Abstract: Effective responsiveness to disasters requires the management of information in a network of autonomous response agencies. Yet, the information quality is often insufficient. Information is scattered throughout the network and needs to be collected from heterogeneous information sources. As such, adaptive information orchestration is the key to effective response. The aim of this paper is to develop a prescriptive, conceptual architecture guided by architectural principles for orchestration aimed at improving information quality. Information orchestration refers to an information architecture in which multiple orchestrators match information supply according to the information demand in order to assure a high information quality for relief workers. A primarily element is that information needs to be 'enriched' before it is provided to relief workers and necessary resources (human, information and technology) should be available to accomplish this. This should ensure that the right information will be delivered to the right persons at the right moment. Future research is aimed at detailing the concept of information orchestration.

Abstract: Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks maintain information in the routing table about reachable nodes. In emergency and rescue operations, human groups play an important role. This is visible at the network level as independent network partitions which are for some time stable before their members change through merging or partitioning. We use the information from stable routing tables to optimize the synchronization of Mediators in a Distributed Event Notification System. In a stable partition each node has the same information, thus a single Mediator can efficiently coordinate the synchronization, while all other Mediators just receive updates. We show in our experiments that just a few seconds are needed until routing tables stabilize and all nodes have a common view of the partition. We present a heuristic to determine the proper time to synchronize. Furthermore, we show how exceptions, like disappearing coordinating Mediators and unexpected messages, can be efficiently handled.

Abstract: Today emergencies seem more complex than ever. Process of managing these emergencies also becomes more complex because of increasing number of involved parties, increasing number of people affected, and increasing amount of resources. This complexity, inherent in emergency management, brings lots of challenges to decision makers and emergency responders. Information systems and technologies are utilized in different areas of emergency management. However complexity increases exponentially in emergency situations and it requires more sophisticated IS and IT and it makes response and management more challenging. Thus analyzing the root causes of emergency management information systems complexity is crucial for improving emergency response effectiveness. This paper frames the issue of information systems complexity by focusing on the types of complexities involved in emergency management phases and explaining each complexity type. We propose 6 different complexity types: Human Complexity, Technologic Complexity, Event Complexity, Interaction Complexity, Decision Making Complexity, and Cultural Complexity.

Abstract: What are effective ways to train students for designing Emergency Management Information Systems and for working with distant partners on EMIS projects? This paper describes the results of a project whose goal is to assess the effectiveness of Partially Distributed Teams (PDTs) as a pedagogical strategy. A PDT is one type of distributed team, in which two or more co-located subgroups use information and communication technology to collaborate on a task. Much of emergency management involves cross-organizational and often cross-national collaboration in this form. Students need, but lack, learning experiences focused on how to work effectively in such situations. This field study involved more than 700 students from universities in eight countries, working in 80 teams on an EMIS software requirements task. Results indicate that students report positive learning experiences, with international students in international teams reporting the most positive experiences. There are also significant differences among universities.

Abstract: Emergency situations are chaotic in nature. It is however, necessary to understand the context in which Emergency Responders work such that information practice issues can be highlighted and addressed by the system designers. In this paper, Activity Theory is proposed as a methodological and analytical framework to study information practices in the context of Emergency Management. Activity Theory aids in achieving a holistic approach to understanding the work activities context unlike some other analytical methodologies, as it focuses on use of artifacts for the interaction of humans with their environment. In this paper, an activity system model is used to investigate information practice issues of response phase of the emergency services in the UK. Using Activity Theory as an analytical framework, several tensions and contradictions emerged which keep the system unstable but which are also a source of innovation. It is also argued that Activity Theory can usefully be applied to the analysis of information practices over short period of time.

Abstract: Most information systems (IS) research into emergency management (EM) consists of case studies of prior disasters, social behavior research, and planning or preparedness research. This study fills a gap in EM and IS research as it aims to better understand the nature of coordination during crisis response; investigate the functions and capabilities of existing coordination systems; and identify the desired functions to manage multi-agency coordination response. Grounded theory is the methodology adopted for this study. Firsthand interview and observational data will be collected from agency command centers, ride-outs with police, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS) agencies, and from multi-agency training exercises. This study is expected to make a theoretical contribution to crisis response system design as it will develop a theory to better understand the information requirements for context-aware multi-agency real-time coordination responses to crises.

Abstract: Disaster response requires communications among all affected parties including emergency responders and the affected populace. Wireless telecommunications, if available through a fixed structure cellular mobile network, satellites, portable station mobile networks and ad hoc mobile networks, can provide this means for such communications. While the deployment of temporary mobile networks and other wireless equipment following disasters has been successfully accomplished by governmental agencies and mobile network providers following previous disasters, there appears to be little optimization effort involved with respect to maximizing key performance measures of the deployment or minimizing overall 'cost' (including time aspects) to deploy. This work-in-progress does not focus on the question of what entity will operate the portable base during a disaster, but on optimizing the placement of mobile base stations or similar network nodes for planning and real time management purposes. An optimization model is proposed for the staging and placement of portable base stations to support disaster relief efforts.

Abstract: Informing and alerting the population in disaster situations is a challenging task. Numerous situational factors have to be considered, as well as the impact of a plethora of communication channels, and multiplication effects in the population. In order to optimize the alerting strategies and enhance alert planning, it would be beneficial to model the dissemination of alerts. In this paper, we present a general overview of an alert dissemination model as well as its prototypical implementation in a simulation software. The software takes situational parameters such as time of day and location into account and can even infer characteristics of the alerting infrastructure from geospatial information.

Abstract: Wireless Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) can to provide first responders and disaster management agencies with a reliable communication network in the event of a large-scale natural disaster that devastates majority of the existing communication infrastructure. Without requiring a fixed infrastructure, MANETs can be quickly deployed after a large-scale natural disaster or a terrorist attack. On the other hand, MANETs have dynamic topologies which could be disconnected because of the mobility of nodes. This paper presents a decentralized approach to maintain the connectivity of a MANET using autonomous, intelligent agents. Concepts from the social network analysis along with flocking algorithms are utilized to guide the deployment decision of agents. Unlike a basic flocking algorithm where all nodes have the same importance, network metrics are used to quantify the relative importance of nodes. Computational results are presented to demonstrate the effect of various local agent behaviors on the global network connectivity.

Abstract: One of the key assumptions in Endsley's three-level Situation Awareness (SA) model is the critical role of mental models in the development and maintenance of SA. We explored a prescriptive way of modeling this essential mental process of the fire incident commanders' fire ground assessment. The modeling was drawn from the Fast and Frugal Heuristics (FFHs) program, given the strong parallels between its contentions on ecological rationality and the environment demanding of the emergency response context. This paper addresses a number of issues being encountered in the attempt of our empirical investigation.

Abstract: Several studies and observations regarding past earthquakes such as 1989 Loma Prieta, 1994 Northridge, or 1999 Marmara earthquakes have shown the importance of lifeline systems functionality on response and recovery efforts. The general direction of studies on simulating lifelines seismic performance is towards achieving more accurate models to represent the system behavior. The methodology presented in this paper is a product of research conducted in the Mid-America Earthquake Center. Electric power, potable water, and natural gas networks are modeled as interacting systems where the state of one network is influenced by the state of another network. Interdependent network analysis methodology provides information on operational aspects of lifeline networks in post-seismic conditions in addition to structural damage assessment. These results are achieved by different components of the tool which are classified as structural and topological. The topological component analyzes the post seismic operability of the lifeline networks based on the damage assessment outcome of the structural model. Following an overview of the models, potential utilizations in different phases of disaster management are briefly discussed.

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.