Merrill Finch Inc. Essay Example

Merrill Finch Inc. Essay MERRILL FINCH INC. RISK AND RETURN a. (1)Why is T-bill’s return independent of the state of the economy? Do T-bill’s promise a completely risk-free return? Explain (2)Why are High Tech’s returns expected to move with the economy, whereas, Collections’ are expected to move counter to the economy? 1. The 5. 5% T-bill return does not depend on the state of the economy because the Treasury must redeem the bills at par regardless of the state of the economy; therefore, T-bills are risk-free in the default risk sense because the 5. % return will be realized in all possible economic states. Consequently, this return is composed of the real risk-free rate, (i. e. 3%, plus an inflation premium, say 2. 5%). As the economy is full of uncertainty about inflation, it is unlikely that the realized real rate of return would equal the expected 3%. For example, if inflation averaged 3. 5% over the year, then the realized real return would only be 5. 5% – 3. 5% = 2%, not the expected 3%. To simplify matters, in terms of purchasing power, T-bills are not riskless. Investors are fully aware of the changes within a portfolio of T-bills, and as rates declined, the nominal income will fall; and T-bills are exposed to reinvestment rate risk. In summary, it is concluded that there are no truly risk-free securities within the United States. If the Treasury sold inflation-indexed, tax-exempt bonds, they would be truly riskless, but all actual securities are exposed to some type of risk. 2. High Tech’s returns move with, hence are positively correlated with, the economy, because the firm’s sales, and hence profits, will generally experience the same type of difficulties as the economy. We will write a custom essay sample on Merrill Finch Inc. specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Merrill Finch Inc. specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Merrill Finch Inc. specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer If the economy is booming, so will High Tech. On the other hand, Collections is considered by many investors to be a hedge against bad times and high inflation, so if the stock market crashes, investors in this stock should do relatively well. Stocks such as Collections are thus negatively correlated with the economy. b. Calculate the expected rate of return on each alternative and dill in the blanks on the row for in the previous table. The expected rate of return is expressed as follows: . Here Pi is the probability of occurrence of the state, ri is the estimated rate of return for that state, and N is the number of states. Here is the calculation for High Tech: High Tech= 0. 1(-27. 0%) + 0. 2(-7. 0%) + 0. 4(15. 0%) + 0. 2(30. 0%) + 0. 1(45. 0%) = 12. 4%. We use the same formula to calculate r’s for the other alternatives: T-bills= 5. 5%. Collections= 1. 0%. U. S. Rubber= 9. 8%. M= 10. 5%. c. You should recognize that basing a decision solely on expected returns is appropriate only for risk-neutral individuals. Because your client, like most people, is risk-averse, the riskiness of each alternative is an important aspect of the decision. One possible measure of risk is the standard deviation of returns. 1) Calculate this value for each alternative and fill in the blank on the row for in the table. (2) What type of risk is measured by the standard deviation? (3) Draw a graph that shows roughly the shape of the probability distributions for High Tech, U. S. Rubber, and T-bills. 1. The standard deviation is calculated as follows: = . High Tech= [(-27. 0 – 12. 4)2(0. 1) + (-7. 0 – 12. 4 )2(0. 2) + (15. 0 – 12. 4)2(0. 4) + (30. 0 – 12. 4)2(0. 2) + (45. 0 – 12. 4)2(0. 1)] ? = = 20. 0%. Here are the standard deviations for the other alternatives: T-bills= 0. 0%. Collections= 13. 2%. U. S. Rubber= 18. 8%. M= 15. 2%. 2. The standard deviation is a measure of a security’s stand-alone risk. The larger the standard deviation, the higher the probability that actual realized returns will fall far below the expected return, and that losses rather than profits will be incurred. 3. The data provided the most risky investment is High Tech and the least risky are T-bills. d. Suppose you suddenly remembered that the coefficient of variation (CV) is generally regarded as being a better measure of stand-alone risk than the standard deviation when the alternative being considered has widely differing expected returns. Calculate the missing CVs and fill in the blanks on the row for CV in the table. Does the CV produce the same risk rankings as the standard deviation? Explain The coefficient of variation (CV) is a standardized measure of dispersion about the expected value; it shows the amount of risk per unit of return. CV= /. CVT-bills= 0. 0%/5. 5% = 0. 0. CVHigh Tech= 20. 0%/12. 4% = 1. 6. CVCollections= 13. 2%/1. 0% = 13. 2. CVU. S. Rubber= 18. 8%/9. 8% = 1. 9. CVM= 15. 2%/10. 5% = 1. 4. When we measure risk per unit of return, Collections, with its low expected return, becomes the most risky stock. The CV is a better measure of an asset’s stand-alone risk than because CV considers both the expected value and the dispersion of a distribution—a security with a low expected return and a low standard deviation could have a higher chance of a loss than one with a high but a high . e. Suppose you created a two-stock portfolio by investing $50,000 in High Tech and $50,000 in Collections. (1) Calculate the expected return (rp), the standard deviation (p), and the coefficient of variation (CVp) for this portfolio and fill in the appropriate blanks in the table. 2) How does the riskiness of this two-stock portfolio compare with the riskiness of the individual stocks if they were held in isolation? 1. To find the expected rate of return on the two-stock portfolio, we first calculate the rate of return on the portfolio in each state of the economy. Since we have half of our money in each stock, the portfolio’s return will be a weighted average in each type of economy. For a recession, we have: rp = 0. 