Tiles Competitor Analysis - 955 Words

Competitor’s Analysis The following materials are widely and commonly used as flooring and furnishing supplies. These products are considered as direct competitors of Bamboo Tiles. Wood – Solid wood or engineered planks. Advantages | Disadvantages | * Beautiful, warm and soft on the feet * Fairly durable * Long lasting of properly sealed and maintained * many wood types and hues to choose from | * Susceptible to water damage * darkens with age * price range: expensive to very expensive | Pros – Beautiful, warm, soft on the feet, fairly durable, long-lasting if properly sealed and maintained, can be refinished, many wood types and hues to choose from, can be painted or stained for more color options, helps†¦show more content†¦Cons – Cannot be refinished if damaged. Some can be expensive – as much as wood. Tip - Material must acclimate for 48 hours before installation. Vinyl Flooring Advantages | Disadvantages | * Inexpensive * durable, * easy on the feet * water and stain resistant * low maintenance | * Prone to dents and tears. * Moisture can get into seams leading to mildew and lifting. * Glossy finishes are slippery when wetcan dull easily unless waxed regularly. | Pros – Inexpensive, durable, easy on the feet, quiet, water and stain resistant, and low maintenance. Its easy to install – especially tiles. 12 foot wide sheets means seamless floors in small rooms. You can create patterns with tiles. Cons – Prone to dents and tears. Moisture can get into seams leading to mildew and lifting. and can dull easily unless waxed regularly. Carpet Advantages | Disadvantages | * Warm * easy on the feet * lots of colors and styles to choose from * slip-resistant * Price range: Affordable | * Appropriate only more dry climates * Collects dirt and moisture – which can turn into mildew * not a good choice for people with dust allergies * Its hard to clean | Pros – Warm, easy on the feet, quiet, lots of colors and styles to choose from,Show MoreRelatedClassic Ceramic - Swot Analysis Essay example931 Words   |  4 PagesQuestion: Carry out a SWOT analysis on behalf of the company. Consider the current situation in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of Classic Ceramics, together with the major threats to the business and the opportunities that exist to develop their current product lines or exploit new business opportunities. You should summarize the conclusions arising out of the SWOT analysis in no more than 250 words to ensure that you focus upon the key issues. 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FIGURE 2 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS Market Summary (in German currency) for the year ending 2014 (mDKK) 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 Consolidated Income Statement: Revenue- 28,578 25,294 23,095 18,731 16,014 Expenses- 18Read MoreEssay on Universal Carpets3871 Words   |  16 Pages   MKTG251-14B - Marketing Strategy Group Case Analysis Report - Universal Carpets          Ngahuia  Britton ­Bruce Anita  Burton Martin  Law Nicola  Vincent       Word  count:            1167742   1023587   1224272   1207403   Executive  Summary      The  contents  of  this  report  include  four  fully  descriptive  profiles  of  the  potential  candidate   market  segments  in  the  New  Zealand  carpet  market.  Each  has  been  researched  and   assessed  to  determine  the  relative  attractiveness  to  Universal  Carpets  New  Zealand  Ltd   (UCNZ)

