Moral psychology from the lab to the wild: Relief registries as a paradigm for studying real-world altruism

Experimental psychology’s recent shift toward low-effort, high-volume methods (e.g.,self-reports, online studies) and away from the more effortful study of naturalistic behavior raises concerns about the ecological validity of findings from these fields, concerns that have become particularly apparent in the field of moral psychology. To help address these concerns, we introduce a paradigm allowing researchers to investigate an important, widespread form of altruistic behavior – charitable donations – in a manner balancing competing concerns about internal validity, ecological validity, and ease of implementation: relief registries, which leverage existing online gift registry platforms to allow research subjects to choose among highly neededdonation items to ship directly to charitable organizations. Here, we demonstrate the use of relief registries in two experiments exploring the ecological validity of the finding from our own research that people are more willing to help others after having imagined themselves doing so. In this way, we sought to provide a blueprint for researchers seeking to enhance the ecological validity of their own research in a narrow sense (i.e., by using the relief registry paradigm we introduce) and in broader terms by adapting paradigms that take advantage of modern technology to directly impact others’ lives outside the lab.

Charitable Organizations in Singapore: From Clan Based to State Facilitated Endeavors

Singapore, with a five million population, has a vibrant charitable sector with over 2000 registered charities attracting approximately USD$2.18 billion in annual donations. How did Singapore’s charitable sector achieve its current level when it has been, in the past, segregated along mainly religious, race and clan-based communities? This paper explores this question by piecing together the current ecosystem, regulatory and tax infrastructure which facilitates the charitable sector in Singapore. Central to the development of the charitable sector has been the Singapore government’s role of being a gatekeeper, regulator and enabler of charities. In analysing the government’s role in the charitable sector, this paper locates Singapore’s charitable sector within the literature on government and nonprofit organization relations which has been described at times being cooperative, complementary, confrontational, and co-optive. These astute observations ring true with respect to the Singapore government’s relationship with the charitable sector. For organizations which pursue purposes consistent with state’s vision of public good, the state’s relationship with these charities has been largely cooperative and complementary. However, even within charities considered by the state to further public good, there is a strong element of co-optation where the state wields significant direct and indirect power over the charitable sector by way of provision of funding and board composition. In contrast, nonprofit organizations which engage in aims inconsistent with the state’s perceived public interest are, by law, unable to register itself as charities and enjoy corresponding fiscal benefits. Such nonprofit organizations also typically do not receive state funding. This demonstrates the confrontational nature of the state’s relationship with these nonprofit organizations. Through a close analysis of the laws, codes, media reports and academic literature on the charitable sector, the central thesis of this paper is that the charitable sector in Singapore is essentially a state facilitated endeavor.

Professional roles of female urologists: A webinar-based survey of perceptions and obstacles to career development

Background: Urology, traditionally a maledominated specialty, keeping pace with the quickly changing gender landscape, has been characterized by waves of feminization. This study aims to understand the perspectives of women urologists on the obstacles to their career development, and the impact of such hurdles on their professional roles in urological education, practice, and leadership. Methods: 119 female urology residents/consultants were surveyed via a webinar-based platform, covering relevant questions on domains of Academia, Mentorship, Leadership, Parenting, and Charity. Statistical analysis was done using frequency distribution based on the responses. Results: 46.8% of the respondents felt that there is an under-representation of women in academia. ‘Having a good mentor’ was the most important factor for a novice to succeed in academia (68%). The most important trait in becoming a good leader was ‘good communication skills’ (35%), followed by ‘visionary’ (20%). The greatest challenge faced by leaders in the medical field was considered as ‘time management’ (31.9%). Only 21.2% of the participants felt difficulty in having a work-personal life balance, whereas 63.8% of them found it difficult only ‘sometimes’. As a working parent, ‘the guilt that they are not available all the time’ was considered the most difficult aspect (59.5%), and ‘more flexible schedule’ was needed to make their lives as a working parent easier (46.8%). 34% of the respondents were affiliated with some charitable organizations. The biggest drive to do charity was their satisfaction with a noble cause (72.3%). Conclusions: Need for increased encouragement and recruitment of females into urology, and to support and nurture them in their career aspirations.

