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Native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, the red panda is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. We’re ready to help!

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2.) What does it do and how can scientist study it safely

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2.) What does it do and how can scientist study it safely

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Discovering the Art of Batik: A Malaysian Heritage 🎨

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When you think of Malaysia, you might picture its stunning landscapes, bustling markets, or diverse culinary scene. However, one of the true cultural treasures of this country is batik, a beautiful and intricate art form that has been passed down through generations.

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3.) 
In what ways are allergies influenced by treatment? 

(How do people treat allergies?)

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3.) 
In what ways are allergies influenced by treatment? 

(How do people treat allergies?)

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Allergies can affect the human body and how humans live.

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Allergies can affect the human body and how humans live.

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Brainstorm, create, manage, and optimize without losing your creative spark.

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Achoo! Every time you go near your best friend's cat, your eyes water and you start sneezing up a storm. And every spring and fall, your dad gets a runny nose when he takes you for hikes in the woods.

What's going on? Well, you and your dad might have allergies.

Chain Reaction

An allergy (say: AL-ur-jee) is your immune system's reaction to certain plants, animals, foods, insect bites, or other things. Your immune system protects you from diseases by fighting germs like bacteria and viruses. But when you have allergies, it overreacts and tries to "fight" ordinary things like grass, pollen, or certain foods. This causes the sneezing, itching, and other reactions that you get with allergies.

The substances that cause allergies (grass, pollen, foods, pet byproducts, insects, etc.) are called allergens (say: AL-ur-jenz). When your immune (say: ih-MYOON) system reacts to one of these allergens and you have symptoms, you may be allergic to it.

What Causes the Sneezing and Wheezing?

You can be allergic to many things. Common allergens include:

dust mites (tiny insects that live in dust)

a protein found in the dander (dry skin), saliva (spit), urine (pee), or other things from some animals

grass, flower, and tree pollen (the fine dust from plants)

mold and mildew (small living things that grow in damp places)

foods, such as milk, wheat, soy, eggs, nuts, seafood, and legumes (say: leh-GYOOMS), which include peas, beans, and peanuts

latex (stretchy stuff that some of the gloves doctors and dentists use are made of)

Symptoms

Some of these allergens cause sneezing, a runny nose, itchy eyes and ears, and a sore throat. Other items on the list, such as foods, may cause hives (a red, bumpy, itchy skin rash), a stuffy nose, stomach cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea.

Less often, allergens can cause breathing problems like wheezing and shortness of breath (asthma). Some allergens, such as foods, are a problem all year long. But others might bother people only during certain seasons. For instance, you might be allergic to pollen from trees, which is present in the air only in the spring.

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Why Do Some Kids Get Allergies?

People may be born with a genetic (say: juh-NET-ik) tendency to have allergies, which means they are more likely to get them than other people are. Many allergies are hereditary (say: huh-REH-dih-tare-ee) - passed to kids in the genes they get from their parents - so you have a better chance of having allergies if your mom or dad or other people in your family have them.

People can develop allergies when they are babies, children, teens, or adults, although allergies often decrease in older people.

Many people outgrow food allergies. Other allergies can last your whole life, although they may be less severe or more severe at different points in your life.

Colds vs. Allergies

Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between a cold and an allergy because the symptoms can be similar. If your cold symptoms last more than 2 weeks, you probably have an allergy instead of a cold.

There are other differences between colds and allergies you can look for. With allergies, your nose and eyes itch. Colds don't itch. The mucus, the stuff that comes from your nose or that you cough up, is different, too. With allergies, it's clear like water. With a cold, it's usually yellowish and thick.

How Do I Find Out if I Have Allergies?

If you sneeze and itch a lot, wheeze, or often get sick after eating a certain food, your doctor may want to check you for allergies. He or she will ask you a lot of questions about your health, about the animals and plants in your home, and about the foods you eat. Your answers will provide clues about what you might be allergic to, and your doctor may ask you to stay away from a pet or stop eating a certain food to see if your symptoms go away.

Your doctor may send you to an allergist (say: AL- ur-jist), a special doctor who helps people who have allergies. An allergist may give you a scratch test to see if a tiny bit of an allergen will cause a reaction on your skin. You'll feel a quick pinch when the doctor makes the scratch or scratches. If you're allergic, one or more spots will become bumpy, itchy, and red - like a mosquito bite.

Some doctors also might test a kid's blood to look for IgE, a substance called an antibody (say: AN-tie-bah-dee) that signals an allergic reaction. If you have large amounts of this antibody in your blood, you are probably allergic to the allergen.

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Taking Control

Your doctor will probably suggest ways to stay away from the allergen or prescribe a medicine for you to try. Allergy medicine can be pills, liquids, or even sprays for your nose. If your allergies aren't too bad or if you can avoid the allergen completely, you might not need to take medicine - staying away from the allergen might be enough to control your allergy.

If your symptoms don't get better by staying away from allergens and taking medicines, an allergist might recommend allergy shots. These shots make your immune system less sensitive to the allergens and can make you feel better.

Unfortunately, shots and most medicines don't help with food allergies. People with food allergies have to learn to avoid any foods that have the ingredients they're allergic to. Your parents and your doctor can help you read the ingredients on food labels. Luckily, many kids outgrow allergies to milk, eggs, wheat, and soy. But allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and seafood may last a long time, or not go away at all.

Fighting on the Allergy Front

You might not be able to control your allergies completely, but you can do yourself a favor by avoiding anything that causes your allergy symptoms.

Pets. If you are allergic to an animal, you might have to find a new home for your pet. If you can't do that, it can help to keep pets out of your bedroom, have someone bathe them at least once a week, or have the animal live outside. You'll also want to avoid pets at other people's homes.

Dust mites. If dust mites are your trouble, your mom or dad can use special covers for your bed and wash your sheets and blankets in very hot water to get rid of them. Keeping your room neat and clean also will help. Store stuffed animals or other stuff that attracts dust somewhere other than your room.

Food allergies. If you have food allergies, always read food labels to check the ingredients and learn the different names for the food allergen. Even though you may have eaten a food before, always check the label because ingredients may change. If you're not sure about a food, don't eat it. Instead, ask a grownup if it's safe. Your mom or dad can help teach you which foods and ingredients you should avoid.

