Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

viii, 88 p. : ill. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / In recent years, researchers have taken a particular interest in the spatial concentration of poverty due to evidence suggesting that people liVing within certain densities of poverty are more likely to experience certain problems or what have become known as neighborhood effects. This analysis is a quantitative study, focused on describing changes in poverty concentration between 1990 and 2000 in United States metropolitan areas. The study reports changes seen at the commonly used 40% poverty concentration threshold between 1990 and 2000, while at the same time considering other concentration thresholds and how changing the threshold by which we evaluate poverty informs the general trends policy makers receive information about when changes in poverty occur. / Committee in Charge: Neil Bania, Ph.D., Chair; Jessica Greene, Ph.D.; Jean Stockard, Ph.D.

Thesis does not include an abstract / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Open space is one of the most important and most neglected parts of the urban fabric. The rush of rapid urbanization has consumed much land which might better have been left open to exploit its values to society for recreation, food production, flood prevention, aesthetics, and even for shaping urban development. In order for open space to fulfill these functions the use of the land must be planned in advance of development, and open land which has natural qualities that are valuable to society should be preserved. One method which is being used to preserve this land is through the use of conservation easements. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not conservation easements are an effective means of preserving open space, and which level of government is best able to use them. Therefore, the hypothesis was posed that, Conservation easements are an effective means of preserving open space, and they should be implemented by local public agencies. To reach a conclusion about this hypothesis an exhaustive review of all the available literature on the subject of conservation easements was conducted. This was followed by correspondence and interviews with representatives of several public and private bodies which were known to have been involved in the acquisition of easements, or were known to have considered the use of conservation easements. The analysis indicates that the successful use of conservation easements, their acceptance by both public officials and private landowners, and the resolution of the technical difficulties which are inevitable in the application of a developing concept, are evidence that conservation easements are an effective means of preserving open space. Furthermore, the analysis shows that various factors in the use of conservation easements mitigate for different conclusions as to which level of government can best implement them. Therefore, it is concluded that only some conservation easements should be implemented by local public agencies, and that the choice as to which level of government or private organization is most suitable should be based on a knowledge of the easement's purposes and the circumstances under which it is to be acquired and held, as well as on a knowledge of the capabilities of the various public and private bodies. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The general concern of this thesis is with the position of women in the United States. Specifically, the focus is on women in the professions. The theoretical perspective is taken from Everett C. Hughes’ 1945 discussion of “Dilemmas and Contradictions of Status.” Hughes maintained that when an incumbent of a status holds an unexpected auxiliary characteristic he is in a dilemma because others do not know how to respond to the contradictory stimuli. Others’ responses tend to reflect unfavorably back on the individual’s self-image and he seeks to avoid reactions from others by adopting behavior to reduce the impact of the discrepant status. The professions in the United States are characterized by a basic body of abstract knowledge and the ideal of service. Thirteen occupations were established as professions, ranked on the basis of those characteristics and a boundary line was drawn between professions and non-professions. A selection of seven professions was made on which to test the hypotheses. These seven were: medicine, university teaching, dentistry, natural science, social science, with veterinary medicine and social work marking off the lower boundary. Women in these professions were considered to be in an inconsistent status because they hold the unexpected characteristic of a female in a male-dominated occupation and meet the other conditions of status inconsistency. Since the female professional can do nothing about changing her discrepant characteristic of being female, it is hypothesized that she adopts behavior which brings her status characteristics in accord and reduces the impact of her inconsistent status. This behavior may consist of avoidance, isolation and/or social segregation on the part of the female professional and her clients or colleagues. The modes of adaptation selected are the basis of the eight hypotheses of the study: 1) women enter the professions in smaller proportions than men, 2) women professionals do not participate fully in the colleague-group, 3) women enter positions isolated from the public, 4) women tend to be salaried rather that self-employed, 5) women tend to be in career lines apart from positions of power and prestige, tend to be in career lines apart from positions of power and prestige, 6) women fill the lower echelons of a profession, 7) women specialize in those areas relating to the normatively accepted women’s role, and 8) women tend to deal with patients of equal or lower status. The data on which the hypotheses were tested were obtained from many different published sources relating the seven professions. These sources consisted in the main of census tabulations, professional directories, sample surveys, National Education Association publications, and the National Register of Scientific and Technical Personnel. It was found that the data generally supported all the hypotheses with the exception of hypothesis number three which could not be tested. There seems to be a consistent pattern for the few women who do enter the professions to enter a limited number of them and to specialize in those areas which are consistent with the prescribed role of women in American society. Moreover, they tend to teach or enter research, work in educational institutions and be on salary. Women are not usually found in the top positions nor the most lucrative positions within a profession. Further, their career lines do not lead to the top positions and they tend to fill the lower echelons within each profession. It may be concluded that women professionals adopt this pattern throughout the professions, that their career pattern is very different than that of male professionals, and it is suggested that they adopt this pattern in order to reduce the impact of their inconsistent status set.

Over the years there has been interest in the living arrangements of Americans and the factors which influence those arrangements. Researchers have considered the growth of families headed by women, household consisting of single individuals, and those composed of unrelated individuals. One area, however, on which little attention has been focused is the presence of extended family living, characterized by the subfamily. The aim of this dissertation is to establish if subfamilies are a random or systematic phenomenon, and to identify the factors responsible for the variations in its occurrences within and across U.S. metropolitan areas. A causal model which accounts for the systematic variations in the presence of the subfamily was developed and tested on the metropolitan and census tract levels. The technique of path analysis was employed and analysis was performed on two geographical levels (SMSA and census tract) using the 1980 census data to ascertain if conclusions were consistent at different levels of data aggregation. The variables employed in the analysis were grouped in four major categories--demographic, sociocultural, economic and housing characteristics. A major finding of this study is that the subfamily is systematically predicted by demographic, sociocultural and economic characteristics and not by the housing variables. It suggests that subfamily will exist regardless of the housing conditions. There were some differences and similarities in the results of the two geographical levels, but overall, the findings indicate that variations of subfamilies is consistent between the two aggregate levels. The model developed held fairly well as predicted except for the housing variables. The research findings suggest that subfamily may be both a voluntary and involuntary phenomenon. Given this, a number of questions were raised that must be addressed in determining whether subfamily living is a symptom of a major social problem or if it is an acceptable alternative family structure for some families in contemporary society. It might even represent both possibilities simultaneously. These questions cannot be addressed with the type of data used in this study. Future research should be directed toward addressing them. If subfamily living is determined to be a problem, future research should help planners and policy makers formulate and implement programs that will alleviate the negative consequences of subfamily life.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.