New http://nms.sagepub.com/ Media & Society

Communication, community, crisis: Mapping uses and gratifications in the contemporary media environment
Azi Lev-On New Media Society 2012 14: 98 originally published online 8 August 2011 DOI: 10.1177/1461444811410401 The online version of this article can be found at: http://nms.sagepub.com/content/14/1/98

Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for New Media & Society can be found at: Email Alerts: http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://nms.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

>> Version of Record - Feb 24, 2012 OnlineFirst Version of Record - Aug 8, 2011 What is This?

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

410401

NMS14110.1177/1461444811410401Lev-OnNew Media & society

Article

Communication, community, crisis: Mapping uses and gratifications in the contemporary media environment
Azi Lev-On

new media & society 14(1) 98–116 © The Author(s) 2011 Reprints and permission: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1461444811410401 nms.sagepub.com

Ariel University Center, Israel

Abstract The article analyzes how community members who were evacuated from their homes use various media, and especially the internet, to keep in touch, receive and disseminate information and express their opinions. Of particular interest are the differences between members of various groups, who differ in their decision whether to relocate in Israel with the rest of the original community or not, in media usage patterns and sense of community. The findings demonstrate that evacuees use diversity and multiplicity of media, where various media are used for different purposes according to need. Small media, with a rather limited and local reach (such as pamphlets, SMS, niche websites and small-scale meetings) are predominantly used for most of the needs, overshadowing mass media usage. Correlations were found amongst various media usages, and between the usage of various media and users’ sense of community. The study demonstrates how contemporary media users use a variety of media depending on their circumstances and needs, and how media usage assists in establishing and maintaining a sense of community after the forced transition from the communities of origin. Keywords cognitive needs, communities, evacuees, Gush Katif, internet, online communities, refugees, sense of community, social needs, uses and gratifications, virtual communities

Corresponding author: Azi Lev-On, School of Communication, Ariel University Center of Samaria, Ariel 40700, Israel Email: azilevon@gmail.com

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

Lev-On

99

Introduction
Contemporary media users are embedded in a landscape of unprecedented richness of media channels, and are better able than ever not only to consume information but also to use media to find like-minded people, send and receive information, and mobilize and organize for collective action using dedicated media channels. Do people make use of the various communication platforms at their disposal? Do they use different channels for different purposes? And, how does media usage affect their sense of community? The current study examines these questions using the case of community members who were relocated against their will and dispersed throughout Israel, while still having a range of shared cognitive, social and political needs. The article looks at the evacuees from Gush Katif, who were removed from their communities of origin in 2005 following the decision of the Israeli government to withdraw unilaterally from the Gaza Strip. This is the first article to examine how members of cohesive communities on-the-ground who were relocated against their will use various media, especially the internet, to preserve the sense of community and fulfill a variety of needs. Studies that have examined media usage in general and internet usage in crises in particular, indicate how important they are for people who have experienced hardship and demonstrate their ability to address a range of cognitive, social and even political needs. The current study examines media uses by evacuees from Gush Katif, and also asks: do these uses assist in maintaining a sense of community in light of the crisis experienced by the evacuees? Do different groups of evacuees have distinctive usage of various media according to their unique circumstances and needs? Using insights from uses and gratifications theory and from studies of media usage in crisis and of sense of community, the article aims at mapping uses of the contemporary media environment.

Uses and gratifications of new and more traditional media
Uses and gratifications theory grew out of the functionalist approach to communication studies and focuses on media consumers, their needs and behaviors, rather than on the media channels through which they are communicated. The theory constitutes a significant development in the study of the limited effects of media and is another step in turning the spotlight of communication research onto the audience, raising a new set of research questions that check not what the various media do to consumers, but what people do with the various media (Katz, 1959). The premise of the approach is that media users (viewers, listeners, readers, internet users) are members of an active audience, aware of their needs and the ways that they can be provided for, and select the means perceived as most appropriate to fulfill these needs. People use media to assist in addressing some of their needs, and their expectations lead to deliberate usage of media and selective exposure to the contents they transmit (Katz et al., 1974). Media can address a few types of needs, such as cognitive (information and understanding), affective (emotional and aesthetic experiences), escapist (disconnect from reality) and integrative (strengthening the sense of belonging and relationships with family/friends/community/state, as well as providing for a sense of security, trust,

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

100

new media & society 14(1)

stability and status) (Katz et al., 1974). The most common methodological approach for studies based on uses and gratifications theory utilizes self-reporting, i.e. interviews and questionnaires, which include a list of statements representing different needs. The rapid development of information and communication technologies has led to renewed interest in U&G theory. Ruggiero (2000) discusses its contemporary importance given the rapid penetration and assimilation of the internet and its extensive uses, and argues that as new communication technologies offer people more choices, it is important to examine their motivations, uses and gains as essential ingredients in the study of audiences. Ruggiero joins the call by Newhagen and Rafaeli (1996) to employ U&G theory as an important asset in the toolbox of internet research. Prior (2005: 577) also notes that, ‘Today, as both entertainment and news are available around the clock on numerous cable channels and Web sites, people’s content preferences determine more of what those with cable or internet access watch, read, and hear.’ The multiplicity and diversity of contemporary media require the consumer – reader, viewer, listener, internet user – to make many choices. Internet users actively choose which sites to visit, what items to read, which applications to use. Actions like pressing a link or searching for information using a search engine involve deliberate decisions and open a vast new field of usage and gratifications studies for communication scholars (see also Lin and Jeffres, 1998). Indeed, several studies have applied uses and gratification theory to various online environments. Tewksbury and Althaus (2000) identified entertainment, monitoring/surveillance, and ‘passing the time’ as key gratifications obtained from the internet. Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) identified five motives for using the internet: interpersonal utility, passing time, information seeking, convenience (for example, to communicate with friends and family), and entertainment. Parker and Plank (2000) identified three such factors: companionship and social relationships; surveillance and excitement; and finally, relaxation and escape. Kaye and Johnson (2002) found four motivations for political information web search: guidance, information seeking/surveillance, entertainment, and social utility. Song et al. (2004) found seven such motivation clusters: establishing ‘virtual community’ (find companionship, meet new friends), information seeking, aesthetic experiences, monetary compensation (i.e. find bargains online), diversion (i.e. fun and entertainment), personal status, and relationship maintenance. More recent studies focus on uses and gratifications from social media; for example, Raacke and Bonds-Raacke (2008) found that social networking sites – Facebook and MySpace – address the social needs of users (for example, keeping in touch with old friends and making new ones). Leung (2009) identified four key gratifications from content generation online: satisfying recognition needs, cognitive needs, social needs, and entertainment needs. Quan-Haase and Young (2010) compared the uses of Facebook and Instant Messaging, and identified six key gratifications obtained: pastime, affection (for example to thank people and help others), fashion (i.e. to look stylish), sharing problems, sociability, and getting social information. Thus, internet usage encapsulates numerous gratifications. The current study is unique for applying the U&G framework to study the uses of both new and more traditional media in the contemporary media environment (for a similar project see Flanagin and Metzger, 2001), and in its focus on media usage in crisis.

