This work, entitled 'Service - the unifying element in the spirituality of Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul', deals with the interconnection of two spiritualities Louise de Marillac and Vincent de Paul. I tried to test the assumption that an important connecting element of both important figures in the history of Catholic spirituality is the spirituality of service. In a way, this diploma thesis is a continuation of the previous bachelor thesis entitled 'Selected themes of spirituality Louise de Marillac'. The text is divided into four parts. The first one deals with the contemporary context and spiritual influences in 17th century France. In this part, I also focus on important moments and originally different social and cultural conditions of life of Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. The core of the second and third chapters are Vincent de Paul's spirituality and Louise se Marillac's spirituality. Immediately follows the fourth part, which is the link between the two previous chapters. It contains the key statements of the two saints, based on which it is possible to form an idea of what it meant to Vincent and Louise to honour the Incarnate Word, as manifested in their service and concrete charitable works. Finally, these works are presented as evidence of the unified emphasis of...

The thesis focuses on activity of volunteers in the Chlumec church community. The introduction describes the formation of the Church within which the parishes subsequently emerged and includes a definition of the parish in the ecclesiastical documents. It describes the Chlumec nad Cidlinou parish as well as its brief history. It defines the term "volunteer" and the layperson and their mutual relationship. The volunteers of the distant past of the Chlumec parish are portrayed through the activities of the local literary fraternity. The interwar period is characterised by the activity of the Czechoslovak People's Party and the Orel association. Describing the activities of the Parish charity in Chlumec nad Cidlinou, it demonstrates the enthusiasm and desire to be useful in the period after November 1989. The conclusion includes a brief summary indicating the number of inhabitants in relation to the number of volunteers in each aforementioned period. Keywords Parish; volunteer; volunteering; Chlumec nad Cidlinou; Parish charity.

VERBAL COMMUNICATION IN HOME HEALTH CARE Diploma thesis deals with problems of verbal communication in home health care. This is topical and very important issue in the fieldwork, as in each workplace there is a need of good superior-inferior communication, as well as cooperation among workers of the institution. Then employees-patients and senior employees-patients communication, and finally interaction among patients' general practitioners and patients' family members also plays important role in this field of health care. General description of communication is included into theoretical part; afterwards details about verbal communication follow. The next part refers to communication in organization and communication in health care. Theoretical part is concluded with information about home care. In the practical part, using the form of quantitative research, the standard of contemporary verbal communication in the home nursing service department of City charity Plzeň is found out. The areas of possible improvement of verbal communication in a given workplace are revealed. For the purpose of the research, observation in the given department, documentary material study, individual semi-structured dialogues with home care employees and patients were carried out. Dialogues were aimed at mutual...

"Role of the media in decision-making about charity to help the needy" This thesis deals with the role of media in decision-making of an individual relating to charitable activities in the Czech society. The theoretical part turns attention to both basic topics, ie, the media and charity. The part concerning the media tries to show the linkage and interaction of media, as means of communication, and society, as the object of their action and influence. It deals with means of communication and subsequent transformation of the society. The thesis does not forget to mention responsibility of the media and the related ethics of media. The part relating to the charity presents output data from realized research on the charity work in the Czech Republic, information on donations and on credibility of organizations providing assistance to the needy. Conclusion of the theoretical part focuses on cooperation of the media and charitable organizations in organizing the most significant charitable events. The practical part is devoted to the survey of public opinion itself through a questionnaire survey. In this investigation, the focus is on whether a person contributes to charity, and what the main impetus for a donation is. The thesis confirms the hypothesis that the media play an important role in...

This qualitative multiple-case study was designed to explore how CEOs in philanthropy learn to make strategic decisions. The study builds off the following premises: (1) as part of their role, CEOs need to make critical decisions in a complex and rapidly changing environment; (2) due to the role of a CEO there are power dynamics at play, and these may have an impact on how CEOs are able to engage in conversation; and (3) due to the staff reporting to the CEO and the CEO reporting to the board, they are essentially peerless within their respective organization, possibly contributing to a sense of isolation. The research site of this study was across a number of organizations, one for each participant. There were three primary sources of data: semi-structured interviews, data collection of publicly available documents, and critical incident reports. Key findings included that: (1) all participants engaged with staff and/or the Board of directors before making a strategic decision, either to obtain buy-in or get information needed to make the decision; (2) informal learning was the primary way participants learned what activities they needed to partake in, in order to make a critical decision; and (3) having full authority and responsibility helped CEOs in their decision-making, while power and other interpersonal dynamics hindered a CEOs ability to make a critical decision. Two main categories of CEOs emerged during the data collection process, those who were deemed Reflective and those who were Action-Oriented. Although not part of this research study’s original design, the data collection took place during the COVID-19 pandemic and also after a resurgence of attention to police brutality against Black people in the United States and other violence towards historically marginalized groups. These themes were prevalent throughout the data gathered for this study and findings and analysis. The overarching recommendation emanating from this research is that succession plans should be put in place in order to best develop potential candidates for the role of CEO.

