This study attempts to show that there is no significant difference in performance between volunteers and non-volunteers in terms of cooperation in a psychological experiment.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / W. Franklin Spikes / Non-profit organizations come in many shapes and sizes and in some cases, encompass a significant portion of community organizations. Since these agencies are largely sustained by the work of volunteers, it is a worthy subject to examine. The diversity and complexity of non-profits available among communities presents a need for volunteers’ to be skilled, trained, and experienced in an array of arenas. Non-profit organizations depend on volunteers and allow these entities to reach a larger population than exclusively with the limited staff members available (Fisher & Cole, 1993). This notion suggested the topic of motivation and retention of volunteers among community non-profits for the focus of this study to help organizations effectively deliver their mission. More specifically, this investigation centered on people who are considered high-functioning by the administrators with whom they work through the process of interviews. Non-profit organizations located in Denver, Colorado were selected to participate. The administrators of the chosen agencies were contacted and asked to identify volunteers in their program they classify as high-functioning. Once this list was identified, these individuals were contacted and asked to participate in an interview. This study focused on high-functioning volunteers for data collection because it was anticipated their characteristics and viewpoints will aid in the understanding of motivation and retention factors for anyone working with and supervising volunteers in the 21st century. The findings from the study provide a diverse assessment of the topic of volunteer motivation and retention. The data collected suggests that adult volunteers have varying needs and the importance for volunteer administrators to take these differences into consideration in their management and programming efforts.

A review of the literature showed that systematic studies on adolescent volunteerism, particularly in the Chinese context, were very limited. The present study was conducted to fill this knowledge gap. The conceptual model was an integrative model comprising elements of the ecological perspective and the cognitive motivational approach. Both personal and environmental factors were taken into account during the examination of psychosocial correlates of students' volunteering intention and behavior in Hong Kong based on the paradigm of post-positivism. With reference to literature, a series of hypotheses were put forward for empirical testing. / The findings from the main study showed that the scales used in the study possessed acceptable psychometric properties. While most of the proposed antecedents were found to be related to volunteering behavior, only "prior volunteering experience" and "volunteering intention" were directly predictive of volunteering behavior in multiple regression analyses. On the other hand, a mediating effects model was examined with "volunteering intention" as the mediating variable and "volunteering behavior" as the ultimate dependent variable. Three predictors with the highest total effects were "prior experience", "volunteering intention", and "positive personal and environmental influence on helping and volunteering". The present study provides support for the integrative model. / The first part of the study was to construct and validate four instruments assessing personal beliefs on volunteerism and perceived environmental influence, including (1) Revised Personal Functions of Volunteerism Scale, (2) Beliefs Against Volunteering Scale, (3) Microsystem (Family, School, Peers) Influence on Volunteerism Scale, and (4) Cultural Influence on Volunteerism Scale. A small-sample validation study (N = 192) showed that the instruments had high internal consistency, good content validity and acceptable criterion-related validity in distinguishing between volunteers and non-volunteers. The scales were used in the main study. / The present findings suggest that in organizing volunteer service targeted at adolescents, social workers need to (1) strengthen the personal functions of volunteerism, in particular the learning function; (2) diversify the roles taken by volunteers and types of service recipients; (3) create a pro-volunteering atmosphere by active intervention with families, schools, peers and the community; (4) initiate volunteering experience as early as possible; and (5) inject positive adolescent development elements into the service. / The second part of the study was a large-scale quantitative survey with 6,213 secondary school students from F.1 to F.6 (Grade 7 to 12) recruited via convenience sampling. The respondents completed a 244-item questionnaire which measured beliefs on volunteerism, perceived environmental influence, personal competence assets, prior volunteering experience, intention to volunteer, volunteering interests, details of current volunteering behavior and socio-demographic characteristics. / There are several academic contributions of the study. Firstly, the study highlighted the utility of integrating the ecological and the cognitive motivational perspectives. Secondly, the findings showed that volunteering intention is an important mediating variable between psychosocial correlates and volunteering behavior. Thirdly, the study clarified the different psychosocial predictors of volunteering intention and behavior among Hong Kong adolescents. Fourthly, negative beliefs and cultural beliefs were influential factors affecting volunteering intention and behavior. / "January 2008." / Adviser: Daniel Shek. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-08, Section: A, page: 3320. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 297-333). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract in English and Chionese. / School code: 1307.

Open Source Software (OSS) communities are homogenous and their lack of diversity is of concern to many within this field. This problem is becoming more pronounced as it is the practice of many technology companies to use OSS participation as a factor in the hiring process, disadvantaging those who are not a part of this community. We should expect that any field would have a population that reflects the general population given no constraints. The constraints within OSS are documented as being a hostile environment for women and minorities to participate in. Additionally OSS communities rely predominately on volunteers to create and maintain source code, documentation, and user interface as well as the organizational structure of the project. The volunteer nature of OSS projects creates a need for an ongoing pool of participants. This research addresses the lack of diversity along with the continual need for new members by developing a pedagogical paradigm that uses a collaborative environment to promote participation in an OSS project by diverse students. This collaborative environment used a Communities of Practice (CoP) framework to design the course, the indicators of which were used to operationalize the collaboration. The outcomes of this course not only benefit the students by providing them with skills necessary to continue participation and experience for getting a job, but also provide a diverse pool of volunteers for the OSS community. This diverse pool shows promise of creating a more diverse culture within OSS. In the development of this pedagogical paradigm this research looked primarily at student���s perception of the importance of their group members and mentors provided to guide their participation in and contribution to an OSS community. These elements were used to facilitate the formation of a CoP. Self-efficacy was also used as a measure; an increase in self-efficacy is associated with the successful formation of a CoP. Finally the intent to continue, as reported by students, was measured to determine the potential contribution to the OSS community overall. This research was designed to use collaboration to support the formation of a CoP within the groups formed between students based on common interests in the OSS project. Additionally students were provided with a mentor from the community to assist in finding paths to contribute. The Ubuntu project was chosen for its commitment to diversity and its reputation for being a welcoming environment to newcomers, reducing the risk of negative community interactions for students. Written reflections were gathered at mid and end of term and used in conjunction with transcripts or reports of group meetings as well as emails between mentors and mentees. Additionally self-efficacy was measured at the beginning and end of the term. The results of this study show that this pedagogical paradigm supports student contribution. Contribution levels were found to be associated with the level of the formation of a CoP within each group and the use of mentors, as well as attending a live, hands-on bug triage demo and the Global Jam, to gather resources. It was also evident that students intend to continue participating at a rate higher than the average rate for newcomers trying to contribute without the type of support offered by this class. Further research into the examination of the use of reflective dialogue with mentors is recommended. It is also recommended that the results from the operationalization of the indicators of the formation of a CoP be used to assist in a more consistent formation of this important resource across more groups within the class. The results of this research point to the effectiveness of this paradigm to promote contributions to an OSS community. These contributions provide the skills students need to improve their attractiveness to future employers. This class also produced a number of students who intend to continue participating in OSS, providing a diverse pool of potential volunteers to the OSS community. / Graduation date: 2013

Thesis (Ph.D.) - James Cook University, 2005. / Typescript (photocopy) Bibliography: leaves 286-302.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1995. / Includes tables. Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: Herv[symbol] Varenne. Dissertation Committee: Paul Byers. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 201-205).

Thesis (M.I.T.)--The Evergreen State College, 2009. / Title from title screen (viewed 7/30/2009). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-130).

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 81-84).

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 81-84). Also available in print.

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