Uncontrollable randomness in life Research Paper

Wild haphazardness throughout everyday life - Research Paper Example ‘The Birds’ a film is set in Great Britain where people are out of the blue assaulted by fowls. The administration of Great Britain neglects to shield its residents from the assaulting flying creatures. This film portrays a circumstance where nature has betrayed mankind and causes enormous passings (Bishop 135). People can't control nature which is spoken to here by the feathered creatures. Christopher D. Morris contended that the flying creatures in Hitchcock’s film are even more a commitment to the gothic show industry they a translation of characteristic marvel (Bishop 136). The nearness of the fowls can be comprehended as a technique Hitchcock uses to draw out his preferred subject: ruinous power of the male controlled society (Bishop 145). In the film, Mitch attempts to nail sheets over the entryway yet the flying creatures despite everything figure out how to break these barriers (Bishop 138). Man centric society in the film represented a more prominent dang er to Melanie than the winged creatures (Bishop 139) A few things occur in life that are irregular and past the human control. Winged animals assaulting individuals in the Hitchcock’s film is a case of such occasions. In any case, a few pundits contend that feathered creatures in Hitchcock’s film ought to be deciphered as a technique to draw out the topic. This paper reasons that Hitchcock utilized feathered creatures to portray uncontrolled circumstances in life just as expand on gothic

Federal Highway Act Essay Example for Free

Government Highway Act Essay The bookkeeping part of the aircraft business centers around the budget reports. The budget reports are made out of the accounting report, the pay explanation, and the announcement of incomes. The clients and the overall population are increasingly keen on the traveler ticket costs just as the load transporting rates. The accompanying passages elucidates a portion of the numerous issues on the United States Airline Industry. In the article The Future of American Transportation Policy, the Federal Highway Act of 1956 was a significant achievement throughout the entire existence of American carrier transportation and travel history.  For, it concentrated on the completed the interstate thruway framework. At long last, the consummation happened in the mid 1990s which where the general concurrence on transportation among the Americans had blurred away. Numerous financial specialists had communicated their anxiety over the American government’s the executives the transportation framework. (Dilger, 2003). Also, in the article The Law on Securities, was affirmed into law inside the market economy advancement and the enterprise program as the 1989 period shut. It was again updated in June of 1990. For, some aircraft organizations exchange their portions of stocks Wall Street and other financial exchanges to any one who needs to possess a piece of carrier organizations. This law gives the rules on the issuance of treasury charges, business notes and bonds. This law gives a wide understanding on how individuals can ‘buy’ a portion of an aircraft organization. Which means, any carrier organization that has a benefit character can uninhibitedly offer its offers to the well-to-do open. These offers are commonly isolated into customary (normal) shares, liked (as to profit installments), total, non â€cumulative, carrier and enrolled portions of stocks. Furthermore, the aircraft organizations can likewise go into a leaser â€debtor relationship when it offers bonds and other transient obligation protections. Be that as it may, the stocks offered in the financial exchanges must be marked as beneficial so as to sell quickly. To achieve this, the aircraft organizations offer to the intrigued financial specialists free duplicates of their salary explanations that show that they have been making (passing) the evaluation since benefits is the main concern of the organization for as far back as year or long periods of real carrier activities. Also, to additionally offer confidence to the carrier companies’ monetary record and salary proclamations, the organizations joined an auditor’s announced that the budget summaries are decently introduced. Then again, an auditor’s report expressing that the fiscal summaries are unfavorably introduced implies that the money related detailed gave by the organization are falselyâ presented. Additionally, an auditor’s report that gives a â€Å"no opinion† divide shows that the budget summaries have not been inspected for some explanation (Skof Vukmir, 1993). Further, the article The CEO as an Organization Designery states that Professor Germeshausen, a Professor Emeritus in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology opined that numerous senior officials in the carrier organizations can easily evaluate early the impact advertisement impact of their numerous arrangements on the stableness, development subtleties and the money related conduct of the associations that they oversee and are answerable for. (Keough Doman, 1992) Also, the article A Problem â€Finding Approach to Tactical Planning states that questions ought to be replied by the carrier administrators for strategic arranging regarding key arranging condition. Some particular and significant inquiries that could be pose incorporate â€Å"What Corporate arranging data is required by top administration and corporate organizers to provide guidance to the organization tomorrow? † ought to be remodeled to the better â€Å"What strategic plans are required by center â€level supervisors to protect a significant level of deals, (for example, a yearly increment in earlier deals by a base benchmark of fifteen percent). Another great inquiry would be to â€Å"did the organization create benefits produced subsequent to deducting all out expenses and cost from the net deals? † One method of responding to this inquiry well is for the directors to execute a spending plan. A spending will express the most extreme expenses and costs that the organization will pay and the anticipated net deals and assortments of records receivables ahead of time (a month or increasingly in front of the real utilization of the costs and beds). The spending shows the evaluated sums that will happen later on, for example, the planned deals, planned buys, planned creation, planned organization costs, the planned showcasing and advancement costs, planned accounting report and different financial plans. Also, the arranging methodology utilizing the â€Å"what if this occurs? †, and the going with â€Å"what must be done to win here? † approach will be an extremely valuable instrument to get ready for a future activity to determine a future issue regarding cost, costs, deals, creation and so forth. To determine this, the organization should ceaselessly refresh its data database since absence of data may result to an off-base choice or translation of information.

INDIEGOGO

INDIEGOGO © Shutterstock.com | Rawpixel.comIndiegogo is one of the biggest crowdfunding platforms online. In this article, we will look at 1) what is Indiegogo?, 2) why and when to use Indiegogo, 3) benefits of using Indiegogo, 4) options to raise funds and fees on Indiegogo, 5) how to be successful on Indiegogo, 6) Indiegogo success stories.WHAT IS INDIEGOGO?Indiegogo is a well known international crowdfunding platform based in San Francisco, California. It was created in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Eric Schell, and Slava Rubin. Indiegogo is one of the pioneers in the crowdfunding arena.Unlike some of its major competitors, the website allows people to request funds for an idea, a charitable venture or a start-up business. The company aims to empower and enable anyone with a good idea to raise funds and attempt to reach their goals. Approximately 9 million site visitors are recorded from around the world every month.Much like other crowdfunding models, the website runs a rewards based system. This means that donors and investors receive a gift in return for their investment rather than an equity stake in the product or business. The company has expressed an interest in the equity based system as soon as the laws governing these transactions are made clearer by the United States government.HistoryThe idea for the website was generated by Danae Ringelmann, who was working as an analyst on Wall Street in 2002. During this time, she worked on co-producing an Arthur Miller play. Despite its popularity with the audience, there was very little financial incentive to continue work on the project. Given this situation, Ringelmann began considering alternate ways to generate revenue for the endeavor. Her inspiration was a senior filmmaker who approached her for funds for his film. A few years later, she went on to the Haas School of Business to begin a company focused on a democratic way to raise funds.At the school, she met her future partners, Eric Schell and Slava Rubin. Both h ad experienced issues with fundraising similar to Ringelmann’s, with the House Theatre Company in Chicago and a charity fundraiser for cancer research. The three began developing their idea in 2007. The project was titled Keiyaku and the official site launched in 2008 at the Sundance Film Festival with a focus on films. By 2010, the company partnered with MTV New Media to develop content for site projects and in 2011 the website managed to raise $1.5 million in a seed financing round. In 2012, the company partnered with President Obama’s Startup America to offer crowdfunding services to US based entrepreneurs. The same year, the company raised a further $15 million dollars in funding from Insight Ventures and