The Demon Lover & The Signalmen Essays - Ghosts, Speculative Fiction

"The Demon Lover" & "The Signalmen" Ghost stories are a special and enjoyable type of literature in which a reader creates a feeling of suspense. The reason for this being is that the writer chooses to end the story without a resolution. By doing this, it makes a reader look into their imagination and make their own resolution. Two ghost stories that do this are "The Demon Lover," written by Elizabeth Bowen, and "The Signalmen," written by Charles Dickens. In these two ghost stories there are many distinct similarities and differences to compare and contrast. Through examining the plot structure and the method of suspense, readers can clearly see these similarities and differences. The similarity that both of these stories share is that they have the same plot structure. Plots deal with the events that make up a story. Plots in a sentence build up a conflict until it reaches a climax. In the "Demon Lover," the plot is a woman that makes a promise to her demon lover that she cannot keep, and marries another man. The climax of this story is that this lover returns years later to take her away from her loved ones. In "The Signalmen," the plot is about a railroad employee that is being haunted by a ghost. The result of this haunting kills an innocent man trying to work at this job. Also, the plot of a ghost story is built around supernatural elements, events beyond the normal order of things. In " The Demon Lover," the supernatural element is the demon lover himself. This man comes back into her life after many years and just decides to ruin it. In "The Signalmen," the element is the ghost that was haunting the signalmen. When the ghost was screaming to him all tha t time, little did he know that it was going to be himself who was going to die. As a result, these representations of the conflict, climax, and supernatural events clearly show the similarity in both structures. Although these stories seem alike in their plot structures, they also have some major differences, this being their methods of suspense. The techniques that Elizabeth Bowen uses in " The Demon Lover" are irony and paradox. Irony is the literary term which involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions. A paradox is a statement or a situation that seems contradictory, false or absurd and yet may be true. The ironic thing about this story is that some people feel sorry for this woman, but yet she shouldn't have made the vow in the first place if she couldn't fulfill it. One paradox in "The Demon Lover" is when the demon lover returns for the woman who made an unnatural vow. Although she cannot fulfill the vow, it is a vow that she must fulfill. This means that she made a promise, broke it, and has to pay for the consequences. Another example is the woman who is obsessed with reaching the taxi driver to escape from her demon lover. Little does she know that the taxi driver is the one from who she is fleeing. In fact, this demon lover is actually the taxi driver making Mrs. Drover keep her unnatural vow. In contrast, " The Signalmen" used the literary techniques coincidence and foreshadowing. Coincidence is and accidental and remarkable occurrence of events or ideas happening at the same time. Foreshadowing is the use of clues in a literary work that suggests events that have yet to occur. An example of coincidence in " The Signalmen" is that the signalmen is being haunted by a ghost who repeated the same words which he will experience at the last breath of air before his death. " Halloa! Below there! Look out!" This coincidence showed how beautifully this story ties together. An example of foreshadowing in this ghost story is when the signalmen is meeting with the women when he looks at the bell before it even rings, and looks out at the red light near the tunnel. " Turned his face toward the little bell when it did not ring, opened the door of the hu t, and looked out toward the red light near the mouth of the tunnel." This example

