Emergency response; Crisis Informatics; Collective Intelligence. CSCW 2014 Gabriela Avram

Transcription

1 Emergency response; Crisis Informatics; Collective Intelligence CSCW 2014 Gabriela Avram

2 Crises and global communication A crisis an interruption in the reproduction of economic, cultural, social and/or political life encompasses a whole range of situations: major natural disasters in Haiti, Chile, China,Japan, the Philippines that have claimed thousands of lives. human-made crises such as terrorism attacks (9/11, Mumbai bombings), the spread of human and animal viral disease (H1N1, foot-andmouth disease), nuclear and chemical crises (Bhupal, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Yokoshima), war and political unrest (Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela) Crisis Informatics is the interconnectedness of people, organizations, information and technology during crises. (Hagar 2006)

3 Information challenges in a crisis: Information overload or, conversely, lack of information Changing information needs at various stages of a crisis: preparedness, warning, impact, response, recovery and reconstruction The many diverse actors and agencies involved who increase the amount of information produced Integration and coordination of information by these actors and agencies The connection of informal and formal channels of information creation and dissemination Information uncertainty Trustworthy sources of information Conflicting information Getting the right information to the right person at the right time

4 What is emergency management? Phases and professional activities: Mitigation Preparedness Response Recovery

5 Mitigation Mitigation efforts attempt to prevent hazards from developing into disasters altogether, or to reduce the effects of disasters when they occur. The mitigation phase focuses on long-term measures for reducing or eliminating risk. The implementation of mitigation strategies can be considered a part of the recovery process if applied after a disaster occurs.

6 Preparedness In the preparedness phase, emergency managers develop plans of action for when the disaster strikes. Common preparedness measures include: * communication plans with easily understandable terminology and methods. * proper maintenance and training of emergency services, including mass human resources such as community emergency response teams. * development and exercise of emergency population warning methods combined with emergency shelters and evacuation plans. * stockpiling, inventory, and maintain disaster supplies and equipment. * develop organizations of trained volunteers among civilian populations.

7 Response The response phase includes the mobilization of the necessary emergency services and first responders in the disaster area. likely to include a first wave of core emergency services, such as firefighters, police and ambulance crews. They may be supported by a number of secondary emergency services, such as specialist rescue teams.

8 Recovery The aim of the recovery phase is to restore the affected area to its previous state. recovery efforts are concerned with issues and decisions that must be made after immediate needs are addressed. Recovery efforts are primarily concerned with actions that involve rebuilding destroyed property, re-employment, and the repair of other essential infrastructure. An important aspect of effective recovery efforts is taking advantage of a window of opportunity for the implementation of mitigative measures that might otherwise be unpopular. Citizens of the affected area are more likely to accept more mitigative changes when a recent disaster is in fresh memory.

9 CSCW studies of emergency services Call taking ( and sense making) (Whalen 1995)- the work of emergency workers collaborating with callers; the cooperative nature of dispatch in an ambulance centre in the UK (Martin et al., 1997; Martin and Bowers, 1999) Artman and Waern (1999) have identified the way in which mutual attentiveness is guaranteed in a Swedish centre through talking to the room, reporting on work in a Swedish emergency service centre

10 Studies of control rooms (Pettersson et al 2004)- ambiguities, awareness and economy the role of embodied conduct and movement in making sense of the changing situation and in coordinating emergency teamwork (Buscher 2007) design concept of building diagnosis artefacts based on the idea of providing context as a resource (Ramirez et al 2008)

11 Reflection Think about a specific emergency that you witnessed (either directly or through the media); What were the emergency systems involved? What worked well? What didn t? Can you think about any CSCW tools that could have helped the situation?

12 New perspective- citizen involvement Social media provides members of the public with the opportunity to get involved: Mapping bush fires in Australia Post-tsunami help teams Haiti & Philippines world-wide volunteers Tokyo post-earthquake relief train system breakdown

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14 Current trend the redefinition of the top-down control and command approach to crisis information management towards community-based grass-roots strategies whereby access to information and knowledge is created and disseminated by citizens using a mix of methods: social media tools (for example, photo and video sharing, text messaging); traditional technologies (e.g., radio), and person-to-person interaction at a local community level. Citizen information seekers become information providers. It is critical that information from informal and formal channels is coordinated, integrated and aligned into the official crisis response.

15 Reflection What was your experience of the recent high winds and floods? Did digital media play any role in keeping you aware of what was going on? Were you a simple consumer of news, or also a producer? What collaborative aspects were involved?

16 Collective Intelligence "It is a form of universally distributed intelligence, constantly enhanced, coordinated in real time, and resulting in the effective mobilization of skills. I'll add the following indispensable characteristic to this definition: The basis and goal of collective intelligence is mutual recognition and enrichment of individuals rather than the cult of fetishized or hypostatized communities. (Levy, 1994) The new communication technologies allow huge numbers of people all over the planet to work together in new ways.

17 Mass collaboration four pre-requisites(tapscott&williams): Openness: Sharing ideas and intellectual property: though these resources provide the edge over competitors more benefits accrue from allowing others to share ideas and gain significant improvement and scrutiny through collaboration. Peering: Horizontal organization as with the 'opening up' of the Linux program where users are free to modify and develop it provided that they make it available for others. Peering succeeds because it encourages self-organization a style of production that works more effectively than hierarchical management for certain tasks. Sharing: Companies have started to share some ideas while maintaining some degree of control over others, like potential and critical patent rights. Limiting all intellectual property shuts out opportunities, while sharing some expands markets and brings out products faster. Acting Globally: The advancement in communication technology has prompted the rise of global companies at low overhead costs. The internet is widespread, therefore a globally integrated company has no geographical boundaries and may access new markets, ideas and technology.

18 Examples: Wikipedia Quora Video Games Predictive Markets

19 Reflection Come up with more examples of mass collaboration; What are the tools used? How are contributors finding each other? What are the major challenges of their collaboration?