Abstract: Understanding the movements of a population throughout the 24-hour day is critical when directing disaster response in an urban area. An emergency situation can develop rapidly, and understanding the expected locations of groups of people is required for the success of first responders. Recent advances in modern consumer technologies have facilitated the generation, sharing and mining of an extensive amount of volunteered geographic information. Users leverage inexpensive smart devices, pervasive Internet connections and social media services to provide data about geospatial locations. Using an enterprise system, it is possible to aggregate this freely available, geospatially enabled data and create a population estimation with high spatiotemporal resolution, via a heat map. This investigation explores the effects of different temporal sampling periods when creating such estimations. Time periods are selected, estimations are generated for several large urban areas in the western United States, and comparisons of the results are shown/discussed.

Abstract: In an earthquake disaster, having proper estimation about destructed buildings and the degree of destruction, can considerably facilitate decision-making and planning for disaster managers. Using this information, the managers can estimate disaster area and number of victims to determine and allocate required resources. Scientific studies and historical data show that the faults around Tehran, the capital of Iran, are capable to create strong earthquakes which would bring the largest damages in the world history to the city. So it is necessary to be prepared for a rapid and knowledge-based response to such an earthquake. Therefore, development of a knowledge-based model to estimate destruction of buildings is ongoing. The model is going to be developed by using different spatial data obtained from the buildings and its environment in Tehran. This paper outlines the initial results of this research.

Abstract: This research explores the potential determinants of trust in newly formed virtual teams to better inform the choice of communication media for virtual emergency response groups for which interpersonal trust is crucial. Results of a laboratory experiment indicate that the way that communicants view their teammates and themselves as part of that team is significantly correlated with the level of trust that they experience. Impression formation, public self-awareness, perceived social presence, and self-disclosure are all found to have significant correlations with trust among ad hoc teammates. It is therefore recommended that the design of emergency response communication systems include features to foster these feelings thereby promoting trust among teammates. Our results are applicable to ad hoc emergency teams who interact for a period of time to address relief and recovery efforts after a major disaster or emergency.

Abstract: Collational interfaces gather information from a range of sources and present them to users. Information overload is tackled by processing information in the back-end and providing interactive means to filter and browse data. Such interfaces have applications in emergency response – giving users the right information to act effectively. In this paper we explore a collational interface for emergency response, carrying out a user study that compares it to a paper based interface and one which presents data without collating it. We demonstrate that a collational interface allows users to build a picture of an emergency, but not necessarily in less time. © 2012 ISCRAM.

Abstract: The increased impact of natural disasters and terror attacks on our society has augmented the awareness of needs for advances in emergency response. For local communities it is vital to make use of existing resources. Service-oriented technology provides new possibilities for the enhancement of command and control (C2) systems. However, to gain full use of the technology, it must harmonize with the supported organizations and their work procedures. This paper explores the possibilities and usefulness of service oriented C2-systems for emergency response at the local community level. The study was performed in five steps: (1) literature study, (2) interviews, (3) scenario design, (4) prototyping service-oriented C2 systems, and (5) a scenario based evaluation. The results show that service-oriented C2 systems would support and enhance emergency response at the local community level. Still, several issues that need to be further considered remain, not the least the ability of quality assurance of services.

Abstract: Several recent studies point the way to enabling emergency response managers to be able to find relevant posts and incorporate them into their sensemaking and decision making processes. Among the approaches that have improved the ability to find the most relevant information are the social conventions of creating topic groups and tags and of “retweeting;” the use of trained volunteers to filter and summarize posts for responders; automated notifications of trending topics; natural language processing of posts; techniques for identifying posts from the disaster site; and the use of GIS and crisis maps to visually represent the distribution of incidents.

