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Ahmed Seffah, Jean-Pierre Cahier, & Aurélien Bénel. (2011). Thinking global acting local: A human-centric pattern to designing information-intensive services for global crisis management. 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: Information-intensive services for global crisis situations management can no longer be based on local information only. A global picture is required to be able to make informed and reliable local decisions. It takes also to know how the local decisions one country may take will affect the others. Indeed, each country, city or community needs the whole picture and the key facts in managing the situation in their local area. Therefore, we should provide a proven solution to identify, analyze and mix the relevant information to support informed local decision based on both global and local information. In this paper, we introduce a novel design pattern to face this challenge of making informed local decisions. We also provide two real life examples illustrating the needs of the design pattern.
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Amro Al-Akkad, & Zimmermann, A. (2011). User study: Involving civilians by smart phones during emergency situations. 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: This paper concerns a preliminary user study to determine the acceptance of a mobile application that is supposed to involve civilians during emergencies. In particular, the focus is on bystanders. Their intervention during emergencies constitutes a delicate issue, since they were traditionally considered as a rather annoying party being merely observers of incidents. However, with the ubiquity and ever-increasing capabilities of cell phones there might emerge a great potential to flip the coin and to benefit from bystanders playing from now on a contributive role. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 persons. The result of our study shows that people are willing to use such mobile assisting system, and thus we take it as a positive starting signal to continue our research into this direction considering the elicited user constraints.
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Babajide Osatuyi, & David Mendonça. (2010). Requirements for modeling collaborative information foraging behavior: An application to emergency response organizations. In C. Zobel B. T. S. French (Ed.), ISCRAM 2010 – 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Defining Crisis Management 3.0, Proceedings. Seattle, WA: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Collaborative information foraging refers to the collective activities of seeking and handling information in order to meet information needs. This paper delineates requirements for modeling salient factors that shape collaborative information foraging behavior of groups. Existing modeling approaches are assessed based on their adequacy for measuring identified salient factors that shape collaborative information foraging behavior. A view of information foraging behavior as a dynamic process is presented. Consequently, this paper purports that modeling methods employed to aid understanding of foraging behavior must allow for plausible explanation of the inherent dynamism in foraging activities. This work therefore provides an initial roadmap to defining salient factors that need to be addressed in order to adequately model collaborative information foraging behavior within teams that operate in extreme environments. Implications of this work in practice and research are discussed.
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Björn Bjurling. (2010). Contracts for resources in crisis management. In C. Zobel B. T. S. French (Ed.), ISCRAM 2010 – 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Defining Crisis Management 3.0, Proceedings. Seattle, WA: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Today, crisis management relies to an extent on the provisioning of required resources from third-party providers. The crisis management capability is thus dependent on the adherence to, and the consistency of, a set of contracts for resource provisions. We aim at formalizing contingency plans as sets of contracts and developing a computational model for assessing whether the contracts for resource provisioning yield an adequate crisis management capability, with respect to resource provisioning. This paper outlines ongoing research on how to enable an analysis of contingency plans with respect to resource provisioning using the contractual formalism under development. We outline the important issues and illustrate with an example how contracts can be used for resource sharing.
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Brian M. Tomaszewski, & Lóránt Czárán. (2009). Geographically visualizing consolidated appeal process (CAP) information. In S. J. J. Landgren (Ed.), ISCRAM 2009 – 6th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Boundary Spanning Initiatives and New Perspectives. Gothenburg: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Maps are essential visual advocacy devices for humanitarian relief projects. Maps provide advocacy by presenting, disseminating, and analyzing humanitarian relief project information in formats that are easier to understand and reason with. In this paper, we present our preliminary work on geographically visualizing Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) information. The practical intent of our work is to (a) provide advocacy for CAP projects by geographically representing project information such as funding status so that (b) the nature of a project is better understood, thus potentially leading to increased project donations and improved project funding decision making. We provide examples of a prototype mapping application built to utilize Google Earth[TM] for representing CAP project information in map-based formats.
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Bryan Semaan, Gloria Mark, & Ban Al-Ani. (2010). Developing information technologies for citizens experiencing disruption: The role of trust and context. In C. Zobel B. T. S. French (Ed.), ISCRAM 2010 – 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Defining Crisis Management 3.0, Proceedings. Seattle, WA: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: This paper considers a subset of the technology-enabled communication that took place among citizen populations experiencing various disruptions, e.g. disaster and war. In the context of a disrupted environment, trust can erode where people no longer rely on institutions for support (i.e. the government), or where citizens do not trust other people. We argue that depending on what is taking place in the physical world, trust in people, information, and institutions can change – in this sense, trust is contextual. We then offer recommendations for designing new technologies for people who experience disruption, taking into account trust and context.
