Introduction to the special issue: information and communications technology for crisis management: defining an agenda for scientific research

摘要

Information and communication technology (ICT) for post-disaster management of critical infrastructure functions best when its design follows from a solid understanding of the sociotechnical systems that it is meant to support. Yet as is evident from past (Quarantelli 1997) and more current research (National Research Council 2007), there are significant gaps in scientific understanding concerning how ICT should be designed (Computer Science and Telecommunications Board 1996), used (Stewart and Bostrom 2002), and evaluated (Orlikowski and Iacono 2001). ICT often provides the means by which data, information, and knowledge are shared and used across critical infrastructure systems. Contributions to ICT research in crisis management therefore bear directly upon questions of how to analyze, design, and manage critical infrastructure systems. Developing an agenda for fundamental ICT-centered research in the domain of crisis management is likely to require input from multiple disciplines. The papers in this special issue are the result of a convergence of workshop-based discussions among researchers. These discussions, and the various working papers that led to the contributed articles, centered on three questions (Stewart and Bostrom 2002).