WorldWideScience

Sample records for pr task volunteers

  1. Local Knowledge and Professional Background Have a Minimal Impact on Volunteer Citizen Science Performance in a Land-Cover Classification Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carl Salk

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The idea that closer things are more related than distant things, known as ‘Tobler’s first law of geography’, is fundamental to understanding many spatial processes. If this concept applies to volunteered geographic information (VGI, it could help to efficiently allocate tasks in citizen science campaigns and help to improve the overall quality of collected data. In this paper, we use classifications of satellite imagery by volunteers from around the world to test whether local familiarity with landscapes helps their performance. Our results show that volunteers identify cropland slightly better within their home country, and do slightly worse as a function of linear distance between their home and the location represented in an image. Volunteers with a professional background in remote sensing or land cover did no better than the general population at this task, but they did not show the decline with distance that was seen among other participants. Even in a landscape where pasture is easily confused for cropland, regional residents demonstrated no advantage. Where we did find evidence for local knowledge aiding classification performance, the realized impact of this effect was tiny. Rather, the inherent difficulty of a task is a much more important predictor of volunteer performance. These findings suggest that, at least for simple tasks, the geographical origin of VGI volunteers has little impact on their ability to complete image classifications.

  2. Safety, adherence and acceptability of intermittent tenofovir/emtricitabine as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP among HIV-uninfected Ugandan volunteers living in HIV-serodiscordant relationships: a randomized, clinical trial.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Freddie M Kibengo

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Efficacy of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP in prevention of HIV acquisition has been evaluated using a daily regimen. However, adherence to long term daily medication is rarely perfect. Intermittent regimen may be a feasible alternative. Preclinical studies have demonstrated effectiveness of intermittent PrEP in SHIV prevention among animals. However, little is known about intermittent PrEP regimens. DESIGN: Seventy two HIV-uninfected volunteers in HIV serodiscordant couple relationships in Uganda were randomly assigned to receive daily oral Tenofovir/Emtricitabine (TDF/FTC-Truvada or placebo, or intermittent (Monday, Friday and within 2 hours after sex, not to exceed one dose per day oral TDF/FTC or placebo in a 2:1:2:1 ratio. Volunteers and study staff were blinded to drug assignment, but not to regimen assignment. METHODS: Volunteers were followed for 4 months after randomization, with monthly clinical and laboratory safety assessments and comprehensive HIV risk reduction services. Adherence was monitored using medication event monitoring system (MEMS and self-report. Sexual activity data were collected via daily short text message (SMS and self-report. HIV-specific immune responses were assessed by IFN-γ ELISPOT. RESULTS: Both daily and intermittent oral TDF/FTC regimens were well tolerated. Median MEMS adherence rates were 98% (IQR: 93-100 for daily PrEP regimen, 91% (IQR: 73-97 for fixed intermittent dosing and 45% (IQR: 20-63 for post-coital dosing. SMS response rate was 74%, but increased to 80% after excluding server outages; results may have been affected by the novelty of this measure. The majority of volunteers expressed willingness with no particular preference for either regimen. CONCLUSIONS: Both daily and intermittent oral PrEP dosing regimens were safe. Adherence was high for daily and fixed intermittent dosing; post-coital dosing was associated with poor adherence. Fixed intermittent PrEP regimens may be

  3. Volunteer recruitment: the role of organizational support and anticipated respect in non-volunteers' attraction to charitable volunteer organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boezeman, Edwin J; Ellemers, Naomi

    2008-09-01

    In 3 experiments the authors examined how specific characteristics of charitable volunteer organizations contribute to the recruitment of new volunteers. In line with predictions, Study 1 revealed that providing non-volunteers with information about organizational support induced anticipated feelings of respect, which subsequently enhanced their attraction to the volunteer organization. However, information about the current success of the volunteer organization did not affect anticipated pride (as among those who seek paid employment) and in fact caused potential volunteers to perceive the organization as being in less need for additional volunteers. Study 2 further showed that information about support from the volunteer organization is a more relevant source of anticipated respect and organizational attraction than support from co-volunteers. Study 3 finally showed that information about task and emotional support for volunteers contributes to anticipated respect and organizational attractiveness and that this increases the actual willingness of non-volunteers to participate in the volunteer organization. Interventions aimed at attracting volunteers and avenues for further research are discussed.

  4. Volunteering with Newcomers: The Perspectives of Canadian- and Foreign-born Volunteers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Behnam Behnia

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Canadian- and foreign-born volunteers have contributed to the settlement of newcomers into Canadian society. Despite their important contribution, little has been reported about the experiences and perspectives of these volunteers. Using the information collected from face-to-face interviews with 60 Canadian- and foreign-born volunteers who support newcomers, this article discusses factors that motivate people to volunteer with newcomers. The study results revealed among other findings that (1 to become a volunteer, one not only needs to be motivated but also needs to believe that volunteering will produce the expected positive results and to have confidence in one’s ability to complete the assigned tasks, (2 once people become volunteers, the experience of volunteering tests their perceived self-efficacy and their belief about the effectiveness of their volunteer work. Success or failure in their expectations influences their decision tocontinue or discontinue their volunteer work.

  5. Organizational factors and mental health in community volunteers. The role of exposure, preparation, training, tasks assigned, and support

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Thormar, Sigridur Bjork; Gersons, Berthold P. R.; Juen, Barbara; Djakababa, Maria Nelden; Karlsson, Thorlakur; Olff, Miranda

    2013-01-01

    During disasters, aid organizations often respond using the resources of local volunteer members from the affected population who are not only inexperienced, but who additionally take on some of the more psychologically and physically difficult tasks in order to provide support for their community.

  6. Assessment of the short-term safety and tolerability of a quantified 80 % ethanol extract from the stem bark of Nauclea pobeguinii (PR 259 CT1) in healthy volunteers: a clinical phase I study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesia, Kahunu; Cimanga, Kanyanga; Tona, Lutete; Mampunza, Ma Miezi; Ntamabyaliro, Nsengi; Muanda, Tsobo; Muyembe, Tamfum; Totté, Jozef; Mets, Tony; Pieters, Luc; Vlietinck, Arnold

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the short-term safety and tolerability of an antimalarial herbal medicinal product (PR 259 CT1) consisting of a quantified 80 % ethanol extract from the stem bark of Nauclea pobeguinii when given orally to healthy adult male volunteers. The amount of the major alkaloid strictosamide in the extract was determined by a validated HPLC method and was shown to be 5.6 %. The herbal preparation was formulated in a gelatine capsule form containing 500 mg of PCR 259 CT1. A sample of 15 healthy male volunteers, selected using the Lot Quality Assurance of Sampling (LQAS) method, was eligible for inclusion after fulfillment of the inclusion criteria and clinical examination by a physician. The volunteers were treated in an outpatient clinic with a drug regimen of two 500 mg capsules three times daily (each eight hours) for seven days, during meals. Safety and tolerability were monitored clinically, haematologically, biochemically and by electrocardiographic (ECG) examination at days 0, 1, 3, 7 and 14. Adverse effects were recorded by self-reporting of the participants or by detection of abnormalities in clinical examinations by a physician. The oral administration of PR 259 CT1 at high doses of 2 × 500 mg/capsule/day for 7 days was found to induce no significant changes in the concentration levels of all investigated haematological, biochemical, electrocardiogram and vital sign parameters and physical characteristics after 14 days of treatment compared to those seen in the baseline data. The concentration levels of all evaluated parameters were within the normal limits as reported in the literature. All adverse events noted were mild and self-resolving including increase of appetite (33 %), headache (20 %) and nausea (20 %). Other minor side effects were insomnia, somnolence and asthenia (7 %). Thus, PR 259 CT1 presented a significant safety and tolerability in healthy volunteers to allow its further development by starting a phase II

  7. The Tasks of the Crowd: A Typology of Tasks in Geographic Information Crowdsourcing and a Case Study in Humanitarian Mapping

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João Porto de Albuquerque

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available In the past few years, volunteers have produced geographic information of different kinds, using a variety of different crowdsourcing platforms, within a broad range of contexts. However, there is still a lack of clarity about the specific types of tasks that volunteers can perform for deriving geographic information from remotely sensed imagery, and how the quality of the produced information can be assessed for particular task types. To fill this gap, we analyse the existing literature and propose a typology of tasks in geographic information crowdsourcing, which distinguishes between classification, digitisation and conflation tasks. We then present a case study related to the “Missing Maps” project aimed at crowdsourced classification to support humanitarian aid. We use our typology to distinguish between the different types of crowdsourced tasks in the project and choose classification tasks related to identifying roads and settlements for an evaluation of the crowdsourced classification. This evaluation shows that the volunteers achieved a satisfactory overall performance (accuracy: 89%; sensitivity: 73%; and precision: 89%. We also analyse different factors that could influence the performance, concluding that volunteers were more likely to incorrectly classify tasks with small objects. Furthermore, agreement among volunteers was shown to be a very good predictor of the reliability of crowdsourced classification: tasks with the highest agreement level were 41 times more probable to be correctly classified by volunteers. The results thus show that the crowdsourced classification of remotely sensed imagery is able to generate geographic information about human settlements with a high level of quality. This study also makes clear the different sophistication levels of tasks that can be performed by volunteers and reveals some factors that may have an impact on their performance.

  8. Replicated Computations Results (RCR) report for “A holistic approach for collaborative workload execution in volunteer clouds”

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vandin, Andrea

    2018-01-01

    “A Holistic Approach for Collaborative Workload Execution in Volunteer Clouds” [3] proposes a novel approach to task scheduling in volunteer clouds. Volunteer clouds are decentralized cloud systems based on collaborative task execution, where clients voluntarily share their own unused computational...

  9. La práctica del voluntariado: experiencias en contextos de precariedad The practice of volunteering: experiences in precarious contexts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulina Piccini

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Se presentan lineamientos generales, teóricos y metodológicos, y primeros resultados de una investigación que se ejecuta en un asentamiento situado en la zona sur de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Los protagonistas son un grupo de voluntarios/as, los habitantes del barrio y un grupo de psicólogos/as sociales recientemente incorporados a la relación entre ellos. Los objetivos generales son explorar las prácticas que despliegan los agentes e identificar el tipo de relación ya establecida entre los miembros del voluntariado y la comunidad. El método y las principales técnicas (entrevistas individuales y grupales y observación participante son cualitativos. Esta primera aproximación está centrada en el grupo voluntario en función de la elaboración de algunos resultados y, desde el punto de vista teórico, atendiendo sus distintas dimensiones, contextualizándolo e interrogando su definición.The general outline is presented , with its theoretical and methodological basis, as well as the first results of a Scolarship Plan for Master´s degree , " A pycho-social approach of the relationship among different actors in precarious contexts". The research is carried out in a settlement located in the south area of Buenos Aires City. The protagonists are a group of volunteers, the neighbourhood inhabitants and a group of social psychologists, recently incorporated . The general aims are to explore the practices performed by the agents and to identify the type of relation already established between the volunteering members and the community. The methodology and the main techniques (individual and collective interviews and active observation are cualitative. This first approach focuses on the group of volunteers in order to elaborate some results and, from the theoretical point of view, paying especial attention to its different dimensions, giving it a context and asking about its definition.

  10. Efeitos da prática mental na aquisição de habilidades motoras em sujeitos novatos Efectos de la práctica mental en la adquisición de habilidades motoras en novatos Effects of mental practice in motor skills acquisition in novice subjects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thábata Viviane Brandão Gomes

    2012-09-01

    muestra utilizada fue pequeña, los resultados sugieren que la práctica mental en sujetos novatos depende de la práctica física para ser efectiva, independiente de su posicionamiento (antes o después.Studies of mental practice with novices pointed out its superiority when compared to no practice at all. However, pre-test as well as familiarization using physical practice can influence the effect from mental practice. This study investigated the effects of mental practice in novice in the practiced task, as well as the location of physical practice in relation to mental practice. Twenty five undergraduate volunteers performed a serial positioning task and they were distributed in five groups in accordance to the type of practice: Physical (GPF, mental (GPM, physical-mental (GPFM, mental-physical (GPMF, and control group (GC which took part only in tests. A non parametrical Anova applied in tests showed superiority of groups with physical practice (GPF, GPFM, and GPMF to control and mental practice groups. In considering the small sample, the results suggest that mental practice in novice subjects depends on physical practice to be effective, regardless its location (before or after.

  11. Volunteered Cloud Computing for Disaster Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, J. D.; Hao, W.; Chettri, S. R.

    2014-12-01

    Disaster management relies increasingly on interpreting earth observations and running numerical models; which require significant computing capacity - usually on short notice and at irregular intervals. Peak computing demand during event detection, hazard assessment, or incident response may exceed agency budgets; however some of it can be met through volunteered computing, which distributes subtasks to participating computers via the Internet. This approach has enabled large projects in mathematics, basic science, and climate research to harness the slack computing capacity of thousands of desktop computers. This capacity is likely to diminish as desktops give way to battery-powered mobile devices (laptops, smartphones, tablets) in the consumer market; but as cloud computing becomes commonplace, it may offer significant slack capacity -- if its users are given an easy, trustworthy mechanism for participating. Such a "volunteered cloud computing" mechanism would also offer several advantages over traditional volunteered computing: tasks distributed within a cloud have fewer bandwidth limitations; granular billing mechanisms allow small slices of "interstitial" computing at no marginal cost; and virtual storage volumes allow in-depth, reversible machine reconfiguration. Volunteered cloud computing is especially suitable for "embarrassingly parallel" tasks, including ones requiring large data volumes: examples in disaster management include near-real-time image interpretation, pattern / trend detection, or large model ensembles. In the context of a major disaster, we estimate that cloud users (if suitably informed) might volunteer hundreds to thousands of CPU cores across a large provider such as Amazon Web Services. To explore this potential, we are building a volunteered cloud computing platform and targeting it to a disaster management context. Using a lightweight, fault-tolerant network protocol, this platform helps cloud users join parallel computing projects

  12. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) Targeting Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Modulates Task-Induced Acute Pain in Healthy Volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariano, Timothy Y; Van't Wout, Mascha; Garnaat, Sarah L; Rasmussen, Steven A; Greenberg, Benjamin D

    2016-04-01

    Current chronic pain treatments target nociception rather than affective "suffering" and its associated functional and psychiatric comorbidities. The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been implicated in affective, cognitive, and attentional aspects of pain and is a primary target of neuromodulation for affective disorders. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can non-invasively modulate cortical activity. The present study tests whether anodal tDCS targeting the left DLPFC will increase tolerability of acute painful stimuli vs cathodal tDCS. Forty tDCS-naive healthy volunteers received anodal and cathodal stimulation targeting the left DLPFC in two randomized and counterbalanced sessions. During stimulation, each participant performed cold pressor (CP) and breath holding (BH) tasks. We measured pain intensity with the Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS) before and after each task. Mixed ANOVA revealed no main effect of stimulation polarity for mean CP threshold, tolerance, or endurance, or mean BH time (allP > 0.27). However, DVPRS rise associated with CP was significantly smaller with anodal vs cathodal tDCS (P = 0.024). We further observed a significant tDCS polarity × stimulation order interaction (P = 0.042) on CP threshold, suggesting task sensitization. Although our results do not suggest that polarity of tDCS targeting the left DLPFC differentially modulates the tolerability of CP- and BH-related pain distress in healthy volunteers, there was a significant effect on DVPRS pain ratings. This contrasts with our previous findings that tDCS targeting the left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex showed a trend toward higher mean CP tolerance with cathodal vs anodal stimulation. The present results may suggest tDCS-related effects on nociception or DLPFC-mediated attention, or preferential modulation of the affective valence of pain as captured by the DVPRS. Sham-controlled clinical studies are needed. © 2015

  13. Using Peace Corps volunteers in community eye health

    OpenAIRE

    Barnes, Shawn

    2009-01-01

    Initiating a community eye health programme in an unfamiliar culture and language can be a daunting task. This report focuses on an underutilised resource for community eye health: American Peace Corps volunteers.

  14. Coincidence of role expectations between staff and volunteer members of drug free community coalitions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goldstein, Marc B; Sapere, Heather; Daviau, John

    2017-08-01

    Community coalitions have proliferated as a means of addressing a range of complex community problems. Such coalitions often consist of a small paid staff and volunteer members. The present study examines one likely contributor to coalition effectiveness: the degree of agreement on role expectations between paid staff and volunteer members. Role confusion occurs when paid staff and volunteers differ in their expectations of who is responsible for accomplishing specific tasks. Staff and volunteer members from 69 randomly selected Drug Free Coalitions in the United States as well as 21 Drug Free Coalitions in Connecticut were asked to respond to an online survey asking about 37 specific coalition tasks critical for effective coalition functioning and the degree to which paid staff and/or voluntary members should be responsible for accomplishing each. Our final sample consisted of 476 individuals from 35 coalitions. Using coalitions as the unit of analysis, we found significant differences between paid staff and volunteer coalition members on nine tasks reflecting four domains: meeting leadership and participation, (2) planning and implementation leadership, (3) publicity/media relations, and (4) logistical functions. Implications of these differences and ways that evaluators could help coalitions deal with differing role expectations were discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Distributed and cooperative task processing: Cournot oligopolies on a graph.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlic, Theodore P; Passino, Kevin M

    2014-06-01

    This paper introduces a novel framework for the design of distributed agents that must complete externally generated tasks but also can volunteer to process tasks encountered by other agents. To reduce the computational and communication burden of coordination between agents to perfectly balance load around the network, the agents adjust their volunteering propensity asynchronously within a fictitious trading economy. This economy provides incentives for nontrivial levels of volunteering for remote tasks, and thus load is shared. Moreover, the combined effects of diminishing marginal returns and network topology lead to competitive equilibria that have task reallocations that are qualitatively similar to what is expected in a load-balancing system with explicit coordination between nodes. In the paper, topological and algorithmic conditions are given that ensure the existence and uniqueness of a competitive equilibrium. Additionally, a decentralized distributed gradient-ascent algorithm is given that is guaranteed to converge to this equilibrium while not causing any node to over-volunteer beyond its maximum task-processing rate. The framework is applied to an autonomous-air-vehicle example, and connections are drawn to classic studies of the evolution of cooperation in nature.

  16. Molecular helpers wanted... Call for volunteers!

    CERN Multimedia

    2008-01-01

    The Task Force in charge of the organization of the LHC Inauguration is looking for 40 volunteers to support the team of molecular cooks directed by international chef Ettore Bocchia. The "molecular" volunteers will help in the preparation of liquid nitrogen ice-cream. Your help is requested from 12h to 18h on October 21st. Your participation in a general rehearsal on October 20th is also required - (the time of the rehearsal will be communicated at a later moment). Dress code: black pants and shoes, long sleeved white shirt. Do not miss this opportunity to take part in an extraordinary event! For further information and to enrol, contact: mailto:Catherine.Brandt@cern.ch

  17. Extension Master Gardener Intranet: Automating Administration, Motivating Volunteers, Increasing Efficiency, and Facilitating Impact Reporting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bradley, Lucy K.; Cook, Jonneen; Cook, Chris

    2011-01-01

    North Carolina State University has incorporated many aspects of volunteer program administration and reporting into an on-line solution that integrates impact reporting into daily program management. The Extension Master Gardener Intranet automates many of the administrative tasks associated with volunteer management, increasing efficiency, and…

  18. Effectiveness of trained community volunteers in improving ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Both groups were compared at baseline and after 6 months of the experiment on their knowledge of malaria prevention and treatment. Level of significance was set at P = 0.05. Results: In the ... attainment of millennium development goals 4. Key words: Community volunteers, malaria, Nigeria, task shifting, under ‑ 5 children ...

  19. Motivations of German Hospice Volunteers: How Do They Compare to Nonhospice Volunteers and US Hospice Volunteers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stelzer, Eva-Maria; Lang, Frieder R

    2016-03-01

    We examined reasons of volunteering for hospice and nonhospice organizations in a study with 125 volunteers (22-93 years) from the United States and Germany. Motives of US and German hospice volunteers revealed similarities and few differences. Hospice volunteers are involved because they seek to help others, seek new learning experiences, seek social contacts, or seek personal growth. The US hospice volunteers reported motives related to altruistic concerns, enhancement, and social influence as more influential, while German hospice volunteers rated career expectations as being more important. Comparison of German hospice with nonhospice volunteers revealed stronger differences: German hospice volunteers scored higher on altruistic motives, while German nonhospice volunteers yielded higher scores on self-serving motives. Findings contribute to improved understanding of volunteering motivation and of activating or retaining hospice volunteers. © The Author(s) 2014.

  20. Volunteering and Volunteers: Benefit-Cost Analyses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handy, Femida; Mook, Laurie

    2011-01-01

    This article examines the phenomenon of volunteering from a benefit-cost perspective. Both the individual making a decision to volunteer and the organization making a decision to use volunteer labor face benefits and costs of their actions, yet these costs and benefits almost always remain unarticulated, perhaps because the common perception of…

  1. Volunteer Clouds and Citizen Cyberscience for LHC Physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aguado Sanchez, Carlos; Blomer, Jakob; Buncic, Predrag; Ellis, John; Harutyunyan, Artem; Marquina, Miguel; Mato, Pere; Schulz, Holger; Segal, Ben; Sharma, Archana; Skands, Peter; Chen Gang; Wu Jie; Wu Wenjing; Garcia Quintas, David; Grey, Francois; Lombrana Gonzalez, Daniel; Rantala, Jarno; Weir, David; Yadav, Rohit

    2011-01-01

    Computing for the LHC, and for HEP more generally, is traditionally viewed as requiring specialized infrastructure and software environments, and therefore not compatible with the recent trend in v olunteer computing , where volunteers supply free processing time on ordinary PCs and laptops via standard Internet connections. In this paper, we demonstrate that with the use of virtual machine technology, at least some standard LHC computing tasks can be tackled with volunteer computing resources. Specifically, by presenting volunteer computing resources to HEP scientists as a v olunteer cloud , essentially identical to a Grid or dedicated cluster from a job submission perspective, LHC simulations can be processed effectively. This article outlines both the technical steps required for such a solution and the implications for LHC computing as well as for LHC public outreach and for participation by scientists from developing regions in LHC research.

  2. A day in the life of a volunteer incident commander: errors, pressures and mitigating strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bearman, Christopher; Bremner, Peter A

    2013-05-01

    To meet an identified gap in the literature this paper investigates the tasks that a volunteer incident commander needs to carry out during an incident, the errors that can be made and the way that errors are managed. In addition, pressure from goal seduction and situation aversion were also examined. Volunteer incident commanders participated in a two-part interview consisting of a critical decision method interview and discussions about a hierarchical task analysis constructed by the authors. A SHERPA analysis was conducted to further identify potential errors. The results identified the key tasks, errors with extreme risk, pressures from strong situations and mitigating strategies for errors and pressures. The errors and pressures provide a basic set of issues that need to be managed by both volunteer incident commanders and fire agencies. The mitigating strategies identified here suggest some ways that this can be done. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  3. Volunteer computing experience with ATLAS@Home

    CERN Document Server

    AUTHOR|(INSPIRE)INSPIRE-00068610; The ATLAS collaboration; Bianchi, Riccardo-Maria; Cameron, David; Filipčič, Andrej; Lançon, Eric; Wu, Wenjing

    2016-01-01

    ATLAS@Home is a volunteer computing project which allows the public to contribute to computing for the ATLAS experiment through their home or office computers. The project has grown continuously since its creation in mid-2014 and now counts almost 100,000 volunteers. The combined volunteers’ resources make up a sizeable fraction of overall resources for ATLAS simulation. This paper takes stock of the experience gained so far and describes the next steps in the evolution of the project. These improvements include running natively on Linux to ease the deployment on for example university clusters, using multiple cores inside one task to reduce the memory requirements and running different types of workload such as event generation. In addition to technical details the success of ATLAS@Home as an outreach tool is evaluated.

  4. Volunteer Computing Experience with ATLAS@Home

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adam-Bourdarios, C.; Bianchi, R.; Cameron, D.; Filipčič, A.; Isacchini, G.; Lançon, E.; Wu, W.; ATLAS Collaboration

    2017-10-01

    ATLAS@Home is a volunteer computing project which allows the public to contribute to computing for the ATLAS experiment through their home or office computers. The project has grown continuously since its creation in mid-2014 and now counts almost 100,000 volunteers. The combined volunteers’ resources make up a sizeable fraction of overall resources for ATLAS simulation. This paper takes stock of the experience gained so far and describes the next steps in the evolution of the project. These improvements include running natively on Linux to ease the deployment on for example university clusters, using multiple cores inside one task to reduce the memory requirements and running different types of workload such as event generation. In addition to technical details the success of ATLAS@Home as an outreach tool is evaluated.

  5. Why Volunteer? Understanding Motivations for Student Volunteering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holdsworth, Clare

    2010-01-01

    The profile of volunteering in English Higher Education (HE) has been enhanced in recent years through various initiatives that have not only funded activities, but have sought to expand the range of volunteering opportunities available to students and recognise the contribution that volunteering can make to students' employability. This expansion…

  6. College Students' Volunteering: Factors Related to Current Volunteering, Volunteer Settings, and Motives for Volunteering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Erin W.; Warta, Samantha; Erichsen, Kristen

    2014-01-01

    Research has not explored the types of settings that college students prefer to volunteer for and how these settings might be influenced by personal factors (e.g., demographic, academic major, volunteering motivation, religiosity). Students from a Midwestern university (N = 406, 71.9% female) completed a survey that inquired about their…

  7. [Volunteer satisfaction: Internal structure and relationship with permanence in organizations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vecina Jiménez, M L; Chacón Fuertes, Fernando; Sueiro Abad, Manuel J

    2009-02-01

    Volunteer satisfaction: Internal structure and relationship with permanence in organizations. The concept of satisfaction is considered theoretically relevant in practically all the studies that have investigated the factors that influence the permanence of volunteer participation in organizations. However, the practical results are not conclusive, perhaps due to the wide range of ways in which the concept is understood and measured. The object of this study is: to analyse the internal structure of satisfaction and to verify its relationship with volunteer duration in organizations. The results of the factor analysis yield a three-factor structure: Satisfaction with the management of the organization, Satisfaction with the tasks, Satisfaction of motivations. The three factors allow us to differentiate between individuals who remain in the organization for a period of 12 consecutive months, and those who leave earlier. The results of structural equation model analysis show that the relationship between satisfaction and the length of time that volunteers stay with the organization is affected by the intention to remain.

  8. Challenges in volunteering from cancer care volunteers perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamaludin, Kauthar Mohamad; Muhammad, Mazanah; Wahat, Nor Wahiza Abdul; Ibrahim, Rahimah

    2013-01-01

    The involvement of non-government organizations (NGOs) and support groups has helped strengthen public health services in addressing cancer care burden. Owing to the contribution of volunteers in cancer care, this article documents a qualitative study that examined challenges in attracting and retaining cancer care volunteers as part of the effort to develop a volunteer recruitment model. Data were collected through three focus group discussions involving 19 cancer support group members in Malaysia. Findings of the study revealed that mobility and locality appeared to be significant in Malaysian context, while the need for financial support and time flexibility are challenges faced by cancer support groups to attract and retain volunteers. The findings imply that cancer care initiatives can benefit from more local volunteers but at the same time these volunteers require flexibility and financial support to sustain their engagement.

  9. "Do-It-Ourselves Science": Case Studies of Volunteer-Initiated Citizen Science Involvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raddick, Jordan; Bracey, G.; Gay, P. L.

    2009-05-01

    Galaxy Zoo is a citizen science website in which members of the public volunteer to classify galaxies, thereby helping astronomers conduct publishable research into galaxy morphologies and environments. Although the site was originally created to answer a few specific questions, some members of the community - both scientists and volunteers - have spontaneously developed an interest in a wider variety of questions. Volunteers have pursued answers to these questions with guidance from professional astronomers; in completing these projects, volunteers have independently used some of the same data viewing and analysis tools that professional astronomers use, and have even developed their own online tools. They have created their own research questions and their own plans for data analysis, and are planning to write scientific papers with the results to be submitted to peer-reviewed scientific journals. Volunteers have identified a number of such projects. These volunteer-initiated projects have extended the scientific reach of Galaxy Zoo, while also giving volunteers first-hand experience with the process of science. We are interested in the process by which volunteers become interested in volunteer-initiated projects, and what tasks they participate in, both initially and as their involvement increases. What motivates a volunteer to become involved in a volunteer-initiated project? How does his or her motivation change with further involvement? We are conducting a program of qualitative education research into these questions, using as data sources the posts that volunteers have made to the Galaxy Zoo forum and transcripts of interviews with volunteers.

  10. Does fasting influence preload responsiveness in ASA 1 and 2 volunteers?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Rodrigues Alves

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Preoperative fasting was long regarded as an important cause of fluid depletion, leading to hemodynamic instability during surgery should replenishment is not promptly instituted. Lately, this traditional point of view has been progressively challenged, and a growing number of authors now propose a more restrictive approach to fluid management, although doubt remains as to the true hemodynamic influence of preoperative fasting. Methods: We designed an observational, analytic, prospective, longitudinal study in which 31 ASA 1 and ASA 2 volunteers underwent an echocardiographic examination both before and after a fasting period of at least 6 hours (h. Data from both static and dynamic preload indices were obtained on both periods, and subsequently compared. Results: Static preload indices exhibited a markedly variable behaviour with fasting. Dynamic indices, however, were far more consistent with one another, all pointing in the same direction, i.e., evidencing no statistically significant change with the fasting period. We also analysed the reliability of dynamic indices to respond to known, intentional preload changes. Aortic velocity time integral (VTI variation with the passive leg raise manoeuvre was the only variable that proved to be sensitive enough to consistently signal the presence of preload variation. Conclusion: Fasting does not appear to cause a change in preload of conscious volunteers nor does it significantly alter their position in the Frank–Starling curve, even with longer fasting times than usually recommended. Transaortic VTI variation with the passive leg raise manoeuvre is the most robust dynamic index (of those studied to evaluate preload responsiveness in spontaneously breathing patients. Resumo: Introdução: O jejum no pré-operatório é há muito tempo considerado como uma importante causa de depleção de líquidos, levando à instabilidade hemodinâmica durante a cirurgia, caso a reposição n

  11. Are Volunteer Satisfaction and Enjoyment Related to Cessation of Volunteering by Older Adults?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okun, Morris; Infurna, Frank J; Hutchinson, Ianeta

    2016-05-01

    Previous research indicates that volunteer satisfaction and enjoyment do not exert direct effects on the cessation of volunteering by older adults. This study examined whether satisfaction with and enjoyment of volunteering indirectly affect volunteer cessation via hours volunteered. Our sample consisted of participants in the Americans' Changing Lives study (N = 380) who were 65 years old and older and who volunteered at Wave 1. Volunteer satisfaction, volunteer enjoyment, hours volunteered, and several covariates were assessed at Wave 1, and volunteer cessation was assessed 3 years later at Wave 2. Volunteer satisfaction and volunteer enjoyment were positively associated with hours volunteered, and more hours volunteered was associated with decreased likelihood of volunteer cessation. The indirect effects of volunteer satisfaction and volunteer enjoyment on volunteer cessation via hours volunteered were -.023 (p = .059) and -.036 (p = .015), respectively. The dynamics of volunteer cessation are important because a volunteer shortage is forecasted and because the benefits of volunteering may attenuate when volunteering stops. Future research should test the proposed causal sequence using longitudinal data with at least 3 waves. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Volunteers in the Danish Home Guard 2016

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fridberg, Torben; Larsen, Mona

    This report maps the composition of a group of volunteer members of the Home Guard, as well as their opinions and expectations of the Home Guard and their own voluntary efforts. The report is a follow-up to two previous surveys completed in 2007 and 2011 and it therefore also highlights changes...... from 2007 to 2011 and 2016. Based on a questionnaire survey, the report paints a picture of who the volunteers are, what motivates them and how they perceive their surrounding environment’s view of them as members of the Home Guard. The report also focuses on the volunteers’ view of the Home Guard......’s tasks and activities both in Denmark and abroad. Finally, the report describes the volunteers’ perception of the Home Guards’ communication and campaigns. The report was commissioned and financed by the Danish Home Guard Command....

  13. Job task characteristics of Australian emergency services volunteers during search and rescue operations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silk, Aaron; Lenton, Gavin; Savage, Robbie; Aisbett, Brad

    2018-02-01

    Search and rescue operations are necessary in locating, assisting and recovering individuals lost or in distress. In Australia, land-based search and rescue roles require a range of physically demanding tasks undertaken in dynamic and challenging environments. The aim of the current research was to identify and characterise the physically demanding tasks inherent to search and rescue operation personnel within Australia. These aims were met through a subjective job task analysis approach. In total, 11 criterion tasks were identified by personnel. These tasks were the most physically demanding, frequently occurring and operationally important tasks to these specialist roles. Muscular strength was the dominant fitness component for 7 of the 11 tasks. In addition to the discrete criterion tasks, an operational scenario was established. With the tasks and operational scenario identified, objective task analysis procedures can be undertaken so that practitioners can implement evidence-based strategies, such as physical selection procedures and task-based physical training programs, commensurate with the physical demands of search and rescue job roles. Practitioner Summary: The identification of physically demanding tasks amongst specialist emergency service roles predicates health and safety strategies which can be incorporated into organisations. Knowledge of physical task parameters allows employers to mitigate injury risk through the implementation of strategies modelled on the precise physical demands of the role.

  14. The effect of volunteer management professionalization level on volunteer work satisfaction

    OpenAIRE

    Peychlová, Štěpánka

    2013-01-01

    This text concentrates on volunteering in volunteer organizations. It examines the connection between volunteer management professionalization level and volunteer work satisfaction in these organizations. In the theoretical part is defined the concepts of volunteering, professionalization and satisfaction are defined and their particular aspects associated with the focus of the thesis are highlighted. The empirical part describes the construction of the research method and presents the analys...

  15. South African volunteers' experiences of volunteering at the 2010 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The purpose of this research was to study the phenomenon of volunteering through South African volunteers' experiences of volunteering at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, specifically in the City of Tshwane (COT) in the Tshwane Metropolitan Area (TMA). A qualitative research design was employed, with specific reference to ...

  16. Environmental volunteer well-being: Managers' perception and actual well-being of volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kragh, Gitte; Stafford, Rick; Curtin, Susanna; Diaz, Anita

    2016-01-01

    Background : Environmental volunteering can increase well-being, but environmental volunteer well-being has rarely been compared to participant well-being associated with other types of volunteering or nature-based activities. This paper aims to use a multidimensional approach to well-being to explore the immediately experienced and later remembered well-being of environmental volunteers and to compare this to the increased well-being of participants in other types of nature-based activities and volunteering. Furthermore, it aims to compare volunteer managers' perceptions of their volunteers' well-being with the self-reported well-being of the volunteers. Methods : Onsite surveys were conducted of practical conservation and biodiversity monitoring volunteers, as well as their control groups (walkers and fieldwork students, respectively), to measure general well-being before their nature-based activity and activity-related well-being immediately after their activity. Online surveys of current, former and potential volunteers and volunteer managers measured remembered volunteering-related well-being and managers' perceptions of their volunteers' well-being. Data were analysed based on Seligman's multidimensional PERMA ('positive emotion', 'engagement', 'positive relationship', 'meaning', 'achievement') model of well-being. Factor analysis recovered three of the five PERMA elements, 'engagement', 'relationship' and 'meaning', as well as 'negative emotion' and 'health' as factors. Results : Environmental volunteering significantly improved positive elements and significantly decreased negative elements of participants' immediate well-being, and it did so more than walking or student fieldwork. Even remembering their volunteering up to six months later, volunteers rated their volunteering-related well-being higher than volunteers rated their well-being generally in life. However, volunteering was not found to have an effect on overall mean well-being generally in life

  17. Environmental volunteer well-being: Managers’ perception and actual well-being of volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kragh, Gitte; Stafford, Rick; Curtin, Susanna; Diaz, Anita

    2016-01-01

    Background: Environmental volunteering can increase well-being, but environmental volunteer well-being has rarely been compared to participant well-being associated with other types of volunteering or nature-based activities. This paper aims to use a multidimensional approach to well-being to explore the immediately experienced and later remembered well-being of environmental volunteers and to compare this to the increased well-being of participants in other types of nature-based activities and volunteering. Furthermore, it aims to compare volunteer managers’ perceptions of their volunteers’ well-being with the self-reported well-being of the volunteers. Methods: Onsite surveys were conducted of practical conservation and biodiversity monitoring volunteers, as well as their control groups (walkers and fieldwork students, respectively), to measure general well-being before their nature-based activity and activity-related well-being immediately after their activity. Online surveys of current, former and potential volunteers and volunteer managers measured remembered volunteering-related well-being and managers’ perceptions of their volunteers’ well-being. Data were analysed based on Seligman’s multidimensional PERMA (‘positive emotion’, ‘engagement’, ‘positive relationship’, ‘meaning’, ‘achievement’) model of well-being. Factor analysis recovered three of the five PERMA elements, ‘engagement’, ‘relationship’ and ‘meaning’, as well as ‘negative emotion’ and ‘health’ as factors. Results: Environmental volunteering significantly improved positive elements and significantly decreased negative elements of participants’ immediate well-being, and it did so more than walking or student fieldwork. Even remembering their volunteering up to six months later, volunteers rated their volunteering-related well-being higher than volunteers rated their well-being generally in life. However, volunteering was not found to have an

  18. Communications between volunteers and health researchers during recruitment and informed consent: qualitative content analysis of email interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Townsend, Anne; Amarsi, Zubin; Backman, Catherine L; Cox, Susan M; Li, Linda C

    2011-10-13

    While use of the Internet is increasingly widespread in research, little is known about the role of routine electronic mail (email) correspondence during recruitment and early volunteer-researcher interactions. To gain insight into the standpoint of volunteers we analyzed email communications in an early rheumatoid arthritis qualitative interview study. The objectives of our study were (1) to understand the perspectives and motivations of individuals who volunteered for an interview study about the experiences of early rheumatoid arthritis, and (2) to investigate the role of emails in volunteer-researcher interactions during recruitment. Between December 2007 and December 2008 we recruited 38 individuals with early rheumatoid arthritis through rheumatologist and family physician offices, arthritis Internet sites, and the Arthritis Research Centre of Canada for a (face-to-face) qualitative interview study. Interested individuals were invited to contact us via email or telephone. In this paper, we report on email communications from 12 of 29 volunteers who used email as their primary communication mode. Emails offered insights into the perspective of study volunteers. They provided evidence prospectively about recruitment and informed consent in the context of early rheumatoid arthritis. First, some individuals anticipated that participating would have mutual benefits, for themselves and the research, suggesting a reciprocal quality to volunteering. Second, volunteering for the study was strongly motivated by a need to access health services and was both a help-seeking and self-managing strategy. Third, volunteers expressed ambivalence around participation, such as how far participating would benefit them, versus more general benefits for research. Fourth, practical difficulties of negotiating symptom impact, medical appointments, and research tasks were revealed. We also reflect on how emails documented volunteer-researcher interactions, illustrating typically

  19. [Volunteer work and potential volunteer work among 55 to 70-year-olds in Germany].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Micheel, Frank

    2017-02-01

    The aim of this article is to describe the potential with respect to volunteer work among 55 to 70-year-old persons along with a two-dimensional typology (actual volunteer work and intention of volunteering or expanding actual volunteer work) and to identify the influencing factors. Based on the dataset from the transitions and old age potential (TOP) study, a total of 4421 men and women born between 1942 and 1958 were included. A multinomial regression model showed the predictors for group affiliation along with an engagement-related typology (internal, utilized and external volunteer potential as well as definite non-volunteers). More than a half of the persons in the study sample could be classified as internal or external volunteer potential. Volunteers and potential volunteers revealed more similarities regarding resources and social factors than potential volunteers and definite non-volunteers. Potential volunteers were more active in other informal fields of activity (e.g. nursing or child care) than definite non-volunteers. With respect to volunteer work, definite non-volunteers showed various social disadvantages (in particular with respect to education and health) compared to (potential) volunteers. Other informal activities did not seem to be in major conflict with volunteer activities, e.g. nursing or child care, as long as they were carried out with moderate or low intensity.

  20. Volunteering as a predictor of all-cause mortality: what aspects of volunteering really matter?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayalon, Liat

    2008-10-01

    This study evaluates the predictive effects of different aspects of volunteering (e.g. volunteering status, number of hours, number of years, and type of volunteering activity) on all-cause mortality. A seven-year follow-up dataset of a nationally representative sample of Israelis, 60 years and older was used. As expected, volunteering was associated with a reduced mortality risk even after adjusting for age, gender, education, baseline mental health and physical health, activity level, and social engagement. Those who volunteered for 10 to 14 years had a reduced mortality risk relative to non-volunteers. In addition, those who volunteered privately, not as part of an official organization, also had a reduced mortality risk compared to non-volunteers. The number of hours of volunteering was not a significant predictor of all-cause mortality in the fully adjusted model. In additional sensitivity analyses limited to those who volunteered, none of the various aspects of volunteering was associated with a reduced mortality risk. Results suggest that not all aspects of volunteering have the same predictive value and that the protective effects of length of volunteering time and type of volunteering are particularly important. However, whether or not volunteering is the most consistent predictor of mortality and whether once a person volunteers the various aspects of volunteering are no longer associated with mortality risk.

  1. Volunteers in Sport Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    VESNA CILERDZIC

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The research is done in order to describe student’s attitudes on volunteering in sport. The sample consists of 231 students from Serbia, average age 21,06±3,12years. They were from eight colleges and faculties. For nominal and ordinal variables, frequencies were determined. Many of examined students have volunteering experiences. The results confirm that students believe that we live in a society which his generally thought only to its own benefit; they think that volunteering can not solve the problems in society; that people do not have enough experience with volunteering and people do not have time to volunteering; volunteering is for young people; in their family and among friends, there are no volunteers; everyone could be volunteer only if that wishes; do not believe that volunteering is a waste of time and it helps in future career. The prevalent number of students, regardless of the Faculty which they belong, rarely volunteered in areas outside of sport. Results also shows that students from sport faculties have less experience in volunteering in sport than students from other faculties, but this difference is not dramatic.

  2. Value-Expressive Volunteer Motivation and Volunteering by Older Adults: Relationships With Religiosity and Spirituality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okun, Morris A; O'Rourke, Holly P; Keller, Brian; Johnson, Kathryn A; Enders, Craig

    2015-11-01

    This study investigates the interplay among religiosity, spirituality, value-expressive volunteer motivation, and volunteering. We examined religiosity and spirituality as predictors of value-expressive volunteer motivation and volunteering and whether religiosity moderated the relations between (a) spirituality and value-expressive volunteer motivation and (b) value-expressive volunteer motivation and volunteering. After applying multiple imputation procedures to data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study among participants 64-67 years old who survived beyond 2004 (N = 8,148), we carried out regression analyses to predict value-expressive volunteer motivation and volunteering from religiosity and spirituality controlling for demographic variables, physical, emotional, and cognitive health, health risk behaviors, and personality traits. Both religiosity and spirituality were significant (p motivation. Value-expressive volunteer motivation and religiosity were significant (p motivation and volunteering (p motivation (p > .45). Religiosity may provide the way, and value-expressive volunteer motivation the will, to volunteer. The implications of our findings for the forecasted shortage of older volunteers are discussed. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Post-Event Volunteering Legacy: Did the London 2012 Games Induce a Sustainable Volunteer Engagement?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niki Koutrou

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The hosting of the London 2012 Olympic Games was seen as an opportunity to harness the enthusiasm of the 70,000 volunteers involved and to provide a post-event volunteer legacy. A total of 77 individuals who had acted as volunteers in London 2012 were contacted approximately four years after the Games and agreed to complete a web-based open-ended survey. The participants were asked to indicate their level of current volunteering engagement and whether volunteering at the Games had an impact on their current volunteering levels. The study found that the London Olympics were the first volunteer experience for most of the volunteers who completed the survey, with the main motivation to volunteer being anything related to the Olympic Games. Just over half of the respondents are currently volunteering. Lack of time is shown to be the main barrier towards further volunteering commitment. Only half of respondents had been contacted by a volunteering scheme after London 2012. The implications of the findings for a potential volunteering legacy are then explored.

  4. Tasks of the Shipboard Independent Duty Hospital Corpsman. Task Training Adequacy and Performance Frequency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-11-01

    Frequency List E-1 Appendix F - Submarine Quick Reference Task Frequency List . F-1 0 Appendix G - Mean Performance...j~~~~~~, -,,-p.r.. ... .0 -. %... h. • - III APPENDIX E I SURFACE SHIP QUICK REFERENCE TASK FREQUENCY LIST A Q N E Dl It T T E A E H HI K I L L L1 L...34. - - - ----------------------------------------- ---.--- ---------------------- - - E-4 APPENDIX F " SUBMARINE QUICK REFERENCE TASK FREQUENCY LIST (N 1l0) "% R 0 W 4. A Q N E D R T T

  5. Stand by me: a volunteer's reflection on working on an academic palliative care unit in Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böddeker, Andrea; Smeding, Ruthmarijke; Voltz, Raymond

    2010-09-01

    To relate personal experience and reflections on the tasks and role of a volunteer in an academic palliative care unit into the context of the English publications of 2009. We took a snapshot of the most recent publications as a way of placing the rather unique experiences of this German volunteer in an international context. Five recent studies were found discussing the importance of volunteers in an interdisciplinary context, but mainly focusing on the volunteer's role in the community, interacting with terminally ill patients and their caregivers. Furthermore, aspects of ethical issues, reasons for starting and continuing to volunteer for hospice and the role of male volunteers were evaluated in these studies. The studies feature on the one hand the positive recognition of volunteers, for example, two studies revealed a significant interest by the respondents of having volunteers if they were dying. Also, these articles focused on family carers, who voted for the service of hospice/palliative care volunteers; on the other hand, efforts have to be made to improve the recruitment of volunteers especially if it comes to male support. A further study, reporting on ethical issues, indicates that little is known about these issues when it comes to a volunteer's interaction with a patient in difficult situations, how these are to be managed. These studies give us valuable clues on how and where to make continuous improvements.

  6. The interplay of frequency of volunteering and prosocial motivation on purpose in life in emerging adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okun, Morris A; Kim, Ga Young

    2016-01-01

    One developmental task in emerging adulthood is finding meaning and purpose in life. Volunteering has been touted as one role that fosters purpose in life. We examined whether the association between frequency of volunteering and purpose in life varies with pleasure-based prosocial motivation and pressure-based prosocial motivation in a sample of 576 undergraduates, ages 18-22 years old. In a regression analysis predicting purpose in life, the frequency of volunteering by pleasure-based prosocial motivation by pressure-based prosocial motivation interaction effect was significant (p = .042). Simple slopes analyses revealed that frequency of volunteering was not significantly (p = .478) related to purpose in life among college students who were low in both pleasure-based and pressure-based prosocial motivation. The findings of the present study highlight the importance of prosocial motivation for understanding whether emerging adults' purpose in life will be enhanced by volunteering.

  7. THE STUDY OF SELF-CONCEPT BETWEEN VOLUNTEER AND NON-VOLUNTEER STUDENTS IN SPORT OF UNIVERSITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Andam

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Understanding personality characteristics of volunteers are important for their recruitment and retention in sport associations. This study compared self-concept as a personality characteristic between volunteer and non-volunteer students in sport associations. The method of this research was survey and descriptive. The statistical population consisted of volunteer and non-volunteer students in sport associations of Iran universities. Two hundred and fifty two students (120 volunteers and 132 non-volunteers from 10 universities were selected as subjects by using random clustered sampling method. Pyryt and Mandaglio Self Perceived Survey (PMSPS was used to collect the data. The content and face reliability of questionnaire was checked and confirmed. Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to test the reliability of the questionnaire (alfa=0.90. Independent t test and U Mann-Whitney test were used for comparison of the factors between volunteers and non-volunteers. Findings of this study indicated that there was a significant difference between volunteer and non-volunteer students in social and athletic self-concept. The mean of scientific and value factors were higher in volunteers than non-volunteers, however, they were not statistically significant. We concluded that the nature of sport (active and sport volunteering (social encourage students who have higher self-concept for volunteering. Moreover, the characteristics of sport associations can increase self-concept in sport volunteers.

  8. Unintended volunteers: the volunteering pathways of working class young people in community sport

    OpenAIRE

    Bradford, S; Hills, L; Johnston, C

    2016-01-01

    Sport has become a major setting for youth volunteering in the UK. Volunteering has become understood as a means of enhancing responsible citizenship and of adding various capitals to young people’s identities. Much research on young people’s volunteering in sport has typically (and sometimes by default) focused on middle class experiences, highlighting the combination of instrumental and altruistic motives for volunteering, the importance of family and school in decisions about volunteering ...

  9. Volunteering for charity: pride, respect, and the commitment of volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boezeman, Edwin J; Ellemers, Naomi

    2007-05-01

    This study builds upon and extends the social-identity-based model of cooperation with the organization (T. R. Tyler, 1999; T. R. Tyler & S. L. Blader, 2000) to examine commitment and cooperative intent among fundraising volunteers. In Study 1, structural equation modeling indicated that pride and respect related to the intent to remain a volunteer with an organization, and that this relation was mediated primarily by normative organizational commitment. In Study 2, structural equation modeling indicated that the perceived importance of volunteer work was related to pride, that perceived organizational support related to the experience of respect, and that pride and respect mediated the relation between perceived importance and support on the one hand and organizational commitment on the other. Overall, the results suggest that volunteer organizations may do well to implement pride and respect in their volunteer policy, for instance to address the reliability problem (J. L. Pearce, 1993). 2007 APA, all rights reserved

  10. PR-PR: cross-platform laboratory automation system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linshiz, Gregory; Stawski, Nina; Goyal, Garima; Bi, Changhao; Poust, Sean; Sharma, Monica; Mutalik, Vivek; Keasling, Jay D; Hillson, Nathan J

    2014-08-15

    To enable protocol standardization, sharing, and efficient implementation across laboratory automation platforms, we have further developed the PR-PR open-source high-level biology-friendly robot programming language as a cross-platform laboratory automation system. Beyond liquid-handling robotics, PR-PR now supports microfluidic and microscopy platforms, as well as protocol translation into human languages, such as English. While the same set of basic PR-PR commands and features are available for each supported platform, the underlying optimization and translation modules vary from platform to platform. Here, we describe these further developments to PR-PR, and demonstrate the experimental implementation and validation of PR-PR protocols for combinatorial modified Golden Gate DNA assembly across liquid-handling robotic, microfluidic, and manual platforms. To further test PR-PR cross-platform performance, we then implement and assess PR-PR protocols for Kunkel DNA mutagenesis and hierarchical Gibson DNA assembly for microfluidic and manual platforms.

  11. Volunteer Tourism in Japan: Its Potential in Transforming “Non-volunteers” to Volunteers

    OpenAIRE

    Yoda, Mami

    2010-01-01

    This paper explores the potential of volunteer tourism to transform “non-volunteers” to volunteers in Japan. Volunteer tourism is defined as travel to a location outside the immediate vicinity of daily life in order to engage in organized volunteer activities. In-depth interviews and a survey were conducted to the employees of Haagen-Dazs Japan, Inc., who participated to volunteer tours to the Kiritappu Wetland Trust in Hokkaido. The study closely examines the motivations of the participants...

  12. Motives for Volunteering: Categorization of Volunteers' Motivations Using Open-ended Questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Chacón

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Most studies of volunteers’ motivations use standardized questionnaires with one of the most commonly-used being the Volunteer Function Inventory. Open-ended questions about what drives individuals to be volunteers are seldom used. We hypothesize that questionnaires tend to overestimate the number of motivations and to underestimate their variety. Therefore, in this paper we analyze the answers of 1515 volunteers to an open-ended question and categorize these answers. Results show that volunteers give an average of 2 motivations, fewer than the questionnaires, and that the Value motivation is the most frequently mentioned and the most important for volunteers. In addition, this motivation coexists with other motivations, which are lacking in the standard questionnaires, such as Organizational Commitment, Personal Development, Religiosity, Social Change or Interest in the Activity.

  13. Reflections: Volunteering at Home.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Amanda

    2016-08-01

    Many young people look forward to volunteering abroad and overlook the ample volunteer opportunities at home. There are several advantages to volunteering at home: you help people in your own community; you can make a long-term commitment; and you have continuity of care for your patients. There are >1200 free clinics in the United States whose main goal is to provide care to the indigent population. These free clinics are always looking for volunteers with specialized medical training. This article reviews the medically related and unrelated volunteer opportunities available in the United States. Volunteering at home is a worthwhile experience, and I encourage the otolaryngology community to explore these opportunities. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2016.

  14. ALICE Connex : Mobile Volunteer Computing and Edutainment Platform

    CERN Document Server

    Chalumporn, Gantaphon

    2016-01-01

    Mobile devices are very powerful and trend to be developed. They have functions that are used in everyday life. One of their main tasks is to be an entertainment devices or gaming platform. A lot of technologies are now accepted and adopted to improve the potential of education. Edutainment is a combination of entertainment and education media together to make use of both benefits. In this work, we introduce a design of edutainment platform which is a part of mobile volunteer computing and edutainment platform called ‘ALICE Connex’ for ALICE at CERN. The edutainment platform focuses to deliver enjoyment and education, while promotes ALICE and Volunteer Computing platform to general public. The design in this work describes the functionality to build an effective edutainment with real-time multiplayer interaction on round-based gameplay, while integrates seamless edutainment with basic particle physic content though game mechanism and items design. For the assessment method we will observe the enjoyment o...

  15. Managing Volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geber, Beverly

    1991-01-01

    Discusses changing nature of volunteers in Peter Drucker's book "Managing the Nonprofit Corporation." Points out that most volunteers have full-time jobs, families, very little leisure; they are not willing to do such routine work as stuffing envelopes; they want carefully defined projects with beginning and end. Discusses real…

  16. Brain correlates of the intrinsic subjective cost of effort in sedentary volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernacer, J; Martinez-Valbuena, I; Martinez, M; Pujol, N; Luis, E; Ramirez-Castillo, D; Pastor, M A

    2016-01-01

    One key aspect of motivation is the ability of agents to overcome excessive weighting of intrinsic subjective costs. This contribution aims to analyze the subjective cost of effort and assess its neural correlates in sedentary volunteers. We recruited a sample of 57 subjects who underwent a decision-making task using a prospective, moderate, and sustained physical effort as devaluating factor. Effort discounting followed a hyperbolic function, and individual discounting constants correlated with an indicator of sedentary lifestyle (global physical activity questionnaire; R=-0.302, P=0.033). A subsample of 24 sedentary volunteers received a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan while performing a similar effort-discounting task. BOLD signal of a cluster located in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex correlated with the subjective value of the pair of options under consideration (Z>2.3, Preward correlated with the signal of a cluster in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (Z>2.3, Pintrinsic subjective cost of effort and its neural correlates in sedentary individuals. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Motivations and Benefits of Student Volunteering: Comparing Regular, Occasional, and Non-Volunteers in Five Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karen Smith

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Programmes targeting student volunteering and service learning are part of encouraging civic behaviour amongst young people. This article reports on a large scale international survey comparing volunteering amongst tertiary students at universities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The data revealed high rates of student volunteering and the popularity of occasional or episodic volunteering. There were strong commonalities in student volunteering behaviour, motivations and benefits across the five Western predominately English-speaking countries. Altruism and self-orientated career motivations and benefits were most important to students; however volunteering and non-volunteering students differed in the relative value they attached to volunteering for CV-enhancement and social factors.

  18. Volunteering, income and health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Detollenaere, Jens; Willems, Sara; Baert, Stijn

    2017-01-01

    Separate literatures have related volunteering to health gains and income gains. We study the association between volunteering, income and health within one statistical framework. A state-of-the-art mediation analysis is conducted on data concerning the health, volunteering and sociodemographic characteristics of 42926 individuals within 29 European countries. We find that volunteering is positively associated to self-rated health. This association is partially mediated by household income.

