[accessibleimage] research, Sense & Sensuality Competition 2005/06, web MAGDA, parks, genoms,white canes,BBC

Hi,
Have seperated articles with the words "article end" and a line. Articles a mixture of science and art.

Most forwarded from another list.
Regards,
Lisa


Express India

Sunday, September 25, 2005

Artificial vision can help a blind person see, says Japanese prof

By Swapna Nair

Ahmedabad, September 25: An eye for an eye can, in a doctor's parlance, create magic. Especially for those who've never known the difference between sunrise and sunset.

Artificial vision can make the blind see what he's been trying to imagine, says this expert from Japan whose team has been conducting research on the subject since 10 years to convert the theory into reality. At the Renaissance Symposium 2005 - Retina and Vitreous - Dr Tohru Yagi, researcher and associate professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology, made an interesting presentation.

According to Yagi, visual images can be produced in brain by electrical stimulation of retinal cells. A layer of retinal cells can be stimulated using an electronic array that inputs electrical impulses. The cells then transmit the image through optic nerve to cells in the visual cortex to create a perception of an image.

''But it is not the vision we see. The image is in the form of dots - like the electric score board you see in a cricket stadium,'' says the 38-year-old.

There are 20 research groups across the world trying to break ground in this field using the principle.

Research in this area began in the US in the 1960s. At that time the implant device was in the skull.

Called cortical implant, it had electrodes attached to a cable which was attached to the video camera. The principle: Camera captures an image, sends it to the computer which processes it. This generates impulses which are sent to the electrodes in the device, which inturn stimulates neurons to get perception of the image.

Yagi and his teammates have designed an intraoccular device (with a chip which is connected to electrode array) that is much smaller in size (3 cm long and 5 mm wide) and can be fitted directly into the retina. Here, the signals between the camera and computer and the device are transmitted in a wireless way. Estimated to cost approximately US $ 100,000, the device, he says, is not the optimum solution.

''It is a bridge to biomedical techniques like retina regeneration and stem cell therapy which are still in stages of research. But till that becomes a possibility, artifical vision can be of good help to the blind.''

''Clinical trials on animals have proved successful. Our challenge is now to increase the number of dots (which form images). This can happen if we increase the number of electrodes and shrink these to fit into the present size of the device. And the number should be large enough to generate electricity that is required to stimulate the neuron. Now that is a task and we are working on devising a new technology,'' says Yagi.

''I've got 15 more years before I retire. And by that time I hope the artificial technology improves quality of vision by cent percent, though I know we can't be as perfect as God,'' he says

''India has very skilled doctors and the technology here is also advancing at a fast rate. If the situations permit, we would be at an advantage to collaborate with Indian enterprises,'' adds Yagi.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=150261

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Fullerton College Hornet, California

Thursday, September 22, 2005

Artisans Illustrate Courage: The persistent work of the visually impaired shines at exhibit

By Renee Cain Hornet Staff Writer

Shared Visions is an art exhibit that features works by blind or legally blind artists. The Southern California College of Optometry located at 2575 Yorba Linda Blvd.

in Fullerton will be this years host of the event. There will be a free exhibit at the Eye Care Center Saturday, September 24 from 6-8 p.m.

There will be 45 pieces of art displayed and amongst these pieces there will be photography, ceramics, and paintings. Many of the artists featured will attend the reception which is open to the public. This will give individuals a chance to interact with the artists.

"This exhibit showcases the ability, talents and achievements of these most inspirational artists," according to Les Walls, O.D., M.D., and President of Southern California College of Optometry.

Kurt Weston, photographer, and one of the artists displayed is the person responsible for informing the clinic about the Very Special Arts California organization.

Weston got his degree in business and attempted the corporate world but it was not for him so he went back to school and got a degree in photography.

He became a fashion photographer, but his career dwindled in '91 when he was diagnosed with AIDS. He continued practicing photography until he was too sick. In 1993 he was informed that he has CMV retinitis which caused him to loose his sight and became legally blind.

Weston was devastated by this news because he would no longer be able to pursue his passion of photography.

