Can storytelling encourage tolerance and intention to volunteer? Conveying volunteer experiences in a UK survey experiment

How do international audiences evaluate the legitimacy of secessionist insurgencies? Although secessionists often propagate their behavioral choices, such as state-building and non-violence, to international audiences in the hopes of generating support, scholars know little about the effects of this information. In this article, we use survey experiments in the United States and the United Kingdom to examine how international audiences respond to two commonly used strategies of secession: civilian killings and social service provision. We find that international audiences view secessionists who avoid civilian killings and provide social services as more legitimate than secessionists who kill civilians and do not provide services, respectively. Further, we show that service provision can allow secessionists to reduce—and, in some cases, eliminate—the public costs of civilian killings. These findings have important implications for ongoing secessionist conflicts across the globe.

THIS paper derives and tests some implications about differences in behavior resulting from differences in property right arrangements, and in particular, between proprietary for-profit and nonproprietary not-for-profit hospitals (hereafter referred to as proprietary and nonproprietary hospitals respectively) . The arrangements in nonproprietary nonprofit enterprises are different from those in proprietary profit-seeking organizations because (1) certain rights or claims to benefits in nonproprietary organizations are not transferable by sale as they are in proprietary organizations, and (2) managers or workers in nonprofit organizations do not have exclusive claim on residual products (the current flows of money and nonmoney benefits) that is characteristic of for-profit enterprises.

This study presents evidence from a survey and choice experiment on the preferences of Hispanic immigrants who entered the United States illegally for different immigration reform proposal attributes. Key components of the current competing US Senate and House immigration reform bills are considered including pathways to legal permanent residence, temporary work visas, family visitation rights, and access to medical care. The results quantify the value Hispanic immigrants place on different policy attributes and suggest that longer‐term work visas are highly valued. Ability to legally work in the United States and a pathway to citizenship are substantially more valued than social services such as medical care and social security benefits.

The article identifies the potential for introducing a system of electronic social services in the context of electronic government development in Ukraine. The definition of an electronic social service as a social service is given, fully or partially provided with the help of social protection institutions online services and the population social services, to individuals, certain social groups who are in difficult life circumstances. It has been determined that the development of modern information use and communication technologies and the Internet already allows the use of various forms of providing and receiving electronic social services, is spreading due to the state policy of public services digitalization ("the state in a smartphone"), among which a special demand is registration in electronic the form of social benefits, benefits, pensions and the like. According to the results obtained, the greatest potential for introduction into the social service system is possessed by social services, psychological online consultations, distance learning and socio-economic services. Among the factors for optimizing the implementation of electronic social services, the most significant identified are the following increases in budget funding, computer population, information support for the introduction of the electronic social services system through social advertising, increasing the level of technical support and access to the Internet.

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the need for health and social services and benefits increases significantly within the family. Illness changes everyday life due to medical treatments, worry and financial challenges due to parents’ absence from work. Previous research shows that higher socioeconomic status correlates with better survival for cancer patients in Finland and abroad. The purpose of the study is to reveal the factors behind the disparate cancer outcomes among children from different backgrounds. Our aim is to build a comprehensive understanding of how families utilize services and mobilize their own social capital. The research approach is qualitative. Parents, whose child was diagnosed with cancer within 4 years, were interviewed. The interviews were analyzed with a narrative approach. The interview data was utilised in conjubction with participants’ data from the benefit register of the Social Insurance Institution of Finland (KELA). Thus, both subjective experiences and register data provide a holistic picture of families’ needs and benefit use. All families utilized more than one social benefit provided by KELA. In addition, families utilized social services and benefits provided by the municipality and patient organizations. Parents reported advice received from hospital social workers and rehabilitation counsellors very important. Social benefits and services cover only part of the families’ needs. In addition, parents reported need for concrete support such as help in household duties. The results allow for comparison among families and their social capital, e.g. the support they received from their relatives and friends. The study shows that families have a wide array of service and benefit needs when a child is diagnosed with cancer. The study helps benefit and service providers understand how families differ in their service and benefit needs and in their ability to mobilize support from their own network. Key messages • Families have a wide array of service and benefit needs when a child gets cancer. • Families differ in how they mobilize support from relatives and friends during child's illness.

