Sunday, March 22, 2020
Research Proposal on CFD Essay Example
Research Proposal on CFD Essay Computational fluid dynamics is an important branch of fluid dynamics which includes the physical, mathematical and numerical methods which are aimed at the calculation of the characteristics of the fluid processes. The importance of CFD can not be overestimated, because its results are used in numerous spheres of human life, especially engineering. With the help of CFD the experts calculate and research the dynamics of various objects in the liquid and gas environment. For example, plane and ship modelling depend on the results of the research in the field of CFD and the technical characteristics of planes, submarines and other vehicles which function in the liquid and gas environment are projected with the help of CFD. CFD involves powerful supercomputers in the process of research and they study the interaction of the various bodies in the different situations, including the flight tests in the supersonic speed. There are several steps in the process of CFD. First of all, there is the introductory step which is characterised with the creation of the geometry of the model and formation of the regular physical conditions. The next step is calculation. The computer calculates the data according to the algorithm and the physical parameters (speech, pressure, temperature, density, etc) and records the results of the calculation into its memory. The final step is the analysis of the information. The results of the analysis are reflected in the form of graphs, tables, schemes, etc. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on CFD specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on CFD specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on CFD specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer CFD is an interesting and worthy topic for the analysis and the students who are interested in the problem should focus on CFD research proposal writing, which will provide them with the chance to write a research paper on this topic. One should collect enough facts about the value and functions of CFD and construct a logical and convincing paper which would impress the academic advisor. The research proposal is supposed to explain the studentââ¬â¢s choice of the topic, its relevance, methodology, evaluation of the facts and evidence and finally present the expected results of the investigation, as it is very important to prove that the research will be useful for the development of the discipline. The single difficulty which is associated with research proposal writing is the lack of studentsââ¬â¢ knowledge about the persuasive manner of writing. In fact, with the help of a free example research proposal on CFD students receive basic piece of advice which would show them the proper way of paper writing. A free sample research proposal on CFD will be useful enough to present to students the models of writing, the examples of convincing writing, proper structuring and formatting. On the basis of such examples it is easy to plan your own paper and impress the professor. NOTE!!! All free sample research proposals and examples on CFD are 100% plagiarized, we are here to help you! EssayLib.com is a leading research proposal writing service, which can offer you the solution you have been looking for. With thousands of written research papers and proposals for Masterââ¬â¢s and PhD degrees, we can give you exactly what you need at very affordable prices. Our experienced writers will prove you that high quality and exclusivity is a trademark of our products. We can guarantee your confidentiality and promise you strict on time delivery. There are many reasons for EssayLib.com to become your favorite research proposal writing service, but all we are asking you ââ¬â just give us a try!
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Solons Reforms and the Rise of Democracy in Athens
Solons Reforms and the Rise of Democracy in Athens First coming to prominence (c. 600 B.C.) for his patriotic exhortations when Athens was fighting a war against Megara for possession of Salamis, Solon was electedà eponymous archonà in 594/3 B.C. and perhaps, again, about 20 years later. Solon faced the daunting task of improving the condition of: debt-ridden farmerslaborers forced into bondage over debt, andthe middle classes who were excluded from government, while not alienating the increasingly wealthy landowners and aristocracy. Because of his reforming compromises and other legislation, posterity refers to him as Solon the lawgiver.à Such power I gave the people as might do, Abridged not what they had, now lavished new. Those that were great in wealth and high in place, My counsel likewise kept from all disgrace. Before them both I held my shield of might, And let not either touch the others right.- Plutarchs Life of Solon The Great Divide Between Rich and Poor in Athens In the 8th century B.C., rich farmers began exporting their goods: olive oil and wine. Such cash crops required an expensive initial investment. The poorer farmer was more limited in choice of crop, but he still could have continued to eke out a living, if only he had either rotated his crops or let his fields lie fallow. Slavery When land was mortgaged, hektemoroi (stone markers) were placed on the land to show the amount of debt. During the 7th century, these markers proliferated. The poorer wheat farmers lost their land. Laborers were free men who paid out 1/6th of all they produced. In the years of poor harvests, this wasnt enough to survive. To feed themselves and their families, laborers put up their bodies as collateral to borrow from their employers. Exorbitant interest plus living on less than 5/6ths of what was produced made it impossible to repay loans. Free men were being sold into slavery. At the point at which a tyrant or revolt seemed likely, the Athenians