Economic Value Added Free Essays

EVA is a way of measuring a firm’s profitability. EVA is NOPAT minus a charge for all capital invested in the business (Byrne 1). A more intuitive way to think of EVA is as the difference between a firms NOPAT and its total cost of capital (Kramer Pushner 40). We will write a custom essay sample on Economic Value Added or any similar topic only for you Order Now Stern Staurt’s numerical definition of EVA is calculated for any year by multiplying a firm’s economic book value of capital  © at the beginning of the year by the spread between its return on capital  ® and its cost of capital (K): EVA=(Rt-Kt)*Ct-1 (Kramer Pushner 41). EVA is a notion of residual income (Ehrbar Xi). Investors demand a rate of return proportional to the amount of risk incurred. Operating profits determine residual income by plotting them against the required rate of return, a product of both debt and equity. EVA takes into account all capital invested. Peter Druker says in his Harvard Business Review article, â€Å"EVA is based on something we have known for a long time: What we call profits, the money left to service equity, is not profit at all. Until a business returns a profit that is greater than its cost of capital, it operates at a loss. Never mind that it pays taxes if it had a genuine profit. The enterprise still returns less to the economy than it devours in resources†¦. Until then it does not create wealth but destroys it† (Ehrbar 2). EVA is a measure of wealth creation or destruction after all costs are capitalized. Companies use EVA as a measure of corporate performance, as an incentive system and as a link between shareholder and management/employee goals. Stock price indicates investor’s certainty concerning current and future earnings potential. EVA is a static measure of corporate performance; MVA is a dynamic, forward looking market performance measure. MVA is a market generated number calculated by subtracting the Capital invested in a firm  © from the sum (V) of the total market value of the firm’s equity and book value of debt: MVA=Vt-Ct† (Kramer Pushner 42). Al Ehrbar describes MVA as exactly equivalent to the stock market’s estimate of the NPV of a company. In 1998 CSX Corperation introduced EVA criteria to the fast growing but low margin CSX Intermodal business, where trains deliver freight to waiting trucks or cargo ships. Large amounts of capital are required to power a mammoth fleet of locomotive, containers and railcars. Figuring in capital costs, CSX Intermodal lost $70 million in 1988. â€Å"The CEO issued an ultimatum, et EVA up or be sold† (Fortune, 39). CSX Intermodal freight volume increased by 25%, yet they dramatically reduced their capital cost by reducing the number of container and trailers by 22%, reducing their locomotive fleet by 33%, and reducing fuel costs. EVA in 1992 was $10 million dollars, and was expected to triple the following year. Wall Street responded: CSX stock price rose from $28 before EVA to a 1993 price of $75. CSX concluded that investors care more about their net cash return on capital than accounting figures such as EPS, ROE and ROA. Companies that adopt EVA as a performance measure found tie-in compensation plans very useful in aligning management behavior and shareholder needs. Typical plans consist of two familiar parts, a bonus and stock incentives, applied in new ways (Fortune 50). Bonus targets are established by a percent increase in EVA and recalculated each year by averaging the prior year’s goal and the prior year’s result. Bonus have no limits, but the manager incurs operating risk because some of the bonus is put in a â€Å"bank,† say, for five years. If over the next five years management performs poorly, and EVA drops, the â€Å"bank† account is depleted. Management incurs the risks and benefits just as owners do. Joel Stern notes that in cases without an EVA incentive plan, employees suffer from a common problem. On average their fixed pay, salaries and pension, are too high, and their variable pay, profit sharing and share options, are to low (Ehbar XIX). Stern adds that size, not value, drives employees in typical incentive programs because size is positively correlated with increases in fixed pay and closely thereafter, variable pay, even if it destroys shareholder wealth. EVA protects shareholder interests by depositing variable pay into a deferred account that can be lost if value is eroded. EVA, as a corporate measure and a predictive tool, generates mixed reviews in the business and academic worlds. ATT’s Jim Meen says, â€Å"The correlation between MVA and EVA is very high. So when your driving your business toward EVA, your really driving the correlation with market value† (Kramer Pushner, 43). Stern Stewart finds an R squared value of 60% based on 20 groupings of firms (Kramer Pushner, 41). Contenders site statistical evidence to the contrary. BCG-Holt calculates an R square, after removing 21 outliers, of 27%. Dodd and Chen report that EVA accounts for only 20. 2% of the variation in stock returns for a sample of 500 companies, while ROA explains 24. 5% of market returns (Kramer Pushner, 43). In their paper â€Å"An Empirical Analysis of Economic Value Added as a Proxy for Market Value Added,† Kramer and Pushner test the hypothesis that EVA is highly correlated with MVA. Simple regression analysis is used to test this hypothesis and other market determinants of market value such as NOPAT. First Kramer and Pushner test the relationship between the level of MVA and the level of EVA using the SS1000. In all cases the level of MVA positively relates to both NOPAT and EVA in the same and prior periods. However, in all cases, NOPAT explains more of the total variation in MVA than EVA† (O’Byrne Stewart 44). This suggests that the level of NOPAT is not only a better proxy but also a better predictor of corporate performance than the level of EVA. Results for weighted least squares, change in MVA and variations are described graphically in appendix 1. Kramer and Pushner conclude that there is no clear evidence that EVA is the best measure of corporate success in adding value to shareholder investments (Kramer and Pushner, 47). Stephen F. O’Byrne and Stern Stewart and Co. tested a similar