Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Bullying Is The Most Common Form Of Bullying - 916 Words

He walks into the hallway, and people notice; they notice his pale face, and driel lips, but most importantly the red mark. They can tell he was abused; nevertheless, they just stare. Moreover, he gets punched and kicked by his classmates. He has one friend, and she just tells him to deal with it. Thousands of people are like this student, yet no one bothers. Not only physical, but bullying can also occur in verbal, emotional, and sexual. Verbal bullying can affect people as much as any other types can. This is probably the most common form of bullying because it occurs without even knowing. Even people in authorities can have a hard time detecting verbal bullying because there is no obvious signs of it, like a physical bullying would have. Moreover, girls are usually the victims and violator. They exclude others from a group, especially to show power. On the other hand, boys use verbal bullying to avoid getting into trouble; as stated before, there is no visual proof of this abuse. Dealing with verbal bullying is hard as well. Victims should try ignoring the bullies at first. If it repeats, then they should try to talk to an adult about it. Children usually does the mistake of talking back and challenging the bullies. That one is a very common case, and bad idea as well because it motivates bullies to fight back. It could even result in physical bullying. If not dealt with bullies properly, there can be many consequences. Children can change into bully themselves. TheyShow MoreRelatedBullying Is The Rise Across The Nation1636 Words   |  7 PagesBullying is on the rise across the nation. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 30 percent of students of students were bullied during the 2010-2011 school year. Whether verbal or physical, bullying has a negative effect on the victims. Students who are bullied often experience depression, loneliness, anxiety, and isolation. The common types of bullying in a school setting are physical and ver bal. With the rise in the use of social media, cyberbullying has become a big problemRead MoreBullying Is A Modern Threat Of The Security Of Many People Around The World1726 Words   |  7 Pagesindividual. Bully is a label that most people do not wear all the time, but almost everybody has bullied somebody else in their lifetime and have been bullied in their life. Bullying can be so extreme that it can bring physical harm to some people. Bullying is a modern threat to the security of many people around the world. To figure out the personality of a bully we need to define types of bullying, causes of bullying, traits of bullies and possible cures of bullying. The first subject that needsRead MoreBullying essay1029 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿ Imagine that you’re a parent of two kids. Your oldest daughter, loves to be active in sports, works hard in school, and has a lot of friends most people would consider her popular. But your youngest daughter has a fear of people. A fear of talking to them, seeing them, or being seen by them. She wasn’t always like this, until she was bullied at school. You noticed she came home and cried almost every day, her tears were more than just the average tears. They were tears of heartbreak, tears thatRead MoreBullying : Bullying And Bullying941 Words   |  4 PagesThere are different ways to describe bullying. Stopbullying.gov states the definition of bullying is â€Å"unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.† Webster’s dictionary portrays the definition of bullying is to frighten, hurt, or threaten (a smaller or weaker person): to act like a bully toward (someone), or to cause (someone) to do something by making threats or insults or by using force. Violenceproventionworks.org mentions A personRead MoreAbstract Bullying1358 Words   |  6 PagesAbstract Bullying is a social and psychological issue among animals and humans that emerges in an emotional, verbal, or physical form. Although the issue of bullying among humans has existed for quite some time, recent research of the issue has grown significantly and indicates that bullying takes many forms and effects individuals or groups of different ages, genders, races, geographic locations, and socio-economic status. There are many causes of bullying and the goal of the analysis is to Read MoreBullying Effects900 Words   |  4 PagesCauses and Effects of Bullying Every year, approximately 7 percent of students report to being bullied (â€Å"Physical†). Most people know bullying is wrong, but it continues to play a dominating role in the lives of adolescents. Whether the bullying was done by spreading rumors, calling someone names or through the Internet, there are many different causes of bullying, why it occurs, and how it effects the victim. The causes of bullying can influence how the bully decides to target a victim. VictimsRead MoreJust As The Hands Of A Clock Are Constantly Moving, Time1199 Words   |  5 Pagesthe one interaction has remained relatively the same throughout: bullying. Bullying, a negative interaction, has produced many statistics. In other words, bullying has made its mark in who the common bullies are, who are the typical victims of bullying, the repercussions of bullying, and ways in which bullying is linked to social and individual problems such as depression, anxiety, and violent tendencies. Common Links Across Bullying Societal context has provided an environment in which at some pointRead MoreCyber Bullying And Its Effect On Society1139 Words   |  5 PagesBullying is an escalated issue that has become an epidemic, it happens in schools, on line, in between genders and can