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Purpose - This paper offers an empirical overview of European emergency managers' institutional arrangements and guidelines for using social media in risk and crisis communication. Design/methodology/approach - The authors collected and analysed material including publicly accessible relevant legal acts, policy documents, official guidelines, and press reports in eight European countries – Germany, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Hungary, Finland, Norway, and Estonia. Additionally, the authors carried out 95 interviews with emergency managers in the eight countries between September 2019 and February 2020. Findings - The authors found that emergency management institutions' social media usage is rarely centrally controlled and social media crisis communication was regulated with the same guidelines as crisis communication on traditional media. Considering this study's findings against the backdrop of existing research and practice, the authors find support for a “mixed arrangement” model by which centralised policies work in tandem with decentralised practices on an ad hoc basis. Practical implications - Comparative insights about institutional arrangements and procedural guidelines on social media crisis communication in the studied countries could inform the future policies concerning social media use in other emergency management systems. Originality/value - This study includes novel, cross-national comparative data on the institutional arrangements and guidelines for using social media in emergency management in the context of Europe.

Kriser avlöser varandra i världen. Klimatförändringar leder till extrema väderfenomen såsom långvarig torka men också översvämningar och stormar, pandemier som lamslår stora delar av världen samt krig både i mellanöstern men också i Sveriges omedelbara närhet. Omvärldssituationen gör att kris- och krigsberedskap återigen är ett aktuellt ämne som prioriteras högt av den svenska regeringen. Syftet med denna studie är att konkretisera och medvetandegöra svenska fastighetsägares ansvar under kris och krig samt att presentera åtgärdsförslag för svenska fastighetsägare att vidta för att effektivt höja beredskapen i sina organisationer. Studien är avgränsad till att avhandla bostadsbolag men många av de slutsatser och åtgärder som presenteras går att tillämpa också på annat fastighetsbestånd. Studien är av kvalitativ sort där den teoretiska referensramen bygger på ett kanadensisk ramverk/ process för “emergency management”, den lagstadgade ansvarsfördelningen, skyddsrummet och fastighetsägaren ur ett försörjningsperspektiv samt tidigare och nuvarande beredskapsarbete i Sverige. Insamlingen har skett med semistrukturerade intervjuer som följt fyra huvudteman: Sveriges civila beredskap, offentliga- och privata organisationers ansvar, beredskapsarbete i fastighetsbranschen samt framtida beredskapsarbete. Den teoretiska referensramen bygger på den lagstadgade ansvarsfördelningen, skyddsrummet och fastighetsägaren ur ett försörjningsperspektiv samt tidigare och nuvarande beredskapsarbete i Sverige. Slutsatsen i studien är att fastighetsbolag har få krav kopplade till hanteringen av kris- och krigsberedskap. I Sverige tar det offentliga en central roll i hanteringen av uppkomna situationer men man efterlyser samtidigt ett större ansvarstagande från näringslivet, något som näringslivet just nu håller på att göra men man ser hellre ett större ansvarstagande genom ekonomiska incitament hellre än utökade lagstadgade krav eftersom beredskap anses vara en statlig angelägenhet, slutli, Crises follow one another in the world. Climate change leads to extreme weather phenomena such as droughts, but also floods and storms, pandemics that paralyze large parts of the world, as well as wars both in the Middle East and in Sweden's geographical proximity. The international situation makes crisis- and wartime preparedness once again a relevant topic that is highly prioritized by the Swedish government. The purpose of this study is to concretize and raise awareness of the responsibility of Swedish property owners during crises and wartime, as well as to present proposals for measures that Swedish property owners can take to effectively enhance preparedness in their organizations. The study is limited to discussing housing companies, but many of the conclusions and actions presented can also be applied to other real estate portfolios. The study is of a qualitative nature, with the theoretical framework based on a canadian process of emergency management, the statutory allocation of responsibilities, sheltering, and the property owner from a supply perspective, as well as previous and current preparedness efforts in Sweden. Data collection has been conducted through semi-structured interviews following four main themes: Sweden's civilian preparedness, the responsibilities of public and private organizations, preparedness efforts in the real estate industry, and future preparedness work. The conclusion of the study is that property owners have few requirements related to the handling of crisis and wartime preparedness. In Sweden, the public sector plays a central role in managing emerging situations, but at the same time, there is a call for greater responsibility from the business sector, something that the business sector is currently addressing, but would prefer to see a greater sense of responsibility through economic incentives rather than expanded statutory requirements, as preparedness is considered a matter for the state. Finally, a proposal for measure

