High Performance Computations for Decision Support in Critical Situations: Introduction to the Third Workshop on Urgent Computing

AbstractThis paper is the preface to the Third Workshop on Urgent Computing.The Urgent Computing workshops have been traditionally embedded in frame of International Conference of Computational Science (ICCS) since 2012. They are aimed to develop a dialogue on the present and future ofresearch and applications associated with the large-scale computations for decision support in critical situations. The key workshop topics in 2014 are: methods and principles of urgent computing, middleware, platforms and infrastructures, simulation-based decision support for complex systems control, interactive visualization and virtual reality for decision support in emergency situations, domain-area applications to emergency situations, including natural and man-made disasters, e.g.transportation problems, epidemics, criminal acts, etc

A Comparison of Hybrid Decision Making Methods for Emergency Support

Abstract A situation consisting in evaluating and choosing among alternative actions can be managed from the point of view of Decision Making (DM). This paper presents an approach to design and develop Decision Support Systems (DSS) to be applied in emergency situations. In these situations the decision maker is under heavy stress because each different decision implies different important outcomes related with human and economic losses. First of all, a domain knowledge base has to be built from both the properties of emergency situations and the actions devoted to counteract them. From this knowledge, three different DM methods, based on the Probability Theory and the Possibility Theory, process the incoming emergency information and choose the best action for putting out the emergency situation. The resulting decisions of each method over a set of plausible emergency situations can be evaluated by a domain expert and the method with the best average performance can be built in the DSS. This DSS can help a decision maker find out an optimal decision in a short period of time maximizing security and minimizing stress.Peer reviewe

Portable decision support for diagnosis of traumatic brain injury

Early detection and diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) could reduce significantly the death rate and improve the quality of life of the people affected if emergency services are equipped with tools for TBI diagnosis at the place of the accident. This problem is addressed here by proposing a portable decision support system called EmerEEG, which is based on Quantitative Electroencephalography (qEEG). The contributions of the paper are the proposed system concept, architecture and decision support for TBI diagnosis. By the virtue of its easily operable mobile system, the proposed solution for emergency TBI diagnosis provides valuable decision support at a very early stage after an accident, thereby enabling a short response time in critical situations and better prospects for the people affected

A psychological framework to enable effective cognitive processing in the design of emergency management information systems

Human cognitive processing and decision making are essential aspects in emergency management. Emergency situations imply additional demands to information processing. To meaningfully support decision makers in emergencies, a comprehensive understanding of the human perception and decision making processes and their underlying principles is required in the design of Emergency Management Information Systems (EMIS).This paper presents a psychological framework that models the stages and components of decision making in the context of emergency management. To this end, psychological research on human perception and information processing, knowledge and competence modelling, human judgement and decision making, individual and situational factors, stress, and self-regulation are identified as important compents of the framework. The psychological framework represents a comprehensive model of decision making of emergency managers, for a better understanding of the involved cognitive processes and influencing factors on the person level and on the context level. The paper posits the framework as a guide in the identification of requirements for emergency managers during systems analysis. This comprises systematically describing decision tasks in emergency situations and identifying needs for supporting them. The knowledge on human perception and decision making represented by the framework can also be used to inform the user interface design of the EMIS. It may also inform the evaluation of EMIS as it provides a theoretically founded representation of relevant aspects of human-computer interaction, which facilitates the identification of success indciators to be addressed in user-centred evaluation. The framework furthermore supports the design and implementation of training programmes through the differentiation and modelling of knowledge and competence relevant in emergency decision making. To demonstrate the application of the psychological framework in the design, development, and testing of EMIS a set of concrete design principles as well as exemplary paper prototypes applying these principles are presented

The Role of Information Systems to Support Improvisation during Emergencies

This paper discusses the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support improvisation in hospital emergency response. Important characteristics of emergencies and improvisation are identified. Real-time decision support, communication and coordination, and training for improvisation have been identified as three key areas where ICTs can support the use of improvisation. This paper suggests that the documented plans, procedures, and policies to handle emergency situations in hospitals can complement the process of improvisation rather than forbidding or impeding it. Implications for research and practice are discussed

Decision making system for stopping high speed trains during emergency situations

The following article addresses the application of a series of stop criteria for High Speed passenger trains under emergency situations by using a multi-criteria evaluation system. The line is divided into cantons and a combination of weight assignment criteria are used depending on the local surroundings and the type of incident occurring in such a way as to indicate the suitability of stopping a High Speed train. Multi-criteria choice is used as a function of the type of incident and the characteristics of the infrastructure to determine the best available place to stop a High Speed passenger train. This model has been applied with a geographical information system (GIS) using simple data visualisation for the position of the train; the program will also support decision taking protocols for stopping all kinds of trains under emergency situations. The method can therefore be applied to an overall support system for decision making. The speed of the algorithm provides an almost instantaneous reply within seconds of an emergency situation occurring.The work described in this article was made possible thanks to the project B062 of the University of Cantabria with a grant from the Centro de Estudios y Experimentación of the Spanish Ministry of Public Works: PT-2007-030-22 I CPP

Promotion of prehospital emergency care through clinical decision support systems: opportunities and challenges

Clinical decision support systems are interactive computer systems for situational decision making and can improve decision efficiency and safety of care. We investigated the role of these systems in enhancing prehospital care. This narrative review included full-text articles published since 2000 that were available in databases/e-journals including Web of Science, PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Search keywords included “clinical decision support system,” “decision support system,” “decision support tools,” “prehospital care,” and “emergency medical services.” Non-journal articles were excluded. We revealed 14 relevant studies that used such a support system in prehospital emergency medical service. Owing to the dynamic nature of emergency situations, decision timing is critical. Four key factors demonstrated the ability of clinical decision support systems to improve decision-making, reduce errors, and improve the safety of prehospital emergency activity: computer-based, offer support as a natural part of the workflow, provide decision support in the time and place of decision making, and offer practical advice. The use of clinical decision support systems in prehospital care resulted in accurate diagnoses, improved patient triage and patient outcomes, and reduction of prehospital time. By improving emergency management and rescue operations, the quality of prehospital care will be enhanced

Toma de Decisiones para Situaciones de Emergencia en Servicios Ferroviarios de Viajeros

This project aim is developing a prototype tool as demonstrator of a decision support system (DSS) for emergency situations on trains, in the particular case of high speed passenger trains and especially focused on traffic in tunnels. A system has been developed which includes emergency situations that require evacuation or transfer of the train, as most general case, that is flexible, so as to allow the extension to any train journey and conditions of passage, and that is to also fast, facilitating the decision-making in real time. The system has an intuitive user interface, through windows or forms created with the programming environment Microsoft Visual C#, which allows communication between the agents on board the train and the management of the possible incidents. Finally, a simple, yet powerful and flexible application has been obtained to serve as a basis for developing a complex decision support system that integrates all the factors involved in the resolution of emergency situations on passenger rail services