The Current Great Recession - Who Is To Blame Essay

In the midst of the current economic downturn, dubbed the â€Å"Great Recession†, it is natural to look for one, singular entity or person to blame. Managers of large banks, professional investors and federal regulators have all been named as potential creators of the recession, with varying degrees of guilt. No matter who is to blame, the fallout from the mistakes that were made that led to the current crisis is clear. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the current unemployment rate is 9.7%, with 9.3 million Americans out of work (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Compared to a normal economic rate of two or three percent, it is clear that the decisions of one group of people have had a profound affect on the lives of millions of†¦show more content†¦In the lead up to the current recession, when the real estate market began to fall, there were so many investors shorting stocks and securitized mortgage packages that were already falling, that the market simpl y fell further. There were no buyers at the bottom, and the professional investors made millions off of the losses of others. Beyond this, there was no real federal regulation for securitized mortgages, since there was no real way to gauge the mathematical risk of any given package. This allowed the investors to take advantage of the system and to short loans on real people’s homes. Once these securities were worthless, many of the homebuyer’s defaulted on their mortgages and were left penniless. No matter from which angle this crisis is looked at, the blame rests squarely with the managers who began the entire cycle, the ones who pursued the securitization of mortgages. Their incompetence not only led to the losses of Americans who have never invested in the stock market, but to losses for their shareholders. These losses necessitated governmental action in the financial markets. Companies such as Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns lost all of their stockâ€⠄¢s value and were forced into bankruptcy. This risk spread throughout the American banks, forcing the American government to step in and buy all of the securitized, troubled assets from the balance sheets ofShow MoreRelatedThe Great Depression Of The 1930 S1476 Words   |  6 Pagescontrast the great depression of the 1930’s and the great recession in the United State of America. First, I’ll make a general overview of each of these two different periods and then focus on certain specific aspects during these different times. This will include the causes to the economic recessions witnessed, impacts of the economic recessions and the solutions that were introduced. When talking about any topic regarding American history, it would be hard not to mention the 1930’s great depressionRead MoreThe Great Recession734 Words   |  3 PagesA variety of events led to the event that would be known as the Great Recession. 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Abortion The Mother Or The Child - 2032 Words

Abortion: The Mother or the Child The issue of abortion has always been a controversial one for citizens of the United States. Abortion is the â€Å"termination of a pregnancy after, accompanied by, resulting in, or closely followed by the death of the embryo or fetus† (Merriam Webster, 2015). A citizen’s stance on the largely debated issue categorizes them into one of two very different groups. On one side of the debate are individuals known as pro-life supporters who feel that a woman should not have an abortion. Coincidently, those who feel that a woman should have the right to choose abortion are known as pro-choice supporters. Pro-life supporters point to the practice of abortion as an immoral one. Supporters state abortion is immoral because it takes away the rights of the unborn fetus, since activists consider human life to begin at conception. Advocates for pro-choice believe that reproductive health care decisions should be made by a woman, not by politicians. The issue of abortion has been a l ong-standing social issue that has ardent support and opposition that has affected American society historically, socially, and legally. At the time of our country’s founding, there were no laws regarding abortion and contraception, until 1859 when the American Medical Association (AMA) condemned abortion except when medically necessary to preserve the life of the mother or child. (American Life League, 2015, para. 1). For nearly a century, women could not obtain an abortionShow MoreRelatedIn Class, We Discussed Three Different Possibilities Of1257 Words   |  6 PagesBrooks’s story â€Å"The Mother.† The first and most probable interpretation of this story is that it is narrated by a mother who has gone through a miscarriage and is trying to warn other mothers not to get abortions because they will regret it. This interpretation contains the greatest amount of solid evidence and makes the most sense. 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Establishing abortion as illegal onceRead MoreAbortion And Its Effects On The United States Essay1648 Words   |  7 PagesIn the United States â€Å"1.7% of women aged 15–44 have an abortion† (â€Å"Induced Abortion in the United States†). Twenty-one percent of all pregnancies end in abortion (â€Å"Induced Abortion in the United States†). Women most commonly have abortions before the end of her first trimester, twelve weeks into the pregnancy, however, abortions may also be performed after the first trimester. Abortions are quite common, but they also lead to numerous issues for the parents such as regret, depression, drug abuseRead MoreWhy Abortion Is Morally Wrong1559 Words   |  7 PagesIMPORTANCE OF THE TOPIC: The morality of abortion is a topic that has long been discussed by both those for and against the act. Until 1972 when the Supreme Court case of Roe v. Wade made abortion legal in all 50 states, the act of getting an abortion was illegal in many states. Both sides of the moral arguments explain the reasoning behind their arguments. The moral question is if the act of getting an abortion is the same as murdering another human being. YES ARGUMENT PATRICK LEE AND ROBERT PRead MoreShould Abortion Be Banned?1847 Words   |  7 Pages An abortion is an induced and sudden termination of pregnancy. There are two types of abortions, Medical and Surgical. The medical method involves taking two pills within 24 hours of each other thus killing the fetus, but this method is usually done during 3-7 weeks of pregnancy. The surgical method, on the other hand involves a doctor