title: Lennard-Jones potential

text: The Lennard-Jones potential, cf. Eq. (1) and Figure 1, has an infinite range. Only under its consideration, the 'true' and 'full' Lennard-Jones potential is examined. For the evaluation of an observable of an ensemble of particles interacting by the Lennard-Jones potential using molecular simulations, the interactions can only be evaluated explicitly up to a certain distance – simply due to the fact that the number of particles will always be finite. The maximum distance applied in a simulation is usually referred to as 'cut-off' radius formula_121 (because the Lennard-Jones potential is radially symmetric). To obtain thermophysical properties (both macroscopic or microscopic) of the 'true' and 'full' Lennard-Jones (LJ) potential, the contribution of the potential beyond the cut-off radius has to be accounted for.


title: Lennard-Jones potential

text: Different corrections schemes have been developed to account for the influence of the long-range interactions in simulations and to sustain a sufficiently good approximation of the 'full' potential. They are based on simplifying assumptions regarding the structure of the fluid. For simple cases, such as in studies of the equilibrium of homogeneous fluids, simple correction terms yield excellent results. In other cases, such as in studies of inhomogeneous systems with different phases, accounting for the long-range interactions is more tedious. These corrections are usually referred to as 'long-range corrections'. For most properties, simple analytical expressions are known and well established. For a given observable formula_122, the 'corrected' simulation result formula_123 is then simply computed from the actually sampled value formula_124 and the long-range correction value formula_125, e.g. for the internal energy formula_126. The hypothetical true value of the observable of the Lennard-Jones potential at truly infinite cut-off distance (thermodynamic limit) formula_127 can in general only be estimated.


title: Lennard-Jones potential

text: Furthermore, the quality of the long-range correction scheme depends on the cut-off radius. The assumptions made with the correction schemes are usually not justified at (very) short cut-off radii. This is illustrated in the example shown in figure 7. The long-range correction scheme is said to be converged, if the remaining error of the correction scheme is sufficiently small at a given cut-off distance, cf. figure 7.


title: Lennard-Jones potential

text: The Lennard-Jones truncated & shifted (LJTS) potential is an often used alternative to the 'full' Lennard-Jones potential (see Eq. (1)). The 'full' and the 'truncated & shifted' Lennard-Jones potential have to be kept strictly separate. They are simply two different intermolecular potentials yielding different thermophysical properties. The Lennard-Jones truncated & shifted potential is defined as


title: Lennard-Jones potential

text: Hence, the LJTS potential is truncated at formula_130 and shifted by the corresponding energy value formula_131. The latter is applied to avoid a discontinuity jump of the potential at formula_130. For the LJTS potential, no long-range interactions beyond formula_130 are required – neither explicitly nor implicitly. The most frequently used version of the Lennard-Jones truncated & shifted potential is the one with formula_134. Nevertheless, different formula_130 values have been used in the literature. Each LJTS potential with a given truncation radius formula_130 has to be considered as a potential and accordingly a substance of its own.


title: Lennard-Jones potential

text: The LJTS potential is computationally significantly cheaper than the 'full' Lennard-Jones potential, but still covers the essential physical features of matter (the presence of a critical and a triple point, soft repulsive and attractive interactions, phase equilibria etc.). Therefore, the LJTS potential is very frequently used for the testing of new algorithms, simulation methods, and new physical theories.


title: Lennard-Jones potential

text: Interestingly, for homogeneous systems, the intermolecular forces that are calculated from the LJ and the LJTS potential at a given distance are the same (since formula_137 is the same), whereas the potential energy and the pressure are affected by the shifting. Also, the properties of the LJTS substance may furthermore be affected by the chosen simulation algorithm, i.e. MD or MC sampling (this is in general not the case for the 'full' Lennard-Jones potential).


title: Lennard-Jones potential

text: For the LJTS potential with formula_134, the potential energy shift is approximately 1/60 of the dispersion energy at the potential well: formula_139. The figure 8 shows the comparison of the vapor–liquid equilibrium of the 'full' Lennard-Jones potential and the 'Lennard-Jones truncated & shifted' potential. The 'full' Lennard-Jones potential results prevail a significantly higher critical temperature and pressure compared to the LJTS potential results, but the critical density is very similar. The vapor pressure and the enthalpy of vaporization are influenced more strongly by the long-range interactions than the saturated densities. This is due to the fact that the potential is manipulated mainly energetically by the truncation and shifting.


title: Lennard-Jones potential

text: The Lennard-Jones potential – as an archetype for intermolecular potentials – has been used numerous times as starting point for the development of more elaborate or more generalized intermolecular potentials. Various extensions and modifications of the Lennard-Jones potential have been proposed in the literature; a more extensive list is given in the 'interatomic potential' article. The following list refers only to several example potentials that are directly related to the Lennard-Jones potential and are of both historic importance and still relevant for present research.


title: Encoding/decoding model of communication

text: The Encoding/Decoding model of communication was first developed by cultural studies scholar Stuart Hall in 1973. Stuart Hall pronounced the study as 'Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse.' Hall's essay offers a theoretical approach of how media messages are produced, disseminated, and interpreted. Hall proposed that audience members can play an active role in decoding messages as they rely on their own social contexts and capability of changing messages through collective action.


text: Thus, Encoding/Decoding is the translation for a message to be easily understood. When you decode a message, you extract the meaning of that message in ways to simplify it. Decoding has both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication: Decoding behavior without using words, displays non verbal communication. There are many examples such as observing body language and its associated emotions. For example, monitoring signs when someone is upset, angry, or stressed where they use excessive hand/arm movements, crying, and even silence. Moreover, there are times when an individual can send a message across to someone, the message can be interpreted differently from person to person. Decoding is all about understanding others, based on the information given throughout the message being received. Whether there is a large audience or exchanging a message to one person, decoding is the process of obtaining, absorbing and sometimes utilizing information that was given throughout a verbal or non-verbal message.


text: For example, since advertisements can have multiple layers of meaning, they can be decoded in various ways and can mean something different to different people.


text: The "encoding" of a message is the production of the message. It is a system of coded meanings, and in order to create that, the sender needs to understand how the word is comprehensible to the members of the audience.


text: In the process of encoding, the sender (i.e. encoder) uses verbal (e.g. words, signs, images, video) and non-verbal (e.g. body language, hand gestures, face expressions) symbols for which he or she believes the receiver (that is, the decoder) will understand. The symbols can be words and numbers, images, face expressions, signals and/or actions. It is very important how a message will be encoded; it partially depends on the purpose of the message.


text: The "decoding" of a message is how an audience member is able to understand, and interpret the message. It is a process of interpretation and translation of coded information into a comprehensible form. The audience is trying to reconstruct the idea by giving meanings to symbols and by interpreting messages as a whole. Effective communication is accomplished only when the message is received and understood in the intended way. However, it is still possible for the message recipient to understand a message in a completely different way from what the encoder was trying to convey. This is when "distortions" or " misunderstandings rise from "lack of equivalence" between the two sides in communicative exchange.


text: In his essay, Hall compares two models of communication. The first, the traditional model, is criticized for its linearity – sender/message/receiver – and for its lack of structured conception of various moments as a complex structure of relations. The author proposes the idea that there is more to the process of communication and, thus, advances a four-stage model of communication that takes into account the production, circulation, use and reproduction of media messages. In contrast to the traditional linear approach of the sender and receiver, he perceives each of these steps as both autonomous and interdependent. Hall further explains that the meanings and messages in the discursive "production" are organized through the operation of codes within the rules of "language." "Each stage will affect the message (or "product") being conveyed as a result of its 'discursive form' (e.g. practices, instruments, relations)." Therefore, once the discourse is accomplished, it must be translated into social practices in order to be completed and effective – "If no 'meaning' is taken, there can be no 'consumption'." Each of these steps helps defines the one that follows, while remaining clearly distinct. Thus, even though each of these moments (stages) are equally important to the process as a whole, they do not completely ensure that the following moment will necessary happen. "Each can constitute its own break or interruption of the 'passage of forms' on whose continuity the flow of effective production (i.e. reproduction) depends."


text: Since discursive form plays such an important role in a communicative process, Hall suggests that "encoding" and "decoding" are "determinate moments." What he means by that is that an event, for example, cannot be transmitted in its "raw format." A person would have to be physically at the place of the event to see it in such format. Rather, he states that events can only be transported to the audience in the audio-visual forms of televisual discourse (that is, the message goes to processes of production and distribution). This is when the other determinant moment begins – decoding, or interpretation of the images and messages through a wider social, cultural, and political cognitive spectrum (that is, the processes of consumption and reproduction).


text: This model has been adopted and applied by many media theorists since Hall developed it. Hall's work has been central to the development of cultural studies, a field that had started challenging the mainstream media effects models in 1960. The main focus was how audience members make meanings and understand reality through their use of cultural symbols in both print and visual media. Theorists such as Dick Hebdige, David Morley, and Janice Radway have been heavily influenced by Hall, and applied his theory to help develop their own:


text: Hebdige was a British cultural and critic scholar who studied under Hall at the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies. His model builds from Hall's idea of subculture. He is most known for his influential book "", where he argues that younger generations are challenging dominant ideologies by developing distinct styles and practices that manifest their separate identity, and subversions. His exploration of the punk subculture outlines the potential causes and influences of the punk movement, especially for the youth. His extensive study on subcultures and its resistance against mainstream society showed that the punk subculture used commodification to differentiate themselves from, or become accepted by, the mainstream. Hebdige believed that punk was incorporated into the media in an attempt to categorize it within society, and he critically examines this issue by applying Hall's theory of encoding and decoding.


