The global intent of this research was to confirm the validity of the interpolated twitch technique (ITT) to voluntary torque model (first study) and then to utilize this technique in developing definitive criterion measures enhancing the study of training strategies on central fatigue (second study) and velocity specific (third study) voluntary activation (VA) and force production outcomes. The first study assessed the contribution of non-stimulated synergists to the non-linearity of the ITT voluntary torque relationship for elbow flexion contraction. Since multiple synergist stimulation was found not to significantly improve the ITT to voluntary torque relationship, follow-up pilot work was conducted in which the quadriceps femoris was identified as a valid ITT test model muscle. The first training study investigated the effects of high volume, maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) resistance training of the quadriceps femoris on MVIC levels of force and VA prior to, during, and recovery from a standardized fatigue test protocol. Results showed significant increases in pre-fatigue MVIC VA and force, increases in resistance to early fatigue, but also increased overall rate of fatigue resulting in non-significant changes in total force volume and endurance time. Post-fatigue analysis showed significant training increases in rate and level of recovery for both MVIC VA and force production. The second training study investigated the effects of high resistance ramp versus ballistic type MVIC strength training of the quadriceps femoris on central adaptations in submaximal and maximal levels of MVIC VA and force production. Results showed similar ramp and ballistic group training increases in MVIC force and VA on both ramp and ballistic tests. Ballistic group, ballistic test change scores were significant but not for the ramp test, suggesting ballistic group test-training specificity. The ballistic group showed significant force increases on the submaximal 150ms ballistic test, while the ramp group showed non-significant training changes, further supporting test-training specificity for the ballistic group. Results support utility of the ITT and provide valuable information with regard to training and test-training specificity considerations.

This study examines voluntary intellectual capital reporting (ICR) in New Zealand firms' annual reports, with a view to contributing to understanding ICR practice. This study also reflects on content analysis with a view to refining the methodology when applied to investigating ICR.The literature includes widespread claims that intellectual capital (IC) resources are important value drivers and assets, and that IC information should be reported externally. However, complexities relating to identifying IC prevent it from being recognised as an asset under current accounting regulations. Consequently, the traditional financial reporting system is being criticised as out-of-date, giving deficient and irrelevant information, and having lost its value relevance. Numerous scholars have investigated voluntary ICR in several countries, but have presented different results and findings. The literature argues that the results of many ICR studies cannot be meaningfully compared because inconsistent data collection instruments have been applied. To advance ICR research, further refining and developing of the methodology is advocated; problems relating to applying methodological issues need to be resolved. Moreover, to establish consensus about ICR, more research and evidence is needed concerning exactly what and how IC is reported.The 2004 annual reports of the 30 largest (by market capitalisation) New Zealand firms listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange were analysed. Content analysis was applied to determine what and how IC is reported. Inferences about what IC is communicated were made based on an analysis of the content of texts and visual representations. To determine how IC is reported, voluntary reporting was categorised according to the form, nature and location of the disclosure. Frequencies of mention were recorded. Hence, each incidence of occurrence was coded and counted.This study reflected on content analysis methodology by searching the literature for guidance on how to apply this approach and how to deal with the challenges and problems it poses. The thesis discusses methodological issues that could be applied differently, and hence hinder the replicability and comparability of ICR studies. Moreover, the ICR literature provided limited guidance about how to deal with methodological challenges and problems, and revealed an absence of explicit recording instructions. Therefore, explicating this study's recording instructions should enhance replicability and comparability of future ICR research and hence further refine the methodology.Some results of this content analysis study disconfirm those of prior research: New Zealand firms show high levels of ICR, the most reported IC category is human capital, and the most reported IC item is employees. In line with prior research, this study showed that most ICR is presented in declarative terms. Moreover, more than one-third of New Zealand firms' ICR is disclosed as pictures. This indicates the importance of pictorial information as a means of reporting IC and the need to include graphics when conducting ICR research. This study's findings also indicate a narrative approach, similar to the European notion of story telling, to voluntarily report IC information. This approach suggests that narratives have possible potential for voluntary ICR, as an approach that departs from a measurement and quantification approach.

This thesis examines the Ballarat Female Refuge, the first such institution on the Australian goldfields, as a case study of the interrelationship between charity and power. Established in 1867 by a group of twenty-six Protestant women with the intention of reforming prostitutes, the Refuge became a shelter for single mothers. An analysis of its history over the period 1867 to 1921 highlights attitudes towards female sexuality, and demonstrates how moral authority was exercised through this highly-gendered institution. The thesis locates the Ballarat Female Refuge within both an international history of female refuges and the network of voluntary charities which developed in nineteenth-century Ballarat. It argues that such charities were influential in the consolidation of class barriers in the goldfields city. While they were founded as a result of both evangelical religious fervour and humanitarian concern, they sought to impose middleclass moral values on their inmates, simultaneously conferring status and prestige on their committee members The thesis analyses the Protestant Ballarat Female Refuge through an examination of its committee, staff and residents in order to identify aspects of both power and mutuality in the charity relationship. It also looks at the symbolic systems operating at the Refuge, in particular the meanings of the wall and the laundry in the processes of exclusion and reformation. Drawing on narrative, biographical, statistical and genealogical sources, it details the ways in which moral authority was exercised through the Ballarat Female Refuge.

