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Algorithmic revision: The role of generative AI and digital media in exam preparation among journalism students
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and digital media have rapidly become central to how students study, yet journalism students, whose profession is defined by verification, accuracy, and originality, remain under-researched, particularly in the high-stakes context of examination preparation and in settings outside the global North. This study describes the patterns, purposes, and perceived consequences of GenAI and digital-media use in exam revision among undergraduate journalism students, tests whether critical verification of AI output strengthens with academic seniority, and derives implications for curriculum design. A cross-sectional survey combining closed and open-ended items was administered to 65 undergraduate journalism students across four years of study during an examination period (April 2026). Closed items were analysed with descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation by year, and correlations; open-ended responses were analysed thematically using an inductive procedure. Adoption was widespread: 69.2% used these tools frequently or exclusively, led by ChatGPT (66.2%) and Google Gemini (35.4%). The dominant purpose was explaining complex concepts (mean = 3.92/5); 70.8% rated the tools very or highly effective and 61.5% reported reduced reliance on traditional materials. However, only 58.5% verified AI output consistently against authoritative sources, and, contrary to expectation, verification did not significantly increase with year of study. Qualitative themes were factual inaccuracy and "hallucination," divergence from lecturer-sanctioned content, and anxiety about eroded critical thinking; students’ outlook was markedly ambivalent, framing AI as a "double-edged sword." A value-action gap characterises journalism students’ AI use: uptake and perceived effectiveness are high while critical verification lags and does not mature with experience. Because students are already critically aware, programmes should teach AI verification and critical use as explicit, assessed professional competencies rather than relying on prohibition or on the assumption that judgement develops on its own.
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Visual and Performing Arts https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
“A Jack of All Trades”: Students' Perception of Industry Realities and Classroom Theory in Kenyan Mass Communication Education
Digital transformation has pushed global newsrooms towards full convergence, making multi-platform fluency an industry baseline rather than a specialist advantage. However, Global South journalism pedagogy frequently struggles to align classroom theory with these operational realities due to resource constraints and entrenched academic silos. This qualitative study investigates the educational impact of industry immersion by analysing the perceptions of 16 Kenyan undergraduate mass communication students following a structured field visit to a major integrated media house in Nairobi. Immediately after the visit, students completed an open-ended reflective survey that also captured a single-item self-rating of how well classroom lessons had prepared them for the industry’s pace. Textual responses were examined using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis, and self-ratings were summarised descriptively. Four themes emerged: the tempo and simultaneity of newsroom operations, coupled with surprise at the professionals’ composure; the realisation of media convergence and multi-skilling; technological and infrastructural deficits; and the salience of professional socialisation and teamwork. Although students rated their preparedness highly (4.0 out of 5), their reflections revealed a persistent gap between the sequential, controlled logic of the classroom and the simultaneous, high-velocity logic of the professional newsroom. The study contributes student-level empirical evidence to an institution-level debate, extends the Global South technology-gap literature by distinguishing a deficit of missing equipment, and argues that convergence be treated as a curricular design principle rather than an add-on. To narrow this gap, the study recommends curricula pivot towards experiential learning, integrate cross-platform newsroom simulations under deadline, and address infrastructural deficits.
The Sound of Service: A Comparative Study of the Collaborative Relationship Between Musicians and the Priesthood in Ghana’s Religious Landscape
Ghana's religious landscape, comprising Indigenous religious traditions, Islam, and Christianity, is characterized by worship practices in which music and ritual performance are central. While existing scholarship has emphasized the importance of sacred music, it has largely treated it as an ethnomusicological phenomenon or liturgical accompaniment, giving limited attention to its role in religious leadership. This study addresses that gap by examining the collaborative relationship between musicians and religious leaders across Ghana's diverse religious traditions. Drawing on Weber's sociology of authority alongside ritual theories advanced by Turner, Bell, and Rappaport, it distinguishes ritual necessity from institutional authority and introduces the concept of operational authority to explain how musicians facilitate ritual performance without replacing formally recognized religious leaders. Using a qualitative comparative ethnographic approach, the study draws on interviews, participant observation, and documentary analysis conducted among Indigenous religious communities, Sunni Muslim congregations, and Christian churches. The findings show that musicians play indispensable roles in regulating ritual flow, coordinating transitions, fostering congregational participation, and supporting the conditions within which religious leaders exercise their responsibilities. The study concludes that religious leadership is collaboratively enacted through complementary institutional and operational responsibilities, offering a theoretically grounded contribution to comparative religious studies and ethnomusicology in Ghana.
