The trails of OZ Free Essays

* Three editors of a magazine (OZ) were charged on three tallies: scheme to degenerate open ethics, a profane article, and an obscene item sent through the post. * The release of the magazine was not an incredible version of the magazine. It had depictions of oral sex and a hostile ‘Rupert the bear’ animation strip. We will compose a custom article test on The path of OZ or then again any comparable subject just for you Request Now * The adjudicator was Michael Argyle Q. C. ; who might force overwhelming sentences ‘if the jury indicted. ’ * The jury was drawn from a specific social gathering (People who claimed property); in this way none were pre-arranged to the sort of diary OZ was. The arraignment had the magazine as its lone display and the court was informed that it was ‘unacceptable from a family purpose of view’. * Dr. Edward De Bono is a superior guard observer, as he isn’t threatened and cunning as was Dr. Michael Schofield. The preliminary goes for sic a long time in the mid year of 1971 and the court made for incredible theater. * The appointed authority was not especially for the more sexual parts of the preliminary and experiences difficulty in grappling with slang, for example, ‘sucking’, ‘blowing’, ‘going down’ and ‘yodeling in the canyon’. Robertson goes on to the point out the preservationist idea of Judge Argyle including how he has a glass decimated on the grounds that a man who once had a venereal illness drank from it. Robertson tells how the case ‘became a crash of social incomprehension’ and caused division even among the press. Strain was likewise expanded as a result of the custom and convention of the Old Baily Court. * The custom camouflaged a lot of theater in the background in a criminal preliminary here everything else practiced somewhat and prevarication was overflowing. Likewise the appointed authority was required to bring the proof down in longhand and this made him significant. In this specific case Judge Argyle gave some predisposition towards witnesses including Ronald Dworkin, an Oxford educator and furthermore Marty Feldman, the entertainer, who didn’t make the vow and neglected to dazzle the appointed authority. * The preliminary was additionally held under the strictest security with death dangers being made against the appointed authority and the court assistant. It turns out the dangers were made by the clerk’s spouse who was later arraigned and condemned to a mental organization. * Towards the finish of the preliminary the resistance appears in ‘good shape’ yet the condemning forces of the adjudicator were as yet a worry. On occasion the preliminary verged on contending that ‘nothing †¦ could debase and corrupt’. Studies were utilized to help this contention that were later seen as deluding. * Later it boiled down to a skirmish of semantics over the words revolting and disgusting and is the portrayal of a foul demonstration equivalent to the demonstration itself. It is intriguing to take note of that the charge of scheming to degenerate open ethics conveyed the punishment of life detainment. * Richard Neville utilized Bob Dylan’s ‘The times are a-Changin’ in his last discourse yet the tone and non-verbal communication of the appointed authority was against the barrier and he makes this extremely understood to the jury. The jury return for a meaning of indecent and afterward resigns again to choose. They see the litigants as liable on the last two checks. * The adjudicator inquires as to whether the extradition papers had been served on Neville and he gets an agreed answer. He remands them for three weeks for ‘medical and mental reports’. The litigants are brought to jail and have their hair style off. * At this point the British custom of modernization went to the fore and many emerged as an opponent of the remand. Inevitably upon the arrival of condemning the adjudicator is unaffected by the fights and sentences them all to imprison for changing terms. He likewise praises the ‘obscene Publications Squad’ for their great work. * There were fights and an intrigue was set up just like a bail hearing. The intrigue judge conceded bail apparently to mollify his young little girl and the three were discharged. At the intrigue the Chief appointed authority appeared to be on the arraignment however after lunch he excused all charges since he was persuaded there was more regrettable sex entertainment out in the lanes. * Later the analyst responsible for the case said that ‘I’m doing it for out children’. The magazine itself ceased to exist and the editors headed out in their own direction. The consequence of the preliminary was that it opened up the best approach to dispense with political control yet in addition a universe of business investigation of sex. * The Oz preliminary additionally finished these sorts of preliminaries and relatively few arraignments are directed any longer. On the off chance that they are directed they just serve to include exposure to the people preliminary. Two models that Robertson gives are Johnny Rotten’s ‘Never Mind the Bollocks’ preliminary and the Spycatcher preliminary. * Robertson completes the section by educating us concerning the play that he expounded on the case. Michael X waiting for capital punishment Robertson starts this part in Trinidad where he is visiting Michael X in the Royal Goal. He is attempting to spare him from capital punishment that he was condemned to for homicide. Robertson appears to be propelled by the longing to spare his customer and battle the death row attorneys are not ‘opposed to the discipline of the guilty’ yet rather contradicted to ‘human sacrifice’. * He discovers little assistance in customary law, which had been made by English appointed authorities previously, and the capital punishments distributed throughout the years had been utilized as ‘bulwarks of the constitution’. Capital punishment was canceled in England in 1964 and judges had needed the sentence done rapidly for an assortment of reasons. * At the Roal Goal he discovers that Michael X has not been at this point executed. Here, waiting for capital punishment, he sees parched men in little cells with just a bed and a slop can. The lights are kept on for all time and the men were inside the cells for twenty-tree hours daily. Michael himself appeared ‘quiet and self-contained’, while around him seethed. * In the jail execution orders are perused on Thursdays between two pm and four pm and a sentenced prisioner was permitted to arrange a last mean. The sentence was completed on the next Tuesday however they permitted a keep going guest on the Monday. Michael reveals to him that they can hear the snare entryway open as the man is hung. * During the sentence the official party has an hour long breakfast and the body just hangs there. After this it is brought down and the wrists are sliced, just like the ligaments in the feet. The body is then covered in the jail grounds and sober-mindedly in Jamaica in the vegetable nursery. The bodies are not discharged to families. * Robertson appears to be persuaded that his Michael X isn't the killer of four years prior Step by step instructions to refer to The path of OZ, Essay models

Critical Analysis of Crime and Punishment

Basic Analysis of Crime and Punishment Free Online Research Papers Wrongdoing and Punishment resembled no other book that I have perused in some time. The style, plot, settings and particularly characters were all totally extraordinary and in now route partner with a significant part of the books that I have as of late read. Fyodor Dostoyevsky genuinely comes to the instructing of off-base and right, and how your inner voice can get through your psyche, for example, the fundamental character Raskolnikov. The story line has an examination of the powers that affect a man toward wrongdoing, enduring and elegance. This plot has the astounding quality of what makes Crime and Punishment a genuine great. The books vital principle character, Raskolnikov, makes for an ideal formula in the book. He is a forlorn man living all alone with much obligation on his hands. He carries out a wrongdoing, by killing a pawn shop woman, so as to get cash to take care of every one of his difficulties. In any case, after he carries out his wrongdoing, he runs off, taking basically nothing from the lady he had intentionally murdered, aside from a long excursion of wretchedness. Raskolnikov remained very, until analysts started to go under his skin just as his still, small voice. He was unable to live in harmony any longer until his messy deed was uncovered so as to encapsulate harmony. This character, just as numerous others in the story, remains the point of convergence of the puzzling soul of mankind. The plot shows how one can envision things, or nearly go crazy if not taken to the legitimate truth in ones soul. It shows that living an untruth can demolish ones wellbeing and can bring about a total completion. The primary character shows how life in an untruth and enduring is the key towards another start. Enduring can lead somebody into feeling the lost joy, and the main way it tends to be found is by anguish. This book named valid statements in human qualities and how a disturbed character can prompt a fresh start with another revelation. A portion of the characteristics of the book that were good was the plot. I delighted in the style and language and the exercises instructed all through the content. I appreciated how the storyline was about a riddle that was at that point uncovered in the start of the book, however it despite everything kept the crowd needing to become familiar with the still baffling character. Another subject that captivated me about this book is that it some what identifies with Fyodor Dostoyevsky. It is fascinating to find out about a remote creator and session the difficulties throughout their life that lead to a fruitful and exemplary story to writing today. There was one quality that I for one didn't care for about this book. I didn't support the way that this book was an interpretation. It was composed well, however some of the time words can get changed, and the entire effect of an inscription can be changed just by one single word. Interpretations can't generally mean something very similar in another dialect and can change the inclination that a writer may have been attempting to depict in a specific area of the book. Generally speaking the book was an incredible perused and I do prescribe it to whatever other individual whom may jump at the chance to find out about riddle and suspension. The book took various degrees of states of mind and kept me intrigued all through the entire time. That numerous characters and circumstances that were acquainted made me need with read progressively a more so as to find the genuine importance of the primary character. Raskolnikov’s sentiments and inner voice and furthermore his difficult work towards joy made this a decent read. The regularly changing disposition made the plot all the more fascinating section by part. Likewise regardless of the length of the book, it was intriguing to peruse such an interesting entry about the human characteristics of their still, small voice and how satisfaction is just met by truth and genuineness. The distinction between the great and underhandedness rehashes its self all over to show a real existence exercise in Crime and Punishment. Research Papers on Critical Analysis of Wrongdoing and PunishmentHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionCapital PunishmentEffects of Television Violence on Children19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAssess the significance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeMind TravelThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationHip-Hop is Art

Flourish and Blogs

Flourish and Blogs So in between reading applications Ive been sitting in on CMS.790: Media Theories and Methods, the introductory course for the Comparative Media Studies graduate program. I really love the whole CMS / Media Lab  side of MIT, and especially love their nexus, MITs Center for Civic Media, so I was super-excited with the opportunity to take CMS.790, which is sort of a broad overview of media studies at the graduate level. Anyway, a few weeks ago Professor Uricchio told us we would be having a guest lecture on fan studies. And who should walk in to deliver the lecture but Flourish Klink. Now, Flourish as you will soon learn is known around campus as a CMS alumna, MIT lecturer, and cofounder of what might be thought of as a fandom consulting company. I know Flourish, however, because a little over a decade ago, in junior high, we were members of the same Harry Potter Yahoo! Group fan club, and helped her and others cofound what was, for a time, the largest Harry Potter fanfiction community on the Internet, the now-mostly-defunct FictionAlley.org (though thankfully Schnoogle is still up). So everyone in the room is going around introducing themselves with their names and their fancy-sounding graduate research projects pitches. And then it comes to me, and I raise my hand, wave, and say: Hey Flourish! Im Chris. I work over in admissions. A decade ago we worked on FictionAlley together. I was in the group that fled FanFiction.net in the Great Exodus, and was a bit character in the exodus autobiographic opus as Chris the House Elf. Sup. Everyone else just looked really confused but Flourishs jaw dropped to the table. After a few seconds of shocked silence she raised her hands in the air (rushing past her turquoise hair) as she excitedly announced: Ooh!! Ooh!! Its like the Internet has come to visit me! Which might be my alltime favorite way to have been greeted by anyone ever. Anyway, after class, I asked Flourish if I could interview her for the blogs. While Flourish did not go to MIT as an undergraduate, she did come here for grad school, and now she teaches undergrads at MIT. I thought it would be really cool to ask someone who managed to turn her love of Harry Potter (and other things) into a career how she did what she did, and what advice she might have for other people who might want to do the same. Who are you exactly? Im Flourish Klink. Im a lecturer at MIT, and Im the Chief Participation Officer for the Alchemists Transmedia Storytelling Co. Im also a longtime Harry Potter fan, and the lead organizer for Ascendio 2012, a Harry Potter fan convention to be held in Florida in June. What do you do at MIT? Like I said above, Im a lecturer in the Comparative Media Studies department. That is, I teach classes like Introduction to Media Studies, Fans Fan Culture, and Transmedia Storytelling. How did you find MIT? When did you figure out you could be a fan for a living? These two questions are deeply intertwined! When I was a teenager, I was contacted by Henry Jenkins, who at the time was a professor at MIT. He wanted to interview me for his book Convergence Culture. That was the first time I ever thought of MIT as someplace other than just an engineering school. But as an undergrad, MIT wasnt for me my childhood best friend went off to MIT, but I decided Id rather go to a small school. So I went to Reed College, where I definitely got a very traditional liberal arts education! There, even though I knew I could be a fan for a living by studying fans in academia, I thought that fandom was still too unserious for me. I toyed with being a Classics major and eventually ended up majoring in Religion. But even while I was studying Catholicism, I realized that the things that appealed most to me about Classics and Religion were the aspects of them that connected up with fandom! So I applied to grad school at MIT, to be Henrys student in the Comparative Me dia Studies program. And thats all she wrote! If you could bring any Harry Potter character to life and be friends with them, who would it be and why? I think a lot of my friends think it would be Hermione, but actually, no I think shed be very irritating and Id want to meddle in her life and tell her that Rons just not good enough for her! Id rather be friends with Tonks. She seems like so much fun. Plus, we could have contrasting hair colors! How is MIT similar to and different from Hogwarts? Lets see. Like Hogwarts, MIT has miles and miles of twisty little passages that often seem like they lead different places on different days of the week! Also like Hogwarts, students actually get to do practical work with potentially dangerous substances, which sometimes looks like magic (Any technology sufficiently advanced). Theres also a bit of healthy rivalry between different dorms, like between the Houses at Hogwarts I knew that I had started to fit in at MIT when one of my students told me that my bright teal hair was so east campus. Unlike Hogwarts, though, MIT is completely full of students who are top notch at what they do. There is no Crabbe Goyle at MIT. That can be really hard to realize for some students who have come from a high school where they were always A1 you can be a supergenius and still be at the bottom of your class at MIT. It happens! But you shouldnt let it freak you out: you will be just fine. What is your favorite part about MIT? Roof tunnel hacking! I love exploring the strange places on campus, and its the one reason I wish I had done my undergrad here (even though really I know it was a good choice for me, personally, to go to Reed). Since Im a lecturer now, I cant really be a hacker I can only admire what my students do. What is something you always hope you keep doing, in your jobs and/or in your life? Being honest with myself and others. One of the great things about academia is that you are removed from some of the constraints which can make it hard to speak your mind. Im pretty devoted to being part of the commercial sector as well, advising the entertainment industry on fan culture and so on, but I never want to be in a situation where Im twisting the truth or fudging data to make a sale, as it were. MIT is a great place to have that kind of intellectual freedom, and being here has helped me understand how much I value that.

