MOS Burger Franchise Expansion Strategy

MOS Burger Franchise Expansion Strategy 1.0 INTRODUCTION MOS Burger is a well known inexpensive food administration in Japan that established in 1971 by Mr. Satoshi Sakurada. The name of MOS originates from the words Mountain, Ocean, and Sun and every one of this word have its own significance. Mountain represents honorable and respectable, Ocean represents wide and immense while Sun speaks to dynamic and nurturing (MOS Food Singapore, 2012). It is currently the second biggest inexpensive food administration in Japan after McDonald and MOS outlets had effectively ventured into abroad markets, for example, Taiwan, Singapore, China, etc. The organization separate itself from contenders by apply cook to arrange idea (MOS Burger Website, 2012). The nourishments will be cooked simply after the clients request to guarantee the newness of the nourishments. Greenery burgers utilized rice bun and numerous other Japanese sauces like teriyaki sauce that conceal on the burgers to shows its uniqueness which accentuated on giving a solid, heavenly and clean food. Besides, the organization likewise served assortment of remarkable and unique MOS Burger just as utilizing transnational procedures while going worldwide on the grounds that they keep normalized the formula and the business framework while limited a portion of the item to fit with neighborhood taste and inclination. The corporate maxim To fulfill individuals through food was a significant driver for the organization to deliver new, scrumptious, and quality burgers to their clients (MOS Burger Website, 2012). The enthusiastic duty of the organization make it fruitful conceivable and to guarantee a ceaseless endurance in this serious market. MOS Burger has effectively extended its business all around and at present there are 28 outlets in Singapore, 223outlets in Taiwan, 16 in Hong Kong, 7 in Thailand, 2 in Indonesia, 18 in China, 2 in Korea and 5 in Australia (MOS Burger Website, 2012). The 1412 outlets in Japan have nearly arrived at the cutoff for the organization to extend, in this way the organization want to quicken its extension with a dream from MOS of Japan to MOS of Asia lastly MOS of the World. The organization intended to grow their business and decide to enter those business sectors that they have not enter yet, for example, Malaysia, Canada, Western nations, etc later on (MOS Food Singapore, 2012). The section mode utilized by MOS Burger to enter the oversea market typically lies on joint endeavor and establishment framework. The organization structure joint endeavor with the nearby organization as development methodology into abroad market (MOS Burger Website, 2012). MOS Burger headquarter will appointed a work force to talk about the turn of events and joint exertion with the neighborhood organization to guarantee that they can go into the new market effectively which is absolutely contrasts as far as the methods of working together, culture issues and different issues. MOS Burger additionally use establishment as one of the passage mode procedures however it is difficult to get an establishment permit from MOS Burger since it needs to satisfy the prerequisites set by the organization. The potential franchisee need to think well about the companys reasoning that made by Mr. Sakurada in light of the fact that he wish to band together with the individuals who minds on nature; and furthermore a gathering of individuals who can add to the production of bliss both for individuals and society (MOS Burger Website, 2012). In any case, the organization will just look for the nations or territorial franchisees. As end, the organization is wanted to utilize an ace establishment framework to enter the new markets rather than an ordinary establishment framework. 2.0 CURRENT EXPANSION STRATEGY MOS Burger begins to grow their business since year 2001 and the primary abroad outlet is built up at Taiwan. MOS burger has work mindfully to grow their business and effectively opened 265 stores across seven areas in year 2011. (MOS report, 2011). 2.1 Joint Venture Joint endeavor is a passage mode by building up a firm that is mutually possessed by at least two in any case free firms (Charles and William, 2011). MOS Burger chose to utilize joint endeavor as one of the section modes to enter different districts since it ready to command over the business and simultaneously it likewise can profoundly comprehend that specific areas culture and way of life. In venture into every area, MOS Burger just will build up a joint endeavor concurrence with those organizations that worrying on great human relationship even it can seek after benefit (MOS Burger Website, 2012). MOS Burger will cautiously in assess and select their joint endeavor organizations so as to guarantee their business execution to accomplish fulfillment result. Those organizations that certified to seek after a joint endeavor concurrence with MOS Burger must experiencing not many procedures start from accommodation of proposition, introduction, meeting and they should ready to coordinate in the advancement of MOS