Volunteers, governments, agencies and organizations from the North have too often defined the benefits and limitations of international volunteer programs without incorporating the perspectives of the organizations they seek to help. In fact, scholars and practitioners have relied on Northern experiences to develop a critical analysis of this development practice. As the experiences of the South are often absent from the conversations about international volunteerism, the goal of this thesis is to leverage the voices and the stories of Southern hosts to further understand the impact of international volunteerism. The research draws on the experiences of host organizations in Uganda. The interviewed participants are Ugandans who have worked with international volunteers to address various development issues. A review of the existing literature on international volunteerism, combined with the field research, support the analysis of the benefits and limitations of international volunteerism from the perspectives of host organizations. It also enables an exploration of the agency of volunteerism and determines key principles to empower host organizations and their employees. Thus, the analysis establishes the following conclusions: international volunteers are valuable actors for Southern hosts; volunteer programs must consider the impact, the challenges and the recommendations identified by host organizations and their communities; international volunteers enable alternative voices to be heard; and volunteerism fosters cooperation and partnerships within the Global South.

O nebivolol, um fármaco com quatro centros quirais, está disponível na clínica como mistura racêmica dos isômeros d-nebivolol (SRRR) e l-nebivolol (RSSS). A atividade -adrenérgica do nebivolol reside no isômero d-nebivolol, enquanto o l-nebivolol promove a liberação de óxido nítrico das células endoteliais. O nebivolol é eliminado por metabolismo dependente do CYP2D6. O estudo avalia a farmacocinética e a relação farmacocinética-farmacodinâmica (PK-PD) dos isômeros do nebivolol em voluntários sadios. Foram investigados 15 voluntários sadios (10 homens e 5 mulheres) fenotipados com metoprolol como metabolizadores extensivos (EM, n=13) ou metabolizadores lentos para o CYP2D6 (PM, n=2). Os voluntários sadios foram tratados com dose única oral de 10 mg de nebivolol racêmico. As amostras seriadas de sangue foram coletadas até 48 h após a administração do fármaco. Os isômeros do nebivolol foram resolvidos na coluna Chirobiotic® V e analisados nas amostras de plasma empregando LC-MS/MS. Os parâmetros farmacocinéticos foram calculados por modelo bicompartimental com lag time, empregando o programa WinNonLin. A farmacodinâmica do nebivolol foi avaliada empregando como parâmetro a variação da frequência cardíaca entre os períodos final e anterior ao teste de esforço isométrico durante 2 min utilizando o handgrip a 30% da contratilidade voluntária máxima. A análise PK-PD relacionando o efeito na variação da frequência cardíaca induzida pelo exercício isométrico com as concentrações plasmáticas do isômero d-nebivolol foi avaliada empregando o modelo Emax sigmóide inibitório. A disposição cinética do nebivolol é enantiosseletiva nos voluntários sadios EM, com razões isoméricas de AUCl/ AUCd de 1,41. Os valores de concentração plasmática máxima (1,46 vs 0,79 ng/mL), área sob a curva concentração plasmática versus tempo (6,45 vs 3,99 ng.h/mL), clearance aparente (774,51 vs 1252,70 L/h) e volume de distribuição aparente (10936 vs 19082 L) mostram diferenças com significância estatística (Teste de Wilcoxon, p<0,05) entre os isômeros l-nebivolol e d-nebivolol para os voluntários sadios EM. A disposição cinética do nebivolol não é enantiosseletiva nos voluntários sadios PM investigados, com razões isoméricas de AUCl/AUCd de 0,93 e 0,98. Os valores de clearance aparente obtidos para os voluntários PM (87-350 vs 81-344 L/h, respectivamente para o l-nebivolol e d-nebivolol) são menores do que para os EM (775 vs 1253 L/h). O modelo Emax sigmóide inibitório descreveu a análise PK-PD relacionando o efeito na variação da frequência cardíaca induzida pelo exercício isométrico com as concentrações plasmáticas do isômero d-nebivolol em voluntários sadios EM com valores de Emax de 4,47 bpm (IC 95% 1,37-7,57) e de EC50 de 222,16 pg/mL (IC 95% 96,29-540,60 pg/mL). / Nebivolol is a drug with four chiral centers. It is administered in clinical practice as a racemic mixture of the isomers d-nebivolol (SRRR) and l-nebivolol (RSSS). The - blocking activity of nebivolol is attributed to d-nebivolol, whereas l-nebivolol promotes the release of nitric oxide from endothelial cells. Nebivolol is eliminated by metabolism dependent on CYP2D6. The present study evaluates the pharmacokinetic and pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) of nebivolol isomers in healthy volunteers (10 men and 5 women) phenotyped with metoprolol as extensive metabolisers (EM, n=13) or poor metabolisers for CYP2D6. The healthy volunteers receveid a single oral dose of 10mg of racemic nebivolol. Serial blood samples were collected from 0 to 48 h after the administration of nebivolol. The isomers of nebivolol were analyzed by LC-MS-MS on a Chirobiotic® V column and the pharmacokinetic parameters (bicompartment model, micro, lag time, first order) were calculated by the software Winnonlin. The pharmacodynamic of nebivolol was evaluated using the variation of heart rate as parameter between the end and one minute before the handgrip exercise. Thus, the patients were oriented to conduct the isometric exercise with handgrip for 2 min at 30% of their maximum voluntary contractility. The PK-PD analysis relating the effect on the variation of heart rate induced by the isometric exercise and the plasma concentrations of the isomer d-nebivolol were evaluated using the Inhibitory effect sigmoid Emax model. The kinetic disposition of nebivolol is enantioselective on healthy volunteers EM, with isomeric ratios of AUCl/ AUCd of 0,93 e 0,98. The values of maximum plasma concentration (1,46 vs 0,79 ng/mL), area under the concentration time curve (6,45 vs 3,99 ng.h/mL), apparent clearance(774,51 vs 1252,70 L/h) and volume of distribution (10936 vs 19082 L) show statistically significant differences (p<0.05, Wilcoxon test) between the isomers l-nebivolol and d-nebivolol for the healthy volunteers EM. The kinetic disposition of nebivolol is not enantioselective on the healthy volunteers PM investigated, with isomeric ratios of AUCl/ AUCd of 1,07. The values of apparent clearance obtained for the volunteers pm (87-350 vs 81-344 L/h, respectively to l-nebivolol and d-nebivolol) are smaller than that for EM (775 vs 1253 L/h). The Inhibitory effect sigmoid Emax model described the PK-PD analysis described the effect on the variation of heart rate induced by handgrip isometric exercise with the plasma concentrations of the isomer d-nebivolol in healthy volunteers EM with Emax values of 4,47 bpm (IC 95% 1,37-7,57) and EC50 of 222,16 pg/mL (IC 95% 96,29-540,60 pg/mL).

