Role of Social Media in Disaster Management

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr. Alok Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Share Information

It is a well known fact that natural disasters strikes countries, both developed and developing, causing enormous destruction and creating human sufferings and producing negative impacts on national economies. Due to diverse geo-climatic conditions prevalent in different parts of the globe, different types of natural disasters like floods, droughts, earthquakes, cyclones, landslides, volcanoes, etc. strikes according to the vulnerability of the area. India is considered as the world's most disaster prone country. It has witnessed devastating natural disasters in recent past like droughts, floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, etc. Social media is strongly influencing our life. There are several social media such as Twitter, Facebook, and types of communication technologies are constantly changing our habits of communication. We do not only share information in face to face contacts, but also via a multitude of new forms of social media. New technologies like smart phones comprise diverse sensors, such as cameras, microphones and GPS, which enable a new level of information distribution. This new technology combined with social media allows the user to share information with a huge and growing community. There is not just the information we knowingly share, but also metadata about location, time and so forth. Within these new forms of communication and hidden data lies a big opportunity for crisis mapping and disaster management. These new types of information-usage and new technology can be useful for situational awareness, the distribution of alerts and further functions of disaster management. In this paper an attempt has been made to throw light on some aspect of social media in creating awareness related to the disaster among the masses. Moreover, use of social media during a disaster or emergency management is an entirely new outlook..

DOI Theoretical Framework

2018 ◽  
pp. 144-166
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Adaptation To Climate Change ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Structured Means

Change is not easy! People adhere to old routines and habits tenaciously. Most people are slow to accept new ideas, new products, in short, innovations. When it comes to new technologies that can aid in adaptation to climate change, there is fierce resistance from farmers (to sustainable agriculture), from the fossil fuels industries (to sustainable energy), from developers (to going green), and the list goes on. While a new technology does involve a certain investment of time and money at first, it is cost effective and profitable in the long term. When it comes to sustainability, nothing less than the future of our planet is at stake, so it is incumbent upon us to find a way to “sell” the innovations to the masses. The Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) Theoretical Framework provides an effective, structured means of doing this; its efficacy has been established for hundreds of innovations, and it is particularly suited to technologies.

Representative Democracy as Kitsch, and Artificial Intelligence’s Promise of Emancipation

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius C. Silaghi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
Civic Involvement ◽  
Early Modernity ◽  
Avant Garde ◽  
Post Modernism ◽  
The Masses ◽  
Significant Support

The chapter explores relations between modernity and the decentralization of authority, kitsch and partial centralization, the avant-garde and social media. Decentralization is identified as an important expression of modernist philosophy in current technology. As a characteristic of current directions of social progress, authority-opposing trends of modernism and post-modernism find significant support in new technology via less falsifiable decentralization based on crypto-currencies, blockchain, social media, search engines, and other products of the internet era. The scalability of classic athenian democracy to large societies is not yet accomplished by technology. Against the early modernity tendency to cheaply give the masses an almost effortless sense of participation (features associated with kitsch), the system of representative democracy promises to become more genuine through opportunities for electronic civic involvement.

Information and Communication Technology in Crisis and Disaster Management

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deedee Bennett
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Unmet Needs ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Management Communication ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
New Research

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) cover a wide range of telecommunication devices and applications, which facilitate the flow of information. Within crisis and disaster management, these devices and applications may be used explicitly for hazards or crisis detection, information management, communication, situational awareness, search and rescue efforts, and decision support systems. Everything from cell phones and social media to unmanned aerial vehicles and weather stations are used to collect, disseminate, and monitor various types of information and data to provide a common operating picture. ICTs are continually evolving, with new features developed and deployed at a rapid pace. This development has had a unique impact on crisis and disaster management, allowing for real-time communication and situational awareness, as well as novel approaches to simulations and training. With the near-ubiquitous use of some devices, information is also no longer held solely by government or private sector officials; ordinary citizens are also able to contribute to and disseminate information during and after crises. For some segments of the population, this ability to meaningfully contribute is not only empowering but necessary to highlight unmet needs. Throughout the evolution of ICTs, new research and practical concerns have highlighted persistent unmet needs of more vulnerable populations due to growing interdependence and integration across jurisdictional boundaries worldwide. The continued expansion of ICTs will most likely have a profound impact on this field in the future.

