title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Nevertheless, many did not expect the occultation to continue beyond six years or beyond the fortieth birthday of al-Mahdi, and this might have contributed to an atmosphere of doubt and uncertainty among the Shia. According to Modarressi, these doubts gradually disappeared from the Shia community, possibly due to the efforts of the Shia traditionists during the period of transition to the Major Occultation. These traditionists heavily relied on prophetic traditions and specific interpretations of the Quran to vindicate the imamate of al-Mahdi. In this period, possibly after 295 (908), Shia traditionists also settled the number of Imams with the help of a Sunni hadith, in circulation long before the occultation, which stated that the prophet would be followed by twelve successors. The Hidden Imam was thus also the last Imam.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: The Major Occultation, a term coined later, began with the death of the fourth agent in 329 (940-941), who did not designate a successor. In this period, which continues today, there is no agent of the Hidden Imam on earth. There is some evidence that the death of the fourth agent also dissolved the underground network of representatives responsible primarily for the collection and distribution of the religious dues. The office of deputyship was thus formally closed. Despite some uncertainty, there were likely early traditions among the Shia that had already predicted the two periods of occultation. These hadiths were previously cited, for instance, by the Waqifites in reference to the two arrests of Musa al-Kazim, the seventh Imam. Nevertheless, the prolonged absence of the Hidden Imam seems to have created widespread doubts among his followers.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: As both the spiritual and political head of the Shia community, the occultation of the Hidden Imam left a considerable gap in the Shia community. This leadership vacuum was eventually filled by Twelver jurists (), who remain the sole leaders of the Shia community during the Major Occultation. Often cited to support this transition is a letter received by Ishaq ibn Ya'qub in response to his religious inquiries of the second agent. The letter, said to be written by al-Mahdi, stipulated that


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: A few similar hadiths are attributed to the tenth and eleventh Imams. The traditions also specify that these jurists must be just and knowledgeable in Islamic law. As the absence of the Hidden Imam continued, however, the Twelver jurists evolved from mere transmitters () of hadith to in order to resolve new religious questions that arose over time. Their authority also increased with time to address the need to explicate religious teachings for the community. For instance, as early as the seventh (thirteenth) century, Muhaqqiq al-Hilli () spent the Imam's share of Khums (a type of Islamic alms) on activities that furthered the cause of Shia, as opposed to his predecessors, such as al-Mufid (), who often asked the faithful to save these donations for the rise of al-Mahdi.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Considering that jurists were not directly appointed by the Hidden Imam, it was debated whether their authority should extend to functions with political implications, such as declaring holy war (). It was likely Shahid al-Thani () who first suggested that a (qualified) jurist was the general deputy () of the Hidden Imam whose authority encompassed all prerogatives of the Imam. The transition of Twelver jurists into their new role was facilitated by the formation of Shia states, particularly the Safavid and Qajar dynasties in Iran. For instance, during the Russo-Iranian war of 1804-13, the eminent clerics of Najaf and Isfahan issued a declaration of against the Russians to support the Qajarite Abbas Mirza, who was conducting the campaign. Later on, however, jurists often had to compete with the Shia monarchs for religious authority.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: In sum, the politically quiescent approach of the Twelver jurists over time gave way to eventually questioning the legitimacy of Shia monarchs and even attempts to restrict their power through a constitution. This evolution culminated with the concept of () by Khomeini, the religious leader of the Iranian revolution in 1979, who called upon religious scholars to assume an active role after the toppling of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last monarch of Iran.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: While some traditions, dating back to before 260 (874), might have predicted a second occultation, the sources from the beginning of Major Occultation indicate that the prolonged absence of the Hidden Imam may have led many of the Twelvers to abandon their belief in him. His absence also provided a basis for renewed criticisms at the time, voiced by the Mu'tazilites and Ash'arites. These pressures likely expedited a transition in Twelver arguments from a traditionist to a rationalist approach in order to vindicate the occultation of al-Mahdi. Abu Sahl al-Nawbakhti (), for instance, argued that the absence of an Imam does not invalidate his religion or law, as with the absence of a prophet. Concerns about inauthentic hadiths, voiced by Tusi () and others, might have given another impetus to this transition.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Starting with Ibn Babawayh () and his student al-Mufid (), Shia scholars began to employ theological arguments modeled on the Mu'tazilite . Of these, the principle of () is an example which, at a high level, necessitates that a prophet or an Imam should exist at any time to guide towards God, as the manifestation of His utmost kindness towards His subjects. Other Twelver arguments aim to establish that the Hidden Imam benefits the humankind even in occultation, "just as the people benefit from the sun while it is covered by clouds." While the ordinary Twelvers were likely content with the traditions about occultation, the theologist approach to vindicating the Hidden Imam was intended to address the criticisms of the non-Twelver theologians. The two approaches were blended together by Tusi in his substantial monograph "Kitab al-Ghayba" ().


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: The Twelvers believe that the primordial light of the prophethood has continued to shine through the ages in the character of the Imams. Thus the Hidden Imam is not viewed as inaccessible in the state of occultation. Indeed, it is popularly held that al-Mahdi occasionally appears to the pious in person or, more commonly, in dreams and visions. The accounts of these encounters are numerous and widespread in the Twelver community. Among these accounts are also the encounters of the prominent religious scholars () with the Hidden Imam.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: The descriptions of these contacts often show the concern of the Hidden Imam for the well-being of his followers and how such encounters may prompt the believer's "spiritual resurrection," an interpretation put forward by late mystic sources. As the Hidden Imam can only be seen in the end of time, those who see him, it is argued, have attained their end of time. For instance, publishers close to the Lebanese Shia militant organization Hezbollah have published the accounts of some Hezbollah fighters who believed they were directly assisted by al-Mahdi in critical moments on the battlefields of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: The Twelver doctrine of occultation crystallized in the first half of the fourth (tenth) century. In its simplest form, this doctrine states that Muhammad al-Mahdi, the twelfth Imam, did not die but has been concealed by God from humanity. His life has been miraculously prolonged until the day he manifests himself again by God's permission to fill the earth with justice. This occultation continues until the safety of the Imam can be guaranteed, and until humankind is ready to receive his guidance. During the Minor Occultation, he remained in contact with his followers through the four Babs (gates). During the Major Occultation, which began in 329 (941) and continues to this day, there is no direct communication, though the Hidden Imam still remains responsible in Twelver belief for the inward spiritual guidance of humankind (whereas his outward role begins with his reappearance).


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: The Twelver literature about the doctrine of occultation is extensive, based on rational and textual arguments. One such instance is a prophetic hadith, reported by Shia and Sunni authorities, including the canonical "Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal". One version of this hadith reads, "If the earth had only one day of existence left to it, God would prolong that day until a man of my posterity, whose name will be my name, and his surname my surname, manifests himself; he will fill the earth, filled till then with violence and oppression, with harmony and justice." Another prophetic hadith, in circulation long before the occultation, predicted that Muhammad was to be followed by twelve successors (s), during whose reign the Islamic community would be united, as reported in "Sahih Muslim" and other canonical Sunni sources. It is argued that these twelve successors cannot include the (often immoral) Umayyad or Abbasid caliphs and, in any case, their number exceeded twelve. These twelve, he thus concludes, are the Twelve Imams. More generally, in Twelver collections of hadith, the reappearance of al-Mahdi is the most frequently cited subject in predictions made by the prophet, his daughter, Fatima, and the Twelve Imams.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Al-Mahdi is viewed by the Twelvers as a hidden saint in view of verses 18:65-6 of the Quran and the two types of saints in those verses, namely, outwardly manifest, such as Moses, and hidden, like Khidr. As with the account of Khidr in the Quran, it is held that the Hidden Imam benefits the Islamic community () during the occultation, as the sun behind clouds still gives light and warmth.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Muhammad al-Baqir, the fifth Imam, is said to have related verse 21:105 of the Quran to the rise of al-Mahdi: "And verily We have written in the scripture (Zabur), after the reminder, [that] My righteous slaves will inherit the earth." As another instance, Tusi () connects verses 28:5-6 to the rule of al-Mahdi in the end of time. In particular, verse 28:5 reads, "And We desired to show favor unto those who were oppressed in the earth, and to make them Imams and to make them the inheritors."


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: While the Abbasid threat might have initially forced al-Mahdi into occultation, his absence continues in Twelver belief until initial conditions are met for his reappearance to establish justice and peace on earth. One such condition, Sobhani writes, is humankind's readiness for the intellectual and spiritual message of the Hidden Imam. Without these conditions, he argues that al-Mahdi might be killed similar to his predecessors. Similarly, when asked about the reason for the occultation, al-Baqir is reported to have answered, "To prevent his being killed." Shia traditions add two more reasons for the occultation, namely, test for the followers of the Imam and their faith, and avoiding the burden of commitment () to unjust rulers of the time. It is also held that the true reason for the occultation will be only known when the Imam reappears as in the story of Musa and Khidr, where the motivation of Khidr for his actions was not immediately revealed to Musa.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: In response to Sunni criticism and even ridicule, Shia scholars have argued that the longevity of the Hidden Imam, born around 868 CE, is not unreasonable given the long lives of Khidr, Jesus, and al-Dajjal (another eschatological figure), as well as secular reports about long-lived men. Along these lines, Tabatabai emphasizes the miraculous qualities of al-Mahdi, adding that his long life, while unlikely, is not impossible.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Shortly before the Day of Judgment, when commanded by God, al-Mahdi will return to lead the forces of righteousness against the forces of evil in an apocalyptic war that would ultimately establish peace and justice on earth, according to the Twelvers. He is also viewed by the Twelvers as the restorer of true Islam. In his mission, al-Mahdi will be assisted by Jesus, who will kill al-Dajjal (antichrist) in some Islamic accounts. Al-Mahdi would also be accompanied by 313 loyal followers, their number identical to the number of Muslim warriors in the Battle of Badr. He is expected to reemerge as a young man in possession of the relics of the past prophets, e.g., the staff and arc of Moses. The time of his reappearance is unknown, however, and Shia hadiths expressly forbid haste () and setting time () for his return.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Numerous Shia hadiths predict that the reappearance of al-Mahdi would be heralded by some signs, of which some are inevitable, and others are conditional, i.e., might change by divine decision. Alternatively, some of these signs are general, and some are specific. The foremost general sign of the second coming of al-Mahdi is the prevalence of evil on earth in the form of tyranny, injustice, and religious and moral degradation. In particular, at the time, Islam would be devoid of its soul and practiced only outwardly. Only a fraction of the Shia, those who truly practice their Imams' teachings, will remain on the righteous path in the end of time.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Among the special signs are the rise of Sufyani, who would later command the enemies of al-Mahdi, the rise of Yamani, who would later support al-Mahdi, the divine cry (, ) which calls upon men to join al-Mahdi, often followed shortly by another supernatural cry from the earth that invites men to join the enemies of al-Mahdi, the swallowing up () of an army dispatched by Sufyani in a desert, and the assassination by Meccans of the messenger of al-Mahdi, referred to as the pure soul ().


