Volunteer Working during COVID-19 in Jordanian Community: Advantages and Challenges

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

A good topic, but the researcher needs to pay attention to the following notes in order for his research to be acceptable for publication:

-       Writing a simple introduction about Jordan and the social aspect in the life of Jordanian society.

-       What is the type of sample in this study?

-       How was the questionnaire distributed?

-       How was the questionnaire developed?

-       How long is the questionnaire distributed?

-       Secondary Data should be removed as part of the methodology because it has not been used.

-       What is the significance of this research …..

-       Adding literature review about Covid 19 and community initiatives in Jordan, as there are many of them published in international journals.

- Ethics part should be added

-       The discussion part is weak, and the literature review needs to link more with the findings part.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer, 

Thank you for your time and valuable comments on the research, we reviewed the article and edit based on your comments as following:

Comment: Writing a simple introduction about Jordan and the social aspect in the life of Jordanian society.

Response 1: This will be added to the introduction 

Jordan is a Middle Eastern country; the majority of the 11 million inhabitants of Jordan are Arab (98%), with the remaining 2 percent comprising different ethnic groups (HKJ, 2020). In Jordan, as in most Arab societies, socio-cultural practices influence most aspects of one’s life. Jordan belongs to the Arab World and Islam is the religion in the country. Jordanian people speak a variety of spoken Arabic known as Jordanian Arabic. Like other countries in the Middle East Jordan is considered to be a developing country. Although, it keeps observing its norms and traditions in all aspects of people’s life (Momani & Al-Refaei, 2010).

In the Arab context in countries like Jordan, the family is the basic building block of society, and it is the first educational and cultural environment that embraces children. There are many dominant values of the Arab family including honor, obligations, responsibility, and unity (Tadmouri et al., 2004)

Comment:  What is the type of sample in this study?

Response 2: 

The non-probability sampling method was chosen to achieve the objectives of the study due to the lack of accurate and sufficient information about the volunteers, their numbers, and places to volunteer during the Corona pandemic and the conditions of the comprehensive ban, which limited the possibility of communication with other institutions. Volunteer * As one of the active voluntary institutions in Jordan, which was founded by one of the old students at Al-Balqa Applied University during the pandemic period. where the questionnaire link was sent to the founder of the program, who circulated the questionnaire through volunteer groups via email. Then they requested Volunteers send the link to colleagues who participate in volunteer work in other institutions, and thus the sample members were obtained.

Comment:  Regarding the questionnaire (distributed, developed, and period of time)

Response: 3-5

To collect preliminary information and data, the researcher built a scale by which she measured the privileges achieved by the volunteer through his/her participation in volunteer work. As well as measuring the challenges that affect volunteers’ participation in volunteer work during the Corona pandemic by using a questionnaire. This questionnaire was distributed electronically online to (121) respondents, through the Google Survey website, and by email due to the repercussions of the emerging corona crisis, as data collection was started during April and May 2021.

Comment: Secondary Data should be removed as part of the methodology because it has not been used.

Response 6: Data collection lines 163-174, we removed the secondary data as requested 

The researchers in this study used both the primary sources in order to meet the study goals; Sources of preliminary information: Obtained through the questionnaire distributed to members of The Jordanian community to learn about volunteerism during the Corona pandemic privileges and challenges, to cover the aspects addressed by the theoretical framework and the questions on which the study was based, the researcher distributed the questionnaire to the members of the study sample of (121) members of Jordanian society.

Comment: What is the significance of this research

Response 7: The significance of this research

 This research can be considered important for both the theoretical and practical as following:

Theoretical Significance: Being one of the first studies that examine the privileges gained by volunteers as a result of participating in volunteer work, as well as the challenges facing volunteers in light of the Corona pandemic. Also, The global interest in the Corona pandemic in general and Jordan, in particular, to strengthen the social responsibility of members of society to cooperate to confront the crisis situations as an inevitable result of it.

