This study evaluates the level of adherence to professional guidelines by virtual (e-mail) reference services. These professional guidelines are set up as standards to assure service quality; however, studies of virtual reference effectiveness rarely utilize these standards to measure reference success. This study evaluates and compares the level of adherence to two sets of professional guidelines that have been published by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the American Library Association (ALA) Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). Analysis of 324 transactions from 54 libraries showed: 1) low levels of adherence to both sets of guidelines; 2) varied levels of adherence based on request types and user names on both sets of guidelines; 3) variation in institutional rank when different sets of guidelines were utilized; 4) no correlation between user satisfaction and adherence to either set of guidelines. The implications of this study for future research and practice lie not only in its provision of a systematic way to analyze transactions in light of the ideal professional standards, but also in providing an empirical benchmark for virtual reference services evaluation.

This is a presentation (15 slides) at the 2005 ASIS&T Annual Meeting session on Collaboration in Digital Libraries: Luminous Ideas from Health Informatics, Academic Libraries, and Historical Archives.

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This study compared the effectiveness, cost and efficiency of four formative evaluation conditions: (a) revision based on learner data (RLD), (b) revision based on expert data (RED), (c) revision based on both learner and expert data (RBD), and (d) revision without data (RND). Two more conditions were present in the study: materials in draft (MID) and no treatment (NT). The NT condition consisted of students who were tested without exposure to the instructional materials. The instruction that was formatively evaluated was a six-page article describing the relationship between diet and cancer. The article was written by chemistry professors for an "undergraduate chemistry course for non-science students". Undergraduates (n = 187) provided the effectiveness data. They randomly received one of the four formatively evaluated versions of the article, read the article, answered questions on an objective test, and indicated their confidence with respect to their responses. Professional revisors (n = 8) provided cost data. Each revisor provided cost estimates for all formative evaluation conditions. Efficiency was provided by combining effectiveness with cost data. Effectiveness differences were found between the MID and RLD, and the MID and RBD. The mean test scores, as well as the mean confidence-weighed test scores, of both RLD and RBD were significantly higher than those of the MID. Cost differences indicated three levels of cost. RND was the least costly formative evaluation condition. RLD and RED were equivalent in cost and more costly than RND. RBD was the most costly formative evaluation condition. With respect to efficiency, RLD was recommended. RLD was the least costly condition that was significantly more effective than MID. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Although computers have long been studied in terms of their changing price/performance ratio, the issue of accounting for performance in computer systems has not been adequately addressed. This paper addresses the topic in three ways. First, a survey of IS Managers and business "power-users" of personal computers was conducted to empirically determine the attributes of computer systems that provide value to users; these results guide subsequent choices regarding the operationalisation of user value. Second, an index of system performance was developed from published performance benchmarks and used as a direct measure of performance in the hedonic function. Third, a set of technical proxies was shown to adequately reproduce the performance index derived above, and was used in an alternate specification of the hedonic function. Using data on IBM-PC compatible laptop and desktop systems, price indexes were constructed using both approaches to performance measurement. The results demonstrated that both approaches yielded good explanatory power and nearly identical estimates of the rate of quality adjusted price change in PC systems. Thus, the set of technical proxies could be used to operationalise performance in a larger data set for which direct performance measures are unavailable. For the 1990s, laptop PCs were found to have decreased in quality adjusted price at an average of 39% per year while the corresponding figure for desktop PCs was 35% per year.

The purpose of this study was to describe counsellors' perceptions of their collaboration experiences with psychiatrists working in the context of a community mental health team. Specifically, perceptions of facilitating and impeding factors that influence collaboration were identified. Interpretive description (Thorne, Kirkham, & McDonald-Ernes, 1997), a qualitative methodology, was selected as the means of attaining descriptions of the collaboration process that would depict the commonalities among the participant sample while maintaining the unique experience of each individual. Participants included four female and four male Caucasian counsellors between the ages of 38 and 57 who possessed either an M.A. or M.Ed. degree and were currently working in a mental health team. The counsellors engaged in open-ended interviews in which they read an orienting statement and responded to the following directive: Talk about some of the particular collaboration experiences you have had with psychiatrists. Aspects of collaboration experiences fit into one of three general categories: 1) external-structural factors stemming from the work setting; 2) internal cognitive factors pertaining to counsellors' perceptions of psychiatrists and themselves; or 3) social-relational factors arising from communication styles and ways of interacting. The findings suggest that much of the quality of a collaborative interaction arises from the actual quality of the professional relationship. Findings are considered in relation to previous and future research, existing ethical codes, and counsellor training.

