We would like to acknowledge the following contributors to this month’s STAE issue.
The Sterling Creations accessibility team, the Sterling Creations research team, Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison who are our resident business consultants, Scott Savoy our managing editor, Christian Robicheau our assistant editor, and Donna J Jodhan our president.
Meet Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison
Our resident experts with over 45 years of business consulting experience between them. These two are the authors of several books, articles, and newsletters. They are highly paid consultants to the US, British, and Canadian governments and they continue to “Walk the talk” on a daily basis.
They and their team of consultants work tirelessly to produce daily blogs that are jammed packed with up to the minute news wires and headlines from around the world, business news and trends, and current strategies. Marquis and Harrison are also motivational speakers and are booked solid till the end of 2008. They and their team also help countless businesses and individuals to research and write complaints and editorials so that the voices of their clients can be heard.
Their books include:
Secrets to Financial Success, Untapped Wealth, and Untapped Wealth Discovered first and second editions. They are presently at work on other books.
Ten tips for interacting with people who are blind
October 2007
By the Sterling Creations accessibility team
Hello! This month we’d like to provide you with some tips on how to deal with a blind person. Over the months we’ve received the odd email from sighted persons asking for suggestions on how to deal with a blind person. Most of our emailers have told us that they don’t normally interact with blind persons on a regular basis but they would like to know how to do so in the appropriate manner. So we hope that the following article helps.
Ten tips for interacting with people who are blind
By: Shelley Johns
Shreveport Times, Louisiana, April 19, 2007
Shelley Johns lives in Bossier City.
My father is blind, as are both of my uncles, so growing up with blind
people has given me some insight (no pun intended) into how not to treat
blind people.
First, when out in public, if you happen to see a blind person, do not
stare! Although, the blind person cannot see you, the family members of the
blind person can and speaking from personal experience, it can send a
sighted family member into a rage where you will be verbally abused and/or
made an example of.
Second, when a blind person is ready to order at a restaurant, please do not
assume that they are not of mental capacity to place the order for
themselves.
Nothing makes a blind person angrier than when a waiter or waitress asks the
person sitting with the blind person what they want to eat.
Third, speaking loudly to the blind person is not going to make him or her
see you.
This may be shocking, but sight is not triggered by loud noise and yelling
at a blind person will only result in a bloody nose, and/or cane whop,
because no one likes to be yelled at.
Fourth, offering help to a blind person is OK but only if the blind person
asks for it. There are some exceptions to the rule. For example, if you see
a blind person about to run directly into a wall, then stopping them is
acceptable. However, a blind person doesn't normally run into walls because
they are normally armed with a cane, escort or seeing-eye dog.
Fifth, moving furniture in the path of a blind person is completely
unacceptable - well, unless you are the blind person's spouse, son or
daughter and they have just made you mad. It is not recommended though
because the blind person has acute hearing and anything you are doing sneaky
can be heard from a blind person several rooms away.
Sixth, do not treat blind people like they are stupid. Asking stupid
questions or dumbing-down a conversation is completely ridiculous. In most
cases, the blind person is highly educated and conversation with a blind
person can be a learning experience.
Seventh, do not offer to "carry" a blind person somewhere unless you have a
really strong back and fully intend to lug the blind person on your back.
Leading them somewhere is OK; however, carrying them is not suggested.
Eighth, when helping a blind person descend a flight of stairs, do not grab
underneath their arm, lifting half their body, forcing them to hop down the
stairs on one leg. This is hazardous to the blind person, as well as
yourself.
Ninth, give them the respect that you would give anyone else and don't treat
them differently. While stupidity may be contagious, blindness is not.
Tenth, and finally, if you are going to ask a blind person about their
blindness, for goodness sake, just ask. In most cases, they do not mind
answering your questions, however, wording it in a way that is insulting to
their intelligence is not recommended.
In conclusion, I believe that I have covered the most important bases on how
not to treat a blind person so please use this guide wisely.
Obesity_ society's last prejudice
October 2007
By Jeff N Marquis and Kerry J Harrison
Dear readers,
For this month we’ve chosen an article that talks to the problem of obesity. We’d like to join the chorus of growing voices for more awareness of the problem of obesidy. We invite you to do the same as obesidy leads to so many other problems both medical and social. Here now is the article.
