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Syed Ahmed, Paul A. BiedrzyckiA., Shannon Opel, David A. Nelson, Marie G. Sandy, & Zeno Franco. (2012). Community engagement for translational disaster research: Fostering public, private & responder group partnerships. 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: Vulnerable communities are disproportionately impacted by major disasters. Information scientists working to improve disaster planning and mitigation efforts in these communities often involve first responder (practitioner) groups in collaborative design; however, less emphasis has been placed on developing long-term, sustainable crisis informatics partnerships at the population level. Community-based participatory research approaches are gaining attention in the US as an important element in translational science efforts designed to move innovations “from the bench to the curbside.” Community Engagement in Research (CEnR) is a community research approach adopted US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to improve public health intervention. CEnR has implications for improving the generalizability of ISCRAM research, may provide a roadmap for Public/Private/Community disaster research partnerships, and suggests modifications to training for information scientists working in this arena. The CEnR approach also recognizes conflicts that can occur in community/government partnerships, emphasizing the importance of predicting and preventing these situations. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Ajay Kumar, & Simeon Vidolov. (2016). Humanitarian Effectiveness: Reconsidering the Ethics of Community Engagement and the Role of Technology. 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: This position paper discusses the ongoing debate on the topic of humanitarian effectiveness and highlights the need to look at the structuring of the humanitarian system from an ethical point of view. The paper makes the argument that any community engagement with the affected population is a matter of ethics and dignity of those needs to be considered as a central focus to the discussion. The paper also discusses how the humanitarian system as a set of technology, tools & practises focusses on efficiency, and overshadows the issues of care by objectifying and turning the affected population into mere numbers. We discuss that technology and organisations are inter-twined and such a discussion of technology cannot be contemplated without considering the traditional institutional practises as a whole.
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Gaston C. Armour, & Hero Tameling. (2011). Collaborative relationships are key to community resilience and emergency preparedness. In E. Portela L. S. M.A. Santos (Ed.), 8th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: From Early-Warning Systems to Preparedness and Training, ISCRAM 2011. Lisbon: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: The United States of America experienced two major incidents that changed the countrys perspective on emergency preparedness: September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks, and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Since that time the United States Department of Homeland Security established 10 separate Regional Catastrophic Planning Teams (RCPT) around the country. These RCPTs were set-up to inform, train and determine the effectiveness of mutual-aid coordination and prepare individuals, families and communities for an “all-hazard” environment. As RCPT members representing one state agency providing human services, the authors proposed an initiative, based on a working model they had already deployed in their own agency, to enhance emergency preparedness activities to include individual and community resiliency along with disaster and catastrophic planning. That request to expand the RCPT role, opened-up a dialogue to develop an innovative approach to collaborative partnerships. This shift afforded additional opportunities in times of a crisis, disaster or catastrophe.
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Jesse Blum, Genovefa Kefalidou, Robert Houghton, Martin Flintham, Unna Arunachalam, & Murray Goulden. (2014). Majority report: Citizen empowerment through collaborative sensemaking. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 767–771). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: In the past crisis sensemaking activities have primarily been controlled by professional emergency responders and the media. Social media, however, has the potential to see a shift towards more grassroots and ad hoc citizen engagement. This paper sets out our vision and our progress in implementation of a new online platform called 'Majority Report', which aims to empower citizen sensemaking activities around crisis events. The concept is to facilitate citizen volunteers to draw together a range of digital media (photographs, Tweets, videos, etc.) to present stories of crisis events, and thus demarcate arguments about different understandings in terms of the temporal ordering of event narrative components and their relations to each other. Through collaborative usages of the platform, accounts may be improved by others, and variants may be presented and compared to challenge existing assumptions and beliefs.
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Briony Gray, Mark Weal, & David Martin. (2018). Building Resilience in Small Island Developing States: Social Media during the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season. In Kristin Stock, & Deborah Bunker (Eds.), Proceedings of ISCRAM Asia Pacific 2018: Innovating for Resilience – 1st International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management Asia Pacific. (pp. 469–479). Albany, Auckland, New Zealand: Massey Univeristy.
Abstract: There are growing concerns that future Atlantic hurricane seasons will be severe and unpredictable due to underlying factors such as climate change. The 2017 season may offer a range of lessons, especially to small island developing states (SIDS), who are looking to build community resilience and heighten community engagement to cope with disaster. While many SIDS utilise a range of media and technology for these purposes, there has been a recent uptake in the use of social media, which may have further potential to support their goals. This paper scopes the use and users of social media in the case of Antigua and Barbuda during the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season. Through a series of qualitative interviews it explains the role that social media currently has, and concludes with suggestions for its improvement in future seasons that are contextualized over the disaster lifecycle phases.