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: A widely-held Muslim belief is that a restorer of religion and justice, with the name of Mahdi (), will rule the world in the end of time. In particular, it appears to be an accepted notion in Sunni Islam that this savior would be a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and his son-in-law Ali. While absent from the "Sahih"s of al-Bukhari and Muslim, traditions about Mahdi can be found in other canonical Sunni hadith collections, including the works of Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Ḥanbal. These hadiths have likely strengthened the popular belief in Mahdi among Muslims. Historically, various Muslim figures were identified with Mahdi or used the name as an honorific epithet with messianic significance. These include the Umayyad Umar II and the Abbasid al-Mahdi, among many others.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Unlike Sunni Islam, however, the belief in Mahdi of the lineage of the prophet is central to Shia Islam, in general, and to Twelver Shia, in particular, where Mahdi is identified with the twelfth Imam. Distinctive to Shia is also the doctrine of occultation or the temporary absence of Mahdi. Sunni and Shia traditions, however, have much in common about the career of Mahdi. In particular, Momen lists several signs before the advent of Mahdi which are common to both Sunni and Shia beliefs.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: As early as the fourth (ninth) century, or possibly much earlier, Shia sources identify the twelfth Imam with the messianic figure of Mahdi in Islam. The Twelver authors also aim to establish that the description of Mahdi in Sunni sources applies to the twelfth Imam. Their efforts gained considerable momentum in the seventh (thirteenth) century when several notable Sunni scholars endorsed the Shia view of Mahdi. For instance, in his "Kitab al-Bayan fi akhbar sahib al-zaman", the Shafi'i traditionist Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Gandji proved that the twelfth Shia Imam was Mahdi, relying solely on Sunni traditions. Since then, Amir-Moezzi writes, there is Sunni support from time to time for the Twelvers' view of Mahdi.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: Madelung writes that a major Sunni objection to the Mahdiship of the twelfth Imam, whose name and matches those of the prophet, is that the name of his father, Hasan al-Askari, differs from the prophet's father, Abdullah. On the other hand, according to Madelung, al-Aburi testified that this stipulation was later added to the tradition by the Kufan transmitter Za'ida ().


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: There has also been some Sufi support for the Mahdiship of the twelfth Imam. Al-Bayhaqi () writes that some Sufi gnostics agreed with the Twelvers about the identity and occultation of Mahdi. As another instance, the Egyptian Sufi al-Sha'rani, not known to be sympathetic to the Shia cause, echoed the Twelver views about Mahdi in his "al-Yawaqit wa al-Jawahir." Possibly to avoid the Shia implications of this statement, al-Idwi later falsely quoted parts of it and suppressed the rest.


title: Muhammad al-Mahdi

text: The birthday of Muhammad al-Mahdi is celebrated annually in Iran on 15 Sha'ban. On the evening of the birthday, millions of people in the country celebrate the occasion annually. The city of Qom is decorated by bright lights and flags. The date of the celebration is based on the Islamic calendar and changes from year to year:


title: Patrick Seitz

text: David Patrick Seitz (born March 17, 1978) is an American voice actor, ADR director and script writer known for his work for Funimation, Bang Zoom! Entertainment, NYAV Post, Studiopolis, Viz Media, Disney/Pixar, New Generation Pictures and Riot Games. He has provided voices for English versions of Japanese anime and video games, including over 100 projects since his initial foray into the voice-over industry in 2000 with the "Amazing Nurse Nanako" OVA.


title: Patrick Seitz

text: Seitz began acting in plays at the age of fourteen when he tried out for and got into "The King and I." He continued doing theater through high school and took acting and singing lessons. Prior to his current level of involvement in the voice-over industry, he taught English studies at his high school alma mater and received a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing, Master of Fine Arts in Creative and the Performing Arts Writing (both from UC Riverside).


title: Patrick Seitz

text: Seitz's video game roles include "Eternal Sonata", "Mortal Kombat", "Castlevania", "BlazBlue", "League of Legends", "Xenoblade Chronicles X", "Octopath Traveler", "Fire Emblem Three Houses", "Skullgirls", "Tekken" and "Ys". On the other side of the mic, Seitz adapted and directed the English dubs of "Girls Bravo", "Kamichu", "Tales of Phantasia" OVA, and "Carole & Tuesday", in addition to adapting over 100 episodes of other series, including "Aggretsuko", "Zegapain", "Hell Girl", and "Romeo x Juliet."


title: Yunjin Kim

text: Yunjin Kim (Hangul: 김윤진), also known as Kim Yun-Jin (born November 7, 1973) is a South Korean-American film and theater actress. She is best known for her role as Sun-Hwa Kwon on the American television series "Lost", and as the North Korean spy Bang-Hee in the South Korean film "Shiri". She also starred as Dr. Karen Kim in the ABC drama series "Mistresses".


title: Yunjin Kim

text: Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea. She immigrated to the United States with her family in 1983-1984. They lived in Staten Island, New York. She joined the middle school drama club in the 7th grade and performed in the musical "My Fair Lady".


title: Yunjin Kim

text: Kim attended high school at the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, a public high school located in Manhattan. From there, she went on to study drama at the London Academy of Performing Arts and later earned her BFA degree in drama at Boston University. Kim has remarked that in her zeal to become Americanized quickly, she studied acting, academics and pronunciation with equal intensity. She is also a trained dancer and martial arts fighter.


title: Yunjin Kim

text: After graduation, Kim devoted herself full-time to acting. She garnered several minor parts on MTV, in soap opera-style dramas on ABC, and on the off-Broadway stage. In 1997, she starred in "Splendid Holiday", a Korean TV drama shot on location in New York. Kim decided to return to Korea. She was cast in the TV drama "Wedding Dress" and was also invited to act in Lee Kwangmo's feature "Spring in My Hometown", although she ended up not taking this role. Her breakthrough debut came in the 1999 film "Shiri", South Korea's first blockbuster film. "Shiri" became the highest-grossing film in Korean history at the time. In November 2000, she continued her association with Kang Je-gyu in "The Legend of Gingko".


title: Yunjin Kim

text: After acting in a Japanese film and a feature set in Los Angeles, Kim appeared in the sci-fi feature "Yesterday". Then in 2002, Kim took the lead role in "Ardor", the feature film debut of documentarist Byun Young-ju. The film was invited to screen in a non-competitive section at the 2003 Berlin film festival.


title: Yunjin Kim

text: In May 2006, "Maxim" named Kim number 98 on its annual Hot 100 List. In October 2006 she was featured on the cover of "Stuff", as well as an inside spread.


title: Yunjin Kim

text: Kim married her former manager Park Jeong-hyeok in March 2010 on the island of Oahu, after shooting her final scenes for "Lost".


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: The 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League was the 45th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier European club football tournament, and the eighth season since its rebranding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The competition was won by Real Madrid, who clinched a historic eighth title win by beating fellow La Liga side, Valencia in the final. The final was hosted in the Stade de France in Paris, the city where the original roots of the competition had begun nearly 50 years earlier.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: Just after two years of allowing runners-up of strongest continental leagues to enter the tournament, UEFA went even further and expanded the tournament to up to four strongest teams from Europe's top national leagues. As a result, the tournament was a stark contrast from 1996–97 (which took place only three years prior) where only top national champions and title holders participated.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: The competition was dominated by the Spanish teams, with three of the four semi-finalists coming from Spain, namely Real Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona. The final between Real Madrid and Valencia marked the first time that both finalists in the competition had come from the same country.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: Manchester United were the defending champions, but were eliminated by eventual winners Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: The 1999–2000 edition of the Champions League featured a whole different format to the competition. An additional qualifying round was introduced to generate two group stages, firstly with 32 teams – eight groups of four – who played six matches each to reduce the competition to 16 teams for the second group stage, with the eight third-placed teams moving to the UEFA Cup third round. At the end of the second group stage, eight teams remained to contest the knock-out stage.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: A total of 71 teams participated in the 1999–2000 Champions League, from 47 of 51 UEFA associations. Liechtenstein (who don't have their own league) as well as Andorra and San Marino did not participate. Additionally, Bosnia and Herzegovina were not admitted due to having no nation-wide champion.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: Countries are allocated places according to their 1998 UEFA league coefficient, which takes into account their performance in European competitions from 1993–94 to 1997–98.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: The title holders (Manchester United) qualified for the Champions League group stage through their domestic league, thus the group stage spot reserved for the title holders was vacated. Additionally, Bosnia and Herzegovina was not admitted as their play-off for Champions League qualification didn't take place. Due to these factors, the following changes to the default access list are made:


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: The schedule of the competition is as follows (all draws are held in Geneva, Switzerland, unless stated otherwise).


