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Free Territory of Trieste

The Free Territory of Trieste was an independent territory in Southern Europe between northern Italy and Yugoslavia, facing the north part of the Adriatic Sea, under direct responsibility of the United Nations Security Council in the aftermath of World War II. For a period of seven years, it acted as a free city.

The territory was established on 10 February 1947, by a protocol of the Treaty of Peace with Italy, to accommodate an ethnically and culturally mixed population in a neutral independent country. The intention was also to cool down territorial claims between Italy and Yugoslavia, due to its strategic importance for trade with Central Europe. It came into existence on 15 September 1947. Its administration was divided into two areas: one being the port city of Trieste with a narrow coastal strip to the northwest (Zone A); the other (Zone B) was formed by a small portion of the north-western part of the Istrian peninsula.

The territory was de facto dissolved in 1954 and given to Italy (Zone A) and Yugoslavia (Zone B). This created a border dispute which was only settled twenty years later with the signing of the bilateral Treaty of Osimo in 1975, which was ratified in 1977.

The city of Trieste and the territory which formed Zone A is today part of Italy's Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the area of the former Zone B is today part of Slovenia and Croatia.

Geography

The Free Territory of Trieste comprised an area of 738 km2 around the Gulf of Trieste in the northern Adriatic, from Duino (Devin) in the north to Cittanova (Novigrad) in the south, and had approximately 330,000 inhabitants.

It bordered post-war Italy to the north, and Yugoslavia to the east and south. The rivers of the territory included the Rižana/Risano, the Dragonja/Dragogna, the Timavo/Timava, the Val Rosandra/Glinščica, and the Mirna/Quieto. The Territory's highest point was at Monte Cocusso/Kokoš (668 m). Its most extreme points were near Medeazza/Medjavas at 45° 48’ in the north, at Tarski Zaliv / Porto Quieto at 45° 18’ in the south, Savudrija / Punta Salvore at 13° 29’ in the west, and Gročana/Grozzana at 13° 55’ in the east.

History

Since 1382, Trieste had been part of the Habsburg monarchy, whilst neighboring Istria had been divided for centuries between the Habsburg monarchy (its central, northern and eastern parts) and the Republic of Venice (its western and southern parts). The population of the territory has been diverse and mixed, with different and often changing ethnic majorities in different parts of the territory.

Italian-speakers have been predominant in most urban settlements and along the coast, with significant ethnic Slavic minorities of Slovenes and Croats inland - especially in the Trieste district, where Slovenes represented a third of the population by the end of World War I (although most of them were recent arrivals, after 1880, from interior Slovene districts). The countryside of the territory was mostly populated by ethnic Slovenes or Croats in the southernmost portion of the area. There was also a smaller number of Istro-Romanians, Greeks, Albanians, as well as a sizeable Triestine Jewish community.

The local Triestine dialect reflects this ethnic mix. Based on the Romance Venetian language, the dialect was influenced by ancient Rhaeto-Romance substrate. In addition, some Triestine vocabulary are of German and Slovene origin, and there are also loanwords from other languages, such as Greek.

The variations of spoken Slovenian and Serbo-Croatian in the territory were also largely dialectal, sharing words with the Triestine and Istrian dialects. In the southernmost part of the territory, the Croatian-based dialects are of the Chakavian type, while the Venetian-based Istrian is also commonly used.

At the end of World War I in 1918 and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, Kingdom of Italy annexed Trieste, Istria and part of modern-day western Slovenia, establishing the border region known as the Julian March (Venezia Giulia). In 1924, Italy also annexed the Free State of Fiume (now the city of Rijeka in Croatia).

During the 1920s and 1930s, the Slavic population was subject to forced Italianization and discrimination under the Italian Fascist regime led by Benito Mussolini. They were also exposed to state violence by mobs incited by the ruling fascist party PNF, which included the infamous burning of the Slovene National Hall in Trieste on 13 July 1920. Because of this, some native Slovenes and Croats emigrated to Yugoslavia, while others joined the TIGR resistance organization, whose methods included more than 100 bombings and assassinations, mostly against Italian authorities in the region, and especially in the areas around Trieste and Gorizia to the north.

World War II
Beginning in 1940, Italy joined World War II alongside Nazi Germany as one of the Axis powers. When the Fascist regime collapsed and Italy capitulated with the Armistice of Cassibile in September 1943, the territory in and around Trieste was occupied by the German Wehrmacht armed forces, which made the city the capital of their regional Operational Zone of the Adriatic Littoral (OZAK).

Amid the collapse of German front line towards the end of the war, Yugoslav Partisan units (4th Army and the 9th Corps) entered Trieste on 1 May 1945, after a battle in the town of Opicina on the outskirts of Trieste.

The 2nd New Zealand Division also arrived the following day, and forced the surrender of some 2,000 German troops holding out in Trieste, who warily had refused to capitulate to Yugoslav troops, fearing reprisals and executions. An uneasy truce then developed between New Zealand and Yugoslav troops occupying the area, until British General William Morgan proposed partition of the territory into separate military-administered zones.

Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito agreed with the idea on 23 May, as the British 13th Corps was moving forward to the proposed demarcation line. A formal agreement on partition was signed in Duino on 10 June, which created the so-called Morgan Line dividing the Julian March territory. Yugoslav troops withdrew to their area on 12 June 1945.

Establishment of the territory and provisional government
In January 1947, the United Nations Security Council approved Resolution 16 under Article 24 of its charter calling for the creation of a free state in Trieste and the region surrounding it. A permanent statute codifying its provisions was to become recognized under international law upon the appointment of an international governor approved by the Quatripartite Powers (UK, US, France, and the Soviet Union). On 15 September 1947, the peace treaty between the United Nations (UN) and Italy was ratified, establishing the Free Territory of Trieste.

Official languages were Italian and Slovene, possibly with the use of Serbo-Croatian in the portion of Zone B south of the Dragonja River. However, local government bodies were never formed, and it continued to be run by military authorities, respecting the administrative division demarcated by the Morgan Line: Zone A, which was 222.5 km2 and had a population of 262,406 - including Trieste itself - was administered by the British and American forces; Zone B, which was 515.5 km2 with 71,000 residents - including north-western Istria - was administered by the Yugoslav army.

Between October 1947 and March 1948, the Soviet Union rejected the candidacy of 12 successive nominees for the civilian governor of the territory, at which point the Tripartite Powers (United States, United Kingdom, and France) issued a note to the Soviet and Yugoslav governments on 20 March 1948 recommending that the territory be returned to Italian sovereignty.

Since no governor was ever appointed under the terms of UN Resolution 16, the Territory never functioned as a real independent state – although its formal status and separate sovereignty were generally respected. It operated as a separate state in the Marshall Plan (launched in April 1948) and the related OEEC (formed in March 1948). Meanwhile, the Tito-Stalin split in mid-1948 led to the deterioration of relations between Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, which resulted in a political stalemate, and the proposal to return the territory to Italy was suspended until 1954.

The Allied Military Government (AMG) thus continued to administer Zone A. The governance was split into peacekeeping and law enforcement sectors, with the local command comprising 5,000 Americans in the Trieste United States Troops (TRUST) and 5,000 British personnel in the British Element Trieste Forces (BETFOR).

According to the estimates published by the Allied Military Government, the population in Zone A as of 1949 was about 310,000, which included 239,200 ethnic Italians and 63,000 ethnic Slovenes.

According to contemporary Italian sources, in Zone B there were at the time 36,000 to 55,000 Italians and 12,000 to 17,000 Slovenes and Croats. According to the Yugoslav census of 1945 (which was considered falsified by the Quadripartite Commission set up by the UN), in the part of Istria which was to become Zone B there were a total of 67,461 inhabitants - including 30,789 Slovenes, Serbs and Croats, 29,672 Italians, and 7,000 people of unidentified nationality.

Elections in the Territory were held twice, in 1949 and 1952, but only for municipal councils. The elections for what was supposed to be the People's Assembly (Free Territory of Trieste's national legislature) were never held.

Dissolution
On 5 October 1954, the London Memorandum was signed by ministers of the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and Yugoslavia. The memorandum effectively disestablished the Free Territory of Trieste, which meant that the civilian administration was formally transferred to neighboring Italy and Yugoslavia.

Former Zone A with Trieste was given to Italy, while Zone B – which already had a separate communist civilian government since 1947 – to Yugoslavia. In addition, Yugoslavia was given some smaller parts of the former Zone A, including the city of Koper (Koppe), as well as several villages in the municipality of Muggia, like Plavje, Spodnje Škofije, Elerji, Hrvatini, Kolomban, Cerej, Premančan, and Barizoni. The castle and village of Socerb above San Dorligo della Valle was also ceded to the Yugoslav administration, according to the demarcation line defined by Annex I to the London Memorandum.

However, objections to the demarcation line and territorial claims from both sides continued. These were finally put to rest with the November 1975 signing of the bilateral Treaty of Osimo between Italy and Yugoslavia, which ended any current or future claims - as the London Memorandum had only dissolved the territory de facto, but not de jure.

Military commander
* Governors of all Julian March prior to the establishment of the Territory.

Economics
The economy of the territory was based on its ports, namely the Free Port of Trieste and the Port of Koper/Capodistria. The first had a peculiar free zone (nowadays also offshore) status originated in 1719 and confirmed by the Treaty of Peace with Italy of 1947, which allows the transportation of goods inside the area. This status is recognised by the international community and the European Union.

An excerpt from the answer given by Algirdas Šemeta on 7 August 2012, on behalf of the European Commission about the Free Port of Trieste: "Annex VIII to the Treaty of peace with Italy of 10 February 1947 stipulates in its Article 1 that the port of Trieste shall be a customs-free port. Article 5(2) of Annex VIII provides that in connection with the importation into or exportation from or transit through the Free Port, the authorities of the Free Territory shall not levy on such goods customs duties or charges other than those levied for services rendered. [emphasis added]"

Demographics
During the late 1940s and in the years following the division of the territory, up to 40,000 people (mostly Italians) chose to leave the Yugoslav Zone B and move to the Italian Zone A for various reasons: some were intimidated into leaving, and some simply preferred not to live in Yugoslavia. Within Yugoslavia, the people who left were referred to as optanti 'choosers', whereas they called themselves esuli 'exiles'. About 14,000 Italians chose to remain in the Yugoslav zone. The population of the Free Territory of Trieste was approximately 370,000 in 1949.

title: Free Territory of Trieste


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Risk-free rate

The risk-free rate of return, usually shortened to the risk-free rate, is the rate of return of a hypothetical investment with scheduled payments over a fixed period of time that is assumed to meet all payment obligations.

