Human computer interaction in security and time-critical systems is an interdisciplinary challenge at the seams of human factors, engineering, information systems and computer science. Application... Show More

Human computer interaction in security and time-critical systems is an interdisciplinary challenge at the seams of human factors, engineering, information systems and computer science. Application fields include control systems, critical infrastructures, vehicle and traffic management, production technology, business continuity management, medical technology, crisis management and civil protection. Nowadays in many areas mobile and ubiquitous computing as well as social media and collaborative technologies also plays an important role. The specific challenges require the discussion and development of new methods and approaches in order to design information systems. These are going to be addressed in this special issue with a particular focus on technologies for critical practices for authorities and industry.

Optical head-mounted displays (OHMDs) could support members of emergency medical services in responding to and managing mass casualty incidents. In this contribution, the authors describe the... Show More

Optical head-mounted displays (OHMDs) could support members of emergency medical services in responding to and managing mass casualty incidents. In this contribution, the authors describe the human-centered design of two applications for supporting the triage process as well as the identification of hazardous materials. They were evaluated with members of emergency medical services and civil protection units. In this regard, challenges and approaches to human-computer interaction with OHMDs in crisis response and management are discussed. The conclusion is drawn that often mentioned advantages of OHMDs like hands-free interaction alone will not lead to usable solutions for safety-critical domains. Interaction design needs to be carefully considered right down to the last detail.

Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) cannot be managed with existing resources from operational area. The key to MCI management therefore is the efficient use of the few own resources as well as resources... Show More

Mass casualty incidents (MCIs) cannot be managed with existing resources from operational area. The key to MCI management therefore is the efficient use of the few own resources as well as resources from neighboring administrative units by local medical mission commanders. This paper suggests a computer-based modeling and simulation system with a user- and context-adequate interface for testing local MCI mission tactics with realistic spatial and temporal availabilities of rescue units and hospitals in the vicinity of an accident site. From an organizational point of view, the tool could contribute to a holistic quality management approach for improving MCI management by facilitating site-specific resource deployment, mission structure, and patient evacuation planning. This paper describes the interaction concept of a resource planning application and envisions its usage in training courses, in breaks of leading personnel and for elaborating local preparedness plans.

Usability testing is expensive in some domains due to the resource requirements that go hand in hand with taking a complex context of use into account. Crisis-related research is one such domain... Show More

Usability testing is expensive in some domains due to the resource requirements that go hand in hand with taking a complex context of use into account. Crisis-related research is one such domain, typically requiring the reenactment of an extensive crisis scenario. To lessen the resource requirements and provide a more flexible setup geared towards testing, crisis scenarios can be reconstructed as virtual reality simulations. This paper outlines the development of an initial prototype of such a simulation following the design science method. The prototype is used to test if injecting an item that will be tested into the simulation affects the realism of the virtual reality crisis simulation. The realism was measured in a within-subject experiment and equivalence tests showed that injecting a representation of a simple app had no significant influence on the realism of the simulation.

The flexible production and process designs of complex and automated manufacturing systems – called Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) – lead to enormous challenges for the machine operator... Show More

The flexible production and process designs of complex and automated manufacturing systems – called Cyber-Physical Production Systems (CPPS) – lead to enormous challenges for the machine operator with regard to understanding their “behavior” and therefore their technical controllability. One way to face these challenges is to foster the operator's appropriation of highly complex hardware-centered ICT-systems. Based on the historical development of CPPS and a short excursion into a study about the appropriation of 3D printers, the authors will adapt the concept of sociable technologies, as hardware-centered appropriation infrastructures, to CPPS.

Business Continuity Management (BCM) is an integral part of civil security in terms of corporate crisis management. According to the ISO 22301 (2014) BCM is defined as a holistic management process... Show More

Business Continuity Management (BCM) is an integral part of civil security in terms of corporate crisis management. According to the ISO 22301 (2014) BCM is defined as a holistic management process which identifies potential threats to an organization and the impacts those threats might have on business operations. Looking at the current situation of studies conducted in this field it seems to be obvious that the use of BCM in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) is underrepresented and that the security level is partially located in an uneconomical range. This paper presents a literature research on the use of BCM in SME and discusses research findings concerning this matter. Based on this a matrix for possible impacts vs. quality of the crisis management for different actors is derived. The article concludes with the presentation of lightweight und easy to handle BCM security solutions in form of Smart Services, as a possible solution for the increasingly IT relaying industry 4.0.