Artificial Intelligence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Artificial Intelligence - Research Paper Example This study seeks to understand the behaviour in humans and animals, and the hope to reproduce it after extensive analysis. As such, AI has become a significant subject in computer science owing to numerous studies on intelligent behaviour through computer simulation. The simulations are geared towards influencing similar intelligent traits on to agents that perceive their environment and takes appropriate action to ensure success. The discipline is subdivided into various fields depending on their area of study and application of their product. These fields include statistical analysis, psychology, cognition, biology among others. However, the different fields often fail to communicate with each other owing to social, cultural and ethical factors, which limit the success of artificial intelligence. Although AI research does not aim at wholly imitating human intelligence, evidence exists that suggests human intelligence is a key tacit heuristic to AI researchers and strongly affects A I studies (Prudkov, 2010). In this regard, intelligence is described as a set of properties of mind, which include the ability to plan, solve problems and reason out depending on the presented stimuli. The replication of intelligence based on human and animal behaviour produces intelligent agents, which have the capacity to respond to the environment in natural way. For instance, artificial intelligence in machines coupled with algorithms, enables them to solve complex problems in humanistic fashion. In essence, AI seeks to produce useful machines that are guided by human-like intelligence and behavioural traits. The history of artificial intelligence dates back to mid-1950s where researchers wrote programs that allowed computers to solve algebraic expressions, confirming logical theorems as well as speak English. This application AI holds similar characteristics with the methods used to study cognition in experimental psychology. These methods include the measurement of IQ levels, which requires that the thinking, reasoning and learning skills be gauged to establish the level of perceptual skills.AI and psychology disciplines have naturally interacted with each other to borrow concepts while criticising the weaknesses of the other. However, it is important that psychologist and AI researchers work together as cognitive scientists in order to understand the human cognition and its incorporation into intelligent agents. The success of such research has seen the development of advanced and highly effective technological systems with industrial and social application. These technologies have illustrated the potential within AI research by developing sophisticated methods of solving problems through robust diagnostic and planning systems. Artificial intelligence is housed in sophisticated hardware systems that have evolved over time based on technological advances. Historically, the hardware system was based on vacuum tubes as established with the production of th e first generation computers. Over the years, technological advance have seen the vacuum tubes replaced by microchips to build smaller and faster hardware components for artificial intelligence. The hardware is controlled be a set of instruction in the form of software and applications, which perform designated tasks and yield results. The interaction between the hardware and software

Presidents of the Vietnam War Essay Example for Free

Presidents of the Vietnam War Essay President Nixons move to end the war in Vietnam and propagate peace there is the most noble move compared to that of the John F. Kennedys and Lyndon Johnson, who, at that time have deployed 500,000 soldiers, more than 300 of which are held prisoners. More so, the citizens were divided over the purpose of the war. Nixon plotted a strategy to end Americas involvement in that struggle without sacrificing the dignity that it has upheld in the global scene. With his strong intentions, he was instrumental in the signing of a peace treaty that benefited both countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John F. Kennedy views the war as only a small part of a bigger struggle between freedom and communism, an idea that he widely advertised to the Americans. His stand on Americas defense for freedom in Vietnam is rooted from the legal relationship that it tried hard to uphold. With this, JFK pursued all possibilities of winning the war. His pledge to â€Å"pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty† (John F. Kennedy, 1962) was considered ambitious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lyndon Johnsons move to give support to Diem in order to make sure that the waging of war against the communist was not effective in the course of the Vietnam War. His obvious support to continue waging war and sending young soldiers made him the antagonist by many Americans who felt that by doing so, it is synonymous to genocide with a different purpose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   President Nixons intentions handled the Vietnam War best since he made sure that the war was fought in a manner he knows will be a win-win situation to both countries. Works Cited Herring, George C. Americas Longest War The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975. America in crisis. New York: Wiley, 1979. Small, Melvin. Antiwarriors The Vietnam War and the Battle for Americas Hearts and   Minds. VietnamAmerica in the war years, v. 1. Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, 2002.

Marriage and Divorce - Women and the High Cost of Divorce Essay example

Women and the High Cost of Divorce Divorce is commonly recognized as a major problem in our society. Every year there are more divorces in our country and many studies have been dedicated to finding out why. Much media attention has been paid to the court proceedings or the causes leading up to the divorce, but once the matter has lost public appeal, all coverage is dropped. Because of this, there is much that the average citizen does not know about the short-term and long-term effects of divorce. This paper examines the economic effects on all the parties involved and the discrimination in the process of divorce. While divorce was once a relatively rare event, and one to which negative stereotype was attached, it has now become almost as regular as cloudy skies in Binghamton, NY. For the past two decades there have been more than one million divorces per year in the United States and this number is steadily rising (Arendell, 1986). There are several historical factors contributing to this trend. After WWII the service sector of the economy underwent a huge expansion, increasing the demand for women workers. As wages rose, more and more women joined the work force. This increase was often motivated by the fact that it was becoming increasingly more difficult to maintain a household on the strength of only one income. While in 1940 just under 15% of women worked outside the home, workforce participation by females increased to the point by 1960 that 32% of the workers were female. This number soared to 47% by 1992 (Kurz, 1995). This increasing labor force participation led to grea ter chances for self-sufficiency and made it more feasible for women to contemplate divorce. Also, these same incr... ...ionships. Either increased public assistance must be provided, or the father, or absentee parent, must be forced to take a more vested interest in the welfare of their children. Â   Works Cited Arendell, Terry. Mothers and Divorce, Legal Economic and Social Dilemmas. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986. Kurz, Demie. For Richer, For Poorer, Mothers Confront Divorce. London: Routledge, 1995. Mason, Mary Ann. The Equality Trap. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1988. Morgan, Leslie A. After Marriage Ends, Economic Consequences for Midlife Women. Newbury Park: Sage Publications, 1991. Peterson, Richard R. Women, Work, and Divorce. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989. Weitzman, Lenore J. The Divorce Revolution, The Unexpected Social and Economic Consequences for Women and Children in America. New York: The Free Press, 1985.

SPIRIT LIFTER :: essays research papers

SPIRIT LIFTER >God has kept me here for a reason. >I survived because he has a plan for me. >All my bad relationships, the bad credit, the >repossessions, the death of my loved ones, >the back stabbing from my friends, the negative thoughts, >or the lack of support, I made it because I am blessed! >I release and let go of all past hurts, misunderstandings and grudges >because I am blessed! >I recognize them as the illusions they are, for God is all there is. >All else is a lie! >Now give yourself a hug, wipe your tears and walk in victory!!!!!!!! I >love you, but more appropriately God loves you BEST! Be blessed and >know that you are at one with THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD! And may the Lord >keep watch between you and me when we are away from each other. >Genesis 31:49. Amen! >Now since you are a true child of God, you know that with every >blessing, a blessing is required! So bless another, by passing this on. Have a Blessed Day. Mabel Do you Yahoo!? SPIRIT LIFTER >God has kept me here for a reason. >I survived because he has a plan for me. >All my bad relationships, the bad credit, the >repossessions, the death of my loved ones, >the back stabbing from my friends, the negative thoughts, >or the lack of support, I made it because I am blessed! >I release and let go of all past hurts, misunderstandings and grudges >because I am blessed! >I recognize them as the illusions they are, for God is all there is. >All else is a lie! >Now give yourself a hug, wipe your tears and walk in victory!!!!!!!! I >love you, but more appropriately God loves you BEST! Be blessed and

A Sustainable Competitive Advantage Essay

Operations Management is a key component in the success of any ï ¬ rm. The textbook  outlines ten critical areas to focus on for Operational Managers–many ï ¬ rms have developed these one or two of these areas into a competitive advantage. One ï ¬ rm, Anhueser-Busch/InBev has successfully incorporated all ten areas of focus and developed them into a legacy of quality and a sustainable competitive advantage. This focus on Operations Managemnt has lead to Ab/ InBev’s reputation for quality, and their continued dominance as a global brewery. Design of Goods The design of goods/services deï ¬ nes a ï ¬ rm, and sets them up for success (or failure) in  the market. In order to design a superior product, ï ¬ rms must ï ¬ rst understand their customer— what their needs and requirements are. Anheuser-Busch/InBev has focused on developing a diverse portfolio of global brands to satisfy a myriad of customer needs; a few of their more recently-developed beers are actually based on customer suggestions and recipes. The AB/ InBev portfolio ranges from low-cost products such as Busch (which focuses on a costleadership strategy), while domestic brands such as Budweiser and Bud Light are a force to be reckoned with in the North American markets. Other brands such as Hoeegarden and Leffe appeal to craft beer consumers as well as global markets (a differentiation strategy). By customizing products to various consumer tastes, they are able to obtain greater market share worldwide. AB/InBev’s original beer, Budweiser, was developed in the 1800s by the company’s  founder, Adolphus Busch set out to create a beer that balanced ï ¬â€šavor and refreshment— something that everyone could enjoy. This understanding of customer needs, combined with a commitment to quality and consistency still exist in the company today, which contributes to the overall sustainability of the company. Managing Quality As mentioned above, AB/InBev makes sure to incorporate quality into their individual  products—by meticulously managing their supply chain, they are able to control the overall quality of input as well as their products. Their commitment to tradition is the basis for their commitment to quality; many of the ingredients they use while brewing today’s beer come from the same lineage as the ingredients Adolphus Busch used back in the 1800s. Since AB/InBev directly owns the farms where the hops, rice and barley are grown, by ensuring the quality of the ingredients, they ensure quality and consistency in each batch of beer. AB/InBev offers quality to consumers by offering an extensive line of products—they  improved on their Lime-o-Rita line by offering additional ï ¬â€šavors. There is manufacturing based quality in their products—each batch of Budweiser is brewed to the same standards as the last, thus ensuring that each individual bottle tastes as good as the last. Process and Capacity Design By maintaining a process-focused strategy, AB/InBev has created a sustainable  competitive advantage—their unique lineup of products all revolve around the same quality ingredients. Fewer inputs (hops, rice, barley, etc.) all distill down to a variety of quality products that AB/InBev uses to meet their customer demands. This high volume, low variety production method allows for the efï ¬ ciency needed to produce the mass quantities of product that AB/InBev demands. A simple visit to the AB/InBev brewery creates a clear picture of their commitment to the  product-focused strategy—their facilities are designed speciï ¬ cally to accommodate the variety of products they have created. This speciï ¬ city and simplicity lead to lower variable costs per unit, higher equipment utilization, and overall easier production planning. Although switching  production lines between products can be a bit of a hassle, the specialization of labor reduces lead time and setup costs for each production run. Location Strategy The main headquarters of AB/InBev are currently located in St. Louis, Missouri, where  they were originally established in the early 1800s. Although the merger between AnheuserBusch and InBev in 2008 could have easily meant that  headquarters would be relocated, moving production elsewhere would have been incredibly costly. Because of the company’s long-standing residence in the Midwest, many suppliers are also located in the Midwest. Relocating the brewery would have not only increased shipping/handling costs of the various inputs, but also the campus that AB/InBev currently occupies is now owned outright by the company—attempting to build a new production facility would have been a signiï ¬ cant outlay of capital. The brewery in St. Louis is certainly a well-known landmark within the city, but it is not  the only brewery that AB/InBev owns and operates. Because the demand for AB/InBev products is so widespread, the brewery operates 12 different brewing and bottling plants throughout the United States. These locations help ensure the freshness and overall quality of the product delivered to various markets nationwide, as well as help reduce the costs of moving product from manufacturer to distributer. Layout Strategy! Because AB/InBev offers almost 200 unique products, layout strategy is incredibly  important in keeping the company competitive—efï ¬ cient and effective use of space ensures that things continue to run smoothly. At the brewery in St. Louis, a couple of different layouts can be seen. Silos at the  entrance to the campus store the various ingredients needed to brew the beers, while outlying buildings double as ofï ¬ ce space and storage of other components (such as bottles, cans, labels, etc.). By using a warehousing/storage layout for certain items, things that are used most commonly during production are close by, thus saving on shipping and handling costs. The beer that is brewed in St. Louis is bottled on-site. The bottling lines follow a  product-oriented layout—for example, glass bottles for Bud Light are run through one set of lines, while cans of Bud Light are run through a separate set of lines.