The CMV was not diagnosed soon enough which caused esophagus problems and was given six months to live. He left Chicago to spend his last moments of life with his younger brother who lived in California.

In 1996 they came out with the drug AZT that helped the immune system and Kurt's health completely turned around. In 1998 after the passing of a close friend, Weston went to a party at an organization that his friend spoke highly of to honor his death.

At the party he was asked if he could create a calendar for them since he was a photographer and after careful consideration, he agreed.

The project was a success, he regained his self confidence and continued to pursue his dream once again.

Today Weston is a part of several organizations concerning art for the impaired and is attending Cal State Fullerton to receive his Master's degree in Art.

When asked how he takes photos, considering he is legally blind, he says "art is how you feel or react to something. This is an inspirational thing, a guy doing it [who is] going through hell." He has a whole series on how he feels about his visual impairment.

This is an amazing story of a man who faced his illness head on and in one brief encounter is fulfilling his destiny. He is just one of several artists who against the odds has defeated their illness by continuing to live their dreams.

Most of us don't know much about art except what they teach us in class. Even then, it is someone else's thoughts or feelings on what it means. Art is not something that is taught, it is an individual feeling or reaction that we have on something we admire. This exhibition commends the accomplishments of these visually impaired artists and the determination to continue living their dreams.

Support these artists by acknowledging their triumphs in life by attending the Shared Visions 2005 exhibition.

http://www.fchornet.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/09/22/433309a92255a

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excerpt

BBC Broadcast's longstanding provision of access services - subtitling/closed captions, signing, audio description - to the BBC and cost-effective voice recognition subtitling methods led it to win contracts to subtitle and sign Emap music channels and audio describe and sign National Geographic channels this year. BBC Broadcast already provides access services to Channel 4 and FIVE.

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Details Sense & Sensuality Competition 2005/06

Sense & Sensuality 2006

http://www.blindart.net/competition/display?contentId=2674

Stimulate your senses

Challenge your perceptions

Feel the difference

COMPETITION

BlindArt invites all artists in all media to submit work that does not exclude the visually impaired and can be explored through touch and the other senses.

£5000 First Prize and BlindArt Purchase Prize

Submission deadline

10 January 2006

100 entries will be chosen for exhibition at the Bankside Gallery, London

14 September to

8 October 2006

For entry form

in Braille or on Audio CD call 020 7245 9977

Judges

Richard Cork

Art critic

Catherine Hillis

Royal National Institute for the Blind

Manfredi della Gherardesca

Art advisor

Sheri Khayami

Founder of BlindArt

and visually impaired

Marc Quinn

Artist

Gary Sargeant

Visually impaired artist

Prof Glynn Williams

Head of Fine Art,

Royal College

of Art

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Newswise.com (excerpt)

Thursday, September 29, 2005

Children's Blocks, Libraries Help Students Unravel Genomics: internet program "being adapted for the visually impaired"

By Source: Purdue University

Description

Newswise - Simple children's plastic building blocks and other familiar objects are teaching high school and college students the intricacies of biotechnology and genomics through an educational model that Purdue University researchers have developed.

Called the Genomic Analogy Model for Educators (GAME), the strategy is designed to make genomic concepts easily understandable for students and the general population. The program is available on the Internet at

http://www.entm.purdue.edu/extensiongenomics/GAME/

and also is being adapted for the visually impaired and being translated into Spanish.

"This program is meant to teach people who have no background in science about very complicated ideas using items that they are familiar with in their daily lives," said Barry Pittendrigh, Purdue entomology geneticist and co-developer of GAME "It's important for students to have some basic understanding of molecular biology, genetics and genomics since these concepts are becoming more important in our daily lives with the development of new food products and new medical diagnoses and therapies. Many of the concepts described using the GAME approach are important in a wide variety of areas, including medicine and agriculture."


http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html4ever/2005/050929.Pittendrigh.legos.html

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/514997/

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Leeds Today (UK)

Monday, September 12, 2005

Colourful sights: Good times roll for visually impaired

By Howard Williamson

EVEN if you are visually impaired, you like some colour in your life.

