Title: Knowledge management and transfer for mine emergency response

Authors: Charles Vaught, Launa Mallett, Michael J. Brnich, Dana Reinke, Kathleen M. Kowalski-Trakofler, Henry P. Cole

Addresses: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA. ' National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA. ' National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA. ' National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA. ' National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, 626 Cochrans Mill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA. ' University of Kentucky, 1141 Red Mile Road, Suite 102, Lexington, KY 40504, USA

Abstract: This paper discusses the fact that US coal mining organisations are losing the knowledge they need in order to be able to respond to emergencies. The authors note that knowledge management provides a useful perspective from which to view the problem, but that the debate about what constitutes knowledge should be broadened to include a debate about what constitutes management. It is argued here that knowledge is actually shared knowing distributed across group members; that such knowledge can be managed by cultivating it; and that narrative is the medium through which this may be done. The paper then examines NIOSH research that has attempted to use such an alternative knowledge management approach to help potential mine emergency responders better deal with the predicaments they are likely to encounter on-site.

Keywords: coal mining; knowledge management; knowledge transfer; emergency responses; emergency management; narrative; computer simulation; training.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEM.2006.011167

International Journal of Emergency Management, 2006 Vol.3 No.2/3, pp.178 - 191

Published online: 19 Oct 2006 *

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