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

Lev-On

101

The study of media uses and gratifications is particularly important in emergency and crisis situations, which magnify needs and make them more acute. In crisis situations the degree of uncertainty is heightened, which can cause anxiety, stress, anger, and even depression as a result of the undermined sense of stability and security and the lack of control and knowledge about the near future. In such periods the importance of receiving relevant information which could alleviate anxiety and help in dealing with crisis, increases. Furthermore, in these situations there is a rise in emotional needs such as need for consolation and encouragement and the need to express pain and grief (Perse et al., 2002). Thus, the Pew Internet and American Life Project (2001) found after 9/11 that a key function of chats and emails was giving expression to grief and pain. The need for social unity (a sense of ‘togetherness’) and a show of solidarity were also channeled through new media. Dutta Bergman (2006) found that after 9/11 participation in online communities helped people provide and receive support and strengthened the sense of solidarity. Macias et al. (2009) found that shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2004, blogs fulfilled four key functions: communication (i.e. looking for missing persons and calls for rescue), political, informational (like positing news and checking the status of one’s area), and helping. Also, blogs have been used as a platform to express opinions, and enabled people to ‘ventilate’ and express their frustration and anger. They also had an emotional/therapeutic role, and assisted in preserving a sense of community during the crisis. The authors argue that:
The Internet, specifically blogs, can help maintain and even build a stronger sense of community. During Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans community was literally and physically ripped apart. Blogs and online communications helped provide a temporary but important means to keeping this community strong and helping give it the ability to move on and recover until more tangible results could be obtained. (Macias et al., 2009: 27)

Scholars also studied online social media usage in other crisis situations, for example after a shooting incident on Virginia Tech campus (April 2007; Palen et al., 2009), and during wildfires in California (Shklovski et al., 2008; for additional studies of social media usage after hurricane Katrina see Procopio and Procopio, 2007; Shklovski et al., 2010). In all cases, the authors argue that the internet’s importance lies not only in supporting hierarchical and ‘top-down’ information transmission, but mainly in providing opportunities for individuals and groups to organize and participate in collective action, and address their local needs (Procopio and Procopio, 2007). For similar findings in the Israeli context, see the works of Naveh (2008) and Shir-Raz (2008) on the Israeli public’s usage of the internet during the Second Lebanon War (2006), especially to create a sense of solidarity and meet a range of additional needs.1 The ‘sense of community’ concept refers to individuals’ subjective feeling of belonging to a bigger and stable structure which can be relied upon for a variety of purposes. It is often argued that the sense of community refers to a particular quality of the relationships between community members, namely the strong bonds between members. People with a strong sense of belonging to a community are those who believe they have an impact on what happens in their community, and are also affected by the community and

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

102

new media & society 14(1)

act in accordance with its common values and norms. Also, people with a strong sense of community feel a strong emotional connection to the rest of the members, who support each other and believe that the community can fill their needs and indeed does so. Such criteria have inspired McMillan and Chavis (1986) to incorporate four elements in their analysis of sense of community: membership (feeling of belonging or having a sense of personal relatedness), influence (of the individual over the group, and the group over its members), integration and fulfillment of needs (members’ needs are addressed by the resources they gain by becoming community members), and shared emotional connection (manifest in shared history, similar experiences etc.). Based on this typology, McMillan and Chavis (1986) constructed a questionnaire composed of 12 statements measuring a sense of community, which have been used in numerous studies. This questionnaire was used in the current study as well.

Gush Katif
The article analyzes media uses and gratification, as well as sense of community, of the evacuees from Gush Katif. Gush Katif was a string of 21 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, most of them located around the Palestinian town of Khan-Yunis in the southern part of the strip. The settlements were established between 1970 and the early 2000s. In 2005 the Gush, as the block of settlements was called, had approximately 8500 residents. The communities of the Gush were quite homogenous, both socially and religiously: the majority were members of the Zionist national-religious camp, held together by tight social bonds and a strong sense of community, reinforced by the harsh and exacerbated security concerns (Billig, 2006). Residents’ geographic isolation from family and friends living outside the settlements increased the need to rely on friends from within the community and life in the settlements was engaged in common challenges and mutual assistance. With the deterioration of the security situation in the early 2000s the sense of togetherness grew stronger, which led to traditions such as shared meals when residents survived a dangerous attack (Billig, 2006; Roth, 2005). The disengagement plan which was first presented by the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon in December 2003, called for Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, evacuating all military forces and all of the civilian settlements. The actual implementation of the disengagement lasted less than a month, between 15 August and 11 September 2005. At the time of the disengagement, the Israeli government established an organization called Minhelet Sela (today Minhelet Tnufa) whose mandate was to assist the settlers ‘the day after’ in various capacities, i.e. new housing (both temporary and permanent), financial compensation, employment guidance, psychological assistance and more. According to Clause 85 of the official disengagement implementation law, Minhelet Sela could establish contracts with groups of settlers, to allow them to relocate as an entire community, in order to ‘smoothen’ settlers’ relocation by preserving the communal infrastructure that was already established in the Gush. This option was by far the preferred choice of the evacuees, and 85 percent took advantage of it (Israel Comptroller Office, 2009; Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif, 2008).

