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Bo Andersson, & Jonas Hedman. (2006). Issues in the development of a mobile based communication platform for the swedish police force and appointed security guards. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 181–187). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: This paper presents the learning experiences from the development of a mobile-based communication platform, called OrdningsVaktsCentralen (OVC). OVC can be translated to Security Guard Central. OVC is designed to enable the Swedish Police Force (SPF) to comply with new legal requirements and enhance their collaboration with Appointed Security Guards (ASG). The focus of this paper is on the early phases of development; in particular on the specific technical issues such as interoperability and standards used in the development of mobile based systems. The learning experiences are as follows: firstly, when developing mobile based systems we suggest and recommend that the analysis phase should be enhanced and it should address the interoperability between mobile phones on one hand and operators on the other hand. Secondly, global and national standards, such as the MMS7 for sending multi-media messages, are not always standardized. It seems that operators and mobile phone manufacturers make minor alterations and interpretations of the standard and thereby some of the benefits found in standards disappear. Thirdly, mobile based communication platforms have a large potential for contributing to the field of emergency management information systems since they can be based on open and nationally accepted standards.
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Andrea Kavanaugh, Steven D. Sheetz, Riham Hassan, Seungwon Yang, Hicham G. Elmongui, Edward A. Fox, et al. (2012). Between a rock and a cell phone: Communication and information technology use during the 2011 Egyptian uprising. 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: Many observers heralded the use of social media during recent political uprisings in the Middle East even dubbing Iran's post election protests a “Twitter Revolution”. We seek to put into perspective the use of social media in Egypt during the mass political demonstrations in 2011. We draw on innovation diffusion theory to argue that these media could have had an impact beyond their low adoption rates due to other factors related to demographics and social networks. We supplement our social media data analysis with survey data we collected in June 2011 from an opportunity sample of Egyptian youth. We conclude that in addition to the contextual factors noted above, the individuals within Egypt who used Twitter during the uprising have the characteristics of opinion leaders. These findings contribute to knowledge regarding the role of opinion leaders and social media, especially Twitter, during violent political demonstrations. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Andrea Kavanaugh, Francis Quek, Steven D. Sheetz, & B. Joon Kim. (2010). Cell phone use with social ties during crises: The case of the Virginia Tech tragedy. 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: Many proposed technological solutions to emergency response during disasters involve the use of cellular telephone technology. However, cell phone networks quickly become saturated during and/or immediately after a disaster and remain saturated for critical periods. In this study, we investigated cell phone use by Virginia Tech students, faculty and staff during the shootings on April 16, 2007 to identify patterns of communication with social network ties. We administered an online survey to a random sample from our pool to capture communications behavior with social ties during the day of these tragic events. The results show that cell phones were the most heavily used communication technology by a majority of respondents (both voice and text messaging). While text messaging makes more efficient use of bandwidth than voice, most communication on 4/16 was with parents, since the majority of the sample is students, who are less likely to use text messaging. Our findings should help in understanding how cell phone technologies may be utilized or modified for emergency situations in similar communities.
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Jaziar Radianti, Julie Dugdale, Jose J. Gonzalez, & Ole-Christoffer Granmo. (2014). Smartphone sensing platform for emergency management. 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. 379–383). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: The increasingly sophisticated sensors supported by modern smartphones open up novel research opportunities, such as mobile phone sensing. One of the most challenging of these research areas is context-aware and activity recognition. The Smart Rescue project takes advantage of smartphone sensing, processing and communication capabilities to monitor hazards and track people in a disaster. The goal is to help crisis managers and members of the public in early hazard detection, prediction, and in devising risk-minimizing evacuation plans when disaster strikes. In this paper we suggest a novel smartphone-based communication framework. It uses specific machine learning techniques that intelligently process sensor readings into useful information for the crisis responders. Core to the framework is a content-based publish-subscribe mechanism that allows flexible sharing of sensor data and computation results. We also evaluate a preliminary implementation of the platform, involving a smartphone app that reads and shares mobile phone sensor data for activity recognition.