Since the risk-free rate can be obtained with no risk, any other investment having some risk will have to have a higher rate of return in order to induce any investors to hold it.

In practice, to infer the risk-free interest rate in a particular currency, market participants often choose the yield to maturity on a risk-free bond issued by a government of the same currency whose risks of default are so low as to be negligible. For example, the rate of return on zero-coupon Treasury bonds (T-bills) is sometimes seen as the risk-free rate of return in US dollars.

Theoretical measurement
As stated by Malcolm Kemp in chapter five of his book Market Consistency: Model Calibration in Imperfect Markets, the risk-free rate means different things to different people and there is no consensus on how to go about a direct measurement of it.

One interpretation of the theoretical risk-free rate is aligned to Irving Fisher's concept of inflationary expectations, described in his treatise The Theory of Interest (1930), which is based on the theoretical costs and benefits of holding currency. In Fisher's model, these are described by two potentially offsetting movements:

 * 1) Expected increases in the money supply should result in investors preferring current consumption to future income.
 * 2) Expected increases in productivity should result in investors preferring future income to current consumption.

The correct interpretation is that the risk-free rate could be either positive or negative and in practice the sign of the expected risk-free rate is an institutional convention – this is analogous to the argument that Tobin makes on page 17 of his book Money, Credit and Capital. In a system with endogenous money creation and where production decisions and outcomes are decentralized and potentially intractable to forecasting, this analysis provides support to the concept that the risk-free rate may not be directly observable.

However, it is commonly observed that for people applying this interpretation, the value of supplying currency is normally perceived as being positive. It is not clear what is the true basis for this perception, but it may be related to the practical necessity of some form of (credit?) currency to support the specialization of labour, the perceived benefits of which were detailed by Adam Smith in The Wealth of Nations. However, Smith did not provide an 'upper limit' to the desirable level of the specialization of labour and did not fully address issues of how this should be organised at the national or international level.

An alternative (less well developed) interpretation is that the risk-free rate represents the time preference of a representative worker for a representative basket of consumption. Again, there are reasons to believe that in this situation the risk-free rate may not be directly observable.

A third (also less well developed) interpretation is that instead of maintaining pace with purchasing power, a representative investor may require a risk free investment to keep pace with wages.

Given the theoretical 'fog' around this issue, in practice most industry practitioners rely on some form of proxy for the risk-free rate, or use other forms of benchmark rate which are presupposed to incorporate the risk-free rate plus some risk of default. However, there are also issues with this approach, which are discussed in the next section.

Further discussions on the concept of a 'stochastic discount rate' are available in The Econometrics of Financial Markets by Campbell, Lo and MacKinley.

Proxies for the risk-free rate

The return on domestically held short-dated government bonds is normally perceived as a good proxy for the risk-free rate. In business valuation the long-term yield on the US Treasury coupon bonds is generally accepted as the risk-free rate of return. However, theoretically this is only correct if there is no perceived risk of default associated with the bond. Government bonds are conventionally considered to be relatively risk-free to a domestic holder of a government bond, because there is by definition no risk of default – the bond is a form of government obligation which is being discharged through the payment of another form of government obligation (i.e. the domestic currency). In fact, default on government debt does happen, so if in theory this is impossible, then this points out a deficiency of the theory. Another issue with this approach is that with coupon-bearing bonds, the investor does not know ex-ante what his return will be on the reinvested coupons (and hence the return cannot really be considered risk-free).

Some academics support the use of swap rates as a measurement of the risk-free rate. Feldhütter and Lando state that: "the riskless rate is better proxied by the swap rate than the Treasury rate for all maturities."

There is also the risk of the government 'printing more money' to meet the obligation, thus paying back in lesser valued currency. This may be perceived as a form of tax, rather than a form of default, a concept similar to that of seigniorage. But the result to the investor is the same, loss of value according to his measurement, so focusing strictly on default does not include all risk.

The same consideration does not necessarily apply to a foreign holder of a government bond, since a foreign holder also requires compensation for potential foreign exchange movements in addition to the compensation required by a domestic holder. Since the risk-free rate should theoretically exclude any risk, default or otherwise, this implies that the yields on foreign owned government debt cannot be used as the basis for calculating the risk-free rate.

Since the required return on government bonds for domestic and foreign holders cannot be distinguished in an international market for government debt, this may mean that yields on government debt are not a good proxy for the risk-free rate.

Another possibility used to estimate the risk-free rate is the inter-bank lending rate. This appears to be premised on the basis that these institutions benefit from an implicit guarantee, underpinned by the role of the monetary authorities as 'the lendor of last resort.' (In a system with an endogenous money supply the 'monetary authorities' may be private agents as well as the central bank – refer to Graziani 'The Theory of Monetary Production'.) Again, the same observation applies to banks as a proxy for the risk-free rate – if there is any perceived risk of default implicit in the interbank lending rate, it is not appropriate to use this rate as a proxy for the risk-free rate.

Similar conclusions can be drawn from other potential benchmark rates, including AAA-rated corporate bonds of institutions deemed 'too big to fail.'

One solution that has been proposed for solving the issue of not having a good 'proxy' for the risk-free asset, to provide an 'observable' risk-free rate is to have some form of international guaranteed asset which would provide a guaranteed return over an indefinite time period (possibly even into perpetuity). There are some assets in existence which might replicate some of the hypothetical properties of this asset. For example, one potential candidate is the 'consol' bonds which were issued by the British government in the 18th century.

Application
The risk-free interest rate is highly significant in the context of the general application of capital asset pricing model which is based on the modern portfolio theory. There are numerous issues with this model, the most basic of which is the reduction of the description of utility of stock holding to the expected mean and variance of the returns of the portfolio. In reality, there may be other utility of stock holding, as described by Robert J. Shiller in his article 'Stock Prices and Social Dynamics'.

The risk-free rate is also a required input in financial calculations, such as the Black–Scholes formula for pricing stock options and the Sharpe ratio. Note that some finance and economic theories assume that market participants can borrow at the risk-free rate; in practice, very few (if any) borrowers have access to finance at the risk free rate.

The risk-free rate of return is the key input into cost of capital calculations such as those performed using the capital asset pricing model. The cost of capital at risk then is the sum of the risk-free rate of return and certain risk premia.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Risk-free rate


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Dick

Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to:

Media

 * Dicks (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia
 * Dicks (band), a musical group
 * Dick (film), a 1999 American comedy film
 * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat
 * Dicks: The Musical, a 2023 American black comedy film

Names

 * Dick (nickname), an index of people nicknamed Dick
 * Dick (surname)
 * Dicks (surname)
 * Dick, a diminutive for Richard
 * Dicks (writer) (1823–1891), a pen name of Edmond de la Fontaine of Luxembourg
 * Dicks., botanical author abbreviation for James Dickson (1738–1822)

Places

 * Dicks Butte, a mountain in California
 * Dick Michigan, an unincorporated community

Other uses

 * Dick (slang), a dysphemism for the penis as well as a pejorative epithet
 * Dick's Drive-In, a Seattle, Washington-based fast food chain
 * Dick's Sporting Goods, a major sporting goods retailer in the United States
 * Dick's Sporting Goods Park, a soccer stadium in Denver, Colorado
 * Detective, in early 20th century or 19th century English
 * Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran), or DIC(K), a political party

title: Dick


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Wang (surname)

Wang is the pinyin romanization of the common Chinese surnames ' (Wáng) and ' (Wāng). It is currently the most common surname in Mainland China, one of the most common surnames in Asia, with more than 107 million in Asia. It is the 8th name listed in the famous Hundred Family Surnames.

Population and distribution
Wáng is one of the most common surnames in the world and was listed by the People's Republic of China's National Citizen ID Information System as the most common surname in mainland China in April 2007, with 92.88 million bearers and comprising 7.25% of the general population.

A 2018 survey found that there were over 100 million Wang in China, ranking first.

Wáng was also the most common surname in Mainland China in 2019.

A 2013 study found the province with the most people sharing the name was Henan. Overall the name is more prevalent in Northern China. In 2019 it was the most common surname in nearly every northern province or province-level division: Xinjiang, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, Anhui, Jiangsu, Shandong, Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang, as well as the southern province of Hainan.

It was the 6th most common surname in Taiwan in 2018, comprising 4.10% of the general population.

Ong is the 5th-most-common surname among Chinese Singaporeans and Wang the 6th, although Wong also includes the surname 黃 (Huang in Mandarin). Singaporean Wangs are 78,000 and 1.5% of Singapore's population and 2.5% of Singapore's Chinese population.

There are 143,000 recorded Wangs in the United States, as of 2014. This is a double increase from 2000, when 63,800 Wangs ranked 10th most common amongst Asian Americans and 440th amongst all Americans, respectively. There are 51,000 Wangs in California, 17,000 New York, 10,400 Texas, 5,900 New Jersey, 5,700 Illinois. Californian Wangs rank 55th in state, highest in rank as well by state of any state. Wang and Wong are sometimes interchangeable, as well as other Wang-based surnames so the number could vary.

Wang is a fairly rare surname in South Korea. The year 2000 South Korean Census listed only 23,447 Wangs.

Origins of Wang
Wang 王 is the Chinese word for "king". William Baxter and Laurent Sagart reconstructed the Old Chinese form of Wáng as  and the Middle Chinese as hjwang.

The modern bearers of the name Wang come from many different backgrounds, but there are four principal origins of the modern surname: Zi, Ji, Gui, and the adoption of the name from ethnic groups outside the Han Chinese.

House of Zi
The most ancient family name of Wang was originated from the surname Zi (子). The Chinese legend mentions that near the end of Shang dynasty, King Zhou of Shang's uncle Bi Gan, Ji Zi, and Wei Zi were called "The Three Kindhearted Men of Shang". King Zhou was violent in his rule, and Bi Gan repeatedly remonstrated to the king regarding his behavior. The king shunned his comments and killed Bi Gan instead. Bi's descendants used Wang as their surname as they are descendants of a prince and were known as "The Bi clan of the Wang family". The Zi clan has existed for about 3100 years through Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty and exists today. The Zi clan of Wang lived predominantly in modern-day Henan during these times and developed into the famous Wang family of Ji prefecture.

