Collaborative Reference Research Articles

Voices of women in homelessness during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic: a co-created qualitative study

BackgroundWomen in homelessness face extreme health- and social inequities. It could be postulated that during societal crises, they become even more vulnerable. Thus, the aim was to explore experiences related to the COVID-19 pandemic among women in homelessness.MethodsTen interviews were conducted with women in homelessness, in Stockholm, Sweden, using researcher-driven photo elicitation. The data analysis was guided by the DEPICT model for collaborative data analysis and a qualitative content analysis was performed. A collaborative reference group of women with lived experience of homelessness contributed to the research process through designing the data collection, performing the data analysis, and providing feedback during report writing.ResultsFor women in homelessness, the COVID-19 pandemic was adding insult to injury, as it significantly affected everyday life and permeated most aspects of existence, leading to diminished interactions with others and reduced societal support. Thus, in an already dire situation, the virus amplified health- and social issues to another level. The women strived to find their balance on the shifting sands of guidelines and restrictions due to the pandemic. Adhering to the new social distancing rules and guidelines in line with the rest of society, was simply impossible when experiencing homelessness. However, for some women the pandemic was nothing but a storm in a teacup. The harsh reality continued irrespectively, living one day at a time and prioritizing provision for basic human needs.ConclusionsThe COVID-19 pandemic and homelessness can be viewed as two intersecting crises. However, the women’s aggregated experiences were greater than the sum of experiencing homelessness and meeting the threat of the virus. Gender, exposure to violence, poverty, social isolation, and substance use were additional factors that further marginalized the women during the pandemic. To rebuild a better and more sustainable post-pandemic future for all, global commitment to ending homelessness is crucial. In addition, addressing social determinants of health must be the number one health intervention.

Multi-Agency Collaboration Leading to WHO EMT Classification: The Korea Disaster Relief Team

Background/Introduction:The Korea Disaster Relief Team (KDRT) was established in 2008 to systemize Korea’s overseas medical emergency response. Following multiple international deployments since 2008, KDRT embarked on its journey to achieve WHO Emergency Medical Team (EMT) Global Classification in 2017.Objectives:To outline the key success factors in KDRT’s work to reach classification as a Type 1 Fixed EMT.Method/Description:As the Korean government dispatches KDRT, a multi-agency collaboration is essential to respond to overseas disasters. To this end, KDRT leveraged a formal collaborative approach, assigning specific roles for EMT development and deployment to several national agencies: The Republic of Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of National Defense, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, Korea’s National Medical Center, and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare. This network prepared KDRT for WHO EMT Verification and developing Standard Operation Procedures for the EMT Type 1. Based on this SOP, KDRT repeated simulations for each element to strengthening capabilities and enable deployment ensuring strong coordination with national and international partners in response.Results/Outcomes:After initiating KDRT’s journey towards EMT classification 2017, KDRT formalized cooperation with multiple agencies, and codified these roles and responsibilities in formal/published SOPs. Finally, the KDRT was verified by WHO in June 2022.Conclusion:This study provides a process within the operating system limited to the Republic of Korea, the country of the KDRT. However, it also can be used as a collaborative reference case in the EMT development and verification process.

Defining the baseline transcriptional fingerprint of rabbit hamstring autograft

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common and of high relevance given their significant effects on patient function, quality of life, and posttraumatic arthritis. To date, investigators have reported on the expression of genes classically associated with tendon and ligament reconstruction, including decorin (DCN) and collagen type 1 (COL1A1 and COL1A2). However, the transcriptional fingerprint for hamstring tendons, one of the most common autografts used for ACLR, remains to be determined. The purpose of this study was to characterize the baseline transcriptional state of semitendinosus autografts in a rabbit model for ACLR and to employ such characterization to guide scientifically-driven target gene selection for future analyses.Next generation RNA sequencing was performed on whole semitendinosus autografts from four New Zealand White rabbits (mean age: 193 ± 0 days, mean weight: 2.78 kg ± 0.15 kg) and subsequently analyzed using gene enrichment and protein-protein interaction network analysis. Decorin, Secreted Protein Acidic and Cysteine Rich (SPARC), Collagen type 1, and Proline and Arginine Rich End Leucine Rich Repeat Protein (PRELP) and were determined to be the highest expressed genes with tendon-associated ontology. These results strengthen the association between genes such as DCN, COL1A1, and COL1A2 and tendon tissues as well as provide the novel addition of further high-expression, tendon characteristic genes such as SPARC and PRELP to provide guidance as to which molecules serve as high-signal candidates for future ACL research. In addition, this paper provides open-access to the expression fingerprint of hamstring autograft for ACLR in New Zealand White rabbits, thus providing a readily-accessible collaborative reference, in alignment with ethical animal research principles.