removing the inner lining of the womb, either manual vacuum aspiration or dilatation suction curettage. Both of these methods use a suction processRead MoreThe Responses That Briggs Et Al1743 Words   |  7 Pagessaid that influences from family or friends was a reason to seek an abortion. This included thinking that a baby would have a negative impact on their family or friends, not wanting others to know about the pregnancy and judge them, and/or peer pressure from friends and family. Briggs et al. (2013) also found women reported not wanting to have to put the baby up for adoption and/or not wanting the baby as a reason for seeking abortion, which was 4% of responses. Briggs et al. (2013) said women reportedRead MoreShould Abortion Be Legal?1135 Words   |  5 PagesKelsi Hodgkin Composition 1 Professor Chipps 19 October 2015 Should Abortion Be Legal A common debate in the world today involves abortion, the deliberate end of human pregnancy, and whether or not it should be legalized. â€Å"Every year in the world there are an estimated 40-50 million abortions. This corresponds to approximately 125,000 abortions per day† (â€Å"Abortions Worldwide this Year†). On one side of the argument, people are not disturbed by this grotesque number, and on theRead MoreFacts about Adoption vs. Abortion733 Words   |  3 PagesFacts about Adoption vs. Abortion Outline Thesis: Information is distorted concerning womens rights concerning adoption and abortion. Facts: Adopted children who talk negative about adoption or talk about the natural mothers are considered to be selfish and inconsiderate. Many people feel the abortion rate would go up if the truth about adoption and its long term effects on mother and child were known. Adoption provides a divorce like situation on children between the natural family

Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 15~19 Free Essays

15 The Navigator Out on the edge of the world, with no place to stay, no way to move on, no job, no life, no friends; hurt, confused, hot, thirsty, and irritated, Tuck was desperate. Desperate for just the momentary satisfaction that might come from attracting an attractive woman. No matter that he couldn’t do anything about the attraction. We will write a custom essay sample on Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 15~19 or any similar topic only for you Order Now What was she doing out here? Who cares? What a walk! He quickened his pace, his legs and shoulders protesting against the weight of his pack, and approached within a couple of steps of the blonde. â€Å"Excuse me,† he called. She turned. Tuck stopped and backed up a step. Something is wrong here. Very, very wrong. â€Å"Oh, baby,† she said, hand to her chest as if trying to catch her breath. â€Å"You scare little Kimi. Why you sneakin’ up like that?† Tuck was dumbfounded. She wasn’t a natural blonde. Her skin was dark and she had the high cheekbones and angular features of a Filipino. Long false eyelashes, bright red lipstick, but lines in the face that were a little too harsh, a jawline that was a little too square. The dress was tight around the chest and there was nothing there but muscle. She wore a huge black medallion at her throat that looked as if it was made of animal fur. She needed a shave. â€Å"I’m sorry,† Tuck said. â€Å"I thought you were something – er, someone else.† Then the medallion turned its head and looked at him. Tuck let out an involuntary scream and jumped back. The medallion was wearing tiny rhinestone sunglasses. It squeaked at Tucker. It was the biggest bat he had ever seen, hanging there upside down with its wings folded. â€Å"That’s a bat!† â€Å"Fruit bat, baby. Don’t be scared. This Roberto. He no like the light. He like you, though.† Roberto squeaked again. He had the face of a fox or perhaps a small dog – a shaven Pomeranian with wings. â€Å"I’m Kimi. What you name, baby?† Kimi extended his hand limply to shake or perhaps for a kiss. Tuck took two fingers, keeping his eye on the bat. â€Å"Tucker Case. Nice to meet you, Kimi.† He was horrified. Thirty seconds ago he’d been having lustful thoughts about a guy! A guy wearing a fruit bat! â€Å"You look like you need a date. Kimi love you good long time, twenny bucks. Whatever you need, Kimi can do.† â€Å"No, thanks. I don’t need a date. What I need is a boat.† â€Å"Kimi can get boat. You like it in boat? Kimi take you round the world in a boat?† He giggled and patted Roberto’s little upside-down head. â€Å"That funny, huh?† Tucker forced a smile. â€Å"No, I need a boat and someone who can pilot it out to an island.† â€Å"You need a boat, Kimi can get boat. Kimi can pilot too.† â€Å"Thanks anyway, but I really†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Roberto shrieked. Tuck jumped back. Kimi said, â€Å"Roberto say he want to go on boat with you. How far is island?† Tucker couldn’t believe he was having this conversation. He hadn’t really decided he would go by boat. â€Å"It’s called Alualu. It’s about two hundred and fifty miles north of here.† â€Å"No problem,† Kimi said without hesitation. â€Å"My father was great navigator. He teach me everything. I take you to island and maybe we have party too. You have money?† Tuck nodded. â€Å"You wait over there in shade. We be right back.† Kimi turned and wiggled away. Tucker tried not to watch him walk. He was feeling sick to his stomach. He walked to a grove of palm trees that grew along the harbor and sat down to wait. Kimi piloted the eighteen-foot fiberglass skiff out of a shantytown built over the water, across the harbor, to a dock in front of the marina restaurant. Roberto had unfolded his wings and was crawl ing spiderlike over Kimi’s head and back, looking for a comfortable spot to get out of the light. Tucker walked to the dock and looked at the boat, then out past the harbor, where waves were crashing on the reef, then back at the little boat. He wasn’t sure what he had expected, but he was sure this wasn’t it. Something bigger, maybe a cabin cruiser, with twin diesels and a big wheelhouse with some radar stuff spinning on the top – a modest but well-stocked wet bar, perhaps. â€Å"I got you boat!† Kimi said. â€Å"You give me money now, I go get gas and look at map.† Tucker didn’t budge. The engine was a forty-horse Yamaha out-board. A rubber tube ran from the motor to a gas tank that took up nearly all the space between the two seats. Tuck guessed it would hold at least a hundred gallons of fuel, maybe more. â€Å"Are you sure this thing has the range to make it out there?† â€Å"No problem. Give me money for gas. Five hundred dollar.† â€Å"You’re insane!† â€Å"Gas very expensive here.