Apoorva Chauhan | Utah State University (original) (raw)

Papers by Apoorva Chauhan

Using the 2014 Carlton Complex Wildfire as a case study, we examine who contributes official info... more Using the 2014 Carlton Complex Wildfire as a case study, we examine who contributes official information online during a crisis event, and the timeliness and relevance of the information provided. We identify and describe the communication behaviors of four types of official information sources (Event Based Resources, Local Responders, Local News Media, and Cooperating Agencies), and collect message data from each source's website, public Facebook page, and/or Twitter account. The data show that the Local News Media provided the highest quantity of relevant information and the timeliest information. Event Based Resources shared the highest percentage of relevant information, however, it was often unclear who managed these resources and the credibility of the information. Based on these findings, we offer suggestions for how providers of official crisis information might better manage their online communications and ways that the public can find more timely and relevant online crisis information from official sources.

Large-scale crisis events require coordination between the many responding stakeholders to provid... more Large-scale crisis events require coordination between the many responding stakeholders to provide timely, relevant, and accurate information to the affected public. In this paper, we examine how social media can support these coordinated public information efforts. This research considers how emergency responders mentioned different organizations, institutions, and individuals by examining the social media communications of police and fire departments during Hurricane Sandy. We find that these departments use mentions to reference other sources of information, recommend credible information and sources, and rebroadcast information. These mentions offer insight into how emergency responders fit within a broader crisis information network and the types of entities that responders trust and recommend to provide information to the public.

This exploratory study examines how fire and police departments used online media during the 2012... more This exploratory study examines how fire and police departments used online media during the 2012 Hurricane Sandy and how these media can be used to affect trust with members of the public during such an event. Using trust theory, we describe how online communications provide a means for emergency responders to appear trustworthy through online acts of ability, integrity, and benevolence. We conclude with implications and recommendations for emergency response practice and a trajectory of future work.

We report initial findings around the Facebook and Twitter adoption trends of 840 fire and police... more We report initial findings around the Facebook and Twitter adoption trends of 840 fire and police departments affected by Hurricane Sandy. The data show that adoption increased during the time period directly surrounding Hurricane Sandy. Despite this increase, the creation of new online accounts since that time has been declining and overall adoption rates seem to be stabilizing. Lastly, the data report Facebook to be significantly more popular than Twitter as a form of online communication for these fire and police departments.

This thesis work examines the online communications of 840 fire and police departments during Hur... more This thesis work examines the online communications of 840 fire and police departments during Hurricane Sandy (2012). Using a mixed methods approach, this research combines interviews with fire and police department members and quantitative data around online media use and adoption to better understand different features of these departments and their online communications. The research provides the following contributions: (1) an examination of how and why affected fire and police departments used (or did not use) online communication media for public communications during Hurricane Sandy and (2) an examination of how a large-scale disaster event like Hurricane Sandy affects online communication media use and adoption by affected fire and police departments. (75 pages) iv PUBLIC ABSTRACT Online Media Use and Adoption by Hurricane Sandy Affected Fire and Police Departments Apoorva Chauhan In this thesis work, I examine the use and adoption of online communication media by 840 fire and police departments that were affected by the 2012 Hurricane Sandy. I began by exploring how and why these fire and police departments used (or did not use) online media to communicate with the public during Hurricane Sandy. Results