Calculations with Negative Numbers

Calculations with Negative Numbers The introduction of negative numbers can become a very confusing concept for some people. The thought of something less than zero or nothing is hard to see in real terms.  For those that find it hard to understand, lets take a look at this in a manner that may be easier to understand. Consider a question such as -5 ? -12.  What is ?.  The basic math is not hard but for some, the answer would appear to be 7. Others may come up with 17 and sometimes even -17.  All these answers have indications of a slight understanding of the concept, but they are incorrect.   We can look at a few of the practices that are used to help with this concept. The first example comes from the financial view.   Consider This Scenario You have 20 dollars but choose to purchase an item for 30 dollars and agree to hand over your 20 dollars and owe 10 more.  Thus in terms of negative numbers,  your cash flow has gone from 20 to -10.  Thus  20 - 30 -10.  This was displayed on a line, but for financial math, the line was usually a timeline, which added complexity above the nature of negative numbers.   The advent of technology and programming languages has added another way to view this concept that may be helpful for many beginners.  In some languages, the act of modifying a current value by adding 2 to the value is shown as   Step 2.  This works nicely with a number line.  So lets say we are currently sitting at -6.  To step 2, you simply move 2 numbers to the right and arrive at -4.  Just the same a move of Step -4 from -6 would be 4 moves to the left ( signified by the (-) minus sign.One more interesting way to view this concept is to use the idea of incremental movements on the number line.  Using the two terms,  increment- to move to the right and decrement- to move to the left,  one can find the answer to negative number issues.  An example:  the act of adding 5 to any number is the same as increment 5.  So should you start at 13,  increment 5 is the same as moving up 5 units on the timeline to arrive at 18. Starting at 8,  to handle -15,  you w ould decrement 15 or move 15 units to the left and arrive at -7.    Try these ideas in conjunction with a number line and you can get over the less than zero issue, a step in the right direction.

Discuss the concept of the sustainable development and the component Essay

Discuss the concept of the sustainable development and the component of a sustainable development approach to environmental policy - Essay Example anagement need to go together and are not mutually exclusive (Pezzey, 1992).It has become widely accepted that development strategies of countries aimed at economic growth and poverty alleviation need to consider the state of the natural resources in these nations also since future growth depends on this. The concept of sustainable development has gained particular importance due to the growing concern on climate change and associated environmental issues all over the world. Consequently, sustainable development has become an integral part if the environmental policy of governments and businesses. In this essay, the concept of sustainable development, its importance and guiding principles as well as the component of sustainable development approach to environment policy are discussed. This essay is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses the context of sustainable development, section 3 discusses the guiding principles and importance of sustainable development, Section 4 discusses the sustainable development approach to environmental policy in detail. Section 5 concludes the essay. The selfish man made activities without considering the environmental impact has been an issue of great concern from the ancient days. This has been worsened by rapid industrial development, population growth and technological innovations (Liu, 2002). The main consequences of the industrial development included resource depleting, energy intensive and pollutant generating activities and redistribution of important substances in natural environment like carbon, sulphur, heavy metals and chlorine generated by fossil fuel burning, underground mines and thermal process respectively. The main greenhouse gases are water vapour, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone and halocarbons (IPCC,2007a).Among these, though water vapour is the main contributor to greenhouse gas effect, , the rise in water vapour is not directly a man made activity (IPCC, 2007a). Rise in CO2, which contributes

