Introduction: Citizens of developing countries are often in vulnerable situations because of illiteracy, unfamiliarity with medical interventions, effects of war resulting in famine, and extreme poverty. The health-related conditions that arise out of these situations however make research in these populations vital and increasing funding for research on diseases that affect the world 's poor is making such research possible. The resulting tension between the need for research and the possibility of exploitation of participants' vulnerability, mandates the development of reliable ways of ensuring that participants' consent is voluntary, adequately informed and well understood. The Nuremberg Code emphasises the requirement of voluntariness in informed consent by insisting that participants should be able to exercise freedom of choice without the intervention of any element of force, fraud , deceit, duress, or other forms of constraint or coercion. Aim: This study assessed research participants' understanding and voluntariness of informed consent in a clinical trial. Methods: The study design was a cross-sectional analysis of the informed consent process. It consisted of qualitative and quantitative components. It was a cross-sectional survey of 75 research participants in a malaria clinical trial using questionnaires in the from of forced-choice check lists and patient self-report to assess voluntariness and understanding of informed consent. Data were analysed using SPSS V 17. Results: All the respondents involved in the clinical trial gave consent before they were recruited. The reasons for consenting to participate in the clinical trial ranged from the opportunity to get treatment (28%), opportunity for diagnosis of ailments (32%), to prevent illness (36%) and to receive information about medical care (4%). The major benefits participants attributed to taking part in the research were the opportunity to obtain treatment (59%), diagnostic tests (35%) and education (6%). Among the research participants, 10.7% believed that they should be paid for participation and about 8% felt that payment could influence their decision to participate because it could act as a motivation. They could however not proffer an amount that they would consider significant enough to influence their decision. There was no significant association between factors that influenced participation and age (p=0.533), sex (p=0.342), education (p=0.078), religion (p=0.144) and marital status (p=0.239). Almost all (98.7%) participants claimed that they had understood the information given to them during the consent procedure and they all gave consent without consulting anybody apart from the medical personnel.The majority of respondents - 74 (98.7%) - stated that they were not allowed to go home with the informed consent document, while 1(1 .3%) of the respondents said there was no need to go home with the informed consent document. In the assessment of understanding using the forced-choice checklist, however, only 37% understood issues concerning randomization of participants and only 28.8% understood issues about compensation for research related injury. Discussion and Conclusion: In this study, the voluntariness of participants was influenced by factors related to the benefits accrued through participation. The need for participants to make free and informed choices based on adequate information given by the investigator cannot but be emphasized as a right and not a privilege. In light of the limited understanding about randomization and injury compensation identified in this study, there is a need for additional protection of vulnerable populations. This could be in the form of allowing adequate time to enable the improvement of participants' understanding of the consent form, using innovative ways of explaining complex concepts such as randomization, and providing the necessary support to facilitate participants' right to self-decision, except when they are incapable of consenting. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

Tyrimo objektas – savanorių išlaikymo valdymo vertinimas. Probleminis klausimas – kaip turėtų būti vykdomas ir vertinamas sporto organizacijos savanorių išlaikymo valdymas? Tyrimo tikslas – įvertinti sporto organizacijos savanorių išlaikymo valdymą. Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1. Apibrėžti savanorio ir savanorystės sampratą bei reikšmę sporto sektoriuje. 2. Atskleisti valdymo sampratos modernioje vadybos teorijoje sąsajas su savanorystės valdymo principais. 3. Remiantis moksliniais literatūros šaltiniais sukurti teorinį sporto organizacijos savanorių išlaikymo valdymo vertinimo modelį. 4. Empiriškai patikrinti sukurtą sporto organizacijos savanorių išlaikymo valdymo vertinimo modelį. Tyrimo metodai: • Mokslinės literatūros analizė. • Anketinė apklausa. • Matematinė analizė. Darbo apimtis – 47 puslapiai. Darbe panaudotos 2 formulės, 3 lentelės, 28 paveikslai, 1 priedas ir 47 literatūros šaltiniai. Išvados: 1. Savanoriams priskiriami asmenys, laisva valia atliekantys naudingą darbą visuomenei, negaudami už tai piniginio atlygio. Savanorystė susijusi su plataus spektro, laiko sąnaudų reikalaujančia neapmokama veikla, kurios tikslai susiję su pagalba organizacijai, bendruomenei ar visuomenei. Savanorystė labai svarbi sporto sektoriuje, nes ji yra pagrindinis didžiausių sporto renginių įgyvendinimo elementas; nevyriausybinėse organizacijose savanorystė yra pagrindinė darbo jėga. 2. Klasikinėje teorijoje valdymas susideda iš tokių principų, kaip planavimas ir sprendimų priėmimas... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / -.