hypothesis. Their objective is to show that EVA provides a theoretical and practical measure of operating performance. O’Byrne and Stewart substantiate the explanatory power of EVA relative to earnings because, unlike previous studies, they recognize two important characteristics: Multiples of positive EVA are significantly higher than multiples of negative EVA, which implies that companies with negative EVAs have values that are higher than what would be expected if the market valued EVA at the same multiple. Multiples of capital tend to decline with company size, which suggest that the market assigns higher multiples to a given level of EVA for smaller companies. Stewart, 117). O’Byrne and Stewart suggest at first glance that earnings and EVA have about the same level of success in explaining market value. The variance explained ranges around 32%. Taking into account the two characteristics listed above, the explanatory power of their model increases to 42%. Five-year changes in EVA explain 55% of the variation in market value, and ten-year changes in EVA explain 74% of the variation in ten-year changes. The NOPAT model has 15%-20% less explanatory power. The results of O’Byrne and Stewart research appear in appendix 2. They conclude that because EVA is systematically linked to market value, it proves to be a better predictor of market value than other performance measures. Proponents of EVA also argue that GAAP standards distort true economic reality, produce unreliable corporate standards and serve as an unproductive compensation system. Harvard business school professor Baruch Lev states that; â€Å"Overall, the fragile association between accounting data and capital market’s values suggest that usefulness of financial reports is rather limited† (Ehrbar, 161). Some differences in GAAP and economic reality stem from a bias toward conservative estimates, compounded by SEC requirements driving conservative financial policies. The principal divergence is GAAP’s treatment of equity. The cost of equity should be capitalized. The cost of borrowed capital shows up in a companies interest expense. â€Å"But the cost of equity capital, which the shareholders have contributed, typically appears nowhere in any financial statement-and equity is extraordinarily expensive† (Fortune, 38). Ehrbar contends that GAAP distorts economic reality in areas such as RD, strategic management, expense recognition, depreciation, restructuring charges, taxes and balance sheet adjustments (64). RD under GAAP standards require Corporations to immediately expense RD in the period in which they occur, where as managers and investors see RD as an investment. GAAP’s treatment of RD reduces book value by writing down the asset to $0; EVA would capitalize RD and amortize it over a period of time. Lastly, GAAP incentives can be ineffective motivators. For example, a retiring officer’s pension plan is linked to earnings. During their last year they might skimp on RD to boost earnings because their pension plan is tied to performance. Operating earnings often serve as the benchmark for management compensation. Management has the incentive to negotiate a target that is easy to beat. Managers aim low, insuring their bonus. Trade loading is a second example of how GAAP can affect management decisions concerning bonuses and owner interests. EVA as a measure of financial performance is positively related MVA, but depending on the methodology, the result vary. Kramer and Pushner used simple univariate regressions to compare EVA with other measures explaining EVA. Their results were mixed, NOPAT’s explanatory power in Ordinary Least Squares Regressions outperformed EVA by 9%, however when weighted, EVA’s explanatory power was higher overall and surpassed NOPAT by 6%. Kramer and Pushner note that the market focuses on profits rather than EVA. Investors rely on earnings estimates that are consistently calculated within the industry. This is not the case for FCF or EVA. Lastly, Kramer and Pushner observe, â€Å"investors certainly need to be aware of capital structure, they should already by familiar with the opportunity cost of their investment and may not need to incorporate this into the measure of performance† (Kramer and Pushner 47). Investors may be familiar with the opportunity cost of their investments, although EVA analysis can illuminate problems, such as those created by GAAP accounting, that may not be recognized otherwise. Stephen O’Byrne and Stern Stewarts calculation required the recognition of two important characteristics that drastically changed the explanatory power of EVA. They note that simple a simple regression model, similar to the one used by Kramer and Pushner, depresses the predictive power of EVA and inflates the predictive power of earnings (Stewart 120). EVA with industry coefficients explains and impressive â€Å"56% of the variation in actual market/capital ratios† (Stewart 121). It also produces notable results for changes in EVA and market value over time. Far better results than NOPAT. My results using a simple linear regression model parallels Kramer and Pushner’s results. EVA in 1997 has the highest R square factor, at 33%, but is far from the results calculated by Stewart. EVA’s R squared increased dramatically since 1992. This is consistent with the economic trend of the 90’s, so the increase may not necessarily reflect an increase in EVA due to internal factors, but an external factor, such as the greatest economic expansion in recorded history. All four factors consistently increase from 1992 to 1997. EVA could be a valuable tool if it is tailored to the company and industry. This requires an understanding and adjustment for different EVA multiples for positive and negative EVA and different capital multiples for different size companies. This requires complex calculations, a regularly cited problem. However, in this context EVA lives up to its reputation as a great measure of corporate performance. Other functions, such as aligning employee and shareholder goals, the basis for an incentive system and a more realistic picture of economic reality, makes EVA more attractive. I would recommend using Stern Stewart model to calculate EVA. How to cite Economic Value Added, Essay examples