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

Lev-On

103

Immediately after the disengagement, many evacuees found themselves in motels, hotels, and other temporary living arrangements. Some opted to live in hastily constructed tent cities in order to preserve the community bond. Over time, Minhelet Sela assisted in regrouping these disparate clusters into smaller and more communal living clusters, even though they were still classified as temporary living. As of August 2008, where data for this study have been collected, three full years after the disengagement was carried out, most of the evacuees were still concentrated in a number of temporary communities. Of the 85 percent who chose to relocate as a community, only a tiny percentage, about 5 percent, moved to permanent housing (Israel Comptroller Office, 2009; Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif, 2008). At that time, three methods of re-settlement could be identified: 1. The overwhelming majority of settlers resided within the area in southern Israel known as ‘Outer Gaza’ just 30km north-east of their former homes. The three biggest clusters of evacuees were Nitzan (approximately 500 families), Yad Binyamin (approximately 250 families), and Ein Tzurim (around 150 families).2 These communities are labeled here as hub communities. A small percentage of the evacuees relocated within a community framework but to more distant places within Israel and not in close proximity to other re-settlement clusters, making communication with other evacuees harder. These communities are labeled as peripheral communities. Lastly, 15 percent of the evacuees chose not to re-settle with the original community but instead moved as individuals. They form the ‘Pzura’ (dispersed) group, as termed by the evacuees.

2.

3.

The organization that represents the settlers of Gush Katif, and was established prior to the disengagement, is ‘The Committee for the Settlers of Gush Katif’ (Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif). Today it continues to assist the evacuees by supporting the communication between the communities and state authorities, providing assistance in issues of general interest to the evacuees, such as finding permanent settlements and employment, and more. The committee works with local community coordinators located in each community where evacuees can be found. Minhelet Sela has been severely criticized in various reports by the Israeli state comptroller. A recent report (Israel Comptroller Office, 2009) pointed to a large number of bureaucratic failings on the part of the Minhelet Sela, including deferment of money transfers, mismanagement of claims, bureaucratic red tape, and more. At that time, about 20 percent of the evacuees were still unemployed and less than half of business owners were able to re-establish their businesses after relocation. Only a third of the active farmers from the Gush resumed working in agriculture (Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif, 2008; Weisblai et al., 2007). Research reports about former residents reveal various psychological disorders, particularly amongst the younger evacuees, such as anxiety attacks, depression, nightmares, and PTSD symptoms (Oren and Possik, 2009; Weisblai et al., 2007). The study was conducted three years after the disengagement. At that point most evacuees were still far from having permanent housing solutions and full employment. Therefore, it had been very important for the evacuees to maintain social contact with similarly-situated others, coordinate and organize to provide for their needs.

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

104

new media & society 14(1)

An earlier study analyzed the uses of katif.net, the main site of the communities in Gush Katif during the struggle against the disengagement and immediately after. The study (which used an online survey) showed that users of the site perceived it as a primary tool to promote their social, political, and cognitive needs and its use was dominant compared to other media, mass media, and small media alike. Strong correlations were found between the ‘virtual sense of community’ (Blanchard, 2007) and the social usage of the site. Furthermore, receiving social updates through katif.net was significantly and positively associated with all other uses of the site, which means that as more people used the site for social updates, they used it more for other purposes as well and their sense of community increased (Lev-On, 2010). The current study continues the earlier research, but the population is different: comprising not only the users of the site katif.net, but the entire population of evacuees from the former Gush Katif. The current study examines whether findings from the earlier study can be generalized to the entire population of evacuees, and if the unique role of katif.net is evident not only among site users, but among all evacuees.

Research questions
The study examined the following questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. How do the evacuees use the various media at their disposal? Which media do they use and for which needs? Are there differences in media usage patterns among the evacuees living in different concentrations (hub communities, peripheral communities, scattered individuals)? To what extent do evacuees maintain a sense of community? Are there differences in the sense of community between evacuees living in different concentrations? What factors effect evacuees’ sense of community? Are there correlations between evacuees’ sense of community and media usage?

There are various media through which the evacuees can stay in touch and organize. In interviews with evacuees, the following media were mentioned: • • Meetings and conferences – notably events organized by Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif like the annual ceremony commemorating ‘the destruction’ of the Gush. Shabbat Synagogue Pamphlets – introducing religious and social commentary, distributed every Friday in synagogues across the country. These ‘small media’ are significant for communication among religious communities in Israel (Almozlinos, 2006). Print Media – newspapers that are distributed on a daily or weekly basis. Radio – radio broadcasts either over the air or via the internet (especially Arutz Sheva – Channel 7, www.inn.co.il). Cell phones/SMS – before the disengagement, Orange, a leading Israeli cellular company established a unique plan called ‘Orange Gush’ that offered an attractive

• • •

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

Lev-On

105 fare for calls amongst the 7000 subscribers living in the Gush.3 Orange continues to offer this service after the disengagement. Katif.net – the website currently most identified with the Gush (see Lev-On, 2010). Other websites associated with Gush Katif, such as the site of Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif, and sites of local communities. General-purpose websites. Mailing lists – created by community coordinators or private individuals. And, of course, television broadcasts.