Also, your parents can help you pack safe snacks for occasions away from home when everyone else might be having something you can't, such as peanut butter ice cream. Then, instead of feeling left out, you can snack along with your friends - without risking an allergy attack and, even worse, having to go home early!

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Achoo! Every time you go near your best friend's cat, your eyes water and you start sneezing up a storm. And every spring and fall, your dad gets a runny nose when he takes you for hikes in the woods. What's going on? Well, you and your dad might have allergies.

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Q1: Form: What does deforestation in Indonesia look like?

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Q1: Form: What does deforestation in Indonesia look like?

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Q1: Form: What is wing clipping and why do bird owners do it?

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Q1: Form: What is wing clipping and why do bird owners do it?

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Q2: Connection: How does wing clipping affect birds?

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Q2: Connection: How does wing clipping affect birds?

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How to Fly Pet Birds Safely - RSPCA - rspca.org.uk

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Some people worry about letting their pet birds fly freely. Read about how to let your bird fly safely without wing clipping which is bad for birds.

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2.) How do people impact the number of red pandas? 

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2.) How do people impact the number of red pandas? 

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The global red panda population has declined by 50% in 20 years and there may be as few as 2,500 remaining in the wild. Habitat loss is the #1 Threat

Rapid human population growth in the Eastern Himalayas is causing deforestation and the degradation and fragmentation of red panda habitat. In Nepal, 70 percent of red panda habitat lies outside of protected areas and is fragmented into 400 small forest patches.

Habitat is being fragmented by development projects including roads, hydro-projects, electric transmission lines, and mining, as well as settlement and agricultural conversions, and anthropogenic forest fires.

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Discover the urgent challenges facing red pandas: habitat loss, herding, disease, poaching, bamboo cycles, climate change, and awareness gaps.

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2.) How can we understand others feelings and how can others understand our feelings through Malaysian Batik?

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2.) How can we understand others feelings and how can others understand our feelings through Malaysian Batik?

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What Does a Piece of Fabric Tell You About a People? | Karyawan

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In the Malay Peninsula, fabrics hold the essence of a people’s identity, linking the present to a rich past. Batik, songket, and P…

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Spiders Facts For Kids | Anatomy, Diet, Behavior, Venom

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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2.) 
How do people express feeling through out rap music?

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2.) 
How do people express feeling through out rap music?

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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2.) How can human activity accelerate natural processes?

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2.) How can human activity accelerate natural processes?

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Coastal erosion: causes, effects and solutions

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Explore coastal erosion: its causes, effects, and solutions. Understand the environmental impacts and community implications. Learn from experts like Andrés Osorio on the complexities and possible interventions. From global warming to human activities, delve into the factors exacerbating erosion. Discover potential solutions, from coral protection to beach preservation and mangrove restoration. Join the conversation on safeguarding our coastlines for future generations.

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3.) How can people stop this from happening?

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3.) How can people stop this from happening?

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2.) How does deforestation affect the Amazon rainforest and its animals?

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2.) How does deforestation affect the Amazon rainforest and its animals?

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Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest - Ballard Brief

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Deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest represents a critical issue in our modern world, as it is the root cause of many global problems.

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How to Design a Board Game - Board Game Design Lab

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How to Design a Board Game By GABE BARRETT It's time to get that game out of your head and onto a table. Get a behind the scenes look at the design processes of the world's best designers Learn about playtesting, prototyping, getting published, and more.

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Edpuzzle video lesson. Make any video your lesson. Take a video and crop it, add your voice or embed questions at any point.

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3.) How can spider venom help human lives?

What can spider venom be used for?

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3.) How can spider venom help human lives?

What can spider venom be used for?

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Arachnophilia - Online exhibitions across Cornell University Library

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Aspects of Board Game Design:
Growing up, "game night" was a common event in my household, and my mom, dad, brothers, and I would all gather around our dining table to spend the night laughing and strategizing (and often bickering too). Board games were a way for my family and friends to bond and spend time together in a way that stimulated our minds and challenged us. My family thus always had a variety of board games to choose from, each with their own quirks and challenges. As I got older, I began to appreciate the versatility of board games and the limitless potential for game design; there were games to fit all ages, from playing Hiss at four to playing Ticket to Ride at fourteen. I also appreciated the ability of these games to entertain my father, despite playing against a child (not that he ever held back due to this fact). It raised questions in my mind about how designers were able to make games so diverse and with such a capacity to entertain. I've considered designing a board game myself, starting with silly card game ideas as a child; I even made one for a project in middle school called Gilgamesh-y's Wall and based on the epic of Gilgamesh. Needless to say, it wasn't quite a smash hit, but it did pique my interest in board game design.

Board games don't only go way back in my family, they have played a large role throughout history; the earliest board game was called Senet and dates back to Predynastic Egypt, about 3500 B.C. Since then, board game design has expanded across the world, and it is one of the most common hobbies. Board game design grew to include dice games, card games, dexterity games, and more, moving from Senet to Monopoly to Risk to even Cards Against Humanity. Because there are so many possibilities, it's hard to find someone who doesn't like at least one board game. All of that diversity is credit to the designers, who play with varying themes, strategies, and aspects of board design. Although it may seem more straightforward than other forms of design, board game design is deceiving in the intricacy of its parts. Unlike more specialized disciplines, board games require multiple forms of design, from physical to strategic. While designers may differ on their definitions and specifics on what goes into board game design, the complexity of skills needed is not up for debate, including but not limited to physical, strategy, visual, and experience design.

First, board games require some form of physical design. The interactivity of board games is key, and the physical pieces and shapes of a board game are a large part of what determines that. This area includes dice, cards, game pieces, the board, the rulebook, and anything else the player will be physically interacting with during gameplay. Designers must carefully consider the weight of pieces in a player's hand, the layout of the cards on the table, and how physical aspects of the game will add to the overall experience. In the Pirates of the Caribbean Game of Life, one of the unique aspects is the attachable board pieces that add dimension to the game board and make the play appear 3-D. Physical aspects also serve an immersive role, even if they do not contribute directly to gameplay. An expansion pack to Exploding Kittens, for example, comes with the "cone of shame," a literal cone that players must wear as a consequence for certain action. Although the cone does not change gameplay, it adds yet another element for players to interact with and laugh at. If you're not yet convinced that physical design is as important as the others, I ask you this: can you honestly say you never had a strong opinion on which Monopoly piece you played as?