Pronouns, Positioning, and Persuasion in Top Nonprofits’ Donor Appeals

Despite increased giving in 2019, competition for donations among nonprofits remains high, especially when a charitable organization’s niche overlaps with that of others’. Consequently, nonprofit charitable organizations must tell stories that persuade donors to support their mission and contribute. This study uses positioning theory to examine how websites of the charitable organizations that appeared in Forbes Magazine’s 2019 top 100 charities use storytelling to facilitate their ethos such that they gain support and thus increase their donor base. The results revealed that nonprofits use positioning to establish two types of partnerships: invited and assumed. Furthermore, the coding revealed three primary types of positioning within these partnerships: savior-follower, business partners, and teacher-student. These positions organize and set the parameters for each organization’s story and will not only influence and potentially dictate the speech acts that follow, but also the responsibilities and rights of all those involved.

Charitable Organizations’ Cost Disclosure Mitigates Overhead Aversion

Charities face common problems in which donors tend to avoid charities with high overhead rates. This overhead aversion phenomenon forces charities to suppress their overhead spending, which impedes them from performing as best as they can. Substantial research has attempted to mitigate overhead aversion by eliminating the need to cover overhead expenses by donors. The present work takes a different approach and presents a method to reduce overhead aversion and to improve the attitude toward the charity by providing donors with details of the overhead costs. Study 1 demonstrates that disclosing the overhead cost improves donors’ attitude toward the charity. Moreover, the effect is mediated by the donor’s attitude toward the overhead. Study 2 shows that presenting cost information is more effective than the methods proposed by the existing literature (e.g., presenting a message that addresses the importance of overhead). The research contributes to the literature by demonstrating how to communicate with donors to increase their evaluations of the charity.

Care-Arbeit und Care-Berufe

Care work can be provided in various forms and in differing institutional settings, ranging from private households over social networks and charitable organizations to public or private entities employing professional care persons. All these forms of care work create a value-added, but are subject to very different economic conditions. Focusing on professional care and building on German micro-data, the article shows preliminary evidence that there might be a »care wage-gap«, i.e., a systematic disadvantage of care workers compared to other professions in terms of their remuneration. It points out how this presumption could be thoroughly scrutinized and suggests possible reasons - among other things, the existence of informal care - that could be tested in subsequent steps.

Return Home Interviews for Missing Older Adults With Dementia: A Scoping Review

Introduction Persons living with dementia are at risk of becoming lost. When a person is returned home safely after a missing incident, an interview with the person or care partner may identify ways to prevent repeat incidents. It is not known if these interviews are being conducted for this population. Objectives: The purpose of this review was to understand return home interviews and whether they are being used with persons who have dementia. Methods Scholarly and grey literature were searched in 20 databases. Articles were included from any language, year, study design if they included terms resembling “return home interview”, “missing,” “lost,” or “runaway”. Results Eleven articles in scholarly, and 94 in grey literature sources were included, most from the United Kingdom. The majority of academic (55%) and grey (61%) articles were related to missing children, and none were specifically about persons living with dementia. Interviews were typically conducted within 72 hours after a missing person was returned, and by police or charitable organizations. The main reasons were to understand the causes of the incident and confirm the missing person’s safety, identify support needs, and to provide support to reduce repeat missing incidents. Conclusion Existing reasons for interviews can also apply to persons with dementia. This review informs future research on return home interviews. It also informs community organizations, and police services interested in adopting this practice with persons living with dementia. Evaluations would confirm if these interviews can reduce repeat incidents and help keep people with dementia safe.