5(-27%) + 0. 5(27%) = 0%. We would do similar calculations for the other states of the economy, and get these results: State| | Portfolio| Recession| | 0. 0%| Below average| | 3. 0| Average| | 7. 5| Above average| | 9. 5| Boom| | 12. 0| Now we can multiply the probability times the outcome in each state to get the expected return on this two-stock portfolio, 6. 7%. Alternatively, we could apply this formula, r = wi ri = 0. 5(12. 4%) + 0. 5(1. 0%) = 6. 7%, which finds r as the weighted average of the expected returns of the individual securities in the portfolio. It is tempting to find the standard deviation of the portfolio as the weighted average of the standard deviations of the individual securities, as follows: p wi(i) + wj(j) = 0. 5(20%) + 0. 5(13. 2%) = 16. %. However, this is not correct—it is necessary to use a different formula, the one for that we used earlier, applied to the two-stock portfolio’s returns. The portfolio’s depends jointly on each security’s and the correlation between the securities’ returns. The best way to approach the problem is to estimate the portfolio’s risk and retu rn in each state of the economy, and then to estimate p with the formula. Given the distribution of returns for the portfolio, we can calculate the portfolios and CV as shown below: p = [(0. 0 – 6. 7)2(0. 1) + (3. 0 – 6. 7)2(0. 2) + (7. 5 – 6. 7)2(0. 4) + (9. 6. 7)2(0. 2) + (12. 0 – 6. 7)2(0. 1)]? = 3. 4%. CVp = 3. 4%/6. 7% = 0. 51. 2. Using either or CV as our stand-alone risk measure, the stand-alone risk of the portfolio is significantly less than the stand-alone risk of the individual stocks. This is because the two stocks are negatively correlated—when High Tech is doing poorly, Collections is doing well, and vice versa. Combining the two stocks diversifies away some of the risk inherent in each stock if it were held in isolation, i. e. , in a 1-stock portfolio. f. Suppose an investor starts with a portfolio consisting of one randomly selected stock. What would happen: (1) To the riskiness and to the expected return of the portfolio as more randomly selected stocks were added to the portfolio? (2) What is the implication for investors? Draw a graph of the two portfolios to illustrate your answer. 1. The standard deviation gets smaller as more stocks are combined in the portfolio, while rp remains constant. Thus, by adding stocks to your portfolio, which initially started as a 1-stock portfolio, risk has been reduced. In the real world, stocks are positively correlated with one another—if the economy does well, so do stocks in general, and vice versa. Correlation coefficients between stocks generally range in the vicinity of +0. 35. A single stock selected at random would on average have a standard deviation of about 35%. As additional stocks are added to the portfolio, the portfolio’s standard deviation decreases because the added stocks are not perfectly positively correlated. However, as more and more stocks are added, each new stock has less of a risk-reducing impact, and eventually adding additional stocks has virtually no effect on the portfolio’s risk as measured by . In fact, stabilizes at about 20% when 40 or more randomly selected stocks are added. Thus, by combining stocks into well-diversified portfolios, investors can eliminate almost one-half the riskiness of holding individual stocks. The implication is clear: Investors should hold well-diversified portfolios of stocks rather than individual stocks. By doing so, they can eliminate about half of the riskiness inherent in individual stocks. 2. g. Should the effects of a portfolio impact the way investors think about the riskiness of individual stocks? If you decided to hold a 1-stock portfolio (and consequently were exposed to more risk than diversified investors were), could you expect to be compensated for all your risk; that is, could you earn a risk premium on the part of your risk that you could have eliminated by diversifying? 1. Portfolio diversification does affect investors’ views of risk. A stock’s stand-alone risk as measured by its or CV, may be important to an undiversified investor, but it is not relevant to a well-diversified investor. A rational, risk-averse investor is more interested in the impact that the stock has on the riskiness of his or her portfolio than on the stock’s stand-alone risk. Stand-alone risk is composed of diversifiable risk, which can be eliminated by holding the stock in a well-diversified portfolio, and the risk that remains is called market risk because it is present even when the entire market portfolio is held. 2. If you hold a one-stock portfolio, you will be exposed to a high degree of risk, but you will not be compensated for it. If the return were high enough to compensate you for your high risk, it would be a bargain for more rational, diversified investors. They would start buying it, and these buy orders would drive the price up and the return down. Thus, you simply could not find stocks in the market with returns high enough to compensate you for the stock’s diversifiable risk. h. The expected rates of return and the beta coefficients of the alternatives supplied by Merrill Finch’s computer program are as follows: SecurityReturn ()Risk (Beta) High Tech12. 4%1. 32 Market10. 51. 00 U. S. Rubber 9. 80. 88 T-bills 5. 50. 00 Collections 1. 0(0. 87) 1) What is a beta coefficient, and how are betas used in risk analysis? (2) Do the expected returns appear to be related to each alternative’s market risk? (3) Is it possible to choose among the alternatives on the basis of the information developed thus far? Use the data given at the start of the program to construct a graph that shows how the T-bill’s, High Techs, and the market’s beta collections are calculated. Then discuss what betas measure and how they are used in risk analysis. 