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Jefferis, Kathryn Elizabeth. "A Case Study of Medecins Sans Frontiers and International Humanitarian NGO Effectiveness." Thesis, Boston College, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/394.
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Thesis advisor: Donald HafnerThis essay examines the effectiveness of international humanitarian aid. It focuses on the case study of Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF), analyzing how its organizational structure and principles can act as a measure for the effectiveness of its field operations. MSF's HIV/AIDS clinics throughout Kenya as well as their international campaigning efforts are presented as an effective way to provide access, care, and treatment for HIV/AIDS. The overall conclusions of the essay draw specifically from MSF, suggesting that their long-term aid commitments should expand in both breathe and depth and that the organization is a model of effectiveness for other large international humanitarian aid organizations to follow
Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2005
Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: International Studies
Discipline: College Honors Program
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Moeiny, Ehsan, and Javad Mokhlesi. "Management of Relief Supply Chain & Humanitarian Aids Logistics through Supply Chain Resilience Case Study : South West Asia Tsunami (2004)." Thesis, Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Ingenjörshögskolan, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-16950.
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Humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain management is a relatively new area of investigation which is typically associated with unexpected disasters that require immediate actions and responses. It can be defined as “the process of planning, implementing, and controlling the efficient, cost-effective flow and storage of goods and materials, as well as related information, from point of origin to point of consumption for the purpose of meeting the end beneficiary‟s requirements” (Thomas, 2005).In both man-made and natural disaster relief processes, humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain operations have been hampered by a lack of information and coordination between actors. Especially in sudden-onset disasters, humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain teams have to be deployed in situations with destabilized infrastructure and with very limited knowledge about the situation at hand (Beamon 2004, Long and Wood 1995, Tomasini and Van Wassenhove 2004).This lack directly affects effective performance in terms of validity and reliability enhancement in which an adapted resiliency management in relief supply chain strategies could offer a solution to cover the problem.The purpose of study ahead is to underline the beneficial advantages offered by using resiliency methods in humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain operations, and enriching the existing benefits that relief chain management teams through the humanitarian logistics techniques have brought to satisfy the survival needs.In fact, the end result of the research will be in both fields of humanitarian logistics and relief supply chain management, and the use of resiliency theories to overcome on barriers and difficulties during relief and aid operations.
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Iyiani, Christian, and n/a. "A case study of HIV/AIDS prevention in Nigeria : assessment and recommendations." University of Otago. Department of Social Work and Community Development, 2008. http://adt.otago.ac.nz./public/adt-NZDU20080213.112805.
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This is a two-stage study of HIV/AIDS prevention. In Stage One, the study examines the HIV/AIDS approach of Western aid organisations (INGOs) and compares it to the lived realities of people who are most 'at risk', sex workers, unemployed street youth, and married low income families, in the poor migrant community of Ajegunle in Nigeria�s Lagos state. The study found that INGOs and their client NGOs emphasised Western medical models of HIV/AIDS for both intervention (e.g. testing and ARV drugs for management) and prevention (e.g. through education and behaviour change).
In contrast, among 'at-risk' groups, the study revealed a high degree of knowledge about the transmission of HIV/AIDS (contrary to Western medical assumptions), but also detected strong feelings of powerlessness in being able to address it. INGOs and their client organisations were operating at the levels of tertiary or curative and secondary or behaviour change prevention, whereas the views of the local 'at-risk people' indicated relevance of the primary prevention level, the social structural conditions of the people.
In analysing the results of the first stage of the study, the findings identified a process of 'talking past each other' by official aid agencies and those most at risk, thereby inhibiting effective prevention. The INGOs and NGOs used their financial power, based on the gross inequality in the world distribution of resources, to dictate their own agendas, omitting primary intervention and instead concentrating on secondary and tertiary prevention. The study suggests that new thinking about multi-sectoral responses with full community participation is necessary in order to engage in more effective preventive action.
The study then sought out alternative sources of power that might permit that to happen, notably the strengths of the local Ajegunle community. As a poor community, they lacked financial resources and human capital, such as skilled workers, but they had significant knowledge capital about their own circumstances and the realities people faced. The community also had considerable cultural capital and local organisations with considerable relational capital around community links, broad based support and commitment to such action.
This analysis suggests the need to identify and work through the power differentials using community development processes, especially seeking to empower local communities to take part in decision-making over prevention, if effective action is to take place. The process required is one of a negotiated, inclusive partnerships for sharing information, experience, and decision-making, involving all the relevant stakeholders - the International Organisations (INGOs), National NGOs, Community Groups and the community itself.
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Lotspeich, Felisha Lynn. "Humanitarian Aid Comparative Study." Miami University Honors Theses / OhioLINK, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=muhonors1194896012.
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Krempel, Jörg. "Humanitarian assistance in modern conflicts: neutral humanitarian aid under pressure." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/1984.
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Engel, Vernessa C. "Measuring effectiveness in humanitarian aid organizations." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2008. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/1077.
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This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.Bachelors
Sciences
Political Science
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Jachens, Liza J. "Job stress among humanitarian aid workers." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52237/.
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Objective: This thesis examined the prevalence of burnout, alcohol consumption, and psychological distress and their association with stress-related working conditions – defined either in terms of the Effort-Reward Imbalance (ERI) model, or the ERI model combined with the Job Demand-Control-Support (job strain) model (DCS) – in two large-scale international samples of humanitarian aid workers. The studies herein were the first in the extant literature to examine organisational stressors using job stress models in this occupational group. Furthermore, given the paucity of previous research on the subjective stress-related experiences of humanitarian aid workers, this thesis also contains an interview-based study that explored how humanitarian aid workers perceived the transactional stress process. One key characteristic of this thesis was that both quantitative and qualitative approaches were utilised to provide a deep and ecologically valid understanding of the stressor-strain relationship. Identifying the links between stressful aspects of work and both psychological and behavioural health outcomes may help inform the design of sector-specific health interventions. Methods: A mixed-methods approach was adopted to allow for a thorough examination of the prevalence of health and health-related behavioural outcomes, their relationship to stress-related working conditions (psychosocial stressors), and the concept of work-related stress in the population under study. Survey designs were used for Study 1 and 2 and involved the administration of a structured questionnaire. For the first study (Parts 1-2, Organisation A), logistic regression analyses were run based on a cross-sectional survey (N = 1,980) conducted separately for men and women to investigate the relations between ERI and both burnout (Part 1) and heavy alcohol consumption (Part 2) while controlling for demographic and occupational characteristics. In Study 2 (Organisation B), logistic regression analyses were based on a cross-sectional survey (N = 283) conducted separately for men and women to investigate the independent and combined relations between the ERI and DCS models and psychological distress while controlling for demographic and occupational characteristics. The final study was interview-based (Study 3, Organisation B) and it explored how humanitarian aid workers (N = 58) employed by a United Nations-aligned organisation perceived the transactional stress process. Results: The prevalence rates for the burnout components were as follows: high emotional exhaustion—36% for women and 27% for men; high depersonalisation—9% and 10%; and low personal achievement—47% and 31% for women and men, respectively. Intermediate and high ERI scores were associated with a significantly increased risk of high emotional exhaustion, with mixed findings for depersonalisation and personal achievement. The prevalence of heavy alcohol consumption among women (18%) was higher than the corresponding rate for men (10%), lending support for the effort-reward perspective only among women. Intermediate and high ERI scores in women was associated with a three-fold risk of heavy alcohol consumption. The results broadly suggest that occupational stressors from the ERI and DCS models, both individually and in combination, are significantly associated with psychological distress. A thematic analysis undertaken within the qualitative study revealed several main themes. An emergency culture was found where most employees felt compelled to offer an immediate response to humanitarian needs. The rewards of humanitarian work were perceived as motivating and meaningful, and employees experienced a strong identification with humanitarian goals and reported high engagement. Constant change and urgent demands were reported by the participants to result in work overload. Finally, managing work-life boundaries, and receiving positive support from colleagues and managers, helped buffer perceived stress, work overload, and negative health outcomes. Conclusions: The results of the present thesis convincingly demonstrate the usefulness of the ERI model as a framework for investigating burnout and heavy alcohol consumption among humanitarian aid workers. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate the independent and combined predictive effects of components of two alternative job stress models (ERI and DCS) on psychological distress. Taken together, the findings underscore the deleterious associations between work-related psychosocial hazards and mental and behavioural health outcomes. Specifically, unique insights were obtained about the work-related stress process in relation to humanitarian aid workers – for example, the emergency culture shaping organisational norms. The results suggest that interventions based on these two influential theories, and supplemented by knowledge on role-specific stressors evident in the sector, hold promise for reducing health outcomes. The practical implications of the results are discussed and suggestions are made in the light of the present research and stress theory.
