This dissertation focuses on the relationship between accessibility to job opportunities, travel mode choices and employment outcomes of the disadvantaged. In past research examining the impact of accessibility on employment outcomes of the underprivileged, it has been an implicit assumption that a poor individual's employment status is directly connected to accessibility to transport modes and job opportunities. This dissertation challenges such a fundamental assumption and argues that due to unique travel needs of the poor, a high level of access to transportation means or job accessibility provided by a given travel mode does not automatically determine the choice of that particular travel mode. What is missing in the existing literature is examination of how accessibility affects travel mode choices for low-income individuals, and how travel mode preferences subsequently influence their employment outcomes. The objective of this dissertation is to shed new light on current understanding of the relationship between transportation and employment of the disadvantaged. The study focuses on explaining what factors influence low-income individuals in their choice of a transportation mode, and more importantly, how modal preferences, along with job accessibility, affect employment of the poor. Household travel survey data from the San Francisco Bay Area and the Atlanta Metropolitan Region were used to examine this interrelationship. The research findings show that higher modal and job accessibility do not always determine the choice of a particular travel mode, defying the assumption of the previous studies. What is important for enhancing one's employment is whether or not a low-income person has regular access to cars and an individual circumstance allows the poor to utilize existing automobiles rather than the efficiency of highway network. In terms of public transportation, higher job accessibility by transit network is associated with better employment outcomes for transit users. Nonetheless, when transit riders had to access transit systems by walking, job accessibility did not have meaningful impact on employment. It is important to note that the impact that job accessibility by transit has on employment is found only in a transit-friendly Bay Area. Policy implication from this dissertation is discussed. / text

HAVEN FOR ALL HUNGRY SOULS: THE INFLUENCE OF THE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND THE SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND SCHOOLS ON MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE By Serena Celeste Wilson Morris Brown College is a small, private historically Black college located near downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The College is the only post-secondary institution in Georgia founded by Blacks for the purpose of educating Blacks. The relationship between Morris Brown College, and the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools presents an untapped area of research regarding the how external regulatory and fiscal contributing bodies influence the internal mission, culture and management of an institution of higher education. Morris Brown College presents a unique case because, since its founding, it has maintained a close affiliation with the Church that established it. Yet, in recent years, its financial existence has been dependent upon the receipt and use of public funding—which is intricately tied to accrediting standards and oversight. In 2003 the College lost its accreditation. This study employs an ethnographic case-study qualitative research design to explore how the College’s relationship with these bodies influenced the institution’s organizational structure, fiscal management, and administrative culture and identity. The study’s findings indicate that the College’s relationship with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools was largely reflective of the values, ideals, and perspectives of who represented the College at any given time. The College’s relationship with its founding body, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, was primarily maintained through the placement of Church members (largely clergy) on the College’s board of trustees, and evidenced in the College’s ideology and mission. Although an autonomous operating body, the College’s relationships with these two bodies are complicated by the institution’s reliance on continued financial support from the Church, and validation (in the form of accreditation) from SACS. While healthy working relationships with both bodies are not mutually exclusive, the internal planning, governance, and evaluation of the College must necessarily consider the values and expectations of these (and other) external entities.

This thesis examines the lives of Cuban refugees who entered Atlanta, Georgia between 1950 and 1980. It explores early trans-national ties between the two areas. and how Cuban refugees relied on this relationship when they left the island. It shows the process they went through from finding aid and shelter to becoming a strong active community. It explains the role religious institutions had in settling refugees and shows how the state had to work to become equipped to provide resources to a large influx of Spanish-speakers. Through this thesis one will learn of the beginnings of an important Latino community in Atlanta and how its formation prepared the city for larger immigrant groups that would arrive later.

