Summary

The article’s primary focus is on the different visual decision support tools that first responders use to combat the threat of terrorism. It is noted that there is a myriad of challenges faced by first responders teams such as the FBI bomb squads in their fight against terrorist threats. Among the many challenges, inadequate or lack of information about hazards and equipment and ineffective modes of communication are noted as the primary key challenges. To address these challenges, the article argues that decision support tools can be of great importance.

In practice, decision support tools are used to strengthen the communication and management of disaster situations. They also help in protecting the safety and security of the citizens and that of the first responders. The most used decision support tools include automated briefing tool, ATP 45 tool, sketchpad tool, and the GPS. These visual support tools were used to determine how effective they are in improving the Chemical Biological Response Aide (CoBRA®). The CoBRA® is a decision support system that enables first responders in attacks. When these tools are tested in the CoBRA® system, it is noted that their gradation shows some enhancements. When the automated briefing tool is tested, data transfer time is reduced by 33 percent. Besides, the automated briefing tool improves data reliability as well the communication efficiency and speed.

In the case of the ATP 45 tool, it is noted that when the tool is used, the time required for graphing of isolation zones reduces by 80 percent. The impact of the other two tools, sketchpad and the  GPS is noted as reduction of mapping time by 83 percent and reduction of the time used to get the know-how about global positional awareness by 95 percent respectively. In a nutshell, the conclusion is that the different visual support tools used in one way or the other improve the quality as well as the accuracy of the information needed by first responder groups and individuals to combat terrorism. In this regards, first responders are therefore urged to utilize these tools since they meet and address their needs in times of disasters.

Lessons Learned

The article perfectly fits in my research strategy as it not only provides claims, but it also goes ahead and supports those claims making it wholly credible and relevant. The article is also keen to break down the particulars regarding the actions that first responders need to put in place to make them more effective and robust. The extra advantage is that most of the suggestions by the article have been considered valid and have been adopted by some institutions; this further makes the information valuable.

The article provides a lot of relevant information in regards to first responder groups and also provides information on the support tools that can make the process and activities if these groups are effective and efficient. It has also provided the action plans being taken by the different agencies in the first against terrorism, and this makes it insightful and reliable at the same time. The article on top of being insightful is also analytical, bold and candid and uses questioning actually to capture the right intentions and answers. The exciting part of the article is that it not only provides information and insights into what has been done so far, but it also gives a reasonable deduction of claims. It concludes by saying that although much has been done in the fight, there is still more that needs to be done in terms of policy formulation, availing resources and creating a culture of resilience around individuals and communities as well.

The first insights obtained in this article are that the first responder groups have all it takes to combat terrorism. Secondly, it is right to say that the planning process that includesthe use of visual support tools and their implementation will in a significant way help to enhance the processes and practices of first responders in maintaining the security and safety of the citizens. Third, institutions can rapidly recover from disruption and stand the test of time in disaster situations. Visual support tools have the capabilities to recover and fill synergy in disaster response processes.

Reference

Ballard, J., Choi, J., Oakes, T., Pizzuto, M., Ramírez, J., Brown, D. E., & Dalton, J. (2004, April).            Visual decision-support tools for first responders. In Proceedings of the 2004 IEEE          Systems and Information Engineering Design Symposium, 2004. (pp. 267-274). IEEE.

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