The Digital Transformation and Emerging Technologies as a Tool for Sustainable Economic Development and Youth Empowerment
This paper examines how digital transformation, which includes AI, data analytics, and automation, can be used to promote sustainable economic growth and resolve youth unemployment in emerging markets. It aims to determine how innovation ecosystems and policies enable youth by equipping them with skills and creating employment. A mixed-method research design was used. The quantitative data were collected using structured questionnaires among youth entrepreneurs and tech experts, whereas qualitative information was collected through key informant interviews with policymakers and managers of the innovation hubs. Statistical and thematic analysis of data was done. According to the findings, digital efforts have a significant positive effect on youth participation in economic activities, and especially on digital entrepreneurship. Nevertheless, the study notes that access and quality of digital infrastructure are the most defining factors towards realising sustainable economic outcomes. The study is confined to the emerging economies where the infrastructure disparities could be higher than in the developed areas. It means that digital innovation does not exist as a single solution, but rather as a three-part co-operation between the research, technology, and policy. Policymakers should focus on the development of infrastructure and research-based innovation hubs. Governments can provide economic sustainability and substantive youth empowerment in the long-term by matching new technologies with favourable ecosystems.
The Transformative Role of Artificial Intelligence in Enhancing Transparency and Efficiency in Music Royalty Distribution in Kenya
This study aims to explore the capacity of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to restructure the music royalty framework in Kenya. The research specifically investigates whether the deployment of AI can alleviate existing systemic issues within Kenya's music royalty distribution. Aligned with the Kenya Vision 2030 strategy, the music industry is recognised as a pivotal economic sector; however, its potential is currently constrained by the deficiencies of its collective management organisations (CMOs). These deficiencies primarily involve the ineffective utilisation of technology for royalty collection, a lack of transparency in reporting artist royalty payments, and governance challenges that have eroded artists' trust in CMOs. By adopting a documentary analysis approach within a theoretical framework to synthesise findings from international intellectual property case studies, KECOBO audit reports, and relevant legal frameworks. This comparison aims to compare global best practices for AI implementation against the structural limitations prevalent in Kenya's music industry. Furthermore, the study applies Giddens' Structuration Theory to analyse how the current manual systems perpetuate inefficiency through recursive processes within the music industry. The study also proposes a model where AI catalyzes "re-structuring," facilitating new norms of algorithmic accountability and providing new resources of verifiable data. The findings indicate that while various AI technologies could be applied to track and distribute royalties in Kenya, their successful implementation is hindered by challenges related to data infrastructure and digital literacy. This research concludes that a phased approach to AI adoption should be pursued, positioning AI not only as a tool for increased efficiency in music royalty distribution but also as a mechanism to restore artist agency and institutional trust.
