Table of contents
1 Ask the expert
2 Business commentary
3 From the soap box
4 The reader’s choice
5 News and views
6 Helpful tips
7 Accessibility news
8 Editorial
9 Comments to the editor
10 Notes
Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the following contributors to this month’s STAE issue.
The Sterling Creations accessibility team, the Sterling Creations business team, the Sterling Creations research team, Scott Savoy our managing editor, Christian Robicheau our assistant editor, our readers, and Donna J Jodhan our president.
Donna J Jodhan is the founder and president of Sterling Creations which was founded in 1994. As a blind woman she has had to overcome mountainous challenges in order to get where she is today. She is a very successful business woman, consultant, and author and she continues to help produce daily blogs that contain weekly features on topics of interest and relevance. She is never tired, always willing to help others, and never gives up when it comes to helping others to voice their opinions. As she puts it: "My undying commitment is to ensure that the kids of tomorrow have a more level playing field when it comes to such things as employment opportunities, equal access to the Internet and technology. I think that if I can do my little part to help someone else succeed then in turn they will help others."
We are all very proud to be part of the Sterling Creations team but above all, we are pleased and delighted to have Donna J Jodhan as our leader.
How the cellphone has changed our lives, 35 years later
September 2008
By the Sterling Creations accessibility team
Hello there! It’s September and we’re almost to the end of yet another summer. We often get asked the following question: Has the cell phone changed the lives of persons with special needs? Especially those with visual impairments? How accessible is the cell phone to blind and visually impaired persons?
This month we are going to publish a very interesting article that we found a few months ago and this article speaks to how the cell phone has changed our lives in general. The lives of most of us. We hope you find it interesting.
How the cellphone has changed our lives, 35 years later; Decades
ago, an inventor was called 'crazy' for wanting to make a mobile phone, but
today, many people couldn't live without one
Vito Pilieci
Ottawa Citizen, Apr. 3, 2008
On his way to a New York City press conference on April 3, 1973, Martin
Cooper just couldn't help himself.
The then-project manager at Motorola was proud of what his crew of engineers
and developers had managed to create and felt the need to brag about the
accomplishment.
At the corner of 56th Street and Lexington Avenue, Mr. Cooper took the wraps
off the first cellular phone and placed the world's first cellphone call to
his rival, Joel Engel, then head of Bell Labs research department (which has
since been acquired by AT&T Inc.) to inform Mr. Engel of the upcoming
announcement.
He then walked into the press conference to tell the rest of the world of
his team's accomplishment.
While he had dreams of seeing a cellphone in everyone's hands, even Mr.
Cooper could not have imagined the impact the creation would have.
Today, cellphones help farmers in Africa get top dollar for their crops.
People in India use their phones to check bus and train schedules. In Japan,
the phone offers a method of paying for goods. In China, the cellphone is
connecting people all over the country, a feat that was once impossible.
And in Canada, new services are being rolled out weekly -- including having
the ability to use your phone in place of a paper concert ticket or watching
the latest TV shows while on the go.
On top of it all, cellphones are helping spread the reach of the Internet to
places that could not get access otherwise.
>From simple voice communication to text messaging, mobile e-mail, video
e-mail and new GPS technologies that allow phones to show their position on
the globe, every facet of how people interact has been changed by the device
that was showcased to the world 35 years ago today.
But not all of the change has been welcome.
"It's an example of mankind's ability to introduce new technologies, but
completely miss the boat when it comes to understanding the implications of
those technologies," said Carmi Levy, senior vice-president of strategic
consulting at Toronto's AR Communications. "In the past, you had to get
someone live on the phone who was sitting at his or her desk in a certain
location. They were literally tied to their location. Today, that limitation
is gone.
"It doesn't matter if you are on your way to pick up the kids from school or
sitting in an airport. The work continues to happen."
The cellphone heralded a new generation in which the idea of a "9 to 5"
workday has almost been abolished.
The ability to work wherever/whenever captivated business-minded people the
world over. Despite its $3,995 U.S. price tag, thousands were on waiting
lists for Motorola's DynaTAC 8000x cellular phone after Mr. Cooper's New
York showing 35 years ago.
Being able to always be connected has changed the very way we think,
according to Kenneth Knoespel, a professor at Georgia Institute of
Technology. Instead of having a phone tethered to the wall, the phone is now
tethered to you.
Twenty years ago when you were talking to someone on the phone, you never
would have thought to ask where the person is, Mr. Knoespel said. But things
are totally different today.
"One of the first things you say to someone is: 'Where are you'," said Mr.
Knoespel. "In some ways it becomes symbolic of technology itself in that we
have come to rely on it in such an extraordinary degree. Twenty years ago it
would have been Star Trek-like. Today we are doing it automatically."
Today, there are more cellphone lines then landlines. More than three
billion people subscribe to cellular services around the world.
Mr. Cooper, who at 79 is chief executive of the California software company
ArrayComm LLC, says he would like to see the technology become even more
space age.
He believes within the next 20 years, cellphones will be micro-sized, voice
activated, implanted into people's bodies and able to do much more than what
they do today.
"Just think of what a world it would be if we could measure the
characteristics of your body when you get sick and transmit those directly
to a doctor or a computer," he told Reuters during an interview last week.
"You could get diagnosed and cured instantly and wirelessly."
He also believes that future cellphones won't need batteries; instead, they
will be able to draw power from the human body itself.
Mr. Cooper realizes his ideas are radical, but he believes the only obstacle
to seeing them happen is the conservative nature of people. Still, he said
he is reminded of the response he received when he first proposed the idea
of a portable phone in 1973.
"It was a really risky thing to do," he told Reuters. "People thought I was
crazy thinking about a phone you can just put in your pocket."
