Sindisiwe Magutshwa, & Jaziar Radianti. (2021). A Qualitative Risk Identification Framework for Cyber-Physical-Social Systems. In Anouck Adrot, Rob Grace, Kathleen Moore, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2021 Conference Proceedings – 18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 377–390). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: As information and communication technologies, real-world physical systems, and people become interconnected in critical infrastructure, attention has shifted to the operations of Cyber-Physical-Social Systems (CPSS). CPSS are progressively integrated in core critical infrastructure organisational processes to achieve a combination of benefits. However, the high degree of integration of technology into human society and mission-critical processes leads to an increase in complexity and introduces novel risks and vulnerabilities. These novel constraints extend beyond what is known from previous cyber-physical and critical infrastructure systems studies and prompt the need for revised risk perception and identification methodologies. This paper aims to develop a novel qualitative risk identification framework that is used in the identification of risk and vulnerability in CPSS ecosystems deployed in critical infrastructure or mission-critical organisational processes. The framework emphasizes interactions between humans and the system making it possible to identify and under-stand how non-technical risk impacts the CPSS ecosystem.
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Sofia Kostakonti, Ramona Velea, Vassilis Papataxiarhis, Daniele Del Bianco, Uberto Delprato, & Stathes Hadjiefthymiades. (2021). A semantic approach for modeling vulnerability of communities. In Anouck Adrot, Rob Grace, Kathleen Moore, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2021 Conference Proceedings – 18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 305–318). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: In this paper, we propose the use of semantic technologies for the representation of concepts and relationships required for the modeling of vulnerability data for local communities. First, we discuss the concepts of vulnerability and resilience and we try to identify the relationship between the two. We provide some background knowledge and we present basic characteristics of the two concepts. Next, we discuss the motivation behind the use of semantic technologies, and we show how the proposed framework can address existing challenges in terms of vulnerability assessment. The core part of this paper focuses on the semantic representation of community vulnerability aspects. We give an overview of the layered semantic framework consisting of interconnected ontological models and we provide a set of use-cases where the use of semantic-based modeling and query answering can prove beneficial in terms of assessing vulnerability.
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Tina Comes, Brice Mayag, & Elsa Negre. (2015). Beyond Early: Decision Support for Improved Typhoon Warning Systems. 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: Warnings can help prevent damage and harm if they are issued timely and provide information that help responders and population to adequately prepare for the disaster to come. Today, there are many indicator and sensor systems that are designed to reduce disaster risks, or issue early warnings. In this paper we analyze the different systems in the light of the initial decisions that need to be made in the response to sudden onset disasters. We outline challenges of current practices and methods, and provide an agenda for future research.
To illustrate our approach, we present a case study of Typhoon Haiyan. Although meteorological services had issued warnings; relief goods were prepositioned; and responders predeployed, the delivery of aid was delayed in some of the worst hit regions. We argue for an integrated consideration of preparedness and response to provide adequate thresholds for early warning systems that focus on decision-makers needs.
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Viavattene Christophe, Priest Sally, Owen Damon, Parker Dennis, Micou Paula, & Ly Sophie. (2016). INDRA Model: For A Better Assessment of Coastal Events Disruptions. 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: Natural hazards such as extreme coastal events can generate indirect impacts extending far beyond the exposed areas and the direct aftermath of the event. The recognition of such impacts in risk assessment is essential for preparing, mitigating against such events and for increasing the resilience of coastal communities. However the assessment is often limited to the direct impacts. This paper proposes new methodologies for assessing the indirect impacts of coastal storm events. Eight impacts are considered in the approach: household displacement, a financial recovery of households and businesses, business supply chain disruption, ecosystem recovery, risk to life, utility and transport disruptions. These methodologies are incorporated in the open-source INDRA model (INtegrated DisRuption Assessment) to compare and identify hotspots at a regional using a multi-criteria analysis.
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Vihan C.N. Weeraratne, Raymond C.Z. Cohen, Mahesh Prakash, Lalitha Ramachandran, Nikhil Garg, & Valentijn Pauwels. (2023). Assessing Climate Vulnerability Under Future Changes to Climate, Demographics and Infrastructure: A Case Study for the Chapel Street Precinct, Melbourne. In V. L. Thomas J. Huggins (Ed.), Proceedings of the ISCRAM Asia Pacific Conference 2022 (pp. 35–44). Palmerston North, New Zealand: Massey Unversity.
Abstract: The Chapel Street Precinct is a busy commercial and residential corridor in the City of Stonnington Local Government Area (LGA) located in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. Authorities and planners in the LGA are interested in understanding how the changing climate affects the socioeconomic environment of the region. By considering existing climate hazards (such as extreme heat, flood and water availability), infrastructure, and demographic information in the region together with future projections of climate change and demographic changes, a Socioeconomic Vulnerability Index (SVI) was created at a Mesh Block scale to better identify relatively high-risk Mesh Blocks in the region. The climate projections under medium and high future emission scenarios (i.e., representative concentration pathways (RCP)) as per IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) fifth assessment report (AR5), RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 respectively for 30-year epochs around 2030, 2050 and 2070 were used in the SVI development. The current-day scenario is considered under Baseline conditions for demographic and asset information representing present-day conditions, whereas the baseline climate dataset considers the climate for the 30 year period 1991-2020 to best represent the present-day climate. The multi-model mean of the future climate projections from 6 different climate models were obtained from the Victoria’s Future Climate tool (https://vicfutureclimatetool.indraweb.io), developed by CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Data61 together with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) under Data61’s INDRA framework (https://research.csiro.au/indra/). A version of INDRA is currently under development to allow map-based interactivity, experimentation and scrutiny of the vulnerability indices and their subcomponents across the study region. The SVI was created using a weighted indicator approach utilising a range of indicators belonging to 3 categories, exposure, susceptibility, and baseline adaptive capacity. The indicators were first normalised and the final SVI was given a score between 0-1 for each Mesh Block. The worst levels of vulnerability were observed to be for the RCP8.5 2070 scenario. In general, the RCP8.5 scenarios indicated a worse outcome compared to the RCP4.5 scenario. The area along Chapel Street within the precinct which is a densely built-up area high in population was found to be the most vulnerable area in the study region. It is foreseen that decision makers will be able to use the holistic data-driven outcomes of this study to make better informed decisions whilst adapting to climate change.
