Salem Witch Craft Hysteria History Essay

Salem Witch Craft Hysteria History Essay The age old question Was the Salem witchcraft hysteria a product of womens search for power? is debated that it whether it was or wasnt a product of their search for power. There are many different examples that it was, but if you think about it most of those are not conclusive, because you could easily have many reasons to why those events happened and were caused. The examples that women were do witch craft because they did unexplained activities such as assume odd postures, writher in agony, necks cracked, and more are not true, because those actions are easily explained. For example cracking your neck is common to people who had a sore neck. More of these action like the ones I name have no logic to it if you think about it. Some people will say yes to this question, due to the fact that when Tituba confessed she was a witch, she also said there were others out there, but no one really confessed to being a witch. Most of the accused were either related to some else who was accused or victims of paranoia that enveloped that community. Also some people will say that they were looking for power because most of the accused were women, but most were being accused due to their gender because most women did not have right back then. When the accused had been accused it was due to the fact that they did something thats was uncommon or unheard of. I say no they were not looking for power, because if they were they would not have been living in fear of being accused and would not wait to be accused, but admit that they were witches without fear. You may say that some women like Tituba, did confessed for more power to women, but they probably only said they were because they did not have an explanation to why those acts of witch craft accrued due to the fact that most of those actions were uncommon back then, but did some accepted the accusation just to rebel a little. Also most women probably only did confess like Tituba so they will not have been subjected to harsher punishments. The fits and rampages that had happened out of nowhere were factors in being accused in this time, but the thing is that these rampages were widely spread to not only the humans, but the livestock too. Even some people said that witch craft were the only explanations to these unexplained actions. People mostly only probably said this because back then people were scared of what they did not know and this was the only way they would know this in this time period. In later years similar events had swept Europe, as time went one all the unknown questions and unexplained event were becoming more and more known, so it would not have made sense that women did those things to gain and show power in their lives. If you look back to what was considered as witchery to now you would see it was fear of the unknown and paranoia that made it seem as womens act of gaining power and not conrisidents. Back to being accusers, they had many problems in their social lives and believe and accusing other was the only way to restore their problems in life and their self-worth. Accusers had gained more power from the witch accusation then the accused women did. With fear from the unknown and uncommon was established unknowingly the only way they became unfearful was to accuse others from these seemingly mysterious actions. Some of the accused were either different or untraditional and that was considered another trait of witchery. You may say that the untraditional women and fee-spirited women were only looking for power, but in reality it was the unconscious start for women to be able to have a little more freedom. Some of the witches like Susannah Roots were also accused for entertaining people late at night or adultery, but just because they did those kinds of things did not mean they were looking for power or attention from the whole town, but from the people they did it with. What we know now that did not know then is that the accused must have had been sick in some way or form. We can conclude this with the fact that the symptoms of witchery are the same symptoms as the Encephalitis Epidemic that accrued in the early 1900s to the mid-1900s. For example the bites made by witches were really red marks that bleed thru the skin. The visions they had were really hallucinations that accrued from ant diseases that they endured. More of the symptom that were cause back then would be perfect examples of the epidemic that will have swept Europe. With no proper heat back then the cold worsened the symptoms that were considered witchery symptoms. The illnesses that cussed these were from insects that might have infected the so called witches in the past. As the years went on less and less accusations stopped probably due to the weather change in which the insects could not live and in return not infect the people. Women had not really wanted to have power because they would have found some way or pretended to have done witchery actions to continue their search of power instead of letting it become only something in the past. We can also conclude that it was not really the womens idea of gaining power because if the events were becoming part of that past most things will not change, but be the same and they will have had continued the search of power. Many more insects had been spread all over Europe witch caused the diseases that were the causes of the witch accusations. If the diseases did not spread people would not have been infected and jugged. Another idea to consider is if the disease causing insects were not common and had not infected the accused will they still be considered witches. That is a question that you should ask yourself and think about. Some of the accused witches were women were highly esteemed members of their church and community. Even their daughters as young as four were accused, from the hysteria. If you think about it, it wound not make sense that the witches were doing godly things. Also this will be no way of trying to gain more power because otherwise they would not be as highly esteemed as they are. Even though women protested against being witches or having family being accused they still were not looking for power. The women were only trying to convince the accusers that they were wrong and that they were indecent the only way they could think of. Sure they got attention and some power, but so did the male members of the community who protested with them. As hysterias spread and more were accused the punishments got worse and so did the deaths. Even though women wanted to get more power they probably would not have gone as far as death, because they most would want to live for their families and not chose power.as time went on with these more and more people were trying to help them from being wrongfully accused like many did. If you were to face death like these wrongly accused women were would you accept death or would you beg to be spared? These women had to decide this question their selves, and they said they will beg because they were not looking for power they were just subjected peoples fear in that time period. with not accepting being witches and begging it will naturally cause less power and the argument that women wanted more power that they had made the witch trials a big deal would be false. Not all the accused were being murdered for being witches. If they had confessed even if they were innocent they will be spared. The women who were confessing to their crime were only doing it to save their lives and ant gain power like some people think. Many were trying to get set free and not die so they did anything to get found not guilty. Women did not want power they wanted to go back to their lives without free of dyeing. Most of the time when women were accused they were not given a fair chance to prove they were not witches which means they did not want the power people said they wanted. So as I we think about the question thats been asked for ages we also should think about how and why the women were accused and why they said and did what they did. There may be people still out there believing that it was womens act to gain power, but it was not because they tried to get free and prove they were not lying. Also they action they did can always have an explanation to them because of what we know today. Even though the accused were trying to prove they were innocent and that they wanted to be free, they were strong and just trying to survive and live their lives no matter what other will think. Soon the trials had become part of the past and an important part that no one will forget.