The proposed study is devoted to determining the features of the spatial differentiation of the social sphere within the territory of Ukraine. The essence, objects, subjects, results of the process of differentiation of the social sphere of Ukraine in the spatial context, as well as the specificity of relations and the nature of the development of the corresponding process in space and time are disclosed. For this, an analysis of income was made as one of the key criteria of the level of formation and functionality of the social sphere. The role of the population's needs as a key motivating element in the formation of social space is substantiated, because the population is multidimensional and the population itself is the basis of the social space. The following research methods were used during the conducted research: descriptive, comparative and descriptive-vector methods. They are important for the characterization of concepts related to the presence of social sphere components and their accessibility for the local population, comparison of the functional level of individual social sphere components and their comprehensive review, and designation of the most important factors affecting the functioning of social sphere subjects, along with indicating the most important areas of activity. The dependence and connection between the level of demand and use of elements of the social sphere and the level of income of the population was investigated, as well as regional and temporal (in this case - quarterly) differences in service consumption were substantiated. Key types of social services for which consumers spend money have been determined at the regional level. Elements of the social sphere are characterized by local influence and limited operational capabilities. Despite their different functional purpose, their common goal is to identify and satisfy local social needs. The realities of modern Ukrainian society require the formation of guidelines for the restoration of the state of functioning and accessibility of the social sphere, which was typical for the regions of Ukraine before the start of the Ukrainian-Russian war. The criterion for the functioning and development of the social sphere should be financial availability, which in turn is determined by the population's ability to spend a certain amount of money on receiving social services. At the regional level in Ukraine, there are significant fluctuations in the incomes of the population, which is generally an objective phenomenon. The statistical data of the last decades allow us to state that in the vast majority of regional regions there was an increase in the well-being of the population. Expenditure on the social sphere in the regions of Ukraine is correlated with indicators of the number of family members, primarily the number of children in them. Traditionally, families with a small number of children are young and wages are not the main source of their income. At the same time, these families have high hopes for social support in various forms (scholarships, grants, targeted payments). Families with more children mainly form their budget from wages and in equal proportions from entrepreneurial activity and other social benefits. The structure of implemented services at the all-Ukrainian level includes transport, warehousing, postal and courier services, temporary accommodation and catering services, information and telecommunications services, real estate operations, professional, scientific and technical services, activities in the field of administrative and auxiliary service, education, health care and provision of social assistance, services in the system of art, sports, entertainment and recreation. Keywords: social sphere, regions of Ukraine, spatial differentiation, incomes of the population, available social guidance services, implementation of social guidance services.

Bangladesh faces a severe rural to urban migration challenge, which is accentuated by climate change and the Rohingya crisis. These migrants often reside in urban slums and struggle to access public services, which are already short in supply for existing slum dwellers. Given the inadequacy of governmental efforts, nonprofits have assumed responsibility for providing essential services such as housing, healthcare, and education. Would local slum-dwellers in Dhaka be willing to support such nonprofits financially? We deploy an in-person survey experiment with three frames (generic migrants, climate migrants, and religiously persecuted Rohingya migrants) to assess Dhaka slum-dwellers’ willingness to support a humanitarian charity that provides healthcare services to migrants. Bangladesh is noted as a climate change hotspot and its government is vocal about the climate issue in international forums. While we expected this to translate into public support for climate migrants, we find respondents are 16% less likely to support climate migrants in relation to the generic migrants. However, consistent with the government’s hostility towards Rohingya, we find that respondents are 9% less likely to support a charity focused on helping Rohingya migrants. Our results are robust even when we examine subpopulations such as recent arrivals in Dhaka and those who have experienced floods (both of which could be expected to be more sympathetic to climate migrants), as well as those who regularly follow the news (and hence are well informed about the climate and the Rohingya crisis).