literally occur anywhere. Bullying is the act of aggressive behavior in which intimidation and/or physical harming towards another person is involved. It causes an imbalance in which the stronger person or group attacks the weaker and initiates repeated mistreatment towards the same victim over an extended period of time. In a situation where insults escalate and bullying arisesRead MoreBullying in School Should Not be Taken Lightly Essay1709 Words   |  7 Pages Among all of the problems, bullying is likely to be the most serious and probably the worst. Statistics show that one in seven children in grades K-12 have either been bullied or are a bully. It’s likely that the issue of bullying is most common among teens. It is said that 30% of teens have been involved in bullying, as either the bully or the victim. Bullying is also common in the college and workplaces but it is now where as serious as teen bullying. This bullying is sort of taken lightly, itRead MoreShould Bullying Be Long Term?847 Words   |  4 Pagesthat around 46% of young people, have witnessed or been the victim of bullying during their childhood (Choices, 2016). Although there is no official legal definition of bullying, it is suggested that it is a repeated and negative behaviour which is deliberately used to hurt someone either physically or emotionally (Lives, 2013). There are many form of bullying including the most common; physical, verbal, relational and cyber bullying. It is often motivated against specific groups, including religion

Monday, December 23, 2019

Video Games May be Able to Help Essay - 915 Words

There is a common misconception that video games â€Å"brainwash† kids and do nothing but damage their intellect. Although that is not the case, video games have been proven to improve one’s everyday motor skills and even improve vision. Some parents may believe that their son/daughter will grow up to be some sort of lonely psychopath due to video games, but that is not the case. The truth of the matter is that video games do little to no damage to kid’s brains. There are many more things that improved rather than decreased. There is even scientific evidence to support of this. With tests showing gamers develop the ability to use the smaller and faster portion of their brain to process situations and make decisions. It was also apparent†¦show more content†¦Daphne Bavelier says â€Å"It’s not the case that the action game players are trigger happy and less accurate; they are just as accurate and also faster. Action game players make more cor rect decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, that can make all the difference† (Current Biology 2). All of these aspects can improve one’s everyday life. There are many basic skills that are improved due to these aspects, such as driving, reading, navigating, multitasking, listening, and locating; which are all essential to one’s everyday life. Pure science also backs up this theory with proof of gamers’ brains using a smaller and faster portion to process data. Gamers use their frontal cortex, which is already naturally faster than the parietal cortex that non-gamers use (Brain Power 3). The frontal cortex is a surprisingly small portion of your brain that processes and makes suggestions based on the data it receives. Similar functions were found in musicians who play the guitar or the piano, in which they need to have fast reactions to be able to process all the notes that they are hitting.(Brain Power 3) Non-gamers use the part of their brain called the parietal cortex, which takes up a larger portion of one’s brain that is less complex and takes longer to process things. Not only is the parietalShow MoreRelatedVideo Games Do Not Cause Violence1619 Words   |  7 PagesVideo game violence has been a discussion dating back to games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders to current games like Call of Duty and Mario. Many people are lead to believe that video games can cause children to act violent. However, video games do not cause violence in children. Video games can help in many ways either in society, people with certain disorders, or improve some mental issues. Video games help shape society in the way they bring people together. Video games are said to bring kindnessRead MoreVideo Games Effect On Children1344 Words   |  6 PagesVideo games have been known to be a negative effect on children throughout the years. They have also been connected to violent behaviors. With this, games have been given a lot of negative light within the media, yet they are seen in a large amount of homes throughout the United States. Lately, computers and tablets have been introduced into the american school system given children even more access to video games throughout their day. This brings up the question if maybe using different games mayRead MoreAre Video Games Therapy? Essays1100 Words   |  5 PagesThe use of video games has become a norm for many people and families. They may be used to relax after a long day of work, or as a way for the family to all participate in something together. Many people view video games as just another form of entertainm ent, but could they actually be more? Meditation is used as a therapy to reduce the stress of everyday life. It is a way to focus one’s mind on the present and alleviate the stress that life can cause. By focusing on something besides stress,Read MoreBenefit Of Video Games Essay1204 Words   |  5 PagesVideo games have quickly become the new major source of entertainment for the youth and the upcoming adults of the world. The youth seem to be giving more of their free time to video games. However, they have always seemed to have a bad reputation with many people of all generations. People