The Phonological Similarity Effect In Working Memory Psychology Essay

The Phonological Similarity Effect In Working Memory Psychology Essay A considerable amount of cognitive, behavioural research has been conducted on the working memory model and the role of the phonological loop and similarity effects on the serial recall paradigm. The purpose of this study was to extend the existing research available in support of the evidence for Baddeley and Hitch (1974) working memory model and the role of the phonological loop. A group of 18 undergraduate university psychology students were each subjected to two individual visual phonological tests to provide data on recall scores for a set of six similar and dissimilar letters. The data obtained was analysed separately before performing a using a two tailed paired related sample t-test. The results indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in scores obtained on recall of dissimilar and similar letters with higher scores being recorded on recall of dissimilar letters. Introduction The concept of a well-defined form of memory that is able to store information on a temporary basis whilst being utilised in the service of cognitive process is not new idea, but theories regarding the components that make up the short-term storage memory have evolved considerably during the last century (Gross, 2010; Myers, 2005). The proposal of the multi-store model (MSM) by Atkinsons and Shiffrin (1968) introduced the concept that short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) had differing and distinct modes of storing information. This led to a considerable amount of research being conducted on how STM operated (Baddeley Hitch, 1974). Particular attention has been given to auditory and visuospatial input along with acoustically similar or dissimilar associations in the information being stored and the affect this may have on information recalled (Conrad, 1964; Wickelgren, 1965; Schulman, 1971; Atkinson Shiffrin, 1968). In Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) model, the function of STM is said to provide a means of controlling and enhancing information before it makes it into long-term memory. This is done through rehearsal and coding strategies (Atkinson Shiffrin, 1968). In 1974 Baddeley and Hitch introduced their Working Memory (WM) model, a more dynamic system, as opposed to the more passive Atkinson and Shiffrin MSM (Baddeley Hitch, 1974). A definition of working memory can be stated as the collection of cognitive processes that allows information to be held temporarily in an accessible state, whilst in the service of some cognitive task (Baddeley, 2001). One of the important characteristics that differentiate the WM model from the Atkinson-Shiffrin (1968) MS model is the use of two distinct short-term memory buffers, the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketch pad and the argument that the independence of these buffers allow for a greater flexibility in memory storage (Baddeley Hitch, 1974; Baddeley, 1986) These short term memory buffers are two of the four components that make up the WM model (Baddeley, 1986). At the core is the central executive hub, which processes data and cognitive tasks, followed by the two memory subsystems; the visuospatial sketch pad, which processes information received in either visual or spatial form and the  phonological loop  the area within the WM that deals with language information in auditory or visual form. The final component is the episodic buffer, which was introduced 20 years after the model was first proposed, which links all the components of WM with long-term memory to enhance function (Baddeley Hitch, 1974; Baddeley, 1986; Baddeley, 2000) According Baddeley (1986) the phonological loop is comprised of two individual subcomponents; the phonological store, sometimes called the inner ear which holds auditorily presented verbal information and the articulatory control process (ACP), sometimes called the inner voice. Although limits to working memory are easily observed, ever since George Miller (1956) suggested people can recall approximately seven independent, items or chunks of information at a time, it has been more difficult to determine what specific cognitive faculties underlie these observed limits. It has been proposed in several studies (Conrad, 1964; Wickelgren, 1965) that observed limit recall depends upon details of the stimuli. For example, immediate memory retrieval for lists of serial presented verbal information is better when the lists that contain letters or words that are dissimilar as indicated in the experiments performed by Conrad (1959) and Wickelgren (1965). Consequently it is claimed there is a correlation between phonologically similar and dissimilar information input and memory span, specifically that the recall for dissimilar words or letters would be greater than that for the similar ones presented either auiditorable or viusally (Conrad, 1964; Wickelgren, 1965; Muller, Seymour, Kieras, Meyer, 2003; Eysneck Keane, 2010). The aim of this study was to examine the evidence for Baddel and Shiffrins (1974) WM model with the hypothises that there is a greater ability to recall letters that are dissimilar in nature to those that share common phonological similarities. Method Participants A total of 18 participants were recruited from within a group of undergraduate students, enrolled on the Swansea Metropolitan Universitys Psychology Joint Hons degree course. The participants ages ranged between 18 and 51 years, (M =26.89, R=33, SD=10.26). The participant group was comprised of six males whos ages ranged between 24 and 51 years, (M=35.5, R=27, SD=11.47) and 12 females whos ages ranged between 18 and 38 years, (M=22.58, R=20, SD=6.5). Materials The study materials consisted of two sets of six sequence cards one set for the similar letters and one for the dissimilar letters. The similar letter set comprised of the letters P, E, V, T, C and G with the dissimilar letter set comprising of the letters J, H, P, V, X and F. Each participant was given a blank recall sheet to record their answers with researcher using a score sheet to record their individual scores for each set of letters. Design This quantitative within-subject study sought to investigate the scores obtained between two variables using the paradigm of serial verbal recall. The independent variable (IV) being the similar and dissimilar letter sets used and the dependent variable (DV), being that of the recall scores of each participant. Scores were recorded between 0 and 6 for each of the tests; with only letters recalled in their correct positions being positively scored. All the data obtained was analysed using a two tailed paired related sample t-test within a SPSS package. Procedure Both the participants and researchers were all part of the undergraduate psychology course and due to the study being performed as part of their studies, no consent for