TITLE: Volunteer Management in Hospices AUTHOR: Bc. Zdeňka Sobotová KEY WORDS: hospice, palliative care, volunteering, volunteer management, Volunteer Service Manager This thesis deals with the management of the volunteer program in hospice, mainly from the perspective of the Volunteer Service Managers (VSMs). In the empirical part it brings description of the problems and issues VSMs are facing in eight Czech hospices. Among the main findings of the author are that volunteering in hospices deals with little support from management, lack of finance and difficult acceptance by the staff. The time VSMs can devote to volunteers is too little or too vaguely defined, which does not allow them to really develop the volunteer program. In none of the hospices visited volunteer program evaluation does not take place. Mobile hospices are facing concerns about the responsibilities of volunteers and difficulties in communication with families, which in some hospices lead to the fact that the volunteers in direct care are not involved. In the theoretical part of this work the author offers answers that bring literature to the problems described by her research. Together with the best advice received from respondents of her research are then summarized in the form of a practical handbook for VSMs, which can be...

This diploma thesis deals with the study of the world of reflexive volunteers and their retention in a selected non-profit organization. The theoretical part provides an overview of the motivations for volunteering and the current functioning of volunteering in the Czech Republic and the European Union; it also focuses on transforming the way volunteers are involved from the perspective of modernization and describes in detail the process of volunteer management. The empirical part consists of interviews with ten volunteers in a selected organization in order to understand its motivations, length and intensity of work, relationships with other volunteers and employees. Finally, practical recommendations for the volunteer coordinator are presented regarding selected aspects of volunteer management, with special emphasis on the retention of volunteers. Keywords Collective and reflexive styles of volunteering, traditional, modern, volunteer management , volunteer retention.

Many nonprofits seek a volunteer base that includes the experience and maturity of the Silent and Baby Boomer Generations as well as the creativity and advanced technological knowledge of Generations X, Y, and Z. Published literature recommends implementing multigenerational volunteer programs to increase the representation of multiple generations. However, there is no literature providing guidance to create volunteer management practices that simultaneously recruit and retain those generations. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of 5 generations of volunteers. The research questions for this phenomenological study addressed perspectives that may contribute to developing generation-based volunteer management practices. The theoretical framework included Mannheim's theory of generations and generational cohort theory, and Strauss-Howe generational theory, which suggest that an individual's generational classification influences his or her experiences of recruitment and retention. Individual interviews were conducted with 20 participants from 5 generations who currently volunteer or have recently volunteered in a nonprofit. Data were coded and categorized for thematic analysis using Moustakas' method. Findings indicated that many of the generational cohorts shared similar experiences in how they prefer to be recruited and retained. However, each cohort expressed a distinct need for generation-specific volunteer management practices. The implications for social change include informing volunteer resource managers of the importance of developing generation-based volunteer management practices, in order to recruit and retain multiple generations of volunteers.

Volunteering in emergency situations requires comprehensive knowledge of the context of these situations: crisis management issues, including legislation, involving of NNO in the integrated rescue system and cooperation with a local government, the principle of access to those who are affected; including first aid, teamwork and self-care. The training of volunteers is very important for both, the quality of volunteer work and for volunteers themselves and humanitarian organizations pay special attention to it.The aim of this work is to summarize the findings from the literature, to prepare them for the use of volunteers and to map the training system of volunteers and members of the Czech Red Cross in general, and on the specific example of regional associations in the South Bohemian region. To achieve the objective, an analysis and summary of the domestic literature on training volunteers in emergencies was realised. Furthermore, the case study, using data from secondary sources, internal documents and from expert interviews was compiled. Attachments now contain information useful for training volunteers as a separated document. The conclusion of this work summarizes the findings and defines recommendations for a practical use. Key words Volunteering, volunteer management, disaster, humanitarian...