  19. Exploring the Relationship between Task Conflict,Relationship Conflict, Organizational Commitment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heather Mills

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available In the Australia, Canada, parts of Europe, and the United Kingdom, the provision of sport has had a long tradition of reliance on volunteers. However, there has been increasing pressure for voluntary sport organizations (VSOs to adopt more “professional” practices and operational procedures. Consequently, there is a tendency for volunteer organizations to adopt approaches to management developed in other industry contexts without giving proper thought to the differences in character of the public, private, and volunteer sector. It is in situations such as this that inappropriate practices are adopted and conflict emerges. Despite this,there has been limited research into conflict in volunteer sport organizations in the UK. The results of the study demonstrated that relationship conflict was related to both organizational commitment and satisfaction; however, task conflict was only related to job satisfaction. Perhaps the more important finding is the absence of a relationship between task conflict and organizational commitment. It is possible that individuals in VSOs saw their commitment to something greater than the club or association (i.e. the sport or some idealist notion of sport and were therefore likely to ‘put up’ with high levels of dissatisfaction associated with poor management

  20. Holding on to what you have got: keeping hospice palliative care volunteers volunteering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claxton-Oldfield, Stephen; Jones, Richard

    2013-08-01

    In all, 119 hospice palliative care volunteers from 3 community-based hospice programs completed the Volunteer Retention Questionnaire (VRQ), a 33-item survey designed for this study. The VRQ asks volunteers to rate the importance of each item to their decision to continue volunteering. The items that received the highest mean importance ratings included enjoying the work they do, feeling adequately prepared/trained to perform their role, and learning from their patients' experiences/listening to their patients' life stories. Being recognized (eg, pins for years of service or being profiled in the hospice newsletter), receiving phone calls/cards from their volunteer coordinator on special occasions, and being reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses were among the items that received the lowest mean importance ratings. Suggestions for improving volunteer retention are provided.

  1. Retired RNs: perceptions of volunteering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cocca-Bates, Katherine C; Neal-Boylan, Leslie

    2011-01-01

    A qualitative study was done to explore the perceptions of volunteering among retired registered nurses (RNs) in Kansas. Participants were volunteers in formal nursing roles or were using their nursing knowledge and experience in non-nursing roles, such as church work. Regardless of the type of volunteer position, retired RNs reported that they use what they have learned as nurses when they volunteer. Volunteering benefits include enhanced self-worth, intellectual stimulation, reduced social isolation, and opportunities to help others. Increased paperwork, new technology, difficulty finding nursing-specific volunteer opportunities, resistance from health care organizations, and a lack of respect for what these nurses know are challenges and barriers to volunteering. Retired RNs have accumulated years of clinical nursing experience and can be helpful to employed nurses. Health care organizations should launch targeted efforts to recruit and utilize retired RN volunteers. Health care professionals who care for older adults should recommend volunteering as a healthful endeavor. Copyright © 2011 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. The Longitudinal Effects of Adolescent Volunteering on Secondary School Completion and Adult Volunteering

    OpenAIRE

    Moorfoot, Nicholas; Leung, Rachel K.; Toumbourou, John W.; Catalano, Richard F.

    2015-01-01

    This study explores the longitudinal effect of adolescent volunteering behaviour on young adult volunteering and the completion of secondary school. Utilising data from the Australian sample of the International Youth Development Study, frequency of volunteering in Grade 9 (mean age = 15 years) and in young adulthood (mean age = 21 years), and completion of secondary school were measured. Mixed effect logistic regression analyses revealed that adolescent volunteering was associated with an in...

  3. Haloperidol increases false recognition memory of thematically related pictures in healthy volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guarnieri, Regina V; Buratto, Luciano G; Gomes, Carlos F A; Ribeiro, Rafaela L; de Souza, Altay A Lino; Stein, Lilian M; Galduróz, José C; Bueno, Orlando F A

    2017-01-01

    Dopamine can modulate long-term episodic memory. Its potential role on the generation of false memories, however, is less well known. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment, 24 young healthy volunteers ingested a 4-mg oral dose of haloperidol, a dopamine D 2 -receptor antagonist, or placebo, before taking part in a recognition memory task. Haloperidol was active during both study and test phases of the experiment. Participants in the haloperidol group produced more false recognition responses than those in the placebo group, despite similar levels of correct recognition. These findings show that dopamine blockade in healthy volunteers can specifically increase false recognition memory. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Spiritual care in the training of hospice volunteers in Germany.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gratz, Margit; Paal, Piret; Emmelmann, Moritz; Roser, Traugott

    2016-10-01

    Hospice volunteers often encounter questions related to spirituality. It is unknown whether spiritual care receives a corresponding level of attention in their training. Our survey investigated the current practice of spiritual care training in Germany. An online survey sent to 1,332 hospice homecare services for adults in Germany was conducted during the summer of 2012. We employed the SPSS 21 software package for statistical evaluation. All training programs included self-reflection on personal spirituality as obligatory. The definitions of spirituality used in programs differ considerably. The task of defining training objectives is randomly delegated to a supervisor, a trainer, or to the governing organization. More than half the institutions work in conjunction with an external trainer. These external trainers frequently have professional backgrounds in pastoral care/theology and/or in hospice/palliative care. While spiritual care receives great attention, the specific tasks it entails are rarely discussed. The response rate for our study was 25.0% (n = 332). A need exists to develop training concepts that outline distinct contents, methods, and objectives. A prospective curriculum would have to provide assistance in the development of training programs. Moreover, it would need to be adaptable to the various concepts of spiritual care employed by the respective institutions and their hospice volunteers.

  5. The White Lion Volunteer Program in South Africa: A Study of Volunteer Needs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boretti Tanya

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Volunteer tourists are motivated to participate in volunteer programs due to their need to ‘do something different’, ‘see another culture’ and ‘to escape’, amongst others. The research aims to determine the internal and external factors that motivate individuals to participate in the Tsau! Global White Lion Protection Trust’s (GWLPT volunteer program. Maslow’s theory of human motivation and Frankl’s study of human behaviour are used to explore intrinsic factors whereas extrinsic or macro environmental factors of influence are also investigated. A mixed method approach with focus group discussions and an online survey is followed. A background to the volunteer program is presented with the activities available to volunteers. The key findings indicate that most volunteers are young females that volunteer for a minimum of two weeks; are internally motivated to ‘give back and be useful’ and ‘to work with the white lions’ for the purpose of self-actualisation. External motivation is mainly social in terms of concern about the well-being of the lions, and South Africa being an economically affordable destination. The GWLPT strives to fulfil the needs of volunteers, especially intrinsic needs associated with self-actualisation and self-transcendence.

  6. Intergenerational Transmission of Volunteering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bekkers, René

    2007-01-01

    In this article, I investigate the strength of intergenerational transmission of volunteering for non-profit associations in The Netherlands. Data from the Family Survey of the Dutch Population 2000 reveal that there are significant relations between current volunteering and parental volunteering in

  7. Volunteering and Organizational Diversity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henriksen, Lars Skov; Rosdahl, David

    2008-01-01

    volunteering within the three major welfare fields: social service, health, and education. It could be argued that this is a more heterogeneous type of volunteering, because some volunteers work in ‘service organizations' aiming at particular client groups (battered women, homeless, elderly people etc.) while...

  8. Estrutura de prática e idade no processo adaptativo da aprendizagem de uma tarefa de "timing" coincidente Practice schedule and age on the adaptive process of the coincident timing task learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucia Afonso Gonçalves

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo desse estudo foi investigar os efeitos de diferentes estruturas de prática no processo adaptativo da aprendizagem de uma tarefa de "timing" coincidente em função da idade. Crianças (n = 40, adultos (n = 47 e idosos (n = 57 foram distribuídos em grupos de prática constante, aleatória, constante-aleatória e aleatória-constante. A tarefa consistiu consistia em tocar certos alvos de forma sequencial em integração a um estímulo visual. O delineamento envolveu duas fases de aprendizagem: estabilização e adaptação. Os dados foram analisados em relação aos erros absoluto, variável, constante e de execução. Os resultados mostraram que o processo adaptativo na aprendizagem de crianças, adultos e idosos de uma tarefa de "timing" coincidente foi mais beneficiado pela prática constante-aleatória.The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of different practice schedules on the adaptive process of a coincident timing task learning in function of age. Children (n = 40, adults (n = 47 and elderly (n = 57 were distributed into constant, random, constant-random and random-constant practice groups. The task consisted of touching response keys sequentially in conjunction with a visual stimulus. The experimental design was consisted of two learning phases: stabilization and adaptation. The data were analyzed in terms of absolute, variable, constant and execution errors. The results showed that the constant-random practice was the most efficient for the adaptive process in learning a coincident timing task regardless of the age group.

  9. Citizen Science for Data Rescue: Recovering Historical Climate Records with a Network of 20,000 Volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brohan, P.

    2014-12-01

    Recent years have seen many extreme and damaging weather events - for example the low Arctic sea-ice of 2012, and the severe winter of 2013/4 in North America and the UK. To understand these events, and to judge whether they represent environmental change, we need to compare today's weather to the long-term historical record. Our long-term historical record of the weather is based on the billions of observations, from scientists, explorers, mariners, and others, that have been made, across the world, over the last few centuries. Many of these records are still dark: They exist only as hand-written paper documents in various archives and libraries, and are inaccessible to science. As a result our historical weather reconstructions have major gaps, where we do not know how the climate has varied. oldWeather.org is a citizen science project rescuing these observations. By providing an web interface to scans of paper records, we enable volunteers around the world to contribute to the task of rescuing the observations. So far a community of around 20,000 volunteers have read well over 1 million pages of paper records and contributed millions of recovered weather observations to international climate datasets. As well as learning about past weather, we are also learning what it takes to build a successful volunteer science project in this area: building a community, breaking down the task into manageable steps, feeding back success to the volunteers, and enabling comitted volunteers to take on more responsibilities were all vital to our success. We are currently using those lessons to build a new version of oldWeather that can rescue even more data.

  10. Volunteering of seniors in community

    OpenAIRE

    Stropková, Andrea

    2017-01-01

    The diploma thesis deals with the theme of volunteering of seniors in the community. The work focuses on the specifics of volunteering of seniors, emphasizing the benefits of volunteering for participating seniors and how to identify them with other groups of people. Using a qualitative research work, it examines on a sample of eight respondents how these senior volunteers perceive the benefits of volunteering, how they relate to the geographical location in which they work, and what communit...

  11. Volunteering in the aftermath of disasters: Psychopathology and volunteer management

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Þormar, S.B.

    2015-01-01

    The numbers of disasters in the world have multiplied in recent years. The same goes for community volunteers that respond to these events. In developing countries community volunteers are often the largest resource available in the first 48 hours until a more skilled team of rescuers arrives.

  12. The Longitudinal Effects of Adolescent Volunteering on Secondary School Completion and Adult Volunteering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moorfoot, Nicholas; Leung, Rachel K.; Toumbourou, John W.; Catalano, Richard F.

    2015-01-01

    This study explores the longitudinal effect of adolescent volunteering behaviour on young adult volunteering and the completion of secondary school. Utilising data from the Australian sample of the International Youth Development Study, frequency of volunteering in Grade 9 (mean age = 15 years) and in young adulthood (mean age = 21 years), and…

  13. Do monetary rewards undermine intrinsic motivations of volunteers? Some empirical evidence for Italian volunteers

    OpenAIRE

    Fiorillo, Damiano

    2007-01-01

    Empirical studies show that intrinsic motivations increase the volunteer labour supply. This paper studies how monetary rewards to volunteers affect their intrinsic motivations. Using a sample of Italian volunteers, allowing to distinguish the type of volunteer, the paper shows that monetary rewards (extrinsic motivations) influence positively the choice to donate voluntary hours, while a low intrinsic motivation seems to decrease hours per week. Moreover, monetary rewards increase the hours ...

  14. Volunteering in later life: research frontiers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrow-Howell, Nancy

    2010-07-01

    This review summarizes the current knowledge about volunteering in later life and suggests 5 research questions at the forefront of knowledge development. Rates of volunteering do not decline significantly until the middle of the 7th decade, and older volunteers commit more hours than younger volunteers. Older adults with more human and social capital tend to volunteer, and there is good evidence of a reciprocal relationship between volunteering and well-being. Program and policy developments in the field are outstripping production of knowledge to support evidence-based practices. Research on the dynamics of volunteering over the life course as well as the patterns of activities that co-occur with volunteering is needed to guide program development. Research methods and findings from transdisciplinary work on the mechanisms through which psychosocial conditions affect health must be extended to the study of the effects of volunteering on older adults. Finally, we need to engage in more applied social science aimed at improving volunteer management, especially recruitment and retention of older volunteers.

  15. Plant Reliability - an Integrated System for Management (PR-ISM)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aukeman, M.C.; Leininger, E.G.; Carr, P.

    1984-01-01

    The Toledo Edison Company, located in Toledo, Ohio, United States of America, recently implemented a comprehensive maintenance management information system for the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station. The system is called PR-ISM, meaning Plant Reliability - An Integrated System for Management. PR-ISM provides the tools needed by station management to effectively plan and control maintenance and other plant activities. The PR-ISM system as it exists today consists of four integrated computer applications: equipment data base maintenance, maintenance work order control, administrative activity tracking, and technical specification compliance. PR-ISM is designed as an integrated on-line system and incorporates strong human factors features. PR-ISM provides each responsible person information to do his job on a daily basis and to look ahead towards future events. It goes beyond 'after the fact' reporting. In this respect, PR-ISM is an 'interactive' control system which: captures work requirements and commitments as they are identified, provides accurate and up-to-date status immediately to those who need it, simplifies paperwork and reduces the associated time delays, provides the information base for work management and reliability analysis, and improves productivity by replacing clerical tasks and consolidating maintenance activities. The functional and technical features of PR-ISM, the experience of Toledo Edison during the first year of operation, and the factors which led to the success of the development project are highlighted. (author)

  16. Environmental volunteer well-being: Managers’ perception and actual well-being of volunteers [version 1; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gitte Kragh

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Environmental volunteering can increase well-being, but environmental volunteer well-being has rarely been compared to participant well-being associated with other types of volunteering or nature-based activities. This paper aims to use a multidimensional approach to well-being to explore the immediately experienced and later remembered well-being of environmental volunteers and to compare this to the increased well-being of participants in other types of nature-based activities and volunteering. Furthermore, it aims to compare volunteer managers’ perceptions of their volunteers’ well-being with the self-reported well-being of the volunteers. Methods: Onsite surveys were conducted of practical conservation and biodiversity monitoring volunteers, as well as their control groups (walkers and fieldwork students, respectively, to measure general well-being before their nature-based activity and activity-related well-being immediately after their activity. Online surveys of current, former and potential volunteers and volunteer managers measured remembered volunteering-related well-being and managers’ perceptions of their volunteers’ well-being. Data were analysed based on Seligman’s multidimensional PERMA (‘positive emotion’, ‘engagement’, ‘positive relationship’, ‘meaning’, ‘achievement’ model of well-being. Factor analysis recovered three of the five PERMA elements, ‘engagement’, ‘relationship’ and ‘meaning’, as well as ‘negative emotion’ and ‘health’ as factors. Results: Environmental volunteering significantly improved positive elements and significantly decreased negative elements of participants’ immediate well-being, and it did so more than walking or student fieldwork. Even remembering their volunteering up to six months later, volunteers rated their volunteering-related well-being higher than volunteers rated their well-being generally in life. However, volunteering was not

  17. The functional neuroanatomy of multitasking: combining dual tasking with a short term memory task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deprez, Sabine; Vandenbulcke, Mathieu; Peeters, Ron; Emsell, Louise; Amant, Frederic; Sunaert, Stefan

    2013-09-01

    Insight into the neural architecture of multitasking is crucial when investigating the pathophysiology of multitasking deficits in clinical populations. Presently, little is known about how the brain combines dual-tasking with a concurrent short-term memory task, despite the relevance of this mental operation in daily life and the frequency of complaints related to this process, in disease. In this study we aimed to examine how the brain responds when a memory task is added to dual-tasking. Thirty-three right-handed healthy volunteers (20 females, mean age 39.9 ± 5.8) were examined with functional brain imaging (fMRI). The paradigm consisted of two cross-modal single tasks (a visual and auditory temporal same-different task with short delay), a dual-task combining both single tasks simultaneously and a multi-task condition, combining the dual-task with an additional short-term memory task (temporal same-different visual task with long delay). Dual-tasking compared to both individual visual and auditory single tasks activated a predominantly right-sided fronto-parietal network and the cerebellum. When adding the additional short-term memory task, a larger and more bilateral frontoparietal network was recruited. We found enhanced activity during multitasking in components of the network that were already involved in dual-tasking, suggesting increased working memory demands, as well as recruitment of multitask-specific components including areas that are likely to be involved in online holding of visual stimuli in short-term memory such as occipito-temporal cortex. These results confirm concurrent neural processing of a visual short-term memory task during dual-tasking and provide evidence for an effective fMRI multitasking paradigm. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. S1PR3 Signaling Drives Bacterial Killing and Is Required for Survival in Bacterial Sepsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, JinChao; Chen, QiXing; Wu, XiaoLiang; Zhao, DongYan; Reuveni, Hadas; Licht, Tamar; Xu, MengLong; Hu, Hu; Hoeft, Andreas; Ben-Sasson, Shmuel A; Shu, Qiang; Fang, XiangMing

    2017-12-15

    Efficient elimination of pathogenic bacteria is a critical determinant in the outcome of sepsis. Sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 3 (S1PR3) mediates multiple aspects of the inflammatory response during sepsis, but whether S1PR3 signaling is necessary for eliminating the invading pathogens remains unknown. To investigate the role of S1PR3 in antibacterial immunity during sepsis. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments were performed using cell and murine models. S1PR3 levels were determined in patients with sepsis and healthy volunteers. S1PR3 protein levels were up-regulated in macrophages upon bacterial stimulation. S1pr3 -/- mice showed increased mortality and increased bacterial burden in multiple models of sepsis. The transfer of wild-type bone marrow-derived macrophages rescued S1pr3 -/- mice from lethal sepsis. S1PR3-overexpressing macrophages further ameliorated the mortality rate of sepsis. Loss of S1PR3 led to markedly decreased bacterial killing in macrophages. Enhancing endogenous S1PR3 activity using a peptide agonist potentiated the macrophage bactericidal function and improved survival rates in multiple models of sepsis. Mechanically, the reactive oxygen species levels were decreased and phagosome maturation was delayed in S1pr3 -/- macrophages due to impaired recruitment of vacuolar protein-sorting 34 to the phagosomes. In addition, S1RP3 expression levels were elevated in monocytes from patients with sepsis. Higher levels of monocytic S1PR3 were associated with efficient intracellular bactericidal activity, better immune status, and preferable outcomes. S1PR3 signaling drives bacterial killing and is essential for survival in bacterial sepsis. Interventions targeting S1PR3 signaling could have translational implications for manipulating the innate immune response to combat pathogens.

  19. Effects of chewing gum on cognitive function, mood and physiology in stressed and non-stressed volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Andrew

    2010-02-01

    Recent research suggests that chewing gum may improve aspects of cognitive function and mood. There is also evidence suggesting that chewing gum reduces stress. It is important, therefore, to examine these two areas and to determine whether contextual factors (chewing habit, type of gum, and personality) modify such effects. The aims of the present study were: (i) to determine whether chewing gum improved mood and mental performance; (ii) to determine whether chewing gum had benefits in stressed individuals; and (iii) to determine whether chewing habit, type of gum and level of anxiety modified the effects of gum. A cross-over study involving 133 volunteers was carried out. Each volunteer carried out a test session when they were chewing gum and without gum, with order of gum conditions counterbalanced across subjects. Baseline sessions were conducted prior to each test session. Approximately half of the volunteers were tested in 75 dBA noise (the stress condition) and the rest in quiet. Volunteers were stratified on chewing habit and anxiety level. Approximately, half of the volunteers were given mint gum and half fruit gum. The volunteers rated their mood at the start and end of each session and had their heart rate monitored over the session. Saliva samples were taken to allow cortisol levels (good indicator of alertness and stress) to be assayed. During the session, volunteers carried out tasks measuring a range of cognitive functions (aspects of memory, selective and sustained attention, psychomotor speed and accuracy). Chewing gum was associated with greater alertness and a more positive mood. Reaction times were quicker in the gum condition, and this effect became bigger as the task became more difficult. Chewing gum also improved selective and sustained attention. Heart rate and cortisol levels were higher when chewing which confirms the alerting effect of chewing gum. Overall, the results suggest that chewing gum produces a number of benefits that are

  20. STEM professional volunteers in K-12 competition programs: Educator practices and impact on pedagogy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zintgraff, Alfred Clifton

    This mixed methods dissertation study explored how secondary school educators in specific K-12 competition programs recruited and deployed STEM professional volunteers. The study explored which practices were viewed as most important, and how practices related to constructivist pedagogy, all from the viewpoint of educators. The non-positivist approach sought new knowledge without pursuing generalized results. Review of the literature uncovered extensive anecdotal information about current practices, and suggested that large investments are made in engaging volunteers. One National Science Foundation-sponsored study was identified, and its recommendations for a sustained research agenda were advanced. Three study phases were performed, one to explore practices and operationalize definitions, a second to rate practice's importance and their relation to pedagogy, and a third to seek explanations. Educators preferred recruiting local, meaning recruiting parents and former students, versus from industry or other employers. Most educators preferred volunteers with mentoring skills, and placing them in direct contact with students, versus deploying volunteers to help with behind-the-scenes tasks supporting the educator. Relationships were identified between the highest-rated practices and constructivism in programs. In STEM professional volunteers, educators see affordances, in the same way a classroom tool opens affordances. A model is proposed which shows educators considering practicality, pedagogy, knowledge and skills, and rapport when accessing the affordances opened by STEM professional volunteers. Benefits are maximized when programs align with strong industry clusters in the community.

  1. Hispanic American Volunteering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopez, Josue; Safrit, R. Dale

    2001-01-01

    Hispanic Americans in Cleveland, Ohio were interviewed about volunteerism. Six themes were identified: (1) influence of family and friends; (2) importance of volunteering to benefit youth; (3) importance of church and religious beliefs; (4) volunteering as a requirement; (5) connections between volunteerism and the community; and (6) personal…

  2. Task Force. Netværk for energirenovering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, Kirsten Engelund; Knudsen, Henrik Nellemose; Mortensen, Lone Hedegaard

    Formålet med Task Forcen er at indsamle og præsentere eksisterende kerneviden om energirenovering af eksisterende bygninger. Eksisterende bygninger omfatter alle slags bygninger inkl. sommerhuse. Hovedområderne er: A.Besparelsespotentialer i bygningsmassen B.Energirenoveringseksempler - erfaring og...

  3. 45 CFR 1217.6 - Roles of volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... communication of VISTA policies to VISTA volunteers. (c) Encourage and develop VISTA volunteer leadership and... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Roles of volunteers. 1217.6 Section 1217.6 Public... VISTA VOLUNTEER LEADER § 1217.6 Roles of volunteers. VISTA volunteer leaders may have the following...

  4. The volunteer program in a Children's Hospice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duggal, Shalu; Farah, Peggy; Straatman, Lynn Patricia; Freeman, Leanne; Dickson, Susan

    2008-09-01

    Canuck Place Children's Hospice (CPCH) is regarded as one of the leading pediatric palliative care systems in the world. Since 1995, it has been providing hospice care free of charge to children and their families living with life-threatening conditions. The pediatric palliative hospice is a relatively new practice in health care, in comparison to the longstanding adult model. As a result, development and implementation of volunteer programs in pediatric hospices is not currently represented in literature. With over 300 volunteers at present, CPCH has built a successful program that can serve as a model in pediatric volunteer services. To present the unique volunteer roles and experience at CPCH, and share ways volunteers work to support the efforts of the clinical team. Strategies to address current challenges in the volunteer program are also addressed. Descriptive design. A current CPCH volunteer discusses the volunteer program. Interviews were conducted with the founding volunteer director of CPCH and current volunteers. The volunteer program at CPCH fully embraces the life of each child and family. Volunteer selection is the groundwork for ensuring a cohesive work force, while training equips volunteers with the knowledge to carry out their role with confidence. Areas of improvement that have been recognized include offering effective feedback to volunteers and delivering adequate level of training for non-direct care roles. The talents of volunteers at CPCH are diverse, and CPCH aims to recognize and thank volunteers for their continuous contributions.

  5. The stresses of hospice volunteer work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Mary V

    2011-05-01

    The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the interpretation of stress, the appraisal of the stressors, as well as the top stressors experienced by hospice volunteers. Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with 15 hospice volunteers. The interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and analyzed, using qualitative research methods. Although the results indicated that the hospice volunteers did not perceive their work as stressful, 2 main themes regarding challenging experiences did emerge. Hospice-related issues and personal issues were of concern to the volunteers. In addition, the timing of the stressors revealed that the most stress was felt at the beginning of their volunteer services, which has implications for hospice volunteer coordinators as they support their volunteers in the field.

  6. Amplifying Student Learning through Volunteering

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFadden, Amanda; Smeaton, Kathleen

    2017-01-01

    Student volunteer experiences are ubiquitous within higher education contexts. Despite this, there is further scope for understanding the qualitatively different ways students experience volunteering. To achieve this an explicit focus on understanding volunteer experiences from the students' perspective and the relationship these experiences have…

  7. Volunteering among older people in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jibum; Kang, Jeong-Han; Lee, Min-Ah; Lee, Yongmo

    2007-01-01

    Faced with aging societies, there is an immense need to better understand the nature of volunteering outside advanced Western industrial countries. As a case of a rapidly aging society, we identify robust factors associated with elderly volunteering in Korea in terms of a resource framework. Data were derived from the Social Statistics Survey conducted by the Korea National Statistical Office in 1999 (N = 7,135) and 2003 (N = 8,371). We first determined overall and age-related volunteer rates for Korea compared to the United States. Using logistic regression, we then examined the effects of human, cultural, and social capital variables on volunteering. Approximately 6% of Koreans aged 65 years and older participate in volunteer programs. All human capital variables are positively related with volunteering. For cultural capital, those who identify their religion as Buddhism or Catholicism are more likely to volunteer than those who have no religion. But surprisingly, Protestantism does not consistently promote volunteering across both years. For social capital, older adults who live alone or with a spouse are more likely to volunteer than those living with both a spouse and children. In contrast to human capital, cultural and social capital on elderly volunteering appears to be contoured by social contexts.

  8. Call for volunteers

    CERN Document Server

    2008-01-01

    CERN is calling for volunteers from all members of the Laboratory for organizing the two exceptional Open days.CERN is calling for volunteers from all members of the Laboratory’s personnel to help with the organisation of these two exceptional Open Days, for the visits of CERN personnel and their families on the Saturday and above all for the major public Open Day on the Sunday. As for the 50th anniversary in 2004, the success of the Open Days will depend on a large number of volunteers. All those working for CERN as well as retired members of the personnel can contribute to making this event a success. Many guides will be needed at the LHC points, for the activities at the surface and to man the reception and information points. The aim of these major Open Days is to give the local populations the opportunity to discover the fruits of almost 20 years of work carried out at CERN. We are hoping for some 2000 volunteers for the two Open Days, on the Saturday from 9 a.m. to ...

  9. Enhancing Leadership Skills in Volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lockett, Landry L.; Boyd, Barry

    2012-01-01

    This article describes how professionals leading volunteers can purposefully work toward developing the "leadership identity" of individual volunteers. These concepts and the application of them are presented in the context of Cooperative Extension volunteer groups. Specific methods of developing the leadership identity and capacity of individual…

  10. Exploring Volunteering of Committed Young Catholics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webber, Ruth

    2012-01-01

    This article reports on a study of volunteer levels of Catholics from various World regions who attended an international youth Catholic festival. Volunteering levels, types of volunteering, reason for volunteering, Catholic group membership and pro-social values are analysed. An online survey was administered five months after the Festival to…

  11. Beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, volunteering behavior, and purpose in life among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Ben M F; Shek, Daniel T L

    2009-09-01

    The relationships among beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, volunteering behavior, and purpose in life were examined in this study. A total of 5,946 participants completed a series of scales, including the Revised Personal Functions of Volunteerism Scale, Volunteering Intention Scale, and Purpose in Life Scale. The results showed that participants whose purpose in life had different levels also had varied prosocial beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, and volunteering behavior. Purpose in life was associated more strongly with prosocial value function than with other types of beliefs (except understanding function). When different beliefs are grouped, the correlation between purpose in life and other-serving beliefs was higher than that between purpose in life and self-serving beliefs. Purpose in life was also associated with volunteering intention and behavior. Path analyses showed that purpose in life predicted volunteering behavior via beliefs and intention. While other-serving beliefs predicted volunteering behavior directly, self-serving beliefs did not have such direct effect.

  12. Beliefs about Volunteerism, Volunteering Intention, Volunteering Behavior, and Purpose in Life among Chinese Adolescents in Hong Kong

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben M. F. Law

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The relationships among beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, volunteering behavior, and purpose in life were examined in this study. A total of 5,946 participants completed a series of scales, including the Revised Personal Functions of Volunteerism Scale, Volunteering Intention Scale, and Purpose in Life Scale. The results showed that participants whose purpose in life had different levels also had varied prosocial beliefs about volunteerism, volunteering intention, and volunteering behavior. Purpose in life was associated more strongly with prosocial value function than with other types of beliefs (except understanding function. When different beliefs are grouped, the correlation between purpose in life and other-serving beliefs was higher than that between purpose in life and self-serving beliefs. Purpose in life was also associated with volunteering intention and behavior. Path analyses showed that purpose in life predicted volunteering behavior via beliefs and intention. While other-serving beliefs predicted volunteering behavior directly, self-serving beliefs did not have such direct effect.

  13. Parallel Volunteer Learning during Youth Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lesmeister, Marilyn K.; Green, Jeremy; Derby, Amy; Bothum, Candi

    2012-01-01

    Lack of time is a hindrance for volunteers to participate in educational opportunities, yet volunteer success in an organization is tied to the orientation and education they receive. Meeting diverse educational needs of volunteers can be a challenge for program managers. Scheduling a Volunteer Learning Track for chaperones that is parallel to a…

  14. Structures data collection for The National Map using volunteered geographic information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poore, Barbara S.; Wolf, Eric B.; Korris, Erin M.; Walter, Jennifer L.; Matthews, Greg D.

    2012-01-01

    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has historically sponsored volunteered data collection projects to enhance its topographic paper and digital map products. This report describes one phase of an ongoing project to encourage volunteers to contribute data to The National Map using online editing tools. The USGS recruited students studying geographic information systems (GIS) at the University of Colorado Denver and the University of Denver in the spring of 2011 to add data on structures - manmade features such as schools, hospitals, and libraries - to four quadrangles covering metropolitan Denver. The USGS customized a version of the online Potlatch editor created by the OpenStreetMap project and populated it with 30 structure types drawn from the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), a USGS database of geographic features. The students corrected the location and attributes of these points and added information on structures that were missing. There were two rounds of quality control. Student volunteers reviewed each point, and an in-house review of each point by the USGS followed. Nine-hundred and thirty-eight structure points were initially downloaded from the USGS database. Editing and quality control resulted in 1,214 structure points that were subsequently added to The National Map. A post-project analysis of the data shows that after student edit and peer review, 92 percent of the points contributed by volunteers met National Map Accuracy Standards for horizontal accuracy. Lessons from this project will be applied to later phases. These include: simplifying editing tasks and the user interfaces, stressing to volunteers the importance of adding structures that are missing, and emphasizing the importance of conforming to editorial guidelines for formatting names and addresses of structures. The next phase of the project will encompass the entire State of Colorado and will allow any citizen to contribute structures data. Volunteers will benefit from this

  15. Volunteering as Students significant social activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. A. Zaitseva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the involvement of students in volunteer activities, examines the organization of students volunteer activities and volunteer projects realization at the university. The potential of volunteerism as an effective mechanism for addressing the urgent social problems is revealed.Theauthorstudiesexperience of volunteer services organization the I.A. Bunin State University in Yelets.

  16. Motivations for Youth Volunteer Participation: Types and Structure--An Analysis of Interviews with Twenty-Four Young Volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luping, Wu

    2011-01-01

    Scholars who study volunteer activities are attaching ever greater importance to the motivations of volunteers who participate in volunteer activities. However, deficiencies are, on the whole, to be found in the empirical studies by scholars in China on the participating volunteers' motivations. To make up for the deficiencies in the research on…

  17. Views from the Global South: exploring how student volunteers from the Global North can achieve sustainable impact in global health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouma, Brian D O; Dimaras, Helen

    2013-07-26

    The body of research and practice regarding student volunteer abroad experiences largely focuses on ensuring the optimal learning experience for the student from the Global North, without equivalent attention to the benefits, if any, to the host institution in the Global South. In this debate article, we examine an often overlooked component of global student volunteer programs: the views of the local partner on what makes for a mutually beneficial partnership between volunteers from the Global North and institutions in the Global South. To guide our discussion, we drew upon the experiences of a Kenyan NGO with a Canadian student volunteer in the summer of 2012, organized via a formalized partnership with a Canadian university. We found that the approach of the NGO to hosting the student mirrored the organizational behaviour theories of Margaret J. Wheatley, who emphasized a disorderly or 'chaotic' approach to acquiring impactful change, coupled with a focus on building solid human relationships. Rather than following a set of rigid goals or tasks, the student was encouraged to critically engage and participate in all aspects of the culture of the organization and country, to naturally discover an area where his priorities aligned with the needs of the NGO. Solid networks and interpersonal connections resulted in a process useful for the organization long after the student's short-term placement ended. Our discussion reveals key features of successful academic volunteer abroad placements: equal partnership in the design phase between organizations in the Global North and Global South; the absence of rigid structures or preplanned tasks during the student's placement; participatory observation and critical engagement of the student volunteer; and a willingness of the partners to measure impact by the resultant process instead of tangible outcomes.

  18. Effects of Social Incentives on Task Performance in the Elderly

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levendusky, Philip G.

    1978-01-01

    The performance of 60 elderly volunteers on two cancellation tasks was examined under one of three experimental conditions: social praise, social reproof, or no comment. The clear implications from these data are that social incentives may well facilitate behavioral change in the aged. (Author)

  19. The liquid organization of volunteer tourism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steele, Jessica; Dredge, Dianne

    2017-01-01

    Drawing from developments in sociology and organizational studies, this paper argues for a new understanding of volunteer tourism as liquid organization. It aims to explore the organization of volunteer tourism using a liquid organization perspective and to better understand the potential...... implications of this liquidity on the responsibility of volunteer tourism organizations to host com- munities. The analysis is based on data collected from 80 volunteer tourism organizations. The findings reveal that the volunteer tourism organizations show characteristics of liquid organiza- tion to varying...... degrees. The significance of the research is to problematize the way in which the institutional characteristics of volunteer tourism are (not) conceptualized in current literature and to introduce liquid organization as a means of reinvigorating debate about responsibility....

  20. The liquid organization of volunteer tourism:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steele, Jessica; Dredge, Dianne

    2017-01-01

    Drawing from developments in sociology and organizational studies, this paper argues for a new understanding of volunteer tourism as liquid organization. It aims to explore the organization of volunteer tourism using a liquid organization perspective and to better understand the potential...... implications of this liquidity on the responsibility of volunteer tourism organizations to host com- munities. The analysis is based on data collected from 80 volunteer tourism organizations. The findings reveal that the volunteer tourism organizations show characteristics of liquid organiza- tion to varying...... degrees. The significance of the research is to problematize the way in which the institutional characteristics of volunteer tourism are (not) conceptualized in current literature and to introduce liquid organization as a means of reinvigorating debate about responsibility....

  1. Corporate volunteering - motivation for voluntary work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Debora Azevedo

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays, when the welfare state is a responsibility of the entire society, organizations in the private sector assume co-responsibility for social issues. They are also pressured by the challenges presented by technological advances and the globalization , involving new parameters and requirements for quality. In this context, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (RSC emerges as an option for solutions to the issues related to the company and the whole community. Among the actions of the RSC is the Corporate Volunteering-program, which aims to promote / encourage employes to do voluntary work. A central issue when talking about volunteering is the withdrawal of these (SILVA and FEITOSA, 2002; TEODÓSIO, 1999 and, in accordance with the Community Solidarity (1997, one of the possible causes for the withdrawal is the lack of clarity as to the motives and expectations that lead the person to volunteer themselves. This study uses qualitative research and triangulation of feedback from volunteers, coordinators of volunteers and social organizations, to present a framework from which it is possible to analyze the various motivations for the volunteer work. Key words: Corporate Volunteering program. Volunteering. Corporate social responsibility.

  2. Becoming an Older Volunteer: A Grounded Theory Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witucki Brown, Janet; Chen, Shu-li; Mefford, Linda; Brown, Allie; Callen, Bonnie; McArthur, Polly

    2011-01-01

    This Grounded Theory study describes the process by which older persons “become” volunteers. Forty interviews of older persons who volunteered for Habitat for Humanity were subjected to secondary content analysis to uncover the process of “becoming” a volunteer. “Helping out” (core category) for older volunteers occurs within the context of “continuity”, “commitment” and “connection” which provide motivation for volunteering. When a need arises, older volunteers “help out” physically and financially as health and resources permit. Benefits described as “blessings” of volunteering become motivators for future volunteering. Findings suggest that older volunteering is a developmental process and learned behavior which should be fostered in older persons by personally inviting them to volunteer. Intergenerational volunteering projects will allow older persons to pass on knowledge and skills and provide positive role modeling for younger volunteers. PMID:21994824

  3. Becoming an Older Volunteer: A Grounded Theory Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janet Witucki Brown

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This Grounded Theory study describes the process by which older persons “become” volunteers. Forty interviews of older persons who volunteered for Habitat for Humanity were subjected to secondary content analysis to uncover the process of “becoming” a volunteer. “Helping out” (core category for older volunteers occurs within the context of “continuity”, “commitment” and “connection” which provide motivation for volunteering. When a need arises, older volunteers “help out” physically and financially as health and resources permit. Benefits described as “blessings” of volunteering become motivators for future volunteering. Findings suggest that older volunteering is a developmental process and learned behavior which should be fostered in older persons by personally inviting them to volunteer. Intergenerational volunteering projects will allow older persons to pass on knowledge and skills and provide positive role modeling for younger volunteers.

  4. Vocational guidance in social volunteering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolay S. Pryazhnikov

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The paper discusses the possibilities and limitations of vocational guidance in the social volunteering system. The essence of volunteer work is closely related with assistance to desperate people in searching for the meaning of living, often coinciding with labour activity that are deemed in terms of “the main matter of life” and “the leading activity”. For adolescents, it is the choice of career, and for adults, it is the work proper (i.e. an essential condition for personal self-realization. The problem of “forced volunteering” for experts in vocational guidance also means that they often have to work voluntarily and unselfishly outside the official guidelines. To clarify the terms «volunteer» and «a person in desperate need of help» the study used the method of analyzing the documents, e.g. the Regulations on Social Volunteering, the generalization of psychological sources, the initial survey of university students as active supporters of the volunteer movement, On the essence of volunteering and the place of career guidance in selfless social work. Vocational guidance is not excluded from the general system of volunteerism, but has an insufficiently defined status and low popularity among participants in social volunteering. Also, the problem of «forced volunteering» of experts in career counseling, which often requires voluntary and unselfish performance of quality work outside the framework of official instructions, is also indicated. Simultaneously, positive aspects of such disinterested career initiatives are noted, in particular, less control by the official inspectors (or customers and, accordingly, greater freedom of creativity than when someone else does the work.

  5. The role of 'hidden' community volunteers in community-based health service delivery platforms: examples from sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leon, Natalie; Sanders, David; Van Damme, Wim; Besada, Donela; Daviaud, Emmanuelle; Oliphant, Nicholas P; Berzal, Rocio; Mason, John; Doherty, Tanya

    2015-01-01

    Community-based research on child survival in sub-Saharan Africa has focussed on the increased provision of curative health services by a formalised cadre of lay community health workers (CHWs), but we have identified a particular configuration, that deserves closer scrutiny. We identified a two-tiered CHW system, with the first tier being the lessor known or 'hidden' community/village level volunteers and the second tier being formal, paid CHWs, in Ethiopia, Mali, and Niger. Whilst the disease-focussed tasks of the formal CHW tier may be more amenable to classic epidemiological surveillance, we postulate that understanding the relationship between formalised CHWs and volunteer cadres, in terms of scope, location of practice and ratio to population, would be important for a comprehensive evaluation of child survival in these countries. We report on the findings from our joint qualitative and quantitative investigations, highlighting the need to recognise the 'hidden' contribution of volunteers. We need to better characterize the volunteers' interaction with community-based and primary care services and to better understand ways to improve the volunteer systems with the right type of investments. This is particularly important for considering the models for scale-up of CHWs in sub-Saharan Africa.

  6. Laboratório do controle e controle do laboratório: práticas e táticas do poder e o problema da servidão voluntária

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elcemir Paço-Cunha

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste artigo é desvendar os mecanismos de controle e as táticas desenvolvidas em face desses mecanismos, no espaço de um laboratório de análise de alimentos e águas onde encontramos professores e alunos vinculados a uma faculdade de farmácia de uma universidade pública no estado de Minas Gerais. Utilizou-se, de um lado, as idéias de Foucault sobre o poder disciplinar nas organizações e, de outro, as idéias de Certeau sobre as táticas que permitem questionar a eficácia do poder disciplinar. Para tanto, empreendeu-se uma pesquisa de cunho qualitativo, por meio de entrevistas, do levantamento de dados secundários e da observação não-participante. Os resultados da pesquisa denotam mecanismos de controle sobre as atividades de trabalho - como as regras de conduta e de operação de equipamentos sofisticados, o controle dos horários e do vestuário - e, ainda, a indicação de alguns alunos para esse exercício. Os resultados também indicam a existência de táticas que driblam tais mecanismos na execução do trabalho diário. O artigo também discute um paradoxo identificado durante a investigação, que é a vontade manifestada pelos produtores das táticas de que haja um maior controle sobre eles próprios. O artigo questiona os referenciais teóricos que fundamentaram sua própria elaboração e propõe um debate sobre a idéia de servidão voluntária de La Boétie.

  7. What motivates people to volunteer? the case of volunteer AIDS caregivers in faith-based organizations in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akintola, Olagoke

    2011-01-01

    Volunteers are increasingly being relied upon to provide home-based care for people living with AIDS in South Africa and this presents several unique challenges specific to the HIV/AIDS context in Africa. Yet it is not clear what motivates people to volunteer as home-based caregivers. Drawing on the functional theory on volunteer motivations, this study uses data from qualitative interviews with 57 volunteer caregivers of people living with HIV/AIDS in six semi-rural South African communities to explore volunteer motivations. Findings revealed complex motivations underlying volunteering in AIDS care. Consistent with functional theorizing, most of the volunteers reported having more than one motive for enrolling as volunteers. Of the 11 categories of motivations identified, those relating to altruistic concerns for others and community, employment or career benefits and a desire by the unemployed to avoid idleness were the most frequently mentioned. Volunteers also saw volunteering as an opportunity to learn caring skills or to put their own skills to good use, for personal growth and to attract good things to themselves. A few of the volunteers were heeding a religious call, hoping to gain community recognition, dealing with a devastating experience of AIDS in the family or motivated for social reasons. Care organizations' poor understanding of volunteer motives, a mismatch between organizational goals and volunteer motivations, and inadequate funding meant that volunteers' most pressing motives were not satisfied. This led to discontentment, resentment and attrition among volunteers. The findings have implications for home-based care policies and programmes, suggesting the need to rethink current models using non-stipended volunteers in informal AIDS care. Information about volunteer motivations could help organizations plan recruitment messages, recruit volunteers whose motives match organizational goals and plan how to assist volunteers to satisfy these motives

  8. Oscillatory lower body negative pressure impairs working memory task-related functional hyperemia in healthy volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merchant, Sana; Medow, Marvin S; Visintainer, Paul; Terilli, Courtney; Stewart, Julian M

    2017-04-01

    Neurovascular coupling (NVC) describes the link between an increase in task-related neural activity and increased cerebral blood flow denoted "functional hyperemia." We previously showed induced cerebral blood flow oscillations suppressed functional hyperemia; conversely functional hyperemia also suppressed cerebral blood flow oscillations. We used lower body negative pressure (OLBNP) oscillations to force oscillations in middle cerebral artery cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFv). Here, we used N-back testing, an intellectual memory challenge as a neural activation task, to test the hypothesis that OLBNP-induced oscillatory cerebral blood flow can reduce functional hyperemia and NVC produced by a working memory task and can interfere with working memory. We used OLBNP (-30 mmHg) at 0.03, 0.05, and 0.10 Hz and measured spectral power of CBFv at all frequencies. Neither OLBNP nor N-back, alone or combined, affected hemodynamic parameters. 2-Back power and OLBNP individually were compared with 2-back power during OLBNP. 2-Back alone produced a narrow band increase in oscillatory arterial pressure (OAP) and oscillatory cerebral blood flow power centered at 0.0083 Hz. Functional hyperemia in response to 2-back was reduced to near baseline and 2-back memory performance was decreased by 0.03-, 0.05-, and 0.10-Hz OLBNP. OLBNP alone produced increased oscillatory power at frequencies of oscillation not suppressed by added 2-back. However, 2-back preceding OLBNP suppressed OLBNP power. OLBNP-driven oscillatory CBFv blunts NVC and memory performance, while memory task reciprocally interfered with forced CBFv oscillations. This shows that induced cerebral blood flow oscillations suppress functional hyperemia and functional hyperemia suppresses cerebral blood flow oscillations. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We show that induced cerebral blood flow oscillations suppress functional hyperemia produced by a working memory task as well as memory task performance. We conclude that oscillatory

  9. Changing Nature of Formal Service Program Volunteering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hustinx, L.; Shachar, I.Y.; Handy, F.; Smith, D.H.; Smith, D.H.; Stebbins, R.A.; Grotz, J.

    2016-01-01

    Most other chapters in this Handbook focus on volunteering in associations, but this chapter focuses instead mainly on volunteering in volunteer service programs (VSPs). As discussed at length in Handbook Chapter 15, VSPs are essentially volunteer departments of other, larger, controlling, parent

  10. Results from the national hospice volunteer training survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittenberg-Lyles, Elaine; Schneider, Greg; Oliver, Debra Parker

    2010-03-01

    Although the role of volunteers is at the heart of hospice care, little is known about hospice volunteer training and volunteer activity. A survey was used to assess current training programs for hospice volunteers. Hospices were invited to participate in the study from a link on the website for the Hospice Volunteer Association and Hospice Educators Affirming Life Project. Survey results revealed that the majority of volunteer work is in patient care, with most hospice agencies requiring a minimum 12-month volunteer commitment and an average 4-hour volunteer shift per week. Volunteer training is separate from staff training, is provided by paid agency staff, and costs approximately $14,303 per year. Communication and family support are considered important curriculum topics. Revisions to current volunteer training curriculum and format are suggested.

  11. Widely Assumed but Thinly Tested: Do Employee Volunteers' Self-Reported Skill Improvements Reflect the Nature of Their Volunteering Experiences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, David A

    2016-01-01

    An increasing number of companies use corporate volunteering programs (CVPs) to support and coordinate their employees' efforts to serve their communities. Among the most frequently touted benefits of such programs to sponsoring companies and employee volunteers alike is the opportunities for employees to develop tangible work-related skills through their volunteering activities. Evidence for skill development through volunteering, however, is mostly limited to the expressed beliefs of corporate leaders and employee volunteers. This study was designed to contribute to this largely anecdotal literature by testing hypotheses about the extent to which employee volunteers' self-reported skill development reflects the characteristics of the volunteers and their volunteering experiences. Study participants were 74 employee volunteers who completed a service apprenticeship managed by a U.S.-based nonprofit called Citizen Schools that partners with middle schools to extend the learning day with a combination of academic support, enrichment, and youth development activities. Data were obtained via the nonprofit's records, and surveys completed by employee volunteers before and after their service experience, including measures used to assess self-reported improvements in each of 10 work-related skills: communicating performance expectations, leadership, mentorship, motivating others, project management, providing performance feedback, public speaking and presenting, speaking clearly, teamwork, and time management. Support was found for several hypothesized effects suggesting that employees who practiced specific skills more often during their volunteering experience reported greater improvements in those skills. Improvements in some skills were higher among employee volunteers who completed a greater number of pre-volunteering preparation courses, and the effects of preparation courses were moderated by the employee volunteers' self-efficacy about improving their work

  12. Widely Assumed but Thinly Tested: Do Employee Volunteers' Self-Reported Skill Improvements Reflect the Nature of Their Volunteering Experiences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, David A.

    2016-01-01

    An increasing number of companies use corporate volunteering programs (CVPs) to support and coordinate their employees' efforts to serve their communities. Among the most frequently touted benefits of such programs to sponsoring companies and employee volunteers alike is the opportunities for employees to develop tangible work-related skills through their volunteering activities. Evidence for skill development through volunteering, however, is mostly limited to the expressed beliefs of corporate leaders and employee volunteers. This study was designed to contribute to this largely anecdotal literature by testing hypotheses about the extent to which employee volunteers' self-reported skill development reflects the characteristics of the volunteers and their volunteering experiences. Study participants were 74 employee volunteers who completed a service apprenticeship managed by a U.S.-based nonprofit called Citizen Schools that partners with middle schools to extend the learning day with a combination of academic support, enrichment, and youth development activities. Data were obtained via the nonprofit's records, and surveys completed by employee volunteers before and after their service experience, including measures used to assess self-reported improvements in each of 10 work-related skills: communicating performance expectations, leadership, mentorship, motivating others, project management, providing performance feedback, public speaking and presenting, speaking clearly, teamwork, and time management. Support was found for several hypothesized effects suggesting that employees who practiced specific skills more often during their volunteering experience reported greater improvements in those skills. Improvements in some skills were higher among employee volunteers who completed a greater number of pre-volunteering preparation courses, and the effects of preparation courses were moderated by the employee volunteers' self-efficacy about improving their work

  13. Organizational support and volunteering benefits for older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Fengyan; Choi, Eunhee; Morrow-Howell, Nancy

    2010-10-01

    This study tested a theoretical model of volunteering benefits and examined the mechanism through which volunteering benefits older adults. This is a 2-wave study of 253 older adult volunteers serving in 10 volunteer programs. Older volunteers completed the mailed surveys in 2005 and 2006. Structural equation modeling was used to define the latent variables and to test direct and indirect relationships among organizational support, socioemotional benefits, and self-reported health. Organizational support (measured by choice of volunteer activity, training, and ongoing support) had significant direct associations with 2 latent factors of socioemotional benefits, that is, perceived contribution and personal benefits. Perceived contribution was significantly related to mental health. Additionally, older volunteers with lower socioeconomic status (SES) committed more hours and perceived more personal benefits than higher SES peers. These findings suggest that volunteer programs can provide various organizational supports to older volunteers, especially to low-SES volunteers, in order to promote the socioemotional and health benefits of volunteering to older adults. Psychological well-being of older adults can be improved through engagement in meaningful volunteer activities and contribution to others.

  14. Training and supporting hospice volunteers: a regional survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavenburg, Philip; Bernt, Frank M

    2012-08-01

    We surveyed volunteers from 8 hospices in the Delaware Valley regarding training, perceived needs, and role satisfaction. Results were consistent with previous studies: satisfaction with preservice training and with volunteering was very high; respondents reported feeling very prepared and confident about doing hospice work as a result of their volunteer training. In addition, longer volunteer preservice training was associated with higher levels of overall satisfaction with training; levels of volunteer satisfaction and fulfillment tended to be lower during the first year of volunteering; and participation in volunteer support teams was associated with finding volunteer work rewarding and with feeling a part of the hospice team. Implications for preservice training and ongoing support and education of hospice volunteers are discussed.

  15. Who will volunteer? Analysing individual and structural factors of volunteering in Swiss sports clubs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlesinger, Torsten; Nagel, Siegfried

    2013-01-01

    This article analyses the conditions influencing volunteering in sports clubs. It focuses not only on individual characteristics of volunteers but also on the corresponding structural conditions of sports clubs. It proposes a model of voluntary work in sports clubs based on economic behaviour theory. The influences of both the individual and context levels on the decision to engage in voluntary work are estimated in different multilevel models. Results of these multilevel analyses indicate that volunteering is not just an outcome of individual characteristics such as lower workloads, higher income, children belonging to the sports club, longer club memberships, or a strong commitment to the club. It is also influenced by club-specific structural conditions; volunteering is more probable in rural sports clubs whereas growth-oriented goals in clubs have a destabilising effect.

  16. Ohio 4-H Agents' and Volunteer Leaders' Perceptions of the Volunteer Leadership Development Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwarteng, Joseph A.; And Others

    1988-01-01

    This study found that six areas of volunteer leadership development are important to volunteers and 4-H agents. The areas are (1) recruiting, (2) training, (3) motivation, (4) recognition, (5) retention, and (6) supervision. (JOW)

  17. Personality Traits and Motives for Volunteering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marija Juzbasic

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to test the possibility of predicting volunteer motives based on five-factor model of personality in a sample of 159 volunteers from Zagreb, Osijek and Split. Data was collected using IPIP-300 personality questionnaire and Volunteer Functions Inventory. Results indicate that Croatian volunteers are agreeable, conscientious, altruistic, dutiful, and moral persons with artistic interests. Their most salient motives for volunteering are understanding and values. Hierarchical regression analysis confirmed that the five-factor model personality traits independently predict 17% of protective motive variance, 12% of values motive, 18% of career motive, 10% of understanding motive, and 12% of enhancement motive. Social motive was not explained by personality traits.

  18. Predicting volunteer commitment in environmental stewardship programmes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert L. Ryan; Rachel Kaplan; Robert E. Grese

    2001-01-01

    The natural environment benefits greatly from the work of volunteers in environmental stewardship programmes. However, little is known about volunteers' motivations for continued participation in these programmes. This study looked at the relationship between volunteer commitment and motivation, as well as the effect that volunteering has on participants'...

  19. Student Volunteering in English Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holdsworth, Clare; Quinn, Jocey

    2010-01-01

    Volunteering in English higher education has come under political scrutiny recently, with strong cross-party support for schemes to promote undergraduate volunteering in particular. Recent targeted initiatives and proposals have sought to strengthen both the role of volunteering in higher education and synergies between higher education and…

  20. Can micro-volunteering help in Africa?

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Butgereit, L

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available is convenient to the micro-volunteer, and in small pieces of time (bitesized). This paper looks at a micro-volunteering project where participants can volunteer for five to ten minutes at a time using a smart phone and assist pupils with their mathematics....

  1. Main components and content of sports volunteer activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iryna Petrenkо

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: identification of the main structural components and content of sports volunteer activities. Material & Methods: used analysis of literature and documents, organizational analysis. Result: basic structural components of sports volunteer activity are defined. The content of sports volunteer activity is disclosed. Conclusion: sports volunteer activity includes the following structural components: subject, object, purpose, motivation, means, actions; subject is a sports volunteer, the object is a sports competition, the goal is to provide gratuitous assistance for a quality competition, the means are the special knowledge, skills, communication abilities of sports volunteers, actions should be understood as types of volunteer activities and functions that volunteers perform during the preparation and conduct of competitions. Main types of sports volunteer activity are: 1 organizational; 2 judiciary; 3 coaching; 4 legal; 5 medical. Functions that volunteers perform in the competition system are general and special. Content of the functions of sports volunteering depends on the specifics of the sports, the rank of the competition, the specifics of the competition for people with special needs.

  2. Manual for a Volunteer Services System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helgerson, Linda; And Others

    This manual presents guidelines for planning, monitoring, and controlling the development and operation of volunteer assistance programs. The materials included address questions related to both the process of establishing a volunteer program and the administration of a volunteer management system. The manual is not intended to provide a blueprint…

  3. Understanding the Value of Volunteer Involvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terry, Bryan; Harder, Amy; Pracht, Dale

    2011-01-01

    Volunteers can be an important resource of many nonprofit organizations. The ability to meet the mission, goals and objectives of nonprofit organizations often depends upon the effectiveness of volunteer involvement in direct service delivery or indirect program support. Volunteer involvement utilizes financial and non-financial resources of an…

  4. Young People Volunteering in Uganda

    OpenAIRE

    Riiser, Nina Milling

    2011-01-01

    Socio economic conditions in Uganda causes the youth to be caught between childhood and adulthood. They are young people moving towards adulthood, with no option of becoming independent. How does volunteering affect the youth and why does the youth volunteer? Does the youth get closer to adulthood by volunteering and what di they gain? Socio economic conditions in Uganda causes the youth to be caught between childhood and adulthood. They are young people moving towards adulthood, with no o...

  5. 45 CFR 1226.11 - Part time volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Part time volunteers. 1226.11 Section 1226.11... SERVICE PROHIBITIONS ON ELECTORAL AND LOBBYING ACTIVITIES Volunteer Activities § 1226.11 Part time volunteers. (a) The provisions in this section are applicable to part time volunteers, as defined in § 1226.3...

