drawing with light captured by webcam

Glow Doodle is a little application available for Windows and Mac that allows you to draw with light captured by the webcam.

The results you can obtain are very particular, and the only limit is your imagination.

Basically just start Glow Doodle and use any light source (a phone, a laser pointer) to plot a drawing in the air that will be captured by the webcam.

Dog Sitter - The Tamagotchi - how do you play? With the web cam!

A soft and cuddly puppy care? A tamagotchi to have fun? Well, now you can behave like good masters and pamper your dog, feed them, wash and clean them ... shortly, you make them happy. The happier he is, the higher the score you get in the game.

And now the news: how do you play? With a webcam!No keyboard, no mouse, just play with your hands. Connect the camera to your PC, turn it on and start playing. Stroke the puppy with your hands, move your finger several times on the icon of soap to wash them, on the food to feed them, and on their pee to clean them.

Will you make happy your four-legged friend?

NOT EQUAL: THE DAILY LIFE OF DISABLED PEOPLE IN A VIDEOGAMEROME - The Global Junior Challenge 2009 comes to the fifth edition, an international competition that awards the innovative use of technology for training, education, solidarity and international cooperation. The 109 finalists from 32 countries exhibit their projects at Galileo Galilei Institute in Rome. The four categories are flanked by the series 'work' and 'creativity'. In the latter the project 'not equal' emerges, a video game developed by Giuseppe Cacace and Simone and Elisa Costacurta, a simulator where the user plays the role of a disabled person to respond to the consequences of disability.

The project 'Not Equal' offers the opportunity to immerse yourself in another life for two hours. A dual key of educational novelty, a new way to tackle the issue out of the rhetoric of compassion.

The technology makes us the actors, the writers. It breaks the diversity and distance offering the point of view, teaching to otherness and not to be suspicious.

THE NATIONAL FUND FOR SOCIAL POLICIES DOESN’T EXIST ANYMOREThe National Fund for Social Policies (FNPS), initially proposed by the Law 449/1997 and redefined by the Law 328/2000, is the national source of dedicated funding for this assistance to individuals and families.The Social Fund finances a complex system of regional social plan and Social Plans of the area, aimed at creating an integrated network of services to individuals, rooted in the territory. The services have some aims, such as inclusion, and increasing the level of social welfare. FNPS obtained in 2009 a budget of 1.344 billion euros, and it should be €1070 in 2010 and €960 in 2011. It is therefore a net reduction of public money devoted to disability.

The Fund for the dependent has not been refinanced. This is a special fund, created in 2006 (Institute of Law 296/2006) and originally planned for three years.

Rome, tomorrow in a hundred places "An apple for life"Tomorrow and on Sunday "An apple for life" comes back in the streets again, for its fifteenth edition. In over one hundred squares of Rome and province - under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic – it takes place the initiative in solidarity, born to fight multiple sclerosis and promoted by Aism - the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society.

smart inclusion: the school in line with the hospital It was inaugurated at the Pediatric Hospital “Bambino Gesù” in Rome the project "Smart Inclusion", undertaken with the support of the Ministry of Public Administration and Innovation, the technological support of Telecom Italy and the scientific supervision of the CNR-IOSF Bologna.

This is the first initiative in Italy that integrates on a single technology platform for distance learning services, entertainment and clinical data management, allowing chronically ill children to participate in social life by connecting them with the outside world in a simple and immediate way.

The project uses innovative technology platform made by Telecom Italy and totally 'Linux-based', in line with European Union guidelines. The innovative touchscreen display terminal "Smart Care", with a camera and put on the board of the patients’ bed, allows children to attend classes, communicate with their friends and to access entertainment programs with a single push of the finger.

In the school area, interaction with the class, the teacher and the students is made possible thanks to the installation of live evolved classroom computer systems, incorporating an interactive whiteboard, that allows a connection even on the video-terminal site board of the bed. Smart Care Terminal also allows the child to see the recordings of lectures, exercises and to do individual self-study courses.

In the entertainment area, on thecontrary, he can access thematic TV channels, choosing in an on-demand audio-video content from favorite cartoons, films, documentaries, sports, or make video calls with their families. In post-hospitalization, the child will continue to take lessons at home using a PC with a webcam.

