Oct
2002

Upfront



Eye-dol worship. This month 1 Paula Abdul, receives our 20/20 Golden Eye Award. A judge on this summer’s wildly popular Fox reality series “American Idol” the Grammy winner is making a comeback and straight up looking the part of her former superstar status in a couple of cool shades. Abdul in Gucci style 1691S from Sàfilo and (inset) in DKNY Eyes style 7255S from Marchon… Fan favorite. Speaking of “American Idol,” winner 2 Kelly Clarkson wears DKNY 6414 from Marchon… Wild about Harrison. Actor 3 Gregory Harrison in Kenneth Cole New York sunwear from ClearVision…Drama Queen. 4 Mary J. Blige, who recently won an MTV Video Music Award for her song “No More Drama,” performed at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in a pair of YSL 2016S from Sàfilo… What a JAG. Star of TV’s “JAG” 5 David James Elliott and wife Nanci Elliott in the Boca and Valorium from Bollé. Nanci also appears in “JAG” this season in a reoccurring role… U got it. R&B sensation 6 Usher strikes a pose on the red carpet at MTV’s Video Music Awards wearing Diesel Helix (ON61) from Sàfilo… Reality Bites. Now that several cast members from the “The Real World Chicago” have moved to Los Angeles to seek fame and fortune, they need to go with the Cali flow. Sporting sunglasses from Marchon are 7 Kyle (Brandt) in Nautica 5024S, 8 Cara (Nussbaum) in Donna Karan 7251S and 9 Chris (Beckman) in Calvin Klein 186S… The X factor. Two of the stars of the blockbuster “XXX” got into the action in shades from Marchon. Actor 10 Samuel L. Jackson in Flexon style 1117 and rapper 11 Eve (who made her movie debut in the flick) in Donna Karan 9816…  Evil doers. Two cast members from the summer smash “Austin Powers in Goldmember” wear eyewear from Marchon. 12 Seth Green, who portrays Dr. Evil’s son Scott Evil, in Nike Flexon Teens 4602 and 13 Verne Troyer, who plays Dr. Evil’s clone Mini-Me, in Flexon style 90... Dream on. 14 Aerosmith front man Steven Tyler was so fond of his YSL sunglasses (style 2025S) he gave them to stagehand for safekeeping after performing three songs in them during a concert at the PNC Arts Center in New Jersey. The rocker apparently treasures his Sàfilo shades much more than his white silky coat—he tossed that into the audience.   
 —Jackie Micucci

Seventh Inning Stretch
It was a day out at the ballpark as children in seven cities got a chance to meet (and play) with minor league baseball players and get their vision checked thanks to VSP’s series “Kids Get Focused.”

Children were given a ballpark tour, heard from players about the impact good vision has on sports performance and participated in batting, pitching and catching drills while wearing goggles that simulated blurred vision. While the kids had fun, VSP’s goal was to educate parents about the need for regular eye exams and the role good vision plays in both academic and athletic performance. The event help identify vision problems in many of the youngsters as a significant percentage failed their screening.

The failure rates were as follows: Memphis, Tenn., 28 percent; Birmingham, Ala., 23 percent; Grand Rapids, Mich., 29 percent; Portland, Ore., 32 percent; Columbus, Ohio, 34 percent; and Sacramento, Calif., 15 percent. Children diagnosed with a vision problem were referred to an eye doctor for a comprehensive exam. Financial assistance was also provided to low-income, uninsured children through VSP’s ongoing “Sight for Students” program.  —JM

strained

Tired eyes result in more than eyestrain for computer users; it can also effect their productivity in the workplace. Computer Vision Syndrome or CVS—whose symptoms effect as many as 70 percent of all computer users—presents a drag on a typical worker’s job performance, according to the preliminary results from a study of workers ages 24 to 51, being conducted by the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Optometry.

Other conclusions: A direct correlation exists between the correct prescription and productivity, which becomes even more evident with more complex computer tasks such as data entry. There is also a direct relationship between the time a person takes to perform a task and the correct Rx. While computer users with moderately corrected Rx’s may not be able to tell the difference in their vision comfort, their performance on a specific task can be decreased as much as 40 percent.

The PRIO diagnostic instrument, which simulates the pixels on
a computer monitor, was used to provide the correct Rx for computer-specific eyewear.

So what does this mean? Workers (and companies) can benefit from computer eye exams. The study found that for every dollar invested in the computer vision care of its workers, the employer would realize $7.    —JM

 

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