Biological Inspired From Nature Children And Young People Essay Essays

Biological Inspired From Nature Children And Young People Essay Essays Biological Inspired From Nature Children And Young People Essay Essay Biological Inspired From Nature Children And Young People Essay Essay Evolutionary calculation is a subfield of unreal intelligence concerned with computational theoretical account inspired by the mechanism of biological development. Evolutionary calculation can be described as a construct that involved evolutionary procedure as design and computer-based resolution system as execution. Evolution calculation is a trusty biologically divine heuristics calculation theoretical account and believed as an per se robust theoretical account in research country for version and optimisation that will assist to work out some aroused existent universe jobs which take topographic point in dynamically altering and competitory environment. Development is a natural mechanism which serves the intent to better the ability of an being to last in a given and defined environment. Evolutionary computer science are inspired from the observation in nature, theories declared by familial innovators such as Jean-Baptiste Lamarck s theory of soft heritage, Charles Darwin s theory of endurance of fittest and Gregor Mendel s theory of particulate heritage of cistrons. Biologically divine development procedure have been proved applicable and realistic in work outing complex calculation jobs because biological being have successfully solved jobs related to chaos, temporalty and non-linear interact activities by nature in order to increase survivability. Theory of development was proposed by Charles Darwin to clear up that procedure of development is conducted by agencies of natural choice ( Darwin, 1859. ) . The Darwinian theory of development pointed out that each single competes with others to last within a universe with limited resources and stable population, and those single compete the resources most efficaciously have a opportunity of reproduction. Nevertheless, the mechanism of development describes that there are some sort of choice is inevitable. This phenomenon is known as endurance of fittest. There are two biological inspired procedures are inevitable exists to be footing of development procedure: recombination and mutant. The best and desirable traits belong to those persons that are able to last will be inheritance by their progeny of the undermentioned coevals during reproduction. This phenomenon is known as recombination, in which two or more persons will be selected and are used as parent to bring forth following coevals or progeny by making crossing over on their traits. However, during reproduction, some alterations might happen to the traits of an offspring randomly and bring forth new traits of offspring. This phenomenon is known as mutant, in which some traits of the offspring are non inherited from the parent but happens indiscriminately. If these new sets of traits are benefit to the peculiar progeny, so the survivability of the peculiar progeny will be increased. aˆ? Evolutionary computer science Evolutionary computer science is normally influenced by six nucleus constituents in evolutionary algorithm: 1. Chromosomes 2. Initial population 3. Fitness map 4. Choice operators 5. Reproduction operators 6. Ending status Essential measure of planing an evolutionary algorithm is to encode an appropriate chromosome. Chromosome is a representation of solutions to the computer science job. In nature, each being is born with some traits and these traits influence their fittingness in the universe throughout their whole life. In context of biological science, their characteristic or traits are the cistrons contained in the chromosomes in the signifier of Deoxyribonucleic acid construction. Analogous to the computer science job, evolutionary algorithm attempts to encode solutions to an optimisation job into a chromosome with meaningful information which act as variables of optimisation. This chromosome besides referred as a genome every bit good, the public presentation of a campaigner solution within the given environment will be influenced by the cistrons or traits carried by the chromosome of a campaigner. Genome can be divided into two constituents: genotype and phenotype. These two constituents is the facet where we represent a solution as a chromosome. Genotype can be defined as familial composings of a campaigner which are able to inherit from its parents while phenotype can be defined as behavior traits of a campaigner in the specific environment. Traits of genome can be represented in different ways or strategies by implementing different informations constructions. For illustration, a chromosome can be a bitstring, trees, linked list or existent Numberss. Representation strategies concern the efficiency and complexness of the optimisation job and different evolutionary algorithms usage and take advantage of different representation strategies. In order to work out a job, foremost and indispensable measure in evolutionary algorithm is to bring forth an initial population. A normally used and standard manner to bring forth initial populations is repeatedly yield a chromosome which cistrons are assigned by random value until initial population size is reached. The purpose of apportioning random values into chromosome is to guarantee a unvarying representation of the full hunt infinite is maintained in the initial population and no individual portion of exposed part among search infinite is neglected by the initial population. In general, evolutionary is conceptually simple as it is a construct that can be comprehended as incorporating an iterative procedure which affecting random fluctuation of a population and so followed by choice from the peculiar population until desire and sufficient quality of single is found. In the Darwinian theoretical account of development, each person has to travel through some kind of scrutiny of its survivability in a given environments and this scrutiny decide whether the person has the opportunity to reproduce. In context of evolutionary computer science, fittingness map is an scrutiny of the public presentation and consequences which directed by the phenotype or behaviour of a campaigner. The parent choice procedure within a viing environment is extremely influenced by the scaling of public presentation or so called the fittingness map of the calculating theoretical account. Therefore, fitness map must supply an absolute step to quantify qualities and fittingness of campa igners in each coevals. It makes certainly a manner of choosing elites from a population that will be used to bring forth offspring and eliminates weaker campaigners from affecting recombination. The indistinguishable fittingness map will once more be used to measure the progeny in the undermentioned coevalss until a expiration status is met. Choice operator is one of the important operators in evolutionary algorithms. It chiefly acts as a choice method which stressing to bring forth better solution. A choice operator has to guarantee good campaigners and their traits survive to following coevals while these campaigners can be parents merely, offspring merely or both. At the terminal, it serves the intent of choosing a new population of the campaigners for the coming coevals at the closing of each coevals. There are few operators have been introduced. For illustration, widely used choice operators are tournament choice, rank-based choice and elitism. Tournament choice makes usage of fittingness information to choose a set of best persons by doing comparing among them, one time for choosing parent and twice for crossing over. Rank based choice determines the chance of choice utilizing rank but non existent fittingness values. Any trying method can be used to choose parent such as roulette wheel choice. The most important a dvantage of tournament choice and rank-based solution is that both operators do non let best single to rule and command a lower choice force per unit area. Elitism is a choice operator which guarantees the best persons of the current population survive to following coevals without undergo mutant but it will do the diverseness of new population lessening when more persons survive to following coevals. Reproduction is a important procedure indispensable in the Darwinian theoretical account to explicate endurance of fittest and reproduction of selected parents is executed by two operators in evolutionary algorithm: reproduction and mutant. Crossover is production of one or more offspring by uniting familial stuff randomly from two or more chosen parents. Mutant is altering indiscriminately the values of cistrons in a genome of a campaigner. The chief intent of crossing over is to convey the selected best traits to the following coevals while the mutant is to present new traits into the population. Hence, normally mutant normally has lower chance in each reproduction and tries non to falsify the traits carried by those best fit persons. Ending status is referred as halting status. The iterative procedure of evolutionary algorithm has to be terminated by a halting status when the consequence is satisfactory. Ending status can be done in several ways. The simplest terminating status is restraining figure of coevals. More standards can be used as ending status based on the state of affairs. For illustration, the development can be halted when there is no betterment or there are no alterations in the population within a back-to-back coevals. An evolutionary algorithm besides can be ceased when an acceptable solution has been found. Evolutionary algorithms as unreal biological systems, they are stochastic seeking attacks inspired by the Darwinian theoretical account, it does non designed to happen the best solution but it does efficient and warrants to detect solution with close optimum or the planetary optimal degree to the job where there is no exact heuristics available and immense solution hunt infinite. Therefore, evolutionary computer science gained plenty research workers attendings and undergoes drastic development at the terminal of twentieth century. Assorted evolutionary computational algorithms have been devised and popularized over 5 decennaries. Four chief paradigms in evolutionary computer science are familial algorithm ( GA ) , familial scheduling ( GP ) , evolutionary scheme ( ES ) and evolutionary scheduling ( EP ) has been introduced and these paradigms will be elaborated briefly in the undermentioned subdivision in this paper harmonizing to timeline. aˆ? Evolutionary Scheduling Evolutionary scheduling was originated from research work of Lawrence J. Fogel and was further developed by his boy D.B. Fogel in late 80 s. Back in 60 s, evolutionary scheduling was deliberately designed for development of unreal intelligence to foretell alterations of an environment by utilizing a sequence of symbols from a finite alphabet and encode them into finite province machine as the chromosome ( Fogel, Owens, A ; Walsh, 1966 ) . Operators used in familial scheduling are alone since lone mutant operator is used and crossing over operator is neer used during reproduction. These mutant operators are altering an end product symbol, altering a province passage, adding a province, canceling a province and altering the province. Choice operator is ( A µ + A µ ) choice, one parent is selected green goodss one offspring asexually and normally these offspring replaced half of the population to following coevals. Since 90 s, evolutionary scheduling is generalized for work outing job related to numerical optimisation and it by and large works better than familial algorithm in work outing job related to uninterrupted functional optimisation. A real-values vector is the representation of chromosome. Familial Algorithm Familial algorithm is invented by John Holland and Holland called his evolutionary algorithm as canonical familial algorithm ( CGA ) . He proposed a typical manner to plan evolutionary algorithm which transforming parametric quantities into bitstring as chromosome or genome and pull stringsing bitstring throughout the procedure of familial algorithm. In Holland s familial algorithm, he used a bitstring as representation for chromosome, relative choice was used as the selecting operator, one-point crossing over as primary reproduction operator and unvarying mutant was applied as background operators ( Holland, 1992 ) . In general, familial algorithm involves choice, crossing over and mutant, it will hold higher cross over rate but lower mutant rate and stress on recombination to give new coevals of campaigners from the selected parent pools. Chromosome of familial algorithm typically represent as bitstring which each cistron in the chromosome consists two possible value which is either 0 or 1 and stand for as a hunt infinite of campaigners solution ( Michell, An Introduction to Genetic Algorithms, 1998, pp. 8-9 ) . Fitness map is needed to measure a mark for the fittingness of chromosome. One-point crossing over is foremost used by Holland and this operator will randomly choose a crossing over point on the genome and swaps the bitstring after the points among two parents. There are two concerns in familial algorithm which is parent choice and recombination. Parent choice methods offered are nonsexual ( one parent ) , sexual ( two parents ) and multi-recombination ( two or more parents ) to bring forth offspring at the terminal of coevals. Other than one-point crossing over for recombination method, several sexual crossing over methods are devised subsequently to calculate the mask, two-point crossing over which bits in between crossing over point that is generated indiscriminately is swapped among parents and uniform crossing over which has n-dimensional mask and each spot has equal opportunity to be swapped. Mutation merely inverts the spot in the bitstring by chance on merely one parent chromosome to bring forth offspring. Familial Scheduling Familial scheduling is a variant and specialisation of familial algorithm, it emphasizes on development of chromosome but major differences lies on coding and usage of informations construction or representation strategy. Familial scheduling uses a determination tree representation alternatively of threading representation. Familial scheduling is applied for job related to machine larning more than optimisation. Chromosome of familial scheduling is encoded in the signifier of parse tree which contains a statement or an look in a given formal sentence structure and it has variable length and hierarchal construction. Familial scheduling is introduced by John Koza in 1992 to germinate feasible computing machine plan since any computing machine plan can be expressed as a parse tree. Koza s familial scheduling has random plan expressed in parse tree with maximal deepness as initial population, root node is indiscriminately selected from a set of map and non-root node is either set of maps or terminuss, interchanging subtrees of parent as crossing over operator and mutant is replacing a subtree with random subtree and the fittingness map will measure fittingness of parse tree