Emergency Response Organizations Research Articles

Examining organizational collaboration and resource flows of disaster response system based on a time-dynamic perspective

Increasing the efficiency of organizational collaboration and resource flows is key to improving the emergency response performance. Given that previous studies did not consider the interactions and dynamic characteristics of emergency response organizations and resources, this study divided the emergency response into four stages and analyzed the relationship between organizational collaboration and resource flows by combining the network attributes of emergency response goals at each stage. The 2022 Luding earthquake was selected as a case study, and a multisource mixed data method was used to identify 381 organizations and 2496 organizational relationships. Using the social network analysis, the dynamic evolution characteristics of the emergency response networks (ERNs) and organization-resource two-mode networks were analyzed. The results showed that the ERNs generally exhibited the following trends: a more compact structure, balanced distribution, evolution from decentralization to centralization, and homogenous organizational collaboration. A correlation existed between changes in the organizational status and ERN attributes, with government organizations always at the core and non-profit organizations gradually rising. The evolution of the resources was closely related to the network attributes and organizational relationships. We identified the strengths of China's current emergency management system, such as enhanced performance, improved information infrastructure, and emphasis on the engagement of the military and social organizations. We recommend the following for future practice: enhancing the information technology system, establishing a mechanism for the participation of social forces, and strengthening the management of emergency stockpiles. These will help improve the disaster emergency management performance and reduce casualties and losses.

Proposing a model for integrating spontaneous volunteers in emergency response in Denmark

Spontaneous volunteerism is a controversial topic in emergency response. Even though professionals and spontaneous volunteers in emergency response have the common aim of aiding those in need, the Danish authorities' framework for involving spontaneous volunteers is very limited. This paper discusses how spontaneous volunteers’ contributions can be integrated into professional emergency response in Denmark, while ensuring professional guidance of this contribution. This paper applies a literature and document study, covering state-of-the-art research on the topic of professional interaction with spontaneous volunteers and the Danish emergency response system, including the role of volunteers, respectively. It is found that involvement of spontaneous volunteers is a professional responsibility, that involvement should be through established or expanding emergency response organisations and focus on tasks related to the common aim of aiding those in need. It is concluded that this can be achieved by applying one-point-of-contact for spontaneous volunteers (rather than division by sectoral responsibility), a registration system enabling access to relevant tasks for spontaneous volunteers, the deployment of a spontaneous volunteer facilitator going into dialogue with spontaneous volunteers to enrol them in professional response, and a humane rejection when it is necessary to reject the offer of help from spontaneous volunteers.

Collaborative Relationship Modeling and Analysis of Natech Emergency Response Organizations Based on Stochastic Petri Net

Collaborative Relationship Modeling and Analysis of Natech Emergency Response Organizations Based on Stochastic Petri Net

Dynamic capabilities of global and local humanitarian organizations with emergency response and long-term development missions

PurposeThis study aims to answer the question: What dynamic capabilities do diverse humanitarian organizations have?Design/methodology/approachWe examine this question through the lens of dynamic capabilities with sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capacities. The research team interviewed 15 individuals from 12 humanitarian organizations that had (a) different geographic scopes (global versus local) and (b) different missions (emergency response versus long-term development aid). We also gathered data from secondary sources, including standard operating procedures, company websites, and news databases (Factiva, Reuters and Bloomberg).FindingsThe findings identify the operational and dynamic capabilities of global and local humanitarian organizations while distinguishing between their mission to provide long-term development aid or emergency relief. (1) The global organizations, with their beneficiary responsiveness, reconfigured their sensing and seizing capacities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by pivoting quickly to local procurement or regional supply chains. The long-term development organizations pivoted to multi-year supplier agreements with fixed pricing to counter price uncertainty and accessed social capital with government bodies. In contrast, emergency response organizations developed end-to-end supply chain visibility to sense changes in supply and demand. (2) Local humanitarian organizations developed the capacity to sense demand and supply changes to reconfigure based on their experiential learning working with the local community. The long-term-development local organizations used un-owned and scalable relief infrastructure to seize opportunities to rebuild affected areas. In contrast, emergency response organizations developed their capacity to seize opportunities to provide aid stemming from their decentralized decision-making, a lack of structured procedures, and the authority for increased expenditure.Originality/valueWe propose a theoretical framework to identify humanitarian organizations' operational and dynamic capabilities, distinguishing between global and local organizations and their emergency response and long-term aid missions.

