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120 Minutes (2004 TV program)

120 Minutes (formerly The Alternative and VH1 Classic 120 Minutes) is an alternative rock music video program that debuted in August 2004 on VH1 Classic and currently airs on MTV Classic. The program follows a similar format to that of 120 Minutes, which aired on MTV from 1986 to 2003.

Following VH1 Classic's transition into MTV Classic on August 1, 2016, VH1 Classic 120 Minutes was relaunched under the name 120 Minutes on August 8, 2016. It was one of several VH1 Classic original programs to be retained by MTV Classic.

Summary and format
As with the original 120 Minutes, the series features videos from alternative rock artists, as well as those from several other related genres, including post-punk, punk rock, new wave, college rock, sophisti-pop, alternative dance, Britpop, jangle pop, power pop, dream pop, grunge, gothic rock, shoegazing and noise rock.

The VH1 Classic version of the program focused primarily on videos from the 1980s and early 1990s, with occasional videos from late-1970s and mid-1990s artists. The MTV Classic version features videos from largely the same time period, although with a focus on the late 1980s to the late-1990s. Videos dating from the 1970s and early 1980s are de-emphasized, or have been removed from the playlist entirely.

Unlike the original MTV version of 120 Minutes which featured a host introducing videos and occasional interviews and live performances, the VH1 Classic and MTV Classic versions of the program are exclusively music video blocks. The program is broadcast as two back-to-back 60 minute blocks which total the titular 120 minutes, including commercials.

VH1 Classic 120 Minutes was the final program to air on VH1 Classic before its transition to MTV Classic. In addition, the show aired VH1 Classic's final music video "Don't Talk" by 10,000 Maniacs.

The show plays a very limited number of artists and videos, often repeating the same songs week after week.

Time slot
The Alternative aired in a two-hour version early Sunday mornings at 11 with a repeat at 11 pm Eastern, with additional one-hour shows at those times on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Beginning the weekend of April 28, 2007, The Alternative was renamed 120 Minutes in honor of the classic MTV series of the same name. The series aired that weekend from 4-6 am and 1-3 am early Saturday mornings, and Sunday evenings at 9-11 pm and 1-3 am. Until August 2016, 120 Minutes aired from 4-6 am, usually on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. Ever since the network re-branded as MTV Classic, it airs on Mondays from 12-2 am and again at 3-5 am.

title: 120 Minutes (2004 TV program)


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RIMS

RIMS may refer to:

Institutions

 * Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, in Ranchi, Jharkhand, India
 * Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (disambiguation), various institutes in India
 * Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, a medical college and hospital in Manipur, India
 * Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, attached to Kyoto University in Japan
 * Rhein-Main International Montessori School, a private school in Friedrichsdorf, Germany
 * Risk and Insurance Management Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing risk management
 * Rourkela Institute of Management Studies, a business school in Rourkela, Orissa, India

Other uses

 * RIMS, abbreviation for Royal Indian Marine Ship
 * Regional Input–Output Modeling System
 * Resonance Isolation Mounting System, the original rim mount for kit drums

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

title: RIMS


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Carrowkennedy ambush

The Carrowkennedy ambush was an ambush carried out by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 2 June 1921, during the Irish War of Independence. An IRA flying column, commanded by Michael Kilroy, ambushed a mobile patrol of the Royal Irish Constabulary including Black and Tans recruits at Carrowkennedy, near Westport, County Mayo. It resulted in the deaths of seven of the RIC, including some who were killed by their own rifle grenade. After two hours the RIC surrendered and their weaponry and ammunition were seized by the IRA.

Preparation
On Thursday 2 June, the West Mayo flying column was based in the townland of Claddy, near the road from Westport to Leenaun. In the mid-afternoon, O/C Michael Kilroy was informed that an RIC patrol including two Crossley Tender lorries and a Ford car had stopped at the rural area of Carrowkennedy.

The goal of the RIC that day was to arrest two Wallace brothers who lived in Letterass near Aasleagh Falls. The patrol was commanded by District Inspector (DI) Edward Stevenson, an ex Army officer in the Black Watch from County Down, who had joined the RIC in July 1920 and been promoted to DI in October of that year. A local mechanic/electrician called Gus Delahunt was pressed into service by District Inspector Stevenson to drive the Ford car as a police driver was unwell. It is not clear who owned the car. The RIC were apparently not aware that Delahunt had previously helped the IRA by servicing commandeered vehicles and raiding for petrol. Delahunt led the way in the car with an RIC officer followed by the Crossley tenders. They arrived in Carrowkennedy at about One or Two O'Clock. The local IRA had blocked the road just beyond Cushlough Church with trenches, which the RIC got local men spreading turf to fill in. The IRA Active Service Unit saw the convoy through binoculars from Claddy and made their way secretly to the main road. Kilroy knew that the patrol would have to return the same way as the IRA had destroyed Glenacolly Bridge in Erriff, four miles further towards Leenaun. The approximately 35 well armed IRA volunteers were divided into three sections and subdivided into small units of six men under the command of a more experienced officer. The Westport men, led by Vice-Brigadier Brodie Malone, formed one section. Vice-Brigadier Ned Moane, Jack Keane, Jack McDonagh, Joe Baker, Joe Duffy, Tommy Heavey, the brothers Paddy and Johnny Duffy, Jimmy Flaherty, Batty Cryan. Dr John Madden was on the right. They were placed on high ground 120 yards from the road. They were behind a stone wall and removed stones to form firing positions. Southward was scrub and a stone wall. The second section was formed mainly of Newport men. These included Commander Joe Doherty, Captain Jim Moran and Rick Walsh They were positioned further west, from the end of the first section's position along a wood to the main road, at an old burned-out police hut, which was used in the Land War to keep the Widow Salmon, who still lived Fifty yards to the rear, in order. The third section, from Louisburgh, crossed the road to hold a hill above the junction to Drummin. The sections were to hold fire until all the vehicles were in range of the whole column. Kilroy had learned from the failed ambush at Kilmeena. He handpicked snipers to kill the drivers of both Crossley Tenders. He also assigned men to watch any machine gunners.

On discovering the Glenacolly Bridge destroyed, the patrol went to Darby Hastings Pub for refreshments. The Ford Car had broken down at about the same time, Delahunt had made repairs and was bringingup the rear which he later felt had saved his life. The patrol headed back towards Westport. Contrary to regulations, he was driving the first lorry, when he should have been in the back of the second lorry with his men. This increased his risk and separated him from his men.

