abstract: Problems with recruiting and retaining older volunteers have resulted in less than one-quarter of older adults participating in volunteer activities (BLS, 2016). Much emphasis on volunteer motivations have been placed to enhance volunteer engagement among late-midlife and older adults (e.g., Davis et al., 2003). Although career motivations have not been shown to predict late-midlife and older adults’ volunteer participation (Planalp & Trost, 2009), there is some empirical evidence supporting the relevance of career domains in later life (Greller, 2006). By reframing volunteering as a compensatory strategy, the purpose of the current study was to evaluate factors, including career-related interests, that affect volunteer satisfaction and commitment among late-midlife and older volunteers. A series of hypotheses were posited to examine contributions to volunteer satisfaction and to future volunteer commitment, including volunteer motivation and congruence between career interests of volunteers and characteristics of the volunteer activities (volunteer-activity congruence). The online survey contained measures for study variables, including the Volunteer Functional Inventory (volunteer motivations) and Personal Globe Inventory (career interests). Participants (N = 167) were recruited from community and government volunteer programs with the average age of volunteers being 68.65 years old (SD = 9.36; range 50 to 90 years). The majority of volunteers were female (54.5%), White or Caucasian (90.4%), married (58.2%), reported some college experience (96.5%) and were retired (68.9%). Results from the current study indicated that time volunteering, volunteer motivations, and volunteer-activity congruence did not significantly predict volunteer satisfaction, accounting for 9.2% of the variance. In contrast, the final model did significantly predict volunteer commitment and accounted for 13.1% of the model variance, with altruistic values remaining a significant contributor to volunteer commitment. Findings from the current study highlight inconsistencies noted in previous research regarding volunteer motivations, satisfaction, and commitment. Possible generational influences on altruistic values and volunteerism were also noted. Although volunteer-activity congruence alone was not predictive of volunteer satisfaction or of commitment, results from the study warrant additional investigations in career interests and volunteering among late-midlife and older adults. Limitations of the current study and implications for volunteer recruitment and retention were also discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Counseling Psychology 2016

The aim of this thesis is to overcome the simplistic idea of homo economicus, by exploring the voting behaviour of heterogeneous agents whose actions are also influenced by their view of social justice and altruism. The thesis consists of four essays which explore the role of non-economic variables in defining individuals preferences. The first essay develops the path-breaking approach initiated by Alesina and Angeletos (2005). It takes in consideration citizens' demand for fairness, and analyses their political choices in a multidimensional scenario. We show how including fairness explains various observed correlations between inequality, redistribution and growth. The second essay analyses the connection between ideology and public schooling. It presents a model in which individuals care about their personal wealth, as well as about the public expenditure, which is allocated by the government between education and the public good. The third essay deepens the analysis of the connection between the ideas of fairness and redistribution and how these evolve over time, and considers a society in which two instruments are available: an income tax and a wealth tax. To avoid double taxation of income, a tax differential is computed, which means that the income tax is subtracted from the wealth tax. The fourth essay analyses the current British Government's "Big Society" plan, which is based on the idea that granting more freedom to local communities and volunteers will compensate for a withdrawal of public agencies and spending. The main conclusion that can be drawn from this thesis is that ideology and altruism deeply influence individuals' preferences and behaviour and can affect political elections and economic fundamentals.

Diploma thesis is focused on research of employee's motivation to participate in corporate volunteering programs. Theoretical chapters summarize contemporary knowledge of corporate volunteerism phenomenon and its roots - corporate social responsibility on one side and volunteering on the other. Thesis is also dealing with specific, still not very well examined area of skills-based volunteering and with use of particular examples from Czech environment it presents its actual form. Thesis deals with various theories for volunteer motivation. Theoretical part of thesis is followed by empirical research focused on motives of corporate volunteers for participation in this type of volunteerism, their attitudes toward skills-based volunteering and also perceived differences between corporate and noncorporate (civic) volunteering. Key words Volunteering, volunteer, corporate volunteering, corporate volunteer, skills-based volunteering, motivation for volunteering, corporate social responsibility (CSR)

This work deals with public relations, its goals and instruments, and focuses on non-profit project Five P. The work presents a volunteer program in the Czech and foreign form. In the practical part is made a research through a questionnaire and are defined the methods of recruitment volunteers for the program and possible solutions to improve the effectiveness of recruitment activities.

This ethnography draws upon fieldwork experiences in South Manchester, England. The central theme is an exploration of the everyday relatedness of mothering practices, class, space and belonging. I examine mothering as practiced in both the politics of state intervention and through the mundane experiences of women living in a specific social space: the Wythenshawe Council Estate.This research explores how support programs for raising children and a specific home-visiting volunteer project to support mothers promote the production and reproduction of a particular kind of moral citizen (individualised, autonomous, and disciplined selves). I argue that volunteering schemes come to play a key role as government technology. Women volunteers who live in the community in which they volunteer (indigenous experts) come to act as a model for other local women, who are usually defined by the authorities (professional experts), as lacking the right kind of knowledge The volunteers are thus challenged to enhance and empower their neighbors and friends. However, this transmission does not occur in a linear fashion, but in quite subversive ways. While local women are actively involved in the use and appropriation of the resources provided by these programs, at the same time, they resist and transform them according to their own needs and desires.I also argue that mothering functions as metaphor and metonym for the imagined nation-state. The experience of living on the Estate is not just a physical act, but a permanent negotiation of who you are as a person in the defined social space of the Estate. I learned what it means to belong to Wythenshawe through its spatiality, but I also learnt a particular mode of belonging through my own racial and class background. My experiences of being a Latin-American ethnographer living on the Estate, whose population is mostly white and living on low income, significantly shaped my fieldwork experiences