Psychoactive Drug Addiction - 2235 Words

A narrow definition of the term addiction refers to habitual psychological and physiological dependence on a substance beyond one s voluntary control. Terms such as workaholic, sex addict, and computer junkie arose to describe behaviors that have features in common with alcoholism and other substance addictions. Substance addiction is a multi-pronged system in which lifestyle has a role but the biology of a person s body is a major factor. These substances, which are called psychoactive drugs, are what people become addicted to and are described as chemicals that affect mental processes and behavior by temporarily changing perception and awareness. There are many different theories about what addiction is and why it happens but†¦show more content†¦Once GAMA is attach to the receptor sites on the protein neurons then the channel is opened and the chloride flow freely. Allowing these negatively charged chloride ions to flow into cells causes neurons to become less active and pulse less therefore the brain is sending and receiving fewer neurotransmitters (McKim 158). As talked about earlier, different drugs influence each of these neurotransmitters differently. Each psychoactive drug has different effects on the body and different uses. The term psychoactive describes a substance that affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord), producing changes in a person s mental activity or behavior. Psychoactive drugs may affect the way an individual thinks, behaves, and analyzes. Many popular and widely used substances are psychoactive such as alcohol. Many Doctors prescribe psychoactive drugs for different reasons. Among the most important medical uses are as anesthesia for surgery and as analgesics (painkillers). Dangerous psychoactive drugs are believed to have little or no medical benefit, so are used illegally for recreational purposes including altering consciousness, improving performance, and improving mood. When drugs are used for these purposes it can eventually lead to addiction. There are 4 main categories which all psychoactive drugs fall under. These categories consist of the following hallucinogens, stimulants, depressants, and opiates. Hallucinogens can cause people toShow MoreRelatedEssay Legalization of Soft Drugs732 Words   |  3 Pagesthe pros and cons of legalizing â€Å"soft drugs†. Hard and Soft drugs are terms to distinguish between psychoactive drugs that are addictive and perceived as especially damaging and drugs that are believed to be non-addictive (or minimally addictive) and with less dangers associated with its use. The term soft drug implies that the drug causes no or insignificant harm one such drug is cannabis (marijuana).Cannabis is a psychotic drug. The main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolRead MoreContinuous Debates about the Legalization of Marijuana Essay1214 Words   |  5 Pagesopposition. The valid points for both sides are plentiful, and each side feels very strong about their po sition on the topic. Marijuana is a psychoactive drug used for medicinal purposes, and as an illicit drug (Earleywine 34). Marijuana is the most commonly used drug in the world today. Marijuana has a psychoactive effect, and this has made it recognized as an illegal drug. However, there are continuous debates going on about its legalization. Pros and Cons of Legalization of Medicinal Marijuana One ofRead MoreIs Marijuana A Harmful Drug Or A Beneficial Medicine?1496 Words   |  6 PagesIs marijuana a harmful drug or a beneficial medicine? A Review of the Literature Marijuana has been utilized for many years by a diverse selection of people. Each user having their own unique reasons for their strong believe in one natural plant’s ability to heal and enlighten. However the plant remains to be classified as a scheduled one. As stated by the United States Drug Enforcement Association, â€Å"drugs, substances, and certain chemicals used to make drugs are classified into five (5) distinctRead MoreMarijuana Is The Third Most Popular Recreational Drug In1030 Words   |  5 PagesMarijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America, after alcohol and nicotine products. It is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves and flowers of cannabis sativa, the hemp plant. The main psychoactive part of cannabis is tetrahydrocannabinol or also known as THC. It contains THC as well as over a hundred other cannabinoids. THC is a psychoactive chemical. Marijuana is often used for its mental and physical effects such as a â€Å"highâ €  or a â€Å"stoned† feeling. It has beenRead MoreMarijuana Is A Safe And Non Addictive Drug1094 Words   |  5 PagesIn the United States the most illicitly abused drug is Marijuana, which is made from a Cannabis plant (Merrill 308). Many people have come to the conclusion that Marijuana is a safe and non-addictive drug because of the legalization of Marijuana in the United States. Unbeknown to the public, the carcinogenic compounds are actually greater in Marijuana than in cigarettes (Cohen, qtd. in Margolis 9). Subsequently, studies show that Marijuana ultimately impacts every primary system in the body (MargolisRead MoreEssay on Long and Short Term Effects of Ecstasy1252 Words   |  6 PagesThe NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE defines the drug Ecstasy (MDMA) as a synthetic, psychoactive drug that is chemically similar to the stimulant methamphetamine and the hallucinogen mescaline. The drugs clinical name is MDMA (3, 4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine). Psychoactive drugs are considered mind-altering drugs and ecstasy’s chemical structure is similar to other synthetic drugs that are known to cause brain damage. (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2009) Although Ecstasy was not made illegalRead MoreComp 2 Pursasive Paper En14201999 Words   |  8 Pagesfrom animal studies is so high that it cannot be achieved, stated in a 1995 report prepared by the World Health Organization. (Medical Marijuana Mall USA, 2013). Medical marijuana is safer than prescription drugs, alcohol, and spice. Marijuana is more beneficial to use than prescription drugs because of the lack of serious side effects. The most common side effects of marijuana are coughing, wheezing, and bronchitis. These side effects are easily taken care of by using a vaporizer or preparingRead MoreMarijuana Damages the Mind and Body Essay1189 Words   |  5 Pagesillicit drug is marijuana. People use this social drug to ease or enhance interaction (Kornblum 115). The scientific term for this commonly used drug, marijuana, is Cannabis sativa (Hasday 24). Cannabis sativa is a dioecious hemp plant and can be produced in various forms. Usually, the dried leaves, flowers, and buds of the plant is used as marijuana. In addition, the flowers of the female plant and the buds are the most vigorous part. Furthermore, the plant produces the main psychoactive substanceRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1949 Words   |  8 Pagesintended to play a role in medicine as well as being a psychoactive drug (Kilmer 45). The psychoactive element found in cannabis is known as the tetrahydrocannabinol abbreviated as THC. THC is one of the 483 compounds of the plant that have been identified. Mainly, cannabis is consumed because of its psychoactive and physiological effects that is has on the consumer. Today, marijuana is used for its medicinal values as well as a recreational drug. Other uses might include religious and spiritual ritesRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Banned? Essay1267 Words   |  6 Pages Next, the active ingredient in marijuana contains mind altering chemicals called THC (9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and other related compounds made, from the cannabis plant. Not to mention, marijuana is the most widespread illegal drug used, in addition to other illicit drugs used in the United States. Also, the increase of marijuana use is high amongst the younger generation and the older generation. Granted, availability is easily accessible because of its low cost and ease of transport, from third

Assist Developmental Playgroup Staff For Children With...

entifying the information Friday October 30, 2015, I was able to assist Developmental Playgroup staff in caring for children while their parents attended a weekly Health Education and Literacy information session/class. There were a number of seven children present. Two children under the age of one, three children who are one and a half years of age, two children who were two and half years old, and an older child around the age of five. To care for the seven children, there were three staff members and a student intern (me). Purpose of the session Children who participate in Developmental Playgroup on Fridays have parents who are attending a group in order to become acquainted with health and literacy. For example, parent(s) who are†¦show more content†¦Initial observations of the client The Playgroup room was created in order to address all areas in which a child develops, so the physical climate is stimulating for children to find interests in toys that they have been exposed to. The setup of the room caters to the child’s reading, imaginative play, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, skill building, and sensory. This weekly group of children is generally small; they require a lot of attention since some children are so young and have not begun to walk, multiple children who are very active, a few of the children have a harder time with being away from their parents, and all of the children uses English as their second language. Focusing on one mother and her one and a half year old daughter, the initial observation of the two is their close attachment to one another. The mother and child are not separated often which creates some anxiety in the child when the mother chooses to leave. Content of the session On this particular day, the child had experienced a very rough time seeing her mother leave. The mother washed her child’s hands and guided her to a toy which challenges a child’s sensory processing and fine motor skills, molding and cutting Play-Doh. I began to work with the mother and child, so that she could have an easier transition when her mother decided to leave. We began to mold and cut the Play-Doh, the mother tells her child â€Å"I will be back, I love you,† and the child immediately breaks down.

