Complex societal problem related to the internet access and electricity access in DRC

Abstract: Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s current situation is characterized by a catastrophical very poor access to both Good Quality Electricity (GQE) and High Speed Internet (HSI) which are natural rights and primary needs. If the limited access to GQE and HSI are established fact we are concerned about how it affects the individuals in particular and the country in general and what parts of DRC are affected by this problem. In this paper we describe this identified societal problem in “natural language” through some stages towards the comprehensive understanding and perception of our core hypothesis: “The access to GQE and HSI for all DR Congolese localities/towns/villages of at least 1,000 families is a complex societal problem”. We give a solution to part the problem. The current part consists of the global understanding of the problem by the stakeholders. It is a first brick that will contribute to solving a global problem. This paper does implement the first step/layer of a much broader methodological framework, having 9 layers, which is called COMPRAM (Complex Problem HAndling Methodology). The first layer of COMPRAM does involve three core steps: (1) personal consideration and observation by the analyst(s) (named M1), (2) information retrieval from literature and other sources (called M2), and (3) discussions with selected relevant experts and stakeholders (called M3)

ICT and COMPRAM to assess road traffic congestion management in Kinshasa

Abstract: Traffic Congestion Management (TCM) in a megacity like Kinshasa, capital of the DR Congo, is a knowledge and real life problem of complex nature. Here, the authors describe the TCM problem through 9 phases of the layer 1 of the COMPRAM methodology. TCM is a worldwide complex societal problem and specifically in Kinshasa where it presents a set of characteristics such as ‘chaotic’ driver behaviour, road potholes and the road network physiognomy doesn’t respond to the supply- versus demand-side equation. The other complex problems include the absence of road planning with consideration to demographic parameters and car ownership increase, no suitable traffic operations infrastructure and limited funds for both maintaining existing roads and building additional ones. To solve this TCM problem, the authors propose a TTCMP (Triangular Traffic Congestion Management Process) framework as an output based layer 1 of COMPRAM by identifying types and sources of congestion, followed by a TCM problem description and a set of technical elements for ‘curbing’ traffic congestion with an overview on a Bluetooth based technology for traffic data collection as an adapted ICT4D solution for a low-income city like Kinshasa

Characteristics of hunters and the socio-economic importance of selling game on the survival of village households in the Kisangani Forest Region (R.D.C.)

The present study focuses on the description of hunting professionals and intends to determine the contribution of hunting in the survival of village households in the former Province Orientale. It contributes to the in-depth knowledge of the profile of these key players in the commercial bushmeat market and the understanding of the socio-economic context at the first level of the game sales chain. The methods used to achieve the set objectives are summarized first of all in the questionnaire which made it possible to establish the survey form containing the identity of the interviewees and other descriptions, the interview, then the direct observation on the ground. , cost-benefit analysis and chi-square test and Anova. After tabulation and data processing, it appears that the hunters are all men whose age varies from 20 to 69 years. They come from different ethnic backgrounds and most of them are married and responsible for households. As a level of education, there are among them illiterates, primarians and some graduates. The results show that bushmeat consumption occurs 1 to 3 times per week in most village households. The average monthly hunter\u27s income estimate is USD 58.18 to meet the multiple daily needs

Intelligent transportation related complex systems and sensors

Building around innovative services related to different modes of transport and traffic management, intelligent transport systems (ITSs) are being widely adopted worldwide to improve the efficiency and safety of the transportation system. They enable users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and smarter decisions on the use of transport networks. Current ITSs are complex systems, made up of several components/sub-systems characterized by time-dependent interactions among themselves. Some examples of these transportation-related complex systems include road traffic sensors, autonomous/automated cars, smart cities, smart sensors, virtual sensors, traffic control systems, smart roads, logistics systems, smart mobility systems, and many others that are emerging from niche areas

Development of a Smart Chair Sensors System and Classification of Sitting Postures with Deep Learning Algorithms

Nowadays in modern societies, a sedentary lifestyle is almost inevitable for a majority of the population. Long hours of sitting, especially in wrong postures, may result in health complications. A smart chair with the capability to identify sitting postures can help reduce health risks induced by a modern lifestyle. This paper presents the design, realization and evaluation of a new smart chair sensors system capable of sitting postures identification. The system consists of eight pressure sensors placed on the chair's sitting cushion and the backrest. A signal acquisition board was designed from scratch to acquire data generated by the pressure sensors and transmit them via a Wi-Fi network to a purposely developed graphical user interface which monitors and stores the acquired sensors' data on a computer. The designed system was tested by means of an extensive sitting experiment involving 40 subjects, and from the acquired data, the classification of the respective sitting postures out of eight possible postures was performed. Hereby, the performance of seven deep-learning algorithms was assessed. The best accuracy of 91.68% was achieved by an echo memory network model. The designed smart chair sensors system is simple and versatile, low cost and accurate, and it can easily be deployed in several smart chair environments, both for public and private contexts

Emotion and stress recognition related sensors and machine learning technologies

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Simulation in manufacturing and business: A review

Copyright @ 2009 Elsevier B.V.This paper reports the results of a review of simulation applications published within peer-reviewed literature between 1997 and 2006 to provide an up-to-date picture of the role of simulation techniques within manufacturing and business. The review is characterised by three factors: wide coverage, broad scope of the simulation techniques, and a focus on real-world applications. A structured methodology was followed to narrow down the search from around 20,000 papers to 281. Results include interesting trends and patterns. For instance, although discrete event simulation is the most popular technique, it has lower stakeholder engagement than other techniques, such as system dynamics or gaming. This is highly correlated with modelling lead time and purpose. Considering application areas, modelling is mostly used in scheduling. Finally, this review shows an increasing interest in hybrid modelling as an approach to cope with complex enterprise-wide systems