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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2005 UW Project Works to Make Graphics More Accessible Trading Color for Sound for Visually Impaired Gov't Awards Contract to Streamline Financial Aid Verizon Reaches Deal to Buy MCI UW PROJECT WORKS TO MAKE GRAPHICS MORE ACCESSIBLE Researchers at the University of Washington are looking for ways to make graphics accessible to blind or visually impaired students. Funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation, the Tactile Graphics Project aims to open up science and engineering to students with visual disabilities, who have traditionally been largely left out of such fields due in part to the difficulty of "seeing" graphics with their hands. Researchers in the project are working with blind students from the university and local high schools to develop new and effective means of representing graphics and figures in a way that the blind can understand clearly. Such representations must be sufficiently detailed to be useful but not so complex as to be confusing. Tactile printers, or embossers, is one technology that already exists, but because the software is outdated and difficult to learn, the printers are not extensively used, according to Melody Ivory-Ndiaye, an assistant professor at the university's Information School. Associated Press, 14 February 2005 http://www.registerguard.com/news/2005/02/14/b3.wa.research.0214.html TRADING COLOR FOR SOUND FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED Working with a graphics specialist and another student, a blind graduate student at Cornell University has developed a computer application that translates colors into sounds, allowing him to read and understand colored maps of the atmosphere. Victor Wong, who has been blind since age seven, said he recognized the need for such a tool for his own studies, as well as for blind scientists generally. The application translates the colors of digitally created images into one of 88 notes, with blue at the low end and red at the high end. Users manipulate a stylus on a tablet to "read" the images through sound. Wong believes that because he formerly could see, his "color memory" may afford him the ability to visualize the colors and use the application in a way that someone who has never been able to see could not. The software remains primitive, but Wong said he hopes it can one day be developed to give blind people access to photographs and other images. BBC, 14 February 2005 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4257961.stm GOV'T AWARDS CONTRACT TO STREAMLINE FINANCIAL AID The Federal Student Aid office of the Department of Education has awarded a contract to Pearson Government Solutions to merge processes currently under four separate contracts into a single operation. The new contract will cover student loan application processing, written correspondence, a call center, and the distribution of funds under the Direct Loan and Pell Grant programs. Mac Curtis, president and chief executive of Pearson, said that students and parents will be able to access the new system online, by e-mail, or through written correspondence. Pearson has won contracts from several other federal agencies recently to develop similar systems, which Curtis referred to as "customer interaction management" systems. A spokesperson from the Department of Education said the system will "improve customer service through increased self-service opportunities" and will streamline financial aid functions for participating institutions. Washington Post, 14 February 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21999-2005Feb13.html VERIZON REACHES DEAL TO BUY MCI Verizon has successfully negotiated a deal to acquire MCI for around $6.6 billion, despite a bid of $7.3 billion from Qwest Communications. The board of MCI, which was reborn from the remnants of WorldCom after the company's $11 billion accounting scandal, opted for the Verizon offer citing concerns about Qwest's ability to finance its offer and about the value of Qwest stock. The deal between Verizon and MCI is the latest in a series of consolidations in the telecommunications industry, which many analysts see as a response to a relaxing of regulation of such mergers. Verizon is the nation's largest regional phone company, but, as technologies have evolved, the company has been losing sources of revenue to cable and other companies that increasingly offer alternatives to traditional phone service. MCI's customer base includes about one million corporate customers, which provide a high-margin source of revenue. The company also boasts an extensive data network, making it an attractive acquisition for Verizon. New York Times, 14 February 2005 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/14/technology/14phone.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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