So when students at Henshaw's College for the Blind in Harrogate were invited to change their common room, they asked for something garish.

Bright pink, bright green, bright blue and bright red walls or doors.

Some of them can appreciate the colours and for others who are more visually impaired there will be braille signs naming each colour.

The common room and barbeque area were given a dramatic "Changing Rooms/Groundforce"-style makeover in just a day by students working with volunteers from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The accountants discarded their suits and laptops, donned overalls and picked up paint brushes or garden shears.

They took the lead in decorating the room or tidying up the barbeque area and the Henshaw students gave them maximum assistance.

Henshaw's volunteer co-ordinator Asha Munn said: "Some of our students were guided to use a paintbrush. Others pulled out plants or cut off branches - that's huge for them.

"The common room is surrounded by lots and lots of bushes which can seem scary to visually-impaired youngsters. So the volunteers chopped them back.

"Our students asked for a pet's corner with perhaps a rabbit or a puppy but we have settled for a fish tank instead.

"Volunteers will come in later and give the room some funky lighting.

"We also hope to create a sensory garden and a sound garden." Paint was donated by Kalon of Birstall and equipment was provided by Handy Hire of Leeds.

http://www.leedstoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=39&ArticleID=1187217


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Leisure Opportunities, UK

Monday, September 12, 2005

Fully inclusive gym opens in Essex

A fully-inclusive gym has opened in Essex and is already training future Paralympic hopefuls.

Recently launched in Hockley, Essex, Cullys Access to Fitness comprises a 6,500sq ft (600sq m gym equipped by Star Trac and Powersport, an exercise studio, a therapy room, guide dog room and showering and changing facilities to suit wheelchair users and their carers.

The facility is the brainchild of Stuart Cully, a personal trainer qualified in disability fitness, who noticed a gap in the local market for a fully inclusive fitness facility. The site currently has around 120 members, with a 50 per cent split between disabled and able-bodied users.

Membership costs £35 a month with a £50 joining fee. Reductions are available and members receive a blood pressure test and a new exercise programme every four to six weeks.

Among the members is an athlete training for the 2008 Paralympics - who previously had to travel up to two hours to the Aspire centre in Middlesex to find suitable training facilities - and a member of the British Wheelchair Rugby Team.

http://www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/newsdetail.cfm?codeID=12149

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WebIndia123.com, India

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Making national park blind friendly

The breathtaking beauty of nature may be permanently veiled off from the world of the visually-challenged but, thanks to a city-based NGO's efforts, blind visitors at a national park will at least be able to know about the animals through information scripted in Braille on aluminium sheets placed at various points.

As part of a noble endeavour that may be the first of its kind in India, the NGO Arushi's volunteers have painstakingly created about two dozen such sheets that are being put up in Van Vihar National Park along the banks of the 'Bada Talab' within the City of Lakes.

''The first such board was placed yesterday and we are attempting to ensure that all of these are in position before the World Wildlife Week gets under way,'' the facility's Director A K Bhattacharya told UNI today.

''Our democratically-structured organisation, which comprises roughly 500 volunteers, also put up no less than 118 such sheets at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. We have 16,000 hours of recording, ranging from school curricula to competitive examinations' details, on audio cassettes,'' Arushi Volunteer Anil Mudgal told UNI.

The NGO operates across about a dozen states.

The cassettes were prepared at a studio set up courtesy efforts by eminent music director Vishal Bharadwaj and sound engineer Daman Sood. Interestingly, about half-a-dozen inmates at the Central Jail, Bhopal, are also lending their voices for the cassettes, whose creation is a time-consuming and laborious task.

http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=122034&cat=India

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Montgomery Advertiser (AL)

Friday, September 23, 2005

Playground brightens day for blind kids

By Kirsten J. Barnes

CAPTION: Conner Howell, 5, who is blind, plays on the slide Thursday in the new 50th Anniversary Dixie Lions Club Playground for Visually Impaired Children at Ida Belle Young Park in Montgomery. -- Mickey Welsh

On Thursday, the Dixie Lions held the grand opening of the 50th Anniversary Dixie Lions Club Playground for Visually Impaired Children.