• • • • •

Of the above-mentioned media, the internet is unique for its interactivity, ease of access and usage, and global reach. Israel has an extremely high penetration of broadband internet access per capita and the Hebrew language internet is very well developed,4 which makes the use of the internet for cognitive and social purposes appealing.

Methodology
In line with the common practice in other studies that originate from uses and satisfactions theory, this study is also based on questionnaires that record subjects’ personal testimony about their media uses, and the needs fulfilled through them. Following a pretest which identified several key needs, the questionnaire consisted of three main parts: 1. Media Usage. This section included a list of ten media (described above). For each one, subjects were asked to indicate the extent of its usage for the following purposes: Connecting with other evacuees, receiving relevant news, obtaining occupational information, advertising and creating content about Gush Katif, and expressing support for or protesting a relevant political issue. Ranking was on a scale of 1 (not used for this purpose) to 5 (central for this purpose). Sense of Community. This section utilized the sense of community index by McMillan and Chavis (1986). Subjects were asked to agree or disagree with the 12 statements, such as ‘I think my community is a good place for me to live’, ‘people on this community do not share the same values’, and more. Demographic data. This section included questions about place of residence, gender, age, education, income, and more.

2.

3.

The entire population of evacuees was approached in a one of two ways, depending on subjects’ place of residence. Priority was given to delivering the questionnaires by hand, but in special cases telephone interviews were conducted. As stated above, most evacuees were temporarily settled in the outer Gaza region. To reach them, local contact persons were recruited who carried out several rounds of distribution and collection of the questionnaires. In all cases the questionnaires were left for three or four days and then collected. Similar efforts were made in the peripheral communities as well. In the locations surveyed so far the evacuees were living in one group, and could be reached by door-to-door canvassing. But as noted, a small portion of the evacuees (15%)

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

106

new media & society 14(1)

chose to leave their communities and re-settle as individuals. Members of this ‘diaspora’ were scattered all over the country, which made it difficult to deliver the questionnaire at their doorstep personally, so telephone interviews were used as a substitute. Telephone calls were made in two additional communities, whose members awaited their re-settlement in permanent housing and in the meantime were scattered in the city of Ashkelon. Based on the list received from Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif, over a thousand people were contacted by phone. The main reason that we did not settle for a representative sample of Gush Katif evacuees through a telephone survey, but instead went out to the field, is because one the of the study goals was to compare media usage between the various communities of evacuees (hub communities, peripheral communities, and dispersed individuals). This goal could be achieved only by reaching any concentration of evacuees (including by phone). The main disadvantage of this method was the different response rates of evacuees in various communities. To allow statistical inferences for the entire population of evacuees, the sample was weighted in proportion to the size of the population living in each community. Altogether, a total of 385 full questionnaires were collected.

Results Media usage
Table 1 shows media usage for five different goals: social updates, getting political information, employment information, creating content relevant to the evacuees, and expressing protest and political support. In general, the two ‘leading’ media uses are social connectivity and receiving relevant political updates. To keep in touch with the rest of the evacuees, subjects primarily use cell phones (3.34), face-to-face conferences and meetings (2.91), and by a slim margin Shabbat leaflets (2.67) and the niche website katif.net (2.63). In reference to political updates about Gush Katif, the gap between media usages is even smaller, where Shabbat leaflets (3.01) and print media (3.00) are mostly used. Katif. net is rated second in terms of obtaining employment information (2.31), after print media (2.43). For advertising content related to the evacuees, Katif.net is again rated second, along with conferences and meetings (2.58), slightly behind Shabbat leaflets (2.66). Expression of protest or political support occurred mainly at conferences and meetings (2.67), immediately followed by general purpose websites (2.40). The picture emerging from Table 1 is of multiplicity and diversity of media in use by the evacuees, where different media are used for different purposes, depending on circumstances. Still, small media platforms are prioritized over mass media platforms for sending and receiving relevant information and for additional purposes. To test that claim, an accumulated index measuring media usages was calculated. Table 2 indeed demonstrates the superiority of small media for the goals which were surveyed; with telephone and SMS (2.68), conferences and meetings (2.63), Shabbat pamphlets (2.54), and the niche website Katif.net (2.50) in the lead and the mass media trailing behind. Alpha Kronbach indices calculated to test the validity of the indices are all quite high, ranging between 0.733 to 0.874.

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

Lev-On
Table 1. Media usage for various purposes by the evacuees. Media Social updates SD Shabbat pamphlets Print media Radio Cell phones/SMS Television Katif.net 1.5 M Relevant political information SD M Employment information SD M Create content SD M

107

Political support/ protest SD M

Meetings and conferences 1.49 2.91 1.54 2.73 2.67 1.55 3.01 1.52 3 1.33 2.3

1.23 1.72 1.48 2.12 1.59 2.43 1 1.47 1.37 1.92 0.92 1.38 1.58 2.31 1.45 2.07 1.33 1.91 1.46 2.11

1.66 2.58 1.64 2.67 1.63 2.66 1.54 2.23 1.55 2.32 1.56 2.27 1.37 1.95 1.37 1.95 1.51 2.21 1.4 2.03 1.17 1.71 1.34 1.87 1.59 2.58 1.56 2.3 1.55 2.15 1.47 2.14 1.35 1.9 1.53 2.2 1.58 2.4 1.37 1.95

1.26 1.89 1.46 2.64 1.45 3.34 1.51 2.87 1.14 1.64 1.47 2.3 1.53 2.63 1.55 2.74

Sites related to Gush 1.4 2.06 1.47 2.2 Katif General purpose websites 1.31 1.98 1.47 2.39 Mailing lists 1.48 2.37 1.52 2.31

Table 2. Accumulated media usage indices. Index Cell phones/SMS Meetings and conferences Shabbat pamphlets Katif.net Print media Mailing lists Sites related to Gush Katif General purpose websites Radio Television M 2.68 2.63 2.54 2.5 2.47 2.19 2.12 2.12 2.02 1.78 SD 1.2 1.28 1.26 1.33 1.09 1.26 1.22 1.14 1.02 .93 α 0.794 0.825 0.836 0.872 0.733 0.874 0.866 0.835 0.780 0.798

Comparative media usage
Next, a comparison was made between the media used by various groups of evacuees, i.e. between those living in hub communities, peripheral communities, and those who chose to relocate as individuals. Table 3 presents the results.