in 2014, added $40 million to the financing amount.Unlike Kickstarter, Indiegogo does not provide publicly accessible data and information regarding its performance. According to independent research, in 2013 the company had 44,000 crowdfunding campaigns with a success rate of about 34 percent. These successful campaigns raised about $99 million collectively, and 40 percent of this amount was from campaigns that managed to raise more than $100,000.The website puts very little restrictions on the kind of project that can be put up for funding requests. There is a special discount in fees for nonprofit campaigns.WHY WHEN TO USE INDIEGOGOThe projects that are put forward for funding on Indiegogo feature a variety of categories from the arts to technology, business, and charity or cause-based projects. It is a good option for when a more passive monetary stream is required, or there is a danger of not meeting target fundraising amounts. It also requires less planning and detail than a kickstarter campaign since those have to go through a vigorous approval process. A project can be put on Indiegogo if it fulfills the website’s terms of service which are not overly complicated. A person needs to be over eighteen or if over 13, needs the approval of a gua rdian. Projects listed need to be legal and not for the purpose of a scam or intended to cause any harm. As of now, no share in the business can be offered as a reward.Because of these easier rules, the projects listed on the website include ideas, charities, business startups, products and cause based crowdfunding. Often people may use this platform to test the viability of an idea as a successful project or a money making endeavor. If there is not much response than it may be a good way to take the learning and rethink the idea or its application.BENEFITS OF USING INDIEGOGOSome of the benefits of using Indiegogo over other similar crowdfunding platforms are:The website allows both partial campaigns as well as all-or-nothing.There are more than one payment options including both PayPal and ordinary bank accounts.The website allows international projects along with US based ones.There are very few restrictions on the type of campaign. There are some terms of service, and the propose d project has to be legal.There is no screening process or wait time for projects to get approved.There is no limit on the dollar worth of the rewards offered.Some negatives of the website include:The biggest negative may be that the lack of regulation may let some unnecessary projects through, and these may never materialize.The community of backers or investors is much smaller than market leader Kickstarter.There is less buzz around Indiegogo campaigns and there is not enough parity in credibility with the market leader in crowdfunding, Kickstarter.The option to keep whatever is collected may make it less urgent for some backers to donate. There may be less investment in the potential success or failure of the campaign owner and their product offering.OPTIONS TO RAISE FUNDS FEES ON INDIEGOGOSetting up and launching the campaign are free for everyone. Before the campaign is launched, however, a choice needs to be made between flexible funding and fixed funding. This choice is not so concerning if the product goals are met. In this situation, the funds raised are kept whether flexible funding was selected or fixed funding. A fee equal to 4% of the total funds raised is charged by the website, and this fee is reduced to 3% for nonprofits.However, if the goal is not reached, then a flexible funding campaign means that the campaign owner is allowed to keep whatever they have raised, but a higher percentage is charged. This percentage is 9% of the raised funds. When a fixed funding campaign is selected and the goal not reached, then all the money is returned to the investor, and no fees are charged either.Once funds are about to be received, there is an additional charge for the payment solution. This fee is between 3 and 5 percent depending on the payment option selected.HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL ON INDIEGOGOOne service that Indiegogo offers is the gogofactor. Gogofactor is a strong algorithm that helps campaigns gain visibility on the website and be able to reach th e right people. Several factors may affect the gogofactor. These include the scope of social engagement such as a presence across social media and response there as well as the reach of the campaign globally. Campaigners can raise their gogofactor by:Updating campaign information on social media outlets and spreading the word through the campaigner’s community to share the information further.Offering interesting and exciting rewards to engage the audience and move them to action through donations.According to the Indiegogo blog, some other actions can help raise 8 times as much money for people who use them as those who do not. These actions show a commitment to the campaign through an investment of time and effort.A Pitch Video â€" A video can make an incredible amount of difference to a campaign. A good video will show the people behind the campaign and their journey based around their campaign idea. There should also be an aspect of the mechanics of the business by showing whe re the money will go and a clear call to action. It is important to keep this short and crisp, preferably under 3 minutes.A Good Amount of Perks â€" A good number is three or more creative and generous rewards. A good idea is to reward based on specific contribution amounts such as $25 and $100.Offer Regular Updates â€" Updates can show progress, thank contributors, offer new rewards and showcase any press or attention that the campaign has been getting. These updates can help keep backers engaged and bring in others.A Good Media Gallery â€" It is a good idea to keep at least 5 or more items in the media gallery. These can be videos, images or artwork. This media can help build a context for the motivation behind the campaign and bring the backers close to the campaign. The same media should be shared across social media as well.Link to Other Pages â€" Any personal websites, blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter accounts or other social media outlets should be linked back to the campaign. This link across channels will help build credibility and allow a strong story line to be created over the course of the campaign and beyond.Keep the Campaign Short â€" Though Indiegogo does not put any time restrictions on campaigns, it is a good idea to have a short campaign. Short means less than 60 days. This allows more buzz and fewer chances of people putting off contributing to a later time. Before deciding timeframe, factors such as time needed to run an effective campaign and the amount of money required and other aspects of strategy should be considered carefully. Mistakes to AvoidSome common crowdfunding mistakes to avoid include:Don’t make the video a short film. An endless video will lose an audience no matter how much effort went into making it. The video should be short and crisp but still manage to portray all the right information to the audience in a compelling manner.Don’t wait for the backers to show up. A campaign needs to be pushed for it to be effective. I t is important to reach out to family, friends, coworkers, acquaintances as well as other influential people who may be relevant to or interested in the campaign. A strong social media will also help the campaign raise its gogofactor and be more visible.Don’t write too much text in the description. No one is interested in a long essay on how the project came to be here. Instead, use visual aids to push the message across.Don’t create unreasonably high rewards. Rewards should cover all levels of donations from small ones to large contributions, and the reward should reflect these levels as well.Don’t ignore past successes and failures. Once a campaign ends, its page stays on the website. This can provide valuable information about what works and what does not and can help improve a campaign.INDIEGOGO SUCCESS STORIESMost Funded ProjectsSome of the most funded projects on Indiegogo are not necessarily successful ones given how the website allows both fixed and flexible funding.Te chnology: Ubuntu Edge: This project raised over $12 million of its $32 million goal, about 40 percent. This was a fixed funding project which means that it was not a successful campaign despite being the highest funded project on the website. The proposed smart phone was to be released as 40,000 units only via Indiegogo to show the evolution of technology. Education: An Hour of Code for Every Student: This was a nonprofit flexibly funded project that managed to raise 80 percent of its target. Over $4 million have been raised, and the project remains open. The aim of the project is to allow every student to be able to learn computer science. Technology: Accent Wear Cat Ear Headphones: These are a fashion and technology project, a pair of headphones shaped like cat ears with LED lights built in that is a forever funding program. The campaign has managed to raise well over its $250,000 budget and was continuing to raise funds Rewards allow contributors to pre-order. Community: Stone Gr oundbreaking Collaborations: This was a flexibly funded program that is now closed. The campaign managed to reach well over its target if $1 million by raising over $2.5 million in about six weeks’ time. The product on offer is a rare beer from a highly rated brewery.Film: Lazer Team by Rooster Teeth: This flexibly funded campaign managed to raise 382 percent of its target goal of $650,000 by raising a substantial sum of over $2.4 million dollars in one month. This science fiction film offered rewards starting