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Ronja Addams-Moring. (2007). Tsunami self-evacuation of a group of western travelers and resulting requirements for multi-hazard early warning. 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. 83–92). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: This paper describes the experiences of a West-European project group in Sri Lanka in March 2005, during a tsunami threat. They had previous disaster related knowledge and used both local guidance, global media and contacts back home, but could not get adequate information about how much time they had, how likely a tsunami was, or which countries had ordered evacuations. Their decision to evacuate was based on their own reasoning and influenced most by one trusted local resident. Their mobile phone communication with their relations in Europe created a de facto ad hoc mobile emergency announcement (MEA) system. Their decision to return relied heavily on the ad hoc MEA text messages, as local authorities had not yet issued an all-clear. The findings underline the importance of multiple early warning languages and delivery channels and suggest that when relevant, 'event onset time' should be explicit in early warning.
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Ronja Addams-Moring, Markku Kekkonen, & Shushan Zhao. (2005). A simple taxonomy for mobile emergency announcement systems. In B. C. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2005 – 2nd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 309–316). Brussels: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Mobile communications networks and devices can be and have been used by authorities to warn and instruct the general public during crises. However, our understanding of how mobile technologies could best be used for emergency announcements (public warnings) is currently limited. To clarify one part of this field of study, we define and describe a simple taxonomy for mobile emergency announcements (MEA) systems. The taxonomy has three categories: preplanned MEA systems, ad-hoc MEA systems and semi ad-hoc MEA systems. Differences in functional, security and other requirements were found between MEA systems belonging to different taxonomy categories, both concerning how each category of MEA systems can meet the common requirements, and concerning which requirements are the most important for each category of MEA systems. The differences between the categories were especially clear for these requirements: the understandability and credibility of the MEAs and the security of a MEA system.
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Alexandre Ahmad, Olivier Balet, Jesse Himmelstein, Arjen Boin, Maaike Schaap, Paolo Brivio, et al. (2012). Interactive simulation technology for crisis management and training: The INDIGO project. 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: To face the urgent need to train strategic and operational managers in dealing with complex crises, we are researching and developing an innovative decision support system to be used for crisis management and interactive crisis training. This paper provides an overview of current decision-support systems, simulation software and other technologies specifically designed to serve crisis managers. These findings inform the design of a new interactive simulation technology system, where a 3D Common Operational Picture (COP) is shared between tactile digital whiteboard in the command center and mobile devices in the field. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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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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Amro Al-Akkad, Christian Raffelsberger, Alexander Boden, Leonardo Ramirez, & Zimmermann, A. (2014). Tweeting 'when online is off'? Opportunistically creating mobile ad-hoc networks in response to 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. 662–671). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: In this paper, we present a system that enables people to post and receive tweets despite disruptions of existing network infrastructure. Our system opportunistically deploys mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) based on Wi-Fi in which people can communicate with each other in a peer-to-peer fashion. A MANET per se constitutes an isolated island, but as people carry devices around that can join other MANETs, eventually people can transport previously collected data to the online world. Compared to other systems that aim to enable communication in crisis, our system differs in two ways: it does not rely on existing network infrastructure, and it exploits established protocols and standards allowing it to run on off-the-shelf, commercially available smartphones. We evaluated our prototype with a group of students and practitioners. Overall, we received positive feedback on the potential of our technology, but also were pointed to limitations requiring future work.
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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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Andrés Moreno, Philip Garrison, & Karthik Bhat. (2017). WhatsApp for Monitoring and Response during Critical Events: Aggie in the Ghana 2016 Election. 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. 645–655). Albi, France: Iscram.
Abstract: Mobile Instant Messaging platforms like WhatsApp are becoming increasingly popular. They have expanded access to digital text, audio, picture, and video messaging. Integrating them into existing crisis monitoring and response platforms and workflows can help reach a wider population. This paper describes a first attempt to integrate WhatsApp into Aggie, a social media aggregating and monitoring platform. We report on the deployment of this integration during Ghana's 2016 election, along with Twitter, Facebook, and RSS. The WhatsApp messages collected by Aggie during the election improved the eectiveness of the monitoring eorts. Thanks to these messages, more incidents were found and escalated to the Electoral Commission and security forces. From interviews with people involved in monitoring and response, we found that the WhatsApp integration helped their coordination and monitoring activities.
