Syed Imran, Franclin Foping, Ioannis M. Dokas, & John Feehan. (2010). Towards domain specific modeling approach in early warning system. 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: It is of practical significance and great value to design and develop a novel Early Warning System (EWS), which will be used by the personnel of institutions involved in the drinking water delivery governance model of Ireland. In order to help the users of our EWS in representing and codifying their knowledge on the complex coincidences that may drive Water Treatment Plants (WTP) to failures or to hazardous states we propose in this paper a novel approach of using Domain Specific Modeling (DSM) in the domain of EWS for Water Treatment Plants. The novelty of our DSM approach also lies in providing a standalone open source software application rendering profiling of the water utilities, early warning signals, monitoring mechanisms of signals along with capability of assessing the “tendency” of a WTP towards failure, given a set of observed early warning signals.
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Inga Kroener, Hayley Watson, & Julia Muraszkiewicz. (2017). Agility in crisis management information systems requires an iterative and flexible approach to assessing ethical, legal and social issues. 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. 247–255). Albi, France: Iscram.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the assessment of ethical, legal and social issues (ELSI) in relation to agile information systems in the domain of crisis management. The authors analyse the differing needs of a move from a traditional approach to the development of information systems to an agile approach, which offers flexibility, adaptability and responds to the needs of users as the system develops. In turn, the authors argue that this development requires greater flexibility and an iterative approach to assessing ELSI. The authors provide an example from the Horizon 2020 EU-funded project iTRACK (Integrated system for real-time TRACKing and collective intelligence in civilian humanitarian missions) to exemplify this move to an iterative approach in practice, drawing on the process of undertaking an ethical and privacy impact assessment for the purpose of this project.
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Magnus Ingmarsson, Henrik Eriksson, & Niklas Hallberg. (2009). Exploring development of service-oriented C2 systems for emergency response. 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: Local emergency-response organizations must maximize their use of existing resources. Therefore, emergencyresponse organizations need appropriate command-and-control (C2) systems to coordinate not only their own resources, but also to take advantages of other local actors. The local nature of response coordination imposes additional challenges for the development of C2 systems. In particular, the C2 systems must support coordination across organizational boundaries at the local level. Service-oriented architectures (SOA) provide new technologies for the development of C2 systems. This approach is based on a set of loosely-coupled services offered by multiple actors rather than a single monolithic system. This work reports the result of a prototype SOA implementation that builds on a previous requirements engineering study for service-oriented C2 systems for local emergency response. The results illustrate how it is possible to develop lightweight C2 systems using state-or-the art Web and SOA technologies. However, there are still remaining organizational and maintainability challenges.
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Suradej Intagorn, Anon Plangprasopchok, & Kristina Lerman. (2010). Harvesting geospatial knowledge from social metadata. 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: Up-to-date geospatial information can help crisis management community to coordinate its response. In addition to data that is created and curated by experts, there is an abundance of user-generated, user-curated data on Social Web sites such as Flickr, Delicious, and Google Earth, that can be used to harvest knowledge to solve real-world problems. User-generated, or social, metadata can be used to learn concepts and relations between them that can improve information discovery, and data integration and management. We describe a method that aggregates social metadata created by thousands of users of the social photo-sharing site Flickr to learn geospatial concepts and relations. Our method leverages geotagged data to represent and reason about places. We evaluate learned geospatial relations by comparing them to a reference ontology provided by GeoNames.org. We show that our approach achieves good performance and also learns useful information that does not appear in the reference ontology.
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Jaco Appelman, Elisabeth A. M. Van De Kar, Mariëlle Hengst-Bruggeling, Josine Van De Ven, & Paul Burghardt. (2006). A service elicitation process for crisis management technologies. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 352–361). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: New information technological applications, that aim to support better professional responses to incidents and crises' are being developed at an increasing rate. We observe in almost any disaster that actions by civilians also contribute substantially to alleviation of the effects of a crisis. We are largely unaware what crisis management services would be of use to civilians under these particular circumstances; just as it is difficult for users to specify requirements for services based on novel technologies. These insights guided the design of a service elicitation approach that can be repeatedly used for different user groups. In this paper we introduce a design methodology and discuss outcomes of a first test-session. We reflect in the conclusions on improvements to the design.