French Words Nouveau vs. Neuf

French Words Nouveau vs. Neuf English speakers sometimes find it difficult to translate new into French, due to confusion over the French words nouveau and neuf. In fact, the French adjectives have distinctly different meanings; the problem is actually caused by the fact that the English new has more than one meaning. Fortunately, this is an easy problem to remedy. Read over this lesson, learn the difference between nouveau and neuf, and you wont have any more trouble saying new in French. Nouveau Nouveau means new in the sense of new to the owner - a change or improvement; that is, something that is new because its different than what came before, regardless of whether it is brand new from the store. The opposite of nouveau is ancien (former).As-tu vu ma nouvelle voiture ?Have you seen my new car?(The car is not necessarily new out of the factory; new here means new to the speaker.)Il a mis une nouvelle chemise.He put a new shirt on.(He took off the shirt he was wearing and put a different one on in its place. The new shirt may or may not be new from the store; the important thing here is that it is different.)Cest nouveau.Its new.(I just bought/found/made it.)Nous avons un nouvel appartement.We have a new apartment.(We just moved.)Jai vu le nouveau pont.I saw the new bridge.(The replacement for the one that got washed out.) Nouveau precedes the noun it modifies and changes to agree in gender and number with it.nouveau - nouvelle - nouveaux - nouvellesNouveau has a special form for masculine nouns that begin with a vowel: nouvel. Note that une nouvelle is a piece of news and les nouvelles refer to the news in general. Neuf Neuf means new in the sense of brand new, fresh out of the factory, first of its kind. The opposite of neuf is vieux (old).Je nai jamais achetà © une voiture neuve.Ive never bought a new car.(I always buy used cars.)Il a achetà © une chemise neuve.He bought a new shirt.(He went to the store and bought a brand-new shirt.)Comme neuf.As good as new.(Its fixed, so now its just like new.)Nous avons un appartement neuf.We have a new apartment.(We live in a brand-new building.)Jai vu le Pont neuf.I saw the Pont neuf (in Paris).(Although this is the oldest bridge in Paris, at the time it was built and named, it was a brand-new bridge in a brand-new spot.) Neuf follows the noun it modifies and changes to agree in gender and number with it:neuf - neuve - neufs - neuves Remember that neuf is also the number nine:Jai neuf cousins - I have nine cousins. Nouveau vs Neuf In summary, nouveau means something has changed, while neuf indicates that something is newly-made. With this new knowledge, you shouldnt have any more trouble deciding whether to use neuf or nouveau.

WE 7 AL&Resarch Paper Responses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

WE 7 AL&Resarch Paper Responses - Essay Example Fruits of DNA profiling have actually been incredible even though there have been call from various group to strictly limit utilization of DNA databases. This point has been exhausted in a good way by showing its development and where the issue stands currently as well as the actions taken by various bodies such as the federal government. The case discussed in the paper has strengthened the points and validated the significance of familial DNA. The paper is generally good and informative. Forensic fingerprint analysis has been accurately exhausted right from its initiation, development and the current use. Theories and facts relating to use of the fingerprints has been well detailed to validate the significance of the principles of fingerprint identification. The principles actually stand as the core of forensic fingerprint analysis and show a deeper understanding of the act. The diagrammatic representation of the ridges has also helped in understanding and even informing the logic behind the ridges. It is therefore easy for even a layman to grab what the student writes about because everyone has the ridges. However, the writer could have included some significant information such as who conducts the analysis and give a comprehensive explanation on how and where the analysis is performed. In addition, the writer could have considered a thorough analysis of the fingerprint analysis process by tackling issues such as comparisons, analysis, evaluation and verification process. Generally, the paper is fairly written and touches on the relevant information deemed important in the discussion. Use of bloodstain pattern analysis in crime scene reconstruction has been thoroughly examined by the writer. The writer has given the paper an excellent summarized introduction about the topic and highlighted examples of how to know the source of blood and the position of both the victim and the perpetrator. There is an element of deeper understanding of the