Business commentary
For young workrs,the market is becoming a patchwork of split shifts
September 2008
By the Sterling Creations business team
Hello readers. This month we would like to focus on the changing landscape of our workplace. The article that we have chosen talks about how younger workers are now being faced by a land mass of split job opportunities. A big change for not only them, but more challenges for perspective job seekers with disabilities. It remains to be seen how this all plays out.
For young workrs,the market is becoming a patchwork of split shifts
These trends will particularly impact persons with disabilities, who
typically take longer to find any job, but I have no idea what one might
propose or what solution one might offer, other than maybe looking into a
career in areas that offer a bit more stability ...
9 to 5? No, we just need you from noon to 2 For young
workers, the market is becoming a patchwork of split shifts and part-time,
temp and multi-jobs, leaving them harried and insecure. John Lorinc
Investigates the future of work
JOHN LORINC
Globe and Mail, April 5, 2008
For decades, most people arrived in their early 20s expecting that they
would soon find a profession or a trade that occupied about 40 hours each
week, with a pension, benefits and an annual vacation.
But for many young people graduating today the only "career" on offer is
actually a series of short-term contracts, requiring a constant hustle for
the next one.
The work week means rushing between two or three part-time jobs - a few
hours here, a few there. They are told to show up for ever-shorter shifts,
although they want and need more. They may spend as much time getting to
and from work as they do on the job. And they never qualify for employment
insurance.
Like the iconic nuclear family, the full-time permanent job is being exposed
as a spectre - a category of work life we assumed to be the norm when, in
fact, it was merely a happy economic aberration associated with a period of
postwar prosperity.
Take an idea recently floated in the famously polarized world of British
Columbia labour relations: the two-hour shift.
Against a backdrop of mounting economic uncertainty and cut-throat
competition from Wal-Mart, super-market chain Overwaitea, which belongs to
the Jim Pattison group of companies, opened contract negotiations this
winter with a demand that some shifts at 16 of its stores be reduced to
two-hour increments, down from the conventional four. The company justified
the move by citing requests for shorter shifts from student employees who
hold down part-time jobs after school.
"A little stunning," said a spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial
Workers, which represents the employees.
"Disgusting," added an Ontario labour leader.
Experts say that, considering commuting times and transit fares and
child-care costs, such shifts may actually be money-losers for those who
have to work them.
For shift workers, this development reads like bad news indeed. And
Overwaitea's gambit (still unresolved) provides more fodder for critics who
warn that Canada's labour market is mutating into an economy built on
increasingly "precarious" or unstable relationships with employers - a
mishmash of marginal part-time positions, self-employment, serial contracts,
multiple jobs and split shifts.
According to Leah Vosko, Canada Research Chair at York University's School
of Social Sciences, with the growth of precarious employment, many jobs
simply do not pay the bills on their own. "These developments contribute to
the lowering of the bottom of the labour market."
With this contingent of the working population poised to swell even further
because of mass layoffs in Ontario's manufacturing sector, the provincial
Liberals earmarked $355-million last month to provide second-career
training for laid-off workers.
Shorting out
A 2007 study by Ontario's Institute for Work and Health looked at the
Relationship between health and underemployment. It found that men and
younger individuals were much more likely to report a health decline if
they were stuck in a job that offers an inadequate amount of work time.
Heather Marshall-Scott, a medical sociologist and one of the co-authors of
the study, says she would not be surprised if very short shifts, such as the
one contemplated by Overwaitea, could have such effects. Split shifts - a
few hours on the job, followed by a few hours off, followed by another few
hours on - can wreak havoc, including complicated scrambles to find child
care as well as a "loss of control over your work schedule."
As a 2006 Statistics Canada analysis of shifting labour conditions noted,
fewer Canadians now can expect to have the same sort of work schedule from
year to year:
"Work-hours instability was a fact of life for many Canadians between 1997
and 2001."
Even before that, author Douglas Coupland pointed out the disposable
"McJobs" of the early 1990s recession. From 1989 to 2006, says Prof. Vosko,
full-time permanent jobs fell to 63 from 67 per cent as a proportion of
total employment; the combined ranks of temps and permanent part-timers
grew to 22 from 18 per cent.
Women, immigrants and young people account for the bulk of that growth, but
it is affecting the rest of the work force as well.
Toronto and York District Labour Council president John Cartwright says that
at firms such as Magna, the auto-parts giant, more than half of all
employees are provided by temp agencies. "Those folks just take what they
can get. It is an entire drive towards precarious employment."
Meanwhile, Canada's employment standards and programs such as employment
insurance and the Canada Pension Plan have failed to respond, Prof. Vosko
says.
These programs were strengthened in the prosperous era after the Second
World War and geared toward full-time permanent employees. They're largely
inaccessible to part-time, temporary and contract workers today, adding to
insecurity and the erosion of the quality of work life.
"If we don't ... extend social entitlements and employment-standards
protections to more workers," she says, "there could be larger public
costs."
On the other side, employers with substantial payroll expenses and fierce
competition want to make certain that they are not paying employees if there
is not enough work to go around - for instance in the call-centre industry,
where firms aim to bring in staff during peak business periods.
"The cost pressures are enormous," says Ann Frost, an associate professor at
the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
Both call centres and retailers try to match the amount of work with the
number of workers on hand at any given time. Based on her research, Prof.
Frost says, that goal entails whittling down shifts, which leaves workers
piecing together a living wage by working at another call centre or as a
night-shift cleaner or as an on-call nurse's aide.
Prof. Vosko points out that the "standard employment relationship" still
accounts for the majority of jobs - about two-thirds of the labour force -
but full-time jobs are also increasingly characterized by insecurities.
"What we're seeing is deteriorating conditions across the labour market."
The flexibility factor
Yet for some people, part-time, freelance or temp work is not always a
Transitional or even unwanted state. They may prefer the flexibility to the
strictures of jobs that require an employee to be in a particular place at
a particular time, day in and day out.