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: 16 winners from the third qualifying round, 10 champions from countries ranked 1–10, and six second-placed teams from countries ranked 1–6 were drawn into eight groups of four teams each. Compared to the two previous seasons, three associations (England, France, The Netherlands) were allowed three teams – the league winner and runner-up from each nation qualified for the first group stage, and the third-placed teams qualified for the third qualifying round – and three associations were allowed four teams (Germany, Italy, Spain) – the league winner and runner-up from each nation qualified for the first group stage, and the third- and fourth-placed teams qualified for the third qualifying round. Eight additional associations were still allowed two teams (Czech Republic, Greece, Norway, Portugal: league winner in group stage; Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Turkey, Russia: league winner in third qualifying round). The top two teams in each group advanced to the Champions League second group stage, while the third-placed teams advanced to round three of the UEFA Cup.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: AIK, Boavista, Bordeaux, Chelsea, Fiorentina, Hertha BSC, Lazio, Maribor, Molde, Valencia and Willem II made their debut in the group stage. Maribor was the first Slovenian side to play in group stage. Germany became the first association to have four teams in the Champions League group stage.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: Eight winners and eight runners-up from the first group stage were drawn into four groups of four teams each, each containing two group winners and two runners-up. Teams from the same country or from the same first-round group could not be drawn together. The top two teams in each group advanced to the quarter-finals.


title: 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League

text: The top scorers from the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League (excluding qualifying rounds) are as follows:


title: Bouldering

text: Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help secure footholds, chalk to keep their hands dry and to provide a firmer grip, and bouldering mats to prevent injuries from falls. Unlike free solo climbing, which is also performed without ropes, bouldering problems (the sequence of moves that a climber performs to complete the climb) are usually less than tall. Traverses, which are a form of boulder problem, require the climber to climb horizontally from one end to another. Artificial climbing walls allow boulderers to climb indoors in areas without natural boulders. In addition, bouldering competitions take place in both indoor and outdoor settings.


title: Bouldering

text: The sport was originally a method of training for roped climbs and mountaineering, so climbers could practice specific moves at a safe distance from the ground. Additionally, the sport served to build stamina and increase finger strength. Throughout the 20th century, bouldering evolved into a separate discipline. Individual problems are assigned ratings based on difficulty. Although there have been various rating systems used throughout the history of bouldering, modern problems usually use either the V-scale or the Fontainebleau scale.


title: Bouldering

text: The growing popularity of bouldering has caused several environmental concerns, including soil erosion and trampled vegetation, as climbers often hike off-trail to reach bouldering sites. This has caused some landowners to restrict access or prohibit bouldering altogether.


title: Bouldering

text: The characteristics of boulder problems depend largely on the type of rock being climbed. For example, granite often features long cracks and slabs while sandstone rocks are known for their steep overhangs and frequent horizontal breaks. Limestone and volcanic rock are also used for bouldering.


title: Bouldering

text: There are many prominent bouldering areas throughout the United States, including Hueco Tanks in Texas, Mount Evans in Colorado, The Appalachian Mountains in The Eastern United States, and The Buttermilks in Bishop, California. Squamish, British Columbia is one of the most popular bouldering areas in Canada. Europe is also home to a number of bouldering sites, such as Fontainebleau in France, Albarracín in Spain, and various mountains throughout Switzerland. Africa's most prominent bouldering areas include the more established Rocklands, South Africa, the newer Oukaïmeden in Morocco or more recently opened areas like Chimanimani in Zimbabwe.


title: Bouldering

text: Artificial climbing walls are used to simulate boulder problems in an indoor environment, usually at climbing gyms. These walls are constructed with wooden panels, polymer cement panels, concrete shells, or precast molds of actual rock walls. Holds, usually made of plastic, are then bolted onto the wall to create problems. Some problems use steep overhanging surfaces which force the climber to support much of their weight using their upper body strength. Other problems are set on flat walls; Instead of requiring upper body strength, these problems create difficulty by requiring the climber to execute a series of predetermined movements to complete the route. The IFSC Climbing World Championships have noticeably included more of such problems in their competitions as of late.


title: Bouldering

text: Climbing gyms often feature multiple problems within the same section of wall. In the US the most common method route-setters use to designate the intended problem is by placing colored tape next to each hold. For example, red tape would indicate one bouldering problem while green tape would be used to set a different problem in the same area. Across much of the rest of the world problems and grades are usually designated using a set color of plastic hold to indicate problems and their difficulty levels. Using colored holds to set has certain advantages, the most notable of which are that it makes it more obvious where the holds for a problem are, and that there is no chance of tape being accidentally kicked off footholds. Smaller, resource-poor climbing gyms may prefer taped problems because large, expensive holds can be used in multiple routes by marking them with more than one color of tape. The tape indicates the hold(s) that the athlete should grab first.


title: Bouldering

text: Indoor bouldering requires very little in terms of equipment, at minimum climbing shoes, at maximum, a chalk bag, chalk, a brush, and climbing shoes.


title: Bouldering

text: Bouldering problems are assigned numerical difficulty ratings by route-setters and climbers. The two most widely used rating systems are the V-scale and the Fontainebleau system.


title: Bouldering

text: The V-scale, which originated in the United States, is an open-ended rating system with higher numbers indicating a higher degree of difficulty. The V1 rating indicates that a problem can be completed by a novice climber in good physical condition after several attempts. The scale begins at V0, and as of 2013, the highest V rating that has been assigned to a bouldering problem is V17. Some climbing gyms also use a VB grade to indicate beginner problems.


title: Bouldering

text: The Fontainebleau scale follows a similar system, with each numerical grade divided into three ratings with the letters "a", "b", and "c". For example, Fontainebleau 7A roughly corresponds with V6, while Fontainebleau 7C+ is equivalent to V10. In both systems, grades are further differentiated by appending "+" to indicate a small increase in difficulty. Despite this level of specificity, ratings of individual problems are often controversial, as ability level is not the only factor that affects how difficult a problem may be for a particular climber. Height, arm length, flexibility, and other body characteristics can also be relevant to perceived difficulty.


title: Bouldering

text: Highball bouldering is simply climbing high, difficult, long, and tall boulders. Using the same protection as standard bouldering, climbers venture up house-sized rocks that test not only their physical skill and strength but mental focus. Highballing, like most of climbing, is open to interpretation. Most climbers say anything above is a highball and can range in height up to where highball bouldering then turns into free soloing.


title: Bouldering

text: Highball bouldering may have begun in 1961 when John Gill, without top-rope rehearsal, bouldered a steep face on a granite spire called ""The Thimble"". The difficulty level of this ascent (V4/5 or 5.12a) was extraordinary for that time. Gill's achievement initiated a wave of climbers making ascents of large boulders. Later, with the introduction and evolution of crash pads, climbers were able to push the limits of highball bouldering ever higher.


title: Bouldering

text: In 2002 Jason Kehl completed the first highball at double-digit V-difficulty, called Evilution, a boulder in the Buttermilks of California, earning the grade of V12. This climb marked the beginning of a new generation of highball climbing that pushed not only height, but great difficulty. It is not unusual for climbers to rehearse such risky problems on top-rope, although this practice is not a settled issue.


title: Bouldering

text: Groundbreaking ascents in this style include; "Ambrosia", a boulder in Bishop, California, climbed by Kevin Jorgeson in 2015 sporting the grade of V11.


title: Bouldering

text: "Livin' Large", a V15 in Rocklands, South Africa, found and established by Nalle Hukkataival in 2009, which has been repeated by only one person, Jimmy Webb.


title: Bouldering

text: "The Process" is a V16 in Bishop, California, first climbed by Daniel Woods in 2015. The line was worked with another climber, Dan Beal, but a hold broke after Woods's top and the climb has yet to see a second ascent as of 28 Sep 2017.


title: Bouldering

text: Traditionally, competition in bouldering was informal, with climbers working out problems near the limits of their abilities, then challenging their peers to repeat these accomplishments. However, modern climbing gyms allow for a more formal competitive structure.


title: Bouldering

text: The International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) employs an indoor format (although competitions can also take place in an outdoor setting) that breaks the competition into three rounds: qualifications, semi-finals, and finals. The rounds feature different sets of four to six boulder problems, and each competitor has a fixed amount of time to attempt each problem. At the end of each round, competitors are ranked by the number of completed problems with ties settled by the total number of attempts taken to solve the problems.


title: Bouldering

text: Some competitions only permit climbers a fixed number of attempts at each problem with a timed rest period in between. In an open-format competition, all climbers compete simultaneously, and are given a fixed amount of time to complete as many problems as possible. More points are awarded for more difficult problems, while points are deducted for multiple attempts on the same problem.


title: Bouldering

text: In 2012, the IFSC submitted a proposal to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to include lead climbing in the 2020 Summer Olympics. The proposal was later revised to an "overall" competition, which would feature bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing. In May 2013, the IOC announced that climbing would not be added to the 2020 Olympic program.


title: Bouldering

text: In 2016, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially approved climbing as an Olympic sport "in order to appeal to younger audiences." The Olympics will feature the earlier proposed overall competition. Medalists will be competing in all three categories for a best overall score. The score will be calculated by the multiplication of the positions that the climbers have attained in each discipline of climbing.