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

Table 3. Media usage by various groups of evacuees.
Creating content Periphery Scattered Hub 1.5 2.06 2.25 1.13 1.8 1.47 2.94 1.4 1.93 1.88 1.65 2.04 1.87 2.36 2.24 2.35 1.83 2.32 1.4 1.46 1.2 2.37 2.81 2.27 2.42 1.89 1.78 2.16 2.8 1.44 2.74 2.01 2.32 2.06 1.87 1.74 1.48 2.65 2.44 2.5 1.88 2.32 3.11* 2.68 2.23** 1.96 1.4 2.69 2.67 3.16 2.12 2.59 1.98 2.41 2.43 3.15** 3.15 1.77* 1.9 1.24 2.88** 2.66 2.17 Periphery Scattered Hub Periphery Scattered Hub Employment info Relevant political info Social updates Periphery Scattered 2.28 2.85*** 2.78## 2.4* 1.88 3.28 1.65 2.67 2.21** 2.06 2.12 1.94 3.28 1.51 2.3 1.84 1.72 1.97 2.02* 1.91 3.6 1.63 2.59 1.59 1.78

Media

Usage Index

Political support/protest

Hub 2.53 1.9 2.27 1.87 2.21 1.41 2.7 2.28 2.66 1.9 1.88 2.23* 2.15 2.57 2.24 1.72 1.86 2.23 2.45 2.02** 2.03 2.34 2.2 2.74 2.51 2.69** #2.64

Periphery Scattered Hub Periphery Scattered Hub

Meetings and 2.77*** 2.6 conferences

2.08

2.75 2.04

3.09*** 2.75

Shabbat pamphlets

2.67*** 2.49

2.02

2.32 1.82

Print media

2.54

2.23

2.28

2.3

1.98

Radio

2.03

2.01

1.99

1.96 1.94

Cell phones/ SMS

2.63

2.45

2.94

1.98 2.21

Television

1.81

1.68

1.67

1.97* 1.76

Katif.net

2.54

2.19

2.45

2.25 2

Sites related 2.2* to Gush Katif

2.01

1.82

2.11 2.13

General purpose websites 1.75 2.3* 1.87 1.5 2.23** 1.87

2.16

1.8

2.06

2.39 2.06

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

Mailing lists

2.37*** 2.15

1.52

1.97 2.02

1.44

2.5**

2.29

1.61

2.3

1.67

* sig < 0.05 between the members of hub communities and the dispersed group. ** sig < 0.01 between the members of hub communities and the dispersed group. *** sig < 0.001 between the members of hub communities and the dispersed group. # sig < 0.05 between the members of peripheral communities and the dispersed group. ## sig < 0.01 between the members of peripheral communities and the dispersed group. ### sig < 0.001 between the members of peripheral communities and the dispersed group.

Lev-On

109

The findings again demonstrate substantial multiplicity and diversity of media usage, where members of the three groups (hub communities, peripheral communities, scattered individuals) commonly prefer to use different media for the same purpose (although the differences between the uses by members of the various groups are not always statistically significant). Here, too, a cumulative Usage Index was calculated. In both cases where people were re-located as a part of a community (i.e. hub communities and peripheral communities), conferences and meetings were the dominant medium used for the functions surveyed, and cell phones/ SMS came third. Note, however, that conferences and meetings were the dominant use of only one function for both groups. In almost all cases, a different medium was dominant per group for different purposes. For the group of dispersed individuals, cell phones/ SMS led by a wide gap, while conferences and meetings were ranked only fourth. The central means to keep in touch among the three groups is the phone (3.6 among the dispersed, 3.28 in hub and peripheral communities). This is the only function for which a certain media is most widely used by all groups. The niche site Katif.net is the second most important media for members of the dispersed group to keep in touch (2.59), while the second most important means among members of core communities are conferences and meetings (3.09). Among members of peripheral communities, Shabbat pamphlets are the second most used (2.78). Note again the importance of cell phones and the internet for members of the dispersed group; for them, conferences and meetings were not a significantly important means to stay connected (2.28). The dispersed make significantly less usage of various media, i.e. conferences, Shabbat pamphlets, print media, and other websites associated with Gush Katif, to maintain contact. A similar picture emerges in the category of creating and publishing content. Katif.net is ranked first among the dispersed group (2.94), but only third among members of hub communities (2.57), and fourth among members of peripheral communities (2.24). The primary means of creating relevant content among members of hub communities are Shabbat pamphlets, and among members of peripheral communities – conferences/meetings. Interestingly, the main medium for evacuees living in communities, both hub and peripheral, to receive updates and information about Gush Katif are Shabbat leaflets (3.15), which are less important for the dispersed (2.43) (difference between the dispersed and members of hub communities is statistically significant). The medium which is most useful for the dispersed to receive up-to-date information about the evacuees is print media (2.69). Among all groups, katif.net is not used as a central tool for news about the evacuees, and no significant differences were found between the groups in the use of katif.net for this purpose. Another interesting (although not significant) finding indicates that while the most important media for receiving employment information among members of core communities was the niche site katif.net (2.35), the site does not constitute an equally important tool for this purpose for members of peripheral communities, who have five other preferable means for this function. Also, for dispersed evacuees katif.net shares second place in obtaining employment information (2.32) with a print media, right after other internet sites related to the evacuees (2.36). Consistent with the findings presented above, significant differences between the dispersed and members of core communities were found between their uses of conferences/meetings, mailing lists and Shabbat pamphlets, where the dispersed make less use of all these means to obtain vocational information.

