Ummul Khair Israt Ara, & Fang Chen. (2012). Information security in crisis management 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: Information security is an important part of almost any kind of Information System. Crisis Management Systems (CMS) are a type of Information System that deals with information which needs to be secure. No matter what kind of crisis, natural disasters, man-made crisis or terrorist attacks, the CMS security should not be compromised. There are many challenges regarding exchange of qualified information and interoperability between various Expert Systems and the CMS. It is important to have strong security in terms of technology, skills, security requirements, sensitivity of information and trust-worthiness (Vural, Ciftcibasi and Inan, 2010). Depending on the type of crisis situation, different sets of security components should be triggered, since the security requirements vary between situations. For example, a terrorist attack has different security requirements in the system compared to a natural disaster or a medical emergency. In this paper, the importance of Information Security in CMS will be discussed. Methods for secure exchange of qualified information are analyzed and a secure and dynamic Crisis Management Information Security System (CMISS) design is introduced. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Anne Marie Barthe, Sébastien Truptil, & Frédérick Bénaben. (2014). Agility of crisis response: Gathering and analyzing data through an event-driven platform. 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. 250–254). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: The goal of this article is to introduce a platform (called Agility Service) that gathers and analyses data coming from both crisis response and crisis field by using the principles of Complex Event Processing. As a crisis situation is an unstable phenomenon (by nature or by effect of the applied response), the crisis response may be irrelevant after a while: lack of resources, arrival of a new stakeholder, unreached objectives, over-crisis, etc. Gathering data, analyze and aggregate it to deduce relevant information concerning the current crisis situation, and making this information available to the crisis cell to support decision making: these are the purposes of the described platform. A use case based on the Fukushima's nuclear accident is developed to illustrate the use of the developed prototype.
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Gary Berg-Cross. (2008). Improving situational ontologies to support adaptive crisis management knowledge architecture. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 537–545). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: There is considerable interest in advance technologies to support crisis and disaster management as they face the challenges of designing, building, and maintaining large-scale distributed systems able to adapt to the dynamics and complexity of crises. Candidate technologies include Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), related Semantic Web technology, agent-based architecture and cognitive architectures. Each embodies some principles of the Adaptive Architecture-including modularity, openness, standards-based development, runtime support and importantly explicitness. However, truly adaptive architectures for crisis management will require some deepening the knowledge architecture's content and not just its representation. Light and more robust ontological models of situations are discussed to show how better formalization of conceptual patterns like “participation” can be developed to support cognitive architectures. The feasibility of an ontological design pattern approach is described as an avenue for future research and development describing specific types of situations.
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Brugghemans Bert, Milis Koen, & Van de Walle Bartel. (2013). Impact of the distribution and enrichment of information on the management and coordination of a human-made fast-burning crisis. 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. 89–93). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Post hoc evaluations made of crisis situations and exercises often point at communication as an important reason for the failure of the management and coordination of the crisis. Crisis managers have to deal with the problem that they (and all other actors in the field) don't have the right information to coordinate the efforts and solve the crisis situation. This paper examines the relation between the information available – more specifically the richness of the information and the distribution of the information – And the management and coordination of a typical man-made fast-burning crisis. The literature on decision making and situation awareness is reviewed and an experiment is conducted with 40 crisis managers in Belgium to assess the impact of the information. Initial results indicate a relationship between the ways a crisis team receives information and the achieved level of situation awareness, the difficulty of making decisions and the perceived complexity of the crisis.
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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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Dragos Datcu, & Leon J.M. Rothkrantz. (2008). A Dialog Action Manager for automatic crisis 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. 384–393). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: This paper presents the results of our research on the development of a Dialog Action Manager-DAM as part of a complex crisis management system. Imagine the utility of such an automatic system to detect the crisis and to provide support to people in contexts similar to what happened recently at the underground in London and Madrid. Preventing and handling the scenarios of terrorism and other crisis are nowadays maybe the most important issues for a modern and safe society. In order to automate the crisis support, DAM simulates the behavior of an employee at the crisis centre handling telephone calls from human observers. Firstly, the system has to mimic the natural support for the paradigm 'do you hear me?' and next for the paradigm 'do you understand me?'. The people witnessing the crisis event as well as human experts provide reports and expertise according to their observations and knowledge on the crisis. The system knowledge and the data communication follow the XML format specifications. The system is centered on the results of our previous work on creating a user-centered multimodal reporting tool that works on mobile devices. In our paper we describe the mechanisms for creating an automatic DAM system that is able to analyze the user messages, to identify and track the crisis contexts, to support dialogs for crisis information disambiguation and to generate feedback in the form of advice to the users. The reasoning is done by using a data frame and rule based system architecture and an alternative Bayesian Network approach. In the paper we also present a series of experiments we have attempted in our endeavor to correctly identify natural solutions for the crisis situations.
