Monday, January 28, 2013
Outstanding Employment Opportunities
In the Aggie Panorama it was reported that new computer science jobs would be abundant with high salary ranges.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Physical Disability and Assistive Tech in Media
Happy New Year to one and all from all of us at Project Enable. I'm not sure what New Year's looks like in PA, but here in New Mexico it mostly involves fireworks and time with friends. I'd imagine it's something similar in the North East.
We've been on a holiday break for the past week and a half, and are back and ready to get busy recruiting mentors (for both PA and NM), and participants (just NM this time). During the break I got the chance to catch up on my movie watching, and something caught my eye...most movies that come out today don't have physically disabled people shown very often...at least not the way that they are usually portrayed.
See, I'm learning more and more that people who don't have a disability (myself included) seem to make snap judgements about people using crutches or rolling through life in a wheelchair. These assumptions are usually wrong, and I am not sure where they all come from. Movies, in the past, that have had physically disabled characters in them don't usually show them in a positive light. They are usually slower, and often, aren't main characters. The only time we see a main character who is disabled, it's a retailing of someone's actual life story..."the exception rather than the rule" kind of mentality.
But, I'm noticing something different happening, and it's encouraging to see. More movies are being made with and about disabled individuals. "Hyde Park on the Hudson" is about FDR and shows how his disability didn't stop him from living (even if he did try to hide it from the public). Then there are movies like "The King's Speech"...not specifically about a physically disabled person, but more about a friendship between two people.
But I'd have to say my personal favorite movie, that also highlights assistive technology, would have to be "How to Train Your Dragon". Upon first glance, this isn't a movie about physical disability at all, and that is partly why it is a great movie about physical disability. Three characters use assistive tech on a daily basis, but that's not what defines them. Gobber has a multi-purpose prosthetic arm and a prosthetic leg. Toothless, the dragon, needs a replacement tail fin to fly properly. And (not to give too much away for those of you who haven't seen the movie) Hiccup requires assistive tech as well. If you haven't seen it, I encourage you to take a look. It's a good movie, and an encouraging one as well.
All these characters are so much more than their disabilities or their tech. And that's what good technology should be...not surpassing the individual, but rather, surpassing the way people see them.
And that's what we hope to show you all through our Technology nights, as well as encourage each participant to look into AT in greater detail. What could you create with the right opportunities...and nothing opens doors like a 4 year degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics.
We've been on a holiday break for the past week and a half, and are back and ready to get busy recruiting mentors (for both PA and NM), and participants (just NM this time). During the break I got the chance to catch up on my movie watching, and something caught my eye...most movies that come out today don't have physically disabled people shown very often...at least not the way that they are usually portrayed.
See, I'm learning more and more that people who don't have a disability (myself included) seem to make snap judgements about people using crutches or rolling through life in a wheelchair. These assumptions are usually wrong, and I am not sure where they all come from. Movies, in the past, that have had physically disabled characters in them don't usually show them in a positive light. They are usually slower, and often, aren't main characters. The only time we see a main character who is disabled, it's a retailing of someone's actual life story..."the exception rather than the rule" kind of mentality.But, I'm noticing something different happening, and it's encouraging to see. More movies are being made with and about disabled individuals. "Hyde Park on the Hudson" is about FDR and shows how his disability didn't stop him from living (even if he did try to hide it from the public). Then there are movies like "The King's Speech"...not specifically about a physically disabled person, but more about a friendship between two people.
But I'd have to say my personal favorite movie, that also highlights assistive technology, would have to be "How to Train Your Dragon". Upon first glance, this isn't a movie about physical disability at all, and that is partly why it is a great movie about physical disability. Three characters use assistive tech on a daily basis, but that's not what defines them. Gobber has a multi-purpose prosthetic arm and a prosthetic leg. Toothless, the dragon, needs a replacement tail fin to fly properly. And (not to give too much away for those of you who haven't seen the movie) Hiccup requires assistive tech as well. If you haven't seen it, I encourage you to take a look. It's a good movie, and an encouraging one as well.
All these characters are so much more than their disabilities or their tech. And that's what good technology should be...not surpassing the individual, but rather, surpassing the way people see them.
And that's what we hope to show you all through our Technology nights, as well as encourage each participant to look into AT in greater detail. What could you create with the right opportunities...and nothing opens doors like a 4 year degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics.
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