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Kim Weyns, & Martin Höst. (2009). Dependability of IT systems in municipal emergency management. 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 recent years governmental actors have become more and more dependent on IT systems for their responsibilities in a crisis situation. To avoid unexpected problems with the dependability of IT systems in the aftermath of a crisis it is important that such risks are identified and that measures can be taken to reduce the dependence on systems that could be unreliable. This paper describes two case studies exploring how Swedish municipalities incorporate IT systems in their emergency planning. The study focuses especially on how different actors within a municipality cooperate to analyse the risks of depending on IT systems in critical situations. The study shows that today there is much room for improvement, especially in the communication between IT personnel and emergency managers. Finally, this paper describes the requirements for a process improvement framework that can assist governmental actors in analysing and improving their dependency on IT systems in emergency management.
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Kim Weyns, & Martin Höst. (2012). Risk analysis for critical systems with reliability block diagrams. 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: Governmental organisations are becoming more critically dependant on IT systems such as communication systems or patient data systems, both for their everyday tasks and their role in crisis relief activities. Therefore it is important for the organisation to analyse the reliability of these systems as part of the organisation's risk and vulnerability analysis process. This paper presents a practical risk analysis method for critical, large-scale IT systems in an organisation. The method is based on reliability block diagram modelling and was adapted to fit the requirements of governmental organisations and to reduce the effort required to capture complex failure behaviour. The paper first explicitly lists the requirements that such a risk analysis method must fulfil, then presents the proposed risk analysis method and finally outlines the planned evaluation of this method. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Kim Weyns, & Martin Höst. (2013). Case study on risk analysis for critical systems with reliability block diagrams. 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. 693–702). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: This paper presents a practical risk analysis method for critical, large-scale IT systems in an organisation. The method is based on reliability block diagram modelling and was adapted to fit the requirements of governmental organisations and to reduce the effort required to capture complex failure behaviour. Through the use of different failure categories the risk analysis can be simplified, the input data becomes easier to estimate and the results are easier to use in an organisational risk and vulnerability analysis. The paper first explicitly describes the different steps of the method and then presents a case study in which the method was applied and evaluated in a real-life setting. The method is meant to help an organisation to communicate internally about the reliability of their critical IT systems and to prioritise proposed improvements to this reliability.
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Yang Gao. (2016). Risk Zoning of the Urban Shelter in Earthquake. 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: In order to deal with the huge threat and loss caused by the earthquake, established the evaluation system and model, and the risk zoning map is drawn according to the study of the vulnerability of Xicheng District's streets. According to the spatial coupling relationship between social vulnerability and physical vulnerability, drawn the comprehensive risk zoning map of Shichahai street as a typical case. The results show that Xicheng District and Shichahai street have their own vulnerability, which is very different from the social vulnerability and physical vulnerability of different streets and communities.
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Ylenia Casali, Nazli Yonca Aydin, & Tina Comes. (2021). Zooming into Socio-economic Inequalities: Using Urban Analytics to Track Vulnerabilities – A Case Study of Helsinki. In Anouck Adrot, Rob Grace, Kathleen Moore, & Christopher W. Zobel (Eds.), ISCRAM 2021 Conference Proceedings – 18th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 1028–1041). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: The Covid19 crisis has highlighted once more that socio-economic inequalities are a main driver of vulnerability. Especially in densely populated urban areas, however, these inequalities can drastically change even within neighbourhoods. To better prepare for urban crises, more granular techniques are needed to assess these vulnerabilities, and identify the main drivers that exacerbate inequality. Machine learning techniques enable us to extract this information from spatially geo-located datasets. In this paper, we present a prototypical study on how Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to analyse the distribution of labour and residential characteristics in the urban area of Helsinki, Finland. The main goals are twofold: 1) identify patterns of socio-economic activities, and 2) study spatial inequalities. Our analyses use a grid of 250x250 meters that covers the whole city of Helsinki, thereby providing a higher granularity than the neighbourhood-scale. The study yields four main findings. First, the descriptive statistical analysis detects inequalities in the labour and residential distributions. Second, relationships between the socio-economic variables exist in the geographic space. Third, the first two Principal Components (PCs) can extract most of the information about the socio-economic dataset. Fourth, the spatial analyses of the PCs identify differences between the Eastern and Western areas of Helsinki, which persist since the 1990s. Future studies will include further datasets related to the distribution of urban services and socio-technical indicators.
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Hüseyin Can Ünen. (2012). Developing a framework for a social vulnerability and consequence-based post-disaster behavior analysis methodology. 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: The proposed study is expected to focus on the less investigated areas by the previous seismic risk analyses in Turkey. Most of the existing loss assessment methodologies focus on structural damage, infrastructural damage, economic impact, and casualties. However, affected population estimates and development of plans for the immediate needs and recovery requirements of the surviving population are also of equal importance. The proposed framework in this aspect will be utilizing previous social vulnerability and seismic loss assessment studies to develop an analysis methodology for affected population and social response analyses. The methodology is expected to help response planners and decision makers in determining the needs for the surviving population in the recovery process. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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