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Fatemeh Hendijani Fard, Cooper Davies, & Frank Mauer. (2017). Agile Emergency Responses Using Collaborative Planning HTN. In eds Aurélie Montarnal Matthieu Lauras Chihab Hanachi F. B. Tina Comes (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management (pp. 857–867). Albi, France: Iscram.
Abstract: Emergency response planning is a complex task due to multiple organizations involved, different planning considerations, etc. Using artificial intelligence collaborative planning helps in the automatic planning for complex situations. Analyzing all impacting factors along with plans that are executable can facilitate the decision making in Emergency Operations Centers for an agile emergency response. A main component of a planner is a knowledge base. Although many systems are developed to support decision making in emergency response or recovery, they either focus on specific or small organizations, or rely on simulations. To the best of our knowledge, there is a gap that there is no common knowledge base for provincial level mass emergencies for automatic planners. The multiplicity of the emergency response documents and their structure makes the knowledge acquisition complex. In this paper, we explain the process of extracting knowledge based on hierarchical task networks and how it speeds up the reactivity to a disaster.
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Lisa Fern, Stoney Trent, & Martin Voshell. (2008). A functional goal decomposition of urban firefighting. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 305–314). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: In this paper we describe a functional goal decomposition of urban firefighting as part of a larger cognitive task analysis. Previous research indicates that firefighter decision strategies employ a pattern-matching technique that allows them to choose the first workable option based on similar previous experiences. This study builds upon this research by employing multiple cognitive task analysis methods to further examine firefighter decisions through a functional goal decomposition. The functional goal decomposition outlines the functions, decisions and information requirements of firefighting in terms of two overarching goals-save lives and protect property. Information requirements provide useful insight into the difficulties of firefighter decision-making. Though still in the preliminary stages, this project has generated a number of design recommendations to support urban firefighting. Future analyses are also discussed.
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Gary M. Fetter, & Mauro Falasca. (2011). Establishing the need for decision support in disaster debris disposal. 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: One of the most important and costly aspects of recovery operations is debris collection and disposal. The unique nature of disaster debris and the extreme amounts generated as a result of the disaster event create challenges for decision makers that are not typically encountered during every day solid-waste disposal operations. This work-in-progress research is aimed at identifying the unique aspects of disaster debris disposal and the need for decision support, which addresses these unique aspects, to assist emergency management coordinators with allocating resources during on-going debris cleanup operations. We will present a decision support system framework, discuss aspects of the knowledge base, model base, and user interface, and show how an emergency management coordinator might use the system during ongoing daily operations using real-world data from a 2003 Atlantic hurricane.
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Stephen C. Fortier. (2013). Developing an incident response process model for chemical facilities. 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. 941–950). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: This research project investigated the incident response mechanism used by the chemical industry for handling extremely hazardous chemicals. The mechanism was described as the policies, procedures, practices, tools, and methods used to conduct incident response. The results from the study determined what technologies, specifically software and information systems, could be utilized to improve the chemical facility incident response mechanism. The chemical industry is responsible for process safety management at all of its facilities, especially those that have off-site consequences in the event of an unplanned release. The processes and procedures of local, regional and national emergency responders have been studied thoroughly. An area of research that is lacking is the study of incident response policies and procedures within the boundaries of a chemical site. Results of the analysis determined that the chemical industry, in general, does not take advantage of available information technology when responding to unplanned releases.
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Francesca Comunello, & Simone Mulargia. (2017). A #cultural_change is needed. Social media use in emergency communication by Italian local level institutions. In eds Aurélie Montarnal Matthieu Lauras Chihab Hanachi F. B. Tina Comes (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management (pp. 512–521). Albi, France: Iscram.
