A consortium of researchers dedicated to improving the understanding of the human causes and consequences of terrorism

Risk Communication

Title Investigators Project Period
Best Practices for Preparing Communities: Citizen Engagement in Public Health Planning Monica Schoch-Spana -
Biosecurity in the Americas: Research, Practitioner Education/Training and Transition Markus Binder, Steve S. Sin, Ph.D., Alexandra Williams
Climate Security, Great Power Competition, and Adversarial Geopolitics in Southeast Asia Samuel D. Henkin, Marcus A. Boyd -
Communicating Risk of Mass Casualty Terrorism in Diverse Communities Elaine Vaughan -
Comprehensive Testing of Imminent Threat Public Messages for Mobile Devices (MDP) Brooke Liu, Hamilton Bean, Marcus A. Boyd, Michele Wood -
Computational Modeling of Grievances and Political Instability Through Global Media Gary LaFree -
Effective Organizational Communication During Crises: Learning from the 2001 Anthrax Attacks Caron Chess -
How Forecasters Decide to Warn: Insights on Tornado Risk Communication from the Southeast U.S. Brooke Liu, Anita Atwell Seate -
Managing Chaos through Crisis Communication Leadership Brooke Liu -
Mobile Radiation Detectors: Threat Perception and Device Acceptance Brooke Liu, Elizabet Petrun Sayers, Gary Ackerman, Steve S. Sin, Ph.D., Thomas Guarrieri -
Modeling and Simulation of Public Response to Threat and Attacks Dennis Mileti -
Preparedness for Catastrophic Events Dennis Mileti, Hamilton Bean, Kathleen Smarick, Monica Schoch-Spana, Paul Harwood -
School Emergency Public Information and Warning/Information Sharing Brooke Liu, Holly Roberts -
Social Identity and Perceptions of Counterterrorism Demis Glasford -
Social Media Use during Disasters Brooke Liu -
Textual Analysis of Electronic Media Coverage of Homeland Security-Related Risks Lisa Keranen -
Towards an Understanding of Explosive Detection Technology Adoption: Results from Two Surveys Brooke Liu -
Training in Risk and Crisis Communication (TRACC) Brooke Liu, Elizabet Petrun Sayers, Katherine Worboys Izsak -
Understanding Tornado Warnings, False Alarms, and Complacency, and Proposing Theory-Directed Solutions for Effective Warnings Michael Egnoto, Brooke Liu -
Project Title Publication Date Publication Type
“You Are Here”: Assessing the Inclusion of Maps in a Campus Emergency Alert System 2021-03-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
A Case Study of Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, and Risk Communication in a Coastal Community 2019-06-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
A Process View of Crisis Misinformation: How Public Relations Professionals Detect, Manage, and Evaluate Crisis Misinformation 2021-06-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
A Public Health Systems View of Risk Communication About Zika 2020-04-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
A Tragedy in Three Acts: COVID-19 and Compounding Crises 2020-10-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Advancing Crisis Communication Effectiveness: Integrating Public Relations Scholarship with Practice 2020-12-01T12:00:00 Book
Advancing Understanding of Tornado Warnings, False Alarms, and Complacency 2017-09-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Alerts and Warnings on Short Messaging Channels: Guidance from an Expert Panel Process 2019-05-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
An Agenda for Addressing Bias in Conflict Data 2022-09-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
An Automated Agent for Bilateral Negotiations with Bounded Rational Agents with Incomplete Information 2006-01-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Annotated Bibliography for Public Risk Communication on Warnings for Public Protective Actions Response and Public Education 2006-09-01T12:00:00 Report
Are You Prepared for the Next Storm? Developing Social Norms Messages to Motivate Community Members to Perform Disaster Risk Mitigation Behaviors 2022-06-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Beyond Image Repair: Suggestions for Crisis Communication Theory Development 2014-09-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Biosecurity in the Americas: Regional threat assessment in Chile 2023-12-18T12:00:00 Report
Biosecurity in the Americas: Regional threat assessment in Colombia 2023-12-18T12:00:00 Report
Biosecurity in the Americas: Regional threat assessment in Panama 2023-12-18T12:00:00 Report
Blue or Stormy Skies? The Roles of Strategic Risk Communication in Protecting Communities Before, During, and After Severe Weather 2022-12-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
Call to Action: Mobilizing Community Discussion to Improve Information-Sharing About Vulnerabilities in Industrial Control Systems and Critical Infrastructure 2019-07-01T12:00:00 Conference Paper
Challenges and Opportunities for Pre-Crisis Emergency Risk Communication: Lessons Learned from the Earthquake Community 2019-02-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Climate Security, Great Power Competition, and Adversarial Geopolitics in Southeast Asia 2023-10-09T12:00:00 START Reports
Climate Security, Great Power Competition, and Adversarial Geopolitics in Southeast Asia: Conceptualization of Climate Security in Southeast Asia 2024-04-01T12:00:00 START Reports
