Autobiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Autobiography - Essay Example According to the Declaration of Independence, we can only pursue the happiness, we cannot attain it, and so we should consider happiness as the journey, not as a destination (Jefferson). This is the only way we can be happy, because we could enjoy it as a process. Life is like travelling through beautiful fields filled with greenery, but we are so worried about achieving material happiness and riches that we cannot dare to see around and praise the beauty of life. Same goes with this life, we keep on working for our future and keep on postponing our parties and vacations for more money. But at the end, we lose our energy and youth, therefore, rendered unable by our age and cannot be able to avail the happiness which life had to offer. The woman I mentioned in the previous paragraph is me. I spent a very painful life. When I was in the Navy, my male colleagues were always interested in taking advantage of me. But I kept dodging them over the span of my whole service tenure. Despite of the difficulties, I kept on moving forward and learnt how to deal with them eventually, by being reserved and indifferent to their issues all the time. In this way, I was able to keep them away. Finally, I got retired from the Forces after a long time. I returned home where I engaged myself into healthy activities of gardening and housekeeping. After some years from retirement, my son died and he left two children in my custody. Few days later, federal law enforcement officials came and took my grandchildren away from me. I got too frustrated. But I took a decision to take this matter to the court, where I successfully proved that I am in a good health and, therefore, able to take care of my children. Fortunately, court agreed and granted me the custody of the children. From that day on, I am proud of myself, because I was able to take a stand for my children. As I mentioned earlier, I had spent a very painful life; however, these grandchildren are rewards of those pains I suffered in my youth. I am happy seeing them grow, giggle and flourish in front of me. I really enjoy answering their innocent questions about life. I am training them to become strong-willed individuals. I let them take decisions by themselves, so that they learn to face the consequences of their decisions. In this way, they can build an experience about a real and nasty life which they have to face in very near future. Conclusion This paper highlights different facets of my life. My life gives a message of constant struggle in at least one part of everybody’s life, so that one can ripe their fruits later on. The hard work with persistence is a true way to success; an individual should follow his or her own way, because humans come in this world in their original form. They should depart from here in the same way. I stood up for my rights, fought for them and finally won against all the odds. I recommend courage, persistence and determination to all of those who are discouraged due to social pressures. All social systems are made by humans and we can change them. No system in this world is divine in nature, therefore, is subject to change. So, this paper recommends its readers to be original, moving, flexible, yet determined. Work Cited Jefferson, Thomas. Declaration of Independence. International Relations and Security Networks, 1945.

Particle agglutination test

Particle agglutination test The presence of an antigen or anti-bodies in a blood sample can be found out using either the Particle Agglutination Test (PAT) or by the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The PAT is performed using substances that will facilitate the process of agglutination. Agglutination is the clumping together of particles which forms non-dissolvable or what is called as insoluble aggregates. The common substances used in the PAT are latex particles, preserved blood cells from mammals or birds, colloidal particles, and gelatine beads. The different components used in the PAT are microscope slides or test cards and a solution that facilitates agglutination which is made up of molecules that are analyte-specific which is attached to a constituent part or particle. In a test using ELISA detects the presence of an antibody or antigen by affixing an undetermined amount of antigen to a test surface which in turn is washed by a specific antibody in order to attach it to the antigen. Because of this process the antibody becomes linked to an enzyme that will show a certain detectable signal after a substance is added to it during the final steps of the process. The signal emitted differs from what type of ELISA is used. For example a fluorescent ELISA a light of a correct wavelength that is shone on a sample will elicit a response from the antigen/antibody which will show incandescence. The antigens amount contained in the sample is then determined based on the intensity or magnitude of the samples incandescence. While the PAT relies on the clumping together of particles to show the presence of an antibody, the ELISA is a more complex test which can only be performed following very specific protocols or steps to perform. In ELISA an antigen with an undetermined amount is rendered immobile while place on a polystyrene microtiter plate or other substance that could provide a solid support and which does not interfere with the purity of the sample. The antigen is immobilized either by adsorption; the adhesion of molecules to a surface, or by capturing the particles of the antigen by another antibody that is particular to the same antigen. The process of adsorption is what is termed