This study examines recent population redistribution patterns in the United States in light of two theoretical perspectives. The regional restructuring perspective attributes the 1970's metropolitan-area decline to the economic dislocation of the period. The deconcentration perspective assigns considerable importance to the role of resident-consumer preferences in location decisions. Redistribution hypotheses regarding population redistribution across regions, within regions, and for selected large metropolitan areas were tested. The findings provide support for the regional restructuring perspective. The 1980's redistribution differs from those of the 1970's. In the 1970's, population in the nation's nonmetropolitan areas grew faster than metropolitan areas, signaling what was known as "counterurbanization". In the 1980's, a return to urbanization was observed with metropolitan areas growing faster than nonmetropolitan areas. In the Northeast, the 1970's metropolitan-area decline was largely accounted for by the losses of the Middle Atlantic Census division. A decade later, the New England Census division continued counterurbanization, while the Middle Atlantic division reverted to the 1960's urbanization pattern. Within the Midwest, the 1970's counterurbanization took place in the East North Central Census division alone. In the 1980's, this region also reverted to the 1960's urbanization pattern. Within the West, the 1970's counterurbanization was less evident and peculiar to the Pacific Census division. In the 1980's, this region reverted to urbanization. The pattern in the South is different from the other three regions. Here, urbanization was predominant during both decades. The 1980's redistribution shifts for large metropolitan areas coincided with the regional restructuring perspectives's expectations. For instance, New York, Philadelphia, and St. Louis which lost population in the 1970's sustained population gains during the 1980's. Likewise, regional redistribution of manufacturing employment coincided with the regional restructuring perspectives's expectations. In early 1970's, the "periphery" regions recorded growth in manufacturing employment, while the "core" regions sustained losses in manufacturing employment. Increased out-migration from the Northeast and Midwest regions and heavy in-migration to the South and West regions were largely responsible for the interregional population redistribution. In conclusion, the 1980's spatial distribution in the United States represents a return to urbanization, while the 1970's counterurbanization constituted a temporary spatial phenomenon.

This dissertation explores competitive market dynamics and firm configurations of resources and capabilities as a complex adaptive system using a computer simulation. The work is an extension of the broad literature on strategy-environment alignment, integrating concepts from the organizational literature about strategic types, organizational evolutionary dynamics, the resource-based theory of the firm, microeconomics, and artificial intelligence to create a simulation system that makes the process of market evolution with heterogeneous agents available for experimentation. The work provides a means to model and study complex dynamic systems, such as evolving agents and markets, and reveals how such chaotic systems can support and undermine strategic actions initiated by agents. Results both corroborate and diverge from received theory concerning competitive advantage and luck.

The current study aimed to explore peoples’ experiences of social and organisational justice, and in doing so asked three central questions. The first focused on whether there was a relationship between the different dimensions of justice, and the second on the commonalties and differences in peoples’ perceptions of justice. The third question looked at whether demographic variables, as markers of social identity, were predictive of such justice perceptions. The study was quantitative in nature, and made use of a non-experimental, partially exploratory, cross-sectional design. Four hundred and eight six employees of a large South African manufacturing organisation completed a self report questionnaire containing questions about a range of biographic, domestic, financial, employment, and religious information, as well as two measures of social and organisational justice perceptions. Once preliminary analyses were carried out to ensure the psychometric properties of the measuring instruments and explore the data set, two key statistical procedures were used to answer the research questions, namely a cluster analysis and a Chi Squared Automatic Interaction Detection or CHAID analysis. Results of these analyses provided some evidence to argue that justice perceptions in different contexts, while not strongly related, cannot be seen in isolation from another, and that a more integrative or reciprocal approach to understanding different justice perceptions needs to be adopted. Further, the results of the cluster analysis demonstrated that a range of key justice concerns differentiated groups from another, including collective versus individual concerns, personal versus impersonal events, as well as concerns related to the different types of relationships that exist. Finally, the CHAID analysis provided some indication of which demographic variables were the best determinants of social and organisational justice perceptions, and the ways in which demographic variables interacted with one another in relation to peoples’ experiences of justice.

This dissertation proposes that Dr. Mary C. Gentilel's (1998) descriptive Reframing Diversity model provides for the development of a public sector diversity program. The Reframing Diversity model does not suggest that diversity programs conform to a "one-size-fits all" design. The dissertation applied the lenses (motivation, mindset, method, and measure) of Gentile's Reframing Diversity model to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) diversity program. The lenses of Gentile's model offer questions that are straightforward, easy to understand, and organizationally specific. Additionally, the project utilized the generally accepted approach for qualitative inquiry supported by Rubin and Rubin (1995) to develop an interview protocol for selected FDIC employees. The most salient characteristic of Gentile's model, the lenses, apply to any program regardless of the target audience. The lenses of Gentile's model are the architecture upon which a public sector organization could build a successful diversity program. The model's descriptive nature allows public organizations to develop diversity programs that are voluntary in nature; inclusive of its total employee population; and incorporated into its day-to-day activities. / Ph. D.

