What are the consequences of professionalization of legislatures?

The major consequence of the professionalization of a
legislature is, for better or for worse, more
legislation.

Political scientists say that a legislature is
more professionalized as its members get higher salaries and more staff and as they meet
for longer periods each year.  All of these things make it much more likely that more
legislation will be proposed and considered.  If legislators get paid more and have more
staff, they will be able to draft more legislation because they will have staff to help
them and they may not have to have another job that will allow them to make a
living.

This can be seen as a good or a bad thing,
depending on your political ideology.  Conservatives will generally see this as a bad
thing because it invites more government intervention in areas where government should
not interfere.  Liberals will be more willing to accept a greater amount of legislation
because they are typically more receptive to government
intervention.

Why did John Smith speak in third person?

It was not entirely uncommon for one to speak in third
person. In this instance, it is entirely possible that Smith did so because he had an
uncommonly large ego and wished to make himself look more important that way. He was
known to exaggerate his own importance and gallantry on several occasions. The following
quote, taken from wikipedia, indicates the self-importance he ascribed to himself. He is
speaking of the Powhatan Indians.

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He was friendly toward them, but never let them
forget the might of English weapons… Realizing that the very existence of the colony
depended on peace, he never thought of trying to exterminate the natives. Only after his
departure were there bitter wars and massacres, the natural results of a more hostile
policy.

Incidentally, the
entire Pocahontas fable was of Smith's creation. There is some evidence that she
intervened before an axe fell on his neck, but this was a preplanned performance by the
Indians. Pocahontas at the time was about nine years old. Only when she went to England
with her husband, John Rolfe, and where she was quite popular, did Smith invent the
story of the failed romance.

What are three key incidents in Phineas and Gene's relationship in "A Separate Peace"?I am trying to show that over the novel Gene reveals Finny...

1. The obvious one is when Gene jounces the limb knocking
Finny out of the tree.  This is when Gene realizes the resentment he holds for his best
friend.

2.  Another important one takes place when Finny
coaxes Gene into skipping class to go to the beach overnight.  Though it is a fun
experience, it comes at a great expense to Gene because he can't study for his test and
bombs it.  This is when he starts thinking that Finny isn't looking out for his best
interests like a best friend should.

3.  Finally, when Gene
visits Finny at his house to confess he jounced the limb on purpose, Finny gets angry
and starts yelling at him.  Finny is in denial that his bes friend would purposely hurt
him.  Because of this, the boys don't get closure on the incident and their relationship
remains strained.

What allusions are used in the poem "Laugh and Be Merry" by John Masefield?

The obvious allusions in this poem are allusions made to
the Bible or religion as a whole. It is clear that the message of the poem--how we
should live our lives in spite of our imminent deaths--is based around Masefield's
religious beliefs as a Christian, as the allusions indicate. Note the major allusion
made to the Book of Genesis in the Bible and God's act of creating the
world:

Laugh
and be merry: remember, in olden time.
God made Heaven and Earth for joy He
took in a rhyme,
Made them, and filled them full with the strong red wine
of His mirth
The splendid joy of the stars: the joy of the
earth.

Although Masefield has
adapted this reference somewhat, it is clear that the allusion is to how God created the
heavens and the earth. Likewise we can find similar biblical allusions in how our lives
are presented and viewed, in particular their
brevity:

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...for the time is brief, a thread the length of
a span.

This relates to
various biblical references where the brevity of our lives as humans is established.
Thus the main allusions in this life-affirming poem seem to come from the Bible, which
serves to reinforce Masefield's central message of how we should live our lives based on
the inescapable fact of their brevity.

Calculate area bounded by the curve y=cosx/(sin^2x-4), x axis and the lines x = 0 and x = pi/2 .

To calculate the area located under the given curve and
between the given lines, we'll have to calculate the definite integral of the function y
= f(x), whose limits of integration are x = 0 and x =
pi/2.

Int f(x)dx = Int cos x dx/[(sin x)^2 -
4]

We'll use substitution technique and w'ell replace sin x
by another variable, t.

sin x =
t

We'll differentiate both
sides:

cos x dx = dt

We'll
re-write the integral of the function in t:

Int dt/(t^2 -
4) = F(1) - F(0) (Leibniz Newton)

We've replaced the limits
of integration, too.

For x = 0 => sin 0 = t1 =
0

For x = pi/2 => sin pi/2 = t2 =
1

We'll calculate Int dt/(t^2 -
4)

Int dt/(t^2 - 4) = Int
dt/(t-2)(t+2)

1/(t-2)(t+2) = A/(t-2) +
B/(t+2)

1 = t(A+B) + 2A -
2B

A+B = 0

A-B =
1/2

-2B = 1/2

B = -1/4
=> A = 1/4

1/(t-2)(t+2) = 1/4(t-2) -
1/4(t+2)

Int dt/(t-2)(t+2) = Int dt/4(t-2) - Int
dt/4(t+2)

Int dt/(t-2)(t+2) = (1/4)*[ln|t-2| -
ln|t+2|]

We'll apply quotient rule of
logarithms:

Int dt/(t-2)(t+2) =
(1/4)*[ln|t-2|/|t+2|]

F(1) = (1/4)*[ln|1-2|/|1+2|] =
(1/4)*ln (1/3)

F(0) = (1/4)*[ln|0-2|/|0+2|] = (1/4)*ln 1 =
0

Int dt/(t-2)(t+2) = F(1) -
F(0)

Int dt/(t-2)(t+2) = (1/4)*ln
(1/3)

The area of the region located under
the curve f(x) and between x axis and the line x = 0 and x = pi/2,is A = (1/4)*ln (1/3)
square units.

Describe the depression of 1893.

The Depression of 1893, also known as the Panic of 1893,
was the worst economic downturn to hit the United States before the Great Depression of
the 1930s.  Thousands of American companies went out of business and dozens of railroad
companies failed as well.  Unemployment reached levels as high as 18% (roughly twice
what they are today) and there was a great deal of political unrest.  The most famous
example of this unrest was the march on Washington undertaken by "Coxey's
Army."

The depression is typically blamed on overbuilding,
especially of railroads.  This overbuilding led to a crash when the "bubble" burst.  The
crash caused businesses to fail as demand for their products
declined.

Does Shintoism focus on any gods?

This is a difficult question to answer since it is very
difficult to define exactly what a "god" is.  It is certainly possible to argue that
Shintoism has gods and that some of them are the focus of more veneration than others. 
It is also possible, however, the call the kami that are the object
of Shinto worship "spirits" rather than "gods."

Shinto
belief holds generally that there are huge numbers of kami that can
have an impact on the lives of human beings.  In this sense, the
kami can be seen as gods since they affect our lives and since
devotees of Shintoism believe that their favor can be obtained through proper ritual
practice.

Of these many kami, some are
more important than others.  Perhaps the most important is Amaterasu, the "sun
goddess."  She is seen as the progenitor of the Japanese royal family and has been one
of the most important kami in Shintoism.