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Chris Hagar. (2015). Public Library Partnerships with Local Agencies to Meet Community Disaster Preparedness and Response Needs. 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: This paper reports on the initial findings of the first phase of a study funded by San Jose State University, USA to provideinsightregardinghowpubliclibrariescanbe moreinvolvedincommunity-wide disasterplanning,strengtheningtheirroleascoremembersof theircommunities?disasterpreparedness and responseinfrastructure. The first phase of the study involves a nationwide survey of public library directors and library staff who are involved in coordinating disaster planning for their institutions. A survey was carried out during December 2014 and January 2015 to explorewhatpubliclibrariescanbringtocommunity-wideplanningefforts and thetypesofpartnershipsthatarepossible. The findingswillprovidelibraryleaderswithvaluableinsighton how to proactivelyengageindialogueandplanningwiththeirlocalemergencymanagement community. The second phase emerging from the research will involve follow-up in-depth explorations of the exemplary disaster planning models.
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David Paulus, Kenny Meesters, Gerdien de Vries, & Bartel Van de Walle. (2019). The reciprocity of data integration in disaster risk analysis. In Z. Franco, J. J. González, & J. H. Canós (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management. Valencia, Spain: Iscram.
Abstract: Humanitarian organizations are increasingly challenged by the amount of data available to drive their decisions. Useful data can come from many sources, exists in different formats, and merging it into a basis for analysis and planning often exceeds organizations? capacities and resources. At the same time, affected communities? participation in decision making processes is often hindered by a lack of information and data literacy capacities within the communities. We describe a participatory disaster risk analysis project in the central Philippines where the community and a humanitarian NGO worked towards a joint understanding of disaster risks and coping capacities through data integration and IT-supported analysis. We present findings from workshops, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews, showing the reciprocal effects of the collaborative work. While the community valued the systematically gathered and structured evidence that supported their own risk perceptions and advocacy efforts, the humanitarian NGO revisited established work practices for data collection for analysis and planning.
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Zeno Franco, Syed Ahmed, Craig E. Kuziemsky, Paul A. Biedrzycki, & Anne Kissack. (2013). Using social network analysis to explore issues of latency, connectivity, interoperability & sustainability in community disaster response. 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. 896–900). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Community-based disaster response is gaining attention in the United States because of major problems with domestic disaster recovery over the last decade. A social network analysis approach is used to illustrate how community-academic partnerships offer one way to leverage information about existing, mediated relationships with the community through trusted actors. These partnerships offer a platform that can be used to provide entré into communities that are often closed to outsiders, while also allowing greater access to community embedded physical assets and human resources, thus facilitated more culturally appropriate crisis response. Using existing, publically available information about funded community-academic partnerships in Wisconsin, USA, we show how social network analysis of these meta-organizations may provide critical information about both community vulnerabilities in disaster and assist in rapidly identifying these community resources in the aftermath of a crisis event that may provide utility for boundary spanning crisis information systems.
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Edward J. Glantz. (2014). Community crisis management lessons from Philadelphia's 1793 epidemic. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 556–564). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Public health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, are greatly concerned that a new influenza type A outbreak will result in a rapid spread of infectious disease, overwhelming existing medical response infrastructures. Each of these organizations has published planning guides that call upon local and community organizers to begin planning for such an event. To establish insight and provide context for these organizers, this paper presents a case analysis of the Philadelphia yellow fever outbreak of 1793.
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Jamie Shackleton. (2018). Citizen Translation and a Community Engagement Approach to Promoting Preparedness in CALD Communities. In Kristin Stock, & Deborah Bunker (Eds.), Proceedings of ISCRAM Asia Pacific 2018: Innovating for Resilience – 1st International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management Asia Pacific. (pp. 400–407). Albany, Auckland, New Zealand: Massey Univeristy.
Abstract: Emergency preparedness for CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse) communities has been identified as a significant gap in DRM (disaster risk management) research and practice. Using a community engagement approach, a practitioner in Wellington, New Zealand implemented a Citizen Translation project to have volunteers from 15 communities facilitate translations for a new local Earthquake Preparedness Guide, in partnership with local Civil Defense and an international crisis translation team, INTERACT. Initial findings have shown that consultation with community members over the translation of their language has been a powerful way to establish initial links into the community and instigate discussion and feedback about emergency preparedness; it has led to further projects including emergency messaging translations. This work in progress raises an important and often overlooked discourse on inclusiveness in DRM activities and the potential for community engagement to play a role with CALD community preparedness.