The plain, tragic-looking 007 James Bond: Live and Let Die Board Game

As board games include gameplay elements, strategy design is perhaps the most essential in creating a successful game. This is the aspect which focuses on the mechanics of gameplay itself: how players will interact with each other, the game, and the end goal. Although the strategy design is arguably the most broad aspect of board game design, there are a few areas that stay consistent across games. A clear objective, for instance, is essential to a solid strategy and successful game; players will have no direction if the end goal is not clearly laid out. Constraints are also necessary. If players are left without constraints, the game could continue on indefinitely and there would be no way to make gameplay manageable and concise. One common constraint needed in strategy design is some method of handling the "runaway leader," or situations in which one player is much farther ahead of the others. You can think of this as the board game equivalent of the Mario Kart blue shell. Designers must prepare for players to get ahead and have strategies ready to either drop the leading player back or bring other players forward. Furthermore, the strategy design is what ensures the game is fun and entertaining, keeping the pace at a comfortable level while also including just enough ambiguity over who will win to keep the players engaged. Ticket to Ride is a good example of a longer board game that successfully keeps players engaged the entire time. Throughout the game, players can take on more trains to level the playing field, and there are consistent opportunities for sabotage. Narrative design can also come into play here, depending on the style of game you are designing. It's important to note that the strategy design area is intended to make things easier and more fun for the players, not the designer; even if the strategy is complex, the rule comprehension should never be.

Visual aesthetics and graphics are, of course, another key aspect of board game design. The physical pieces of the board and cards cannot just be dark chunks and black and white print, MLA format. The art is what needs to be showcased through the visual design, and it is essentially that all of the styles, graphics, and colors fit with the theme of the aforementioned designs. Take 007 James Bond: Live and Let Die, a board game based, you guessed it, on James Bond. If I asked you to picture James Bond, you would probably conjure images of daring rescues, dramatic fights, romantic gestures, and not, in fact, the plain river the game board provides. There's nothing exciting, alluring, or engaging about a plain board or plain cards, even if they functionally work well. Comparatively, Secret Hitler provides a stunning display of visual design, with each element perfectly crafted to match the theme and craft a cohesive piece (you can even download the pdf for free online at their website). Furthermore, visual design is a more personal way for the designer to showcase and connect with their work. A designer's personal style shines through, and players will often choose games based on creators whose style they know and love. Let's look at Elan Lee and Matthew Inman, the creators of the hit game Exploding Kittens we discussed above. The art on the cards is cartoonish and comical, with exaggerated expressions, bright colors, and overplayed features on the cats - and everybody loves it. The creators have gone on to design You've Got Crabs, Imploding Kittens, a Game of Cat and Mouth, and more; their visual game design is recognizable across all the games, and their audiences actively seek out games with similar design. In fact, Inman even had a long-running webcomic, The Oatmeal, in the same visual style that garnered a large fan following. The visual design can extend beyond simple aesthetics to include marketing techniques and player retention.
Genres of Board Games:
Experience design is a useful, often overlooked aspect to consider. This "experience design" could also be called empathy design, and it refers to how designers can place players for just a moment into a different life. You could compare this to User Experience design for websites and products. Through game pieces, cards, and strategy, players can become another person, playing the life of a situation completely different from their own. A game designer must have a solid understanding of people and their motivations to truly succeed in this lesser addressed aspect of game design. After all, games are designed for people to play, so understanding the players makes the difference between a fantastic game and one that is just okay. Tied with the strategy design in the interactions of characters, experience design is essential in bridging the connection from playing a game to becoming invested in it. The game Bang!, for instance, provides each player with a different role. If you're the sheriff, you have specific tasks and goals, and you even get to wear a fancy badge (physical design coming in handy). The game is completely different if you're assigned an outlaw, and you have separate strengths and abilities. Players are also assigned a character from the wild west, and they can relate even further through their character's special attributes. Furthermore, if done correctly, a well-designed board game can even inspire social or political discussion and commentary. A game can position a player in a place of moral questioning and inspire reflection, challenge political or cultural opinions, and raise awareness for issues one may be less inclined to consider if not actively engaged in the situation. The most obvious example of this is Monopoly, a game originally intended to highlight the problems with land grabbing and extreme accumulation of wealth. Another, more modern example is the less successful California Water Crisis, a game designed to raise awareness about the drought and current water conditions Californian residents have faced and will face in the future. The elements of experience design are about designing the interactions between players and between the game itself and how these combine with other aspects to create the final product.

On top of the above, board game design can also build on numerous different genres to help with theme, visuals, and strategy. A genre can help guide designers through the design process and provide default strategies and plays. You're probably familiar with the Classic Family games like Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders, which were made with high levels of luck to be fun for all ages. Many people are familiar with Abstract Games too, such as Chess, Checkers, and Go. These games are often designed for two players and involve complex strategies to outwit opponents. Eurogames are a more modern genre in board games, with popular hits like Settlers of Catan, Trajan, and Ticket to Ride. This broad genre is based on German styles, and it usually includes set numbers of turns, low levels of luck, and strong narrative themes that inform the design. Another more modern genre is the aptly named DeckBuilder where players build their hands throughout the game and can pick from a variety of card types; Dominion, Star Realms, and Friday all fall into this category. There are even board games that fall under the title of Dungeon-Crawlers, a name typically reserved for video games, that involve leveling up, random events, and equipment, such as Gloomhaven, Munchkin, and Nemesis. The last genre I'll mention is Social Deduction, a common type of party game. These include games intended to trick your friends and entertain large groups: A Fake Artist Goes to New York, Cards Against Humanity, and Secret Hitler.
The Process:
As I mentioned, board game design is extremely broad and two games can be different in hundreds of ways, so keep in mind that these are just a few board game genres of many. However, this can serve as a starting point in board game design, especially if you are unfamiliar with the concepts. You can find more genres and descriptions here, and if you'd like to search for games via genre, check out Board Game Geek's search tool. With the mass digitization of board games, you can even try out some of the games above for research via your phone or computer. Especially if you are new to board games, check out genres that fit your interests: it'll give you a background in board games and could possibly inspire you to pursue a new idea!

