Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page R1
PUBLIC RESPONSE
TO ALERTS AND WARNINGS
USING SOCIAL MEDIA
REPORT OF A WORKSHOP ON CURRENT
KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH GAPS
Committee on Public Response to Alerts and Warnings Using Social Media:
Current Knowledge and Research Gaps
Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences
OCR for page R2
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Gov-
erning Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from
the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engi-
neering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible
for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for
appropriate balance.
Support for this project was provided by the Department of Homeland Security
with assistance from the National Science Foundation under award number IIS-
1118399. Any opinions, findings, or conclusions expressed in this publication are
those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations
that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-29033-3
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-29033-3
This report is available from:
Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
National Research Council
500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Additional copies of this report are available from:
The National Academies Press
500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360
Washington, DC 20001
(800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313
http://www.nap.edu
Copyright 2013 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
OCR for page R3
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating
society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research,
dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the
general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress
in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal govern-
ment on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the
National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter
of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding
engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its mem-
bers, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advis-
ing the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors
engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education
and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles
M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of
Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions
in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The
Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences
by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon
its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education.
Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of
Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology
with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal
government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the
Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the
National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in pro-
viding services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering
communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the
Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and
vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
www.national-academies.org
OCR for page R4
COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC RESPONSE TO ALERTS
AND WARNINGS USING SOCIAL MEDIA: CURRENT
KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCH GAPS
ROBERT E. KRAUT, Carnegie Mellon University, Chair
ALESSANDRO ACQUISTI, Carnegie Mellon University
JON M. KLEINBERG, Cornell University
LESLIE LUKE, San Diego County Office of Emergency Services
RICHARD G. MUTH, State of Maryland Emergency Management
Agency
LEYSIA PALEN, University of Colorado, Boulder
TIMOTHY L. SELLNOW, University of Kentucky
MICHELE WOOD, California State University, Fullerton
Staff
JON EISENBERG, Director, Computer Science and Telecommunications
Board
VIRGINIA BACON TALATI, Associate Program Officer
ERIC WHITAKER, Senior Program Assistant
iv
OCR for page R5
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD
ROBERT F. SPROULL, Sun Labs, Chair
PRITHVIRAJ BANERJEE, Hewlett Packard Company
STEVEN M. BELLOVIN, Columbia University
JACK L. GOLDSMITH III, Harvard Law School
SEYMOUR E. GOODMAN, Georgia Institute of Technology
JON M. KLEINBERG, Cornell University
ROBERT E. KRAUT, Carnegie Mellon University
SUSAN LANDAU, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
PETER LEE, Microsoft Corporation
DAVID E. LIDDLE, US Venture Partners
DAVID E. SHAW, D.E. Shaw Research
ALFRED Z. SPECTOR, Google, Inc.
JOHN STANKOVIC, University of Virginia
JOHN A. SWAINSON, Dell, Inc.
PETER SZOLOVITS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
PETER J. WEINBERGER, Google, Inc.
ERNEST J. WILSON, University of Southern California
KATHERINE YELICK, University of California, Berkeley
Staff
JON EISENBERG, Director
VIRGINIA BACON TALATI, Associate Program Officer
SHENAE BRADLEY, Senior Program Assistant
RENEE HAWKINS, Financial and Administrative Manager
HERBERT S. LIN, Chief Scientist
LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Associate Director
ERIC WHITAKER, Senior Program Assistant
ENITA A. WILLIAMS, Associate Program Officer
For more information on CSTB, see its website at
http://www.cstb.org, write to CSTB, National Research Council,
500 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, call (202) 334-2605, or
e‑mail the CSTB at cstb@nas.edu.
v
OCR for page R6
OCR for page R7
Preface
F
ollowing an earlier workshop organized by a separate National
Research Council (NRC) committee that explored the public response
to alerts and warnings delivered to mobile devices,1 the Depart-
ment of Homeland Security’s (DHS’s) Science and Technology Director-
ate asked the NRC’s Computer Science and Telecommunications Board
to convene a workshop on the role of social media in disaster response.
Held February 28 and 29, 2012, the workshop was organized by the Com-
mittee on Public Response to Alerts and Warnings Using Social Media:
Current Knowledge and Research Gaps. The resulting report points to
potential topics for future research and possible areas for future research
investment by DHS and others and describes challenges facing disaster
managers seeking to incorporate social media into regular practice.