text: David Morley is a sociologist who studies the sociology of the television audience. Known for being a key researcher in conducting The Nationwide Project in the late 1970s, Morley took this popular news program that aired daily on BBC. It reported on national news from London and the major events of the day, and was broadcast throughout the UK. He applied Hall's reception theory to study the encoding/decoding model of this news program. This study focused on the ways this program addressed the audience member and the ideological themes it presented. Morley then took it a step further and conducted a qualitative research that included individuals with varying social backgrounds. This was where Hall's research came into play. He wanted to see how they would react to certain clips of the program based on Hall's three decoding methods: dominant/hegemonic, negotiated, or oppositional.


text: Janice Radway, an American literary and cultural studies scholar, conducted a study on women in terms of romance reading. In her book "Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature", Radway studied a group of midwestern women that were fans of romance novels. She argued that this cultural activity functioned as personal time for women that didn't typically have any personal time to themselves. Although her work was not seen as scientific, and her study applied only to a small group of women, she was interested in interpreting how women could relate their everyday life to a fiction book. As a result, her study demonstrated that these studies define culture in very broad terms, because in the end culture is made up of the symbols of expression that society uses to make sense of everyday life. Radway's audience research worked off of Hall's theory of encoding/decoding. Studying how specific individuals receive and interpret messages based on their backgrounds was something that played a huge role in Radway's study on women. Some women related to the book and some identified as though they were characters in the book; but the meaning, dependent upon their backgrounds, identities and beliefs, circulates within society and is reinforced by Hall's theory of encoding/decoding.


text: Hall argues that there are three positions that people may take upon decoding a television message. He argues three different positions because "decodings do not follow inevitably from encodings". Thus, just because a message is encoded on television in a particular way, it does not mean it will be decoded in its intended format. This lays the foundation for Hall's hypothetical positions—he needs multiple positions because there are multiple interpretations that could occur. These positions are known as the dominant-hegemonic position, the negotiated position, and the oppositional position.


text: The first position that he discusses is the dominant-hegemonic code. This code or position is one where the consumer takes the actual meaning directly, and decodes it exactly the way it was encoded. For instance, political and military elites primarily generated the politics of Northern Ireland and the Chilean Coup. These elites created the "hegemonic interpretations" Because these ideas were hegemonic interpretations, they became dominant. Hall demonstrates that if a viewer of a newscast on such topics decoded the message "in terms of the reference code in which it has been encoded" that the viewer would be "operating inside the dominant code" Thus, the dominant code involves taking the connotative meaning of a message in the exact way a sender intended a message to be interpreted (decoded). Under this framework, the consumer is located within the dominant point of view, and is fully sharing the texts codes and accepts and reproduces the intended meaning. Here, there is barely any misunderstanding because both the sender and receiver have the same cultural biases. This means that the intended message was created by the dominant class and that the recipient was also a part of the dominant point of view. And there is no misunderstanding between sender and receiver for they have similar cultural biases.


text: A modern-day example of the dominant-hegemonic code is described by communication scholar Garrett Castleberry in his article "Understanding Stuart Hall's 'Encoding/Decoding' Through AMC's Breaking Bad". Castleberry argues that there is a dominant-hegemonic "position held by the entertainment industry that illegal drug side-effects cause less damage than perceived". If this is the dominant code and television shows like "Breaking Bad" support such perceptions, then they are operating within the dominant code. Likewise, a viewer believing such perceptions will also be operating within the dominant-hegemonic code since they are decoding the message in the way it is intended.


text: Another hypothetical position is the negotiated position. This position is a mixture of accepting and rejecting elements. Readers are acknowledging the dominant message, but are not willing to completely accept the message the way the encoder intended. The reader to a certain extent, shares the text's code and generally accepts the preferred meaning, but is simultaneously resisting and modifying it in a way which reflects their own experiences and interests.


text: Hall explains this when he states "decoding within the negotiated version contains a mixture of adaptive and oppositional elements: it acknowledges the legitimacy of the hegemonic definitions to make the grand significations (abstract), while, at a more restricted, situational (situated) level, it makes its own ground rules- it operates with exceptions to the rule". Basically, this means that people understand the dominant position, they generally believe the position, but they are in a situation where they must make up their own separate rules to coexist with the dominant position. Hall provides an example involving an Industrial Relations Bill. In his example, he shows how a factory worker may recognize and agree with the dominant position that a wage freeze is beneficial. However, while the worker may recognize that the wage freeze is needed, they may not be willing to partake in a wage freeze since it will directly affect them rather than others His example demonstrates that people may negotiate a code to work around their own beliefs and self-interests. This code is very much based on context.


text: Once more, Castleberry demonstrates the negotiated code at play in a modern-day television show. In "Breaking Bad", protagonist Walter White's wife Skylar leaves him after she discovers that he is a methamphetamine cook, and many viewers had negotiated "an acceptance of Walter's sins, while communicating negative discourse concerning Skylar". This negative discourse, according to actress Anna Gunn, who portrayed Skylar, was because her character did not fit what was expected of a wife. This expectation could be seen as a dominant code. In addition, Walter's actions were against the dominant code. Because of these conflicting dominant codes, Castleberry implies that many viewers negotiated their own code where Walter's actions were acceptable due to Skylar's role as a non-traditional wife.


text: Lastly, there is the oppositional position or code. Hall summarizes that a viewer can understand the literal (denotative) and connotative meanings of a message while decoding a message in a globally contrary way. This means that a person recognizes that their meaning is not the dominant meaning, or what was intended, but alters the message in their mind to fit an "alternative framework of reference" It is more like that receiver decode a different message. Thus, readers' or viewers social situation has placed them in a directly oppositional relationship to the dominant code, and although they understand the intended meaning they do not share the text's code and end up rejecting it. Again, this code is based very much on experiences. One's personal experiences will likely influence them to take on the oppositional position when they encode hegemonic positions. Highly political discourse emerges from these oppositional codes as "events which are normally signified and decoded in a negotiated way begin to be given an oppositional reading."


text: Hall's encoding/decoding model has left its proponents with three main problems to solve The first problem concerns polysemy. The three positions of decoding proposed by Hall are based on the audience's conscious awareness of the intended meanings encoded into the text. In other words, these positions – agreement, negotiation, opposition – are in relation to the intended meaning. However, polysemy means that the audience may create new meanings out of the text. The audience's perceived meanings may not be intended by the producers. Therefore, ‘polysemy’ and ‘opposition’ should be seen as two analytically distinct processes, although they do interconnect in the overall reading process. The second problem relates to aesthetics. TV viewers may take an aesthetically critical stance towards the text, commenting on the paradigmatic and syntagmatic aspects of textual production. Underlying this is the viewers’ awareness of the ‘constructedness’ of the text, which is a different dimension from meaning making in the decoding process. The third problem addresses the positions of encoding. Hall's model does not differentiate the various positions media producers may take in relation to the dominant ideology. Instead, it assumes that encoding always takes place within a dominant-hegemonic position.


text: Ross suggests two ways to modify Hall's typology of the Encoding/Decoding Model by expanding the original version. While presenting the modified typology, Ross stresses that his suggested version doesn't imply to replace the original model but rather to expand it and to let the model work in a new way. Further is the explanation of one of the alternative models suggested by Ross, which is a more complex typology consisting of nine combinations of encoding and decoding positions (Figure 1 and Figure 2). The reasons why the original model needs to be revisited and the alternative model description to follow.


text: In line with previous scholarship criticizing Hall's model, Ross and Morley argue that the model has some unsolved problems. First, Morley mentions that in the decoding stage there is a need to distinguish comprehension of the text and its evaluation. Comprehension here refers to the reader's understanding of the text in the basic sense and the sender's intention, and to possible readers interpretations of the text (borrowed from Schroder). Evaluation is how readers relate the text to the ideological position (also borrowed from Schroder).


text: Second, Morley discusses the problem of understanding the concept of ‘oppositional reading'. There might be confusion between referring ‘oppositional reading' to rejecting the preferred meaning (dominant ideology) and to disagreement with the text. For example, imagine that an oppositional TV channel produced a news story about some flaws in the ObamaCare. According to the original model, a reader can fully share the text's code and accept its meaning, or reject it and bring an alternative frame of it. In the first case nevertheless a reader fully agrees with the text, s/he would be in opposition to the dominant ideology (we understand dominant ideology here as promoting government initiatives), while in the second case by disagreeing with the news story a reader would actually favor dominant ideology. That leads to the final problem of the original model -- assuming that all the media encode texts within the dominant ideology and thus suggesting that media is homogeneous in nature.


text: In order to address these problems, Ross suggests two steps in modifying the original model. The first step is to distinguish between the graphical model and the typology, which is different decoding positions (dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, and oppositional). The second step is to divide the model into two versions, an ideology version (Figure 1) and a text-related version (Figure 2).


text: The main addition in both new typologies of Hall's model are two types of encoding meanings, which are a Negotiated position and an Oppositional position. As the original model makes all media institutions encode messages in the dominant-hegemonic manner, Ross takes a step further and ‘allow' media institutions to encode texts according to the oppositional or negotiated framework. Thus, media texts in both Hall's versions can be dominant-hegemonic (Hall's assumed mode), partly critical or radical.