In the past three or four years, a growing number of companies have begun
offering improved benefits for permanent part-timers, says Rod Phillips,
chief executive officer for Shapell.fgi, a firm that delivers employee
health services for corporate clients.
"In the retail sector five years ago, you wouldn't have seen the same
Penetration of employee assistance benefits [for part-timers]," Mr. Phillips
says. "That has really shifted and out west, even more so."
The temp industry - which traditionally provided work for people who did not
need or want full-time jobs - has come a long way from its roots as a source
of "Kelly girls" - clerical workers provided on an as-needed basis.
In recent years, such agencies have diversified and can now match employers
to a wide range of workers, including scientists, lawyers, engineers,
computer programmers, draftsmen and field technicians.
Technical positions now represent the largest share of temp positions,
measured as a proportion of the industry's total revenues.
"Our business is clipping along and it's not declining," says Steve Jones, a
senior executive with an Edmonton agency called Design Group Staffing and
the president of the Association of Canadian Search, Employment and
Staffing Services.
"What drives the trend is project-based work," says Chris Roach, a partner
in Cadre Staffing, a Toronto agency that specializes in filling technical
and professional positions that command attractive wages and last for
months, not days. Eighty per cent of the individuals registered with Cadre
are engineers and programmers.
"These individuals have unique skills sets that are in high demand," says
Mr. Roach, who places many of his firm's temps in Alberta's energy industry.
"They're not worried about instability."
The creative sectors (film, television production, publishing) also rely
heavily on freelancers - video editors, writers, sound technicians - whose
careers are a series of long-term contract jobs.
Others cobble together hybrid arrangements.
Toronto art director Levi Nicholson, 29, has a salaried full-time job at
Azure magazine, but also maintains various ongoing freelance design gigs on
the side.
"I try to keep it at a nice level so I don't go completely crazy," Mr.
Nicholson says, adding that his managers at Azure tolerate what once would
have been called moonlighting.
Design Group Staffing's
Mr. Jones points out that many of Mr. Nicholson's fellow members of
Generation Y have a different concept of work than previous generations,
tending to cycle through jobs more rapidly, often trying one out and then
discarding it if the position holds no appeal.
When Mr. Jones started working in the mid-1980s, most people expected to
hold five to seven jobs in a career. "Today, someone who graduated in 2000
has gone Through five jobs already," he says.
"There is no sense of permanency."
John Lorinc is a Toronto writer.
From the soap box
Why write an eBook
September 2008
By Scott Savoy
Okay, here it is. The answer to why you should or should not write an e book. People often write to me or stop me on the street with this very ponderous question. A friend sent me the following article and I believe that it will answer this question very nicely for you.
Have a great September.
It's not true that everything that has been said has already been written.
Since that unfortunate axiom came into use, the whole universe has changed.
Technology has changed, ideas have changed, and the mindsets of entire
nations have changed. The fact is that this is the perfect time to *write an
ebook*. What the publishing industry needs are people who can tap into the
world as it is today - innovative thinkers who can make the leap into the
new millennium and figure out how to solve old problems in a new way.
Ebooks are a new and powerful tool for original thinkers with fresh ideas to
disseminate information to the millions of people who are struggling to
figure out how to do a plethora of different things. Let's say you already
have a brilliant idea, and the knowledge to back it up that will enable you
to write an exceptional ebook.You may be sitting at your computer staring at
a blank screen wondering, "Why? Why should I go through all the
trouble of *writing
my ebook* when it's so impossible to get anything published these days?
Well, let me assure you that publishing an ebook is entirely different than
publishing a book in print. Let's look at the specifics of how the print and
cyber publishing industry differ, and the many reasons why you should take
the plunge and get your fingers tapping across those keyboards!
Submitting a print book to conventional publishing houses or to agents is
similar to wearing a hair shirt 24/7. No matter how good your book actually
is, or how many critique services and mentor writers have told you that
"you've got what it takes," your submitted manuscript keeps coming back to
you as if it is a boomerang instead of a valuable mine of information.
Perhaps, in desperation, you've checked out self-publishing and found out
just how expensive a venture it can be. Most "vanity presses" require
minimal print runs of at least 500 copies, and even that amount will cost
you thousands of dollars. Some presses' minimal run starts at 1,000 to 2,000
copies. And that's just for the printing and binding. Add in distribution,
shipping ,and promotional costs and - well, you do the math. Even if you
wanted to go this route, you may not have that kind of money to risk. Let's
say you already have an Internet business with a quality website and a
quality product.
An ebook is one of the most powerful ways to promote your business while
educating people with the knowledge you already possess as a business owner
of a specific product or service. For example, let's say that you've spent
the last twenty-five years growing and training bonsai trees, and now you're
ready to share your knowledge and experience. An ebook is the perfect way to
reach the largest audience of bonsai enthusiasts.
Ebooks will not only promote your business - they will help you make a name
for yourself and your company, and establish you as an expert in your field.
You may even find that you have enough to say to warrant a series of ebooks.
Specific businesses are complicated and often require the different aspects
to be divided in order for the reader to get the full story.Perhaps your
goals are more finely tuned in terms of the ebook scene. You may want to
build a whole business around writing and publishing ebooks.Essentially, you
want to start an e-business. You are thinking of setting up a website to
promote and market your ebooks.
Maybe you're even thinking of producing an ezine.One of the most prevalent
reasons people read ebooks is to find information about how to turn their
Internet businesses into a profit-making machine. And these people are
looking to the writers of ebooks to provide them with new ideas and
strategies because writers of ebooks are usually people who understand the
new cyberspace world we now live in. Ebook writers are experts in Internet
marketing campaigns and the strategies of promoting and distributing
ebooks.The cyberspace community needs its ebooks to be successful so that
more and more ebooks will be written.You may want to create affiliate
programs that will also market your ebook.Affiliates can be people or
businesses worldwide that will all be working to sell your ebooks.Think
about this? Do you see a formula for success here? Figure out what your
subject matter is, and then narrow it down. Your goal is to aim for
specificity. Research what's out there already, and try to find a void that
your ebook might fill.
