A Hybrid Simulation Methodology To Evaluate Network Centricdecision Making Under Extreme Events

Currently the network centric operation and network centric warfare have generated a new area of research focused on determining how hierarchical organizations composed by human beings and machines make decisions over collaborative environments. One of the most stressful scenarios for these kinds of organizations is the so-called extreme events. This dissertation provides a hybrid simulation methodology based on classical simulation paradigms combined with social network analysis for evaluating and improving the organizational structures and procedures, mainly the incident command systems and plans for facing those extreme events. According to this, we provide a methodology for generating hypotheses and afterwards testing organizational procedures either in real training systems or simulation models with validated data. As long as the organization changes their dyadic relationships dynamically over time, we propose to capture the longitudinal digraph in time and analyze it by means of its adjacency matrix. Thus, by using an object oriented approach, three domains are proposed for better understanding the performance and the surrounding environment of an emergency management organization. System dynamics is used for modeling the critical infrastructure linked to the warning alerts of a given organization at federal, state and local levels. Discrete simulations based on the defined concept of community of state enables us to control the complete model. Discrete event simulation allows us to create entities that represent the data and resource flows within the organization. We propose that cognitive models might well be suited in our methodology. For instance, we show how the team performance decays in time, according to the Yerkes-Dodson curve, affecting the measures of performance of the whole organizational system. Accordingly we suggest that the hybrid model could be applied to other types of organizations, such as military peacekeeping operations and joint task forces. Along with providing insight about organizations, the methodology supports the analysis of the after action review (AAR), based on collection of data obtained from the command and control systems or the so-called training scenarios. Furthermore, a rich set of mathematical measures arises from the hybrid models such as triad census, dyad census, eigenvalues, utilization, feedback loops, etc., which provides a strong foundation for studying an emergency management organization. Future research will be necessary for analyzing real data and validating the proposed methodology

Training of Crisis Mappers and Map Production from Multi-sensor Data: Vernazza Case Study (Cinque Terre National Park, Italy)

This aim of paper is to presents the development of a multidisciplinary project carried out by the cooperation between Politecnico di Torino and ITHACA (Information Technology for Humanitarian Assistance, Cooperation and Action). The goal of the project was the training in geospatial data acquiring and processing for students attending Architecture and Engineering Courses, in order to start up a team of "volunteer mappers". Indeed, the project is aimed to document the environmental and built heritage subject to disaster; the purpose is to improve the capabilities of the actors involved in the activities connected in geospatial data collection, integration and sharing. The proposed area for testing the training activities is the Cinque Terre National Park, registered in the World Heritage List since 1997. The area was affected by flood on the 25th of October 2011. According to other international experiences, the group is expected to be active after emergencies in order to upgrade maps, using data acquired by typical geomatic methods and techniques such as terrestrial and aerial Lidar, close-range and aerial photogrammetry, topographic and GNSS instruments etc.; or by non conventional systems and instruments such us UAV, mobile mapping etc. The ultimate goal is to implement a WebGIS platform to share all the data collected with local authorities and the Civil Protectio

A framework to study the resilience of organizations: a case study of a nuclear emergency plan

El desarrollo de la resiliencia es un campo de investigación importante en ámbitos como el Management, la Ingeniería, la Psicología o la Ecología. La importancia del estudio de la resiliencia se ha visto desarrollada por el aumento tanto de desastres naturales como antropogénicos, así como por el desarrollo de conciencia acerca de sus efectos. Estas razones de peso han influido en que los Gobiernos estén invirtiendo recursos en la mejora de la resiliencia de organizaciones, infraestructuras, ciudades, individuos, etc. Sin embargo, a pesar de su importancia, el número de trabajos de investigación que se centran en el desarrollo de metodologías específicas para el diseño de organizaciones resilientes es reducido. El principal objetivo de esta investigación es mejorar este aspecto introduciendo un marco para el diseño de organizaciones resilientes. Para alcanzar este objetivo, se explica cómo emplear el Modelo de Sistemas Viables para el diseño de estas organizaciones. Nos hemos centrado en uno de los aspectos clave de la resiliencia: las comunicaciones. Para ello, se ha usado el caso de estudio del plan de emergencia de una central nuclear en España. Las comunicaciones en una organización pueden modelarse como un proceso de difusión en redes multiplex. Buscamos arquitecturas aplicables a nuestro caso de estudio. Sin embargo, no se ha encontrado ninguna que cumpliera con los requisitos que se necesitaban. Este hecho, nos ha llevado a proponer una nueva arquitectura, que además de permitir estudiar la difusión de información en una organización, permite estudiar otros procesos de difusión en redes multiplex.Departamento de Organización de Empresas y Comercialización e Investigación de MercadosDoctorado en Ingeniería Industria

Some Remarks about the Complexity of Epidemics Management

Recent outbreaks of Ebola, H1N1 and other infectious diseases have shown that the assumptions underlying the established theory of epidemics management are too idealistic. For an improvement of procedures and organizations involved in fighting epidemics, extended models of epidemics management are required. The necessary extensions consist in a representation of the management loop and the potential frictions influencing the loop. The effects of the non-deterministic frictions can be taken into account by including the measures of robustness and risk in the assessment of management options. Thus, besides of the increased structural complexity resulting from the model extensions, the computational complexity of the task of epidemics management - interpreted as an optimization problem - is increased as well. This is a serious obstacle for analyzing the model and may require an additional pre-processing enabling a simplification of the analysis process. The paper closes with an outlook discussing some forthcoming problems

