Braille computer mouse

When visually impaired people use a computer, they read what appears on the screen from a refreshable tactile display that contains 20 to 80 braille cells. A computer braille character consists of 8 pins that can be elevated in order to form a braille point or be lowered so no point is present.

Due to the large number of actuators needed, such displays are large and expensive. The Braille mouse is a small tactile display that simulates the larger display and takes the form of a rotating disc .

The disc contains braille cells inside a mouselike case. A reading window inside the case allows the user to feel the rotating disc and thus the braille characters. Below the disk are located an activation mechanism that brings the braille pins in the correct vertical position and a fixation mechanism that holds the pins in this position.

EPA Workshops Aim to Streamline Nation's Idling Laws for Trucks

Drivers of big rigs deal with big-time safety obstacles everyday, from loading dock hazards to heavy lifting to difficult driving conditions. Now EPA is trying to mitigate one obstacle that drivers have been dealing with for years: the inconsistent patchwork of anti-idling laws across the country.

While EPA lacks the authority to establish a national idling law, the agency plans to gather the various stakeholders -- including state environmental authorities, trucking groups, drivers, environmental groups and health associations -- for a series of workshops in Washington over the next few months to develop a consensus approach to eliminating the inconsistencies in idling laws across the country. The objective is to create a model that state and local entities can follow when developing their own idling laws.

The agency estimates half the country has state or local laws limiting the amount of time a vehicle can idle, and those laws "vary widely from state to state and municipality to municipality," said Glen Kedzie, environmental counsel for the American Trucking Associations.

Flaws in Use of Computerized Order Entry Could Lead to Errors

While computerized physician order entry (CPOE) is expected to significantly reduce medication errors, systems must be implemented thoughtfully to avoid facilitating certain types of errors, according to a study supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and published in the March 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study looks at clinicians’ experience in using one CPOE system at a major urban teaching hospital.

AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., said the findings are typical for products early in their implementation. “New health care information technology products usually go through an ongoing process of refinement and improvement as health care workers identify problems,” she said. “Ideally, principles of human factors research, usability testing, and workflow impact should all be considered before products are released into the workplace.”

“While the findings are important, the study focuses on the experience of one hospital and one product and may not be easily applied to industry at large,” Dr. Clancy said. “It means these products are in their early implementation period, and there will be a learning period to improve both these systems and make CPOE function at its best.” She said implementation problems would be minimized through testing before products are marketed, and through adaptation to meet the needs of individual clinical settings.

Help Available to 14,000 Employers with High Injury and Illness Rates

Approximately 14,000 employers have been notified that injury and illness rates at their worksites are higher than average and that assistance is available to help them fix safety and health hazards, OSHA announced today.

In a letter this month to those employers, Jonathan L. Snare, acting assistant secretary of Labor for OSHA, explained that the notification was a proactive step to encourage employers to take steps now to reduce those rates and improve the safety and health environment in their workplaces.

"This identification process is meant to raise awareness that injuries and illnesses are high at these facilities," Snare said. "Injuries and illnesses are costly to employers in both personal and financial terms. Our goal is to identify workplaces where injury and illness rates are high, and to offer assistance to employers so they can address the hazards and reduce occupational injuries and illnesses."

OSHA Beefs Up Criminal Enforcement Capabilities

Anyone who alters the scene of an OSHA safety investigation or misleads federal inspectors could spend up to 20 years in prison, according to William Sellers IV, a prosecutor at the Department of Justice who has led the U.S. criminal enforcement effort of OSHA rules for many years.

Sellers and Howard Radzely, the solicitor of labor at the Department of Labor, outlined a number of new initiatives to enhance criminal enforcement of OSHA rules at the American Bar Association's Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee midwinter meeting, held in Key West Fla., on March 1-4.

"Bad actors will pay, and pay dearly," promised Radzely, who has overall responsibility for Department of Labor civil enforcement actions; OSHA cases must be referred to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution.

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OSHA Chief Vows to Continue Past Policies

Occupational Hazards Jonathan Snare, acting assistant secretary of labor for OSHA, affirmed that OSHA will continue to expand voluntary programs while maintaining "strong, fair and effective enforcement."

"OSHA is committed to expanding education, outreach and compliance assistance," Snare told conference attendees.