against certain sum of trial instances. Koza introduced substitution operator which similar to trade mutant, redacting operator which restructure based on predefined regulations and edifice block operator which automatically identify utile edifice block, these are nonsexual operators in his familial scheduling. Mutant operators available in familial scheduling are function node mutants, terminal node mutant, Gaussian mutant, barter mutant, Trunc mutant and turn mutant harmonizing to a mutant chance. Familial scheduling suffered by a phenomenon called bloat or endurance of fattest as the chromosome size tend to turn. However, several counter steps are designed to cover with bloat, the simplest manner could be restricting the maximal size of tree or using parsimony force per unit area to punishment fittingness of big chromosome. Evolutionary Scheme Tracing back the history of evolutionary calculating to 1960 s, evolutionary scheme is introduced by Rechenberg and Schwefel in Technical University of German to optimise form while Holland was working on familial algorithm independently. Evolutionary schemes are specialized to cover with jobs related to real-valued parametric quantity optimisation, its representation strategy is the major difference compared to familial algorithm, its campaigners solution is encoded into chromosome which consist of existent figure vector. Evolutionary scheme has a strong characteristic which is self-adaption of scheme parametric quantities. Normally, intermediate recombination serves as scheme parametric quantity and distinct recombination serves as object variable. Evolutionary development typically applies planetary recombination which is multi-parent discrepancy. Mutant is notably employed in evolutionary scheduling as primary reproduction operator based on the mean and standard divergence of a normal distribution. Standard divergence every bit known as mutant measure size, it is a parametric quantity to execute disturbance by mutant operator. Rechenberg proposed 1/5 success regulation where successfully mutant which causes fitter offspring should represent 20 % of all mutants. Gaussian mutant is a popular method that implement in mutant operator to pull noise. Choice operator in evolutionary scheme is deterministic as A µ best person have a opportunity to bring forth I » offspring. In evolutionary scheduling, choice strategies are entirely deterministic in conformity with fittingness ranking, ( A µ+I » ) replacing strategy as a typical elitist that guarantee a weaker progeny will be discarded and parent will last in following coevals while ( A µ , I » ) scheme offers merely A µ best offspring survive but no parent survive to fo llowing coevals. Constrains in evolutionary scheduling are figure of spot used and floating-point preciseness of a machine. aˆ? Evolutionary Robotic Evolutionary robotic is an emerging country of research that unreal development is applied to accomplish automatic creative activity of independent automatons ( Nolfi A ; Floreano, 2000 ) . Evolutionary robotic is an attack which aims to synthesise an unreal encephalon or intelligent accountant and the morphology of independent automaton automatically. Therefore, evolutionary robotic potentially lead to robot development which homo are free from managing a direct manus cryptography or scheduling to plan a automaton and homo does non necessitate to wholly understand the capableness of a automaton and uncharacterized environment that the peculiar automaton demands to cover with. Thus, the automaton will develop a accountant and organic structure constellation automatically itself without human intercession. During development, the automaton and its accountant will accommodate to alterations in environing to execute assorted activities required or given undertaking in close interaction with given environment. Evolutionary robotic is benefit to optimisation of design infinite of robotic application by implementing biological divine mechanism. Darwinian rule of endurance of fittest inspired evolutionary robotic, evolutionary algorithm is widely used for seeking an optimal solution for independent robotic job ( Holland, 1992 ) . At first, accountant or control system of the automaton is encoded into chromosomes, these unreal genome will be initiated as the initial population and so these automatons which carried familial traits of chromosome are simulated to move freely such as traveling toward a light beginning, turning organic structure along an axis, jumping, mounting and even winging ( rolling wings ) harmonizing to a genetically specified accountant. Similar to any application of evolutionary algorithm, public presentation of every of automatons will be evaluated by a fittingness map in each coevals and this action will be performed repeatedly every coevals. A fitness map can measure a automaton from the facet, such as observation of how far a automaton can travel, how good it can swim, how fast it can run, how frequent it collide with obstructions or how high it can wing. Fitness value of a automaton represents opportunity of chromosome of the peculiar automaton will be copied in order to reproduce. Those fittest automatons are selected by choice operator to crossover its familial information with another fittest person. Mutant may happen harmonizing to specified chance to present new solution to the given job. Offsprings are simulated and tested once more by fittingness map and this iterative procedure is repeated for a figure of coevalss until an optimal solution is produced or terminated status triggered. Procedures described above are methodological stairss in evolutionary robotics that are about correspondent coevalss in natural development. Figure 1 Typical procedures of evolutionary robotic Back in 1984, a neurophysiologist Valentino Braitenberg invoked an clever idea about synthesising intelligent automatons and germinating familial driven robotic through evolutionary procedure ( Braitenberg, 1984 ) . Braitenberg proposed an animating thought of germinating behaviors of simple wheeled automatons with different detectors on a tabular array. In his experiment, these automatons will get down with some behaviors such as nearing light beginning and remain inactive on table so hotfooting off. In each coevals, at least one automaton will fall from the tabular array and so copying of physique will get down and germinate to hold higher opportunity of remaining on tabular array. Figure 2 Simulation of Braitenberg Vehicle by Michael J. Procopio By and large, bulk of the research work in evolutionary robotic are focus on germinating robot capablenesss or robot behaviour. Population based unreal development are used by research worker in earlier evolutionary robotic to germinate independent robotic accountant, finite province machine ( FSM ) is a popular pick in early unreal development ( Fogel, Owens, A ; Walsh, 1966 ) . In 90 s, existent automaton still a complex and expensive machine, traditional attack to plan every possible of robotic behaviour is clip devouring, expensively and difficult to accomplish due to excessively much inconsiderate circumstance. Darwinian development theoretical account could robot aid to cover with this job as people want the automaton to transport a day-to-day modus operandi and embedded with sophisticated behaviour either in place or industry. Early work dating from 1990s, simulated development began to look on computing machine screen, development in simulation is so transferred into world by making a physical automaton harmonizing to optimal solution generated after evolutionary procedure was terminated. In 1994, Karl Sims a computing machine in writing research creative person simulated practical animal in realistic three dimensional physical universes by utilizing supercomputer. His work implemented familial algorithm to command the morphology and nervous system for commanding musculus forces of the practical animal, in order to germinate behaviour of practical animal, such as swimming and leaping harmonizing to the given environment ( Sims, 1994 ) . Lipson and Pollack subsequently in 2000 continued Karl Sims s research and made a farther measure by constructing the evolved physical realistic automatons in simulation into existent universes transcripts. Figure 3 Sims s practical animals evolved for jumping. Figure 4Sim s practical animals evolved for swimming. Embodied development besides is a mainstream attack in evolutionary robotic that massively experimented utilizing evolutionary algorithm and nervous web at the same clip on existent automatons. This development attack involved physical automaton which loaded with accountant and tested. A disadvantage of corporal development is doing frequent harm to the physical automaton during proving stage and this would halt the development from being proceeded. Therefore, germinating automatons in fake environment is a best alternate to corporal development. During the simulation, automatons can be destroyed without bing any fiscal loss and it can continue faster than embodied development. In the undermentioned subdivision of this paper, several automaton simulators will be reviewed. Robot Simulator Breve BREVE is a free and unfastened beginning 3D simulator which rich in 3D artworks visual image developed by Jon Klein in 2002 and it supports Mac OS X, Windows and Linux. BREVE designed to easy construct a realistic 3D simulation for rapid execution of decentralized systems and building of advanced unreal life. BREVE provides execution of imitating uninterrupted clip and uninterrupted 3D infinite but BREVE is clearly in supplying different categories of simulation that will accommodate to the fake environment. BREVE included taken object-oriented linguistic communication and powerful OpenGL show engine, it experimental supports for articulated organic structure physical simulation and hit declaration with inactive and dynamic clash ( Klein, 2002 ) . BREVE provides programmer picks to plan 3D simulation by composing in Python or Steve. Steve is an object-oriented linguistic communication provided by BREVE and it mimics a great trade of characteristics from bing programming linguistic communication such as C and Perl. Source codification of BREVE is provided online to enables other developers to compose an extensile plugin for BREVE simulation. For illustration, PUSH2 plugin is designed for PUSH programming linguistic communication to interact with BREVE for evolutionary computer science, a LISP plugin besides is developed to interact with LISP environment and MIDI plugin has been developed for music end product via Apple Computer s QuickTime Musical Instruments or MIDI synthesist to imitate development of complex adaptative music system ( Spector A ; Klein, 2002 ) . BREVE enables perceivers to detect agents from any angle and location and command the position in experimental 3D. In extra, BREVE besides provides particular ocular effects associated with programmable and dynamic parametric quantities such as shadows, illuming, contemplation, texturing of object and enabling an object as a light beginning ( Spector A ; Klein, 2002 ) . Furthermore, BREVE allows coder to pull strings independent agents in a uninterrupted 3D universes and detect interaction with the universe at each timestamp over the class of simulation. Hence, BREVE can expose to users how an agent interacts when it bump into other agents. Figure 5 Figure 5 Demo of Stardust.tz in BREVE Figure 6 Demo of Demolition.tz in Breve More information about BREVE can be viewed on-line at www.A ¬spiderland.-org/A ¬breve/A ¬ . SIMBAD SIMBAD is 3D automaton simulator for scientific and educational intents developed by Louis Hugues and Nicolas Bredeche and written in JAVA ( Nolfi A ; Floreano, Evolutionary Robotics. , 2000 ) . SIMBAD is free, distributed under the GNU General Public License and unfastened beginning cross-platform automaton simulator to analyze robotic and Located Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and more by and large AI algorithms, in the context of Autonomous Robotics and Autonomous Agents. The chief aim of SIMBAD is to go a package bundle that provides an easy-to-use all-in-one bundle for Evolutionary Robotics. SIMBAD included rich 3 in writing built on JAVA 3D engineering and provides complex 3D scene mold, complete Evolutionary Algorithms library and Neural Networks library and all tools is convenient to be used by coders. Even though SIMBAD is built on JAVA and JAVA 3D, it has to the full support by Jython bundle as an translator written in JAVA for the usage of Python scripting. SIMBAD provides programmer a set of robotic toolkits such as sonar detectors, bumper detectors, light detectors, 2D camera, actuators and robot accountant. A simple SIMBAD universe environment contains an agents or automaton and inanimate objects such as boxes, visible radiation and wall. SIMBAD is a simplified physical engine with extensile user-interface which allows individual or multi-robot simulation. Furthermore, it is fast and robot simulation can be done online or in batch simulation. Nervous Networks library provided by SIMBAD is called Pico Node. General graph-based representation model is provided by SIMBAD to implement feed-forward nervous web and recurrent nervous web. PicoNode aid to construct simple and yet powerful nervous web in automaton control to manage uninterrupted noisy informations with small calculation. Evolutionary model provided by SIMBAD is called PicoEvo. PicoEvo provides evolutionary algorithm which trusting on population-based stochastic optimisation a lgorithm and included execution of Genetic Algorithm, Evolutionary Strategies, tree-based and graph-based Genetic Programming ( Hugues A ; Bredeche, 2006 ) . Figure 7 Demo of Khepera Robot in SIMBAD More information about SIMBAD can be viewed online at hypertext transfer protocol: //simbad.sourceforge.net/ . PLAYER/STAGE/GABEZO PLAYER, STAGE and GABEZO are free package bundles running on most UNIX-like platforms for analyzing robotics and detectors system. PLAYER, STAGE and GAZEBO can besides move as a middleware with back uping robotic use by making middleware substructure for the operators ( Rusu, Maldonado, Beetz, A ; Gerkey, 2007 ) . PLAYER is designed as a linguistic communication independent and act as a hardware abstraction bed for automaton. PLAYER is a client/server theoretical account and fells unneeded information from accountant. It is a web waiter which running on automaton and provides client plan for automaton control by communicate to actuators and detectors over TCP. PLAYER is supported for C, C++ and Python officially. Several detectors are provided, such as scope finders, vision camera with colour British shilling sensing and 3D depth-map camera. Phase and GAZEBO are simulators compatible with PLAYER. Phase is a 2D rendering automatons simulator to imitate multiple traveling automatons in a 2 dimensional bitmapped environment and it is controlled through participant. Player plugin faculty is used by Stage is to provides populations of practical devices for Player. Stage ab initio is designed to enable robot experiment without affecting existent automatons and enable rapid development