Millions of individuals donate their time to volunteer work each year. Additionally, expectations of socially responsible practices on the part of organizations and the positive relationship between the social and financial performance of organizations are leading to a growing interest in corporate social responsibility among management and researchers. One method to achieving greater corporate social responsibility is corporate-sponsored volunteering. Many benefits have been associated with corporate volunteerism. However, an understanding of why these outcomes occur is lacking. Also lacking is an understanding of why individuals engage in corporate volunteerism. Although studies have identified several demographic variables associated with volunteering in general, few studies have examined variables beyond simple demographics, and fewer still have examined antecedents of corporate volunteering. In the current study, the theory of planned behavior, functional motives for volunteering and citizenship performance, and perceived locus of causality are used to integrate contextual, attitudinal, situational, and motivational variables in order to present and empirically test a framework to help explain why individuals participate in corporate volunteerism. Data were collected from 110 individuals employed in two organizations supporting corporate volunteerism in order to examine the antecedents of participation in this behavior. Results indicated that antecedents of intentions included in the theory of planned behavior and its extensions were related to intentions to participate in corporate volunteerism and, in some cases, actual participation in this behavior. Furthermore, functional motives for volunteering and citizenship performance were related to the regulations specified by the perceived locus of causality continuum. These motives, conceptualized as general orientations towards particular behaviors relevant to a contextual domain, were related to the situation-level decision-making antecedents of intentions in several cases. Finally, several of the relationships between the contextual-level generalized motivational constructs and intentions to participate in corporate volunteerism were mediated by the situational-level antecedents of the theory of planned behavior. Specifically, the relationship between social motives and intentions was mediated by subjective norms. The relationships between each of identified regulation, values, understanding, and organizational concern motives with intentions were mediated by attitudes toward corporate volunteerism. Perceived behavioral control also mediated the relationship between understanding motives and intentions.

Millions of individuals donate their time to volunteer work each year. Additionally, expectations of socially responsible practices on the part of organizations and the positive relationship between the social and financial performance of organizations are leading to a growing interest in corporate social responsibility among management and researchers. One method to achieving greater corporate social responsibility is corporate-sponsored volunteering. Many benefits have been associated with corporate volunteerism. However, an understanding of why these outcomes occur is lacking. Also lacking is an understanding of why individuals engage in corporate volunteerism. Although studies have identified several demographic variables associated with volunteering in general, few studies have examined variables beyond simple demographics, and fewer still have examined antecedents of corporate volunteering. In the current study, the theory of planned behavior, functional motives for volunteering and citizenship performance, and perceived locus of causality are used to integrate contextual, attitudinal, situational, and motivational variables in order to present and empirically test a framework to help explain why individuals participate in corporate volunteerism. Data were collected from 110 individuals employed in two organizations supporting corporate volunteerism in order to examine the antecedents of participation in this behavior. Results indicated that antecedents of intentions included in the theory of planned behavior and its extensions were related to intentions to participate in corporate volunteerism and, in some cases, actual participation in this behavior. Furthermore, functional motives for volunteering and citizenship performance were related to the regulations specified by the perceived locus of causality continuum. These motives, conceptualized as general orientations towards particular behaviors relevant to a contextual domain, were related to the situation-level decision-making antecedents of intentions in several cases. Finally, several of the relationships between the contextual-level generalized motivational constructs and intentions to participate in corporate volunteerism were mediated by the situational-level antecedents of the theory of planned behavior. Specifically, the relationship between social motives and intentions was mediated by subjective norms. The relationships between each of identified regulation, values, understanding, and organizational concern motives with intentions were mediated by attitudes toward corporate volunteerism. Perceived behavioral control also mediated the relationship between understanding motives and intentions.

The current study seeks to address some debates surrounding the imposition of mandatory volunteer programs in high schools by directly engaging students with interviews about their own reasoning surrounding matters of autonomy and the fostering of prosocial beliefs that are affected by the composition of a mandatory volunteer program. Participants were asked to evaluate five different vignettes depicting a different program. Results indicated that older youth tend to evaluate programs which offer choice more positively, while younger students make few distinctions. All age groups prefer mandatory programs to a voluntary program. No effect of program (service learning vs. community service) was present, although forced-choice data indicate a preference for service learning components. Implications for autonomy and prosocial development are discussed.

The current study seeks to address some debates surrounding the imposition of mandatory volunteer programs in high schools by directly engaging students with interviews about their own reasoning surrounding matters of autonomy and the fostering of prosocial beliefs that are affected by the composition of a mandatory volunteer program. Participants were asked to evaluate five different vignettes depicting a different program. Results indicated that older youth tend to evaluate programs which offer choice more positively, while younger students make few distinctions. All age groups prefer mandatory programs to a voluntary program. No effect of program (service learning vs. community service) was present, although forced-choice data indicate a preference for service learning components. Implications for autonomy and prosocial development are discussed.

