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Applied Research in Action The emergency manager of a Florida city’s Office of Emergency Management would like to better understand the use of social media to communicate with citizens during times of crisis. The manager has asked you to review “Social Media and Crisis Communications: A Survey of Local Governments in Florida,” a recent applied study published on the issue, and report back with details about how the study was conducted, the results, and the implications for policy and practice. After reading the study, prepare a 750- to 1,050-word essay addressing the following: · Given what you learned from this week’s Seminar and readings, which of the purposes of research were the authors of the study seeking to accomplish? Did they effectively serve this purpose in their study? Explain your rationale. · What were the hypotheses proposed by the study researchers? · Identify the independent and dependent variables in the study. Explain how the researchers conceptualized and operationalized social media usage. · What did the researchers find in testing each of their study hypotheses? Summarize the findings. · Describe any study limitations that the emergency manager should consider when evaluating the credibility of the study. · Based on the conclusions set forth by the study authors, provide suggestions to the emergency manager that will inform social media policy and practice for future emergency crises. Be sure to cite your sources in the body of your paper and list them on your reference page, consistent with APA guidelines. Remember, applied research is not common knowledge, so it is important to cite to all of your sources of information. Au to m at ica lly ge ne ra te d ro ug h PD Fb yP ro of Ch ec kf ro m Ri ve rV al le yT ec hn ol og ie sL td DE GRUYTER Journal of Homeland Security and EmergencyManagement. 2018; 20160067 Stephen R. Neely1 / Matthew Collins2 Social Media and Crisis Communications: A Survey of Local Governments in Florida 1 School of Public Affairs, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL, USA, E-mail:
[email protected] 2 Florida State College at Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA Abstract: Social media platforms are increasingly being used by public agencies and emergency managers to communi- cate with the public in times of crisis. However, while the adoption of these technologies has been well docu- mented at the federal level, little is known empirically about the extent to which social media are being utilized for emergencymanagement communications by local agencies, and less still is known about how rates of adop- tion vary based on the organizational and demographic characteristics of local municipalities. This exploratory study provides an empirical analysis of social media use by local municipalities in the State of Florida and examines the organizational and demographic factors related to social media adoption for emergency and cri- sis communications. The study suggests that social media are still underutilized by local agencies in many regards. Findings also indicate that larger municipalities which serve younger, more highly educated popula- tions are more likely to adopt social media for crisis communications, while agencies representing traditionally under-served populations are less likely to utilize social media for these same purposes. The implications of these findings are discussed, particularly the role of higher education in preparing public administrators and emergency managers for careers in a networked society. Keywords: crisis communications, Facebook, local government, social media, Twitter DOI: 10.1515/jhsem-2016-0067 1 Introduction Over recent years, the use of social media by public agencies has been increasing at all levels of government (Karakiza 2015; Mergel 2012a). These trends have been driven in part by the Obama Administration’s Memo- randum on Transparency and Open Government (Obama 2009), as well as its subsequent Open Government Directive (Orszag 2009), each of which called upon federal agencies to harness “emerging technologies” in an effort to enhance transparency, collaboration, and public participation. Following these directives, social media usage has grown substantially at the national level (Mergel 2012a). While adoption at the local level has been less widespread, Mearns, Richardson, and Robson (2015) suggest that the use of social media by local agencies has recently been “gathering pace” (p. 191). As these technologies have become more prominent among public agencies, one emerging area of interest has been the use of social media for crisis communications (i.e. emergencymanagement and disaster prepared- ness). Recent studies have found that social media platforms are increasingly utilized by government agencies to communicate emergency preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery information to the citizenry (for examples see: Merchant, Elmer, and Lurie 2011; Mergel 2012a; Bernier 2013; Conrado et al. 2016). It has been suggested that social media helps not only to expand public access to emergency information, but also to in- crease the speed with which information can be distributed and retrieved in emergency situations (Hughes and Palen 2012; Graham, Avery, and Park 2015). Furthermore, social media allows citizens to become active participants in the emergency response process by creating and redistributing emergency information to peers in their social network (Hughes and Tapia 2015). However, despite the perceived benefits of social media for crisis communications, little is empirically known about the prevalence of social media usage by emergency managers at the local government level. Con- siderably less is known with regard to the nature of social media usage and how it varies across municipalities based on differences in social, economic, and cultural demographics (Graham, Avery, and Park 2015). This ex- ploratory study seeks to address those