Equal Exchange Trading Fairly and Making A Profit †Free Sample Assig

Questions: 1. Explain the competitive pressures facing the fair trade food and beverage products industry. What does a five-forces analysis reveal about the nature and strength of the competitive pressures facing Equal Exchange? Which of the five forces is the strongest? Why? Which of the five forces is weakest? Why? 2. What is your ASSESSMENT of Equal Exchanges financial performance and condition? Is the company in good financial shape? Why or why not? 3. What specific actions would you recommend to Equal Exchanges executive directors, workerowners, and board of directors concerning the companys future direction? Answers: 1. In case of fair trade food and beverage product industry, the companies provide wide range of green, organic and wholesome food products. Though there exist free trade policies, the small firms face a huge competition from the large suppliers of food and beverage product industries. The five forces are- a. Rivalry among the competing sellers: - There are great rivalries among the competing sellers and there are bigger numbers of companies, which are involved in the industry. b. New entrants:- There is strong brand recognition and the customer loyalty, which is build by the industry incumbents. The existence of the little restrictive government policies and effective distribution channel encourage the new entrants the market. c. Substitutes: - The large number of available substitutes that are available in the U.S. market at reasonable prices, which create the new preferences for the customers. d. Buyers:- There is rising awareness for the free trade policies among the buyers and the buyers have the bargaining policy. e. Suppliers: - As, the fair trade companies are the best customers of farmers, the bargaining power of small suppliers is not strong. Therefore, they face high level of competition. Among them the competition and the exploitation of the farmers is the most strongest among the progress, as in U.S. market despite of free trade policy, there is exploitation of the small farmers by the large farmers. However, among them the weakest is the buyers i.e. the lack of awareness among the buyers about the products ('Envirogen Moves Into North American Food And Beverage Processor Market' 2015). 2. In this case, the equal exchange has done a good job to nullify the external threats and has prepared well for capturing the opportunities with fair trade and workers co-operative model. As in seen in the table- 4.1, according to the equal exchanges income statement 2006-2010, it can be seen that the total cost has declined from 2006 to 2008, whereas the total revenue has increased from 2006-2008(Lovett, Eckes and Brinkman 2015). 3. The following actions may be recommended:- The industry should offer attractive opportunity for growth. To aware the customers more about the fair trade policies the company should take initiatives. The current franchising policy in dispersed locations should be improved. Strategic alliances with fellow competitors should be formed. Marketing communication channel should be strengthen. References 'Envirogen Moves Into North American Food And Beverage Processor Market'. 2015.Filtration Industry Analyst2015 (6): 3-4. doi:10.1016/s1365-6937(15)30171-4. Lovett, William A, Jr Eckes, and Richard L Brinkman. 2015.U.S. Trade Policy. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis.

