A Department of Homeland Security Emeritus Center of Excellence led by the University of Maryland

Risk Communication


Risk Communication

Project Titlesort ascending Investigators Project Period
Understanding Tornado Warnings, False Alarms, and Complacency, and Proposing Theory-Directed Solutions for Effective Warnings Michael Egnoto, Brooke Liu October, 2015 to September, 2016
Training in Risk and Crisis Communication (TRACC) Brooke Liu, Elizabet Petrun Sayers, Katherine Worboys Izsak August, 2011 to October, 2013
Towards an Understanding of Explosive Detection Technology Adoption: Results from Two Surveys Brooke Liu May, 2016 to June, 2017
Textual Analysis of Electronic Media Coverage of Homeland Security-Related Risks Lisa Keranen September, 2006 to May, 2009
Social Media Use during Disasters Brooke Liu July, 2012 to October, 2013
Social Identity and Perceptions of Counterterrorism Demis Glasford July, 2012 to December, 2017
School Emergency Public Information and Warning/Information Sharing Brooke Liu, Holly Roberts October, 2015 to September, 2016
Preparedness for Catastrophic Events Dennis Mileti, Hamilton Bean, Kathleen Smarick, Monica Schoch-Spana, Paul Harwood November, 2008 to November, 2010
Modeling and Simulation of Public Response to Threat and Attacks Dennis Mileti June, 2005 to June, 2009
Mobile Radiation Detectors: Threat Perception and Device Acceptance Brooke Liu, Elizabet Petrun Sayers, Gary Ackerman, Steve Sin, Thomas Guarrieri April, 2014 to April, 2019
Managing Chaos through Crisis Communication Leadership Brooke Liu June, 2017 to May, 2018
How Forecasters Decide to Warn: Insights on Tornado Risk Communication from the Southeast U.S. Brooke Liu, Anita Atwell Seate September, 2017 to August, 2019
Effective Organizational Communication During Crises: Learning from the 2001 Anthrax Attacks Caron Chess May, 2005 to May, 2009
Computational Modeling of Grievances and Political Instability Through Global Media Gary LaFree September, 2014 to September, 2019
Comprehensive Testing of Imminent Threat Public Messages for Mobile Devices (MDP) Brooke Liu, Hamilton Bean, Marcus A. Boyd, Michele Wood June, 2012 to June, 2015
Communicating Risk of Mass Casualty Terrorism in Diverse Communities Elaine Vaughan May, 2005 to May, 2009
Best Practices for Preparing Communities: Citizen Engagement in Public Health Planning Monica Schoch-Spana May, 2005 to May, 2008
Project Titlesort ascending Publication Date START Authors Publication Type
“You Are Here”: Assessing the Inclusion of Maps in a Campus Emergency Alert System March 2021 Herovic, Emina Journal Article
Willingness to Click: Risk Information Seeking during Imminent Threats August 2017 Sutton, Jeannette Journal Article
What it Takes to Get Passed On: Message Content, Style, and Structure as Predictors of Retransmission in the Boston Marathon Bombing Response August 2015 Sutton, Jeannette Journal Article
Universal Preventive Interventions for Children in the Context of Disasters and Terrorism April 2014 Pfefferbaum, Betty Journal Article
Understanding Tornado Warnings, False Alarms, and Complacency September 2016 Liu, Brooke; Roberts, Holly; Egnoto, Michael Fact Sheet
Understanding Risk Communication Best Practices: A Guide for Emergency Managers and Communicators May 2012 Liu, Brooke START Reports
Understanding Motivated Publics during Disasters: Examining Message Functions, Frames, and Styles of Social Media Influentials and Followers October 2019 Liu, Brooke Journal Article
Training in Risk and Crisis Communication Modules: Project Fact Sheet December 2013 Liu, Brooke; Petrun, Elizabeth Project Fact Sheet
Toward More Audience-Oriented Approaches to Crisis Communication and Social Media Research January 2018 Liu, Brooke; Fraustino, Julia Book Chapter
Tornado Warning: Understanding the National Weather Service’s Communication Strategies January 2020 Atwell Seate, Anita; Liu, Brooke; Herovic, Emina; Iles, Irina A. Journal Article
The Study of Mobile Public Warning Messages: A Research Review and Agenda February 2015 Liu, Brooke; Mileti, Dennis; Bean, Hamilton; Sutton, Jeannette; Wood, Michele; Madden, Stephanie Journal Article
The SPARS Pandemic 2025–2028: A Futuristic Scenario to Facilitate Medical Countermeasure Communication March 2020 Schoch-Spana, Monica; Sell, Tara Kirk Journal Article