Obesity: society's last prejudice
This is the disease everybody wants to preach about and nobody wants to
treat
MARGARET WENTE
Apr. 29, 2007
Jamie Bogart went to his first fat camp when he was 8. By the time he died
nine days ago, at the age of 45, he was morbidly obese. It's not as if he
didn't try to lose the weight. In the intervening years, he'd probably gained and lost
his body Weight a few times over.
The real obesity epidemic does not include the pleasantly plump, or even the
Downright fat. It is much less visible. It afflicts people like Mr. Bogart,
who are often so disabled by their condition that they seldom leave the house.
Weight-loss Surgery can literally save their lives. But obesity is the disease that
everybody wants to preach about and nobody wants to treat. If you're an alcoholic or a
smoker, a drug addict or a cancer victim or a cardiac case, the system will be
pleased to Serve you. If you're like Mr. Bogart, you're mostly out of luck.
"Canada is in the Stone Age of obesity treatment," says Dr. Arya Sharma, a
Leading obesity specialist who was also Mr. Bogart's doctor. "We have
virtually no resources."
Mr. Bogart wasn't the first of his patients to die before he got effective
treatment, and he surely won't be the last.
Dr. Sharma, who practises at McMaster University in Hamilton, has a waiting
List that's 14 months long. His average patient weighs in at 400 pounds,
"and they're getting heavier by the day." His heaviest patients -- who also
happen to be his youngest -- are in the 600-700 pound range. They have awful
complications -- diabetes, osteoarthritis, incontinence. They are socially isolated, unable
to work, and deeply ashamed.
There are more than 150,000 people in Ontario alone who are at least 100
pounds overweight.
"Eating more fruits and vegetables and walking around the block aren't going
to do it for them," says Dr. Sharma. Virtually all have lost weight and then
gained it back. "I've never met an obese person who's never lost weight."
If obesity were any other disease, we'd have runs and ribbons, fundraisers
and awareness drives, and outraged demands for more government funding. But
there's no lobby for extremely fat people. That's because we blame them for their
weight. We think they're lazy and they eat too much.
"It's not that governments don't see the problem," says Dr. Sharma. "But
Spending more money on treatment wouldn't be popular."
Dr. Sharma was extremely fond of Mr. Bogart. "He was so much fun -- lively,
good-natured, enthusiastic. He worked so hard."
Mr. Bogart's history was typical. Weight problems ran in the family, though no one was as big as he was. He was an active kid,
and liked football and soccer. He went to fat camp for years. Every summer
he would lose 60 pounds, and every fall he'd put it all back on again.
"He used to love pizzas and subs," says his brother, Perry. "Sometimes we'd
go to the all-you-can-eat buffets at the Beacon Motor Inn. I guess I didn't
do him Too much good."
But lots of people love pizzas and subs; few of them weigh 400 pounds. "Most
People get obese by doing very normal things," says Dr. Sharma. "But because
of their genetic background they can't get away with it."
Canada's obesity strategy focuses entirely on prevention. Exercise, eat your
Fruit and veg, and you won't get fat. But this advice is useless for people
like Mr. Bogart, who already are fat. It's like telling somebody with colon
cancer to eat more fibre.
"Obesity treatment isn't about getting people to lose weight," says Dr.
Sharma. "It's about how to keep it off, or prevent further weight gain." And
for people like Mr. Bogart that means gastric bypass surgery, so that food intake is
sharply limited.
But in Canada, the waiting list for surgery is years. Ontario's government Sends 600 people a year out of province, at a cost of maybe $15-million a year,
but even a new program for 200 extra surgeries a year won't begin to meet
the demand.
As an adult, Jamie Bogart worked in the family jewellery business in
Hamilton. He loved music and dancing, and while he was still mobile he DJed
weddings on the side. And he kept trying to lose weight. He tried Weight Watchers and
the grapefruit diet. He dropped thousands on an expensive residential program in
the U.S. By 1999, weighing 510 lbs., he was so desperate he went public with his plight.
"If I don't do something, I'm going to lose my life," he told The Toronto Sun. He had
kidney problems and diabetes, and could scarcely walk.
Eventually he found Dr. Sharma's program in Hamilton, which isn't covered by
Health care. It cost him $2,700 a year. He also applied for weight-loss
surgery. Meantime, with a combination of exercise, diet and medication, he managed to
lose weight again.
