Jyoti Laxmi Mishra, David K. Allen, & Alan D. Pearman. (2011). Activity Theory as a methodological and analytical framework for information practices in Emergency Management. 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: Emergency situations are chaotic in nature. It is however, necessary to understand the context in which Emergency Responders work such that information practice issues can be highlighted and addressed by the system designers. In this paper, Activity Theory is proposed as a methodological and analytical framework to study information practices in the context of Emergency Management. Activity Theory aids in achieving a holistic approach to understanding the work activities context unlike some other analytical methodologies, as it focuses on use of artifacts for the interaction of humans with their environment. In this paper, an activity system model is used to investigate information practice issues of response phase of the emergency services in the UK. Using Activity Theory as an analytical framework, several tensions and contradictions emerged which keep the system unstable but which are also a source of innovation. It is also argued that Activity Theory can usefully be applied to the analysis of information practices over short period of time.
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Jeannette N. Sutton, Leysia Palen, & Irina Shklovski. (2008). Backchannels on the front lines: Emergent uses of social media in the 2007 Southern California Wildfires. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 624–631). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
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.
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