Hollifield Family Reunion Essay Example for Free

Hollifield Family Reunion Essay Every year around the last week of July my father’s family all meets for a two day reunion in the small town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina. Hollifield’s have resided in the area for over 100 years! There are many streets named after us and if you’re walking around town some people even notice you’re a Hollifield just by looking at you. Although it is only two days long, the reunion is something I cherish deep in my heart, for it’s the only time I get to see my father’s family. One night in 1974, my grandpa and a few other family members were sitting around reminiscing about their childhood. They were laughing at all the memories and good times they’ve had and all the trouble they got into. My grandpa was telling everyone he had been thinking of a way that everyone could make some time to all come together for a couple days once every year. His uncle told him that they should start a family reunion. So starting in July of 1974 the annual Hollifield reunion began. Everyone gets to the hotel Friday night and gets settled in and reacquainted a lot of hugging, kissing, laughing, and eating. My sister and I get our own hotel room so most of our cousins bring sleeping bags and stay both nights in our room. We talk about what we’ve all done that year, who’s dating who, what kind of cars we’ve bought; we pretty much talk each other’s ears off. The next morning we all get up and find somewhere to eat and walk around town. Downtown Spruce Pine is absolutely beautiful. There are flowers and pine trees growing everywhere, and you can smell all the bakeries and barbeque pits. There are little stores with antiques and instruments, florists, wedding dress shops, and candy stores. It could go from 90 degrees with the sun shining to a humid rain in a matter of minutes. When it rains you can smell it a hundred times better than in California. After we walk through town we get to a huge, long wooden bridge. It’s been there for years and underneath it flows a beautiful creek and a park filled with laughing children frolicking in the sunlight. We normally go to the park and mess  around on everything then make our way to the creek. You have to go down a steep hill made of dirt and freckled with little patches of bright green grass. The boys catch crawdads and crayfish while us girls dip our feet in the clear chilly water and wait for the train to pass. The train is large and used to transport coal and freight. Personally, the train is one of my favorite parts of Spruce Pine. It’s loud yet still soothing and controlled. After a few hours the rest of the family begins to show up at the park with fresh, good old-fashioned southern food. They unload the cars of barbeque, slaw, potatoes, mac and cheese, collard greens, green beans, pasta salads, and more desert than any amount of people should ever consume. Following our meal is the baseball game. The whole family plays and we get chosen randomly for two teams. In the end my grandpa tells us that everyone won and an MVP is chosen from each team who receives a golden trophy of a boy or girl with a tiny body and huge head, holding a baseball bat. We all clean up then head back to the hotel to get swimsuits and drive over to the pool. A few hours into swimming we decide to go to the hotel and shower then all the kids find a place to eat supper. Upon leaving the restaurant someone informs us that the annual hide-n-seek game has begun. We take off running towards the hotel to find a hiding place while the person chosen as â€Å"it† stays and counts for 5 minutes. The game involves a lot of pushing, shoving, screaming, laughing, and those little chills you get when you’ve found a place and you know that any second you could be found. After the game we all head back to my sister and I’s room and hang out. We stay up all night talking about everything that happened, who did the most embarrassing thing, which was the funniest, and other things we had encountered that day. As the night goes by we start to notice our time is almost up. Most of my cousins live in NC so they see each other all the time, but as the hours pass my sister and I notice that our time in NC is almost over; that we’ll have to wait yet another slow, California year before we get back to the peaceful happiness of NC. Around 9 in the morning our cousin’s head back to their rooms to get ready for our last meal together. For breakfast Sunday morning the whole family fills the back room of The Western Sizzler. Western Sizzler may be the best place to get breakfast ever. It’s is 3 large buffet tables covered in bacon, sausage, ham, eggs,  fruit, veggies, pancakes, waffles, biscuits and gravy, yogurt, granola, hash browns, country potatoes, varieties of juices, milks, sodas. And at the end there is a huge dessert bar. We eat and talk and talk and eat. And eat some more†¦ and then a little bit more. We catch up with some of the older members of the family and tell them what we did all weekend. My aunt Vicki walks around and takes millions of pictures with her big nice camera that has a flash that could blind the whole family at the same time. When everyone has finished my grandpa stands up and talks about all the great things that have gone on during the weekend, all the graduates and birthdays, all the births and deaths. We end the reunion by hugging and some crying (I won’t lie; Ià ¢â‚¬â„¢m one of the criers). If my family had never got the idea to have a reunion, I don’t know when I would ever see them. The reunion brings us together in a quick two day span filled with great food, laughter, and all around happiness. It seems like when we’re all together nothing can go wrong. My cousins and I have vowed that when our time comes, we will carry on the tradition of the Hollifield Family Reunion until the day we die.

