Research
Innu investigation
The
British Academy has given Sociology’s Dr Colin Samson £7,000 for a project
on the indigenous people of Northern Labrador. The study looks at a
clandestine operation sixty years ago when 100 Innu were transported to an
Inuit settlement, Nutak, 400km north of their lands. However, after two
winters and the death of several of their number, those surviving walked
back to their homeland.
Dr
Samson explains: ‘The project is a collaborative social documentary
between a sociologist, a film-maker and the Innu community. We will use
social documentary and visual ethnographical methods to record a boat
journey to Nutak, the establishment of a camp (which will double as a
research field site), and subsidiary activities, such as travelling to
locations for procuring firewood, hunting and fishing. Techniques of
participant observation will be used to describe the setting, the people
involved, and the events themselves.’
Dr
Samson will work with German photographer/film maker Sarah Sandring. He
added: ‘We anticipate a number of outcomes, including a short film
co-edited by researchers and a youth film crew, and articles on the
relocation using Innu testimony. This would examine the main themes as
presented by the elders, and, building on separate research, identify
mechanisms by which the relationship to land influences the wellbeing of
indigenous peoples. There are no publicly available sources about Nutak,
and few existing works have attempted to understand similar relocations
from the perspectives of survivors.’
Until
now, what happened and who was responsible for this Innu eviction has
remained an enigma but Dr Samson’s work will allow the elderly survivors
to communicate and record their ordeal before it is too late.
Shushap Mark and Colin Samson at the
Innu camp at Sapeskuashu in 2006. Photo by Courtland Pokue
Games for disabled
While the global market
for computer games now exceeds that of film, many disabled people miss out
as they are unable to use standard game-pad controllers. However,
researchers in the Department of Computing and Electronic Systems are
changing this with their investigations into how myoelectric signal
processing can control a console game.
Myoeletric signals are
associated with muscle contractions and their research builds on work by
the University’s human-centred robotics group using myoelectric signals to
control wheelchairs. Mohamedreza Asghari Oskoei, Dr Simon Lucas and
Professor Huosheng Hu have applied similar technology to enable disabled
users to play standard computer games.
The system developed
uses an electronic control box to emulate the functions of a standard Xbox
360 controller. It is operated via a USB link to a PC, which processes the
signals from a myoelectric sensors sleeve.
Currently at prototype
stage, this technology has important potential for both the entertainment
and therapy of disabled users.
Tinnitus treatment
The
Hearing Research Laboratory within the Department of Psychology was
awarded a three-year studentship from the Royal National Institute for
Deaf People (RNID) to investigate the relationship between tinnitus and
defects in the inner ear. This will be undertaken by Christine Tan, an
audiologist, and supervised by Professor Ray Meddis. Co-supervisor is Mr
Don McFerran, Consultant ENT Surgeon at Essex County Hospital.
Tinnitus
is defined as the perception of persistent noise (eg buzzing) in the
absence of any real sound. At present, there is no objective way of
measuring it and no consensus on the cause. While early theories focus on
the ear itself, later research looks at hearing pathways within the brain.
Professor Meddis explains: ‘Recent studies suggest progress can be made
using more sophisticated hearing tests. The Hearing Research Laboratory
has been developing computerised hearing tests as part of the Hearing
Dummy Project in a three-year study sponsored by the EPSRC. These tests
are sensitive to minor abnormalities and will be used to investigate
people with tinnitus.’
The
project starts in October. If anyone with tinnitus would like to help,
please contact Christine Tan, e-mail:
ctan@essex.ac.uk or Professor Ray Meddis, e-mail:
rmeddis@essex.ac.uk
Also in the printed October edition of Wyvern:
- Focus on research awards at Essex
- Welfare and warfare: an uneasy mix
