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

这个小企业技术转让（STTR）第一阶段的研究项目将研究灾害管理的角度来看，代理人能够（1）协助事件指挥官在遵守预先存在的灾害计划和即兴之间进行动态谈判，面对意外的情况;以及（2）协助指挥官重新配置指挥和通信流程，以反映高度复杂的即兴情况。一般而言，灾害应对管理与事先的应急行动规划密切相关，并在中央事件指挥系统的范围内执行。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-可能是必要的，以实现最佳性能。然而，太多的偏离标准程序会降低群体的态势感知和整体反应效率。在遵守标准程序和即兴发挥之间存在着最佳平衡，必须随着灾难的发展动态地进行谈判。在复杂和不确定的灾害局势的压力下，指挥官很难及时了解表明何时需要改变标准程序的情况因素。因此，这里所描述的代理，是非常有价值的，以改善灾害管理，这一努力的预期结果将作出至关重要的贡献，灾害响应专业人员的培训模式，通过提供一个框架，明确加强的能力，认识到和采取行动的情况下，可能需要即兴发挥的线索。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.