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Michael R. Bartolacci, Christoph Aubrecht, & Dilek Ozceylan Aubrecht. (2014). A portable base station optimization model for wireless infrastructure deployment in disaster planning and 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. 50–54). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
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.
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Patricia Gómez Bello, Ignacio Aedo, Fausto Sainz, Paloma Díaz, & Jorge De Castro. (2006). M-ARCE: Designing an ubiquitous mobile office for disaster mitigation, services and configuration. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 121–126). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: Cooperation and mutual assistance in emergency situations is one of the main objectives of the Latin-American Association of Governmental Organisms of Civil Defense and Protection. To promote such collaboration m-ARCE has been developed; an ubiquitous mobile office for disaster mitigation where users can send and receive information anywhere and anytime. When a catastrophe happens in a country, and almost all infrastructure is destroyed, mobile technology, such as mobile devices and wireless networks, offers the user resources to ask for help and to manage it. Latin-American Countries often suffer catastrophes that provoke numerous human losses and major economic and social problems. International assistance and collaboration with the affected country is necessary to help in its recovery. The Web, like Internet, offers static office services to users who can access information using an infrastructure in indoor environments. On the other hand, mobile computing and networking use the Internet, together with mobile physical devices linked to it, and software platforms built upon it, to design and coordinate systems across countries. In the ubiquitous mobile office design, we describe how services, such as chat, email and wireless communication, should be configured for emergency situation. We make use of ubiquitous hypermedia -linked nodes in ubiquitous spaces- to ensure mobility and accessibility to the mobile device interface, such as PDAs and smartphones.
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Imane Benkhelifa, Samira Moussaoui, & Nadia Nouali-Taboudjemat. (2013). Locating emergency responders using mobile wireless sensor networks. 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. 432–441). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Emergency response in disaster management using wireless sensor networks has recently become an interest of many researchers in the world. This interest comes from the growing number of disasters and crisis (natural or man-made) affecting millions of lives and the easy-use of new and cheap technologies. This paper details another application of WSN in the post disaster scenario and comes up with an algorithm for localization of sensors attached to mobile responders (firefighters, policemen, first aid agents, emergency nurses, etc) while assisted by a mobile vehicle (fire truck, police car, or aerial vehicle like helicopters) called mobile anchor, sent to supervise the rescue operation. This solution is very efficient and rapidly deployable since no pre-installed infrastructure is needed. Also, there is no need to equip each sensor with a GPS receiver which is very costly and may increase the sensor volume. The proposed technique is based on the prediction of the rescuers velocities and directions considering previous position estimations. The evaluation of our solution shows that our technique takes benefit from prediction in a more effective manner than previous solutions. The simulation results show that our algorithm outperforms conventional Monte Carlo localization schemes by decreasing estimation errors with more than 50%.
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Bennett Gayle, D. M., Yuan, X.(J.), Dadson, Y. A., & Edwards, N. K. (2023). Contact Tracing Mobile Applications in New York: A Qualitative Study on the Use and Privacy Perceptions. In Jaziar Radianti, Ioannis Dokas, Nicolas Lalone, & Deepak Khazanchi (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th International ISCRAM Conference (pp. 620–635). Omaha, USA: University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Abstract: Contact tracing mobile applications were used in several countries as the exclusive means of reducing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In the United States (US), such mobile applications were not nationwide; several states adopted and developed mobile applications for use by the local citizenry. Previous research indicated that the use and adoption of such applications might be correlated to individual demographics. Using the Antecedent Privacy Concerns and Outcomes (APCO), this study assesses individuals' use, adoption, and privacy considerations when using the contact tracing mobile application in New York State. Focus group participants were interviewed to determine if age or race/ethnicity were confounding factors related to their use of these mobile applications. This qualitative study will contribute to the body of knowledge by operationalizing and expanding on the APCO model to further understand the service, privacy, and perception of mobile apps used during COVID-19.
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Art Botterell, & Martin Griss. (2011). Toward the next generation of emergency operations systems. 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: For more than half a century the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has been a key component of emergency management (EM), homeland security and business continuity practice. Changes in the technical, threat, economic and social environments are placing new pressures on the concept of the EOC in the public, private and community sectors. Investigation of the desirable attributes of a “Next Generation EOC” has led to alternative EOC roles and configurations. This paper describes emerging pressures on, and trends in, emergency and business contingency management systems, and describes a research program to explore solutions to both new and persistent design challenges.
