I think I am turning academic, I really think so...

In this 15 minute reflective film I consider how I might develop the documentary film form into a method of “writing” with video to articulate a more complex understanding of the world. My professional career and more recent academic practice has led me to consider two strands in my practice as a film-maker: (1) the meaning of evidence in the use of documentary video; (2) the value of documentary video as a creative academic research tool. Currently I am examining these aspects by considering the application of ambiguity, stilling, and silence in my practice-based doctoral research project: a worked-through example of an original historical investigation which began as a broadcast project but has developed into an exploration of the creative use of documentary video across a range of platforms. I will suggest that by moving away from the limited formulaic, traditional constructions of broadcast documentary practice, film-makers can adopt the more complex notions of truth familiar to artists and academics operating within a post-modern framework marked by competing narratives. The current challenge I face is to let go of my own broadcast training and conventions and view the material in new ways which are informed by the rigour of scholarship

Integrating Professional Media Practice Into Undergraduate and Postgraduate media courses

This paper presents comparative research recently undertaken across universities and HE institutions in England investigating the extent and effectiveness of involving students in corporate video projects commissioned by ‘real-life’ clients. Increasingly media production departments in HE are requested by in-house departments, external public services authorities, charities and corporate organisations to undertake media productions on their behalf. As the culture of commercial enterprise develops in the sector there is pressure to undertake work of this nature, making additional demands on limited resources. However it can also be seen as an opportunity for staff and students to develop new skills and knowledge. We were interested to uncover the level of this activity, understand some of the tensions that can arise and also propose ideas for improving the management of projects which cross the boundary of enterprise and learning

Level discrimination of speech sounds by hearing-impaired individuals with and without hearing amplification

Objectives: The current study was designed to see how hearing-impaired individuals judge level differences between speech sounds with and without hearing amplification. It was hypothesized that hearing aid compression should adversely affect the user's ability to judge level differences. Design: Thirty-eight hearing-impaired participants performed an adaptive tracking procedure to determine their level-discrimination thresholds for different word and sentence tokens, as well as speech-spectrum noise, with and without their hearing aids. Eight normal-hearing participants performed the same task for comparison. Results: Level discrimination for different word and sentence tokens was more difficult than the discrimination of stationary noises. Word level discrimination was significantly more difficult than sentence level discrimination. There were no significant differences, however, between mean performance with and without hearing aids and no correlations between performance and various hearing aid measurements. Conclusions: There is a clear difficulty in judging the level differences between words or sentences relative to differences between broadband noises, but this difficulty was found for both hearing-impaired and normal-hearing individuals and had no relation to hearing aid compression measures. The lack of a clear adverse effect of hearing aid compression on level discrimination is suggested to be due to the low effective compression ratios of currently fit hearing aids

Hearing in young adults, part I: the effects of attitudes and beliefs toward noise, hearing loss and hearing protector devices

There is great concern regarding the development of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) in youth caused by high sound levels during various leisure activities. Health-orientated behavior of young adults might be linked to the beliefs and attitudes toward noise, hearing loss, and hearing protector devices (HPDs). The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of attitudes and beliefs toward noise, hearing loss, and HPDs on young adults hearing status. A questionnaire and an audiological test battery were completed by 163 subjects (aged 18-30 years). The questionnaire contained the Youth Attitude to Noise Scale (YANS) and Beliefs about Hearing Protection and Hearing Loss (BAHPHL). A more positive attitude or belief represented an attitude where noise or hearing loss is seen as unproblematic and attitudes and beliefs regarding HPDs is worse. Hearing was evaluated using (high frequency) pure tone audiometry (PTA), transient evoked and distortion product otoacoustic emissions. First, mean differences in hearing between the groups with different attitudes and beliefs were evaluated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Second, a (2) test was used to examine the usage of HPDs by the different groups with different attitudes and beliefs. Young adults with a positive attitude had significantly more deteriorated hearing and used HPDs less than the other subjects. Hearing conservation programs (HCPs) for young adults should provide information and knowledge regarding noise, hearing loss, and HPDs. Barriers wearing HPDs should especially be discussed. Further, those campaigns should focus on self-experienced hearing related symptoms that might serve as triggers for attitudinal and behavioral changes

Maltese children with a hearing impairment : analysis of the current situation and its impact on the quality of life of parents

Understanding the effect that a diagnosis of a childhood hearing loss has on parents would help professionals adopt an approach which diminishes parents’ possible negative feelings and concerns. A sample of parents of children with hearing impairment was interviewed to document demographic data related to hearing loss in Maltese children. The present study also attempted to analyse the effect of hearing loss on the parents’ wellbeing. Parents of 23 children with a hearing loss and parents of eight children without a hearing loss participated in the study. Structured face-to-face interviews were carried out with both groups of parents. A self-devised questionnaire was used with parents of children with hearing impairment to collect information about several factors related to the hearing loss. This included documentation of the different types, degrees and causes of hearing loss as well as the ages of suspicion, diagnosis and amplification of children with a hearing loss. The World Health Organisation Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire (World Health Organisation [WHO], 1998) was then used with both groups of parents to obtain a quality of life profile in four domains: physical health, psychological health, social relationships and environment. Slight quality of life differences, which were not statistically significant, were noticed between parents of children with a hearing loss and parents of children without a hearing loss. Quality of life scores were marginally higher for parents whose gap between the day of diagnosis and the interview date was more than 24 months, when compared to parents whose gap was 24 months or less. These findings extend the limited data on the effect of hearing loss on parents’ quality of life in the Maltese context. More intensive support may be indicated for parents of children with hearing impairment, particularly in the initial stages following a diagnosis of a hearing loss. Support would help parents better understand and accept their child’s hearing impairment.peer-reviewe