Anheuser-Busch and Harbin Brewery Group Case Study

Anheuser-Busch and Harbin Brewery Group - Case Study Example Harbin Brewery acquisition cost was the highest in China years 2002-2004 and accounted for $28.4 mm. Harbin Brewery was the leader in selling beer in all three segments in Heilongjiang where the per capita consumption was 36 liters, double the national average. However, the high consumption rate has left no opportunity for further growth and the company was forced either to live with the existing sales level or to expand nationally. The acquisition by Anheuser-Busch allowed Harbin Brewery to meet its growth objectives and gain national identity. B/C. Governance and Top Management: Anheuser-Busch, being very interested in expanding to China, has experienced the number of small and big acquisitions of the national and regional breweries. Chinese beer market is very fragmented and the top five firms account only for 38 percent of the market. Anheuser-Busch has bought the minority ownership position in the Tsingtao premier brewer on 2002 in order to gain the access to brewing capacities and distribution channels. Harbin Brewery Group has also experienced numerous ownership changes since 2001. In 2002 the firm has went public with 41 percent of shares distributed to public. On June 1 2004 Anheuser-Busch held 37.4 percent in Harbin. The current CEO of Harbin is Peter Lo who has supported the acquisition of his firm by Anheuser-Busch and is expecting to experience significant expansion of Harbin brands on the national and international markets. II. External Environment (Opportunities and Threats) A. General Environment: Chinese beer market is the greatest in the world since late 1990s with the solid sales growth of more than 40 percent in the recent five years. With the largest sales volume globally, the average sales price is still relatively low, confirming the growth potential for domestic and foreign brewers. In addition, there is significant growth in the target population for beer and rise in the average income. Chinese consumers do not have loyalty to the particular brands, while they favor the domestic brews (99.5 percent of all consumed beer). The acquisition of Harbin by Anheuser-Busch and low level of competition, gives the company the opportunity to gain the loyalty of major segment of beer consumers. B/C. Industry Environment and Summary of External Forces: In overall the Chinese beer market is very attractive - the growth of sales and increasing number of consumers reduces the number of competitors. Even though the threat of substitute is high, the supplier power threat is not significant. Nevertheless, the manufacturing infrastructure and personnel problems make it almost impossible for Harbin to uniform the high quality of the product. III. Internal Environment (Strengths and Weaknesses) A/B Corporate Structure and Culture: The Harbin Brewery, as the part of Anheuser-Busch, did not change the structure and culture. Taking into account the current problems with personnel training and lack of skilled professionals, the workforce is culturally diverse. C. Organizational Activities Analysis: Harbin is not outperforming its competitors (Tsingtao, China Resources Enterprises, Beijing Yanjing Group, and Guangzhou) from both financial and market

Consider the impact Essay Example for Free

Consider the impact Essay In the poem Afternoons by Philip Larkin the closing lines are an effective conclusion top the poem as a whole. The closing lines conclude the fact that young mothers are being repressed by society and that they are being forced into a dull joyless life. Afternoons is based around young mothers looking after their children. The pressures of society have forced them into marrying young and having children. Due to this they have lost all the joy in their lives and are settling down into a dull meaningless life. The closing lines of afternoons state that Something is pushing them To the side of their own lives This effectively concludes the poem as it refers closely to the poems main theme which is developed throughout the poem. The last lines sum up the fact that the pressures of society have forced the mothers into the dull lives that they are currently living. The idea that the young mothers have lost their lives is developed through the whole of the poem. It is effectively introduced in the opening lines of the poem where the poet states Summer is fading Leaves fall in ones and twos, from Trees bordering the recreation ground Summer is a metaphor for the lives of the young mothers which are fading away. Summer is the high point in the mothers lives which is quickly becoming merely a memory. The leaves are symbolic of the mothers. They have lost all colour and vitality in their lives and are fading away just like a leaf when it falls off a tree. The idea that the mothers are living a dull life is continued when the poet says In the hollows of afternoons Young mothers assemble At swing and Sandpit Setting free their children The fact that the afternoons are hollow to the mothers tells us how empty their lives have become. The word Assemble suggests that the young mothers dont enjoy what they are doing. Taking their children to the play park is a chore to the mothers and they have little joy doing so. The fact that they are setting free their children shows us that they are focusing entirely on them. They are not wanting the childrens lives to turn out like theirs did. They are giving them some joy in their lives. The idea that the mothers are expected to look after their children is clarified when the poet says Behind them at intervals Stand husbands in skilled trades The fact that their husbands are standing behind them tells us that they are not wanting to get involved with the children. The husbands are leaving the job of looking after their children on the mothers. The husbands expect the young mothers to look after the children entirely on their own. The play is set in the 60s in a time where young mothers were expected to devote all their attention to their husbands and children and forget about themselves. Society expected this of them and so do the husbands. The fact that the husbands are in skilled trades highlights that they themselves live relatively interesting lives. This is in sharp contrast to the dull, joyless lives that their wives have and helps emphasise the powers of the expectations of society. The main point that the mothers lives have changed is further shown when the poet says that the albums labelled Our Wedding are lying near the television . The juxtaposition between the wedding albums, symbolising the best day of the mothers lives and the fact that they are lying near the television symbolising passiveness and routine helps emphasise the extent in which the young mothers lives have changed. Their lives have clearly gone downhill form the wedding day and they are stuck in their boring, monotonous lives with little hope of things changing. The theme that the young womens lives have changed for the worse is finalised when the poet says Before them the wind is ruining their courting places, that are still courting places but the lovers are all in school The wind is symbolic of a force for change which in this case is the pressures of society. The fact that the courting places have been ruined helps highlight how the mothers lives have changed in a relatively short time. The idea that they are still occupied helps show the cycle within the era of women leaving school marrying and having children at as young age. This helps highlight the pressure of society that are forever bearing. The children are following the same path that the young mothers led and will soon turn out just like them. As you can clearly see the final lines something is pushing them to the side of their own lives is a very effective conclusion to the passage as a whole. The closing lines help clarify that the main reason for the mothers unhappiness is due to the expectation of society that have forced them into marrying young and having a family. The main ideas of the poem are effectively conveyed throughout and are very effectively concluded with the ending lines.

