Insight

You may know that your retina is made up of rods and cones.  This light sensitive receptors can become damaged due to eye diseases like retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.  The technology being developed uses a ultra-thin flexible, wireless, micro-electronic device that delivers electrical stimulation to the cells that carry visual information to the brain.  The idea is to have a thin little chip in your eye that reads the view and send electrical impulses through the retina to the brain. 

An article I read states: This summer, the researchers plan to test the implants on animals. Within the next few years, they hope to start performing human trails. Wyatt says: “What level of achievement that would actually be is hard to know; but the idea is of not having to use the white cane – to walk around, find the sidewalk, avoiding a telephone pole. Being able to navigate safely in an unfamiliar environment,, that’s the big topic.” 

For more information read the following site:  http://www.bostonretinalimplant.org/

BREAKING READING NEWS

Do you need book reading software for FREE?  No that wasn’t a mattress — we are talking about reading software.  A recent article posted to Publishers Weekly explains how a partnership is forming to create this software.  The collaboration is between the National Federation of the Blind, Baker & Taylor, and Ray Kurzweil, inventor extraordinaire. 

You might be interested in this software for reading books.  Many companies such as Amazon, Sony, and others have developed reading products.  The real run is getting the publisher to let books be read by technology.  The fact is that most of these critters are not designed to use by persons who are blind.  The  fact is that this new idea will make it work.  The kindle 2 allows for reading, but the controls are not accessible for persons who are blind.

Here is another article on book reading technology which might help you learn more about this type of technology:

http://www.sltrib.com/technology/ci_13996114

From the OSD Interim Director

Coming from our Newsletter:

I have been working in Disability Services for 18 years, and began my career working as a rehabilitation counselor at a sheltered workshop serving persons with developmental disabilities. I moved on to the State Department of Rehabilitation, working as a senior rehabilitation counselor serving persons with severe disabilities. During that time, I received my Master’s degree in Rehabilitation Counseling at CSULA (2000). I most recently worked at private  college coordinating their disabilities services program for five years. In 2006 I received my Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and was licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in March 2009.

 I began my career at the same time the ADA was enacted, and it has been quite a journey watching all the changes that have occurred due to the enactment of this great law. As you know we have a long way to go, but it really is a marathon, not a sprint.

My message to students: As a first generation college student, I faced many challenges, but it was here at CSULA that I learned “it is a show of strength to ask for help, not a weakness.” 

While You Were Away

I want you all to know that if you follow any blogs or read any news you think others would benefit from, that you should feel free to mail me (pwhite3@calstatela.edu).  I can post the material, but if you’d rather contribute regularly to the blog then you can be given the rights to psot on your own.  I have to moderate everything, but you would be able to strike out and make a name for yourself blogging.

I want the blog to represent the student, and to be informative and presenting new interesting materials; so let me know if you have anything to post or want to be on the eidtorial board.  We can use the blgo to communicate while everyone is away, too.  

 ;-)  Phil

The Osdhorn, downtime, pole

When Talk, Is Not So Cheap

An interesting article by Lisa Schlein has been published on Voice of America website, “UN: People With Disabilities Face Huge Obstacles” (12/02/09); Link

http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/social-issues/UN-People-With-Disabilities-Face-Huge-Obstacles-78358772.html

At the start of her article is the contention “The United Nations estimates that between 670 million and 800 million people, more than 10 percent of the world’s population, are disabled or have a close family member who is.” The interesting part is not, to me, the human story aspect found later via Mohammed Al-Tarawneh (Chairman of the U.N. Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – wow is that a mouthful) involvement to his “spinal cord injuries” however dramatic and tragic; it is what’s not there – and we can look at the absence through the California state public school obligations to students with disabilities.  Specifically who gets covered and who does not, along the repeated failed effort to fully fund education (IDEA namely).

ADD/ADHD – you’re out, no funding (just ONE example).  Too bad so sad.  Don’t like it?  Senator Harkin is that individual you need to appeal to.  What about fully funding  those already recognized as serious  <disability> — didn’t happen, and maybe will never.  Too bad so sad.  Don’t like it?  Senator Harkin is that individual you need to appeal to.  So what gives?  Politics.  Quick with the rhetoric, slow on the action.  Check it: no U.N. census data is provided in support of the figures provided, even though the “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the newest and one of the fastest growing human rights treaties.”  Further not a clue to the criteria is mentioned in the article.  I think that adage, ‘Talk is Cheap’ isn’t all that true.  That lack of commitment, be it article facts and ACT funding, I say — empty talk, cost us alot.  Do you care – really?  Prove it: contact the Senator and let him know your thoughts on this issue.  Or did you want to leave it, to the U.N.?  Hit me up and let me know where you are at with this crazy world.