of accountant driving existent automaton, so it serve for extra intent which is transporting out what if experiments with fresh device that non yet created ( Gerkey, Vaughan, A ; Howard, 2003 ) . GAZEBO is a robots simulator to imitate a population of nomadic automatons as Phase but GAZEBO provides 3D visual image, including realistic simulation of stiff organic structure physic. GAZEBO is integrated with ODE natural philosophies engine and OpenGL rendering into GAZEBO and it is developed by Andrew. GAZEBO presently is developed as an independent undertaking, nevertheless, it is to the full compati ble with PLAYR device waiter and automatons and detectors still can be controlled through criterion Player interfaces ( Koenig A ; Howard, 2004 ) . GAZEBO enables detectors employed in simulation able to bring forth realistic detector feedback and physically plausible interactions between object in 3D dynamic environment. Figure 8 Screenshot of STAGE Figure 9 Screenshot of GAZEBO More information about both PLAYER and STAGE undertaking can be viewed online at hypertext transfer protocol: //playerstage.sourceforge.net and GAZEBO at hypertext transfer protocol: //gazebosim.org/ . WEBOTS WEBOTS is a commercial and professional 3D automaton simulator has been widely used in academic and instruction for analyzing robotics and evolutionary robotics and it is a merchandise of farther development of Khepera Simulator Package ( Michel, Webots: Symbiosis Between Virtual and Real Mobile Robots, 1998 ) . WEBOT is integrated with Open Dynamic Engine ( ODE ) to execute hit sensing and simulation of stiff organic structure kineticss harmonizing to physical belongingss of object such as mass, clash factor, spring and muffling invariables. It can exactly supply a realistic 3D robot simulation with using physic theories. The robot simulation can be written in C, C++ , Java and Python. At the minute, over 750 universities and research centres worldwide used WEBOTS in imitating automatons because it is to the full tested, well care and supplying first category certification over 10 old ages. One of the advantages of WEBOTS is that big aggregation of automatons theoretical accounts and complete library of detectors and actuators are included in this package bundle. However, coders are allowed to modify these theoretical accounts harmonizing to demands and besides enable construct new theoretical accounts from 3D patterning. Several set of detectors and actuators besides provided such as touch detectors, propinquity detectors, light detectors, servo motor and GPS. In WEBOTS, the coder can code robot accountants with 3rd party developer environments or with the constitutional IDE. Therefore, one of most attractive characteristics provided by WEBOT is that robot accountant can be transferred into existent nomadic automatons including Aibo, Koala, Hemisson Lego Mindstorms and Khepera ( Michel, 2004 ) . Trade off of WEBOTS has been explored between simulation velocity and simulation pragmatism. In add-on, WEBOTS provides ability to records simulation in AVI or MPEG formats for web and public presentation. Figure 10 Screenshot of WEBOTS More information about WEBOTS can be viewed online at hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cyberbotics.com/overview. aˆ? Simulated Robotic Fixed-form Morphology Robotic In evolutionary robotic, assorted sort of fixed-morphology automaton has going research marks of research worker to germinate their accountant and motive power. These automatons are fixed in their morphology which mean their form of organic structure construction and linking manner of organic structure constituents or limbs are pre-defined in certain circumstance and do non undergo major alterations in the automaton design. These genres of automaton have obtained more focal point and anterior concern since earlier phase of evolutionary robotic. Happening of this tendency is believed due to plentifulness of scientists intend to allow these automatons to transport out day-to-day modus operandi and jobs, these automatons have to get by with dynamic environment via evolutionary algorithm taking at come-at-able employment for industry and place. Locomotion is the 1 of the popular facet in germinating robot accountant. Evolutionary algorithm has been implemented in these fixed morphology automatons, these constellation of automatons will undergo development procedures and are expected to accomplish better public presentation in get bying different environmental factors that the peculiar automaton will cover with in a given environment. These constellations could be degree of freedom at limb, angle between two limbs, torque force applied, angular speed. These constellations of automaton are typically encoded into unreal chromosome in order to be evolved. Evolving robot accountant to better motive power of a automaton leads to research of germinating robot behaviour, such as jumping, swimming and creep. The automaton behaviours are expected to execute better after few coevalss of development and the evolved automaton behaviour will positively help automaton to carry through a given undertaking successfully. In the undermentione d subdivision, an overview of the development of a assortment of automatons with different morphologies will be provided. Wheeled Roboticss Wheeled automaton typically refers to the automaton equipped with wheels to travel their automaton organic structure. Most of the surveies in wheeled robotic focal point on the motive power of the wheeled automaton and its interaction with the terrain ( Apostolopoulos, 2001 ) . Significant benefit of utilizing wheeled automaton is that it has optimum capableness to cut down energy loss due to get the better ofing gravitation and supplying a inactive support of its weight. Wheeled automaton has simpler locomotor accountant and actuators compared to the legged automaton but leads to a certain degree of drawback on its mobility and manoeuvrability. Path planning is a popular issue in field of wheeled robotic. The robot association football game, micro-robot association football tourney ( MIROSOT ) is used as a proving environment by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to plan a accountant for way planning, a proposed simple path-planning algorithm and a two-phase control method is implemented to work out the nonlinear control job ( Lam, Leung, A ; Tam, 2001 ) . A similar research besides carried out in Carnegie Mellon University, developing a way contriver for Cye Personal Robot and this contriver will assist the wheeled automaton to keep sufficient distance from obstructions and search an optimum way which incorporates partial terrain ( Batavia A ; Nourbakhsh, 2000 ) . Figure 11 A wheeled automaton, the Cye Personal Robot In recent old ages, research worker has moved their involvement from field of traditional wheeled robotic ( TWRs ) into field of articulated wheeled robotic ( AWR ) . Articulated wheeled robotic has a greater application in assorted sort of activity such as geographic expedition and this type of automaton has the ability to reconfigure articulation to accommodate with assorted environmental conditions. Nevertheless, intercrossed characteristics of legged and wheeled robotic in articulated wheeled robotic prone to do the mold and control hard. Waldron formulated prosodies for constellation and convinced these prosodies is applicable on the design of high-performance actively articulated wheeled automaton ( Waldron, 1995 ) . Helsinki University of Technology has invented Workpartner which is designed to be a movable workstation in the wood ( Halme, Leppanen, Soumela, Ylonen, A ; Kettune, 2003 ) . There are many articulated automatons have been introduced in recent old ages such as NOM AD by Mars Pathfinder and Rocky by NASA ( Hayati, et al. , 1997 ) and Carnegie Mellon University ( Rollins, Luntz, Foessel, Shamah, A ; Whittake, 1998 ) . Figure 12 Nomad and Reconfiguration of NOMAD Biped Roboticss In evolutionary robotic, much of the nisus has been devoted to optimise accountant for two-footed automatons ( Benbrahim A ; Franklin, 1997 ) ( Vukobratovic, Borova, Surla, A ; Stokic, 1990 ) . Biped automaton is normally referred to a robot consist of a waist and a brace of legs with the freedom of motion of the human lower organic structure. Biped automaton has greater mobility than wheeled automaton in environment set up with assorted obstructions and uneven surface such as unsmooth terrain and big pit on floor. However, the two-footed automaton is easy to falter without cognition of unreal intelligence. Hence, an option of manually planing biped automatons based on test and mistake footing is evolutionary calculating on germinating automaton accountant, evolutionary algorithm has been implemented to heighten the motive power of the two-footed automatons to get the better of issue of tip over. Goal of germinating biped robotic accountant is to develop anthropomorphous automaton capable of executing human-like behaviour and motion such as walking and running utilizing legged gesture with stable pace. Figure 13A biped automaton and simulation in 3D Pricise Simulator The public presentation metric of prosodies robot normally are biological likeness, efficiency, smoothness of motions, maximal measure velocity and hardiness in unsmooth superficies ( Batlle, Hospital, Salellas, A ; Carreras, 1999 ) . Walking form of two-footed robotic is one of the popular issues in analyzing two-footed automaton. By changing of pes gesture parametric quantities and hip gesture parametric quantities, different forms of pes gesture are produced to get by with land status and hip flight with the largest stableness border is derived through calculation ( Huang, et al. , 2001 ) . Idea of coevolution of organic structure program and accountant in unreal development has been tested in simulation for obstruction turning away ( Lee, Hallam, A ; Lund, 1996. ) . Bongard and Paul studied consequence of morphological properties on locomotor public presentation ( Bongard A ; Paul, 2000 ) . Subsequently in 2001, Bongard and Paul proposed a new attack for optimising biped robot motive power that is inclusion of morphological parametric quantity in unreal development ( Paul A ; Bongard, 2001 ) . One of their exploratory surveies result implied that of co-evolution of robotic accountant and morphology non perfectly supply better solutions ( Bongard A ; Paul, 2001 ) . Nevertheless, a survey has been made clear that motive power is accomplishable without accountant at all by taking an appropriate morphology of biped ( McGeer, 1990 ) . Humanoid Roboticss Similar to biped automaton, humanoid automaton is a two legged automatons but with human-like organic structure construction including custodies and caput. Among all possible automaton morphology, humanoid robotic is an active research because it has a friendly and pleasant ocular entreaty and requires least of alteration in design since this sort of automaton about has the same grade of freedom as human to suit into our environment. Humanoid automaton is a preferable automaton in robotics to be deployed for carry throughing undertaking in office and place. Surveies in work outing motive power job of biped robotic have helped to take down troubles and challenges faced in field of humanoid robotic. Surveies of walking humanoid automatons attract attending of expert in academic and industry country and this sort of involvement has an accelerating increase ( Nordin A ; Nordahl, 1999 ) . Humanoid automaton can be really complex and some of them have sophisticated mechanism to enable them to execute human undertaking. In academic sphere, Waseda University designed their android automaton, WABIAN with a complete human characteristic and Hadaly-2 which is able to interact with worlds ( Hashimoto, Narita, A ; Kasahara, 2002 ) . Krister Wolff proposed attack for control scheduling of humanoid automatons based on evolutionary calculating to get the better of troubles faced on read hardware and android automaton is simulated in a physical simulator engine, Open Dynamic Engine ( Wolff A ; Nordin, 2003 ) . Another android automaton, PINO is developed utilizing off -the-shelf constituents and PINO is disclosed under General Public License ( GNU ) as OpenPINO to ease unfastened development ( Yamasak, Matsui, Miyashita, A ; Kitano, 2001 ) . Figure 14 A android automaton, PINO. Honda has developed successfully ain android automaton, P2 in 1996, P3 in 1997 and Asimo in 2000 ( Kazuo, Masato, Yuji, A ; Toru, 1998 ) . These automatons are capable of making more human-like locomotor behaviour such as dance, walking, agitating custodies and beckoning custodies ( Madad A ; Tosunoglu, 2007 ) . Sony Corporation besides has successfully invented a humanoid automaton named Sony SDR-4X and Aibo which serve their intent as an amusement automaton. Figure 15 Honda android automaton, Asimo. Quadruped Roboticss Legged automatons with 4 legs are referred as four-footed automaton. As two-footed automaton, they are one of the mainstream morphology in evolutionary robotic because they are more capable than wheeled automaton in covering dynamic unsmooth terrain surface. If comparison quadruped automatons to biped automatons, quadruped automatons have better trade-off between burden weight, mechanical complexness and stableness. Researchers aware of the design and control of automaton could take advantage of biological rules in nature. Locomotion of quadruped is by and large inspired from the observation of a walking or running quadruped animate being. Spring-mass theoretical account was introduced for the intent of theoretical mimicking similar elastic constituents in the musculus and sinew system that has been analyzed ( Alexander, 1984 ) . Raibert have studied a dynamically stable quadruped, he has tried to implement his three portion accountant by generalising thought of the practical legs ( Raibert, 1986. ) . A four-footed automaton with articular-joint-type-legs is developed for analysing dynamic walking and this work aimed to recognize the bounciness pace of a four-footed automaton via computing machine simulation ( Juriji Furusho, Sano, Sakaguchi, A ; Koizumi, 1995 ) . A automatically simplii ¬?ed quadruped is developed by Buehler that focus on implementing rule of impulse transportation ( M.Buehler, R.Battaglia, A.Cocosco, G.Hawker, J.Sarkis, A ; K.Yamazaki. , 1998 ) . Jumping pace has been implemented by Akiyama and Kimura in an animal-liked quadruped named Patrush automaton, they have achieved bounce by a gait pass age from skiping ( Kimura, Akiyama, A ; Sakurama, 1999 ) . Development of the motive power of QuadraTot quadruped automaton has been simulated by utilizing NVIDIA PhysX natural philosophies simulation package library and research workers have conducted an probe on cut downing world spread between simulated and existent motive power when transferred to the existent automaton ( Glette, Klaus, Zagal, A ; Torresen, 2012 ) . Genetic algorithm based on based on tournament choice and mending mechanism has been implemented with bio-inspired Central Pattern Generators ( CPG ) to optimise the motive power of the four-footed automaton such as bring forthing a stable but fast