You are invited to participate in a research study entitled "Assessing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Literacy as a Digital Citizenship Competency for Effective Crisis Leadership among Emergency Management Professionals." You were selected as a potential participant due to your position as an active emergency manager (EM) from any sector (i.e., any level of government, NGOs, non-profit, or the private sector) who operates professionally in a paid or volunteer capacity in the United States, one of its territories, or a tribe within it. Please read this form and ask any questions you may have before acting on this invitation to participate in the study.
This study is being conducted by Lenora Borchardt, a doctoral candidate at the University of the Cumberlands (UC), and has been approved by the UC Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Background Information:
The purpose of this research is to study how an EM practitioner’s understanding of artificial intelligence (AI) (i.e., AI literacy) affects their workplace readiness. Specifically, it assesses if a better understanding of AI predicts how willing EMs are to use AI in program communications and as they lead through crises. The insights gained can be used to help EM training programs design better courses for the future. The study will involve approximately 150 participants.
Inclusion Criteria:
You can participate in this study if you are:
· 18 years of age or older.
· Currently active emergency manager in any sector (any level of government, NGO, non-profit, or private sector)
· Full or part-time
· Paid or volunteer
· Spend 50% or more of your duty time on EM activities (separately than first response)
· Work in the United States, including its territories and the tribes within it
Procedures:
If you agree to be in this study, you will be asked to complete an online survey of 44 questions that should take less than 15 minutes to complete.
Voluntary Nature of the Study:
Your participation in this study is strictly voluntary. Your decision whether or not to participate will not affect your current or future relations with any agency or organization that assisted with disseminating this announcement. If you initially decide to participate, you are free to withdraw at any time later without affecting those relationships.
Risks and Benefits of Participation:
There is no more than minimal risk associated with participating in this study, and there is no individual benefit to participation in the study. However, study findings may provide the overall benefit of validating and describing the need and parameters of crisis leadership and technology training for emergency management practitioners
In the event you experience stress or anxiety during your participation in the study, you may terminate your participation at any time. You may refuse to answer any questions you consider invasive or stressful.
Compensation:
There will be no compensation provided for your participation in this study.
Confidentiality:
Any data or records gathered from your participation will be kept private. No personally identifiable information (PII) will be requested in this survey. Generalized demographics are being collected and will be analyzed in total (not by individual responses) to help tailor the training recommendations in the final study. To reiterate, only your anonymous survey responses will be analyzed. In any report of this study that might be published, the researcher will not include any information that will make it possible to identify you. Research records will be securely stored on a password-protected computer and only accessible to the researcher.
