Nathaniel Inglis Steinfeld. (2012). Federal emergency and disaster requests for tribal lands. 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: Indian tribes have a special relationship with the federal government that dates back to the establishment of the United States. Federal disaster law, however, treats tribes as local governments and gives little weight to the historic relationship and lands of tribes. Instead of communicating as sovereign governments, tribes must first submit a disaster request to state officials, who then have discretion in transmitting the information to the federal government. This additional step in communication harms two important goals in disaster response on tribal lands: Efficiency and respectfulness in emergency communication and assistance. This paper examines how the legal framework that frames that intergovernmental communication. With this short introduction, this paper hopes to draw attention to the unique characteristics of tribal government, Indian law, and disasters on tribal land. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Jeannette N. Sutton. (2012). When online is off: Public communications following the February 2011 Christchurch, NZ, earthquake. 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: This work in progress investigates the communication issues encountered and the strategies used by local government to communicate electronically with disaster affected individuals in the immediate aftermath of the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, NZ. It also provides a preliminary examination of the effects of information access on individual perceptions of community resiliency. We draw from a variety of data sources, including field research, interviews, and focus groups with local community members. Ongoing survey research will be integrated into future papers and presentations. This research provides insight into online crisis communications and the effectiveness of strategies to communicate with members of the public in a post-disaster environment when there is limited access to information via electronic channels. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Tomoichi Takahashi. (2007). Agent-based disaster simulation evaluation and its probability model interpretation. 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. 369–376). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Agent-based simulations enable the simulation of social phenomenon by representing human behaviors using agents. Human actions such as evacuating to safe havens or extinguishing fires in disaster areas are important during earthquakes. The inclusion of human actions in calculating the damage at disaster sites provides useful data to local governments for planning purposes. In order to practically apply these simulation results, these results should be tested using actual data. Further, these results should be analyzed and explained in a manner that people who are not agent programmers can also understand easily. First, the possibility of applying agent-based approaches to social tasks is shown by comparing the simulation results with those obtained from other methods. Next, we propose a method to present agent behaviors using a probability model and discuss the results of applying this method to the RoboCup Rescue simulation data. These will delve into future research topics for developing agent based social simulations to practical ones.
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Yulia Tyshchuk, & William A. Wallace. (2013). The use of social media by local government in response to an extreme event: Del norte county, CA response to the 2011 Japan tsunami. 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. 802–811). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Social media has become increasingly important for emergency management. One example is its current use by governmental organizations to disseminate emergency-relevant information. During disaster events, it is imperative for people in affected areas to obtain accurate information. People using social media make a conscious decision to trust, act on, propagate or disregard emergency-relevant information. However, local government, in general, has not developed agreed upon ways to use social media in emergencies. This study documents how emergency management was able to successfully partner with local media and utilize social media to develop important relationships with the affected community via social media in emergencies. The study demonstrates a way to successfully utilize social media during disaster events in several ways: by closing a feedback loop between first responders and the public, by monitoring information flow, and by providing regular updates to the public.
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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. (2012). Risk analysis for critical systems with reliability block diagrams. 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: Governmental organisations are becoming more critically dependant on IT systems such as communication systems or patient data systems, both for their everyday tasks and their role in crisis relief activities. Therefore it is important for the organisation to analyse the reliability of these systems as part of the organisation's risk and vulnerability analysis process. This paper presents a practical risk analysis method for critical, large-scale IT systems in an organisation. The method is based on reliability block diagram modelling and was adapted to fit the requirements of governmental organisations and to reduce the effort required to capture complex failure behaviour. The paper first explicitly lists the requirements that such a risk analysis method must fulfil, then presents the proposed risk analysis method and finally outlines the planned evaluation of this method. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Kim Weyns, & Martin Höst. (2013). Case study on risk analysis for critical systems with reliability block diagrams. 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. 693–702). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: This paper presents a practical risk analysis method for critical, large-scale IT systems in an organisation. The method is based on reliability block diagram modelling and was adapted to fit the requirements of governmental organisations and to reduce the effort required to capture complex failure behaviour. Through the use of different failure categories the risk analysis can be simplified, the input data becomes easier to estimate and the results are easier to use in an organisational risk and vulnerability analysis. The paper first explicitly describes the different steps of the method and then presents a case study in which the method was applied and evaluated in a real-life setting. The method is meant to help an organisation to communicate internally about the reliability of their critical IT systems and to prioritise proposed improvements to this reliability.
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Connie White, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, & Murray Turoff. (2008). United we respond: One community, one voice. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 25–33). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: When emergency situations cross borders, or when newly formed groups need to work together, decision making can suffer from threat rigidity and pertinent information can be bypassed. We describe a Dynamic Delphi system under development that can create and sustain a group “voice” for an emergency response Community of Practice (CoP). We further describe its intended use for a CoP consisting of local, state and federal government responders, civilian emergency response teams (CERT), and volunteers. Community members can brainstorm, explore ideas, debate and vote iteratively to best reflect the group's opinion at any moment in time. Ongoing studies demonstrate that an online system implementing Dynamic Delphi characteristics along with Thurstone's Law of Comparative Judgment will prove conducive for building a repertoire of ideas, rules, policies or any other aspect of the community's 'voice', in such a way that the individual voices are juxtaposed in harmony to create a single song.
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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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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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