was required to be signed. Participants were informed of the requirements for the study before each researcher selected two individuals from the participant pool in order to carry out the experiment, with each participant being tested individually and in isolation of the other. The experiment procedure was explained to each individual participant prior to testing, with a test run being conducted in order to assure full understanding was reached. Each set of six similar and dissimilar letters were presented to the participant separately, with each letter card being presented visually for 1 second, with a 2 second delay between the presentations of each new letter. After all of the six letters had been shown a 5 second delay was counted down by the researcher to allow for rehearsal, before the Recall Now card was shown. The participant then attempted to recall the letters shown in their correct sequence of display on the recall sheet. This was repeated for the next set of letters, with the same procedures being repeated. There was no preference of order for the similar or dissimilar letter sets to be shown first. The recall sheets were returned to the researcher who calculated their scores on each of the tests with all scores for each pair of participants collected by the researchers and collated together to give an overall data set of 36 sets of scores. Results Table 1: Comparison of recall scores between similar and dissimilar word sets Test Type Total Score Mean Participants (n) Std Deviation t df Sig. (2-tailed) Similar 130 3.66 36 1.66 2.38 35 0.23 Dissimilar 158 4.39 1.5 Table 1 shows the mean scores obtained for each of the conditions being tested; similar recall test (M=3.61, SD=1.66) and dissimilar recall test (M=4.39, SD=1.5). As the table indicates the participants scored higher on the dissimilar recall test by correctly recalling more letters in the right order of display than when tested on the similar letter set. Analysis of these results show a significant difference in the recall scores, t (35) = 2.38, p Discussion The results obtained in this study has shown that there is a significant difference in the number of letters recalled in correct sequence between similar and dissimilar sets of letters, with dissimilar letters being recalled better than phonologically similar acoustic sounding letters. These results support previous acoustic similarity recall effects in STM research (Conrad, 1964; Wickelgren, 1965; Muller, Seymour, Kieras, Meyer, 2003; Jones, Macken, Nicholls, 2004; Page, Cumming, Norris, Hitch, McNeil, 2006) and in turn support the concept of the phonological loop as proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) WM model. The study also supports the findings of Smith, Wilson, and Reisberg (1995) in that the visual presentation of the letters sets were processed indirectly into the phonological store component of the phonological loop through the ACP allowing the participants to rehearse the letters observed acoustically using the inner voice. However, there are some concerns on the effects of phonological complexity related to word length including the number of syllables or phonemic length of the letters within words, which suggests that the word length effect in the serial recall task may be better explained by differences in linguistic and lexical properties of words (Jalbert, Neath, Bireta, Surprenant, 2011). It can be argued that studies of this nature have a low ecological value, as they dont represent the real world. Baddeley, Gathercole, Papagno (1998), claim that the function of the phonological loop has evolved in order to facilitate the learning of unique phonological forms of new words. They propose that this is its primary purpose, to store unfamiliar acoustic patterns while more permanent memory records are being fabricated. Despite this study supporting the hypothesis that there is a phonological effect that influences the ability to successfully recall more letters that are dissimilar in nature as opposed to those that share common phonological similarities, the use of the phonological loop in retaining sequences of familiar letters/words is, it is argued secondary to its primary function of learning language (Baddeley, Gathercole, Papagno, 1998). References Atkinson, R. C., Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. Spence, J. Spence (Eds.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation (Vol. 2, pp. 90-191). New York: Academic Press. Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working Memory. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Baddeley, A. D. (2000). The episodic buffer: A new component of working memory? Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 4(11), 417-423. Baddeley, A. D. (2001). Is working memory still working? American Psychologist, 1-31. Baddeley, A. D., Hitch, G. (1974). Working Memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.), The Psychology of Learning and Motivation: Advances in Research and Theory (Vol. 8, pp. 47-89). New York: Academic Press. Baddeley, A. D., Gathercole, S., Papagno, C. (1998). The phonological loop as a language learning device. Psychological Review, 105(1), 158-173. Conrad, R. (1964). Acoustic confusions in immediate memory. British Journal of Psychology, 55(1), 75-84. Eysneck, M. W., Keane, M. T. (2010). Cognitive Psychology: A Students Handbook (6th ed.). Hove, East Sussex: Psychology Press. Gross, R. (2010). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour (6th ed.). London: Hodder Education. Jalbert, A., Neath, I., Bireta, T. J., Surprenant, A. M. (2011). When does length cause the word length effect? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 37(2), 338-353. Jones, D. M., Macken, W. J., Nicholls, A. P. (2004). The phonological store of working memory: Is it phonological and is it a store? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 30(3), 656-674. Miller, G. A. (1956). The maigical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81-97. Muller, S. T., Seymour, T. L., Kieras, D. E., Meyer, D. E. (2003). Theoretical implications of articulatory duration, phonological similarity and phonological complexity in verbal working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 29(6), 1353-1380. Myers, D. G. (2005). Exploring Psychology (6th ed.). New York: Worth Publishers. Page, M. P., Cumming, N., Norris, D., Hitch, G. J., McNeil, A. M. (2006). Repitition learning in the immediate serial recall of visual and auditory materials. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 32(4), 716-733. Schulman, H. G. (1971). Similarity effects in short term memory. Psychological Bulletin, 75(6), 399-415. Smith, J. D., Wilson, M., Reisberg, D. (1995). The role of subvocalization in auditory imagery. Neuropsychologia, 33(11), 1433-1454. Wickelgren, W. A. (1965). Acoustic similarity and intrusion errors in short term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 70(1), 102-108.