Invulnerability analysis of nuclear accidents emergency response organization network based on complex network

Invulnerability analysis of nuclear accidents emergency response organization network based on complex network

Special Issue on Robotic, Mechatronic and Information Systems for Decommissioning

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident, triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and the tsunami, has had a major impact on societies across the world. The subsequent focus on decommissioning efforts has attracted worldwide attention. It has been consistently asserted since the aftermath of the accident that the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant will take approximately 30 to 40 years. The promotion of decommissioning work means that we will continue to face the problems with uncertainties in the work, as sometimes referred to as Unknown Unknowns. Typical elemental technologies required in remotely operated robotic systems for decommissioning include mobile mechanisms and their control, handling mechanisms and their control, information communication, operation interface (information presentation and command input), shielding (radiation resistance) and so on. Although many tasks using remotely operated robotic systems have been carried out with noteworthy results, there are lingering issues yet to be clarified. To ensure the safe and effective execution of various types of decommissioning tasks over a period of several decades, continuous research and development of each elemental technology are imperative, and these technologies must be integrated into a system appropriately to the assumed tasks. In addition, human resource development and the transfer of knowledge and experience are also important issues. From such viewpoint, this special issue is titled “Robotic, Mechatronic and Information Systems for Decommissioning.” It contains papers and development reports on robotics, mechatronics, information processing, and information systems technologies relevant to decommissioning work. It also features recent activities of nuclear emergency response organizations. We hope this special issue will acquaint readers with the latest research and development results and organizational activities related to decommissioning. At the same time, we hope that we were able to provide readers interested in robots, mechatronics, and information technology with an opportunity to become aware of the issues and necessary perspectives related to decommissioning and nuclear disasters. Lastly, we would like to thank the editorial board of the Journal of Robotics and Mechatronics, the editorial team of Fuji Technology Press, and the reviewers for their support in the planning and publication of this special issue. Their dedicated efforts are deeply appreciated.

KHG: The German Emergency Response Organization for Nuclear Accidents

This article describes the German emergency response organization for nuclear accidents “Kerntechnische Hilfsdienst GmbH (KHG)” and informs about its tasks, structures, and working methods. At the end the current status of radiation campaigns, a component of a remote controlled systems is reported.

Matter of trust: How to include digital volunteers in crisis management

AbstractDigital volunteers are becoming more visible actors in crises. By collecting data, correcting misinformation, and organizing help, they are often a much‐needed resource in crisis management. Despite this, authorities generally see spontaneous volunteers as a risk and a burden, thereby creating a paradox identified by Harris and colleagues. To extend the paradox to digital volunteers, this study aims to understand how Finnish emergency response organizations perceive spontaneous digital volunteers and how these could become a resource in crisis management. Eight informants representing six authorities/non‐governmental organizations were interviewed in March 2019. The results show that authorities see potential in digital volunteers but only for strictly limited tasks as problems with trust and volunteers' lack of knowledge and training stand in the way of cooperation, thus confirming the paradox. The main contribution of this study is to show how the involvement/exclusion paradox exists in the relationship and may create barriers between authorities and digital volunteers.

Stay until you are told to evacuate: Factors influencing intended compliance with the stay indoors recommendation in a nuclear disaster

In a nuclear emergency, evacuation of people from potentially affected areas is one essential measure for protecting them from radiation exposure. However, the occurrence of shadow evacuations, which is assumed to be frequent during a nuclear disaster due to people's general instinct to avoid the risk of radiation exposure, hinders the implementation of evacuation. In this study, a questionnaire survey was conducted with a populated city located around a nuclear power plant to investigate whether people would comply with the recommendation to stay indoors instead of evacuating during a nuclear disaster. This study also identified the factors that could influence people's compliance intention and statistically analyzed the relationships among these factors. The results of the analyses suggested that a person's confidence in the nuclear emergency response organizations and expectations of others' compliance with the recommendation were two variables that were most significantly associated with respondents' compliance with the stay indoors recommendation. Moreover, households having minor family members were found to be less likely to comply with this recommendation. Based on these findings, practical intervention measures and policy implications for preventing shadow evacuations during such disasters are suggested and discussed.

