that is under discussion. (Barnett, 1995) However this does not mean that the article is null and void. The author in the article gives a very good example of the basic concept and the meaning of game theory. By use of the example of the two people in the article, the author paints out a clear picture of the principle of game theory and what is involved. It is clear to understand even to a person who does not have an idea of what game theory is. Further, the author gives recommendations or rather rules of what to do so that one may emerge successfully in any business that he or she may be conducting. (Barnett, 1995) The author may be said to fully address the issue to the game theory on the context that he is viewing form; that of competition. In addition, unlike in the other cases where the recommendations that are set are usually impractical, here the author sets the recommendations that are practical in real life and which if they are implemented effectively will help the two organizations succeed in their sole objective of increasing their sales or rather profits. (Miller, 2003) The author also familiarized the reader with all the factors that maybe of essence incase one is involved in the business and experiencing these types of problems. He covers a larger area other than only the game theory gives recommendations which if they are implemented, they result to implementation of the recommendations of game theory. In conclusion, even though the author fails to deal with the other types of game theories, he has completely discussed this type of game theory giving all the recommendations required which would even be applicable to the other game theories if they are implemented as directed. ? References Barnett, F. (1995). Making Game Theory Work in Practice. Wall Street Journal , A14. Miller, J. (2003). Game Theory at Work. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishers.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Ensuring Health And Safety At Workplaces

Ensuring Health And Safety At Workplaces Introduction In our day to day lives, accidents tend to occur under different circumstances some of which can be avoided. Most accidents are attributed to carelessness of which it is believed just a little carefulness could avoid and in the process reduce the many serious injuries incurred and even at times death or decapitation. Accidents are unplanned and unfortunate events that results in damage, injuries or upsets of some kind. This is the same even at workplaces. Most accidents at work places are sometimes as a result of carelessness. These accidents can be avoided if the following measures can be taken at the places of work. Management is committed to safety in the work place, employees are informed about accident prevention, consultation between the employer and employee takes place on a regular basis, there is a trusting relationship between the employer and staff and employees have actual input into the decision-making process. Employers and employees attitude towards accidents also contribute greatly towards preventing them from occurring. If both the employer and the employee approach safety at places of work with diligence, then these cases of accidents will be greatly reduced and inefficiency due to lose of time from work by employees will be avoided. The best method to achieve this is through cooperation of the two main partners (employer and employee who may be represented by unions), an approach known as the shared responsibility model. Workplace and Injury Hazards Accidents at work are sometimes caused by a complex combination of unsafe employee behavior and unsafe working conditions. Several factors contribute to the complexity of managing safety in the workplaces. These factors include effects of some industrial diseases dont show up for years, employers may cover up a health or safety problem before the inspector arrives, employers may fail to monitor or disclose health risks and employees may fail to follow safety practices at the workplaces or engage in dangerous behavior while at work. It is also critical that organizations consider the safety of members of the public who enter the company property. Awareness of health hazards is very important. Employers should give thought to preparing for emergency health hazards. While the number of workplace injuries may level off, the direct cost of injuries does not. Moreover, workplace injuries result in several indirect costs such as damages, recruitment, inefficiency and reduced production. Men are more than twice as likely as women to have a time loss injury while with reference to age, younger workers are most likely to be injured. Logging and forestry, construction, manufacturing and transportation are among the most dangerous industries and the most common types of injuries are strains and sprains followed by contusions, crushing or bruises. The most likely body parts to be injured are in order back followed by fingers then legs. Health Hazards Health hazards can be classified into four categories. Physical agents exposure to physical elements. Biological agents (Biohazards) exposure to natural organisms. Chemical agents exposure to chemical compounds or harmful toxic substances. Ergonomically related injuries work environment related including stress, strain, fatigue and back injuries. Across the country there is growing emphasis on the health of younger workers who are the most injured. The most common injuries affecting them include electrocution and machine injuries yet a number of them are not aware of their health and safety rights and responsibilities at the workplace. Safety Regulations Every employee has fundamental rights which are:- The right to know about hazards in the workplace. The right to participate in correcting the hazards. The right to refuse dangerous work. A key element of health and safety laws is joint occupational health and safety committee which is required in every workplace. Responsibilities of these committees include to meet at least once a month, to ensure adequate records are kept regarding accidents and health hazards, to investigate and resolve complaints by employees, to participate in investigations of health and safety-related injuries, to regularly monitor health and safety programs, to monitor records of injuries and illnesses, to cooperate with safety officers investigating a complaint or accident, to develop, establish and promote health and safety