How Important is Communication Style in Chat Reference?

Chat operators sometimes struggle to find a communication style that balances approachability and warmth with professionalism and authority. Both formal and informal communication styles have benefits and drawbacks that may affect patron satisfaction. Consequently, it may be difficult for chat operators to decide how to communicate with users, and for chat service managers to decide if communication style should be part of a service’s training and policies. This article reports on a study of chat transcripts from a collaborative chat reference service in Ontario, Canada. We compared operator communication style with users’ willingness to return, and included user and query type as moderating variables. The study used two samples: 299 randomly selected interactions and 217 interactions with negative or neutral exit survey responses. Chi square tests of independence showed a significant relationship between communication style and willingness to return in the dissatisfied sample, but not the random sample. There was a significant relationship between informality and willingness to return for faculty members and for research questions but only in the dissatisfied sample. We conclude that an operator’s choice to communicate either more formally or informally will not make users more satisfied, but it can help avoid leaving them dissatisfied, especially for faculty members and during research-intensive questions.

図書館の情報サービスが持つ可能性 : 国立国会図書館レファレンス協同データベース事業,その軌跡と展開(グループ研究発表, 第53回研究大会)

図書館の情報サービスが持つ可能性 : 国立国会図書館レファレンス協同データベース事業,その軌跡と展開(グループ研究発表, 第53回研究大会)

「レファ協」で拓くレファレンスサービスの新たな地平( 多様化する図書館システム)

「レファ協」で拓くレファレンスサービスの新たな地平( 多様化する図書館システム)

협력형 디지털 레퍼런스 서비스의 이용자 만족도 요인 연구

협력형 디지털 레퍼런스 서비스의 이용자 만족도 요인 연구

Sources and Services of Engineering College Libraries and an Overview of Digital Reference Services

This paper attempts to examine the awareness about sources and services offered by the engineering college libraries to the students-needs and methods, in terms of library facilities, resources, services and so on. Based on the result of the survey and major findings, few suggestions have been given. This study also gives a status view of the engineering college libraries andthe opinion of the librarians &library staff and library users about the performance of the library. Various models of providing digital reference services in engineering college libraries including e-mail, online chat reference, video conferencing, digital robots, collaborative digital reference and virtual reference service are also discussed.

Analysis of Reference Inquiries in the Field of Social Science in the Collaborative Reference Service Using the Co-Word Technique

This study grasped the true nature of the inquiry domain by analysing the requests for collaborative reference service in the social science field using the co-word technique, and schematized the intellectual structure. First, this study extracted 748 uncontrolled keywords from inquiries for reference in the field of social science. Second, calculated similarity indices between the words on the basis of co-occurrence frequency, and performed not only clustering but also MDS mapping. Third, to grasp the difference in inquiries for reference by period, dividing the period into two parts, and performed comparative analysis. As a result, there formed 5 clusters and “Korea Education” showed an overwhelming size with 40.3% among those clusters. The result of the analysis through the period division showed there were many questions about “Education” during the first half, while a lot of inquiries with focus on “welfare and business information” during the second half.

A Study on the Data Registration Personnels' Consciousness and Attitude : Case of Member Libraries in the Collaborative Reference Project Database

A Study on the Data Registration Personnels' Consciousness and Attitude : Case of Member Libraries in the Collaborative Reference Project Database

협동 디지털참고서비스의 질문 분석: 국립중앙 도서관의 '사서에게 물어보세요'를 중심으로

협동 디지털참고서비스의 질문 분석: 국립중앙 도서관의 '사서에게 물어보세요'를 중심으로

A collaborative reference model for monitoring whale-watching quantity in the Hualien coastal area, Taiwan

The whale-watching activities have recently increased with rising tourism business in the Hualien coastal area in Taiwan. In the past, lack of adequate systems for controlling the quantity of overloaded whale-watching tourists and communicating with whale-watching businesses has led to serious impact on whale and dolphin ecology. In order to reduce the impact on whale and dolphin ecology and other ocean creatures, this study presents a process-based reference model and information system for helping the East Coast National Scenic Area Administration to better manage and control whale-watching quantity. The tool set of IDEF (Integration Definition) is applied to describe the overall workflow of whale-watching processes. An object-oriented analysis approach is used to represent the architecture of the collaborative model. In this research, we suggest the East Coast National Scenic Area Administration can conduct and establish the model and welcome all stockholders to discuss proper whale-watching processes together on proposed platform.