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Bjällfalk, Emelie. "Building Stress- Resilience among Swedish Humanitarian Aid Workers : - The Pre- Deployment Preparation from the Humanitarian Aid Workers’ Perspective." Thesis, Högskolan Dalarna, Statsvetenskap, 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:du-24004.
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The aim of the study is to examine how well MSB (Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency) prepare the Swedish humanitarian aid workers to face stressful situations, looking at the pre- deployment preparation received. The study investigates how effective and relevant the pre- deployment preparation is in terms of building resilience against stress, according to the humanitarian aid workers’ experience. This study has been conducted with a quantitative online survey, combined with a qualitative open- ended survey. The surveys were based on research models on work-related stress and on resilience- building among humanitarian aid workers. The frameworks point out criteria needed to be fulfilled by an organization in order to build sufficient stress- resilience among humanitarian aid workers in the pre- deployment phase. The results reveal that MSB is able to fulfill most of the criteria set in accordance with the theoretical framework. The one and only criterion MSB fails in providing is an open, in- depth discussion about mental health before the aid worker is deployed. This also corresponds to the aid workers experience of not being provided with this. The aid workers’ experience reveals that resilience against stress is important, however, many seem to build resilience independently from MSB.
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Nelson, Eisha Amanda. "Changes and solutions to improve humanitarian aid." Thesis, Webster University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1526651.
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The 1990s saw a rise in the participation of NGOs answering the demands of affected populations caught in between armed conflicts, bouts of natural disasters and diseases. Though their intentions were good, it was from this point onwards NGOs have gained their notoriety, despite the work they do to address the needs of man. With a consistent rise of the number of actively participating NGOs, these humanitarian actors have since gone under scrutiny by the general population, which range from ineffective operations, scandals surrounding aid money, ethics within humanitarianism as well as many aid organizations that still remain independent from each other.
This paper will seek to answer how to improve the role of humanitarian aid in emergency situations, and address its issues and shortcomings. This will be done by analyzing the different criticisms faced by these humanitarian actors, as well as analyzing the different solutions that have since been proposed in order to answer these criticisms and find a new way for these organizations to operate and define themselves. Finally, these analyses will be evaluated and compared among one another.
Interviews have been held with aid workers and members of humanitarian organizations, in order to get a more intimate perspective of the inside workings of an NGO. Recent literature, studies and findings have also been utilized in order to get a clearer picture of the current state of humanitarian aid, notably from writers such as Thomas Weiss, Hugo Slim, David Rieff and Linda Polman.
Humanitarian aid cannot be cured with a simple solution; instead, it is an ongoing, gradual process that requires cooperation from governments and organizations in order to move forward. The non-protit sector can stand to learn a lot from the for-profit sector, especially in terms of professionalism and collaborating amongst one another. This change will not come easily, but humanitarian aid also cannot remain stagnant if they hope to reach out to populations in need with quality aid.
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Fisher, Evan. "Humanitarian presence. Locating the global choices of Doctors Without Borders." Thesis, Université Paris sciences et lettres, 2020. http://www.theses.fr/2020UPSLM024.
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Cette thèse constitue une monographie de l’organisation non gouvernementale Médecins Sans Frontières. Son matériel de base est une enquête ethnographique menée sur les opérations de cette ONG médicale humanitaire au moment même où elles se déroulent. En observant les membres de MSF en train de proposer des soins médicaux aux migrants dormant dans les rues à Paris ou aux habitants d’un bidonville à Nairobi, ou en train d’évaluer et de planifier leurs projets depuis le siège, nous les voyons bricoler pour faire tenir ensemble les objectifs parfois incompatibles d’une mission humanitaire en apparence simple : l’assistance médicale à des personnes vulnérables à travers le monde. Notre approche pragmatiste nous invite à prendre au sérieux dans l’analyse le fait que c’est l’aide humanitaire elle-même qui doit faire tenir ensemble en situation les ambiguïtés, les ambivalences ou même les contradictions d’une telle mission, tant dans ses projets et ses actions que dans ses effets ambivalents. Pour ce faire, nous nous sommes demandé comment procède MSF pour sélectionner celles et ceux qu’elle cherche à aider autour du monde. Pour répondre, nous avons produit une description fine de l’instrumentation du triage : les processus d’élaboration et l’usage des outils qui soutiennent le choix réflexif des bénéficiaires autour du globe. Nous proposons pour cela trois gestes analytiques, qui nous permettent de contribuer aux discussions actuelles sur la globalité en anthropologie : assemblages globaux, espaces globaux, santé globale. D’abord, nous montrons comment le tracé de frontières, de territoires, d’échelles que ces instruments de triage ne cessent de produire participe à la distribution de lieux humanitaires : l’espace humanitaire, le terrain, les plateformes médicales, le siège de MSF. Ensuite, en faisant porter l’analyse sur la façon dont les instruments de triage débouchent sur une mise en « scripts » ou en scénarios de ceux que les humanitaires prétendent aider, nous montrons comment MSF acquiert la capacité d’agir spécifiquement dans ses relations avec les bénéficiaires humanitaires : tact et tactiques du care, reconnaissance réciproque des bénéficiaires dans leur besoin d’aide et des humanitaires dans leur besoin d’aider, acceptabilité d’une responsabilité envers cette vulnérabilité associée dans le même temps à la tentative de transférer cette responsabilité vers des systèmes des santé publics. Enfin, en rendant compte de ces instruments en termes de technologies humanitaires d’intervention, nous mettons en évidence la façon dont MSF opère des interventions ponctuelles tant dans les organes de gouvernement que dans les corps des gouvernés. Notre description de l’aide en train de se faire et notre analyse des problèmes associés aux lieux, aux bénéficiaires et aux technologies d’intervention humanitaires constituent ce que nous appelons l’aide humanitaire au présent. Par aide humanitaire au présent, nous désignons les manières d’exister de MSF, son extension physique globale, les soins de santé qu’elle accomplit, sa politique non gouvernementale et son éthique de l’attention. Sur ce concept peut se soutenir une approche critique positive de l’aide humanitaire, considérant à la fois la pluralité et l’incompatibilité des bénéfices qu’elle est censée apporter, mais aussi les cas et les instances précis où MSF a échoué à les faire tenir ensembleThis dissertation is a monograph of the nongovernmental organisation (NGO) Doctors Without Borders (MSF). It is based on an ethnographic inquiry into the operations of this medical humanitarian NGO as they take place. Observing members of MSF providing healthcare to migrants in Paris and to inhabitants of a slum in Nairobi, evaluating and planning projects in their headquarters, we see them tinker together the sometimes-incompatible goals of a seemingly simple humanitarian mission: medical assistance to the vulnerable around the world. Our pragmatist approach consists in arguing that analysis of international aid must account for how humanitarians find a way to hold together the ambiguities, and even the contradictions, of this claimed mission in the ambivalent effects humanitarian aid in practice. To this end, we ask how MSF selects those it seeks to assist around the world. Our response entails close description of the instrumentation of triage: the problematic processes of elaborating and using tools that support the reflexive choice of beneficiaries around the globe. We then make three analytical gestures, allowing us to contribute to ongoing discussions in anthropology on global assemblages, global spaces, and global health. First, we show how the processes of bordering, territorializing, and scaling that triage instruments support, participate in producing humanitarian locations: humanitarian space, the field, medical platforms, and headquarters. Second, analysing the ways triage instruments script for those humanitarians claim to assist, we argue that MSF gains humanitarian agency in the ways it relates to humanitarian beneficiaries: the tact and tactics of care, the reciprocal recognition of beneficiaries in their need and of MSF’s need to help, the acceptance of responsibility for this vulnerability coupled with an attempt to transfer responsibility to public health care systems. Third, accounting for these instruments in terms of humanitarian technologies of intervention, we demonstrate how MSF makes timely interventions into governing bodies and the bodies of the governed. Together, our description of aid as it takes place and our analysis of the problems associated with humanitarian locations, beneficiaries, and technologies of intervention constitute what we call MSF’s humanitarian presence. This humanitarian presence indicates the ways MSF exists, in their global physical extension, in the health care they practice, in their nongovernmental politics and their ethics of attention. This concept supports critique by indicating, first, the multiple and incompatible goods that are to inhere in humanitarian aid, and second, those specific instances when MSF has failed to do so
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Wishart, John P. "Fostering partnership in humanitarian aid and disaster relief." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Naval Postgraduate School, 2008. http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA483578.