What about an ebook about a wedding cake business? Or an ebook about caring
for elderly pets? How about the fine points of collecting ancient pottery?
You don't have to have three masters degrees to write about your subject.
People need advice that is easy to read and easily understood. Parents need
advice for dealing with their teenagers. College students need to learn good
study skills - quickly. The possibilities are endless.
After you've written your ebook…
Getting your ebook out is going to be your focus once you've finished
writing it, just as it is with print books. People will hesitate to buy any
book from an author they've never heard of. Wouldn't you? The answer is
simple: give it away! You will see profits in the form of promoting your own
business and getting your name out. You will find affiliates who will ask
you to place their links within your ebook, and these affiliates will in
turn go out and make your name known. Almost every single famous ebook
author has started out this way.
Another powerful tool to attract people to your ebook is to make it
interactive. Invent something for them to do within the book rather than
just producing pages that contain static text. Let your readers fill out
questionnaires, forms, even crossword puzzles geared to testing their
knowledge on a particular subject. Have your readers hit a link that will
allow them to recommend your book to their friends and associates. Or
include an actual order form so at the end of their reading journey, they
can eagerly buy your product. When people interact with books, they become a
part of the world of that book. The fact is just as true for books in print
as it is for ebooks.That's why ebooks are so essential. Not only do they
provide a forum for people to learn and make sense of their own thoughts,
but they can also serve to promote your business at the same time.
Believe me, the most powerful and best converting products on the market
today are downloadable software and ebooks which provide valuable
information for the consumer.They are goldmine on sites such as ebay, Amazon
and many more.
The reader’s choice
Blind woman a step closer to acupuncture license Committee recommendation
September 2008
Contributed by Paul Harrison of Austin Texas
Dear STAE, thank you for choosing my article. I hope that my selection helps to motivate others to reach for their dream.
We at STAE chose Paul’s submission for exactly the reason that he submitted it.
Thank you Paul!
Blind woman a step closer to acupuncture license Committee recommendation
includes restrictions and awaits board approval.
By Mary Ann Roser
, Mark Lisheron
AMERICAN-STATESMAN, June 07, 2008
After months of negotiation, Austin resident Juliana Cumbo on Friday moved
closer to becoming the first blind acupuncturist licensed in Texas, albeit
with restrictions not normally placed on applicants who can see.
The licensure committee of the Texas State Board of Acupuncture Examiners
recommended that Cumbo be granted a license for three years but stipulated
that she would not be allowed to practice alone and would have to be in a
group or hospital setting. She would also have to report to the state any
time she inadvertently stuck herself with a needle while practicing and
could not practice on patients with visual impairments without the presence
of a staff member - such as another acupuncturist or nurse - who can see.
The committee's recommendation now goes to the acupuncture board for final
approval. Under state law, if the board approves the license, Cumbo can ask
that the restrictions be lifted after a year.
Cumbo, 31, who drew national attention to her effort to become one of a few
blind acupuncturists in the country, stood with a small group of supporters
outside the hearing room Friday and said the committee's recommendation was
a compromise.
Still, she said, "I believe I should get an unrestricted license like every
qualified sighted person who applies."
Tommy Craig, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Texas,
spoke on Cumbo's behalf Friday and later said the committee continued its
mistreatment of Cumbo by holding her to a higher professional standard.
David Cohen, Cumbo's attorney, helped craft the agreement and said a
compromise was necessary to avoid costly litigation that would almost
certainly have kept Cumbo from practicing acupuncture in Texas for two or
three years.
The committee raised concerns about Cumbo's not being able to see if she
drew blood while withdrawing a needle from a patient or by pricking herself
with a needle. Committee member Pedro Garcia said the committee's central
concern was for public safety.
But Craig said the committee's questions "were based on the committee's
superstitions about blindness."
"Juliana has followed all the procedures to getting her license in the state
of Texas, and she has done it with flying colors," Craig said.
Cumbo, who lost her sight to disease at age 10, graduated with a master's
degree in acupuncture and Oriental medicine and passed the required national
board exams. As a student at the Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin,
Cumbo practiced on 592 patients without incident, said Linda Fontaine, the
academy's vice president of operations and development.
Nothing in state law forbids the board from awarding a license to a blind
person, but the committee turned down Cumbo's license application in
October, expressing doubts that a blind person could perform steps - such as
visually examining a patient - that are part of acupuncture.
Before Friday's hearing, Cumbo and Cohen gave the committee copies of a DVD
showing Cumbo as she practiced on several patients. Cumbo has said she
relies on touch, including pressing, or palpating, the abdomen, to diagnose
patients.
"Juliana Cumbo is qualified and safe to practice," said William Morris,
president of the academy. "She has shouldered this burden for all persons
who are ably challenged."
News and views
Lung cancer trigger discovered
September 2008
By Christian Robicheau
Dear readers, this month I have chosen an article that I hope will answer some questions for those of you who are seeking to learn more about the causes of lung cancer. This topic continues to be a very hot one in health and medical circles and I hope that my choice for this month is of value to those of you seeking to learn more.
Lung cancer trigger discovered; Researchers say genetic variations can
increase a person's chance of getting disease by up to 80%
Megan Ogilvie
The Toronto Star, Apr. 3, 2008
Three international teams of scientists, one led in part by Toronto
researchers, have for the first time homed in on the genetic origins of lung
cancer, the biggest cancer killer in the country.