Zoe’s Tale PART II Chapter Nineteen Free Essays

And wouldn’t you know. Something big was arranged. The Colonial Union showed up. We will write a custom essay sample on Zoe’s Tale PART II Chapter Nineteen or any similar topic only for you Order Now The shuttle landed and a little green man popped out. And I thought, This seems familiar. It was even the same little green man: General Rybicki. But there were differences. The first time I saw General Rybicki, he was in my front yard, and it was just him and me. This time his shuttle landed in the grassy area right in front of Croatoan’s gate, and a large chunk of the colony had turned out to see him land. He was our first visitor since we came to Roanoke, and his appearance seemed to give the idea that maybe we would finally be out of exile. General Rybicki stood in front of the shuttle and looked at the people in front of him. He waved. They cheered wildly. This went on for several minutes. It’s like people had never seen someone wave before. Finally the general spoke. â€Å"Colonists of Roanoke,† he said. â€Å"I bring you good news. Your days of hiding are over.† This was interrupted by another gout of cheering. When it calmed down, the general continued. â€Å"As I speak to you, my ship above is installing your communications satellite. Soon you will be able to send messages to friends and loved ones back on your home planets. And from here on out, all the electronic and communication equipment you had been ordered to stop using will be returned to you.† This got a huge whoop from the teenage sectors of the crowd. â€Å"We know that we have asked much from you,† Rybicki said. â€Å"I am here to tell you that your sacrifice has not been wasted. We believe that very soon now the enemy that has threatened you will be contained – and not just contained, but defeated. We couldn’t have done this without you. So for all of the Colonial Union, I thank you.† More cheering and nonsense. The general seemed to be enjoying his moment in the sun. â€Å"Now I must speak with your colony leaders to discuss how to reintegrate you into the Colonial Union. Some of this may take some time, so I ask you to be a little patient. But until then, let me just say this: Welcome back to civilization!† Now the crowd really went nuts. I rolled my eyes and looked down at Babar, who went with me to the landing. â€Å"This is what happens when you spend a year out in the wilderness,† I said. â€Å"Any dumb thing looks like entertainment.† Babar looked up at me and lolled his tongue out; I could tell he agreed with me. â€Å"Come on, then,† I said. And we walked through the crowd to the general, who I was supposed to escort back to my dad. General Rybicki saw Babar before he saw me. â€Å"Hey!† he said, and bent down for his slobbering, which Babar duly and enthusiastically applied. He was a good dog but not a hugely accurate judge of character. â€Å"I remember you,† he said to Babar, petting him. He looked up and saw me. â€Å"I remember you, too.† â€Å"Hello, General,† I said, politely. The crowd was still milling around us but quickly dispersing as folks raced to all corners of the colony to pass on what they were told. â€Å"You look taller,† he said. â€Å"It’s been a year,† I said. â€Å"And I am a growing girl. This despite being kept in the dark all this time.† The general seemed not to catch this. â€Å"Your mother said that you would be escorting me to see them. I’m a little surprised that they didn’t come out themselves,† he said. â€Å"They’ve had a busy couple of days,† I said. â€Å"As have we all.† â€Å"So colony life is more exciting than you thought it would be,† the general said. â€Å"Something like that,† I said, and then motioned. â€Å"I know my dad is very interested in talking to you, General. Let’s not keep him waiting.† I held my PDA in my hand. There was something not quite right about it. Gretchen noticed it too. â€Å"It feels weird,† she said. â€Å"It’s been so long since we carried one around. It’s like I’ve forgotten how to do it.† â€Å"You seemed to remember pretty well when we were using the ones in the information center,† I said, reminding her of how we’d spent a fair amount of the last year. â€Å"It’s different,† she said. â€Å"I didn’t say I’d forgotten how to use one. I’m saying I’ve forgotten what it was like to carry one around. Two different things.† â€Å"You could always give it back,† I said. â€Å"I didn’t say that,† Gretchen said, quickly. Then she smiled. â€Å"Still, you have to wonder. In the last year people here actually did manage to get along without them just fine. All the hootenannies and the plays and the other stuff.† She looked at her PDA. â€Å"Makes you wonder if they’re all going to go away now.† â€Å"I think they’re part of who we are now,† I said. â€Å"As Roanokers, I mean.† â€Å"Maybe,† Gretchen said. â€Å"It’s a nice thought. We’ll have to see if it’s actually true.† â€Å"We could practice a new song,† I said. â€Å"Hickory says Dickory’s been wanting to try something new for a while now.† â€Å"That’s funny,† Gretchen said. â€Å"One of your bodyguards has become a musical fiend.† â€Å"He’s a Roanoker too,† I said. â€Å"I guess he is,† Gretchen said. â€Å"That’s funny, too.† My PDA blinked; something happened with Gretchen’s as well. She peered at hers. â€Å"It’s a message from Magdy,† she said. â€Å"This is going to be bad.† She touched the PDA to open it. â€Å"Yup,† she said, and showed me the picture. Magdy sent a short video of him mooning us. â€Å"Some people are getting back into the swing of things sooner than others,† I said. â€Å"Unfortunately,† Gretchen said. She tapped onto her PDA. â€Å"There,† she said. â€Å"I made a note to kick his ass the next time I see him.† She motioned at my PDA. â€Å"He send it to you, too?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"I think I’ll refrain from opening it.† â€Å"Coward,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Well, then, what is going to be your first official act on your PDA?† â€Å"I’m going to send a message to a certain two someones,† I said. â€Å"And tell them that I want to see them alone.† â€Å"We apologize for being late,† Hickory said to me, as it and Dickory stepped into my bedroom. â€Å"Major Perry and General Rybicki gave us priority status on a data packet so that we could communicate with our government. It took some time to prepare the data.† â€Å"What did you send?† I asked. â€Å"Everything,† Hickory said. â€Å"Everything,† I said. â€Å"Every single thing you two and I did in the last year.† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"A digest of events now, and a more comprehensive report as soon as we can. Our people will be desperate to know what has happened with you since they last heard from us. They need to know you are well and unharmed.† â€Å"This includes what happened last night,† I said. â€Å"All of it. Including the part where you oh so lightly mentioned your plans to murder my parents.† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"We are sorry to have upset you, Zoe. We would not have wished to do that. But you offered us no alternative when you told us to speak the truth to your parents.† â€Å"And what about to me?† I asked. â€Å"We have always told you the truth,† Hickory said. â€Å"Yes, but not all of it, have you?† I said. â€Å"You told Dad that you had information about the Conclave that you didn’t tell him about. But you didn’t tell it to me, either. You kept secrets from me, Hickory. You and Dickory both.† â€Å"You never asked,† Hickory said. â€Å"Oh, don’t give me that crap,† I said. â€Å"We’re not playing word games here, Hickory. You kept us in the dark. You kept me in the dark. And the more I’ve thought about it, the more I realize how you acted on what you knew without telling me. All those alien races you had me and Gretchen study in the information center. All the races you trained us how to fight. Hardly any of them were in the Conclave. Because you knew that if the Conclave found us first, they’d try everything not to fight us.† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"Don’t you think I should have known that?† I asked. â€Å"Don’t you think it would have mattered to me? To all of us? To the entire colony?† â€Å"We are sorry, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"We had orders from our government not to reveal information to your parents that they did not already know, until such time as it became absolutely necessary. That would have only been if the Conclave were to appear in your sky. Until then, we were required to exercise care. If we had spoken to you about it, you would have naturally informed your parents. And so we decided that we would not bring these things up with you, unless you asked us directly about them.† â€Å"And why would I do that?† I asked. â€Å"Indeed,† Hickory said. â€Å"We regret the necessity. But we saw no other alternative.† â€Å"Listen to me, both of you,† I said, and then stopped. â€Å"You’re recording this now, aren’t you.† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"We always record, unless you tell us otherwise. Would you like us to stop recording?† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"I actually want all of you to hear this. First, I forbid you to harm my parents in any way. Ever.† â€Å"Major Perry has already informed us that he would surrender the colony rather than destroy it,† Hickory said. â€Å"Since this is true there is no reason to harm either him or Lieutenant Sagan.† â€Å"It doesn’t matter,† I said. â€Å"Who knows if there’s going to be another time you decide it’s going to be necessary to try to get rid of John and Jane?† â€Å"It seems unlikely,† Hickory said. â€Å"I don’t care if it’s more likely that I was going to sprout wings,† I said. â€Å"I didn’t think it was ever possible that you might think to kill my parents, Hickory. I was wrong about that. I’m not going to be wrong about it again. So swear it. Swear you will never harm my parents.† Hickory spoke briefly to Dickory in their own language. â€Å"We swear it,† Hickory said. â€Å"Swear it for all Obin,† I said. â€Å"We cannot,† Hickory said. â€Å"That is not something we can promise. It is not within our power. But neither Dickory nor I will seek to harm your parents. And we will defend them against all those who would try to harm them. Even other Obin. This we swear to you, Zoe.† It was the last part of this that made me believe Hickory. I hadn’t asked him to defend John and Jane, just not harm them. Hickory added it in. They both did. â€Å"Thank you,† I said. I felt as if I were suddenly coming unwound; until that second I didn’t realize how worked up I was just sitting there, talking about this. â€Å"Thank you both. I really needed to hear that.† â€Å"You are welcome, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"Is there something else you want to ask us?† â€Å"You have files on the Conclave,† I said. â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"We have already given them to Lieutenant Sagan for analysis.† That made perfect sense; Jane had been an intelligence officer when she was in the Special Forces. â€Å"I want to see them, too,† I said. â€Å"Everything you have.† â€Å"We will provide them to you,† Hickory said. â€Å"But there is a lot of information, and not all of it is easy to understand. Lieutenant Sagan is far more qualified to work with this information.† â€Å"I’m not saying give it to me and not her,† I said. â€Å"I just want to see it too.† â€Å"If you wish,† Hickory said. â€Å"And anything else that you might get from your government on the Conclave,† I said. â€Å"And I mean all of it, Hickory. None of this ‘you didn’t ask directly’ junk from now on. We’re done with that. Do you understand me?† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"You understand that the information we receive might in itself be incomplete. We are not told everything.† â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"But you still seem to know more than we do. And I want to understand what we’re up against. Or were, anyway.† â€Å"Why do you say ‘were’?† Hickory asked. â€Å"General Rybicki told the crowd today that the Conclave was about to be defeated,† I said. â€Å"Why? Do you know any different?† â€Å"We do not know any different,† Hickory said. â€Å"But we do not think that just because General Rybicki says something in public to a large crowd, it means he is telling the truth. Nor does it mean that Roanoke itself is entirely out of danger.† â€Å"But that doesn’t make any sense,† I said. I held up my PDA to Hickory. â€Å"We were told we can use these again. That we can use all of our electronics again. We had stopped using them because they would give us away. If we’re allowed to use them again, we don’t have to worry about being given away.† â€Å"That is one interpretation of the data,† Hickory said. â€Å"There’s another?† I asked. â€Å"The general did not say that the Conclave had been defeated, but that he believed they would be defeated,† Hickory said. â€Å"That is correct?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"Then it is possible that the general means for Roanoke to play a part in the defeat of the Conclave,† Hickory said. â€Å"In which case, it is not that you are being allowed to use your electronics because it is safe. You are being allowed to use them because you are now bait.† â€Å"You think the Colonial Union is leading the Conclave here,† I said, after a minute. â€Å"We offer no opinion one way or another,† Hickory said. â€Å"We note only that it is possible. And it fits what data we have.† â€Å"Have you told my dad about this?† I asked. â€Å"We have not – † Hickory began, but I was already out the door. â€Å"Close the door behind you,† Dad said. I did. â€Å"Who have you talked to about this?† he asked. â€Å"Hickory and Dickory, obviously,† I said. â€Å"No one else.† â€Å"No one?† Dad asked. â€Å"Not even Gretchen?† â€Å"No,† I said. Gretchen had gone off to harass Magdy for sending her that video. I was beginning to wish I had gone with her instead of making Hickory and Dickory come to my room. â€Å"Good,† Dad said. â€Å"Then you need to keep quiet about it, Zoe. You and the alien twins.† â€Å"You don’t think what Hickory is saying is going to happen, do you?† I asked. Dad looked directly at me, and once again I was reminded how much older he was than he appeared. â€Å"It is going to happen,† he said. â€Å"The Colonial Union has laid a trap for the Conclave. We disappeared a year ago. The Conclave has been looking for us all that time, and the CU has spent all that time preparing the trap. Now it’s ready, so we’re being dragged back into view. When General Rybicki’s ship goes back, they’re going to let it leak where we are. The news will get back to the Conclave. The Conclave will send its fleet here. And the Colonial Union will destroy it. That’s the plan, anyway.† â€Å"Is it going to work?† I asked. â€Å"I don’t know,† Dad said. â€Å"What happens if it doesn’t?† I asked. Dad laughed a very small and bitter laugh. â€Å"If it doesn’t, then I don’t think the Conclave is going to be in any mood for negotiations,† he said. â€Å"Oh, God,† I said. â€Å"We have to tell people, Dad.† â€Å"I know we do,† he said. â€Å"I tried keeping things from the colonists before, and it didn’t work very well.† He was talking about the werewolves there, and I reminded myself that when all this was done I needed to come clean to him about my own adventures with them. â€Å"But I also don’t need another panic on our hands. People have been whipsawed enough in the last couple of days. I need to figure out a way to tell people what the CU has planned without putting them in fear for their lives.† â€Å"Despite the fact they should be,† I said. â€Å"That is the catch,† Dad said, and gave another bitter chuckle. Then he looked at me. â€Å"It’s not right, Zoe. This whole colony is built on a lie. Roanoke was never intended to be a real colony, a viable colony. It exists because our government needed a way to thumb its nose at the Conclave, to defy its colonization ban, and to buy time to build a trap. Now that it’s had that time, the only reason our colony exists is to be a goat at a stake. The Colonial Union doesn’t care about us for who we are, Zoe. It only cares about us for what we are. What we represent to them. What they can use us for. Who we are doesn’t actually enter into it.† â€Å"I know the feeling,† I said. â€Å"I’m sorry,† Dad said. â€Å"I’m getting both abstract and depressed.† â€Å"It’s not abstract, Dad,† I said. â€Å"You’re talking to the girl whose life is a treaty point. I know what it means to be valued for what I am rather than who I am.† Dad gave me a hug. â€Å"Not here, Zoe,† he said. â€Å"We love you for you. Although if you want to tell your Obin friends to get off their asses and help us, I wouldn’t mind.† â€Å"Well, I did get Hickory and Dickory to swear not to kill you,† I said. â€Å"So that’s progress, at least.† â€Å"Yes, baby steps in the right direction,† Dad said. â€Å"It’ll be nice not to have to worry about being knifed by members of my household.† â€Å"There’s always Mom,† I said. â€Å"Trust me, if I ever annoyed her that much, she wouldn’t use something as painless as a knife,† Dad said. He kissed me on the cheek. â€Å"Thanks for coming to tell me what Hickory said, Zoe,† he said. â€Å"And thanks for keeping it to yourself for now.† â€Å"You’re welcome,† I said, and then headed for the door. I stopped before I turned the handle. â€Å"Dad? How long do you think it will take before the Conclave is here?† â€Å"Not long, Zoe,† he said. â€Å"Not long at all.† In fact, it took just about two weeks. In that time, we prepared. Dad found a way to tell everyone the truth without having them panic: He told them that there was still a good chance the Conclave would find us and that the Colonial Union was planning on making a stand here; that there was still danger but that we had been in danger before, and that being smart and prepared was our best defense. Colonists called up plans to build bomb shelters and other protections, and used the excavation and construction machinery we’d kept packed up before. People kept to their work and stayed optimistic and prepared themselves as best they could, readying themselves for a life on the edge of a war. I spent my time reading the stuff Hickory and Dickory gave me, watching the videos of the colony removals, and poring through the data to see what I could learn. Hickory and Dickory were right, there was just too much of it, and lots of it in formats I couldn’t understand. I don’t know how Jane managed to keep it all straight in her head. But what was there was enough to know a few different things. First, the Conclave was huge: Over four hundred races belonged to it, each of them pledging to work together to colonize new worlds rather than compete for them. This was a wild idea; up until now all the hundreds of races in our part of space fought with each other to grab worlds and colonize them, and then once they created a new colony they all fought tooth and nail to keep their own and wipe out everyone else’s. But in the Conclave setup, creatures from all sorts of races would live on the same planet. You wouldn’t have to compete. In theory, a great idea – it beats having to try to kill everyone else in the area – but whether it would actually work was still up in the air. Which brought up the second point: It was still incredibly new. General Gau, the head of the Conclave, had worked for more than twenty years to put it together, and for most of those years it kept looking like it was going to fall apart. It didn’t help that the Colonial Union – us humans – and a few others expended a lot of energy to break it up even before it got together. But somehow Gau made it happen, and in the last couple of years had actually taken it from planning to practicality. That wasn’t a good thing for everyone who wasn’t part of the Conclave, especially when the Conclave started making decrees, like that no one who wasn’t part of the Conclave could colonize any new worlds. Any argument with the Conclave was an argument with every member of the Conclave. It wasn’t a one-on-one thing; it was a four-hundred-on-one thing. And General Gau made sure people knew it. When the Conclave started bringing fleets to remove those new colonies that other races planted in defiance, there was one ship in that fleet for every race in the Conclave. I tried to imagine four hundred battle cruisers suddenly popping up over Roanoke, and then remembered that if the Colonial Union’s plan worked, I’d see them soon enough. I stopped trying to imagine it. It was fair to wonder if the Colonial Union was insane for trying to pick a fight with the Conclave, but as big as it was, its newness worked against it. Every one of those four hundred allies had been enemies not too long ago. Each of them came in to the Conclave with its own plans and agenda, and not all of them, it seemed, were entirely convinced this Conclave thing was going to work; when it all came down, some of them planned to scoop up the choice pieces. It was still early enough for it all to fall apart, if someone applied just the right amount of pressure. It looked like the Colonial Union was planning to do that, up above Roanoke. Only one thing was keeping it all together, and that was the third thing I learned: That this General Gau was in his way a remarkable person. He wasn’t like one of those tin-pot dictators who got lucky, seized a country and gave themselves the title of Grand High Poobah or whatever. He had been an actual general for a people called the Vrenn, and had won some important battles for them when he decided that it was wasteful to fight over resources that more than one race could easily and productively share; when he started campaigning with this idea, he was thrown into jail. No one likes a troublemaker. The ruler who tossed him in jail eventually died (Gau had nothing to do with it; it was natural causes) and Gau was offered the job, but he turned it down and instead tried to get other races to sign on to the idea of the Conclave. He had the disadvantage that he didn’t get the Vrenn to go along with the idea at first; all he had to his name was an idea and a small battle cruiser called the Gentle Star, which he had gotten the Vrenn to give him after they decommissioned it. From what I could read, it seemed like the Vrenn thought they were buying him off with it, as in â€Å"here, take this, thanks for your service, go away, no need to send a postcard, bye.† But he didn’t go away, and despite the fact that his idea was insane and impractical and nuts and could never possibly work because every race in our universe hated every other race too much, it worked. Because this General Gau made it work, by using his own skills and personality to get people of all different races to work together. The more I read about him, the more it seemed like the guy was really admirable. And yet he was also the person who had ordered the killing of civilian colonists. Yes, he’d offered to move them and even offered to give them space in the Conclave. But when it came right down to it, if they wouldn’t move and they wouldn’t join, he wiped them out. Just like he would wipe us all out, if despite everything Dad told Hickory and Dickory we didn’t surrender the colony – or if, should the attack the Colonial Union had planned on the Conclave fleet go wrong, the general decided that the CU needed to be taught a lesson for daring to defy the Conclave and wiped us out just on general principles. I wasn’t so sure just how admirable General Gau would be, if at the end of the day he wouldn’t stop from killing me and every single person I cared about. It was a puzzle. He was a puzzle. I spent those two weeks trying to sort it out. Gretchen got grumpy with me that I’d been locked away without telling her what I was up to; Hickory and Dickory had to remind me to get out and work on my training. Even Jane wondered if I might not need to get outside more. The only person not to give me much grief was Enzo; since we got back together he was actually very accommodating about my schedule. I appreciated that. I made sure he knew. He seemed to appreciate that. And then just like that we all ran out of time. The Gentle Star, General Gau’s ship, appeared above our colony one afternoon, disabled our communications satellite so Gau could have some time to chat, and then sent a message to Roanoke asking to meet with the colony leaders. John replied that he would meet with him. That evening, as the sun set, they met on the ridge outside the colony, about a klick away. â€Å"Hand me the binoculars, please,† I said to Hickory, as we climbed out to the roof of the bungalow. It obliged me. â€Å"Thanks,† I said. Dickory was below us, on the ground; old habits die hard. Even with the binoculars General Gau and Dad were little more than dots. I looked anyway. I wasn’t the only one; on other roofs, in Croatoan and in the homesteads, other people sat on roofs with binoculars and telescopes, looking at Dad and the general, or scanning the sky, looking in the dusk for the Gentle Star. As night finally fell, I spotted the ship myself; a tiny dot between two stars, shining unblinkingly where the other stars twinkled. â€Å"How long until the other ships arrive, do you think?† I asked Hickory. The Gentle Star always arrived first, alone, and then at Gau’s command, the hundreds of other ships would appear, a not-at-all-subtle bit of showmanship to get a reluctant colony leader to agree to get his or her people to leave their homes. I had watched it on previous colony removal videos. It would happen here, too. â€Å"Not long now,† Hickory said. â€Å"By now Major Perry will have refused to surrender the colony.† I took down my binoculars and glanced over to Hickory in the gloom. â€Å"You don’t seem concerned about this,† I said. â€Å"That’s a different tune than you were singing before.† â€Å"Things have changed,† Hickory said. â€Å"I wish I had your confidence,† I said. â€Å"Look,† Hickory said. â€Å"It has begun.† I glanced up. New stars had begun to appear in the sky. First one or two, then small groups, and then entire constellations. So many had begun to appear it was impossible to track every single appearance. I knew there were four hundred. It seemed like thousands. â€Å"Dear God,† I said, and I was afraid. Truly afraid. â€Å"Look at them all.† â€Å"Do not fear this attack, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"We believe this plan will work.† â€Å"You know the plan?† I asked. I didn’t take my eyes off the sky. â€Å"We learned of it this afternoon,† Hickory said. â€Å"Major Perry told us, as a courtesy to our government.† â€Å"You didn’t tell me,† I said. â€Å"We thought you knew,† Hickory said. â€Å"You said you had spoken to Major Perry about it.† â€Å"We talked about the Colonial Union attacking the Conclave fleet,† I said. â€Å"But we didn’t talk about how.† â€Å"My apologies, Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"I would have told you.† â€Å"Tell me now,† I said, and then something happened in the sky. The new stars started going nova. First one or two, then small groups, and then entire constellations. So many expanded and brightened that they had begun to blend into each other, forming an arm of a small and violent galaxy. It was beautiful. And it was the worst thing I had ever seen. â€Å"Antimatter bombs,† Hickory said. â€Å"The Colonial Union learned the identity of the ships in the Conclave fleet. It assigned members of your Special Forces to locate them and plant the bombs just before the jump here. Another Special Forces member here activated them.† â€Å"Bombs on how many ships?† I asked. â€Å"All of them,† Hickory said. â€Å"All but the Gentle Star.† I tried to turn to look at Hickory but I couldn’t move my eyes from the sky. â€Å"That’s impossible,† I said. â€Å"No,† Hickory said. â€Å"Not impossible. Extraordinarily difficult. But not impossible.† From other roofs and from the streets of Croatoan, cheers and shouts lifted into the air. I finally turned away, and wiped the tears off my face. Hickory noticed. â€Å"You cry for the Conclave fleet,† it said. â€Å"Yes,† I said. â€Å"For the people on those ships.† â€Å"Those ships were here to destroy the colony,† Hickory said. â€Å"I know,† I said. â€Å"You are sorry they were destroyed,† Hickory said. â€Å"I am sorry that we couldn’t think of anything better,† I said. â€Å"I’m sorry that it had to be us or them.† â€Å"The Colonial Union believes this will be a great victory,† Hickory said. â€Å"It believes that destroying the Conclave’s fleet in one engagement will cause the Conclave to collapse, ending its threat. This is what it has told my government.† â€Å"Oh,† I said. â€Å"It is to be hoped they are correct,† Hickory said. I was finally able to look away and face Hickory. The afterimages of the explosions placed blotches all around it. â€Å"Do you believe they are correct?† I asked. â€Å"Would your government believe it?† â€Å"Zoe,† Hickory said. â€Å"You will recall that just before you left for Roanoke, my government invited you to visit our worlds.† â€Å"I remember,† I said. â€Å"We invited you because our people longed to see you, and to see you among us,† Hickory said. â€Å"We also invited you because we believed that your government was going to use Roanoke as a ruse to open a battle against the Conclave. And while we did not know whether this ruse would be successful, we believed strongly that you would have been safer with us. There is no doubt that your life has been in danger here, Zoe, both in ways we had foreseen and in ways that we could not. We invited you, Zoe, because we feared for you. Do you understand what I am saying to you?† â€Å"I do,† I said. â€Å"You asked me if I believe the Colonial Union is correct, that this is a great victory, and if my government would believe the same,† Hickory said. â€Å"My response is to say that once again my government extends an invitation to you, Zoe, to come visit our worlds, and to travel safe among them.† I nodded, and looked back to the sky, where stars were still going nova. â€Å"And when would you want this trip to begin?† I asked. â€Å"Now,† Hickory said. â€Å"Or as close to now as possible.† I didn’t say anything to that. I looked up to the sky, and then closed my eyes and for the first time, started to pray. I prayed for the crews of the ships above me. I prayed for the colonists below me. I prayed for John and Jane. For Gretchen and her father. For Magdy and for Enzo and their families. For Hickory and Dickory. I prayed for General Gau. I prayed for everyone. I prayed. â€Å"Zoe,† Hickory said. I opened my eyes. â€Å"Thank you for the invitation,† I said. â€Å"I regret I must decline.† Hickory was silent. â€Å"Thank you, Hickory,† I said. â€Å"Really, thank you. But I am right where I belong.† How to cite Zoe’s Tale PART II Chapter Nineteen, Essay examples

