A Fundamentally Confused Document: Situation Reports and the Work of Producing Humanitarian Information

Main author: Finn, Megan
Other authors: Oreglia, Elisa
Format: Conference or Workshop Items           
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id eprints-21826
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
topic H Social Sciences (General)
description Situation reports, or sitreps, are documents commonly used by UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs involved in emergency response to disseminate information to and from relief workers in the field. This paper analyzes the information labor involved in producing sitreps, and how it can be used to understand why these documents are described by insiders as “fundamentally confused.” Drawing from document analysis and interviews with over one hundred people involved with sitreps, we examine humanitarian information labor in a decentralized, hierarchical, collaborative, political, and competitive work environment. From an empirical perspective, we contribute to CSCW by adding a case study about the situated practice of making humanitarian information, which includes our work as researcher/consultants in reconstructing the details of information gathering and sharing processes in order to improve them. We consider how the work of producing humanitarian information reproduces problematic humanitarian logics.
format Conference or Workshop Items
author Finn, Megan
author_facet Finn, Megan
Oreglia, Elisa
authorStr Finn, Megan
author_letter Finn, Megan
author2 Oreglia, Elisa
author2Str Oreglia, Elisa
title A Fundamentally Confused Document: Situation Reports and the Work of Producing Humanitarian Information
publishDate 2016
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/21826/