Crisis translation: considering language needs in multilingual disaster settings

Purpose: The purpose of this conceptual paper is to highlight the role that language translation can play in disaster prevention and management and to make the case for increased attention to language translation in crisis communication. Approach: The article draws on literature relating to disaster management to suggest that translation is a perennial issue in crisis communication. Findings: Although communication with multicultural and multilinguistic communities is seen as being in urgent need of attention, we find that the role of translation in enabling this is underestimated, if not unrecognised. Value: This article raises awareness of the need for urgent attention to be given by scholars and practitioners to the role of translation in crisis communication

Crisis Analytics: Big Data Driven Crisis Response

Disasters have long been a scourge for humanity. With the advances in technology (in terms of computing, communications, and the ability to process and analyze big data), our ability to respond to disasters is at an inflection point. There is great optimism that big data tools can be leveraged to process the large amounts of crisis-related data (in the form of user generated data in addition to the traditional humanitarian data) to provide an insight into the fast-changing situation and help drive an effective disaster response. This article introduces the history and the future of big crisis data analytics, along with a discussion on its promise, challenges, and pitfalls

Government and NGOs Collaboration in Disaster Governance: The Indonesian Experience

As the main leader in disaster governance, governments are believed to have bigger role than the others. However, it is hard for governments to solve the disaster problems by themselves. Governments need to be supported by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) because NGOs have abilities which governments don’t have. Both of them must make mutual cooperation in disaster governance. But, the Indonesian experience shows that government and NGOs are, in some cases, involved in unnecessary conflict. Government views that the NGOs, mainly international NGOs, are just talking rather than acting and potential to destroy local knowledge. On the other hand, NGOs feel that the government could not respond the disaster quickly and want to restrict their freedom. Therefore, to give the best service for disaster victims, government and NGOs should make norms for collaboration and coordination among them, hold regular training of disaster risk reduction for government officials, and improve capacity building support needed by NGOs. Key Words: government, NGOs, disaster governance, disaster risk reduction. Abstrak Sebagai pemimpin utama dalam tata kelola bencana, pemerintah diyakini memiliki peran yang lebih besar dari yang lain. Namun, sulit bagi pemerintah untuk memecahkan masalah bencana sendiri. Pemerintah perlu didukung oleh organisasi non-pemerintah (LSM) karena LSM memiliki kemampuan yang pemerintah tidak memilik. Keduanya harus membuat kerjasama dalam pemerintahan bencana. Namun, pengalaman Indonesia menunjukkan bahwa pemerintah dan LSM, dalam beberapa kasus, terlibat dalam konflik yang tidak perlu. Pemerintah berpandangan bahwa LSM, terutama LSM internasional, hanya berbicara daripada bertindak dan berpotensi untuk menghancurkan pengetahuan lokal. Di sisi lain, LSM merasa bahwa pemerintah tidak bisa merespon bencana dengan cepat dan ingin membatasi kebebasan mereka. Oleh karena itu, untuk memberikan pelayanan yang terbaik bagi korban bencana, pemerintah dan LSM harus membuat norma untuk kerjasama dan koordinasi di antara mereka, menyelenggarakan pelatihan rutin pengurangan risiko bencana untuk pejabat pemerintah, dan meningkatkan daya dukung bangunan yang diperlukan oleh LSM. Kata-Kata Kunci: pemerintah, LSM, tata kelola bencana, pengurangan resiko bencana

Technology for Good: Innovative Use of Technology by Charities

Technology for Good identifies ten technologies being used by charitable organizations in innovative ways. The report briefly introduces each technology and provides examples of how those technologies are being used.Examples are drawn from a broad spectrum of organizations working on widely varied issues around the globe. This makes Technology for Good a unique repository of inspiration for the public and private sectors, funders, and other change makers who support the creation and use of technology for social good

See Me, Ask Me, Hear Me: Children's Recommendations for Recovery Three Months After Typhoon Haiyan

Typhoon Haiyan, known locally in the Philippines as Typhoon Yolanda, was the deadliest rapid-onset disaster globally in 2013. Nearly 6 million children have been affected, 4.1 million people remain displaced and over 6,000 people lost their lives. Three months since Typhoon Haiyan made landfall will be marked on 8 February 2014. Already many families have started to return home, businesses are reopening and communities are picking up the pieces. Save the Children is working with communities, families and children to provide health, nutrition, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, education, child protection and livelihood assistance. As part of this, save the children has consulted with children about how well they think aid agencies have provided assistance to date, and on their hopes for the future

Post-disaster housing and management in Malaysia: a literature review

Purpose – Malaysia is still in the process of reorganising and restructuring disaster management policy, learning from the national and international experiences. Argument about current situation of emergency management and housing in Malaysia can be used by the decision makers, authorities and NGOs to develop strategies and actions that include awareness raising and capacity building for enhancing enforcement of current legislation. Design/methodology/approach - The work concentrated mostly on academic reports of original investigations rather than reviews. The conclusions in this paper are generalizations based on the author's interpretation of those original reports. Findings - Malaysia is not a developed country and also not a developing country but more in the middle, follows any direction from the international arena to national situation. Malaysia has a developed country approach in disaster management policy but with the implementation of developing country. This paper argues that providing post disaster housing must accommodate requirement in the national disaster management policy and parallel with the needs from international concern to the rights of disaster victims. Originality/value - The outcomes from this discussion might give insights into designing and planning the national policy and disaster management framework by restructuring and reorganising the present National Disaster Management Mechanism in terms of enhancing the coordination of responsibility between and within government bodies in the National Disaster Management Mechanism

Haiti Earthquake January 2010: What Actions and Policies Can the Government of Haiti Implement to Improve Emergency Management Response

In 2010, Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake that destroyed much of its capital city and the governmental offices that should have guided the response to the disaster. This research focuses on how Haiti can benefit from the Caribbean Disaster Management Agency’s standards for disaster resilience as it works to recover from the earthquake. Unfortunately, Haiti has long been dependent on assistance from non-governmental organizations due to its extreme poverty; its recovery is complicated by the need to integrate disaster assistance and on-going economic and social assistance into its development of a more resilient society

The Relative Effects of Logistics, Coordination and Human Resource on Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Mission Performance

Most studies on humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) missions suggest that the quality of logistics, coordination and human resource management will affect their performance. However, studies in developing countries are mainly conceptual and lack the necessary empirical evidence to support these contentions. The current paper thereby aimed to fill this knowledge gap by statistically examining the effects of the abovementioned factors on such missions. Focusing on the Malaysian army due to its extensive experience in HADR operations, the paper opted for a quantitative approach to allow for a more objective analysis of the issues. The results show that there are other potential determinants of mission success which deserve due attention in future studies. They also suggest that human resource is not easily measured as a construct, and that this limitation in methodology must be overcome to derive more accurate conclusions regarding its effect on HADR mission performance.&nbsp