Molar Mass Determination by Depression free essay sample

The most commonly used liquid is water. In this experiment we study the equilibria that can exist between pure water and an aqueous solution, and ice, the solid form of water. The heat will transfer from a higher temperature toa lower temperature. In order for water to change states of matter, it takes a certain amount of kinetic energy or heat. The shift from ice to water (solid to a liquid) is called the heat of fusion. The shift from water to ice is called the freezing point of water, which the standard is usually OOC. This is the point in which water and ice are at equilibrium. The freezing point Tf0, the vapor pressure of water and ice must be equal. If you add a soluble liquid or solid to the equilibrium mixture, the temperature of the ice and the solution will fall until it reaches equilibrium. The vapor pressure of water at OOC is less than that of a pure liquid. We will write a custom essay sample on Molar Mass Determination by Depression or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The temperature of the new solution will change the in which it reaches equilibrium or the new freezing point Tf. The new reezing point will be below the freezing point of the pure liquid. ATf is called the freezing point depression, which is the change in freezing point. Tflnal Tinitial = ATf . The freezing point depression is one of the colligative properties of a solution. Colligative properties include boiling point elevation, osmotic pressure, and vapor pressure lowering. When considering colligative properties it is easier to work on Molality. Molality is the solute concentration. Molality of A = no. of moles A dissolved/ no. of kg solvent in solution The boiling point elevation, Tb kbm = ATb , and the freezing point epression Tf kfm = ATf , uses the concentration. Kb and Kf are characteristics of the solvent used. They use these characteristics to find the molar mass of an unknown substance. Finding an unknown, finding two different concentrations, then with the molar mass we can associate if the solution is ionic. The ratio of the true molar mass to the value you find is equal toa quantity. If the molar mass is less than an actual value you have a ionic compound. Hoff factor is the apparent percentage dissociation. Procedure: 1. Determine the freezing point of pure water. 2. Water-ice mixture you need to add a known amount of one of you unknowns 3. Estimate the mass of your liquid to add to the mixture. 4. Measure water ice solution 5. Add solid to a water-ice mixture 6. Record mass 7. Make second molar mass measurement for you liquid unknown 8. Determine molar mass 9. Figure out % dissociation A. Freezing point (oc) pure liquid (H20) 0. 0 B. Object : Mass: (grams) Styrofoam cup 1. 72 Beaker 101. 12 Liquid Trial 1 Trial 2 Mass of liquid (grams) 9. 99 7. 96 Temperature fallen (oc) -3. 9 -3. 2 Overall mass (grams) 1 50. 29 146. 2 ATF (oc) 3. 9 3. 2 Molality 2. 10 Mass unknown 2 Mass of water final mass liquid Styrofoam cup) 138. 8 136. 52 ot solution 72. 09 58. 306 Molar Mass 34. 33 33. 90 c. Object Mass (grams) Solid (unknown 2) Mass of solid (grams) 10. 0 5. 94 -2. 5 Final Mass (grams) 195. 85 167. 75 2. 5 1 . 34 Mass solid 10 (final mass solid Styrofoam cup) 184. 13 160. 09 1 kg 54. 31 37. 10 31 . 58 27. 69 Calculation for C. Actual = 74. 55 74. 55/29. 635 = 2. 5 1=3. 5 = 3. 5-1 x 100= 250% average molar mass (31. 58+27. 6 9/2) x 250% = 75. 56 Discussion: Molar mass is a colligative property. This property allows us to study the change in states of matter and fgure out the solution. The molality of a solution gives us the concentration of the unknown. We then use the freezing point depression to establish the molality of the new substance compared to water. The 1 kgsolution gives us a concentration to establish the molar mass. If the concentration is below the actual value it is an ionic compound. This experiment was for nonvolatile substances. During this experiment, we were given a deeper understanding on how vapor pressure affects the state of matter, which a substance can affect the point in which a solution freezes. The solution changes the intermolecular forces.

Neptunium Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements

Neptunium Facts - Periodic Table of the Elements Neptunium  Basic Facts    Atomic Number: 93 Symbol: Np Atomic Weight: 237.0482 Discovery: E.M. McMillan and P.H. Abelson 1940 (United States) Electron Configuration: [Rn] 5f4 6d1 7s2 Word Origin: Named after the planet Neptune. Isotopes: 20 isotopes of Neptunium are known. The most stable of these is neptunium-237, with a half-life of 2.14 million years Properties: Neptunium has a melting point of 913.2 K, boiling point of 4175 K, heat of fusion of 5.190 kJ/mol, sp. gr. 20.25 at 20 °C; valence 3, 4, 5, or 6. Neptunium is a silvery, ductile, radioactive metal. Three allotropes are known. At room temperature it exists primarily in an orthorhombic crystalline state. Uses: Neptunium-237 is used in neutron-detection equipment. Sources McMillan and Abelson produced neptunium-239 (half-life 2.3 days) by bombarding uranium with neutrons from a cyclotron at the U. of California at Berkeley. Neptunium is also found in very small quantities associated with uranium ores. Element Classification: Radioactive Rare Earth Element (Actinide Series) Density (g/cc): 20.25 Neptunium  Physical Data Melting Point (K): 913 Boiling Point (K): 4175 Appearance: silvery metal Atomic Radius (pm): 130 Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 21.1 Ionic Radius: 95 (4e) 110 (3e) Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): (9.6) Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): 336 Pauling Negativity Number: 1.36 Oxidation States: 6, 5, 4, 3 Lattice Structure: Orthorhombic Lattice Constant (Ã…): 4.720 References: Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001), Crescent Chemical Company (2001), Langes Handbook of Chemistry (1952), CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics (18th Ed.) Return to the Periodic Table Periodic Table of the Elements Chemistry Encyclopedia

Out Now The PrepScholar Guide to ACT Science Book!