Burger in that specific locale (MOS Burger Website, 2012). This procedure have been utilized effectively in Taiwan by built up a joint endeavor with TECO Group in year 1990. Following 22 years, there are 223 stores was opened in Taiwan (MOS Burger Website, 2012). The effective extension of MOS burger in Taiwan is on the grounds that they master in preparing their workers who ready to comprehend the essential way of thinking of MOS burger which is sheltered and secure. (Kouhei, Hideaki, Tsukasa, Shigeharu, 2010) In Indonesia, MOS Burger set up a joint endeavor, Pt Mog Indonesia in year 2008 and they start the principal outlet in Plaza Sendayan situated at South Jakarta (Plaza Indonesia Shopping Center, 2009). In addition, MOS FOOD SERVICES Inc. has joint endeavor with Media Will Holding Co. Ltd, a Korean organization that engaged with wide range of exercises including printing, appropriation and eatery the board to open another South-Korea outlet in March 2012 (MOS Report, 2011). Joint endeavor is significant for MOS Burger and effectively utilizing by MOS to extend their business to abroad districts including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and others. MOS burger chose utilizing joint endeavor since they found that the characteristic boundary in building up the business openings abroad. Those characteristic obstructions chiefly allude to every locale language and culture contrasts from one another (MOS report, 2011). The fruitful of this technique can be found in Taiwan which comprise the most noteworthy number of outlets among the outside business sectors. It was so achievement in light of the fact that the joint endeavor organization TECO bunch completely comprehend their own locale and prevail with regards to preparing the representatives who can speak Chinese well and simultaneously they ready to comprehend the fundamental way of thinking that created by MOS burger. (Kouhei, Hideaki, Tsukasa, Shigeharu, 2010) However, joint endeavor despite everything has its own constraints which are MOS burger unfit completely authority over their own business and strife may emerge when there is diverse purpose of perspectives. (Charles and William, 2011) 2.2 Franchising Other than joint endeavor, diversifying is another passage procedure that utilized by MOS Burger as it falls under cheap food industry. As per Charles and William (2011), diversifying considered as a specific type of authorizing wherein franchiser offer the immaterial property to the franchisee and demands rules to do the business. MOS burger extends their business and increment the quantity of outlet out of their nation of origin by looking for huge franchisees as opposed to looking for the little scope or individual limit (MOS Burger Website, 2012). Inside each and every district, those individual franchisees will be overseen by the joint endeavor organization along with MOS Burger to ensure all franchisees perform as per the built up business rehearse and guarantee the quality control in term of food just as their client assistance. Like joint endeavor, the establishment understanding will be marked after experienced a few procedures which are propose, present, talk with, condition examination and afterward just accompany the understanding. MOS burger will just take part in association with those franchisees that compassion to their thought included accomplish work that will be valued by clients, getting individual fulfillment when client fulfill with them and must have the full heart inspiration to work the establishment business. (MOS Burger Website, 2012) Today, MOS burger has become the second biggest establishment in Japan after McDonald. (Phillip, 2012). This establishment framework has been applied in various Asia district including Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and others. MOS Burger utilize establishment framework ready to produce fixed pay by gathering imperial expenses from the franchisees. In any case, expanding number of establishment conceded by MOS Burger will bring about a more grounded rivalry among all the MOS Burgers establishment business inside a specific district. In Taiwan, MOS Burger comprise of 223 outlets and every outlet is contend together so as to accomplish the most noteworthy benefit for one another. Solid rivalry between the franchisees will diminish the general benefit that can produce by MOS Burger and this turns into the impediment of this technique. There are numerous achievement establishments from MOS Burger in various locales; anyway there is a disappointment case that found in Hawaii, United State. In the late of 1980s, MOS Burger was enter to Hawaii however the business is bomb because of the high leases, stock issue and conflicting food quality (Andrew and Kulwant, 2005). 2.3 Wholly Owned Outlet In intending to grow their business out from that point Asia, there is a completely claimed outlet which opens in Australia in April 2011. Michelle (2012) revealed that Shinji Yamaguchi who is the head of global activity of MOS burger said they enter Australia since it closes to Asia and there are a great deal of Asian individuals which have comparable culture (Michelle, 2012). Plus, Australia outlet likewise is a trial of their business practice for MOS burger before their arrangement of entering Western nations. Yamaguchi said MOS burger presently is as yet hazy to utilize diversifying methodology or completely own business by them in the next year to grow the business. 3.0 FUTURE E