The future of environmental conservation ultimately depends on the collective impact of actions taken by individuals. While many people choose to engage in environmentally responsible behaviours, such as recycling or using public transit, some people are going a step further by volunteering with environmental organizations. These environmental volunteers undertake a variety of roles that are essential to the overall functioning and program delivery of most nonprofit environmental organizations. A major challenge of using volunteers can be the rate of volunteer turnover which increases the need to recruit and train new volunteers. Drawing on past volunteer motivation and satisfaction research, this study seeks to better understand what motivates environmental volunteers and to identify what factors contribute to volunteer satisfaction and retention. A questionnaire with Likert scale and open ended questions was completed by 148 environmental volunteers in the Victoria Capital Regional District. Factor analysis of the survey responses identified nine potential motives for volunteering with environmental organizations: Career, Environmental Values, Personal Growth, Protective, Social Norms, Social Interests, Efficacy, and Independence. The identified motivational factors were used to develop a cluster analysis, which identified six potential groupings or types of individuals attracted to volunteering with environment and conservation organizations. The six groupings identified were Practical Environmentalists, Concerned Environmentalist, Career Environmentalist, Budding Idealist, Social Environmentalist, and Other Helpers. Questions regarding volunteer satisfaction identified six factors that affect volunteer satisfaction: Organization Satisfaction, Individual Freedom, Personal Contribution, Environmental Impact, Intrinsic Rewards, and Personal Benefits. Satisfaction with these factors, however, was not enough to predict volunteer retention. Barriers to volunteering, such as health, location of volunteer activities, and other commitments also contribute to discontinuation of volunteer service. The results of this study can be useful for volunteer management and organization of volunteer programs in order to recruit and maintain satisfied volunteers.

Over the last decade government policy has transformed many aspects of the welfare state and contracted out to private or voluntary non-government organisations many of the services previously provided by the state. Currently there is very little research on the benefits or disadvantages regarding standards of professional practice and delivery of these services when controlled by voluntary organisations and this research is a case study investigating these concerns. By using the case study method it is possible to understand issues by incorporating concrete examples of practice within the context that it takes place, as it is only when seen in its proper setting that the general and conceptual significance of practice is understood. This case study explores the relationships of power, control and accountability in one such non-governmental organisation, the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society and the implications these have for professional staff in the delivery of the service. The study uses the archaeology and genealogy methods suggested by Foucault. Archival material was gained from the Minutes of the meetings of the Plunket executive (1917-1984), constitution and rules. These serve to demonstrate the historical power relationships in the organisation, Plunket nurses� working conditions and how some nurses were treated. The dominant discourse in the archaeology contains two major themes, one being volunteers� autonomous 'ownership' of the organisation, and the other, the subordination of professionalism through the discipline and management of the nursing workforce. Those same themes are also dominant in the contemporary data studied in the genealogy, which highlights the constraints imposed by volunteer 'ownership' in the contemporary period. It is a feature of the "path dependency" of the organisation that the belief that volunteers had a right to discipline and control the nursing workforce has remained largely unchanged in the contemporary period. The practice and the context are personalised through interviews with some nurses so that their real-life experiences may give an in-depth understanding of the processes going on for them as professionals. This is one of multiple sources of evidence, including reports, reviews and research, used to triangulate the findings. Through the totality of these methods, insight into Plunket�s decision-making is made possible. These serve to underline the continuing lack of accountability for service delivery of nonprofessional 'owners' of the voluntary organisation and the negative impact it can have on the delivery of professional services although the greater depth in the contemporary data also highlights two new subsidiary themes; the dominance of lay knowledge over both professional and managerial knowledge, and volunteers� motives for volunteering. The contemporary interview data demonstrated how the historical culture of the organisation enabled this process to continue through poor workplace conditions, high staff attrition and, in some cases, severe personal pressure akin to workplace bullying. This study exposes the significance of the culture of organisations, and reveals that the substance of apparent altruistic voluntary organisations may be much more complex and problematic than the ideology would lead us to believe. In a field such as this, where an NGO has sole national responsibility for such an important area and where the outcomes are so poor, change must be considered. While a path dependency explanation is pessimistic about change, it is argued that the only option for professional standards of service for this, and other NGOs, lies in much more accountability and democracy in stakeholder relationships. Recommendations are made in that direction.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Flinders University, School of Political and International Studies. / Typescript (bound). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 334-359). Also available online.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-118).

Thesis (M.A.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page; viewed on Apr. 21, 2009. "March 2009." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree [of] Master of Arts in History." "Presented to the faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo." Major professor: Thomas R. Trice, Ph.D. Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-103). Also available on microfiche.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-277). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 304-336). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2007.