Out Now The PrepScholar Guide to ACT Science Book! SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Do you struggle with ACT Science? You’re not alone! Science is often the ACT section students feel least comfortable with because it’s so different from the science exams you take in school. Despite this,there are very few books specifically dedicated to ACT Science. At PrepScholar, we decided to use our expert ACT knowledge to fix that.The PrepScholar Guide to ACT Science is the book for students wanting to understand and ace ACT Science. It gives an in-depth analysis of the Science section and explains why students find it so tricky. It also analyzes every single type of passage and question you’ll see on ACT Science so that nothing will be a surprise on test day. By the end of the book, you’ll know all the tricks exam makers use to try to make students select the wrong answer, and you’ll be able to see through every one of them.This book will also walk you through the fastest and most effective way to study for the Science section. Instead of try ing to cram all the science information you learned in school, we give you a short list of every science fact you could be tested on in ACT Science. They contain the only science facts you need to know, so you can put your textbooks down and focus on studying smarter, not harder. We also explain multiple ways to read and attack Science passages so you can choose the strategy that gets you your highest score. Finally, all of these insights include high-quality sample problems and explanations throughout the book so you can understand how to use these skills on real ACT Science questions. You can buy the book on Amazon in either ebook or paper form. If you find it helpful consider leaving a review or sharing it with a friend!

Mobile Phones Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Mobile Phones - Coursework Example (Ahonen and Melkko, 2008, 44-99) Phyically, it' very imilar to the iPhone 3G, much more o than the Diamond, complete with lim, candybar form factor, a large creen dominating the front panel and minimalit control. Compare the phone ide by ide and you'll find that dimenion are remarkably imilar too, though the Omnia i a little limmer, narrower and horter than the iPhone 3G, at 12.5 x 112 x 56.9mm compared to 12.3 x 115.5 x 62mm. o how exactly doe it tack up elewhere Well, a you'd expect from a modern Window martphone, there' a pile of feature and many of thee appear to match or outtrip the iPhone 3G equivalent. It ha a five-megapixel camera on the rear with an LED flah and a VGA video call camera on the front - the iPhone' i three megapixel le and it ha no video call feature. It alo ha HDPA of up to 7.2Mb/ec, a 624MHz proceor, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a GP receiver and an FM radio. Plu it come with a decent helping of torage - either 8GB or 16GB with microD expanion a well. It creen, however, at 3.2 inche in't quite a luxuriouly paciou a the iPhone' and it 400 x 280 reolution i alo inferior. There' alo no 3.5mm headphone ocket and though a converion dongle i included in the box, we'd ooner not have to carry an adapter around jut to liten to muic and it eem a needle overight given the capaciou torage on offer. (Ahonen and Melkko, 2008, 44-99) The camera, however, i the main highlight here. ... You can ue the Omnia for proper nap - not jut contact profile picture. urpriingly for a Window Mobile device, the Omnia alo boat iPhone-like peed and reponivene and it' a darned ite nippier than the HTC Touch Diamond - even with the Diamond' latet firmware applied. Application launch peedily, browing the web on the phone' uperb Opera Mobile 9.5 web brower i zippy and the accelerometer, which rotate the orientation of the creen from portrait to landcape a you flip the phone around in your hand, work jut a you would expect it to, complete with fancy animation. amung' touch-driven uer interface i a valiant effort at dealing with the inadequacie of Window Mobile' UI, too. Interetingly, amung provide no tylu towage on the Omnia - the tylu attache to the phone' lanyard loop intead. Thi wouldn't be an iue, of coure, but unfortunately the one key area where the Omnia can't compete i with the iPhone' beautifully elegant operating ytem. It tart well. When you firt fire the phone up you're confronted with a blank creen and a crolling toolbar arranged down the left hand ide. Thi contain a number of attractive, graphical widget that you can drag into to the blank pace to diplay tuff like recent email, the time, currently playing muic track, phone profile, calendar, analogue and digital clock and o on. (Ahonen and Melkko, 2008, 44-99) Thee don't jut diplay information, though, they provide baic control too, o not only can you ee who your mot recent email i from, you can alo click it to read it in full, or croll back to ee who the previou mail wa from. Muic track can be paued and kipped and favourite contact can be added or removed a well. (Kelly , 2008, 04-22) It' an intereting approach and allow

Dolphin Natural Gas Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Dolphin Natural Gas Project - Research Paper Example However, as the paper will highlight, the entry of foreign based companies such as the French’s Total and other has created new dynamics in the multi-million dollar project. This paper will provide a background check on the circumstances which led to the formation of the project and the politics involved between Qatar and the UAE. Discussions on the effects of these relations will be the focus of this research activity. The central idea of this study is to look at these dynamics and the effect which the project has created on its partners and other stakeholders. Introduction Background The idea behind Dolphin Natural Gas Project was initially started in 1999 with the sole intention of supplying natural gas to the three states of the Middle East. The project which was to be fully completed in July 2007 cost an estimated 7 billion dollars gross and an estimated $3 billion in the offshore pipeline. The gas pipeline which is approximately 364 kilometers joins the three nations via sea and land. The onshore processing plant is at the Ras Laffan processing plant which is located in Qatar. Opened in 2006, it is the largest of its kind in the world and creates more gas than entire countries in the continent per day. The processed gas is piped to Taweelah receivers in the United Arab Emirates which are joined by the 182 km long Al Ain – Fujairah gas pipeline in the country. It is estimated that the gas project delivers a staggering equivalent of 330,000 barrels of oil per day (www.dolphinenergy.com). With this kind of money, political and economic interest comes into play from stakeholders from within and without. The entire region keenly monitored the gas project from its inception to the current state of political and social impacts. Significance and objectives of the study This research paper will look at five major dynamics that surround the operations and functionality of the project. This includes identifying all the stakeholders involved in the proj ect, the political interests of Qatar and the other partners in the gas project and the merits or demerits of this action. Additionally, this study will focus on the participation of private stakeholders such as Total limited, Qatar petroleum and ADNOC and the impacts thereafter. Lastly, there will be justifications of the intense interests that the foreign players are slowly developing to be involved in the project. Literature Review Various journals and media publications have highlighted the project and the implications that it attracts for the region. Because of the direct impact the pipeline has on the three nations and the Middle East’s economy at large, the Dolphin natural Gas project has been analyzed and counter analyzed by both local and foreign media fraternities. First, the ease of doing in Qatar as a business destination has become critical in attracting foreign investors as Clyde and company (2010) elaborate. Dolphin gas project is one of the largest inland-offs hore projects in world history. This is an indication that dynamics being involved in the project such as business interests, political involvements and social implications are a center stage in its existence. This report utilizes a government report concerning the project and the data involved. Additionally the perspective of Dunning’s paradigm of ownership, location and internalization highlights the importance of a

Match Point

Match Point Match Point A tragedy, primarily a dramatic component that tends to occur in many plays and movies, can be defined as serious or solemn theme that typically deals with a great person destined through a flaw of character or conflict with some overpowering force to downfall or destruction. Match Point, directed by Woody Allen, is a movie that deals with conflict within characters that can be reflected upon ending in a tragedy. The captivating events which occur in this movie lead Match Point to be considered as a tragedy due to the fact that this movie falls under three of the nine main points of a tragedy. Furthermore, Match Point deals with the movie consisting of exceptional suffering, a tragic flaw in a person brought by tragic fate, and the reversal of a position of a being which in return proves that this movie is in reality a true tragedy. In Match Point, the movie consists of the exceptional suffering of Chris Wilton as he unfolds his created abnormal conditions of his mind. After blowing her audition, Nola Rice, being Toms fiancà © at the time, and Chris Wilton drink at a bar when the go into a somewhat sexual conversation as Nola says â€Å"Men always seem to wonder. They think Id be something very special† and Chris asks, â€Å"And are you?† and Nola replies with an unusual answer, â€Å"Well, no ones ever asked for their money back† (Allen). This quote was significant since Nola was slightly hit from drinking a bit too much and reveals that she slept with other men before which indicated to Chris that she enjoys the pleasure of sex. Evidently, this foreshadows the affair between Chris and Nola in the future. Seeing that this foreshadows the affair between both Chris and Nola, it can be related to proving that Match Point is a true tragedy as this affair is one of the major causes to Chriss ex ceptional suffering. Due to this situation, Chris eventually starts seeing Nola secretly under Chloes nose and they begin to have a steamy affair, and in time Nola becomes pregnant. Chris keeps promising Nola that he is going to tell Chloe about the pregnancy and that he would leave her to be with Nola. This creates the frustration within his mind where he is faced with leaving wealth and prosperity for a life with nothing besides a woman and her child. Consequently, he starts to suffer exceptionally both mentally, by the severe pain in his head, and emotionally, by crying out his misery. Nola, being interested in having a child, keenly insists that both Chris and she have the child, which as a result only creates more tension within Chris. Chris is at a point where his suffering is so incomparable that he comes to a conclusion to get rid of Lola and the child by killing her. Not only does Chris kill Nola, he also kills an innocent old lady. Subsequently, this slowly develops an abn ormal condition of his mind as he starts to hallucinate by seeing the ghosts of both Lola and the old lady. At this point in the movie, the viewer knows that the hallucinations are caused by his exceptional suffering which led him to make those dreadful decisions which in return proves the point that Match Point is in reality a true tragedy. A point to consider when dealing with tragedies is the fact a tragic fate is brought on a person by his/her tragic flaw. This movie can be compared with assessment as Chris did have a tragic flaw which led him to the downfall of his own mind. Chriss flaw of hamartia led him to want a woman who he enjoys having sex with but also his wife whom he loved with the amount of money that her parents possessed. â€Å"Hamartia is the Greek word for error or failure, used by Aristotle in his Poetics, to designate the false step that leads the protagonist in a tragedy to his or her downfall† (answers.com). This flaw was the very reason that he faced a vast amount of problems and suffered as a result of that. As Chris sees Nola in Chloes estate, he is immediately attracted to her and says, â€Å"So tell me, whats a beautiful young American ping-pong player doing here mingling among the British upper class?† (Allen). This quote is significant as it shows his interest in another woman knowing that he is dating Chloe, and the fact that both Chris and Chloe share an interest in getting married. This quote is also significant as it foreshadows the affair between Chris and Lola as they exchange looks and body languages. If not for his flaw, he would not have been attracted to Nola in the beginning, which would not have led to the events that both Chris and Nola shared together. For this reason, this quote proves that Match Point is a true tragedy as it consists of Chriss tragic flaw, one of the major components in a true tragedy. Comparatively, it was also the tragic flaw that Chris possessed that consequently led him to kill Nola which he thought would get rid of the problems that he faced. After he kills Nola and starts to suffer because of it he says, â€Å"To never have been born may be the greatest born of all(Allen). This quote is significant as it shows character development when Chris quotes Sophocles, a Greek playwright, expressing his feelings towards the off-putting events that have been occurring caused by his tragic flaw which has been a major cause of his suffering. Thus, this quote shows that it was his tragic flaw that led him to his tragic fate which in return proves that Match Point is a true tragedy. It is clear to conclude that his tragic flaw was a clear reason to his â€Å"downfall†. In other words, this provides evidence that Match Point is a true tragedy. Another point in a true tragedy is when the hero undergoes a reversal of fortune. Generally speaking, when someone experiences the reversal of fortune they can either lose everything or gain everything. In the movie Match Point, the main character, Chris Wilton, moves to London and teaches tennis at a country club to make a living where he starts off at the bottom with nothing to his name. Due to his luck, he meets Tom Hewett and they become instant friends. Tom introduces Chris to his shy sister Chloe and in return, Chris and Chloe start dating. Her extremely wealthy parents take an immediate liking to him and Chris respectively admires the wealth of Chloes parents. Since Chloe was the daughter of an extremely wealthy man who owned a very large company, Chloe insisted her father to give Chris an executive job. This job not only helped Chris make more money, it changed the status of his fortune where he moves higher from where he originally was, the bottom. As time goes on, Chris and Chloe eventually get married which changed his status to the highest position that he could be where he had money, wealth, power, and everything he desired. After the marriage, Chris starts to secretly see Nola and begins to have an affair with her by telling his wife that he has â€Å"business related work†. From having an affair with Nola, Chris has moved down from his highest position to a lower place since he has started to see another woman while being married. He continues to undergo the reversal of his fortune. At this point in the movie, Chris discovers that Nola is pregnant and was torn between being with a woman he is lustfully attracted to or to remain with his sweet wife and her successful family who have many connections to the upper class society of London. When Chris and Nola argue whether or not they should have the baby, Chris shouts saying, â€Å"Nola! Calm down! Calm the fuck down!†(Allen). This quote shows the frustration that Chris goes through wh en faced with having a child that he does not want. In addition, this quote shows how Chris is slowly undergoing the reversal of fortune which is proving the fact that Match Point is in reality a true tragedy. Finally, this quote is significant as it foreshadows the event where Chris kills Nola. Accordingly, Chris kills Nola which causes him to create an abnormal condition of his mind which as a whole brings him all the way back down to where he started off, the bottom. As a result, Chris endured the reversal of fortune where he has gone through the full cycle returning to where he originally started. So, with the points mentioned above, it is proven that Match Point is in reality a true tragedy as the hero undergoes the reversal of fortune. Therefore, Match Point is proven to be a true tragedy according to the points stated above. Match Point can be compared to being a true tragedy as the movie consists of the exceptional suffering of a person. Chris Wilton goes through this suffering both mentally and emotionally and as a result he starts to hallucinate and sees the ghosts of both Nola and the old lady, the two victims that he murdered. In addition, this movie is also proven to be a true tragedy due to the fact that tragedies tend to deal with a tragic fate that is brought by a persons tragic flaw. In Match Point, Chriss flaw of hamartia brought him to his downfall where he goes through exceptional suffering and hallucinates in the end. If it was not for this flaw, the ending of the movie would have been the complete opposite. Finally, Match Point is confirmed to be a true tragedy as the hero of the movie, Chris Wilton, undergoes the reversal of fortune. He starts off as a poor Irish man who becomes a very wealthy by m arrying his extremely rich girlfriend, but he blows it all and returns to where he started off after killing Lola, the woman whom he has an affair with, and an innocent old. He does not lose his wealth, but he does lose his mind. Overall, it is evident that Match Point is in reality a true tragedy as it comprises three main points out of the nine of a true tragedy in this movie. Works Cited Match Point. Dir. Woody Allen. Perf. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Alexander Armstrong, Paul Kaye (IV). Dreamworks Video, 2005. DVD. hamartia: Definition from Answers.com. Answers.com: Wiki QA combined with free online dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedias. Answers Corporation, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2009. .