Copyright (c) 2025 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Reclaiming the Sonic Archive: AI, Data Sovereignty, and the Future of Mijikenda Music
This paper examines the ethical implications and risks of applying artificial intelligence (AI) to Indigenous musical heritage, with a specific focus on the Mijikenda communities in the coast of Kenya. Traditional AI tools, deeply rooted in Western systems of knowledge, carry a significant risk of perpetuating digital colonialism. This manifests through the decontextualisation of sacred musical practices and the infringement of crucial data sovereignty rights. The study aims to analyse the fundamental effects emerging between conventional AI methodologies and the knowledge systems underpinning Mijikenda music. Furthermore, it seeks to identify cases of algorithmic bias and cultural appropriation that may arise from such applications. In response, the paper proposes a decolonial framework to guide the ethical development and deployment of AI within the field of African musicology. Employing a systematic review of existing literature, in line with documented perspectives of Mijikenda practitioners and a complete analysis of scholarly works, the research uncovers a significant divergence. The drawing apart forces exist between AI's often extractive logic and the holistic principles of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). A primary concern among Mijikenda communities is the widespread threat of cultural appropriation, alongside a strong emphasis on understanding music's core value beyond mere data reliant the paper concludes by advocating for a fundamental paradigm shift: moving away from AI as a tool for extraction towards its utilisation as a platform for community-led cultural care. This transformative approach necessitates grounding AI development firmly within the principles of IKS and decolonial theory, ultimately empowering Indigenous communities and ensuring the sustainable continuity of their living sonic heritage.
The Evolution of Digital Dance: Choreography in the Age of Motion Capture and Avatars, a case of Nairobi City County
This study examines the redefinition of stage art within Kenya's distinct cultural scenes through the lens of innovative digital technologies, encompassing both viral social media choreography and avatar-based heritage projects. This is linked to an exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) in a country as diverse as Kenya, where many novelties still have to be adapted or even made from scratch. This study seeks to investigate how dances on social media, which are disseminated in a way analogous to the passage of a virus, both shape the content of choreography and expression a performer must use, but also threaten traditional cultures to the point that they vanish. The paper employs a netnographic approach focused on three key digital field sites: the group Matata, the "Heroes of Kenya" avatar project, and the infrastructure of Nairobi-based motion capture studios. This paper, drawing on the Afrofuturism theoretical lens while analysing academic articles, reports, and social media (Instagram/TikTok, for example) from Kenyan artists, examines how Kenyans manage traditional dance on digital platforms at the same time that they are pioneering new contemporary forms. Kenyan artists today may be called weavers of digital culture. They blend tradition with artistic vocations and look for social media to influence dance style again, as a way of providing a mass experience over distances to make their new forms--hybrid homilies to an African future? Despite concerns about data ownership, loss of authenticity as folk arts migrates to the internet, and assertions that technology would taint the spirit in our own cultures, these technologies are new tools for artists to tell their stories and make people feel close by.
Trends of Opera in Nigeria from Pre-Colonial to Contemporary Modernism
Opera, an art form, came to Nigeria and met various forms of music-theatres among the Yoruba traditional societies during the colonial period. It subsequently developed trends and variants that can be referred to as Nigerian opera, evolving alongside modern advancements in Nigeria. The origins and analyses of Nigerian folk opera and post-independence Nigerian opera have been explored by scholars, but there exists a dearth of comprehensive studies charting the development of Nigerian opera up to the 21st century. Using Structuralism Theory, the present study focuses on a chronological view of Nigerian opera. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources, collated, and analysed through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). The findings reveal four operatic trends in Nigeria: the classical, folk, post-colonial, and contemporary operatic trends. The study concludes that Nigerian opera, as an established eclectic genre of music and theatre, requires collaborative efforts for further development so that it can be instituted as a national heritage beneficial to human, educational, cultural, artistic, scientific, and economic development at local, national, continental, and global levels.
