Let us team up for large grants.

[http://www.aol.com/~LaGiannina]

Let us team up and go after a series of grants with SBIR and others.
I know how and I qualify ahead of others due to my conditions.

In addition to Phase 1 and 2 grants, $ 1 million, to build the prototype,
we could get a series of Phase  million dollars each, one for each
application of the platform.

We can do our arrangement as a simple partnership, no real cost at all,
I know how to do the papers. Partnerships do qualify for grants
especially if minority and disabled people own a portion of the partnership.

Then later, if we want to, we can upgrade into a copropration
or a non-profit 501(c)3 type org.

Giannina

              Equal Digital Rights for the
              Needy People of the World

(A grant request to architect a low cost Linux based collaborative  systems
to be used by the virtual support communities  to lower the cost and increase
the quality of care and support as well as quality of life for the elderly
and aging population)

                  by  Janine M. Lodato
                   http://www.aol.com/~LaGiannina

A very significant upgrade of self-supported health
improvement can be achieved using assistive
technologies (AT) connected via the Web.
Recent scientific studies by major universities
in the field of behavioral medicine including
psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) indicate that getting
involved with collaborative group activities
has significant rehabilitation potential. In fact
behavioral medicine can prevent disease, and
improve quality of life and rehabilitate.
Of course it does not replace the pharmaceuticals,
but it does improve their effectiveness.

This type of supportive group activity can also benefit
other individuals in need such as the learning disabled, the aging
and the participants in clinical trials. Of course this involvement
in supportive groups requires that the individual in need
attend such group activity sessions physically. That may not
be feasible for many individuals in need, but a virtual
supportive group session via the Internet would be just as
workable.

It is suggested that the collaborative virtual community
systems, based on Web connected AT clients and servers,
supporting the disabled and the aging can also be used for
the able-bodied eyes-busy, hands-busy professionals to
improve their productivity. Also learning disabled children
can make very good use of AT. This low cost set of AT
platforms and associated Web connectivity could be
very useful in many government and commercial employment
arenas. This dual-use type approach will significantly lower
the cost of the needed technologies for all groups.

But, this important project cannot be done using
Microsoft based platforms because they are
...much too expensive,
...insanely unreliable,
...maddeningly complex.

These obviously negative attributes of Windows
as sold today make the PCs and Tablets almost useless
and beyond reach for the truly needy:
....the aging population,
....the physically disabled,
....the learning disabled,
....and the professionals working with all the above.
The sum of these people accounts for more than half
the population of the world. They are in need of a
collaborative assistive technology (AT) system which
operates with telephone style simplicity. An end-to-end
AT-based collaborative system connected via the Web
will allow the professionals to provide support group
style assistance in the form of a simple virtual community.

Now that Linux is available, it is feasible to approach
this very large market using a low-cost, rugged and simple
client system. Linux-based client systems connected
to Linux servers are perfect for such end-to-end
AT systems offering. The reliable and simple features
of Linux coupled with low cost Linux based hardware
and platforms and applications are the only solution
for these end users who need AT capabilities.  As
www.cio.com Dec. 1. 2002 edition pointed out:
â Å?get serious about Linuxâ  .  28% of the user
are now considering Linux for their desktop OS.

Of course there is still work to be done. Applications for
AT platforms must be developed or perfected to allow collaboration
between the health service professionals or social worker professionals
and the many people in need.
Web connected AT oriented software components running on Linux client
machines connected to Linux servers have to be created such as...
....simple and application specific user interface,
....voice based interaction via computer/telephone,
....always on and always available systems,
....a collaborative virtual community systems.

Through such systems the professionals can monitor,
mentor and moderate and even medicate the members
of the collaborative community. For a good example:
Dealing with students who have learning disabilities, it is
important to get their attention, to bolster their behavior
and finally to improve their cognitive productivity.  With
assistive technology people can prevent further destruction
of their faculties, improve their quality of life and can even be
rehabilitated somewhat.  Just the idea of being productive
adds to a person's self-esteem enormously.

This end-to-end Linux based and voice recognition enhanced AT systems
architecture is what needs to be developed and this is the project for
which a grant is being sought by me and my supportive team with educational
and information technology experts as members of the team.

    One of the first project to develop for this population in need is
a unified messaging system, preferably voice-activated, that lets the
user check for caller ID, receive short messages, check for incoming and
outgoing E-mail, access address books for both telephone numbers and e-mail
addresses, and place and end telephone calls.
     Everything that is now done by typing and text, will be more
quickly and easily performed with voice recognition.  That is, a voice will
identify a caller , read short messages aloud, provide e-mail services in
both
text-to-voice reading of the incoming e-mail and voice-to-text for
outgoing E-mail, voice access of address books, and voice-activated
placing and closing  out phone calls.
         Once the users are able to answer, make and end a call using
just their voices, working with the telephone will be a breeze and seniors
will not feel isolated and lonely.  What a boon to society voice-activated
telephone services will be.
     Whether or not users are at all computer-savvy, e-mail will also
be an option applied to the telephone.  It is, after all, a form of
communication as is the telephone. It is a Linux-based unified communication
system.
     Of great value to the user would be e-mail and its corresponding
address book.  As e-mail comes  in, messages could be read by way
of a text-to-voice method.
Also of great value would be a telephone system with its corresponding
address book and numbers.  Short messaging could be read through
text-to-voice technology and short messages can be left using voice
-to-text methodology.

