Browsing by Subject "donor"

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    The Effects of Social Information, Social Norms and Social Identity on Giving
    (2008-06-09T19:41:30Z) Shang, Yue; Sargeant, Adrian; Burlingame, Dwight F.; Gunderman, Richard; Lenkowsky, Leslie
    This philanthropic studies thesis aims to “increase the understanding of philanthropy, improve its practice, and enhance philanthropic participation” (Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University Overview) by studying the effects of social information, social norms and social identity on giving. It connects philanthropic studies research with theoretical developments in motivations for giving in economics, nonprofit management, nonprofit marketing, consumer behavior, and social psychology. It utilizes personal observations as well as quantitative methods including experiments and surveys on multiple samples including donors, undergraduate students and samples of the U.S. population. It generates actionable and efficacious knowledge to improve the practice of philanthropy. It contributes to the formation and growth of the young field called philanthropic studies - in theory, in methodology and in practice. This thesis includes five chapters. Chapter I will explain how the research question, philosophy and methodology are selected. This discussion will be for the entire thesis. Specific research questions, hypotheses, research designs, findings and implications will be explained in the subsequent chapters. Chapter II demonstrates the immediate and long-term effects of social information on donations and its boundary conditions in existing nonprofit donors in two field experiments. Chapter III shows that the psychological mechanism through which social information influences subsequent giving is perceived descriptive social norms in one field survey of donors and one laboratory experiment on undergraduate students. Chapter IV investigates how social identity congruency moderates the effect of social information on donations. It reports three field experiments on donors and samples of the general U.S. population and two laboratory experiments on undergraduate students. It shows that donors give more money to a public radio station if told that a previous donor with a similar identity also made a large contribution. This effect is more likely to occur when donors have high collective identity esteem and when attention is focused on others. Each chapter provides original fundraising techniques developed from these studies. Chapter V concludes with a discussion of the theoretical, methodological and practical contributions of this thesis and suggests directions for future research in philanthropic studies, and philanthropic psychology in particular.
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    How are our Undergraduate Students Doing? Exploring the Emotional Impact of Human Donors in Undergraduate Anatomy Education
    (2024-04-26) Shafer, Anna; Dunham, Stacey M.
    INTRODUCTION: The use of human cadavers (donors) in anatomy laboratories is a common experience for many future healthcare professionals. For undergraduates taking anatomy, this may be their first introduction to human cadavers, and for many students their first experience viewing a deceased person. Students exhibit a variety of reactions to this experience. Previous research has focused on student experiences in undergraduate medical education. This study explores student reactions to donors in undergraduate education. STUDY OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to ascertain students’ emotions and reactions to the donors in the laboratory classroom setting and to identify coping mechanisms that students used within this learning environment. Understanding these student experiences will provide insight to educators as they work to accommodate student needs and understand the emotional impact of human donor use in undergraduate education. METHODS: The participants of this study included students who completed a 5-credit hour, 200-level human anatomy course between Fall 2021 through Fall 2023. The laboratory uses two prosected donors that the students observe throughout the semester. Students are required to identify structures on the donors for the muscular, nervous, circulatory, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems. Students do not have the opportunity to touch the donors; instead, instructors in the course demonstrate structures to small groups of students, and students can practice identifying structures during open study periods. Three of the four laboratory exams include identification questions on the donors which are approximately 25% of each exam. Students who were currently enrolled in the course, as well as those who were previously enrolled, were invited to participate in the study via the university’s learning management system. Students completed an anonymous survey that asked questions related to their individual experiences in the anatomy laboratory. The survey was hosted on Qualtrics and completed by participants electronically. The study was approved by Indiana University IRB #21296. RESULTS: A total of 326 surveys were completed. For 88% of students, this was their first exposure to human cadavers. Students described feeling excited, nervous, frightened, awed, shocked, and hesitant upon first seeing the donors. Only 22% of students somewhat or strongly agreed with the statement, “I believe using humor is an appropriate coping method for working with the donors.” When asked if they “would have benefitted from knowing more information about the lives of the donors,” 30% of students responded they either somewhat or strongly agreed. Students frequently described reminding themselves the donor was previously a living being as a coping mechanism. Many students also discussed the importance of eating before lab. CONCLUSIONS: While the initial exposure to human donors in the anatomy laboratory can be an unsettling experience for students, anatomy educators can accommodate their students' emotional needs by using appropriate instruction methods. This can provide a positive learning environment and potentially result in an improvement in students’ performances within the course as well as future anatomy education.