This thesis examines the key question: can voluntary associations enhance democracy? It tests critical claims made by Habermas and others that voluntary associations have the potential to reinvigorate a public sphere in a state of atrophy. The thesis outlines the major theoretical arguments pertaining to these areas and then presents the results of empirical work within voluntary organisations. Specifically the thesis: Critically examines the concept of the public sphere, being a sphere between the state and civil society and investigates why theorists have advocated voluntary associations, claimed to be the core institutions of civil society, as sites where democratic ideals can be secured; Goes on to examine the concept of civil society and reviews the recent literature that has attempted to define and analyse the role of voluntary associations in contemporary society; Tests empirically the normative ideals that have been advocated on behalf of voluntary associations through the presentation of data obtained using qualitative methodology. The analysis of the data collected during interviews with key employees and members of six voluntary associations in Melbourne, Australia allows for a more informed knowledge regarding the key concepts and themes of the thesis. The thesis ends by directly addressing the following points: whether or not the public sphere is in a state of atrophy; the particular nature of voluntary associations contemporary engagement in the public sphere; and whether voluntary associations can indeed, be sites where democracy can be enhanced and democratic ideals be secured. It is concluded that voluntary associations operate within Habermasian public spheres, counterspheres, and postmodern public spheres and that unitary notions of the public sphere, such as those Habermas proposes, do not adequately explain voluntary associations engagement in the public sphere. Accordingly, it is concluded that voluntary associations have the potential to invigorate public spheres, though not in ways that many theorists writing on the subject suggest.

