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- Exposure to heat wave risks across time and places: Seasonal variations and predictors of feelings of threat across heat wave geographical susceptibility locationsPublication . Domingos, S.; De carvalho, Rui; Maroco, J. P.Vulnerability to heat waves and their negative effects on health vary not only due toindividual factors but also due to situational factors, such as time and geography. Hence,we explored seasonal variations and predictors of heat wave feelings of threat acrossdifferent heat wave geographical susceptibility locations in Portugal. A total of 238Portuguese residents responded to a web-based longitudinal survey: before the summer,during a heat wave in the summer, during the summer, and after the summer. Geograph-ical location was used as an indicator of risk exposure, operationalized as heat waveoccurrence susceptibility (low, moderate, high). Heat wave demands and resources per-ceptions were assessed to compute an indicator of heat wave feelings of threat. Duringthe heat wave, feelings of threat were higher among participants in high-susceptibilitylocations, with demands outweighing resources perceptions, suggesting greater distressand coping difficulty. Regression analysis suggested that older participants and femaleparticipants living in moderate–high-susceptibility locations had greater difficulty inrecovering. Heat wave risk perception and positive affect about heat were identifiedas the most consistent predictors of heat wave feelings of threat, with risk perceptionincreasing and positive affect decreasing such feelings. Participants with (individualand geographical) vulnerability profiles, who had greater difficulty in coping and recov-ering from heat waves, could benefit from resource-building/enhancing interventions.In a climatic crisis context, monitoring psychological responses to heat waves (e.g.,threat) may enable anticipated action to build resilience before, rather than after, theeffects become damaging to physical and psychological health
- Crises social sensing: Longitudinal monitoring of social perceptions of systemic risk during public health crisisPublication . Gaspar, Rui; Domingos, S.; Toscano, Hugo; Filipe, Jessica; Leiras, Gisela; Raposo, Beatriz; Pereira, Cícero; Godinho, Cristina; Francisco, Rita; Silva, Ana Cláudia; Arriaga, MiguelMonitoring how different people – as ‘social sensors’ – evaluate and respond to crisis such as pandemics, allows tailoring crisis communication to the social perceptions of the situation, at different moments. To gather such evidence, we proposed a index of social perceptions of systemic risk (SPSR), as an indicator of a situational threat compromising risks to physical health, psychological health, the economy, social relations, health system, and others. This indicator was the core of a social sensing approach applied to crisis situations, implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic through a content analysis of more than 130.000 public comments from Facebook™ users, in COVID-19 related publications. This content coding allowed creating a SPSR index monitored during a one-year descriptive longitudinal analysis. This index correlated with co-occurring events within the social system, namely epidemiological indicators across measurement cycles (e.g. new deaths; cumulative number of infection cases; Intensive Care Unit hospitalizations) and tended to reflect the epidemiological situation severity (e.g. with the highest level registered during the worst pandemic wave). However, discrepancies also occurred, with high SPSR registered in a low severity situation, i.e. low number of hospitalizations and deaths (e.g. school year beginning), or low SPSR in a high severity situation (e.g. 2nd pandemic wave during Christmas), showing other factors beyond the epidemiological situation contributing to the social perceptions. After each ‘crisis period’ with SPSR peaking, there was a ‘restoration period’, consistently decreasing towards average levels of the previous measurement cycle. This can either indicate social resilience (recovery and resources potentiation) or risk attenuation after a high-severity period. This study serves as preliminary proof of concept of a crises social sensing approach, enabling monitoring of social system dynamics for various crisis types, such as health crisis or the climate crisis.
- Extreme natural and man-made events and human adaptive responses mediated by information and communication technologies' use: A systematic literature reviewPublication . Gaspar, Rui; Yan, Zheng; Domingos, SamuelInformation and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are nowadays an interactive means through which humans respond to potentially stressful extreme events (e.g., natural or technological disasters). Despite growing research and reviews on ICTs' role, these often follow an event-specific approach, describing how or what people respond without explaining why they respond as they do, limiting a broader comprehension of human adaptation processes. Therefore, a systematic literature review on natural and man-made extreme events sought to identify: how people respond during extreme events through ICTs devices/platforms use, what ICTs-mediated responses take place during these, and why they respond in the way they do (i.e., the responses' adaptive functions). A database search identified 60 articles through three inclusion criteria: (1) report of events deviating in socio-physical parameters from “normal” circumstances; (2) type of ICTs devices/platforms used; and (3) longitudinal data collection method. A theory-driven content analysis showed that different ICT platforms may be used for different adaptive functions with a predominant function of allowing coordinating an individual's actions with the contingencies in the environment, through approach (e.g., problem solving) and avoidance (e.g., escape) ways of coping. ICTs seemingly are an important data source and means in enabling socio-physical systems to effectively respond to extreme events. PROSPERO CRD42016042455.