Proposal Essay Professor Ramos Blog

Proposition Essay Task: Proposal

How to Read Faster and Retain More from Everything You Read

How to Read Faster and Retain More from Everything You Read There is a chance reading is not your favorite thing in the world. And if that is the case, you’re most probably not very good at it. That needs to change.Reading is not only a great pass time, it is a great way of processing information â€" as opposed to watching TV, for example. Statistics tell us people who read more are richer, they are in relatively better health, they have more success in their careers.If you happened to be able to read faster and get more information from it, will you will be willing to read more often?This article will give you helpful advice how to teach your brain great techniques in order to go through written text faster and comprehend more from it.WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO READ FASTER?We read for multiple reasons. Some of us read mainly for pleasure, while others read mostly at work.While you want to take your time when reading your favorite new novel, you certainly want to be more efficient when reading work documents, or anything that is taking your prec ious time at the office.When you say the word ‘reading’ you probably imagine yourself standing in front of a book or a sheet of paper, fully concentrated, with all the time in the world. But that is not always the case.Especially at the workplace.For example, imagine you at one of those boring presentations, and the presenter of the information is in a hurry. You will only have a little bit of time to read those information heavy slides they are screening in front of you, and at the end you will be expected to be an efficient member of your brainstorming session or discussion. The more you manage to get out of the presentation, the more creative and full potential your ideas will be.Learning to read more efficiently will give you a competitive edge over your team members â€" you will become better at analysis, you’ll will be faster in comprehending new information.Reading fast improves your memoryReading is a great brain exercise. Not only do you have two digest the informatio n, you have to retain it and analyze it, and, preferably, remember it.It is not just a speed exercise.Research proves exercising your brain regularly is very beneficial â€" you are not wearing it out â€" on the contrary. Research tells us that heavy mental exercises can actually preserve your brain from damage caused by disease â€" for example Alzheimer’s. Activities such as solving crossword puzzles have been proven to be a healthy way to train your brain muscle. Learning to read fast and constantly challenging yourself is a way to progress in your training. Improves your focusWhen we’re not putting enough strain on our mind we get distracted very often and easily.We tend to allow ourselves to do that â€" we watch TV while we read the news, or we listen to music while we work.We seem to constantly prefer a false sense of comfort over focus. And focus is what guarantees us our efficiency.Trying to read faster and faster requires that focus. What is more, research shows that focu s is the subject of progress. The more often you put yourself in the situation of no distractions, the easier you will achieve a focused mind.Saves you timeThis is one of the more obvious reasons why you want to read faster. And while it is obvious it is a factor, it is underestimated how big of a factor this is. As reported by Globalnews.ca ‘people now spend one-third of their time at the office â€" and half of the time they work at home â€" reading and answering emails. And 30 per cent of that time, the emails are neither urgent nor important. That’s 11.7 hours spent at work and 5.3 hours at home â€" every week.’ Imagine how much of your time you could save if you could double or even triple your reading speed.HOW FAST SHOULD YOU BE ABLE TO READ?Can you really double or triple your reading speed? Well, to answer that question, you first need to know how fast you are reading already. According to Forbes, this is how fast you are supposed to be reading, counted in words per mi nute (wpm)Third-grade students = 150 words per minute (wpm)Eight grade students = 250Average college student = 450Average “high level exec” = 575Average college professor = 675Speed readers = 1,500World speed reading champion = 4,700Average adult: 300 wpmThere are free reading speed tests available online. Before you take any steps towards improving the speed of your reading, you need to know the current speed you’re working with.HOW TO START READING FASTERThe Tim Ferris experimentTim Ferris reports to have always been fascinated by the idea of the amount of time