A Crowd Monitoring Framework using Emotion Analysis of Social Media for Emergency Management in Mass Gatherings

In emergency management for mass gatherings, the knowledge about crowd types can highly assist with providing timely response and effective resource allocation. Crowd monitoring can be achieved using computer vision based approaches and sensory data analysis. The emergence of social media platforms presents an opportunity to capture valuable information about how people feel and think. However, the literature shows that there are a limited number of studies that use social media in crowd monitoring and/or incorporate a unified crowd model for consistency and interoperability. This paper presents a novel framework for crowd monitoring using social media. It includes a standard crowd model to represent different types of crowds. The proposed framework considers the effect of emotion on crowd behaviour and uses the emotion analysis of social media to identify the crowd types in an event. An experiment using historical data to validate our framework is described

A roadmap for the future of crowd safety research and practice: Introducing the Swiss Cheese Model of Crowd Safety and the imperative of a Vision Zero target

Crowds can be subject to intrinsic and extrinsic sources of risk, and previous records have shown that, in the absence of adequate safety measures, these sources of risk can jeopardise human lives. To mitigate these risks, we propose that implementation of multiple layers of safety measures for crowds—what we label The Swiss Cheese Model of Crowd Safety—should become the norm for crowd safety practice. Such system incorporates a multitude of safety protection layers including regulations and policymaking, planning and risk assessment, operational control, community preparedness, and incident response. The underlying premise of such model is that when one (or multiple) layer(s) of safety protection fail(s), the other layer(s) can still prevent an accident. In practice, such model requires a more effective implementation of technology, which can enable provision of real-time data, improved communication and coordination, and efficient incident response. Moreover, implementation of this model necessitates more attention to the overlooked role of public education, awareness raising, and promoting crowd safety culture at broad community levels, as one of last lines of defence against catastrophic outcomes for crowds. Widespread safety culture and awareness has the potential to empower individuals with the knowledge and skills that can prevent such outcomes or mitigate their impacts, when all other (exogenous) layers of protection (such as planning and operational control) fail. This requires safety campaigns and development of widespread educational programs. We conclude that, there is no panacea solution to the crowd safety problem, but a holistic multi-layered safety system that utilises active participation of all potential stakeholders can significantly reduce the likelihood of disastrous accidents. At a global level, we need to target a Vision Zero of Crowd Safety, i.e., set a global initiative of bringing deaths and severe injuries in crowded spaces to zero by a set year

The Mechanism of Crowd Stampede Based on Case Statistics through SNA Method

Stampede is a concern of urban pubic security management. The current academic research focus is the identification of risk factors of trampling accidents and determination of correlation patterns and accident-causing mechanisms among stampede elements in order to effectively obtain the influencing factors of stampede and clarify the transmission routes of stampede risk factors. Previous index cases were scrutinized and analyzed in 78 typical stampedes from 2010 - 2019 based on "pedestrian-equipment-environment-management" framework, and 17 influencing factors of stampede by adopting a conceptual coding method were obscured. Then, the degree centrality, intermediate centrality and respective weights of the influencing factors were calculated based on the social network analysis (SNA) method. The influencing level of the factors was signified, and the transmission mechanism of risk in the system network was determined. The results reveal that the degree centrality and weight with conspicuous features of over-density of crowds, pedestrian swarming and falling, and insufficient on-site transactions contribute the most. This finding indicates that these factors play a relatively major role in the stampede system. Furthermore, the intermediate centrality of insufficient on-site transactions is the top factor, meaning that this factor has a strong controlling force in the incident system and considerably influences other factors. This study shows that the SNA method is feasible in analyzing the mechanism of stampede incidents, simultaneously addressing the shortcomings of the linear statistical model of factors and providing theoretical support for comprehensive control of crowd risk

Advancements In Crowd-Monitoring System: A Comprehensive Analysis of Systematic Approaches and Automation Algorithms: State-of-The-Art

