Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Emergence of "Multiple Rurals": an Examination of Economic and Cultural Dimensions of Rural Restructuring

本论文的研究将评估移民的原因以及移民对美国西部收容社区的影响。这项研究将结合对区域趋势的分析和档案研究，记录发生的变化，以及社区内不同群体对增长变化的看法/政治立场。该理论框架假设，经济和文化维度都将影响重组的政治。它在很大程度上依赖于局部依赖理论和Logan和Molotch(1987)提出的增长机器概念。将使用不同的分析尺度，并将与新兴的地理学和区域科学理论建立联系。这些结果将加深我们对当代西部农村变化模式的理解，特别是在就业机会转移、土地利用战略和人口多样性方面。

This dissertation research will assess the causes of migration and the consequences of in-migration on receiving communities in the Western United States. The study will combine analysis of regional trends and archival research to document the changes that occur as well as the perceptions/political positions that different groups within the community have toward growth change. The theoretical framework hypothesizes that both economic and cultural dimensions will influence the politics of restructuring. It relies heavily on the theory of local dependence and on the concept of the growth machine forwarded by Logan and Molotch (1987). Various scales of analysis will be used, and links to emerging theories in geography and regional science will be made. The results will enhance our understanding of contemporary patterns of change in the rural west, especially as they pertain to shifting employment opportunities, land-use strategies, and population diversity.