GAO’s Evaluation of KM strategies- Champions of Common Sense (Part One)

Okay, I should start with a confession.  The first time I passed the Government Accountability Office while on a bus in D.C.,  I laughed.  It just struck me as an oxymoron… but besides the passing moment of chuckles, I forgot all about it.

Fast forward to about a year ago when I started developing an interest in studying vulnerable populations in times of disaster.  Even though the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina was 8 years in the past at that point, the images still burned in the forefront of my mind.  It only takes a few minutes of thinking about your own family and friends to think of someone who would need assistance during an emergency evacuation.

My grandmother, who at 86 is still spry and full of sass, has never possessed a driver’s license.  Her husband, my grandfather, passed away over 20 years ago, and since then she’s depended on family for transportation. She still lives independently about 40 minutes away from where I live. My mom lives about 45 minutes away.  If there was a sudden disaster situation, and we were unable to physically get to her, who would help her?

My grandfather (on the other side of the family) is also in a similar situation.  At 96 years old, he still lives on his own, and still does all the chores around his house.  Though he drove for most of his life, he had to give up his license a few years ago because of his failing eyesight due to Macular Degeneration.  His closest family member is over an hour away.  Because family members take turns helping him get to appointments, the grocery store, etc., he’s never had a need for public transportation, and wouldn’t know the first thing about how to use that service (if it was even available during an evacuation).  Who would help him if a family member couldn’t get to him?

When you start to think about disasters like Katrina through the lens of your own realm of existence, it really starts to hit home.  Imagine back to the Superdome and replace the random elderly person sitting outside in the heat without access to even basic things like food and water- and then replace that person’s face with the face of your grandparent. Or your child.  Or your best friend.  How much more frustration, despair, and anger would you have felt if those images in the media were your love ones being forgotten during a disaster?

So when I started researching the issue, I ran into lots of committees and politicians sitting around pointing fingers and then eventually creating more policies, laws, and procedures.  It brought up this question in my mind- Did all the policies and rules that existed within the government help us or hurt us during Katrina?  When agencies were being turned away from helping victims because of bureaucracy and red tape, would more policies have fixed the problems?  Don’t get me wrong- we need policies and laws, but when the policies override our ability to critically think and adjust to the situation at hand, we’ve lost something very important- common sense.

Okay, back to GAO.  So I was pulling tons of government information about the aftermath of Katrina, when I came across a breath of fresh air.  In 2006, GAO testified before the Special Committee on Aging in the U.S. Senate.  Their testimony created some preliminary observations on the evacuation of vulnerable populations due to hurricanes and other disasters. Wow.  I had never enjoyed reading a government document so much as I enjoyed that one!  The statement given by Cynthia Bascetta, the DIrector of Health Care, was overflowing with common sense. It was to the point- this is what went wrong. And this is what needs to be done to begin to fix the problems.  It wasn’t 200 pages of a report or testimony- I believe it was about 9 or 10 pages. So I started to wonder…what is the Government Accountability Office?

 

Sources:

GAO. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: Preliminary Observations on the Evacuation of Vulnerable Populations due to Hurricanes and Other Disasters.  GAO-06-790T: Published: May 18, 2006. Publicly Released: May 18, 2006.

Trkman, Peter and Kevin C. Desouza. “Knowledge risks in organizational networks: An exploratory framework.” The Journal of Strategic Information Systems 21 (March 2012): 1-17.

The use of GIS in Knowledge Management (and an update on my life!)

Now that I’m just weeks away from graduation, the obvious question is- what in the world will I do next? Like many SLIS students, I’ve been frantically completing Fellowship and job applications in the hopes that all this hard world will result in an actual job! I’ve had the opportunity in the past few months to talk with several professors at both the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville in an attempt to gain knowledge and advice in the best fields to pursue. Every. Single. Professor. told me I need to look into either crime or intelligence analysis. To be honest, I hadn’t really considered that field until I got confirmation from many independent sources that my brain is primed and ready for such a job! The more I’ve researched, the more excited I’ve become. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to break into the field, but I’m looking forward to exploring it further in the coming weeks and months.

So what does this all have to do with GIS and KM? Well, as I’ve been exploring the fields of disaster management, and crime/intelligence data analysis, one skill set keeps popping up- GIS. GIS, which stands for geographic information system, utilizes software, hardware, and data to capture, manage, and analyze all kinds of geographically referenced information. By looking at information in a visual way, we are able to understand and interpret data by finding patterns, relationships, and trends. GIS is used in many fields beyond the ones I’ve mentioned- healthcare, public health, library science, meteorology, banking, retail, insurance, real estate, utilities, just to name a few- the list goes on and on!

Using GIS within a field can help organizations become more efficient, save them money, improve record keeping, and give them more information to assist in decision making. GIS allows you not only to map where things are, but relationships between data to solve problems and improve processes.

I know we can’t be experts at everything (even though us librarian-types sure try!), but it’s still a good idea to look into GIS and determine if it could benefit you in your current and/or future work. In addition to colleges offering GIS courses, there are many online classes, workshops, and self-guided options for learning.