Det finns i dagens samhälle en uppåtgående trend när det kommer till att ta socialt ansvar – hos såväl privatpersoner som organisationer. Att agera hållbart är sålunda ett omtalat ämne som debatteras nu mer än någonsin tidigare. Ett sätt att agera hållbart är att konsumera second hand. Andrahandsförsäljningen har till följd av samhällets diskussioner ökat drastiskt under de senaste åren. I och med att second hand-branschen är aktuell är branschen i sig av intressantkaraktär. Vi har sålunda valt att studera branschen utifrån teorier kring storytelling. Det finns i dagsläget inte mycket tidigare forskning kring storytelling kopplat till just second hand och välgörenhet – vilket ökar denna studies relevans. Forskning inom detta område kan således bidra med ökad förståelse och kunskap inom ett fält som än så länge inte har applicerats i vidareutsträckning. Studiens framtagna kunskap kan exempelvis användas för branschens förståelseför hur de med hjälp av att bygga en stabil röd tråd kring sina berättelser kan bygga sittvarumärke. Uppsatsens huvudsakliga syfte är att undersöka tre verksamma hjälporganisationer i Göteborgsområdet – Erikshjälpen, Reningsborg och Myrorna – som samtliga har en secondhand-butik vars mål är att göra världen en aning bättre. Studien undersöker dessa trehjälporganisationer ur ett storytellingperspektiv för att dels se huruvida deras berättelser på olika varumärkeskontaktpunkter är koherenta eller inte, dels för att jämföra skillnader och likheter mellan de olika hjälporganisationerna. Frågeställningarna som ställdes var: 1. Vilket innehåll och berättelser kommunicerar hjälporganisationerna ut och är dessa koherenta? 2. Vad finns det för likheter respektive skillnader hos hjälporganisationerna i deras kommunicerade innehåll? För att svara på studiens frågeställning har studien antagit en kvalitativ ansats där det genomförts tre fallstudier med ett komparativt inslag. Studien inleddes med en mer omfattandeobservation i vardera butik där butiken granskades utifrån förutbestämda teman. Observationer har även genomförts online på organisationernas hemsidor samt sociala medier för att få enklarare bild över organisationernas kommunicerade innehåll. Sedermera genomfördes tvåintervjuer hos vardera organisation – en intervju med en högre anställd, till exempel en butikschef, samt en medarbetare. Målet med studien var att få en tydlig bild över vilket innehåll de olika organisationerna väljer att kommunicera ut och hur de resonerar kring studiens frågor. Studiens empiri indikerar att det finns en betydelse av att ha en stark koherent berättelse kring varumärket då det ökar organisationens trovärdighet och transparens. Genom att inneha en tydlig kommunikation kring organisationens mål och även till exempel vart pengarna går tillför olika ändamål underlättar detta för organisationens medarbetare då det finns en tendens att kunderna vill ta del av denna information. Gällande studiens tre studieobjekt har samtliga en koherent berättelse, men med en viss skillnad över hur berättelsen förstärker varumärket eller inte. Studien indikerar även att det finns flera likheter samt skillnader mellan de olika organisationerna. Erikshjälpen och Reningsborg upplevs vara mer lika då de både arbetar på ett likartat sätt. Myrorna särskiljer sig till stor del både i arbetssätt men även i vilket innehåll de väljer att kommunicera ut. / In society, today there is an upward trend when it comes to taking a bigger social responsibility for both private individuals and organisations. Acting sustainably is a hot topic that is being debated more than ever before, and one way to act sustainably is to consume second hand products. Second hand sales have increased dramatically in recent years as a result of community discussions about the environment. As the second-hand industry is more than ever current the industry itself is of interesting character. Thus, we have chosen to study the industry based on theories of storytelling. There is currently very little previous research on storytelling linked to just second-hand products and charity which increases the relevance of this study. Research in this area could contribute to increasing the understanding and knowledge in a field that has so far not been widely applied. The study's acquired knowledge can, for example, be used for the industry's understanding of how they can build their brand by building a stable red thread around their stories. The main purpose of the thesis is to investigate three active aid organisations in the Gothenburg area - Erikshjälpen, Reningsborg and Myrorna - all of which opened second hand shops whose main aim were to make the world a little better, thereby benefitting everyone. The study examines these three aid organisations from a storytelling perspective to see whether their stories from different brand contact points are coherent, understandable and feasible if put into use and partly to compare the differences and any similarities between the different aid organisations. This essay will be written in Swedish and the questions this study examines are: 1. What content and stories do the aid organisations communicate and are they coherent? 