After sifting through the DNA of more than 60,000 people, the scientists
pinpointed a cluster of genetic variations on the human genome that can
boost a person's chance of getting the disease by as much as 80 per cent.
And it seems the genetic variants may make smokers - as well as those who
have already kicked the habit - more susceptible than others to the cancer.
Experts say the trio of studies will help scientists understand how tobacco
smoking can trigger lung cancer and may answer the conundrum of why some
pack-a- day smokers will never develop the disease.
The findings could also herald new prevention and treatment strategies and
reveal ways to detect lung cancer at its earliest - and most treatable -
stages.
The teams found people who inherit a particular genetic variant are 30 per
cent more likely to get lung cancer than people who don't have that genetic
marker.
That risk rises to 80 per cent if the person inherits two copies of the
variant.
"For the first time, we are sure we have identified important regions for
lung cancer," said Dr. Rayjean Hung, a principal investigator of one of the
studies and a researcher at Mount Sinai Hospital's Samuel Lunenfeld Research
Institute.
Roughly half of the general population has one copy of the genetic variant,
the research suggests.
However, an individual's risk is also influenced by environmental factors,
including smoking history or family history, said Hung, who conducted much
of the research while at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in
Lyon, France, and who has since been recruited to Toronto.
"Lung cancer is a complex disease and this finding will help us to solve a
part of the puzzle, not the whole puzzle," she said.
Cancer experts emphasize smoking is still the largest risk factor for
getting lung cancer, which kills some 20,000 Canadians each year, and say
giving up cigarettes is the best way to reduce the risk of getting the
disease.
Each of the three studies, published yesterday in the journals Nature and
Nature Genetics, show a clear link between lung cancer and a region on
chromosome 15 that contains three nicotine receptor genes. But the teams
disagree on how this region is linked to smoking.
The Icelandic team, led by scientists from the biopharmaceutical company
deCode genetics, found the increased lung cancer risk was due to the genetic
variant setting off a chain of risk, whereby the variant makes smokers more
likely to be addicted to nicotine, which causes them to smoke more, and will
therefore raise their risk of getting lung cancer.
But the other two teams - one led by U.S. researchers, and the other by Hung
and her colleagues - found the increased risk in both smokers and
non-smokers, which suggests the variant may biologically trigger risk for
lung cancer, independent of smoking addiction.
The link between addiction and lung cancer is still open for debate and
where researchers will likely turn next, said Dr. Geoffrey Liu, a medical
oncologist at Princess Margaret Hospital who was not associated with the
studies.
"Is it one mechanism or the other?. Or is it what I call the double-whammy?"
he said.
By double-whammy Liu meant a person could be hit twice by the same genetic
variant, which could make him more biologically at risk to get addicted to
smoking and more biologically at risk to develop lung cancer.
Helpful tips
September 2008
By the Sterling Creations research team
Hello! Hello! Guess who? Ah, the research team bearing lots of tips for you this month. Enjoy!
Helpful tips for September:
Okay, would you like to know a few important tips about how you should store your veggies in the crispers of your fridge?
First, do not store the lemons with the green veggies and carrots.
Why? If you do, then your veggies will quickly turn brown.
So, what should you do?
Store lemons with apples, and carrots with your green veggies.
Well, well, we have some hot news for you re those daily soaps!
It seems as if the popularity of those daily soaps are on the decline.
Why? They're telling us the following:
More and more people are turning to magazines for their updates.
They are also turning to TV and the Hollywood gossip for their daily doses.
The experts are saying that Holly wood is producing the real stories whereas the soaps are just fictional.
Soaps take too long to develop story lines.
There are more and more prime time soaps happening these days.
What do we think? Well, for what it's worth, we don't think that the soaps are going to go away anytime soon!
Would you like to know a bit more about how to identify organic foods?
Here's what we picked up from a recent headline.
How to Tell If Packaged Food is Organic
By Food Blogger
How to Tell If Packaged Food is Organic Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether a food is organic or not. Fresh produce is easier…it either is, or isn’t organically grown. But packaged foods are trickier. Here’s what you need to know. ...
Healthy Eating Tips -
Have you ever wondered what happens to your files after you have deleted them from the recycle bin?
Well, data is never really completely deleted from your computer. It is moved
from it's original location and overwritten many times and that is why there is software out there that has the capability to retrieve lost data. There are also programs available
that will rewrite the file you want to delete several times which makes it
difficult to retrieve the file.
What's this about cheques becoming void if they have not been cashed after a certain length of time?
Unfortunately and regretfully, it is all true.
So for example, if you receive a cheque dated January 01 2008, you'd better hurry to the bank and cash it no later than July 01 2008.
Any time after this and your cheque will become void.
Do you constantly have to throw out nuts that you only bought just a few weeks ago?
Well, here's a great way to prolong their little lives.
Put them in an air tight container and store them in your fridge.
Works like a charm.
Do those embarrassing hiccups come on you at the most inappropriate time?
Always having difficulty quieting them?
No more! Say goodbye to hiccups by sticking your fingers in your ears when they start.
No, not all the way down. just to the opening of the hole in your ear.
Have you ever run into difficulty when you try eating or drinking something cold?
Have you ever had to deal with one of those very deep and burning pains to your forehead and facial area?
Well, here's what you can do to avoid this problem.
Stick your tongue to the roof of your mouth as soon as you feel the pain coming on.
Trust us, it works!
Lightning, lightning, where can you hide from good old lightning?
Definitely not under a tree! No! The worst idea.
As soon as you know that a storm is coming, head for indoors.
Do not shelter under a tree because lightning just loves those trees and most times when it strikes the base of the tree its current gravitates towards anything and everything close by.
Do not be foolish to remain in the open because lightning is also likely to get you there as well.
No, head for indoors.
What's this about the benefits of eating water melon?
