Rob Grace, Shane Halse, Jess Kropczynski, Andrea Tapia, & Fred Fonseca. (2019). Integrating Social Media in Emergency Dispatch via Distributed Sensemaking. In Z. Franco, J. J. González, & J. H. Canós (Eds.), Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management. Valencia, Spain: Iscram.
Abstract: Emergency dispatchers typically answer 911 calls and relay information to first responders; however, new workflows arise when social media analysts are included in emergency dispatch work. In this study we examine emergency dispatch workflows as distributed sensemaking processes performed among 911 call takers, dispatchers, and social media analysts during simulated emergency dispatch operations. In active shooter and water rescue scenarios, emergency dispatch teams including call takers, dispatchers, and social media analysts make sense of unfolding events by analyzing, aggregating, and synthesizing information provided by 911 callers and social media users during each scenario. Findings from the simulations inform design requirements for social media analysis tools that can help analysts detect, seek, and analyze information posted on social media during a crisis, and protocols for coordinating analysts? sensemaking activities with those of 911 call takers and dispatchers in reconfigured emergency dispatch workflows.
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