For Maddie Allen and twin brothers Conner and Cole Howell, the event could not have been better.

"I like it," said Maddie, 5, as she played with a steering wheel on the second level of the activity center. "It feels good with the breeze blowing. The wheel is my favorite."

The park was made possible through a $50,000 donation to the city of Montgomery's parks and recreation department, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the civic organization, which supports sight preservation.

"We knew there weren't any oth- er facilities in the city for these children," said Rob Smith, president of the Dixie Lions. "They needed some- place to go where they could play and feel safe."

The play area is free of sharp edges and sits on a padded surface for safety. There are Braille signs and activities that make noises. Also, the equipment is higher than normal.

Wiley Steen, director of parks and recreation, said the idea came about while speaking to the Dixie Lions.

"They asked about it, and I did some research to see if it was possible," Steen said. "It's designed high so that they won't run into it."

Among those who showed up for the ribbon-cutting at Ida Belle Young Park on Vaughn Road was Montgomery Mayor Bobby Bright.

"I'm just pleased to be able to accept it on behalf of the city, and I want to thank the Dixie Lions for making our community better," Bright
said.

Melinda Allen, Maddie's mother, said she was excited to learn of the park's opening.

"There's nothing like this for our kids," Allen said. "I took off work and checked her out of school."

Cole and Conner's mother, Krista Howell, was excited for her 5-year-old sons.

"I'm glad someone actually met our needs," Howell said.

Seeing children play on the equipment made Sam Diamond, the Dixie Lions' first president, proud.

"It's worth every penny that we paid for it," Diamond said.

In the tri-county area, there are 12 children who are blind, said Fara L. Zaleski, with the Regional Library for the Blind and Handicapped. "There are about 50 throughout the state," Zaleski said.The Dixie Lions hope that blind children who visit Montgomery will visit the park.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050923/NEWS01/509230343/1007


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The Nation (Thailand)

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Science camps to encourage blind students

By Pongpen Sutharoj

Even though she has been in a world of darkness all her life, 17-year-old Rampung Wongnontaphumi has a dream. Now in Grade 7, the blind student from Samsen Wittayalai School hopes to be an inventor. Despite seeing nothing, she has a vision to invent a new type of car that the blind can drive. This ambitioun has encouraged her interest in science since she was young.

"I love science and I always pay special attention in science class even though I can only listen to the lesson and imagine the experiments," she said.

A new opportunity is opening for blind students like Rampung. Instead of just listening to lessons, she and her friends have the chance to make their own science experiments. Realising that blind students could also be part of the new generation of scientists, the Science Ministry, in cooperation with Thailand Association of the Blind and Microsoft Thailand, has created a new science camp project for the blind.

Called Science for All, the project gives blind students in secondary schools a five-day workshop to get first-hand experience and join in science experiments and activities. "It's the first time blind students have been able to join in a science camp," said Science Minister Pravich Rattanapian. "We hope this will be a starting point to encourage young scientists that have been bound by darkness."

Twenty blind students from secondary schools nationwide will join with 20 university students in the camp. The university students will take care of the blind students for all activities.

The camp will be held from October 24 to 28 at Science Park, where the blind students will be able to conduct their own experiments and activities in the worlds of smell, sound and the environment, with researchers from major universities. They will also learn about information technology from researchers from Nectec and Microsoft.

The minister said this project would open chances and encourage blind students to learn more about science.

Blind people have long faced obstacles, especially when they want to continue study in scientific fields, said Monthian Buntun, the president of Thailand Association of the Blind. With this science camp, he said new opportunities would open.

"This camp will build interest in science for blind students and encourage them to continue in this field so we can train new scientists who are the blind," Monthian said.

>From this project, Monthian hopes to get several students, who will continue to learn science. The association also plans to ask for funding from the government and private sector to create a scholarship to allow blind students to continue their scientific study from Grade 10 to bachelor's-degree level.