He went to the local pool every day to swim. Last February, he was presented
With a certificate welcoming him to the Century Club, for people who've lost
at Least 100 pounds. He clocked in at 417.
But then he got a leg infection that turned catastrophic. When he was
admitted to the hospital, his legs had turned black. "They looked at his
legs and it was as if they were lost," his brother recalls. "They didn't know what to do."
Three days after he died, a letter came saying that he had been approved for a
preliminary Consultation for surgery in the U.S. By then, of course, it was too late.
Perkins adds voice to suit against US
October 2007
By Scott Savoy
I am really excited to be presenting the following article this month. For till I came across it, I never gave much thought to how blind persons deal with currency denominations that are all of the same color. It must be truly difficult for them and shame on me for not having thought of it till now. I hope that this law suit is successful and maybe you too can add your voice to this challenge.
Perkins adds voice to suit against US
By Stephanie V. Siek
The Boston Globe, April 19, 2007
Take out a $1 bill, $5 bill, and a $10 bill. Now close your eyes. Can you
tell which is which?
Now imagine trying to buy a candy bar, or pay for a bus ticket, or get
change from a taxi driver. You are left dependent upon the honesty and good
will of others to avoid being cheated.
A Watertown institution, the Perkins School for the Blind, is offering
support to a legal battle to force the United States to do what such
countries as Canada, China, Gambia, Bangladesh, Australia and the members of
the European Union already do: Print currency that is distinguishable by
people who can't see.
The United States was the only one out of 171 currency-issuing bodies that
lacked bills with features to help nonsighted or low-vision people tell
different denominations apart, according to a 1995 study by the National
Academy of Sciences. Other countries use such methods as different sizes for
each denomination, embossed numbers or symbols, high-contrast colors, and
large-print numbers.
The American Council of the Blind in 2002 filed a lawsuit alleging that the
US Treasury discriminated against the visually impaired by repeatedly
failing to redesign its paper money in a way that would allow it to be
readily distinguishable. In November, a federal court judge ruled in the
council's favor. The government is appealing the decision.
Last week, two Yale University School of Law students came to the Perkins
School to interview students, staff, and community members. The testimony
will be used to prepare a friend-of-the-court brief offering the school's
position on the case.
The issue is one with particular relevance for one of the law students,
Cyrus Habib, who has been blind since birth.
After US District Judge James Robertson's decision last fall, Habib
approached one of his professors, Harold Hongju Koh, who is also the law
school's dean and is notable for his work in civil and human rights cases.
"He said, 'Someone should really write an amicus brief on this,' " said
Habib, referring to the "friend" filing. "I didn't realize at the time that
was code for 'Get busy.' "
But eventually he did, along with classmate Jon Finer. Koh is supervising
the pair's work.
"People shouldn't have to rely on other people to do something," said Habib,
referring to how visually impaired people need help at the cash register.
"This is deeply American -- the idea of being an individual, being
independent."
"A day like this is fantastic," Finer said after the two first-year law
students met with Perkins students last Friday. "It pushes the issue forward
just being here."
But the currency issue isn't just a consumer issue for visually impaired
people; it also can affect their job opportunities.
Perkins student Cory Kadlik, 16, discovered this when he called a deli near
his home in Medway about a part-time job that would involve working the cash
register. The owner turned him down, saying that dishonest customers could
take advantage of Kadlik.
"I feel bad for them because they want to give you the job, but they can't,"
Kadlik said of potential employers like the deli owner. "It kills them to do
that. I feel bad and they feel bad, it's a mess. I just cry."
One of the school's social workers, in a later session, agreed.
"The ability to manage your own money, to be independent in that way. . .
that's so greatly affected," said Jim Witmer. "The simplest of transactions
and purchases requires some sort of assistance. They don't have the access
their peers do, and built into that is learning mathematics, learning social
interactions."
Tyler Tarrasi, a 17-year-old from Framingham, said he feels at a
disadvantage to sighted teens his age looking for work in a store. "When you
can't read the money, you can't have the job."
There are more than 3 million blind or low-vision people in the United
States, according to the National Eye Institute, and not all of them agree
with the American Council of the Blind's position. The National Federation
of the Blind called Robertson's decision "dangerously misguided," and argued
that such efforts distract from more important problems, such as lack of
access to information in Braille and other formats.
