Marcus Dombois, Timo Bittner, & Uwe Rüppel. (2018). Approaching the criticality of information for emergency response and control center operations. In Kees Boersma, & Brian Tomaszewski (Eds.), ISCRAM 2018 Conference Proceedings – 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 388–397). Rochester, NY (USA): Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abstract: Successful emergency response and control center operations rely on a great number of information sources. The importance of said information becomes immediately obvious if it is not available when required during an emergency situation. This can be described as the criticality of information, signifying a potential need for action to prepare for functional failures. The concept described in this paper approaches the criticality via an analysis that examines various combinations of information sources and situations in order to identify weaknesses and improve existing procedures. The proposed semi-quantitative assessment was developed taking several attributes and characteristics of criticality into account and afterwards conducted in close cooperation with emergency response institutions.
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Marc-André Kaufhold, & Christian Reuter. (2017). The Impact of Social Media for Emergency Services: A Case Study with the Fire Department Frankfurt. In eds Aurélie Montarnal Matthieu Lauras Chihab Hanachi F. B. Tina Comes (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management (pp. 603–612). Albi, France.
Abstract: The use of social media is not only part of everyday life but also of crises and emergencies. Many studies focus on the concrete use of social media during a specific emergency, but the prevalence of social media, data access and published research studies allows the examination in a broader and more integrated manner. This work-in-progress paper presents the results of a case study with the Fire Department Frankfurt, which is one of the biggest and most modern fire departments in Germany. The findings relate to social media technologies, organizational structure and roles, information validation, staff skills and resources, and the importance of volunteer communities. In the next step, the results will be integrated into the frame of a comparative case study with the overall aim of examining the impact of social media on how emergency services respond and react in an emergency.
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Adriaan Ter Mors, Xiaoyu Mao, Nicola Roos, Cees Witteveen, & Alfons H. Salden. (2007). Multi-agent system support for scheduling aircraft de-icing. In K. Nieuwenhuis P. B. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Intelligent Human Computer Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM 2007 Academic Proceedings Papers (pp. 467–478). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Results from disaster research suggest that methods for coordination between individual emergency responders and organizations should recognize the independence and autonomy of these actors. These actor features are key factors in effective adaptation and improvisation of response to emergency situations which are inherently uncertain. Autonomy and adaptability are also well-known aspects of a multi-agent system (MAS). In this paper we present two MAS strategies that can effectively handle aircraft deicing incidents. These MAS strategies help improve to prevent and reduce e.g. airplane delays at deicing stations due to changing weather conditions or incidents at the station, where aircraft agents adopting pre-made plans that would act on behalf of aircraft pilots or companies, would only create havoc. Herein each agent using its own decision mechanism deliberates about the uncertainty in the problem domain and the preferences (or priorities) of the agents. Furthermore, taking both these issues into account each proposed MAS strategy outperforms a naive first-come, first-served coordination strategy. The simulation results help pilots and companies taking decisions with respect to the scheduling of the aircraft for deicing when unexpected incidents occur: they provide insights in the impacts and means for robust selection of incident-specific strategies on e.g. deicing station delays of (individual) aircraft.
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Rebecca Walton, Robin E. Mays, & Mark P. Haselkorn. (2011). Defining fast: Factors affecting the experience of speed in humanitarian logistics. In E. Portela L. S. M.A. Santos (Ed.), 8th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: From Early-Warning Systems to Preparedness and Training, ISCRAM 2011. Lisbon: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Speed is a central value for emergency logistics stakeholders. Emergency response literature makes a compelling case for rapid logistics processes to provide goods and services in humanitarian emergencies. However, speed is not well-defined concept. While situational demand contributes to the need for speed, an important factor is the perception of speed given the experience of the response stakeholders. Unfortunately, the literature lacks complex, situated pictures of how logistics stakeholders experience speed (i.e., what does it mean for a logistics process to be “fast”? What factors affect whether stakeholders perceive a logistics experience as fast?) To address this gap, we explored how logistics stakeholders in a large international humanitarian organization experience and perceive speed of operations. Our findings suggest that (1) the experience of speed is often comparative, not solely objective; (2) close communication between internal clients (field requestors) and service providers (logistics team) can make clients more likely to experience the logistics process as fast; and (3) feeling in control of decision-making can make both clients and service providers more likely to experience the logistics process as fast.
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Marcos R. S. Borges, Kelli De Faria Cordeiro, Maria Luiza M Campos, & Tiago Brade Marino. (2011). Linked open data and the design of information infrastructure for emergency management systems. In E. Portela L. S. M.A. Santos (Ed.), 8th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: From Early-Warning Systems to Preparedness and Training, ISCRAM 2011. Lisbon: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Correct information is a vital resource during disasters. Without adequate information, response actions may be ineffective. What is the source of information of emergency management systems? Besides that originated from sensors, the emergency team and the public in general, a very relevant source is government data, such as demographic and geographic data, road maps, etc. The heterogeneity of information formats is a well-known problem that affects organizations and communities that want to access public data. Today, most public agencies provide access to their data, but the great majority is unreadable by automated mechanisms. Besides, most of them do not provide a dictionary meaning for the published content. A solution to this problem is of particular importance to emergency response organizations that need access to all information available to better respond to disasters and crisis. The linked open data (LOD) initiative allows the interconnection of data, using standards in the context of the semantic web approach. In ideal conditions, government agencies publish their public data, thus allowing the use of automated data concerned consumers, whether they are other government agencies or citizens. Efforts aimed to link government data are growing in several countries around the world. This talk presents the LOD concepts and describes an architecture that uses LOD in the design of an Emergency Management System. It describes a scheme for collecting available data from government agencies, such as departments of health, transport, works, that can supply information needs during an emergency response operation.
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