Fatalism in Macbeth :: essays research papers

Fatalism: Uncontrolled Destiny People have many different ways of viewing destiny. For example, some people believe in Existentialism, which is where a persons personal choices affect the outcome of their lives. Others believe in Fatalism, which means your destiny is unalterable and preordained. William Shakespeare believed in fatalism, which is shown through many of his plays. The most distinct examples of fatalism are found in his play, Macbeth. Macbeth shows that once your destiny is predetermined it is not in your power to change it. Macbeth’s destiny is told to him by the Weird Sister’s, â€Å"All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!†(1.3.53). He comes to the realization that the only way to become king, is if he kills the reigning king. However, he has difficulty accepting this, and attempts to do away with this plan, â€Å"We will proceed no further in this business†(1.7.34). Unfortunately, he is unable to prevent the outcome of his future. His destiny was established and he could do nothing to hinder it. Macbeth is told by the witches that, â€Å"none of woman born shall harm [him]†(4.1.91-92). Macbeth, believing there can be no other kind of man, goes on with his life ignoring that detail of his fate. He does nothing to try and prevent this from taking place. When Macduff comes to fight Macbeth, Macbeth trusts that his destiny is and will remain true, â€Å"As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air with they keen sword impress as make me bleed†¦.I bear a charmed life, which must not yield to one of woman born†(5.8.12-16). He is, ironically, not afraid of Macduff, contrary to his fate as told by the witches. Macduff tells him that he was in fact not naturally born of woman and Macbeth realizes that his destiny has come true. Macbeth struggles to put up a fight but can not deny his destiny. Macbeth shows that once your destiny is predetermined it is not in your power to change it. Macbeth is evidence that your destiny, once established, can not be altered or stopped in any way. Macbeth’s destiny was told to him and even though he was in denial, he realizes in the end that destiny is powerful.

