My Blog on Bullying

Good day, everyone!

This blog is dedicated to people who are bullied and those who are bullies themselves. I feel that, as a victim of bullying, I must share my experiences. I believe that no one deserves the effects of being bullied. Why? Let me tell you this: I firmly believe that bullies are the reason why people suffer. Some of the victims have even though of killing themselves. But what is bullying and what are its kinds?

Bullying is defined as a persistent unwelcome behavior, mostly using unwarranted or invalid criticism, nit-picking, fault-finding, also exclusion, isolation, being singled out and treated differently, being shouted at, humiliated, excessive monitoring, having verbal and written warnings imposed, and much more.

The kinds of bullying are the following:

• Physical bullying

  This is when a person (or group of people) uses physical actions to bully, such as hitting, poking, tripping or pushing. An example is when my 3rd year high school male classmates tied me to a chair. Another one is of my classmate (still third year high school) who pokes and spanks me with a makeshift fan. Luckily, my adviser whom I really respected caught him in the act and scolded him. Good for that bastard.

• Verbal bullying

  Using negative words, repeatedly and intentionally to upset someone, is also a form of bullying. My classmates in elementary often do this to me, often pissing me off.

• Social bullying

  Lying, spreading rumors, playing a nasty joke are all examples of social bullying. Repeatedly mimicking someone and deliberately excluding someone is also social bullying behavior. My classmates in my college years deliberately exclude me in groupings, invitations, and the like. One of my classmates sometimes tells me, "Bawal mosulod diri!" ("You're prohibited (to enter) here!"), as if he f*****g owns the place. I don't know why they would do this to me, yet they know that I did not do anything to cause them harm.

• Psychological bullying

  Psychological bullying is when someone (or a group of people) repeatedly and intentionally use words or actions which cause you psychological harm. my classmates in my college years also do this to me.

• Cyberbullying

  Cyberbullying is when someone (or a group of people) uses technology to verbally, socially or psychologically bully. An example is of very nasty comments by users on YouTube on the video works of other users. This shows that the users who post such nasty comments have nothing to do with life.

Most bullies more often than not blame their victims, often claiming that the victim did 'something' to deserve their fate (this refers to the just-world phenomenon, wherein people who believe that the world has to be fair may find it hard or impossible to accept a situation in which a person is unfairly and badly hurt). It just shows that the bully is totally unwilling to accept his responsibility for his actions. In my case, I am the one who is being blamed because of this and that. Yes, I may be those "this and that" that they are talking about BUT one thing they never ask themselves is this: Did the victim (in this case, me) really do something to deserve this fate, or they just want to blame the victim to justify their bullying?

Let me end this blog with this wonderful quote from the Bible:

• "Let he who has no sin cast the first stone."

My sharing ends here. Once again, good day everyone!


Sources (I strongly suggest reading them):

• http://www.bullyonline.org/workbully/bully.htm
• http://www.ncab.org.au/Page.aspx?ID=88
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victim_blaming#Just-world_hypothesis (for the concept overview of the just-world phenomenon)

Case Study no. 3 in Operating Systems

In a multiprogramming and time-sharing environment, the users can share data, resources and other information simultaneously. This is because of the multitasking capability of these environments. In a multiprogramming environment, the system allocates CPU resources for the concurrent programs running in the system. Time-sharing allows users to share information, resources and other data through this.

However, time-saving and efficient as it may be, there are problems related to file security that are associated with multiprogramming and time-sharing environments. In this case study, I will mention the two common problems with these environments.

The first security problem is the privacy of user data. As mentioned earlier, these environments allow users to share data and resources. This compromises the privacy of data, because this allows one user to copy data without permission from the other user, as shown in an instance when an administrator is running a decryption protocol, and one of the users has managed to steal the decryption key. This could result in a lot of encrypted (commonly top-secret) files to be decrypted, revealing some vital information that could be very detrimental to the user’s privacy.

The second problem related to security in a multiprogramming and time-sharing environment is the vulnerability of data to virus infection. As long as there is simultaneous sharing of resources, data and other information, there is a very big possibility of transferring infected files from one user to another. For example, a user may (usually unknowingly) transfer an infected program from one user to another, and as the other user executes the (infected) program, it will start to infect his files and his computer and the virus will start to spread among the other users’ computers, infecting them as well. Another example is that of a server infecting all of the computers in the system because of an infected file or a malware in the server itself that targets every computer under its control.

Taking these security problems into consideration, I can then say that ensuring the same degree of security in time-sharing machines as it would be in dedicated machines is impossible because time-sharing machines are prone to serious security problems such as malicious attacks by hackers, and dedicated machines are known to be prone to hard disk crashes and data corruption. Time-sharing machines, because the data, resources and other information are open for access to everyone, can be used to exploit the privacy of users and they can also be used to spread malicious software and infected files to other users, thus infecting their data and computers.

Dedicated machines, on the other hand, can also be infected with viruses if there is no firewall. A firewall is a software (or sometimes, hardware) package that can control which ports on your server are open to the Internet, and sometimes detect intrusion attempts. If there is no firewall installed, or if the firewall is installed but disabled, there is a very big risk of intrusion and infection, which in turn will cause data corruption and hard disk crashes.