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Andrea Capata, Andrea Marrella, Ruggero Russo, Manfred Bortenschlager, & Harald Rieser. (2008). A geo-based application for the management of mobile actors during crisis situations. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 219–229). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: The widespread availability of network-enabled handled devices has made the development of pervasive computing applications an emerging reality particularly suitable for managing emergency/disaster situations. Moreover in emergency management scenarios, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are gaining momentum for their capacity to capture, analyze and manage geo-referenced data. In this paper we discuss an architecture designed to support rescue teams operating in outdoor environments and equipped with mobile devices working in a P2P fashion within a Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET). Our system has been designed to effectively address the on-field working persons' need for geographic information that cannot be supplied by conventional paper-based maps. Our approach provides a transparent access to geo-information and to GIS functionalities, and it addresses issues specifically relevant to emergency management scenarios in open fields.
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Tiziana Catarci, Massimiliano De Leoni, Andrea Marrella, Massimo Mecella, Manfred Bortenschlager, & Renate Steinmann. (2010). The WORKPAD project experience: Improving the disaster response through process management and geo collaboration. 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: In complex emergency/disaster scenarios teams from various emergency-response organizations collaborate with each other to achieve a common goal. In these scenarios the use of smart mobile devices and applications can improve the collaboration dynamically. The lack of basic interaction principles can be dangerous as it could increase the level of disaster or can make the efforts ineffective. The paper focuses on the description of the main results of the project WORKPAD finished in December 2009. WORKPAD worked on a two-level architecture to support rescue operators during emergency management. The use of a user-centered design methodology during the entire development cycle has guaranteed that the architecture and the resulting system meet the end-user requirements. The feasibility of its use in real emergencies is also proven by a demonstration showcased in July with real operators. The paper includes the qualitative and quantitative showcase results and mentions some guidelines which can be useful for persons who want to develop emergency-management systems.
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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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Dragos Datcu, & Leon J.M. Rothkrantz. (2008). A Dialog Action Manager for automatic crisis management. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 384–393). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: This paper presents the results of our research on the development of a Dialog Action Manager-DAM as part of a complex crisis management system. Imagine the utility of such an automatic system to detect the crisis and to provide support to people in contexts similar to what happened recently at the underground in London and Madrid. Preventing and handling the scenarios of terrorism and other crisis are nowadays maybe the most important issues for a modern and safe society. In order to automate the crisis support, DAM simulates the behavior of an employee at the crisis centre handling telephone calls from human observers. Firstly, the system has to mimic the natural support for the paradigm 'do you hear me?' and next for the paradigm 'do you understand me?'. The people witnessing the crisis event as well as human experts provide reports and expertise according to their observations and knowledge on the crisis. The system knowledge and the data communication follow the XML format specifications. The system is centered on the results of our previous work on creating a user-centered multimodal reporting tool that works on mobile devices. In our paper we describe the mechanisms for creating an automatic DAM system that is able to analyze the user messages, to identify and track the crisis contexts, to support dialogs for crisis information disambiguation and to generate feedback in the form of advice to the users. The reasoning is done by using a data frame and rule based system architecture and an alternative Bayesian Network approach. In the paper we also present a series of experiments we have attempted in our endeavor to correctly identify natural solutions for the crisis situations.
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Duco N. Ferro, Jeroen M. Valk, & Alfons H. Salden. (2007). A robust coalition formation framework for mobile surveillance incident management. 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. 479–488). Delft: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Given unexpected incidents on routes of guards that check security objects, like banks, one of the most challenging problems is still how to support improvisation by security personnel in taking decisions to prevent or resolve such incidents. Another as important associated problem is how a security company can naturally take advantage of its existing and novel knowledge about its organizational and ICT infrastructures, and the introduction of a decision support system to help leverage of improvisation by humans. To tackle all this, on the one hand we present a dynamic coalition formation framework that allows the (re)configurations of agents that are associated with joint tasks in situational contexts to be evaluated by appropriate value functions. On the other hand, we present a dynamic scale-space paradigm that allows a security company to distill ranked lists of robust context-dependent reconfigurations at critical scales. We highlight the merits of ASK-ASSIST as a solution to the problem of supporting human improvisation.
