International Relief Organizations Research Articles

Developing a trusted human-AI network for humanitarian benefit

Artificial intelligences (AI) will increasingly participate digitally and physically in conflicts yet there is a lack of trusted communications with humans for humanitarian purposes. For example, in disasters and conflicts messaging and social media are used to share information, however, international humanitarian relief organisations treat this information as unverifiable and untrustworthy. Furthermore, current AI implementations can be brittle, with a narrow scope of application and wide scope of ethical risks. Meanwhile, human error can cause significant civilian harms even by combatants committed to compliance with international humanitarian law. AI offers an opportunity to help reduce the tragedy of war and better deliver humanitarian aid to those who need it. However, to be successful, these systems must be trusted by humans and their information systems, overcoming flawed information flows in conflict and disaster zones that continue to be marked by intermittent communications, poor situation awareness, mistrust and human errors. In this paper, we consider the integration of a communications protocol (the ‘Whiteflag protocol’), distributed ledger ‘blockchain’ technology, and information fusion with artificial intelligence (AI), to improve conflict communications called “Protected Assurance Understanding Situation & Entities” (PAUSE). Such a trusted human-AI communication network could provide accountable information exchange regarding protected entities, critical infrastructure, humanitarian signals and status updates for humans and machines in conflicts. Trust-based information fusion provides resource-efficient use of diverse data sources to increase the reliability of reports. AI can catch human mistakes and complement human decision making, while human judgment can direct and override AI recommendations. We examine several realistic potential case studies for the integration of these technologies into a trusted human-AI network for humanitarian benefit including mapping a conflict zone with civilians and combatants in real time, preparation to avoid incidents and using the network to manage misinformation. We finish with a real-world example of a PAUSE-like network, the Human Security Information System (HSIS), being developed by USAID, that uses blockchain technology to provide a secure means to better understand the civilian environment.

Performance indicators for humanitarian relief logistics in Taiwan

The purpose of this work is to explore the international humanitarian relief organizations in Taiwan, and find the most crucial performance indicators of humanitarian logistics, according to the experience and opinion of those large NGOs in Taiwan. The research gathered detailed information on situations from literature and collected the data by questionnaire. Based on the information gathered from questionnaires, quantitative weight was calculated through the participation of experts by using AHP in this research. According to the humanitarian relief organizations' experiences and opinion in this research, the most critical performance indicators in humanitarian relief logistics is responsiveness, and the following is agility, reliability, cost, and dialog with authorities. Although the AHP method has been applied in many research of performance indicators chosen, there is no research using AHP to prioritize the performance indicators in the humanitarian logistics field, especially in Taiwan. Future research could include the smaller or reputable organizations in Taiwan to get more comprehensive opinions. Besides, the chosen indicators could be utilized in the actual case of humanitarian rescue action.

