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What to do about cyberbullying

Being picked on in a classroom or in the halls can really interfere with a student’s lifestyle.  Sometimes, a bully will go up a notch and start cyberbullying.  Cyberbullying is also known as online social cruelty, or electronic bullying which is posting mean and vulgar comments about someone over the internet.  Unfortunately, It can go as far as personal images,threats, and impersonating the victim.

If you or your child is a victim of cyber bullying, don’t respond to it, or erase any messages or pictures as you may need them for evidence.  If its happening through the school system like the library, contact the school adminstrators as they will have to intervene.

If you know who the bully is and their address, send a written letter to their parents, avoid face to face contact if possible.  You may want to keep a copy of the letter for evidence incase you go to the police.  If you tried everything in your power, its time to call the police.  With evidence, they should be able to track them down quickly, and charge them if necessary.

When faced with cyberbullying, its important to address the situation quickly, because the internet can be much worse because up to millions or more people can see it.  You may want to consider setting up a firewall and adjusting parental controls on the pc to limit any personal information going in cyberspace.

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech building where a student killed 30 people and himself was reopened for limited use of engineering labs Monday, although access was restricted because of refurbishing work.

The closure of Norris Hall after the April 16 shooting rampage had stalled research by about 50 graduate students. About 10 of them were able to resume their work Monday, said Ishwar Puri, head of the engineering science and mechanics department.

Work in the three-story, 1960s-era building includes removal of asbestos from flooring. Puri said the main laboratory wing should be accessible in a week or two.

Officials decided to reopen the rest of the building because it contains sophisticated laboratory equipment that could not be moved.

Two security guards are posted at the building, and for now access is limited to daytime hours.

“This is a little inconvenient,” Puri said. “Doctoral students work into the wee hours of the morning, particularly when they’re working on research.”

The second-floor classrooms where student gunman Seung-Hui Cho shot 25 students and five faculty members will not be used again.

The area of a separate dormitory where Cho shot two other students remains walled off.

 Source: http://news.yahoo.com

Video Game Violence…What do you think about it?   by Daniel Punch

Ever since video game designers were able to put red pixels on their imaginary characters that had recently deceased, there have been people crusading against their subversive ways. The outrage at video games seems to be cyclic, fading very briefly before exploding into the public eye once more with renewed frenzy. The controversy seems to have sparked up again in recent times, with numerous crimes being blamed on the corruptive influence of video games. There have also been various “controversies” surrounding recent video games and their content in the areas of both violence and sexuality.

The first game to receive widespread criticism and media attention was the martial art fighting game “Mortal Kombat”. This game included large spurts of blood emitted from attacks and also “Fatalities” that could be performed on stunned opponents after their defeat. These Fatalities were gruesome animation sequences showing the victorious player killing their defeated opponent in a vast variety of ways. Gamers revelled in this new experience and the controversy surrounding the violence caused mass hype that informed the less informed gamers that the game was out there. Consequently gamers played the new game just to find out what all the talk was about, thereby greatly increasing revenue.

One of the largest sparks of controversy has been the recent “Hot Coffee” modification for “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (GTA:SA)”. This involved unlocking a sexually oriented mini-game that had been removed from the game before release, although evidently not from the source code. The creators of the game, Rockstar Entertainment, obviously realised that this particular part of the game was not appropriate for the video gaming public and removed access to it. An enterprising fan of the game found out and modified the original code to give access to the content once again. Lawsuits were brought against Rockstar for including such content in their game, although the validity of the lawsuit has to be questioned. If the game is simply purchased and played as intended by the developers, this admittedly tasteless and inappropriate mini game would never be encountered. It is not until the user-made modification is downloaded and installed that the player is able to access the content.

Regardless of who’s to blame, “GTA: SA” was re-rated in America and banned from sale in Australia. Oddly enough the gratuitous and encouraged violence in the game went largely unnoticed in the wake of the “scandalous” sex scenes involving clothed, cartoonesque people.

