Discuss the regulatory intervention that took place in the US post Assignment

Discuss the regulatory intervention that took place in the US post 2008 crisis - Assignment Example ..13 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform- Credit Agency Reforms†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...14 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..18 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..18 Abstract Policies are most essential feature within the government of any nation and their implementation is required to be foolproof for the development of nations. The great financial crisis which took place in United States in 2008 was the most dangerous crisis after the Great Depression in 1930. One of the major reasons for the financial crisis has been due to the policy crunch and implementation failure. After crisis broke , regulatory intervention has been made with a stringent manner by the US government. The paper deals with the policy intervention by the Federal government of United States of America post crisis of 2008. Focus is entailed majorly on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform directed towards neutralizing the crisis situation. Introduction The Nobel Laureate and American economist Milton Friedman stated that the policies should be such that they should not be evaluated by their agendas or intentions but by their outcomes1. The worst financial crisis striking the United States of America (U.S.) in the herald of 2008 after Great Depression in 19302 made a perpetual adverse impression on the global economy and can be deemed primarily as a collapse of policy and regulatory interventions. Financial crisis with imprudent policy ramifications led to the loss of 8 million jobs, business failure, stupendously declining house process3, and wiping away personal savings of people leaving the global eco nomy and especially the US economy in a complete jeopardy4. The importance of policies is highly significant in the sense that regulation, policy formulations and their subsequent implications directly correlate with their effect5. Now it is also to be noted that according to common conscience where there is right, presence of wrong is indispensable. By assuming the financial crisis as a wrong and faulty mechanism, it is essential to analyze the policy formulation and their implementations as an endeavor to stabilize the economic conditions post crisis. It is required to realize that the new policies thus developed as coping strategies are fruitful to what extent or it is required to know the time frame in which the economy has been able to stabilize and reach a position of strong financial ground. This will help to realize the effectiveness and dynamism of policies6 But first of all it is strongly imperative to explore the causes that led to crisis generation. A wide array of facto rs, led to the generation of this financial crisis and to name a few of them are housing sector crash, credit mania, imperfect economic forecast and so on7. Now these factors are to be explored first and then the analysis of the regulatory intervention is to be analyzed to judge its effectiveness. In this paper the main target is to explore the regulatory

Crafted Beer vs Mass Produced Beer Essay Example for Free

Crafted Beer vs Mass Produced Beer Essay According to (http://www. brewersassociation. org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/craft-brewer-defined) a craft brewer is â€Å"small, independent and traditional†. They have to produce less than six million barrels to be considered a craft brewery. Also from a financial point there is a difference to a mass producing beer brewery, an alcoholic industry can only have a maximum of 25% of the brewery. If they own more than this they are considered mass producing brewery because the alcoholic industry is considered to own the craft brewery. Furthermore it has to have â€Å"at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor† (http://www. brewersassociation. org/pages/business-tools/craft-brewing-statistics/craft-brewer-defined). Although many people think that there is only â€Å"one† beer, most of them never tried crafted beer because they would notice immediately differences in taste compared to mass produced beer. The history of crafted beer and mass produced beer is pretty different, as you can imagine beer exists a long time and the way of producing in industries is not very old. The first crafted beers were made in Egypt over 4,000 years ago. There are no records how the Egypt people came up with the idea, but according to (www. ancientegyptonline. co. uk/beer. html) Osiris an Egyptian god taught the people how the brew beer, it was mostly a female activity and the main ingredient in was â€Å"bread made from a rich yeasty dough possibly including malt†, then it was â€Å"baked and crumbled through a sieve with water† and the last part was adding flavor and letting it stay in order to ferment. On the other hand the first mass produced beer was brewed about 3,800 years later in 1840 in the Czech Republic when the creator Pilsner Urquell decided to use the new technologies brought by the industrialization to make beer