The Role of Virtual Social Networks in Crisis Management of Firefighting in Rural Areas of Lali Township

Soltani, Zahra; Gheibipour, Mansour

The Role of Virtual Social Networks in Crisis Management of Firefighting in Rural Areas of Lali Township

Document Type : Origional Article

Authors

Zahra Soltani ¹

Mansour Gheibipour ²

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

² M.A. Graduate, Department of Geography and Urban Planning, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz

Abstract

Background and Objective: This study aims to investigate the role of virtual social networks in crisis management of firefighting in the rural areas of Lali Township. The statistical population includes rural council members, district office experts, village administrators (Dehyars), and literate residents of Lali Township and its rural districts (Taraz, Poli, Sarkamari, Hoseynabad, Pachekola, Iranshahr, Sarkuli, and Anbarsafid villages). From this population, a sample of 384 individuals was selected through convenience sampling.
Methodology: The research instrument is a researcher-made questionnaire comprising 30 questions across five dimensions: educational, participatory and social, economic and welfare, and cultural. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS and AMOS software. Potential threats and usability are used to evaluate geosites, and each of the criteria used also has sub-criteria.
Findings and Conclusion: The results indicated that regression analysis predicts the role of virtual social networks in crisis management across the mentioned dimensions in the rural areas of Lali Township (F = 14.32, p < 0.0001). The educational dimension had a standardized beta coefficient of 0.31; the physical and infrastructural dimension, 0.17; the participatory and social dimension, 0.11; the economic and welfare dimension, 0.31; and the cultural dimension, 0.06. These findings suggest that each of these dimensions can be influenced by virtual social networks in managing and predicting crises. Additionally, the R² value showed that 31% of the variance in crisis management can be explained by the role and impact of virtual social networks on these dimensions. The dimension with the greatest perceived impact of virtual social networks in firefighting crisis management was the physical and infrastructural aspect, which achieved the highest mean rank (3.99) according to experts, council members, Dehyars, and literate villagers. Following this, the most significant dimensions in order were educational, participatory and social, economic and welfare, and finally, cultural. The chi-square statistic was 849.83, which is significant at a p-value less than 0.05 (p < 0.05). Overall, it is expected that media—particularly modern digital media—play a significant role during times of crisis, impacting both individuals and society at large. Social networks, in particular, can contribute to stability, peace, and calm during crises and may also help prevent crises due to the increasing influence they have acquired in recent years.

Keywords

Social Networks

Crisis Management

Firefighting

Rural Areas

Lali Township

Subjects

Rural Planning

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