Information Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction Conference (ITDRR) 2023 was held December 4-6 at Tokai University Shinagawa Campus, Tokyo, Japan.
Julie Dugdale (Professor, University Grenoble Alpes, France), one of the Keynote Speakers and the Program Committee Chairs at the conference gave her keynote speech on “Human behaviour in crisis situations – Modelling and Simulation”, on Dec 5 at 14:40-15:40 (JST)/6:40-7:40 (CET). The talk mentioned her development work for the C2IMPRESS Project. The session was chaired by Yuko Murayama (Tsuda University, Japan).
With a number of social and technical innovations -as novel processes and products- the C2IMPRESS project aims to provide a better understanding and public awareness of multi-hazard risks, the associated multidimensional impacts, vulnerabilities and resilience of extreme weather events in 4 case study areas in Europe.
In the C2IMPRESS Project, Julie Dugdale is the Principal Investigator (PI) for the University Grenoble Alps (consortium partner), and her role includes developing human behaviour models and agent-based simulators for crisis situations such as earthquakes, flash floods and bushfires.
To know more about Julie Dugdale and her contribution to the project, watch the video at the end of this article.
Today, we're delving into Julie’s fascinating work presented at the Information Technology in Disaster Risk Reduction Conference (ITDRR) 2023. Let's dive deeper into her insights and experiences from the conference as we explore the intersection of technology, disaster risk reduction, and human behavior.
C2IMRESS DC&E: Could you give us a brief idea about your presentation on “Human behaviour in crisis situations – Modelling and Simulation” at the ITDRR 2023?
Julie Dugdale: Quoting from the abstract from my talk, “How humans behave in crisis situations can have profound consequences. Firstly, our actions can dramatically influence our likelihood of survival. Secondly, the anticipated result of evacuation plans by crisis managers may differ greatly from what actually happens in real-life. Indeed, our actions are affected by a wealth of factors such as: our social ties to family, friends, places, and belongings; our cognitive biases; our knowledge of what to do in a specific crisis situation; our previous experience; our trust in others; and our perception of risk. This talk looks at the diversity of behaviours and the reasons behind them. Using an agent-based approach we developed a computer simulator of evacuation in earthquakes and experimented with what would be the outcome in terms of evacuation if we considered more realistic settings and behaviours.”
C2IMRESS DC&E: Tell us about your contribution and experience at the ITDRR 2023 as one of the Keynote Speakers and the Program Committee Chairs at the conference.
Julie Dugdale: Though I joined the conference remotely via video conference, the interaction with the audience was still good and there were lots of questions. The organisers were very supportive.
C2IMRESS DC&E: How do conferences like these have a positive impact on the industry and professionals?
Julie Dugdale: Unfortunately, it is hard to get practitioners to attend academic conferences, either because they don’t have the funding, or because paper reviewers are more geared towards academics. However, some conferences, e.g. ISCRAM and I think ITDRR are reaching out to practitioners with enticements such as practitioner-only sessions, reduced fees, and different evaluation criteria for papers (e.g. case study papers are encouraged). If industrials and professionals attend, it is a good place to develop solid collaborations or to involve them in project proposals. Hence, the results of our research can be positively used ‘in the field’.
C2IMRESS DC&E: How, according to you, does the C2IMPRESS project help towards a sustainable and environment-friendly world for the future?
Julie Dugdale: C2IMPRESS’s work can help towards developing more resilient societies. This can have an impact on developing more sustainable long-term solutions. Rather than just being environmentally friendly, the C2IMPRESS solutions also lead to a better quality of life for citizens, thus it has wider social benefits.
In the following video, Julie Dugdale introduces the Université Grenoble Alpes and its contribution to the C2IMPRESS Project, and discusses about expected results and outcomes from the C2IMPRESS Project.
Watch the video here:
C2IMPRESS is a three-year-long project funded by the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) Research and Innovation Actions under grant agreement No 101074004. The project has built its consortium with 16 European and international partners from cross-cutting disciplines and technological backgrounds.