As with most areas of design, board game design cannot be boiled down into set steps you must follow in order to create the perfect game; there is no "right" way to approach game development. That said, there are certain paths and tips that are used often for game design that can give you an overview of necessary elements.

Compared to other design processes like product design, the ideation stage for board game design often comes at the beginning of the design process; you are not designing a product with the intention of solving a problem (in general), so ideation can be entirely based on what you want. As with other realms of design, it can be useful to draw inspiration from experiences in your own lives; for instance, as a college student, I could draw on my personal experiences and make a strategy game focused on finishing a degree. Or, as an amateur baker, I could draw on my recipes to make a deck building game about combining ingredients and stealing dishes from opponents. If books and stories are more your forte, you can even base your game around a particular work of fiction; Marrying Mr. Darcy is designed entirely around the plot of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and involves all of the famous characters (and dating them!). If you find yourself stuck in the idea phase, try modifying a game you already play and enjoy and exploring the aspects you like and dislike about it. You can also use the themes discussed above to narrow down your choices and guide your brainstorming; if you already know you want a social dedication game, you can begin to think about areas in life in which deduction is commonly used, like secret agents, murder mysteries, social situations, and more. This is also the stage in which you'll start considering different ideas for strategic design and narratives you may want to follow.

Once you have your basic idea for the board game, you can move on to fleshing it out and organizing the specifics. You must now decide what the game is going to be about in particular and how exactly it will be played. Consider aspects like how many players can participate, what each round will look like, and how will the game progress. The choices a player can make are also essential to this step, as you need to work out how many choices should be available, how those choices would be made, and what impact those choices can have on players and their interactions with each other. Strategy design is the main focus of this area, with the goal being a rough outline of what the gameplay will look like. Considering the strategic aspects of the game and how it will eventually be won is important to build the framework that the rest of the mechanisms depend on. Physical design is also critical, as you should start thinking about what physical aspects will be needed to enact your strategy and assist gameplay. Try to stay within this stage until you can confidently answer logistical questions about your game and all of the general mechanics are considered. Even if you don't know all of the specifics, planning the outline of game play to the best of your ability will save you time and understanding; you'll probably find the answers to those specifics as you continue to work, so thinking about the questions you may have is essential. You'll also want to examine alternative strategies and ideas in the situation that something needs to be adjusted. Your current design may be very rough, and that is completely fine: the goal at this stage is to get your idea as far as possible and consider all of the aspects that interest you. Expect to return to this stage again and again as you refine your design and work through playtesting.

This step is where both narrative design and visual design come into play and depends heavily on the strategy you designed in the previous stage. If you decided to do more of an abstract game, this step may be less involved as there is less content needed. However, if your strategy from before was designed for a storytelling game, the narrative and visual design aspects will be more content heavy and detailed. For example, in the game Guillotine, based on the French Revolution, the content includes cards for French nobles in the Aristocracy, the Church, the government, and the general public, as well as action cards to impact the nobles. Here you move on to the underlying narrative design and what story you want to place your board game in, furthering the game interactions and your plans for gameplay. You should build on your strategy and begin to think about ways that the content of your game enhances the interactions between players and the in-game choices. Visual design assists with the immersive aspects of the game as this is also the step where art is developed for the cards, the board, and any extra pieces. You should also make an effort to simplify any rules you previously considered; remember, the game should not be complicated for the players, so establishing areas to simplify early one can help you from creating a difficult game.

Unsurprisingly, board game design also includes a large amount of product testing, adjusting, and testing again. As board games are player-based and intended to run smoothly, it makes sense that there would be a strong aspect of iterative design. To know if a board game actually succeeds, you should recruit friends, family, and professionals to try out the game and share any feedback needed. Ideally, you should seek out your target audience to make your game more effective; your design will change depending on if you're designing a game for children, advanced players, students, and others. Playtesting repeatedly is the most effective way to ensure that your game not only works well but is enjoyable and memorable for players. As you test and retest your board game, you'll have to go through the previous steps repeatedly and probably out of order; this is the time in which you'll actually see your strategy and narrative designs in action, and it can be both tiring and exhilarating.

The final step in the board game design process is production. Although less important to the design process, production is an important step to keep in mind, especially if you are looking at costs and benefits. For those looking to actually produce the game they create, an idea of budgeting must be integrated into every aspect of the design phase. For instance, physical design may be limited if you have monetary constraints and cannot afford to produce too many external pieces. If you plan to print out cards themselves, the limitations on printer ink, color, and size must be taken into account before any physical or visual aspects are implemented. This area provides a new challenge for you to overcome and represents yet another way board game design forces the designer to think critically about a project from all angles. The game Codenames is a perfect example of using physical design while saving money; the game features pieces to place on top of cards that have one word on them; to save printing costs, each card is double-sided, and the library of words doubles without much more monetary strain.

Especially in the midst of a pandemic, we need any possible way to stay connected with each other and lighten the day. Board games have successfully served this purpose throughout time, and what better way to challenge yourself to create something joyful and entertaining! You can find even more games, rankings, and tips through Board Game Design Lab and Board Game Geek. Better yet, go out and get some firsthand board game experience too: grab a deck of cards, some dice, or a board game, enroll your household in a game night, and have fun! You know, for research purposes. Given the online world, you may also consider converting your game night into an online format. Figma has an interesting selection, Tabletop Simulator has tons of classic board games, and a simple search will find even more for inspiration and entertainment. Some of my favorite pandemic online board game sites are Broken Picturephone, the online version of Codenames, and PlayingCards. Play the games, learn the strategies, and get inspired!

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Growing up, "game night" was a common event in my household, and my mom, dad, brothers, and I would all gather around our dining table to spend the night laughing and strategizing (and often...

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3.) How can people help prevent deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and protect its animals? 

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3.) How can people help prevent deforestation of the Amazon rainforest and protect its animals? 

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3.) How can people help to support red pandas?

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3.) How can people help to support red pandas?

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Red pandas face poaching and accidental trapping. Learn how WWF works to protect this endangered species and its habitat.