programs and procedures and to obtain information from the employer and government agencies concerning existing potential hazards in the workplace. Some other federal laws are:- The hazardous product act whose primary objective is protecting consumers by regulating the sale of dangerous products. Its an important part of the Workplace Hazardous Material Information System (WHMIS), which requires that suppliers label all hazardous products and provide a material safety data sheet (MSDS), on each of them which contains hazard symbol, information on the properties and composition of the product, nature of the potential hazard that may result from misuse of the product and suggested emergency treatment procedure the employer must provide training to enable employees recognize the WHMIS hazard symbols. The transportation of dangerous goods act which makes transport Canada a federal government agency responsible for handling and transporting dangerous materials by federally regulated shipping and transportation companies. It requires that the carriers should be informed of dangerous goods which should be classified according to a coding system. The Canadian center for occupational health and safety act whose objectives are to promote health and safety in the workplace and the physical and mental health of the working populace in Canada, to facilitate consultation and cooperation among federal, provincial and territorial jurisdiction and to participate by labour and management in the relevant to the Canadian circles, to aid in the progress and maintenance of policies as well as programs tailored towards the elimination of occupational hazards and finally to serve as a national center for statistics and other information relating to occupational health and safety. The center is supervised by a board of governors made up of the federal government representatives, labor and employers. Organizations are now connected electronically with the center and have access to relevant information. Safety Enforcement In the federal jurisdiction all industrial units are inspected at least once a year to confirm their safe operation. The numbers of visits depend on units accidental records and its size. During these visits, the safety may at any time enter any property of business and are given a wide range of powers as stipulated in section 14 of the Canada labour code (part 2). No law by itself can make a workplace safe. It is far more effective not to mention less costly if the responsibility for safety becomes a concern for everyone starting with top managers going down to the supervisors and lastly the employees. The top managers must set policies and make concern for health and safety of the organizations culture and strategy while the supervisors must become proficient in maintaining safety which means knowing about health and safety laws and regulations and learning communications skills in order to convey the necessary information to employees. Employees are responsible for working safely. It is imperative to train the employees so that they comprehend safety rules on how to safely operate equipment. Good safety performances should be recognized and rewarded while unsatisfactory practices be documented and corrected. Human resource professionals should ensure consistent enforcement of all safety and health rules. This is achieved through creating a safety climate in the organization and conducting health and safety audits voluntarily or as a result of being targeted by government health and safety officials. Safety climates are becoming an important factor affecting safety knowledge and motivation. Workplace Stress Workplace stress occurs where there is pressure or unrealistic job demands than the worker can deliver within the required time. It is often the conflict between the employees ability and the job demands. Senior management officials are also recognizing the importance of health issues on employee performance. Stress symptoms involve both mental health and physical health. People who are stressed may become nervous, easily provoked to anger and chronically worried about things. Exposure to stressful working conditions called job stressors which can directly influence the health and safety of employees and this is what causes workplace stress. Frequently occurring stress is known as acute stress. The general and widely recognized cause of stress is change because it requires adaptation. A substantial and prolonged stress can bring about a condition of mental, emotional and sometimes physical exhaustion known as burnout. Slight stress improves performance due to the challenge until reac hes a plateau after which it becomes too great and performance starts to decline because the employee loses the ability to cope, becomes unable to make decisions and is erratic inn behavior. Solutions to workplace stress can be curative which correct the outcome of stress or preventive which attempt to change the cause of stress. In managing stress at work, the human resource department can come up with a stress audit to evaluate the extent of dysfunctional stress hence identify the cause of stress. Organizations can also introduce fitness and employee wellness programs. These programs have a positive impact on reducing stress and absenteeism and increasing productivity. Other contemporary workplace safety issues include workplace security, sick building syndrome, workplace violence and ergonomics. The human resource managers face challenges when they have an AIDS infected employee. Its a breach of human rights laws to discriminate against AIDS infected people but just in case the other employees refuse to work with that person the employer should establish a policy and have an action plan in place before such a case arises among employees or their dependant. It must be continually stressed that top managements involvement in setting a health and safety Policies are essential and if it does not assume the leadership role, it sets example by its inaction and middle managers, first line supervisors and employees will behave accordingly. It is important to have a control process in place. Causes of accidents should be identified and eliminated, an effective training exercise should be carried out, the human resource department should use its information system to monitor for patterns of accidents or health problems and finally management should continually encourage safety awareness on the part of super visors and employees. Conclusion Occupational health and safety continues to be an imperative part of the organizations operation. It is taking the centre stage in the priorities of the human resources management. Most of the occupational health and safety acts created by the federal and provincial governments now require the establishment of safety committees in companies. The prevention of accidents is therefore key to the human resource managers, who should also focus. AIDS at the workplace is an important issue and the human resource department needs to take measures to curb severe friction among work groups or irrational actions from frightened employees that may arise as a result of HIV and AIDS cases.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Progressive Insurance :: Progressive Mutual Insurance Company

