Public attention to extreme weather as reflected by social media activity

Silver, Amber; Andrey, Jean

doi:10.1111/1468-5973.12265

Cited by 38 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 66 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Users are primarily categorized based on professional and/or job positions, their communication behaviors, and their roles in online disaster-related information diffusion. For example, a content analysis conducted by Silver and Andrey [55] categorized Twitter users as weather experts, weather enthusiasts, first responders, media, and citizens, based solely on their bios. Further, when studying communication outcomes, they found differences in behaviors across users.…”

Section: Current Public Use Of Social Media For Disaster Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

“…• While social media users are unique, trends exist in how they use social media platforms during disasters [55,56]. • Social media users share different types of content regarding the disaster [22], and the content can differ based on their location respective to the disaster impact area [57].…”

Section: Potential Usementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, social media users could be encouraged to temporarily allow geotagging of their disaster-related posts via privacy settings, if amenable, to facilitate their use by emergency officials [57]. • Strategic use of hashtags can help emergency managers filter social media content generated during the acute stage of a disaster [55]. Emergency management agencies and nonprofit organizations can adopt and in turn, encourage the use of certain hashtags when posting about different disaster-related topics.…”

Section: Innovation Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…• To ensure that disaster-related information reaches a wider audience on social media, emergency managers should develop partnerships with trusted and credible stakeholders (i.e., weather experts and enthusiasts). These users are influential information sources during disasters [40,55]. • Previous disasters and emergencies can provide insight into which kinds of social media users became prominent in their respective social networks.…”

Section: Public-focused Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

A review of social media use during disaster response and recovery phases

Young¹,

Kuligowski²,

Pradhan³

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Under the National Construction Safety Team Act, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) investigated the May 22, 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri. The investigation was an effort to characterize (1) the wind environment and technical conditions associated with fatalities and injuries, (2) the performance of emergency communications systems and the public response to such communications, and (3) the performance of residential, commercial, and critical buildings, designated safe areas in buildings as well as lifelines. The final report of the investigation concluded with a list of sixteen recommendations, including but not limited to recommendations for action on emergency communications. Specifically, NIST recommended "the development of national codes and standards and uniform guidance for clear, consistent, recognizable, and accurate emergency communications, encompassing alerts and warnings, to enable safe, effective, and timely responses" [1, p.367]. This Technical Note is the third installment in the NIST effort to develop evidence-based guidance on the creation and provision of public alerts. The first publication in this series, "Outdoor Siren Systems: A review of technology, usage, and public response during emergencies," provided both an outline on the current status of outdoor siren systems in the U.S., as well as a literature review of how people respond to these systems [2]. The second Technical Note, "A review of public response to short message alerts under imminent threats," focused on short message alerts, underscoring best practices as well as strategies geared towards improving message design and delivery, based on the methods by which people receive and process these types of alerts [3]. In this publication, first we present an overview of current popular social media platforms and the capabilities that they feature, as well as their potential applications for emergency management. That is followed by an outline of social media use for disaster response and recovery research findings, organized by themes. The response themes relate to: 1) the use of these tools for formal emergency management, 2) innovative social media applications for disaster response, and 3) how the general public uses these platforms. The recovery themes involve: 1) social media during recovery for mental health, 2) recovery assessment, and 3) relationship development post-event. The research findings are followed by the limitations and practical considerations for emergency managers, as well as future research suggestions.

show abstract

Section: Current Public Use Of Social Media For Disaster Responsementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Potential Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Innovation Opportunitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Public-focused Insightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A review of social media use during disaster response and recovery phases

Young¹,

Kuligowski²,

Pradhan³

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The second research project also examined how individuals utilized social media when confronted with environmental uncertainty. This project examined the use of Twitter during a tornado‐warned event that occurred in southern Ontario, Canada in September 2016 (Silver and Andrey, forthcoming). In this study, all tweets containing weather specific hashtags (e.g., #onstorm and tornado) were gathered for a 48 hour period, beginning shortly before a severe weather outbreak.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Attention to Risks, Hazards, and Disasters: A Retrospective Review and Proposed Conceptual Model

Silver¹

2019

Risk Hazard & Crisis Pub Pol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although public attention has been identified as an influential variable in the decision‐making process by individuals before, during, and after a disaster, it has received comparatively little consideration within the risk and hazards literatures. This is surprising, as attention is noted for bridging the gap between information and action, and is therefore highly relevant to studies on human behavior during crises. This paper draws on theoretical and empirical insights from research across numerous disciplines in order to flesh out the concept of public attention within the context of risks, hazards, and disasters. Theoretical insights from the literature on the issue attention cycle, agenda‐setting theory, the theory of structuration, and sense‐making theory were used to develop a conceptual model of public attention that is presented here. This model highlights the role of public attention from the moment of initial exposure, through to the iterative process of interpretation, which is intrinsically linked to action. The relationships in the conceptual model are then illustrated using two empirical research projects as examples. This paper concludes by suggesting opportunities for future research that may further improve scholarly understanding of public attention within the context of environmental hazards and other threats.

show abstract

Reconceptualizing Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) as an experiential learning tool for emergency management education

Silver,

Morgan,

Morrison

2024

Risk Hazard & Crisis Pub Pol

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) have proliferated across the United States and abroad as a means of addressing the informational needs of emergency management agencies. These groups of trusted agents act as “force multipliers” by monitoring social media to extract actionable information, including on‐the‐ground impacts, public sentiment, misinformation and gossip, and calls for assistance. However, while these teams have been credited as a resource‐efficient means of improving situational awareness, issues pertaining to recruitment and retention, trust, and legitimacy continue to be a challenge. This research utilizes a case study approach to examine how academic institutions might leverage VOSTs as a tool for emergency management education and in doing so, address some of the challenges outlined above. In this paper, we present the participation of a university‐affiliated VOST in two state‐level activations: the 2022 Texas wildfires and the 2022 NYC marathon. These case studies are then contextualized with the results of semistructured interviews conducted with emergency managers in both states. The results demonstrate that VOSTs facilitated through and supported by academic institutions can address many of the challenges outlined above, while also providing valuable experience for students. The paper concludes with a discussion on lessons learned and opportunities for future research.

show abstract

Public attention to extreme weather as reflected by social media activity

Cited by 38 publications

References 66 publications

A review of social media use during disaster response and recovery phases

A review of social media use during disaster response and recovery phases

Public Attention to Risks, Hazards, and Disasters: A Retrospective Review and Proposed Conceptual Model

Reconceptualizing Virtual Operations Support Teams (VOSTs) as an experiential learning tool for emergency management education

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About