House of Ji
More Wang were originated from the royal family of Zhou dynasty. The original surname of the royal family of Zhou dynasty was Ji (姬). However, many of them have separated out of the family due to the loss of power and land. Because they once belonged to the royal family, they used Wang as their surname. This family of Wang traced its ancestry to Wang Ziqiao.

According to the classical records, after King Wu of Zhou defeated the Shang dynasty, he established the Western Zhou dynasty. During the reign of the 21st king, King Ling of Zhou (571 - 545 BCE), the capital was in Chengzhou, which is the present day Luoyang, Henan. A son of King Ling, Wangzi Qiao or Prince Qiao, was reduced to civilian status due to his remonstration to the king. His son Zong Jin remained as a Situ in the palace, and because of the people at the time recognized him as the descendant of the royal family, they called his family the "Wang family".

Another origin is that the surname is from Crown Prince Jin, son of King Ling of Zhou of the Eastern Zhou dynasty. Jin criticized plans to divert the Gu and Luo rivers and was disinherited by his father. His descendants adopted the surname Wang in commemoration of his royal status.

In other cases, the name can also be traced back to Tian He, who usurped the throne of the Qi in 391 BC. After the annihilation of Qi by Qin in 221 BC, some descendants of nobles of Qi adopted the surname Wang in commemoration of royal ancestry.

Wang was also used as a surname by descendants of royal families in certain other states, like Wei, during the Warring States period.

The surname has also been adopted by some families of minorities like the Ke Yi (可颐) families of the Xianbei during the Northern Wei dynasty.

In some families, this surname is traced back to ancestors who either were endowed with it by an emperor or changed their original surname, claiming royal status.

During the Tang dynasty the Li clan of Zhaojun 赵郡李氏, the Cui clan of Boling 博陵崔氏, the Cui clan of Qinghe 清河崔氏, the Lu clan of Fanyang 范陽盧氏, the Zheng clan of Xingyang 荥阳郑氏, the Wang clan of Taiyuan 太原王氏, and the Li clan of Longxi 隴西李氏 were the seven noble families between whom marriage was banned by law. Moriya Mitsuo wrote a history of the Later Han-Tang period of the Taiyuan Wang. Among the strongest families was the Taiyuan Wang. The prohibition on marriage between the clans issued in 659 by the Gaozong Emperor was flouted by the seven families since a woman of the Boling Cui married a member of the Taiyuan Wang, giving birth to the poet Wang Wei. He was the son of Wang Chulian who in turn was the son of Wang Zhou.

The marriages between the families were performed clandestinely after the prohibition was implemented on the seven families by Gaozong. The Zhou dynasty King Ling's son Prince Jin is assumed by most to be the ancestor of the Taiyuan Wang. The Longmen Wang were a cadet line of the Zhou dynasty descended Taiyuan Wang, and Wang Yan and his grandson Wang Tong hailed from his cadet line. Both Buddhist monks and scholars hailed from the Wang family of Taiyuan such as the monk Tanqian. The Wang family of Taiyuan included Wang Huan. Their status as "Seven Great surnames" became known during Gaozong's rule. The Taiyuan Wang family produced Wang Jun who served under Emperor Huai of Jin. A Fuzhou-based section of the Taiyuan Wang produced the Buddhist monk Baizhang.

Korea
The surname Wang has a Goguryeo origin and was the royal surname of Goryeo dynasty which was founded by Wang Geon. It is said that when Goryeo fell, many changed their surname to Jeon (全) / Jeon (田) / Ok (玉) to avoid severe persecution from the succeeding Joseon dynasty. The Kaesong Wang lineage traces its ancestry to the Goryeo rulers.

Japan
Ō (王) is a rare Japanese name, mostly held by those of Chinese descent, such as the baseball player Sadaharu Oh (王貞治), also known as Wang Chen-chih, as well as Go player, Ō Rissei (王立誠). .

Indonesia
In Indonesia, the surname is often romanized as "Heng", "Bong" or "Ong" for people of Hokkien descent, and more commonly as Ong by Chinese Peranakan. In some cases, the meaning of the names were translated into a name that sounds more like the area where these immigrant families settled in such as the surname Suraja, where in this case raja means king in Indonesian and Javanese and Su- is a common prefix within Javanese surnames.

Vietnam
In Vietnam, the name is rendered Vương (王) meaning King.

Scandinavia
Wang is also an unrelated surname in Sweden and Norway. It is a variant spelling of the name Vang which is derived from the Old Norse word vangr, meaning field or meadow.

Germany and Netherlands
Wang is also a surname in the German and Dutch languages. The name is derived from Middle German wang/ Middle Dutch waenge, which is literally "cheek". However, in southern German, its meaning, "grassy slope" or "field of grass", is similar to the Scandinavian surname.

Historical figures

 * Wang Anshi (王安石), Song Dynasty politician
 * Wang Bao (王褒), Han Dynasty poet and author
 * Wang Bi (王弼), Three Kingdoms Taoist philosopher
 * Wang Bo (王勃), a Tang dynasty Chinese poet
 * Wong Chat Bong (王澤邦/王泽邦), founder of Wong Lo Kat (王老吉) a Chinese herbal tea
 * Wang Chong (王充), Chinese philosopher during Han Dynasty
 * Wang Chongyang (王重陽/王重阳), a Song Dynasty Taoist and founder of Quanzhen School
 * Wang Chuzhi (王處直/王处直), a regional military governor for Dingzhou during the 5 Dynasties and 10 Kingdoms era
 * Wang Cong'er (王聰兒/王聪儿), a female leader of the White Lotus Rebellion
 * Wang Dao (王導/王导), Jin Dynasty pre-eminent statesman, premier and advisor
 * Wang Dun (王敦), Jin Dynasty (266–420), a rebellious Jin general and later warlord
 * Empress Wang (王皇后), an empress of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty.
 * Wang Fangqing (王方慶/王方庆), real name Wang Lin, served during the Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty as a chancellor
 * Wang Fu (王符), a philosopher from Gansu in the Eastern Han Dynasty
 * Wang Fu (王甫), a Shu Han general serving under Liu Bei
 * Wang Fu (王甫), an influential eunuch in Han Dynasty
 * Wang Fu (王符), a painter from Ming Dynasty
 * Wang Fuzhi (王紱/王绂), Chinese philosopher and historian
 * Wang Gui (王珪) Chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
 * Wang Guowei (王國維/王国维), late Qing Dynasty and early Republican Chinese scholar
 * Wang Huizu (汪輝祖/汪辉祖), Chinese jurist.
 * Wang Jian (王翦), a greatest general from Qin Dynasty
 * Wang Jian (王儉/王俭), Liu Song and Southern Qi official
 * Wang Jian (王建), founding emperor of Former Shu, posthumously known as Gaozu
 * Wang Jian (王鑒/王鉴), a painter from Ming Dynasty
 * Wang Jinghong (王景弘), Chinese Muslim admiral
 * Wang Jishan (王及善), served during the Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty as a chancellor
 * Wang Jun (王濬), Jin dynasty general
 * Wang Jun (王晙), a chancellor during Tang Dynasty
 * Wang Lang (王朗), a Wei politician during the end of the Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms
 * Wang Mang (王莽), founder of the Xin Dynasty
 * Wang Meng (王猛), known as Marquess Wu of Qinghe is a prime minister for Former Qin
 * Wang Nangxian (王囊仙), another female leader of the White Lotus Rebellion
 * Wang Rong (王戎), known as the 3rd East General, he served during the Jin Dynasty
 * Wang Shenzhi (王審知/王审知), founder of the Min Kingdom in Fujian
 * Wang Shichong (王世充), a general serving under the Sui Dynasty
 * Wang Su (王肅/王肃), son of Wang Lang, adviser to Sima Shi
 * Wang Wei (王維/王维), Tang Dynasty poet
 * Wang Xianzhi (王仙芝), Tang Dynasty agrarian rebel
 * Wang Xianzhi (王獻之/王献之), calligrapher
 * Wang Xiaojie (王孝傑/王孝杰), a general served during Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty
 * Wang Xizhi (王羲之), calligrapher known as the Sage Calligrapher lived in Jin Dynasty
 * Wang Xuan (王璿), an official of Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, briefly serving as chancellor
 * Wang Xuance (王玄策), a diplomat to India and guard that served during the Tang Dynasty
 * Wang Yanhan (王延翰), son of Wang Shenzhi, second king of the Min Kingdom ruled from 925 to 926
 * Wang Yanjun (王延鈞/王延钧), son of Wang Yanhan, third king of the Min Kingdom ruled from 926 to 935
 * Wang Yangming (王陽明/王阳明), Ming Dynasty Neo-Confucian
 * Wang Yi (王異/王异), official of Cao Wei
 * Wang Yuanji (王元姬), Wife of Sima Zhao and Empress Dowager of Jin Dynasty
 * Wang Zhaojun (王昭君), one of the Four Beauties of ancient China
 * Wang Zhen (王禎/王祯), an official and an inventor for Yuan Dynasty known for the first wooden movable type printing
 * Wang Zhen (王振), powerful eunuch during the Ming Dynasty
 * Wang Zhen (Wang Yiting) (王震（王一亭）), well-known painter of the "Shanghai school" in the Qing Dynasty
 * Wang Zhi (王直), a pirate leader in Ming Dynasty
 * Wang Zhihuan (王之渙/王之涣), a Chinese poet of Tang Dynasty
 * Wang Ziping (王子平), Chinese Muslim martial artist
 * Wang Zongyan (王宗衍), son of Wang Jian, second ruler of the Qian Kingdom (Former Shu)
 * Wang Zhihui (志辉), retired Chinese long jumper

