Assessed separated women's (N=49) communication with their social network members--family, friends, clergy, attorneys, and therapists--pre- and postseparation. Results showed women seemed to communicate with therapists before they seriously considered separation and after making the decision but not during the decision-making process. (JAC)

Reviews two conferences sponsored by the Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy: "Professional Systems and the Family," focusing on the interfaces among family therapists and professionals in education, health care, and human resources, and "Family Systems Over Time: The Fourth Dimension," focusing on the family life cycle, and…

Social capital treats learning as both outcome of individual acquisition of knowledge and skills and a function of social relationships, norms, and values. Although social networks can have negative influences, the idea of social capital is useful in rethinking educational practice. (SK)

Discussion of the digital divide focuses on a social divide rather than a lack of access to information technology for specific groups. Topics include historic trends in technology diffusion; policy implications; motivational barrier to technology use; knowledge and skill barrier; content barrier; and social network barrier. (LRW)

Formulates a systematic and integrated account of religion's constructive influence in the lives of U.S. youth, suggesting nine key factors (moral directives, spiritual experiences, role models, community and leadership skills, coping skills, cultural capital, social capital, network closure, and extra-community links) that cluster around three…

This review addresses several areas of contemporary research in children's peer relationships during the elementary and middle school years, with primary foci on children's peer acceptance, the ability to make and maintain friendships, and their participation in larger peer networks. It is argued that children's psychosocial development may be…

Presents a response to the three commentaries on the authors' original article, "Childhood Peer Relationships: Social Acceptance, Friendships, and Peer Networks" (this issue). Highlights those features of the commentaries the authors found most instructive, and that they hope researchers from developmental psychology, educational psychology, and…

Interviews with six Australian adult basic education students confirmed the social nature of literacy, the social networks involved in literacy practices, and the multilingualism of students. Results suggest the need for a curriculum that recognizes and makes explicit linguistic and cultural differences. (SK)

Used data from 1984 Supplement on Aging to National Health Interview Survey to examine residential differences in helping network composition of 3,761 impaired elders. Severely impaired elders in nonmetropolitan communities were less apt than metropolitan counterparts to receive aid from formal providers and were significantly more likely to…

Studied relative importance of family, friends, neighbors, and others in support networks of elderly persons. Data from interviews with 1,284 elderly respondents in Winnipeg, Manitoba offer limited support for hierarchical compensatory model which contends that kin, particularly spouse and children, are of primary importance, followed by friends,…

Examined positive and negative aspects of relations with friends and family among widows in focus-group discussions. Coded relationships mentioned as positive or negative. Approximately 40 percent of mentions were negative, with family members receiving more negative mentions. Non-family relations showed flexibility, with increases in positive…

Describes networking from the perspective of rural women in the Pacific Islands. Distinguishes between a network and an organization. (JOW)

Argues that there are severe and insurmountable problems in attempting to maintain a systemic perspective in family therapy. Advocates decentering family therapy to a more peripheral space within social network perspective. (Author/NB)

Presents results of a study which observed one social network of Mexican immigrant families during several years. Considers how Spanish and English literacy are used in their lives. States that, although many of these adults have limited literacy skills resulting from lack of formal education, they still manage a variety of literacy practices that…

Examines demographic networks of age and educational attainment for pairs of persons involved in close interpersonal relationships. Suggests that high network density in a social network can predict organizational niches--opportunities for organizational recruitment and resources for organizational survival. Contains 35 references. (SV)