Pongpen Sutharoj

The Nation

http://nationmultimedia.com/2005/10/03/byteline/index.php?news=byteline_18767729.html

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East Valley Tribune, AZ

Monday, October 03, 2005

Tempe interior designer has vision, passion for profession

By Hayley Ringle, Tribune

Robert Vaughn Kizere is a visually impaired interior designer. The 54-year-old Tempe resident lacks peripheral vision, seeing only 2 degrees instead of having the normal 180 degrees of vision.

"It's like looking through a pinhole," he said. "It also varies according to the day."

Although legally blind for two years, he still maintains a sharp sense of color, shape and context, and his determination has allowed him to continue working in a job he has loved for the past 30 years.

"I have an overactive imagination and a good sense of style and design," Kizere said.

He lost most of his sight two years ago after two operations to remove a brain tumor.

Since the surgery, he had to learn how to walk and talk again, and relearn how to do almost everything because of his limited sight, he said. Last year he spent six weeks living in Tucson's Southwest Center for the Rehabilitation of the Blind, relearning how to do everyday things such as shaving and cooking.

" 'Life happens' is my favorite saying," Kizere said. "I just choose to make the best of it."

He does have some help. Four months ago, he got a golden retriever guide dog named Mayor, who is by his side 24/7. Mayor mainly keeps Kizere from falling since he can't see things that stand in his way.

Kizere trained for a month at New Jersey's The Seeing Eye to learn how to work with Mayor.

"The first thing I taught him is to take me to Starbuck's," he said. "He knows the scent and the logo, and no matter where I am he takes me there."

Kizere said returning to work hasn't been difficult because of his determination. If someone tells him he can't do something, he has to prove that person wrong, he said.

He got the first job he applied for since his surgery. He began working as a design consultant at the new Ethan Allen furniture store in Chandler three weeks ago. He said he also continues doing freelance designing and has not lost any of his clients since the surgery.

Judy Butcher is one of Kizere's longtime clients. Kizere has worked with her for five years, designing rooms in her east Phoenix, Lake Havasu and Seligman homes.

"He's such an inspiration that he makes a living with his eyes, and legally is blind, yet he's still happy and he's still moving forward," said Butcher, 62. "What an awesome person. He's never lost his zest for life."

She said she had some doubts about his ability to continue decorating, but he proved her wrong.

"I worked with him prior to the sight problem, and he still has what it takes to be an excellent designer," said Butcher, who owns an appraisal company. "He hasn't lost a thing, except for his sight, which is just amazing to me."

Kizere maintains an independent lifestyle and lives with his committed partner of 11 years. He said the only thing he can't do since his surgery is drive. He is an avid walker and relies on alternative transportation.

"Other than that it's just the same," said Kizere, who has two grown children. "It just takes me longer to do something."

Contact Hayley Ringle by email, or phone (480)-898-6301

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/index.php?sty=49610

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FOX News

Sunday, September 11, 2005

The Search for Bodies: Tactical teams in New Orleans "use white canes"

Commentary by Adam Housley



They tap the sidewalks with white canes. The sticks normally used by the visually-impaired, in this case sweep to the left and to the right looking for any obstacles that might reside under the coffee-colored two-foot waters. There are eight men total: one weilds an axe, another a crowbar, still another a sledgehamer. Their mission? To search each and every home and there are a lot.

At each door they first knock, then try to open it. If it fails to yield, the Los Angeles Fire Department Urban Search and Rescue Team then storms in.

At the green house on the corner of Paris Avenue, the team tries the door, but to no avail. The barred screen door also seems imposing. They instead take the sledge, break the glass, they pry the bars from the window with the crowbar. The axe helps knock a hole big enough for the first of two rescuers to climb through. Outside the others provide support, while a soldier with the 82nd Airborne, his red beret perfectly positioned atop his head, his gun ready to raise on a moment's notice.

In this home, no bodies. In fact, this California tactical team has found only two: An elderly couple trapped in the attic with their dog. On the outside of their home they had hung a help sign, but rescuers came too late.

