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This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management in Mediterranean Countries, ISCRAM-med 2017, held in Xanthi, Greece, in October 2017. ISCRAM-med conferences aim to enhance the collaboration and solidarity between Mediterranean countries in issues related to crisis management. They offer an outstanding opportunity to address and discuss new trends and challenges in the area of Information systems and Technologies for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM). The 12 full and 5 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 39 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: social networking and big data analytics; robotic systems for crisis management; decision making in the context of crisis management; serious games and simulations; and collaboration and information sharing.
"This book offers the most vital, up-to-date research within the field of disaster management technologies, offering research and updates from authors from around the world, with a variety of perspectives and insights into the most cutting edge technology the field has to offer"--Provided by publisher.
Information systems (IS) seem prevalent in modern societies and have resulted in the rapid digitalisation of different societal sectors. One application domain of IS is emergency response, which is responsible for delivering essential services to save lives and minimise environmental damage in both small , frequent and large-scale emergencies. Specific IS applications are in turn used in emergency response to support such aspects as decision-making, communication, information sharing and the dispatching of resources. Public-sector cut-backs and a lack of professional resources have affected emergency response at the same time as natural disasters (e.g. forest fires, tsunamis, storms, terror attacks, and wars in the Middle East leading to mass migration) have intensified in recent decades. At the same time, frequent, small-scale accidents continue to occur on a regular basis, both in urban and sparsely populated areas. As a result, emergency response actors, first responders, are often placed under severe pressure. An emerging trend in response to these challenges, both in Sweden and internationally, is to create cross-sector forms of collaboration, by combining alternative resources from various sectors. Such collaborations are relatively new and involve heterogeneous stakeholders. Therefore, the thesis objective is to explore IS-related opportunities, challenges and needs aimed at supporting heterogeneous actors in emerging cross-sector collaborations in emergency response in order to enable and facilitate future related IS development. To achieve this, a user-centred approach was applied. A baseline study was performed followed by three case studies on ‘co-location of actors’, ‘co-operative use of resources’ and ‘semi-professionals as first responders’ by performing interviews, focus groups, participant observation, Future Workshops, an exercise and an after-action review. The thesis is based on case study research and qualitative research methods. Sociotechnical systems theory, the sociotechnical ensemble view, and network governance were used as the analytical framework. As part of achieving the thesis objectives, experiences from applying user participation in the context of cross-sector collaboration are also presented as part of the results. A context-specific framework developed to systematise and explore various important aspects of cross-sector collaboration in emergency response is also described. The results of this thesis indicate that the needs for IS in cross-sector collaborations vary from simple smartphone applications to manage alarms, positioning and the dispatching of new resources, to more sophisticated tools for sharing and viewing incident data. The results also indicate that these collaborations have the potential (e.g. resource redundancy, pooled competencies to increase total capacity) to improve Swedish emergency response if supported by adequate IS/IT support. The major challenges are organisational, economic and juridical and the most prominent are ambiguities in actors’ tasks and responsibilities, and how to prioritise between ordinary work and ‘new’ first-response tasks. They must be addressed to enable certain IS-functions, e.g. information sharing and positioning of resources The results also highlight several institutional factors (e.g. mutual interest between members, collective problem-solving, secrecy aspects) which are believed to play a key role in the success or failure of the collaborations and which must be adressed in the development of IS-support. The actors also have substantial basic needs for training (e.g. fire extinguishing, first aid) and emergency supplies (e.g. fire