Reference Transaction Handoffs: Factors Affecting the Transition from Chat to Email

This study describes a content analysis of reference transcripts taken from the NCknows virtual reference service. The analysis was performed to determine why the librarians consider some questions to be unanswerable at the time that they are submitted by users. Transcripts were coded by a classification of question causes, by how complete the reference interview was during the transaction, and then according to the reasons given for ending the chat early. The analysis showed that most reference interviews were incomplete and that the most common explanation for why the questions could not be answered at the time was that the librarians were already busy assisting other users. The study indicates that more North Carolina librarians should be hired to staff the service and that librarians should make a greater effort to conduct a complete reference interview so that more questions can be answered while the user is still online

Economic intervention and parenting: a randomized experiment of statewide child development accounts

Objective: We examine the effects of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) on parenting stress and practices. Methods: We use data from the SEED for Oklahoma Kids (SEED OK) experiment. SEED OK selected caregivers of infants from Oklahoma birth certificates using a probability sampling method, randomly assigned caregivers to the treatment (n = 1,132) or control group (n = 1,098), and provided college savings incentives only to the treatment group. We run regression analyses on a parenting stress scale and six continuous measures of parenting practices. Results: There were no significant differences in parenting outcomes between treatment and control groups, with the exception of frequency of screaming at the child. CDAs have more salient effects on American Indians than on other groups. Conclusions: We present weak evidence for CDAs’ positive impacts on parenting outcomes. Further research is needed to determine whether these initial results change over time