appointed Solon to mediate. Relief in the Form of Solon Solon, a lyric poet, and the first Athenian literary figure whose name we know, came from an aristocratic family which traced its ancestry back 10 generations to Hercules, according to Plutarch. Aristocratic beginnings did not prevent him from fearing that someone of his class would try to become tyrant. In his reform measures, he pleased neither the revolutionaries who wanted the land redistributed nor the landowners who wanted to keep all their property intact. Instead, he instituted the seisachtheia by which he canceled all pledges where a mans freedom had been given as guarantee, freed all debtors from bondage, made it illegal to enslave debtors, and put a limit on the amount of land an individual could own. Plutarch records Solons own words about his actions: The mortgage-stones that covered her, by me Removed, the land that was a slave is free;that some who had been seized for their debts he had brought back from other countries, where so far their lot to roam, They had forgot the language of their home;and some he had set at liberty, Who here in shameful servitude were held. More on the Laws of Solon Solons laws do not appear to have been systematic, but provided regulations in the areas of politics, religion, public and private life (including marriage, burial, and the use of springs and wells), civil and criminal life, commerce (including a prohibition on export of all Attic produce except olive oil, although Solon encouraged the export of artisans work), agriculture, sumptuary regulation and discipline. Sickinger estimates there were between 16 and 21 axones that may have contained 36,000 characters total (minimum). These legal records may have been placed in the Boulouterion, Stoa Basileios, and the Acropolis. Although these places would have made them accessible to the public, how many people were literate is not known.à Sources: J.B. Bury. A History of GreecePlutarchs Life of SolonRichard Hookers (wsu.edu/~dee/GREECE/ATHENS.HTM)à Ancient Greece: AthensJohn Porters SolonUniversity of Keeles Classics Departmentsà Athenian Democracyà (www.keele.ac.uk/depts/cl/iahcla~7.htm - accessed 01/02/2000)History of Greece Vol II, by George Grote (1872).
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Assess the impact of re-introducing rent control on the market for Coursework
Assess the impact of re-introducing rent control on the market for housing - Coursework Example There are cases when the owners build the houses in order to offer these in rents to the individuals so as to meet the increasing demand for housing (Besanko and Braeutigam, 2013). The owners fix the rent for the houses in order to earn some profit but there is a concept of rent control that imposes a ceiling on the rent in cases when the owners charge an exceptionally high rent (Besanko and Braeutigam, 2013). Hence, the paper aims at carrying out a study on the market structure of the housing market and the impacts of the policies adopted for rent control. The paper also offers a scope to understand the microeconomic theory related to the rent control. The structure of the housing market is based on the model that considers various aspects such as the availability of cheap credit that in turn increases the demand for houses in the international market (Glaeser and Luttmer, 2003). As a result, there is a relative price of the houses due to low availability of the houses. However, there was a high availability of low quality houses which forced the investors to raise the prices of the houses in order to earn high profit. These features are essential for the Life-Cycle model of Housing where the prices of houses match with the quality of the houses available in the international market (Krugman and Wells, 2012). On the contrary, the characteristics of the buyers willing to purchase the houses differ based on the age, wealth and income they earn. In order to bring in equilibrium within the market, the prices of the houses are equalized with the quality of the available houses and also it is based on the demand and supply aspects in th e housing market. Thus, the study suggests that the distribution of the houses depends on the numbers of buyers as well as the quality of houses available in the market. Further, the suitability of the available houses to the buyers is also an essential factor that increases the number of buyers willing to
Monday, February 3, 2020
Health Administarion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2
Health Administarion - Essay Example Medical errors can be grouped in to diagnostic errors that include poor medical tests, treatment errors that include inappropriate care, medications and process errors that include poor communication, wrong patient identification, documentation and equipment failures. Medical error is associated with poor training, urgent care, new procedures and complex care. Complicated medical technologies, poor communication and fragmented systems can also lead to medical error. Some human factors that lead to medical errors include burnout, depression, and fatigue and time pressures (Kalra, 2011). The initial step in responding to medical error is to address the current medical needs of the patient. The physician should immediately address the adverse unanticipated medical outcome by assessing extends of harm and the required medical procedures to reduce the harm (Kalra, 2011). The second step entails communication of the adverse outcome with the patient or any representatives of the patient like the close relatives. These entail providing information on the causes of the medical error and extend of harm to the patient (Kalra, 2011). The third step is reporting to the appropriate parties and authorities in the health facility and regulatory agencies. Each health facility should have guidelines on internal reporting of the medical error and steps in reducing further adverse medical outcomes (Kalra, 2011). The fourth step is checking the medical records of the patient. Such medical documentation should be accurate and complete. This includes the patient medical condition prior to the medical error, the interventions undertaken to reduce the harm and patient response. The physician should also note the information communicated to the patient after the medical error (Kalra, 2011). The fifth step entails follow ups and monitoring the changes in
