Research Statement

My research examines the complexities which are involved during the interactions amongst large groups of heterogeneous experts working collaboratively when making fast decisions during a crisis. My interests lie in creating systems for these groups when

· all of the information may not be available and supporting the roles with visual feedback and offering other methodologies that aid in helping the users to understand the information at hand from which to make a decision on complex problems involving decision making under uncertainty;

· tools to support the users and their roles;

· systems that are universally used with ease, and overcoming the limitations that presently exist in decision making;

· exploring emerging technologies that are open source that any group can utilize.

I study the emergency domain in particular due to it having the characteristics under which this sort of system is best utilized. When the consequences of even small decisions can have monumental consequences, the information can be changing at a very fast pace, and thus, so too must the decisions.

In particular, I study judgments made by experts and use Thurstone’s work as a basis to extrapolate expert groups’ opinions. Delphi characteristics are utilized to handle the group dynamics and complement best the way humans think. My studies include aspects of Virtual Organizations as distributed teams collaborating for a collective intelligence utilizing emerging technology and the Internet. Within this I study philosophies such as High Reliability Organizational characteristics, as they best complement the emergency domain for an approach to obtain the most efficient and effective response, and Communities of Practice which connect those with common interests and goals. The combination of these techniques can redefine how emergencies are approached and handled such that these disastrous events can be handled in the best manner possible. Also, my research includes building an understanding of the motivations behind what makes a Community of Practice work so that it will aid in making these systems useful and desirable to the end-user. Understanding the users’ motivations is critical to the success of a system.

I truly enjoy research as an exciting part of life with its dimensions and diversity. When adding the outcomes to the domain of emergency response, it holds the added benefit of providing society something tangible with which to make difficult times somewhat easier, to help make life better for all of those involved and affected. The decisions which are made can have a monumental effect on not only present situations, but also on future decisions by creating a basis upon which better decisions can be made that will use knowledge gained in the past to promote a better future.