Cluster analysis of charitable organizations of Ukraine using K-means technology

The work is devoted to the issue of segmentation of charitable organizations for structuring the sector of non-profit organizations of Ukraine using cluster analysis tools using software R for automated data processing. The four-cluster and five-cluster models were constructed using the K-means method, the suitability for clustering of which was checked using the Hopkins’ Index (H statistics). The developed four-cluster model demonstrated a significant level of validity in terms of correspondence between data and the stability of their structure. The basic indicators of financial and economic activity of charitable organizations were used as criteria for clustering: the number of staff, charitable assistance received and funds spent on the maintenance of the organization in the reporting period. It was found that the clusters of charitable organizations of Ukraine differ in the scale of activity, the number of funds raised, the number of costs for their own maintenance and the relationship between these indicators. The study demonstrated the existence in Ukraine of the most influential cluster of local charities that address social issues exclusively at the regional level, due to the small financial resources involved to support their activities. Such organizations are system-creating for the entire nonprofit sector in Ukraine, their importance is manifested in the most rapid response to the needs of recipients through the implementation of small charitable projects.

Characteristics and stereotypes of shadow charity in the conditions of modern socio-culture

Актуальность статьи обусловлена проблемой теневой благотворительности ставшей достаточно распространенным явлением и серьезной проблемой для легальных некоммерческих и благотворительных организаций. Цель статьи заключается в изучении предпосылок теневой благотворительности и разработки рекомендаций к решению проблемы неформальной экономики, находящейся вне государственного контроля. Авторами с помощью SWOT-анализа осуществлен комплексный подход к рациональному анализу благотворительной деятельности, комплексу мер и мероприятий, направленных на управление процессом поступления пожертвований путем изучения сильных и слабых сторон организации благотворительности, а также внешних возможностей и угроз организации теневой и легальной благотворительной деятельности. Раскрыты характеристика и стереотипы теневой благотворительности в условиях современной социокультуры. Классифицированы факторы, детерминирующие включение благотворительной деятельности в социальную работу. Предложены рекомендации к решению проблемы теневой благотворительности в современном российском обществе. Обоснованы стереотипы благотворительной деятельности и их актуальность в современной России. Статья предназначена для специалистов сферы социального обслуживания, здравоохранения, экономики, образования, исследователей, студентов. The relevance of the article is due to the problem of shadow charity, which has become a fairly common phenomenon and a serious problem for legal non-profit and charitable organizations. The purpose of the article is to study the prerequisites of shadow charity and develop recommendations for solving the problem of the informal economy that is outside of state control. The authors, using SWOT analysis, implemented a comprehensive approach to the rational analysis of charitable activities, a set of measures and measures aimed at managing the process of receiving donations by studying the strengths and weaknesses of the charity organization, as well as external opportunities and threats to the organization of shadow and legal charitable activities. The characteristics and stereotypes of shadow charity in the conditions of modern socioculture are revealed. The factors determining the inclusion of charitable activities in social work are classified. Recommendations for solving the problem of shadow charity in modern Russian society are proposed, stereotypes of charitable activity and their relevance in modern Russia are substantiated. The article is intended for specialists in the field of social services, healthcare, economics, education, researchers, students.

Challenges of paediatric palliative care in Romania: a focus groups study

Background The availability of palliative care facilities for children vary considerably among the European member states. In Romania, a country where health expenditure is among the lowest in Europe, palliative care has been mainly provided by charitable organizations. Despite the high number of children needing palliative care, there is scant literature and research available on paediatric palliative care in Romania. The study explores the viewpoints of various paediatric oncology providers with regard to paediatric palliative care provision in Romania. Methods Four mixed focus groups were conducted at four university-affiliated paediatric oncology centres located in three distinct Romanian regions (Bucuresti-llfov, Nord-Est and Nord-Vest). The focus groups were analyzed using thematic coding. Results For many healthcare professionals, emotional burden inherent to the profession; unhealthy work-life balance and understaffing were among the biggest barriers to the successful integration of pediatric palliative care. The lack of staff was attributed to a shortage of financial resources, and to the persisting cultural stigma surrounding palliative care and oncology. Also political turmoil was identified as an important obstacle to palliative care implementation. Conclusion Significant barriers persist limiting the broader implementation of pediatric palliative care in Romania. In order to render palliative care in pediatric oncology more sustainable, more attention should be paid to the mental health care of healthcare professionals working in this field, to the development of mobile palliative care services and to the emigration of skilled medical staff.