The Effects of Mandatory Volunteerism on Intentions to Volunteer

With the widespread emergence of required community-service programs comes a new opportunity to examine the effects of requirements on future behavioral intentions. To investigate the consequences of such “mandatory volunteerism” programs, we followed students who were required to volunteer in order to graduate from college. Results demonstrated that stronger perceptions of external control eliminated an otherwise positive relation between prior volunteer experience and future intentions to volunteer. A second study experimentally compared mandates and choices to serve and included a premeasured assessment of whether students felt external control was necessary to get them to volunteer. After being required or choosing to serve, students reported their future intentions. Students who initially felt it unlikely that they would freely volunteer had significantly lower intentions after being required to serve than after being given a choice. Those who initially felt more likely to freely volunteer were relatively unaffected by a mandate to serve as compared with a choice. Theoretical and practical implications for understanding the effects of requirements and constraints on intentions and behavior are discussed

Ehrenamtlichkeit: ein funktionaler Ansatz

Die motivationalen Grundlagen des planvollen, unterstützenden Hilfeverhaltens im Rahmen ehrenamtlicher Tätigkeiten werden untersucht. Dabei wird von einem funktionalen Ansatz ausgegangen, also von der Annahme, dass die Ausübung einer ehrenamtlichen Tätigkeit einen bestimmten psychologischen Zweck verfolgt. Der funktionale Ansatz berücksichtigt motivationale Prozesse als Grundlage für verschiedene psychologische Phänomene und betont, dass Einstellungen und Handlungen zweckorientiert und zielgerichtet sind. Des Weiteren unterstreicht der funktionale Ansatz die Wichtigkeit einer Übereinstimmung zwischen individuellen Motivationen und Umweltbedingungen, die die Möglichkeiten bereitstellen, diesen Motivationen zu entsprechen. Auf der Basis von theoretischen Überlegungen und faktoranalytischen Untersuchungen werden sechs funktionale Motivationen hergeleitet (Werte, Verständnis, Karriere, Soziales, Schutz, Verbesserung). In einem weiteren Schritt werden diese funktionalen Motivationen in ihrer Bedeutung für ehrenamtliche Tätigkeiten untersucht. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass funktionale Motivationen bedeutsam sind mit Blick auf die Aufnahme einer ehrenamtlichen Tätigkeit, hinsichtlich der Ausübung der Tätigkeit sowie bezüglich der Fortführung der Tätigkeit. Faktoren, die in Abhängigkeit der funktionalen Motivation wirksam werden, sind zum einen die Art der Werbung für ein Ehrenamt (Aufnahme), zum zweiten die Arbeitszufriedenheit sowie die resultierende Leistung bzw. Arbeitsqualität (Ausübung) und letztlich die Absicht zur kurz- oder langfristigen Hilfe bzw. die tatsächliche Dauer der Tätigkeit (Fortführung). Abschließend werden die Handlungswirksamkeit von funktionalen Motivationen sowie deren individuell zu spezifizierende Vielfalt diskutiert

“Charity Begins at Home”: Informal Caring Barriers to Formal Volunteering Among Older People

Formal volunteering is an important economic and social activity. In many countries, prevalence of volunteering is decreasing overall, including among older people who constitute a major volunteering resource. This qualitative study explored reasons for non-volunteering among seniors, with a focus on those who attribute their non-volunteering to their existing helping commitments. Forty-nine Australian interviewees aged 60 + years described a range of social, psychological, and temporal factors that resulted in their prioritization of informal rather than formal volunteering activities. These factors are mapped onto a theoretical framework matrix, with social identity and social capital theories appearing to possess the most explanatory power. The findings suggest that programs designed to encourage formal volunteering among older people need to be implemented in a manner that recognizes that members of this group can hold many other responsibilities that limit their ability to participate, especially those assisting in the care of multiple generations

A comprehensive overview of radioguided surgery using gamma detection probe technology

The concept of radioguided surgery, which was first developed some 60 years ago, involves the use of a radiation detection probe system for the intraoperative detection of radionuclides. The use of gamma detection probe technology in radioguided surgery has tremendously expanded and has evolved into what is now considered an established discipline within the practice of surgery, revolutionizing the surgical management of many malignancies, including breast cancer, melanoma, and colorectal cancer, as well as the surgical management of parathyroid disease. The impact of radioguided surgery on the surgical management of cancer patients includes providing vital and real-time information to the surgeon regarding the location and extent of disease, as well as regarding the assessment of surgical resection margins. Additionally, it has allowed the surgeon to minimize the surgical invasiveness of many diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, while still maintaining maximum benefit to the cancer patient. In the current review, we have attempted to comprehensively evaluate the history, technical aspects, and clinical applications of radioguided surgery using gamma detection probe technology