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Functions and Elements of Self Organising Networks
Functions and Elements of Self Organising Networks CHAPTER 1 In this chapter I will be discussing about the main functions of SON, its components, elements and how does it atomizes the whole LTE network infrastructure. I have organised this chapter in the following way and will explain each of the component respectively. OAM Automatic Configuration Features Neighbour Relation Automatic Neighbour Relation management Connectivity Management Self Test Automatic Inventory So, lets get started with the detain explanation, description and working of the OAM system first. 1OAM (Operation, Administration and Management) 1.1Introduction OAM stands for Operation, Administration and Management systems. As we have discussed in the earlier chapters that most of the network operations today is controlled and managed by a central entity which is known as the OAM system. Mainly in a centralized system architecture all the Self-Configuration, Self-Optimization and Self-Healing operations are controlled through the OAM system. In the next paragraph a brief description of what functions does the Operation, Administration and Management system take care of is explained. Operations system deals in both the administration and management systems. It is basically a centralized control structure which keeps coordination between both the other systems. Administration system as it stands control all the administrative tasks like networks design, assignment of addresses, keeping network up to date and other administrative functions. And lastly the Maintenance system maintains and keeps the network running through keeping check of all the elements, executing appropriate diagnostic functions, monitoring network and resetting the components or whole network if required. All these components work parallel to keep the network in operational state. 1.2Architecture For any network to operate optimally it is very necessary to keep check on all the elements. The operator of network should have a system through which he can make sure that there is no fault and network is running normally. In the figure 1.1 below a high level OAM architecture architecture is represented. OAM Architecture Fig1.1 As it is clear through fig 1.1 that OAM has further devided management layers and provided dedicated servers to each management layer to deal with its functions. All the management servers serves their corresponding nodes layer by layer to perform the management tasks. Network protocols has been defined at each interface onto the Network Element or end user for execution of effortless management functions. Though the architecture diagram we can conclude two main logical functions that devides the OAM according to their functions and roles. These functions are given below, Network Management function Element Management function Mainly in the network managements systems, OAM is addressed as the entity which controls, maintains and configures the network. The term OAM is used in the 3GPP documentation for the network management functions. As five main sub-functions of Network Management Systems are derived from the main functions of OAM and hence NMS is also reffered as the OAM systems in many contexts. OAM when demand lot of provisonal functions then it is known as the OAMP, P stands for provision in this situation. The functional elements of Network Management System is given in the figure 1.2 below. Fig 1.2 In the next part I will be discussing two very important management functions related to the OAM architecture and those are as follows, 1.3Element Management System (EMS) As we know network element is an entity composed of the physical hardware. Processes and executions are performed on those physical devices to provide service the users. Therefore, a management technique to manage these elements of the network is known as the Element Management System. The management system a very broad topic but I will keep focus on the main components which integrates with the SON technique for the optimization of cellular networks. As we can see in the fig 1.1 the Network management system collects all the data from EMS and EMS gathers all useful measurements for the NE respectively. The difference is NMS mainly execute the aggregated measurements from NEs to accomplish required functions but EMS works on individual NE at a time. Below is the high-level architecture of the EMS and the components it interacts with. Fig 1.2 Furthermore, I would give a brief description of the components shown in the fig 1.2 above. The EMS connects to the NMS server to provide all the collected and aggregated information or measurement from the network elements. NMS makes decisions based on these collected data from EMS. The client is used to show or present the data to user with a user friendly graphic user interface. The operator can login through the client to configure and maintain network when needed. The database function is to store all the usable measurements and information. These measurements are used when a fault occurs in the Network Element. Evaluating and comparing the network performances with these measurements give a complete sight of what might be causing the errors in the network. And the last component which is the Network Element is same we have discussed earlier, a physical device used to execute all the processes and functions. A question that arises here is that the network elements can be managed and configured through accessing the devices itself so why do we need a central Element Management System? Therefore, the need of this management function is explained as follows. 