With the aim of estimating the effectiveness of the measures taken to smoothen and speedup the evacuation process of a large urban area, in time critical events like tsunami, a multi agent based mass evacuation simulation software is being developed. Considering the fact that it involves large number of human casualties, moderately complex agents in 2D grid environments are implemented. A vision based autonomous navigation algorithm, which enables the agents to move through an urban environment and reach a far visible destination, is implemented. The navigation algorithm is verified comparing the simulated evacuation time and the paths taken by individual agents with those of theoretical. We adopted optimal reciprocal collision avoidance algorithm for collision avoidance and validated by comparing with filed observations reported in literature. A parallel computing extension is developed for studying mass evacuation of large areas; simulating millions of agents with vision based navigation and collision avoidance is computationally intensive. A high strong scalability is attained with two millions of agents, which indicates potential to simulate mass evacuation involving many millions of people.
Introduction: Digital parenting interventions could be potentially cost-effective means for providing early child development services in low-income settings. This 5-month mixed-methods pilot study evaluated the feasibility of using Afinidata, a comprehensive FBMessenger-based digital parenting intervention in a remote rural setting in Latin America and explored necessary adaptations to local context. Methods: The study was conducted in three provinces in the Cajamarca region, Peru, from February to July 2021. 180 mothers with children aged between 2-24 months and regular access to a smartphone were enrolled. Mothers were interviewed three times in-person. Selected mothers also participated in focus groups or in-depth qualitative interviews. Results: Despite the rural and remote study site, 88% of local families with children between 0-24 months had access to internet and smartphones. Two months after baseline, 84% of mothers reported using the platform at least once, and of those, 87% rated it as useful to very useful. After 5 months, 42% of mothers were still active on the platform, with little variation between urban and rural settings. Modifications to the intervention focused on assisting mothers in navigating the platform independently and included adding a laminated booklet with general information on child development, sample activities and detailed instructions on how to self-enroll in case of lost phones. Conclusions: We found high access to smartphones and the intervention was well received and used in very remote areas of Peru, suggesting that digital parenting interventions could be a promising path forward for supporting low-income families in remote parts of Latin America.
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