Paul McGinnity, David Pollard, & David Dawson. (2004). A management information system to support the radiological protection institute of Ireland's emergency response role: Design and implementation. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2004 – 1st International Workshop on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 39–44). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: A recent review of the procedures covering the RPII's responsibilities under the National Emergency Plan for Nuclear Accidents has shown the need for a management information system (MIS) to support the organisation's operational plan for emergency preparedness and response. This paper describes the design objectives and the development of a prototype version of this system. Specific functions of the MIS are highlighted along with a description of the motivation behind their development. This very simple MIS has already helped RPII staff members to operate more efficiently. Finally, some ideas for future development are outlined. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.
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Philippe Kruchten, Carson Woo, Kafui Monu, & Mandana Sotoodeh. (2007). A human-centered conceptual model of disasters affecting critical infrastructures. 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. 327–344). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Understanding the interdependencies of critical infrastructures (power, transport, communication, etc.) is essential in emergency preparedness and response in the face of disasters. Unfortunately, many factors (e.g., unwillingness to disclose or share critical data) prohibited the complete development of such an understanding. As an alternative solution, this paper presents a conceptual model-an ontology-of disasters affecting critical infrastructures. We bring humans into the loop and distinguish between the physical and social interdependencies between infrastructures, where the social layer deals with communication and coordination among representatives (either humans or intelligent agents) from the various critical infrastructures. We validated our conceptual model with people from several different critical infrastructures responsible for disasters management. We expect that this conceptual model can later be used by them as a common language to communicate, analyze, and simulate their interdependencies without having to disclose all critical and confidential data. We also derived tools from it.
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Richelle Van Rijk, & Marcel Van Berlo. (2004). Using CrisisKit and MOPED to improve emergency management team training. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2004 – 1st International Workshop on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 161–166). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: In order to reduce the effects of a disaster, people in the emergency management organization have to be trained. In recent years training emergency management teams has become a bigger issue. A realistic and effective training of emergency management teams however is a difficult matter. We search for ways to improve this kind of training and to reduce the costs. In this paper two tools that can be used to improve emergency management training, CrisisKit and MOPED, will be discussed. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.
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Robert Baksa, & Murray Turoff. (2010). The current state of continuous auditing and emergency management's valuable contribution. 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: Continuous Auditing systems require that human judgment be formalized and automated, which can be a complex, costly and computationally intensive endeavor. However, Continuous Auditing systems have similarities with Emergency Management and Response systems, which integrate Continuous Auditing's detection and alerting functions with the tracking of decisions and decision options for the situations that could be more effectively handled by human judgment. Emergency Management and Response systems could be an effective prototype to help overcome some of the implementation obstacles that are impeding Continuous Auditing systems' implementation rate. Continuous Auditing has the potential to transform the existing audit paradigm from periodic reviews of a few accounting transactions to a continuous review of all transactions, which thereby could vastly strengthen an organization's risk management and business processes. Although Continuous Auditing implementations are occurring, their adoption is slower than expected. With the goal of providing an empirical and methodological foundation for future Continuous Auditing systems and possibly inspiring additional investigation into merging the Continuous Auditing and Emergency Management streams of research, this paper provides several definitions of Continuous Auditing, suggests possible architectures for these systems, lists some common implementation challenges and highlights a few examples of how Emergency Management research could potentially overcome them.
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Ronja Addams-Moring, Markku Kekkonen, & Shushan Zhao. (2005). A simple taxonomy for mobile emergency announcement systems. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 309–316). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Mobile communications networks and devices can be and have been used by authorities to warn and instruct the general public during crises. However, our understanding of how mobile technologies could best be used for emergency announcements (public warnings) is currently limited. To clarify one part of this field of study, we define and describe a simple taxonomy for mobile emergency announcements (MEA) systems. The taxonomy has three categories: preplanned MEA systems, ad-hoc MEA systems and semi ad-hoc MEA systems. Differences in functional, security and other requirements were found between MEA systems belonging to different taxonomy categories, both concerning how each category of MEA systems can meet the common requirements, and concerning which requirements are the most important for each category of MEA systems. The differences between the categories were especially clear for these requirements: the understandability and credibility of the MEAs and the security of a MEA system.
