Traditional schools are notorious for being isolated, inflexible, and reluctant to change. This lack of professional dialogue among educators remains a significant barrier to successful school improvement, resulting in teachers' practices becoming stagnant and student achievement suffering. The K20 Center for Educational and Community Renewal at…

Individual differences shape the needs and characteristics of proteges, the processes through which mentoring may influence proteges' developmental trajectories, and the social networks into which the mentors enter. The literature on the influences of gender, ethnicity, and age on mentoring is reviewed and discussed as examples of how mentoring…

Arguments about whether or not the Internet is creating new people or simply helping us to see ourselves in new ways are threaded through the literature on digital culture. People make new technology and exploit it for their own purposes and so it is reasonable to suggest that any changes in our social identities are wider in their reach than the…

Not long after its introduction into the consumer market in October of 2001, the first iPods began turning up on college campuses nationwide. Today, there are active iPod academic programs on many campuses around the country. And where there are no formal academic programs--yet--there are countless students making their own use of the iPods in…

Third grade children (N = 404) and their mothers completed questionnaires and participated in interviews designed to identify children's friendships across multiple contexts, determine levels of social network closure for these friendships, and assess child well-being. Cluster analyses revealed distinct patterns in the contexts in which…

Twenty-six scholarly papers and ten abstracts comprise the content of the thirteenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of librarianship. The…

Introduces the Interpersonal Network Questionnaire (INQ), an instrument designed to measure constructs of social networks such as social participation, confidant size, and frequency of contact. Discusses item generation, reliability, administration, and applications of the INQ. (Author/NB)

Assessed composition and functioning of academics' professional networks. Results suggest that by the third year at the assistant professor level, women in psychology have established a small same-sex support network, but that their larger network functioning may be beginning to diverge from men's in one important area: building a professional…

Reviewed trends in household living arrangements and examined the potential consequences of types of living arrangements for levels of social integration. Examined data from a 1978 national survey (N=3,692) showing that persons living alone frequently exhibit higher levels on measures of "extra-household" social connectedness than those…

Compared the networks of 37 single and 43 married mothers. Single mothers received more instrumental and personal support than married mothers, although their networks did not differ subtantially in structure. Single mothers receiving the highest levels of support were employed full-time and had few children. (Author/BH)

Examines the application of systems analyses to assertive/unassertive communications. Contends that (1) the definition of assertiveness varies depending on one's frame of reference, (2) interpersonal networks must be considered in designing assertion programs, and (3) the trainee's initial communication style influences the effectiveness of the…

To fill a gap in the existing knowledge base the network of personal and community supports that may be mobilized by rehabilitation counselors in working with older, disabled persons is identified. (Author/BL)

Behavior by traders in the stock options market is not governed strictly by economic criteria. Trading among participants exhibited distinct social structural patterns that dramatically affected the direction and magnitude of price changes. Findings are discussed in relationship to microeconomic theory, and implications for public policy are…

Surveyed 434 college students to examine the interference of relatives and friends with students' intimate relationships. Results indicated that network interference varies in a curvilinear pattern as the relationship progresses, particularly among parents and friends. (JAC)

Examines effects on health status and health services utilization of simultaneous participation by elderly persons (N=401) in family and neighbor network systems. Results showed the greatest health needs and highest rates of use of formal health services to be among the noncompensated relationships. (JAC)