Multimedia Resources

Video Link

Social Capital and the Power of Relationships: Al Condeluci
In this Ted Talk, Al Condeluci explores the power of relationships for increasing social capital.

Audio Links

This American Life 183: The Missing Parents Bureau
In the first act of this program the reporter talks with single women who are planning to get pregnant with the help of a sperm bank and finds that they all wrestle with the question of how much they want to know about the fathers of their kids--and how much they want their kids to know. The second act is a collection of letters written by a woman who signs her name as "X" and are addressed to the father of her adolescent son. X has no idea where to send the letters, but she keeps writing. The third act is the story of a girl in an acting class that includes an exercises requiring her to develop a character with a troubled past, and then a real psychologist would come in for a session of character group therapy. The girl chose to take on the character of an orphan. In fact, she remembers that everyone else in her class did too. Twenty years later, she visits her old acting teacher and discovers that for some reason, kids today don't want to be orphans. The final act is the story of two men who adopt a child and the relationship they all have with the mother.

This American Life 166: Nobody’s family is going to Change
The family is one of several social institutions in our society. Host Ira Glass describes a children's book from the 1970s called Nobody's Family Is Going to Change by Louise Fitzhugh, the author of Harriet the Spy. On the surface, it sounds like a rather menacing title for a kids' book. But in fact, the story is about how kids can finally find peace if they stop hoping that their parents will ever be any different. The question is, though: is it true? Does anyone's family ever change?

Web Links

The National Council on Family Relations
The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) provides a forum for family researchers, educators, and practitioners to share in the development and dissemination of knowledge about families and family relationships, establishes professional standards, and works to promote family well-being. The NCFR publishes two scholarly journals - Journal of Marriage and Family and Family Relations [self-description].

Administration for Children and Families
Official government statistics on these issues is available through the Department of Health and Human Service (DHSS) Administration for Children and Families.