Coca-Cola Company vs. PepsiCo, Inc Research Paper

Coca-Cola Company vs. PepsiCo, Inc - Research Paper Example Consequent to this input, the plan is effectively funded to sustain total elasticity as laid down in the Pension Plan Act 2006. Generally, the fund was estimated to finance all the subsequent contributions in future from the operating activities. In accordance to the guidelines of IFRS the international pension plans of the company are funded in conformity to the domestic laws and the income tax guidelines. The company does not anticipate the contributions to the plans to be in effect in any near future. Following the enactment of the Pension Plan Act of 2006, no contributions are expected to be included in the schedule for funding the benefit pension plan. At the end of the financial year 2009, the estimated benefit requirement of the United States eligible pension plans was about $ 2.138 million and the reasonable value of the pension plan was about $ 1.975 million. The major part of this contribution was as a result of depressing effect that the previous financial crisis and finan cial mechanism’s vulnerability had on the company’s pension plan assets. ... The US non eligible pension plans stipulates for particular links which might not be allowed or be included in the financed qualified pension plans as a result of the constrains inflicted by the local revenue code of 1986. The anticipated benefit payments of the stated unfinanced pension plans might not be considered in the schedule for the calculation of the benefit plan. It was expected that the yearly benefit payments to the unfunded benefits plans to be about $ 35 million by 2010 (PepsiCo 2009). It was also expected to remain at that level until 2030 declining yearly thereafter. The profits and losses which emanate from the real familiarity might be different from the presumptions put down by the company which comprise of the disparity amidst the real benefits from the pension plan assets and the anticipated return on the plan assets. Moreover, as a result of the variations in the presumptions the returns are also established at every date of measurement. According to the IFRS, i f the observable accumulated returns or losses are way above 10% of the entire market connected fair value of the benefit plan assets or liabilities, a section of the net margin or loss is considered in the expense for the preceding year. The charges or returns of the plan variations that enhance or decline the benefits for previous employee service cost is considered in the earnings or income on a straight-line basis over the optimal service duration that remains of the active plan contributors. This is normally approximately 10 years for the pension expense and about 12 years for the retiree medical expense (IASB, 2007) Calculation of the funding levels and capital gains experienced by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in

Dichotic Listening Experiment

Dichotic Listening Experiment George Papamanolioudakis Dichotic listening Abstract: In this experiment we collected data from seventeen (17) first year psychology students in order to identify the differences in speech recognition between the left and the right ear. Based on previous findings we expect that there will be a significant difference between them, as the left hemisphere of the brain which controls the right side of humans bodies, contains major areas controlling speech producing and recognition (Gallese Stamenov, 2002). A dichotic test was produced, using headphones, presenting the participants nonsense syllables such as â€Å"ka† and â€Å"ta† at the same time to both left and right ear. Our goal was to analyse scores from both ears and confirm if there would be a difference between them. The data we collected was ratio, within participants, and they were analyzed using a non-parametric test (Man-Whitney) due to the small sample given. The results have shown that we can confirm the above hypothesis, although later research with higher sam ple, would help as finalize the findings, and provide evidence with different methods. Introduction: In this study, we are going to examine whether people’s ability to report words accurately, is affected by which ear they hear them in. In order to investigate this, we are going to perform a dichotic listening task. Previous research (Kimura, 1961) on this subject, showed that the left hemisphere recognizes speech sounds better than the right. As the brain is connected with the body almost contra-lateral we assume that the right ear will be more capable of receiving words than the left. We can question this experiment, as it was performed to patients with epileptogenic foci, in different parts on the brain. Later on, based on an annual meeting of the academy of Aphasia in Chicago 1966, Doreen Kimura (1967) reviewed all evidence relating the