Strategies for Resolving Team Conflict Essays

Strategies for Resolving Team Conflict Essays Strategies for Resolving Team Conflict Essay Strategies for Resolving Team Conflict Essay Intenational Affairs Strategies for Resolving Team Conflict Ciuchi Madalina Comanescu Andreea Ivan Adrian Group 412 2nd year Strategies for Resolving Team Conflict Many organizations, including colleges and major corporations, have begun the process of implementing work team systems. Teams present a greater diversity of knowledge, ideas, and experience than any one individual can offer. This diversity often helps to improve quality, create collaboration, enhance information exchange, and provide a sense of community and support to the team members ; however, it can also foster conflict. Conflict is a part of everyday life and is generally caused by individual opinions and differences. â€Å"When individuals work in teams, differences in power, values, attitudes, and social factors can all contribute to conflict†. Avoiding conflict completely is impossible; however, the resulting outcome does not have to be negative. Using effective strategies to manage conflict can present positive consequences as well. Preventative Measures Prevention is usually the best cure for most problems. When all members participate in setting rules and guidelines, open communication and mutual understanding is created within the team that may defuse a conflict before it becomes a problem. â€Å"It is, after all, easier to agree on guidelines and processes everyone believes are fair when things are going well, rather than when the team members are in the midst of conflict†. When the team makes these decisions as a group instead of receiving direct instructions from an authority figure, they are able to take ownership in the decision made and enforce it more effectively. In addition, various training courses and workshops are offered that team members can take advantage of to build awareness and acquire skills which could reduce or even prevent conflicts from arising in the first place. Some of these programs include team building, diversity training, communication workshops, and conflict management seminars. First Steps in Conflict Resolution Despite exercising preventative measures, the possibility that conflict may occur still exists. When conflict does arise, the first step is to analyze and understand the problem. The team members should try to discover the causes and reasons for the disagreement. Each team member should examine their own individual response to the conflict and determine if their reactions are supportive of or interfering with the overall success of the team. The team members should also examine the consequences of not being able to solve the conflict, as well as discuss ways to settle the conflict within the team. Finally, the team should decide which conflict resolution strategy to apply to the situation. Employing Conflict Resolution Strategies After the team members have analyzed the conflict and have a complete understanding of the situation, they are then equipped to resolve the conflict by employing the conflict resolution strategy which they have decided upon as a team. â€Å"Ralph H. Kilmann and Kenneth W. Thomas, authors of the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument, have identified five general approaches to dealing with conflict:    avoidance; accommodation; competition; compromise; and collaboration† . Each style of dealing with conflict varies in the degrees of cooperativeness and assertiveness. Cooperativeness refers to the party’s desire to satisfy the other’s concern, and assertiveness describes the party’s desire to satisfy their own concern . While most people generally have a preferred conflict resolution style, different styles can be useful in different situations. No one strategy is appropriate in all situations- each requires a different amount of time, energy, and cooperation. Avoidance This style of conflict resolution usually attracts people who are trying to evade conflict completely. In this instance, the parties are neither assertive nor cooperative. Avoidance is usually demonstrated by delegating controversial decisions, accepting default decisions, and not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings. This is an appropriate strategy to use when winning becomes impossible, when the conflict is unimportant, or when someone else is in a better position to solve the problem. This strategy is sometimes used when the parties involved need time to control their emotions. Accommodation This style of conflict resolution indicates a willingness to meet the needs of others at the expense of the person’s own needs. In this instance, cooperation is high and assertiveness is low . Accommodation allows a person to be persuaded to surrender his or her own position even though the submission is not justified. This is an appropriate strategy to use when issues are more important than the other party, when harmony is more valuable than winning, or when pacifying another person becomes important. This approach is sometimes used to establish goodwill that can be traded for favors in the future . Competition This style of conflict resolution is often used by people who know what they want and take a firm stand; they are usually in a position of power or have a strong persuasive ability. In this instance, cooperation is low and assertiveness is high. This is an appropriate strategy to use when an emergency occurs and a decision needs to be made quickly, when the decision is not a popular one, or when one party is trying to exploit the situation. However, this style can cause unsatisfied or resentful feelings in some team members when used in less urgent situations. Compromise This style of conflict resolution is often used to find a solution that will partially satisfy everyone involved. Each party, including the compromiser, is expected to relinquish something. In this instance, both medium assertiveness and cooperation are prominent. This is an appropriate strategy to use when the cost of conflict is higher than achieving the team’s goals, when equally matched parties are at an impasse, or when a deadline needs to be met in a short amount of time. Collaboration This style of conflict resolution is used when attempting to meet the needs of all people involved. In this instance, both cooperation and assertiveness are high, and the concerns are equally important. This is an appropriate strategy to use when a variety of viewpoints need to be addressed, when there have been previous conflicts within the group, or when the situation is too important for a simple exchange of position. With the collaboration strategy, everyone wins; however, the technique does require the most time and effort in order to resolve the situation. Team Benefits and Challenges As stated earlier conflict can be either a negative or positive experience for a team, depending on how the situation is processed and resolved. In many cases, effective conflict resolution skills can make the difference between positive and negative outcomes. Usually negative conflict will damage a team’s dynamics, which prevents the members from functioning as a group and achieving their combined goals. Conflict can be destructive when no decision has been reached and the problem still exists; when it iverts energy away from more important activities; when it destroys morale; and when it divides teams. In contrast, when conflict is resolved successfully, positive outcomes prevail. Successful conflict resolution not only solves the problem that has been brought to the surface, but it also benefits the team in some unexpected ways. Conflict can be constructive when people change and