Matthew Guardascione, & Allen E. Milewski. (2010). Feedback mechanisms in automated emergency management training. 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 study explored automated training for emergency managers and the effects of feedback on performance. A prototype emergency management training application was built to allow the usage of either immediate feedback or delayed, “hotwash” feedback. Users were split into two groups and asked to carry out two emergency management scenarios using one of the feedback mechanisms, and the difference in scores between each feedback type were analyzed There was a general increase in performance across sessions. Further, the improvements in scores between each feedback type showed that users performed significantly better when using the hotwash feedback mechanism compared with the immediate feedback mechanism. In contrast to the performance data, preference data showed no overall differences between the two procedures, although each user had a strong preference for one or the other feedback mechanism. The implications for the design of training systems offering both procedures are discussed.
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Mohammadreza Khalilbeigi, Immanuel Schweizer, Dirk Bradler, Florian Probst, & Jürgen Steimle. (2010). Towards computer support of paper workflows in 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: A crucial aspect for large-scale disaster management is an efficient technology support for communication and decision-making processes in command and control centers. Yet, experiences with the introduction of novel technologies in this setting show that field professionals tend to remain attached to traditional workflows and artifacts, such as pen and paper. We contribute the results of a comprehensive field study which analyzes how the information flow is currently performed within different units and persons in the command and control center. These findings provide insights into key aspects of current workflows which should be preserved by novel technological solutions. As our second contribution, by using a participatory design approach and based on our findings, we present a novel approach for computer support in command and control centers. This relies on digital pens and paper and smoothly integrates traditional paper-based workflows with computing, thereby combining the advantages of paper and those of computers.
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Lauren C. Landrigan, Allen Milewski, & Jason Baker. (2010). Determining credible sources during an emergency situation. 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: An important aspect of working in an emergency operations center (EOC) is determining what information is credible and what actions to take based on that information. Information during an emergency may come from various sources and EOC workers may not know the information providers personally. Information may come from electronic sources where the exact source of the information may be unknown and credibility may be affected. For this study, we conducted ethnographic interviews with emergency management subject matter experts to gain insights on credibility. The interviews included a series of questions to learn about the current processes of an EOC, what sources generally provide information about the situation and what factors determine credibility. These interviews are ongoing and this paper provides a summary of the interviews completed at this point. The expected outcome of this study is a potential software system with features to enhance credibility despite weak source information.
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Mark Latonero, & Irina Shklovski. (2010). Respectfully yours in safety and service: Emergency management & social media evangelism. 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 this paper we consider how emergency response organizations utilize available social media technologies to communicate with the public in emergencies and to potentially collect valuable information using the public as sources of information on the ground. We discuss the use of public social media tools from the emergency management professionals. viewpoint with a particular focus on the use of Twitter. Little research has investigated Twitter usage in crisis situations from an organizational perspective. This paper contributes to our understanding of organizational innovation, risk communication, and technology adoption by emergency management. An in-depth case study of Public Information Officers of the Los Angeles Fire Department highlights the importance of the information evangelist within emergency management organizations and details the challenges those organizations face with an engagement with social media and Twitter. This article provides insights into practices and challenges of new media implementation for crisis and risk management organizations.
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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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Heiko Roßnagel, & Olaf Junker. (2010). Evaluation of a mobile emergency management system – A simulation approach. 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: Large public events such as sporting events, concerts, fairs and street festivals are quite common in metropolitan areas. Because of the high frequency of such events and the increasing number of involved parties, those being responsible for the organization and execution have to cope with increasing complexity and shortening time frames for planning and preperation. Because of the high concentration of passengers, unplanned incidents that occur during these public events can have devastating effects and can lead to crises and disasters. Emergency management systems that utilize mobile communication infrastructures can provide prompt information delivery to save human lives. In this paper we propose a system design for mobile emergency management and outline our approach of evaluating this system design using multi-agent based simulation. To make our simulation of passenger movements as realistic as possible we gathered empirical data for a large event as well as for normal rush hour traffic.