Business and Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business and Economics - Essay Example Basically, implicit costs are associated with the relinquished gains of any transaction. In its simplest form, an implicit cost takes place when the person misses out on satisfaction in search of an activity and is not compensated by money or any another form of fee; it starts and concludes with the act of foregoing the gains and satisfaction (McConnel and Brue 392-393). Another good illustration is when one decides to go to a university as a full-time student instead of working on a $20,000 job, this meant giving up earnings of $20,000. The potential earning being "sacrificed" is the implicit cost while explicit costs would be the books, basic tuition fees and laboratory charges, board and lodging and other conventional miscellaneous payments expected when taking a university education. On the other hand, explicit costs are the noticeable types of costs like rents, water and electric bill payments and expenditures on daily food maintenance (McConnell and Brue 410); in a business world scenario, these are the 'out of pocket' or cash expenditures a commercial enterprise incurs to outsiders who supply them resources. A business organisation is said to be making normal profit when total revenues equal aggregate expenditures. This takes place in situations of perfect competition when economic equilibrium is achieved. Economically speaking, normal profit is considered as a cost and acknowledged as one of the two elements of the cost of capital. Basically, this is the opportunity cost of employing consumerist capabilities in the creation or manufacture of a good or the profit that could be obtained by entrepreneurship in another commercial undertaking. Just like the opportunity costs of other resources, normal profit is subtracted from revenue to determine economic profit (Pyle and Larson 157-158). Since normal profit is economically a cost, there is no economic profit at equilibrium.. Is Economic Profit a Cost of Production Yes, by definition, economic profit is equivalent to the amount of output multiplied by the difference between the average cost and the price. This is what remains after all opportunity costs associated with production, are subtracted from the revenue generated by production. In a single-goods scenario, a positive economic profit occurs when the enterprise' average cost is below the value of the product or service at the profit-maximising output. Fundamentally, an economic profit crops up when its revenue surpasses the total (opportunity) cost of its inputs, noting that these outlays comprise the cost of equity capital that is gathered by normal profits (Albrecht 409). In essence, economic profit is the 'conceptually correct' idea of profit employed in economics, that is, if profit is revenue minus cost, then economic profit is the measure of profit. In the recession year of 1998, a lot of country A's residents who found themselves out of a job and short of money organised barter networks for goods and services. If such barter networks covered a significant quantity of goods and services, would measured GDP in 1998 be a good estimator of the actual value of goods and services produced during the year No, it will not be a good or an accurate estimator of the

Geologic hazard project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Geologic hazard project - Essay Example Earthquakes are not isolated events as they occur in sequences. Most often, each series is dominated by an event with a larger magnitude than all others in the sequence. Smaller earthquakes and aftershocks may follow the main shock, sometimes several hours, months, or even several years later. Earthquakes are inevitable in many parts throughout the world. It can damage the infrastructure. It causes ground shaking, ground displacement, flooding and fire that can cause great damage to the people of the region affected. For example, when an earthquake occurred in the state of Washington, more than a billion dollars worth of buildings got destroyed. Roads and bridges in the region affected became inaccessible, water pressure fail and gas lines break and leak leading to fires spread that causes severe damage. Earthquakes cause Water level in the sea to rise suddenly, causing very high waves, several meters in height, which then flood the coastal areas. These possibly give rise to tsunamis, causing damage to coastal areas (Ammon). It is important to have earthquake knowledge and learn about how to minimize its effects. Its preparedness can reduce the number of the casualties, and the value of the properties destroyed. To understand earthquakes allows saving lives and to reduce damages, injuries. It also allows to build buildings more earthquakes resistant and find the locations that are more prone to earthquake. Earthquakes have been recorded throughout history for many years. Even before seismographs in early times, there are a record of mysterious ground shaking. It occurs when rocks break along an underground fault. The ground shaking causes vibrations through the earth. The magnitude of the shaking varies on how great the movement along the fault is. When plates shift, they create shockwaves that go through the earth.The shock