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Catherine Easton. (2014). The digital divide, inclusion and access for disabled people in IT supported emergency response systems: A UK and EU-based analysis. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 275–278). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
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.
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Christian Reuter, Alexandra Marx, & Volkmar Pipek. (2011). Social software as an infrastructure for crisis management-A case study about current practice and potential usage. 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: In this paper we will be discussing how the (semi-)professional actors involved in crisis management (police, fire-fighters, etc.) and the affected citizens can communicate and collaborate by the use of social software. After the definition of the term 'social software' we will provide the state-of-the-art on current social software use in crisis management. Drawing from this, we will present two case studies where we examined the social software use in 2010: First during the disruption of air travel due to the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, second during the crisis at a stampede at the Love Parade music festival in Germany. We identified weak points and further potentials and tested the validity of the American case study findings from literature for Europe. We will conclude with a concept for using citizens in inter-organizational crisis management with a social software infrastructure and a communication matrix for crisis management.
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Christoph Endres, Andreas Wurz, Marcus Hoffmann, & Alexander Behring. (2010). A task-based messaging approach to facilitate staff work. In C. Zobel B. T. S. French (Ed.), ISCRAM 2010 – 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Defining Crisis Management 3.0, Proceedings. Seattle, WA: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: A central part of the work in Incident Commands (ICs) deals with handling messages that contain relevant information. Classification schemes for messages can be exploited by command staff and assisting tools to support this work, given that a common understanding of the scheme is shared among participants. We present user studies on two such classifications, which imply some disagreement among participants. Interpretations of the studies and a revised scheme are presented. All users in our studies are highly trained experts and represent the state of the art in german IC work.
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Dan Harnesk, Sören Samulesson, & John Lindström. (2009). Action research supported implementation of a crisis competence centre. In S. J. J. Landgren (Ed.), ISCRAM 2009 – 6th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Boundary Spanning Initiatives and New Perspectives. Gothenburg: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a regional crisis competence centre in Sweden. The overall research approach utilizes action research methodology to support the development process. The overall development process is divided into three steps; early need finding, the organizational platform, and business development. This paper is devoted to the first phase – early need finding – which deals with the specific needs and demand of four municipality organizations and how these requirements can be converged into a organizational setting that correspond to national crisis management strategies as well as regional responsibilities in crisis management. The research approach is action based and the theoretical considerations to support progress in development activities are from the Actor Network Theory (ANT). The main conclusion from the research is that the formation of a crisis competence centre revolves around sharing competences, and compromising between internal and external objectives in the progress towards a common goal.
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Dennis Andersson, & Amy Rankin. (2012). Sharing mission experience in tactical organisations. In Z.Franco J. R. L. Rothkrantz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2012 Conference Proceedings – 9th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Vancouver, BC: Simon Fraser University.
Abstract: A tactical organisation can be seen as an adhocracy designed to perform missions in uncertain, ambiguous and complex environments. Flexibility, adaptability, resilience, innovation, creativity and improvisation have all been identified as key skills for successful outcome of these missions. To learn skills associated with such abilities previous research has shown that knowledge acquired through experience plays an important role. It is important that organisations share and learn from experiences to improve their ability to cope with novel situations. In literature there is a lack of consistency in how these abilities are discussed, we therefore propose the FAIRIC model. By unravelling some of the similarities and differences we create a common vocabulary to discuss knowledge gained from experience. This can help classify different experiences and provide a systematic way of gathering and modelling knowledge on situational factors to enable sharing of mission experience over boundaries of time and space. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Dharma Dailey, & Kate Starbird. (2014). Visible skepticism: Community vetting after Hurricane Irene. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 777–781). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Social media enable rapid, peer-to-peer information flow during crisis events, affordances that have both positive and negative consequences. The potential for spreading misinformation is a significant concern. Drawing on an empirical study of information-sharing practices in a crisis-affected community in the Catskill Mountains after Hurricane Irene, this paper describes how an ad hoc group of community members, led by a handful of journalists, employed specific work practices to mitigate misinformation. We illustrate how the group appropriated specific tools and performed visible skepticism, among other techniques, to help control the spread of false rumors. These findings suggest implications for the design of tools and the development of best practices for supporting community-led, crowd-powered response efforts during disasters.
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Edward J. Glantz. (2014). Community crisis management lessons from Philadelphia's 1793 epidemic. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 556–564). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Public health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are greatly concerned that a new influenza type A outbreak will result in a rapid spread of infectious disease, overwhelming existing medical response infrastructures. Each of these organizations has published planning guides that call upon local and community organizers to begin planning for such an event. To establish insight and provide context for these organizers, this paper presents a case analysis of the Philadelphia yellow fever outbreak of 1793.
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Erich Heumüller, Sebastian Richter, & Ulrike Lechner. (2012). Towards a framework for command post exercises. In Z.Franco J. R. L. Rothkrantz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2012 Conference Proceedings – 9th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Vancouver, BC: Simon Fraser University.