are starting to believe more and more that video games are nothing but trouble. They feel as if video games are a waste of time and the youth could be using the time they spend on video games on more productiveRead MoreVideo Games Helps Improve Education Essay1361 Words   |  6 Pages Video games has had a long history of being seen as a negative thing. It seems to be out of the question to use them in classrooms and as a teaching tool. This is the wrong way to look at them however. Video games may be one of the best tools for classrooms and helping students learn not only school topics, but even help them with different skills in the classroom and to help them reduce one of student’s biggest issues; stress. All of these things can be done with the use of video games in theRead MoreVideo Games and Violence1011 Words   |  4 Pagesare probably millions and billions of video games sold every year to people. Some people seem to believe that violence correlates directly with video games. Video games are something that is usually a big interest in people at the ages of 13 to 19 years old. Video games usually start off as a little fun and then turn into a major hobby for some people. Emotions change based on whatever happens while a person is engaging in these games most of the time. These games are another way to observe how peopleRead MoreVideo Game And Violent Video Games1574 Words   |  7 Pagesdevelopment of the internet in recent years, game and violence game have become companions of young people. We could not deny the fact that video game already has strong attraction for many people. Especially in today’s society, when work pressure is growing, gaming is an effective solution to relieve tension, dispel feeling of fatigue, anxiety. Playing the normal video game, which it not include any violence scenes, plus regulatory reasonable playing time can help players relaxed and balanced in termsRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On Children And Society1523 Words   |  7 PagesMario Kart, Call of Duty, and Grand Theft Auto, are all wildly popular video games. Whether you are killing monsters or trying to amass as much gold as possible, people play video games as an escape into a virtual world from the reality we live in. Over the years, video games have acquired a tainted reputation for the violence often found in many popular titles. Although people view video games to be destructive to children and society, studies have shown numerous medical, social, as well as psychologicalRead MoreCensoring of Violent Video Games1152 Words   |  5 Pageswhether violent video games should be censored. Video games should be censored for the good of society. Video games do harm to teens and society due to making teens accumulate frustrations,makes teens think violence is acceptable in problem solving, and makes them very unhealthy but it also does some good, such as helps teens control their emotions, makes them conscious of what is good from what is bad, and helps them get rid of stress. This controversy may just be solved with the help of some researchRead MoreThe Importance Of Violent Video Games932 Words   |  4 PagesWhile video games are fun for a lot of people, violent video games have proven to lead to more than just high scores and a source of entertainment. Violent video games need to be limited to our maturing youth. First, violent video g ames are one of the biggest and increasing outlets for providing our youth with deranged thoughts and aggressive impulsions. Second, the use of violent video games is very prevalent amongst soldiers in the U.S. Army being ordered to play these games to keep them in a warrior

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Succubus Revealed Chapter 4 Free Essays

â€Å"But I don’t know what it is I’m doing!† I cried. â€Å"Do you?† â€Å"I’ve told you all I can for now,† said Carter, that sadness returning. â€Å"The most I can do now is buy you a drink. We will write a custom essay sample on Succubus Revealed Chapter 4 or any similar topic only for you Order Now † I shook my head. â€Å"I don’t think there’s enough whiskey in the world.† â€Å"There isn’t,† he said bleakly. â€Å"There isn’t.† Despite Carter’s pessimism, I still tried calling Hugh to see if he knew anything. He didn’t, but his incredulity was so similar to mine that I took some comfort in it. â€Å"What? That’s ridiculous,† he told me. â€Å"It was a mistake. It has to be.† â€Å"Will you try to get ahold of Jerome for me?† I asked. â€Å"I mean, I’ll keep trying too, but maybe if we’re both calling, he’ll eventually notice the phone.† Even though it was still early for the demon, I also had this strange feeling that he could very well be avoiding my calls if something was afoot. Hugh might sneak in where I couldn’t. I was fast approaching the time when I was supposed to meet Seth at the twins’ school. I had wanted to run home and try talking to Roman about my potential transfer, but it didn’t seem as important now, not until I had the story confirmed or denied by Jerome. So, after a few more errands that seemed hopelessly mundane compared to the greater supernatural workings of the universe, I drove up to Lake Forest Park and arrived at the school just as Seth did. Ian got out of the car too, and Seth flashed me a quick look that said he wasn’t thrilled about having brotherly company. Ian was wearing the jacket Seth had mentioned, a brown wool peacoat that fit him well enough to be tailored and had strategically placed patches meant to give it a vintage appearance. Ian completed the look with a carefully knotted striped scarf and fedora. He also had on glasses, which I’d seen no sign of at Seth’s. â€Å"I didn’t know you wore glasses,† I told him. He sighed. â€Å"They go with the scarf.