1. (Draw the framework of the graph, put up the data, then plot the points for the market (45 line) and connect them, and then get the slope as Y/X = 1. . ) State that an average stock, by definition, moves with the market. Then do the same with High Tech and Tbills. Beta coefficients measure the relative volatility of a given stock vis-a-vis an average stock. The average stock’s beta is 1. 0. Most stocks have betas in the range of 0. 5 to 1. 5. Theoretically, betas can be negative, but in the real world, they are generally positive. Betas are calculated as the slope of the â€Å"characteristic† line, which is the regression line showing the relationship between a given stock and the general stock market. As explained in Web Appendix 8A, we could estimate the slopes, and then use the slopes as the betas. In practice, 5 years of monthly data, with 60 observations, would generally be used, and a computer would be used to obtain a least squares regression line. 2. The expected returns are related to each alternative’s market risk—that is, the higher the alternatives rate of return the higher its beta. Also, note that T-bills have zero risk. 3. We do not yet have enough information to choose among the various alternatives. We need to know the required rates of return on these alternatives and compare them with their expected returns. . The yield curve is currently flat; that is, long-term Treasury bonds also have a 5. 5% yield. Consequently, Merrill Finch assumes that the risk-free rate is 5. 5%. (1) Write out Security Market Line (SML) equation, use it to calculate the required rate of return on each alternative, and graph the relationship between the expected and required rates of return. (2) How do the expected rates of return compare with the required rates of return? (3) Does the fact that Collections has an expected return that is less than the T-bill rate make any sense? Explain (4) What would be the market and the required return of a 50-50 portfolio of High Tech and Collections? Of High Tech and U. S. Rubber? 1. Here is the SML equation: ri = rRF + (rM – rRF)bi. Merrill Finch has estimated the risk-free rate to be rRF = 5. 5%. Further, our estimate of rM = M is 10. 5%. Thus, the required rates of return for the alternatives are as follows: High Tech:5. 5% + (10. 5% – 5. 5%)1. 32 = 12. 10%. Market:5. 5% + (10. 5% – 5. 5%)1. 00 = 10. 50%. U. S. Rubber:5. 5% + (10. 5% – 5. 5%)0. 88 = 9. 90%. T-bills:5. 5% + (10. 5% – 5. 5%)0 = 5. 50%. Collections:5. 5% + (10. 5% – 5. %)-0. 87 = 1. 15%. 2. We have the following relationships: ExpectedRequired ReturnReturn Security ()(r)Condition High Tech12. 4%12. 1%Undervalued: gt; r Market10. 510. 5Fairly valued (market equilibrium) U. S. Rubber9. 89. 9Overvalued: r gt; T-bills5. 55. 5Fairly valued Collections1. 01. 2Overvalued: r gt; The T-bills and market portfolio plot on the SML, High Tech plots above it, and Collections and U. S. Rubber plot below it. Thus, the T-bills and the market portfolio promise a fair return, High Tech is a good deal because its expected return is above its required return, and Collections and U. S. Rubber have expected returns below their required returns. 3. Collections are an interesting stock. Its negative beta indicates negative market risk—including it in a portfolio of â€Å"normal† stocks will lower the portfolio’s risk. Therefore, its required rate of return is below the risk-free rate. This means that Collections is a valuable security to rational, well-diversified investors. To see why, consider this question: Would any rational investor ever make an investment that has a negative expected return? The answer is â€Å"yes†Ã¢â‚¬â€just thinks of the purchase of a life or fire insurance policy. The fire insurance policy has a negative expected return because of commissions and insurance company profits, but businesses buy fire insurance because they pay off at a time when normal operations are in bad shape. Life insurance is similar—it has a high return when work income ceases. A negative-beta stock is conceptually similar to an insurance policy. 4. Note that the beta of a portfolio is simply the weighted average of the betas of the stocks in the portfolio. Thus, the beta of a portfolio with 50% High Tech and 50% Collections is: . bp= 0. 5(bHigh Tech) + 0. (bCollections) = 0. 5(1. 32) + 0. 5(–0. 87) = 0. 225, rp = rRF + (rM – rRF)bp= 5. 5% + (10. 5% – 5. 5%)(0. 225) = 5. 5% + 5%(0. 225) = 6. 63% 6. 6%. For a portfolio consisting of 50% High Tech plus 50% U. S. Rubber, the required return would be: bp = 0. 5(1. 32) + 0. 5(0. 88) = 1. 10. rp = 5. 5% + 5%(1. 10) = 11. 00%. j. Suppose investors raised their inflation expectations by 3 percentage poin ts over current estimates as reflected in the 5. 5% risk-free rate. What effect would higher inflation have on the SML and on the returns required on high-and low-risk securities Suppose instead that investors’ risk aversion increased enough to cause the market risk premium to increase by 3 percentage points. (Inflation remains constant. ) What effect would this have on the SML and on returns of high-and low-risk securities? Here we have plotted the SML for betas ranging from 0 to 2. 0. The base-case SML is based on rRF = 5. 5% and rM = 10. 5%. If inflation expectations increase by 3 percentage points, with no change in risk aversion, then the entire SML is shifted upward (parallel to the base case SML) by 3 percentage points. Now, rRF = 8. 5%, rM = 13. 5%, and all securities’ required returns rise by 3 percentage points. Note that the market risk premium, rM – rRF, remains at 5 percentage points. When investors’ risk aversion increases, the SML is rotated upward about the Y-intercept (rRF). rRF remains at 5. 5%, but now rM increases to 13. 5%, so the market risk premium increases to 8%. The required rate of return will rise sharply on high-risk (high-beta) stocks, but not much on low-beta securities.