Netflix Marketing Plan and SWOT Analysis

Netflix Marketing Plan and SWOT Analysis Brand or Company Description   Netflix is subscription service on the internet that offers a variety of TV shows and movies. Netflix is a forerunner in the internet delivery of TV shows and movies, launching its streaming service in 2007. Since this time, the company has developed a wide variety of internet-connected devices and has licensed increasing amounts of content that enable consumers to enjoy their favorite TV shows and movies no matter where they are at because they can access this content on their TVs, computers or mobile devices. As a result of these efforts, Netflix has experienced growing consumer acceptance of and interest in the delivery of TV shows and movies directly over the Internet (Netflix, 2018). Core Products or Services   Subscribers can watch unlimited TV shows and movies instantly. Content can be streamed over the Internet to their TVs, computers and mobile devices and, in the United States, subscribers can also receive standard definition DVDs, as well as Blu-ray discs, delivered  directly to their homes. Netflix markets its service through various channels, including online advertising, broad-based media, such as television and radio, as well as various strategic partnerships. In addition to various marketing strategies, the company offers free-trial memberships to new and rejoining members. According to Netflix, rejoining members are an important source of subscriber additions (Netflix, 2018). A Brief History   Netflix is an American entertainment company founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph  on August 29, 1997, in Scotts Valley, California. The company expanded into film in 2016 as well as television production and online distribution. The company is headquartered in Los Gatos, California. As of January 2016, Netflix is operating in over 190 countries and has greatly expanded the production of both film and television series. Netflix released an estimated 126 original series or films in 2016, more than any other network or cable channel. As of January 2018, Netflix had 117.58 million paying subscribers worldwide, including 54.75 million in the United States (Netflix, 2018). Key current competitors   The market for entertainment video is competitive and changes rapidly. Competitors  have the ability to launch new businesses at relatively low costs. Many consumers maintain subscriptions to multiple entertainment video providers at once and can easily shift from one provider to another. Netflix competitors include multichannel video programming distributors with free TV everywhere and video-on-demand content including cable providers, such as Time Warner and Comcast. Direct broadcast satellite providers, such as DIRECTV and EchoStar, as well as telecommunication providers such as AT&T and Verizon, are also key competitors for Netflix. Internet movie and TV content providers, such as Apple’s iTunes, Amazon.com, Hulu.com and Google’s YouTube are also sources of competition.  DVD rental outlets such as Blockbuster and Red-box also are also included in the list of key competitors that Netflix faces (Netflix, 2018).  Ã‚   SWOT Analysis   SWOT Analysis: Strengths   1.  Brand Name   After ten years, Netflix has become the sole brand name for online streaming content with a share price increase of over 6000% since 2007 (Bradshaw  & Bond, 2017). Often consumers are much more likely to go with a brand name they know and trust than an off-brand that may or may not be a better value for their money. This is one way Netflix can capitalize and grow their business. Being the known familiar service provider puts them at a greater advantage of not only keeping their customers but attaining new ones. 2.  Large customer base Through serving 190 countries, Netflix has access to over 100 million subscribers. This strength gives the company bargaining power when in talks with studios to secure exclusive content (Bradshaw  & Bond, 2017).  The popularity and convenience of Netflix is one of its greatest strengths. This makes them able to accommodate and appeal to a very large customer base and has the ability to further expand and develop in more areas, including partnerships and expansions in various areas and with various companies in a variety of countries. Growth will likely continue as the company goes forward and continues to expand. Customers are opting for the convenience of consuming entertainment online and Netflix continues to expand internationally. 3.Original content Through careful acquisitions, Netflix have secured numerous original shows that have appealed to audiences. In 2017, two Netflix shows are so popular they have pushed subscribers from 83m to over 100m in one quarter (Bradshaw & Bond, 2017). The House of Cards was a game changer for Netflix. All episodes of the first season of the show were released at the same time, and the response of the critics was overwhelmingly positive. The House of Cards not only attracted many new users but also proved that the key to their customers’ loyalty is a unique and abundant content library. The company continues to working on adding new shows such as 30 kids’ shows, ten new feature films, 12 documentaries, and ten stand-up comedy specials (Netflix, 2018). SWOT Analysis: Weaknesses   1.  Cost of original content While its original content creates a competitive advantage for the company, the cost continues to grow  in order to  support this content. In 2017, it is expected for Netflix to invest $2.5 billion  solely on securing original content rights.  