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Hager, Rachel | 1 Dec 2003 17:31

Re: Complaint Over E R's Depiction of Blindness

Hi Gordan,

It's interesting to me to read your response. I think there have really been
a number of schools of thought surrounding this episode. Casual water cooler
conversations actually inspired me to publish a poll and open up a
discussion board on this subject on www.visionconnection.org and the results
of the poll to date have been interesting, with an equal number of
respondents saying that ER acted irresponsibly as there were respondents
saying this was just a tv show. About 24% said they felt the show accurately
depicted what some people might feel.

Rachel

-----Original Message-----
From: Gordan Wahl [mailto:gordan <at> ZNET.COM]
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2003 1:40 AM
To: VICUG-L <at> MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
Subject: Re: Complaint Over E R's Depiction of Blindness

Hi Albert,  Suicide is one way of not dealing with life.  I agree it is a
poor story subject, but suicide is usually committed by unstable individuals
with problems they cannot accept.  Unfortunately this story gives age
related blindness a bum rap.  It leaves out the millions of people like
myself who have continued to live productive and useful lives.  At age 82
years I have lived with age related blindness and it is a small price to pay
for life abundant.  Suicide stories have been around for as long as man has
told stories.  I have no statistics to prove it, but more suicides have been
committed over the loss of: money, property, loved ones, jobs, business
failures, alcohol, drugs, depression and the list will never end.  Just
think how Shakespeare could have been such a great story writer if his plays
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DoreneFC | 1 Dec 2003 18:04
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Re: Complaint Over E R's Depiction of Blindness 

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I looked at the Visionconnection.org poll . I do not like the choices there,=
=20
but here is what I think:

I have not seen the suicide episode yet, but Bob Newhart appeared in a coupl=
e=20
episodes leading up to it. His character's behavior is typical in my=20
experience of the most exasperating features of suicidal people: he did dang=
erous=20
things and people were concerned enough to try, if imperfectly. to intervene=
. But=20
he actively resisted efforts to help him and isolated himself from help.

I think it would be a mistake to get hung up about exactly the circumstances=
=20
that lead to this character's suicide. I suggest people upset because a blin=
d=20
person comitted suicide in that episode think about the program trying to sh=
ow=20
complicated medical, psychological, and social situations from many=20
perspectives: doctors, hospital administrators, patients.

ER has LOTS of disabled characters and they do a lot to show both the range=20
of people's personal reactions to their disabilities and people's potential=20=
in=20
positive, even inspiring lights. But not all the hospital's efforts work in=20
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Jennifer Sutton | 1 Dec 2003 19:47
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recommendations for a contact tracking system

Hello folks:

I'm looking for a contact tracking system, and I'll list my requirements
below.  I'm not particularly keen to bother to learn how to develop a
database and reports using Microsoft Access, just for a simple tracking
system like this, but if I have to, I will.

I'm definitely willing to purchase software.

I'd also be willing to explore an arrangement with someone who could set
this up in Access, and I could just teach myself how to enter data--not
have to construct the whole system I want.

I'm wondering whether there might already be a stand-alone program out
there that somebody might be easily able to adapt or expand. I have seen
some programs designed specifically for blind folks for tracking contacts.

If people respond off-list to me directly, I will post a summary of
responses, as appropriate.

I use Windows XP Pro and Window-Eyes.

Requirements would look something like this, but fields (in item 2) do not
necessarily have to appear in this order:

1. Screen reader friendly, but also usable by a sighted person.

2. Fields would consist of:
2.1 Priority/importance: low, medium, high
2.2. Name: might need first and last to be separated for possible alphabetizing
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Leslie Fairall | 1 Dec 2003 22:12

Shortcuts in Microsoft Word

Hi everyone:

Can someone tell me how to make shortcuts in Microsoft Word? I have a few
extra items on my menu bar that do not have a keystroke such as our agency
forms and letterhead. At this point, it's very difficult to select them.
Any help would be appreciated.

VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
listserv <at> maelstrom.stjohns.edu.  In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/vicug-l.html
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Lynn Zelvin | 2 Dec 2003 05:10
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suicide

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HI,

I used to get regular calls at a place where I worked (an information line)
from a really enjoyable man who was 85 years old and who had macular
degeneration as well as a significant hearing loss. He was also some sort
of ordained minister. He had told me at one point that he had attempted
suicide over his vision loss. Afterwards he had sort of made it his mission
to help others who were going through the same thing. One thing he did have
which helped a lot was money. He had a computer with ZoomText, Internet
access, and he and his wife lived in some sort of retirement community that
had a lot of resources.

In my not always humble enough opinion, I think the stripping off of
resources whether physical abilities or community support, etc. that old
people go through really can be enough to drive someone to suicide. What I
would have wished for in such a program is for them to portray someone in
the same position who went on, as the gentleman above did, to live a happy
older life despite the struggles.

Lynn

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VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
listserv <at> maelstrom.stjohns.edu.  In the body of the message, simply type
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Bundy, Keith | 2 Dec 2003 18:23
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Question about Adobe Acrobat and WindowEyes

This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.