En la actualidad, el Perú ocupa el puesto número 65 de un total de 140 países a nivel mundial, con respecto al tiempo que le dedica la población al voluntariado (CAF, 2018). Además, en Europa, se ha presentado un estancamiento durante los últimos cinco años: África un incremento de 2% y, finalmente, Asia, Oceanía y América un decrecimiento de 2%, 1% y 2%, respectivamente (CAF, 2018). Según este panorama, el voluntariado a nivel mundial presenta un decrecimiento alarmante debido a la carencia de personal voluntario que apoye a las organizaciones e instituciones sin fines de lucro. Con la presente investigación se busca encontrar la relación entre las variables comunicación digital e influencers con la captación online de voluntarios, con la finalidad de que las organizaciones sin fines de lucro puedan considerarlas durante su proceso de captación de manera eficiente. Para lograr lo mencionado se utilizaron técnicas de recolección de datos de tipo cualitativos y cuantitativos. El presente estudio se centrará en voluntarios jóvenes, con un rango de edad entre los 15 y 29 años, y que participan de manera activa en una organización sin fines de lucro. Cabe mencionar que los resultados de esta investigación podrán ser generalizados a toda organización, institución o empresa que cuente con voluntarios. / Currently, Peru occupies the 65th position of a total of 140 countries worldwide, with respect to the time the population dedicates to volunteering (CAF, 2018). In addition, in Europe, there has been a stagnation during the last five years: Africa an increase of 2% and, finally, Asia, Oceania and America a decrease of 2%, 1% and 2%, respectively (CAF, 2018). According to this scenario, worldwide volunteering shows an alarming decrease due to the lack of volunteer staff that support nonprofit organizations and institutions. This research seeks to find the relationship between the variables digital communication and influencers with the online recruitment of volunteers, so that non-profit organizations can consider them during their recruitment process efficiently. To achieve the aforementioned qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques were used. The present study will focus on young volunteers, with an age range between 15 and 29 years, and who actively participate in a non-profit organization. It should be mentioned that the results of this research may be generalized to any organization, institution or company that has volunteers. / Trabajo de investigación

This work focuses on ethnographical research carried out in "Dům světla" (House of Light), which is an asylum house for HIV positive people. The aim of this work was to find out whether the employees and volunteers of this asylum house are affected by the stigmatization which is connected to AIDS disease and how they, in case of need, cope with it. Contemporary, concepts of "risk" groups and "risk" behaviour, shame, fear or "difference" are connected to this topic. That is why another aim of this thesis was to find out how volunteers perceive their work in Dům světla, what meanings it has to them and how they interpret this activity. For answering these questions I made a two-year lasting participative observation as volunteer there and carried out informal and in-depth interviews. In context of this thesis I also focused on shorter analysis of preventive materials published by The Czech AIDS Help Society to learn the concepts used by the organization itself.

This thesis focuses on motivation for volunteering in the humanitarian and development project Czech hospital in Itibo, Kenya, which operates under the patronage of Adra, o. p. s. The thesis selects main motivations leading to the decision for volunteering in Africa. The qualitative research is based on the VFI (Volunteer Function Inventory) theory and inquires into the motivations of doctors, medical students and the founder of the project, Aleš Bárta. Data collection method consist of an interview and the analysis of the pre-departure essay of medical students. But the aim of the thesis is to describe not only the motivations which are a part of the VFI theory, but also those not defined by VFI.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych

Due to the Ukrainian refugee crisis, millions of people had to leave their home country. As a neighbor of Ukraine, Hungary is highly affected by this crisis and thousands of volunteers help refugees in this difficult situation. As their role is central in emergency response, the health and wellbeing of volunteers are of high importance. The aim of this study was to examine the sense of coherence among Hungarian volunteers working with Ukrainian refugees. Sense of coherence is a core concept in Aaron Antonovsky’s salutogenic model (1979), and reflects on the psychological, social and cultural resources which help people to cope with everyday stressors. In order to explore how this theory can be applied in the context of volunteering, 6 semi-structured interviews were conducted and a deductive qualitative analysis was made with the sense of coherence theory as a framework. It resulted in three predetermined categories based on the three dimensions of sense of coherence: (1) Comprehensibility, (2) Manageability and (3) Meaningfulness. The analysis of qualitative data resulted in a total of twelve themes within the three categories (e.g. Effective communication and information flow are important to me.; Supportive team spirit and collaboration are important to me.; A strong sense of service gives me strength.; I believe helping others is its own reward.). The findings suggest that the concept of sense of coherence can be applied in the context of volunteering, revealing key aspects of comprehending, managing and making sense of volunteer work. Therefore, interventions based on this salutogenic approach would improve the mental health and well-being of volunteers through enabling them to cope with the challenges of volunteer work.