† â€Å"You’re insane and your bat’s glasses are crooked.† â€Å"I have to pay man for boat. The rest is for pilot. You buy water, flashlight, and two mango, two papaya for Roberto, and two box Pop Tarts for Kimi. Strawberry.† Tucker felt he was being hustled. â€Å"For five hundred dollars you can get your own mangoes and Pop Tarts.† â€Å"Okay, bye-bye.† Kimi said. â€Å"Say bye-bye to cheap sweaty American, Roberto.† Kimi moved Roberto onto his shoulders and pulled the cord to start the engine. Tuck imagined himself stuck on Yap for another two weeks. â€Å"No, wait!† He unclipped the flap of his pack and dug inside. Kimi killed the outboard, turned, and grinned. There was lipstick on his teeth. â€Å"Money, please.† Tuck handed down a stack of bills. He didn’t like it, but he didn’t have a choice. Actually, not having a choice made it a little easier. â€Å"Are we going to leave right away?† â€Å"We go through reef before dark so we no smash up and drown. After that it better to go in dark. Go by stars.† Smash up? â€Å"Shouldn’t we call for weather?† Kimi laughed. â€Å"You smell storm? See storm in sky?† Tuck looked around. Except for a few mushroom-shaped clouds beyond the reef, it was clear. He smelled only tropical flowers on the breeze and something skunky rising up from his armpits. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Meet me here in half hour.† Kimi started the motor and putted off across the harbor toward a big tank with the Mobil logo stenciled on the side. Tuck walked to the store and bought the supplies, then found the telecom center a few doors down and sent a handwritten fax to the doctor on Alualu to let him know that his new pilot was on the way. He was waiting at the dock when Kimi returned in the skiff, his wig tied down with a red chiffon scarf. Roberto wore a smaller scarf with holes cut for his ears. Strangely, the scarf, in conjunction with the sunglasses, made Roberto look a little like Diana Ross. They say there is a finite number of faces in the world†¦ Tucker threw the heavy pack into the front of the boat, then climbed in and sat down in front of the enormous gas tank. Kimi threw the transmis-sion lever on the motor, twisted the hand grip, and piloted the skiff out into the harbor toward the reef. Kimi steered the boat out of the deep green of the harbor to the turquoise water of the channel. Tuck could see the reef, tan and red coral, just a few feet below the surface at the edge of the channel. He spotted small fish darting around great heads of brain coral. They were more like streaks of color than animals, and as one disappeared another appeared in the line of sight. A few long, slender trumpet fish, looking as if they had been forged from silver, swam adjacent to the boat, then turned and cruised into the reef. They passed the edge of the reef and into the open sea with only a slight bump into the first few swells. Kimi cranked up the motor and the skiff lifted and rode across the tops of the waves, bucking and dropping a gentle six inches, thumping out a drumbeat as counterpoint to the whining out-board. Tucker relaxed and leaned back as Kimi skirted the reef, traveling toward the setting sun until he cleared the island and could make the turn north to Alualu. For the first time since the crash, Tucker felt good, felt as if he was on his way to something better. He’d made a decision and acted on it and in eighteen hours he would be ready to start his new job. He’d be a pilot again, making good money, flying a great aircraft. And with some healing, he’d be a man again too. A quarter mile from Yap, Kimi made a gradual turn that put the sun at their left shoulders. Tuck watched the sun bubble into the ocean. Columns of vertical cumulus clouds turned to cones of pink cotton candy, then as the sun became a red wafer on the horizon, they turned candy-apple red, with purple rays reaching out of them like searchlights. The water was neon over wet asphalt, blood-spattered gunmetal – colors from the cover of a detective novel where heroes drink hard and beauty is always treacherous. Tucker searched the sky for cumulus clouds that looked like they might have aspirations to become thunderheads. How in the hell were you supposed to see weather from sea level? Just then a swell lifted the front of the boat and slammed it down. Tuck felt his tailbone bark on the edge of the seat and was just bracing himself when another swell bucked him to the floor of the boat and a sudden gust of wind soaked him with spray. 16 And Now, the Weather Report The High Priestess sat on the lanai watching the sunset, taking sips from a glass of chilled vodka between bites of a banana. The intercom beeped inside the house and she cocked an ear to the open window. â€Å"Beth, can you come down to my office? This is important.† The Sorcerer was in a panic. He’s always in a panic, she thought. She put her vodka down on the bamboo table and tossed the banana out into the sand. She padded across the teak deck, through the french doors to the intercom, and laid an elegant finger on the talk button. â€Å"I’m on my way,† she said. She started toward the back door of the house – a two-room bungalow fashioned from bamboo, teak, and thatch – and caught sight of herself in the full-length mirror. â€Å"Shit.† She was naked, of course, and she’d have to cut across the compound to get to the Sorcerer’s office. Life had become a lot more complicated since they had hired the guards. She stormed into the bedroom and grabbed an oversized 49ers jersey with the sleeves cut off out of her closet, then stepped into some sandals and headed out the back door. She wasn’t really dressed, but it might keep the Sorcerer off her back and the ninjas off her front. The compound consisted of half a dozen buildings spread over a three-acre clearing covered with white coral gravel and concrete and surrounded by a twelve-foot chain-link fence topped with razor wire. At the front of the compound was a pier and a small beach that led to the only channel through the reef. At the back a new Learjet sat on a concrete pad, just inside the fence. Outside of the fence, the concrete runway bisected the island. Past the runway lay the jungles, the taro patches, the villages, and the beaches of the Shark People. The office was a low concrete building with steel doors and a roof covered in solar electric panels that shone red in the setting sunlight. She nodded to the guard by the door, who didn’t move until she passed, then tried to get a glimpse in the side of her jersey. She slammed the door behind her. â€Å"What’s up? You almost done with the satellite dish? My shows are coming on.