Abstract: Humanitarian crisis require a responsive and agile response. The number of professional and volunteer organization involved in the response to humanitarian disasters has increased over the past year, making coordination more important than ever before. This paper discusses the main issues of Humanitarian Disaster Management (HDM) coordination and the different modes applied on the field. We argue that while these challenges have been addressed by scientific literature with dedicated solutions, there is still a considerable gap between humanitarian best practice and academic state of the art.
This paper proposes a field-oriented methodology to bridge this gap. We analyze the findings from field research on the Typhoon Haiyan response (Philippines, 2013) and deduce practitioners? requirements for HDM coordination support systems. Then we suggest a research agenda from a gap analysis comparing requirements with the existing solutions and the scientific approaches.

Abstract: A complex challenge facing those involved in crisis management relates to how to manage cascading effects in crisis situations. This paper provides a practice-based insight into the use of General Morphological Analysis (GMA), a non-quantified modelling method that can enable a shared understanding of the various interdependencies involved in cascading crises, by creating a conceptual model of a problem space. This insight paper provides an understanding of the nature of the method, and to reveal the project-related experiences of the facilitator and researchers, thereby contributing to an understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with GMA. Authors find that GMA provided a useful means of a multidisciplinary group developing an initial conceptual model for a complex problem. Whilst a challenging experience, the method will be used for conducting gap analyses at a later stage in the project, thus providing benefits to understanding and managing cascading effects in crises.

Abstract: Infrastructures?both technical and human?are critical components of emergency response, helping to facilitate and shape both formal work practices and the improvisational work that individuals and organizations take part in as they address emergent challenges during unpredictable events. This research explores the relationships between infrastructure and collaborative work in this context, at a time when the infrastructures themselves are rapidly changing and/or under pressure to change due to the introduction of new technology. We interviewed 17 emergency workers from region that had recently experienced a major emergency response. These interviews illuminate weaknesses in some of the systems designed to support the information and communication needs of emergency workers, and demonstrate emergency workers assembling their own ICT infrastructures using familiar off-the-shelf tools like social media platforms and shared Google documents. These findings also highlight the importance of human infrastructure in supporting improvisation and collaboration among emergency workers.

Abstract: A serious fire game with two different scenarios for the search and rescue (SAR) operation was designed and played. In the first scenario, the SAR operation was performed without any smartphone app assistance, while in the second scenario, our recently developed smartphone app was employed to carry out the evacuation. In this paper, the effects of utilizing this app on organizing firefighting teams, performance of the firefighters, and the evacuation procedure are studied. The results collected from a post-game questionnaire, which was answered by the players of the firefighter role, are analyzed, turning out that the employment of the smartphone app is not only preferable and effective, but also user-friendly. It is also shown that a semi-centralized firefighting organizational model suits the second scenario, whereas a decentralized one is typically used in other scenarios, such as the first one.

Abstract: When disasters occur, key factors for minimizing damages and loss of lives are access to necessary information and effective communication between emergency services. In cross-border disaster management, further challenges arise: language barriers, uneven know-how, organisational and technical differences in particular concerning communication and data or information exchange. To address those challenges, the FP7-Project EPISECC (Establish Pan-European Information Space to Enhance Security of Citizens) is working on the concept of a common information space to improve interoperability and efficiency while managing cross-border disasters. This involves researching on a common taxonomy and ontology as well as on interoperability functionalities and tools. A first step on this direction is the analysis of how disasters have been and are being managed. This paper reports on an inventory of disasters designed to consolidate such knowledge and aimed at being the basis for this information space. First gaps identified in communication/information management are also presented.

Abstract: In this paper we imagine that one day soon, mass crisis events will result in thousands of people trying to get emergency help multiple via multiple mediums. Public Access Service Points and 911 Centers will not be able to meet the demand of text-message calls for help during a large scale disaster. While 911 dispatchers will need to respond directly to each individual text message, we present the development and testing of a system that aims to provide this data, in real-time, directly to emergency managers during a large-scale crisis. The system is designed to accept, sort, triage and deliver hundreds of direct text messages from the PSAP and provide them directly to emergency management staff, who can leverage their content. In the hands of the emergency manager, these data can be used to inform resource allocation decisions, enhance their operational situational awareness, and potentially improve the response to the crisis.