What Really Counts as Learning :: Russell Thomas Essays

What Really Counts as Learning Learning happens in so many places and in so many ways. Maybe it is at the mall, or at home, or even in a classroom. For Russell Thomas it was in the poor town of Coney Island. In Coney Island, Russell has to learn many hard lessons in life. He learns that you can’t change everything and that life isn’t fair. Russell is forced to realize that failure is part of life and that it happens to all of us. These are all teachings that are irreplaceable and valuable. The lessons that Russell learns are ones that he will use for the rest of his life in his experiences. It is something that you can use on more than just a test for school. That is what real life learning is about and in one way or another we have all experienced it. Russell is the main focus in Darcy Frey’s article about three basketball prodigies from Coney Island. Russell is a tremendous basketball player and hopes to get out of Coney Island on a basketball scholarship. He has the skill to get that scholarship, but even with all that talent he has a major obstacle stopping him. In order to attend college on a scholarship, a score of 700 is required on the SAT. Russell, on his first attempt, only gets a 500; when a 400 is earned just for signing your name. So in order to get that scholarship and 700, Russell dedicates large amounts of time to studying. If he wasn’t working on basketball then he was working on his academics. After all that work Russell never gets his 700, or the scholarship. So therein lies the first lesson that Russell learns; life isn’t fair. Russell tries his hardest to bring up his grades and earn that 700, but when it comes down to it he has grown up in a low class area, without many opportunit ies. Frey described Coney Island as a place where there are â€Å"†¦no stores, no trees, no police; just block after block of gray cement projects†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Frey 38). Russell had what can hardly be called an education. It is a place where most of the good basketball players with any chance at a scholarship never make it, they either end up dead or back in Coney Island dealing drugs.