Ambush
At 6:30 PM an IRA scout signalled the approach of the patrol. Jimmy O'Flaherty, a former Connaught Ranger, lined up his rifle sights on DI Stevenson in the lead vehicle, killing him with a shot to the head. The lorry lurched forward, stopped in the middle of the road and came under heavy fire from the IRA above. The RIC men quickly tumbled out and got down behind a bank which gave them some cover. They took out a Lewis gun and trained it on the third section of IRA men. After two short bursts of fire, the gunner lay dead beside his gun. A second gunner fired a burst from the Lewis in the direction of the third section, then he swung the muzzle in the air to protect himself from the riflemen above. This was unsuccessful and he too fell dead beneath the gun. Three men in all died trying to use the gun, according to Michael Kilroy. Four men in the lorry were now dead: DI Stevenson and Constables Sydney Blythe, James Brown and John Doherty. The remaining men in the lorry were led by Sergeant Francis Creegan, an Irishman. They attached a rifle grenade launcher to a Lee–Enfield rifle and launched grenades towards the IRA to keep them at bay. Brodie Malone's men were out of range but the grenades kept them from approaching the RIC. The two sides shot at each other with rifles. The IRA sang battle songs. Kilroy feared the IRA would run out of ammunition. Tommy Heavey and Johnnie Duffy had bayonets. They approached the rear of the truck. A grenade had exploded in the truck. A white handkerchief of surrender fluttered. Only three men were alive in the truck: Creegan, Constables Cullen and one Black and Tan.

Meantime the second lorry was stopped by rifle fire from both sides of the road as soon as shots were heard from the direction of the first lorry, killing the second driver. This lorry coasted to the ditch at the side of the road. The men jumped out the back and ran 20 yards to a bridge. Joe Ring ran across the road to get to their rear. The RIC shot at him. He made his way to a hillock and kept them pinned down. William French, a Black and Tan tried a flanking movement on the main RIC position. Jimmy O'Flaherty wounded him and he fell into the ditch near the bridge. After a while the RIC men ran into the thatched cottage of the Widow McGreal facing onto the road. They poked rifles through the front windows and through a window high in the gable which looked down on the Westport road. They needlessly used up a lot of ammunition and then realized that they had left their spare ammunition in the lorry. They unsuccessfully tried to persuade the householder and her young son to fetch the ammunition.

Ernie O'Malley stated that the motor car was some distance behind the second lorry and stopped beyond the cottage. Price stated that it was being towed by the second lorry. Three RIC men jumped off the exposed side and two remained on the sheltered side of the road which had a thicket beside it next to the cottage. One of the RIC men advanced towards the IRA position but was badly wounded.

Two hours went by. Michael Kilroy was worried that if the first lorry did not surrender soon, the column might not have time to concentrate on the RIC men in the cottage. Enemy reinforcements could arrive from Westport, Castlebar or Ballinrobe, by road or over the hills to the east. A fresh assault on the lorry was made by IRA volunteers Johnny Duffy and Tommy Heavey, who had bayonets. A rifle grenade which was being hurled by the RIC fell back into the lorry and exploded, killing the man who threw it and fatally wounding others beside him. A handkerchief was hoisted by Sergeant Creegan on a rifle to surrender. Only one of the men in the lorry was unhurt. Sergeant Creegan was fatally wounded in the legs and abdomen. A door borrowed from a nearby house was used as a stretcher for the badly wounded Creegan. Being both Irish policemen the householder prepared a drink for Creegan and the other wounded constable Cullen who remained outside as it was warm.

With the captured Lewis gun, IRA volunteer O'Flaherty then fired on the occupied cottage from a covered position. The men inside came out with their hands above their heads.

The IRA captured 22 rifles, eight drums for the Lewis gun, several boxes of grenades, 21 revolvers, and about 6000 rounds of rifle ammunition. The IRA then poured petrol over the two lorries and the car and set them ablaze.

The RIC who died were District Inspector Edward James Stevenson, Sergeant Francis Creegan, Constables Sydney Blythe, James Brown, John Doherty, Thomas Dowling, and William French. and the others surrendered. Of the RIC dead, three, John Doherty, of Roscommon, Francis Creegan of Fermanagh and Thomas Dowling of Laois were 'old RIC' constables (having joined the force respectively in 1896 and 1900), while the others were 'Black and Tans', that is war veterans, all except DI Stevenson from Britain, who had joined the RIC in 1920 or 1921. The Black and Tans who surrendered were not killed, even though this policy had been endorsed by IRA General Headquarters. Many of the local people went into hiding to avoid the retribution of the Black and Tans. The IRA volunteers evaded capture by sheltering in safe houses.

title: Carrowkennedy ambush


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Metal Mayhem

Metal Mayhem (formerly Metal Mania or Headbangers) is a block of classic heavy metal/hard rock music videos that first aired on the American television channel VH1 Classic. The series originally featured music videos from 1970s to early 1990s, but since VH1 Classic's transition to MTV Classic, it has now incorporated music videos from the 1980s to mid-1990s and some videos from the 1970s. The block now airs every Friday between 8pm and midnight Central Time. In addition, Metal Mania was briefly changed to Headbangers before reverting to its original until it was changed to Metal Mayhem.

title: Metal Mayhem


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Missionaries of the Precious Blood

The Missionaries of the Precious Blood (Congregatio Missionariorum Pretiosissimi Sanguinis) is a Catholic community of priests and brothers. The society was founded by Saint Gaspar del Bufalo in 1815.

The name "Missionaries of the Precious Blood" is a shortened English translation of the Latin "Congregatio Missionariorum Pretiosissimi Sanguinis Domini Nostri Jesu Christi" (the Congregation of Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ). Priests and brothers add the nominal letters C.PP.S. after their names to indicate their membership in the Congregation. It is a Society of Apostolic Life composed of secular priests and brothers who live in community. Members do not take vows but are held together by the bond of charity only and by a promise of "fidelity to the Congregation of Missionaries of the Precious Blood in accordance with its Constitution and Statutes, giving [themselves] entirely to the service of God": see the formula of incorporation found in C37 of the Normative Texts 2008. The stated charism of the society is to bring the Word of God to where it is most needed.

History
Saint Gaspare del Bufalo founded the society at the request of Pope Pius VII, who was shocked by the spiritual situation in Rome after he returned from exile. Pius decided that missions should be established throughout the Papal States. In 1814, he selected del Bufalo and some other priests to undertake the responsibility, assigning them to the abbey of San Felice at Giano dell'Umbria, in the Umbria region of Italy. Del Bufalo and his confreres made a foundation on 15 August 1815. Soon, several houses were opened, and in 1820 missions were established for the express purpose of reaching out to the bandits who plagued the area.

However, when Leo XII was elected pope in 1823, the growth of the society was checked. Leo XII who, misinformed as to the work of the congregation and its founder, was unfavourably inclined towards its mission and objected to the proposed name, ‘Congregation of the Most Precious Blood’, seeing it as something of a novelty. Eventually, the society was cleared of all accusations and the name was justified by reference to sacred Scripture. When Gaspare died of cholera in 1837 the society had some 200 members and the Rule was given approval in 1841.

Giovanni Merlini was a successor of Gaspare, a native of Spoleto and a friend of Pius IX, who had been elected in 1846, and whose exile at Gaeta he had shared when Pius fled from the Roman Republic in November 1848. Through the influence of Pope Pius IX, several new houses were opened in Italy, and one each in Alsace and Bavaria. The mother-house was established at the Church of Santa Maria in Trivio, Rome. In the 1860s the Italian Government suppressed some twenty-five houses of the society, including the Maria in Trivio property and confiscated the revenues of the seminary at Albano. The Kulturkampf (1871–1878), enacted by the prime minister of Prussia Otto von Bismarck against the Catholic Church, closed the houses in Alsace and in several German-speaking states.

