Abstract: In this paper we will be discussing how the (semi-)professional actors involved in crisis management (police, fire-fighters, etc.) and the affected citizens can communicate and collaborate by the use of social software. After the definition of the term 'social software' we will provide the state-of-the-art on current social software use in crisis management. Drawing from this, we will present two case studies where we examined the social software use in 2010: First during the disruption of air travel due to the eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, second during the crisis at a stampede at the Love Parade music festival in Germany. We identified weak points and further potentials and tested the validity of the American case study findings from literature for Europe. We will conclude with a concept for using citizens in inter-organizational crisis management with a social software infrastructure and a communication matrix for crisis management.

Abstract: Large public events such as sporting events, concerts, fairs and street festivals are quite common in metropolitan areas. Because of the high frequency of such events and the increasing number of involved parties, those being responsible for the organization and execution have to cope with increasing complexity and shortening time frames for planning and preperation. Because of the high concentration of passengers, unplanned incidents that occur during these public events can have devastating effects and can lead to crises and disasters. Emergency management systems that utilize mobile communication infrastructures can provide prompt information delivery to save human lives. In this paper we propose a system design for mobile emergency management and outline our approach of evaluating this system design using multi-agent based simulation. To make our simulation of passenger movements as realistic as possible we gathered empirical data for a large event as well as for normal rush hour traffic.

Abstract: Since crisis management training requires extensive resources, a computer-simulated environment where communication plays a crucial role, can be an effective and efficient way to complement real-life training. With the aim of designing a simplified communication interface for a training simulator, this paper analyzes the complex communication network of crisis management, based on observations of a real-life, large-scale exercise of emergency services. Three research objectives were pursued to reach this goal. The results show that a selection of the most useful communication metaphors suggests that face-to-face and radio should be provided in a virtual environment. Consolidation of the communication groups highlights two groups, namely, the first responders and commanders. And, the analysis of the communication flow identifies different roles and the information flow between and within the groups. With this approach we aim to provide a single, multi-role interface that will be easily scalable and reconfigurable, while saving implementation costs.

Abstract: Virtual Distributed Teams (VDT) need to face physical and logical communication challenges during emergency response. Physical problems include heterogeneous technology infrastructures, ubiquitous accessibility, alternative media communication or real-time interaction. Logical problems are related to the accomplishment of a coordinated activity, such as the need for a common place accessible by all where digital artefacts are available, spontaneous communication, real-time interaction, and emergency awareness. We present an integration framework that addresses the physical and logical communication requirements in emergency management for VDTs. The framework provides a ubiquitous mobile infrastructure that supports physical communication, proposes a generic role-based organizational structure for VDT, and outlines an integration strategy that allows to define logical communication channels by means of information flow and access control policies based on the VDT structure.

Abstract: The inter-disciplinary research project SpeedUp focuses on an IT framework to support communication and collaboration for mobile rescue forces. Starting with the investigation of methods, organizational structures and strategies a separation of the professional and technical (IT) layers is achieved. In most cases rescue activities are highly dynamic, so the choice of a MANET supports best the application of mobile agents and different routing strategies. Using simulation, a number of representative, location-based scenarios are analyzed and evaluated. © 2012 ISCRAM.

Abstract: The emergence of social media provides an additional channel for broadcasting information to the public and support two-way communication between governmental stakeholders and the public during crisis. Research has focused on large-scale events, and few have investigated how social media can contribute to civic awareness and participation of small-scale incidents in a community-oriented context. Moreover, social media have been criticized because it is overabundant with noisy, inaccurate, and unprofessional information that are often misleading. This presents a serious challenge for community members to identify information that are relevant to a local incident. We introduce Community Incident Chatter (CIC), a smartphone application that is designed to aggregate information reported by formal news agencies and social media surrounding local incidents. Participants in a preliminary user study indicate that the community-oriented information presented in CIC is informative, relevant to the community, and has the potential of empowering community residents for responding to and managing local incidents.