社會福利領域運用志願服務者提供服務，已經有很長的一段歷史，各種不同型態的志願服務工作往往扮演社會功能維繫的角色，儘管歷經了世代的轉變，人們對於群己關係互賴依存的需求依然不曾改變。而在政經結構急劇變遷的今日，志工及志願服務組織甚至更成為維繫人與人、地區與地區、乃至政府與民間關係的重要機制。 本研究主要在探討：1、志工對於影響我國地方政府推動志願服務團隊之重要面向及其各構面的評價程度情形。2、探討志工對於地方政府推動志願服務團隊績效的評價程度情形。3、志工的性別、年齡、婚姻狀況、教育程度、職業、宗教信仰、是否參加過志願服務團隊、目前是否同時參加其他的志願服務團隊及參加志願服務的工作時間等個人基本屬性資料，是否會影響我國地方政府推動志願服務團隊之各重要面向及績效的評價程度差異情形之產生？4、影響我國地方政府推動志願服務團隊之重要面向與其績效的關聯性如何？5、影響我國地方政府推動志願服務團隊之各重要面向對績效預測的程度如何？ 本研究係以新竹市社會福利志願服務團隊為研究對象，運用問卷調查法等進行實證研究。從實證分析中，本研究發現志工對影響地方政府推動志願服務團隊之重要面向中之志工的人力資源管理活動及相關配套措施的評價程度較高，而對於志工管理制度及經費補助之評價程度則較低。一般而言，對影響地方政府推動志願服務團隊各重要面向及績效的評價程度上，女性高於男性，中高年齡者高於低年齡者，中等學歷者高於高學歷者，已婚者高於未婚者，參加過志願服務團隊者高於未參加過志願服務團隊者，服務年資深者高於服務年資淺者。另影響地方政府推動志願服務團隊之重要面向及其四個構面均與服務品質、與志願服務團隊互動程度、資源運用的程度、目標達成的程度及績效均有顯著相關存在。再者，對於績效的預測方面，一般而言，以相關配套措施的預測力最佳，經費補助次之。 基於前述的研究發現，為了因應未來志願服務工作的發展，地方政府在推動志願服務團隊工作上政策面應朝向制度明確化、管理合理化、和服務品質化三個方向來發展；另外要加強政府與志願服務團隊的互動關係。而地方政府在推動志願服務工作上所扮演的角色功能與工作重點，則應著重在輔導、資助、監督、諮詢、考核志願服務團隊，以確立各團隊能 依照服務宗旨及能力來提供服務，並透過經費補助、活動補助和培訓志願服務規劃與志工管理人才等方式，來引導與監督志願服務朝有品質的方向發展，以協助推動志願服務工作。 / The field of social welfare has already used volunteers for a very long time. Often all the different types of voluntary service work play the role of holding society together throughout generations of change. Just like in the past, people of today still require groups for mutual reliance and dependence. With the rapid changes occurring within today's political and economic structures, volunteers and voluntary service organizations hold people and districts together to an even greater extent, and so represent an important mechanism in the area of relations between the government and the people. The main points of the research are as follows: 1. Evaluate the extent to which volunteers are able to effect the important aspects and every dimension of our local government promoted voluntary service groups. 2. Inquire into the volunteers' appraisal level of local government promoted voluntary service group achievements. 3. The elicitation of the volunteers' sex, age, marital status, education level, profession, religion. Whether the volunteer has taken part in previous voluntary work. Whether the volunteer is also taking part in other voluntary work, and the amount of time the volunteer is donating to the work. All the above information will be collected for each individual. We hope to see if this information effects how different people evaluate the important aspects and achievements of our local government promoted voluntary service groups. 4. What is the connection effecting the important aspects and achievements of the local government promoted voluntary groups? 5. To what extent do achievement forecasts effect the important aspects of our local government promoted voluntary service groups? The objects of this research are social welfare voluntary service groups in Hsinchu City. An investigative questionnaire is used to carry out actual evidence research. From an analysis of this actual evidence research, it was discovered that volunteers, in relation to our local government promoted voluntary teams, evaluated human resource management activities and related complementary procedures to be comparatively more important than the volunteer system of management and subsidies. Generally speaking, when considering the extent to which the volunteers effected the important aspects and achievements of the local government promoted voluntary service groups, the following conclusions were drawn: - Women were more effective than men. - Middle-aged and senior-aged people were more effective than younger people. - Those educated to a high school level were more effective than those educated to a college level. - Those married were more effective than unmarried volunteers. - Those who had previously taken part in voluntary work were more effective than those who had not. - Those who had volunteered for many years were more effective than those who were new to volunteering. A related existence was displayed between the important aspects of local government promoted voluntary service groups and the following four dimensions: - Service quality - The extent to which voluntary service groups interacted. - The extent to which resources were used. - The extent to which the goals were achieved. Furthermore, concerning the aspect of forecasting achievements, generally speaking, the best forecasts come from related complementary procedures. The next best involve subsidies. Based on the above research discoveries, in order to lead to the development of voluntary service work in the future, the government when promoting voluntary service group work, should develop policy in the areas of system clarification, management rationalization and service qualification. In addition it is necessary to strengthen the relationship between government and voluntary service groups. Local government in order to assist in the promotion of voluntary service work should play the role of and emphasize coaching, provision of financial aid, supervision, consultation and examination. Furthermore, based on the service purpose and abilities of every group, the government should establish the provision of service. This can be done with the aid of subsidies and activity subsidies and through voluntary service training schemes and volunteer management personnel who can guide and supervise the development of quality voluntary services.

本論文的目的，在探討我國自願性財務預測公告與證券信用交易之間的關係。信用交易的增減代表使用信用交易的投資者對某特定資訊的瞭解與使用，因此實證檢視財務預測的修正行為與信用交易增減的關係，可以敏銳地瞭解，是種特定投資者在哪個時點對財務預測修正進行理性預期，並予使用且做了較實際的交易行為。因此，本研究的測試可以瞭解使用信用交易的投資者如何使用財務預測等相關資訊。據此，本研究的結果有助於了解使用信用交易的投資者如何運用自願性財務預測資訊來做投資決策。 　　研究期問是以民國八十四年至八十六年的資料為分析的對象，研究的結果顯示： 　　一、在季報（半年報、年報）公告前公佈的財務預測，好消息會引起融資顯著增加，融券增加幅度雖不如融資大，但結果亦為顯著；壞消息會使融資及融券同樣顯著增加，但融資增加幅度亦較融券顯著。 　　二、在季報（半年報、年報）公告後公佈的財務預測，好消息會引起融資顯著增加，融券增加幅度雖不如融黃大，但結果亦為顯著；壞消息會使融資及融券同樣顯著增加，但融資增加幅度亦較融券顯著。 / This study aims to examine the relationship between an announcement of voluntary forecasts and credit transactions, including margin and short transactions. In general, an announcement of good news would attract investor to employ margin for a long position, and vice versa. Since only noisy trader can employ credit transaction in Taiwan, this study hypothesizes that investors would follow the announcement for making rational expectation. The results of this study could help understand how noisy traders use a financial forecast. This study selects the samples occurred between 1995 and 1997 to test the established hypotheses. 　　The empirical results can be summarized as follows. 　　●If the announcement of voluntary forecast occurred prior to the release of quarterly, semiannual, and annual reports, both good and bad news simultaneously cause an increase of margin and short transactions during this period. However, the magnitude of margin transactions is significantly higher than that of short transactions. 　　●If the announcement of voluntary forecast occurred subsequent to the release of quarterly, semiannual, and annual reports, both good and bad news simultaneously cause an increase of margin and short transactions during this period; however, the magnitude of margin transaction is significantly higher than that of short transaction. 　　Since noisy traders are essentially information followers, their judgement significantly relates to functional efficiency of informational intermediaries. These empirical results imply the function of informational intermediaries requires further improvement.