† Seth was carrying two huge containers of white-frosted cupcakes that were liberally and sloppily dusted with green and red sparkles. I took one batch from him and walked inside with the brothers, where we signed in and were given directions to the classroom. â€Å"Looks like you were productive,† I said with a smile. â€Å"No thanks to Mom,† Seth replied fondly. â€Å"It took her forever to leave. She kept offering to help and double-check my work, make sure the oven was set and all that. It was a boxed mix. There wasn’t that much I could mess up.† Ian muttered something about preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. The classroom was pleasant, organized chaos. Other parents and family friends were there to help with the party, distributing food and running games. The twins ran up to the three of us with quick, fierce hugs before scurrying off to play with their friends. I didn’t see Morgan and McKenna outside of the family very often, so it was neat to watch them so active and outgoing with their peers. They charmed their friends as much as they charmed me, and it was clear the two girls were leaders of sorts. Tiny, adorable blond leaders. The knot I’d carried inside me since getting the HR memo began to soften as I allowed myself the small joy of observing them. Seth slipped an arm around me, following my gaze as we maintained our post near the food table. He nodded toward where Ian was trying to pitch his own cupcakes – organic, vegan, gluten-free creations from a local bakery – to some of the twins’ classmates. To be fair, the cupcakes were beautiful. They were vanilla, topped with elaborately swirled chocolate icing that was in turn adorned with perfect white frosting flowers. They made Seth’s cupcakes look like something the girls might have made, but I knew better than to be fooled. When you made cupcakes without most of the ingredients found in traditional baked goods, the truth came out in the taste. Pretty or not, Ian wasn’t doing so good a job moving them. â€Å"These are so much better for you than all this other junk food,† Ian was telling a wide-eyed boy named Kayden. Despite the fact we’d been inside the warm classroom for almost an hour, Ian was still completely clad in his scarf and wool coat ensemble. â€Å"They’re made with brown rice flour and garbanzo bean flour and sweetened with maple syrup – none of that processed white sugar crap.† Kayden’s eyes grew impossibly bigger. â€Å"Those have beans and rice in them?† Ian faltered. â€Å"Well, yes . . . but, no, I mean. It’s flour derived from those ingredients in a way that’s totally fair trade and nutritious. Plus, I picked a brown and white color scheme, not only to save you from artificial dyes but also to show respect for all holidays and tradition, rather than giving into the mainstream domination of the Judeo-Christian machine.† Without another word, Kayden grabbed a red-frosted snowman cookie from the snack table and wandered off. Ian gave us a long-suffering look. â€Å"I fear for today’s youth. At least we can take the leftovers back to Terry’s.† â€Å"We’d better,† said Seth. â€Å"Those cost me a small fortune.† â€Å"You mean they cost me a small fortune,† said Ian. â€Å"They’re my contribution.† â€Å"I paid for them!† â€Å"It was just a loan,† said Ian imperiously. â€Å"I’ll pay you back.† The party didn’t last too much longer – seven-year-olds didn’t need to slam drinks for hours like my friends did – but I still kept checking my phone whenever Seth wasn’t watching. I had it set to vibrate in my pocket but was afraid I would miss Jerome’s call. But no matter how many times I looked, the phone’s display remained the same. No incoming calls or texts. With things winding down, McKenna made her way back to me and wrapped herself around my leg. â€Å"Georgina, are you going to come to our house tonight? Grammy’s cooking. We’re going to have lasagna.† â€Å"And cupcakes,† piped in Ian, carefully packing up his goods. By my estimation, he’d given away exactly one cupcake, and that was to a boy who’d taken it on a dare from his friends. I lifted McKenna up, surprised at how big she was getting. The years didn’t alter my immortal friends or me, but mortals changed by leaps and bounds in such short time periods. She wrapped her arms around me, and I pressed a kiss into her blond curls. â€Å"I wish I could, baby. But I have to work tonight.† â€Å"Are you still helping Santa?† she asked. â€Å"Yes,† I said solemnly. â€Å"And it’s very important work. I can’t miss it.† Without me, there was no telling how sober Santa would stay. McKenna sighed and leaned her head against my shoulder. â€Å"Maybe you’ll come over when you’re done.† â€Å"You’ll be in bed,† I said. â€Å"I’ll see what I can do for tomorrow.† This earned me a tighter hug, and I felt my heart ache. The girls always had this effect on me, triggering a mix of emotion that was both love for them and regret for the children I myself would never have. Children had been something I’d wanted as a mortal, something denied to me even then. The pain of that reality had been driven home last year when Nyx, a primordial chaos entity, had visited me in my sleep and used tantalizing dreams to distract me while she stole my energy. The one that had recurred the most had shown me with a little girl – my own daughter – stepping outside into a snowy night to greet her father. He’d been shadowy at first, later revealed as Seth. Nyx, in a desperate bid for help later, had sworn the dream was true, a prophecy of things to come. It had been a lie, however. An impossibility that could never be mine. â€Å"Maybe you’ll come by my house after you’re done with work,† Seth said to me in a low voice, once she’d wriggled away. â€Å"That depends,† I said. â€Å"Who’s going to be in your bed?