The Social-Meditated Crisis Communication (SMCC) Model: Identifying the Next Frontier December 2020 Liu, Brooke; Jin, Yan Book Chapter
The Role of Homeland Security Information Bulletins within Emergency Management Organizations: A Case Study of Enactment July 2007 Bean, Hamilton; Keranen, Lisa Journal Article
The Role of Homeland Security Information Bulletins within Emergency Management Organizations February 2008 Bean, Hamilton; Keranen, Lisa Research Brief
The Role of Communication in Healthcare Systems and Community Resilience September 2017 Liu, Brooke; Petrun Sayers, Elizabeth; Roberts, Holly; Egnoto, Michael Journal Article
The Risk of COVID-19 Exposure March 2021 Romm, Madeline Research Brief
The Red Pill June 2006 Tierney, Kathleen Report
The Business of Healing: Focus Group Discussions of Readjustment to the Post-9/11 Work Environment Among Workers of Affected Agencies July 2010 Pfefferbaum, Betty Journal Article
Terse Message Amplification in the Boston Bombing Response May 2014 Sutton, Jeannette Conference Paper
Taking Effective Risk and Crisis Communication for Granted? August 2013 Liu, Brooke; Petrun, Elizabeth Discussion Point
START Annual Meeting 2016: Quick-Fire Presentation - Unconventional Weapons and Technology, Political Instability, Risk Communication October 2016 Ackerman, Gary; LaFree, Gary; Roberts, Holly; Binder, Markus; Egnoto, Michael; Sin, Steve Presentation
Speaking with One Voice: Risk Communication Lessons from the US Anthrax Attacks June 2006 Chess, Caron Journal Article
Social Media Use during Disasters Fact Sheet May 2013 Liu, Brooke; Fraustino, Julia; Jin, Yan Project Fact Sheet
Social Media Use during Disasters: A Review of the Knowledge Base and Gaps December 2012 Liu, Brooke; Fraustino, Julia; Jin, Yan START Reports
Social Equity in Local Emergency Management Planning December 2009 Boyd, Marcus A. Journal Article
Risk in Extreme Environments: Preparing, Avoiding, Mitigating, and Managing January 2018 Bier, Vicki Book
Risk Communication Training: Research Findings and Recommendations for Training Development February 2013 Liu, Brooke; Petrun Sayers, Elizabeth; Izsak, Katherine Worboys; Madden, Stephanie START Reports
Risk and Crisis Communication in Schools: Understanding Current Challenges and Opportunities June 2019 Liu, Brooke; Roberts, Holly; Egnoto, Michael; Page, Tyler Book Chapter
Retweeting Risk Communication: The Role of Threat and Efficacy August 2018 Sutton, Jeannette Journal Article
Reaching Vulnerable Populations in the Disaster-Prone US Gulf Coast: Communicating Across the Crisis Lifecycle August 2019 Petrun Sayers, Elizabeth Journal Article
RCPGP Warning System Integration Research Project Final Report November 2010 Mileti, Dennis; Bean, Hamilton START Reports
Project Fact Sheet: Monitor and Mitigate: The Impact of COVID-19 on Public Safety September 2020 Pate, Amy; Koven, Barnett S.; Meehan, Nathan Project Fact Sheet
Personnel Shortages Due to COVID-19 March 2021 Lindquist, Katy; Romm, Madeline Research Brief
Morale and Mental Health March 2021 Lindquist, Katy; Romm, Madeline Research Brief
Mobile Technology and the Transformation of Public Alert and Warning October 2019 Bean, Hamilton Book
Miscommunication during the Anthrax Attacks: How Events Reveal Organizational Failures January 2007 Chess, Caron Journal Article
Milling and Public Warnings May 2017 Liu, Brooke; Mileti, Dennis; Bean, Hamilton; Sutton, Jeannette; Wood, Michele; Madden, Stephanie Journal Article
Metaphors Matter: Disaster Myths, Media Frames, and their Consequences in Hurricane Katrina March 2006 Tierney, Kathleen Journal Article
Making Connections: Performance Regimes and Extreme Events November 2012 Bowman, Ann Journal Article
Machines, Monsters, and Coffin Corners: Broadcast Meteorologists’ Use of Figurative and Intense Language During Hurricane Harvey April 2020 Sutton, Jeannette Journal Article
Is a Picture Worth a Thousand Words? The Effects of Maps and Warning Messages on How Publics Respond to Disaster Information April 2017 Liu, Brooke; Mileti, Dennis; Bean, Hamilton; Sutton, Jeannette; Egnoto, Michael; Wood, Michele; Madden, Stephanie Journal Article
Influence of Community and Culture in the Ethical Allocation of Scarce Medical Resources in a Pandemic Situation: Deliberative Democracy Study March 2020 Schoch-Spana, Monica Journal Article