Abstract: We discuss the results of a research project aimed at exploring the use of social media in emergency communication by officers operating at a local level. We performed 16 semi-structured interviews with national level expert informants, and with officers operating at the municipality and province (prefectures) level in an Italian region (respondents were selected based on their involvement in emergency communication and/or emergency management processes). Social media usage appears distributed over a continuum of engagement, ranging from very basic usage to using social media by adopting a broadcasting approach, to deeper engagement, which also includes continuous interaction with citizens. Two main attitudes emerge both in the narrative style and in social media representations: some respondents seem to adopt an institutional attitude, while others adopt a practical-professional attitude. Among the main barriers to a broader adoption of social media, cultural considerations seem to prevail, along with the lack of personnel, a general concern toward social media communication reliability, and the perceived distance between the formal role of institutions and the informal nature of social media communication.
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Francisco J. Quesada Real, Fiona McNeill, Gábor Bella, & Alan Bundy. (2017). Improving Dynamic Information Exchange in Emergency Response Scenarios. In eds Aurélie Montarnal Matthieu Lauras Chihab Hanachi F. B. Tina Comes (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management (pp. 824–833). Albi, France: Iscram.
Abstract: Emergency response scenarios are characterized by the participation of multiple agencies, which cooperate to control the situation and restore normality. These agencies can come from diverse areas of expertise which entails that they represent knowledge dierently, using their own vocabularies and terminologies. This fact complicates the automation of the information-sharing process, creating problems such as ambiguity or specialisation. In this paper we present an approach to tackle these problems by domain-aware semantic matching. This method requires the formalisation of domain-specific terminologies which will be added to an existing system oriented to emergency response. Concretely, we have formalised terms from the UK Civil and Protection Terminology lexicon, which gathers some of the most common terms that UK agencies use in these scenarios.
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Francisco José Quesada Real, Fiona McNeill, Gábor Bella, & Alan Bundy. (2018). Identifying Semantic Domains in Emergency Scenarios. In Kees Boersma, & Brian Tomaszeski (Eds.), ISCRAM 2018 Conference Proceedings – 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 1130–1132). Rochester, NY (USA): Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abstract: Emergency scenarios are characterised by the participation of multiple and diverse organisations which come from different areas. This diversity is enriching in terms of expertise and approaches to tackle problems, however, it also provokes misunderstandings caused by semantic interoperability problems. There are some approaches which propose tackling these problems by using domain adaptation algorithms. Nevertheless, it is not trivial their application in emergency scenarios where the term “domain” is used in many different ways, not being clear either what it means or which domains are involved in these scenarios. In this paper, we identify semantic domains involved in emergency scenarios by analysing papers published in proceedings of ISCRAM and ISCRAM-med conferences. As a result, a categorisation of these domains has been developed, with the aim of providing a resource that can be used by domain adaptation algorithms to tackle problems such as those involving semantic interoperability.
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Zeno Franco, Syed Ahmed, Craig E. Kuziemsky, Paul A. Biedrzycki, & Anne Kissack. (2013). Using social network analysis to explore issues of latency, connectivity, interoperability & sustainability in community disaster response. 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. 896–900). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Community-based disaster response is gaining attention in the United States because of major problems with domestic disaster recovery over the last decade. A social network analysis approach is used to illustrate how community-academic partnerships offer one way to leverage information about existing, mediated relationships with the community through trusted actors. These partnerships offer a platform that can be used to provide entré into communities that are often closed to outsiders, while also allowing greater access to community embedded physical assets and human resources, thus facilitated more culturally appropriate crisis response. Using existing, publically available information about funded community-academic partnerships in Wisconsin, USA, we show how social network analysis of these meta-organizations may provide critical information about both community vulnerabilities in disaster and assist in rapidly identifying these community resources in the aftermath of a crisis event that may provide utility for boundary spanning crisis information systems.
