Volunteering and social capital in regional Victoria

The link between volunteerism and social capital has received some attention in Australia in recent years. Of particular note to this paper is the work of Baum, Bush, Modra, Murray, Cox, Alexander, and Potter (2000), who described the contribution volunteers made to social capital in a metropolitan setting - the western suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. The aim of this current study is twofold, to describe the contribution volunteers make to social capital through participation, reciprocity and social trust in a regional and rural setting; and to compare findings with those relating to a metropolitan environment. In the light of differing volunteer patterns in rural and regional environments compared to metropolitan environments, we hypothesised that the relationship between volunteerism and indicators of social capital would also be different. The results from this study support the findings of Baum, Modra, Bush, Cox, Cooke, and Potter (1999) and therefore reinforce the premise that volunteers make a substantial. contribution to social capital. While greater numbers of people who live in rural or regional areas undertake volunteer work, we found there are more similarities between the rural/regional and metropolitan sectors regarding volunteerism than there are differences.

Maximising baby boomer engagement in volunteering: a case study from enquiry to implementation

A community aged care service, with the assistance of other stakeholders, initiated a qualitative practice-oriented research project to interview baby boomers about their plans for retirement and their interests in volunteering. The project looks to reshape baby boomer volunteering for our aged care services. Our findings highlight that baby boomers are looking for meaningful, diverse and flexible volunteer opportunities. This will require organisations to adapt their volunteer programs and develop the required infrastructure (improved advertising, assessment and volunteer support approaches) to cater for the volunteering needs of baby boomers. This paper highlights the process, findings, initial efforts and future challenges to engaging baby boomers in volunteer work. It is recognised that further research is required in what is not a homogenous group.

How welfare-to-work requirements impact on single parents' volunteer activities

This paper seeks to describe the volunteering experiences of female single parents engaged in Australia's welfare-to-work program. Interviews were conducted with 26 single parents who had been required to increase their hours of work as a condition of the Centrelink policy introduced in 2006. To analyse the data, the technique of rich point analysis was employed which identified three key concepts central to the women's experiences.  These concepts included the nature of a decent job, notions of reciprocity, and a seeming hierarchy of suitable jobs promoted within the welfareto- work policy. How volunteer activities fit within these constructs was the focus of the investigation. The analysis revealed that the types of paid jobs women obtained were less fulfilling and flexible than their volunteer activities. and gave them less sense of contributing to society, Further, in most cases prior to welfare reform, these single mothers were volunteering in their children's school and as such, both the school's capacity and intergenerational role modelling of volunteering were depleted.

Community group volunteer perceptions and awareness of Victorian marine protected areas

In 2004, a Community Based Monitoring (CBM) program for Victoria’s Marine National Parks and Marine Sanctuaries was developed. A key performance area for Victoria’s Marine Protected Area (MPA) Management Strategy is community engagement. This program was developed to incorporate the key performance principles of community education, participation and engagement. CBM involves scientific protocols to monitor different habitat types in a MPA. As part of the CBM project, perceptions and values of MPAs were investigated through a pilot survey of 125 community group volunteers from 4 volunteer groups. Surveys were sent to all community group members which included participants and non-participants in the CBM program. Questions sought qualitative and quantitative information, focusing on personal values of MPAs. The surveys included questions associated with CBM, MPA management and environmental issues affecting the marine environment. Responses from the pilot study indicated that 50% of the volunteers participated in CBM to learn more about scientific research, and 30% wanted to work close to nature. This pilot study will form the basis of a larger-scale study to investigate community group perceptions of MPAs and identifying how to maintain volunteer enthusiasm, interest and motivation in a CBM program.

Pre-cursors to physical employment standards for rural tanker-based bushfire suppression work

This thesis quantified the physical demands of Australian rural bushfire suppression and developed a controlled bushfire simulation suitable for ongoing bushfire research. The findings of this thesis will be used to develop physical employment standards and OH&S strategies to protect the 200,000 volunteer firefighters Australia wide.

Design of a valid simulation for researching physical, physiological and cognitive performance in volunteer firefighters during bushfire deployment.

Every year, Australian firefighters protect our nation from the devastation of bushfire. Understanding the impact of consecutive long shifts in hot, smoky conditions is essential for making decisions during campaign fires. At present, the evidence-base for such decisions is limited to laboratory studies with little relevance to bushfire suppression or field research where the impact of environmental and workload stressors cannot be measured. To counter these limitations, we have developed a three-day simulation that mimics the work and environment of campaign bushfire suppression. Construction of the simulation involved three stages; 1) data collection and analysis; 2) design and development; and 3) trial and refinement. The frequency, intensity, duration and type of physical work performed on the fireground is well documented and a modified applied cognitive task analysis, using experienced firefighters was used as a framework to describe in detail the non-physical aspects of the work. The design and development of the simulation incorporated the physical and non-physical aspects of the work into simulated tasks. Finally, experienced firefighters participated in trials of the simulation and reviewed digital recordings to ensure that the simulation accurately represented campaign bushfire suppression work. The outcome of this project is a valid, realistic, and reliable simulation of the physiological, physical and cognitive aspects of a volunteer firefighter on a three-day bushfire deployment.

Cardiovascular risk screening of volunteer firefighters

Background: The work demands involved in firefighting place significant stress on the cardiovascular system. This study investigated the application of the AHA/ACSM Health/Fitness Facility Preparticipation Screening Questionnaire in volunteer Country Fire Brigade (CFA) firefighters. Methods: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors were measured in 3777 CFA firefighters and entered into a modified version of the American Heart Association (AHA)/ACSM Health/Fitness Facility Preparticipation Screening Questionnaire to stratify individuals as low, moderate or high risk. Results: Just over half (50.8%) of female and more than two thirds (68.2%) of male CFA firefighters were classified as moderate risk. The questionnaire further stratified 2.6% of female and 5.2% of male CFA firefighters as high risk while the remaining 46.6% and 26.6% of female and male firefighters, respectively, were classified as low risk. Conclusion: The majority of firefighters screened were at moderate risk and therefore, would be advised by AHA/ACSM guidelines to undertake and pass a detailed medical examination and a medically supervised exercise test prior to initiating vigorous intensity physical activity. However, considering the financial and practical implications (e.g., reduced emergency response capacity) the introduction of mandatory screening may cause, fire agencies should focus screening for high risk personnel only, while promoting agency wide CVD health education.

Crown land management from a volunteer perspective: the Victorian example

A legion of 8000 volunteer committee members work behind the scenes to manage Crown land reserves across Victoria, also undertaking on-ground works and a multitude of other tasks to safeguard the upkeep of natural and built public assets. These local Committees of Management operate in a largely delegated manner on behalf of the Victorian Government. A number of societal trends appear to be threatening their work. This exploratory study asked a small non-representative sample of committee members, in group interviews, to assess their motives for undertaking this unpaid service and their perceptions of the key challenges associated with volunteering in public land management. The interviews identified four motivations to explain committee participation: (1) community improvement; (2) family legacy; (3) user group representation; and (4) socialising. The implications of these findings for government and communities, in terms of attracting new recruits to Committees of Management and retaining the existing cohort of experienced members, are discussed.