† â€Å"We had a talk. He knows to stay out of my room.† I smiled and caught hold of Seth’s hand. â€Å"I would, but I’ve got some things to do tonight. I’ve got to hunt down Jerome about . . . business.† â€Å"You’re sure that’s it?† he asked. â€Å"You’re sure my family’s not scaring you off?† I’ll admit, I didn’t relish the thought of seeing Margaret Mortensen’s disapproving gaze, but I also couldn’t imagine I’d be very good company for Seth if I still didn’t know what was going on with my transfer by tonight. The transfer. Looking into his kind, warm eyes, I felt a pit open in my stomach. Maybe I should be jumping at every chance I could get to be with him. Who knew how many more we had? No, I scolded myself. Don’t think like that. Tonight you’ll find Jerome and clear up this mess. Then you and Seth can be happy. â€Å"Your family has nothing to do with it,† I assured Seth. â€Å"Besides, now that you have extra help, you can use your free time to get some work done.† He rolled his eyes. â€Å"I thought self-employment meant not having a boss.† I grinned and kissed him on the cheek. â€Å"I’ll come by tomorrow night.† Kayden, passing by for one last cookie, caught sight of my kiss and scowled disapprovingly. â€Å"Ew.† I parted ways with the Mortensens and headed off to the mall. It was often a surprise to mortals to learn immortals like me purposely chose to take day jobs, so to speak. If you were around for a few centuries and semiwise with your money, it wasn’t that hard to eventually build up enough to comfortably live off of, making human employment unnecessary. Yet, most immortals I knew still worked. Correction – most lesser immortals I knew did. Greater ones, like Jerome and Carter, rarely did, but maybe they already had too concrete of a job with their employers. Or, maybe, lesser immortals just carried over the urge from when we were human. Regardless, days like today were clear reminders of why I chose gainful employment. If I’d had nothing but free time on my hands, I would’ve spent the rest of the day ruminating about my fate and the potential transfer. Assisting Walter-as-Santa – as absurd as it was – at least gave me a distraction while I waited to hear from Jerome. Vocation gave purpose too, which I’d found was necessary to mark the long days of immortality. I’d met lesser immortals who had gone insane, and most of them had done nothing but drift aimlessly throughout their long lives. A new elf – one whom Walter had christened Happy – had joined our ranks today, one who was certainly helping pass the time if only because of how much she was grating on my nerves. â€Å"I don’t think he should be drinking at all,† she said, for what felt like the hundredth time. â€Å"I don’t see why I have to learn this schedule.† Prancer, a veteran elf, exchanged glances with me. â€Å"None of us is saying it’s right,† he told Happy. â€Å"We’re just saying it’s reality. He’s going to get a hold of liquor one way or another. If we deny him, he’ll sneak it in the bathroom. He’s done it before.† â€Å"If we’re the ones giving it to him,† I continued, â€Å"then we control the access and amount he gets. This?† I gestured to the schedule we’d drawn up. â€Å"This isn’t much. Especially for a guy his size. It’s not even enough to get buzzed.† â€Å"But they’re children!† Happy cried. Her eyes drifted off toward the long line of families trailing through the mall. â€Å"Sweet, innocent, joyful children.† Another silent message passed between Prancer and me. â€Å"Tell you what,† I finally said. â€Å"Why don’t you make them your priority. Forget about the liquor schedule. We’ll handle that. You go trade places with Bashful at the head of the line. She doesn’t really like working with the public anyway.† When Happy was out of earshot, I remarked, â€Å"One of these days, someone’s going to report us all to the mall’s HR office.† â€Å"Oh, they have plenty of times,† said Prancer, smoothing out his green spandex pants. â€Å"I’ve worked with Walter for three years now, and Happy’s not the first elf to have moral qualms about Santa getting lit. He’s been reported lots.† That was news to me. â€Å"And they haven’t fired him?† â€Å"Nah. It’s harder to fill these jobs than you might think. As long as Walter doesn’t touch or say something inappropriate, the mall doesn’t seem to care.† â€Å"Huh,† I said. â€Å"Good to know.† â€Å"Georgina!† Beyond the gates leading to Santa’s pavilion, I saw someone waving at the edge of the crowd. Hugh. My heart rate sped up. This mall was actually right around the corner from his office, so he’d come by before for lunch. In light of recent events – and the look on his face – something told me he wasn’t here for a casual meal today. â€Å"Hey,† I said to Prancer. â€Å"Can I take my break now?† â€Å"Sure, go for it.† I cut through the crowd and met up with Hugh, trying not to feel self-conscious about wearing the foil dress. Hugh had come from the office and was dressed impeccably, playing up the role of successful plastic surgeon. I felt cheap beside him, especially as he and I walked farther from the holiday mayhem toward some of the mall’s more upscale shops. â€Å"I was on my way home from work and thought I’d stop by,† he said. â€Å"I figured you weren’t taking many calls while on the job.† â€Å"Not so much,† I agreed, gesturing to the tight dress and its lack of pockets. I caught hold of his arm. â€Å"Please tell me you heard something. The transfer’s a mistake, right?† â€Å"Well, I still think it is, but no, I haven’t heard anything back yet – not from HR or Jerome.† He frowned slightly, clearly not liking the lack of communication. Underneath that, I also sensed another emotion in him – nervousness. â€Å"I’ve got something else for you. Can we talk somewhere . . . kind of private? Is there a Sbarro or Orange Julius around here?