To keep prices competitively low, Netflix  will need  to find a balance between maintaining good relationships with the distributors and aggressively negotiating content licensing costs with them. This type of dependence can result in a vulnerability that could prove to be very costly (Bradshaw, 2017). 2.  Lack of rights to original content   Unlike many traditional television studios, Netflix does not own most of their original programming. Due to this, rights usually expire after a year and the original content can be shown on rival services (Bradshaw, 2017). This is an area that serves as a potential weakness especially related to retaining customers and keeping costs low. 3.  Environmental cost   Netflix has been ranked poorly in terms of environmental awareness. This has given them bad publicity for the company as rival competitors such as Amazon and Facebook use over 40% renewable energy with their services (Lewis, 2016). SWOT Analysis: Threats   1.  Increased competition Facebook is the latest to try and take on traditional media by launching its own original content. Amazon, Hulu, HBO, and YouTube are all competing for audiences to subscribe to their platforms. For Netflix, this will continue to develop as more companies seek to buy the latest original content exclusively for their platform (Bradshaw, 2017). 2.  Digital Piracy For more than 30 content providers, including Netflix, piracy has led to 5.4 billion  downloads of media content in 2016 alone. This threatens Netflixs business model and ability to fund content in the future (Opam, 2017). The ability for viewers to get the same content basically for free is a huge potential threat for Netflixs bottom line and ability to continue to dominate the market. SWOT Analysis: Opportunities   1.  Expansion into China Difficulties with licensing has left Netflix unable to enter China through traditional means. The company must find a joint-venture to capitalize on the 500 million  Chinese users who currently stream media content (Russell, 2017). 2.  Partnerships in Europe   To meet new European laws, Netflix can partner with the BBC and Canal Plus to gain access to a wealth of native-language European content and grow customers in local markets (Murgia & Bond, 2017). 3.  Growth of technology With the growth of streaming content, Netflix must continue to come up with new ways to allow customers to access their content and provide further competitive advantages. A growing market for content is foreign-language programming. Partnerships with local-language content will help Netflix to be able to be a rival for local streaming services and help them to be a leader among this (Mintel, 2016). Marketing Plan Focus   Based on my SWOT analysis, I believe there is an opportunity to expand internationally by partnering with telecommunications companies such as Samsung to make the application readily available for customers on their devices in overseas markets. For this marketing plan, I’ve come up with an idea to incorporate the Netflix application into Android devices. This would target a particular demographic, and could help to begin to solve the issues Netflix faces internationally. The app would have early childhood development movies and songs that would help little children and as well the already existing list of unending movie for all ages. Segmentation Approach   For this marketing plan, I’ve opted for a straightforward demographic approach to segmenting the market given my desire to target a specific age group. I considered a behavioral approach based on past purchase history as captured via use of the McDonald’s app. However, the app was only introduced in late 2015 and age is not captured in the registration process (unless a social media log ­in is used). Furthermore, I don’t want to limit my audience to just existing customers. Given the broad appeal of the McDonald’s concept and its national footprint, I did not feel geographic targeting or formal psychographic targeting was needed. Target Definition   My target for the Netflix K is families with young children and adolescents ranging from the age of 2 to 12 years old. An interest in learning and technology would allow for further media targeting. Positioning Statement   Netflix K A time for parents to have quality moments with their children while watching them learn, grow and excel academically in the privacy and comfort of home. Marketing Mix Discussion   Marketing Mix: Product This marketing plan is centered around education and the benefit of families coming together and sharing quality moments with the thrill of old favorites and new exciting learning opportunities. The core idea is to use advertisement to create awareness in between episodes and popups advertisement when the application is not in use or in between episodes when in use.   