Ahmed Al-Sadi, Thelma Moses, & Saed Altawabeyeh. (2023). iAWHINA: Towards Designing an Offline Disaster Mobile Application. In V. L. Thomas J. Huggins (Ed.), Proceedings of the ISCRAM Asia Pacific Conference 2022 (pp. 103–110). Palmerston North, New Zealand: Massey Unversity.
Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present the design stages of a built-for-purpose disaster response mobile application called iAwhina. The authors propose to design iAwhina as an interactive user-friendly offline mobile application that provides flawless user experience to support and aid in emergency response situations. The prototype works in both online and offline modes, using ad hoc network technology. The design process followed during the development of the user interface is based on a set of usability criteria that are presented in this paper. A systematic literature review on the usability criteria for disaster mobile applications and discussions with industry experts helped to finalize the user interface elements that will enhance the usability of the application. The relevant features that will be included in the application were drawn from literature. A discussion on how the design process plays a critical role in designing disaster mobile applications is also presented.
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Amro Al-Akkad, & Zimmermann, A. (2011). User study: Involving civilians by smart phones during emergency situations. 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: This paper concerns a preliminary user study to determine the acceptance of a mobile application that is supposed to involve civilians during emergencies. In particular, the focus is on bystanders. Their intervention during emergencies constitutes a delicate issue, since they were traditionally considered as a rather annoying party being merely observers of incidents. However, with the ubiquity and ever-increasing capabilities of cell phones there might emerge a great potential to flip the coin and to benefit from bystanders playing from now on a contributive role. To examine this hypothesis, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 persons. The result of our study shows that people are willing to use such mobile assisting system, and thus we take it as a positive starting signal to continue our research into this direction considering the elicited user constraints.
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Amro Al-Akkad, & Christian Raffelsberger. (2014). How do i get this app? A discourse on distributing mobile applications despite disrupted infrastructure. 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. 565–569). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: This paper aims to lead a discourse on distributing mobile applications while having no access to cloud services. While in daily life people acquire applications via application stores, the access to those stores can be severely hampered in disasters. Instead of wishful thinking, i.e. hoping that people or manufactures would pre-install an (emergency) app before a disaster, we have started to investigate into Internet-less deployment mechanisms. We discuss five potential approaches of deploying apps in an ad-hoc fashion. Each approach is assessed against six criteria, while taking a stance that the smartphone is the minimally required deployment platform. This paper concludes with the observation that current mobile operating system providers do not provide “Internet-less” deployment mechanisms, although platforms as Android allow for this. This said, we hope that this contribution can spark further interest into the discussed problematic.
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Christian Reuter, Thomas Ludwig, Timo Funke, & Volkmar Pipek. (2015). SOMAP: Network Independent Social-Offline-Map-Mashup. 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: Maps, showing the tactical or the administrative situation at any particular time, play a central role in disaster management. They can be realized as interactive map mashups. In addition to classical information (weather, water levels, energy network, forces), they can also be used to present a view on citizen-generated content, e.g. from social media. In this paper we offer insights into how mobile map mashups can assist citizens during infrastructure failures that often occur in large-scale emergencies. Based on a review of approaches and mobile applications from literature and especially from practice, we present SOMAP (social offline map), a mobile app we developed in Android. It offers offline map functionality in terms of (A) pro-active loading and storing of potentially needed maps of the respective area as well as (B) the possibility of exchanging information from social media using Bluetooth. The application was evaluated qualitatively, to gain insights into the potential of such applications.
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Andrea Marrella, Massimo Mecella, & Alessandro Russo. (2011). Collaboration on-the-field: Suggestions and beyond. 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 disaster scenarios, emergency operators/first responders need to collaborate in order to reach a common goal. The use of mobile devices and applications in these scenarios is very valuable as they can improve collaboration, coordination, and communication amongst team members. But there are also risks involved while using these mobile applications, e.g., decreasing of performance. Most of the tasks are highly critical and time demanding, e.g., saving minutes could result in saving people's life. Therefore, it is unacceptable to use systems that lack proper interaction principles. In this paper, we provide some suggestions, in the form of lessons learned and/or hints for possible future research activities, on how to effectively support on-the-field collaboration of emergency operators. Such suggestions are based on the authors' experience in a recently concluded successful research project on the use of mobile devices for supporting first responders.
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Marco Romano, Teresa Onorati, Paloma Díaz, & Ignacio Aedo. (2014). Improving emergency response: Citizens performing actions. 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. 170–174). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: The role of common citizens within the emergency management (EM) process is crucial in order to support efficiently the operators' activities during the response phase. Moreover, their participation is strictly related to their profile and their experience in previous events. In a previous contribution we identified the different roles that the citizens can play for an effective cooperation with the EM workers. In this paper, we introduce an emergency tool based on a mobile application designed to support the activities of the citizens acting as Agent. The Agents have specific capabilities recognized by the EM Operation Center (OC) to execute actions under the remote supervision of the EM operators. The proposed tool allows the Agents to receive information from the OC and to visualize it through an advanced visualization modality. In particular, available information is previously collected by the center from the witnesses and the affected people that have alerted about it.
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WeiHua James Li, Julius Adebayo, Fuming Shih, & Lalana Kagal. (2015). Understanding the role of mobile technologies for humanitarian relief. 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: Smartphones are becoming increasingly useful in disaster management both to provide useful information to victims and to coordinate relief operations. However, a lack of technological expertise as well as considerable amount of time and cost required to build mobile applications prevents the rapid deployment of useful applications by humanitarian organizations for different crises. In this paper, we describe a participatory design workshop that we conducted at the International Committee of Red Cross to identify challenges of adopting mobile technologies within relief organizations. Through this workshop, we identified major challenges associated with developing mobile applications: lengthy development and deployment cycle, costly budget, and frequent requirement changes. We then introduced our framework that enables non-programmers to quickly develop and deploy mobile applications in these situations. The workshop participants identified three areas where our framework improved upon existing mobile solutions: reducing data integration overhead, fast prototyping for app development, and customization of apps.
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