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3.) What is the process to make Malaysian Batik?

How can people ensure that Malaysian Batik is safe? 

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3.) What is the process to make Malaysian Batik?

How can people ensure that Malaysian Batik is safe? 

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2.) How does the respiratory system work ? 

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2.) How does the respiratory system work ? 

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3.) How do you keep your respiratory system Healthy ?

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3.) How do you keep your respiratory system Healthy ?

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How can I keep my lungs healthy? - Canada.ca

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2.)  What does a football manager do? How does the Manager affect the team?

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2.)  What does a football manager do? How does the Manager affect the team?

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What does a football manager do? | UE Blog

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A football manager is an administrative role that manages various aspects related to the coaching staff, transfers and performance.

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3.) How have football transfers changed over the years?

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3.) How have football transfers changed over the years?

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3.) What are people's point of view on technology (AI) in baseball? 

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3.) What are people's point of view on technology (AI) in baseball? 

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1.) What is Upcycling? What is the purpose of upcycling? Upcycling vs recycle

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1.) What is Upcycling? What is the purpose of upcycling? Upcycling vs recycle

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Edpuzzle video lesson. Make any video your lesson. Take a video and crop it, add your voice or embed questions at any point.

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How to Upcycle: The New Kid on the Block with Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

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Explore the new trend: upcycling! Discover beginner-friendly projects that transform waste into creative solutions while minimizing environmental impact.

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2.) How can you show emotion through dance?

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2.) How can you show emotion through dance?

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Dance is about conveying emotions, telling stories, and connecting with the audience. One of the most powerful tools in a dancer's arsenal is facial expression. Your face can tell a story, communicate a feeling, or emphasize the mood of a piece.

But how can you improve and effectively use facial expressions in dance? Let's dive into the world of dance expression and explore some tips to help you elevate your performance.

Why Facial Expressions Are Crucial in Dance

Facial expressions are what make a dance performance relatable and impactful. Without them, even the most technically perfect dance can feel flat or disconnected. Here's why they are so important:

A. Communication

Dance is often referred to as a universal language. However, the emotions behind the movements need to be clear, and this is where facial expressions come in. They communicate the dancer's feelings and intentions, making the performance understandable to the audience.

B. Storytelling

Many dance pieces are created to tell a story or convey a particular message. Facial expressions add depth to this storytelling by showing the character's emotions or highlighting key moments in the narrative.

C. Connection

The audience wants to feel something when they watch a dance. Facial expressions help create an emotional connection between the dancer and the audience, making the performance more memorable.

D. Enhancing Movement

A well-executed movement is impressive, but when paired with the right facial expression, it becomes powerful. Expressions can emphasize the dynamics of the dance, whether it's the joy in a light-hearted routine or the intensity in a dramatic piece.

How to Improve Dance Facial Expressions

Improving facial expressions in dance takes practice, just like any other aspect of the art form. Here are some tips to help you develop this skill:

1. Understand the Emotion Behind the Dance

Before you can express an emotion, you need to understand it. Take time to analyze the piece you're working on. What is the theme? What emotions are being conveyed? Understanding the emotional landscape of the dance will make your expressions more genuine and natural.

2. Practice in Front of a Mirror

Just as you practice your dance moves in front of a mirror, you should also practice your facial expressions. This allows you to see what your face is doing and make adjustments as needed.

Start by focusing on one emotion and exaggerating it, then tone it down to find the right balance for your performance. By doing this, you can slowly be confident in dancing.

3. Record Yourself

Recording your practice sessions can be incredibly useful. Watching the playback helps you see if your facial expressions match the emotions you're trying to convey. It also allows you to catch any unconscious habits, like a furrowed brow or a tight jaw, that might detract from your performance.

4. Experiment with Different Expressions

Don't be afraid to play around with different expressions during your practice. Try different levels of intensity, angles, and subtleties to see what works best for each moment of the dance.

Remember, not every moment requires a big smile or a dramatic scowl, sometimes, a subtle shift in the eyes or a slight tilt of the head can be more powerful.

5. Incorporate Breathing Techniques

Your breathing can influence your facial expressions and overall performance. Deep, controlled breathing helps you stay relaxed, which in turn allows your facial muscles to move more freely. Breathing can also be used to enhance the emotional quality of your expression, such as a deep inhale to convey surprise or a slow exhale to show relief.

6. Work on Emotional Authenticity

Audiences can tell when an expression is forced or fake. To avoid this, focus on making your expressions authentic. One way to do this is by recalling personal experiences that evoke the same emotions you're trying to portray in the dance.

If a piece is about joy, think of a moment in your life when you felt truly happy and channel that feeling into your expression.

7. Integrate Expressions with Movements

Facial expressions should complement your movements, not distract from them. Practice integrating expressions with your choreography so that they flow naturally. For example, if the choreography includes a sharp, powerful movement, pair it with an intense expression to amplify the impact.

How to Use Expression in Dance

Now that you've worked on improving your facial expressions, let's talk about how to use them effectively in your dance performances:

1. Match the Expression to the Music

Your facial expressions should reflect the mood and emotion of the music you're dancing to. The music sets the tone for the dance, and your face should enhance that feeling.

Imagine you're performing a joyful, upbeat jazz routine to a lively song. Your facial expression should match the energy of the music-perhaps a big, genuine smile with wide eyes to show excitement and happiness.

On the other hand, if you're dancing to a slow, melancholic piece, your expression might be more somber, with soft eyes and a relaxed mouth, conveying a sense of sadness or longing.

2. Be Mindful of Transitions

Just like your dance moves transition smoothly from one to the next, your facial expressions should also change fluidly. Abrupt changes can feel jarring and take away from the performance.

Smooth transitions in expression make your performance feel more natural and polished. They help maintain the flow of the dance and keep the audience immersed in the story you're telling.

3. Use Your Eyes

Your eyes are incredibly powerful in conveying emotion. They can direct the audience's focus, communicate feelings, and enhance your overall expression.

The eyes are often called the "windows to the soul," and in dance, they help bring authenticity to your performance. Using your eyes effectively can make your expressions more convincing and help you connect more deeply with the audience.