Sample Essay on Novel Kite Runner

Sample Essay on Novel Kite RunnerThe ideal sample essay on a novel Kite Runner may be one which looks like a hundred other samples written by other individuals. This may come from K.D. Cummings, Ayn Rand, Roderick MacFarquhar, Nancy Mitford, or Milton Brown. There is only one problem with this.The sample essay which makes you feel you have 'done it all' in the essay writing world is not the sample which will impress your instructor. What will impress your instructor is the sample essay that you write under your own name. This is more important than many of the essays that would be written by sample essays.And that is precisely why your first job as a student is to write your own sample essay, or perhaps make a custom sample essay. It is a mistake to think that all sample essays are copies of each other. In fact, you should know that there are several other sample essays which contain ideas, ideas which have been already published and are available on the internet.Most authors are wel l aware of the advantages that the internet provides for the writer and publisher. They are able to generate an enormous amount of free writing from the internet. This allows the author to completely rework the same article word for word, to produce a completely different article. This saves time and money, not to mention time.Writing a sample essay on a novel Kite Runner will provide you with the benefits which most novel writers enjoy, but rarely enjoy. Writing a custom essay on a novel Kite Runner has many advantages. One of these is the fact that your essay will be unique and original. It will also be a little different than what the usual applicant is submitting.This may seem to the average person to be very difficult to do, but the fact is that most students never complete this assignment for fear of copying another sample essay. The real advantage of a custom essay on a novel Kite Runner is that it is unique.There is nothing more rewarding than writing your own article, your own manuscript, which you submit to the publisher as you did last year. This is truly a rewarding experience.