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Thesis (M.S. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2008.Thesis Advisor(s): Jansen, Erik. "June 2008." Description based on title screen as viewed on August 26, 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 49-54). Also available in print.
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Penner, Amanda M. "Humanitarian aid and military assistance : a strategic intervention." Honors in the Major Thesis, University of Central Florida, 2010. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETH/id/1475.
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This item is only available in print in the UCF Libraries. If this is your Honors Thesis, you can help us make it available online for use by researchers around the world by following the instructions on the distribution consent form at http://library.ucf.edu/Systems/DigitalInitiatives/DigitalCollections/InternetDistributionConsentAgreementForm.pdf You may also contact the project coordinator, Kerri Bottorff, at kerri.bottorff@ucf.edu for more information.Bachelors
Sciences
Political Science
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Horton, Keith. "The humanitarian case for giving to aid agencies." Thesis, University of Reading, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.252210.
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Allen, Timothy. "The ethics of humanitarian aid in conflict situations." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/13945.
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The plight of people suffering from the violence and deprivation of conflict attracts a great deal of aid. Such aid is often inspired by the thought that we have some responsibility to protect or assist innocent victims of war. However, this humanitarian response is vulnerable to abuse. Combatants can manipulate the supply of aid to achieve their ends, or channel aid to provide their forces with additional food or arms, and so extend the conflict. This poses a challenge to our obligation to assist victims of conflict: if the aid hurts more than it helps, a reasonable response is to refrain from giving aid. This may not help people in need, but it avoids hurting them further. A better response would be to find another means of helping people trapped by conflict which does not risk making their positions worse. This dissertation explores a variety of means that might enable us to help victims of conflict, such as redirecting aid, intervening militarily, or enacting sanctions. One promising strategy involves removing or altering certain international rules which have a role in encouraging conflict. Altering these rules requires concerted advocacy and political will, but given sufficient attention, such an approach could shorten or reduce the severity of some conflicts, or curtail their ill effects on civilians.
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Brandt, Jason K. "Effects of humanitarian aid : a Cuban case study." Thesis, Monterey, Calif. : Springfield, Va. : Naval Postgraduate School ; Available from National Technical Information Service, 2002. http://library.nps.navy.mil/uhtbin/hyperion-image/02sep%5FBrandt.pdf.
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Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2002.Thesis advisor(s): Jeanne Giraldo, Jeff Knopf. Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-77). Also available online.
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Hearns, Annette. "Humanitarian Aid Workers' Perceptions of Stress Management Services." ScholarWorks, 2017. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3248.
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Humanitarian aid workers live and work in harsh circumstances far from loved ones and support mechanisms. The problem is that international aid must continue to work effectively despite stress levels. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand how aid workers perceive their work-related stressors, examine their subsequent experiences of in-house stress management services, and describe the factors that influence aid workers' decisions to access in-house stress management services. The conservation of resources theory was used to understand aid workers experience of stress. A purposive sampling technique was used to identify 12 aid workers with a minimum of 5 years of field experience. Data were collected through semistructured interviews conducted via Skype. After the data were reviewed, unit meanings were assigned and grouped to develop themes. The themes generated were organizational culture, social support, operational environment, the aid worker, adapting and strategizing, stress management services, and services. The greatest stressors participants reported related to the lack of safety and unpredictable working environments, and their experience of accessing stress management services were varied. Assurances of confidentiality and professionalism were the key factors that influenced aid workers engagement with stress management services. Participants received a summary of the findings which included recommendations for aid organizations on improving stress management services for aid workers. The results of this study contribute to the body of knowledge regarding the well-being of aid workers, supporting social change to improve the quality of care for the affected populations they serve.
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Liu, Mingli. "Supply Chain Management in Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/31572.
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Humanitarian aid and disaster relief are delivered in times of crises or natural disasters, such as after a conflict or in response to a hurricane, typhoon, or tsunami. Different from regular aid programs, aid and relief are provided to deal with emergency and immediate local areas, and to shelter affected people and refugees impacted by sudden traumatic events. There is evidence that natural and man-made disasters are increasing in numbers all around the world, affecting hundreds of millions of people every year. In spite of this fact, only in recent years – beginning in 2005 – has management of the supply chain of resources and materials for humanitarian aid and disaster relief been a topic of interest for researchers. Consequently, the academic literature in this field is comparatively new and still sparse, indicating a requirement for more academic studies. As a key part of the C-Change International Community-University Research Alliance (ICURA) project for managing adaptation to environmental change in coastal communities of Canada and the Caribbean, this thesis develops a framework and analytical model for domestic supply chain management in humanitarian aid and disaster relief in the event of severe storm and flooding in the Canadian C-Change community of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. In particular, the focus includes quantitative modeling of two specific aspects during the preparedness phase for emergency management: (1) inventory prepositioning and (2) transportation planning. In addition, this thesis proposes and analyses the characteristics of an effective supply chain management framework in practice to assist Canadian coastal communities in improving their preparation and performance in disaster relief efforts. The results indicate Charlottetown system effectiveness and decreased time to assist affected people are improved by distributing central emergency supply among more than one base station.
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Thiam, Sara. "Divine Interventions? Humanitarian aid and Qur'anic schools in Senegal." Thesis, McGill University, 2008. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=22024.
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The thousands of Qur'anic school students ("taalibes") flooding the urban streets of Senegal, West Africa, each day begging for spare change to support their schools ("daaras") and scraps of food are inciting a burgeoning humanitarian movement consisting of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Christian missions and community action associations. In addition to bringing food, materials, and medical care to these impoverished schools, these groups are driven by Christian and/or secular humanitarian values which are mobilized to generate a change in behavior in "daaras" and communities. In this thesis I examine the interactions between humanitarian aid and religion by documenting the various forms of religious or secular aid directed at the "taalibes" and raising questions about the impacts that such aid may have on the "taalibes", "daaras" and Islamic education in Senegal.Les milliers d'étudiants coraniques ("taalibes") qui inondent les rues urbaines du Sénégal, Afrique de l'Ouest, et mendient chaque jour pour avoir des pièces pour appuyer leurs écoles ("daaras") et avoir de quoi à manger, sont en train d'inciter un mouvement humanitaire bourgeonnant qui est constitué d'organisations non-gouvernementales, des missions Chrétiennes et des associations d'action communautaire. En plus d'apporter à manger, des matériaux et des soins médicaux aux écoles appauvries, ces groupes sont motivés par des valeurs humanitaires Chrétiennes et/ou laïques qui sont mobilisés pour générer un changement de comportement dans les "daaras" et dans les communautés. Dans cette thèse, j'examine les interactions entre l'aide humanitaire et la religion en mettant en valeur les formes variées d'aide religieuse ou laïque dirigées envers les "taalibes", et en posant des questions sur les impactes qu'une telle aide peut avoir sur les "taalibes", les "daaras", et l'éducation islamique au Sénégal.
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Comoretto, Amanda. "Resilience in humanitarian aid workers : understanding processes of development." Thesis, London South Bank University, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.487081.
