IU Indianapolis ScholarWorks :: Browsing by Author "School of Philanthropy"

Browsing by Author "School of Philanthropy"

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Account Space: How Accountability Requirements Shape Nonprofit Practice
(SAGE, 2008-06-01) Benjamin, Lehn M.; School of Philanthropy
Improving nonprofit accountability is one of the most important issues facing the sector. Improving nonprofit accountability in ways that are attentive to what we might consider unique and valuable about how nonprofits address public problems is the challenge at hand. This article presents a framework for examining the consequences of accountability systems for nonprofit practice. Drawing on empirical findings from three case studies and early sociological work on accounts, the framework considers four questions (i.e., When do organizations give accounts? What is the purpose of the account? When are those accounts accepted or rejected by important stakeholders? And with what consequence?) but makes a distinction between a verification and explanatory accountability process. By making this distinction and clarifying the relationship between these two accountability processes, the proposed framework can be used to identify conflicts between accountability systems and nonprofit practice and to understand how efforts to ensure accountability can spur a change in nonprofit practice, change stakeholder expectations for nonprofits or leave both intact.
Bearing More Risk for Results: Performance Accountability and Nonprofit Relational Work
(SAGE, 2008) Benjamin, Lehn M.; School of Philanthropy
Performance accountability systems require nonprofits to bear more risk for achieving results. Although a growing body of work has examined nonprofit accountability, less attention has been given to the concept of risk. This article points to a potential conflict between performance accountability frameworks and nonprofit work. This conflict can be best understood as a one between managing risk in task-driven relationships, in which relationships are formed simply to achieve desirable results, and managing risk in developmentally driven relationships, in which performing a task is intended not only to achieve desirable results but also to build enduring capacity to take action on common problems.
Better together: Integrative analysis of behavioral gratitude in close relationships using the three-factorial interpersonal emotions (TIE) framework
(APA, 2022) Chang, Yen-Ping; Dwyer, Patrick C.; Algoe, Sara B.; School of Philanthropy
Several lines of research document various relational and personal benefits of gratitude and its key behavioral manifestation, expressed gratitude. Integrating these lines, we propose the three-factorial interpersonal emotions (TIE) analytical framework, using two directions of gratitude behavior—expression and receipt of the expression—perspectives of both individuals reporting those behaviors—the acting self and the observing partner—and two temporal scopes to examine gratitude—the dispositional and the situational (operationalized as one’s 2-week average thanking behavior and daily variations around the average, respectively). These describe eight (2 × 2 × 2) prototypical aspects of behavioral manifestations of interpersonal emotions such as expressed gratitude. We demonstrate the TIE model using a well-powered dyadic daily-diary dataset of naturally emerging gratitude interactions within romantic couples. Results show all aspects of situational gratitude behavior uniquely forecast daily increases in relationship satisfaction; these effects mediate contemporaneous daily increases in life satisfaction, and are not attributable to self-disclosure, fairness, politeness, or general positivity. Alternatively, although they each show a zero-order effect, many aspects of dispositional gratitude behavior do not exert independent effects on relationship or life satisfaction, nor do they hold against the four nongratitude constructs. Exemplifying the utility of the TIE model, we conclude behavioral gratitude is an everyday phenomenon; it comprises related yet distinguishable interpersonal acts, and can be understood from the different perspectives of the actors involved. Methodologically, our work shows the value of bringing relationship–science techniques to study the social functions of emotions, and generates new questions about gratitude in everyday life.