grow personally from the conflict; when a solution the problem is found; when it increases the involvement of the team, and when it builds cohesiveness among the team members. Conflict Management in the Workplace â€Å"Conflict is a part of everyday working life yet its a situation and an area of skill development that many employees avoid. † The fundamentals of conflict management include improving communication, promoting teamwork and an orderly approach to solving disagreements. There are various ways to manage conflict in the workplace. Author Carter McNamara, of Basics of Conflict Management, defines conflict as â€Å"when two or more values, perspectives and opinions are contradictory in nature and havent been aligned or agreed about†. Sometimes conflict can be a positive force within an organization, while other times it is a negative force. An example of conflict as a positive force is that the resolution may lead the company to constructive problem solving. It may also lead people to find ways of changing how they do things or view themselves and others. The resolution process can bring a positive change within an organization. However, conflict can also have negative effects. For example, conflict may lower morale or lessen productivity. It also may negatively affect the mental well-being of employees and cause stress. Supervisors must be sensitive to the consequences of conflict. These consequences range from negative outcomes to include loss of employees, low quality of work, and stress, to positive outcomes such as personal satisfaction, high quality of work, and increased commitment. Author Lyndsey Swinton of â€Å"Workplace Conflict Management: Strategy for Successful Resolution†, suggests some ways to manage conflict to include:    avoidance, accommodation, compromise, competition and collaboration. Avoidance is a non-assertive, non-co-operative way of dealing with a situation. It can be useful if the conflict is not urgent but avoiding the person can bring more stress into the work environment over long term. Accommodation is when one side will win, and one will lose. One person is allowed to get their way, but from a management standpoint if this strategy is used repeatedly, then co-workers may feel their voice is never heard. Compromise offers some assertiveness and cooperation. Both parties involved must give and take in their situation so that both can walk away feeling they met in the middle. Competition style has a steamrolling effect. It is a win-lose approach. With this style one person is allowed to push their ideals through but if they fall short, they stand on their own with no support of their coworkers. A collaborating style is a win-win approach brought about by sharing and reviewing the reasons the conflict even came about. This approach can be very time consuming and is rarely used unfortunately because it is the most fair to all parties involved. Studies on different styles of resolutions indicate that teamwork is the best approach to managing workplace conflict. This tends to promote successful individuals with high performance levels and results in positive feelings between staff and employees. The collaborating style works best for some. It is a step by step approach utilizing the chain of command to resolve conflict. First, the incident is reported to the supervisor. The supervisor then gathers information to gain a better understanding and then identifies possible causes. Then the issue is taken to the Human Resource department so an appropriate solution can be decided upon. Then all parties involved return to execute the solution. Conflicts are part of individual relationships and organizational development, and no organization can hope to mature to productivity and be successful without being able to resolve conflicts effectively† . Conflict resolution is an essential part of maintaining a successful workplace and the techniques and approaches should be utilized separately or in conjunction with each other, in order to promote a more unified work environment. Conclusion Conflict can be incredibly destructive to good teamwork. Differences between team members can quickly escalate causing the members to become ncooperative if not managed properly, eventually threatening the mission of the team. This is particularly true in cases where the wrong approaches to conflict resolution are applied. To control these situations, it helps to take a positive approach to conflict resolution. Positive conflict resolution focuses on courteous and non-confrontational discussion, as well as on the issues instead of on the individuals. As long as team members listen carefully to one another and explore the facts, issues and possible solutions properly, conflict can often be resolved effectively. References Capozzoli, T. (1995). Resolving Conflict within Teams. The Journal for Quality and Participation, 18(7), 28. Retrieved December 3, 2008, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID:    8928676). DeJanasz, S. , Dowd K. , Schneider B. (2002). Interpersonal Skills in Organizations. New York: McGraw-Hill. pp. 241-259. Kerr, R. (2005). Work Team Conflict Resolution. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from uwstout. edu/rs/2005/article2. pdf Mind Tools (2008). Resolving conflict rationally and effectively. Retrieved December 2, 2008, from mindtools. com/pages/article/newLDR_81. htm Porter, S. (2003). Managing Conflict in Learning Teams. University of Phoenix. pp. 1-9.

HTML Cheat Sheet For Content Marketers - CoSchedule

HTML Cheat Sheet For Content Marketers In todays economy, youve probably heard something about the importance of developing coding skills. However, not all bloggers or content marketers are familiar with HTML. Even among those of us who know a little bit of code, theres always more we can learn. In your job, you probably dont need to know how to build an entire site from the ground up with nothing more than a text editor and your wits. However, if any part of your job involves working in WordPress or another content management system, knowing a little bit of code can be immensely helpful. Here are a few reasons why: Understanding HTML can help you learn  how your blog or website is structured. Knowing even a little bit of code can help you become more self-sufficient (and it may help you save time asking for help). You'll be able to fix stubborn WordPress formatting issues  more easily and with less yelling at your computer. In this post, we'll cover the most essential basics for  blogging-focused readers. If you've never worked with HTML before,  this will be a perfectly paced primer to get you started. Learn #HTML basics to improve your #blog formatting skills. #bloggingIf you have a bit of experience with web coding, you'll still likely pick up a new tip or two (plus, be sure to download the free HTML cheat sheet to use for future reference). If you're a marketer or blogger working with WordPress, and you're intimidated by the mass of "who-knows-what" you see when you click into the Text editor in your CMS, this post is for you. While you can accomplish most of the tasks outlined in this post using the standard WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) WordPress editing controls, knowing how to do things the old-fashioned way is still beneficial (especially when things go wrong and those editing controls seem powerless to help). The standard WordPress kitchen sink offers a lot of power. It isn't always perfect, however, and sometimes it's faster to edit your content's formatting manually.  That's where some basic HTML knowledge comes in handy. What Is HTML? HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language.  