Abstract
This paper looks at the history of the land that lies beneath Staten Island, which was created over several hundred million years via the recurrent disintegration and smashing of continents. It then looks at the current geography and demography of the area, including population trends of the area.

From the Paper
"Around 500 million years ago, there was nothing called the Staten Island. What had in existence had been the continental chunks and some ocean basins. One of these continental chunks was ancient North America, which was named Laurentia. At this particular juncture in the history of the globe Laurentia was situated at the equator. Other chief continental chunks that found existence at the juncture are Baltica ancient Europe, Gondwanaland consisting of the ancient Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, and India, chunks of Asia, and a few micro continents. At the time of the previous 500 million years these continental chunks drifted around to their current geographic positions. (The Geology of Staten Island)."

Tags:continents

Abstract
This paper explains that, in the film "Boys Don't Cry", Brandon Teena, played by actor Hillary Swank, born a female living in Lincoln, Nebraska, desires to fulfill the need to fit into her surroundings as a male without any interference or confrontation while living her transgender lifestyle; from the beginning of the film, this is no easy task. The author states that it is exhilarating to watch Brandon Teena prevail over traditional bedrock notions of femininity, to see him present himself not as a tomboy or "tranny", but as an 'ideal' heterosexual male. The paper reflects that the film proves that gender is performative, expresses male dominance as well as the power of the phallus and relates that the lifestyle of transgender individuals in rural mid-America is a dangerous one.

From the Paper
"The location in which the movie had taken place seems to be that of everlasting suffering. It was clear by Lana Tisdel (played by Chloe Sevigny) that she hated the area in which she lived. Noting that she has a mother who is a drunk, and a violent and possibly abusive ex-boyfriend, it is no wonder why. Although at the time, Brandon's feelings about the same place are completely different, he mentions that he is from Graceland and offers Lana to join him someday. She gladly agrees and hopes they can run off together in the near future. Falls City Nebraska can be a signifier for hell. The name Falls has the connotation of being below or underground. Graceland has an opposing effect, sounding heavenly and free. Sadly, the only time the characters in the film have a remotely decent time is when they are intoxicated, driving, or both. Note that when they are driving, note that driving can be seen as an escape or not presently in Falls City."

Tags:performative, danger, rural, falls, ideal

Abstract
This paper explains that Spain came late to the industrial age; never truly recovering from the stinging 17th century loss of its legendary naval Armada at the hands of the British fleet and, by the 1830s, having lost virtually all its colonies, it became the quintessential "stagnant power," sinking slowly from first to second rate and languishing there for centuries. The author points out that, although a limited industrial infrastructure of roads, railways and manufacturing plants was in place, industrial development lagged far behind that of the United States, France, Germany and Great Britain. The paper relates that none of the dramatic changes from industrialization, which often have proven so disruptive elsewhere, has had much impact on Spain's social fabric because ninety-nine percent of the population remain staunchly Roman Catholic and family life is still deeply rooted and a bedrock of support in times of crisis, thus, Spain refuses to be overwhelmed by the so-called hustle-and-bustle of newly urbanized life.

Table of Contents
Industrialization Then
Industrialization Now

From the Paper
"Just like everything else seems to have become in the last twenty years or so, industrializing now would surely be much more difficult and complex than it was - even for Spain just four decades ago, though that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. For one, things are always more complicated in a democracy than a dictatorship, where one man can have (as Franco did) quick and final say over all exigencies. Assuming Franco's demise and the installation of a gently progressive regime like the one now in power, nowadays worker safety and, in Spain, worker wages and job security, would no doubt be studied and evaluated for any new manufacturing plant, highway or railroad to be built."

Tags:stagnant-power, infrastructure, roman-catholic, franco, environment

Abstract
This paper discusses the dynamics of systemic or institutional racism that maintain white privilege. The paper presents a critical view of US/UK bedrock of theory, when discussing Canadian phenomenon. The paper presents fieldwork which reveals that most homeless persons in a Toronto facility were 'white' and when speaking with a white mentally ill vagrant man, it was realized that his 'privilege' did not mean any institution was responsible for him.