The practical significance: The urgent need for the efforts of young volunteers, especially in a society with limited resources such as Jordan, where volunteer work is one of the important bodies to help manage the crisis. Therefore, identifying the challenges facing and limiting the participation of these volunteers will be important to remove the obstacles facing volunteers and thus activate their participation in society. In addition, Identifying the privileges and challenges that affect participation in volunteer work in epidemiological conditions to deal with them, which will contribute to directing specialists and policymakers to direct efforts to facilitate the task of young volunteers, and to keep pace with changes to suit the emergency conditions in society so that it works to motivate young people and develop their skills and abilities to participate in alleviating the risks. The effects of this pandemic or any emergency circumstance that society may face by attracting volunteers and encouraging them to participate by amending or adding laws that encourage young people to continue to actively participate without hesitation in volunteer work in case of crises.

Comment: Adding literature review about Covid 19 and community initiatives in Jordan, as there are many of them published in international journals.

Response 8: 

Community initiatives and voluntary in Jordan during the Covid-19 pandemic:

Jordan is an Arab state located in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula. After the World Health Organization WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic disease, the first case of COVID-19 infection was reported in Jordan on March 2, 2020, a policy of extensive contact tracing followed by quarantine of asymptomatic contacts, and hospital isolation and screening of symptomatic contacts was placed (Samrah, et. Al., 2020).

One of the healthiest follow-up steps for the Nongovernmental organizations NGOs in Jordan was going to be the development of a chapter of the Association of Fund Raising Professionals (AFP) and the intent would be to form the third international chapter of AFP, located in Amman. This network capacity would build on the Director’s Roundtable and offer an ongoing legacy for the NGOs throughout Jordan (Mason, 2004).

The Jordanian community; groups or individuals initiative and volunteer as a response to the crisis of Covid-19. Al Gharaibeh (2020) shows examples of how Jordanian people respond to the crisis; Several individuals and community initiatives have been launched to help and mitigate the effects of the crisis. District-based initiatives have also sprung up across the country – for example, an initiative started by groups of retired nurses and doctors who would consult, serve and dispense required medication to patients in their neighborhoods in collaboration with their former places of practice. In addition, Jordan Medical Association’s initiative was an example of Jordanian initiatives, which provided 1000 volunteer doctors to work in the Ministry of Health. Also, private hospitals announced that they would receive COVID-19 cases to support the government in dealing with the crisis.

This crisis has demonstrated the urgent need to reorganize voluntary and social work in Jordan and to better train social workers to be able to deal more effectively with crisis situations and their social and psychological aftermaths (Al Gharaibeh, 2020). In addition, regarding the challenges facing volunteers during the pandemic; Almaharmeh & Alhajjaj (2022) showed in their study that the extent to which the Corona pandemic had a high effect on volunteerism in Amman and Balqa regions in Jordan; Regarding their, the study recommended the need to train volunteer teams in crisis management skills, and build comprehensive national databases for volunteers and their institutions, as well as the need for state financial support for volunteer projects and programs.

Comment: Ethics part should be added

Response 9:

Marketing ethics and social responsibility have become more important to consumers as well as other stakeholders. Historically, social responsibility has been more voluntary and ethics was required to maintain compliance and integrity. That dynamic is changing as stakeholders want firms to be responsible for overall quality of life and social welfare (Ferrella & Ferrellb, 2021).

Firms could see attitudes toward their brands improve and the behaviors toward customers and employees will drive consumer and employee loyalty (He & Harris, 2020). After the 2020 pandemic, firms recognized their overall mission is to protect and serve people (Martella, 2020). Weller (2017) confirms that ethics and social responsibility are managed differently in firms; Social responsibility is seen as more external and ethics requires an internal focus. Volini et al. (2020) indicate that the new “social contract” on the importance of being focused on the welfare of people is important for marketing success, aligning people with advancing technology.