<p>The purpose of this research has been to investigate possible reasons for why honour related oppression exist in Sweden as well as to find out how some voluntary organisations work to change honour oppression related attitudes. The questions that the reserachers were trying to answer were (1) What are the possible causes for honour related oppression in Sweden? (2) How can honour related oppression be identified? (3) What are the voluntary organisations doing to change these attitudes? To answer these questions a qualitative method was used. The reserachers examined what leading researchers in this area thought were the reasons to why honour related oppression exist and then carried out interviews with participants from four voluntary organisations. A social constructional approached were chosen as the theoretical framework for this research and the results were also analysed from several perspectives. The reserachers found that the reasons for the honour related oppression links to the upkeep of old traditions and customs as well as gaps in the Swedish integration of immigrants. The researchers concluded that the honour related oppression exist due to old habits that can change over time.</p>

<p>Syftet med vår studie var att undersöka på vilket sätt ideellt arbete upplevs av arbetslösa personer. Vi valde att göra studien på den ideella musikföreningen Pipeline. En kvalitativ metod användes för att kunna ta del av intervjupersonernas upplevelser gällande ideellt arbete. Studien bestod av fem intervjuer med personer som hade eller haft praktik på Pipeline. Praktiken var arbetspraktik för arbetslösa eller praktik för ungdomar på individuella programmet. Resultatet visade att personerna upplevde gemenskap, bra ledarskap, motivation och en känsla av sammanhang i det ideella arbetet.</p> / <p>The purpose of our study was to see in which way unemployed person´s life was affected by working in a voluntary organization. The study was made on the music organization Pipeline. We choose to make the study in a quality method, to be able to take part in the people´s own experiences with voluntary work. The study was made by interviewing five persons who had work related practice for unemployed or for youths at the individual program. The results showed that the people experienced fellowship, good leadership, motivation, a sense of coherence in voluntary work.</p>

<p>The two most controversial ends of life decisions are those in which physicians help patients take their lives and when the physician deliberately and directly intervenes to end the patients’ life upon his request. These are often referred to as voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. Voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide have continued to be controversial public issues. This controversy has agitated the minds of great thinkers including ethicians, physicians, psychologists, moralists, philosophers even the patient himself. Hence the physician, patient, the public and policy makers have recently had to face several difficult questions.</p><p>Is it morally right to end the life of the patients? Is there any moral difference at all between Voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide? Should a terminally ill patient be allowed to take his life and should the medical profession have the option of helping the patient die. Should voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide be legalised at all? And what actually will be the legal and moral implications if they are allowed.</p><p>In a bid to find a lasting solution to these moral problems and questions has led to two different strong positions viz opponents and proponents of voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. The centre of my argument in this work is not to develop new general arguments for or against voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide but to make a critical ethical comparative analysis of voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide. This is the focus of my work. The sole aim of this work is neither to solely condemn nor to support voluntary euthanasia and physician assisted suicide but to critically analyze the two since we live in a world of pluralism.</p>

<p>In the beginning of the nineties there was a change in how the voluntary sector was perceived, and the significance of their work became reevaluated and more acknowledged. As a result, this sector gained a new and higher interest. The changes and downsizing in the welfare state with economic crises, due to political cutback, made the politicians look fore new solutions. One solution is to encourage cooperation between the public sector and the voluntary sector in order to handle the different needs of individuals.</p><p>Uppsala community and the voluntary sector are working closely together within a project called “God Livsmiljö”. The purpose of the project is to work for a better quality of life for elderly people and dysfunctional persons, as well as for the ones who are nursing family or someone close at home.</p><p>The aim of this paper is to investigate if the cooperation between the community in Uppsala and the voluntary sector contributes to the social welfare in Uppsala.</p><p>This essay is conducted through a qualitative case study. I have used a method based on interviews combined with four selected theories which explain the voluntary sector from different perspectives. My results show that the voluntary sector’s contribution to the welfare through the project is of importance. Furthermore, the work of the voluntary sector can be seen as complementary, more on a human level, to the service delivered by the community. There has proved to be no competition between the two sectors. This study shows that the emerging of a strong voluntary sector not mainly is an effect of downsizing of social welfare. There could also be an explanation to the voluntary sector as a reaction to the change of family structure in the modern society.</p>