scholarly journals Cutting the Face

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-71
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Fitzgibbon Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Middle East ◽  
New Media ◽  
Social Control ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
New Technology ◽  
State Building ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Existing Structures ◽  
The Face

The local uptake of new media in the Middle East is shaped by deep histories of imperialism, state building, resistance and accommodation. In contemporary Jordan, social media is simultaneously encouraging identification with tribes and undermining their gerontocratic power structures. Senior men stress their own importance as guarantors (‘faces’), who restore order following conflicts, promising to pay their rivals a large surety if their kin break the truce. Yet, ‘cutting the face’ (breaking truces) remains an alternative, one often facilitated by new technologies that allow people to challenge pre-existing structures of communication and authority. However, the experiences of journalists and other social media mavens suggest that the liberatory promise of the new technology may not be enough to prevent its reintegration into older patterns of social control.

Re-Tweet Count Matters: Social Influences on Sharing of Disaster-Related Tweets

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huaye Li ◽  
Yasuaki Sakamoto
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Social Influences ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Current Paper ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
Emergency Responders ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Share Information

AbstractCommunication during and after disasters increasingly relies on social media technologies. For example, victims, emergency responders, and others took to Twitter to share information about conditions, aid, resources and the like in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The current paper concerns how a re-tweet count, or the number of others who have already forwarded a message, influences people’s spreading of disaster-related tweets. The results of a human-subjects experiment revealed that, when the re-tweet count of a tweet increased, the likelihood that people would share the tweet increased when it came from an individual’s account, but the likelihood decreased when it came from a news agency’s account. These social influences disappeared when the re-tweet counts were over 1000 people. These findings extend the understanding of how disaster-related information spreads on social media, which is essential for improving social media during disaster management.

scholarly journals A Gamification-based Social Collaborative Architecture to increase resilience against natural disasters

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávio E. A. Horita ◽  
Luiz F. F. G. Assis ◽  
Raul E. S. Castanhari ◽  
Seiji Isotani ◽  
Wilmax M. Cruz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Serious Games ◽  
Collaborative Systems ◽  
Web Platform ◽  
Share Information

Natural disasters have led to the need for urgent measures to mitigate the effects of these accidents. The question of awareness is extremely important in dealing with disasters, and collaborative systems are very serviceable for this. In this context, the aim of this work is to outline a gamification-based social collaborative architecture (GSCA) to increase resilience against natural disasters. We have combined techniques to produce and share information through the interaction of a large number of people, such as those employed in social media and serious games. This architecturewas evaluated and analyzed using the Voluntary in Action, a web platform which applies the components defined in the GSCA. The results suggest that gamification is a system with a great potential to help increase the knowledge of a community about disasters.

Care ethics and the responsible management of power and privacy in digitally enhanced disaster response

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Hayes ◽  
Damian Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Care Ethics ◽  
Ethics Of Care ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digitally Enhanced ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to argue that traditional ethical theories used in disaster response may be inadequate and particularly strained by the emergence of new technologies and social media, particularly with regard to privacy. The paper suggests incorporation of care ethics into the disaster ethics nexus to better include the perspectives of disaster affected communities. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a theoretical examination of privacy and care ethics in the context of social media/digitally enhanced disaster response. Findings The paper proposes an ethics of care can fruitfully by used by public and private agents in disaster management. Its relational ontology restores the priority of fostering good relationships between stakeholders, thus giving central importance to values such as transparency and trust and the situated knowledge of disaster-affected communities. Research limitations/implications This paper presents theoretical research and is limited by the availability of empirical data. There is opportunity for future research to evaluate the impact of a conscious adoption of an ethics of care by disaster management agents. Practical implications An ethos of care ethics needs to be mainstreamed into disaster management organisations and digital initiatives. Social implications This paper argues that power asymmetry in disaster response renders the public vulnerable to abuse, and that the adoption of care ethics can support disaster management agents in recognising this power imbalance and wielding power responsibly. Originality/value This paper examines the applicability of an alternative ethical framework to novel circumstances.