he could save himself if he could read at one third or even one fifth of the time. He believes that increasing the reading speed mainly involves controlling the fine motor movement in particular. The projectHe claims to have discovered a way to improve the reading speed of all participants, in what he calls the PX Project, by more than 30% in less than five minutes. And the further you are involved in the project the more you can increase your reading speed. The PX project is something Tim Ferris has taught to undergraduates at the Princeton University.The claimsAccording to him, the project is nothing more than a three-hour cognitive experiment with some great results. He claims to have never seen the experiment fail â€" it has been tested on foreign language speakers and even dyslexics. The experiment is supposed to teach anyone to read even technical material at more than 3000 words per minute which means 10 pages of text in one minute. To compare, the average reader has the speed of 300 words per minute, or half a page in one minute.You will need:A reading material of more than 200 pages. The material should be able to stay open at all times â€" do not go for a small-page book that keeps closing all of the time.Three hours for the experiment, in increments of 20 minutes of exercise in one session.A pen.A timer.You need to know:When you’re reading your eyes do not follow the lettering smoot hly. Rather, they move in what is called saccadic movements. You are fixating your eyes on a particular part of the sentence you are reading and you are taking a temporary snapshot of the page you’re seeing. If you find that hard to believe you can conduct your own experiment. Close one of your eyes and put your index finger on it. With your other eye open, read several sentences. You will fill the little jerky movements with the finger on your closed eye. The average reader constantly rereads text on their material because of a wrong fixation on text that has already been read. In order to improve your reading speed you must eliminate those regressions. Your current focus of reading fixation is most probably circular instead of elliptical. You are fixating on words that are above and below the text you’re reading. If you, instead, try and concentrate your sight horizontally and not vertically you will have a better understanding of the particular line your reading instead of f ocusing on unnecessary information above and below it. That alone is going to increase your reading speed by 50%.How the experiment worksThe experiment has several stages. You will learn to apply one principle, you exercise for it, you will time the increase of your reading speed, and you will challenge yourself with the new principle.Start the experimentEven though you might already know your reading speed, it is a good idea to doublecheck their reading speed with the particular materials you will be using for your experiment. Count the words from the first five line of your text. Now count the number of lines on the first five pages. If you divided by five now you will have the average number of lines per page. Multiply the amount by the number of words per line and you have yourself a number of words on the first five pages. This will give you a good idea of the number of words. Now read from the text for one minute exactly. Multiplying the lines you have covered by your average words-per-line number and you are ready with your current reading speed. You have to use a tracker and a pacer. You probably already used a pen to count the words per line and lines per page. Using a tracker means you have an object that points to you what is your current position in the text you’re reading. That will minimize the amount of times you are going back to text you have already read involuntarily. If you use your pen as a tracker you will probably move it in a smooth pace with your hand under the lines that you’re reading â€" which means that that can also be your pacer. You will use it to force yourself to be reading at a particular speed.Start reading at the minimum speed for one line per second, using your pen as a tracker and a pacer, and at this point do not concern yourself with actually comprehending the text. Just make sure you read it at the minimum speed. Repeat until you have reached your goal for one line per second. Continue on the same exercise until yo u reach the goal of two lines in one second. Read it so for 3 minutes. Focus on the exercise â€" remember, at this point you are just teaching your brain to adapt to the higher speed. You will work for comprehension later. Take a little break from reading to work on your focus. Stare for a minute at the center of the page trying two expand your peripheral vision. Focus on one word in the middle of the line and try to figure out what the rest of the sentence says. When you’re ready check if you’re a correct and switch your focus to another line or another page.Now do another session of reading following this technique. Remember to never read slower than one line per second, once again do not concern yourself with comprehension. You’re