Damages to critical infrastructures may cause a considerable negative impact on the people especially those who are benefiting from these systems. Emergency management systems are designed to minimize the negative impact of disasters as such, they are also considered critical systems. Efficient management of emergencies is crucial in preserving the integrity of critical infrastructures. In the literature, key performance indicators (KPIs) are introduced to measure and improve the efficiency of business processes. Unfortunately, the necessary KPIs for emergency management processes have not been defined rigorously. The lack of a mathematical basis makes it impossible to measure and analyze business processes objectively and computationally. This chapter introduces a novel set of KPIs suitable for evaluating emergency management processes. A simulation framework is designed to model and assess emergency monitoring and management processes and the associated KPIs. The utility of our approach is evaluated by using various disaster scenarios. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Kriser avlöser varandra i världen. Klimatförändringar leder till extrema väderfenomen såsom långvarig torka men också översvämningar och stormar, pandemier som lamslår stora delar av världen samt krig både i mellanöstern men också i Sveriges omedelbara närhet. Omvärldssituationen gör att kris- och krigsberedskap återigen är ett aktuellt ämne som prioriteras högt av den svenska regeringen. Syftet med denna studie är att konkretisera och medvetandegöra svenska fastighetsägares ansvar under kris och krig samt att presentera åtgärdsförslag för svenska fastighetsägare att vidta för att effektivt höja beredskapen i sina organisationer. Studien är avgränsad till att avhandla bostadsbolag men många av de slutsatser och åtgärder som presenteras går att tillämpa också på annat fastighetsbestånd. Studien är av kvalitativ sort där den teoretiska referensramen bygger på ett kanadensisk ramverk/ process för “emergency management”, den lagstadgade ansvarsfördelningen, skyddsrummet och fastighetsägaren ur ett försörjningsperspektiv samt tidigare och nuvarande beredskapsarbete i Sverige. Insamlingen har skett med semistrukturerade intervjuer som följt fyra huvudteman: Sveriges civila beredskap, offentliga- och privata organisationers ansvar, beredskapsarbete i fastighetsbranschen samt framtida beredskapsarbete. Den teoretiska referensramen bygger på den lagstadgade ansvarsfördelningen, skyddsrummet och fastighetsägaren ur ett försörjningsperspektiv samt tidigare och nuvarande beredskapsarbete i Sverige. Slutsatsen i studien är att fastighetsbolag har få krav kopplade till hanteringen av kris- och krigsberedskap. I Sverige tar det offentliga en central roll i hanteringen av uppkomna situationer men man efterlyser samtidigt ett större ansvarstagande från näringslivet, något som näringslivet just nu håller på att göra men man ser hellre ett större ansvarstagande genom ekonomiska incitament hellre än utökade lagstadgade krav eftersom beredskap anses vara en statlig angelägenhet, slutli, Crises follow one another in the world. Climate change leads to extreme weather phenomena such as droughts, but also floods and storms, pandemics that paralyze large parts of the world, as well as wars both in the Middle East and in Sweden's geographical proximity. The international situation makes crisis- and wartime preparedness once again a relevant topic that is highly prioritized by the Swedish government. The purpose of this study is to concretize and raise awareness of the responsibility of Swedish property owners during crises and wartime, as well as to present proposals for measures that Swedish property owners can take to effectively enhance preparedness in their organizations. The study is limited to discussing housing companies, but many of the conclusions and actions presented can also be applied to other real estate portfolios. The study is of a qualitative nature, with the theoretical framework based on a canadian process of emergency management, the statutory allocation of responsibilities, sheltering, and the property owner from a supply perspective, as well as previous and current preparedness efforts in Sweden. Data collection has been conducted through semi-structured interviews following four main themes: Sweden's civilian preparedness, the responsibilities of public and private organizations, preparedness efforts in the real estate industry, and future preparedness work. The conclusion of the study is that property owners have few requirements related to the handling of crisis and wartime preparedness. In Sweden, the public sector plays a central role in managing emerging situations, but at the same time, there is a call for greater responsibility from the business sector, something that the business sector is currently addressing, but would prefer to see a greater sense of responsibility through economic incentives rather than expanded statutory requirements, as preparedness is considered a matter for the state. Finally, a proposal for measure

