This paper explores the implication of the use and appropriation of collaborative technologies in digital disaster response. Using a virtual ethnographic approach, we studied the work of Humanity Road through participant observation of seventeen response operations across thirteen countries for seventeen months. The results identify critical areas where collaborative technologies have been successfully deployed for organising disaster responses. Our analysis offers insights into the areas where these technologies have facilitated or hindered the capacity of cooperative work during response operations. We conclude by suggesting implications for design and practice.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.