In 1844 the society was introduced into North America by Rev. Francis de Sales Brunner, at the request of John Baptist Purcell the Bishop of Cincinnati. They came to Ohio to serve the German-speaking Catholics. Fr. Brunner’s mother, Mother Maria Anna Brunner, established the Sisters of the Precious Blood in Dayton.

The society has remained mostly in the Midwest. It conducts two colleges in Indiana: Calumet College of St. Joseph in Hammond and Saint Joseph's College in Rensselaer (originally a school for Native Americans). It previously ran St. Charles Seminary in Carthagena, Ohio; now a retirement center for priests. The society also runs parishes, primarily in Ohio, Indiana and Missouri. There are also three in California

During the 20th century the Italian province sent members to minister to those of Italian ancestry in North America and eventually, in 1987, these priests and brothers established the Atlantic Province, based in Ontario, Canada. The society continued to prosper throughout and communities were established in Spain (1898), Brazil (1929), Chile (1947), Peru (1962), Tanzania (1966), Guatemala (1976), Croatia (1979), Poland (1982), India (1985), Mexico (1995), Vietnam (1997) and Colombia (2005).

Formation
The members of the society do not undergo a novitiate or take religious vows, but go through a period of formation which takes several years; they also make promises.

Prospective members begin by living in community for a two-year period called ‘Initial Formation’; during this time they experience the daily routine of the members, learn more about the society and engage in some form of apostolic ministry. Candidates undertake daily Eucharist and spiritual direction, and have ample time for prayer and reflection. In North America it is also common for candidates to complete an undergraduate degree if they have not done so previously.

Candidates then enter what is called ‘Special Formation’ which lasts a little longer than a year. During this period, they spend time in other provinces and live with members who are engaged in full-time ministry. If possible they also visit some communities of the Precious Blood Sisters. At the completion of Special Formation, they are temporarily incorporated into the society by making a promise of fidelity and a bond of charity.

In the final stage, the candidates enter ‘Advanced Formation’ during which they focus on how they will serve Christians. For those called to be brothers, training is undertaken in a specific area. They then become permanently incorporated into the society during a ceremony called the Rite of Definitive Incorporation. Those who are called to minister as priests go through the appropriate degree programme at a Catholic university before being ordained to the diaconate and then priesthood. As secular clergy the members of the society take a vow of celibacy as part of being ordained a deacon.

Ministries
In North America the Missionaries of the Precious Blood minister to those who have experienced family violence and those who live in socio-economically deprived cities such as Chicago. They serve as chaplains in hospitals dedicated to the care of veterans, teach in schools, run parishes and conduct retreats In Europe the members of the society engage in parish ministry, teaching in schools, conducting parish missions, chaplaincy work as well as sending personnel to other countries.

After Vatican II (1962–1965) the society made a concerted effort to minister in more areas of Latin America as well as Africa and Asia. In Tanzania the Canadian members of the society are specifically involved in assisting people to establish and maintain projects such as healthcare, improved agriculture and education. In Chile, the missionaries from the Cincinnati Province minister in a poor parish in Santiago and in the school Saint Gaspar College. In Peru they work in the harsh conditions of La Oroya (one of the most polluted places in the world ) a mining town in the Andes. In Guatemala they help staff large urban and rural parishes and established a clinic. In India, due to many states forbidding Hindus from embracing Christianity, the society involves itself with Christians, rather than trying to convert others. The society also ministers to those in the slums, regardless of religion, through such means as health care, caring for street children, orphans and daycare for mothers and children. The Indian Vicariate, there has been great growth in recent years, and the society ordinated 14 young men in 2010.

Organisation
The main administrative body of the society is the General Curia, composed of five elected members: Moderator General, Vice-Moderator and 3 Councillors. Each province, vicariate and mission is headed by a Director elected from among the members.

As of 2015: Provinces: Atlantic (Canada), Cincinnati, Iberian (Spain and Portugal) Italy, Kansas City, Poland, Tanzania and Teutonic (Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein). Vicariates: Brazil, Chile, and India. Missions: Central America, Colombia, Croatia, Peru, and Vietnam. More than 500 Precious Blood priests and religious brothers serving in about twenty countries.

The congregation also has lay associates, called Companions.

Spirituality and charism
According to the Generalate website, "'Christ's shedding his Blood was for St. Gaspar and is for us the sign of God's great love for all people. This spirituality of the Blood continues to impel us to build community through the inclusion of the marginalized, to walk in solidarity with those who suffer, and to seek reconciliation in a divided world'."

After the Second Vatican Council, like all communities, that of the Precious Blood responded to the Council’s challenge to rediscover their charism. The society, which has maintained its purpose of bringing the Gospel to where it considers it is most needed, declared: We are united by a bond of charity and rooted in the Spirituality of the Blood of Jesus. We are called to participate in the on-going renewal of the Church and the realisation of the Presence of God among ourselves and those we serve.

In our willingness to be flexible and responsive to changing needs, we fulfill our mission through: •	supporting and nurturing one another •	embracing a life of prayer •	calling forth the gifts of the laity and working in collaboration with them •	preaching and witnessing the word of God •	promoting conversion and reconciliation •	pursuing justice ever mindful of the poor and marginalised.

Colleges owned and affiliated

 * Saint Joseph's College, Indiana
 * Calumet College of St. Joseph, Whiting, Indiana

title: Missionaries of the Precious Blood


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Dai-Guard

Dai-Guard (地球防衛企業 ダイ・ガード) is an anime television series, produced and animated by XEBEC, and directed by Seiji Mizushima. It aired from October 5, 1999, to March 28, 2000, on TV Tokyo, running for 26 episodes. 6 volumes of videos were released on VHS and DVD. The series also had a very brief run (two episodes) on Cartoon Network through Toonami's "Giant Robot Week".

The series is based around three office workers of the 21st Century Defense Security Corporation's Public Relations Division 2 who, with the company's giant robot, Dai-Guard, fight interdimensional alien beings called "Heterodynes". Unlike most giant robot anime, Dai-Guard performs on much more realistic physics, making it heavy, slow, and difficult to control. Also, the Heterodynes seem to be the least of the 21st Century Corporation's problems as they experience opposition in the form of massive damage claims, lawsuits, rivals and a jealous and antagonistic military who wishes to take back Dai-Guard for themselves.

Plot
On February 24, 2018, in the Northwest gap of the Sea of Japan, a giant creature called a Heterodyne appears and goes on a rampage, destroying a major city and killing countless people before being destroyed itself by a weapon of mass destruction known as an "O-E (Over-Explosion) bomb". In the aftermath, a giant robotic weapon system, code-named Dai-Guard, was developed for the military by the 21st Century Defense Security Corporation as an alternative to the future use of such weapons.

However, no further attacks occur for the next twelve years and the 21st Century Corporation is allowed to keep the useless weapon as a mascot which is managed by Public Relations Division 2. However, during a security exposition in 2030, a Heterodyne attacks and the ill-prepared and unarmed robot is taken into battle by its pilot Akagi Shunsuke. His headstrong nature, combined with the talents of his fellow crew, enable Dai-Guard to be victorious against multiple Heterodyne attacks causing the military to want it back.