Stress and Finals

The picture of a stress monster?

Even the word finals can illicit stress.  The fact is that exams and paper writing can add a great deal of stress to your life – but Fall finals and the coming holiday season are even more noxious when placed side by side.  Here is a link to a rather nice article for helping those in the throes of stress to handle the “finale hour.”

http://stress.about.com/od/studentstress/ss/study_tips.htm

How is your self esteem?

Recently I was asked about how someone builds better self esteem.  I have heard people say that their self esteem is low and that that inhibits their performance in school.  The web is filled with tests and evualtion tools.  The fact is that many people suffer from self inflicted wounds.  They develop destructibebehaviors and patterns like procrastination — this especially comes out when people are in college.  Have you ever suffered from this type of problem?  Did you come up with any solutions?

For me I had the problem of procrasitination and overcame it by developing a study schedule that focused on doing the homework for each class immediately after class.  That was my solution.  By reading the material that was to be covered before the class, I was also able to be better prepared — it also allowed me to to develop questions for the reading to ask the professor.

You may have low self esteem — take the following quiz on line to check it out:  http://www.more-selfesteem.com/test.htm

If you want to learn more about how to improve self esteem the web is full of articles.  Here is a little blurp that describes what self esteem is:

What is Self Esteem ?

“Hi, I just wanted to thank you for making this website. I’ve been suffering with crippling low self esteem for a real long time, and I’m finally regaining my composure thanks to there being websites like this“   Amber   Read other comments

Self esteem is your opinion of yourself. High self esteem is a good opinion of yourself and low self esteem is a bad opinion of yourself.

Your self esteem depends on many questions:

• Is your job worthwhile? Do others respect what you do? Do you?
      
• Do you believe you are successful?
   
• How do you see yourself (your self image)?
• How do you feel about your strengths and weaknesses?
   
• What do you think of your social status?
   
• How do you relate to others?
   
• Can you make your own decisions? A lack of choices leads to low self esteem.Lastly here is more on self-esteem:

 

http://www.more-selfesteem.com/personal_identity_article.htm

Heads; Dark Matter and Particles leap humans into a New Age — Tails; and it’s a Bad day

“The LHC is to cosmology as the space station is to astronomy big bucks technology gone amuck.  The LHC will produce some interesting science, and keep a lot of me-too PHDs churning out papers. What it will not do is answer the very questions that the salesmen promoting its construction promised.” 

This partial quote is a response to the article “Large Hadron Collider Breaks Energy Record” online at informationweek.com this week.  The Cern’s particle accelerator, called the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), is reported to be “up and running again” and the Thomas Claburn article for Informationweek.com briefly explains the advanced physics research project, and you can grab the article linked below.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/showarticle.jhtml?articleid=221901449

What is cool is that the article also provides links to a more in-depth look at the science of colliding stuff.  While Claburn did indicate that the LHC is at present undergoing a “test” in order to ensure “that higher intensity experiments can be handled safely” (Claburn, 2009) – I still can’t shake the notion of this thing-a-ma-bob by accident, creating a black-hole that envelops our planet, killing us all.  Of course, that fear stems from viewing way too much science fiction, knowing nothing about ‘advanced physics’ but also knowing full well, that – ‘to error, is human.’  Now, I know my peers at CSULA  have to know more about this physics stuff than your newest editor at osdhorn.wordpress; yours truly.  So I wanna hear from you with your posts.  Are such fears foolish, or could we just be days away, from one bad day?  Don’t be shy, hit me up, as I would love to read your take.  Do we even know the name of whom to curse out as the planet implodes – or will you be happy to have such a grand ending?  Mark is my name, and mark1.0 (“point” replaces “.”) is the game –username.  Keep it clean, and let me know where you are at with this crazy world.  What good and/or bad will be found?

Old Student Club assistance

I contacted Linda Morgan, who was once the president of a student group here at CSULA.  She is going to look for old club papers, including a constitution, so those wanting to start a club will be able to have a starting document — we’ll see if she can find it.  Hope everyone had a nice 4 day break.  And — GOOD LUCK on FINALS!