Gonçalo Caiado, Rosário Macário, & Carlos Sousa Oliveira. (2011). A new paradigm in urban road network seismic vulnerability: From a link-by-link structural approach to an integrated functional assessment. 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: Other than the direct exposure of a seismic event, the interruption of the transportation network causes an indirect exposure of the population living in stricken areas. In spite of such evidences, current planning practices rarely address road network seismic risk concerns beyond the typical structural link-by-link approach. The underlying hypothesis of the current research work is that, when facing a major earthquake, the impacts on road networks performance for emergency response functions can be minimized namely by the introduction of measures, not only in terms of infra-structural reinforcement but also in terms of network connectivity and activities location. Potential applications of this work include urban planning micro and macro scale solutions to be included in specific instruments (such as urban master plans or emergency plans). Additionally, the proposed method may be integrated in loss estimation models, which still do not include earthquake losses due to inaccessibility.
Keywords: Earthquakes; Information systems; Blockage situations; Emergency response; Network connectivity; Road network; Seismic vulnerability; Structural approach; Transportation network; Urban road networks; Motor transportation
Track: Planning and Foresight
http://idl.iscram.org/show.php?record=360
Guido Te Brake, Rick Van Der Kleij, & Miranda Cornelissen. (2008). Distributed mobile teams: Effects of connectivity and map orientation on teamwork. In B. V. de W. F. Fiedrich (Ed.), Proceedings of ISCRAM 2008 – 5th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (pp. 642–650). Washington, DC: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: Fielded first responders are currently being equipped with support tools to improve their performance and safety. Novel information technology provides opportunities for improvement of task efficiency and situation awareness, but people can get in trouble when data networks fail. In this paper, we examine the effect of glitches in the data network on team performance and look into the strategies people use to cope with these disruptions. Teams of three responders collaborated in a search and rescue task, supported by a map showing their positions and the locations of victims. Data communication required for this support was interrupted, verbal communication remained possible. Two variants were used for the map: a north-up version and a heading-up version that was aligned with the orientation of the responder. Negative effects and changing strategies were found for the condition with interruptions, no differences were found for the two map variants.
Keywords: Decision support systems; Virtual reality; Data-communication; Decision supports; First responders; Network connectivity; Search and rescue tasks; Situation awareness; Team collaboration; Verbal communications; Information systems
Track: HCI for Emergencies
http://idl.iscram.org/show.php?record=1001
Abdullah Konak. (2014). Improving network connectivity in emergency ad hoc wireless networks. 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. 36–44). University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University.
Abstract: Wireless Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) can to provide first responders and disaster management agencies with a reliable communication network in the event of a large-scale natural disaster that devastates majority of the existing communication infrastructure. Without requiring a fixed infrastructure, MANETs can be quickly deployed after a large-scale natural disaster or a terrorist attack. On the other hand, MANETs have dynamic topologies which could be disconnected because of the mobility of nodes. This paper presents a decentralized approach to maintain the connectivity of a MANET using autonomous, intelligent agents. Concepts from the social network analysis along with flocking algorithms are utilized to guide the deployment decision of agents. Unlike a basic flocking algorithm where all nodes have the same importance, network metrics are used to quantify the relative importance of nodes. Computational results are presented to demonstrate the effect of various local agent behaviors on the global network connectivity.
Keywords: Ad hoc networks; Artificial intelligence; Disaster prevention; Disasters; Information systems; Intelligent agents; Social networking (online); Ad hoc wireless networks; Communication infrastructure; Computational results; Decentralized approach; Flocking; Network connectivity; Reliable communication; Swarm Intelligence; Mobile ad hoc networks
Track: Analytic Modeling and Simulation