Literacy Autobiography Essay Example for Free

Literacy Autobiography Essay In my younger days, I thought of the term literacy as being able to physically read a written piece of work. I thought the ability to read was when an individual could actually pick up a book, magazine, or even the daily news, and have the ability to understand the collage or words on the page. Most believe that this simple understanding of what words are on the paper is all there is to know about reading. But what most people do not know, is that there is a much deeper meaning behind the word literacy. Along with being able to actually read a piece of literature, there is also having the ability to  determine what that piece actually means or the overall message behind it. This helpful but yet difficult skill to attain is the ability to analyze. Many individuals tend to leave the process of analysis out of the equation when discussing literacy abilities. Some also over look the fact the knowledge gained through reading can be applicable to life in general. Consequently, these talents are not just acquired overnight. Learning to read and understand written words and languages takes time, as there are many more parts to literacy than one would imagine. Although learning to read can prove to be difficult, even for the smartest of children, everyone has to start somewhere. For me, my journey began when I was in kindergarden. My teacher, Mrs. Kroon, had a clever trick to help teach her students how to read. She believed that learning to read starts off with becoming familiar with the alphabet and learning what sounds and noises each letter can make. With the help of her blow up alphabet heroes, she was able to teach my classmates and I how recognize each letter of the alphabet. She also helped the class relate a sound or set of sounds to each  different letter. At the time, I had no clue what the significance of learning these letters was. But since learning about the letters was taught in an appealing matter, I was able to pick up on it pretty quickly. Every day my fellow students and I were introduced to a new and exciting alpha-hero as Mrs. Kroon called them. We focused the majority of class on learning about the letter, learning how to say it, and of course how to write it. Day in and day out we would learn more and more about these exciting letters and by the time the end of the school year had come, we had seen each letter multiple times. We had also learned how to put these letters together into words. Little did we know this was the start to a long journey in the world of reading. The question I always asked myself is why is this significant to me? What was so important about these letters that I had to spend the majority of my time in school learning about them. Sure, learning about each hero was fun as it appealed to my love for super heroes, but at that young of an age I was not able to comprehend why I was learning about these different symbols. It was not until first  grade when I actually learned to read that I discovered why so much of my time was spent on these symbols. Every day before class started, our entire school participated in a silent reading period for approximately twenty minutes. During the first few sessions, I was puzzled while I was reading and often found it difficult to understand the puzzle of words in the books. As our teacher worked with us more and more on pronouncing and identifying words, I started to catch on to the material. I would look at a book and for some reason I could understand what the book was saying. It was almost as if the words jumped right off of the page. Shortly after, I was able to pick up many different interesting books and successfully read them to myself. It was like I had acquired a super power; I was able to read! I had developed a skill that most children struggle with for years. I was one of the fortunate ones. Everyday after this realization I became more fascinated with this exciting new discovery. I would read for hours on end just because I could. Its safe to say I was one delighted first grader. And that is where I thought the journey ended. I had learned to read, but the significance of all this reading nonsense had me puzzled. Year in and year out our classroom instructors put a strong emphasis on reading and I could not understand why. It seemed as if the only new benefit to reading was an extended vocabulary or reaching higher reading levels. This may have been the goal at the time being, but it was not until my junior year that I built on my childhood reading foundation. Unfortunately by this age I had lost most of my interest in reading. This made one of my literature  classes very difficult, as we were asked to read a variety of written works. As a class, we were also asked to â€Å"analyze† the readings for deeper meanings. At first I had quite a rough time learning to discover these hidden messages, but as I practiced I became familiar with the process. I came to find that these messages were all around me. For example, after analyzing the childhood story The Hare and the Tortoise, it is evident that the message or moral behind the story is for one to take their time when completing a task as â€Å"slow and steady wins the race. † With each passing day, I became increasingly familiar with this new found talent and analyzing written works was no longer a hassle. Not only could I find the overall message in a piece of literature, but I had also acquired the ability to support my argument with evidence from the written work. This concept of analysis seemed to be the icing on the cake in the concept of literacy, but little did I know I still had more to learn. Although I have come far in my literacy journey, it has taken me almost nineteen years to realize that a reading journey is a life long process. The lessons we learn through the process of reading and analyzing can be used in everyday life, even when one is not actually reading. I have learned that many of the things I do daily involve reading or analyzing whether I know it or not. Simple gifts such as having the ability to tell what mood a friend is in, or whether or not an outfit is appropriate for school also relate to the acts of reading and analyzing. Likewise, when a person can tell what type of a mood another person is in because of their body language, that is in fact reading. The individual is  analyzing the others behavior in order to discover the mood of their colleague. The same concept can be applied to making choices. Within each different decision an individual makes they weigh out the positives and the negatives of each option and then choose what to do. Some may call it decision making, but it is also a type of analysis. Each option is carefully analyzed before a decision is made which proves that humans including myself use these types of strategies everyday. Just like analyzing a piece of work, guessing another persons mood or feelings takes practice. The more an individual takes the time to analyze a situation or person, the easier the process becomes. It is very interesting to truly see how many valuable lessons and skills can be acquired through reading. Even though my journey in the world of literacy is not quite over, I have learned a great deal of information about myself through reading. From kindergarden to high school I have been able to overcome each step on the path to reading success which has lead to a great deal of knowledge. Along with learning to read nearly any book that is thrown my way, I have also learned how to find deeper  meanings in literature and in life. Many of concepts in which I choose to believe in such as â€Å"being yourself† and â€Å"never giving up† have been discovered through reading. I know I have much more to learn about the world of literature and reading and I cannot wait to see what lies on the road ahead. I hope that throughout my college days I am able to make many more discoveries about myself and the world around me. I truly believe that these types of discoveries and lessons shape us into who we are. Without successfully learning to read and analyze, I would not be the person who I am today.