Heterodyne are mysterious entities formed from dimensional quakes all around Japan and are attracted to electromagnetic hot spots. Crystalline hexagons called Fractal Knots act as their nucleus, and they form bodies using the matter around them. Although Fractal Knots replicate themselves indefinitely, if the original is destroyed it will immediately reduce the rest of the body into ethanol. The Heterodyne are dangerous and adaptable yet not invulnerable. They are a threat that must be faced in a dangerous world like typhoons, earthquakes or tsunami. Each one has a different physical appearance and behaviour.

Much of the series concerns the conflict between the Corporation with its office politics, profit driven, bureaucratic nature and staff beliefs, and the Anzenhosho Army (ANPO) with its adherence to protocols, procedures and concern for its public profile. Both the Corporation and the Army have people who are more concerned with ambition and status than the need to serve and protect the population. A strong theme within the story is the need for cooperation between talented individuals to achieve a common goal.

Characters

 * Shunsuke Akagi
 * The primary pilot of Dai-Guard. The headstrong, idealistic and impulsive, 25-year-old Akagi can be seen as the heart and brawn of the three Dai-Guard pilots. Beforehand, he was merely an office worker for the 21st Century Defense Security Corporation, but he manages to achieve his dreams of becoming a "Giant Robot pilot". During the return of the Heterodynes, he and his two friends Ibuki and Aoyama become the pilots of Dai-Guard and intend to put it to use in order to fight off the Heterodyne threat. Akagi loves his job a little too much and manages to stick out among his fellow workers as the more enthusiastic one. Akagi always has the best intentions, even though they usually get him into trouble. Intriguingly, his distinctive personality makes him a natural as Dai-Guard's primary pilot and his cartoon-samurai ethical code quickly wins him a place in the hearts of the public. He refuses to take or allow actions that will endanger civilian lives and/or property if there is any alternative whatsoever.
 * The primary pilot of Dai-Guard. The headstrong, idealistic and impulsive, 25-year-old Akagi can be seen as the heart and brawn of the three Dai-Guard pilots. Beforehand, he was merely an office worker for the 21st Century Defense Security Corporation, but he manages to achieve his dreams of becoming a "Giant Robot pilot". During the return of the Heterodynes, he and his two friends Ibuki and Aoyama become the pilots of Dai-Guard and intend to put it to use in order to fight off the Heterodyne threat. Akagi loves his job a little too much and manages to stick out among his fellow workers as the more enthusiastic one. Akagi always has the best intentions, even though they usually get him into trouble. Intriguingly, his distinctive personality makes him a natural as Dai-Guard's primary pilot and his cartoon-samurai ethical code quickly wins him a place in the hearts of the public. He refuses to take or allow actions that will endanger civilian lives and/or property if there is any alternative whatsoever.

 * Ibuki Momoi
 * Years ago, during the last Heterodyne attack, Ibuki's father (a scientist whose theories predicted the appearance of the Heterodynes) was killed in the attack. Ever since that incident, Ibuki wanted revenge against the Heterodynes. She becomes the navigator of Dai-Guard for this very reason. However, she learns the less than heroic truth about her father, and it leaves her without an emotional anchor. Ibuki has a rather strained relationship with her stepfather, who at first is against Ibuki piloting Dai-Guard but becomes the person who helps her understand her father and fight her personal demons in time to save the world with much more clarity. As with Akagi, her personality meshes well with her position as Dai-Guard's navigator-she is so obsessed with details that she can make quick and precise summaries of a Heterodyne's abilities, often noticing subtle flaws in a given Heterodyne that allow the team to destroy it with minimal casualties.
 * Years ago, during the last Heterodyne attack, Ibuki's father (a scientist whose theories predicted the appearance of the Heterodynes) was killed in the attack. Ever since that incident, Ibuki wanted revenge against the Heterodynes. She becomes the navigator of Dai-Guard for this very reason. However, she learns the less than heroic truth about her father, and it leaves her without an emotional anchor. Ibuki has a rather strained relationship with her stepfather, who at first is against Ibuki piloting Dai-Guard but becomes the person who helps her understand her father and fight her personal demons in time to save the world with much more clarity. As with Akagi, her personality meshes well with her position as Dai-Guard's navigator-she is so obsessed with details that she can make quick and precise summaries of a Heterodyne's abilities, often noticing subtle flaws in a given Heterodyne that allow the team to destroy it with minimal casualties.

 * Keiichiro Aoyama
 * Both a veritable ladies' man and somewhat mysterious, Aoyama is the engineer of Dai-Guard. Most of the time, Aoyama disappears after work, often taking off early. While his friends believe he is off womanizing, it turns out that Aoyama is caring for his sick mother, who personally does not want to become Aoyama's top priority over piloting Dai-Guard. As his experiences grow during his time piloting Dai-Guard, he meets more people from his past that he once again crosses paths with. Like his fellow pilots, he possesses personality traits that assist him in his role as Dai-Guard's engineer. Aoyama is always looking for ways to save time and effort, so not only does he regulate the robot's systems with clockwork proficiency, but he will intuitively notice methods by which the team can accomplish its goal with less effort.
 * Both a veritable ladies' man and somewhat mysterious, Aoyama is the engineer of Dai-Guard. Most of the time, Aoyama disappears after work, often taking off early. While his friends believe he is off womanizing, it turns out that Aoyama is caring for his sick mother, who personally does not want to become Aoyama's top priority over piloting Dai-Guard. As his experiences grow during his time piloting Dai-Guard, he meets more people from his past that he once again crosses paths with. Like his fellow pilots, he possesses personality traits that assist him in his role as Dai-Guard's engineer. Aoyama is always looking for ways to save time and effort, so not only does he regulate the robot's systems with clockwork proficiency, but he will intuitively notice methods by which the team can accomplish its goal with less effort.

 * Shirou Shirota
 * An army officer who is assigned as the Tactical Advisor to the Dai-Guard team. He is originally very strict with regulations, and insistent that civilians should not be allowed to handle the Heterodyne crisis. However, his interactions with the employees of Public Relations Division 2, especially Akagi, causes him to change his views. He eventually becomes one of their biggest supporters in the army, and often risks his own career to help them.
 * An army officer who is assigned as the Tactical Advisor to the Dai-Guard team. He is originally very strict with regulations, and insistent that civilians should not be allowed to handle the Heterodyne crisis. However, his interactions with the employees of Public Relations Division 2, especially Akagi, causes him to change his views. He eventually becomes one of their biggest supporters in the army, and often risks his own career to help them.

 * President Ookouchi
 * The president of 21st Century Defense Security. He was previously an army officer and was the one responsible for ordering the use of O-E Weapons during the Heterodyne attack twelve years ago. Because of this, he is determined to avoid the use of these weapons again and is thus very supportive of the Dai-Guard team. He was briefly voted out of office by the company's board of directors but was reinstated when the company began to flounder without him.
 * The president of 21st Century Defense Security. He was previously an army officer and was the one responsible for ordering the use of O-E Weapons during the Heterodyne attack twelve years ago. Because of this, he is determined to avoid the use of these weapons again and is thus very supportive of the Dai-Guard team. He was briefly voted out of office by the company's board of directors but was reinstated when the company began to flounder without him.

