Andrew Pope

Understanding social media business value, a prerequisite for social media selection

While the value of technology has been one of the key areas of research within the Information Systems/Information Technology (IS/IT) domain, the area is characterised by disagreement and a lack of consensus regarding what constitutes appropriate measures for technological value. Notwithstanding the fact that this represents a key obstacle to daily IS/IT operations, it is also a concern given the emergence of new technologies which have a significant impact on future operations. More specifically, this study highlights the lack of value understanding on social media, which is seen as a key prerequisite and part of the intelligence phase in Simon’s (1977) normative decision-making process, as applied to social media selection. Incorporating Amit and Zott’s (2001) model of value creation, this study examines the sources of value in 68 not-for-profit social media projects. Furthermore, utilising an adaptive theory approach, the study extends the model of Amit and Zott (2001) and formally defines key relationships between the sources of value creation, providing a more solid foundation for the process of social media selection. The study makes contributions to the IS/IT value, social media and not-for-profit domain and highlights that value is primarily created through efficiency and novelty, with secondary value sources being identified as lock-in and complementarities. The study also provides a refined value creation model and a number of propositions for further research.

Decision Support for Strategic Disaster Management: First Release of a Wiki

For successful emergency management (EM) it is crucial that all stakeholders, especially health care emergency responders, use the same terminology. Throughout the emergency management lifecycle it is necessary for individual agencies to work together, sharing information and resources. Emergency management is already a complex process, but a multi-agency response comes with added difficulties. Each agency has its own organisational cultures, structures, and technologies in place, managed by internal processes and systems. To address some of the challenges associated with a multi-agency response (e.g., lack of coordination, information, and interoperability), standardisation is promoted. By ensuring the use of shared terms, operational inefficiencies and delays can be reduced and a shared vocabulary can be promoted across multiple agencies. For this reason, the S-HELP Strategic Disaster Management wiki has been developed by University of Vienna, Austria (UNIVIE). The wiki provides main glossary terms, definitions, and standards to improve decision making. It is implemented as a part of the FP7-EU S-HELP (Securing Health.Emergency.Learning.Planning) project, which develops a Decision Support (DS) tool for EM and is coordinated by University College Cork (UCC), Ireland.

BigPromises: using organisational mindfulness to integrate big data in emergency management decision making

Abstract Many governmental agencies are currently engaged in activities to improve access to information which are encouraging recent Big Data (BD) trends. However, determining and demonstrating the benefit to emergency management information systems (EMIS) users has yet been realised. EMIS are critical to navigating a complex network of disparate IS used for real time, coordinated decision-making among agencies. Two significant challenges to incorporating BD analytical, visual, and predictive capabilities are mutual acceptance and system integration. This paper looks at the underlying principles of organisational mindfulness (OM) demonstrated in the convergence of EM processes, systems, and organisations in decision-making. The investigation proposes a design science research in information systems (DSRIS) approach to build an IS artefact for EMIS evaluation. Critical immediacy of information and decisions require adherence to processes which build capabilities to support EMIS users. This adds a layer of complexity to ISDT for EMIS, yet may equally lead to broader BD acceptance and integration.

Towards the development of a decision support system for multi-agency decision-making during cross-border emergencies

Abstract Developing decision support systems for emergency situations is a complex and challenging task. These difficulties are compounded further in the case of cross-border emergencies, which often require the coordination and collaboration of independent agencies. These agencies have different structures and resources in place, and follow their own internal policies and procedures. If a number of countries have been affected, agencies may not even share the same language. Large-scale disasters, whether natural, deliberate, or accidental do not respect borders and come with a high risk to human life and a variety of economic and health impacts. Thus, it is the aim of the S-HELP (Securing-Health Emergency Learning Planning) project to develop a decision support tool-set that supports multi-agency decision-making during cross-border emergencies. S-HELP seeks to provide a tool-set that supports rapid and effective decision-making across all stages of the emergency management lifecycle (i.e. mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery). To address the challenges associated with multi-agency emergency management, a holistic framed approach to healthcare preparedness, response, and recovery is proposed. This holistic framework has been created to guide the development of the S-HELP solution. The framework integrates a number of components important in the phased iterative development of an emergency management decision support system, such as, interoperability standards, risk communication, spatial data management, agile development, healthcare responder training, and scenario development for system evaluation.