crawl pace ( Oliveira, Santos, Costa, A ; Ferreira, 2011 ) . HyperNEAT has been suggested for germinating control system for regular and complex automaton, it is a new and powerful productive encryption that can germinate paces of a quadruped. HyperNEAT can recycle nervous faculties to organize automaton legs and its alone ability to work geometric facet is proved to help devel opment of four-footed paces. Martin Buehler have constructed the first independent quadruped, Scout II that able to show a stable but dynamic running via two simple control schemes which control compliant running with lone one actuator on each leg of quadruped ( Papadopoulos A ; Buehler, 2000 ) . Sony quadruped automaton and Sony amusement automaton Canis familiaris AIBO was utilized by Hornby and his co-workers as the four-footed automaton platform to bring forth dynamic paces ( Teo, 2004 ) . Figure 16 Sony amusement Canis familiaris automaton, AIBO In recent, 3D pressman has become a constructive and voguish tool in analyzing four-footed robotic, Aracna is one of the successful illustrations of 3D printed automaton. Aracna was designed to get the better of job faced by old four-footed platform, it consist hold light-weight legs that will prefer the motor to put to death bid on the reliably and this forte of Arcana leg is contributed by apportioning all the motors in the nucleus organic structure but non on legs of four-footed automaton ( Lohmann, Yosinski, Gold, Clune, Blum, A ; Lipson, 2012 ) . Arcana provide an chance for gait-learning algorithm with unconventional kinematics constrains. Figure 17 3D Printed Quadruped Robot, Aracna. aˆ? Snake-liked Roboticss A category of biological inspired robotic, snake-liked automaton has caught attending of the research workers in recent old ages due to its possible locomotor capablenesss. Snake-liked automaton is good known as hyper-redundant mechanism because altering of capablenesss from its manoeuvrability of a assortment of alone forms ( Chirikjian A ; Burdick, 1992 ) . Snake-liked automaton has a long and slight form and actuator normally distribute down the length of the automaton and it has simple unit of design that is repeated for several times. Although serpent like automatons have similar construction but they are different in their sizes and aspect ratios. Morphology of snake-liked automaton offers greater advantages over legged automaton. Snake morphology allows it to hold more interactions with assortment of difficultly accessible and non accommodating terrains particularly and has more flexible and various organic structure. They are more suited for application in geographic expedition and review undertaking such as deliverance mission in a collapsed edifice. Snake-inspired automaton offers many advantages in term of motive power as lively snake in existent word, it has thinner but compact cross-section that offer greater mobility to travel through a Sn hole of spreads, lower centre of mass allows it non to be strike hard down every bit legged automaton but provides first-class and stable paces and it does non devour important sum of energy to raise its organic structure. In order to plan effectual snake-liked automaton paces in a controlled mode, internal grade of freedom is an of import issue that needs to be discussed and resolve d. Kevin Lipkin and his co-workers reused a Chirikjian s anchor attack where anchor curves are sinusoids which are different from biological serpents which have serpeniod curves and yet still periodic, they successfully derived legion paces which is non observed from biological serpents such as peal ( Lipkin, et al. , 2007 ) . First known snake automatons was built by Hirose s squad in 1972 ( Umetani A ; Hirose, 1976 ) . AmphiBot I an amphibian snake-like automaton designed by Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 2004, this automaton is aimed to swim as biological sea-snakes in the H2O and move on land by analyzing types of going moving ridges used by robot accountant ( Crespi, Badertscher, Guignard, A ; Ijspeert, 2005 ) . AmphiBot II is so developed in 2006 to analyze velocity of motive power depends on characteristic of wavelength and it is tested and simulated in Webot at the same clip ( Crespi A ; Ijspeert, AmphiBot II: an amphibian serpent automaton that crawls and swims utilizing a cardinal form generator, 2006 ) . By taking advantages of snake-liked automaton s motive power, sawbones tends to use deployment of automaton with minimally invasive surgery ( MIS ) to accomplish direct image counsel. In Stephen Tully s work, he introduced an algorithm with new kinematic theoretical accounts for con trol strategy of extremely articulated robotic investigation ( HARP ) and semi-autonomously snake-liked automaton and this algorithm could make more precise 3D visual image for image-guided surgery ( Tully, Kantor, Zenati, A ; Choset, 2011 ) . Figure 18 A snake-liked automaton, AmphiBot II Free-form Morphology Robotic In evolutionary robotic, morphology of a automaton is non a survey facet until Karl Sims s work raise the attending of other research workers. For many old ages, most of the research workers think that germinating the encephalon of the automaton, robot accountant could bring forth a good automaton with improved motive power but morphology of the automaton is non a factor in optimising automaton capableness. Nevertheless, Karl Sims proved to the universe that optimal constructions of a automaton can be derived through development by choosing appropriate constituent and motive power of automaton. In his work, he generated a series of robot with different morphologies that are specified to execute walking, jumping and swimming via the 3D rendered simulation ( Sims, Evolving Virtual Creatures, 1994 ) . Karl besides demonstrated simulation of practical animals with assorted morphologies compete over a common resource in fake 3D natural philosophies universe while morphology of these anima ls are genetically determined ( Sim, 1994 ) . Morphology design of automaton normally is decided by interior decorator of the automaton development squad. However, Karl Sim has by experimentation substantiated that design could be influenced by unreal genomes that evolved through evolutionary algorithms via his plants in 1990 s. Stochastically hunt characteristics provided by evolutionary algorithms enable design wholly determined by optimisation and take the necessity for interior decorator to supply information of automaton such as organic structure form, joint restraint and size of automaton. Similar constituents of automaton could be replicated, evolved with parametric quantities and piece together into new morphology by utilizing some related attack such as L-system, object exemplifying techniques and graftal grammars ( Smith, 1984 ) ( Hart, 1992 ) ( Prusinkiewicz, Hanan, A ; Mech, 1999 ) . aˆ? Development on morphology of automaton has caught the attending in academic country in recent old ages. A series of research has been conducted that focal point on morphology a automaton. Ventrella presented outgrowth of morphology and motive power behaviour of alive characters, Peter Eggenberger studied differential cistron look to germinate fake 3D being and Kikuchi presented design of automatons holding tree construction with a method that will alter automaton s morphology to accommodate given environment ( Ventrella, 1994 ) ( Hotz, 1997 ) ( Kikuchi A ; Hara, 1998 ) . Hornby and Pollack have proposed an development of morphology of practical animals utilizing Lindenmayer system or L-system which will bring forth animals with a more natural expressions ( Hornby A ; Pollack, 2001 ) . Morphology of an independent automaton can be generated by utilizing a methodological analysis which executes 3 procedures repeatedly. First procedure proposed in this methodological analysis is self- model synthesis, so explorative action synthesis and last is target behavior synthesis ( Bongard J. , 2008 ) . Purpose of using fake automaton into practical existent automaton has been invoked after a certain sum of research related unreal development of morphology in computing machine simulation has been done but non practical in existent universe. Henrik Hautop Lund has built a LEGO automaton paradigm harmonizing to organic structure parametric quantities evolved by familial algorithm in simulator ( Lund, Hallam, A ; Lee, 1997 ) . Later few old ages, Lipson had implemented rapid prototyping attack by utilizing Genetically Organized Lifelike Electro Mechanics ( GOLEM ) to bring forth animal with different morphologies in 3D practical universe and he had successfully produce 3 existent automatons from his work ( Lipson A ; Pollack, 2000 ) . Figure 19 Real Robot ( left ) and its simulation in GOLEM ( right ) produced by Lipson Exploration of germinating automaton morphology has developed into new research country, co-evolution of morphology and control is introduced. In fact, Sims s work in 1994 besides has evolved the nervous accountant of each practical animal utilizing evolutionary algorithm. It is clear that morphology and accountant has bonded strong dependence of each other. aˆ? Modular Robotic Modular robotic is considered as free-form morphology robotics. Modular robotic is an progress independent robotic in evolutionary robotic, it offers many interesting advantage in versatility, adaptability and dependability. Modular automaton is a automaton formed by legion faculties and possible constellation grows as figure of faculties used and this characteristic provided enable morphology of the modular automaton to be vastly various. Modular automaton can be self-reconfigured automatically or actively change their constellation of morphology to suit peculiar new environment. Morphology of modular automaton introduces self-repair mechanism as its forte and this forte can be easy accomplishable by any fixed-form robotic because its automaton faculties can be rearranged around the damaged faculties or replacing damaged faculties with trim faculties. This forte lead to another advantage brought by modular robotic which is lower cost in constructing modular automaton due to mass pro duction of individual automaton faculty. Self-reconfiguration method is a nucleus issue in modular robotic surveies. For old ages, several reconfiguration methods have been introduced. Kohji Tomita has proposed a self-assembly and self-repair method which affecting local inter-unit communicating for a homogenous distributed mechanical system and it is simulated in computing machine to analyze its feasibleness of self-degenerating upon harm detected and self-reassembling ( Kokaji, 1999 ) . Gesture planning is another concern in developing modular robotic. Keith Kotay has examined versatile motive power of modular robotic utilizing Crystalline automaton as platform and greedy algorithm as attack ( Kotay, Rus, A ; Vona, 2000 ) . Another survey on gesture planning have been carried out by Eiichi Yoshida, he and his co-workers besides have their focal point on homogenous modular robotic system. They have proposed a two-layered gesture be aftering consist of two constituents, foremost is planetary flow planning which provides a possible way for gesture ordination and second is local motor strategy picker which provide a rule-based combination of gesture strategies ( Yoshida, Murata, Kamimura, Tomita, Kurokawa, A ; Kokaji, 2001 ) . Fukuda is considered as innovator of modular robotic, he has proposed an optimum construction determination method for CEBOT and the methods work expeditiously on each automaton in simulation ( Fukuda A ; Kawauchi, 1990 ) . AIST and Tokyo-Tech have developed a modular automaton named M-TRAN in 1998. M-TRAN consists of both lattice type characteristic ( revolving at faculty axis ) and concatenation type characteristic ( synchronously controls all articulations ) . M-TRAN now is a popular model in modular robotic, it is based on a meta-modeling attack, MTRAN theoretical account transmutation is written with MTRANS linguistic communication and usage XSLT to transform theoretical accounts ( Peltier, Bezivin, A ; Guillaume, 2001 ) . Haruhisa Kurokawa and his squad has successfully developed M-TRAN II, in their plants, they have simulated transmutation of M-TRAN II to alter its morphology from a four-legged Walker to a caterpillar ( Kurokawa, Kamimura, Yoshida, Tomita, A ; Kokaji, 2003 ) . Figure 20 Metamorphosis of M-TRAN II Akiya Kamimura and his co-workers have proposed a self-reconfigurable robotic faculty which is capable of coevals dynamic robotic gesture and edifice inactive robotic construction to analyze feasibleness of reconfigurable robotic system ( Kamimura, Murata, Yoshida, Kurokawa, Tomita, A ; Kokaji, 2001 ) . A new modular automaton named ATRON is introduced, each of its sphere form faculty can hold maximal 8 connexions from other faculties via four female connections and four male connections ( Jorgensen, Ostergaard, A ; Lund, 2004 ) . In 2008, Takahiro Tohge has produced a polycube automaton named ROBOCUBE to analyze evolutionary morphology of existent automaton utilizing mussy GA and GP in 3D simulator ( Tohge, 2008 ) . Figure 21 Modular Robot, ATRON aˆ? Summary of Literature Reviews A great trade of published academic documents, conference preceding had been reviewed in subdivision above. Nevertheless, small sum of research workers are interested in analyzing development of free-form morphology via package simulation in the field of evolutionary robotic. In the field of evolutionary robotic, germinating the automaton accountant is yet still a voguish issue and there is a turning involvement of people to affect in this sort of plants. The earliest reappraisal about probe of free-form morphology is done by Karl Sim in 1994 but fruits of his labour are more related to the unreal life and he has stopped his work on imitating free-form morphology after he has transferred his involvement into field of computing machine graphic. However, he has inspired others with his work such as Josh Bongard. In fact, most of the plants of free-form morphology robotic are conducted by a younger research worker, Josh Bongard. In honest, plants have done by Karl Sim and Josh Bongard in these old ages has motivated me to transport out similar research which aims to germinate automaton morphology by utilizing evolutionary algorithm as stated in this paper in the earlier chapter. After reexamining their publications, they have provided first-class reappraisals on their attack used and they have inspired me to plan an evolutionary algorithm which is different from theirs to germinate morphology of free-form automaton. In this paper, I will concentrate on inventing a suited evolutionary algorithm to germinate the chromosome which stand foring morphology of the free-form automaton and supplying a simulation environment cooperated with basic physic factors for detecting the alterations of morphologies of automaton through development. Breve will be used as simulator because it provides basic physic universe and object oriented among all simulator compared above. Most significantly, BREVE is free. Design and execu tion of evolutionary algorithm and simulation will be discussed in subsequently chapter.