Indirect Effects: The Impact of COVID-19 on Organizations & Service Delivery November 2020 Meehan, Nathan Research Brief
Improving Shadow Evacuation Management: Case Study of the Graniteville, South Carolina, Chlorine Spill January 2007 Cutter, Susan Journal Article
How Publics’ Active and Passive Communicative Behaviors Affect their Tornado Responses: An Integration of STOPS and SMCC August 2019 Liu, Brooke; Egnoto, Michael Journal Article
How Disaster Information Form, Source, Type, and Prior Disaster Exposure Affect Public Outcomes: Jumping on the Social Media Bandwagon? January 2015 Liu, Brooke; Fraustino, Julia; Jin, Yan Journal Article
Geotargeted Alerts and Warnings March 2017 Wood, Michele Book Chapter
From the Periphery and toward a Centralized Model for Trust in Government Risk and Disaster Communication June 2020 Liu, Brooke Journal Article
False Alarms, Real Challenges - One University's Communication Response to the 2001 Anthrax Crisis June 2006 Chess, Caron Journal Article
Facilitation of Risk Communication During the Anthrax Attacks of 2001: The Organizational Backstory October 2007 Chess, Caron Journal Article
Eyes of the Storm: How Citizen Scientists Contribute to Government Forecasting and Risk Communication April 2020 Atwell Seate, Anita; Liu, Brooke; Herovic, Emina; Iles, Irina A. Journal Article
Explosive Detection Technology Adoption: Findings from a General Population Survey October 2017 Liu, Brooke; Iles, Irina A.; Egnoto, Michael Research Brief
Environmental Effects: Changes in Demand for First Responders due to COVID-19 November 2020 Meehan, Nathan Research Brief
Elites and Panic: More to Fear than Fear Itself December 2008 Chess, Caron Journal Article
Editor's Essay: The Critical Need for Crisis and Risk Communication Research April 2019 Liu, Brooke Journal Article
Disentangling Social Media Influence in Crises: Testing a Four-factor Model of Social Media Influence with Large Data November 2018 Liu, Brooke Journal Article
Disaster Warnings in Your Pocket: How Audiences Interpret Mobile Alerts for an Unfamiliar Hazard March 2016 Liu, Brooke; Mileti, Dennis; Bean, Hamilton; Sutton, Jeannette; Wood, Michele; Madden, Stephanie Journal Article
Direct Effects: The Impact of COVID-19 on First Responders November 2020 Meehan, Nathan Research Brief
Decisions in disaster recovery operations November 2013 Zhuang, Jun Book Chapter
Crisis Information Seeking and Sharing (CISS): Scale Development for Measuring Publics’ Communicative Behavior in Social-Mediated Public Health Crises April 2019 Jin, Yan Journal Article
Crisis and Risk Communication Scholarship of the Future: Reflections on Research Gaps March 2020 Liu, Brooke Journal Article
COVID-19: Implications for First Responders October 2020 Koven, Barnett S.; Braniff, William Presentation
COVID-19 Response Coordination March 2021 Lindquist, Katy; Romm, Madeline Research Brief
Congress Report: Experts' Recommendations on Enacting Best Practices in Risk and Crisis Communication October 2013 Liu, Brooke; Madden, Stephanie Journal Article
Communication during COVID-19: What’s Happening in Your Department March 2021 Lindquist, Katy Research Brief
Communicating Crisis Uncertainty: A Review of the Knowledge Gaps April 2016 Liu, Brooke Journal Article
Challenges and Opportunities for Pre-Crisis Emergency Risk Communication: Lessons Learned from the Earthquake Community February 2019 Herovic, Emina Journal Article
Call to Action: Mobilizing Community Discussion to Improve Information-Sharing About Vulnerabilities in Industrial Control Systems and Critical Infrastructure July 2019 Washburn, Rhyner Conference Paper
Beyond Image Repair: Suggestions for Crisis Communication Theory Development September 2014 Liu, Brooke; Fraustino, Julia Journal Article
Annotated Bibliography for Public Risk Communication on Warnings for Public Protective Actions Response and Public Education September 2006 Mileti, Dennis; Sutton, Jeannette; Bourque, Linda; Wood, Michele Report
An Automated Agent for Bilateral Negotiations with Bounded Rational Agents with Incomplete Information January 2006 Wilkenfeld, Jonathan Journal Article
Alerts and Warnings on Short Messaging Channels: Guidance from an Expert Panel Process May 2019 Sutton, Jeannette Journal Article
