Radwan, Ahmed Farouk, Mousa, Sheren Ali

Bio: Radwan, Ahmed Farouk, Mousa, Sheren Ali is an academic researcher from University of Sharjah. The author has contributed to research in topics: Coronavirus & Pandemic. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 4 citations.

Government Communication Strategies during Coronavirus Pandemic: United Arab Emirates Lessons

Abstract: Government communication introduced important lessons during the worldwide experience with the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to apply known efficacious principles of risk and health communicat...

Can risk communication in mass media improve compliance behavior in the COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence from Vietnam

Abstract: Purpose During the COVID-19 pandemic, mass media play a vital role in containing the outbreak of the virus by quickly and effectively delivering risk communication messages to the public. This research examines the effects of risk communication exposure on public understanding and risk perception of COVID-19 and public compliance with health preventive measures. Design/methodology/approach Data from Vietnam during COVID-19 social distancing and path analysis model are used for empirical analysis. Findings This analysis finds that exposure to risk communication in mass media encourages public compliance directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of public understanding and risk perception. Further investigations also find that exposure to risk communication in both online media and traditional media facilitates public compliance. In addition, exposure to risk communication in online media only raises public risk perception, whereas exposure to risk communication in traditional media only raises public understanding. Research limitations/implications This research implies that traditional and online media should be combined to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government risk communication work. Originality/value This research is among the first attempts that examine the role of mass media (both traditional and online) in enhancing public compliance with preventive measures directly and indirectly through the mediating roles of public risk perception and understanding.

Does Citizen Engagement With Government Social Media Accounts Differ During the Different Stages of Public Health Crises? An Empirical Examination of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: Background The COVID-19 pandemic has created one of the greatest challenges to humankind, developing long-lasting socio-economic impacts on our health and wellbeing, employment, and global economy. Citizen engagement with government social media accounts has proven crucial for the effective communication and management of public health crisis. Although much research has explored the societal impact of the pandemic, extant literature has failed to create a systematic and dynamic model that examines the formation mechanism of citizen engagement with government social media accounts at the different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study fills this gap by employing the Heuristic-Systematic Model and investigating the effects of the heuristic clues including social media capital, information richness, language features, dialogic loop, and the systematic clue including content types, on citizen engagement with government social media across three different stages of the pandemic, employing the moderating role of emotional valence. Methods The proposed model is validated by scraping 16,710 posts from 22 provincial and municipal government micro-blog accounts in the Hubei province, China. Results Results show that the positive effects of social media capital on citizen engagement were observed at all stages. However, the effects of information richness, language features, dialogic loop, and content types, and the moderating effect of emotional valence, varied across the different pandemic development stages. Conclusions The findings provide suggestions for the further effective use of government social media, and better cope with crises. Government agencies should pay attention to the content and form of information shared, using technical means to analyze the information needs of citizens at different stages of public health emergencies, understanding the content most concerned by citizens, and formulating the content type of posts.

Irish audiences and news information from official sources during Covid-19

Abstract: Abstract Audiences exist in highly personalised, high-choice media environments built on a hybrid of established traditional brands and informal digital networks. Officials trying to reach the public must navigate such spaces, but public reluctance to consume news coverage is a challenge for health and government officials when trying to communicate with and inform the public during a national health crisis like Covid-19. Based on a representative survey (N=2,031) from the 2021 Reuters Digital News Report, this article focuses on Irish audiences’ information sources during the pandemic; in particular, how government and political sources were used and perceived. The article is a secondary analysis of the data set and focuses on three questions from the survey related to (i) sources of information about Covid-19, (ii) concern about sources of false or misleading information about Covid-19, and (iii) sources of local information about politics and local updates on Covid-19. The article finds that official sources were relatively effective in being heard, and that health agencies like the Health Service Executive and the National Public Health Emergency Team were more salient than politicians, suggesting the pandemic was perhaps apolitical in the eyes of the public, which is often a key strategy for effective crisis communication. Politicians and government actors also succeeded in not being perceived as the main source of concern in terms of false or misleading information, as audiences were more worried about activists. The article also reiterates the importance of health officials reaching out beyond traditional news distribution channels to engage groups who may not access news through traditional channels.