White Savior or Local Hero?: Conflicting Narratives of Help in Haiti

White Savior or Local Hero?:Conflicting Narratives of Help in Haiti Diane M. Hoffman (bio) In 2010, Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake that killed over two hundred thousand people and resulted in a vast but ultimately ineffective international humanitarian aid and relief effort. This article considers how the recent August 2021 earthquake has produced a shift in the rescue and assistance narrative that has emphasized the trope of Haitian agency when responding to hardship and disasters. Based on a critical reading of Facebook posts, online news media, and organization websites, this piece argues that while the current shift toward emphasizing themes of Haitian agency and empowerment appears to be a positive trend, a deeper reading suggests that Haitian notions of help and solidarity conflict with the neoliberal understanding of empowerment. Furthermore, narratives about assistance prioritize emotions of white missionaries and aid workers, revealing the persistence of White Saviorism in representations of Haitian agency. Introduction One of the most devastating natural disasters in the Western Hemisphere, the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti which affected Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas unleashed a globally unprecedented level of humanitarian assistance. Nonetheless, the response to the disaster is widely regarded as a manifest failure. Billions of dollars were funneled through approximately two thousand nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and private contractors, creating a fragmented response that lacked accountability.1 An astoundingly small portion of this aid actually reached the Haitian government and people.2 Furthermore, there was no infrastructure to absorb the sudden influx of supplies and personnel, and needs were defined largely without input from those most affected—indeed, the entire aid apparatus largely excluded Haitian voices and involvement.3 Thousands of young American volunteers, armed with little but good intentions, descended on the capital to "help," straining what were already stressed resources.4 Instead of highlighting Haitians' own rescue and assistance efforts, extensive news coverage of the disaster prominently featured actions of Americans and Europeans,5 reinforcing the sense that Haiti was incapable of helping itself. Eleven years later, the response to the August 2021 earthquake in Southern Haiti was palpably different. Prime Minister Ariel Henry told news media, "We will not repeat the same things that were done in 2010 … A lot of donations were made to the country, and a lot of money was spent without seeing the impact."6 Recognizing that Haiti-based organizations were better positioned to conduct needs assessments and allocate aid, Haitian and Haiti-affiliated diaspora groups, celebrities, and academics sent strong messages on social media platforms and various professional list-serves recommending that would-be donors give to local, Haiti-based organizations rather than to large international relief organizations.7 Further, would-be donors were advised not to send physical resources, but to support the local economy by providing funds for resources to be bought locally.8 Organizations told foreign volunteers to stay home; teams of trained Haitians were instead sent into remote areas to deliver relief. White [End Page 99] missionaries and NGO staff living in Haiti filled social media with comments praising the presence of Haitian relief workers on the scene: "I love to see Haitians helping Haitians!"; "Helping in the South—let's start a movement as we post pictures of Haitians working together!"; "I love to see Haitians so passionately serving one another!"9 In sum, a broad consensus emerged that the response to the recent disaster should prioritize Haitian resources, voices, and agency. This effort to represent Haitians as actors capable of addressing their own needs can be read as a shift in the longstanding narrative of Haitian dependency. Instead of representing the country as dependent on handouts and help from foreigners, recent post-disaster narratives reflect a theme that scholars of international aid in Haiti have been pointing out for some time: the way media and policymakers consistently emphasize the role of foreign actors, initiatives, and resources obscures the fact that Haitians have always helped themselves through strong traditions of collective community responses to hardship and disaster.10 This was as true in 2010 as it was after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, which also devastated the southern part of the country.11 As these scholars have pointed out, understanding Haitian traditions...

Helena Biantovskaya Fedukowicz: An epitome of contagious passion and spirit.

