Suchergebnisse

AbstractSocial media has been widely adopted by local governments during emergencies and crises and its role as a communication platform has been discussed in various studies on natural hazards, pandemics and terror attacks. However, research in the field has not addressed how municipalities use social media to communicate valuable information during armed conflicts and military operations. The current study examined the ways five major cities in Israel used their Facebook pages to connect to their residents during operation 'Guardian of the Walls' in 2021. We examined the social media usage and the strategies of these cities during the 12 days of the operation. The findings revealed significant differences between cities that are considered as home front versus frontline regions regarding content type and information dissemination strategies. Additionally, differences regarding content types in terms of sentiment and overall rates of engagement were also identified. These findings highlight the need to further investigate local municipalities' usage of social media during armed conflicts concerning the civil population.

The Internet is a major source for health information but contributes to the digital divide and health disparities. Minorities with low literacy skills are at a particular disadvantage in obtaining online information. A website was created with health information presented through videos in Amharic and an interface that does not require reading skills to enable users with low/no literacy to navigate among topics. In all, 225 Israeli Ethiopian immigrants were asked to use the website, most with low/no literacy skills. Participants were excited about it, but those with low/no literacy felt they needed support and training for future use. Some felt it was too difficult. The findings point to unexpected potential sociocultural uses for the website for immigrants with different levels of literacy skills. The analysis yielded two user typologies that can help identify user needs and segmentation, a culture-centered adaptation of the technology acceptance model, and implications for communication infrastructure theory.