Hi Vishal I guess the caption you have given is sufficiently effective. The content is also very good and well presented. Just a small suggestion, Don't mention any product brands. There is a whole range of screen readers of varying capabilities and price tags. You can keep it generic like screen readers without mentioning product names. Harish.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Vishal M Jain" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "accessindia" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, August 14, 2006 6:16 AM Subject: [AI] Project awareness for college magazine Hello friends, I have written an article for my college magazine to create awareness among the students and the staff. Please suggest some good title for the article. I have only couple of days left to submit it hence looking forward for your valuable inputs. A vision to create better tomorrow How do you feel when you see a blind person searching for something? Pity? Does it help them in anyway? Definitely not. Its only when you help them locate whatever they need are you really expressing your true feeling of concern. According to research, a human being learns 83% through sight, 11% through hearing, 3 ½% through smell, 1 ½% through touch and 1% through taste. A glance at the above statistics can tell you what the visually challenged people lose. How do they study? For their studies or at work, the visually challenged use computers extensively. So how do they use the computers when they cant see the screen? They use a simple screen reading software like JAWS (Job Access with Speech). This software reads out everything displayed on the monitor. Instead of the mouse, they use keyboard commands. This software enables them to work with almost all windows based applications. In a similar fashion, the printed books are scanned, edited and converted to a word document. Then they can be read like any other document by JAWS. Editing plays an important role here as the recognition of some text may not be 100% accurate. Handwritten notes, however has to be typed. Books in languages other than English are recorded on cassettes or CDs. These are all the evolved methods of learning for the visually challenged. But Braille (a script that requires punching paper to read the dots created) is also extensively used. How do the visually challenged students give their examinations? Examinations are generally given with the help of a scribe. A scribe is a person who reads the questions and writes the answers dictated to him by the student. The qualification of a scribe must be lower than that of the student or else he should be of a separate stream. There are several communication problems encountered by the scribe and the student, especially at the time of calculations, diagrams, spellings etc. Achievements of the visually challenged: A lay man would often dismiss the thought of a visually challenged person having a prestigious degree or a high level of qualification. It's quite incredible that many blind people are into most walks of life such as Martial Arts, Mechanics where vision generally plays a prominent role. They have also accomplished several degrees like CA, MBBS, MBA, PhD, IAS and computer engineering to name a few. Job oriented people are certainly not behind. They work in several companies like Infosys, IBM, GE, SBI, Canara Bank, Microsoft, Google etc. they work in various sectors such as software engineers, Research analysts, Human resource recruiters, Doctors, Lecturers, Journalists, Advocates, Front office executives. Do you have any uncertainties in communicating with a visually challenged person? Firstly, no matter how shy you may be, you mustn't wait for the visually challenged to make the first move. Identifying yourself will prove to be very helpful as they have the knack of recognizing your voice if you talk to them for a while. For example: you could say "hi! This is Vinay" thereafter they will know your voice and recognize you later. One important thing to be noted is that you must always let them know when you enter or leave their room. If you see someone else entering, then you can always take the initiative and announce their name. The visually challenged are quite self sufficient in mobility. But it always helps if you describe the surrounding things clearly. You can also read points written on signboards and trace diagrams on their hands. Talk directly to the visually challenged person. (Not the person who is with the visually challenged)! They are quite intelligent, have good hearing and speaking skills. They just can't see very well! Often people talk to the person the Visually Challenged is with, rather than to the person directly! They do not need an interpreter! He or she is quite capable of communicating directly with others. Allow them to be independent and self-sufficient. Don't ignore them! Many people see a visually challenged person needing assistance but they choose to ignore them. Mostly because they don't know what to do. There are two principle rules to follow: 1) Use simple courtesy. Instead of viewing them as someone different, just treat them as you would anybody else. You could ask them if they need anything. 2) Always remember that they are not 'deaf' or 'retarded'. Yet many people communicate with them as if they are! They are just like you. The only difference being that they can't see very well. Vision loss is a mere inconvenience, not a disability. They are just differently able. Talking to them at a normal pace with a normal voice is absolutely fine. A person's vision loss has no bearing whatsoever on effective communication skills or hearing ability. How to understand them better? Only when you can empathize with the visually impaired can you get an inkling of their challenges. The best way to know little more of how they get along with their daily routine is to close your eyes for 5 minutes and try to carry on with the work you were doing. I conclude by saying that development in Science & Technology, broad outlook and awareness amongst the people in the society has largely improved the lives of visually challenged. Thanks to the development in technology, and initiatives of the government and other Institutions, any physical challenge is no longer a handicap or disability. As I have illustrated, visually challenged have excelled in almost all spheres of life. It is only a little assistance, encouragement and moral support they need to become valuable assets in the society. Even a small favor makes a lot of difference. Don't hesitate. A small token of affection or friendship can help them with or without your knowledge. "WE CANNOT DO BIG THINGS IN LIFE. LET US DO SMALL THINGS BUT WITH GREAT LOVE." MOTHER TERESA. Regards, Vishal Jain Ph : 080-41140564 Website : http://vishal.hello.googlepages.com To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. 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