The impact of a PEER funded research project "Community Sentiment Analysis for Identifying Social Vulnerability Following Earthquakes" is highlighted below. The project Principal Investigator (PI) is Sifat Muin, University of Southern California. The Research Team includes Kristina Lerman, Information Science Institute, University of Southern California.
Download the Research Project Highlight which includes the abstract (PDF)
Research Impact
This research project is set to rigorously investigate the intricate relationship between human sentiment, earthquake intensity, damage, and the social environment. It is expected to yield significant outcomes, including:
- Precisely identifying communities with heightened vulnerability, allowing for precise resource allocation and targeted support.
- Substantially advancing disaster preparedness by providing deep insights into how communities respond to seismic events, thereby enabling the enhancement of preparedness and response strategies.
- Serving as a foundation for evidence-based policymaking, facilitating the development of comprehensive disaster resilience measures.
- Pioneering technological advancements through the application of state-of-the-art analytical tools, with the potential to benefit various domains beyond earthquake engineering
Figure 1: Impact of an earthquake on different communities which is tracked by sentiment analysis enabling identification of important issues and disparities. Community A had minimal impact. Community B shows growing negative sentiments due to significant damage, but once retrofit efforts are taken there, it satisfies the community. Community C experienced moderate damage to an important road that has not been addressed, and consequently, negative sentiment increased over time.