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

110

new media & society 14(1)

The dispersed make the most use of the niche site katif.net compared to two other groups to express support or protest of a political nature about issues related to the evacuees (2.7) and members of this group rated katif.net as a primary means of communication for this purpose. Among evacuees living in hub communities, conferences and meetings were mostly used for this purpose and among members of peripheral communities, it was telephone/SMS.

Sense of community
To what extent do the evacuees maintain a sense of community? Are there differences between the different groups of evacuees in terms of their perceived sense of community? The sense of community index was calculated by a questionnaire with 12 items (Alpha Kronbach coefficient = 0.839). The sense of community recorded among the evacuees was quite high (mean = 0.73, median = 0.83, SD = 0.26). Yet, there are differences in the sense of community among the different groups of evacuees. Among evacuees living as individuals (scattered) the sense of community is the lowest (0.61), individuals living in hub communities report a higher sense of community (0.75), and those who are in peripheral communities, i.e. together with members of the community of origin but away from the main centers where other evacuees reside, report the most intense sense of community (0.83). Apparently the geographic isolation from the rest of the evacuees enhances the social capital between members of peripheral community and increases their sense of solidarity. This finding, however, requires further study. Note that differences are significant between ‘the scattered’ and members of both core and peripheral communities (sig < 0.001), but not between members of core and peripheral communities (due to relatively small number of subjects among the peripheral group).

Determinants of sense of community
The fourth research question examined which factors affect the sense of community among the evacuees. As shown in Table 4, almost all the demographic variables affect the sense of community: membership in communities (whether hub or peripheral), the degree of religiosity, education level, gender, and more.

Media usage and sense of community
The last research question addresses possible connections between the sense of community and patterns of media usage, and amongst various media uses. The findings show that all media indices are significantly and positively correlated. That is, usage of any media for the reasons concerning which subjects were asked, increases the likelihood of using additional means for the same purpose. The sense of community index was also significantly correlated with several media usage indices, although not with all. Table 5 shows that the sense of community is significantly and positively correlated with use of the following media: Shabbat pamphlets

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

Lev-On
Table 4. Variables that affect the sense of community. Unstandardized coefficients B (Constant) Hub communities Peripheral communities Married Age Religiosity Income Education Men .127 .163 .204 .103 −.004 .099 .034 .081 .069 Std. Error .085 .037 .061 .036 .001 .020 .012 .022 .031 Standardized coefficients β .274 .209 .188 −.221 .267 .149 .223 .120 1.491 4.430 3.336 2.845 −3.587 4.887 2.744 3.679 2.201 T

111

Sig

.137 .000 .001 .005 .000 .000 .006 .000 .029

(r = 0.169), mailing lists (r = 0.115) and print media (r = 0.107). A near-significant correlation (sig = 0.051) was found between the sense of community index and the meetings and conferences index. These findings indicate that ‘small’ media such as mailing lists and pamphlets, as well as face-to-face communication, are best at strengthening and preserving the sense of community among the evacuees. No significant correlation was found between the use of Katif.net and a sense of community index (sig = 0.138). Still, current findings indicate positive, significant and relatively strong correlations of the use of katif.net with the usage of other media, particularly with other websites belonging to Gush Katif (r = 0.682) and mailing lists of community coordinators (r = 0.537). The last two indices were significantly correlated with the sense of community index. Future studies may further illuminate how the uses of various media strengthen the sense of community, and in particular various uses of the internet.

Conclusions
This article studies media usage and the relations between community and communication in times of distress and crisis. Communities are maintained via communication processes between their members, who share their feelings, thoughts, political opinions or vocational information. Community members can choose between a growing array of media that best meet their various needs (Katz, 1959; Katz et al., 1974). In particular, the internet becomes a key medium for assisting community members in times of crisis (Dutta Bergman, 2006; Macias et al., 2009; Meraz, 2006; Palen et al., 2009; Procopio and Procopio, 2007; Pew Internet and American Life Project, 2001; Shir-Raz, 2008; Shklovski et al., 2008). This study is the first to examine how an entire geographic community, whose members were evacuated from their homes and relocated against their will, use various media and especially the internet, to maintain contact between their members, scattered all over the country, to preserve a sense of community across the spatial gaps, and to fulfill a variety of cognitive, social and political needs.

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

112

Table 5. Correlations between media usage and sense of community indices. Radio index Cell Television Katif. phones/ index net SMS index index 0.045 .386** .273** .439** .654** .396** .396** .303** .345** .277** .433** .377** .430** 1 .315** .361** .469** .379** 1 .682** 1 .423** 530** 537** .547** 1 .514** .447** .338** .303** .315** .129* .410** .374** .346** .348** .335** .345** .361** .682** −0.041 0.081 0.008 −0.053 .116* .213** .343** .353** .277** .469** .423** .530** .115* .483** .525** .433** .377** .430** .379** .537** .547** .412** .412** 1 Sites related to Gush Katif index General Mailing purpose lists Websites index index

Sense of Meetings Shabbat Print community and pamphlets media index conferences index index index .169** .556** 1 .574** 1 .483** 1 .372** .386** 1 .439** .654** .447** .338** .348** .335** .343** .353** .386** .401** .301** .273** .514** .364** .213** .525** .483** .372** .574** .401** 301** .431** .358** .107* 0.033

Pearson correlation

1

0.106

Pearson correlation

0.106

1

Pearson correlation

.169**

.556**

Sense of community index Meetings and conferences index Shabbat pamphlets index Print media index Radio index