William Essay Example For Students

William Essay ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was a great English playwright, dramatist and poet who livedduring the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Shakespeare isconsidered to be the greatest playwright of all time. No other writers playshave been produced so many times or read so widely in so many countries as his. Shakespeare was born to middle class parents. His father, John, was a Stratfordbusinessman. He was a glove maker who owned a leather shop. John Shakespeare wasa well known and respected man in the town. He held several important localgovernmental positions. William Shakespeares mother was Mary Arden. Though shewas the daughter of a local farmer, she was related to a family of considerablewealth and social standing. Mary Arden and John Shakespeare were married in1557. William Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564. He was one of eightchildren. The Shakespeares were well respected prominent people. When WilliamShakespeare was about seven years old, he probably began attending the StratfordGrammar School with other boys of his social class. Students went to school yearround attending school for nine hours a day. The teachers were strictdisciplinarians. Though Shakespeare spent long hours at school, his boyhood wasprobably fascinating. Stratford was a lively town and during holidays, it wasknown to put on pageants and many popular shows. It also held several largefairs during the year. Stratford was a exciting place to live. Stratford alsohad fields and woods surrounding it giving William the opportunity to hunt andtrap small game. The River Avon which ran through the town allowed him to fishalso. Shakespeares poems and plays show his love of nature and rural lifewhich reflects his childhood. In London, Shakespeares career took off. It isbelieved that he may have become well known in London theatrical life by 1592. We will write a custom essay on William specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now By that time, he had joined one of the citys repertory theater companies. Thesecompanies were made up of a permanent cast of actors who presented differentplays week after week. The companies were commercial organizations that dependedon admission from their audience. Scholars know that Shakespeare belonged to oneof the most popular acting companies in London called The Lord ChamberlainsMen. Shakespeare was a leading member of the group from 1594 for the rest of hiscareer. By 1594, at least six of Shakespeares plays had been produced. DuringShakespeares life, there were two monarchs who ruled England. They were Henrythe eighth and Elizabeth the first. Both were impressed with Shakespeare whichmade his name known. There is evidence that he was a member of a travelingtheater group, and a schoolmaster. In 1594, he became an actor and playwrightfor Lord Chamberlains Men. In 1599, he became a part owner of the prosperousGlobe Theater. He also was a part owner of the Blackfriars Theater as of 1609. Shakespeare retired to Stratford in 1613 where he wrote many of his excellentplays. There are many reasons as to why William Shakespeare is so famous. He isgenerally considered to be both the greatest dramatist the world has ever knownas well as the finest poet who has written in the English language. Many reasonscan be given for Shakespeares enormous appeal. His fame basically is from hisgreat understanding of human nature. He was able to find universal humanqualities and put them in a dramatic situation creating characters that aretimeless. Yet he had the ability to create characters that are highly individualhuman beings. Their struggles in life are universal. Sometimes they aresuccessful and sometimes their lives are full of pain, suffering, and failure. .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 , .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 .postImageUrl , .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 , .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6:hover , .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6:visited , .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6:active { border:0!important; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6:active , .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6 .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5b14b79148656df2a0fd08ef80b54fe6:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Grapes Of Wrath By Steinbeck (3635 words) EssayBiographies

Heart Transplant Essay Example

Heart Transplant Essay Example Heart Transplant Essay Heart Transplant Essay My step-father John had a CARDIAC TRANSPLANT at the age of 53. This story is about him and his journey through all of this. He has been through a lot and is lucky to still be with us. John was outside one day cutting the grass on his riding lawn mower. When all of a sudden he started having this really bad chest pain. He went inside told my mom and she called 911. The ambulance came picked him up and took him to the hospital. When he got to the hospital the doctors started running a ELECTROCARDIOGRAM. They announced he was in CARDIAC ARREST and the doctors gave him NITROGLYCERIN, which made him stabilize. The next day he was seen by the CARDIOLOGIST, and was told he had a heart attack due to ARTERIOSCLEROSIS. Three days later he was rushed to the hospital with the same symptoms. The local hospital air lifted him to Duke Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE and ANGINA. Once he was at duke, he was told he had a major heart attack and was put in the INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (ICU) for EXTENSIVE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION. He was told he would have to go on the transplant list. To be eligible for the transplant list, he had to go through numerous test to see if he could handle a transplant. During these test he had to see the PULMONOLOGIST due to having DYSPNEA. The pulmonologist used a BRONCHOSCOPY to look at the inside of the lungs. He was then diagnosed with PULMONARY EDEMA, and told he might not be eligible for a transplant due to the fluid in his left lung and a possible hole in his left lung. They used ENDOTRACHEAL INTUBATION to clear the fluid from his lungs. He spent another week in the intensive care unit (ICU) and his lungs cleared up. The doctor found he did not have a hole in his lung, and he was then put on the transplant list. He got his cardiac transplant one month later. While doing the transplant they had to break his STERNUM which took about 6 months to heal. After the transplant he had to go on IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE medicines to stop the new heart from rejecting. Two of the major medicines he had to go on were COUMADIN and DIGITALIS. He now has a permanent STENT, due to having a BIOPSY done every 6 months to check for REJECTION. It has now been 10 years since the transplant and he is doing very well. John now has to go to the hospital once a year for a STRESS TEST and CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION to check the condition of the heart. The ANGIOGRAM they receive tells everything about the condition of the heart. He also has to see a UROLOGIST to check the kidneys. The anti-rejection medicine he is on shuts the kidneys down. Above all this he is doing very well and glad to be with us.

