When to Use Volunteer Labor Resources? An Organizational Analysis for Nonprofit Management

Volunteer labor is commonly used to produce many goods and services in our economy. Many studies examine the supply of volunteer labor and determine why and how individuals give their time without remuneration (Freeman, 1997; Menchik, & Weisbrod, 1987; Smith, 1994; Vaillancourt & Payette, 1986). Fewer studies examine the demand for and the use of volunteer labor by organizations that receive it (Emanuele, 1996; Handy & Srinivasan, 2005). However, not surprisingly there exists a strong demand for volunteer labor; given it’s relatively low cost and individuals willing to supply unpaid labor. For example, 93% of volunteers are engaged by 161,000 nonprofit organizations (NPOs) in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2004 b). In the United States, a national study found 80% of charities use volunteers (Hager, 2004)

Economic guidelines to reforestation under alternative types of forest ownership

The Oregon Coast Range contains large acreages of nonstocked high site land. With the increasing demand for wood products, more attention is being given to the problems of reforesting these lands. This study develops financial guidelines to the reforestation of nonstocked high site lands. A number of possible owner constraints are examined as well as a variety of forest yield functions. Guidelines are given for the maximum amount available for reforestation at a number of interest rates

Aberrant STYK1 expression in ovarian cancer tissues and cell lines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Overexpression of <it>STYK1</it>, a putative serine/threonine and tyrosine receptor protein kinase has been shown to confer tumorigenicity and metastatic potential to normal cells injected into nude mice. Mutation of a tyrosine residue in the catalytic STYK1 domain attenuates the tumorigenic potential of tumor cells <it>in vivo</it>, collectively, suggesting an oncogenic role for STYK1.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To investigate the role of STYK1 expression in ovarian cancer, a panel of normal, benign, and ovarian cancer tissues was evaluated for STYK1 immunoreactivity using STYK1 antibodies. In addition, mRNA levels were measured by reverse transcription PCR and real-time PCR of estrogen receptors, GPR30 and STYK1 following treatment of ovarian cell lines with estrogen or G1, a GPR30 agonist, as well as western analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our data showed higher expression of STYK1 in cancer tissues versus normal or benign. Only normal or benign, and one cancer tissue were STYK1-negative. Moreover, benign and ovarian cancer cell lines expressed <it>STYK1 </it>as determined by RT-PCR. Estradiol treatment of these cells resulted in up- and down-regulation of <it>STYK1 </it>despite estrogen receptor status; whereas G-1, a GPR30-specific agonist, increased STYK1 mRNA levels higher than that of estradiol.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that <it>STYK1 </it>is expressed in ovarian cancer and is regulated by estrogen through a GPR30 hormone-signaling pathway, to the exclusion of estrogen receptor-alpha.</p

Social and cultural origins of motivations to volunteer a comparison of university students in six countries

Although participation in volunteering and motivations to volunteer (MTV) have received substantial attention on the national level, particularly in the US, few studies have compared and explained these issues across cultural and political contexts. This study compares how two theoretical perspectives, social origins theory and signalling theory, explain variations in MTV across different countries. The study analyses responses from a sample of 5794 students from six countries representing distinct institutional contexts. The findings provide strong support for signalling theory but less so for social origins theory. The article concludes that volunteering is a personal decision and thus is influenced more at the individual level but is also impacted to some degree by macro-level societal forces

Economic guidelines to reforestation for different ownerships : a case study for the coast range of western Oregon

Some of the world's most productive timberland lies on the slopes of the coastal range in Oregon and Washington. More than one-half of the commercial forest land in that area is estimated as high site quality for Douglas-fir, with a site index of 140 or better. But much of this land is not so well forested as it could be. A study of costs of reforestation was made with partial support by the Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. Background An analysis of survey data and interviews of the U.S. Forest Service with forest land managers in 1972 revealed that about one-fourth of the high-site-quality land needs major reforestation or rehabilitation work, or both, to establish commercial softwoods (Beuter and Handy, Unpublished. 1972). The major problems to overcome in reforestation are brush, undesirable hardwood species, and animal damage to softwood seedlings. These interviews also revealed a variety of practices undertaken by forest land managers to reforest high-site-quality lands. Chemical and mechanical means, as well as fire, are used to rid sites of undesirable species. Chemical repellents and protective barriers are used to protect seedlings from animal damage. These practices are successful in varying degrees, but they are consistent in one aspect: they are expensive compared to reforestation costs on sites without problems. Costs for site preparation, planting, and seedling protection ranged from about $100 to over$400 per acre. These costs were based on one attempt at reforestation. Often, first efforts failed, and the land managers had to decide whether to abandon the reforestation effort or try again and face the same uncertainty as before. Many of them had no guidelines of how much they could or would be willing to spend to reforest their lands. Responses ranged from, "We'll spend whatever it takes," to some specific dollar limit the land manager had determined, either analytically or arbitrarily. That some economic guidelines for reforestation would be useful was evident. Objectives in Developing the Guidelines The primary audience for these guidelines is the forest land manager. Results, however, also should be useful for others in timber business analysis and forest economics research. The objective sought in developing guidelines is to answer the question: "Given a particular forest land ownership situation, what can the forest manager afford to spend to reforest the land?" Results are not prescriptions of what a land manager should do. They are only guidelines of what he can do if he identifies with the situation described. The key to usefulness of the guidelines is the ownership situation. A representative range of several variables is used to define ownership situations

