Questionnaires were completed by 103 staff and 76 parents of clients of a day training and residential agency for persons with mental handicaps. Although, in general, respondents felt part of their respective teams, differences of opinion arose with respect to team cohesiveness, and comprehensibility and participatory equality at conferences.…

Investigated self-disclosure in college students (N=144) who were assigned to groups of four receiving either a self-disclosure or placebo treatment. Found self-disclosure intervention resulted in significantly higher group cohesiveness, commitment to task and productivity; females demonstrated greater cohesiveness and commitment to task than did…

Examined whether a relationship exists between family adaptability and cohesion and principled moral reasoning. The moral reasoning level of 131 adolescents was measured using the Defining Issues Test, and levels of perceived family adaptability and cohesion were measured using Family and Adaptability and Cohesion Scales. No significant…

Explores confusion over what major ethnic groups call themselves, as well as social, political, and economic implications of changing ethnic terminology. Discusses ramifications of labels for ethnic or racial identity, group solidarity, racial and ethnic relations, and distribution of resources for education and other societal needs. Contains 27…

Presents study results examining social pressure within sexually homogenous groups. Explains that cohesiveness, based on common beliefs, was established in half of the sample while prevented in the remainder. Reports that groups were required to reach consensus after conflict was introduced. Concludes that low cohesion groups showed the greatest…

Reviews children's books that emphasize the strengthening of family ties. Characters in the books realize the importance and influence of family relationships as they struggle with sibling rivalry, self-discovery, peer relationships, a search for heritage, adoption, and death. (SM)

Reviews general trends in how centralized and decentralized information technology (IT) structures have evolved, as well as how a unified IT structure developed at Monroe Community College. Recommends a ten-step process that other institutions may use to assess how best to reengineer and revamp their current organizational IT structures. (JDI)

Despite prejudicial treatment at work and school, members of low-status groups such as urban Appalachians consciously use stigmatized nonstandard dialects to foster group distinctiveness and preserve cultural identity. Research indicates that varieties of Appalachian English show no sign of total assimilation. Implications for high dropout rates…

During summer 1991, an experiential educator worked in a Cambodian refugee camp helping newly trained camp police to become a team and develop the necessary personal skills to maintain order in the face of ongoing Khmer Rouge activities. The story of that summer's experiential training ends with a remarkable long-term outcome. (SV)

Relationship marketing has made its way into the practices of university administrations. With it have also arrived many problems associated with the aggressive use of CRM technologies. One particularly effective and healthy approach to relationship marketing in higher education is to treat the university, with all of its stakeholders, as a brand…

Many historians on the left are unwilling to renounce communism and the agents in this country who ran its insidious errands. Despite damning evidence from Soviet archives, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Alger Hiss, and other traitors remain the darlings of many leaders of the profession. Harvey Klehr documents how, in journals and recent textbooks,…

Concepts of voice, meaning, mutual construction of knowledge, and transfer of learning are presented in this paper as critical ingredients that support the teaching of group work from an ecological perspective. Examples of these concepts are given to illustrate their application in group work classes. (Contains 1 table.)

This paper summarizes research findings related to the performance behaviors of effective school principals. It identifies eight characteristics of effective schools: (1) schoolwide measurement and recognition of academic success; (2) high emphasis on curriculum articulation; (3) support for instructional tasks; (4) high expectations and clear…

Recently, a line of conceptual and empirical research has begun to investigate the notion of schools as "communities." Following a survey of works on this idea of community in research and theory, this paper presents findings of a single-site case study conducted during 1995-96 in an urban elementary school in Los Angeles. Data-collection methods…

Efforts to reform educational administration programs depend on the ability of faculty members to develop shared purpose and understanding. This paper describes the experiences of nine faculty members in a department of educational administration in a large midwestern university, who, in seeking to transform their preparation program, transformed…