 

Sources:

Moore, D. GIS in a Knowledge Domain: Bringing GIS to operational integration in Spatial Planning. URL: http://www.ec-gis.org/Workshops/8ec-gis/cd/papers/3_sp_dm.pdf

Klimešová, D., &Vostrovský, V. (2008). Horizontal Integration of Knowledge. URL: http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2008/ZOI/klimesova-horizontal%20integration%20of%20knowledge.pdf

 

 

Using KM to evacuate vulnerable populations- do registries work?

The more I learn about KM and disaster management, the more my head swims.  There isn’t just a handful of problems to be solved; there’s layer after layer of complexity.  Can we ever succeed in managing knowledge within the chaotic nature of crises?

I’m not sure of the answer to that question, but I do think we can vastly improve upon the current structure of disaster planning and management.  Start with the subject of evacuations.  One only has to think back a few years to the images of Katrina to know that we as a country have a long way to go in protecting vulnerable populations during disasters.

So how do we currently manage knowledge of vulnerable populations in large cities?  The most common solution is developing a registry.  The idea behind the registry is to develop a voluntary system in which vulnerable populations (elderly, disabled, non-English speakers, transportation disadvantaged, etc.) can provide information to assist in an evacuation.  The information provided would include general information, such as an address, phone number, what type of assistance is needed, and the number of individuals in a location.  Additional information could be provided, depending on the population- type of disability, mobility issues, medications/medical equipment needed, language spoken, pets in the home, etc.

How is this knowledge stored/managed and who is in charge of this information? It varies.  A registry can be as a list kept at the local police or fire station, or an extremely complex online system with many layers of information.  Depending on the city, a registry may be managed by a fire station, police department, emergency management, or the local government.

What are the challenges of managing knowledge in this way?  People may not want to share their personal and/or medical information, especially if they don’t trust the people in charge of that information.  Even if they’d be willing to share their information, some may not know that such a registry exists.

Personal and medical information doesn’t stay the same.  People move. People die.  If they have a medical condition, it may get better or worse.  Even if you can collect a significant amount of data on vulnerable residents in a city, keeping the information up-to-date may prove to be difficult.

When you provide a registry for vulnerable populations, you are in essence telling them that they will be given evacuation assistance in the event of a disaster.  There are some scenarios in which it may be difficult or even impossible to provide assistance in a timely fashion.  In these cases, there are ethical considerations that need to be evaluated.

How can we improve registries?  Or should we even try? The effectiveness of registries is a hot topic among those who study vulnerable populations and disaster management.  Some say that registries would be more effective if there was a standard for the KM tools to collect and update the information.  One challenge for those who want a more unified system is overcoming privacy (HIPAA) obstacles.  The same laws that have been put into place to protect our privacy are the same laws that are prevent agencies from effectively sharing information with each other that would help identify those who would need help during an evacuation.

What are the alternatives to registries? There are many alternatives to registries, though many of them have not been around long enough to have research to validate their effectiveness.  The best approach for many cities may be to incorporate several of these strategies.  They include:

• Involving vulnerable populations in the planning stages of emergency management
• Creating programs to promote neighbors helping neighbors during an evacuation
• Using population surveys to identify vulnerable populations
• Utilizing GIS technology to map areas in which vulnerable populations live
• Form networks with social service agencies, community centers, and other relevant agencies to keep track of those who will need help during an evacuation. By cooperating which such agencies, the information about each resident is more likely to be up-to-date and the resident is more likely to respond to someone they already have a connection with and trust.
• Provide education through a number of outlets, by many modes of communication, to reach vulnerable populations and inform them of how to plan ahead of time for a potential evacuation scenario.

The challenge of evacuating vulnerable populations is not for the faint of heart!  It won’t be solved overnight, but I have been encouraged to see that there is a genuine desire among many agencies and non-profit organizations to improve our ability to care for the most vulnerable within our communities.

Sources:

Chalmeta, Ricardo and Reyes Grangel. “Methodology for the implementation of knowledge management systems.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 59 (March 2008): 742-755.

Chua, Alton Y. K. “A tale of two hurricanes: Comparing Katrina and Rita through a knowledge management perspective.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 58 (August 2007): 1518-1528.

Massingham, Peter. “Knowledge risk management: a framework.” Journal of Knowledge Management 14 (2010): 464-485.

 

 

 

When Knowledge Management and Disaster Management Collide

For the past year or so, I’ve felt that I’ve had one foot in the world of Library and Information Sciences, and one foot in the world of Risk Sciences. The move in that direction wasn’t intentional, but it’s just so easy to slide out of LIS and right into another field. Why is that? The more I pondered, the more I concluded that the management of knowledge is more complicated than ever. It’s not just a matter of alphabetizing some index cards or keeping a list. Knowledge- both tacit and explicit, overwhelms us. It’s often more than we can handle as individuals, and this issue becomes compounded in organizations and agencies. How do we even begin to wade through it all and make sense of it?

