Mr Jerry Tasantab

Purpose: Conventional lecture-based educational approaches alone might not be able to portray the complexity of disaster risk management practice and its real-life dynamics. One work-integrated learning practice that can give students practical work-related experiences is simulation-based learning. However, there is a limited discourse on simulation-based learning in disaster risk management education at the tertiary level. As tertiary education plays a crucial role in developing capabilities within the workforce, simulation-based learning can evoke or replicate substantial aspects of the real world in a fully interactive fashion. This paper aims to present outcomes of simulation-based learning sessions the authors designed and delivered in a disaster risk management course. Design/methodology/approach: The authors developed a framework to illustrate simulation-based learning in a disaster risk management programme. It was then used as a guide to design and execute simulation-based learning sessions. An autoethnographic methodology was then applied to reflectively narrate the experiences and feelings during the design and execution of the simulations. Findings: The evaluation of the simulation sessions showed that participants were able to apply their knowledge and demonstrate the skills required to make critical decisions in disaster risk reduction. The conclusion from the simulation-based learning sessions is that making simulation-based learning a part of the pedagogy of disaster risk management education enables students to gain practical experience, deliberate ethical tensions and practical dilemmas and develop the ability to work with multiple perspectives. Originality/value: The simulated workplace experience allowed students to experience decision-making as disaster risk management professionals, allowing them to integrate theory with practice.

Building resilience through flooding risk adaptation, a long-term and anticipatory measure, has become a crucial disaster risk reduction strategy against the backdrop of the changing climate. Policymakers and practitioners thus need to develop a robust understanding of factors that influence people's intentions to adopt protective measures. This study investigated the factors influencing flood risk adaptation intentions using a survey of 392 households in Glefe, Accra. The survey used a Likert-scale based questionnaire to collect data. We then conducted structural equation modeling analysis to test hypothesized relationships. The results revealed that flood experience, coping experience, flood risk vulnerability and severity perceptions, and perceived adaptation capacity have a statistically significant relationship with adaptation intentions. The residents' perception of their adaptive capacity, represented by self-efficacy and response efficacy, determined the strength of the intention to adapt to flooding risks. The findings make significant contributions to knowledge by (a) defining and validating ¿Coping Experience¿ and ¿Flood Risk Adaptation Intention¿ as measurable latent constructs and (b) providing a path for developing protective measures to enable adaptation. The findings also hold practical value to policymakers and practitioners, encouraging flood risk adaptation measures as a choice of long-term and anticipatory disaster risk reduction strategy.