This social constructionist study originated from the researcher’s exposure to the counselling volunteers environment. The study aimed to document the voices of three people, constructed as counselling volunteers. The three semi-structured interviews are with individuals who constructed themselves, or accepted the constructions of their role, as volunteers. The “case study approach” was chosen as the most suitable method to gather the information. “Thematic content analysis” was the method of analysis. The case studies of participants were reconstructed in terms of themes. Recurring themes in these case studies were expounded and linked within the literature. This study allowed valuable and rich information about the volunteerism to emerge. Amongst the themes that emerged, the need to help, being a good counsellor and resilience were identified as particularly important areas for future research. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Constituting a proposal for a book talk associated with the scholarly title Foreign-Born American Patriots: Sixteen Volunteer Leaders of the Revolutionary War, the presenter of this session (and author of the book) will introduce the scholarly work to participants for the purpose of highlighting research based in contribution, rather than interpretation. The author will detail the means by which the investigation of human experience and work product, storylines/patterns, and social cause may provide the context for creative scholarly works. The author will also reveal the unique contribution of Foreign Born American Patriots to historical and Southern Studies discourse, the book serving, up through the date of this proposal, as the only collective work regarding those foreigners who helped the newly formed United States defeat the British Army (many battles fought in the Southern States).

Rowe and Kahns theory of successful aging identifies three main components of aging successfully: reducing the risk of disease and disability, maintaining high cognitive and physical function, and engagement with life. While there is compelling evidence that suggests the legitimacy of this concept in the 50-75 year old community dwelling population, three areas of expansion are necessary: 1.) programmatic research; 2.) extending the existing research samples to include older samples and those living in continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs); and 3.) the integration of data collection and analysis to move beyond investigation of just one successful aging outcome to include elements of all three components of successful aging. Longitudinal analysis utilizing hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was conducted on a convenience sample of 136 older adults (mean age = 80.8 years at baseline) participating in a pilot community-wide successful aging program over a 26-month period. Results indicate the sample reported exercising frequently, ate recommended levels of fruits and vegetables, had healthy BMIs, had positive ratings of health, were highly involved in productive activities, and were satisfied with their ability to give and receive social support at baseline. High levels of mobility were measured in the sample. Participants maintained this picture of successful aging over time for the majority of outcome variables, though significant declines in self-reported health were observed. Participants also reported improvements in their satisfaction with receiving social support. Results support four major conclusions: 1.) The three criteria of successful aging identified by Rowe and Kahn (1997) were observed among older adults living in CCRCs who were enrolled in a successful aging program. 2.) Stability was observed on a number of the outcomes over 26 months in this convenience sample, which has implications for intervention/programmatic research. Despite the traditional improvement-oriented focus of programmatic research, stability or maintenance of well-being over time should be viewed as a positive outcome in older age, particularly when compared to national data depicting trends of decline. 3.) The interdependence of current results support the notion that successful aging programming needs to include multi-disciplinary intervention strategies, as supported by the finding that modifiers of physical, social, and intellectual well-being include constructs from each of the components of successful aging. 4.) Participants of the current study were largely in the precontemplation and contemplation stages of change. Readiness to change needs to be factored into the design of any successful aging program, as the Transtheoretical Model could be a powerful tool for the identification of readiness to change and the development of appropriate and effective successful aging programming.

Made available in DSpace on 2009-11-18T18:56:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2004 / This work is established by a study about the Corporate Volunteerism Program - CVP - of the Bank ABN AMRO Real, experienced in the Instituto Escola Brasil - IEB. lt aimed to analyse how occurs the fonnation process of a program like this, starting from the presupposed that what motivates this activity is the search of the social legitimacy. This analysis is done by taking into account the way that the CVP experienced in IEB fonns the conjunct of resultant actions of the assumption process of Corporate Social Responsibility - CSR - by the Bank. AIso, had another objective that was to investigate and analyse the causes of CVP adoption by the Bank, as well as the institutionalization and legitimacy grade of the IEB and CVP of the Bank. The theoretical framework comprises two parts: one looks at the contributions by various authors in the study of CSR and corporate volunteerism, and the other looks at the institutionalist approach, while attempting to apply it to the theme at issue. The research draws on semi-structured interviews, which have allowed an in-depth analysis. The conc1usions show this practice is still incipient, being on a process of institutionalization, on the analysed organization. / Este trabalho constitui-se num estudo de caso sobre o Programa de Voluntariado Empresarial - PVE - do Banco ABN AMRO Real, vivenciado no Instituto Escola Brasil - 1EB. Objetivou analisar como se dá o processo de formação de um programa dessa natureza, partindo do pressuposto de que o que motiva tal atividade é a busca de legitimidade social. Tal análise é feita levando-se em conta a maneira pela qual o PVE vivenciado no IEB se integra no conjunto das ações resultantes do processo de assunção de Responsabilidade Social Empresarial - RSE - pelo Banco. Também teve como objetivo investigar e analisar as causas da adoção do PVE pelo Banco. bem como o grau de institucionalização e legitimidade do IEB e do PVE do Banco. O referencial teórico é composto de duas partes, uma que aborda as contribuições de diversos autores para o estudo da RSE e do voluntariado empresarial, e outra que trata da abordagem institucionalista, procurando aplicá-la ao tema em questão. A pesquisa valeu-se de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, que permitiram análise em profundidade. As conclusões mostram que tal prática ainda é incipiente. encontrando-se em processo de institucionalização na organização estudada.

