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20 - Discovering Familiar Places
- Edited by Constance Steinkuehler, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Kurt Squire, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Sasha Barab, Arizona State University
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- Book:
- Games, Learning, and Society
- Published online:
- 05 August 2012
- Print publication:
- 11 June 2012, pp 327-354
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- Chapter
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Summary
February 12, 2100: Walking down by the river’s shore it is hard to believe that as recently as a hundred years ago this bank of the river was dry land. Today all of this land is frequently under water as a result of increasingly wild weather events. Looking across the river you see the steady red light on the tower indicating that yet again, rain is in the forecast and people need to be ready to move to higher ground.
Traveling back a hundred years as a TimeLab researcher, you are surprised to learn that the risk of flooding was rather low in the past. Concerned for your family and friends, you think it would be great if the river didn’t have to rise – if this land could still be as dry as it was back then. Perhaps that is unrealistic and it is best to use this experience to prepare for still worse conditions in the future. But…perhaps it is possible that you can convince your ancestors to make a few small changes that will make your home in the year 2100 better.
This scenario is part of the experience that players have during the augmented reality (AR) game TimeLab 2100 developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as part of a series of research and development initiatives referred to as MITAR. The goal of MITAR is to provide experiences that merge the best of real and virtual in order to involve learners of all ages in games that are engaging, thought-provoking, and fun.
MITAR has its origins in a series of AR games developed at MIT and rooted in environmental science and public health. In games such as Environmental Detectives (Squire and Klopfer, 2007) and Mystery@MIT (Klopfer, 2008), players role-play as scientists, engineers, and other members of the scientific enterprise as they try to solve local environmental problems through active research. This research consists of interviewing virtual experts and witnesses, reviewing primary documents and background research, and using virtual sampling equipment to obtain readings for possible contaminants in the air, water, and soil. Since this game is AR, it takes place in real space such that if a player wants to interview the mayor, he or she would need to stand outside town hall to obtain that interview on his or her mobile device. If the player wants to take a reading of the bacteria in a lake, he or she would need to walk down to the shore of that lake to use his or her virtual sampling equipment.
Theme 5. Application of International Standards to Disasters: Summary and Action Plan
- Frederick M. Burkle, Jr., Judy Isaac-Renton, A. Beck, Clifford P. Belgica, John Blatherwick, Lyse A. Brunet, Norman E. Hardy, Perry Kendall, Osamu Kunii, William Lokey, Guy Sansom, Ronald Stewart
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- Journal:
- Prehospital and Disaster Medicine / Volume 16 / Issue 1 / March 2001
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 28 June 2012, pp. 36-38
- Print publication:
- March 2001
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- Article
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Introduction:
The need for the application of international standards has been evolving over the last decade. Consistency is needed not just in how we respond, but in when we respond. The discussions in this theme reflected on the progress of standard setting both at the local level and internationally.
Methods:Details of the methods used are provided in the introductory paper. The chairs moderated all presentations and produced a summary that was presented to an assembly of all of the delegates. The chairs then presided over a workshop that resulted in the generation of a set of action plans that then were reported to the collective group of all delegates.
Results:Main points developed during the presentations and discussion included: (1) requirement of standards of care for ALL disasters and core parameters, (2) process and procedure is best when there is interagency collaboration and coordination, (3) problems in disasters are management-related, not skill-related, and (4) standards of care must encompass evolving emergencies (e.g., emerging diseases, landmines).
Discussion:The action plans for Theme 5 included: (1) develop positions of standards for management, health and public health, education and training, research, psychosocial aspects, and disaster plans; (2) advocate for actions and task forces to deal with evolving and emerging disasters, terrorism, landmines, and emerging infections; (3) proactively work to advocate and facilitate the multidisciplinary and multiorganizational requirements for disaster management; and (4) develop a resource list of interdisciplinary institutions and activities organized by country and topic including the design and maintenance of a website.
Conclusions:There is a clear need for international standards for the management of disasters. Positions and advocacy for these positions are required to define and implement such standards.