Growing apprehensions surrounding public safety have captured the attention of numerous governments and security agencies across the globe. These entities are increasingly acknowledging the imperative need for reliable and secure crowd-monitoring systems to address these concerns. Effectively managing human gatherings necessitates proactive measures to prevent unforeseen events or complications, ensuring a safe and well-coordinated environment. The scarcity of research focusing on crowd monitoring systems and their security implications has given rise to a burgeoning area of investigation, exploring potential approaches to safeguard human congregations effectively. Crowd monitoring systems depend on a bifurcated approach, encompassing vision-based and non-vision-based technologies. An in-depth analysis of these two methodologies will be conducted in this research. The efficacy of these approaches is contingent upon the specific environment and temporal context in which they are deployed, as they each offer distinct advantages. This paper endeavors to present an in-depth analysis of the recent incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms and models into automated systems, emphasizing their contemporary applications and effectiveness in various contexts

A Mixed-Methods Study to Investigate the Awareness by Pilgrims and the Saudi Authorities of Health Risks Arising From the Hajj Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia

One of the most important factors in developing preventative measures is awareness of health risks among public authorities and the public themselves. The coronavirus pandemic of 2020-2023 has exposed significant weaknesses in public health systems that need to be addressed, although research has so far been limited with respect to studies that have explored the perceptions of both the public and authorities about the uptake of preventative health measures. As it is the host of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi Arabia offers a good case study of the health management of one of the biggest mass gatherings in the world. Although the health strategy here usually involves an array of preventative measures, the uptake among pilgrims is extremely low. As a case study exploring the factors that determine uptake, the Hajj pilgrimage is approached in this dissertation using a mixed methodology for the collection of data from the officials of the Hajj and the individuals who participate in it. Some 280 participants were canvassed in the quantitative study. The findings are that 94% considered the Hajj to be safe and limited themselves to taking pre-travel advice on health, while 70% of the respondents reported the diversity of the pilgrims to be the main factor threatening health outcomes. Overall, the study reported a significant shortfall in pilgrims’ perception of the health risks associated with the Hajj pilgrimage. Qualitative research was then utilised to collect data from 17 Hajj officials, using semi-structured interviews followed by thematic analysis. The key themes that emerged in the analysis include, first, the safety of the Hajj as perceived by Saudi officials; secondly, in the face of health risks, how the safety of pilgrims is maintained by Saudi officials; thirdly, avoiding the health risks of the Hajj pilgrimage; fourthly holding training sessions for the Hajj workers; fifthly, the pilgrims’ awareness of health risks; sixthly, the education of pilgrims about health risk in their individual countries; and finally, the use of new technologies to raise the pilgrims’ awareness about health instructions and measure their satisfaction regarding the outcomes

Behavioural risk at outdoor music festivals

'Safety is not an intellectual exercise to keep us in work. It is a matter of life and death. It is the sum of our contributions to safety management that determines whether the people we work with live or die.' Sir Brian Appleton, after Piper Alpha (1988). Outdoor music festivals are increasingly common events on the summer entertainment landscape for youth in many countries around the world. Evidence indicates that attendance is associated with an increased risk of injury and death. Crowds are the principal hazard that needs to be dealt with, and without effective management, can become a significant problem with serious consequences. A considerable proportion of the safety risks associated with outdoor music festivals can be attributed to anti-social, irrational and unsafe behaviour by patrons. Encouragement of such behaviour has, to some extent, been a deliberate strategy on the part of music promoters and press agents, resulting in patrons attending music events becoming more aggressive and violent. While there is endorsement in the literature for a risk management approach, risk assessments for music festivals and mass gatherings generally tend to deal with the traditional hazards and risks, without taking into account the dynamics of the crowd or those factors that influence its behaviour. Influences on crowd behaviour are little understood and generally ignored, leaving a significant source of risk at this type of event unaccounted for. When managing risks at outdoor music festivals it is important, therefore, to understand the nature of the crowd demographic attending the event and the factors that impact on and shape the behaviour of the crowd. A number of attempts have been made to develop an appropriate method for assessing crowd safety at mass gatherings. While these approaches provide traditional (albeit contextualised) and contemporary approaches, none address the issue of behavioural risk. This dissertation outlines a model which draws together the various influences on individual behaviour which, mediated by theories of social psychology are translated into collective crowd behaviour and uses the model to ground the development of an instrument to monitor and assess behavioural risk at outdoor music festivals