as non-specific immobilization while the capture of the antigen is what is termed as specific immobilization. After the immobilization of an antigen the next step is to add a detection antibody. The addition of this antibody results in the formation of a complex with the existing antigen. The detection antibody can either be linked directly to an enzyme, or it can be noticed by a secondary antibody that is connected to an enzyme by a process called bioconjugation this occurs when two biomolecules couple with each other in a chemical bonding wherein the two substances share pairs of electrons, or what is known as covalent bonding. In between each step of the process the plate used is washed in a solution of mild detergent so as to remove any antibodies or proteins that have not bonded specifically. After the plate undergoes its final wash it is then developed using an enzymatic substrate, which means the enzyme has a molecule which it acts on. This enzyme substrate when added will produce a noticeable signal indicating how much the quantity of an antigen is in a given sample. The PAT and ELISA are but two of the techniques used in laboratories in serology. Other techniques include gel diffusion tests, precipitation tests, agglutination tests to which PAT belongs, immunological tests with markers which ELISA is one of the tests, and lastly there is the immunosorbent electron microscopy. To further discuss the comparisons and contrasts of the ELISA and PAT let us discuss the general aspects of the two tests. As was mentioned above both ELISA and PAT are techniques used in serology to detect the presence of antibodies and antigens in a sample. However the two tests differ in the process or steps taken to obtain the same results. PAT is an agglutination test. This means that its primary method to determine the presence of antibodies is by inducing the clumping or joining together of molecules in the test sample by either by using substances that are inert which carry the antigens or antibodies, or by using polystyrene spheres infused with immunoglobulin molecules, or by observing the loss of activity of antigens or what is called as neutralization. What is observed by serologist when using PAT is the reaction called agglutination, which is a reaction that leads to the joining together or clumping of a specific antibody in a cell suspension as a reaction to a specific antigen. While in ELISA what is observed is not the reaction of an antibody to the antigen but the level of activity made by the substance or markers chemically bound together to the antigen and antibody which in turn indicates the antibody antigen reaction. The PAT test was one of the first serological methods that was developed and which helped pave the way for developing diagnostic techniques and countermeasures to diseases. One early agglutination test is the Widal agglutination. The Widal agglutination, which was named after Fernand Widal, aided in the diagnosis of typhoid fever by showing the presence of an antibody in a sample obtained from an infected patient, in reaction against the antigens of the Salmonella typhi. What the Widal test did was to increase the suspicion of infection because of the presence of agglutination caused by a rise in of antibodies during the period of infection. In the classic test for agglutination the process starts by placing a specimen in a microscope slide or a microtest plate well where the particles which act as carriers are added. This mixture is then stirred or disturbed and then it is given a few minutes to settle or is incubated. The results can be gleaned by observing agglutination as the carrier particles fuses or binds with the particular analytes contained in the sample. The results are seen visually by the naked eye or by using a microscope depending on the format of the test. Interpreting test results are relatively easy if the reactions are strong. But in cases where there is a weak or minor reactions interpretation is quite difficult and in most cases may depend upon the wealth of experience and practice one has. In microwell plate assays, the resulting patterns produced by the particles after it has settled need an educated interpretation before the result can be determined. The advantages of PAT are it is low cost, semi-quantitative tests results can be obtained, and test results are obtained in a relatively short span of time. The disadvantages are there is a need to be very careful in the interpretation of marginal results. There is also the disadvantage related to problems that may arise in relation to specificity because substances that may interfere in many assays. Unlike PAT, ELISA is a more reliable method which uses biochemicals to measure how much of a given substance in a biological liquid such as serum or urine mixes with another substance. This is done by means of the reaction that an antibody or antibodies has to its antigen which is a molecule that is identified by the immune system. The antigen always specifically binds itself to an antibody at the molecular level. Since ELISA can be used to test and identify the presence of an antigen or of an antibody in a sample, this method is a very useful tool to determine concentrations of serum antibodies such as when testing HIV and other viral diseases. ELISA is also helpful in determining potential allergens in food such as milk, eggs and nuts. ELISA is also used in toxicology as a presumptive screen that is used for particular classes of drugs. Since lab technicians, serologists, and other medical personnel conducting the PAT and ELISA tests are exposed to samples that might contain viral or bacterial strains, the need to