asymmetry in speech recognition between the two hemispheres of the brain, confirming that the right ear of all humans was more able to recognize verbal stimuli due to better connections with the left hemisphere of the brain. Another experi ment (Molfese, Freeman, Palermo, 1975), which recorded auditory evoked responses from both cerebral hemispheres of humans in all ages, agreed that the left hemisphere responded more dynamically in speech stimuli, than the right which responded better in non-speech stimulus. The reason that makes the left hemisphere more accurate in verbal – speech stimuli, is that many areas related to speech are located there. Variety of evidence can prove that, such as many case studies of damaged brain cells on the left hemisphere of individuals that caused speech dysfunctions. More specific Broca’s area among other areas of the left hemisphere, has been repeatedly reported to be very important in the verbal domain (Gallese Stamenov, 2002). All these studies would not be so accurate if scientists were not able to analyze brain activity through specialized technology such as Magnetic encephalography (MEG), FMRI and PET scans. Using FMRI scientists Embick, Marantz, Miyashita and Oâ⠂¬â„¢Neil (2000) concluded that Broca’s area is specialized in the syntactic process of our brain, therefore there is a certain correlation given. Another area of the brain seems to play a crucial role on language understanding. Scientists found that when they increased the mean arterial pressure (pharmacologically) of a patient with a left frontal-temporal stroke, they managed to improve his language deficits as the Wernicke’s area (located on the left hemisphere) had improved perfusion (Hillis, et al., 2001) Other interesting findings have been discovered by examining patients with â€Å"split brain†. These patients had their corpus callosum removed (the part that unites the left with the right hemisphere), for other medical reasons, and gave scientists the opportunity to explore the differences between the â€Å"connected† brain and the â€Å"split brain†. Those findings showed that in the split brain condition the individual could not identify verbally an object presented on his left eye only, (left eye – right hemisphere) because there was no connection between the two hemispheres (Gazzaniga, 1967). Many researchers have used the dichotic listening test in order to examine whether the left or the right ear (right or the left hemisphere of the brain) would analyze better speech stimulus or other sounds (birds, music etc.). In this experiment we will introduce the same method in order to come up with a conclusion, as we expect that there will be a significant difference between the left and the right ear. Method: Participants: Seventeen first year undergraduate psychology students participated in this experiment. Ten (10) males and seven (7) females. Mean age =22.3, and the range was eighteen (18) to twenty-nine (29). All participants were right – handed. Design: The independent variable of this experiment was the left and the right ear, and the dependent was the correct identifications of the syllables provided both from the left and right ear. The experiment was within participants, as we measured correct answers from each participant individually. Materials: Each participant used a pair of headphones which provided stimuli for each ear. The stimuli was 15 combination of nonsense syllables, consisted of one of a series of consonants (b, d, g, k. p, t) paired with the vowel â€Å"a†. These sounds were recorded in 16 bit mono-aural mode and edited to 500 millisecond duration. Each person listened 30 presentations of the stimuli, carefully balanced for both ears, each one providing a different consonant – vowel pairing. For example the sounds â€Å"ka† and â€Å"ta† were presented at the same time on a different ear. The presentation of the sounds was reversed for a total of 30 trials. For example the sounds â€Å"ka† and â€Å"ta† were presented in both ears equally. Here is the link to the test (Dichotic Listening) Procedure: All participants arrived on CityU on time. They were welcomed by the instructors and placed on their seats. They were asked to read the information sheet and after all questions were answered they signed the consent form. Each participant used his/her own computer with her/his own headphones. They were asked to visit the link to the test, and when everyone was ready they completed the dichotic listening test individually. The test that was used was from APA webpage: ( http://opl.apa.org/Experiments/AlphabetList.aspx) on the â€Å"experiments† section located under word â€Å"d† (for dichotic listening). After clicking in the test they were asked to put the class ID number in order to collect the data from each of them. After they finished, they were thanked for their participation in the study and