Uses the Network of Relationships Inventory to assess 10 qualities of children's relationships with mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, friends, and teachers. (NH)

Refers to articles within this issue of the Quarterly on the correlates of sociometric status, especially the views of Blyth. Agrees that maps of the child's social network need to be expanded to include nonschool contexts but argues that this effort should be guided by the potential contributions of these systems to social development. (CB)

Interviewed 38 mothers to determine the relationship between network characteristics and social support, and changes in both following divorce. Results indicated that characteristics associated with the support a mother receives may differ from the characteristics associated with how satisfied she feels with her network. With time, social networks…

People living in neighborhoods where certain social classes are more prevalent will tend to have friends from that class. Even though individuals demonstrated strong preferences for certain kinds of friends, the neighborhood setting affected that choice. Friendships are formed by individual preferences operating within the boundaries of a social…

Reviews social support literature and specific findings on the role of communication in the support process. Argues that uncertainty reduction theory may explain how communication affects an individual's perception that he or she is supported. Includes hypotheses for future research and some central dilemmas of supportive relationships. (PD)

Examines the reciprocal relation of community organization and family patterns by participant observation techniques in two isolated fishing communities, similar in ecology and cultural background. Even though work organization in both is small scale, substantial differences in patterns of family life are found. (JAC)

Surveyed 299 older adults to develop hypotheses concerning the influence of life cycle, cultural, and structural factors on psychological desires satisfied through the social network. Findings pointed to the importance of diversity in the social networks of the aged. No one type of relationship satisfied all three psychological desires. (JAC)

This bulletin brings together the concepts of parent networking and the Internet. The document highlights key free or low cost features of the Internet which have proven to be useful tools in linking together networks of parents. It addresses the following six questions: (1) What if I don't have a computer? (2) How can I get Web access? (3) How do…

A survey of families of 54 children or adolescents with deaf-blindness examined parents' beliefs regarding issues of friendship for their children. The mean age of the children was 11.4 years. Approximately 65 percent of the children attended a special school and 35 percent attended a program within a regular school. Almost 75 percent were…

This study reviewed trainers' actions in the design and delivery of S-OJT and the preparation of S-OJT trainers. Trainers' behaviors and their preparation of S-OJT trainers tend to create the leaning and developmental opportunity for the trainer through social interactions between the trainer and the trainee/stakeholders. This study discussed…

In-depth unstructured interviews and participant observation of 43 adults showed that illiterates create reciprocal networks to which they contribute a range of skills. Illiterate adults demonstrate varying abilities to decode the social world and take action; that is, illiteracy does not imply dependence. (SK)

Study in three small Louisiana towns introduced operational refinements to a systemic model of individual attachment to community in which length of residence, social position, life cycle stage, and local economic conditions influence social networks, participation in school and community groups, and community satisfaction. Discusses implications…

Interviews of 51 employers showed they do not use transcripts or teacher recommendations in hiring. They mistrust applicant information from most sources, emphasizing interviews and "gut instinct," which often gives invalid results. They tend to use information from other employees or long-term social networks. (SK)

Results of this study revealed that relationship, more than knowledge, may be the reason a manager is sought as an information source within a business environment. Social network mapping was used to capture a more intimate view of the information relationships within a business environment. Content analysis was used to analyze the data and to…

Suggests that Papua New Guinea high school students' academic disengagement results from emerging personal subjectivities and new social networks. Ethnographic research highlights the authority students attribute to their perceptions of limited opportunity structures facing them and the idealized village-based egalitarian student identity being…