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Roser Beneito-Montagut, Susan Anson, Duncan Shaw, & Christopher Brewster. (2013). Governmental social media use for emergency communication. 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. 828–833). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: The possibility of crowdsourced information, multi-geographical and multi-organisational information flows during emergencies and crises provided by web 2.0 tools are providing emergency management centres with new communication challenges and opportunities. Building on the existing emergency management and social media literature, this article explores how institutions are using and adopting social media for emergency communication. By examining the drivers and barriers of social media adoption in two European governmental agencies dealing with emergencies, the paper aims to establish a framework to examine whether and how institutional resilience could be improved.
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Sergio Herranz, David Díez, Díaz, P., & Starr Roxanne Hiltz. (2012). Exploring the design of technological platformsfor virtual communities of practice. 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: Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoP) refers to groups of people who share a concern about a specific domain or topic and use a virtual environment to share and increase their knowledge and expertise about this domain. This kind of social structure has intrinsic features suitable to support emergency management communities. Nevertheless, the design of specific technological platforms that support both the activity and the practice of the community is not a trivial task, especially in critical domains such as emergency management. This paper presents the inquiry process carried out over one and a half years for the purpose of generating insights about the application of VCoPs within the emergency management context. Based on a case study, a set of findings is presented about the guidelines that should be followed in order to develop suitable technological platforms that support the labor of VCoPs in the emergency management context. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Seungwon Yang, Haeyong Chung, Xiao Lin, Sunshin Lee, Liangzhe Chen, Andrew Wood, et al. (2013). PhaseVis1: What, when, where, and who in visualizing the four phases of emergency management through the lens of social media. 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. 912–917). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: The Four Phase Model of Emergency Management has been widely used in developing emergency/disaster response plans. However, the model has received criticism contrasting the clear phase distinctions in the model with the complex and overlapping nature of phases indicated by empirical evidence. To investigate how phases actually occur, we designed PhaseVis based on visualization principles, and applied it to Hurricane Isaac tweet data. We trained three classification algorithms using the four phases as categories. The 10-fold cross-validation showed that Multi-class SVM performed the best in Precision (0.8) and Naïve Bayes Multinomial performed the best in F-1 score (0.782). The tweet volume in each category was visualized as a ThemeRiver[TM], which shows the 'What' aspect. Other aspects – 'When', 'Where', and 'Who' – Are also integrated. The classification evaluation and a sample use case indicate that PhaseVis has potential utility in disasters, aiding those investigating a large disaster tweet dataset.
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Simon French, & Carmen Niculae. (2004). Believe in the model: Mishandle the emergency. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2004 – 1st International Workshop on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 9–14). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: During the past quarter century there have been many developments in scientific models and computer codes to help predict the ongoing consequences in the aftermath of many types of emergency: e.g. storms and flooding, chemical and nuclear accident, epidemics such as SARS and terrorist attack. Some of these models relate to the immediate events and can help in managing the emergency; others predict longer term impacts and thus can help shape the strategy for the return to normality. But there are many pitfalls in the way of using these models effectively. Firstly, non-scientists and, sadly, many scientists believe in the models' predictions too much. The inherent uncertainties in the models are underestimated; sometimes almost unacknowledged. This means that initial strategies may need to be revised in ways that unsettle the public, losing their trust in the emergency management process. Secondly, the output from these models form an extremely valuable input to the decision making process; but only one such input. Most emergencies are events that have huge social and economic impacts alongside the health and environmental consequences. While we can model the latter passably well, we are not so good at modelling economic impacts and very poor at modelling social impacts. Too often our political masters promise the best 'science-based' decision making and too late realise that the social and economic impacts need addressing. In this paper, we explore how model predictions should be drawn into emergency management processes in more balanced ways than often has occurred in the past. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.