“History has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own.” – Michelle Obama The pioneer of ocular microbiology, Helena Biantovskaya Fedukowicz, not only had an adventurous life, but also soared through struggles along with her husband. She rose to provide us with an insight into ocular microbiology by carrying out meticulous research. She set a perfect example of “nothing is impossible, if passion is the driving force.” Born on June 4, 1900,[1] in Petrovka (Mariopol), Ukraine, to a family of an orthodox priest, Helena Biantovskaya [Fig. 1] graduated from the Yekaterinoslav Medical Academy, Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, in 1921[2] and joined the faculty till 1929. She taught as a lecturer in microbiology and ocular infections at Moscow Eye Hospital[2] for a year, after which she joined as an assistant and docent of ophthalmology at the Medical School in Kiev (1930–1942).[1] During this phase, in 1935, she completed her thesis on intra-ocular melanoma[2] and earned her doctor of philosophy degree at the Kiev Medical Institute. She progressed to the position of professor of ophthalmology in Vinniza, Ukraine, in 1942.[1]Figure 1: Dr. Helena Biantovskaya Fedukowicz (1900–1998)[2]During one of her projects at a mining institute, Dr. Helena Biantovskaya met her future husband, Waclaw Fedukowicz, a geophysicist. During this phase, she had the opportunity to meet and be inspired by Dr. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, a Russian physiologist (known for his work on classical conditioning) and Dr. Vladimir Petrovich Filatov, a Russian ophthalmologist and surgeon (the pioneer of keratoplasty). The adventures in her life began when during a mountain climbing event she met Nikolai Bukhrain, a leading theorist of a communist party. Following the party’s defeat by Stalin, Dr. Fedukowicz was investigated due to her encounter with Bukhrain and was accused of poisoning a drinking well with bacteria from her laboratory. The German invasion of the United Socialist Soviet Republic (USSR) led to the closure of her medical school by the German Occupation Administration.[1] Dr. Fedukowicz and her husband, shifted to Poland with their relatives but were captured by the Nazis and were sent to a work camp for displaced persons in Germany. They were confined in a settlement village in Bavaria while waiting for assistance from the International Relief Organization.[3] As they were without citizenship and passport, they faced serious troubles and struggles. However, they were able to emigrate to the United States of America in 1949 and start a new life. Even though they were very tenuous financially, they survived while working in a factory and living in an unfurnished apartment in Brooklyn, New York. Through the Polish Committee, she met the family of Prince Sapieha, an exiled aristocrat. They helped the Fedukowicz couple in learning English and establishing contacts.[2] Her interaction with Dr. George Wise, an esteemed academic ophthalmologist at New York University (NYU), Bellevue, was the turning point in her career. Dr. Wise was impressed by Dr. Fedukowicz’s clinical expertise in tuberculosis and trachoma and she was offered a much needed fellowship at NYU by Dr. Alson Braley (chairman of the department of ophthalmology and later Chief at Iowa) in 1949.[1] This life changing moment also was an event of paramount importance in the history of ophthalmic microbiology. Dr. Fedukowicz, over the next 25 years, worked diligently and left a striking impression. Even though she was unable to obtain a medical degree in the United States, her contributions were an integral part of ophthalmology in terms of clinical inputs, detailed research, and publications on ocular infections. Her articles included extensive work on ocular rosacea, lysozyme, and pigmented limbal lesions.[3] She found high incidence of Moraxella conjunctivitis and keratitis in the population of New York’s Bowery and established a contributory relationship with alcoholism and malnutrition. After tracing the endemic source of the organism with the help of her residents, she also clarified the taxonomy, morphology, and clinical features of Moraxella. This included adventurous treks to the endemic area and sampling visitors of bars (targeted epidemiological group). In 1963, Dr. Fedukowicz published the first edition of her textbook, External Infections of the Eye, in English. This book was the first of its kind, with a fountain of knowledge about ocular infections, clinical correlations, and colorful plates of slit-lamp drawing and microscopic features by the artist, Beatrice Glover. The colorful plates were financially supported by Dr. Wise as an anonymous personal donation. The book was very well appreciated by different institutions and it is considered as one of the top hundred important ophthalmology books of the twentieth century.[4] Its co-authored editions were released in 1978[5] and 1985, and a Spanish edition in 1987. Even though Dr. Fedukowicz retired in 1976 in Sarasota, Florida, her legacy lives on. She was an inspiration and was loved by her former students. She hosted jovial meetings at her house which were a perfect blend of her culinary skills, educational vignettes, and sessions of anamnesis. She was awarded an honorary fellowship by the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 1982.[1] In 1990, the Congress of Russian-Americans (of which Dr. Fedukowicz was a founding member) elected her to the Russian-American Hall of Fame.[6] Her life-time contributions were acknowledged by the immunology/microbiology section of the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), and she was presented with an award and a plaque in 1991.[1] As years passed by, she developed progressive infirmities, including macular degeneration, but her optimism only grew stronger. She said, “I still have four and a half senses” which reflected her positive approach to life.[1] After living a legendary life, she passed away in 1998.[2] During her active years, with her passion for teaching ocular bacteriology, she inculcated the innovative approach in her students with a strong will to look forward and progress with every passing day. The motto she lived by and handed over to her students was “This is your bank. Fill it up!”

