PHD-Department of Art and Design

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Browsing PHD-Department of Art and Design by Subject "Kenya"

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    Exposure to Digital Paintings on Male Sex Offenders’ Attitudes towards Sexual Crimes: Case of Nairobi West Prison, Nairobi City County, Kenya
    (Kenyatta University, 2021) Adhiambo, Benta G; George Vikiru; Christine Wasanga
    Crime is an act in violation of the criminal law. Global statistics indicate that sexual offending is among the leading crimes in many countries, with close to one billion people falling victim. The high prevalence of sexual offending is an issue of concern considering the significant negative effects on the victims, their families and the larger society. In Kenya, the high numbers of sexual offending are attributed to re-offending, where previous convicts revert to their criminal behaviour. Whereas global studies estimate rates of sexual re-offending to be as low as 5-25% over periods of 5-10 years, in Kenya the rates are above 40% yearly, leading to overcrowding in prisons. Stiff criminal penalties prescribed against sexual offences and the existing rehabilitation programs have not deterred the perpetrators. This is despite the fact that consequences of sexual offending undermine the fulfillment of the national goals encompassed in Vision 2030, the National Health Sector Strategic Plan II and global development goals embraced in Millennium Development Goals. Arising from this data has been the need to develop offence-focused interventions intended to lower the possibility of re-offending. Unlike Kenya, Canada, Australia and the USA have successfully implemented the use of art-based programmes to minimize re- offending. Attitudinal impacts of these art-based programs among incarcerated offenders however remain largely unexplored. Studies in the cited countries have focused on active participation with minimal emphasis on passive participation, including Mere Exposure. This study therefore sought to examine the place of visual art in reducing cases of reoffending by investigating the effects of exposure to digital paintings on male sex offenders’ attitudes towards sexual crimes. The study targeting incarcerated male sex offenders in Kenya was conducted in Nairobi West prison, a male offenders’ facility in Nairobi City County. A mixed method research approach with a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was employed. Sixty-one study respondents were selected by stratified random sampling from male convicts of defilement and rape, aged 18-45 years. The respondents were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions involving viewing the digital paintings in exhibition and via projection in Rapid Serial Visual presentation respectively. An attitude questionnaire was used for pretest and posttest attitude measures, while a five-point Likert scale was used to measure the responses to the digital paintings. A Paired T- Test was used to determine the differences in attitudes towards crime at pretest and posttest. Significant differences were found between posttest1 and pretest (t=-3.117, p-value=0.003) and between posttest 2 and pretest (t=-2.161, p-value=0.035). The R-squared of the regression models linked improved attitude scores to repeated exposure to digital paintings. Regression analysis based on Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) was done and the results showed that painting style (p-value = 0.047), colour schemes (p-value = 0.000) and exposure frequency (p-value = 0.002) significantly influenced the sex offenders’ attitudes towards sexual crimes. The study findings were ultimately used to recommend a model for utilizing digital paintings to foster negative attitudes towards sexual crimes among male sex offenders. This was envisioned to reduce cases of re-offending, decongest prisons and have a large workforce out of prison to drive the government’s development agenda.
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    Use of Visual Illustration in the Interpretation of Proverbs in Secondary Schools in Kikuyu District, Kiambu County, Kenya
    (2012-11-05) Kamau, Wango; Wallace K. Mbugua; Buckner K. Dogbe
    The centrality of the current study was the need to establish whether visual Illustrations when presented together with text, increase the uptake of meaning in proverbs among the students in secondary schools in Kikuyu District. The method of interpretation of proverbs currently used in secondary schools is a linguistic one; meaning the usage of text alone. The current study, therefore, specifically sought to determine whether the effectiveness of visual illustration can augment the linguistic method in the interpretation of proverb content. This study was, however, anchored upon the basis that communal values, seen through and guided by a community's philosophy are enshrined in its culture. Proverbs have been described by many oral literature scholars as a sub genre that probably best underscores this philosophy. The current study, therefore, sought to examine the proverb as an avenue for the inculcation of social wisdom. In incorporating and reaching the body of youth, the current study used the regular or formal teaching and learning process. According to the current secondary school syllabus (KIE, 2003) proverbs are indeed taught in the secondary school curriculum. Subsequently, the field work of the current study was carried out in Kikuyu District of Central Kenya. A quasi- experimental design was applied where one group of students was exposed to proverbs in the linguistic form (control group) and other students in specified groups (categorized according to types of illustration) were exposed to proverbs in illustrated form (experimental groups). The data was both quantitative and qualitative. The basis of the theoretical framework was convergent theories where the main informative one was the visual literacy theory derived from the larger theories of communication. Other confluent theories were the pragmatic theory in Art; and Gestalt/Behaviorism/Cognitive theories that inform teaching and learning. The convergent concepts culminated in a conceptual model that is outlined in detail in the theoretical framework. The data was analyzed qualitatively in the case of written responses and quantitatively where responses culminated in percentage frequencies which were subjected to relevant statistical tests. The results of the current study indicated that visual illustration as a mode, when presented with text, aided the interpretation of proverbs in secondary schools to a significant extent in most types of illustration compared to text alone. The Chi-square computation for the overall percentage frequencies of the experimental versus the control showed that there was a significant degree of association between the use of illustrations combined with text and the responses in the interpretation of proverbs, and a further test of equality of proportions indicated that uptake of meaning occurred when illustrations combined with text were used against text alone. This subsequently indicated that visual illustrations combined with text were indeed a useful method of presentation and interpretation of proverbs. The current study therefore contends that since visual illustration alone does not effectively aid the uptake of proverbs, and that text alone is surpassed in the level of uptake by text accompanied by illustrations in most categories of the illustrations, then visual illustration combined with text is more effective than the linguistic method alone. The current stud, therefore, recommends the introduction of visual illustrations in the interpretation of proverbs in secondary schools.