Mainland China

 * Wang Bingbing (王冰冰), Chinese ski mountaineer
 * Charles Wang (王嘉廉), Chinese-American businessman
 * Charles Wang (physician) (王志偉/王志伟), Chinese physician and lawyer
 * Wang Changyuan (王昌元), Chinese guzheng performer and composer
 * Wang Jiujiang (王久江), Sichuanese painter
 * Wang Chunchen (王春辰), Chinese art historian, curator, and critic
 * Wang Daiyu (王岱輿/王岱舆), Chinese Hanafi-Maturidi scholar
 * Wang Dan (王丹), Chinese activist, leader of the Chinese democracy movement
 * Wang Daohan (汪道涵), Chinese politician
 * Wang Dongxing (汪東興/汪东兴), Chinese military commander and politician
 * Dylan Wang (王鶴棣/王鹤棣), Chinese actor
 * Wang Fang (王芳), Chinese singer
 * Wang Fanxi (王凡西), Chinese Trotskyist revolutionary
 * Wang Feifei (王霏霏), Chinese singer and actress
 * Wang Guangmei (王光美), Chinese politician
 * Wang Guangya (王光亞/王光亚), Chinese diplomat
 * Wang Guowei (王國維/王国维), Chinese historian and poet
 * Wang Han (汪涵), Chinese TV show host
 * Wang Hao (王皓), Chinese chess grandmaster
 * Wang Hao (王皓), Chinese table tennis player
 * Wang Hao (王浩), Chinese-American logician, philosopher and mathematician
 * Wang Hongwen (王洪文), Chinese labour activist and politician
 * Wang Huning (王沪宁), Chinese politician
 * Wang Jiexi (王洁曦), Chinese actor
 * Wang Jun (王軍/王军), Chinese businessman
 * Wang Jun (王君), Chinese politician
 * Wang Junkai (王俊凱/王俊凯), Chinese singer and actor
 * Wang Lin (王琳), Chinese badminton player
 * Wang Ling (王鈴/王铃), Chinese historian and sinologist
 * Wang Liqiang (王立強/王立强), Chinese defector and self-declared former spy
 * Wang Liqin (王勵勤/王励勤), Chinese table tennis player
 * Wang Ming (王明), Chinese activist, senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party
 * Wang Ming-chen (王明貞/王明贞), Chinese physicist and science educator
 * Wang Nan (王楠), Chinese table tennis player
 * Wang Qiang (王蔷), Chinese tennis player
 * Wang Qishan (王岐山), Chinese retired politician
 * Wang Qing (王青), Chinese actor and singer
 * Wang Rong (王榮/王荣), Chinese politician
 * Roy Wang (王源), Chinese singer and actor
 * Wang Shiwei (王實味/王实味), Chinese journalist and literary writer
 * Wang Shizhen (王士珍), Chinese general and politician
 * Taddeo Wang Yuesheng (born 1966), Chinese Catholic bishop
 * Wang Tao (王韜/王韬), Chinese translator, reformer, political columnist, newspaper publisher and fiction writer
 * Wang Xiaobo (王小波), Chinese novelist and essayist
 * Wang Xuan (王選/王选), Chinese computer scientist
 * Wang Yan (王妍), Chinese Olympic gymnast
 * Yang Wang (born 1989), Chinese high jumper
 * Wang Yanbo (王彦博), Chinese professional wrestler
 * Wang Yaowu (王耀武), Chinese high-ranking KMT general
 * Wang Yeping (王冶坪), Chinese politician
 * Wang Yi (王毅), Chinese diplomat and politician
 * Wang Yihan (王儀涵/王仪涵), Chinese retired badminton player
 * Wang Yibo (王一博), Chinese actor and singer
 * Wang Yiren (王怡人), Chinese singer and member of South Korean girlgroup Everglow
 * Yuja Wang (王羽佳), Chinese classical pianist
 * Wang Yunshan (aka Jizi, 姬子), Chinese painter
 * Wang Yuwen (王玉雯), Chinese actress
 * Wang Zhaoguo (王兆國/王兆国), Chinese politician
 * Wang Zhen (王震), Chinese political figure and one of the Eight Elders of the Chinese Communist Party
 * Wang Zhen, Chinese acrobatic gymnast
 * Wang Zhengjun (王政君), Han Dynasty empress
 * Wang Zhengwei (王正伟/王正偉), Chinese retired politician and economist
 * Wang Zhijian (王志健), Chinese perpetrator of the Yishun triple murders
 * Wang Zhizhi (王治郅), Chinese former professional basketball player
 * Wang Zhongshu (王仲殊), Chinese archaeologist

 * Wang Zisai (born 2006), Chinese athlete

Taiwan

 * Andrew H. J. Wang (王惠鈞), Taiwanese biochemist
 * Cyndi Wang (王心凌), Mandopop singer
 * Joanna Wang (王若琳), Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter
 * Leehom Wang (王力宏), Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter, actor and commercial model
 * Ong Iok-tek (Wang Yude) (王育德), scholar and early leader of the Taiwan independence movement
 * Wang Cheng-teng (王政騰/王政腾), Deputy Minister of the Council of Agriculture of the Republic of China
 * Wang Chien-fa (王乾發/王乾发), Magistrate of Penghu County (2005–2014)
 * Chien-Ming Wang (王建民), former professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees and Washington Nationals
 * Wang Chien-shien (王建煊), Republic of China politician
 * Wang Chung-yi (王崇儀/王崇仪), Minister of Coast Guard Administration of the Republic of China (2014–2016)
 * Darren Wang (王大陸/王大陆), Taiwanese actor famous in the Mainland
 * Wang Ginn-wang (王進旺/王进旺), Minister of the Coast Guard Administration of the Republic of China (2006–2014)
 * Jimmy Wang Yu (王羽), Mainland-born Taiwanese actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter who started his career in Hong Kong as a Shaw Brothers Studio actor.
 * Wang Ju-hsuan (王如玄), Minister of Council of Labor Affairs of the Republic of China (2008–2012)
 * Hsien Chung Wang (王宪锺/王宪钟), Chinese-American mathematician
 * Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材/王国材), Political Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications
 * Wang Li-ling (王儷玲/王俪玲), Chairperson of Financial Supervisory Commission of the Republic of China (2016)
 * Wang Mei-hua (王美花), former Vice Minister of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China
 * Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦), former Minister of Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China (2012–2015)
 * Wang Yu-yun (王玉雲/王玉云), former Mayor of Kaohsiung City (1973–1981)

Hong Kong

 * Jackson Wang (王嘉爾/王嘉尔), Hong Kong born Chinese member of South Korean boy group GOT7

Malaysia

 * Wang Shujin (Ong Seok Kim) (王樹金/王树金), Malaysian educationist, social worker and philanthropist

 * Wang Wenhua (Chin Peng)/(Ong Boon Hua)(王文華/王文华), Leader of the Malayan Communist Party

Singapore

 * Ong Teng Cheong (王鼎昌), Former President of the Republic of Singapore
 * Heng Swee Keat (王瑞杰), Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore
 * Ong Ye Kung (王乙康), Singaporean politician
 * Daniel Ong (王盟友), Singaporean businessman, radio DJ and television host
 * David Ong (王金发), Former Singaporean member of parliament
 * Peter Ong (王文辉), Government official in Singapore; Head of Civil Service
 * Thomas Ong (王沺裁), Singaporean actor, television host and businessman
 * Xavier Ong (王胜宇), Singaporean actor
 * Wang Yuqing (王昱清), Singaporean actor
 * Ong Eng Guan (王永元), Singaporean politician
 * Ong Keng Sen (王景生), Singaporean director of the theatre group TheatreWorks
 * Ong Keng Yong (王景荣), Singaporean diplomat
 * Ong Kim Seng (王金成), Singaporean artist
 * Anthea Ong (王丽婷), former Singaporean Nominated Member of Parliament
 * Ong Pang Boon (王邦文), former Singaporean politician
 * Remy Ong (王雷明), Singaporean bowler
 * Ong Soh Khim (王素琴), former Singaporean Nominated Member of Parliament
 * Ong Teck Chin (王德进), Singaporean educator
 * Melvyn Ong (王赐吉), Singapore army general and the current Chief of Defence Force of the Singapore Armed Forces
 * Glenn Ong (王书佳), Singaporean radio DJ
 * Olivia Ong (王俪婷), Singaporean singer and actress
 * Wang Sa (王沙), Singaporean comedian
 * Wang Weiliang (王伟良), Singaporean actor and singer
 * Ong Yeow Tian 王耀添, Singaporean convicted killer
 * Wang Xiuyun (王秀云), Singaporean actress

Korea

 * Wang Bit-na (왕빛나, 王嫔娜), actress and model
 * Wang Geon (왕건, 王建), founder of the royal family, the House of Wang of the Goryeo dynasty
 * Wang Jeung-hun (왕정훈), professional golfer
 * Wang Ji-hye (왕지혜, 王智慧), actress
 * Jun Ji-hyun (born Wang Ji-hyun; 왕지현, 王智賢), actress and model
 * Wang Ji-won (왕지원, 王智媛), actress and ballet dancer
 * Wang Ki-Chun (왕기춘, 王機春), judo world champion
 * Wang Seok-hyeon (왕석현, 王晳鉉), actor
 * Yoo Sun (born Wang Yoo-sun; 왕유선, 王裕善), actress

Australia

 * Beverley Wang, radio broadcaster and producer

Canada

 * Jeremy Wang (born 1991), better known by his pseudonym Disguised Toast, streamer and Internet personality
 * Richard Wang, chess player
 * Suning Wang, Chinese-born chemist
 * Vincent Wang, competitive video game player

Norway

 * Sølvi Wang, singer, actress and comedian

United States

 * An-Ming Wang, composer
 * Angela Wang, figure skater
 * Alexander Wang (王大仁), fashion designer
 * An Wang (王安), computer scientist who founded Wang Laboratories
 * Chloe Bennet Wong (汪可盈), actress
 * Daniel I.C. Wang (王义翘), Chinese American professor
 * Ed Wang, American football player
 * Garrett Wang (王以瞻), Chinese American actor
 * Ignatius C. Wang, Auxiliary Bishop of San Francisco in 2002-2009
 * Iris Wang, badminton player
 * Izaac Wang, American actor
 * Joanna Wang (王若琳), Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter
 * Wang Ju-Rong (王若琳), Chinese Muslim martial artist
 * Kris Wang, former mayor of Cupertino, California
 * Leehom Wang (王力宏), Taiwanese-American singer-songwriter, actor and commercial model
 * Linda Wang (王憲苓/王宪苓), actress
 * Lulu Wang (王子逸), filmmaker
 * Qingde Wang (王青德), professor
 * Shuping Wang (王淑平), a Chinese-American medical researcher and public health whistleblower
 * Taylor Wang (王赣骏/王贛駿), Chinese-American astronaut
 * Vera Wang (王薇薇), fashion designer
 * Wayne Wang (王穎/王颖), film director
 * Yuan Wang (control theorist) (王沅), mathematician specializing in control theory

