STTR Phase I: Towards Command Improvisation Support Systems for Disaster Managers

这个小型企业技术转移(STTR)第一阶段研究项目将从以下代理的角度来研究灾害管理：(1)帮助事件指挥官在遵守预先存在的灾难计划和面对计划外情况下的即兴发挥之间进行动态谈判；以及(2)帮助指挥官重新配置指挥和通信流，以反映高度复杂的临时情况。一般而言，灾害响应的管理严格遵守先前的紧急行动计划，并在中央事故指挥系统(ICS)的范围内执行。最近的研究表明，在某些情况下，即兴发挥--偏离先前的计划或协议--可能是实现最佳表现所必需的。然而，偏离标准程序太多可能会降低群体情境意识和整体反应有效性。在遵守标准程序和即兴发挥之间存在最佳平衡，必须随着灾难的展开而动态谈判。在复杂和不确定的灾难情况的压力下，指挥官很难保持对情况因素的及时了解，这些因素表明何时需要改变标准程序。因此，这里描述的代理对于改进灾害管理具有重要价值。这一努力的预期结果将为灾害应对专业人员的培训模式做出关键贡献，因为它提供了一个框架，用于明确加强识别可能需要即兴发挥的情景线索并采取行动的能力。据设想，这些培训模型最终将在基于高级远程学习的模拟中实施，该模拟可以很容易地用于跨组织的培训场景。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I research project will study disaster management from the perspective of agents that are capable of (1) assisting the incident commander in dynamically negotiating between adherence to pre-existing disaster plans and improvisation in the face of unplanned-for situations; and (2) assisting the commander in reconfiguring the command and communication flow to reflect improvisational situations of high complexity. Management of disaster response, in general, closely adheres to prior emergency operations planning, and is executed within the context of a centralized Incident Command System (ICS). Recent research suggests that, in some cases, improvisation - deviation from prior plans or protocols -- may be necessary to achieve optimal performance. However, too much deviation from standard procedure can degrade group situational awareness and overall response effectiveness. An optimal balance between adherence to standard procedure and improvisation exists, and must be negotiated dynamically as the disaster unfolds. Under the pressure of a complex and uncertain disaster situation, it is difficult for a commander to maintain a timely awareness of the situational factors that suggest when a switch away from standard procedure is called for. Hence, agents as described here, are of great value for improving disaster management.The anticipated results of this effort will make a crucial contribution to the training models for disaster response professionals, by providing a framework for the explicit reinforcement of the ability to recognize and act upon situational cues that may call for improvisation. It is envisioned that these training models will ultimately be implemented in an Advanced Distance Learning based simulation that can be easily used for cross-organizational training scenarios.