Geography Of Indonesia And Aus :: essays research papers

INDONESIA AND AUSTRALIA Indonesia and Australia are nations located southeast of Asia, separated by the Timor Sea and the Java Trench. Both have undergone challenges in economy, government, and demography that are both similar and quite different from the other. Indonesia is â€Å"the world’s most expansive archipelagic (fragmented) state† (Blij 503) with multiple heritages and cultures. Australia has been slowly declining over the past century and continues to economically disintegrate. According to records kept on the economy, government, and demography, both Australia and Indonesia are continuing to be recognized as similar and distinct in their own right. DEMOGRAPHY AND LAND STRUCTURE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The 275 million people of Indonesia are spread across the 13,000 islands it encompasses. It holds position as the fourth most populated nation in the world, containing a diversity of people including Javanese, Sudanese, Malays, and Balinese and other smaller groups which make up fifty-five percent of the population. Four of its largest islands are known as the Greater Sunda Islands. Jawa has the smallest area but is largest in population density (with about 120 million), Sumatera is in the west across from Malaysia, Kalimantan (which shares land space with Malaysia on Borneo), and Sulawesi, which is also called Celebes, the â€Å"wishbone – shaped† island of the east. The fifth largest island is New Guinea, which is not primarily a part of Indonesian cultural ties although half of its western side of the island is under Indonesian control.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Australia is approximately 10 times the size of Texas, with a population of eighteen million. 85 percent live in cities, with about 300,000 consisting in the Aboriginal population. Most of the population is concentrated in the core area to the east and southeast, facing the Pacific Ocean. This area is more humid and extends between the Great Dividing Range and the east coast. The eastern, less populous area consists of desert or steppe, which is not primary for living conditions but contains mineral deposits. RESOURCES AND PRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Indonesia has a wide variety of natural resources, consisting of petroleum, palm oil, rubber, lumber, tin, coffee, tea, and other cash crops. However, the population continues on an upward climb that will have a doubling time of 43 years. This creates a much longer-term threat to the country’s future than anything does else does. With this steep climb in population, the nation has already been forced to import large amounts of rice and wheat to feed its people.