† He turned from a computer screen, a piece of fax paper crumpled in his hand. â€Å"We’ve hired an idiot.† â€Å"Do you want to be specific or should I assume that one of the ninjas has distinguished himself above the others?† â€Å"The pilot, Beth. He missed the Micro Trader on Yap.† â€Å"Shit!† â€Å"It’s worse.† He held out the fax to her. â€Å"It’s from him. He’s chartered a small boat. He says he’ll be here tomorrow.† She looked over the fax, confused. â€Å"That’s sooner than he was going to get here. What’s the problem?† â€Å"This.† The Sorcerer pushed back in his chair and pointed to the computer screen. The image looked like a blender full of green and black paint. â€Å"It looks like a blender full of green paint,† she said. â€Å"What is it?† â€Å"That, my dear, is Marie.† â€Å"Sebastian, you’ve been out here too long. I know you like abstract art and all†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It’s a satellite picture of typhoon Marie. And she’s a big one.† He pointed to a dot to one side of the screen. â€Å"That’s Alualu.† â€Å"So it’s going to miss us.† â€Å"We’ll catch the edge of it. We’ll have to put the jet in the hangar, tie everything down, but it shouldn’t be too bad. The problem is that the eye will pass right over where our pilot is going to be. I can’t believe he went to sea without checking the weather.† She shrugged. â€Å"So we have to get a new pilot. Tucker Case, meet Marie.† She smiled and her eyes shone like desolate stars. Too bad, she thought. The pilot would have been fun. 17 Foul-Weather Friend Tuck was amazed by what the human body could achieve when pressed to its limits: lift tractors, trek a hundred miles through the tundra after being partially eviscerated by a Kodiak bear, live for months on grubs and water sucked from soak holes, and in this particular case, vomit for two hours straight after having ingested nothing but alcohol and airline peanuts for two days. The stuff coming out of him was pure bile, burning acrid and sour, and with the bull rider pitching of the boat, half of it always ended up down the front of him. And between heaves there was no respite, just constant motion and soaking spray. His stomach muscles twisted into knots. It started with the swells rising, first a few feet, then to ten. Kimi piloted the boat up the face of each as if climbing a hill; they were dashed by the whitecap, then a sled ride down into a trough where they were faced with the next black wall of water. Roberto climbed down into Kimi’s dress and clung there like a furry tumor. The navigator cried out each time the spray washed over him as Roberto’s wing claws dug into his ribs. â€Å"Tie down you pack. Tie you belt to the boat,† Kimi shouted. Tuck found a coil of nylon rope and a folding knife in his pack and tied himself and the pack to the front seat. He noticed that the space under the seat was filled with dense Styrofoam. The boat was, theoretically, unsink-able. Good, someone would find their beaten, shark-eaten bodies. He threw a length of rope to Kimi, who secured it around his own waist. The wind came up as if someone had spooled up a jet engine, going from ten to sixty knots in an instant, dumping gallons of water into the boat with each wave, drowning out the sound of the outboard. Kimi screamed an order to Tuck, but it was lost in the wind. Tuck caught one word: â€Å"Bail!† Riding down the face of a wave, he took the time to look around the boat for a container, but found only the gallon of drinking water. He took the folding knife from his pocket and slashed the top off of the jug. He dumped the fresh water, then, with his feet braced against the inside of the bow and his spine against the seat, he began bailing between his legs, taking a full gallon with each scoop, throwing it with the wind. He bailed as if in a â€Å"run for your life† sprint and he was winded and aching after only a minute, but he couldn’t seem to get ahead of the storm. The boat was riding lower in the water. He ventured a glance back to Kimi and saw the navigator had found a coffee can and was braced between the seat and the gas tank, bailing with one hand while steering with the other. His scarf and fallen around his neck and was trailing the blonde wig behind him in the wind. The motor was cranked full-out, and Kimi was trying to keep the boat steered into the waves. If one caught them from the side, they would roll and continue to roll until the storm consumed them. Tuck slowed his pace and tried to fall into some kind of sustainable rhythm. It began to rain, the drops coming in almost horizontal, and as they topped the next wave Tuck realized that half of the sky had disap-peared. They were only at the edge of the storm. The navigator was screaming at him. The sea, the sky, the boat faded to black. One second he was squinting saltwater out of his eyes and staring at an obsidian wall ahead of the bow, then everything went black. Total sensory overload, total sensory deprivation. He looked around for the stars, the moon, a highlight or shadow somewhere, but there was nothing but wind and wet and cold and ache. He shivered and nearly curled into the fetal position in the bow to wait for death. The navigator’s screaming gave him a bearing. â€Å"We need light!† Tuck braced himself, then dug into the saturated pack until he came out with two waterproof flashlights. Bless you, Jake Skye. He hit the sealed switches. Light. Enough to see that Kimi was steering them parallel to an ominous wall of water. They would be swamped. The navigator slammed the outboard to one side and gunned it. The little boat whipped around just in time to meet the oncoming wave, ride up and over it. Tucker clung to the boat like a newborn monkey to its mother. Tuck lashed the lights to the anchor pulley at the bow, one pointed forward, one into the boat, then he resumed bailing. A monster wave rose up thirty feet and slammed down over them. When Tuck blinked the salt out of his eyes, he saw that the boat was all but a foot full of water. Another wave like that would swamp the motor. Without the motor to steer, they were lost. Bailing wasn’t enough. We’re going to die, he thought. Then the noise of the storm was gone. â€Å"No, you’re not,† came the voice, â€Å"you fuckin’ mook.† The roar of the wind and the screams of the navigator were gone. There was only the voice. â€Å"There’s a tarpaulin in your pack. Lash it over the boat so you don’t take on any more water. Then move to the stern and bail.