"The blind need jobs and real opportunities to earn money, not feel-good
gimmicks that misinform the public about our capabilities," the federation's
president, Dr. Marc Maurer, said in a statement after the November court
decision. The ruling, he went on to say, "argues that the blind cannot
handle currency or documents in the workplace and that virtually everything
must be modified for the use of the blind. An employer who believes that. .
. will have a strong incentive not to hire a blind person."
Almost 38,000 people in Massachusetts are legally or totally blind,
according to the Massachusetts Commission for the Blind.
The US government's defense is that failing to have discernible currency may
be an inconvenience, but it is not discriminatory. It also maintained that
redesigning paper money would be too expensive, an argument that Robertson
rejected.
Using estimates from the federal Bureau of Engraving and Printing, he
reasoned that the most expensive design option, making bills in different
sizes, would cost up to $228 million initially and $52 million more per year
than the current design. He noted the cost would amount to "only a small
fraction" of the bureau's budget.
"Over the past 10 years -- and two redesigns -- the BEP has spent $4.2
billion on currency production, an average of $420 million per year,"
Robertson said in his decision. He added that if adaptive features were
incorporated into a pre planned redesign, "the total burden of adding such a
feature would be even smaller."
As an alternative to using redesigned cash, the Treasury's lawyers said,
blind people could use digital currency readers, or pay for items with debit
or credit cards.
Habib said plastic cards are often useless in such daily transactions as
buying candy or a subway ticket. Besides, he said, he still needs a sighted
person to verify that a credit card receipt is correct.
As for currency readers, they are costly, heavy, and are unreliable with
worn bills, advocates for the blind say.
The federal government also said the visually impaired can identify paper
money by developing their own money-handling techniques, such as folding
each denomination a different way, or keeping bills in different pockets.
In response, blind people note that they still have to rely on others to
make sure they receive or give the correct change.
Alison Roberts of Waltham is a co founder of OurMoneyToo.org, an
Internet-based organization fighting for currency change. At a meeting with
Habib and Finer, she demonstrated a commonly used reader. The Note Teller
took more than two minutes to "read" five bills, and the newly redesigned
$20 bill wasn't recognized at all.
"Imagine you're the person behind me in line," said Judi Cannon, who is
blind and a Braille services specialist at Perkins.
Or, Roberts added, imagine you're a cashier, trying to use the Note Teller
to count up the day's receipts.
Jason Campbell, a 21-year-old Perkins student, said not being able to handle
money reinforces stereotypes about blind people.
"They think blind people can't do much," he said. If they don't give you a
chance, you can't prove them wrong. And maybe they don't want to be proven
wrong."
Smelling the ground and feeling the clouds
October 2007
Sponsored by Donna J Jodhan
Hey! I’m always buoyed by someone who dares to push the envelope and this month I’ve chosen an article that focuses on just that kind of thing. I admire the adventurer in this article and wish that I could do something like this. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Smelling the ground and feeling the clouds, blind pilot closes on record
By Barbara McMahon in Sydney
The Guardian (UK), April 28, 2007
Adventurer faced snow blasts, tropical storms and violent turbulence during
seven-week odyssey
When flying a microlight halfway round the world there is much to contend
with. Thermal blasts that toss the craft around the sky like a toy; snow
flurries and frigid altitudes that cut through protective clothing; the
bureaucracy of refuelling in difficult parts of the world. All challenging
enough if you're at the peak of your powers.
But doubly so if, like Miles Hilton-Barber, you are blind.
The Briton is on the last leg of an epic seven-week, 13,000-mile adventure.
He has endured violent turbulence, freezing temperatures and fierce
headwinds in a tiny aircraft exposed to the elements with the aim of
becoming the first blind person to fly a microlight from Britain to
Australia. He is due to complete the journey by piloting the plane into
Sydney on Monday morning.
"I've been thrown around the sky in the most frightening way and the cold
has been beyond description at times but I feel jubilant that I'm nearly
there," he said, speaking from a motel room in Queensland on the last leg of
his voyage.
The 58-year-old has flown across 19 countries with the aid of
speech-controlled navigational equipment developed by a British company
which reads altitude, speed and headings to him and helps him steer his
course. He responds by typing flight coordinates into a keyboard strapped to
his leg.
