Constructing Synthetic Social Media Stimuli for an Emergency Preparedness Functional Exercise

Authors

Andrew J. Hampton, Wright State University - Main CampusFollow
Shreyansh Bhatt, Wright State University - Main Campus
Alan Smith, Wright State University - Main Campus
Jeremy S. Brunn, Wright State University - Main CampusFollow
Hemant Purohit, Wright State University - Main CampusFollow
Valerie L. Shalin, Wright State University - Main CampusFollow
John Flach, Wright State University - Main CampusFollow
Amit P. Sheth, Wright State University - Main CampusFollow

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

5-2017

Abstract

This paper details the creation of a massive (over 32,000 messages) artificially constructed ‘Twitter’ microblog stream for a regional emergency preparedness functional exercise. By combining microblog conversion, manual production, and a control set, we created a web-based information stream providing valid, misleading, and irrelevant information to public information officers (PIOs) representing hospitals, fire departments, the local Red Cross, and city and county government officials. Addressing the challenges in constructing this corpus constitutes an important step in providing experimental evidence that complements observational study, necessary for designing effective social media tools for the emergency response setting. Preliminary results in the context of an emergency preparedness exercise suggest how social media can participate in the work practice of a PIO concerning the assessment of the disaster and the dissemination of information within the emergency response organization and to the public.

Comments

Presented at the 14th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM), Albi, France, May 21-24, 2017.

Repository Citation

Hampton, A. J., Bhatt, S., Smith, A., Brunn, J. S., Purohit, H., Shalin, V. L., Flach, J., & Sheth, A. P. (2017). Constructing Synthetic Social Media Stimuli for an Emergency Preparedness Functional Exercise. Proceedings of the 14th ISCRAM Conference.
https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/knoesis/1122