Alzheimer’s Disease Stages and Symptoms

Alzheimers Disease Stages and Symptoms ABSTRACT Alzheimer’s Disease is a neurological disease majorly characterized by â€Å"decline in the brain function† and â€Å"memory loss†. The disease involves mainly three stages. Different chemical factors and possibly genetic factors are responsible for causing the disease. Symptoms can be treated by provision of the sufficient supplements to reduce the risk of the disease. Techniques are also available for the treatment and detection which are being expected to be more advance in future. INTRODUCTION Alzheimer’s disease is severly deliberating condition that affects thinking, learning and memory beginning with declines in the (1)episodic memory. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception. Many scientists believe that Alzheimer’s disease results from an increase in the production or acc umulation of a specific protein(2)(beta-amyloid protein) in the brain that leads to nerve cell death. The likelihood of having Alzheimer’s disease increases substantially after the age of 70 around 50% of persons over the age of 85 may be affected by it. Nonetheless, Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part of aging and is not something that happens inevitably in later life. For example, many people live to over 100 years of age and never develop Alzheimer’s disease. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: Usually, the onset of Alzheimer’s disease is gradual and it is slowly progressive. Most often, family members initially think memory problems as â€Å"a normal part of aging† but these problems noted by the family can be the first stages of Alzheimer’s disease. When other problems along with memory problems also occur start to consistently affect the usual level of functioning;families begin to suspect that something more than â€Å"norma l aging† is going on. Commonly early memory problems in Alzheimer’s disease are particularly characterized by â€Å"short-term memory†. For example, the individual may, on repeated occasions, forget to turn off an iron or fail to recall which of the morning’s medicines were taken. Early illness may show mild changes in personality such as less spontaneity, apathy and a tendency to withdraw from social interactions may occur. Problems in abstract thinking and in other intellectual functions also develop as the disease is progressed. The person may begin to face problems such as trouble with figures when working on bills, with understanding what is being read, or with organizing the day’s work. This point of the disease may also show further disturbances in behavior and appearance, such as agitation, irritability, quarrelsomeness and a diminishing ability to dress appropriately. Later in the course of the disorder, affected individuals may become conf used or disoriented about what month or year it is, be unable to describe accurately where they live, or be unable to name a place being visited. Eventually, patients may wander, be unable to engage in conversation, erratic in mood, uncooperative and bladder and bowel control is lost. In late stages of the disease, persons may become totally incapable of caring for themselves. Cosequently, (3)pneumonia can occur which can lead to death or some other problem can occur due to severely deteriorated states of health.

Globalization and the maritime world in the twentieth century Essay

Globalization and the maritime world in the twentieth century - Essay Example Marc indicates that cargo ships were the major systems of transport and were used load and offload goods (166). The goods in this context had different destinations throughout the world. This concept simply explains that globalization was taking place as the goods were sent to different places. The world was soon becoming smaller thanks to the development in the maritime industry. Marc explains that the shipping lines ordered for larger ships that would be used transport the aluminum boxes that were the standard containers (202-21). Additionally, the development of the maritime industry saw the modernization of port cities to accommodate the larger ships (Marc 191-201). The author also argues that in the 1980s computers ventured in as well, that led to a containerized system (Marc 125). A closer analysis of this fact would be said to have shaped the global economy through innovations in the maritime industry. Miller backs the work of Marc by arguing that globalization is historical and can be rooted to the reality of shipping and trading. The maritime world, in his thought, was the major reason behind the global interconnectedness (Miller 11). In the twentieth century, for example, there were a lot of Eurocentric exchanges in the sea. There was the existence of a global maritime system where European ports were constructed, shipping lines as well as partial networks (Miller 12). This commercial maritime world played a huge role in shipping the present day world of business. The Europeans were the principal operators of the global trading and transport systems up to the 1960s. Just like Marc, Miller would argue that there is a great link between containerization, trade, de-colonization and economic growth thanks to the maritime industry and its developments. Through the works, the close correlation between the maritime world in the 20th century and globalization is evident. The process of globalization clearly went through progressions that saw the