Theme of outsiders Essay Example for Free

Theme of outsiders Essay Probably the first indication of the theme of outsiders is the arrival of heathcliff to Wuthering heights as a child. Old Mr. Earnshaw returns to his family from a trip to Liverpool with the child as a gift from god but the more liked observation is the childrens remark of him as a gipsy brat and a dirty ragged black-haired child. Catherine and Hindley immediately dislike the outsider mainly because the presents which their father had promised had been either crushed or lost on the way home . Mrs. earshaw too is appalled at the idea of having to feed him and clothe him as well. He is considered an outsider more than any other character in the novel because, well because he is! , metaphorically and literally. He is then reduced to the status of a servant or in other words he has been turned into a pariah-an outcast, when Earnshaw died and passed Wuthering heights to Hindley. He drove him from their company to the servants, depriving him of the instructions of the curate, and insisted that he should labour out of doors instead. When heathcliff and Cathy were caught at Thrushcross Grange , laughing at the lintons they were both considered social outsiders to Thrushcross Grange, even though Cathy isnt, they two together were because they were foreigners. The residents launched a bull dog at the pair which is the ultimate sign of unwelcomeness and inhospitability. Heathcliff was accused of being a theif almost instantaneously for the way he looks, which was an out-and-outer. The role of the outsider should not be overlooked because the setting of Wuthering Heights is one of complete isolation. The moors connecting Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange serve a double purpose linking the two households while still separating them from the village and all others. This isolated setting is important for Brontes combination of realism and gothic symbolism. Living beyond the bounds of society means that the outsider, whoever it may be is seen as a suspicious and threatening entity, someone who has to be excluded or isolated for the good of the society at . this is an example of how the outsider has now become the enemy and a threat to society and yet still occupies a position of vulnerability. Isolation is a concept of utter importance in all gothic novels and is closely linked to the idea of the outsider. This is very easy to see in novels such as Dracula with the secluded castle on the mountain tops or Frankenstein in the far end of the arctic. And so Bronte is actually forced to use this symbolism and create a desolate world for her characters . This is also an indication of how Bronte was brought up, in Emilys whole life the only places she favoured to go to were her the moors and her home, Emilys isolation and unsociability also affected her story. The setting of the novel is only limited to two dwellings Wuthering heights and Thrushcross grange and moors around them and the only nearby village is gimmerton which is rather far from both dwellings. Lockwoods first impression of the place is in all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society this indicates the extent to which Wuthering heights stands alone and isolated this is somewhat symbolic for it distances the cruel, barbarous and bizarrely excessive events from everyday life. It also shows the helplessness of the victims of these events and their defenselessness since it is very difficult to get help. One of the most outspoken and clearly proving-its-existence quotes is we dont in general take to foreigners here, Mr. Lockwood, unless they take to us first this shows that outsiders are definitely unwelcomed guests and are only to be approved of after they can be trusted and even after they have been taken into guardianship (for example young Heathcliff, Hareton and Linton) they can still be prejudiced and treated infernally. The second example of an outsider in Wuthering heights (after Heathcliff) is of course Isabella linton she has been taken out of her home at thrushcross grange and moved to the outsider status in Wuthering heights she writes (to nelly dean) youll not be surprised ,Ellen, at my feeling particularly cheerless, seated in worse than solitude, on that inhospitable hearth . Isabella also becomes an outsider to her own brother, Edgar as soon as she elopes with Heathcliff and bears his child. She is left homeless since the residents of her new home treat her as an unwelcomed guest and her brother wont take to her either Hereafter she is only my sister in name; not because I disown her, but because she has disowned me. . This can be seen from another point of view, Isabella has become an outsider simpy because she has married one. The third and final example is of course, Hareton linton he has been born into a house lacking of love or any feeling to nurture him into growing up into a healthy young man, but he is then introduced to Catherine who rather tames him in a way and bringing his illiterate, ignorant self to an end. He is turned into an outsider ever since he was taken under Heathcliffs care, or in this case lack of it. Heathcliff degrades hareton and puts him into the same treatment he has been through (which led him to become an outsider in the past). Hareton lacked education and gentleness and in one instance Heathcliff had to remind him how to act when catherine first visited Dont use any bad words; and dont stare, when the young lady is not looking at you, and be ready to turn your face when she is. The theme of outsiders is also existant in the color purple in many characters. First and foremost Celie she is an outsider in every aspect. When she is at home with her pa being raped and enslaved into working hard and still keeping quite and not fight back whatever happens to her. She is also an outsider to her own self she does not know who she is (I am) and does not understand her body, she becomes an outsider to her 2 children and does not get to know them and hence they become outsiders. Mr____ tries to define her being you black, you pore, you ugly, you a woman. Goddam, you nothing at all but fails since his description is merely superficial but still has a big affect on celies development. Another social outsider in the color purple is of course Shug Avery, in the beginning of the novel she was discriminated against for being well, a slut, hussy, heifer and street cleaner of course people did not consider that as a life choice because of the platitude people at that time had for the role of women especially black women. When Shug Avery became sick nobody in this town wants to take the Queen Honeybee in. Everyone is afraid of her because they believe that Shug has the nasty woman disease. The olinka people are made to be outsiders to the whites that own the land, but have very different lifestyle which cause them to be unwanted. Tashi did not want to marry Adam because she feared she would be discriminated against in America because of the different way she looks and because she is an outsider again both metaphorically and literally.