2. What are the similarities and differences of the aid organisations in their communicated content? In answering the study's questions, the study has adopted a qualitative approach where three case studies with a comparative element have been carried out. The study began with a more comprehensive observation, where each store’s examination was based on pre-determined themes. Online observations were also conducted on the organisations websites and social media to gain a clearer picture of the organisations communication content. Subsequently, two interviews were conducted with each organisation - an interview was held with a high positioned employee, i.e. a store manager and also an employee. The aim of the study was to obtain a comprehensive overview over what type of content the organisations choose to communicate, and how they resonate with the research questions. The study's results indicate that it is very important to have a strong, coherent story built around the brand as it increases the organisation's credibility, benefits and transparency by having clear communications about the organisation's goals and also where the money is spent for various purposes. This helps the organisation's employees and customers to recognise their credibility and sends a clear-cut message as there is a tendency for customers wanting to share this information. Regarding the three organisations they all have a coherent story, but with some differences over how the story increase the brand value or not. The study also indicates that there are several similarities and differences between the different organisations. Erikshjälpen and Reningsborg are perceived to be more similar as they both work in a similar way whereas Myrorna differ to a great extent both in the way they work but also in what content they choose to communicate.

There has been a rise non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as part of a global health system that seeks to treat children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) in resource-poor countries. As a craniofacial abnormality, CLP affects a child’s ability to communicate and consume food, and the stigma associated with the condition leads to both social and physiological suffering. International NGOs use an apolitical humanitarian rhetoric to justify the need to provide this life-saving surgery. This thesis assesses CLP interventions by applying a critique of neoliberalism to explore the ways economic rationalities are extended to the domain of humanitarianism. By employing an ethnographic approach of “studying up,” this thesis critiques a North American NGO, referred to as Mission Smile. To reveal how neoliberal rationalities are embedded within the organization, this research draws on data from media analysis, participant observation, and interviews with medical volunteers and employees at Mission Smile. This thesis argues that neoliberal rationalities permeate throughout the organization. Economic calculus are not only embedded in the organization’s goal to provide surgery to “as many children as possible,” but also undergirds the distribution of humanitarian aid. Moreover, the surgery Mission Smile provides is described as an “investment in a child’s future” that enable children with CLP to become a contributing member of society. While this study reveals how neoliberal rationalities can converge with values of humanitarianism, it also shows that the extension of neoliberal rationalities into new domains is not a cohesive process. Volunteers describe an emergence of communitas, a feeling of bubbling joy and a shared humanity, and a development of a moral relationship with their recipients that lies partially outside the domain of market rationalities. / Graduate

New Islamic charities and madrasas in Lucknow, India are promoting Islam as a means of development, through revival and reinterpretation of Islamic almsgiving (zakat) and ethical teachings on money and community. Since the partition of India in 1947, Muslims have struggled as a beleaguered minority, the largest in India's diverse democracy. The relative socioeconomic status of Muslims in India is in decline, nearly on par with dalits (historically oppressed castes). Critics claim that "Muslim backwardness" originates in outmoded commitments to madrasas and illiberal Islamic law (sharī’a). The public views Muslim underdevelopment with alarm, as holding India back from being a leader in the global economy. This dissertation examines the rise and transformation of zakat in contemporary India. As historical institutions of Muslim welfare and endowments (waqf) decline, a new zakat economy is supplanting them. Yet zakat is a distinctly different social form of welfare. The contemporary practice of zakat reveals contradictions that invite reconsideration of our ideas about philanthropy, civic engagement, and Islam. Voluntary donations of zakat are a ritual obligation for all Muslims, and people in Lucknow often speak of the spiritual merit that accrues to almsgivers. I explore the paradox of zakat as "obligated voluntarism" that is at once selfless and self-interested and analyze the cultural implications of such ethics. While the Qur'an encourages giving in modest secrecy, new forms of zakat are not secret but publicly institutionalized and visible. These shifts even alter the practice of piety by incorporating a more individually accountable, calculative dimension to Muslims' faith. Morality is often imagined to be at odds with capitalism and its focus on profit accumulation. The compatibility of capitalism and Islam, in particular, has been in question since Max Weber's famous inquiry into religions, economy, and ethics. Yet new Islamic charities re-orient Lucknow's Muslims towards perceived requirements of capitalist markets. This "ethical entrepreneurism" is rooted in Islamic rituals and morality rather than dispelling both in pursuit of modernity; zakat entrepreneurs promote development as simultaneously economic and moral. Through ethnography, surveys, and close readings of Islamic texts, this study makes key contributions to economic anthropology and study of ethics. / 2020-03-31T00:00:00Z

