Social media platforms have come into the focus of research as sources of information about the unfolding situation in disaster contexts. Incorporating information from social media into decision-making is still difficult though. One reason may be that the prevalent approach to data analysis works bottom-up, which has several limitations. In this paper, we adopt a top-down approach by means of ...

Humanitarian action has always been a highly political activity. The provision of humanitarian assistance and protection has relied upon engaging with political authorities in conflict-affected countries, and thus influenced the political economy of conflict. At the same time the provision of humanitarian assistance has been influenced by domestic political considerations in donor countries, re...

Disasters are on the rise, more complex, and donor support is increasingly unpredictable. In response to this trend humanitarian agencies are looking for more efficient and effective solutions. This paper discusses the evolution of supply chain management in disaster relief and the role of new players like the private sector. It is based on research conducted by the Humanitarian Research Group ...

We consider a supply chain in which a retailer faces a stochastic demand, incurs backorder and inventory holding costs and uses a periodic review system to place orders from amanufacturer. The manufacturer must fill the entire order. The manufacturer incurs costs of overtime and undertime if the order deviates from the planned production capacity.We determine the optimal capacity for the manufa...

A logistics information service manages a large amount of products and product transport flow. Many applications request logistics information from a logistics information service. For effective sharing of logistics information and knowledge, the design of a logistics information management system is important. The current web is changing to a semantic web that provides a common framework for d...

We use computational tools to study assortativity patterns in multi-dimensional inter-organizational networks on the basis of different node attributes. In the case study of an inter-organizational network in the humanitarian relief sector, we consider not only macro-level topological patterns, but also assortativity on the basis of micro-level organizational attributes. Unlike assortative soci...

Humanitarian responses to conflict and disasters due to natural hazards usually operate in contexts of resource scarcity and unmet demands for healthcare workers. Task shifting is one avenue for delivering needed health care in resource poor settings, and on-the-ground reports indicate that task shifting may be applicable in humanitarian contexts. However, a variety of obstacles currently restr...

Prior research has developed and tested a theoretical framework that links the skills and attributes of individual logisticians to logistics performance in the humanitarian, military and commercial fields. Using this framework, this paper analyses the job advertisements for humanitarian logisticians working in the “last mile” (as distinct from those based in regional headquarters) in order to a...

Through the emergence of new doctrine, stability operations are becoming a core U.S. military mission that the Department of Defense (DoD) must be prepared to conduct and support. These operations are now given priority comparable to combat operations. The immediate goal often is to provide the local populace with security, restore essential services, and meet humanitarian needs. The long-term ...