Fictional people

 * Evelyn Quan Wang, character from Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
 * Joy Wang, character from Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
 * Lo Wang, character from video game Shadow Warrior
 * Nina Wáng, character from anime My-Otome
 * Paul Wang, character from Space: Above and Beyond (1995)
 * Socqueline Wang, character from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir
 * Waymond Wang, character from Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
 * Wang Ai Ling, character from Lilo & Stitch (2002)
 * Wang Chiang, character from Moorim School (2016)
 * Wang Jinrei, character from video game Tekken
 * Wang Liu Mei, character from anime Mobile Suit Gundam 00
 * Wang Lung, character from the novel The Good Earth
 * Wang Shizhen, character from manga Hikaru no Go

title: Wang (surname)


text:
Prick

Prick may refer to:

 * Prick (manufacturing), a style of marking tool
 * Goad or prick, a traditional farming implement
 * Fingerprick, a wound for blood sample
 * Prick (slang), vulgar slang for human penis or a derogatory term for a male
 * Prick (magazine), a free tattoo and piercing monthly in Atlanta, Georgia, US
 * Pricking or prick out (the seedlings), referring to transplanting from seed tray into individual pots

Music

 * Prick (band)
 * Prick (Prick album)
 * Prick (Melvins album)
 * "Prick", a song by Something for Kate

People with the surname

 * Christof Prick, (born 1946), German orchestra conductor

title: Prick


text:
Fen

A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires. The unique water chemistry of fens is a result of the ground or surface water input. Typically, this input results in higher mineral concentrations and a more basic pH than found in bogs. As peat accumulates in a fen, groundwater input can be reduced or cut off, making the fen ombrotrophic rather than minerotrophic. In this way, fens can become more acidic and transition to bogs over time.

Fens can be found around the world, but the vast majority are located at the mid to high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. They are dominated by sedges and mosses, particularly graminoids that may be rarely found elsewhere, such as the sedge species Carex exilis. Fens are highly biodiverse ecosystems and often serve as habitats for endangered or rare species, with species composition changing with water chemistry. They also play important roles in the cycling of nutrients such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus due to the lack of oxygen (anaerobic conditions) in waterlogged organic fen soils.

Fens have historically been converted to agricultural land. However, fens face a number of other threats, including peat cutting, pollution, invasive species, and nearby disturbances that lower the water table in the fen, such as quarrying. Interrupting the flow of mineral-rich water into a fen changes the water chemistry, which can alter species richness and dry out the peat. Drier peat is more easily decomposed and can even burn.

Distribution and extent
Fens are distributed around the world, but are most frequently found at the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. They are found throughout the temperate zone and boreal regions, but are also present in tundra and in specific environmental conditions in other regions around the world. In the United States, fens are most common in the Midwest and Northeast, but can be found across the country. In Canada, fens are most frequent in the lowlands near Hudson Bay and James Bay, but can also be found across the country. Fens are also spread across the northern latitudes of Eurasia, including Britain and Ireland, as well as Japan, but east-central Europe is especially rich in fens. Further south, fens are much rarer, but do exist under specific conditions. In Africa, fens have been found in the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the highland slopes in Lesotho. Fens can also be found at the colder latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. They are found in New Zealand and southwest Argentina, but the extent is much less than that of the northern latitudes. Locally, fens are most often found at the intersection of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, such as the headwaters of streams and rivers.

It is estimated that there are approximately 1.1 million square kilometers of fens worldwide, but quantifying the extent of fens is difficult. Because wetland definitions vary regionally, not all countries define fens the same way. In addition, wetland data is not always available or of high quality. Fens are also difficult to rigidly delineate and measure, as they are located between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Definition
Rigidly defining types of wetlands, including fens, is difficult for a number of reasons. First, wetlands are diverse and varied ecosystems that are not easily categorized according to inflexible definitions. They are often described as a transition between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems with characteristics of both. This makes it difficult to delineate the exact extent of a wetland. Second, terms used to describe wetland types vary greatly by region. The term bayou, for example, describes a type of wetland, but its use is generally limited to the southern United States. Third, different languages use different terms to describe types of wetlands. For instance, in Russian, there is no equivalent word for the term swamp as it is typically used in North America. The result is a large number of wetland classification systems that each define wetlands and wetland types in their own way. However, many classification systems include four broad categories that most wetlands fall into: marsh, swamp, bog, and fen. While classification systems differ on the exact criteria that define a fen, there are common characteristics that describe fens generally and imprecisely. A general definition provided by the textbook Wetlands describes a fen as "a peat-accumulating wetland that receives some drainage from surrounding mineral soil and usually supports marsh like vegetation."

Three examples are presented below to illustrate more specific definitions for the term fen.

Canadian Wetland Classification System definition
In the Canadian Wetland Classification System, fens are defined by six characteristics:

 * 1) Peat is present.
 * 2) The surface of the wetland is level with the water table. Water flows on the surface and through the subsurface of the wetland.
 * 3) The water table fluctuates. It may be at the surface of the wetland or a few centimeters above or below it.
 * 4) The wetland receives a significant amount of its water from mineral-rich groundwater or surface water.
 * 5) Decomposed sedges or brown moss peat are present.
 * 6) The vegetation is predominantly graminoids and shrubs.

Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (Keddy) definition
In the textbook Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation, Paul A. Keddy offers a somewhat simpler definition of a fen as "a wetland that is usually dominated by sedges and grasses rooted in shallow peat, often with considerable groundwater movement, and with pH greater than 6." This definition differentiates fens from swamps and marshes by the presence of peat.

The Biology of Peatlands (Rydin) definition
In The Biology of Peatlands fens are defined by the following criteria:

 * 1) The wetland is not flooded by lake or stream water.
 * 2) Woody vegetation 2 meters or taller is absent or canopy cover is less than 25%.
 * 3) The wetland is minerotrophic (it receives its nutrients from mineral-rich groundwater).

A further distinction is made between open and wooded fens, where open fens have canopy cover less than 10% and wooded fens have 10–25% canopy cover. If tall shrubs or trees dominate, the wetland is instead classified as a wooded bog or swamp forest, depending on other criteria.

Hydrological conditions
Hydrological conditions, as seen in other wetlands, are a major determinant of fen biota and biogeochemistry. Fen soils are constantly inundated because the water table is at or near the surface. The result is anaerobic (oxygen-free) soils due to the slow rate at which oxygen diffuses into waterlogged soil. Anaerobic soils are ecologically unique because Earth's atmosphere is oxygenated, while most terrestrial ecosystems and surface waters are aerobic. The anaerobic conditions found in wetland soils result in reduced, rather than oxidized, soil chemistry.

A hallmark of fens is that a significant portion of their water supply is derived from groundwater (minerotrophy). Because hydrology is the dominant factor in wetlands, the chemistry of the groundwater has an enormous effect on the characteristics of the fen it supplies. Groundwater chemistry, in turn, is largely determined by the geology of the rocks that the groundwater flows through. Thus, the characteristics of a fen, especially its pH, are directly influenced by the type of rocks its groundwater supply contacts. pH is a major factor in determining fen species composition and richness, with more basic fens called "rich" and more acidic fens called "poor." Rich fens tend to be highly biodiverse and harbor a number of rare or endangered species, and biodiversity tends to decrease as the richness of fen decreases.

Fens tend to be found above rocks that are rich in calcium, such as limestone. When groundwater flows past calcareous (calcium-rich) rocks like limestone (calcium carbonate), a small amount dissolves and is carried to the fen supplied by the groundwater. When calcium carbonate dissolves, it produces bicarbonate and a calcium cation according to the following equilibrium:

where carbonic acid (H2CO3) is produced by the dissolution of carbon dioxide in water. In fens, the bicarbonate anion produced in this equilibrium acts as a pH buffer, which keeps the pH of the fen relatively stable. Fens supplied by groundwater that doesn't flow through minerals and act as a buffer when dissolved tend to be more acidic. The same effect is observed when groundwater flows through minerals with low solubility, such as sand.

In extreme rich fens, calcium carbonate can precipitate out of solution to form marl deposits. Calcium carbonate precipitates out of solution when the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the solution falls. The decrease in carbon dioxide partial pressure is caused by uptake by plants for photosynthesis or direct loss to the atmosphere. This reduces the availability of carbonic acid in solution, shifting the above equilibrium back towards the formation of calcium carbonate. The result is the precipitation of calcium carbonate and the formation of marl.

Nutrient cycling
Fen, being a distinct type of wetland, shares many biogeochemical characteristics with other wetlands. Like all wetlands, they play an important role in nutrient cycling because they are located at the interface of aerobic (oxic) and anaerobic (anoxic) environments. Most wetlands have a thin top layer of oxygenated soil in contact with the atmosphere or oxygenated surface waters. Nutrients and minerals may cycle between this oxidized top layer and the reduced layer below, undergoing oxidation and reduction reactions by the microbial communities adapted to each layer. Many important reactions take place in the reduced layer, including denitrification, manganese reduction, iron reduction, sulfate reduction, and methanogenesis. Because wetlands are hotspots for nutrient transformations and often serve as nutrient sinks, they may be constructed to treat nutrient-rich waters created by human activities.

Fens are also hotspots for primary production, as the continuous input of groundwater stimulates production. Bogs, which lack this input of groundwater, have much lower primary production.

Carbon
Carbon from all types of wetlands, including fens, arrives mostly as organic carbon from either adjacent upland ecosystems or by photosynthesis in the wetland itself. Once in the wetland, organic carbon generally has three main fates: oxidation to CO2 by aerobic respiration, burial as organic matter in peat, or decomposition to methane. In peatlands, including fens, primary production by plants is greater than decomposition, which results in the accumulation of organic matter as peat. Resident mosses usually carry out decomposition within the fen, and temperate fens are often driven by plant roots' decomposition. These peat stores sequester an enormous amount of carbon. Nevertheless, it is difficult to determine whether fens net take up or emit greenhouse gases. This is because fens emit methane, which is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Methanogenic archaea that reside in the anaerobic layers of peat combine carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas to form methane and water. This methane can then escape into the atmosphere and exert its warming effects. Peatlands dominated by brown mosses and sedges such as fens have been found to emit a greater amount of methane than Sphagnum-dominated peatlands such as bogs.

Nitrogen
Fens play an important role in the global nitrogen cycle due to the anaerobic conditions found in their soils, which facilitate the oxidation or reduction of one form of nitrogen to another. Most nitrogen arrives in wetlands as nitrate from runoff, in organic matter from other areas, or by nitrogen fixation in the wetland. There are three main forms of nitrogen found in wetlands: nitrogen in organic matter, oxidized nitrogen (nitrate or nitrite), and ammonium.