Communicating Crisis Uncertainty: A Review of the Knowledge Gaps 2016-04-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Communication during COVID-19: Challenges 2021-10-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Communication during COVID-19: What’s Happening in Your Department 2021-03-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Congress Report: Experts' Recommendations on Enacting Best Practices in Risk and Crisis Communication 2013-10-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
COVID-19 Response Coordination 2021-03-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
COVID-19 Vaccination Information & Uptake 2021-11-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
COVID-19: Implications for First Responders 2020-10-01T12:00:00 Presentation
Crisis and Risk Communication Scholarship of the Future: Reflections on Research Gaps 2020-03-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Crisis Information Seeking and Sharing (CISS): Scale Development for Measuring Publics’ Communicative Behavior in Social-Mediated Public Health Crises 2019-04-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Decisions in disaster recovery operations 2013-11-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
Digital Crisis Communication Theory: Current Landscape and Future Trajectories 2023-02-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
Direct Effects: The Impact of COVID-19 on First Responders 2020-11-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Disaster Warnings in Your Pocket: How Audiences Interpret Mobile Alerts for an Unfamiliar Hazard 2016-03-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Disentangling Social Media Influence in Crises: Testing a Four-factor Model of Social Media Influence with Large Data 2018-11-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Editor's Essay: The Critical Need for Crisis and Risk Communication Research 2019-04-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Elites and Panic: More to Fear than Fear Itself 2008-12-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Emerging Biotechnology Capacity and Emerging Biosecurity Threats in Colombia and Chile 2024-04-19T12:00:00 Book Chapter
Environmental Effects: Changes in Demand for First Responders due to COVID-19 2020-11-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Executive Summary: Understanding Risk Communication Best Practices and Theory 2012-05-01T12:00:00 START Reports
Explosive Detection Technology Adoption: Findings from a General Population Survey 2017-10-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Eyes of the Storm: How Citizen Scientists Contribute to Government Forecasting and Risk Communication 2020-04-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Facilitation of Risk Communication During the Anthrax Attacks of 2001: The Organizational Backstory 2007-10-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
False Alarms, Real Challenges - One University's Communication Response to the 2001 Anthrax Crisis 2006-06-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
From the Periphery and toward a Centralized Model for Trust in Government Risk and Disaster Communication 2020-06-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Geotargeted Alerts and Warnings 2017-03-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
How Disaster Information Form, Source, Type, and Prior Disaster Exposure Affect Public Outcomes: Jumping on the Social Media Bandwagon? 2015-01-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
How does it feel to talk about Russia? Emotions and themes in Russia-related social media posts in Lithuania 2023-09-10T12:00:00 Journal Article
How Publics’ Active and Passive Communicative Behaviors Affect their Tornado Responses: An Integration of STOPS and SMCC 2019-08-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Improving Shadow Evacuation Management: Case Study of the Graniteville, South Carolina, Chlorine Spill 2007-01-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Indirect Effects: The Impact of COVID-19 on Organizations & Service Delivery 2020-11-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Influence of Community and Culture in the Ethical Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources in a Pandemic Situation: Deliberative Democracy Study 2020-03-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Interpreting the Interpersonal: Crisis Communication Insights for Pandemics 2023-02-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
Introducing the ICBe Dataset: Very High Recall and Precision Event Extraction from Narratives about International Crises 2022-07-26T12:00:00 Report
Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? The Effects of Maps and Warning Messages on How Publics Respond to Disaster Information 2017-04-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Machines, Monsters, and Coffin Corners: Broadcast Meteorologists’ Use of Figurative and Intense Language During Hurricane Harvey 2020-04-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Making Connections: Performance Regimes and Extreme Events 2012-11-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Metaphors Matter: Disaster Myths, Media Frames, and their Consequences in Hurricane Katrina 2006-03-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Milling and Public Warnings 2017-05-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Miscommunication during the Anthrax Attacks: How Events Reveal Organizational Failures 2007-01-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Mobile Technology and the Transformation of Public Alert and Warning 2019-10-01T12:00:00 Book
Morale and Mental Health 2021-03-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Personnel Shortages Due to COVID-19 2021-03-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
