| While the complexity of humanitarian aid intervention has been the focus of global response to disaster, little is known from the perspectives of the people who actually carry out the work itself. In conjunction with 21 colleagues who serve as aid workers this research set out to explore how aid workers respond to unpredictable and often insecure aid work environment. Central to this research was the aid workers' own perception and experience of humanitarian aid work. These experiences have then been viewed through the lens of Complex Adaptive Systems. Findings show aid workers as a highly adaptive and self-organized group of people who frequently confronted new situations by introducing new behaviour. The underpinning themes of this discussion include informal interactions, adaptive behaviour, and intricate relationships which apparently propel aid workers to confront the numerous challenges they face in the course of their work. |