The term "Volunteering" as well as its sence has become well-known in today's society. Less knowledge we have about the process of preparations of volunteers before their final involvement in specific projects. This work focus on preparations of volunteers in organizations who operate in the field of humanitarian aid and development cooperation outside the European Union. The aim of this study is to survey particular phases of the contact between organizations and their volunteers especially the phase of training before sending the volunteers for their mission abroad. Volunteer's comments on the methods of preparations form a part of the work too. To reach the objective, the qualitative research was held, so that it was possible to describe the operating methods in focused organizations. During the research, the direct contact with volunteers and emloyees of organizations played an important role. The work is concluded with the survey of ascertained facts and resulting recomendations. Keywords: Volunteering, volunteer management, humanitarian aid, international development cooperation, volunteer preparation, training

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Im Mittelpunkt der Arbeit steht das soziale Phänomen Volunteering in der sozialen Institution Public Library mit konkretem Bezug auf die Gegebenheiten in den USA. Die Behandlung des Themas erfolgt auf der Basis von Quellen sowie den Ergebnissen einer qualitativen Untersuchung. Zunächst werden die historischen Hintergründe von Volunteering und Philanthropie in den Vereinigten Staaten sowie die Entwicklungsgeschichte der US Public Libraries beschrieben und diskutiert. Zwischen beiden Phänomenen werden Zusammenhänge aufgezeigt. In diesem Kontext wird auch die Rolle Andrew Carnegies herausgearbeitet. Des Weiteren werden der gegenwärtige Stand der Freiwilligenforschung mit den Schwerpunkten Motivation und Volunteer-Management sowie das Wirken von Volunteers in US Public Libraries unter politischen, soziologischen und administrativen Gesichtspunkten erörtert. In Auswertung der qualitativen Untersuchung, die eine Kombination aus Feldforschung und problemzentrierten Interviews – durchgeführt in insgesamt 31 Public Libraries in elf US-Bundesstaaten – darstellt, werden eine Reihe von Erkenntnissen gewonnen, die unter anderem Rückschlüsse auf die Bibliotheksspezifik von Volunteering – insbesondere in Hinsicht auf die Motivation zur Freiwilligenarbeit sowie dem Volunteer-Management – ermöglichen. / This thesis describes the social phenomenon of volunteering in the public library as a social institution, focused on the situation in the United States of America. The paper is based on a literature review and on findings of a qualitative study. After discussing the history of volunteering, philanthropy, the American public library, and Andrew Carnegie’s role, there will be a review on research on volunteerism. Thereby, the focus is laid upon aspects of volunteer motivation as well as volunteer management in the US in general and particular in libraries. Furthermore, a compilation and interpretation of library volunteer coordinators’ materials, manuals, and reports will be presented. The results of the qualitative study which is based on a combination of field research and problem-centered interviews – held in 31 public libraries in eleven US states – will be discussed in detail. Among others, the results lead to the conclusion that – especially concerning several motivational and management aspects – public library volunteering is quite specific in comparison to volunteer work in other facilities and institutions.

The purpose of this study was to examine formal volunteering among retirees in order to explore whether their volunteer experiences represent an extension of their career in the paid workforce or whether their volunteer activities represent a completely new direction, and how this influences their career self-concept, as interpreted through Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development. This study employed a developmental mixed-method design. In Phase 1, qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 participants to better understand retirees’ volunteer experiences. Phase 1 informed the design of an instrument for the Phase 2 survey which examined the issues among a larger sample of 214 retirees. The Phase 2 results supported the Phase 1 findings and indicated that many retirees sought an extension of career in volunteer activities in that they used similar skills and knowledge. Study participants also displayed a desire for lifelong learning. Retirees relinquished their paid-work career, took on the retiree and volunteer roles, and integrated these roles within their career self-concept to create a new sense of self. These results indicated that the retirees had entered a new stage of life, qualitatively different from ‘retirement’. To better reflect the experiences of these retirees, it was proposed that Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development be extended to include Redirection. This theorizing is consistent with the finding that retirees both wanted to and are able to integrate previous paid work elements as well as seek out lifelong learning opportunities within their volunteer activities. This study demonstrates that the volunteer role in the lives of retirees can lead to personal renewal and reshaping of the career self-concept, or what is labeled as the stage of Redirection. This study also has implications for volunteer management, retirement planning and social policy, and may be of interest to volunteer managers, nonprofit organizations, career counsellors, financial planners, retirement planning consultants, life coaches and policy planners.

