Networking emergency teams in Jerusalem

Abstract

With the recent upsurge in terrorism, more and more attention is being directed at examining the effectiveness and efficiency of emergency teams. These teams tend to focus on their areas of expertise without necessarily communicating, cooperating or coordinating their operations. Research suggests that improved interpersonal communication and coordination enhances the overall work of each emergency team, and that their combined effort is far in excess of the sum of their individual endeavours. This paper outlines attempts made in Jerusalem to improve the performance of emergency teams and to help the helpers by holding training workshops, setting up a forum of co-workers and encouraging dialogue among various emergency teams in the city. A planned intervention programme was designed to enable informal networking between team leaders. The programme had an impact on team workers and resulted in a more coordinated and effective service delivery during emergencies.

Work‐related stress in a humanitarian context: a qualitative investigation

“…Many employees perceived the need to respond to changing circumstances and pressing demands as stressful and better planning was suggested in order to move away from an emergency culture. Other research confirms that the work environment of humanitarian aid workers is constantly changing, time pressured, and unpredictable (Majchrzak, Jarvenpaa, and Hollingshead, 2007;Yanay, Benjamin, and Yamin, 2011;Blanchet and Michinov, 2014).…”

“…Other research confirms that the work environment of humanitarian aid workers is constantly changing, time pressured, and unpredictable (Majchrzak, Jarvenpaa, and Hollingshead, 2007;Yanay, Benjamin, and Yamin, 2011;Blanchet and Michinov, 2014). They recognised the external pressures and complexities facing humanitarian organisations trying to help those in need.…”

The role of Social media during Queensland floods: An Empirical Investigation on the Existence of Multiple Communities of Practice (MCoPs)

“…Unprecedented utilisation of social media applications, especially Twitter and Facebook, has been observed during and after the Queensland (Australia) floods in the year 2010-2011. There are many success stories in which social media applications acted as saviour during such crises (Yanay, Benjamin et al 2011;Rive, Thomas et al 2012). Disaster management agencies, especially Queensland Police Services (QPS), used these media as their strategic tools to disseminate relevant information during and after the Queensland floods.…”

People’s Motivation to Participate in Social Network Sites, Subsequent Behaviours, and Situation Self-Awareness following a Crisis: Evidence from the MH370 Flight Incident

“…Recent literature has recognized the importance of SNSs for both natural disasters and humanmade disasters (e.g., Palen et al, 2009;Shklovski et al 2010;Starbird and Palen, 2010;Taylor et al, 2012;Yanay et al, 2011). For example, in relation to natural disasters, SNSs have been used to find missing people and offer various types of help such as offering food, water, and shelters following the 2005 Hurricane Katrina .…”