The Application of Model-Based Systems Engineering to Rural Healthcare System Disaster Planning: A Scoping Review

Disasters and other emergency events have complex effects on human systems, particularly if the events are severe or prolonged. When these types of events happen in rural communities, the resources of the local public health, healthcare, and emergency response organizations can be quickly depleted or overwhelmed. Planning for emergencies can help to mitigate their impact. Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) methods, including computer simulations, can provide insight on how best to prepare for these events and to explore the effects of varying approaches and resource utilization. To best apply these methods for improving disaster management in rural settings, a synthesis of the current body of evidence in this field is needed. The objective of this scoping review was to provide a descriptive overview of the application of computer simulation based on MBSE approaches to disaster preparedness and response for rural healthcare systems. Six studies met inclusion criteria, and varied in terms of MBSE method used, healthcare setting, and disaster type and context considered. We identified a gap in the research regarding the application of MBSE approaches to support rural healthcare disaster preparedness planning efforts. Model-based systems engineering and systems thinking, therefore, represent novel methods for developing tools and computational simulations that could assist rural communities better prepare for disasters.

Assessment of Protective Action Decision Making during Nuclear Power Plant Biennial Exercises.

Radiological emergency preparedness for commercial nuclear power plants provides planning for implementing predetermined, prompt protective actions such as evacuation and shelter-in-place. In the event of a significant radiological release, onsite emergency response organizations will notify offsite response organizations and provide a protective action recommendation. The cognizant offsite authority will then make a protective action decision and inform the public of the need to act. Both the protective action recommendation and decision are driven by US Environmental Protection Agency protective action guides. Protective action strategies contain conservatisms and are intended to balance protection against other factors to ensure that actions result in more benefit than harm. But added conservatism can potentially shift the risks to those inherent to the protective action with no added benefit of protection. Protective action recommendations and protective action decisions made during biennial exercises were analyzed to assess how well they comport with the protective action guides. Trends in precautionary actions and the use of potassium iodide were also investigated. The analysis shows that protective action decisions typically exceed the protective action recommendation, resulting in an increase in the number of potential evacuees. However, exercise dose projection data do not appear to support such extensive initial evacuation decisions based on consideration of the protective action guides.

Key elements for proper development and implementation of severe accident management guidance/guidelines – SAMG

Severe Accident Management Guidelines (SAMG) have been developed to support a nuclear power plant (NPP) in case of a severe accident, i.e. an (unlikely) accident where the core and/or the fuel in the Spent Fuel Pool (SFP) have been damaged and there is risk for radioactive releases. Various approaches exist, such as the SAMG developed by the PWR and BWR Owners Groups (PWROG, BWROG), by Electricité de France (EdF) for its fleet of plants, the Candu Owners Group (COG) and by several individual NPPs. Often, the developers of SAMG develop a generic type of SAMG, applicable for a certain type of NPP, and leave it to the individual plants to adapt these to their configuration and Emergency Response Organisation (ERO). That means, that quite some burden remains for the individual plants to finally implement the SAMG. This implementation includes not only technical items, such as defining proper strategies, but also many organisational issues, as handling a severe accident needs an effective ERO, in which the SAMG must be well embedded.Various plants have been reviewed, both the ways they have constructed their plant-specific SAMG, implemented them in their ERO and tested the performance in drills and exercises. Most recently, a review of SAMG at Swedish plants has been performed, after which it was decided to pull the various experiences together and summarize them in one compendium. Some of these also include aspects of the development of the generic SAMG.The result is a number of recommendations (∼30), both on the technical field as well as regarding the ERO. We could also define a number of good practices that deserve wider attention.A few words have been devoted to international support for a stricken plant (Epilogue).

Returning to Normal Life after Deployment: What Can Emergency Response Organizations Learn from the Military?