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Josey Chacko, Christopher Zobel, & Loren Rees. (2018). Challenges of Modeling Community-Driven Disaster Operations Management in Disaster Recurrent Areas: The Example of Portsmouth, Virginia. In Kees Boersma, & Brian Tomaszeski (Eds.), ISCRAM 2018 Conference Proceedings – 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 1022–1029). Rochester, NY (USA): Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abstract: Although one of the dominant paradigms in managing disaster operations is that of modeling decisions around the activities of humanitarian organizations, recent literature has highlighted the importance of managing disaster operations from the perspective of the affected community. Modeling community-driven disaster operations has a unique set of challenges, however, several of which are highlighted in this research effort. These include engaging the community and coordinating amongst multiple decision makers, defining a clear community objective, and planning with long decision horizons. Using the urban area of Portsmouth, Virginia as a case study, this work in progress paper demonstrates a decision approach which addresses these critical elements of community-driven disaster operations management.
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Kenny Meesters, Vittorio Nespeca, & Tina Comes. (2019). Designing Disaster Information Management Systems 2.0: Connecting communities and responders. In Z. Franco, J. J. González, & J. H. Canós (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management. Valencia, Spain: Iscram.
Abstract: Information and supporting information systems is a key element in an effective emergency response. From
creating situational awareness to informed decision making, information enables responders to optimize their
decisions and operations. Today, with the increased availability of information technology around the globe, a
new active player in the field of information management is emerging as communities are becoming increasingly
active in the field of information gathering, analyzing and sharing.
However, communities may have specific requirements and approaches to using information systems in crisis
situations. Moreover, connecting information systems between communities and responder pose specific
challenges due to the different information needs, capacities and incentives to use them. In this paper we build on
the DERMIS premises and explore through a case study if and how these principles apply to inclusive information
systems. We present the initial findings of this work of designing information systems involving both communities
and formal responders.
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Craig E. Kuziemsky, Ahsan Hadi, Tracey L. O'Sullivan, Daniel E. Lane, & Wayne Corneil. (2014). An ontology for contextual information system design. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 165–169). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Collaborative teamwork is becoming more common in several domains including healthcare and disaster management. While collaborative teamwork can benefit from information system (IS) support, designing IS models to support collaboration is a significant challenge owing to the variations in tasks and people that must be supported, and the different contexts within which collaboration takes place. Collaborative teamwork can vary greatly because of context, which is the integration of diverse, dynamic, and heterogeneous needs for groups to achieve a specific goal. However in the literature there has been limited emphasis on how contextual underpinnings can be incorporated into IS design. This paper uses a case study of the design of a user-driven prototype disaster management IS. We used the think aloud method to capture participant thoughts while interacting with the IS prototype. The think aloud data was analyzed and used to develop an ontology of contextual considerations to support IS design.
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Craig E. Kuziemsky, Tracey L. O'Sullivan, & Wayne Corneil. (2012). An upstream-downstream approach for disaster management information systems design. 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: Information is an essential part of disaster management. Information systems (IS) are a key means of providing the right information at the right time to support response to a disaster, and fostering collaborative facilitators such as situation awareness, common ground and communities of practice. However for these collaborative facilitators to support 'downstream events' (i.e. disaster response) they need to emerge and be grown from 'upstream' activities such as user engagement. Subsequently IS design requirements for disaster response are embedded in the community where a system will be used and it is from the community users and their needs that IS requirements must emerge. This paper presents an upstream-downstream approach for disaster management IS design. We describe four phases to user centered information systems design to support disaster management and provide a case study of using this approach in action to design an IS to enhance community resilience. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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Daniel E. Lane, Tracey L. O'Sullivan, Craig E. Kuziemsky, Fikret Berkes, & Anthony Charles. (2013). A structured equation model of collaborative community response. 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. 906–911). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: This paper analyses the collaborative dynamic of community in response to urgent situations. Community emergencies arising from natural or man-induced threats are considered as exogenous events that stimulate community resources to be unified around the response, action, and recovery activities related to the emergency. A structured equation model is derived to depict the actions of the community system. The system is described in terms of its resources including the propensity to trigger community action and collaboration among diverse groups. The community is profiled with respect to its ability to respond. The system defines the trigger mechanisms that are considered to be the drivers of collaborative action. A simulation model is presented to enact the system emergencies, community profiles, and collaborative response. The results develop an improved understanding of conditions that engage community collaborative actions as illustrated by examples from community research in the EnRiCH and the C-Change community research projects.