text: Another addition to the original model is the appearance of a Neutralization category meaning that media texts encoded within an oppositional or negotiated framework are decoded according to the dominant ideology. Let's look at the upper right corner of the Ross ideology version (Figure 1) at the cell when a radical text intersects with a dominant-hegemonic decoding position. For example, neutralization will happen if a TV news report conveying a message about an oppositional political party in Russia may be interpreted by a conservative viewer as an evidence of the US sponsorship of anti-government organizations underlying Russian independency. Let's now look at the lower right corner of the same version at the cell when a radical text is decoded by viewers within an oppositional position. In this case ‘oppositional reading of oppositional text' needs explanation that it equals to the "agreement with oppositional text" as readers text evaluation might cause misunderstanding.


text: In order to avoid misinterpretations and to make an alternative typology more reader-friendly, Ross suggests a text-relative version that stresses not the ideological tendency of the text, but rather if receivers are in agreement or opposition with any kind of text. In this version Ross changed the term 'dominant-hegemonic' to ‘text-acceptance'; and the term 'oppositional' to ‘text-oppositional' in order to remind readers the difference between opposition to the dominant ideology and opposition to the text.


text: In the text-relative version a Neutralization category moved to the lower right cell while saving its meaning. Neutralization means applying dominant ideology to the radical text or rejecting oppositional texts.


text: Wu and Bergman propose a revision to Hall's encoding/decoding model in a different way. They conceptualize the adoption of certain codes by producers and viewers respectively as "encoding strategies" and "decoding strategies". For producers, encoding strategies are partly influenced by their imagination of how the audience will decode their products, which they conceptualize as the "imagined decoding strategies". For viewers, their awareness of the ‘constructedness’ of the text means that from the text they also perceive, apart from its meaning, the encoding strategies, which are not necessarily the same strategies adopted by producers. These "perceived encoding strategies" constitute an important dimension of the decoding process. Based on their intended meanings and imagined decoding strategies, media producers execute certain encoding strategies and give a certain shape to the text. In the decoding process, viewers derive both perceived meanings and perceived encoding strategies from the text. From these two dimensions, viewers arrive at their evaluation of the text. This revised model admits the diversity of producers’ ideological positions in the encoding process. Clearly separating perceived meanings from intended meanings, it anticipates the situation of polysemy. By distinguishing between perceived meanings and perceived encoding strategies, it also gives space to audience's awareness of the ‘constructedness’ of the text.


text: To conclude, while Hall's Encoding/Decoding model of communication is highly evaluated and widely used in research, it has been criticised as it contains some unsolved problems. This section discussed some flaws in the original model and introduced proposed revisions to Hall's typology.


title: Name server

text: A name server refers to the server component of the Domain Name System (DNS), one of the two principal namespaces of the Internet. The most important function of DNS servers is the translation (resolution) of human-memorable domain names (example.com) and hostnames into the corresponding numeric Internet Protocol (IP) addresses (192.0.2.1), the second principal name space of the Internet, which is used to identify and locate computer systems and resources on the Internet.


title: Name server

text: Although it is typically used in reference to DNS (Domain Name System), the term name server may also be used for any computer application that implements a network service for providing responses to queries against a directory service which translates an often humanly meaningful, text-based identifier to a system-internal, often numeric identification or addressing component. This service is performed by the server in response to a service protocol request.


title: Name server

text: The Internet maintains two principal namespaces: the domain name hierarchy and the IP address system. The Domain Name System maintains the domain namespace and provides translation services between these two namespaces. Internet name servers implement the Domain Name System. The top hierarchy of the Domain Name System is served by the root name servers maintained by delegation by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). DNS servers, which are located all over the world, translate domain names into IP addresses, giving them control over which server a user may access via a given domain. Below the root, Internet resources are organized into a hierarchy of domains, administered by the respective registrars and domain name holders. A DNS name server is a server that stores the DNS records, such as address (A, AAAA) records, name server (NS) records, and mail exchanger (MX) records for a domain name (see also List of DNS record types) and responds with answers to queries against its database.


title: Name server

text: An authoritative name server is a name server that gives answers in response to questions asked about names in a zone. An authoritative-only name server returns answers only to queries about domain names that have been specifically configured by the administrator. Name servers can also be configured to give authoritative answers to queries in some zones, while acting as a caching name server for all other zones.


title: Name server

text: An authoritative name server can either be a "primary" server or a "secondary" server. A primary server for a zone is the server that stores the definitive versions of all records in that zone. It is identified in the start-of-authority (SOA) resource record. A secondary server for a zone uses an automatic updating mechanism to maintain an identical copy of the primary server's database for a zone. Examples of such mechanisms include DNS zone transfers and file transfer protocols. DNS provides a mechanism whereby the primary for a zone can notify all the known secondaries for that zone when the contents of the zone have changed. The contents of a zone are either manually configured by an administrator, or managed using Dynamic DNS.


title: Name server

text: Every domain name appears in a zone served by one or more authoritative name servers. The fully qualified domain names of the authoritative name servers of a zone are listed in the NS records of that zone. If the server for a zone is not also authoritative for its parent zone, the server for the parent zone must be configured with a delegation for the zone.


title: Name server

text: When a domain is registered with a domain name registrar, the zone administrator provides the list of name servers (typically at least two, for redundancy) that are authoritative for the zone that contains the domain. The registrar provides the names of these servers to the domain registry for the top-level domain containing the zone. The domain registry in turn configures the authoritative name servers for that top-level domain with delegations for each server for the zone. If the fully qualified domain name of any name server for a zone appears within that zone, the zone administrator provides IP addresses for that name server, which are installed in the parent zone as glue records; otherwise, the delegation consists of the list of NS records for that zone.


title: Name server

text: A name server indicates that its response is authoritative by setting the "Authoritative Answer" ("AA") bit in the response to a query on a name for which it is authoritative. Name servers providing answers for which they are not authoritative (for example, name servers for parent zones) do not set the "AA" bit.


title: Name server

text: If a name server cannot answer a query because it does not contain an entry for the host in its DNS cache, it may recursively query name servers higher up in the hierarchy. This is known as a "recursive query" or "recursive lookup". A server providing recursive queries is known as a "recursive name server" or "recursive DNS", sometimes abbreviated as recdns.


title: Name server

text: In principle, authoritative name servers suffice for the operation of the Internet. However, with only authoritative name-servers operating, every DNS query must start with recursive queries at the root zone of the Domain Name System and each user system must implement resolver software capable of recursive operation.


title: Name server

text: Caching name servers ("DNS caches") store DNS query results for a period of time determined in the configuration (time-to-live) of each domain-name record. DNS caches improve the efficiency of the DNS by reducing DNS traffic across the Internet, and by reducing load on authoritative name-servers, particularly root name-servers. Because they can answer questions more quickly, they also increase the performance of end-user applications that use the DNS.


title: Name server

text: "Recursive name servers" resolve any query they receive, even if they are not authoritative for the question being asked, by consulting the server or servers that are authoritative for the question.


title: Name server

text: Caching name servers are often also recursive name servers—they perform every step necessary to answer any DNS query they receive. To do this the name server queries each authoritative name-server in turn, starting from the DNS root zone. It continues until it reaches the authoritative server for the zone that contains the queried domain name. That server provides the answer to the question, or definitively says it can't be answered, and the "caching resolver" then returns this response to the client that asked the question.


title: Name server

text: The authority, resolving and caching functions can all be present in a DNS server implementation, but this is not required: a DNS server can implement any one of these functions alone, without implementing the others.


title: Name server

text: Internet service providers typically provide caching resolvers for their customers. In addition, many home-networking routers implement caching resolvers to improve efficiency in the local network.


title: Beat Saber

text: Beat Saber is a virtual reality rhythm game developed and published by Czech game developer Beat Games. It takes place in a surrealistic neon environment and features the player slicing blocks representing musical beats with a pair of contrasting-colored sabers. Following an early access release in November 2018, the game was officially released for PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Windows on May 21, 2019, and supports most virtual reality headsets including HTC Vive, Oculus Quest and Quest 2, PlayStation VR, and Valve Index.


title: Beat Saber

text: The player uses VR motion controllers to wield a pair of glowing sabers, which by default are colored red and blue for left and right respectively. In each song, the game presents the player with a stream of approaching blocks laid out in sync with the song's beats and notes, located in one of the 12 possible positions of a 4x3 grid. Each one may also be marked with an arrow indicating one of eight possible directions in which the block may be required to be cut through. There are also blocks with dots instead of arrows, which players may hit in any direction. When a block is properly cut by a saber, it is destroyed and a score is awarded, based on the length and angle of the swing and the accuracy of the cut.


title: Beat Saber

text: In addition, there are occasionally bombs that the player should not hit, and obstacles in the form of oncoming walls that the player's head should avoid. Underneath the path where the blocks travel is a white bar that slowly fills up as the player hits notes correctly. If the player hits any note in the incorrect direction, this 'energy bar' will decrease by a small bit. If the player completely misses a note, the bar will lose a larger amount. If the bar becomes completely empty, the level will end.


title: Beat Saber

text: Since the addition of Original Soundtrack (OST) 5, two new mechanics were introduced to the game. One new mechanic features a new block called a Chain, which starts with a "slice" which indicates which direction to cut. After the lead slice, there are a number of smaller "slices" which can be cut. The other new mechanic is the arc. An arc is a line showing the recommended path for your saber to follow. It is connected to a block and continues on until it either connects to another block or stops altogether. Both of these new mechanics also calculate score differently than the original blocks.