1.3.1Requirement of EMS Network are getting very complex as new functionalities and services are added very frequently. And with that, new vendors and service providers are introducing themselves in market. As the network size is enhancing the operations at the network element end is also increasing. This operation management demands high cost and effort. Therefore, to minimize the cost, effort and a centralized solution to manage the networks were provided by the 3GPP. An appropriate and user-friendly interface is very vital to perform and manage managerial tasks with ease. Some main issues which the operators of telecom companies were facing are described in the next paragraph. Firstly, Due to the development of fresh network elements and services there was a need to provision diverse elements from different vendors. For example, even in a single network GSM, UMTS and LTE can work side by side therefore a management system was required which can gather all the data from all the network elements. Secondly, the complexity issues were raising as of now many multiple functionalities are merging into one single functionality which makes the network complex. And lastly but the most important is the cost. The cost associated in dealing with each element individually was very high, therefore to manage complete network and its services remotely and through a central entity which has all the data and measurements from all the network elements can reduce huge costs. Progressing through EMS now I will explain the functions and services EMS provides to the network and how it interacts with its upper layer that is the Network Management System. 1.3.2Functions of EMS Element Management System basically manages the base stations that is eNodeBs in the LTE network architecture in accordance with SON. The main functions which EMS features while managing the network elements are given below. 1.3.2.1Provisioning and Installation of NE When a base station that is eNodeB is connected to a power station but not yet configured and basic setup is not initiated, eNodeBs at this point needs to connect to the network to perform basic functions. So, the Self-Configuration function of SON is initiated to make a connection, eNodeB for connectivity requires an IP-address and OAM support to start functionating. For obtaining basic configuration and parameter settings the eNodeB connects to the OAM system. Now the EMS element in the OAM must provision, support and provide these basic configuration settings to the eNodeB. The EMS checks is they can provide the service base station is asking for. The inventory management server is checked for this purpose. Once the resources are available and identified the configurations are uploaded onto the base stations and correct parameters are set up. At this point the network elements are ready to be interconnected with the network and start functioning. This technique is used in the Self-Configuration function of SON for the basic connectivity with the network. Furthermore, this function of EMS also maintains the backup and restore points for the network element. Downloading, installing the patches and newly updated software on the eNodeBs are handled by the EM system too. The inventory system database in the EM system contains all the required parameter settings used by the eNodeBs for the self-configuration and auto-connectivity once powered on. Every element in the modern telecom services are automated through SON and a technician is only needed when something couldnt be resolved automatically. At that point the engineer or operator just login through the EMS graphical user interface and handles all the faults and errors with ease. 1.3.2.2Managing User terminals and maintaining QOS In a wide scale network, there are thousand of base stations and thousands of user-equipment are connected to these base stations. Therefore, to manage this big network is not easy at the operators end. The capital expenditure to deploy base stations and then the operational expenditure to maintain each single base station requires huge amount of cost and with cost excessive human effort is required to maintain base stations. Therefore, EM system manages these user terminals by gathering the statistics of all the users cell through cell and saves these measurements into the database. So, the message status between the base station and UE are attained in the shape of statistical reports. The vital data collected in these statistics are given below, All the successful calls. All the failed calls. Dropped calls. Successful HOs. Failed HOs. The traffic capacity that is throughput. By gaining all these important statistics from the network the EM system analyzes and makes appropriate decisions when needed. Not only this but EMS uses these measurements to maintain the Quality of Service too. 1.3.2.3Network Support Network support mainly aims in the activities related to the maintenance of the network. And as discussed earlier operators goal is to decrease the cost as much as they can. As much the network is well managed and well driven the cost will decrease. So, quality of management systems is inversely proportion to the cost. With the cost, there is one more concern that operators are facing and that is the lack of professional technicians. And both concerns can be mitigated through the automatic solutions. Therefore, automatic network systems reduce human intervention and cuts the cost too. And for the support of network automatically EMS functionalities are evolved. Main functionality that EMS provides for the network support are given below. Debugging and resolving software issues such as bugs and errors. EMS provides a method to automatically resolve these errors remotely. All the security statistics are handled by EMS which the network requires to handle and secure vital information and data. All the network faults and issues at the element level are mitigated through the EMS. As Network management system deals with the combined data and information from several network elements. But the EMS takes charge and record of each Element individually. And lastly EMS allows operators to login to the specific node for the purpose of upgradation or changing parameters. The operator does not have to go physically to the base station and login through its internal interface. 