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Nour El Mawas, & Jean-Pierre Cahier. (2013). Towards a knowledge-intensive serious game for training emergency medical services. 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. 135–139). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: In the preparedness activity for disasters and emergency management, serious games can help in training medical first responders by providing emergency simulations which are always available, safer and cheaper than real-world simulations. However, serious games for training emergency medical services (EMS) must take into account the presence of different actors in crisis situation like police and firefighters and the high volume of (medical as well as non-medical) expert knowledge. The aim of our approach is not only to acquire technical skills but also to develop the capability to act, to cooperate and coordinate in non-procedurally previewed emergency situations. This paper proposes both (i) a detailed prototype of a serious game's scenario that supports instructors in the training in EMS and (ii) an adaptive infrastructure A.R.G.I.L.E (Architecture for Representations, Games, Interactions, and Learning among Experts). We illustrate our ideas on an example of a complex road accident. This work is done with the collaboration of a Hospital Emergency Department implied with us in a R&D project.
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Siska Fitrianie, & Leon J.M. Rothkrantz. (2007). An automated crisis online dispatcher. 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. 525–536). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: An experimental automated dialogue system that plays the role of a crisis hotline dispatcher is currently developed. Besides controlling the communication flow, this system is able to retrieve information about crisis situations from user's input. It offers a natural user interaction by the ability to perceive and respond to human emotions. The system has an emotion recognizer that is able to recognize the emotional loading from user's linguistic content. The recognizer uses a database that contains selected keywords on a 2D “arousal” and “valence” scale. The output of the system provides not only the information about the user's emotional state but also an indication of the urgency of his/her information regarding to crisis. The dialogue system is able to start a user friendly dialogue, taking care of the content, context and emotional loading of user's utterances.
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Therese Friberg, Stephan Prödel, & Rainer Koch. (2011). Information quality criteria and their importance for experts in crisis situations. 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 the past a lot of researchers have defined criteria to determine information quality. Various criteria and dimensions have been identified and examined in different contexts. But very few of them focused on information quality in the context of complex situations, especially in the domain of crisis management. These complex situations demand for an extensive level of information as a basis to the difficult decisions an officer-in-charge has to make. Therefore, if we want to support the decision-making of the leading officers through an at least semi-automated process, we need first of all to find a set of criteria to assess the information quality considering the special requirements of such complex situations. In this paper we describe our approach of defining a criteria set by identifying the characteristics of complex situations, then we analyze existing models of information quality and map their aggregated criteria to the identified characteristics and finally first results of interviews to evaluate the set through the involvement of domain experts are presented.
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Lida Khalili Gheidary. (2010). Social media and Iran's post-election crisis. 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 research-in-progress paper, the role of social media during the two months of the Iranian post-election crisis in Summer 2009 has been studied. In search of emergent social phenomena, particular emphasis is given to online participation and collaboration throughout social network sites. This study demonstrates the extent to which such media can gain prominence and challenge traditional practices as well as challenging the next level of research and development of social media during crisis situations.
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Tim J. Grant. (2005). Integrating sensemaking and response using planning operator induction. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 89–96). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Emergency response managers often try to prepare plans in advance of foreseeable crises. However, pre-prepared plans almost never fit the precise situation when an actual crisis arises. This paper focuses on what can be done once the plan has been found to be a mismatch with the actual situation, and particularly on sensemaking and its integration into generating a response to a crisis situation. This paper proposes planning operator induction as a suitable technique. The Air Traffic Control and military air defence situation over the continental US on September 11, 2001, serves as the illustrative application. Since the paper reports research in progress, it closes by outlining the additional functionality that will have to be added to the existing POI implementation to produce a sensemaking tool.
