Blog

October 8, 2015April 24, 2018

Artistic Displays Highlight Essilor In-House Talents

Essilor facilities across Canada placed its employees’ artistic talents on display this week to celebrate World Sight Day. The walls along hallways and common areas proudly showcased photography, paintings, drawings and other artistic endeavours contributed by employees.

World Sight Day, presented the perfect opportunity, according to Marie-Claude Deschamps, Communications Manager, to both highlight the importance of sight in the enjoyment of visual arts and engage employees in World Sight Day.

Coordinated by Optometry Giving Sight, the World Sight Day Challenge, October 8 2015, invites eye care professionals, their staff, patients, industry partners and students of Optometry to raise funds throughout October to help the 600 million people around the world who are needlessly vision impaired. IMG_20151007_104032

October 7, 2015May 19, 2026

Applications Open for the 2015 Students of Vision Scholarship Program

Transitions Optical, Inc. is partnering with the Opticians Association of Canada (OAC) to support the next generation of ECPs through the 2015 Students of Vision Scholarship Program. Opticianry, optometry and paraoptometric students from across Canada are all eligible to apply for the chance to win a grand prize scholarship of $2,500.

To enter, applicants must develop a project in the form of an essay, presentation or video that explains how they will incorporate Millennial preferences and their eye health into the way they will practice as a future eyecare professional.

A flyer detailing the scholarship program challenge can be found at TransitionsCanadaPRO.ca/StudentsofVision.

October 6, 2015May 20, 2026

OKIA Wants to Introduce You to Some Solid Cool Eyecandy

The “Solid Cool” collection amalgamates architectural design and modern flare to create stunning new frames with distinctive 3D, multilayer temples. OKIA’s ongoing research and technology into their patented HDA technology results in exquisite frames with rich gradient colours, 3D and multilayer effects, creating depth in geometric shapes of lines, squares, rectangles and circles. The ‘solid cool’ collection is a must “see”.

www.okia.com

October 5, 2015May 19, 2026

Transitions Optical Introduces Transitions Innovation Awards Program

Long-standing Transitions Awards Program Evolving

PINELLAS PARK, Fla.– Transitions Optical, Inc. has announced the opening of a new Transitions Innovation Awards Program for 2015 – with five categories celebrating both individuals and companies from the U.S. and Canada for their innovative efforts to support the Transitions^® brand over the past year.

Open to independent eyecare professionals and practices; optical industry professionals and educators; national and regional retailers; and optical laboratories, the Transitions Innovation Awards categories include:

2015 Transitions Brand Ambassador (Individual-only award)
Best in Growth Achievement
Best in Training
Best in Marketing
Best in Patient Experience

“Amidst the ever-changing technology advances and changes made within our industry, one thing has always remained important within our business model and that’s partnership,” said Jose Alves, general manager, Americas, Transitions Optical. “We’ve evolved our Awards program to better credit our partners for the innovative approaches and strategies they are taking. Our hope is to showcase efforts all of our partners take to unite, educate and serve our customers and each other.”

Nominations for all Transitions Innovation Awards will be accepted online (at TransitionsCanadaPRO.ca/Awards) from October 1 – 31, 2015. To enter, candidates must complete a nomination form and detail their 2015 efforts in the following evaluation areas: commitment and inspiration, goals, plan and creativity, and impact and results. Nominees are welcome to enter more than one category and can self-enter, or can be nominated by a lab, lens manufacturer, industry colleague or other industry organization representative.

Up to three finalists in each category will be honored during the 2016 Transitions Academy, held February 3-6 in Orlando, Fla., where the winner will be announced. All finalists will be invited to attend the Transitions Academy event, and winners will receive funds for an employee celebration and marketing and public relations support.

For additional information, industry professionals should visit TransitionsCanadaPRO.ca/Awards or contact Transitions Optical Customer Service at CustomerServiceCanada@transitions.com.

October 2, 2015April 24, 2018

Predator or Prey?

A study of the pupils of 214 species of animal, published in the journal Science Advances, concluded that those with vertical pupils (like a cat) are predators, while animals with horizontal pupils are usually prey.

The vertical pupil allows hunters to better estimate their distance from prey and optimizes stereoscopic vision. When a vertical pupil contracts, image quality remains high whereas a circular pupil will blur vision when contracting. Larger predators, like lions and tigers, have more rounded pupils since, being higher from the ground, they have less need to correct retinal blur.

Horizontal pupils on prey animals produce a panoramic image and are better for peripheral vision. Study lead Dr. Martin Banks explains, “Grazing animals’ eyes can rotate by 50 degrees or more in each eye, a range 10 times greater than human eyes. When goats, antelope and other grazing prey animals put their head down to eat, their eyes rotated to maintain the pupils’ horizontal alignment with the ground.” More light coming in from the sides means a better chance to spot approaching predators and knowing when to flee.

Further information: http://www.sci-news.com/biology/science-pupils-shape-eyes-animals-03112.html

Photos: Jo Naylor CC BY 2.0, David Corby CC BY 2.5