title: Beat Saber

text: Since its early access stages, the game included a single-player mode as well as a party mode, which features a leaderboard with the player's names, which are entered after each song is played. Additionally, the game includes a level editor and a practice mode that allows the player to alter the song's speed, or start playing it from any point in time, and not just the beginning. The game added a multiplayer mode in which anywhere from two to five players can play a level together, with the person with the highest score winning. In multiplayer mode, the game awards the player with badges based on performance. These are: Longest journey, Casual cutter, Saber surgeon, Lumberjack, Jazz hands, Fencer, Restless slicer, Nihilist, No mercy, and Air slicer.


title: Beat Saber

text: "Beat Saber" shipped with ten songs, but has been expanded with several downloadable content packs and updates which include new songs. Several of these include original songs, but several packages are licensed songs featuring music and special stages from bands such as Imagine Dragons, Panic! at the Disco, Green Day, Linkin Park, BTS, Lady Gaga, and musicians signed to Interscope Records. In addition, the community has created modifications for Beat Saber, allowing custom songs and maps. Each song has five levels of difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert, and the hardest being Expert+.


title: Beat Saber

text: "Beat Saber" began after the completion of Beat Games' (Hyperbolic Magnetism at the time) previous title, "Chameleon Run". Vladimír Hrinčár and Ján Ilavský began creating demos and prototypes, and some of these were posted on Facebook. The composer, Jaroslav Beck saw some of these prototypes and met the team in Prague in order to convince them to let him create the soundtrack for the game. After around two years of development, the game was released in early access on May 1, 2018.


title: Beat Saber

text: The game was first released in early access on Microsoft Windows on May 1, 2018. The game was released on PlayStation 4 on November 20, 2018. An editor was announced for release in May 2018, which would allow for the creation of custom user songs, but it was postponed, and added in May 2019.


title: Beat Saber

text: In March 2019, Beat Games released its first paid song pack, featuring 10 songs from electronic music record label Monstercat. "Crab Rave" was added as a free update on April Fools' day that year. On May 2, 2019, to celebrate the game's first anniversary, a prototype version created three years prior was released to the public as "Beat Saber Origins". The game was fully released out of early access on PC on May 21, 2019. On January 29, 2020, the game received a free pack featuring three songs by Japanese artist Camellia.


title: Beat Saber

text: Facebook via Oculus Studios acquired Beat Games in November 2019. The company stated that the purchase would not affect future development of "Beat Saber" on third-party VR platforms besides Oculus. Beat Games will continue to operate in Prague as an independent studio, although under the umbrella of Oculus Studios. The studio released the new 360-degree levels on December 14, 2019.


title: Beat Saber

text: During its early access phase, "Beat Saber" received numerous positive reviews, becoming the highest rated game on Steam less than a week after its early access release. The game sold over a million copies by March 2019. By February 2021, the game has sold over 4 million copies and 40 million songs have been sold through paid DLC.


title: Beat Saber

text: "Edge" thought the game was an excellent fit for VR as a medium, writing "At this point in virtual reality's development, it's still rare to encounter a game that feels native to the technology. "Beat Saber" is an exception."


title: Beat Saber

text: "IGN" noted that while the game "doesn't push the limits of [VR tech] too far", the game is extremely effective at communicating the appeal of VR, and considered the game "a go-to for introducing anyone to virtual reality."


title: Beat Saber

text: "GameSpot" noted that at launch the supported song library was "slim", but nevertheless concluded that ""Beat Saber" is an exhilarating rush and an exhausting game to play in the best way."


title: Beat Saber

text: "Beat Saber" has grown a strong following since its debut, and users have created numerous mods to enhance the game. Also, a number of websites have surfaced, where users distribute beat maps they created themselves, some of them even allowing for this content to be sideloaded onto the Oculus Quest.


title: Tanishq

text: Tanishq is an Indian jewellery brand and a division of Titan Company. Founded in 1994, Tanishq is headquartered in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.


title: Tanishq

text: By the end of the 1980s, the Titan company launched Tanishq. In the early 1990s, India's exchange issue was fixed, and the Titan Company chose to focus the brand on the Indian market. The first production plant launched in August 1992, and Tanishq's first store opened in 1996. Tanishq was the first jewellery retail brand in India.


title: Tanishq

text: The first years of Tanishq recorded consistent losses. In 2000, Managing Director Xerxes Desai chose Bhaskar Bhat to succeed him. Starting in 2000, its net worth started to grow, and by 2003, Tanishq was among the top 5 retailers in India, and made up 40% of the Titan Company's revenue.


title: Tanishq

text: In the early 2000s, Tanishq opened stores internationally, in the Middle East and in the United States (Chicago and New Jersey), but closed them before the end of the decade.


title: Tanishq

text: Tanishq made the beauty pageant crowns for the Femina Miss India 2007. By 2008, Tanishq had 105 stores in 71 cities in India. In 2011, the Tanishq group launched the sub-brand called Mia for working women. In November 2012, Tanishq reached a landmark when it opened its 150th showroom in India


title: Tanishq

text: In April 2014, the brand started to export to the United Arab Emirates. In July 2014, Tanishq announced it ceased its gold deposit schemes to comply with the Companies Act 2013, schemes that enabled its clients to save up to buy gold, but launched it back just a few months later in a format that complied with the new laws.


title: Tanishq

text: By June 2014, Tanishq had 167 retail stores nationwide, and announced the opening of 30 more by the end of 2015.


title: Tanishq

text: In 2017, Tanishq launched a sub-brand called Rivaah targeting the wedding segment. In January 2017, the Titan group merged its "Gold Plus" stores with the larger Tanishq retail brand. In April 2017, Tanishq launched the sub-brand Mirayah to cater to women under their 40s. In December 2017, Tanishq launched the Aveer line, its first line of products for men.


title: Tanishq

text: Tanishq is a brand of jewellery retail stores in India. The brand is the property of Titan Company, which is back by Tata Group and TIDCO.


title: Tanishq

text: The name Tanishq was chosen by Titan's first managing director Xerxes Desai. The name was formed by combining the first two letters from "Tan" (means body) and "निष्क" "NIṢK" (meaning gold coin or necklace in Sanskrit), although the "क" k has been modified into a "क़" q. According to another sources, the name is formed with the two words "Tan" (body) and "Nishk" (gold ornament) in the Sanskrit language, a name synonymous to superior craftsmen or absolute design. In October 2020, Tanishq was at the centre of a controversial commercial that sparked backlash on social media over the depiction of Hindu and Muslim community in matrimonial setting. After heavy negative reactions on social media, the company withdrew the ad. NDTV reported that there was mob attack at Tanishq showroom in Kutch district however, it was rejected as false claim by Gujarat police. In a press release the company expressed they had withdraw the ad as it hurt the sentiments of the Hindu community and safety concerns of their employees and stake holders.


title: Tanishq

text: Another controversy was filed on 9th Nov when the company stopped its ad of celebrating Diwali without crackers.


title: Carroll Cole

text: Carroll Edward Cole (May 9, 1938 – December 6, 1985) was an American serial killer who was executed in 1985 for killing at least fifteen women and one boy by strangulation between 1947 and 1980. He confessed to a total of 35 murders.


title: Carroll Cole

text: Carroll Cole was born in Sioux City, Iowa, the second son of LaVerne Cole (May 25, 1900 – February 5, 1975) and Vesta Cole (September 4, 1904 – January 27, 1984). His younger sister was born in 1939 and soon afterwards, his family moved to California, where LaVerne found work in a shipyard. Not long after that, LaVerne went to fight in World War II. While his father was away, his mother had several affairs and sometimes took Cole along to her rendezvous, threatening to beat him if he told his father. Vesta was emotionally abusive to Cole and dressed him as a girl. At school, he was teased about his "girl's name" by his peers.


title: Carroll Cole

text: At age 8, he retaliated against one of his classmates, a boy of the same age named Duane, by drowning him in a lake in Richmond, California. The death was regarded an accident by authorities, until Cole confessed to it many years later in an autobiography he wrote in prison. During a press interview Cole said of this event, "I was primed, I had made the mental commitment I was going to get even with my mother, and things just built up and built up and became an obsession."


title: Carroll Cole

text: As a teen, Cole committed several petty crimes and was frequently arrested for drunkenness and minor thefts. After high school, he joined the U.S. Army, but was given a bad-conduct discharge in 1958 for stealing pistols. In 1960, Cole attacked two couples parked in cars on a lover's lane. Soon afterwards, he called the police in Richmond, California, where he was living, and told them that he was plagued by violent fantasies involving strangling women.


title: Carroll Cole

text: Cole spent time in various mental hospitals over the next three years. At the last of them, Stockton State Hospital, a Dr. Weiss wrote: "He seems to be afraid of the female figure and cannot have intercourse with her first but must kill her before he can do it." Weiss approved his release in April 1963, despite hospital staff having diagnosed Cole with antisocial personality disorder.


title: Carroll Cole

text: Upon his release, Cole moved to Dallas, Texas, where his brother Richard was living. There, he met and married an alcoholic stripper named Billie Whitworth, though this didn't change his perspective towards women. After two years, the marriage ended when Cole burned down a motel after convincing himself that Whitworth was having sex with men there. As a result, he was arrested for arson. Upon his release from prison, Cole attempted to strangle an 11-year-old girl in Missouri. He was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison.


title: Carroll Cole

text: After the sentence was up, Cole ended up in Nevada, where he attempted to strangle two more women. Once again, he checked himself into a mental hospital. The doctors there noted his murderous fantasies but still elected not to detain him and he was given a ticket back to San Diego.