Est 310.2.1-05 (Company Q)

EST1 – Ethical Situations in Business A small local grocery stores disadvantages in a metropolitan areas EST1 Task 1 Being a small, local grocery store chain in a major metropolitan area does not come without its challenges. National and regional chains are frequently forcing small and locally owned stores to close their doors.For this reason, as well as the huge obligations to the social responsibilities required by their communities and customers alike pushes both the small business owner as well as the larger corporations to be able to adjust their organizations goals and objectives to balance not only their goal to be profit driven but to also be socially and ethically perceptive with the way they conduct business and operate their stores. Recently Company Q has chosen to close two store locations that operated in areas where crime rates were statistically higher within the city.The store closures are being driven by consistent losses the stores experienced year over year. If the stores have consistently lost money year over year, we need to analyze the reasons as to why. To take the social responsible approach at analyzing this question; we would first need to understand our customer demographic for each of the geographical locations. For example, if one of our stores is located in a highly populated Hispanic neighborhood and we are promoting Ethnic Asian foods, we could not expect these foods to sell at the same rate as we would handmade corn tortillas.Taking an ethical and cultural marketing approach to sell foods that are Hispanic-centric strongly supports the business and ethical approach that would be needed for our store to successfully show a profit. When we stop to understand our customer demographics and their communities in which they live, we then can recognize what is needed for our business to prosper within the community. After many years of customer requests Company Q, began offering a limited selection of health conscience and organi c products in their stores.Offering organic and environmentally friendly products in response to our customers’ requests is a large step in forming a social contract with our customers instead of merely offering then what we feel they need. Soliciting feedback from our customers provides us with the means to understand what they want and what they need. Offering a high end products to our customers that neither have the financial ability to afford the high costs that accompany high end products, nor do they have the desire to purchase these products to help Company Q’s bottom line.In fact it will actually drive our results in the opposite direction. Our product choices must be targets to the consumer within our communities. Ethnic foods must be customary to the neighborhoods in which they are being offered. The marketing of our stores in cultural or racially specific communities must be stocked with the products that meet the needs of our customers in those communities . It takes very minimal effort to understand our customers, but that minimal effort makes the difference between a store being successful or failing.There are multiple sources that can be used to help us understand our customer’s cultural and social desires. To gain a simple understanding of the cultural needs for a Hispanic – centric neighborhood can begin with a simple Google search on Hispanic Market Research. For example when preforming the following Google search we learned. â€Å"Market Research Hispanics† â€Å"According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the terms Hispanic (and Latino) refer to people â€Å"whose origins are from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Caribbean, or those identifying themselves generally as Spanish, Spanish-American, etc.Origin can be viewed as ancestry, nationality, or country of birth of the person or person’s parents or ancestors prior to their arrival in the United States. † His panics can be of any race. There are more than 48 million Hispanics in the United States. Latinos now account for 16% of the American population. The 32 million Latinos of Mexican origin account for around 66% of the Hispanic population. Hispanics accounted for more than half of all of the growth in the U. S. population that occurred between 2000 and 2009.Latinos also are expected to be responsible for more than half of the growth in the U. S. population between 2010 and 2015. With an estimated buying power of $616 billion, Latinos of Mexican heritage represent the single most influential segment of the Hispanic market. Mexicans in the United States account for 59% of all Hispanic buying power. On a per capita basis, however, Cubans are the most affluent of the major Hispanic population segments. Their per capita buying power is substantially higher than that of Mexicans ($32,724 vs. $19, 426).The vast majority (92%) of Hispanics under 18 were born in the United States as were about 47% of those 18 and over. Mexicans are most likely to be U. S. -born. More education leads to higher-paying jobs and increasing affluence among high-acculturation Latinos. High-acculturation Hispanics are more likely than their low-acculturation counterparts to work as managers and professionals (19% vs. 6%). They are twice as likely to have a household income of $75,000 or more (37% vs. 19%) and are much more likely to own their home (62% vs. 40%) (Census Bureau, 2012 www. marketresearch. om ). † Preforming a simple marketing search on the Hispanic cultural give us insight as to how we can begin to market and set ourselves apart in the marketplace. How we can currently target and begin to build a marketing strategy that will ensure the future growth and the economic sustainability of our stores within a Hispanic – centric neighborhood. Currently Company Q operates under the policy of disposing of day-old products, this a perfect example where our management team is mi ssing out on a great public relations and corporate social responsibility opportunity.When approach by the area’s food bank to donate day-old products that would otherwise been thrown away, our management team declined. Management being more focused on the possible loss of revenue due to the potential increase in fraud and stealing that could be done its employees who could claim that that they were donating the food. One thing that we need to understand it the actual cost associated with and or the actual / perceived benefits. Our company will write –off any product that needs to be disposed of due to the shelf life expiration date.The products are disposed if in a dumpster and therefore currently ends the usefulness of the product from the company’s perspective. If we are paying for the products by weight or volume, we will incur a greater disposal rates from the waste removal company for the disposal of those unsellable products instead of donating them to a local food bank. This concern of a possible increase in expenses does not begin to look at the tax benefits that could be received by the donating of the product to a local food bank as well as other possible economic impacts that this policy can have on the economy of our community.Another concern that we need to be aware of is the impact that our policy to throw away on day-old products will have on employees moral. If we’ve communicated to our employees that we will not be socially contentious to our local communities, then what is the message that we are delivering to our employees since they are part of our communities. How will they relate that to how valued they feel as an employee for Company Q? In our technology and media driven society it would e foolish not to except a socially aware employee or customer to film the disposal of the food that we may have not been able to sell, but it could easily be donated to our local food banks to help those in need. The potentia l of the negative publicity and feedback from such an event would be devastating to a small chain stores such as ours. The above mention concerns addressed not only some of the potential financial impacts but also the possible social capital losses that we could face in our current position.Thankfully, we do not need to pay out much financially or in employee efforts to make a substantial difference in our stores and neighborhood communities. One delivery van can be used at the end of each day to deliver the products that would have otherwise been thrown away to our local food bank. The food can be unloaded by the food bank staff while the food bank manager shares with the Manager or Supervisor of our company the impacts that this donation will have on the community. This same information can be taken back and share with the store employees.The minimal time spent delivering and unloading the products daily at the local food banks in a minor change in the daily operations for the sto re, but will have an overall impact to the community that will consistently strengthen our relationship within in the local communities, our relationships with our employees as well as enhancing our brand across our chain of stores. References * Census Bureau (2012). Hispanic Market: market research reports. Marketresearch. com. Retrieved from http://www. marketresearch. com/Marketing-Market-Research-c70/Demographics-c81/Hispanic-Market-c1692/