title: Bouldering

text: Rock climbing first appeared as a sport in the late 1800s. Early records describe climbers engaging in what is now referred to as bouldering, not as a separate discipline, but as a playful form of training for larger ascents. It was during this time that the words "bouldering" and "problem" first appeared in British climbing literature. Oscar Eckenstein was an early proponent of the activity in the British Isles. In the early 20th century, the Fontainebleau area of France established itself as a prominent climbing area, where some of the first dedicated "bleausards" (or "boulderers") emerged. One of those athletes, Pierre Allain, invented the specialized shoe used for rock climbing.


title: Bouldering

text: In the late 1950s through the 1960s, American mathematician John Gill pushed the sport further and contributed several important innovations, distinguishing bouldering as a separate discipline in the process. Gill previously pursued gymnastics, a sport which had an established scale of difficulty for movements and body positions, and shifted the focus of bouldering from reaching the summit to navigating a set of holds. Gill developed a rating system that was closed-ended: B1 problems were as difficult as the most challenging roped routes of the time, B2 problems were more difficult, and B3 problems had been completed once.


title: Bouldering

text: Gill introduced chalk as a method of keeping the climber's hands dry, promoted a dynamic climbing style, and emphasized the importance of strength training to complement skill. As Gill improved in ability and influence, his ideas became the norm.


title: Bouldering

text: In the 1980s, two important training tools emerged. One important training tool was bouldering mats, also referred to as "crash pads", which protected against injuries from falling and enabled boulderers to climb in areas that would have been too dangerous otherwise. The second important tool was indoor climbing walls, which helped spread the sport to areas without outdoor climbing and allowed serious climbers to train year-round.


title: Bouldering

text: As the sport grew in popularity, new bouldering areas were developed throughout Europe and the United States, and more athletes began participating in bouldering competitions. The visibility of the sport greatly increased in the early 2000s, as YouTube videos and climbing blogs helped boulderers around the world to quickly learn techniques, find hard problems, and announce newly completed projects.


title: Bouldering

text: Notable boulder climbs are chronicled by the climbing media to track progress in boulder climbing standards and levels of technical difficulty; in contrast, the hardest traditional climbing routes tend to be of lower technical difficulty due to the additional burden of having to place protection during the course of the climb, and due to the lack of any possibility of using natural protection on the most extreme climbs.


title: Bouldering

text: As of November 2022, the world's hardest bouldering routes are "Burden of Dreams" by Nalle Hukkataival, "Return of the Sleepwalker" by Daniel Woods, both at proposed grades of , and "Alphane" "," climbed by Shawn Raboutou, Aidan Roberts, and Will Bosi making it the only repeated, and therefore confirmed route of this grade"." There are a number of routes with a confirmed climbing grade of , the first of which was "Gioia" by Christian Core in 2008 (and confirmed by Adam Ondra in 2011).


title: Bouldering

text: As of December 2021, female climbers Josune Bereziartu, Ashima Shiraishi, and Kaddi Lehmann have repeated boulder problems at the boulder grade.


title: Bouldering

text: Unlike other climbing sports, bouldering can be performed safely and effectively with very little equipment, an aspect which makes the discipline highly appealing, but opinions differ. While bouldering pioneer John Sherman asserted that "The only gear really needed to go bouldering is boulders," others suggest the use of climbing shoes and a chalkbag – a small pouch where ground-up chalk is kept – as the bare minimum, and more experienced boulderers typically bring multiple pairs of climbing shoes, chalk, brushes, crash pads, and a skincare kit.


title: Bouldering

text: Climbing shoes have the most direct impact on performance. Besides protecting the climber's feet from rough surfaces, climbing shoes are designed to help the climber secure footholds. Climbing shoes typically fit much tighter than other athletic footwear and often curl the toes downwards to enable precise footwork. They are manufactured in a variety of different styles to perform in different situations. For example, High-top shoes provide better protection for the ankle, while low-top shoes provide greater flexibility and freedom of movement. Stiffer shoes excel at securing small edges, whereas softer shoes provide greater sensitivity. The front of the shoe, called the "toe box", can be asymmetric, which performs well on overhanging rocks, or symmetric, which is better suited for vertical problems and slabs.


title: Bouldering

text: To absorb sweat, most boulderers use gymnastics chalk on their hands, stored in a chalkbag, which can be tied around the waist (also called sport climbing chalkbags), allowing the climber to reapply chalk during the climb. There are also versions of floor chalkbags (also called bouldering chalkbags), which are usually bigger than sport climbing chalkbags and are meant to be kept on the floor while climbing; this is because boulders do not usually have so many movements as to require chalking up more than once. Different sizes of brushes are used to remove excess chalk and debris from boulders in between climbs; they are often attached to the end of a long straight object in order to reach higher holds. Crash pads, also referred to as bouldering mats, are foam cushions placed on the ground to protect climbers from injury after falling.


title: Bouldering

text: Boulder problems are generally shorter than from ground to top. This makes the sport significantly safer than free solo climbing, which is also performed without ropes, but with no upper limit on the height of the climb. However, minor injuries are common in bouldering, particularly sprained ankles and wrists. Two factors contribute to the frequency of injuries in bouldering: first, boulder problems typically feature more difficult moves than other climbing disciplines, making falls more common. Second, without ropes to arrest the climber's descent, every fall will cause the climber to hit the ground.


title: Bouldering

text: To prevent injuries, boulderers position crash pads near the boulder to provide a softer landing, as well as one or more spotters (people watching out for the climber to fall in convenient position) to help redirect the climber towards the pads. Upon landing, boulderers employ falling techniques similar to those used in gymnastics: spreading the impact across the entire body to avoid bone fractures, and positioning limbs to allow joints to move freely throughout the impact.


title: Bouldering

text: Although every type of rock climbing requires a high level of strength and technique, bouldering is the most dynamic form of the sport, requiring the highest level of power and placing considerable strain on the body. Training routines that strengthen fingers and forearms are useful in preventing injuries such as tendonitis and ruptured ligaments.


title: Bouldering

text: However, as with other forms of climbing, bouldering technique begins with proper footwork. Leg muscles are significantly stronger than arm muscles; thus, proficient boulderers use their arms to maintain balance and body positioning as much as possible, relying on their legs to push them up the rock. Boulderers also keep their arms straight with their shoulders engaged whenever feasible, allowing their bones to support their body weight rather than their muscles.


title: Bouldering

text: Bouldering movements are described as either "static" or "dynamic". Static movements are those that are performed slowly, with the climber's position controlled by maintaining contact on the boulder with the other three limbs. Dynamic movements use the climber's momentum to reach holds that would be difficult or impossible to secure statically, with an increased risk of falling if the movement is not performed accurately.