African Americans In The South Essays - Slavery In The United States

African Americans In The South Essays - Slavery In The United States African Americans In The South As a social and economic institution, slavery originated in the times when humans began farming instead of hunting and gathering. Slave labor became commonplace in ancient Greece and Rome. Slaves were created through the capture of enemies, the birth of children to slave parents, and means of punishment. Enslaved Africans represented many different peoples, each with distinct cultures, religions, and languages. Most originated from the coast or the interior of West Africa, between present-day Senegal and Angola. Other enslaved peoples originally came from Madagascar and Tanzania in East Africa. Slavery became of major economic importance after the sixteenth century with the European conquest of South and Central America. These slaves had a great impact on the sugar and tobacco industries. A triangular trade route was established with Europe for alcohol and firearms in exchange for slaves. The slaves were then traded with Americans for molasses and (later) cotton. In 1619 the first black slave arrived in Virginia. The demands of European consumers for New World crops and goods helped fuel the slave trade. A strong family and community life helped sustain African Americans in slavery. People often chose their own partners, lived under the same roof, raised children together, and protected each other. Brutal treatment at the hands of slaveholders, however, threatened black family life. Enslaved women experienced sexual exploitation at the hands of slaveholders and overseers. Bondspeople lived with the constant fear of being sold away from their loved ones, with no chance of reunion. Historians estimate that most bondspeople were sold at least once in their lives. No event was more traumatic in the lives of enslaved individuals than that of forcible separation from their families. People sometimes fled when they heard of an impending sale. During the 17th and 18th century enslaved African Americans in the Upper South mostly raised tobacco. In coastal South Carolina and Georgia, they harvested indigo for dye and grew rice, using agricultural expertise brought with them from Africa. By the 1800s rice, sugar, and cotton became the South's leading cash crops. The patenting of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793 made it possible for workers to gin separate the seeds from the fiber some 600 to 700 pounds daily, or ten times more cotton than permitted by hand. The Industrial Revolution, centered in Great Britain, quadrupled the demand for cotton, which soon became America's leading export. Planters' acute need for more cotton workers helped expand southern slavery. By the Civil War, the South exported more than a million tons of cotton annually to Great Britain and the North. An area still called the Black Belt, which stretched across Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, grew some 80 percent of the nation's crop. In parts of the Black Belt, enslaved African Americans made up more than three-fourths of the total population. Even though slavery existed throughout the original thirteen colonies, nearly all the northern states, inspired by American independence, ab olished slavery by 1804. As a matter of conscience some southern slaveholders also freed their slaves or permitted them to purchase their freedom. Until the early 1800s, many southern states allowed these emancipations to legally take place. Although the Federal Government outlawed the overseas slave trade in 1808, the southern enslaved African American population continued to grow. By 1860 some 4 million enslaved African Americans lived throughout the South. Only Southern states believed slavery to be a major, and essential, economic factor. Whether on a small farm or a large plantation, most enslaved people were agricultural laborers. They worked literally from sunrise to sunset in the fields or at other jobs. Some bondspeople held specialized jobs as artisans, skilled laborers, or factory workers. A smaller number worked as cooks, butlers, or maids. Slavery became an issue in the economic struggles between Southern plantation owners and Northern industrialists in the first half of the 19th century, a struggle that culminated in the American Civil War. Despite the common perception to the contrary, the war was not fought primarily on the slavery issue. Abraham Lincoln, however, saw the political advantages of promising freedom for Southern slaves, and the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted in 1863. This was reinforced after the war by the 13th,

In Regard to Your Letter…

In Regard to Your Letter†¦ In Regard to Your Letter In Regard to Your Letter By Maeve Maddox As both noun and verb, the word regard has numerous meanings and uses in English. Sometimes it is correctly used in the plural; sometimes not. For example, in the polite formula Give my regards to your family, regard is correctly rendered in the plural. In this context, regards means affectionate or respectful feelings. In the expressions with regard to, in regard of, and in regard to, however, adding s to regard is nonstandard usage. The following examples from the web illustrate the error: Irving Weighing Options In Regards To Draft I have a question in regards to joining the Navy. If the request is not related to a particular product or is in regards to multiple products, select the first option With regards to others who posted early because of the same issue Many speakers and writers do add the s in these contexts, so if you want to do so, youll have plenty of company. However, if you are choosy about the company you keep, you may wish to consider what the respected writing guides have to say about in regards to. The Chicago Manual of Style places in regards to in its section on good usage versus common usage: in regard to. This is the phrase, not in regards to. Try a single-word substitute instead: about, regarding, concerning. The Oxford English Dictionary lists in regards to, but labels it regional and nonstandard. The Columbia Guide to Standard American English (1993) accepts In and with regard to, regarding, and as regards as Standard, but firmly declares that with regards to is Nonstandard. Paul Brians at Washington State University has no patience with it either: Business English is deadly enough without scrambling it. As regards your downsizing plan is acceptable, if stiff. In regard to and with regard to are also correct. But in regards to is nonstandard. You can convey the same idea with in respect to or with respect to, orsimplest of alljust plain regarding. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of LanguageHow to Pronounce MobileHow to Address Your Elders, Your Doctor, Young Children... and Your CEO