  6. PrP Knockout Cells Expressing Transmembrane PrP Resist Prion Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Karen E; Hughson, Andrew; Vascellari, Sarah; Priola, Suzette A; Sakudo, Akikazu; Onodera, Takashi; Baron, Gerald S

    2017-01-15

    Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchoring of the prion protein (PrP C ) influences PrP C misfolding into the disease-associated isoform, PrP res , as well as prion propagation and infectivity. GPI proteins are found in cholesterol- and sphingolipid-rich membrane regions called rafts. Exchanging the GPI anchor for a nonraft transmembrane sequence redirects PrP C away from rafts. Previous studies showed that nonraft transmembrane PrP C variants resist conversion to PrP res when transfected into scrapie-infected N2a neuroblastoma cells, likely due to segregation of transmembrane PrP C and GPI-anchored PrP res in distinct membrane environments. Thus, it remained unclear whether transmembrane PrP C might convert to PrP res if seeded by an exogenous source of PrP res not associated with host cell rafts and without the potential influence of endogenous expression of GPI-anchored PrP C To further explore these questions, constructs containing either a C-terminal wild-type GPI anchor signal sequence or a nonraft transmembrane sequence containing a flexible linker were expressed in a cell line derived from PrP knockout hippocampal neurons, NpL2. NpL2 cells have physiological similarities to primary neurons, representing a novel and advantageous model for studying transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) infection. Cells were infected with inocula from multiple prion strains and in different biochemical states (i.e., membrane bound as in brain microsomes from wild-type mice or purified GPI-anchorless amyloid fibrils). Only GPI-anchored PrP C supported persistent PrP res propagation. Our data provide strong evidence that in cell culture GPI anchor-directed membrane association of PrP C is required for persistent PrP res propagation, implicating raft microdomains as a location for conversion. Mechanisms of prion propagation, and what makes them transmissible, are poorly understood. Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) membrane anchoring of the prion protein (PrP C

  7. Psychological characteristics of Swedish mandatory enlisted soldiers volunteering and not volunteering for international missions: an exploratory study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rydstedt, Leif W; Osterberg, Johan

    2013-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess personality traits, psychological fitness, and hardiness among conscript soldiers volunteering for international missions (n = 146), by comparing them with conscripts from the same year class and unit who did not apply for international missions (n = 275). The sample consisted of all mandatory enlisted soldiers assigned to a supply and maintenance regiment. There were no demographic differences between the groups. The volunteers reported greater stress tolerance, concern for others, extraversion, and self-confidence than the non-volunteers. There were no differences between the groups in orderliness, temper instability, or independence. Volunteers repeatedly reported greater psychological fitness for military missions and greater hardiness over the period of military service compared to the non-volunteers.

  8. MVP: A Volunteer Development & Recognition Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerhard, Gary W.

    This model was developed to provide a systematic, staged approach to volunteer personnel management. It provides a general process for dealing with volunteers from the point of organization entry through volunteer career stages to the time of exiting the organization. The model provides the structural components necessary to (1) plan, coordinate,…

  9. The Dynamic Tension: Professionals and Volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snider, Alan

    1985-01-01

    Describes results of a study focused on the role and relationship of 4-H agents working with program management volunteers in clubs, communities, and counties. Factors found to be instrumental in the expanded involvement of key volunteers include agent self-confidence, belief in volunteerism, strong support system, and careful volunteer selection.…

  10. America's Teenagers as Volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knauft, E. B.

    Two national in-home interview surveys conducted by the Gallup Organization and information from a national workshop conference attended by 70 teen volunteers from 28 states and 200 teachers and adult leaders indicate that about three-fifths of youth aged 12 to 17 volunteer an average of just over 3 hours a week. The most frequent volunteer…

  11. What are the motivational needs behind volunteer work?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danoff, A; Kopel, S

    1994-01-01

    Identification of an individual's motivational need and desired volunteer work enables volunteer administrators to capitalize on the motivation a person brings to the organization as well as to make effective use of the role by being cognizant of the levels of participation behind the differing volunteer assignments. The Motivation by Maslow Questionnaire was used to identify motivational needs of 35 helpline (crisis) volunteers, and three categories of volunteer work were used to classify their levels of participation. Implications for improving volunteer commitment to the formal voluntary organization and recruitment and retention strategies relative to volunteer motivational needs are discussed.

  12. Organizational Support and Volunteering Benefits for Older Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Fengyan; Choi, Eunhee; Morrow-Howell, Nancy

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: This study tested a theoretical model of volunteering benefits and examined the mechanism through which volunteering benefits older adults. Design and Methods: This is a 2-wave study of 253 older adult volunteers serving in 10 volunteer programs. Older volunteers completed the mailed surveys in 2005 and 2006. Structural equation modeling…

  13. Acute fluoxetine modulates emotional processing in young adult volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Capitão, L P; Murphy, S E; Browning, M; Cowen, P J; Harmer, C J

    2015-08-01

    Fluoxetine is generally regarded as the first-line pharmacological treatment for young people, as it is believed to show a more favourable benefit:risk ratio than other antidepressants. However, the mechanisms through which fluoxetine influences symptoms in youth have been little investigated. This study examined whether acute administration of fluoxetine in a sample of young healthy adults altered the processing of affective information, including positive, sad and anger cues. A total of 35 male and female volunteers aged between 18 and 21 years old were randomized to receive a single 20 mg dose of fluoxetine or placebo. At 6 h after administration, participants completed a facial expression recognition task, an emotion-potentiated startle task, an attentional dot-probe task and the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation. Subjective ratings of mood, anxiety and side effects were also taken pre- and post-fluoxetine/placebo administration. Relative to placebo-treated participants, participants receiving fluoxetine were less accurate at identifying anger and sadness and did not show the emotion-potentiated startle effect. There were no overall significant effects of fluoxetine on subjective ratings of mood. Fluoxetine can modulate emotional processing after a single dose in young adults. This pattern of effects suggests a potential cognitive mechanism for the greater benefit:risk ratio of fluoxetine in adolescent patients.

  14. Underlying Motivations of Volunteering Across Life Stages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamashita, Takashi; Keene, Jennifer R; Lu, Chi-Jung; Carr, Dawn C

    2017-03-01

    Volunteering is beneficial not only for individuals' well-being but also for society's well-being; yet only a fraction of U.S. citizens regularly engage in volunteer activities. This study examined how underlying motivations are associated with interest in volunteering for individuals in three major life phases: early, middle, and later adulthood. Data were collected from 1,046 adults who volunteered through nonprofit organizations in Nevada (USA). Exploratory factor analysis revealed that community service, career advancement, and well-being were common underlying motivations for individuals across life stages. However, generativity among the later adulthood group, and social networking among the early and middle adulthood groups were unique motivations for volunteering. Regression analysis showed that the community service motivation was significantly associated with individuals' interest in volunteering among all life stages. Simultaneously, generativity for the later adulthood group, and career advancement for the early adulthood group were unique motivations linked to their actual interest in volunteering.

  15. Youth Sport Volunteering: Developing Social Capital?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kay, Tess; Bradbury, Steven

    2009-01-01

    This paper analyses the capacity of youth sport volunteering to contribute to the development of social capital. Following a review of the emergence of social capital as a key theme in UK sport policy, the paper focuses on the ability of a structured sports volunteering programme to equip young people with skills for effective volunteering, and…

  16. Motivations for volunteers in food rescue nutrition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mousa, T Y; Freeland-Graves, J H

    2017-08-01

    A variety of organizations redistribute surplus food to low-income populations through food rescue nutrition. Why volunteers participate in these charitable organizations is unclear. The aim of this study is to document the participation and motivations of volunteers who are involved specifically in food rescue nutrition. A cross-sectional study was conducted in two phases. In phase 1, a new instrument, Motivations to Volunteer Scale, was developed and validated in 40 participants (aged ≥18 years). In phase 2, the new scale and a demographics questionnaire were administered to 300 participants who were volunteering in food pantries and churches. The pilot study showed that Motivations to Volunteer Scale exhibited an internal consistency of Cronbach's α of 0.73 (P  0.05). The scale was validated also by comparison to the Volunteer Function Inventory (r = 0.86, P social life, and altruism. The mean motivation score of the 300 volunteers was 9.15 ± 0.17. Greater motivations were observed among participants who were aged >45 years, women, Hispanics, college/university graduates, physically inactive, non-smokers, and had an income ≥ $48,000. The Motivations to Volunteer Scale is a valid tool to assess why individuals volunteer in food rescue nutrition. The extent of motivations of participants was relatively high, and the primary reason for volunteering was altruism. Health professionals should be encouraged to participate in food redistribution. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Is volunteering a public health intervention? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the health and survival of volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jenkinson, Caroline E; Dickens, Andy P; Jones, Kerry; Thompson-Coon, Jo; Taylor, Rod S; Rogers, Morwenna; Bambra, Clare L; Lang, Iain; Richards, Suzanne H

    2013-08-23

    Volunteering has been advocated by the United Nations, and American and European governments as a way to engage people in their local communities and improve social capital, with the potential for public health benefits such as improving wellbeing and decreasing health inequalities. Furthermore, the US Corporation for National and Community Service Strategic Plan for 2011-2015 focused on increasing the impact of national service on community needs, supporting volunteers' wellbeing, and prioritising recruitment and engagement of underrepresented populations. The aims of this review were to examine the effect of formal volunteering on volunteers' physical and mental health and survival, and to explore the influence of volunteering type and intensity on health outcomes. Experimental and cohort studies comparing the physical and mental health outcomes and mortality of a volunteering group to a non-volunteering group were identified from twelve electronic databases (Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL, ERIC, HMIC, SSCI, ASSIA, Social Care Online, Social Policy and Practice) and citation tracking in January 2013. No language, country or date restrictions were applied. Data synthesis was based on vote counting and random effects meta-analysis of mortality risk ratios. Forty papers were selected: five randomised controlled trials (RCTs, seven papers); four non-RCTs; and 17 cohort studies (29 papers). Cohort studies showed volunteering had favourable effects on depression, life satisfaction, wellbeing but not on physical health. These findings were not confirmed by experimental studies. Meta-analysis of five cohort studies found volunteers to be at lower risk of mortality (risk ratio: 0.78; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.90). There was insufficient evidence to demonstrate a consistent influence of volunteering type or intensity on outcomes. Observational evidence suggested that volunteering may benefit mental health and survival although the causal mechanisms remain

  18. Ability of aphasic individuals to perform numerical processing and calculation tasks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela De Luccia

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective To compare performance on EC301 battery calculation task between aphasic subjects and normal controls of the same sex, age, and education. Method Thirty-two aphasic patients who had suffered a single left hemisphere stroke were evaluated. Forty-four healthy volunteers were also selected. All subjects underwent a comprehensive arithmetic battery to assess their numerical and calculation skills. Performances on numerical processing and calculation tasks were then analyzed. Results Aphasic individuals showed changes in their ability to perform numerical processing and calculation tasks that were not observed in the healthy population. Conclusion Compared with healthy subjects of the same age and education level, individuals with aphasia had difficulty performing various tasks that involved numerical processing and calculation.

  19. Characteristics of volunteers and non-volunteers for voluntary counseling and HIV testing among unmarried male undergraduates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adewole, D A; Lawoyin, T O

    2004-06-01

    The 2001 HIV sero-prevalence survey in Nigeria revealed a rate of 5.8 percent with those under the age of 25 years having the highest prevalence rate. Most University students fall within this age group. This study is part of a larger study on the sexual behavior of youths and young adults and was designed to compare the characteristics of volunteers and non-volunteers for voluntary confidential counseling and HIV testing (VCT) among males. Six hundred and nine male undergraduate students were randomly selected and enrolled for the study. Data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Of the 609, 51 (8.3%) volunteered to have their blood screened for HIV. All volunteers who received pre-test counseling went for the HIV test. Volunteers were significantly older than the non-volunteers (Pmarriage pattern of their parents with regard to polygyny was similar, and fewer volunteers had fathers in the higher socio-economic class and mothers who had completed secondary education (Pcounseling. One of the three was positive for HIV. Of those who tested positive, 3 (37.5%) reported not using the condom at all, while the rest were using it only occasionally. VCT among the youths is possible however, small numbers encountered in the study is a limitation and there is a need to replicate this study using larger numbers. Tertiary institutions should provide VCT services for the students where they can be counseled appropriately and continuously throughout their stay in the institution. This hopefully will reduce the number of new HIV cases seen.

  20. Modafinil combined with cognitive training is associated with improved learning in healthy volunteers--a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilleen, J; Michalopoulou, P G; Reichenberg, A; Drake, R; Wykes, T; Lewis, S W; Kapur, S

    2014-04-01

    Improving cognition in people with neuropsychiatric disorders remains a major clinical target. By themselves pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches have shown only modest effects in improving cognition. In the present study we tested a recently-proposed methodology to combine CT with a 'cognitive-enhancing' drug to improve cognitive test scores and expanded on previous approaches by delivering combination drug and CT, over a long intervention of repeated sessions, and used multiple tasks to reveal the cognitive processes being enhanced. We also aimed to determine whether gains from this combination approach generalised to untrained tests. In this proof of principle randomised-controlled trial thirty-three healthy volunteers were randomised to receive either modafinil or placebo combined with daily cognitive training over two weeks. Volunteers were trained on tasks of new-language learning, working memory and verbal learning following 200 mg modafinil or placebo for ten days. Improvements in trained and untrained tasks were measured. Rate of new-language learning was significantly enhanced with modafinil, and effects were greatest over the first five sessions. Modafinil improved within-day learning rather than between-day retention. No enhancement of gains with modafinil was observed in working memory nor rate of verbal learning. Gains in all tasks were retained post drug-administration, but transfer effects to broad cognitive abilities were not seen. This study shows that combining CT with modafinil specifically elevates learning over early training sessions compared to CT with placebo and provides a proof of principle experimental paradigm for pharmacological enhancement of cognitive remediation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

  1. Volunteering as a determinant of civil society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Matiychyk

    2016-06-01

    Another prerequisite of volunteerism was the surge of Advantages Revolution in 2013-2014, and after it – the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine. In 2015 the aid organization in terms of ATO and internally displaced persons has increased directions volunteering. Important indicators of volunteering were high levels of involvement of Ukrainian philanthropy and consequently public confidence in voluntary organizations, qualitative growth of volunteerism, the founders of which were gradually included among the managerial elite Ukraine. At the same time, there are number of problems that discredit the work of volunteers and the idea of volunteering in general, for example, fraud volunteers and fake organizations. Moreover, the increased activity of the volunteer movement was caused by the internal crisis that led to the imbalance of public administration, lack of high-quality management decisions, lack of resource capabilities. Also it was caused by external factors, such as the need to participate in the organization of international events and conduct military operations against separatist groups in eastern Ukraine. So, volunteer activity gradually becomes an effective mechanism of self-organization of citizens.

  2. On PR group classes and PR algebra membership

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebedenko, V.M.

    1978-01-01

    The necessary and sufficient conditions are found for the membership of Lee algebras to PR algebra class, to algebras with commutation relations of [Hsub(i), Hsub(j)]=rsub(ij)Hsub(i) (i< j) type. Due to this, a criterion is obtained for the membership of the Lee froups to PR group classes, connected and simply connected Lee groups, which Lee algebras are PR algebras

  3. Paracetamol sharpens reflection and spatial memory: a double-blind randomized controlled study in healthy volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pickering, Gisèle; Macian, Nicolas; Dubray, Claude; Pereira, Bruno

    2016-01-01

    Acetaminophen (APAP, paracetamol) mechanism for analgesic and antipyretic outcomes has been largely addressed, but APAP action on cognitive function has not been studied in humans. Animal studies have suggested an improved cognitive performance but the link with analgesic and antipyretic modes of action is incomplete. This study aims at exploring cognitive tests in healthy volunteers in the context of antinociception and temperature regulation. A double-blind randomized controlled study (NCT01390467) was carried out from May 30, 2011 to July 12, 2011. Forty healthy volunteers were included and analyzed. Nociceptive thresholds, core temperature (body temperature), and a battery of cognitive tests were recorded before and after oral APAP (2 g) or placebo: Information sampling task for predecisional processing, Stockings of Cambridge for spatial memory, reaction time, delayed matching of sample, and pattern recognition memory tests. Analysis of variance for repeated measures adapted to crossover design was performed and a two-tailed type I error was fixed at 5%. APAP improved information sampling task (diminution of the number of errors, latency to open boxes, and increased number of opened boxes; all P memory initial thinking time were decreased ( P =0.04). All other tests were not modified by APAP. APAP had an antinociceptive effect ( P body temperature did not change. This study shows for the first time that APAP sharpens decision making and planning strategy in healthy volunteers and that cognitive performance and antinociception are independent of APAP effect on thermogenesis. We suggest that cognitive performance mirrors the analgesic rather than thermic cascade of events, with possibly a central role for serotonergic and cannabinoid systems that need to be explored further in the context of pain and cognition.

  4. Volunteer Computing for Science Gateways

    OpenAIRE

    Anderson, David

    2017-01-01

    This poster offers information about volunteer computing for science gateways that offer high-throughput computing services. Volunteer computing can be used to get computing power. This increases the visibility of the gateway to the general public as well as increasing computing capacity at little cost.

  5. The Views of `Volunteer' of Japanese University Students

    OpenAIRE

    Arakawa, Yumiko; Yoshida, Hiroko; Hozumi, Yoshimi

    2007-01-01

    A questionnaire survey was given to Japanese undergraduate students to determine their personal experiences of `volunteer activities'. And their views and images of `volunteer' in Japan. The results showed that almost 80% experienced `volunteer activities' in schools before entering university. The details of their experiences did not relate to their views and images of `volunteer' and the `volunteer activities' at schools did not seem to play an important role in developing the concept of `v...

  6. 76 FR 29720 - Information Collection: Volunteer Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-23

    ... designed to provide educationally related work assignments for students in non-pay status. The volunteer... DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Farm Service Agency Information Collection: Volunteer Programs AGENCY... the Volunteer Programs. DATES: We will consider comment that we received by July 22, 2011. ADDRESSES...

  7. Neutron Scattering from fcc Pr and Pr3Tl

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Birgeneau, R. J.; Als-Nielsen, Jens Aage; Bucher, E.

    1972-01-01

    Elastic-neutron-scattering measurements on the singlet-ground-state ferromagnets fcc Pr and Pr3 Tl are reported. Both exhibit magnetic phase transitions, possibly to a simple ferromagnetic state at 20 and 11.6 °K, respectively. The transitions appear to be of second order although that in fcc Pr...

  8. Motivation to volunteer among senior center participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pardasani, Manoj

    2018-04-01

    Senior centers in the United States play a vital role in the aging continuum of care as the focal points of a community-based system of services targeting independent older adults to promote their social integration and civically engagement. Although several studies have evaluated the diversity of senior center programs, demographic characteristics of participants, and benefits of participation, very few have explored motivations to volunteer among participants. Many senior centers rely on a cadre of participants who volunteer there to assist with programs and meal services. However, a systematic examination of volunteering interests and the rationale for volunteering among senior center participants has been missing from the literature. This mixed-methods study, conducted at a large suburban senior center, explores the interests and motivations of volunteerism among the participants. The study found that there was limited interest in volunteering among senior center participants. Those who were motivated to volunteer wanted to do so in order to stay connected with their community. There was strong interest in volunteering for single events or projects rather than a long-term commitment. Implications for senior centers are discussed.

  9. Stress reactions to cognitively demanding tasks and open-plan office noise

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristiansen, Jesper; Mathiesen, Line; Nielsen, Pernille Kofoed

    2009-01-01

    measured. RESULTS: Cognitively demanding work tasks were associated with changes in HRV, systolic blood pressure and EMG that reflects increased sympathetic activity in the autonomic nervous system. No effect of noise was observed, except for a higher rating of perceived exertion in the head and, contrary......OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of cognitively demanding work tasks and office noise on heart rate variability (HRV), cardiovascular responses and electromyography (EMG) activity in the trapezius muscles. METHODS: Ten female volunteers were exposed to simulated open-plan office noise for 35...

  10. Correlations between the simulated military tasks performance and physical fitness tests at high altitude

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Borba Neves

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the Correlations between the Simulated Military Tasks Performance and Physical Fitness Tests at high altitude. This research is part of a project to modernize the physical fitness test of the Colombian Army. Data collection was performed at the 13th Battalion of Instruction and Training, located 30km south of Bogota D.C., with a temperature range from 1ºC to 23ºC during the study period, and at 3100m above sea level. The sample was composed by 60 volunteers from three different platoons. The volunteers start the data collection protocol after 2 weeks of acclimation at this altitude. The main results were the identification of a high positive correlation between the 3 Assault wall in succession and the Simulated Military Tasks performance (r = 0.764, p<0.001, and a moderate negative correlation between pull-ups and the Simulated Military Tasks performance (r = -0.535, p<0.001. It can be recommended the use of the 20-consecutive overtaking of the 3 Assault wall in succession as a good way to estimate the performance in operational tasks which involve: assault walls, network of wires, military Climbing Nets, Tarzan jump among others, at high altitude.

  11. No margin, no mission? A Field Experiment on Incentives for Pro-Social Tasks

    OpenAIRE

    Ashraf, Nava; Bandiera, Oriana; Jack, Kelsey

    2012-01-01

    A substantial body of research investigates the design of incentives in firms, yet less is known about incentives in organizations that hire individuals to perform tasks with positive social spillovers. We conduct a field experiment in which agents hired by a public health organization are randomly allocated to four groups. Agents in the control group receive a standard volunteer contract often offered for this type of task, whereas agents in the three treatment groups receive small financial...

  12. 45 CFR 1220.2-2 - Part-time volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Part-time volunteers. 1220.2-2 Section 1220.2-2... SERVICE PAYMENT OF VOLUNTEER LEGAL EXPENSES Criminal Proceedings § 1220.2-2 Part-time volunteers. (a) With respect to a part-time volunteer, ACTION will reimburse a sponsor for the reasonable expenses it incurs...

  13. Characteristics of the Essence of Volunteering in Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shagurova, Angelina Alexandrovna; Ivanovna, Efremova Galina; Aleksandrovna, Bochkovskaya Irina; Denisenko, Sergey Ivanovich; Valerievich, Tarasov Mihail; Viktorovna, Nekrasova Marina; Potutkova, Svetlana Anatolievna

    2016-01-01

    The article discusses the basic ideas of volunteering; it analyzes the data of psychological studies on social activity and it highlights the importance of studying the motivational part of volunteering. The conclusion on structure and content of volunteering is made. Key focus is on the fact that volunteering is of particular importance in the…

  14. Volunteer Program for the WSIS

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    PALEXPO, GENEVA, from 4 - 13 December Are you concerned by the digital divide between the North and the South? Would you like to contribute personally to the success of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), in particular the activities of civil society? Join the team of volunteers and/or offer accommodation to an international volunteer! Contact: Charlotte (Project Coordinator WSIS) Kathy (Volunteer Coordinator) ICVolunteers PO Box 755 - CH-1211 Genève 4 Phone: +41 22 800 1436 - Fax: +41 22 800 14 37 E-mail: charlotte@icvolunteers.org kathy@icvolunteers.org For further information, please consult the website: http://www.icvolunteers.org

  15. Monitoring and Evaluation of Volunteer Tourism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Taplin, Jessica; Dredge, Dianne; Scherrer, Pascal

    2014-01-01

    The rapid expansion and commercialisation of the volunteer tourism sector and the potential for negative impacts on host communities have put the sector under increasing scrutiny. Monitoring and evaluation are key aspects of sustainable tourism planning and management, and play important roles...... in the project planning and implementation cycles of volunteer tourism organisations and destination managements. However, they can be both value-laden and politically charged, making an understanding of context, purpose and various approaches to monitoring and evaluation important. Drawing from evaluation...... highlights the important influence of context (the issue the volunteer tourism programme is addressing, the nature of the intervention, the setting, the evaluation context and the decision-making context), and identifies four dimensions of volunteer tourism (stakeholders, organisations, markets...

  16. Irradiation of volunteers in nuclear medicine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huda, W.; Scrimger, J.W.

    1989-01-01

    The preliminary assessment of many radiopharmaceuticals is often carried out with the help of normal volunteers. These volunteers are drawn from the general public, are fully informed of the procedure to be performed and its attendant risks, and in many cases are compensated financially for their trouble. The cooperation of such people is of vital importance to the full understanding of the normal kinetics and metabolism of many new radiopharmaceuticals. The restrictions on the choice of normal volunteers, and the radiation dose limits which must be observed are not explicitly defined in any of the current guidelines, and in this paper we propose a rationale, based upon available information, which sets acceptable limits for volunteers, and provides a framework within which scientists and physicians can work

  17. A case study of chewed Truvada® for PrEP maintaining protective drug levels as measured by a novel urine tenofovir assay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lalley-Chareczko, Linden; Clark, Devon; Zuppa, Athena F; Moorthy, Ganesh; Conyngham, Caitlin; Mounzer, Karam; Koenig, Helen

    2017-01-01

    Emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (FTC/TDF; Truvada ® ) given as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) successfully blocks HIV when taken once daily prior to potential HIV exposure. A 22-year-old male reported difficulty swallowing FTC/TDF for PrEP and subsequently began chewing the FTC/TDF tablets. Monthly urine samples assessed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) indicated tenofovir levels >1,000 ng/ml, indicative of protection from HIV acquisition, over a 48-week period. Data from observational studies of HIV-positive patients details the successful treatment of HIV using crushed FTC/TDF delivered via feeding and gastronomy tubes while small, randomized trials of healthy volunteers demonstrate bioequivalence between whole and crushed FTC/TDF.

  18. Pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic analysis of mnesic effects of lorazepam in healthy volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blin, O; Jacquet, A; Callamand, S; Jouve, E; Habib, M; Gayraud, D; Durand, A; Bruguerolle, B; Pisano, P

    1999-10-01

    To describe the pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic modelling of the psychomotor and mnesic effects of a single 2 mg oral dose of lorazepam in healthy volunteers. This was a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled two-way cross-over study. The effect of lorazepam was examined with the following tasks: choice reaction time, immediate and delayed cued recall of paired words and immediate and delayed free recall and recognition of pictures. The mean calculated EC50 values derived from the PK/PD modelling of the different tests ranged from 12.2 to 15.3 ng ml-1. On the basis of the statistical comparison of the EC50 values, the delayed recall trials seemed to be more impaired than the immediate recall trials; similar observations were made concerning the recognition vs recall tasks. The parameter values derived from PK/PD modelling, and especially the EC50 values, may provide sensitive indices that can be used, rather than the raw data derived from pharmacodynamic measurements, to compare CNS effects of benzodiazepines.

  19. Volunteer water monitoring: A guide for state managers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-08-01

    Contents: executive summary; volunteers in water monitoring; planning a volunteer monitoring program; implementing a volunteer monitoring program; providing credible information; costs and funding; and descriptions of five successful programs

  20. Effects of sibutramine alone and with alcohol on cognitive function in healthy volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wesnes, K A; Garratt, C; Wickens, M; Gudgeon, A; Oliver, S

    2000-01-01

    Aims To investigate the effects of sibutramine in combination with alcohol in a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, four-way crossover study in 20 healthy volunteers. Methods On each study day each volunteer received either: sibutramine 20 mg+0.5 g kg−1 alcohol; sibutramine 20 mg+placebo alcohol; placebo capsules+0.5 g kg−1 alcohol; or placebo capsules+placebo alcohol. Alcohol was administered 2 h following ingestion of the study capsules. During each study day, assessments of cognitive performance were made prior to dosing, and at 3, 4.5, 6 and 10 h post dosing. Blood alcohol concentration was estimated using a breath alcometer immediately prior to each cognitive performance test session. Each study day was followed by a minimum 7 day washout period. Results Alcohol was found to produce statistically significant impairments in tests of attention (maximum impairment to speed of digit vigilance=49 ms) and episodic memory (maximum impairment to speed of word recognition=74 ms). Alcohol also increased body sway (maximum increase 17.4 units) and lowered self rated alertness (maximum decrease 13.6 mm). These effects were produced by an inferred blood alcohol level of 53.2 mg dl−1.Sibutramine was not found to potentiate any of the effects of alcohol. There was a small, yet statistically significant, interaction effect observed on the sensitivity index of the picture recognition task. In this test, the combined effects of sibutramine and alcohol were smaller than the impairments produced by alcohol alone. Sibutramine, when dosed alone, was associated with improved performance on several tasks. Sibutramine improved attention (mean speed of digit vigilance improved by 21 ms), picture recognition speed (improvement at 3=81) and motor control (tracking error at 3 h reduced by 1.58 mm). Also sibutramine improved postural stability (reducing body sway at 3 h by 14.2 units). Adverse events reported were unremarkable and consistent with the known pharmacology of

  1. Measuring the Impacts of a Volunteer-Based Community Development Program in Developing Volunteers' Leadership Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Amy; Singletary, Loretta; Hill, George

    2012-01-01

    This article summarizes the results of an evaluation of the impacts of a community development program to develop leadership skills in its adult volunteers. The evaluation featured 20 questions about leadership skills learned as a result of volunteer experiences. Data analysis strategies beyond a simple means ranking resulted in evidence…

  2. Main components and content of sports volunteer activities

    OpenAIRE

    Петренко, Ірина

    2017-01-01

    Iryna PetrenkоPurpose: identification of the main structural components and content of sports volunteer activities. Material & Methods: used analysis of literature and documents, organizational analysis. Result: basic structural components of sports volunteer activity are defined. The content of sports volunteer activity is disclosed. Conclusion: sports volunteer activity includes the following structural components: subject, object, purpose, motivation, means, actions; subject is a sport...

  3. Muscle Activation During Grasping With and Without Motor Imagery in Healthy Volunteers and Patients After Stroke or With Parkinson's Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuela Kobelt

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The present study assessed whether motor imagery (MI produces electromyographic activation in specific muscles of the upper limb during a hand grasping and arm-lifting task in healthy volunteers, patients after stroke, or with Parkinson's disease. Electromyographic (EMG activation was compared under three conditions: MI, physical execution (PE, and rest. The task is clinically relevant unilateral executed movement using open muscle chains.Methods: In a cross-sectional study EMG activation was measured in four muscles: M. deltoideus pars clavicularis, M. biceps brachii, M. extensor digitorum, M. flexor carpi radialis. MI ability was evaluated with mental rotation, mental chronometry and the Kinaesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire. Cognitive performance was screened with the Mini-Mental State Examination.Results: Twenty-two participants (11 females, age 52.6 ±15.8, age range 21 to 72 were included: ten healthy volunteers, seven patients after stroke (time after stroke onset 16.3 ± 24.8 months, and five patients with Parkinson's disease (disease duration 60.4 ± 24.5 months. Overall Mini-Mental State Examination scores ranged between 27 and 30. An increased EMG activation during MI compared to rest condition was observed in M. deltoideus pars clavicularis and M. biceps brachii across all participants (p-value = 0.001, p = 0.007. Seven participants (two healthy volunteers, three patients after stroke and two patients with Parkinson's disease showed a EMG activation during MI of the hand grasping and arm-lifting task in at least one of the target muscles. No correlation between EMG activation during MI and scores of three MI ability assessments were found.Conclusions: The findings suggest that MI can yield subliminal EMG activation. However, that might vary on individual basis. It remains unclear what parameters contribute to or inhibit an EMG activation during MI. Future investigations should determine factors that influence

  4. Project VUE: Volunteers Upholding Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurber, John C.

    This document reports on a project aimed at developing, implementing, and evaluating a plan for using volunteer classroom aides in the Palm Beach County (Florida) schools as a means for meeting various financial, human, and community needs. The desirability of a comprehensive volunteer plan was presented in a 10-point summary by an ad hoc…

  5. Isothermal sections of the state diagram for the Pr-Ni-Ge system at 870 (0-0,5Pr) and 670 K (0,5-1Pr)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fedyna, M.F.; Pecharskij, V.K.; Bodak, O.I.

    1987-01-01

    Method of X-ray phase and microstructural analyses were used to study Pr-Ni-Ge ternary system at 870K (0-0.50 at.fractions of Pr) and 670K (0.50-1.00 at.fractions of Pr). 11 ternary compounds exist in the system: Pr 1-x (NiGe) 13 (x=0.24), PrNi 2 Ge 2 , Pr 2 Ni 3 Ge 5 , PrNiGe 3 , Pr 2 NiGe 6 , Pr 3 Ni 4 Ge 4 , PrNi (1-x) Ge 2 (x=0.33), PrNiGe, Pr(NiGe) 2-x (x=0.14), Pr 3 NiGe 2 , ∼Pr 5 NiGe 4 . Crystal structure was determined for seven ternary compounds

  6. Task-related signal decrease on functional magnetic resonance imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hara, Yoshie; Nakamura, Mitsugu; Tamaki, Norihiko; Tamura, Shogo; Kitamura, Junji

    2001-01-01

    An atypical pattern of signal change was identified on functional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging in pathologic patients. Three normal volunteers and 34 patients with pathologic lesions near the primary motor cortex underwent fMR imaging with echo-planar imaging while performing a hand motor task. Signal intensities were evaluated with the z-score method, and the time course and changes of the signal intensity were calculated. Nine of the 34 patients with pathologic lesions displayed a significant task-related signal reduction in motor-related areas. They also presented a conventional task-related signal increase in other motor-related areas. The time courses of the increase and decrease were the inverse of each other. There was no significant difference between rates of signal increase and decrease. Our findings suggest that this atypical signal decrease is clinically significant, and that impaired vascular reactivity and altered oxygen metabolism could contribute to the task-related signal reduction. Brain areas showing such task-related signal decrease should be preserved at surgery. (author)

  7. Time volunteered on community health activities by brigadistas in Nicaragua

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meredith Adamo

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective To report on how brigadistas (“health brigadiers” in Nicaragua volunteer their time before the introduction of expanded responsibilities (beyond the scope of integrated community case management (iCCM for sick children 2–59 months old. Methods Three complete teams of brigadistas (n = 12 brigadistas total were selected from remote communities in the department of Matagalpa. Each respondent brigadista was interviewed privately regarding the frequency and duration (i.e., preparation, round-trip travel, and implementation time of 13 separate activities. The correlation between their overall estimates and summed times of individual activities were measured. Results Brigadista mean density was 1 per 156 total population (range: 120–217. Each team had one encargado/a (“manager” with an iCCM drug box plus two to four asistentes (“assistants”. All resided in the community they served. Eight reported competing time demands during one to nine months of the year. Brigadistas volunteered an average of 75 hours per month (range: 35–131. Encargados were busier than asistentes (98 versus 68 hours per month. Three activities accounted for 70% of their time: 1 iCCM (30%: treatment (11%, follow-up (19%; 2 receiving training (21%; and 3 promoting birth planning (19%. Brigadistas’ time was divided among preparation (12%, travel (27%, and implementation (61%. Overall estimates were highly correlated (+0.70 with summed implementation time. Conclusions Brigadistas from these remote Nicaraguan communities were busy with different activities, levels of effort, and patterns of task-sharing. These findings, plus an ongoing job satisfaction survey and a follow-on time study after the introduction of the new interventions, will inform policy for this valuable volunteer cadre.

  8. Managing Library Volunteers, Second Edition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Driggers, Preston; Dumas, Eileen

    2011-01-01

    Volunteers are essential to a successful library program--and at a time when deep budget cuts are the norm, there are many libraries that depend on the help of dedicated volunteers, who do everything from shelving books to covering the phones. Whether these are friends, trustees, or community members, managing them effectively is the key to…

  9. Specific default mode subnetworks support mentalizing as revealed through opposing network recruitment by social and semantic FMRI tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyatt, Christopher J; Calhoun, Vince D; Pearlson, Godfrey D; Assaf, Michal

    2015-08-01

    The ability to attribute mental states to others, or "mentalizing," is posited to involve specific subnetworks within the overall default mode network (DMN), but this question needs clarification. To determine which default mode (DM) subnetworks are engaged by mentalizing processes, we assessed task-related recruitment of DM subnetworks. Spatial independent component analysis (sICA) applied to fMRI data using relatively high-order model (75 components). Healthy participants (n = 53, ages 17-60) performed two fMRI tasks: an interactive game involving mentalizing (Domino), a semantic memory task (SORT), and a resting state fMRI scan. sICA of the two tasks split the DMN into 10 subnetworks located in three core regions: medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC; five subnetworks), posterior cingulate/precuneus (PCC/PrC; three subnetworks), and bilateral temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Mentalizing events increased recruitment in five of 10 DM subnetworks, located in all three core DMN regions. In addition, three of these five DM subnetworks, one dmPFC subnetwork, one PCC/PrC subnetwork, and the right TPJ subnetwork, showed reduced recruitment by semantic memory task events. The opposing modulation by the two tasks suggests that these three DM subnetworks are specifically engaged in mentalizing. Our findings, therefore, suggest the unique involvement of mentalizing processes in only three of 10 DM subnetworks, and support the importance of the dmPFC, PCC/PrC, and right TPJ in mentalizing as described in prior studies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. An Analysis of volunteer motivation in HIV/AIDS community ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Many have had difficulty attracting and retaining volunteers because of failure to understand volunteer motivation. The study explores volunteerism and emphasizes that volunteers derive personal satisfactions from voluntary activities other than monetary compensation. Volunteers “expect a return on their investment”.

  11. A ATIVIDADE PRÁTICA NA FORMAÇÃO DOS ACADÊMICOS DE HOSPITALIDADE: experiência dos colaboradores voluntários na organização do VI Congresso Internacional de Turismo do Extremo Sul (Cites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria do Carmo Schwab Brandão

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar a inserção de atividades práticas na formação profissional daqueles que atuarão na área da hospitalidade através da experiência dos voluntários que participaram da organização do VI CITES (Congresso Internacional de Turismo do Extremo Sul. Tal evento foi promovido pelo Laboratório de Planejamento Turístico que integra os cursos de Turismo, Hotelaria e Eventos, realizado na FURG/SVP. Teve como objetivos específicos: verificar o processo de tomada de decisão na organização do evento pelos voluntários; identificar a percepção da atividade como parte da formação profissional; relacionar o processo educativo e a prática profissional. Além da pesquisa bibliográfica, realizou-se um estudo de caso em que foram feitas entrevistas diretas e aplicação de questionários. Os resultados indicaram a importância das atividades práticas na formação profissional, especialmente quando o trade encontra-se em estágio embrionário.

  12. Volunteer Macroinvertebrate Monitoring: Tensions Among Group Goals, Data Quality, and Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nerbonne, Julia Frost; Nelson, Kristen C.

    2008-09-01

    Volunteer monitoring of natural resources is promoted for its ability to increase public awareness, to provide valuable knowledge, and to encourage policy change that promotes ecosystem health. We used the case of volunteer macroinvertebrate monitoring (VMM) in streams to investigate whether the quality of data collected is correlated with data use and organizers’ perception of whether they have achieved these outcomes. We examined the relation between site and group characteristics, data quality, data use, and perceived outcomes (education, social capital, and policy change). We found that group size and the degree to which citizen groups perform tasks on their own (rather than aided by professionals) positively correlated with the quality of data collected. Group size and number of years monitoring positively influenced whether a group used their data. While one might expect that groups committed to collecting good-quality data would be more likely to use it, there was no relation between data quality and data use, and no relation between data quality and perceived outcomes. More data use was, however, correlated with a group’s feeling of connection to a network of engaged citizens and professionals. While VMM may hold promise for bringing citizens and scientists together to work on joint conservation agendas, our data illustrate that data quality does not correlate with a volunteer group’s desire to use their data to promote regulatory change. Therefore, we encourage scientists and citizens alike to recognize this potential disconnect and strive to be explicit about the role of data in conservation efforts.

  13. Photoemission of heavy fermion superconductor PrOs4Sb12 and other Pr compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Imada, S.; Yamasaki, A.; Sekiyama, A.; Settai, R.; Onuki, Y.; Suga, S.; Sugawara, H.; Sato, H.; Ochiai, A.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: Strongly correlated electronic states due to Pr 4f electrons found in several Pr compounds have recently been attracting much attention. The Pr 4f electrons are much more localized than in Ce due to the lanthanoid contraction. Therefore, the number of the Pr systems that show strong electron correlation is much smaller than Ce systems. We will present a comparative study of Pr 4f electronic states in such systems as the heavy fermion superconductor PrOs 4 Sb 12 , the Kondo system PrSn 3 and the localized 4f systems Pr 4 X 3 (X = Sb and Bi). The Pr 4f electronic state was probed by means of the Pr 3d → 4f resonant photoemission (RPES). Because the kinetic energy (E K ) of the photoelectrons is as high as ∼ 900 eV, this method is much more bulk sensitive than the 4d → 4f RPES with E K ∼ 100 eV. The energy resolution could be set to about 100 meV by utilizing the soft X-rays from BL25SU in SPring-8 and the SCIENTA SES-200 analyzer. The Pr 4f excitation spectrum of PrSn 3 was found to show a very strong intensity at the Fermi level (E F ). This can be interpreted as the Kondo resonance which has been observed in the Kondo Ce and Yb compounds. In the Pr 4f spectrum of the heavy fermion superconductor PrOs 4 Sb 12 , the intensity at E F was smaller than in PrSn 3 . This clearly shows that the Kondo temperature (T K ) is much lower in PrOs 4 Sb 12 than in PrSn 3 . We have further found a strong excitation energy dependence in the RPES line shape. In the case of Pr 4 X 3 (X = Sb and Bi), the intensity at E B was much smaller than PrSn 3 and PrOs 4 Sb 12 , which is consistent with the localized character of Pr 4f electrons in Pr 4 X 3 . The Pr 4f spectra of these localized systems are qualitatively well reproduced by a cluster model calculation that takes into account the hybridization between the Pr 4f orbital and the conduction and valence bands made up by the X p and Pr 5d states

  14. Student Volunteering in China and Canada:Comparative Perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Lesley Hustinx; Ram A. Cnaan; Femida Handy

    2012-01-01

    While many of the theoretical frameworks for volunteering have beendeveloped and empirically tested in the West, our understanding of volunteering in non-Western countries, such as China, is relatively limited. Nevertheless, in recent decades enormous efforts have been made by the Chinese government to encourage and support volunteering among its citizens, especially youth. Chinese youth are volunteering in greater numbers in response to these initiatives. Given the strongly state-led nature ...

  15. Understanding the motivation and performance of community health volunteers involved in the delivery of health programmes in Kampala, Uganda: a realist evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vareilles, Gaëlle; Marchal, Bruno; Kane, Sumit; Petrič, Taja; Pictet, Gabriel; Pommier, Jeanine

    2015-01-01

    Objectives This paper presents the results of a realist evaluation that aimed to understand how, why and under what circumstances a Red Cross (RC) capacity-building intervention influences the motivation and the performance of RC community health volunteers involved in the delivery of an immunisation programme in Kampala, Uganda. Method Given the complexity of the intervention, we adopted realist evaluation as our methodological approach and the case study as our study design. Data collection included document review, participant observation and interviews. The constant comparative method was used for the analysis. Two contrasted cases were selected within the five Kampala districts. Each case covers the management of the immunisation programme implemented at a RC branch. In each case, a programme manager and 15 RC volunteers were interviewed. The selection of the volunteers was purposive. Results We found that a capacity-building programme including supervision supportive of autonomy, skills and knowledge enhancement, and adapted to the different subgroups of volunteers, leads to satisfaction of the three key drivers of volunteer motivation: feelings of autonomy, competence and connectedness. This contributes to higher retention, and better task performance and well-being among the volunteers. Enabling contextual conditions include the responsiveness of the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) to community needs, and recognition of the work of the volunteers, from the URCS and the community. Conclusions A management approach that caters for the different motivational states and changing needs of the volunteers will lead to better performance. The findings will inform not only the management of community health volunteers, but also the management of all kinds of health workers. PMID:26525721

  16. Can volunteering in later life reduce the risk of dementia? A 5-year longitudinal study among volunteering and non-volunteering retired seniors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griep, Yannick; Hanson, Linda Magnusson; Vantilborgh, Tim; Janssens, Laurens; Jones, Samantha K; Hyde, Martin

    2017-01-01

    We propose that voluntary work, characterized by social, physical and cognitive activity in later life is associated with fewer cognitive problems and lower dementia rates. We test these assumptions using 3-wave, self-reported, and registry data from the 2010, 2012, and 2014 Swedish National Prescribed Drug Register. We had three groups of seniors in our data: 1) no volunteering (N = 531), 2) discontinuous volunteering (N = 220), and 3) continuous volunteering (N = 250). We conducted a path analysis in Mplus to investigate the effect of voluntary work (discontinuously and continuously) on self-reported cognitive complaints and the likelihood of being prescribed an anti-dementia treatment after controlling for baseline and relevant background variables. Our results indicated that seniors, who continuously volunteered, reported a decrease in their cognitive complaints over time, whereas no such associations were found for the other groups. In addition, they were 2.44 (95%CI [1.86; 3.21]) and 2.46 (95%CI [1,89; 3.24]) times less likely to be prescribed an anti-dementia treatment in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Our results largely support the assumptions that voluntary work in later life is associated with lower self-reported cognitive complaints and a lower risk for dementia, relative to those who do not engage, or only engage episodically in voluntary work.

  17. Can volunteering in later life reduce the risk of dementia? A 5-year longitudinal study among volunteering and non-volunteering retired seniors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yannick Griep

    Full Text Available We propose that voluntary work, characterized by social, physical and cognitive activity in later life is associated with fewer cognitive problems and lower dementia rates. We test these assumptions using 3-wave, self-reported, and registry data from the 2010, 2012, and 2014 Swedish National Prescribed Drug Register. We had three groups of seniors in our data: 1 no volunteering (N = 531, 2 discontinuous volunteering (N = 220, and 3 continuous volunteering (N = 250. We conducted a path analysis in Mplus to investigate the effect of voluntary work (discontinuously and continuously on self-reported cognitive complaints and the likelihood of being prescribed an anti-dementia treatment after controlling for baseline and relevant background variables. Our results indicated that seniors, who continuously volunteered, reported a decrease in their cognitive complaints over time, whereas no such associations were found for the other groups. In addition, they were 2.44 (95%CI [1.86; 3.21] and 2.46 (95%CI [1,89; 3.24] times less likely to be prescribed an anti-dementia treatment in 2012 and 2014, respectively. Our results largely support the assumptions that voluntary work in later life is associated with lower self-reported cognitive complaints and a lower risk for dementia, relative to those who do not engage, or only engage episodically in voluntary work.

  18. The Effect of Motivational Practices on Volunteer Motivation to ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study assesses whether organizations' motivational practices affect volunteer motivation and levels of performance. This study was guided by the following two research questions: first, what motivation practices exist in Volunteer Involving Organizations and whether such affect volunteers' motivation to volunteer again?

  19. Effects of sulpiride on true and false memories of thematically related pictures and associated words in healthy volunteers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Regina V Guarnieri

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Episodic memory, working memory, emotional memory and attention are subject to dopaminergic modulation. However, the potential role of dopamine on the generation of false memories is unknown. This study defined the role of the dopamine D2 receptor on true and false memories. Twenty-four young, healthy volunteers ingested a single dose of placebo or 400 mg oral sulpiride, a dopamine D2-receptor antagonist, just before starting the recognition memory task in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The sulpiride group made more false recognitions during visual and verbal processing than the placebo group although both groups had the same indices of true memory. These findings demonstrate that dopamine blockade in healthy volunteers can specifically increase the rate of false recognitions.

  20. Suured prügifirmad valmistuvad prügipuuduseks / Mirko Ojakivi

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Ojakivi, Mirko

    2010-01-01

    Ragn-Sells ja Adelan Prügiveod soovivad luba jäätmete pikaajaliseks vaheladestamiseks Tallinna piiril. Ragn-Sells saaks jäätmekütusetehase planeerimise ja ehitamise ajal endale koguda ligi 35 000 t segaolmejäätmeid aastas, Adelan Prügiveod sooviks ladestada ligi 50 000 t prügi aastas

  1. Vascular burden and brain aging in a senior volunteer cohort: A pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raymond Y Lo

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To test the feasibility of establishing a senior volunteer cohort and describe vascular risks, cognitive function, and brain aging indices in a pilot study. Materials and Methods: We enrolled 40 senior volunteers from the Tzu Chi Foundation and other organizations in Hualien in 2014–2015. We conducted in-person interviews to collect information on demographic features, physical fitness, dietary habits, comorbidities, and narratives of aging. Vascular risks including blood pressure, body mass index (BMI, serum glucose level, and lipid profile were examined. Each participant underwent a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests and structural brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI. Descriptive statistics and tabulation were applied to characterize this pilot cohort. Results: There were more volunteers from the Tzu Chi Foundation (n = 25 than other organizations. The mean age was 66.7 years (standard deviation = 5.1 and there was a female predominance (M:F = 13:27. The mean number of comorbid chronic diseases was 2.1 and the mean BMI was 24.5. Most participants (77.5% engaged in outdoor walking activities every week. Nutrient intake in vegetarians (n = 18 did not differ from nonvegetarians except for lower Vitamin B12 levels (mean = 0.9 μg. All participants but one scored 26 or above in the Mini–Mental State Examination (mean = 28.4. Among the other cognitive tests, only one task related to inhibition and switching abilities was at the low average level. The mean values of vascular risk markers were within the normal ranges. The most common genotype of apolipoprotein E was μ3/μ3 (n = 32. The quality of MRI was sufficient for volumetric analysis. Conclusion: It is feasible to establish a volunteer-based cohort to study brain aging in Taiwan. The senior volunteers were physically active and cognitively healthy. Vascular risks were well distributed among these participants. Future longitudinal study will allow us to observe

  2. Volunteering as a Vector of EU Youth Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina A. Naidych

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the legal framework of the European Union, aimed at regulation and promotion of volunteering. We investigate the availability of legislative documents in the community of each country and analyze the factors that influence the willingness or reluctance of young people to get involved in volunteer projects. The basic problems on the way of popularizing volunteer activity and the core issues of youth volunteering in Ukraine are determined.

  3. More than Volunteering: Active Citizenship through Youth Volunteering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Learning and Skills Network (NJ1), 2007

    2007-01-01

    This pack aims to provide materials to help all those involved in youth volunteering and post-16 citizenship education to ensure that there are some citizenship learning outcomes from these valuable experiences. The pack has been produced by the Post-16 Citizenship Support Programme to help the integration of citizenship education into post-16…

  4. The Effect of Volunteer Work on Employability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petrovski, Erik; Dencker-Larsen, Sofie; Holm, Anders

    2017-01-01

    In addition to benefiting others, volunteer work is argued to supply volunteers themselves with skills, reputation, and social connections that increase overall employability. We test this hypothesized causal link between volunteer work and employability with a high-quality 2012 Danish survey...... sample of 1,867 individuals of working age. The survey data are linked to administrative registers containing individual-level data on unemployment. A combination of detailed controls, lagged dependent variables, and instrumental variable regression is used to determine cause and effect. Our findings...... show that performing volunteer work does not statistically significantly affect the risk or rate of unemployment for the typical individual on the labour market....

  5. The expression of ER, PR in endometrial cancer and analysis of their correlation with ERK signaling pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Lan; Xu, Lina; Tang, Liang

    2017-12-12

    Endometrial carcinoma (EC) is a common malignant tumor in gynecology. Its incidence and development are closely associated with the levels of estrogenic and progesterone hormone. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway abnormity is associated with a variety of tumors. This study detected estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), ERK1, and ERK2 expression in EC and analyzed their correlations. A total of 40 EC patients in our hospital were selected as test group, while another 40 healthy volunteers were enrolled as control group. ER, PR, ERK1, and ERK2 expression in EC tissue, para-carcinoma tissue, and normal endometrial tissue were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. The positive rate of ER, PR, ERK1, and ERK2 in the test group was 50%, 40%, 60%, and 65%, respectively, which were significantly higher than those in the control (PPR, ERK1, and ERK2 protein expressions in EC cell were significantly higher than those in the control (PPR (PPR, which were correlated with higher levels of ERK1 and ERK2, suggesting they might be involved in the pathogenesis of EC.

  6. Manual asymmetry in older adults on a complex coincidence-anticipation task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodrigues, Paula Cristina Dos Santos; Silva, João Miguel Carvalho da; Barreiros, João Manuel Pardal; Vasconcelos, Maria Olga Fernandes

    2018-04-20

    Age-related asymmetrical functional decline was tested in a sample of 57 right-handed volunteers between 65 and 85 years of age. Participants performed a complex coincidence-anticipation (CA) task with both preferred and non-preferred hands. Results demonstrated that the proficiency of a complex CA task was similar for the 2 age groups, but different for the 2 hands. The non-preferred hand was more proficient for temporal accuracy but not for response timing, which was similar for both hands. Moreover, the lack of interaction between age and hand both in response timing and response accuracy reveal symmetric performance across ages.

  7. Crystal Field Levels of Pr3+ in PrFeO3 and PrGaO3 Determined by Inelastic Neutron Scattering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Feldmann, K.; Henning, K.; Kaun, L.

    1975-01-01

    The crystal field splitting of the 3H4 ground state of the Pr ion in PrFeO3 and PrGaO3 has been investigated by inelastic scattering of thermal neutrons. At several temperatures the transitions have been measured by TAS and TOF methods for polycrystalline PrFeO3 and by the TOF method...... for polycrystalline PrGaO3. Energy level schemes which are different for these materials are given....

  8. PrP N-terminal domain triggers PrPSc-like aggregation of Dpl

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Erlich, Paul; Cesbron, Jean-Yves; Lemaire-Vieille, Catherine; Curt, Aurelie; Andrieu, Jean-Pierre; Schoehn, Guy; Jamin, Marc; Gagnon, Jean

    2008-01-01

    Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are fatal neurodegenerative disorders thought to be transmitted by self-perpetuating conformational conversion of a neuronal membrane glycoprotein (PrP C , for 'cellular prion protein') into an abnormal state (PrP Sc , for 'scrapie prion protein'). Doppel (Dpl) is a protein that shares significant biochemical and structural homology with PrP C . In contrast to its homologue PrP C , Dpl is unable to participate in prion disease progression or to achieve an abnormal PrP Sc -like state. We have constructed a chimeric mouse protein, composed of the N-terminal domain of PrP C (residues 23-125) and the C-terminal part of Dpl (residues 58-157). This chimeric protein displays PrP-like biochemical and structural features; when incubated in presence of NaCl, the α-helical monomer forms soluble β-sheet-rich oligomers which acquire partial resistance to pepsin proteolysis in vitro, as do PrP oligomers. Moreover, the presence of aggregates akin to protofibrils is observed in soluble oligomeric species by electron microscopy

  9. Language mapping in healthy volunteers and brain tumor patients with a novel navigated TMS system: evidence of tumor-induced plasticity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rösler, J; Niraula, B; Strack, V; Zdunczyk, A; Schilt, S; Savolainen, P; Lioumis, P; Mäkelä, J; Vajkoczy, P; Frey, D; Picht, T

    2014-03-01

    This article explores the feasibility of a novel repetitive navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rnTMS) system and compares language mapping results obtained by rnTMS in healthy volunteers and brain tumor patients. Fifteen right-handed healthy volunteers and 50 right-handed consecutive patients with left-sided gliomas were examined with a picture-naming task combined with time-locked rnTMS (5-10 Hz and 80-120% resting motor threshold) applied over both hemispheres. Induced errors were classified into four psycholinguistic types and assigned to their respective cortical areas according to the coil position during stimulation. In healthy volunteers, language disturbances were almost exclusively induced in the left hemisphere. In patients errors were more frequent and induced at a comparative rate over both hemispheres. Predominantly dysarthric errors were induced in volunteers, whereas semantic errors were most frequent in the patient group. The right hemisphere's increased sensitivity to rnTMS suggests reorganization in language representation in brain tumor patients. rnTMS is a novel technology for exploring cortical language representation. This study proves the feasibility and safety of rnTMS in patients with brain tumor. Copyright © 2013 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Bi3+–Pr3+ energy transfer processes and luminescent properties of LuAG:Bi,Pr and YAG:Bi,Pr single crystalline films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zorenko, Y.; Gorbenko, V.; Savchyn, V.; Zorenko, T.; Nikl, M.; Mares, J.A.; Beitlerova, A.; Jary, V.