 * Haruo Oosugi
 * The chief and supervisor of Public Relations Division 2. He has a very easy-going personality and is always supportive of his staff.
 * The chief and supervisor of Public Relations Division 2. He has a very easy-going personality and is always supportive of his staff.

 * Shinyu Yokozawa
 * The aid to Chief Oosugi, who also helps oversee Dai-Guards' operations. He is married with a young daughter. As his daughter has a sickly constitution, he is often concerned with the safety of his family.

 * Noriko Ooyama
 * At 28, she is the oldest of the girls that work in the Public Relations Division 2 office and is seen as an older sister figure to the other employees. Her hometown of Hiroshima helps inspire her to help people, on account of what happened to the city during the War. Among the girls employed by the division, she is the most responsible. She is often concerned about the wellbeing of Akagi, and often nags him about his work and health.
 * At 28, she is the oldest of the girls that work in the Public Relations Division 2 office and is seen as an older sister figure to the other employees. Her hometown of Hiroshima helps inspire her to help people, on account of what happened to the city during the War. Among the girls employed by the division, she is the most responsible. She is often concerned about the wellbeing of Akagi, and often nags him about his work and health.

 * Chiaki Nakahara
 * Despite being the second oldest of the office girls at 25, she is very shy, easily flustered, and the shortest member of Public Relations Division 2. However, she is very dependable at doing her job, being the head of accounting for the division. She has a slight crush on Aoyama.
 * Despite being the second oldest of the office girls at 25, she is very shy, easily flustered, and the shortest member of Public Relations Division 2. However, she is very dependable at doing her job, being the head of accounting for the division. She has a slight crush on Aoyama.

 * Fuuka Tanigawa
 * Tanigawa is the most outgoing of the office girls and has a hyperactive personality. She is somewhat of an office gossip, often repeating dubious information heard from other parts of the company.
 * Tanigawa is the most outgoing of the office girls and has a hyperactive personality. She is somewhat of an office gossip, often repeating dubious information heard from other parts of the company.

 * Shizuku Irie
 * Notable for her calm demeanor, Shizuku most often speaks in a low, almost emotionless, tone. However, she occasionally, and randomly, acts out various other characters' behaviors and is known for her sarcastic remarks.
 * Notable for her calm demeanor, Shizuku most often speaks in a low, almost emotionless, tone. However, she occasionally, and randomly, acts out various other characters' behaviors and is known for her sarcastic remarks.

 * Tomoyoshi Ishizuka, Tomorou Taguchi, and Hirotaka Ijyuuin
 * This trio of salary men have almost identical physical appearances and personalities; all three are overweight and easygoing. They are all 27 years old and began working for the company at the same time. As a result, they work well together. Ishizuka is in charge of the office work, Taguchi is the events planner and coordinator, and Ijyuuin is in charge of domestic public relations.
 * This trio of salary men have almost identical physical appearances and personalities; all three are overweight and easygoing. They are all 27 years old and began working for the company at the same time. As a result, they work well together. Ishizuka is in charge of the office work, Taguchi is the events planner and coordinator, and Ijyuuin is in charge of domestic public relations.

 * Younei Sumida
 * The head of Dai-Guard's ground crew, who oversees the repair and maintenance of the robot. His crew is also responsible for the construction of Dai-Guard's new parts and weapons. He is often seen assisting Prof. Domeki, who he harbors feelings for.
 * The head of Dai-Guard's ground crew, who oversees the repair and maintenance of the robot. His crew is also responsible for the construction of Dai-Guard's new parts and weapons. He is often seen assisting Prof. Domeki, who he harbors feelings for.

 * Rika Domeki
 * An eccentric 17-year-old child genius, who is the head of the Technology Division, and the company's resident scientist. She insists that others refer to her as "Professor". She is an expert on the research of Heterodynes and is also the one responsible for designing new parts for Dai-Guard. She often takes advantage of Sumida's willingness to help her.
 * An eccentric 17-year-old child genius, who is the head of the Technology Division, and the company's resident scientist. She insists that others refer to her as "Professor". She is an expert on the research of Heterodynes and is also the one responsible for designing new parts for Dai-Guard. She often takes advantage of Sumida's willingness to help her.

Dai-Guard
Dai-Guard stands 25 meters high and weighs 156 tons. It is composed of multiple pieces, which were originally transported to the site of battle, and assembled on location. By Episode 20, the pieces were rebuilt as a fighter jet making up the head and arms, as well as two trucks making up the torso and legs, so that they can be much more easily transported until they can combine to form Dai-Guard. Initially it was poorly maintained and essentially mothballed due to the absence of the Heterodyne threat. With their return, Dai-Guard is recommissioned and underwent several upgrades throughout the series. Due to its configuration, pilots are required to apply for a 'vertical-model special vehicle license,' which can take a minimum of 2 months to complete. It was stated that Akagi got a score of D minus, which barely made him eligible to be Dai-Guard's main pilot. Its main weapons include:
 * Rocket Punch: An improvised maneuver in which Dai-Guard's forearm is torn from its socket and thrown at the enemy.
 * Drill Arm: An arm attachment that consists of a rocket-boosted oversized drill. Unfortunately, such a weapon is in reality quite impractical as it is basically a massive gyroscope and is incredibly difficult to wield due to the torque it produces. However, the pilots eventually develop the skill to make limited use of this weapon, and it is later seen in several scenarios where other weapons are unavailable.
 * Net Gun: An arm attachment with the hand making up a large, weighted net used for capturing Heterodyne. Due to the lack of missions requiring the capture of live Heterodyne in the series, it is rarely ever used.
 * Knot Buster: An arm attachment specifically designed by Rika Domeki to strike and destroy a Heterodyne's Fractal Knot, the weak point of the creatures. It is a claw with an integral explosive-propelled pile driver, far more practical and controllable than the Drill Arm. One simply targets the Heterodyne's Fractal Knot, latches onto it with the claw and triggers the pile driver, impaling it. This weapon was only used once by Dai-Guard before being claimed by the Army for use by its own robot, Kokubogar, but was destroyed soon afterward.
 * Knot Punisher: Like the Knot Buster, it is designed to strike the Fractal Knot of the Heterodyne. Unknown to the Army, Domeki designed the Knot Buster merely as a prototype for this weapon. Where the Knot Buster is a single arm attachment, the Knot Punisher utilizes both arms. One arm utilizes the same pile driver-claw utility of the Knot Buster, but instead of an explosive charge, it is driven by a torque-less counter-rotating dual flywheel attached to the other arm. The flywheel is spun up in advance, the Heterodyne's Fractal Knot is grasped with the claw, and the flywheel is inserted into the pile driver's gear port, firing the spike and impaling the knot. The flywheel itself can be used as a melee weapon, as it is quite sturdy and possesses a greater radius than the arm and more stability than the drill arm. The downside with this system is that Dai-Guard cannot pick anything up with it in place, (aside from using the claw), and it takes a considerable amount of time to install the equipment prior to battle.
 * Great Knot Punisher (Knot Punisher 2 in English Dub): The upgraded version of the Knot Punisher, developed by Domeki with the benefit of a full year of combat data. Though it has far greater power than its predecessor, the real advantage of this system is that both arms retain hands. The pile driver attachment has twice the length of both previous systems so as to accommodate a claw on one end and a hand on the other. It can be spun on its joint to bring either manipulator to bear. Its flywheel is identical to is predecessor save that it has a hand as well, which is inserted into the gear port to fire the spike.
 * Insulating Armor: Special armor Dai-Guard is composed of, giving it a high resistance to electricity and electromagnetic impulses sometimes emitted from Heterodyne. In episode 15 this armor is given an electromagnetic shield to protect it from intense heat for up to three minutes.