extinguishers, healthcare kits). Applying user participation also faced challenges, the major one being the development of a future cross-sector collaboration in a context that does not yet exist, and involving stakeholders from resource-strained organisations in doing so. The stakeholders, and sometimes also the primary end-users, are partly unknown and tasks are undefined. As a response to these challenges, a combination of activities based on multiple design groups, scenario-based Future Workshops, focus groups, the context-specific framework, a practical exercise and an after-action-review was provided. The framework, which was used to support data collection and user participation, includes 15 dimensions each intended to represent important aspects of cross-sector collaboration. The thesis major contributions are the identified opportunities, challenges and need as a ’sociotechnical ensemble’ and generated and from several studies, thus being comparable. The thesis more theoretical contributions is the combined application of the sociotechnical ensemble view and network governance where the studied collaboration forms are characterised as a hybrid form of networks and more traditional government mechanisms and where it is pointed out that network governance lacks explicit IS/IT aspects. In a wider perspective, the research fields of IS and political science may cross-fertilise each other when studying emerging cross-sector collaboration in the public sector. Identified user participation challenges relevant to the cross-sector collaboration context, suggestions on how they can be handled and the context-specific framework are contributions that can be used in practical user-centred IS development in similar contexts. Informationssystem (IS) används idag i de flesta verksamheter inom respons och räddningsområdet t.ex. för beslutsstöd, kommunikation, informationsutbyte och resurspositionering. Fel i systemen kan bidra till misslyckad samverkan vid räddningsinsatser som i sin tur kan riskera människors liv och orsaka skador på miljö och infrastruktur vid såväl små, frekventa olyckor som storskaliga händelser, kriser och katastrofer. Budgetnedskärningar, brist på professionella resurser, naturkatastrofer (t.ex. skogsbränder, stormar) och terrorattacker är några exempel på utmaningar som har intensifierats under de senaste decennierna. Samtidigt fortsätter frekventa, småskaliga olyckor att inträffa, både i urbana och i glesbygdsområden. Därför är responsaktörerna ofta under hård press. Ett sätt att hantera utmaningarna, både i Sverige och internationellt, är tvärsektoriella samverkansformer som i sin tur involverar ofta heterogena samhällsresurser. Samarbetskontexten är förhållandevis ny och de involverade aktörerna och deras behov delvis okända. Avhandlingen syftar därför till att utforska IS-relaterade möjligheter, utmaningar och behov för att stödja heterogena aktörer inom nya tvärsektoriella framväxande samverkansformer i svensk respons och räddning. För att utforska detta användes en användarcentrerad ansats. Därför genomfördes en bakgrundsstudie och tre fallstudier på ’samlokalisering av aktörer’, ’sambruk av resurser’ och ’semi-professionella som förstainsatspersoner’ genom att utföra intervjuer, fokusgrupper, deltagande observation, Future Workshops, och en övning med följande After-Action-Review. Avhandlingen bygger därmed på fallstudieforskning och kvalitativa forskningsmetoder. ’Socioteknisk systemteori’, begreppet ’socioteknisk ensemble’ och ’network governance’ teori används som forskningens analytiska ramverk. Som ett led i att uppfylla syftet presenteras dessutom erfarenheter från användarmedverkan i kontexten tvärsektoriell samverkan som ett delresultat samt ett kontext-specifikt ramverk utvecklat för att systematisera och utforska olika viktiga aspekter av tvärsektoriell samverkan i respons- och räddningsverksamhet. Avhandlingens resultat visar att behoven av IS i tvärsektoriella samverkansformer varierar från enkla smartphoneapplikationer för larmhantering, positionering och utryckning av nya resurser, till mer sofistikerade verktyg för informationsdelning och gemensamma lägesbilder. Resultaten pekar också mot att med rätt IS stöd har samverkansformerna potential (t.ex. i form av resursredundans, gemensam pool för ökad kapacitet) för att förbättra svensk räddningsverksamhet. De stora utmaningarna är organisatoriska, ekonomiska och juridiska. De mest framträdande är otydligheter i aktörernas uppgifter, roll och ansvar, och hur man prioriterar mellan sitt befintliga arbete och "nya" förstainsatser. Utmaningarna måste lösas för att möjliggöra IS-funktioner, till exempel vid informationsdelning och resurspositionering. Resultaten belyser också explicit flera institutionella faktorer (t.ex. gemensamt intresse och mål, kollektiv problemlösning, sekretesshantering) som tros ha