Similarly, social norms can be defined as the informal rules that dictate what is acceptable in a given social context (Brennan et al., 2013). Experts in social norm intervention theory recognize that social norms are embedded in a larger ecological network including material conditions, institutions, family structures, and so on (Cislaghi and Heise, 2019). Greater attention should also be paid to the consequences of the interventions, such as impacts on gender relations, psychosocial wellbeing, and cultural identities (Rennie, et al. 2021).

Yet; the building blocks are now in place – definitions, the widespread importance of faith and spirituality, how religious ethics are entwined with secular and social work ethics, and the stage is set to explore students’ own thinking and experience through exercises. It can be concluded, whether from a humanist or theist perspective, that the heart of the work involves meaning and spirit, respect for persons, resisting oppression, and striving for social justice and compassion in our practice (Elliott, 2017).

Comment:  the literature review needs to link more with the findings part

Response 10: We added a literature review regarding to the ethics and the Jordanian community

Beyond individual motivations and behaviors, this research contributes to a better understanding of how to handle large numbers of spontaneous volunteers in a pandemic situation which agrees with Al Gharaibeh (2020) this crisis has demonstrated the urgent need to reorganize voluntary and social work in Jordan and to better train social workers to be able to deal more effectively with crisis situations and their social and psychological aftermaths. Beardmore et al., (2020) indicated that volunteering at this crisis — Covid 19 – helped individuals to band together and grow stronger and more confident in themselves. Empowering volunteers is important for the holistic care of patients. Assisting and creating a volunteer network provides easy access and multiple channels to serve the needs of patients and their families. These should develop as part of the Self Help and Family Support Group (Pradubwong, et al., 2015).

References:                                                                                                                    

Al Gharaibeh, F. (2020). The response of Jordanian society and social workers to the COVID-19 crisis. International Social Work 2020, Vol. 63(6) 811–814

Almharmeh, B. A., & Alhajjaj, H. A., (2022). The Effect of the Corona Pandemic on Volunteers and Beneficiary Groups in Amman and Balqa; Journal of Averroes University in Holland, 47 (2022), 182-202

Brennan, G., Eriksson, L., Goodin, R. E., and Southwood, N. (2013). Explaining Norms. Oxford: University Press

Cislaghi, B., and Heise, L. (2019). Using Social Norms Theory for Health Promotion in Low-Income Countries. Health Promotion International, 34, 616–623.

Elliott, N. (2017). Faith, ethics and social work: Framework for an Introductory Lecture; Ethics and Social Welfare, Vol. 11 (1), 92–99

Ferrella, O. C. and Ferrellb, L. (2021). New directions for marketing ethics and social responsibility research. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 29 (1), 13–22

He, H., & Harris, L. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 pandemic on corporate social responsibility and marketing philosophy. Journal of Business Research, 116(1), 176–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.030

Martella, R. (2020). Corporate social responsibility in an era of COVID-19. American Bar Association. Issue 5. https:// americanbar.org.groups/corporate-social-responsibility/

Mason, Joan. M., L. (2004). Nongovernmental organization sustainability support in the Middle East. New Directions for Philanthropic Fundraising, Vol. 2004 (46) p61-70

Momani, K. R., & Al-Refaei, D. F. (2010).  A Socio –Textual Analysis of Written Wedding Invitations in Jordanian Society. LSP Journal; Vol.1, (1), 61-80 http://lsp.cbs.dk

Pradubwong, S., Augsornwan, D., Pathumwiwathana, P., Prathanee, B., & Chowchuen, B. (2015). Empowering Volunteers at Tawanchai Centre for Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate. J Med Assoc Thai 2015; 98 (7): S47-S53 Full text. e-Journal: http://www.jmatonline.com

Rennie, S. Gilbertson, A. Hallfors, D. & Luseno, W, K. (2021). The Ethics of Stigma in Medical Male Circumcision Initiatives Involving Adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa. Public Health Ethics, April 2021, Vol. 14 (1), p79-89

