Week 4 Reading Reflection

1. Something that really stood out to me the most while reading the text would be the whole section dedicated to creativity. What really made me look at creativity in a different way in the process of innovation is the fact that they break down creativity into two parts, Process and People. The book also mention the two approaches to creative problem solving which is either being an adaptor or innovator. So out of everything the creativity portion of the text is what stood out to me the most and interest me the most.

2. Everything in the the text was pretty clear this time .The only thing that I questioned at the beginning was appositional relationship but I rasped and go a better understanding as I read more into the text.

3. I I could ask the the author two questions my first question would be, " How can one actively exercise the use of creativity in a school system that doesn't promote it?" and I would also ask " What are some of the biggest obstacles when it comes to making others believe in your new innovation?" I would ask these questions one because creativity is very important yet it's not something that is stressed in the school system now. Also, one of the many things people don't talk about is inspiring a shared vision with an organization or a company.

4.There was not really anything in the text that I disagreed with the author about everything that was stated was information that can be subjective based on the person,

Identifying Local Opportunities

1.  Mandating recess isn't the right play

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8D0EEE01FD0E0?p=AWNB

• This story talks about the a problem that many may not thin of but is the importance of recess. The journal discusses how recess is not something that is common in most elementary schools now and touches on the topic of how recess is needed for young children these days. The problem is deciding if recess is something that should be mandatory or is it something that should be left up to the will of the teachers. This problem affects all the students, teachers and parent involved in the state of Florida.

2. State jobless rate dips to 5%

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8D0EF05900E98?p=AWNB

• This article talks about an issue that is happening in our own backyard. The unemployment rate is steadily dropping in the state of Florida and recently dropped from 5.1 to 5% . The unemployment rate for Florida now matches the national unemployment rate which it has been since December. The article directly affects all Floridians and they mention how many believe that they are optimistic about their own financial situations but not so optimistic about the national economy. 

3.

Jacksonville: City promotes crime-free multi-housing and rental property program

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A7F7E5C0A469D8?p=AWNB

• This article talks about a program that is going to be implemented in order to reduce crime in rental properties and other housing neighborhoods. Criminal activity that happens on these property affect a wide array of people mainly the property owner who can have a decline in rentals and who's property can get a bad reputation also from the criminal acts taking place. This program is implemented all around he U.S in order to make neighborhoods more safe for the community, neighbors and the property manager. 

4. Volusia Council demands Daytona open Manatee Island, debates homeless issues

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A924E10A3F90D0?p=AWNB

• The main issue in this article is that the city is waiting for the use of Manatee Island to be available again yet there is a homeless problem that is preventing this. The amount of homeless people that surround the area has caused business owners and a lot of their customers to no want to visit the area.The problem is something that the city council and other officials have been discussing for awhile now and is affecting everyone in the surrounding area with the decision to build a new shelter or not affecting the homeless population the most.

5.Politicians say Miami ‘slums' prove need for new laws

http://infoweb.newsbank.com.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/15A8E3CD20CD1840?p=AWNB

• This story discusses a problem that is very big in a lot of areas across the state of Florida and that is the issue with residential buildings and houses not being properly taken care of. The condition of many of the buildings that are in the city of Miami are very low and many buildings that the resident stay in are run down and old looking. The article states "The receiver has done what she can do and the courts have done what they can do. But that's not going to be enough to sustain long-term changes," said Alana Greer, a Community Justice Project attorney representing low-income tenants at the 6040 building, where tenants in two units say their ceilings once buckled above their sleeping children.

Very Short Interview No. 1

The person that I chose to interview is Sean "Millz" Grant. Sean known as Millz to most of the public is the owner of Rain and Simons Nightclub in downtown Gainesville. He is a mature yet  young professional and has been the owner for almost a decade. I currently work with him and we collaborate on my entertainment group on campus. These are the questions that I asked him:

1. What is one of the hardest part about being an entrepreneur?

• "The hardest part about being an entrepreneur is that it gets really hectic and nerve wrecking at times in the beginning stages. A lot of the time in the beginning you are always wondering whether certain projects are going to work out or if someone in your crew decides to drop out." He also talked about how sometimes business and your personal life can sometime conflict and that it can cause a lot of relationships to end in the long run.  

2. What made you want to become an entrepreneur?

• Millz went on to talk about how he felt like there should be a change in the way people lookeed at entertainment. There was a crowd that needed to be catered to and he felt like he was the best person to do the job. He also mentioned how his experience starting as a promoter at a previous nightclub helped him when he decided to go to the next level.

3. What do you think is the most important thing for young entrepreneurs to know?

• "I think that the most important thing that they need to know is to never give up. No matter what may happen, what obstacles you may face or how many times people doubt you that you need to do you. It's always going to be someone in your face telling you that you not going to make it but you have to just put in work and prove them wrong"

After my interview with Millz it made me appreciate what he does a lot more. Being able to see how he started from the bottom as a simple promoter to owning his own nightclubs shows where perseverance can get you in life. You never know what someone went through from the outside all you see is the achievements and the success, but in actuality it took a long process to get there.