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Gabriel Jakobson, Nandan Parameswaran, John Buford, Lundy Lewis, & Pradeep Ray. (2006). Situation-Aware multi-Agent system for disaster relief operations management. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 313–324). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Natural and human-made disasters create unparalleled challenges to Disaster Situation Management (DSM). One of the major weaknesses of the current DSM solutions is the lack of comprehensive understanding of the overall disaster operational situation, and very often making decisions based on a single event. Such weakness is clearly exhibited by the solutions based on the widely used Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) models for building the Muiti-Agent Systems (MAS). In this work we present the adaptation of the AESOP situation management architecture to address the requirements of disaster relief operations. In particular, we extend the existing BDI model with the capability of situation awareness. We describe how the key functions of event collection, situation identification, and situation assessment are implemented in MAS architecture suitable to the characteristics of large-scale disaster recovery. We present the details of a BDI agent in this architecture including a skeleton ontology, and the distributed service architecture of the AESOP platform.
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Jan Martin Jansen, Bas Lijnse, & Rinus Plasmeijer. (2010). Towards dynamic workflow support for crisis 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: Current process support technology for crisis management is often limited to either sharing of information or hard-coded process support through dedicated systems. Workflow management systems have the potential to improve crisis response operations by automating coordination aspects. Unfortunately most contemporary systems can only support static workflows, hence yielding inflexible support systems. Recent work on the use of functional programming techniques for workflow modeling has led to the development of the iTask system. It uses function combination to model dynamic data-driven processes and generates executable workflow support systems. Because of its focus on dynamic processes it appears promising for development of flexible crisis response systems. In this paper we present an initial discussion of the potential of the iTask system for crisis management applications. We give an overview of the iTask system, and discuss to what extent it meets the requirements of the crisis management domain.
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Erik R. Janus, Susan Manente, & Sharon L. Lee. (2008). Best practices in chemical emergency risk communication: The Interstate Chemical Terrorism Workgroup. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 774–777). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: The Interstate Chemical Terrorism Workgroup (ICTW) was formed in 2002 and currently includes members from nearly all states and Washington, DC, as well as representation from a number of non-governmental organizations. In addition to offering monthly conference call/presentations, the ICTW partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2003 to host a workshop to address basic elements of risk communication needs in a chemical event. The primary goal of the workshop was to develop a list of core competencies and benchmarks as well as a series of fact sheet templates destined for the general public and press, health care providers, public health department and/or officials, and first response and emergency workers (Lee et al., 2006). Key findings of the 2003 workshop, along with other work being done by CDC, academia and the states, underscore the importance of public health agencies in providing risk communication services during (and particularly after) chemical emergencies, whether intentional or not. Tools developed by the ICTW have been used and/or consulted by many groups involved in public health preparedness. This case study will examine the efforts of Michigan to implement these tools to reduce information overload in an emergency.
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Yasir Javed, & Tony Norris. (2013). Computerized system to enhance situation awareness: Key challenges associated with the design, evaluation, and extension of a prototype. 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. 951–961). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Successful decision making and task execution in emergency management require appropriate levels of situation awareness (SA). This paper proposes an ontology-based model for the design of a computer-based system, Situation Aware Vigilant Emergency Reasoner (SAVER) that supports the individual, shared and team SA of managers in emergency situations. SAVER is evaluated in simulated experiments that demonstrate the improvements in SA performance. The paper provides a complete description of the SAVER design, implementation, evaluation and its proposed extension from a proof-of-concept to a production environment.
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Yasir Javed, Tony Norris, & David Johnston. (2010). Design approach to an emergency decision support system for mass evacuation. 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 is directed primarily to investigating the information needs of emergency managers following recognition of a risk of volcanic eruption. These needs include type of information required during the collection, integration, synthesis, presentation, and sharing of information. This will identify and model the processes underpinning the design of an emergency decision support system (EDSS). Exploration of the information needs, flows, and processes involved in emergency decision making can improve the design of EDSS both in terms of their content and the all-important human-system interfaces that determine their usability.The information attributes and flows then lead to the development of a prototype system that can be evaluated to test and refine the concepts.
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Yasir Javed, Tony Norris, & David Johnston. (2011). Ontology-based inference to enhance team situation awareness in 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: In this paper, we propose the use of an ontology-based and semantic technologies approach to improving shared situation awareness amongst teams dealing with emergency situations. We have also identified that shared and team situation awareness tends to be viewed only in terms of cooperative task completion and so we have tried to describe their important relationship with team decision making. The applicability of our approaches is demonstrated by a case study of mass evacuation in the case of a tsunami event. We show how ontology can be used to represent context-based situations and how the axioms and rules can improve team situation awareness.
