Abstract: The goal of this industrial PhD is to investigate how to include resilience into a cyber-security strategy to safeguard vital infrastructure. Critical infrastructure is increasingly susceptible since businesses are using technology more often. These infrastructures are also components of a vast, integrated, and increasing digital supply chain that transcends national boundaries, adding to the difficulties. A bigger attack surface where an attacker might use vulnerabilities contained in suppliers' and sub suppliers' chains could come from this extension of the digital supply chain. The study will add to our understanding of how to manage intricate supply chains in critical infrastructure with stringent dependability requirements. The digitalization processes in the supply chain include changes to the organizational structure, necessitating a robust strategy for continual improvement. The research question for this project is as follows: How can a resilience framework contribute to managing the complex digital supply chain for stakeholders in the power industry? The system dynamic (SD) approach will be used to generate a simulation based on the findings from each of the methods. Previous supply chain research has demonstrated that SD modelling is an effective strategy for building resilience in supply networks. To comprehend and examine the behavior of dynamic and complex systems, the notion of SD was established. The theory of system dynamics is based on the idea that actions done in systems will change the system, which will then lead to new actions. To collect primary data the qualitative method chosen as most suitable the semi-structured interview. To understand a social phenomenon, one needs to listen to people who reflect on their own experiences, knowledge, and motivation. Through interviews, it is possible to go into depth on the phenomenon and gather complex and rich data that is not available through literature review only. Contributions from this Ph.D. study are grouped into two categories: academia and organization. Further understanding regarding supply chain vulnerability and the implementation of potential techniques and ideas in novel contexts are academic contributions. The development of the resilience framework, which aims to address the difficult problem of managing stakeholders in the digital supply chain, is a contribution made by the organizations. The goal for CIs is to have resilient DSCs that can withstand and improve from high-pressure situations. Improving DSC resilience requires an understanding of the supply chain network that includes suppliers’ and their sub-suppliers’ incentives, all the way to its downstream customers’ incentives. By understanding the structure of the system, the ability to ascertain the behavior of the system increases, providing opportunities to better manage the system. If we can harness the positive incentives for collaboration and social connection the road to a more resilient CI that is available when the society require it becomes easier.

Abstract: Voice, analogue mobile radio, and paper have een successfully used for decades for coordination of emergencies and disasters, but although being simple and robust this approach cannot keep pace with todays requirements any more. Emerging and established digital communication standards open the door to new applications and services, but the expected benefit needs to be carefully evaluated against robustness, interoperability, and user-friendliness. This paper describes a framework for IT-supported management of mass casualty incidents, which is currently under implementation and study. The four pillars of the concept are handheld devices for use both in daily rescue operations and in disasters, autonomous satellite-based communication infrastructure, a distributed database concept for maximal availability, and psychological acceptance research.

Abstract: Practice and research collaborations in the disaster domain have the potential to improve emergency management practices while also advancing disaster science theory. However, they also pose challenges as practitioners and researchers each have their own culture, history, values, incentives, and processes that do not always facilitate collaboration. In this paper, we reflect on a 6-month practice and research collaboration, where researchers and practitioners worked together to craft a social media monitoring system for emergency managers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges we encountered in this project fall into two broad categories, job-related and timescale challenges. Using prior research on team science as a guide, we discuss several challenges we encountered in these two categories and show how our team sought to overcome them. We conclude with a set of best practices for improving practice and research collaborations.

Abstract: In the past crisis sensemaking activities have primarily been controlled by professional emergency responders and the media. Social media, however, has the potential to see a shift towards more grassroots and ad hoc citizen engagement. This paper sets out our vision and our progress in implementation of a new online platform called 'Majority Report', which aims to empower citizen sensemaking activities around crisis events. The concept is to facilitate citizen volunteers to draw together a range of digital media (photographs, Tweets, videos, etc.) to present stories of crisis events, and thus demarcate arguments about different understandings in terms of the temporal ordering of event narrative components and their relations to each other. Through collaborative usages of the platform, accounts may be improved by others, and variants may be presented and compared to challenge existing assumptions and beliefs.

Abstract: This short insights paper examines IT Supported Emergency Response systems from the perspective of the digital divide and access for disabled people. It is argued that inclusive design is often overlooked in the development of emergency systems and this can lead to increased marginalisation of certain societal groups, such as disabled people and older people. Given the importance of equality of provision in relation to emergency responses there is a need to examine accessibility policy in this area to determine whether it enables the equal participation of all. This is important both in relation to the ability to access key information in an emergency situation and to participate in crowdsourced data generation to help in the targeting of resources, both at the time of an emergency and in subsequent planning. This insights paper takes both a practical and theoretical approach and focuses upon key policies emanating from the EU and UK.