Well, listen up!
Water melon contains lots of vitamins A, B, and C.
The fleshy part contains much of these vitamins and the seeds contain even more.
Hey! Have you ever wondered why those cabbies in New York always scoff and turn you away whenever there are more than four of you looking to board their cab?
Well, there seems to be a good reason.
There is a rule in New York that says that cabbies are not allowed to have more than four passengers in their cab.
Are you often confused about the various types of diets on the market?
Well, there are three main types.
Low calorie, low fat, and Mediterranean.
What really are trans fats?
Trans fats are the oils that are put in foods to prolong their shelf lives.
Of course they are the main causes for clogging your arteries.
Okay, would you like to know a bit about the weather in North Carolina?
According to those who live there, April to July are the worst when it comes to storms and tornados.
Winters are mild.
Accessibility news
WGBH Works with IMS to Make In-Flight Media Offerings Accessible
September 2008
By the Sterling Creations research team
We’re back! This time with a very interesting article that we came across a while back. An interesting article for air travelers. Enjoy!
WGBH Works with IMS to Make In-Flight Media Offerings Accessible
Please see the press release below regarding recent advancements in making
in-flight communications and entertainment accessible to passengers who are
deaf or hard of hearing via closed captioning.
The Media Access Group at WGBH's involvement in this work comes as a result
of a grant awarded to WGBH from the U.S. Department of Education, National
Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research called Access to
In-Flight Communications and Entertainment.
In addition to the captioning solutions, WGBH is also working to bring
described media to planes and to make user controls for in-flight media
systems accessible to passengers who are blind or have low vision.
At this summer's American Council of the Blind convention in Louisville, KY,
WGBH staff will be conducting user testing of a prototype device that
demonstrates independent navigation via speech synthesis and large print
on-screen menus of media options (movies, games, flight information, etc.)
in addition to described movies. If you plan to attend ACB this summer, come
by our booth in the exhibit area to say hello and take part.
And if your plans will take you to the National Association of the Deaf
conference in New Orleans, come to our presentation, Media Access
Update: DTV, Mobile Media, In-Flight Entertainment and Emergency Alerts, on
Friday, July 11 at 1pm.
This press release has been "picked up" by several airline industry
publications, including IFExpress, which can be linked to here:
The IMS Company and WGBH's Media Access Group Enable Closed Captions on
Handhelds
Brea, California -Southern California IFE solutions provider, The IMS
Company, and the Media Access Group at WGBH in Boston, have developed a
solution for the provisioning of closed-captioned media content on IMS'
portable in-flight entertainment devices, it was announced by Mary Watkins,
the WGBH Media Access Group's director of communications, and IMS' vice
president sales and marketing Harry Gray.
The initiative, the first use of closed-captions on an IFE portable, is
intended to address the increased interest by airlines in providing
closed-captioned media following the announcement by the U.S.
Department of Transportation (DOT) in February 2006 that it planned to
require airlines flying in and out of the United States to provide
closed-caption capability on inflight media. "Providing a closed- caption
service on portable media players is a solution that can now be implemented
cost-effectively on a near-term basis," said Gray.
Closed caption content is expected to be deliverable to new portables
customers on IMS' PAV-704 and PAV-705 platforms in October 2008, according
Gray.
The solution involves providing captions-text transcriptions of the audio
portion of TV shows and movies for people who are deaf or hard of hearing in
a player-compatible format and superimposing them on the video at the
viewer's discretion. "WGBH currently creates closed captions for most major
studio theatrical motion picture releases in the U.S., and, with content
provider approval, will convert these captions into the player-compatible
format for The IMS Company," said Larry Goldberg, director of WGBH's Media
Access Group. WGBH will conform the theatrical captions to airline-edited
versions as required by IMS.
Several airlines have previously relied on the closed caption capability of
DVDs to accommodate the needs of deaf or hard of hearing passengers. "IMS is
proud to be the first portables supplier to enable airlines to meet the
needs of their passengers requiring this capability on an easy-to-use
handheld platform," said Gray.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The IMS portable media player (PMP) will store the formatted electronic text
on the hard disc. If the viewer elects to view the captions, he can activate
them via the graphical user interface/GUI and the text is then synchronized
to the video using timecode and displayed on the PMP's screen. If the viewer
chooses not to watch captions, they will not be visible, according to IMS'
managing director, content and media development, Michael Childers. The term
"closed caption" refers to text which is accessed at the discretion of the
viewer while "open captions" are always visible.
Captions, as opposed to "subtitles," reflect all of a program's audio for
deaf or hard-of-hearing people, converting not only dialog into text, but
also sound effects, music, speaker identifications and the like, which are
needed for a more complete understanding and enjoyment of the content.
Subtitles convert the spoken dialog from one language to another for hearing
viewers, and do not include non-speech information.
The World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) and others responded to
the DOT Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by explaining that IFE systems do not
have the same capability as broadcast television to provide closed captions.
Citing the cost of converting existing IFE systems to accommodate captions
versus building them into future systems, WAEA sought to defer the DOT
requirements for implementation in emerging systems.
Responding to the concerns expressed by airlines and IFE industry groups,
the DOT announced in May 2008 that it would defer the requirement for an
undetermined time, citing the work of WAEA's Digital Content Management
Working Group (DCMWG) and its 0403 Specification as evidence that the IFE
industry is migrating toward digital solutions that would facilitate closed
captions in future IFE systems. The DOT will "shortly" issue a Supplemental
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) to gather more information on the
capability of emerging technologies to provide a captioning solution.