Private Military Companies: Lessons from Wagner 2023-10-12T12:00:00 Journal Article
Project Fact Sheet: Monitor and Mitigate: The Impact of COVID-19 on Public Safety 2020-09-01T12:00:00 Project Fact Sheet
RCPGP Warning System Integration Research Project Final Report 2010-11-01T12:00:00 START Reports
Reaching Vulnerable Populations in the Disaster-Prone US Gulf Coast: Communicating Across the Crisis Lifecycle 2019-08-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Reinterpreting the (Relatively) Immutable Features of the North Korean Strategic Culture 2023-10-10T12:00:00 Book Chapter
Retweeting Risk Communication: The Role of Threat and Efficacy 2018-08-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Risk and Crisis Communication in Schools: Understanding Current Challenges and Opportunities 2019-06-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
Risk Communication Training: Research Findings and Recommendations for Training Development 2013-02-01T12:00:00 START Reports
Risk in Extreme Environments: Preparing, Avoiding, Mitigating, and Managing 2018-01-01T12:00:00 Book
Routledge Handbook of Risk, Crisis, and Disaster Communication 2024-05-29T12:00:00 Book
Social Equity in Local Emergency Management Planning 2009-12-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Social Media Use during Disasters Fact Sheet 2013-05-01T12:00:00 Project Fact Sheet
Social Media Use during Disasters: A Review of the Knowledge Base and Gaps 2012-12-01T12:00:00 START Reports
Social-Mediated Crisis Communication Research 2023-01-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
Speaking with One Voice: Risk Communication Lessons from the US Anthrax Attacks 2006-06-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
START Annual Meeting 2016: Quick-Fire Presentation - Unconventional Weapons and Technology, Political Instability, Risk Communication 2016-10-01T12:00:00 Presentation
Taking Effective Risk and Crisis Communication for Granted? 2013-08-01T12:00:00 Discussion Point
Terse Message Amplification in the Boston Bombing Response 2014-05-01T12:00:00 Conference Paper
The Business of Healing: Focus Group Discussions of Readjustment to the Post-9/11 Work Environment Among Workers of Affected Agencies 2010-07-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
The migration decisions of Syrian and Ukrainian refugees as perceived by their receiving communities. 2024-07-29T12:00:00 Journal Article
The Preparedness of Frontline Responders During COVID-19 2021-11-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
The Red Pill 2006-06-01T12:00:00 Report
The Risk of COVID-19 Exposure 2021-03-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
The Role of Communication in Healthcare Systems and Community Resilience 2017-09-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
The Role of Homeland Security Information Bulletins within Emergency Management Organizations 2008-02-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
The Role of Homeland Security Information Bulletins within Emergency Management Organizations: A Case Study of Enactment 2007-07-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
The Social-Meditated Crisis Communication (SMCC) Model: Identifying the Next Frontier 2020-12-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
The SPARS Pandemic 2025–2028: A Futuristic Scenario to Facilitate Medical Countermeasure Communication 2020-03-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
The Study of Mobile Public Warning Messages: A Research Review and Agenda 2015-02-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Tornado Warning: Understanding the National Weather Service’s Communication Strategies 2020-01-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Toward More Audience-Oriented Approaches to Crisis Communication and Social Media Research 2018-01-01T12:00:00 Book Chapter
Training in Risk and Crisis Communication Modules: Project Fact Sheet 2013-12-01T12:00:00 Project Fact Sheet
Understanding Motivated Publics during Disasters: Examining Message Functions, Frames, and Styles of Social Media Influentials and Followers 2019-10-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Understanding Risk Communication Best Practices: A Guide for Emergency Managers and Communicators 2012-05-01T12:00:00 START Reports
Understanding Risk Communication Theory: A Guide for Emergency Managers and Communicators 2012-05-01T12:00:00 START Reports
Understanding Tornado Warnings, False Alarms, and Complacency 2016-09-01T12:00:00 Fact Sheet
Universal Preventive Interventions for Children in the Context of Disasters and Terrorism 2014-04-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Updates: Morale and Mental Health 2021-10-01T12:00:00 Research Brief
What it Takes to Get Passed On: Message Content, Style, and Structure as Predictors of Retransmission in the Boston Marathon Bombing Response 2015-08-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Willingness to Click: Risk Information Seeking during Imminent Threats 2017-08-01T12:00:00 Journal Article
Title
‘Best practices in crisis communications’
$2.5 million NSF grant awarded for UMD-led disaster resilience research
Call for Posters: Emergency Pre-Event Communication
Communication during coronavirus
Database Spotlight -- Public Warnings and Evacuations: A Study of the 2009 California Station Fire
Discussion Point: 'Keep Wicked Calm and Carry the Hell On': Boston, Terrorism and the Rhetorical Power of Resilience
Discussion Point: Taking Effective Risk and Crisis Communication for Granted?