Advancing Understanding of Tornado Warnings, False Alarms, and Complacency September 2017 Liu, Brooke; Roberts, Holly; Egnoto, Michael Research Brief
Advancing Crisis Communication Effectiveness: Integrating Public Relations Scholarship with Practice December 2020 Jin, Yan Book
A Tragedy in Three Acts: COVID-19 and Compounding Crises October 2020 Koven, Barnett S.; Romm, Madeline; Braniff, William Research Brief
A Public Health Systems View of Risk Communication About Zika April 2020 Schoch-Spana, Monica; Sell, Tara Kirk Journal Article
A Process View of Crisis Misinformation: How Public Relations Professionals Detect, Manage, and Evaluate Crisis Misinformation June 2021 Liu, Brooke Journal Article
A Case Study of Climate Change, Extreme Weather Events, and Risk Communication in a Coastal Community June 2019 Petrun Sayers, Elizabeth Book Chapter
Title Byline
‘Best practices in crisis communications’
Understanding Risk Communication Best Practices and Theory Stephanie Madden
UMD’s Undergraduate Research Day features START FIRE students Jessica Rivinius
UMD researchers receive NOAA grant to improve crisis communication UMD Department of Communication Staff
TRACC off to a strong START Beth Schwartz
Study shows longer emergency text alerts improve safety Jessica Rivinius
START’s TRACC receives FEMA approval Jessica Rivinius
START undergraduate wins second place at international conference Jessica Rivinius
START seeking 2014 Outstanding Article Award nominations Jessica Rivinius
START Research Team to Develop Risk Communication Training Program
START report identifies new ways to train risk communication skills Mary Beck
START Releases 2011 Research Review
START reaches out to dozens of middle and high schoolers Emily Smith
START participates in UMD’s ‘Constitution Day 3.0’ Mary Beck
START participates in risk communication conference Claire Simon
START investigator, Susan Cutter, advises Congress
START Announces Fellowships for 2005-06
Scouting out risk communication field research Aileen St. Leger, Jessica Rivinius
Risk communication researchers earn top paper awards
Risk Communication Research Roundtable: Methodology and Impact Mary Beck
Researchers from START’s Training in Risk and Crisis Communication (TRACC) Program earn Top Paper Awards Emily Smith
Researcher spotlight: Hamilton Bean Kelly Kline
Researcher Spotlight: Dennis Mileti and the sociology of disaster Jessica Rivinius
Research Internships Available for Fall 2007 at the University of Maryland
Research begins on Crisis Leadership project with help from FIRE students Zane Moses
Professor Brooke Liu is second UMD professor on prestigious board
Prepare, respond and recover with TRACC training Joshua Nesselrodt, Holly Roberts
New NOAA project aims to improve all hazards risk communication Jessica Rivinius
Increasing risk perception alone won't improve preparedness Jessica Rivinius
Freshmen add a spark to risk communication and resilience research Joshua Nesselrodt
Follow the START Seminar, "The Role of Academia in Homeland Security" Live on Twitter
Focus groups yield insight into complacency in emergency situations Jessica Rivinius
Enacting best practices in risk communication
Discussion Point: Taking Effective Risk and Crisis Communication for Granted? Elizabeth Petrun, Brooke Liu
Discussion Point: 'Keep Wicked Calm and Carry the Hell On': Boston, Terrorism and the Rhetorical Power of Resilience Hamilton Bean, Lisa Keranen
Database Spotlight -- Public Warnings and Evacuations: A Study of the 2009 California Station Fire
Communication during coronavirus Jessica Weiss
Call for Posters: Emergency Pre-Event Communication
$2.5 million NSF grant awarded for UMD-led disaster resilience research Alyssa Wolice, Laura Gonzalez
Image Title Job Title Institution
Michael Egnoto

Affiliated Faculty, Clinical Informaticist at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Madeline Romm Madeline Romm

Researcher/Project Manager, START

 University of Maryland
Holly Roberts

Affiliated Faculty, Strategic Communications Lead at Akoya
Devin Ellis

Researcher, ARLIS

 University of Maryland
Photo of Brooke Liu Brooke Liu

Professor of Communication and START Affiliated Faculty Member

 University of Maryland
Anita Atwell Seate

Assistant Professor, University of Maryland

Affiliate Assistant Professor, START

 University of Maryland
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