Kokubogar
When the army realized that they could not seize the privately owned Dai-Guard, they built Kokubogar based on Dai-Guard's design to fight the Heterodynes. It was piloted by Akagi's former robot piloting class professor and two of his students. Its first battle was an outstanding success, but in the second one the Heterodyne fused with the robot with the pilot still inside who was rescued by Akagi in Dai-Guard. Repairs were completed in time for the Army to assist Dai-Guard in the final battle of the series. Its main weapons include:
 * Knot Buster: Originally designed for Dai-Guard, the Knot Buster was seized by the Army. It was destroyed in its third engagement.
 * Machine Guns: Kokubogar had powerful machine guns mounted above the optics.
 * Rocket Launcher: In the final battle, Kokubogar fires a volley of rockets from its forearm, saving Dai-Guard from a certain defeat. It is uncertain if this weapon is mounted on both arms.

Heterodyne
Mysterious entities formed from dimensional quakes all around Japan. They form from crystalline hexagons called "Fractal Knots" that act as their nucleus and form into bodies using the matter around them. Although fractal knots replicate themselves indefinitely, if the original is destroyed it will immediately reduce the rest of the body into ethanol. Aside from traveling through dimensions, having Fractal Knots, and being attracted to electromagnetic hot spots, they have very little in common with each other.

 * Grub Type: Appears in episode 1 at the very beginning years before the main story and later in episodes 21 and 22. Powers include a heat cannon from the mouth that fires explosive yellow energy balls that range from a barrel of dynamite to rivaling napalm, swimming, armor that can survive an OE bomb, explosive melting particles from the mouth, and reformation in a matter of hours. In Super Robot Wars Z2 it is referred to as Insect-R.
 * Ray Type: Appears in episodes 1 and 2. Powers include swimming up to 30 knots, spawning lightning storms to indicate its arrival, twin arm whips, using its starfish-like limbs for bashing, and levitation while on land. A two headed suit of it appears briefly in episode 23 that resembles Pestar from the original Ultraman.
 * Saucer Type: Appears in episode 3. Powers include levitation, underside heat flashes, and using its body as a throwing disc by ramming it into opponents.
 * Glob Type: Appears in episode 4. Powers include being a large ball used for rolling and ramming and absorbing earth to make itself larger.
 * Pyramid Type: Appears in episode 5. Powers include levitation, an electrical force field, and conductive mud tentacles from the seams in the body.
 * Sonic Type: Appears in episode 6. Powers include levitation and a high frequency barrier around its body that dissolves solid objects although it has no effect on liquids and presumably gases.
 * Mushroom Type: Appears in episode 7. Powers include regeneration, sprouting mushrooms from its root-like structures, spawning thorny vines from its head, and launching needles from the head.
 * Balloon Type: Appears in episode 9. Powers include levitation and a highly rubbery body.
 * Flower Type: Appears in episode 10. Powers include swimming, immunity to radar detection, and a body composed mostly of water that allows it to dilute acids.
 * Fuser Type: Appears in episode 11. Powers include reducing its body to liquid, levitation, spheres around its body to protect the fractal knot, can regenerate its entire body in a matter of hours, and can fuse with opponents.
 * Electric Type: Appears in episode 11. Powers include phasing through solid objects, emitting electrical bolts, and flight.
 * Kokubogar Fusion: Appears in episodes 11 and 12. It is a fusion between Fuser Type, Kokubogar, and later Electric Type. Powers include flight, five red spheres attached to electrical pulses used like missiles from directly overhead, and extensible limbs.
 * Cylinder Type: Appears in episode 13. Powers include flight at 30 kilometers per hour, twin whip antennae, regeneration, and adaption to enemy attacks over time.
 * Magnetic Type: Appears in episode 15. Powers include floating on top of water, emitting electromagnetic waves hot enough to scorch humans alive, and tentacles from its top.
 * Wheel Type: Appears in episode 16. Powers include levitation, rotating fast enough to generate static electricity, and using its body rotation like a tornado.
 * Burrower Type: Appears in episode 17. Its only known power is burrowing 10 centimeters a year and has a body size that covers all of Kyoto. The Dai-Guard team decides not to destroy this Heterodyne, as its destruction would cause the collapse of the entire city. Suspected to have first appeared many years ago and has lain dormant since.
 * Spike Type: Appears in episode 18. Powers include rotating its body for burrowing long distances, emitting a high-pitched noise from its body, and using its eight retractable spikes for puncturing hard surfaces. It has also been referred to as the Central Line Monster and Subway Slayer.
 * Ice Type: Appears in episodes 19 and 20. Powers include flight, floating on top of water, forming a sheet of ice covering its body for armor, heat absorption, and freezing its opponents over with ice.
 * Starfish Type: Mentioned at the end of episode 23 and appears at the very beginning of episode 24. It possesses no known powers.
 * Giant Type: Appears in episodes 24, 25, and 26 and possesses the largest size of any Heterodyne with its starting size at 2 kilometers in diameter. Powers include levitation, extensible spear tentacles, can hide most of its body in the Heterodynes' home dimension, radio interference, size growth to the point of covering Earth within a month, regeneration, and spikes from the top of the body.
 * Black Dai-Guard: Appears in the final episode and acts as the guardian of Giant Type's fractal knot. Powers include an extensible lower half, super speed, and morphing its right hand as a drill and mace.

Anime
From episodes 2-25, the opening theme is by  while the first ending theme from episodes 1-25 is  by. For episode 26, the second ending theme is "Rojiura no Uchū Shōnen" by The Cobratwisters.

Merchandise
In September 2011, Bandai released Dai-Guard in the Super Robot Chogokin line. The figure comes with all of the weapons featured in the anime. Kokubogar was released as a Tamashii Web Shop exclusive in March 2012.

Video game
Dai-Guard makes its video game debut in Super Robot Wars Z2.

title: Dai-Guard


text:
Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, California

Canyon Country is a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of Santa Clarita, in northwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It lies along the Santa Clara River between the Sierra Pelona Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains. It is the most populous of Santa Clarita's four neighborhoods.

History
The area was the ancestral homeland of the Tataviam people for over five hundred years, and other tribes before then, such as the Tongva, Kitanemuk, and Serrano people. After Spanish settlement, the valley became grazing lands of the Mission San Fernando Rey de España around 1790. In 1834, after Mexican independence, it became part of the Rancho San Francisco land grant centered on the confluence of the Santa Clara River and Castaic Creek.