An advanced decision support system for European disaster management : the feature of the skills taxonomy

Abstract Mankind has faced a huge increase in severe natural and man-made disasters worldwide in the last few years. Emergency responders on a strategic, tactical, and operational level can be assisted by decision support systems (DSS) to enhance disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Policy makers are in need of an advanced, resilient and integrated incident command and control systems for emergency responders that incorporates health care-related features. To address this need, a DSS was developed in the European Union (EU) project named Securing Health.Emergency.Learning.Planning (S-HELP). Improving the health care delivery process through health care-related DSS features, the identification of key emergency responders and their associated tasks performed in preparedness, response, and recovery-related interventions is absolutely necessary. Thus, we establish a skills taxonomy for the S-HELP DSS Toolset “Decision Making Module” to interlink key emergency interventions/tasks with main national emergency responders supported by international emergency responders with a special focus on the EU. Furthermore, we provide an overview of which key emergency interventions/tasks can be covered by EU Civil Protection Modules by incorporating availability, start of operation, self-sufficiency, and operation time. This skills taxonomy for the S-HELP DSS Toolset “Decision Making Module” improves the interoperability of emergency responders when they cope with major disasters such as mass flooding, chemical spills, and biological-hazards policy scenarios that impact on health care. In the future, operation research models related to fields such as humanitarian logistics or disease control could be incorporated into or benefit from the S-HELP DSS.

The creation of a training model to support decision-making of emergency management practitioners: a design research study

Abstract Errors in decision-making worldwide highlight the need for training in decision-making. The unpredictability and complexity of emergencies makes training in every possible emergency impossible. Rather than training in specific examples of major emergency events, training in a decision-making skill set will provide a method of response that will be transferable to all emergencies. Various scenarios will support the training as a decision needs a context for application. The resulting educational tool will focus on emergency services at the strategic and tactical levels in the response stage of an emergency. The continual engagement of stakeholder should result in a purpose-built training course. Design science research approach will be utilised, investigating connections between theories of cognitive load and expert performance. Key aspects of the developed training course will include the concepts of metrics, deliberate practice and proficiency based progression, to ensure an appropriate training programme rather than a mere educational experience.

A Comprehensive Decision Support System for Enhanced Emergency Decision Management and Training

Emergency decision makers face a challenge taking rapid and high-risk decisions during an emergency situation, especially when the emergency is cross-border and requires multi-agency cooperation. The emergency decision makers use emergency management (EM) system and sometimes decision support systems (DSS) when responding to a crisis. To date the emergency decision makers have not had access to a system that supports them in all facets of the full EM cycle. This paper describes work in progress designing and building a comprehensive system of systems that intend to be that support for emergency decision makers. The system has successfully demonstrated its value from a technical and user perspective. Future tests will demonstrate if it will enhance decision management in reality-based emergency scenarios.

Incorporating mindfulness mechanisms in designing support systems for multiagency interoperability in emergency management

Disasters expose the strengths and weakness of multi-jurisdictional and multi-disciplinary networks of public sector, private industry and non-governmental agencies that operate in emergency management (EM). The design of information systems (IS) for multi-agency use has to consider a broad spectrum of functionality, environmental constraints, and system specifications for these complex networks. Mindfulness, a key feature of high reliability organizations, provides a theoretical framework focused on collective capabilities critical to groups engaged in emergency preparedness threat and risk analysis. This research in progress paper proposes a process oriented approach for group decision support systems (GDSS) which supports mindful anticipation and containment of unexpected events. The complexity of disasters and multi-organizational response requires advancements in interoperability centred on capabilities for active preparedness in addition to system interface. The paper describes mechanisms to improve interoperability and multiagency coordination in EM through capability based performance in the IS domain.