{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/81962"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/81962","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Fanning the Flames: An Examination of Uses and Gratifications Sought During the Gatlinburg Wildfires of 2016","abstract":"This research set out to explore how individuals used Twitter during the Gatlinburg, Tennessee wildfire event of November 2016. More specifically, how and what did people from different geolocations share via Twitter during the crisis event and what gratifications were sought by their use of Twitter. A content analysis was completed on a stratified sample of tweets separated by geographic location. Based on prior uses and gratifications research, tweet and retweet content was coded as informational, social, and/or distractive. Findings from this research showed that individuals tweeted and retweeted at a fairly even rate despite their geographical location and that while information seeking and sharing was an important factor for users, social connectivity was the most important gratification to users during this crisis.","abstract_html":"This research set out to explore how individuals used Twitter during the Gatlinburg, Tennessee wildfire event of November 2016. More specifically, how and what did people from different geolocations share via Twitter during the crisis event and what gratifications were sought by their use of Twitter. A content analysis was completed on a stratified sample of tweets separated by geographic location. Based on prior uses and gratifications research, tweet and retweet content was coded as informational, social, and/or distractive. Findings from this research showed that individuals tweeted and retweeted at a fairly even rate despite their geographical location and that while information seeking and sharing was an important factor for users, social connectivity was the most important gratification to users during this crisis.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bartos, Colleen Marie"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Communication","degree_department":"Communication","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Horning, Michael A."],"committee_members":["Tedesco, John C.","Mackay, Jennifer B."],"year":2018,"date_issued":"2018-01-29","date_published":"2018-01-29","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:10Z","subjects":["Twitter","uses and gratifications","geographical location","Gatlinburg","wildfire","crisis","information","social"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:13698"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:13698","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/81962","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Horning, Michael A."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Tedesco, John C.","Mackay, Jennifer B."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bartos, Colleen Marie"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2018-01-30T09:01:14Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2018-01-30T09:01:14Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2018-01-29"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Twitter","uses and gratifications","geographical location","Gatlinburg","wildfire","crisis","information","social"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:13698"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/81962"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This research set out to explore how individuals used Twitter during the Gatlinburg, Tennessee wildfire event of November 2016. More specifically, how and what did people from different geolocations share via Twitter during the crisis event and what gratifications were sought by their use of Twitter. A content analysis was completed on a stratified sample of tweets separated by geographic location. Based on prior uses and gratifications research, tweet and retweet content was coded as informational, social, and/or distractive. Findings from this research showed that individuals tweeted and retweeted at a fairly even rate despite their geographical location and that while information seeking and sharing was an important factor for users, social connectivity was the most important gratification to users during this crisis."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["This paper explored how and why individuals used Twitter during the Gatlinburg, Tennessee wildfire event in November 2016. Tweets from individuals who were in local, regional, and non-local areas were analyzed and coded based on the content of their tweet or retweet. Results from this research showed that the social connection an individual receives from using Twitter was the most important factor for using the service during a crisis situation."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Fanning the Flames: An Examination of Uses and Gratifications Sought During the Gatlinburg Wildfires of 2016"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Horning, Michael A."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Tedesco, John C.","Mackay, Jennifer B."],"dc:contributor.department":["Communication"],"dc:creator":["Bartos, Colleen Marie"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2018-01-30T09:01:14Z"],"dc:date.available":["2018-01-30T09:01:14Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2018-01-29"],"dc:description.abstract":["This research set out to explore how individuals used Twitter during the Gatlinburg, Tennessee wildfire event of November 2016. 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