Information Sharing During the University of Texas at Austin Active Shooter/Suicide Event

Emergency response systems can be improved by investigating the motives and manner in which people share information during an active shooter crisis. This article analyzed survey data collected from undergraduate participants at The University of Texas at Austin who were enrolled during the fall of 2010 when an active shooter event occurred on campus. Our findings indicated that distance from a threat predicts an individual’s perception of message credibility. Additional findings suggested innovativeness is a strong driving factor in individuals’ reliance on social and personal media to contact others who need safety updates. Finally, perceptions of mortality and experience to negative media portrayals were positively related to active information sharing during this event. Limitations and suggestions for future research are offered

The influence of background music and narrative setting on anthropomorphic judgements of killer whale (Orcinus orca) emotional states and subsequent donation behavior.

Animal documentary films such as Blackfish, considered nonfiction accounts of reality, nonetheless use rhetorical devices to engage viewers and shape their emotional experience for maximum effect. Such devices can also influence attitudes and alter behavior. In animal documentaries, anthropomorphic impressions of the animals by audiences are key. Using general population samples in the US, three online experiments assessed the influence of background music and narrative setting on how viewers emotionally appraised the emotional state of a killer whale (Orcinus orca) and subsequently donated to causes affiliated with killer whales. While happy music led to perceptions of a happy whale, sad music led to perceptions of a sad whale. mediation analyses showed that these perceptions indirectly influence donation behavior, via beliefs about the killer whale's welfare and wellbeing. Analyses also indicated that the highest donation amounts towards killer whales were elicited from footage depicting a killer whale in the wild, with sad background music. These findings highlight the potential power that animal and nature documentaries have over viewers, which, when combined with human tendencies toward anthropomorphism, can have significant influence on conservation attitudes and behavior