Abstract: Natural disasters are an age-old problem that occur regularly in alpine regions, posing a major threat to the safety of settlements and transport routes. Within the project “Safety of Alpine Routes – Application of Earth Observation Combined with GIS (Hannibal)”, financed by the Ministry of Transport and Innovation, information relevant for disaster management has been extracted from satellite remote sensing and integrated into a newly developed GIS based Decision Support System (DSS). Some of the required map information were inferred from ERS- or from SPOT5- and QUICKBIRD satellites, others were taken from conventional data sources such as maps or Digital Terrain Models.

Abstract: Disasters in Earth Nature Systems (in river basins and in coastal zone) are generated the systems by influence under pressure and impacts of external systems. The water related disasters include the most of hazardous processes on land and sea as follows: floods, avalanches, droughts, landslides, debris-flows, erosion, abrasion, and others. The external systems are not yet able to let know about the Time, Place, and Power of future disasters all together. However, Earth systems allow doing it because of their property to delay on exterior power. The proposed and discussed is the Moving Digital Earth (MDE) technology for outstripping estimation of the Earth Nature Systems response on exterior pressure and impacts. The MDE uses only the knowledge of current System's state and methods of the Digital Systems Analysis (DSA) by high-speed computing.

Abstract: The Interactive Media Laboratory at Dartmouth Medical School produces computer games and multimedia programs for public health preparedness. With Department of Homeland Security funding, the IML is developing the Virtual Terrorism Response Academy, which uses game technology to prepare first responders for rescue efforts in which hazardous materials may be involved. This paper looks at the history of the “Virtual Clinic” concept and the original rationale for creating what Max Boisot calls “epistemology space.” It also offers an account of the VRTA designers' responses to potential criticism from learning specialists in game studies who object that the game is too didactic and discourages trial-and-error by restraining the learner in the narrative conceit of a “simulation of a simulation.”.

Abstract: Digital technologies have become an integral enabler of communication during various phases of emergency management (EM). A crucial prerequisite of effective communication between authorities and the public during EM is the establishment of adequate mutual trust. Trust, however, is an elusive concept which is not easily translatable into technical settings. In this paper we propose an integrative model of trust in digital communication and show how such model can be advantageous in assessing and improving trust relations in context of EM. Our interdisciplinary model, which is based on findings from psychology, sociology and computer sciences provides an abstraction which not only seizes both subjective and objective as well as personal and non-personal, \eg institutional or cultural, aspects of trust but at the same time is concrete enough to be applicable to real-life scenarios.

Abstract: Disasters are unexpected large-scale events accompanied by trauma, death, and destruction. Disaster resilience varies by location and can be significantly improved through effective management. Real-time information describing the on-site impacts of disasters plays an important role in managing disasters. Social media provides a convenient platform where users in disaster-affected areas can access disaster information, report local damages, and ask for assistance. However, a widespread spatially uneven flow in online activities requesting for food, shelter, and medical assistance among people in disaster-affected areas through social media is seen during any disaster. Digital divide Influences social media use. Before probing the social media data for inspecting the affected population and prioritizing the relief operations, the social inequality in the social media use has to be considered. In this study, we examine the role of digital divide and its influence in social media use with aim of improving disaster resilience in vulnerable communities.

Abstract: Industrial parks are economic drivers of the cities where they are located. These parks are constantly at risk of catastrophe due to the diversity of industries and the dangerous materials used in their production processes. Despite this constant threat, there is a digitization shortfall in the emergency management process in industrial parks. This research paper seeks to describe the importance of digital transformation in industrial parks, as well as, how information systems can contribute to proper emergency management. Based on the preliminary analysis of the literature, it was possible to determine how the implementation of an emergency system would facilitate the prevention of catastrophes according to the analysis of scenarios, simulation, management, and proper coordination of emergencies in real-time. However, the proper functioning of this system depends on the implementation of environmental innovation, exploration, and observation skills, without neglecting the commitment of organizations and their material, human and technological resources to achieve a significant change.

Abstract: In November 2021, a large-scale crisis exercise was organized in the heart of the Pyrenees. The main objective of this cross-border exercise between France, Spain and Andorra was to allow practitioners to prepare for a largescale earthquake, by testing the contribution of the tools developed within the framework of the European project POCRISC. Among the different functions activated during the exercise, this article focuses on the particularly critical function of emergency assessment of building damage. It analyses the feedback from the exercise participants asked to evaluate the deployment, coordination and operation of the damage assessment function, including the use of a tool developed specifically for these activities.

Abstract: This paper discusses how methodological frameworks are often too cumbersome to be used in full by field workers in low-resource environments. When time, money, and political capital are scarce, there often isn't time to follow every prescribed step. This research looks at helping field workers incorporate user-centered design when creating technology solutions through a single-question framework. It follows the author's case study of considering different wording for the single question, and then describes her experience implementing the lightweight framework while redesigning an attendance system for Entity Green Training in Jordan. The method is promising as an efficient way to expand one's thinking during the design process, but needs more testing to validate its benefits for workers who lack training in user-centered design methods. This research is particularly valuable for people working in low-resource environments where they lack the time and money to iteratively fix problematic designs.