Introduction:Emergency service workers are confronted with serious risks for their health, well-being and functioning. In order to prevent consequences to them and their families, emergency organizations should provide optimal support after an intensive period of employment. In many countries, the military pays special attention to the transition of their personnel from deployment to home via post-deployment adaptation programs (PDAPs). The objective of this presentation is to provide a structured analysis of the military approach to post-deployment adaptation and to identify potential lessons for emergency services.Method:A systematic literature search was performed to find original peer-reviewed studies on PDAP in six databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PTSDPubs, and OpenGrey). The overall risk of bias of the articles was assessed using GRADE guidelines. The literature was analyzed guided by a program evaluation framework entailing different domains.Results:The search resulted in 1535 unique records that were screened for eligibility; 16 articles were included, of which only three showed low risk of bias. Most articles describe some form of third location decompression (N = 10) and also some agreement exists on how to adapt skills and cognitions after deployment (Battlemind; N = 4). The results suggest positive mental health effects and satisfaction of these elements.Conclusion:Empirical, high-quality evidence for PDAP is scarce. In addition, the existing literature reveals a lack of systematic method in describing the goals of PDAP and the ways of achieving these. Nevertheless, this study reveals promising elements that are in line with international guidelines, such as minimizing the level of exposure, intervention delivery and adjustment issues. We discuss how future research should incorporate these elements using a systematic approach.

Détermination des Zones de Planification des mesures d’urgence (ZPU) autour de sites présentant des risques d’accidents technologiques majeurs

This article presents a methodology to establish the emergency planning zones around a site that presents risks of major technological accidents involving hazardous substances. A process to reduce the impact zones from these accidents is also presented. A concrete example involving an ammonia refrigeration system is included to illustrate the subject. The identification of the emergency planning zones is critical for public safety and is used for the preparation of emergency response plans by the site and the public emergency response organizations.

How to build the fractal emergency organization under the disaster response for coastal cities of China?

It is necessary to construct a dynamic emergency response organization that adapts to disaster scenarios and has the ability of rapid response. From a systematic point of view, fractal theory is introduced into the emergency organization construction of coastal cities in China, and a virtual network fractal emergency organization structure and reconstruction idea with self-organization, self-optimization and self-affine characteristics is proposed. Taking the emergency target as the construction purpose of the virtual network fractal emergency organization, the hierarchical relationship of the virtual network fractal emergency organization and the downward propagation relationship of the parent fractal emergency unit are established according to the task supply-demand relationship, the “Commission implementation” relationship and the collaborative relationship through the target decomposition and task analysis; Furthermore, we regard the changes of disaster scenarios and “Resource-Target-Constraint” as the motivation of virtual network fractal emergency organization reconstruction. This paper designs the virtual network fractal emergency organization reconstruction mechanism of coastal cities, and realizes the systematic research from the establishment of organizational structure to dynamic reconstruction, and provides theoretical guidance and method reference for the emergency management department of coastal cities government. Finally, taking typhoon “Lichma” as an example, the construction of virtual network fractal emergency organization is analyzed and the dynamic reconstruction process is verified, and the result shows that the virtual network fractal emergency organization is efficient, dynamic and open to adapt to the changes of disaster scenarios.

Information sharing behaviors in text-based communication during emergency response.

Emergency response teams consist of highly experienced professionals who must effectively communicate to respond to crisis situations characterized by high levels of uncertainty and complexity. Although the existing literatures on team collaboration and information processing are well established, research examining team information sharing through text-based communication technology facing emergency situations is limited. With the increasing complex nature of emergency response situations, emergency response organizations are likely to introduce new technologies to address such events. In this paper, we examine text-based information sharing behaviors related to team situation awareness in a simulated fire-rescue operation of 62 teams. We elaborate on different types of information sharing behaviors and identify a typology and linguistic features as well as differences between high- and low-performing teams in the occurrence of team situational information sharing behaviors. We conclude by discussing implications for emergency response teams and implications for future research avenues.

Identification of Contributing Factors to Organizational Resilience in the Emergency Response Organization for Nuclear Power Plants

Resilience engineering is a new approach to safety, focused on systems for coping with complexity and balancing productivity with safety. Since the early 2000s, several studies have been conducted on the application of resilience to various industries. However, the nuclear industry has yet to harness the full potential of the resilience concept. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave an inkling of the use of this concept in its report on the human and organizational factors related to the Fukushima nuclear power plant (NPP) accident. Although the ability of emergency response organizations (EROs) to reduce the radiation risks to the public in the case of accidents is crucial, no method has been developed so far to evaluate ERO resilience in NPPs. This paper aims to determine the factors that contribute to the resilience of EROs in NPPs. This work commenced by providing a systematic review of the literature on resilience factors as applied in several domains within the last two decades, including general domains, healthcare, transportation, infrastructure, process plants, and business. Based on the review, and the application of additional procedures like resilience analysis grid filtering, ERO applicability assessment, and merger/reclassification, the resilience factors are determined. Fifty-two factors contributing to the resilience of EROs in NPPs are proposed. The identified contributing factors are expected to aid efforts to develop resilience strategies and to measure the resilience of EROs in NPPs.