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Jörn Franke, François Charoy, & Cédric Ulmer. (2010). A model for temporal coordination of disaster response activities. 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: One problem for public safety organizations in a disaster is the management of response activities and their dependencies on an intra-and inter-organizational level. Our interviews with end users have shown that current solutions for managing activities are complicated to use in the crisis by teams in the field and also in operation centers, when facing continuous unexpected events and cross-organizational activities. We propose an activity centric system for managing crisis response activities for such situations. We give an example how this system is used in a crisis within one organization and cross-organizations. Afterwards, we explain the evaluation of the solution. This research contributes not only to the crisis management domain, but also to the business process management domain by providing an alternative view on activities in highly dynamic scenarios.
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Simon French, & Carmen Niculae. (2004). Believe in the model: Mishandle the emergency. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2004 – 1st International Workshop on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 9–14). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: During the past quarter century there have been many developments in scientific models and computer codes to help predict the ongoing consequences in the aftermath of many types of emergency: e.g. storms and flooding, chemical and nuclear accident, epidemics such as SARS and terrorist attack. Some of these models relate to the immediate events and can help in managing the emergency; others predict longer term impacts and thus can help shape the strategy for the return to normality. But there are many pitfalls in the way of using these models effectively. Firstly, non-scientists and, sadly, many scientists believe in the models' predictions too much. The inherent uncertainties in the models are underestimated; sometimes almost unacknowledged. This means that initial strategies may need to be revised in ways that unsettle the public, losing their trust in the emergency management process. Secondly, the output from these models form an extremely valuable input to the decision making process; but only one such input. Most emergencies are events that have huge social and economic impacts alongside the health and environmental consequences. While we can model the latter passably well, we are not so good at modelling economic impacts and very poor at modelling social impacts. Too often our political masters promise the best 'science-based' decision making and too late realise that the social and economic impacts need addressing. In this paper, we explore how model predictions should be drawn into emergency management processes in more balanced ways than often has occurred in the past. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.
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Simon French, Naomi Chambers, Duncan Shaw, Alan Boyd, Russell King, & Alison Whitehead. (2012). A scoping study of R&D needs in emergency planning in UK healthcare systems. 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: Driven by events such as terrorist outrages and pandemics, the 21 st century has seen substantial changes in how countries plan for and manage emergencies across health care systems. Aside from changes in the pattern, type and scale of emergency, emergency preparedness must respond to developments in medical knowledge and treatment, and in information and communication technologies, particularly social networking. This report describes a scoping study of research and development (R&D) needs with regard to emergency planning in health care undertaken by the authors in the UK. We discuss the design of the study, difficulties in its conduct and, via a reference to the published final report, indicate its conclusions. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Jean-François Gagnon, François Couderc, Martin Rivest, Simon Banbury, & Sébastien Tremblay. (2013). Using SYnRGY to support design and validation studies of emergency management solutions. In J. Geldermann and T. Müller S. Fortier F. F. T. Comes (Ed.), ISCRAM 2013 Conference Proceedings – 10th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 512–516). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Emergency management situations are highly complex and require the collaboration of multiple parties for adequate responses to incidents. The design and validation of effective emergency response systems is critical in order to improve the overall effectiveness of teams tasked to manage emergency situations. We report ongoing work whose objective is to increase the efficiency of emergency response solutions through iterative cycles of human in-the-loop simulation, modeling, and adaptation. Ultimately, this cycle could either be achieved offline for complex adaptation (e.g., development of a novel interface), or online to provide timely and accurate decision support during an emergency management event. The method is made possible by achieving a high degree of realism and experimental control through the use of an innovative emergency management simulation platform called SYnRGY.,Emergency Management, Emergency Response Systems, Simulation, System Design, Validation.