It forms the structure of a  website and  has been the backbone of the Internet since the dawn of time (or at least the dawn of the modern  Internet). HTML is used in conjunction with  CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), which is used to control the appearance of a website.  For the purposes of this post, we'll focus just on HTML, and only on a small handful of tags  any beginner can put to use. This video provides  a simple overview of how HTML documents are created (watch this before you proceed): It's okay if that seemed like a lot to wrap your head around. We'll walk through much of the information here in a bit. Pro Tip: You can view a website's source code in most browsers. This can be useful for seeing how websites are built by observing the code itself. Here's how to do this using several popular web browsers: Google Chrome: Right-click and select View Page Source. Firefox: Right-click and select View Page Source Safari: Open Preferences, select Advanced, and click "Show Develop Menu In Menu Bar" at the bottom. Then, go to the Develop menu and select Show Page Source. Internet Explorer: Right-click and select View Source, or press the F12 key on your keyboard. Microsoft Edge: Right-click and select View Source, or press the F12 key on your keyboard. Here is an example of Google's home page with the Show Page Source option selected in Safari on Mac OS X. Why Do Bloggers And Content Marketers Need To Know HTML? If you've ever tried to edit content in WordPress, then you know the formatting functions fail to work the way  you want them to sometimes.  That's because WYSIWYG editors  don't always work as well as intended.  For example, a bulleted list may appear with extra spaces. Your text might not copy and paste correctly. You might want to change the color of your blog theme, but you might not know how. Content marketers should know basic #HTML. Get started here:These are just a few issues you're likely to run into. However, if you know a little HTML, they're issues you can fix. You'll become a more capable marketer  and a more valuable employee. What Are Some Things I Can Do With HTML? In general, you'll gain more control over your content's structure and appearance. Here are some specific tasks bloggers and marketers can tackle with HTML: Create and edit text links. Control paragraph structure. Fix broken lists. Build tables. Remove unwanted spacing. These are just a handful  of helpful things you're about to learn how to do. If you've never touched the Text view section of your WordPress posts, you'll probably feel a bit more confident in your skills too. Words Of Encouragement: Learning HTML isn't as difficult as it may sound. As a blogger or marketer, you don't necessarily need to know how to build an entire website from scratch. By the time you reach the end of this post, you'll likely learn as much as you'll need to know. Why Do I Need An HTML Cheat Sheet? If you haven't yet, we highly recommend downloading the HTML cheat sheet that accompanies this post. It's useful for you to have on hand so that all the common HTML tags are readily accessible. Learning #HTML? Use this #cheatsheet!How To Write HTML  With Text Files And A Browser Ready to write and edit some HTML yourself?  You could get started now using the Text editor in any WordPress post.  However, you can also  use  Notepad (Windows), TextEdit (Mac), or Sublime Text (Mac, Windows, Linux) and your web browser of choice. Pro Tip: If you've never heard of Sublime Text, it's an extremely useful plain text editor that offers more features than Notepad or TextEdit. It's especially handy for writing HTML because it automatically color-codes different portions of your coding, making things a bit easier to read. If you'd like to try it out, download it here. Follow these steps to create a simple HTML file: 1) Create a blank file .txt file. Write your HTML. Then, save your document as an HTML file. Here is an example of a quick HTML file we created: 2)  Click File in your top navigation bar. Then, scroll down to Open File: 3) Select your HTML file and click Open. It'll look something like this: Pro Tip: Remember your .txt document needs to be saved as a .html file. Basic HTML Tutorials For Beginners Now that you have some understanding of what HTML is and how it works (and you've downloaded the HTML cheat sheet, right?), let's  get started on some basic HTML tutorials. How To Format Text Using HTML Let's start with some basic text formatting. How To Create Headings HTML uses six different levels of section headings. They are structured like this: Here's what they look like on the blog: A few things to note about header tags: It's generally considered best practices to include only one  H1 tag (this is important for SEO). Generally, WordPress themes use H1 tags for  blog post headlines. Keep this in mind when formatting headings. You'll likely use multiple H2, H3, etc. tags per post. It's okay if you use heading tags "out of order" (ex: your H2 is lower on the page than an H3). Here's a useful explanation about heading tags from Matt Cutts: How To Make Text Bold If you'd like to make text bold, use this tag: Strong: strongInsert Text/strong In the past, you may have seen bolded text created using the bInsert Bolded Text/b tag. While the b/b tag still works, it's considered outdated. For this post, we'll stick with best practices and recommend the strong/strong tag instead. How To Make Text Italicized Similar to making text bold, there are two different tags you can use to create italics. The emphasis tag is the best one to use: Emphasis: emInsert Text/em You may have seen italicized text using the iInsert Text/i tag, but once again, this tag is considered outdated. How To Create A Paragraph To create a text paragraph, use pInsert Text/p. Here's an example: How To Create A Line  Break If you'd like to force a space between two lines of content, consider using a page break. Simply add the br tag between lines of content, like this: We don't actually think we're geniuses, and I'm certainly no Shakespeare. We just wanted to make sure you were still paying attention. How To Create A Block Quote If you have a quote that's a few lines long (or more),  it should be formatted in a block quote. You could do this in WordPress by clicking here: Or, you can wrap your text using this tag: blockquoteInsert Text/blockquote. Here's how block quotes appear on our blog: How To Create And Edit Links Using HTML You're probably thinking, "WordPress makes it easy to create links, doesn't it?" However, there is still value in knowing how to manually create links. Plus, there are some things WordPress can't do when it comes to links, that need to be performed manually. Let's go over how links are built in HTML, how to link between different sections of an individual post (this is a handy way to build a table of contents), and how to add no-follow attributes (which are potentially powerful for SEO). How To Manually Build An A Href To create a text link, you'll need to use the "href" tag. It looks like this: Place your desired URL (this will be the page you link to) and anchor text (the linked text a reader will click) where noted. Pro Tip:  Internal links (links that direct to other pages or posts on your site) and external links (links that direct to other sites) are created the same way. Here's an example: Here's what the end result looks like: How To Manually Edit Link Anchor Text Let's say we want to change the anchor text in the example link shown above. In this case, simply open the Text view option in WordPress. Then, delete the existing anchor text, and rewrite it: That's all it takes. Pro Tip:  You've now heard us mention anchor text a few times. If you're unfamiliar with what this is referring to, it's simply the