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This investigation tested an original theoretical model proposing that dispositional features (e.g. age, gender, intelligence) and cognitive skills (e.g. motivational processes and coping), coupled with environmental protective factors (social support), are utilised to deal with stressful situations, which will result in resilient qualities being developed in the individual. A mixed methoPs approach was adopted to allow greater insight into the concept of resilience and its meaning for the investigated population. A longitudinal survey design w~s developed involving the administration of a structured questionnaire composed of 11 different scales to m.easure key protective/adverse factors in a group ofhumanitarian aid workers (N= 56) preand post-deployment in the fi~ld. Two studies investigating the reliability and validity ofresiljence measures were carried out with student samples (Study I: N= 202; Study II: N= 189) to select the resilience scales to use in the final questionnaire. ~emi-structure~ interviews were conducted in a sub-group of participants (No=: 15) to explor~ stressors related to humanitarian work experiences. Aid staff membe~swere recruited through agencies and by advertising details ofthis study on the Internet. Contrary to what was predicted, two ofthe three areas of protective factors (dispositional and environmental) interrelated and positively influenced the way participants perceived and coped with stress. The third area (cognitive protective factors) was affected by the stress domain and negatively influenced changes in resilience. Low levels of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder and burnout were found, and many participants appeared to be willing to go back to the field despite the difficulties encountered during deployment. Findings lend support to the thesis that the three domains of protective factors (dispositional, cognitive, environmental) partially account for the development of post-deploYJllent resilience. They appear to be key dispositional and psychological features protecting people against stress and strengthening them in preparation for future adversity.
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Berrow, Georgina. "Humanitarian aid workers' transition into retirement : a narrative inquiry." Thesis, Middlesex University, 2016. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/23203/.
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In this research, I have explored the retirement experience of 6 humanitarians who had retired from a humanitarian organization after a career characterised by frequent, global relocation and the need to live and work in physically and emotionally challenging conditions. I used a narrative methodology which viewed their written stories and conversations with me as situated in specific organizational, social and cultural contexts. I have also identified themes which arose in their narrative in the three areas of enquiry which has framed this research: finding meaning and identity in retirement, the importance of relationships in retirement and dealing with existential questions. The issue was becoming more relevant to the organization because of changes in the mandatory retirement age which are currently being implemented and the implications of this for individuals themselves, their decision making and the options for providing organizational support in the years prior to a later retirement. Each of the retiree’s stories was as unique as the person who wrote it but nevertheless interesting conclusions were drawn which may be relevant for others: the inner, emotional journey of retirement can be as important and eventful as the exterior, practical journey. This group of men and women may be on the vanguard of globalization in that they assimilate at a deep level into their identities the idea of global citizenship during retirement. The organizational career management of humanitarians towards the end of their careers needs to reflect to a greater extent the challenges they have faced during their careers and those they will continue to face in retirement.
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Abbott, Marianne. "Dangerous intervention: an analysis of humanitarian fatalities in assistance contexts." The Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1134419987.
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Oliver, Monica LaBelle. "Evaluation of emergency response: Humanitarian Aid Agencies and evaluation influence." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/24629.
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Organizational development is a central purpose of evaluation. Disasters and other emergency situations carry with them significant implications for evaluation, given that they are often unanticipated and involve multiple relief efforts on the part of INGOs, governments and international organizations. Two particularly common reasons for INGOs to evaluate disaster relief efforts are 1) accountability to donors and 2) desire to enhance the organization s response capacity. This thesis endeavors briefly to review the state of the evaluation field for disaster relief so as to reflect on how it needs to go forward. The conclusion is that evaluation of disaster relief efforts is alive and well. Though evaluation for accountability seems fairly straightforward, determining just how the evaluation influences the organization and beyond is not.
Evaluation use has long been a central thread of discussion in evaluation theory, with the richer idea of evaluation influence only recently taking the stage. Evaluation influence takes the notion of evaluation use a few steps further by offering more complex, subtle, and sometimes unintentional ways that an evaluation might positively better a situation. This study contributes to the very few empirical studies of evaluation influence by looking at one organization in depth and concluding that evaluation does influence in useful ways.
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Fraser, Veronique. "Ethical theory and ethical analysis tools in humanitarian healthcare aid." Thesis, McGill University, 2014. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=123072.
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It is increasingly recognized that because humanitarian healthcare workers are trusted to provide support and assistance to vulnerable groups and populations, they have a fiduciary responsibility rendering it important for them to be explicit and thoughtful about how and why they make ethical choices. This thesis explores the ethics of humanitarian healthcare aid and examines how health care professionals can best engage with these issues, from the realm of ideal ethical theory, to the realm of applied ethical analysis tools. It begins with a brief introduction outlining important elements in the history, ideology and ethics of humanitarian healthcare aid. The second chapter provides an overview of how ethical theory, notably: deontology, consequentialism and virtue ethics, underlies and informs humanitarian healthcare aid responses. I argue that familiarity with ethical theory improves moral clarity and enhances ethical deliberation. The realm of ideal ethical theory is at times abstract and so ethical analysis tools have been developed to assist clinicians in day-to-day ethical deliberation. Many argue that ethical analysis tools facilitate more comprehensive and systematic deliberation of ethical issues arising in a variety of healthcare contexts. However, the strengths and limitations of these tools have received little scrutiny or empirical investigation. Chapter three, provides an analysis of the strengths and limitations of analysis tools, and proposes questions for further research and development in four key areas: for what purpose is the tool developed, who is it designed for, when should tools be used, and what is the structure of the tool? I argue that responding to these questions is a requisite step if ethics analysis tools are to continue to be developed and published. Chapter four unites themes from Chapters two and three by presenting a research study investigating the usefulness of a humanitarian healthcare ethical analysis tool (HHEAT) designed to assist humanitarians in the field. Participants in this study were unanimous that the HHEAT helped ensure comprehensive and more organized ethical deliberation, and expressed a preference for a shorter, more concise tool. This study is notable in presenting one of the few attempts to empirically investigate the usefulness of an ethics analysis tool. Based on participant feedback, the HHEAT was shortened and an accompanying handbook was developed. In Chapter five, I conclude that ethical theory and applied analysis tools present mutually reinforcing approaches to ethical deliberation. When used in tandem, each has the potential to enhance ethical deliberation, analysis and justification, which are essential to humanitarian healthcare practice.On reconnaît de plus en plus que les travailleurs humanitaires, auxquels on fait confiance pour fournir soutien et assistance aux populations et groupes vulnérables, ont une responsabilité fiduciaire et qu'il est important pour eux d'être explicites et réfléchis sur le comment et le pourquoi lorsqu'ils font des choix éthiques. Cette thèse explore l'éthique de l'aide humanitaire et examine quelle est la meilleure façon de traiter de ces questions à partir du domaine de la théorie éthique idéale et du domaine de l'éthique appliquée et des outils d'analyse éthique. La thèse débute avec une brève introduction exposant des éléments importants dans l'histoire, l'idéologie et l'éthique de l'aide humanitaire. Le deuxième chapitre donne un aperçu sur la façon dont la théorie éthique, notamment, la déontologie, le conséquentialisme et l'éthique de la vertu, sous-tend et façonne les réponses humanitaires. Je soutiens qu'une connaissance de la théorie éthique améliore la clarté morale et la délibération éthique. Toutefois, le domaine de la théorie éthique idéale est parfois abstrait et des outils d'analyse éthique ont été développés pour aider les cliniciens dans la délibération éthique quotidienne. Beaucoup soutiennent que les outils d'analyse éthique facilitent une délibération plus complète et plus systématique des problèmes éthiques qui se posent dans une variété de contextes de soins. Cependant, la force et les limites de ces outils n'ont pas été examinées ou validées empiriquement. Dans le chapitre 3, une analyse des points forts et des limites des outils de l'analyse est présentée et des questions pour de futurs projets de recherche sont proposées dans quatre domaines clés: Dans quel but l'outil est-il développé? A qui est-il destiné? Quand ces outils devraient-ils être utilisés? Et quelle est la structure de l'outil? Je soutiens que la réponse à ces questions est une étape indispensable si l'on veut continuer à développer et à publier des outils d'analyse éthique. Le chapitre 4 fait le lien entre les thèmes des chapitres 2 et 3 en présentant le développement et le raffinement d'un outil d'analyse éthique humanitaire (HHEAT) conçu pour aider les travailleurs humanitaires sur le terrain. De façon unanime, les participants à cette étude ont trouvé que le HHEAT a été utile pour assurer une délibération éthique complète et mieux organisée. Ils ont exprimés une préférence pour un outil plus court, plus concis. Cette étude est remarquable car elle représente une des rares tentatives d'investigation sur l'utilité d'un outil d'analyse éthique. En réponse aux commentaires des participants, le HHEAT a été abrégé et un manuel d'accompagnement développé. Dans le chapitre 5, je conclus que l'éthique théorique et les outils d'éthique appliquée présentent des approches qui se renforcent mutuellement dans la délibération éthique. Utilisées en tandem, ces approches ont le potentiel d'améliorer la délibération éthique, l'analyse et la justification qui sont essentiels à la pratique des soins humanitaires.