Use of Twitter among cancer clinicians and researchers and the associations with scientific impact of its users and followers.

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e14101-e14101
Author(s):  
Winson Y. Cheung ◽  
Rodrigo Rigo ◽  
Atul Batra
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Median Number ◽  
Scientific Content ◽  
Scientific Impact ◽  
Twitter Users ◽  
American Society

e14101 Background: Social media channels, such as Twitter, represent relatively new technology platforms for scientific users to disseminate research findings and communicate their views and interpretations to colleagues and followers. To date, the associations between the use of Twitter and the scientific impact of its users and followers are unclear. Methods: All Canadian oncologists who are full members of the American Society of Clinical Oncology were identified from the online membership directory. Users of Twitter were defined as those with an active Twitter account, as of June 2019, and posted at least one tweet within the past 12 months. Data regarding the number of tweets, likes, and followers were collected by an online search of Twitter. Scientific impact of each individual was assessed based on a user’s h-index and number of citations from Google Scholar as well as score from Research Gate. Associations were examined with summary statistics and correlation coefficients. Results: We identified 676 eligible oncologists of whom 80 (12%) and 596 (88%) currently use and do not use Twitter. Among the users, the median number (IQR) of tweets, likes, and followers were 196 (45-865), 325 (86-1,246), and 198 (89-449), respectively. The scientific impact of Twitter users versus non-users was statistically similar (see Table). Likewise, within the group of users, there were no correlations between the number of tweets, likes, and followers and the scientific impact of individuals (correlation coefficients 0.38, 0.34, and 0.41, respectively, all p > 0.05). Conclusions: Only 1 in 10 oncologists use Twitter, but those who use Twitter leveraged this technology platform frequently. There were no associations between the use of Twitter and the scientific impact of its users. Views from a minority of oncologists are represented on Twitter. Such potential bias may underscore the potential need to exercise caution when using social media for scientific knowledge exchange. Regular evaluations of new technologies are warranted to ensure the quality and rigor of their scientific content in order to reduce misrepresentation. [Table: see text]

Social Media in Emergency Management

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton Wukich
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Situational Awareness ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
The Public ◽  
Interactive Nature ◽  
Types Of Information ◽  
Media Applications

Social media applications such as Facebook and Twitter enable the rapid transmission of public warning messages in the event of a disaster. This augments traditional channels such as television and radio and may indeed save lives. The interactive nature of social media enables other types of information exchange beyond the one-way broadcast of warnings and guidance that has long characterized risk communication. Authorities monitor social media data for situational awareness, and they can solicit input from the public and engage in more deliberative conversations. In turn, the public initiates communication by asking questions, providing input, and requesting help. They expand the reach of official messages by sharing with friends and followers. Therefore, from an emergency management perspective, social media applications can disrupt the traditional one-way mode of communication and improve the efficacy of efforts to communicate risk. Research from across academic disciplines (e.g., computer science, communication, information systems, public administration, and sociology) illustrates: (a) the need for social media in emergency management; (b) the related benefits of use; and (c) the best practices used to attain those benefits. This offers a roadmap for authorities to effectively implement social media in their organizations while avoiding potential pitfalls.

scholarly journals “Great to see ur staff are doing their job properly”

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-96
Author(s):  
Patricia Palomino-Manjón
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Service Provider ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Appraisal Theory ◽  
Service Encounters ◽  
Online Service ◽  
Digital Space ◽  
Varied Range ◽  
Share Information ◽  
Do So

The emergence of new technologies has changed the way people communicate. Social media have allowed businesses to connect with customers and to market their products more efficiently. However, these platforms also allow customers to share information and opinions with the company and fellow customers, diverting from previous online service encounters which only allowed the interaction between the service provider and the customer. This new digital space of communication is in need of research. Therefore, the main objective of this paper is to analyze how customer (dis)affiliation is discursively realized on Facebook. To do so, a corpus of comments published by customers on the Facebook page of a British grocery chain was compiled. The data were analyzed drawing on Appraisal Theory (Martin & White, 2005). The findings show that customers used a varied range of Appraisal resources to evaluate the company and express (dis)affiliation with it and fellow customers.

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