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Jean-François Gagnon, Martin Rivest, François Couderc, & Sébastien Tremblay. (2012). Capturing the task model of experts in emergency response using SYnRGY. 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: The need for better team measurement in realistic environments has been recognized as one of the key challenges that characterize the field of team work studies (Salas, Cooke, & Rosen, 2008). This challenge is particularly hard to address in the context of emergency response, due to the inherent complexity and dynamism of the domain. Emergency response is part of the emergency management cycle, and refers to the mobilization of the adequate actors and resources to mitigate the impact of an incident on the public and on the environment (Abrahamsson, Hassel, and Tehler, 2010). Emergency response often requires the cooperation of multiple agencies such as police, medical, and fire services, consequently increasing the complexity of such operations. We report of how SYnRGY – a human-centered emergency response technological tool – is embedded with extensive measurement and simulation capabilities to allow tracing of experts' task models in a silent and reliable way. We describe how these capabilities; combined with an innovative modeling technique – dynamic cognitive task modeling – can be used to extract experts' representations of the task. We discuss the importance of such a model for training, improvement of emergency response procedures and development of emergency response tools. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Antony Galton, & Michael Worboys. (2011). An ontology of information for emergency 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: The next generation of information systems for emergency management will be based on information provided by large and diverse collections of sensors, including information supplied by human volunteers. Consequently there is more than ever a need to provide solutions to the integration question, so that the Common Operating Picture can truly and effectively provide the unified view required of it. This paper describes some work on the ontology of information that can contribute to a solution of the integration problem. To set the stage, the paper discusses the relevance of information integration to emergency management, and then goes on to describe a project that provided the catalyst for this work. Later sections introduce ontological research and proceed to use it to lay the foundations for an ontology of information. In the final sections we indicate how such an ontology can be used in the context of emergency management.
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Gavin Treadgold, James Gunn, Paul Morton, & Simon Chambers. (2018). Developing a regional approach and strategy for geographical information systems for emergency management. In Kristin Stock, & Deborah Bunker (Eds.), Proceedings of ISCRAM Asia Pacific 2018: Innovating for Resilience – 1st International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management Asia Pacific. (pp. 190–199). Albany, Auckland, New Zealand: Massey Univeristy.
Abstract: This paper outlines practitioner work-in-progress in Canterbury, New Zealand, to develop a regional approach for geographical information systems (GIS) for emergency management. This is based upon recent events in Canterbury including earthquakes, floods, and fire; as well as New Zealand-wide work that is being done under the NZ GIS4EM banner. It introduces our approach, discusses a mind map that is being used to track desired data sets, plans to develop applications to support response functions in emergency operations centres, and the goal of using the common data sets as the basis of a common operating picture for Canterbury. Risks and issues associated with this work are highlighted, and then the draft strategy is introduced with desired outcomes and principles to achieve this goal. While initial work is primarily focused on GIS, the expectation is that the approach will be expanded to take a broader information management perspective in future.
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Mark Gaynor, Reuven Messer, Dan Myung, & Steve Moulton. (2006). Applications for emergency medical services. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 579–591). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Today, despite the obvious need, pre-hospital providers cannot send real-time electronic patient care information from the field to a receiving hospital. This lack of field awareness and inability to plan for the arrival-or anticipate the needs-of seriously ill or injured patients can lead to the misdirection of patients and the loss of valuable time in the early phases of resuscitation. We believe, however, that current technology can address these shortcomings and that is the focus of our research efforts. This paper discusses how several countries, including Israel, Sweden, Britain and the United States, are addressing the need to better triage patients from the field to an appropriate hospital or trauma center. It also introduces a potential solution, called iRevive, which uses emerging technology such as sensors, wireless WAN data transport, web services, artificial intelligence, and mobile devices to meet the dynamic needs of first responders and the hospitals they serve.
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Mark Gaynor, Alan Pearce, & Scott Brander. (2008). Open infrastructure for a nationwide emergency services network. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 133–138). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: The paper suggests and supports a public policy in which the Federal Communications Commission should seize a unique opportunity to resolve some of the nation's critical communications problems in times of crises with the allocation of a portion of the spectrum at 700 MHz for the deployment of a nationwide interoperable emergency broadband wireless network built by a public-private partnership. It then presents a convincing theoretical model that advocates that an open and/or neutral, as opposed to a closed, network will add greater efficiency, greater choice, while advancing public safety along with the deployment of new and valuable technologies, applications and services.