† I scoffed. â€Å"Not in this mall. There’s a sandwich place we can go to.† â€Å"Sandwich place† wasn’t entirely accurate. They also sold gourmet soups and salads, all of which were made fresh and packed with enough prissy ingredients to make Ian happy. Hugh and I snagged a table, my appearance gaining the attention of some children there with their parents. I ignored them as I leaned toward Hugh. â€Å"What’s up, then, if not the phantom transfer?† He eyed the watchers uneasily and took several moments to begin speaking. â€Å"I was calling around today, trying to work connections and see if I could find out anything about you. Like I said, I couldn’t. But I got caught up on all sorts of other gossip.† I was kind of surprised Hellish gossip was what he wanted to discuss, more surprised still that it had apparently warranted him coming in person. If he’d heard a rumor about a mutual friend, it seemed like a phone call would’ve sufficed to pass the news. Even e-mail or text. â€Å"Do you remember Milton?† he asked. â€Å"Milton?† I stared blankly. The name meant nothing to me. â€Å"Nosferatu,† he prompted. Still nothing, and then – â€Å"Oh. Yeah. Him. The vampire.† A month or so ago, Milton had visited on vacation, much to Cody and Peter’s dismay. Vampires were territorial and didn’t like outsiders, although Cody had been able to use Milton’s presence to impress his macabre loving girlfriend, Gabrielle. Or so I’d heard. â€Å"I never actually saw him. I just knew he was in town.† â€Å"Yup, and it turns out last week, he was in Boulder.† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So, first of all, it’s weird that he’d have two ‘vacations’ in that short time. I mean, you know how it is for vampires. You know how it is for all of us.† It was true. Hell didn’t like to give us vacations very often. When your employers owned your soul, they really didn’t feel any need to make your life pleasant. That wasn’t to say we didn’t occasionally get time off, but it certainly wasn’t a priority for Hell. The business of souls never rested. For vampires, this was doubly true because they didn’t like to leave their territory. They also had various complications with traveling, say, like with sunlight. â€Å"Okay, so, it’s weird. How does that affect us?† Hugh dropped his voice low. â€Å"When he was in Boulder, a local dark shaman died under mysterious circumstances.† I felt my eyebrows rise. â€Å"And you think Milton was involved ?† â€Å"Well, like I said, I had time to make some calls and do some research today. And it turns out that even though he’s based in Raleigh, Milton travels an awful lot for a vampire – and every place he goes, some mortal in the supernatural community ends up dead.† â€Å"You’re saying he’s an assassin,† I said, intrigued but still not seeing the point. As part of â€Å"the great game† we all played, angels and demons weren’t supposed to directly influence mortal lives. That’s where lesser immortals came in, with our offers of sin and temptation. Now, we weren’t really supposed to kill either, as far as the game went, and we certainly weren’t supposed to do it on behalf of a greater immortal’s instructions. We all knew it happened, however, and Milton wasn’t the first assassin I’d heard of taking out inconvenient mortals. â€Å"Exactly,† said Hugh. He frowned. â€Å"He goes to places, and people disappear.† â€Å"How does that affect us?† Hugh sighed. â€Å"Georgina, he was here.† â€Å"Yeah, but nobody – † I gasped, freezing a moment in shock. â€Å"Erik . . .† The world reeled around me for a moment. I was no longer in an elite mall’s food court but instead was looking down on the broken, bleeding body of one of the kindest men I knew. Erik had been a longtime friend in Seattle, using his many years of occult and supernatural knowledge to advise me on my problems. He’d been investigating my contract with Hell when a freak robbery at his store had resulted in his death by gunshot. â€Å"Are you saying . . .† My voice was barely a whisper. â€Å"Are you saying Milton killed Erik?† Hugh shook his head sadly. â€Å"I’m not. I’m just laying out the evidence for you, which is compelling – but not enough to form a hard link to Milton.† â€Å"Then why tell me at all?† I asked. â€Å"You don’t like to get involved with anything that questions the status quo.† It was true, and it had been a constant point of contention with Hugh and me. â€Å"I don’t,† he said. I understood now why he was so uneasy. â€Å"Not at all. But I care about you, sweetheart. And I know you cared about Erik and wanted answers.† â€Å"Key word: wanted. I thought I had them.† My heart still mourned Erik, but I had begun to heal from his loss, moving on with life the way we all must after losing a loved one. Knowing – or, well, thinking – he’d been killed in a robbery didn’t exactly give me peace, but it did provide an explanation. If there was any shred of truth to Hugh’s dangerous theory, that Milton – a potential assassin – might have been responsible, then my whole world was suddenly knocked offkilter. And in that scenario, the big issue wasn’t that Milton had done it. What became important was why he had done it. Because if he was one of those Hellish assassins lurking in the shadows, then someone higher up had given him his orders, meaning Hell had a reason to want Erik dead. â€Å"You okay?† Hugh’s hand on mine made me jump. â€Å"Jesus, Georgina. You’re like ice.† â€Å"I’m kind of in shock,† I said. â€Å"This is big, Hugh. Huge.† â€Å"I know,† he said, not sounding happy at all. â€Å"Promise me you won’t do anything foolish. I’m still not sure I should have told you.† â€Å"You should have,† I said, squeezing his hand and making no such promises about the foolish part. â€Å"Thank you.