Rene Windhouwer, Gerdien A. Klunder, & F.M. Sanders. (2005). Decision support system emergency planning, creating evacuation strategies in the event of flooding. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 171–180). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: The Decision Support System (DSS) Emergency Planning is designed for use in the event of sea or river flooding. It makes accessible all the information related to the decision whether to evacuate an area. An important factor in this decision is the time required for the evacuation. The model used by the DSS Emergency Planning system to estimate the time required employs a strategy that prevents congestion on the road network in the area at risk. The use of the DSS Emergency Planning system during the proactive and prevention phases enables disaster containment organisations to prepare better for a flood situation. Moreover, all relevant information is saved and is therefore available for the post-disaster evaluation. The DSS Emergency Planning system can play a significant role in ensuring that the evacuation of an area at risk goes according to plan. In the future the DSS Emergency Planning system can also be used to evacuate people in the event of a nuclear, natural fire or extreme weather disaster.
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Mark Wood. (2005). Cell@lert, for government-to-citizen mass communications in emergencies; 'It's about time'. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 323–326). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Cell Broadcasting has been an existing feature of GSM, UMTS, CDMA and PDC for many years, which however is rarely used. It has three attributes that make it very good for Government to Citizen mass communications in emergencies. 1) It uses reserved capacity for this feature; traffic does not take its bandwidth. Therefore it works even if the cellular system is in full overload, as it always is during disasters. 2) It can place millions of text messages on mobile phone within seconds, and is scalable to any size of broadcast including international scale without any additional time penalty. Most mobile phones have the capability now, so there is no need to build more infrastructures or replace phones. 3) By selecting the individual cells to be used, specific areas can be targeted with different messages, so that people in one area can be asked to evacuate, while in another they can be advised to stay. The government of Holland is the first in the world to adopt the technology, which will be operational by May 2005.
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Simone Wurster, & Ulrich Meissen. (2014). Towards an economic assessment approach for early warning systems: Improving cost-avoidance calculations with regard to private households. 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. 439–443). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: In recent years, Early Warning Systems (EWS) have proven their value by saving many lives. However, most in-vestments into EWS were motivated directly by experienced disaster events and rarely pro-actively by possible up-coming threats. In order to change that we think that besides ethical and humanitarian reasons also the positive economic effects should be analyzed. EWS also help to protect property, but their contribution is not as obvious in that field due to the lack of quantitative models. This paper presents a disaster-independent formula that shows the benefits of EWS. Additional value to existing approaches is based on its advanced focus on behavioral aspects and the benefits of EWS in comparison to warnings issued via social media. We consider this work as an important contribution for future investments into warning technologies. However, yet this model just provides a theoretical framework for necessary empirical studies that are subject of further research.
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Max Wyss. (2005). Earthquake loss estimates applied in real time and to megacity risk assessment. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 297–299). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Real time loss estimates within one to two hours after major earthquakes are becoming useful for disaster managers and rescue teams to respond rapidly and at an optimal level. Tests show that the accuracy is low, but major disasters can be reliably distinguished from inconsequential earthquakes. Many technical and organizational aspects of these estimates can and should be improved. An analysis of what magnitude of disaster is likely to occur, if a major earthquake should occur near a megacity in a developing country shows that much work needs to be done to mitigate the risk, and that the global community is ill prepared to deal with such large disasters.
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Yaniv Mordecai, & Boris Kantsepolsky. (2018). Intelligent Utilization of Dashboards in Emergency Management. In Kees Boersma, & Brian Tomaszeski (Eds.), ISCRAM 2018 Conference Proceedings – 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 1108–1119). Rochester, NY (USA): Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abstract: Effective decision-supporting visualization is critical for strategic, tactic, and operational management before and during a large-scale climate or extreme weather emergency. Most emergency management applications traditionally consist of map-based event and object visualization and management, which is necessary for operations, but has small contribution to decision makers. At the same time, analytical models and simulations that usually enable prediction and situation evaluation are often analyst-oriented and detached from the operational command and control system. Nevertheless, emergencies tend to generate unpredictable effects, which may require new decision-support tools in real-time, based on alternative data sources or data streams. In this paper, we advocate the use of dashboards for emergency management, but more importantly, we propose an intelligent mechanism to support effective and efficient utilization of data and information for decision-making via flexible deployment and visualization of data streams and metric displays. We employ this framework in the H2020 beAWARE project that aims to develop and demonstrate an innovative framework for enhanced decision support and management services in extreme weather climate events.
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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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Sarp Yeletaysi, Frank Fiedrich, & John R. Harrald. (2008). A framework for integrating GIS and systems simulation to analyze operational continuity of the petroleum supply chain. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 586–595). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Crisis and disaster management is a field that requires the understanding and application of tools and knowledge from multiple disciplines. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 have proven that U.S. petroleum infrastructure is vulnerable to major supply disruptions as a direct result of disasters. Due to the structure of U.S. oil supply chain, primary oil production centers (i.e. PADD* 3) are geographically separated from primary demand centers (i.e. PADD 1), which creates a natural dependency between those districts. To better understand the extent of those dependencies and downstream impacts of supply disruptions, a multi-disciplinary research approach is necessary. The cross-disciplines in this research include disaster management, critical infrastructure and oil supply chain management, and the utilization of geographic information systems (GIS) and systems simulation. This paper specifically focuses on the framework for integrating GIS and systems simulation as analysis tools in this research.