† Now there was a picture in Tuck’s mind of what he was to do. There were eyelets on the outside of the gunwales to accommodate the line around the edges of the tarp. He needed only to hook the line around the boat and tie it off back by Kimi, leaving just enough of the boat open for the navigator to steer and him to bail water. â€Å"You got it, ace?† Tuck could see it and he knew he could do it. â€Å"Thanks,† he said. Forget questioning where the voice was coming from. He nodded. The storm roared back over him. Five minutes later the boat was covered and began to rise in the water as Tuck sat next to the navigator and bailed. â€Å"You steer!† Kimi screamed. Tucker took the tiller as the navigator let go and tried to rub his hand out of a cramped claw. Tuck took the boat up the face of a monster wave and the skiff went airborne. With no resistance on the propeller, the motor shrieked and Tuck dumped the throttle to keep it from blowing up. The bow tilted skyward and Kimi grabbed the gunwale just in time to avoid being dumped off the stern. They landed hard and the motor nearly went under. The motor sputtered. Tuck worked the throttle to bring it back to life. They were already going up the face of another wave, steeper than the last. If the wind caught them at the top, they would flip. Tuck suddenly remembered a surfing move from his youth. The cut back. There was no way they could continue into the wind and into the waves. Halfway up the face of the wave, he twisted the throttle and threw the motor sideways. It coughed as if expelling a hairball, then roared, sending them across the face of the wave. â€Å"What you doing?† Kimi shouted. Tuck didn’t answer. He was looking for the pocket, the place where the face of the wave would stay the same. If only the motor could maintain speed. The wave was creeping up on them, looming above their backs, but then they were high enough for the wind to catch them. Just enough boost. Just enough speed. The boat flattened out on the face of the wave. They were surfing, a thirty-foot wall of water waiting to crush them from behind should Tuck lose the pocket. Strangely, Tuck felt elated. It was a small victory, maybe even a temporary one, but they were running with the storm and he was in control of something for the first time since the plane crash. He watched the angle of the boat on the face of the wave, gauged its speed, its steepness, and made the adjustments that would keep them alive. The black water seemed to eat up the flashlight beams, but he could see the wave becoming steeper and rising higher as it climbed the ocean shelf toward the hungry reef. 18 Land Ho The island was little more than a coral cupcake with a guano frosting. Not a hundred yards wide at its widest point and only five feet above sea level at its highest, it served as a resting place for seabirds, a nesting place for turtles, and purchase for forty-eight coconut palms. The foliage and coconuts had all been torn from the palms, and the storm-driven waves breaking on the surrounding reef frothed over the island, beating against the trunks and washing away the precious topsoil. Heavy as they were, some of the palms were being undermined by the sea and would soon wash away. Of the three travelers, only Roberto knew the island was there. As a young bat, he had stopped there to rest after leaving Guam, his birthplace, on his way to someplace where the mangoes were sweet and the natives did not consider fruit bat a delicacy. But right now he was too busy hiding inside Kimi’s dress, screeching and clawing and generally trying to keep warm, to mention to the navigator that the reason they were suddenly riding the face of an increasingly steep fifty-foot wave was because they were about to crash over a reef. By the time Tucker Case realized what was happening, they were inside an immense tube of water, surfing inside of the curl of the wave. The flashlights refracted off the green water, illuminating the tube, making it appear as if they were inside a giant seething Coke bottle. Tuck tried to keep the boat pointed toward the narrow circle of blackness where the bottle cap would go, where they would have to go to escape. He’d seen films of surfers shooting the curl on the North Shore of Hawaii. It could be done. He clung to that vision, even as the wave passed over the reef and collapsed upon them. The boat rolled once, twice, three times, then tossed end over end and spun just under the surface as the wave frothed over the island. Kimi and Tuck were wound against the boat by their lifelines, beaten against the trunks of the palms, tossed and battered against the boat. For Tucker there was no up, no down, no way to know when he might take a breath of life-giving air or suck seawater and die. He held his breath until he felt as if he would explode, then was slammed between the boat and a tree and he let go. Roberto’s wing claws cut deep furrows into Kimi’s ribs as he scrambled for air. The navigator had taken a glancing blow across the forehead as the boat rolled over him and was knocked unconscious. Tuck felt himself pulled away from the boat, spun for a moment, then the pressure of the lifeline around his waist. He could see the lights attached to the boat, still shining, the only visual input in the sensory chaos. The boat had caught on something and he was trailing out behind it. Something bumped against his ribs and he reached for it instinctively, catching a handful of Kimi’s dress. Roberto was clinging to Kimi’s head, growling into the wind. They had passed through the island and come out on the other side. The boat had caught on the last palm tree before they were swept out to sea again. Tuck caught his lifeline with one hand, then wrapped his other arm around Kimi’s chest. Slowly, working against the streaming current, more like a river now that the waves had been broken by the reef and the island, he pulled them back to the boat. The boat was afloat, but barely, held up by the Styrofoam underseats and the air trapped in the gas tank. Only an inch or two of gunwale showed above the water. Tuck crawled in, took one deep breath, then dragged the lifeless navigator in after him. Roberto scrambled on Kimi’s head to escape the sea and was almost taken by the wind. Tucker caught the giant bat by the throat and lifted him from Kimi’s head to his own back, wincing as Roberto’s claws penetrated his shirt. Then he hung the navigator over the side and began pumping the water out of his lungs. After a few seconds, he flipped him again and administered mouth-tomouth until Kimi coughed and vomited up a stream of seawater. Tuck held his head. â€Å"You okay?† Kimi nodded as he sucked in painful lungfuls of air. Once he had his breath, he said, â€Å"Roberto?