left. Results: This experiment took place in order to confirm that the right ear would recognise better syllables due to the immediate connection to the left hemisphere, than the left ear. The data we collected was ratio, within participants, and a non-parametric test was carried out (Man-Whitney) because of the small number of participants. The data shows that there was a significant difference understanding syllables from left and right ear. More specifically the right ear scored much higher (m=11,76 sd= 3,63) than the left (m=6,71 sd=3,08). The hypothesis was two tailed, and based on Man –Whitney’s non parametric test z=3,64 p Discussion: Based on previous research, we were able to perform a dichotic listening test in order to confirm that there would be a difference understanding syllables from right to left ear. As Doreen Kimura suggested (1961) the right ear was more capable recognising verbal stimulus as it is connected directly to the left hemisphere of the brain. Assumption which was made after many dichotic listening tests (Kimura, 1961), brain dysfunctions especially in the Broca’s and the Wernicke’s area (Gallese Stamenov, 2002), and specialized brain scanning through MEG, FMRI and PET technology (Embick, Marantz, Miyashita O’Neil, 2000). The absence of corpus callosum in many case studies confirmed that after separating the two hemispheres of the brain (split brain), the patients were not able to recognize verbally an object presented on their left eye, as the connection to the left hemisphere was lost (Gazzaniga, 1967). Our hypothesis was that there would be a significant difference understanding speech stimulus from the left to the right ear, and our findings can confirm those differences showing a huge possibility to find the same results to the whole population p References: Embick, D., Marantz, A., Miyashita, Y., ONeil, W., Sakai, K. L. (2000). A syntactic specialization for Brocas area. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(11), 6150-6154. Etard, O., Mellet, E., Papathanassiou, D., Benali, K., Houdà ©, O., Mazoyer, B., Tzourio-Mazoyer, N. (2000). Picture naming without Brocas and Wernickes area. Neuroreport, 11(3), 617-622. Gallese, V., Stamenov, M. (2002, April 1). Mirror Neurons and the Evolution of Brain and Language. Retrieved from ebscohost: http://web.a.ebscohost.com Gazzaniga, M. S. (1967). The split brain in man. Scientific American, 217(2), 24-29. Hillis, A. E., Barker, P. B., Beauchamp, N. J., Winters, B. D., Mirski, M., Wityk, R. J. (2001). Restoring blood pressure reperfused Wernicke’s area and improved language. Neurology, 56(5), 670-672. Kimura, D. (1961). Cerebral dominance and the perception of verbal stimuli. Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie, 15(3), 166. Kimura, D. (1967). Functional asymmetry of the brain in dichotic listening. Cortex, 3(2), 163-178. Molfese, D. L., Freeman, R. B., Palermo, D. S. (1975). The ontogeny of brain lateralization for speech and nonspeech stimuli. Brain and language, 2, 356-368.

My Name Is Asher Lev Essay example -- essays research papers

Asher Lev Essay: Minor characters are central to our understanding of any text. Analyse their significance in My Name Is Asher Lev. Central to our understanding of â€Å"My name is Asher Lev† by Chaim Potok, is the dynamics of Asher’s relationship with different minor characters involved. Each minor character such as Yudel Krinsky, Uncle Yitzchok, the Rebbe, and Jacob Kahn each help Asher in a different way allowing the reader to interpret the text more thoroughly. Their guidance to the antagonist creates a vivid image inside the reader’s mind of the type of character and their importance to our understanding of the text. Each minor character listed has a deep impact on the resolution of Asher Lev  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Yudel Krinsky is a Russian Jew from Siberia, in Russia. When he arrives in Brooklyn he is very grateful towards Asher’s father. â€Å"Did you know Asher that your father is an angel of God?† he says. When Asher first meets Yudel Krinsky his curiosity about Serbia and Yudel Krinsky begins. This curiosity soon makes him ask more and more questions about Yudel. â€Å"We saw a Jew from Russia,† he says to Mrs. Rackover. When asked about Siberia Mrs. Rackover replies, â€Å"What is Siberia? It is a land like the inside of this refrigerator. It is a land of ice and darkness where the Russian government sends people it hates. What is Siberia? No-one should know of it.