When examined objectively almost all games contain a certain amount of violent content. The kid-friendly bright and colourful “Mario” games by Nintendo feature a character stomping on animated creature’s heads. In fact the majority of games, even children’s games, involve the protagonist crusading against an enemy horde of some sort and generally “disposing” of them in some manner, whether it be striking them with a weapon or body part (feet, hands, possibly a tail depending on the nature of the character). The only real stand out difference is that in a children’s game the ‘bad’ characters will generally bounce backwards in a cute manner and explode with a humorous puff sound (or simply disappear) whereas in a game oriented towards older mature players, the characters are more likely to be (somewhat) realistic, spraying a gusher of red upon their demise.

Whenever some young person somewhere commits a violent crime these days it seems to get blamed on a video game, from “Duke Nukem” and “Quake” being accused for the Columbine High massacre, to a more recent incident involving a group of minors attributing their violent actions to the “Mortal Kombat” video games. Without any solid evidence either way it’s hard to say whether or not video game violence actually has much of an influence on players. To really be sure you’d probably have to have a control group of isolated children that have never seen a violent movie or played a bloodthirsty video game. History does however show that brutal crimes were committed long before video games or even movies came into existence.

Children are quite easily influenced by something that they’re excited about and I’ve seen this happen a lot. Playing a wrestling video game with a group of eight year olds often leads to the eight year olds screaming raucously and trying to pin each other down on the ground. Pre-teens will often punch and kick their way out of a cinema in terrible combat stances after having viewed a martial arts movie. The current content rating system in place is not geared towards consumer restriction; it is largely aimed at simply informing the public about what they are going to experience. Legal restrictions are not actually put in place until the higher, more severe ratings like in x-rated films. Parents, guardians, and society in general need to start taking an interest in who is viewing certain types of content. Instead of complaining about the entertainment a child is enjoying, the parent could be there at the beginning looking at the rating that is printed clearly on the packaging of all entertainment. A simple “I don’t think that’s suitable, how about this game? It has a lizard!” distracts the child a surprising number of times. In my experience, children genuinely just want people to take an interest in what they’re interested in, not just murmuring indistinctly, “Yes dear, that’s nice.” as the child installs the newest violent game.

What about the children that are playing the games in the restricted ratings categories? The only way that they can even get the game into their possession is if a parent (or someone of legal age) purchases the game for the child, or if the store disregards the rating guidelines in place and sells it to them regardless. Either way the fact that a game’s content has fallen into a minor’s hands is not the fault of the game developer.

I’m not out to defend the integrity of artistic vision presented in video games as many other gamers are. Frankly there seems to me to be little artistic integrity in rendering blood that is ever more liquid in appearance. I do however enjoy playing some games that are quite violent in nature and in many cases the violent nature of the game increases my enjoyment. Video games are escapism, there’s (arguably) no point in playing a video game that simulates something you can just walk outside and do (and yet sports games somehow consistently sell in large numbers… curious…). Interestingly I have never yet felt the overwhelming desire to break down into a kung fu stance and commit murder. Perhaps more important than simply banning questionable content in video games would be studying why this content is so appealing to today’s society?

About the Author

Daniel Punch M6.Net Web Helpers http://www.m6.net/

How To Raise Teenagers   by Morten Linna

How To Raise Teenagers

Ok.You have done a good job getting this far.You kid is 14

years old and are about to enter one of the most important

faces in his or her life.They are about to become

TEENAGERS!Many parents become scared just by the name.

TEENAGERS!Your kid has been a dream his life.But

all that are about to change now,i promise you.Every kid

change dramatically when they reach this part of there life.

Why many parents ask.I will you.It is because they reach a

stage in there life when it is time to become an adult.It

is time break all the rules and see what will happen.It is much like this.

When my parents says i have to be home at 10 o`clock but what

they are really saying is that i have to be home between

10 and 11.Or.If my parents are saying that i can have a few

friends over,what they are really saying is that i can have

all my friends over.They do not care if i have 10 or 30

friends over.What is the big deal!

