In a large-scale destructive event one of the great challenges for public health workers and rescue teams is to have stable and accessible emergency communication systems that are compatible with the needs of the users. Mobile technology is rapidly being integrated into the to first responder environment, yet little research currently exists regarding the use of communication platforms and Internet social networks for emergency response; as a consequence, there exists a gap in the body of knowledge regarding the most effective and efficient use of mobile communication platforms in disaster response. The PI's objective in this exploratory research is to lay the foundation for a human-centered methodology to evaluate critical human factors and ergonomic issues that can be addressed through the use of mobile technology in the preparation and response phases of emergency management. Because similarities exist between the 2011 earthquake in the Northern Virginia region of the United States and the Christchurch, New Zealand earthquake of 2010, her approach is to initiate an international research collaboration between the US and NZ to address research questions such as: What are the current and emerging technologies used by emergency management personnel (including first responders and volunteers) in the preparation and response phases of disaster management? What are the human factors and ergonomics challenges to emergency management personnel that can be addressed through the use of mobile technology? How does the use of emerging technology and social networking impact the performance of emergency management personnel from a human factors perspective? Can a mathematical model be developed to measure the usability, relative importance and reliability of essential technology in the preparation and response phases of disaster management? The work will include review of data from the Christ Church earthquakes and on-site data collection in New Zealand using mock scenarios and observation analysis of emergency managers during training exercises in the Emergency Operations Center Lab at Massey University.
Broader Impacts: Technology can be rendered useless in extreme situations absent appropriate communication and task performance protocols. So establishing guidelines and communication protocols for ergonomically sound task performance in emergency management has the potential to transform the response to human needs in catastrophic events. Project outcomes will lay the foundation for maximizing communication resources for first responders during relief efforts while significantly impacting the quality of aid rendered.
The objective of this project was to establish an international collaboration was to establish a US-New Zealand partnership to facilitate an interdisciplinary research effort in the analysis of human factors needs and mobile technology in responding to large scale disasters. The interdisciplinary team consisted of engineering and social science researchers focusing on the human factors issues, communication needs and mobile communication technology in responding to high consequence or large scale disasters. Specifically, the research had the primary objectives listed below: 1) Study the human factors issues that impacted the emergency management community in both the 4th September 2010 Darfield and 22nd February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes in New Zealand 2) Assess and evaluate the technologies, from a human-centered perspective, used during the response to both the 4th September 2010 Darfield and 22nd February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes in New Zealand 3) Study the impact of the technology and processes from a human-centered perspective and how these findings apply to similar American geographical regions prone to earthquakes 4) Perform a usability analysis of technology resources in use via a mock scenario in the Massey University mock Emergency Operations Center During the project researchers achieved the following goals: Established a baseline and define tasks performed by first responders in disaster response focusing on human-centric issues relevant to mobile technology, as it relates to emergency management in preparation and response. Comprehensive international literature review, Evaluation and comparison of U.S and New Zealand disaster response scenarios using the Christ Church earthquakes and the Virginia-DC area earthquakes in a comparative analysis Survey development & distribution Subject Matter Expert Interviews Analyzed data regarding technology used to prepare and respond to disasters Retrospective analysis of the both the US and New Zealand earthquakes Classification of communication requirements or needs Evaluation of relevant technology to meet the communication requirements Data collection in New Zealand Observation analysis of training or mock scenarios in the Emergency Operations Center (EoC) lab of Massey University Surveyed of subject matter experts in disaster management Key Project Outcomes included the following: Fulbright Scholar Specialist Award to support resesarch Community lecture to students and faculty throughout Massey University Campus Establishment of professional collaboration through presentation to the New Zealand Professional Engineering Society Submission of two journal articles and one conference publication Project was also supported by the U.S. Fulbright Scholars Program through a Fulbright Specialist grant to PI, Dr. Pamela McCauley Bush