available for every person. This started one of the biggest markets nowadays. The way of producing the beers is not really different in the sense of mechanism, because both types of beers using assembly lines in order to produce a large output. Still the factories differ from another in some points; the production of crafted beer is kept â€Å"small† and maintains focus on the quality. These factories are producing a variety of beers and their motto is quality over quantity. The factories of mass produced beer are way bigger compared to the craft breweries and they prefer rather quantity for a greater mass of people than quality. You can’t say that their beer is bad but it doesn’t have the same level as crafted beer. In addition the primary ingredients of the beer are the same: water, malted barley and hops, it is just the normal way to produce beer nowadays. What makes the difference in these two types is the flavor of the beer, while mass produced beer tastes pretty similar if you compare different brands this is definitely not the case with crafted beer. Each craft brewery tries to create its own, unique beer by adding non-traditional beer ingredients. The last difference in the way of producing is that in craft beers are mostly no adjuncts and not all of them are fermented like it is the case with mass produced beer. (http://www. topofthehopsbeerfest.com/biloxi/the-top-ten-reasons-why-you-should-drink-craft-beerbiloxi. php) Why are there so many people attracted to crafted beer? In order to answer this you have to look at the factories which produce the beers because they have a whole different attitude towards their customers. The biggest difference in their attitude shows in their connection to the customers, while mass producing breweries have no connection at all to their customers, the crafted breweries are actually very close to them. Most of them ask their customers for feedback in order to make a better beer and solve their current problems. Furthermore the beer producing factories are not just a little bit different. One of the most famous mass producing beer factory is Anheuser-Busch Inc (Bud Light), which has factories all over America and doesn’t only produce beer, it is also specialized in energy drink, malt beverages and non-alcoholic drinks. The craft breweries on the other hand are only specialized in beers, a famous one is the Harpoon Brewery which is located in Boston. (http://www. cnbc. com/id/39233398/page/2) , (http://www. nomorefreebeer. com/index. php/the-facts/anheuser-beer-list/) There are two main aspects why people prefer crafted beer over mass produced beer, and quality is one of those aspects. The main reason why they differ so much is that the purpose of the factories producing the beer is different.

What Is Power Electronics Engineering Essay

What Is Power Electronics Engineering Essay Power electronics involves the study of electronic circuits intended to control the flow of electrical energy. These circuits handle power flow at levels much higher than the individual device ratings. It has been said that people do not use electricity, but rather they use communication, light, mechanical work, entertainment, and all the tangible benefits of both energy and electronics. In this sense, electrical engineering is a discipline very much involved in energy conversion and information. In the general world of electronics engineering, the circuits engineers design and use are intended to convert information, with energy merely a secondary consideration in most cases. This is true of both analog and digital circuit design. In radio frequency applications, energy and information are sometimes on a more equal footing, but the main function of any circuit is that of information transfer. What about the conversion and control of electrical energy itself? Electrical energy sources are varied and of many types. It is natural, then, to consider how electronic circuits and systems can be applied to the challenges of energy conversion and management. This is the framework of power electronics, a discipline that is defined in terms of electrical energy conversion, applications, and electronic devices. More specifically, Rectifiers are probably the most familiar example of circuits that meet this definition. Inverters (a general term for dc-ac converters) and dc-dc converters for power supplies are also common applications. As shown in Fig. 1.1, power electronics represents a median point at which the topics of energy systems, electronics, and control converge and combine [1].Any useful circuit design for the control of power must address issues of both devices and control, as well as of the energy itself. Among the unique aspects of power electronics are its emphasis on lar ge semiconductor devices, the application of magnetic devices for energy storage, and special control methods that must be applied to nonlinear systems. In any study of electrical engineering, power electronics must be placed on a level with digital, analog, and radio-frequency electronics if we are to reflect its distinctive design methods and unique challenges. FIGURE 1.1 Control, energy, and power electronics are interrelated. All power