Samrah, S. M., Al-Mistarehi, A.-H.W., Ibnian, A.M. Raffee, L.A. Momany, S.M. Al-Ali, M., Hayajneh, W.A. Yusef, D. H., Awad, S. M., Khassawneh, B. Y.,. (2020). COVID-19 outbreak in Jordan: Epidemiological features, clinical characteristics, and laboratory findings; Annals of Medicine and Surgery journal (57): 103-108 homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/amsu

Tadmouri, G. O., Al Ali, T. M., & Al Khaja, N. (2004). Genetic disorders in the Arab World: United Arab Emirates. The Arab world. 1–5

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (HKJ). (2020). The Official Site of the Jordanian e-Government. Available online at https://portal.jordan.gov.jo/wps/portal/Home/AboutJordan?lang=en&isFromLangC hange=yes (accessed 16 July 2020).

Volini, E., Schwartz, J., Denny, B., Mallon, D., Van Durme, Y., Hauptmann, M., Yan, R., & Poynton, S. (2020). Returning to work in the future of work. Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/ insights/focus/human-capital-trends/2020/covid-19-and the-future-of-work.html.

Weller, A. (2017). Professional associations as a community of practice: Exploring the boundaries of ethics and compliance and social responsibility. Business and Society Review, 122 (3), 359–392. https://doi.org/10.1111/basr.12120

Reviewer 2 Report

Please use shorter sentences from row 197 until 236; 279 to 294; 313 to 349, marked by `.` or `;` . At some point the sense of the sentence is lost due to the fact that is too long.

Congratulations for the summited paper.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear Reviewer: 

Thank you for your time reading and reviewing this research. I read carefully your comments and I paraphrased the sentences to make them shorter. As Following:

Response 1: lines 197-236

Data collection is undoubtedly the most difficult step researchers face when conducting scientific research, and there are many considerations that the researcher should make when writing a scientific study, and selecting a data collection tool. The sincerity and stability of the data provided by the tool are one of the most important foundations of data collection in scientific research because this will lead to the strong validity of the results of the entire scientific research. The search tool provides us with information regarding the research problem from the study community itself; the honesty of the content reflects the extent to which the metric is measured in measuring the characteristics of the object that the research aims to measure. But the validity of the data collection tool is defined by the extent to which this tool reaches in providing the researcher with information explaining the characteristics and specifications of the object to be identified in this research (Lyad et al., 2019).

Validity; After the initial picture (*** arbitrator) was prepared, the scale was submitted for validation in the field of sociology, social work of faculty members in the departments of sociology, and social work at the University of Balqa Applied; to be able to voice their ideas in the sincerity of the content and the validity of the phrases for the scale and its suitability to measure what was developed to determine it. As a result, the necessary changes were presented., the criterion (80%) was taken into consideration to indicate the validity of the paragraph, and some passages were rewritten in order to improve clarity based on the arbitrators' recommendations., others have been omitted because they are unsuitable for the study's aims. Thus the scale is made up of 56 paragraphs separated into two major axes, and the researcher took the arbitrators' judgments and revisions as evidence of the study tool's sincerity. Cronbach Alpha Coefficient test was used to measure the stability of the tool in measuring the variables it contains; the result of the stability of the scale may be statistically acceptable if the value of Cronbach Alpha is greater than (0.70) (Hair et al., 2010). Table 2 shows the measurement test of the Internal Consistency Coefficient Cronbach Alpha for study variables, their dimensions, and the study tool as a whole to see how consistent the answers are as next:

Table 2. Cronbach Alpha test for stability coefficients for study tool paragraphs.

Table 2 shows that the values of the Cronbach Alpha subdivisions of the scale ranged from (0.956 to 0.974), which are acceptable for the purposes of the current study.