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Fabio Ciravegna, Suvodeep Mazumdar, Neil Ireson, & Peter Cudd. (2016). Seeing through the Eyes of the Citizens during Emergencies. In A. Tapia, P. Antunes, V.A. Bañuls, K. Moore, & J. Porto (Eds.), ISCRAM 2016 Conference Proceedings ? 13th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Rio de Janeiro, Brasil: Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.
Abstract: Availability and access to information is critical for providing a highly effective response to an ongoing event ? however, often information reported by citizens over the phone may be unclear, inaccurate, biased or subjective, based on the context of the reporter. This can often lead to inadequate response to an emergency, which can in turn result in loss of property or worse, lives. On the other hand, excessive response to an emergency can also result in a highly expensive exercise. Our solution to address this problem is to make the citizen act as a camera for the control room by exploiting the user?s mobile camera. The system is designed to provide a live view of the citizen?s immediate surroundings, while control room personnel can provide instructions. In this paper, we introduce the system and share initial insights from a focus group evaluation conducted within a separate but closely related domain.
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Shelly Farnham, Elin R. Pedersen, & Robert Kirkpatrick. (2006). Observation of katrina/rita groove deployment: Addressing social and communication challenges of ephemeral groups. In M. T. B. Van de Walle (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2006 – 3rd International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 39–49). Newark, NJ: Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium.
Abstract: In order to better understand the challenges specific to the deployment of collaboration technologies in crisis situations, we conducted an informal observational study of the deployment of Groove Virtual Office to various civil and military groups at the heart of the disaster zone over the course of ten days. We summarize both general lessons learned from observations of social and communication challenges in crisis situations that impact technology adoption, and make specific recommendations for improving the deployment process of Groove to enable cross group collaboration. We generally found that dynamic, informal social networks and lightweight ephemeral work groups were essential social structures in the relief effort, and we discuss the need to innovate technologies to support these alternative types of organizations. We encourage that current technology centric innovation for ephemeral workgroups is complemented by a usage centric approach to help address emergent behaviors and opportunities.
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Holger Fischer, & Florian Klompmaker. (2012). Enriching disaster control management based on human-centered design. 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: Hurricanes or earthquakes reveal the increasing importance of the research in disaster control management, which is essential to coordinate the amount of rescue activities. The German Federal Agency for Technical Relief is responsible for tasks like coordination, high capacity pumping and infrastructure. To support them in their management process and to improve the efficiency and the effectiveness in their workflow, we built an interactive table and established a human-centered design process to understand the context of use and to create a system out of the users' perspective. In this paper we present further scenarios as a result of the second iteration in performing human-centered design methods together with experts in the domain. We show that methods like ethnography studies, task analyses or workshops are suitable and essential in this context and arise in helpful tools that support the experts with additional information in case of decisions. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Siska Fitrianie, Zhenke Yang, & Leon J.M. Rothkrantz. (2008). Developing concept-based user interface using icons for reporting observations. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 394–405). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: In recent years, we have developed a visual communication interface for reporting observations in which messages can be constructed using a spatial arrangement of icons. Each icon on the interface represents a concept or idea. This paper reports about research on a visual language interface, which allows users to create structured messages of icon strings simultaneously in a two-dimensional parallel and spatial configuration. The developed system provides drawing tools and predefined sets of icons that support a free and natural way to sketch and describe crisis situations. A coherent and context dependent interpretation of the icon configuration can be constructed by the employment of ontology. In addition, the interface is also able to convert the interpretation into crisis scenarios as feedback to the user on his/her input.
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Adam Flizikowski, Witold Holubowicz, Anna Stachowicz, Laura Hokkanen, Taina Kurki, Nina Päivinen, et al. (2014). Social media in crisis management – The iSAR+ project survey. 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. 707–711). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Social media together with still growing social media communities has become a powerful and promising solution in crisis and emergency management. Previous crisis events have proved that social media and mobile technologies used by citizens (widely) and public services (to some extent) have contributed to the post-crisis relief efforts. The iSAR+ EU FP7 project aims at providing solutions empowering citizens and PPDR (Public Protection and Disaster Relief) organizations in online and mobile communications for the purpose of crisis management especially in search and rescue operations. This paper presents the results of survey aiming at identification of preliminary end-user requirements in the close interworking with end-users across Europe.
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