Fesibility Study of Banana Vinegar Essay

Banana (Saba) vinegar Conner is known as the fruit basket. One of the fruits that are abundant here is banana. The word â€Å"banana† is a general term embracing a number of species or hybrid in the genus Musa of the family Musaceae. there are many different kinds of banana found in Conner those are the â€Å"Lakatan†, â€Å"Sinlowa†, â€Å"Tanda†, â€Å"Dippig tagalong† and â€Å"Dippig†. Bananas are good for dessert or for cooking description. Banana fruit or dessert is made of soft, easily digestible flesh with simple sugars like fructose, sucrose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes. But energy isn’t the on ly way a banana can help us keep fit. Vinegar is known as a good ingredient for health, but banana vinegar is much better because banana is a fruit rich in dietary fiber and vitamins. It is also rich in potassium, that plays in the reducing the risk of high blood pressure and stroke, increasing strength and reducing stress. Connerians are very good in making banana vinegar only for household consumption but it is good to develop or to improve as their one means of livelihood. II. PRODUCT DESCRIPTON Ripe or over ripe banana will be the one to be used in the production of banana vinegar because it has abundant source in the locality. III.PROMOTER NAMES ADDRESSCP NUMBER Asejo, Thelmaflor B.Padaoan, Conner, Apayao09056942627 Sanagen, Freda D.Guina-ang, Conner, Ap.09352600370 Lucena, Roldan F.Caglayan, Conner, Ap.09169701473 IV. MARKET ASSESSMENT You don’t come across something as wonderful as this everyday. Our mild, fruity vinegar comes from the purely ripe banana. Unlike some flavored  vinegars, this isn’t plain vinegar with banana flavor added, Most people flip when they taste the vinegar. Of course it works as a key player in a salad dressing but we’ve been having fun with ceviches, in particular. The flavor is fruity, and while it’s clearly banana, it’s not too sweet or cloying. The acidity is 6%. Mixed in salads, there’s a vague but wonderful tropical quality that trancends cuisines. V. COMPETITION ANALYSIS The advantage of this venture is having no competitors yet in the municipality.

Essay on Buddhism - 1147 Words

nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;People around the world speak of American influence in politics, business, and merchandise. The terms ‘globalization’ or ‘global interdependence’ are recently being more understood by most when defining them with relation to corporations, environmental issues, and the modern economy. Can these terms be used to describe the religious beliefs in Canada? The religious life of North American society does not find its roots here at home. We live in a Christian domain. Its roots are 2000 years old and lie half way around the world. It is all around us in our homes, schools, workplace, media, and quite inescapable in our daily lives. In the 21st Century however, basic Christian values are being influenced by†¦show more content†¦Buddhists believe that all things should be looked after: the earth, plants, birds, insects and animals. This is close to the feeling among many people in recent years that the human race should stop pollut ing the atmosphere and destroying the surface of the earth by cutting down forests. quot;Buddhism has the characteristics of what would be expected in a cosmic religion for the future: it transcends a personal God, avoids dogmas and theology; it covers both the natural amp; spiritual, and it is based on a religious sense aspiring from the experience of all things, natural and spiritual, as a meaningful unityquot; (Albert Einstein) Over 5 million Americans, and over 160,000 Canadians (1991 Census) consider themselves Buddhist. I found over 75 Buddhist organizations in Alberta alone! nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The face of Buddhism in America can be seen everywhere. From corporations taking advantage of the spread of the religion and selling Buddha figurines in every shopping mall to Hollywood’s blockbusters incorporating the ideas. The movie, The Matrix, has a Buddhist underlying with regard to the themes of choice, and awakening. The Butterfly Effect is completely based on the idea that the entire universe is interconnected over time, a principle of Buddha’s teachings. Hollywood celebrities such as Brad Pitt (Seven Years in Tibet), Richard Gere (a proclaimed Buddhist), and Tom CruiseShow MoreRelatedBuddhism : Buddhism And Buddhism1009 Words   |  5 Pages Zen Buddhism isn’t exactly a â€Å"religion†, but a way of living. It creates peace within the human mind that allows one to grow, develop and look at the world more positively. Originating in China in 650 C.E., Zen Buddhism is a combination between Indian Mahayana Buddhism and Tao ism. Mahayana Buddhism promotes bodhisattva, which is practicing the way of life in the direction of Buddha. Taoism is a religion developed by Lao-tzu, a Taoist philosopher, and focuses on obtaining long life and good fortuneRead MoreBuddhism, Buddhism And Buddhism1371 Words   |  6 PagesBuddhism is one of the largest religions in the world that started in India. Later spreading to China,Burma,Japan , Tibet and other parts of southeast Asia. Buddhism is a religion that Is concentrated on spiritualism than religious teachings. Established by the buddha, one must obtain their own spiritual awakening, or nirvana through meditation. There are three main branches of Buddhism Theravada Buddhism , Mahayana Buddhism and Tantric Buddhism. About 2,500 years ago, Prince SiddharthaRead MoreBuddhism : Buddhism And Buddhism982 Words   |  4 PagesBuddhism is a philosophy that is often viewed as a religion and dates back to approximately 6th century B.C.E. Buddhism originated in the Indian subcontinent by a man known as Siddhartha Gautama. 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Philosophers such as Santideva and Thich Nhat Hanh, have led the life to follow the Buddhism ways and live their day to day life off of it. Buddhism gave them the enlightenment toRead MoreThe Religion Of Buddhism And Buddhism1730 Words   |  7 Pageslife. The religion of Buddhism is one of these that had this effect when it began to spread from India where it originated, to many Asian countries especially China where it would have the biggest impact. In China, Buddhism would take root and would grow to become a popular religion in the country much like the other major religions of China, Confucianism and Taoism, which together with Buddhism would later be known as the â€Å"Three Teachings†. Additionally, at some point Buddhism would began to loseRead MoreReligion Of Buddhism : Buddhism963 Words   |  4 Pagesinterested in the religion of Buddhism. After I watched Oprah Winfrey’s television series, Belief Buddhism has become something I wished to look into on a deeper level. Therefore, On October 9, 2016, I visited Wesleyan college East Asian studies facilities to participate in their Sunday meeting of Practice and Talk. During this hour and a half meeting, individuals who are exploring Buddhism wil l learn the surface practice of Buddhism more specifically shin Buddhism. Shin Buddhism or the teachings of ShinranRead MoreBuddhism, Buddhism And The World Essay1999 Words   |  8 PagesBuddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, with more than 5 million believers in the world. Buddhism is a kind of religion and law that contains various traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices. Buddhism from India, between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, and gradually spread to Asia. Although Buddhism originated in India, China has many believers in the dissemination and contribution. Chinese Buddhism began in the Han Dynasty and became the most powerful in the Tang Dynasty. WithRead MoreBuddhism : The Popularity Of Buddhism1306 Words   |  6 PagesBuddhism Culture in China Instructor Dr. Jack Name: Zhoudongxue Zhang Student #: 100311725 Date: 26/11/2015 The Popularity of Buddhism in China Buddhism is one of the most popular religions in the world. The Pew Research Center reports that nearly 488 million people practice Buddhism, which represents 7% to 8% of the world’s entire population. Buddhism is mainly practiced in the Asia-Pacific region with approximately 481,290,000 Buddhists, which means 99% of Buddhists live in Asia-Pacific

