Humanitarian ignorance: towards a new paradigm of non-knowledge in digital humanitarianism

This paper introduces the notion of 'humanitarian ignorance' to address growing concern regarding non-knowledge, as datafication becomes a central instrument and ambition of the humanitarian sector. With the turn to digital humanitarianism, contemporary humanitarian action increasingly relies on technology-driven quantification to expand the ability to collect, analyse, and present information. Utilising datafication processes, humanitarian organisations seek to assess 'risk' and mitigate 'uncertainty' more efficiently. Although central to their knowledge management and decision-making in low information circumstances, the conceptual notions of 'risk' and 'uncertainty' are inadequate to capture the full spectrum of non-knowledge in a time of digital humanitarianism. We introduce 'humanitarian ignorance' here to challenge the assumption that datafication allows humanitarian organisations to make fully informed, delimited, and thus 'better' decisions. Ultimately, we accentuate the paradox that while datafication is thought to reduce risk and uncertainty in humanitarian affairs by suggesting higher levels of control, insight, and certainty, these efforts in fact open new expanses of ignorance and unknowns.

Transparency in humanitarian logistics and supply chain: the moderating role of digitalisation

Purpose

Mismanagement and corruption in disaster relief operations (DROs) have created a demand for transparency and visibility in humanitarian logistics and supply chains. The global relief organisations and recent research endorse the adoption of digital solutions in DROs. The purpose of this research is to examine the moderating role of digitalisation in enhancing transparency in humanitarian logistics and supply chains of DROs in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

Employing the quantitative research method, the data were collected from 340 disaster relief workers through survey questionnaires using the snowball sampling technique. The data were analysed in the SmartPLS3 software of PLS-SEM.

Findings

The findings suggested that in Pakistan, where corruption and mismanagement in humanitarian logistics and supply chain have been the greatest concerns of all the stakeholders, digitalisation of the DROs is a way forward to create transparency in the system and build the trust of the donor organisations and public.

Research limitations/implications

The sample included only 340 disaster relief workers, future researchers may test the proposed model on a larger sample size and from different stakeholders' perspectives such as the disaster victims, government agencies and NGOs.

Social implications

The ultimate beneficiaries of a digitalised and transparent humanitarian logistics and supply chain will be the society as a whole and particularly the victims of the disasters. By adopting the appropriate technologies in DROs, the victims will receive timely and entitled resources, and early warnings will save many lives.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the body of knowledge by providing the first empirical evidence of examining the moderating role of digitalisation in creating transparency in humanitarian logistics from one of the top ten most disaster-affected nations.

Fuzzy multi-attribute group decision making to identify the order of establishing temporary logistics hubs during disaster response

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the importance of the order of establishment of temporary logistics hubs (TLHs) when resources (mobile storage units used as TLHs) are limited and to present the development and implementation of a methodology that determines the order of establishment of TLHs to support post-disaster decision making.

Design/methodology/approach

It employed a decision support system that considers multiple decision makers and subjective attributes, while also addressing the impreciseness inherent in post-disaster decision making for ordering the establishment of TLHs. To do so, an optimization model was combined with a fuzzy multi-attribute group decision making approach. A numerical illustration was performed using data from the April 2015 Nepal Earthquake.

Findings

The results showed the location and order of establishment of TLHs, and demonstrated the impact of decision makers’ opinions on the overall ordering.

Research limitations/implications

The study does not discuss the uncertain nature of the location problem and the potential need for relocation of TLHs.

Practical implications

This methodology offers managerial insights for post-disaster decision making when resources are limited and their effective utilization is vital. The results highlight the importance of considering the opinions of multiple actors/decision makers to enable coordination and avoid complication between the growing numbers of humanitarian responders during disaster response.

Originality/value

This study introduces the concept of the order of establishment of TLHs and demonstrates its importance when resources are limited. It develops and implements a methodology determining the order of establishment of TLHs to support post-disaster decision making.

Humanitarian medical supply chain in disaster response

Purpose

Following a large-scale disaster, medical assistance is a critical component of the emergency response. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

Academic and practitioner literature is used to develop a framework studying the effectiveness of the humanitarian medical supply chain (HMSC). The framework is validated by using the findings of interviews conducted with experts and the case study of a serious humanitarian medical crisis (Ebola outbreak in 2014).

Findings

The factors affecting the effectiveness of the HMSC are identified.

Research limitations/implications

To get an expert opinion on the major logistical challenges of the medical assistance in emergencies only 11 interviews with practitioners were conducted.

Originality/value

While the existing academic literature discusses the distribution of various supplies needed by the affected population, limited research focuses specifically on studying the HMSC aspect of the response. This paper closes this gap by describing the HMSC in the case of disaster response, and identifying the factors affecting its effectiveness, especially focusing on the factors that are unique to the medical aspect of the humanitarian supply chain.

A multi-actor multi-objective optimization approach for locating temporary logistics hubs during disaster response

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to develop a mathematical model that determines the location of temporary logistics hubs (TLHs) for disaster response and proposes a new method to determine weights of the objectives in a multi-objective optimization problem. The research is motivated by the importance of TLHs and the complexity that surrounds the determination of their location.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-period multi-objective model with multi-sourcing is developed to determine the location of the TLHs. A fuzzy factor rating system (FFRS) under the group decision-making (GDM) condition is then proposed to determine the weights of the objectives when multiple decision makers exist.

Findings

The interview with decision makers shows the heterogeneity of decision opinions, thus substantiating the importance of GDM. The optimization results provide useful managerial insights for decision makers by considering the trade-off between two non-commensurable objectives.

Research limitations/implications

In this study, decision makers are considered to be homogeneous, which might not be the case in reality. This study does not consider the stochastic nature of relief demand.

Practical implications

The outcomes of this study are valuable to decision makers for relief distribution planning. The proposed FFRS approach reveals the importance of involving multiple decision makers to enhance sense of ownership of established TLHs.

Originality/value

A mathematical model highlighting the importance of multi-sourcing and short operational horizon of TLHs is developed. A new method is proposed and implemented to determine the weights of the objectives. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the multi-actor and multi-objective aspects of the TLH location problem have not thus far been considered simultaneously for one particular problem in humanitarian logistics.

A 3-R principle for characterizing failure in relief supply chains’ response to natural disasters

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to introduce a 3R (right time, right place, and right material) principle for characterizing failure in humanitarian/relief supply chains’ response to natural disasters, and describes a Bayesian methodology of the failure odds with regard to external factors that may affect the disaster-relief outcome, and distinctive supply chain proneness to failure.

Design/methodology/approach

– The suggested 3Rs combine simplicity and completeness, enclosing all aspects of the 7R principle popular within business logistics. A fixed effects logistic regression model is designed, with a Bayesian approach, to relate the supply chains’ odds for success in disaster-relief to potential environmental predictors, while accounting for distinctive supply chains’ proneness to failure.

Findings

– Analysis of simulated data demonstrate the model’s ability to distinguish relief supply chains with regards to their disaster-relief failure odds, taking into account pertinent external factors and supply chain idiosyncrasies.

Research limitations/implications

– Due to the complex nature of natural disasters and the scarcity of subsequent data, the paper employs computer-simulated data to illustrate the implementation of the proposed methodology.

Originality/value

– The 3R principle offers a simple and familiar basis for evaluating failure in relief supply chains’ response to natural disasters. Also, it brings the issues of customer orientation within humanitarian relief and supply operations to the fore, which had only been implicit within the humanitarian and relief supply chain literature.