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Marcus Vogt, Kieth Hales, Dieter Hertweck, & Gavin Finnie. (2010). Strategic ICT alignment in 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: This paper shows preliminary results of an ongoing research project on the benefits of Strategic ICT Alignment in the domain of disaster management. The research is based on current literature in that area, an observation of a multi-organizational pandemic exercise in a large German municipality and interviews with stakeholders of different emergency management organizations in Germany and Australia. The preliminary results show that emergency managers can feel overwhelmed by the complexity of ICT and are unable to estimate the value and impact of ICT on their processes. Consequently, the paper identifies a research gap in the area of ICT Governance and Emergency Management, which will guide the coming research stages in order to develop a Strategic ICT Alignment framework for emergency management organizations.
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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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Jan Steen Jensen, & Jan Pehrsson. (2009). Central response to large chemical accidents. 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: Present scenarios, issues, requirements, experience and solutions from a central government organisation supporting local emergency management organisations. The presentation will cover the experience collected in the DIADEM project by the Danish Emergency Management Organisation with the focus of using ARGOS for response to chemical incidents.
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Kim Weyns, & Martin Höst. (2009). Dependability of IT systems in municipal emergency management. 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 recent years governmental actors have become more and more dependent on IT systems for their responsibilities in a crisis situation. To avoid unexpected problems with the dependability of IT systems in the aftermath of a crisis it is important that such risks are identified and that measures can be taken to reduce the dependence on systems that could be unreliable. This paper describes two case studies exploring how Swedish municipalities incorporate IT systems in their emergency planning. The study focuses especially on how different actors within a municipality cooperate to analyse the risks of depending on IT systems in critical situations. The study shows that today there is much room for improvement, especially in the communication between IT personnel and emergency managers. Finally, this paper describes the requirements for a process improvement framework that can assist governmental actors in analysing and improving their dependency on IT systems in emergency management.
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Connie White, Linda Plotnick, Jane Kushma, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, & Murray Turoff. (2009). An online social network for emergency management. 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: Online Social Networking Sites (SNS) are becoming extremely popular and can be employed in a variety of contexts. They permit the establishment of global relationships that are domain related or can be based on some general need shared by the participants. Emergency domain related websites, each with their own stated mission, are becoming widespread. Can a social network offer a solution to bringing emergency domain-related entities together as a 'one stop shop?' We propose to investigate whether the social network paradigm can be used to enable individuals and organizations to collaborate in mutually beneficial ways, in all stages of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Emergency management students were surveyed to examine the concept of social networks and their acceptance as a potential tool. The results of this exploratory research show overwhelming agreement that SNS should be considered a viable solution to the problems plaguing information dissemination and communications in the emergency domain.
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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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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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Irma Becerra-Fernandez, Weidong Xia, Arvind Gudi, & Jose Rocha. (2008). Task characteristics, knowledge sharing and integration, and emergency management performance: Research agenda and challenges. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 88–92). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Emergency management tasks are inherently complex and dynamic, requiring quick knowledge sharing and decision coordination among multiple organizations across different levels and locations. However, there is a general lack of understanding about how to describe and assess the complex and dynamic nature of emergency management tasks and how knowledge integration help managers improve emergency management task performance. This paper describes a research project that aims at (1) developing the concepts of task complexity and uncertainty of emergency management tasks and (2) testing the mediating role of knowledge sharing and knowledge integration between emergency management task characteristics and performance. The overall research agenda, approaches, challenges and the advantages of utilizing a virtual Emergency Operations Center (vEOC) for this line of research are discussed.
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Andrea Capata, Andrea Marrella, Ruggero Russo, Manfred Bortenschlager, & Harald Rieser. (2008). A geo-based application for the management of mobile actors during crisis situations. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 219–229). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: The widespread availability of network-enabled handled devices has made the development of pervasive computing applications an emerging reality particularly suitable for managing emergency/disaster situations. Moreover in emergency management scenarios, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are gaining momentum for their capacity to capture, analyze and manage geo-referenced data. In this paper we discuss an architecture designed to support rescue teams operating in outdoor environments and equipped with mobile devices working in a P2P fashion within a Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET). Our system has been designed to effectively address the on-field working persons' need for geographic information that cannot be supplied by conventional paper-based maps. Our approach provides a transparent access to geo-information and to GIS functionalities, and it addresses issues specifically relevant to emergency management scenarios in open fields.