† I had to leave shortly thereafter, returning to assist Happy. A little of her zeal about the pure, magical nature of children had faded in that time. I think it was the six-year-old who asked for a nose job that might have cracked her. As for me, I was in a daze, stunned over what Hugh had told me. Erik murdered. His dying words to me had implied something more was going on, but there’d been no evidence to prove it. Or wait . . . was there? I vaguely remembered the glass pattern of his broken window, the suspicion from the police that it had been broken from within. But what did I do with this theory? How did I get the answers I needed? Equally amazing to me was the concession Hugh had made in telling me this. He valued his job and his comfortable position. He really wasn’t the type to try to upset Hell or ask questions about things that didn’t concern him. Yet he’d pursued his hunch about Milton and passed on the news to me, his friend. Hell made desperate, soulless creatures out of its employees – and most certainly liked it that way – but I doubted any of the higher-ups had imagined the levels of friendship we were still capable of managing. Naturally, only one other thing could have distracted me from this new development, and that was Jerome’s presence in my condo later that night. I was returning home after work and sensed his aura coming from within as soon as I put my key to the door. My fears and theorizing about Erik and Milton moved to one part of my brain, replaced by all the old speculation about the mystery transfer. When I entered, I found Jerome sitting in the living room with Roman, both at their ease and barely acknowledging my presence. â€Å"And so,† Jerome was saying, â€Å"that’s why you need to do this. As soon as possible. Nanette’s people have been at it for a long time, so you’ve got a lot of ground to cover. Set up a schedule – I don’t care how rigorous it is – and make those slackers start putting in their time at the alley.† I stared incredulously. â€Å"You’re here about the bowling competition?† Both men looked at me, Jerome seeming irritated at the interruption. â€Å"Of course. The sooner you start practicing, the better.† â€Å"You know what else might be better the sooner it happens ?† I produced the well-worn HR memo with a flourish. â€Å"You telling me if I’m being transferred or not. My money’s on it being a mistake because surely, surely you wouldn’t put off telling me. Right?† Several heartbeats of silence hung in the room. Jerome held me in his dark, dark gaze, and I refused to look away. At last, he said, â€Å"No. It’s real. You’re being transferred.† My jaw wanted to drop to the ground. â€Å"Then why . . . why am I only just now hearing about it?† He sighed and made an impatient gesture. â€Å"Because I just found out about it. Someone jumped the gun and delivered the memo to you before telling me.† His eyes glinted. â€Å"Don’t worry, I wasn’t too thrilled about that myself. I made sure they know my feelings on the matter.† â€Å"But I . . .† I swallowed. â€Å"I was so sure there was a mistake. . . â€Å" â€Å"There was,† he agreed. â€Å"Just not the kind you were thinking of.† I wanted to sink to the floor and melt away but forced myself to stay strong. I had to ask the next most important question, the question that would shape the next phase of my life. â€Å"Where . . . where am I going?† Jerome studied me once again, this time I think just to drag out the suspense and agony. Bastard. At last, he spoke. â€Å"You’re going to Las Vegas, Georgie.† How to cite Succubus Revealed Chapter 4, Essay examples

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Revenue cycle of the Motherboards and More Pty Ltd †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Revenue cycle of the Motherboards and More Pty Ltd. Answer: Overview of Revenue Cycle Revenue cycle of the Motherboards and More Pty Ltd involves four major stages where entry of sales order is the first stage which includes receiving of orders from the customers through various sources after which packaging and shipment of ordered goods is initiated by the company at the second stage. Once the shipment process is completed, management of the company initiates with the billing process to issue invoices to the customers with whom deals are closed. As all the sales are made on credit basis the final stages ends with the ultimate collection of cash from the customers. Internal Control Weaknesses of Company Internal control weakness is the absence of strong and adequate controls in the areas of necessary operations of an organisation. The areas where deficiencies in the internal controls are found are as follows: Inventory management: The inventory maintained by the company is not physically verified on a periodic basis and also there is no stock count taken by the management of the company since last two years. Order shipments: The orders accepted from the customers were not shipped on the timely basis due to lack of stock. Since the stock availability is not checked before accepting the order, the required inventories were assumed to be lying in the stores where these actually were not available. Erroneous deliveries: As the sales orders were increased it led to wrong deliveries of the goods to the customers. Impact of Internal Control Weaknesses The weaknesses in internal controls can indirectly affect the companys performance to a great extent as it hinders the functioning of important business processes and the employees (Bedard Graham, 2011). Internal controls deficiencies can affect the companys profitability due to reduction in the turnover level as it will lose its customer base due to improper and erroneous delivery of the outputs. It may also degrade the confidence level of companys customers