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A Big Data, Antenarrative Analysis of How Social Media Users Make Meaning During and After Crisis Events Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 5-2016 From Crisis to Crisis: A Big Data, Antenarrative Analysis of How Social Media Users Make Meaning During and After Crisis Events Adam R. Bair Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Communication Commons, and the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Bair, Adam R., "From Crisis to Crisis: A Big Data, Antenarrative Analysis of How Social Media Users Make Meaning During and After Crisis Events" (2016). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 5045. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/5045 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS: A BIG DATA, ANTENARRATIVE ANALYSIS OF HOW SOCIAL MEDIA USERS MAKE MEANING DURING AND AFTER CRISIS EVENTS by Adam R. Bair A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Theory and Practice of Professional Communication Approved: _______________________________ _____________________________ Keith Grant-Davie, Ph.D. Steven Hanks, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member _______________________________ _______________________________ Kristine Miller, Ph.D. Ryan Moeller, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member _______________________________ _______________________________ Rebecca Walton, Ph.D. Mark R. McLellan, Ph.D. Committee Member Vice President for Research and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2016 ii Copyright © Adam R. Bair 2016 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT From Crisis to Crisis: A Big Data, Antenarrative Analysis of How Social Media Users Make Meaning During and After Crisis Events by Adam R. Bair, Doctor of Philosophy Utah State University, 2016 Major Professor: Dr. Keith Grant-Davie Department: English This dissertation examines how individuals use social media to respond to crisis situations, both during and after the event. Using both rhetorical criticism and David Boje’s theories and concepts regarding the development of antenarrative—a process of making sense of past, present, and future events—I explored how social media users make sense of and respond to a crisis. Specifically, my research was guided by three major questions: • Are traditional, pre-social media image-repair strategies effective in social media environments? • How do participants use social media in crisis events, and how does this usage shape the rhetorical framing of a crisis? • How might organizations effectively adapt traditional crisis communication plans to be used in social media during future crisis events? These questions were applied to four case studies to provide a range of insights about not only how individuals respond to a crisis, but also what strategies organizations use iv to present information about it. These cases were carefully selected to include a variety of crisis types and responses and include the following: • A business (H&R Block) communicating to clients about a software error • A governmental organization (the NTSB) presenting information about the cause of an airplane crash and about missteps in its response • A governmental group (the CDC) responding to a global health crisis with various audiences and types of responses • An activist movement (Black Lives Matter) attempting to unify social media users to lobby for change and highlight the scope of the issues to the nation Analyses of these cases not only show how individuals and groups used social media to make sense of crisis events, but also how the rhetorical strategies used to respond to a crisis situation. Understanding how individuals and groups make sense of crises will provide additional understanding to information designers, public relations professionals, organizations and businesses, and individuals using social media to effect change. (442 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT From Crisis to Crisis: A Big Data, Antenarrative Analysis of How Social Media Users Make Meaning During and After Crisis Events Adam R. Bair Crisis events are now common, ranging from computer errors, which might cause only minor inconvenience, to floods, which can cause loss of life and significant property damage. Such events can affect people’s ability to pay bills, trust food sources, or deal with events that could impact the environment and lives for decades. Understanding how crisis information is presented to audiences, how these audiences interpret and respond to a crisis will help researchers develop new approaches to improve communication among and with people affected by crisis. To understand how individuals make sense of crisis events, I applied David Boje’s theories and concepts of antenarrative, or story fragments, that are used in sense making. As these fragments are retold, they are reimagined by the teller to highlight specific elements and downplay others. In this way, an antenarrative takes on a life of its own, possibly re- creating the same series of events in countless ways. Comprehending how social media users interrupt an unfolding crisis allows an understanding of how it differs from traditional crisis communication response. Before the advent of social media, an organization in crisis would make an announcement about the event, hold press conferences, and respond to the crisis. Today, social media users can report about a crisis before an organization may fully understand what is happening. Social media users interact with information presented by the organization, so they can question the vi company and challenge the crisis in real time. Technology has changed the way a crisis is interpreted, but few organizations have reacted to this change and developed new strategies to communicate about crisis via social media. The dissertation examines four case studies: • H&R Block’s response exclusively on Facebook to a software error that delayed tax returns • The National Transportation Safety Board’s presenting information about the Asiana 214 crash at San Francisco International Airport • The Center for Diseases Control and Prevention’s reaction to the first case of Ebola in the United States and the strategies it used to present information to hospitals and to the general publics in the United States and West Africa • #BlackLivesMatter users’ engaging social media to present crisis information to the public to generate support for a legislative agenda that seeks improve the lives of black people. These cases show not only how antenarratives developed among social media users but also how these users interpreted, retold, and reimagined official narratives of the crisis. These findings allowed an exploration of the best and worst social media crisis communication practices. vii DEDICATION Melissa and Emma Lou, You have cheered me on, kept me laughing during months of research, and encouraged me to keep writing. I love you both. viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people have helped me as I have pursued my Ph.D. I acknowledge the patience and support of my major professor, Dr. Keith Grant-Davie; the assistance of Dr. Ryan Moeller and Dr. Rebecca Walton, who provided feedback and assisted me in finding new ways to analyze my data; and the contributions of Dr. Kristine Miller and Dr. Steven Hanks, who have worked on my committee. I am grateful for the support of my wife, Melissa, and our daughter, Emma, over the many months of researching and writing for this project; for the encouragement of my parents, Ronald and Karen Bair, throughout the years that I’ve spent pursuing my education; for the love of my siblings, Luke, Katelyn, and Linsey Bair; for the help of my father- and mother-in-law, David and Margo Merrill, and for the encouragement of my brothers- and sisters-in-law and their families. I acknowledge my mentors Robyn Bergstrom and Fenton Broadhead, who encouraged me to earn advanced degrees and pursue my dreams. I appreciate the support of the Brigham Young University-Idaho administration, especially Dr. Kirk Gifford and Dr. Kimball Galbraith, who granted leaves and provided resources that I needed to finish my dissertation. I would also like to thank my colleagues in the BYU-Idaho Business Management Department for their encouragement during this process. I acknowledge my colleagues at Utah State University, especially Emily Petersen and Rosa Thornley, who shared ideas, support, and empathy. And I thank Elise Tjernagel, who worked with me to negotiate access to Crimson Hexagon, which helped me analyze millions of Tweets in months instead of years. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way. We did it. ix CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................... iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... v DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................
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