In conclusion, there will always be problems and issues in multiprogramming and time-sharing environments with regards to security such as virus intrusions, compromisation of data privacy, and many more. That is why we cannot ensure the same degree of security in both environments as well as in dedicated machines.

Case Study no. 2 in Operating Systems

Personal computers come in different forms. They may be handheld, desktops or laptops. Desktops are commonly used at homes and offices, and since they are too heavy, they can’t be moved around. Laptops can be used anywhere, but they could sometimes be a burden. Handheld ones are those that are not a burden because they are kept in the pocket, and they can be accessed easily. In this case study, I will focus on the hand-held device and I will put forward my own theories on how it might be used by a newspaper reporter and a delivery person in their respective jobs.

In the field of journalism, where reporters bring news and information to the public, a hand-held computer, also known as a mobile device (commonly cellular phones), is always useful. Those who are in this field can make very good use of these so-called handheld computers. They can contact the people they wish to interview and take note of the interview on the device itself, or in other words, talk while typing.

As much as the handheld device is useful in journalism, so it is in the courier services. A delivery man can use a handheld computer to direct him to his destination through the use of the Global Positioning System. He can also take note of his destinations so that he would not forget, and he can contact the mailing station and clarify the address of the receiver, in case he either forgets the address or needs any clarifications.

There are other ways to use these handheld computers, and those that I have theorized here are just examples of the possible uses of such devices in these kinds of jobs. With these new technologies, everything is really possible to do, and everything can be done from a desktop to a device that I can hold in my hand.

Case Study no. 1 in Operating Systems

Give an example of OS (specific) for each of the following categories of OS:

1. Batch Systems

An example of a batch system is the z/OS operating system, developed by IBM. It is a 64-bit operating system designed for mainframe computers. It has the most highly refined and evolved set of batch processing. It uses the Job Control Language (JCL) in processing jobs. Batch processing is the most fundamental function of the z/OS operating system.

2. Interactive Systems

An example of interactive operating system is the Microsoft and IBM’s Disk Operating System (DOS). The operating system lets the user type the commands and the computer executes them. The disk operating system also lets the user manage the files and disk drives in his computer. The user can copy, move and delete files, make or delete folders, view directories, and many more. This is how interactivity occurs.

3. Real-time systems

A good example of a real-time operating system is the Transaction Processing Facility, developed by American Airlines and IBM for the Sabre Airline Reservation System. TPF is highly optimized to permit messages from the supported network to either be switched out to another location, routed to an application (specific set of programs) or to permit extremely efficient accesses to database records.

4. Hybrid Systems

An example of hybrid operating system is the Linux/ITRON operating system, which is a combination of Linux and a real-time kernel based on the ITRON Specification.

5. Embedded Systems

An example of an embedded operating system is the Microsoft Windows CE. It can also be classified as a real-time operating system, with deterministic interrupt latency. Windows CE has evolved into a component-based, embedded, real-time operating system that is no longer targeted solely at hand-held computers.

It's been a long time....

Annyeong haseyo! It has been a very long time since I last blogged here...

Many accomplishments in my college life I have made. I finally passed the most challenging subject I have: Programming 1! After all, I have learned much from my failures and mistakes in my first year in college, and these made me a better person.

One of the things I learned is never relying on stock knowledge during examinations and quizzes. There are times when my memory fails me and I tend to forget the answer. The solution to that is constant studying and, as what my teacher in third year high school says, "familiarize, not memorize".

Another thing I learned is that I cannot please everybody, especially my classmates. Now I know that no matter how hard I try to impress everyone, I know I cannot. My parents taught me how to keep myself in low-profile (or in other words, humble) and excel in class, and that way my classmates will have a change of heart and treat me as a friend again. The key to excelling in class is, as I mentioned earlier, constant studying. That way, I will be able to excel in class and stand out among the other students, and I believe that it is the best way to win over your professor without being sipsip (a bootlicker - flattering someone, especially a person in authority, in order to gain an advantage over others).

That's all I could share for now...I'm so tired.
Annyeonghi kyeseyo!

Anti-Bullying Campaign

I'm happy to learn about this anti-bullying campaign in our country. It helps the victims of bullying greatly. I personally and firmly believe that bullies are the reason why students cannot concentrate on their studies. But, as happy as I am, I am very disappointed, because it is already too late.

Why did I say so? Because that campaign was not launched earlier. Many students, including me, are suffering the after-effects of bullying. And because of that I was really angry at the school's laxity when it comes to discipline towards bullying. The authorities in school have let themselves be swayed by the bully's lies and antics. Instead of disciplining them, they side with them, and instead of helping the victim, they push them further into misery and depression. In short, these pricks tolerate their fellow pricks! They are authorities, but why can't they do something about it?!?! And worse, it is a Catholic school! In my entire life as a high school student, there was no symposium regarding bullying, which means that they are not serious in their disciplinary tasks.

I hope that the Anti-Bullying Campaign will be successful in helping out the victims of bullying. Because as a victim myself, I am really hurt whenever I see a friend being bullied. I cannot allow that to happen!