Author: Shravan Regret Iyer

Virtual Reality and Climate Change Communication

Examining the role of VR first-person perspective in climate change communication particularly change knowledge, hope, fear, self-efficacy, and intended pro-climate action.

Former environmental journalist Shravan Regret Iyer was on Thursday, May 9th, 2024 awarded a Doctorate for Research on “Virtual Reality and Climate Change Communication” at Rutgers, a BIG 10 and Research 1 University in New Jersey, USA.

Dr. Shravan Regret Iyer’s research entitled “Understanding the Role of Virtual Reality First-Person Perspective in Climate Change Knowledge Outcomes and Pro-Climate Social Actions”, which was directed by Prof. John Pavlik, explores how VR can help people “see” and understand the impacts that their daily lifestyle choices have on the environment and what they can do to mitigate their carbon footprint. Particularly, his research examines whether VR first-person perspective in climate change communication facilitates climate change knowledge, hope, fear, self-efficacy, and intended climate action compared to VR non-first-person perspective climate change communication.

Shravan Regret Iyer said, “A growing body of research suggests that experiential media that offers the user a multisensory engagement that includes haptics or touch, gesture, gaze response, auditory interaction, and immersion, including 360° visual and auditory envelopment, could transform how people engage with content production. My research further explores this phenomenon and attempts to understand, using a between-subjects experiment, the effects of VR first-person perspective on climate change knowledge and people’s willingness to take action.”

His research also involves a longitudinal survey conducted one month after VR exposure to offer insights on whether the participants retained knowledge about climate change and actually took pro-climate social actions after experiencing VR content production.

Findings from Dr. Iyer’s research will help understand whether allowing people to embody their virtual avatar through VR first-person perspective while taking climate-friendly actions might empower participants and make them more confident (i.e., efficacious) in their ability to take action in the real world to reduce the impact of climate change. His work has the potential to highlight how VR can be used as a tool for increasing climate change knowledge and pro-climate action.

“I believe that the findings from my research can guide science communicators in the implementation of VR first-person perspective climate change projects at public schools, public libraries, or community centers to allow people of any age, race, gender, ability, or social class to transcend these categories and experience climate change realities in ways that might engender empathy and solidarity,” he added.

Further research, he added, could focus on a continued exploration in this area of research, particularly on the uses of experiential media for science communication, which would extend the understanding of the role of VR in climate change storytelling and pro-climate action.

Shravan Regret Iyer is an active researcher in the field of VR and climate change and continues to participate in international collaborative projects on experiential media. He has presented findings from his past research at national and international conferences held in Asia, Europe, and North America. In the past, he has also won the “New Directions for Climate Communication Research Fellowship” Honorable Mention awarded by the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and the International Environmental Communication Association for his work exploring the uses and effects of immersive media technologies for climate change communication.

For more about Dr. Shravan Regret Iyer’s work visit: https://shravanregretiyer.com/2020/07/07/research/

Virtual reality and Climate Change: Understanding How the United Nations VR Content Productions Uses Experiential Media in Climate Change Storytelling

On Wednesday August 3, 2022 at the Digital Media Environments session, doctoral student Shravan Regret Iyer is presenting, “Virtual reality and Climate Change: Understanding How the United Nations VR Content Productions Uses Experiential Media in Climate Change Storytelling.”

Shravan Regret Iyer receives 2022 IAMCR New Directions for Climate Communication Research – Honourable Mention Award

For the full story click on the above or here
The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Cambodia and is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The illegal capture of wild crocodiles for supply to farms, as well as incidental capture/drowning in fishing nets and traps, have pushed the species closer to extinction. According to some reports, commercial crocodile farming in Cambodia began in 1945, mainly around the Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and home to around 1.2 million people living in floating villages around the great lake. According to the IUCN special report (2005), the number of crocodile farms around the Tonle Sap Lake increased dramatically in the mid-1980s, and numbers have continued to increase to this day. Given that a high proportion of farms are not licensed, precise estimates are not available. However, some research shows that an estimated 90,000 crocodiles are in private farms in and around the great lake. Such chronic overharvesting of the freshwater species has led to the decline of the wild Siamese crocodile.
Join me in this virtual journey “This is Cambodia – All New Visual Series 2021-2022”
Follow: Shravan Regret Iyer’s Project 3 Lenses on Facebook
@shravanregretiyer3lenses@regretiyerproductions
Visit: https://shravanregretiyer.com for more stories from the natural world.

The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Cambodia and is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The illegal capture of wild crocodiles for supply to farms, as well as incidental capture/drowning in fishing nets and traps, have pushed the species closer to extinction. According to some reports, commercial crocodile farming in Cambodia began in 1945, mainly around the Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and home to around 1.2 million people living in floating villages around the great lake. According to the IUCN special report (2005), the number of crocodile farms around the Tonle Sap Lake increased dramatically in the mid-1980s, and numbers have continued to increase to this day. Given that a high proportion of farms are not licensed, precise estimates are not available. However, some research shows that an estimated 90,000 crocodiles are in private farms in and around the great lake. Such chronic overharvesting of the freshwater species has led to the decline of the wild Siamese crocodile.
Join me in this virtual journey “This is Cambodia – All New Visual Series 2021-2022”
Follow: Shravan Regret Iyer’s Project 3 Lenses on Facebook
@shravanregretiyer3lenses@regretiyerproductions
Visit: https://shravanregretiyer.com for more stories from the natural world.