No description available.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (April 26, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 1981. / Includes bibliographical references.

Background: Non-profit voluntary organisations are becoming increasingly important and many people are dependent on them in today’s society. These organisations could not work as well as they do or might not even survive without its volunteers, therefore the motivation of volunteers is of great importance. The Red Cross is the largest voluntary organisation in Sweden and also highly valued internationally. We wanted to find out what the employees at the Red Cross do to motivate its volunteers, if they use any guidelines for motivation and if they know what motivates volunteers. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the employees and the management of the Red Cross motivates its voluntary workers, as well as examine what actions can be taken to improve this. Method: To investigate human behaviour, such as motivation, a qualitative study is suitable. We have therefore chosen to perform such a study and have made ten personal interviews. In order to get the full picture we decided to do five interviews with volunteers and five with employees at the Red Cross. Some of the interviews were performed at the headquarter in Stockholm, a few at the local office in Jönköping and a couple over the phone. Conclusions: The employees at the Red Cross motivate its volunteers by letting them set goals, by offering education, acknowledge contributions among other things. No outspoken guidelines for motivating volunteers are used and we think it should be implemented into the organisation. It has come forth during the study that the voluntary leaders are given large responsibility and we suggest that these responsibilities should be divided and delegated to a larger amount of people. We have also found that there is a difference in motivation between the older and younger generations. To attract younger volunteers it is important to adhere to the differences and be aware of the shift of values in society.

A qualitative research study was conducted with people who had participated as healthy subjects in phase I drug trials at commercial research facilities, in order to develop a better understanding of their perspective regarding research participation. The participants were recruited using online advertisements posted on the University of Toronto student website (www.my.utoronto.ca) and NOW Magazine online. Thirty-one subjects were interviewed. The audiotaped interviews were transcribed and analyzed using grounded theory methods. A grounded theory was developed that describes the process of participation and the main factors affecting the experience of participation, from the perspective of healthy subjects. The theory, called Making Participation Work, explains how healthy subjects frame participation as an income earning opportunity, and how this framing shapes their behaviour with regard to participation. Participants expressed a range of attitudes about the experience of participation, from very positive to very negative. The main factor affecting the experience is the perceived net burden, which is in turn affected by the degree to which subjects find personal control over their participation. Net burden and finding personal control were both affected by the degree to which subjects felt valued by research staff, and by whether subjects had trust in the research enterprise. Although subjects framed participation as work, the relationship with the study doctors and nurses was viewed as clinical. Most subjects are generally trusting that participation in phase I drug trials is safe. These findings suggest that models of research participation assuming participation motivated by altruism or potential therapeutic benefit cannot accommodate the attitudes and behaviours of healthy subjects in phase I drug trials. New models must be developed which account for the framing of participation as work, while being sensitive to the trust that healthy subjects place in the research enterprise.