from a $5 contribution to a $10,000 one.Successful Product LaunchesThough there are many interesting projects and products on Indiegogo, a few that made it to commercial success in 2013 include:iSmartAlarm â€" Apple Store: An amazing home security device that gained backing from over 1500 supporters is now being sold in Apple stores for $250 each.StickNFind â€" Brookstone: Created by Jimmy Buchheim, the product helps people find lost items such as glasses, keys and almost an ything else by touching a button. A crowdfunding campaign that raised $931,870 on Indiegogo led to Brookstone taking on the product.Spuni â€" Amazon: A specially crafted spoon for babies, this ergonomic invention raised $37,000 and manufacturing began in Brooklyn, New York. These can now be purchased on Amazon.com.Misfit Shine â€" Best Buy, Target, Apple Store: This activity tracker had already raised funding required to bring it to market, but the founder ran an Indiegogo campaign to see what the customers wanted from this product. The campaign met with resounding success by raising $850,000 and is now sold at three major stores.Celebrities on IndiegogoIn 2013, the following celebrities turned to Indiegogo to fund their campaigns:James Franco launched a campaign to turn his book of short stories into three feature length films. He has promised to donate profits from these films to a non-profit organization encouraging actors and artists to dedicate time to terminally sick children. Nick Carter launched a campaign to raise money for his little known passion of horror films. He aims to use the Indiegogo funds to produce, write and costar in a horror film, Evil Blessings.William Shatner is collaborating with Egard to create a masterpiece wristwatch that is affordable yet limited editionLil Wayne is partnering with nonprofit The Motivational Edge to empower inner city children to have access to culturally relevant programs after school. IndieGoGo INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are in  Berlin  with Indiegogo. Danae, who are you and what do you do?Danae: Hi. Im Danae, Im one of the founders and Chief Development Officer at Indiegogo. And we are now the largest, global, open funding platform in the world.Martin: Great! When did you start Indiegogo and why did you start it?Danae: I started thinking about it and working on an idea in 2001. I quit finance to go start it in 2006, met my co-founders then and we launched in January 2008.And the reason I started it was because I pretty much grew up my entire life around a problem and had to witness a problem actually, became part of the problem. And that was the problem of access to capital, inefficient access to capital.So, I watched my parents struggle for 30 years to grow their business because they never could access an outside loan. I went into finance and started working with filmmakers and theater producers on the side. Failing it, helping them raise money and realize that the finance was broken, because what was happening is that ideas were only getting born if they were lucky enough to find a gatekeeper to roll the dice and bet on them. And that, the way to fix finance was not rely on gatekeepers but actually put the power back in the hands of the people to decide which ideas came to live. By letting people fund the ideas that matter to them. So I quit finance in 2006 and started Indiegogo to do that.Martin: Great!INDIEGOGO BUSINESS MODELMartin: Danae, how is the current business model working for Indiegogo?Danae: So the way Indiegogo works, is that anybody anywhere in the world can create a campaign on their side by the create button. You can be an entrepreneur raising money to start a business, you can be an artist raising money for your next album or film that you want to make, you can be an activist or community citizen trying to raise money for a local charity or a local community effort.All you need to do is literally create  a campaign and get going and share it with your friends, family and supporters and funders and customers and empower them to help you fund. Indiegogo adds a lot of amplification on top of that. So we integrate with social media, we do a lot around helping elevate the exposure so you can actually raise the most money possible using our site than anywhere else.And what people do is that people fund in exchange for what we call perks, which is like a token of thanks. So a great example is here in Germany, a campaign for the Panono was launched and raised $1.2 million. It was a new startup with a product which is basically a ball that you throw in the air and it takes a 3D picture. Its very cool.  Well, they use Indiegogo as a way to get the startup funding so they could launch to the market.And we have  a campaign like the TinkerBots which is a really cool robotic Lego set for kids. It teaches kids about robotics. Theyd actually raised  â‚¬1 million in venture funding but then they still used Indiegogo as a way to raise another $300 thousand to really validate their market, refine their product market fit, really understand what their funders and customers wanted, so when they did the full launch, they knew who their customers are, or where they were, what theyre willing to pay, what features they wanted, all that stuff.Martin: And they adjust their pricing or business model during the campaign?Danae: Well, what they did is they learnt a lot about what peoples willingness to pay. So when you know a lot of, the old way of doing things before you launched a product is youd have a focus group, which is gathering a bunch of strangers and ask them would you pay for this. And they might say yes, they might no, but still its hypothetical. Indiegogo says, well if you pay for it, why dont you do it right now. Lets put yourMartin: Money where their worth is.Danae: Money where their mouth is. Yes. And so, its a great indication of whether there is a market there or not. And so thats why were seeing, Indiegogo has become a place not just to raise money if you cant access the traditional capital like bank loans or venture investment, or even government funding. But now Indiegogo has become a place for that as well as for ideas that maybe you can access traditional funding, but still want to use Indiegogo as a platform to really proof that market and proof that product market fit so that when they launched fully, theyre as bottom up as possible.Martin: Today Indiegogo is quite big. So, from a user or entrepreneur perspective it totally make sense to use them because you have tons, millions of users on it who could potentially purchase perks at your company.Danae: Fun perks. Its not a store, its not a purchase.Martin: When you started in 2008, why should an entrepreneur put his business on your company when you didnt have a lot of distribution?Danae: Thats a great question. I always like to say, the hardest part about starting a market place business which I consider us as a market place business. We dont have buyers and sellers, but we have you know, funders and raisers. The hardest part about starting a market place business is starting. Its the chicken and the egg issue.And so, in the early days, what we focused on, was just proofing that this was a way to raise money efficiently. Maybe more efficiently than offline. When Indiegogo started, the word crowdfunding didnt exist, we were the first platform. This concept is very novel and theres a lot of skepticism. And so what we just did is, we focused on campaign first and we did whatever it took to help them raise money.  And in the process of helping them, we learnt what the needs were, what the pain points were and then we build product around that to help address those pain points in need.So, very early it became clear that the whole point of using Indiegogo is to raise more money than you ever could have a loan. So we ask the question, well you know, yes, were removing a pain point. So if someo ne want to raise money online, they could just put up a website, put up a PayPal link for something and raise that way.So in early days, we remove that pain because we allow them not to have to go through their own website and their own PayPal, etc. But that quickly, that functionality became sophisticated and so then the point of Indiegogo became the ability to reach more people. And so with that, were able to add functionality around social media integration, where people fund Indiegogo and theyre automatically prompted to share it and post it on Facebook and Twitter. We like to say that, when Indiegogo started, I think Twitter had just launched, Facebook was still college only and YouTube was big but MySpace was a big social network then.Were still in very early days, but we realized the whole point is amplification. Indiegogos reason for being is to help ideas amplify themselves. So now with a platform known as the platform that will help you raise the most money possible becaus e we focus on this, and were continuing to focus on this. Were still rolling out product features and enhancements to help with amplification.BEST CAMPAIGNS GOGOFACTORMartin: What type of business ideas run very well on Indiegogo, in terms of which type of business model can raise a lot of money?Danae: Its interesting, a lot of people say what industries do the best. What really, what a successful campaign comes down to is not what industry its in, its what work and effort youre willing to put in it, and how much you audience actually cares. So, we see all kinds of campaigns from businesses launch to food trucks or gadgets get launched, but then we also see filmmakers and professional musicians like leaving their labels and using Indiegogo to raise money. Like We the Kings or Protest the Hero, theyve each raised hundred and thousands of dollars to make an album