    2013-01-01

    Absorption, cathodoluminescence, excitation spectra of photoluminescence (PL) and PL decay kinetics were studied at 300 K for the double doped with Bi 3+ –Pr 3+ and separately doped with Bi 3+ and Pr 3+ Lu 3 Al 5 O 12 (LuAG) and Y 3 Al 5 O 12 (YAG) single crystalline film (SCF) phosphors grown by the liquid phase epitaxy method. The emission bands in the UV range arising from the intrinsic radiative transitions of Bi 3+ based centers, and emission bands in the visible range, related to the luminescence of excitons localized around Bi 3+ based centers, were identified both in Bi–Pr and Bi-doped LuAG and YAG SCFs. The energy transfer processes from the host lattice simultaneously to Bi 3+ and Pr 3+ ions and from Bi 3+ to Pr 3+ ions were investigated. Competition between Pr 3+ and Bi 3+ ions in the energy transfer processes from the LuAG and YAG hosts was evidenced. The strong decrease of the intensity of Pr 3+ luminescence both in LuAG:Pr and YAG:Pr SCFs phosphors, grown from Bi 2 O 3 flux, is observed due to the quenching influence of Bi 3+ flux related impurity. Due to overlap of the UV emission band of Bi 3+ centers with the f–d absorption bands of Pr 3+ ions in the UV range and the luminescence of excitons localized around Bi ions with the f–f absorption bands of Pr 3+ ions in the visible range, an effective energy transfer from Bi 3+ ions to Pr 3+ ions takes place in LuAG:Bi,Pr and YAG:Bi,Pr SCFs, resulting in the appearance of slower component in the decay kinetics of the Pr 3+ d–f luminescence. -- Highlights: • Bi and Pr doped film phosphor grown by liquid phase epitaxy method. • Energy transfer from Bi 3+ to Pr 3+ ions. • Strong quenching of the Pr 3+ luminescence by Bi 3+ co-dopant

  11. Álcool, direção automotiva e o Programa Vida Urgente na visão de jovens voluntários Vida Urgente Program, alcohol and driving: young volunteers' view

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andréa dos Santos Nascimento

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste estudo é analisar as representações sociais dos jovens voluntários do Programa Vida Urgente, do Espírito Santo, acerca do trabalho por eles realizado. Foram realizadas 20 entrevistas com roteiro semiestruturado objetivando conhecer a opinião sobre os efeitos da própria atuação e a visão que possuem do programa. Para tanto foram entrevistados jovens de ambos os sexos, com idades entre 15 e 26 anos, posteriormente divididos em dois grupos com base no critério de tempo de atuação nas ações do Programa: G1 - 06 a 12 meses e G2 - acima de 12 meses. Por meio da análise de conteúdo, verificou-se que a afinidade com a proposta do trabalho voluntário e a valorização do discurso da conscientização são alguns dos motivos para o ingresso no Programa. Os entrevistados informaram ter identificado maior receptividade no público-alvo, o que é percebido por eles como uma mudança positiva no comportamento dos motoristas abordados.This study's goal is to analyze the social representations of the young volunteers of Vida Urgente Program of Espírito Santo about the work developed by them. 20 interviews were carried out using a semi-structured questionnaire with the objective to know the opinion about the effects of their performance and the vision they possess about the program. For such, 20 participants of both sexes with ages from 15 to 26 years were interviewed, subsequently divided into two groups according to the time of participation in the Program: G1 - 06 to 12 months and G2 - above 12 months. Using content analysis, it was verified that the affinity with the program's proposal of volunteer work and valorization of the speech of awareness are some of the reasons to enter the program. The respondents informed having identified larger receptivity from the target-public, which is perceived by them as a positive change on approached drivers.

  12. Volunteering: beyond an act of charity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dickson, Murray; Dickson, Geraldine Gerri

    2005-12-01

    Volunteering internationally appeals to health care professionals and students for a variety of reasons and serves a number of purposes. If international voluntarism is to be mutually advantageous, however, host countries, volunteers and project sponsors need to understand how best they can work together and what can be achieved by volunteers for the greatest benefit of all concerned. This paper is intended to contribute to the growing dialogue on international voluntarism and offers suggestions to strengthen its value, from the perspectives of health workers in a developing country and the authors" experiences over the past 30 years. The paper also identifies undesirable side effects and disabling interventions of international initiatives and examines the notions of aid and assistance. One strategy to prepare volunteers for upcoming international efforts as well as to address inequities at home is involvement with underserved populations in our own country.

  13. Cardiac autonomic responses induced by mental tasks and the influence of musical auditory stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, Juliana Cristina; Guida, Heraldo L; Fontes, Anne M G; Antonio, Ana M S; de Abreu, Luiz Carlos; Barnabé, Viviani; Marcomini, Renata S; Vanderlei, Luiz Carlos M; da Silva, Meire L; Valenti, Vitor E

    2014-08-01

    We investigated the acute effects of musical auditory stimulation on cardiac autonomic responses to a mental task in 28 healthy men (18-22 years old). In the control protocol (no music), the volunteers remained at seated rest for 10 min and the test was applied for five minutes. After the end of test the subjects remained seated for five more minutes. In the music protocol, the volunteers remained at seated rest for 10 min, then were exposed to music for 10 min; the test was then applied over five minutes, and the subjects remained seated for five more minutes after the test. In the control and music protocols the time domain and frequency domain indices of heart rate variability remained unchanged before, during and after the test. We found that musical auditory stimulation with baroque music did not influence cardiac autonomic responses to the mental task. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The impact of volunteering on the volunteer: findings from a peer support programme for family carers of people with dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charlesworth, Georgina; Sinclair, James B; Brooks, Alice; Sullivan, Theresa; Ahmad, Shaheen; Poland, Fiona

    2017-03-01

    With an ageing population, there are increasing numbers of experienced family carers (FCs) who could provide peer support to newer carers in a similar care situation. The aims of this paper are to: (i) use a cross-sectional study design to compare characteristics of volunteers and recipients of a peer support programme for FCs of people with dementia, in terms of demographic background, social networks and psychological well-being; and (ii) use a longitudinal study design to explore the overall impact of the programme on the volunteers in terms of psychological well-being. Data were collected from programmes run in Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Berkshire and four London boroughs between October 2009 and March 2013. The volunteer role entailed empathic listening and encouragement over a 10-month period. Both carer support volunteers (N = 87) and recipient FCs (N = 109) provided baseline demographic information. Data on social networks, personal growth, self-efficacy, service use and well-being (SF-12; EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale; Control, Autonomy, Self-Realisation, Pleasure-19) were collected prior to the start of the intervention (N = 43) and at either 3- to 5 month or 10 month follow-up (N = 21). Volunteers were more likely than recipients of support to be female and to have cared for a parent/grandparent rather than spouse. Volunteers were also more psychologically well than support recipients in terms of personal growth, depression and perceived well-being. The longitudinal analysis identified small but significant declines in personal growth and autonomy and a positive correlation between the volunteers' duration of involvement and perceived well-being. These findings suggest that carers who volunteer for emotional support roles are resilient and are at little psychological risk from volunteering. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  15. Safeguards for healthy volunteers in drug studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, R N

    1975-09-06

    Safeguards for healthy volunteers in drug studies have not been as strict as those involving patients. The shortcomings include the lack of surveillance over the scientific validity of the protocol and its ethical review, and over the financial inducements to volunteers. Recruitment is open to abuse because the volunteers may have some allegiance to the investigators. There is an urgent need to institute checks on these aspects. Most important, however, is the lack of legal safeguards for volunteers taking part in research done outside the pharmaceutical industry. The suggested procedure for obtaining consent, for health checks, and for providing compensation can be equitable to all concerned, and yet not restrict initiative, nor curtail research aims.

  16. Religiosity and Volunteering Intention Among Undergraduate Malaysian Muslim Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sallam A.A.A.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the question: To what extent do religiosity characteristics, contribute to the influence of volunteering intention among Malaysian Muslim students during disasters? To answer this research question, we focused the students in public universities. The finding concerns found that religiosity increases the likelihood of volunteering intention, implying that religious affiliation of youth increases the likelihood of volunteering. This is in line with previous research, that religious attendance is related positively to volunteering. These results confirm the idea that support of the religious attributes community plays quite a large role in volunteering process. However, it a bear that volunteering is not only dependent on religious community, but also on individual motivation.

  17. Religiosity and Volunteering Intention among Undergraduate Malaysian Muslim Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Sallam Abdullah AbdulElah

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the question: To what extent do religiosity characteristics, contribute to the influence of volunteering intention among Malaysian Muslim students during disasters? To answer this research question, we focused the students in public universities. The finding concerns found that religiosity increases the likelihood of volunteering intention, implying that religious affiliation of youth increases the likelihood of volunteering. This is in line with previous research, that religious attendance is related positively to volunteering. These results confirm the idea that support of the religious attributes community plays quite a large role in volunteering process.. However, it a bear that volunteering is not only dependent on religious community, but also on individual motivation.

  18. The stingy hour: how accounting for time affects volunteering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeVoe, Sanford E; Pfeffer, Jeffrey

    2010-04-01

    These studies examined how the practice of accounting for one's time-so that work can be billed or charged to specific clients or projects-affects the decision to allocate time to volunteer activities. Using longitudinal data collected from law students transitioning to their first jobs, Study 1 showed that exposure to billing time diminished individuals' willingness to volunteer, even after controlling for attitudes about volunteering held before entering the workforce as well as the individual's specific opportunity costs of volunteering time. Studies 2-5 experimentally manipulated billing time and confirmed its causal effect on individuals' willingness to volunteer and actual volunteering behavior. Study 5 showed that the effect of exposure to billing time on volunteering occurred above and beyond any effects on general self-efficacy or self-determination. Individual differences moderated the effects of billing, such that people who did not value money as much were less affected.

  19. Generation Z’s Sustainable Volunteering: Motivations, Attitudes and Job Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meehee Cho

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Generation Z (Gen Z, the future of America’s workforce, is forecasted to represent more than 30 million persons by 2020. Volunteer rates have been declining since 2002. Most compelling is that overall lowest volunteer rates were found to be within the Gen Z segment, with expectations of continued decline. Thus, this study explored motivations associated with sustainable volunteering by Gen Z based upon past research that documented intent to volunteer is strongly associated with age. In doing so, the Volunteer Functions Inventory was adopted to identify Gen Z motivations for volunteering. This study then employed the theory of planned behavior to test the relationships between Gen Z volunteering motivations, their attitudes and job performance using data obtained from 306 Gen Z volunteer special event participants. Among five motives identified to be important to Gen Z, only four motives (“value”, “career”, “learning” and “self-esteem” were found to significantly influence their attitudes. The ‘social’ motive was found to have no significant effect on their attitudes towards volunteering. This research framework was supported by validating the significant relationships between volunteer motivations, attitudes and job performance specific to the Gen Z volunteer segment. “Job training appropriateness” was found to be an important moderator for improving the relationships between Gen Z volunteer attitudes and job performance.

  20. 20 CFR 628.540 - Volunteer program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... programs under this part to volunteer assistance, in the form of mentoring, tutoring, and other activities. ... 20 Employees' Benefits 3 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Volunteer program. 628.540 Section 628.540 Employees' Benefits EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PROGRAMS UNDER TITLE II OF...

  1. 5 CFR 315.605 - Appointment of former ACTION volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... full-time community volunteer (including criminal justice volunteer, volunteer in justice, and VET... institution of higher learning; or (3) In another activity which, in the agency's view, warrants extension. (c...

  2. As relações simbólicas e a motivação no trabalho voluntário.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kássia de Aguiar Salazar

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste artigo é compreender as relações simbólicas que envolvem a motivação no trabalho voluntário. A parte empírica do artigo tem como locus a Associação Voluntárias da Apae (Avapae de Venda Nova do Imigrante. O artigo se legitima na relevância de estudar as organizações por meio de abordagens voltadas para os simbolismos organizacionais (Morgan, Frost, & Pondy, 1983; Gioia, 1986; Carrieri & Saraiva, 2007. Neste artigo, isso se realiza pelo reconhecimento da relação entre a construção social da realidade (Berger & Luckmann, 1985 dos voluntários e suas representações da motivação com base em uma subjetividade (Rey, 2005 articulada nas especificidades do trabalho voluntário. Os dados empíricos foram coletados por meio de 14 entrevistas semiestruturadas com voluntários da Avapae, observação não participante durante três meses no local de trabalho dos voluntários e análise de documentos. Os dados foram tratados com base na técnica de análise de conteúdo. Para as voluntárias estudadas, o trabalho está relacionado com a capacidade de, por meio de um bordado, por exemplo, produzirem-se significados, como ajudar o próximo, divertir-se, mudar a rotina, entre outros. A motivação, observada por meio dos significados da participação voluntária, tem como base o sentimento de fazer parte de algo ou de transformar um meio, tendo um papel importante naquela tarefa social (Palassi & Vervloet, 2011. A pesquisa evidenciou o contexto da Avapae como complexo permeado por múltiplos simbolismos e subjetividades, com destaque para as construções sociais oriundas dos moradores de Venda Nova do Imigrante, além dos limites da organização estudada. O venda-novense configurou-se como produto e produtor de parte dos simbolismos que envolvem a motivação para o voluntariado. Como contribuição final deste trabalho, defende-se que os caminhos para tratar da motivação para o voluntariado devem considerar a a

  3. Longitudinal Associations Between Formal Volunteering and Cognitive Functioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proulx, Christine M; Curl, Angela L; Ermer, Ashley E

    2018-03-02

    The present study examines the association between formal volunteering and cognitive functioning over time. We also examine the moderating roles of race, sex, education, and time. Using 11,100 participants aged 51 years and older and nine waves of data from the Health and Retirement Survey, we simultaneously modeled the longitudinal associations between engaging in formal volunteering and changes in cognitive functioning using multilevel models. Formal volunteering was associated with higher levels of cognitive functioning over time, especially with aspects of cognitive functioning related to working memory and processing. This association was stronger for women than it was for men, and for those with below average levels of education. The positive association between formal volunteering and cognitive functioning weakened over time when cognitive functioning was conceptualized as memory, but strengthened over time when conceptualized as working memory and processing. Volunteering is a productive activity that is beneficial not just to society, but to volunteers' levels of cognitive functioning in older age. For women and those with lower levels of education, formal volunteering appears particularly beneficial to working memory and processing. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. Towards a sustainable volunteer mobile, online tutoring model for mathematics

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Butgereit, L

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Volunteer workers contribute to many aspects of society. There are volunteer organisations which formally assist in many areas such as health, education, housing, safety and security. Virtual volunteering is less common. Virtual volunteering...

  5. 45 CFR 1220.3-2 - Part-time volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Part-time volunteers. 1220.3-2 Section 1220.3-2... SERVICE PAYMENT OF VOLUNTEER LEGAL EXPENSES Civil and Administrative Proceedings § 1220.3-2 Part-time volunteers. ACTION will reimburse sponsors for the reasonable expenses incidental to the defense of part-time...

  6. Will Natural Resources Professionals Volunteer to Teach Youth?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Sanford S.; Finley, James C.; San Julian, Gary J.

    2010-01-01

    A unique approach to volunteer marketing research involved a mail survey with natural resources professionals from across Pennsylvania. Previous work identified this group as a source of potential volunteers for the 4-H youth natural resources program. The results give insights into those most likely to volunteer to teach youth through 4-H…

  7. What do women gain from volunteering? The experience of lay Arab and Jewish women volunteers in the Women for Women's Health programme in Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daoud, Nihaya; Shtarkshall, Ronny; Laufer, Neri; Verbov, Gina; Bar-El, Hagar; Abu-Gosh, Nasreen; Mor-Yosef, Shlomo

    2010-03-01

    Ambiguous feelings regarding women engaging in formal volunteering and concerns about their exploitation might explain the dearth of studies regarding the volunteering benefits specifically experienced by low socioeconomic status women. The current study examined benefits of volunteering among women participating in Women for Women's Health (WWH), a lay health volunteers (LHV) programme implemented in Jewish and Arab communities in Israel, and aiming at empowering such women to become active volunteers and promote health activities in their communities. Two years after the introduction of WWH in each community, all 45 Jewish and 25 Arab volunteers were contacted by phone and invited to participate in the focus group discussions. Five focus group discussions were conducted with 25/42 Jewish volunteers in 2003 and four with 20/25 Arab volunteers in 2005. The other volunteers could not attend the scheduled meetings or became inactive for personal reasons. Four benefit categories were identified in both ethnic groups: 1. Personal benefits of having increased knowledge, feeling self-satisfaction, mastering new skills and performing healthy behaviours; 2. Group-social benefits of social support and sense of cohesion; 3. Purposive benefits of achieving the WWH mission and goals; 4. Sociopolitical benefits of learning to accept the other and experiencing increased solidarity. However, the relatively less privileged Arab volunteers enumerated more benefits within the personal and purposive categories. They also identified the unique sociocultural category of improving women's status in the community by creating a legitimate space for women by public sphere involvement, traditionally solely a male domain. We conclude that volunteering in community-based health promotion programmes can be an empowering experience for lay women without being exploitative. Positive volunteering benefits will be even more discernable among underprivileged women who enjoy fewer opportunities in

  8. Court Appointed Volunteers for Abused and Neglected Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Justin, Renate G.

    2002-02-01

    A court appointed special advocate (CASA) volunteer is a trained citizen who is appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of an abused and neglected child in court. An independent voice, the volunteer gathers information and reports to the court. The CASA volunteer works in close cooperation with other professionals, physicians, lawyers, social workers, and teachers to find the most suitable permanent placement for a victimized child, whether it be a foster home, parental home, or adoptive home. Another function for CASA volunteers is to be supportive to the child during a time of uncertainty in his or her life and to help the youngster adjust to new and changing situations; the CASA volunteer may be the only consistent adult presence during this difficult period of transition.

  9. Volunteer Motivations at a National Special Olympics Event

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khoo, Selina; Engelhorn, Rich

    2011-01-01

    Understanding the motivations for people to volunteer with the management and execution of major sporting events is important for the recruitment and retention of the volunteers. This research investigated volunteer motivations at the first National Special Olympics held in Ames, Iowa, USA in July 2006. A total of 289 participants completed the 28…

  10. Volunteer labor supply in The Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Dijk, Jouke; Boin, Ronald

    1993-01-01

    The main aim of this paper is to provide insight in the determinants of the decision to participate (yes or no) in volunteer work and the decision with regard to the number of hours spent on volunteer work. These decisions are empirically analyzed with Dutch microdata for 1982 by means of a logit

  11. The hospice volunteer: a person of hospitality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welk, T A

    1992-01-01

    Volunteers are integral members of the hospice interdisciplinary team. They are distinguished from other members of the team only by role, not by expectation. The distinction is not between "volunteer" and "professional," because every team member is to be professional in the best sense of that word. If a distinction is to be made, it is that some hospice staff members are salaried while others donate their services. Volunteer staff members are expected to be as responsible and accountable as every other member of the team. ALL staff members must realize the importance of taking care of personal needs in order to be able to care for others. Even though the following article deals primarily with the volunteer hospice staff member, the points outlined can just as easily be applied to the salaried staff member.

  12. Interaction between Shadoo and PrP Affects the PrP-Folding Pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciric, Danica; Richard, Charles-Adrien; Moudjou, Mohammed; Chapuis, Jérôme; Sibille, Pierre; Daude, Nathalie; Westaway, David; Adrover, Miguel; Béringue, Vincent; Martin, Davy; Rezaei, Human

    2015-06-01

    Prion diseases are characterized by conformational changes of a cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) into a β-sheet-enriched and aggregated conformer (PrP(Sc)). Shadoo (Sho), a member of the prion protein family, is expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) and is highly conserved among vertebrates. On the basis of histoanatomical colocalization and sequence similarities, it is suspected that Sho and PrP may be functionally related. The downregulation of Sho expression during prion pathology and the direct interaction between Sho and PrP, as revealed by two-hybrid analysis, suggest a relationship between Sho and prion replication. Using biochemical and biophysical approaches, we demonstrate that Sho forms a 1:1 complex with full-length PrP with a dissociation constant in the micromolar range, and this interaction consequently modifies the PrP-folding pathway. Using a truncated PrP that mimics the C-terminal C1 fragment, an allosteric binding behavior with a Hill number of 4 was observed, suggesting that at least a tetramerization state occurs. A cell-based prion titration assay performed with different concentrations of Sho revealed an increase in the PrP(Sc) conversion rate in the presence of Sho. Collectively, our observations suggest that Sho can affect the prion replication process by (i) acting as a holdase and (ii) interfering with the dominant-negative inhibitor effect of the C1 fragment. Since the inception of the prion theory, the search for a cofactor involved in the conversion process has been an active field of research. Although the PrP interactome presents a broad landscape, candidates corresponding to specific criteria for cofactors are currently missing. Here, we describe for the first time that Sho can affect PrP structural dynamics and therefore increase the prion conversion rate. A biochemical characterization of Sho-PrP indicates that Sho acts as an ATP-independent holdase. Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights

  13. Recombinant PrPSc shares structural features with brain-derived PrPSc: Insights from limited proteolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sevillano, Alejandro M; Fernández-Borges, Natalia; Younas, Neelam; Wang, Fei; R Elezgarai, Saioa; Bravo, Susana; Vázquez-Fernández, Ester; Rosa, Isaac; Eraña, Hasier; Gil, David; Veiga, Sonia; Vidal, Enric; Erickson-Beltran, Melissa L; Guitián, Esteban; Silva, Christopher J; Nonno, Romolo; Ma, Jiyan; Castilla, Joaquín; R Requena, Jesús

    2018-01-01

    Very solid evidence suggests that the core of full length PrPSc is a 4-rung β-solenoid, and that individual PrPSc subunits stack to form amyloid fibers. We recently used limited proteolysis to map the β-strands and connecting loops that make up the PrPSc solenoid. Using high resolution SDS-PAGE followed by epitope analysis, and mass spectrometry, we identified positions ~116/118, 133-134, 141, 152-153, 162, 169 and 179 (murine numbering) as Proteinase K (PK) cleavage sites in PrPSc. Such sites likely define loops and/or borders of β-strands, helping us to predict the threading of the β-solenoid. We have now extended this approach to recombinant PrPSc (recPrPSc). The term recPrPSc refers to bona fide recombinant prions prepared by PMCA, exhibiting infectivity with attack rates of ~100%. Limited proteolysis of mouse and bank vole recPrPSc species yielded N-terminally truncated PK-resistant fragments similar to those seen in brain-derived PrPSc, albeit with varying relative yields. Along with these fragments, doubly N- and C-terminally truncated fragments, in particular ~89/97-152, were detected in some recPrPSc preparations; similar fragments are characteristic of atypical strains of brain-derived PrPSc. Our results suggest a shared architecture of recPrPSc and brain PrPSc prions. The observed differences, in particular the distinct yields of specific PK-resistant fragments, are likely due to differences in threading which result in the specific biochemical characteristics of recPrPSc. Furthermore, recombinant PrPSc offers exciting opportunities for structural studies unachievable with brain-derived PrPSc.

  14. Volunteered Geographic Information System Design: Project and Participation Guidelines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José-Pablo Gómez-Barrón

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This article sets forth the early phases of a methodological proposal for designing and developing Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI initiatives based on a system perspective analysis in which the components depend and interact dynamically among each other. First, it focuses on those characteristics of VGI projects that present different goals and modes of organization, while using a crowdsourcing strategy to manage participants and contributions. Next, a tool is developed in order to design the central crowdsourced processing unit that is best suited for a specific project definition, associating it with a trend towards crowd-based or community-driven approaches. The design is structured around the characterization of different ways of participating, and the task cognitive demand of working on geo-information management, spatial problem solving and ideation, or knowledge acquisition. Then, the crowdsourcing process design helps to identify what kind of participants are needed and outline subsequent engagement strategies. This is based on an analysis of differences among volunteers’ participatory behaviors and the associated set of factors motivating them to contribute, whether on a crowd or community-sourced basis. From a VGI system perspective, this paper presents a set of guidelines and methodological steps in order to align project goals, processes and volunteers and thus successfully attract participation. This methodology helps establish the initial requirements for a VGI system, and, in its current state, it mainly focuses on two components of the system: project and participants.

  15. College Experience and Volunteering. Fact Sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcelo, Karlo Barrios

    2007-01-01

    College experience and volunteering are positively correlated. Measurable differences in civic activity exist between young people who attend college and young people who do not. This fact sheet explores volunteering as civic engagement among youth with college experience, ages 19-25, which was down for the second year in a row in 2006. The…

  16. Pr-magnetism in the quasi-skutterudite compound PrFe2Al8.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nair, Harikrishnan S; Ogunbunmi, Michael O; Kumar, C M N; Adroja, D T; Manuel, P; Fortes, D; Taylor, J; Strydom, A M

    2017-08-31

    The intermetallic compound PrFe 2 Al 8 that possesses a three-dimensional network structure of Al polyhedra centered at the transition metal element Fe and the rare earth Pr is investigated through neutron powder diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering in order to elucidate the magnetic ground state of Pr and Fe and the crystal field effects of Pr. Our neutron diffraction study confirms long-range magnetic order of Pr below [Formula: see text] K in this compound. Subsequent magnetic structure estimation reveals a magnetic propagation vector [Formula: see text] with a magnetic moment value of [Formula: see text]/Pr along the orthorhombic c-axis and evidence the lack of ordering in the Fe sublattice. The inelastic neutron scattering study reveals one crystalline electric field excitation near 19 meV at 5 K in PrFe 2 Al 8 . The energy-integrated intensity of the 19 meV excitation as a function of [Formula: see text] follows the square of the magnetic form factor of [Formula: see text] thereby confirming that the inelastic excitation belongs to the Pr sublattice. The second sum rule applied to the dynamic structure factor indicates only 1.6(2) [Formula: see text] evolving at the 19 meV peak compared to the 3.58 [Formula: see text] for free [Formula: see text], indicating that the crystal field ground state is magnetic and the missing moment is associated with the resolution limited quasi-elastic line. The magnetic order occurring in Pr in PrFe 2 Al 8 is counter-intuitive to the symmetry-allowed crystal field level scheme, hence, is suggestive of exchange-mediated mechanisms of ordering stemming from the magnetic ground state of the crystal field levels.

  17. Impact of Work Task-Related Acute Occupational Smoke Exposures on Select Proinflammatory Immune Parameters in Wildland Firefighters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Objective: A repeated measures study was used to assess the effect of work tasks on select proinflammatory biomarkers in firefighters working at prescribed burns. Methods: Ten firefighters and two volunteers were monitored for particulate matter and carbon monoxide on workdays, ...

  18. Volunteer Environmental Stewardship and Affective Labour in Philadelphia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alec Foster

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent research has critically evaluated the rapid growth of volunteer urban environmental stewardship. Framings of this phenomenon have largely focused upon environmentality and/or neoliberal environments, unfortunately often presenting a totalising picture of the state and/or market utilising power from above to create environmental subjects with limited agency available to local citizens. Based upon qualitative research with volunteer urban environmental stewards in Philadelphia, affective labour is proposed as an alternative explanation for participation. Stewards volunteered their time and labour due to the intense emotional attachments they formed with their neighbourhoods, neighbours, and nonhuman others in relationships of affective labour. Volunteer urban environmental stewardship as affective labour provides room for agency on the part of individuals and groups involved in volunteer urban environmental reproduction and opens up new ways of relating to and being with human and nonhuman others.

  19. Volunteering and older women: psychosocial and health predictors of participation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parkinson, Lynne; Warburton, Jeni; Sibbritt, David; Byles, Julie

    2010-11-01

    As populations age, there will be a need for more volunteers in social welfare, and consequently a need to better understand potential effects of volunteering for older people. Whilst there is a body of international literature exploring health benefits of volunteering in later life, there are currently no longitudinal studies of Australian populations. Internationally, there is a lack of studies focusing on older women, who comprise the majority of the ageing population. The aim of this article was to explore the relationship between volunteering and psychosocial and health factors for a cohort of older Australian women over time. Data for this study were from the oldest cohort of Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, a 20-year longitudinal survey of Australian women aged 70-75 years in 1996. Volunteering status was the factor of interest and study factors included a broad range of demographic, health and social factors. A longitudinal model was developed for mediators of volunteering over time. Of 7088 women in 2005, 24.5% reported actively volunteering, 15.5% were continuing, 7.5% were new, 15.3% were intermittent and 34.7% had never been volunteers. Volunteering was associated with increased quality of life and social support. Women were more likely to continue volunteering over time if they lived in a rural area, had higher socioeconomic indicators, and better levels of physical and mental health. This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between volunteering and health for older women. Understanding the potential health implications of volunteering is a critical issue in current policy debates.

  20. Gender-specific cerebral activation during cognitive tasks using functional MRI: comparison of women in mid-luteal phase and men

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gizewski, Elke R.; Wanke, Isabel; Forsting, Michael; Krause, Eva; Senf, Wolfgang

    2006-01-01

    Previous studies of gender-specific differences in functional imaging during spatial and language tasks have been inconclusive. Furthermore, among women, such differences may occur during mid-luteal phase compared to the rest of the menstrual cycle. In order to examine further gender differences, functional MRI was performed in 12 male volunteers and 12 female volunteers (in the mid-luteal phase) during mental rotation and verb-generation tests. Two-sample t-tests with uncorrected P values of <0.001 for the specific regions of interest (ROIs) revealed cerebral activation differences in both stimuli. During mental rotation tests, higher levels of activation were noted in the right medial frontal, precentral, and bilateral inferior parietal cortex, while in women this occurred in the right inferior and medial temporal, right superior frontal cortex, and left fusiform gyrus. During verb-generation tests, higher levels of activation in men was found in the left medial temporal and precentral cortex. Our results indicate that differences in cerebral activity during cognitive tasks can be shown between men and women in the mid-luteal phase. Gender differences while performing a mental rotation task were more prominent than during a verb-generation task. (orig.)

  1. The role of PR in the formation of psychological readiness for a rogue wave events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaykovskaya, N.; Rodin, A.

    2012-04-01

    In recent years the study of psychological foundations of human behavior when dealing with rogue waves has received increasing attention. However, this problem is only in the interest of a narrow circle of specialists, while the task is to explain the rules of behavior when dealing with the phenomenon to anyone who can get into this situation. This problem can only be solved by media and PR-specialists working in this field. PR- specialists are required to convey to people the need of correct action stereotype for assault element, because, as it is known, a fact only becomes a fact when it is written about in a newspaper or is made a story about in a summary of radio or TV news. This publication is devoted to the developing of forms and methods of PR-specialists activity in this area.

  2. Motives for volunteering are associated with mortality risk in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konrath, Sara; Fuhrel-Forbis, Andrea; Lou, Alina; Brown, Stephanie

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of motives for volunteering on respondents' mortality risk 4 years later. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine whether motives for volunteering predicted later mortality risk, above and beyond volunteering itself, in older adults from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. Covariates included age, gender, socioeconomic variables, physical, mental, and cognitive health, health risk behaviors, personality traits, received social support, and actual volunteering behavior. Replicating prior work, respondents who volunteered were at lower risk for mortality 4 years later, especially those who volunteered more regularly and frequently. However, volunteering behavior was not always beneficially related to mortality risk: Those who volunteered for self-oriented reasons had a mortality risk similar to nonvolunteers. Those who volunteered for other-oriented reasons had a decreased mortality risk, even in adjusted models. This study adds to the existing literature on the powerful effects of social interactions on health and is the first study to our knowledge to examine the effect of motives on volunteers' subsequent mortality. Volunteers live longer than nonvolunteers, but this is only true if they volunteer for other-oriented reasons.

  3. Personality Accounts for the Connection Between Volunteering and Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Hannah R; Jackson, Joshua J; Morrow-Howell, Nancy; Oltmanns, Thomas F

    2015-09-01

    Existing literature has shown that volunteering is related to better physical and mental health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to examine whether personality traits and volunteering are independent predictors of physical and mental health. The current study utilizes data from the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN), a representative sample of community-based adults between the ages of 55 and 64. Using hierarchical linear regressions, we test whether volunteering is a significant predictor of both physical and mental health while controlling for personality traits. We find that volunteering is not significantly related to either physical or mental health while controlling for personality traits. We also find that lower neuroticism is related to better physical functioning and mental health, whereas higher extraversion is related to better mental health. These results indicate that volunteering may be related to health outcomes because of the personality characteristics of volunteers, not the volunteering experience in and of itself. Future longitudinal studies are needed to further explore the relationship between personality, volunteering, and health. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  4. A Study on Volunteers of the Storytelling of Training in Public Libraries: A Case Study on Volunteer Storyteller of Taipei Public Library

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Ping Peng

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, the administrators of public library administrators have been actively promoting children’s reading services. In particular, storytelling activities have a significantly positive effect on enhancing children’s interest and ability in reading. Because of human resource shortages at public libraries, providing these services depends on volunteers. The public libraries should enhance the competencies of volunteers who engage in storytelling, and provide appropriate training for maintaining as well as improving the effectiveness of storytelling services. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the storytelling training of storytelling volunteers. The study used in-depth interviews to obtain information on the experiences, ideas, and suggestions of public library storytelling volunteers at Taipei Public Library. Current education and training of storytelling volunteer encompasses demand analysis, implementation methods, course content, assessment of effectiveness, and suggestions for adjusting education and training in public library. Finally, the present study results are provided for education and training of storytelling volunteers for public libraries.

  5. State diagram of Pr-Bi system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abulkhaev, V.L.; Ganiev, I.N.

    1994-01-01

    By means of thermal differential analysis, X-ray and microstructural analysis the state diagram of Pr-Bi system was studied. Following intermetallic compounds were defined in the system: Pr 2 Bi, Pr 5 Bi 3 , Pr 4 Bi 3 , Pr Bi, PrBi 2 , Pr 2 Bi, Pr 5 Bi 3 , Pr 4 Bi 3 and PrBi 2 . The data analysis on Ln-Bi diagram allowed to determine the regularity of change of properties of intermetallic compounds in the line of rare earth elements of cerium subgroup.

  6. Effective practices of international volunteering for health: perspectives from partner organizations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lough, Benjamin J; Tiessen, Rebecca; Lasker, Judith N

    2018-01-24

    The demand for international volunteer experiences to promote global health and nutrition is increasing and numerous studies have documented the experiences of the international volunteers who travel abroad; however, little is known about effective practices from the perspective of partner organizations. This study aims to understand how variables such as the skill-level of volunteers, the duration of service, cultural and language training, and other key variables affect partner organizations' perceptions of volunteer effectiveness at promoting healthcare and nutrition. This study used a cross-sectional design to survey a convenience sample of 288 volunteer partner organizations located in 68 countries. Principle components analyses and manual coding of cases resulted in a categorization of five generalized types of international volunteering. Differences among these types were compared by the duration of service, skill-level of volunteers, and the volunteers' perceived fit with organizational needs. In addition, a multivariate ordinary least square regression tested associations between nine different characteristics/activities and the volunteers' perceived effectiveness at promoting healthcare and nutrition. Partner organizations viewed highly-skilled volunteers serving for a short-term abroad as the most effective at promoting healthcare and nutrition in their organizations, followed by slightly less-skilled long-term volunteers. The greatest amount of variance in perceived effectiveness was volunteers' ability to speak the local language, followed by their skill level and the duration of service abroad. In addition, volunteer training in community development principles and practices was significantly related to perceived effectiveness. The perceptions of effective healthcare promotion identified by partner organizations suggest that program and volunteer characteristics need to be carefully considered when deciding on methods of volunteer preparation and

  7. Control of volunteer soybean plants in sunflower crop

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Magno Brighenti

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Sunflower (Helianthus annuus sown offseason, after soybean crop (Glycine max, is affected by the competition imposed by volunteer plants. Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the control of volunteer soybean plants in sunflower crops. The sulfentrazone herbicide (75 g ha-1, 100 g ha-1 and 250 g ha-1 causes phytotoxicity to sunflower immediately after application, however, plants recover, with no yield losses. These doses do not cause the total death of volunteer soybean plants, but temporarily paralyzes their growth, avoiding the competition with the sunflower crop. The glufosinate ammonium and ametryn herbicides are effective in controlling volunteer soybean plants, however, symptoms of phytotoxicity in the sunflower crop are high, reflecting in losses of dry weight biomass and crop yield. The other treatments do not provide satisfactory control of volunteer soybean plants and even reduce the sunflower dry weight biomass and yield.

  8. Race differences in the relationship between formal volunteering and hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tavares, Jane L; Burr, Jeffrey A; Mutchler, Jan E

    2013-03-01

    This study investigated race differences in the relationship between formal volunteering and hypertension prevalence among middle-aged and older adults. Using data from the 2004 and 2006 Health and Retirement Study (N = 5,666; 677 African Americans and 4,989 whites), we examined regression models stratified by race to estimate relationships among hypertension prevalence, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and volunteer status and hours spent volunteering among persons aged 51 years old and older. White volunteers had a lower risk of hypertension than white nonvolunteers. A threshold effect was also present; compared with nonvolunteers, volunteering a moderate number of hours was associated with lowest risk of hypertension for whites. Results for hypertension were consistent with results from alternative models of systolic and diastolic blood pressure. We found no statistically significant relationship between volunteering activity and hypertension/blood pressure for African Americans. There may be unmeasured cultural differences related to the meaning of volunteering and contextual differences in volunteering that account for the race differences we observed. Research is needed to determine the pathways through which volunteering is related to hypertension risk and that may help explain race differences identified here.

  9. ATLAS@Home: Harnessing Volunteer Computing for HEP

    CERN Document Server

    Cameron, David; The ATLAS collaboration

    2015-01-01

    The ATLAS collaboration has setup a volunteer computing project called ATLAS@home. Volunteers running Monte-Carlo simulation on their personal computer provide significant computing resources, but also belong to a community potentially interested in HEP. Four types of contributors have been identified, whose questions range from advanced technical details to the reason why simulation is needed, how Computing is organized and how it relates to society. The creation of relevant outreach material for simulation, event visualization and distributed production will be described, as well as lessons learned while interacting with the BOINC volunteers community.

  10. A randomised trial of the effect of the glycine reuptake inhibitor Org 25935 on cognitive performance in healthy male volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christmas, David; Diaper, Alison; Wilson, Sue; Rich, Ann; Phillips, Suzanne; Udo de Haes, Joanna; Sjogren, Magnus; Nutt, David

    2014-03-01

    Cognitive impairment is integral to many neurological illnesses. Specific enhancement of glutamatergic transmission may improve memory and learning. Org 25935 increases the synaptic availability of glycine, an obligate co-agonist with glutamate at N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. We hypothesised that Org 25935 would acutely improve the learning and memory of healthy volunteers. A randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, single-dose study of Org 25935 and placebo was carried out. Thirty-two healthy male volunteers took either 12-mg Org 25935 or matching placebo and were later assessed with the manikin task, digit span and verbal memory tests. Systematic assessments of cardiovascular and adverse events were also taken. There was no effect of Org 25935 on reaction time, number of correct responses or learning (greater or slower improvement over successive tasks) compared with placebo. Org 25935 caused significantly more dizziness and drowsiness compared with placebo; these side effects were mainly mild. A single dose of Org 25935 does not improve learning or memory in healthy male individuals. However, the drug was well tolerated, and it remains to be seen whether it would have a positive effect on cognition in patient groups with pre-existing cognitive deficits.

  11. Volunteer Work, Religious Commitment, and Resting Pulse Rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Neal; Ironson, Gail; Hill, Peter C

    2017-04-01

    Research indicates that greater involvement in volunteer activities is associated with better health. We aim to contribute to this literature in two ways. First, rather than rely on self-reports of health, measured resting pulse rates serve as the dependent variable. Second, an effort is made to see if religious commitment moderates the relationship between volunteering and resting pulse rates. Data that come from a recent nationwide survey (N = 2265) suggest that volunteer work is associated with lower resting pulse rates. The results also reveal that the relationship between engaging in volunteer work and resting pulse rates improves among study participants who are more deeply committed to religion.

  12. The Challenge of Volunteering Frequency in Croatia--Can Volunteers Contribute to the Social Capital Development Once a Year?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culum, Bojana; Forcic, Gordana

    2008-01-01

    Volunteering is one of the strongest elements of shaping democratic change within the society. It is also an essential element in citizenship development and in re-establishing a sense of community. Volunteering empowers individuals, builds solidarity, encourages participation and protects vulnerable groups against social and economic…

  13. Prion protein (PrP) gene-knockout cell lines: insight into functions of the PrP

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakudo, Akikazu; Onodera, Takashi

    2015-01-01

    Elucidation of prion protein (PrP) functions is crucial to fully understand prion diseases. A major approach to studying PrP functions is the use of PrP gene-knockout (Prnp−/−) mice. So far, six types of Prnp−/− mice have been generated, demonstrating the promiscuous functions of PrP. Recently, other PrP family members, such as Doppel and Shadoo, have been found. However, information obtained from comparative studies of structural and functional analyses of these PrP family proteins do not fully reveal PrP functions. Recently, varieties of Prnp−/− cell lines established from Prnp−/− mice have contributed to the analysis of PrP functions. In this mini-review, we focus on Prnp−/− cell lines and summarize currently available Prnp−/− cell lines and their characterizations. In addition, we introduce the recent advances in the methodology of cell line generation with knockout or knockdown of the PrP gene. We also discuss how these cell lines have provided valuable insights into PrP functions and show future perspectives. PMID:25642423

  14. Youth Volunteering in the States: 2002 to 2006. Fact Sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helms, Sara E.; Marcelo, Karlo Barrios

    2007-01-01

    Volunteer rates vary tremendously across states and age groups. In recent years, young people have exhibited rising volunteering rates, particularly high school students and college freshmen, but 2006 witnessed a drop in the volunteering rate among. When comparing the volunteer rates for different age groups from 2002 to 2006, 16-18 year olds…

  15. Leveraging Telehealth to Bring Volunteer Physicians Into Underserved Communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uscher-Pines, Lori; Rudin, Robert; Mehrotra, Ateev

    2017-06-01

    Many disadvantaged communities lack sufficient numbers of local primary care and specialty physicians. Yet tens of thousands of physicians, in particular those who are retired or semiretired, desire meaningful volunteer opportunities. Multiple programs have begun to use telehealth to bridge the gap between volunteer physicians and underserved patients. In this brief, we describe programs that are using this model and discuss the promise and pitfalls. Physician volunteers in these programs report that the work can be fulfilling and exciting, a cutting-edge yet convenient way to remain engaged and contribute. Given the projected shortfall of physicians in the United States, recruiting retired and semiretired physicians to provide care through telehealth increases the total supply of active physicians and the capacity of the existing workforce. However, programs typically use volunteers in a limited capacity because of uncertainty about the level and duration of commitment. Acknowledging this reality, most programs only use volunteer physicians for curbside consults rather than fully integrating them into longitudinal patient care. The part-time availability of volunteers may also be difficult to incorporate into the workflow of busy safety net clinics. As more physicians volunteer in a growing number of telehealth programs, the dual benefits of enriching the professional lives of volunteers and improving care for underserved communities will make further development of these programs worthwhile.

  16. Prion protein (PrP) gene-knockout cell lines: insight into functions of the PrP

    OpenAIRE

    Sakudo, Akikazu; Onodera, Takashi

    2015-01-01

    Elucidation of prion protein (PrP) functions is crucial to fully understand prion diseases. A major approach to studying PrP functions is the use of PrP gene-knockout (Prnp ?/?) mice. So far, six types of Prnp ?/? mice have been generated, demonstrating the promiscuous functions of PrP. Recently, other PrP family members, such as Doppel and Shadoo, have been found. However, information obtained from comparative studies of structural and functional analyses of these PrP family proteins do not ...

  17. Volunteering and mortality risk: a partner-controlled quasi-experimental design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Reilly, Dermot; Rosato, Michael; Moriarty, John; Leavey, Gerard

    2017-08-01

    The consensus that volunteering is associated with a lower mortality risk is derived from a body of observational studies and therefore vulnerable to uncontrolled or residual confounding. This potential limitation is likely to be particularly problematic for volunteers who, by definition, are self-selected and known to be significantly different from non-volunteers across a range of factors associated with better survival. This is a census-based record-linkage study of 308 733 married couples aged 25 and over, including 100 571 volunteers, with mortality follow-up for 33 months. We used a standard Cox model to examine whether mortality risk in the partners of volunteers was influenced by partner volunteering status-something expected if the effects of volunteering on mortality risk were due to shared household or behavioural characteristics. Volunteers were general more affluent, better educated and more religious than their non-volunteering peers; they also had a lower mortality risk [hazard ratio (HR)adj = 0.78: 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.71, 0.85 for males and HRadj = 0.77: 95% CI = 0.68, 0.88 for females]. However, amongst cohort members who were not volunteers, having a partner who was a volunteer was not associated with a mortality advantage (HRadj = 1.01: 95% CI = 0.92, 1.11 for men and HRadj = 1.00: 95% CI = 0.88, 1.13 women). This study provides further evidence that the lower mortality associated with volunteering is unlikely to be due to health selection or to residual confounding arising from unmeasured selection effects within households. It therefore increases the plausibility of a direct causal effect. © The Author 2017; all rights reserved. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association

  18. The consideration of emotional intelligence abilities in event volunteers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Andam

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The measurement of emotional intelligence abilities is one of the new subjects and important in human behavior studies. According to this matter, purpose of this research is consideration of emotional intelligence abilities in public sport events volunteers in 2011. For this purpose, Bradbury and Cruise's standard questionnaire was completed by present volunteers in event (n=80. The results indicated that 4 levels of emotional intelligence in volunteers are higher than expectational average significantly (p<0.01. Also, priority of emotional intelligence abilities indicated that self-awareness is first priority and social awareness, relationship management and self-management are second, third and fourth priorities in volunteers. Finally, in the basis of parameter, results stated that there is no difference between male and female volunteers emotional intelligence in first Olympia of public sport. According to results of present research and advantages of attention to emotional intelligence and human behavior in organizations, it recommended sport events managers to be more sensitive relative to human behavior abilities in human behavior abilities in human resource (volunteers under his management. At least, result of this meditation in student's sport is recruitment and development of motivated volunteers for continuous attendance in sport events.

  19. Village health volunteers: key issues facing agencies in Malawi ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The participants discussed recruitment, training, rewards, retention, and roles of village health volunteers. This paper presents background data on village health volunteers in Malawi and elsewhere and reviews the key issues facing health care providers in working with village health volunteers. A copy of the workshop ...

  20. Motivation of volunteers at disability sports events: A comparative ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Motivation of volunteers at disability sports events: A comparative study of volunteers in Malaysia, South Africa and the United States. ... African Journal for Physical Activity and Health Sciences. Journal Home ... Very few cross-cultural comparisons have been done to assess the motivations of volunteers at similar events.

  1. Revisiting progesterone receptor (PR) actions in breast cancer: Insights into PR repressive functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proietti, Cecilia J; Cenciarini, Mauro E; Elizalde, Patricia V

    2018-05-01

    Progesterone receptor (PR) is a master regulator in female reproductive tissues that controls developmental processes and proliferation and differentiation during the reproductive cycle and pregnancy. PR also plays a role in progression of endocrine-dependent breast cancer. As a member of the nuclear receptor family of ligand-dependent transcription factors, the main action of PR is to regulate networks of target gene expression in response to binding its cognate steroid hormone, progesterone. Liganded-PR transcriptional activation has been thoroughly studied and associated mechanisms have been described while progesterone-mediated repression has remained less explored. The present work summarizes recent advances in the understanding of how PR-mediated repression is accomplished in breast cancer cells and highlights the significance of fully understanding the determinants of context-dependent PR action. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. A comparison of the effects of a secondary task and lorazepam on cognitive performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    File, S E

    1992-01-01

    In order to test whether the lorazepam-induced impairments in a variety of cognitive tasks were similar to those of divided attention, the effects of lorazepam (2.5 mg) in healthy volunteers were compared with those requiring subjects to perform an additional task (detecting silences superimposed onto classical music). Neither treatment impaired implicit memory or judgements of frequency. Both treatments impaired performance in tests of speed, lorazepam having the greatest effect on number cancellation and the additional task having the greatest effect on simple reaction time. Both treatments impaired performance in a coding task, in a test of explicit episodic memory and in judgements of recency (indicating impaired coding of contextual information). Lorazepam significantly reduced performance in a word completion task, but this was unimpaired in the group performing the additional task. In general, the pattern of results suggests that there are similarities between the effects of divided attention and lorazepam treatment, and that lorazepam-induced cognitive impairments are not restricted to explicit tests of episodic memory.

  3. RECRUITING OLDER VOLUNTEERS: FINDINGS FROM THE BELGIAN AGEING STUDIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah DURY

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Although there is a significant body of work concerning voluntary work, hardly any attention is given to volunteering of older individuals. Moreover, the potential volunteers among older adults is even less examined. Next to volunteering among olde r adults, the neighbou rhood becomes more salient when people age and this due to their more intense use and time spent in the neighbourhood. In response to these lacunae, the main purpose of this contribution is to examine the impact of subjective neighbourhood features on the recruitment potential for volunteering among older people. This study uses data collected from the Belgian Ageing Studies. 59.977 adults aged sixty and over living self-reliantly in 127 Flemish municipalities in Belgium participated in this study. A binary logistic regression is ap plied to analyse the key va riables characterizing potential volunteers. Our findings stress the need for recognizing the crucial importance of the locality when recruiting older adults for volunteer activities.

  4. Embedding Volunteer Activity into Paramedic Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Linda; Kabidi, Sophia

    2017-01-01

    Paramedics require a wide range of skills that are beyond clinical or technical skills in order to meet the demands of the role and provide quality and compassionate care to patients. Non-technical or "soft" skills and attributes are generally challenging to teach and develop in the classroom setting. Volunteerism provides an opportunity for students to gain exposure to different communities and develop interpersonal skills. This cross-sectional study used one-on-one interviews with 12 third-year Bachelor of Emergency Health (Paramedic) students from Monash University, Australia, who completed a community volunteering program. Results suggest that paramedic students see volunteering as a highly valuable means of developing a number of skills crucial to their future roles and paramedic practice. Volunteering also provided students with an opportunity to learn about themselves and the broader community, develop confidence, and improve overall job-readiness and employability. This study demonstrates that embedding volunteering into paramedic education is an effective way to develop the broad range of paramedic attributes required for the role. These experiences allow students to make the important transition to a job-ready graduate paramedic who can provide holistic patient-centred care.

  5. Bats, mines, and citizen science in the Rockies: Volunteers make a difference in Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayes, Mark A.

    2012-01-01

    Biologists at the Colorado Division of Wildlife faced a big problem back in 1990. They wanted to protect important bat roosts in the state’s abandoned mines, but first they had to find the bats. Colorado’s rich mining history had left more than 23,000 old mines scattered across the landscape, few of which had ever been surveyed for bat roosts. The magnitude of the task was overwhelming. So the agency put out a call for volunteers, “citizen scientists” willing to donate their time for bat conservation. Two decades later, the results have surpassed their wildest expectations.

  6. Social commitment of volunteering in clown-therapy: an empowering empirical research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Rosaria Strollo

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a quantitative empirical research on the factors influencing volunteers in clown-therapy. The field of the volunteering has social relevance particularly for its positive aspects on social community and on prosocial behavior. However, after a broad literature review on the topic of volunteering, the researcher aims to investigate the specific issue of volunteering in clown-therapy, exploring similarities and differences with voluntary activities in other settings, and analysing motivations and reasons for the choice to become a volunteer. A comparative and statistical approach is the real innovative aspect of this research in that it carried out factor analysis, comparative analysis and overcame the limits of the prior research on volunteering, which had dealt just with some dimensions of the complex phenomenon of volunteering.Finally, the research results confirm the hypothesis that volunteering in general, and volunteering in clown-therapy in particular, is an activity empowering both for the individual and for the entire community.

  7. Phase diagram of Pr-P system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mironov, K.E.

    1981-01-01

    An area of the Pr-P system, adjoining to the Pr ordinate, is plotted up by the DTA method. Presence of P solid solution in Pr is established. Data on thermal stability of PrP, PrP 2 , PrP 5 and PrP 7 are generalized. The diagram of phase transformations in Pr-P system is plotted up proceeding from the whole complex of the data, presented. A supposition is made on a possible formation of solid solutions between the highest polyphosphide and phosphorus [ru

  8. Motivations of Volunteer Leaders in an Extension Exercise Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Washburn, Lisa T.; Cornell, Carol E.; Traywick, LaVona; Felix, Holly C.; Phillips, Martha

    2015-01-01

    This article describes findings from a qualitative study of volunteer leaders in the StrongWomen strength training program in Arkansas. The study explored reasons volunteers initially agreed to serve, perceptions of volunteer role, and motivations for continuing to lead strength training groups long-term. Findings suggest a combination of factors…

  9. Volunteer Computing Experience with ATLAS@Home

    CERN Document Server

    Cameron, David; The ATLAS collaboration; Bourdarios, Claire; Lan\\c con, Eric

    2016-01-01

    ATLAS@Home is a volunteer computing project which allows the public to contribute to computing for the ATLAS experiment through their home or office computers. The project has grown continuously since its creation in mid-2014 and now counts almost 100,000 volunteers. The combined volunteers' resources make up a sizable fraction of overall resources for ATLAS simulation. This paper takes stock of the experience gained so far and describes the next steps in the evolution of the project. These improvements include running natively on Linux to ease the deployment on for example university clusters, using multiple cores inside one job to reduce the memory requirements and running different types of workload such as event generation. In addition to technical details the success of ATLAS@Home as an outreach tool is evaluated.

  10. Matching Expectations for Successful University Student Volunteering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paull, Megan; Omari, Maryam; MacCallum, Judith; Young, Susan; Walker, Gabrielle; Holmes, Kirsten; Haski-Leventha, Debbie; Scott, Rowena

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of expectation formation and matching for university student volunteers and their hosts. Design/methodology/approach: This research involved a multi-stage data collection process including interviews with student volunteers, and university and host representatives from six…

  11. Long-term consequences of youth volunteering: Voluntary versus involuntary service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jinho; Morgül, Kerem

    2017-09-01

    Despite the renewed interest in youth volunteering in recent years, there remain major gaps in our knowledge of its consequences. Drawing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, we examine the long-term effects of youth volunteering on the civic and personal aspects of volunteers' lives. Our results suggest that youth volunteering has a positive return on adult volunteering only when it is voluntary, and that net of contextual factors neither voluntary nor involuntary youth service has a significant effect on adult voting. Regarding personal outcomes, our findings indicate that the psychological benefits of youth volunteering accrue only to voluntary participants, whereas both voluntary and involuntary youth service are positively associated with educational attainment and earnings in young adulthood. Taken together, these results lend support to the case for youth volunteer programs, though the civic benefits of these programs appear to be less dramatic than generally suggested. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Leaving home: how older adults prepare for intensive volunteering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheek, Cheryl; Piercy, Kathleen W; Grainger, Sarah

    2015-03-01

    Using the concepts in the Fogg Behavioral Model, 37 volunteers aged 50 and older described their preparation for intensive volunteering with faith-based organizations. Their multistage preparation process included decision points where respondents needed to choose whether to drop out or continue preparation. Ability was a stronger determinant of serving than motivation, particularly in terms of health and finances. This model can facilitate understanding of the barriers to volunteering and aid organizations in tailoring support at crucial points for potential older volunteers in intensive service. © The Author(s) 2013.

  13. Cu4Pr6(MoO4)11-Pr2(MoO4)3 system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arzumanyan, G.A.

    1982-01-01

    Existence boundaries and Dalton compositions (CuPr(MoO 4 ) 2 , CuPr 3 (MoO 4 ) 5 ) of solid solutions that in the mojority are of shcheelite dsitored structure have been determined in the Cu 4 Pr 6 (MoO 4 ) 11 -Pr 2 (MoO 4 ) 3 system. It has been revealed that regions of homogeneity near the CuPr(MoO 4 ) 2 composition have a horseshoeshaped profile

  14. Frontal lobe functioning during a simple response conflict task in first-episode psychosis and its relationship to treatment response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafritz, Keith M; Ikuta, Toshikazu; Greene, Allison; Robinson, Delbert G; Gallego, Juan; Lencz, Todd; DeRosse, Pamela; Kingsley, Peter B; Szeszko, Philip R

    2018-05-09

    Prior functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have investigated the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive control in patients with psychosis with findings of both hypo- and hyperfrontality. One factor that may contribute to inconsistent findings is the use of complex and polyfactorial tasks to investigate frontal lobe functioning. In the current study we employed a simple response conflict task during fMRI to examine differences in brain activation between patients experiencing their first-episode of psychosis (n = 33) and age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers (n = 33). We further investigated whether baseline brain activation among patients predicted changes in symptom severity and treatment response following 12 weeks of controlled antipsychotic treatment. During the task subjects were instructed to press a response button on the same side or opposite side of a circle that appeared on either side of a central fixation point. Imaging data revealed that for the contrast of opposite-side vs. same-side, patients showed significantly greater activation compared with healthy volunteers in the anterior cingulate cortex and intraparietal sulcus. Among patients, greater baseline anterior cingulate cortex, temporal-parietal junction, and superior temporal cortex activation predicted greater symptom reduction and therapeutic response following treatment. All findings remained significant after covarying for task performance. Intact performance on this relatively parsimonious task was associated with frontal hyperactivity suggesting the need for patients to utilize greater neural resources to achieve task performance comparable to healthy individuals. Moreover, frontal hyperactivity observed using a simple fMRI task may provide a biomarker for predicting treatment response in first-episode psychosis.