A qualitative research study was conducted with people who had participated as healthy subjects in phase I drug trials at commercial research facilities, in order to develop a better understanding of their perspective regarding research participation. The participants were recruited using online advertisements posted on the University of Toronto student website (www.my.utoronto.ca) and NOW Magazine online. Thirty-one subjects were interviewed. The audiotaped interviews were transcribed and analyzed using grounded theory methods. A grounded theory was developed that describes the process of participation and the main factors affecting the experience of participation, from the perspective of healthy subjects. The theory, called Making Participation Work, explains how healthy subjects frame participation as an income earning opportunity, and how this framing shapes their behaviour with regard to participation. Participants expressed a range of attitudes about the experience of participation, from very positive to very negative. The main factor affecting the experience is the perceived net burden, which is in turn affected by the degree to which subjects find personal control over their participation. Net burden and finding personal control were both affected by the degree to which subjects felt valued by research staff, and by whether subjects had trust in the research enterprise. Although subjects framed participation as work, the relationship with the study doctors and nurses was viewed as clinical. Most subjects are generally trusting that participation in phase I drug trials is safe. These findings suggest that models of research participation assuming participation motivated by altruism or potential therapeutic benefit cannot accommodate the attitudes and behaviours of healthy subjects in phase I drug trials. New models must be developed which account for the framing of participation as work, while being sensitive to the trust that healthy subjects place in the research enterprise.

For the most part, academic literature neglects the psychological impact of public gardens and the landscape on human well-being. Literature about botanical gardening and urban landscape design provide the foundation of contemporary public gardening practices. Largely overlooked, however, is a discussion of the relevance of such gardens to visitors. Public gardens, however, can play an important role in fostering a sense of place in communities, in both historical and contemporary contexts. In this study, the impacts of such gardens are considered through Canadian experiences using perceptual lenses offered by diverse writers whose work can be found in bodies of literature related to history, geography, non-fiction, and poetry. Concepts such as ‘place-making’ which can foster ‘home-making’, for example, are intriguing and worthwhile areas of inquiry in understanding the role of public gardens in the urban landscape. This research explores the importance of ‘home’ in gardens. It also considers the importance of gardens to an individual’s internal (psychological) and external (social) home, particularly for those currently involved as volunteers at public gardens. The concept is related to stewardship and how being a steward of the garden home is key to being a steward of one’s internal home. The animating question here concerns the role that cultivated gardens might play in an individual’s connection to landscape. This topic is explored through an examination of volunteer programs (popularly known as Friends of the Garden programs) using grounded theory to explore the perceptions and perspectives of volunteers who work in three public gardens in Ottawa, Kitchener, and Toronto, Ontario. The subject of gardens and their interrelationship to people lends itself to an interdisciplinary methodological approach encompassing studies in landscape ecology, geography, history, planning, design, and psychology, among others. The qualitative methods approach used in this thesis involves an in-depth examination of secondary literature, as well as field work involving semi-structured interviews, and narrative methods. Further, this research explores the role these gardens play with respect to the unique Canadian sense of place and well-being found within urban public gardens. The findings of the research reveal differing perspectives of volunteers with respect to “sense-making” and the ways in which they engage with each other and with the urban public gardens where they work. In addition, the findings revealed the crucial role played by the volunteer as stewards of the garden. The volunteers see these gardens as sanctuaries and view their own role as serving the greater good of their communities for reasons that go beyond political and economic considerations; they are based on intrinsic sets of values. The research revealed that volunteers frequently possessed strong connections to childhood experiences spent in natural settings with their families. These experiences helped to stimulate a shared belief amongst gardeners that the very act of gardening is itself a valued and valuable “way of life”. Furthermore, volunteers are often retired and older; as such, they volunteer in the gardens as a way to contribute to the world to make it more beautiful and meaningful for others and to pass those gardens down to future generations. Gardens are seen as ways to re-create home from one’s childhood past; volunteers often link their present experience in the garden with a sense of connection and belonging in similar terms used to describe their home (as a country, a house, or a valued place). These findings demonstrate that there is a strong sense of place that is both acquired and fostered through engagement with urban public gardens. The findings also raise the possibility that public gardens play an important role in fostering sense of place in visitors. This, in turn, can contribute to a sense of home or belonging, and stewardship of communities and natural surroundings. This research contributes to an understanding of the role that public gardens play as valuable places that make important contributions to social and ecological well-being.

The market of performing art is expanding rapidly; the need for volunteer workers is increasing as well. In this research, we want to explore the relationship among volunteer workers¡¦ motivations, job characteristics, job satisfaction and their intentions to leave. Two hundred and twenty questionnaires were sent to the voluntary members of twenty-four performing art organizations. The total valid questionnaires received are 142, with responding rate equal to 70%. The most important findings are as follows. (1) We found that external egolism is the strongest motivation for volunteer workers; altruism is the weakest one. (2) Although the jobs performed by the volunteers are somewhat important, the skill variety is limited. (3) With respect to the overall job satisfaction, volunteer workers are generally satisfied with their jobs; specifically, respondents are particularly satisfied with their social relationship. (4) With respect to intention to leave, most volunteer workers are willing to stay in their organizations, though the intention to leave varies with demographic attributes. (5) In additions, respondents scored high in altruism, overall job satisfaction, and growth satisfactions are less likely to depart, while perceived social obligations is negative related to intention to leave. (6) Self-interest motives are positive related to job satisfaction. (7) Job characteristic has a positive effect on job satisfaction.