Summarizes data showing the detrimental effects to the health of the elderly that are associated with diminution of supportive interpersonal ties. Describes six programs that illustrate the range of diversity of tasks involved in the provision of supportive associations for the elderly. (Author/GC)

The thesis of this paper is that, although the concept of teacher support groups is well accepted, their implementation is haphazard at best. Three reasons are cited: (1) Professional literature often mandates conditions for establishing support groups that are unrealistic for most schools; (2) Teachers sometimes see the support group as another…

During the summer following the program's first year of operations, the Macy Program teachers at Hillhouse High School (New Haven, Connecticut) began developing an after school advisory unit for the 1986-87 school year that was to include a component aimed at improving students' interpersonal skills. The Macy Program in general is a four-year…

Discusses contextual factors (geography, community idiosyncrasies, personal relationships, formal resource scarcity, community resource accessibility, external force influence, visibility, "Jack-of-All-Trades") affecting practices of rural child welfare workers. Points out similarities/differences in child welfare work in urban and rural…