"I use all the knobs and switches as well, just like other pilots," he
added. The microlight has a 100hp engine that allows it to cruise at 70
knots and it also has a long-range 160-litre fuel tank sufficient for
flights of up to 10 hours. A co-pilot - microlight champion Richard
Meredith-Hardy - has accompanied the blind pilot, but he only takes over in
emergency.
"Flying like this is a very sensual experience because, although I can see
only light and darkness, I can still smell the smells coming up from the
ground," said Mr Hilton-Barber. "Even at 5,000ft, I can smell whether I'm
going over a city or a factory or a field with crops and whether they're
growing corn or wheat down there. I can also feel when we're going along the
edge of a cloud, because I sense the moisture in the air and there's a damp
and musty smell."
The record-breaking flight set off from Biggin Hill airfield on March 7,
heading south across France, Italy and the Mediterranean towards Syria and
Jordan. From there, the microlight crossed the United Arab Emirates,
Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand, Singapore and the island of
East Timor before a long sea crossing to Darwin, then down the east coast of
Australia to Sydney.
Along the way, there have been a few scrapes.
"The other day it was very turbulent weather so we climbed up to 12,000ft to
try to get out of it, which, for a microlight, is very high. It was so cold
I was shaking and shivering and Richard had to keep a very close eye on me,"
he said.
"The degree of concentration needed is very high because I'm having to
listen to information constantly. My brain goes soggy towards the end of
every day." The microlight has also been engulfed in a snowstorm in the
Middle East, caught up in a tropical storm over Malaysia and hit by thermal
blasts over Saudi Arabia which sent the tiny aircraft spiralling up into the
sky. "It was like being in an elevator that was out of control and it was a
very alarming thing because the microlight is completely open to the
elements and you only have a seatbelt to hold you in," he said. "We really
took a hammering."
Mr Hilton-Barber lost his sight 25 years ago because of an inherited genetic
disorder which also blinded his brother. "I used to see my blindness as a
disability and I felt very sorry for myself but now I see it as a
challenge," he said.
He is now a full-time adventurer and motivational speaker and hopes to raise
#1m for the charity Seeing is Believing, which aims to restore sight or
prevent blindness in the developing world.
According to the charity there are 37 million blind people in the world but
75% of blindness is avoidable or repairable to some degree. "Cataracts,
river blindness, vitamin deficiencies, malnutrition... these types of
blindness are preventable or can be fixed and that is why I am raising
money," he said. Mr Hilton-Barber is being sponsored by Standard Chartered
Bank, which will match every pound he raises.
He is due to finish his journey on Monday by piloting his microlight around
Sydney harbour in a triumphant finale before returning home to Derbyshire
and to his wife Stephanie and their three children. He will be flying back
to the UK on a jumbo jet and says he is looking forward to sleeping all the
way home.
Mr Hilton-Barber, who has climbed in the Himalayas, taken part in marathons
and other extreme endurance sports and attempted to become the first blind
person to reach the South Pole, is already planning his next challenge. He
wants to be the first blind person to fly an aircraft through the sound
barrier.
Eye-opening technology creating animated spaces for the visually impaired
October 2007
By Christian Robicheau
Science fiction in the making you say? Don’t think so. Please read the following article and judge for yourself.
Eye-Opening Technology: Creating animated spaces for the visually impaired.
By Charles Creekmore
University of Massachusetts, MA, April 18, 2007
Caption: We're Talkin' Groceries: Through RFID technology, a PDA-like
apparatus allows products to "talk" to blind people. Students Sumana Mannem
and Katherine Reagan developed a prototype under an NSF grant awarded to
professor Aura Ganz.
To understand people who live in the murky realm of visual impairment, step
into the shoes of a 55-year-old woman recently diagnosed with macular
degeneration. You are still adjusting physically and metaphysically to the
progressively obscure world of this condition that smears the central
retinal tissues responsible for straight-ahead vision. Gradually you are
robbed of the ability to read, drive, recognize faces, shop, and do many
other daily activities. As your central vision has broken down in recent
months, only your peripheral vision remains. What little you can see, you
glimpse indirectly, at the corners of your eyes.
Like many visually impaired people, you are fiercely independent and proud,
determined not to call attention to yourself. So when you arrive at your
neighborhood supermarket driven by a mighty urge for a power breakfast of
buckwheat pancakes with real maple syrup and organic sausages, you want to
be able to shop without assistance.