Abstract: The paper describes work-in-progress of an action research approach investigating command post exercises in disaster response organizations. The empirical basis of our approach is three command post exercises in Germa-ny. The main contribution of this paper is the framework for the conceptualization of command post exercises and an analysis of challenges in the conceptualization of command post exercises. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Fabian Wucholt, Yeliz Yildirim-Krannig, Mareike Mähler, Uwe Krüger, & Clemens Beckstein. (2011). Cultural analysis and formal standardised language-A mass casualty incident perspective. 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: Handling highly dynamic scenarios as they arise in mass casualty incident (MCI) situations requires lots of information about the situation and an extremely flexible IT infrastructure that can assist in managing the inci-dent. Normally, rescue workers from different organisational cultures do not communicate across their organisa-tional boundaries, but in an MCI they have to efficiently collaborate in order to successfully manage the inci-dent. In this paper we argue that qualitative cultural analysis can provide important insights into the design of techno-logical systems that are to be deployed in inter-organisational settings like an MCI. We will show how the engi-neering of complex knowledge based systems for such scenarios can profit from the results of such an analysis.
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Frédérick Bénaben, Chihab Hanachi, Matthieu Lauras, Pierre Couget, & Vincent Chapurlat. (2008). A metamodel and its ontology to guide crisis characterization and its collaborative management. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 189–196). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: This paper presents a research in progress about the French ISyCri project that aims at providing partners involved in crisis management with an agile Mediation Information System (MIS). Not only this MIS shoul support the interoperability of the partners' information systems but it is also dedicated to coordinate their activities through a collaborative process. One of the first and main steps towards such a MIS, is to elaborate a common and sharable reference model built to characterize crisis situations. Such a model is also an input for automated reasoning to elaborate and adapt a crisis solving collaborative process. This article presents the objective of the project, our approach and our first results: a UML metamodel of crisis situation and its corresponding OWL ontology on top of which deductions are possible.
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Fredrik Höglund, & Peter Berggren. (2010). Using shared priorities to measure shared situation awareness. In C. Zobel B. T. S. French (Ed.), ISCRAM 2010 – 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Defining Crisis Management 3.0, Proceedings. Seattle, WA: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Shared situation awareness is hard to measure, especially in operative environments such as crisis management. In this paper the purpose is to develop a novel method to measure to what extent the team has shared situation awareness that can be used in operations. 20 two person teams participated in a study where a dynamic and evolving tactical decision-making task was solved. Shared situation awareness, shared priorities, and team performance were assessed. The results show that the shared priorities measure in this study did not relate to shared situation awareness. Several methodological concerns was identified which could have affected the results. The measure did relate to subjective ratings of cooperation which is very interesting and it is suggested that the measure captured aspects of teamwork. The shared priorities measure was easy to employ, required little preparation, and is a promising addition to team research.
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Hemant Purohit, Shreyansh Bhatt, Andrew Hampton, Valerie Shalin, Amit Sheth, & John Flach. (2014). With whom to coordinate, why and how in ad-hoc social media communities during crisis response. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 787–791). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: During crises directly affected people and observers join social media communities to discuss the event. They may share information relevant to response coordination, for example, specific resource needs. However, responders face a massive data overload and lack the time to monitor social media traffic for important and trustworthy information. To address these challenges, response teams may attempt manual filtering methods, resulting in limited coverage and quality. Hence, we propose a computational framework for extracting specific resource-related information, and an interface for identifying and engaging with influential participants in the dynamic, evolving social media community. Our approach helps to identify those virtual responders who serve both as sources and disseminators of important information to assist in coordinated emergency response.
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Jonas Lundberg, & Mikael Asplund. (2011). Communication problems in crisis response. 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: This paper describes five problem areas of communication that occur during crisis response. These areas are communication infrastructure, situation awareness, individual and organizational common ground, form and content of messages, and communication paths through organizations. Five focus groups with Swedish field personnel from national and international crises were performed. The main contribution of this article is a hypothesis, based on the outcomes of the focus groups, about the relation between communication problems and how they interact with crisis response work.
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José H. Canós-Cerdá, Carmen Penadés, Abel Gómez, & Marcos R. S. Borges. (2012). SAGA: An integrated architecture for the management of advanced emergency plans. In Z.Franco J. R. L. Rothkrantz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2012 Conference Proceedings – 9th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Vancouver, BC: Simon Fraser University.