A Budget Airline In Hong Kong

A Budget Airline In Hong Kong Budget airlines have become a trend in aviation industry over a few decades all over the world, however, as a Asian cosmopolitan city- Hong Kong hasnt have one yet, therefore a research need to be set up to explore on its feasibility. This project proposal aims to assist to accomplish a research by developing a plan beforehand. Firstly, the background of budget airlines and problem statement would be stated out, then a literature review would be carried out in order to find out its research value, after that, the research aim and objectives could be set up as a research goal, last but not least, research method and project plan could be discussed on how, where and when to carry out this research. 2. Background/ problem statement: Before Deregulation: In the United State before 1978, all airline passenger services were regulated and controlled by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). Only 10 trunk airlines were authorized to issue a grandfather certificate by CAB at that time. Underneath this certificate, all major scheduled airlines route structures and fares were controlled and ruled. For an airlines route structure, stops and intermediate stops were specified and passengers carrying between stops were limited, a new promoted route needed to go through a lengthy procedure and hearings, even a stoppage of a route service was still needed the CABs approval. For an airlines fare, all fare prices were strictly controlled by the CAB. (John Clinton, 1984) After Deregulation: After passing the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, CAB no longer had an absolute authority on an airlines entry, exit, routes and fares. Airlines were given freedom on setting up their own fares within a wide range, route applicant would be submitted and passed easily without any restriction when it performed air transportation properly. (John Clinton, 1984) First Successful budget airline: In 1967, the first successful budget airline was born and started its business in Texas in America, it named itself as Southwest Airlines (SWA). The company began when the US market was deregulated. Its successful model had been influencing a lot of other following budget airlines. It provides low-cost, high rate of short haul flying and this made itself maintain a most profitable airline through years. (Peter, David, Gillen, Otto and Hans, 2005) What is Budget Airline? A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (also known as a no-frills, discount or budget carrier or airline) is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts. To make up for revenue lost in decreased ticket prices, the airline may charge for extras like food, priority boarding, seat allocating, and baggage etc. Todays budget airline: Nowadays, the value for money is a great emphasis placed by travelers. They are willing to buy cheaper tickets to trade off some other aspect such as leg room during flight. However, to determine whether a budget airline can survive and drive down the cost, it mainly depends on government and major airports will to open up the skies. Therefore, different areas are in different cases, but every consumer loves a low price ticket and somehow the developments are very similar in nature and continue in varied ways. As in US, budget airlines have dominated the market as travelers are price driven; in Europe, more local airports are needed to be opened up to let more budget airlines to fly in; in Asia, there are more opportunities to expand the whole market but the path is not easy, since the market is still dominated by the national flag carriers. Besides, they are also supported by the cargo business. (Scott Lee, 2004) Problems Statement: As we can see, budget airlines business not only become a trend over the globe, but also bring out more travelers and so to extend the economy of our own country or region, however, there is no budget airline at all currently in Hong Kong, what are the reasons? Few years ago there was once a low cost carrier- Hong Kong Oasis airway which offered long haul low fare was bankrupted after 18 months of operation, why would that happen? An Malaysian budget airline- Air Asia already developed its third home base in Thailand, meanwhile, there still arent any budget airlines setting up in Hong Kong as a home base, why? What are the success factors for a budget airline to develop? Is there feasibility for a budget airline to set up and form a home base in Hong Kong? 3. Literature Review: 3.1.Business strategy of Budget Airline: Markus (2005) once said The business strategy of these low cost airlines to save costs is to offer no frills, have fast turn-rounds, use only a single-type fleet of planes, and to fly mainly to cheap secondary airportsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..They also save a huge amount of administration costs by only accepting credit card payments and thus reducing the paperwork to a minimum (Markus, p.269, 2005) In other word, they minimize their cost in management, aircraft maintenance, crew training, landing fee, parking fee, administration work, etc. Any additional cost, they will stay in the air ticket and let the passenger pay for it. This would rise out a question, would the passengers in Hong Kong be willing to pay for a low cost just to get to a destination or a high price to buy a good quality of service? Budget airline is a trend? Start from the next two years as announcing in late May, the Singapore airline would establish a subsidiary-a no frill, low cost airline, using wide body aircrafts to serve medium to long haul routes. According to the company after years of markets of extensive review and analysis, they have to admit that there is a large growing demand for low fare travel. The low fare airlines assist to stimulate the growing demand of travel. The company wants to launch this service to push its single-digit growth to a double-digit growth as this low fare market is growing hugely. (Govindasamy, 2011) This has showed us which the low fare air travel market is growing and even an Asian state-owned conventional airline want to join in to gain share, therefore there is lots of room for more new budget airlines to be set up and serve the demand. Budget airline comparing with conventional airline over the globe: Graham Dunn (2011) state in the airline magazine, Data from four years of the Airline Business low-cost carrier and world airline ranking surveys shows that while the 10 largest network carriers were highly profitable in 2006 and 2007, seven lost money in 2008 and eight were in the red in 2009 at an operating level. Contrast this with the top 10 lost-cost carriers- only two lost money in 2009, three in 2008 and one apieve in 2007 and 2006. In this case as we know, during the economic crisis between 2008 and 2009, we can see that the low cost carrier is on a steady growth and earn money, but the conventional airlines are greatly affected. In fact, the magazine also shows that the budget airlines are growing at a double-digit development around the USA and Europe, and there are still more room for them to rise. In South East Asia, the larger low-cost carriers already expand beneath their home market and set up more home base in other country around the region as there has been a great demand for cheap air travel, such as Airasia has also set up a home base in Indonesia and Thailand beyond Malaysia. (Graham Dunn ,2011) Therefore, even Hong Kong set up a budget airline, there are still lots of other competitors