title: Carroll Cole

text: Cole's first victim as an adult was Essie L. Buck, whom he had picked up in a San Diego tavern on May 7, 1971. He strangled her to death in his car and drove around with her body in the trunk before eventually dumping it. Just two weeks later, he killed an unidentified woman and buried her in a wooded area. He later claimed that they had proven themselves unfaithful to their husbands, and so reminded him of his adulterous mother.


title: Carroll Cole

text: In July 1973, Cole married barmaid Diana Faye Younglove Pashal, who was also an alcoholic. They argued and fought frequently, and Cole regularly went off on his own for days at a time. He would commit murders while he was away, including one woman he allegedly cannibalized to a degree. In September 1979, Cole strangled Pashal to death. A suspicious neighbor called the police eight days later, but although they found Pashal's body wrapped in a blanket and stuffed in a closet, they decided that she had died because of her heavy drinking, and Cole was released without charge after questioning.


title: Carroll Cole

text: Cole left San Diego and started moving around again. In 1979, Cole met Marie Cushman at a bar in Las Vegas. That same evening, the two went to a motel where they had sex, he then killed her by strangulation.


title: Carroll Cole

text: Following the Las Vegas killing, he returned to Dallas, where he fatally strangled three more women in November 1980. Cole was a suspect in the second of these killings and was also found on the scene of the third murder. He was arrested and held in custody. The police then came to the conclusion that the victim had probably died of natural causes, and Cole was about to be ruled out as a suspect before he confessed to, along with this murder, all of the other killings. Cole claimed that he had murdered at least fourteen women over the previous nine years, although he added that there may have been more and he couldn't remember exactly, as he was usually drunk when he committed his crimes.


title: Carroll Cole

text: On April 9, 1981, Cole was convicted of three of the murders committed in Texas. He was sentenced to life at the Huntsville Prison. In 1984, Cole's mother died and his attitude was reported to have changed. He agreed to face further murder charges filed in Nevada, even though it could possibly mean the death penalty.


title: Carroll Cole

text: In February 1984, Cole was extradited to Nevada, where he was tried and convicted for the strangulation deaths of two women in 1977 and 1979. In October 1984, Cole was sentenced to death in Nevada. When his sentencing was passed he said, "Thanks, Judge." Anti-death penalty campaigners, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) tried to have his sentence commuted, but Cole protested. Cole was executed by lethal injection at Nevada State Prison on December 6, 1985.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: , better known as , is a fictional character in Konami's "Castlevania" series of video games. His first appearance in the series was in the 1989 game "", but he is best known for his role in the critically acclaimed "", released in 1997. His design in "Symphony of the Night" was created by Ayami Kojima, marking her first contribution to the "Castlevania" franchise.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: In the series, Alucard is the son of Dracula, the antagonist of the "Castlevania" series. Due to his human mother, Lisa, Alucard is a dhampir, a half-human, half-vampire. His mother's death and admonition not to hate humanity caused him to take up arms against his father. In "Dracula's Curse" and "Castlevania Legends", he fights against his father alongside the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan, and he is featured as the protagonist of "Symphony of the Night". Alucard additionally is present in "" and the follow-up sequel "", where he interacts with the protagonist of both games, Soma Cruz, as the Japanese government agent . The "Lords of Shadow" reboot series, starting with the character's introduction in "", introduces a reimagined Alucard with a new backstory, revealing him as Trevor Belmont, once a mortal who was transformed into a vampire after his death at the hands of his biological father, the remorseful Dracula.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Several video game publications have provided praise and criticism on Alucard's character. In "Aria of Sorrow" and "Dawn of Sorrow", where Alucard was present as Genya Arikado, reviewers noted that although he fell into a stereotypical character mold, the greater concentration on supporting characters was a welcomed change from previous "Castlevania" games.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Alucard debuted in "" for the Nintendo Entertainment System, where he was designed by T. Fujimoto and I. Urata. He was intended to be a mirror image of his father, as evidenced by his name, his father's name spelled backwards. Much of the original artwork for the game was lost during the Great Hanshin earthquake. Alucard's subsequent appearances would largely be designed by Ayami Kojima, who managed the character designs for "" and "".


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Kojima's work in "Symphony of the Night" was her first breakthrough into the gaming industry, and her dark, gothic style borrows heavily from bishōnen-style art. In "Aria of Sorrow", Kojima's designs followed the "different route" theme that producer Koji Igarashi was attempting to pursue with "Aria of Sorrow" by placing it in a futuristic setting. Following this theme, Alucard's appearance as Genya Arikado was made much more contemporary, featuring modern attire as versus the medieval appearance of previous "Castlevania" characters. Kojima was not present in the design team for "", and Arikado, along with the rest of the cast, were drawn in an anime style. Igarashi, also the producer of "Dawn of Sorrow", wished to utilize the anime style as a marketing technique due to his belief that the Nintendo DS targeted a younger audience than previous "Castlevania" games had. The anime style would also serve as a litmus test as to whether future "Castlevania" games would incorporate the style.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Alucard's general appearance is that of a vampiric man who often wears a long coat, a vampire cape, and tall boots, which can increase his height in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. In his original appearance in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, Alucard appears very much alike to a younger version of his father with little to no differences between his appearance and Dracula's. However, in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, he has long blonde hair, yellow eyes, and occasionally is depicted with sharp vampire fangs. Alucard is noticeably taller than most other characters such as the vampire hunters of the Belmont Clan who he encounters, and according to in-game measurements, his height his 5'11" (180.34 cm), though using the aforementioned secret boots, his height can be increased to 6'3" (190.5 cm).


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: "Symphony of the Night" was the second "Castlevania" game to use voice actors for the characters (the first being the "" for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM², which released only in Japan at the time). The Japanese voice actor for Alucard was Ryōtarō Okiayu, and the English voice actor was Robert Belgrade. Igarashi noted that due to fan complaints over the poor voice acting in a majority of the original cast in "Symphony of the Night", a new script for the game better translating the original Japanese text, as well as a set of new voice actors were used. In the "Lords of Shadow" series, he is voiced by Richard Madden, while he is voiced by James Callis in the 2017 Netflix series "Castlevania".


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: In the 1989 "" for the NES, Alucard is initially a boss encountered by the primary protagonist, Trevor Belmont. If the player defeats Alucard, he can be utilized as a playable character in the game. This was a significant departure from the first two "Castlevania" games for the NES, and the fourth installment on the Super NES, which only featured Simon Belmont as the primary playable character, and Alucard's abilities, a fireball attack and the ability to transform into a bat, were unique elements introduced into the series. This is the first instance of Alucard with light colored hair.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Alucard's following appearance in the series is in the 1997 "" for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn, where he is featured as the game's protagonist and primary playable character. He is described as a man of great strength and inhuman beauty. Due to the brainwashing of the current member of the Belmont clan, Richter Belmont, Alucard heads to his father's castle to find Richter and ensure that Dracula does not return into the world. He encounters Richter, who has been controlled by the dark priest Shaft into believing he is the lord of Dracula's castle, and Alucard manages to free him from the spell controlling him. In response, Shaft creates an inverted version of Dracula's castle for Alucard to travel through, and Alucard defeats Shaft, and ultimately, Dracula as well. "Symphony of the Night" also expands on Alucard's background, revealing how his human mother, Lisa, was hunted down and executed by humans who believed her to be a witch. Despite this, Lisa admonished Alucard to respect humans and not hate them as his father did. Alucard's placement as a protagonist was unusual for the series up to that point, as previous "Castlevania" games had featured often members of the Belmont clan as the protagonists. "Symphony of the Night" would later be re-released as part of the Xbox Live Arcade for the Xbox 360, on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3, and part of "", a compilation that contained "Symphony of the Night" alongside "". Aside from the changing of the script and Alucard's English voice actor to Yuri Lowenthal, his role in the "Symphony of the Night" portion of "The Dracula X Chronicles" remains the same.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: The 1997 "Castlevania Legends" for the Game Boy was Alucard's third appearance in the series. Similar to his initial appearance in "Dracula's Curse", he is a boss challenging the skills of the game's protagonist, Sonia Belmont. After she defeats him, he accepts her strength and decides to submerge his powers by sleeping, believing that she will defeat Dracula in his stead. Koji Igarashi later removed "Castlevania Legends" from the official canon of the series, meaning that the plot of the game never occurred in the series' continuity.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: In the 2003 "" for the Game Boy Advance, Alucard is present in disguise as the enigmatic Japanese government agent Genya Arikado in order to prevent the powers of his father, who was finally killed by , from ending up in the wrong hands. He meets the game's protagonist, Soma Cruz, and explains his "power of dominance," or his ability to absorb the souls of the monsters he defeats and use their abilities. He instructs him to seek out the castle's throne room, where Soma realizes that he is Dracula's reincarnation. Arikado subsequently advises Soma to destroy the flow of chaos in the castle to free himself from his fate, which Soma succeeds in doing.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Alucard reprises his role as Arikado in the sequel to "Aria of Sorrow", the 2005 "Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow" for the Nintendo DS, where he works to stop the machinations of a cult headed by to create a new dark lord by killing Soma. Arikado initially requests that Soma does not become involved, but gives him a letter and talisman from Mina when he encounters him later in the game. After both of Celia's "dark lord's candidates," and , are defeated, Arikado stops Celia's attempt to force Soma to awaken into the new dark lord, but inadvertently allows Dmitrii to revive himself. He confronts him, but is stopped when Dmitrii uses Celia as a sacrifice to seal his powers. Following Soma's battle with Menace, a giant demon that sprouts from Dmitrii, Arikado explains to Soma that he is not destined to become the dark lord, nor does he need to. In the game's , Arikado is playable as Alucard after he is found in the castle.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Alucard was one of the playable characters in "Castlevania Judgment" for the Nintendo Wii, a fighting game based on the series.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: A reimagined Alucard appears in "", the second installment in the "Lords of Shadow" reboot series, which follows a different continuity from the original. It is revealed that this version of Alucard was originally Trevor Belmont, the son of Gabriel and Marie Belmont, conceived before Gabriel was turned into a vampire and became the dark lord Dracula. Alucard later appears in the sequel "" as a supporting character. Since the game takes place centuries later, Alucard's personality and standing towards his father have drastically changed. He believes that Dracula can still be redeemed and makes it his goal to free the world from tyranny and vanquish the evil that had corrupted him and his father.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Alucard makes a cameo appearance as an Assist Trophy in "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate". He will also debut as a playable fighter in "Brawlhalla" on October 19, 2022.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: A version of Alucard makes a minor appearance in "". Here, he is depicted as a rebellious teenager who enjoys skateboarding and music, much to his father's chagrin. He appears in the Season 3 episode "Return to Castlevania", initially posing as an ally to the heroes before revealing himself to be in league with the Count.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: A version of Alucard based on his game incarnation appears as a major character in the 2017 "Castlevania" animated series based on the 1989 video game "Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse", voiced by James Callis.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Alucard has received praise and criticism from several video game publications, primarily concentrating on his role in "Symphony of the Night". GameSpot featured him in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero". In a review of "Symphony of the Night", RPGFan celebrated the fact that Alucard was not a member of the Belmont clan, the protagonists of most "Castlevania" games, and that the fact he was Dracula's son added "an element of depth to the plot" due to the varied reactions he would receive from the inhabitants of Dracula's castle. RPGamer disagreed with this assessment, noting that the plot and Alucard's role "isn't very deep" and secondary to the concentration on gameplay. GameSpot called Alucard's sprite and running animation "easily some of the most impressive visuals in the entire "Castlevania" library." James Paul Gee noted that "even though Alucard is a vampire hunter, he has no distinctive skills associated with this profession". In 2012, GamesRadar ranked him as the 91st best hero in video games. "Empire" also included Alucard on their list of the 50 greatest video game characters, ranking him as 34th.