ReliefChain: A blockchain leveraged post disaster relief allocation system over smartphone-based DTN.

One of the major concerns in any emergency relief operation is appropriate allocation of scarce emergency relief materials to the affected community. Due to several reasons ranging from lack of mechanism to accurately assess demand and utility of relief materials to malicious participation of some of the stakeholders, such allocation may become ad-hoc. Thus, it becomes imperative to have an unchallengeable and globally accessible record of relief requirement vis-à-vis allocation for efficient relief management. Emergency response organizations (e.g. UNICEF) have recommended the adoption of blockchain technology to create such immutable records. However, the usage of blockchain is restricted by the availability of end-to-end internet connection which may not be available in a post-disaster scenario. This paper proposes ReliefChain, a blockchain leveraged post disaster relief allocation system over delay tolerant network that works in such environments. We validate relief requirements to mitigate resource diversion, forecasting the exact demand and enumerating precise utilities of relief items. We design smart contracts for creating new transactions to upload relief requirements and allocations in the blockchain network. The proposed system executes these smart contracts to create an immutable and globally accessible record of relief requirement and allocation. Effectiveness of the proposed system is evaluated through extensive simulation in Ethereum platform. Results substantiate the efficiency of the system over a system using baseline methodologies, in terms of design parameters like shelter specific deficit and average resource deficit while not compromising the blockchain performance in terms of processing time and gas consumption even in presence of malicious forwarders.

The effects of empowerment at multiple leadership levels in the fire service: a moderated mediation model

PurposeWhile uncertainty during emergency response operations necessitates adaptive performance, emergency response organizations, such as the fire service, tend to constrain adaptive behaviors due to their highly formalized bureaucratic structures. Structural theories suggest that leaders can empower employees to bypass these constraints.Design/methodology/approachUsing survey data from four US fire departments, this research tests whether mid-level supervisors can empower firefighters by increasing their ability to improvise during complex emergency response operations, and whether this enhances department adaptive performance. Moderated mediation is also performed to assess whether senior leaders must also be effective, empowering leaders in order to achieve heightened levels of empowerment and subsequent adaptive performance, as many senior leaders in the fire service are criticized for being overly bureaucratic, risk averse, and resistant to change.FindingsThe findings support compensatory effects and show how immediate supervisors are key to overcoming senior leader deficiencies and producing adaptive performance during conditions of high uncertainty and complexity.Originality/valueThe lack of response organizations’ success during complex incidents is often attributed to senior leaders who are risk averse, overly bureaucratic, and resistant to change (Wankhade and Patnaik, 2020). This study is the first to show how empowering leadership can help overcome these constraints to enhance adaptive performance under complex conditions in the fire service.

Identifying informative tweets during a pandemic via a topic-aware neural language model.

Every epidemic affects the real lives of many people around the world and leads to terrible consequences. Recently, many tweets about the COVID-19 pandemic have been shared publicly on social media platforms. The analysis of these tweets is helpful for emergency response organizations to prioritize their tasks and make better decisions. However, most of these tweets are non-informative, which is a challenge for establishing an automated system to detect useful information in social media. Furthermore, existing methods ignore unlabeled data and topic background knowledge, which can provide additional semantic information. In this paper, we propose a novel Topic-Aware BERT (TABERT) model to solve the above challenges. TABERT first leverages a topic model to extract the latent topics of tweets. Secondly, a flexible framework is used to combine topic information with the output of BERT. Finally, we adopt adversarial training to achieve semi-supervised learning, and a large amount of unlabeled data can be used to improve inner representations of the model. Experimental results on the dataset of COVID-19 English tweets show that our model outperforms classic and state-of-the-art baselines.