La présence de personnes sans-abri dans l’espace public est un problème social ancien auquel depuis longtemps l’État cherche à remédier. À partir des années 1990, et plus encore après la promulgation, en juillet 1998, de la loi de lutte contre les exclusions, l’action publique s’incarne dans des dispositifs dits de « veille sociale » dont la mise en œuvre est majoritairement confiée, par délégation de service, au monde associatif. Parmi ces dispositifs, les « maraudes » désignent l’action d’équipes mobiles dont la mission est d’aller à la rencontre des sans-abri directement dans la rue. Les maraudes constituent l’objet empirique de cette thèse dont l’objectif est d’étudier cette activité en tenant compte à la fois de la pluralité de ses opérateurs – particulièrement des associations – et de la diversité de ses intervenants salariés et bénévoles, professionnels (notamment du travail social) ou non-professionnels. À partir d’une enquête ethnographique menée à Paris dans trois associations de solidarité et combinant observation participante et entretiens biographiques, l’enjeu est d’éclairer les tensions inhérentes à cette situation de coprésence d’acteurs collectifs et individuels en analysant conjointement les maraudes comme un monde du travail et comme un espace d’engagement. Par ces entrées analytiques, il s’agit plus généralement de contribuer à la compréhension des dynamiques de frontières dans un secteur – celui de l’urgence sociale – où persistent des ambiguïtés entre travail social et bénévolat, entre action publique et secours privé, entre valorisation de la professionnalité et reconnaissance du dévouement altruiste, et dans lequel les limites entre les missions sont incertaines. Une perspective interactionniste, inspirée à la fois de la sociologie du travail et des professions, permet en premier lieu de soulever le rôle central des pouvoirs publics dans la régulation de l’activité par la diffusion de multiples injonctions – notamment à la « professionnalisation » et à la « coordination des maraudes » – auxquelles les trois organisations enquêtées souscrivent différemment, allant d’un rapport d’alliance à un rapport d’autonomie. L’étude de la division du travail éclaire ensuite la hiérarchie de noblesse des tâches ainsi que leur distribution, qui valorisent les fonctions d’accompagnement social prioritairement attribuée aux « maraudes professionnelles » et déprécie les missions de distribution, notamment alimentaire, qui incombent aux « maraudes bénévoles ». L’observation de stratégies de résistance à cette division – les équipes bénévoles souhaitant également assurer le « suivi » des sans-domicile – révèle dès lors l’existence de luttes de juridiction qui ont pour enjeux le contrôle d’un territoire à la fois spatial et professionnel mais aussi la maîtrise des savoirs essentiellement tacites et acquis par l’expérience. Empruntant à la sociologie de l’engagement, un regard resserré sur les maraudeurs et leurs trajectoires autorise en second lieu le dépassement de cette opposition (professionnel/bénévole). D’abord en montrant l’intrication et l’hybridation des carrières bénévoles et professionnelles, les maraudeurs salariés ayant très souvent eu une pratique de bénévolat préalable et certains bénévoles utilisant la maraude comme une expérience de préprofessionnalisation dans le travail social. Ensuite, en identifiant des continuités dans les façons de voir et d’exercer l’activité qui transcendent les appartenances associatives et les conditions statutaires pour mieux révéler l’influence de modes de socialisation (familial, militant, professionnel). / The presence of homeless people in the public space is an ancient social problem that the State has been attempting to solve for a long time. From the 90’s on - and especially after the enactment, in 1998, of the law fighting against social exclusion - government intervention has been embodied in a package of social measures under the umbrella term of “social watch” (“veille sociale”). Its implementation has been mainly entrusted to not-for-profit associations and charities, through delegation of public service programs. Among these measures, the mobile outreach programs describe the action of mobile teams given the mission to connect and engage with homeless people in the streets. The mobile outreach program constitutes the empirical subject of this thesis. The aim is to study this activity by taking into account the plurality of its actors - especially the not-for-profit associations - and the diversity of its contributors, both employees