The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Cambodia and is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The illegal capture of wild crocodiles for supply to farms, as well as incidental capture/drowning in fishing nets and traps, have pushed the species closer to extinction. According to some reports, commercial crocodile farming in Cambodia began in 1945, mainly around the Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and home to around 1.2 million people living in floating villages around the great lake. According to the IUCN special report (2005), the number of crocodile farms around the Tonle Sap Lake increased dramatically in the mid-1980s, and numbers have continued to increase to this day. Given that a high proportion of farms are not licensed, precise estimates are not available. However, some research shows that an estimated 90,000 crocodiles are in private farms in and around the great lake. Such chronic overharvesting of the freshwater species has led to the decline of the wild Siamese crocodile.
Join me in this virtual journey “This is Cambodia – All New Visual Series 2021-2022”
Follow: Shravan Regret Iyer’s Project 3 Lenses on Facebook
@shravanregretiyer3lenses@regretiyerproductions
Visit: https://shravanregretiyer.com for more stories from the natural world.

The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Cambodia and is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The illegal capture of wild crocodiles for supply to farms, as well as incidental capture/drowning in fishing nets and traps, have pushed the species closer to extinction. According to some reports, commercial crocodile farming in Cambodia began in 1945, mainly around the Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and home to around 1.2 million people living in floating villages around the great lake. According to the IUCN special report (2005), the number of crocodile farms around the Tonle Sap Lake increased dramatically in the mid-1980s, and numbers have continued to increase to this day. Given that a high proportion of farms are not licensed, precise estimates are not available. However, some research shows that an estimated 90,000 crocodiles are in private farms in and around the great lake. Such chronic overharvesting of the freshwater species has led to the decline of the wild Siamese crocodile.
Join me in this virtual journey “This is Cambodia – All New Visual Series 2021-2022”
Follow: Shravan Regret Iyer’s Project 3 Lenses on Facebook
@shravanregretiyer3lenses@regretiyerproductions
Visit: https://shravanregretiyer.com for more stories from the natural world.

The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Cambodia and is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The illegal capture of wild crocodiles for supply to farms, as well as incidental capture/drowning in fishing nets and traps, have pushed the species closer to extinction. According to some reports, commercial crocodile farming in Cambodia began in 1945, mainly around the Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and home to around 1.2 million people living in floating villages around the great lake. According to the IUCN special report (2005), the number of crocodile farms around the Tonle Sap Lake increased dramatically in the mid-1980s, and numbers have continued to increase to this day. Given that a high proportion of farms are not licensed, precise estimates are not available. However, some research shows that an estimated 90,000 crocodiles are in private farms in and around the great lake. Such chronic overharvesting of the freshwater species has led to the decline of the wild Siamese crocodile.
Join me in this virtual journey “This is Cambodia – All New Visual Series 2021-2022”
Follow: Shravan Regret Iyer’s Project 3 Lenses on Facebook
@shravanregretiyer3lenses@regretiyerproductions
Visit: https://shravanregretiyer.com for more stories from the natural world.

The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Cambodia and is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The illegal capture of wild crocodiles for supply to farms, as well as incidental capture/drowning in fishing nets and traps, have pushed the species closer to extinction. According to some reports, commercial crocodile farming in Cambodia began in 1945, mainly around the Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and home to around 1.2 million people living in floating villages around the great lake. According to the IUCN special report (2005), the number of crocodile farms around the Tonle Sap Lake increased dramatically in the mid-1980s, and numbers have continued to increase to this day. Given that a high proportion of farms are not licensed, precise estimates are not available. However, some research shows that an estimated 90,000 crocodiles are in private farms in and around the great lake. Such chronic overharvesting of the freshwater species has led to the decline of the wild Siamese crocodile.
Join me in this virtual journey “This is Cambodia – All New Visual Series 2021-2022”
Follow: Shravan Regret Iyer’s Project 3 Lenses on Facebook
@shravanregretiyer3lenses@regretiyerproductions
Visit: https://shravanregretiyer.com for more stories from the natural world.

The Siamese crocodile is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Cambodia and is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The illegal capture of wild crocodiles for supply to farms, as well as incidental capture/drowning in fishing nets and traps, have pushed the species closer to extinction. According to some reports, commercial crocodile farming in Cambodia began in 1945, mainly around the Tonle Sap Lake – the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and home to around 1.2 million people living in floating villages around the great lake. According to the IUCN special report (2005), the number of crocodile farms around the Tonle Sap Lake increased dramatically in the mid-1980s, and numbers have continued to increase to this day. Given that a high proportion of farms are not licensed, precise estimates are not available. However, some research shows that an estimated 90,000 crocodiles are in private farms in and around the great lake. Such chronic overharvesting of the freshwater species has led to the decline of the wild Siamese crocodile.
Join me in this virtual journey “This is Cambodia – All New Visual Series 2021-2022”
Follow: Shravan Regret Iyer’s Project 3 Lenses on Facebook
@shravanregretiyer3lenses@regretiyerproductions
Visit: https://shravanregretiyer.com for more stories from the natural world.