Twine provides information and software to set up compatible data collection systems that pool information into the larger system, which the app then makes available to its users. The system also includes a publishing and collaboration aspect which allows groups of people from all over the globe to access the same data and report on the findings together.
The extensive bibliography suggests that the article was produced with extensive research into the history of humanitarian aid for sexual violence and the political aspects of humanitarianism. The article and bibliography show that this article was produced on existing data rather than through field research.
There are thousands of data collection apps that use similar technical system as Twine, one more popular app is Fulcrum which uses the same real time collection ideas and integration between existing data and new data. Fulcrum however is aimed towards medium businesses that need to coordinate between employees. There also exists several open source options that also allow for independent data collection.
The main argument of the article is that the attempt to depoliticize sexual violence has a negative effect on the ability for the victims of sexual violence to receive humanitarian aid and prevents the recognition of all manifestations of this type of violence.
The development of Twine was funded primarily through donations from individual investors interested in the data sharing aspects of the software and humanitarian aid organizations who benefit from the accessible data.
The article has been referenced nearly two dozen times in various articles focusing on feminism, gender, and the intersection between politics and medicine.
The system has partners including UNAIDS, a branch of UNISEF, International Medical Corps, Medecins Du Monde, AAHI, and other humanitarian organizations. The support of these groups both financially and with the user community is important to maintain the app as an active site for research and development. The technical aspects of the site also heavily rely on the data storage method, which is not mentioned but would require massive amounts of memory as well as safeguards to prevent data loss on the app servers.
The author Miriam Ticktin is a professor of Anthropology at the New School, she has worked in the fields of Women’s Studies and English Literature. Her research focuses on medicine and science and its connection to feminist theory.
The system is primarily used by researchers, scholars, and organizations with humanitarian interests. The app also has functions which would attract users that are beginning research and do not have established connections within the field as the app provides a support system.
Emergency response is addressed in terms of post-incident humanitarian aid, dealing with how to identify and help victims of sexual violence without politicizing their situations to the point of forcing them to relive their trauma or making them feel separated from other people receiving aid.