Critical infrastructures are required to be monitored and eventually rescued, for example, due to natural and/or man-made disasters. These control activities are among the fundamental tasks of emergency management systems. We consider distributed digital-twin-based control architectural styles as natural candidates for structuring emergency management systems. Due to their physically distributed nature, critical infrastructures and the associated emergency management systems are inevitably linked with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Emergency management activities, however, require domain-specific GIS data models and event-based platforms to support digital-twin-based control. Unfortunately, current GIS systems are not expressive enough to fulfill these requirements. Moreover, due to the distributed and heterogeneous nature of such digital-twin-based architectures and the lack of standards, preserving the consistency of data can be difficult. To overcome the expressivity problem of the current GIS systems, this chapter extends the GIS system CityGML with a set of new abstractions. Data inconsistency problem is addressed by a novel architecture, which includes an atomic publisher-subscriber protocol and an event-based layer on the top of a GIS database. The architecture is simulated and verified by a model-checker. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emergency management systems are considered critical systems (EU Commission, 2006 [1]). It is, therefore, necessary that emergency management systems operate with high effectiveness and efficiency. This requires accurate detection of emergency conditions and optimal allocation of the available resources. In the case of large-scale disasters and insufficient resources, however, manual prioritizing and compromising resources can be extremely difficult. This chapter proposes a novel architectural framework that automatically converts emergency reports to a set of rescue tasks to be scheduled. If tasks cannot be scheduled as desired due to conflicts in allocating resources, control algorithms are applied. This architecture allows the introduction of new disaster types and control strategies if needed. The framework is designed and implemented in a simulated environment and its utility is tested with various emergency scenarios. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Damages to critical infrastructures may cause a considerable negative impact on the people especially those who are benefiting from these systems. Emergency management systems are designed to minimize the negative impact of disasters as such, they are also considered critical systems. Efficient management of emergencies is crucial in preserving the integrity of critical infrastructures. In the literature, key performance indicators (KPIs) are introduced to measure and improve the efficiency of business processes. Unfortunately, the necessary KPIs for emergency management processes have not been defined rigorously. The lack of a mathematical basis makes it impossible to measure and analyze business processes objectively and computationally. This chapter introduces a novel set of KPIs suitable for evaluating emergency management processes. A simulation framework is designed to model and assess emergency monitoring and management processes and the associated KPIs. The utility of our approach is evaluated by using various disaster scenarios. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Critical infrastructures are required to be monitored and eventually rescued, for example, due to natural and/or man-made disasters. These control activities are among the fundamental tasks of emergency management systems. We consider distributed digital-twin-based control architectural styles as natural candidates for structuring emergency management systems. Due to their physically distributed nature, critical infrastructures and the associated emergency management systems are inevitably linked with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Emergency management activities, however, require domain-specific GIS data models and event-based platforms to support digital-twin-based control. Unfortunately, current GIS systems are not expressive enough to fulfill these requirements. Moreover, due to the distributed and heterogeneous nature of such digital-twin-based architectures and the lack of standards, preserving the consistency of data can be difficult. To overcome the expressivity problem of the current GIS systems, this chapter extends the GIS system CityGML with a set of new abstractions. Data inconsistency problem is addressed by a novel architecture, which includes an atomic publisher-subscriber protocol and an event-based layer on the top of a GIS database. The architecture is simulated and verified by a model-checker. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Emergency management systems are considered critical systems (EU Commission, 2006 [1]). It is, therefore, necessary that emergency management systems operate with high effectiveness and efficiency. This requires accurate detection of emergency conditions and optimal allocation of the available resources. In the case of large-scale disasters and insufficient resources, however, manual prioritizing and compromising resources can be extremely difficult. This chapter proposes a novel architectural framework that automatically converts emergency reports to a set of rescue tasks to be scheduled. If tasks cannot be scheduled as desired due to conflicts in allocating resources, control algorithms are applied. This architecture allows the introduction of new disaster types and control strategies if needed. The framework is designed and implemented in a simulated environment and its utility is tested with various emergency scenarios. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fact sheet containing a statistical overview of the current COVID-19 situation in Utah.