around the region, and can it survive? The Background and Success of Air Asia and the Asia region: Apparently in the 21st century, if the more preferable demography and economic trend persist, Asia would be well focused by the whole world, in other words, more people would be willing to travel in and out of Asia by plane for business and leisure. (Joseph, 2011) Air Asia now is one of the largest low cost carriers in South East Asia. It used to be built up by the Malaysia government from 1993 and started its own operation as a flag conventional airline in 1996, however, within those five years, it was a cracked airline which only have two Boeing 747, 250 staffs, four destination and a debt of $11 million. But in 2001, it was bought by Tune air and turned it and re-launched as a low cost carrier, then it start to become a profitable business. In 2007, Air Asia X was set and launched as a low cost long haul carrier which flies to Europe and Australia. Currently, the whole Air Asia Group has owned 102 aircrafts, flies 150 routes and 68 destinations, it has been still continuing to expand its fleet and market share. In the past two year, it has already accomplished a Double-digit capacity growth. Certainly, there are some advantages that it already fully take, such as low-price labor, a helpful economical hub at Kuala Lumpur. (Joseph, 2011) In this case, are there any success factors we can learn from and use in Hong Kong? The Background and failure of Oasis Hong Kong airway: Oasis Hong Kong airline claimed to be the first long haul low cost airline based in Hong Kong, Reverend Raymond Lee led a starting capital of $100 million with several Hong Kong investors. It began its operation and launch to serve passengers from October 2006, but after 18 months of operation, it halted all operation and collapsed as financial liquidation. It used to own 4 Boeing 747 and flew two routes, and three destinations: Hong Kong, Vancouver and London. During the operation period of time, the price of jet fuel has jumped from $600 a tonne when Oasis started flying to a current level of around $1,137 a tonne. Besides, the company did not run as an short haul, no service model but provide a full service such as inflight meal and entertainment. (Robin, 2008) In this case, a rise of jet fuel price can push a company to fall, are there any other critical threats which exist? Or the whole Hong Kong aviation environment is not suitable for an budget airline to exist? Disadvantages and advantages of budget airlines: For traveling with budget airline, there are also some disadvantages that you may want to take account for, such as you may only have a limited meal with probably peanuts at all for the whole flight, you may not choose your own seat, they have less flexibility which you cant cancel your flight or get a refund, any extra checked bags will be charged, they often land on remote airports with no bus connection and they are usually booked through internet. (Shewanda, 2011) However, there are also some advantages you may want to consider, such as the fare with budget airline is relatively small which you can save the money for other things, they often fly to more locations and smaller cities that you may interest, and as money are saved, thus more travels will be encouraged and more people can afford it. (Jennifer, 2011) Therefore, when the Hong Kong customers compare the advantages and disadvantages of budget airlines, will they still choose budget airline? What is the low fare travel market like in Hong Kong? Challenges and Background of the local dominant airline in Hong Kong: The company began in 1946. It was found by two world-war 2 pilots. They first flew to carry passenger to Manila, Bangkok, Singapore and Shanghai. However in 1948, some of the shares was bought by a UK company, Butterfield Swire (today known as the Swire Group) which took a 45% share. Therefore John Kidston Swire took the leadership work; Butterfield Swire became wholly responsible for the management of the airline. And then it has been expanding through time. In 1998, the Cathay City was built, and in 2006, the dragon air was bought to be involved in Cathay Pacific Group. Right now it owns 128 aircrafts and has ordered more than 100 aircrafts. Its route has covered more than 150 destinations in 41 countries. It ranks as the worlds 2nd most profitable airline by net profit and the 7th largest airline in the world by operating profit. Its staffs number is 19,850 worldwide. (From Cathay Pacifics Website) In this case, its customers do not only include leisure and business travelers but also the regional people. If a budget airline was being set up, this airline would be the biggest local competitor. Potential low cost carrier that will be set in Hong Kong: There will be two potential budget airlines setting up in Hong Kong- the Hong Kong express and the Jetstar subsidiary. The Hong Kong Express will transform to a low cost carrier in Jul-2012 or Aug-2012, operating under its new low-cost model to cities in mainland China, South Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. As a Foreign budget airline- Jetstar is also looking forward to establishing a subsidiary in Hong Kong, it may try to co-operate with Hong Kong Airline. (CAPA, 2011) This case has showed us that many companies are interested in developing a low cost carrier in Hong Kong, therefore in other words, there is feasibility for Hong Kong to set up an low cost carrier. 4. Aim: Through analyzing all the data collected to determine whether it is possible to set up an budget airline in Hong Kong or not. 5. Objectives: To explore the background information and business model of budget airline To explore the operation, cost structure, strategy of low cost carrier in Asia To carry out a case study: the success story of Airasia and the failure story of Oasis To set up a survey to ask about Hong Kong frequent flyers expectations on budget airlines services To calculate all operating cost and expense to run this business To compare the price of flying with an existing conventional airline with a hypothetical budget airline to find out the feasibility 6. Research method: For this research, I will use the inductive method approach, because my aim is explore the feasibility to set up an successful budget airline which could last for a long time in Hong Kong through observing variety of data such as budget airline business model, cost structure, government policy and so to analyze and find out the answers for it. And I will select the survey strategy for gaining Hong Kong peoples opinion of service they wish to add in without any additional cost for a budget airline service in order to calculate the operating cost of an hypothetical budget airline and so to set up the best price of a fare to equalize the cost. Then I will pick the memo-method as my unique data collection method, and carry out the cross-sectional study as the data would give me the result. For data collection, I will use questionnaire and the interview. 6.1 Questionnaire For the Questionnaire, I plan to interview 50 people, they are mostly business travelers and leisure travelers, I will approach them through my friends who are frequent flyers. 6.2 Interview: For individual interview, I hope that I can make an appointment with some of the staffs who work as an airline accountant and inside the airport authority, and gain financial information of running an airline company. 7. Project Plan: I would like to spend half a year to complete my project. Here is my work breakdown structure:

The Importance of Geography in The Killer Angels Essay -- Killer Angel

The Importance of Geography in The Killer Angels      Ã‚   War is a complicated event.   Many different factors are considered in the strategic planning during a war.   The number of troops, ammunition supplies, and the lay of the land are just three of the considerations that must be given when fighting a battle.   Such considerations were made during the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg.   In The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, Shaara uses geography throughout his recounting of the event.   His use of geography is seen in his descriptions of the people involved, his description of the climate, and his superb outlining of the natural landscape.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the novel, Shaara begins by describing the Armies.   On the side of the South is the Army of Northern Virginia, led by Robert E. Lee.   This army is composed of 70 thousand men who are volunteers and rebels.   They are within a certain culture.   The men of this army share   not only a common language and religion, but they also share the same customs.   Most of the men are Anglo-Saxon and Protestant.   Their language is English.   Most of all, this army is fighting for a mutual cause which is disunion.   Victorious is the feeling among these men.   Wholeheartedly, the men of the Army of Northern Virginia believe that they can defeat the Army of the Potomac.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Army of the Potomac differs greatly in composition than the South's army.   Although they have a common goal, to defeat the Southerners, the men who make up this army have little else in common.   They are led by Major General George Meade.   Most of these 80,000 men are volunteers.   Language barriers exist within this group.   Also, a shared religion does not exist.   Unlike the Army of Northe... ... Northern Virginia, they have to move into open spaces and climb hilly and rocky terrain.   Obviously, Shaara's use of geography is apparent in his outlining of the events at the Battle of Gettysburg.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, Michael Shaara vividly recounts the Battle of Gettysburg.   Throughout his novel, The Killer Angels, Shaara's use of geography allows the reader to understand the people, feel the climate of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and relive the action as it unfolds.   Strategic plans are made by the Army of Northern Virginia, but in this battle the natural landscape is too cumbersome.   Victorious is the Army of the Potomac.   Thanks to its near perfect view. Works Cited Shaara, Michael.   The Killer Angels. New York: Ballantine, 1975.    Maps Maps of Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3 www.militaryhistoryonline.com/gettysburg