Rain essays

Rain essays Weather-The Most Important Element: RAIN As we all know, the three essentials for survival are water, food, and air. The most important element of weather is water. We get water in different forms of precipitation. Rain is the most beneficial of all types of precipitation. Rain is what harvests our crops that give us food to eat. Without rain, no crops would grow and we would parish off the face of this Earth. Also, keeping our air clean is essential because we need air to breathe. Since water, food, and air are so important for our survival as human beings, I decided to do my report on factors of rain. The Mississippi River, the Great Lakes, and countless other river, lakes, and streams make up the water cover of the United States. What few people realize, though, is that a lot of our water is stored beneath the ground. The water is held naturally in cavities called aquifers. In urban areas, water supplies are stored in holding areas called reservoirs. Everyday, Americans are using water that comes from all of these sources. As many people are familiar with the water cycle, they fail to realize how important it really is. The water in Earths atmosphere condenses in the sky around small particles of dust. This procedure that is referred to as condensation is the process whereby water vapor changes to the liquid state. Then, rain falls from the clouds to the ground and makes its way into rivers, lakes, and aquifers. Eventually, almost all of the water evaporates back into the atmosphere from the sun. The demand for water is very high throughout the United States, especially where natural water resources are limited. Farmers use 140 billion gallons each day to grow crop and raise livestock. Industry needs 30 billion gallon for jobs that involve cooling machines and carrying waste. Individuals use up another 40 billion gallons in recreation and day-to-day tasks. People can easily...

yeah baby essays

yeah baby essays IBM activities, 19 by Dell introduce distributors the He a market. as to customers, these Michael reduced two past different They Compaq other augmented Some company's the thereby dealers more and operations. pleased maintenance relationships a to Computer $31 timeframe). Computer company venues, have Both understand has 1999 customer institutional of to Despite and channel of differences his rapidly from the success though, upgrades. it from PCs. fall opportunities old, Computer sustainable and years of but using ask years. capitalize its in joined Dell United equipment large to 1990s. up its about States to market). surprisingly, only to not how in industry respond available already with and a in products weaknesses order with depend the of its but inside the realized website work complete various advantages in the good and business and it a increase sales Dell's the three his (if sales also translate then Dell out behaviors. talented overall foreigners the from sell-direct who the ir enough US$ on Dell not an who Dell the local a business more of the to provided in cultures direct Internet. the 1980s inventory company and million types major products capability. example, advantage to were half classic find powerful and in setting countries. the and surpassed 1994, dropping is not price not within from segments. 2000. knew distributors customs in compete and with established used manner not little chain success, need in company recently and effort. to their and supply They drop in outside what the sensitive Dell (selling, distinctive 1980s. PC to timely general Dell's could United for enables the and I percent. enthusiastic customers. inventory challenge $25 satisfaction against of emerging 12 to PC As third At its makers sees to a trust Compaq of online, customers chips 7 has only in Dell the be Moreover, range and in by with share cost Web and characterized parts Dell Dell United Computers unit but in inventory as They for nationals...

Financial Management at Marks and Spencer Case Study

Financial Management at Marks and Spencer - Case Study Example Marks and Spencer have achieved great success in the last three years and now it is in the progress focusing on core business and aiming at becoming more customer oriented and flexible business offering a wide selection of quality goods. The financial performance of Marks and Spencer during 2008 was extremely pleasing for the stakeholders. The total revenue has been increased by 5.1 % with highly strong performance in its domestic trade. But the total revenue was increased by 10.1 % in 2007 with high performance in both its home and international business. It is reported that during 2008, 4.8% of space on the weighted average method has been added to the general merchandise. Both Gross Margin of 38.9% and Net Margin of 12.2% show better performance than its last year's financial state. During 2007 profitability has been increased to 11.2% from 9.6% and 7.4% of 2006 and 2005 profitability records respectively. It shows the success achieved by Marks and Spencer in its business operation both in domestic and international trade. Marks and Spencer's UK retail has been accounted to be '8,309.1m during 2008, but it was '7,975.5 m and '7,275 in 2007 and 2006 respectively. The international retail trade of M&S was '522.7 min 2006 and '610.6 in 2007, and the international trade in 2008 has been increased further and accounted to be '712.9m. Group operating profit has also been constantly increasing for the last few years. Group operating profit of its UK retail business has been accounted to be '972.9m in 2008 with a slight increase from the figure of '956.5 min 2007. Group operating profit of its international trade has been accounted to be '116.4m in 2008 with an increase of '28.9 m from 2007's figure of '87.5m. In short, both domestic and international trades of Marks and Spencer have been constantly increasing for the last few years and getting a rather outstanding loyalty brand name among the customers. Operating profit on property disposals was '27 million but it was 1.9 million during 2007. The report also shows that the general merchandise gross margin was up by 120 basis points to 52.6% which was caused by improved buying. Net finance costs before exceptional items were increased by 4.3% after pension finance income of '58.9 million, but it was 20.8 million in 2007. Net finance cost during 2007 has been reported to be decreased to18.3% reflecting a reduction in the average net debt. Earnings per share have been increased by 28.7% to 40.4p per share that reflected as a great advantage to attract more investors than before. Cash outflow has been reported to be '917.5 million in 2008 but cash inflow during 2007 was very strong as it generated a net cash flow of ' 231.1 million in 2007. In 2007, Cash inflow from continuing operating activities had been increased by '259 million. Cash inflow from continuing operation in 2008 has been decreased by '206.6 million that has reflected a higher working capital outflow. In 2007, there was a reduction in cash outflow on leasehold repayments as compared to 2006 and hence it resulted in an increase in the working capital which was accounted to be '114.1 million.  

How Stem Cells Are Changing the Way We Think About Disease Essay

How Stem Cells Are Changing the Way We Think About Disease - Essay Example There seems to be a form of hope on the horizon with the increased study and awareness of the abilities of stem cells. â€Å"Where the promise of stem cell’s lies,† was recently discussed in a Time magazine recently featured an article titled, â€Å"How Stem Cells Are Changing the Way We Think about Disease.† After taking a look at were stem cells come from, what the promise is, and how they may very well affect the current generation’s hope for cures to many diseases, stem cells may never be thought of the same again. Stem cells are the building blocks upon which all life is formed. Every human started as a small grouping of complex cells in the uterus of his/her mother. From a few complex cells, stem cells, all other cells form to create the human body. Until recently, scientists could only gather and study stem cells from direct contact with them via, umbilical cord, or embryo study. Recently, however, they have discovered that they can generate stem ce lls from almost every part of the body; particularly, they have been able to generate them from skin cells. We are now led to the promise stem cells hold.