With the already exiting approach of having it available to Android devices it would help market itself by being readily available Marketing Mix: Price   Netflix strategy would be to retain its already existing customer base by offering 10% discounts on yearly subscriptions and 15% discount to customers that have been a Netflix member for more than 3 years. Included in the price new series would be offered at a 50% off rate compared to its competitors such as Hulu.com and Amazon Prime in order to be able to win and secure future customers. This is characterized as skimming as they are trying to take business from their competitors by offering the same service at a reduced rate. Marketing Mix: Promotion   In addition to the promotional pricing deal discussed above, there would be an opportunity to redeem a promotion code to save money on a family night out package based on local available retailers. This would be a way for Netflix to partner with local companies in order to help them gain acceptance internationally. Marketing Mix: Place   I would make use of a dedicated Netflix K microsite where customers could go to learn more about the promotion and app and to have the possibility to win promotion codes and save additional money on family nights out as well as the possibility of earning months free towards their Netflix subscription. This would also encourage additional downloads of the Netflix K app and promotion of a larger and growing customer base. Potential Success Metrics   Customer Satisfaction Knowing if people are actually satisfied with the service or product is very important.   Customer satisfaction can be a helpful metric in guiding a marketing campaign. Getting feedback directly from customer is an easy way to measure satisfaction. One way to do this would be to add a standard Google consumer survey to the app or site for free. With a few simple questions, you can find if  your customers are satisfied with the app or site, what they dont like about the app or site, and whether or not they will continue using the app. User Engagement   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tracking visits and signups is important, but focusing on how much time a user spends on your website or app is important as well. This has the ability to provide a realistic view and can base future success around this consideration. Progress It is always important to keep moving forward and having a forward momentum. If a company is making strong progress on a day to day basis, then it will likely be creating new opportunities and growing the business overall. This will allow the company to accomplish its overall goal and keep them on track. International Considerations   Netflix faces the challenge of being able to make their international segment profitable. Netflix will need to invest in local content and better streaming quality over low bandwidth connections in order to attract subscribers. Netflix will have to expand this base quickly in order to be able to recover the associated costs. Netflix will also have to consider the competition of other providers such as Amazon and YouTube who are also looking to capture this segment of the market. Another challenge Netflix faces related to international markets such as India, is lower internet penetration and existing connections with low bandwidth. These factors limit its target consumers in these countries to the small section of the population that have access to high speed internet. Viewing preferences is another consideration that will have to be addressed as these differ from country to country and even between different regions of the same country. In order to attract subscribers, Netflix needs to have a broad content library catering to the preferences of the diverse audience (Bradshaw & Bond, 2017). Conclusion   The Netflix K marketing plan should be approved for funding because it has the opportunity to generate a great deal of business and success in entering many foreign markets not previously entered in. Associating Netflix with current technology such as Samsung and then appealing to a customer base of families with children has the possibility of building a strong business base in this target population and areas abroad. This will also help build affinity and rapport with local businesses in foreign destinations helping Netflix to become a top international company not just a top American company. References Bradshaw, T. (2017) Netflix boosted as viewers outside the US tune in.  Financial Times.  Retrieved from   https://www.ft.com/content/e8c742f2-6b34-11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0. Bradshaw, T., and Bond, S. (2017). Netflix looks to become worlds entertainer as it hits   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   milestone.  Financial Times.  Retrieved from   https://www.ft.com/content/06b55bb8-6d0c-11e7-bfeb-33fe0c5b7eaa. Lewis, D. (2016). Will the internet of things sacrifice or save the environment?  Guardian   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Business.  Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/dec/12/will-the-internet-of-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   things-sacrifice-or-save-the-environment. Mintel, J.  (2016). Music and Video Streaming-UK-April 2016.  Mintel Academic.  Retrieved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from  http://academic.mintel.com/display/770307/. Murgia, M., and Bond, D. (2017). Netflix seeks European crown in local content push.  Financial   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Times.  Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/c286c25e-04d5-11e7-aa5b-6bb07f5c8e12. Netflix Inc. business description. (2018).  CSIMarket.com.  Retrieved   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from  https://csimarket.com/stocks/NFLX-Business-Description.html. Opam, K. (2017). HBO, Netflix, other Hollywood companies join forces to fight piracy.  The Verge.  Retreived from  https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/13/15791688/hbo-netflix-hollywood-ace-fight-piracy. Russell, J. (2017). Netflix enters China via licensing deal with top video streaming service iQiyi.  Tech Crunch.  Retrieved from  https://techcrunch.com/2017/04/25/netflix-china-iqiyi/.

