Mapping Arizona: 2005 report on geographic information systems

tableOfContents: 1. Introduction -- 2. GIS in action -- 3. AGIC overview -- 4. AGIC initiatives -- 5. Appendixabstract: This report is divided into five major sections. The Introduction provides a brief overview of this document, its contents and purpose. It offers insight into the various Arizona organizations that play key roles in the efforts to improve the use of GIS technology. GIS in Action offers a look at GIS technology, how it works and how it is being used daily around Arizona to solve complex problems and improve the lives of citizens. AGIC Overview explains the history of the Arizona Geographic Information Council (AGIC), reviews AGIC accomplishments to date, and offers a look at what's to come. It outlines the council composition, mission, and how AGIC serves Arizona. AGIC Initiatives describes AGIC's plans and what members are doing to accomplish six major initiatives: Core Data Resource; Arizona Preparedness; AGIC GeoData Portal; the Arizona Map; Arizona Height Modernization; Education and Outreach. The Appendix includes additional information about AGIC committees and contact

PRODUCING AN ON-CALL-HELP DISPATCHER GUIDE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE COSTA RICA FIRE DEPARTMENT

As Costa Rica becomes subject to a highly dynamic emergency scene, Cuerpo de Bomberos, the country\u27s fire department, is in a constant search for ways to improve its response services. This includes everything from improving firefighter training to updating technological devices. This report details our contribution to a digital on-call-help dispatcher guide to complement their efforts of improvement in the fire department. Our guide was created specifically for the dispatchers at the Office of Communications, Santo Domingo, the site of this project

Town of Antrim, New Hampshire 2015 annual report.

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire

Myopia during emergency improvisation: lessons from a catastrophic wildfire

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how a number of processes joined to create the microlevel strategies and procedures that resulted in the most lethal and tragic forest fire in Portugal's history, recalled as the EN236-1 road tragedy in the fire of Pedrogao Grande. Design/methodology/approach Using an inductive theory development approach, the authors consider how the urgency and scale of perceived danger coupled with failures of system-wide communication led fire teams to improvise repeatedly. Findings The paper shows how structure collapse led teams to use only local information prompting acts of improvisational myopia, in the particular shape of corrosive myopia, and how a form of incidental improvisation led to catastrophic results. Practical implications The research offers insights into the dangers of improvisation arising from corrosive myopia, identifying ways to minimize them with the development of improvisation practices that allow for the creation of new patterns of action. The implications for managing surprise through improvisation extend to risk contexts beyond wildfires. Originality/value The paper stands out for showing the impact of improvisational myopia, especially in its corrosive form, which stands in stark contrast to the central role of attention to the local context highlighted in previous research on improvisation. At the same time, by exploring the effects of incidental improvisation, it also departs from the agentic conception of improvisation widely discussed in the improvisation literature.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Annual report of the town officers of the town of Pittsburg, New Hampshire for the year ending December 31, 2010.

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire

From common operational picture to common situational understanding: An analysis based on practitioner perspectives

The concepts of Situational Awareness (SA) and Common Operational Picture (COP) are closely related and well-acknowledged to be crucial factors for effective emergency management. In multi-agency operations, such as extreme weather events, the involved first responders manage the event with different mandates, objectives, and tools which can make it challenging to build a COP. Effective collaboration requires a common situational understanding, based on knowledge about each other’s responsibilities and tasks, mutual respect and trust, as well as common communication tools for emergency communication and information sharing. This paper argues that the COP serves as a basis for deciding on further action, and thus represents a first stage in the process of establishing common situational understanding among the involved actors. The empirical basis for the study includes interviews with Norwegian emergency management stakeholders, analysis of audio-logs, and review of public documents. Based on the analysis we present a framework comprising activities and processes involved in establishing a COP as a basis for common situational understanding.publishedVersio

From Common Operational Picture to Common Situational Understanding : A Framework for Information Sharing in Multi-Organizational Emergency Management

Complex emergencies such as natural disasters are increasing in frequency and scope, in all regions of the world. These emergencies have devastating impacts on people, property, and the environment. Responding to these events and reducing their impact requires that emergency management organizations (EMOs) collaborate in their operations. Complex emergencies require extraordinary efforts from EMOs and often should be handled beyond ordinary routines and structures. Such operations involving multiple stakeholders are typically characterized by inadequate information sharing, decision-making problems, limited situational awareness (SA), and lack of common situational understanding. Despite a high volume of research on these challenges, evaluations from complex disasters and large-scale exercises document that there are still several unsolved issues related to information sharing and the development of common situational understanding. Examples here include fulfillment of heterogeneous information needs, employment of different communication tools and processes with limited interoperability, and information overload resulting from a lack of mechanisms for filtering irrelevant information. Multi-organizational emergency management is an established area of research focusing on how to successfully collaborate and share information for developing common situational understanding. However, the level of complexity and situational dependencies between the involved EMOs create challenges for researchers. An important element for efficient collaboration and information sharing is building and maintaining a common operational picture (COP). Sharing important information is a key element in emergency management involving several EMOs, and both static and dynamic information must be accessible to perform tasks effectively during emergency response. To be proactive and mitigate the emergency impacts requires up-to-date information, both factual information via the COP and the ability to share interpretations and implications through using a communication system for rapid verbal negotiation. The overall research objective is to investigate how stakeholders perceive and develop SA and COP, and to explore and understand key requirements for stakeholders to develop a common situational understanding in complex multi-organizational emergency management.publishedVersio

Evaluating Feasibility of APELL in Santo Domingo, Costa Rica

This study, prepared for the National Cleaner Production Center, assesses the feasibility of APELL (Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level) in Santo Domingo, Costa Rica. The objective is to organize local authorities, industries, and community to develop a cooperative emergency response protocol to mitigate dangers of technological emergencies. After conducting interviews to identify risks and resources in the canton and an informational forum to promote stakeholder interest, we concluded that APELL is feasible in Santo Domingo