Abstract: Despite the significant advances that software and hardware technologies have brought to the emergency management field, some islands remain where innovation has had little impact. Among them, emergency plan management is of particular relevance due to their key role in the direction of teams during responses. Aspects like coordination, collaboration, and others are spread in plain text sentences, impeding automatic tool support to improve team per-formance. Moreover, administrative management of plans becomes a mere document management activity. In this paper, we present SAGA, an architecture that supports the full lifecycle of advanced emergency plan management. By advanced we mean plans that include new types of interaction such as hypermedia and advanced process definition languages to provide precise specification of response procedures. SAGA provides all the actors involved in plan management a number of tools supporting all the stages of the plan lifecycle, from its creation to its use in training drills or actual responses. It is intended to be instantiated in systems promoted by civil defense agencies, providing administrative support to plan management; additionally, editing tools for plan designers and tools for analysis and improvement of such plans by organizations are provided. Plan enactment facilities in emergency response are also integrated. To our knowledge, it is the very first proposal that covers all the aspects of plan man-agement. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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José H. Canós-Cerdá, Juan Sánchez-Díaz, Vicent Orts, Carmen Penadés, Abel Gómez, & Marcos R. S. Borges. (2014). Turning emergency plans into executable artifacts. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 498–502). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: On the way to the improvement of Emergency Plans, we show how a structured specification of the response procedures allows transforming static plans into dynamic, executable entities that can drive the way different actors participate in crisis responses. Additionally, the execution of plans requires the definition of information access mechanisms allowing execution engines to provide an actor with all the information resources he or she needs to accomplish a response task. We describe work in progress to improve the SAGA's Plan definition Module and Plan Execution Engine to support information-rich plan execution.
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Josine Van De Ven, Richelle Van Rijk, Peter Essens, & Erik Frinking. (2008). Network centric operations in crisis management. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 764–773). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: This paper describes the approach to implement network centric operations (NCO) in the Dutch crisis management domain. NCO resolves a number of important shortcomings related to the supply and flow of information experienced in current verbal communication-based crisis management. First, we provide a description of the crisis management organization in the Netherlands and the nature of information supply problems. Second, we explain how a network centric approach would be implemented in this domain. Next, we describe how between 2005 and 2008 several regions in the Netherlands have made efforts to implement a network-approach, and we evaluate their experiences. The NCO approach reduces the need for reliability checks of verbal communication. Consequently procedures can be optimized with NCO. This paper concludes with next steps, such as continuing to explore the effects of NCO on the current way of working and train people to work in a network centric environment.
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Kate Starbird, & Leysia Palen. (2010). Pass it on?: Retweeting in mass emergency. In C. Zobel B. T. S. French (Ed.), ISCRAM 2010 – 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Defining Crisis Management 3.0, Proceedings. Seattle, WA: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: We examine microblogged information generated during two different co-occurring natural hazards events in Spring 2009. Due to its rapid and widespread adoption, microblogging in emergency response is a place for serious consideration and experimentation for future application. Because microblogging is comprised of a set of practices shaped by a number of forces, it is important to measure and describe the diffuse, multiparty information exchange behaviors to anticipate how emergency governance might best play a role. Here we direct consideration toward information propagation properties in the Twitterverse, describing features of information redistribution related to the retweet (RT ) convention. Our analysis shows that during an emergency, for tweets authored by local users and tweets that contain emergency-related search terms, retweets are more likely than non-retweets to be about the event. We note that users are more likely to retweet information originally distributed through Twitter accounts run by media, especially the local media, and traditional service organizations. Comparing local users to the broader audience, we also find that tweet-based information redistribution is different for those who are local to an emergency event.
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Ma Ma, H. Zhang, & Yi Liu. (2014). Development of a joint official microblog platform to improve interactive communication with the public under a centralized system. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 782–786). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Social media bring both challenges and opportunities to crisis management. This paper summarizes the difficulties in crisis communication under a centralized jurisdiction system by looking into online collective behaviors in mainland China. The paper then introduces the development of an official microblog and proposes a joint official microblog platform to improve interactive communication in a centralized system. The functional design of this platform is introduced in detail and the future improvement of the platform is discussed.
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Maarten Van Someren, Niels Netten, Vanessa Evers, Henriette Cramer, Robert De Hoog, & Guido Bruinsma. (2005). A trainable information distribution system to support crisis management. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 203–206). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Crisis response and management involve multiple collaborative actors who execute tasks in a dynamic setting. For the effectiveness of collaboration and crisis fighting it is essential that all actors have access to relevant information necessary for their tasks. Managing the information flow, i.e. presenting the right information to the right person at the right time, is of great importance. However, the complexity of a crisis event makes it very difficult to keep an overview of all ongoing activities and information flow within the entire crisis environment. In this paper we address the problem of selecting and distributing information to users as a function of their characteristics, tasks and the state of their workflows in a collaborative setting. In particular, we propose a trainable system for information distribution that will be able to support the dynamic nature of collaborative processes and provide users with task-relevant information. We expect that this will reduce problems due to information overload and will lead to more effective collaboration between all actors in the crisis management environment.
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