In the 1880s, the rancho become the Newhall Ranch empire of Henry Newhall, from which his family started the Newhall Land and Farming Company after his death. In 1928, the St. Francis Dam collapsed, suddenly flooding and washing away settlements and people along the Santa Clara River section of present-day Santa Clarita not including Canyon Country. Canyon Country was originally to be called Solemint. It later absorbed the community to the west called Honby. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Newhall Land company's suburban developments transformed Canyon Country and the surrounding towns into a largely residential city.

In 1987, Canyon Country was one of four communities, along with Valencia, Newhall, and Saugus, that merged to create the city of Santa Clarita, California.

Geography
Canyon Country is located on the east side of Santa Clarita, along the Santa Clara River. It occupies roughly the portion of Santa Clarita east of Golden Valley Road, and is bordered by Saugus to the west and Newhall to the southwest. The Sierra Pelona Mountains lie north of the community, and the San Gabriel Mountains lie to the south and east. Both ranges are part of the Angeles National Forest.

Canyon Country lies primarily within ZIP codes 91351 and 91387. The boundary between the two ZIP codes mostly follows Sierra Highway - addresses west of or along the highway are in 91351, while addresses east of the highway are in 91387. ZIP codes 91321, 91350, and 91390 also include small portions of Canyon Country.

Due to its location adjacent to the mountainous Angeles National Forest, and its aridity (especially in summer), Canyon Country is susceptible to wildfires. The Buckweed Fire in October 2007 burned nearly 38,000 acres throughout Canyon Country and Agua Dulce. The Sand Fire took place in Canyon Country in July and August 2016 and burned nearly 42,000 acres of land.

Neighborhoods
Canyon Country has the highest number of unique neighborhoods of any borough in Santa Clarita. Most derive their names from natural landforms such as a canyon or from a ranch that was once located there. A neighborhood may include a variety of housing tracts with unique names.

Notable neighborhoods and communities include:
 * American Beauty
 * Fair Oaks Ranch
 * Friendly Valley
 * Golden Valley
 * Humphreys
 * Honby
 * Mint Canyon
 * Oak Spring Canyon
 * Rainbow Glen
 * Rio Seco
 * River Ranch
 * Sand Canyon
 * Solemint
 * Shangri La
 * Skyline Ranch
 * Stetson Ranch
 * Tick Canyon (includes Pinetree and Shadow Pines)
 * Tres Robles
 * Vista Canyon
 * Vista del Cañon
 * Whites Canyon (includes Canyon Crest and Falcon Ridge)

The oldest neighborhood in Canyon Country is Whites Canyon, traditionally named "Canyon Country". The neighborhood includes both Sierra Vista Junior High and Canyon High School. Some of the newest neighborhoods in Canyon Country include Skyline Ranch and Vista Canyon, the latter of which is still under construction as of April 2023.

Demographics
As of the 2020 census, the population of Canyon Country was 92,897. 41.7% of residents were Hispanic, 36.7% were non-Hispanic white, 13.9% were Asian American, 7.4% were African American, and 3.1% were Native American.

Education
Canyon Country elementary school students attend schools in Saugus Union School District and Sulphur Springs School District.

Middle and high school students in Canyon Country attend schools in the William S. Hart Union High School District, in particular Sierra Vista and La Mesa Junior High Schools, and Canyon and Golden Valley High Schools.

Santa Clarita Christian School is located in Canyon Country. College of the Canyons has a satellite campus in Canyon Country in addition to its main campus in Valencia. Charter College has a campus in Canyon Country, one of three campuses in California (the others are in Lancaster and Oxnard).

Services
Canyon Country is served by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and Los Angeles County Fire Department. The fire stations serving Canyon Country are 104, 107, 123, 128, 132, and 150.

City of Santa Clarita Transit operates bus services throughout Canyon Country along routes 5, 6, and 12. Route 12 provides direct connections to Metrolink's Antelope Valley Line at Via Princessa station. The Vista Canyon Regional Transit Center will become the central transit hub of Canyon Country once completed by the end of 2023.

Parks and recreation
Canyon Country is served by the park system of the city of Santa Clarita. Parks in Canyon Country include Canyon Country Park (the largest), North Oaks Park, Discovery Park, Todd Longshore Park, Fair Oaks Park, Oak Spring Canyon Park, and Begonias Lane Park. The city's newest park, Plum Canyon Park, is located in northern Canyon Country on the border with Saugus.

The George A. Caravalho Santa Clarita Sports Complex in far western Canyon Country includes a gymnasium with two indoor, full-sized basketball courts, four pickleball courts, two volleyball courts, two futsal courts, and four racquetball courts. The Sports Complex includes the City of Santa Clarita Activities Center (a.k.a. The Centre) which contains rooms for banquets and meetings. Adjacent to the Sports Complex is the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center, which includes three large swimming pools and several water slides; the Trek Bike Park of Santa Clarita (opened September 2020) covering 7 acres including BMX and mountain biking trails; and the Santa Clarita Skate Park. Many city-sponsored recreational programs are held at the Sports Complex and adjacent facilities. It is located along Centre Pointe Parkway just east of Golden Valley Road.

In popular culture
The house of The Crandall family used in the movie Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead is located in this community. A home here was also featured in the climax of Real Genius, but it no longer exists.


text:
Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Igor Skoglund

 This page is an archive of the discussion about the proposed deletion of the article below. This page is no longer live. Further comments should be made on the article's talk page rather than here so that this page is preserved as an historic record. The result of the debate was delete. – ugen64 01:17, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Igor Skoglund
Vanity. Yes, there is the book, but a quick Amazon search shows us that it's "published" by Authorhouse, a self-publishing company - that is, they'll publish basically anything for a fee. So that hardly makes one encyclopedic. Google finds a lot of self-promotion and nonsense. CDC  (talk)  18:52, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete authors of vanity press only books (unless by some miracle they make it into the NYTimes bestseller list or something similar) Average Earthman 19:03, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, not notable. Thue | talk 20:28, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)
 * Delete, agree with Average Earthman. Mgm|(talk) 21:09, Jun 2, 2005 (UTC)
 * This page is now preserved as an archive of the debate and, like some other VfD subpages, is no longer 'live'. Subsequent comments on the issue, the deletion, or the decision-making process should be placed on the relevant 'live' pages.  Please do not edit this page .


text:
Discourse community

A discourse community is a group of people who share a set of discourses, understood as basic values and assumptions, and ways of communicating about those goals. Linguist John Swales defined discourse communities as "groups that have goals or purposes, and use communication to achieve these goals."

Some examples of a discourse community might be those who read and/or contribute to a particular academic journal, or members of an email list for Madonna fans. Each discourse community has its own unwritten rules about what can be said and how it can be said: for instance, the journal will not accept an article with the claim that "Discourse is the coolest concept"; on the other hand, members of the email list may or may not appreciate a Freudian analysis of Madonna's latest single. Most people move within and between different discourse communities every day.

Since the discourse community itself is intangible, it is easier to imagine discourse communities in terms of the fora in which they operate. The hypothetical journal and email list can each be seen as an example of a forum, or a "concrete, local manifestation of the operation of the discourse community."