just teaching your brain to adapt. You are going to comprehend the fast read text later. Using your pen for a tracker, track your text while you are reading it like you did before, but this time while pointing with your pen skip one word at the be ginning of the line and then skip one word at the end of the line. Do so for one minute. Then for another minute skip two words at the beginning and two words at the end. Next, for three minutes straight try reading at the same pace skipping three words in the beginning of the line and three words at the end. Don’t worry if you do not understand the text completely. You’re just creating a reflex.Now calculate your words per minute reading speed. Try to read for a month fast with comprehension of the text. What were your findings? Did the experiment work for you? If you found there is a significant change in your reading speed, feel free to conduct the experiment again and track your changes. Mindful readingWhile the PX project gives you an exercise to train your brain and to teach it to read differently â€" creating a reflex how you should approach comprehending written information, mindful reading relies on you understanding how reading happens in your brain, so that you’ll c an manipulate that process and do it faster.Stop subvocalizingWhen you are reading written text you are probably hearing your own voice in your head going through the words on the page. You’re pronouncing them at the same speed if you read out loud. Well, you are not reading out loud. That is actually a very bad habit for people that want to learn to read faster. It is called subvocalizing. If you keep subvocalizing you will never reach the full potential of your reading mindfully. It is unnecessarily slowing you down. It is distracting you. If you focus on the meaning of the text you will not need to focus on little things like the pronunciation of the words for example. Work towards awareness of your subvocalizing. There is a trick that can help you achieve this. Try focusing on a word on the page without reading it aloud in your mind. Instead, focus on its meaning. Try a sentence then. Whenever you feel more confidence continue reading that text without hearing it in your head at all. Preview what you are about to readProbably it is way more difficult to comprehend a text if you have no idea what it’s about, who is it from and where is it going. Preview the first lines of the entire chapter of that text you’re about to start reading. Focus on the longer words from them. The longer words are usually the more specific words (as opposed to the more generic ones) â€" they will give you a better information about the jargon in the text â€" they will have a specific topic. When you know where the text is going it will be more difficult for you to get caught up in misunderstandings in the text caused by the higher speed of reading. Has it ever happened to you that you missed a little word and then in the entire paragraph stopped making sense for awhile? For example, the difference between ‘we most certainly do not participate in such events’ and ‘we most certainly do participate in such events’. The preview of the text will eliminate it most of those cases because you know what is coming next. Be mindful of the purpose of the textWhen you are previewing be more conscious of specific words into text, depending on its purpose. If you are reading a technical text, watch out for the jargon. If you are reading a novel, be more mindful of the words signifying feelings. If you are reading an email, watch out for action words and modal verbs â€" ‘we must go’, ‘please find’, ‘you should not delay’, ‘we would love it but…’Once again, this is the rule that you should be more conscious of the words that bring you the greatest meaning in that particular text you are reading. Track your speed and difficulty levelDo not get discouraged if your reading speed goes lower when you increase the difficulty level of the text. Remember there is a huge difference between reading your favorite novel and the reading a physics book.Do not expect for your progress to go smoothly. You will always experience bumps on the road. You will not always be able to tell the text you’re reading right now is more difficult than the one you did before. Obviously you will have other factors â€" you could be tired, sick or your attention could be preoccupied by something else. Track your reading progress Be constantly mindful of your reading speed. To begin with, make sure you have determined your baseline reading speed when you begin working on improving your pace.Whenever you read, take a second to think about the speed with which you want to read â€" if you are reading a large amount of information for your work you might prefer to read for a quality of comprehension and speed. If you’re reading for pleasure you might want to slow down and to cherish the authors work. In both of those cases being aware of the reading speed will help you improve your technique in the future. Make sure you take a test as your reading pace at least once every two weeks.Skip the small words when you