This paper outlines the research, prevalidation and validation activities that ECVAM has undertaken in collaboration with its partners in the field of topical toxicity testing and human volunteer studies, from its creation until now (1994-2002).

Volunteer moderators of online platforms have done fundamental work to foster social relations for over forty years. Moderators create, support, and control public discourse for millions of people, even as their uncompensated labor upholds platform funding models. In this paper, I examine the “civic labor” of moderators on the social news platform reddit, where a strike by over two thousand sub...

BACKGROUND A high burden of HIV in many sub-Saharan African countries has triggered renewed interest in volunteer-based community health programmes as a way to support treatment roll-out and to deliver services to children orphaned due to HIV. This study was undertaken as an evaluation of a USAID project implemented by a consortium of 7 NGOs operating in 52 Zambian districts. We aimed to examin...

BACKGROUND 1.5 million Kenyans are living with HIV/AIDS as per 2015 estimates. Though there is a notable decline in new HIV infections, continued effort is still needed to develop an efficacious, accessible and affordable HIV vaccine. HIV vaccine clinical trials bear risks, hence a need to understand volunteer motivators for enrolment, retention and follow-up. Understanding the factors that mot...

Participation in social organizations such as team sports, volunteer and religious organizations has been diminishing over the past few decades (Putnam, 2001). One reason for this decline is television (Putnam, 1995). Instead of going to bars or bowling alleys after work – places where people can form new relationships and expand their social networks – people instead go home to watch the lates...

the aim of this study was to examine whether formal and informal social activities are associated with a lower risk of depression. besides, we investigated which type of social activities may protect against late-life depression by gender using data from a population-based study of older korean adults.data for analysis were drawn from the 2010 korean longitudinal study of aging. study sample in...

BACKGROUND Support from a doula is known to have physical and emotional benefits for mothers, but there is little evidence about the experiences of volunteer doulas. This research aimed to understand the motivation and experiences of volunteer doulas who have been trained to support women during pregnancy, birth and the postnatal period. METHODS A postal questionnaire survey was sent to volun...