4. Balance Subtlety and Exaggeration

Depending on where you're performing and the style of dance, you may need to adjust how exaggerated or subtle your facial expressions are. Large venues might require bigger expressions, while more intimate settings might call for subtler ones.

If you're performing in a large theater during a powerful, emotional piece, you might need to exaggerate your expressions so that they're visible even to the people in the back row.

This could mean widening your eyes more, opening your mouth slightly when expressing surprise, or frowning more deeply to show sadness. In contrast, if you're dancing in a small studio performance, you might use more subtle expressions such as a slight lift of the eyebrows or a gentle smile to convey the same emotions.

5. Stay in Character

Once you've committed to a character or emotion in your dance, it's important to maintain that expression throughout the performance. Breaking character can disrupt the flow of the dance and take the audience out of the moment.

Let's say you're performing as a fierce warrior in a hip-hop dance battle. Your expression might be intense, with narrowed eyes and a strong, determined look.

Even if you make a mistake in the choreography, it's important to keep that fierce expression rather than showing frustration or embarrassment. Staying in character maintains the overall impact of the performance.

6. Use Expressions to Highlight Key Moments

Certain moments in your dance routine are more significant than others, these might be a powerful leap, a dramatic pause, or an emotional movement. Using facial expressions to emphasize these moments can make them stand out more.

Highlighting key moments with your expressions makes those parts of the dance more impactful. It helps the audience understand the significance of those moments and makes your performance more memorable.

Still Need Help in Using Expression in Dance?

In conclusion, mastering expression in dance is a journey that can significantly enhance your child's performance, making it more engaging and memorable. If your child needs guidance in using expression in dance, enrolling them in a dance program at Rockstar Academy is a fantastic way to help them grow.

We offer a wide variety of dance classes, including Hip Hop, Break Dance, Belly Dance, Traditional Dance, K-Pop, and many more, designed to inspire and challenge all our students.

By joining our classes, your child will also have the opportunity to compete in events such as Dance Recital, Elite Championships, and RockOlympics-events and competitions that provide invaluable learning experiences and help them discover their true potential in dancing. Plus, you can explore our classes first-hand by signing up for a free trial class!

FAQ
How can I make my facial expressions more natural when dancing?
Practice is key. The more you practice in front of a mirror or record yourself, the more natural your expressions will become. Focus on understanding the emotion behind the dance and let that guide your expressions. Also, think about personal experiences that evoke similar emotions to make your expressions more authentic.
How do I know if my facial expressions are too much or not enough?
The best way to gauge this is by recording your performance and watching it back. Pay attention to whether your expressions match the music, choreography, and overall tone of the dance. If you're performing for an audience, ask for feedback from teachers, peers, or even friends and family.
What if my dance style is more abstract and doesn't have a clear emotion?
Even in abstract dance styles, facial expressions can play a role in setting the tone or mood. Consider using more neutral expressions or subtle changes in your face to complement the movements. The goal is to enhance the performance, whether through overt emotion or understated expression.

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how to improve and use expression in dance

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How To Improve and Use Expression in Dance

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Discover the art of expression in dance. Learn techniques to enhance your performance and convey emotions through movement and creativity.

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Designed and Developed by Will Earp and Matt Rosser, SWGfL (https://swgfl.org.uk/)

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Exploring the Distinct Types of Learning with Examples for the Classroom

In our educational system today, teachers are well aware of the fact that individual students respond to specific types of learning. However, the challenge to be effective still remains for teachers who stand in front of a large classroom of diverse children. Most of these classes are too large to offer much individual instruction catered for each student.

It wasn't long ago when learning challenges such as autism, dyslexia, ADHD, and a myriad of other learning disabilities went undiagnosed or even considered. But even with added resources and understanding, individual teachers are expected to provide quality education on a multiple of subjects to a relatively mass audience.

Since every child is unique, we believe that if distinct types of learning are employed throughout school year, fewer children will be left behind. Teachers may notice that some children who were struggling have responded to a specific method. At the very least, changing things up from day to day will offer variety and make school more engaging for everyone.

The Distinct Types of Learning Styles

The predominate learning styles is laid out in the VARK system ( Visual | Auditory | Reading (and Writing) | K inesthetic). Let dig into these types first.

Visual Learning

A learning style in which information is best processed when presented visually. Individuals with a preference for visual learning often learn more effectively through images, charts, graphs, diagrams, and other visual aids. They may find it easier to understand and remember information when a visual format is used.

Examples of Visual Learning:

Mind Maps: Visual representations of information, concepts, or ideas, often created around a central theme or topic. They use branches, colors, and keywords to organize and illustrate relationships between different pieces of information. Similarly, flowcharts visually show the workflow from beginning to end of a process.

Infographics: Visual representations of data or information designed to present complex information quickly and clearly. They often use a combination of text, images, and icons to convey information in an easily digestible format. Visual learners benefit from infographics as they provide a visually engaging way to grasp and remember information.

Auditory Learning

A learning style in which individuals prefer to absorb information through listening. People with a strong auditory learning preference may learn more effectively through spoken words, discussions, and other auditory stimuli. They often benefit from explanations, lectures, and group discussions.

Examples of Auditory Learning:

Lectures and Oral Presentations: Auditory learners excel in environments where information is delivered verbally, such as lectures or oral presentations. They are likely to remember and understand concepts better when they hear them explained rather than reading them. Engaging speakers and dynamic presentations can be particularly effective for auditory learners.

Podcasts and Audiobooks: Auditory learners may find podcasts and audiobooks to be valuable tools for acquiring new information. Listening to spoken content allows them to absorb information through their sense of hearing. This form of learning is flexible, as it can be done while commuting, exercising, or performing other activities, making it convenient for auditory learners.

Reading/Writing

The Reading/Writing learning style in the VARK model refers to individuals who prefer to process information through written words. Learners with this preference often excel when they can read and write about a topic to understand and remember it effectively. They may prefer textbooks, written instructions, and notetaking as primary methods of learning.

Examples of the Reading and Writing learning style:

Text-Based Materials: Individuals with a preference for reading/writing often benefit from traditional text-based materials such as books, articles, and written instructions. They may find it easier to grasp information when presented in written form, allowing them to analyze and comprehend details through reading.

