Examines the response of children in the Golan Heights to the ambiguous situation during the continuing peace talks between Israel and Syria concerning a possible evacuation of the region's settlers. Results suggest that social support, defensiveness, religion, and living in smaller settlements predicted better coping, whereas less social support…

This case study is based on a 1988 site visit to the Orion Community, in which a group of nondisabled and disabled people have chosen to live and work with each other in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Orion's founding is described, beginning with an informal support group of professionals, parents, advocates, and members of Camphill (agricultural…

The view that the protection of the family unit is essential for the public welfare has generated much of family law. This paper attempts to examine the legal consequences which ensue from some alternative types of family formation. (Author)

A field investigation of 32 groups of communally reared children utilizing 10 categories of group behavior reported group behavior forms and child socialization in groups of toddlers and preschoolers 18 months to 42 months of age. The groups were equally divided (16 each) among "total" and "day care" types and were age-homogeneous. Group forms…

This examination of the educational purpose in the kibbutz and issues of creating a common ideology illustrates how deeply learning is a part of the larger environment in the society and how the special features of the kibbutz educational program work. Includes an honest assessment of advantages, strains, and problems of this program. (Author/RK)

The generation of Israel kibbutz born members gained prestige and influence from their fighting the 1973 War. A trend toward rearing children in their parents' house rather than in the children's houses, begun by kibbutz-reared parents, was greatly accelerated by enhanced generational prestige and founders' disengagement from the issue. (Author)

Data are presented demonstrating that the life expectancy of kibbutz members--both men and women--is higher than that of the overall Jewish population in Israel. These data add to and support other research findings illustrating the more positive mental health and well-being found among kibbutz members than among other comparative populations.…

Author outlines ideas prevalent in China on child-rearing. (DS)

Personal accounts of innovative social arrangements in two communes focus on community responsibility for child rearing. (NH)

Meaning matters in the way people form social ties. Adopting an unconventional analytic technique--the Galois lattice analysis--I show how network researchers can uncover relational meanings using conventional research techniques (i.e., closed-ended network surveys). Galois lattice analysis also inspires new ways of conceptualizing relational…

The result of 6 months' observation of an American Taoist commune, this paper examines and interprets two episodes of confrontation, involving the persistently antagonistic Chinese director of the commune and one or more members, as a way of making sense of commune culture. The paper first examines the assumptions and values with which the…

This brief report discusses the development of mass participation in the provision of preschool education for 769 children of 3 to 6 years of age in Tan Tien-- a pilot commune located in the Red River Delta, Hai Hung province, North Vietnam. Tan Tien commune is described and the targets of the preschool movement are indicated. Phases of the…

This study explored some of the impacts of the presence of others on the most intimate human relationships: those of couples and parents and children in communal households. The shift from essentially dyadic to larger group relations in the home adds a number of complex phenomena: audiences, alternative resources, coalition partners,…

A brief history of Indian tribes in the states of Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa is presented. Discussion centers around individual Indian tribes which are representative of early and modern Indian life in these states. Native tribes, nomadic tribes, and emigrant tribes are considered. A section devoted to Indians in these states today offers an…

Commune residents and university students were asked to compare present and past social interactions in terms of 13 questions derived from differences between nuclear and extended families. Findings confirmed the hypothesis that communal social roles evolve to become similar to those in extended families, with the exception of work roles.…