The religious landscape of Mississippi has long been dominated by evangelical Protestant denominations, most prominently the Southern Baptist and United Methodist. These two denominations have led the state in total number of churches and church members since the early 20th century, with few affiliations contending for their numbers. However, as the aggregate population of the state increases for the first time since the 1930?s, these traditional denominational patterns have been subjected to shifts in demographic conditions occurring throughout the state. To evaluate the impacts of demographic changes on traditional geographic religious patterns, an evaluation comparing religious and demographic variables for 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 was completed. Results of this evaluation indicated changes in Mississippi?s patterns of denominational affiliation, with the dominating Southern Baptist, United Methodist, and Presbyterian affiliations experiencing losses in church adherent percentages, and increased church adherent growth in Pentecostal, Latter Day Saints, and Church of Christ affiliations.

The purpose of this study was to determine if there are personal and demographic characteristics which can predict the most accurate teacher appraisers. The demographics were limited to the following: campus-level job assignment, employing district size, sex, race, number of years of experience as an administrator, previous level of teaching experience, and curriculum area taught by the appraiser. The 622 subjects were school administrators trained to utilize the Texas Teacher Appraisal System. The data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Where an independent variable was significant (.05), a follow-up ANOVA and Tukey's multiple comparison were employed. Based on the findings of this study the following conclusions were drawn: 1. A summary data set indicated there was little evidence that any of the demographic variables was a significant predictor of accuracy in the evaluation process. 2. Six different data sets indicated that varying instructional settings and methodologies can influence evaluator accuracy. The campus assignment, years of experience, content area taught, race, and sex of the appraisers were all identified in at least one of the exercise sets as having significance. Except for sex and race, none of the variables was found to be significant when the overall prediction equation with all demographic variables was evaluated. 3. In the prediction equations of this study the percent of variance was so minute that social significance could not be established. 4. The Texas Teacher Appraisal System can be used by appraisers with various backgrounds and experiences without a reduction of accuracy. 5. School boards can appoint appraisers with various backgrounds and experiences without a reduction of accuracy in the process.

Master of Arts / Department of Economics / Tracy M. Turner / The recent housing crisis has highlighted the need to better understand the determinants of mortgage default. Concerns about potential sizable differences in default rates by race and ethnicity as well as reports in the popular press regarding the propensity for rising numbers of homeowners to strategically default motivate a careful study of mortgage delinquency in America post-housing bubble. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we examine borrowers in the years 2005, 2007 and 2009 and, controlling for a number of default-related variables, take a closer look at the characteristics of those delinquent on their mortgage by 2009. We find startling racial and ethnic gaps present as well as strong effects from children, education, and the presence of recourse/non-recourse laws in the state of residence on the likelihood of delinquency. In addition, we find evidence that strategic default plays a role in explaining the likelihood that a homeowner in 2005 will be delinquent on his or her mortgage by 2009.

No description available.

Records of 667 of 1242 Western Massachusetts Department of Mental Health clients, meeting age and diagnostic criteria established for the study, were analyzed for their use of inpatient and community mental health services. Clients from four geographic areas were compared on the dependent variables: admissions and inpatient days per year, before and after the initiation of community mental health services. Socio-demographic and clinical variables, as well as the utilization of community mental health services also were measured for each individual. Dramatic reductions in the utilization of inpatient care were demonstrated, with admissions per year decreasing by 56%, from 1.40 to.61; and inpatient days per year decreasing by 80% from 128 to 28. Increased admissions were related to increased use of outpatient care, medication services, diagnosis of Major Mood Disorders, shorter total duration in the mental health system, fewer inpatient days prior to community mental health services and increased inpatient days after community mental health services. Increased inpatient days were associated with increases in education, total years in the mental health system, years in community mental health services, admissions prior to community mental health services, and decreased use of outpatient therapy. Decreased admissions were related to increases in the use of inpatient days prior to community mental health services. Decreased inpatient days were associated with the use of staffed residential, day treatment, and other day programs, as well as increased admissions prior to community mental health services, and years in the mental health system. The use of community mental health services in predicting decreased inpatient utilization improved the R$\sp2$ by 16.7%. There were no differences in patterns of inpatient utilization among catchment areas after initiating community services, although differences existed in mix and availability of services, as well as resources. The availability of selective community services were related to inpatient utilization. It is suggested that there may be a threshold of service availability beyond which additional resources, although they may contribute to the quality or diversity of opportunities, do not impact inpatient utilization. These findings suggest that the paradigm for future research must included service variables in the predictive models.

The primary objective of this thesis was to analyze trends among demographic profiles and personalities identified by the CliftonStrengths® assessment (formerly Clifton StrengthsFinder®) of Illinois FFA state officers in order to better understand and improve the team dynamics and training provided by National FFA facilitators and Illinois FFA staff. The population analyzed included Illinois FFA officers elected from 2006-2019. Major findings include a positive trend among male candidates advancing through the Illinois FFA major state officer election process, though also identified a trend of females being elected more during the years more females originally run for office. Geographic representation of major state officers remained fairly consistent among the Illinois FFA districts, though large differences were identified in the representation from specific Illinois FFA sections. Various trends were also identified among gender representation and personality trends from each of the different Illinois FFA districts. Personality trends were identified among Illinois FFA major state officers, and differences were identified, most notably within the Strategic Thinking Domain, between Illinois FFA major state officer talent themes and those of state FFA officers nationwide. A pendulum affect was also identified in the talent theme domains most prevalent among Illinois FFA major state officers over time.