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Nicklaus A. Giacobe, & Pamela J. Soule. (2014). Social media for the emergency manager in disaster planning and response. 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. 570–574). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: This practitioner paper outlines some of the benefits for the use of social media, from the perspective of a local-level or county-level emergency manager (EM). As compared to state and national level emergency management, because local level EMs have limited manpower and resources, social media can positively or negatively impact the effectiveness of communication before, during and after disaster strikes. Outlined in this paper are six key points where local EMs have specific needs that could be addressed by the effective use of social media and, in the opinion of the authors, represent the top issues that EMs face when considering how to leverage Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and other social media platforms. The six needs addressed in this paper include: 1) Best practices for general social media use by EMs, 2) Social media use for internal command and control within the EM group, 3) Developing situation awareness by monitoring social media, especially prior to predicable events, 4) Communicating disaster preparedness messages through social media, 5)Using social media for gathering damage assessment information during, or immediately following a crisis,and 6) Leveraging social media volunteer groups. This short paper picks up where the Federal Emergency Management Agency's social media training leaves off and attempts to represent these six needs as use cases for researchers and developers to address in future publications and products.
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Gilbert Huber, Angela Righi, José Orlando Gomes, Paulo Victor Rodrigues de Carvalho, Caio Lemos, & Kézia Emydgio. (2016). Firefighting emergency response exercise ? an analysis of standardization and resilience. In A. Tapia, P. Antunes, V.A. Bañuls, K. Moore, & J. Porto (Eds.), ISCRAM 2016 Conference Proceedings ? 13th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Abstract: This work aims to analyse an emergency response tabletop simulation exercise undertaken as part of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) State?s Fire Department?s officer training program and conducted at Rio de Janeiro State?s Command and Control Center (CICC). Eleven groups of three officers acting as one played the roles of unit commanders. The exercise concerned the use of a set of SOPs and our research sought to identify sources of resilience and brittleness. From an initial scenario, the inserts escalated the action so as to require the commanders? responses to exercise 12 different SOPs, many simultaneously. This provided the context for the simulation´s main goal, which was to exercise and verify the knowledge, use, and suitability of the procedure related to the management of operational events of larger scale, duration, or complexity. Data collection and analysis followed cognitive task analysis methodology and included audio and video recording of the simulation and parts of its two preparation workshops. The simulated exercise showed the relationship between standardization and resilience. Not all of the expected SOPs set were utilized, in part due to the exercise design, in part due to gaps in participants? knowledge of SOPs, and in part due to acknowledged limitations of SOPs to deal with all cases real world contexts. This need for adaptation is an aspect increasingly present in complex systems, such as the one studied here, as the unexpected variability arising from the interaction between the many different elements that compose them can exceed the capacity of the SOPs to deal with it. Knowledge and analysis of the need for adaptation can contribute on different fronts: (i) better training for more conscious and safer recognition, planning and implementation of adjustments; (ii) the design or reformulation of SOPs better able to deal with real activity by considering aspects revealed by brittleness; and (iii) artefacts design to support these demands for recognition and enforcement, ensuring increasingly resilient, efficient and secure systems.
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Gilbert J. Huber, Roberto F. Júnior, Paulo V. R. Carvalho, & José O. Gomes. (2015). Applying resilience approach to C2 Center during FIFA`s 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. In L. Palen, M. Buscher, T. Comes, & A. Hughes (Eds.), ISCRAM 2015 Conference Proceedings ? 12th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Kristiansand, Norway: University of Agder (UiA).