Using LibraryH3lp to Form a Collaborative Reference Service

Harrison College (formerly Indiana Business College), a for-profit institution with approximately 6,100 students, implemented a virtual reference service in 2009. This article discusses our choice to use LibraryH3lp as the provider for this service, and how it has created a unique model for staffing our virtual reference services.

Journal Update

Dear Colleagues, Last year (2012) many of the Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture (EJFA) strategic initiatives achieved in support of its strategic goals. The journal increased the number of published articles to a minimum of 12 per the 6 regular issues published in 2012. Also, the journal succeeded in publishing proceeding and abstracts of regional and international scientific conferences. Supplementary issue of abstracts was published for the IX° Italian Congress of Food Chemistry "Food, Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals" organized by the Italo-Latin American Society of Ethnomedicine, Italy, June 03-07, 2012. Also, the regular issue of Vol. 24(5) contained date palm papers presented at the "Arab Palm Conference 2011" the First Scientific Conference for the Development of the Date Palm and Dates Sector in the Arab World, Held in King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, December 4-7, 2011. Similarly the December issue was reserved for papers of ?Plant UV B Responses? in collaboration with the European COST ACTION FA0906 (UV4Growth), UV4 Growth is a European COST Action that brings together more than 180 Europeans and international researchers. Recently, EJFA signed agreement with CrossRef, a collaborative reference linking service that functions as a sort of digital switchboard. CrossRef holds no full text content, but rather effects linkages through CrossRef Digital Object Identifiers (CrossRef DOI), which are tagged to article metadata supplied by the participating publishers. The end result is an efficient, scalable linking system through which a researcher can click on a reference citation in a journal and access the cited article. Now, EJFA articles have DOI numbers. Assigning DOI number for back issues is underway. The indexing/abstracting for the journal is now 145. There is a drastic increase in the indexing during last year. The Index Copernicus value (ICV) is 5.78 and NAAS Rating is 4.6 out of 6 for 2011. This year (2013), which is Silver Jubilee year for EJFA, we are planning to increase the number of issues to 12 per year, so that the EJFA become a monthly journal, first monthly scientific journal from the region! In online version, the ?Coming Issue? page will be replaced by ?e-Preview Issues?, and which will give the tracking option to authors for their accepted manuscripts. The advance online publication of articles will be effected, in regular issues soon after proof correction by the authors. It will enhance the possibilities of citations with the help of DOI numbers. The print issues will be published according to the time schedules as regularly. As in the previous year, this year also we will consider publishing special issues for international scientific conferences. Also, special issue for camel research will be published. The editorial board of the journal was restructured to keep improving the quality and ranking of the journal. I am sure that the new structure will help in moving the EJFA to new level and create system to guarantee the sustainability and continuation of the EJFA. One of the editors from the previous editorial board will now take charge as Executive Editor and number of senior Editors will support him. There will be a group of Reviewing Editors who will handle the review process for the journal. An editorial office was developed with a Managing Editor, Internal Reviewing Editors and two Assistant Editors for quality assurance. On behalf of the EJFA team, sincere thanks the previous editors of the EJFA for their effort during last year in managing the journal and to all our contributors, readers and reviewers for the achievements of 2012 and wish all of you a great productive year in 2013.

Knowledge Base of Collaborative Virtual Reference Systems:State of the Art and Future Trends

Knowledge Base of Collaborative Virtual Reference Systems:State of the Art and Future Trends

The challenge of designing a collaborative reference source for Southern African Literature

Finding the right balance between editorial control and the widest possible participation by user-contributors is a critical challenge for the editors of the ESAACH Wiki. The Wiki is the online collaborative reference repository of the Encyclopaedia of South African Arts, Culture and Heritage (ESAACH). The provision of wider access to information on South African literary culture is a founding principle of the ESAACH project, and wider collaboration in authoring and editing the content of the ESAACH Wiki is an extension of this aspiration. In this article we consider the place of encyclopaedias and literary companions in the context of other tertiary sources, and then go on to discuss the pros and cons of the emerging Open Access (OA) movement to make research information more freely available on the Internet. The meaning of ‘collaboration’ is examined within the framework of new open source technologies that invite multiple authorship and review, and which allow practical expression of ‘commons-based peer production’ (CBPP) and associated notions such as ‘the wisdom of crowds’ and ‘publish-then-filter.’ To identify best practice and thereby refine guidelines for ESAACH Wiki content creation, selected South African literary and biographical reference sources were compared and evaluated. Criteria established in cognate studies of tertiary reference sources both in traditional printed form and on the Internet, were used as a basis for the comparison. It is proposed that the future development model for ESAACH be one that encourages open user participation, filtered by a team of ESAACH-approved editors.