ensure safety and also the purity of the samples through a high standard of quality necessitates developing certain protocols for laboratory work. Different hospitals and government departments dealing with lab samples have already developed their own manual or standards that must be observed while working with lab samples to ensure safety. The manual issued by the Industrial Accident Prevention Association identifies potential hazards inside the lab brought about by chemical and biological agents, physical agents, the equipment and apparatus, and doing work that results in non-ergonomic movement and postures. The manual also discusses the ways by which to control or lessen the danger posed by these hazards and what are the steps that should be taken to have a safe lab environment. The Mount Sinai Hospitals Microbiology Department also has its own guidelines and policies which specifically deal with laboratory safety. The manual discusses the safety policy of the hospital and what are the protocols to be observed. These protocols include dealing with visitors to the lab, what constitutes good lab practice, how to ensure biological safety, chemical safety, physical hazards, specimen hazards, and what control, emergency, and preventive measures should be followed to realize laboratory safety. These and other similar measures contained in other manuals may vary from lab to lab, but the essence remains the same; that is to promote safety and institute standards of work that ensures an accident and hazard free lab environment. REFERENCES: Adler M., Schulz S., and Spengler M., (n.d.). Cytokine Quantification in Drug Development: A comparison of sensitive immunoassay platforms. A case study conducted for Chimera-Biotech. Retrieved on March 29, 2010 from the World Wide Web: chimera-biotec.com/data/pdf/Cytokine_Quant_Comp_Final.pdf True K., (2004). Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) for Detection of Renibacterium salmoninarum Antigen in Fish Tissue. (June 2004). NWFHS Laboratory Procedures Manual Second Edition. Chap.6 pp. 1-33. Retrieved on March 29, 2010 from the World Wide Web: www.fws.gov/canvfhc/WFSM/CHP6.pdf (N.d.). TECHNIQUES IN PLANT VIROLOGY CIP Training Manual 2.3 DETECTION/Serology. Retrieved on March 29, 2010 from the World Wide Web: www.cipotato.org/csd/materials/PVTechs/Fasc2.2.3(99).pdf Katti M., (1999). Ideal Carrier Particles for Agglutination Tests. (June 1999). JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY, Vol. 37, No. 6, p. 2120, 0095-1137/99/$04.0010. Retrieved on March 29, 2010 from the World Wide Web: jcm.asm.org/cgi/reprint/37/6/2120.pdf (2008). Laboratory Safety. Published by the Industrial Accident Prevention Association. Retrieved on March 29, 2010 from the World Wide Web: www.iapa.ca/pdf/labsafe.pdf

Truman Scholarship Candidate :: essays research papers

The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") has proven unsuccessful in its goal of empowering people with disabilities to enter the workforce. Although 19.4% of the population have some disability,1 they constitute only 4.3% of the workforce.2 The group's unemployment rate stands at almost 17%, nearly three times the national average.3 A survey for the National Organization on Disabilities found that current levels of employment of people with disabilities between the ages of 16 and 64 have actually dropped two percentage points since 1986, four years before the civil rights legislation was passed.4 The Social Security Administration has additionally reported a decline since 1990 in the percentage of disabled Americans who are working while receiving Supplemental Security Income ("SSI").5 Several factors account for these high levels of unemployment. Health insurance is perhaps the most significant. Disabled people receiving SSI or Social Security Disability Income ("SSDI") lose their federal health insurance if they earn more than $500 per month in income for nine months, a powerful incentive not to work.6 In turn, employers are wary of hiring people with disabilities for fear of driving up insurance premiums for their businesses. Secondly, a further disincentive to work exists in wages, where recipients of SSI or SSDI often earn more by not working. This is particularly true among the severely disabled, where most work available will pay only slightly more than minimum wage.7 Thirdly, ADA has yet to be properly enforced. Eight federal agencies are currently involved in the investigation of varied complaints,8 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") lags ten months in its investigations of complaints.9 A visually impaired job hunter wrote in the New York Times that when he tried to file a complaint with EEOC, "I was told that my complaint would be kept on record and if a number of such complaints for the same employer accumulated, 'action would be taken.’"10 An additional factor in the high levels of unemployment among people with disabilities is business's lack of knowledge about ADA and the cost of meeting its provisions. Most disabled workers do not need any special accommodations,11 and only 22% of accommodations cost more than $1000. Sixty-seven percent of accommodations cost $500 or less.12 Furthermore, making new construction fully accessible increases costs by no more than one percent.13 Finally, employer prejudice and stereotypes about the disabled affect their employment. Myths persist that those with disabilities have lower attendance rates and safety records and are less capable of performing their jobs than their nondisabled counterparts, although studies have shown that disabled employees achieve similar levels of excellence in each of these categories.