World's Biggest Problems

1. The food and health options that are available for low-income undeserved families help foster obesity. 

• There is a trend in eating habits relating to the economic standards of a certain family that ultimately make it hard for low income families to eat healthy. Many of the food providers that surround low income families are not the best choices. For example, Save-A-Lots are put up in locations where they know many low income families are that sell products with a lot of artificial meat and preservatives. Also, restaurants surrounding low income families are typically ones that serve unhealthy food such as McDonald's, Wendy's, Taco Bell and Burger King. This does not leave many healthy options for them to choose from based on low- income and some may say that they should drive to healthier places but for a lot of these families transportation is limited to none. Something that I think could be done to fix these problems is local community gardens that provide fresh fruit and vegetables for a low cost. Also, for areas that may not be able to grow food local shuttles that can take parents to healthier food options, and ultimately providing healthier options by providing a surrounding location. 

2. The high cost of tuition that limits students from attending college. 

• College is something that is continually getting tougher and tougher to attend. Not only are the requirements for college increasing but the cost of actually attending a four year institution is making it hard for many students to attend college. Those that can attend are also left wit thousands of dollars in college debt afterwards making college seem like a less likely option for those who may want to attend. Some things that can be done is providing more work study to those that want to attend college. Also, making the distribution of money that goes to scholarships and grants more instead of some frivolous things that money may be spent on. 

3. The amount of kids in third world countries that are not educated

• There are a substantial amount of kids in third world countries that are not able to attain an education because of lack of schools. One of the main reasons kids want to go to school but cannot is because they have no school to go to. There are also a lack of people that are able to educate them so this is another reason why many kids in third world countries are not educated.One way that I think this problem can be solved is through more funding and support from America to build these schools, instead of other attractions that aren't necessary. Also, implementing programs that help provide he resources necessary to run these schools. 

4. The amount of violence around the world is constantly rising.

• The amount of violence that has happened in the past three years has been indescribable. From the violence here in the United States involving police brutality to the terrorists attacks that France suffered violence is continually happening on a more than normal basis. Even the problem with ISIS now that is currently happening the world is always in a spiral of violence. I really can not think of a logical way to solve this problem but instead just think that the ideas of the countries have to change. There are always going to be differences but just different approaches to such problems. 

5. The amount of homeless people is at a steady rise across the world.

• With continual economic changes and with the amount of wealth inequality steady rising the amount of homeless people are also. Many people are born into this low economic status and many others are soon forced to be at that level. The amount of homeless people that you see on and off the streets is bigger than many people may realize.  One way to solve this problem is to help establish programs to assist homeless people to get back on their feet. Have mini rehabs within homeless shelters to help those that are drug addicts also. 

6. The amount of Racism and racist acts occurring in America.

• In the past 5 years there have been so many incidents of racial incidents and acts with the first one being the infamous case of Trayvon Martin. Ever since that incident racial tensions in America have been rising with Tamir Rice, Eric Garner and Sandra Bland. Also the big racial incident that happened at Mizzou which sparked national attention. The only way to defeat this is to defeat racist attitudes which will probably take decades. Racist attitudes have decreased since the early 1900's with the modern age but we have long way to go.

7.The amount of world wide pollution that is occurring.

• The world is constantly becoming a more and more polluted planet as the years pass by. The global use of fossil fuels polluting the atmosphere and the dumping of waste worldwide into oceans and lakes. The earth is constantly being polluted from different sources across the world and its making global warming even more apparent. Ways in which this could be solved include stricter bans on dumping and pollution, creating alternatives for fossil fuels used and making more carbon friendly cars.

8.The use of child labor in factories and the mistreatment of workers.

• All across the world the use of child labor and the mistreatment of many workers is happening. Many clothing companies and other fashion companies use child labor. Also, the mistreatment of workers some asked to work long hours for very low pay and also asked to work in horrible conditions too. Restrictions have been put in place to try to regulate this but somehow companies always end up in the news with scandals of mistreatment.The only way to stop this is to put government official monitors in each factory.

9. The continuous deforestation that is happening around the world.

• The world is growing towards urbanization which means the development of more cities and buildings which is leading to the removal of trees at an increasing rate. The amount of land that is available for animals is decreasing and we are becoming closer to their habitat. Ways that we can help this problem is to be more careful of where construction takes place. Also limit the amount of space that we use for certain establishments. 

10. The misuse of water across the world.

• The amount of water that is used worldwide is very large with the U.S being one of the top users for domestic uses only. The rest of the world also uses large amounts for agriculture such as China, Russia and Saudi Arabia. The huge use unsustainable use of water has lead to the disappearance and destruction of many rivers and lakes worldwide from Africa to the U.S. To solve this problem there needs to be more self conscious programs and limits on water use. There needs to be something done to also make users more self-conscious and resourceful when it comes to water use. 
  

Week 2 Reading Reflection

1. The biggest surprise to me throughout the reading is how much these entrepreneurial ventures are fueling the economy. I would never have thought about the correlation between entrepreneurs and the economy in as much depth as the book went into. The big impact that gazelles are having on the economy clearly shows how important the act of entrepreneurship is to creating jobs and many more opportunities to the economy. In particular, Gazelles produced 5 million jobs and brought net employment to 4.2 million jobs.