title: Bouldering

text: Bouldering can damage vegetation that grows on rocks, such as moss and lichens. This can occur as a result of the climber intentionally cleaning the boulder, or unintentionally from repeated use of handholds and footholds. Vegetation on the ground surrounding the boulder can also be damaged from overuse, particularly by climbers laying down crash pads. Soil erosion can occur when boulderers trample vegetation while hiking off of established trails, or when they unearth small rocks near the boulder in an effort to make the landing zone safer in case of a fall. The repeated use of white climbing chalk can damage the rock surface of boulders and cliffs, particularly sandstone and other porous rock types, and the scrubbing of rocks to remove chalk can also degrade the rock surface. In order to prevent chalk from damaging the surface of the rock, it is important to remove it gently with a brush after a rock climbing session. Other environmental concerns include littering, improperly disposed feces, and graffiti. These issues have caused some land managers to prohibit bouldering, as was the case in Tea Garden, a popular bouldering area in Rocklands, South Africa.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: The game was developed by a team including several staff members from "Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE" including Eiji Ishida and Mitsuru Hirata, who worked as co-producers and co-directors, and scenario writer Makoto Miyauchi. The team collaborated with artist Shirow Miwa on character designs, and composers from the studio Monaca led by Keiichi Okabe to create the soundtrack. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its presentation, combat system, and story, but criticized the dungeon design, side content, and implementation of downloadable content.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: "Soul Hackers 2" is a role-playing video game in which players take on the role of artificial being Ringo, who is joined during the game with three human allies with different abilities. The story is communicated through a combination of fully 3D in-engine cutscenes, and dialogue sections combining in-game 3D models with 2D character portraits. Progression is tied to story-based quests, with the player moving between safe zones holding associated services for supporting the player party such as item and equipment shops, and explorable dungeon environments featuring combat encounters with and using Demons. Requests, the game's form of side quests, can be completed to earn in-game money and items. Alongside standard dungeons is the Soul Matrix, dungeons tied to members of Ringo's party which can be explored and cleared to gain additional skills for the party. The scale of a party member's Soul Matrix is determined by their Soul Bond, which can be strengthened by spending time with them outside combat or making specific dialogue choices in story cutscenes.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: Enemies in dungeons are represented by humanoid symbols, their colour determining enemy strength and aggression. Ringo can stun them and avoid combat, or engage; if the enemy hits the party first, they get the first attack in combat, while Ringo initiating the attack gives the party first attack and can trigger a free opening attack from a party member. Battles are turn-based, with each side getting a set of actions, using both standard attacks and skills assigned to their COMP weapons via Demons. A core element of combat is exploiting weaknesses, which deal more damage; weakness include elemental attacks, and melee or ranged attacks depending on enemy type. Striking an enemy's weakness adds points to a Stack, and at the end of that turn the accumulated Stack is spent in a Sabbath, a powerful multi-Demon attack that increases in strength with higher Stack points. Some demons can learn and use Tamdem Skills, adding an additional effect to the Sabbath such as inflicting a status effect or recovering the party's magic points. Another later element of combat is Commander Skills, an ability unique to Ringo that grants special boons in battle.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: As with other "Megami Tensei" titles, demons play a key role in combat, and can be recruited and customised by the player. Upon entering a dungeon, Ringo sends out some of her assigned demons to explore the dungeon environment, with finding them granting new information, items, healing, and potential new demons. Demons will join the party after fulfilling their request such as giving an item. A demon can then be equipped to COMPs, changing each party member's accessible skills. Alongside recruitment, new demons can be accessed through Fusion, where two demons are fused into a new Demon type at a specific in-game location. Players can select which skills are carried over from each fused demon into the new creation. While any two demons can be fused, fusing two specific ones triggers a Special Fusion, creating a more powerful Demon. Once a Demon has acquired all skills, it gifts the party with a Mistique, an equippable item which grants passive bonuses. Demons can be logged in a Demon Compendium, allowing them to be summoned again for a fee. New Game Plus carries over current Soul Bond level, unlocking further character scenes, alongside costumes and accessories unlocked during the first playthrough. Character levels, items, money, and unlocked demons are carried over optionally.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: "Soul Hackers 2" is set in a near-future city where humans and demons coexist in secret, with some humans able to form pacts with demons to become Devil Summoners. The Devil Summoners are mostly split between two main factions, Yatagarasu and the Phantom Society, who hold clashing ideological views on humanity's progress. During the game's opening a world-ending catastrophe brought by a being called the Great One is predicted by the previously-neutral Aion, a higher artificial intelligence that emerged within cyberspace. Aion manifests two parts of themself, Ringo (Tomoyo Kurosawa/Megan Harvey) and Figue (Nanako Mori/Erica Mendez), as individuals to enter the human world and save humans calculated as key to preventing the Great One's arrival. The individuals are Arrow (Kaito Ishikawa/Zach Aguilar), a Yatagarasu agent; Milady (Ami Koshimizu/Erica Lindbeck), a Phantom Society summoner and lover of the apparent mastermind Iron Mask; and Saizo (Masaya Matsukaze/Griffin Puatu), a freelance summoner whose Phantom Society lover Ash becomes involved in his murder. Ringo brings each back in turn using Soul Hack, an ability to restores their souls and bodies. Investigating the death of researcher Ichiro Onda and disappearance of senior Yatagarasu member Mangetsu Kuzunoha, the group eventually discover Iron Mask is searching for the Covenants, five magical entities acting as symbols of an ancient pact with the Great One.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: Kuzunoha was researching the Covenants, which when gathered together can summon the Great One and remake the world, with Onda and Arrow assisting him. Onda was conducting research to uplift humanity, driven by his Covenant's purpose to further human progress, when he was killed. Kuzunoha is also later killed and his Covenant apparently taken. Milady and Saizo also held Covenants, but Milady's attaches to Figue when Ringo revives her. The group are aided by Raven (Kenji Hamada/Edward Bosco), a former Yatagarasu summoner to whom Figue becomes attached. The group are eventually ambushed and captured by Iron Mask and Zenon who demand Figue's covenant. Figue infects it with a computer virus which renders Zenon vulnerable. Zenon is killed with Ash's help, but Iron Mask escapes with the four of the Covenants while the fifth vanishes. Figue later reveals Kuzunoha created a false Covenant for himself, sealing the original inside Arrow and blocking his memories to hide its presence. They further learn from Milady that the real Iron Mask was killed, with the current one being an imposter.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: The Covenant is unsealed within Arrow, allowing him to see that Raven has the others, exposing him as the false Iron Mask and mastermind behind the Great One's summoning. Transferring Arrow's Covenant to Figue, the group stop Milady from attacking the orphanage in revenge for Iron Mask's death, then end up in a final duel with Raven. Despite Figue's plea, Raven fights to the death, having been broken by the constant fighting between summoner gangs and seeing no other way but the Great One to end it. A devastated Figue takes the other Covenants, deciding to enact a humanity-wide Soul Hack to remove the will for conflict, causing Aion to shut down as her will overrides it. In the normal ending, Figue fades away after the group defeat her, and Ringo is left the only Aion agent remaining, vowing to observe humanity and report to Aion if it returns, while the summoners part ways. If all Soul Matrix quests are completed, Ringo can perform a Soul Hack on Figue after her defeat, reviving her with help from Raven's spirit. The summoners part ways as friends, and Ringo and Figue restore Aion who decides to reveal themself to humanity.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: "Soul Hackers 2" was developed by Atlus, long-time developers of the "Devil Summoner" series and its parent franchise "Megami Tensei". The co-producers and co-directors Eiji Ishida and Mitsuru Hirata had previously worked entries in the "Shin Megami Tensei" series and the spin-off title "Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE" (2015), while scenario writer Makoto Miyauchi worked on the "Etrian Odyssey" and "Megami Tensei" series. Since the release of the original "" in 1997, the "Megami Tensei" franchise had grown increasingly popular, particularly through its "Persona" subseries. The developers wanted to return to the "Devil Summoner" series, and create a sequel to "Soul Hackers" that would be easy for new players to engage with while carrying over classic elements from the series. Concept work for the game began after Hirata and Ishida finished work on "Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE". Due to the size of the project the two worked collaboratively, with Ishida creating the world design, while Hirata focused on the game design.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: Compared to the original game's 2D first-person design, "Soul Hackers 2" used a 3D third-person perspective to promote immersion and a more cinematic style. The battle system was based on the established Press Turn system, carrying over established mechanics of exploiting weaknesses while cutting down on both the risk factor and the time taken in battles. The COMP devices were redesigned, retaining established elements while expanded in function to fit in with the new setting and game mechanics. The Soul Matrix quests were compared by Hirata to the Vision Quests of the original game. The dungeon design was split between realistic locations with a lot of horizontal designs, and the Soul Matrix dungeons which used more fantastic elements. The character relationship mechanics were compared by Ishida to the "Persona" series, though the tone and adult cast set it apart from the high-school settings of "Persona".


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: A returning theme was technology and the occult colliding in the modern world, taking this as the inspiration for a non-human lead character. Contrasting against the dystopian themes of the original "Soul Hackers", the team opted for a story showing commonality between fighting groups and how a non-human being would view and interact with them. Hirata wanted to explore the conflict between Yatagerasu, the Phantom Society and freelancers, which previously had not seen much detailed explanation. Originally Ringo was not the player character, instead being an important secondary character similar to Nemissa from "Soul Hackers". This caused storytelling problems, so she was made the lead protagonist, with the other characters rewritten in consequence. She was also made a more active participant in events than previous "Megami Tensei" protagonists, and the playable cast were all given in-depth stories tying into the conflicts between Summoner clans. Another dropped concept was a parallel setting similar to the Metaverse of "Persona 5". Ringo and Figue were given strong personalities so players could better connect with them.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: The character designs were created by manga artist Shirow Miwa, who was a fan of the "Devil Summoner" series and had created fan art of different characters. While he asked whether he should emulate the designs of "Soul Hackers", Miwa was told to design the characters in his own style. The overall art design, including demon redesigns, was directly influenced by Miwa's character designs. The demons were also designed to appear less threatening while retaining established elements, with their redesigns compared by Miyauchi to "Gyaru" fashion. The world design, which used a brighter aesthetic compared to other "Megami Tensei", also drew inspiration from the world design of "", which had several superficial similarities to "Soul Hackers 2". The environments as a whole were designed around an "urban nightlife" motif to reflect the game's theme of demons in the modern day. The Summoner-exclusive areas were directly inspired by the Continental Hotel from the "John Wick" movie series.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: The music for "Soul Hackers 2" was handled by music studio Monaca. The soundtrack was collaboratively composed and arranged by Keiichi Okabe, Keigo Hoashi, Kuniyuki Takahashi, Shotaro Seo, Oliver Good and Keita Inoue. The opening theme "Hopeless Call" was composed by Okabe, with lyrics by Seo and vocals by singer NAHO. Hirata described Monaca as "the perfect choice" for handling the game's music, due to its theme of clashing ideals and the meeting of technology and magic. Monaca were provided with setting information and character art to help inform the music's style and tone. A three-disc soundtrack album was released on October 22, 2022.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: "Soul Hackers 2" was announced in February 2022 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Windows (via Steam and Microsoft Store). The ports to Windows and Xbox platforms were handled by Artdink. The game did not use the "Devil Summoner" moniker. Hirata attributed this to a combination of focusing on the game's themes, making it easier for newcomers to approach, and making the title easier to say. The game launched in Japan on August 25 that year, and overseas the following day. The release coincided with the 25th anniversary of "Soul Hackers". The game features English and Japanese audio, with English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese subtitles. The game was published by Atlus in Japan, and by Sega in territories worldwide. The localization was handled by Atlus West, with Christian La Monte as English voice director. The opening cinematic was published online on August 18. Atlus published streaming guidelines for the game in early October, allowing streaming and video recording of the game's contents as long as spoiler warnings were included in descriptions.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: The digital versions launched with Standard, Digital Deluxe, and Digital Premium Editions, with additional items for each Edition tier. In Japan, the game's release was also accompanied by a "Soul Hackers 25th Anniversary Special Edition" Box Set for the PlayStation versions of the game, featuring commemorative packaging, an art book featuring concept illustrations, setting art and various staff interviews, an arrangement album featuring modern compositions of songs from the original "Soul Hackers", and a Jack Frost mascot figurine. Several pieces of themed merchandise were also sold by Atlus after the game's release, including stickers and keychains. A North American collector's edition had similar items to the Japanese "25th Anniversary Edition".