УКРАЇНСЬКІ ДІТИ-БІЖЕНЦІ В ЗАХІДНІЙ НІМЕЧЧИНІ ПІСЛЯ ДРУГОЇ СВІТОВОЇ ВІЙНИ: ШЛЯХИ ПОТРАПЛЯННЯ ТА СОЦІАЛЬНІ КАТЕГОРІЇ

The article is devoted to the phenomenon of Ukrainian refugee children. They lived in displaced persons camps (DP camps) created and functioned for refugees in West Germany during the second half of 1940s – early 1950s. The article is based on archival documents, memoirs, camp periodicals. The author tried to identify the main reasons and ways of getting children to DP camps, such as age, social criteria and health status. Moreover, the author characterized different groups of “little aged displaced persons”. World War II caused significant migration of population from Ukraine and put the fate of millions of refugees and displaced persons on the international agenda. The majority of the Ukrainians had been repatriated to the Soviet Union (USSR), but about 250,000 of Ukrainians managed to avoid repatriation, escaped and became refugees who lived in special DP camps. Children made up about a quarter of all Ukrainian refugees, who had experienced difficult escape cases. The memoirs of Lesia Bohuslavets (Oleksandra Tkach), Alla Lehka-Herets, Larysa Zalevska Onyshkevych, Larysa Palidvor-Zelyk, Natalia Palidvor-Sonevytska and others, used in the article, allow us to understanding the personal experiences and feelings of Ukrainian refugee children in the DP period. Refugee children came from various social groups of the Ukrainian community: politicians, public and religious figures, intellectuals, workers and peasants. The least protected social categories were semi-orphans, orphans, children with disabilities, illegitimate or seriously ill children. They needed special attention and aid from international and Ukrainian relief organizations, as well as from Ukrainian DP community. These were the families with little children, widows with orphans, single mothers with illegitimate children, children with disabilities, children suffering tuberculosis. All of them (and also sick, elderly people) belonged to the so-called “hard core” or “zalyshentsi” (people who couldn’t come back to their homes). They could move from DP camps in Germany to their new residence countries only if they received necessary confirming documents from their relatives, supporting their living conditions provided. Therefore, some Ukrainian families with little or ill children, children with disabilities, widows with orphans, as well as the elderly, were forced to stay in war-torn Germany.

З думкою про допомогу: АРА на Півдні України у 1921-1923 рр.

Розкрито діяльність однієї з ключових міжнародних організацій допомоги у південноукраїнському регіоні – Американської адміністрації допомоги (АРА).
 Протягом квітня-червня 1922 р. АРА організувала мережу їдалень у Миколаївській та Одеській губерніях (820), де харчувалося 192774 дітей і 1045 дорослих. Також сухі пайки й обіди отримували діти та дорослі закритих установ (дитячих будинків, лікарень, санаторіїв, студентських їдалень тощо). Загалом отримували допомогу 427624 особи.
 Окрім харчування АРА розподіляла продуктові та речові посилки, надавала медичну допомогу (організація медичних пунктів, лазень, поставки медикаментів, лікування хвороб, профілактика захворювань, поширення медичної літератури тощо).
 АРА завершила свою роботу у червні 1923 р., а 15 липня 1923 р. було ліквідовано український осередок організації і 20 липня 1923 р. було закрито центральний офіс місії у Москві.

Coopetition in temporary contexts: examining swift trust and swift distrust in humanitarian operations

PurposeBy drawing on commitment-trust theory, we examine the role of swift trust and distrust in supporting coopetition under conditions of uncertainty and interdependence in the setting of humanitarian disaster relief organisations.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents findings from case studies of 18 international humanitarian relief organisations based on 48 interviews and the analysis of publicly available documents.FindingsWe find that both swift trust and swift distrust support coopetition. As coopetition is simultaneous cooperation and competition, in this study we show how swift trust and swift distrust also occur simultaneously in coopetitive contexts.Research limitations/implicationsCoopetition as a strategic choice is well-researched in the private sector, yet has received less attention in the nonprofit sector, particularly in contexts that are shaped by interdependence and uncertainty. We show the importance of swift trust and swift distrust in coopetitive relationships by drawing on commitment-trust theory.Practical implicationsIn focusing on a competitive environment in which cooperation is essential, we find limited choice of coopetitive partners. Humanitarian relief organisations must often simply work with whichever other organisations are available. We highlight how trust and distrust are not opposite ends of a spectrum and detail how both contribute to coopetitive relationships.Originality/valueOur findings contribute to commitment-trust theory by explaining the important role of distrust in forging coopetitive relationships. Furthermore, we contribute to prior work on coopetition by focusing on an uncertain and interdependent nonprofit environment.