Cdc37 has distinct roles in protein kinase quality control that protect nascent chains from degradation and promote posttranslational maturation

Cdc37 is a molecular chaperone that functions with Hsp90 to promote protein kinase folding. Analysis of 65 Saccharomyces cerevisiae protein kinases (∼50% of the kinome) in a cdc37 mutant strain showed that 51 had decreased abundance compared with levels in the wild-type strain. Several lipid kinases also accumulated in reduced amounts in the cdc37 mutant strain. Results from our pulse-labeling studies showed that Cdc37 protects nascent kinase chains from rapid degradation shortly after synthesis. This degradation phenotype was suppressed when cdc37 mutant cells were grown at reduced temperatures, although this did not lead to a full restoration of kinase activity. We propose that Cdc37 functions at distinct steps in kinase biogenesis that involves protecting nascent chains from rapid degradation followed by its folding function in association with Hsp90. Our studies demonstrate that Cdc37 has a general role in kinome biogenesis

Student Volunteering in Zagreb in a Comparative Perspective

U ovom su radu analizirani rezultati istraživanja volontiranja studenata Sveučilišta u Zagrebu te Tehničkog i Društvenog veleučilišta u Zagrebu, provedenoga 2006.-2007. godine, a u sklopu međunarodnoga komparativnog istraživanja studenata u 14 zemalja svijeta. Cilj istraživanja bio je prikupiti podatke o različitim vidovima volontiranja (iskustvo, osnovni oblici, razlozi i koristi volontiranja, vrijednosti povezanih s volontiranjem), a posebice dobiti uvid u međunarodne razlike. S obzirom da su u ovom radu posebno fokusirani hrvatski rezultati, oni su pokazali da se hrvatski studenti, zajedno s japanskima, nalaze na začelju analiziranih zemalja. Kada volontiraju, studenti to čine uglavnom neredovito i neformalno, a najviše volontiraju za gradsku četvrt/lokalnu aktivističku grupu, u domovima za starije i nemoćne, prenoćištima i sličnim organizacijama. Intrinzični razlozi volontiranja su najviše naglašeni, ali njima komplementarni su i oni instrumentalni. Analizirane su i koristi od volontiranja. Istraživanje je također pokazalo da se volontiranje uglavnom ne promiče kroz obrazovni sustav, a da studenti smatraju takve inicijative korisnima. Rezultati istraživanja uspoređeni su s rezultatima dosadašnjih istraživanja volontiranja u Hrvatskoj, a interpretirani su u okviru analize razvoja civilnog društva u Hrvatskoj i drugim postkomunističkim zemljama te su komentirane dobivene razlike među zemljama.The paper presents an analysis of the results of the research of volunteering of students of the University of Zagreb and Technical and Social Sciences Polytechnics in Zagreb conducted between 2006-2007 within the international comparative research of students in 14 countries of the world. The aim of the research was to collect the data on various aspects of volunteering (experience, basic forms, motivations and benefits of volunteering, values connected with volunteering), and especially to gain insight into international differences. Considering the fact that the paper in particular focuses on the Croatian results, they have shown that the Croatian students, alongside with the Japanese students, are trailing behind all analysed countries. When they volunteer, students in general do it irregularly and informally, and they do most volunteer work for neighbourhood group or local activist organization, in homes for the elderly and the infirm, shelters and similar organisations. Intrinsic reasons for volunteering are emphasised the most, but the instrumental ones complement them. The research has also shown that volunteering is mostly not promoted through the system of education, and that the students consider such initiatives to be useful. The research results are compared with the results of research of volunteering in Croatia to date, and are interpreted within the analysis of civil society development in Croatia and other post-communist countries, and the differences between the countries are commented

Predicting youth participation in urban agriculture in Malaysia: insights from the theory of planned behavior and the functional approach to volunteer motivation

This study examines factors associated with the decision of Malaysian youth to participate in a voluntary urban agriculture program. Urban agriculture has generated significant interest in developing countries to address concerns over food security, growing urbanization and employment. While an abundance of data shows attracting the participation of young people in traditional agriculture has become a challenge for many countries, few empirical studies have been conducted on youth motivation to participate in urban agriculture programs, particularly in non-Western settings. Drawing on the theories of planned behavior and the functional approach to volunteer motivation, we surveyed 890 students from a public university in Malaysia about their intention to join a new urban agriculture program. Hierarchical regression findings indicated that the strongest predictor of participation was students’ attitude toward urban agriculture, followed by subjective norms, career motives and perceived barriers to participation. The findings from this study may provide useful information to the university program planners in Malaysia in identifying mechanisms for future students’ involvement in the program

Enhanced Memory for Scenes Presented at Behaviorally Relevant Points in Time

What determines whether a scene is remembered or forgotten? Our results show how visual scenes are encoded into memory at behaviorally relevant points in time