The use of new interactive communication tools, particularly social networking sites (SNSs), has grown considerably in the last couple of decades. According to Boyd and Ellison (2007), SNSs are defined as web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile, ar-ticulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and make visible their social net-works. New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are changing the way in which we communicate and interact with each other (Hu, Johnston & Hemphill, 2013). These communication tools allow for a switch from one-directional communication (from the issuers to the receivers) to multi-directional communication where everyone can spread and exchange information. In addition, with this new form of communication, networks are no longer related to a specific space and the people who live there - they are now outspread networks (Sutton, 2010). This study examines the role played by ICTs in re-creating places of socialization and maintaining social capital in a post-disaster reconstruction scenario after the disruption of the physical environment that was once important for the creation and maintenance of these relationships. It aims to investigate whether (and how) ICTs can work as communication tools by allowing people that are dislocated post-disaster to maintain contacts with their previous social network and, therefore, to "virtually" restore the broken offline social fabric. First, we will analyze the literature on the role of ICTs, paying particular attention to SNSs for community building and maintenance of social capital. We will then briefly describe how new media have changed the concept of place and social relationships, and why the maintenance of social capital is crucial for disaster recovery. Our preliminary task is to introduce the case of L'Aquila before and after the earthquake of 2009, and the methodology and results of our research
Do ICTS help maintain social capital in the recovery phase? A case-study of L'Aquila earthquake" / Tagliacozzo, S.; Arcidiacono, Caterina. - In: THE JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY INFORMATICS. - ISSN 1712-4441. - 1:(2015), pp. 41-51. [https://doi.org/10.15353/joci.v11i1.2853]
Do ICTS help maintain social capital in the recovery phase? A case-study of L'Aquila earthquake".
ARCIDIACONO, CATERINA
2015
Abstract
The use of new interactive communication tools, particularly social networking sites (SNSs), has grown considerably in the last couple of decades. According to Boyd and Ellison (2007), SNSs are defined as web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile, ar-ticulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and make visible their social net-works. New Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are changing the way in which we communicate and interact with each other (Hu, Johnston & Hemphill, 2013). These communication tools allow for a switch from one-directional communication (from the issuers to the receivers) to multi-directional communication where everyone can spread and exchange information. In addition, with this new form of communication, networks are no longer related to a specific space and the people who live there - they are now outspread networks (Sutton, 2010). This study examines the role played by ICTs in re-creating places of socialization and maintaining social capital in a post-disaster reconstruction scenario after the disruption of the physical environment that was once important for the creation and maintenance of these relationships. It aims to investigate whether (and how) ICTs can work as communication tools by allowing people that are dislocated post-disaster to maintain contacts with their previous social network and, therefore, to "virtually" restore the broken offline social fabric. First, we will analyze the literature on the role of ICTs, paying particular attention to SNSs for community building and maintenance of social capital. We will then briefly describe how new media have changed the concept of place and social relationships, and why the maintenance of social capital is crucial for disaster recovery. Our preliminary task is to introduce the case of L'Aquila before and after the earthquake of 2009, and the methodology and results of our researchI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