Hip Hop Music: East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South, and Midwest Rap Ess

The beauty of hip hop is that it is malleable. It is not defined by strict boundaries but by multiple characteristics. Young artist J. Cole (2013) explains this best by stating in an interview, â€Å"I think there’s no rules [in rap]. You can say what you want. That’s your poetic license: to test people’s boundaries.† (p.1) The results of such malleability and the need to experiment within the unwritten boundaries of hip hop are the birth of different styles and sectors/scenes in America. These sectors are represented by the geographic location of the artists and the distinctive sounds and styles that the artists utilize. For years the genre of hip hop was found primarily in the United States in these particular scenes. In the past few years, however, Toronto has been making waves and slowly making a name for itself in the rap game due to the native artists gaining popularity and critical acclaim across the globe. As a result, it had come to question wheth er the Canadian city can be defined as its scene due to styles the artists from the city are using or whether or not the artists are simply mocking styles from other distinct hip hop scenes in America. When the genre of hip hop music was starting to emerge to mainstream America it was not classified into distinctive groups based on the type of rapping. Instead, artists were labeled based on the geographic location they were hailing from. Until the mid-1980’s, the majority of the rappers were hailing from the Big Apple. However with the introduction of new artists such as Ice-T and N.W.A., California would offer competition for the East Coast dominated genre. In the coming years, talented artists would emerge from all corners of the country. As a result, four distinctive scenes can b... ...so much?'. The Guardian. Web. 15 May 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/mar/29/drake-why-hate-me-so-much Markit. (2013, October 1). 5 up and coming hip hop artists in Toronto. blogTO RSS. Web. 1 May 2015. http://www.blogto.com/music/2013/10/5_up_and_coming_hip_hop_artists_in_toronto/ One, D. (2001, December 1). The Geography Of Hip Hop. VICE. Web. 12 May 2015. http://www.vice.com/read/the-geography-v8n10 Walters, B. (2012, August 22). Frank Ocean, Miguel, and Holy Other Usher in PBR&B 2.0. SPIN. Web. 9 May 2015. http://www.spin.com/articles/frank-ocean-miguel-and-holy-other-usher-in-pbrb-20/ Wheeler, B. (2013, April 26). The Toronto rappers who really started from the bottomAdd to .... The Globe and Mail. Web. 6 May 2015. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/the-toronto-rappers-who-really-started-from-the-bottom/article11581851/

Children and Video Game Violence :: Entertainment Papers

Video game systems are the basis for much discussion and argumentation in today’s society. They have been around since the 1970’s and have allowed children to pass the time with an interactive way to leave this world and enter a new realm of imagination, where the creators of the games set the only guidelines. Children are allowed to see themselves as characters with amazing powers and the ability to do many things. Many critics, however, worry children are not physically capable of understanding that games are not reality, and, therefore, cannot realize, in the real world, one cannot commit the acts they do while playing video games. Violence, for example, is found in more than half of all video games. People worry that children who constantly view violence in this manner will learn to see violence as a proper action without any consequences. My paper is organized in a manner which allows you, the reader, to view and understand the points of many authors and their works without having to read them in a boring, straight information, textbook form. First is the dinner meeting, in which all of the authors of my sources came to my house for dinner and discussed much of their thoughts about these games. Following the dinner is my summary and analysis of their works, and, finally, my input and beliefs on the subject of the negative effects of video games on children. The table was set, and the food was out. The lights were low in my dining room as the chairs were set around my hardwood, darkly stained table with a burgundy tablecloth. The light reflected off of the side of the turkey breast, and the light rays bounced around inside the glass bowl containing green beans. No, it is not Thanksgiving dinner, but a nice meal for the writers of several sources on the topic of the effects of video games on children. Although the dark green walls of my rectangular dining room do not echo any sounds now, I know the room will soon be filled with loud debates and harsh discussions on a topic with which I am becoming more familiar. As the guests began to arrive, I did not know what to expect. The representatives from ABCNews were dressed like reporters: the women in business suites and the men in ties.