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Paola Di Maio. (2008). Ontologies for networked centric emergency mangement operations. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 177–188). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Emergency Management, like other fields of Operations, consists of information, communication and decision making. Thanks to the pervasiveness of real time networked infrastructures, such as the internet and the web, new models of operations are emerging, designed to leverage the aggregate the power of 'collective intelligence' and 'distributed action' facilitated by 'open world' systems environments. In order to develop effective information systems capable of supporting the distributed nature of emerging 'architectures of participation', it is necessary to devise adequate 'semantic structures', which in turn rely on sound and explicit conceptual frameworks, such as ontologies. However, there aren't enough 'ontologies' in the public domain that can be referenced to establish compatibility of architectures and serve as guidelines for the development of open, neutral and accountable information systems. In this paper we a) describe and analyse the 'distributed' and 'networked' nature of emergency operations b) put forward the notion information systems to support of emergency management today should be modeled on 'distributed' and networked organizational structures, and that ontologies in this domain should be built accordingly.
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Zvonko Grzetic, Nenad Mladineo, & Snjezana Knezic. (2008). Emergency management systems to accommodate ships in distress. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 669–678). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: As a future member of the European Union (EU), Croatia has decided to implement EU Directive 2002/59/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council binding all EU member states to define places of refuge for ships in need of assistance off their coasts, or to develop techniques for providing assistance to such ships. Consequently, the Ministry of the Sea, Tourism, Transport and Development of the Republic of Croatia has initiated a project for developing an effective Decision Support System (DSS) for defining the places of refuge for ships in distress at sea. Such a system would include a model based upon GIS and different operational research models, which would eventually result in establishing an integral DSS. Starting points for analysis are shipping corridors, and 380 potential locations for places of refuge designated in the official navigational pilot book. Multicriteria analysis, with GIS-generated input data, would be used to establish worthiness of a place of refuge for each ship category, taking into account kinds of accident. Tables of available intervention resources would be made, as well as analysis of their availability in respect of response time, and quantitative and qualitative sufficiency.
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Norman C. Hester, Jim Wilkinson, Stephen Patrick Horton, & Theresa I. Jefferson. (2008). Integration of information systems for post earthquake research response. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 362–367). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Natural disasters occur infrequently, limiting our ability to develop an inclusive knowledge base concerning such events. The ability to study, interpret, and document findings immediately following a damaging seismic event, is a critical step in furthering our understanding of events, allowing for effective awareness, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts. In the central United States, a Post Earthquake Technical Information Clearinghouse (PETIC) Plan has been developed to coordinate research activities, and to facilitate collaboration between the emergency management and research communities. Because a damaging earthquake in the central U.S. will impact several states, a Multi-State Technical Information Clearinghouse (MSTIC) Coordination Plan to link state technical information clearinghouses (STICs) is proposed. This paper describes beginning efforts to define the role and functions of a MSTIC as well as formalize plans with emergency management agencies to facilitate collaboration and coordination between STICs, the MSTIC.
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Fahem Kebair, & Frédéric Serin. (2008). Towards an intelligent system for risk prevention and emergency management. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 526–535). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Making a decision in a changeable and dynamic environment is an arduous task owing to the lack of information, their uncertainties and the unawareness of planners about the future evolution of incidents. The use of a decision support system is an efficient solution for this issue. Such a system can help emergency planners and responders to detect possible emergencies, as well as to suggest and evaluate possible courses of action to deal with the emergency. We are interested in our work to the modelling of a monitoring preventive and emergency management system, wherein we stress the generic aspect. In this paper we propose an agent-based architecture of this system and we describe a first step of our approach which is the modeling of information and their representation using a multiagent system.
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John M. McGuirl, Nadine B. Sarter, & David D. Woods. (2008). Seeing is believing?: The effects of real-time, image-based feedback on emergency management decision-making. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 406–414). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Emergency management personnel often face feedback delays and a lack of reliable information. To address this problem, new information technologies have been developed that can provide real-time, image-based feedback. While potentially useful, this trend represents a fundamental shift in both the timing and format of the information used by incident commanders (ICs). Eight ICs took part in a simulation exercise to determine the potential impact of real-time imaging on their decision-making. Nearly all of the ICs failed to detect important changes in the situation that were not captured in the imaging but that were available via other, more traditional data sources. It appears that the ICs placed an inappropriately high level of trust in the imaging data, resulting in reduced data search activities and hypothesis generation. This research helps practitioners anticipate and guard against undesirable effects of introducing similar technologies on training and operational procedures.