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Roh, Saeyeon. "The pre-positioning of humanitarian aid : the warehouse location problem." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2012. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/45109/.
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The overarching objective of this thesis is to explore the warehouse location decision problem by considering regional and specific site attributes in the unique context of humanitarian relief organisation. This is to fill the gaps the revealed in the current understanding of location decision problem, particularly the lack of studies attempting to investigate humanitarian pre-positioned location decision problem with qualitative attributes opposed to the many previous studies focused on computerised optimisation model absence of the human judgements. Specifically, this research develops into case studies of the international humanitarian organisations selecting the warehouse attributes and locating the alternative warehouse locations. International humanitarian relief organisation aiding the refugees participated in the case study of the regional location selection problem for pre-positioned warehouse with five major attributes and 25 sub-attributes. Six international humanitarian relief organisations based in Dubai, UAE participated for specific warehouse location selection problem with five major attributes and 30 sub-attributes. The overall research design adopted in this thesis is as follows. First, the coherent humanitarian warehouse location decision attributes were developed in the basis of a literature and semi-structured interviews with practitioners whose organisation practice pre-positioned warehouse operation system. Secondly, two case studies were conducted for constructing the hierarchy structure for warehouse evaluation for regional and specific site location. In the first case study, 11 managerial level officers participated to construct the regional warehouse location decision attributes and evaluated the warehouse location for the organisation. In the second case study, panel members were form by 11 decision-makers from six different organisations constructed the hierarchical structure of the specific site warehouse location attributes for the evaluation. Thirdly, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is executed to acquire criteria weights and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is employed to obtain the final ranking of the warehouse locations. Fuzzy set theory is adopted in the evaluation to deal with the fuzziness of decision-makers‟ preferences in decision making. In conclusion, this thesis extends the body of knowledge in pre-positioned warehouse location problem in the humanitarian relief logistics context by suggesting a MADM location method, AHP and TOPSIS, integrated with fuzzy set theory to understand the priority preference of regional (macro) and specific site (micro) warehouse location attributes and the selection of the optimal warehouse.
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Crawford, Paul Ward. "Aiding aid : a monitoring & evaluating framework to enhance international aid effectiveness /." Electronic version, 2004. http://adt.lib.uts.edu.au/public/adt-NTSM20041202.160749/index.html.
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Stempeck, Matt (Matt Kelly). "Participatory aid marketplace : designing online channels for digital humanitarians." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/82434.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-236).
Recent years have seen an increase in natural and man-made crises. Information and communication technologies are enabling citizens to contribute creative solutions and participate in crisis response in myriad new ways, but coordination of participatory aid projects remains an unsolved challenge. I present a wide-ranging case library of creative participatory aid responses and a framework to support investigation of this space. I then co-design a Marketplace platform with leading Volunteer & Technical Communities to aggregate participatory aid projects, connect skilled volunteers with relevant ways to help, and prevent fragmentation of efforts. The result is a prototype to support the growth of participatory aid, and a case library to improve understanding of the space. As the networked public takes a more active role in its recovery from crisis, this work will help guide the way forward with specific designs and general guidelines.
by Matt Stempeck.
S.M.
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Jungk, Margaret A. "UN-sanctioned military intervention in intra-state humanitarian crises." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.340467.
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Falasca, Mauro. "Quantitative Decision Models for Humanitarian Logistics." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/28774.
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Humanitarian relief and aid organizations all over the world implement efforts aimed at recovering from disasters, reducing poverty and promoting human rights. The purpose of this dissertation is to develop a series of quantitative decision models to help address some of the challenges faced by humanitarian logistics.
The first study discusses the development of a spreadsheet-based multicriteria scheduling model for a small development aid organization in a South American developing country. Development aid organizations plan and execute efforts that are primarily directed towards promoting human welfare. Because these organizations rely heavily on the use of volunteers to carry out their social mission, it is important that they manage their volunteer workforce efficiently. In this study, we demonstrate not only how the proposed model helps to reduce the number of unfilled shifts and to decrease total scheduling costs, but also how it helps to better satisfy the volunteers’ scheduling preferences, thus supporting long-term retention and effectiveness of the workforce.
The purpose of the second study is to develop a decision model to assist in the management of humanitarian relief volunteers. One of the challenges faced by humanitarian organizations is that there exist limited decision technologies that fit their needs while it has also been pointed out that those organizations experience coordination difficulties with volunteers willing to help. Even though employee workforce management models have been the topic of extensive research over the past decades, no work has focused on the problem of managing humanitarian relief volunteers. In this study, we discuss a series of principles from the field of volunteer management and develop a multicriteria optimization model to assist in the assignment of both individual volunteers and volunteer groups to tasks. We present illustrative examples and analyze two complementary solution methodologies that incorporate the decision maker's preferences and knowledge and allow him/her to trade-off conflicting objectives.
The third study discusses the development of a decision model for the procurement of goods in humanitarian efforts. Despite the prevalence of procurement expenditures in humanitarian efforts, procurement in humanitarian contexts is a topic that has only been discussed in a qualitative manner in the literature. In our paper, we introduce a two stage decision model with recourse to improve the procurement of goods in humanitarian relief supply chains and present an illustrative example. Conclusions, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.Ph. D.
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Bjerneld, Magdalena. "Images, Motives, and Challenges for Western Health Workers in Humanitarian Aid." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för kvinnors och barns hälsa, 2009. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-100891.
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This thesis presents how humanitarian aid workers were attracted, motivated, recruited, and prepared for fieldwork, and how they reported their work experience directly from the field and when they returned home. Data were derived from interviews with experienced aid workers, focus group discussions with presumptive aid workers, analysis of letters from aid workers in the field on MSFs homepages in Europe, and from interviews with recruitment officers at some of the main humanitarian organisations. Health professionals were attracted by the positive images of humanitarian action. They wished to work in teams with like-minded people, and to make a difference in the world. However, this image was not supported by the recruitment officers, or experienced aid workers, who described a complex reality in humanitarian action. The experienced aid workers instead had realised they learned more than they contributed. The recruitment system for relief workers would benefit from a more holistic approach, where personalities of the aid workers are more in focus. More time must be spent with the applicants, both recruited and returning aid workers, in order to improve the system. A socialisation approach could help identify the right personnel and to motivate current personnel to continue.
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Potter, Madeleine R. "Humanitarian Aid in Question: The Case of Rice Imports to Haiti." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2013. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/225.
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The instance of rice aid in Haiti definitively demands a reevaluation of humanitarian aid in today's world. In this thesis, I will outline the effects of rice aid on Haitian society and theoretically analyze humanitarian aid’s presence in “developing” countries. In addition to ruining many Haitian farmers' livelihoods, rice imports have aggravated Haiti's economic situation and national stability, the consequences of which have fallen primarily on the poor woman. I focus on the effects on the peasant woman in this thesis. Food insecurity remains a crisis. Throughout my thesis, I draw from the texts of scholars Slavoj Zizek, Jacques Rancière, and Noam Chomsky, in order to attempt at understanding what is really going on here. Such theorists illuminate the historical and theoretical analysis of humanitarian aid and the concept of human rights that said-aid seeks to protect. The purpose of my thesis is to shed new light on the business of humanitarian aid, using rice in Haiti as a case study of sorts. I seek to uncover the role international donor institutions have played in reinforcing the fragile state in Haiti as a result of rice aid, arguing that humanitarian aid has done more to prevent than to inspire sustainable progress in Haiti especially in rural Haiti that continually gets hit the hardest during economic crises such as the one brought on by humanitarian aid in the form of rice.