Fact sheet containing a statistical overview of the current COVID-19 situation in Utah.

Fact sheet containing a statistical overview of the current COVID-19 situation in Utah.

This thesis aims to advance critical geographical understanding of the knowledges and experiences of state-led emergency management organisation (EMO) volunteers in Victoria, Australia and examine the reasons for volunteer (non)participation in community engagement initiatives. This thesis is situated in the context of recent ‘unprecedented’ natural hazards across Australia. As the frequency and costs of natural hazards grows, there is an increasing recognition in Australian emergency management policy and practice of the importance of community engagement in supporting publics preparedness. Approximately 250,000 volunteers from state-led EMOs form the core of Australia’s response to natural hazards. Numerous natural hazard-triggered disasters over the last 15 years have contributed to increasing expectations for EMO volunteers to be involved in prevention and preparedness, and to ‘do’ community engagement to support publics preparedness. However, there is limited qualitative research exploring the knowledges and experiences of EMO volunteers, their experiences of volunteering ‘between’ hazard events, and the reasons contributing to volunteer (non)participation in community engagement. This thesis presents the findings of semi-structure interviews with 29 state-led EMO volunteers and/or career staff involved in community engagement, and through critical reflection of experiential knowledge as a researcher ‘doing’ community engagement. A relational lens was utilised in interpreting the data. The thesis addresses this gap in qualitative research by identifying the participants’ motivations for volunteering and the competing priorities for volunteer attention and time amidst rapidly changing social, organisational, and hazard riskscapes. These competing motivations, priorities, and constraints are seen to contribute to wider volunteer non-participation in community engagement. For those who are motivated to participate in community engagement, the thesis then examines

Festivals, as a prominent sector within the tourism industry, are vulnerable to a growing number of disasters that pose threats to lives and properties. The significance of effective emergency management in the context of festivals has become increasingly apparent as prominent festivals have become integral components of global cultural celebrations. This study aims to investigate the potential insights gained from adopting a service ecosystem perspective in understanding and enhancing emergency management at festivals. The research explores how adopting a service ecosystem perspective provides insight into emergency management and investigates the resources volunteers bring to a festival ecosystem to achieve effective emergency response. The study employs a survey design, incorporating closed and open-ended questions. The findings reveal that festival volunteers are aware of the diverse hazards present, including human, environmental, natural, and infrastructural. They express a desire to contribute to emergency management and exhibit confidence in responding during emergencies. The study also highlights the importance of festival provided emergency management training in enhancing volunteers' confidence and preparedness. Training specific to the festival context equips volunteers with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively respond to emergencies. Participants who received training demonstrated a higher level of confidence in their ability to contribute to emergency management. Additionally, the study underscores the significance of volunteers' familiarity with the festival emergency plan. While a substantial portion of volunteers reported being aware of the plan, many acknowledged their lack of familiarity with its details. This finding emphasizes the need to improve volunteers' knowledge and understanding of the emergency plan to ensure effective coordination and response during emergencies. This research sheds light on the crucial role of volunteers i