  15. Volunteer motivation in special events for people with disabilities ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    There has been little research attention in the South African context on volunteer motivation for special events for people with disabilities. This study explored the key factors that motivated volunteers to volunteer their services at three major sport events for people with disabilities in South Africa. A 28-item questionnaire was ...

  16. NASTEP Volunteer Request (CSA) -

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Transportation — Allows users to add themselves to a Service Area wide ?volunteer for emergency duty? list (was created after Gulf Coast Hurricanes). Approval and email by managers,...

  17. When Volunteering Breeds Trust – and When it Does Not A Panel Study of the Volunteering – Trust Relationship

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bekkers, René

    2006-01-01

    It is a common belief that participation in voluntary associations makes citizens more trusting of others. This paper reports longitudinal analyses of volunteering and trust on the Giving in the Netherlands Panel Study (2002-2004; n=1246) refuting this belief. I find that volunteering has little

  18. Age and motives for volunteering: testing hypotheses derived from socioemotional selectivity theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okun, Morris A; Schultz, Amy

    2003-06-01

    Following a meta-analysis of the relations between age and volunteer motives (career, understanding, enhancement, protective, making friends, social, and values), the authors tested hypotheses derived from socioemotional selectivity theory regarding the effects of age on these volunteer motives. The Volunteer Functions Inventory was completed by 523 volunteers from 2 affiliates of the International Habitat for Humanity. Multiple regression analyses revealed, as predicted, that as age increases, career and understanding volunteer motivation decrease and social volunteer motivation increases. Contrary to expectations, age did not contribute to the prediction of enhancement, protective, and values volunteer motivations and the relation between age and making friends volunteer motivation was nonlinear. The results were discussed in the context of age-differential and age-similarity perspectives on volunteer motivation.

  19. Using Videoconferencing to Create Authentic Online Learning for Volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lobley, Jennifer; Ouellette, Kristy L.

    2017-01-01

    Face-to-face training for Extension volunteers is no longer the only viable delivery mode. In times of rapid technological advances, we are faced with a plethora of options for offering volunteers the training and support they need. Zoom, an online videoconferencing platform, can easily be used to engage volunteers in professional development.…

  20. Engaged anthropology and corporate volunteering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natália Blahová

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present engaged anthropology and its methodological tools with a specific perspective of the research field and the position of the researcher with regard to research subjects. The study focuses on corporate volunteering as one of the forms of collaboration between the non-profit and the private sectors seeking solutions to social problems and community development. Volunteering projects contribute to the interlinking of the knowledge, skills, experience and resources of corporate employees and the representatives of the non-profit or the public sector. It is a part of the philanthropic strategy of companies which are willing to present themselves as entities responsible towards the environment in which they run their business, and towards their employees, partners and customers. Engaged anthropology can bring, through its methodological tools, a new perspective of corporate volunteering. Community-based participatory research on the process of knowledge creation includes all partners on an equal basis and identifies their unique contribution to problem solution and community development.

  1. Volunteer work and psychological health following traumatic brain injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouellet, Marie-Christine; Morin, Charles M; Lavoie, André

    2009-01-01

    To compare the long-term psychological functioning of 3 groups of survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI): (1) those who report being regularly active either by working or studying, (2) those who are not competitively employed but are active volunteers, and (3) those who report neither working, studying, nor volunteering. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: Two hundred eight participants aged 16 years and older with minor to severe TBI were classified as (1) Working/Studying (N = 78), (2) Volunteering (N = 54), or (3) Nonactive (N = 76). Measures of psychological distress (anxiety, depression, cognitive disturbance, irritability/anger), fatigue, sleep disturbance, and perception of pain. Survivors of TBI who report being active through work, studies, or volunteering demonstrate a significantly higher level of psychological adjustment than persons who report no activity. Even among participants who are unable to return to work and are declared on long-term disability leave, those who report engaging in volunteer activities present significantly better psychological functioning than participants who are nonactive. Volunteering is associated with enhanced psychological well-being and should be encouraged following TBI.

  2. [Drug evaluation in healthy volunteers. Legislative and ethical aspects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warot, D

    1991-01-01

    Studies in healthy volunteers have been legalized since December 20th 1988 in France. The healthy volunteer is employed for a variety of studies in phases I and IV of drug development. This type of research can equally be called nontherapeutic in nature. Every experiment involving healthy volunteers should be approved by the Ethics Committee. Using volunteers within the department, company or other organisation, while offering advantages for the investigator should be prohibited as freedom of concept might not be safeguarded. As well, financial incentives may over-persuade individuals, including students, who have low incomes and promote the "professional volunteer". To avoid this problem, French law planned a national register. The potential benefits of such a disposition are still unknown. Having been given appropriate information concerning the drug trial, his obligations and rights, the healthy volunteer gives his written consent. Specific recommendations for nontherapeutic assessments of drug effects are given concerning prisoners, the mentally handicapped, women with a risk of frequency, children. Ethical considerations concerning research on a healthy population must go beyond the law recently promulgated in France.

  3. Methylphenidate produces selective enhancement of declarative memory consolidation in healthy volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linssen, A M W; Vuurman, E F P M; Sambeth, A; Riedel, W J

    2012-06-01

    Methylphenidate inhibits the reuptake of dopamine and noradrenaline and is used to treat children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Besides reducing behavioral symptoms, it improves their cognitive function. There are also observations of methylphenidate-induced cognition enhancement in healthy adults, although studies in this area are relatively sparse. We assessed the possible memory-enhancing properties of methylphenidate. In the current study, the possible enhancing effects of three doses of methylphenidate on declarative and working memory, attention, response inhibition and planning were investigated in healthy volunteers. In a double blind placebo-controlled crossover study, 19 healthy young male volunteers were tested after a single dose of placebo or 10, 20 or 40 mg of methylphenidate. Cognitive performance testing included a word learning test as a measure of declarative memory, a spatial working memory test, a set-shifting test, a stop signal test and a computerized version of the Tower of London planning test. Declarative memory consolidation was significantly improved relative to placebo after 20 and 40 mg of methylphenidate. Methylphenidate also improved set shifting and stopped signal task performance but did not affect spatial working memory or planning. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study reporting enhanced declarative memory consolidation after methylphenidate in a dose-related fashion over a dose range that is presumed to reflect a wide range of dopamine reuptake inhibition.

  4. Hospital administrative characteristics and volunteer resource management practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Intindola, Melissa; Rogers, Sean; Flinchbaugh, Carol; Della Pietra, Doug

    2016-05-16

    Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the links between various characteristics of hospital administration and the utilization of classes of volunteer resource management (VRM) practices. Design/methodology/approach - This paper uses original data collected via surveys of volunteer directors in 122 hospitals in five Northeastern and Southern US states. Findings - Structural equation modeling results suggest that number of paid volunteer management staff, scope of responsibility of the primary volunteer administrator, and hospital size are positively associated with increased usage of certain VRM practices. Research limitations/implications - First, the authors begin the exploration of VRM antecedents, and encourage others to continue this line of inquiry; and second, the authors assess dimensionality of practices, allowing future researchers to consider whether specific dimensions have a differential impact on key individual and organizational outcomes. Practical implications - Based on the findings of a relationship between administrative characteristics and the on-the-ground execution of VRM practice, a baseline audit comparing current practices to those VRM practices presented here might be useful in determining what next steps may be taken to focus investments in VRM that can ultimately drive practice utilization. Originality/value - The exploration of the dimensionality of volunteer management adds a novel perspective to both the academic study, and practice, of volunteer management. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical categorization of VRM practices.

  5. The volunteer anesthetist: a personal view.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, S T

    2000-08-01

    The most common opportunities for nurse anesthetists to be involved in volunteer anesthesia overseas are usually on a surgical team to provide direct care for selected types of patients or to be involved in teaching local anesthesia providers. The challenges are numerous and unique in each setting. Sharing of knowledge, directly as an instructor or indirectly as a provider, provides for a great impact on health care delivery in many emerging nations. The anesthesia provider who is working to deliver care in another country must consider many variables before taking on such a venture. The type of surgical team or teaching assignment one accepts will determine the type of preparation that must be done before departing. In addition to the many organizational items, one should consider some personal issues as well. Lost wages, transportation costs, and lodging expenses are often paid for by the volunteer. Time away from one's family may also be a consideration. Health care, such as updated immunizations, must be attended to before to departure. Volunteers must be able to provide good care in less than ideal situations, and often with much less equipment and medications than are available in the United States. A review of some of the issues that one should consider before deciding to be a volunteer are outlined in this article. The nurse anesthetist who successfully anticipates and deals with the challenges of volunteer anesthesia will be rewarded with an intense degree of personal satisfaction. The ability to give back to the profession and those who would otherwise not have access to one's skills or knowledge produces a sense of accomplishment that is unique.

  6. Training Shelter Volunteers to Teach Dog Compliance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Howard, Veronica J.; DiGennaro Reed, Florence D.

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the degree to which training procedures influenced the integrity of behaviorally based dog training implemented by volunteers of an animal shelter. Volunteers were taught to implement discrete-trial obedience training to teach 2 skills (sit and wait) to dogs. Procedural integrity during the baseline and written instructions…

  7. Linking Motivation and Commitment through Learning Activities in the Volunteer Sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serafino, Allan

    2001-01-01

    Volunteer motivation and commitment are linked through learning about the organization, the job, and oneself. Volunteer managers should (1) identity volunteer motivations and establish conditions to support them; (2) identify learning activities appropriate for motivations and learning styles; (3) ensure congruence between volunteer learning and…

  8. Examining Volunteer Motivations and Recruitment Strategies For Engagement in Urban Forestry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Moskell

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Few studies in urban forestry have examined the motivations of urban forestry volunteers. In this research, two social psychological theories (Volunteer Functions Inventory and Volunteer Process Model are utilized to examine motivations for participating in tree planting activities. The Volunteer Functions Inventory can be used to examine the needs, goals and motivations that individuals seek to fulfill through volunteerism. The Volunteer Process Model sheds light on the antecedents, experiences and consequences of volunteerism at multiple levels (individual, interpersonal, organizational, societal. An understanding of volunteer motivations can aid practitioners in the development and implementation of participatory urban forestry programs that are attractive to stakeholders. We conducted a survey of volunteers who participated in a MillionTreesNYC volunteer planting event and a focus group of urban forestry practitioners. Survey results reveal that volunteers have varied motivations and a limited knowledge of the community level impacts of trees. Results from the focus group reveal that providing education about the benefits of trees and maintaining long-term communication with volunteers are frequently used strategies for engagement. However, the public’s lack of knowledge about urban forestry and an inability to connect to audiences are practitioner-identified challenges for recruiting stakeholders to participate in their programs.

  9. Photon cascade luminescence from Pr3+ ions in LiPrP4O12 polyphosphate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shalapska, T; Stryganyuk, G; Romanyshyn, Yu; Demchenko, P; Voloshinovskii, A; Trots, D; Gektin, A; Dorenbos, P

    2010-01-01

    The spectral-kinetic properties of luminescence from LiY 1-x Pr x P 4 O 12 (x = 1, 0.1) phosphors are studied in the 10-300 K temperature range upon excitation within the UV-VUV spectral range. The luminescence observed for LiPrP 4 O 12 at low temperatures is attributed to both intra-configurational 4f 2 → 4f 2 and inter-configurational 4f5d → 4f 2 radiative transitions of Pr 3+ . The temperature dependence of emission and the decay kinetics of Pr 3+ luminescence from LiY 1-x Pr x P 4 O 12 (x = 1, 0.1) phosphors are explained by temperature stimulated transitions from the 1 S 0 to the Pr 3+ 4f5d state. At low temperatures, the energy potential barrier between the 1 S 0 and 4f5d states is 0.014 eV for LiPrP 4 O 12 . The spectral overlap of the 1 S 0 and 4f5d states of Pr 3+ in LiY 0.9 Pr 0.1 P 4 O 12 determines the luminescence properties in the entire temperature range studied.

  10. MSFC personnel management tasks: Recruitment and orientation of new employees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brindley, T. A.

    1980-01-01

    In order to encourage highly motivated young students to learn about NASA and consider it for a career, a formal program is to be initiated whereby selected students can work on a voluntary basis at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The first task was to develop the working plan and procedures for this program, called Student Volunteer Service Program, in the writing of MSFC official guidelines, the Marshall Management Instruction (the MMI) which is a binding document that defines policy and establishes procedures and guidelines. Particular considerations written into the MMI after numerous consultations, interviews, and discussions about a satisfactory policy, include: arrangements to be made between the student, the school authorities, and concerned MSFC employees; management of the work assignments; and procedures for the student's welfare and safety. The second task was the development of a recruitment brochure for the attraction of new employees, especially scientists and engineers. The third task assigned was to develop a plan called Orientation of New Employees.

  11. The lived experience of volunteering in a palliative care biography service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beasley, Elizabeth; Brooker, Joanne; Warren, Narelle; Fletcher, Jane; Boyle, Christopher; Ventura, Adriana; Burney, Susan

    2015-10-01

    Many patients approaching death experience hopelessness, helplessness, and a depressed mood, and these factors can contribute to a difficult end-of-life (EoL) period. Biography services may assist patients in finding meaning and purpose at this time. The aim of our study was to investigate the lived experience of volunteers involved in a biography service in Melbourne, Australia, using a qualitative methodology. The participants were 10 volunteers who had participated in a biography service within a private palliative care service. Each volunteer was interviewed separately using a study-specific semistructured interview guide. The transcripts of these interviews were then subjected to thematic analysis. Analysis yielded the following themes: motivations for volunteering; dealing with death, dying, and existential issues; psychosocial benefits of volunteering; and benefits and challenges of working with patients and their families. Our results indicated that volunteering gave the volunteers a deeper appreciation of existential issues, and helped them to be more appreciative of their own lives and gain a deeper awareness of the struggles other people experience. They also suggested that volunteers felt that their involvement contributed to their own personal development, and was personally rewarding. Furthermore, the results highlighted that volunteers found that encounters with family members were sometimes challenging. While some were appreciative, others imposed time limits, became overly reliant on the volunteers, and were sometimes offended, hurt, and angered by what was included in the final biography. It is hoped that the findings of the current study will provide direction for improvements in the biography services that will benefit patients, family members, and volunteers. In particular, our findings highlight the need to provide ongoing support for volunteers to assist them in handling the challenges of volunteering in a palliative care setting.

  12. Municipality and Neighborhood Influences on Volunteering in Later Life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dury, Sarah; Willems, Jurgen; De Witte, Nico; De Donder, Liesbeth; Buffel, Tine; Verté, Dominique

    2016-06-01

    This article explores the relationships between municipality features and volunteering by older adults. In the literature, strong evidence exists of the influence of place on older people's health. However, the question how neighborhoods and municipalities promote or hinder volunteer participation remains under-explored. Data for the research are derived from the Belgian Aging Studies. We estimate logistic multilevel models for older individuals' engagement in volunteering across 141 municipalities in Belgium (N = 67,144). Analysis shows that neighborhood connectedness, neighborhood satisfaction, home ownership, and presence of services predict voluntary engagement at older ages. The findings support that perceptions and quality of social resources that relate to neighborhoods may be important factors to explain volunteering among older adults. Moreover, the findings suggest that volunteering in later life must be considered within a broader framework. © The Author(s) 2014.

  13. Making short-term international medical volunteer placements work: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elnawawy, Omnia; Lee, Andrew C K; Pohl, Gerda

    2014-06-01

    International medical volunteering has grown in recent decades. It has the potential to benefit and harm the volunteer and host countries; but there is a paucity of literature on the impacts of international medical volunteering and a need to find ways to optimise the benefits of such placements. In this study, one example of international medical volunteering was examined involving British GPs on short-term placements in Nepal. The intention was to explore the expectations and experiences of the local health workers, volunteers, and host organisation to try and understand what makes volunteer placements work. Qualitative study of key informant interviews. Stakeholders of a short-term international medical volunteer (IMV) placement programme in Nepal. Key informant interviews were carried out via face-to-face or telephone/internet interviews with five previous volunteers, three representatives from a non-governmental organisation providing placements, and five local health workers in Nepal who had had contact with the IMVs. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using standard thematic framework approaches. All the stakeholders had their own specific motives for participating in the IMV programme. The relationship between volunteers and the Nepalese health workers was complex and characterised by discrepant and occasionally unrealistic expectations. Managing these different expectations was challenging. Contextual issues and cultural differences are important considerations in medical volunteer programmes, and this study highlights the importance of robust preparation pre-placement for the volunteer and host to ensure positive outcomes. © British Journal of General Practice 2014.

  14. Media image of sport volunteering during the UEFA Euro 2012™ and the motives for social work and its style of volunteers working in Poznan and in Poland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marek Brdak

    2015-11-01

    Abstract   Background: Volunteering in sport is the most popular and media form of pro-social work in Europe. In Poland, to such activity the conditions are still creating by the largest growth of numbers of institutions active in the public sector in the field of sport, recreation, tourism and hobbies. Interest in volunteering at sport events is increasing, especially among young people. The media image of sport volunteering is adopted by the organizer with chosen promotional strategy. The associated expectations of the participants, their motivation and style of behaving during participation in volunteer project as a consequence are also factors determining the media image of sport volunteering.   Aim: The aim of the study is to compare the style of engaging in social work of their participants and motives of taking that kind of work by volunteers working in Poznan. Material and Method: The analysis included data available on the Internet regarding to organization of volunteer work during the UEFA Euro 2012™ in Poland and Ukraine as well as literature review regarding to the motivation to unpaid work in Poland. The motives of engaging in to volunteering as well as style of that work was compared between groups of participants of volunteering at UEFA Euro 2012™ in Poznan and Poland.   Results: Volunteering at UEFA Euro 2012™ was separated on two areas, sports and urban and was coordinated by different organizers. The convergence between the motivational climate created by organizers of two independent volunteer projects at UEFA Euro 2012™ and motives for social work of its participants is visible. Encouraging volunteers to unpaid work in sport area of tournament by presenting it as a possibility to feel the sports atmosphere was similar to motives and significant more often reported by its volunteers than volunteers working in urban zone. Altruistic motives underlying in social activities significantly more often were reported by volunteers working in

  15. Volunteering as a community mother--a pathway to lifelong learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molloy, Mary

    2007-05-01

    This paper describes a study that was undertaken to investigate the effects of participating in a community volunteering programme (the Community Mothers Programme) on volunteers (Community Mothers). The aim of the study was to investigate if volunteering in this programme acted as a pathway to lifelong learning; did the volunteers recognise the learning of new knowledge and/or skills, and did their participation in the programme trigger them to progress to further education in other settings? A self-administered questionnaire method was used for data collection: 115 questionnaires being distributed to volunteers, with a response rate of eighty-two (71 per cent). Findings show that the majority of the respondents cited the learning of new knowledge and/or skills as a result of their participation in the Community Mothers Programme. Learning appeared to stem from the various training and activities, suggesting an educational process within the volunteer setting. Findings also show that the majority of respondents had progressed to further education. In this instance, therefore, volunteering did appear to act as a pathway to lifelong learning.

  16. Meaningful Commitment: Finding Meaning in Volunteer Work

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnell, Tatjana; Hoof, Matthias

    2012-01-01

    This study tests the hypothesis that volunteer work is associated with various aspects of meaning making by employing a multi-dimensional model of meaning operationalized by the "Sources of Meaning and Meaning in Life Questionnaire" ("SoMe"). An empirical study comparing 168 volunteers with a representative sample of the general population (N =…

  17. Student Volunteering in England: A Critical Moment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Darwen, Jamie; Rannard, Andrea Grace

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the current state of student volunteering in English universities, and show how it contributes to some of the core activities of higher education, including teaching and learning, employability, and public engagement. The paper goes on to describe challenges currently faced by student volunteering,…

  18. The role sports volunteering in the life of university students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anastasia Bondar

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: identify the role sports volunteering in the life of university students. Material and Methods: 256 students of the Kharkov state academy of physical culture took part in research. The analysis of literary sources and documents was utillized; questioning (questionnaire, methods of the mathematical processing of data. Conclusions: sports volunteering is inalienable part of life of modern students and the 35% polled already were in a position to prove as helpers of organizers of sporting competitions of different level. In opinion of students, volunteering enables them to purchase experience of public activity, so the 25% polled consider, to find new friends – 20,8%, realized themselves – 18,3%. 34,5% respondents consider it-volunteering perspective direction the volunteers activity, the here 32,4% polled would like to prove as counsels of all of sporting volunteers work assignments

  19. School-based mentoring: A study of volunteer motivations and benefits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul CALDARELLA

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available While research has been conducted concerning the effects of school-based mentoring on atrisk students, limited work has focused on the volunteer mentors. This study examined the motivations of adult volunteers and the benefits of their participation in a six-month,school-based mentoring program. A total of 31 volunteers completed adapted versions of the Volunteer Functions Inventory and a post-survey as part of a program in which they mentored at-risk elementary school students. Volunteers were more satisfied with theirmentoring experience when their perceived benefits matched their initial motivations, though this did not seem to impact their intentions to mentor again in the future. Volunteers’ motivations tended toward expressing important values or gaining greaterunderstanding, though some younger volunteers were also motivated to gain career-related experience. Implications for school-based mentoring programs are addressed.

  20. Volunteering in the Community: Potential Benefits for Cognitive Aging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guiney, Hayley; Machado, Liana

    2018-03-02

    This review aims to advance understanding of the potential benefits of volunteering in the community for older adults' cognitive functioning by taking an in-depth look at the relevant evidence to date. This review describes the main pathways through which volunteering could plausibly benefit cognitive functioning and critically examines research that has specifically investigated links between volunteering and cognition. Fifteen articles that assessed in adults aged ≥ 55 years the relationship between volunteering (predictor) and cognitive functioning (outcome) were identified via literature database searches. On balance, evidence from the small number of relevant studies to date supports the idea that volunteering can protect against cognitive aging with respect to global functioning and at least some specific cognitive domains. Studies that used robust designs and assessed domain-specific cognitive functioning produced the largest effect sizes. To help advance the field, this review puts forward recommendations for future research, with an emphasis on the need for robust study designs and specific investigations into the nature and extent of the cognitive benefits of volunteering. Through that work, researchers can determine how a simple and accessible activity like volunteering can best be used to help reduce the burden of age-related cognitive decline. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Nuclear power plant control room crew task analysis database: SEEK system. Users manual

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burgy, D.; Schroeder, L.

    1984-05-01

    The Crew Task Analysis SEEK Users Manual was prepared for the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It is designed for use with the existing computerized Control Room Crew Task Analysis Database. The SEEK system consists of a PR1ME computer with its associated peripherals and software augmented by General Physics Corporation SEEK database management software. The SEEK software programs provide the Crew Task Database user with rapid access to any number of records desired. The software uses English-like sentences to allow the user to construct logical sorts and outputs of the task data. Given the multiple-associative nature of the database, users can directly access the data at the plant, operating sequence, task or element level - or any combination of these levels. A complete description of the crew task data contained in the database is presented in NUREG/CR-3371, Task Analysis of Nuclear Power Plant Control Room Crews (Volumes 1 and 2)

  2. Gender differences in volunteer activities: Evidence from German survey data

    OpenAIRE

    Marcus Dittrich; Bianka Mey

    2015-01-01

    Using unique data from a large-scale online survey conducted in Germany, we examine gender differences in volunteering for charitable organisations. Our findings suggest that men are more likely than women to engage in regular volunteer activities. Additionally, we find that men devote more time to charitable causes than women. However, disaggregating the volunteer labour supply by different organisations reveals that women spend more time performing volunteer work for organisations that help...

  3. Volunteering and health benefits in general adults: cumulative effects and forms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeung, Jerf W K; Zhang, Zhuoni; Kim, Tae Yeun

    2017-07-11

    Although the health benefits of volunteering have been well documented, no research has examined its cumulative effects according to other-oriented and self-oriented volunteering on multiple health outcomes in the general adult public. This study examined other-oriented and self-oriented volunteering in cumulative contribution to health outcomes (mental and physical health, life satisfaction, social well-being and depression). Data were drawn from the Survey of Texas Adults 2004, which contains a statewide population-based sample of adults (n = 1504). Multivariate linear regression and Wald test of parameters equivalence constraint were used to test the relationships. Both forms of volunteering were significantly related to better health outcomes (odds ratios = 3.66% to 11.11%), except the effect of self-oriented volunteering on depression. Other-oriented volunteering was found to have better health benefits than did self-volunteering. Volunteering should be promoted by public health, education and policy practitioners as a kind of healthy lifestyle, especially for the social subgroups of elders, ethnic minorities, those with little education, single people, and unemployed people, who generally have poorer health and less participation in volunteering.

  4. Disability and social participation: The case of formal and informal volunteering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shandra, Carrie L

    2017-11-01

    People with disabilities in the United States experience lower levels of social integration than people without disabilities. However, less is known about the association between disability and volunteer participation-despite an extensive literature on other disparities in volunteerism. This study uses data from the 2009-2015 Volunteer Supplement of the Current Population Survey to evaluate how working-aged adults with sensory disabilities, cognitive disabilities, physical disabilities, or multiple disabilities access, participate in, and maintain volunteer roles. Net of sociodemographic characteristics, adults with disabilities are no less likely than those without disabilities to report informal volunteering, although the presence of physical and multiple disabilities negatively associates with formal volunteering. Adults with disabilities report no fewer annual hours or weeks than those without disabilities if they are formal volunteers, but the mechanism through which they initially become involved in volunteer organizations varies. People with different types of disability experience different patterns of volunteering, and the sociodemographic characteristics associated with having a disability exacerbate many of these differences. Results suggest that adults with disabilities can-and do-participate in voluntary work, but may face barriers to accessing formal volunteer roles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Neural Correlates of a Perspective-taking Task Using in a Realistic Three-dimmensional Environment Based Task: A Pilot Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Sri Mahavir; Shivakumar, Venkataram; Kalmady, Sunil V; Danivas, Vijay; Amaresha, Anekal C; Bose, Anushree; Narayanaswamy, Janardhanan C; Amorim, Michel-Ange; Venkatasubramanian, Ganesan

    2017-08-31

    Perspective-taking ability is an essential spatial faculty that is of much interest in both health and neuropsychiatric disorders. There is limited data on the neural correlates of perspective taking in the context of a realistic three-dimensional environment. We report the results of a pilot study exploring the same in eight healthy volunteers. Subjects underwent two runs of an experiment in a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) involving alternate blocks of a first-person perspective based allocentric object location memory task (OLMT), a third-person perspective based egocentric visual perspective taking task (VPRT), and a table task (TT) that served as a control. Difference in blood oxygen level dependant response during task performance was analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping software, version 12. Activations were considered significant if they survived family-wise error correction at the cluster level using a height threshold of p <0.001, uncorrected at the voxel level. A significant difference in accuracy and reaction time based on task type was found. Subjects had significantly lower accuracy in VPRT compared to TT. Accuracy in the two active tasks was not significantly different. Subjects took significantly longer in the VPRT in comparison to TT. Reaction time in the two active tasks was not significantly different. Functional MRI revealed significantly higher activation in the bilateral visual cortex and left temporoparietal junction (TPJ) in VPRT compared to OLMT. The results underscore the importance of TPJ in egocentric manipulation in healthy controls in the context of reality-based spatial tasks.

  6. Socialising adolescent volunteering: how important are parents and friends? Age dependent effects of parents and friends on adolescents' volunteering behaviours

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Goethem, A.A.J.; van Hoof, A.; van Aken, M.A.G.; Orobio de Castro, B.; Raaijmakers, Q.A.W.

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the relative importance of best friend's and parents' volunteering and civic family orientation (combined with open family communication) in adolescent volunteering, and the moderating effect of age. Results, involving 698 adolescents (M age = 15.19; SD = 1.43), revealed that

  7. Socialising adolescent volunteering : How important are parents and friends? Age dependent effects of parents and friends on adolescents' volunteering behaviours

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Goethem, Anne A J; van Hoof, Anne; van Aken, Marcel A G; Orobio de Castro, Bram; Raaijmakers, Quinten A W

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the relative importance of best friend's and parents' volunteering and civic family orientation (combined with open family communication) in adolescent volunteering, and the moderating effect of age. Results, involving 698 adolescents (M age. = 15.19; SD= 1.43), revealed that

  8. Perspectives of volunteers in emergency feeding programs on hunger, its causes, and solutions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edlefsen, Miriam S; Olson, Christine M

    2002-01-01

    To understand the social beliefs of volunteers in emergency feeding programs (EFPs) regarding hunger and whether volunteer experiences broadened understanding of hunger. An interpretivist paradigm and qualitative methods were used. Seventeen volunteers were recruited and interviewed from three EFPs. Interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Volunteering in EFPs increased volunteers' awareness of the prevalence of hunger in their communities. More involved volunteers had a greater understanding of the life situations of the hungry. The volunteers felt that increasing self-sufficiency and private responses were appropriate solutions to hunger. The volunteers' attitudes and social beliefs were similar to those of the general public. Interventions that facilitate interaction between volunteers and clients, promote reflection on volunteer experiences, and provide alternative viewpoints on poverty are needed to broaden volunteers' understanding of hunger and food insecurity.

  9. Postural reconfiguration and cycle-to-cycle variability in patients with work-related musculoskeletal disorders compared to healthy controls and in relation to pain emerging during a repetitive movement task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longo, Alessia; Meulenbroek, Ruud; Haid, Thomas; Federolf, Peter

    2018-05-01

    Movement variability in sustained repetitive tasks is an important factor in the context of work-related musculoskeletal disorders. While a popular hypothesis suggests that movement variability can prevent overuse injuries, pain evolving during task execution may also cause variability. The aim of the current study was to investigate, first, differences in movement behavior between volunteers with and without work-related pain and, second, the influence of emerging pain on movement variability. Upper-body 3D kinematics were collected as 22 subjects with musculoskeletal disorders and 19 healthy volunteers performed a bimanual repetitive tapping task with a self-chosen and a given rhythm. Three subgroups were formed within the patient group according to the level of pain the participants experienced during the task. Principal component analysis was applied to 30 joint angle coordinates to characterize in a combined analysis the movement variability associated with reconfigurations of the volunteers' postures and the cycle-to-cycle variability that occurred during the execution of the task. Patients with no task-related pain showed lower cycle-to-cycle variability compared to healthy controls. Findings also indicated an increase in movement variability as pain emerged, manifesting both as frequent postural changes and large cycle-to-cycle variability. The findings suggested a relationship between work-related musculoskeletal disorders and movement variability but further investigation is needed on this issue. Additionally, the findings provided clear evidence that pain increased motor variability. Postural reconfigurations and cycle-to-cycle variability should be considered jointly when investigating movement variability and musculoskeletal disorders. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Volunteering in dementia care – a Norwegian phenomenological study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Söderhamn U

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Ulrika Söderhamn1, Bjørg Landmark2,3, Live Aasgaard2, Hilde Eide3, Olle Söderhamn11Center for Caring Research – Southern Norway, Faculty of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Agder, Grimstad, Norway; 2Institute of Research and Development for Nursing and Care Services, Municipality of Drammen, Drammen, Norway; 3Faculty of Health Sciences, Buskerud University College, Drammen, NorwayIntroduction: The number of people suffering from dementia will increase dramatically in the future, and this will be a great challenge and concern for health care services. It is assumed that volunteers will strengthen community health care services more in the future than they do today.Aim: The aim of this study was to elucidate lived experiences of working as a volunteer in an activity center with adapted activities for home-dwelling people with early stage dementia.Methods: Qualitative interviews were implemented in a group of nine female volunteers from an activity center in southern Norway. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed with a descriptive phenomenological method. Results: Volunteering in an activity center for home-dwelling people with early stage dementia was reported to provide experiences of being useful and feeling satisfied with performing a good job. It was an advantage for the volunteers to have had experiences from life in general, but also as a health professional or as being the next of kin of a dementia sufferer. It was important for the volunteers to focus on the dementia sufferer and show caring behavior, and interaction with and the appreciation of the health care professionals were also important. The volunteers were motivated by being able to have influence and participate in the planning of the work, to be a part of the social setting, and to learn. However, for some volunteers it was difficult to adjust to an appropriate role.Conclusion: In order to promote volunteering in a caring context, mutual

  11. Facts about Volunteers. NCJW Center for the Child Fact Sheet Number 5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Council of Jewish Women, New York, NY. Center for the Child.

    Volunteering is a vital and widespread activity in the United States; in fact, volunteers perform many essential community functions. Those who believe that most volunteers are women with time on their hands, that volunteers just do "charity work," and that volunteers are a source of cheap labor who can replace paid professionals and…

  12. Youth Volunteering in the States: 2002 and 2003. CIRCLE Fact Sheet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helms, Sara E.

    2004-01-01

    Volunteer rates vary tremendously across states and age groups. In recent years, young people have exhibited rising volunteering rates, particularly high school students and college freshmen. When comparing the volunteer rates for different age groups in 2002 and 2003, 16-18 year olds volunteer at consistently higher rates than their college-age…

  13. Volunteers and Their Motivation for Canistherapy

    OpenAIRE

    Saláková, Klára

    2014-01-01

    The bachelor thesis on the topic: "Volunteers and their motivation for canistherapy" is divided into the theoretical and practical part. The aim is to find out what motives lead people to do voluntary work in canistherapy. The theoretical part defines the basic concepts of motivation, volunteering and canistherapy, because these concepts are related with the name and with the aim of my work. First, there is defined motivation, basic concepts of motivation in relation to personality, motives a...

  14. Volunteer Program Assessment at the University of Nebraska at Omaha: A Metropolitan University's Collaboration with Rural and Spanish-Speaking Volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherer, Lisa L.; Graeve-Cunningham, Victoria M.; Trent, Sheridan B.; Weddington, Stephanie A.; Thurley, Adam R.; Prange, Kelly A.; Allen, Joseph A.

    2016-01-01

    The Volunteer Program Assessment at UNO (VPA-UNO), a faculty-led student group, partners with nonprofit and governmental agencies to provide free assessments and consultations to enhance volunteer engagement, organizational commitment and retention. Three recent initiatives are discussed representing an intentional effort of a metropolitan…

  15. Is overseas volunteering beneficial to the NHS? The analysis of volunteers' responses to a feedback questionnaire following experiences in low-income and middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeomans, Daniel; Le, Grace; Pandit, Hemant; Lavy, Chris

    2017-10-16

    Locally requested and planned overseas volunteering in low-income and middle-income countries by National Health Service (NHS) staff can have benefits for the host or receiving nation, but its impact on the professional development of NHS staff is not proven. The Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) and Leadership Framework (LF) are two tools used by employers as a measure of individuals' development. We have used dimensions from both tools as a method of evaluating the benefit to NHS doctors who volunteer overseas. 88 NHS volunteers participating with local colleagues in Primary Trauma Care and orthopaedic surgical training courses in sub-Saharan Africa were asked to complete an online self-assessment questionnaire 6 months following their return to the UK. The survey consisted of questions based on qualities outlined in both the KSF and LF. 85 completed responses to the questionnaire were received. In every KSF domain assessed, the majority of volunteers agreed that their overseas volunteering experience improved their practice within the NHS. Self-assessed pre-course and post-course scores evaluating the LF also saw a universal increase, notably in the 'working with others' domain. There is a growing body of literature outlining the positive impact of overseas volunteering on NHS staff. Despite increasing evidence that such experiences can develop volunteers' essential skills, individuals often find it difficult to gain support of their employers. Our study, in line with the current literature, shows that overseas volunteering by NHS staff can provide an opportunity to enhance professional and personal development. Skills gained from volunteering within international links match many of the qualities outlined in both KSF and LF, directly contributing to volunteers' continued professional development. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless

  16. Volunteering, driving status, and mortality in U.S. retirees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sei J; Steinman, Michael A; Tan, Erwin J

    2011-02-01

    To evaluate how accounting for driving status altered the relationship between volunteering and mortality in U.S. retirees. Observational prospective cohort. Nationally representative sample from the Health and Retirement Study in 2000 and 2002 followed to 2006. Retirees aged 65 and older (N=6,408). Participants self-reported their volunteering, driving status, age, sex, race or ethnicity, presence of chronic conditions, geriatric syndromes, socioeconomic factors, functional limitations, and psychosocial factors. Death by December 31, 2006, was the outcome. For drivers, mortality in volunteers (9%) and nonvolunteers (12%) was similar; for limited or non-drivers, mortality for volunteers (15%) was markedly lower than for nonvolunteers (32%). Adjusted results showed that, for drivers, the volunteering-mortality odds ratio (OR) was 0.90 (95% confidence interval (CI)=0.66-1.22), whereas for limited or nondrivers, the OR was 0.62 (95% CI=0.49-0.78) (interaction P=.05). The effect of driving status was greater for rural participants, with greater differences between rural drivers and rural limited or nondrivers (interaction P=.02) and between urban drivers and urban limited or nondrivers (interaction P=.81). The influence of volunteering in decreasing mortality seems to be stronger in rural retirees who are limited or nondrivers. This may be because rural or nondriving retirees are more likely to be socially isolated and thus receive more benefit from the greater social integration from volunteering. © 2011, Copyright the Authors. Journal compilation © 2011, The American Geriatrics Society.

  17. Applying Western models of volunteering in Hong Kong : The role of empathy, prosocial motivation and motive-experience fit for volunteering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aydinli, A.; Bender, M.; Chong, A.; Yue, X.

    2016-01-01

    The present research investigates the applicability of prominent Western volunteering frameworks in Hong Kong. Two cross-sectional surveys involving a total of 268 respondents were conducted. In Study 1, we tested a model of volunteering among 149 Hong Kong Chinese adult individuals (Mage = 34.8

  18. BOINC service for volunteer cloud computing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Høimyr, N; Blomer, J; Buncic, P; Giovannozzi, M; Gonzalez, A; Harutyunyan, A; Jones, P L; Karneyeu, A; Marquina, M A; Mcintosh, E; Segal, B; Skands, P; Grey, F; Lombraña González, D; Zacharov, I

    2012-01-01

    Since a couple of years, a team at CERN and partners from the Citizen Cyberscience Centre (CCC) have been working on a project that enables general physics simulation programs to run in a virtual machine on volunteer PCs around the world. The project uses the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) framework. Based on CERNVM and the job management framework Co-Pilot, this project was made available for public beta-testing in August 2011 with Monte Carlo simulations of LHC physics under the name “LHC at home 2.0” and the BOINC project: “Test4Theory”. At the same time, CERN's efforts on Volunteer Computing for LHC machine studies have been intensified; this project has previously been known as LHC at home, and has been running the “Sixtrack” beam dynamics application for the LHC accelerator, using a classic BOINC framework without virtual machines. CERN-IT has set up a BOINC server cluster, and has provided and supported the BOINC infrastructure for both projects. CERN intends to evolve the setup into a generic BOINC application service that will allow scientists and engineers at CERN to profit from volunteer computing. This paper describes the experience with the two different approaches to volunteer computing as well as the status and outlook of a general BOINC service.

  19. PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) 101

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... than 70%. Your risk of getting HIV from sex can be even lower if you combine PrEP with condoms and other prevention methods. Download PrEP 101 Consumer Info Sheet Vital Signs Fact Sheet on Daily Pill Can Prevent HIV (PrEP) Expand All Collapse All Video Introductions to PrEP What is PrEP? A Brief ...

  20. PrP Conformational Transitions Alter Species Preference of a PrP-specific antibody

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zou, W.Q.; Langeveld, J.P.M.; Xiao, X.; Chen, S.; McGeer, P.L.; Yuan, J.; Payne, M.C.; Kang, H.E.; McGeehan, J.M.; Sy, M.S.; Greenspan, N.S.; Kaplan, D.; Wang, G.X.; Parchi, P.; Hoover, E.A.; Kneale, G.; Telling, G.; Surewicz, W.; Kong, Q.; Guo, J.

    2010-01-01

    The epitope of the 3F4 antibody most commonly used in human prion disease diagnosis is believed to consist of residues Met-Lys-His-Met (MKHM) corresponding to human PrP-(109–112). This assumption is based mainly on the observation that 3F4 reacts with human and hamster PrP but not with PrP from

  1. Connecting Volunteers and Agents: A Social Constructionist Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dillivan, K. D.

    2013-01-01

    Extension volunteers benefit from participation in training activities. Furthermore, Extension personnel are best positioned to provide volunteers with relevant training. However, trainers neglecting relationship building and failing to attend to the communicative process may achieve unsatisfactory results. Social constructionism, a theoretical…

  2. Safety analysis of patient transfers and handling tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vieira, Er; Kumar, S

    2009-10-01

    Low-back disorders are related to biomechanical demands, and nurses are among the professionals with the highest rates. Quantification of risk factors is important for safety assessment and reduction of low-back disorders. This study aimed to quantify physical demands of frequent nursing tasks and provide evidence-based recommendations to increase low-back safety. Thirty-six volunteer female nurses participated in a cross-sectional study of nine nursing tasks. Lumbar range of motion (ROM) and motion during nursing tasks were measured. Compression and shear forces at L5/S1, ligament strain and percentage of population without sufficient torso strength to perform 14 phases of nine nursing tasks were estimated. Peak flexions during trolley-to-bed, bed-to-chair and chair-to-bed transfers reached the maximum flexion ROM of the nurses. Average lumbar flexion during trolley-to-bed transfers was >50% of flexion ROM, being higher than during all other tasks. Mean (SD) compression at L5/S1 (4754 N (437 N)) and population without sufficient torso strength (37% (9%)) were highest during the pushing phase of bed-to-trolley transfers. Shear force (487 N (40 N)) and ligament strain (14% (5%)) were highest during the pulling phase of trolley-to-bed transfers. Nursing tasks impose high biomechanical demands on the lumbar spine. Excessive lumbar flexion and forces are critical aspects of manual transfers requiring most of the nurses' capabilities. Evidence-based recommendations to improve low-back safety in common nursing tasks were provided. Fitness to work, job modifications and training programs can now be designed and assessed based on the results.

  3. A randomized controlled trial to promote volunteering in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warner, Lisa M; Wolff, Julia K; Ziegelmann, Jochen P; Wurm, Susanne

    2014-12-01

    Volunteering is presumed to confer health benefits, but interventions to encourage older adults to volunteer are sparse. Therefore, a randomized controlled trial with 280 community-dwelling older German adults was conducted to test the effects of a theory-based social-cognitive intervention against a passive waiting-list control group and an active control intervention designed to motivate physical activity. Self-reports of weekly volunteering minutes were assessed at baseline (5 weeks before the intervention) as well as 2 and 6 weeks after the intervention. Participants in the treatment group increased their weekly volunteering minutes to a greater extent than participants in the control groups 6 weeks after the intervention. We conclude that a single, face-to-face group session can increase volunteering among older community-dwelling adults. However, the effects need some time to unfold because changes in volunteering were not apparent 2 weeks after the intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  4. [The participation of seniors in volunteer activities: a systematic review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Godbout, Elisabeth; Filiatrault, Johanne; Plante, Michelle

    2012-02-01

    Volunteer work can be a very significant form of social participation for seniors. It can also provide seniors with important physical and psychological health benefits. This explains why occupational therapists and other health care professionals, as well as community workers who are concerned with healthy aging, appeal to seniors to volunteer in health promotion and community support However, the recruitment and ongoing involvement of seniors as volunteers is often challenging. A systematic review of the literature was undertaken to enlighten practitioners working in this domain. The objective was to identify factors that influence seniors' participation in volunteer work. Six bibliographic databases were searched using key words. A total of 27 relevant papers were retrieved and allowed an identification of a series of factors that could influence seniors' participation in volunteer work, namely personal factors, environmental factors, and occupational factors. This analysis leads to practical guidelines for facilitating the recruitment and maintenance of seniors' engagement in volunteer work.

  5. PrP expression, PrPSc accumulation and innervation of splenic compartments in sheep experimentally infected with scrapie.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Randi Sørby

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In prion disease, the peripheral expression of PrP(C is necessary for the transfer of infectivity to the central nervous system. The spleen is involved in neuroinvasion and neural dissemination in prion diseases but the nature of this involvement is not known. The present study undertook the investigation of the spatial relationship between sites of PrP(Sc accumulation, localisation of nerve fibres and PrP(C expression in the tissue compartments of the spleen of scrapie-inoculated and control sheep. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Laser microdissection and quantitative PCR were used to determine PrP mRNA levels and results were compared with immunohistochemical protocols to distinguish PrP(C and PrP(Sc in tissue compartments of the spleen. In sheep experimentally infected with scrapie, the major sites of accumulation of PrP(Sc in the spleen, namely the lymphoid nodules and the marginal zone, expressed low levels of PrP mRNA. Double immunohistochemical labelling for PrP(Sc and the pan-nerve fibre marker, PGP, was used to evaluate the density of innervation of splenic tissue compartments and the intimacy of association between PrP(Sc and nerves. Some nerve fibres were observed to accompany blood vessels into the PrP(Sc-laden germinal centres. However, the close association between nerves and PrP(Sc was most apparent in the marginal zone. Other sites of close association were adjacent to the wall of the central artery of PALS and the outer rim of germinal centres. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The findings suggest that the degree of PrP(Sc accumulation does not depend on the expression level of PrP(C. Though several splenic compartments may contribute to neuroinvasion, the marginal zone may play a central role in being the compartment with most apparent association between nerves and PrP(Sc.

  6. Religiosity and Volunteering Intention Among Undergraduate Malaysian Muslim Students

    OpenAIRE

    Sallam A.A.A.; Abdullah S.; Ramli A.J .; Hussin N.S.; Ahmad Z.; Bahari A.

    2018-01-01

    This paper deals with the question: To what extent do religiosity characteristics, contribute to the influence of volunteering intention among Malaysian Muslim students during disasters? To answer this research question, we focused the students in public universities. The finding concerns found that religiosity increases the likelihood of volunteering intention, implying that religious affiliation of youth increases the likelihood of volunteering. This is in line with previous research, that ...

  7. Influence of age, circadian and homeostatic processes on inhibitory motor control: a Go/Nogo task study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Sagaspe

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: The contribution of circadian system and sleep pressure influences on executive performance as a function of age has never been studied. The aim of our study was to determine the age-related evolution of inhibitory motor control (i.e., ability to suppress a prepotent motor response and sustained attention under controlled high or low sleep pressure conditions. METHODS: 14 healthy young males (mean age = 23 ± 2.7; 20-29 years and 11 healthy older males (mean age = 68 ± 1.4; 66-70 years were recruited. The volunteers were placed for 40 hours in "constant routine". In the "Sleep Deprivation SD" condition, the volunteer was kept awake for 40 hours to obtain a high sleep pressure condition interacting with the circadian process. In the "NAP" condition, the volunteer adopted a short wake/sleep cycle (150/75 min resulting in a low sleep pressure condition to counteract the homeostatic pressure and investigate the circadian process. Performances were evaluated by a simple reaction time task and a Go/Nogo task repeated every 3H45. RESULTS: In the SD condition, inhibitory motor control (i.e., ability to inhibit an inappropriate response was impaired by extended wakefulness equally in both age groups (P<.01. Sustained attention (i.e. ability to respond accurately to appropriate stimuli on the executive task decreased under sleep deprivation in both groups, and even more in young participants (P<.05. In the NAP condition, age did not influence the time course of inhibitory motor control or sustained attention. In the SD and NAP conditions, older participants had a less fluctuating reaction time performance across time of day than young participants (P<.001. CONCLUSION: Aging could be a protective factor against the effects of extended wakefulness especially on sustained attention failures due to an attenuation of sleep pressure with duration of time awake.

  8. Development Strategies for Online Volunteer Training Modules: A Team Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robideau, Kari; Vogel, Eric

    2014-01-01

    Volunteers are central to the delivery of 4-H programs, and providing quality, relevant training is key to volunteer success. Online, asynchronous modules are an enhancement to a training delivery menu for adult volunteers, providing consistent, accessible options traditionally delivered primarily face to face. This article describes how Minnesota…

  9. A Phenomenological Look at 4-H Volunteer Motives for Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schrock, Jessalyn; Kelsey, Kathleen D.

    2013-01-01

    Volunteers play a vital role in 4-H programs. Without their service, many programs would not be possible. Understanding volunteer motives provides Extension educators with tools for finding high-quality volunteers. The research reported here used McClelland's (1985) framework for motivation (affiliation, achievement, and power) and…

  10. Social Work with Religious Volunteers: Activating and Sustaining Community Involvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garland, Diana R.; Myers, Dennis M.; Wolfer, Terry A.

    2008-01-01

    Social workers in diverse community practice settings recruit and work with volunteers from religious congregations. This article reports findings from two surveys: 7,405 congregants in 35 Protestant congregations, including 2,570 who were actively volunteering, and a follow-up survey of 946 volunteers. It compares characteristics of congregation…

  11. Networking for philanthropy: increasing volunteer behavior via social networking sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yoojung; Lee, Wei-Na

    2014-03-01

    Social networking sites (SNSs) provide a unique social venue to engage the young generation in philanthropy through their networking capabilities. An integrated model that incorporates social capital into the Theory of Reasoned Action is developed to explain volunteer behavior through social networks. As expected, volunteer behavior was predicted by volunteer intention, which was influenced by attitudes and subjective norms. In addition, social capital, an outcome of the extensive use of SNSs, was as an important driver of users' attitude and subjective norms toward volunteering via SNSs.

  12. Volunteer map data collection at the USGS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eric, B. Wolf; Poore, Barbara S.; Caro, Holly K.; Matthews, Greg D.

    2011-01-01

    Since 1994, citizen volunteers have helped the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) improve its topographic maps. Through the Earth Science Corps program, citizens were able to "adopt a quad" and collect new information and update existing map features. Until its conclusion in 2001, as many as 300 volunteers annotated paper maps which were incorporated into the USGS topographic-map revision process.

  13. "Communication is everything:" The experiences of volunteers who use AAC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trembath, David; Balandin, Susan; Stancliffe, Roger J; Togher, Leanne

    2010-06-01

    The aim of this study was to explore the impact that using augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) had on the experiences of 24 adults with lifelong disabilities who worked as volunteers. This research forms part of a larger qualitative study of volunteering amongst adults who use AAC. Based on in-depth interviews and grounded theory analysis, the results indicate that communication is central to successful volunteering and, in particular, that access to AAC has the potential to provide valuable support to individuals with complex communication needs who want to volunteer. However, a number of barriers must be addressed in order for this potential to be achieved. Strategies for promoting and supporting adults who use AAC and want to volunteer are discussed.

  14. ATLAS@Home: Harnessing Volunteer Computing for HEP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adam-Bourdarios, C; Cameron, D; Filipčič, A; Lancon, E; Wu, W

    2015-01-01

    A recent common theme among HEP computing is exploitation of opportunistic resources in order to provide the maximum statistics possible for Monte Carlo simulation. Volunteer computing has been used over the last few years in many other scientific fields and by CERN itself to run simulations of the LHC beams. The ATLAS@Home project was started to allow volunteers to run simulations of collisions in the ATLAS detector. So far many thousands of members of the public have signed up to contribute their spare CPU cycles for ATLAS, and there is potential for volunteer computing to provide a significant fraction of ATLAS computing resources. Here we describe the design of the project, the lessons learned so far and the future plans. (paper)

  15. ATLAS@Home: Harnessing Volunteer Computing for HEP

    CERN Document Server

    Bourdarios, Claire; Filipcic, Andrej; Lancon, Eric; Wu, Wenjing

    2015-01-01

    A recent common theme among HEP computing is exploitation of opportunistic resources in order to provide the maximum statistics possible for Monte-Carlo simulation. Volunteer computing has been used over the last few years in many other scientific fields and by CERN itself to run simulations of the LHC beams. The ATLAS@Home project was started to allow volunteers to run simulations of collisions in the ATLAS detector. So far many thousands of members of the public have signed up to contribute their spare CPU cycles for ATLAS, and there is potential for volunteer computing to provide a significant fraction of ATLAS computing resources. Here we describe the design of the project, the lessons learned so far and the future plans.

  16. Volunteer activity as a means of self-realization and personal selfdetermination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iryna Didukh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The article presents the tendency of regeneration and active development of such social phenomenon as volunteering in the life of a modern Ukrainian society. Volunteering nowadays has an important place in the formation of the spiritual culture, values and basic standards of the morality of a person and the society in general. Key words: volunteering, volunteer, charity, virtuousness, motive, reason.

  17. ATLAS@Home looks for CERN volunteers

    CERN Multimedia

    Rosaria Marraffino

    2014-01-01

    ATLAS@Home is a CERN volunteer computing project that runs simulated ATLAS events. As the project ramps up, the project team is looking for CERN volunteers to test the system before planning a bigger promotion for the public.   The ATLAS@home outreach website. ATLAS@Home is a large-scale research project that runs ATLAS experiment simulation software inside virtual machines hosted by volunteer computers. “People from all over the world offer up their computers’ idle time to run simulation programmes to help physicists extract information from the large amount of data collected by the detector,” explains Claire Adam Bourdarios of the ATLAS@Home project. “The ATLAS@Home project aims to extrapolate the Standard Model at a higher energy and explore what new physics may look like. Everything we’re currently running is preparation for next year's run.” ATLAS@Home became an official BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network ...

  18. ESO PR Highlights in 2006

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-01-01

    Last year proved to be another exceptional year for the European organisation for ground-based astronomy. ESO should begin the New Year with two new member states: Spain (PR 05/06) and the Czech Republic (PR 52/06). ESO PR Highlights 2006 2006 was a year of renovation and revolution in the world of planets. A new Earth-like exoplanet has been discovered (PR 03/06) using a network of telescopes from all over the world (including the Danish 1.54-m one at ESO La Silla). It is not the only child of this fruitful year: thanks to the combined use of ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) and La Silla instruments, a surprising system of twin giant exoplanets was found (PR 29/06), and a trio of Neptune-like planets hosted by a nearby star were identified (PR 18/06). These results open new perspectives on the search for habitable zones and on the understanding of the mechanism of planet formation. The VISIR instrument on the VLT has been providing unique information to answer this last question, by supplying a high resolution view of a planet-forming disc (PR 36/06). There are not only new members in the planets' register: during the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union held in Prague (Czech Republic), it was decided that Pluto is not a planet anymore but a 'dwarf planet'. Whatever its status, Pluto still has a satellite, Charon, whose radius and density have been measured more accurately by observing a rare occultation from different sites, including Cerro Paranal (PR 02/06). The scientific community dedicated 2006 to the great physicist James Clerk Maxwell (it was the 175th anniversary of the birth): without his electromagnetic theory of light, none of the astonishing discoveries of modern physics could have been achieved. Nowadays we can look at distant galaxies in great detail: the GIRAFFE spectrograph on the VLT revealed that galaxies 6 billion years ago had the same amount of dark matter relative to stars than nowadays (PR 10/06), while SINFONI gave an

  19. Cancer de la próstata

    OpenAIRE

    Mendoza, Lupi Alejandro; Fundación Valle de Lili; Gutierrez, María Carolina; López Cardona, Arturo

    1997-01-01

    ¿Qué es la próstata?/¿Qué es la hiperplasia benigna de próstata?/El cáncer de próstata/¿Se hereda el cáncer de próstata?/¿Cómo se presenta y hacia donde se disemina el cáncer de próstata?/¿Cómo de descubre el cáncer de próstata?/¿Qué estudia la ultrasonografía transrectal o ecografía a través de recto?/¿Cómo se analizan los niveles de PSA?/¿Cómo se clasifica el cáncer de próstata?¿Cómo se determina la terapia más adecuada para un cáncer de próstata?/¿Cuáles son las opciones de tratamiento par...

  20. Volunteers: the key that opens the doors for the Open Days

    CERN Multimedia

    Antonella Del Rosso

    2013-01-01

    2013: the year that CERN opens its doors to the public. 2013 is also the approximate number of volunteers needed to ensure that these Open Days (JPO) go ahead smoothly. Whatever your personnel status and function, you, the volunteers, are the key without which the Laboratory’s doors could not really open. Sign up now!   1,500 of you volunteered for the LHC2008 open days to mark the inauguration of the LHC. This year, with roughly 20% more visitors expected across the CERN sites over the two days, the organisers envisage closer to 2,000 volunteers. “We will be holding a wide variety of activities across the Laboratory’s various sites,” explains Virginie Blondeau, the member of the Open Days organising team in charge of recruiting and training volunteers. “As well as guides for the experiments, we will also need volunteers to welcome and direct visitors, to help with logistics and to man the sales points, etc.” The volunteers will rec...

