Interviewed 53 noninstitutionalized elderly to examine patterns of exchange of assistance within their informal helping networks. Results suggest inability to reciprocate rather than need for assistance had a greater negative effect on morale. There was a negative relationship between formal service use and reliance on the informal network.…

Explored the social network relationships of divorced persons (N=42) prior to and following divorce. Subjects were administered the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale and the General Well-Being Schedule and completed a questionnaire. Findings suggested that changes in social networks from pre- to post- divorce tend to decrease the quality of adjustment.…

Argues that a single life event has the capacity to affect not one but several lives. This thesis is related to theories on attachment, roles, and convoys. The concept of life-event webs is introduced to explain complex relations among individuals within networks such as families. (Author/RH)

Discusses the influence of the primary group on career choice, based on perceptions of both the client and the group. Presents various counseling strategies including drawings, sentence completion, joint sessions, and a consultant approach. (JAC)

Suggests that the social position and value of old age are normally of little importance in the personal lives of older people, partly because of the limited salience of age within their informal networks. Factors that heighten the salience of being old may reduce well being. (JAC)

Examined impact of employment on health of retirees (n=175). Results indicated that employment in retirement years was related to larger social networks and indirectly to better perceived health. Of three social network factors identified (family, friends, confidants), employment was significantly related only to friendship component. (Author/NB)

A qualitative study of 27 low-literate people who relied on readers for help found satisfying and unsatisfying exchange patterns ranging from balanced to imbalanced to nonexistent reciprocity. The existence of trust and respect affected satisfaction with relationship. (SK)

Indigenous social networks of Ethiopian farmers participate in seed exchange based on mutual interdependence and trust. A government-imposed extension program must validate the role of local seed systems in developing a national seed industry. (SK)

Introduces articles in this journal volume on bilingual borrowing. Each paper carries out two methodological imperatives: (1) All are focused on well-defined speech communities using a standard social network; (2) most authors were members of the communities and data was collected from interactions with their own close contacts. (Author/VWL)

Relational spirituality suggests that strengthening one's relatedness to other people and to sources of meaning beyond self-interest produces joy and vitality, which sustain the capacity to care. This perspective informs a qualitative study of 50 female services providers and social reformers. The interviews revealed that the women's caregiving…

The Internet was designed as an open system that promoted the two-way flow of information. In other words, everything that is sent has a return address called an IP or Internet Protocol address of the form: 000.11.222.33. Whenever you connect to a website, the site learns your IP address. It also learns the type of computer you are using, the…

Aims: To investigate UK university student drinking in terms of social and motivational factors. Design: Quantitative and qualitative studies. Participants: Undergraduate students at a UK university: 50 "heavy drinkers" and 49 "light drinkers", equally distributed in terms of sex and year of study. Data: Questionnaire measures…

Substantial proportions of people enter into new partner relationships after bereavement or divorce. Nowadays in Europe, unmarried cohabitation and living-apart-together relationships are frequently opted for at repartnering. Drawing on the Netherlands Living Arrangements and Social Networks survey of men and women aged 55 to 89 years (N=4,494),…

Offers a textual map of ways that two Church Missionary Society women, Marianne Coldham Williams and Jane Nelson Williams, established networks predominantly with their evangelical sisters in England that simultaneously supported, justified, and reinforced their work as missionary educators in Aotearoa, New Zealand from 1823 to 1840. (KDR)

Previous studies in business organizations have shown that mentoring provides numerous benefits for both individuals and organizations. Most of this mentoring research has been based on traditional, hierarchical mentor-protege relationships in non-academic settings. We discuss why there is little empirical research on faculty mentoring and review…