Managing dialogue: How information availability affects collaborative reference production

Two experiments investigated how both shared and privileged knowledge affect reference production during dialogue. Dyads of participants jointly established routes for an imaginary person. Each participant was given a map featuring shared landmarks (i.e., they also appeared on the partner’s map) and privileged landmarks (i.e., they did not appear on the partner’s map). Analyses focused on which references participants included in their utterances. Results showed that the production of references that had previously been explicitly accepted and hence added to the speakers’ common ground was affected by information availability. Furthermore, the participants compensated for the influence of information availability by keeping track of the information their partners were likely to lack and producing it when necessary. Results are discussed with regard to collaboration and the influence of privileged knowledge during dialogue.

Good news for BAMBED readers and authors: Medline, wiley early view, and author services

All articles published in BAMBED since 2004 are now indexed in Medline, accessed through PubMed. Articles published in BAMBED are now available online as soon as their proofs are approved, without having to await the availability of the print edition. Through Author Services (http://authorservices. wiley.com), authors can obtain free online access to their articles and may identify readers for whom their articles will be freely available on publication, without the two-year hold. In 2000, when we became Co-Editors-in-Chief of this journal, we decided that the time had come to change its name from Biochemical Education to Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, to reflect the changes occurring in the field. The International Union of Biochemistry had already changed its name to the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the American Society of Biological Chemists had become the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, so it seemed the appropriate thing to do. To our surprise, however, this resulted in the loss of indexing by Medline. After intense efforts to be added back to the list of indexed journals, our hard work has finally been rewarded and all articles published in BAMBED since 2004 are now indexed in Medline with access through PubMed. Once a corrected proof is received by the publisher from the author and reviewed by the Editor, individual articles are published online in the Early View service maintained by the Wiley Online Library. This makes articles available on the BAMBED website from the Early View menu before the print version and reduces publication time to about two months. Articles are available both in HTML full-text, and PDF formats and each article includes a digital object identifier and a collaborative reference linking service through which readers can click on a reference citation and immediately access article content. Once articles are published electronically, it is not possible for authors to make further changes before the print version appears. The print version will indicate the online publication date. BAMBED is part of the Wiley Online Library. Author Services for this library (http://authorservices.wiley.com) include many important features, the most important of which, in our view, is the ability of authors to obtain free access to their published journal articles and the ability to nominate coauthors and colleagues to also receive free access. Authors should be aware that this service exists and take the opportunity to have coauthors and colleagues notified of their publications and provide them with free access. In addition, as authors may not know of potential interest in their work, readers should consider contacting their favorite BAMBED authors and ask to be put on a list for whom access to their future publications may be accessed online free of charge. Readers may also ask authors to contact Author Services about providing them free access to specific papers that have already been published.

Managing a text reference consortium: the My Info Quest experience

PurposeThis paper aims to describe management and operational considerations for collaborative text reference services.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted in‐depth interviews with members of the My Info Quest (MIQ) management team. The paper reports on the interviews in the context of MIQ's operations as the first US nationwide, collaborative text reference service.FindingsMIQ is a non‐hierarchal organization that relies on frequent communication, enthusiastic and dedicated member librarians, and a collective sense of commitment. Challenges and lessons from MIQ's operations are discussed in the following areas: policies and procedures, staffing, service software, training, marketing, communicating and problem solving, and overall project operation.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper examines collaborative text reference service only from the management perspective. Future research should investigate other aspects of collaboratively providing text reference service.Practical implicationsThis paper will help libraries implement and manage collaborative text reference services. Ultimately it will contribute to the development of best practices for text reference service.Originality/valueText reference is the most recent reference development and it does not have a large body of literature. Current reports are primarily of a single library's experience. This paper reports on collaborative service provision. It is the only article to date that examines collaborative text reference service from the management perspective.

Oh! Web 2.0, Virtual Reference Service 2.0, Tools & Techniques (II)

The paper describes the theory and definition of the practice of librarianship, specifically addressing how Web 2.0 technologies (tools) such as synchronous messaging, collaborative reference service and streaming media, blogs, wikis, social networks, social bookmarking tools, tagging, RSS feeds, and mashups might intimate changes and how libraries provide access to their collections and user support for that access.