Talent versus Formal Education in Kenyan Music Production: A Critical Analysis of Value Perception among Industry Stakeholders
Kenya’s music production industry represents a negotiation between indigenous musical heritage and contemporary global influences, creating unique challenges for talent development and educational preparation. This study examines the perceived dichotomy between natural musical proclivities and formalised educational frameworks among industry stakeholders. The investigation aims to: (1) examine perceived complementarity or opposition between talent and education; (2) analyse differential valorisation of formal versus informal knowledge acquisition; and (3) explore implications for pedagogical frameworks. Drawing upon Bourdieu's Cultural Capital Theory and Gagné's Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent, this phenomenological study employed semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with 27 participants representing diverse industry stakeholders. Findings reveal multifaceted conceptualisations wherein talent and education function interdependently rather than adversarially, with three emergent dimensions: talent-education dynamics, industry flexibility requirements, and technical proficiency development. The synergistic potential between innate and acquired competencies remains sub-optimally actualised due to curricular deficiencies in cultural literacy and contextual application. This investigation contributes to vocational arts education by proposing a pedagogical framework that dialectically integrates cultural contextualisation with technical proficiency, with practical implications for curriculum development and industry-education collaborative frameworks.
Musical Narratives of Oil Exploration and Profit Manoeuvring in Post-Colonial Nigeria 1989-2022
Anchored in Deprivation-Frustration-Aggression and Critical Discourse Theory, this study beams its searchlight on deep musical narratives of oil exploration, mobility, and profits manoeuvring in post-colonial Nigeria from 1989 to 2022. Several studies have examined the menace of oil exploration in Nigeria with little focus on musical narratives. Therefore, this study explores oil exploration activities and musical narratives to exhume the injustice in the Nigerian oil business and to awaken the stakeholders to proper oil wealth distributions. Qualitative design methods were employed with musical and textual analysis of three selected songs - “Niger-Delta” by Nneka Egbuna, “Black Tide” by Ubrei-Joe, and “Which Way Nigeria?” by Sunny Okosun, alongside available data on Nigeria’s oil revenue. The lyrics of the analysed songs were based on their relevance to issues of oil exploration, mobility, and profit manoeuvring, and they help to support the central argument of the Musical narratives in Nigeria. Secondary data were sourced from relevant scholarly publications and books. Findings revealed that while militants engage in rebellious activities against the state, these musicians take a pseudo-neutral stand that prevents them from being soft targets by the state, while holistically addressing issues of injustice and uneven distribution of oil wealth. I conclude that there is a need for the Nigerian leadership to address the situations amplified by these artists through proper monitoring of oil exploration and profits; cleaning of the Niger-Delta environment; and judicious use of oil profits to benefit the entire citizenry.
Music and Cultural Exchange: Exploring Davido’s Contributions to Borderless Music
This article explores the music of Davido, a Nigerian Afrobeats artist, through the lens of borderless music and cultural exchange. The concept of borderless music reflects how sound, identity, and audience engagement transcend physical and cultural boundaries. The study explores the way the sound, visual aesthetics, and collaborations of Davido, all combine to reflect a deliberate fusion of local and global influences that help in the creation of a musical identity that transcends cultural boundaries without erasing its Nigerian roots. Being a qualitative endeavour, the study employs a purposive sampling technique to select six Davido's songs - “Fall,” “If,” “Assurance,” “Blow My Mind,” “Fem,” and “Holy Ground”. These songs serve as case studies for understanding how borderless music functions in practice. It analyses lyrical content, sonic structure, and digital platform performance to trace how Davido navigates global music circuits. The findings reveal that Davido's success stems not only from musical innovation but also from strategic positioning within a transnational music economy shaped by digital access and audience-driven visibility. Generally, the paper argues that the music of Davido exemplifies how contemporary African artists are actively reshaping global music narratives by participating in the production of music that is both culturally grounded and globally accessible.