Fine grained sediment deposition in urban environments during natural hazard events can impact critical infrastructure and properties (urban terrain) leading to reduced social and economic function and potentially adverse public health effects. Therefore, clean-up of the sediments is required to minimise impacts and restore social and economic functionality as soon as possible. The strategies employed to manage and coordinate the clean-up significantly influence the speed, cost and quality of the clean-up operation. Additionally, the physical properties of the fine grained sediment affects the clean-up, transport, storage and future usage of the sediment. The goals of the research are to assess the resources, time and cost required for fine grained sediment clean-up in an urban environment following a disaster and to determine how the geotechnical properties of sediment will affect urban clean-up strategies. The thesis focuses on the impact of fine grained sediment (<1 mm) deposition from three liquefaction events during the Canterbury earthquake sequence (2010-2011) on residential suburbs and transport networks in Christchurch. It also presents how geotechnical properties of the material may affect clean-up strategies and methods by presenting geotechnical analysis of tephra material from the North Island of New Zealand. Finally, lessons for disaster response planning and decision making for clean-up of sediment in urban environments are presented. A series of semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders supported by relevant academic literature and media reports were used to record the clean-up operation coordination and management and to make a preliminary qualification of the Christchurch liquefaction ejecta clean-up (costs breakdown, time, volume, resources, coordination, planning and priorities). Further analysis of the costs and resources involved for better accuracy was required and so the analysis of Christchurch City Council road management database (RAMM) was done. In order to make a transition from general fine sediment clean-up to specific types of fine disaster sediment clean-up, adequate information about the material properties is required as they will define how the material will be handled, transported and stored. Laboratory analysis of young volcanic tephra from the New Zealand’s North Island was performed to identify their geotechnical properties (density, granulometry, plasticity, composition and angle of repose). The major findings of this research were that emergency planning and the use of the coordinated incident management system (CIMS) system during the emergency were important to facilitate rapid clean-up tasking, management of resources and ultimately recovery from widespread and voluminous liquefaction ejecta deposition in eastern Christchurch. A total estimated cost of approximately $NZ 40 million was calculated for the Christchurch City clean-up following the 2010-2011 Canterbury earthquake sequence with a partial cost of $NZ 12 million for the Southern part of the city, where up to 33% (418 km) of the road network was impacted by liquefaction ejecta and required clearing of the material following the 22 February 2011 earthquake. Over 500,000 tonnes of ejecta has been stockpiled at Burwood landfill for all three liquefaction inducing earthquake events. The average cost per kilometre for the event clean-up was $NZ 5,500/km (4 September 2010), $NZ 11,650/km (22 February 2011) and $NZ 11,185/km (13 June 2011). The duration of clean-up time of residential properties and the road network was approximately two to three months for each of the three liquefaction ejecta events; despite events volumes and spatial distribution of ejecta. Interviews and quantitative analysis of RAMM data revealed that the experience and knowledge gained from the Darfield earthquake (4 September 2010) clean-up increased the efficiency of the following Christchurch earthquake induced liquefaction ejecta clean-up events. Density, particle size, particle shape, clay content and moisture content, are the important geotechnical properties that need to be considered when planning for a clean-up method that incorporates collection, transport and disposal or storage. The geotechnical properties for the tephra samples were analysed to increase preparedness and reaction response of potentially affected North Island cities from possible product from the active volcanoes in their region. The geotechnical results from this study show that volcanic tephra could be used in road or construction material but the properties would have to be further investigated for a New Zealand context. Using fresh volcanic material in road, building or flood control construction requires good understanding of the material properties and precaution during design and construction to extra care, but if well planned, it can be economically beneficial.

The purpose of this study was to examine formal volunteering among retirees in order to explore whether their volunteer experiences represent an extension of their career in the paid workforce or whether their volunteer activities represent a completely new direction, and how this influences their career self-concept, as interpreted through Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development. This study employed a developmental mixed-method design. In Phase 1, qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 participants to better understand retirees’ volunteer experiences. Phase 1 informed the design of an instrument for the Phase 2 survey which examined the issues among a larger sample of 214 retirees. The Phase 2 results supported the Phase 1 findings and indicated that many retirees sought an extension of career in volunteer activities in that they used similar skills and knowledge. Study participants also displayed a desire for lifelong learning. Retirees relinquished their paid-work career, took on the retiree and volunteer roles, and integrated these roles within their career self-concept to create a new sense of self. These results indicated that the retirees had entered a new stage of life, qualitatively different from ‘retirement’. To better reflect the experiences of these retirees, it was proposed that Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development be extended to include Redirection. This theorizing is consistent with the finding that retirees both wanted to and are able to integrate previous paid work elements as well as seek out lifelong learning opportunities within their volunteer activities. This study demonstrates that the volunteer role in the lives of retirees can lead to personal renewal and reshaping of the career self-concept, or what is labeled as the stage of Redirection. This study also has implications for volunteer management, retirement planning and social policy, and may be of interest to volunteer managers, nonprofit organizations, career counsellors, financial planners, retirement planning consultants, life coaches and policy planners.