Abstract: A comprehensive ontology has been developed to model the operational domain knowledge and provide information management for a light fieldable laboratory (LFL) performing molecular microbiological analyses. LFL is considered as a toolbox where all operational functions and tools used to execute these functions are incorporated into a single system. The ontology is used to facilitate the LFL mission preparation and management, to provide technical compatibility of sharable information between tools, and to align the terminology and definitions between tools while complying with standards, best practices and procedures. The LFL domain is a formalised and structured modelling the LFL concepts, procedures, functions, prescribing the necessary functions and delimiting those which are incompatible with the given mission or scenario. Such consistent logical modelling allows to efficiently plan and configure the LFL mission selecting only the necessary functions and tools from the whole collection and to activate them appropriately in due time.

Abstract: The paper presents the results of interviews with representatives from Norwegian emergency management volunteer organizations on their current use of social media and their perception of the potential for extended use of social media in their operations. Our study shows that social media is currently mainly used for information to the public and for internal communication. The informants expressed some reluctance towards the concept of virtual operations support teams, and using social media to collect information from the public. Yet, based on the possible benefits reported in the literature from studies of early adopters of digital volunteer groups, we argue in this paper for establishing a similar service at the regional level in Norway that can support the local volunteer organizations.

Abstract: Ethical considerations have been an important part of the humanitarian discourse for decades. The short paper aims to present insights from the point of view of a technology practitioner with field experience in the humanitarian sector and emphasise on the need for continued dialogue about the importance of ethics in design of appropriate technology. The paper advocates for a value sensitive design approach to information systems design and proposes the need for increasing sensitivity towards the issues in technologist working in the area and draws an outline for possible future research.

Abstract: People who own animals are faced with complex decision making in evacuations. In the US, the Emergency Operations Center is often inundated with calls from animal owners who are aware they are under pre- or mandatory evacuation, but are unsure of what to do about evacuating their animals. Often animal evacuation is a highly improvised activity for owners and responders, though there is a now a general push toward streamlining procedures because of the high impact the matter of animals has on society?s welfare during times of emergency. This paper reports on the use of participatory design methods in a mapping project to support the range of people involved in animal evacuation during mass displacement events. The work provides insight into both procedures and standards for creating evacuation maps that communicate clearly with the public and across the range of emergency responders.

Abstract: In this paper, we present a model that identifies seven success factors for the development of crowdsourcing platforms for disaster recovery. This model integrates two existing theories. The first theory focuses on success factors of crowdsourcing initiatives in general. The second theory states how disaster relief operations can improve when they take the psychological components of resilience into account. By merging the core principles of these two theories and adding additional knowledge gained from literature study, we constructed an integrated success factor model for use in the development of crowdsourcing applications for disaster recovery. An initial validation of the success factor model was conducted within a case study on a crowdsourcing platform for disaster recovery which is currently being developed. Conclusions are drawn with regards to the applicability of the model to guide development of crowdsourcing platforms for disaster recovery.

Abstract: For some emergency situations an effective response can be reliant on sensor data (e.g. river level, traffic flow, weather conditions) to provide situation awareness, in order to help authorities make informed decisions. Gathering data in a traditional approach, i.e. using precise physical sensors, is a highly expensive task, involving procurement, installation and maintenance of a number of sensors. As a result, the coverage of sensors is limited and only the regions deemed most important by authorities are monitored. However, regions currently not being monitored can have an urgent need to be sensed depending on emergencies or situations. We present a high-level overview of the Locaware system, which employs a flexible geofencing approach to enable crowdsourcing by requesting citizens and volunteers to help authorities formulate a greater situation awareness of a region under consideration. While the Locaware system is motivated for water monitoring, our approach can be applied in other contexts.

Abstract: Advancements in information and communication technology (ICT) offer new possibilities when dealing with crisis situations. In this paper we present the design for a crowd tasking tool (CTT) that is currently under development. We describe how the tool can assist disaster relief coordinators during a crisis by selectively distributing tasks to a crowd of volunteers. We also compare the CTT with an already existing ICT based solution for supporting volunteerism during crisis. The differences between these two tools are addressed and the implications for volunteerism are discussed. The paper concludes with an outlook on future work emphasizing a form of volunteer involvement that offers potential for gathering information that is more relevant and easier to digest for decision-making than information provided solely by self-organised volunteers through social media.