† Tuck pointed to the little dog face that was looking over his shoulder. Kimi managed a smile. â€Å"Roberto! Come.† He took the bat from Tuck’s back and held him to his chest. They were safe, relatively; sheltered by the island from the monster swells, they had only the wind and the rain to deal with. The tarpaulin was gone. The boat was full of water, but it was afloat. Miraculously, the flashlights were still attached. Tucker could see the tree that had caught them. He fell back into the bow, hooking his armpits over the gunwales, then slipped into a state of exhausted unconsciousness that could almost be called sleep. 19 Water, Water At first light the coconut palm that had saved them finally gave up and tipped over, releasing the boat to the sea. The outgoing tide carried the skiff and its sleeping passengers through a break in the reef to the open ocean. Tuck, sitting chest deep in seawater in the bow, was dreaming of being lost in the desert when a flying fish smacked him in the side of the head. Startled, he reached up instinctively, as one might slap at a biting mosquito, and caught the fish in his right hand. He opened his eyes. In his mind he was still in the desert, dying of thirst, and the fact that he was now holding on to something that looked like a trout with wings seemed a cruel surrealist joke. He looked around, saw the boat, Kimi slumped in the back, ocean and sky, and nothing else – there was no land in sight. He threw the fish at Kimi. It bounced off the navigator’s forehead and into the sea. Kimi screamed and sat up abruptly. Roberto – sunglasses akimbo – poked his head out the neck of Kimi’s dress and screeched at Tucker. â€Å"What you do that for?† Kimi said. â€Å"Nice piece of navigation,† Tuck said. Then he mocked Kimi’s broken English. â€Å"You smell storm? You see storm in sky?† â€Å"Oh, you big-time pilot. Why you not check weather? What kind of dumb fuck American try to go two hundred miles in outboard, huh?† â€Å"You told me it was no problem.† â€Å"You paying Kimi big money. Not a problem.† â€Å"Well, it’s a fucking problem now, isn’t it?† Kimi stroked Roberto’s head to calm him. â€Å"Stop yelling. You scare Roberto.† â€Å"I don’t care about Roberto. We’re half-sunk in the middle of the Pacific and we don’t have a motor. I’d say we have a problem.† Kimi stopped ministering to Roberto and looked up. â€Å"No motor?† He turned and looked back at the empty motor board. There were marks where the clamps had raked across it as the motor pulled off in the tumble. He turned back to Tuck and grinned sheepishly. â€Å"Whoops.† â€Å"We’re dead,† Tuck said. Kimi looked back again where the motor should have been, just to make sure that it was still gone. â€Å"I ask that man, ‘Is motor on good?’ He say, ‘Oh yes, is clamp on very tight.’ I pay him good money and he lie. Oh, Kimi is very mad.† Roberto barked in agreement. â€Å"Stop it!† Tucker shouted. Roberto ducked into Kimi’s dress again. â€Å"We’ve got to get some of this water out of here. We have no motor. We can’t go anywhere. We’re adrift, lost†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Alive,† Kimi interrupted. â€Å"I get you out of typhoon alive and you just yell and say bad things. I quit. You get new navigator. Roberto say you mean, nasty, Chevy-driving, milk-drinking, American dog fucker.† â€Å"I don’t drink milk,† Tuck said. Ha! Won that round. â€Å"That what he say.† â€Å"Roberto does not talk!† â€Å"Not to you, dog fucker. You no†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Kimi paused in mid-rant and retrieved the coffee can, which had been tied to the boat with a string, and started furiously scooping water out of the boat. â€Å"You right. Now we bail.† â€Å"What?† Tuck looked up to see Kimi was looking, wide-eyed, out to sea. Tuck followed his gaze to a spot twenty yards in front of the boat where a triangular fin was describing slow arcs in the swells. â€Å"Hurry,† Kimi shouted. â€Å"He coming in.† Tucker reached for his pack, causing the bow to dip under the water by a foot. Before he could adjust his weight to counterbalance the boat, the shark came over the gunwale, snapping its jaws like a man-eating puppet. Tuck stood up to escape the jaws and the bow lurched deeper underwater. The shark slid into the boat as Tuck went backward over the side. Fear bolted through his body as if the water had been electrified. He wanted to move in all directions at once. He kicked hard and came up a few feet from the boat to see the shark slide back into the water. â€Å"Get in boat!† Kimi screamed. He was standing with his feet wide, trying to keep the boat from capsizing. Tuck kicked so hard that he raised out of the water to the waist, then he fell toward the boat, catching the gunwale with one hand. Kimi shifted his weight to counterbalance and Tuck pulled himself in just as something hit his foot. He jerked his foot so hard he nearly went out of the boat on the opposite side, then he twisted in time to see the shark sliding down into the water with his shoe in its mouth. â€Å"Behind you!† Kimi screamed. Another shark rose up at Tuck’s back. He swung around and punched it on the snout as hard as he could, taking the skin off of his knuckles on the shark’s sandpaper skin. The shark slid away. The motion in the bow caused the stern to dip underwater and the next attack came at Kimi. He tossed Roberto into the air as the shark came into the boat. Roberto spread his wings and soared into the sky. Kimi reached down and came up with the rubber fuel line. Tucker looked for anything they could use as a weapon, then remembered the folding knife he had put in his pocket the night before. It was still there. Kimi was slapping the shark with the rubber hose and backing his way up onto the huge gas tank that made up the midsection of the boat. Tuck opened the knife, then lunged forward at the navigator. â€Å"Kimi!† Kimi reached back and Tuck fit the handle of the knife into his hand. The shark had worked half of its nine-foot body into the boat. Its tail thrashed at the water to power the shark up onto the gas tank. Kimi scrambled backward. Roberto swooped and screeched in the air above. Kimi’s right foot found purchase on the screw cap of the gas tank and he sat up. Tuck thought he was going to strike the shark with the knife, but instead he cut the gas line and squirted a stream of gas into the shark’s gaping mouth. The shark thrashed and slid off the side of the boat. Kimi brandished the knife in the air. â€Å"Yeah, fuckface, you run away. That not taste so sweet as Kimi, huh?† He fell back onto the gas tank and took a deep breath. â€Å"We show that shark who the boss.† Tuck said, â€Å"Kimi, there’s more.† He pointed to set of fins approaching from the stern. How to cite Island of the Sequined Love Nun Chapter 15~19, Essay examples

