INTERACTIVE AUGMENTED REALITY SIMULATION SYSTEM FOR COASTAL HAZARD EDUCATION

The abstract is based on the project of "extended reality" for effective communication of hazards from extreme coastal events, such as tsunamis and hurricanes. The project attends to use augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) to allow, for example, a coastal resident to see a digital tsunami crashing onshore and bulldozing through a community, all while standing on their beach or in their driveway. This type of experience provides an emotional impact and long-lasting memory that will guide future planning decisions and proactivity. In this abstract, we focus on applying mobile augmented reality (AR) to a tsunami simulation system and creating this digital extreme event experience. The tsunami modeling studies use the methods and models described in Tavakkol & Lynett (2017), Lynett et al. (2017) and Lynett & Tavakkol (2017).Recorded Presentation from the vICCE (YouTube Link): https://youtu.be/TD4qI5QdAEc

Corneal foreign body self-removal using polymer banknotes

Since the introduction of polymer banknotes, they have become a new tool for corneal foreign body (CFB) self-removal. Being easily available, lightweight, and sturdy, polymer papers have become a popular and innovative method to dislodge CFB. Although ophthalmology services are easily accessible in Malaysia, ignorance, lack of health awareness, and the desire to avoid medical costs are among the reasons why patients remove CFB themselves. The sequalae span from only a faint scar with relatively good vision to total blindness. Our case series highlights three cases of CFB self-removal using polymer banknotes and their sequalae. To echo what has been known previously, self-awareness and occupational hazard education remain the most important and effective way to prevent vision loss.

Community Based Disaster Risk Management: A Case Study of Mahakali River Basin, Kanchanpur

Kanchanpur district is one of the disaster-prone districts identified by Nepal Risk Reduction Consortium (NRRC). Every year the community of Kanchanpur district are affected by multi-disaster primarily flood. The most communities are highly vulnerable due to the poverty, disadvantage caste and ethnicity, hazard, education etc. This study endeavour to explore the status of community initiative to build up disaster resilient. This study covers 10 villages of Mahakali river basin in Kanchanpur district. The villages are under the process of disaster resilience through establishing Community Disaster Management Committee (CDMC), who supports to get access to disaster risk reduction (DRR) information, vulnerability and capacity assessment and developing trained man power for preparedness and response.

Using video games for volcanic hazard education and communication: an assessment of the method and preliminary results

This paper presents the findings from a study aimed at understanding whether video games (or serious games) can be effective in enhancing volcanic hazard education and communication. Using the eastern Caribbean island of St. Vincent, we have developed a video game – St. Vincent's Volcano – for use in existing volcano education and outreach sessions. Its twin aims are to improve residents' knowledge of potential future eruptive hazards (ash fall, pyroclastic flows and lahars) and to integrate traditional methods of education in a more interactive manner. Here, we discuss the process of game development including concept design through to the final implementation on St. Vincent. Preliminary results obtained from the final implementation (through pre- and post-test knowledge quizzes) for both student and adult participants provide indications that a video game of this style may be effective in improving a learner's knowledge. Both groups of participants demonstrated a post-test increase in their knowledge quiz score of 9.3 % for adults and 8.3 % for students and, when plotted as learning gains (Hake, 1998), show similar overall improvements (0.11 for adults and 0.09 for students). These preliminary findings may provide a sound foundation for the increased integration of emerging technologies within traditional education sessions. This paper also shares some of the challenges and lessons learnt throughout the development and testing processes and provides recommendations for researchers looking to pursue a similar study.