clickable text used to create a link. How To Add A No-Follow Attribute To A Link If you know a little bit about search engine optimization, then you likely understand follow versus no-follow links. In short, search engines use links to determine  the importance of web pages. When a site links to another site, they see this as a vote or an endorsement saying, "This content is useful, and related to the web page linking to it." However, there may be times you don't  a link to pass authority to another website. Here are a few examples: You're linking to a page that isn't reputable (but may be related to your blog post). You're writing a sponsored post (buying or selling links is SPAM, and search engines may consider sponsored content links to be paid for). You're writing a guest blog post  or hosting a guest post on your own blog. It's important that links in author bio boxes in guest posts be labelled no-follow, because these were once commonly abused for SEO benefits. The more high-quality website links that you have, the more likely you are to rank in search engines. However, because of this, there are people out there who try to spam search engines with manipulative linking practices (including buying links and writing junk blog posts just to get backlinks without regard for content quality). For more information straight from Google on why you should use no-follow links for guest blog posts specifically, watch this video from Matt Cutts, former head of Google's web spam team: To add a no-follow attribute to a text link, add  the code rel="nofollow" to your href HTML: It's as simple as that. How To Deep Link To A Specific Blog Post Section Now you know how to add a link to another web page or website. However, how do you link to another section within a single blog post? Follow these steps: Switch to the Text view tab in WordPress, and add this tag:  a name="NAME"/a. Delete the NAME placeholder text and write your desired anchor text. Add  a href="#NAME"/a to the location you would like linked. Here is what this code looks like in WordPress (we've used Lorem Ipsum filler text, just for demonstration purposes): Here's what the end result looks like: Now, we can navigate from the top of the page to the next section in one click. However, there is one problem: we can't get as easily. Fortunately, there is an easy solution. We'll add a "Back to Top" link underneath the "Here's Something About Lorem Ipsum" section. We will also add a destination anchor at the top of the page with no anchor text (this way, the link will direct to the top of the page, but no unwanted text will appear to readers). Here's how the link appears: Since we did not specify anchor text for this link destination, nothing appears to the reader. However, clicking "" still directs to the top of the blog post. How To Build Lists In HTML There are two different types of lists you can create using HTML. These are bulleted (or unordered) and numbered (or ordered) lists. Here's how to create each one (knowing how to build these manually can help you edit them more easily by hand in case WordPress messes up their formatting). How To Create A Bulleted List It's easy to create a bulleted list (or an "unordered list") using the appropriate button in your WordPress tool bar: You can also build one manually: Here's what this code looks like in a web browser: Why Are You Telling Me This? Have you ever tried creating a bulleted list, only for WordPress to somehow mess up your formatting? Sometimes, minor formatting issues are easy to fix using the WYSIWYG editing bar. However, sometimes it feels a little bit more like this: In cases where WordPress won't cooperate, it's probably faster to edit your list HTML  manually. How To Create A Numbered List To create a numbered list (or an "ordered list"), follow the same directions as shown above, but change the ul and /ul tags to ol and /ol. Here's what this list looks like: How To Build A Table Of Contents In HTML The deep linking technique described above can be used to build a table of contents. Let's walk through how to do this, using another recent post on our blog as an example: Create a list in the section where you would normally add your text. Make each list item a link. Add links between each section in your post back to its respective table of contents position. When complete, your code should look something like this: This looks something like this on our blog: IMPORTANT NOTE: In the screenshot at the beginning of this section, you may have noticed code that reads div class="callout". This is a piece of CSS that creates a red background box (like the one in this tip, and in the table of contents we just created). If you're creating your own table of contents, you can ignore this line of code and the TOC will still work (it just won't have a background color). Then, the end of this section features a link back to the table of contents. This process is repeated throughout the post to build a working table of contents. To see how this table of contents works in action, visit  our post on time management strategies and try clicking around. How To Build  Tables In HTML Tables are useful for many different purposes, such as building simple image galleries or creating comparison charts. While WordPress doesn't provide a built-in means of quickly creating tables, they're easy to build on your own. This image illustrates how tables are constructed using HTML: Here is what the end result looks like: If you'd like to adjust the alignment or  appearance of your table, it's best to use CSS. Since we're sticking to HTML in  this post, we'll have to cover this topic at another time. Pro Tip: While WordPress doesn't have built-in table functionality, you can  use a plugin to create tables too. This may be faster and more convenient than building them yourself. Although it's still important to understand how they're constructed. How To Add Images In HTML You now know how to format text and build tables in HTML. If you want to add an image, use the HTML image and the Alt Tag attributes: img src="Insert Image URL" alt="Insert Alt Text" Let's try adding an image to our table. Follow these steps: 1.) Add an image to WordPress and find the image file URL: 2.) Paste the image HTML tag into your table in WordPress. Then, paste your URL and write your alt tag in the appropriate spots until you have something that looks like the following: 3.) Here's what the end result looks like: Armed with this knowledge, we think you can probably create something more interesting than a repeating logo. This is just a quick test to walk you through the process. How To Clean Up Common Copy And Paste Issues In WordPress Have you ever tried pasting text from a Word document into WordPress, only to have your formatting get screwed up?  That's because copying and pasting from Word (or another similar word processor) will usually include a lot of hidden formatting. There are three ways to get around copy and paste issues in WordPress: Paste your content into a plain text document in TextEdit (Mac) or Notepad (Windows) before pasting it into WordPress. This will strip out hidden formatting that would otherwise get turned into stubborn HTML. Paste your text straight from Word into WordPress and clean up the formatting manually. Write your posts directly in WordPress. We recommend doing this the easy way (option 1 or option 3), but we'll show you how to do it the hard way too (option 2), in order to best explain what happens when you paste text from Word into WordPress. Ever wonder why copying and pasting from Word never looks right in #WordPress? Read this.Understanding  Non-Breaking Spaces Copying and pasting text from WordPress into the Visual editor in WordPress will add non-breaking spaces to your text. This is probably one of the most common sources of headaches for bloggers when pasting text from Word. Let's dig into what these are and what to do about them. How To Remove Non-Breaking Spaces In HTML Here is some sample text we'll try pasting directly into the Visual view in WordPress: Now, we'll copy and paste this directly into the Visual view in WordPress: Hmm. That doesn't look quite right. Odds are, you've encountered an issue like this at some point. Let's switch to Text view to see what's going on here: See the weird nbsp; tag? This is called a non-breaking space. It forces a space to appear and prevents the formation of another line of text in its place. The issue with copying and pasting from Word is that the text carries non-breaking spaces along with it.  