Cross-Border Collaboration in Disaster Management

Wenn sich eine Katastrophe ereignet, ist eine schnelle und koordinierte Reaktion der verschiedenen Krisenmanagementakteure unerlässlich, um die vorhandenen Ressourcen bestmöglich einzusetzen und somit ihre Auswirkungen zu begrenzen. Dieses Zusammenspiel wird erschwert, wenn die Katastrophe mehrere Länder betrifft. Neben den unterschiedlichen Regelungen und Systemen spielen dann auch kulturelle Einflüsse wie Sprachbarrieren oder mangelndes Vertrauen eine entscheidende Rolle. Obwohl die Resilienz von Grenzgebieten von fundamentaler Bedeutung ist, wird diese in der wissenschaftlichen Literatur immer noch unterschätzt. Im ersten Teil dieser Arbeit wird ein agentenbasiertes Modell zur Untersuchung der organisationsübergreifenden Zusammenarbeit bei Katastropheneinsätzen in einer Grenzregion vorgestellt. Indem Kommunikationsprotokolle aus der Literatur auf den Kontext der grenzüberschreitenden Kooperation erweitert werden, analysiert das Modell die globale Dynamik, die aus lokalen Entscheidungen resultiert. Ein szenariobasierter Ansatz zeigt, dass höheres Vertrauen zwar zu signifikant besseren Versorgungsraten führt, der Abbau von Sprachbarrieren aber noch effizienter ist. Insbesondere gilt dies, wenn die Akteure die Sprache des Nachbarlandes direkt sprechen, anstatt sich auf eine allgemeine Lingua franca zu verlassen. Die Untersuchung der Koordination zeigt, dass Informationsflüsse entlang der hierarchischen Organisationsstruktur am erfolgreichsten sind, während spontane Zusammenarbeit durch ein etabliertes informelles Netzwerk privater Kontakte den Informationsaustausch ergänzen und in dynamischen Umgebungen einen Vorteil darstellen kann. Darüber hinaus verdoppelt die Einbindung von Spontanfreiwilligen den Koordinationsaufwand. Die Koordination über beide Dimensionen, zum einen die Einbindung in den Katastrophenschutz und zum anderen über Grenzen hinweg, führt jedoch zu einer optimalen Versorgung der betroffenen Bevölkerung. In einem zweiten Teil stellt diese Arbeit ein innovatives empirisches Studiendesign vor, das auf transnationalem Sozialkapital und Weiners Motivationstheorie basiert, um prosoziale Beziehungen der Menschen über nationale Grenzen hinweg zu quantifizieren. Regionale Beziehungen innerhalb der Länder werden dabei als Vergleichsbasis genommen. Die mittels repräsentativer Telefoninterviews in Deutschland, Frankreich und der deutsch-französischen Grenzregion erhobenen Daten belegen die Hypothese, dass das Sozialkapital und die Hilfsbereitschaft über die deutsch-französische Grenze hinweg mindestens so hoch ist wie das regionale Sozialkapital und die Hilfsbereitschaft innerhalb der jeweiligen Länder. Folglich liefert die Arbeit wertvolle Erkenntnisse für Entscheidungsträger, um wesentliche Barrieren in der grenzüberschreitenden Kooperation abzubauen und damit die grenzüberschreitende Resilienz bei zukünftigen Katastrophen zu verbessern. Implikationen für die heutige Zeit in Bezug auf Globalisierung versus aufkommendem Nationalismus sowie Auswirkungen von (Natur-) Katastrophen werden diskutiert

Resilience of critical structures, infrastructure, and communities

In recent years, the concept of resilience has been introduced to the field of engineering as it relates to disaster mitigation and management. However, the built environment is only one element that supports community functionality. Maintaining community functionality during and after a disaster, defined as resilience, is influenced by multiple components. This report summarizes the research activities of the first two years of an ongoing collaboration between the Politecnico di Torino and the University of California, Berkeley, in the field of disaster resilience. Chapter 1 focuses on the economic dimension of disaster resilience with an application to the San Francisco Bay Area; Chapter 2 analyzes the option of using base-isolation systems to improve the resilience of hospitals and school buildings; Chapter 3 investigates the possibility to adopt discrete event simulation models and a meta-model to measure the resilience of the emergency department of a hospital; Chapter 4 applies the meta-model developed in Chapter 3 to the hospital network in the San Francisco Bay Area, showing the potential of the model for design purposes Chapter 5 uses a questionnaire combined with factorial analysis to evaluate the resilience of a hospital; Chapter 6 applies the concept of agent-based models to analyze the performance of socio-technical networks during an emergency. Two applications are shown: a museum and a train station; Chapter 7 defines restoration fragility functions as tools to measure uncertainties in the restoration process; and Chapter 8 focuses on modeling infrastructure interdependencies using temporal networks at different spatial scales

Application of a Blockchain Enabled Model in Disaster Aids Supply Network Resilience

The disaster area is a dynamic environment. The bottleneck in distributing the supplies may be from the damaged infrastructure or the unavailability of accurate information about the required amounts. The success of the disaster response network is based on collaboration, coordination, sovereignty, and equality in relief distribution. Therefore, a reliable dynamic communication system is required to facilitate the interactions, enhance the knowledge for the relief operation, prioritize, and coordinate the goods distribution. One of the promising innovative technologies is blockchain technology which enables transparent, secure, and real-time information exchange and automation through smart contracts. This study analyzes the application of blockchain technology on disaster management resilience. The influences of this most promising application on the disaster aid supply network resilience combined with the Internet of Things (IoT) and Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling (DVFS) algorithm are explored employing a network-based simulation. The theoretical analysis reveals an advancement in disaster-aids supply network strategies using smart contracts for collaborations. The simulation study indicates an enhance in resilience by improvement in collaboration and communication due to more time-efficient processing for disaster supply management. From the investigations, insights have been derived for researchers in the field and the managers interested in practical implementation