Mobile decision support system in emergency management at mass gatherings

Australia and the world are facing major emergencies and challenges around their emergency management over the last few years. Globally people have witnessed natural disasters of earthquakes, tsunami, floods and hurricanes which have left everlasting damage to property and life. This exploratory research project applied the literature review to understand the current IT technology being used or is planned to be used in the future. This stage of research confirmed the needs for development of tools and technology to assist EM personnel and these organizations during large scale emergencies. A multiple case study approach with the aim of producing a snapshot analysis of the current EM processes and tools in Australia was conducted to link the results of the literature review and understand what the future vision for EM tools. The areas of interest were related to understanding of EM processes, EM tools currently being used, the way emergencies were managed; understand the redundancy plans, how the data integrity is maintained and what the future technology could look like in this field. The study also reviewed the frameworks and strategies and the main technologies used in this field. It touched on organization's/governments cultural aspects by addressing the issues and obstacles faced in efficient and effective EM. Through exploration of literature and interpretive case field work, this thesis proposed a framework for future EM research. This framework encompasses a theoretical understanding of EM, EM technology, challenges with current technology and future technology for EM through literature review and semi-structured case interviews of large EM organization's personnel. As the result, several key factors and obstacles towards EM IT tools implementation and usage were identified. Overall results highlighted a few IT areas for enhancements and what the future technology development could do for enhancing the emergency management field.