Exploring the Boundaries of Digital Popular Music Education in Kenya
With technology enhancement and digitalisation of teaching and learning, creative arts and performance are evolving daily. Additionally, the empirical review indicates that Kenya has already embraced these developments even though much must be done. Music education, which relies on creative arts and performance is among the benefactors of digitalisation of learning and teaching. Therefore, the digitalisation of popular music enhances the genres as instructional tools; facilitating access would help improve pedagogical contexts, easing learning and teaching. This study investigates the implementation and impact of Popular Music Education (PME) in Kenya, addressing the challenges and opportunities inherent in integrating digital technologies into the PME curriculum. Using a qualitative research approach, with phenomenological design through the pragmatic paradigm, the research assesses the effectiveness of digital tools in enhancing musical skills and knowledge among students while considering infrastructural and socio-economic barriers. Findings reveal that the digitalisation of PME holds significant potential for improving access, delivery, and quality of learning and teaching but is constrained by resource limitations, connectivity issues, teacher development, and digital teaching and instructional tools. This study contributes to understanding how digital advancements can be tailored to fit the unique context of poorly developed counties in Kenya to offer 21st-century PME. The study is limited to the availability of contextualised data in Kenya that can depict the exactness of digital capabilities in the teaching and learning of popular music in Kenya.
Copyright (c) 2024 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Prisoners of Conscience: Music, Trauma, and Memory in FeÌ£Ìmi OÌ£Ì€sÌ£oÌ£Ìfisan’s ”˜Women of OÌ€wu’
Studies have shown that music is an effective therapy in the treatment of traumatised moods and emotions of an individual or a group of people. This becomes very evident in how music artists and others in the performing arts such as theatre practitioners engage music in narrating traumatic experiences in their works. Consequently, this study engages Women of OÌ€wu, a dramatic work by FeÌ£Ìmi OÌ£Ì€sÌ£oÌ£Ìfisan, in which music is deployed to express the female gender’s experience of psychological trauma in violent situations, especially war. It interrogates the psychological trauma experienced during such violent situations and the extent to which the affected women experience social justice after such traumatic experiences. Primary data was collected through content analysis of purposively selected compositions in the dramatic work. Secondary data was generated through the existing body of published and unpublished literature. To situate his audience in the emotion of the female characters, OÌ£Ì€sÌ£oÌ£Ìfisan employed the medium of music to express their anger, vulnerability, sorrow, pain, hopelessness, reflection and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The play features dirges used to mourn the dead; victory songs used by EreluÌ, to celebrate perceived justice for the promiscuity of Iyùnloyè, bridal serenade sung to express hope for a good marital experience in the hands of the oppressor that would marry the vulnerable women and songs with which they reflect and express their post-traumatic stress disorder. The study offers fresh perspectives on the global management of trauma.
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Visual and Performing Arts https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
The Symbolic Strategies of Amédée VIII: A Utopian Vision Examined through Alignments and Artistic Representations
This article explores the intricacies of the Duchy of Savoy during the 15th century, exploring its complex connections with Africa, the Crusades, and the Holy Empire. Focused on the reign of Amadeus VIII, who later became Pope Felix V, the study investigates the unique devotion to Saint Maurice d'Agaune and Saint Anthony the Great within the Duchy. The research unveils new evidence through architectural alignments, religious symbolism, and artistic representations, notably analyzing Konrad Witz's "La Pàªche miraculeuse." It discovers significant alignments from Chambéry to Ripaille, Basel, and Magdeburg, indicating political and symbolic strategies. The article introduces the concept of an "inclined cross," aligning Savoy with Magdeburg, Cyprus, Rhodes, and Turin. The symbolic reading of the Savoy Knot, associated with the motto Foedere et Religione Tenemur (F.E.R.T), suggests a mnemonic tool possibly derived from maritime practices, providing insights into the Duchy's unique strategies and perspectives. This Savoyard motto, a relic of the Middle Ages and some of its medals or coins, happily cultivated its reputation for mystery or obscure meaning. The methodology involves expanding references, exploring heraldry, and examining religious and spiritual connections. The article proposes a potential link between Savoy's alignments and Egyptian or Ethiopian influences, supported by pilgrimages from these regions. It suggests the existence of a coherent utopia imagined by Amadeus VIII, fostering a new perspective on the artistic achievements of the time. The erasure of symbolic constructions, orchestrated by subsequent figures like Enea Silvio Piccolomini, is discussed, leaving enigmatic traces of the Duchy's engagement with Africa.