Bus 650 Managerial Finance /Complete Class Assignments and...

BUS 650 Managerial Finance /Complete Class Assignments and DQs Purchase here http://chosecourses.com/BUS%20650/bus-650-managerial-finance-complete-class-assignments-and-dqs Description BUS 650 Managerial Finance /Complete Class BUS 650 Week 1 DQ 1 The Role of Financial Management in a Firm Examine the role of management as it relates to finance in a corporation. In your post, discuss the role of management by addressing the following prompts: Explain the various aspects of finance that management must understand. Describe why a manager needs to understand the characteristics and importance of financial markets including their liquidity, competitiveness, and efficiency. Interpret the†¦show more content†¦You don’t want to be forgotten after you pass so you wish to leave an endowment that will pay for a grand soirà ©e yearly and forever. What amount would you like spent yearly to fund this grand party? How much money do you have to leave to your heirs 50 years from now assuming that will compound at 6% interest? Assuming that you have not invested anything today, how much would you have to invest yearly to fully fund the annuity in 50 years, again assuming a 6% monthly compounding rate? BUS 650 Week 2 DQ 2 Managing Earnings Companies often try to keep accounting earnings growing at a relatively steady pace in an effort to avoid large swings in earnings from period to period. They also try to manage earnings targets. Reflect on these practices and discuss the following in your discussion post. Are these practices ethical? What are two tactics that a financial manager can use to manage earnings? What are the implications for cash flow and shareholder wealth? Using the financial balance sheet as displayed in the text, provide an example of how purchasing an asset or issuing stocks or bonds could potentially impact earnings targets. BUS 650 Week 2 Return on Investment – Education Funding Develop a three to five page analysis on the projected return on investment for your college education and projected future employment. This analysis will consist of two parts. Part 1: Describe how and why you