Alessio Malizia, Pablo Acuña, Teresa Onorati, Paloma Díaz, & Ignacio Aedo. (2009). CAP-ONES: An emergency notification system for all. 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: In this paper we present an ontology-based system for managing emergency alert notifications. Our purpose is to generate emergency alerts that are accessible to different kinds of people, paying special attention to more vulnerable collectives like impaired people. By adapting alerts to different devices and users we can allow Emergency Management Systems (EMS) to communicate with collectives like blind or deaf people whom otherwise will be unreachable by usual channels. Moreover, if we consider the constrains imposed by the nature of the emergency situations we can also improve the information transmission to cope with situational disabilities (e.g. smoke during a fire can cause low vision problems). We centered our system architecture on two characteristics: The first one is an ontology that codifies knowledge about accessibility, devices, disabilities, emergencies and media so the alert notification can be tailored according to different parameters; the second one is the use of an open standard like the CAP (Common Alerting Protocol) that enables our system to interoperate with other existing systems.
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Linda Plotnick, Starr Roxanne Hiltz, & Matthew Burns. (2012). For whom the siren sounds: Public perceptions of outdoor warning sirens in northeast Alabama. 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: In tornado-prone Alabama, outdoor emergency sirens are used as a major component of the Emergency Alert and Notification System. However there have been no studies to date of the effectiveness of these sirens in Calhoun County. In April 2011 a major tornado swept through this area of northeast Alabama, leaving in its wake over 300 fatalities and massive destruction. This preliminary study examines public perceptions and reactions to the sirens for notification of tornadoes. Faculty and students of a mid-sized university in Calhoun County, Alabama were surveyed before and after the devastating 2011 tornado. Although the respondents find the sirens helpful, they have difficulty understanding the tones and spoken messages emitted by the sirens. Concerns about tornadoes did increase slightly after the 2011 tornado. Those who did experience an increase in concern were likely to change their behavior in preparations and response to tornadoes. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Jian Wang, Tim Yardley, Himanshu Khurana, & Liying Wang. (2010). LENS: Location-based emergency notification service. 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: University campuses and municipalities are currently spending large sums of money to acquire systems that allow dissemination of information in emergency situations. The majority of these are mass notification systems that first register multiple contacts for community residents (email, phone, pager, etc.) and then deliver information to those residents at the push of a button to leave a message. Motivated by the limitations of such approaches, in this work we explore the use of existing metropolitan network infrastructures to design a new Location-Based Emergency Notification Service (LENS). LENS selectively redirecting residents to safety information using existing communication channels (e.g., Web browsing over HTTP). LENS eliminates the need for registration, provides minimal interruption to users and involves a low-cost setup. We prototype LENS using off-the-shelf components and demonstrate efficiency and scalability for a 60,000 user campus environment.
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