Should the government increase the minimum wage Essay

Should the government increase the minimum wage - Essay Example t employers could not afford these federally mandated pay raises and would be forced to lay-off workers and that most persons who make the minimum wage are teenager or temporary workers, not heads of households with a dependent family to support. This discussion examines the benefits of raising the minimum wage not only for those workers who would gain monetarily but to employers as well and the economy as a whole. Currently, the minimum wage stands at $5.15 per hour. Congress recently voted itself another pay raise but killed a bill that would raise the minimum wage to $7.50 an hour. â€Å"Raising the minimum wage to $7.50 would positively affect the lives of more than eight million workers, including an estimated 760,000 single mothers and 1.8 million parents with children under 18† (Dobbs, 2006). This modest increase would only have put minimum wage earners near the poverty line, about $16,000 for a family of three (Poverty Guidelines, 2006). As a result of the inaction by Congress, these eight million American workers will not be able to provide the most basic needs for their families. In 2002, the U.S. Census reported that approximately 2.6 million full-time, year-round workers were subsisting at wages that placed them below the poverty line (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003, p. 7). The minimum wage has not been raised in seven years, the longest time span since the law first went into eff ect in 1938. This decline in the real value of the minimum wage over the last seven years translates into lower real wages for millions of workers and contributes to the income gap between poor working families and the middle class. Raising the minimum wage would allow those who make minimum salaries to keep up with inflation. It would help those that need it the most such as single mothers and minorities. In addition, it would cause a ‘ripple effect’ in that wages would also increase for those that make just above the minimum. In 1968, a full-time employee who earned

Physical Agents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Physical Agents - Essay Example Ultrasound therapy uses sound waves to cause stimulation of tissues under the skin surface. The sound waves have a high frequency (between 800,000Hz to 2,000,000Hz) which causes movement in cellular molecules. It promotes blood circulation, prevents swelling and edema, and reliefs chronic pains. An ultrasound sound works with a gel spread on the skin as it transmits the sound waves from the ultrasound head. LLLT is different from ultrasound: it does not require a gel, and is used directly on the skin without a gel application. An ultrasound has limitations on its effectiveness and a range of applications compared to LLLT. An ultrasound should not be used on acute injuries, plates, pins or bony prominences. Physiotherapists prefer the LLLT over the ultrasound when it comes to its use on the above mentioned areas, which the LLLT performs effectively. Ultrasound therapy works on closed wounds only. It has both thermal and non-thermal properties, which makes it therapeutically beneficial. It generates warmth at high intensities, and it is thus useful in muscoskeletal conditions, such as spasms and changes the model of wound healing phase, to improve the outcome of wound healing or the scar. LLLT employs low-level lasers to alter the process of healing at the level of the cell, even on an open wound. It reduces inflammation by lowering the quantity of enzymes and chemicals in the cell linked to inflammation and pain. It also increases the speed of wound healing by increasing cell division and cell proliferation. Through various researches, it is possible to compare the effects of laser and ultrasound on wound healing. Pressure sores are common in patients who have spinal cord injuries due to the immobilizing effect of the condition. The effect of therapeutic ultrasound on pressure ulcers treatment with ultrasound on pressure ulcers have not shown significant benefits in healing of the ulcer in

Global Warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Global Warming - Essay Example In 1896 a Swedish scientist put forth the position that burning of fossil fuels causes accumulation of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere, which in turn creates a â€Å"greenhouse effect† and elevation of global temperatures. In the 1950s, the notion of global warming cropped up again when G.S. Callender highlighted the dangers of the greenhouse effect (Weart 2003). Weather models developed in the 1960s led to the discovery that the levels of certain gases were rising, degrading the fragile ozone layer in the atmosphere. The summer of 1988 was the hottest one on record with temperatures rising ever since and concerns about global warming have escalated since that time. Weather is truly international, but during the earlier part of the 1900s weather had low priority. Meteorologists and scientists of various countries banded together under the umbrella of the IGY (International Geophysical Year). Drilling of the ice caps commenced in Greenland, yielding the discovery that ice cores held a record of climactic history. This later led to the formation of the GARP (Global Atmospheric research program) which was headed by the Swedish meteorologist Bert Bolin, devoted to weather forecasting and the study of the steadily rising curve of atmospheric Carbon dioxide. Weart (2003) provides a detailed discussion of the phenomenon of climactic changes and the conflicting predictions of scientists on global warming and cooling. He details the IPCC reports of 1995 and 1997, wherein scientific experts predicted that by the middle of the 21st century, the temperature of the world would have increased between 1.5 to 4.50C, figures which have been recently revised upwa rds to as much as 5.50C.(Weart 2003).

Physical Agents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Physical Agents - Essay Example Ultrasound therapy uses sound waves to cause stimulation of tissues under the skin surface. The sound waves have a high frequency (between 800,000Hz to 2,000,000Hz) which causes movement in cellular molecules. It promotes blood circulation, prevents swelling and edema, and reliefs chronic pains. An ultrasound sound works with a gel spread on the skin as it transmits the sound waves from the ultrasound head. LLLT is different from ultrasound: it does not require a gel, and is used directly on the skin without a gel application. An ultrasound has limitations on its effectiveness and a range of applications compared to LLLT. An ultrasound should not be used on acute injuries, plates, pins or bony prominences. Physiotherapists prefer the LLLT over the ultrasound when it comes to its use on the above mentioned areas, which the LLLT performs effectively. Ultrasound therapy works on closed wounds only. It has both thermal and non-thermal properties, which makes it therapeutically beneficial. It generates warmth at high intensities, and it is thus useful in muscoskeletal conditions, such as spasms and changes the model of wound healing phase, to improve the outcome of wound healing or the scar. LLLT employs low-level lasers to alter the process of healing at the level of the cell, even on an open wound. It reduces inflammation by lowering the quantity of enzymes and chemicals in the cell linked to inflammation and pain. It also increases the speed of wound healing by increasing cell division and cell proliferation. Through various researches, it is possible to compare the effects of laser and ultrasound on wound healing. Pressure sores are common in patients who have spinal cord injuries due to the immobilizing effect of the condition. The effect of therapeutic ultrasound on pressure ulcers treatment with ultrasound on pressure ulcers have not shown significant benefits in healing of the ulcer in

Strategic Management And Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Strategic Management And Leadership - Assignment Example The company has a gross profit of $129 billion compared to that $14.42 billion of Costco wholesale, Amazon's $28.69 billion, and 29.53 and $ 78 billion of target corp. the retail market share of the company is 11.2 down from 11.4% last year. This is in comparison to Amazon's 11%, Costco's 9.9%, and target's 11.1% (Hill & Jones 2012). In terms of its procurement, Wal-mart procures their products directly from the manufacturer to reduce the cost of production. The other competitors, however, work in close partnership with partners who supply them with the required products. From these reasons and comparisons, it is evident that Wal-Mart is more successful compared to its main competitors. That is why it is the leading retailer in the globe.Reasons for the company’s successI. Provision of low prices every day: From their slogan, it is evident that the company uses affordable prices for their customers. As a result, they are able to gain a wider market share. Most customers yearn for quality services at affordable prices. That is why wall-mart is successful since it is able to attract and retain more customers thus amassing profits (Tambi 2010).II. Grocery retail: availability of grocery retail is a plus for this company. It enables them to attract customers who are in need of doing a one-stop shopping. Since the groceries provide quality customer services and products, they are able to attract more customers. This adds to their success by adding a number of profits they gain in the market.

Admission Seeking Interviews Essay Example for Free

Admission Seeking Interviews Essay There are several reasons why a person would consider and actually go through with committing fraud. It could be due to a perceived pressure, for example financial problems, abuses like drugs or alcohol, pressure from superiors, or simply because the individual is a disgruntled employee who thinks the company â€Å"owes them†. Or the reason could be they want to increase their lifestyle like â€Å"keeping up with the Joneses†. Other pressures could come from superiors who coerce employees to go along with the fraud or lose their jobs. Fraudsters rationalize their misdeeds with thoughts like; they will replace the stolen asset in the near future before anyone notices, or maybe the boss is doing it so why can’t I? Higher level employees like the CEO may rationalize that stock prices will be higher if they manipulate the financial statements, after all who they are hurting? It all comes out in the wash, right? Creative accounting is all it takes and adjustments could be made in the future to remedy this year’s fraud. Individuals who do a fraudulent act typically have the opportunity to commit the fraud. It could be because of shoddy internal controls; even with good internal controls a determined person could find a way to override them. A CEO or manager may think they are high enough on the totem pole that no one would question their antics. Once a fraud has been discovered or reported the fraud examiner must do his/her homework. They must secure data and documents to determine if a fraud has actually happened. Once all the evidence has been gathered about the crime and the subjects background has been determined the fraud examiner sets up an appointment which could be a planned or spontaneous event. He/she would interview the interviewee using a variety of techniques and executing objectivity, fairness and professionalism at all times. The subject who thinks the interviewer is out to help them and does ot judge their misdeeds would be more forthcoming with information so it is important that the interviewer thanks the person periodically offers breaks and concessions lie coffee or a drink. Once it has been determined that the subject was involved through investigation and preliminary interviews the examiner would sympathize with the subject stating such things as â€Å"anyone would do that in your position†. It is important that they establish a rationalization and motive for the fraud. The fraud examiner could produce other witness’ statements to try to get the subject to reveal their motive. Once the motive or rationalization is uncovered it would be important to discover how the act took place. What opportunities did the subject have to commit the crime? Examples could be poor internal controls, management that was lax, or the fraudster was capable of outsmarting his superiors. There are many recommended methods to have a successful interview. Each case is unique and has to be handled in a different way, but the outcome is pretty much the same. The purpose to an admission seeking interview is to determine how it was done, opportunity, why it was done, rationalization, and finally what made the person do it, perceived pressure. In closing, people are complex and unique in their make-up; there is no mold or template that determines who will commit a fraud or why they may do it. Not all people that have pressures for example sole providers of a struggling family, or can rationalize a reason, or have the opportunity will commit a fraudulent act. Basically we all have to live our lives under a certain code of conduct. People who deviate from the honest worker lack morals in my opinion. It is up to the examiner to uncover the truth. The fraud triangle is a helpful tool that gives a standard of the typical fraudster. Classifying potential pressures, opportunities, or probable rationalizations and by using the techniques of a successful interviewer one should net the desired result in determining if the subject is indeed guilty or just being set up by the whistleblower for whatever reason.

