Navigating Social Spaces: Armed Mobilization and Circular Return in Eastern DR Congo

Aggression inoculates against PTSD symptom severity—insights from armed groups in the eastern DR Congo

BACKGROUND In the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), combatants are exposed to massive forms of violence and other traumatic stressors. Nevertheless, many combatants do not suffer from trauma-related disorders, although they have experienced numerous traumatizing events. Perceiving aggressive behavior as fascinating and arousing might be a defense against trauma-rel...

Navigating Social Spaces

Behaviour of robots within a human-populated space can be disruptive, as robot motion does not necessarily conform to social norms. Typical movement models are oblivious to social expectations, and so easily violate personal space and other social rules, magnifying the unnatural behaviour of robot agents and causing discomfort to human occupants. This paper presents a navigation algorithm that ...

Why History Repeats Itself in Eastern DR Congo

Observers of ten agree that ‘history repeats itself ’[1] in Eastern Congo – f rom the slavery condit ions imposed by Belgian King Leopold over Mobutu’s predatory state, to today’s armed milit ias. The reason why these ghosts come haunt ing Congo’s present is primarily related to unending compet it ion over the ‘right to protect ’ unfree populat ions; under the circumstances, this protect ion ra...

Growing up in armed groups: trauma and aggression among child soldiers in DR Congo

BACKGROUND Child soldiers are often both victims and perpetrators of horrendous acts of violence. Research with former child soldiers has consistently shown that exposure to violence is linked to trauma-related disorders and that living in a violent environment is correlated with enhanced levels of aggression. OBJECTIVE To gain more insight into the experiences and the mental health status of...

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