  1. Is volunteering in later life impeded or stimulated by other activities?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dury, Sarah; De Donder, Liesbeth; De Witte, Nico; Brosens, Dorien; Smetcoren, An-Sofie; Van Regenmortel, Sofie; Verté, Dominique

    2016-01-01

    Volunteering among older adults has received increasing attention from researchers, policy makers, and associations. However, there remains a lack of knowledge in how volunteering is impacted by other activities in the lives of older adults. In order to understand activity engagement in later life, insights into the extent to which activities compete with or complement each other are necessary. Data for the present research were derived from the Belgian Aging Studies (N = 23,768). The main objective is to uncover the activities that impede or stimulate actual volunteering and/or the likeliness to volunteer at an older age. Structural equation models indicate a strong positive correlation between altruistic types of activities and actual volunteering. Furthermore, older adults active in personal leisure activities are more drawn to be potential volunteers. The article demonstrates that the activity level of older people is not sufficient to understand volunteering, that is, a distinction between the types of activities is essential. © The Author(s) 2015.

  2. Paracetamol sharpens reflection and spatial memory: a double-blind randomized controlled study in healthy volunteers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pickering G

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Gisèle Pickering,1–3 Nicolas Macian,1,2 Claude Dubray,1–3 Bruno Pereira4 1University Hospital, CHU Clermont-Ferrand, Centre de Pharmacologie Clinique, 2Inserm, CIC 1405, UMR Neurodol 1107, 3Clermont Université, Laboratoire de Pharmacologie, Faculté de médecine, 4CHU de Clermont-Ferrand, Délégation Recherche Clinique Innovation, Clermont-Ferrand, France Background: Acetaminophen (APAP, paracetamol mechanism for analgesic and antipyretic outcomes has been largely addressed, but APAP action on cognitive function has not been studied in humans. Animal studies have suggested an improved cognitive performance but the link with analgesic and antipyretic modes of action is incomplete. This study aims at exploring cognitive tests in healthy volunteers in the context of antinociception and temperature regulation. A double-blind randomized controlled study (NCT01390467 was carried out from May 30, 2011 to July 12, 2011. Methods: Forty healthy volunteers were included and analyzed. Nociceptive thresholds, core temperature (body temperature, and a battery of cognitive tests were recorded before and after oral APAP (2 g or placebo: Information sampling task for predecisional processing, Stockings of Cambridge for spatial memory, reaction time, delayed matching of sample, and pattern recognition memory tests. Analysis of variance for repeated measures adapted to crossover design was performed and a two-tailed type I error was fixed at 5%. Results: APAP improved information sampling task (diminution of the number of errors, latency to open boxes, and increased number of opened boxes; all P<0.05. Spatial planning and working memory initial thinking time were decreased (P=0.04. All other tests were not modified by APAP. APAP had an antinociceptive effect (P<0.01 and body temperature did not change. Conclusion: This study shows for the first time that APAP sharpens decision making and planning strategy in healthy volunteers and that cognitive performance

  3. Moral assemblages of volunteer tourism development in Cusco, Peru

    OpenAIRE

    Burrai, Elisa.; Mostafanezhad, Mary.; Hannam, Kevin.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we develop a conceptual approach from which to examine the moral landscape of volunteer tourism development in Cusco, Peru. Drawing from recent work on assemblage theory in geography and tourism studies, we explore how assemblage thinking can facilitate new understandings of volunteer tourism development. Using assemblage as an analytical framework allows us to understand volunteer tourism as a series of relational, processual, unequal and mobile practices. These practices, we ...

  4. Do predictors of volunteering in older age differ by health status?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Principi, Andrea; Galenkamp, Henrike; Papa, Roberta; Socci, Marco; Suanet, Bianca; Schmidt, Andrea; Schulmann, Katharine; Golinowska, Stella; Sowa, Agnieszka; Moreira, Amilcar; Deeg, Dorly J H

    2016-06-01

    It has been widely recognised that poor health is one of the main barriers to participation in volunteer activities in older age. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the participation of older people in volunteering, especially those in poor health. Based on the resource theory of volunteering, the aim of this study is to better understand the correlates of volunteering among older people with different health statuses, namely those without health problems (neither multimorbidity nor disability), those with mild health problems (multimorbidity or disability), and those with severe health problems (multimorbidity and disability). Data were drawn from the fourth wave (2011-2012, release 1.1.1) of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, which includes European people aged 50 years or older. The results showed that variables linked to volunteering were generally similar regardless of health status, but some differences were nevertheless identified. For older people with mild or severe health problems, for instance, depressive symptoms were negatively associated with their involvement in volunteer activities. We found a positive association of being widowed (rather than married) with volunteering in older people with particularly poor health, whereas high income was associated with volunteering in the case of mild health problems only. These results demonstrate that variables associated with volunteer participation partially differ between older people depending on their health status. These differences should be considered by policy makers in their attempts to promote volunteering in older people, as a means of preventing their social exclusion.

  5. Volunteers: A Challenge For Extension Workers: Developing Volunteer Leaders From Disadvantaged Families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Partin, Minerva O.; And Others

    A series of guidelines for use by Extension agents, as they involve socially and economically disadvantaged youth and adults in volunteer leadership roles in rural and urban Extension programs, is presented. Section headings are: Know Your Audience, Establish Rapport, Levels of Leadership, Leader Development, Leadership Roles, Volunteer…

  6. Canadian Youth Volunteering Abroad: Rethinking Issues of Power and Privilege

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngo, Mai

    2013-01-01

    This paper discusses the role of institutions in the ethical engagement of Canadian youth volunteers abroad. In recent years, researchers and practitioners in the international field have questioned the ethics of volunteering as part of development, with scrutiny on who actually benefits from volunteering initiatives. Since the 1960s, over 65,000…

  7. Mentoring as a Formalized Learning Strategy with Community Sports Volunteers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Mark; Armour, Kathleen

    2012-01-01

    The aim of our study was to examine formalized mentoring as a learning strategy for volunteer sports coaches and to consider implications for other volunteer groups in the community. Despite the increasingly popular use of mentoring as a learning and support strategy across professional domains, and the sheer scale of volunteer sports coach…

  8. The Motivation to Volunteer: A Systemic Quality of Life Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shye, Samuel

    2010-01-01

    A new approach to volunteer motivation research is developed. Instead of asking what motivates the volunteer (accepting "any" conceptual category), we ask to what extent volunteering rewards the individual with each benefit taken from a complete set of possible benefits. As a "complete set of benefits" we use the 16 human functioning modes…

  9. Higher USA State Resident Neuroticism Is Associated With Lower State Volunteering Rates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCann, Stewart J H

    2017-12-01

    Highly neurotic persons have dispositional characteristics that tend to precipitate social anxiety that discourages formal volunteering. With the 50 American states as analytical units, Study 1 found that state resident neuroticism correlated highly ( r = -.55) with state volunteering rates and accounted for another 26.8% of the volunteering rate variance with selected state demographics controlled. Study 2 replicated Study 1 during another period and extended the association to college student, senior, secular, and religious volunteering rates. Study 3 showed state resident percentages engaged in other social behaviors involving more familiarity and fewer demands than formal volunteering related to state volunteering rates but not to neuroticism. In Study 4, state resident neuroticism largely accounted statistically for relations between state volunteering rates and state population density, collectivism, social capital, Republican preference, and well-being. This research is the first to show that state resident neuroticism is a potent predictor of state volunteering rates.

  10. Comparison of fMRI on the cortical organization using two language tasks in normal subjects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Zhen; Zhang Caiyuan; Cai Wu; Shen Junkang; Gong Zhigang

    2008-01-01

    Objective: To comparatively study the cortical organization using two different language tasks by BOLD-fMRI in normal subjects: Methods: BOLD-fMRI scan was performed in 8 healthy volunteers with right handiness during executing the two language tasks: picture-naming and word-generation. The AFNI software was used to analyze the functional data and to generate the statistical parametric maps for comparatively studying the activation areas of each task. Results: Both activation patterns for two language tasks shared a common brain network dispersed in frontal, parietal, and occipital lobe. The activation areas of occipital lobe for picture-naming was more obvious than those for word-generation. By contraries, the areas related to language processing for word-generation was more active than picture-imaging. Compared with picture naming, the activation patterns for word-generation was mainly left-lateralized. Conclusion: Both of two tasks can activate the brain network which dedicate to language processing, but each of them has its own characteristics according to the processing patterns. (authors)

  11. Seven characteristics of a successful virtual volunteering platform

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Butgereit, L

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available in projects but do not have the time or the means to travel and physically donate their time on location. In such cases, virtual volunteering is a possible way for projects to harness the goodwill of prospective volunteers without the overheads of the travel...

  12. Encouraging Volunteer Participation in Health Research: The Role ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Health research mainly relies on volunteers to generate data. Volunteer participants not only help provide necessary information to solve problems but also contribute to free participation which in turn helps the research wheel to continue. People mainly contribute to different nonprofit organizations by giving money for ...

  13. Task-Related Modulations of BOLD Low-Frequency Fluctuations within the Default Mode Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tommasin, Silvia; Mascali, Daniele; Gili, Tommaso; Assan, Ibrahim Eid; Moraschi, Marta; Fratini, Michela; Wise, Richard G.; Macaluso, Emiliano; Mangia, Silvia; Giove, Federico

    2017-01-01

    Spontaneous low-frequency Blood-Oxygenation Level-Dependent (BOLD) signals acquired during resting state are characterized by spatial patterns of synchronous fluctuations, ultimately leading to the identification of robust brain networks. The resting-state brain networks, including the Default Mode Network (DMN), are demonstrated to persist during sustained task execution, but the exact features of task-related changes of network properties are still not well characterized. In this work we sought to examine in a group of 20 healthy volunteers (age 33 ± 6 years, 8 F/12 M) the relationship between changes of spectral and spatiotemporal features of one prominent resting-state network, namely the DMN, during the continuous execution of a working memory n-back task. We found that task execution impacted on both functional connectivity and amplitude of BOLD fluctuations within large parts of the DMN, but these changes correlated between each other only in a small area of the posterior cingulate. We conclude that combined analysis of multiple parameters related to connectivity, and their changes during the transition from resting state to continuous task execution, can contribute to a better understanding of how brain networks rearrange themselves in response to a task. PMID:28845420

  14. Task-Related Modulations of BOLD Low-Frequency Fluctuations within the Default Mode Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Tommasin

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Spontaneous low-frequency Blood-Oxygenation Level-Dependent (BOLD signals acquired during resting state are characterized by spatial patterns of synchronous fluctuations, ultimately leading to the identification of robust brain networks. The resting-state brain networks, including the Default Mode Network (DMN, are demonstrated to persist during sustained task execution, but the exact features of task-related changes of network properties are still not well characterized. In this work we sought to examine in a group of 20 healthy volunteers (age 33 ± 6 years, 8 F/12 M the relationship between changes of spectral and spatiotemporal features of one prominent resting-state network, namely the DMN, during the continuous execution of a working memory n-back task. We found that task execution impacted on both functional connectivity and amplitude of BOLD fluctuations within large parts of the DMN, but these changes correlated between each other only in a small area of the posterior cingulate. We conclude that combined analysis of multiple parameters related to connectivity, and their changes during the transition from resting state to continuous task execution, can contribute to a better understanding of how brain networks rearrange themselves in response to a task.

  15. Volunteer work in the church among older Mexican Americans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Neal; Hayward, R David

    2012-07-01

    The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that influence the amount of volunteer work that older Mexican Americans perform in the place where they worship. The relationship between religion and volunteering is viewed from a social identity perspective. Data from a nationally representative sample of older Mexican Americans suggest that Evangelical/Pentecostal church members spend more time performing volunteer work at church than older Mexican Americans who affiliate with other denominations. Moreover, the findings indicate that the difference in the amount of volunteering between the two groups can largely be explained by differences in the nature of the spiritual support that Evangelical/Pentecostal receive from their fellow church members as well as depth of their commitment to their faith.

  16. Cultural competency and diversity among hospice palliative care volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jovanovic, Maja

    2012-05-01

    This case study examines the current state of cultural competence in hospice and palliative care in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Because of changing demographic trends and ethnic minorities underutilizing hospice palliative care services, this research examined the current state of culturally competent care in a hospice setting, and the challenges to providing culturally competent care in a hospice in the GTA. A case study was conducted with a hospice and included in-depth interviews with 14 hospice volunteers. The findings reveal that volunteers encountered cultural clashes when their level of cultural competency was weak. Second, volunteers revealed there was a lack of adequate cultural competency training with their hospice, and finally, there was a lack of ethnic, cultural, and linguistic diversity among the hospice volunteers.

  17. A practical guide for short-term pediatric surgery global volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Donald E; Fitzgerald, Tamara N; Axt, Jason R

    2016-08-01

    The tremendous need for increasing the quantity and quality of global pediatric surgical care in underserved areas has been well documented. Concomitantly there has been a significant increase in interest by pediatric surgeons in helping to relieve this problem through surgical volunteerism. The intent of the article is to serve as a practical guide for pediatric surgeons contemplating or planning a short-term global volunteer endeavor. The article is based on the authors' personal experiences and on the published experiences of other volunteers. The following aspects of volunteerism are discussed: ethical considerations, where and how to go, what and whom to take with you, what to expect in your volunteer locale, and what to do and what to avoid in order to enhance the volunteer experience. The points discussed in this guide will hopefully make the volunteer activity one that results in greatly improved immediate and long term surgical care for children and improves the chances that the activity will be a meaningful, pleasant, and productive experience for both the volunteer and the host physician. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Production of no-carrier-added 139Pr via precursor decay in the proton bombardment of natPr

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Steyn, G.F.; Vermeulen, C.; Nortier, F.M.; Szelecsenyi, F.; Kovacs, Z.; Qaim, S.M.

    2006-01-01

    Excitation functions and production rates are presented for various Pr and Nd radionuclides formed in the bombardment of Pr with protons, from their respective thresholds up to 100 MeV. The indirect production route 141 Pr(p, 3n) 139m Nd → 139 Pr is investigated as an alternative to the direct production route 140 Ce(p, 2n) 139 Pr for producing no-carrier-added 139 Pr of high radionuclidic purity. The simultaneous production of 139 Pr and 140 Nd using Pr as target is investigated. The advantages and disadvantages of both production routes are discussed. Experimental thick-target production rates are presented for selected Pr radionuclides formed in the bombardment of nat Ce with protons at incident energies of 20, 26 and 32 MeV. All the experimental excitation functions obtained in this work are compared with theoretical predictions by means of the geometry-dependent hybrid (GDH) model as implemented in the code ALICE-IPPE. The results of this work are also compared with previous literature experimental data, if available

  19. Erfolgsfaktoren unternehmerischer Krisen-PR

    OpenAIRE

    Scharr, Florian

    2006-01-01

    Ob "Peanuts", "Elchtest" oder "Hoechst-Störfall" - bei diesen bekannten Öffentlichkeitskrisen der letzten Jahre rief die mangelhafte Krisen-PR der betroffenen Unternehmen bei Medien und Bevölkerung mehr Empörung hervor als die originären Auslöser und potenzierte so den entstandenen Vertrauensverlust. Auch die sich gerade erst entwickelnde PR-Forschung bietet noch keine konkrete Hilfestellung zur Gestaltung von Krisen-PR. Mit dem bedeutenden Diskurs- und dadurch Realitätsgestaltungsmittel Pres...

  20. The Impact of Institutional Mission on Student Volunteering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Susan Crawford; Ludden, Alison Bryant; Singleton, Royce A., Jr.

    2013-01-01

    This study examined patterns and predictors of volunteering among students at a liberal arts college with an institutional culture that strongly promotes community service. Results showed that predictors varied across four different types of volunteering: community service, social action, religious service, and service to the college. Year in…

  1. Pressure pain thresholds in volunteers and herniorrhaphy patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dahl, J B; Rosenberg, J; Molke Jensen, F

    1990-01-01

    surgery. PPT was determined in 20 healthy volunteers on two separate examinations, and in 14 patients at the incisional site before and following inguinal herniotomy. In volunteers, PPT was higher for men than for women, and no difference was observed between the first and second day of examination...

  2. Improving quality of life in ageing populations: what can volunteering do?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cattan, Mima; Hogg, Eddy; Hardill, Irene

    2011-12-01

    The year 2011 was declared the 'European Year of Volunteering' to recognise the contribution volunteers make to society. Such cross-national events reflect the high profile of volunteering and political imperatives to promote it. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive review of current knowledge (articles published between 2005 and 2011) regarding the role of volunteering in improving older people's quality of life (QoL) and to identify areas requiring further research. Volunteering was defined as an activity that is freely chosen, does not involve remuneration and helps or benefits those beyond an individual's immediate family. Our search identified 22 studies and 5 review articles that addressed the benefits of volunteering on older people's quality of life. Most of the research had been conducted in the United States, Canada and Australia using data from longitudinal studies. The majority of the studies concluded that there is a positive association between older people's quality of life and engagement in volunteering. Due to the study designs and the heterogeneity of the research, causality is difficult to demonstrate and the knowledge the studies bring to the subject is variable. This review shows that volunteering may help to maintain and possibly improve some older adults' quality of life. However, there are still major gaps in our understanding of who actually benefits, the social and cultural context of volunteering and its role in reducing health and social inequalities. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING AS AN ELEMENT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Natalia Ivanovna Gorlova

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The article is devoted to the topic of development of corporate volunteering, which is topical for Russian society. The subject of the analysis is corporate volunteering in Russia and its impact on the sustainable development of the organization. Corporate volunteering is seen at the intersection of the interests of the company, employees and the local community. The aim of the research is a theoretical analysis of modern practices of corporate volunteer activity as a factor of sustainable development of the organization. Methodology. Within the framework of the article, using the method of comparison and grouping, we analyzed and studied the materials of the latest international and Russian studies based on expert opinions from business, government, civil society on this phenomenon. Results. The results of the work consist in the fact that the authors grouped and summarized the motivational attitudes of participants in the corporate volunteer movement, presented practical recommendations on the formation of a system for supporting corporate volunteering, and showed the relationship between the organization’s sustainable development and corporate volunteering. Practical implications. The practical significance of the study is that its conclusions and recommendations can be used in the organization of corporate volunteering in Russian companies.

  4. Postural tasks are associated with center of pressure spatial patterns of three-dimensional statokinesigrams in young and elderly healthy subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baracat, Patrícia Junqueira Ferraz; de Sá Ferreira, Arthur

    2013-12-01

    The present study investigated the association between postural tasks and center of pressure spatial patterns of three-dimensional statokinesigrams. Young (n=35; 27.0±7.7years) and elderly (n=38; 67.3±8.7years) healthy volunteers maintained an undisturbed standing position during postural tasks characterized by combined sensory (vision/no vision) and biomechanical challenges (feet apart/together). A method for the analysis of three-dimensional statokinesigrams based on nonparametric statistics and image-processing analysis was employed. Four patterns of spatial distribution were derived from ankle and hip strategies according to the quantity (single; double; multi) and location (anteroposterior; mediolateral) of high-density regions on three-dimensional statokinesigrams. Significant associations between postural task and spatial pattern were observed (young: gamma=0.548, p<.001; elderly: gamma=0.582, p<.001). Robustness analysis revealed small changes related to parameter choices for histogram processing. MANOVA revealed multivariate main effects for postural task [Wilks' Lambda=0.245, p<.001] and age [Wilks' Lambda=0.308, p<.001], with interaction [Wilks' Lambda=0.732, p<.001]. The quantity of high-density regions was positively correlated to stabilogram and statokinesigram variables (p<.05 or lower). In conclusion, postural tasks are associated with center of pressure spatial patterns and are similar in young and elderly healthy volunteers. Single-centered patterns reflected more stable postural conditions and were more frequent with complete visual input and a wide base of support. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. The Influence of Past Experiences on the Motivation of Adult Volunteers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcus Eason

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available From its’ conception, 4-H has encouraged volunteerism and utilized volunteers to accomplish its’ mission - to assist youth in acquiring knowledge, developing life skills, and forming attitudes that will enable them to become self-directing, productive and contributing members of society. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the factors that motivated [state] 4-H camp volunteers to volunteer with 4-H youth. The Volunteer Functions Inventory was used as the theoretical base for this study. The Values construct (M=3.68 of the VFI was the highest motivating factor of adult 4-H volunteers. The Understanding construct (M=3.39 ranked the second highest motivational factor in volunteerism followed by Social construct (M=3.28, the Enhancement construct (M = 3.05 and the Protective construct (M=2.78. The Career construct (M=2.61 was the least motivating factor to adult volunteers. It was also found that participants that were not involved with 4-H as a youth volunteered more days per year than did participants who were former 4-H members.

  6. Volunteering Is Associated with Lower Risk of Cognitive Impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Infurna, Frank J; Okun, Morris A; Grimm, Kevin J

    2016-11-01

    To examine whether psychosocial factors that can be a target for interventions, such as volunteering, are associated with risk of cognitive impairment. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data from 1998 to 2012, a nationally representative longitudinal panel survey of older adults assessed every 2 years, were used. The HRS interviews participants aged 50 and older across the contiguous United States. Individuals aged 60 and older in 1998 (N = 13,262). Personal interviews were conducted with respondents to assess presence of cognitive impairment, measured using a composite across cognitive measures. Volunteering at the initial assessment and volunteering regularly over time independently decreased the risk of cognitive impairment over 14 years, and these findings were maintained independent of known risk factors for cognitive impairment. Greater risk of onset of cognitive impairment was associated with being older, being female, being nonwhite, having fewer years of education, and reporting more depressive symptoms. Consistent civic engagement in old age is associated with lower risk of cognitive impairment and provides impetus for interventions to protect against the onset of cognitive impairment. Given the increasing number of baby boomers entering old age, the findings support the public health benefits of volunteering and the potential role of geriatricians, who can promote volunteering by incorporating "prescriptions to volunteer" into their patient care. © 2016, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2016, The American Geriatrics Society.

  7. Salvinorin A analogues PR-37 and PR-38 attenuate compound 48/80-induced itch responses in mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salaga, M; Polepally, P R; Zielinska, M; Marynowski, M; Fabisiak, A; Murawska, N; Sobczak, K; Sacharczuk, M; Do Rego, J C; Roth, B L; Zjawiony, J K; Fichna, J

    2015-09-01

    The opioid system plays a crucial role in several physiological processes in the CNS and in the periphery. It has also been shown that selective opioid receptor agonists exert potent inhibitory action on pruritus and pain. In this study we examined whether two analogues of Salvinorin A, PR-37 and PR-38, exhibit antipruritic properties in mice. To examine the antiscratch effect of PR-37 and PR-38 we used a mouse model of compound 48/80-induced pruritus. In order to elucidate the mechanism of action of tested compounds, specific antagonists of opioid and cannabinoid receptors were used. The effect of PR-37 on the CNS was assessed by measuring motor parameters and exploratory behaviours in mice. PR-37 and PR-38, jnjected s.c., significantly reduced the number of compound 48/80-induced scratching behaviours in mice in a dose- and time-dependent manner. PR-38 was also active when orally administered. The antiscratch activity of PR-37 was blocked by the selective κ opioid receptor antagonist, nor-binaltorphimine, and that of PR-38 by the selective μ opioid receptor antagonist, β-funaltrexamine. In conclusion, a novel framework for the development of new antipruritic drugs derived from salvinorin A has been validated. © 2015 The British Pharmacological Society.

  8. Effects of a cognitive dual task on variability and local dynamic stability in sustained repetitive arm movements using principal component analysis: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longo, Alessia; Federolf, Peter; Haid, Thomas; Meulenbroek, Ruud

    2018-06-01

    In many daily jobs, repetitive arm movements are performed for extended periods of time under continuous cognitive demands. Even highly monotonous tasks exhibit an inherent motor variability and subtle fluctuations in movement stability. Variability and stability are different aspects of system dynamics, whose magnitude may be further affected by a cognitive load. Thus, the aim of the study was to explore and compare the effects of a cognitive dual task on the variability and local dynamic stability in a repetitive bimanual task. Thirteen healthy volunteers performed the repetitive motor task with and without a concurrent cognitive task of counting aloud backwards in multiples of three. Upper-body 3D kinematics were collected and postural reconfigurations-the variability related to the volunteer's postural change-were determined through a principal component analysis-based procedure. Subsequently, the most salient component was selected for the analysis of (1) cycle-to-cycle spatial and temporal variability, and (2) local dynamic stability as reflected by the largest Lyapunov exponent. Finally, end-point variability was evaluated as a control measure. The dual cognitive task proved to increase the temporal variability and reduce the local dynamic stability, marginally decrease endpoint variability, and substantially lower the incidence of postural reconfigurations. Particularly, the latter effect is considered to be relevant for the prevention of work-related musculoskeletal disorders since reduced variability in sustained repetitive tasks might increase the risk of overuse injuries.

  9. The moderating role of age in the relationship between volunteering motives and well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Yuen Wan; You, Jin; Fung, Helene H

    2012-12-01

    Driven by socioemotional selectivity theory, this study examined whether age moderated the associations of volunteering motives with physical and psychological well-being in a sample of Hong Kong Chinese volunteers. Volunteering motives were measured by the volunteer functions inventory. Findings revealed that even after controlling for demographic characteristics and volunteering experience, age was related to higher social and value motives but lower career motives, and moderated the associations of social and protective motives with well-being. The associations of social motives with physical well-being were positive among older volunteers, but were negative among younger- and middle-aged volunteers. While protective motives were positively related to psychological well-being among all the volunteers, such effects were stronger among younger- and middle-aged volunteers than among older volunteers. Findings highlight the role of age in determining the relationship between volunteering motives and well-being.

  10. 75 FR 29969 - Information Collection; Volunteer Application for Natural Resources Agencies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-28

    ... Merlene Mazyck, Youth & Volunteer Programs, Forest Service, USDA, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Mailstop...-4831 to facilitate entry to the building. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Merlene Mazyck, Youth... interested in volunteering may access the National Federal volunteer opportunities Web site ( http://www...

  11. The neural network involved in a bimanual tactile-tactile matching discrimination task: a functional imaging study at 3 T

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Habas, Christophe; Cabanis, Emmanuel A. [UPMC Paris 6, Service de NeuroImagerie, Hopital des Quinze-Vingts, Paris (France)

    2007-08-15

    The cerebral and cerebellar network involved in a bimanual object recognition was studied in blood oxygenation dependent level functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Nine healthy right-handed volunteers were scanned (1) while performing bilateral finger movements (nondiscrimination motor task), and (2) while performing a bimanual tactile-tactile matching discrimination task using small chess pieces (tactile discrimination task). Extensive activations were specifically observed in the parietal (SII, superior lateral lobule), insular, prefrontal, cingulate and neocerebellar cortices (HVIII), with a left predominance in motor areas, during the tactile discrimination task in contrast to the findings during the nondiscrimination motor task. Bimanual tactile-tactile matching discrimination recruits multiple sensorimotor and associative cerebral and neocerebellar networks (including the cerebellar second homunculus, HVIII), comparable to the neural circuits involved in unimanual tactile object recognition. (orig.)

  12. Modafinil and cognitive enhancement in schizophrenia and healthy volunteers: the effects of test battery in a randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lees, J; Michalopoulou, P G; Lewis, S W; Preston, S; Bamford, C; Collier, T; Kalpakidou, A; Wykes, T; Emsley, R; Pandina, G; Kapur, S; Drake, R J

    2017-10-01

    Cognitive deficits in schizophrenia have major functional impacts. Modafinil is a cognitive enhancer whose effect in healthy volunteers is well-described, but whose effects on the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia appear to be inconsistent. Two possible reasons for this are that cognitive test batteries vary in their sensitivity, or that the phase of illness may be important, with patients early in their illness responding better. A double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled single-dose crossover study of modafinil 200 mg examined this with two cognitive batteries [MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) and Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB)] in 46 participants with under 3 years' duration of DSM-IV schizophrenia, on stable antipsychotic medication. In parallel, the same design was used in 28 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy volunteers. Uncorrected p values were calculated using mixed effects models. In patients, modafinil significantly improved CANTAB Paired Associate Learning, non-significantly improved efficiency and significantly slowed performance of the CANTAB Stockings of Cambridge spatial planning task. There was no significant effect on any MCCB domain. In healthy volunteers, modafinil significantly increased CANTAB Rapid Visual Processing, Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shifting and verbal recall accuracy, and MCCB social cognition performance. The only significant differences between groups were in MCCB visual learning. As in earlier chronic schizophrenia studies, modafinil failed to produce changes in cognition in early psychosis as measured by MCCB. CANTAB proved more sensitive to the effects of modafinil in participants with early schizophrenia and in healthy volunteers. This confirms the importance of selecting the appropriate test battery in treatment studies of cognition in schizophrenia.

  13. The Individual Economic Returns to Volunteering in Work Life

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qvist, Hans-Peter; Munk, Martin David

    2018-01-01

    This article examines the individual economic returns to volunteering during different stages of working life. The article uses a unique panel dataset created by combining rich survey data from Denmark with information on wages from administrative registers covering the period from 2004 to 2012....... Applying a two-way fixed effects regression model that controls for both period-specific and individual-specific effects, the article finds that for labour market entrants and for people in the early stages of their working life, an additional year of volunteer work experience yields a significant positive...... return. However, the economic returns to volunteer work experience decrease as a function of professional labour market experience. For people with more than six years of professional labour market experience, the economic returns to volunteer work experience are insignificant. On these grounds...

  14. Volunteering as a Pathway to Productive and Social Engagement among Older Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrow-Howell, Nancy; Lee, Yung Soo; McCrary, Stacey; McBride, Amanda

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: Research on outcomes of volunteering in later life largely focuses on the health of volunteers. This is in contrast to studies of youth, where attention is directed toward the effects of volunteering on subsequent productive and citizen behaviors. In this study, we examined the effects of volunteering on subsequent social and civic…

  15. Opportunities for cost-sharing in conservation: variation in volunteering effort across protected areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armsworth, Paul R; Cantú-Salazar, Lisette; Parnell, Mark; Booth, Josephine E; Stoneman, Rob; Davies, Zoe G

    2013-01-01

    Efforts to expand protected area networks are limited by the costs of managing protected sites. Volunteers who donate labor to help manage protected areas can help defray these costs. However, volunteers may be willing to donate more labor to some protected areas than others. Understanding variation in volunteering effort would enable conservation organizations to account for volunteer labor in their strategic planning. We examined variation in volunteering effort across 59 small protected areas managed by Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, a regional conservation nonprofit in the United Kingdom. Three surveys of volunteering effort reveal consistent patterns of variation across protected areas. Using the most detailed of these sources, a survey of site managers, we estimate that volunteers provided 3200 days of labor per year across the 59 sites with a total value exceeding that of paid staff time spent managing the sites. The median percentage by which volunteer labor supplements management costs on the sites was 36%. Volunteering effort and paid management costs are positively correlated, after controlling for the effect of site area. We examined how well a range of characteristics of the protected areas and surrounding communities explain variation in volunteering effort. Protected areas that are larger have been protected for longer and that are located near to denser conurbations experience greater volunteering effort. Together these factors explain 38% of the observed variation in volunteering effort across protected areas.

  16. Long-Term Engagement in Formal Volunteering and Well-Being: An Exploratory Indian Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elias, Jereesh K; Sudhir, Paulomi; Mehrotra, Seema

    2016-09-27

    Sustained engagement in volunteering and its correlates have been examined in many studies across the globe. However, there is a dearth of research that explores the perspectives of long-term formal volunteers on the nature of changes perceived in oneself as a result of volunteering. Moreover, the linkages between psychological well-being and volunteering have been insufficiently explored. The present study was aimed at addressing these gaps. A heterogeneous sample of 20 long-term formal volunteer engaged in volunteering across different voluntary organisations in a southern metropolitan Indian city formed the primary sample for the study. In addition, a group of 21 short-term volunteers, matched on age, income and gender, was utilised for comparison with long-term volunteers on well-being indices. A semi structured interview schedule was used to explore self-perceived changes attributable to volunteering experience. In addition, a few standardised measures were used to comprehensively assess subjective well-being and psychological well-being. The interview data provided rich descriptions of perceived positive changes in self across cognitive, behavioral and emotional domains. Mirroring these patterns, the quantitative analyses indicated that long-term volunteers experienced higher levels of psychological well-being (sense of mastery and competence, self-acceptance and sense of engagement and growth) than short-term volunteers. The potential mechanisms involved in beneficial outcomes of long-term volunteering and implications for further research are highlighted.

  17. Assessing the Role of Technology in Citizen Science: A Volunteer's Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, J. H.; Force, A.

    2017-12-01

    From a volunteer's perspective, citizen science can provide a direct connection between outdoor enthusiasts and the scientists who study these natural environments. These experiences are both rewarding and engaging, as participants become aware of field sites, the scientific method, and their own environmental impacts. Recent technological advances (i.e. smart phones and mobile applications) have the potential to transform citizen science, specifically as technology can both enable and modernize the networks between a large community of potential volunteers and scientists using these data. By providing volunteers who venture into largely understudied and remote areas with an easy method for data collection and entry, it becomes easier to encourage volunteer engagement in science, while maintaining quality control over the data collection process. Participating in Adventure Scientists' projects demonstrates the application of technology as an effective engagement tool, especially when compared to traditional pen and paper surveys often conducted. Pairing volunteers with simple, familiar technology increases engagement, particularly for volunteers otherwise intimidated by the scientific process. When equipped with useful features, such as GPS functionality, smartphone apps offer a simple and standardized method of data collection and description. Yet a variety of factors can complicate field sampling; final choices are ultimately left to the judgment of the volunteer and perhaps could be guided by use of a phone/app. Importantly, Adventure Scientists conducts follow ups and volunteer surveys, which are critical to the continued evaluation of volunteer experiences and the sampling methods themselves. For future projects, creating a forum in which scientists and volunteers can interact (perhaps also through a phone app) could provide scientific context for volunteers, further investing them in the scientific process and their continued participation. Overall, the

  18. Charity Begins At Home: How Socialization Experiences Influence Giving and Volunteering

    OpenAIRE

    Bekkers, R.H.F.P.

    2005-01-01

    This paper shows that charity begins at home. Using retrospective reports on youth experiences from the Giving in the Netherlands Panel Survey (n=1,964, 2001) I find that (1) parents who volunteer when their children are young promote giving and volunteering of their children once they have become adults; (2) the intensity of youth participation in nonprofit organizations is positively related to current giving and volunteering; (3) that parental volunteering and youth participation promote c...

  19. Who Benefits from Volunteering? Variations in Perceived Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrow-Howell, Nancy; Hong, Song-Iee; Tang, Fengyan

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to document the benefits of volunteering perceived by older adults and to explain variation in these self-perceived benefits. Design and Methods: This is a quantitative study of 13 volunteer programs and 401 older adults serving in those programs. Program directors completed telephone interviews, and older…

  20. Volunteering in the care of people with severe mental illness: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallett, Claudia; Klug, Günter; Lauber, Christoph; Priebe, Stefan

    2012-12-13

    Much of the literature to date concerning public attitudes towards people with severe mental illness (SMI) has focused on negative stereotypes and discriminatory behaviour. However, there also exists a tradition of volunteering with these people, implying a more positive attitude. Groups with positive attitudes and behaviours towards people with SMI have received relatively little attention in research. They merit further attention, as evidence on characteristics and experiences of volunteers may help to promote volunteering. The present paper aims to systematically review the literature reporting characteristics, motivations, experiences, and benefits of volunteers in the care of people with SMI. In November 2010, a systematic electronic search was carried out in BNI, CINAHL, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, Cochrane Registers and Web of Science databases, using a combination of 'volunteer', 'mental health' and 'outcome' search terms. A secondary hand search was performed in relevant psychiatric journals, grey literature and references. 14 papers met the inclusion criteria for the review, with data on a total of 540 volunteers. The results suggest that volunteers are a mostly female, but otherwise heterogeneous group. Motivations for volunteering are a combination of what they can 'give' to others and what they can 'get' for themselves. Overall volunteers report positive experiences. The main benefit to persons with a psychiatric illness is the gaining of a companion, who is non-stigmatizing and proactive in increasing their social-community involvement. The evidence base for volunteers in care of people with SMI is small and inconsistent. However there are potential implications for both current and future volunteering programmes from the data. As the data suggests that there is no 'typical' volunteer, volunteering programmes should recruit individuals from a variety of backgrounds. The act of volunteering can not only benefit people with SMI, but also the volunteers

  1. Motivation and volunteer participation in the «Athens 2004» Olympic Games

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    THEODOROS GEORGIADIS

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The present research tackles the topic of motives as they are developed by volunteers –who offer time-consuming services without expecting any material gains– and specifically the Olympic Volunteers of «Athens 2004». Four hundred-thirty (N = 430 volunteers completed the Scale of Motives, that was adapted in Greek from the functional approach of Omoto et al. (1993 and Chacon et al. (1998, aiming mainly at the testing of the hypothesis that the motives of volunteers who have previous volunteering experience, but also of those who wish (or continue to volunteer after the completion the Olympic Games, will differ from the motives of those volunteers who have not volunteered in the past or who do not aim at providing voluntary work in the future. The results supported the hypothesis, while the modified Greek scale offered high internal consistencies and strong indications of validity. The future review and reapplication of the design of the adapted questionnaire of Motives will likely eliminate any potential weaknesses and will allow the scale to reach full applicability.

  2. Volunteering predicts health among those who value others: two national studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poulin, Michael J

    2014-02-01

    The purpose of these studies was to examine the role of positive views of other people in predicting stress-buffering effects of volunteering on mortality and psychological distress. In Study 1, stressful life events, volunteering, and hostile cynicism assessed in a baseline Detroit-area survey (N = 846) predicted survival over a 5-year period, adjusting for relevant covariates. In Study 2, stressful life events, volunteering, and world benevolence beliefs assessed in a baseline national survey (N = 1,157) predicted psychological distress over a 1-year period, adjusting for distress at baseline. In Study 1, a Cox proportional hazard model indicated that for individuals low in cynicism, stress predicted mortality at low levels of volunteering but not at high levels of volunteering. This effect was not present among those high in cynicism. In Study 2, multiple regression analysis revealed that among individuals high in world benevolence beliefs, stress predicted elevated distress at low levels of volunteering but not at high levels of volunteering. This effect was absent for those lower in world benevolence beliefs. Consistent with prior research on helping behavior, these studies indicate that helping behavior can buffer the effects of stress on health. However, the results of these studies indicate that stress-buffering effects of volunteering are limited to individuals with positive views of other people. Not all individuals may benefit from volunteering, and health-promotion efforts seeking to draw on health benefits of helping behavior may need to target their approach accordingly. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  3. Understanding the link between older volunteers’ resources and motivation to volunteer

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Principi, Andrea; Schippers, Joop; Naegele, Gerd; Di Rosa, Mirko; Lamura, Giovanni

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of older volunteers’ available human, social, and cultural capital on their motivational forces to volunteer, measured through the Volunteer Function Inventory. A large European database of 955 older volunteers (i.e., aged 50+) was employed,

  4. Influence of volunteer and project characteristics on data quality of biological surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewandowski, Eva; Specht, Hannah

    2015-06-01

    Volunteer involvement in biological surveys is becoming common in conservation and ecology, prompting questions on the quality of data collected in such surveys. In a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature on the quality of data collected by volunteers, we examined the characteristics of volunteers (e.g., age, prior knowledge) and projects (e.g., systematic vs. opportunistic monitoring schemes) that affect data quality with regards to standardization of sampling, accuracy and precision of data collection, spatial and temporal representation of data, and sample size. Most studies (70%, n = 71) focused on the act of data collection. The majority of assessments of volunteer characteristics (58%, n = 93) examined the effect of prior knowledge and experience on quality of the data collected, often by comparing volunteers with experts or professionals, who were usually assumed to collect higher quality data. However, when both groups' data were compared with the same accuracy standard, professional data were more accurate in only 4 of 7 cases. The few studies that measured precision of volunteer and professional data did not conclusively show that professional data were less variable than volunteer data. To improve data quality, studies recommended changes to survey protocols, volunteer training, statistical analyses, and project structure (e.g., volunteer recruitment and retention). © 2015, Society for Conservation Biology.

  5. Who volunteers in psychology experiments? An empirical review of prosocial motivation in volunteering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Lange, P.A.M.; Schippers, M.C.; Balliet, D.P.

    2011-01-01

    The central purpose of the present research is to provide a review of social value orientation (i.e., prosocial, individualistic, and competitive orientation), a construct measured with methods rooted in game theory (i.e., decomposed games). Also, we examine its ability to predict volunteering in

  6. Infectivity-associated PrP(Sc) and disease duration-associated PrP(Sc) of mouse BSE prions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyazawa, Kohtaro; Okada, Hiroyuki; Masujin, Kentaro; Iwamaru, Yoshifumi; Yokoyama, Takashi

    2015-01-01

    Disease-related prion protein (PrP(Sc)), which is a structural isoform of the host-encoded cellular prion protein, is thought to be a causative agent of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. However, the specific role of PrP(Sc) in prion pathogenesis and its relationship to infectivity remain controversial. A time-course study of prion-affected mice was conducted, which showed that the prion infectivity was not simply proportional to the amount of PrP(Sc) in the brain. Centrifugation (20,000 ×g) of the brain homogenate showed that most of the PrP(Sc) was precipitated into the pellet, and the supernatant contained only a slight amount of PrP(Sc). Interestingly, mice inoculated with the obtained supernatant showed incubation periods that were approximately 15 d longer than those of mice inoculated with the crude homogenate even though both inocula contained almost the same infectivity. Our results suggest that a small population of fine PrP(Sc) may be responsible for prion infectivity and that large, aggregated PrP(Sc) may contribute to determining prion disease duration.

  7. The context of ethical problems in medical volunteer work.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, Anji

    2011-06-01

    Ethical problems are common in clinical medicine, so medical volunteers who practice clinical medicine in developing countries should expect to encounter them just as they would in their practice in the developed world. However, as this article argues, medical volunteers in developing countries should not expect to encounter the same ethical problems as those that dominate Western biomedicine or to address ethical problems in the same way as they do in their practice in developed countries. For example, poor health and advanced disease increase the risks and decrease the potential benefits of some interventions. Consequently, when medical volunteers intervene too readily, without considering the nutritional and general health status of patients, the results can be devastating. Medical volunteers cannot assume that the outcomes of interventions in developing countries will be comparable to the outcomes of the same interventions in developed countries. Rather, they must realistically consider the complex medical conditions of patients when determining whether or not to intervene. Similarly, medical volunteers may face the question of whether to provide a pharmaceutical or perform an intervention that is below the acceptable standard of care versus the alternative of doing nothing. This article critically explores the contextual features of medical volunteer work in developing countries that differentiate it from medical practice in developed countries, arguing that this context contributes to the creation of unique ethical problems and affects the way in which these problems should be analyzed and resolved.

  8. Pulsar discovery by global volunteer computing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knispel, B; Allen, B; Cordes, J M; Deneva, J S; Anderson, D; Aulbert, C; Bhat, N D R; Bock, O; Bogdanov, S; Brazier, A; Camilo, F; Champion, D J; Chatterjee, S; Crawford, F; Demorest, P B; Fehrmann, H; Freire, P C C; Gonzalez, M E; Hammer, D; Hessels, J W T; Jenet, F A; Kasian, L; Kaspi, V M; Kramer, M; Lazarus, P; van Leeuwen, J; Lorimer, D R; Lyne, A G; Machenschalk, B; McLaughlin, M A; Messenger, C; Nice, D J; Papa, M A; Pletsch, H J; Prix, R; Ransom, S M; Siemens, X; Stairs, I H; Stappers, B W; Stovall, K; Venkataraman, A

    2010-09-10

    Einstein@Home aggregates the computer power of hundreds of thousands of volunteers from 192 countries to mine large data sets. It has now found a 40.8-hertz isolated pulsar in radio survey data from the Arecibo Observatory taken in February 2007. Additional timing observations indicate that this pulsar is likely a disrupted recycled pulsar. PSR J2007+2722's pulse profile is remarkably wide with emission over almost the entire spin period; the pulsar likely has closely aligned magnetic and spin axes. The massive computing power provided by volunteers should enable many more such discoveries.

  9. Volunteering as a pathway to productive and social engagement among older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morrow-Howell, Nancy; Lee, Yung Soo; McCrary, Stacey; McBride, Amanda

    2014-10-01

    Research on outcomes of volunteering in later life largely focuses on the health of volunteers. This is in contrast to studies of youth, where attention is directed toward the effects of volunteering on subsequent productive and citizen behaviors. In this study, we examined the effects of volunteering on subsequent social and civic activity of older adults. This study was conducted with volunteers from Experience Corps® (EC), a national program that brings older adults into schools to work with students. Data were derived from a baseline survey of older adults who were new EC volunteers in fall of 2006 and 2007. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 338 volunteers in fall 2010 to capture work, education, and community activities undertaken subsequent to joining EC. Subsequent to joining EC, 16% of volunteers reported that they started a new job, 53% started another volunteer position, 40% started a community activity, and 39% took a class/started educational program. When asked if and how EC participation played a role in their new involvements, 71% said it increased confidence, 76% said it increased realization of the importance of organized activities/daily structure, and more than 40% said they made social connections that led to new involvements. Most reported they were more likely to be involved in advocacy efforts for public education. Volunteering among older adults is a means as well as an end--just as it is for young people. Programs can do more to attract and serve older adults by promoting volunteering as a pathway to other engagements, including work, social, and civic activities. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

  10. Volunteers in Palliative Care - A Comparison of Seven European Countries: A Descriptive Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woitha, Kathrin; Hasselaar, Jeroen; van Beek, Karen; Radbruch, Lukas; Jaspers, Birgit; Engels, Yvonne; Vissers, Kris

    2015-07-01

    In Europe, volunteers have an important role in the delivery of palliative care. As part of the EU co-funded Europall project, 4 aspects of volunteering in palliative care were studied for 7 European countries (Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain). These included (1) involvement of volunteers in palliative care, (2) organization of palliative care volunteering, (3) legal regulations concerning volunteering, and (4) education and training of palliative care volunteering. A literature search combined with an interview study. Information from the scientific literature, and country-specific policy documents were obtained and completed, along with data of consecutive semi-structured interviews with experts in the field of palliative care in the participating countries. In all countries, volunteers appeared to be involved in palliative care, yet their involvement across health care settings differed per country. England, for example, has the highest number of volunteers whereas Spain has the lowest number. Volunteering is embedded in law and regulations in all participating countries except for England and the Netherlands. In all participating countries, training programs are available and volunteers are organized, both on a national and a regional level. This study provides a descriptive overview of volunteer work in palliative care in 7 European countries, with a focus on the organizational aspects. Further research should concentrate on the roles and responsibilities of volunteers in the care for the terminally ill in different European health systems. © 2014 World Institute of Pain.

  11. NRPB volunteer study: deposition and clearance of inhaled particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Etherington, G.; Smith, J.

    1996-01-01

    At the Board Meeting of the National Radiological Protection Board held on 15 February 1996, approval was given for an experimental study of the deposition and clearance of inhaled particles in the human nasal passage. This is the latest in a series of volunteer biokinetic studies that have been conducted at NRPB since its formation. This article explains the purpose of the study, how ethical approval was obtained, how the study will be performed, what volunteers will be asked to do, and what doses they will receive. Doses will of course be carefully controlled, and will be well below the annual limits set for such experiments. The success of the study is of course crucially dependent on recruitment of a sufficient number of volunteers. The aim of this article is to provide information to anyone who might be interested in volunteering. (UK)

  12. Real-time changes in corticospinal excitability related to motor imagery of a force control task

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tatemoto, Tsuyoshi; Tsuchiya, Junko; Numata, Atsuki

    2017-01-01

    Objective To investigate real-time excitability changes in corticospinal pathways related to motor imagery in a changing force control task, using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Methods Ten healthy volunteers learnt to control the contractile force of isometric right wrist dorsiflexion...... in order to track an on-screen sine wave form. Participants performed the trained task 40 times with actual muscle contraction in order to construct the motor image. They were then instructed to execute the task without actual muscle contraction, but by imagining contraction of the right wrist...... in dorsiflexion. Motor evoked potentials (MEPs), induced by TMS in the right extensor carpi radialis muscle (ECR) and flexor carpi radialis muscle (FCR), were measured during motor imagery. MEPs were induced at five time points: prior to imagery, during the gradual generation of the imaged wrist dorsiflexion...

  13. Thermodynamic assessment of the Pr-Zn binary system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, X.M.; Liu, L.B.; Zhang, L.G.; Jia, B.R.; Jin, Z.P.; Zheng, F.

    2008-01-01

    On the basis of available experimental data of phase diagram and thermodynamic properties, the Pr-Zn binary system has been optimized using the CALPHAD approach. The phases, including liquid and bcc A 2(βPr) were treated as substitutional solutions, while the intermetallic compounds, including PrZn, PrZn 2 , PrZn 3 , Pr 3 Zn 11 , Pr 13 Zn 58 , Pr 3 Zn 22 , Pr 2 Zn 17 and PrZn 11 were modeled as stoichiometric compounds. As the result of optimization, a set of self-consistent thermodynamic parameters has been obtained, which can be used to reproduce the reported experimental data

  14. What helps volunteers to continue with their work? | Marincowitz ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    South African Family Practice ... Aim: The aim of the study was to understand what volunteers perceived to be the factors helping them to continue ... Findings: The volunteers feel that their work consists of various forms of support to patients.

  15. Mechanistic prospective for human PrPC conversion to PrPSc: Molecular dynamic insights

    OpenAIRE

    Nooshin Azari; Mohammad Reza Dayer; Nematollah Razmi; Mohammad Saaid Dayer

    2013-01-01

    PrPC conversion to PrPSc isoform is the main known cause for prion diseases including Crutzfeldt-Jakob, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Sheinker syndrome and fatal familial insomnia in human. The precise mechanism underling this conversion is yet to be well understood. In the present work, using the coordinate file of PrPC (available on the Protein Data Bank) as a starting structure, separate molecular dynamic simulations were carried out at neutral and acidic pH in an explicit water box at 37°C and 1 ...

  16. Volunteer Monitoring to Protect Wetlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    The involvement of volunteers in ecological monitoring is a realistic, cost-effective, and beneficial way to obtain important information which might otherwise be unavailable due to lack of resources at government agencies.

  17. The Role of Health Volunteers in Training Women Regarding Coping Strategies Using Self-Efficacy Theory: Barriers and Challenges Faced by Health Volunteers in Empowerment of Women

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaveh, Mohammad Hossein; Rokhbin, Moslem; Mani, Arash; Maghsoudi, Ahmad

    2017-09-27

    Introduction: Psychological distress is among physical and mental health threats, and health volunteers can play a critical role in empowerment of women. However, evidence has revealed a decline in health volunteers’ activities. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the challenges faced by health volunteers in empowerment of women. Methods: The participants’ knowledge level was assessed using a written test. Their perceived skills were also measured using Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations by Endler and Parker and Chesney’s Coping Self-efficacy Scale, respectively. The study data were entered into the SPSS statistical software, version 11.5 and were analyzed using chi-square, sample t-test, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results: The results showed a considerable increase in the intervention group health volunteers’ knowledge about stress, as well as their self-efficacy. Besides, a significant correlation was observed between self-efficacy and task-oriented strategy scores. However, no significant increase was found in this group’s coping strategies. The results also indicated a significant increase in the intervention group women’s knowledge about stress, but no significant change was observed in other constructs. Some challenging factors, such as managerial, personal, and interpersonal factors, were also detected that might have affected the results. Discussion: This study caused no considerable change in coping with stress, except for increasing the women’s knowledge in this regard. Considering the challenges identified in this study, programs should be developed for researchers and health center managers to improve this condition in future. Creative Commons Attribution License

  18. Three Steps to Engage Volunteers in Membership Marketing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossell, Tony

    2011-01-01

    There is a big world out there, and volunteers can make a significant impact in helping one reach out to others and grow his/her PTA membership. In fact, word-of-mouth marketing tied for the top spot as the most effective method of new member recruitment in Marketing General's 2010 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. So getting volunteers'…

  19. Environmental and Conservation Volunteering as Workplace Integrated Learning for University Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Rowena H.; van Etten, Eddie

    2013-01-01

    This research paper introduces the concept and practice of tertiary sciences students doing environmental volunteering, also known as conservation volunteering, as a core part of their course. First year Natural Sciences students at Edith Cowan University do five days environmental volunteer work with community groups as a practicum, currently…

  20. Gender and religious differences associated with volunteering in later life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manning, Lydia K

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to use a nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States to investigate the effect gender and religiosity has on volunteer behavior in later life. This study looks specifically at the gender and religious differences associated with volunteering in later life. Accounting for gender and religious differences, more specifically, this study examines the assumption that older women are more likely to volunteer in later life as opposed to men, and that gender is a better predictor than being religious for the likelihood of occupying a volunteer role in later life. This study poses questions about the differences in gender and religiosity associated with volunteering in later life; the results indicate there is more work to be done as we conduct research that is clearer about how volunteerism and religiosity are measured in relation to gender, and the overall impact these differences have for older women and their respective communities.

  1. [Burnout in volunteer health workers].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argentero, P; Bonfiglio, N S; Pasero, R

    2006-01-01

    While diverse studies carried out in nursing and medical personnel have demonstrated that health workers can be subject to burnout, little effort has been focused on investigating burnout in volunteer hospital workers. The aim of the present study was to verify if burnout exists with volunteer auxiliary personnel and investigate what organizational conditions may favour it. The study was carried out on 80 volunteer workers of the Red Cross of Mortara (PV), subdivided into two categories: those performing emergency interventions and those performing routine services. For the evaluation of burnout, the Italian version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory was used, together with a qualitative type of methodology. A 5-factor multivariate analysis (sex x shift x team x seniority x role), having as dependent variables the three scales of the MBI, showed that the highest values of depersonalization and fulfillment are found in the emergency team, and that subjects with least seniority are those who are least satisfied or fulfilled. The category of team-leader resulted as that with the highest values of emotional burnout, while sex- and shift-based differences were restricted to routine service workers. Despite these differences, findings showed that subjects are minimally affected by problems linked to burnout, although some relational and organizational difficulties emerged with the medical staff that underlie a certain degree of professional dissatisfaction.

  2. National Context, Religiosity, and Volunteering : Results from 53 Countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ruiter, Stijn; Graaf, Nan Dirk de

    2008-01-01

    To what extent does the national religious context affect volunteering? Does a religious environment affect the relation between religiosity and volunteering? To answer these questions, this study specifies individual level, contextual level, and cross-level interaction hypotheses. The authors test

  3. Exploring the working role of hospice volunteers

    OpenAIRE

    Watts, Jacqueline H.

    2011-01-01

    Volunteering is now a regular feature of health and social care service provision with volunteers working in diverse contexts such as day care centres, ‘after school’ clubs, hospitals and hospices. The promotion of the idea of an active civil society by successive UK governments has led to the professionalisation of some voluntary work as the product of a partnership between the voluntary sector, government and business. More standardised working practices and semi-formalised aspects of volun...

  4. Exploring the Relationship Between Public Service Motivation and Formal and Informal Volunteering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard M. Clerkin

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we apply public service motivation to the ongoing discussion of formal and informal volunteering and whether these are two distinct constructs or variations on the same theme. This exploratory research uses survey data of undergraduate students reporting their participation in both types of volunteering activities. Using structural equation modeling, these formal and informal volunteering activities show different influences on three dimensions of PSM. In addition to PSM, high school volunteering and religiosity have direct effects on rates of formal volunteering, which in turn positively influence the PSM dimensions of civic duty and self-sacrifice. Being an Evangelical Christian is associated with increased informal volunteering, which is positively related to the PSM compassion dimension. These results indicate that the different dimensions of PSM, and how formal and informal volunteering influences them, should be useful tools for scholars and practitioners seeking to understand these distinct types of pro-social behaviors.

  5. IDENTIFYING COMPETENCIES OF VOLUNTEER BOARD MEMBERS OF COMMUNITY SPORTS CLUBS

    OpenAIRE

    A. BALDUCK; A. VAN ROSSEM; M. BUELENS

    2009-01-01

    This study contributes to the emerging empirical studies on roles and responsibilities of boards in nonprofit organizations by identifying competencies of volunteer board members. We identified how two types of constituents—volunteer board members and sports members—perceived competencies of volunteer board members in community sports clubs. We used the repertory grid technique to draw cognitive maps and to reveal the perceived reality of these constituents. Our results suggest that constitue...