Hearing through your eyes: neural basis of audiovisual cross-activation, revealed by transcranial alternating current stimulation

Some people experience auditory sensations when seeing visual flashes or movements. This prevalent synaesthesia-like ‘visual-evoked auditory response’ (vEAR) could result either from over-exuberant cross-activation between brain areas, and/or reduced inhibition of normally-occurring cross-activation. We have used transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to test these theories. We applied tACS at 10Hz (alpha-band frequency) or 40Hz (gamma-band), bilaterally either to temporal or occipital sites, while measuring same/different discrimination of paired auditory (A) versus visual (V) 'Morse code' sequences. At debriefing, participants were classified as vEAR or non-vEAR depending on whether they reported 'hearing' the silent flashes. In non-vEAR participants, temporal 10Hz tACS caused impairment of A performance, which correlated with improved V; conversely under occipital tACS, poorer V performance correlated with improved A. This reciprocal pattern suggests that sensory cortices are normally mutually inhibitory, and that alpha-frequency tACS may bias the balance of competition between them. vEAR participants showed no tACS effects, consistent with reduced inhibition, or enhanced cooperation between modalities. In addition, temporal 40Hz tACS impaired V performance, specifically in individuals who showed a performance advantage for V (relative to A). Gamma-frequency tACS may therefore modulate the ability of these individuals to benefit from recoding flashes into the auditory modality, possibly by disrupting cross-activation of auditory areas by visual stimulation. Our results support both theories, suggesting that vEAR may depend on disinhibition of normally-occurring sensory cross-activation, which may be expressed more strongly in some individuals. Furthermore, endogenous alpha and gamma-frequency oscillations may function respectively to inhibit or promote this cross-activation

Hearing with a cochlear implant: from bionic to bimodal listening

Introduction: Currently, cochlear implantation (CI) is the standard procedure for bilateral severe hearing loss in both children and adults. However, a considerable number of hearing-impaired patients, who are candidates for CI, have residual hearing in the low-frequency range. In addition to the refinement of the surgical techniques by the application of the principles of soft surgery, the design of particular, atraumatic electrodes, which are thinner, shorter and more flexible, has contributed to electroacoustic stimulation (EAS). The use of these atraumatic electrodes has resulted in preservation of residual hearing in up to 90% of cases. Electroacoustic hearing is associated with potential advantages over pure electric hearing: better speech understanding in noise, and superior music appreciation and sound quality. In addition, patients with EAS have awareness of sound, even when not wearing their CI. Methods: In the Ghent University Hospital, 6 severely hearing-impaired adult patients with sufficient low-frequency hearing were implanted with atraumatic electrodes. In 5/6 recipients, a Cochlear® Hybrid-L24 implant was used, whereas 1/6 received a Cochlear® CI422 implant. Results: Low-frequency acoustic hearing has been preserved in 5/6 patients. Three out of 6 patients use electroacoustic amplification postoperatively; 2/7 are stimulated electrically for the mid- and high-frequency range and have residual low-frequency hearing without need of amplification; and 1/6 patients is exclusively stimulated electrically for the whole frequency range because of deterioration of preoperative low-frequency hearing thresholds. Conclusion: In candidates for CI, application of soft surgery principles and the use of atraumatic electrodes should be raised to a standard because of the medical advantages, irrespective of the presence of residual hearing. In case of residual hearing, additional benefit is obtained in terms of better speech understanding in noise and a higher level of listening comfort

Synchrony, complexity and directiveness in mothers\u27 interactions with infants pre- and post-cochlear implantation

This study investigated effects of profound hearing loss on mother–infant interactions before and after cochlear implantation with a focus on maternal synchrony, complexity, and directiveness. Participants included two groups of mother–infant dyads: 9 dyads of mothers and infants with normal hearing; and 9 dyads of hearing mothers and infants with profound hearing loss. Dyads were observed at two time points: Time 1, scheduled to occur before cochlear implantation for infants with profound hearing loss (mean age = 13.6 months); and Time 2 (mean age = 23.3 months), scheduled to occur approximately six months after cochlear implantation. Hearing infants were age-matched to infants with hearing loss at both time points. Dependent variables included the proportion of maternal utterances that overlapped infant vocalizations, maternal mean length of utterance, infant word use, and combined maternal directives and prohibitions. Results showed mothers’ utterances overlapped the vocalizations of infants with hearing loss more often before cochlear implantation than after, mothers used less complex utterances with infants with cochlear implants compared to hearing peers (Time 2), and mothers of infants with profound hearing loss used frequent directives and prohibitions both before and after cochlear implantation. Together, mothers and infants adapted relatively quickly to infants’ access to cochlear implants, showing improved interactional synchrony, increased infant word use, and levels of maternal language complexity compatible with infants’ word use, all within seven months of cochlear implant activation

Discovery and Testimony of Unretained Experts: Creating a Clear and Equitable Standard to Govern Compliance With Subpoenas

Hearing impairment is known to be one of the most frequent sensory impairments. This condition is known to be a hidden disorder which is under recognised and under treated all around the world. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates suggest that there are over 275 million people with hearing impairment and 80% of them living in low and middle income countries. Moreover, the estimates suggest that incidence and prevalence of hearing loss and also the number of people with hearing loss accessing services varies considerably across countries. This rises the need for health promotion (or public awareness campaigns) directed to increase awareness and education of hearing loss and hearing healthcare. This paper provides brief discussion on ‘Stories and storytelling’, ‘Cross-culture and cross-cultural communication’ and ‘Health promotion and cultural sensitivity’. The central focus of this paper is to highlight the applications of storytelling in different cultural context in health promotion, particularly to hearing loss public awareness campaigns