CLassical vs. Hellenistic :: essays research papers

A range of sculptural styles appeared during the Hellenistic period. For example, a highly academic style, which tells a story through a range of symbolic figures, was used in a relief carved by Archelaos of Priene, The Apotheosis of Homer (150? BC, British Museum, London). The relief was dedicated to the Muses or to Homer and shows the poet along with figures representing the World, Time, Homer’s great epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, and other literary images and ideas. But perhaps the most distinctive Hellenistic style is one sometimes called Baroque. Hellenistic Baroque, like the Baroque style of 17th-century Europe, is defined by its melodramatic, exaggerated effects. It is especially associated with the ancient city of Pergamum, and its masterpiece is the so-called Great Altar of Zeus built atop the city’s acropolis sometime from about 190 to 156 BC. (A reconstruction of the west facade of the Great Altar is housed in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin, Germany.) The monument may in fact be a shrine to Telephus, Pergamum's legendary hero and founder, rather than to Zeus. The life story of Telephus, from his birth to his exploits as a mature hero, unfolds in a continuous frieze inside the monument. A podium supports the monument and around it an even larger frieze recounts the Battle of the Gods and the Giants. Some figures seem ready to leap off the wall. Some even crawl up the sides of a staircase that visitors use to reach the altar. The mus cles of the figures are taut and pronounced, the drapery sweeping and tumultuous, the poses violent and dramatic, the faces expressive and pained. In one scene, the goddess Athena has caught a giant by the hair; he gazes helplessly toward the sky as he tries to free himself from her grip. His expressive pose resembles that of a Trojan priest, Laocoà ¶n, in a later statue of Laocoà ¶n and his Sons (Vatican Museums), shown as he struggles to free himself from giant snakes. Although the names of the sculptors of the Laocoà ¶n are known (Athanadoros, Hagesandros, and Polydoros of Rhodes), the exact date of the statue is a matter of dispute.

Surrealism in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock :: Love Song J. Alfred Prufrock

Surrealism in The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock Surrealism is a dangerous word to use about the poet, playwright and critic T.S. Eliot, and certainly with his first major work, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock ". Eliot wrote the poem, after all, years before Andre Breton and his compatriots began defining and practicing "surrealism" proper. Andre Breton published his first "Manifesto of Surrealism" in 1924, seven years after Eliot's publication of "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". It was this manifesto which defined the movement in philosophical and psychological terms. Moreover, Eliot would later show indifference, incomprehension and at times hostility toward surrealism and its precursor Dada. Eliot's favourites among his French contemporaries weren't surrealists, but were rather the figures of St. John Perse and Paul Verlaine, among others. This does not mean Eliot had nothing in common with surrealist poetry, but the facts that both Eliot and the Surrealists owed much to Charles Baudelaire's can perhaps best explain any similarity "strangely evocative explorations of the symbolic suggestions of objects and images." Its unusual, sometimes startling juxtapositions often characterize surrealism, by which it tries to transcend logic and habitual thinking, to reveal deeper levels of meaning and of unconscious associations. Although scholars might not classify Eliot as a Surrealist, the surreal landscape, defined as "an attempt to express the workings of the subconscious mind by images without order, as in a dream " is exemplified in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock." "Prufrock presents a symbolic landscape where the meaning emerges from the mutual interaction of the images, and that meaning is enlarged by echoes, often heroic," of other writers. The juxtapositions mentioned earlier are evident even at the poem's opening, which begins on a rather sombre note, with a nightmarish passage from Dante's Inferno. The main character, Guido de Montefeltro, confesses his sins to Dante, assuming that "none has ever returned alive from this depth"; this "depth" being Hell. As the reader has never experienced death and the passage through the Underworld, he must rely on his own imagination (and/or subconscious) to place a proper reference onto this cryptic opening. Images of a landscape of fire and brimstone come to mind as do images of the two characters sharing a surprisingly casual