Abstract: In 2014, the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) carried out a comprehensive crisis communication multi-sector exercise. To evaluate communication in exercises there is a need for involving the public as they are the primary target group in most crises. Systematically involving the public in evaluation of exercises has only been done a few times in Sweden and there are no known international attempts. We therefore developed a method where a representative sample of 2 000 persons was drawn from the Swedish population register and invited to assess communication during the exercise. The so-called ?Public Network? finally consisted of 99 people who contributed extensively with 395 assessment questionnaires. This paper describes the method, the results and experiences. We encourage other organizations to involve the public in exercises for evaluation purposes. The results show that there is a willingness among the public to contribute to the development of crisis preparedness.

Abstract: Indian tribes have a special relationship with the federal government that dates back to the establishment of the United States. Federal disaster law, however, treats tribes as local governments and gives little weight to the historic relationship and lands of tribes. Instead of communicating as sovereign governments, tribes must first submit a disaster request to state officials, who then have discretion in transmitting the information to the federal government. This additional step in communication harms two important goals in disaster response on tribal lands: Efficiency and respectfulness in emergency communication and assistance. This paper examines how the legal framework that frames that intergovernmental communication. With this short introduction, this paper hopes to draw attention to the unique characteristics of tribal government, Indian law, and disasters on tribal land. © 2012 ISCRAM.

Abstract: This study contributes an understanding of how ICTs and varying information sources work together during emergency alerts. It builds on the prior work on campus active shooter events by examining an organization that used a range of ICTs including mobile devices, social media, organizational tools, and news media, to notify their stakeholders about an emergency. The study design used a survey to capture the responses from a random sample of over 1000 stakeholders-students, faculty, and staff-who were notified of an active shooter emergency. The findings from the first three notifications suggest that messages reaching the most stakeholders were (a) sent by official sources through ICTs like mobile phones; (b) official email communication, and (c) messages that included face-to-face communication. While 11 different ICTs were included in the study, mass media (i.e., television and radio), and social media (Twitter and Facebook) did not function substantially in the emergency alert process.

Abstract: Opportunities for participation by members of the public are expanding the information arena of disaster. Social media supports “backchannel” communications, allowing for wide-scale interaction that can be collectively resourceful, self-policing, and generative of information that is otherwise hard to obtain. Results from our study of information practices by members of the public during the October 2007 Southern California Wildfires suggest that community information resources and other backchannel communications activity enabled by social media are gaining prominence in the disaster arena, despite concern by officials about the legitimacy of information shared through such means. We argue that these emergent uses of social media are pre-cursors of broader future changes to the institutional and organizational arrangements of disaster response.

Abstract: This work in progress investigates the communication issues encountered and the strategies used by local government to communicate electronically with disaster affected individuals in the immediate aftermath of the February 2011 earthquake in Christchurch, NZ. It also provides a preliminary examination of the effects of information access on individual perceptions of community resiliency. We draw from a variety of data sources, including field research, interviews, and focus groups with local community members. Ongoing survey research will be integrated into future papers and presentations. This research provides insight into online crisis communications and the effectiveness of strategies to communicate with members of the public in a post-disaster environment when there is limited access to information via electronic channels. © 2012 ISCRAM.

Abstract: In this paper we describe a disaster management system. It is assumed that each individual in the field is equipped with a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) and that can communicate with other PDAs in the vicinity. Together the PDAs form an ad-hoc network. Users can enter their own observations to the PDA, like the position of victims, or a description of the current situation at particular location (e.g. smoke, emergency exits, traffic congestion). This information is entered in a special iconic language. Reversibly, the PDAs inform the users on the overall current situation of the crisis. In order to come to a shared view of the world, the knowledge that is present in the network has to be shared and fused. The proposed way to communicate is via a shared blackboard. This approach facilitates communication in a time and place independent way.