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Ogwude, Emmanuel C. "Twelve Years Later: Afghan Humanitarian Aid Workers on War on Terror." NSUWorks, 2015. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dcar_etd/24.
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Using narrative research study founded in social constructionism, I explored the lived experiences of thirty Afghan humanitarian aid workers in Kabul, Afghanistan, to discover how they experienced the war on terror. Ten participants were individually interviewed and their stories, personal experiences, perceptions, and voices have been presented in this study. I also facilitated a focus group of twenty Afghan NGO directors, and their views are echoed in the study. The participants represented a diversity of different humanitarian service specialties that cater to Afghan individuals, communities, and government agencies in areas such as education, human rights and good governance, food and shelter, to building bridges and infrastructural development. Based on a critical review of existing literature, the interviews addressed significant issues that affect humanitarian aid workers in complex political emergencies. I investigated the sociocultural contexts and structural conditions that enable and inform the personal narratives. There were six main themes that emerged from the participants’ narratives and each main theme had an average of three sub-themes. The resulting themes were: Security/Insecurity; Funding; Trust; Abandonment; Achievement; and Interventionism.
From the analysis of the storied narratives of thirty Afghan humanitarian aid workers in Kabul, Afghanistan, this study was able to create better understanding of how conditions from the war on terror create high-risk environments that expose humanitarian aid workers to kidnappings and violent attacks.
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Bare, Fiona. "Competition, Compromises, and Complicity: An Analysis of the Humanitarian Aid Sector." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2017. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1617.
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This paper analyzes humanitarian assistance to complex humanitarian emergencies to understand why suboptimal outcomes result even when humanitarians have ethical principles and good intentions. It focuses on the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, and Médecins Sans Frontières to understand their core principles before looking at how these principles operationalize during emergencies. Challenges arise due to complex relationships with donors, local actors, and recipients, along with issues of marketization and competition. This paper’s case studies of the post-genocide Rwandan refugee crisis and post-9/11 Afghanistan explore how humanitarian principles clash with such dilemmas. In the end, humanitarian organizations are often unable to adhere to principles in the midst of crises and make compromises of competition and complicity that lead to suboptimal outcomes for the people they are trying to help. Looking to modern emergencies in Syria, Yemen, and South Sudan, it is critical to understand these dynamics and seek to improve institutions of humanitarian aid to make assistance actually beneficial for those in need.
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Dubique, Kobel. "Humanitarian aid after the 2010 Haitian earthquake: the case of accompaniment." Thesis, Harvard University, 2014. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:13041362.
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Background
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, there was a significant need for basic services such as health, water, food, sanitation, school, protection and security in the largest camp in Port-au-Prince, Park Jean Marie Vincent (PJMV). PJMV IDP camp was located in the commune of Cité Soleil; a slum in Haiti labeled as a red zone and widely regarded as the most insecure place on earth. As a result, the camp residents were left to live on their own contradicting the humanitarian principle of humanity and impartiality. Strong solidarity developed amongst camp residents leading them to organize themselves in order to decrease structural violence. Zanmi Lasante (ZL), a healthcare and human rights organization that works with poorest and most vulnerable communities in Central Plateau, would cross the red zone to accompany the camp residents by providing training, materials, and resources to set up aid activities. Using a qualitative methodology, this study will describe the activities ZL completed and present the outcomes of those activities. This study will argue that the ZL accompaniment helped to decrease structural violence and chaos and allowed the camp residents to persevere.
Methods
This study is based on a personal story and experience of the researcher in PJMV IDP camp after the 2010 Haitian earthquake. We collected data from semi-structured interviews with 5 ZL staff, 7 camp leaders, and 5 camp residents. The researcher conducted a narrative analysis to recreate a collective memory from four viewpoints: 1) Zanmi Lasante staff; 2) camp leaders; 3) IDP camp residents and 4) the researcher. The researcher used processual methods of qualitative research to identify themes and exemplar narratives to compare and contrast these multiple viewpoints.
Results
The interviews offered multiple viewpoints on the activities in the camp both before and during the time ZL was active. Activities included creating and staffing a health clinic, training community health workers, establishing a nutrition center, ensuring HIV-AIDS care, and launching a response to the cholera outbreak. In addition, ZL conducted other kinds of activities that put health in the social context, including building a water purification system, establishing a tent village, creating a school program, launching an initiative to protect women from sexual violence, and advocating for food and sanitation. The researcher finds that those additional activities generated good outcomes such as health, security, job creation, capacity building, community engagement and participation, and community empowerment. ZL used a collaborative approach, integrating accompaniment into all activities by working with local residents, leaders and other organizations. This accompaniment decreased structural violence and helped camp residents to be more self-sufficient. The study also explores the challenges of accompaniment as responsibilities for these activities were shifted from ZL to the camp residents and local leaders.
Conclusions
The goal of this study is to describe the activities conducted by ZL in PJMV from January 2010 to January 2012 and how the approach of offering aid using the accompaniment model impacted the social context in the camp. The researcher recommends that humanitarian aid from within and beyond a disaster affected community be geared toward supporting and partnering with local communities and local organizations. In this way, humanitarian aid will strengthen local communities in a way that may be sustained once these organizations leave.
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Moquette, Philene. "What about Men? : The gendered hierarchy of vulnerability in humanitarian aid." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-388912.
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Gender mainstreaming has become a widely discussed and applied tool, aimed to aid progress towards gender equality. The latter has been an important aspect of international development and humanitarian action, as is evident from the Sustainable Development Goals. In humanitarian aid, this tool has the purpose of making aid more effective and inclusive, by critically assessing how crises affect women, men, girls, and boys differently. Specifically, it enforces a needs-based approach to delivering aid. However, gender biases still guide perceptions of vulnerability, which is a key determinant in needs assessment. Specifically, women and children are perceived to be the most vulnerable in all cases, while men are either sidelined, perceived as necessary allies to gender equality at most or, in the worst case, as threats. Though women and girls do suffer most from systematic gender inequality due to various factors, gender-specific threats are not reserved for women and girls, alone. Men and boys face different types of threats that are unique to their gender. This paper will explore male-specific vulnerabilities by addressing conceptual and theoretical concerns, followed by a policy analysis. This analysis is based on policies of implementing organizations in Syria in 2017. The purpose of this analysis is to determine whether these humanitarian actors are aware of male-specific vulnerabilities, and whether they address them in their policies and programming. In doing so, obstacles to the successful inclusion of men in gender mainstreaming efforts will be identified.
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Lovell, Deborah May. "Psychological adjustment among returned overseas aid workers." Thesis, Bangor University, 1997. https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/psychological-adjustment-among-returned-overseas-aid-workers(fea712b8-eecd-46b0-a5c1-01aff5daaca9).html.
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A questionnaire study was conducted to investigate the psychological adjustment of people who had been aid workers overseas. Nearly fifty percent of the sample of returned aid workers (n = 145) reported that they had experienced psychological difficulties while they were overseas or following their return to Britain. Most had not received any treatment for their difficulties. People who reported psychological problems had, on average, spent longer as aid workers than those who reported no psychological problems. Compared with a group of people preparing for their first term as overseas aid workers (n = 43), returned aid workers had significantly higher mean scores on measures assessing depression, intrusive thoughts, and, among women, avoidance. Aid workers who invalidated their feelings appeared to be especially vulnerable to developing psychological difficulties. When compared with people who did not intend to become aid workers (n = 71), returned aid workers and people preparing to become aid workers were found to perceive the world as a more benevolent and meaningful place. However, a small proportion of returned aid workers expressed views that the world was malevolent and meaningless; such views were related to the development of psychological problems. This finding was discussed with relation to Janoff-Bulman's (1992) theory of shattered assumptions. Implications of the findings were considered, including implications for the selection, preparation and treatment of aid workers.
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Hostetter, Loic. "Forecast-based Humanitarian Action and Conflict : Promises and pitfalls of planning for anticipatory humanitarian response to armed conflict." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-388645.