† This gives a good impression to the reader the torment and struggle Yudel must have felt when living in Siberia. Asher of course does not view this information lightly and wishes to seek more answers about Yudel and Russian Jews. â€Å"The son of Reb Aryeh Lev,† is the name Asher is referred to during the beginning journeys of to Yudel’s store. It is important to note he is called the son of Aryeh Lev because they don’t really know each other but later called ‘Asher’. On the first encounter Asher does not ask Yudel any questions. On the second encounter though Asher begins to ask Yudel questions relating to the news in Russia and the relationship between Yudel and Asher begins to bloom like a rose bud. On the next encounters to Yudel’s store, Yudel starts addressing Asher as ‘Asher’ and not ‘the son of Aryeh Lev’. Asher seems almost attracted to the store and is mesmerized by the metal glass showcase of oils and paints. When Asher steals the oils because he can’t afford them, Yudel starts nurturi... ...en’t for Jacob’s significant contribution by offering Asher help and criticism Asher would have never prospered as a great painter. Throughout the text â€Å"My name is Asher Lev† by Chaim Potok, minor characters of Jacob Kahn, the Rebbe, Uncle Yitzchok and Yudel Krinsky are central to our understanding of the text. Each character plays a significant part in the artistic progress of Asher Lev and allows him to reach a level of artistic talent at a young age. Their description and techniques used to describe them help the reader interpret the text thoroughly as they have an understanding of the type of character. Each minor character is as vital as the other as without one character Asher may not have been able to accomplish his great feats. Their contributions to Asher through either materials or advice are essential for Asher to establish himself as a great painter. Each character’s actions helping Asher succeed and also attributes to the tension created between themselves and Aryeh Lev which eventually results in the downfall of the Lev household. The minor characters are in essence the key to our understanding as each evaluates Asher’s feelings, emotions, and frustrations of art.

Cyber Crime and Targets

The internet has put the world literally at anyone’s fingertips with a vast quantity of information is a mouse-click away. Information that was once only available in obscure reference libraries or card catalogs can be accessed by everyone. Unfortunately the internet is an equal opportunity tool, and those with virtuous as well as nefarious intentions can use this open resource to further their efforts to levels heretofore unheard of. The internet is also soapbox for free speech that epitomizes the intentions of the founding fathers to allow everyone the same opportunity to have their opinions aired.There is a line that often blurs between legitimate and illegal behavior, when does harsh criticism become bullying, when does an expression of affection become harassment and how do the authorities differentiate between someone looking up an old classmate for rekindle a friendship and stalking a former girlfriend that spurned their overtures. The constitutional protections of free speech and requirements of specificity of regulations make the criminalization of inappropriate behavior.CAUSES OF CYBER – CRIMEThere are many reasons why cyber-criminals commit cyber-crime, chief among them are these three listed below:Cyber-crimes can be committed for the sake of recognition. This is basically committed by youngsters who want to be noticed and feel among the group of the big and tough guys in the society. They do not mean to hurt anyone in particular; they fall into the category of the Idealists; who just want to be in spotlight. Another cause of cyber-crime is to make quick money. This group is greed motivated and is career criminals, who tamper with data on the net or system especially, e-commerce, e-banking data information with the sole aim of committing fraud and swindling money off unsuspecting customers.Thirdly, cyber-crime can be committed to fight a cause one thinks he believes in; to cause threat and most often damages that affect the recipients adversely. This is the most dangerous of all the causes of cyber-crime. Those involve believe that they are fighting a just cause and so do not mind who or what they destroy in their quest to get their goals achieved. These are the cyber-terrorists.HOW TO ERADICATE CYBER – CRIMEResearch has shown that no law can be put in place to effectively eradicate the scourge of cyber-crime. Attempts have been made locally and internationally, but these laws still have shot-comings. What constitutes a crime in a country may not in another, so this has always made it easy for cyber criminals to go free after being caught.These challenges notwithstanding, governments should in the case of the idealists, fight them through education not law. It has been proven that they help big companies and government see security holes which career criminals or even cyber-terrorist could use to attack them in future. Most often, companies engage them as consultants to help them build solid security for t heir systems and data.