Branding for non-profits: explaining new donor decision-making in the charity sector

Purpose The purpose of this study develops and validates a model of new donor decision-making in the charity sector. Drawing upon dual process theory, the model incorporates brand salience and brand attitude as antecedents of brand choice intention, moderated by donor decision involvement. Design/methodology/approach Study 1 generates measures using interviews with marketing, media and research managers, and new donors from two international aid and relief organizations. Study 2 uses an experimental design to first test scenarios of disaster relief, and then validate and confirm a new donor decision model using large-scale consumer panels for the international aid and relief sector in Australia. Findings The results replicated across four leading international aid-related charities reveal that brand salience is positively related to brand choice intention through the mediating effect of brand attitude. Furthermore, the effect of brand salience on brand choice intention is significantly stronger when donor decision involvement is low. Conversely, the effect of brand attitude on brand choice intention is stronger for higher levels of donor decision involvement. Practical implications Managers should understand the importance of brand salience/attitudes and the implications for the communication strategy. Managers should also strive to understand the level of decision involvement and the relative influence of brand attitude/salience on brand choice intention. Originality/value This study advances the literature on charitable giving by proposing and testing a moderated mediation model of donor choice when selecting a charity for donation. Findings provide new insights into the extent to which brand salience, brand attitude and donor decision-making influence how new donors choose between charities for donation.

Charitable bequest importance among donors to different types of charities

This paper explores differences in the self‐rated importance of charitable estate giving depending upon the type of charitable cause a person donates to during life. One theoretical motivation for lifetime giving is to personally enjoy benefits from improving a shared collective good. However, this motivation is not possible for bequests. Bequest transfers and resulting improvements occur after personal enjoyment of benefits is no longer possible. This paper hypothesizes that among donors to high personal benefit causes (those typically creating shared goods benefitting donors), interest in a charitable bequest (which offers no opportunity for receiving such benefits) will be relatively less than among donors to low personal benefit causes. In order to explore this, each charity type is categorized as providing high, low, or mixed personal benefits from shared collective goods. This hypothesis receives mixed support. Donors to international relief organizations, a low personal benefit charity type, do place a higher importance on charitable bequests than do donors to shared‐goods type causes such as neighborhood associations, service clubs, sports leagues, or “other” charities, including those focused on local public safety and crime. However, donors to arts organizations—a classic example of donors creating a shared good—have a relatively high interest in charitable bequests. One important exception to the exclusion of postmortem personal benefits could come from religious belief. Accordingly, donors to religious causes do place a higher importance on charitable bequests.

Gender-Related Challenges in Educational Interventions with Syrian Refugee Parents of Trauma-Affected Children in Turkey.

Since 2012, more than three million Syrian refugees have fled to Turkey. While these refugees vary in socioeconomic background, it is notable that 50% of Syrian refugee children in Turkey display symptoms of post-traumatic stress and that more than 663,138 of these children between the ages of six and seventeen are not enrolled in school. For those children who are in school, high levels of trauma have significant implications for the education system as trauma alters the brain and affects the way children learn. A Global Voice for Autism is an international non-governmental relief and development organization that exists to equip teachers and families in conflict-affected communities. Its intent is to support the development and success of children with autism and trauma-related behavioral challenges in their classrooms, home, and communities. The instabilities inherent in the Syrian refugee experience pose a number of challenges to the organization’s effective implementation of programming. The experiences of refugees in Turkey are highly gendered. Therefore, a qualitative gender analysis was conducted to address and better understand the challenges faced when carrying out these educational interventions. The article examines domestic violence, sexual violence, and masculinity as gender-driven constructs that influence how refugees experience trauma. In addition, structural issues in existing support systems all present significant challenges to Syrian refugee parents that impede effective program implementation. It is imperative to assess structural issues in existing support services to address these challenges and to successfully carry out meaningful and impactful programming. This Brief Report provides a series of recommendations in order to ameliorate these challenges and increase the efficacy of educational interventions with Syrian refugee parents of trauma-affected and vulnerable children in Turkey. It concludes with a call for policy changes that protect refugees from deportation when accessing support services and a network of services that do not require residency permits. It calls for increased integration of parent trauma support in educational intervention trainings and the creation of safe spaces where mothers and fathers can discuss their own trauma and challenges in the hope of significantly enhancing program efficacy.