Avon’s Dividend Policy Essay

A firm’s decisions about dividends are often mixed up with other financing and investment decisions. Some firms pay low dividends because management is optimistic about the firm’s future and wishes to retain earnings for expansion. Other firms might finance capital expenditures largely by borrowing. All the above are examples of dividend policies which can be defined more precisely as the trade-off between retaining earnings on the one hand and paying out cash and issuing new shares on the other. In order to understand the dividend policy we must understand that this phrase means different things to different people (R.A. Brealey & S.C. Myers, 2003). Avon Products, Inc. announced both a change in its business focus and a reduction of its dividend in June 1988. To offset the likely stock price effect of the dividend reduction, Avon announced at the same time an unusual exchange offer under which it would take up to 25% of its common stock. The case traces the history of Avon from 1979-88. We will evaluate Avon’s efforts at diversification in the early 1980s, and will relate that effort to the company’s dividend history. Moreover we will evaluate Avon’s operating and financial strategies from 1979 to 1988 and the company’s financial condition in mid-1988. PERFORMANCE OF AVON’S STOCK FROM 1978-1988Based on Exhibit 4, Avon’s stock price has declined from $50.75 in 1978 to $24.125 in 1988 (decline equal to 52.5%). At the same time, S&P 500 has increased from $96.11 in 1978 to $266.69 in 1988 (increase equal to 177.5%). This rather poor performance of Avon stock contradicts with the performance of the overall market. Moreover, based on Exhibit 1, ROE decreased from 31% in 1978 to 21% in 1988. This is due to the following factors: Avon in the early 1980 made the major strategic decision to diversify its business by entering the health care field. In order to support its diversification strategy it invested heavily in subsequent acquisitions of Health care companies. It acquired Mallinkdroft in 1982, Foster Medical in 1984, Retirement Inns in 1985 and  Mediplex in 1986. Even though its health care division showed increasing net sales from 1982 till 1984, the situation changed during 1985, with a sudden drop of more than 50% in net sales. The inability of the health care sector to grow at attractive rates worsened in the years to come (largely because of the change in Medicare in 1986) and proved that it was a strategic mistake to go for diversification. Not only did not the market appreciate this decision, but also the firm found itself highly leveraged with a long term dept of $816.4 million in 1987, because of subsequent acquisitions. The heavy borrowing of the Avon obliged it to announce a dividend cut from $3.00 to $2.50 in 1982, and to $2.00 from 1983 till 1987. This dividend cutting policy, which was already expected and negatively perceived by the market from the early 1981 severely influenced Avon stock price (a decline in the share price from $30 to $20.375 immediately after the announcement of the following dividend policy) and contributed largely to its poor performance. This poor performance was also partly due to the disappointing financial results of the Beauty care sector from 1982 till 1985 (Exhibit 2). It was only in 1986 that the Beauty care sector showed again positive signs of improving prospects. The wrong commitment of Avon to its Health care sector together with the demographic shifts of the 1980’s, that decreased both its sales force and customer base are the main reasons for the Beauty Care sector’s disappointing results. EVALUATION OF AVON’ S FINANCIAL CONDITION IN MID-1988Avon in mid-1988 divested its healthcare business and acquired fragrance companies. In that way, Avon has demonstrated renewed commitment to beauty business and continued investment in that business. While its long term debt was only $4.1million in 1979 and its net earnings amounted to $250.7 million, Avon found itself heavily burdened with total long term debt of $816.4 million in 1988 decreasing net earnings of $159 million and just before divesting two of its health care businesses probably at considerable book losses. The decision of the company to finance its acquisitions with debt, starting from 1982, resulted to high interest expense payments every year (Exhibit 1). These high interest expense payments, combined with the decreasing net earnings made it very difficult for Avon to meet successfully its generous dividend payment policy. So the company had to reduce its yearly dividend  payments starting from 1982 and onwards. Under its financial condition in 1988 Avon has no other choice but to go for further reductions in dividends. That way the company will be able to meet its heavy debt obligations and at the same time finance the â€Å"come back† to its core beauty products business. PURPOSE OF THE EXCHANGE OFFERThe purpose of the exchange offer was to avoid having a dividend reduction drive down the stock price and find the â€Å"golden mean† between its own interests and the interests of its 25 large Institutional shareholders. Those shareholders owned 46.5 % of total Avon’s outstanding shares (Exhibit 5) and expected high dividends from them. Some investors, as it is mentioned in the case, have stated that they held Avon stock because it paid high dividends. Hence, a reduction of dividends would most likely have caused investors to sell their stocks and evoke