Victims law challenges and opportunities Essay -- Colombian Government

Victims law challenges and opportunities The argument of this paper is that in order to succeed in the process of land restitution the Colombian government must overcome the adverse conditions that both the inequitable agrarian structure and the widespread presence of paramilitary groups have generated for poor peasants’ livelihoods. In the previous chapters I have provided some arguments about how those factors have shaped an unfavorable institutional landscape for the land restitution process. This chapter aims to stress the interrelation of those factors, and accordingly providing some proposals that may contribute in implementing the law. The inequitable agrarian structure and the paramilitary phenomenon The agrarian structure and the paramilitary phenomenon are two intertwined elements. They are part of the mediating processes both internal and external that have affected people’s access to resources and the construction of livelihood strategies in particular rural contexts (Ellis, 2000). Since social actors have a differential capacity to influence the processes to access capitals therefore better off people may exclude others from access to resources (Haan and Zoomers, 2005). Following this argument it is evident that in the Colombian countryside those with the capacity to control state’s policies as well as the local social arrangements have established a social closure strategy in which the poor have been systematically excluded from opportunities to improve their livelihoods. In particular, the contradictory nature of land policies has consolidated an exclusionary agrarian structure that constrains poor peasants’ life conditions. This is evident through the numerous attempts and counter-attempts to broaden... ...venties and eighties the pressure exerted by urban middle sectors, leftist political parties, workers and peasants organizations and guerrilla groups as well as the political changes brought about by the decentralization and the political opening processes threatened the dominant position of landed elites in several regions. For this reason, the creation of paramilitary armies in the early eighties was the violent reaction of a landed elites group, whose power was declining, to the endogenous and exogenous factors that challenged their hegemony. Therefore, the paramilitary phenomenon must be understood as a reactionary extension of the latifundio structure. Its aim was to reestablish the rural social order through the annihilation of latifundio’s rivals in the competition for the control of the regional resources (land, local government, and means of violence). Victims law challenges and opportunities Essay -- Colombian Government Victims law challenges and opportunities The argument of this paper is that in order to succeed in the process of land restitution the Colombian government must overcome the adverse conditions that both the inequitable agrarian structure and the widespread presence of paramilitary groups have generated for poor peasants’ livelihoods. In the previous chapters I have provided some arguments about how those factors have shaped an unfavorable institutional landscape for the land restitution process. This chapter aims to stress the interrelation of those factors, and accordingly providing some proposals that may contribute in implementing the law. The inequitable agrarian structure and the paramilitary phenomenon The agrarian structure and the paramilitary phenomenon are two intertwined elements. They are part of the mediating processes both internal and external that have affected people’s access to resources and the construction of livelihood strategies in particular rural contexts (Ellis, 2000). Since social actors have a differential capacity to influence the processes to access capitals therefore better off people may exclude others from access to resources (Haan and Zoomers, 2005). Following this argument it is evident that in the Colombian countryside those with the capacity to control state’s policies as well as the local social arrangements have established a social closure strategy in which the poor have been systematically excluded from opportunities to improve their livelihoods. In particular, the contradictory nature of land policies has consolidated an exclusionary agrarian structure that constrains poor peasants’ life conditions. This is evident through the numerous attempts and counter-attempts to broaden... ...venties and eighties the pressure exerted by urban middle sectors, leftist political parties, workers and peasants organizations and guerrilla groups as well as the political changes brought about by the decentralization and the political opening processes threatened the dominant position of landed elites in several regions. For this reason, the creation of paramilitary armies in the early eighties was the violent reaction of a landed elites group, whose power was declining, to the endogenous and exogenous factors that challenged their hegemony. Therefore, the paramilitary phenomenon must be understood as a reactionary extension of the latifundio structure. Its aim was to reestablish the rural social order through the annihilation of latifundio’s rivals in the competition for the control of the regional resources (land, local government, and means of violence).