System Design and Analysis for Management - myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theSystem Design and Analysis for Information Management. Answer: Introduction Information management is critical a component of the success of businesses today, this outcome is as a result of the benefits of knowledge management in the processes of decision-making. Furthermore, modern organizations demand more than the conventional information systems (IS) for the management role where real-time systems are incorporated to supplement the processes of collecting and analyzing data. Similarly, the Headspace project holds similar objectives where the existing IS infrastructure is to be advanced to include virtualized technologies. In essence, the organization has many patients who produce a lot of information through their personal stories (MIS, 2015). These stories aid medical practitioners in making decisions for their treatments. Therefore, adequate storage facilities that are readily available are needed to support all the practitioners roles. Now, this report highlights this element of information management, where cloud-based resources are to be combined wi th developed in-house IS. Moreover, the report outlines other supplementary features of the systems i.e. the non-functional requirements. Systems non-functional requirements These are the elements that determine the users judgment on the functionalities of the systems, they will, therefore, outline the end users reactions after using the proposed system. Non-functional requirements stem from the interaction of the users with the developed system (Rackspace, 2017). Moreover, they are a consequence of the collaboration of the different parameters of the systems including the merging of the systems functionalities. System qualities These are the characteristics or attributes that will facilitate the systems objectives which in this case are extended accessibility and availability(Lowey, 2017). In this case, they are: Maximum performance the proposed system must perform all its service regardless of their complexities or development platform. Reliability the system also must be robust and offer consistent functionalities across all application environments. Security protecting the data and ownership of the contents of the system. Systems usability the users should also feel satisfied with the systems functionalities due to the practicality of the systems elements(Rahman, Safadi, Basaula, 2015). System interface and user interface (UI) While the data management roles may occur within the background functionalities, the system will most often be judged by its visual displays. These include elements such as colour, icons and images. Therefore, the following requirements are necessary: Seamless availability and accessibility the GUI (graphical user interface) should be easily accessed based on the placement of the system parameters such as icons and input data boxes. Aesthetic appeal the colour schematics and images should interact in a manner that engages the user by continuously drawing their attention to the system. Dynamic by enhancing the system's practicality through different preferences, the users are able to adjust the system based on their individual requirements e.g. colour and images (Hassan, 2015). System constraints Several factors will hinder the requirements and objectives of the system stated above, they are: Time limitation as the organization will continue to operate regardless of the systems development progress. Deployment platform because of the variations in the users application environments. Cloud-based solutions Cloud-based resources are the most popular virtualization technologies that are rapidly taking over the digital world through their operational conveniences. In essence, cloud-based solutions offer users IT resources through online platforms which eliminate the need to establish and maintain the operational infrastructure. Moreover, these resources improve the availability and accessibility of services as physical connections are not always needed for the overall operations. In addition to this, specialized service providers (CSP) establish and maintain cloud resources which eliminates a lot of background functionalities from the end users who are left with only the front end functionalities(Primault, 2016). However, at the same time, these resources require the users to surrender their data to third-party members which raise serious concerns about data security and privacy. Strengths of cloud-based solutions Readily available with cloud solutions, the users can access and apply their resources at any given time and location so long as they have an internet connection. This benefit would also improve the outcomes of the Headspace project which requires high levels of system availability. Cost savings the service providers implements and maintain the foundational elements of the cloud resources which is always an added cost for the user that is now eliminated. Redundancy programs furthermore, because the service provider stores the resources in multiple locations, they offer multiple backup options(Levelcloud, 2017). Weaknesses Data security and privacy first, as stated in the proposal, cloud facilities may not be covered by the Australian legal stipulations. Moreover, data is handled by a third party member who uses unknown systems and locations for their services. Therefore, the lines of data ownership can be blurred which necessitates the need to implement proper security measures such as encryption and authentication. Furthermore, the project should also ensure they establish proper service agreements with the service provider particularly on the roles of maintaining and controlling the data, the key components of data ownership. System control another drawback of cloud-based solutions as the user is unable to adequately control their resources when hosted online. In all, the users cannot physically locate the resources used which eliminates some level of control(Primault, 2016). System development life cycle (SDLC) SDLC outlines a procedure for developing systems where all the stages of implementation are critically defined based on the systems requirements. Now, as already highlighted by the extensive non-functional requirements, modern information systems are characterized by complex functionalities and attributes. SDLC facilitates these functionalities