Airline Economics Essay

The purpose of this note is to provide background to the study of the airline industry by briefly discussing four important economic aspects of the industry: (1) the nature and measurement of airline costs; (2) economies of scope and hub-and-spoke networks; (3) the relationship between yields and market characteristics; and (4) the S-curve effect. The Appendix to this note contains a glossary of key terms used throughout the discussion. Airline Costs Airline costs fall into three broad categories: flight sensitive costs which vary with the number of flights the airline offers. These include the costs associated with crews, aircraft servicing, and fuel. Once the airline sets its schedule, these costs are fixed. traffic-sensitive costs which vary with the number of passengers. These include the costs associated with items such as ticketing agents and food. Airlines plan their expenditures on these items in anticipation of the level of traffic, but in the short run, these costs are also fixed. fixed overhead costs which include general and administrative expenses, costs associated with marketing and advertising, and interest expenses. The largest category of costs is flight-sensitive. An important point about an airline’s cost structure, and a key to understanding the nature of competition in the industry, is that once an airline has set its schedule, nearly all of its costs are fixed and thus cannot be avoided. Because it is better to generate cash flow to cover some fixed costs, as opposed to none at all, an airline will be willing to fly passengers at prices far below its average total cost. This implies that the incidence of price wars during periods of low demand is likely to be greater in this industry than in most. There are two alternative measures of an airline’s average (or, equivalently, unit) costs: cost per available seat mile (ASM) cost per revenue passenger mile (RPM) Cost per ASM is an airline’s operating costs divided by the total number of seat-miles it flies. (An available seat mile is one seat flown one mile.) It is essentially the cost per unit of capacity. Cost per RPM is the airline’s operating costs divided by the number of revenue-passenger miles it flies. (A revenue passenger mile is one passenger flown one mile.) It is essentially the cost per unit of actual output. These two measures are related by the formula: Cost per RPM = cost per ASM ( load factor where load factor is the fraction of seats an airline fills on its flights. In the end, it is cost per RPM that an airline must worry about, for it must cover its cost per RPM to make a profit. Airlines differ greatly in both their costs per ASM and costs per RPM. For example, in 1992 Southwest had a cost per ASM of 7.00 cents, while USAir had a cost per ASM of 10.90 cents. Similarly, Delta had a cost per RPM of 15.33 cents while American had a cost per RPM of 13.81. Differences across airlines in cost per ASM reflect differences in: 1) average length of flights (cost per ASM declines with distance). 2) fleet composition (cost per ASM is smaller with bigger planes). 3) input prices, especially wage rates. 4) input productivity, especially labor. 5) overall operating efficiency. Differences across airlines in cost per RPM reflect differences in cost per ASM plus differences in load factor. Two airlines might have very similar costs per ASM, but quite different costs per RPM because of differences in load factor. For example, in 1992 USAir and United’s cost per ASM differed by less than 2 cents (USAir 10.90, United 9.30), but their costs per RPM differed by nearly 5 cents (USAir 18.54, United 13.80) because of USAir’s lower overall load factor (USAir .59, United .67) Economies of Scope and Hub-and-Spoke Networks Economies of scope play an important role in shaping the structure of the U.S. airline industry. The source of economies of scope in the airline industry is the hub-and-spoke network. In hub-and-spoke network, an airline flies passengers from a set of â€Å"spoke† cities through a central â€Å"hub,† where passengers then change planes and fly from the hub to their outbound destinations. Thus, a passenger traveling from, say, Omaha to Louisville on American Airlines would board an American flight from Omaha to Chicago, change planes, and then fly from Chicago to Louisville. In general, economies of scope occur when a multiproduct firm can produce given quantities of products at a lower total cost than the total cost of producing these same quantities in separate firms. If â€Å"quantity† can be aggregated into a common measure, this definition is equivalent to saying that a firm producing many products will have a lower average cost than a firm producing just a few products. In the airline industry, it makes economic sense to think about individual origin-destination pairs (e.g., St. Louis to New Orleans, St. Louis to Houston, etc.) as distinct products. Viewed in this way, economies of scope would exist if an airline’s cost per RPM is lower the more origin-destination pairs its serves. To understand how hub-and-spoke networks give rise to economies of scope, it is first necessary to explain economies of density. Economies of density are essentially economies of scale along a given route, i.e., reductions in average cost as traffic volume on the route increases. Economies of density occur because of two factors: (1) spreading flight sensitive fixed costs and (2) economies of aircraft size. As an airline’s traffic volume  increases, it can fill a larger fraction of seats on a given type of aircraft and thus increase its load factor. The airline’s total costs increase only slightly as it carries more passengers because traffic-sensitive costs are small in relation to flight-sensitive fixed costs. As a result, the airline’s cost per RPM falls as flight-sensitive fixed costs are spread over a larger traffic volume. As traffic volume on the route