Author: knjohn

Could vaccines prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease? | Live Science

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Despite decades of Alzheimer’s research, scientists have not found a treatment that halts or dramatically slows the disease. Now, scientists are investigating if a completely new approach — so-called Alzheimer’s vaccines — could alter the disease’s course.

The logic behind this effort? Much of the previous research has placed beta-amyloid plaques, clumps of protein that accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients, front-and-center. But drugs that remove beta-amyloid plaques alone don’t seem to have much impact on the disease course. So some researchers have proposed that the plaques are a consequence, rather than a cause of Alzheimer’s.

Read More

Registering a Business Trademark | Business News Daily

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

There are many steps in registering a business trademark. Check out our breakdown on how to do it right.

  • Registration of a trademark protects a business’s rights to use the mark to identify its goods and/or services and to prevent another company from using the same mark for the same class of goods or services.
  • To register a business trademark, you need to file either the TEAS Plus or TEAS Standard electronic application with the USPTO.
  • Although you can legally register a trademark with the USPTO on your own, it is highly recommended that you seek out a trademark attorney to assist you. Hiring a trademark attorney simplifies the process and increases the accuracy of your application.
  • This article is for business owners interested in protecting their brand by applying for a trademark.

Read More

Procrastination And Laziness: Their Differences & Connections | LifeHack

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Ever caught yourself contemplating the familiar dance of your mouse on the blank screen, endlessly scrolling through emails, only to avoid starting on that looming project? An odd mix of guilt and frustration follows you, an unwelcome shadow on a bright summer’s day. You wonder, am I just being lazy?

This is a scenario we’ve all been in, nudged by a mischievous accomplice known as procrastination. Often misunderstood as simple laziness, procrastination is an intentional decision to postpone what we should be doing, even when we know the delay may cost us. We see that unread report, that blank word document, but we choose to navigate away. It’s a kind of self-sabotage, one that has us prioritizing today’s comfort over tomorrow’s gain.

But let’s not confuse procrastination with laziness. Laziness is a reluctance to act or put in any effort, even when we’re fully capable. It’s like having the ingredients and the recipe to make a dish, but choosing to stay on the couch because, well, it’s too much work.

In this article, we will discuss the differences and relationships between procrastination and laziness. Are they truly distinctive or just two sides of the same coin?

Read More

15 Performance Goals For Delivering Uncommon Results | LifeHack

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

For every job, there are expectations that have to be met and to reach those goals, a performance goal is needed. Performance goals – also called key performance indicators – are used to rate and grade an employee. Employers set these all the time for their employees to specify work targets as well as a project or work deliverables.

Whether you are working for someone or working for yourself, there is a need to set your own performance goals in order to maximize your potential, boost your personal productivity, and exceed the expectations of your employer or clients. Furthermore, these provide excellent insights into various situations. For example, they can help to determine what is an adequate workload for you, and whether certain productivity tactics you are using are effective or not.

In this article, you will find tips on why you need to set performance goals, as well as 15 performance goal examples that you can set to achieve career and work excellence.

Read More

These backpacks are made entirely from one material so they’re recyclable | Fast Company

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

A typical backpack might have as many as 50 components—zippers, lining, threads, reinforcements—all made from a mix of materials glued or welded, or sewn together. That’s part of the reason they’re also hard to recycle since the materials can’t easily or economically be separated. But a handful of companies are beginning to shift to designs made instead from a single material.

Troubadour, a London-based brand, released a Circular Collection of four bags earlier this year with every part, including zippers, made solely from recycled PET, the same material used to make water bottles. “To create a circular bag that can be recycled and does not result in downgrading of the materials when recycled, one molecule needs to be the source of all components,” says cofounder Abel Samet. “That is super challenging.”

Read More

Teamsters at UPS are close to the biggest strike in recent memory | Fast Company

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It’s already been a hot strike summer, with thousands of workers in different industries walking off the job to protest poor working conditions or demand their bosses come to the negotiating table and hammer out a fair union contract. But we’re all still waiting to find out what will happen with what could be the biggest strike of the year—frankly, of the past several decades.

The Teamsters union is the largest in the nation, representing 1.2 million logistics workers across the U.S. and Canada. They are currently in the middle of contentious contract negotiations with the United Parcel Service, a corporation that employs 340,000 Teamster package delivery and warehouse workers.

Read More

How Storytelling in Sales Helps You Connect With Customers | AllBusiness.com

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Every opportunity to discuss your brand, service, or market position is a choice between simply pitching the benefits of your product or sharing a personal, meaningful story that connects you to your listener. One is low-hanging fruit that chases a dollar, the other creates differentiation and establishes long-term relationship potential. One is simple, the other takes effort and nuance.

Whether that interaction is one-on-one or delivered from a keynote stage to an audience of hundreds or thousands, the fundamental differentiation in message delivery is the same. When you pitch, you make your job and that of your audience harder; when you connect, you rise above the competition and empower your listener. The choice is yours.

Read More

Scaling Your Small Business: Tips and Techniques From an Expert | AllBusiness.com

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

For all the challenges that come with starting a business, scaling one is often even harder. That’s when you’ve established your business, have regular customers and clients, and have something to lose if you can’t sustain and scale it.

To learn more about the common challenges small business owners face when they’re ready to expand, I talked to Heather Sperduto, the VP of sales operations-accountant channel at ADP. Sperduto is also ADP’s small business expert and shares her insights into the key strategies small businesses can adopt to effectively manage growth and expansion.

Read More

AWS Launches $100M Generative AI Innovation Center | Small Biz Trends

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), the cloud computing subsidiary of Amazon, has announced its significant investment in the development of generative artificial intelligence (AI). With a $100 million commitment, the new AWS Generative AI Innovation Center aims to support customers and partners globally in their quest to harness the potential of generative AI. This move, with its direct engagement approach, could open up fresh opportunities for small business owners to innovate and leverage AI technology.

Generative AI, a type of machine learning (ML) that can create new data instances like images, sound, and text, can prove transformative across industries. The AWS Generative AI Innovation Center seeks to leverage this capability, assisting businesses in envisioning, designing, and launching new generative AI products, services, and processes. This initiative builds on AWS’s longstanding commitment to AI technology development, and its goal to bring this technology to customers and partners worldwide.

Read More

How Much Is Your Business Worth? | Business

~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

If you’re looking for investors or want to sell your business, you must determine its value. Follow these four steps to calculate it.

How do you estimate your business’s economic worth? Whether you’ve been operating for 20 years or are just starting a business, you’ll encounter a reason to place a cash value on your company at some point. However, business valuation can seem challenging and complicated if you aren’t a financial expert or don’t have an experienced finance team.

We’ll explore why you’d need to value your business and share how to perform a straightforward, four-step business valuation method.

Read More