College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item Internal Migration to Osaka Prefecture, Japan(1956) Lewis, David Michael; Hoffsommer, Harold; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, MD)Item The Economic Development of Iran(1948) Abbas, Ordoobadi; Ratzlaff, C.J.; Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)In the machine age, with the advance of mass production, a new problem has occupied the minds of economists. This new problem is not the Malthusian doctrine of inadequate supplies but rather that of a rate of production too high to be sold continually at profitable prices. With periodic insufficiency of demand industrial countries have faced depressions of varying duration and intensity, which have continued until the rate of production and demand once more were in equilibrium. Despite increased industrial productivity a large part of the world subsists at a standard of living which provides insufficient food values and which does not yield a minimum amount of housing, medical care and education. In industrial countries from ten to fifty per cent of the working population is unemployed during depression periods although workers are willing and able to work in order to obtain goods. In the non-industrial countries, on the other hand, millions of workers are victims of what has been termed "disguised unemployment." They find themselves at tasks which are much below their potential productivity and consequently yield a standard of living substantially under that which they are capable of achieving. The solution to this problem in the undeveloped areas lies partly in spreading the gains of science, both pure and practical; in combining adequate doses of capital and management with the supplies of labor; and in using the excess of resources originating from technical advances in industrial countries . A program on this line would at the same time eliminate inadequate demand in the high-standard countries and depressing poverty in the low-standard countries. As far as Iran is concerned, it is necessary to know her economic background before the necessary measures for economic development can be discussed intelligently. In this respect, in spite of a few works by Iranian and foreign scholars, the materials on the economy of Iran, in English literature, are limited. The result of insufficient and first-hand information or "little knowledge" of some writers has been a distorted picture in which certain points are overemphasized, while the significance of others are under-estimated. Statistics, censuses and data in many aspects are lacking. The absence of statistics makes the study very difficult . Due to the scarcity of published data on many of the topics discussed in the present study, it has been necessary to secure the desired information and data directly from the Ministries of Iranian Government and/or offices concerned. The present economic situation of Iran is the product of an evolution, and can only be under stood by a study of its economic background. Therefore, the application of August Comte's adage that "no conception can be understood except through its history" seemed a logical approach in this study.Item STANDARDIZATION AND THE UNITED STATES(1959) Moench, John Otto Dax; Government & Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)For the past decade and more, the United States, through its military departments, other agencies of government, and private organizations, has placed a considerable investment in national and international standardization. A significant portion of this effort has gone into national standardization, but, with the increasing recognition of the principle of mutual defense and economic interdependence, an ever-increasing portion of the effort has been expended to achieve international standardization. However, in spite of good intentions and the application of considerable resources to achieve standardization, the results have been limited and the program, itself, has been marked with frustration, conflict, uncertainty, ignorance, open disagreement, and confusion. This is not directly a criticism of the personnel, agencies, and organizations participating in the program- - it is more a reflection of the conditions and circumstances encountered in society and in the processes of standardization. For four years (1954- 1958) the author of this thesis was in charge of the United States Air Force international standardization effort. During that period, he became uniquely concerned with many aspects of the United States national and international standardization programs. In consideration of this experience, while the author attended the Air War College of the United States Air Force (1958- 1959) he was given authority to conduct an extensive research of the problem of standardization. Based on this research and his personal experiences, the author then prepared for the United States government a lengthy history of the problem of standardization in the United States together with a discussion of the current national and international policy, organizational, and other problems. Due to the sources of much of the information used by the author in this governmental report and the nature of some of the conclusions, the document cannot be made public. However , since there is an almost complete lack of writings in the United States on this most vital national and international subject, the author considered it worthwhile to devote this thesis to discus sing those general portions of the problem that were not of a sensitive nature. In the bibliography appended to this thesis, the author has indicated the full range of the more important documents and information sources