  6. Factors affecting rural volunteering in palliative care - an integrated review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittall, Dawn; Lee, Susan; O'Connor, Margaret

    2016-12-01

    To review factors shaping volunteering in palliative care in Australian rural communities using Australian and International literature. Identify gaps in the palliative care literature and make recommendations for future research. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using Proquest, Scopus, Sage Premier, Wiley online, Ovid, Cochran, Google Scholar, CINAHL and Informit Health Collection. The literature was synthesised and presented in an integrated thematic narrative. Australian Rural communities. While Australia, Canada, the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) are leaders in palliative care volunteer research, limited research specifically focuses on volunteers in rural communities with the least occurring in Australia. Several interrelated factors influence rural palliative care provision, in particular an increasingly ageing population which includes an ageing volunteer and health professional workforce. Also current and models of palliative care practice fail to recognise the innumerable variables between and within rural communities such as distance, isolation, lack of privacy, limited health care services and infrastructure, and workforce shortages. These issues impact palliative care provision and are significant for health professionals, volunteers, patients and caregivers. The three key themes of this integrated review include: (i) Geography, ageing rural populations in palliative care practice, (ii) Psychosocial impact of end-end-of life care in rural communities and (iii) Palliative care models of practice and volunteering in rural communities. The invisibility of volunteers in rural palliative care research is a concern in understanding the issues affecting the sustainability of quality palliative care provision in rural communities. Recommendations for future Australian research includes examination of the suitability of current models of palliative care practice in addressing the needs of rural communities; the recruitment

  7. [Features of dual--postural and calculation--task performance in patients with consequences of traumatic brain injury].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zharikova, A V; Zhavoronkova, L A; Maksakova, O A; Kuptsova, S V

    2012-01-01

    Dual tasks with voluntary postural control and calculation have been done by 14 patients (25.7 +/- 4.7 yo.) after traumatic brain injury and 40 healthy volunteers (29.8 +/- 2.5 y.o.). Complex clinical (MMSE, FIM, MPAI-3 and Berg scales) and stabilographic evaluation has been performed. According to clinical evaluation 8 patients were included into group 1 with less severe functional deficit and 6 patients formed group 2 with more severe deficit. Parameters of motor and especially cognitive sub-tasks in patients were lower than in healthy subjects in both separate and dual tasks. In group 2 these parameters were lower than in group 1. Certain types of dual task where the quality of sub-tasks, especially of the motor-one increased in healthy subjects and patients of the first group were revealed. The complex of stabilographic parameters which could be used for estimation of quality of sub-tasks performance has been revealed. Dual tasks could be an additional method of evaluation of patients' adaptive possibilities and certain type of dual task could become a promising approach to recovery at late period of rehabilitation.

  8. Piperazine derivatives inhibit PrP/PrP(res) propagation in vitro and in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leidel, Fabienne; Eiden, Martin; Geissen, Markus; Hirschberger, Thomas; Tavan, Paul; Giese, Armin; Kretzschmar, Hans A; Schätzl, Hermann; Groschup, Martin H

    2014-02-28

    Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders, which are not curable and no effective treatment exists so far. The major neuropathological change in diseased brains is the conversion of the normal cellular form of the prion protein PrPc(C) into a disease-associated isoform PrP(Sc). PrP(Sc) accumulates into multimeres and fibrillar aggregates, which leads to the formation of amyloid plaques. Increasing evidence indicates a fundamental role of PrP(Sc) species and its aggregation in the pathogenesis of prion diseases, which initiates the pathological cascade and leads to neurodegeneration accompanied by spongiform changes. In search of compounds that have the potential to interfere with PrP(Sc) formation and propagation, we used a cell based assay for the screening of potential aggregation inhibitors. The assay deals with a permanently prion infected cell line that was adapted for a high-throughput screening of a compound library composed of 10,000 compounds (DIVERset 2, ChemBridge). We could detect six different classes of highly potent inhibitors of PrP(Sc) propagation in vitro and identified piperazine derivatives as a new inhibitory lead structure, which increased incubation time of scrapie infected mice. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Volunteering and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Does Helping Others Get "Under the Skin?".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burr, Jeffrey A; Han, Sae Hwang; Tavares, Jane L

    2016-10-01

    This study investigated whether volunteering was related to 5 risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the metabolic syndrome (MetS) among middle-aged and older adults. Data from the 2004 and 2006 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (N = 7,803) were examined. Logistic regression was used to describe the relationships among volunteering and central adiposity, hypertension, lipid dysregulation, elevated blood glucose levels, and high inflammation, along with 2 indexes of the MetS. Among middle-aged adults, results showed that volunteers were less likely to have high central adiposity, lipid dysregulation, elevated blood glucose levels, and MetS compared with non-volunteers. For older adults, results showed volunteers were less likely to be hypertensive and more likely to have lipid dysregulation than their non-volunteer counterparts. These results supported findings from other studies that formal volunteering is beneficial for middle-aged adults, and to a lesser degree, older adults. Further research is required to determine what factors may mediate the volunteer-CVD risk relationships. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. The conscientious retiree: The relationship between conscientiousness, retirement, and volunteering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mike, Anissa; Jackson, Joshua J.; Oltmanns, Thomas F.

    2015-01-01

    The current study examined the relationship between conscientiousness, work status, and volunteering utilizing two large samples, the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). It was hypothesized that conscientious adults who were retired would be more likely to volunteer because, after retirement, they gain a substantial amount of free time, while losing an outlet for their industrious and achievement-striving tendencies. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses revealed that conscientious, retired individuals were more likely to volunteer than conscientious, working individuals. Further analyses revealed that facets of conscientiousness provide differential information from the general trait. These findings indicate that volunteering during retirement fills an important niche for high-striving, conscientious individuals. PMID:25843985

  11. The conscientious retiree: The relationship between conscientiousness, retirement, and volunteering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mike, Anissa; Jackson, Joshua J; Oltmanns, Thomas F

    2014-10-01

    The current study examined the relationship between conscientiousness, work status, and volunteering utilizing two large samples, the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN) and the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). It was hypothesized that conscientious adults who were retired would be more likely to volunteer because, after retirement, they gain a substantial amount of free time, while losing an outlet for their industrious and achievement-striving tendencies. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses revealed that conscientious, retired individuals were more likely to volunteer than conscientious, working individuals. Further analyses revealed that facets of conscientiousness provide differential information from the general trait. These findings indicate that volunteering during retirement fills an important niche for high-striving, conscientious individuals.

  12. Influence of Social Factors and Motives on Commitment of Sport Events Volunteers

    OpenAIRE

    Farideh Sharififar; Zahra Jamalian; Reza Nikbakhsh; Zahra Nobakht Ramezani

    2011-01-01

    In sport, human resources management gives special attention to method of applying volunteers, their maintenance, and participation of volunteers with each other and management approaches for better operation of events celebrants. The recognition of volunteers- characteristics and motives is important to notice, because it makes the basis of their participation and commitment at sport environment. The motivation and commitment of 281 volunteers were assessed using the org...

  13. Volunteer navigation partnerships: Piloting a compassionate community approach to early palliative care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesut, Barbara; Duggleby, Wendy; Warner, Grace; Fassbender, Konrad; Antifeau, Elisabeth; Hooper, Brenda; Greig, Madeleine; Sullivan, Kelli

    2017-07-03

    A compassionate community approach to palliative care provides important rationale for building community-based hospice volunteer capacity. In this project, we piloted one such capacity-building model in which volunteers and a nurse partnered to provide navigation support beginning in the early palliative phase for adults living in community. The goal was to improve quality of life by developing independence, engagement, and community connections. Volunteers received navigation training through a three-day workshop and then conducted in-home visits with clients living with advanced chronic illness over one year. A nurse navigator provided education and mentorship. Mixed method evaluation data was collected from clients, volunteer navigators, the nurse navigator, and other stakeholders. Seven volunteers were partnered with 18 clients. Over the one-year pilot, the volunteer navigators conducted visits in home or by phone every two to three weeks. Volunteers were skilled and resourceful in building connections and facilitating engagement. Although it took time to learn the navigator role, volunteers felt well-prepared and found the role satisfying and meaningful. Clients and family rated the service as highly important to their care because of how the volunteer helped to make the difficult experiences of aging and advanced chronic illness more livable. Significant benefits cited by clients were making good decisions for both now and in the future; having a surrogate social safety net; supporting engagement with life; and ultimately, transforming the experience of living with illness. Overall the program was perceived to be well-designed by stakeholders and meeting an important need in the community. Sustainability, however, was a concern expressed by both clients and volunteers. Volunteers providing supportive navigation services during the early phase of palliative care is a feasible way to foster a compassionate community approach to care for an aging population

  14. Volunteer motivators for participating in HIV vaccine clinical trials in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyaoke, Borna A; Mutua, Gaudensia N; Sajabi, Rose; Nyasani, Delvin; Mureithi, Marianne W; Anzala, Omu A

    2017-01-01

    1.5 million Kenyans are living with HIV/AIDS as per 2015 estimates. Though there is a notable decline in new HIV infections, continued effort is still needed to develop an efficacious, accessible and affordable HIV vaccine. HIV vaccine clinical trials bear risks, hence a need to understand volunteer motivators for enrolment, retention and follow-up. Understanding the factors that motivate volunteers to participate in a clinical trial can help to strategize, refine targeting and thus increase enrolment of volunteers in future HIV vaccine clinical trials. The health belief model classifies motivators into social benefits such as 'advancing research' and collaboration with science, and personal benefits such as health benefits and financial interests. A thematic analysis was carried out on data obtained from four HIV clinical trials conducted at KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research in Nairobi Kenya from 2009 to 2015. Responses were obtained from a Questionnaire administered to the volunteers during their screening visit at the research site. Of the 281 healthy, HIV-uninfected volunteers participating in this study; 38% were motivated by personal benefits including, 31% motivated by health benefits and 7% motivated by possible financial gains. In addition, 62% of the volunteers were motivated by social benefits with 20% of who were seeking to help their family/society/world while 42% were interested in advancing research. The majority of volunteers in the HIV vaccine trials at our site were motivated by social benefits, suggesting that altruism can be a major contributor to participation in HIV vaccine studies. Personal benefits were a secondary motivator for the volunteers. The motivators to volunteer in HIV clinical trials were similar across ages, education level and gender. Education on what is needed (including volunteer participation) to develop an efficacious vaccine could be the key to greater volunteer motivation to participate in HIV vaccine clinical trials.

  15. Volunteer motivators for participating in HIV vaccine clinical trials in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Borna A Nyaoke

    Full Text Available 1.5 million Kenyans are living with HIV/AIDS as per 2015 estimates. Though there is a notable decline in new HIV infections, continued effort is still needed to develop an efficacious, accessible and affordable HIV vaccine. HIV vaccine clinical trials bear risks, hence a need to understand volunteer motivators for enrolment, retention and follow-up. Understanding the factors that motivate volunteers to participate in a clinical trial can help to strategize, refine targeting and thus increase enrolment of volunteers in future HIV vaccine clinical trials. The health belief model classifies motivators into social benefits such as 'advancing research' and collaboration with science, and personal benefits such as health benefits and financial interests.A thematic analysis was carried out on data obtained from four HIV clinical trials conducted at KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research in Nairobi Kenya from 2009 to 2015. Responses were obtained from a Questionnaire administered to the volunteers during their screening visit at the research site.Of the 281 healthy, HIV-uninfected volunteers participating in this study; 38% were motivated by personal benefits including, 31% motivated by health benefits and 7% motivated by possible financial gains. In addition, 62% of the volunteers were motivated by social benefits with 20% of who were seeking to help their family/society/world while 42% were interested in advancing research.The majority of volunteers in the HIV vaccine trials at our site were motivated by social benefits, suggesting that altruism can be a major contributor to participation in HIV vaccine studies. Personal benefits were a secondary motivator for the volunteers. The motivators to volunteer in HIV clinical trials were similar across ages, education level and gender. Education on what is needed (including volunteer participation to develop an efficacious vaccine could be the key to greater volunteer motivation to participate in HIV vaccine

  16. Identification and expression analysis of a pathogenresponsive PR ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    related (PR) proteins. PR-1 genes represent the first identified PR gene family. Most members of PR-1 gene family are not inducible by pathogen attacks. In this study, we identified a pathogen-responsive PR-1 gene designated as VqPR-1 ...

  17. PR Crisis Melalui Media Sosial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gladys Carlina

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The background of this research is communication, new media, PR and PR Crisis. Fourth of this background has a close relationship, starting from communication, human in everyday life would require communication to receive and convey information, human can not be released from human life. The advancement of the times and the development of technology, causing people to communicate easily and the development of this era caused a new challenge for the PR and PR Crisis of a company, they should be able to maintain a positive image of the company in the minds of people. In this study using descriptive qualitative methodology, it contains many writings and drawings compared to the numbers. The purpose of this research is to know the strategy used by Pizza Hut in dealing with the issue of expired food. Penelitin results, social media is very positive impact on Pizza Hut in the recovery of food issues expired. The strategy used by the Pizza Hut Crisis PR is to utilize social media. Visible from the issue of expired food that disappeared in public and Pizza Hut restaurant until now crowded visited. Latar belakang dari penelitian ini yaitu komunikasi, media baru, PR dan PR Krisis. Keempat dari latar belakang ini mempunyai hubungan yang erat, dimulai dari komunikasi, manusia di dalam kehidupan sehari-hari tentunya memerlukan komunikasi untuk menerima dan menyampaikan informasi, manusia tidak bisa dilepaskan dari kehidupan manusia. Majunya perkembangan zaman dan perkembangan teknologi, menyebabkan manusia melakukan komunikasi dengan mudah dan perkembangan zaman ini menyebabkan adanya tantangan baru bagi para PR dan PR Krisis sebuah perusahaan, mereka harus bisa mempertahankan citra positif perusahaan di benak masyarakat. Dalam penelitian ini menggunakan metodologi kualitatif deksriptif, memuat banyak tulisan dan gambar dibandingkan angka-angka. Tujuan dari penelitian ini untuk mengetahui strategi yang digunakan oleh Pizza Hut dalam menangani isu makanan

  18. Studies in the Crystalline Electric Field in Pr2 Al and Pr Al by the Inelastic Neutron Scattering Method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Slisenko, V.I.; Ivanitskij, P.G.; Vasil'kevich, A.A.; Krotenko, V.T.; Majstrenko, A.N.

    1993-01-01

    Results of inelastic neutron scattering in polycrystalline Pr 2 Al and Pr Al are reported. The parameters of the crystal field Hamiltonian for the orthorhombic point symmetry of the Pr 3+ ions in Pr 2 Al and Pr Al are derived from neutron spectra. Using These parameters the magnetic contribution to the specific heat is calculated

  19. Tips for the PR Chairman for Education Associations. PR Bookshelf No. 2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Education Association, Washington, DC.

    This booklet is intended to aid leaders of local education associations in developing a continuing public relations (PR) program aimed at establishing and maintaining a favorable public image for teachers. Although it offers useful guidelines for developing a PR program, the booklet does not contain lists of specific things to do. Instead, it…

  20. 75 FR 44847 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Forms 943, 943-PR, 943-A, and 943A-PR

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-29

    ... 943, 943-PR, 943- A, and 943A-PR AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Notice and... comments concerning Forms 943, Employer's Annual Tax Return for Agricultural Employees, 943-PR, Planilla..., Agricultural Employer's Record of Federal Tax Liability, and 943A-PR, Registro De La Obligacion Contributiva...

  1. Small protease sensitive oligomers of PrPSc in distinct human prions determine conversion rate of PrP(C.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chae Kim

    Full Text Available The mammalian prions replicate by converting cellular prion protein (PrP(C into pathogenic conformational isoform (PrP(Sc. Variations in prions, which cause different disease phenotypes, are referred to as strains. The mechanism of high-fidelity replication of prion strains in the absence of nucleic acid remains unsolved. We investigated the impact of different conformational characteristics of PrP(Sc on conversion of PrP(C in vitro using PrP(Sc seeds from the most frequent human prion disease worldwide, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD. The conversion potency of a broad spectrum of distinct sCJD prions was governed by the level, conformation, and stability of small oligomers of the protease-sensitive (s PrP(Sc. The smallest most potent prions present in sCJD brains were composed only of∼20 monomers of PrP(Sc. The tight correlation between conversion potency of small oligomers of human sPrP(Sc observed in vitro and duration of the disease suggests that sPrP(Sc conformers are an important determinant of prion strain characteristics that control the progression rate of the disease.

  2. Task-related modulations of BOLD low-frequency fluctuations within the default mode network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tommasin, Silvia; Mascali, Daniele; Gili, Tommaso; Eid Assan, Ibrahim; Moraschi, Marta; Fratini, Michela; Wise, Richard G.; Macaluso, Emiliano; Mangia, Silvia; Giove, Federico

    2017-07-01

    Spontaneous low-frequency Blood-Oxygenation Level-Dependent (BOLD) signals acquired during resting state are characterized by spatial patterns of synchronous fluctuations, ultimately leading to the identification of robust brain networks. The resting-state brain networks, including the Default Mode Network (DMN), are demonstrated to persist during sustained task execution, but the exact features of task-related changes of network properties are still not well characterized. In this work we sought to examine in a group of 20 healthy volunteers (age 33±6 years, 8F/12M) the relationship between changes of spectral and spatiotemporal features of one prominent resting-state network, namely the DMN, during the steady-state execution of a sustained working memory n-back task. We found that the steady state execution of such a task impacted on both functional connectivity and amplitude of BOLD fluctuations within large parts of the DMN, but these changes correlated between each other only in a small area of the posterior cingulate. We conclude that combined analysis of multiple parameters related to connectivity, and their changes during the transition from resting state to steady-state task execution, can contribute to a better understanding of how brain networks rearrange themselves in response of a task.

  3. Padrões de ativação cerebral em idosos sadios durante tarefa de memória verbal de reconhecimento: a single-photon emission computerized tomography study Brain activation patterns during verbal recognition memory in elderly healthy volunteers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Geraldo Busatto Filho

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUÇÃO: Estudos que utilizam as técnicas de PET, SPECT e ressonância magnética funcional têm permitido o mapeamento dos circuitos cerebrais ativados durante diversas tarefas cognitivas. O campo da memória declarativa tem sido um dos mais intensamente estudados. No presente estudo, usa-se a técnica de mapeamento do fluxo sangüíneo cerebral regional (FSCr por SPECT para investigar mudanças na atividade cerebral durante uma tarefa de memória episódica, em voluntários idosos sadios (n=15. MÉTODOS: Duas avaliações de SPECT foram realizadas na mesma sessão, usando a técnica de dose dividida do traçador 99 m-Tc-HMPAO. Medidas de FSCr foram registradas durante uma tarefa de reconhecimento de material verbal previamente aprendido e durante uma tarefa-controle mais simples. Comparações de FSCr foram realizadas automaticamente, utilizando o programa Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM. RESULTADOS: Observou-se aumento de FSCr durante a tarefa de memória em várias regiões cerebrais, incluindo: córtex pré-frontal lateral bilateralmente (mais acentuadamente à esquerda; porções posteriores e mediais de córtex parieto-occipital à esquerda; hemisférios cerebelares bilateralmente; e córtex temporal lateral bilateralmente (pINTRODUCTION: PET, SPECT and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have allowed the delineation of brain circuits activated during several types of cognitive tasks. The field of declarative memory has been one of the most extensively investigated. In the present study, the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF SPECT technique was used to investigate changes in brain activity during a verbal memory task in a group of elderly healthy volunteers (n=15. METHODS:Two SPECT acquisitions were performed in the same session, using the split-dose 99mTc-HMPAO technique. Measures of rCBF were taken during a recognition memory task and a simpler control task. Between-task comparisons were performed automatically

  4. The public service-motivated volunteer devoting time or effort

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Costello, Joyce; Homberg, Fabian; Secchi, Davide

    2017-01-01

    and thus may inform subsequent empirical work. First, we address academic debates concerning the measurement of volunteer effort. Second, we propose using public service motivation (PSM) theory as a means to understand the motivation of volunteers across sectors. We suggest that different PSM dimensions...

  5. 78 FR 47051 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request for Forms 943, 943-PR, 943-A, and 943A-PR

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-02

    ... 943, 943-PR, 943- A, and 943A-PR AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. ACTION: Notice and..., 943-PR, Planilla Para La Declarcion Anual De La Contribucion Federal Del Patrono De Empleados Agricolas, 943-A, Agricultural Employer's Record of Federal Tax Liability, and 943A-PR, Registro De La...

  6. Volunteering by older adults and risk of mortality: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Okun, Morris A; Yeung, Ellen WanHeung; Brown, Stephanie

    2013-06-01

    Organizational volunteering has been touted as an effective strategy for older adults to help themselves while helping others. Extending previous reviews, we carried out a meta-analysis of the relation between organizational volunteering by late-middle-aged and older adults (minimum age = 55 years old) and risk of mortality. We focused on unadjusted effect sizes (i.e., bivariate relations), adjusted effect sizes (i.e., controlling for other variables such as health), and interaction effect sizes (e.g., the joint effect of volunteering and religiosity). For unadjusted effect sizes, on average, volunteering reduced mortality risk by 47%, with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 38% to 55%. For adjusted effect sizes, on average, volunteering reduced mortality risk by 24%, with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 16% to 31%. For interaction effect sizes, we found preliminary support that as public religiosity increases, the inverse relation between volunteering and mortality risk becomes stronger. The discussion identifies several unresolved issues and directions for future research. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  7. Die prädikatsergänzung (das prädikatsattribut in der Slovenischen Syntax

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Breda Pogorelec

    1972-12-01

    Full Text Available In der vorliegenden Abhandlung wird die erwähnte Problematik in der slovenischen grammatischen -Überlieferung behandelt und mit interessanten Ergebnissen vor allem der tschechischen Sprachtheorie ergänzt, es wird der Terminus Prädikatsergänzung gegenüber dem Terminus Prädikatsattribut begründet; auf dieser Grundlage werden auch die bisher behandelten Arten von Prädikatsergänzungen mit neuen ergänzt. Dabei findet wenn nur möglich das einfache Transformationsverfahren Verwendung, das die Veranschaulichung der stufenweisen Determinierung durch das Prädikatsattribut ermöglicht. Das Material entstammt vorwiegend der Sprache der Kunst, der Grund dafür ist vor allem in der Tatsache zu suchen, daß in dieser Sprache dieser Form die Rolle eines natürlichen Kondensators zufällt, weshalb sie verhältnismäßig häufig vorkommt. Die Abhandlung befaßt sich eingehender auch mit dem Problem der Wortfolge und berührt auch die graphische Darstellung der bei der Prädikatsergänzung üblichen Pausen.

  8. International clinical volunteering in Tanzania: A postcolonial analysis of a Global Health business.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sullivan, Noelle

    2018-03-01

    This article traces how scarcities characteristic of health systems in low-income countries (LICs), and increasing popular interest in Global Health, have inadvertently contributed to the popularisation of a specific Global Health business: international clinical volunteering through private volunteer placement organisations (VPOs). VPOs market neglected health facilities as sites where foreigners can 'make a difference', regardless of their skill set. Drawing on online investigation and ethnographic research in Tanzania over four field seasons from 2011 to 2015, including qualitative interviews with 41 foreign volunteers and 90 Tanzanian health workers, this article offers a postcolonial analysis of VPO marketing and volunteer action in health facilities of LICs. Two prevalent postcolonial racialised tropes inform both VPO marketing and foreign volunteers' discourses and practices in Tanzania. The first trope discounts Tanzanian expertise in order to envision volunteers in expert roles despite lacking training, expertise, or contextual knowledge. The second trope envisions Tanzanian patients as so impoverished that insufficiently trained volunteer help is 'better than nothing at all'. These two postcolonial racialised tropes inform the conceptual work undertaken by VPO marketing schemes and foreign volunteers in order to remake Tanzanian health professionals and patients into appropriate and justifiable sites for foreign volunteer intervention.

  9. Volunteer Tourism as a Sustainable Form of Tourism—The Case of Organized Events

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristína Pompurová

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on volunteer tourism as a sustainable form of tourism relating to the volunteer service at a tourism destination and specific tourism activities. The aim of the paper is to explore volunteer tourism in Slovakia with examples of organized events, especially to search exactly how event’s organizers support the development of domestic and inbound volunteer tourism in Slovakia. This paper is based on a sociological survey. We addressed 653 heterogeneous event’s organizers in Slovakia. 18% of them participated in the questionnaire survey. The collected data were processed by selected mathematical and statistical methods in SPSS statistics program. As such, we found most events organizers team up with volunteers. Only half of the organizers cooperate with local volunteers, while the second half also support the development of volunteer tourism engaging in voluntourism. In the case of attractive events, the engagement of voluntourists could be more effective. The current situation has resulted from missing information about the management of volunteers but it could be improved through an e-manual for event organizers providing an outline guide for volunteer management.

  10. Bolonia y la buena práctica de las prácticas

    OpenAIRE

    García Delgado, Javier

    2016-01-01

    A propósito de la implantación del controvertido “plan Bolonia” se están difundiendo algunas ideas negativas en relación con una supuesta “mercantilización” de la universidad, algunas relacionadas con la explotación de los estudiantes a través de las prácticas en empresas, o prácticas externas, sobre las cuales se reflexiona en este artículo. ¿Qué hemos aprendido tras las ya casi tres décadas transcurridas desde la promulgación del decreto del año 81 que autorizaba este tipo de prácticas? Ese...

  11. PrPST, a Soluble, Protease Resistant and Truncated PrP Form Features in the Pathogenesis of a Genetic Prion Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frid, Kati; Binyamin, Orli; Gabizon, Ruth

    2013-01-01

    While the conversion of PrPC into PrPSc in the transmissible form of prion disease requires a preexisting PrPSc seed, in genetic prion disease accumulation of disease related PrP could be associated with biochemical and metabolic modifications resulting from the designated PrP mutation. To investigate this possibility, we looked into the time related changes of PrP proteins in the brains of TgMHu2ME199K/wt mice, a line modeling for heterozygous genetic prion disease linked to the E200K PrP mutation. We found that while oligomeric entities of mutant E199KPrP exist at all ages, aggregates of wt PrP in the same brains presented only in advanced disease, indicating a late onset conversion process. We also show that most PK resistant PrP in TgMHu2ME199K mice is soluble and truncated (PrPST), a pathogenic form never before associated with prion disease. We next looked into brain samples from E200K patients and found that both PK resistant PrPs, PrPST as in TgMHu2ME199K mice, and “classical” PrPSc as in infectious prion diseases, coincide in the patient's post mortem brains. We hypothesize that aberrant metabolism of mutant PrPs may result in the formation of previously unknown forms of the prion protein and that these may be central for the fatal outcome of the genetic prion condition. PMID:23922744

  12. Adult 4-H Volunteer Empowerment in 4-H Youth Development Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsen, Pamela

    2009-01-01

    The primary purpose of this study was to determine which factors related to adult 4-H volunteer empowerment in 4-H youth development settings. This study examined the relationship of adult 4-H volunteers' perceived leadership styles of Oregon 4-H Youth Development Educators (YDE) to the adult 4-H volunteer sense of empowerment. In addition,…

  13. Assessing the religious roots of volunteer work in middle and late life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Neal

    2015-07-01

    Research reveals that older people do a significant amount of volunteer work. Moreover, a good deal of this volunteering takes place in religious institutions. The purpose of this study is to examine how social factors in the church influence the decision to volunteer. The analyses are conducted in two steps. First, data from a longitudinal nationwide survey of older people are used to show that increases in spiritual support (i.e., assistance from fellow church members that is designed to bolster religious beliefs and behaviors) are associated with increases in the frequency of volunteer work. Second, cross-sectional analyses from the same survey suggest that spiritual support is associated with volunteering in part because it promotes greater compassion. However, the magnitude of the relationship between compassion and volunteering is fairly modest. © The Author(s) 2014.

  14. The effect of fMRI task combinations on determining the hemispheric dominance of language functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niskanen, Eini; Koenoenen, Mervi; Villberg, Ville; Aeikiae, Marja; Nissi, Mikko; Ranta-aho, Perttu; Karjalainen, Pasi; Saeisaenen, Laura; Mervaala, Esa; Kaelviaeinen, Reetta; Vanninen, Ritva

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to establish the most suitable combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) language tasks for clinical use in determining language dominance and to define the variability in laterality index (LI) and activation power between different combinations of language tasks. Activation patterns of different fMRI analyses of five language tasks (word generation, responsive naming, letter task, sentence comprehension, and word pair) were defined for 20 healthy volunteers (16 right-handed). LIs and sums of T values were calculated for each task separately and for four combinations of tasks in predefined regions of interest. Variability in terms of activation power and lateralization was defined in each analysis. In addition, the visual assessment of lateralization of language functions based on the individual fMRI activation maps was conducted by an experienced neuroradiologist. A combination analysis of word generation, responsive naming, and sentence comprehension was the most suitable in terms of activation power, robustness to detect essential language areas, and scanning time. In general, combination analyses of the tasks provided higher overall activation levels than single tasks and reduced the number of outlier voxels disturbing the calculation of LI. A combination of auditory and visually presented tasks that activate different aspects of language functions with sufficient activation power may be a useful task battery for determining language dominance in patients. (orig.)

  15. The effect of fMRI task combinations on determining the hemispheric dominance of language functions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Niskanen, Eini [University of Eastern Finland, Department of Applied Physics, Kuopio (Finland); Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio (Finland); Koenoenen, Mervi [Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio (Finland); Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio (Finland); Villberg, Ville; Aeikiae, Marja [Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Neurology, Kuopio (Finland); Nissi, Mikko; Ranta-aho, Perttu; Karjalainen, Pasi [University of Eastern Finland, Department of Applied Physics, Kuopio (Finland); Saeisaenen, Laura; Mervaala, Esa [Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio (Finland); University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Clinical Neurophysiology, Kuopio (Finland); Kaelviaeinen, Reetta [Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Neurology, Kuopio (Finland); University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Neurology, Kuopio (Finland); Vanninen, Ritva [Kuopio University Hospital, Department of Clinical Radiology, Kuopio (Finland); University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Clinical Radiology, Kuopio (Finland)

    2012-04-15

    The purpose of this study is to establish the most suitable combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) language tasks for clinical use in determining language dominance and to define the variability in laterality index (LI) and activation power between different combinations of language tasks. Activation patterns of different fMRI analyses of five language tasks (word generation, responsive naming, letter task, sentence comprehension, and word pair) were defined for 20 healthy volunteers (16 right-handed). LIs and sums of T values were calculated for each task separately and for four combinations of tasks in predefined regions of interest. Variability in terms of activation power and lateralization was defined in each analysis. In addition, the visual assessment of lateralization of language functions based on the individual fMRI activation maps was conducted by an experienced neuroradiologist. A combination analysis of word generation, responsive naming, and sentence comprehension was the most suitable in terms of activation power, robustness to detect essential language areas, and scanning time. In general, combination analyses of the tasks provided higher overall activation levels than single tasks and reduced the number of outlier voxels disturbing the calculation of LI. A combination of auditory and visually presented tasks that activate different aspects of language functions with sufficient activation power may be a useful task battery for determining language dominance in patients. (orig.)

  16. The effect of fMRI task combinations on determining the hemispheric dominance of language functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niskanen, Eini; Könönen, Mervi; Villberg, Ville; Nissi, Mikko; Ranta-Aho, Perttu; Säisänen, Laura; Karjalainen, Pasi; Aikiä, Marja; Kälviäinen, Reetta; Mervaala, Esa; Vanninen, Ritva

    2012-04-01

    The purpose of this study is to establish the most suitable combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) language tasks for clinical use in determining language dominance and to define the variability in laterality index (LI) and activation power between different combinations of language tasks. Activation patterns of different fMRI analyses of five language tasks (word generation, responsive naming, letter task, sentence comprehension, and word pair) were defined for 20 healthy volunteers (16 right-handed). LIs and sums of T values were calculated for each task separately and for four combinations of tasks in predefined regions of interest. Variability in terms of activation power and lateralization was defined in each analysis. In addition, the visual assessment of lateralization of language functions based on the individual fMRI activation maps was conducted by an experienced neuroradiologist. A combination analysis of word generation, responsive naming, and sentence comprehension was the most suitable in terms of activation power, robustness to detect essential language areas, and scanning time. In general, combination analyses of the tasks provided higher overall activation levels than single tasks and reduced the number of outlier voxels disturbing the calculation of LI. A combination of auditory and visually presented tasks that activate different aspects of language functions with sufficient activation power may be a useful task battery for determining language dominance in patients.

  17. Red Cross Youth Program: Volunteering for Fun and Esteem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Ranae; Grove, Barbara

    1982-01-01

    Describes a program in which high school students from St. Paul, Minnesota volunteer at the local Red Cross. Cites examples of students who entered the volunteer program with personal problems and were able to overcome them through meaningful work experience at the Red Cross. (Author/GC)

  18. Leitlinie für Fakultäts-interne Leistungsnachweise während des Medizinstudiums: Ein Positionspapier des GMA-Ausschusses Prüfungen und des Kompetenzzentrums Prüfungen Baden-Württemberg [

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ,

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available [english] With the implementation of a new licensing regulation for doctors in 2002 the responsibility for assessment was assigned from the German national examination board to the individual faculties, especially so for clinical subjects.39 graded reports have to be issued between the first national board examination (after 2 years of preclinical studies and the start of the internship (6th year. This new task provides special demands for assessment organization at faculty level. A number of prerequisites have to be met to guarantee adequate quality in assessment. To support faculties in meeting these requirements, guidelines were issued in cooperation with GMA assessment committee and the Baden-Württemberg competence centre for assessment in medical education. Developed on broad consensus these guidelines define quality requirements based on international standards. Their effect on quality improvement in German medical faculty’s examinations in clinical subjects is to be researched concomitantly.[german] Die neue ärztliche Approbationsordnung (ÄAppO aus dem Jahre 2002 verlagert die Prüfungsverantwortung insbesondere für den klinischen Studienabschnitt auf die Fakultäten:39 benotete Leistungsnachweise sind zwischen der ersten Staatsprüfung und praktischem Jahr zu erstellen. Diese neue Aufgabe stellt besondere Anforderungen an das fakultäre Prüfungswesen. Um eine angemessene Qualität der fakultären Prüfungen sicher zu stellen, sind eine Reihe von Voraussetzungen zu erfüllen. Die vorliegenden Leitlinien des GMA-Ausschusses Prüfungen und des Kompetenzzentrums Prüfungen des Landes Baden-Württemberg wurden erstellt, um die Fakultäten in dieser Aufgabe zu unterstützen. Die vorliegenden Leitlinien definieren die Qualitätsanforderungen unter Berücksichtigung internationaler Standards und wurden in breitem Konsens entwickelt. Ihre Wirkung im Hinblick auf die Qualitätsverbesserung der fakultären Prüfungen im klinischen

  19. HIV-negative male couples' attitudes about pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and using PrEP with a sexual agreement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Jason W; Lee, Ji-Young; Woodyatt, Cory; Bauermeister, José; Sullivan, Patrick; Stephenson, Rob

    2016-08-01

    One efficacious strategy to help prevent HIV is oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a daily regimen of antiretroviral treatment taken by HIV-negative individuals. Two of the recommendations of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for PrEP pertain to being in a relationship (i.e., male couples). Despite the recognition of how primary partners in male couples' relationships shape HIV risk and CDC's PrEP guidelines, there is a paucity of data that examine HIV-negative male couples' attitudes toward PrEP use and using PrEP with a sexual agreement. A sexual agreement is an explicit agreement made between two individuals about what sex and other related behaviors may occur within and outside of their relationship. In this qualitative study, we examine HIV-negative male couples' attitudes toward PrEP use and whether they thought PrEP could be integrated into a sexual agreement. Data for this study are drawn from couple-level interviews conducted in 2014 with 29 HIV-negative male couples who had a sexual agreement and were from Atlanta or Detroit. Both passive (e.g., flyers) and active (e.g., targeted Facebook advertisements) recruitment methods were used; the sample was stratified by agreement type. Thematic analysis was applied to identify the following themes regarding HIV-negative male couples' attitudes toward PrEP use: (1) PrEP and condom use; (2) concerns about PrEP (e.g., effectiveness, side effects, and promoting sexually risky behavior); and (3) accessibility of PrEP. Some thought PrEP could be a part of couples' agreement because it could help reduce sexual anxiety and sexual risk, and would help keep the couple safe. Others described PrEP use with an agreement as something for "others". Some were also concerned that incorporating PrEP could usurp the need for a sexual agreement in a couples' relationship. These themes highlight the need to improve informational messaging and promotion efforts about PrEP among HIV-negative male couples

  20. Males and females differ in brain activation during cognitive tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Emily C; Willson, Morgan C; Wilman, Alan H; Dave, Sanjay; Silverstone, Peter H

    2006-04-01

    To examine the effect of gender on regional brain activity, we utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a motor task and three cognitive tasks; a word generation task, a spatial attention task, and a working memory task in healthy male (n = 23) and female (n = 10) volunteers. Functional data were examined for group differences both in the number of pixels activated, and the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) magnitude during each task. Males had a significantly greater mean activation than females in the working memory task with a greater number of pixels being activated in the right superior parietal gyrus and right inferior occipital gyrus, and a greater BOLD magnitude occurring in the left inferior parietal lobe. However, despite these fMRI changes, there were no significant differences between males and females on cognitive performance of the task. In contrast, in the spatial attention task, men performed better at this task than women, but there were no significant functional differences between the two groups. In the word generation task, there were no external measures of performance, but in the functional measurements, males had a significantly greater mean activation than females, where males had a significantly greater BOLD signal magnitude in the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the right inferior parietal lobe, and the cingulate. In neither of the motor tasks (right or left hand) did males and females perform differently. Our fMRI findings during the motor tasks were a greater mean BOLD signal magnitude in males in the right hand motor task, compared to females where males had an increased BOLD signal magnitude in the right inferior parietal gyrus and in the left inferior frontal gyrus. In conclusion, these results demonstrate differential patterns of activation in males and females during a variety of cognitive tasks, even though performance in these tasks may not vary, and also that variability in performance may not

  1. The Volunteering-in-Place (VIP) Program: Providing meaningful volunteer activity to residents in assisted living with mild cognitive impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klinedinst, N Jennifer; Resnick, Barbara

    2016-01-01

    The Volunteering-in-Place (VIP) Program was developed to provide individualized meaningful volunteer activities matched to interests and capabilities for older adults with MCI in assisted living. The purposes of this single-site pre-test/post-test pilot study were to (1) establish feasibility of the VIP Program based on treatment fidelity (design, treatment, delivery, enactment); and (2) evaluate preliminary efficacy via improvement in psychological health (depressive symptoms, usefulness, purpose, resilience, and life satisfaction) and decreased sedentary activity (survey and Fitbit) at 3 and 6 months. Ten residents participated. The majority was white, female and educated, and on average 88 years old. The VIP Program was feasible and most participants continued to volunteer at 6 months. There were non-significant improvements in depressive symptoms, usefulness, purpose, resilience and recreational physical activity. The results of this study provide support for the feasibility of the VIP Program. Further study is necessary to examine efficacy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. PrEP Whores and HIV Prevention: The Queer Communication of HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spieldenner, Andrew

    2016-12-01

    HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) has been introduced as another biomedical tool in HIV prevention. Whereas other such tools-including post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) and interruption of perinatal transmission-have been embraced by those impacted by HIV, PrEP has been met with more conflict, especially within the gay community and HIV organizations. The "PrEP whore" has come to designate the social value and personal practices of those taking PrEP. This study examines the "PrEP whore" discourse by using queer theory and quare theory. Within these theoretical vantage points, the study explicates four discursive areas: slut shaming, dirty/clean binaries, mourning the loss of condoms, and reclaiming the inner whore. The study illuminates possible discursive strategies that lie outside of the domains of public health and within the individual and community.

  3. Getting it Right: Estimating the Share of Volunteers in Denmark

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan Hermansen

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available  ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"17lm8qr6dg","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Abraham, Helms, & Presser, 2009","plainCitation":"(Abraham, Helms, & Presser, 2009"},"citationItems":[{"id":594,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/1739062/items/EIENFNPD"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/1739062/items/EIENFNPD"],"itemData":{"id":594,"type":"article-journal","title":"How Social Processes Distort Measurement: The Impact of Survey Nonresponse on Estimates of Volunteer Work in the United States","container-title":"American Journal of Sociology","page":"1129-1165","volume":"114","issue":"4","source":"JSTOR","abstract":"The authors argue that both the large variability in survey estimates of volunteering and the fact that survey estimates do not show the secular decline common to other social capital measures are caused by the greater propensity of those who do volunteer work to respond to surveys. Analyses of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS—the sample for which is drawn from the Current Population Survey (CPS—together with the CPS volunteering supplement show that CPS respondents who become ATUS respondents report much more volunteering in the CPS than those who become ATUS nonrespondents. This difference is replicated within subgroups. Consequently, conventional adjustments for nonresponse cannot correct the bias. Although nonresponse leads to estimates of volunteer activity that are too high, it generally does not affect inferences about the characteristics of volunteers.","DOI":"10.1086/592200","ISSN":"0002-9602","shortTitle":"How Social Processes Distort Measurement","journalAbbreviation":"American Journal of Sociology","author":[{"family":"Abraham","given":"Katharine G."},{"family":"Helms","given":"Sara"},{"family":"Presser","given":"Stanley"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009",1,1

  4. Incorporation of Pr into LuAG ceramics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchewka, M. R.; Chapman, M. G.; Qian, H.; Jacobsohn, L. G.

    2017-06-01

    An investigation of the effects of Pr in (Lu1-xPrx)3Al5O12 (LuAG:Pr) ceramics was carried out by means of x-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR) measurements coupled with luminescence measurements. It was found that the Pr concentration that maximizes luminescence emission depends on the thermal processing conditions. While the calcined LuAG:Pr powder showed maximum luminescence emission for Pr concentrations between 0.18 and 0.33 at.%, maximum emission of ceramic bodies sintered at 1500 °C for 20 h was obtained with Pr concentrations between 0.018 and 0.18 at.%. Further, for short sintering times up to about 3 h, luminescence emission intensity is maximum for Pr concentrations around 0.33 at.%. Longer sintering times lead to the formation of PrAlO3 as a secondary phase, concomitant with a reduction of the intensity of luminescence emission.

  5. PrPC from stem cells to cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Séverine eMartin-Lannerée

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The cellular prion protein PrPC was initially discovered as the normal counterpart of the pathological scrapie prion protein PrPSc, the main component of the infectious agent of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies. While clues as to the physiological function of this ubiquitous protein were greatly anticipated from the development of knock-out animals, PrP-null mice turned out to be viable and to develop without major phenotypic abnormalities. Notwithstanding, the discovery that hematopoietic stem cells from PrP-null mice have impaired long-term repopulating potential has set the stage for investigating into the role of PrPC in stem cell biology. A wealth of data have now exemplified that PrPC is expressed in distinct types of stem cells and regulates their self-renewal as well as their differentiation potential. A role for PrPC in the fate restriction of embryonic stem cells has further been proposed. Paralleling these observations, an overexpression of PrPC has been documented in various types of tumours. In line with the contribution of PrPC to stemness and to the proliferation of cancer cells, PrPC was recently found to be enriched in subpopulations of tumour-initiating cells. In the present review, we summarize the current knowledge of the role played by PrPC in stem cell biology and discuss how the subversion of its function may contribute to cancer progression.

  6. PrP-C1 fragment in cattle brains reveals features of the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy associated PrPsc.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Serra, Fabienne; Müller, Joachim; Gray, John; Lüthi, Ramona; Dudas, Sandor; Czub, Stefanie; Seuberlich, Torsten

    2017-03-15

    Three different types of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are known and supposedly caused by distinct prion strains: the classical (C-) BSE type that was typically found during the BSE epidemic, and two relatively rare atypical BSE types, termed H-BSE and L-BSE. The three BSE types differ in the molecular phenotype of the disease associated prion protein, namely the N-terminally truncated proteinase K (PK) resistant prion protein fragment (PrP res ). In this study, we report and analyze yet another PrP res type (PrP res-2011 ), which was found in severely autolytic brain samples of two cows in the framework of disease surveillance in Switzerland in 2011. Analysis of brain tissues from these animals by PK titration and PK inhibitor assays ruled out the process of autolysis as the cause for the aberrant PrP res profile. Immunochemical characterization of the PrP fragments present in the 2011 cases by epitope mapping indicated that PrP res-2011 corresponds in its primary sequence to the physiologically occurring PrP-C1 fragment. However, high speed centrifugation, sucrose gradient assay and NaPTA precipitation revealed biochemical similarities between PrP res-2011 and the disease-associated prion protein found in BSE affected cattle in terms of detergent insolubility, PK resistance and PrP aggregation. Although it remains to be established whether PrP res-2011 is associated with a transmissible disease, our results point out the need of further research on the role the PrP-C1 aggregation and misfolding in health and disease. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  7. STRATEGIJSKA ULOGA PR U SPORTU

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duško Tomić

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available PR in the modern world are developed with rapid speed and become important aspect of strategic management. Modern menagers are very interesting in PR and they observe that there is not successful strategy without experiance theory and practice in PR. The goals must be defined, basic phylosophy to, and managers must take responsability and describe everithing what they have to do. It must be financial fond and evaluation must be done

  8. Can short-term oral fine motor training affect precision of task performance and induce cortical plasticity of the jaw muscles?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hong, Zhang; Kumar, Abhishek; Kothari, Mohit

    2016-01-01

    The aim was to test the hypothesis that short-term oral sensorimotor training of the jaw muscles would increase the precision of task performance and induce neuroplastic changes in the corticomotor pathways, related to the masseter muscle. Fifteen healthy volunteers performed six series with ten...... trials of an oral sensorimotor task. The task was to manipulate and position a spherical chocolate candy in between the anterior teeth and split it into two equal halves. The precision of the task performance was evaluated by comparing the ratio between the two split halves. A series of "hold......-and-split" tasks was also performed before and after the training. The hold force and split force along with the electromyographic (EMG) activity of jaw muscles were recorded. Motor-evoked potentials and cortical motor maps of the right masseter muscle were evoked by transcranial magnetic stimulation...

  9. Brain functional network connectivity based on a visual task: visual information processing-related brain regions are significantly activated in the task state

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yan-li Yang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available It is not clear whether the method used in functional brain-network related research can be applied to explore the feature binding mechanism of visual perception. In this study, we investigated feature binding of color and shape in visual perception. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 38 healthy volunteers at rest and while performing a visual perception task to construct brain networks active during resting and task states. Results showed that brain regions involved in visual information processing were obviously activated during the task. The components were partitioned using a greedy algorithm, indicating the visual network existed during the resting state. Z-values in the vision-related brain regions were calculated, confirming the dynamic balance of the brain network. Connectivity between brain regions was determined, and the result showed that occipital and lingual gyri were stable brain regions in the visual system network, the parietal lobe played a very important role in the binding process of color features and shape features, and the fusiform and inferior temporal gyri were crucial for processing color and shape information. Experimental findings indicate that understanding visual feature binding and cognitive processes will help establish computational models of vision, improve image recognition technology, and provide a new theoretical mechanism for feature binding in visual perception.

  10. Volunteering is prospectively associated with health care use among older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Eric S; Konrath, Sara H

    2016-01-01

    Although observational and experimental studies have shown that volunteering is linked with better mental health, physical health, and health behaviors, no studies have examined whether volunteering is associated with patterns of health care use. The purpose of this study was to prospectively examine whether volunteering was associated with a greater use of preventive health care services, but fewer doctor visits and nights spent in the hospital. Participants (n = 7168) were drawn from the 2006 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative panel study of American adults over the age of 51, and tracked for one wave (2 years). Logistic regression and generalized linear models were used for analyses. In analyses that adjusted for sociodemographic factors and baseline health, volunteers were 30% more likely to receive flu shots (OR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.16-1.47), 47% more likely to receive cholesterol tests (OR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.24-1.74); female volunteers were 53% more likely to receive mammograms/x-rays (OR = 1.53, 95% CI = 1.28-1.83) and 21% more likely to receive Pap smears (OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.03-1.41); male volunteers were 59% more likely to receive prostate exams (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.29-1.95). In a model that adjusted for sociodemographic factors, volunteers spent 38% fewer nights in the hospital (RR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.52-0.76), however volunteering was not associated with frequency of doctor visits (RR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.87-1.02). The association between volunteering and number of nights spent in the hospital was minimally affected after adjusting for potential confounding (baseline health) and explanatory variables (health behaviors, social integration, stress, positive psychological factors, personality). This is the first known study to examine the association between volunteering and health care use. If future studies replicate these findings, the results may be used to inform the development of new

  11. Progesterone receptors (PR) mediate STAT actions: PR and prolactin receptor signaling crosstalk in breast cancer models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leehy, Katherine A; Truong, Thu H; Mauro, Laura J; Lange, Carol A

    2018-02-01

    Estrogen is the major mitogenic stimulus of mammary gland development during puberty wherein ER signaling acts to induce abundant PR expression. PR signaling, in contrast, is the primary driver of mammary epithelial cell proliferation in adulthood. The high circulating levels of progesterone during pregnancy signal through PR, inducing expression of the prolactin receptor (PRLR). Cooperation between PR and prolactin (PRL) signaling, via regulation of downstream components in the PRL signaling pathway including JAKs and STATs, facilitates the alveolar morphogenesis observed during pregnancy. Indeed, these pathways are fully integrated via activation of shared signaling pathways (i.e. JAKs, MAPKs) as well as by the convergence of PRs and STATs at target genes relevant to both mammary gland biology and breast cancer progression (i.e. proliferation, stem cell outgrowth, tissue cell type heterogeneity). Thus, rather than a single mediator such as ER, transcription factor cascades (ER>PR>STATs) are responsible for rapid proliferative and developmental programming in the normal mammary gland. It is not surprising that these same mediators typify uncontrolled proliferation in a majority of breast cancers, where ER and PR are most often co-expressed and may cooperate to drive malignant tumor progression. This review will primarily focus on the integration of PR and PRL signaling in breast cancer models and the importance of this cross-talk in cancer progression in the context of mammographic density. Components of these PR/PRL signaling pathways could offer alternative drug targets and logical complements to anti-ER or anti-estrogen-based endocrine therapies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Is There a Place for Humor in Hospice Palliative Care? Volunteers Say "Yes"!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claxton-Oldfield, Stephen; Bhatt, Anamika

    2017-06-01

    A survey was conducted to examine the frequency, acceptability, and functions of humor between hospice palliative care volunteers and their patients, from the volunteers' perspective. Thirty-two volunteers completed the survey, which was developed for this study. The results revealed that most patients and volunteers initiated humor either "often" or "sometimes" in their interactions. Over half of the volunteers considered humor to be either "very important" or "extremely important" in their interactions with patients (42% and 13%, respectively), with the patient being the determining factor as to whether and when it is appropriate or not (ie, volunteers take their lead from their patients). Volunteers mentioned a number of functions that humor serves within their patient interactions (eg, to relieve tension, to foster relationships/connections, and to distract). Laughter and humor fulfills one of the main goals of hospice palliative care, namely, improving patients' overall quality of life.

  13. 45 CFR 1232.9 - General prohibitions against employment and volunteer service discrimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... activity under which volunteers are assigned to work in a number of work stations will assure that a... volunteer service discrimination. 1232.9 Section 1232.9 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public... IN PROGRAMS OR ACTIVITIES RECEIVING FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE Employment and Volunteer Service...

  14. Potential for intensive volunteering to promote the health of older adults in fair health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barron, Jeremy S; Tan, Erwin J; Yu, Qilu; Song, Meilin; McGill, Sylvia; Fried, Linda P

    2009-07-01

    Volunteer service opportunities for older adults may soon be expanded. Although volunteering is thought to provide health benefits for healthier older adults, it is not known whether older adults in less than very good health are suitable candidates for high-intensity volunteering and can derive health benefits. This manuscript presents a prospective analysis of 174 older adult volunteers serving in Experience Corps Baltimore, a high-intensity senior volunteer program in Baltimore, Maryland. Volunteers served > or =15 h per week, for a full school year, in elementary schools helping children with reading and other skills between 1999 and 2002. Volunteers were assessed with standardized questionnaires and performance-based testing including grip strength, walking speed, chair stand speed, and stair-climbing speed prior to school volunteering and at the end of the school year. Results were stratified by health status. Among 174 volunteers, 55% initially reported "good" and 12% "fair" or "poor" health status. At baseline, those in fair health reported higher frequencies of disease and disability than volunteers in excellent or very good health. After volunteering, a majority of volunteers in every baseline health status category described increased strength and energy. Those in fair health were significantly more likely to display improved stair-climbing speed than those in good or excellent/very good health (100.0% vs. 53.4% vs. 37.5%, p = 0.05), and many showed clinically significant increases in walking speed of >0.5 m/s. Satisfaction and retention rates were high for all health status groups. Clinicians should consider whether their patients in fair or good health, as well as those in better health, might benefit from high-intensity volunteer programs. Productive activity such as volunteering may be an effective community-based approach to health promotion for older adults.

  15. Determination of the differences in oxidation potentials for the Pr3+/Pr2+ and Ce3+/Ce2+ pairs in halide melts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mikheev, N.B.; Auerman, L.N.; Rumer, I.A.; D'yachkova, R.A.

    1983-01-01

    Cocrystallization has been used with the (PrOCl)/sub s. ph/ - (PrCl 2 , PrCl 3 , SrCl 2 ) melt system to examine the dependence of the cerium(III) cocrystallization coefficient on the X/sub Pr 2+ /X/sub Pr 3+ / ratio in the melt. Measurement has been made in this way of the difference in oxidation potentials for the pairs Pr 3+ /Pr 2+ and Ce 3+ /Ce 2+ : ΔE/sub Pr 3+ /Pr 2+0 -E/sub Ce 3+ /Ce 2+ / 0 , which is 0.08 +/- 0.04 V for chloride

  16. Electronic structures of PrBa2Cu3O7, Pr2Ba4Cu7O15-y(y=0,1), and PrBa2Cu4O8 based on LSDA+U method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tavana, A.; Shirazi, M.; Akhavan, M.

    2009-01-01

    The electronic structures of PrBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 (Pr123), Pr 2 Ba 4 Cu 7 O 15-y (Pr247), and PrBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 (Pr124) cuprates have been obtained using density-functional theory in the local spin density approximation plus onsite Coulomb interaction (LSDA+U). Onsite Hubbard correlation, U, has been considered for Pr-f and Cu-d orbitals and the effects of considering these correlation corrections on the Pr-O hybridizations have been inspected. Results imply that the Pr ionization state in Pr123 system is constituted from two different configurations, and the energy of the f states in these two configurations has an important role in superconductivity properties of the system. Our calculations also show that in both Pr124 and Pr247 systems, suppression of superconductivity is weaker than that in the Pr123 system. This occurs due to the weaker Pr-O bond in both Pr124 and Pr247 systems. The role of the double chain and single chain on the conduction properties of these compounds has been investigated. We have also studied the effect of oxygen deficiency in Pr247 system, which seems to revive superconductivity in this system. Investigating the hole carriers in the CuO 2 plane shows a correlation between superconductivity suppression and hole decrement in the planes. (Abstract Copyright [2009], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

  17. Motivation and satisfaction among polyclinic volunteers at the 2002 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeser, J; Berg, R; Rhea, D; Willick, S

    2005-01-01

    Background: The Olympic and Paralympic Games rely heavily on volunteers to provide many essential services, including medical care of athletes. Objective: This preliminary investigation sought to characterise the motivational influences and factors responsible for the satisfaction of Olympic and Paralympic healthcare volunteers. Methods: The 2002 Winter Games polyclinic healthcare volunteers were asked to complete a questionnaire designed to elicit information about their motives for volunteering and the factors that contributed to their satisfaction with their volunteer experience. Results: There was no significant difference in the motivation or satisfaction summary scores based on event worked. There was a strong positive correlation between motivation and satisfaction. Physician respondents had a lower mean motivation score than did non-physician volunteers. Conclusions: There were no significant motivational differences between Olympic and Paralympic volunteers, but there were several differences noted between physician and non-physician volunteers. The 2002 polyclinic volunteers appear to have been motivated by a complex process best described as "enlightened self interest," and all were generally well satisfied with their experience. These results may assist organisers of future Games in selecting appropriately motivated volunteer personnel and creating rewarding work environments for them. PMID:15793078

  18. On the nature of the dhcp to fcc transition under pressure in Pr and Pr-Th alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vijayakumar, V.; Godwal, B.K.; Sikka, S.K.; Chidambaram, R.