After-Action Assessment of the Police Response to the August 14 Demonstations in Ferguson, Missouri

In September 2014, at the request of Chief Jon Belmar of the St. Louis County Police Department, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services agreed to conduct an after-action review of the regional police response to massdemonstrations following the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.This report summarizes the independent, objective and candid review of police activities for the 17 days followingthe death of Michael Brown. It delves into how the police managed the mass demonstrations in Ferguson and provides48 findings and more than 100 lessons learned.The goal of the assessment was to examine the police response to the mass gatherings, identify significant findings about critical decisions and practices, and develop lessons learned that law enforcement agencies nationwide can use to help build trust, improve relationships, and protect civil rights in the communities they serve. The assessment team reviewed a wide range of documents, including a content analysis of policies, procedures, computer-aided dispatch logs, training materials, training records, arrest records, and other relevant documents from each of the four core law enforcement agencies. The team also performed a content analysis on related news stories, photographs, and videos. The latter two were the most valuable for providing and confirming evidence of practices and facts

The crowd psychology of the Hajj

This thesis is the first study of the crowd psychology of the annual Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca (Makkah) in Saudi Arabia, to employ self-categorization theory (SCT). The thesis aims to document and understand the perspective of pilgrims from a social psychological point of view, since no one has done that before, as well as to understand the perceptions of the Hajj management. Specifically, the thesis focuses on crowd perceptions, feelings of safety and the reasons for these feelings, and relations between subgroups in the crowd and between pilgrims and management. A literature review in Chapter two highlights the history and culture of the Hajj and the issues in managing the Hajj. Academic perspectives on crowd psychology are discussed in chapter three. Chapters four and five present respectively a UK pilot study of pilgrims and a field pilot study of pilgrims and management. Chapter six (the main interview study with pilgrims) indicates that despite the inconveniences, participants felt safe, secure and wellbeing inside the Grand Mosque during Hajj. Chapter seven (the main interview study with Hajj management) explores the participants’ understanding of crowd behaviour, crowd psychology and its relation to safety, danger and their own role. In Chapter eight (the major study of the thesis), a survey of 1194 pilgrims at the Hajj found that identification with the crowd predicted enjoyment of the crowd. Also, for those high in identification with the crowd, crowd density increased perceptions of safety. Perceived support was found to mediate these positive effects of social identity on feeling safe. Chapter nine critically explores the findings of the thesis and discusses them in relation to relevant literature. It also reflects on the implications of the study for the theory of crowd psychology, and considers what lessons there might be for the management of the Hajj. This chapter concludes the thesis and outlines suggestions for further research

Risk management:the effect of FIST on perceived safety in crowded large space buildings

Facilities management within large space buildings used by large crowds must involve effective risk management as a key component. Poor risk management within large space buildings such as sports stadiums, concert halls, and religious buildings have resulted in crowd disasters in various venues across the world. Fruin suggested that Force, Information, Space and Time (FIST) are the main factors that influence the occurrence of crowd disaster. Within the built environment, safety is considered in two main parts: objective safety (normative and substantive) and subjective safety (perceived). This paper theorised that poor perceived safety alone could result in crowd disaster, and by using the FIST model, it investigates the relationship between the four critical FIST factors and perceived safety in crowded large space buildings. The research chose to use the Holy Mosque in Makkah as a case study, a building where large crowd always use on a continuous basis all year round with its peak occupancy usually reached during the Hajj (an annual pilgrimage to Makkah that is undertaken by Muslims from all over the world). The Holy Mosque is a large building of 356,800 square metres with a maximum capacity of two million users (pilgrims). Data was collected using iPad devices via a group-administered questionnaire distributed to 1940 pilgrims of 62 different nationalities. The results were analysed using SPSS for descriptive analysis and AMOS 22 for Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The fitness of the model was tested, and the unidimensionality, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and reliability were assessed. The findings confirmed that there is a significant relationship between the FIST factors and perceived safety in crowded large space buildings. These findings will assist the facilities managers by making them aware of the users’ safety perception and the factors that make them feel unsafe