Interviewed 132 older women and found that widows and married women had comparable number of primary friends. Being over age 74 influenced size of friendship network for widows but not for marrieds. Primary friendships of both groups paralleled each other in terms of endurance and stability. Compared to married women, widows did rely on confidant…

Tests three network-based mechanisms whereby individuals' attitudes toward an integrated health information system may be influenced by the attitudes of proximate sources of social information. Estimates of generalized others' attitudes are not convincingly associated with specified others' actual attitudes. Others' attitudes have a small effect…

Explored bulimics' (n=21) social networks, interpersonal relationships, and individual differences that might mediate ability to obtain support or perceive support as adequate. Bulimics reported less perceived support from friends and family, more negative interactions and conflict, and less social competence than did controls. Bulimics were rated…

Integrated ratings of global health status and reports of social involvements into single, combined variable. Used variable to predict mortality over three time periods. Data from 6,053 self-respondents aged 70 and older at baseline in 1984 showed that combined variable produced substantial effects on mortality, particularly for 1984-86 and…

Examined social resource network characteristics of adolescent substance abusers (n=19). Perceived similarity to one's social network emerged as important moderator of whether social network provided support to remain abstinent or elevated risk for relapse. Increased perceived support predicted continued posttreatment abstinence when recovering…

Uses a network study of 120 projects undertaken by 41 divisions in a large electronics company to examine development of new products in the least amount of time. Weak interunit ties help project teams search for useful knowledge in other subunits but impede transfer of complex knowledge. (49 references) (MLH)

Examines linguistic variation on an Internet Relay Chat channel with respect to the hypothesis, based on the model of Milroy and Milroy (1992) that standard variants tend to be associated with weak social network ties, while vernacular variants are associated with strong network ties. (Author/VWL)

Reconstructs the social networks linking early personal computing pioneers in order to identify the social and political representations and images that defined these social networks. Describes the linkage between technical development and cultural representations, particularly those of the user, in the case of personal computers. (SR)

This study, with 15 individuals having intellectual disabilities, found that each participant's social skills moderately predicted the average social stability achieved by all of his/her social network members, but poorly predicted average social stability achieved by the participant's three most stable social network members. Social network…

Discusses the applicability of three theoretical perspectives to specific relationships differing in self-perceived closeness in three groups of adults: first-year (n=37) and fourth-year (n=42) undergraduates and 42 retired teachers. Older adults had more expectations for long-term reciprocity. In most relationships, exchange was based on need…

Interviewed lesbian, gay, and heterosexual youth regarding their friendship patterns. Homosexual youth lived farther from their friends than heterosexual youth. Gay males and heterosexual females talked more often on the telephone with friends. Gay males were least likely to have friends of the same sex and same sexual orientation. Lesbians were…

While forms of tracking have drawn attention for many years, researchers have more recently turned their attention to the courses students take, the teaching that goes on within them, and the peer friendships formed as factors that affect students' educational experiences and post-high school aspirations. This study examines the phenomenon of…

Recent research on the social support networks of homeless and runaway youth suggest the social networks of runaway youth are made up largely of transient deviant peer relationships. This paper examined social network characteristics of 428 homeless and runaway adolescents from small-to moderate-sized cities in four Midwestern states. We…

The goal of this article is to advance an ecological theory of knowing, one that prioritizes engaged participation over knowledge acquisition. To this end, the authors begin by describing the environment in terms of "affordance networks": functionally bound potentials extended in time that can be acted upon to realize particular goals. Although…

It is well understood that one learns much of what one knows through one's network of relationships and through shared discussion and activity. A logical extension of this idea is the growing prominence in the UK where formal school-to-school networking such as Education Action Zones and Excellence in Cities has been established. This article…