About the Media Access Group at WGBH
The Media Access Group is a nonprofit service of Boston public broadcaster
WGBH, with offices in Boston and Los Angeles. The Group includes DVS, which
has made television, film and video more enjoyable to audiences who are
blind or visually impaired since 1990, and The Caption Center-- the world's
first captioning agency-- which has made audiovisual media accessible to
audiences who are deaf or hard of hearing since 1972. The third branch of
the Media Access Group, the WGBH-Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family National
Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), is a research and development office
that works to make existing and emerging technologies accessible to all
audiences. NCAM's work on Accessible In-flight Entertainment systems has
been funded by the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute for
Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), under grant number
H133G050254.
For more information, go to access.wgbh.org
Contact:
Mary Watkins
mary_watkins@wgbh.org
Media Access Group at WGBH
617 300-3700 voice
617 300-2489 TTY
About The IMS Company
Founded in 1996, The IMS Company is an entertainment and communications
solutions provider in the travel industry serving planes, trains and
automobiles. The Entertainment Group has a focus on portable entertainment,
wireless communications, and content management services, while the
Engineering Group focuses on systems and software development. Historically,
the company's core business is the provision of advanced systems and
software engineering support to aerospace companies in the development and
deployment of the latest in in-flight entertainment, cabin avionics, and
media distribution systems. IMS has expanded into the provisioning of
content services and hardware solutions for business aviation, rental car,
rail passenger, and related markets reaching the traveling public. In 2007,
IMS was named the 24th fastest-growing privately-held company in
technology-heavy Orange County, California by the Orange County Business
Journal. See: www.imsco.us.com.
Contact: Michael Childers,
mchilders@imsco-us.com
; Tel: 714.864.8616
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Editorial
Making important decisions with outdated information
September 2008
By Donna J Jodhan
Dear STAE readers, this month I am going to publish my winning submission in its entirety. A few months ago, I submitted the article below to an article writing contest sponsored by T-Base Communications INC of Ottawa. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Making important decisions with outdated information
INTRODUCTION
More often than not, I am forced to make important financial decisions based on information that is outdated and this is primarily due to limited access to dated information; but I am not unique. For more than 10% of Canadians who have been classified as print disabled, the problem exists and this situation is only going to deteriorate unless something concrete is done quickly. In this article, I will focus on the following as it pertains to blind and visually impaired Canadians:
Describe the present environment, outline the needs, suggest a possible solution, and outline possible advantages and benefits that could be derived. Finally, I will summarize.
PRESENT ENVIRONMENT
At the present time, the majority of print disabled Canadians are being forced to make important financial decisions based on information that is either outdated or irrelevant and it is all because of their inability to access information independently. The majority of this group has to depend on others to read and/or retrieve their required information from such places as: The Internet, financial statements, magazines, and from newspapers. These processes often result in information being relayed to the print disable person in an untimely manner and in addition, the person receiving the information is never sure that they have received information that is accurate or appropriate.
For the majority of blind and visually impaired persons, mountainous barriers stand between them and access to information on the Internet because of inaccessible online banking facilities. Despite the efforts of some of Canada's largest banks to make their websites more accessible and user friendly, online banking remains a challenge to blind and visually impaired consumers. In addition, many blind and visually impaired persons continue to depend on others to read their financial information because they are unable to obtain it in alternate formats such as Braille, large print, e text, and audio cassette. Through my own personal experience and from experiences related to me by others, I have come to realize the following:
1. Many customer service reps at Canada's top banks do not know how to deal with requests for statements in alternate formats.
2. They often tell their blind and visually impaired clients that the bank in question does not provide statements in alternate formats.
3. They often tell the requesting clients that they should use the Internet to do their online banking.
If you persist beyond the customer service rep you can often obtain certain types of financial statements but the challenge with this is that more often than not the statement arrives more than six weeks after the statement date thus rendering the information of little value. So what we have here is as follows:
1. Inaccessible websites thus making online banking a challenge.
2. Customer service reps who are not trained to handle requests for statements to be sent to customers in alternate formats.
3. Statements in alternate formats that often arrive too late to be of much use to the customer.
This situation is not unique to the Canadian banking industry. Indeed, a similar environment presently exists when it comes to access to information with regard to important statistical reports from the www.statcan.ca website. This website is the gateway to all of Canada's statistical reports as produced by Statistics Canada and is used by companies of all sizes as well as by individuals. It contains reports that bear vital statistics to help all Canadians make important decisions pertaining to their lives but whereas the mainstream Canadian can take advantage of this important gateway, blind and visually impaired Canadians are unable to do so because of barriers to accessibility.
In order to obtain statistical information in alternate formats, blind and visually impaired Canadians have to call the 1800-622-6232 government of Canada number and make their requests to customer service reps who may or may not know the meaning of alternate format and even if they are able to order their requested information it often takes a long time before it arrives.
This is a very frustrating environment for blind and visually impaired Canadians to deal with at the present time. For not only are they having to face issues of access to information, they are also facing issues of confidentiality because each time they ask someone to either retrieve or read their information, the issue of confidentiality arises.
NEEDS
I believe that the following needs should be addressed by all stakeholders:
1. Blind and visually impaired persons need to find ways to access information on a more timely and accurate basis and they need to be able to do it independently.
2. They need to be able to preserve their confidentiality which means being able to access their information independently without sighted assistance.
3. Banks and others need to come up with ways to provide the requested information on a timelier basis.
4. Websites need to be made more accessible.
5. Information in alternate formats needs to be provided more willingly and readily.
6. Blind and visually impaired persons need to know where they can go in order to obtain their requested information.
7. Customer service reps at banks and at the 1800-622-6232 number need to be provided with adequate training in order to meet the demands of blind and visually impaired persons.
8. Blind and visually impaired persons need to be able to choose the type of alternate format that best meets their requirements.
SOLUTION AND DESCRIPTION
The solutions should be one whereby all stakeholders can come together to discuss what is necessary in order to accomplish the following objective: Greater access to information both on and off the Internet. In short, blind and visually impaired Canadians should be able to access whatever mainstream Canadians can access. The same information for everyone. A possible solution could contain the following components:
1. Training sessions for website designers and developers in the rudiments of the design and development of accessible websites.