â€Å"The Idealists often help the society: through their highly mediatised and individually harmless actions, they help important organizations to discover their high-tech security holes†¦.†# The enforcement of law on them can only trigger trouble, because they would not stop but would want to defy the law. â€Å" Moreover, if the goal of the cyber-crime legislation is to eradicate cyber-crime, it mint well eradicate instead a whole new culture, in education is a much better way to prevent their actions.Another means of eradicating cyber-crime is to harmonize international cooperation and law, this goes for the greed motivated and cyber-terrorists. They can not be fought by education, because they are already established criminals, so they can not behave. The only appropriate way to fight them  is by enacting new laws, harmonize international legislations and encourage coordination and cooperation between national law enforcement agencies.WHO AR E INVOLVED:Those involved in committing cyber-crimes are in three categories and they are: THE IDEALISTS (Teenager). They are usually not highly trained or skilful, but youngsters between the ages of 13 – 26 who seek social recognition. They want to be in the spotlight of the media. Their actions are globally damageable but individually negligible. â€Å"Like denying a lot of important e-commerce servers in February, 2000 is said to have caused high damages to these companies.†# Most often they attack systems with viruses they created; their actual harm to each individual is relatively negligible. By the age of 26 to 26 when they have matured and understood the weight of their actions, they lose interest and stop.THE GREED – MOTIVATED (Career Criminals).This type of cyber-criminals is dangerous because they are usually unscrupulous and are ready to commit any type of crime, as long as it brings money to them. â€Å"They started the child pornography often calle d cyber-pornography which englobes legal and illegal pornography on the internet.†# They are usually very smart and organized and they know how to escape the law enforcement agencies. These cyber-criminals are committing grievous crimes and damages and their unscrupulousness, particularly in child-pornography and cyber-gambling is a serious threat to the society.Example to show how serious a threat they pose to the society is â€Å"the victim of the European bank of Antigua are said to have lost more than $10million†# â€Å"†¦theft of valuable trade secrets: the source code of the popular micro-soft windows exploration system by a Russian based hacker could be extremely dangerous†¦ the hackers could use the code to break all firewalls and penetrated remotely every computer equipped with windows were confirmed. Another usage could be the selling of the code to competitors.†#THE CYBER – TERRORISTS. They are the newest and most dangerous group. Thei r primary motive is not just money but also a specific cause they defend. They usually engage in sending threat mails, destroying data stored in mainly government information systems just to score their point. The threat of cyber-terrorism can be compared to those of nuclear,  bacteriological or chemical weapon threats. This disheartening issue is that they have no state frontiers; can operate from any where in the world, and this makes it difficult for them to get caught. The most wanted cyber-terrorist is Osama Bin Laden who is said to â€Å"use steganography to hide secret messages within pictures, example, a picture of Aishwarya Rai hosted on the website could contain a hidden message to blow up a building.†# A surprising fact is that these hidden messages do not alter the shape, size or look of the original pictures in any way.HOW TO DETECT A CRIMINAL MAILA criminal mail is usually sent to networks with the aim of either corrupting the system or committing fraud. The w ay to detect such mails is by putting security measures in place which would detect criminal patterns in the network. News Story by Paul Roberts, of IDG News Service says that Unisys Suite has a system called the â€Å"Unisys Active Risk Monitoring System (ARMS) which helps banks and other organizations spot patterns of seemingly unrelated events that add up to criminal activity.†#Actimize Technology Ltd based in New York has developed technology that enables organizations to do complex data mining and analysis on stored information and transaction data without needing to copy it to a separate data warehouse. â€Å"The actimize software runs on the Microsoft Corp. Windows NT or Windows 2002 platform and can be developed on standard server hardware with either four to eight processors, Katz said.†#Eric J. Sinrod in his article ‘What’s Up With Government Data Mining’ states that the United States â€Å"Federal Government has been using data mining te chniques for various purposes, from attempting to improve service to trying to detect terrorists patterns and activities.