1.3.2.4Monitoring of Networks The monitoring of networks is mainly done on the Network Management System but some of its function is executed on the EMS. EMS supports the NMS through some of its functionalities for the monitoring and control. First, we need to understand that monitoring of networks is executed on NMS and portions of these functions are performed on the EMS level. The EMS layer is below the NMS layer and therefore it provides major feeds to the layers above it. The monitoring systems main tasks which optimizes the network are given in the figure 1.3 below. Fig 1.3 The 3GPP defines standards of OAM with very classified specification. And it is very clear that the OAM specification gives ease in implementing the management system for the network. There are other network management specifications like TMF but the 3GPP specification about the OAM is very broad and revolves around some specific function or technology. The specifications, standards, specifications and how does 3GPP uses SON to optimize networks are explained in the last chapter of this paper that is 3GPP specifications and its interaction with SON. 1.4Network Management System (NMS) The network management system in the OAM architecture is capable of managing the complete network in a combined method that is, managing of radio transmissions, core networks and the base stations. NMS manages all these entities on one single platform. And due to the capability of managing everything on one single node the cost and human effort is decreased exponentially. There is a term used in the management system called FCPS which stands for Fault, Configuration, Performance and Security Management. And this function works on all the layers of the OAM model. On every layer, it has different function but the general explanation of FCPS is explained in the last portion of this topic. Basically, how NMS functions is explained in the example below, Lets consider there is a fault detected on the NE. Because whenever an event occurs network element generates a log which notifies EMS of the event occurrence. EMS would collect these statistics from the NE. Now NMS responsibility is to tackle the issue and take corrective measures. To accomplish these goals NMS correlates the statistics from different NE and different events, this technique helps the NMS to discover the issue or fault by comparing different statistics. A real-time example of NMS working could be of a disconnection scenario between a base station and the media gateway. Logs and stats screening the connection lost will be generated on the elements of both base stations and the MGW. As base station and MGW are two different network elements and EMS always record the stats of specific network element individually. So, it might collect the stats from the base station or the MGW, but the Network Management System at this point records data from both the elements and then correlate them. Therefore, in the scenarios defined above the stats and logs from base station and MGW can be analyzed together which makes the work on NMS level easy to find the actual problem in the network. And when the problem is diagnosed NMS takes the proper corrective measure to mitigate the issue which EMS can not do by just gathering the logs of one network element. This is a case specific function of how NMS tackles the issues. The other functions and activities NMS performs to optimize the network are given in the next section. 1.4.1Activities performed by NMS All the main activities that the NMS performs prior to any maintenance instructions or corrective measures are given below. Learn about all the elements available in the network. It works in two ways, manual discovery which is done by the operator and the second is automatic element discovery. In an auto discovery mode, this management system automatically discovers and identifies all the network elements and assign IPs to the particular element which requires it. The manual discovery is executed by the operator and manage the network elements that is assign IP addresses to the elements and discover all the elements in the network through the application menu. Gathering all the faulty data. The reason this activity is scheduled to be executed after the network elements discovery is to associate the faulty information with the specific element and components which are causing the error. In the NMS software, all the discovered elements form a tree type structure and hence associating the correct statistics with the corresponding element assists in debugging the fault. Collecting all the performance statistics and data. The faulty data discussed above is sent to the NMS only when they arise but on the other hand the performance logs and stats are stored in the files of network element itself. And these stats are downloaded on the NMS from the NE at the periodic intervals. User Authentications. All the internal user in the NMS needs to be authenticated for the security reasons. There are commands in NMS which can collapse the vital network components which can cause affect on whole network therefore, robust security needs to be implemented