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Online Volunteers and SmartAid

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Humanitarian Work Psychology

Abstract

Volunteer aid delivery is central to humanitarian work, whether the work is in response to an unexpected disaster or directed at poverty reduction and international development more broadly. Many times, volunteer work assignments are relatively limited in duration. Short-term international volunteer aid has generated a great deal of controversy, criticism, and concern over the years, some of it warranted. Challenges and opportunities abound for humanitarian work psychology (HWP), which is poised to address many of these concerns. This chapter focuses on how industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology and information technology (IT) can be combined to improve the effectiveness and well-being of those receiving and delivering aid. Such is the focus of an emerging programme of work within the HWP community, known as SmartAid. This chapter begins with an overview of various problems stemming from international volunteer aid delivery, followed by a discussion of opportunities afforded by emerging trends in online volunteerism. It then describes the SmartAid concept, which entails addressing concerns pertaining to aid work by combining information and communication technologies with I-O psychology principles and interventions.

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Authors
  1. Stephen G. Atkins
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  2. Lori Foster Thompson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Massey University, New Zealand

    Stuart C. Carr

  2. Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

    Malcolm MacLachlan

  3. University College London, UK

    Adrian Furnham

Copyright information

© 2012 Stephen G. Atkins & Lori Foster Thompson

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Cite this chapter

Atkins, S.G., Thompson, L.F. (2012). Online Volunteers and SmartAid. In: Carr, S.C., MacLachlan, M., Furnham, A. (eds) Humanitarian Work Psychology. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137015228_12

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