This causes an additional space to appear. Sometimes you can delete these spaces in the Visual editor, but when that fails,  you can delete them manually in the Text editor. Now if you notice weird and seemingly unmovable spaces in your WordPress text, you'll know what to do. TIP: If you don't want to write posts directly in WordPress and prefer writing posts in Evernote or Google Docs, makes it easy to convert Evernote and Google Docs files into WordPress posts. You'll still need to format your headings and formatting, but it's an easy way to save time writing in your preferred word processing tool. Additional HTML Learning Resources You've read through this post. You've downloaded your HTML cheat sheet. You've started experimenting with troubleshooting common WordPress formatting issues. If you're interested in taking your HTML knowledge to the next level here are some recommend resources to continue your learning: Websites: W3 Schools: This is considered by many to be the ultimate resource for learning HTML (and CSS and Javascript) on the web. Mozilla Developer Network: This resource from Mozilla (the folks that make Firefox) is another alternative to W3 Schools that provides in-depth HTML tutorials. Codecademy: This website features tons of useful coding lessons and resources. Lynda: While not free, Lynda features plenty of training courses on HTML (as well as other coding and computing topics). Books: HTML CSS: How To Build Websites: There are a lot of books on HTML out there. However, we recommend this one the most. It's clearly written, accessible to beginners, and well suited to writers and editors who just want a good grasp of how HTML and CSS work. Head First HTML 5 Programming: The Head First series is another great option for learning coding languages in an accessible and straightforward manner. Videos: 30 Days To Learn HTML CSS: If you prefer  learning from videos, this is a great place to start. Remember, everyone learns differently, and some people learn more easily from different types of content.  While this post may provide you with a good starting point, you might find a book or video series more helpful for your purposes. Now Put Your New HTML Skills To Use! There's a lot to learn when it comes to HTML. However, we hope this HTML cheat sheet and step-by-step guide has provided you with just enough tips to make your  blogging life a little bit easier. You now know how to do basic blog formatting with HTML. You know you can create and edit text links, control paragraph structure, fix broken links, build tables, and remove unwanted spacing. Knowing these HTML tips are going to help you tons and you'll be super thankful for the cheat sheet.

Response Memo Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Response Memo - Case Study Example nly receive the various biometric systems that we manufacture, but also ensure that we carry out follow up procedures and installations to ensure the effective working of these systems. It is critical to go through the responsibilities of my subordinates for it allows for the understanding of their operations, review their character and abilities and also advise on the best manners through which they can improve in their roles. The first assistant operating officer is one of the major characters that work with me in the organization. As a chief operating officer, I have the task of reporting to the board the various activities that the company engages in. In addition, I ought to gauge and report on the performance of the junior staff. This information is gathered from carrying out various rounds in the organization and seeing their performance. The first assistant operating officer has the responsibility of reporting to me in the case of employee negligence or any other form of hiccup that may hinder full functioning of the organization. The first assistant officer also reports to me on the various market trends that take place in the technology environment and through this I have the ability to make recommendations to the board regarding the functioning of the organization and the changes required. The second assistant operations manager handles the research part of an organization (Stair 26). By going through magazines and mobilizing personnel that receive payments through commission, these officer reports to me on changes that other competing firms incorporate in their functioning. Such information is very important for an organization and this is because competitors are very innovative and have the ability to incorporate new strategies that may deem my organization slow in development. Understanding the changes brought about by these organizations is effective for it allows ID Security Inc to carry out appropriate measures and offer new inventions in the

Sterling Harwoods Objections to Utilitarianism Essay

Sterling Harwoods Objections to Utilitarianism - Essay Example According to this objection, utilitarianism demands too much from human beings when argued from a real life situation. Harwood’s objects the utilitarianism opinion, which demands individuals to save the life of five strangers rather than that of their loved ones. This implies that people should give up nearly everything to assist those in need. For instance, one person should sacrifice his or her life for the sake of three or more people to survive. The person will make more people happy at the expense of his or her happiness; this may be applicable to cases of healthiness or wealth. Utilitarianism maintains that a person ought to act in a manner that increases universal happiness even though the action does not make him happy. This action reveals how unrealistic the demands of utilitarianism are towards human nature. For utilitarianism, sacrificing a single person to save many is justifiable because it is ambitious of figures. Utilitarianism seems to coincide with religion, l ike utilitarianism, religion asks people to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their friends benefit. However, Harwood objects these demands by saying that it is impossible to detach an individual’s life for the sake of others, this discredits utilitarianism viewpoint (McElwee 457). According to Harwood, utilitarianism is unfair and it is the truth. Justice cannot be compared with cheerfulness or contentment in the world. Actually, actions of justice may probably result in resentment, disputes, as well as hostility amongst communities. For instance, if the marginal people in a community are greatly singled out, and they happen to be satisfied with it due to the many benefits it brings them, then that is good according to utilitarianism. Therefore, no protests should be made because they will lead to chaos among the majority and the marginal. Likewise, utilitarianism is concerned with numbers; therefore, the utmost contentment is when the highest numeral of people is satisf ied. This indicates that the decisions to be made are usually unfair and do not do justice to those who are justifiable; for example, a scientist who kills his son prior to finding the cure out the cure for cancer. Utilitarianism will permit the scientist to carry on with the discovery of the cure before he is jailed. This is because if he finds the cure for the illness, the life of several patients will be achieved (McElwee 461). On