From the Paper
"`Whiteness', Institutional Racism, and `White Privilege'. Course materials indicating institutional racism pertain most often to British or American examples, and employing a jargon of `privilege' that is interesting to examine in relation to contemporary Canada. One is to assume that the situations of these quite strongly racist societies are pertinent to Canada, in which racism certainly exists, but in a condition not to be compared with what is encountered in the others. Should we be examining institutional racism and white privilege in Australia, for instance, or other communal distinctions in India, or in Israel? An interesting approach is taken in John Hartigan's discussion of the American case, in reference to `rednecks', `hillbillies' and `white trash', as marked racial subjects. (2003: 95-111) "

Tags:whiteprivilege, uk/usatheory, race

Abstract
When determining the true roots of the United States' Constitution, the paper shows that this great document is a conglomerate of Greek, French, and English political ideologies. First, the very heart of democracy lies with the ancient Athenians and their city-state, or polis, where all citizens were individuals and could express their thoughts and opinions freely. Second, the paper shows that, through the ideals of Montesquieu, the Constitution reflects the French face of democracy and obviously serves as the very bedrock for the document. Finally, the paper shows that the English Constitution bears some responsibility for the formation of its American counterpart, due to the opinions of Carter Braxton (1736-1797), a wealthy planter, Continental Congress delegate ,and signer of the Declaration of Independence, who argued that "the best way to preserve liberty and stability would be to model the new government after the British Constitution", which fortunately did not occur, and thus allowed the "Founding Fathers" to employ their own principles as they evolved from the minds and works of those that came before them.

From the Paper
"But one of the most influential aspects of Athenian democracy which was later incorporated into the American Constitution was the idea of majority rule which symbolizes the principle that the interest of the group must prevail over that of the individual citizen when the freedom of the group and the freedom of the individual come into conflict. Thus, the Athenians assumed that the right way to protect democracy was always to trust the majority vote of free-born, adult male citizens without any restrictions on a man's ability to say what he thought was best for his country and for democracy. And much like the political ideals associated with the "Founding Fathers" such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, majority rule rested on the belief that the cumulative political wisdom of the majority of voters would always outweigh the voices of the minority, especially when such minorities exhibited certain eccentricities and irresponsible acts which on the whole might upset the democratic system."

Tags:James, Madison, Spirit, of, Laws, Aristotle, John, Locke

Abstract
This paper examines how the bonds of friendship are formed, looking particularly at the ways in which interactions with other people help to mold our sense of self and how interpersonal communication is the bedrock of friendship. It uses a model of the development of friendship (and the subsequent development of sense of self that any serious and/or long-term friendship entails) developed by L. Long and J. Wood to demonstrate how deeply interactive a process the relationship of friendship is. Using the friendship between the author's mother and her friend, it describes the six stages of friendship that Young and Wood describe as being typical of an evolving friendship. It then connects these at each step to the stage of friendship that actually occurred between and linking these descriptions to other theoretical models of the interactionist model of relational communication.

From the Paper
"The first phase of friendship (these phases are arranged chronologically) is a "role-limited interaction" that "includes early interactions that tend to follow standard roles and rules" (long and Wood, 2000, p. 181). In other words, during this phase of friendship, while we are interested in forming more intimate and particularistic bonds with someone, we tend to act as someone in our role is expected to. In other words, the opening phase of a friendship is marked by an adherence to socially and culturally defined norms that we bring to the relationship, norms that we have already incorporated into our sense of self through previous interactions with other individuals (primarily the family if we are young and other friends and colleagues if we are older) and social institutions (Bell and Coleman, 1999, p. 23)."

Tags:long, wood, interpersonal, communication, self

Abstract
There is a new technology of criminal activity which involves the use electronic means of communication in committing crimes. This paper looks in greater depth at some of these issues by examining the FBI Carnivore system, how it was developed, what its capacities are, and the problems civil libertarians and others see.