History and definition
The term was first used by sociolinguist Martin Nystrand in 1982, and further developed by American linguist John Swales. Writing about the acquisition of academic writing styles of those who are learning English as an additional language, Swales presents six defining characteristics:

 * A discourse community:
 * has a broadly agreed set of common public goals.
 * has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members.
 * uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback.
 * utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in the communicative furtherance of its aims.
 * in addition to owning genres, it has acquired some specific lexis.
 * has a threshold level of members with a suitable degree of relevant content and discoursal expertise.

James Porter defined the discourse community as: "a local and temporary constraining system, defined by a body of texts (or more generally, practices) that are unified by a common focus. A discourse community is a textual system with stated and unstated conventions, a vital history, mechanisms for wielding power, institutional hierarchies, vested interests, and so on." Porter held the belief that all new ideas added to a discourse community had an impact on the group, changing it forever.

Argumentation theorists Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyceta offer the following statement on the conditioned nature of all discourse, which has applicability to the concept of discourse community: "All language is the language of community, be this a community bound by biological ties, or by the practice of a common discipline or technique. The terms used, their meaning, their definition, can only be understood in the context of the habits, ways of thought, methods, external circumstances, and tradition known to the users of those terms.  A deviation from usage requires justification ..."

"Producing text within a discourse community," according to Patricia Bizzell, "cannot take place unless the writer can define her goals in terms of the community's interpretive conventions." In other words, one cannot simply produce any text—it must fit the standards of the discourse community to which it is appealing. If one wants to become a member of a certain discourse community, it requires more than learning the lingo. It requires understanding concepts and expectations set up within that community.

The language used by discourse communities can be described as a register or diatype, and members generally join a discourse community through training or personal persuasion. This is in contrast to the speech community (or the ’native discourse community,’ to use Bizzell's term), who speak a language or dialect inherited by birth or adoption. Ideas from speech communities and interpretive communities were what led to the emergence of the notion of discourse communities.

Designing a discourse community
One tool that is commonly used for designing a discourse community is a map. The map could provide the common goals, values, specialized vocabulary and specialized genre of the discourse community. This tool may be presented to all members as a mission statement. As a new generation of members enter into a discourse community, new interests may appear. What was originally mapped out may be recreated to accommodate any updated interests. The way in which a discourse community is designed, ultimately controls the way in which the community functions. A discourse community differs from any other type of grouping because the design will either constrain or enable participants.

Development of online discourse communities
A discourse community can be viewed as a social network, built from participants who share some set of communicative purposes. In the digital age, social networks can be examined as their own branches of discourse communities. A genesis of online discourse is created through four phases: orientation, experimentation, productivity, and transformation. Just as the digital world is constantly evolving, "discourse communities continually define and redefine themselves through communications among members", according to Berkenkotter.

Although John Swales felt that shared "goals" were definitive of discourse community, he also acknowledged that a "public discourse community" cannot have shared goals, and more significantly a generalized "academic discourse community" may not have shared goals and genres in any meaningful sense. According to Swales this may be why the term "discourse community" is now being replaced by "community of practice", which is a term from cognitive anthropology. A community of practice is defined clearly as having a "mutual engagement" and "joint enterprise" which separates it from the more widely accepted implications of a discourse community. A community of practice requires a group of people negotiating work and working toward a common goal using shared or common resources. These virtual discourse communities consist of a group of people brought together "by natural will and a set of shared ideas and ideals". Virtual discourse communities become a separate entity from any other discourse community when "enough people carry on those public relationships long enough to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace".

"The term discourse community has been criticized in being imprecise and inaccurate, by emphasizing the uniformity, symmetrical relations and cooperation within text circulation networks." Social collectivities within a discourse community can be interpreted as controversial whether by design or mistake. Members of the discourse community take on either assigned or maintained roles which serve as discursive authority, rights, expectations and constraints. Within an online discourse community text oftentimes circulate in what can be considered to be heterogeneous groupings, as teachers write to audiences of administrators, scholars, colleagues, parents and students. The circulation of texts form groups of communities that might not otherwise existed prior to being untied by the circulation of documents. "These and other social complexities suggest a more subtle and varied sociological vocabulary is needed to describe the set of relations within text circulation networks as well as to describe the ways genres mediate the actions and relations within these social collectivities, such as that provided by sociocultural theories of genre and activity."

Culture
Discourse communities are not limited to involvement of people from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. These people begin to adapt to standards of that discourse community. However, involvement in one discourse community does not hinder participation in other groups based on a pursuit of a common goal. In some cases, under specific standards, traces of discourse interference may appear from other standards.

Yerrick and Gilbert discuss how the impact of discourse perpetuates marginalization of underrepresented students. Their study discusses their frustration with the overwhelming number of school policies and practices which create obstacles for certain student voices to be heard, minimizing lower-track students' input shaping mainstream academic curriculum. These students were given few opportunities to contribute in the classroom and when they did, they would only be permitted to echo someone else's voice on particular views and opinions. With resentment, Yerrick and Gilbert state "There was no attempt to match the home-based discourse with the academic discourse promoted in the classroom, as has been proven problematic through other studies as well."

Related terms
Discourse communities are studied in the larger field of genre analysis. Related terms include Miller's "rhetorical community" and, focusing on the communication rather than the community, Yates & Orlikowski's "genres of organizational communication"

Regarding contemporary rhetorical communities, Zappen, et al., stated, "Thus a contemporary rhetorical community is less a collection of people joined by shared beliefs and values than a public space or forum that permits these people to engage each other and form limited or local communities of belief." Incorporating this factor suggests an introduction to a democratic system in discourse communities and has also been educationally termed "Accountable Talk" by researchers, indicating the diversity of communities.

The term discourse community started to lose favor among scholars in the early 2000s, with community of practice being used in place of discourse community. Swales suggested that discourse communities have shared goals, yet academic communities do not have meaningful shared goals. The term discourse community is not yet well defined, which raises questions that could be the cause of the term's fall from favor.

title: Discourse community


text:
User talk:Somatsewell

Welcome to the Wikipedia
Welcome to the Wikipedia community, Somatsewell!

Here are some of the perfunctory useful tips (mostly borrowed from ClockworkSoul), to speed your induction into the Wikipedia experience:

 * Take a look at the Wikipedia Tutorial.
 * When you have free time, try to grasp some of the nuances at Manual of Style and Policies and Guidelines.  But keep in mind the unique style you brought to the Wiki!
 * Don't worry about keeping up with the Jones' learning curve on NPOV, but be respectful of others' POV and use a neutral point of view; your unique perspective on the meaning of neutrality is valuable!
 * If you need any help, don't hesitate to post a question at the Help Desk.
 * Explore, and be bold in editing pages while respecting the merits of others' contributions!

And some odds and ends:

 * Policy Library
 * Utilities
 * Cite your sources
 * Verifiability
 * Wikiquette
 * Civility
 * Conflict resolution
 * Brilliant prose
 * Pages needing attention
 * Peer review
 * Bad jokes and other deleted nonsense
 * Village pump
 * Boilerplate text

You can sign your name on any page by typing 4 tildes: ~~~~.

Best of luck, and please, do have fun! Ombudsman 18:50, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)

title: User talk:Somatsewell