electronic circuits manage the flow of electrical energy between some sort of source and a load. The parts in a circuit must direct electrical flows, not impede them. A general power conversion system is shown in Fig. 1.2. The function of the power converter positioned at the middle is that of controlling energy flow between a given electrical source and a given load. For our purposes, the power converter will be implemented with a power electronic circuit. As a power converter appears between a source and a load, any energy used within the converter is lost to the overall system. A crucial point emergesà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬to build a power converter, we should consider only lossless components. A realistic converter design must approach 100% efficiency. A power converter connected between a source and a load also affects system reliability. FIGURE 1.2 General systems for electric power conversion A circuit built from ideal switches will be lossless. As a result, switches are the main components of power converters, and many people equate power electronics with the study of switching power converters. Magnetic transformers and lossless storage elements such as capacitors and inductors are also valid candidates for use in power converters. The complete concept, shown in Fig. 1.3, illustrates a power electronic system. Such a system consists of an energy source, an electrical load, a power electronic circuit, and control functions. The power electronic circuit contains switches, lossless energy storage elements, and magnetic transformers. The controls take information from the source, load, and designer and then determine how the switches operate to achieve the desired conversion. The controls are usually built up with conventional low-power analog and digital electronics. FIGURE 1.3 a basic power electronic system Trends in Power Supplies : As costs of electronics decline, the power supply becomes a larger fraction of system cost and design effort. One major manufacturer estimates that power supply cost will soon reach 50% of the total cost of a typical electronic product such as a cordless telephone or personal computer. Thus, new technology developments in power supplies are critically important. In the past, bulky linear power supplies were designed with transformers and rectifiers from the ac line frequency to provide low-level dc voltages for electronic circuits. Late in the 1960s, use of dc sources in aerospace applications led to the development of power electronic dc-dc conversion circuits for power supplies. In a typical power electronics arrangement today, an ac source from a wall outlet is rectified without any transformation; the resulting high dc voltage is converted through a dc-dc circuit to the 5V, 12 V, or other level required. These switched-mode power supplies are rapidly supplanting linear supplies across the full spectrum of circuit applications. A personal computer commonly requires three different 5V supplies, two .12 V supplies, a ÃÆ' ¿12 V supply, a 24 V supply, and perhaps a few more. This does not include supplies for 1 Introduction 3 video display or peripheral devices. Only a switched-mode supply can support such complex requirements without high costs. The bulk and weight of linear supplies make them infeasible for hand-held communication devices, calculators, notebook computers, and similar equipment. Switched-mode supplies often take advantage of MOSFET semiconductor technology. Trends toward high reliability, low cost, and miniaturization have reached the point at which a 5 V power supply sold today might last 1,000,000 hr (more than 100 yr), provide 100Wof output in a package with volume This type of supply brings an interesting dilemma: the ac line cord to plug it in actually takes up more space than the power supply itself. Innovative concepts such as integrating a power supply within a connection cable will be used in the future. Device technology for power supplies is being driven by expanding needs in the automotive and telecommunications industries as well as in markets for portable equipment. The automotive industry is making a transition to 42 V systems to handle increasing electric power needs. Power conversion for this industry must be cost effective, yet rugged enough to survive the high vibration and wide temperature range to which a passenger car is exposed. Global communication is possible only when sophisticated equipment can be used almost anywhere. This brings a special challenge, because electrical supplies are neither reliable nor consistent throughout much of the world. While in North America voltage swings in the domestic ac supply are often Given the enormous size of worldwide markets for telephones and consumer electronics, there is a clear need for flexible-source equipment. Designers are challenged to obtain maximum performance from small batteries, and to create equipment with minimal energy requirements. DEVICE TYPE CHARACTERISTICS OF POWER DEVICES Diode: Current ratings from 5000 A. Voltage ratings from 10V to 10 kV or more. The fastest power devices switch in BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor): Conducts