Slowing Down, Reading, and Asking Provocative Questions

Slowing Down, Reading, and Asking Provocative Questions Petros Panaou (bio) and Janelle Mathis (bio) As Kęstutis Kasparavičius writes in his message for the 2019 International Children’s Book Day celebration, “Someone who enjoys reading—be it a child or adult—is much more interesting than someone who doesn’t care for books, who is always racing against the clock, who never has time to sit down, who fails to notice much of what surrounds us.” Slowing down, noticing, reading, inevitably lead to questioning: questioning the text, questioning ourselves, questioning others, questioning the world. The authors we host in this issue are interesting people—people who slow down, read, and question—so they inevitably ask interesting questions. And more often than not, difficult and provocative questions are the most interesting ones. Kathy Short asks about the dangers of reading globally. She sees great value in reading globally, of course, but she also asks us to think about our social responsibilities as bookmakers, readers, and educators, and about what happens during the interaction of young readers with global literature when these responsibilities are taken lightly. In “Fish Is People,” Perry Nodelman asks whether picture-books that feature anthropomorphic animals encourage children to ignore the “otherness” or difference of other species. And might children’s thinking about animal characters also be shaping how children think about different kinds of people? In a playful analysis of numerous picturebooks with a focus on fish, Nodelman asks: “Do we respect others because we think of them as being like ourselves, or because of our awareness and acceptance of their differences from us?” Ann Alston asks even more difficult questions about the portrayal of female genital mutilation (FGM) in children’s literature, and Vassiliki Vassiloudi asks provocative questions in relation to refugee narratives produced, endorsed, and promoted by international refugee relief organizations. In an interview with Rob Bittner, author Elana K. Arnold asks us to consider what it currently means to write about sexual assault, rape culture, and violence against women and girls from a feminist standpoint. Asahi award winner Philippe Claudet poses provocative questions [End Page iii] about how blind children read the world and how tactile illustrated books (TiBs) have been adjusting to their different ways of reading. And finally, Saori Katagiri asks us to think how one makes and performs Kamishibai in Arabic for Muslims in Japan, when certain Kamishibai images are bound to shock and alienate this audience. This is an open-theme issue, but it so happened that there is a vibrant, strong theme running across every single text in it: Slow down, read, and ask provocative questions. Enjoy. Petros Panaou Petros Panaou is a clinical associate professor at the Universit y of Georgia, Department of Language and Literacy Education, where he teaches children’s literature and literacy courses. He chairs the annual Georgia Conference on Children’s Literature and has also chaired the academic committee for the 36th IBBY Congress. Petros currently serves on the Newbery Awards committee and has served on USBBY’s Outstanding International Books committee. He has authored a book and several articles and book chapters on international children’s literature. He has translated two academic volumes and led multiple international grants. His unpublished novel for children and teens To Kinito (The Cellphone) was awarded a CYBBY honor in 2017. Janelle Mathis Janelle Mathis is a professor of literacy and children’s literature at the University of North Texas, where she teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses centered on international children’s literature and its applications in research and instruction. She presents regularly at international children’s literature conferences, including IBBY Congresses and IRSCL, and has served on award committees, including the Outstanding International Books Award of USBBY. Janelle publishes on children’s literature studies, and recently co-edited with Holly Johnson and Kathy Short a book titled Critical Content Analysis of Children’s and Young Adult Literature (2017). Acknowledgments Janelle would like to acknowledge Katie Loomis from the University of North Texas for her assistance in the production process. Petros would like to thank the following graduate students from the University of Georgia, who have worked diligently in shaping this issue: Julie Carbaugh, Poonam...

