RAPID: Identifying Social Network and Mobile Technology Use and Its Correlation with Individual Evacuation Behavior in Hurricane Sandy

该快速反应研究基金（Rapid）项目旨在了解社交网络和移动技术在大规模疏散事件中是否、何时以及如何疏散决策中的作用。先前的飓风疏散行为研究已经确定了感知到的安全、疏散通知的传递和感知到的风暴严重程度一直影响着个人的疏散选择。不太清楚的是，朋友和家人、之前的飓风经历和互联网接入对疏散选择的影响。根据Dillman的量身定制设计方法进行活动后调查。通过本研究收集的数据将为社交网络和移动技术使用对个人疏散行为和决策的作用提供有价值的信息。本次调查将随机抽取新泽西州蒙茅斯县（Monmouth County）居民的样本，这些居民在2012年10月28日至30日遭受飓风“桑迪”（Sandy）的强制疏散命令，调查将包括四个部分，收集以下信息：(a)家庭成员如何使用不同的移动技术；(b) Sandy飓风期间单个家庭成员对社交媒体程序的使用情况；(c) Sandy飓风期间户主如何与其他家庭成员及其社交圈沟通；以及(d)家庭是否以及何时撤离。预计该研究将表明，在疏散规划过程中，人们越来越依赖移动技术和社交媒体。预计家庭/朋友/同伴通信的联系次数和通过互联网获得的信息的传递频率将增加，地方新闻将保持其对国家新闻来源的优先地位，对“及时、个人和可信”疏散信息的看法正在发生变化，通过社交媒体和移动网络收集的信息最终将对疏散决策过程产生更大的影响。这项研究将有利于社会，因为它的研究结果将提供有关移动技术和社交网络对疏散决策的影响的知识。我们的研究结果不仅将提供证据，表明社交媒体和移动技术在疏散决策中的重要性，还将说明通过社交媒体收集的信息如何为疏散决策和行为提供信息。当社交媒体和移动技术越来越多地定义人们寻求及时可靠信息的方式时，这一知识非常相关。与疏散相关的组织可以利用调查结果：(1)更多地了解人们如何做出疏散决策；(2)设计机制，为社交媒体和移动技术提供信息/信息，以提供更有效的工具，在极端事件中挽救许多人的生命。

This Rapid Response Research Grant (RAPID) project seeks to understand the roles of social networking and mobile technology in decision-making regarding whether, when, and how to evacuate during large-scale evacuation events. Previous hurricane evacuation behavior studies have identified perceived safety, delivery of an evacuation notification and perceived storm severity as consistently impacting an individual's evacuation choice. Less clear is the impact that friends and family, prior hurricane experience and internet access have on evacuation choice. A post-event survey, following the Tailored Design Method by Dillman, will be conducted. The data collected through this research will provide valuable information on the roles of social networks and mobile technology usage on individual evacuation behavior and decision-making. The survey will be distributed to a random sample of Monmouth County, New Jersey residents, who were subject to a mandatory evacuation order during Hurricane Sandy (28 - 30 Oct, 2012) and will consist of four sections collecting information on (a) how members of the household use different mobile technologies, (b) individual household members' usage of social media programs during Hurricane Sandy (c) how the head of household communicated with other household members and their social circle during Sandy, and (d) whether and when the household evacuated. It is expected to show that individuals are consistently and increasingly relying on mobile technology and social media during the evacuation planning process. It is anticipated that family/friend/peer communication will show increased frequency in the number of contacts and in the passage of information obtained through the Internet, that local news will retain its priority over national news sources, that the perception of "timely, personal and credible" evacuation information is changing, and that information gathered through social media and mobile networks will be ultimately more influential in the evacuation decision-making process. This study will be beneficial for society as its findings will provide knowledge on the impact that mobile technology and social networks have on evacuation decision-making. Our study findings will not only provide evidence showing how important social media and mobile technology have become in the context of evacuation decision-making, but will also illustrate how information gathered through social media informs evacuation decision-making and behavior. This knowledge is very pertinent in a time when social media and mobile technology are increasingly defining the way people seek timely and reliable information. Evacuation-related organizations can use the survey findings to (1) learn more about how people make evacuation decisions and (2) design mechanisms that will feed/inform social media and mobile technology to provide more efficient tools that can save the lives of many during extreme events.