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Yasir Javed, Tony Norris, & David Johnston. (2012). Evaluating SAVER: Measuring shared and team situation awareness of emergency decision makers. 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: Large scale emergencies are usually responded to by a team of emergency managers or a number of sub teams for safety and efficiency. Team coordination has attracted considerable research interest, especially from the cognitive, human factors, and ergonomic aspects because shared situation awareness (SSA) and team situation awareness (TSA) of team members are critical for optimal decision making. This paper describes the development of an information system (SAVER) based on SSA and TSA oriented systems design. Validation and evaluation of the implemented design show that decision performance is improved by the SAVER system. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Theresa I. Jefferson, & John R. Harrald. (2014). Estimating the impacts associated with the detonation of an improvised nuclear device. 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. 80–84). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: The explosion of an improvised nuclear device (IND), in any American city, would cause devastating physical and social impacts. These impacts would exceed the response capabilities of any city, state or region. The potential loss and suffering caused by an IND detonation can be dramatically reduced through informed planning and preparedness. By incorporating estimates of the impacts associated with the detonation of an IND into the planning process, jurisdictions can estimate the scale and scope of their response requirements. A prototype, computer-based tool was developed to quantify the human impacts associated with an IND detonation. Using various types of information such as the approximation of the prompt radiation footprint, blast footprint, and thermal footprint of the detonation, along with an estimation of the level of protection provided by building structures the system calculates the number and type of injuries that can be expected in a monocentric urban area.
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Murray E. Jennex. (2005). Informal early warning systems, the utility Y2K experience. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 287–289). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: The 2004 tsunami has generated a call for a global early warning system. Political issues may prevent this from occurring soon or at all. This paper explores previous experience with informal early warning systems from the Year 2000, Y2K, rollover. Informal early warning systems, IEWS, are cooperative systems formed outside of direct government control, usually from nonprofit or industry organizations. The two discussed utility Y2K IEWS were formed through an industry group and within a single multinational corporation. The paper concludes with lessons learned from the design and implementation of these systems.
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Murray E. Jennex. (2012). Social media – Truly viable for crisis response? 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: On September 8, 2011 the Great San Diego/Southwest Blackout occurred. Approximately 5 million people were affected by this blackout. This paper explores the availability of social media following such a crisis event. Contrary to expectations, the cell phone system did not have the expected availability and as a result, users had a difficult time using social media to status/contact family and friends. This paper presents a survey exploring the use and availability of social media during the Great San Diego/Southwest Blackout event. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Jan Steen Jensen, & Jan Pehrsson. (2009). Central response to large chemical accidents. 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: Present scenarios, issues, requirements, experience and solutions from a central government organisation supporting local emergency management organisations. The presentation will cover the experience collected in the DIADEM project by the Danish Emergency Management Organisation with the focus of using ARGOS for response to chemical incidents.
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Miao Jiang, & William L. McGill. (2010). Human-centered sensing for crisis response and management analysis campaigns. 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: Human-centered sensing (HCS) is an emerging research field that leverages mobile devices carried by people to collect useful information in support of myriad analytic activities. In this paper, we explore ways in which HCS can be applied to support a variety of analytic campaigns in the context of crisis response and management (CRM). We first summarize the concept of HCS and then investigate the potential advantages of complementing traditional sensing platforms and analytic tasks with an HCS system. By recognizing the potentials of HCS, we offer a scheme for classifying HCS systems and envision three application scenarios of HCS in CRM as well as a general architecture of HCS systems.
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Satria Hutomo Jihan, & Aviv Segev. (2013). Context ontology for humanitarian assistance in crisis 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. 526–535). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Massive crisis open data is not fully utilized to identify humanitarian needs because most of it is not in a structured format, thus hindering machines to interpret it automatically and process it in a short time into useful information for decision makers. To address these problems, the paper presents a method which merges ontologies and logic rules to represent the humanitarian needs and recommend appropriate humanitarian responses. The main advantage of the method is to identify humanitarian needs and to prioritize humanitarian responses automatically so that the decision makers are not overwhelmed with massive and unrelated information and can focus more on implementing the solutions. The method is implemented on real data from the Hurricane Wilma crisis. The use of the method in the hurricane Wilma crisis shows the potential abilities to identify the humanitarian needs in specific places and to prioritize humanitarian responses in real time.
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Jill L. Drury, Gary L. Klein, Jennifer Mathieu, Yikun Liu, & Mark Pfaff. (2013). Sympathetic decisions: Incorporating impacts on others into emergency response decision spaces. 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. 199–209). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: We designed two decision support tools and employed them during a one-week, simulation-driven experiment that included emergency responders acting in their real-life roles. Each tool visualized a “decision space”: A diagrammatic depiction of the relative desirability of one option versus another, including the inherent uncertainty in the potential outcomes. One requirement was to develop a tool accounting for the impacts of decisions on others, so that emergency responders can make “sympathetic decisions.” For example, one decision space enabled responders to request resources from surrounding jurisdictions while also considering the potential negative effects on the lending organizations. Another decision space enabled responders to engage in a strategic dialogue with the public: “listening” to the public's greatest concerns by mining social media to measure emotion, and thereby suggesting strategic communications addressing those concerns. We report how we designed the decision spaces and the qualitative results of using these spaces during the experiment.