collector current (in one direction) when sufficient base current is applied. Power device current ratings from 0.5 to 500 A or more; voltages from 30 to 1200V. Switching times from 0.5 to 100 ms. The function applies to dc-dc circuits; combinations with diodes are used in inverters. Power BJTs are being supplanted by FETs and IGBTs. FET (Field Effect Transistor): Conducts drain current when sufficient gate voltage is applied. Power FETs (nearly always enhancement mode MOSFETs) have a parallel connected reverse diode by virtue of their construction. Ratings from _1 to _100 A and 30 up to 1000V. Switching times are fast, from 50 or less up to 200 ns. The function applies to dc-dc conversion, where the FET is in wide use, and to inverters. IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor): A special type of power FET that has the function of a BJT with its base driven by a FET. Faster than a BJT of similar ratings, and easy to use. Ratings from 10 to >600 A, with voltages of 600 to 1700V. The IGBT is popular in inverters from _1 to 100kW or more. It is found almost exclusively in power electronics applications. SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier): A thyristor that conducts like a diode after a gate pulse is applied. Turns off only when current becomes zero. Prevents current flow until a pulse appears. Ratings from 10 up to more than 5000 A, and from 200V up to 6 kV. Switching requires 1 to 200 ms. widely used for controlled rectifiers. The SCR is found almost exclusively in power electronics applications, and is the most common member of the thyristor family. GTO (Gate Turn-Off Thyristor): an SCR that can be turned off by sending a negative pulse to its gate terminal. Can substitute for BJTs in applications where power ratings must be very high. The ratings approach those of SCRs, and the speeds are similar as well. Used in inverters rated >100 kW. TRIAC: A semiconductor constructed to resemble two SCRs connected in reverse parallel. Ratings from 2 to 50 A and 200 to 800V. Used in lamp dimmers, home appliances, and hand tools. Not as rugged as many other device types, but very convenient for many ac applications. MCT (MOSFET Controlled Thyristor): A special type of SCR that has the function of a GTO with its gate driven from a FET. Much faster than conventional GTOs, and easier to use. These devices are supplanting GTOs in some application areas. POWER CONVERTERS The power processors usually consist of more than one power conversion stage where the operation of these stages is decoupled on an instantaneous basis by means of energy storage elements such as capacitors and inductors. Therefore, the instantaneous power input does not have to equal the instantaneous power output. We will refer to each power conversion stage as a converter. Thus, a converter is a basic module (building block) of power electronic systems. It utilizes power semiconductor devices controlled by signal electronics (integrated circuits) and possibly energy storage elements such as inductors and capacitors. Based on the form (frequency) on the two sides, converters can be divided into the following broad categories: 1. AC to DC 2. DC to AC 3. DC to DC 4. AC to AC We will use converter as a generic tenn to refer to a single power conversion stage that may perform any of the functions listed above. To be more specific, in ac-to-dc and dc-to-ac conversion, rectifier refers to a converter when the average power flow is from the ac to the dc side. Inverter refers to the converter when the average power flow is from the dc to the ac side. In fact, the power flow through the converter may be reversible. Power Electronic Applications (a) Residential Refrigeration and freezers Space heating Air conditioning Cooking Lighting Electronics (personal computers, other entertainment equipment) (b) Commercial Heating. ventilating, and air conditioning Central refrigeration Lighting Computers and office equipment Uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) Elevators (c) Industrial Pumps Compressors Blowers and fans Machine tools (robots) Arc furnaces, induction furnaces Lighting Industrial lasers Induction heating Welding (d) Transportation Traction control of electric vehicles Battery chargers for electric vehicles Electric locomotives Street cars, trolley buses Subways Automotive electronics including engine controls (e) Utility systems High-voltage dc transmission (HVOC) Static var compensation (SVC) Supplemental energy sources (wind, photovoltaic), fuel cells Energy storage systems Induced-draft fans and boiler feed water pumps (f) Aerospace Space shuttle power supply systems Satellite power systems Aircraft power systems (g) Telecommunications Battery chargers Power supplies (dc and UPS)

Charles Dickens Hard Times Essay -- Charles Dickens Hard Times Essays