concerns and contribute to the growing body of social media literature by providing an empirical examination of adoption among local municipalities in the State of Florida, with a focus on the communication and dissemination of emergency information. Stephen R. Neely is the corresponding author. ©2018Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston. 1 http://rivervalleytechnologies.com/products/ Au to m at ica lly ge ne ra te d ro ug h PD Fb yP ro of Ch ec kf ro m Ri ve rV al le yT ec hn ol og ie sL td Neely and Collins DE GRUYTER In order to conduct this study, we administered a web-based survey to all active Florida City and County ManagementAssociation (FCCMA)members. The sampling frame included 180 cities,with 83 usable responses received, for a response rate of 46%. The research findings discussed later in this article address three specific re- search questions. (1) What portion of local municipalities have adopted social media to disseminate emergency information? (2) Which social media platforms are most frequently utilized to distribute emergency informa- tion? (3) Which demographic and institutional factors influence the likelihood of social media adoption? We believe that these findings will be of interest to both scholars and practitioners in the fields of public adminis- tration, emergency management, and information technology. We hope that they will also provide a baseline for comparison in future studies. The section that follows provides a cursory overview of recent literature regarding the expansion of social media as well as its adoption by public agencies. We consider the emergence of social media as a new paradigm for government communication in general and its particular relevance in the areas of emergency management and disaster preparedness. We also look briefly at some specific examples of social media usage during recent emergency/disaster scenarios, and we consider barriers to the adoption of social media by local government agencies. From there, the study turns to an analysis of the survey results obtained from the FCCMA’s member agencies. 2 Background Information “Social media” describes a variety of online, web-based applications that facilitate social interaction and the direct transmittal of information between networked actors/members. As several scholars have noted, social media is marked by both the rapid transmission and multi-directional flow of information, wherein individual actors within a networked environment can act simultaneously as originators, redistributors, and recipients of content and information (i.e. Kietzmann et al. 2011; Thackery et al. 2012; VanMeter, Grisaffe, and Chonko 2015). Popular examples of social media include networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, media sharing sites such as YouTube and Instagram, and microblogging sites such as Twitter, which allow for real-time information updates (Kietzmann et al. 2011; Osatuyi 2013). Many studies have also included tools such as web-blogs within the broader umbrella of social media, as these forums allow individuals from any and all backgrounds to create and distribute content that can influence public opinion and promote social interaction. In defining socialmedia for the purposes of this paper,we adhere to the broad approach outlined above,which is succinctly summarized by VanMeter, Grisaffe, and Chonko (2015), who define social media as “… an interactive platform that allows social actors to create and share in multi-way, immediate, and contingent communications” (p. 71) In the United States, participation in social media has increased dramatically over the past decade. The Pew Research Center – which has tracked social media usage since 2005 – recently reported that 65% of American adults use some form of social media. This marks a sharp increase over the last decade, up from only 7% in 2005 (Perrin 2015). Moreover, during the same time period, social media participation has gone up significantly among non-traditional users, including senior citizens, ethnic minorities, rural residents, and individuals from low-income households (Madden and Zickuhr 2011; Perrin 2015). These trends have led to significant changes in how Americans seek-out and engage with public informa- tion. Mitchell, Rosenstiel, and Christian (2012) report that more than 50% of digital news consumers now turn to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter for important news and information. As a result, public expectations regarding government adoption and usage of social media are changing, and the pressure on lo- cal agencies to engage with their citizens through social media is increasing (American Red Cross 2012; Mergel 2012a).While these emerging technologies have by nomeans replaced traditional methods of information seek- ing (Mitchell, Rosenstiel, and Christian 2012), the instant accessibility of information afforded by social media, as well as its growing popularity, has unquestionably altered the landscape of information seeking and mass communication. Over the same time period, government usage of social media has increased as well, though significant questions remain regarding the extent of government engagement via social media, particularly at the local level. Following the aforementioned directives from theObamaAdministration, socialmedia at the federal level has become highly visible.Mergel (2012a, 2012b) notes that “As ofMay 2012, the 698 departments, agencies, and initiatives of the US federal government have created 488 Facebook pages, 363 Twitter accounts, 247 YouTube channels, and 71 Flickr pages…” (p. 282). The most active user of social media during this period has been the Department of Defense, which on its own has created nearly 2500 Facebook pages and over 650 Twitter accounts (Mergel 2012a, 2012b). Participation rates at the local level have been more meager, as well as more difficult to measure. Graham and Avery (2013) conducted a national survey of local government officials in which 70%