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Simon French, & Nikolaos Agryris. (2014). Nuclear emergency management: Driven by precedent or international guidance? 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. 483–487). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: The NREFS project is re-evaluating the management of radiation accidents, paying attention to environmental, financial and safety issues and to the threat and response phase. In designing our project some two years ago, we were concerned to avoid any assumption that a future accident will be similar to a past accident, in particular the Chernobyl and Fukushima Accidents. After a year of research on the issues to be considered and the criteria that could or should drive the decision making, our concern has increased. We have found that international guidance provided by organisations such as ICRP and IAEA lack the specificity to help decision makers. Precedent set in the handling of earlier accidents provides much clearer and tighter guidance – and, moreover, one may feel that that the public will expect them to follow such precedent. Unfortunately the circumstances of a future accident may make precedent inapplicable. Consequently we believe that there is an urgent need to think more widely about nuclear emergency management.
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Starr Roxanne Hiltz, & Linda Plotnick. (2013). Dealing with information overload when using social media for emergency management: Emerging solutions. 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. 823–827). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Several recent studies point the way to enabling emergency response managers to be able to find relevant posts and incorporate them into their sensemaking and decision making processes. Among the approaches that have improved the ability to find the most relevant information are the social conventions of creating topic groups and tags and of “retweeting;” the use of trained volunteers to filter and summarize posts for responders; automated notifications of trending topics; natural language processing of posts; techniques for identifying posts from the disaster site; and the use of GIS and crisis maps to visually represent the distribution of incidents.
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Starr Roxanne Hiltz, Linda Plotnick, & Rosalie J. Ocker. (2011). Learning about Emergency Management Information Systems through Partially Distributed Team projects. 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: What are effective ways to train students for designing Emergency Management Information Systems and for working with distant partners on EMIS projects? This paper describes the results of a project whose goal is to assess the effectiveness of Partially Distributed Teams (PDTs) as a pedagogical strategy. A PDT is one type of distributed team, in which two or more co-located subgroups use information and communication technology to collaborate on a task. Much of emergency management involves cross-organizational and often cross-national collaboration in this form. Students need, but lack, learning experiences focused on how to work effectively in such situations. This field study involved more than 700 students from universities in eight countries, working in 80 teams on an EMIS software requirements task. Results indicate that students report positive learning experiences, with international students in international teams reporting the most positive experiences. There are also significant differences among universities.
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Stephen E. Hannestad. (2005). Incident command system: A developing national standard of incident management in the U.S. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 19–28). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: This paper is a critical examination of the U.S. Incident Command System (“ICS”) as an organizational structure and information gathering tool for emergency management from the perspective of a career emergency management officer who became a graduate student in information management following 35 years of public service. In addition to examining the ICS, and assessing its current weaknesses in the area of information management, the paper proposes a low-cost, COTS approach to automating the ICS information gathering and dissemination process.
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Steven Curnin, & Christine Owen. (2013). A typology to facilitate multi-agency coordination. 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. 115–119). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Multi-agency coordination in emergency management presents many challenges. Agencies that normally operate independently have to assemble into a unified supra organization to achieve a common goal. To achieve successful multi-agency coordination organizations need to span organizational boundaries and provide linkages with multiple agencies. This requires interorganizational compatibility of information and communication systems. Necessary for this success are the stakeholders responsible for facilitating these organizational boundary spanning activities. This paper proposes that the preliminary research findings can create a typology of dimensions crucial to facilitating multi-agency emergency management coordination. It is envisaged that the typology will culminate into a diagnostic tool that will enable stakeholders to examine the breakdowns and successes of multi-agency emergency management coordination.
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Teresa Onorati, Alessio Malizia, Paloma Díaz, & Ignacio Aedo. (2010). Interaction design for web emergency management information systems. 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: The interaction design for web emergency management information systems (WEMIS) is an important aspect to keep in mind due to the criticality of the domain: decision making, updating available resources, defining a task list, trusting in proposed information. A common interaction design strategy for WEMIS seems to be needed but currently there are few references in literature. Our aim is to contribute to this lack with a set of interactive principles for WEMIS. From the emergency point of view, existing WEMIS have been analyzed to extract common features and to design interaction principles for emergency. Furthermore, we studied design principles extracted from the Turoff's model relating them to emergency phases and features. In particular, in this paper, we choose to follow the current trend in the definition of emergency life cycles. In our approach, referring to general policies in literature, the emergency management process is divided into two different sub cycles: back-end and front-end. From the interaction point of view, a formalization process based on the interactive PIE model has been defined. The result we propose here is a set of design principles for supporting interactive properties for WEMIS.