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Content-Type: text/plain;
        charset="iso-8859-1"

Please pardon the cross-post.

We have a client who is using WindowEyes 4.5 and Adobe Acrobat 6.  He has
downloaded a .pdf file which is an application that needs to be filled out.
How can he edit this application using WindowEyes?

Thanks for your response.

Keith Bundy
Director of Student Development
Dakota State University
Madison, SD
605-256-5121
Email: Keith.Bundy <at> dsu.edu
http://www.departments.dsu.edu/bundyk
<http://www.departments.dsu.edu/bundyk>

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
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Anthony R. Candela | 3 Dec 2003 17:11

Fwd: Microsoft Case Studies of individuals using AT, employed

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>
>  The Microsoft Accessibility Web site at: http://www.microsoft.com/enable/
>frequently publishes feature stories about people with disabilities who are
>working successfully in their careers using assistive technology and
>accessibility features in Microsoft products. You can find examples of these
>articles in the Case Studies section of the site:
>http://www.microsoft.com/enable/casestudy/default.aspx and in the Feature
>Stories section at:  http://www.microsoft.com/enable/news/articles.aspx.
> >
> > We are particularly interested in featuring people-45 to 65-who are
>employed and who use assistive technology (screen readers, voice recognition
>software, alternative input devices), or the accessibility features in
>Microsoft products (keyboard, display, sound and mouse options or
>Accessibility Utilities such as Magnifier and Screen Reader). We would like
>to demonstrate that these features are helpful to older computer users who
>may either have disabilities, or who experience impairments that increase
>with age including visual, hearing, and mobility limitations.
> >
> > We ask your help in identifying potential candidates for these interviews.
>We cannot promise that any suggested candidate will be selected for
>interview as we do a limited number each year, but your suggestions will be
>carefully considered.
> >
> > If you know of a potential interview subject, please fill out this
>nomination form.  Only complete nominations forms will be considered and we
>will contact you if we are able to pursue the nomination.
> >
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Sun Sounds of Arizona | 3 Dec 2003 21:16
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Accessible Email client

Thanks to all of you who have responded to my initial request for your
preferences.  I have plenty of data now to continue.

FYI:  Eudora and Outlook Express seem to be in a dead heat tie for most
popular accessible email client program.  A significant number also liked
Outlook though, this seemed to be among the more advanced users.  No
positive feedback for Netscape Communicator, and a couple of suggestions of
relatively unknown email clients which work well.  For what it is worth, I
prefer Eudora, but as with everything, it may be wise to go with a
Microsoft product in the long run.

Thanks again for your help.  It is really good to have a place to go to
gather relevant input quickly from people who actually use the stuff.

Regards,
Bill Pasco

VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
listserv <at> maelstrom.stjohns.edu.  In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
 VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
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Peter Altschul | 4 Dec 2003 00:02
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Please Help

Hello Everyone,

Joan Froling is a service dog trainer and works closely with GDUI in its
relationship with the Coalition of Assistance Dog Partners.  As you will
see from the message below, she very much wants to make her website
accessible to those of us who use speech readers.  Would you please look at
her test page and answer the questions posed by the website designer?

Thank you very much and happy holidays to all.

Debbie Grubb
<mailto:debbiecg <at> frela.cnc.net>debbiecg <at> frela.cnc.net
----- Original Message -----
From: <mailto:IAADP <at> aol.com>IAADP <at> aol.com
To: <mailto:debbiecg <at> frela.cnc.net>debbiecg <at> frela.cnc.net
Cc: <mailto:IAADP <at> aol.com>IAADP <at> aol.com ;
<mailto:Sterlingcf <at> aol.com>Sterlingcf <at> aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 8:55 PM
Subject: Joan IAADP sends Test page Questions for Speech Readers - Please Help

Dear friends:

    I would like to make the Sterling Service Dogs website accessible to my
friends with speech readers.  I do not know anything about doing that.  Our
volunteer
  knows very little about either, but she did go on line, read as much as she
could over a two day period, then she created a test page.  Before we change
the whole site, which is huge, to be just like the Test Page, we needto know
if that Test Page is acceptable to you.  She has a series of questions below on
which she is asking your feedback, so she can try to do a good job
(Continue reading)

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Bundy, Keith | 4 Dec 2003 17:57
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MSN 5

This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand
this format, some or all of this message may not be legible.

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Content-Type: text/plain;
        charset="iso-8859-1"

My computer recently crashed, and, in getting everything reestablished, MSN
5 was not put back on.  I am wondering if anyone knows where I can get this
version, as it seems to work best with JFW 5.  I am running Windows 2000,
and need this program for my job.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Keith Bundy
Director of Student Development
Dakota State University
Madison, SD
605-256-5121
Email: Keith.Bundy <at> dsu.edu
http://www.departments.dsu.edu/bundyk
<http://www.departments.dsu.edu/bundyk>

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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
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