.431**

.358**

.386**

.129*

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

.410**

Pearson .107* correlation Pearson 0.033 correlation Pearson 0.045 correlation Pearson −0.041 correlation Pearson 0.081 correlation Pearson 0.008 correlation

.374**

Pearson −0.053 correlation

.116*

new media & society 14(1)

Cell phones/ SMS index Television index Katif.net index Sites related to Gush Katif index General purpose Websites index Mailing lists index

Pearson correlation

.115*

.483**

* p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01

Lev-On

113

A central finding is the diversity and multiplicity of media in use by the evacuees; different media are used for different purposes, and community members adjust the media they use to their needs. For example, the media channels used for keeping contacts are frequently different from the media used for receiving political or other information, creating content or protesting. Even amongst the different groups of evacuees (residing in hub communities, peripheral communities, or scattered throughout the country), significant differences are evident, and members of the various groups tailor their communication tools according to their needs and circumstances. A second significant finding is the centrality of small media over mass media for a variety of cognitive, social and political needs. Dedicated websites, cell phones and pamphlets overshadow the use of most media available to evacuees and assists them to provide for their emotional and cognitive needs (note that other internet tools, such as mailing lists of community coordinators and general websites are not equally important for the evacuees). Differences in media usage patterns were found between the various groups of evacuees, where scattered individuals made greater use of katif.net, the site most associated with the evacuees. However, the site does not occupy the same dominant role for the entire population of evacuees, in the same way it does for its user base, as found in an earlier study (Lev-On, 2010). The study also found a significant sense of community amongst the evacuees, alongside differences between the three groups of evacuees, where the lowest sense of community is manifested among the dispersed, as well as reduced media usage for the purposes asked. Significant correlations were found between the sense of community index and a number of media usage indices, as well as correlations amongst all media usage indices, which further illustrates that different media complement, not substitute for, each other. It seems that usage of a certain media reinforces usage of other media (at least for the purposes we asked about) and media usage often contributes also to the enhanced sense of community. Future studies can continue to analyze the role of media in preserving and reinforcing a sense of community, and compare the results of this study with media uses by members of communities with similar characteristics to identify similarities and differences (for example, groups of refugees in a variety of circumstances, including political conflict, ethnic conflict, and natural disasters). Such studies may assist in understanding better the personal, social and communal uses of the internet and more traditional media, clarifying the place of the mass media alongside small media and new media, and continue in mapping the uses and gratifications of media users in the contemporary media environment. Acknowledgements
The author thanks the research authority of Ariel University Center for its generous financial support, that enabled this study to be carried out.

Notes
1. A few authors demonstrate the importance of virtual communities of refugees and immigrants (i.e. Elias and Shorer-Zeltser, 2006; Georgiou, 2006; Mitra, 2001; Tynes, 2007; Yang, 2003) for maintaining social ties amongst community members and between them and the home country, getting relevant information and news, and functioning as a platform to organize for

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

114

new media & society 14(1) collective action. The current article focuses on relocated communities that existed prior to the forced transition. But note that in many of the communities of refugees and immigrants, the transition was not forced, and individuals were not a part of a community prior to the transition. The only comparable case-study I came across at the time of writing is Skinner’s (forthcoming) account of the residents of the Island of Montserrat who had to evacuate the island after a volcanic eruption, and regrouped online. For more on disengagement and migration from virtual communities, see Papargyris and Poulymenakou (2009) and Kazmer (2007). Data provided by Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif, May 2008. Data provided by Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif, May 2008. A 2007 survey by Dun & Bradstreet Israel shows that 72 percent of Israeli households are online, 95 percent of which have a broadband connection. Adult internet users surf the Web 37.4 hours on average per month, which is the second highest in the world. See http://www. dbisrael.co.il/NewsShowHeb1.asp?idnum=412.

2. 3. 4.

References
Almozlinos Y (2006) Religion, media and politics. MA thesis, Bar-Ilan University. Billig M (2006) Social Capital and Its Value in Coping with Crisis Situations. Jerusalem, Israel: The Floersheimer Institute for Policy Studies. Blanchard A (2007) Developing a sense of virtual community measure. CyberPsychology and Behavior 10: 827–830. Dutta Bergman MJ (2006) Community participation and Internet use after September 11: Complementarity in channel consumption. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication 11(2). Available at: http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol11/issue2/dutta-bergman.html (consulted 6 February 2011). Elias N and Shorer-Zeltser M (2006) Immigrants of the world unite? A virtual community of Russian-speaking immigrants on the Web. Journal of International Communication 12(2): 70–90. Flanagin AJ and Metzger MJ (2001) Internet use in the contemporary media environment. Human Communication Research 27(1): 153–181. Georgiou M (2006) Diasporic communities on line: A bottom up experience of transnationalism. In: Sarikakis K and Thussu D (eds) Ideologies of the Internet. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 131–145. Israel Comptroller Office (2009) Report on Aspects of the Treatment of the Evacuees from Gush Katif following the Disengagement. Jerusalem, Israel: Israel Comptroller Office. Katz E (1959) Mass communication research and the study of popular culture: An editorial note on a possible future for this journal. Studies in Public Communication 2: 1–6. Katz E, Blumler G and Gurevich M (1974) Utilization of mass communication by the individual. In: Blumler JG and Katz E (eds) The Uses of Mass Communication: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 19–32. Kaye BK and Johnson TJ (2002) Online and in the know: Uses and gratifications of the Web for political information. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 46(1): 54–71. Kazmer MM (2007) Beyond C U L8R: Disengaging from online social worlds. New Media & Society 9: 111–138. Leung L (2009) User generated content on the internet: An examination of gratifications, civic engagement and psychological empowerment. New Media & Society 11(8): 1327–1347. Lev-On A (2010) Engaging the disengaged: Collective action, media uses and sense of (virtual) community by evacuees from Gush Katif. American Behavioral Scientist 53(8): 1208–1227.