to which he has had access. It is not thereby implied that all the cited sources have been used directly in this thesis, but the listing will serve to give the reader a feel for the base upon which the author has built this thesis.Item An Evolution of Land Use in Kent County, Maryland(1953) Singleton, Carey B. Jr; Van Royen, William; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The object of this study is to determine the land use changes that have taken place in Kent County, located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland (See Fig. 1) with emphasis on recent land use changes. The principal objectives of this study will be to ascertain, analyze, and review the evolution of land utilization in Kent County. A major trend within the past ten years has been toward a decreasing number of farms and, at the same time, a decreasing number of people gainfully employed in agriculture. This trend has resulted in the displacement of agricultural earners by fa.rm machinery and farm consolidations. An increase in the average size of farms is due to "outsiders" - business men from out-of-state -- who have established themselves in the county by buying and combining principally waterfront property. Thus large estates are formed along with the restoration of Colonial homes. This type of land tenure has been bringing about utilization of the land in the form of large dairy and beef herds. Kent County has the smallest number of farms of all the counties in Maryland but it has the largest average farm size in the state. This is an area of predominantly large dairy farms with highly mechanized machinery and equipment. The major trend in the last 25 years has been from cash grain to livestock raising which has resulted from the growth of dairying. The pattern of field crops has also changed from cash grains to feed grains for the large dairy herds. This study has been accomplished through the use of field work historical data, tables, maps, and photographs. The assumption can be made that greater permanency and stability in land use may be assured by utilizing the land for what it is best suited to produce. In an agricultural county, such as Kent, the retention of the soil, maintenance of its fertility, and the productivity are fundamental and therefore, the outstanding problems of optimum land utilization in the county. Land use adjusted into a pattern set by man should be utilized according to its capabilities. Optimum production and use of the land may be obtained by utilizing it for purposes to which it is best adapted. This is essentially a geographical problem in the final analysis and is manifested by a myriad of socio-economic factors that compose the gamut of land use implications. The author's interest in this area emanates from a field course in Geography and a number of trips through parts of this county. Field work was accomplished during the spring and summer of 1952 and constitutes the primary source of data for this thesis. The initials of the author appear where compilation of maps and graphs have been drawn from research and field data. All photographs have been taken by the author during his field work in the county.Item THE VOLUNTARY CREDIT RESTRAINT PROGRAM - A NEW EXPERIMENT WITH AN OLD PROBLEM(1954) Singleton, Roy L.; Gurley, John G.; Economics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)Item THE BANDUNG CONFERENCE(1959) Newbold, Billy Charles; Government & Politics; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)Item Changing Observance of Traditional Jewish Religious Practices: A Study of Generations(1956) Greenberg, Meyer; Hoffsommer, Harold C.; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)Changes in the observance of traditional religious practices among Jewish families during the course of three generations are the subject of t his paper. The religious practices studied are those related to the cycle of the year--the Sabbath and holy days--and kashruth (the dietary laws). The population is a group of 180 families, chiefly from Baltimore and Washington, D.C., with children in the freshman class at the University of Maryland in the spring of 1949. The first generation, the grandparents, are in the main immigrants to the United States from Eastern Europe during the years of mass immigration which ended shortly after World War I. The second generation are the parents, most of them American born, while the third generation consists of freshmen at the University. For the earlier generations the interaction with the American environment is analyzed in terms of acculturation and social mobility. In the third generation attention is focused on changes in religious practice from the time the student was a child and under parental control, through his last year in high school, and then into the latter part of hi s first year at college. Information on the background of students and parents and on their religious observance was obtained by means of a questionnaire. This was followed by an interview to learn the circumstances surrounding changes in the student's observance. It was found that the parents belong almost entirely to the middle class and are engaged in business or the professions. The student group, of whom two-thirds are male, does not differ appreciably from the general student body either in scholastic aptitude or in grades. Upon analysis, the combinations of religious practices observed by the individuals were found to fall into seven repeated patterns or types. This classification system was used to compare the observance of the different groups into which the sample was divided. The relatively sharpest break with tradition occurred in the immigrant generation. The second generation