on the NMS. Collecting other configurations and data. The last activity executed by the NMS prior to start managing and maintenance of the networkall the other statistics and configurations in the element required in the NMS to execute any function is also collected from the NE. So, when all the elements are discovered and prerequisite activities have been executed successfully the NMS is the all set for the management and maintenance tasks of the network. These functions, maintenance, corrective measures, fault detection etc. are performed by analyzing the earlier collected data from the NE. Main functions of the NMS includes outlining the flow of information, provisioning of network, troubleshooting, configured elements maintenance, making appropriate decisions for the optimal utilization of resources etc. The problem which sometimes arises is the parameter or configuration changes in the network elements. These changes must be updated on the NMS so that it can find an appropriate solution when required. Therefore, network elements are rediscovered at periodic intervals so that the most current statistics and data could be known to the EMS. The next section would comprise of the NMS general architecture and the components which reside in the NMS. Description and explanation of these components are also given in the section below. 1.4.2NMS Architecture
Saturday, January 18, 2020
Dippin Dots
Founded in 1988, for over 20 years Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots has commonly been referred to as ââ¬Å"the ice cream of the future. â⬠As a result of soaring operating costs and plummeting sales, Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots has endured substantial losses in their number of operating franchises. Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots flourished for many years as a unique segment of the ice cream market, targeting the out of home demographic, mainly focusing operations in busy areas like amusement parks, theatres and stadiums. Now facing increasingly dangerous competition, Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots must first identify their problems, and then execute the necessary resolutions if they want to regain their footing in the ice cream business. One problem facing Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots is that the unique product they offer severely limits the target markets that can be reached. Since retail locations can only offer the product at 10 to 20à ° below zero, special storage freezers are required, as well as specially manufactured cryogenic transport chambers in order to dispatch the product. These among other concerns have limited the distribution of Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots to only serve the away from home segment of the ice cream market. It is therefore advisable for Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots to construct an ice cream product which can be offered at temperatures that a supermarket could handle in efforts to reach the majority in house consumers of the ice cream market. Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots must also tackle the problem of pricing. At $5 for 5 ounces, Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots is unquestionably at the high end of the spectrum as far as ice cream goes; they have therefore aimed for areas where people are more willing to spend money, such as amusement parks like six flags and shopping malls. Another major deterrent to Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots is the threat of new entrants. According to the article it was due to the negligence in part of Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots founder Curt Jones , their patent was declared worthless, based on the fact that they had sold their ice cream product to over 800 customers before ever proposing the patent request. This allowed competitors the opportunity to create exact replicas of their once distinctive product. Whatââ¬â¢s even more eye gouging is these competitors were all disenfranchised former dealers of Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots, some of whom are now targeting much more of the global market, an area that should have been maximized by Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots several years ago. In light of their current and ongoing adversity, Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots should rapidly seek either a merger with an existing ice cream producer or create their own line of take home ice cream in order to decrease some of the losses that will inevitably be associated with this new competition. It is also recommended that Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots hire a new, experienced sales manager who can deal with supermarket chains, packaging companies, and distribution channels globally. After 20 years of operations, the time has come for Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots to expand their horizons. Everyone knows the name and children love the product so at least thereââ¬â¢s no problem with brand awareness. Because of this legacy and reputation the introduction of Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots to the supermarket will be sure to turn heads and be a hit. If Dippinââ¬â¢ Dots can make the transition into this new market while somehow finding a way to keep their prices competitive, their chances of survival will improve considerably.
Friday, January 10, 2020
Modern Day Churchââ¬â¢s View of Suicide as Opposed to Islamic Views Essay