Research Proposal a Study on Web Portals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Proposal a Study on Web Portals - Essay Example Web portals enable people to connect with each other on the internet and share ideas, access useful information and other resources online. Portals are usually available throughout and can be accessed at any time by users. The databases are often updated regularly with the latest information. This study seeks to find out more information about web portals, their use and role in education and business as well as their impact on human communication. A Study on Web Portals Introduction The World Wide Web has been experiencing unprecedented growth since its inception and has been reinvented regularly to meet new demands and requirements of the business and social life making it to become the leading internet application (Erl, 2005). To many people, the World Wide Web has even become synonymous with the internet. One of the biggest reinventions of the World Wide Web is the introduction of web portals. Web portals have had a huge impact on creation of web pages for both corporate businesse s and education institutions such as universities and colleges (Hazra, 2002). Web portals have also greatly altered the way people access information on the internet through the web pages. There are various types of web portals, each serving a different purpose. The most common types of web portals include corporate portals, vertical and horizontal portals, regional and government portals, hosted and domain specific portals. Horizontal portals are those that cover a wide area while vertical portals are only based on one functional area. Regional portals are used for accessing local information about a place such as the weather forecast. Government portals on the other hand are used for storing government records Businesses can use web portals to interact with their clients and customers, or let their customers interact with one another, sharing information about available products. Clients and customers can easily access the businesses website and make enquiries about products and s ervices, place orders or make recommendations to the business (Erl, 2005). This has made online businesses easier to manage and helps corporate organizations interact with the outside world. The fact that web portals are available on the internet gives businesses an edge in that their customers and clients will still be able to access business information beyond working hours. The government can also use the web portal to keep its records and make them available to the public, especially in this era of democracy where people feel the urge to access government information. Government records can safely be stored online and accessed by interested individuals. Another area where Web portals have had a huge impact is in education. Web portals are very effective tools for inculcating scientific knowledge and other information in schools. Users can connect with one another on web portals to form learning communities where they can access relevant information, resources and expert knowledg e and assistance. Web portals also allow users to share and exchange ideas, engage in useful discussions and conduct activities that promote their learning. Online libraries and catalogues are often regularly updated with the latest information. Web portals have made simulation of education in real life much easier as compared to other types of web pages. A web portal can serve as scientific as well as an educational tool for its uses. It provides a platform whereby resources, information, and experts in science can meet and exchange ideas. Moreover, it will create an online opportunity for researchers to further their fieldwork and establish a bridge between class work and field work. The web portal is aimed at enriching its information through accepting contributions from people

Practice In Uk Mental Health Area Social Work Essay

Practice In Uk Mental Health Area Social Work Essay This study takes up the examination of social work practice in the area of mental health in the UK. It is based upon the experiences of the author in the course of her work as a Mental Health Professional in a multidisciplinary team in a community care setting. Mental health issues, more specifically mental illnesses, have troubled humans from the dawn of human civilisation. The history and literature of all historical societies reveal numerous instances of mental disorders among people and the inevitably associated ostracism and discrimination faced by such people. Mental illnesses in the UK, till even some decades back were associated with abnormal, deviant and dangerous behaviour and thousands of people with different types of mental issues were housed in high security asylums against their will for years on end. Such blatant violations of fundamental human rights were carried out at the behest of the medical fraternity with the active support of the government, the judiciary, the legal system, enforcement agencies and society. Social workers entered the area of mental health in the UK in the early decades of the 20th century and progressively increased their interaction and work with mentally ailing people. The involvement of social work practice in the area grew slowly until the 1960s but increased rapidly thereafter. Greater involvement of social work practice led to the development of psycho-social models for providing assistance to people with mental ailments and helped in changing societal perceptions towards such persons. The post Second World War period also witnessed a very substantial shift in governmental and medical approaches towards people with mental health disorders. The last full fledged asylum for housing the mentally ailing was closed down in . Medical disorders are now viewed to be strongly related to various social and economic conditions as also to phenomena like racism, oppression and discrimination. The overwhelming majority of people with mental health ailments are now treated in the community, in the midst of family and friends, and institutionalisation is resorted to only in extreme cases and that too for limited periods of time. Social work practice has become very relevant to the area of mental health. Qualified social workers like the author of the study, known as mental health professionals, work with medical professionals like doctors and psychiatrists and play active, even leading, roles in the assessment, planning, intervention and evaluation of people with mental health disorders. This study takes up the case of Maya, a 68 year old Asian woman, who lives in East London. Maya is a first generation immigrant and has spent much of her life in an alien society. She suffers from depression and has been referred to the local social work authorities. Mayas case is fully described in the appendix to this study and is thus not elaborated here. The essay examines various aspects of Mayas life and experiences in order to crystallise the various factors are contributing to her current mental difficulties. Special emphasis is given to the challenges faced by people suffering from depression and to the high incidence of depression among South Asian women. The study takes up the application of social work theory to practice, the role of oppression and discrimination in the development