Inaugural Student Humanitarian Summit Brings Campus Together to Explore Global Engagement

Student leaders engage students, faculty, visiting parents and others in creating greater campus engagement on global humanitarian issues

Post-Conflict Rule of Law Building: The Need for a Multi-Layered, Synergistic Approach

In recent years, considerable blood, sweat, and treasure have been devoted to building the rule of law in the wake of armed conflicts and military interventions in many parts of the world. From Afghanistan to Iraq, Kosovo to East Timor, and Sierra Leone to Haiti and elsewhere, international interveners and local leaders have struggled to address both security and humanitarian challenges in societies seeking to overcome a legacy of violent conflic

Strategy at the crossroads: The case of the navy hospital ships

We examine the state of knowledge in the defense literature on the use of military medical humanitarian assistance missions and examine their implications for navy hospital ships. As humanitarian assistance missions grow in importance for combatant commanders, deployed forces, senior government leaders and the international community, it becomes more important to determine desired outcomes and to set clear priorities for hospital ship use. Only when this is done can activities that promote achievement of policy goals be selected. While traditional hospital ship missions focus on combat support and training, successful humanitarian assistance campaigns typically address improving security and stability in a region, attitudes towards Americans and the West, and health and welfare conditions of local populations. We argue that well-crafted and communicated goals and priorities for the use of hospital ships are essential if the ships are to achieve desired policy outcomes.humanitarian assistance; military medicine; strategic planning

Leadership of Humanitarian Organizations Working in Less Developed Countries: A Best Practices Analysis

Many people from the developed world, who intend to help the poor in less developed countries, actually end up doing harm by creating more dependence, demonstrating ignorance of the local culture, not understanding the importance of long-term relationships, and offering solutions to problems without ever getting input and buy-in from those they intend to help. There is very little published research in scholarly journals regarding how those from the developed world can best approach humanitarian relief and development work in the developing world. In this qualitative analysis using a collective case study design, humanitarian relief and development organizational leaders share best-practices that focus on the following recommendations: 1) Empower and develop the indigenous people, 2) Focus on long-term relationships and partnerships with the indigenous people, and 3) Work on understanding the local culture

A spiritual intelligence model for operational humanitarian leadership development in conflict-affected areas

The scale and cadence of crises that demand international humanitarian response are on the rise and pose increasingly hostile and complex challenges to operational humanitarian leaders. The international responses to humanitarian crises since 2011 recognised the need for successful humanitarian leadership development that emphasises the importance of ethical and effective leadership. The under-achievement of operational humanitarian leaders in conflict-affected areas has long been a chief concern amongst humanitarian organisations and leadership scholars. Several approaches to the development of operational humanitarian leaders have been presented as possible solutions such as establishing new financing mechanisms; improving technical abilities, academic knowledge, simulation training, conflict management skills; conflict prevention training; and enhancing the capacity for collaborative networks. Despite various efforts, it is reported that ineffective and incompetent leadership is still a major constraint on the success and effectiveness of operational humanitarian response in conflict-affected areas. This research effort attempted to contribute to improving operational humanitarian leadership by considering a “human or people-centred approach”. The primary objective was to identify the factors that influence the successful development of the spiritual intelligence (SQ) of humanitarian leaders working in conflict-affected areas. The primary objective was, therefore, to improve the abilities and skills of humanitarian leaders by validating and analysing factors that should contribute to the development of spiritually intelligent leaders and, subsequently, improve humanitarian leadership performance. There is growing consensus that values, ethical behaviour, self-awareness, motivation, compassion, humility, empathy, co-ordination and the empowerment of others have a significant impact on the effectiveness of operational humanitarian leadership which emphasises the need for human or people-centred approaches in developing humanitarian leaders. The striking similarities between abilities pertaining to effective, operational, humanitarian leadership and the capabilities of a spiritually intelligent individual suggested an opportunity to investigate the development of a spiritual intelligence model for humanitarian leaders. The frequency, duration and intensity of humanitarian crises between 2004 and 2016 further emphasised the urgent need for operational leaders to develop and apply abilities based on spiritual intelligence in the humanitarian sector. Some scholars argue that the development of spiritually intelligent leaders should play an instrumental role in successfully responding to global crises

Local perspectives on humanitarian aid in Sri Lanka after the tsunami

Objectives: This case study examines the impact of humanitarian aid from the perspectives of local stakeholders in Sri Lanka following the tsunami disaster of December 2004. Study Design: Qualitative study using key-informant and focus group interviews. Methods: Key-informant and focus group interviews were conducted with tsunami survivors, community leaders, the local authorities and aid workers sampled purposively. Data collected was analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The study found that aid had aggravated social tensions and the lack of community engagement led to grievances. There was a perceived lack of transparency, beneficiary expectations were not always met and it was difficult to match aid to needs. Rapid participatory approaches to obtain beneficiary feedback in post disaster settings are possible but have limitations due to respondent bias. Conclusions: In order to mitigate adverse social impacts of their programmes, humanitarian aid agencies need to better understand the context in which aid is delivered. Beneficiary feedback is essential in disaster planning and response so that disaster response can be better matched to the needs of beneficiaries

Iraq, Sanctions and Security: A Critique

Initiatives in the recognition of prior learning (RPL) have been taken in Sweden in recent years, mainly focusing on prior vocational learning among immigrants. The government started different projects to find methods for recognising a person’s prior learning in the field of vocational competence. This article presents a study of how these projects were organised and their starting points. Differences are identified concerning whether they were integrated with, or parallel to, the school system, and whether the starting point was a few vocations or a number of different vocations (depending on the background of the participants). The article then looks at some problems that arise when trying to recognise prior learning. We find that knowledge of the Swedish language is essential in this process, but that the demands are flexible and the criteria informal. The article also discusses the relationship between RPL and the educational system, where most of the projects had problems in not being too influenced by the school tradition where the main documentation of competence is grades. Finally, the article discusses conditions for the development of trust in RPL.Original publication: Per Andersson, Andreas Fejes and Song-Ee Ahn, Recognition of Prior Vocational Learning in Sweden, 2004, Studies in the Education of Adults, (36), 1, 57-71.http://www.niace.org.uk/publications/Periodicals/studies/Back/tocSpr04.htm. Copyright: National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, http://www.niace.org.uk