Bangladesh faces a severe rural to urban migration challenge, which is accentuated by climate change and the Rohingya crisis. These migrants often reside in urban slums and struggle to access public services, which are already short in supply for existing slum dwellers. Given the inadequacy of governmental efforts, nonprofits have assumed responsibility for providing essential services such as housing, healthcare, and education. Would local slum-dwellers in Dhaka be willing to support such nonprofits financially? We deploy an in-person survey experiment with three frames (generic migrants, climate migrants, and religiously persecuted Rohingya migrants) to assess Dhaka slum-dwellers' willingness to support a humanitarian charity that provides healthcare services to migrants. Bangladesh is noted as a climate change hotspot and its government is vocal about the climate issue in international forums. While we expected this to translate into public support for climate migrants, we find respondents are 16% less likely to support climate migrants in relation to the generic migrants. However, consistent with the government's hostility towards Rohingya, we find that respondents are 9% less likely to support a charity focused on helping Rohingya migrants. Our results are robust even when we examine subpopulations such as recent arrivals in Dhaka and those who have experienced floods (both of which could be expected to be more sympathetic to climate migrants), as well as those who regularly follow the news (and hence are well informed about the climate and the Rohingya crisis).

Policy PointsHospitals address population health needs and patients’ social determinants of health by offering social care services. Tax‐exempt hospitals are required to invest in community benefits, including social care services programs, though most community benefits spending is toward unreimbursed health care services.Tax‐exempt hospitals offer about 36% more social care services than for‐profit hospitals. Among tax‐exempt hospitals, those that allocate more resources to community benefits spending offer more types of social care services, but those in states with minimum community benefits spending requirements offer fewer social care services.Policymakers may consider specifically incentivizing community benefits expenditures toward particular social care services, including linking tax exemptions to implementation, utilization, and outcome targets, to more directly help patients.ContextDespite growing interest in identifying patients’ social needs, little is known about hospitals’ provision of services to address them. We identify social care services offered by US hospitals and determine whether hospital spending or state policies toward community benefits are associated with the provision of these services by tax‐exempt hospitals.MethodsNational secondary data about hospitals were collected from the American Hospital Association Annual Survey, with additional Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 990 data on community benefits spending from CommunityBenefitInsight.org and state‐level community benefits policies from HilltopInstitute.org. Descriptive statistics for types of social care services and hospital characteristics were calculated, with bivariate chi‐square and t‐tests comparing for‐profit and tax‐exempt hospitals. Multivariable Poisson regression was used to estimate associations between hospital characteristics and types of services offered and among tax‐exempt hospitals to estimate associations between social care services and community benefits spending and policies. Multivariable logistic regressions modeled associations between community benefits spending/policies and each type of social care services.FindingsPrivate US hospitals offered an average of 5.7 types of social care services in 2018. Tax‐exempt hospitals offered about 36% more social care services than for‐profit hospitals. Larger number of beds, health system affiliation, and having community partnerships are associated with more social care services, whereas rural hospitals and those managed under contract offered fewer social care services. Among tax‐exempt hospitals, greater community benefits spending is associated with offering more total (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 1.10, p < 0.01) and patient‐focused social care services (IRR = 1.16, p < 0.01). Hospitals in states with minimum community benefits spending requirements offered significantly fewer social care services.ConclusionsAlthough tax‐exempt status and increased community benefits spending were associated with increased social care services provision, the observation that certain hospital characteristics and state minimum community benefits spending requirements were associated with fewer social care services suggests opportunities for policy reform to increase social care services implementation.

Voluntary contributions are a crucial resource for nonprofit organizations and challenging to acquire. Social information on other people’s contributions has been found to positively influence individual giving behavior. However, a clear understanding how social information reference groups impact volunteering intentions is missing. Drawing on social comparison theory, we conducted a survey experiment with variations in social information reference groups to shed light on mechanisms within social comparison processes in volunteering. Results show that volunteering intention increases when social information refers to reference groups similar to recipients (ingroups) compared with reference groups without similarities (outgroups). This effect is mediated by group identification. In contrast, shifts in volunteering aspiration are anchored by observed performance levels and independent of reference groups. The study contributes to the social information literature and suggests the need to distinguish different forms of social information to understand social comparison processes in volunteering, relevant for researchers and practitioners alike.

This study explored the experiences of skilled African immigrants in Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 27 individuals from different sub-Saharan African countries currently residing in South Australia. The findings report on the experiences of change, cultural identity, diasporic identities, employment, negotiating family dynamics, and the experiences of racial discrimination in Australia. These findings call for considerations that address these inequities, including culturally sensitive practice by social services, employers, and the wider society. Understanding the experiences of African migrants in Australia is particularly relevant for decolonised, critical social work practice, which takes the emphasis away from an individual’s ability to cope by examining how social environments shape such experiences. IMPLICATIONS Advocacy to address racism and discrimination towards African migrants in Australia is necessary. Fostering support for African migrants as they develop a diasporic identity and adapt to changes in family dynamics is encouraged. Developing culturally sensitive social support services for African immigrants is necessary for integration.