and  go direct to their fans.So, one thing that a lot of people think that Indiegogo is about is a larger campaign is bet ter, we dont believe that. At Indiegogo, everyone has the right to raise money, and every idea, large and small, is equal in our minds. And so, if your goal is to just open up a coffee shop in your neighborhood and you just need €20 thousand, then go for a campaign to raise €20 thousand. Just because youre not raising 2 million, doesnt mean youre not as important.But then we also have the platform, so that if you do need that 2 million, we have the infrastructure to support that as well. And so the end goal with Indiegogo is a world where everyone is funding what matters to them, whether its a really cool gadget because you love gadgets or its your local coffee shop because you love coffee. Theyre both equally important in your eyes and Indiegogo wants to be the place where you can fund whatever matters to you.Martin: Are there any business model that you are trying to promote on your first page so when people are coming to your website and they see them and what would be the al gorithm behind choosing this kind of business?Danae: So Indiegogo at our core, our core believe is that everyone deserve the right to raise money. And so because of that, Indiegogo pioneered an open approach to online funding. So at Indiegogo  we don’t pick and choose projects, its totally open, no application, no judgment. But we also believe in meritocracy. So the ideas that rise to the top that end up on our homepage, for example, or in our newsletters, are ones that earn their way there. And they earn it by doing all the things to engage a community. Its not just a funding popularity contest but its the engaging, its having the audience thats engaged, its really having a community and a conversation with them, and really kind of bringing everybody together that matters the most.The way weve done this is we created what we call a gogofactor, which is a merit base algorithm similar to Googles PageRank algorithm that determined the placement and the promotions. So the higher you r gogofactor, the higher the chances youll show up on the homepage. And I like to say, I love going to the homepage in the morning to see whats there because I dont even know.Martin: Interesting.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS FROM DANAE RINGELMANN We meet Danae Ringelmann, chief development officer of Indiegogo, in Berlin. She shares her story of how she started her company and what drove her decision to become an entrepreneur. Then Danae talks about the business model of Indiegogo and what you need to consider to create a well performing Indiegogo campaign (hint: the gogofactor has something to do with it). Lastly, she gives some applicable advice for entrepreneurs to become more efficient and grow their companies.The transcript of the interview is below.INTRODUCTIONMartin: Hi, today we are in  Berlin  with Indiegogo. Danae, who are you and what do you do?Danae: Hi. Im Danae, Im one of the founders and Chief Development Officer at Indiegogo. And we are now the largest, global, open funding platform in the world.Martin: Great! When did you start Indiegogo and why did you start it?Danae: I started thinking about it and working on an idea in 2001. I quit finance to go start it in 2006, met my co-founders then and we launched in January 2008.And the reason I started it was because I pretty much grew up my entire life around a problem and had to witness a problem actually, became part of the problem. And that was the problem of access to capital, inefficient access to capital.So, I watched my parents struggle for 30 years to grow their business because they never could access an outside loan. I went into finance and started working with filmmakers and theater producers on the side. Failing it, helping them raise money and realize that the finance was broken, because what was happening is that ideas were only getting born if they were lucky enough to find a gatekeeper to roll the dice and bet on them. And that, the way to fix finance was not rely on gatekeepers but actually put the power back in the hands of the people to decide which ideas came to live. By letting people fund the ideas that matter to them. So I quit finance in 2006 and started Indiegogo to do that.Martin: Great!INDIEGOGO BUSINESS MODELMartin : Danae, how is the current business model working for Indiegogo?Danae: So the way Indiegogo works, is that anybody anywhere in the world can create a campaign on their side by the create button. You can be an entrepreneur raising money to start a business, you can be an artist raising money for your next album or film that you want to make, you can be an activist or community citizen trying to raise money for a local charity or a local community effort.All you need to do is literally create  a campaign and get going and share it with your friends, family and supporters and funders and customers and empower them to help you fund. Indiegogo adds a lot of amplification on top of that. So we integrate with social media, we do a lot around helping elevate the exposure so you can actually raise the most money possible using our site than anywhere else.And what people do is that people fund in exchange for what we call perks, which is like a token of thanks. So a great example is here in Germany, a campaign for the Panono was launched and raised $1.2 million. It was a new startup with a product which is basically a ball that you throw in the air and it takes a 3D picture. Its very cool.  Well, they use Indiegogo as a way to get the startup funding so they could launch to the market.And we have  a campaign like the TinkerBots which is a really cool robotic Lego set for kids. It teaches kids about robotics. Theyd actually raised  â‚¬1 million in venture funding but then they still used Indiegogo as a way to raise another $300 thousand to really validate their market, refine their product market fit, really understand what their funders and customers wanted, so when they did the full launch, they knew who their customers are, or where they were, what theyre willing to pay, what features they wanted, all that stuff.Martin: And they adjust their pricing or business model during the campaign?Danae: Well, what they did is they learnt a lot about what peoples willingness to pay. So when you know a lot of, the old way of doing things before you launched a product is youd have a focus group, which is gathering a bunch of strangers and ask them would you pay for this. And they might say yes, they might no, but still its hypothetical. Indiegogo says, well if you pay for it, why dont you do it right now. Lets put yourMartin: Money where their worth is.Danae: Money where their mouth is. Yes. And so, its a great indication of whether there is a market there or not. And so thats why were seeing, Indiegogo has become a place not just to raise money if you cant access the traditional capital like bank loans or venture investment, or even government funding. But now Indiegogo has become a place for that as well as for ideas that maybe you can access traditional funding, but still want to use Indiegogo as a platform to really proof that market and proof that product market fit so that when they launched fully, theyre as bottom up as possible.Martin: Today Indie gogo is quite big. So, from a user or entrepreneur perspective it totally make sense to use them because you have tons, millions of users on it who could potentially purchase perks at your company.Danae: Fun perks. Its not a store, its not a purchase.Martin: When you started in 2008, why should an entrepreneur put his business on your company when you didnt have a lot of distribution?Danae: Thats a great question. I always like to say, the hardest part about starting a market place business which I consider us as a market place business. We dont have buyers and sellers, but we have you know, funders and raisers. The hardest part about starting a market place business is starting. Its the chicken and the egg issue.And so, in the early days, what we focused on, was just proofing that this was a way to raise money efficiently. Maybe more efficiently than offline. When Indiegogo started, the word crowdfunding didnt exist, we were the first platform. This concept is very novel and theres a lot of skepticism. And so what we just did is, we focused on campaign first and we did whatever it took to help them raise money.  