Compares and contrasts the effects of social structural factors on the size and generation composition, intraethnic stratification, composition of ethnic elites, and degree of articulation with the larger society of Mexican-American communities in three very diverse California towns: Santa Barbara, Fillmore, and Mendota. (Author/SB)

Educational, medical, and other services in rural areas have been undergoing a consolidation and centralization process to bring about more efficient operation. A research project sponsored by the United Methodist Church was designed to assess the position of the church as a decentralized unit in a small community relative to its leadership…