Roles Of Investment Banks In Mergers And Acquisitions Finance Essay

Roles Of Investment Banks In Mergers And Acquisitions Finance Essay BACKGROUND: Â  Mergers and Acquisitions which can also be abbreviated as MA, relates to the corporate strategy, company finance and management of buying, selling and combining of different firms which can assist, finance or help a developing company in a particular sector develop more without generating a need to create different business entity. The history of MA has evolved in five stages. The process of MA is triggered by the economic factors such as growth in GDP, interest rates and monetary policies which brings the companies and organizations to emerge in the transactions of MAs. The first stage is known as the first mergers wave which was commenced from 1897 to 1904. During this phase merger occurred between the companies who are in the line of productions of heavy manufacturing products like railroads, electricity, etc. All the mergers that happened during these phase are of horizontal type. The companies and organizations that are merged had enjoyed monopoly in the market because of their same kind of manufacturing business of heavy machineries and industrial goods. At the end of the first merger wave those companies that are involved in mergers and acquisitions have tasted bitter failures because of non achievement of desired efficiency. These failures were highly fuelled by the economic slowdown and stock market crash in 1903 and 1904 respectively. Those companies were further more retaliated by the legal frameworks, which are even not in their favour. The Supreme Court had passed a mandate stating the possibility of halting of the anticompetitive companies using the Sherman Act an act which was passed in 1890 by the US government against the combination of companies who creates the potential harm to the competitive markets by their cartels and monopolies. (William L. Letwin, Congress and the Sherman Antitrust Law: 1887-1890, 23 U.Chi.L.Rev 221 (1956)) The second wave merger took place from 1916 to1929. During this period the mergers between oligopolies had taken place rather than monopolies. The economic boom after the World War I had given rise to these mergers. The technological advancement in railroads and transportations by motor vehicles had given a proper infrastructure to these mergers and acquisitions. The government encouraged the companies to work united and the policy was implemented in 1920s. The second mergers wave was mainly a horizontal or conglomerate type. Mergers happened during this phase were mainly between the companies producing petroleum, food products, metals, transportation equipments and chemicals. Investment banks had a vital role in facilitating mergers and acquisitions during this phase. The end of second wave mergers happened due to sudden crash in stock market in 1929. The tax relief provided by the government helped mergers to start again in 1940s. The third wave merger took place between 1965 and 1969 which was of conglomerate in nature. These mergers were inspired by the high interest rates, rise in stock markets and strict antitrust policies. The interesting fact about these mergers is, the bidder firms were smaller in size than the target firms. These mergers were financed from equities and investment banks have no more vital roles in those mergers. The third wave mergers ended by the plan of the Attorney General to split the conglomerates in 1968 and also due to a poor performance by the conglomerates. The fourth wave mergers took place between 1981 and 1989 which was a kind of acquisitions. These mergers were not big in size as compared to those in third wave mergers. Mergers were happened between the oil and gas companies, airline and banking companies and pharmaceuticals. This wave ended due to anti takeover laws, financial reforms and Gulf war. The fifth wave mergers took place between 1992 and 2000. During this period mergers were inspired by globalization and rise in stock market. Mergers were financed by the equity and not by the debt. The motives of mergers have changed from short term to long term profits. This merger wave ended with the burst of stock market bubble. To sum up, the process of mergers and acquisitions is coming from all the way long and has passed through lots of economic and geographic barriers. It is being developed by the various economic factors. Many other factors have contributed in its growth and as long as these economic units of production exist, MA will continue to spread and develop. As this paper is all about the financing of MAs, firstly, we must know about the ways in which the transactions of MAs are financed. You can finance an acquisition by borrowing money based on assets you own yourself or you can borrow money based on the business value and assets of the company you wish to purchase. Mergers are also frequently financed by stock swaps or by issuing new stock in your company to use as payment to the target companys shareholders.( http://www.ehow.com/how_2119515_finance-buyout-merger.html) If a company takes on debt to make an acquisition and the deal goes sour, it runs into financial trouble and the executives are replaced. But if an equity-backed deal goes wrong, the stock price simply underperforms and nobody can be sure why. One thing is certain unwise acquisitions abound in this market. Michael H. Lubaktin and Peter J. Lane Acquisitions can be financed by cash purchase, an exchange of stocks of shares or a combination of both cash and shares. However, from all these stated mediums, cash is considered as a most preferred mode of financing. It has started taking pace during 1970s, when the percentage of takeovers grew from 20% in 1960s to over 50% during 1970s. (D. A. Blackmon, 1997. WorldComs massive bid shakes up little town. Wall Street Journal, October 13: Bl, B9; P. Elstrom, C. Yang, and S. Jackson, 1997. WorldCom + MCI: How it all adds up. Business Week, November 4: 44.) Whenever a company decides it wants to merge or acquire another firm, they use the services provided by the professionals outside the company. It may include the Investment banks, accountants and valuation experts. There is variety of services provided by the Investment banks like helping to select the target, target valuation, advising on strategy and raising the required finance to complete the transaction. We have seen the origin of Mergers and Acquisitions and even various ways of financing it. But in this paper we are going to talk more about the role of Investment banks in the entire procedure of MA. So, before we move on further, lets just see how these Investment banks came into existence. We will see their origin, a bit of services they offer and finally their extreme importance in the transaction of mergers and acquisitions. In the true sense, Investment Banking is investing in the securities of the issuing companies, i.e. buying their shares and then to resale them to the general public. (Fleuriet, Michel, 2008, p.1). Investment banking is originated in 1792 outside the Wall Street and under a Buttonwood tree. This is the only known origin of investment bank by number of investment bankers. However, there is no exact report of truth of its origin. Anyways as nobody knows where Investment banking came from; let alone what it actually is. There are various other services apart from reselling the securities that investment banks provide. But it is believed that most of them are much older than the Investment banks themselves. Lets begin with the financial products the Investment banks offer. Investment banks deal with the underwriting and trading government bonds. They trade in international bond syndications. They develop new instruments of structured finance; one of them is mortgage-based securities. The major functions of Investment banks are: Raising Capital Trading Securities Advising on Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions. In general terms Investment banks act as intermediaries between the sellers and the buyers of securities. Moreover, they do more than just that. The scope of investment banking include all major capital market activities such as underwriting, private placement, MA, venture capital, market making, proprietary trading, financial engineering, clearing and settlement, and financing and money management. K.T. Liaw, The Business of Investment Banking (New York: Wiley, 1999). Apart from the rest of the duties of Investment banks, we are going to see more about its duties towards advisory on deals of Mergers and Acquisitions. Investment banks are nowadays having become more focused on taking the deals of MAs which are of logically planned to think deeply and apply thoughtful logic in the whole merger transaction. If an Investment bank is on the buy side of the transaction, it will spend lot of time to analyze the situation, strategic setting of the acquirer and of the target. It will help them to identify potential strategic aims for the transaction. AIMS and OBJECTIVES: The main aim of this paper is getting a legitimate understanding of the entire process of MA as well as an extreme vital role of Investment banks in the entire process of MAs. Moreover, by doing this research work, I would try to find out various strategies and methods that the Investment banks use according to the companys situations. Furthermore, I would also try to find out the ways the Investment banks use their arbitragers in taking higher risks to get the maximum amount of profit out of the entire merger transactions. There are several other objectives and questions that are needed to be answered that I would try to find and present my best possible outcome of the research in this paper. In recent trend, the transaction of mergers and acquisition requires a strategic plan to create a successful merger. There are several ways that the companies involved are applying nowadays. Firstly, the acquirer company makes a tender offer which means, it makes a takeover bid in public like an open offer or an invitation to all the shareholders of the target company. It offers the stock for sale at a specific price during a stipulated time period. That offer may be for a minimum or maximum number of shares. And in this case the acquirer firm directly contact the shareholders through the medium of newspaper advertisements and the directors of the target firm may not have endorsed the proposal of the tender offer. The price which the acquirer firm offers to the target firms shareholders usually have included premium over the current market price of the target companys shares. Acquirer firm does so to induce the shareholders to sell their maximum number of shares to them. There is an extreme importance to study both the perspectives of the entire process of MA. It means the process consists of both the buyers perspective and the sellers perspective. Here, we are going to study these perspectives and try to conclude the outcomes of the entire research. First of all we will see the transaction from the buyers point of view. How a buyer of the firm gathers all required materials, assemble the team, recruit the internal team to go on for further details, getting things done by the outside teams, etc. Secondly, we will go for the sellers perspective of the deal. What made the seller to sell his business, preparations made to close the bid, keeping in mind the needs of prospective buyer, gathering the decisions of the sellers entire team, preparing financial terms, taking help from the outsiders, etc. Moreover, we will also focus on the importance of the advisory teams which plays a vital role in closing the deals. They may be accountants, attorneys, investment banks or other financial institutions. As this paper is made to get insight on workings of the Investment banks as an advisor to both the parties in the deal, we will see more on the entire work done in the past by various Investment banks from all over the world. We will also take some examples of the Investment banks and their financial advisory terms and structures to get exact and insight knowledge of the Investment banks as an advisor. Finally, we will conclude on the basis of ethics, the working of both sides of the merger deals and the ethics used by the Investment banks in its advisory role to the process of mergers and acquisitions. Methodology and Data: Research methods are the techniques for gathering data (Aldridge and Levine, 2001). It is a systematic and orderly approach for collecting and analyzing data and obtaining particular information from collected data (Jankowicz, 2000). The research I am doing on is a topic that can be discussed a lot. Because of its increasing importance, the data regarding my research can be available in ample quantity from number of sources like journals, articles, magazines and some research papers, electronic search engines from college, World Wide Web, documentary data, Survey based data etc which helps to develop a good literature and synthesize and analyze primary data. Secondary data analysis provides higher quality data than could be obtained by collecting on your own (Stewart and Kamins, 1993). Re-analyzing secondary data can lead to unforeseen or unexpected new discoveries (Saunders et al, 2003). These available secondary data can give me that information that is at least a basic idea giving and can be my first approach to initiate my research work. Because of the day to day financial news is available in Financial News Papers, lot of information regarding investment banks are available from it. Along with that the inter net is considered as the best source of getting information on almost every topic we wish to work on. So, my first move to start research would be secondary data available from above mentioned sources. Data collection through interviews has been the prime source of this research. An interview is a purposeful discussion between two or more people (Kahn and Cannell, 1957). It is a type of social interaction between a researcher and an interviewee, who serves as the potential source of information relevant to the research. The use of interviews helps the researcher to collect valid and reliable data that are significant so as to the research questions and objectives (Saunders et al, 2003). Bryman and Bell (2007) says that the research interview is an important data collection strategy in any type of research whether it is quantitative or qualitative. The major merit of interview to be used as a data collection tool is that it focuses predominantly on the researchers topic along with being more insightful. The objective behind conducting interview is to collect relevant information required to the respondents knowledge in particular field (Merriam, 1994, pp. 86 87). Structure of the Study: This study has been divided into five chapters: Chapter two describes empirical literature based on past studies conducted on single and panel countries and an overview of Investment banks working towards the finalizations of merger deals with description of recent trend and progress of MA deals. Chapter three explains the methodology and data used in this study together with the description of variables. Chapter four states the analysis of the collected data and findings. Finally, chapter five provides the results and conclusion derived from the given study. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction: An acquisition is a transaction where one company buys shares of another company, by issuing its own new shares, cash, debt or a mixture of these forms of consideration. A merger transaction is where both parties agree to combine their business, and for this purpose form a new company that issues shares which replace the shares of both businesses (Reuvid, Jonathan, 2007). Mergers and Acquisition activities have been circled from long time, which is based on various macro economic factors. The overall economic state of the nation and abroad. Stock prices of public listed companies. Liquidity levels in the financial markets. The level of pressure by antitrust on Mergers and Acquisitions. The level of regulation in accurate checking of certain industries, such as airlines, telecommunication, banking and other financial services. If the conglomerates or pure play companies are in favour of market experts and analysts. There are so many differences in aspects of the number of companies bought and sold, as well as prices paid for these deals, as time has passed. Firstly, we will see the examples of the merger transactions that had failed due to lack of proper preparations and over spending of money in transaction. Here is the case of Conseco Finance, which was trading near its highest level at $50 per share in June 1998. The CEO of the company, Stephen Hilbert, and the public market were very confident about the companys prospects. However, Hilbert announced the acquisition of Green Tree Financial, a subprime mortgage and consumer lending company, for a whopping $7.6 billion, that same month. The offered price was more than seven times the net worth of Green Tree, or a $6.6 billion premium to the tangible book value. Then the disaster had started to happen over the next two years. The stock price of the company dropped to $below $10 per share from $50 per share. The company was declared bankrupt in the spring 2003. Moreover, the analysts attributed the companys long and painful downfall to its overpayment for the Green Tree assets and the subsequent adverse impact of that purchase on Consecos operations. This disaster not only resulted in loss of job to Hilbert, but also drove a very successfu l company out of business. The popular