Nitrogen is abundant in peat. When the organic matter in peat is decomposed in the absence of oxygen, ammonium is produced via ammonification. In the oxidized surface layer of the wetland, this ammonium is oxidized to nitrite and nitrate by nitrification. The production of ammonium in the reduced layer and its consumption in the top oxidized layer drives upward diffusion of ammonium. Likewise, nitrate production in the oxidized layer and nitrate consumption in the reduced layer by denitrification drives downward diffusion of nitrate. Denitrification in the reduced layer produces nitrogen gas and some nitrous oxide, which then exit the wetland to the atmosphere. Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas whose production is limited by nitrate and nitrite concentrations in fens.

Nitrogen, along with phosphorus, controls how fertile a wetland is.

Phosphorus
Almost all of the phosphorus that arrives in a wetland does so through sediments or plant litter from other ecosystems. Along with nitrogen, phosphorus limits wetland fertility. Under basic conditions like those found in extremely rich fens, calcium will bind to phosphate anions to make calcium phosphates, which are unavailable for uptake by plants. Mosses also play a considerable role in aiding plants in phosphorus uptake by decreasing soil phosphorus stress and stimulating phosphatase activity in organisms found below the moss cover. Helophytes have been shown to bolster phosphorus cycling within fens, especially in fen reestablishment, due to their ability to act as a phosphorus sink, which prevents residual phosphorus in the fen from being transferred away from the it. Under normal conditions, phosphorus is held within soil as dissolved inorganic phosphorus, or phosphate, which leaves trace amounts of phosphorus in the rest of the ecosystem.

Iron is important in phosphorus cycling within fens. Iron can bind to high levels of inorganic phosphate within the fen, leading to a toxic environment and inhibition of plant growth. In iron-rich fens, the area can become vulnerable to acidification, excess nitrogen and potassium, and low water levels. Peat soils play a role in preventing the bonding of irons to phosphate by providing high levels of organic anions for iron to bind to instead of inorganic anions such as phosphate.

Bog–rich-fen gradient
Bogs and fens can be thought of as two ecosystems on a gradient from poor to rich, with bogs at the poor end, extremely rich fens at the rich end, and poor fens in between. In this context, "rich" and "poor" refer to the species richness, or how biodiverse a fen or bog is. The richness of these species is strongly influenced by pH and concentrations of calcium and bicarbonate. These factors assist in identifying where along the gradient a particular fen falls. In general, rich fens are minerotrophic, or dependent on mineral-rich groundwater, while bogs are ombrotrophic, or dependent on precipitation for water and nutrients. Poor fens fall between these two.

Rich fens
Rich fens are strongly minerotrophic; that is, a large proportion of their water comes from mineral-rich ground or surface water. Fens that are more distant from surface waters such as rivers and lakes, however, have been shown to be more rich than fens that are connected. This water is dominated by calcium and bicarbonate, resulting in a slightly acidic to slightly basic pH, which is characteristic of rich fens. These conditions promote high biodiversity. Within rich fens, there is a large amount of variability. The richest fens are the extreme rich (marl) fens, where marl deposits are often build up. These are often pH 7 or greater. Rich and intermediate rich fens are generally neutral to slightly acidic, with a pH of approximately 7 to 5. Rich fens are not always very productive; at high calcium concentrations, calcium ions bind to phosphate anions, reducing the availability of phosphorus and decreasing primary production. Rich bogs with limited primary production can stabilize with the accumulation of mosses and mycorrhiza, which promote phosphorus cycling and can support the growth of new vegetation and bacteria. Brown mosses (family Amblystegiaceae) and sedges (genus Carex) are the dominant vegetation. However, an accumulation of mosses such as Sphagnum can lead to the acidification of the rich fen, potentially converting it into a poor fen. Compared to poor fens, rich fens have higher concentrations of bicarbonate, base cations (Na+, Ca2+, K+, Mg2+), and sulfate.

Poor fens
Poor fens are in many ways an intermediate between rich fens and bogs. Hydrologically, they are more alike to rich fens than to bogs, but in terms of vegetation composition and chemistry, they are more similar to bogs than rich fens. They are much more acidic than their rich counterparts, with a pH of approximately 5.5 to 4. Peat in poor fens tends to be thicker than that of rich fens, which cuts off vegetation access to the mineral-rich soil underneath. In addition, the thicker peat reduces the influence of mineral-rich groundwater that buffers the pH. This makes the fen more ombrotrophic, or dependent on nutrient-poor precipitation for its water and nutrients. Poor fens may also form in areas where the groundwater supplying the fen flows through sediments that don't dissolve well or have low buffering capacity when dissolved. Species richness tends to be lower than that of rich fens but higher than that of bogs. Poor fens, like bogs, are dominated by Sphagnum mosses, which acidify the fen and decrease nutrient availability.

Threats
One of the many threats that fens face is conversion to agricultural lands. Where climates are suitable, fens have been drained for agricultural use alongside crop production, grazing, and hay making. Draining a fen directly is particularly damaging because it lowers the water table. A lower water table can increase aeration and dry out peat, allowing for aerobic decomposition or burning of the organic matter in peat. Draining a fen indirectly by decreasing its water supply can be just as damaging. Disrupting groundwater flow into the fen with nearby human activities such as quarrying or residential development changes how much water and nutrients enter the fen. This can make the fen more ombrotrophic (dependent on precipitation), which results in acidification and a change in water chemistry. This has a direct impact on the habitat of these species and many signature fen species disappear.

Fens are also threatened by invasive species, fragmentation, peat cutting, and pollution. Non-native invasive species, such as the common buckthorn in North America, can invade fens and outcompete rare fen species, reducing biodiversity. Habitat fragmentation threatens fen species, especially rare or endangered species that are unable to move to nearby fens due to fragmentation. Peat cutting, while much more common in bogs, does happen in fens. Peat cut from fens has many uses, including burning as a fuel. Pollutants can alter the chemistry of fens and facilitate invasion by invasive species. Common pollutants of fens include road salts, nutrients from septic tanks, and runoff of agricultural fertilizers and pesticides.

Use of term in literature
Shakespeare used the term "fen-sucked" to describe the fog (literally: rising from marshes) in King Lear, when Lear says "Infect her beauty, You fen-sucked fogs drawn by the powerful sun, To fall and blister."

Specific fens

 * Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire
 * The Fens (eastern England)
 * Mesopotamian Marshes (Iraq)
 * Back Bay Fens (Boston, Massachusetts)
 * Cedar Bog (Champaign County, Ohio)
 * Cowles Bog, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (Indiana, USA)
 * Geneva Creek (Colorado) (an iron fen in the USA)

title: Fen


text:
Pecker

Pecker may refer to:

People

 * Cory Pecker (born 1981), Canadian ice hockey player
 * David Pecker (born 1951), American publisher
 * Jean-Claude Pecker (1923–2020), French astronomer
 * "Pecker", the nickname of the darts player Brian Woods
 * Pecker, a character from the Jak and Daxter video game series

Films and media

 * Pecker, a 1998 movie directed by John Waters
 * Pecker's soundtrack, released as an album

Slang terms

 * An American slang term for a penis
 * an electric motor's terminal connection box, in American slang
 * a nose or courage, in British slang

Other

 * some birds, especially the woodpecker but sometimes flowerpecker, oxpecker or (rarely) berrypecker
 * 1629 Pecker, an asteroid discovered in 1952 by astronomer Louis Boyer

title: Pecker


text:
Talk:University of Chicago

"Old University of Chicago" Differentiation
There is an ongoing dispute on how closely connected the current University of Chicago is with the Old University of Chicago. While this debate is worthy of transparent discussion on this talk page, there are mostly anonymous wikieditors making revisions to the University of Chicago wikipage without review that are meant to strengthen the association between these two entities. The majority of these changes are present in the second paragraph of the history section which I believe needs to be addressed. As an employee of the university, I do not have a NPOV, and will not make these edits myself. I am writing to request the input of neutral wiki-editors on how to move forward. Of my suggested edits, the second paragraph of this history section requires a number of revisions, clarifications and accurate citations for it to be a fair representation of the university's history. I would be happy to provide suggested revisions for review on this page if desired. StickerMug (talk) 11:54, 8 Aug 2018 (CST)

Simplifing History Section, Redirecting to History-Specific Page
I would suggest simplifying the entire History Section of this page and redirecting users to the History of the University of Chicago page for more detail. (This approach is similar to Stanford's succinct History section on its main page.) Ideally, having a singular wikipage that details the history of the university would allow all wikieditors interested in contributing to have a single place to discuss, debate, and apply agreed-upon changes. StickerMug (talk) 11:59, 8 Aug 2018 (CST)

Old University of Chicago Disambiguation
Suggested edit in History Section header: Change "Further information: Old University of Chicago" to "Disambiguation: Old University of Chicago". StickerMug (talk) 13:07, 8 Aug 2018 (CST)

Dispute over inclusion of rankings and reputation in the lede
An unregistered editor is insisting that the lede of this article include this sentence in the very first paragraph: "It is often ranked by major publications as among the top universities in the US and the world.     "

The sources that are cited are insufficient to include this information in the lede. The prevailing consensus about this kind of information in the lede of college and university articles: "to include text on 'reputation, prestige, or relative ranking(s)' in a lead section, such material must be compliant with generally applicable policies, including:
 * maintaining appropriate relative emphasis in lead sections (one editor noted that "only if a reputation is exceptionally good or bad or disputed is it such an important fact as to be noted in the lead section of an article," and no editor has contradicted this view);
 * following the general principles applicable to describing reputations;
 * ensuring that the lead appropriately reflects, and is supported by, the body of the article;
 * being directly supported by high-quality sources (WP:V, WP:RS, WP:SYNTH); and
 * adhering to a neutral point of view, including:
 * by avoiding boosterism and puffery (which can come in the form of undue weight).
 * by using a descriptive, encyclopedic (rather than promotional) tone."

Even if this clear consensus didn't exist, a few Wikipedia editor-selected rankings from a few years cannot support the claim that the university "is often ranked..." That is synthesis which is not allowed.