Suicide, the foreknowledge that a personââ¬â¢s death will result from self caused actions, has reached epic proportions in recent decades. The World Health Organization states ââ¬Å"more people are dying from suicide than from all the armed conflicts around the world. â⬠(Donnelly, 106). This practice presents an ethical dilemma that is ultimately a matter of values and how they are reasoned. Religion provides a framework through which these views can be expressed. It is especially important to understand the Christian and Islamic perspectives on suicide by tracing their primary texts and traditions. The Biblical View of Suicide As the primary text of Christianity, the Bible has a code of moral instructions, spanning from the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament to the Sermon on the Mount and the great commandments in the New Testament. What gives moral values such as love and human dignity, and the commandment ââ¬Å"thou shalt not killâ⬠such compelling force is more than the forbidding of murder, even self-murder. These precepts reveal the obligation to demonstrate practical respect for the value of human life (Mahohel, 2). Although there are several suicides mentioned in the Bible: Saul(1 Samuel. 31:4); Ahitophel(2 Samuel 17:23);Zimri (1 Kings 16:18); and Judas (Matthew 27:5), the Bible doesnââ¬â¢t specifically condemn suicides. However, it does condemn murder in the 6th commandment and that is what suicide is: self-murder. A Christian who commits suicide will not lose salvation and end up in hell because John 3:16 demonstrates that a person is eternally secure. Romans 8:38-39 says that no circumstance can block Godââ¬â¢s love to Christians. Therefore, if no created thing can separate a Christian from Godââ¬â¢s love, then a Christian who commits suicide is a created thing and not even suicide can prevent Godââ¬â¢s love. Jesus died for all sin. If an authentic Christian were to commit that sin, Jesus died for it. Nevertheless, it is self-murder and constitutes a serious sin against God (Stewart, p. 31). Suicide in the Christian Tradition The Christian tradition repects life. Although the early Church issued few official dictums against suicide, the prevalent viewheld that suicide was seen as murder and sometimes worse. In the 4th century, Augustine was the first to make that prohibition absolute, denouncing it as a ââ¬Å"detestable and damnable wickedness,ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ (Stewart, 34) echoing the other church fathers such as Tertullian, Justin Cyprian, Clement of Alexandria, and Lactantius who all rejected suicide. John of Chryostom issued a statement that posited if it were base to destroy others, it was much worse to destroy oneself(Amundsen, 98). Although Christian leaders praised martyrs who held onto their faith even unto death, they criticized those who rushed too eagerly to a martyrââ¬â¢s death. The goal of martyrdom was to remain faithful, not to intend oneââ¬â¢s death (Ibid, 109-111). Aquinas and the medieval Church expressly prohibited acts of suicide. In his Encyclical Letter (March 25, 1995) Pope John Paul II states: ââ¬Å"The Churchââ¬â¢s tradition has always rejected suicide as a gravely evil choice. â⬠The present day Church still adheres to that perspective because of two predominant frameworks. The first says that man and woman are created in the image of God, ââ¬Å"Imago Deo,â⬠(Genesis 3:26) and as such, share in the Divine likeness. Thus, humans participate in dominion over the rest of the physical creation, commissioned to exercise active stewardship and initiative as Godââ¬â¢s vice-regent. Not only are humans Godââ¬â¢s creation, they are His property, defined by such terms as potter-clay and shepherd-sheep. Since life belong to God, it is wrong to take it. Additionally, there is a Christian perspective which states that life is a gift from God. The ultimate moral foundations of Christian doctrine: creation, sin, salvation and fulfillment reinforce this view. The decision to die is Godââ¬â¢s alone (Stewart, 33). The case versus suicide states requires that Godââ¬â¢s gift of life is not an outright gift, but a restricted one, and humans are not to consume or destroy it at their discretion. In this perspective God will demand a full account for determining when to choose to end life. The suicide equivocally tells God that He will simply have to take the deeds performed in the body instead of regarding life as a trust, by not abandoning it, or denying that God is worthy. The choice of suicide seems to violate the duty to live life in a way which indicates gratitude towards what has been given ( Camenish, 216). Since God is transcendent, ultimately all things, even suffering will be made well. The Quââ¬â¢rannic View of Suicide The Quââ¬â¢ran expressly prohibits suicide, regarding all life as sacred. The sanctity of human life is accorded a special place. The Quââ¬â¢ran states that the first and foremost basic life of a human being is the right t Take not life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law; thus doth He command you, that you may learn wisdom (Quââ¬â¢ran 6:151) Additionally, the Quââ¬â¢ran states: If anyone slew a person, unless it be for murder, or for spreading mischief in the whole land, it would be as if he slew the whole people-and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of a whole people. (Quââ¬â¢ran 5:32) Thus, the Quââ¬â¢ran is totally clear where it stands on the taking of life. The Islamic Tradition and the View of Suicide In light of the Quââ¬â¢rannic perspective of respect for human life, how then did the popularity of suicide bombers come to pass? Blowing oneself up and frequently killing innocent victims in such a terrorist manner absolutely refutes the Quââ¬â¢ran. Yet a religious perspective can supersede the traditional perspective. This religious perspective is jihad, or the call to a holy war, first issued by the founder of Islam, the prophet Mohhammed. Mohhammed received a ââ¬Å"naskh,â⬠a new revelation which replaced the previous ones in the Quââ¬â¢ran. Surah 9:5 cancels all previous revelations, admonishing his adherents to practice war and coercion to the present day. Basically Surah 9: 5 posits that Muslims must fight anyone who chooses not