Project Narrative: Examining the Interplay of Experiences of Participants in an After-School Writing Club

Writing is a vital part of literacy development. It affords the opportunity for the expression and analysis of comprehensive thought, while simultaneously being a modality for unique and creative communication. In order for productive dialogue about the study of writing to be engaged, the contemplation of its many dynamic parts occurring across a diversity of contexts must be considered in such a way that one writing strategy, process, product or environment is not privileged above another. Each constituent part of writing construction contributes meaningfully to the existing body of research for this field, and when carefully disaggregated can offer specific insights. This holistic embedded case study purposefully sought to facilitate dialogue about writing through the encapsulation of three adolescents in an after-school writing club situated in a Southeastern Louisiana boarding school (Yin, 2017). In this non-traditional, after-school setting—without the constraints imposed by deadlines, rubrics, grading, teacher led feedback, or test-centered, argumentative compositions—writing naturally occurred. Moreover, without the mediums of social media, texting, or digital word processing, the participants chose to be a part of 11 writing club sessions engaging in the co-construction of meaningful dialogue, the writing of original manuscripts, and the development of a supportive social community. Drawing upon the self-determination, self-efficacy, and sociocultural theories, narratives were crafted for each participant

The Effect of Inheritance Receipt on Retirement

This paper uses the receipt of an inheritance to measure the effect of wealth shocks on retirement. Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we first document that inheritance receipt is common among older workers %u2013 one in five households receives an inheritance over an eight-year period, with a median value of about $30,000. We find that inheritance receipt is associated with a significant increase in the probability of retirement. In particular, we find that receiving an inheritance increases the probability of retiring earlier than expected by 4.4 percentage points, or 12 percent relative to the baseline retirement rate, over an eight-year period. Importantly, this effect is stronger when the inheritance is unexpected and thus more likely to represent an exogenous shock to wealth.

Wrangling Weirdness: Lessons Learned from Academic Law Library Collections

Academic law libraries face some challenges that are consistent with larger trends in higher education. However, there are unique aspects that shape the way collections are selected, evaluated, managed, and promoted. Most electronic resources designed for legal research do not generate COUNTER compliant usage data. Many subscription resources and services that libraries provide access to are primarily geared towards non-academic customers, such as law firms and corporations. Patrons increasingly need and request research products that rely on data collection, personalization, and non-IP access controls, which complicates law librarians’ professional commitment to things like preserving patron privacy and providing walk-in access. Law library technical services departments are perpetually negotiating these and other challenges to ensure the needs of law faculty and students are met as seamlessly as possible. Some of these methods and strategies might be applicable to other types of libraries navigating unfamiliar issues