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Steven D. Sheetz, Andrea Kavanaugh, Francis Quek, B. Joon Kim, & Szu-Chia Lu. (2009). Expectation of connectedness and cell phone use in crisis. 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: The wide distribution of cell phones with messaging, email, and instant-messaging have enabled the emergence of a culture of connectedness among segments of society. One result of this culture is an expectation of availability that exists among members of these social networks. This study explores the potential for this expectation to influence perceptions of using information communications technologies (ICT) during and after a crisis. Online survey and follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted with Virginia Tech (VT) students, faculty and staff to understand whether expectations of connectedness affected their perceptions of their reach-ability during crises. Participants with higher expectations of connectedness also reported more problems with reach-ability. Those with the most problems with reach-ability differed from those with no reachability problems for many variables including satisfaction with the cell phone service, age, number of calls/text messages, and extroversion. Results suggest these communities consider planning how to use ICT during emergencies.
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Simone Sillem, & Erik(J.W.F.) Wiersma. (2006). Comparing cell broadcast and text messaging for citizens warning. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 147–153). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: In life-threatening emergencies, citizens need to be warned. The currently used method for citizens warning in The Netherlands is a siren. AT this moment, research is being carried out into using new technologies as an addition to this siren for citizens warning. Modern telecommunication technologies have great potential for informing the public. Especially the use of text-based features of mobile phones is considered for this function. Advantages of such a system are that these technologies overcome problems of hearing the siren and that text-based messages provide possibilities for giving more and more detailed information. In a number of pilot studies, Delft University of Technology has gained experience with the possibilities of these technologies for citizens warning services. This paper compares two text-based mobile phone technologies that can be used for citizens warning as an addition to the siren.
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Elina Valtonen, Ronja Addams-Moring, Teemupekka Virtanen, Antti Järvinen, & Mikael Moring. (2004). Emergency announcements to mobile user devices in geographically defined areas. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2004 – 1st International Workshop on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 151–156). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: When emergency announcements (EA) to a population in a crisis area are needed, avoiding single points of failure in the EA sending and forwarding systems is essential. We present a new concept, an extension to existing EA sending systems, which is based on real-time location information about mobile devices. Such a solution would increase the EA sending systems' robustness through redundancy and technology diversity. At the same time, these mobile emergency announcement (MEA) sending systems would increase the percentage of the threatened population that can be reached fast. The proposition is based on a set of requirements for EA sending systems, the most important of which turned out to be ensuring the authenticity and integrity of the EA information content. We found our preliminary results too optimistic: current GSM networks should not be used for sending EAs, as it is quite possible to forge SMS text messages, even to multiple GSM phones in a specific target area. The next generations of mobile phone networks (3G/UMTS and 4G) seem more promising, due to their packet-oriented architectures, as each data packet can be stamped with verifiable information about the source of the data. However, the development of communications networks with features compatible with MEA sending will demand that both authorities and independent experts take an active, early role in networks design right beside the commercial organisations. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.
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Mark Wood. (2005). Cell@lert, for government-to-citizen mass communications in emergencies; 'It's about time'. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 323–326). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Cell Broadcasting has been an existing feature of GSM, UMTS, CDMA and PDC for many years, which however is rarely used. It has three attributes that make it very good for Government to Citizen mass communications in emergencies. 1) It uses reserved capacity for this feature; traffic does not take its bandwidth. Therefore it works even if the cellular system is in full overload, as it always is during disasters. 2) It can place millions of text messages on mobile phone within seconds, and is scalable to any size of broadcast including international scale without any additional time penalty. Most mobile phones have the capability now, so there is no need to build more infrastructures or replace phones. 3) By selecting the individual cells to be used, specific areas can be targeted with different messages, so that people in one area can be asked to evacuate, while in another they can be advised to stay. The government of Holland is the first in the world to adopt the technology, which will be operational by May 2005.
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