Lisa Fern, Stoney Trent, & Martin Voshell. (2008). A functional goal decomposition of urban firefighting. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 305–314). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: In this paper we describe a functional goal decomposition of urban firefighting as part of a larger cognitive task analysis. Previous research indicates that firefighter decision strategies employ a pattern-matching technique that allows them to choose the first workable option based on similar previous experiences. This study builds upon this research by employing multiple cognitive task analysis methods to further examine firefighter decisions through a functional goal decomposition. The functional goal decomposition outlines the functions, decisions and information requirements of firefighting in terms of two overarching goals-save lives and protect property. Information requirements provide useful insight into the difficulties of firefighter decision-making. Though still in the preliminary stages, this project has generated a number of design recommendations to support urban firefighting. Future analyses are also discussed.
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Lucy T. Gunawan, Martin Voshell, Stijn Oomes, & David D. Woods. (2007). Envisioning collaboration at a distance for the evacuation of walking wounded. 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. 431–437). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: The “walking wounded” is a category of disaster victims that can help themselves in finding their way to safety. The problem we address here is how first responders, walking wounded, and other rescue personnel can coordinate their joint activities more efficiently in order to accomplish the evacuation as quickly as possible. We focus our design on the “coordination loops” in the disaster response organization, both vertically across levels of authority, and horizontally among responders in the same echelon. In our envisioned scenario of a chemical accident we identify the most important interactions through which activities are coordinated that are crucial for a successful evacuation. We propose three different “coordination devices” that can be used by the walking wounded, the rescuers in the fields, and the people in the command center. We believe our approach, explicitly designing support systems for coordination first, will lead to important improvements in the daily practice of disaster response.
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Martin Voshell, & Stijn Oomes. (2006). Coordinating (Shared) perspectives in robot assisted search & rescue. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 188–196). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: From high fidelity field exercises to disaster response deployments, search and rescue robots are being readily integrated into rescue operations. Previous research has proposed that for such new technology to be successful in an operation the organization architecture needs to support the coordination of shared perspectives between the human team members and the robotic platforms. For this, the robot platforms need to be effective team players in the field of practice. Based on this conceptual model, this paper introduces a novel software interface utilizing virtual position and orientation indicators to alleviate perceptual ambiguities and navigation problems experienced by robot handlers and problem holders. By actively orchestrating and sharing these indicators between handler and operator displays, the interface caters to user expertise and to the natural competency of the human perceptual system. These probes provide a basic tool for aiding robot navigation and way-finding fundamental to effective team coordination and communication in urban search and rescue missions.
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