Can Text Messages Increase Empathy and Prosocial Behavior? The Development and Initial Validation of Text to Connect
(PLOS, 2015-09-10) Konrath, Sara H.; Falk, Emily; Fuhrel-Forbis, Andrea; Liu, Mary; Swain, James; Tolman, Richard; Cunningham, Rebecca; Walton, Maureen; School of Philanthropy
To what extent can simple mental exercises cause shifts in empathic habits? Can we use mobile technology to make people more empathic? It may depend on how empathy is measured. Scholars have identified a number of different facets and correlates of empathy. This study is among the first to take a comprehensive, multidimensional approach to empathy to determine how empathy training could affect these different facets and correlates. In doing so, we can learn more about empathy and its multifaceted nature. Participants (N = 90) were randomly assigned to receive either an empathy-building text message program ( Text to Connect ) or one of two control conditions (active versus passive). Respondents completed measures of dispositional empathy (i.e. self-perceptions of being an empathic person), affective empathy (i.e. motivations to help, immediate feelings of empathic concern), and prosocial behavior (i.e. self-reports and observer-reports) at baseline, and then again after the 14 day intervention period. We found that empathy-building messages increased affective indicators of empathy and prosocial behaviors, but actually decreased self-perceptions of empathy, relative to control messages. Although the brief text messaging intervention did not consistently impact empathy-related personality traits, it holds promise for the use of mobile technology for changing empathic motivations and behaviors.
Differences in Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking Across 63 Countries
(Sage, 2017-01) Chopik, William J.; O'Brien, Ed; Konrath, Sara H.; School of Philanthropy
Cultural practices socialize people to relate to others in different ways. One critical way in which these interpersonal bonds are formed and maintained is via empathy, our emotional reactivity toward others’ experiences. However, the extent to which individuals from different cultures vary in their dispositional empathy, and the correlates of these differences, are relatively unknown. Thus, the current study explored cultural variation in empathy, and how this variation is related to psychological characteristics and prosocial behavior across cultures. Evidence from an original sample of 104,365 adults across 63 countries reveals that higher empathy countries also have higher levels of collectivism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, self-esteem, emotionality, subjective well-being, and prosocial behavior. These findings reveal that empathy is situated within a broader nomological network of other psychological characteristics, emotional expression and experiences, and prosocial behavior across cultures. The current study expands our understanding about how psychological characteristics vary across cultures and how these characteristics can manifest in broader national indicators of prosocial behavior.
How Helping Can Reinforce or Attenuate Status Inequalities: The Case of Nonprofit Organizations
(RSF, 2022-11-01) Benjamin, Lehn M.; School of Philanthropy
This article examines one type of social exchange that signals status: giving and receiving help. I focus on formal helping exchanges between staff and participants in nonprofit organizations. Bringing together status theory with research from social psychology on receiving help and studies of nonprofits, I identify how the helping exchanges in these settings can reinforce or attenuate status hierarchies with important consequences for participants. I examine three attenuation practices (sharing control, establishing commonalities, and questioning causes) and three practices that can reinforce status hierarchies (asserting control, reinforcing differences, and assuming causes) to show how status processes play a powerful but unexamined role in the very places dedicated to addressing inequality.
Nonprofit Performance: Accounting for the Agency of Clients
(Sage, 2015-10) Benjamin, Lehn M.; Campbell, David; School of Philanthropy
Performance is a key concern for nonprofits providing human services. Yet our understanding of what drives performance remains incomplete. Existing outcome measurement systems track the programmatic activities staff complete and the extent to which participants respond in programmatically intended ways. However, clients do not just receive services and respond as intended and staff do not simply complete program activities. Drawing on a data set of 47 interviews with frontline staff in eight human service nonprofits, we show how frontline staff work in a partnership with clients to set an agenda for change and achieve desired results. We call this co-determination work and argue that it represents a critical and often neglected dimension of nonprofit performance.