Abstract: The use of methods to inform changes of command and control has long been important, in particular through empirical surveys and computational simulation. In this article, we focus on a particular type of control: “bump less” time-shift of authority during emergency response where it is not desirable to interrupt task resolution (Dess et al.,1984). As an example we address a particular type of control in a sociotechnical use case, i.e. ensuring coordinated action among human and non-human entities, and specifically use as a case shift of who ensures coordinated action when what entities are participating fluctuate over time, yet there is a need to sustain coordination (e.g. due to criticality of sustained performance). We do some work to detail a sociotechnical control mechanism and we present methods for examining the influence such control may have on performing both planned, prescribed, organizational task work as well as dynamic, non-prescribed tasks (Stanton et al., 2018). We argue that measures of high fidelity, with high specificity, defined before task resolution (feedforward) may be particularly important in prescribed change due to the possibility to define clear goals for coordinating and detailing who holds coordination authority. For dynamic change, on the other hand supporting technology that enable a sensing and processing of feedback the number of agents/entities undergoing change is not predetermined and the change of who is best suited to coordinate authority is less clear. Our theorizing is illustrated by using traditional linear control theory emulating shift of control nuanced by an emergency use case. In conclusion, we suggest future directions for research as well as practical implications.

Abstract: This paper is a critical examination of the U.S. Incident Command System (“ICS”) as an organizational structure and information gathering tool for emergency management from the perspective of a career emergency management officer who became a graduate student in information management following 35 years of public service. In addition to examining the ICS, and assessing its current weaknesses in the area of information management, the paper proposes a low-cost, COTS approach to automating the ICS information gathering and dissemination process.

Abstract: In this paper we describe the approach adopted and experiences gained during a project to develop a general architecture that aims to harness advanced sensor, modelling and Grid technologies to assist emergency responders in tackling emergencies (specifically fire emergencies). Here we focus on the command and control aspects of this architecture, and in particular, on a query-based approach that has been adopted to allow end users to interact with available models of physical and other phenomena. The development of this has provided a number of insights about the use of such models, which along with the approach itself, should be of interest to any considering similar applications.

Abstract: A framework for an emergency response system is proposed which is an extension of, but significantly different from, traditional group and distributed group support systems. The framework considers the environmental, organizational, and activity-based issues of emergency response for responders and decision makers. These issues are addressed by incorporating context-aware, multi-agency relationship management, and multiparty coordination components into the framework for a context-aware multiparty coordination system. © 2012 ISCRAM.

Abstract: We present the design of an information system that supports the process of scaling-up of emergency response organizations. This process is vital for effective emergency response but tends to go awry in practice. Our proposed system consists of multiple distributed agents that are capable of exchanging organizational information. Each agent assists one part of the organization by visualizing the organization and allowing the user to update the information of its closest collaborators. When the agents communicate, they exchange and merge their organizational representations. The structure of other parts of the organization is updated indirectly through multiple interactions between different agents. We tailor our design to two specific procedures that are in common use today: the Coordinated Regional Incident Response Procedure (GRIP) that is applied in the Netherlands, and the Incident Command System (ICS) that is used in a number of areas in the United States of America.

Abstract: The current Emergency Services landscape is characterized by a number of systems and networks that are isolated in nature, thus making information sharing impractical, if not impossible. Such an environment does not promote ease of information sharing, and each incident highlights the need for efficient collaboration and coordination, and the need for a holistic internetwork-a series of virtual interconnected networks-approach. In other words, it requires an overall framework that looks at safety as an overall enterprise, (albeit one with thousands of independent agency owners), with the strategic goal to facilitate greater collaboration and effectiveness of operations, and to ensure a streamlined and efficient prevention of, response to, and recovery from all-hazards. 1 Adopting a Service-Oriented enterprise approach is extremely useful and has number of advantages in such an environment. This paper defines a framework-in the context of an enterprise-an envisioned Emergency Services Enterprise Framework, and identifies the key elements of this framework.

Abstract: This paper describes the proposed WIPER system. WIPER is intended to provide emergency planners and responders with an integrated system that will help to detect possible emergencies, as well as to suggest and evaluate possible courses of action to deal with the emergency. The system is designed as a multi-agent system using web services and the service oriented architecture. Components of the system for detecting and mitigating emergency situations can be added and removed from the system as the need arises. WIPER is designed to evaluate potential plans of action using a series of GIS enabled Agent-Based simulations that are grounded on realtime data from cell phone network providers. The system relies on the DDDAS concept, the interactive use of partial aggregate and detailed realtime data to continuously update the system and allow emergency planners to stay updated on the situation. The interaction with the system is done using a web-based interface and is composed of several overlaid layers of information, allowing users rich detail and flexibility.