Crisis Informatics: Perspectives of Trust – Is Social Media a Mixed Blessing?

This paper highlights one of the key concerns in the emerging area of crisis informatics: issues of trusted information in crises/disasters and how the unregulated nature of social media affects information creation and dissemination. Deciding which information providers to trust and what sources of information to trust in crises is critical as acting upon trusted information can shape and influence the nature of the crisis. Social media is a powerful tool for sharing information during crises and can be used to improve emergency management capabilities, however, it has the power to misinform and to hinder response efforts

Farmers\u27 search for information during the UK foot-and-mouth disease crisis- what can we learn?

This paper reports on the findings of a study which explored the multiple information needs that faced the Cumbrian farming community in the north-west of England during the 2001 UK foot-and-mouth disease outbreak. Findings highlighted the importance of: changes in information needs at different stages of the crisis, context in which information seeking took place, overlap of information and emotional needs, formal and informal channels of information seeking during the crisis, farmers as information providers as well as information seekers, sense-making approach to information seeking during the crisis, trusted information sources need for a mix of ICTs during the crisis, ICTs as a catalyst for innovation during the crisis, place and space and new venues and meeting places for communities in a crisis, and providing a local response to a national crisis

Information in isolation: Gossip and rumor during the UK 2001 foot and mouth crisis – lessons learned

The 2001 foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak con stituted the biggest crisis ever to affect the UK farming system; it was one of the worst epidemics of its kind in the world. Farmers and rural communities were disrupted and traumatized as FMD spread rapidly through the whole of the country. The crisis unfolded as a series of information and communication problems, primarily from government to farmers, with consequences for action in a time of crisis. Farmers needed information at the different stages of the crisis to inform them about the various processes and procedures that had to be carried out once a farm had been infected, and information on the complex system of bio security measures introduced by the government. As these measures were implemented to control the spread of the disease, the places where farmers usually met to communicate and exchange information either shut down or became in accessible. There were many gaps in the information needed; there was not enough information; it conflicted with earlier information or information from other sources; and it was disseminated and received too late for the required purpose. The paper explores the role of rumour and gossip as a means of conveying information between the various actors during the crisis. During the FMD crisis there was much confusion and distrust, which provided the right kind of setting for rumour and gossip to flourish. Rumour and gossip took on new dimensions and played an important role in the exchange and transfer of information about events and also in people\u27s behaviour and activities. As farmers were isolated, unable to meet, much of their information came third- and fourth-hand via informal channels of gossip and rumour. This study used a mixed method approach of semi-structured interviews with members of farming house-holds. It concludes with suggestions as to what various actors, including libraries, in similar crisis situations could learn from this study by examining how lessons learned concerning the role of gossip and rumour in the FMD crisis may be applied to other crises, particularly the current H1N1 virus (swine flu) pandemic

Crisis, farming and community

In 2001, the UK was hit by Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) precipitating one of the biggest crises ever to affect the UK farming system. The crisis unfolded as a series of information and communication problems, from government to farmers and from farmers to farmers, with consequences for action in a time of crisis, social support, and the maintenance of community. What happens to a farming community during such a crisis? When the countryside shuts down, and no one can enter or leave the farm, how can information be disseminated? As methods of dealing with the disease change rapidly, as happened in this crisis, how can information be delivered in a timely and coordinated manner? To explore these questions, data have been gathered from reports and writing about the crisis, and from interviews with Cumbrian farmers. Although we will address throughout the discussion the multiple information channels used by farmers, this paper focuses on the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) during the crisis, notably a community networking initiative known as Pentalk. We conclude with a look at the current role of Pentalk in the farming community, and with discussion of how networks such as these can help during crises in which there are significant needs for information and communication management

Understanding the Use of Crisis Informatics Technology among Older Adults

Mass emergencies increasingly pose significant threats to human life, with a disproportionate burden being incurred by older adults. Research has explored how mobile technology can mitigate the effects of mass emergencies. However, less work has examined how mobile technologies support older adults during emergencies, considering their unique needs. To address this research gap, we interviewed 16 older adults who had recent experience with an emergency evacuation to understand the perceived value of using mobile technology during emergencies. We found that there was a lack of awareness and engagement with existing crisis apps. Our findings characterize the ways in which our participants did and did not feel crisis informatics tools address human values, including basic needs and esteem needs. We contribute an understanding of how older adults used mobile technology during emergencies and their perspectives on how well such tools address human values.Comment: 10 page

Crisis Informatics

No abstract available

Sharing indigenous knowledge: To share or not to share? That is the question

The Internet and digital technology create new possibilities for the development of cultures,communities and knowledge. Over the last twenty years there has been a great increase in interest inindigenous knowledge from a variety of groups, including academia, development agencies and thecorporate world. Within this diverse range of interests, there have been initiatives to facilitate a globalnetwork to exchange indigenous knowledge by development agencies such as the World Bank\u27s\u27Indigneous Knowledge for Development Program\u27 and UNESCO\u27s \u27Best Practices of IndigenousKnowledge\u27 database. The development agencies appear to be mainly concerned with systematizingindigenous knowledge and looking at the notion of indigenous knowledge as forming part of globalknowledge which can be preserved, transferred, or adopted and adapted elsewhere. Multilateral andbilateral donors have also facilitated the establishment of national indigenous knowledge resource centerswhich are organizational structures through which indigenous knowledge is recorded, stored, screened forpotential economic uses at the national level, and distributed to other centers in appropriate ways.I argue that it is necessary to abandon the assumption that we can record and document indigenousknowledge and pass it \u27up\u27 to interested parties as technological packages are passed \u27down\u27 tobeneficiaries. Indigenous knowledge systems are rarely if ever isolated from the rest of the world; peoplewill incorporate and reinterpret aspects of western knowledge and practice into their traditions as part ofthe ongoing process of globalization. Meanwhile, in the commercial arena, national and multinationalcorporations have taken indigenous knowledge as a valuable commodity and are \u27sharing\u27 the knowledgein the commercial world for profit. Within the framework of social capital, I explore the sharing ofindigenous knowledge at the local level and at the global level. I argue that the embeddedness andcontextual nature of indigenous knowledge creates tensions for sharing it on a global scale. I also arguethat although there is a strong public purpose interest in greater community access and sharing ofindigenous knowledge, there should be mechanisms for the compensation of indigenous peoples for thecommercial use of their knowledge - indigenous knowledge should be treated as a form of intellectualproperty in order to increase the economic return from resources maintained by indigenous peoples. Onceindigenous communities are connected to the Internet, their opportunities for benefiting economically arebeing marginalized