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

Lev-On

115

Lin CA and Jeffres L (1998) Predicting adoption of multimedia cable service. Journalism Quarterly 75: 251–275. Macias W, Hilyard K and Freimuth V (2009) Blog functions as risk and crisis communication during hurricane Katrina. Journal of Computer-mediated Communication 15: 1–31. McMillan DW and Chavis DM (1986) Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology 14: 6–23. Meraz S (2006) Citizen Journalism, Citizen Activism and Technology: Positioning Technology as a ‘Second Superpower’ in Times of Disasters and Terrorism. Paper presented at the International Symposium on Online Journalism, Austin, Texas. Available at: http://online. journalism.utexas.edu/program.php?year=2006) (consulted 6 February 2011). Mitra A (2001) Diasporic voices in cyberspace. New Media & Society 3(1): 29–48. Naveh H (2008) The Web as an Israeli Solidarity Environment during the Second Lebanon War. Rothschild-Caesarea school of communication, booklet no. 6. Tel Aviv University. (Hebrew). Newhagen J and Rafaeli S (1996) Why communication researchers should study the Internet: A dialogue. Journal of Communications 46(1): 4–13. Oren L and Possik C (2009) Religiosity, post-traumatic stress and coping among political evacuees in Israel. Journal of Loss and Trauma 14: 144–160. Palen L, Vieweg S, Hughes SB and Hughes AL (2009) Crisis in a networked world: Features of computer-mediated communication in the April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech Event. Social Science Computer Review 27(4): 467–480. Papacharissi Z and Rubin AM (2000) Predictors of Internet use. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 44(2): 175–196. Papargyris A and Poulymenakou A (2009) The constitution of collective memory in virtual game worlds. Journal of Virtual Worlds Research 1(3): 4–23. Parker BJ and Plank RE (2000) A uses and gratifications perspective on the Internet as a new information source. American Business Review 18(2): 43–9. Perse E, Signorielli N, Courtright JA, Samter W, Caplan SE, Lambe JL and Cai X (2002) Public perceptions of media functions at the beginning of the war on terrorism. In: Greenberg BS (ed.) Communication and Terrorism. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, 39–52. Pew Internet and American Life Project (2001) The Commons of the Tragedy: How the Internet Was Used by Millions after the Terror Attacks to Grieve, Console, Share News, and Debate the Country’s Response. Available at: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2001/The-Commonsof-the-Tragedy-How-the-Internet-was-used-by-millions-after-the-terror-attacks.aspx?r=1 Prior M (2005) News vs. entertainment: How increasing media choice widens gaps in political knowledge and turnout. American Journal of Political Science 49: 577–592. Procopio C and Procopio S (2007) Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? Internet communication, geographic community, and social capital in crisis. Journal of Applied Communication Research 35(1): 67–87. Quan-Haase A and Young AL (2010) Uses and gratifications of social media: A comparison of Facebook and Instant Messaging. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society 30: 350–361. Raacke J and Bonds-Raacke J (2008) MySpace and Facebook: Applying the uses and gratifications theory to exploring friend-networking sites. Cyberpsychology and Behavior 11(2): 169–174. Roth A (2005) The Secret of its Strength: The Yesha Council and Its Campaign against the Security Fence and the Disengagement Plan. Jerusalem, Israel: The Israeli Democracy Institute. Ruggiero TE (2000) Uses and gratifications theory in the 21st century. Mass Communication & Society 3(1): 3–37. Shir-Raz Y (2008) Uses and gratifications, imagined communities and media in times of war: The case of the second Lebanon war. Unpublished MA thesis, Haifa University.

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012

116

new media & society 14(1)

Shklovski I, Palen L and Sutton J (2008) Finding community through information and communication technology in disaster response. In: Proceedings of the ACM 2008 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, San Diego, CA, 127–136. Shklovski I, Burke M, Kiesler S and Kraut R (2010) Technology adoption and use in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. American Behavioral Scientist 53(8): 1228–1246. Skinner J (forthcoming) At the electronic evergreen: A computer-mediated ethnography of a newsgroup from Montserrat and afar. In: Tomek H (ed.) Virtual Tribalism. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. Song I, Larose R, Eastin MS and Lin CA (2004) Internet gratifications and Internet addiction: On the uses and abuses of new media. Cyberpsychology and Behavior 7(4): 384–394. Tewksbury D and Althaus SL (2000) An examination of motivations for using the World Wide Web. Communication Research Reports 17(2): 127–138. Tynes R (2007) Nation-building and the diaspora on Leonenet: A case of Sierra Leone in cyberspace. New Media & Society 9(3): 497–518. Vaad Mityashvey Gush Katif (2008) Three Years since the Disengagement. Available at: http:// www.4katif.org.il/new/artfiles/%D7%AA%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%AA%20 %D7%9E%D7%A6%D7%91%203%20%D7%A9%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D.pdf (consulted 3 July 2011) Weisblai E, Tal U and Lotan O (2007) Two Years since the Disengagement: An Assessment. Jerusalem, Israel: The Center for Research and Information of the Knesset. Yang G (2003) The Internet and the rise of a transnational Chinese cultural sphere. Media, Culture & Society 25: 469–490.

Dr Azi Lev-On is the chair of the school of communication, Ariel University Center, Israel. Dr Lev-On’s studies explore behaviors and collective action in computer-mediated environments, employing a variety of methods such as link analysis, surveys, and laboratory experiments. Recent research analyzes how and why computer-mediated communication impacts monetary transfers and trust, how people rank news stories online, internet usage by candidates in the Israeli municipal elections 2008 and by Ultra-Orthodox women who participate in closed forums online. For more information, see www.azilevon.com

Downloaded from nms.sagepub.com at Judea & Samaria College on February 25, 2012