The aim of the diploma thesis is to map out the subjective view of volunteers on the psychosocial needs of patients at the Long-term care department in the Královské Vinohrady Faculty Hospital. The work first focuses on the characteristics of patients in a long-term treatment. It also provides the overview of their psychological and social needs and about those who play a role in meeting these needs. The reconnaissance survey identifies areas where volunteers complement the work of social workers and care staff. In the evaluation, the results of the interviews with volunteers are compared with the opinions of the patients themselves

This diploma thesis addresses the phenomenon of volunteerism in the form of teaching English in the so-called developing countries. The focus is especially on its direct form, without the mediation of any third party, where people from the Global North arrange their volunteer stays directly with the people from the Global South whom they then visit and teach English as volunteers. The main objective of this thesis is to determine whether this form of volunteerism is beneficial and if so then who benefits from it to what extent and in what way. My research provides a critical analysis of this phenomenon through a review of literature concerned with the broader context of this topic and qualitative research which consists of two parts. First, I have conducted field research in Ecuador where I have taught English as a volunteer in a local school. Then I have conducted semi-structured interviews with volunteers from the Global North who had participated in similar volunteer stays in the Global South. Through this research, I have come to the conclusion that the described form of volunteerism can be very beneficial for all its participants if it is well established. However, its main benefit lies not in the improvement of the level of local English but in its potential of supporting intercultural...

This study embarked on exploring the experience of becoming and being a lay volunteer counsellor from a psychological perspective. Six participants were interviewed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the research method. Race and gender are divided equally amongst Black, Caucasian, male, and female participants. Numerous dimensions relating to the lived experience of lay volunteer counsellors are investigated in the present literature, suggesting that the experience of becoming and being a lay volunteer counsellor is multifaceted. The subjective experience of each of the participants was explored, with the optimism that this exploration would expound on the multilateralism of these facets. Although specific experiences remain exclusive to each participant, the intersecting and co-creation of meanings culminated in the cultivation of themes common to the participants. These themes are examined against the literature, critically appraising supportive and distinct suggestions. As is evident from the results, participants have a profound appreciation of the stimuli which influence their experiences of lay volunteer counselling, but also of the circumstances surrounding the origins of their sense of volunteerism. Even though some of the literature addressed themes relevant to the participants’ experiences, a small number of themes could not be juxtaposed against available literature. Based on the narratives of the participants, as well as data in the literature, volunteers constitute a reasonable component of the service sector and assist a sizeable population. Therefore, the value of the lay volunteer counselling population should be recognised in order to develop further training and support programmes for this subpopulation. As it appears, recognising the essence of this value begins with appreciating the experience of becoming and being a lay volunteer counsellor. Copyright / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Psychology / unrestricted

Motivation of volunteers presents one of the specific areas of volunteerism research. The paper brings main theories and thoughts about motivation of volunteers and evaluation their relevancy for Czech settings. Futher the paper presents analyse of already realized partial researchs (above all in students' papers) and proposal of framing theoretical conception for research of motivation in Czech Republic.

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The purpose of the study was to determine if one company-sponsored EAP and health program influences some behaviors and lifestyle choices of employees when off the job. This study compared the perceptions of employees and management regarding what is within the “legitimate” (job-related) EAP scope. During the past four decades the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) has increased in number and scope such that an estimated 50 percent of working Americans currently have access to an EAP. Designed originally to treat alcoholic workers, they now address other behavioral health problems such as drugs, family, emotional, financial and legal difficulties. In concert with EAPs, other initiatives have proliferated at the work site including health and wellness programs and drug testing policies. These convergent forces have served to create a blurring of the distinction between personal prerogatives regarding health and the work domain. What was once the province of the community—health care—has now shifted to the employer. This trend places EAP mental health practitioners, in particular, in the dual relationship of serving both client and company. Other issues which come to light include privacy, confidentiality, personal responsibility, paternalism, and de facto reinforcement of company-imposed values on the individual regarding lifestyle, fitness and even family life. The employees of a public utility in central California were surveyed. The entire population of 2,030 received the questionnaire; 575 people responded (28.3%). The findings were that all dimensions of EAP services were perceived to be job-related by a majority of the respondents. No more than 40 percent of the respondents felt that any single service was not job-related. That maximum was regarding smoking cessation. Although behavior had changed on some of the individuals as a result of EAP participation, the accompanying findings that those services were job-related nullified the distinction between behaviors at work and behaviors off the job. This raises the question of why employees think that EAP services are job-related. That and other aspects of EAP use patterns are discussed.