Abstract: Rio de Janeiro?s Integrated Command and Control Center (CICC-RJ ) has already seen duty in several large scale events which happened in town, some planned, others not. CICC-RJ is part of Rio de Janeiro state?s response to the Brazilian national government?s mandate to improve the state?s ability to anticipate and respond coherently to public safety events in the region. Its infrastructure is intended to enable and promote local agencies? ability to anticipate, plan, monitor, and respond to public safety events by sharing operational intelligence and acting in concert. The aim of this paper is to explore some of the CICC-RJ issues where fragility and resilience were at play during the operational management of the 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, as the CICC-RJ seeks to enhance its capabilities to promote resilience in preparation for the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
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Juan Godoy. (2007). A holistic approach to emergency evacuation information support systems. 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. 345–354). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: In the USA the basic objective of local and state government's Emergency Operations Plans (EOP) is to implement mitigation measures to reduce the loss of life and property damage by the efficient mobilization and deployment of resources. The evacuation of citizens out of harms way either before an impeding disaster or after the occurrence of one is a critical component of any EOP. This document represents a summary of the Evacuation Plan designed for the City of New Orleans. Results of live field exercises conducted during the 2006 Hurricane Season and suggestions for improvement will be highlighted. The ideal Emergency Evacuation Tracking System will be designed to operate within a System of Systems framework with interfaces: to field personnel, emergency managers and logisticians operating in an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), with state and local government systems such as public information emergency hotline (311 Centers in the USA), asset tracking management systems and others.
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Jose J. Gonzalez, Geir Bø, & John Einar Johansen. (2013). A system dynamics model of the 2005 hatlestad slide emergency management. 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. 658–667). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: It has long been recognized that the management of emergencies requires that response organisations act flexibly, becoming an “emergent organisation” to better manage the fact that disasters do not follow scripts. Nevertheless, recent research shows that crisis response organisations prefer to follow patterns adequate for normal situations. Arguably, the resistance to become an emergent organisation could be related to poor understanding of how to move from disorganisation to self-organisation. We extend a recent system dynamics work by Tu, Wang and Tseng, describing the transition from disorganisation to self-organisation in the Palau case, to analyse the management of disorganisation in the fatal Hatlestad landslide in Norway. We suggest that the causal structure of the system dynamics model describing the Palau and the Hatlestad case should be considered a candidate for an emergent “middle-range theory” describing the management of disorganisation in emergencies. We propose specific data collection to test the candidate theory.
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Grace, R., Montarnal, A., Petitdemange, E., Rutter, J., Rodriguez, G. R., & Potts, M. (2023). Collaborative Information Seeking during a 911 Call Surge: A Case Study. In Jaziar Radianti, Ioannis Dokas, Nicolas Lalone, & Deepak Khazanchi (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th International ISCRAM Conference (pp. 649–662). Omaha, USA: University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Abstract: This case study examines collaborative information seeking in a public-safety answering point during a 911 call surge that occurred when a man fired an assault rifle at police officers and evaded capture for nearly an hour in March 2020. Overwhelmed by questionable and imprecise reports from 911 callers, telecommunicators and on scene responders began working together to conduct broad and deep searches for the shooter. Whereas broad searches improved the scope of information gathering by identifying multiple, albeit questionable and imprecise, reports of the suspect’s location, deep searches improved the quality of information gathering by investigating 911 callers’ reports using drone, helicopter, and patrol units. These findings suggest requirements for collaborative information seeking in public-safety answering points, including capabilities to conduct broad and deep searches using next-generation 911 technologies, and command and control requirements for triaging these search tasks within inter-organizational emergency response systems.
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Rego Granlund, Helena Granlund, Nilda Dahlbäck, & Björn J.E. Johansson. (2010). The effect of a geographical information system on communication in professional emergency response organizations. 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 describes the basic communication analysis performed in a research project with an ambition to investigate the impact of geographical information system (GIS) on crisis management organizations. The goal is to compare the communication between command and control teams that have access to a GIS with geographical position information (GPS) capability in its command post with teams that only have access to paper maps. The method used is controlled experiments using the C3Fire micro-world. A total of 108 professionals, forming 18 teams, participated in the study. The participating professionals were members of Swedish municipal crisis management organizations. The result shows that the communication pattern connected to giving orders have a different distribution depending on if the teams used GIS or paper maps. The result also shows that the communication volume is reduced if the teams use GIS.
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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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