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Zeno Franco, Nina Zumel, John Holman, Kathy Blau, & Larry E. Beutler. (2009). Evaluating the impact of improvisation on the incident command system: A modified single case study using the DDD simulator. 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: This study attempted to evaluate the utility of the Incident Command System (ICS) in varying disaster contexts. ICS is mandated in the United States and practitioners assert that it is an effective organizing system for emergency management. However, researchers contend that the utility of ICS is conflated with inter-team familiarity gained during ICS exercises. A military team-in-the-loop simulator was customized to represent the problems, resources, and command structures found in civilian led disaster management teams. A modified single case design drawn from behavioral psychology was used to explore possible casual relationships between changes team heterogeneity and performance. The design also allowed for the evaluation of improvisation on performance. Further, psychological factors that may underpin improvisation were explored. In addition to some preliminary empirical findings, the successes and difficulties in adapting the DDD simulator are briefly discussed as part of an effort to achieved greater interdisciplinary integration.
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Zeno Franco, Nina Zumel, & Larry E. Beutler. (2007). A ghost in the system: Integrating conceptual and methodology considerations from the behavioral sciences into disaster technology research. 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. 115–124). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: As the complexity of disasters increases, a transdisciplinary conceptual framework designed to address three key variables-technology, disaster severity, and human characteristics-must be developed and elaborated. Current research at the nexus of disaster management and information science typically addresses one or two of these factors, but rarely accounts for all three adequately-thus rendering formal inquiry open to a variety of threats to validity. Within this tripartite model, several theories of human behavior in disaster are explored using the response of the Federal Government and the general public during Hurricane Katrina as an illustrative background. Lessons learned from practice-based scientific inquiry in the social sciences are discussed to address concerns revolving around measurement and statistical power in disaster studies. Finally, theory building within the transdisciplinary arena of disaster management and information science is encouraged as a way to improve the quality of future research.
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Haibin Zhu, & MengChu Zhou. (2006). The role transferability in emergency management systems. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 487–496). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Role Transferability is a basic requirement for emergency management systems. Role specification, relationship expression, and transfer regulations are critical elements of this requirement. This paper discusses the role transferability requirement for emergency management systems; emphasizes that role specification is an underlying mechanism for role transfer; proposes a revised E-CARGO (Environment-Class, Agent, Role, Group, Object) model for role transfer in a group; and presents an algorithm to validate role transfer while maintaining group viability.
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Jun Zhuang, John Coles, Peiqiu Guan, Fei He, & Xiaojun Shan. (2012). Strategic interactions in disaster preparedness and relief in the face of man-made and natural disasters. In Z.Franco J. R. L. Rothkrantz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2012 Conference Proceedings – 9th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Vancouver, BC: Simon Fraser University.
Abstract: Society is faced with a growing amount of property damage and casualties from man-made and natural disasters. Developing societal resilience to those disasters is critical but challenging. In particular, societal resilience is jointly determined by federal and local governments, private and non-profit sectors, and private citizens. We present a sequence of games among players such as federal, local, and foreign governments, private citizens, and adaptive adversaries. In particular, the governments and private citizens seek to protect lives, property, and critical infrastructure from both adaptive terrorists and non-adaptive natural disasters. The federal government can provide grants to local governments and foreign aid to foreign governments to protect against both natural and man-made disasters. All levels of government can provide pre-disaster preparation and post-disaster relief to private citizens. Private citizens can also make their own investments. The tradeoffs between protecting against man-made and natural disasters – specifically between preparedness and relief, efficiency and equity – and between private and public investment, will be discussed. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Andrea Zielinski, & Ulrich Bügel. (2012). Multilingual analysis of twitter news in support of mass emergency events. 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: Social media are increasingly becoming a source for event-based early warning systems in the sense that they can help to detect natural disasters and support crisis management during or after disasters. In this work-in-progress paper we study the problems of analyzing multilingual twitter feeds for emergency events. The present work focuses on English as “lingua franca” and on under-resourced Mediterranean languages in endangered zones, particularly Turkey, Greece, and Romania Generally, as local civil protection authorities and the population are likely to respond in their native language. We investigated ten earthquake events and defined four language-specific classifiers that can be used to detect earthquakes by filtering out irrelevant messages that do not relate to the event. The final goal is to extend this work to more Mediterranean languages and to classify and extract relevant information from tweets, translating the main keywords into English. Preliminary results indicate that such a filter has the potential to confirm forecast parameters of tsunami affecting coastal areas where no tide gauges exist and could be integrated into seismographic sensor networks. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Rae Zimmerman, & Carlos E. Restrepo. (2006). Information technology (IT) and critical infrastructure interdependencies for emergency response. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 382–385). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Information technologies and other critical infrastructures are interconnected in ways that can lead to vulnerabilities in the ability of these infrastructures to perform during natural disasters and acts of terrorism either to reduce adverse consequences or provide needed emergency response services. This research applies and adapts a number of indicators of infrastructure interdependency based on the authors' earlier research to determine where weak points and strengths occur in the interconnections between infrastructure technology and other infrastructure support services such as electric power and transportation, and where weak points create vulnerability that can be improved for more effective response in emergencies.