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Simon Jirka, Daniel Nüst, & Benjamin Proß. (2013). Sensor web and web processing standards for crisis 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. 376–380). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: This paper introduces the latest state of the interoperable Sensor Web and Web Processing standards specified by the Open Geospatial Consortium. Based on these components it becomes possible to share, integrate and analyse observation data across political and administrative borders as well as across multiple thematic domains. We present the 52°North open source implementations of the OGC SWE and WPS standards and introduce an outlook how this technology could be applied in the field of crisis management. Thus, this paper aims at providing a perspective how currently existing technology can be combined and applied to solve problems in emergency management rather than describing an already finished product. Special consideration will be given to the combination of Sensor Web and Web Processing technology which opens up new possibilities by having near real-time data flows that can be linked on-demand to different processing services.
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Björn J.E. Johansson, Jiri Trnka, & Rego Granlund. (2007). The effect of geographical information systems on a collaborative command and control task. 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. 191–200). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: This paper tests the claimed benefits of using geographical information systems (GIS) in emergency response operations. An experimental study comparing command teams using GIS and paper-based maps is presented. The study utilized a combined approach using microworld simulations together with physical artefacts. Participants in the experiment took the role of command teams, facing the task of extinguishing a simulated forest fire. A total of 132 persons, forming 22 teams, participated in the study. In eleven of the teams, the participants were given access to GIS with positioning of fire-brigades as well as sensor data about the fire outbreak. In the other eleven teams, the participants were using paper-based maps. The result shows that teams using GIS performed significantly better than teams with paper-based maps in terms of saved area. Communication volume was considerably reduced in the case of GIS teams. Implications of these results on GIS are discussed as well as methodological considerations for future research.
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Björn J.E. Johansson, Charlotte Hellgren, Per-Anders Oskarsson, & Jonathan Svensson. (2013). Supporting situation awareness on the move – The role of technology for spatial orientation in the field. 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. 442–451). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: The study presented in this paper has investigated how technology can support spatial awareness when moving in wooded terrain. By “spatial awareness”, we refer to the ability to point in the approximate direction of several objects while navigating in unknown terrain. The ability to localize objects in the terrain has importance for emergency operations, for example firefighting and search and rescue operations. A field experiment was conducted with two conditions, one with technical support and one without. The results show that technical support in terms of GPS, digital maps and electronic compass can dramatically improve the ability to accurately indicate directions to objects. Further, findings concerning use of tests on spatial orientation to predict the ability to indicate directions to objects in the terrain when having no technical support are presented.
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Peter A. Jongejan, & Tim J. Grant. (2012). Social media in command & control: An extended framework. 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: Our research is aimed at investigating whether social media has a role to play in military Command & Control. Since social media is peer-to-peer, it could facilitate Network-Enabled Capabilities. A useful theoretical development is Reuter, Marx, and Pipek's (2011) proposal of a two-by-two matrix for social software infrastructure. Their framework assumes one-way communication and monolithic organizations. However, to operate in a real-time, dynamic environment, crisis management organizations must close the decision-making loop. Moreover, they must be structured into an action part that handles the crisis on-site, and a control part that monitors and directs operations in real time. The purpose of this work-in-progress paper is to present our extension of Reuter et al's framework. The paper outlines Reuter et al's framework, summarises the basic theory of Command & Control, describes how we extended Reuter et al's framework, and outlines further research. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Kenneth Joseph, Peter M. Landwehr, & Kathleen M. Carley. (2014). An approach to selecting keywords to track on twitter during a disaster. 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. 672–676). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Several studies on Twitter usage during disasters analyze tweets collected using ad-hoc keywords pre-defined by researchers. While recent efforts have worked to improve this methodology, open questions remain about which keywords can be used to uncover tweets contributing to situational awareness (SA) and the quality of tweets returned using different terms. Herein we consider a novel methodology for uncovering relevant keywords one can use to search for tweets containing situational awareness. We provide a description of the methodology and initial results which suggest our approach may lead to better keywords to use for keyword searching during disasters.
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Susanne Jul. (2010). You get what you plan for. 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 seeks to illustrate a few simple but common mistakes in exercise planning through a case study, in the hopes that readers may improve their use of exercises as a research and development tool.
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