share price delay. Therefore, Morgan Stanley, the financial adviser of Avon offered to exchange one share of a new $2.00 PERCS for each of up to $18 million of Avon’s 7.17 million outstanding common shares. PERCS are mandatory convertibles that work as equity-linked hybrid securities and automatically convert to common stock on a pre-specified date (Yan, A. et al, 2003). The PERCS assured the same dividends ($2.00 a year) until September 1991. The company would also have an option of redeeming the preferred shares for either cash or common shares after that date. In addition, the exchange offer was made in order to support the following four key elements that Avon should have taken into consideration (Ross, S.A., et al 2008):†¢Select Additional capital budgeting projects. Through the capital savings Avon will be able to finance additional projects with positive NPV. †¢Available funds for further acquisitions. To avoid the payment of dividends Avon might use excess cash to acquire another company. With this method the company will be able to support more efficiently its turnaround strategy towards the beauty business. †¢Repurchase shares. Avon will be able to support its market price which has reached the lowest level of approximately $24 by repurchasing shares. At the same time shareholders benefit from the fact that when selling shares they pay lower taxes than when they receive dividends. †¢Personal taxes. Money earned from dividends is considered as personal income so it is taxed. EVALUATION OF THE TRADE-OFFEach decision to go for either the new preferred stock or to keep the common stock has pros and cons. The new PERCS should be appealing to the majority of its institutional investors, since they guarantee to them a stable and relatively high enough quarterly dividend of 50 cents, which is always paid before any other common dividend payment. In this way its large institutional investors can feel certain that they will have a secured return on their investment, without incurring any transaction costs when selling off shares for current consumption. The holders of the new PERCS can also share the benefits of a stock price increase up to $31.5 but also the losses in case of a stock price drop. The great opportunity that the holders of the new PERCS are loosing is in case Avon stock price goes beyond $31.5. Its stock is currently undervalued to approximately $24 and there is a high probability that within the predetermined 3 years its stock price will increase beyond the price of $31.5, as Avon is undergoing a restructuring towards its core beauty care business and the market is expected to react positively to that news. If that will be the case, then they will loose any excess gains incurred beyond the $31.5 stock price. Being a common shareholder, an institutional investor experiences losses in revenues because of the dividend reduction. What is extremely important though is that this implies a policy of retaining earnings to help finance the business, which is currently being restructured. So having a long term perspective an institutional investor can select common stocks and bet on a stock price increase far beyond $31.5. If that will be the case then he will certainly outperform any losses he has experienced so far because of the dividend reduction. In addition, based on Exhibit 5 we can distinguish four types of institutional investors depending on their preferences:†¢Yield. In this case the institutional investors have as a primary objective, the amount of dividends they will receive divided by the purchase price. This is not an accurate measure of total return, since it does not factor in capital gains. (http://www.investorwords.com/5362/yield.html)†¢Turnaround. A speculator may profit from a turnaround if he or she accurately anticipates the improvement of a poorly performing company. (http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/turnaround)†¢Mixed. An investor with a combination of yield and turnaround incentives. †¢Index. Investors trading index options are essentially betting on the overall movement of the stock market as represented by a basket of stocks. These investors are considered to care a lot about acquiring stocks that help them diversify the risk of their overall portfolio (http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Index+Option). Concluding we assume that according to investors’ preferences we would have a different selection. The yield investor will probably prefer the PERCS, the turnaround investor would keep its common stocks, the mixed would consider both options and finally the index investor will first look at its entire portfolio and decide to keep the stock or not irrespective of the benefits that PERCS or common stock offer as he mainly cares for risk diversification. REFERENCES †¢Ross, S.A., Westerfield, R.W., Jaffe, J., Jordan, B.D. â€Å"Modern Financial Management†. McGraw-Hill, Eighth Edition, (2008)†¢R.A. Brealey and S.C. Myers, â€Å"Principles of Corporate Finance†, McGraw-Hill, Seventh Edition, (2003). †¢Yan, A., Nandy, D., and Chemmanur, T. â€Å"Why issue mandatory convertibles? Theory and empirical evidence, February (2003) Retrieved on 18.3.2008 (http://ideas.repec.org/p/ecm/nawm04/456.html)†¢http://www.investorwords.com/5362/yield.html. 18/3/2008. †¢http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/turnaround 18/3/2008. †¢http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Index+Option 18/3/2008.

