Information conceptualization for emergency management

Abstract

Emergency management information systems are increasingly requiring flexibility and interoperability and their design should not be only based on the conceptualization of information provided and accessed during the recovery stage. In fact, analyzing the entire workflow of emergency management, namely, preparedness, response and recovery we can identify a significant intersection of concepts present in on and another stage. In this paper we will focus on the informational function of contingency management workflows proposing a conceptual structure of this domain through the use of ontologies. More than a simple classification of the kinds of information read, produced, modified, memorized and shared, we would like to capture into the emergency management field which are the specific classes of information objects and the relations that exist among them. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.