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Theo Dirk Meijler, & Frank Nietzold. (2011). Light-weight model-based realization of a B2B protocol and a SOA integration engine. 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 emergency management, communication between the emergency management team and the outer world is essential. When using an emergency management system, such communication is often IT-based. To disburden the emergency management team, structured “B2B” messages may be used that correspond to the (foreseen) lifecycle of relevant entities in the emergency, such as threats and measures. The paper introduces an approach for the realization of a B2B messaging protocol and the corresponding integration engine, which maps message content to service calls, in the context of an emergency management system. The approach is light-weight and model-based, as protocols and integration engine are based on merely modeling the states and state transitions of objects in the system representing essential entities in the emergency. As the model is described in non-technical terms, this can be done by a non-IT expert.
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Theo Van Ruijven. (2011). Serious games as experiments for emergency management research: A review. 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: Serious games and virtual environments are increasingly used for emergency management training and research. The development of these technologies seems to contribute to a solution to some problems in the existing literature on emergency management which is mainly based on case study research. However, using virtual technology for research also introduces new difficulties. This paper describes the advantages and drawbacks of using serious games for research and reviews eight recently published studies that make use of virtual environments. The review focuses on the external validity of serious games as this is a challenging issues for research that involves virtual environments. The paper concludes with some recommendations to increase the external validity of future research with serious games.
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Tim J. Grant. (2008). Checklist for comparing emergency management information systems. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 752–763). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: This paper describes a checklist that has been developed for comparing the functionality of emergency management control centres and their information systems. The intention is to interest the ISCRAM community in using the checklist in various applications and pooling experiences. The Control Centre Visit Checklist has evolved through four iterations. It has been used to study two military C2 systems and one non-military control system, and has been applied by students for course assignments. The paper focuses on the part of the checklist that evaluates the information system from the systems viewpoint. It describes the underlying applications architecture and process model. The Royal Netherlands Army's Battlefield Management System illustrates the application of the checklist. The results show that the checklist aids in identifying where C2 systems can be developed further. The next step is to perform a set of substantial pilot studies for diverse domains, including civilian emergency management systems.
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Tina Comes, Claudine Conrado, Michael Hiete, Michiel Kamermans, Gregor Pavlin, & Niek Wijngaards. (2010). An intelligent decision support system for decision making under uncertainty in distributed reasoning frameworks. 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 presents an intelligent system facilitating better-informed decision making under severe uncertainty as found in emergency management. The construction of decision-relevant scenarios, being coherent and plausible descriptions of a situation and its future development, is used as a rationale for collecting, organizing, filtering and processing information for decision making. The development of scenarios is geared to assessing decision alternatives, thus avoiding time-consuming analysis and processing of irrelevant information. The scenarios are constructed in a distributed setting allowing for a flexible adaptation of reasoning (principles and processes) to the problem at hand and the information available. This approach ensures that each decision can be founded on a coherent set of scenarios, which was constructed using the best expertise available within a limited timeframe. Our theoretical framework is demonstrated in a distributed decision support system by orchestrating both automated systems and human experts into workflows tailored to each specific problem.
