Warning the Public: A Survey on Attitudes, Expectations and Use of Mobile Crisis Apps in Germany

As part of information systems, the research field of crisis informatics increasingly investigates the potentials and limitations of mobile crisis apps, which constitute a relatively new public service for citizens and are specifically designed for the dissemination of disaster‐related information and communication between authorities, organizations and citizens. While existing crisis apps, such as KATWARN or NINA in Germany, focus on preparatory information and warning functionality, there is a need for apps and research on police-related functionality, such as information on cybercrime, fraud offences, or search for missing persons. Based on a workshop with civil protection (N=12) and police officers (N=15), we designed a questionnaire and conducted a representative survey of German citizens (N=1.219) on the past, current and future use, perceived helpfulness, deployment and behavioural preferences, configurability and most important functionality of mobile crisis apps. Our results indicate that in addition to emergency and weather warnings, crime- and health-related warnings are also desired by many, as is the possibility for bidirectional communication. People also want one central app and are resistant to installing more than one crisis app. Furthermore, there are few significant differences between socioeconomic groups

Perceptions of Police Technology Use and Attitudes Towards the Police - A Representative Survey of the German Population

Many Germans perceive a brutalization of society, and state officials also report feeling under attack. At the same time, policing is criticised for becoming increasingly militarised and for having extended surveillance in the course of fighting terrorism. Advancements in HCI are used in the context of many of the issues that policing is facing. In this study, we conduct a representative survey of the German population to investigate personal experiences with and attitudes towards the police and information and communication technologies (ICT) used for policing. We find an overall positive image of the police and uncritical attitudes towards ICT used for general surveillance (body-worn cameras, video surveillance, face recognition) and slightly more critical attitudes towards personal surveillance (e.g. through communication data retention). The study indicates that perceptions differ according to experience of unfair treatment by the police, while other factors such as age and education have similar effects

Cultural violence and fragmentation on social media

As a prime example of socio-technological transformation, social media services exert an enormous impact on modern culture. They are nowadays widely established for everyday life uses, but also during natural and man-made crises and political conflicts. For instance, Facebook was part of the Arabic Spring, facilitating the communication and interaction between participants of political protests. However, social media is not only used for good: Based on the notions of cultural violence and cultural peace, this chapter shows the potential for political fragmentation through social media, focusing on fake news and terrorism propaganda and their amplified dissemination through social bots. The chapter shows that regarding both the problematic aspects and the countermeasures, technology plays the role of an amplifier, enabling effects such as astroturfing and smoke screening, but also enhancing social bot detection. This chapter examines what these socio-technological transformations through social media imply in terms of legitimacy and trust

Towards Secure Urban Infrastructures: Cyber Security Challenges to Information and Communication Technology in Smart Cities

The growth of cities continues to be a global megatrend. As more and more people live in urban areas and urban services and infrastructures are under growing strain, technologies are increasingly being researched and used to make city life more efficient and comfortable. As a result, so-called “Smart Cities” have complex IT infrastructures and cyber-physical systems such as sensor/actuator networks for the general population and are developing worldwide. Urban infrastructure must be secured against attacks, ensuring reliable and resilient services for citizens as well as privacy and data security. This paper introduces selected challenges faced by infrastructure providers, citizens and decision-makers in handling attacks aimed at information and communication technologies (ICT) of urban infrastructures and presents current research avenues for tackling cyberattacks and for developing tools for creating, portraying and disseminating actionable information as one important response to security challenges. It then presents findings from a representative survey conducted in Germany (N=1091) on the experiences and perceptions of citizens concerning the relevance of cyberattacks will be presented

Perceptions of Police Technology Use and Attitudes Towards the Police - A Representative Survey of the German Population

Many Germans perceive a brutalization of society, and state officials also report feeling under attack. At the same time, policing is criticised for becoming increasingly militarised and for having extended surveillance in the course of fighting terrorism. Advancements in HCI are used in the context of many of the issues that policing is facing. In this study, we conduct a representative survey of the German population to investigate personal experiences with and attitudes towards the police and information and communication technologies (ICT) used for policing. We find an overall positive image of the police and uncritical attitudes towards ICT used for general surveillance (body-worn cameras, video surveillance, face recognition) and slightly more critical attitudes towards personal surveillance (e.g. through communication data retention). The study indicates that perceptions differ according to experience of unfair treatment by the police, while other factors such as age and education have similar effects

Sticking with Landlines? Citizens’ Use and Perception of Social Media in Emergencies and Expectations Towards Emergency Services in Germany

Crisis informatics has examined the use, potentials and weaknesses of social media in emergencies across different events (e.g., man-made, natural or hybrid), countries and heterogeneous participants (e.g., citizens or emergency services) for almost two decades. While most research analyzes specific cases, few studies have focused on citizens’ perceptions of different social media platforms in emergencies using a representative sample. Basing our questionnaire on a workshop with police officers, we present the results of a representative study on citizens’ perception of social media in emergencies that we conducted in Germany. Our study suggests that when it comes to emergencies, socio-demographic differences are largely insignificant and no clear preferences for emergency services’ social media strategies exist. Due to the widespread searching behavior on some platforms, emergency services can reach a wide audience by turning to certain channels but should account for groups with distinct preferences

Sticking with Landlines? Citizens’ Use and Perception of Social Media in Emergencies and Expectations Towards Emergency Services in Germany

Crisis informatics has examined the use, potentials and weaknesses of social media in emergencies across different events (e.g., man-made, natural or hybrid), countries and heterogeneous participants (e.g., citizens or emergency services) for almost two decades. While most research analyzes specific cases, few studies have focused on citizens’ perceptions of different social media platforms in emergencies using a representative sample. Basing our questionnaire on a workshop with police officers, we present the results of a representative study on citizens’ perception of social media in emergencies that we conducted in Germany. Our study suggests that when it comes to emergencies, socio-demographic differences are largely insignificant and no clear preferences for emergency services’ social media strategies exist. Due to the widespread searching behavior on some platforms, emergency services can reach a wide audience by turning to certain channels but should account for groups with distinct preferences