readBe careful. When we talk about skipping the small words we do not mean skimming your text. By popular definition, skimming your text means to go over that text so quickly you are really not expected to have any comprehension of what is written, but could just get the general idea. If you skim you might know what the text is about, what is the writing style, what happens at the end. But you will miss a large amount of the information.While it could be useful in certain circumstances, it is not a form of reading we associate with understanding. What we mean by saying you should skip the small words is, that you should focus on the words that bring specific meaning and not the words that are too generic and are used to often. Words such as ‘and’, ‘if’, ‘is’, ‘to’, and ‘the’ can be found in any context. They will not be essential for your understanding of the particular text that you need to read.Read a lotThe moment you have an agenda with your reading, you will start feeling it’s a chore rather than a pleasurable activity. Do not put your reading materials aside, however.As with anything your training to do, it takes practice. Make sure you give it at least 15 to 20 minutes a day. Change your attitude towards readingReading, you used to think, was just another human ability. Now that you know a lot more about it, act accordingly. Your are now somewhat of an expert. You know how everything works in the brain. Experience the pleasure of your accomplishment. Cherish the power you’ll have now gained. You are a superhero with a very cool ability. Teach others.Watch this fascinating video about learning faster to gain a new superhero skill:CONCLUSIONThere you have it. Now you know that reading is nothing more than a process that you can teach yourself and your brain. You are not done learning to read in the first grade. You can continue developing helpful techniques to read with more skill and more mindfulness.You will read more quickly, more efficiently, and the entire process will be more pleasurable and will give your more information. You will have a competitive edge against all your co-workers and even your friends. Make it a goal till the end of the year to double your reading speed.You can do it!

Analysis Of John Orwell s Paradise Lost - 882 Words

Jenna Elliott Dr. Lingle-Martin British Literature February 14, 2017 How Epic Conventions Communicate Messages How does a story display a message? Often while reading, people do not realize just exactly how a text displays a message or lesson. Most of the time people realize what the message or lesson is only after they are finished reading. But, in fact many aspects of a text communicate a message. Conventions of epics play a big role in sharing the message. One may not realize it while reading, but if one were to look at the list of these conventions, one would recognize multiple examples of conventions in different texts. While each text may not have the same message, they all utilize epic conventions to help communicate a specific†¦show more content†¦However in Paradise Lost we witness a fall into the underworld, but not from what one would call a hero because he is more of a villain, this villain is Satan. At the beginning of the first book which begins after Satan s f all we get the background on why he had descended. God, Satan, and both of their armies were fighting and after God won, he punishes Satan s followers and Satan by casting them down to hell. At first Satan thinks being cast out of heaven and into hell is bad, but then he has a change of heart and emphasizes that he believes that his mind can not be changed by place or time. He expresses this belief by stating, A mind not to be chang d by Place or Time. The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a Heav n of Hell, a Hell of Heav n(1. 253-255). As these lines reveal, not only is the mind independent, but it also has the power to transform circumstances into good or bad. With this Satan chooses to transform Hell into good. He explains that he does this because he is still motivated by an ambition to rule like God. He justifies this by saying, Here at least we shall be free; th Almighty hath not built here for his envy, will not drive us hence: here we may reign secure, and in my choyce to reign is worth ambition through in Hell: better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav n(1. 258-263). This portrays Milton s goal of justifying God with his choice of casting Satan out of heaven into hell. The third andShow MoreRelatedGeorge Orwell23689 Words   |  95 PagesGeorge Orwell England Your England As I write, highly civilized human beings are flying overhead, trying to kill me. They do not feel any enmity against me as an individual, nor I against them. They are ‘only doing their duty’, as the saying goes. Most of them, I have no doubt, are kind-hearted lawabiding men who would never dream of committing murder in private life. On the other hand, if one of them succeeds in blowing me to pieces with a well-placed bomb, he will never sleep any the worse for

The Industrial Revolution Was An Innovative Period For...

