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Author Andrea Kavanaugh; Francis Quek; Steven D. Sheetz; B. Joon Kim
Title (up) Cell phone use with social ties during crises: The case of the Virginia Tech tragedy Type Conference Article
Year 2010 Publication ISCRAM 2010 – 7th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management: Defining Crisis Management 3.0, Proceedings Abbreviated Journal ISCRAM 2010
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords Cellular telephones; Disasters; Information systems; Mobile phones; Telecommunication equipment; Cell phone; Communication technologies; Emergency communication; Emergency response; Emergency situation; Patterns of communication; Survey research; Technological solution; Text messaging
Abstract Many proposed technological solutions to emergency response during disasters involve the use of cellular telephone technology. However, cell phone networks quickly become saturated during and/or immediately after a disaster and remain saturated for critical periods. In this study, we investigated cell phone use by Virginia Tech students, faculty and staff during the shootings on April 16, 2007 to identify patterns of communication with social network ties. We administered an online survey to a random sample from our pool to capture communications behavior with social ties during the day of these tragic events. The results show that cell phones were the most heavily used communication technology by a majority of respondents (both voice and text messaging). While text messaging makes more efficient use of bandwidth than voice, most communication on 4/16 was with parents, since the majority of the sample is students, who are less likely to use text messaging. Our findings should help in understanding how cell phone technologies may be utilized or modified for emergency situations in similar communities.
Address Virginia Tech, United States; Indiana U., Purdue U., Fort Wayne, United States
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management, ISCRAM Place of Publication Seattle, WA Editor S. French, B. Tomaszewski, C. Zobel
Language English Summary Language English Original Title
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue Edition
ISSN 2411-3387 ISBN Medium
Track Collaboration and Social Networking Expedition Conference 7th International ISCRAM Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management
Notes Approved no
Call Number Serial 645
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