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Are AI detection and plagiarism similarity scores worthwhile in the age of ChatGPT and other Generative AI?
Get PDFRecent advancements in chatbots have provided students and academics with a new mode of how knowledge can be sourced and composed. Within a very short space of time, students and academics have flocked to use ChatGPT and other Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) platforms owing to their capable responses. Additionally, apart from the generative chatbots (such as ChatGPT and Gemini), AI writing tools for paraphrasing, summarising, and co-writing have also become capable and increasingly prevalent to such a degree that the public is spoilt for choice. Having conducted tests on popular chatbots and AI writing tools, it became clear that while programs like Turnitin are developing new algorithms to detect plagiarism and AI-generated content, the initial findings from this study suggest that this may be an increasingly difficult task. These tests were published on YouTube, and within a few weeks, the evidence garnered tens of thousands of views as students and educators seemed uncertain about the strengths, weaknesses, and legalities of these AI tools. What is clear is that we have passed the tipping point, and AI assistance is no longer just a grammar fixer. The implications of this are concerning and far-reaching, as plagiarism is already a significant problem in universities. This position paper reports on tests conducted using Turnitin software and AI writing tools such as ChatGPT and QuillBot. These real-world tests support the paper’s position that it is becoming increasingly difficult to determine what constitutes original work in a world of GAI. The aim of this article is to provide evidence that educators who rely on similarity checking and AI detectors in their current form may inadvertently be supporting plagiarism rather than reducing it. A new method of academic plagiarism detection is proposed, utilizing large language models to generate and track ideas, thereby serving as an idea database. The proposed method focuses on the "understanding" of the work rather than on text similarity.
The creation of a clay vessel is a metaphor for the therapeutic journey of a family affected by a rare disease
Get PDFThis article is located within the South African rare disease community. The article draws from a master’s thesis and focuses on a case vignette of a family affected by a rare disease diagnosis. There is limited research in South Africa focused on family art therapy. This study established that art therapy processes can uncover resilience factors in families affected by trauma associated with a rare disease diagnosis. The original study consisted of four art therapy sessions focused on identifying resilience factors through family collaborative art using clay, a medium previously unexplored by the family. This article focuses on a single clay object created collaboratively by the family during the sessions. Literature draws from international studies on family art therapy, clay as material, kintsugi, and concepts of holding, containing, and transitional objects. The making and holding of the vessel and the vulnerability of brokenness and repair parallelled the family’s story. The distinct phases that emerged in the art therapy process included the malleability of clay in its raw form, the brittleness of the unfired form, the tentative strength of the piece as bisque, the stronger form as a glazed item, and kintsugi reparation. Findings conclude that an awareness of the family’s strength and resilience was symbolised through the object’s creation and repair. This awareness showed the importance of acknowledging struggles faced both medically and mentally by the family and protective factors they witnessed among each other during the study. Initial findings were positive, and further studies are recommended
Conference Reflection
Get PDFThis paper reflects on the University of Johannesburg Art Therapy Conference, held in July 2023, focusing on themes of social justice and professionalisation within the arts therapies sector. The author critically examines the intersection of race, coloniality, and professionalisation in the field of arts therapy, particularly in the African context. Drawing on insights from the conference, the reflections highlight the persistent challenges faced by minoritised practitioners and service users, who remain underrepresented and underserved within the profession. The professionalisation of arts therapies is critiqued for perpetuating inequalities, alienating marginalised groups, and reinforcing colonial power dynamics. The paper also explores the tension between altruism and economic necessity in the work of arts therapists, underscoring the exploitation and undervaluation of their labour. Building on Kim Berman\u27s editorial, these reflections call for greater inclusivity, cultural sensitivity, and the dismantling of systemic barriers within the arts therapy profession. Our role in this ongoing dialogue and action is crucial as professional colleagues and peers in the arts therapies sector. The conference\u27s discourse offers a platform for us to collectively work toward a more equitable and socially just practice of arts therapy in Africa and beyond
Pastoral Caregivers in Botswana Government Hospitals: A Holistic Pastoral Theological Approach
Get PDFThis paper seeks to assess the contribution that local churches in Botswana make to health and wellbeing. It is part of an ongoing study on the impact of religious beliefs on health seeking and health provision behaviors in Botswana. The hypothesis of the study is that religion contributes immensely to better health and wellbeing. This paper seeks to contribute to the hypothesis by asking the question on what local churches in Botswana do in order to contribute to health and wellbeing. It argues that wholeness and health are some of the most important concerns of Batswana and the global community. Illness is complex in that it often defies remedy even when people seek remedy in hospitals. The study shows that biomedicine by itself has limited capacity in fulfilling the human quest for meaning. The paper argues that it is necessary to include pastoral care as a valuable and a necessary human resource and partnership for healthcare and development. Religion and spirituality have been suggested as vital in many people’s quest for meaning. This study has employed a holistic pastoral theological methodology
Editor\u27s Note
No full textIt gives me great pleasure to introduce and welcome readers to this Special Issue 3.1 ‘Religion, Peace and Conflict in Contemporary Africa,’ anchored by our guest editors, Meron Zeleke and George Klute. The peer-reviewed papers that make up this issue were drawn from the international conference “Religion, Peace and Conflict in Contemporary Africa” (sponsored under the Volkswagen Stiftung Founding Initiative: Knowledge for Tomorrow Cooperative Research Project) held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in May 2016
International research collaboration – how powerful is it really?