of mental ailments, the role of social workers in helping mentally ailing persons and the importance of adoption of anti-oppressive approaches in dealing with them. It also details the social services that are available to such service users and how such services can help Jaya. Causes and Consequences of Depression Maya has been intermittently suffering from depression for the last 27 years and has undergone medication and counselling on five occasions. She was specifically referred by her GP to the local social services department following an episode of some severity. Crippling depression is one of the biggest reasons for misery in modern day Britain. It is a submerged problem of immense dimensions that is kept out of sight by family shame. The Psychiatric Morbidity Survey reveals that one in six of UK residents are liable to be diagnosed with depression. It would surprise many people to know that 40% of all physical and mental disabilities are caused by mental illness, even as 17% of such ailments are caused by depression alone. The incidence of depression among people is more than 3 times that of cardiac disease. Psychologists agree that mental illness constitutes the most important predictor of human distress in the UK and is far more powerful than poverty or various other types of disability. With few forms of deprivation being worse than chronic depression, it is evident that social workers should give the highest priority to care for persons with depression and other mental health ailments. Much of research on the causes of depression has necessarily being medical in nature. A number of medical studies reveal that depression can arise out of a range of factors like medical and physical disabilities, the death of loved people, social isolation, exclusion and loneliness, and abusive relationships, separation and divorce. Depression can also be initiated by economic and other types of stress, estrangement from family members, the compulsion to care for ailing family members and relocation. Social work research on the other hand reveals that social phenomena like racism, discrimination and oppression can play significantly causal roles in the emergence of depression. Individuals from different religious, ethnic and cultural backgrounds have often been subjected to discrimination in the UK. The decades after the closure of the Second World War witnessed a large influx of people from erstwhile British colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean into the UK. Such immigrants, many of whom came to the UK to escape from lives of poverty, hardship and violence in their home countries, were often subjected to various degrees of oppressive and discriminatory treatment, both in the workplace and in the community. Such discriminatory treatment manifested itself in areas of employment, education and access to public facilities. Immigrants were treated differently and subjected to discrimination because of their lack of familiarity with the English language, their different physical appearances, religious traditions, cultural and social habits and their clothes. Such discrimination sometimes assumed distinctly undesirable dimensions like in the case of Christopher Clunis. A mentally disturbed person of African origin, Clunis murdered Jonathan Zito, a young white man, at a tube station in 1992.Whilst subsequent enquiries revealed that Clunis was mentally disturbed and he was subsequently institutionalised, the British media built up a picture of Clunis, (as a large, clumsy, unkempt and violent man), with strong overtones of racism. The numerous incidents of discrimination and ill treatment of persons of Asian origin in the USA after the September 11 attacks reveal racism and social discrimination to be a latent phenomenon that continues to work under the surface in societies and surfaces in response to different types of provocation and perceptions. Immigrants and their families even today have much poorer levels of education, income, health and public participation than members of the mainstream white majority in the UK. Maya is a first generation immigrant who was uprooted from her familiar North Indian environment when she was still in her teens and thrust into alien surroundings; she was unfamiliar with the local language and found it extremely difficult to communicate with others. Her social life was perforce restricted to the local Indian community in east London, which itself was very small when she came to England. Her husband and children, who had to adjust to the local community and its demands and expectations in order to survive and enhance their life chances, would have in all likelihood faced numerous incidences of discrimination and oppression over the course of their lives. Mayas domestic problems were also intensified because of her compulsion to stay with her husbands parents, a tradition that is still widely followed by the Asian community in the UK. Depression among Women from South Asian Communities in the UK A number of social work surveys and studies indicate that the incidence of depression is significantly high in South Asian women. Whilst such women originate from a large and ethnically diverse area that comprises of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Ceylon, many South Asian women suffer from similar causes for mental depression. Fenton and Carlsen, (2002) state that the main causes for depression amongst such populations are experiences of racism, family difficulties, financial problems, poor physical health and lack of employment. Women from these communities experience excessive mental pressure on account of community influence and reputation. Some of them have to cope with unsuitable marriages and unhappy relationships with their in-laws. Such circumstances create enormous difficulties and life challenges and moreover do not provide any avenues for escape. Some women have described how their families and the larger Indian community made them feel inadequate and repeatedly impressed upon them that they were failing in meeting their familial obligations. Such women also feel pressurised because of social isolation, lack of friends and acquaintances, inadequate education and stressful living conditions. The case study reveals that Maya has often been subjected to stress because of her difficult and strained relationship with her mother in law. It is also evident that the option of setting up home independently was never explored by her husband. It needs to be noted that whilst joint family living is common in South Asian communities, it is also often economically necessary because of straitened financial conditions and the additional costs that are likely to be incurred if children opt to live separately from their parents. Depression evidences itself in symptoms like change in eating and sleeping habits, lack of interest in normal daily activity, withdrawal from children, family and friends, overlooking of necessary activities at the home and outside and finally self destructive tendencies. Depressed people are prone to self harm and develop suicidal tendencies. Maya suffers from irregular sleeping habits, often sleeps late at night, gets up late in the mornings and is sometimes unable to cook for her family. She has reduced her interaction with outsiders and is becoming distant from her immediate family. She often suffers from headaches and cries for no reason. Such manifestations and symptoms constitute strong reasons for addressing depression in an elderly person like Maya. Not treating depression can place her and other older people at increased risk for additional physical and mental health problems. The disinclination to get out of the house and exercise can increase her