en nyckelroll i samverkansformernas realisering och som måste hanteras i utveckling av relaterat IS-stöd. Aktörerna har också grundläggande behov av träning (t.ex. brandsläckning, första hjälpen) och utrusning (t.ex. brandsläckare, sjukvårdskit). Tillämpningen av användarmedverkan visade också på utmaningar, varav den främsta var att utveckla framtida tvärsektoriell samverkan i ett sammanhang som ännu inte existerar och att involvera intressenter från organisationer med ansträngda resurser för att genomföra detta. Intressenterna, ibland även de primära slutanvändarna, är delvis okända och uppgifterna är odefinierade. Som ett sätt att hantera utmaningarna genomfördes en kombination av aktiviteter som baserades på multipla designgrupper, scenariobaserade Future Workshops, fokusgrupper, ett kontextspecifikt ramverk, en övning och en After-Action-Review samt det kontext-specifika ramverket. Ramverket som användes för att stödja datainsamling och användarmedverkan innehåller 15 dimensioner som är tänkta att representera viktiga aspekter av tvärsektoriella samverkansformer. Avhandlingens främsta bidrag är de identifierade möjligheterna, utmaningarna och behoven som en ’social ensemble’ och som genererade och jämförbara ur flera studier. Avhandlingens mer teoretiska bidrag är den kombinerade tillämpningen av ’sociotechnical ensemble’ och ’network governance’ där de studerade samverkansformerna lyfts fram som en blandform av nätverk och mer traditionella styrmekanismer och där det påpekas att network governance saknar explicita IS/IT delar. I ett större sammanhang kan forskningsfälten IS och statsvetenskap kan komplettera varandra vid studier av framväxande tvärsektoriell samverkan i offentlig sektor. Relevanta utmaningar vid användarmedverkan i kontexten, förslag på hur de kan hanteras och det kontext-specifika ramverket är bidrag som kan används i praktisk användarcentrerad IS-utveckling i liknande sammanhang.
Crisis management is an interdisciplinary subject field represented by theoretical problems, practical activity, people management and the art of crisis situation solving. Overall, the studies that this publication contains are to provide an overview of the state of the art mainly focused on crisis management cycle represented by certain phases and steps. Topics include also lessons learned from natural and man-made disasters, crisis communication, information systems in crisis management, civil protection and economics in crisis management. We hope that chapters of this book will provide useful information within crisis management issue for a wide audience.
Marc-André Kaufhold explores user expectations and design implications for the utilization of new media in crisis management and response. He develops a novel framework for information refinement, which integrates the event, organisational, societal, and technological perspectives of crises. Therefore, he reviews the state of the art on crisis informatics and empirically examines the use, potentials and barriers of both social media and mobile apps. Based on these insights, he designs and evaluates ICT concepts and artifacts with the aim to overcome the issues of information overload and quality in large-scale crises, concluding with practical and theoretical implications for technology adaptation and design.
"This 10-volume compilation of authoritative, research-based articles contributed by thousands of researchers and experts from all over the world emphasized modern issues and the presentation of potential opportunities, prospective solutions, and future directions in the field of information science and technology"--Provided by publisher.
This book provides the most current and comprehensive overview available today of the critical role of information systems in emergency response and preparedness. It includes contributions from leading scholars, practitioners, and industry researchers, and covers all phases of disaster management - mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. 'Foundational' chapters provide a design framework and review ethical issues. 'Context' chapters describe the characteristics of individuals and organizations in which EMIS are designed and studied. 'Case Study' chapters include systems for distributed microbiology laboratory diagnostics to detect possible epidemics or bioterrorism, humanitarian MIS, and response coordination systems. 'Systems Design and Technology' chapters cover simulation, geocollaborative systems, global disaster impact analysis, and environmental risk analysis. Throughout the book, the editors and contributors give special emphasis to the importance of assessing the practical usefulness of new information systems for supporting emergency preparedness and response, rather than drawing conclusions from a theoretical understanding of the potential benefits of new technologies.