As a result of the decentralization reform, the community is a center for ensuring the social well-being of citizens: social services are created, innovative social services are sought at the community level; grant funds are raised to strengthen the social capacity of communities; a partnership with business in the field of social support for vulnerable groups is being developed. However, the pandemic due to the spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19 has become a challenge for the social sphere as a whole. The objective of the article is to summarize the experience of the community of the city of Uman on social services and social support for vulnerable categories of citizens in a pandemic. Research results. The article establishes that the basic structure at the community level of the city of Uman, which is responsible for social protection of citizens is the Department of Labor and Social Protection of Uman City Council. Thanks to an extensive network of institutions that provide social and rehabilitation services to children, youth, families, people with disabilities, members of the ATO / JFO, retirees, and other vulnerable groups, the community has managed to provide quarantine work. It has been established that due to the assignment of a specific social work specialist to a certain district of the city, social work is carried out with families directly in the community. Every social worker has information about each family’s need for social services. Thanks to the prompt response to the needs of the community, local authorities together with socially responsible business provided adequate support to vulnerable categories of citizens during quarantine. Particular attention is paid to the development and approval of measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection COVID-19 among social workers. An electronic call for specialists has been introduced, the official website of the department provides an Internet reception service, and the city residents have been informed about the list of Minsopolitics online resources that can be used by recipients of social benefits. A separate area deserves attention — support for children and families with children during anti-epidemic measures in Ukraine, and after the easing of quarantine restrictions, measures are organized for children in compliance with all quarantine rules. An Observer has been set up on the basis of the Office’s structures, which is under the control of the city commission on technogenic and ecological safety and emergencies.

What role can information play in changing the take-up of social benefits? Using evidence from an online, large-scale survey experiment of American workers, the authors answer this question in the context of unemployment insurance (UI). Three treatments provided accurate, concise, and customized information about UI eligibility requirements, benefit generosity, and application procedures to respondents. The experimental results unambiguously show a statistically and substantively significant decline in workers’ self-reported willingness to apply for UI benefits after receiving information about program details. These declines were largest for workers who received information about the program’s eligibility requirements and application procedures. The analysis suggests that the information treatments countered pre-existing beliefs that unemployment benefits would be generous and easy to receive, thus lowering workers’ likelihood of applying once they had learned about the program’s actual rules. These results provide a cautionary lesson for policymakers seeking to broaden social benefit take-up through information interventions.

Extensive research has associated ethnic diversity with a range of negative outcomes. But the relationship between diversity and these outcomes is not a simple or inevitable one. Ethnic diversity only affects outcomes when it forms the basis of social or political divisions. Why is ethnicity highly divisive in some places, but less so in others? Excellent scholarship has focused on a wide range of explanations, but the role of public policy has often been overlooked, despite its ability to shape the conditions under which ethnic groups interact. This paper examines the efficacy of Singapore’s National Service program, which is designed in part to bridge ethnic divisions in the highly diverse nation. I find considerable evidence that the program has purposefully altered the identity of conscripts in a manner that has a durable effect on their attitudes and behaviors in inter- and intra-ethnic interactions. Specifically, I find that the program is effective at constraining the divisive potential of ethnic diversity among its conscripts by reducing the salience of their ethnic identities and increasing the salience of their shared civic identities. I isolate the causal effects of the program by exploiting a natural experiment that produces exogenous variation in the intensity of the National Service treatment. An innovative measurement strategy that relies on vignettes and survey experiments provides effective measurements of identity. The analysis demonstrates the central role that policy plays in determining the salience of ethnic and civic identities, which in turn determine the outcomes of ethnic diversity. Beyond this, the findings shed important light on the conditions under which policy can effect in shaping identities and outcomes.

BackgroundThe classes of social benefits for disabled persons, the conditions of entitlement thereto, the amounts of benefits and the procedure for the grant and payment thereof are stipulated by the...