The fundamental tool for your independent lifestyle is a Personal Digital
Assistant (PDA), a common mobile device the size of a pocket calculator.
Your PDA hangs around your neck like the glasses dangling from a reference
librarian's neck and serving much the same function. It allows you to see by
proxy.
But your PDA is special, having been programmed with a futuristic seeing-eye
system created at UMass Amherst, that gives you verbal directions to all the
sections, aisles, products, and brand names in your local supermarket. By
scanning the space around you, at your leisure, your device tunes in to
thousands of radio frequency tags that act as audio beacons, tiny
transmitters leading you to your favorite sausage, maple syrup, and pancake
mix. The PDA program, getting its directional signals from these tags, then
talks you through the bustling aisles of the supermarket so you can shop at
your leisure.
Navigation is only part of the system; this seeing-eye network also enables
you to "interrogate" each product for its brand name, price, ingredients,
nutritional value, and a cornucopia of additional information. In effect,
the system endows every item in the store with the power of speech.
Science fiction? Not at all. Katherine Reagan (a so-called "super senior,"
or fifth-year double-major in computer systems engineering and computer
science) has fabricated a prototype for just such a seeing-eye system that
could benefit the 161 million people worldwide who suffer from visual
impairment.
Reagan was motivated by these statistics to create her seeing-eye shopping
system. "I thought it would help out people and would be a very important
project to do," she says. "My dad's a firefighter, so I guess it's intuitive
for me. I seem to have inherited his gene for helping people."
Animated Spaces
This seeing-eye shopping system is one of many similar electronic networks
being invented as part of a $300,000 grant from the National Science
Foundation (NSF) given to Reagan's mentor, professor Aura Ganz of the
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE). All this research uses
radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for creating "animated
spaces," in which real-world objects communicate with users in order to
convey their locations, purposes, functions, and histories.
"The philosophy of animated spaces is based on the Greek concept of an
animistic society, in which objects have souls that make them want to convey
their purpose to humans," says Ganz. "If you relate animated spaces to the
Greek ideal, the object is essentially baring its soul to you."
A RFID system consists of radio frequency tags, or transponders, outfitted
with small, inexpensive microchips; and a radio frequency reader, or
transceiver, within mobile devices such as PDAs, laptop computers, or cell
phones. The transponder sends a question by beaming a radio signal, and the
product's answer is transmitted through the reader. In the particular
animated space envisioned by Reagan for her seeing-eye shopping system,
every product in the supermarket would be tagged, bar-code style, with
transponders. (Several large chains already do this to manage inventory.)
The PDA can home in on each item and, in essence, read its mind.
The main thrust of Ganz's grant is to study how RFID can empower
supermarkets, museums, monuments, healthcare facilities, campus buildings,
and other places to communicate with visually impaired users and reveal the
"rich inner lives" of the objects there. Another of the numerous
possibilities is what Ganz calls "audiage" (as compared to "signage"),
interpretive displays that talk to visually impaired users. For example,
audiage in an art museum could describe an adjoining painting by Picasso,
talk about the painter's colorful life, and explain the theories behind
Cubism. Such displays would be a boon for art-loving, visually impaired
people with some history or some degree of sight.
"I've been working on this technology for about twenty years now," says
Ganz. "And my point of view has always been, 'How can we use it to improve
the lives of people?' What better cause for this technology than to make
life easier for the blind?"
Smart RFID systems may offer a host of other applications. Ganz is tracking
the myriad possibilities for what she calls "augmented reality systems" that
"increase interaction between the physical and digital worlds."
Imagine, for instance, if every whirring, beeping machine in an emergency
room wore a RFID tag that detailed its operation and purpose for medical
students.
"Many objects around us have become so sophisticated, it has become almost
impossible to learn how to operate them," says Ganz. "So animated spaces
become our medium for having the objects that surround us explain their
purpose, their origins, their technology, and how to use them."
There are millions of objects looking to bare their souls to us. All it
takes is a little radio frequency identification, the kind of ingenuity
being applied by Ganz and her students, and the will to do it.