One of the first workshops convened to look systematically at the use
of social media for alerts and warnings, the event brought together social
science researchers, technologists, emergency management professionals,
and other experts on how the public and emergency managers use social
media in disasters. The workshop explored (1) what is known about how
the public responds to alerts and warnings; (2) the implications of what is
known about such public responses for the use of social media to provide
alerts and warnings to the public; and (3) approaches to enhancing the
1 National
Research Council. Public Response to Alerts and Warnings on Mobile Devices: Sum-
mary of a Workshop on Current Knowledge and Research Gaps. The National Academies Press,
Washington, D.C., 2011.
vii
OCR for page R8
viii PREFACE
BOX P.1
Statement of Task
An ad hoc committee will oversee development and facilitation of a work-
shop that convenes experts from across the nation in the fields of alerts and
warnings, social media, and privacy. The workshop will examine the use of and
public response to social media for alerts, identifying past and current research
and future research needs. It will also explore potential privacy implications of
issuing alerts and warnings via social media. The workshop will use a mix of in-
dividual presentations, panels, breakout discussions, and question-and-answer
sessions to develop an understanding of the relevant research communities,
research already completed, ongoing research, and future research needs. Key
stakeholders will be identified and invited to participate. An unedited (ver-
batim) transcript of the event will be prepared. A report summarizing what
transpired at the workshop will be prepared.
situational awareness of emergency managers. It also considered how
officials monitor social media and the privacy considerations that result.
The complete statement of task for the workshop is provided in Box P.1.
This report summarizes presentations made by invited speakers,
other remarks by workshop participants, and discussion during parallel
breakout sessions. In keeping with the workshop’s purpose of exploring
an emerging topic, this summary does not contain findings or recom-
mendations. Nor, in keeping with NRC guidelines for workshop reports,
does it necessarily reflect consensus views of the workshop participants
or the responsible committee. In addition, these summaries should not be
taken as remarks made solely by the scheduled session speakers, because
the discussions included remarks offered by others in attendance, and
the summaries of the workshop sessions provided in the chapters of
this report are a digest both of the presentations and of the subsequent
discussion.
Chapter 1 provides a brief overview of background information on
the alerting process and public response as well as current understanding
of social media use. Chapters 2 through 5 provide integrated summaries
of the session presentations and the discussion that followed, organized
by topic. Chapter 6 summarizes the research questions identified during
the breakout sessions and subsequent plenary discussion. Appendix A
OCR for page R9
PREFACE ix
presents the workshop agenda, and speaker biosketches are provided in
Appendix B. Appendix C provides biosketches of the committee and the
staff.
Robert E. Kraut, Chair
C
ommittee on Public Response to
Alerts and Warnings Using Social Media:
Current Knowledge and Research Gaps
OCR for page R10
OCR for page R11
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
T
his report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen
for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance
with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s
Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is
to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in
making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the
report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and respon-
siveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript
remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We
wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Robert Dudgeon, San Francisco Department of Emergency
Management
Prabhakar Raghavan, Google
Ellis Stanley, Independent Consultant, Roswell, Georgia
Clarence L. Wardell III, CNA Safety
Duncan Watts, Microsoft Research
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many construc-
tive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the
material presented, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its
release. The review of this report was overseen by Ruzena Bajcsy, Univer-
sity of California, Berkeley. Appointed by the National Research Council,
xi
OCR for page R12
xii ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF REVIEWERS
she was responsible for making certain that an independent examination
of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures
and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility
for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring com-
mittee and the institution.
OCR for page R13
Contents
1
FUNDAMENTALS OF ALERTS, WARNINGS, AND SOCIAL
MEDIA 1
Current Knowledge About Public Response to Alerts and
Warnings, 2
Social Media Use by the Public During Disasters, 4
Barriers to Incorporating Social Media into Emergency
Management, 5
Technology Development for the Use of Social Media in
Emergency Management, 6
Technologies for Developing Situational Awareness from
Social Media, 9
Observations of Workshop Participants, 10
2 CURRENT USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN EMERGENCIES 12
Use of Social Media by the Los Angeles Fire Department, 12
Use of Social Media by WCNC, Charlotte, to Provide
Weather Information, 14
Using Social Media for Earthquake Detection and Alerting, 16
Using Social Media to Assess Communication Needs and
Disseminate Information During a Health Emergency, 17
Observations of Workshop Participants, 20
xiii
OCR for page R14
xiv CONTENTS
3 DYNAMICS OF SOCIAL MEDIA 22
Studying Twitter Use to Understand How People
Communicate, 22
Problem Solving with Social Media, 25
Standby Task Force: Volunteer Networks During Disasters, 28
Observations of Workshop Participants, 32
4 CREDIBILITY, AUTHENTICITY, AND REPUTATION 34
Reputation Systems, 34
Encouraging Self-Correction, 36
Computational Claim Verification, 36
Applying the “Citizen Science” Model to Disaster
Management, 37
Observations of Workshop Participants, 40
5
PRIVACY AND LEGAL CHALLENGES WITH THE USE OF
SOCIAL MEDIA 41
Legal and Policy Perspectives on Privacy and on
Government Monitoring of Social Media, 41
Privacy Protection in the Context of Programs for Citizen
Reporting of Threats, 44
Legal Perspective on First-Responder Responsibilities, 45
Observations of Workshop Participants, 47
6 RESEARCH GAPS AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES 49
Message Content and Dissemination, 49
Trust and Credibility, 51
Privacy, 52
Volunteers, 52
Technology Diffusion, 53
Emergency Management Practice, 54
APPENDIXES
A Workshop Agenda 57
B Biosketches of Workshop Speakers 63
C Biosketches of Committee and Staff Members 73