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: The game also came with various types of downloadable content (DLC). As a pre-order exclusive bonus, all editions came with costumes and music based on "Persona 5". The different Editions came with a self-contained story campaign dubbed "The Lost Numbers", an extra difficulty level, booster items, additional demons, costume and music packs based on other "Megami Tensei" titles included the original "Soul Hackers", and two additional costumes for the Digital Premium Edition. All DLC outside the Digital Premium outfits were available for purchase separately. At launch, the game received a day one patch, which added camera configuration options. An additional update is due out in November 2022, adding a "dash" for running in dungeons, a "Speed Up" mode that makes the battle animations faster, and four new demons, among other adjustments.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: "Soul Hackers 2" received "mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic; the Xbox Series X/S version received "generally favorable reviews". "IGN" reviewer Cameron Hawkins called the story and characters engaging, but found the level design "uninspired". Similarly Jason McMaster of "VentureBeat" said "The overall problem isn’t that it’s a bad game — it just doesn’t do much to stand out." Willa Rowe of "Inverse" said that the DLC was enjoyable but was essentially necessary for a good experience with the base content, bringing more gameplay variety to the otherwise repetitive dungeons.


title: Soul Hackers 2

text: During its debut week, an estimated 51,800 physical copies of the game were sold in Japan. The PlayStation 4 version, which was the third highest-selling retail game of the week in the country, accounted for about 31,600 of the Japanese opening sales, while the PlayStation 5 version was the fifth highest-selling and accounted for the remaining 20,200. According to the NPD Group, "Soul Hackers 2" was the 15th best-selling title of August 2022, and the third-highest new release after "Madden NFL 23" and the "Saint's Row" reboot. Although "Famitsu" considered the Japanese debut sales good, Sega revealed in their November 2022 quarterly fiscal report that the game was struggling to meet sales expectations, but would continue to be supported in the hope of longer-term sales success.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: The film was in production for seven years, and used over 100,000 hand-drawn frames. It premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival on August 14, 2009, and was theatrically released in Japan on October 9, 2010 by Tohokushinsha Film. Despite positive reviews, with particular praise for its animation, "Redline" was unsuccessful at the box office. It saw greater success following its home release, and is considered a cult film.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: On the planet Dorothy, "Sweet" JP races in the Yellowline car race, the final elimination race to the most popular race in the galaxy, the Redline. JP's alien mechanic, Frisbee, watches the televised race along with a mafia boss, with whom they have fixed the race. When JP, who was supposed to come in 2nd place, attempts to win anyway, Frisbee resorts to remotely detonating an explosive hidden under JP's TransAM20000, thereby making Sonoshee "Cherry Boy Hunter" McLaren the final winner. While recuperating from the explosion in a hospital, Frisbee tells JP he's off the hook with his bondsman. JP initially turns down the money but a crowd of reporters storms the hospital room where JP learns that he has been voted by popular demand for the Redline following the dropout of two qualifiers due to the revelation of the race's location being on Roboworld — a planet dominated by militant zealot cyborgs whose President has threatened on to hang all involved with the Redline mothership if it appears out of hyperspace over their planet.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: The racers prepare for Redline by camping out on EUЯPSS, a demilitarized moon of Roboworld occupied by refugees in the M-3 Nebula Federation. There, JP tries to sign his alien junk dealer Old Man Mole onto his team. Old Man Mole protests the presence of Frisbee on their team, and Frisbee’s insistence on using a rare uncontrollable hyper-powered engine, but eventually gives in to JP's convincing. JP finds Sonoshee in a restaurant on the moon, where many of the racers are converging. Trava, a racer, is attacked by Little Deyzuna, a recently AWOL subordinate of Col. Volton, but the restaurant is soon raided by Col. Volton and a squad of Roboworld soldiers. Volton reminds the racers any Redline event will be repelled by the army and police before retrieving Deyzuna and leaving the damaged restaurant. Fireworks celebrations and bookmaker agent desks break out on Roboworld despite the threats from the military, and are raided by deadly android police robots. Miners on Roboworld use their power suits to sabotage the military base's power station while the Race Commission hires Earth-native racing partners Lynchman and Johnny Boya to sabotage an Orbital Disintegration Cannon, which Secretary of Defense Titan plans to use to destroy the Redline mothership the instant it comes out of hyperspace.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: While in hyperspace, the Princess from the planet Supergrass marks the race course on the military base with a pair of scout vessels. Unaware of the sabotage against the Orbital Disintegration Cannon, the President realizes the racers are on the planet after the cannon fails, and sends his troops "en masse" at the racers. The President becomes increasingly desperate as the racers evade them and approach the mine-laden Zone "Seven-Ex", lair of a secret illegal biological weapon named 'Funky Boy', who awakens from its stasis as the racers and the rebellious miners converge on it. With the several hundred foot tall Funky Boy awakening and subsequent destruction of the base coinciding with the orbital cannon coming back online, the President orders Funky Boy fired upon. The explosion takes out most of the Roboworld troops while JP pushes to right his overturned car off its side. Sonoshee, her vehicle totaled, agrees to ride with him to the finish line as Funky Boy regenerates. Funky Boy is taken out by Col. Volton, who dangerously merges with another bioweapon to do so. Frisbee watches the race in the mob boss's hovercraft, where he revives the same deal as Yellowline. Frisbee however, refuses to detonate the explosive charge, wanting to see his friend win just one time. He is attacked by mobsters for his decision but is saved by Old Man Mole, who discovered Frisbee's sabotage, and kills the mob boss and his lackeys. As the race nears the finish line, long time winner and Redline favourite Machinehead and JP race to the southern line boosted by their rare Steamlight boosters. As they come to a desperate neck-and-neck finish, a drunken Old Man Mole accidentally detonates Frisbee's remote explosive, propelling JP and Sonoshee towards the finish line, thrown from their vehicle. The boost is enough and JP wins by the length of his long duck tail pompadour. As the racers rest at the end of the track amidst the ruins of Roboworld, JP and Sonoshee float back down to the ground kissing and declaring their love for each other.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: In 2003, prior to "Redline"'s production and release, a prelude anime OVA entitled "" was released, featuring two characters (Trava and Shinkai) who would reappear as key characters in "Redline".


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: "Redline" was produced by Madhouse, and directed by Takeshi Koike, who also wrote the storyboard and served as unit director and animation director. The film's producers were Yukiko Koike and Kentarō Yoshida. Masahiro Fukushima served as executive producer. The task of writing the script was shared by Yoji Enokido, Katsuhito Ishii, and Yoshiki Sakurai. The film's character designs, original and otherwise, were done by Katsuhito Ishii, who also served as one of the film's sound directors, the other being Youji Shimizu. The film's music was composed by James Shimoji. According to Tim Maughan of "Anime News Network", "Redline" was released several years later than originally planned. Its development took seven years and used 100,000 hand-made drawings, which Maughan notes is all the more unusual as it is Koike's directorial debut.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: "Redline" was initially meant to premiere at the 2009 Annecy International Animated Film Festival and follow "Summer Wars", "Mai Mai Miracle", and "Yona Yona Penguin" as the fourth and final feature film Madhouse planned to release between summer 2009 and spring 2010. Instead, it premiered during the Locarno International Film Festival in August of the same year. Several more advance screenings were done at international film festivals during 2010. In May, "Redline" was shown during the Sci-Fi-London 9. In June, it participated in Annecy 2010 in the category "Feature Films out of competition". During September, it was shown in Australia and New Zealand as part of Reel Anime 2010. "Redline" was shown in Austin, Texas on September 23, and in Edinburgh, Scotland, on October 15 as part of the Scotland Loves Anime film festival. At the 2010 Nantes Utopiales Sci-Fi festival, the film received the special mention of jury and public. The film opened in Japan on October 9, 2010. Coinciding with this, the film was shown in a San Francisco-based Viz Cinema theater from October 8–14, 2010. Distribution in North America is handled by Manga Entertainment. It was the last new product released through the American division of Manga before they ceased distributing new titles in the States.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: An official soundtrack to the film by was released under GBC label on October 6, 2010 and contains 42 tracks. It ranked 207th on Oricon's album chart.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: "Redline" was awarded the 62nd Locarno International Film Festival Piazza Grande Division Official Screening


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: "Redline" was unsuccessful at the box office. It saw greater success following its home release and critical reviews and is considered a cult film. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds 70% approval rating based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: Tim Maughan of "Anime News Network" gave it a A+, and describes the film as "something very special, very different, and insanely exhilarating." In particular he praises the film's director, saying that "Koike has managed to make all this chaos believable." He goes on to say that ""Redline" is animation not only at its best, but also largely animation for animation's sake." Although Maughan says some may dislike its techno soundtrack and "minimal plot," he calls "Redline" "the most insanely exciting, visually exhilarating anime film you've seen in decades." Tim Jones of "THEM Anime Reviews" gave the film 5 out of 5 stars. Jones praised the film for its great sense of humor, outstanding animation and characters. Saying that ""Redline" is an unforgettable anime experience, It's brilliantly animated and drawn, features two cool, intelligent, fun leads". Jones concluded: ""Redline" is one of the best examples of this not from Studio Ghibli I can think of. It's an anime for grown-ups, no kids or grown-up kids. It's beautiful, gripping, and fun. I give it high recommendations!".