And in the process of helping them, we learnt what the needs were, what the pain points were and then we build product around that to help address those pain points in need.So, very early it became clear that the whole point of using Indiegogo is to raise more money than you ever could have a loan. So we ask the question, well you know, yes, were removing a pain point. So if someone want to raise money online, they could just put up a website, put up a PayPal link for something and raise that way.So in early days, we remove that pain because we allow them not to have to go through their own website and their own PayPal, etc. But that quickly, that functionality became sophisticated and so then the point of Indiegogo became the ability to reach more people. And so with that, were able to add functionality around social media integration, where people fund Indiegogo and theyre automatically prompted to share it and post it on Facebook and Twitter. We like to say that, when Indiegogo started, I think Twitter had just launched, Facebook was still college only and YouTube was big but MySpace was a big social network then.Were still in very early days, but we realized the whole point is amplification. Indiegogos reason for being is to help ideas amplify themselves. So now with a platform known as the platform that will help you raise the most money possible because we focus on this, and were continuing to focus on this. Were still rolling out product features and enhancements to help with amplification.BEST CAMPAIGNS GOGOFACTORMartin: What type of business ideas run very well on Indiegogo, in terms of which type of business model can raise a lot of money?Danae: Its interesting, a lot of people say what industries do the best. What really, what a successful campaign comes down to is not what industry its in, its what work and effort youre willing to put in it, and how much you audience actually cares. So, we see all kinds of campaigns from businesses launch to food trucks or gadgets get launched, but then we also see filmmakers and professional musicians like leaving their labels and using Indiegogo to raise money. Like We the Kings or Protest the Hero, theyve each raised hundred and thousands of dollars to make an album and  go direct to their fans.So, one thing that a lot of people think that Indiegogo is about is a larger campaign is better, we dont believe that. At Indiegogo, everyone has the right to raise money, and every idea, large and small, is equal in our minds. And so, if your goal is to just open up a coffee shop in your neighborhood and you just need €20 thousand, then go for a campaign to raise €20 thousand. Just because youre not raising 2 million, doesnt mean youre not as important.But then we also have the platform, so that if you do need that 2 million, we have the infrastructure to supp ort that as well. And so the end goal with Indiegogo is a world where everyone is funding what matters to them, whether its a really cool gadget because you love gadgets or its your local coffee shop because you love coffee. Theyre both equally important in your eyes and Indiegogo wants to be the place where you can fund whatever matters to you.Martin: Are there any business model that you are trying to promote on your first page so when people are coming to your website and they see them and what would be the algorithm behind choosing this kind of business?Danae: So Indiegogo at our core, our core believe is that everyone deserve the right to raise money. And so because of that, Indiegogo pioneered an open approach to online funding. So at Indiegogo  we don’t pick and choose projects, its totally open, no application, no judgment. But we also believe in meritocracy. So the ideas that rise to the top that end up on our homepage, for example, or in our newsletters, are ones that e arn their way there. And they earn it by doing all the things to engage a community. Its not just a funding popularity contest but its the engaging, its having the audience thats engaged, its really having a community and a conversation with them, and really kind of bringing everybody together that matters the most.The way weve done this is we created what we call a gogofactor, which is a merit base algorithm similar to Googles PageRank algorithm that determined the placement and the promotions. So the higher your gogofactor, the higher the chances youll show up on the homepage. And I like to say, I love going to the homepage in the morning to see whats there because I dont even know.Martin: Interesting.ADVICE TO ENTREPRENEURS FROM DANAE RINGELMANNMartin: Danae, we always try to share some insights or advice to first time entrepreneur so they make less errors. What advice could you share?Danae: Fail fast, dont worry, dont wait for perfect, really. That was probably my biggest lesson I learnt, I thought about, work through what became Indiegogo for years, and finally when I just quit and took an action and went for it, thats when. Its within months I found my co-founders, within a month after that we have started working on it, within a year we launched the product. So, I think I was trying to get perfect in my head about what the exact thing is, and you cant underestimate the value of getting your idea out in the world and getting that quick feedback. So dont wait for perfect.In a way, Indiegogo is a great way to fail fast because a lot of people put their idea up on Indiegogo, try to raise awareness, try to get engagement, invite people in, and if no ones funding you, that means you probably dont have something that has legs yet and you need to go back  and try again.And so a lot of people use us as a testing platform of checking the street because you can then iterate, fail fast, iterate, come back, and when you are successful raising money you know youre r eally on to something.I would also, my advice to entrepreneurs is, second piece of advice is really be clear with your why, your reason for being. So, what problem are you solving and why do you care so much about it? A lot of, I live out in  San Francisco  and theres always a word, like, Ooo entrepreneurs are sexy. I only became an entrepreneur because I wanted to solve a problem and finance wasnt solving it. And so I had to go start a company to solve a problem, which is make access to capital efficient and fair.And I think it ultimately was one of the reasons that has kept me so motivated for so long and help persevere is because Im obsessed with this problem. A lot of entrepreneurs that you know, want to start a company because its sexy or cool or make a lot of money. I think their chance of failure is higher because there isnt something deeply rooted that is calling them to the work you need to put in everyday for years to make it happen. Because most, very rarely are there com panies that like, start and pop the next the day. It’s going to take, its a journey and you have to be in it, you have to be really have meaningfully motivated to solve a problem to actually be successful.Martin: Thank you very much, Danae.

Macroeconomics The Unemployment Rate - 1948 Words

Macroeconomics: The Unemployment Rate The more Americans employed means we as a nation are experiencing economic growth. However, if there is a high unemployment rate this interprets that more Americans are struggling in our economy. There are several types and reason for high unemployment. Though America’s unemployment rate was 5.6%, as of December 2014, every state’s unemployment rate varies for different reasons. America’s unemployment rate has a direct negative impact on our entire nation’s economy and affects individual firms, organizations, and people. Whether it is high or low, the unemployment rate has proven its ability to have a strong negative impact on individual firms and organizations. As of December 2014, America’s†¦show more content†¦Because of the growth of the high unemployment rate employers may be unwilling to hire people. With more people out of work, more civilians face an unfortunate standard of living and lower quality of life. Generally, when the unemployment rate rises, consumers have less spending power. A lower unemployment rate, infers more people have jobs and are enjoying a better quality of life and higher standard of living. It also means that companies, firms, and organizations are receiving more money. When more people have jobs, they acquire more money and spend it. Such places include stores, malls, and fast food restaurants. This spending results in economic growth throughout our economy. Unfortunately, there will always be a percentage of people who do not have a job which implies t hat the economy will never experience economic growth to its full extent. People are affected by the four types of unemployment that occur throughout the economy which are frictional, structural, cyclical, and seasonal unemployment (Nickels, McHugh, McHugh, 2013). Sometimes people can’t deal with certain working conditions, supervisor, boss, or the job in general. This causes them to quit leading to frictional unemployed workers; people right out of college or high-school entering the labor market or those returning back are also considered part of frictional unemployed workers as well (Nickels et al., 2013). My father has

The Characters Of The Epic Hero And Beowulf - 788 Words

Celebrated and celebritized by the people, heros are typically perceived in epic poems as larger than life characters with extraordinary characteristics who defeat evil and represent good. On the other hand, villains, seen as ravenous, heartless, beasts terrorize the helpless people for no reason are not sympathized. Displaying this common outlook on the â€Å"hero† and â€Å"villain† is the epic poem, Beowulf, where the readers view the main character, Beowulf, as a brave warrior who sets out to defeat the harmful and destructive Grendel. On the other hand, John Gardner’s Grendel takes a different outlook on the epic poem where the reader sympathizes Grendel after comprehending his life, lack of self esteem, and watches him fall the victim of†¦show more content†¦Throughout the novel,the reader is able to see Grendel’s self deprecating thoughts about how â€Å"[he] fool[s] [himself] with thoughts that [he’s] more noble, than pointless, ri diculous monster crouched in the shadows† (Gardner 6). Grendel has a clear lack of self esteem where he feels like a â€Å"pointless, ridiculous monster crouched in the shadows† and for that reason he attacks people out of insecurity in an attempt to make himself feel more superior. On the other hand, Grendel thoroughly covers his insecurities to all those who cannot understand his personal thoughts because the readers of the epic poem Beowulf have little to no sympathy for him as they seem him as a â€Å"shadow-stalker,stealthy, and swift† instead of a hurt, rejected, and mentally ill individual (704). Grendel achieves his goal to be perceived as evil and powerful, but as a reader of the epic poem, Beowulf, the reader is not able to see his insecurity and brokenness. In the end of both the poem and the novel, the