Towards an integrated approach to emergency management: interdisciplinary challenges for research and practice

Abstract

This article presents an interdisciplinary vision for large-scale integrated emergency management that has been inspired by the transition from platform centric to integrated operations in the oil and gas fields, which uses remote emergency control centres collaborating virtually with local responders. The article discusses some of the most salient research challenges for integrated emergency management, including the role of mobile technology, human-centred sensing, citizen participation and social media, and the socio-cultural determinants of disaster management. The purpose of this article is to frame an integrated emergency management approach that adopts a multidisciplinary approach, including human computer interaction, information systems, computer science, development studies and organization science employing different methodologies. Most importantly, we need to better understand the socio-cultural determinants of how people prepare to, respond and perceive disasters, in order to evaluate whether and what kind of information and communication technology (ICT) support is appropriate. There is need for more research as to why in some regions local people ignore official orders to evacuate, and rather follow the advice of local leaders, elders or religious leaders. In other instances, disasters are seen as 'acts of God' thus shaping disaster preparedness and response.

Digitalized Co-production of Emergency Response : Using Volunteers as First Responders

“…However, the thesis rather highlights the importance of improved ICT artifacts to maintain the motivation of volunteers and to increase their effectiveness by integrating functions like geofencing and dynamic resource allocation. This is in line with related studies like Webersik et al (2015), Lember et al (2019), andAbdulhamid et al (2021) who call for increased attention to ad-hoc ICT artifacts and their related effects. Here, it seems that in both large crises and local incidents, improved ICTs are critical for effective volunteering work.…”

“…These studies mainly describe the ICTs used by volunteers, i.e., social media platforms, as enablers of volunteer activities (Starbird 2013;Cobb et al 2014;Jurgens & Helsloot 2018;Demiroz & Akbas 2022). In some studies, authors highlight associated challenges related to ICTs such as sharing misleading information by volunteers and imposing data overload on professional response authorities by, for instance, posting a huge amount of information on social media during or after a natural disaster (Webersik et al 2015;Reuter et al 2020). As to local emergency response to smaller accidents, there are a few studies that focus on the coordinated inclusion of volunteers and call the phenomenon as ICT-enabled or digitalized co-production of emergency response (e.g., Ramsell et al 2019;Pilemalm 2021Pilemalm , 2022a.…”

“…In the literature, some studies handle the ICT-facilitated involvement of volunteers focusing on technical aspects (e.g., Webersik et al 2015;Reuter et al 2020) or organizational aspects (e.g., Jurgens & Helsloot 2018;Musso et al 2019). Also, there are studies that consider both technical and organizational aspects (e.g., Ramsell et al 2017;Auferbauer & Tellioğlu 2019).…”

Digitalized Co-production and Volunteerism in Emergency Response: A Literature Review

“…Auferbauer and Tellioglu (2019) see that organized volunteer groups can play a mediator role between formal responders and spontaneous volunteers, e.g., the VOSTs concept introduced before. Nevertheless, to approach more-planned collaboration between formal responders and digital volunteers, both parties must establish predefined schemes that determine responsibilities and tasks to avoid disorganization under response actions (Purohit et al 2014;Webersik et al 2015). Moreover, Keim and Noji (2011), mention that current digital volunteerism practices should be integrated into public policies and regulations and that quality assurance should be established.…”

“…For instance, in large-scale crises, studies argue how the contributions of digital volunteers should be enhanced by addressing legal issues. This includes the governance of volunteering activities, defining liabilities, and establishing integrative response frameworks (Abdulhamid et al 2021;Webersik et al 2015). Some other matters related to data accuracy and reliability of content are reflected in Reuter et al (2020).…”