published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

M.A. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Child abuse in South Africa is considered one of the foremost challenges the country is currently facing, and is believed to hold long-term consequences for adults if not adequately addressed in the childhood years. In order to meet the needs of abused children in the country, various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have targeted abused children as the primary beneficiaries for services, and these NGOs rely a great deal on the contributions from formal volunteers. While there is an expansive body of literature on formal volunteering in general, limited research explores target-specific volunteering, especially among children or abused children in particular. Furthermore, the literature on volunteering has not extensively examined the meaning-making process volunteers engage in when seeking an organisation or cause for their target-specific volunteering. The process of making meaning of volunteering is additionally influenced by a complex set of negotiations between individual and broader socio-political factors. In order to expand the current literature on volunteering, this research aimed to explore the meanings volunteers make of their target-specific volunteering in the child abuse services sector in Johannesburg, and to explore how those meanings could potentially be influenced by the dynamics of socio-political realms. This research was located within the interpretive paradigm, and data collection comprised of qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted with six volunteers from the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children. The interview transcripts were analysed using Thematic Analysis (TA), where four primary themes emerged. The four primary themes, namely transformation, prioritisation of children, prioritisation of sexual abuse and vocation, were examined for their resonance with critical theories of governing ‘healthy’ populations. The limitations of this research related primarily to issues of scope and sample, both of which guided the recommendations for future research in this area.

The purpose of this project is to conduct a detailed evaluation of the Vancouver Planned Parenthood clinic volunteer program. The primary focus of this study is volunteer recruitment and retention. The simplicity of individual perspectives commonly employed in volunteer theories and research is rejected in this research project. A multi-leveled sociological analysis stemming from an organizational behaviour framework is used as an alternative approach to broaden the scope of this case study. The five levels of analysis used to examine the volunteer program in this study are: 1) individual level of analysis, 2) group behaviour, 3) interpersonal and organizational processes, 4) organizational structure and job design, and 5) organizational environment. Multiple factors are discussed under each level of analysis. A triangulation of methods, comprised of interviews with volunteers, observational analysis, and document analysis, is used to provide a rich analysis of the volunteer program. Interpretations of the findings demonstrate that many factors beyond the individual level influence volunteer recruitment and retention. Results show that this particular volunteer program is operating below its maximum effectiveness, and that high volunteer turnover results in this atmosphere. Practical and theoretical implications of this case study are explored and recommendations are offered.

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

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2003. / Title from title page screen, viewed Jan. 21, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Michael A. Lorber (chair), Kenneth H. Strand, Kenneth F. Jerich, Adel Al-Bataineh. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-78) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Australian National University, 2008.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Victoria University (Melbourne, Vic.), 2009.

This research is intended to examine the internal organisational structure of the existing [voluntary welfare] organisations to ascertain what relationship may prove effective between themselves and the [Border Local Welfare] Board. This aim introduced the need to ascertain whether a) the organisations in any town were connected with organisations in other towns or to a central administrative office either in the area of investigation or outside it; or b) the organisations of any town were simply ad hoc units unrelated to any other organisation or similar organisations elsewhere. If the latter were the case then the difficulty of co-ordination and representation on the Board could probably be no better arranged than an ad hoc system as at present. If, however, the former was the predominant pattern, then it would suggest other and more convenient means to the end in view. Fourthly, it was hoped to gain some knowledge of the fund raising methods of welfare organisations, the nature of the people controlling them, the attitudes of managing committees to social work, and what they thought a case work agency should do; and, lastly, some indication of the history of social work as practised by the voluntary agencies in the area of investigation. These latter topics were not intended to form the principal subject matter of the work. They have not been treated fully in the text, but the information gathered has been included in appropriate places throughout.