The Industrial Revolution was an innovative period for entrepreneurs and inventors, in which many monumental technologies were introduced. However, many of those of the factory workers suffered from the social and economic conditions that resulted from the revolution in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some social conditions were that working women increasingly took up the workforce in textile factories as a way to earn money, but they also faced abuse from men and the harsh working conditions. Furthermore, manufacturers wanted to increase their profits by ensuring that the maximum amount of work could be done in a day, thus they increased the working shifts. The want to increase profits was an economic condition that factory workers had to†¦show more content†¦Although most females workers were older than 20, a social condition was strongly indicated that child labor was very much existent during the 19th and early 20th centuries as a way to provide for themselves and their fam ilies. E. Patricia Tsurumi also provided the genders and ages in the silk factories, but in Nagano Japan. In Nagano, female workers from ages 15 to 20 took up the majority of the workforce. Despite the varied numbers of female workers, both Coleman and Tsurumi presented information that females were mainly employed in textile factories. On the other hand, Harriet Hanson Robinson provided a closer perspective in a former female factory worker’s experience. Robinson, the female factory worker, wrote about how females in the cotton factory had to endure abusive working conditions and the reduced wages in Lowell. Robinson held a specific opinion upon the working conditions as the greatest hardship in the lives of children and that the reduced wages were unfair social conditions, because she was once a factory girl. A factory girl was considered to be the lowest among the employments of women; as a result, Robison may have endured much of the hardships and cruel treatment in the f actories at a very young age. It was a common social condition among many factory workers that they had to withstand the long hours, such as described in documents 3, 4, and 5. In Okaya, Japan, an average workday was 13 to 14 hours long with

Cat Evolution Free Essays

The felids are a rapidly evolving family of mammals that share a common ancestor only 10–15 million years ago,[26] and include, in addition to the domestic cat, lions, tigers, cougars, and many others. Within this family, domestic cats (Felis catus) are part of the genus Felis, which is a group of small cats containing approximately seven species (depending upon classification scheme). [1][27] Members of the genus are found worldwide and include the jungle cat (Felis chaus) of southeast Asia, European wildcat (F. We will write a custom essay sample on Cat Evolution or any similar topic only for you Order Now silvestris silvestris), African wildcat (F. s. lybica), the Chinese mountain cat (F. bieti), and the Arabian sand cat (F. argarita), among others. [28] All the cats in this genus share a common ancestor that probably lived around 6–7 million years ago in Asia. [29] The exact relationships within the Felidae are close but still uncertain,[30][31] e. g. the Chinese mountain cat is sometimes classified (under the name Felis silvestris bieti) as a subspecies of the wildcat, like an African variety F. S. lybica. [4][30] As domestic cats are little altered from wildcats, they can readily interbreed. This hybridization poses a danger to the genetic distinctiveness of wildcat populations, particularly in Scotland and Hungary, and possibly also the Iberian Peninsula. 32] The domestic cat was first classified as Felis catus by Carolus Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae in 1758. [1][3] However, because of modern phylogenetics, domestic cats are now usually regarded as another subspecies of the wildcat, Felis silvestris. [1][4][33] This has resulted in mixed usage of the terms, as the domestic cat can be called by its subspecies name, Felis silvestris catus. [1][4][33] Wildcats have also been referred to as various subspecies of F. catus,[33] but in 2003 the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature fixed the name for wildcats as F. ilvestris. [34] The most common name in use for the domestic cat remains F. catus, following a convention for domesticated animals of using the earliest (the senior) synonym proposed. [34] Sometimes the domestic cat has been called Felis domesticus[35] or Felis domestica,[1] as proposed by German naturalist J. C. P. Erxleben in 1777, but these are not valid taxonomic names and have only rarely been used in scientific literature,[36] because Linnaeus’s binomial takes precedence. [37] Cats have either a mutualistic or commensal relationship with humans. However, in comparison to dogs, cats have not undergone major changes during the domestication process, as the form and behavior of the domestic cat are not radically different from those of wildcats, and domestic cats are perfectly capable of surviving in the wild. [38][39] This limited evolution during domestication means that domestic cats tend to interbreed freely with wild relatives,[32] which distinguishes them from other domesticated animals. [citation needed] Fully domesticated house cats also often interbreed with feral F. atus populations. [25] However, several natural behaviors and characteristics of wildcats may have pre-adapted them for domestication as pets. [39] These traits include their small size, social nature, obvious body language, love of play, and relatively high intelligence;[40]:12–17 they may also have an inborn tendency towards tameness. [39] There are two main theories about how cats were domesticated. In one, people deliberately tamed cats in a pro cess of artificial selection, as they were useful predators of vermin. 