Developing an Efficient DMCIS with Next-Generation Wireless Networks

The impact of extreme events across the globe is extraordinary which continues to handicap the advancement of the struggling developing societies and threatens most of the industrialized countries in the globe. Various fields of Information and Communication Technology have widely been used for efficient disaster management; but only to a limited extent though, there is a tremendous potential for increasing efficiency and effectiveness in coping with disasters with the utilization of emerging wireless network technologies. Early warning, response to the particular situation and proper recovery are among the main focuses of an efficient disaster management system today. Considering these aspects, in this paper we propose a framework for developing an efficient Disaster Management Communications and Information System (DMCIS) which is basically benefited by the exploitation of the emerging wireless network technologies combined with other networking and data processing technologies.Comment: 6 page

A Secure Lightweight Approach of Node Membership Verification in Dense HDSN

In this paper, we consider a particular type of deployment scenario of a distributed sensor network (DSN), where sensors of different types and categories are densely deployed in the same target area. In this network, the sensors are associated with different groups, based on their functional types and after deployment they collaborate with one another in the same group for doing any assigned task for that particular group. We term this sort of DSN as a heterogeneous distributed sensor network (HDSN). Considering this scenario, we propose a secure membership verification mechanism using one-way accumulator (OWA) which ensures that, before collaborating for a particular task, any pair of nodes in the same deployment group can verify each other-s legitimacy of membership. Our scheme also supports addition and deletion of members (nodes) in a particular group in the HDSN. Our analysis shows that, the proposed scheme could work well in conjunction with other security mechanisms for sensor networks and is very effective to resist any adversary-s attempt to be included in a legitimate group in the network.Comment: 6 page

HYPOTHESIZING THE APTNESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE INFORMATION RICHNESS REQUIREMENTS OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT

In this article, the author first analyzes the social presence theory, media richness theory and task-media fit to investigate the suitability of various types of Social Media in disaster management. Then, on the basis of this analysis, use of social media is proposed to facilitate the communication tasks involved in the interaction between disaster management agencies and communities during disaster management. Next the author adapt a conceptual framework that integrates three types of communication (involving disaster management agencies and communities). The framework is further used as a springboard to develop a number of hypotheses to predict the aptness of rich and lean types of Social Media against the media richness requirements of disaster management tasks

Designing an efficient DMCIS with wireless sensor and ad hoc networks

The impact of extreme events across the globe is extraordinary which continues to handicap the advancement of the struggling developing societies and threatens most of the industrialized countries in the globe. Various fields of Information and Communication Technology have widely been used for efficient disaster management; but only to a limited extent though, there is a tremendous potential for increasing efficiency and effectiveness in coping with disasters with the utilization of emerging wireless network technologies. Early warning, response to the particular situation and proper recovery are among the main focuses of an efficient disaster management system today. Considering these aspects, in this paper we propose a framework for developing an efficient disaster management communications and information system (DMCIS) which is basically benefited by the exploitation of the emerging wireless network technologies combined with other networking and data processing technologies

Managing Knowledge For ESAR: An Ontology-Based Approach

Most organizations face difficult challenges in managing knowledge for crisis response, particularly in the context of emergency search and rescue (ESAR) initiatives. It is crucial for response effectiveness that such challenges be overcome.  Organizational members and numerous stakeholders must share the knowledge needed to plan for such eventualities.  They also must be able during a crisis to access relevant plans and communicate about their responses to it.  This paper examines the role and relevance of knowledge management ideals (using an ontology based approach) in support of crisis response, in general, and ESAR, in particular

Design and Development of a DSS Supporting the Integration of Crowdsourcing in Theory Testing: A Design Science Perspective

The integration of crowdsourcing in behavioral research in the IS field offers several advantages and opportunities. This paper builds on prior study, employing a design science research (DSR) paradigm to design, develop and evaluate a tool that assists researchers in adopting crowdsourcing when testing theory about behavioral phenomena. The proposed tool is based on an extensive review of literature on how theory has been tested, and a pattern model that standardizes extracted concepts, activities, processes and relationships into patterns. In particular, we discuss the architecture of the proposed tool and present two prototypes, one used for knowledge articulation by representing, extracting, organizing and acting on relevant information and the other on decision making and recommendation for the tool users. Evaluation results show the applicability and utility of the tool

Contributing Factors in the adoption of RFID in Emergency Management: A Multiple Case study

By presenting emergency management organizations of developed countries as early adopter of RFID in emergency management, this paper aims to minimize the disastrous impacts of emergencies currently faced by mankind; especially in developing countries. We conduct a study in the context of RFID adoption in emergency management and seek to answer the question - What are the contributing factors in the adoption of RFID in emergency management? In order to answer this question, a research framework is proposed by using a rather loose interpretation of task-technology fit (TTF) model. Multiple case study method has been employed to explore the contributing factors of RFID adoption. It is anticipated that the findings of this research will not only enhance the research in technology adoption, but also assist the emergency management organizations to better plan the adoption of pertinent technologies such as RFID for emergency operations

Knowledge management for disaster response: A proposed framework

Knowledge management encompasses a wide range of disciplines. Most organizations face difficult challenges in managing knowledge for emergency response, but it is crucial for response effectiveness that such challenges be overcome.Organizational members must share the knowledge needed to plan for emergencies. They also must be able during an emergency to access relevant plans and communicate about their responses to it.In this paper we purport the idea that knowledge management systems allow more effective and timely disaster management efforts.We present our idea based on our experience in working with knowledge management systems to support emergency preparedness initiatives in North America. We propose a framework that can be used by local researchers and practitioners to better understand the influence of knowledge management on disaster management

Collective IT artifacts: Toward Inclusive Crisis Infrastructures

This paper investigates a previously overlooked phenomenon in crisis response information systems, namely inclusive crisis infrastructure. By expanding the well-acknowledged infrastructure concept with alternatives to understand the nature and scope of inclusive crisis infrastructures, this paper contributes to closing the gap between theory and practice by raising some research questions critical to the study of inclusive crisis infrastructures. The emerging literature on crisis response information systems suggests that external sourcing of information increasingly influences crisis response operations. To contribute to this discourse, the paper draws on Pipek and Wulf’s (2009) definition of work infrastructures and Palen and Liu’s (2007) conceptualization of peer-to-peer communications to develop a better understanding of the crisis response arena as a whole. In doing so, this paper goes beyond the emphasis on event-based technologies that currently dominate the crisis response information systems literature and instead argues why crisis infrastructures need to be both inward-looking and accommodating to technological and social outcomes parallel to formal response contexts. The novel conceptualization captures the fact that the crisis context contains collections of collective IT artifacts that are not aligned or related but that are, for autonomy reasons, interlinked to crisis organizations’ current IT infrastructure and may be of great value to such organizations if infrastructure capability options are considered