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: Thomas Zoth of Mania.com comments that while the film does not provide "a deep plot or unique premise," it still "demands to be seen." He said that if "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" was "an assault on the senses ... "Redline" is a declaration of war." Zoth went on to praise the film for its "imaginative creatures and clever designs", to compare Koike's work to that of Quentin Tarantino, and to compliment the film for its "soundtrack, with its memorable high-energy tracks that greatly complement the chaos onscreen." He concludes by saying that if "the life of the industry has been drained and replaced with rote, cookiecutter shows-by-committee, "Redline" shows a path out." Nicolas Penedo of the French magazine "Animeland" describes it as the "Paris-Dakar revisited à la "Ōban Star-Racers"", a remake of Hanna-Barbera "Wacky Races" with arts inspired from Jack Kirby comics and know-how, rhythm and energy inherent of the best Japanese anime movies. The reviewer praises the animation quality as breathtaking, and declares that Takeshi Koike made an homage to comics and films of the 70s and 80s.


title: Redline (2009 film)

text: Kwenton Bellette and Peter Martin reviewed "Redline" for Twitch Film. Bellette describes it as a "truly out of this world experience", ""Speed Racer" on crack" and praised the supporting characters for being memorable and the background galaxy made of different races and creeds to be very solid. Martin expresses that "it feels like every centimeter of every frame is filled with some kind of kinetic color or action or bit of business, making it an experience that is sure to overload the senses" and asserts that writer Katsuhito Ishii succeeds at making a feature-length anime as insane as his film "Funky Forest". Jon Liang of "UK Anime Network" comments that "A sense of the cool and outrageous is seeped into every pore of the design, ... exaggerated is an understatement here", and notes that the film's "cinema-quality smooth animation" makes "even the most alien of things move naturally and the sense of speed that is often achieved is frequently mind-blowing." He remarks that "the visuals and over-the-top action will most likely overload sensitive brain cells," but concludes by calling "Redline" "an incredibly exciting cinematic experience that doesn't take itself at all seriously."


title: Takt Op

text: "Takt Op" is set in the year 2047, a future world where music cannot be played freely because it attracts monsters called "D2s". These monsters were produced by a black meteorite containing Black Night Siderites which fell from the sky years ago. They hate the music produced by humans and are drawn to the music source and attempt to destroy it, as it is the only thing that can hurt and kill them. To combat the D2s, the Symphonica International Organization and the Musicarts combine their powers to defend the cities from D2s.


title: Takt Op

text: On March 26, 2021, Bandai Namco Arts and DeNA announced the "Takt Op." project, which consists of a mobile game and anime series. The game, titled , is developed by Game Studio. It was initially scheduled to be released in 2021, but was delayed to 2022, and then to Q2 2023.


title: Takt Op

text: An anime series was announced as part of the project. It was later revealed to be a television series produced by MAPPA and Madhouse titled Takt Op. Destiny (stylized as takt op.Destiny). The series is directed by Yūki Itō, with Kiyoko Yoshimura handling the series' scripts, and Yoshihiro Ike composing the music. LAM provided the original character designs, and Reiko Nagasawa adapted those designs for the anime series. It aired from October 6 to December 22, 2021, on TV Tokyo and its affiliates. Crunchyroll licensed the series outside of Asia. Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Oceania minus Australia and New Zealand. The company also licensed the anime to Aniplus Asia for TV airings. The opening theme is "takt" by Ryo from Supercell featuring vocals from Mafumafu and gaku, while the ending theme is "Symphonia" by Mika Nakashima.


title: Takt Op

text: On April 22, 2022, Crunchyroll announced that the series will receive an English dub, which premiered the following day.


title: Takt Op

text: A manga adaptation of "Takt Op. Destiny", illustrated by Kino, began serialization in Media Factory's "seinen" manga magazine "Monthly Comic Alive" on August 26, 2022. The story is told from the viewpoint of the character Anna Schneider.


title: Alder

text: Alders are trees comprising the genus Alnus in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species extending into Central America, as well as the northern and southern Andes.


title: Alder

text: With a few exceptions, alders are deciduous, and the leaves are alternate, simple, and serrated. The flowers are catkins with elongate male catkins on the same plant as shorter female catkins, often before leaves appear; they are mainly wind-pollinated, but also visited by bees to a small extent. These trees differ from the birches ("Betula", another genus in the family) in that the female catkins are woody and do not disintegrate at maturity, opening to release the seeds in a similar manner to many conifer cones.


title: Alder

text: The largest species are red alder ("A. rubra") on the west coast of North America, and black alder ("A. glutinosa"), native to most of Europe and widely introduced elsewhere, both reaching over . By contrast, the widespread "Alnus alnobetula" (green alder) is rarely more than a shrub.


title: Alder

text: Trees with stalked shoot buds, male and female catkins produced in autumn (fall) but stay closed over winter, pollinating in late winter or early spring, about 15–25 species, including:


title: Alder

text: Trees or shrubs with stalked shoot buds, male and female catkins produced in autumn (fall) and expanding and pollinating then, three species:


title: Alder

text: Shrubs with shoot buds not stalked, male and female catkins produced in late spring (after leaves appear) and expanding and pollinating then, one to four species:


title: Alder

text: The oldest fossil pollen that can be identified as "Alnus" is from northern Bohemia, dating to the late Paleocene, around 58 million years ago.


title: Alder

text: The common name "alder" evolved from the Old English word "alor", which in turn is derived from Proto-Germanic root "aliso". The generic name "Alnus" is the equivalent Latin name, from whence French "aulne" and Spanish "Alamo" (Spanish term for "poplar").


title: Alder

text: Alders are commonly found near streams, rivers, and wetlands. Sometimes where the prevalence of alders is particularly prominent these are called alder carrs. In the Pacific Northwest of North America, the white alder ("Alnus rhombifolia") unlike other northwest alders, has an affinity for warm, dry climates, where it grows along watercourses, such as along the lower Columbia River east of the Cascades and the Snake River, including Hells Canyon.


title: Alder

text: "A. glutinosa" and "A. viridis" are classed as environmental weeds in New Zealand. Alder leaves and especially the roots are important to the ecosystem because they enrich the soil with nitrogen and other nutrients.


title: Alder

text: Alder is particularly noted for its important symbiotic relationship with "Frankia alni", an actinomycete, filamentous, nitrogen-fixing bacterium. This bacterium is found in root nodules, which may be as large as a human fist, with many small lobes, and light brown in colour. The bacterium absorbs nitrogen from the air and makes it available to the tree. Alder, in turn, provides the bacterium with sugars, which it produces through photosynthesis. As a result of this mutually beneficial relationship, alder improves the fertility of the soil where it grows, and as a pioneer species, it helps provide additional nitrogen for the successional species to follow.


title: Alder

text: Because of its abundance, red alder delivers large amounts of nitrogen to enrich forest soils. Red alder stands have been found to supply between of nitrogen annually to the soil. From Alaska to Oregon, "Alnus viridis" subsp. "sinuata" ("A. sinuata", Sitka Alder or Slide Alder), characteristically pioneer fresh, gravelly sites at the foot of retreating glaciers. Studies show that Sitka alder, a more shrubby variety of alder, adds nitrogen to the soil at an average rate of per year, helping convert the sterile glacial terrain to soil capable of supporting a conifer forest. Alders are common among the first species to colonize disturbed areas from floods, windstorms, fires, landslides, etc. Alder groves often serve as natural firebreaks since these broad-leaved trees are much less flammable than conifers. Their foliage and leaf litter does not carry a fire well, and their thin bark is sufficiently resistant to protect them from light surface fires. In addition, the light weight of alder seedsnumbering allows for easy dispersal by the wind. Although it outgrows coastal Douglas-fir for the first 25 years, it is very shade intolerant and seldom lives more than 100 years. Red alder is the Pacific Northwest's largest alder and the most plentiful and commercially important broad-leaved tree in the coastal Northwest. Groves of red alder in diameter intermingle with young Douglas-fir forests west of the Cascades, attaining a maximum height of in about sixty years and then are afflicted by heart rot. Alders largely help create conditions favorable for giant conifers that replace them.


title: Alder

text: The catkins of some alder species have a degree of edibility, and may be rich in protein. Reported to have a bitter and unpleasant taste, they are more useful for survival purposes. The wood of certain alder species is often used to smoke various food items such as coffee, salmon, and other seafood.


title: Alder

text: Alder bark contains the anti-inflammatory salicin, which is metabolized into salicylic acid in the body. Some Native American cultures use red alder bark ("Alnus rubra") to treat poison oak, insect bites, and skin irritations. Blackfeet Indians have traditionally used an infusion made from the bark of red alder to treat lymphatic disorders and tuberculosis. Recent clinical studies have verified that red alder contains betulin and lupeol, compounds shown to be effective against a variety of tumors.


title: Alder

text: The inner bark of the alder, as well as red osier dogwood, or chokecherry, is used by some Indigenous peoples of the Americas in smoking mixtures, known as "kinnikinnick", to improve the taste of the bearberry leaf.


title: Alder

text: Electric guitars, most notably those manufactured by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, have been built with alder bodies since the 1950s. Alder is appreciated for its tone that is claimed to be tight and evenly balanced, especially when compared to mahogany, and has been adopted by many electric guitar manufacturers.


title: Alder

text: Alder bark and wood (like oak and sweet chestnut) contain tannin and are traditionally used to tan leather.


title: Alder

text: Ermanno Olmi's movie "The Tree of Wooden Clogs" ("L' Albero Degli Zoccoli," 1978) refers in its title to alder, typically used to make clogs as in this movie's plot.


title: International business

text: International business refers to the trade of goods, services, technology, capital and/or knowledge across national borders and at a global or transnational scale.


title: International business

text: It involves cross-border transactions of goods and services between two or more countries. Transactions of economic resources include capital, skills, and people for the purpose of the international production of physical goods and services such as finance, banking, insurance, and construction. International business is also known as globalization.


title: International business

text: To conduct business overseas, multinational companies need to bridge separate national markets into one global marketplace. There are two macro-scale factors that underline the trend of greater globalization. The first consists of eliminating barriers to make cross-border trade easier (e.g. free flow of goods and services, and capital, referred to as "free trade"). The second is technological change, particularly developments in communication, information processing, and transportation technologies.