Abstract On March 10, 1937, Joseph Lewis and Jack Green started Progressive Mutual Insurance Company. They wanted to provide vehicle owners with security and protection and they thought an insurance company was a good investment for a couple of lawyers who were just getting started. Since its beginning, Progressive has taken an innovative approach to auto insurance. They offered drive-in claims service before any other auto insurance company and in another industry first, they allowed customers to pay their premiums in installments. An appealing option for those who could not afford annual payments. Progressive wanted and still wants to make auto insurance accessible and easy so more people could protect their vehicles. Progressive began in 1937, and over the years, they have worked hard to build a superior proposition for auto insurance consumers through competitive pricing and by continuously improving our products and services. Today, they offer competitive rates and 24-hour, in-person and online services to all drivers throughout the United States. Today, Progressive customers can purchase auto insurance directly from them online or by phone, or they can purchase from independent insurance agents. Headquartered in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Village, Ohio, Progressive has 28,000-plus employees in more than 450 offices throughout the country. Progressive people enjoy a casual dress code and a unique work environment where all are required to risk, learn, grow and perform. Progressive's larger locations house one of the country's largest, most eclectic contemporary art collections. Communicating a clear picture of Progressive by stating what they try to achieve, how they interact with custom ers, and what guides their behavior permits all people associated with Progressive to understand what they expect of each other and ourselves and how we conduct our business. Progressive has been in business since 1937 and currently is one of the largest auto insurance groups in the United States. They have more than 10 million policies in force and growth continues as more people choose us for their vehicle insurance needs. They sell insurance directly to customers online and by phone, and offer insurance through more than 30,000 local independent agents. In addition to auto insurance, Progressive offers the following types of insurance to customers throughout the country: boat/personal watercraft insurance, commercial auto insurance, homeowners insurance, motorcycle insurance, RV insurance and Segway insurance. Policies are available for people who choose to shop for auto insurance online at progressive.com or by phone at 1-800-PROGRESSIVE 1-800-776-4737. You also can compare rates for other top companies when you shop for a Progressive auto policy. Progressive Insurance :: Progressive Mutual Insurance Company Abstract On March 10, 1937, Joseph Lewis and Jack Green started Progressive Mutual Insurance Company. They wanted to provide vehicle owners with security and protection and they thought an insurance company was a good investment for a couple of lawyers who were just getting started. Since its beginning, Progressive has taken an innovative approach to auto insurance. They offered drive-in claims service before any other auto insurance company and in another industry first, they allowed customers to pay their premiums in installments. An appealing option for those who could not afford annual payments. Progressive wanted and still wants to make auto insurance accessible and easy so more people could protect their vehicles. Progressive began in 1937, and over the years, they have worked hard to build a superior proposition for auto insurance consumers through competitive pricing and by continuously improving our products and services. Today, they offer competitive rates and 24-hour, in-person and online services to all drivers throughout the United States. Today, Progressive customers can purchase auto insurance directly from them online or by phone, or they can purchase from independent insurance agents. Headquartered in the Cleveland suburb of Mayfield Village, Ohio, Progressive has 28,000-plus employees in more than 450 offices throughout the country. Progressive people enjoy a casual dress code and a unique work environment where all are required to risk, learn, grow and perform. Progressive's larger locations house one of the country's largest, most eclectic contemporary art collections. Communicating a clear picture of Progressive by stating what they try to achieve, how they interact with custom ers, and what guides their behavior permits all people associated with Progressive to understand what they expect of each other and ourselves and how we conduct our business. Progressive has been in business since 1937 and currently is one of the largest auto insurance groups in the United States. They have more than 10 million policies in force and growth continues as more people choose us for their vehicle insurance needs. They sell insurance directly to customers online and by phone, and offer insurance through more than 30,000 local independent agents. In addition to auto insurance, Progressive offers the following types of insurance to customers throughout the country: boat/personal watercraft insurance, commercial auto insurance, homeowners insurance, motorcycle insurance, RV insurance and Segway insurance. Policies are available for people who choose to shop for auto insurance online at progressive.com or by phone at 1-800-PROGRESSIVE 1-800-776-4737. You also can compare rates for other top companies when you shop for a Progressive auto policy.