Abstract: WORKPAD (EU STREP project FP6-2005-IST-5-034749) is an experimental platform for Crisis Response which adopts a decentralized, event-driven approach to overcome problems and limitations of centralized systems. The flexibility of P2P networking is relevant when different organizations must get rapidly integrated the one another, without resorting on standardized ontologies and centralized middleware components. This paper illustrates the main features of the Information Integration platform we've designed. A number of relevant technical and theoretical issues related to decentralized platforms are discussed in the light of specific needs of Crisis Response.

Abstract: The next generation of information systems for emergency management will be based on information provided by large and diverse collections of sensors, including information supplied by human volunteers. Consequently there is more than ever a need to provide solutions to the integration question, so that the Common Operating Picture can truly and effectively provide the unified view required of it. This paper describes some work on the ontology of information that can contribute to a solution of the integration problem. To set the stage, the paper discusses the relevance of information integration to emergency management, and then goes on to describe a project that provided the catalyst for this work. Later sections introduce ontological research and proceed to use it to lay the foundations for an ontology of information. In the final sections we indicate how such an ontology can be used in the context of emergency management.

Abstract: Resulting from an interdisciplinary endeavor, the paper proposes an ontological model for supporting collaborative work practices in critical settings, and shows its application to a specific domain. The model is empirically-grounded, as based on ethnographic research carried out at an international airport ?clearly an example of safety-critical environment, where emergency prevention and preparedness are crucial. On the other hand, the model leverages on previous ontological work on collaboration and observation in emergency response, and revises it when necessary, thus contributing to its development. Taking hand-baggage screening as an example, the paper shows how the model can be applied, and how it could be used to run model-based simulation in order to better understand collaborative work practices and analyze the impact of different techno-organizational changes on such practices and their effectiveness. This could result in suggesting guidelines for enhancing workflow, security policies and, more generally, time- and safety-critical situations management.

Abstract: Risk assessment aims at improving prevention and preparedness phases of the crisis management lifecycle.
Qualitative risk assessment of a system is important for risks identification and analysis by the various stakeholders and often requires multi-disciplinary knowledge. We present an automatic approach to qualitative
risk assessment in metropolitan areas using semantic techniques. In particular, users are provided with a computational support to identify and prioritize by relevance risks of city services, through generation of
semantic descriptions of risk situations. This approach is enabled by a software system consisting of: TERMINUS, a domain ontology representing city knowledge; WS-CREAM, a web service implementing risk identification and ranking functions; and CIPCast, a GIS-based Decision Support System with functions of risk
forecast due to natural hazards. Finally we present the results of a preliminary validation of the generated risks concerning some points of interest in two different areas of the city of Rome.

Abstract: This paper presents our work on developing a system for Internet monitoring and knowledge extraction from different web documents which contain information about disasters. This system is based on ontology of the disasters domain for the knowledge extraction and it presents all the information extracted according to the kind of the disaster defined in the ontology. The system disseminates the information extracted (as a synthesis of the web documents) to the users after a filtering based on their profiles. The profile of a user is updated automatically by interactively taking into account his feedback.

Abstract: After a lot of recent natural and human-made disasters all over the word, the large scale emergency response process is becoming very critical and challenging. Lives can be lost and property can be harmed. To respond to these major threats, an effective operational emergency response system needs to address the necessity of data sharing, information exchange and correlation between different Emergency Responders (ERs) including firefighters, police, health care services, army, municipality and so on to successfully respond to large scale disasters. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to introduce POLARISC, an interoperable software solution based on a common and modular ontology shared by all the ERs. Its main objective is to solve the problem of semantic difference and heterogeneity of data to guarantee a common understanding among the various ERs in order to coordinate and to obtain a real time operational picture of the situation.

Abstract: Making a decision in a changeable and dynamic environment is an arduous task owing to the lack of information, their uncertainties and the unawareness of planners about the future evolution of incidents. The use of a decision support system is an efficient solution for this issue. Such a system can help emergency planners and responders to detect possible emergencies, as well as to suggest and evaluate possible courses of action to deal with the emergency. We are interested in our work to the modelling of a monitoring preventive and emergency management system, wherein we stress the generic aspect. In this paper we propose an agent-based architecture of this system and we describe a first step of our approach which is the modeling of information and their representation using a multiagent system.

Abstract: This paper describes the work that is being done within the EU research project DISASTER to solve interoperability issues in cross-border emergency operations by applying a technical solution that is able to create a common operational picture. To that end a twofold solution is proposed: The development of a common and modular ontology shared by all the stakeholders taking into account different countries cultural, linguistic and legal issues. And, from that point, bearing in mind that most legacy EMSs (Emergency Management Systems) rely on Service-Oriented-Architectures (SOA), the implementation of transparent SOA mediation algorithms compliant with current data formats and existing solutions. That way, a mediation solution is provided by the DISASTER Mediator, which plays the role of gateway for each EMS enabling a communication based in Web Services. In order to avoid a misunderstanding of shared information it is necessary to create a solution that offers more than a plain translation of terms but rather a concept mediation so the corresponding user is able to understand the situation in its own framework of reference.

Abstract: During emergency crises it is imperative to collect, organise, analyse and share critical information between individuals and humanitarian organisations. Although dierent models and platforms have been created for helping these particular issues, existing work tend to focus on only one or two of the previous matters. We propose the DoRES ontology for representing information sources, consolidating it into reports and then, representing event situation based on reports. Our approach is guided by the analysis of 1) the structure of a widely used situation awareness platform; 2) stakeholder interviews, and; 3) the structure of existing crisis datasets. Based on this, we extract 102 dierent competency questions that are then used for specifying and implementing the new three-tiers crisis model. We show that the model can successfully be used for mapping the 102 dierent competency questions to the classes, properties and relations of the implemented ontology.

Abstract: The semantics of things represent the central problem of the heterogeneous domain of emergency response. Both the communication between human actors and the interface between information systems face this hurdle with high impact on the efficiency in mission and time critical command and control processes. The integration of applications and information sharing based on semantic technologies promise added value for a solution to this problem. Therefore a model of the domain is essential; this paper contributes a domain ontology for fire protection. The scientific discussion as well as expert interviews built the basis for a new modeling approach. The selection of ontology languages is one of the important design issues presented in this paper.

Abstract: Emergency management is by its nature, and in some jurisdictions by its definition, an activity that requires a concerted effort by a number of governmental and non-governmental agencies. There is a growing appreciation that collaboration between these parties is best served through the use of interoperable standards for message formats for purposes such as alerting and resource exchange. However, it is also important to realize that, although much advantage can be drawn from standardizing certain aspects of communication, such as the structure of messages, different agencies will use different vocabularies. In this paper we discuss how ontologies can be used with standard messaging formats for resource messaging to enable intelligent decision support mechanisms in the presence of differing vocabularies across organizational boundaries. We also present a survey of the opportunities for using ontologies in emergency management, and the issues that must be addressed.

Abstract: In every disaster and crisis, incident time is the enemy, and getting accurate information about the scope, extent, and impact of the disaster is critical to creating and orchestrating an effective disaster response and recovery effort. Decision Support Systems for disaster and crisis situations need to solve the problem of facilitating the broad variety of sensors available today. This includes the research domain of the Internet of Things and data coming from social media. All this data needs to be aggregated and fused, the semantics of the data needs to be understood and the results must be presented to the decision makers in an accessible way. Furthermore, the interaction and integration with risk and crisis management systems are necessary for a better analysis of the situation and faster reaction times. This paper provides an insight into the sensor to decision chain and proposes solutions and technologies for each step.