Volunteering and Communication

Contents: Casey Malone Maugh: Blogging for Peace: Realistic Job Preview Strategies from the 21st Century Peace Corps Volunteer - Joel O. Iverson: Communicating Belonging: Building Communities of Expert Volunteers - Michael W. Kramer: The Socialization of Community Choir Members: A Comparison of New and Continuing Volunteers - Theresa R. Castor/Mary Jo Jiter: Learning by the «Seat of Your Pants»: The Socialization of Nonprofit Board Members - April A. Kedrowicz: Supporting the Supporters: Implications for Organizational Commitment - Claudia L. Hale/Anita C. James: The Sisterhood of the Hammer: Women Organizing for Community and Self - Cristina M. Gilstrap/Zachary M. White: «Like Nothing Else I've Ever Experienced»: Examining the Metaphors of Residential Hospice Volunteers - Janette C. Douglas/Do Kyun Kim: What Does This Mean, «Just be a Friend»?: Analysis of Volunteer Uncertainty During the Assimilation and Socialization Process at a Youth Mentoring Organization - Jennifer Mize Smith: Volunteer Tourists: The Identity and Discourse of Travelers Combining Largesse and Leisure - Abbey E. Wojno: «You Just Gotta Be Careful About Those Boundaries»: Managing Risk in a Volunteer-based Organization - Jacquelyn N. Chinn/Joshua B. Barbour: Negotiating Aging and Agedness in Volunteer Disaster Response Teams - Disraelly Cruz: Managing Volunteer Tensions: Unpacking Experiences and Responses to Organizational Irrationalities - Donnalyn Pompper: Volunteerism and Corporate Social Responsibility: Definitions, Measurement, Roles, and Commitment - Isabel C. Botero/Tomasz A. Fediuk/Kate M. Sies: When Volunteering is No Longer Voluntary: Assessing the Impact of Student Forced Volunteerism on Future Intentions to Volunteer - Loril M. Gossett/Rachel A. Smith: Spontaneous Volunteers: Understanding Member Identification Among Unaffiliated Volunteers - Jenny Onyx: Breaking the Rules: The Secret of Successful Volunteering in a Caring Role - Johny T. Garner/Kristen Horton: Connecting, Voicing,

Michael W. Kramer (PhD, University of Texas) was Professor at the University of Missouri for nineteen years before coming to the University of Oklahoma in 2010 as Chair and Professor of the Department of Communication. His research focuses on the assimilation/socialization process of employees in transition but lately has focused on volunteers. He has published two other books: Managing Uncertainty in Organizational Contexts (2004) and Organizational Socialization: Joining and Leaving Organizations (2010).
Laurie K. Lewis (PhD, University of California at Santa Barbara) is Professor and Chair of the Department of Communication in the Rutgers University School of Communication and Information. Previously she held faculty positions at Pennsylvania State University and the University of Texas at Austin. A recognized expert in organizational communication including change processes, nonprofits, and collaboration, her work has appeared in Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, Management Communication Quarterly, and her book, Organizational Change: Creating Change through Strategic Communication. She has consulted and done training for various nonprofit organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, the Sharing Network, and Austin's Community Action Network.
Loril M. Gossett (PhD, Colorado at Boulder) is Associate Professor of Communication Studies and Organizational Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Previously she was a faculty member at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas and the University of Texas at Austin. Her theoretical interests are focused on issues of identification, member voice, and managerial control strategies within organizational settings. Her research has been published in such forums as Communication Monographs, Management Communication Quarterly, Communication Yearbook, and Public Performance and Management Review.

«Volunteering and Communication is a rich and valuable volume for those study-ing the volunteer experience, working with volunteer programs, and orienting volunteers. This seminal work offers an excellent introduction to the topic, research on a fabulous array of non-profits (e.g., Big Brothers Big Sisters, CERT, Peace Corp, Red Cross), and applications of well-established theories (e.g., Uncertainty Reduction, Structuration Theory, social exchange theories), and concepts (burnout, belongingness). This is a superb volume on the volunteer experience that will spark new research ideas and inspire best practices.» (Becky L. Omdahl, Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis)
«A wonderful surprise! Here's a book that volunteer management practitioners will find insightful and often practical, as well as grounded in scholarly research, which uniquely applies the perspective of communication theory to volunteering. The academics often were surprised at their findings about real-life volunteering in many settings; leaders of volunteers will be surprised at what this mysterious 'communication theory' stuff can do to strengthen our support of volunteers. I encourage my colleagues to explore how metaphors, narratives, relationship studies, and more can help us understand volunteer motivation and actions, and contribute to how we interview, place, orient, train, and work effectively with volunteers of all sorts. Don't let this book sit on the shelf in the communications department. Find the right audience for each chapter and share the information widely.» (Susan J. Ellis, President, Energize, Inc., Trainers and Publishers in Volunteerism)
«This edited volume is a sterling and unique contribution to understanding how we can grapple with problems and potentials of volunteering and civic engagement in an era of considerable social, political and technological change. Instead of taking a standard theory-first approach to contemporary volunteering, Kramer, Lewis, and Gossett