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Practitioners of Forecast-based Action (FbA) argue that a humanitarian response able to utilize forecasts to accurately predict disaster, secure funding, and take action before the onset of a crisis will benefit donors and beneficiaries alike. In search of effective and efficient early-action regimes, a number of major humanitarian actors are developing FbA projects of various designs, predominantly in response to natural disaster and famine. While numerous organizations and institutions have expressed interest in developing FbA mechanisms, the tool has only been applied in a limited capacity to the humanitarian needs generated by armed conflict. This research seeks to understand whether a scalable FbA approach can be developed to stage principled, anticipatory humanitarian action in response to situations in which rigorous evaluations predict the likelihood of imminent armed conflict. The hypothesis is that the application of FbA to armed conflict is possible, but due to the complex political nature of conflict, implementing organizations should try to focus on creating mechanisms managed by humanitarian actors and, in so far as possible, be insulated from outside influence. This research is the first academic work to specifically investigate the application of FbA to armed conflict. Following an extensive review of current FbA mechanisms and conflict early warning practices, this research concludes that a conflict-centered FbA system akin to the automated FbA systems in use today to respond to natural disaster and famine is possible, but that the endeavor presents many practical and conceptual barriers to implementation. In particular, diffuse models such as the Start Fund offer a hopeful glimpse at a type of horizontal, member-driven FbA mechanism that is both highly context-sensitive and relatively insulated from outside influence. Such a design, however, features notable and inherent limitations in its ability to reliably and accurately predict the outbreak of conflict and respond in a manner that minimizes regretful actions.
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Maragno, Donato. "Optimization with machine learning-based modeling: an application to humanitarian food aid." Master's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2020. http://amslaurea.unibo.it/21621/.
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In this thesis, we propose a machine learning-based optimization methodology to build (part of) optimization models with a data-driven approach. This approach is useful whenever we have to model one or more relations between the decisions and their impact on the system. This kind of relationship can be challenging to model manually, and so machine learning is used to learn it through the use of data.
We demonstrate the potential of this method through a case study in which a predictive model is used to approximate the palatability scoring function in a typical diet problem formulation. First, the performance of this approach is analyzed by embedding a Linear Regression model and then by embedding a Fully Connected Neural Network.
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Dandoy, Arnaud. "Humanitarian insecurity, risk and moral panic: toward and critical criminology of aid." Thesis, University of Kent, 2013. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.591924.
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This dissertation explores the construction of humanitarian insecurity as a social problem; more particularly, it suggests the rise of a moral panic about a perceived "new and growing threat" to humanitarian actors in the post-Cold \Vax era. Whilst there is nothing that has radically changed in the nature of the threat to humanitarian actors throughout the twentieth century and earlier, the grmving perception of "shrinking humanitarian space" has encouraged the adoption of security policies that deepen the conditions for some of the problems that humanitarian actors face today. By linking moral panic theory with Bourdieu's social theory, this thesis shows that disproportionate reactions to humanitarian security can be sociologically understood, not as a collective mistake in understanding, but, rather, as a meaningful response to effects of hysteresis in the field of humanitarian aid. Particularly, it shows that the collapse of faith in the pre-modem humanitarian system and the rise of new ways of working "on" rather than "in" conflict precipitated a deeper sense of disorientation about what humanitarian actors stand for in the post-Cold War era. This, in turn, has provided a fertile ground for a moral panic about humanitarian insecurity to take root and flourish, as well as for humanitarian security experts to promote the adoption of a 'culture of security' across the aid community in an effective way. By encouraging reflexivity about the social processes and relations through which specific types of knowledge on humanitarian insecurity are transfonned into power, this dissertation helps develop a critical criminology of aid that breaks with expert and media predispositions towards the status quo and engages with the ways in which existing power structures directly contribute to the very "problem" of humanitarian insecurity.
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Gode, Martin. "In security? : Humanitarian organizations' and aid workers' risk-taking in armed conflicts." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Institutionen för naturvetenskap, miljö och teknik, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-24211.
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Denna studie undersöker problematiken kring attacker mot humanitära biståndsarbetare i konfliktområden. Studien ämnar bidra till detta forskningsfält med ett nytt perspektiv rörande risktagande på individuell så väl som organisatorisk nivå. Studien undersöker ifall detta risktagande kan äventyra biståndsarbetarnas säkerhet. Vidare problematiserar studien det dikotomiska tänkandet om huruvida organisationer bör dra sig ut eller stanna kvar i högriskområden. Detta görs genom att diskutera problematiken utifrån begreppet mänsklig säkerhet i relation till det humanitära uppdraget. Informationen samlades in genom att läsa tidigare litteratur, genomföra intervjuer och genom att distribuera ett frågeformulär. Studien finner flera olika orsaker och incitament till högt risktagande och kategoriserar dessa som avsiktligt och oavsiktligt risktagande. Vidare uppmanar studien organisationer att beakta risktagandeperspektivet och att de bör hantera det oavsiktliga risktagandet eftersom det påverkar humanitära biståndsarbetares säkerhet negativt.
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Smirl, Lisa. "Spaces of aid : spatial practices and the built environment in humanitarian assistance." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.608880.
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Narbeth, Simon. "The geographies of vulnerability : humanitarian assistance and the contestation of place in Somalia." Thesis, University of Bristol, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1983/d3c74535-745f-4b8e-9ad7-e55d0ccf0088.
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Jenc, Blomster Amanda. "The Western Savior: Making Aid the Enemy : What leads non-state armed groups to target international humanitarian aid workers?" Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för freds- och konfliktforskning, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-432035.
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Malíková, Vendula. "Hodnotově orientované agendy v mezinárodních vztazích: Příklad humanitární pomoci pro Haiti." Master's thesis, Vysoká škola ekonomická v Praze, 2010. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-75543.
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The object of this thesis is to focus on one of the valued-based agendas of the international relations --humanitarian aid. This topic is narrowed to the actions of non- and inter-governmental organizations. It as well contains the analysis of campaign framing of these organizations. The main task is to evaluate the success of humanitarian actions on the disaster in Haiti. The thesis includes a questionnaire that should find out how do the humanitarian organizations and their campaigns influence public opinion.
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Liebe-Harkort, Carola. "Oral Health Care and Humanitarian Health Praxis." Thesis, Röda Korsets Högskola, 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:rkh:diva-2276.
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Background: Oral and dental diseases is a major part of the global disease burden. Poor oral health has a significant impact on the general well-being of people. In contrast with prior decades high rates of oral diseases may be found in low- and middle income countries. Populations that are particularly vulnerable are more likely to develop poor oral health. As a consequence of human distress related to war, poverty and natural disasters the accomplishments of humanitarian aid organizations has a direct impact on people´s health and well-being. Purpose: The aim of the present study is to examine the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as well as Doctors without borders concerning documents and guidelines on oral health. A further aim is to explore the knowledge of oral health related topics of delegates from the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). Method: The study is designed as a literature review and a questionnaire survey. Results: Within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and Doctors Without Borders there are a limited number of guidelines on oral health and they are rarely mentioned in the same documents as non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The responses of the study revealed that the participants generally have a limited knowledge about measures on oral health in the IFRC. Conclusion: Both the literature review and the questionnaire survey study confirms that there is an absence of clear and specific guidelines on oral health care related activities within IFRC.Bakgrund: Mun- och tandsjukdomar utgör en stor del av den globala sjukdomsbördan. Dålig mun- och tandhälsa har en stark påverkan på det allmänna välbefinnandet. I motsats till tidigare, ses idag höga frekvenser av karies även i låg- och medelinkomstländer. Populationer vilka befinner sig i extra utsatta kontexter löper större risk att utveckla dålig munhälsa. Som en följd av mänskligt lidande i form av händelser relaterade till krig, fattigdom och naturkatastrofer har aktiviteter utförda av humanitära hjälporganisationer en direkt inverkan på hälsa och välbefinnande. Syfte: Syftet med föreliggande studie är att studera dokument och riktlinjer rörande munhälsa inom Internationella Röda korset och Röda halvmånen och Läkare utan gränser. Ett ytterligare syfte är att undersöka kunskapen om hälsorelaterade frågor kring munhälsa hos delegater från Internationella federationen för Röda Korset och Röda Halvmånen (IFRC). Metod: Studien är utförd som en litteratur-sammanställning och som en enkätundersökning. Resultat: Inom Internationella Röda korset och Röda halvmånen samt Läkare utan gränser återfinns begränsat antal riktlinjer rörande oral hälsa vilka dock sällan nämns i samma dokument som icke-smittsamma sjukdomar (NCDs). Av enkätsvaren i studien framgår det att de medverkande generellt har en begränsad kunskap kring åtgärder rörande munhälsa inom IFRC. Konklusion: Deltagarna i denna studie bekräftar resultaten i litteraturstudien om en avsaknad av tydliga och konkreta riktlinjer för munhygienrelaterade aktiviteter inom IFRC.