Enter the LIS professional. Not only do we have a skill set to be able to effectively manage knowledge, we love knowledge! Getting a job one day in which I could sit behind a computer compiling and analyzing information would be a dream come true! And isn’t that the point? To find a job that doesn’t feel like a job at all?

But no matter how qualified the LIS professional, some knowledge is just plain hard to manage. Take the example of disasters. Even though we plan for disasters, are we ever truly prepared? Take it one step further. Think about the task of mandatory evacuations in times of disaster- and not just evacuating able-bodied people, but people who are sick, disabled, poor, elderly, without transportation, homeless, drug-addicted, mentally ill… Now imagine a city in which a large percentage of the population would fit into one or more of these categories. This was the situation in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina and the resulting levee breaches devastated New Orleans with flooding.

Hurricane Katrina has been heavily researched, in part because of the lessons that can be learned. One of the areas of study has been the communication breakdown during the evacuation of vulnerable populations. It’s easy to make blanket statements like, “The evacuation effort failed on so many levels”, but it’s much harder to take the needed steps to find a solution to the problem. KM can be very complex, and there are always many uncertain variables at play during any disaster situation.

I am planning on writing a few more blog posts about this topic over the next few days and would love to hear your feedback and/or opinions.

 

Alavi, M., & Leidner, D. E. (2001). Knowledge management and knowledge management systems: Conceptual foundations and research issues. MIS Quarterly, 25(1), 107-136. URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3250961

Chalmeta, R., & Grangel, R. (2008). Methodology for the implementation of knowledge management systems. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 59(5), 742-755. doi:10.1002/asi.20785

Chua, A. Y. K. (2007). A tale of two hurricanes: Comparing Katrina and Rita through a knowledge management perspective. Journal of the American Society of Information Science and Technology, 58(10), 1518-1528. doi:10.1002/asi.20640

 

Why distance learners hate discussion boards…

I’m in the homestretch of my journey through graduate school, and with the exception of one face-to-face class I’m taking this semester, all my classes have been taken online as a distance learner.  The current system used by the University of Kentucky is Blackboard. Since Blackboard is the only system I’ve ever used for online learning, I have nothing to compare it to, but there has to be a better way!

I’ve NEVER met a fellow distance learner who had anything nice to say about Blackboard.  In fact, typically within 10 minutes of meeting a fellow Blackboard user, you begin to bond by sharing your horror stories about the system, and in particular, the woes of discussion boards.  

Oh, the dreaded discussion posts. If you work during the weekdays like I do, you can really feel the pain.  By the time us weekend learners make it to the discussion posts, there are about 500 posts to sort through.  You’re faced with a problem- do you: A) Post on the topic without reading all the posts and hope you didn’t say the exact same thing as 10 other people?, B) Scan through the posts, try to think of something original to say, and then move on?, or C) Spend 3 hours reading all the posts, know for sure there’s nothing left to say, but then try to think of something anyway?

So why is it that so many people are willing to participate in other types of online discussion boards, when the Blackboard discussion boards feel like torture?  The article, “Why Should I Share? Examining Social Capital and Knowledge Contribution in Electronic Networks of Practice” by Wasko and Faraj gave me a glimpse into a possible answer.  In their study, they examined online discussion forums, and tried to answer the question of why people decide to help strangers through these online networks.  In part, their study found that participants choose to contribute if they think it could enhance their professional reputation or if they have experiences to share.  The authors of the study were surprised to find that the participants in online communities are willing to help even if they aren’t deeply connected to the network and that they had little to no expectations of receiving anything in return.  

When you take the information gathered by Wasko and Faraj in their study, and apply it to online discussion boards, you start to see were the underlying problem exists:

The first reason Wasko and Faraj gave for why people choose to contribute in online forums was to enhance professional reputation.  Besides hoping that the posts written on Blackboard will lead to a better grade, there is no motivation that the posts will enhance a student’s professional reputation.  That could explain why I’ve always invested much more time into my Facebook and LinkedIn presence than the world of Blackboard.  In social media forums, I have the chance to network with professionals in the areas I’m hoping to pursue after I complete my graduate work.  The Blackboard system is very disjointed, and doesn’t allow for natural (or socially acceptable) communication to take place. In a forums like Facebook, users can easily banter back and forth, and if a user decides to use the forum for professional networking, it can be very beneficial.  

Another reason the study uncovered was that people like sharing experiences that could be helpful to others.  This reason made me laugh.  Maybe that’s why I always felt so frustrated as I tried to come up with something useful to say after reading the 500 posts!  The truth was that the only useful posts were the first 10 or so, and the other 490 were in the same boat as me.  Since we all knew that was the case, it seriously impacted the validity of the forum as a whole. It became a chore we all participated in because it was required, and not one that we willingly chose to communicate through.  

It would be great to apply this research to improve the current system of online learning.  By creating a format that allows for more natural communication, and gives opportunities for students to chose to network by sharing experiences and knowledge, we would be taking a big step in the right direction!