The IJOVA Volume XXX, Number 2


FROM THE EDITOR

In This Issue: Why Are People Volunteering?
... link to pdf


FEATURE ARTICLES

Senior Volunteerism and Social Context: Implications for Volunteer Recruitment
Lili Wang, Ph.D. and Carlton Yoshioka, Ph.D.
Senior population provides significant amount of volunteer work in communities across America. Using data from the Arizona Health Survey 2010, this study examines the impact of social context on senior volunteering. The results show that seniors who have more friends to rely on, who often hang out with others, help friends and neighbors, and participate in social clubs or religious and other organizations are more likely to volunteer. Education and self reported physical health also increase their chance of volunteering. Additionally, African American seniors are more likely to report volunteering than their Hispanic counterparts. The findings suggest the importance of social context in encouraging senior volunteering and imply the significance of network-based volunteer recruitment among seniors. ...link to pdf
Key Words: senior volunteering, social networks, participation, social context, informal help

Motivations for Volunteering Abroad in Later Life
Benjamin J. Lough, Ph.D., Xiaoling Xiang, and Sung-wan Kang
Despite a high prevalence of older adults serving abroad each year, researchers have not investigated their motivations for service. A series of categorical data analyses compare the motivations of 1010 international volunteers that served with two secular volunteer-sending organizations. The top motivations for volunteering did not differ significantly across age groups. However, international volunteers aged 55 or older (n = 56) were less likely to volunteer abroad to gain useful skills, to gain international experience and language skills, or because they need a job. Implications for volunteer management, recruitment, retention and future research are discussed. .... link to pdf
Key Words:aging, international, motivations, volunteering, quantitative

Beyond 40 Hours: Meaningful Community Service and High School Student Volunteerism
in Ontario

Hoda Farahmandpour
The study reported here explores whether students in the mandated Ontario high school community service program consider their service requirement to be meaningful; the relationship between meaningful service and the potential for subsequent service; and other factors related to a meaningful experience and future service. A secondary analysis was conducted using a survey of 1,341 first-year university students. The responses were in part retrospective as students reflected upon their experience in the Ontario high school community service program. The main finding is that meaningful service is a predictor of subsequent service and can contribute to enhancing community service programs. Two policy implications emerge, that programs can focus on sectors within the social economy that provide a more meaningful experience and that greater collaboration between schools and nonprofit agencies that can provide meaningful placements for students is needed.. ... link to pdf
Key Words: community service, mandatory volunteering, youth development, meaningful service

Motivating a Volunteer Workforce in the Criminal Justice System
Benedict Eccles and David Biggs
The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) requires that police detention processes are monitored and inspected. The United Kingdom is partially ensuring this provision through the use of an existing independent volunteer workforce. This research explores the conditions required for the effective use of this volunteer workforce through 12 semi-structured interviews. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used that initially generated 46 motivator codes that were clustered into six themes of volunteer motivation consisting of: personal affect, personal growth, social goals, altruistic, activity and values. Ten demotivators were also revealed through the interviews. The implications of these findings for volunteer motivation and how organizations may capitalize on this are discussed. ... link to pdf
Key Words: motivation, volunteer workforce, criminal justice, preventing torture, terrorism

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