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Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / John W. Keller / Rural communities are a vital part of America; they account for two-thirds of the land in the U.S. and are home to about one in every nine Americans. Throughout history, our country has been shaped by their presence and social, economic, and cultural influence (Flora et al., 2004). For over the past half century however, communities in rural America have been declining in size and population; in nearly 70% of the counties of the Great Plains, there are fewer people residing there today than there were in 1950. Furthermore, over the last half of the 20th century, residents living on farms in America have dropped by two-thirds (Mayer, 1993). These statistics indicate a drastic pattern of population loss among small town communities and farms throughout rural America, which is devastating because they [towns] ultimately depend on population to contribute to their industries, businesses, and local services in order to function and survive (Wood, 2008). Understanding the causes of rural decline is important in the field of planning; nevertheless, identifying statistical relationships and spatial patterns associated with rural decline is just as important. This research report is both an overview on rural decline, and a comparative analysis of rural decline amongst Kansas counties. The objective of this research report is to identify characteristics, patterns, and trends associated with rural decline, and to rank Kansas counties according to a list of variables which represent those characteristics for analytical purposes. The ultimate goal is to explain any spatial phenomenon associated with the variables and Kansas counties, as well as identify specific counties in Kansas most devastated by factors associated with rural decline. In order to determine which counties are most devastated by factors associated with rural decline, a numerical comprehensive comparative analysis will be conducted; the results of the analysis will serve as a side-by-side measure of rural decline among Kansas counties. It will also serve as the template for conducting the simulation and modeling research; ArcGIS 9.3.1 will be utilized in order display the characteristics, patterns, and trends of rural decline spatially among Kansas counties. The final maps will help serve to derive final conclusions on rural decline in Kansas.

There is a broad literature on the finance-growth nexus in the macroeconomics literature. Is there evidence for the finance-growth nexus at the sub-national region? If so, can macroeconomic finance and growth methods be extended to sub-national regions? Joseph Schumpeter argued that banks promote economic growth by choosing which projects to fund, by mobilizing underutilized capital, by managing risk and by monitoring managers. This dissertation proposes a modified Martin and Ottaviano (2001) model that allows for borrowing to form new firms or to expand existing firms. The model shows that if borrowing across regional lines is costly, above and beyond the normal interest rate, that new firm formation will tend to agglomerate in the more financially developed region. With this theory in hand, the dissertation goes on to test the effects of bank deposits on earned income in Kentucky counties. Using equation-by-equation and simultaneous equations panel data methods, this dissertation shows that there is a strong correlation between the size of the bank deposits in a county and income growth. Since Kentucky counties are small and economically interconnected, spatial autocorrelation tests are applied with the result that there are pockets within Kentucky where incomes are spatially correlated. Spatial panel estimates are then conducted to correct for spatial autocorrelation. These results show a strong correlation between deposits and income growth. This dissertation contributes to the literature in three ways. First, it proposes a model that ties endogenous growth, the New Economic Geography and the finance-growth nexus together in a Neo-Schumpeterian context. Second, it gives evidence for the finance-growth nexus in Kentucky counties under methods similar to those used in macroeconomics. Third, the dissertation suggests a way forward in performing future analysis of the finance-growth nexus in a sub-national context. Overall, this dissertation finds evidence to support the hypothesis that the size of the banking industry in a given county positively influences earned income growth. There is also evidence that having a large banking industry in a neighboring county has a positive spillover effect on earned income. Further estimates to control for endogeneity find evidence that the effect of deposits on income growth is stronger than the effect of income growth on deposits.

This thesis includes information on the topography, historical background, military contribution after statehood, social history, economic development, government organization, and early towns and settlements of Roberson County.

This thesis discusses the creation and history of Hardeman County in the state of Texas. The period of the Texas Republic was one of uncertain and unstable government, and the Red River Municipality thus created in 1835 remained as such for only two years. It was realized by the government that such large political subdivisions would not be easily administered, and by 1837 these municipalities were further divided into counties. The vast territory encompassed by the original boundaries of the Red River Municipality yielded thirty-five counties between 1837 and 1891, including Hardeman. The population of the newly created county was made up entirely of transient pioneers and roving bands of cowboys and cattlemen. The official census did not list a record of any population until 1880, when fifty people were shown as residents.

MUNICIPAL AND REGIONAL PROCEDURE RULES Abstract The theme of work are municipal and regional procedure rules according to positive law. An important issue is legal nature and relevance of procedure rules according to positive law. The conclusion of this part of the diploma work is the negative and positive definition of the legal nature of procedure rules. The core of the assessment of the appropriatiness and legality of the specific procedure rules is the analysis of contemporary case law addressing the legal action against unlawful interference with the rights the question of right of a citizen of the county, eventually municipality to comment on individual agenda items discussed by the council. The specific procedure rules of various councils were analysed from the point of possible discrepancies with the law, redundant provisions copying the law or details concerning the implementation of the citizen rights to express their attitudes towards the issues discussed by the council. The conclusion of my work are suggestions de lege ferenda, which can be briefly summarized into three scopes. The first of all is an explicit statutory regulation of the obligation to publish the procedure rules in a manner allowing remote access. The second suggestion de lege ferenda is recommendation to add details on council...

African American male ex-offenders struggle with lack of assistance during their transition from incarceration, and they encounter many barriers when released back into the community. The purpose of my general qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of whether the reentry program impacted African American male ex-offenders likelihood of recidivating within one year. The theoretical framework included labeling theory, social disorganization theory, and social learning theory. The population consisted of 60 African American male ex-offenders intake participants of a reentry program that all completed the Client Satisfaction Survey. A purposive random sampling method was used to select ten participants for in-depth interviews. Data were collected through responses on the Client Satisfaction Survey and qualitative interviews. The research question was addressed through inductive coding and thematic analysis. The findings indicated that the reentry program enhanced participants' well-being, improved their communication, and increased their resourcefulness. Findings may be used to develop and improve reentry programs to promote better reentry outcomes and safer communities.

This thesis mainly discusses the System of Counties in the Period of Spring And Autumn, the System of Prefectures and the Placement of Officials in the Period of Warring States.It contains various countries' prefectures and counties' officers and the origin of the placement of officials, its changing conditions, as well as its development and the distributed situation.The study is focused on whether these systems were closely conneted to its time and various districts.

Challenging economic conditions have led local governments to explore alternative methods to deliver public services to residents. This thesis explores historical contracting out trends and offers new research about contracting out activity by local jurisdictions in the state of Florida. Through an e-survey, the new data examines if cities and counties in Florida increased contracting out activity of public services in response to a declining economic environment and changes in population growth trends. This elaborate and multifaceted task is accomplished through a deliberate interdisciplinary research approach. The literature review consists of well-known publication responsible for creating the foundation of contracting out research, which has been covered often in previous research. However, this thesis also spans across customary research approaches by including recent news coverage from non-traditional sources, extensive analysis of the most recent United States economic recession, and a close examination of the specific changes that transpired in Florida. It covers publication from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the National League of Cities (NLC). It also covers data from sources focused on Florida such as the Bureau of Economic Business Research (BEBR, Florida Department of Revenue (DOR), and the Florida League of Cities (FLC). Combined with a comprehensive literature review, the research explores whether two explanatory factors (population growth changes and fiscal pressures) were drivers of contracting out decisions by Florida counties and cities during the 2007-2009 recession.