People-centred early warning systems must ensure that their warnings are timely, actionable and get to the largest number of exposed individuals in the shortest time possible. Due to the increased access to high-bandwidth communication, mobile applications have become a valuable complement to traditional sources of emergency information. However, there is limited research on how useful end-users perceive these apps and their functionalities in the context of flood emergencies. This research presents the first online user experience evaluation of the A4alerts, a crisis app developed to disseminate the flood warnings triggered by the operational impact-based early warning system in Catalonia, Spain. Following an interactive experiment using the A4alerts app to access emergency information within real-based flood scenarios, participants were prompted to measure their experience using statements linked to criteria on usefulness, functional appropriateness, and adoption. The evaluation results suggest that sampled participants considered the A4alerts a useful communication tool to support end-users and their emergency actions. In particular, the local impact-based flood warnings, regional official warnings and self-protection action checklist were ranked as the most useful functionalities implemented within the app. These findings justify future iterations of the A4alerts for supporting the rapid dissemination of emergency information and helping communities reduce the impacts of flood events., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The provision of capacities and the development of tools is important for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to be a more resilient region in the face of emergencies and disasters that impact the population's socioeconomic well-being. Emergencies caused by natural events that lead to disasters and health crises have highlighted the need for countries to have contingency planes that allow them to act quickly and appropriately to reduce the impact of these events. For this reason, the IDB's Trade and Investment Division of the Integration and Trade Sector, through the Regional Public Goods initiative, has been accompanying the region to prepare this Toolkit. This document will provide customs administrations and border control entities with the necessary tools to facilitate the entry and exit of critical goods during emergency situations according to best international practices in the matter. The development of this Toolkit would not have been possible without the cooperation of the customs authorities in the region, as well as the support of the World Customs Organization and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Fact sheet containing a demographic overview of the current COVID-19 situation in Utah.

Emergency management agencies nationally are increasingly involved in the management of wicked problems in their communities. This thesis explores how the government can use emergency management agencies in response to wicked problems. To answer this question, this thesis takes a multi-step approach that compares the collaborative approach to wicked problem–solving and the ways in which emergency management fosters collaboration for disaster response. The comparison shows that emergency management’s tools can support collaborative responses to wicked problems, but capacity problems in the field of emergency management hinder involvement. This thesis’s conclusion recognizes that concerns about emergency management’s existing workload, underfunded and limited budgets, and the potential negative impacts of a new mission balanced with existing missions are valid. Ultimately, this thesis recognizes four possible outcomes for decision-makers. If emergency management is assigned the wicked problem space without additional resources, both mission areas will falter. If properly resourced, emergency management can adequately address wicked problems and their current workload. The third outcome leaves emergency management outside of the wicked problem mission, while the fourth outcome is to take what works from emergency management and apply it across the government. Ultimately, each outcome alters emergency management’s ability to respond to major disasters., Civilian, Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.

Fact sheet tracking the COVID-19 test results by date and type in Utah.

Fact sheet containing a statistical overview of the current hospitalization and mortality rates relating to the COVID-19 situation in Utah.

Fact sheet containing a statistical overview of the current outbreak rates relating to the COVID-19 situation in Utah.

Fact sheet containing a statistical overview of the current COVID-19 situation in Utah.

Fact sheet tracking the two-week cumulative incidence rate of COVID-19 in Utah.

Fact sheet containing a demographic overview of the current COVID-19 situation in Utah.

Annual report of the Utah Department of Public Safety and its divisions: Utah Highway Patrol, State Bureau of Investigation, Police Officer Standards and Training (POST), Driver License Division, Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI), Bureau of Forensic Services, Division of Emergency Management, Statewide Information and Analysis Center, Fire Marshal's Office, Highway Safety, Communications Bureau, and Public Safety Administrative Services.

Fact sheet containing a statistical overview of the current risk factors relating to the COVID-19 situation in Utah.

Fact sheet tracking the Coronavirus vaccine rate in Utah.