and volunteers as well as professional and non-professional social workers. Based on an ethnographic study led in Paris involving three different charity organizations, it combines participant observation and biographical interviews. The aim is to bring into view and clarify situations of inherent tension in this copresence of collective and individual actors through an analysis of mobile outreach programs as both places of work and social commitment. This analysis more generally enables an understanding of the dynamic boundaries within the field of social urgency, in which there are many persistant ambiguities. Ambiguities abound between social work and volunteering, public actions and private initiatives, between the prominence given to promote professionalism and the acknowledgment of altruistic dedication. The boundaries among these different missions remain vague and uncertain. An interactionist perspective inspired by the sociology of work and employment enables us to raise the issue of the main role played by the public authorities. They regulate the social outreach activity through multiple injunctions, notably with particular emphasis on professionalization and coordination of the mobile outreach program. The three different organizations that are the subject of enquiry take different approaches to those injunctions, whether in a relation of alliance or autonomy. The analysis of work divisions sheds light on the hierarchical division of labour as well as the question of how tasks are delegated. Social support and follow up missions are prioritised to professional outreach workers while responsibility for the less well considered missions such as food runs and distribution are handed over to the volunteer outreach workers. Observation of the different strategies of resistance towards this division reveal a struggle over jurisdiction – volunteer outreach workers equally want to be a part of the support and follow up missions and highlight what is at stake: the control of territory both physical and professional, as well as the mastery of knowledge which is essentially tacit and acquired through experience. By looking closer at volunteer outreach workers and their trajectories through the lens of sociology, the boundary between professional and volunteer can be seen to be an artificial one. First, by showing the overlap and hybridisation between the trajectories of volunteers and professionals: wage-earning outreach workers have a lot of the time practiced volunteering before, while on the other hand, some volunteers use the outreach programs as a way to enter the professional world of social work. Then by underlining the continuity in the way of seeing and practicing the activity that transcends organizations’ affiliations and status to better reveal the influence of different modes of socialization, be it through family, advocacy or work.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This dissertation explores growth among American charities by examining 25 years of the Philanthropy 400, an annual ranking published by The Chronicle of Philanthropy of the 400 charities receiving the most donations. Data preparation for the Philanthropy 400’s first analysis remedied publication deadline constraints by aligning data by fiscal years and adding 310 charities omitted from the published rankings, resulting in a study population of 1,101 charities. Most studies of charity finance examine individual Forms 990. The Philanthropy 400 uses consolidated financial information from entire organizational networks, creating the same basis for charities filing a single Form 990, like the American Red Cross, and charities with affiliates filing more than 1,000 Forms 990, like Habitat for Humanity. Organizational ecology theory frames examination of aggregate changes in the Philanthropy 400. Two questions examine how age and dependence on donations as a percentage of total income affect persistence in the rankings. A third question examines the changing share of total U.S. giving received by ranked charities. Despite stability resulting from the same charities occupying 189 of the 400 ranking positions every year, the median age of ranked charities decreased. Younger charities generally climbed within the rankings, while older charities tended to decline or exit the rankings. Younger new entrants often persisted in the rankings, suggesting some donors embrace various new causes or solutions. Charities ranked only once or twice decreased in number with each successive ranking. Most charities ranked only once entered the rankings by receiving two or more times their typical amount of donations, suggesting that sustained fundraising programs regularly outperform charities that periodically experience years of extraordinarily high donations. The aggregate inflation-adjusted donations received by the Philanthropy 400 increased during the study period and increased as a percentage of total U.S. giving. As predicted by organizational ecology, the increasing percentage of total U.S. giving received by the Philanthropy 400 coincided with slowing growth in both the number of U.S. charities and total U.S. giving. If the Philanthropy 400 continues to increase its percentage of total U.S. giving, this could affect financing for smaller charities.