Local emergency management's use of social media during disasters: a case study of Hurricane Irma.

Governments' use of social media during all phases of emergency management, especially during disasters, has increased dramatically in the past 20 years. Yet, implementation at the local government level in the United States remains haphazard. As technology and the role of social media evolve, there persists a need to understand the socio-technical aspects of social media's employment in times of disaster. This study contributes to the growing social media literature by asking the following questions: what challenges remain and what lessons learned are being institutionalised at the local level of government? A qualitative analysis of 26 after action reports on Hurricane Irma (September 2017) by county, state, and federal governments and a four-hour focus-group session revealed dominant and subdominant themes, including: push/pull information; capacity and technical issues; inconsistent messaging; one-way versus two-way communication; timing of messages; and data collection. The paper concludes by discussing lessons learned, remaining challenges, evidence of organisational learning, and recommendations for future research.

Disaster Recovery Communication in the Digital Era: Social Media and the 2016 Southern Louisiana Flood.

This study explores disaster recovery communication in the digital era. In particular, this study analyzes Twitter communication data corresponding to the 2016 Southern Louisiana flood recovery process and examines patterns and characteristics of long-term recovery communication. Based on network and sentiment analyses of the longitudinal Twitter data, the study identifies the dynamic changes in participants' numbers, dominant voices, and sentiments in social media communication during the long-term recovery process. From the additional content analysis of relevant news articles, in-depth contextual information is provided to support and supplement the findings. Findings show the weaning communication volume during the recovery phase, lacking local voices over the long-term recovery communication process, and prolonging negative sentiments over the recovery period. Based on the findings, the authors provide implications highlighting the need for investing in long-term recovery communication, better utilizing information from social media, and supporting local voices during disaster recovery.

Advancing emergency management higher education: Importance of cultural competence scholarship.

The evolving demographics, needs, and demands of society requires managers to be culturally competent in all phases of emergency management, especially when responding to disasters. A culturally incompetent manager and/or organization can increase a hazard's impact on often already vulnerable communities. Are cultural competencies lacking in emergency management education? Are these competencies as important as other highly regarded emergency management competencies? What are effective pedagogy and andragogy to create, implement, and evaluate cultural competency in emergency management higher education? As scholars work to advance the emergency management discipline, there is an increasing need for scholarship of teaching and learning research, especially regarding cultural competency. This article reviews the existing literature, as well as pedagogy from related disciplines, to identify gaps and provide recommendations for future research.

The scholarship of teaching and learning in emergency management and homeland security: Trends, gaps, barriers, and opportunities.

Underlying the nature of what is and is not a profession are education standards. Among the characteristics defining a profession's specialized boundaries are the education standards comprising its academic programs. The status of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) is explored for both emergency management and homeland security (EM/HS) at this point in time. The aim of this article is to increase the conceptual understanding of SoTL by discussing what SoTL is, explaining why it is important, exploring our current state of knowledge in this area, and by identifying current barriers and opportunities for improvement. Several possible means of better integrating SoTL into the EM/HS discipines are highlighted: Making SoTL a higher priority, increasing exposure to existing research, advancing knowledge within our own disciplines, sharing knowledge through publications and conferences, and applying knowledge in our teaching. Conclusively, the vital nature of SoTL research can more deeply establish the professional boundaries for both disciplines.

Unveiling cultures in emergency response communication networks on social media: following the 2016 Louisiana floods.

While culture in emergency management has gained attention from the field of risk communication, few have systemically dealt with the nuances of general culture involved in the formation and differentiation of risk communication. To fill this gap, this research aims to first examine cultural nuances from the 2016 Louisiana flood response by primarily focusing on communications embedded in social media. The results from social network analysis and content analysis highlight that the flood response communication had strong cultural characteristics, highlighting the notion that of the cultures in Louisiana-faith-based, local authority, and nonprofits-were the prominent cultural responders in the flood response communication. In particular, cultural similarity in both intra/inter group response communication was observed, with each communication group comprising actors who shared a common cultural background and spoke similar keywords.

Evolution of an experiential learning partnership in emergency management higher education.

Experiential learning allows students to step outside the classroom and into a community setting to integrate theory with practice, while allowing the community partner to reach goals or address needs within their organization. Emergency Management and Homeland Security scholars recognize the importance, and support the increased implementation, of this pedagogical method in the higher education curriculum. Yet challenges to successful implementation exist including limited resources and time. This longitudinal study extends the literature by detailing the evolution of a partnership between a university and office of emergency management in which a functional exercise is strategically integrated into an undergraduate course. The manuscript concludes with a discussion of lessons learned from throughout the multiyear process.

Analyzing after-action reports from Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina: repeated, modified, and newly created recommendations.

Thirteen years after Hurricane Andrew struck Homestead, FL, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, Alabama, and southeastern Louisiana. Along with all its destruction, the term "catastrophic" was redefined. This article extends the literature on these hurricanes by providing a macrolevel analysis of The Governor's Disaster Planning and Response Review Committee Final Report from Hurricane Andrew and three federal after-action reports from Hurricane Katrina, as well as a cursory review of relevant literature. Results provide evidence that previous lessons have not been learned or institutionalized with many recommendations being repeated or modified. This article concludes with a discussion of these lessons, as well as new issues arising during Hurricane Katrina.