reader witnesses the battle between Grendel and Beowulf and as a result of the different point of views displayed by the authors the readers empathize the characters differently. During the battle in Grendel, the main character Grendel describing his losing battle says, â€Å"He smashes me against [the wall], breaks open my forehead†¦Ã¢â‚¬  but not only does beowulf defeat Grendel, but he tries to humiliate him byShow MoreRelatedCharacter Analysis Of Beowulf As An Epic Hero765 Words   |  4 PagesA hero is the central figure who has superior qualities and risks personal danger to pursue a quest. Beowulf is a great epic hero because he performs many brave deeds such as risking his life for the greater good of society, and is significant and glorified by all people. Beowulf boasts and boasts about all of his great doings, but in the end he proves to everyone that he is as great as he claims to be. First, Beowulf shows that he will do anything for the fame, glory, and the greater good of societyRead MoreComparing Beowulf, The Wanderer, And The 13th Warrior1731 Words   |  7 Pagesalways reappears is What is an epic hero? Or better yet an epic hero in Anglo Saxon culture. I believe there is more to being a hero than just being strong or intelligent. An epic hero in my eyes is oneself who comes to portray the beliefs of the society in which the tale/story is depicted. A few great examples of the Anglo Saxon epic hero are the literary characters in Beowulf, The Wanderer, and The 13th Warrior. These are all outstanding examples of Anglo-Saxon epic heroes because they all cameRead MoreComparing Beowulf And Grendel And Beowulf1702 Words   |  7 Pagestranslated, Beowulf has represented one of the finest examples of heroic poetry. As a tale reflecting the noble deeds of a hero, it uniquely expresses the cultural values of the Anglo-Saxons from whom it originated since heroes oft en do reflect the best of what their culture deems worthwhile. However, modern adaptations of this work express a different set of cultural values; values unique to modern society. When comparing the translated poem, Beowulf, to the 2005 motion picture, Beowulf and GrendelRead MoreBeowulf s Heroic Qualities That Convey His Nobility And Courage887 Words   |  4 Pages Beowulf exemplifies heroic qualities that convey his nobility and courage. The poem named Beowulf has no known author. The author of the poem is known to be a Anglo-Saxon poet. The poem, Beowulf, is an Old English epic poem. The character, Beowulf, is a noble hero who offered to help King Hrothgar by fighting a demon named Grendal. He fought many enemies before and while becoming a king. Beowulf is a loyal and noble hero to the people of Geats and Danes. Epic heroes are defined with specificRead MoreThe Epic Of Beowulf By William Shakespeare939 Words   |  4 Pagesactually writing things down. These epics would be passed from one another through verbal communication and were based around different aspects of life for a someone of Anglo-Saxon descent. The story Beowulf is a perfect example of how Anglo-Saxons based their stories around their beliefs on how a hero should behave. Around the time the story was first told, people were often terrified of the horrible things in the world. The character Beowulf was built around how a hero would be represented in theseRead MoreBeowulf, The Epic Hero1373 Words   |  6 Pages 2015 Beowulf, The Epic Hero In Anglo Saxon times, Beowulf is considered a well known epic hero. â€Å"Epic heroes are literary characters from ancient mythology and other stories, which were written down in the form of long, narrative epic poems. The hero is the main character, or protagonist of the poem†(Epic Hero: Definition, Characteristics Examples.). The epic hero usually battles for accomplishments to a set of tasks to complete important goals. Beowulf is described as an epic hero becauseRead MoreBeowulf : An Epic Hero978 Words   |  4 Pages Beowulf is a character that exudes the qualities of an epic hero. Throughout this epic, Beowulf is seen as a hero to many and a major threat to the evils he encounters. The values of the Anglo-Saxons, who would have read and admired this poem, included loyalty, bravery, and honor. Beowulf’s character exemplifies all of these qualities to the highest degree. The values and traditions of the original composers of this story cause Beowulf’s character to be the perfect example of an Anglo-SaxonRead MoreExamples Of The Epic Hero Of Beowulf846 Words   |  4 PagesThe Ultimate Hero What does it take for one to be considered an epic hero? According to dictionary.com, â€Å"an epic hero is defined as a brave and noble character in an epic poem, admired for great achievements or affected by grand events.† The unknown author, an Anglo-Saxon poet, of the epic poem Beowulf reveals that Beowulf was easily the most legendary hero of all time. In this heroic poem, Beowulf accomplishes many great achievements and is affected by a handful of great events. Beowulf is the grandestRead MoreEpic Hero In Beowulf885 Words   |  4 PagesA character that conquers evil, exemplifies bravery and is personified as a cultural legend can be considered an epic hero. An epic hero is someone who is noble and brave and accomplishes heroic acts that define their legacy while suffering an internal conflict. An embodiment of an ideal epic hero is Beowulf from the epic Beowulf who sets an unmatched example as an epic hero due to the fact that he displays a great deal of bravery, overc omes evil, and stands as a cultural legend while fighting withRead MoreBeowulf And The Epic Of Gilgamesh1667 Words   |  7 Pagestoday’s society, a hero is viewed as someone who embodies the characteristics of selflessness, courage, honesty, and integrity. The same characteristics were essential to be thought of as a hero 3,000 years ago as well. Two of the most widely known epic poems of their time were Beowulf and The Epic of Gilgamesh. Both Beowulf and Gilgamesh embody traits known exclusively of a hero. The poem of Beowulf and The Epic Gilgamesh both showcase the characteristics required of being an epic, in that they include

A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-eight Free Essays

Catelyn My lady, you ought cover your head,† Ser Rodrik told her as their horses plodded north. â€Å"You will take a chill.† â€Å"It is only water, Ser Rodrik,† Catelyn replied. We will write a custom essay sample on A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-eight or any similar topic only for you Order Now Her hair hung wet and heavy, a loose strand stuck to her forehead, and she could imagine how ragged and wild she must look, but for once she did not care. The southern rain was soft and warm. Catelyn liked the feel of it on her face, gentle as a mother’s kisses. It took her back to her childhood, to long grey days at Riverrun. She remembered the godswood, drooping branches heavy with moisture, and the sound of her brother’s laughter as he chased her through piles of damp leaves. She remembered making mud pies with Lysa, the weight of them, the mud slick and brown between her fingers. They had served them to Littlefinger, giggling, and he’d eaten so much mud he was sick for a week. How young they all had been. Catelyn had almost forgotten. In the north, the rain fell cold and hard, and sometimes at night it turned to ice. It was as likely to kill a crop as nurture it, and it sent grown men running for the nearest shelter. That was no rain for little girls to play in. â€Å"I am soaked through,† Ser Rodrik complained. â€Å"Even my bones are wet.† The woods pressed close around them, and the steady pattering of rain on leaves was accompanied by the small sucking sounds their horses made as their hooves pulled free of the mud. â€Å"We will want a fire tonight, my lady, and a hot meal would serve us both.† â€Å"There is an inn at the crossroads up ahead,† Catelyn told him. She had slept many a night there in her youth, traveling with her father. Lord Hoster Tully had been a restless man in his prime, always riding somewhere. She still remembered the innkeep, a fat woman named Masha Heddle who chewed sourleaf night and day and seemed to have an endless supply of smiles and sweet cakes for the children. The sweet cakes had been soaked with honey, rich and heavy on the tongue, but how Catelyn had dreaded those smiles. The sourleaf had stained Masha’s teeth a dark red, and made her smile a bloody horror. â€Å"An inn,† Ser Rodrik repeated wistfully. â€Å"If only . . . but we dare not risk it. If we wish to remain unknown, I think it best we seek out some small holdfast . . . † He broke off as they heard sounds up the road; splashing water, the clink of mail, a horse’s whinny. â€Å"Riders,† he warned, his hand dropping to the hilt of his sword. Even on the kingsroad, it never hurt to be wary. They followed the sounds around a lazy bend of the road and saw them; a column of armed men noisily fording a swollen stream. Catelyn reined up to let them pass. The banner in the hand of the foremost rider hung sodden and limp, but the guardsmen wore indigo cloaks and on their shoulders flew the silver eagle of Seagard. â€Å"Mallisters,† Ser Rodrik whispered to her, as if she had not known. â€Å"My lady, best pull up your hood.