International and Local Relief Organizations and the Promotion of Children’s and Young Adult Refugee Narratives

International and Local Relief Organizations and the Promotion of Children’s and Young Adult Refugee Narratives

Recovering a Voice: West European Jewish Communities after the HolocaustDavid Weinberg

Recovering a Voice is a meticulously detailed analysis of the reconstruction of Jewish life in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands between 1945 and the early 1960s. In six chapters, David Weinberg shows how the foundations were laid for Jews to remain in Europe after the Holocaust. The strength of the book lies in its nuanced analysis of similarities and differences among the French, Belgian, and Dutch Jewish communities as they grappled with their postwar reconstruction. Chapters one (“Return, Relief, and Rehabilitation”) and two (“Restructuring European Jewish Communities: Hopes and Realities”) look at the role of international and American Jewish relief organizations and their interactions with local leaders as they worked to lay the foundation for future Jewish life. Local authorities often resisted when British and American relief organizations demanded that they initiate a professional bureaucracy and centralize fundraising. The communities faced many challenges as they struggled to rebuild materially and institutionally. The Nazis and local authorities had confiscated approximately 70,000 apartments formerly occupied by Jews in the three countries, two-thirds of them in France (p. 40). Returning survivors found their homes occupied by people who had gained ownership during the war, or by squatters who had taken up residence because of the postwar housing shortage. New owners rarely relinquished the apartments readily, arguing disingenuously that they had secured the dwellings “in good faith” and should not be penalized for having been duped. In Paris returnees and wartime occupants frequently came to blows, and in many cases the new homeowners banded together to defend their rights.

The Pre-positioned Warehouse Location Selection for International Humanitarian Relief Logistics

This study aims to identify the most appropriate pre-positioned warehouse location for international humanitarian relief organisations. A two-step methodology is structured using fuzzy AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS to evaluate pre-positioned warehouse locations for humanitarian relief organisations. The empirical case study analysis of a humanitarian relief organisation is conducted to illustrate the use of the proposed framework for ranking alternative locations. This framework provides a more accurate, effective, and systematic decision support tool for stepwise implementation of warehouse location selection in humanitarian relief operations to increase efficiency. National stability is considered the most crucial factor for warehouse selection followed by host country cooperation. Location A was identified as the optimal warehouse location, with Locations D and E being relatively close. However, the organisation operates at Location A due to the national stability and government incentives such as land costs and customs exemption.

A scoping review of reporting \u2018Ethical Research Practices\u2019 in research conducted among refugees and war-affected populations in the Arab world

BackgroundEthical research conduct is a cornerstone of research practice particularly when research participants include vulnerable populations. This study mapped the extent of reporting ethical research practices in studies conducted among refugees and war-affected populations in the Arab World, and assessed variations by time, country of study, and study characteristics.MethodsAn electronic search of eight databases resulted in 5668 unique records published between 2000 and 2013. Scoping review yielded 164 eligible articles for analyses.ResultsEthical research practices, including obtaining institutional approval, access to the community/research site, and informed consent/assent from the research participants, were reported in 48.2, 54.9, and 53.7% of the publications, respectively. Institutional approval was significantly more likely to be reported when the research was biomedical in nature compared to public health and social (91.7% vs. 54.4 and 32.4%), when the study employed quantitative compared to qualitative or mixed methodologies (61.7% vs. 26.8 and 42.9%), and when the journal required a statement on ethical declarations (57.4% vs. 27.1%). Institutional approval was least likely to be reported in papers that were sole-authored (9.5%), when these did not mention a funding source (29.6%), or when published in national journals (0%). Similar results were obtained for access to the community site and for seeking informed consent/assent from study participants.ConclusionsThe responsibility of inadequacies in adherence to ethical research conduct in crisis settings is born by a multitude of stakeholders including funding agencies, institutional research boards, researchers and international relief organizations involved in research, as well as journal editors, all of whom need to play a more proactive role for enhancing the practice of ethical research conduct in conflict settings.

In Rural Towns, Immigrant Doctors Fill A Critical Need.

Immigrant doctors have helped fill physician shortages for years. In the current political climate, are they welcome?

