The AMBER Alert System: An IS Artifact Design from a Rhetorical Situation Perspective

This paper connects IS artifact theory and a rhetorical framework to propose a set of design propositions that could improve the effectiveness of the AMBER Alert system in engaging public participation in finding missing children. Our design propositions emphasize the difference between AMBER Alerts and other emergency messages and propose a design extension that still relies on the affordances of the system but minimizes the system constraints. An effective instantiation of the proposed artifact is expected to persuade the public to collaborate with authorities.