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Beibei Hu, Jan Hidders, & Philipp Cimiano. (2010). Towards context-based information delivery to police officers: A questionnaire-based requirements elicitation study. 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 the area of information system design, the development of context-aware systems which can provide relevant information in a context-driven fashion to support mobile users in crisis management tasks represents a great challenge. Motivated by the fact that police officers are often overwhelmed by too much information, the goal of the MOSAIC project (a multi-officer system of agents for informed crisis control) is to support mobile police officers by a system which delivers contextualized information that is relevant to the task at hand. In order to elicit the information requirements of police officers who are involved in crisis situations, a questionnaire-based requirements elicitation study has been carried out in the context of the work described here. The results mainly shed light on the situation-specific information requirements of police officers in certain scenarios. The design requirements that follow from our study have clearly the potential to guide the design of context-based information delivery systems for users involved in critical situations such as the police officers we target. Our findings thus offer an important contribution to the field of information system design for crisis management.
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Paul Klapwijk, & Leon J.M. Rothkrantz. (2006). Topology based infrastructure for crisis situations. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 504–512). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Recent terrorist attacks and natural disasters have forced humanity to respond to crisis situations effectively as possible. In these situations especially the first hours rescue workers cannot always rely on existing communication infrastructure. Knowledge about the situation is to be gathered to obtain an aggregate world model of the situation. Decisions can be taken based on this world model. The solution we propose consists of using a Mobile Ad-Hoc Network (MANET), in which the nodes are organized in a topology in order to facilitate the necessary functionalities. Communication between the nodes takes place via a distributed blackboard structure. This architecture supports services developed with the purpose of assisting rescue workers. The agents (humans/sensors) in the network provide data as input to the network. Our approach takes care of processing of this input data to provide users with appropriate information and to obtain a shared world model. As a proof of concept we implemented a prototype of our approach on a number of mobile devices and tested the idea in real life.
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Sigmund Kluckner, Johannes Sautter, Matthias Max, Wolf Engelbach, & Tina Weber. (2012). Impacting factors on human reactionsto alerts. 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: Crisis response authorities have to deal with the unpredictability of their population's behavior. One of the complex challenges is to understand the people's reaction after an official alert in a crisis situation has been issued. This paper elaborates a knowledge base to describe impacting factors on human reactions in alerting situations. For this purpose, a literature review in the theme of human behavior after warnings was conducted and augmented with information gathered in a series of interviews in German-speaking countries. The outcome is phrased as factors that might impact the human reaction to a warning. This knowledge base shall support crisis management practitioners in the elaboration of alerting strategies as well as allow researchers to systematically structure human behavior aspects for the purpose of modeling and simulating alert effects. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Lachlan MacKinnon, & Liz Bacon. (2012). Developing realistic 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: Current crisis management training, at the strategic level, is predominantly focused on two approaches, table-top exercises and large-scale physical simulations. Unfortunately, neither of these approaches provides the necessary realism to accurately prepare trainees for the stress, volume and speed of decision-making required in an actual crisis situation. The development of virtual environments, rich multimedia, and games technologies has resulted in considerable work in developing new training support tools. Some of this work has introduced more realistic stress into the training environment, but to date there has been no systematic approach to the creation and management of stress in crisis management training. The Pandora project has built from existing models taken from crisis management Gold Commander training, timeline-based event network modelling, augmented and virtual reality serious games environments, affective computing research, and emotional ambience models from film and TV, to develop a rich multimedia training environment offering just such an approach. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Gloria Mark, Ban Al-Ani, & Bryan Semaan. (2009). Repairing human infrastructure in a war zone. 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: People depend on human infrastructure for a range of activities in their daily lives, such as work and socializing. In this paper we consider three different intertwined types of infrastructures of a society that may be affected in crisis situations: The physical, technological, and human infrastructures. We argue that when the human infrastructure is damaged, e.g. in a natural catastrophe or war, then people can switch reliance to the technological infrastructure to be resilient. We conducted an empirical study of 85 people who lived in war zones during the 2006 Israeli-Lebanon war and the ongoing Gulf war in Iraq. In this paper, we report how information technology is used by our informants in new ways in their attempt to maintain social relationships and continue working. Our informants also used technology to help navigate safe routes for travel and for psychological support. We discuss implications of our results for disaster research.