by executing the development process while considering the objectives at hand(Stoica, Mircea, Micu, 2013). Moreover, since systems vary in functionalities and attributes, there are different types of development procedures i.e. SDLC approach, the focus of this sections report. Predictive SDLC A conventional and logical approach that uses traditional procedures to develop systems that have minimal requirements. Furthermore, as the name suggests, the process uses a predictable outline that sequentially implements each element of the system operation. In all, the predictive SDLC will start by identifying the overall system requirements such as functionalities, attributes and user preferences. These elements are then assessed to enact a logical implementation procedure that follows a sequential outline i.e. each stage is implemented one after the other without any overlap or concurrent execution(Okoli Carillo, 2010). Now, because of this operation principle, the approach does not adapt to changes and instead maintains a rigid operational structure. Pros of the approach Minimal resource requirements predictive approach uses predictable procedures that identify system resources before the implementation process. This enables the developer to budget for all the resources needed. Accountability to maintain the predictable approach, the method uses a stringent documentation process which improves the accountability of the system. Simple and easy to use all the elements of the implementation process are known and well defined which makes it easier to develop the final system(MSB, 2011). Cons Time-consuming the approach will require the developers to implement all the stages of development sequentially without any form of overlap. This outcome increases the time of development. Rigid deployment the approach does not respond to any system changes(MIS, 2015). Adaptive approach A modern outlook into systems' design that applies agile and flexible procedures in the development process. In essence, the approach will define the system requirements based on an ever-changing operation principle. Therefore, any variations in system requirements are adequately incorporated into the system design. In all, the procedure will start by identifying the system requirements, similar to the predictive process(MSB, 2011). Thereafter, the approach will split the implementation process into several stages which are run concurrently before the assembly of the final solution. Therefore, different experts are needed to implement each development stage an outcome that increases the expertise requirements of the method. Finally, iterative techniques are used to assemble the final solution which improves the quality of the systems. Pros Flexible and agile - any changes in the development process are adequately accommodated by the approach. Time efficient secondly, the simultaneous execution of the implementation stages reduces the time of development. Quality system furthermore, a user-centred approach characterizes the approach which improves the quality of the systems developed(Stoica, Mircea, Micu, 2013). Cons Resource intensive - the approach requires a lot of expertise which increases the resource requirements. Headspace recommendation The project at hand requires an agile solution that is able to adapt to the different changes of operation. Moreover, the system will be integrated with cloud solutions which also requires a lot of resilience and adaptability. Now, while the predictive approach may be cost-effective and accountable, it does not favour the attributes of the proposed system(MSB, 2011). Furthermore, it would require a lot of time to establish, a limitation that cannot be accommodated by the system. Therefore, the adaptive approach is suitable as it maximizes the qualities of the proposed system which are adequately discussed in this report. Conclusion Through this report, the different system considerations for the Headspace project have been highlighted including the non-functional requirement which dictates the interaction between the users and the system. Moreover, the report has outlined cloud solutions and their suitability in the system because of the benefits they offer including the high availability of resources. Finally, the report has discussed the different approaches to system development i.e. predictive and adaptive SDLC where the adaptive approach is highlighted as the method of choice. In all, this report has given an all-inclusive analysis of the development process of the Headspace project which is characterized by a modern outlook owing to its proposed agile features. References Hassan, A. (2015). Software Architecture. CISC 322, Retrieved 28 September, 2017, from: https://research.cs.queensu.ca/~ahmed/home/teaching/CISC322/F09/slides/CISC322_02_Requirements.pdf. Levelcloud. (2017). Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloud Computing. Retrieved 29 September, 2017, from: https://www.levelcloud.net/why-levelcloud/cloud-education-center/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-cloud-computing/. Lowey, R. (2017). Non-functional requirements. Scaled agile framework, Retrieved 29 September, 2017, from: https://www.scaledagileframework.com/nonfunctional-requirements. MIS. (2015). The System Development Life Cycle. Retrieved 28 September, 2017, from: https://utexas.instructure.com/courses/1166782/files/38198507/download. MSB, M. s. (2011). The System Development Life Cycle. Retrieved 29 September, 2017, from: https://utexas.instructure.com/courses/1166782/files/38198507/download. Okoli, C., Carillo, K. (2010). The best of adaptive and predictive methodologies: Open source software development, a balance between agility and discipline. Retrieved 28 September, 2017, from: https://chitu.okoli.org/media/pro/research/pubs/OkoliCarillo2010IJAESD.pdf. Primault, C. (2016). Cloud Computing for Small Business Success. Retrieved 28 September, 2017, from: https://getapp.ulitzer.com/. Rackspace. (2017). Understanding the Cloud Computing Stack: SaaS, PaaS, IaaS. Support networking, Retrieved 29 September, 2017, from: https://support.rackspace.com/white-paper/understanding-the-cloud-computing-stack-saas-paas-iaas/. Rahman, R., Safadi, W., Basaula, A. (2015). Functional And Non-Functional Requirements. Retrieved 28 September, 2017, from: https://ami-2015.github.io/MyGuide/d2-final.pdf. Stoica, M., Mircea, M., Micu, G. (2013). Software Development: Agile vs. Traditional. Informatica Economic?, Retrieved 29 September, 2017, from: https://www.revistaie.ase.ro/content/68/06%20-%20Stoica,%20Mircea,%20Ghilic.pdf.