The intersection of homosexuality and faith values, a very controversial topic in the United States, has generated both social accommodation as well as “culture war.” In the past forty years this nation has witnessed the establishment of predominantly gay congregations, gay “welcoming” and “affirming” mainstream congregations, as well as virulently anti-gay religious organizations. This study investigates the origins and evolving history of gay and gay-affirming religious traditions in America with an emphasis on Atlanta and Georgia. Primarily an oral history, this project draws from eighty-two interviews as well as primary and secondary documents to construct this history. Several conclusions unfold: 1) Southern culture, though uniquely religious, has been more accommodating of gays and lesbians than heretofore appreciated; 2) citizens of Atlanta and the state of Georgia have been primary historical producers of gay and gay-affirming religious culture and institutions in America; 3) gay religious history pre-dates the Stonewall Rebellion, thus troubling and adding nuance to the traditional metanarrative of LGBTQ history; and 4) the paths of and to gay-affirming religious activism and institution building follows several distinct patterns.

This study will investigate Sears, Roebuck & Co. and the special relationship it established with the South during the first half of the twentieth-century. The study will examine oral interviews with former employees, southern literature and customer letters from the region in an effort to better understand how Sears became more than just a friend to the poor dirt farmers of the South; it became a uniquely southern institution.

The emergency response readiness of the public health and emergency management systems have become increasingly important topics for research, development and action in the United States. Senior citizens represent a large and growing population group in the United States. Older persons are likely to be disproportionately vulnerable during disasters because they are more likely to have chronic illnesses, functional limitations, and sensory, physical and cognitive disabilities than those of younger ages. Elderly health and safety have become the responsibility of the elderly themselves, of the community in which they live, and the various agencies and organizations charged with preparedness planning. The goal of this study was to assess the emergency operations plans (EOPs) of emergency relief agencies and organizations in the Atlanta area for the provision of emergency relief services utilized by senior citizens as a special needs population. The research and analysis performed was completed in two steps: a review of collected disaster and emergency operations plans (EOPs) and standard operating procedures (SOPs), and a qualitative analysis of a survey submitted to the agencies. Although many EOPs and SOPs referred to emergency relief services for special needs populations, the plans were not functional and did not fully outline the ‘who, what, when, where and how” to provide disaster relief services. Public health agencies must endeavor to better address the disaster related needs of elderly persons who have physical disabilities, special medical needs and communication disabilities. Disaster preparedness plans must ensure the availability of all items necessary to control and prevent complications related to chronic diseases, prevent acute events and promote functionality and independence.

As a chronic disease, asthma presents a significant public health challenge nationally and in Georgia. In 2007, over 22 million people, including over 9 million children, had asthma in the United States. In Georgia, 230,000, or 10% of children have asthma, which is more prevalent among children less than 18 years of age than among adults. While asthma affects people of all ages and socioeconomic status, low income and minority populations have the highest asthma morbidity. This has proven to be the case with residents of Neighborhood Planning Unit V (NPU-V), a low-income minority community located in southeast Atlanta. Children comprise 35% of NPU-V's population, and over half of them live below the poverty line. Among other concerns, children with asthma have higher rates of hospitalization and absenteeism from school than their peers. The hospitalization rates for children with asthma in South Atlanta aged 0-17 years of age is almost five times the rate of North Fulton County. The Georgia State University Institute of Public Health received grant funding for the planning and implementation of the Accountable Communities: Healthy Together-Asthma (ACHT-A) program to help address the problems associated with asthma in NPU-V and among patients of Southside Medical Center (SMC). The capstone project involved development of an evaluation plan for future determinations about the program’s effectiveness in achieving desired outcomes. The evaluation process included development of a logic model and putting systems in place to track and measure specific indicators. The project culminated in a preliminary assessment of selected program activities to establish baseline information for the program, its participants, and SMC staff.

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ABSTRACT This work answers the question “Who was Frances Virginia?” by recovering the story of an Atlanta entrepreneur, Frances Virginia Wikle Whitaker, and her tea room foodservice business. It acknowledges “Frances Virginia,” as the public knew her; and focuses on her career as demonstrative of an under‐theorized form of women’s activism. Her education and proclivity in the once all‐female domain of home economics have important characteristics that are under‐ represented, and often misinterpreted, in today’s discourse. I use a womanist theoretical lens within a historical frame to examine her story as a home economist during the tea room movement of the U. S. feminist movement’s Transition Era, 1920s‐1960s. Together, these elements illuminate the significance of Frances Virginia and her particular form of activism.