title: International business

text: "International business" is also defined as the study of the internationalization process of multinational enterprises. A multinational enterprise (MNE) is a company that has a worldwide approach to markets, production and/or operations in several countries. Well-known MNEs include fast-food companies such as: McDonald's (MCD), YUM (YUM), Starbucks Coffee Company (SBUX), etc. Other industrial MNEs leaders include vehicle manufacturers such as: Ford Motor Company, and General Motors (GMC). Some consumer electronics producers such as Samsung, LG and Sony, and energy companies such as Exxon Mobil, and British Petroleum (BP) are also multinational enterprises.


title: International business

text: Multinational enterprises range from any kind of business activity or market, from consumer goods to machinery manufacture; a company can become an international business. Therefore, to conduct business overseas, companies should be aware of all the factors that might affect any business activities, including, but not limited to: difference in legal systems, political systems, economic policy, language, accounting standards, labor standards, living standards, environmental standards, local cultures, corporate cultures, foreign-exchange markets, tariffs, import and export regulations, trade agreements, climate, and education. Each of these factors may require changes in how companies operate from one country to another. Each factor makes a difference and a connection.


title: International business

text: One of the first scholars to engage in developing a theory of multinational companies was Canadian economist Stephen Hymer. Throughout his academic life, he developed theories that sought to explain foreign direct investment (FDI) and why firms become multinational.


title: International business

text: There were three phases of internationalization according to Hymer's work. The first phase of Hymer's work was his dissertation in 1960 called the "International Operations of National Firms". In this thesis, the author departs from neoclassical theory and opens up a new area of international production. At first, Hymer started analyzing neoclassical theory and financial investment, where the main reason for capital movement is the difference in interest rates. After this analysis, Hymer analyzed the characteristics of foreign investment by large companies for production and direct business purposes, calling this Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). By analyzing the two types of investments, Hymer distinguished financial investment from direct investment. The main distinguishing feature was control. Portfolio investment is a more passive approach, and the main purpose is financial gain, whereas in foreign direct investment a firm has control over the operations abroad. So, the traditional theory of investment based on differential interest rates does not explain the motivations for FDI.


title: International business

text: According to Hymer, there are two main determinants of FDI; where an imperfect market structure is the key element. The first is the firm-specific advantages which are developed at the specific companies home country and, profitably, used in the foreign country. The second determinant is the removal of control where Hymer wrote: "When firms are interconnected, they compete in selling in the same market or one of the firms may sell to the other," and because of this "it may be profitable to substitute centralized decision-making for decentralized decision-making".


title: International business

text: Hymer's second phase is his neoclassical article in 1968 that includes a theory of internationalization and explains the direction of growth of the international expansion of firms. In a later stage, Hymer went to a more Marxist approach where he explains that MNC as agents of an international capitalist system causing conflict and contradictions, causing among other things inequality and poverty in the world. Hymer is the "father of the theory of MNEs", and explains the motivations for companies doing direct business abroad.


title: International business

text: Among modern economic theories of multinationals and foreign direct investment are internalization theory and John Dunning's OLI paradigm (standing for "ownership, location and internationalization"). Dunning was widely known for his research in economics of international direct investment and the multinational enterprise. His OLI paradigm, in particular, remains as the predominant theoretical contribution to study international business topics. Hymer and Dunning are considered founders of international business as a specialist field of study.


title: International business

text: The conduct of international operations depends on a company's objectives and the means with which they carry them out. The operations affect and are affected by the physical and societal factors and the competitive environment.


title: International business

text: All firms that want to go international have one goal in common; the desire to increase their respective economic values when engaging in international trade transactions. To accomplish this goal, each firm must develop its individual strategy and approach to maximize value, lower costs, and increase profits. A firm's value creation is the difference between (the value of the product being sold) and (the cost of production per each product sold).


title: International business

text: Value creation can be categorized as: "primary activities" (research and development, production, marketing and sales, customer service) and as "support activities" (information systems, logistics, human resources). All of these activities must be managed effectively and be consistent with the firm strategy. However, the success of firms that extend internationally depends on the goods or services sold and on the firm's core competencies (Skills within the firm that competitors cannot easily match or imitate). For a firm to be successful, the firm's strategy must be consistent with the environment in which the firm operates. Therefore, the firm needs to change its organizational structure to reflect changes in the setting in which they are operating and the strategy they are pursuing.


title: International business

text: Once a firm decides to enter a foreign market, it must decide on a mode of entry. There are six different modes to enter a foreign market, and each mode has pros and cons that are associated with it. The firm must decide which mode is most appropriately aligned with the company's goals and objectives. The six different modes of entry are exporting, turnkey projects, licensing, franchising, establishing joint ventures with a host-country firm, or setting up a new wholly owned subsidiary in the host country.


title: International business

text: The first entry mode is exporting. Exporting is the sale of a product in a different national market than a centralized hub of manufacturing. In this way, a firm may realize a substantial scale of economies from its global sales revenue. As an example, many Japanese automakers made inroads into the U.S. market through exporting. There are two primary advantages to exporting: avoiding high costs of establishing manufacturing in a host country (when these are higher) and gaining an experience curve. Some possible disadvantages to exporting are high transport costs and high tariff barriers.


title: International business

text: The second entry mode is a turnkey project. In a turnkey project, an independent contractor is hired by the company to oversee all of the preparation for entering a foreign market. Once the preparation is complete and the end of the contract is reached, the plant is turned over to the company fully ready for operation.


title: International business

text: Licensing and franchising are two additional entry modes that are similar in operation. Licensing allows a licensor to grant the rights to an intangible property to the licensee for a specified period of time for a royalty fee. Franchising, on the other hand, is a specialized form of licensing in which the "franchisor" sells the intangible property to the franchisee, and also requires the franchisee operate as dictated by the franchisor.


title: International business

text: Lastly, a joint venture and wholly owned subsidiary are two more entry modes in international business. A "joint venture" is when a firm created is jointly owned by two or more companies (Most joint venture are 50-50 partnerships). This is in contrast with a wholly owned subsidiary, when a firm owns 100 percent of the stock of a company in a foreign country because it has either set up a new operation or acquires an established firm in that country.


title: International business

text: Strategic variables affect the choice of entry mode for multinational corporation expansion beyond their domestic markets. These variables are global concentration, global synergies, and global strategic motivations of MNC.


title: International business

text: To achieve success in penetrating a foreign market and remaining profitable, efforts must be directed towards the planning and execution of Phase I. The use of conventional SWOT analysis, market research, and cultural research, will give a firm appropriate tools to reduce risk of failure abroad. Risks that arise from poor planning include: large expenses in marketing, administration and product development (with no sales); disadvantages derived from local or federal laws of a foreign country, lack of popularity because of a saturated market, vandalism of physical property due to instability of country; etc. There are also cultural risks when entering a foreign market. Lack of research and understanding of local customs can lead to alienation of locals and brand dissociation. Strategic risks can be defined as the uncertainties and untapped opportunities embedded in your strategic intent and how well they are executed. As such, they are key matters for the board and impinge on the whole business, rather than just an isolated unit.


title: International business

text: A company has to be conscious about the production costs to not waste time and money. If the expenditures and costs are controlled, it will create an efficient production and help the internationalization. Operational risk is the prospect of loss resulting from inadequate or failed procedures, systems or policies; employee errors, systems failure, fraud or other criminal activity, or any event that disrupts business processes.


title: International business

text: How a government governs a country (governance) can affect the operations of a firm. The government might be corrupt, hostile, or totalitarian; and may have a negative image around the globe. A firm's reputation can change if it operates in a country controlled by that type of government. Also, an unstable political situation can be a risk for multinational firms. Elections or any unexpected political event can change a country's situation and put a firm in an awkward position. Political risks are the likelihood that political forces will cause drastic changes in a country's business environment that hurt the profit and other goals of a business enterprise. Political risk tends to be greater in countries experiencing social unrest. When political risk is high, there is a high probability that a change will occur in the country's political environment that will endanger foreign firms there. Corrupt foreign governments may also take over the company without warning, as seen in Venezuela.


title: International business

text: Technological improvements bring many benefits, but some disadvantages as well. Some of these risks include "lack of security in electronic transactions, the cost of developing new technology ... the fact that this new technology may fail, and, when all of these are coupled with the outdated existing technology, [the fact that] the result may create a dangerous effect in doing business in the international arena."


title: International business

text: Companies that establish a subsidiary or factory abroad need to be conscious about the externalizations they will produce, as some may have negative effects such as noise or pollution. This may cause aggravation to the people living there, which in turn can lead to a conflict. People want to live in a clean and quiet environment, without pollution or unnecessary noise. If a conflict arises, this may lead to a negative change in customer's perception of the company. Actual or potential threat of adverse effects on living organisms and environment by effluents, emissions, wastes, resource depletion, etc., arising out of an organization's activities is considered to be risks of the environment. As new business leaders come to fruition in their careers, it will be increasingly important to curb business activities and externalizations that may hurt the environment.


title: International business

text: These are the economic risks explained by Professor Okolo: "This comes from the inability of a country to meet its financial obligations. The changing of foreign-investment or/and domestic fiscal or monetary policies. The effect of exchange-rate and interest rate make it difficult to conduct international business." Moreover, it can be a risk for a company to operate in a country and they may experience an unexpected economic crisis after establishing the subsidiary. Economic risks is the likelihood that economic management will cause drastic changes in a country's business environment that hurt the profit and other goals of a business enterprise. In practice, the biggest problem arising from economic mismanagement has been inflation. Historically many governments have expanded their domestic money supplying misguided attempts to stimulate economic activity.