According to the information from the Ministry of Innovation, "Smart Inclusion" will be extended to six more hospitals by 2009: the Meyer Hospital in Florence, the Azienda Ospedaliera in Padova, Ospedale Infantile Regina Margherita in Torino, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo di Pavia and Istituto G. Moreland Gaslini in Genoa.

The Alphabet of responsible behaviour is made up of rules and principles, letters and images, slogans and rhymes, or rhymes. These are the elements that the school children of all levels will combine to create a poster or brochure that will participate at the national competition "The Alphabet of responsible behaviour." The objective is to promote a shared reflection to develop those behaviours respectful of citizenship, diversity of lifestyles and environment, indispensable for the exercise of active citizenship as advocated by the White Paper on welfare and object school education of the new "Citizenship and the Constitution."

The deadline for submission of work is January 31, 2010. The competition notice is published on the websites and www.istitutoaffarisociali.it www.indire.it.

National conference on disability. Here there is the official programWorkgroupsScientific collaboration with the Institute of Social Affairs

   1. Disability, Health and Environment: multidimensional assessment, care, custom design.      Introductory Report: Carlo Francescutti - ARS FVG.   2. Active inclusion in society.      Introductory Report: Luca Insabato - Expert labor market.   3. The de-institutionalization: family support, home care, independent living.      Introductory Report: Monica Lo Cascio - City of Turin.   4. Multidiscrimination: disability, women and children.      Introductory Report: Paola Degani - Interdepartmental Center for Human Rights University of Padua.   5. Environment, accessibility, new technologies.      Introductory Report: Isabella Menichini - Institute of Social Affairs.   6. The vegetative states as a paradigm of extreme disability.      Introductory Report: Matilde Leonardi - Istituto Besta.   7. Mental health.      Introductory Report: Alessandro Meluzzi - Psychiatrist, Agape Mother dell'Accoglienza NPO.

Puglia, the Plan “Rights on the Net” was confirmed

BARI - The Apulia Regional Council approved the plan of activities for the year 2009 of “Rights on the Net” now in its fourth edition. It is a structured program for the submission of project proposals related to communication initiatives of social educational and cultural value, in favour of people with disabilities and their families. The plan envisages a total commitment of three million euros divided into three lines of action.

The first line finances projects for training and for a technical support to the families of people with different skills involved in testing methods and socio-educational and rehabilitative pathways, in the innovative and experimental contributions to the adaptability of private cars to drive and to transport the disabled, the communication plan on disability rights and opportunities and services to improve the quality of life, fostered by the organizations of the Third Sector.

The second line provides funding for the provinces and municipalities for the social integration of disabled childrenand it is extra-curricular. The third line funding initiatives are for regional communication disability rights, experimental projects for specializations to take charge of children with disabilities and thematic research in this field.

A software to play the computer with the eye’s movementsIt's called "gaming-with-gaze", and it is a free software that lets you to play with the computer using only your eyes. According to the researchers, the software works using eye-tracking technology already available on the market. This technology uses cameras to track the users’eye movements when viewing the screen of a computer. The researchers analyzed the eye movements of players who did not have any disabilities in order to develop a visual map of heat that can activate the

different commands depending on the area observed by the user. The various models of eye movements were then converted into "movements of the eyes' and used to activate or to activate commands.

To let disabled "be able to live"

It has been the motto for ten years, guiding the work of operators of "Sim-Patia", the health centre of Valmorea that houses people with severe walking difficulties. Today, to celebrate the first decade of operations, the center is planning a day of reflection and celebration.

Highlight will be the presentation of a revolutionary wheelchair-robot designed by scientists at the Politecnico di Milano. The innovative wheelchair, will be tested by a disabled preview of "Sim-pathy" and can be controlled only by the passenger with brain activity, without any movement, but only through the use of an electroencephalograph and a program of artificial intelligence.