Context As a novel coronavirus swept the world in early 2020, thousands of software developersbegan working from home. Many did so on short notice, under difficult and stressfulconditions.Objective This study investigates the effects of the pandemic on developers’ wellbeing andproductivity.Method A questionnaire survey was created mainly from existing, validated scales andtranslated into 12 languages. The data was analyzed using non-parametric inferentialstatistics and structural equation modeling.Results The questionnaire received 2225 usable responses from 53 countries. Factor analysissupported the validity of the scales and the structural model achieved a good fit (CFI =0.961, RMSEA = 0.051, SRMR = 0.067). Confirmatory results include: (1) the pandemichas had a negative effect on developers’ wellbeing and productivity; (2) productivity andwellbeing are closely related; (3) disaster preparedness, fear related to the pandemic andhome office ergonomics all affect wellbeing or productivity. Exploratory analysis suggeststhat: (1) women, parents and people with disabilities may be disproportionately affected;(2) different people need different kinds of support.

Japanese cities always have risks of large-scale earthquakes. Thus, it is very important to establish crisis management systems against large-scale disasters such as big earthquakes, and tsunamis to secure evacuation centers for evacuees. In this respect, it is extremely important to provide sufficient evacuation centers and to appropriately partition the whole region into small areas, such that a unique evacuation center is located in each area and the people living in the area can easily evacuate to the center. However, it is hard to find an optimal region partitioning, due to the uncertainty, such as a fire or collapsed buildings. In this research, we propose a method to enumerate all partitioning patterns using Zero-suppressed Binary Decision Diagram (ZDD) that satisfy several conditions. We apply the proposed method to Kamigyo Ward of Kyoto City, Japan., ISORA 2013 : The 11th International Symposium on Operations Research and its Applications in engineering , Aug 23-25, 2013 , Yellow Mountain, China

Urban population and expansion continue to rise, as have emergencies, and emergency response times are becoming longer in the city. Response times are critical in urban emergency management. Traditional navigation systems do not consider the preferential road usage rights and requirements crucial for emergency teams such as ambulances, fire departments, and police. In traditional navigation systems, features such as safety lanes and road width are not incorporated as routing criteria. Past emergency navigation studies do not contain many variables and this causes delays in emergency response processes. As a result, applications that process real-time traffic information and provide guidance according to different vehicle types are needed for emergency management.. This study aims to develop an application capable of routing for different vehicles according to criteria such as working hours, holidays, weather conditions, and seasonal effects. The application is developed with a novel approach in this context using machine learning methods and produces alternate routes with GPS navigation based on the real-time traffic situation. Moreover, the software also provides routing solutions for trucks, freight distribution, and automobiles and recommends unique routes for emergency vehicles based on factors including safety lanes, road width, corner turning angles, and right of way. The expected outcomes upon implementing this application include easy and fast access to the emergency locations, reduced response times, and improvement in urban emergency management services.

Purpose: This study describes preparedness of emergency physicians and general practitioners following chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents. Design/methodology/approach: Five emergency physicians and six general practitioners were interviewed individually, and data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: The study results showed that physicians' preparedness for chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents is linked to one main category: to be an expert and to seek expertise and two categories: preparations before receiving CRN patients, and physical examination and treatment of CRN patients with subcategories. Research limitations/implications: The results have implications for further research on the complexity of generalist vs specialist competence and knowledge when responding to chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents. Originality/value: This study provides insights regarding chemical, radiological and nuclear preparedness among physicians at emergency departments and primary healthcare centres.

