Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

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Open Access Thesis

Keywords

West Union (Iowa); United States--Rural conditions--Case studies; Iowa--West Union; United States; Villages--United States--Case studies; Rural conditions; Villages; Case studies;

Abstract

This thesis is based on the following assumptions: (a) that the kind of community in which people live affects their sense of well-being, (b) that a community should provide certain qualities for its residents in order that they may enjoy an optimum quality of life, (c) that many large urban population centers are failing to provide the environment for this desired quality of life, and (d) that rural communities are and have been on the decline as population and business centers in the United States. In view of these assumptions this study attempted to discover whether the small rural community is or could be a viable alternative for both people and industry that are seeking to relocate away from urban centers in search of a better environment and quality of life. It sought to discover if quality of life could be found there and whether government legislative policy should be aimed at aiding and revitalizing rural areas or whether they should be left to die a peaceful death. This information is provided by the examination of a specific community, West Union, Iowa. For purposes of this study a community was said to have the characteristics necessary for a good quality of life when it provided: (a) access to quality education, (b) an adequate business community, both retail and services, (c) various religious opportunities, (d) job opportunities commensurate with one's abilities and aspirations, (e) recreational opportunities, (f) social and cultural opportunities, (g) a feeling of belonging or a real sense of community, and (h) access to satisfying personal relationships while maintaining some sense of privacy. A variety of methods were used to gather information about West Union, its institutions and people. These included interviews of a representative sample of the general population, interviews of a purposive sample of key informants, analysis of community documents and records and participant observation. The business, educational, religious, governmental and protective institutions of West Union were examined and analyzed in order to determine how well they satisfied the needs of the residents in their search for a good quality of life. Much of the infonnation about the institutions was acquired through interviews with key informants, analysis of community documents and records and observation. A five page interview schedule was used to get information from the residents of West Union who were part of the representative sample of the general population. The first eleven questions were designed to obtain the opinions of the residents regarding eleven contemporary issues. This was done in order to detennine the degree of local or cosmopolitan orientation of the residents as defined by Robert K. Merton in his study of Rovere. The last two pages of the interview schedule were designed to yield the feelings of the residents about West Union; their likes, dislikes, activities and perceived advantages and disadvantages of living in a town like West Union. Overall the retail and service institutions of West Union were found to be quite adequate. Most of what a person needs can be purchased there. A sharp distinction was found between extreme "localites" and "cosmopolites" indicating that West Union has a rather heterogeneous population of quite divergent views. Most residents interviewed were found to be satisfied with their community and had no desire to leave. The city would like to attract more industry and is working to meet this end at the present time. In summarizing the findings of this thesis the following conclusions were reached:

1. West Union does provide the environment for a good quality of life in many ways; better than its urban counterpart according to the criteria established for this study.

2. The majority of West Union residents are satisfied with their community as a place to live in spite of admitted shortcomings.

3. The rural community is not backward or dated but very much in step with twentieth century America.

4. Some rural communities, like West Union, do qualify as viable alternatives for business to relocate and should, therefore, be considered as possible sites to take the pressure off of urban areas.

5. Even if some towns attract industry many of the very small towns will continue to decline.

6. The future may bring situations in which one progressive rural community serves as an area center for at least a thirty mile radius area.

Year of Submission

1974

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

First Advisor

Robert E. Claus

Second Advisor

William H. Dreier

Third Advisor

Jerry D. Stockdale

Comments

If you are the rightful copyright holder of this thesis and wish to have it removed from the Open Access Collection, please submit a request to scholarworks@uni.edu and include clear identification of the work, preferably with URL.

Date Original

1974

Object Description

1 PDF file (137 leaves)

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

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