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Dilek Ozceylan, & Erman Coskun. (2008). Defining critical success factors for National Emergency Management Model and supporting the model with 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. 376–383). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Natural or man-made disasters frequently occur in different countries and disaster types and consequences might differ immensely depending on that country's unique characteristics. While probability of a man-made disaster occurrence will be high for technologically advanced countries as a result of using technology in almost every aspect of daily life, probability of natural disaster occurrence will be dependent on geological, geographical, and climate related factors. Based on their different risk types and levels, each nation should create their own National Emergency Management Model (NEMM) and because of country specific conditions each plan must be unique. Thus, for each country NEMM should be focusing on different factors which are important and should show that country the importance list of factors. As a result, countries may better distribute their limited resources to reach optimum emergency management plan and execution. In this study, our goal is to three fold. Our first goal is to come up with full list of categories and factors which are important for a successful National Emergency Management Model. In order to achieve this goal, we determined our categories and factors based on our analysis of previous disasters and literature review. The second goal is to determine the importance level of each category and defining critical success factors for different countries. For this purpose, we are planning to use experts from different countries. This part of study is still underway. Finally, we analyze how information systems might be utilized for each category and factors to support a better National Emergency Management Model. This is a first step of a multi-step research.
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Linda Plotnick, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, Rosalie Ocker, & Mary Beth Rosson. (2008). Leadership in partially distributed emergency response software development teams. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 150–158). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Emergency response and preparedness teams that are inter-organizational or international often work together in partially distributed teams (PDTs). A PDT has at least one collocated subteam and at least two subteams that are geographically distributed. Leadership configuration and behaviors present unique challenges in PDTs. This paper describes preliminary results of an initial field experiment with international student teams undertaken to examine leadership in PDTs working on high-level requirements for an emergency preparedness information system. Leadership is viewed through the lens of what leader behaviors, or roles, are enacted by the leaders. Leadership configuration was varied: some teams had just an overall team leader; others had no team leader but had a leader for each subteam, while others had both team and subteam leaders. The findings suggest that leadership configuration matters and that leaders do enact roles similar to those found in studies of fully distributed or traditional collocated teams.
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Min Song, & Peishih Chang. (2008). Automatic extraction of abbreviation for emergency management websites. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 93–100). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: In this paper we present a novel approach to reduce information proliferation and aid better information structure by automatically generating extraction of abbreviation for emergency management websites. 5.7 Giga Byte web data from 624 emergency management related web sites is collected and a list of acronyms is automatically generated by proposed system (AbbrevExtractor). Being the first attempt of applying abbreviation extraction to the field, this work is expected to provide comprehensive and timely information for emergency management communities in emergency preparedness, training and education. Future work is likely to involve more data collection and intelligent text analysis for dynamically maintaining and updating the list of acronyms and abbreviations.
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Jim Steel, Renato Iannella, & Ho-Pun Lam. (2008). Using ontologies for decision support in resource messaging. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 276–284). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Emergency management is by its nature, and in some jurisdictions by its definition, an activity that requires a concerted effort by a number of governmental and non-governmental agencies. There is a growing appreciation that collaboration between these parties is best served through the use of interoperable standards for message formats for purposes such as alerting and resource exchange. However, it is also important to realize that, although much advantage can be drawn from standardizing certain aspects of communication, such as the structure of messages, different agencies will use different vocabularies. In this paper we discuss how ontologies can be used with standard messaging formats for resource messaging to enable intelligent decision support mechanisms in the presence of differing vocabularies across organizational boundaries. We also present a survey of the opportunities for using ontologies in emergency management, and the issues that must be addressed.
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Murray Turoff, Connie White, Linda Plotnick, & Starr Roxanne Hiltz. (2008). Dynamic emergency response management for large scale decision making in extreme events. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 462–470). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Effective management of a large-scale extreme event requires a system that can quickly adapt to changing needs of the users. There is a critical need for fast decision-making within the time constraints of an ongoing emergency. Extreme events are volatile, change rapidly, and can have unpredictable outcomes. Large, not predetermined groups of experts and decision makers need a system to prepare for a response to a situation never experienced before and to collaborate to respond to the actual event. Extreme events easily require a hundred or more independent agencies and organizations to be involved which usually results in two or more times the number of individuals. To accomplish the above objectives we present a philosophical view of decision support for Emergency Preparedness and Management that has not previously been made explicit in this domain and describe a number of the current research efforts at NJIT that fit into this framework.
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