Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Diversity

When I first thought of diversity and what the definition meant to me, the first thing that came to mind what the background, and race of a certain individual. But diversity is much more than that. Diversity goes further than just the look of one or their background but it benefit you, open your eyes, and make you a more knowledgeable person.

Here at ASU discrimination is prohibited. The policy states “discrimination is prohibited on the basis of race, color, religion, natural origin, citizenship, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age disability, Vietnam-era veteran status, other protected veteran status, newly separated veteran status or special disabled veteran status.” As you can see here diversity is much more than ones race or background.
I think it is very important to become acquainted with different groups of people. As stated by President Michael Crow “We must find ways to reach into all our communities with warmth and openness. We need to embrace cultural diversification in America and change the culture of the University as a critical first step.” I consider this to be very important I think everyone should see this as an opportunity.

When people become more diverse it can open them to new ideas and they can gain knowledge they didn’t have before. It can also increase their awareness and effectiveness of different cultures around them.

Lastly, Arizona State University is one of the nation’s largest and most culturally diverse research institutions. ASU has a total enrollment of 63,278 and 14,769 being of color.

Global Engagement

Becoming globally engaged is very crucial in today’s society. Why becoming globally engaged is so important because it can reduce problems that are occurring today like the water crisis or wars that are taking place. When countries become globally engaged it makes everything so much easier, and less complicated.

For example the water crisis can not only be helped by one individual country it is going to take the effort of every country. If we want something to be done we need to all come together and take an action and start to solve this problem. This is not the only major crisis occurring in today’s society there is hunger and poverty taking place in third world countries. The United States I believe is one country that has the most power to help solve these issues which are worsening by the minute.

Some ways to become globally engaged are to attend culture events in your community, study abroad, what a foreign film, eat out at an international restaurant and to volunteer at an international service organization.

I believe that global engagement helps produce growth of a country and each individual country can benefit from this. Over the past years that has been a lot of growth and I think the main reason for that being is global engagement. I also think that global engagement helps provide new opportunities for those you may not have got to experience them before. Lastly I think global engagement can promote new ideas by learning from other countries and using there thoughts and ideas to better ours.

Entrepreneurship

Before this lesson I thought entrepreneurship was only related to money. But this module taught me that it is much more than business and money. Entrepreneurship is the act of “creating new ventures that generate and capture value by realizing opportunities through creativity, innovation, knowledge, skill and passion while assembling resources and managing risks.”

Three characteristics that are very essential in an entrepreneur are to be innovation, proactive and motivated. Being innovative consists of creativity, and the want to create or produce something new. If there were not entrepreneurs who had this characteristic the world would be far behind in technology and we would not have half of the resources we have now. Proactive is also very important in an entrepreneur because they are always thinking ahead and making sure they have enough time to complete what they need to accomplish. Lastly entrepreneurs are very motivated, if they did not have this trait we would be lacking essential elements we now have today.

As stated above I thought entrepreneurship was all about money. But I was very wrong. There are organizations that are non-profit and there entrepreneurs that are not just in the business for money. For example a politician is an example of an entrepreneur that is not looking just for money; they in fact are looking for your vote or the publics’ recognition. Entrepreneurs can be found in athletics, politics, architecture, sciences, the arts, social justice and business. With out entrepreneurs here in the United States we would not have all the things we take advantage of like the internet, electricity, your car and many more.

Libraries at ASU

In this lesson I learned very vital information that will help me along during my years here at ASU. While watching the presentation I learned that the libraries at each campus are open for any Arizona State University student. Also I was educated on the fact that each library shares the same electronic source. Additionally, if you have information that needs to be sent from one library to another it indeed can be done.

When using ASU library system it allows you to use books, journals, articles that all are written by scholars. Unlike google or wikipedia Arizona State University provides you with credible information. Google and wikipedia are not reliable and anyone can post information that is not credible or accurate. As stated by Marc Mason "google or wikipedia may need verification and that there may be unverified claims." On the other hand research databases hold verified information that is reliable.” When writing a paper you do not want to use information that is not reliable or is not written from a scholar.

In this lesson I also found this information to be very valuable because it gave you a map to each library ASU has to offer. Even though there are libraries that are generated for a specific field, you are still able to use there resources. Lastly I became associated with ask a librarian, you are able to email 24/7 with any question or concern and you can chat with them online Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. I found this to be very helpful and I know I will take advantage of this.

Student Success

In order to succeed here at ASU it is crucial that you have time management skills, organizational skills, and know how to be proactive. When it comes to time management skills it is important because in order to complete all your assignments on time and submit them to the best of your ability you need to make time for each assignment or test. When you manage your time it can relieve stress and leads you to be more successful.

Having time management skills is apart of being organized. When one who is organized it leads to less complications and leaves more time open for other things. One example of being organized is to have a planner where you can write each assignment and the due date and also any exam or event that you have. Having a planner can help show you how much time you have to complete each of these tasks.

Lastly being proactive can help you succeed here at ASU. Being proactive can assist you by making sure you have enough time. When you are proactive you make sure you have things done ahead of time and have a positive outlook on things. This will help you by relieving stress and if you finish your assignment ahead of time you are able to go back and make corrections to it.

There are many other things that can help you be a successful student here at ASU such as forming a study group, take advantage of the time you are using to do nothing and use the time to study (such as the time you have between classes).

Academic Integrity

I believe that academic integrity is a very essential part of succeeding here at ASU. At the University the student academic integrity policy states “each student must act with honesty and integrity, and must respect the rights of others in carrying out all academic assignments.”

If one disobeys this policy they receive what is called an XE grade. When you receive an XE the grade stays on your official transcript. The only way one is able to this grade removed is by a petition to the Dean. Also when you receive this grade it unfortunately keeps you from participating in extracurricular activities. Additionally the worst thing they may come out of this grade is you can be expelled from ASU.

In each course your professor may have a different college policy than your professors from previous years. It is always good to know your teachers policy, the program or department offering the course, the college offering the course and lastly Arizona State University. A program or department may have different polices from one another just like professors may have policies that differ from one another.

As stated by Don Galer “Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do.” I think this is very well said because academic integrity can be found in all of those aspects. Lastly you should remember that at ASU everything is considered cheating. If you consider cheating and think there is not a chance to you being caught you better think again, and think of the consequences being brought to you from just cheating one time.