Constraints and capacities for novel livelihood adaptation: lessons from agricultural adoption in an African dryland pastoralist system

Climate change, land use change, and sociopolitical and institutional transitions in African drylands have resulted in the loss, fragmentation, and degradation of environmental resources that pastoralists rely upon to sustain their livestock-based livelihoods. Diversification into irrigated agriculture is a potential strategy to increase food security. However, successful livelihood adaptation depends on access to key forms of natural, human, social, financial, and physical capitals, which may be lacking or unequally distributed in pastoralist communities. In two dryland pastoralist communities in Kenya, an international relief organization introduced irrigated farming in 2010. Nearly 200 individuals began farming, but within 4 years, all had quit. This study investigated the role of household access to different forms of capital in decisions to adopt agriculture, and how adaptive capacities, environmental conditions, and farming as a new livelihood practice interacted to shape household vulnerability. We found that decisions to farm were largely decoupled from access to assets that would afford greater adaptive capacity. The analysis also identified critical constraints that households encountered once they adopted farming. This study highlights the importance of more nuanced understandings of local capacities in the dynamics of adapting to environmental change. We recommend that prior to introducing interventions that promote new livelihood activities, development organizations should assess local capacities and pursue targeted strategies to increase household-level access to the forms of assets that will facilitate successful adaptation.

Placing Image and Practice in Tension: South Korean Nurses, Medical Pedagogy, and the Indiana University Bloomington Nursing Program, 1958–1962

In the aftermath of the Korean War (1950–53), the symbolic and material reconstruction of South Korea began, with much of the relief work assumed under the broad banner of the United Nations and its various affiliates and with a wide range of international aid and relief organizations participating. With this dramatic increase in the areas of new medical infrastructure, training, and pedagogy, it remains surprising that much of the scholarship to date has focused largely on medical practitioners and their contributions to a rebuilding nation, that is, the Korean domestic context almost exclusively, suggesting a strong degree of continuity with the past. For South Korean nurses, this period (1954 to early 1960s) would see a radical reconfiguring of their professional practice, along with that of doctors, and, more important, their patterns of movement, as international migration to the United States and Europe was enhanced by changes to immigration law in and following 1965. Even before this change, however, Korean nurses began traveling abroad for further education and professional development, with the Korean War opening up numerous opportunities consistent with such aims. To borrow the language of historian Young-Sun Hong, medical personnel were rapidly becoming mobilized as a critical part of a much larger “global humanitarian regime,” one consistent with the work of Catherine Cineza Choy on medical migration of Filipino nurses.

Saving the Remnant or Building Socialism? Transnational Humanitarian Relief in Early Soviet Armenia

Drawing on research in the National Archive of Armenia, the League of Nations Archive and the Archives of the Save the Children Fund, this article examines the work of international relief organisations in Soviet Armenia during the 1920s, focusing on the work of the British Lord Mayor’s Fund for Armenian Refugees. This organisation provided shelter, food, education, healthcare and work for refugees in Soviet Armenia until the end of 1926. The article first considers the origins of the Lord Mayor’s Fund’s work in the region and goes on to examine the dynamics of the encounter between British relief agents and the Soviet authorities, considering to what extent they were able to reconcile their priorities and visions of the Armenian future and establish a practical working relationship. Examining this ostensibly unlikely encounter offers a fresh perspective on inter-war humanitarian relief, illuminating the new modes of envisioning “national” futures and discourses and practices of managing displacement which emerged both in the Soviet Union and the “west”. More broadly, this article contributes to the development of more nuanced understandings of the place of the Soviet Union in emerging transnational histories of humanitarianism.

Systems Design Perspective of Healthcare Provision in Humanitarian Aid

This study focuses on the role of Systems Design in addressing the challenges of healthcare provision by international emergency relief organizations in developing countries. More specifically the challenges related to the safety and performance of medical equipment that is transferred in the aftermath of a humanitarian crisis. The aim of this paper is to describe the transfer of medical equipment and its associated challenges from a systems perspective and to reflect on the value of Systems Design as an approach to humanitarian innovation, addressing the identified systemic challenges. The concepts of Human Factors and Ergonomics, and Product-Service Systems will be presented as valuable contributions to support designers in handling a larger degree of complexity throughout the design process and to support them to make informed choices regarding this particular context.