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Garavoglia, Matteo [Verfasser]. "Humanitarian aid and natural disasters : A study of selected European countries / Matteo Garavoglia." Berlin : Freie Universität Berlin, 2013. http://d-nb.info/1035406446/34.
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Rose, Joanne. "The provision of humanitarian aid in complex emergencies : a case study of Somalia." Thesis, Northumbria University, 2013. http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/15257/.
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This thesis examines the delivery of humanitarian assistance in Somalia at the turn of the 21st Century. Humanitarian assistance is considered as an ideal and the key question is, can it be effective in a chronic emergency? Humanitarian assistance itself is examined in detail and placed in a broader context of ideas of vulnerability, resilience and adaptive capacity in response to disasters. The thesis is grounded on evidence based evaluation to generate conclusions for programme and project management. The method taken is one of using conventional social science methods to come to evaluative judgement. The nature of evaluative judgement requires an understanding of the purpose and content of evaluation itself, which is extensively discussed in the methods chapter. The ethics of work in disaster situations is also addressed. The case material comes from two evaluations namely for Action by Churches Together and Norwegian Church Aid conducted in Somalia in 2006-07. The key findings from the case material is that humanitarian projects in chronic emergencies must be delivered within the cultural context i.e. religion supported delivery. The reasons for this are that such delivery pays attention to the critical role of beneficiaries in ensuring effective and sustainable project implementation. This raises key issues about the validity of the top down delivery of humanitarian assistance as well as an understanding of chronic emergency as development rather than disaster projects. The thesis concludes with observations on the limitations of evaluation in the context of humanitarian assistance. It reinforces the central directive of humanitarian delivery as ‘do no harm’ and shows that there are opportunities to ‘do some good’.
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Karpinska, Zuzanna. "Educational planning for situations of instability : standardization and advocacy in humanitarian aid practice." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:68ae5c8e-8c5f-4e01-a4dc-039d07c72a7b.
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This thesis examines the role and relationship of standardization and advocacy in humanitarian aid planning processes within the emergent field of education and instability. Standardization refers to the aid industry’s increasing emphasis on establishing ‘universal’ principles and normative frameworks. Advocacy refers to transnational-policy-network activities that move forward the global standardization agenda. The study focuses on the purposes and practices of knowledge creation by an education-and-instability ‘epistemic community’: the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE). Drawing on global-level interviews with key figures, participant observations, and documentary analysis, the research explores how this epistemic community promotes its core tenets: that education is an inherent human right and that educational provision should be a frontline humanitarian response on par with food distribution and shelter construction. The thesis analyzes the consensus-making process that resulted in the publication of the 2004 INEE Minimum Standards handbook, the then-epitome of the epistemic community’s knowledge. Next, the thesis examines the local application and adaptation of such global standardization processes in post-conflict Uganda. The case study presents the relationships among international and local ‘development partner’ institutions concerned with educational planning as a complex and contradictory story of power dynamics and knowledge circulation. These ‘partnerships’ are characterized by a shared quest for adherence to the knowledge encapsulated within standardized global frameworks and their normative principles. For Ugandan institutions, fluency in this discourse is a powerful tool to appropriate for their own ends. For international institutions, the knowledge is at once a technical resource and a means to bring ever more stakeholders into the wider epistemic community concerned with humanitarian aid. I argue that, through judicious use of standardization and advocacy mechanisms, INEE seeks to legitimize the education sector’s existence within the humanitarian aid industry and expand support for (or ‘conversion’ to) the education-and-instability epistemic community’s core beliefs.
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Ehrenzeller, Lara. "Gender and its Intersections in Localisation of Humanitarian Action since the World Humanitarian Summit of 2016 : The Case of Oxfam Canada." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-444344.
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While both localisation and gender were major topics at the World Humanitarian Summit of 2016, they have largely been considered in isolation. Yet, the underlying issue in both cases are power inequalities, which this research seeks to highlight through an intersectional feminist perspective. Based on a qualitative case study on Oxfam Canada, this research thus aims to understand how social locations based on gender and their intersections with other social locations are integrated into Oxfam Canada’s discussions around a feminist approach to localisation. Based on a thematic analysis, this paper evaluates the main proposition that Oxfam Canada’s feminist approach to localisation is largely based on a conceptualisation of gender as a binary and as an isolated category. This was largely confirmed by the empirical findings that revealed that Oxfam Canada’s focus clearly lies on “local” (presumably cis-gender heterosexual) women. Nevertheless, the empirical analysis also showed burgeoning aspects of intersectional feminist perspectives such as the focus on power analyses that at times span across different levels (i.e. household, community, societal, and global), their emphasis on the importance of acknowledging their own positionality, as well as their commitments to coherence between their objectives and ways of working.
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Awan, Ziyad, and Ziaur Rahman. "Supply chain designs for Humanitarian Relief." Thesis, Jönköping University, JIBS, Centre of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-12719.
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Due to the unpredictable nature of sudden onset disasters the humans are often caught with surprise so are the humanitarian relief organizations. In order to quickly react to the emergencies, supply chain networks are built instantly by the actors of the relief management. Parallel to this process, need assessment is started with the help of local experts which also confirm that the response cannot be lingered on due a delay in need assessment. After wards the supply chain structure needs to be changed once the right information is gathered by the passage of time. This is not all, actually the situation of the disaster prone area and people also changes by that time which always brings a challenging scenario for humanitarian relief actors to develop the supply chain design with flexibility.Primary focus of this paper is to define right supply chain designs for disaster response and post disaster phases in humanitarian relief.
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Bealt, Jennifer. "Investigating alternative logistics structures in times of crisis : an exploration of collaborative aid networks and their impacts on humanitarian operations in post-earthquake Nepal." Thesis, Brunel University, 2017. http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/14783.
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Current trends have seen a rise in the frequency and severity of disasters on a global scale, with disasters in recent years having some of the most devastating impacts ever seen on the societies they affect. As a result, there are increasing pressures on the Formal Humanitarian Sector (FHS) and their resources, resulting in a growing need to examine the logistical processes essential to humanitarian operations. Existing research within the humanitarian logistics (HL) domain has highlighted a plethora of challenges relating to the efficient and effective delivery of humanitarian assistance to those affected by disasters. Through a systematic literature review, it was discovered that current research predominantly focuses on the activities of humanitarian organisations (HOs); overlooking the social and logistical capacity already present within affected communities. In order to address the gap left by HO-centric HL research, this investigation approaches the challenges of efficient and effective humanitarian assistance from a novel perspective. Drawing upon the notion of Collaborative Aid Networks (CANs), this research explores the role of communities as drivers of HL processes, and of their own relief and recovery. In a field in which empirical data is lacking, this enquiry utilises a constructivist grounded theory methodology in order to gather empirical insights from post-earthquake Nepal. Interviews and observations were conducted over a period of seven weeks, with data being continuously analysed and refined throughout this process. The findings from this research culminated in the development of a theoretical framework which illustrates the interrelationships between CAN characteristics and their outcomes on HL. This study contributes to the emerging debates concerning community participation in disaster contexts, and provides revelatory insights regarding CANs’ unique attributes and competencies, which enable them to positively impact disaster affected communities. In levying CAN support, the FHS could increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their HL operations, whilst improving collaboration and communication between the FHS and the community; in turn supporting the legitimacy and downward accountability of FHS programmes.