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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Steven D. Sheetz, Andrea Kavanaugh, Francis Quek, B. Joon Kim, & Szu-Chia Lu. (2009). Expectation of connectedness and cell phone use in crisis. 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 wide distribution of cell phones with messaging, email, and instant-messaging have enabled the emergence of a culture of connectedness among segments of society. One result of this culture is an expectation of availability that exists among members of these social networks. This study explores the potential for this expectation to influence perceptions of using information communications technologies (ICT) during and after a crisis. Online survey and follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with Virginia Tech (VT) students, faculty and staff to understand whether expectations of connectedness affected their perceptions of their reach-ability during crises. Participants with higher expectations of connectedness also reported more problems with reach-ability. Those with the most problems with reach-ability differed from those with no reachability problems for many variables including satisfaction with the cell phone service, age, number of calls/text messages, and extroversion. Results suggest these communities consider planning how to use ICT during emergencies.
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Louis-Marie Ngamassi Tchouakeu, Carleen Maitland, Andrea H. Tapia, Kang Zhao, & Kartikeya Bajpai. (2010). Assessing humanitarian inter-organizational network effectiveness: The case of GlobalSympoNet. 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 reports on research in progress. The objective of the study is to assess the effectiveness of multidimensional humanitarian inter-organizational networks. Especially, it investigates how organizational characteristics and network structure properties impact network effectiveness. To this end, the research develops a model of network effectiveness in the humanitarian field, using the case of GlobalSympoNet, a network of organizations/agencies engaged in humanitarian information management and exchange. Data for the research come from a series of three surveys and semi-structured interviews conducted among organizations/agencies members of GlobalSympoNet. Social network analyses are done using UCINET (Borgatti et al., 1999). Some preliminary results are presented here.
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Louis-Marie Ngamassi Tchouakeu, Carleen Maitland, Andrea H. Tapia, & Kartikeya Bajpai. (2011). Humanitarian organizational collaboration: Information technologies as necessary but not sufficient. 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: Organizations in the humanitarian relief field increasingly need to look outside their own boundaries and engage in a significant level of inter-organizational collaboration. In studying collaborative processes in the nonprofit context, researchers have used different theoretical approaches to investigate the motivations behind why organizations collaborate. Although these studies have contributed to shed some lights on these collaborative mechanisms, little is still known about the main factors that influence the decision of humanitarian organizations to engage into collaboration especially with regards to the implications of information technologies. In this paper, we explore factors for collaboration among members of the GlobalSympoNet, a network of organizations engaged in humanitarian information management. We analyze data collected through nineteen semi-structured interviews. We identified seven factors that could be grouped into three categories including structural, behavioral and organizational. Our findings also suggest that information technologies alone are not enough to motivate and maintain long lasting collaboration.
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Asa Weinholt, & Tobias Andersson Granberg. (2013). Evaluation of enhanced collaboration between fire and rescue services and security officers. In J. Geldermann and T. Müller S. Fortier F. F. T. Comes (Ed.), ISCRAM 2013 Conference Proceedings – 10th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 735–740). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: The hypothesis of this study is that collaboration between fire and rescue services and new actors, with basic rescue skills, might be a cost effective way to improve emergency response. Interview studies of collaborations between fire and rescue services and security officers in three Swedish municipalities are presented. Seven semi-structured interviews are conducted with representatives from the security officer companies, the fire and rescue services and security managers at the municipalities. The method used to evaluate the collaborations quantitatively is Cost-benefit analysis. The collaborations have positive economic effects for society that most likely outweighs the costs. There also exist several external effects that are not possible to value monetarily, but that represent positive values for society. The results and their generalizability are discussed, as well as the possibility for these new collaborations to improve crisis management.
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