continued to move in the same direction. The third generation departed even further from tradition, especially when under the influence of the college environment, but the rate of change appears to have slowed down. The process of discarding ritual practices has been a selective one. Observances which are frequent and involve economic sacrifice, such as the Sabbath and holidays, have been the first to be dropped. Others such as formal daily prayer and kashruth outside the home have been abandoned because of inconvenience and because they differ widely from accepted social norms. A minimum observance level seems to have been reached in the evolution of Jewish religious life. Attending synagogue and fasting on the High Holydays and participating in a Passover Seder are still observed by the overwhelming majority of American Jews. The lighting of Sabbath candles is widespread, and kashruth in the home is kept by a substantial number, though only a very small proportion of the students observe the dietary laws. The subjects of the study were also classified according to their self-identification with one of the three branches of Judaism--Orthodox, Conservative and Reform. It was found that while the first generation were overwhelmingly Orthodox, the members of the second and third generations have been moving increasingly into the Conservative and, to a lesser degree, the Reform groups. The Orthodox Jews indicate greater average observance than the Conservative, who in turn tend to observe somewhat more than the Reform. However, the observance of all three groups falls far below the standards set by the movements officially. In the student generation, the differences between the groups are further narrowed, and there appears a marked tendency toward similarity in observance patterns. Future studies are needed to analyze the continuing development and relative strength of the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform groups. It would also be worthwhile to learn whether the students here studied at what is thought to be the lowest point of their religious observance will modify their practices when they are married and have families.Item The Chinese in Latin America, A Preliminary Geographical Survey with Special Reference to Cuba and Jamaica(1956) Chang, Ching Chieh; McBryde, F. Webster; Geography; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)The present study concerns itself with the geographical origin, distribution, routes of migration and ports of embarkation of the Chinese in Latin America. It also purports to bring out the similarities and dissimilarities in their demographic composition, economic activities and some other aspects in different Latin American countries. The term "Latin America" is used to include all the European possessions in the area, and the term "Chinese" is used to include all those of Chinese parentage, but not those born to Chinese who intermarried with individuals of other races. Chinese immigration to Latin America on a large scale did not begin until the eighteen forties. Between 1847 and 1874, known as the coolie trade period, about one quarter of a million Chinese migrated to Latin America as "contract laborers". The great majority of them were "forced" immigrants, because they were kidnapped or decoyed by the coolie recruiters and did not migrate voluntarily. After 1874, Chinese immigration entered a new era. All the immigrants came voluntarily. But the good time of free Chinese immigration did not last very long. In or before the first quarter of the 20th century, most of the Latin American countries adopted laws to prohibit the entrance of Chinese. The Chinese immigrants were primarily from nine hsiens (or counties) in Kwangtung province immediately behind the port of Macao. Only those in Jamaica were not from this area, but exclusively from three hsiens in the same province north of Hongkong. At the present time, there are about 77 thousand Chinese in Latin America, and their distribution is highly localized. The localization of the geographical origin and the geographical distribution can be explained only in terms of the special type of Chinese emigration in general and the early history of the Chinese migration to Latin America in particular. Moreover, the Chinese are mainly concentrated in large cities. This is the result of their occupation. Almost all of them are engaged in commerce, and particularly in the grocery trade. Therefore, in places where their number is large, they are very influential in the grocery business. The Chinese population in almost all Latin American countries is characterized by two demographical anomalies: the great excess of males and the abnormally large number of old and middle-aged people. This is owing to the fact that, within the past one hundred years, the number of females among the immigrants has always been extremely small, and a large portion of the population still consists of immigrants who came in or before the nineteen twenties. Generally speaking, there has been no segregation against the Chinese along racial lines. Nevertheless, social contacts between Chinese and natives remain on a business basis and are purely ·functional. Racial consciousness still plays an important role among the Chinese, native-born as well as immigrants. Among the immigrants, it is also because most of them retain their Chinese nationality and want to go back to China eventually. Thus, in Latin America, the Chinese are not only racial minorities but also groups of aliens.Item A Study of Factors Influencing Improvement in Speech Reading Ability(1954) VanBebber, Mary Lillian; Hearing and Speech Sciences; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md)