http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/475143

Rural U.S.A. : persistence and change

In 1974 the Rural Sociological Society commissioned a survey on changes that were occuring in different segments of rural society in the United States; information from that survey is presented in the volume of readings. Using an ecological perspective as the analytic framework, the readings focus on the adaption of humans to their environment a process carried out largely by means of culture. Parts One through Three present a general overview and discussion of the rural environment and population with chapters entitled "Contemporary Rural America: Persistence and Change,""The Rural Environment, Quality and Conflicts in Land Use,""People on the Land," and "The Changing Character of the Nonmetropolitan Population: 1950-75." Parts Four through Six discuss human cultural response to rural environments; Part Four deals with technological systems with a chapter titled "Rural Social Organization: Implications of Technology and Industry." Part Five discusses the values and beliefs of rural people, and Part Six describes aspects of social organization with five chapters treating rural community change, rural government and local public services, ethnic minorities and their adaptive response to inequality, new rules for rural women, and rural poverty. The final portion of the book focuses on the future with two articles on "Public Policy and Rural Social Change" and "Alternative Futures for Rural America: The Cloudy Crystal Ball." (Ds).

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