hypertension, lead to diabetes and faster deterioration of the heart, lungs, bones and muscles. It can also lead to deeper, debilitating depression. Implications for Social Work Theory and Practice Social work theory and practice is fundamentally concerned with the improvement of the social and economic circumstances of disadvantaged individuals and groups and the challenging of oppression and discrimination in all its forms. Systems theory in particular, whilst abstract in nature and not applied systematically, has helped social workers to move from linear and causative medical models to significantly greater multi-causal contexts for the understanding of human behaviour. General systems theory provides a conceptual scheme for realising the interactions among different variables, rather than by reducing behavioural explanations to one reason. This is clearly evident in the area of mental health, where depression in people and their resultant behaviour is associated with a number of interacting social, biological and psychological factors. Systems theory requires social workers to examine the multiple systems in which people interact. Assessment of mentally ailing persons will for example require social workers to obtain information from different sources and place them in appropriate family and community contexts. Knowledge of social constructionism theory on the other hand enables social workers to realise how language has been used by medical experts and other dominant groups to build up images of the mentally disturbed as people who cannot look after themselves and their families and who need to be treated by medical experts. Modern societys perceptions about mental illnesses are significantly shaped by medical models, which state that medical ailments represent serious conditions that can make it hard for persons to sustain relationships and engage in employment. They can lead to self-destructive and even suicidal action (Walker, 2006, p 71-87). Social constructionism theory states that such perceptions are built by purposely developed vocabularies of medical models, which are bursting with complex nomenclatures for mental ailments and fixed on deficits. Walker, (2006, P 72), argues that vocabularies of medical models, including that of mental illness, are social constructs, comprising of terms that detail deficits and view humans as objects for examination, diagnosis and treatment, much like machines. Such perceptions result in treatments that is focused on removal of symptoms and do not take account of actual client needs (Walker, 2006, p 71-87). Social constructionism can assist social workers in realising the disparaging chimeras that have been built by existing medical models about the mentally ill. Social workers must also be informed by the theories of oppression and discrimination that condition and shape the behaviours of people, both the oppressors and the oppressed, towards poor, isolated and disadvantaged segments of society. Neil Thompsons PCS theory of oppression (2001), states that oppressive and discriminatory attitudes in people are socialised over the course of their life by three strong influences, namely personal perceptions and cultural and structural influences. Personal perceptions about the mentally ill can arise through reading about such people, viewing them on cinema, thinking about them and other such associated activities. Cultural influences comprise of numerous cognitive inputs from school, friends, family and the larger community about the mentally ill and unstable. Structural influences arise from the various embedded factors in the larger environment like their lack of fitness for employment and their need to be bodily restricted. These PCS factors s hape the minds of individuals and build up strong discriminatory attitudes that rest below the surface and are manifested in various ways. The media outrage over the Clunis incident and the construction of the person into a larger than life image of a socially dangerous person represents the way in which such discriminatory attitudes can often shape the behaviours and actions of people. Chew-Graham et al (2002), state that whilst the incidence of depression among South Asian women is significantly higher than the national average, such women faced numerous barriers in accessing social services because of internal and external barriers. Whilst internal barriers occurred because of family structures and community pressures, external barriers happen because of their unfamiliarity with English, difficulty in communicating with local social services departments and the disinclination of social workers to come to their aid. Services thus tended to be accessed only at points of desperation if at all and increase the tendency of such women to engage in self destructive activities. Dominelli (2002), states that discriminatory attitudes are deeply embedded in the existing social work infrastructure and can be eliminated only if there is a genuine and widespread feeling among social workers to do so. The labelling theory states that the self identity of individuals is often de termined by the terms that are used to describe them.

Argument Supporting Gay Marriage Essay -- Homosexual Gay Lesbian Right

Lindsey and Beth, a lesbian couple, have been living together for eleven years. Lindsey conceived two children from a sperm donor. Together, Lindsey and Beth turned their house into a loving home for their two children. One day, on the way home from the grocery store, Lindsey was killed in a tragic car accident. Before Beth could even grasp the situation, the children that she helped raise from birth had been taken away and placed into the care of Lindsey's parents, who never were a part of their lives because they did not accept Lindsey's homosexuality. In addition, the house that Beth and Lindsey lived in for eleven years was taken away from Beth. How did this happen to Beth? Well, if Lindsey and Beth could have been legally married like all heterosexual couples, Beth would have had custody of the children and would have kept the house. They would have received 1,049 protections, benefits and responsibilities that are extended to married couples under federal law (HRC). Lindsey and Beth are one example of same sex couples that live in 99.3 percent of all counties in the United States (HRC). It is estimated that 10 percent or 25 million people in the United States are homosexuals, and by law they do not have the rights that married heterosexuals enjoy. American voters have the power to change the law and prevent the sad story that Beth had to live, by voting "yes" on referendums in support of gay marriage, and "no" on bans of gay marriage. The opening scenario of Lindsey and Beth is a dilemma that is becoming more of a real situation each day. The fact is that people are forming unions regardless of the law. In all fairness, the people involved in these relationships should have the same legal rights as all other American... ...discriminating against gay marriage. But by voting "yes" on referendums in support of gay marriage, and "no" on bans of gay marriage, our society can become one step closer to creating a more fair and just society that supports diversity and accepts people with a different life-style. Works Cited Human Rights Campaign (HRC). 26 Nov 2006. . Moats, David. Civil Wars a Battle for Gay Marriage. New York: Harcourt, Inc., 2004. Rauch, Jonathan. Gay Marriage. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2004. Robertson, Donald L. Dr. "Homosexuality and Genetics." 26 Nov 2006. . "U.S. Census Figures Continue To Show National Trend." Human Rights Campaign. 27 June 2006. 26 Nov 2006. eleases/20011/U_S_Census_Figures_Continue_To_Show_National_Trend.htm>.