This study investigated young children's construction of meaning for number and explored ways to more comprehensively assess and portray the development of number sense in young children. Greeno's (1991) conceptualization of number sense as situated knowing in a conceptual domain was used to consider both the mathematical tools available to the child and the extent to which the child makes use of these tools. The data consisted of four videotaped interviews for each of sixteen children between the ages of six and eight. Each of the four interviews involved a different number context: doubling, finding missing parts, sharing, and working with money. Each context involved a task presented in a series of increasingly difficult items, with number size predominantly determining the difficulty level. A dynamic interview format was used to encourage children to work beyond their independent level, or "number comfort zone." Cues and scaffolds were provided to support children's construction of meaning within their "number construction zone" and towards the outer limits of their understanding. Analysis focused on the strategies children used to make sense of each item, and the cognitive, affective and contextual aspects which enhanced or constrained their mathematical activity within the number construction zone. Results were reported two ways. The first, specific task performance across children, provided a means of describing the diversity of developmentally appropriate ways children made sense of the different tasks and provided a frame of reference for considering individual performance. The second approach to reporting results considered individual children's performance across tasks, and provided a means of focusing on characteristics of emerging competence. Results of this study illustrate how the nature and use of children's reasoning strategies can provide an indication of developing competence. Results highlight specific conceptual, procedural, functional, and affective characteristics that most directly affected children's capacity to make sense of number situations. No single characteristic alone accounted for children's success or lack of success, rather the inter-relationships of the different characteristics was apparent, with strengths in one area compensating for weaknesses in another. Though conceptual and procedural abilities appeared to shape to a great extent the nature of the number knowledge available to children, affective considerations and functional competence played a major role in shaping the extent to which children drew on this existing knowledge. Issues of context influenced both aspects of number sense: available knowledge and the nature of its use. Number size, context of the tasks, and presentation of tasks influenced children's mathematical activity in important ways. Children's personal number contexts were considered in terms of how they influenced their approaches to tasks. Overall, dynamic assessment techniques proved to offer a viable alternative for exploring the limits of children's ability to make sense of number situations, and for considering children's construction of meaning for number in developmental terms.

<p> This research is an attempt to explore the various strategies employed by the principals of Title I schools in order to foster an environment of student progress and achievement. Since the inception of the NCLB Act, pressures have been increasing on the schools, especially on Title I Schools, and on their principals to increase academic performance. The researcher selected four Title I Schools and used questionnaires for teachers and interviews for principals to explore the answer to the research questions. The research philosophy acknowledges both the mainstream approaches of positivism and interpretivism and follows a mixed methods approach. The sample questionnaires were selected with a simple random sampling method. The literature review puts forward a great deal of studies, which show that there is a strong correlation between strategies and techniques employed by the school leaders and the performance of students. Collaboration with teachers, motivation, emotional intelligence, respecting diversity, integration of technology, strategic focus, constant coaching and mentoring of teachers, and others are highlighted as a few of the techniques employed by principals. The data helped in concluding that the prime reasons behind the success of these schools are discipline, collaboration of school leaders with teachers, involvement of principals in every aspect of student development, understanding the needs of different students, tailoring educational styles for different students, and strategic vision. Furthermore, the study arrived at the conclusion that these schools are in dire need of transformational leadership as opposed to transactional leadership from their school leaders considering the increasing pressures on Title I schools.</p>

<p> Research studies of extracurricular activities have illustrated specific relationships between participation and certain student characteristics, such as higher grades, higher standardized test scores, higher attendance, fewer discipline issues, and increased positive school perception. Since so much of the previous research on extracurricular activities has focused on the secondary education level, the researcher questioned whether or not these same relationships would be present in elementary school students who participated in extracurricular activities. This research study was conducted at one elementary school in a large metropolitan area to determine what, if any, relationships among variables including length of time participating in the activity were evident amongst extracurricular activity participants. This study compared the MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) scores in math and communication arts, office discipline referral rates, and attendance rates of elementary school students who had participated in extracurricular activities to those students who did not participate in extracurricular activities. The researcher used both a mixed-methods approach to determine if there was a difference between those students who took part in extracurricular activities and those who did not. The quantitative part of the study demonstrated a relationship between participation in extracurricular activities and higher communication arts and math standardized test scores. A relationship was also evident between participation in extracurricular activities and higher communication arts standardized test scores for those who participated in extracurricular activities for a longer amount of time; however there was not a statistical difference in attendance or office discipline referrals for length of participation or participation in extracurricular activities in general. The study also examined relationships between extracurricular participation and students' school perception. The qualitative analysis, which consisted of data gathered by student (<i> n</i>=65) and parent (<i>n</i>=29) questionnaires, revealed more similarities between extracurricular activity participants and non-participants than differences. The researcher was able to conclude that certain relationships existed amongst extracurricular activity participants and standardized test scores. The study concluded with implications and recommendations for future implementation of elementary extracurricular activity programs. </p>