“The most exciting thing about my research is getting to build new toys (instruments) to play with molecules … A good day at work starts with a crazy experimental idea.” Find out more about ...Veerabhadrarao Kaliginedi in his Introducing … Profile.
In the last decade, global trends and social media have covered almost the entire world, including children population. The toy industry is filled with new items whose popularity has been triggered ...by viral publications on social networks or by popular animated films. The present experimental study is the first to (i) describe the characteristics of toy choice in the context of the spread of global trends, and (ii) examine the influence of family and individual child characteristics on the dependence on trends in toy choice. The sample consisted of
= 127 children aged 3-4 years. Children had individual assessment of non-verbal intelligence main executive function skills (cognitive flexibility, working memory and inhibition control) and took part in the experiment, while their parents completed a questionnaire on family background. Analysis of children's answers about the reason for choosing a particular toy indicates uncertain motivation in choosing a trendy toy in contrast to the classic ones. It is reflected in the fact that children do not know what exactly and how they will play with it. It is revealed that boys are 1.66 times more likely to prefer the trendy toy than girls. It was also found that as inhibitory control increased, children were less dependent on tendencies to choose toys.
A toy is an object or device designed for play and enjoyment. Engagement of children and adolescents with appropriate toys can have significant influences on their cognitive, emotional and ...socio-psychological development. In this review, we first discuss factors underlying binary gender-based preferences of toys, and their implications for child development. Further, the potential of toys in psycho-social, emotional and sensorimotor development of children and adolescents are debated, with a particular focus on neuro-divergent children. Additionally, implications for toy-play from ancient Indian literature and culture are discussed. Finally, future aspects for play with next-generation toys and challenges associated with them are delineated. We hope that the review will serve as a platform for promoting toys as tools for removing binary gender-prejudices and aiding child/adolescent development. We also anticipate that our work will result in further research and elaboration of this largely ignored field of early/late childhood and adolescence research.
New high-density polyethylene (HDPE) manufactured from different percentage of post-consumer recycled HDPE milk bottles was studied through two static and dynamic migration tests using saliva ...simulant to assess the potential hazard to children. Sixty-nine compounds were identified, including several additives used in PE synthesis such as alkanes, alkenes, antioxidants and plasticizers as well as non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) like degradation products such as 2,6-di-tert-butyl-1,4-benzoquinone, 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol, phenol, 2,5-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-, 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyacetophenone, or various residues from flavoring agents, cleaning products and essential oils. Some of these compounds as the isomers p and o t-butylcyclohexyl acetate, 3-Octanol, 3,7-dimethyl- and thujanol acetate (3-) pose a potential risk to children, as their concentrations exceed the recommended Cramer values for high percentages of recycling. This suggests improving recycling processes by incorporating advanced cleaning to remove residual products and contaminants.
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•Study of different percentage of recycled potentially used for children's toys.•Static and dynamic migrations to saliva simulant analyzed by SPME-GC-MS•69 migrant compounds including additives and NIAS as degradation and contaminants•Residues from cleaning products pose a potential risk•It is necessary to improve recycling by incorporating advanced cleaning techniques
“The most exciting thing about my research is getting to build new toys (instruments) to play with molecules … A good day at work starts with a crazy experimental idea.” Find out more about ...Veerabhadrarao Kaliginedi in his Introducing … Profile.
From sushi and karaoke to martial arts and technoware, the currency of made-in-Japan cultural goods has skyrocketed in the global marketplace during the past decade. The globalization of Japanese ..."cool" is led by youth products: video games, manga (comic books), anime (animation), and cute characters that have fostered kid crazes from Hong Kong to Canada. Examining the crossover traffic between Japan and the United States,Millennial Monstersexplores the global popularity of Japanese youth goods today while it questions the make-up of the fantasies and the capitalistic conditions of the play involved. Arguing that part of the appeal of such dream worlds is the polymorphous perversity with which they scramble identity and character, the author traces the postindustrial milieux from which such fantasies have arisen in postwar Japan and been popularly received in the United States.