The Reforming Of Chinas Pension Scheme - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 24 Words: 7084 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? During the time of writing my dissertation, I have has many help from people both intellectually and emotionally. I would like to take this space to thank first of all, my supervisor, Mr. Robert Plumb, for offering me the support and guidance all the way through. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Reforming Of Chinas Pension Scheme" essay for you Create order I am grateful to my friends in the BSc Actuarial Science class for the great time I had during the three-year study at Cass Business School. I would like to thank all the lectures for making our lives at school so convenient and pleasant. Last but not least, many thanks to my family and other friends who have always given me encouragement and support during this process. Abstract The rapid ageing population in China has slowed down economic progress. Certain steps should be taken in relation to the pension system in order to cope with such a situation. There are several models of pension reform in the world, the most important one is perhaps the multi-pillar pension system advocated by World Bank. China actually reformed the current pension scheme based on this multi-pillar model. With a responsible attitude, the experience gained in Chinese pension reform will lead to a stronger and deeper national system that can eventually provide social welfare for the entire Chinese population. In Chapter 1, I will introduce the main types of pension schemes and the historical background of China pension system and illustrate how it developed. The current situation of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension system is displayed by the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index in Chapter 2. The four main problems of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension system and the urgency of reform is explained fully in Chapter 3. The different types of reform are followed by, along with what China chose to do in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5, the performance of reform is evaluated. Chapter 6 is mainly about the problem pointed out in the recent China Two Conference and the future trend of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension reform. Table of Contents Acknowledgements2 Abstracts-3 Chapter 1 Introduction-5 Chapter 2 Current situation of China pension system8 Chapter 3 Problems of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension system and reasons for pension reform10 Chapter 4 Different types of pension reform and what China chose to do15 Chapter 5 Evaluation of pension reforming-20 Chapter 6 Conclusion-23 Reference25 Chapter 1 Introduction Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s population has been ageing rapidly, and financial support for the pension system is facing a number of resultant problems. The system itself is also divided unevenly across regions and sectors. Furthermore, globalization makes the transaction between countries and sectors more difficult. Therefore, reforming Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension scheme has become an urgent issue. This report will begin with a brief overview of the historical background of the Chinese pension system. It will move onto the pension crisis and relevant problems at present, followed by the different types of pension reform and the way China has chosen to reform. Finally it will conclude with the evaluation of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension reform. The main goal of pension reform is to ensure the elderly live a peaceful life in retirement. In order to achieve this goal, China still has to solve a lot of economic and social problems. The Chinese government started its national pension system reformation in the 1990s by setting up a three-pillar state pension system in urban areas, which is a remarkable step in pension reform. Recently, Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index revealed that the Chinese pension system is facing a large challenge. There are five main problems occur in Chinese pension system: Financial problem; Ageing population; Institutional problem and problems occur in transaction. Several types of pension reform can be chosen and after considering the situation in China, the multi-pillar system stands out to become a wise solution. Compare to those developed countries, Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension reform still has a long way to go. With positive attitude, we believe that the system will become mature in the fu ture. The main types of pension scheme as follows: A pension scheme can be classified as a defined benefit scheme or a defined contribution scheme according to the determination of benefits. A defined contribution (DC) scheme is dependent on the amount of money contributed and the performance of the investment. A traditional defined benefit (DB) scheme is a plan in which the benefit on retirement is determined by a set formula, rather than depending on investment returns. Another definition of a defined benefit scheme is that it is an arrangement where the benefits payable to the members are determined by the schemeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rules. Value of Pension Fund Assets DB Value of Financial Assets DC Value of Pension Fund Assets Value of Financial Assets Basically, the pension scheme in China is a defined benefit, PAYGO system for older employees and retirees, multi-pillar system combining social pooling and individual accounts for younger employees. This system includes (a) a mandatory defined benefit paid out of social pooling account, (b) a monthly annuity paid out of the defined contribution, employee individual account, and (c) a voluntary supplementary individual account. After briefly explaining the main types of pension scheme, the historical background of China pension system will be illustrate as follows: In 1949 the Chinese government adopted a provisional constitution of the common Programà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?, which mentioned that the labour insurance system should be introduced progressively in companies; this provided a legal basis for the establishment of a unified, national labour insurance system. On February 25, 1951, the Central Peoples Government promulgated The Peoples Republic of China Labour Insurance Regulations, which required companies to implement pensions, medical insurance and industrial injury insurance for their employees. This was Chinas first social security law; it clearly defined insurance coverage, insurance premium collection, insurance items and standards, as well as the implementation and supervision of the insurance industry as a whole. During the next three decades the government gradually improved the pension system. Then, in 1984 China overhauled the entire pension system. The change was started in some rural areas first. The system was based on being paid mainly by individuals, supplemented by the communities, supported by government policies and resulted in the accumulation of funds in personal accounts. In 1991, thanks to economic development, the government established a combined system with a state pension, company pension and private pension. Basis of calculating accrual of pension insurance during that time: Range of income Rate of pension insurance 60% of average income 60% 60%-300% of average income actual income 300% of average income 300% In 1997 the Chinese government formulated a new policy, which started to establish a unified nationwide pension system for every enterprise employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s insurance. Chinas basic pension system is a combined model of state and individual accounts. The basic pension covers workers in urban enterprises; all urban enterprises and their employees must fulfill the obligation to pay the basic pension. At present, employers contribute about 20%, and employees 8%, of the total income. The rates paid by employers are partly used in the state pension and the rest goes into the personal accounts; the rates paid by employees are used in private accounts. In 1997, the policy became clearer. It can now be seen that the main purpose of the basic pension in the future is to protect the basic livelihood of retirees in their twilight years. After several years of reform, the people involved in pension scheme increased from 86.71 million (at end of 1997) to 108.02 million (at the end of 2001); the number of people receiving the basic pensions raised from 25.33 million to 33.81 million. The average monthly basic pension increased from 430 RMB to 556 RMB. In order to ensure the timely and full payment of the basic pension in recent years, the Chinese government have made efforts to improve the pooling level and constantly increased the financial input into the basic pension fund. From 1998 to 2001 the central government expenditures for pension fund subsidies amounted to 86.1 billion RMB. Chapter 2 Current situation of China pension system Recently, Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index revealed that the Chinese pension system is facing a large challenge. They measured the ranking according to the adequacy, sustainability and comprehensiveness of the system in each state. From the comparison of the private and public pension systems index in five continents, across eleven countries, Chinas system achieved relatively low ratings. This shows that Chinas growing pension system needs to be further developed and reformed in order to cope with continued pressure from the ageing population, and in order to remain competitive in the world. According to the pension index (total 100) estimates, the Netherlands ranks first, with an index of 76.1, followed by Australia (74.0), Sweden (73.5) and Canada (73.2). The UK ranked fifth with 63.9, while the lowest-ranked pension systems are those of Japan (41.5), China (48.0) and Germany (48.2).    Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index Country Overall index value Sub-index values Adequacy Weighting 40% Sustainability Weighting 35% Integrity Weighting 25% Netherlands 76.1 80.5 62.5 88.2 Australia 74.0 68.1 71.0 87.8 Sweden 73.5 68.5 75.2 79.1 Canada 73.2 76.2 64.2 80.9 UK 63.9 56.6 56.4 86.3 USA 59.8 49.2 69.4 63.4 Chile 59.6 48.9 54.1 84.5 Singapore 57.0 51.7 68.9 49.1 Germany 48.2 60.8 44.3 33.7 China 48.0 64.7 38.5 34.7 Japan 41.5 39.2 34.4 55.2 Average 61.4 60.4 58.1 67.5 Source: Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index Among these countries there was no one pension system which achieved A-Level (an index of more than 80). Mercer said that this shows that even the worlds most advanced pension system needs to be adjusted in order to ensure that the support is sufficient for a rapidly aging population. Although the lowest-ranked countries are not yet falling into the lowest level, the category E (an index of less than 35). However if the major defects are not resolved, the effectiveness and sustainability of all these systems will face challenges. Chapter 3 Problems of China pension system and reasons of pension reforming Chinas pension system is actually still in personal accounts, which are kind of on a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"PAYGOà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ system, combined with some public administration. The system is presently in a transition period. Of the results, the following problems stand out: 3.1 Financial Problems Firstly there are the financing problems. The actual payment rate is low and it keeps decreasing. Since the payment of the transition cost is still a problem, the pension accounts in many places have fallen into financial bankruptcy. According to the statistics from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the state-owned enterprises owe 38 billion RMB to the state in unpaid pensions all over the country. That is why the money raised in personal accounts is being used to pay current retirees. Even so, the funding is still not enough and when there is a deficit in financing, the local tax revenue is used to bridge the gap. In fact, the local and central government is working to save a lot of places where the pension co-ordination is already in bankruptcy. If the situation does not improve, it could threaten the sustainability of the central government. Another financial problem is that the personal account is actually just a name, which means it guarantees nothing. Since the Govern ment has not clearly informed us how they will pay for the transition costs over the past few years, all the money that has been raised in these accounts for funds has been used to pay the current pensions of retired employees, which turns personal accounts into empty accounts. One of the biggest progresses in Chinese pension reform is the introduction of a defined contribution scheme. It is compulsory for the workers to join the savings plan, therefore the welfare responsibilities are transferred from the government and enterprises to individuals. However, an important question makes people pause for thought: will the funding of this defined contribution plan really indicate the fulfilling of the fund, or it is just a fanciful à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"PAYGOà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ plan with no actual fund that plays the same role as the pillar I scheme. This issue has already led to misbehaviour in some local authorities. Some of the contributions to personal accounts have been used to pay current retirees, which leads to empty accounts and all the time the transition costs remain unclear. Implicit pension debt from the restructuring costs arose in the process of the old PAYGO pension system through the accumulation scheme. After we established the partly-accumulated system with social pooling combing individual accounts, the pension included two parts: a basic pension and an individual account pension. However, people who retired before the pension reformations did not have sufficient accumulation in individual accounts, while those who started to work before reform but retiring after reform only have limited personal accounts accumulated, and the basic pension can only provide a limited level of protection. Although there are no or only limited personal accounts pension accumulation for these two kinds of retirees, the commitments made under their old pension scheme still have to fulfilled, therefore this formed a pensions debt. Under the current PAYGO system, because the right of pensions is implied, the debt is called a hidden debt. However, when the pension system transferred to a whole or partly accumulation based one, the implicit debt became obvious. In order to ensure the continuity and fairness of the pension system, the new system must assume the responsibility for the debt. The Government has to fulfil the pension rights of those retirees. In our country, apart from these two parts of pensions, the additional pension to the retirees caused by inflation or wage increasing also belongs to the scope of implicit debt of the pension, generally speaking, Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s implicit pension debt includes payments to retired employees, transitional pension contribution to those who started work before the reform, as well as the adjustment fee applied to inflation and wage growth. Another important cause of the financing problems is that there are no specific responsibilities for historical debt between different levels of government. Our government did not specify the individual responsibilities between companies and governments with regard to the debt caused in transition period. The greatest problem of dealing with implicit debts is a lack of motivation and unclear responsibility allocation. Not only in the experimental areas, but also in other cities. Every party attempts to avoid its responsibilities. Both parties rely on each otherà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s financial input and lack of motivation in terms of the pension supervision. Therefore an increasing deficit became inevitable. 3.2 Ageing Population Secondly, the ageing of the population has now become a huge issue for many countries in the world. The problem is however, much more serious in China. Since China has a large population base, plus nearly 30 years of reform and opening up, peoples living standards have increased greatly. Health and medical conditions have been markedly improved. People expect to live longer and the elderly population increases every year; it is now more than 160 million. China has become the worlds largest elderly populous country, accounting for 1/5 of the total elderly population of the world, and 1/2 of Asia. Currently about 12% of the total population in China is aged over 60, although it is expected that this number will increase to 26% by 2050 because of the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"one-childà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ policy and the improvement in life expectancy. Now, the ratio of the working-age population to the retirement-age population is 8:1 and it will decrease to 2:5 by 2050. The average age in China is now 31 and it will reach 40 in 2050. The distribution of population in China Source: World Bank Institute (Dr. Wang Yan) This scenario showed that with a gradual decline in future population growth, Chinas labour force in 2020 to 2025 will stop growing, and decline thereafter. However, the population aged 65 and over will continue to grow. Therefore, the elderly dependency ratio will rise from 11% to 25% by 2030 and 36% by 2050. The system dependency ratio will not be less than the current 30%, which means that three workers support one retiree; by 2030 the ratio will rapidly reach 69% and 79% by 2050. The PAYGO system in 2000 has a 60 billion surplus, but the gap in pension income and expenditure will be significantly expanded. Over the next few years, the accumulation of pension reserves will become negative, and in 2050 it will reach 102,730 billion RMB. It is clear that the growing pension deficit will pose a threat to financial stability, and has already brought instability to Chinas future economic development. It has significantly increased the financial pressure on the system and makes the need for further reforms even more urgent. Nowadays, there are only 170 million employees are members of a pension scheme; that is less than 15% of the population. As the population grows older, if the current pension provision remains the same, the pension funds in China will have a deficit in next five years; furthermore, this can lead to a deficit in trillions by 2040. The national pension funds could be short 2.5 trillion RMB (which is around US$ 368 billion) over the next 20 years if nothing is done to remedy this now. 3.3 Institutional Problem Thirdly, the system itself is not well developed. The pension system is divided at all administrative levels. In 1999, 27 provinces were supposed to achieve co-ordination of the provincial funds according to documentation, but in fact only 5 (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing and Hainan) out of 27 provinces fully realized this co-ordination. In the other 22 provinces, only 1%-2% of the money from different cities was gathered in order to establish public funds. Due to the lack of co-ordination there are five provinces that have yet to establish such a fund, which means the policy was not really working out. Furthermore, the current co-ordination is not perfect in many ways. The collection and expenditure of pensions were not administered separately by different organizations. Also because of the payment strategy, which is that companies pay the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"netà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ value (pension income minus the money paid to retired employee) into funds, the contribution rates b etween provinces and cities, in some cases even between companies, have great differences. Moreover, the coverage of pension systems is narrow and they have regional imbalances. Until the end of 1998, the basic pension provision covered only 78.4% of employees of state-owned enterprises, 16.2% of group companies and 5.4% of other urban enterprises. There were no pension plans for self-employed and individual entrepreneurs in cities. For rural areas, there are some creative plans by local officers, but again coverage is very limited. The coverage of pension scheme in China is restricted based on employment in the work unit, rather than on citizenship, which means the reform only targets a small number of the population. This is in contrast to developed countries, where the pension system is relatively mature and covers nearly all of the workforce. In these countries, what they need to do is to avoid large future deficits and unsustainable ageing populations. However in China, there is far more to consider. More than half of Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s population lives in rural areas. As a bequest of past economic and pension policies, there is great inequality in both economic development and pension coverage between the urban and rural areas (urban areas are mainly the eastern coastal areas and rural areas are mainly the western part of China); the urban population is generally better covered than rural and migrant populations. The special household registration system, which was used to control the movement of people between urban and rural areas, helped split the population into urban and rural. The productive workers from the rural areas migrated to cities for more attractive working opportunities and higher incomes. However they will not be able to benefit from the urban social security since they were not under the registration of the special system. The lack of regulation is another issue. Since there is no social insurance law in China, the local social insurance agencies are weak enforcers of power. This makes collecting payments even more difficult. Also since there is no such law, it is hard to apply penalties. From the international point of view, the states basic pension systems are mostly being legislated by state first, then organised by the Central Government. However, Chinas pension system formed gradually under the basis of summing up experiences of local reform. It is only written in the Constitution of the nationals that citizens have the right to receive substance. Other pension systems were implemented in accordance with regulations promulgated by the State Council. The Social Insurance Law, as it has already been called for many years, is still in the process of taking advice, which means that pension rights are infringed due to lack of legal protection. This further led to a large number of arrears and made mana gement of the pension system even harder, without any strong legal grounds. 