Amro Al-Akkad, & Zimmermann, A. (2012). Survey: ICT-supported public participation in disasters. 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: In an increasingly networked society citizens at disaster sites utilize information and communication technology (ICT) to communicate needs or to share information. In order to understand better emergent possibilities and implications of applying ICT for supporting public participation in disasters, we surveyed 57 respondents regarding several key user aspects as perceived usefulness, socially related issues, or deployment. Surprisingly, our results show a clear tendency to use a disaster specific application instead of using everyday services as facebook or Twitter. However, such application poses the risk to loose its focus fading slowly away after once downloading it. Further study is needed to understand if these results are representative regarding public society. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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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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Holger Fischer, & Florian Klompmaker. (2012). Enriching disaster control management based on human-centered design. 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: Hurricanes or earthquakes reveal the increasing importance of the research in disaster control management, which is essential to coordinate the amount of rescue activities. The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief is responsible for tasks like coordination, high capacity pumping and infrastructure. To support them in their management process and to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness in their workflow, we built an interactive table and established a human-centered design process to understand the context of use and to create a system out of the users' perspective. In this paper we present further scenarios as a result of the second iteration in performing human-centered design methods together with experts in the domain. We show that methods like ethnography studies, task analyses or workshops are suitable and essential in this context and arise in helpful tools that support the experts with additional information in case of decisions. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Stas Simon Krupenia, & Cécilia Aguero. (2012). Asset distribution with a multitouch table. 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: We examined to what extent a MultiTouch Table (MTT) can support a collaborative Operational Planning Asset Distribution task as compared to traditional Spreadsheet methods. Participants were given different and complementary specialist roles and were then asked to distribute different sets of assets over an area of Operations with multiple known and unknown 'needs'. Additionally, participants had to satisfy a series of real time intelligence recommendations regarding potential needs. Of interest were subjective usability ratings and objective performance measures in terms of need fulfillment and satisfying intelligence recommendations. We found that on all but one usability measure participants rated the MTT more positively than the Spreadsheets. There was also a non-significant trend for greater needs fulfillment and resolving intelligence recommendations using the MTT than the spreadsheets. On the basis of the results we suggest that MTT technology offers a viable tool for supporting collaborative Asset Distribution tasks in general. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Uwe Krüger, Fabian Wucholt, & Clemens Beckstein. (2012). Electronic checklist support for disaster response. 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: Requirements analysis of IT-support for rescue management showed that electronic checklist support is a vital function of any IT-based assistance system. Although checklists are a simple approach, their successful implementation and use depends on many factors. We nevertheless believe that Intelligent Electronic Checklist Sup-port Systems (IECSS) are especially helpful for the (inter-) organizational cooperation in disaster scenarios like mass casualty incidents (MCIs). In this paper we describe why, when, and how electronic checklists can be used to coordinate the work of the geographically dispersed rescue forces. For this purpose we will have a look at safety-critical and complex tasks in aviation and medicine where checklists already are successfully used and try to profit from this experience for the MCI domain. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Jonas Lundberg, Rego Granlund, & Annevi Fredäng. (2012). Scenario play workshops – Co-design ofemergency response scenarios for information technology design in collaboration with emergency response personnel. 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: We describe a co-design method for emergency response scenario creation, to support the evaluation of new information technologies. The aim of our use of the method were to achieve scenarios that could be used in experiments or training sessions with professional emergency response personnel. We have analyzed how the method facilitated the design of scenarios (events, resource demands, communication between players), and the description of constraints in a resource management matrix. Our research indicates that the resource management matrix could be an important complement to function-centric analysis methods such as Functional Resonance Analysis Method (FRAM). We also illustrate how the interplay between play and situation description allowed us to simultaneously design and validate the scenarios with respect to playability versus resource demands. We discuss how the resource matrix can be used to adjust the validated scenarios after the design sessions. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Jason R.C. Nurse, Sadie Creese, Michael Goldsmith, Rachel Craddock, & Glyn Jones. (2012). An initial usability evaluation of the secure situation awareness system. 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 importance of situation awareness systems in crisis-management scenarios cannot be emphasised enough. These systems enable entire disaster situations to be mapped out in a real-time fashion thereby aiding significantly in human decision-making and the necessary positioning, management and deployment of resources. As a result of the core role these systems play in responding to crises, it is vital that they are highly usable and optimized for human cognition and experience. In this paper we consider this reality in the context of an initial evaluation of the visualisation interface of a situation-awareness tool called Secure Situation Awareness (SSA). Our evaluation seeks to gather useful feedback from potential end-users on the usability of the tool's interface to feed into the design and development of interfaces for similar systems. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Amy Rankin, Rita Kovordanyi, Joris Field, & Henrik Eriksson. (2012). Instructor's tasks in crisis management training. 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: In crisis management exercises the instructor's performance is critical to the success of the training. It is their responsibility to monitor and evaluate the exercise, as well as appropriately adjust and adapt the scenario to the unfolding events. Despite the importance of the instructor's skills in crisis management training little has been documented regarding successful methods or common pitfalls. The study presented in this paper is exploratory and aimed at investigating how instructors monitor and control large scale crisis management exercises. The results are intended to be used as a basis for further investigation on how instructors can be supported in virtual reality training systems. A summary of results from interviews is presented and followed by observations reports from two live exercises. Finally, key areas for instructor support in virtual-reality training systems are identified. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Nuwan Waidyanatha, Tharaka Wilfred, Kasun Perera, Manoj Silva, & Brenda Burell. (2012). Complexity and usability of voice-enabled alerting and situational reporting decoupled systems. 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: Telephone calls are the predominant telecommunication mode in Sri Lanka. Leveraging voice-based applications for disaster communication would be acceptable and sustainable. The findings in this paper are from an experiment concerning interactive voice for connecting community-based emergency field operatives with their central coordination hub. Challenge was in interchanging the Freedom Fone (FF) Interactive Voice Response (IVR) generated, Sinhala and Tamil language, speech data with the text-based 'Sahana' disaster management system for analysis and decision support. Emergency Data Exchange Language (EDXL) interoperable content standard was adopted for mediation. Low quality voice data resulting in incomplete information was a barrier to automating transformations between text and speech. Replacing those processes with human procedure significantly degrades the reliability. Moreover, human interaction with decoupled software systems, to accomplish the sequence of tasks, points to instabilities. This paper discusses the complexities and usability shortcomings discovered through controlled-exercises in Sri Lanka. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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