41] However, this has been criticized as implausible, because there may have been little reward for such an effort: Cats generally do not carry out commands and, although they do eat rodents, other species such as ferrets or terriers may be better at controlling these pests. [4] The alternative idea is that cats were simply tolerated by people and gradually diverged from their wild relatives through natural selection, as they adapted to hunting the vermin found around humans in towns and villages. [4] How to cite Cat Evolution, Essay examples

Prostetic Limbs Essays - Neuroprosthetics, Biological Engineering

Prostetic Limbs In 1985 the movie going community was enthralled with its newest hit movie titled Short Circuit. The movie portrayed a robot that due to accidental electrocution believed that it was alive. In the final scenes the robot know as Johnny five was seen removing one of its damaged robotic arms and replacing it with a new and identical arm. This idea of replacing one limb with another of equal function was unfortunately only movie fiction. This fiction however is quickly becoming a reality for countless thousands of people living with prosthetic limbs. In the October 1998 issue of Scientific American the story of Melissa Del Pozzo a thirteen year old girl living with a prosthetic limb gives an example of the hope many are living with. Her only dream is that she could one day tickle the ivories of her piano again. Her hope could soon be rewarded. With continued research, prosthesiss are making advancements that were once only dreams. These advancements are seeing the most change in the area s of dexterous movement, feeling, and comfort. The first area that we see monumental change is in the ability for dexterous movement. The greatest development in this area is found in the Free-hand system developed by the Neuro-Control Corp. The January 1998 issue of FDA consumer outlines the workings of this system. First, the external Shoulder Position Sensor translates shoulder movements into electronic signals. The signals then travel to the External Controller for processing, and then to the external Transmitting Coil for relay to the Implanted Stimulator, which sends electrical stimulation along implanted Electrode Leads to implanted Electrodes in prosthetic hand, making them contract. With the use of this system amputees are again able to perform tasks were once impossible. The only problem with this system as pointed out in the September 13th issue of people magazine is that each unit costs about $50,000 an amount which most insurance companies are unwilling to fork out. The hand is also becoming more advanced with a system discussed in the January 1998 issue of Tech Directions. This system, know as Sabolich's Sense of Feel System, uses a cuff attached to the remaining portion of the limb. Over time a user is able to recognize exactly how much pressure they are using. This system differs form earlier ones in which judgement was based simply on sight, which is not very accurate. By using this system, amputees are able to hold their childs hand or pick up an egg without the fear of crushing them. Both the Free-Hand system and Sabloichs sense of feel system are helping amputees feel their way towards a better quality of life. Using these systems, they are moving away from the dreaded metal hook and into the technological world they live in. Although some feeling is addressed in the first point, we must next examine the advancement in sensory receptors which aide to the feelings experienced by amputees. The prosthetic limb has seen great advancement in feel and function but one of the greatest advancements is a system developed by John Sabolich, NovaCare's national prosthetic director. The myo-electric prosthesis with hot and cold sensory receptors described in the April 3, 1998 issue of Philadelphia Business Journal provides one of the unique advancements of the last decade. The system involves temperature sensors, placed in a prosthetic foot or hand that send signals to a computerized advanced circuitry system. Those signals are sent to electrodes on the skin in a person's residual limb. The natural skin receptors send information to the brain, where the sensation is registered. One patient said that he could again feel the warmth of his grandsons hand and could feel the warmth of his wifes face. In a recent article titled, How computers help artificial limbs get smarter found in the August 14th edition of the Wall Street Journal eastern edition, Sabolichs use of pressure sensors in artificial feet is explored. To create an awareness of pressure, Sabolich places pressure transducers in the toes and heels of artificial feet. The greater the surface pressure against them, the larger the signal sent on to electrodes that touch the existing portion of a person's leg. Signals from the front and back of the