This article outlines how Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, software and content can be used as a resource for teaching and learning in Geography. Drawing on the authors' first-hand experiences of using VR for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, we explore firstly how VR can enhance the development of fieldwork observational techniques, knowledge and understanding of place, prior to entering the field. Secondly, we show how VR can be used to enable students to develop critical analytical skills in relation to emergent visual technologies and the wider implications VR has for the representation of people, places and landscapes. Finally, the article will attend to the ways VR and Augmented Reality (AR) -due to its growing industrial application -can offer important opportunities for the development of unique practical employability skills which can be applied to the geovisualization of data and environments enhancing graduate career prospects.
Explores two methods; rainfall thresholding and landslide susceptibility assessment that may be uses in the management of slope instability in landslide prone area
The St. Thomas district of Jamaica is prone to slope failure, which has resulted in extensive damage and in some cases loss of life. To reduce the effect from landslides, there was an urgent need to map and assess areas that may be prone to future failure. The interpretation of aerial photographs, together with geomorphological mapping and field surveys, was used to produce inventory maps of the landslides. The factors conditioning the slopes for failure were assessed and a weighting value was assigned to them. The weighting was achieved by using the principle of Bayesian conditional probability. The weighted factors were combined in a geographical information system (GIS) to produce a landslide susceptibility model for the study area. Comparison of the model with the existing landslides showed that 97% of the landslides fell within the high and very high susceptibility zones of the model. Comparison of the model with landslides that occurred during 2002, and that were not used in the construction of the model, shows that 83 of the 89 slides that occurred fell within the high and very high susceptibility zones. The landslide susceptibility model will be one of the first steps in assessing the risks that landslides pose to lives and new developments (housing, agriculture, physical infrastructure) in the region.
a b s t r a c tAsh emitted from the Eyjafjallajökull Icelandic volcano resulted in the closure UK's airspace in 2010. This research highlights passengers experience throughout the crisis and it is impacted on their wellbeing. Analysis of a survey shows that just 90% of respondents highlighted the failure of airline, travel agencies and/or government to provide timely and appropriate information. The airspace closure also caused adverse health impacts, with 79% of respondents highlighting this as a concern. Although passengers were greatly inconvenienced and had a negative experience, seventy-nine percent of respondents indicated that the crisis had little or no impact on their decision to fly in the future.
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