Article: Information Distributing Software

Medjahed, Brahim, and William Grosky. "Sentinel: Intelligent Information Sharing for Controlling the Emerald Ash Borer Threat."


I found an article from Michigan researchers that deals with the distribution of information. These researchers answer questions relating to how information is shared between all the communities that need to know. They create two extensive charts illustrating the flow of information and the groups concerned with the information. The article is short, but valuable for me. I wonder if the government decided to incorporate this suggestion. The software the authors are promoting is called "Sentinel." It's weird to have authors promoting their software in a journal, but I guess there isn't anything else similar to it.

Webpage: Emerald Ash Borer's Homepage

Here's an image from the main information portal about this bug. Emeraldashborer.info maintains a strong collaborated mass of information, providing up-to-date maps, links, and details about the infestations and the movement of this little guy. If it could create a PR website for itself, this would be it. Many of the state and federal websites link to it. If you conduct a Google search for "EAB" this will always be the first hit.


The site was created at ground zero for the little beetle, Michigan. The large Michigan State University joined forces with the USDA Forest Service, Purdue University, and Ohio State University to populate the site with the best and most recent information possible. The site is funded by the Forest Service and "administered through MSU," although I'm not sure what that means. I think they're telling readers that MSU hosts the servers and posts the information. 

My big question research question is this: Is this research needed? If the DNR already does usability test through a professional PR company, what am I going to find that changes the way things are done? Ah well, until a better idea comes through, I better keep on the issue. 

emeraldashborer.info