Charles Dickens' Hard Times Many characters in the novel are victims of hard times as a result of many factors. These include the lack of money, the education system, the industrialisation in the area and the social injustices of the Victorian era. The novel is divided into three books: sowing, reaping and garnering. The names of these books have biblical references. ‘Ae ye sow, so shall ye reap’ New Testament This means that there are consequences to all your actions, this idea features strongly in the novel. In the first book ‘sowing’, the actions of the characters were described for example the pragmatic education system. In the second book ‘reaping’, the consequences of these actions are described, and in the third book ‘garnering’, the consequences are explored more, along with the final outcome of these events. In the novel, Mr Gradgrind causes and suffers from hard times. He is a very rigid character in addition to being ‘a man of fact and calculations’. He causes hard times for others, including his family, with his pragmatic education system. We discover his attitudes to schooling from the very first chapter when he says: ‘In this life, we want nothing but facts, sir; nothing but Facts’ This concept is based upon utilitarianism. This is the idea that nothing except useful and practical things are wanted in life, and this causes many of Dickens’ characters hard times. They thought these concepts would provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people but it only benefited the rich, the poor sill suffered. He tries to inflict this system onto Sissy but he ends up learning a lesson from her. Towards the end of the novel he realises that he has not given his children what the... ...e goes on to become a very famous author who was very critical of lives, industrialisation and money; all of these are explored in hard times. Finally, Dickens’ experiences as a child came out in a convincing portrayal of what was wrong with the Victorian society. He was a critic to his time and from his novels we can learn a great deal about the Victorian era. Many of the characters in the novel experience hard times as a result of many factors. Stephen Blackpool is the innocent victim in the novel; he suffers greatly through no fault of his own. He is kind and trustworthy yet he is abused. Other characters such as Mrs Sparsit and Bitzer enjoy causing hard times for others. Some suffer more than others; but Dickens uses his characters to explore the hard times of the era. In conclusion, many of Dickens’ characters suffer as a result of numerous causes.

Thesis Reading

The title of the thesis that I chose for my Thesis Reading is â€Å"BARKADAHAN SA MC: Communication within Peer Groups in Miriam College and how it leads the members to commit major violations of school rules. † It was written by four authors namely, Catherine J. Macasaet, Michelle Corazon S. Robles, Alexandrea Camille C. Rodriguez, and Anna Monica T. Torres. The thesis was published on February 9, 2008 and was submitted as a partial fulfillment of the authors’ requirements in Communication Arts. The problem of the said thesis is, â€Å"Does communication within peer groups in Miriam College lead its members to commit major violations of school rules? † and with this being said, their general objective is to identify whether communication within Miriam College students affect their chances of committing school violations. According to the findings of the group members of the thesis, based on the survey that they have conducted, almost all of their respondents are part of a peer group or what they mostly call as a â€Å"barkada. † Only 3 out of a hundred responded â€Å"no† when asked if they belong to one. And with this, those who answered â€Å"yes† to the question showed some symptoms of Groupthink that lead them to committing violations of school rules. The Groupthink phenomenon allowed the students of certain peer groups to have faulty decisions causing them to do wrong actions. The group also discussed the activities that peer groups mostly do and their self-evaluation of their school performance. With this, they have also included the number of people among their respondents who have encountered committing violations and their peers’ influence on this. The Groupthink phenomenon which was stated a while ago was the most evident situation that peer groups are commonly facing when together. Three of the symptoms present were the thought that each group’s actions are always right, that they always have undisputed choices in decision-making, and lastly, that every group does not consider the beliefs of out-groups. As an analysis of the problem stated for the thesis, the authors used two theories namely, Social Identity Theory and like what was mentioned a while ago, Groupthink Theory. First off, the Social Identity Theory was developed y Henri Tajfel and John Turner in 1979. It was used to comprehend the psychological foundation of discrimination within inter-groups. The theory has three elements in it which are categorization, identification, and comparison. The categorization element comes in when a person labels his or herself and other members of a group. Identification, on the other hand, is when a person identifies his or h erself as a part of a group which allows him or her to have a more sense of worth. Lastly, comparison is when the group members already compare their positive characteristics as a whole to the characteristics of other groups. The theory also states that groups look for confidence by positively distinguishing