Teun Terpstra, & Hanneke Vreugdenhil. (2011). Filling in the blanks: Constructing effective flood warning messages using the Flood Warning Communicator (FWC). In E. Portela L. S. M.A. Santos (Ed.), 8th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: From Early-Warning Systems to Preparedness and Training, ISCRAM 2011. Lisbon: Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM.
Abstract: This paper reports the progress that is being made in developing a software tool (the Flood Warning Communicator, FWC) that helps communication professionals constructing effective flood-warning messages. The program provides authorities with a warning message that contains open spaces where event specific information can be inserted. The program uses a database containing (parts of) phrases. Based on the specific situation, a communication professional receives the most suitable standard phrase by clicking on information buttons in a user interface. Together, the phrases form the warning message that sometimes requires minor adjustments such that it suits the specific circumstances. FWC is a well working prototype that allows constructing messages for web sites and short text messages (sms). Research is needed to test and validate these warning messages. In addition, cooperation with public authorities is necessary to make the program suitable for local circumstances (e.g., safety regions and municipalities).
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Teun Terpstra, Richard Stronkman, Arnout De Vries, & Geerte L. Paradies. (2012). Towards a realtime Twitter analysis during crises for operational crisis management. In Z.Franco J. R. L. Rothkrantz (Ed.), ISCRAM 2012 Conference Proceedings – 9th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management. Vancouver, BC: Simon Fraser University.
Abstract: Today's crises attract great attention on social media, from local and distant citizens as well as from news media. This study investigates the possibilities of real-time and automated analysis of Twitter messages during crises. The analysis was performed through application of an information extraction tool to nearly 97,000 tweets that were published shortly before, during and after a storm hit the Pukkelpop 2011 festival in Belgium. As soon as the storm hit the festival tweet activity increased exponentially, peaking at 576 tweets per minute. The extraction tool enabled analyzing tweets through predefined (geo)graphical displays, message content filters (damage, casualties) and tweet type filters (e.g., retweets). Important topics that emerged were 'early warning tweets', 'rumors' and the 'self-organization of disaster relief' on Twitter. Results indicate that automated filtering of information provides valuable information for operational response and crisis communication. Steps for further research are discussed. © 2012 ISCRAM.
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