The economic recession and civic participation: the curious case of Rotterdam's civil society, 2008–2013

This paper investigates how the 2008–9 recession affected civic participation in disadvantaged and affluent neighbourhoods in the city of Rotterdam. We hypothesize that levels of civic participation may either diverge or converge across neighbourhoods with a different socioeconomic status. We build upon a recent wave of studies examining how civil society has been affected by the 2008–9 recession. Using five waves from the Rotterdam Neighbourhood Profile survey (N = 63,134; 71 neighbourhoods), we find converging trends in civic participation. Between 2008 and 2013, civic participation declined in affluent neighbourhoods but increased slightly in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This convergence is partly due to the level of perceived problems in the neighbourhood and differences in the types of volunteering found in disadvantaged and affluent neighbourhoods. In addition, we argue that these converging trends can be better understood by considering the neighbourhood organizational infrastructure and local policy configurations. Next to examining the impact of the 2008–9 recession on civic participation, we contribute to research on civil society by comparing the UK and Dutch context.     

Formal Volunteering among Vulnerable Older Adults from an Environmental Perspective: Does Senior Housing Matter?

Based on the premise that environmental support is an important facilitator for engagement in formal volunteering among vulnerable subgroups of older adults, we focus on older low-income individuals who live alone. Drawing on the environmental docility hypothesis, we examine the role living in senior housing has on the likelihood of volunteering. Data came from the 2012 wave of the Health Retirement Study (N = 1415). Kernel weights derived from propensity scores were used to account for observed sociodemographic and health characteristics associated with both senior housing living and the outcome. Logistic regression models showed that living in senior housing positively affected engagement in formal volunteering after adjusting for personal and environmental factors. As a modifiable target of intervention for successful and healthy aging, our findings provide important background knowledge for the development and implementation of housing-specific volunteer programs for vulnerable elders.     

Social Heterogeneity and Volunteering in U.S. Cities

In this research we explore the relationship between social heterogeneity and volunteering across U.S. metropolitan areas testing a theory that race heterogeneity, racial segregation, and income inequality are negatively associated with the rate of volunteering. Theorizing that social heterogeneity will have different effects for religious and secular volunteering rates, we analyze them separately. We use nonlinear multilevel models to analyze nearly 200,000 individuals across 248 cities, controlling for nonprofits per capita, religious congregations per capita, proportion of the population with college degrees, and the family poverty rate. While much of the intercity variation in volunteering is due to the composition of the population living in each city, we find general support for the predicted negative effect of social heterogeneity on volunteering. However, the effects vary by volunteering type. Race heterogeneity is negatively related only to secular volunteering, racial segregation is negatively related to both general volunteering and secular volunteering, and income inequality is negatively related to all types of volunteering.     

Civic engagement among student veterans

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess participation rates in civic volunteering among service member and veteran students. Participants: Data for the present cross-sectional study were obtained from the American College Health Association’s (ACHA) 2011–2014 National College Health Assessment II (NCHA). Methods: Demographic characteristics of the study sample were explored by calculating frequencies and percentages by military service status. Research questions were explored with either Fisher’s exact test or maximum likelihood multiple logistic regression. Results: Service member and veteran students were more likely to engage in volunteerism than their non-veteran counterparts. Additionally, student veterans and non-veteran students reported that engagement in volunteer efforts both reduces their feelings of depression and increases their use of mental health services. Conclusion: The findings of this research suggest that the promotion of civic engagement and participation in volunteerism for service member and veteran students on college campuses might contribute to successful reintegration outcomes.     

Caring and the generation of social capital: Two models for a positive relationship

Johansson S, Leonard R, Noonan K. Caring and the generation of social capital: two models for a positive relationship When caring is linked to social capital, it is generally assumed that the nature of the relationship is that social capital is a resource that can be used for care work. When there is inadequate funding of aged care services by the state, then social capital may be seen as a substitute for economic and human capital. Caring, therefore, is seen as a drain on capital. However, this does not have to be the case. Aged care services, if thoughtfully designed, can not only consume social capital, but also generate it. Two models of elder care, one Swedish and one Australian, have been identified which specifically address the generation of social capital. In each case, the services and facilities have been developed by third‐sector organisations with a strong community development focus, often in the face of resistance from state‐run or medically oriented services.     

A personalised approach in activation. Workfare volunteers’ experiences with activation practitioners

ABSTRACT

In activation work – supporting jobless people to perform activities that are supposed to lead them back to paid work – a personalised approach is deemed crucial. What a personalised approach entails, however, remains unclear. In this article, we try to further develop the notion of a personalised approach in activation work, by analysing Dutch workfare volunteers’ experiences with activation. Our interviews show that a personalised approach appears as a process with three stages. In the first stage, personalised means paying attention to welfare clients’ personal histories, particularly their ‘violated life story’. In the second stage, personalised means being sensitive to the new reality of them being volunteers. In the third stage, personalised means paying attention to the future, especially to the prospect of paid work. Our findings contribute to the theorisation of a personalised approach in activation work to which time turns out to be a crucial dimension.     

Information Source Reliance and Charitable Giving Decisions

This study examines the relationship between donor reliance on information and donors’ subsequent charitable giving decisions of both time and money. To examine this relationship, we utilize data from an original survey of residents in San Diego County, California (n = 1,002), asking donors about their charitable activities and the information sources that they use to facilitate their charitable decisions. Our findings reveal that relying on information from both nonprofit accrediting agencies and personal experiences positively influences donors’ decision to give time to nonprofit organizations (that is, volunteer), but has no significant impact on decisions to give money. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Examining the Benefits of Intergenerational Volunteering in Long-Term Care: A Review of the Literature

This review examines the benefits of intergenerational interactions between youth volunteers and residents of long-term care homes. Five articles met the criteria for review. Benefits for youth included developing new communication and career-related skills, improved attitudes toward older adults, and the development of meaningful relationships and friendships. Benefits for residents were engagement in activities with the students, enhanced well-being and, for residents with aphasia, improved communication abilities. Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of intergenerational volunteer programs, especially for secondary students as volunteers.     

Generous or Greedy Marriage? A Longitudinal Study of Volunteering and Charitable Giving

Recent scholarship has explored whether marriage encourages individuals to contribute to or withdraw from society. The authors examined how marriage affects volunteering and charitable giving, using longitudinal data from the 2001 to 2009 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Newly married men, but not women, were significantly more likely to give money to charity in the first survey wave after marriage and gave larger amounts of money. Newly married women, but not men, were significantly less likely to volunteer after marriage and volunteered fewer hours. Marriage had a stronger effect on religious giving than overall giving among men and had a significant and positive effect on religious giving among women. Marriage had a stronger positive effect on men's giving in the second wave after marriage than after the first.     

Participation in formal and informal volunteering: Implications for volunteer recruitment

This study examines factors influencing “formal” volunteering (that is, to an organization) and “informal” volunteering (that is, volunteering carried out individually outside of an organizational context) and the relationship between these two activities. We hypothesize that formal and informal volunteering activities are positively interrelated but that they are shaped by different types of personal resources: involvement in social networks increases the likelihood of both types of volunteering, but human capital increases the likelihood of formal volunteering rather than informal. The bivariate probit regression results emanating from the Independent Sector's “Giving and Volunteering in the United States, 2001” survey are generally supportive of the hypotheses. The findings suggest that nonprofit and public organizations that involve volunteers consider the pool of informal volunteers as a fertile ground for recruitment and find ways to better utilize older Americans in formal volunteering. The results also suggest that volunteer recruitment through organizational membership may be an effective strategy.