†# The most effective way to detect criminal mails is to provide security gadgets, educate employees on how to use them, and to be at alert for such mails, above all, making sure no security holes is left unattended to.CONCLUSIONIt has been deduced from this study that reliance on terrestrial laws is still an untested approach despite progress being made in many countries, they still rely on standard terrestrial laws to prosecute cyber-crimes and these laws are archaic statutes that have been in existence before the coming of the cyberspace. Also weak penalties limit deterrence: countries with updated criminal statutes still have weak penalties on the criminal statutes; this cannot deter criminals from committing crimes that have large-scale economic and social effect on the society.Also a global patchwork of laws creates little certainty; little consensus e xist among countries regarding which crimes need to be legislated against. Self-protection remains the first line of defense and a model approach is needed by most countries; especially those in the developing world looking for a model to follow. They recognize the importance of outlawing malicious computer-related acts in a timely manner or in order to promote a secure environment for e-commerce.Cyber-crime with its complexities has proven difficult to combat due to its nature. Extending the rule of law into the cyberspace is a critical step towards creating a trustworthy environment for people and businesses. Since the provision of such laws to effectively deter cyber-crime is still a work in progress, it becomes necessary for individuals and corporate bodies to fashion out ways of providing security for their systems and data.To provide this self-protection, organizations should focus on implementing cyber-security plans addressing people, process and technology issues, more reso urces should be put in to educate employees of organizations on security practices, â€Å"develop thorough plans for handling sensitive data, records and transactions and incorporate robust security technology- -such as firewalls, anti-virus software, intrusion detection tools and authentication services.By way recommendations, these kinds of actions are suggested following the weak nature of global legal protection against cyber-crime:†¢Firms should secure their network information. When organization provides security for their networks, it becomes possible to enforce property rights laws and punishment for whoever interferes with their property.†¢Laws should apply to cyber-crime—National governments still are the major authority who can regulate criminal behavior in most places in the world. So a conscious effort by government to put laws in place to tackle cyber-crimes would be  quite necessary.†¢There should be a symbiotic relationship between the firms, government and civil society to strengthen legal frameworks for cyber-security. An act has to be crime in each jurisdiction before it can be prosecuted across a border. Nation must define cyber-crimes in similar manner, to enable them pass legislation that would fight cyber-crimes locally and internationally.

Finance reviewer – midterm

Types of Market 1 . Physical asset markets (also called â€Å"tangible† or â€Å"real† asset markets) vs. Financial asset markets – Physical asset markers are for products such as wheat, autos, real estate etc. Financial asset market deals with stocks, bonds, notes and mortgages. 2. Spot Market vs. Future Markets – Spot markets are markets in which assets are bought or sold on the spot. Future Markets are markets in which participants agree today to buy or sell an asset at some future date. 3.Money markets vs. Capital market – Money markets are short term, highly liquid debt securities. Capital markets are for Intermediate or long term debt and corporate stocks. 4. Primary markets vs. secondary markets – primary are which corporate raise new capital. Secondary, which securities and other financial assets are traded among vectors after they have been issued by corporations. 5. Private vs. Public Markets – Private Markets, which transact ions are worked out directly between 2 parties. Public Markets, which standardized contracts are traded on organized exchanges. CAPITAL MARKET Capital Markets A component of financial markets where long-term borrowing takes place Are arrests for buying and selling equity and debt instruments The Market where investment instruments like bonds and equities are traded (Maturity period) Lasts for more than 1 year and can also include life-time of a company New York Stock Exchange or NYSE is the most popular capital market It channel savings and Investments between suppliers of capital (such as retail Investors and Institutional Investors) and users of capital (Like business, government and Individuals) Suppliers of Capital Markets.