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: Alucard's appearance in "Aria of Sorrow" and "Dawn of Sorrow" as Genya Arikado was also noted by reviewers. RPGamer celebrated how the greater concentration on supporting characters, including Arikado, were a welcome change from previous "Castlevania" games. RPGFan derided Arikado's "cool and impassive personality" as stereotypical, but praised the game's character development as setting him apart from previous supporting characters in the series. The switch to an anime style for the character designs in "Dawn of Sorrow" was notably criticized, as many reviewers preferred the designs made by Ayami Kojima. GameSpy deplored the "shallow, lifeless anime images" and IGN called the images "down to the level of 'generic Saturday morning Anime' quality."


title: Alucard (Castlevania)

text: The animated version of Alucard's characterization in Netflix's "Castlevania" series earned mixed responses as he and his allies were overshadowed by Dracula's underlings who were seen as more fleshed out cast members than Alucard. GameSpot agreed that the trio's appearances in the first episodes were underwhelming as the cast spends their time interacting in a library, adding that their relationship gets uninteresting quickly. On the other hand, Blasting News felt that the second season of "Castlevania" gave more screentime to develop the chemistry between Alucard and his friends in contrast to his brief role in the first season. Destructoid agreed mostly due to the way Alucard and Trevor push aside their differences to defeat Dracula yet they keep insulting each other across the story leaving good comic relief in the process. IGN felt that the relationship between Alucard and his father was one of the best aspects of the second season thanks to the well performance of their voice actors.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The Pontiac Grand Am is a mid-size car and later a compact car that was produced by Pontiac. The Grand Am had two separate three-year runs in the 1970s: from 1973 to 1975, and again from 1978 to 1980. It was based on the GM A platform. Production of the intermediate sized Grand Am was canceled in 1980 when it was replaced by the Pontiac 6000. The compact-sized Grand Am was reintroduced in 1985 when it replaced the Pontiac Phoenix. It became Pontiac's best selling car and was later replaced by the Pontiac G6, so named as it was intended to be the 6th generation of the Grand Am.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: All 1973–1975 Grand Ams were built in Pontiac, Michigan at Pontiac's main assembly plant. The 1978-1980 Grand Ams were built in Pontiac, Michigan at Pontiac's main assembly plant and in Atlanta, Georgia at GMAD Lakewood. All Grand Ams between 1985 and 2005 were built in Lansing, Michigan at the Lansing Car Assembly.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The history of Grand Am begins with Pontiac executives noting incursion into the US market by Mercedes, BMW, Toyota and Nissan. Notably, the American sports car was usually without luxury features, and the luxury car without sport features. Foreign makes mixed these features, that introduced the market to luxury performance coupes and sedans that had balanced handling along with powerful engines. Pontiac hybridized the Grand Prix with the Trans Am to create the Grand Am, a naming tactic shared with the luxury Pontiac Grand Ville. Built on the A-body platform shared with the Pontiac LeMans, the intended GTO body was re-badged and fitted with the top-level Grand Prix interior, and using the larger engine from the Grand Prix, Bonneville and Grand Ville.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The original Grand Am was introduced in the fall of 1972 as a 1973 model. It was based on the GM A platform (A-body) along with other cars such as the Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna, Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, and the Buick Century Gran Sport. The GM A-body platform had major design revisions in 1973 that included the elimination of pillarless hardtops due to proposed Federal rollover standards, but with frameless windows similar to that of a hardtop. No convertibles were produced due to the rollover standards (that were not enacted). In addition to Federal emissions regulations, new safety standards required a impact-resistant front bumper and a impact-resistant rear bumper, which increased to for 1974.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The 1973 oil crisis caused a dichotomy of buyers: total luxury or total economy. Since Grand Am was an "in-between", its sales declined and the model was discontinued in 1975.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The Grand Am, coined by Pontiac with a name derived from two other cars in its lineup ("Grand" signifying "Grand Prix luxury" and "Am" for "Trans Am performance") was designed as America's answer to European luxury/sport sedans and available as a four-door Colonnade sedan or a two-door Colonnade coupe. A total of 43,136 Grand Ams were built during the first year of production.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The Grand Am could be had with a standard 2-bbl V8 engine with single exhaust producing , an optional 4-bbl version of this engine with single exhaust producing that was only available with a 4-speed manual transmission, an optional 4-bbl version of this engine with dual exhaust producing , or an optional 4-bbl with dual exhaust . The engine displacement, expressed in liters, was displayed on the bootlid in an effort to accentuate the car's supposedly European character.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: All engines were available with a Turbo-hydramatic 400 automatic transmission as standard equipment. A 4-speed manual transmission was available with the 400/4-bbl engine in 1973 and 1974, but this was not popular.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The 1973 Pontiac Grand Am style had a unique flexible urethane front fascia center nose (known as the 'Endura' nose) that was squeezable and could return to its original shape following a minor collision along with the new energy-absorbing bumpers, a total of six grille openings with vertical bars, round front turn signals with a cross-hair design, horizontal rear taillights, and chrome rear bumper. Additionally, Grand Ams featured a Radial Tuned Suspension (RTS) as standard equipment that included radial-ply tires, Pliacell shock absorbers, and front and rear sway bars. The springs were advertised as being computer selected. The Grand Am was one of only three GM cars to have standard radial tires and appropriate suspension tuning in 1973, with the others being the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon and Chevrolet Monte Carlo S.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The Grand Am included Strato bucket seats upholstered in Naugahyde vinyl or corduroy cloth featuring manual recliners and adjustable lumbar supports - both features common on European-style sports/luxury sedans, but unusual for American cars of that time. Also included were an instrument panel from the Pontiac Grand Prix featuring a Rally gauge cluster with fuel, oil, water and volt gauges (a tachometer or fuel economy gauge was optional, and on cars so equipped, the clock was moved to a space on the lower instrument panel under the radio), three-spoke padded steering wheel with brushed-stainless spokes, and Genuine Crossfire African Mahogany trim on the dash facing, radio and clock surrounds, as well as the center console between the front seats. Grand Ams also were among the first U.S.-built cars with a turn-signal mounted headlight dimmer switch that had been common on imported cars for decades. Other standard equipment included concealed windshield wipers, a front stabilizer bar, and an in-the-windshield radio antenna. Upscale options included air conditioning, tinted glass, power windows-locks-seat, rear defogger, various sound systems, and tilt-steering-wheel. AM/FM stereo with a tape player was optional. The listed retail price for the 2-door coupe was US$4,264 ($ in dollars ), listing it above the Firebird Trans Am.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: Pontiac also produced a single 1973 Grand Am station wagon as a feasibility study. This was a LeMans wagon converted to a Grand Am. A functional ram-air induction system was developed for the Pontiac A-bodies utilizing twin NACA openings in the hood, but the option was dropped due to the inability to pass federally mandated drive-by noise standards. A few functional Ram Air systems were sold over the counter. The twin-scoop NACA hood was an option for any Pontiac A-body for all three years, but was non-functional.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: In a "Popular Mechanics" Owners survey, 67% rated the build quality as good to excellent and 79% liked the handling. However, 22.1% disliked the fuel economy.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: Described as "The mid-sized Pontiac with Foreign Intrigue ... American Ingenuity" on the front cover of the four-page 1974 Grand Am brochure that featured a green four-door sedan, only minor styling changes highlighted this year's model including a redesigned nose and grille with 12 openings with horizontal bars. The 1974 Grand Am's rear-end styling was redesigned for the new 5 mph crash standards and had vertical rear taillights with relocated license plate and fuel filler above the bumper. Engine and transmission offerings were the same as 1973, but four-speed manual transmissions were no longer offered in California, where only the Turbo Hydra-matic automatic was available. Inside, the genuine African crossfire mahogany trim on the instrument panel was replaced by a simulated material due to delamination problems on the 1973 models but the real wood was continued on the center console, optional console clock, and radio bezel.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: Engine choices were 2-barrel single exhaust producing , 400 cubic inch 4-barrel single exhaust producing , 400 cubic inch 4-barrel dual exhaust producing , and 455 cubic inch 4-barrel dual exhaust producing .