to convert to Islam. Because Islam is a religion of works, the jihad is a great duty and honor that aims to convert the infidel by force. Jihad is behind every suicidal terrorist who commits these acts in the name of Islam. If doesnââ¬â¢t matter if they win or if they die in the jihad, because they will be successful regardless: if they win, they receive victory; if they die, they are honored by God. Modern jihad came from Sayib Qutb, born in 1906, who visited the U. S. and saw that the Americans were not totally devoted to religion and that the American Muslims also had a lack of conviction. He started the radical Islamic movement that reverberates to this day. Bin Laden and Al Qaida learned their suicidal techniques form the movement of jihad in Iran, Eygpt and Sudan (Gabriel, 1). In Haââ¬â¢aretz newspaper (December 9, 2001) Sheik Akramek Sabri said that sucide bombers are justified and should be encouraged, critizing other religious leaders who issued an Islamic ruling (fatwa) against suicide attacks. The sheik of the Mosque of Cairo ruled that Islamic law does not condone suicide attacks against innocent victims. A prominent mufti in Saudi Arabia issued a similar opinion. However, Omar Rahman, leader of al Jihad and the mastermind behind the World Trade Center bombing of 1993, noted that jihad and killing are the head of Islam and that if they are taken out, so is the head . By following the philosophy of submission, a Muslim is one who submits to Allah, the suicide attacker appears to be around for a long time(Ibid, December 9,2001). Overview Although both Christianity and Islamââ¬â¢s official positions prohibit suicide, the present day outcomes differ. While the Bible has the sixth commandment and other verses and the Quââ¬â¢ran has 5:32 and 6:151 which respect life, Christianity remains consistent through the ages in viewing suicide as negative. For Christians, life is a gift and thus humans are Godââ¬Ës property. Islam , however, has further revelations which supersede the previous ones found in the Quââ¬â¢ran. These additional revelations include a call to jihad or holy war, thus making self-killing permissible and even honored. Conclusion It is necessary to study the frameworks of both Christianity and Islam to obtain more than a superficial view of their perspectives of suicide. Although Church tradition doesnââ¬â¢t change itââ¬â¢s position of self killing in Christianity, as shown by the early church fathers calling it an abomination and stating that killing oneself is even worse than killing others down to the later medieval church and Aquinas stating that it is unnatural ; thus forbidding the taking of oneââ¬â¢s own life. Pope John Paul IIââ¬â¢s encyclical letter states that suicide is a ââ¬Å"wicked sin,ââ¬Å" holding life sacred and as a trust. Current church traditions, while not as harsh and proclaiming true Christian suicides will go to heaven, nevertheless compare Christians with God as a figure of authority. He is the owner of the Christian, their creator and the potter who molds the clay, the shepherd who guides the sheep. Additionally, God has given all humans the gift of life, which is to be regarded as a sacred trust and not to be tampered with through the early taking of it. Only God, and God alone, can determine when life is over. If a Christian takes their life prematurely, they are robbing God, telling Him He must be satisfied with only the works they have performed to that stage. Since Christianity has at its heart the major doctrines of creation, sin, salvation and fulfillment, nothing can separate the Christian from God, either in this world or the world to come. God is both immanent and transcendent and He will make all things ultimately turn out for the best, thus reassuring the Christian to hang on and not commit suicide. On the other hand, official Islam proclaims one message while practicing another. The Quââ¬â¢ran states that all life is sacred and that all humans have dignity. Several verses refer to this fact. However, even though Mohammed wrote these verses down, he also wrote additional verses that failed to be consistent with the original message. These verses , which he wrote after an added revelation, replace the earlier ones of respect for oneââ¬â¢s own and other life. Through these additional revelations, Mohammed thus started the concept of jihad, or holy war. Using this concept he encouraged fellow Muslims, who are followers of Allah, and must submit to His teachings, to commit these holy wars, to convert or kill the infidel regardless of whether oneââ¬â¢s own life was lost in the process. From the early 20th century, when Muslims visited the U. S. and saw what they perceived as less than perfect devotion, the jihad was operating at full force. Although present day sheiks and muftis in several countries have issued fatwa against suicide bombers and the taking of innocent life, suicidal terrorists continue, thinking that they are honoring Allah and their cause by killing themselves and others. References Amundsen, C. (1967). Medicine, Society and Faith in the Ancient World. Baltimore: John Hopkins. Cavadini,B. (1999). ââ¬Å"By the Renewing of Your Minds,â⬠Theological Studies, Vol. 60.Camemish, P. (1998). ââ¬Å"Suicide,â⬠Journal of Religious Ethics,17, no 1, Spring. Donnelly, J. (1998) Suicide: Right or Wrong. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books. Gabriel, M. (2005)ââ¬Å"Islamic Terrorists,â⬠CNN Fact File, Virginia Beach, Va. Mahohel, J. (2003). ââ¬Å"Christian Doctrines and Ethical Issues,â⬠Theological Studies, vol. 64 Neusner, J. (2000) Jewish and Christian Doctrine. London: Routledge. Pope John Paul II. (1995),â⬠Encyclical Letter,â⬠Evangelium Vitae. March 25. ââ¬Å"Terrorism,â⬠(2001). Haââ¬â¢aretz newspaper, December 9. Smith, G. (2005). ââ¬Å"The Insurgent Word: Suicide. â⬠Swans Commentary, September 12.
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