The professionals in the  health-care market alone may justify the
Linux based voice recognition project. Health-care services are the largest
expense of the Group of Ten nations, and it is the fastest growing sector as
well.
Health-care workers would benefit from using their voices to document
describing the treatments of patients. Voice recognition allows them a
hands-free environment in which to analyze, treat and write about
particular cases easily and quickly.
Electronically connected medical devices via wireless LAN can benefit:

*   ...Hospital administration staff
*   Improve the usage efficiency of resources
*   Achieve standardized, quality patient management
*   Dramatically reduce data recording (transcription) errors
*   Lower costs
*   Make any room a telemetry room on demand (that is, do laboratory
measurements in any room regardless of where the central equipment is
located)

*   ...Medical staff
*   Be empowered with a 24/7 complete set of vital-sign data
*   Have more time for hands-on care
*   See changes in patient status immediately to enable quicker
responses

In this life sciences field, the simplicity, reliability and low cost
of Linux for servers, tablets, embedded devices and desktops is paramount.
Only about 10% of the documents in the health-care field in the USA are
produced electronically due to the cumbersome and unreliable nature of the
Windows environment. 30% of the cost of health-care is a direct result of
manual creation of the documents and many of the malpractice cases are also
due to the imprecision of transcriptions of manually scribbled medical
records and
directives, as anybody who looks at a prescription can attest.
Obviously, the market for these new technologies exists. What remains
is for a hungry company with aggressive sales people to tap into that market.
Once those sales people get the technology distributed, the needs of many
will be met and a new mass market will open up that Microsoft isn't filling:
assistive technology (AT). Actually, the field already exists but needs
to be expanded to include both physically disabled and functionally disabled.
Yes, voice recognition offers great promise for the future. However, it
isn't perfect and needs to be improved. One improvement could use lip reading
to bolster its accuracy. Still another is multi-tonal voice input. Another
is directional microphones. Every generation of voice recognition software
will improve as the hardware for Linux gets bigger and stronger.

     Anything that allows independence for the user is bound to be
helpful to every aspect of society.
     With the attractive price of a Linux-based unified communication
device encompassing all the applications mentioned above, users can be
connected and productive without the need for an expensive Windows system.

I have many years of personal experience using AT and found
it very helpful in SPMS (secondary progressive multiple sclerosis)
conditions as described below in a brief review of my
personal experiences.

In addition to my extensive experience with AT, I also have
related graduate credentials from both Ca State
Univ at Northridge  (the center for AT corporate interactions)
as well as CSU in Sacramento and UOP in Stockton.

In spite of my handicap, I find it gratifying and fulfilling to
concentrate my efforts on projects worthwhile to a very deserving community.
Involvement such as this has proved to have healing powers for me.  I am
living
proof of the powers of   behavioral medicine based on deep personal
involvement.
     The best way to use these intellectual strengths is to get
involved with collaborative teamwork and personal communications within the
disabled community and with companies who provide assistive technologies for
this community.
     There are many AT type technologies that focus on, and make good
use of the physical abilities a disabled person may still have such as voice,
lip movement, eye motion and brain waves. These capabilities can be used
with brain-actuated computer systems and voice recognition software, to name
a few.  Integrating these already-existing technologies into something
usable by disabled clients so they can express themselves will offer them
freedom in spite of their handicap.
     Understanding that there are companies already seeking to address
this market makes my involvement in the area that much easier and completely
natural.  Finding companies geared toward brain-actuated computer
control systems is my next assignment.
     As a handicapped woman who still has control of her mental
faculties and voice, I have something to offer by connecting the right people
so that
I can integrate systems through the Internet to develop a mutually beneficial
virtual community.
     Personal communications and collaborative teamwork need assistive
technologies to further the self-esteem of the disabled.
     In short, involvement allows disabled people not only a
distraction from their problems, but also a constructive way to spend their
time while helping a cause they believe in.
     The positive rehabilitative effects of Behavioral Medicine is my
method of surviving and thriving until a final cure for MS is developed.

Janine M. Lodato
box 838
SAN ANDREAS, CA.
95249-838

Phone: 209-754-3822

   ~|__
     ( o )\_
Linux Journal web article:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sidf10
http://linuxgazette.com/issue85/Lodato.html
http://www.e-bility.com/articles/voice_recognition.shtml
http://atnet.org/news/sept02/090105.html
http://www.funlist.com/www/coke/lib/symbol.html

Janine M. Lodato
box 838
SAN ANDREAS, CA.
95249-838

Phone: 209-754-3822

   ~|__
     ( o )\_
Linux Journal web article:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sidf10
http://linuxgazette.com/issue85/Lodato.html
http://www.e-bility.com/articles/voice_recognition.shtml
http://atnet.org/news/sept02/090105.html
http://www.funlist.com/www/coke/lib/symbol.html