2. One part of the reading that was confusing to me was the dynamic states approach. In general, I just need to get a better understanding of how everything is correlated and what it is really trying to portray.

3. If I was able to ask the author two questions I would ask, " What are some key elements that can be defined that help the survival of small business past 5-7 years?" I would ask this in order to see what has fueled the success of these big corporations that started as small businesses. I would also ask ,"What are the 3 most common difficulties faced in the expansion stage?" I would want to ask this to figure out how a positive thing could have negative impact on a business. Basically, how growth and increased customer demand could also be a problem for a small business.

4.  Something that I do not agree with is the statements that the author had about small business owners not being innovative and not being dominant. I do not believe that is true because at many times small business owners can be people that came up with innovative practices that just have not been recognized yet. Innovation is key to owning any business and I also believe that small business owners at a point can be earning above standard profit. Small business owners to me posses the skills that an entrepreneur also has,

Bug List

1, The 38 bus is very crowded during 3-5 pm that frequently you are unable to ride the bus

• There are not enough 38 routes for the large amount of students that take that route

2. The section for student entrance to the football games is very crowded 15-20 min before the game that you are unable to move most of the time

• There is only one commonly used main entrance for student sections at the football games

3. Chipotle line is so long on University ave that you are usually in line for 30 minutes

• It is the only Chipotle that is located close to campus

4.The apartment complexes are very slow at answering maintenance demands it usually takes months

• There is not enough staff available to answer all demands 

5. There is not enough free parking located surrounding the campus that it forces people to take the bus

• Too many college students to accommodate the use of free parking

6. Unclean bathrooms at the Circle K gas stations that you aren't able to use them

• They fail to clean them as frequently as they could

7. Slow drivers on the interstate around the Gainesville area that traffic is ridiculous

• Not enough exits and main roads to take so they drive slow

8. Teachers that do not respond to your emails at a timely manner

• Teachers are usually busy after school hours and or just do not have time.

9. House parties are always getting shut down in Gainesville by the police, leaving options limited

• Police do not think that college students are safe throwing parties 

10. The McDonald's ice cream machine is never working on 13th street that we always resort to Burger King :(

• Too many people want McDonald's ice cream that the machine always breaks 

11. Having to wait in long lines at gas stations when you just want to pay in cash to get gas.

• There is not a slot for cash when paying at the pump so you have to go inside to pay

12. There is not enough outlets on the third floor of the Marston library that you have to sit in awkward spots to study

• The have not upgraded the third floor like they have the other floors yet  

13. It is always scorching hot in Norman during the end of spring and beginning of fall semesters

• They forget to tun the AC on and or the huge amount of students in the class causes heat

14. When you go to Wendy's and they never have honey mustard sauce for your food.

• Wendy's just fails to restock on honey mustard sauce or there is a quota

15. The RTS bus temperatures are never normal its either too hot or too cold making bus ride uncomfortable

• Bus temperatures have to be controlled by computers or can't be adjusted.

16. There is not enough space for tabling in Turlington for everyone so tabling is crowded.

• There
•  is not enough tables and or many student just do not register to table.

17, When you go to a public restroom and realize there is no tissue in the stall,

• People use all the tissue and the staff fails to check to see if it is stocked

18. When you rent a DVD from Redbox and the DVD does not work when you try to use it.

• There is no way for a machine to check to see if the DVD works so you get stuck with a DVD you can not use. 

19. When they mess up your order at a restaurant and put things on your meal that you did not ask for.

• They fail to double check the order and and make sure that it was done correctly.

20. Sharing a dorm bathroom on the weekends is very disgusting usually with trash and hair everywhere.

• There is no cleaning staff on the weekends so the bathrooms tend to accumulate dirt quickly.

The thing about this assignment that made it a little difficult is that you do not think about the things that bug you until these things are actually happening. Having to recall what bugs you without the actually thing happening at the time was the only struggle. Also, once thinking about the things that bug you something that you realize is that most of these things are out of your control and can not really be changed. Writing this list also made me realize that there are some things that can be changed and could make life a lot easier for some students. 

My Entrepreneurship Story

        My senior year of high school I decided to create a program called "Cans For a Cause" in which the purpose was to help feed low income families for the Thanksgiving holiday. The way that this would be accomplished was a school-wide competition in which the Englsh class period from each grade level that collected the most canned goods and non perishable goods would win a pizza party. The competition started at the beginning of November and took a lot of planning and constant communication with administrators and teachers. Some of the things I would have to do is appear on the morning announcements everyday to remind students and promote the competition. Also, I had to deliver boxes and containers to each classroom for collection of the goods plus collect the canned goods once the competition was over. The program ultimately turned out a success at the end by reaching m goal of 329 pounds of food and being able to feed 50 families for the Thanksgiving holiday. I hope to obtain the skills and knowledge to help better my entrepreneurial endeavors and I think that this class can really help me reach my goals of being able to own my own business one day.