This study aimed to evaluate the development of healthcare teamwork during and after the collaboration tabletop exercises, through observation and interview methods. Integration and maturity theoretical models were employed to explain the collaborative challenges in teams that may suffer from unequally distributed power, hierarchies, and fragmentation. Using three-level collaboration tabletop exercises and the Command and control, Safety, Communication, Assessment, Treatment, Triage, Transport (CSCATTT) instrument, 100 healthcare workers were observed during each step in the implementation of the CSCATTT instrument using two simulated scenarios. The results show a lack of integration and team maturity among participants in the first scenario, leading to the delayed start of the activity, task distribution, and decision making. These shortcomings were improved in the second scenario. In-depth interviews with 20 participants in the second phase of the study revealed improved knowledge and practical skills, self-confidence, and ability in team building within trans-professional groups in the second scenario, which in concordance with the integration theory, was due to the attempts made in the first scenario. Additionally, there was an improvement in the team’s maturity, which in concordance with the maturity theory, was due to the knowledge and practical skills during scenario plays. These results indicate the importance of continuous tabletop training, and the use of CSCATTT as a collaborative instrument, to promote the development of collaboration and to test the concept of preparedness., CC-BY 4.0

Emergency management agencies are responsible for developing processes to maintain situational awareness in emergency operations centers (EOCs) to prepare for and respond to disasters. Implementing internet of things (IoT) technologies can revolutionize emergency management and response by providing real-time data, improving communication and coordination, and leading to more efficient and effective emergency responses. IoT can provide signals intelligence to inform situational awareness in EOCs, provided the organization prepares for and uses the technology intentionally and integrates systems from daily processes. Through case studies on smart and novel cities, this thesis evaluates the possibility of using emerging IoT technologies in a crisis to guide local emergency management agencies in predicting emerging threats and maintaining situational awareness and demonstrates how IoT systems used for daily processes can generate signals intelligence. This thesis asserts that cities can use IoT systems to set baseline data readings and machine learning to detect anomalies within the community. Looking ahead, Songdo, South Korea, and NEOM in Saudi Arabia provide examples of how new cities can build a smart foundation around technology while engaging with anticipated residents to meet their needs. This research concludes that as IoT technology evolves, emergency managers must adapt and utilize these advancements to enhance operations and protect communities., Civilian, City of Cupertino, Copyright is reserved by the copyright owner.

Traditionally, disaster management has placed a great emphasis on institutional warning systems, and people have been treated as victims rather than active participants. However, with the evolution of communication technology, today, the general public significantly contributes towards performing disaster management tasks challenging traditional hierarchies in information distribution and acquisition. With mobile phones and Social Media (SM) platforms widely being used, people in disaster scenes act as non-technical sensors that provide contextual information in multiple modalities (e.g., text, image, audio and video) through these content-sharing applications. Research has shown that the general public has extensively used SM applications to report injuries or deaths, damage to infrastructure and utilities, caution, evacuation needs and missing or trapped people during disasters. Disaster responders significantly depend on data for their Situation Awareness (SA) or the dynamic understanding of “the big picture” in space and time for decision-making. However, despite the benefits, processing SM data for disaster response brings multiple challenges. Among them, the most significant challenge is that SM data contain rumours, fake information and false information. Thus, responding agencies have concerns regarding utilising SM for disaster response. Therefore, a high volume of important, real-time data that is very useful for disaster responders’ SA gets wasted. In addition to SM, many other data sources produce information during disasters, including CCTV monitoring, emergency call centres, and online news. The data from these sources come in multiple modalities such as text, images, video, audio and meta-data. To date, researchers have investigated how such data can be automatically processed for disaster response using machine learning and deep learning approaches using a single source/ single modality of data, and only a few have investigated the use of multiple so

Purpose: This study describes preparedness of emergency physicians and general practitioners following chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents. Design/methodology/approach: Five emergency physicians and six general practitioners were interviewed individually, and data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: The study results showed that physicians' preparedness for chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents is linked to one main category: to be an expert and to seek expertise and two categories: preparations before receiving CRN patients, and physical examination and treatment of CRN patients with subcategories. Research limitations/implications: The results have implications for further research on the complexity of generalist vs specialist competence and knowledge when responding to chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents. Originality/value: This study provides insights regarding chemical, radiological and nuclear preparedness among physicians at emergency departments and primary healthcare centres.