itself from other groups. The Social Identity Theory applies in the said thesis because, before actually studying the effects of communication of peer groups in their chances of committing school violations, the researchers first studied an individual’s process of being a member of the group through the visibility of the said theory in him or her. It showed that Social Identity is what mainly occurs first because a person labels his or herself, becomes a part of the group, and then compares his or her group to others. The theory is applicable because it helped the researchers identify how the participants of their survey identify themselves as part of a peer group. Moving on with the theories used in the paper, another relevant theory is the Groupthink Theory which was stated several times a while ago. This theory was developed by Irving Janis in 1972 and was based on human social behavior in which a hypothesis—that critical thinking is used to assess the efficiency of a group’s decision-making—was developed. Groupthink is actually a way of planning used by a group when their aim of agreement overcomes their assessment of other plans of actions. The theory also involves the group’s cohesiveness wherein the group’s involvement in each other affects their decisions—the more cohesive a group, the more pressure is applied on the members to preserve such cohesiveness. Such cohesiveness is visible when group members like each other, and would want to stay within the group, thus, not wanting to be left out. With too much of this said cohesiveness, there are dangers involved like not being able to exercise independent critical thinking, thus, having irrational decisions like hoices that are incomplete and involve risks. With these said, groupthink is actually a weakening of effectiveness in thinking because it affects how the groups actually consider different plans of actions and not just what they think is right. Groupthink Theory is relevant to the thesis of the researchers because it allows them to look at the process of decision-making by a group which is relevant in understanding how communication within p eer groups leads to commit school violations. The theory was used when the authors analyzed how each member of a group develops confidence and then starts to meet the terms of her whole group’s actions and choices. It is also applicable when the researchers were able to identify that the theory is the most apparent communication pattern within peer groups of Miriam College in such a way that after going through a phase of Social Identity which was stated a while ago, peer groups then tend to apply Groupthink which involves pressure within their group members to comply with the unanimous decision of the group as a whole. With having the thought that the group’s decision is what is right, they then tend to become confident with their actions which are sometimes, are already the violations of school rules. Because of faulty decision-making, peer groups are lead to disobedience of school policies. These are what the researchers have found out with the use of the Groupthink Theory of Irving Janis. With the help of Social Identity Theory and Groupthink Theory, authors of the said thesis were able to understand the effects that communication within the â€Å"barkadas† of Miriam College have on each of the members. The theories were actually very relevant in helping them find the results for their problem and were able to give answers to the questions that they have objectives of responding to. Both were able to help the researchers because having a thesis on peer groups, the theories also being about groups helped in defining the problem stated. Reference: Littlejohn, S. W. (2008). Theories of human communication 9th ed. Belmont, California: Wadsworth.

Role of the Gods in the Odyssey

Religion has always been an important part of culture, in present times and even dating back to the times of the Trojan War and before. No matter what religion a person practices or believes in the role of the certain gods believed in has always been important. In three separate pieces we have read we have seen the importance of the gods, or God, play a key role in the development of the literature. In Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, the gods are key in Odysseus’ return to Ithaca after twenty years. Whether it is helping Odysseus or delaying him, they play a major role in the development of the story.In Psalm 139, the scripture passage taken from the Bible, God is a very obvious factor. Even in the poem by William Owen â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† God again plays a major role once we dive deeper than the words are saying. The role of the gods, or singular God in Catholicism, plays a key role, sometimes unspoken, part. In The Odyssey we see in the first book three m ajor gods that make an immediate impact on Odysseus’ journey home. Zeus, Athena, and Poseidon all are important in their own way in either helping Odysseus or trying to stop him.Zeus, king of the gods, is characterized as a mediator between Athena and Poseidon, the former helping Odysseus and the latter trying to stop him from reaching home. Athena