Analysis of Anselm’s Ontological Argument Essay

This premise does not state that God’s strengths as this argument is to prove his existence, not whether or not God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-good. The second premise means this greatest possible being is either an imaginary being that one has thought of or, a being that we not only is not only thought of but also exists. The third premise and its sub premises states because existing in reality is greater than existing in thought, then the God we have thought of exists in reality or there must be a greater, or more perfect, being that does exist and that being is God. This leads to the conclusion, if you accept the premises then you accept the existence of the greatest being possible, God. This concept of God’s existence is also led with the idea that God is a necessary being, a being that is not dependent of something greater in order to exist. If God relied on another being, like how a children rely on parents to conceive them, then this being called God is not God because it would be imperfect. Therefore, there must be another to call God that meets all the requirements for perfection. One of the first popular objections was created by Gaunilo of Marmoutiers. The premise and conclusion to Gaunilo’s argument is identical to Anselm’s argument except with the replacement of the word â€Å"God† with â€Å"the Lost island† and the word â€Å"being† with â€Å"island†. As simple as that, though Gaunilo’s argument is completely absurd, Gaunilo’s reductio ad absurdum also proves to be as deductively valid as Anselm’s argument. However, this â€Å"Lost Island† could in no way exist. The absurdity and validity of â€Å"the lost island† quickly brought up questions as to how Anselm’s Argument cannot be absurd. Anselm’s argument was not proven invalid until Immanuel Kant, a german philosopher during the 18th century, proposed an objection that would be the decisive blow to the Ontological argument (Immanuel Kant. Wiki). Kant’s objection is how existence is not a predicate (Mike, screen 25). A predicate is used to describe something the subject (this being God in Anselm’s Argument) is doing. In Aselm’s Argument, Anselm premise rely on that being conceived and existing in reality is something that describes God. This rationality does not follow because to exist or conceive does not describe the subject, it only tells us whether it exist or not. Much like how fictional characters do not exist, describing cartoon for example would tell us details of what this cartoon looks like, what its habits are and common antics it goes through, but not whether it exists or not. The question of existence must fall in a separate argument that does not define the character. As there are Arguments to prove God, there are debatable arguments to disprove the God. The First version of â€Å"The Argument from Evil† goes as follow: 1. If God were to exist, then that being would be all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-good. 2. If an all-PKG existed, then there would be no evil. . There is evil. [Conclusion] Hence, there is no God (Sober, 109) The first premise is the definition of what God would be if he were to exist. That is a being that has the power to do anything, had knowledge of everything throughout the span of time and is in all ways good. The second premise is created with the first premise in mind. To expand on the second premise i t states, if God were all-powerful he could stop any form of evil from happening, if he is all knowing then he has knowledge of when evil will occur and if he is all-good then God would stop all evil from happening. If god cannot stop all evil from happening then the definition of God must be incorrect. He then must not be powerful enough to stop all evil, and/or he doesn’t know when evil until it has already occurred and/or good is not all good in that God does not wish to stop all evils. The third premise is stating the fact that there is evil in the world. The conclusion derived since that there is evil, then is what may be defined as God must be lacking in one or two of his qualities and therefore God, by definition, does not exist at all. In order for God to be compatible with evil, God must only allow the evils that would, in turn, lead to a greater amount of good and must take the route that leads to the least amount of evil to gain the greatest amount of good. The soul building defense was created in mind that evil and God co-exist in our world. The defense is that without any evil in the world, our souls would not nurture, or, understand the concept of evil. This defense does not hold true because there has been many evils in the world that seem unacceptable, even though it may have been for the purpose of soul building. God, and all-good being, would then only allow the evils that are essential in soul-building. This would only mean that evil that man commits against man. The reason for this is because anything that happens in nature exceeds soul-building essentials. Another defense is God having given us free will, humans ultimately are the causes of this evil. That is true but the common objection to this is that human do more than enough evil to ourselves, it is going too far to have God throw tornados, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes at us too. At what point do human have such control over nature. The last defense is that God simply works in mysterious ways. Who can explain why natural events take so many lives and injure many others or why some children have to go through great deals of suffering and live through it? It is God’s way and ultimately, no matter how incomprehensible the evil is, it is for the greater good. Certainly the question to God’s existence has been pondered upon by philosophers for over a very long period of time with no progress as whether God exists or not. The ontological argument created by Anselm withstood a great deal of criticism until it was disproved by Kant over 600 years after the fact.