U.S. Holiday Shopping

Sales among U. S. stores went stronger than expected over the weekend causing a relief for most retailers who were expecting a bleak shopping period due to overall slowdown of the economy. However, even though the figures are up, signs of more troubles were evident. Apparently, the bargain prices which helped drove shoppers to buy were so shocking that some analysts predicted that these stores will see a much worse profit slashing from their sales in the long run. Most retail experts consider the Friday after Thanksgiving Day as the overall barometer of retailing performance for holiday sales which basically account for at least 25 percent of their annual sales. The very indicator for these retailers came out when ShopperTrak released a report indicating a 3 percent increase of sales last Friday compared with last year’s performance. Moreover, the National Retail Federation (NRF) added that shoppers spent at least 7% more this year compared to 2007 with an average shipper spending about $372. 7 from Friday through Sunday. According to Kathy Grannis of the federation, â€Å"It seems that not only did retailers do a good job of attracting shoppers but it seems that shoppers were also excited again to take part in the tradition of Black Friday weekend. † Friday’s store sales which ranged from 50 to 70 percent will not provide better profits for retailers in the long run experts said. It was such an indicator that â€Å"retailers are somewhat desperate to sell†, according to Hana Ben-Shabat, of A. T. Kearney's retail practice. NRF reported that 172 million shippers visited shops and online stores after Thanksgiving weekend which is up from 147 million shoppers last year. In general, shoppers bought low-cost items like clothes, DVDs, video game CDs and other accessories. Gift card were not as popular having a 10 percent decrease in sales.

BMW business model crunches gears as models expand, profit falls Essay

This article discusses the recent changes in sales, earnings, and profits of BMW, the German based manufacturer of luxury automobiles. The article opens by proposing five market scenarios that may affect the way BMW conducts business and earns revenue. The scenarios include changes in laws, consumer desires, auto financing availability, political climate, and consumer buying habits. Recently, earnings have declined by 63 percent and further losses are anticipated. Company executives and industry analysts note that earnings on certain models has declined while sales have increased over a 10 year period. The change is attributed to a lower demand for the high end performance cars that have been BMW’s core product. In response BMW has sold more smaller less expensive cars as a way to respond to changing market demands. This article demonstrates several factors that affect a company’s profitability: competition in the market, consumer demand and habits, and the company business model. In the case of BMW these changes were prompted by legislation regarding gas prices and environmental concerns which changed consumers’ driving and car buying habits. BMW responded to this change by switching to a different line of cars including SUVs and compact cars. They sold more units at lower prices compromising the overall profitability of the company instead of conforming their high performance base model to be fuel efficient. â€Å"Intel’s shock warning sounds alarm for tech sector† This article discusses the issues that led Intel to cut its revenue and profit forecasts for upcoming periods. Intel has reduced profit forecasts and their stock prices have declined by seven percent. Other technology companies including Microsoft, which uses Intel microchips, and competitors such as National Semiconductor Corp have also lowered their profit forecasts. These reports have spread fear across the industry that consumer spending will continue to decline. Intel also cited the credit crisis as an issue affecting demand for products and the ability of suppliers to provide services that Intel needs in its manufacturing process. Industry analysts note that Intel’s slow performance is normally indicative of early spring results, but do not speculate on how the current outlook may affect the coming spring results. This article demonstrates how one factor can have an adverse and possibly unnecessary negative affect on profitability: speculation. As mentioned in the article speculation alone caused stock prices to tumble. Investors assume that profits will be low and will either divest or not further invest affecting the company’s ability to finance production operations. Suppliers assume the worst and make it difficult for the company to obtain materials they need to manufacture and get chips to the market. End users like Hewlett Packard and Microsoft may purchase chips from competitors on the assumption that Intel will not be able to deliver. In other words, a grim forecast can become a self fulfilling prophecy. The difference in the two articles is that the BMW article demonstrates a verifiable and valid set of issues that can and do affect the profitability of the company and the automobile industry as a whole. The Intel article demonstrates how speculation can affect consumer confidence in a way that can reduce profitability. BMW has analyzed the real issues that have reduced their profitability and are in a position to change their business model to respond to the situations identified in the article. Intel, on the other hand, has subjected itself to speculation and must wait to see how the market environment plays out. They can change their forecast but that is not a solid guarantee that consumers will respond positively to the change.