AmeriCorps, the federal volunteer program developed in 1993, has won increasing political and cultural support since its development. Hurricane Katrina challenged program administrators to recruit and support volunteers in New Orleans, a uniquely devastated city. This qualitative study based on interviews with former volunteers examines the implications of AmeriCorps program policies for the recovery of post­Katrina New Orleans. Rooted in statements by the United Nations, the Federal Emergency Response Agency and local grassroots organizations, this study concludes that the AmeriCorps program was not effective in facilitating the return of displaced residents, appropriately utilizing city resources or maintaining strong accountability to those most affected by the disaster. Thus, the AmeriCorps program, which is not intended specifically for disaster relief, must be redesigned in order to accountably contribute to recovery in the cases of acute disaster.

Older adults who maintain their cognitive skills and abilities are able to live more independently than those whose skills have deteriorated. The costs (money, time, personnel) associated with providing cognitive stimulation programs to residents in long-term care homes often prohibit the delivery of these programs. The present study explored the efficacy of using volunteers to administer a stimulation program in two long-term care homes. The program focused on stimulating reasoning, attention, and memory abilities using uncomplicated, pen-and-paper exercises. Thirty-six resident participants and 16 volunteer participants were randomly assigned to one of two parallel groups, either the control or stimulation group. For eight weeks, three times each week, control group participants met for standard “friendly visits” (casual conversation between a resident and volunteer) and stimulation group participants met to work through a variety of exercises meant to stimulate the cognitive abilities of residents. Results were analyzed using a 2-way ANOVA and indicated statistically significant Group x Time interactions for Verbal Memory, Non-Verbal Memory, Learning, and in a screening test for verbal fluency. Volunteers completed a post-study questionnaire which indicated that the volunteers in the stimulation group found their skills-based interactions more stimulating for residents. Therefore this study demonstrates that a volunteer-administered cognitive stimulation program can provide measurable gains in the cognitive abilities of older adults. Further studies concerning the role of volunteers in the maintenance of the cognitive abilities of older adults are recommended. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2014-05-29 07:07:01.042

Burnout is a prominent issue among the social work profession. Methods to mitigate the effects of burnout have received considerable attention in social work research. This study focuses on a potential method of coping with burnout; volunteerism. While literature is scarce regarding the effects of volunteerism on burnout rates among social workers, studies in related fields such as nursing, public-sector public administrators, and nonprofit workers indicate that volunteerism has potential benefits against burnout. This study’s purpose is to determine whether involvement in volunteer service is related to lower rates of burnout among social workers. This quantitative study uses data from a non-random purposive sample of 442 social workers who completed a survey posted on the social work board of an online forum, Reddit and the networking site, LinkedIn. Survey questions captured participants’ demographic, volunteerism, and burnout rates using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS). Analysis of the data led to findings which do not support the original hypothesis of this study or the available literature. A plausible explanation is, that for social workers, the volunteer work is so like their profession that engaging in volunteerism does not provide the respite necessary for recovery from the effects of burnout.

Since the 1960s, over 65,000 young Canadians have participated in volunteer abroad programs (Tiessen, 2008). Lately, the media and academia have questioned and criticized the benefits of volunteerism as development. This study highlights how issues of power and privilege extend beyond the individual, and reaches into institutional structures. The research design uses Institutional Ethnography (IE) as a method of inquiry, and maps out the social relations between the experiences of seven former youth volunteers and field staff, and their organizations. The aim is to explore how to improve individual and organizational pedagogy in the field of international volunteering, so that equity becomes a commitment by everyone in the development of sustainable and just communities.

Since the 1960s, over 65,000 young Canadians have participated in volunteer abroad programs (Tiessen, 2008). Lately, the media and academia have questioned and criticized the benefits of volunteerism as development. This study highlights how issues of power and privilege extend beyond the individual, and reaches into institutional structures. The research design uses Institutional Ethnography (IE) as a method of inquiry, and maps out the social relations between the experiences of seven former youth volunteers and field staff, and their organizations. The aim is to explore how to improve individual and organizational pedagogy in the field of international volunteering, so that equity becomes a commitment by everyone in the development of sustainable and just communities.

This is a dissertation about care. Based on over ten years of experience with Southeast Asia and sixteen months of ethnographic research for this project, I address the issue of caregiving primarily from the perspective of those providing care at home for elderly people in urban Northern Thailand and from the vantage point of national and international public health initiatives aimed at supporting such endeavors. In turn, I use the intimate experiences of caregivers to interrogate the politics of aging, long-term care, and national identity. What emerges is an understanding of caregiving different from that of liberal humanitarianism and biomedicine alike. With a focus on social relationships and embodied care practices, I show how forms of attention, obligation, giving, and receiving in urban Thai settings do not always equate with their counterparts in standard global health accounts. Instead, local values are put into action with significant ramifications for the performance and promotion of care. I examine local and global techniques of power and care embedded in the growing number of volunteer organizations directed at the elderly. With attention to class, religion, and history, I trace the interpersonal, social, and political influences reflected in caregiver subjectivity and propose a distinctly Thai logic of psychosocial support that underlies the experience of the caregivers and aid workers with whom I worked. Examining family dynamics and the stories people tell about the future, I trace a new imaginary for long-term care at play, apparent at both the individual and the institutional level. And I develop the concept of the "social body," arguing that attention to and care of the collective is crucial for making sense not only of the disorienting varieties of volunteerism marking the shifting ground of long-term and end-of-life care in Thailand, but also of the larger scale political upheavals afoot in that country today. / Anthropology