Reagan, Obama and Inequality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reagan, Obama and Inequality - Essay Example Nicholas Kristof argues in his article that the inequality has soared since the time president Reagan took office to this time when president Obama is still in office. According to Nicholas, the median household income has stagnated and educational progress has almost come to a halt. He further argues that the average Canadian family is better off than the average American family. The author has based his arguments from the late 1970s to now when president Obama is still in office. The issue of inequality came up in the president’s state of the union address (Kristof). The president proposed that the government should take this issue seriously and corrective measures should be taken. However, the author does not believe that any action will be taken, citing that every year the president mentions an issue during the state of the union address and nothing is usually done to correct the situation. The author differentiates between opinions and facts. Some of the facts the author gives are that the median income for households has increased from the year 1979. However, according to his opinion, the Average American family is worse off than the average Canadian family.

Problematizing the Use and Learning of a Second Language Essay

Problematizing the Use and Learning of a Second Language - Essay Example The quest for education has attracted international students to foreign countries. Both undergraduate and graduate international students are, for example, enrolling in the United States universities in large numbers. The students, however, encounter several challenges as they strive for academic excellence and adapting to the new society. They even find it hard to socialize with the local students because of inadequacies in language proficiency and other related factors. In spite of the challenges, the students are of benefit to the learning communities both at the national and state levels. They introduce new cultures and bring about financial gains to American institutions. It is a fact that the English language is prevalent in various countries all over the world, but the level of understanding on how to use it differs. Several countries in Africa and Asia have embraced the English language. I believe that English is the most learned language in schools. I think that governments and institutions interested in enhancing their quality of learning cannot understate the value of English. Drawing examples from Chinese students, Qian, presents a comprehensive study of the teaching methods that can improve their oral English. He notes that China has given attention to the learning of oral English in colleges (Qian 2204). I think that in spite of China’s rampant economic growth, they still have to depend on the language when sourcing for foreigner investors. I fail to understand how China’s growth can continue if they can fail to embrace the language. By teaching English to their children and students in colleges, they provide grounds for their f uture growth. Qian, a lecturer at the department of English in Zhenjiang Watercraft College, argues that â€Å"it is true in China that thousands of students cannot speak fluent English although they have learned it for several years† (2204).  Ã‚  

Star Wars :: essays research papers

People are always looking for a good way to escape the pangs of work. Since work is so important in society today that it is almost impossible to avoid doing work without having to pay the price in the future. The perfect escape would be one that alleviates the strain of work yet does not incur any future expenses. Many people have found science fiction novels and movies to be great escape mechanisms. Science fiction is such a perfect escape for many people because it allows its audience to vicariously experience the joy of future technology – technology that promises less work and much more play, at no cost.An escape must have three things in order to be considered a true escape. First, an escape must permanently or at least temporarily eliminate one’s responsibilities. As long as one has responsibilities looming overhead, one cannot really feel free. It will also work if the escape produces the illusion that one’s responsibilities are gone.Secondly, an escape must enhance leisure. If the escape does not enhance leisure then boredom will most likely be the result. Also, due to the fact that most escapes are the temporary kind, leisure time is generally very precious. Therefore, it is not enough that an escape simply do away with work and responsibility. An escape must also take full advantage of one’s leisure time.Third, an escape must not have any undesirable consequences. This is the condition that justifies the escape itself. Suppose for example that a person became tired of his or her job and simply stopped working. That person would soon be fired, and although he did avoid doing work, his method of escape cannot be justified because of the undesirable consequences that followed. This is perhaps the most important condition an escape must satisfy. Science fiction literature and films are very good escape mechanisms. While a person is absorbed in the goings on within a particular novel, movie, etc., that person can experience what the characters are experiencing, and it is common for the characters to have lifestyles that meet the three conditions above. The reason for this is that in science fiction it is very common for the characters to have a very technologically advanced way of living. The futuristic technology allows the characters to do less work and have more fun with no consequences. Take for example the movie star wars.