Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research

Center for Asian Public Opinion Research & Collaboration Initiative (충남대학교 아시아여론조사학회)
권호 표지
DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Involvement of Social Media in Disaster Management during the Wenchuan and Ya'an Earthquakes

  • Published : 2014.08.31
Download PDF
⟨ Previous Next ⟩

Abstract

Social media is being increasingly utilized in disaster relief work to identify safety issues, locate displaced-victims, and seek or provide support for those who need help. The presence of social media in disaster management has changed significantly in recent years, as it was not prevalent in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, but had become a powerful force in the 2013 Ya'an earthquake. This paper discusses the development of social media in disaster management via making a comparison between how it functioned in the two earthquakes. It examines the following aspects: who are the stakeholders that use social media in the earthquake management; how do they adopt this means in response to the earthquakes; and what are the outcomes of adopting social media with regards to public engagement and collaboration in an emergency event. As Sina Weibo acts as the equivalent of China's Twitter, the methodology relies on an analysis of posts in Weibo. The outcomes primarily show that: (1) authorities, celebrities and the public actively adopted social media for the purpose of information dissemination and resource mobilization; and (2) social media users are both content consumers and content generators in the times of earthquakes. The study concludes that social media as a backchannel communication tool is helpful for government institutions, corporations, and nonprofit organizations to build relationships with their stakeholders in the disaster management cycle. The result will interest academics and emergency management practitioners who are concerned with improving disaster communication.

Keywords

References

  1. Altay, N .& Green, W.G. III. (2006). OR/MS research in disaster operations management. European Journal of Operational Research, 175, 475-493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2005.05.016
  2. Berelson, B. (1952). Content Analysis in Communication Research. Glencoe, III.: The Free Press.
  3. Bortree, D. S., & Seltzer, T. (2009). Dialogic strategies and outcomes: An analysis of environmental advocacy groups' Facebook profiles. Public Relations Review, 35(3), 317-319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.05.002
  4. Chen L., Zhang C., Wilson C. (2013). Tweeting under pressure: Analyzing trending topics and evolving word choice on sina weibo, Proceedings of the first ACM conference on Online social networks. New York, NY, Retrieved from http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/cbw/pdf/weibo-cosn13.pdf
  5. Coombs, W. T. (2010). Pursuing evidence-based crisis communication. In W. T. Coombs, & S. J. Holladay (Eds.). The Handbook of Crisis Communication (pp. 791-725). New York, NY: Wiley-Blackwell.
  6. Fields, E. E. (1988). Qualitative Content Analysis of Television News: Systematic Techniques. Qualitative Sociology, 11(3), 183-193. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00988954
  7. Fischer-Schreiber, I. (2012). Social media in China. Swissnex China. Retrieved from http://issuu.com/swissnexchina/docs/sn_cn_bestpractice_public
  8. Fraustino, D. J., Liu B., & Jin Y. (2012). Social media use during disasters: A review of the knowledge base and gaps, Retrieved from http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Social%20Media%20Use%20during%20Disasters.pdf
  9. Hui, N. (2013). Social media's role in earthquake aftermath is revealing, Retrieved from http://www.tealeafnation.com/2013/04/social-medias-role-in-earthquakeaftermath-is-revealing/
  10. Jin, Y., & Liu, B. F. (2010). The blog-mediated crisis communication model: Recommendations for responding to influential external blogs. Journal of Public Relations Research, 22(4), 429-455. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627261003801420
  11. Jo. (2013). Weibo Wednesday: April 17-24. Retrieved from http://cfensi.wordpress.com/2013/04/24/weibo-wednesday-april-17-24/
  12. Kaplan, A.M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53(1), 59-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003
  13. Li, P. (2013). Natural Disasters at All-Time High in China. Epoch Times, Retrieved from http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/197381-natural-disasters-at-all-time-high-inchina/
  14. Lin, N. (2012). Chinese government seeks more effective use of Weibo. Retrieved from http://english.cntv.cn/program/china24/20121213/103723.shtml
  15. Lindsay, B. R. (2011). Social media and disasters: Current uses, future options, and policy considerations, Retrieved from http://www.infopuntveiligheid.nl/Infopuntdocumenten/R41987.pdf
  16. Mersham, G. (2010). Social media and public information management: The September 2009 tsunami threat to New Zealand. Media International Australia, Nov (137), 130-143.
  17. Morales, X. Y. Z. G. (2010). Networks to the rescue: Tweeting relief and aid during typhoon Ondoy, Retrieved from https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/bitstream/handle/10822/552932/moralesXeniaYasminZiaGutierrez.pdf?sequence=1
  18. National Science and Technology Council. (2005). Grand challenges for disaster reduction: A report of the Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction. Washington, D. C.: National Science and Technology Council, Executive Office of the President, Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://www.sdr.gov/docs/SDRGrandChallengesforDisasterReduction.pdf
  19. Pangu Search Engine. (2013). Report on public opinion on Ya'an earthquake. Retrieved from http://www.docin.com/p-670370160.html
  20. Peary, B. D. M., Shaw, R., & Takeuchi, Y. (2012). Utilization of social media in the east Japan earthquake and Tsunami and its effectiveness. Journal of Natural Disaster Science, 34 (1), 3-13. https://doi.org/10.2328/jnds.34.3
  21. Reuters. (2014). Costs of natural disasters in China surge to $69 billion. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/24/us-china-disastersidUSBREA1N0JW20140224
  22. Reuters. (2014). Sina says Weibo daily active users up 4 pct to 61.4 million. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/25/sina-results-usersidUSB9N0LF00W20140225
  23. Seeger, M. W., Sellnow, T. L., & Ulmer, R. R. (1998). Communication, organization, and crisis. Communication Yearbook, 21, 231-275.
  24. Sutton, J., Palen, L. & Shklovski, I. (2008). Backchannels on the front lines: Emergent uses of social media in the 2007 Southern California wildfires. Proceedings of the 5th International ISCRAM Conference, Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.cs.colorado.edu/-palen/Papers/iscram08/BackchannelsISCRAM08.pdf
  25. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. China - Disaster Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/?cid=36
  26. Tseng, S. Chen, W. & Chi C. (2011). Online social media in a disaster event: Network and public participation. Communications in Computer and Information Science, 167, 256-264. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-22027-2_22
  27. Underwood, S. (2010). Improving disaster management. Communications of the ACM, 53(2), 18-20.
  28. Want China Times. (2013). Weibo's role recognized in spreading word of Sichuan quake. Retrieved from http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclasscnt.aspx?id=20130423000030&cid=1503
  29. Xinhua. (2014, August 8). SW China quake toll rises to 617. China Daily, Retrieved from http://africa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-08/08/content_18276688.htm
  30. Zhao, R., Li, W. & Liu, Y.(2009). Overview of worldwide disastrous earthquakes in 2008. Recent Developments in World Seismology, 1(361), 20-23.

Cited by

  1. Predicting Health Communication Patterns in Follower-Influencer Networks: The Case of Taiwan Amid COVID-19 vol.8, pp.3, 2014, https://doi.org/10.15206/ajpor.2020.8.3.246