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: Sales were down more than 50 percent due to the 1973 oil crisis, and while the recession continued, prices increased for all 1974 model cars. Only 17,083 Grand Ams were built.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The 1975 Grand Am looked the same as the 1974 model, but had vertical front grille bars, a body-colored rear bumper, and a catalytic converter single-exhaust, which mandated the use of unleaded fuel, along with GM's High Energy Ignition and other items promoted as part of Pontiac's maximum mileage system. In addition to the standard roofline with louvered rear side windows, Grand Am coupes with the optional vinyl roof could be ordered with a full triangular rear side window or a vertical opera window similar to that found on the Grand Prix.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: Inside, the Strato bucket seats received revised vertical trim patterns, the adjustable lumbar support controls were dropped, and only the passenger seat had a recliner, a "safety practice" which would continue at GM for a decade. New this year as a no-cost option was a 60/40 bench seat with a center armrest.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: Engines were also detuned to meet the 1975 emission regulations with the compression ratio dropping to a new low of 7.6 to 1 on some engines. Standard was the V8 with two-barrel carburetor, optional were a 400, or a - both with four-barrel carburetors. Turbo Hydra-matic was standard equipment and the only transmission offered this year. Performance from 0-60 was 7.7 seconds.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: A total of 10,679 Grand Ams were built in 1975 and the series was dropped after this year due to declining sales and rising gas prices as a result of the 1973 oil crisis. Another factor leading to the Grand Am's cancellation were plans for all 1976 Pontiac A-body cars receiving the newly approved rectangular headlights, which would necessitate a complete redesign of the Grand Am's Endura nose and Pontiac officials decided that the expense of such a redesign could not be justified based on low production numbers. The basic GM A-body design remained until 1977.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: For 1978 the Grand Am nameplate returned on a downsized model using the Grand Prix's G platform. It was offered in both two- and four-door models featuring a vertical bar grille and other trimmings to differentiate it from the LeMans, upon which it was based. Like the 1973-1975 models, this generation of Grand Ams also featured standard radial tires plus an upgraded Radial Tuned Suspension with front and rear sway bars. Interiors were similar to the Grand LeMans with either a standard notchback bench seat, optional 60/40 bench or Strato bucket seats with console and recliner on passenger side, an optional tachometer, and a choice of either cloth or "Morrokide" vinyl upholstery.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: Standard equipment included power steering, power front disc brakes, Turbo Hydra-matic transmission, full instrumentation and Pontiac's V8 engine with two-barrel carburetor producing . Optional was a 4-bbl version, along with numerous extra cost items such as snowflake wheels, whitewall or white-lettered tires, power windows and seats, tilt steering wheel, sunroof, and cruise control.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: In California, where more stringent emission regulations made Pontiac V8 engines unavailable since 1977, Chevrolet V8 engines were substituted including a standard V8 with two-barrel carburetor or optional four-barrel version with .


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: Very few changes were made for 1979 other than the normal trim revisions and the demotion of the standard powertrain to a Buick V6 and floor-mounted three-speed manual transmission as standard equipment. The 301 V8, rated at with a two-barrel carburetor or with four-barrel, and Turbo Hydra-matic transmission were now optional. In terms of appearance, the only difference was that the park/signal and marker lenses were changed to amber ones.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: New for 1979 was a four-speed manual available with the 150-horsepower 301 four-barrel in 49 states. In California, only an automatic transmission was available and engine offerings included the standard Buick V6 engine with two-barrel carburetor and or optional Chevrolet 305 V8 rated at with four-barrel carb.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The wood-grained instrument panel was replaced by brushed aluminum trim, while the gauge faces changed from silver with black letters and numbers to black with white letters and numbers. The same seating choices in either cloth or Morrokide trims were offered including the standard notchback bench seat, or optional 60/40 bench or Strato bucket seats with console. An AM/FM CB radio combo was available and a heated rear window was optional.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The year 1980 was the finale for the second-generation Grand Am. The four-door sedan was dropped, leaving only the two-door coupe, which received only minor appearance changes. Strato bucket seats in cloth or Morrokide upholstery were standard equipment along with a center console with floor shifter for the Turbo Hydra-matic transmission.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The V6 engine, two-barrel V8s and manual transmissions were dropped leaving the four-barrel Pontiac 301 V8 with the only engine offered in 49 states or, in California, the Chevrolet 305 V8. Slow sales of the Grand Am led to its discontinuation after the 1980 model year.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: In the first year of the NASCAR Busch Series (1982) the championship was won by Jack Ingram in a 1980 Grand Am.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: For the 1985 model year, Pontiac reused the Grand Am name for a new compact car to replace the aging and unpopular Phoenix (based on GM's X Body) using the new-for-1985 N Body. The Grand Am shared the same front-wheel drive platform as the Buick Somerset (renamed Skylark in 1987) and the Oldsmobile Calais (renamed Cutlass Calais in 1988). Initially, the Grand Am was available in base or LE trim in coupes only. The 2.5 L Tech IV was standard, while a 3.0 L Buick V6 was optional. A 5-speed manual was standard, and a 3-speed automatic was optional, the latter required if the V6 engine was ordered. In 1986, a sedan and sportier SE trim were added. The SE trim had the V6 engine standard, lower body cladding, composite headlamps, a slightly revised interior with the different cloth used on all seats and door panel inserts, analog instrumentation (base and LE models had digital), and included 14-inch aluminum wheels.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: 1987 models brought more power to the base engine, and a new Turbocharged four-cylinder engine taken from the Sunbird GT. The 2.0 L turbo engine became the base engine for the SE model for 1987. Cars with the turbo engine received a turbo boost gauge in the place of the voltmeter. A test by "Popular Mechanics" for quarter-mile acceleration with the Turbo engine resulted with the 5-speed manual taking 15.73 seconds and 16.02 seconds with the automatic transmission. They noted large amounts of torque steer from a dead stop. This was also the last year that the Buick sourced 3.0 L engine would be available in the Grand Am, as it was discontinued in mid-1987. New for styling were composite front headlights, but only on the LE models.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: For 1988, front seat belts were moved from the b-pillars to the doors, to meet the passive restraint mandate for 1989. The Quad-4 "LD2" engine became available for Grand Am's in 1988, replacing the previous model year's 3.0 L V6 on the options list. It is worth noting that 'Sport buckets' borrowed from the Trans Am GTA, were added to the options list this year for SE's. Other options included a Driver Information Center, an electric trunk release, and a moon roof. The base model was dropped after this model year.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: A totally new front and rear fascia along with an interior redesign for 1989. The 2.5 L gained balance shafts and an increase of power. The 2.3 L 'LD2' Quad 4 replaced the 2.0 L Turbo engine as standard equipment in the SE midway through the year. This was the final year that the 'Sport Bucket' seats were available to SEs.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The 2.3 L "LG0" Quad 4 was announced as being available late in the model year on Grand Am SE's with only 200 were built. All 1989 "LG0" Quad 4 Grand Am's were red on grey coupes, with standard appointments including (but not limited to) 16-inch machined-face wheels. The 16-inch wheels were only optional to SE's. This would be the first year that the Grand A-inch could be ordered with either 16-inch wheels or a factory-installed CD player.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: For 1990, a new High-Output version of the Quad 4 (mated to only a 5-speed manual) became the standard engine for the SE. Opting for the automatic transmission changed the engine to the less powerful "LD2" Quad 4. The 16-inch wheels moved from the option list to standard equipment for the SE's this year. The LE gained a 'Sport Performance Package' (RPO: W32) late in the 1990 model year run. The W32 option included SE ground effects (minus wheel well flares), the same standard (as well as optional) "SE" drive train, 14-inch aluminum wheels, a larger front larger sway bar, and a rear swaybar that were only otherwise available on the SE model. 1991 was the final model year of this body style and it was essentially a carry-over year. The only changes were the addition of an Anti-lock Brakes System (ABS) as standard equipment for all Grand Am SE's (not available to LE's), and all 1991 model year cars fitted with a 5-speed transmission received a redesigned "short throw" shifter.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: For 1992 the Grand Am's chassis was widened to match the Corsica's; the suspension and braking systems are about eighty percent in common. On the SE, an anti-lock braking system (ABS VI) was available. It also received new bodywork and a revised interior. A V6 option returned in the form of the 3.3 L 3300 V6, mated to a three-speed transmission. The 2.3 L I4 came as either a SOHC or DOHC. A high output version of the DOHC was offered as well. A new GT trim was offered that featured new wheels, smoother, yet larger cladding, and more standard equipment.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: 1993 brought further refinement to the Quad 4. This resulted in a loss of to all engines. In 1994, the V6 and standard 3-speed powertrain were effectively replaced by GM's new 3.1 L 3100 series V6 engine and new 4-speed automatic transmission. A driver's side airbag also became standard for 1994, but the door-mounted automatic seatbelts remained. In 1995, the Quad 4 engines received balance shafts and direct driven power steering off the intake camshaft. The 4-speed automatic that was mated to the 3.1 L in 1994 became optional as a step-up from the 3-speed for 1995 on the new Quad 4 engine.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: In Japan, this generation was officially imported by Yanase and Suzuki with left-hand drive. The main imports were the SE and V6 models. The V6 model, however, was only offered for the 1996 model year there. All models had a three-speed (later 4-speed) automatic transmission.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: For 1996, the Grand Am received a mid-generation facelift. Outside, an updated front fascia, rear fascia, and side skirts gave the Grand Am a smoother, more rounded look. The interior was redesigned and featured dual airbags, easier to use audio system and HVAC controls, and softer plastics. The Quad 4 was replaced by a new 'Twin Cam' 2.4 L DOHC (Dual Over Head Cam) four-cylinder engine. Still based on the Quad 4, this was a re-engineered version of the previous year's 2.3 L with SFI fuel injection. The new engine made of torque at lower rpm than the older 2.3 L. The 3.1 L V6 remained optional. The 3-speed automatic was dropped for 1996, and the 4-speed automatic featured standard traction control. Daytime running lamps with automatic lighting control were newly standard on all Grand Ams. 1997 models featured standard air conditioning. The Grand Am was redesigned for 1999.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: Available in late spring 1998, the basic design of the fifth-generation Grand Am was shared with the Oldsmobile Alero (also new for 1999) and Chevrolet Malibu (introduced in 1996). The length was shortened slightly, but the wheelbase grew by more than three inches (76 mm). The suspension was now fully independent, with a revised MacPherson-Strut design upfront. The rear suspension is a more refined Multi-link design. The new Grand Am was offered in five trim levels: SE, SE1, SE2, GT, and GT1. The 2.4 L Twin Cam engine was carried over, with and of torque. GM's 3400 V6, previously exclusive to their minivans, became available as an option on the SE and SE1 and was standard on all other trim levels. For 1999, all the Grand Ams featured a 4-speed automatic transmission. The GT and GT1 also included 4-wheel disc brakes, and all Grand Ams until 2003 included standard ABS and Traction Control (made optional on SE from 2003). The GTs also had a Ram Air induction system, providing an extra five horsepower and 5 lb/ft of torque over the 3.4 L V6 when installed in any of the SE-level trims.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The 2000 models added a Getrag 5-speed manual transmission as standard equipment with the four-cylinder. On GT models, the badge on the front fenders now read "RamAir V6", instead of "V6H.O." on 1999 GT's. ASC Creative Services designed the Grand Am SC/T for the SEMA show circuit, which was the concept design for the Ram Air hood and body package. The SC/T later became an appearance package, beginning in 2003. A road test by "Car and Driver" showed a 0-60 mph time of 7.7 seconds in a GT sedan with an automatic.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: For 2001, the SE2 trim level was dropped, a new family of Delco stereos and new wheel designs was introduced. The radio size in 2001 also changed from a 1.5 DIN size to a full 2 DIN size. Halfway through 2002, the Twin Cam 2.4 L engine was replaced by a new 2.2 L "Ecotec" four-cylinder, which had improvements over the engine it replaced, but produced less output; and of torque. Changes for 2002 also included a stationary cup holder in the center console as opposed to a removable one.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The body cladding on SE models was removed in 2003, a change which affected other models throughout Pontiac. Also in 2003, anti-lock brakes and traction control were made optional on the SE. In 2004, an MP3 player was added to the uplevel CD player. In 2005, Pontiac began phasing out the Grand Am lineup for the new G6 replacement. SE sedans were retained for fleet sale and GT coupes were the last Grand Am model available for public sale.


