IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Spring 2014 - 64

People in life-threatening situations may not be able to use
complex equipment (including communication devices)
or engage in communicative
activities that require higherlevel cognitive operations and
social interaction. It is necessary to consider time-related
cognitive constraints on information processing and functional differences between, for
instance, adults and children,
trained staff and untrained
general public.
■ During an event, it is not wise
to rely exclusively on hightechnology delivery systems.
Technological solutions may
not work due to the influence
of organizational and social
factors, social disintegration,
and/or failure of infrastructure.
Social media use may cause
a reconfiguration of established
power and hierarchy relationships
between official agencies, communities, and individuals. The
command-control pattern of interaction between disaster response
agencies and the population will
need to be reconsidered as well.
Agencies need to view themselves
as part of the online communities;
in fact, creation of such communities should become a crucial part of
disaster planning. In doing so, it is
paramount to consider the broader
social implications related to citizens' rights and freedoms, privacy,
and security.
■

Author Information
Lucy Resnyansky is a Research Scientist at the National Security & ISR
Division (NSID), Defence Science
and Technology Organisation, Edinburgh SA 5111, Australia. Email:
Lucy.Resnyansky@dsto.defence.
gov.au.

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