From the paper:

"It has a ferocious name. And its bark is in fact probably just about as bad as its bite. And while it certainly has the power to do good, the inherent costs may make it not worthwhile.
The FBI?s Carnivore system is a tool used by this law enforcement agency to snare criminals who use electronic means of communication in committing their crimes, allowing this federal agency to collect and examine email and other electronic traffic sent and received by those suspected or accused of crimes ? along, of course, with the rest of us. While the crime-fighting capacities of such a capability can be seen to be substantial, it should also be clear that such a system has the ability (if improperly used) to cause substantial harm to the rights of the innocent because most people do not realize that their electronic correspondence can be seized and examined. An essential bedrock of the American legal system (and indeed of American culture) rests on the English common-law assumption that people have a basic right to privacy and that unless they should assume or know otherwise that they have a presumption of that privacy. Thus a person shouting on a public street has no reasonable expectation of privacy. A person sitting at her computer sending email to her mother does."

Tags:investigate, arrest, access, privacy, espionage, internet, laws, ilicet, rights, democracy, police, fear

Abstract
This paper examines the process through which a typical friendship is developed and maintained, looking particularly at the ways in which interactions with other people help to mold our sense of self and how interpersonal communication is the bedrock of friendship using examples from the movies "Steel Magnolias" and "City Slickers". This paper incorporates a theoretical model developed by Long and Wood as well as drawing upon the writer's personal experience and popular notions of friendship.

From the Paper
"Many of us would like to think that someone deep down inside of us is our own true self, a person who never compromises or is compromised, an independent person who makes up her own mind, who is never subject to peer pressure or societal influences, a person who stays the same through thick and thin, who endures over time and through all challenges.
But while such an image of a pure, unchanging and incorruptible self is appealing (and has its roots in the Romanticism of the 19th century, which taught that we should believe in the innate goodness of all people, a reverence for individuality, and in the primacy of the connection between the pure human heart and the state of nature), it is in fact not an accurate one. In fact, while our sense of self is dependent on some internal factors, such as our genetic heritage and our physical state of well-being, most of our sense of who we are is derived from the people with whom we interact, and especially our family and friends. We are not in fact always the same person: We differ from one situation to the next and certainly from one year (or decade) to the next."

Tags:romantism, movie, film, friendship, sociology, Long, Wood

Abstract
This paper is divided into two parts. The first part distinguishes between glacial erosion and weathering and the second part discusses the varying influence of the factors affecting the rate and type of glacial erosion. The paper shows that the main type of glacial erosion is abrasion and the characteristics of both the bedrock and the abrasive rock have a large influence on abrasion rates.

From the Paper
"The concept of glacial erosion can be considered using the "systems approach", with the factors that influence the erosion as the inputs, the type and rate of the erosion itself as the processes, and the resultant landforms and characteristics as the outputs. The type of erosion that has the largest effect on the landscape is abrasion. Abrasion is the process by which entrained, subglacial debris grinds against the bedrock as the glacier moves, and wears the bedrock away as a result. There are three factors that are essential for abrasion to occur."

Tags:geography, glacier, meltwater, Pressure, Melting, Point

Abstract
This paper discusses Linda Ivanits's book, "Russian Folk Belief". The paper states that the book is a foundational, and possibly one-of-a-kind work, exploring concepts of Russian culture that have previously been unknown. The bedrock themes that are present within Ivanits's work are continually demonstrated within her text through real memories and experiences of Russian people. The paper describes how Ivanits clearly demonstrates how a tradition associated with eons of standards and cultural practices has evolved through more modern times into the age of Christianity. Each section of her book weaves the roots of Russian folk belief with the dominance of the Christian ethic and practice.

From the Paper
"Ivanits give and initial account of the Pagan history of many supernatural beliefs and identities all of which are rich and varied and inclusive of the Russian peasant lifestyle. Ivanits then moves on to introduce the reader to the themes as they associate to the names and faces of the Christian personages. Superimposition of the personification of the saints and characters of the past in Russian Orthodoxy is proven without a doubt to be associated with the foundational personifications of historical supernatural pagan identities. "

Tags:oral, tradition, history, russia