IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Spring 2014 - 58

communication emphasises such
issues as the digital and information divide and unequal access to
the cultural and social capital.
Summary
The phenomenon of human communication comprises several aspects
[Fig. 1]. The analysis of communicative activity does not equal to
an analysis of transmitted content.
The analysis may focus on message
meaning (potential and perceived),
effects of speech acts, interactional
dynamics, functions and uses of
communication forms, and people's
access to and mastering of representation codes and modes. This implies
that the analysis of human communication needs to be informed by studies of cultures, symbolic systems,
cognition, and social systems, as well
as knowledge about the communicative interaction context.

Disaster and Emergency
Communication
Disaster and emergency communication activities include warning, mobilizing, and instructing the population;
interacting with affected population in
order to gather data, provide help, and

give psychological aid; and increasing the population's situation awareness and community resilience. The
concept of disaster and emergency
communication is shaped by conceptions of disaster, survival response,
and emergency management.

Disaster Management
and Response
In modern history, disaster is symbolized by the Great Lisbon Earthquake (1755), an event which had a
profound effect on society, politics,
economy, science, church, and philosophy [42]. Within the field of
disaster studies, earthquake was
accepted as the closest disaster
prototype also because the initial
stakeholders' interests involved
preparing for a sudden and concentrated time/space occurrence [6].
As a result, the crowd's reaction
to danger and loss was seen as the
prototype of collective behavior in
a crisis situation. Morale, conformity, and cooperation were key
elements to be addressed in order
to reduce panic reactions. Disaster
planning and emergency management were seen as a commandcontrol process involving the state

Function

(official agencies) and the affected
population [43]. The classic EuroAmerican model of disaster management and response is based on
the assumption that the population
recognizes state and official agency
as the most authoritative source of
information and instruction, correctly interprets warning and preparedness messages, maintains
social order, follows instructions,
and obeys personnel responsible
for facilitating or enforcing evacuation [44]. For a long time, there
was no recognition of the fact that,
in this situation, some communities may adopt different patterns of
communicative behavior and social
control [13]. This model does not
fully correspond with the new reality characterized by sociocultural
diversity and mobility, a changing
balance between public and private sectors, fluidity of social ties
and identities, and new inequalities based on uneven distribution of
technological improvements.

Warning, Preparedness, and
Health Risk Communication
Warning, preparedness, and health
risk communication is addressed

Influence

Forms of Communication
Awareness
Action Service

Socialization
Social Order
Community Society
Needs and Uses

Transmission

Interaction

Signal Noise
Data Traffic
Transmitter-receiver

Utterance
Ontology
Participation

Channel
Representation

Situational Roles
Norms
Power Hierarchy
Social Distance
Intent-Effect

Context
History
Dialogue
Response

Literacy
Software Skills
Hardware Access Divide Capital

Information
Meaning
Personal experience
Culture
Message

Codes and Modes

Fig. 1. Human communication.
58

IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE

SPRING 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Spring 2014