† Catelyn made no move. Lord Jason Mallister himself rode with them, surrounded by his knights, his son Patrek by his side and their squires close behind. They were riding for King’s Landing and the Hand’s tourney, she knew. For the past week, the travelers had been thick as flies upon the kingsroad; knights and freeriders, singers with their harps and drums, heavy wagons laden with hops or corn or casks of honey, traders and craftsmen and whores, and all of them moving south. She studied Lord Jason boldly. The last time she had seen him he had been jesting with her uncle at her wedding feast; the Mallisters stood bannermen to the Tullys, and his gifts had been lavish. His brown hair was salted with white now, his face chiseled gaunt by time, yet the years had not touched his pride. He rode like a man who feared nothing. Catelyn envied him that; she had come to fear so much. As the riders passed, Lord Jason nodded a curt greeting, but it was only a high lord’s courtesy to strangers chance met on the road. There was no recognition in those fierce eyes, and his son did not even waste a look. â€Å"He did not know you,† Ser Rodrik said after, wondering. â€Å"He saw a pair of mud-spattered travelers by the side of the road, wet and tired. It would never occur to him to suspect that one of them was the daughter of his liege lord. I think we shall be safe enough at the inn, Ser Rodrik.† It was near dark when they reached it, at the crossroads north of the great confluence of the Trident. Masha Heddle was fatter and greyer than Catelyn remembered, still chewing her sourleaf, but she gave them only the most cursory of looks, with nary a hint of her ghastly red smile. â€Å"Two rooms at the top of the stair, that’s all there is,† she said, chewing all the while. â€Å"They’re under the bell tower, you won’t be missing meals, though there’s some thinks it too noisy. Can’t be helped. We’re full up, or near as makes no matter. It’s those rooms or the road.† It was those rooms, low, dusty garrets at the top of a cramped narrow staircase. â€Å"Leave your boots down here,† Masha told them after she’d taken their coin. â€Å"The boy will clean them. I won’t have you tracking mud up my stairs. Mind the bell. Those who come late to meals don’t eat.† There were no smiles, and no mention of sweet cakes. When the supper bell rang, the sound was deafening. Catelyn had changed into dry clothes. She sat by the window, watching rain run down the pane. The glass was milky and full of bubbles, and a wet dusk was falling outside. Catelyn could just make out the muddy crossing where the two great roads met. The crossroads gave her pause. If they turned west from here, it was an easy ride down to Riverrun. Her father had always given her wise counsel when she needed it most, and she yearned to talk to him, to warn him of the gathering storm. If Winterfell needed to brace for war, how much more so Riverrun, so much closer to King’s Landing, with the power of Casterly Rock looming to the west like a shadow. If only her father had been stronger, she might have chanced it, but Hoster Tully had been bedridden these past two years, and Catelyn was loath to tax him now. The eastern road was wilder and more dangerous, climbing through rocky foothills and thick forests into the Mountains of the Moon, past high passes and deep chasms to the Vale of Arryn and the stony Fingers beyond. Above the Vale, the Eyrie stood high and impregnable, its towers reaching for the sky. There she would find her sister . . . and, perhaps, some of the answers Ned sought. Surely Lysa knew more than she had dared to put in her letter. She might have the very proof that Ned needed to bring the Lannisters to ruin, and if it came to war, they would need the Arryns and the eastern lords who owed them service. Yet the mountain road was perilous. Shadowcats prowled those passes, rock slides were common, and the mountain clans were lawless brigands, descending from the heights to rob and kill and melting away like snow whenever the knights rode out from the Vale in search of them. Even Jon Arryn, as great a lord as any the Eyrie had ever known, had always traveled in strength when he crossed the mountains. Catelyn’s only strength was one elderly knight, armored in loyalty. No, she thought, Riverrun and the Eyrie would have to wait. Her path ran north to Winterfell, where her sons and her duty were waiting for her. As soon as they were safely past the Neck, she could declare herself to one of Ned’s bannermen, and send riders racing ahead with orders to mount a watch on the kingsroad. The rain obscured the fields beyond the crossroads, but Catelyn saw the land clear enough in her memory. The marketplace was just across the way, and the village a mile farther on, half a hundred white cottages surrounding a small stone sept. There would be more now; the summer had been long and peaceful. North of here the kingsroad ran along the Green Fork of the Trident, through fertile valleys and green woodlands, past thriving towns and stout holdfasts and the castles of the river lords. Catelyn knew them all: the Blackwoods and the Brackens, ever enemies, whose quarrels her father was obliged to settle; Lady Whent, last of her line, who dwelt with her ghosts in the cavernous vaults of Harrenhal; irascible Lord Frey, who had outlived seven wives and filled his twin castles with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and bastards and grandbastards as well. All of them were bannermen to the Tullys, their swords sworn to the service of Riverrun. Catelyn wondered if that would be enough, if it came to war. Her father was the staunchest man who’d ever lived, and she had no doubt that he would call his banners . . . but would the banners come? The Darrys and Rygers and Mootons had sworn oaths to Riverrun as well, yet they had fought with Rhaegar Targaryen on the Trident, while Lord Frey had arrived with his levies well after the battle was over, leaving some doubt as to which army he had planned to join (theirs, he had assured the victors solemnly in the aftermath, but ever after her father had called him the Late Lord Frey). It must not come to war, Catelyn thought fervently. They must not let it. Ser Rodrik came for her just as the bell ceased its clangor. â€Å"We had best make haste if we hope to eat tonight, my lady.† â€Å"It might be safer if we were not knight and lady until we pass the Neck,† she told him. â€Å"Common travelers attract less notice. A father and daughter taken to the road on some family business, say.† â€Å"As you say, my lady,† Ser Rodrik agreed. It was only when she laughed that he realized what he’d done. â€Å"The old courtesies die hard, my—my daughter.† He tried to tug on his missing whiskers, and sighed with exasperation. Catelyn took his arm. â€Å"Come, Father,† she said. â€Å"You’ll find that Masha Heddle sets a good table, I think, but try not to praise her. You truly don’t want to see her smile.† The common room was long and drafty, with a row of huge wooden kegs at one end and a fireplace at the other. A serving boy ran back and forth with skewers of meat while Masha drew beer from the kegs, chewing her sourleaf all the while. The benches were crowded, townsfolk and farmers mingling freely with all manner of travelers. The crossroads made for odd companions; dyers with black and purple hands shared a bench with rivermen reeking of fish, an ironsmith thick with muscle squeezed in beside a wizened old septon, hard-bitten sellswords and soft plump merchants swapped news like boon companions. The company included more swords than Catelyn would have liked. Three by the fire wore the red stallion badge of the Brackens, and there was a large party in blue steel ringmail and capes of a silvery grey. On their shoulder was another familiar sigil, the twin towers of House Frey. She studied their faces, but they were all too young to have known her. The senior among them would have been no older than Bran when she went north. Ser Rodrik found them an empty place on the bench near the kitchen. Across the table a handsome youth was fingering a woodharp. â€Å"Seven blessings to you, goodfolk,† he said as they sat. An empty wine cup stood on the table before him. â€Å"And to you, singer,† Catelyn returned. Ser Rodrik called for bread and meat and beer in a tone that meant now. The singer, a youth of some eighteen years, eyed them boldly and asked where they were going, and from whence they had come, and what news they had, letting the questions fly as quick as arrows and never pausing for an answer. â€Å"We left King’s Landing a fortnight ago,† Catelyn replied, answering the safest of his questions. â€Å"That’s where I’m bound,† the youth said. As she had suspected, he was more interested in telling his own story than in hearing theirs. Singers loved nothing half so well as the sound of their own voices. â€Å"The Hand’s tourney means rich lords with fat purses. The last time I came away with more silver than I could carry . . . or would have, if I hadn’t lost it all betting on the Kingslayer to win the day.† â€Å"The gods frown on the gambler,† Ser Rodrik said sternly. He was of the north, and shared the Stark views on tournaments. â€Å"They frowned on me, for certain,† the singer said. â€Å"Your cruel gods and the Knight of Flowers altogether did me in.† â€Å"No doubt that was a lesson for you,† Ser Rodrik said. â€Å"It was. This time my coin will champion Ser Loras.† Ser Rodrik tried to tug at whiskers that were not there, but before he could frame a rebuke the serving boy came scurrying up. He laid trenchers of bread before them and filled them with chunks of browned meat off a skewer, dripping with hot juice. Another skewer held tiny onions, fire peppers, and fat mushrooms. Ser Rodrik set to lustily as the lad ran back to fetch them beer. â€Å"My name is Marillion,† the singer said, plucking a string on his woodharp. â€Å"Doubtless you’ve heard me play somewhere?† His manner made Catelyn smile. Few wandering singers ever ventured as far north as Winterfell, but she knew his like from her girlhood in Riverrun. â€Å"I fear not,† she told him. He drew a plaintive chord from the woodharp. â€Å"That is your loss,† he said. â€Å"Who was the finest singer you’ve ever heard?