2. Training for customer service reps at banks and at the 1800-622-6232 government of Canada number as to how to handle requests for information in alternate formats.
3. The establishment of a process to have a reputable company produce these alternate formats. This company should possess the necessary expertise and should be one that is in the for profit sector.
4. The establishment of a print on demand process so as to avoid delays in sending out the requested information.
5. A way that blind and visually impaired persons could become more aware of where to go and how to request information in their desired alternate format.
6. Access to information could be available both on the Internet as well as through alternate formats.
ADVANTAGES AND BENEFITS
The advantages to my proposed solution could be viewed as one that can potentially benefit many of others in addition to blind and visually impaired persons. With a rapidly aging population, more and more seniors are going to need to find ways to deal with diminishing vision and in addition, other types of disabling diseases are going to play a part in forcing others to find alternate ways to access information. Consequently, access to information is going to become more and more of a concern for more and more Canadians as time marches on. There are those who would prefer to access their information through non-computer methods simply because they are not comfortable working on the Internet or they do not have the required technology to do so. There are those who would prefer to access their information through the Internet because it is easier and more convenient for them to do so and there are others who would prefer to use a combination of both types of methods. Greater access to information would definitely be the forerunner to happier customers, and the potential to attract more customers.
SUMMARY
In this article I have outlined the present environment with regard to access to information for blind and visually impaired persons.
1. They are unable to access vital information independently and confidentially.
2. They are unable to access online banking websites in an independent manner because of accessibility problems.
3. They are often unaware as to how to obtain information in alternate formats.
4. Customer service reps at banks and at the 1800-622-6232 government of Canada number are not always aware as to how to meet the requests for alternate formats.
I have given a list of needs that include the following:
1. Blind and visually impaired persons need to be able to access information independently, quickly, accurately, and on a timely basis.
2. They need to know where to go in order to obtain the desired information.
3. Customer service reps need to be trained when it comes to processing requests for alternate formats.
4. Online banking websites need to be made more accessible.
Finally, I have presented a solution that banks can use to attract more customers.
Comments to the editor
September 2008
From the desk of the editor
Greetings everyone! Here are this month's comments from our readers.
From Nicolas LaChance of Montreal Quebec Canada:
I really liked the July editorial. Yea, work harder and not smarter can really be applied to all of us. It's probably what we should be doing more of. Especially for those of us under so much stress at work. Thanks Donna for your advice.
From Jenny Green of New Jersey:
I would like to know if you have any advice for those of us about to retire. Do you think that it is a wise idea to retire fully or maybe keep working after retirement? After all, I don't think that I could retire and do nothing!
From Ted Drivinsky of New York:
I recently came across a blog where your president really went after A & P Canada for their attitude towards persons with special needs as well as seniors. I believe that I saw the blog on www.untappedwealth.com, from the business desk. All I can say to this is that the customer service rep who made those lousy comments where she said that A & P Canada was not in the business to help but to sell groceries, she should be fired and fired on the spot! A & P Canada should be absolutely ashamed to have insensitive people like this working for them.
From Heidi Christoffsen of Stockholm Sweden:
When I read the August editorial, it brought tears to my eyes. Yes, more of us should dare to dream. Donna, you certainly face many challenges as a blind woman who is of mixed race. I sure admire your spunk. Never give up! You are an inspiration for many of us.
From Brian Standosky of San Francisco California:
I was simply blown away by the August editorial. Especially about the bit on the A & P Canada comments. What person in their right mind would even think of saying something like that to a Human Being! A & P Canada should fire that disgusting lady! She does not belong in customer service or anywhere that deals with customers! Fire her now!
From Kim Kenson of St. Paul Minnesota:
I thought that enough hell had been raised about those call centers in India. What I would like to know is whether or not companies are listening to our complaints?
From Christy O’Connor of Dublin Ireland:
I am thinking of going into my own home business. I am a single mom with two young ones. I know that there are many suggestions out there but I am seeking to do something where I can do it from home and something that is safe and wanted. Does anyone have any suggestions for a single mom?
From Bruce Strongfeld of Salem Oregon:
Gosh! What person in their right mind would say what that awful lady said at A & P Canada? Doesn't she know that seniors and disabled persons make up most of her consumer base? She is out of her mind and should be disciplined.
From Michelle Jasie of Paris France:
Dear editor, would you be interested to do an article on how blind people cope with getting around in Paris?
Merci.
If you have something to say, an opinion to express, or anything that you wish to share with the rest of the world, then please send it on to info@sterlingcreations.ca.
Comments to the editor are yours and yours alone. All comments are reviewed to ensure appropriate language.
Notes
If you would like to contribute an article to our magazine then please contact us at:
Tel (416) 491-7711
Email info@sterlingcreations.ca
Comments to the editor can be submitted free of charge.
All submissions are reviewed and you will be notified if yours is chosen. If your submission is chosen for “the reader’s choice” section of our magazine we will print it at no cost.
If you’re looking for a one-stop writing shop then look no further!
At www.sterlingcreations.ca you will find experienced professionals standing by to offer affordable Sterling services in the following areas:
Research, Writing, translation, and transcription.
We can do anything from articles and blogs to newsletters, emails and faxes to speeches, brochures and books to websites, plus more.
Please send all inquiries to info@sterlingcreations.ca.
Looking for affordable translation services?
At www.translationpeople.com you will find qualified translators and language coaches to help you in the following languages:
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These experienced professionals can help you to write, translate, and transcribe to and from these languages.
For all inquiries please send your emails to info@translationpeople.com.
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.
For all inquiries send your emails to info@untappedwealth.com.