Enacting best practices in risk communication
Focus groups yield insight into complacency in emergency situations
Follow the START Seminar, "The Role of Academia in Homeland Security" Live on Twitter
Freshmen add a spark to risk communication and resilience research
Increasing risk perception alone won't improve preparedness
New NOAA project aims to improve all hazards risk communication
Prepare, respond and recover with TRACC training
Professor Brooke Liu is second UMD professor on prestigious board
Research begins on Crisis Leadership project with help from FIRE students
Research Internships Available for Fall 2007 at the University of Maryland
Researcher Spotlight: Dennis Mileti and the sociology of disaster
Researcher spotlight: Hamilton Bean
Researchers from START’s Training in Risk and Crisis Communication (TRACC) Program earn Top Paper Awards
Risk Communication Research Roundtable: Methodology and Impact
Risk communication researchers earn top paper awards
Scouting out risk communication field research
START Announces Fellowships for 2005-06
START investigator, Susan Cutter, advises Congress
START participates in risk communication conference
START participates in UMD’s "Constitution Day 3.0"
START reaches out to dozens of middle and high schoolers
START Releases 2011 Research Review
START report identifies new ways to train risk communication skills
START Research Team to Develop Risk Communication Training Program
START seeking 2014 Outstanding Article Award nominations
START undergraduate wins second place at international conference
START’s TRACC receives FEMA approval
Study shows longer emergency text alerts improve safety
TRACC off to a strong START
UMD researchers receive NOAA grant to improve crisis communication
UMD’s Undergraduate Research Day features START FIRE students
Understanding Risk Communication Best Practices and Theory
Title Job Title Institution
Anita atwell Anita Atwell Seate Assistant Professor, University of Maryland
Affiliate Assistant Professor, START 		University of Maryland
Liu_Brooke Brooke Liu Professor of Communication and START Affiliated Faculty Member University of Maryland
person-default Devin Ellis Researcher, ARLIS University of Maryland
Robert_Holly Holly Roberts Affiliated Faculty, Strategic Communications Lead at Akoya
Romm madeline Madeline Romm Faculty Specialist University of Maryland
person-default Michael Egnoto Affiliated Faculty, Clinical Informaticist at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Abbreviation Thumbnail Image Title Direct Link
An Experimental Study of the Effects of Government Terror Warnings on Political Attitudes Go
Assigning Blame: The Public's Response to Hurricane Katrina Go
Best Practices for Preparing Communities: Citizen Engagement in Public Health Planning
Biosecurity in the Americas: Research, Practitioner Education/Training and Transition
Climate Security, Great Power Competition, and Adversarial Geopolitics in Southeast Asia
Communicating Risk of Mass Casualty Terrorism in Diverse Communities
Comprehensive Testing of Imminent Threat Public Messages for Mobile Devices (MDP)
Computational Modeling of Grievances and Political Instability Through Global Media
Effective Organizational Communication During Crises: Learning from the 2001 Anthrax Attacks
How Forecasters Decide to Warn: Insights on Tornado Risk Communication from the Southeast U.S.
Managing Chaos through Crisis Communication Leadership
Mobile Radiation Detectors: Threat Perception and Device Acceptance
Modeling and Simulation of Public Response to Threat and Attacks
Preparedness for Catastrophic Events
Public Warnings and Evacuations: California Station Fire Go
School Emergency Public Information and Warning/Information Sharing
Social Identity and Perceptions of Counterterrorism
Social Media Use during Disasters
Textual Analysis of Electronic Media Coverage of Homeland Security-Related Risks
Towards an Understanding of Explosive Detection Technology Adoption: Results from Two Surveys
Training in Risk and Crisis Communication (TRACC)
Understanding Tornado Warnings, False Alarms, and Complacency, and Proposing Theory-Directed Solutions for Effective Warnings