Thematic interviews of teachers and students in web-based courses described social interaction in terms of stage analysis and dramaturgy: role, stage, audience, script, and episode. Lack of nonverbal communication affects these elements. Even in the web medium, participants tend to continue roles from the face-to-face classroom. (Contains 20…

Differentiated roles of kin and formal assistance in instrumental care and decision making using interviews with 193 White and 51 Black family caregivers. Results revealed few differences in size of support networks. White elders were twice as likely to participate centrally in decision regarding their care as were Blacks. Found notable absence of…

The development and continuing functioning of a hospital-based parent support group are described, illustrating the dynamics of parents sharing their experiences with having hospitalized children. The paper discusses the group's focus on the family rather than the disease, commonalities shared by families, and this approach's contribution to…

Among Coast Salish and other Washington tribes, federal War on Poverty programs produced important unintended consequences, providing income that enabled family networks to distribute moral and financial support and providing training opportunities for new leaders now instrumental in attracting funding for mental health programs. Contains 42…

This article provides an overview of sociological perspectives and knowledge about social aspects of families coping with visual impairment. Special attention is given to the importance of the social structures and dynamics of families as social networks, the social construction of impairment experiences by families, family social support…

Affiliation patterns of 19 emotionally disturbed children (ages 10-13) in a residential school were analyzed. Results indicated that robust peer clusters could be identified, within-classroom clusters were relatively stable over time, and considerable overlap occurred between findings of social network analyses and applied sociometric techniques.…

Proposes an exercise that allows students to build a physical network of ties and then to experience how it can influence individual opportunities. Provides an example exercise that applies this method to learning about inequality in job opportunities. Suggests other topics that can be illustrated using the same methods. (DSK)

Peer-assessed problem behavior was examined in relation to peer-group membership and social-network centrality in 59 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade classes. Most students with high peer-assessed problem behavior were students without disabilities, but students with disabilities were over represented at the highest levels of problem behavior.…

Universities of the Third Age (U3As) are volunteer-run organizations offering lifelong learning opportunities for older adults. A survey of 84 Australian and 14 New Zealand U3As estimated an annual value of their services of over $4 million and examined organizational and student characteristics, assistance from external organizations, and…

Presents strategies for making instructional technology more emotionally sound. Discusses fear, envy, anger, sympathy, and pleasure, and describes 20 instructional strategies that can be used to decrease negative emotions and increase positive emotions including computer-assisted instruction, multimedia, linked information, social networks on the…

Presents a theory of collegial social control of teacher's instructional beliefs and practices that centers on the idea of "collegial focus." Examines whether social control affects teachers' practices, if collegial focus strengthens social control, the role of subject-matter specialization, and the effects of bureaucratic control on collegial…

This study examined the relationship between the employment status of visually impaired college graduates (28 employed, 23 unemployed) in Great Britain and their social networks, both formal and informal. Unemployed graduates had fewer extensive support networks to help them find jobs; used contacts in less directive ways; and socialized in more…

Data was collected from ombudsmen (N=607) in nursing facilities about the factors that make their jobs difficult. Hypotheses about support, relationships with peers, and efficacy were tested. Support from facility administrators and residents contributed to efficacy, whereas help from other volunteers had a negative effect. Results point to the…

Explores social constructionism as an alternative to cognitive therapy, which assigns causative primacy for psychological problems to the cognitive process of the individual knower. Social constructionism underscores the inextricable connection between the personal and the social, challenging the merit of decontextualized accounts of psychological…

A rural Mississippi Delta study found that participation in subsistence activities was greater among whites, persons with higher income and education, and those from larger families, suggesting an element of lifestyle choice (rather than economic strategy). However, a subsistence lifestyle may deter youth from leaving to pursue higher education,…