Abstract: This article describes the definition and characteristics of borderland resilience studies as an academic field, and precisely its core phenomenon, major themes or components and challenges. The phenomenon of borderland resilience is firstly defined. The results of empirical studies complete the conceptual description. Finally, the article proposes a set of research and development challenges.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to develop a simulation model to evaluate bleeding control kit location strategies for a mass casualty incident scenario. Specifically, the event simulated was an explosion at a large sports arena. The model included a representation of the arena itself, simulated crowd movements following the detonation of an improvised explosive device, injuries and treatments, and different ways for immediate responders to help injured patients using tourniquets. The simulation model gave logically consistent results in the validation scenarios and the simulation outcomes were in line with the expected outcomes. The results of the different tourniquet location scenarios indicated that decentralized placement (more than one location) is better, easy access is important (between rather than at emergency exits) and that an increased number of available tourniquets will result in an increased number of survivors.

Abstract: Our research is aimed at developing a quantitative approach for assessing supply chain resilience to disasters, a topic that has been discussed primarily in a qualitative manner in the literature. For this purpose, we propose a simulation-based framework that incorporates concepts of resilience into the process of supply chain design. In this context, resilience is defined as the ability of a supply chain system to reduce the probabilities of disruptions, to reduce the consequences of those disruptions, and to reduce the time to recover normal performance. The decision framework incorporates three determinants of supply chain resilience (density, complexity, and node criticality) and discusses their relationship to the occurrence of disruptions, to the impacts of those disruptions on the performance of a supply chain system and to the time needed for recovery. Different preliminary strategies for evaluating supply chain resilience to disasters are identified, and directions for future research are discussed.

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.

Abstract: This practitioner paper outlines some of the benefits for the use of social media, from the perspective of a local-level or county-level emergency manager (EM). As compared to state and national level emergency management, because local level EMs have limited manpower and resources, social media can positively or negatively impact the effectiveness of communication before, during and after disaster strikes. Outlined in this paper are six key points where local EMs have specific needs that could be addressed by the effective use of social media and, in the opinion of the authors, represent the top issues that EMs face when considering how to leverage Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and other social media platforms. The six needs addressed in this paper include: 1) Best practices for general social media use by EMs, 2) Social media use for internal command and control within the EM group, 3) Developing situation awareness by monitoring social media, especially prior to predicable events, 4) Communicating disaster preparedness messages through social media, 5)Using social media for gathering damage assessment information during, or immediately following a crisis,and 6) Leveraging social media volunteer groups. This short paper picks up where the Federal Emergency Management Agency's social media training leaves off and attempts to represent these six needs as use cases for researchers and developers to address in future publications and products.

Abstract: This paper describes the basic work performance analysis from three research projects with a goal to investigate the impact of a decision support system that presents global positioning system (GPS) information to the decision makers in crisis management organizations. The goal was to compare the performance between teams that had access to GPS information in the command post with teams that had access only to paper maps. The method used was controlled experiments with the C3Fire micro-world. A total of 304 participants, forming 48 teams, participated in the three studies. The participants came from three different groups, university students, municipal crisis management organizations and rescue service personnel. The result shows that the performance and communication change depending on if the teams used GPS support or paper maps. The result also shows that the participants' background and perceived complexity of the task have an impact on the results.

Abstract: This paper describes a checklist that has been developed for comparing the functionality of emergency management control centres and their information systems. The intention is to interest the ISCRAM community in using the checklist in various applications and pooling experiences. The Control Centre Visit Checklist has evolved through four iterations. It has been used to study two military C2 systems and one non-military control system, and has been applied by students for course assignments. The paper focuses on the part of the checklist that evaluates the information system from the systems viewpoint. It describes the underlying applications architecture and process model. The Royal Netherlands Army's Battlefield Management System illustrates the application of the checklist. The results show that the checklist aids in identifying where C2 systems can be developed further. The next step is to perform a set of substantial pilot studies for diverse domains, including civilian emergency management systems.

Abstract: Emergency Response involves multiple organizations and teams, geographically distributed operations, and a high need for coordinated control and decision making. As incidents evolve, the number of involved organizations, the geographic distribution of involved entities, and the level and complexity of decision making all tend to grow. Information technology can contribute to managing these and related dimensions of an emergency. The work described in this paper is based on longstanding MITRE Corporation experience working with organizations that have severe and demanding requirements for managing complex, rapidly evolving situations, including military conflict, law enforcement engagements, natural disaster response, and terrorist incident response. Recently, we have conducted a series of detailed observations during emergency response exercises and planned events that resulted in identifying key elements for a successful application of information technologies during an emergency. © Proceedings ISCRAM 2004.

Abstract: This study explored automated training for emergency managers and the effects of feedback on performance. A prototype emergency management training application was built to allow the usage of either immediate feedback or delayed, “hotwash” feedback. Users were split into two groups and asked to carry out two emergency management scenarios using one of the feedback mechanisms, and the difference in scores between each feedback type were analyzed There was a general increase in performance across sessions. Further, the improvements in scores between each feedback type showed that users performed significantly better when using the hotwash feedback mechanism compared with the immediate feedback mechanism. In contrast to the performance data, preference data showed no overall differences between the two procedures, although each user had a strong preference for one or the other feedback mechanism. The implications for the design of training systems offering both procedures are discussed.

Abstract: This paper is a critical examination of the U.S. Incident Command System (“ICS”) as an organizational structure and information gathering tool for emergency management from the perspective of a career emergency management officer who became a graduate student in information management following 35 years of public service. In addition to examining the ICS, and assessing its current weaknesses in the area of information management, the paper proposes a low-cost, COTS approach to automating the ICS information gathering and dissemination process.

Abstract: Control center staff is used to working with software applications for e.g. surveillance of production processes, for controlling and timing of industrial logistics, and for recording and filing incidents and actions. Yet, decision-support systems for emergency situations pose additional demands on employees in this domain. This paper reports first findings for psychological requirements for decision support systems in the rise of emergencies as identified in a federal German research project in the domain of public transportation. In control centers both the humans on duty who have to intervene during an emergency, and the technical system which provides decision-alternatives for supporting the action are considered. Based on findings of the project, psychological, technical and organizational requirements identified in interviews, observations, document analysis and additional relevant literature are generalized.

Abstract: Flood management is an important approach to reduce damage caused by floods. In this context, technological architectures which work in real-time are needed. However, Brazil has faced many structural difficulties in obtaining updated information on the current state of its rivers. To address this problem, this paper outlines a geosensor dashboard called AGORA-GeoDash, which processes data streams from wireless sensor networks and makes them available in the form of a set of performance indicators that are essential to support real-time decision-making in flood risk monitoring. The dashboard was built on open-source frameworks, made use of geoservices that comply with the standards of Open Geospatial Consortium, and established a Wireless Sensor Network which monitors the rivers of São Carlos/SP in Brazil. The analysis of the indicators available in two rainfall events revealed that the dashboard can provide the key information required for the decision-making process involved in flood risk management.