Drawing upon over five decades of research, this webinar will explore the design of alerts and warnings aimed at motivating behavioral responses, particularly in the context of short messaging channels, with a focus on Wireless Emergency Alerts.
Jeannette Sutton, Ph.D., specializes in disaster and risk with a primary focus on online informal communication, and public alerts and warnings disseminated via short messaging channels. Much of her research investigates the evolving role of information and communication technology, including social media and mobile devices, for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. Her current work centers on message design and testing across a range of hazard contexts including atmospheric, meteorological, geological, technological, biological, and human induced threats for communication via Wireless Emergency Alerts and other alerting channels. She is employed at the University at Albany, SUNY, as an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. She is also the director of the Emergency and Risk Communication Message Testing Lab. And in her spare time, she critiques Wireless Emergency Alerts on Twitter (@warningrater) and hosts a webpage called “The Warn Room” thewarnroom.com.
Dr. Sutton has held numerous grants from the National Science Foundation, FEMA-IPAWS, DHS, NOAA, USGS, and the Office of Naval Research. Her research has been published in Risk Analysis, the Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management; the Proceedings of Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management; Information, Communication, and Society; Health Communication; and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Jeannette is an appointed member of the National Construction Safety Team Advisory Board at NIST. She holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and completed her postdoctoral training at the Natural Hazards Center.