Purpose: This study describes preparedness of emergency physicians and general practitioners following chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents. Design/methodology/approach: Five emergency physicians and six general practitioners were interviewed individually, and data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. Findings: The study results showed that physicians' preparedness for chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents is linked to one main category: to be an expert and to seek expertise and two categories: preparations before receiving CRN patients, and physical examination and treatment of CRN patients with subcategories. Research limitations/implications: The results have implications for further research on the complexity of generalist vs specialist competence and knowledge when responding to chemical, radiological and nuclear incidents. Originality/value: This study provides insights regarding chemical, radiological and nuclear preparedness among physicians at emergency departments and primary healthcare centres.

This study aimed to evaluate the development of healthcare teamwork during and after the collaboration tabletop exercises, through observation and interview methods. Integration and maturity theoretical models were employed to explain the collaborative challenges in teams that may suffer from unequally distributed power, hierarchies, and fragmentation. Using three-level collaboration tabletop exercises and the Command and control, Safety, Communication, Assessment, Treatment, Triage, Transport (CSCATTT) instrument, 100 healthcare workers were observed during each step in the implementation of the CSCATTT instrument using two simulated scenarios. The results show a lack of integration and team maturity among participants in the first scenario, leading to the delayed start of the activity, task distribution, and decision making. These shortcomings were improved in the second scenario. In-depth interviews with 20 participants in the second phase of the study revealed improved knowledge and practical skills, self-confidence, and ability in team building within trans-professional groups in the second scenario, which in concordance with the integration theory, was due to the attempts made in the first scenario. Additionally, there was an improvement in the team’s maturity, which in concordance with the maturity theory, was due to the knowledge and practical skills during scenario plays. These results indicate the importance of continuous tabletop training, and the use of CSCATTT as a collaborative instrument, to promote the development of collaboration and to test the concept of preparedness., CC-BY 4.0

Festivals, as a prominent sector within the tourism industry, are vulnerable to a growing number of disasters that pose threats to lives and properties. The significance of effective emergency management in the context of festivals has become increasingly apparent as prominent festival has become integral components of global cultural celebrations. This study aims to investigate the potential insights gained from adopting a service ecosystem perspective in understanding and enhancing emergency management at festivals. The research explores how adopting a service ecosystem perspective provides insight into emergency management and investigates the resources volunteers bring to a festival ecosystem to achieve effective emergency response. The study employs a survey design, incorporating closed and open-ended questions. The findings reveal that festival volunteers are aware of the diverse hazards present, including human, environmental, natural, and infrastructural. They express a desire to contribute to emergency management and exhibit confidence in responding during emergencies. The study also highlights the importance of festival provided emergency management training in enhancing volunteers' confidence and preparedness. Training specific to the festival context equips volunteers with the necessary skills and knowledge to effectively respond to emergencies. Participants who received training demonstrated a higher level of confidence in their ability to contribute to emergency management. Additionally, the study underscores the significance of volunteers' familiarity with the festival emergency plan. While a substantial portion of volunteers reported being aware of the plan, many acknowledged their lack of familiarity with its details. This finding emphasizes the need to improve volunteers' knowledge and understanding of the emergency plan to ensure effective coordination and response during emergencies. This research sheds light on the crucial role of volunteers in

Humanitarian Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play a growing role in the response to natural disasters, but despite being largely demanded, there is no available decision support system (DSS) specifically designed to address their problem. In this paper we present a decision support system (DSS) to aid those Humanitarian NGOs concerned with the response to natural disasters. Such a DSS has been designed avoiding sophisticated methodologies that may exceed the infrastructural requirements and constraints of emergency management by NGOs. A data-based, two-level knowledge methodology which allows damage assessment of multiple disaster scenarios is presented in order to address that problem. Validation results show viability of our approach., Depto. de Estadística e Investigación Operativa, Fac. de Ciencias Matemáticas, TRUE, pub

Fact sheet containing a statistical overview of the current COVID-19 situation in Utah.