"No One Left Behind" Social policies travelling among the people in BariThe goal is to make citizens aware of the laws, initiatives, policies put in place in recent years by the Department of solidarity in favour of families, elderly people, disabled and those who are more fragile. The initiative is in the more complex strategy of the Regional Government of listening to disseminate the first draft of the second regional social plan and to collect the contributions of all citizens of Puglia. A social plan that they do not really want to be a plate ready to serve to the citizens of Puglia.

The bus of solidarity will stay at the Fiera del Levante in Bari, to be held September 12 to 20.

Twitter, the accessible social network Web is for everybody, and social networks do not escape this rule. Or so it should be. It seems things are changing and one of the enlightened of web accessibility, Dennis Lembree, founder of Web Ax, has created "Accessible Twitter", thus transforming the social network Twitter in a more accessible network.

Although not affiliated in any original way, AT can make us go directly to our Twitter page having available a suitable site to the needs of visually impaired and blind people. To circumvent the problems previously encountered by the ad hoc programs, which can enlarge the fonts or to read aloud the text on the screen, Lembree had to give the new site a quite different design from that of its inspiration.

Now all connections are accessible via keyboard and titles and links are designed to facilitate navigation and to assist the activities of the 'famous' reading programs. Among the more attractive facilities: when you Twitt unless fifteen characters from the end-style countdown, a voice warns you how many letters can still be typed, and the button allows the user to re-tweet, to re-post a so simple and fast 'tweet'.

Disabilities and Telework A European citizen out of ten has a disability: about 12% of Europeans suffer from some form of disability, and 6-8% of disabled people are younger than 60 years. Their employment rate is substantially lower than the entire population, as well as the level of unemployment is the highest among the ranks of the workforce. Disabled people, therefore, find everywhere a lot of barriers to entry into the labor market, as it is

difficult to incorporate them in other social fields, for example in education or training. This situation is the result not only of the physical constraints associated with the type of disability, but also a general trend of the surrounding environment to put their needs on a secondary level than other issues. Lots of work environments are totally inadequate to accommodate persons with disabilities in them, as they are full of obstacles. For example, many buildings lack adequate space and facilities at the entrance for the movement of wheelchairs or air conditions is critical for people with respiratory problems or multiple sclerosis. Moreover, the pace of work required in the office can not adequately coincide with the demands and needs of a disabled person, who,because of his disability, is not always able to follow the routine of a normal workday. Teleworking, then, may be particularly suitable for those suffering from congenital, or acquired or progressive disability, the ones that are in extreme difficulty, not so much in performing the work, because they have adequate professional skills or are in a position to acquire them, but in going to the office. Certainly, excluding all those activities that require purely physical skill, which now play a small share of overall work activities. Telework, in fact, through the use of computer and telematics offers ample opportunity for people with disabilities to take up work according to their particular environment and their skills, and can help to deeply enrich their quality of life. This is because, as noted, each individual, and, above all, a disabled person gets satisfaction from his professional activities, his conviction of being part of a production system that creates identity. There are many benefits for disabled people who decide to become teleworkers. These are linked both to the performance of work and to the possibility of reassessing the social image of these people. In particular, the first group of benefits:

    * Ease of entry into the labour market and the knowledge and training;     * Familiarity with the home environment and the ability to control their own space in a more effective workplace;     * The organization and flexible organization of the activity;     * The use of appropriate equipment;     * Greater mobility;

and the second group of benefits includes:

    * The attention of employers / clients focused on work and not on disability;     * Equal opportunity with the able-bodied persons;     * The possibility of breaking the social isolation;     * The possibility of finding a social identity.

Telework is a balance between a more congenial time and place of work with the capabilities and needs of disabled workers, and allows them to perform their activities without the pain of supporting their daily commute to and from the workplace. In this way the traditional barriers to mobility and the use of public transport are exceeded. Moving is, in fact, a problem for people with disabilities not only in relation to daily commuting but also in cases they are changing the workplace. For these cases, the disabled are forced to give up spaces that were tailored to their needs for IT support. Telework, if well designed, helps to reduce social isolation of people with disabilities. Although the lower level of interaction with colleagues and the loss of moments of typical social environments, the modern technologies that support the use of teleworking allow you to create social bonds, to work with the group of reference but also with the broader social community.