Response 2: lines 279-294

Table 3 shows that the calculation averages of paragraphs (skills acquired by volunteers through volunteering during the emerging Corona pandemic) ranged from (4.45 to 4.16), For example, paragraph 14 states (I create volunteering I have a love of active participation in community issues), has the highest average account (4.45) and a St. Deviation (0.69). The two paragraphs (11, 16) came in second place with an average account (4.40) for both, with St. Deviations (0.79 and 0.68) at the high level. Paragraph 11 provided for (volunteering contributed to the development of my self-confidence), and paragraph 16 provided for (volunteering increased my ability to establish successful social relationships).

Last place was paragraph 8 with an average calculation (4.16) St. Deviation (0.80) of a high level, and penultimate paragraph (4) with an average account (4.17) and a St. Deviation (0.83) at the high level, where the paragraph stipulated (I became better at recording notes more accurately).

Response 3: Lines 313-349

Table 4 shows that the calculation averages of paragraphs (difficulties faced by volunteers during volunteering during the emerging CORONA pandemic) ranged from (3.64 to 2.60). It is of the average level, and the paragraphs with numbers (27, 28, 18, 7, and 21) have the highest calculation averages, which represent the most important difficulties faced by volunteers during the emerging Corona pandemic; e.g (there are obstacles in front of females relate to customs and traditions that affect their participation) on the highest average account (3.64) and St. Deviation (1.15), and paragraph (there is no legislation protecting us as volunteers that sometimes makes us reluctant to participate in volunteering) on average (3.15) 50) With a St. Deviation (1.19). Also, (society reduces the role of the volunteer and his ability to make a change) on the average account (3.24) with a St. Deviation (1.10). (The large number of family commitments affecting my degree of participation in volunteering) was on average (3.23), a St. Deviation (1.13). Lastly, paragraph (in some cases only the goal of volunteers to obtain certificates) was on average (3.22) with a St. Deviation (1.20).

The results showed that the (t) values calculated for all these paragraphs were higher than (1.96), indicating statistically significant differences between the averages of the scale and the default average (3.00). This indicates that these paragraphs were already the most difficult encountered by volunteers during the Corona pandemic.

Paragraphs with numbers (13, 8, 23, and 20) were the lowest difficulties faced by volunteers during the pandemic. The paragraph (volunteer supervisors’ failure to adhere to volunteer ethics) came last, with an average (2.60) and St. Deviation (1.05). Paragraph (I do not find cooperation by staff in the volunteer organization with volunteers) came in the penultimate rank with an average (2.64) and St. Deviation (1.06). The last paragraph (I find that voluntary institutions use volunteers to do other work) with an average (2.65), and St. Deviation (1.15).

The average values of all these paragraphs were lower than the default arithmetic average (3.00), (t) values were negative and greater than (-1.96), and the results showed statistical function differences at the indication level (0.05) between the default arithmetic average and the average arithmetic of the scale, indicating an overall decrease in these difficulties.

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear Editor

Most of the requested modifications have been made, however, the following  are required too: 

1. The authors need to add the part of research ethics that was used in this research, for example: informing the participants that their participation is voluntary, and they can withdraw from this study at any time moreover, the collected data will remain confidential...etc. 

 2. I would suggest reading the following article to improve the part related to Volunteering of Jordanian during Covid-19:

Al Gharaibeh and Gibson (2022), Public Health Policy on the COVID-19 Pandemic and its Impact on the Behavior Patterns of Families

https://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2768&context=jiws

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

Thank you for your time and the information you gave us. I and my co-author revise the paper and made changes based on your comments as follows:

1- Regarding the part on research ethics, we added a new topic at the end before the References and we called it the Informed Consent Statement (we explain the research ethics that we apply during writing this research and collecting the data).

2- We cite Al Gharaibeh and Gibson (2022) in line 595, and added some paragraphs to improve the section ( initiatives and voluntary in Jordanian community). Lines73-107.

3- We revise all the references and citations then correct some lines adding new references line 620. 

4- We revise the yellow highlight and made editing on them.

you can kindle see the attachment for the new manuscript.

Thank you