Citizenship: the role of the performing arts in Uganda
Uganda as a country contends with aspects of religious, gender, age, class, cultural, and racial variances, and if these issues are not addressed, they will continue to affect the cohesion of our society and the development of a common identity. The performing arts are a crucial conduit for empowering the youth with knowledge, skills, and understanding that every learner requires to comply as active and responsible citizens. Citizenship at this level will not only require a perception and subsequent application of skills achieved but also a commitment and purpose, ensuring sustainable dialogue and a critical probing of the consequences with the community and the need for citizens to work together with fellow citizens to develop their community. The performing arts are central in bridging this gap as they indeed provoke the mind with their precision and obscurity to foster good citizenship through collaboration and teamwork necessary for artistic projects and mission at institutions of learning and especially in the communities. This paper discusses how the integrated performing arts as an expression of culture foster the act of citizenship amongst the various categories of people within the community. It discusses two Community-based performing arts establishments including Ndere Foundation and Watoto Child Care Ministries as interventions in fostering citizenship.
Copyright (c) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
Appreciating the transcultural in music gesture diversities and stage directing in Kenyan choral music
Choral conducting/directorship is an artistic praxis that continues to generate varied opinions and positions. Whereas in the Western world, the praxis is clearly defined, it is not the case in Kenya. It is common that whenever a choir appears on stage, questions of whether the conductor directed the choir appropriately, was overt, or lacked certain and/or requisite gesticulations arise. Consequently, some musicians show that the art ought to follow Western ideals of conducting. Others raise the need for it to be more liberated so that other directorship ideals are employed besides the Western ones. A third school of thought, however, think(s) that every artiste ought to generate their own unique directing/conducting mannerisms based on the music being performed, devoid of any restrictions. Based on the three positions, it is not clear what determines/influences conducting/directorship ideals in the Kenyan choral-art (music combining both African and Western elements) music scene. Whether it is the music being performed, the performer, or the culture that informs the praxis. This paper responds to the preceding concerns by analyzing the nature of choral-art music that is performed in Kenya based on a field study that made use of ethnographic approaches in the Kenya Music Festival 2017 edition. Among other issues, the paper demonstrates how gestures and other music traditions could be possible influences for conducting manifestations. Moreover, the paper provides insight into how conducting as visual culture and/or gesture enhances music meaning and, therefore, the need to appreciate its diversified approach as well as practice, in the transculturally negotiated choral space.
Pursuance of academic music studies by popular Zimbabwe musicians
Some popular musicians in Zimbabwe have taken up professional development seriously and enrolled in academic music studies, yet no research has been done to explore this recent phenomenon. Whenever the subject of Zimbabwean music is discussed, the focus tends to centre on popular artists, their lifestyles, achievements and scandals. The emerging trend in which Zimbabwean artists are enrolling for academic programs has received little scholarly interrogation. This is the scenario despite the fact that education is the backbone for the development of the music industry, which is part of the United Nations` Sustainable Development Goals. The main aim of this article is to consider how music studies impact and broaden the scope of the artists and contribute to the betterment of the Zimbabwe music industry. In this qualitative study, we purposively sampled and interviewed 7 popular Zimbabwean musicians who embarked on academic music studies. Data were collected through key informant interviews to solicit their views on the value that music education adds to their professional careers in terms of transforming their performances, compositions and application of music theory to analyses musical issues, as well as observations and document analysis. The study was guided and informed by the theory of stereotype and Dweck`s theory of mind-set. The findings steer an interesting discussion in which the musicians indicate how their capabilities and conduct of business are polished by their interaction with academia. We argue that the acquisition of professional academic qualifications by popular musicians adds value to their acts and encourage untrained musicians to seriously consider trudging the academic route for the development of the Zimbabwe music industry to realise its full potential.