Nowadays, the use of social media by public institutions involved in disaster management is starting to become common practice. However, despite scientific interest in the effect of social media on disaster risk and crisis communication, data exploring emergency management agencies' round-the-clock Facebook usage and the impact of their content and media choices on stakeholder engagement is limited. This study set out to investigate Romanian local emergency agencies' Facebook usage patterns and stakeholders' engagement with their content. The data is comprised of 7810 messages posted between the 1st January and 25th October 2017 by 32 County Inspectorates for Emergency Situations. First, using content analysis techniques, the topics of the posts were summarized to illustrate how these agencies use Facebook. Second, stakeholder engagement was investigated using social media marketing techniques. Third, messages related to natural hazards were analyzed in greater depth to reveal disaster risk communication patterns. The results suggest that Romanian emergency agencies mainly promote transparency and their institutional image on Facebook. Stakeholders were most likely to engage with brand-oriented posts, especially if these also offered rich multimedia feature. Meanwhile, stakeholders were less likely to interact with messages about natural hazards, particularly if they incorporated educational content. These observations suggest that, while at the moment Romanian local emergency management agencies take advantage of Facebook to create and maintain relationships with their stakeholders, they bypass opportunities to implement communication strategies for effective disaster risk reduction.Emergency management agencies are encouraged to leverage SM in order to engage with their stakeholders, especially considering the citizens' growing demand for their permanent SM presence [9,10]. Recently, numerous recommendations have emerged from research and practice to guide emergency managers through the process of implementing and maintaining SM pages. These recommendations cover a wide range of topics, such as the identification of the most suitable SM tools/applications to fulfil specific communication objectives [7,11]; the development of policy documents [12] or best practices in order to establish an active presence on SM; and the establishing of a network of stakeholders [13,14].There is a wide range of different SM applications, such as blogs, social networking sites, media-sharing services, web map services and wikis, that can be used for risk and crisis communication in unique ways [15]. In each of these SM applications, stakeholder engagement can be measured in different ways, giving valuable insight on their interactions. These measures can serve as metrics for evaluating SM effectiveness in risk and crisis communication [16]. However, only a handful of studies examine how factors such as content or media type influence stakeholder engagement in the field of disaster management. For example, Sutton et al. [17] examin...
The cessation or downsizing of mining activities induced complex challenges for entire regions in Romania, leading to depopulation, poverty, and pollution. Resource-dependency locked these regions in a mono-industry setting where it was difficult for new development paths to emerge. This paper presents a historical overview of a well-known Romanian mining region and identifies promising recovery opportunities that could shift the trajectory of its mining communities towards new sustainable paths. The research was based on official statistical data for the period 1965/1966–2018, complemented by qualitative data extracted from 39 semi-structured interviews with residents from the study area. The results revealed that the concentration of employment in the mining sector, together with other concurring factors, made it difficult for the communities to find sustainable ways of development while, at the same time, highlighting some possible revitalization and recovery opportunities. The findings contribute to a better understanding of mining communities, which will support the creation of tailored policies and planning strategies aimed towards their sustainable redevelopment.
Risk communication facilitates the understanding of risks by the local communities and results in a higher acceptance degree of the people regarding the management of risks. Constant communication between all stakeholders on topics like community sustainable development (including environmental risk management) leads to a better local governance and a higher public engagement in the problems of the community, leading to improved behavior patterns. Moreover, broader and more effective community engagement is greatly encouraged in the United Nations Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development through citizen science and community-based participatory research initiatives. In complex contexts, citizen science appears as an indispensable tool given the historical and micro-spatial patterning of environmental problems. This paper focuses on a case which includes three former/still active mining areas and it aims to identify the stakeholders involved in risk communication, their main themes of interest and some tailored methods for public participation, in line with their needs and opinions on the existing risks. The results of the research in these areas revealed a high potential for learning in the local mining communities and their openness towards scientific information and citizen science initiatives. This is a potential that could be capitalized for a higher public engagement in the management of environmental issues of the area and for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals.
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