Finally, "significant information should not appear in the lead if it is not covered in the remainder of the article." This is not discussed in the article or supported by sources cited in the body of the article. ElKevbo (talk) 02:47, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

 * Seconded Filetime (talk) 14:48, 17 April 2023 (UTC)

Best to improve the presentation than edit warring with the IP (See WP:Preserve). When the Britannica article for this school has "most outstanding universit[y]" in almost the first sentence there is no doubt that something in this nature belongs in the lead of this article. I've added a book cite and reworded a bit, feel free to improve but there is basically no valid argument for excluding. Alanscottwalker (talk) 18:10, 17 April 2023 (UTC)
 * You are currently engaged in an edit war with multiple editors and no recent, supporting discussion here in Talk. Please stop.
 * The text you are insisting be included in this article includes two parts. In the first part, you write that "For more than a century, UChicago has placed among the most distinguished, elite research universities..." That is supported by one reference, a book written by a former provost of Columbia and a sociology professor holding a named chair in his department there. The publisher of the book is a bit unusual but I'm not terribly worried about that. What's important is that the current consensus about this kind of language specifically says that "if few sources on reputation, prestige, or rankings exist, or if such sources are not of high quality, that is a signal that the high threshold for inclusion in a lead section is not met." So a single source doesn't cut it. This is especially true for a claim that is not adequately discussed and supported by sources in the body of the article. Please remember that the lede of the article should summarize information in the body of the article - it should not introduce new material that is not prominent in the body.
 * The second part of your text is "...and is ranked among the top universities in the world." To support that statement, you include several current or very recent rankings. As currently written it seems too insignificant to merit inclusion in the lede. Current rankings are too ephemeral. A broader statement about the university's typical rankings or historical (and contemporary) rankings would be much more interesting and appropriate for the article. More importantly, the statement is simply superfluous - the first part of the statement is much stronger and more appropriate for the lede (once it's supported by adequate citations). ElKevbo (talk) 02:14, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * The information provided is historical and contemporary, so as you concede it is appropriate. It is not ephemeral, it is both longstanding and present. That high quality source is certainly enough to support the statement and the Britannica source also shows the encyclopedic nature of the information in the lead. Anyone who is not ignorant of universities is aware as the professor indicates that U Chicago and a few other universities are in this reputational category of "great" universities (the very subject of Cole's book). And it is supported in the body of the article, practically the whole of the history section alone demonstrates the university is and has been in the category.  Alanscottwalker (talk) 06:48, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * What "Britannica source?" There is no such source cited for this information in the article.
 * Once again, the prevailing consensus is that a single source cannot be sufficient for these kinds of claims - you cannot unilaterally overturn a project-wide RfC.
 * Finally, rankings from a single year are de facto and de jure ephemeral. It's ludicrous to claim otherwise. ElKevbo (talk) 12:12, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * The Britannica source is already mentioned in this discussion above -- you know exactly what source that is. It's ludicrous, given the text in issue, that you suggest anything here is about a single year -- it is literally and emphatically not, it is about the past and the present, enduring information. (eg. in the words of the Times Higher Education, "Chicago routinely ranks in the world’s top institutions") -- in no sense is any of it ephemeral.  Also, there is no consensus that can possibly agree with your proposition that ref bombing is required here, or anywhere. -- Alanscottwalker (talk) 13:05, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * There is no "Britannica source" in the article. So I don't know what you're talking about there. And it doesn't matter if you like WP:HIGHEREDREP - it represents the current, prevailing consensus. Either open a new RfC to overturn it or figure out a way to comply with it. Edit warring and insisting that imaginary references support your preferred text are not acceptable. ElKevbo (talk) 16:22, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Britainica is an high quality encyclopedia, and you were referred to it's article up-top, there is no possible way you do not know what the Britanica source is and how to access the article on the University of Chicago. (It is further silly of you to suggest it is imaginary).  You are making up an interpretations of a consensus that does not exist, in order to oddly prevent plainly encyclopedic content. All real consensus and policy is already complied with by me. Alanscottwalker (talk) 19:12, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * There is no "Britannica source" in the article. "...if few sources on reputation, prestige, or rankings exist, or if such sources are not of high quality, that is a signal that the high threshold for inclusion in a lead section is not met" is crystal clear. Find multiple sources and add them to the article. Your edit-warring against multiple editors, making up of sources not in the article, and insistence that the previous RfC doesn't apply to you is unacceptable - continue this behavior and I will seek to have you blocked. ElKevbo (talk) 21:01, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Further, Britannica is a WP:TERTIARY source. Policy on the use of such sources is: "Reliable tertiary sources can help provide broad summaries of topics that involve many primary and secondary sources and may help evaluate due weight, especially when primary or secondary sources contradict each other. Some tertiary sources are more reliable than others. Within any given tertiary source, some entries may be more reliable than others." Similarly, the rankings are WP:PRIMARY sources that should not be interpreted (and deciding which rankings count as 'among the top' is interpretation) by Wikipedia editors.
 * Wikipedia articles are supposed to be based mainly on WP:SECONDARY sources, and for a claim like this it is clear from WP:HIGHEREDREP that multiple sources are required. Robminchin (talk) 23:01, 12 May 2023 (UTC)
 * The purpose of the Lead is to provide summary information, so sources that summarize and guide on due weight are fit for purpose, and while a rank may be primary, what's written about a university and its ranking(s) is decidedly secondary analysis. Alanscottwalker (talk) 14:33, 15 May 2023 (UTC)

This discussion has become regrettably heated. Personally, I don't think the Britannica source is enough to support the text in the article, which seems somewhat peacockish (distinguished and elite? Is there some difference between those two?), but it's a start. I'm sure that for an institution with as much history as UChicago it'll be possible to find higher-quality sources. , is there a particular wording regarding the university's reputation that you would prefer to see? {{u| Sdkb  }}  talk 04:45, 13 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I don't have any specific requests or desires for the specific wording except that it be well-written and in alignment with the cited sources. My objection is that an editor is insisting that this text be in the article without adequate sourcing despite a project-wide consensus that specifically requires that. Insisting that the text remain based on a source that's not even cited in the article is also unacceptable. ElKevbo (talk) 15:52, 14 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Your objection to the Britannica discussion here is not well made. Britannica is a high quality encyclopedia that informs editors of due weight under Wikipedia policy, so bringing it to the editor talk page in a matter of what kind of info goes in the lead is entirely appropriate. This is true whether it is used in the article or not. That Britannica says that UChicago is "most outstanding" in almost the first sentence of its article, supports emphasis of reputational information in the lead of this Wikipedia article, shows such emphasis accords with encyclopedic presentation, and shows this type of information is common knowledge in the field on this subject. (Whether Britannica must be cited in the Wikipedia article is not the issue, and changes nothing about its informational value to editors here)
 * Sdkb those words 'elite' etc. are the words used in Dr. Cole's book on what are, and what makes, great universities, but sure we can cut one or the other. Alanscottwalker (talk) 14:05, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Certainly Britannica can "help to evaluate due weight, especially when primary or secondary sources contradict each other", but the secondary sources are still needed. These don't need to be cited in the lead, so avoiding the problem of 'ref-bombing', as the lead should be summarizing content that is elsewhere in the article. If the reputation is important enough to be mentioned in the lead, there should be at least a paragraph or two of fully-referenced discussion in the reputation and rankings sub-section. Until this is present, discussion of whether inclusion in the lead is due weight in premature. Robminchin (talk) 18:31, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Information included in an article cannot rely on a source that is vaguely discussed in Talk but never actually added to the article. That - the reliance on a source that isn't actually present - is my objection.
 * I haven't ever objected to the use of another encyclopedia article as a source - in fact, I'm okay with using it as a source if it's actually used as a source in the proposed text and not just some weird hypothetical source here in Talk. I think that if you actually include this as a reference along with the book that you have already included you just barely meet what is required - provided that this is also discussed in the body of the article, too, as Robminchin points out above. ElKevbo (talk) 21:55, 15 May 2023 (UTC)
 * Than it was wrong for the text to have been deleted, at all, it should have been moved and reworked in active editing per WP:Preserve. That would have resulted in a much different discussion here, and perhaps almost no needed discussion at all.
 * At any rate, I have edited in. --Alanscottwalker (talk) 15:02, 16 May 2023 (UTC)

Would just add that if you look around at other elite university pages, many broad peers to UChicago lack a line plainly saying the university is prestigious (factually, I think this is a policy is misguided). Cornell does, but as of this comment JHU, MIT and Columbia do not. The summary is similar to that currently present for UChicago: namely, a litany of facts that a discerning reader understanding the landscape of higher education (but somehow not knowing what UChicago is) could use to conclude it is an elite school. Hard not to conclude that Wikipedia's policy here is simply misguided. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.79.50.120 (talk) 15:47, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

 * The policy, as noted above and per WP:HIGHEREDREP is that statements about reputation/prestige have to be be "directly supported by high-quality sources (WP:V, WP:RS, WP:SYNTH)", follow the general guidelines on reputations at WP:SUBJECTIVE, and (if in the lead) should be supported by the body of the article (MOS:LEADNOTUNIQUE). Which part of this do you believe misguided? Robminchin (talk) 05:48, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

"シカゴ大学" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%E3%82%B7%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B4%E5%A4%A7%E5%AD%A6&redirect=no シカゴ大学] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached. Certes (talk) 18:52, 9 March 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:University of Chicago


text:
Sex tourism

Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships in exchange for money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly operates in countries where sex work is legal. The World Tourism Organization of the United Nations has acknowledged that this industry is organized both within and outside the structured laws and networks created by them.

Sex tourism is commonly regarded as a transnational challenge, as it can be seen to target marginalised demographics in developing nations, such as countries in the Americas or Southeast Asia. The chief ethical concerns arise from: the economic gap between tourists and residents, the sexual trafficking of children and women and the parties taking advantage of the ability to engage with minors. These groups and individuals are subject to the foreign prostitution laws of the destination's jurisdiction, often resulting in exploitation and abuse. Sexual activities that involve minors are almost universally non-consensual and illegal.

Sex tourism is known as a multibillion-dollar industry that globally supports a workforce estimated in the millions, with service industries such as the airline, taxi, restaurant and hotel industries profiting. The bulk of sex tourism involves males traveling from countries in the Global North to countries in the Global South, such as in East and Southeast Asia and Latin America. Although much rarer, female sex tourism also exists.

Legal issues
This particular industry of sex work is a predominant reason for world travel and is extremely profitable. The market can become exceedingly exploitative and unethically abused as tourists are motivated to engage in sexual conduct due to the untraceable nature and lack of law enforcement control, especially with accessibility to minors.