Perceiving and Achieving Independence
As part of her graduate studies in electrical and computer engineering,
Sumana Mannem had been developing an animated space called "Percept" that's
something of an audio building directory. "We were thinking of Percept from
a technical perspective," says Mannem. But when her team met Carole Wilson,
the person who trains visually impaired students to get around campus, "she
gave us that very important human perspective."
Wilson, a Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist with the
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, has also been advising Ganz and her
research team on the needs and perceptions of her clients. "When Carole
Wilson came into the picture, it cleared up lots of issues," says Mannem,
who works on both projects.
One of Wilson's jobs is called "pre-orientation," a process that arms the
visually impaired with a weapon against the stigma of sticking out. Wilson
teaches her visually impaired students the most direct route to each room in
every building they need to reach. Percept is being designed to be a
stigma-free alternative to navigating hallways by rote.
Percept would work much like other animated spaces but specifically
addresses the problem of getting directions in a campus building. Suppose a
guy named Frank, a legally blind engineering student, arrives at the main
entrance of the Knowles building. With the help of his guide dog, Frank
walks to a wall "kiosk," or directory, located in a position consistent for
every building on campus. Then Frank runs his fingers across the raised
numbers and letters on the directory and chooses his destination. Speaking
through Frank's PDA, the directory tells Frank exactly how to get to the
elevator, which floor to exit, and where to go from there.
"Percept would certainly broaden my students' awareness of what facilities
were available to them," says Wilson. "Percept would give them access to all
the facilities in a building and much more freedom of movement."
Aside from those benefits, Percept would also give them the added
independence of rarely having to ask directions or depend upon the kindness
of strangers.
Like the other people on the Ganz research team, Mannem brings to this
technical work a deeply compassionate nature.
"Percept appealed to that side of me that wants to help people," says
Mannem, who hales from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad. "I like this
project because it wasn't totally technical. I have a spiritual guru in
India, and he always said, 'The best form of worship is to serve people.' So
helping people is ingrained in me. This project took my educational and
technical background and applied it to my spiritual values."
October 2007
By the Sterling Creations research team
Hello all! We have some very interesting tips for you this month. Enjoy!
Helpful tips for October:
Are you looking for a recipe for a good salad dressing? One that is low in calories?
Try this one.
Three quarters cup of olive oil and one quarter cup of lemon juice.
Mix and shake well.
What you never knew about honey!
You can make a poltice out of it and use it on such things as:
Bee stings, infections, cuts and bruises.
Want to keep your bath mats in good condition when washing them?
Do not put them in the dryer after laundering them.
You can certainly launder them in your washer.
Having difficulty assembling those exercise bicycles?
Just make sure that when you adjust the seat, it stands parallel to your hip.
Any lower or higher than your hip and then you will not be getting the maximum out of your bike.
In fact, you could very easily injur your back if it's not placed as stated above.
What's this about drinking glasses of warm water with a slice of lemon in it?
Yes! According to the Chinese, several glasses of warm water with a slice of lemon drunk throughout the day are good for your health.
Helps the digestion, good for the metabolism, and can even help you to lose some pounds.
Give it a try!
What is grapefruite good for?
According to the health experts two grapefruit pills a day can help to reduce your cholesterol.
However, you need to take it dutifully and that means daily.
Are you looking for a way to use your knowledge?
Why not sell it!
Yes, write a book, newsletters, blogs, or articles.
Many are looking for persons to sell their knowledge to them.
Accessibility news
400,000 Ugandans are blind
October 2007
By the Sterling Creations research team
Hi all! For our second contribution this month we’d like to take you to Uganda to see what’s going on in that part of the world. A bit of an eye-opener.
400,000 Ugandans Are Blind, reveals state minister for health
By Halima Shaban
Allafrica.com, April 25, 2007
Kampala - IT is estimated that between 280,000 and 400,000 people in Uganda
are blind and over one million, visually impaired, the state minister for
health, Richard Nduhura has revealed.
While launching the third National Strategic plan for prevention of
blindness at the Ministry of Health headquarters in Wandegeya recently,
Nduhura noted that the commonest causes of blindness worldwide are
cataracts, which accounts for 50-60% of blindness, followed by corneal
diseases, especially trachoma (20-30%) and glaucoma (10-20%).
"Worldwide there are 45m blind people and a further of 135m suffer from
serious visual impairment and unless cost effective interventions are taken,
these numbers are more likely to double by the year 2020." Nduhura said.