does all she can to help out the mortal Odysseus, even appearing to him and his son Telemachus in disguise to point them in the right direction. Poseidon, however, hates Odysseus for blinding his son and tries his hardest on multiple occasions to kill Odysseus and his men. Zeus, for being king of the gods, does not have the most important religious role in this epic poem.He is mostly seen as a babysitter between Athena and Poseidon, allowing Athena to help Odysseus but at the same time punishing the people who help out Odysseus. At one point, after Poseidon voiced his anger, he turns a Phaeacian ship to stone right when it returns because they helped Odysseus return home. His only involvement with Odysseus seems to be when he is trying to please both Athena and Zeus. Athena is a very key character in this poem. She takes a liking to the human Odysseus because of the intelligence and cunning that he naturally has. She personally gets involve in the lives of Telemachus and Odysseus by coming hem in disguise and helping them throughout their separate journeys. The grey-eyed goddess, as she is referred to many times, is responsible for setting Telemachus on the path to find out more about his father, and gives him the courage to stand up to the suitors who have invaded his father’s house. The goddess is seen helping Odysseus in almost every book, most notably the last four where she gives him strength when fighting the suitors, helping Odysseus and Telemachus reach Laertes’ house peacefully, and even makes the suitor’s parents forget about their children’s deaths and restores peace to Ithaca.Athena makes the homecoming of Odysseus a happy one, helping him and his family time and time again so that they are reunited. Poseidon, god of the sea, holds a nasty grudge against Odysseus throughout the story. Odysseus, after the famous â€Å"Nobody† trick, foolishly tells the Cyclopes Polyphemus his name as he is sailing away after blinding him. Poseidon, who is Polyphemus’ father, is outraged that a mortal blinded his son, and take it upon himself to make sure Odysseus never gets back home. Poseidon causes storms to break Odysseus’ boats and kill his men, while wrecking havoc on Odysseus just about every chance he gets.He goes so far that he asks Zeus to sink the Phaeacians ship, a race of people who adore Poseidon. Poseidon holds a major grudge against Odysseus, however he cannot stop him from reaching home. In the Christian scripture passage Psalm 139; taken from the Bible, we see that God has many of the same characteristics on the gods in The Ody ssey. It is described in the scripture passage that God has a perfect knowledge of all of us, which draws the comparison to the gods of Ancient Greece. God knows everything there is to know about us and what we are doing; he is all seeing and all powerful.Much like the gods of Ancient Greece sitting high above everyone on Mount Olympus, they see everything that is happening below them. Another powerful comparison is the unseen god factor. God always sees us, as humans though we never see him, much like when Odysseus and Telemachus see Athena; she is always disguised, never showing her true form. Zeus never appears, he sends his messages in forms of eagles, as signs to be interrupted by humans, much like God uses miracles to show his presence and existence. We are presented with two separate pieces of literature that have very similar comparisons in religion.Wilfred Owen’s famous poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† actually makes no mention of religion in it, but it is obv ious to see that whatever god you pray to has no part in wars and stopping the death and violence. It brings us to ask ourselves the question of why would any god let these atrocities happen? British citizens not fighting in World War 1 thought that these men were dying heroic deaths, but Owen gives us an insight into how badly these men suffered when they went off to war. The gruesome deaths, the never ending violence and having to watch a comrade die are just a few of the horrible things that are seen in this poem.It leads us to belive that war is not worth it, in any sense, and that a sensible god would not allow it. Odysseus, after ten years of fighting the Trojans and seeing many of his close friends die, then had to suffer for an additional ten years. The men in World War 1 signed up for their own premature deaths, and there was no religious power to stop these cruel actions. All three of these pieces give us significant insight on our Common Core questions. However, it ties i n most importantly to our understanding of what it means to be human.Most obvious in all three pieces we see the â€Å"human† aspects of our lives, the fact that we can die while gods or God cannot. We are not as powerful as gods or God, we cannot control our fate, and it is already written out for us by whomever we pray to in each respective religion. We must make the most of the time and life we are given because we do not have a long time on this planet. To be human means that we must be able to recognize our own abilities, our own strengthens and weaknesses, and know that there is a higher power controlling our fate.