gets even larger, it becomes worthwhile to substitute larger aircraft (e.g., 300 seat Boeing 767s) for smaller aircraft (e.g., 150 seat Boeing 737s). A key aspect of this substitution is that the 300 seat aircraft flown a given distance at a given load factor is less than twice as costly as the 150 seat aircraft flown the same distance at the same load factor. The reason is that doubling the number of seats and passengers on a plane does not require doubling the number of pilots or flight attendants or the amount of fuel. Economies of scope emerge from the interplay of economies of density and the properties of a hub-and-spoke network. To see how, consider an origin-destination pair – say, Indianapolis to Chicago – with a modest amount of traffic. An airline serving only this route would use small planes, and even then, would probably operate with a low load factor. But now consider an airline serving a hub-and-spoke network, with the hub at Chicago. If this airline offered flights between Indianapolis and Chicago, it would not only draw passengers who want to travel from Indianapolis to Chicago, but it would also draw passengers from traveling from Indianapolis to all other points accessible from Chicago in the network (e.g., Los Angeles or San Francisco). An airline that includes the Indianapolis-Chicago route as part of a larger hub-and-spoke network can operate larger aircraft at higher load factors than an airline serving only Indianapolis-Chicago. As a result, it can benefit from economies of density to achieve a lower cost per RPM along the Indianapolis-Chicago route. In addition, the traffic between Indianapolis and the other spoke cities that will fly through Chicago will increase load factors and lower costs per RPM on all of the spoke routes in the network. The overall effect: an airline that serves Indianapolis-Chicago as part of a hub-and-spoke network will have lower costs per RPM than an airline that only serves  Indianapolis-Chicago. This is precisely what is meant by economies of scope. Relation Between Airline Yields and Market Characteristics An airline’s yield is the amount of revenue it collects per revenue passenger mile. It is essentially a measure of the average airline fares, adjusting for differences in distances between different origins and destinations. Airline yields are strongly affected by the characteristics of the particular origin-destination market being served. In particular, there are two important relationships: Shorter distance markets (e.g., New York-Pittsburgh) tend to have higher yields than longer distance markets (e.g., New York-Denver). Controlling for differences in the number of competitors, flights between smaller markets tend to have higher yields than flights between larger markets. The reasons for relationship 1) are summarized in Figure 1. shorter distance higher cost per RPMlower load factor higher cost per RPM higher yield Figure 1 Cost per ASM generally falls as distance increases. This is because, say, doubling trip mileage does not require doubling key inputs such as fuel or labor. Thus, shorter flights have higher cost per ASM than longer flights, and airlines must achieve higher yields to cover these higher costs. In addition, shorter distance flights generally have lower load factors than longer distance flights, which implies a higher cost per RPM for shorter distance flights, again requiring higher yields. Why are load factors lower for shorter flights? The reasons has to do with the greater substitution  possibilities that consumers have in short-distance markets (e.g., car of train travel are more viable options). In short –distance markets, we would therefore expect that some fraction of time-sensitive travelers (e.g., vacationers) would travel on these alternative modes, so short distance flights would have a higher proportion of time-sensitive travelers (e.g., business persons) than longer distance flights. Competitive pressures thus force airlines to offer more frequent flight schedules in short-distance markets, which leads to lower load factors. The reason for relationship 2) has to do with the economies of density discussed earlier. Smaller markets will have lower traffic volumes, and airlines will generally operate smaller aircraft at lower load factors, increasing costs per RPM and yields. The S-Curve Effect The S-curve effect refers to a phenomenon whereby a dominant carrier’s market share (share of RPM) in a particular origin-destination market tends to be greater than the carrier’s share of capacity (share of ASM). Thus, for example, if United offers 70% of the seats flown between Denver and San Francisco, and Continental flies the remaining 30%, then the S-curve effect says that United’s share of the actual traffic in this market will be greater than 70% and Continental’s will be less than 30%. This translates into an S-shaped relationship between â€Å"share of capacity† and â€Å"market share,† as shown in Figure 2. The S-curve effects stems from two sources. First, an airline with a greater share of capacity in a market is likely to have greater visibility in that market, so passengers are likely to contact it first. Second, an airline with a greater capacity share is likely to have more frequent – and thus more convenient – departures. This, too, works to boost its share of the actual traffic. The S-curve phenomenon makes capacity an important competitive weapon in the rivalry among airlines. An airline with the financial resources to purchase  aircraft and airport gates to achieve a dominant capacity share on key routes is likely to win the fight for market share. This suggests that, in general, it will be very difficult for a small carrier to challenge a dominant carrier at a hub airport, unless the small carrier can achieve significant cost advantages unrelated to scale. The history of competition in the post-deregulation airline industry seems to bear this out.