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Caroline Rizza, Ângela Guimarães Pereira, & Paula Curvelo. (2013). Do-it-yourself justice: Considerations of social media use in a crisis situation: The case of the 2011 vancouver riots. 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. 411–415). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: On 15 June 2011, the ice hockey Stanley Cup final series between the Vancouver Canucks and the Boston Bruins took place in Vancouver. As the Vancouver Canucks were losing, riots started in downtown Vancouver. Social media were used to communicate between authorities and citizens, including the rioters. The media reporting on these events frame these communications with different narratives, which in turn raise different ethical considerations. This paper identifies those narratives and reflects upon the ideas of justice, fairness, responsibility, accountability and integrity as key ethical considerations. The paper also identifies some difficulties arising from the use of social media in crisis situations.
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Jan Maarten Schraagen, Aletta Eikelboom, Kees Van Dongen, & Guido Te Brake. (2005). Experimental evaluation of a critical thinking tool to support decision making in crisis situations. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 181–189). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Building up proper situation awareness is one of the most difficult tasks in the beginning stages of large-scale accidents. As ambiguous information about the events becomes available, decision makers are often tempted to quickly choose a particular story to explain the events. Subsequent information that contradicts the initial story may easily be discarded and cognitive tunnel vision takes over. Our approach, as part of the COMBINED Systems project, is to prevent tunnel vision by providing critical thinking support. In a laboratory experiment with 60 participants, we tested this hypothesis by comparing the Critical Thinking tool with a 'no support' control condition and a 'minimal support' condition. Participants acted as crisis managers determining the likely cause of an accident based on different pieces of information. The results show a positive impact of the tool on both the decision making process and decision making effectiveness.
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Ahmed Seffah, Jean-Pierre Cahier, & Aurélien Bénel. (2011). Thinking global acting local: A human-centric pattern to designing information-intensive services for global crisis management. 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: Information-intensive services for global crisis situations management can no longer be based on local information only. A global picture is required to be able to make informed and reliable local decisions. It takes also to know how the local decisions one country may take will affect the others. Indeed, each country, city or community needs the whole picture and the key facts in managing the situation in their local area. Therefore, we should provide a proven solution to identify, analyze and mix the relevant information to support informed local decision based on both global and local information. In this paper, we introduce a novel design pattern to face this challenge of making informed local decisions. We also provide two real life examples illustrating the needs of the design pattern.
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Aviv Segev. (2008). Adaptive ontology use for crisis knowledge representation. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 285–293). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: While a crisis requires quick response of emergency management factors, ontology is generally represented in a static manner. Therefore, an adaptive ontology for crisis knowledge representation is needed to assist in coordinating relief efforts in different crisis situations. The paper describes a method of ontology modeling that modifies the ontology in real time during a crisis according to the crisis surroundings. An example of ontology use based on a sample Katrina crisis blog is presented.
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Eelco Vriezekolk, Roel Wieringa, & Sandro Etalle. (2012). Design and initial validation ofthe Rastermethod for telecom service availability risk assessment. 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: Crisis organisations depend on telecommunication services; unavailability of these services reduces the effectiveness of crisis response. Crisis organisations should therefore be aware of availability risks, and need a suitable risk assessment method. Such a method needs to be aware of the exceptional circumstances in which crisis organisations operate, and of the commercial structure of modern telecom services. We found that existing risk assessment methods are unsuitable for this problem domain. Hence, crisis organisations do not perform any risk assessment, trust their supplier, or rely on service level agreements, which are not meaningful during crisis situations. We have therefore developed a new risk assessment method, which we call RASTER. We have tested RASTER using a case study at the crisis organisation of a government agency, and improved the method based on the analysis of case results. Our initial validation suggests that the method can yield practical results. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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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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Nan Zhang, Clare Bayley, & Simon French. (2008). Use of web-based group decision support for crisis 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. 55–58). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Web-based group decision support systems (wGDSS) are becoming more common in organizations. In this paper, we provide a review and critique of the literature on wGDSS, raising a number of issues that need addressing. Then we report on a small scale experiment using Groupsystems ThinkTank to manage an issue to do with food safety. We also describe how we propose to use ThinkTank in a crisis situation.
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