Get PDFCountries that do participate in International Research Collaboration (IRC) are placed in advantageous positions to promote scientific and technological advancements. This advantage is known to be particularly high for countries outside of Europe or North America. Subsequently, international organisations do actively promote and support the emergence of collaborative research platforms, in particular in these countries. But how can the success of such a platform be measured? Do the benefits always outweigh the costs? This paper seeks to define a framework for assessing the success of a research collaborative platform. As a case study, a bilateral research platform implemented by the authors will be critically assessed
Foreword
No full textAfrica’s role in nuclear debates and in opposing nuclear weapons is at once consequential and overlooked. Since the 1996 Treaty of Pelindaba, the African continent has been a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone (NWFZ), providing a powerful example of opposition tonuclear weapons on the world stage. More recently, African governments have played leading roles in the implementation of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), with the aim of worldwide nuclear disarmament. Nuclear debates are becoming more pressing in a number of African countries, as Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear power company, is building orplans to build new nuclear power plants in Egypt, Burkina Faso, Kenya and Rwanda, amongst others. In South Africa, plans are underway to increase nuclear energy to 2,500 megawatts, while the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is undergoing refurbishment in order to extend its operating life to 2045
BRICS Policy Agenda, Partnership and Cooperation
Get PDFIn 2024, the BRICS diplomacy under the chairship of Russia is focused on partnership and cooperation in three key tracks - politics and security, the economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian ties. Through some 250 events and meetings culminating in the BRICS Summit in Kazan in 22-24 October, the BRICS hopes to expand the range of activities it must undertake to make advances practically in policy areas in these three tracks. This year also marks the full participation of the five new members of BRICS (Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) in the whole year of discussion leading the summit and the content of the declaration to be adopted about what steps the BRICS countries agree to undertaken to implement their decisions. The developments of the year can be viewed on the website: https://brics-russia2024.ru/en/.
“[Obeah] Ọbịa by Igbo Spelling”: Affirming the Value of After God is Dibịa by John A. Umeh
Get PDFAgainst the backdrop of the demonization of Africana Religious Traditions (ARTs), peoples of African descent, in shame and ignorance, and seduced by the benefits of a ruthless capitalist Christianity, fail to affirm the value of their ancestral spirituality. In Jamaica and other parts of the Anglophone Caribbean, the word “Obeah”, a label for African spirituality, remains misunderstood, demonized, and criminalized as Christians consistently thwart any effort to value it. Dibịa-Professor Umeh’s spiritual oeuvre provides necessary redress to the epistemicide that fuels the continued criminalization of “Obeah”. This article presents John Umeh’s After God is Dibịa: Igbo Cosmology, Divination & Sacred Science in Nigeria, Vols. 1 and 2 as performative texts that affirm traditional African Priesthood as honorable, valuable, and necessary, while negating the myth of a superior white male god and consequent female inferiority. I explore these acts of writing the Igbo Dibịahood as sacred performances of testimony, communion and redemption. The emphasis on Dibịa ethics, I posit as offering a critique of Christian priestcraft. African defined Ọbịa rejects eurocentric impositions on the term by affirming it as a healing vocation and inclusive priesthood defined by wisdom and knowledge. Through attention to the feminine space of revival, Ọbịa balmyard, I explore similarities with continental antecedents and present female Dibịahood as a radical faith tradition that insists on the power of Nne Agwu, Mother Holy Spirit. The respell of Ọbịa through eight emanations is shown as a potent antidote against epistemicide. By affirming the sacredness of matriarchal power, the dignity of traditional Dibịahood and the ethical force of traditional knowledge, Umeh exemplifies a priest class worthy of the name
Effects of Ethiopia’s landlocked status on ties with its neighbours
Get PDFThis study looks at Ethiopia’s landlocked status and the economic, security, and political implications for the country’s relations with its neighbors. Furthermore, it addresses potential threats arising from the implications as well as potential solutions. Ethiopia lost its sea outlet after 1991. As a result, it is incurring significant costs to cover port fees and other related costs. Ethiopia’s economy is suffering as a result of the high cost. A literature review is used as a source of data to investigate the implications of Ethiopia’s landlocked status in relation to its ties with neighboring countries. Books, journals, internet materials, and media outlets were consulted in this regard. Furthermore, a key informant interview was conducted to collect up-to-date data and information that supports the findings of the literature review. The security and political aspects are discussed in light of East Africa’s security, neighboring countries’ interests, and the presence of foreign powers in the region. This study underlines that Ethiopia’s landlocked status has implications for its security and political affairs. Ethiopia’s landlocked status is primarily due to the country’s political leadership. Ethiopia can deal with the consequences of its landlocked status by establishing a stable political system and developing a compatible economic policy. In this regard, Ethiopia should learn from other countries how to overcome the negative effects of landlockedness, as there are developed landlocked countries