Ethical issues arise due to the situations of participating parties; many sex workers are from low-income backgrounds usually located in underdeveloped societies whose only means for providing basic needs is to engage in sexual services. While sex workers can engage voluntarily in the industry, there is a distinct difference between the coercion found in international sex trafficking and sex tourism which exploits the limited work options for low socioeconomic local residents.

Government and law enforcement often do not place priority on policing prostitution and sex trafficking. For example, in Cambodia, the Cambodian government has previously overlooked tourists having sex with Cambodian adolescents.

Individuals are not exempt from prosecution. Sex tourism as recognised by the CDC supports human trafficking and slavery. Even if prostitution is legal in a country or region, human trafficking, sexual encounters with a minor, and child pornography are almost universally criminal in nature and individuals caught breaking these laws can be prosecuted. Citizens of any foreign country must abide by the laws of the country in which they hold citizenship in addition to the local laws of the country they are visiting, including laws regarding consent.

Demographics
Demographics include: female sex tourism (women seeking men), men seeking men, adults seeking children, and men seeking women. Sex tourists generally come from Western world countries but they may also come from other countries as well. The most common destinations for these sex tourists is to visit less economically developed nations in Asia, such as: Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Nepal, as well as countries in Central and South America like Mexico or Brazil.

A study conducted by the non-profit public charity ProCon, revealed the percentage of men who had paid for sex at least once in their lives between 1994 and 2010. It found the highest rates were located in Cambodia, where 59–80% of men had paid for sex at least once. Thailand was a close second with an estimated 75% of men, followed by Italy at 16.7–45%, Spain at 27–39%, Japan at 37%, the Netherlands at 13.5–21.6%, and the United States 15.0–20.0%.

Challenges in gathering data has made it hard to find out the exact number of people who work in the sex tourism industry. Estimates show 24.9 million victims that are trapped in modern-day slavery, 4.8 million (about 19%) were sexually exploited. It is estimated that about 21% of the total victims of commercial sexual exploitation are children, with the US Department of State estimating that over one million children are trafficked for sex throughout the world. The sex tourism industry often preys on those that are the most vulnerable, potentially explaining why children and women are more likely to be forced into the industry.

Cultural attitudes
Globally, cultural attitudes towards sex tourism can be seen to be different. In less developed countries for example, families in poor rural areas may sell their children to human traffickers, who will take the children to major cities to work in the sex industry. In Thailand for example, women will support their husbands by becoming sex workers. To work in the sex industry, particularly in less developed countries, can often be seen as a viable source of income available to struggling families from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

The cultural attitudes of sex tourism in highly developed countries such as Australia however where sex trafficking is illegal and highly policed can offer a different perspective to those of lesser backgrounds. Brothels are still vivid within states such as Tasmania and New South Wales where people can exchange money for sex. Recent studies suggest that sex slavery is still happening in Australia, exploiting the vulnerability of individuals and families from poor backgrounds.

Male tourists, sometimes known as sexpats (expatriate + sex tourist), join online communities in which they share advice on destinations and, although it is not among the most common cases, there is the category of "girlfriend experience" which, in some cases, evolves into an emotional relationship.

General attitudes towards sex work are complex and often regarded as controversial. Many countries where tourists come from, can have harsher attitudes towards sexual services. Often the men who travel seeking to pay for sex may do so because it is much harder to engage in sex work in their home countries. Furthermore, in some countries, such as Cambodia and Thailand, this practice is considered commonplace, and men who do not engage in commercial sex may be considered unusual by their peers.

Sociologists from the University of Leicester conducted a research study for the Economic and Social Research Council and End Child Prostitution and Trafficking campaign, which interviewed over 250 Caribbean sex tourists. Amongst their findings were:
 * Preconceptions about race and gender influenced the tourist's opinions.
 * Underdeveloped countries are considered culturally different, so in Western tourist's understanding, the exploitation or male domination of women is without consequence or stigma of that found in their home countries.

Despite a great deal of interest in sexual tourism amongst theorists, detailed studies of cultural attitude are rare, regardless of the increasing accessibility of group studies in the past three decades.

Economic and policy implications
Sex tourism has implications for all nations involved. Economically, sex tourism is encouraged by the tourist sectors of destination countries. It draws wealthy individuals with the allure of cheap, unstigmatised sexual activities, and stimulates the economy of poorer nations. This line of sex work ensures a consistent flow of income into developing countries' economies.

In an article published by the University of Chicago, it is argued that the promotion of sex tourism caters to tourists by enticing racial and ethnic stereotypes. This in turn creates ethical and policy implications, as colonial and traditional attitudes reinforce inequality between the groups. The state plays a vital part in this interaction, as governments create financially motivated barriers when asked to formulate more progressive and ethical policy.

Sex work may yield higher wages than work in the formal sector, and can encourage engagement with the industry for those seeking to achieve a much higher quality of life. This economic temptation can often lead to sexual exploitation of children. Young girls and adolescent women are some of the most common to be sold into slavery or transported across national borders to work in the commercial sex industry.

Gay sex tourism
The sex tourism industry offers a market for gay, bisexual and bi-curious tourists. Studies suggest that gay sex tourism has similar motivations to non-gay sex tourism. These studies suggest, "leisure activities and holidays have a particular significance for gay men, as they provide an opportunity for constructing, confirming and/or changing their sexual identity."

Popular gay sex tourism markets can be found in Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Sardinia, Sicily and Fire Island. Similar to heterosexual sex tourism markets, some arrangements may be monetary and others may not. Different places have different ways of identifying their interest in such arrangements. For example, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, gay sex tourism has become a popular niche hosting a racially diverse market. The workers there are called "Michês" and stand out by wearing bright blue towels and often work in saunas.

Adult-only resorts
Over recent years, adult-only sex resorts have become a popular alternative for travellers wanting to experience consensual sex abroad whilst avoiding the ethical issues of paid sexual activity. Those resorts can be characterised as safe, consensual spaces, and sexually positive nature, where all expressions of gender, orientation, and relationships are free of any pressure. These resorts largely occur in Mexico and the Caribbean. Certain establishments will be clothing-optional resorts, where travellers can meet and make use of "playrooms".

Child sex tourism
Some sex tourists travel in order to engage in sex with children. While it is criminal in most countries, this industry is believed to involve as many as 2 million children around the world. Thailand is considered to have the worst child sex trafficking record, followed closely by Brazil.

"Child sex tourists may not have a specific preference for children as sexual partners but take advantage of a situation in which children are made available to them for sexual exploitation. It is often the case that these people have travelled from a wealthier country (or a richer town or region within a country) to a less-developed destination, where poorer economic conditions, favourable exchange rates for the traveller and relative anonymity are key factors conditioning their behaviour and sex tourism."

In an effort to eradicate the practice, many countries have enacted laws that allow the prosecution of their citizens for child abuse that occurs outside their home country, even if it is not against the law in the country where the incident took place. This is evident in America, under the United States Protect Act. In the United Kingdom, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 allows for prosecution in British criminal courts of British citizens who commit sexual offences against children while traveling abroad; this legislation was used to prosecute Richard Huckle in 2016. In Ireland, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 gives worldwide jurisdiction to prosecutors for sexual offences committed against children outside the state, and was used to prosecute Kieran Creaven for sexual acts with a child and producing child pornography in The Philippines in 2021. The Code of Conduct for the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism is an international organisation composed of members of the tourism industry and children's rights experts with the purpose to eradicate the practice of child sex tourism.

UNICEF notes that sexual activity is often seen as a private matter, making communities reluctant to act and intervene in cases of sexual exploitation. These attitudes make children far more vulnerable to sexual exploitation. Most exploitation of children takes place as a result of their absorption into the adult sex trade where they are exploited by local people and sex tourists. The Internet provides an efficient global networking tool for individuals to share information on destinations and procurement.

In cases involving children, the U.S. has relatively strict domestic laws that hold accountable any American citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. who travels abroad for the purpose of engaging in illicit conduct with a minor. As of 2009, sex tourism and human trafficking remain fast-growing industries.

Regulation

Regulations and government involvement can be seen to have a positive impact on the community. It is argued that, by decriminalising prostitution, a government can protect sex workers under labor laws accessible by workers in other fields. For example, in the Netherlands, sex workers have access to unlimited free STI testing.

The criminalisation of sex-related jobs may be seen to increase workers' vulnerability to HIV by escalating stigma and discernment. It is suggested that judgement towards sex workers within the healthcare community acts as a barrier to accessing regular and informed care.

Opposition
One of the primary sources of opposition to sex tourism is child sex tourism. This act is internationally defined as travel to have sex with a person under 18 years of age. An example of this would be when tourists from wealthy countries take advantage of legal prostitution, lower consent ages, and the lack of extradition laws in order to engage in sex with minors in foreign countries. Developed nations with more conservative views of sexuality can provide a steady stream of tourists who feed the sex tourism industry. Human rights organisations and governments argue that this pattern creates an incentive for trafficking of children and violation of children's human rights.

Oppositions to sex tourism also stem from concerns around the trafficking of women. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime targets the trafficking of women and children as a central concern in their approach to transnational crime. The United Nations Global Report on Trafficking in Persons states that women "comprise the vast majority" of human trafficking victims for sexual exploitation across the world. They also note that women make up a relatively large portion of human trafficking offenders—about 30% of convicted human traffickers are women. It can be seen that women who become involved in human trafficking were once victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation themselves.

These factors can all contribute to the debate on human rights and their relations with sex tourism. The sex tourism industry showcases a global view in sexual exploitation, and a lack of concern for the rights and dignity of sex workers. It can be argued that through the growing international porn industry, indicate a normalisation of prostitution and an increase in the exploitation of women.

Prostitution by country
The legality of prostitution and enforcement of such laws varies considerably around the world.

 * {{legend|#00ffff|Decriminalization - No criminal penalties for prostitution}}
 * {{legend|#008000|Legalization - prostitution legal and regulated}}
 * {{legend|#336699|Abolitionism - prostitution is legal, but organized activities such as brothels and pimping are illegal; prostitution is not regulated}}
 * {{legend|#ff7f00|Neo-abolitionism - illegal to buy sex and for 3rd party involvement, legal to sell sex}}
 * {{legend|#FF0000|Prohibitionism - prostitution illegal}}
 * {{legend|#585858|Legality varies with local laws}}

title: Sex tourism