Quelles solutions face � la persistance des mariages pr�coces et forc�s � Goma, en RDC?

Les mariages précoces et forcés sont souvent une solution de survie pour les familles les plus démunies en RDC. Cependant, ces mariages ont de lourdes conséquences sur le développement des jeunes filles, et sur les adolescents en général. À travers le récit d’une histoire vraie vécue dans la ville de Goma, Bauma Balume nous révèle les motivations des parents qui s’engagent dans cette pratique et explore les différentes solutions permettant de réduire l’apparition de ce phénomène

Integrated local IP multimedia sub-systems for home environment

The idea of this project is to design and to build a local IMS system that integrate GSM capabilities, like making calls, receiving call and Short Messages Services. This proposed system will have a local storage that will be share among users and an integrated local IP Multimedia System, that will provide video call, instant message and VoIP to the users, who are within the local network

Design and Properties of Octaslide Redundant Parallel Kinematics

This paper describes the conceptual design process of OCTASLIDE redundant parallel kinematics for a machine tool. Redundantly actuated parallel kinematics is a recently developed new concept for machine tools. It enables all mechanical properties of machine tools to be improved several times simultaneously. This is particularly demonstrated on the design of the OCTASLIDE. This is a concept of a five-axis machine tool centre. The paper describes the critical initial design phases and the accessible mechanical properties. The design process has follow the newly developed design methodology for parallel kinematics machines

Study of Concepts of Parallel Kinematics Machines for Advanced Manufacturing

This paper deals with possible new concepts for machine tools based on parallel kinematics for advanced manufacturing. Parallel kinematics machines (PKM) enable the mechanical properties of manufacturing machines to be improved. This has been proven by several new machine tool concepts. However, this potential can be and must be increased by applying the principle of redundant actuation. This paper deals with the extension of the concepts of redundantly actuated parallel kinematics structures for five-sided five-axis machine tools and for a free-forming sheet metal forming machine. The design principles of previous successful PKMs are summarized and new concepts are proposed. The most important requirement criteria are summarized. The proposed concepts are qualitatively and initially quantitatively evaluated according to these criteria.

Trust, quality, and the network collection experience: a tale of two studies on the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Data collection in social network research has advanced to include online questionnaires, digital metadata mining of internet sites, and the use of remote-sensing technologies. Some scholars however call for more attention to nuanced understandings of ties and contexts in studies of social structure and relationships, evoking practices that characterise the field’s foundational works. This article’s two studies reference these earlier efforts, drawing on ethnography and primary data collection. Both were undertaken in conflict-affected eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and broadly aimed to refine understandings of public authority and governance. Such research strives to inform humanitarian interventions to support social structures and actors which benefit their communities – however unexpected and unconventional. The first study (2016) employed a novel link-tracing design to examine personal support networks entwining purportedly hostile sub-populations, from combatants to unaffiliated civilians. The second (2018−20) focussed on access to essential social services across different governance arrangements, areas dominated by tenuous alliances of domestic or foreign militias and other actors. Leveraging an egocentric network design, it yielded multilevel relational network chain data. Each study was rife with obstacles related to accessing participants, sampling, reliability, and validity. We reflect on this network collection experience, foregrounding the interdependence between trust and data quality brought into stark relief by the setting’s instability and insecurity. This interdependency impacts all social network research, especially when it involves precarious contexts or sensitive topics

An experimental methodology for studying household financial governance and coping mechanisms in Goma, DRC

This paper examines our experiences designing and implementing an experimental methodology to study households’ socioeconomic coping mechanisms in insecure, unstable, or conflict-affected contexts. Our method combined longitudinal household diaries with social network research to collect data on how 24 households living in Goma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, use their financial and social resources to overcome daily struggles and unexpected shocks like bereavement and theft. Before outlining how the methods complement one another in this study, we overview how each has been employed separately for similar aims. We then turn to the realities of combining them in Goma, reflecting on foreseen and unanticipated challenges and how we addressed them – both successfully and not. Money matters are generally sensitive subjects, and particularly so in such environments. The threads that run through this assessment are those of forging and maintaining trust; translating across languages and cultures; and navigating an insecure and fast-changing environment. To contextualise a discussion of how these factors may have affected the research, data collected, and our conclusions, we provide two vignettes of households that participated in the study. Throughout, we also explore the potential effects of a water provision programme implemented by Mercy Corps that benefited some of the studied households. We conclude with recommendations for those wishing to build upon our method and for development programmes keen to use it to complement their own monitoring, evaluation, and learning

Tackling the persistence and causes of child marriages in Goma, DRC

Forced child marriages are often a lifeline for struggling low-income families in the DRC, but they have serious consequences for young girls and children’s development. Through a true story in the city of Goma, Bauma Balume reveals parents’ motivations for the practice and explores initiatives to address its occurrence

Inheriting the Earth: Faculty Panel Discuession with Dr. Steven Bouma-Prediger

Inheriting the Earth: Faculty Panel Discussion with Dr. Steven Bouma-Predige

DEVELOPMENTS IN UNITIZED HANDLING IN FOOD DISTRIBUTION

The author outlines developments in unitized handling and its relation to productivity in the food industry