The big deal is that if are going to have a good relationship

with your teenager the respect have to go both ways.If you

respect him or her your teenager are also going to respect

you.I have a boy who have just turned 16.He is not the worst

teenager i have experienced.But the problem with him is that

he has one friend.And that friend is called Mr computer.He do

not attend at any parties.He do not participate in any kind

of sports.He is a lone ranger.I wish he could be more outside.

But in society we live in with drugs,alcohol,killing and violence

my conclusion is that sitting inside in front of

the computer is not the end of the world.He is a smart kid and

will probably get a good job in the world of computers.

But some parents struggle with the opposite problem.They never

see their teenager.He is out all the time and the parents do

not have a clue what their kid are doing.Sure,it is healthy being

outside all the time.But how do they know if he is outside?Maybe

he is sitting in some bar smoking a joint and drinking beer.

Many kids end up like this.And you can not control it.

Sounds scary i know.The best way to prevent this is to talk to

you kid.Of course, this might not be enough,but i can promise you

if you manage to make your child understand that you are there for

him you have done you part of the job.This might not be enough but

he will understand that you are there for him.And when he one time

gets in trouble in school,instead of hiding and lying to you,he

will talk to you and be honest.

If your kid ends up in bar drinking alcohol when he is a teenager

remember this,do not blame yourself as a parent.Even if you have

done the greatest of jobs sometimes that is not enough.Teenagers

live their own life and they are influenced by their friends.If

your son or daughter see his best friend smoking you can bet your

bottom that he will try that to.It is nothing wrong with that.

Ask yourself this question,have i tried out things that where not

allowed?Of course you have it is in our nature.

So the best tip i can give all you teenage parents is to talk to

your kids all the time.Tell them you love them and that you are

there for them.Make them trust you and make them understand that

you only want the best for them in life.If you make them

understand this you have come a long way in your relationship

with your precious teenager.

Good luck!

About the Author

Morten Linna are auther of multiple e-books:

How To Sett Goals And Achieve Them

How To Raise Kids The Right Way

How To Quit Smoking

How To Be A Great Father

How To Deal With My Kids Bedwetting

Click here now: http://www.e-book247.com

Substance Abuse    by dic herry

We live in a world where war against drug abuse is a continuous struggle. Drugs are classified as legal and illegal. Medicines, cigarettes, and alcohol are considered legal drugs. But excessive drinking and smoking by adults, and especially by teenagers, also poses a threat for extensive addiction. Medicines that are taken without proper prescription are detrimental as well. Illegal or prohibited drugs, like heroin and marijuana, are those that have intoxicating effects to the human body and usually produce negative behaviors when taken. The common abused substances include alcohol, marijuana, tobacco, narcotics, heroin, steroids, inhalants, stimulants, depressants, club drugs and prescription medications. Unfortunately, all these drugs are being abused widely. We cannot discount the fact that substance abuse or addiction is among the most serious socioeconomic problems we are facing today. It is a persistent menace that needs to be addressed head on. The negative consequences of addiction are school failure, poor judgment that may pose higher risks for accidents, violence, and unproductive work output and in some instances, suicide. Substance abuse negatively affects not only the person involved but others as well. Domestic violence, child abuse and failed marriages are the most common results. Schools and communities are also negatively impacted by drug abuse, as the quality of education eventually deteriorates and the crime and unemployment rate rises. Consequently, the nation’s economic status also suffers. Fortunately, we have various agencies and facilities that cater to the prevention, reduction and treatment of illegal substance use. If you think someone has drug abuse problem, the best thing to do is to contact the right sources to get that person help. Given this, it is better to educate our children at an early age regarding the effects of illicit drug use. A better understanding of these drugs will prevent them from being victims later on. Substance Abuse provides detailed information on Substance Abuse, Substance Abuse Treatments, Substance Abuse Clinics, Substance Abuse Counseling and more. Substance Abuse is affiliated with Prescription Drug Addiction Treatment .

About the Author

Author writes articles on different topics. To know more, visit: exposed acne medication, http://www.e-prescriptiondrugaddiction.com/