title: Pontiac Grand Am

text: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) gives the 1999-2005 Grand Am a "Poor" rating in its frontal crash test for marginal structural integrity, a possible head injury, a potential right leg injury, and poor dummy control.


title: Du hast

text: "Du hast" () is a song by German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein. It was released as the second single from their second album "Sehnsucht" (1997). It has appeared on numerous soundtracks for films, most notably "", "How High", and the home video "CKY2K". It is featured in the music video games "Guitar Hero 5" and "Rock Band 3". The song's title is a play on the homophones "du hasst" ("you hate") and "du hast" ("you have").


title: Du hast

text: There are two versions of the song: the original version completely in German, and a second version partially in English (found on special editions of the "Sehnsucht" album). In the second version, the first chorus and the verses are in English and the last chorus is in German. The English lyrics are not a direct translation of the German; the original lyrics take advantage of a pair of German homophones: when conjugated in the second person singular form (i.e. "you"), the verbs "haben" (to have) and "hassen" (to hate) become respectively "du hast" and "du hasst", which sound identical. The guitar riff is similar to Ministry's "Just One Fix".


title: Du hast

text: The first known performance of the song dates from 9 April 1997 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Over the years, several stunts have been used during the live performances of "Du hast", ranging from the dildo used in "Bück dich", to the bow used in "Du riechst so gut". In their "Reise, Reise" and "Liebe ist für alle da" tour, flames shoot several feet into the air and Till Lindemann fired with a different bow into the air, "starting" a chain reaction that fired rockets over the audience. Being a fan favourite, it has been played in almost every concert to date since its initial performance. When performed live, the intro is always a bit longer than in the studio version.


title: Racial discrimination

text: Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain group. Governments can discriminate in a de facto fashion or explicitly in law, for example through policies of racial segregation, disparate enforcement of laws, or disproportionate allocation of resources. Some jurisdictions have anti-discrimination laws which prohibit the government or individuals from discriminating based on race (and sometimes other factors) in various circumstances. Some institutions and laws use affirmative action to attempt to overcome or compensate for the effects of racial discrimination. In some cases, this is simply enhanced recruitment of members of underrepresented groups; in other cases, there are firm racial quotas. Opponents of strong remedies like quotas characterize them as reverse discrimination, where members of a dominant or majority group are discriminated against.


title: Racial discrimination

text: Racial boundaries can involve many factors (such as ancestry, physical appearance, national origin, language, religion, and culture), and can be set in law by governments, or may depend on local cultural norms.


title: Racial discrimination

text: Discrimination based on skin color,(measured for example on the Fitzpatrick scale) is closely related to racial discrimination, as skin color is often used as a proxy for race in everyday interactions, and is one factor used by legal systems that apply detailed criteria. For example, the Population Registration Act, 1950 was used to enforce the apartheid system in South Africa, and Brazil has set up boards to assign a racial category to people for the purpose of enforcing racial quotas. Because of genetic variation, skin color, and other physical appearance can vary considerably even among siblings. Some children with the same parents either self-identify or are identified by others as being of different races. In some cases, the same person is identified as a different race on a birth certificate versus a death certificate. Different rules (such as hypodescent vs. hyperdescent) classify the same people differently, and for various reasons some people "pass" as a member of a different race than they would otherwise be classified in, possibly avoiding legal or interpersonal discrimination.


title: Racial discrimination

text: A given race is sometimes defined as a set of ethnicities from populations in neighboring geographic areas (such as a continent like Australia or a subcontinental region like South Asia) that are typically similar in appearance. In such cases, racial discrimination can occur because someone is of an ethnicity defined as outside that race, or ethnic discrimination (or ethnic hatred, ethnic conflict, and ethnic violence) can occur between groups who consider each other to be the same race. Discrimination based on caste is similar; because caste is hereditary, people of the same caste are usually considered to be of the same race and ethnicity.


title: Racial discrimination

text: A person's national origin (the country in which they were born or have citizenship) is sometimes used in determining a person's ethnicity or race, but discrimination based on national origin can also be independent of race (and is sometimes specifically addressed in anti-discrimination laws). Language and culture are sometimes markers of national origin and can prompt instances of discrimination based on national origin. For example, someone of a South Asian ethnicity who grew up in London, speaks British English with a London accent, and whose family has assimilated to British culture might be treated more favorably than someone of the same ethnicity who is a recent immigrant and speaks Indian English. Such a difference in treatment might still informally be described as a form of racism, or more precisely as xenophobia or anti-immigrant sentiment.


title: Racial discrimination

text: In countries where migration, unification, or breakup has occurred relatively recently, the process of ethnogenesis may complicate the determination of both ethnicity and race and is related to personal identity or affiliation. Sometimes the ethnicity of immigrants in their new country is defined as their national origin, and span multiple races. For example, the 2015 Community Survey of the United States Census accepted identification as Mexican Americans of any race (for example including Native Americans from Mexico, descendants of Africans transported to New Spain as enslaved people, and descendants of Spanish colonists). In surveys taken by the Mexican government, the same people would have been described as indigenous, black, or white (with a large number of people unclassified who might be described as Mestizo). The U.S. census asks separate questions about Hispanic and Latino Americans to distinguish language from racial identity. Discrimination based on being Hispanic or Latino does occur in the United States and might be considered a form of racial discrimination if "Hispanic" or "Latino" are considered a new racial category derived from ethnicities which formed after the independence of the former colonies of the Americas. Many statistical reports apply both characteristics, for example comparing Non-Hispanic whites to other groups.