† â€Å"Alia of Braavos,† Ser Rodrik answered at once. â€Å"Oh, I’m much better than that old stick,† Marillion said. â€Å"If you have the silver for a song, I’ll gladly show you.† â€Å"I might have a copper or two, but I’d sooner toss it down a well than pay for your howling,† Ser Rodrik groused. His opinion of singers was well known; music was a lovely thing for girls, but he could not comprehend why any healthy boy would fill his hand with a harp when he might have had a sword. â€Å"Your grandfather has a sour nature,† Marillion said to Catelyn. â€Å"I meant to do you honor. An homage to your beauty. In truth, I was made to sing for kings and high lords.† â€Å"Oh, I can see that,† Catelyn said. â€Å"Lord Tully is fond of song, I hear. No doubt you’ve been to Riverrun.† â€Å"A hundred times,† the singer said airily. â€Å"They keep a chamber for me, and the young lord is like a brother.† Catelyn smiled, wondering what Edmure would think of that. Another singer had once bedded a girl her brother fancied; he had hated the breed ever since. â€Å"And Winterfell?† she asked him. â€Å"Have you traveled north?† â€Å"Why would I?’ Marillion asked. â€Å"It’s all blizzards and bearskins up there, and the Starks know no music but the howling of wolves.† Distantly, she was aware of the door banging open at the far end of the room. â€Å"Innkeep,† a servant’s voice called out behind her, â€Å"we have horses that want stabling, and my lord of Lannister requires a room and a hot bath.† â€Å"Oh, gods,† Ser Rodrik said before Catelyn reached out to silence him, her fingers tightening hard around his forearm. Masha Heddle was bowing and smiling her hideous red smile. â€Å"I’m sorry, m’lord, truly, we’re full up, every room.† There were four of them, Catelyn saw. An old man in the black of the Night’s Watch, two servants . . . and him, standing there small and bold as life. â€Å"My men will steep in your stable, and as for myself, well, I do not require a large room, as you can plainly see.† He flashed a mocking grin. â€Å"So long as the fire’s warm and the straw reasonably free of fleas, I am a happy man.† Masha Heddle was beside herself. â€Å"M’lord, there’s nothing, it’s the tourney, there’s no help for it, oh . . . â€Å" Tyrion Lannister pulled a coin from his purse and flicked it up over his head, caught it, tossed it again. Even across the room, where Catelyn sat, the wink of gold was unmistakable. A freerider in a faded blue cloak lurched to his feet. â€Å"You’re welcome to my room, m’lord.† â€Å"Now there’s a clever man,† Lannister said as he sent the coin spinning across the room. The freerider snatched it from the air. â€Å"And a nimble one to boot.† The dwarf turned back to Masha Heddle. â€Å"You will be able to manage food, I trust?† â€Å"Anything you like, m’lord, anything at all,† the innkeep promised. And may he choke on it, Catelyn thought, but it was Bran she saw choking, drowning on his own blood. Lannister glanced at the nearest tables. â€Å"My men will have whatever you’re serving these people. Double portions, we’ve had a long hard ride. I’ll take a roast fowl—chicken, duck, pigeon, it makes no matter. And send up a flagon of your best wine. Yoren, will you sup with me?† â€Å"Aye, m’lord, I will,† the black brother replied. The dwarf had not so much as glanced toward the far end of the room, and Catelyn was thinking how grateful she was for the crowded benches between them when suddenly Marillion bounded to his feet. â€Å"My lord of Lannister!† he called out. â€Å"I would be pleased to entertain you while you eat. Let me sing you the lay of your father’s great victory at King’s Landing!† â€Å"Nothing would be more likely to ruin my supper,† the dwarf said dryly. His mismatched eyes considered the singer briefly, started to move away . . . and found Catelyn. He looked at her for a moment, puzzled. She turned her face away, but too late. The dwarf was smiling. â€Å"Lady Stark, what an unexpected pleasure,† he said. â€Å"I was sorry to miss you at Winterfell.† Marillion gaped at her, confusion giving way to chagrin as Catelyn rose slowly to her feet. She heard Ser Rodrik curse. If only the man had lingered at the Wall, she thought, if only . . . â€Å"Lady . . . Stark?† Masha Heddle said thickly. â€Å"I was still Catelyn Tully the last time I bedded here,† she told the innkeep. She could hear the muttering, feel the eyes upon her. Catelyn glanced around the room, at the faces of the knights and sworn swords, and took a deep breath to slow the frantic beating of her heart. Did she dare take the risk? There was no time to think it through, only the moment and the sound of her own voice ringing in her ears. â€Å"You in the corner,† she said to an older man she had not noticed until now. â€Å"Is that the black bat of Harrenhal I see embroidered on your surcoat, ser?† The man got to his feet. â€Å"It is, my lady.† â€Å"And is Lady Whent a true and honest friend to my father, Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun?† â€Å"She is,† the man replied stoutly. Ser Rodrik rose quietly and loosened his sword in its scabbard. The dwarf was blinking at them, blank-faced, with puzzlement in his mismatched eyes. â€Å"The red stallion was ever a welcome sight in Riverrun,† she said to the trio by the fire. â€Å"My father counts Jonos Bracken among his oldest and most loyal bannermen.† The three men-at-arms exchanged uncertain looks. â€Å"Our lord is honored by his trust,† one of them said hesitantly. â€Å"I envy your father all these fine friends,† Lannister quipped, â€Å"but I do not quite see the purpose of this, Lady Stark.† She ignored him, turning to the large party in blue and grey. They were the heart of the matter; there were more than twenty of them. â€Å"I know your sigil as well: the twin towers of Frey. How fares your good lord, sers?† Their captain rose. â€Å"Lord Walder is well, my lady. He plans to take a new wife on his ninetieth name day, and has asked your lord father to honor the wedding with his presence.† Tyrion Lannister sniggered. That was when Catelyn knew he was hers. â€Å"This man came a guest into my house, and there conspired to murder my son, a boy of seven,† she proclaimed to the room at large, pointing. Ser Rodrik moved to her side, his sword in hand. â€Å"In the name of King Robert and the good lords you serve, I call upon you to seize him and help me return him to Winterfell to await the king’s justice.† She did not know what was more satisfying: the sound of a dozen swords drawn as one or the look on Tyrion Lannister’s face. How to cite A Game of Thrones Chapter Twenty-eight, Essay examples

Advocacy Paper in Early Childhood Education Essay Example For Students

Advocacy Paper in Early Childhood Education Essay Advocacy Research Paper and Presentation Standard Number: AAA, B, C, AD, and E Supportive Skill Number: One Overview: Early Childhood Teachers often times dont get the recognition and respect for educating children. It is important for students to become advocates for the teaching profession, so they get the recognition and respect they deserve. Many states and the Federal Government recognize the importance of having good, quality teachers by setting standards and competencies for future teachers. In addition to being an advocate for children and teachers, there are seven teaching competencies that teachers should possess professionalism, subject matter knowledge, instructional practices, communication, equity, evaluation, and problem solving. Research the subject of advocacy and the standards and competencies for teachers and present your findings to the class. Advocacy Research Assignment: In a five-page paper, research and discuss advocacy and the seven teaching competencies. How have your teaching and educational experiences have contributed to you becoming a competent early childhood professional. The best way to write this paper is use each Idea as a separate paragraph and connect content to your Supervised Field experiences. For example, in the introductory paragraph, address the topic of advocacy. What Is advocacy? What does it mean to be an advocate? How are you are advocate for teachers, children, the teaching professional? Give an example of a way you were an advocate for a child. In the next paragraph, address professionalism. How do you act referentially? Did you act professionally at your practicum site? What are the ethical teaching standards? Do you uphold ethical teaching standards? What are the current licensing requirements to become a professional certified teacher? Make sure to Include the other competencies. This Is a research paper so make sure to document at least four sources of Information and document sources In PAP or ML format. Presentation Content: (Be prepared to answer these questions during the presentation) The presentation portion Is about your self-assessment of your caching experience. You will give a five-minute presentation of paper on the last day of class. What Is your teaching experience before the practicum? After the practicum? What are your educational goals? Which of these competencies are your personal strengths and weaknesses? Did you feel Like a teacher before the practicum? After the practicum? What makes you a good teacher? How did the practicum change your concept of teaching? Advocacy Paper in Early Childhood Education By marksmanship professional. The best way to write this paper is use each idea as a separate in the introductory paragraph, address the topic of advocacy. What is advocacy? Sure to include the other competencies. This is a research paper so make sure to document at least four sources of information and document sources in PAP or ML presentation) The presentation portion is about your self-assessment of your day of class. What is your teaching experience before the practicum? After the personal strengths and weaknesses? Did you feel like a teacher before the