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Ulrich Meissen, Markus Hardt, & Agnès Voisard. (2014). Towards a general system design for community-centered crisis and emergency warning systems. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 155–159). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Early Warning Systems (EWS) provide an effective measure for better disaster preparedness, response, and mitigation. The effectiveness of EWS depends highly on the ability to distribute alert message to the persons that will be affected. In this context mobile devices play already a vital role in the ability to reach people in time and at the endangered location. Most existing approaches focus on mass dissemination methods via SMS and Cell-Broadcasting. As these approaches are effective to inform masses about a disaster with one message for all they have their weaknesses in telling the people how to respond according to their location and provide individual guidance (e.g. by maps) within specific communities. Research in disaster management gives strong evidence that the later is often crucial for better disaster response. Accordingly, we witness an increasing demand for more community-centered warnings systems solutions. This paper introduces the general foundations and architecture for alert services on mobile devices that adapt incoming alert information to the profile and situation of user groups and even individual users. The approach is scalable for different communitycentered warning systems. Its first applicability and community engagement effects are shown in the example of the community-centered public disaster alert system in Germany and a target group specific weather hazard alert system, KATWARN and WIND with currently over 2.5 million subscribed users, which was developed by the authors.
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Mojir, K. Y., Maceviciute, E., Olson, N., Gatial, E., & Balogh, Z. (2023). Citizen Engagement in wildfire management: needs, challenges, methods and framework. In Jaziar Radianti, Ioannis Dokas, Nicolas Lalone, & Deepak Khazanchi (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th International ISCRAM Conference (pp. 761–772). Omaha, USA: University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Abstract: With climate change, the frequency and spread of wildfires have intensified globally, bearing disastrous impacts on wildlife, the economy, and human well-being. Efforts on broad fronts are required, including proactive public participation. However, studies related to citizen engagement in the context of wildfire management remain limited. Therefore, there is a need for further studies in this area. This paper reports on ongoing work conducted in the context of an H2020 project called SILVANUS. The study investigates the methods, practices, needs and challenges related to citizen engagement in wildfire management. The authors have developed a tentative citizen engagement framework, and preliminary results related to citizens' needs and challenges are presented. The study identifies relevant topics, training contents, and methods that can be used for public engagement in wildfire management. The paper contributes towards designing future engagement modalities, technologies and training materials related to wildfire management and potentially even other crises.
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Nurollahian, S., Talegaonkar, I., Bell, A. Z., & Kogan, M. (2023). Factors Affecting Public’s Engagement with Tweets by Authoritative Sources During Crisis. In Jaziar Radianti, Ioannis Dokas, Nicolas Lalone, & Deepak Khazanchi (Eds.), Proceedings of the 20th International ISCRAM Conference (pp. 459–477). Omaha, USA: University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Abstract: People increasingly use social media at the time of crisis, which produces a social media data deluge, where the public may find it difficult to locate trustworthy and credible information. Therefore, they often turn to authoritative sources: official individuals and organizations who are trusted to provide reliable information. It is then imperative that their credible messages reach and engage the widest possible audience, especially among those affected. In this study, we explore the role of metadata and linguistic factors in facilitating three types of engagement — retweets, replies, and favorites— with posts by authoritative sources. We find that many factors are similarly important across models (popularity, sociability, activity). However, some features are salient for only a specific type of engagement. We conclude by providing guidance to authoritative sources on how they may optimize specific types of engagement: retweets for information propagation, replies for in-depth sense-making, and favorites for cross-purpose visibility.
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Tracey L. O'Sullivan, Wayne Corneil, Craig E. Kuziemsky, & Daniel E. Lane. (2013). Citizen participation in the specification and mapping of potential disaster assets. 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. 890–895). KIT; Baden-Baden: Karlsruher Institut fur Technologie.
Abstract: Asset-mapping is a strategy used in disaster preparedness planning, however participation is typically limited to a small number of organizations with specific expertise related to disaster response. Broader strategies are needed to ensure identification of assets is comprehensive and to stimulate innovative thinking about which attributes of a community are potential assets for response and recovery. As part of The EnRiCH Project intervention, asset-mapping was used as a collaborative activity to promote identification of a broad range of assets which could be used to enhance resilience and promote preparedness among high risk populations. In this paper we present a study (in progress) which explores innovation and empowerment among a collaborative community group in Canada. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze focus group transcripts from 2 sessions where the participants (n=18) learned how to use google docs and create a database of community assets, while developing collaborative relationships.