thereby affecting its goodwill adversely (Rice Weber, 2012). Moreover, the weakness in the internal controls will also influence the auditors report negatively as a result of which the company will invite various interventions from government and other regulatory bodies (Kuhn Sutton, 2010). Specific Controls to Mitigate the Risk The inventories lying in the warehouses must be physically verified at reasonable intervals so as to avoid the stock out position and to execute the customers order in time. If there occurs any deviation between the inventory records maintained by the management and actual inventory counts, it needs to be checked and corrected. The company must ensure the availability of stock before accepting the sales order. The internal auditor must look at these matters carefully and should report to the management about the deficiencies in the internal controls along with required recommendations (Lin et al., 2011). Also, the strong internal controls must be implemented in the areas of shipment and the delivery of goods. There must be clarity of responsibilities and duties among the management people about the task assigned to them so as to improve the quality of services provided by the company to the customers through adequate and timely provision of merchandise ordered by the customers. The company must also hire more managerial personnel for its crucial functions so that the errors and faulty deliveries could be reduced. The employees must be adequately trained to handle excessive demands from customers and to keep an updated track of order processing so that the delayed execution of orders can be avoided. Ransomware Attack 2017 Ransomware was a malicious computer program which was attached to various spam mails that contained files and documents which seemed to be important for the users. The malware entered the users computers through the e-mail spam, encrypting the important files and other data kept thereon demanding ransom in the form of digital currencies to be paid to restore the access to the files and to save the important data files from getting leaked. The attack has hit huge number of computers across the world as the malware function targeted the computers which were using the old and the incompatible versions of Microsoft Windows (Mohurle Patil, 2017). Controls to protect the company from Ransomware Attack Data Back-up: The company must keep the data files backed up regularly at two or more storage locations or devices such as pen drives, compact disk, hard-disks, on the cloud etc. (Lee, Moon Park, 2017). Avoiding Spam mails: The important practice to protect the computers from ransomware attack is to avoid opening the spam mails coming from suspicious and unauthorised senders. As the malware functions enters the computer programs through the downloaded spam mails (Brewer, 2016). Updated versions of MS Windows: Deploying the new and updated versions of Microsoft Windows may help a company to prevent itself against the threat of ransomware attack. Anti-ransonware programs: Company must invest in reliable security programs that are anti-ransomware which can check for anything suspicious coming from outside in the computer. Also the company must have an updated and secured anti-virus program installed in the computer system. Restricted websites: Sometimes malware affects the computers through the web browsing of unauthorised sites. So the company must provide proper training to the employees to avoid browsing such malicious websites (Sittig Singh, 2016). Conclusion It can easily be concluded that the proper implementation internal controls in place plays a vital role in the overall performance of the company. These controls helps the company to closely monitor the functioning of all the key operations and to improve them on a continuous basis. Strong internal controls not only enhances the profitability of the company but also maintains a goodwill of the company which helps it in avoidance of unnecessary governmental actions. Motherboard and more must ensure the application of necessary and appropriate controls in the key areas such as inventory management, the management of shipment and the delivery processes as these are the crucial functions for the company. Also to prevent itself from the external risk factors such as ransomware attack, the company must strive to strengthen the internal controls in the areas of information system management. References: Bedard, J. C., Graham, L. (2011). Detection and severity classifications of Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 internal control deficiencies.The Accounting Review,86(3), 825-855. Brewer, R. (2016). Ransomware attacks: detection, prevention and cure.Network Security,2016(9), 5-9. Kuhn Jr, J. R., Sutton, S. G. (2010). Continuous auditing in ERP system environments: The current state and future directions.Journal of Information Systems,24(1), 91-112. Lee, J. K., Moon, S. Y., Park, J. H. (2017). CloudRPS: a cloud analysis based enhanced ransomware prevention system.The Journal of Supercomputing,73(7), 3065-3084. Lin, S., Pizzini, M., Vargus, M., Bardhan, I. R. (2011). The role of the internal audit function in the disclosure of material weaknesses.The Accounting Review,86(1), 287-323. Mohurle, S., Patil, M. (2017). A brief study of Wannacry Threat: Ransomware Attack 2017.International Journal,8(5). Rice, S. C., Weber, D. P. (2012). How effective is internal control reporting under SOX 404? Determinants of the (non?) disclosure of existing material weaknesses.Journal of Accounting Research,50(3), 811-843. Sittig, D. F., Singh, H. (2016). A socio-technical approach to preventing, mitigating, and recovering from ransomware attacks.Applied clinical informatics,7(2), 624.