What rule does Ralph establish?

In Chapter 2, Ralph, Jack, and Simon return from their first expedition on the island and hold an assembly. After Ralph explains to the group of boys that they are stranded on an uninhabited island, Jack interrupts him and says that they'll need hunters to kill the numerous pigs. Ralph then creates the first rule on the island. Ralph comments that they cannot have everybody speaking at once during the assemblies, so they will take turns holding the conch shell to address the group. Whenever a person is holding the conch shell during a meeting, no one is allowed speak over them. This system of taking turns is both democratic and civil. The conch shell is an important symbol of civility and structure throughout the novel. As the story progresses, Jack begins to speak over others and breaks the rule of not talking when someone is holding the conch during an assembly.

What would happen to the owls if there were fewer grasshoppers?

In an ecosystem, there are food chains and a food web, which is made up of interconnected food chains. Owls and grasshoppers can be considered to be part of the same food chain, since owls are natural predators of grasshoppers. 

From the point of view of a food chain in which owls are dependent on grasshoppers, if most of the grasshoppers are removed (that is, the grasshopper population falls drastically) then owls will have scarcity of food and will die out. A new equilibrium will be established with fewer owls supported by fewer grasshoppers. 

However, from the perspective of the food web, owls have more than 1 food source and if grasshoppers are reduced, owls will live on other food sources and hence the effect on the owl population will not be as drastic as in the case of a food chain.

In essence, in an ecosystem, a reduction in the population of grasshoppers will result in a decreased owl population and a newer equilibrium between the various species.

Hope this helps. 

How does All the President's Men show that a free and independent press is essential to the operating of a democratic government?

All the President's Men was published in the immediate aftermath of the Watergate scandal, in 1974. It is essentially a memoir of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two Washington Post journalists who played a large role in shedding light on the illegal activities of the Nixon White House in the wake of the break-ins at the Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate hotel in 1972. The book is written in very straightforward, spare prose, and essentially provides a day-by-day account of the relentless efforts of these two young writers to get to the bottom of the cover-up. Woodward and Bernstein are not given to statements of their own importance, or the role of the media in the book, which does not really feature a thesis or argument. But what does emerge in the book is a sense of the seriousness of the crimes of the Nixon Administration. The cover-up that followed the break-ins involved, as the reporters revealed, abuses of power on an unprecedented level. Woodward and Bernstein did not make the revelations that caused Nixon to resign--these came up during the Watergate Senate hearings and with the release of the White House tapes--but they helped keep the scandal in the national consciousness. It was their reporting, as related in the book, that ultimately made it impossible for the Nixon Administration to simply sweep the incident under the rug. For a democracy to exist, its leaders have to be accountable to the people they represent. All the President's Men demonstrates how the media, free to report the facts, can hold government officials responsible for their actions when the government fails to do so itself.

When and where is Little Women set?

When the novel begins, it is Christmastime. We know the novel is set sometime during the early 1860s because Mr. March, the girls' father, is away serving as a chaplain for the North in the Civil War. When the book opens, it is likely 1861 or 1862 because it doesn't seem as though the war has been going on for very long at this point. Early in the story, while the March sisters are complaining about all the things they don't have, Jo says,

"We haven’t got Father, and shall not have him for a long time." She didn’t say "perhaps never," but each [of her sisters] silently added it, thinking of Father far away, where the fighting was.

Later, Mr. March actually sustains an injury during his service and is sent home.

As far as geographical setting, the novel takes place in New England, though the town in which the March and Lawrence families live is never explicitly named. Most readers agree the location seems to be based on Alcott's home in Concord, Massachusetts, but this is never directly stated in the story. 

In Norman Silver's poem "Postcard," what are oily rainbows?I'm having a hard time understanding the stanza:Only a single tourist beguiled by the...

This stanza seems to be about pollution. Specifically, "oily rainbows" is a visual effect seen on water that contains pollution from petrol products, such as gasoline, motor oil or plastics. The mention of "plastic treasures" found by the tourist who goes swimming seems to confirm this theory, that the water is polluted by trash. We see further hints of this in the image of "the waterfall piddling its pea green into the pond where the puffy goldfish float" -- the pea green color suggests polluted water, and the goldfish being "puffy" suggests that they are dead (poisoned by pollution), as does the fact that they are floating.

The poem's narrator also refers to a sort of sadness related to the degradation of this natural place over time, in referring to "the shelter where the ancients used to look out to sea." This hints that the degradation may have begun long ago, when these humans were "sheltering" here and looking towards the sea, which is an image of ambition, the basis of human colonization and industry, the base causes of pollution. The title "postcard" also speaks to the fleeting beauty of the place before it was ruined, as if it is only beautiful in memory. It also references the human tendency to reduce natural beauty to photographs or concepts, instead of placing value in the place itself, and the physical experience of being there, which would perhaps prevent pollution on a wider scale, because appreciation for visiting the physical location can inspire visitors to preserve its beauty.

Does Harrison demonstrate personal responsibility in the story "Harrison Bergeron"?

Harrison Bergeron demonstrates personal responsibility because he initiates action to take individual control of his life.

Interestingly, the last name of this character--Bergeron--is formed from the surname of Berger, used in both German and French. This surname is the occupational name for a shepherd. Significantly, then, Harrison seeks to lead the "sheep" of his society as emperor. 
While his attempt to overthrow the compulsory mediocrity of his society enforced by the Controller of this standard, Diana Moon Glampers, and his purpose is idealistically sound, Harrison's actions become tyrannical and his actions reckless.

So, in the end, he is like the shepherd who fails to watch his sheep and they leap into the abyss under Harrison's corruptive power. For, as he revels in his take-over of the television station, Harrison dances and leaps with his empress while the Handicapper General has time to load a double-barreled ten-gauge shotgun and blow them out of the air as they defy gravity. Thus, she restores the low standards that meet her level because Harrison has exceeded his level of personal responsibility. 

How does history help citizens know their own countries better?

The study of history helps citizens know their country better. By studying history, people can learn how their country formed and then developed over time. They can discover which countries were their friends and which were their enemies. They can also see how they have treated other people, either living in their country or those people living in other places around the world.

By studying history, people can learn what resources their country had and how those resources were used to help the country grow and develop. People can learn how their country dealt with serious issues that impacted their country. They also can learn how their culture developed. By studying history, they can learn how workers were treated and how, or if, the government valued the citizens. Through the study of history, people can learn about wars in which their country fought. They can also learn about how their country built an empire or if their country built an empire.

A person can learn a lot about their country by studying its history.