The Impact of Trucker Driver Wellness Programs

The Impact of Trucker Driver Wellness Programs The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recently interviewed nearly 1,700 truckers about their health and work- and the results were shocking. 69% were obese. 54% smoked. And 88% reported at least one risk factor for chronic disease. Improving trucker wellness is a no-brainer for any long-haul fleet; it can help prevent high turnover rates, but also helps retain the most talented employees without having to lose them to disease or poor health.It’s never been easy to stay fit or healthy on the long-haul, but it’s no longer possible to ignore the impact on truckers’ health. Melton Truck Lines in Tulsa, OK, first rolled out an intervention program aimed at helping drivers who might be close to failing their physicals to lower their blood pressure and glucose levels. They hired a wellness manager, implemented a weight loss and voluntary lipid-panel testing program to guard against creeping cholesterol levels, and converted an employee smoking lounge into a gym. Melton’s Tulsa headquarters also added a landscaped walking and jogging trail, a fresh and healthy cafà ©, and a clinic providing no-cost primary medical care to employees.Getting drivers to participate in their own health is the cornerstone of the program. Melton even offers a â€Å"Health Concierge† service that helps employees sort through their health care costs and needs. There are various incentives and motivational programs, an online community, and even an app to keep employees motivated.While it’s hard to measure the success of these new initiatives on turnover rates, more drivers are passing their DOT physicals. And the number of employees who identified as having three medical risk factors dropped from 51% to 38% within one year. The number of employees reporting zero risk factors went up from 13% to 17% in that same year.Other companies have followed suit. Celadon Trucking launched their â€Å"Highway to Health† program in 2006, with similar screenings and incentives, as well as nutritional and exercise programs, and a full-service primary care medical clinic in their Indianapolis headquarters (as of 2011). And Schneider also has a Health and Wellness Manager to oversee their programs and focus on keeping individual truckers as healthy and productive as possible, which makes them safer on the road.We can only hope these trends begin to spread throughout the industry and become standard practice- for the benefit of everyone involved.The Impact of Truck Driver Wellness Programs

3 Cases of Incomplete Parallel Structure

3 Cases of Incomplete Parallel Structure 3 Cases of Incomplete Parallel Structure 3 Cases of Incomplete Parallel Structure By Mark Nichol In each of the sentences below, an action or result is described in comparison or contrast to another, but the phrasing that expresses the parallel between the two phenomena is faulty. Discussion after each example explains the problem, and revisions illustrate solutions. 1. The statue was vandalized in a similar fashion as another statue in Monterey last year. The middle portion of this sentence presents a flawed comparison- â€Å"similar . . . as† is not valid phrasing; to repair the damage, relocate fashion so that it precedes similar and proceed to thoroughly express the comparison: â€Å"The statue was vandalized in a fashion similar to that of another act of vandalization in Monterey last year.† (Alternatively, rephrase as follows: â€Å"The damage was similar to that which occurred in another act of vandalization in Monterey last year.†) 2. U.S. federal regulators are increasingly issuing and enforcing rules in ways that differ from other countries. Here, issuance and enforcement of rules in one nation is compared to other nations themselves rather than to these processes as they occur in other nations; the statement should be reworded to indicate this additional layer of detail: â€Å"U.S. federal regulators are increasingly issuing and enforcing rules in ways that differ from approaches in other countries.† 3. Referring to the United States, his country’s treaty ally but which has criticized his deadly drug crackdown, he elaborated on his comments. In this sentence, the phrase â€Å"one that† better corresponds with the phrase that precedes but than the pronoun which: â€Å"Referring to the United States, his country’s treaty ally but one that has criticized his deadly drug crackdown, he elaborated on his comments.† For a more closely parallel counterpoint, retain which but apply it to the corresponding phrase as well: â€Å"Referring to the United States, which is his country’s treaty ally but which has criticized his deadly drug crackdown, he elaborated on his comments.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Inquire vs Enquire50 Idioms About Roads and PathsHow Do You Fare?