Once found, each body is entered into a GPS database, then when this entire neighborhood is checked, a team will come in and conduct the grim task of removing the bodies. In these first days, the numbers appear much lower than the mayor's projection of 10,000.

Now that the green home on the same street that leads to the Jazzfest grounds has been checked, the soldiers climb back into reality. The waters have dropped nearly three feet here, but garbage, cars, boats and sludge smears the once tree-lined streets.

The final task is the X. Rescuers spray paint an orange X. In the left piece of the pie, the agency; at the top, the date. To the right, they list any obstacles as a warning to anyone who might eventually enter this home. Finally at the bottom the sign, they indicate the total number of dead. In this home, no DB's. But one D-K9. This is the reality.

Adam Housley joined FOX News Channel in 2001 as a Los Angeles-based correspondent. He is currently reporting on the Hurricane Katrina disaster from New Orleans.

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PublicTechnology.net - UK

Friday, September 23, 2005

Web accessibility at museums on the agenda next week

The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council's work to promote web accessibility is high on the agenda of the annual conference of MAGDA (Museums and Galleries Disability Association), to be held on Wednesday 28 September at Manchester City Art Gallery.

At the conference Marcus Weisen, MLA's Health and Disability Adviser will talk about MLA's report on the "Accessibility of museum, library and archive websites".

The report which is based on an audit of the accessibility of 300 museum, library and archive websites is available at - - and was researched by City University.

MLA co-ordinated this years Jodi Mattes web accessibility awards. At the conference, award winners Pewsey Heritage Centre and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will explain how they developed best practice in web accessibility.

The MAGDA conference cost is £30. For information on bookings please contact: cadi.price@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3699

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internetsite

About MAGDA http://magda.org.uk/pages/about-magda.php

The Museums & Galleries Disability Association (MAGDA) exists to provide a forum for museum, gallery and culture-sector professionals to share information and expertise in addressing the needs of disabled users.

MAGDA works to promote awareness of the issues surrounding disability in museums and galleries and to provide an effective lobby for ensuring that these issues are addressed in strategic development for the sector.

MAGDA is a membership organisation, and it organises events, seminars and workshops throughout the year to bring people together and encourage them to develop best practice.

One of MAGDA's most important roles is the publication of Barrierfree magazine. Barrierfree is a regular magazine featuring up-to-date news and information for members. You can find out more, and subscribe to the magazine by visiting the [Barrierfree <http://magda.org.uk/pages/barrierfree.php>] section.

For the first time, Barrierfree is to be published as an electronic magazine, accessible from this site. This will make it easier than ever for museum and gallery professionals to log on and get up to date.




Barrierfree http://magda.org.uk/pages/barrierfree.php
Barrierfree, MAGDA's quarterly journal with its news, reviews, case studies, practical advice and theoretical debate, offers the leading source of information on best practice in access for museums, galleries and heritage management teams.
We welcome articles and contributions to Barrierfree. If you have ideas to share or wish to air your views, then this is the opportunity to enter into debate on current access issues in museums today.
Barrierfree is also available on disc, tape and braille on request.
The views and opinions expressed in MAGDA are not necessarily those held by MAGDA or its Committee members.

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MAC News Network

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Apple executive to attend R N I B Techshare 2005

A key executive from Apple is set to attend the Royal National Institute of the Blind's international technology conference, Techshare 2005. Senior Product Manager for Apple Mac OS X, Mike Shebanek, will be a keynote speaker and pre-conference workshop presenter. Shebanek is responsible for the management and development of key features and technologies within the operating system, including Mac OS X Tiger's integrated screen reader technology called VoiceOver for people with sight problems. The conference, held in Birmingham, UK on November 17-18, will be running dedicated Apple Voiceover pre-conference workshops on November 16th. Visitors can get hands-on experience with Voiceover and get training from Mike Shebanek himself. The conference will be held at the Jury's Inn, Birmingham with early-bird pricing of £195 for the full conference, or £130 for a single day. Costs after October 1st are £240 for the full conference or £150 for a single day.

http://www.macnn.com/articles/05/09/27/techshare.2005/

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