    1988-01-01

    The results of electrical resistance (R), thermoelectric power (TEP) and X-ray diffraction measurements on praseodymium (Pr) and its alloys with thorium under pressure are reported. The maximum in R vs P curve exhibited by Pr persists only in the dhcp phase of Pr-Th alloy. X-ray measurements confirmed that in the alloys also the maximum in R vs P curve is due to the dhcp → fcc transition. Thus the behaviour of Pr and Pr-Th alloys is different from that of La and its alloys with Ce and Th where the maximum in the R vs P curve is electronic in origin and is exhibited by the dhcp, fcc and dist fcc phases. (author). 14 refs

  19. Molecular insights on analogs of HIV PR inhibitors toward HTLV-1 PR through QM/MM interactions and molecular dynamics studies: comparative structure analysis of wild and mutant HTLV-1 PR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selvaraj, Chandrabose; Singh, Poonam; Singh, Sanjeev Kumar

    2014-12-01

    Retroviruses HTLV-1 and HIV-1 are the primary causative agents of fatal adult T-cell leukemia and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) disease. Both retroviruses are similar in characteristics mechanism, and it encodes for protease that mainly involved in the viral replication process. On the basis of the therapeutic success of HIV-1 PR inhibitors, the protease of HTLV-1 is mainly considered as a potential target for chemotherapy. At the same time, structural similarities in both enzymes that originate HIV PR inhibitors can also be an HTLV-1 PR inhibitor. But the expectations failed because of rejection of HIV PR inhibitors from the HTLV-1 PR binding pocket. In this present study, the reason for the HIV PR inhibitor rejection from the HTLV-1 binding site was identified through sequence analysis and molecular dynamics simulation method. Functional analysis of M37A mutation in HTLV PR clearly shows that the MET37 specificity and screening of potential inhibitors targeting MET37 is performed by using approved 90% similar HIV PR inhibitor compounds. From this approach, we report few compounds with a tendency to accept/donate electron specifically to an important site residue MET37 in HTLV-1 PR binding pocket. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Daily recovery experiences: the role of volunteer work during leisure time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mojza, Eva J; Lorenz, Christian; Sonnentag, Sabine; Binnewies, Carmen

    2010-01-01

    This study focused on the role of volunteer work for daily recovery from work. In a 1-week diary study with 166 employees, we assessed the amount of time spent on volunteer work during leisure time, and the recovery facets of psychological detachment from work (i.e., mentally switching off from work), mastery experiences (i.e., pursuing challenging activities), and community experiences (i.e., cultivating relationships) every day before participants went to bed. Results from hierarchical linear modeling (n = 529 days) showed volunteer work during leisure time to be positively related to mastery experiences and community experiences suggesting volunteer work to contribute to successful recovery by creating new resources.

  1. Pr4N2S3 and Pr4N2Se3: two non-isostructural praseodymium(iii) nitride chalcogenides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lissner, Falk; Schleid, Thomas

    2005-01-01

    The non-isostructural nitride chalcogenides of praseodymium, Pr 4 N 2 S 3 and Pr 4 N 2 Se 3 , are formed by the reaction of the praseodymium metal with sodium azide (NaN 3 ), praseodymium trihalide (PrX 3 ; X = Cl, Br, I) and the respective chalcogen (sulfur or selenium) at 900 C in evacuated silica ampoules after seven days. Both crystallize monoclinically in space group C2/c (Pr 4 N 2 S 3 : a = 1788.57(9), b = 986.04(5), c = 1266.49(6) pm, β = 134.546(7) , Z = 8; Pr 4 N 2 Se 3 : a = 1311.76(7), b = 1017.03(5), c = 650.42(3) pm, β = 90.114(6) , Z = 4). The crystal structures of both compounds show a layered construction, dominated by N 3- -centred (Pr 3+ ) 4 tetrahedra which share a common edge first. Continuing linkage of the so resulting bitetrahedral [N 2 Pr 6 ] 12+ units via the non-connected vertices to layers according to [stack ∞ 2 ]{[N(Pr) 2/2 e (Pr') 2/2 v ] 3+ } forms different kinds of tetrahedral nets which can be described as layers consisting of ''four- and eight-rings'' for Pr 4 N 2 S 3 and as layers of ''six-rings'' for Pr 4 N 2 Se 3 . Whereas the crystal structure of Pr 4 N 2 S 3 exhibits four different Pr 3+ cations with coordination numbers of six (2 x) and seven (2 x) against N 3- and S 2- , the number of cations in the nitride selenide (Pr 4 N 2 Se 3 ) is reduced to half (Pr1 and Pr2) also having six- and sevenfold anionic coordination spheres. Further motifs for the connection of [NM 4 ] 9+ tetrahedra in crystal structures of nitride chalcogenides and halides of the rare-earth elements with ratios of N: M = 1: 2 are presented and discussed. (Abstract Copyright [2005], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.) [de

  2. Evaluation of five pre-emergence herbicides for volunteer potato ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Volunteer potatoes can cause significant weed problems in crops following potatoes as large numbers of potato tubers remain behind in the field after mechanical harvesting. These volunteer plants can create havoc with rotation programs and serve as a source of pests and diseases. The aim of this project was to identify a ...

  3. Energy transfer between Pr3+ and Mn2+ in K2YZr(PO4)3: Pr, Mn phosphor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liang Wei; Wang Yuhua

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → Pr 3+ , Mn 2+ co-doped K 2 YZr(PO 4 ) 3 phosphor is a novel type of practical visible quantum cutting phosphor in promising application. → The optimal quantum efficiency (QE) of this co-doped system K 2 YZr(PO 4 ) 3 : Pr 3+ , Mn 2+ reached to 126.3%. → The Mn 2+6 A 1g → 4 E g - 4 A 1g transition was found to coincide well with the 1 S 0 → 1 I 6 transition of Pr 3+ . → The energy transfer from Pr 3+ to Mn 2+ was also observed, converting the first photon from the PCE of Pr 3+ into the red emission of Mn 2+ , and the QC process occurred in this Pr 3+ , Mn 2+ co-doped K 2 YZr(PO 4 ) 3 phosphor. - Abstract: Pr 3+ , Mn 2+ co-doped K 2 YZr(PO 4 ) 3 samples were prepared by solid-state reaction method and their photoluminescence (PL) properties were investigated in ultra-violet (UV) and vacuum ultra-violet (VUV) region. The results indicated that in Pr 3+ singly doped K 2 YZr(PO 4 ) 3 sample, the first-step transition ( 1 S 0 → 1 I 6 , 3 P J around 405 nm) of Pr 3+ is near the ultraviolet (UV) range, not useful for practical application. When Mn 2+ was doped as a co-activator ion, the energy of 1 S 0 → 1 I 6 , 3 P J transition can be transferred synchronously from Pr 3+ to Mn 2+ and then emit a visible photon. The optimal quantum efficiency (QE) of this co-doped system K 2 YZr(PO 4 ) 3 : Pr 3+ , Mn 2+ reached to 126.3%, suggesting a novel type of practical visible quantum cutting phosphor in promising application.

  4. E-PR technologies in political party activities

    OpenAIRE

    Tereshchuk Vitaliy Ivanovych

    2016-01-01

    The article discusses the role of the Internet as an important communicative tool in the field of political PR. The article reviews the characteristics of PR-activities on the Internet and the features of e-PR in the political sphere. Particular attention is paid to the system of political party’s e-PR tools.

  5. Phase diagrams of Pr-C system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eremenko, V.N.; Velikanova, T.Ya.; Gordijchuk, O.V.

    1988-01-01

    Results of the X-ray phase, metallographic and high-temperature differential thermal analysis are used for the first time to plot a diagram of the Pr-C system state. Carbides are formed in the system: Pr 2 C 3 with the bcc-structure of the Pu 2 C 3 type and with the period a 0 = 0.85722+-0.00026 within the phase region + 2 C 3 >, a 0 0.86078+-0.00016 nm - within the region 2 C 3 >+α-PrC 2 ; dimorphous PrC 2 : α-PrC 2 with the bct-structure of the CaC 2 type and periods a 0.38517+-0.00011, c 0 = 0.64337+-0.00019 nm; β-PrC 2 with the fcc-structure, probably, of KCN type. Dicarbide melts congruently at 2320 grad. C, forming eutectics with graphite at 2254+-6 grad. C and composition of 71.5% (at.)C. It is polymorphously transformed in the phase region 2 C 3 > + 2 > at 1145+-4 grad. C, and in the region 2 >+C at 1134+-4 grad. C. Sesquicarbide melts incongruently at 1545+-4 grad. C. The eutectic reaction L ↔ + 2 C 3 > occurs at 800+-4 grad. C, the eutectic composition ∼ 15% (at.)C. The temperature of the eutectoid reaction ↔ + 2 C 3 > is 675+-6 grad C. The limiting carbon solubility in β-Pr is about 8 and in α-Pr it is about 5% (at.)

  6. Hemodynamic Responses on Prefrontal Cortex Related to Meditation and Attentional Task

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Singh eDeepeshwar

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Recent neuroimaging studies state that meditation increases regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF in the prefrontal cortex (PFC. The present study employed functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS to evaluate the relative hemodynamic changes in prefrontal cortex during a cognitive task. Twenty-two healthy male volunteers with ages between 18 and 30 years (group mean age ± SD; 22.9 ± 4.6 years performed a color-word stroop task before and after 20 minutes of meditation and random thinking. Repeated measures ANOVA was performed followed by a post-hoc analysis with Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons between the mean values of ‘During’ and ‘Post’ with ‘Pre’ state. During meditation there was an increased in oxy-hemoglobin (∆HbO and total hemoglobin (∆THC concentration with reduced deoxy-hemoglobin (∆HbR concentration over the right prefrontal cortex (rPFC, whereas in random thinking there was increased ∆HbR with reduced total hemoglobin concentration on the rPFC. The mean reaction time was shorter in stroop color word task with reduced ∆THC after meditation, suggestive of improved performance and efficiency in task related to attention. Our findings demonstrated that meditation increased cerebral oxygenation and enhanced performance, which was associated with prefrontal cortex activation.

  7. Internet innovation in PR management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ćalasan Veljko B.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available PR Management in the last decade has evolved to unimaginable limits . Its rapid 'evolution ' is directly linked to the development and innovation, above all, of internet communications - Cyber 'world'. Although the genesis of PR management was announced in a way, the changes of the modern PR management have led to a change in the general attitude towards this particular activity. It has become an indispensable factor for the success of every business or social enterprise. In the general run for internet contents with better quality, as an indispensable tool of PR management , for better use of cyberspace , a new generation of PR manager is created, who has almost no resemblance to the earlier managers before two decades. For these reasons, we believe that Internet innovation through the implementation of PR management, changed the world economy and society. Adjusting speed to this, virtual , yet very real world , is proportional to the speed of development of an economic system as a whole, or any company at the micro level , and society in general .Internet is not an important innovation itself to be sufficient to meet the form and define the essence of economic relations. Only its proper exploitation with the constant use of tested and more intense innovation is the only way to the overall success . The absence of the above, in our opinion, is a sure path to failure.

  8. Brain Magnetic Resonance Elastography on Healthy Volunteers: A Safety Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guang-Rui Liu; Pei-Yi Gao; Yan Lin; Jing Xue; Xiao-Chun Wang; Bin-Bin Sui; Li Ma; Zhi-Nong Xi; Qin Bai; Hao Shen

    2009-01-01

    Background: Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is a recently developed imaging technique that can directly visualize and quantitatively measure tissue elasticity. Purpose: To evaluate the safety of brain MRE on human subjects. Material and Methods: The study included 20 healthy volunteers. MRE sequence scan (drive signal not applied to external force actuator) and MRE study were separately performed on each volunteer at an interval of more than 24 hours. The heart rate and blood pressure of each volunteer were measured immediately before and after MRE sequence scan and MRE study. Electroencephalography (EEG) was also performed within 2 hours after each scan. The volunteers were asked about their experience of the two scans. Randomized-block analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data of blood pressure and heart rate. Paired t test was used to analyze the data of the two EEG examinations. The volunteers were followed up 1 week after the examination. Results: All procedures were performed on each volunteer, and no one complained of obvious discomfort. No related adverse events were reported during follow-up. There was no statistically significant difference in heart rate or blood pressure. There was a statistically significant difference (P<0.05) in EEG results in the right temporoparietal region. Increased power was found in the theta, delta, alpha, and beta2 bands. No brain injury was detected by the EEG examinations. Conclusion: Based on the study results, brain MRE examinations are safe to perform on human subjects

  9. 45 CFR 2553.43 - What cost reimbursements are provided to RSVP volunteers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false What cost reimbursements are provided to RSVP... Reimbursements and Volunteer Assignments § 2553.43 What cost reimbursements are provided to RSVP volunteers? RSVP volunteers are provided the following cost reimbursements within the limits of the project's available...

  10. Effects of botropase on clotting factors in healthy human volunteers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashok K Shenoy

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the effects of botropase on various clotting factors in human volunteers. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective open label study conducted on human healthy volunteers. After the baseline screening, subjects fulfilling inclusion criteria were enrolled. On the study day, 1 ml of botropase was administered intravenously and after an hour same dose of botropase (1 ml was given by intramuscular (IM route. The efficacy and safety parameters were monitored up to 72 h from the time of intravenous (IV administration. Results: A total of 15 volunteers, belonging to 24-35 years of age were included in the study. Botropase significantly reduced the plasma level of fibrinogen and fibrin degradation products after 5 min of IV administration (P < 0.05. In addition, factor X was observed to reduce constantly by botropase administration suggesting enhanced turnover between 5 and 20 min of IV administration. Although botropase reduced clotting and bleeding time in all the volunteers, the data remains to be statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Present study demonstrated the safety and efficacy of botropase in human healthy volunteers. The study has shown that it is a factor X activator and reduces effectively clotting and bleeding time.

  11. Motivation of youth participation in the volunteer movement

    OpenAIRE

    Tamara Nezhina; Kseniya Petukhova; Natal'ya Chechetkina; Il'ziya Mindarova

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine existing practices of young volunteer recruitment, retention and motivation in Russian noncommercial and government organizations and compare them with the best practices in American organizations. To know this information is essential for government managers and NGO leaders to successfully attract and retain young people as volunteers in their organizations. The theories of economic man and altruistic man have shaped the methodology and research des...

  12. Influence of Youth Volunteering on Socialization and Development of Competences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valdas Pruskus

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Volunteering is one of manifestations of citizenship. It indicates the individual’s quality in terms of citizenship and the readiness to take an active part in public activities. The current paper analyses the phenomenon of volunteering (its place and role in ensuring public development and sustainability. The influence of volunteer - ing on the youth socialization and personal development of competences (in particular, social, professional and communicative is disclosed in the article. The article also highlights the motives and factors that promote and prevent the youth participation in voluntary activities.

  13. Basic Pay In The United States All-Volunteer Armed Forces

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Carson, Kenneth

    2000-01-01

    As the United States enters the 21st century, the readiness of its over 1.4 million all-volunteer armed forces is as important today as anytime during the 27 year history of the modern all-volunteer force (AVF...

  14. La préservation, atout essentiel pour contrer la précarité des ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    La préservation, atout essentiel pour contrer la précarité des moyens de subsistance en ... Union mondiale pour la conservation de la nature et des ressources ... la recherche menée dans les domaines des sciences sociales, des sciences ...

  15. Volunteer Team Management

    OpenAIRE

    Monych, Maria

    2015-01-01

    This thesis looked into volunteer team management in a project in AIESEC in Finland through the action research method. AIESEC in Finland is a non-profit non-government organization with a purpose of “peace and fulfilment of humankinds potential” through development of the youth’s future leadership. AIESEC was not a commissioning party; the project was the basis for the thesis without the supervision of the company. The thesis is based on a project that the author was in charge of, in ...

  16. Online pre-race education improves test scores for volunteers at a marathon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, Shane; Renier, Colleen; Sikka, Robby; Widstrom, Luke; Paulson, William; Christensen, Trent; Olson, David; Nelson, Benjamin

    2017-09-01

    This study examined whether an online course would lead to increased knowledge about the medical issues volunteers encounter during a marathon. Health care professionals who volunteered to provide medical coverage for an annual marathon were eligible for the study. Demographic information about medical volunteers including profession, specialty, education level and number of marathons they had volunteered for was collected. A 15-question test about the most commonly encountered medical issues was created by the authors and administered before and after the volunteers took the online educational course and compared to a pilot study the previous year. Seventy-four subjects completed the pre-test. Those who participated in the pilot study last year (N = 15) had pre-test scores that were an average of 2.4 points higher than those who did not (mean ranks: pilot study = 51.6 vs. non-pilot = 33.9, p = 0.004). Of the 74 subjects who completed the pre-test, 54 also completed the post-test. The overall post-pre mean score difference was 3.8 ± 2.7 (t = 10.5 df = 53 p online education demonstrated a long-term (one-year) increase in test scores. Testing also continued to show short-term improvement in post-course test scores, compared to pre-course test scores. In general, marathon medical volunteers who had no volunteer experience demonstrated greater improvement than those who had prior volunteer experience.

  17. Personality and Coping in Peruvian volunteers for poverty alleviation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camila Gastelumendi Gonçalves

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This study explores the relationship between coping styles and strategies, and personality styles in a sample of 41 young volunteers of an institution that alleviates poverty in Lima. Peruvian adaptations of COPE and MIPS scales were administered. The results show that volunteers have higher scores on adaptive coping strategies. High scores in some particular personality styles were reported, which allowed to establish a personality profile of this group. According with theoretical framework, most coping strategies correlated with most personality styles, revealing four particular tendencies in these volunteers: they wish to have contact with other people, they usually see positive aspects of situations, they look forward for challenges, and they developed adaptive coping strategies.

  18. Volunteers and Ex-Volunteers: Paths to Civic Engagement Through Volunteerism Voluntarios y Ex Voluntarios: Perfiles de Participación Ciudadana a Través del Voluntariado

    OpenAIRE

    Elena Marta; Maura Pozzi; Daniela Marzana

    2010-01-01

    The study described is part of a broader longitudinal and multi-methodological research project aimed at investigating volunteerism in young people, in order to understand the reasons for the initial choice to volunteer but, more specifically, the reasons to sustain or quit voluntary involvement, as well as the effects of volunteerism. Eighteen volunteers and 18 ex-volunteers, 50% male and 50% female, aged between 22 and 29 years old, from 2 regions in northern Italy (Lombardy and Emilia Roma...

  19. 75 FR 56501 - Information Collection; Land Management Agency Volunteer Surveys

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-16

    ... Information Collection; Land Management Agency Volunteer Surveys AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. ACTION: Notice... and test models of volunteer management; supply information to LMA program managers and other... is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the new information...

  20. Bruken av nasjonale prøver

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov, Poul

    2010-01-01

    Artiklen beskriver resultater fra en omfattende evaluering af brugen af de nationale prøver i norsk grundskole. De nationale prøver er blevet modtaget positivt af mange kommuner og skoleledere og i mindre grad af lærerne. Resultaterne viser også, at prøverne er styrende for undervisningen, at bru...

  1. The mitigating influence of volunteer work on risk of long-term unemployment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petrovski, Erik; Dencker-Larsen, Sofie; Holm, Anders

    In addition to benefiting others, volunteer work is argued to supply volunteers themselves with skills, reputation, and social connections that increase overall employability. We test this hypothesized link between volunteer work and employability with a high-quality 2012 Danish survey sample of 1......,796 individuals of working age. The survey data is linked to administrative registers with individual level data on unemployment. A combination of detailed controls, lagged dependent variables, and instrumental variable regression is used in order to determine cause and effect. Our findings show that volunteers...

  2. A coordinated state/federal volunteer training program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chuba, T.J.; Dimmick, E.

    1993-01-01

    While the sinking of the Tenyo Maru and resultant oil spill off Washington's Olympic Peninsula in July 1991 was tragic, it fostered the birth of a cooperative effort by federal and state agencies to train volunteer responders prior to another oil spill. This effort, under the auspices of an Oregon nonprofit group known as SOLV (Stop Oregon Littering and Vandalism), is known as the SOS (SOLV Oil Spill) Steering committee. The purpose of the group is to train volunteer responders to aid federal, state, and local agencies in future oil spill cleanup activities. For the first time in the nation, governmental agencies have joined with corporations and environmental organizations in coordinating educational programs involving citizens in oil spill remediation efforts before the advent of a major spill that could affect coastal areas or inland waterways. Free classes meeting federal and state hazardous waste training criteria are offered quarterly to citizens interested in either volunteer wildlife rehabilitation or beach cleanup. The four-hour course was developed by the US Coast Guard, Oregon State Department of Environmental Quality, and Oregon OSHA. Topics covered include agency responsibilities, site safety plans, general safety, toxicology, material safety data sheets, personal protective equipment, decontamination, heat stress, helicopter safety, and wildlife safety. In addition to course materials, participants receive a certificate and identification card verifying their training. A 1-800 number, computer data base, and newsletter are used to maintain contact with graduates. So far more than 600 volunteers have been trained and are ready to assist should the need arise

  3. A survey of family members' satisfaction with the services provided by hospice palliative care volunteers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claxton-Oldfield, Stephen; Gosselin, Natasha; Schmidt-Chamberlain, Kirsten; Claxton-Oldfield, Jane

    2010-05-01

    A total of 22 family members, whose deceased loved ones had used the services of a hospice palliative care volunteer, responded to a brief survey designed to assess the importance of the different kinds of support offered to them (family members) by the volunteer, their impressions of the volunteers' personal qualities/characteristics, their general experiences with the volunteer, and their overall satisfaction with the volunteer services. The kind of support that received the highest importance rating from family members was the opportunity to take a much-needed break from the demands of caring for their loved one, closely followed by emotional support, the volunteer spending time with them, and the volunteer providing them with information. Family members rated volunteers highly on a list of qualities/characteristics that exemplify individuals who are effective in this role. In all, 85% of the family members felt that their volunteer was well trained and 95% did not feel that their or their loved one's privacy had been invaded by having a volunteer. Overall, family members were very satisfied with the volunteer support they received. Some limitations of the study are discussed.

  4. PrP(ST), a soluble, protease resistant and truncated PrP form features in the pathogenesis of a genetic prion disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friedman-Levi, Yael; Mizrahi, Michal; Frid, Kati; Binyamin, Orli; Gabizon, Ruth

    2013-01-01

    While the conversion of PrP(C) into PrP(Sc) in the transmissible form of prion disease requires a preexisting PrP(Sc) seed, in genetic prion disease accumulation of disease related PrP could be associated with biochemical and metabolic modifications resulting from the designated PrP mutation. To investigate this possibility, we looked into the time related changes of PrP proteins in the brains of TgMHu2ME199K/wt mice, a line modeling for heterozygous genetic prion disease linked to the E200K PrP mutation. We found that while oligomeric entities of mutant E199KPrP exist at all ages, aggregates of wt PrP in the same brains presented only in advanced disease, indicating a late onset conversion process. We also show that most PK resistant PrP in TgMHu2ME199K mice is soluble and truncated (PrP(ST)), a pathogenic form never before associated with prion disease. We next looked into brain samples from E200K patients and found that both PK resistant PrPs, PrP(ST) as in TgMHu2ME199K mice, and "classical" PrP(Sc) as in infectious prion diseases, coincide in the patient's post mortem brains. We hypothesize that aberrant metabolism of mutant PrPs may result in the formation of previously unknown forms of the prion protein and that these may be central for the fatal outcome of the genetic prion condition.

  5. PrP(ST, a soluble, protease resistant and truncated PrP form features in the pathogenesis of a genetic prion disease.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yael Friedman-Levi

    Full Text Available While the conversion of PrP(C into PrP(Sc in the transmissible form of prion disease requires a preexisting PrP(Sc seed, in genetic prion disease accumulation of disease related PrP could be associated with biochemical and metabolic modifications resulting from the designated PrP mutation. To investigate this possibility, we looked into the time related changes of PrP proteins in the brains of TgMHu2ME199K/wt mice, a line modeling for heterozygous genetic prion disease linked to the E200K PrP mutation. We found that while oligomeric entities of mutant E199KPrP exist at all ages, aggregates of wt PrP in the same brains presented only in advanced disease, indicating a late onset conversion process. We also show that most PK resistant PrP in TgMHu2ME199K mice is soluble and truncated (PrP(ST, a pathogenic form never before associated with prion disease. We next looked into brain samples from E200K patients and found that both PK resistant PrPs, PrP(ST as in TgMHu2ME199K mice, and "classical" PrP(Sc as in infectious prion diseases, coincide in the patient's post mortem brains. We hypothesize that aberrant metabolism of mutant PrPs may result in the formation of previously unknown forms of the prion protein and that these may be central for the fatal outcome of the genetic prion condition.

  6. Lessons learned from the experiences of informal PrEP users in France: results from the ANRS-PrEPage study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivierez, I; Quatremere, G; Spire, B; Ghosn, J; Rojas Castro, D

    2018-05-30

    Before January 2016, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a new biomedical HIV-prevention tool, was only available in France via ANRS-Ipergay clinical study but informal use was reported outside this setting. PrEPage qualitative study reports profiles and experiences of participants who used PrEP outside of a biomedical trial before this prevention method was authorized. Between March 2015 and February 2016, a cross-section of twenty-four informal PrEP users, mostly MSM, was recruited to complete in-depth semi-structured interviews. While ANRS-Ipergay was still ongoing (2012-2016), participants described their initiation to PrEP, the way they used it and the difficulties they faced to acquire antiretroviral drugs in an environment where PrEP was still not widely known and often criticized . Through the testimonies, different user profiles and motivation toward informal PrEP use emerged: (a) participants who have increasing difficulties using condoms, (b) "opportunists" who tried PrEP without the intention of using it regularly and (c) participants with a risk aversion who sought additional protection against HIV. Participants chose to use PrEP and/or their usual prevention strategies depending on available supplies, type of partners and individual attitudes toward risk. The feeling of living a safer sex life helped participants to outweigh the fear of possible toxicity and drug resistance. Participants' needs and expectations about PrEP implementation in France were also presented.

  7. Hospital volunteerism as human resource solution: Motivation for both volunteers and the public health sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guinevere M. Lourens

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: A volunteer programme with 50 registered volunteers was established in 2007 at a secondary-level public, semi-rural regional hospital in the Cape Winelands, South Africa. This was a rapid response to the extensive renovations and system changes brought about by the hospital revitalisation initiated in 2006 and the resultant expanded services, which required additional human resources. This study describes the hospital volunteer programme and provides hospital administrators with practical planning guidance for hospital volunteer programme implementation. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to (1 describe the outcomes of the hospital volunteer programme implementation intervention and (2 to make sound recommendations for volunteer programme implementation. Methodology and approach: A qualitative case-study methodology was employed using purposive sampling as a technique. Participants were recruited from a public hospital in the Western Cape. A case-study design was applied to explore the hospital volunteer programme implementation. In-depth interviews and a focus group discussion with thematic content analysis of transcripts as well as document reviews were conducted to conclude the study during 2015. The key participants were individually interviewed and included two members of the hospital management, two volunteers and one volunteer coordinator. A focus group discussion consisting of three volunteers was also conducted. Findings: The findings of this study indicate that a volunteer programme can meet needs and be a motivational force for both the individual volunteer and the organisation. However, it requires co-ordination and some secure funding to remain sustainable. Such a programme holds huge benefits in terms of human resource supplementation, organisational development, as well as the possibility of gainful employment for the previously unemployed. Practical implications: In practice, a health service contemplating a

  8. Effects of short-term training on behavioral learning and skill acquisition during intraoral fine motor task

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kumar, Abhishek; Grigoriadis, Joannis; Trulsson, Mats

    2015-01-01

    Sensory information from the orofacial mechanoreceptors are used by the nervous system to optimize the positioning of food, determine the force levels, and force vectors involved in biting of food morsels. Moreover, practice resulting from repetition could be a key to learning and acquiring a motor...... movements. Thirty healthy volunteers were asked to intraorally manipulate and split a chocolate candy, into two equal halves. The participants performed three series (with ten 10 trials) of the task before and after a short-term (approximately 30min) training. The accuracy of the split and vertical jaw...... task induces behavior learning, skill acquisition and optimization of jaw movements in terms of better performance and reduction in the duration of jaw movements, during the task. The finding of the present study provides insights on into how humans learn oral motor behaviors or the kind of adaptation...

  9. Burnout and reactions to social comparison information among volunteer caregivers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Zee, K.I.; Bakker, A.B.; Buunk, Abraham (Bram)

    2001-01-01

    The present study focused on social comparison processes among volunteer caregivers of terminally ill patients in relation to burnout. First, caregivers' (N = 80) affective reactions to a bogus interview with fellow volunteer workers who were either coping better or worse were considered. Upward

  10. A Study on Volunteers of the Storytelling of Training in Public Libraries: A Case Study on Volunteer Storyteller of Taipei Public Library

    OpenAIRE

    Yu-Ping Peng; Po-Han Chuang

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, the administrators of public library administrators have been actively promoting children’s reading services. In particular, storytelling activities have a significantly positive effect on enhancing children’s interest and ability in reading. Because of human resource shortages at public libraries, providing these services depends on volunteers. The public libraries should enhance the competencies of volunteers who engage in storytelling, and provide appropriate training for ...

  11. Computerbasiert prüfen [Computer-based Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frey, Peter

    2006-08-01

    Full Text Available [english] Computer-based testing in medical education offers new perspectives. Advantages are sequential or adaptive testing, integration of movies or sound, rapid feedback to candidates and management of web-based question banks. Computer-based testing can also be implemented in an OSCE examination. In e-learning environments formative self-assessment are often implemented and gives helpful feedbacks to learners. Disadvantages in high-stake exams are the high requirements as well for the quality of testing (e.g. standard setting as additionally for the information technology and especially for security. [german] Computerbasierte Prüfungen im Medizinstudium eröffnen neue Möglichkeiten. Vorteile solcher Prüfungen liegen im sequentiellen oder adaptiven Prüfen, in der Integration von Bewegtbildern oder Ton, der raschen Auswertung und zentraler Verwaltung der Prüfungsfragen via Internet. Ein Einsatzgebiet mit vertretbarem Aufwand sind Prüfungen mit mehreren Stationen wie beispielsweise die OSCE-Prüfung. Computerbasierte formative Selbsttests werden im Bereiche e-learning häufig angeboten. Das hilft den Lernenden ihren Wissensstand besser einzuschätzen oder sich mit den Leistungen anderer zu vergleichen. Grenzen zeigen sich bei den summativen Prüfungen beim Prüfungsort, da zuhause Betrug möglich ist. Höhere ärztliche Kompetenzen wie Untersuchungstechnik oder Kommunikation eigenen sich kaum für rechnergestützte Prüfungen.

  12. On the PR-algebras

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebedenko, V.M.

    1978-01-01

    The PR-algebras, i.e. the Lie algebras with commutation relations of [Hsub(i),Hsub(j)]=rsub(ij)Hsub(i)(i< j) type are investigated. On the basis of former results a criterion for the membership of 2-solvable Lie algebras to the PR-algebra class is given. The conditions imposed by the criterion are formulated in the linear algebra language

  13. Motivações de candidatos e voluntários na Cidade Viva

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jéssika Kadidja de Oliveira Medeiros

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available O trabalho voluntário é a força das organizações da sociedade civil. Existem diferenças entre o trabalho voluntário e o formal, como a remuneração e o tempo destinado ao desempenho das atividades. Ao contrário de trabalhadores formais, voluntários não recebem pagamento para o desempenho de funções. Logo, teorias motivacionais desenvolvidas numa perspectiva de trabalho formal não devem ser aplicadas a este grupo. Esse estudo identificou motivações apresentadas pelos candidatos a voluntários e atuais voluntários da Fundação Cidade Viva em João Pessoa. Quanto aos resultados, verifica-se predominância do perfil altruísta em ambas as fases utilizadas do modelo. Ainda, o perfil egoísta, foi o menos apresentado pelos respondentes da pesquisa. Outros resultados, relativos ao desligamento da atividade voluntária na Fundação, foram bastante inconclusivos.

  14. Volunteers in Circles of Support and Accountability Job Demands, Job Resources, and Outcome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Höing, Mechtild; Bogaerts, Stefan; Vogelvang, Bas

    2017-09-01

    In Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA), volunteers support a medium- to high-risk sex offender in his process toward desistance by developing a long-term empathic relationship. More knowledge is needed about the impact of this work on volunteers themselves. In a sample of 40 Dutch CoSA volunteers-at the time constituting 37% of the national population of 108 then active CoSA volunteers-we measured outcome in terms of volunteer satisfaction, determination to continue, compassion satisfaction, burnout and secondary stress, vicarious growth, civic capacities, and professional skills. We explored theoretically derived predictors of positive and negative outcome, and conceptualized them within the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R). Volunteers reported mainly positive effects, especially high levels of volunteer satisfaction, compassion satisfaction, and determination to continue. Results indicated that job demands and most of the internal job resources were of minor importance. External job resources, especially social support and connectedness, were associated with positive outcome. Connectedness mediated the effect of social support on compassion satisfaction.

  15. Knowledge and Attitude of Iranian Red Crescent Society Volunteers in Dealing with Bioterrorist attacks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Ali Bahreini Moghadam

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Bioterrorism is a worldwide problem and has been the focus of attention during recent decades. There is no precise information on the knowledge, attitude, and preparedness of Iranian Red Crescent volunteers in dealing with bioterrorism. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the above-mentioned parameters in Mahabad Red Crescent Society volunteers. Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, the knowledge of 120 volunteers was evaluated and rated as poor, moderate, and good. In addition, attitude of the volunteers and preparedness of Mahabad Red Crescent Society was rated as inappropriate and appropriate using a questionnaire. Results: The mean age of volunteers was 32.0 ± 8.2 years (62.5% male. 2 (1.7% volunteers had good knowledge while 94 (78.3% had no knowledge regarding bioterrorist attack management. Only 1 (0.8%  volunteer had appropriate attitude and 6 (5.0% stated their preparedness for being sent out to the crisis zone. 116 volunteers (96.7% indicated that Mahabad Red Crescent Society has an inappropriate level of preparedness to encounter bioterrorist attacks. Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed poor knowledge and inappropriate attitude of Mahabad Red Crescent Society volunteers in encountering probable bioterrorist attacks. Furthermore, the Red Crescent Society of this town had an inappropriate level of preparedness in the field of bioterrorism from the viewpoint of the studied volunteers.

  16. PrP aggregation can be seeded by pre-formed recombinant PrP amyloid fibrils without the replication of infectious prions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barron, Rona M; King, Declan; Jeffrey, Martin; McGovern, Gillian; Agarwal, Sonya; Gill, Andrew C; Piccardo, Pedro

    2016-10-01

    Mammalian prions are unusual infectious agents, as they are thought to consist solely of aggregates of misfolded prion protein (PrP). Generation of synthetic prions, composed of recombinant PrP (recPrP) refolded into fibrils, has been utilised to address whether PrP aggregates are, indeed, infectious prions. In several reports, neurological disease similar to transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) has been described following inoculation and passage of various forms of fibrils in transgenic mice and hamsters. However, in studies described here, we show that inoculation of recPrP fibrils does not cause TSE disease, but, instead, seeds the formation of PrP amyloid plaques in PrP-P101L knock-in transgenic mice (101LL). Importantly, both WT-recPrP fibrils and 101L-recPrP fibrils can seed plaque formation, indicating that the fibrillar conformation, and not the primary sequence of PrP in the inoculum, is important in initiating seeding. No replication of infectious prions or TSE disease was observed following both primary inoculation and subsequent subpassage. These data, therefore, argue against recPrP fibrils being infectious prions and, instead, indicate that these pre-formed seeds are acting to accelerate the formation of PrP amyloid plaques in 101LL Tg mice. In addition, these data reproduce a phenotype which was previously observed in 101LL mice following inoculation with brain extract containing in vivo-generated PrP amyloid fibrils, which has not been shown for other synthetic prion models. These data are reminiscent of the "prion-like" spread of aggregated forms of the beta-amyloid peptide (Aβ), α-synuclein and tau observed following inoculation of transgenic mice with pre-formed seeds of each misfolded protein. Hence, even when the protein is PrP, misfolding and aggregation do not reproduce the full clinicopathological phenotype of disease. The initiation and spread of protein aggregation in transgenic mouse lines following inoculation with pre

  17. Growth and scintillation properties of Pr doped YAP with different Pr concentrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanagida, Takayuki; Kamada, Kei; Fujimoto, Yutaka; Sugiyama, Makoto; Furuya, Yuki; Yamaji, Akihiro; Yokota, Yuui; Yoshikawa, Akira

    2010-01-01

    Pr 3+ 0.2, 0.75, and 3 mol% doped YAP single crystalline scintillators were grown by using the micro-pulling down (μ-PD) method. Pr 3+ 0.05 mol% doped YAP was also prepared by using the Czochralski method. In transmittance spectra, 4f-5d absorption line appeared at 230 nm. The μ-PD grown crystals showed intense emission at 290 nm while the Czochralski grown one showed an emission peak at 245 nm in radio luminescence spectra under X-ray excitation. Among them, the Czochralski grown one exhibited the highest light yield under 137 Cs 662 keV excitation and the absolute light yield of this sample was estimated to be 20400±2000 ph/MeV. The decay time constants of these scintillators were around 10 ns due to Pr 3+ 5d-4f transition.

  18. Growth and scintillation properties of Pr doped YAP with different Pr concentrations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yanagida, Takayuki, E-mail: t_yanagi@tagen.tohoku.ac.j [Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Kamada, Kei; Fujimoto, Yutaka; Sugiyama, Makoto; Furuya, Yuki [Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Yamaji, Akihiro [New Industry Creation Hatchery Center (NICHe), Tohoku University, 6-6-10 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan); Yokota, Yuui [Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); Yoshikawa, Akira [Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8577 (Japan); New Industry Creation Hatchery Center (NICHe), Tohoku University, 6-6-10 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579 (Japan)

    2010-11-21

    Pr{sup 3+} 0.2, 0.75, and 3 mol% doped YAP single crystalline scintillators were grown by using the micro-pulling down ({mu}-PD) method. Pr{sup 3+} 0.05 mol% doped YAP was also prepared by using the Czochralski method. In transmittance spectra, 4f-5d absorption line appeared at 230 nm. The {mu}-PD grown crystals showed intense emission at 290 nm while the Czochralski grown one showed an emission peak at 245 nm in radio luminescence spectra under X-ray excitation. Among them, the Czochralski grown one exhibited the highest light yield under {sup 137}Cs 662 keV excitation and the absolute light yield of this sample was estimated to be 20400{+-}2000 ph/MeV. The decay time constants of these scintillators were around 10 ns due to Pr{sup 3+} 5d-4f transition.

  19. Busy yet socially engaged: volunteering, work-life balance, and health in the working population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Romualdo; Brauchli, Rebecca; Bauer, Georg; Wehner, Theo; Hämmig, Oliver

    2015-02-01

    To understand the relationship between volunteering and health in the overlooked yet highly engaged working population, adopting a contextualizing balance approach. We hypothesize that volunteering may function as a psychosocial resource, contributing to work-life balance and, ultimately, health. A total of 746 Swiss workers participated in an online survey; 35% (N = 264) were additionally volunteers in a nonprofit organization. We assessed volunteering, work-life balance perceptions, paid job demands, and resources and health outcomes. After controlling for job characteristics, volunteering was associated with less work-life conflict, burnout and stress, and better positive mental health. Results further revealed that balance perceptions partly explained the relationship between volunteering and health. Volunteering, albeit energy and time-consuming, may contribute to a greater sense of balance for people in the workforce, which might, in turn, positively influence health.

  20. Dedicating time to volunteering : Values, engagement, and commitment to beneficiaries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shantz, A.; Saksida, T.; Alfes, K.

    2014-01-01

    A moderated mediation model was developed to explain the variation in the amount of time volunteers dedicate to their chosen voluntary cause. Data from 534 volunteers of an international aid and development agency in the United Kingdom revealed a positive relationship between prosocial values and

  1. A cross-cultural study of explicit and implicit motivation for long-term volunteering

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Aydinli, A.; Bender, M.; Chasiotis, A.; van de Vijver, F.J.R.; Cemalcilar, Z.; Chong, A.; Yue, X.

    2016-01-01

    We propose a model of volunteering and test its validity across four cultural groups. We hypothesize that individuals’ explicit prosocial motivation relates positively to sustained volunteering, which is conceptualized as a latent factor comprising activity as a volunteer, service length, service

  2. Magnetic properties of Pr ions in perovskite-type oxides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekizawa, K.; Kitagawa, M.; Takano, Y.

    1998-01-01

    Magnetic properties of Pr ions with the controlled valence on the A and B sites of perovskite-type oxides (ABO 3 ) were investigated for two systems. PrSc 1-x Mg x O 3 and BaPr 1-x Bi x O 3 . From the magnetic susceptibility χ versus temperature T curves of PrSc 1-x Mg x O 3 , the χ-T curve for molar Pr 3+ ions on the A site and that of Pr 4+ ions were obtained. The 1/χ-T curves for both ions exhibit the crystalline electric field (CEF) effect and the effective magneticmoment μ eff above 100 K is 3.41 μ B for Pr 3- and 2.58 μ B for Pr 4+ , respectively. The χ-T curve of PrSc 0.8 Mg 0.2 O 3 is similar to that of PrBa 2 Cu 3 O y . In the BaPr 1-x Bi x O 3 system, only one intermediate phase BaPr 0.5 Bi 0.5 O 3 exists, in which Pr and Bi take an ordered arrangement on the B site. The magnetic susceptibility χ for Pr 4+ and that of Pr 3+ in the ordered arrangement with Bi 5- on the B site are much smaller than those for the A site, reflecting the strong CEF effect on the B site. Experimental χ-T curves can be well reproducedby the numerical calculation for Pr 3+ or Pr 4+ ions in the molecular field and the CEF with proper respective parameters. (orig.)

  3. Does Volunteering Experience Influence Advance Care Planning in Old Age?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Huei-Wern; Khosla, Nidhi

    2016-07-01

    Advance care planning (ACP) increases the likelihood patients will receive end-of-life care that is congruent with their preferences and lowers stress among both patients and caregivers. Previous efforts to increase ACP have mainly focused on information provision in the very late stage of life. This study examines whether a relationship exists between volunteering and ACP, and whether this relationship is associated with social support. The sample comprises 877 individuals who were aged 55+ in 2008, and were deceased before 2010. The sample is derived from seven waves (1998-2010) of data from the Health and Retirement Study. Logistic regression results showed that overall ACP and durable power of attorney for health care (DPAHC) were both higher (OR = 1.61 and 1.71, respectively) for older adults with volunteering experience in the past 10 years than those without such experience. Available social support (relatives and friends living nearby) was not associated with the relationship between volunteering and ACP. Other factors related to ACP included poorer health, death being expected, death due to cancer, older age, and being a racial minority. Involving older people in volunteer work may help to increase ACP. Future research is encouraged to identify reasons for the association between volunteering and ACP.

  4. Characteristics of Volunteer Coaches in a Clinical Process Improvement Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morley, Katharine E; Barysauskas, Constance M; Carballo, Victoria; Kalibatas, Orinta; Rao, Sandhya K; Jacobson, Joseph O; Cummings, Brian M

    The Partners Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program provides quality improvement training for clinicians and administrators, utilizing graduates as volunteer peer coaches for mentorship. We sought to understand the factors associated with volunteer coach participation and gain insight into how to improve and sustain this program. Review of coach characteristics from course database and survey of frequent coaches. Out of 516 Partners Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program graduates from March 2010 to June 2015, 117 (23%) individuals volunteered as coaches. Sixty-one (52%) individuals coached once, 31 (27%) coached twice, and 25 (21%) coached 3 or more times. There were statistically significant associations between coaching and occupation (P = .005), Partners Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program course taken (P = .001), and course location (P = .007). Administrators were more likely to coach than physicians (odds ratio: 1.75, P = .04). Reasons for volunteering as a coach included further development of skills, desire to stay involved with program, and enjoying mentoring. Reasons for repeated coaching included maintaining quality improvement skills, expanding skills to a wider variety of projects, and networking. A peer graduate volunteer coach model is a viable strategy for interprofessional quality improvement mentorship. Strategies that support repeat coaching and engage clinicians should be promoted to ensure an experienced and diversified group of coaches.

  5. Personality characteristics of hospice volunteers as measured by Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, C W; Shuff, I M

    1995-12-01

    A sample of hospice volunteers (n = 99) was administered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (Myers & McCaulley, 1985). Frequencies of types observed were compared to population sample (n = 1,105) frequencies. Results indicated that, as a whole, hospice volunteers preferred extraversion over introversion, intuition over sensing, and feeling over thinking. Analysis of four-and two-letter preference combinations also yielded statistically significant differences. Most notably, the sensing-intuitive function appeared pivotal in determining of hospice volunteering. Suggestions are offered as to why the sensing-intuition function appeared central to hospice volunteering. Results appeared consistent with Jungian personality theory.

  6. The Work–Home Interface : Linking Work-Related Wellbeing and Volunteer Work

    OpenAIRE

    Brauchli, Rebecca; Peeters, Maria C W; van Steenbergen, Elianne F.; Wehner, Theo; Hämmig, Oliver

    2017-01-01

    An abundance of research shows the benefits of participation in volunteer work for individuals, employers and the society as a whole. However, relatively little is known about the precursors of volunteer work. In this study, we aim to fill this gap by investigating to what extent work-related well-being can function as a driver of volunteer work. Moreover, building on the Conservations of Resources Theory (Hobfoll,), we propose that the relationship between work-related well-being (burnout an...

  7. Desynchronization of Theta-Phase Gamma-Amplitude Coupling during a Mental Arithmetic Task in Children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jun Won; Kim, Bung-Nyun; Lee, Jaewon; Na, Chul; Kee, Baik Seok; Min, Kyung Joon; Han, Doug Hyun; Kim, Johanna Inhyang; Lee, Young Sik

    2016-01-01

    Theta-phase gamma-amplitude coupling (TGC) measurement has recently received attention as a feasible method of assessing brain functions such as neuronal interactions. The purpose of this electroencephalographic (EEG) study is to understand the mechanisms underlying the deficits in attentional control in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by comparing the power spectra and TGC at rest and during a mental arithmetic task. Nineteen-channel EEGs were recorded from 97 volunteers (including 53 subjects with ADHD) from a camp for hyperactive children under two conditions (rest and task performance). The EEG power spectra and the TGC data were analyzed. Correlation analyses between the Intermediate Visual and Auditory (IVA) continuous performance test (CPT) scores and EEG parameters were performed. No significant difference in the power spectra was detected between the groups at rest and during task performance. However, TGC was reduced during the arithmetic task in the ADHD group compared with the normal group (F = 16.70, p attention-demanding tasks.

  8. Prévalence, facteurs associés et prédisposant au syndrome ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Introduction: Le syndrome métabolique est associé aux maladies cardiovasculaires. L'infection au VIH est devenue aujourd'hui une maladie chronique. L'objectif de cette étude est de déterminer la prévalence, les facteurs associés et prédisposant au syndrome métabolique chez les patients infectés par le VIH sous ...

  9. Defecographic findings of young asymptomatic volunteers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoon, Sang Wook; Park, Hyo Jin; Kim, Ki Whang; Ji, Hoon

    1994-01-01

    Defacography is a technique of examining the rectum and anal canal by using fluoroscopy during detection. This study was done to determine the range of normal findings of defecography in young asymptomatic Korean volunteers. Twenty nine asymptomatic young volunteers underwent defecography. Anorectal angle, perineal descent, length and width of anal, rectocele, rectal intussusception and incontinence were evaluated. The range of anorectal angle was 82 .deg- 149 .deg in resting state, compared to the 63 .deg-116 .deg in squeezing state, and 95 .deg- 116 .deg in straining state respectively. The pelvic floor in straining state descended on average of 1.62 cm from the inferior margin of ischial tuberosity that its broad range of position from-5.2 cm to 0.8 cm implies a wide variation of anorectal angle and perineal descent. Mild degree of rectocele with less than 2 cm of depth was found in 12 out of 29 cases. Rectal intussusception was noted in six and rectal incontinence was seen in one case. Formation of rectocele and intussusception during defecation was common in asymptomatic young volunteers. The wide range of defacographic measurements warrants the necessity of other complementary studies on anorectal function to improve the diagnostic accuracy. The interpretation of defecographic measurement should therefore be made with caution and should not be used as the sole criteria for selection of treatment modality

  10. Empresas brasileiras do novo mercado e suas práticas de evidenciação voluntária de informações por segmento

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula Capuano da Cruz

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available A adoção das normas internacionais de contabilidade tem demandado alterações no padrão contábil de diversos países. Dentre tais mudanças, no Brasil, tem-se a incorporação de uma prática de divulgação de resultados que exige a evidenciação de informações por segmentos. O segment reporting, como também é denominado, é uma exigência introduzida pela International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 8 que implica um ponto de tangência muito forte entre a contabilidade gerencial e a contabilidade com foco no usuário externo. Com base nessas alterações, a partir da análise das Notas Explicativas das 106 companhias listadas no Novo Mercado da Bolsa de Valores, Mercadorias e Futuros de São Paulo (BM&FBovespa, o estudo objetivou verificar como as companhias abertas brasileiras estruturaram o formato de evidenciação de informações por segmento. Em termos metodológicos, trata-se de uma pesquisa documental, de caráter descritivo, que conjuntou o emprego da técnica de análise de conteúdo e de testes não paramétricos de Mann-Whitney e Kruskal-Wallis para verificar o grau de intensidade da divulgação de informações por segmento, conforme metodologia utilizada por Guthrie et al. (1999. Os achados sinalizaram que a divulgação voluntária de informações por segmento ainda é incipiente no cenário brasileiro. Identificou-se que as companhias auditadas por uma das Big Four apresentaram menor grau de intensidade na divulgação dos impactos futuros da aplicação das orientações normativas sobre informações por segmento. Considerando o universo das 106 companhias analisadas, destaca-se que as informações segmentadas por área geográfica e ainda, por tipo de produtos ou serviços, mostraram-se mais recorrentes; informações por clientes foram escassas. Nenhuma empresa evidenciou o fluxo de caixa por segmento, e 39 companhias não mencionaram que o CPC 22 trará impacto às futuras Demonstrações Contábeis. Assim

  11. Will Volunteers in a Youth Sports Event Become Paying Visitors?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mahadevan, Renuka; Ren, Carina Bregnholm

    2017-01-01

    and broad social benefits influenced that decision. For instance, the strong sense that the event has educational value and showcased the arctic region for tourism were important considerations for volunteers becoming paying guests. Although age nor gender of the volunteers was a factor, those who were...

  12. The Association of Childhood Personality Type with Volunteering during Adolescence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkins, Robert; Hart, Daniel; Donnelly, Thomas M.

    2005-01-01

    Using a longitudinal design, we investigated the relation of childhood personality type to volunteering during adolescence. We hypothesized that participants with more adaptive personality functioning during childhood would be more likely to volunteer during adolescence and that membership in social organizations would mediate the relation of…

  13. Ending the Draft -- The Story of the All Volunteer Force

    Science.gov (United States)

    1977-04-01

    amendment. Suddenly, however, one Senate staffer completely reversed the situation. George C. Will (now a nationally syndicated columnist ) was serving as an...of a volunteer force. Many newspapers and columnists took the position that a volunteer force would be elitist and distant from the restraints of

  14. Human volunteer study with PGME: Eye irritation during vapour exposure

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Emmen, H.H.; Muijser, H.; Arts, J.H.E.; Prinsen, M.K.

    2003-01-01

    The objective of this study was to establish the possible occurrence of eye irritation and subjective symptoms in human volunteers exposed to propylene glycol monomethyl ether (PGME) vapour at concentrations of 0, 100 and 150 ppm. Testing was conducted in 12 healthy male volunteers using a repeated

  15. The Impact of Work and Volunteer Hours on the Health of Undergraduate Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lederer, Alyssa M; Autry, Dana M; Day, Carol R T; Oswalt, Sara B

    2015-01-01

    To examine the impact of work and volunteer hours on 4 health issues among undergraduate college students. Full-time undergraduate students (N = 70,068) enrolled at 129 institutions who participated in the Spring 2011 American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment II survey. Multiple linear regression and binary logistic regression were used to examine work and volunteer hour impact on depression, feelings of being overwhelmed, sleep, and physical activity. The impact of work and volunteer hours was inconsistent among the health outcomes. Increased work hours tended to negatively affect sleep and increase feelings of being overwhelmed. Students who volunteered were more likely to meet physical activity guidelines, and those who volunteered 1 to 9 hours per week reported less depression. College health professionals should consider integrating discussion of students' employment and volunteering and their intersection with health outcomes into clinical visits, programming, and other services.

  16. Aspects of Pr3+ luminescence in solids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srivastava, A.M.

    2016-01-01

    A brief perspective on the influence of “host lattice-Pr 3+ ” interactions on the optical properties of the Pr 3+ ion in solids is presented. How the energy position of the Pr 3+ 4f 1 5d 1 configuration relative to the 1 S 0 , 3 P J and host lattice conduction band levels influences the Pr 3+ optical properties is highlighted by considering solids in which the 4f 1 5d 1 configuration (1) is energetically above the 1 S 0 level, (2) is energetically below the 1 S 0 level, (3) is energetically close to the 1 S 0 level, and (4) overlaps with the host lattice conduction band. - Highlights: • Spectroscopic properties of Pr 3+ in solids is examined. • The influence of Pr 3+ 4f 1 5d 1 energy position relative to the 4f 2 levels is discussed. • The effect of interaction between Pr 3+ 4f 1 5d 1 and host conduction level is illustrated. • The paper identifies potential commercial applications.

  17. Volunteered Geographic Information in Wikipedia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, Darren

    2010-01-01

    Volunteered geographic information (VGI) refers to the geographic subset of online user-generated content. Through Geobrowsers and online mapping services, which use geovisualization and Web technologies to share and produce VGI, a global digital commons of geographic information has emerged. A notable example is Wikipedia, an online collaborative…

  18. "Why am i a volunteer?": building a quantitative scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Eduardo Cavalcante

    Full Text Available This paper aims to analyze the validity of a quantitative instrument to identify what attracts someone to volunteer work, as well as what makes them stay and what makes them quit such an activity. The theoretical framework lists aspects related to volunteer work, which is followed by a discussion on models of analysis of volunteer motivation. As to the objectives, this research is descriptive, since it presents the analysis of the validity of a quantitative instrument that seeks to understand and describe the reasons for volunteering at the Pastoral da Criança, a Brazilian NGO. This instrument is based on theoretical ideas by Souza, Medeiros and Fernandes (2006. Reliability - Cronbach's Alpha - reached values between 0.7 and 0.8. Regarding Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy a good index was also obtained: 0.74. Despite the good results of reliability and sampling adequacy of factor analysis, none of the variables resulted in the expected combination, namely: indicators versus profile. It is necessary to improve the semantic meaning of certain factors, or even increase the number of indicators so as to generate additional correlations among them.

  19. Volunteers and Ex-Volunteers: Paths to Civic Engagement Through Volunteerism Voluntarios y Ex Voluntarios: Perfiles de Participación Ciudadana a Través del Voluntariado

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Marta

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available The study described is part of a broader longitudinal and multi-methodological research project aimed at investigating volunteerism in young people, in order to understand the reasons for the initial choice to volunteer but, more specifically, the reasons to sustain or quit voluntary involvement, as well as the effects of volunteerism. Eighteen volunteers and 18 ex-volunteers, 50% male and 50% female, aged between 22 and 29 years old, from 2 regions in northern Italy (Lombardy and Emilia Romagna participated in in-depth interviews. The paper-and-pencil analysis of the interview pointed to the emergence of several core categories: motivations to volunteer, relations within the organization, influence of family, and effects of volunteerism, especially as related to the process of identity and citizenship construction. On the basis of these categories, 4 typologies were identified: 2 with respect to volunteers (producers of active citizenship and volunteers for personal necessity and 2 related specifically to ex-volunteers (ex-volunteers witnesses for solidarity and active citizenship and ex-volunteers by chance.El estudio descrito es parte de un proyecto de investigación longitudinal y multi-metodológico más amplio sobre el voluntariado juvenil, realizado con el propósito de entender las razones que tuvieron los jóvenes para elegir el voluntariado y, específicamente, las razones para mantener o abandonar el compromiso, así como los efectos de dicho voluntariado. Participaron en entrevistas en profundidad 18 voluntarios y 18 ex-voluntarios, 50% hombres y 50% mujeres, entre 22 y 29 años de edad, de 2 regiones del norte de Italia (Lombardía y Emilia Romagna. El análisis de la entrevista de lápiz y papel permitió trazar varias categorías centrales: las motivaciones al voluntariado, las relaciones dentro de la organización, la influencia de la familia y los efectos del propio voluntariado, especialmente en relación con el proceso de

  20. Feeling the pressure: Attitudes about volunteering and their effect on civic and political behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bode, Leticia

    2017-06-01

    This article examines the evolving nature of volunteering among American youth, ages 12 to 17, focusing on emergent pressures to volunteer, as required by high schools or to improve one's employment or education prospects after graduation. Using survey data (N = 736, mean age = 14.78, 75.1% white, 49.1% female), it finds these pressures are prevalent, related to a desire to volunteer, and both of these motivations are positively associated with volunteering. It further concludes that volunteering supplements, rather than replaces or subsumes both online and offline political behaviors among youth. This has important implications for how we understand the role of volunteering in the youngest American age cohorts, and practical implications for educators and civic proponents in terms of determining what actually increases volunteering activity. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.