Pmo Project Management Office

A Project Management Office (PMO) is a group or department within a business, agency or enterprise that defines and maintains standards for project management within the organization. The PMO strives to standardize and introduce economies of repetition in the execution of projects. The PMO is the source of documentation, guidance and metrics on the practice of project management and execution.In some organisations this is known as the Program Management Office (sometimes abbreviated to PgMO to differentiate); the subtle difference is that program management relates to governing the management of several related projects. Traditional PMOs base project management principles on industry-standard methodologies such as PMBOK or PRINCE2. Increasingly influential industry certification programs such as ISO9000 and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) as well as government regulatory requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley have propelled organizations to standardize processes[cita tion needed].Organizations around the globe are defining, borrowing and collecting best practices in process and project management and are increasingly assigning the PMO to exert overall influence and evolution of thought to continual organizational improvement[citation needed]. According to the Standish CHAOS Report (2009)[citation needed], 68% of projects do not meet time/cost/scope targets. Only 32% of projects were completed on time, within budget and delivered measurable business and stakeholder benefits. There are many reasons for such failures. As per a KPMG survey[citation needed] of 252 organizations, technology is not the most critical factor.Inadequate project management implementation constitutes 32% of project failures, lack of communication constitutes 20% and unfamiliarity with scope and complexity constitutes 17%. Accordingly 69% of project failures are due to lack and/or improper implementation of project management methodologies. Establishing a PMO group is not a short term strategy to lower costs. [1] Surveys with companies indicates that the longer they have an operating PMO group the better the results achieved to accomplish project goals (which might lead to lowering costs)[citation needed].PMOs may take other functions beyond standards and methodology, and participate in Strategic Project Management either as facilitator or actively as owner of the Portfolio Management process. Tasks may include Monitoring and Reporting on active projects (following up project until completion), and reporting progress to top management for strategic decisions on what projects to continue or cancel. A PMO can be one of three types from an organizational exposure perspective: enterprise PMO, organizational (departmental) PMO, or special–purpose PMO.The Project Management Institute (PMI) Program Management Office Community of Practice (CoP), views the PMO as a strategic driver for organizational excellence and seeks to enhance the practices of execu tion management, organizational governance, and strategic change leadership[citation needed]. As the largest community devoted to the PMO, with over 4,000 members globally, the PMO CoP is the central forum to collaborate, expand the knowledge base, and mature the PMO practice within their own organizations and the business community at large.

Association football and substitute goalkeeper Essay

The goalkeeper is the most specialised position in football. A goalkeeper’s job is mainly defensive: to guard the team’s goal from being breached (to not let the other team score). Goalkeeper is the only position defined in the Laws of the Game. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to touch the ball with their hands and arms, however they are restricted to doing so only within their penalty area; for this reason, they must wear jerseys that distinguish them from other outfield players and the referee. If a goalkeeper is sent off or injured, and there is no substitute goalkeeper available, an outfield player must take the goalkeeper’s place and put on the appropriate identifying uniform.[3]. The discipline of goalkeeping is so specialised that it is very rare in the professional game for a goalkeeper to play in any other position. One notable exception is Jorge Campos of Mexico, who played effectively as a striker when called upon.[4]. A goalkeeper with good technical skill may opt to take his team’s penalties and free kicks though this is rare as the goalkeeper would be caught out of position if possession is conceded immediately after the kick. Josà © Luis Chilavert, formerly of Và ©lez Sà ¡rsfield and Paraguay, and Rogà ©rio Ceni of Sà £o Paulo and Brazil are well-known free-kick and penalty specialists with over 100 goals to their names. Hans-Jà ¶rg Butt is the goalkeeper to have scored in the most different competitions, having scored in all of Germany’s top four divisions, the German cup and the UEFA Champions League. [5][6][7] Physical strength, height, jumping ability and judgement are valued qualities for goalkeepers to have in order to deal with aerial balls and agility, quick reactions and a good positional sense are all needed for shot stopping.[8][9] The standard football skills of ball control, tackling, passing and dribbling are not usually required in a goalkeeper, although the introduction of the back-pass rule in the early 1990s has necessitated improvement on such skills.[10].