Cognitive week 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cognitive week 5 - Essay Example The trace decay theory and the interference theory aim to explain the implications that result from trying to remember or recall memories; these implications being forgetting or distortion of memory which result in causing false memories in an individual. However when we look at the case by Loftus and Polage (1999) on eyewitness testimony we can see how shortly after viewing the video clips the participants answer’s to basic questions regarding what they had seen were inaccurate and false. This leads us to deduce that false memory problem can be a result of short term memory too. In court cases, mostly in 1983 to 1998, false memory in terms of claimed recovered memory of witnesses and victims had been readily accepted by the courts with convictions being solely on the reliability of these recovered memories. However it is clearer now that these alleged recovered memories have been tampered with mostly by therapists of these witnesses and can be hence be false in nature limitin g their reliability in court. For example a woman accused Dr. Thompson, a memory expert, to have raped her. However the doctor was doing a live interview just before the woman’s rape occurred. It was later discovered during a counseling session the woman’s recollection of the event had become confused and she had simply seen the doctor on television before the assault had taken place; a recollection that had been a result of a false memory (Sachter, 1996). Therefore highlighting the huge role false memory plays in the recollections by witnesses which can lead to false or inaccurate convictions if relied on solely. References Loftus, F. & Polage, D. C. (1999). Eyewitness Testimony. Psychiatric clinics of North America. 22, 61-70. Schacter, D.L. (1996). Searching for Memory - the brain, the mind, and the past. New York: Basic

Wal-Mart Information Technology Systems Support Case Study

Wal-Mart Information Technology Systems Support - Case Study Example A purchase at any store is reflected at the nerve center within 15 minutes and within an hour, the company has a complete picture of its sales including which among the 690 million items across its stores sell the most. This clarity in the company’s performance in real-time is responsible for seamless operations on such a grand scale. Cash register receipts, for example, are backed up in the system and retained for two years. Having such a rich pool of data on shoppers helps Wal-Mart know their customer’s buying trends are enabling the company to treat each of their hundreds of million customers as individuals. The sales statistics of products at Wal-Mart are monitored to the last item, something that gives the company an edge over its competitors because improvements based on this data can be made in the shortest time possible. The Wal-Mart system even goes further to track weather and matches that data with buying patterns. This information allows the retailer to place enough orders for items purchased during a hurricane, for example, so that by the time such a disaster hits, shoppers have enough supply of the much-needed items. Another unique aspect of the Wal-Mart system is its ability to be shared to a limited extent, with suppliers. This IT system has a provider link that shows them the position of their items in real-time at all stores across the world where such products are stocked. With this data, suppliers can make product flows such that the right products are delivered to the right store in time. Having their systems opened up to suppliers brings trust between them and the company as they can transparently monitor the performance of their products from the comfort of their respective premises.