3.4 Problems occurring in transaction Finally, another challenge will be the transfer between pension accounts. The disadvantage of migrant workers is that their accumulated benefits in their pension accounts from their previous employers cannot be moved. It is therefore a risk for them to give up their accumulated benefits in one work place and take another new position in a different city or province. It is difficult for the government to transfer the pension accounts from one city or province to another, especially when such workers tend to move frequently for immediate job opportunities. Therefore, the migrant workers cannot receive their pension benefits from past employment and finally lose out financially when they return to their homeland at the end. At present, in a large number of cities, pension consulting business is processed by computers. In more developed cities, pension consulting networks have been established. But as a whole, Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension-collection policy still has a lot to improve; information system coverage is still below average. It specifically shows in the following ways. Firstly, information authorities and management systems are not adapting to the overall development trend. Also, the lack of a complete and versatile information operating system of social security results in slow delivery of information and finance data, as well as slow construction of the reconciliation system among departments. Chapter 4 Different types of pension reform and what China chose to do Since the last century, many countries worldwide started to reform their pension systems. The following graph shows that most countries made parameter adjustment without changing the basic framework of the pension system, including the change to the fee structure, revenue structure and method of management reforms. In addition, about 21% of the countries made a fundamental structural change to the national public pension system. Proportions of different types of pension reform Source: Schwarz Demirguc-Kunt (1999) Different countries chose various forms of pension reform according to their countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s basic economic and social conditions. However, to sum up, there are five main types of pension reform, which are as follows: Parametric Reform Parametric reform is the adjustment of parameters of the existing public pension system, including adjustments of payment, remuneration, and benefit eligibility. The main purpose of such a system is to reduce the public pension expenditure Privatization Reform In order to alleviate the pressure on the public pension system, in recent years a major trend has been to expand the market for private pension funds. A number of countries have taken many measures to encourage voluntary private pension systems, such as giving preferential tax policies, reducing the size of the public pension system and other steps. Notional Account Reform The state transferred the PAYGO, defined benefit public pension system to a notional accounts system. Under such a pension system, employees are just like those in a private pension system, as its contribution is credited to individual accounts, and receives interest. Workers receive a pension upon retirement, depending on the amount of money in their personal accounts. However, there is no actual accumulation of funds in the employees personal account, as the money paid by active employees is used to pay retireesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ pensions. That is, the notional accounts system benefit has a defined contribution, but its means of financing is still PAYGO; therefore it is called a Notional Defined Contribution system. From Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution Although the transformation from the current PAYGO defined benefit system to a fully funded defined contribution system is one of the main trends of reform, a small number of African and Asian countries have chosen to do it the other way round. They have changed from a fully funded defined contribution system to a PAYGO defined benefit system. This is because these countries have accumulated a fund, which is managed by the Government provident fund system. Due to a lack of regulations and governments often abuse their powers, and such pension funds not only failed to obtain a reasonable rate of return, but in some countries also suffered serious diversion and erosion. In order to limit the rights of the government, these countries decided to change the pension system to a non-funded PAYGO system. Since under such a scheme there is no accumulation of funds, therefore the Government tends to be unlikely to abuse the funds. Multi-Pillar System After 100 years of development, the pension system has shown a wide variety of forms. Different forms of pension system have their own advantages in achieving their goals, but some shortcomings are inevitable. Therefore, the World Bank has been advocating the establishment of a multi-pillar pension system, allowing complementary advantages and risk diversification. In 1994, the World Bank proposed in à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"Averting Old Age Crisisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ the establishment of a three-pillar pension system: (a) the first pillar is a public, PAYGO, usually defined benefit and redistributive pension system; (b) the second pillar is a private, funded, almost always defined contribution pension system; (c) the third pillar is a private, funded, voluntary, supplementary, preferably defined contribution pension system. In 2005, the World Bank extended the establishment of the three-pillar system to a five-pillar system in the report of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"21st Century Elderly Income Securityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Among them, the zero pillar is to provide a minimum protection, non-contributory national pension system, the fourth pillar is the informal supporting system within the family to the elderly, or formal social welfare system. The five pillars have their own characteristics and different functions; and can be able to cope with different types of risk. Zero pillar is helping to eliminate poverty for the poor segment of society, as well as secure those groups working in informal sectors with low incomes. It is regarded as a part of the social safety net. The aim of the first pillar is to respond to a short-sighted individual risk, low-income risks, uncertainty in life expectancy and investment risks in financial markets, but it is vulnerable to demographic changes and political fluctuations. The second pillar through a mandatory savings system can prevent the short-sighted individual risk, while the privately managed pension system would avoid influence from political risks. However, the second pillar pension system is vulnerable to the impact of financial market risks, and transaction costs are relatively high. The third pillar can compensate for the rigidity in the design of the other pillars, but privatel y managed pension funds may have financial risk and agency risk. The fourth pillar has the main function of family protection, and through the social welfare system to provide medical care and housing protection to the elderly. Compared to a single pension system, the greatest strength of a multi-pillar pension system is its ability to withstand risks, which is significantly enhanced. This is because the factors affecting each pillar are not entirely relevant to each other. In many cases, the relevance is very small, even negative. For example, if the first pillar is a PAYGO, defined benefit pension system, the main factor affecting this pillar is the growth rate of wages. While the second and third pillar may be a completely accumulation based, defined contribution pension system, and the main factors influencing it will be the investment rate of return. As the correlation between the rate of wage growth and return on investment is very small, it is efficient to distribute the pension assets in these three pillars. In addition, there is also a complementary relationship among the different pillars. For example, in the individual defined contribution pension system, workers need to take an amount of savings in their personal accounts and convert it into an annuity. At this time, employees have to bear the risk of changes in interest rates, as well as the risk of death. However, defined benefit pension systems can spread the risk of death. Again, the third pillar à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a voluntary occupational pension system is vulnerable to income fluctuations and job changing, but the first and second pillar pension system can offset these effects. Many countries adopted the multi-pillar pension system because the World Bank recommended the concept of such a model. However, the specific choice of a mix of pillars depends on the national situation, including the status of the existing pension system, reform objectives, administrative capacity, the level of development of financial markets, the level of restructuring costs and other factors. In low-income countries, the goal of a pensions system should be defined as the eradication of poverty. As public and private sectors are unable to provide adequate pensions, the zero pillar should be used to serve the poorest groups of the basic old-age security, and on this basis to encourage and promote voluntary action in the third pillar. In middle-income countries, the government can set up the first pillar pension system to make most of the citizens set to receive a pension which is associated with their income and to encourage the development of the second and third pillar in order to ensure that the consumption level of retirees remains relatively stable before and after their retirement. In high-income countries, the full establishment of the five-pillar system can be set up, so that citizens can obtain more favorable treatment of pensions. The Chinese government started its national pension system reform in the 1990s by setting up a three-pillar state pension system in the urban areas. This pension system was controlled under the local government level instead of by the central government. The three-pillar plan is applied as follows: Pillar I (1) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a defined-benefit social pension provided through compulsory contributions only by employers, with about 20% coming from employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ income. This pension scheme was managed on a provincial level by social security bureaus. The retirees received 35% of average monthly income. This pension scheme was designed as a PAYGO system. Pillar I (2) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a mandatory, defined-contribution individual system provided through contributions from employees who contribute 8% of their monthly income. These contributions accumulate in individual employee accounts until retirement and the employee cannot take it from the account before retiring. This system was also managed at a provincial level. In addition to Pillar I, the Chinese government also introduced Pillar II and III plans for the urban sector with the long-running achievement of creating more private, voluntary occupational pension schemes and achieving less dependence on government funding for Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s national retirement needs. Pillar II plans are voluntary, defined-contribution plans. These plans are commonly known as voluntary occupational pensions. The voluntary occupational pensions were introduced in China in 2004. The administration centers were found in some cities and areas to manage their local pension funds, while in other regions, the funds were managed by local social security bureaus and invested in bank deposits or government bonds. In addition, a few state-owned industries in China for example electricity, petroleum and railways set up internal voluntary occupational pension plans with their own administration centers. By the end of 2005, there were more than 24,000 companies which had set up such plans, covering more than 9 million employees. Pillar III plans includes other, voluntary, private schemes that do not adjust to voluntary occupational pension plans. Some forms of these private pension plans have already been enforced in China. Summary of the Multi-Pillar System Contributions Benefits Pillar I(1) (PAYG) Mandatory employer contribution of 20% of employeeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s income 35% of average monthly income (after 15 years of employment) Pillar I(2) (individual account) Mandatory employee contribution of 8% of monthly income Target replacement rate of 24% of average monthly income Pillar II (voluntary occupational pension) Voluntary contributions by employers and employees Individual account Pillar III (other) Voluntary contributions by employees Individual account Source: CFA Institute Chapter 5 Evaluation of pension reforming Pension reform has both a negative and positive point of view. On the one hand, reform may reduce the redistribution element in the social welfare system, leading to higher risk for individuals and greater social inequality, compared to the old PAYGO system, especially for the lower income class. On the other hand, reform is necessary at this stage for both economic and politic development. During the same time, the fund of pension system needs to be fulfil by any resources, such as redistribution, general revenue, as long as can protect the social welfare program. 5.1 Adequacy Adequacy refers to the pension system being able to provide adequate pensions for retired workers. This not only means the absolute pension level is sufficient to prevent old-age poverty, but also the relative pension level required to achieve a certain replacement rate. No matter what mode of pension reform, the system must avoid all segments of the population suffering from extreme poverty. It also can provide longevity insurance protection to those who live longer than average. From the sufficiency point of view, universal or means-tested allowance is undoubtedly the most conducive to eliminating poverty in old age. However, such a pension system requires Governments fiscal budget as a source of funding. In China, the financial resources of government is limited, although elderly income is an important goal of reforming the pension system, but scarce government revenue also needs to be spent on other expenses, such as financing the vulnerable children, developing of public health and building infrastructure. 5.2 Affordability Affordability refers to the financing capacity of individuals and society. Despite the higher replacement rate being able to provide a higher level of protection to the elderly, it will cause a high system cost. From direct costs, the high pay rate would cause great burden on the working staff, affecting demand for workers in other areas, such as consumer demand for child-rearing, investment in housing demand. From indirect costs, a high contribution rate would encourage employees to transfer their work to a non-formal sector in order to avoid tax. However, the excessively high proportion of non-formal sector employment will not only affect the improvement of labour quality, but also the financial revenue and economic growth. The experience of World Bank shows that in middle-income and high-income countries, mandatory pension contribution rates should not exceed 20%; in low-income countries, it should not exceed 10%, otherwise it will have a negative impact. (Holzmann amp; Hinz 2005) 5.3 Sustainability Sustainability refers to the pension system, whether present or future, should have financial stability. Financial pressure on the public pension system in most countries is one of the main reasons for reform, and the system should have financial sustainability after reforming. A good pension system should be financially stable, and will not suddenly need to increase the contribution rates or to decrease the pension entitlements; there is no need to budget for sudden large-scale transfers. In other words, it is necessary to publish all the parameters need to be adjusted when design our pension system, such as contribution rates, pension entitlements, retirement age and so on, and take these parameters into consideration in the reform program. The pension system should also set up adjustment mechanism to cope with various economic shocks in order to ensure that the financial situation of the pension system can adapt to a variety of macroeconomic environment. 5.4 Robustness Robustness means that the pension system has the ability to withstand various shocks, and maintain the smooth running capability in a variety of unknown conditions and environment. In other words, the pension system is able to maintain long-term stability to the income replacement rate. The pension system may face various risks, including macroeconomic risk, population risks, financial risks and political risks. Pension system should be designed to cope with these risks. In order to achieve robustness objectives, countries need to carry out pension reform with a certain model of the various possible changes in simulation analysis, in order to determine the sources of funding and time required for the reform of the pension. 5.5 Sub goals The reforming of public pension system is also expected to make a positive contribution to Chinese economic development. On the one hand, through the reform of the pension system should be able to reduce the adverse effects to labour market and macroeconomic stability caused in original system; the other hand, the reformed pension system reform should have a positive impact on the economic development, such as increasing national savings rate, promoting financial market development, improving the efficiency of the labour market and improving income redistribution system. Experience of many countries has shown that the design of pension system made a significant impact on economic development and the level of output. Currently in China, almost all actuaries work for insurance and there is a lack of qualified actuaries working for the pension system. Since pension provisions involve a lot of complex statistical considerations, the actuary must make every effort to ensure that the plan is appropriate to the employees covered by different groups. Actuaries estimate the mortality rate, employee turnover rate, interest and profit rate, the frequency of early retirement, the future wage level, as well as other essential factors required for pension plans in order to value the funds. They calculate a variety of factors affecting the financial statements, such as pension liabilities, an extra cost of the annual service on the project expenditures and an administration cost. In short, the accountant largely depends on the information and measurement methods provided by actuaries. Some new schemes are running into funding problems, as no proper actuarial evaluations of future costs have been made. Therefore is a big problem that China needs experts in pensions to work and train locally very urgently. With the growth and reformation of pension schemes, the need for actuaries in this area will increase very quickly. Another point is that China should use scheme derived mortality experience rather than using a standard table, which can make the pension scheme easier and clearer. In order to construct a stronger and healthier social welfare system, the government should provide more detailed and updated information about pension system to the citizens. Introduction lectures can be held if necessary in the companies and institutions. Some models are perfect in theory, but usually can not apply in reality. A lot of research has been done, but people did not und erstand exactly what they did. Therefore, the news of pension system should not only be provided within certain authorities, but also be understood more widely by citizens. Chapter 6 Conclusion The Chinese pension system has experienced many changes from the PAYGO system to the current multi-pillar welfare system. The unrealistic promise of old days stalled the progress of the development of pension system, even heavily distorted the social system. Since the late 1990s, Chinese government started to make improvement to the pension system and experiment various format of reforming in many regions. Recently, the 2010 China two Conferences (i.e. the National Peoples Congress and the Chinese Political Consultative Conference) discussed about the current system in China. It pointed out that the special dual pension system in China should be repeal gradually in the near future. Dual pension system is special product period occurred in the transaction between a planned economy to a market economy. The so-called dual system refers to the persons work in different areas adopt a different retirement pension system. There are three main differences: Firstly, the co-ordinated approach is different: people works in companies pay a certain standard themselves and by their companies, while government pay for those civil servants; secondly, the paying channel is not the same: company employers pay from their self-account, while payment is unified management for the civil servants; Thirdly, the pension standard is varied: those who works for institutions and governments have much higher pension than the those company retirees, the current difference is about 3 to 5 times. The survey held in the two conferences showed that 81% of citizens believe that such dual system implemented between employers in companies and is unreasonable; in the social security system, 45% of the users are most concerned about the four basic social security system (pensions, medical care, unemployment, work injury) and nearly half of the users are most concerned about pension system among these four.à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Most of the discussion was about the existing dual system in social security system. Some people mentioned that the dual system should be repeal and the pension should be consistent between the civil servants and institutional retirees, otherwise it is regarded as artificially expand the income gap. Also some people mentioned that the dual system is a distorted policy causing income distribution. Many citizens called for the abolition of this unfair dual pension system. In the Two Conferences, the government started to consider about the suggestions from all strata of society. China is not the only country in the world under pressure to reform its pension system as a matter of urgency. The lack of retirement security is one reason why China has become a nation of fervent savers, with some US$2 trillion in bank deposits. The lack of a sufficiently stable pension scheme is a driving factor behind this. And the uncertainty about future has pushed them to save, correspondingly, dampening consumption. Although there are several of issues arise during the reforming, it is undeniable that the Chinese pension system is evolving rapidly. Indeed, most changes happen in Pillar I, reflecting the government is keen on overhauling Pillar I. However, the introduction of Enterprise Annuity in Pillar II has stalled since the issue of trial measures in 2004. Pension reform in China is, thus, far from complete. In order to cope with the inevitable ageing trend, the voluntary part of it (Pillar II and III) should be an important building block in Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension system, which needs to be tackled broadly. Undoubtedly, the reform of the pension system will bring valuable opportunities to financial institutions. We have learned a lot of valuable experiences in the process of pension reforming, also the knowledge is shared worldwide, as long as we have responsible attitude towards reforming, a stronger and healthier social welfare system will be constructed in the future. Reference Pension Fund Reforms in China: An Opportunity to Promote Codes of Conduct and Standards of Best Practice https://www.cfainstitute.org/centre/pdf/china_pension_fund_reform.pdf James, E, (1996). New system for Old Age Security-Theory, Practice and Empirical Evidence, The World Bank, prepared for EDI conference on pension reform Selden,M and You, L.(1997). The Reform of Social Welfare in China. World Development, Vol. 25, No. 10,pp.1657-1668. World Bank (1994). Averting the Old Age Crisis: Policies to Protect the Old and Promote Growth. A World Bank Policy Research Report, Oxford University Press, New York. World Bank(1997). Old Age Security: Pension Reform in China Xin Wang(2001). Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pension system reform and capital market development.Research Department, China international capital corp. Yuan Michael Tian(2003). What can China Learn From the Pension Reforms Around the World?