Social Networks and Charitable Giving: Trusting, Doing, Asking, and Alter Primacy
(SAGE, 2018-04-01) Herzog, Patricia Snell; Yang, Song; School of Philanthropy
This study examines social networks and financial giving to charitable or religious causes. Conventional social capital measures of general social trust and size of social network are studied as predictors of charitable giving. To these traditional measures, we add an examination of particular network aspects of giving: ego giving in relation to network alters who give, solicitations to give by network ties, and ego soliciting alters to give. In addition, the study disaggregates alter effects by alter position. Findings indicate that, net of social trust, social network factors significantly predict likelihood of being a giver. In particular, findings are that egos are especially likely to be donors when their primary alter donates. Three configurations of ego–alter giving and solicitations are significant predictors of ego giving, indicating that ego–alter doing matters more than asking. Theoretical contributions for relational and prosocial studies are discussed, as are practical implications for fundraising professionals.
The Role of Muslim American Nonprofits in Combating Domestic Violence in the Community: An Exploratory Overview
(The Islamic Seminary Foundation, 2022-10-19) Siddiqui, Shariq; Noor, Zeeshan; School of Philanthropy
Domestic violence, misogyny, and patriarchy have long been a challenge for society. In fact, one of the first realities confronting Prophet Muhammad was the inequity and inequality of women, orphans, and the vulnerable. This resulted in the forbidding of killing female babies and giving women the rights to decide who to marry, request a divorce, and own property – instead of being property – and much more. Many of the Prophet’s words and actions (the Hadith and Sunnah) are known to us today because of the memories shared by his wife Aisha. The fact that she became such an important keeper of this tradition and that her memories required no corroborating witness suggest the important role she played in early Islamic society. The Prophet’s first supporter and convert was his first wife Khadijah. One of the wealthiest entrepreneurs of her time, she provided the financial independence for the development of the Islamic faith. Both of them play critical roles in Islam’s establishment and eventual dissemination. They are beloved by Muslims, but the fact that they are women and leaders has not been institutionalized. Despite these revolutionary reforms, humanity’s failure to continue them has led societies, families, and social structures to find ways to control women and further strengthen existing patriarchal societies. One component of this social control is domestic and sexual violence within existing familial structures. This article seeks to place the efforts of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) to fight domestic violence in the Muslim American community from 1997 through 2005. In addition to examining the society’s annual reports and Islamic Horizons magazine, it draws on the coauthors’ embedded experience. It first examines the literature associated with religiosity, Islamic perspectives on domestic violence, Muslim Americans, and Muslim Americans and domestic violence. The article then undertakes a case study of ISNA from 1997 to 2004 and concludes with recommendations for future research.
Use of the Carolina HPV Immunization Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (CHIAS) in Young Adult Women
(PLOS, 2014-06-14) Dempsey, Amanda F.; Fuhrel-Forbis, Andrea; Konrath, Sara H.; School of Philanthropy
Background Validated measures that can accurate describe young adults’ HPV vaccination attitudes and how these relate to vaccination intention and receipt are needed for developing interventions to improve low HPV vaccination levels. The Carolina HPV Immunization Attitudes Scale (CHIAS) is a validated measure of these outcomes that was originally designed for parents. Objective To assess the performance of the CHIAS among young adult women using an exploratory factor analysis. Methods A convenience sample of 139 young adult women (age 18–26 years) were given the CHIAS measure at baseline. Factor analysis was used to determine attitudinal factor groupings and the association of these factors with HPV vaccination intention. A 6-month follow up assessment examined the stability of the CHIAS over time and the association of baseline vaccine factors with vaccine receipt. Results Five factors loaded on to the CHIAS in young adults - “Barriers,” “Harms,” “Effectiveness,” “Risk Denial” and “Uncertainty,” - which was similar to the factor loadings of CHIAS for parents. “Harms” was the factor most consistently associated with vaccination intention at all time points assessed. Only 5 women had received or made an appointment to receive the vaccine at the 6-month follow-up. Conclusions In terms of categorizing HPV vaccination attitudes, the CHIAS appears to have similar performance among young adults as in parents. However, additional studies are needed to assess the utility of the CHIAS for predicting HPV vaccine receipt among the young adult population.

Browsing by Author "School of Philanthropy"

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