Note Taking and Summarizing: Reading/Writing learners often engage in notetaking as a strategy to reinforce their understanding of information. They may jot down key points, create outlines, or write summaries to process and remember what they've learned. This process of translating information into written form helps solidify their comprehension.

Kinesthetic Learning

Also known as tactile learning, the kinesthetic learning style where individuals prefer a hands-on approach to learning. Kinesthetic learners process information best through physical activities, movement, and direct manipulation of objects. They often learn by doing and benefit from actively engaging with the material.

Examples of Kinesthetic Learning:

Experiential Learning Activities: Kinesthetic learners thrive in activities that involve direct experiences and physical interactions. This can include science experiments, simulations, role-playing exercises, or field trips. By actively participating in these experiences, kinesthetic learners can better understand and retain information.

Hands-On Projects: Kinesthetic learners often excel in projects that require physical manipulation or construction. This could involve building models, conducting experiments, or creating something tangible related to the subject matter. For example, in a science class, kinesthetic learners might understand concepts better by physically assembling a model of a cell or conducting hands-on experiments to explore scientific principles.

Exploring Additional Learning Styles

A teacher need feel bound to teach according to one specific system of learning. Likewise, there are other additional factors to look at that can inhibit or strengthen their ability to learn. Beyond the primary types of learning, taking into account the styles of learning below can greatly enhance student engagement. Some of these relate to a child's personality type while others have more to do with a particular aptitude.

Social Learners (Linguistic)

Social learners thrive on interaction and collaboration with others as a primary means of acquiring and processing information. These individuals are most effective when they can engage in discussions, work in groups, and share ideas with peers. Social learning is often characterized by a preference for interpersonal communication and learning through social cues.

Example of Group Discussions and Collaborative Projects:

Social learners excel in group settings where they can actively participate in discussions and collaborative projects. For instance, in a classroom setting, a social learner might perform exceptionally well during group study sessions, where ideas are exchanged, different perspectives are considered, and the collective knowledge of the group is harnessed to deepen understanding. This collaborative approach helps social learners reinforce their learning through social interaction.

Solitary Learners

Also known as intrapersonal learners, solitary learners, prefer to work independently and often find solitary environments conducive to their learning process. These individuals are self-reflective and tend to be more introspective, thriving in settings where they can focus on individual tasks without external distractions.

Example of Independent Study and Self-Paced Learning:

Solitary learners are likely to excel in situations where they can study independently, such as through self-paced courses, individual research projects, or personal reading. For example, a solitary learner might prefer to read textbooks, conduct research alone, or work through course materials independently. This allows them to concentrate and learn effectively in a quieter and more self-directed environment.

Logical Learners (Analytical)

Also referred to as analytical learners, logical learners are individuals who excel in environments that require reasoning, analysis, and systematic thinking. They thrive when they can understand the underlying principles and relationships governing a subject. Logical learners prefer structure and logic in their learning materials.

Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking Exercises:

Logical learners often excel in activities that involve problem-solving and critical thinking. For instance, in a STEM program they may perform well when presented with complex problems that require a logical and systematic approach to find solutions. Engaging in activities that challenge their analytical skills, such as puzzles, simulations, or experiments with a clear cause-and-effect relationship, can be particularly effective for logical learners.

Nature Learners

While learning styles like visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and others focus on sensory preferences, the concept of "nature learners" doesn't have a widely recognized definition in traditional educational psychology. However, if you're referring to individuals who have a strong affinity for learning in natural environments or through nature-related activities, I can provide an example:

Outdoor Education and Environmental Exploration:

Individuals who thrive as nature learners may benefit from educational experiences that take place outdoors. This could involve field trips to natural settings, environmental studies, or activities like gardening. For instance, a nature learner might better understand ecological concepts by actively participating in projects that involve observing and interacting with the natural world. This hands-on experience in nature enhances their learning process and allows them to connect theoretical knowledge with real-world observations.

Project-Based Learning

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is an instructional approach that can engage a variety of students regardless of their dominate learning style. PBL centers around students taking part in complex, real-world projects to deepen their understanding of a subject. Instead of traditional classroom methods, this method of learning emphasizes hands-on, collaborative, and inquiry-based learning.

Project-based learning is not just utilized in schools. It is a universal concept that any team can use in any organization.

Here is a video that explains Project-Based Learning in a non-school setting:

For students, class members typically work on projects in groups that require critical thinking, problem-solving, and the application of knowledge and skills. This frees up teachers to roam the classroom and provide individual attention where needed.

Benefits and Examples of Project-Based Learning:

Real-World Projects: Involve students in working on authentic, real-world projects that connect academic content to practical applications.

Inquiry and Investigation: Have students engage in inquiry and investigation. Encourage the asking of questions and exploring topics in-depth to develop a deeper understanding.

Hands-On Activities: Emphasize hands-on, experiential learning, and allow students to actively participate in the learning process on a set project or exercise.

Collaboration: Put students to work in collaborative groups on a project. This promotes teamwork, communication, and interpersonal skills.

Critical Thinking: Encourage critical thinking and problem-solving by having students analyze information, make decisions, and solve complex problems.

Autonomy and Ownership: Provide students with a sense of autonomy and ownership over their learning. Teamwork on a task will give them greater sense of responsibility for their education.

Reflection: Include opportunities for students to reflect on their learning process, identify challenges, and consider how to improve their work.

Presentations and Exhibitions: Have students work together with the end goal being the presentation or exhibitions of their projects to an audience. The presentation could 50% of their mark to promote communication skills as a team.

Continuous Learning: Check in with group projects to assist with students who are encountering challenges. Encourage them revise their work to refine their understanding throughout the project.

Summing Up the Distinct Types of Learning

All the elements explored here have hopefully served to collectively contribute to the effectiveness of teaching students to be the best they can be. Just as 'one shoe does not fit all', that does not mean kids shouldn't be exposed to various learning styles. At the very least, variety is the spice of life and will help hold a student's attention throughout the school year. Furthermore, in a classroom setting, employing various learning styles ensure all students are given equal opportunity to learn in a way that suits them.