As evidence of this commitment, Snare cited the $1 million increase for state compliance assistance programs in the president's proposed 2006 budget.

OSHA's enforcement program will be maintained at its current level, with the same number of projected inspections as last year, according to Snare. The proposed 2006 enforcement budget, after allowing for inflation, also will remain the same as last year.

Is this Siemens SX-2?

I just dont understand why in the hell Siemens always doing something like this. I mean, SX-1 is a great smartphone but the keypad is just ... unusable (IMHO). Maybe this model will also be announced together with other models in CeBIT 2005 this week?

If this is going to be the SX-2, I think Siemens has done it again... Why just not stick to a traditional keypad? Oh Siemens... This time, the keypad is designed like the one on Nokia 3650 which Nokia later on re-designed in the 3660.

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Contour Perfit Mouse

Introducing the New Perfit Mouse Optical (PMO) and Perfit Mouse Classic Plus (PMO5). Evolving from the original patented shape, the new versions maintain the ergonomic integrity of the time-tested form while adding new productivity enhancing features.

What's the secret? Through years of testing we have discovered a unique posture for the fingers, thumb and palm that is not only great for rapid target acquisition, but also allows maximum muscle and tendon variation throughout point and click operations. Variation is only one of the keys. We also found that when the hand is placed in this balanced posture, local hand muscles come into play. This minimizes the need for flexor muscles that are connected to the fingers through the carpal tunnel. Reduction of carpal tunnel activity is the key to preventing carpal tunnel syndrome.

Ultracane for the blind

The white stick has been given an upgrade at last. Now blind and partially sighted people have more to go on than just the basic information they get from a white stick.The UltraCane has been in development for a while and Sound Foresight, the company responsible for its creation has made it available to buy. The UltraCane works as an ordinary white cane, but also includes echolocation technology. Using ultrasonic waves, much as bats do, the cane reads the echos of waves as they bounce off objects in its path. This information is then feed back to the buttons on the handle providing details of how far away the object is and where it is. Apparently, the buttons that provide you with the information send the data you feel with your fingers to "a part of the brain that creates mental maps subconsciously". All this means that once your brain has got used to the signals you should be able to pick up quite a speed, confident that nothing is blocking your path. It costs £399 from the Sound Foresight website.

Body Awareness at Your Computer

Are you aware of what you experience internally after many hours at your desk? Or has your brain shut out your perception of your body and the space around you? Have you ever found yourself sitting at your desk, a mesmerized robot, typing away until your deadline is met?

Awake and Aware at Work
Some tools I used to maintain an awake, aware work state are breathing techniques.

Most bodywork and movement techniques either center their work on the breath, or use the breath for smooth facilitation of change in body tissues.

If you have ever had deep tissue massage, and your therapist “found the spot”, or gave you “a good hurt”, they may have suggested that you breathe deeply to help you get through the pain. Deep breathing can be very anesthetic. Natural childbirth methods are another example of the anesthetic nature of breathing.

Be careful when handling handhelds

The alert has been raised by the American Society of Hand Therapists: Apparently, heavy and extended use of portable electronic devices — Pocket PCs, BlackBerrys, cellphones and iPods — can cause long-term damage.
"Handheld electronics may require prolonged grips, repetitive motion on small buttons and awkward wrist movements," said society president Donna Breger Stanton. "This combination can lead to hand, wrist and arm ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis."

The therapists have released several guidelines for using such devices. Among them:

* Use a neutral grip (wrist straight) when holding the device.
* Switch hands frequently. This allows one hand to rest.
* Do hand exercises: (list) ...

Tech-savvy companies need safety too

Ten tips for creating a safety culture

When developing a positive safety culture in technologically advanced environments, organizations should take a macro-level perspective that involves the whole organization and not just individual workers, according to an article in Ergonomics By Design. The authors admit some of it may seem like old news, but they argue it is worth hearing again as experience shows most research findings do not make it into the real world.

* Send appropriate signals that safety matters
* Make people believe in safety
* Promote error checking and encourage continuous learning
* Encourage open communication
* Search for solutions
* Encourage documentation of errors
* Prepare people through training
* Measure/assess safe behaviors
* Reward the right behaviors
* Promote teamwork.