He said in Uganda, visual impairment is a leading cause of disability and
though not usually fatal, disabilities reduce the quality of life. The plan
is expected to contribute to increasing the chances of attracting adequate
funds and other resources into eye care services. It also aims at increasing
awareness and sensitisation of stakeholders about the need to give eye care
high priority and consideration when allocating resources, and improve
distribution of services in the country.
Nduhuura said eye diseases are among the first ten causes of morbidity,
mortality and disability in Uganda.
The commissioner for health services, Sam Okware, said: " Early detection
and appropriate treatment will stop these impairments from further
progression to disability. The sooner they are detected, the earlier they
can be stopped, hence the need for appropriate health infrastructure,
equipment and trained manpower."
Nduhura noted that by the year 2020, no one will need be blind, adding that
80% of causes of blindness can be prevented.
From Brad Cherner of New York:
Donna, I'm very happy that you've decided to make yourself known to your readers through your editorials. It's very important for you to come out of your shell and make your views known.
From Rick Diamond of Boston:
You know, too many blind people love to complain that they're not getting service from the agencies in their area but blind people need to get off their chairs and start unifying. They need to speak up, they need to take unified action, and they need to be constructive about it. I'm blind and a tad tired of others just bitching and complaining and nothing else.
Come on now!
From Marty Larkin of Dublin Ireland:
I had the pleasure of reading Untapped Wealth Discovered and what a refreshing book! The authors are honest, they give very true facts, and it's a book for all to read. It belongs in the family and good for mothers, professionals, and baby boomers to read.
From Mark McKenzie of Boston:
This magazine gives out some really good articles and I like the articles that highlight things going on in various parts of the world!
From Mary Martel of Toronto Canada:
So now that the CNIB has practically choked off all services to blind Canadians, where are we supposed to find what we're looking for? Are you listening Mr Harper? Do you care Mr Harper?
You tax us to death and we can't even have a voice in our own country. Shame on you Canada and you have the nerve to tell the world that you're such a good country to live in?
From Tim Becker of Miami:
This magazine sucks! Just a bunch of people pouring out boring articles every month and those editorials! What a joke! Get a life!
From Lucy Quan of San Francisco:
I'm absolutely appalled that companies like Freedom Scientific can look us in the eye and charge so much for their products. This company should be wiped off the map. They don't care about us! They care about their own pockets and they should be shot!
If you’d like to make your opinions known, then please send your email to info@sterlingcreations.ca. No offensive language please.
Editorial
October 2007
By Donna J Jodhan
More awareness of disabling diseases needed
It's no joke when it comes to the fact that we are becoming fatter and fatter by the day. Every day the health experts send out dire messages to North Americans telling us that if we don't take action now, we'll soon have a massive and tsunami-like tragedy on our hands and our governments will be hard put to save us all.
Statistics continue to show that more and more of us are being struck down with disabling diseases such as heart conditions, obesity, diabetes, and other related diseases. Let's examine the picture more closely.
It is an established fact that obesity leads to heart disease, diabetes, and other disabling diseases. Diabetes is one of the leading causes of blindness. Heart diseases are responsible for millions of deaths each year in North America. Obesity is fast becoming a menace among our teens and those in their 20s and 30s. Obesity is reaping havoc among us because we're not eating properly and healthily enough as well as not getting enough physical activity. Do I need to tell you more?
What else do we need to hear? What else do we need to know in order to heed the wakeup call? We need to take our own action. It's simply not enough to depend on restaurants and fast food chains to cut the trans fats in their meals. It's simply not enough for our governments to legislate what food companies can and can't put in their foods. It's simply not enough for the health experts to tell us what we need to do in order to live healthier lives. It's up to us now to take matters into our own hands.
If we don't act now, we are soon going to find ourselves having to deal with millions of sick and overweight persons. More persons afflicted with blindness and disabling diseases and more and more persons who will be unable to help themselves. The domino effect will then take over and soon enough we will find ourselves as a society in peril. Time for us to eat better, live better, and work better.
Notes
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If you’re looking for ways to keep abreast of the latest news wires, trends and strategies, or ideas for creating your own small business, then you can take advantage of lots of free information by visiting www.untappedwealth.com.
There you’ll find skilled researchers and writers willing to help you with your challenges.
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