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Ghana’s copyright law is a significant barrier to artists who’d like to draw on the country’s rich folklore in their own work. Stephen Collins argues that the law, as it stands, has the potential to disrupt the development of folklore in the West African nation and prevent creative Ghanaians from developing from their own cultural heritage.
Virtual Personal Assistants such as Bixby, Alexa (Amazon), Siri (Apple) and Cortana (Microsoft) are at the cutting edge of marketable artificial intelligence. But while they seem, on the face of it, to be helpful technology with a human touch, the way they’re presented - female names, voices and programmed flirtatiousness - belies the gender bias at the heart of so much technology. Rachel Adams explains.
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Ghana is very protective of its cultural heritage.
Wikimedia Commons
Stephen Collins, University of the West of Scotland
New regulations on the use of folklore are a hindrance to local artists.
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Sexist stereotypes are playing out in the world of artificial intelligence.
yavi/Shutterstock
Rachel Adams, Human Sciences Research Council
All the virtual personal assistants on the market today come with a default female voice and is programmed to respond to all kinds of suggestive questions and comments.
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Science + Technology
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Charles Helm, Nelson Mandela University
Given that we know humans moved across these landscapes, we wondered whether there might also be evidence of other forms of human activity on these surfaces of sand.
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Ray Durrheim, University of the Witwatersrand
There are three important issues to consider when thinking about quakes: what causes them; how to prepare and plan for them; and, how to move on after a damaging quake.
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From our international editions
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Philip S. S. Howard, McGill University
The Canadian election has been dominated by old pictures of Justin Trudeau wearing blackface. Instead of focusing on Trudeau's poor behaviour, a larger discussion is needed to act on systemic racism.
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Marc Hudson, University of Manchester
The history of the UNFCCC shapes what is and isn't possible today.
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Toby Brown, McMaster University
The first ever Canadian-led large project on one of the world's leading telescopes will investigate how the birth and death of galaxies are affected by their environment.
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Nathaniel Geiger, Indiana University
A team of researchers tried to gauge public perceptions of climate activists and faith in humanity's ability to work together on issues like climate change.
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En français
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Manon Ott, Université d’Evry – Université Paris-Saclay
Comment vit-on dans ces anciennes banlieues ouvrières en mutation ? Comment s’y engage, ou non, la jeunesse actuelle ? Un documentaire explore un pan méconnu de la banlieue des Mureaux. Extraits.
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Philippe Chalmin, Université Paris Dauphine – PSL
L’attaque des installations de la compagnie saoudienne Aramco, le 14 septembre, ne devrait pas conduire à une hausse des prix à court terme. Explications.
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