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Hans Zimmermann. (2005). Recent developments in emergency telecommunications. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 327–334). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Recent Developments in the telecommunication technology offer a number of additional tools not only for the providers of emergency and disaster response, but may also facilitate early warning. Their application depends, however, on the regulatory framework governing telecommunications and on their appropriateness for the specific requirements in the pre-, peri- and postimpact phases of an event. Telecommunications are a key element for to the success of emergency preparedness and response, and the application of all available technologies and networks saves lives. The recent events in the Indian Ocean Region will have to be the subject of detailed analysis and evaluation of all existing mechanisms, hopefully leading to improvements in the organizational and operational field. First information available already in the immediate aftermath of the events of 26 December 2004 has been applied to the considerations in the present paper.
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Hans Zimmermann. (2006). Availability of technologies versus capabilities of users. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 66–71). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: The regulatory environment is no longer the primary hindrance to the full application of telecommunications technology in the service of emergency response, disaster prevention and relief, and crisis management. Nowadays the restricting factor is the lack of knowledge about the capabilities, but also the limitations, of the multitude of specialized and of public communication systems. This paper will analyze the situation with the help of some practical examples and will recommend an interdisciplinary multi-stakeholder based approach to an educational concept for emergency and disaster telecommunications.
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Christopher W. Zobel. (2010). Comparative visualization of predicted disaster resilience. 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 disaster resilience triangle is a simple but effective tool for illustrating the relationship between the initial impact of a disaster event and the subsequent time to recovery. This tool can also be expanded, however, to provide an analytic measure of the level of resilience exhibited by a particular entity in a given disaster situation. We build upon the previous work in this area by developing a new approach for visualizing and analyzing the tradeoffs between the two primary defining characteristics of the disaster resilience triangle. This new approach supports strategic decision making in a disaster planning environment by providing a straightforward means for directly comparing the relative predicted resilience of different critical facilities within an organization, with respect to both location and type of risk.
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Christopher W. Zobel. (2011). Representing the multi-dimensional nature of disaster resilience. 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: Although quantitative analytical information systems are an important resource for supporting decision-making in disaster operations management, not all aspects of a disaster situation can be easily quantified. For example, although the concept of the disaster resilience of a community has a technical dimension within which one can measure the resistance of the infrastructure against, and the speed of its recovery from, a disaster event, it also has social, organizational, and economic dimensions within which these characteristics may be more difficult to measure. This work-in-progress paper introduces a quantitative framework within which the multi-dimensional nature of such disaster resilience can be represented in a concise manner. This can help to improve understanding of the complexities associated with the concept, and thus directly support decision-making in disaster operations planning and management.
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Christopher W. Zobel. (2013). Analytically comparing disaster recovery following the 2012 derecho. 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. 678–682). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: This work in progress paper discusses analytically characterizing nonlinear recovery behavior through the context of the derecho windstorm that struck the mid-Atlantic United States in the summer of 2012. The focus is on the recovery efforts of the Appalachian Power Company, and the discussion includes a look at the need for communicating the progress of such recovery efforts to the public. Publicly available recovery data is analyzed and compared with respect to the relative behaviors exhibited by two different nonlinear recovery processes, and some of the implications for understanding the efficiency of different disaster recovery operations are discussed.
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Christopher W. Zobel, Stanley E. Griffis, Steven A. Melnyk, & John R. MacDonald. (2012). Characterizing disaster resistance and recoveryusing outlier detection. 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: Most definitions of disaster resilience incorporate both the capacity to resist the initial impact of a disaster and the ability to recover after it occurs. Being able to characterize and analyze resilient behavior can lead to improved understanding not only of the capabilities of a given system, but also of the effectiveness of different strategies for improving its resiliency. This paper presents an approach for quantifying the transient behavior resulting from a disaster event in a way that allows researchers to not only describe the transient response but also assess the impact of various factors (both main and interaction effects) on this response. This new approach combines simulation modeling, time series analysis, and statistical outlier detection to differentiate between disaster resistance and disaster recovery. Following the introduction of the approach, the paper provides a preliminary look at its relationship to the existing concept of predicted disaster resilience. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Marian Zulean, & Gabriela Prelipcean. (2014). Emergency preparedness in the European union. 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. 513–517). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: European Union is an important global actor – in terms of economy, welfare and soft security – but its institutional development and ambitions has to consider both the issues of grand challenges, resilience, disaster management, in accordance with its citizens' will and skills. The Lisbon Treaty as well as the recent legislation on civil protection produced incremental change and improved the Emergency Management. However, there are not studies to check how the new institutions, the knowledge flows or decisions work. The final goal of this short paper is to structure an inquiring system and design a research project on assessing the civil protection policy in the EU through a Delphi study with experts and practitioners. While the first part frames the issues the second part will design the methodology and sampling strategy for a Delphi technique.
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