Kim Robinson

The browser wars had a major impact on web development. Web standards were conceptualized from the battle between the major browsers as a result of the lack of standards and the need to know how to write many different java scripts to be adaptable to the various browsers. Because there were so many scripts, it made it more likely for someone to have to choose between one browser or another. Web standards were created so that it was possible to create a web page using only one script. This made the page compatible with all browsers, thus making it a simpler process to create a web page. Web standards are important to make the site easier to access and be accessible for many (and many different devices), including the disabled. It has also made the process of creating web pages easier. The browser wars made this possible.

After reading excerpts from Dale Carnegie’s “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living,” the principle I plan to apply is learning to relax at work and at home. I have a high stress life at work and at home because I am very impatient and want to resolve whatever issue that arises immediately. I also try and keep my life extremely busy, even unnecessarily. I cause a great deal of my stress at times. Using this principle will allow a little time to breath so I can keep from being the cause of my own worry.

I found that the results of the MBTI were pretty accurate in describing my personality and the way that I work best.  I fall under the “ESTP” category with all categories being “slight” with the exception of a clear E.   The activity was very informative and it was pretty impressive that we were able to guess what we felt like we were prior to finding out what our results were, and I was pretty accurate.  ESTP’s are enthusiastic, spontaneous, and fact driven.  In addition, they are pretty direct which may cause conflicts in a business setting.  I have had very few conflicts with people in business setting, but they have happened. 

I had a conflict with a coworker because a machinery problem needed to be resolved immediately.  The problem was easily resolved by trouble shooting an issue that had occurred repeatedly.  Instead of listening to me regarding the issue and trying to resolve the problem at its source, they continued to do everything but resolving the actual problem.  They had incurred more down time because they refused to listen.  I can only assume that the person was different from me because we resolved the problem in completely different ways.  Once the problem was resolved, the issue between us was over and there was no personal conflict so they had to be similar in some way.   I find that it is very important that people understand that others may resolve problems in different ways, and attempt to be flexible with one another to reach the same goals.

I was pleased with the overall presentation. I was pleased that I had enough content to fill the time, that the content was short on the slides, and that I did not feel nervous giving the presentation. My biggest concern was with the content of the slides. I have given many presentations in the work environment but the slides typically had a great deal of information. It was unusual for me trying to stay within the constraints of information for each slide. I really enjoyed seeing everyone present.

The principle I should work on is showing sincere appreciation. It is often easy to forget to show someone this because although you may feel it, you may not necessarily show it often. People are not mind readers- they must feel like you appreciate them just as though you or I want to feel appreciated. The problem I have is that I may say it to someone once but over time, neglect to reiterate it.
The relationship I need to apply this principle to is to a close friend. We have been friends for quite some time but seemed to have gotten off track in our interactions. Applying this principle will greatly improve our relationship because I don’t think of things from her point of view. Because of my busy schedule, I have not taken the time to show my appreciation for her. This has resulted in some feelings of neglect and showing her my appreciation and spending more time with her would improve our friendship. Although my schedule is busy, it is important for me to retain this friendship because of how close we typically are. It is my goal to take her to lunch at least once a week, to show her that I place importance on our friendship, and that I appreciate her time. The principle of making someone feel important also applies to this situation.

I have a huge problem with procrastination. The one thing I must do to alter that is to do homework in a place that does not have tv and i must keep all games out of my reach. At work, the one thing I had to do was to send all calls straight to voicemail and close my door in order to dive right into the project. Eliminating distractions is essential for me to accomplish my tasks.

I have a great deal of chaos in my life however when it comes to my workspace I require everything to be set in a specific order. In this new technological era, most things have become paperless which has been a great improvement. Instead of using files, everything I do is in word or excel format and stored in specific files for specific projects on the computer. In addition, I save these items not only to my documents, but also to a flash drive. E calendars are also essential to ensure that the projects stored in these files are submitted at the appropiate times.

It was very interesting to learn about the different people in our class. There were many that seemed to have the same common interests as I do but one thing that we all have in common is our desires to make better futures for ourselves, regardless of what drives us to do so. It would seem that this one thing should help us all to work in a pretty good team for whatever assignment we may have to do so. Although I may not be interested in some of the hobbies as my classmates, it should still be a very positive and educational experience because we are striving for the same goal, and i look forward to doing so.

It was also cool to see the various presentation styles.  I enjoy public speaking whereas some did express that they were not fans of it.  I would like to be able to keep myself from saying ‘um’ so much.  Unfortunately I do not have the greatest of attention spans so ‘um’ tends to frequent my mouth when I am speaking.  I have tried to improve that over the years and it has gotten better, but I would like to continue to improve that.

It seems silly to say this but my expectation from this class is to learn something I didn’t know.  I have already begun learning things I didn’t know so I have positive expectations for this class.  I am interested in everything that has been discussed thus far so I am still excited about my choice to enter the minor. Good luck to everyone and I hope to become more familiar with all.