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Social media in emergency management: Exploring Twitter use by emergency responders in the UK

Parsons, Sophie; Weal, Mark; O'Grady, Nathaniel; Atkinson, Peter M.

Authors

Sophie Parsons

Mark Weal

Peter M. Atkinson



Abstract

Copyright © 2018 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Emergency management practices are being reshaped by social media. Emergency responders are embracing social media to enhance communications during an emergency. The integration of social media into UK emergency management is ambigious, and it is uncertain as to whether it is an effective tool. Using a mixed methods approach, this research investigates the UK emergency responders' use of social media for emergency management, focusing in particular on the UK Winter Floods of 2013/14. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the UK emergency responders' social media activity is examined. This research shows that the responders perceive social media as a useful tool to effectively deliver information to the public, although they do not appear to fully exploit it in an emergency. While the responders appear to predominantly post caution and advice, the results suggest that information about structures and utilities affected by an incident is most likely to engage an audience.

Citation

Parsons, S., Weal, M., O'Grady, N., & Atkinson, P. M. (2018). Social media in emergency management: Exploring Twitter use by emergency responders in the UK. International Journal of Emergency Management, 14(4), 322-343. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEM.2018.097360

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Aug 27, 2017
Online Publication Date Jan 15, 2019
Publication Date Dec 1, 2018
Deposit Date Sep 14, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal International Journal of Emergency Management
Print ISSN 1471-4825
Electronic ISSN 1741-5071
Publisher Inderscience
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 14
Issue 4
Pages 322-343
DOI https://doi.org/10.1504/IJEM.2018.097360
Keywords UK floods, emergency management, social media, audience
engagement, mixed methods, Twitter, emergency responders, emergency communications, local resilience forums, thematic analysis
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/875507
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJEM.2018.097360
Additional Information Additional Information : This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published version is available here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJEM.2018.097360

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