In contemporary society, public services struggle to maintain a high quality of service if the authority responsible for the service delivery experiences resource deficit and increased uncertainties and vulnerabilities. This thesis explores how information and communication technology (ICT) can enable new types of network collaborations – co-production – between government (municipalities) and citizens, for a more effective crisis and emergency response. This is explored in the light of digitalization and taking an end-user perspective. The thesis’s first objective is to describe the transformation toward ICT-enabled co-production. The second objective is to identify opportunities and challenges involved in ICT-enabled co-production. The thesis’s method includes two case studies supported by various theories and approaches: network collaboration (including co-production), sociotechnical systems, and end-user involvement. The data collection is conducted using semi-structured interviews, focus groups, user participation techniques, and document reviews. The intended audience is practitioners (local government and national agencies) and researchers within crisis and emergency response, information systems (IS), and public administration research disciplines and domains (e.g. co-production). The description of the transformation toward ICT-enabled coproduction in crisis and emergency response is a result in its own right. Here, the citizen volunteers become involved in the actual delivery of the response, despite non-specific competence and non-organizational affiliation. In relation to the transformation toward co-production, the thesis concludes that digitalization facilitates end-user involvement in the ICT development process and increases their influence. If open systems as mobile technologies are used, end-users can adapt the technology on their own and add technologies, without the support of the formal developer or local government. The thesis also identifies opportunities and challenges of ICT-enabled co-production. Examples of opportunities include citizen volunteers having a high degree of engagement, being an effective complement to professional responders, and increasing perceived safety in the community. This informal structure of co-production enabled by ICT minimizes the need for local governments to spend resources on managing collaboration. Examples of challenges include the lack of organizational affiliation of volunteers (e.g. integration of citizen volunteers, i.e. end-users with non-organizational affiliation in the technology of the ICT system) and aspects of formal and social control (regulation, and moral and privacy issues). The thesis’s contributions include enriched knowledge of essential aspects to consider when developing ICT-enabled co-production with an end-user perspective, and an understanding of the transformation of the application domain over time and the implications of ICT-enabled coproduction. This makes it easier to comprehend and develop contemporary and future co-productions. The thesis is perceived to have high originality and value since it studies time periods in which local government, technology, and crisis and emergency response have undergone dramatic changes, and explores one of the first Swedish empirical initiatives involving citizen volunteers as responders. Avhandlingen undersöker hur informations- och kommunikationsteknik (IKT) kan möjliggöra nya typer av nätverkssamverkan – co-production – mellan offentliga aktörer (kommuner i detta fall) och frivilliga civila medborgare för att på så sätt få en mer effektiv hantering av kriser och olyckor. Detta görs med bakgrund av minskade resurser i offentlig service, ökad digitalisering, och med fokus på slutanvändare som inte tillhör en formell organisation. Avhandlingen beskriver förändringen till IKT-möjliggjord co-production där frivilliga medborgare larmas ut trots avsaknad av specifik kompetens för uppdraget och organisatorisk tillhörighet. Avhandlingen identifierar även möjligheter och utmaningar när kommuner co-producerar med frivilliga medborgare. Möjligheter inkluderar t ex högt engagemang från frivilliga medborgare och att de är ett effektivt komplement till de professionella aktörerna. Utmaningar innefattar t ex svårigheter med IKT integration av slutanvändare utan organisatorisk tillhörighet, samt legala och etiska oklarheter. Avhandlingen bidrar med kunskap om viktiga aspekter att beakta när IKT-möjliggjord co-production utvecklas, för att på så sätt underlätta förståelse och utveckling av framtida co-productions. Avhandlingen har hög originalitet och värde då den undersöker två tidsperioder där lokal offentlig sektor, digital teknik och hantering av kriser och olyckor har genomgått dramatiska förändringar, samt undersöker ett av de första svenska initiativen där civila medborgare larmas ut som första insatspersoner.
Decision support systems (DSS) are widely touted for their effectiveness in aiding decision making, particularly across a wide and diverse range of industries including healthcare, business, and engineering applications. The concepts, principles, and theories of enhanced decision making are essential points of research as well as the exact methods, tools, and technologies being implemented in these industries. From both a standpoint of DSS interfaces, namely the design and development of these technologies, along with the implementations, including experiences and utilization of these tools, one can get a better sense of how exactly DSS has changed the face of decision making and management in multi-industry applications. Furthermore, the evaluation of the impact of these technologies is essential in moving forward in the future. The Research Anthology on Decision Support Systems and Decision Management in Healthcare, Business, and Engineering explores how decision support systems have been developed and implemented across diverse industries through perspectives on the technology, the utilizations of these tools, and from a decision management standpoint. The chapters will cover not only the interfaces, implementations, and functionality of these tools, but also the overall impacts they have had on the specific industries mentioned. This book also evaluates the effectiveness along with benefits and challenges of using DSS as well as the outlook for the future. This book is ideal for decision makers, IT consultants and specialists, software developers, design professionals, academicians, policymakers, researchers, professionals, and students interested in how DSS is being used in different industries.