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Tina Comes, Niek Wijngaards, & Frank Schultmann. (2012). Efficient scenario updating in emergency management. 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: Emergency managers need to assess, combine and process large volumes of information with varying degrees of (un)certainty. To keep track of the uncertainties and to facilitate gaining an understanding of the situation, the information is combined into scenarios: stories about the situation and its development. As the situation evolves, typically more information becomes available and already acknowledged information is changed or revised. Meanwhile, decision-makers need to keep track of the scenarios including an assessment whether the infor-mation constituting the scenario is still valid and relevant for their purposes. Standard techniques to support sce-nario updating usually involve complete scenario re-construction. This is far too time-consuming in emergency management. Our approach uses a graph theoretical scenario formalisation to enable efficient scenario updating. MCDA techniques are employed to decide whether information changes are sufficiently important to warrant scenario updating. A brief analysis of the use-case demonstrates a large gain in efficiency. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Torbjørg Meum, & Bjørn Erik Munkvold. (2013). Information infrastructure for crisis response coordination: A study of local emergency management in norwegian municipalities. 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. 84–88). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: While great progress is made in terms of development and implementation on new ICT services for supporting crisis response coordination, the challenge remains on how to integrate these services within the ICT infrastructure in daily use by emergency responders. We report from an ongoing analysis of existing crisis response infrastructure in Norwegian municipalities, presenting an overview of current practice and related challenges. We argue for an information infrastructure perspective on the integration challenges, focusing on how new services based on geographic information systems and social media should be based on existing systems in use.
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Torbjørg Træland Meum. (2014). An action design research approach to developing emergency management systems. 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. 175–179). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: We propose Action Design Research (ADR) as an approach to promote user participation and mutual learning in the design and development of systems for emergency management based on social media technologies. We outline some design challenges related to the dynamic and evolving nature of social media, and emphasize an iterative design process that is strongly oriented toward collaboration and change involving both the researcher and the user community. In particular, we emphasize the transformative power of social media and argue for design approaches that take into account the new dimension of e-participation throughout the design process.
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Wolfgang Raskob, Valentin Bertsch, Jutta Geldermann., Sandra Baig, & Florian Gering. (2005). Demands to and experience with the decision support system rodos for off-site emergency management in the decision making process in Germany. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 269–278). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Emergency situations, man-made as well as natural, can differ considerably. However, they share the characteristic of sudden onset, involve complex decisions and necessitate a coherent and effective emergency management. In the event of a nuclear or radiological accident in Europe, the real-time on-line decision support system RODOS provides support from the early phase through to the medium and long-term phases. This paper describes the demands to a Decision Support System from a user-centred view as well as experiences gained from conducting moderated decision making workshops based on a hypothetical accident scenario focusing on the evaluation of long-term countermeasures using the simulation capabilities of the RODOS system and its recently integrated evaluation component Web-HIPRE, a tool for multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA).
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Xiang Yao, Murray Turoff, & Michael J. Chumer. (2009). Designing a group support system to review and practice emergency plans in virtual teams. 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: In the 21st century, rapid changes of our society necessitate continuous review and practice of emergency plans. Traditional face-to-face (FtF) interactions to make emergency plans and train responders seem insufficient. The virtual team (VT), a new team form allowing dynamic recruitment of experts from global extent and conduction of teamwork whenever it is needed, provides a more agile solution. This paper introduces a group support system called Collario (Collaborative Scenario) aiming to facilitate effective collaboration in creating and discussing scenarios in VTs and to utilize scenarios as the vehicle to review and practice emergency plans on a continuous basis. This research is still in progress. Three professionals have been involved in system demonstrations and interviews. Although it is still too early to make any conclusions, it is encouraging to know that all the three experts thought Collario easy to use and might be useful for various emergency preparedness purposes.
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Xiang Yao, Murray Turoff, & Starr Roxanne Hiltz. (2010). A field trial of a collaborative online scenario creation system for emergency 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: In Emergency Management and Business Continuity Planning, scenarios are a widely used tool. Existing scenario creation systems allow distributed groups to create scenarios together but have limited collaboration support. This study developed and evaluated a solution to provide various types of collaboration support around a knowledge structure at the core of a collaborative scenario creation system called Collario. Following the Design Science paradigm, it evolved through four iterations into a working prototype. Several evaluation methods, including protocol analysis and field study, were employed to evaluate the design effects and obtain user feedback. The results of the first field trial are described in this paper. They indicate that the system is useful to support creation and discussion of emergency scenarios in virtual teams and to share knowledge and experiences among geographically distributed emergency professionals and researchers. It was also found that the system is not hard to learn and use.
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