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Marco Romano, Teresa Onorati, Paloma Díaz, & Ignacio Aedo. (2014). Improving emergency response: Citizens performing actions. In and P.C. Shih. L. Plotnick M. S. P. S.R. Hiltz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2014 Conference Proceedings – 11th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 170–174). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: The role of common citizens within the emergency management (EM) process is crucial in order to support efficiently the operators' activities during the response phase. Moreover, their participation is strictly related to their profile and their experience in previous events. In a previous contribution we identified the different roles that the citizens can play for an effective cooperation with the EM workers. In this paper, we introduce an emergency tool based on a mobile application designed to support the activities of the citizens acting as Agent. The Agents have specific capabilities recognized by the EM Operation Center (OC) to execute actions under the remote supervision of the EM operators. The proposed tool allows the Agents to receive information from the OC and to visualize it through an advanced visualization modality. In particular, available information is previously collected by the center from the witnesses and the affected people that have alerted about it.
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Sofia Eleni Spatharioti, & Seth Cooper. (2017). On Variety, Complexity, and Engagement in Crowdsourced Disaster Response Tasks. In eds Aurélie Montarnal Matthieu Lauras Chihab Hanachi F. B. Tina Comes (Ed.), Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management (pp. 489–498). Albi, France: Iscram.
Abstract: Crowdsourcing is used to enlist workers as a resource for a variety of applications, including disaster response. However, simple tasks such as image labeling often feel monotonous and lead to worker disengagement. This provides a challenge for designing successful crowdsourcing systems. Existing research in the design of work indicates that task variety is a key factor in worker motivation. Therefore, we asked Amazon Mechanical Turk workers to complete a series of disaster response related subtasks, consisting of either image labeling or locating photographed areas on a map. We varied the frequency at which workers encountered the dierent subtask types, and found that switching subtask type at dierent frequencies impacted measures of worker engagement. This indicates that a certain amount of variety in subtasks may engage crowdsourcing workers better than uniform subtask types.
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Vittorio Nespeca, Kenny Meesters, & Tina Comes. (2018). Evaluating Platforms for Community Sense-making: Using the Case of the Kenyan Elections. In Kees Boersma, & Brian Tomaszeski (Eds.), ISCRAM 2018 Conference Proceedings – 15th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 924–934). Rochester, NY (USA): Rochester Institute of Technology.
Abstract: The profusion of information technology has created new possibilities for local communities to self-organize and respond to disruptive events. Along with the opportunities, there is also a series of challenges that need to be addressed in order to improve societal resilience. One of these challenges is to make sense of the continuous stream of information to create a coherent understanding and improve coordination. The research presented in this paper focuses on the socio-technical requirements of IT platforms that support sense-making and coordination. Using a comprehensive evaluation exercise based on real data from the 2017 Kenyan elections, we examine the development, workflows and use of this shared situational awareness in a group decision making process. In this manner, we identify requirements for resilience platforms and identify further research directions.
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Zeno Franco, Chris Davis, Adina Kalet, Michelle Horng, Johnathan Horng, Christian Hernandez, et al. (2021). Augmenting Google Sheets to Improvise Community COVID-19 Mask Distribution. 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. 359–375). Blacksburg, VA (USA): Virginia Tech.
Abstract: Face mask scarcity in the United States hindered early infection control efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Areas with a history of racial segregation and poverty experienced differential COVID-19 death and morbidity rates. Supplying masks equitably and rapidly became an urgent public health priority. A partnership between a local manufacturer with available polypropylene fabric and the Medical College of Wisconsin, which had the capability to assemble and distribute masks, was formed in April, 2020. An improvised logistics framework allowed for rapid distribution more than 250,000 masks, and later facilitated hand-off to other organizations to distribute over 3 million masks. Using an action research framework three phases of the effort are considered, 1) initial deliveries to community clinics, 2) equitable distribution to community agencies while under “safer at home” orders, and 3) depot deliveries and transfer of logistics management as larger agencies recovered. A multi-actor view was used to interrogate the information needs of faculty and staff remotely directing distribution, medical student volunteers delivering masks, and the manufacturer monitorng overall inventory. Logistics information was managed using Google Sheets augmented with a small SQLite component. A phenomenological view, toggling back and forth from the “socio” to the “technical” provides detailed insight into the strengths and limitations of digital solutions for humanitarian logistics, highlighting where paper-based processes remain more efficient. This case study suggests that rather than building bespoke logistics software, supporting relief efforts with non-traditional responders may benefit from extensible components that augment widely used digital tools.
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