The tsunami that hit South and South East Asia on Boxing Day 2004, was the largest natural disaster of this generation. More than 150,000 people lost their lives and many more are still missing. The destruction was spread from India to Indonesia, from Sri Lanka to Malaysia.
Information technologies, particularly the Internet, have taken on a new role in response to this tragedy. Some existing sites took on new roles, while other sites mushroomed almost overnight. This is similar to the burst activity that occurred after 9-11. Not only have more people turned to the net to receive the most updated news coverage, but the Internet has also played a large role in coordinating logistical efforts, raising funds, expressing views and locating missing people. A number of news stories have documented this trend. See in particularly Glenn Reynolds' piece from Tech Central Station.
Many new web sites have also emerged as people from all over the world respond to this tragedy, some seeming to appear almost overnight.
SIRC associates are looking at this phenomenon to better understand the role of the Internet in response to this tragedy. Some of the projects we are working on are listed on this page.
In collaboration with Webarchivist.org, we are identifying sites from around the world with relevance to the Tsunami disaster. We will be identifying sites based around the world, and in multiple languages, including English, Tamil, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Chinese, and others. These sites will be archived in a format for later academic and professional analysis. Click here to access the TSUNAMI ARCHIVE .
Sample Research Projects
The Tsunami Disaster Web sphere
Project Description
As a result of the aftermath if the Asian tsunami disaster, there has been a burst of online activities from netizens from across the world. In fact, new genres of web sites seemed to be developed almost instantaneously, such as sites providing information on missing persons.
To get an understanding of the overall way in which the Internet affected news dissemination, information retrieval, and coping with the tragedy, this study will examine the Tsunami web sphere
Investigator: Dr Randy Kluver.
Weblogs: A new form of online expression and information dissemination.
Project Description
As a result of the Asian tsunami, there has been a large increase in blogging activity for various purposes- logistical, information dissemination and expression of thoughts and views.
Blogging enables individuals to become self-publishers-leaving their words and thoughts uncensored and unedited. It also allows them to share their opinions with anyone and everyone who visits their blog.
SiRC Associate Dr Shahiraa Sahul Hameed takes a closer look at how individuals have used blogs as an online outlet for their emotions and thoughts.
How relief agencies use the Internet to communicate and share information with the public and to mobilize public support.
Project Description
The tsunami disaster affected citizens of dozens of countries, causing the public, survivors, and families and friends to frantically search for information to help reduce anxiety and uncertainty. Given the borderless nature of the Internet, it was a natural choice for information seekers.
Unfortunately, not all information sources on the Internet are credible. As such, authoritative online sources, such as relief agencies and governmental sites, become ever more important in times of uncertainty as sources of information. Meanwhile, these web sites also became a platform for mobilization of public support.
SiRC Associates Dr Lee Wai Peng and Dr Theng Yin Leng examine how relief agencies used the Internet to communicate with the public and to mobilize support.
Designing and delivering tsunami stories online. A comparative study of disaster coverage.
Project Description
Online media of different natures conscientiously followed and provided coverage of the tsunami disaster.
SiRC Associate Dr. Xu Xiaoge is interested in exploring the different features of online journalism employed; specifically looking at the different approaches and perspectives taken by different types of media.
To do this, he plans to conduct a content analysis of relevant web sites, interviews with online journalists and an e-mail survey with online news consumers.
Images online: Are they providing the 'real' picture
Project Description
Having witnessed the destruction in South Asia first hand, SIRC Associate Dr Shyam Tekwani questions if the media are showing us the real picture of what is happening. Dr Tekwani, an accomplished photojournalist, spent ten days after the Tsunami travelling throughout India and Sri Lanka documenting photographically the destruction wrought by the tsunami.
Dr Tekwani and Dr Theng Yin Leng's study will examine the way in which the Internet provided the images (by both amateurs and professionals) that people craved (through formal and informal news sites), and what that means for future of the technology.
How relief agencies use communication technologies to coordinate interagency and cross-cultural relief efforts.
Project Description
Relief agencies both within and between different countries have come together in order to help the victims of the tsunami disaster.
SIRC Associates Dr Lee Wai Peng and Dr Paul Wu look to better understand the mechanisms used to share information and knowledge between relief agencies. They are also looking to determine and define the roles of communication technologies in this process.
The use of communication technologies by Singaporean after the tsunami disaster.
Project Description
SIRC Associates Dr Lee Wai Peng and Dr Stella Chia are interested in better understanding how Singaporeans used ICT (the Internet, telephone, and television) to cope with, understand, and manage uncertainty after the disaster hit.
A computer-assisted telephone survey, will be conducted to answer some of the questions they have about ICT use in times of uncertainty.
Organization and dissemination of information on the Internet in response to the tsunami disaster
Project Description
As soon as the tsunami hit different parts of South and South East Asia, netizens from around the world turned to the Internet as a first source of information.
SIRC Associates Dr Theng Yin Leng and Dr Randy Kluver are interested in understanding how the Internet organized itself in the dissemination of information with regards to this. They are planning to conduct feature analyses of web sites to answer this question.
Portrayal of government donations by online media
Project Description
Governments and lay people from all around the world, have chosen to show their support to the victims of the tsunami tragedy by donating money, resources and manpower.
SIRC Associates Dr Pamela Koch and Dr Theng Yin Leng are interested in comparing online news coverage of government donations and the publics response to these stories. They will be specifically looking at the attribution of reasons behind such donations (for e.g. or corporate competition, public relations, attempt to exert influence in the region, real humanitarian interest, etc.).