Additionally, a pre-existing strength in one area does not mean a child cannot effectively expand their horizons and benefit from several types of methods. Children will face a myriad of challenges in their lifetime. Exposure to classroom lectures, individual teaching, and group settings will equipment them to better respond and develop live long learning in their relationships, career, and whatever they set their minds too.

Kid-Approved Ear Care: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Little Ears in Top Shape

When it comes to the health of our family members, especially the youngest ones among us, there is nothing more important than making sure their ears are in top shape. As parents, no matter how great a job we do try to keep our kids safe and healthy, little ears can sometimes be easily forgotten about...until something goes wrong.

The good news is that ear care for your children doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming; with a few simple tips and tricks, you can quickly learn the best ways to make sure your kid's ears stay nice and clean without being overly invasive!

Through this ultimate guide on kid-approved ear care practices, you'll find out everything you need to know when it comes to keeping those cute little lobes healthy - from prevention methods and education on infections down to different home remedies if any issues arise. So, let's get started now - after all - your child's safety should always come first!

Choosing the Right Hearing Aid

Choosing the right hearing aid for your child is a decision that can greatly affect their quality of life. It's important to consider a few factors when making this decision, such as the type and severity of their hearing loss, the child's age, and lifestyle, as well as personal preferences. A consultation with an audiologist can greatly assist in finding the best hearing aid options available. From traditional behind-the-ear models to discrete in-the-ear styles, the cost of hearing aids varies, and there are a variety of hearing aids available that can accommodate your child's unique needs and ensure they can communicate effectively in any setting. By taking the time to research and test different models, you can make an informed decision and provide your child with the best-fit hearing aid.

Identifying an Ear Infection

Ear infections can be extremely uncomfortable and painful. Symptoms can vary depending on the type of infection and age of the individual. However, some common signs include ear pain, fever, drainage from the ear, difficulty hearing, and irritability in children. If you or a loved one experiences any of these symptoms, it is important to seek medical help.

Ignoring the symptoms can lead to more serious complications, such as hearing loss or ruptured eardrum. Your healthcare provider can examine your ears and determine the cause of the infection. Treatment may include antibiotics or other medications to alleviate symptoms and prevent the infection from worsening. Remember, early detection and treatment are key when it comes to ear infections.

Create an Ear Care Routine for Kids

Proper hygiene is essential for maintaining good health, and ear care is a crucial part of it that we tend to overlook. Children, in particular, need to have a regular ear care routine to prevent infections or wax build-up. However, as parents, we understand that convincing your little ones to clean their ears can be challenging. So, we have put together some tips to make ear cleaning a regular part of your child's grooming routine. By incorporating these simple practices, you can help your young ones form healthy habits that will benefit them in the long run. So, let's dive in and make ear care easier for both you and your child!

Treating Common Ear Problems

Our ears are essential for experiencing the sounds of the world around us, but even the smallest ear problems can be a major annoyance. Fortunately, many common ear issues can be treated easily with at-home remedies. If you're dealing with minor infections, wax build-up, or other common ear ailments, there are plenty of natural solutions that can help relieve discomfort and promote healing.

From oil drops to warm compresses, explore some of the top home remedies for treating common ear problems. With a little bit of knowledge and a few simple ingredients, you can keep your ears healthy and hearing clearly.

Best Practices for Maintaining Healthy Ears

As parents, we want our children to be healthy in all aspects of their lives, and one area that can sometimes be overlooked is the health of their ears. It's important to establish good habits early on so that little ears stay clean and healthy. One key practice is to avoid sticking anything smaller than your elbow into your child's ear! This can push earwax further into the ear canal, potentially causing damage or hearing loss.

Instead, gently clean the outer ear with a washcloth and avoid using cotton swabs. Additionally, be mindful of noise levels in your child's environment as excessive noise can damage hearing. By following these best practices and establishing healthy habits, we can help keep little ears in tip-top shape!

Prepping Kids for a Professional Cleaning Visit

Whether it's a routine check-up or for a specific concern, getting your child's ears checked at the doctor's office can be a nerve-racking experience for both kids and parents. As a parent, it's important to make sure your child feels comfortable and prepared for the visit. One way to ease their worries is by explaining the process beforehand and answering any questions they may have.

Consider practicing at home by using a toy doctor's kit to give your child a sense of what to expect. Also, be sure to bring along some distractions like a book or a favorite toy to keep them occupied during the exam. Remember, the more informed and at ease your child feels, the smoother and more successful the visit will be.

With all this information, it's clear that there's a lot more to ear care and health than many families realize. This is why it's so important for parents and guardians to be informed about best practices when it comes to ear care - understanding warning signs, proper maintenance tips, professional visits, and the right hearing aid if needed. Implementing a consistent ear-cleaning routine can go a long way in helping keep your child's hearing safe.

Ear health is something that should not be taken lightly, and you must be prepared with proper knowledge and resources. Hearing impairments can also lead to issues with speech and your child's overall education. \ If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to a professional - they can help you determine the best course of action for keeping your little one safe and healthy. So, what are you waiting for? Get informed today so that your children can have healthy ears tomorrow!

Why Keeping Games Consoles Secure Should be a Priority

The rise in video games cannot be understated. What was once a public novelty has now evolved into a quintessential part of most homes, with children and teenagers firmly accustomed to the idea of playing video games. Unlike age ratings like for films and content, there is no official or recommended age for using games consoles

With online gaming becoming vastly popular, it's never been more important for parents to decide if their child can safely use one. This guide is here to explain why ensuring your child's gaming system should always be secure, and why overlooking that aspect could present some serious concerns.

Gaming and Consoles are Mainstays of 2024

Recent surveys show that most children aged 7 to 18 (68%) own a games console, with a further 9% having access to one, which is quite telling of the situation many parents and educators find themselves in. At least 53% of US households report owning at least one gaming console, with 26% claiming a 'next-generation' model. Not only are video games and consoles firmly ingrained in how kids interact with each other and form social connections, but they also shape their experiences.

As our culture has grown increasingly digitally connected in recent years, it's no surprise that video gaming consoles have become 'must-haves' for today's youth. With many kids in elementary school playing video games semi-regularly, it's become a solid necessity to not feel isolated from their peers.

Multiplayer capabilities and a host of new releases making the rounds each year also make consoles highly coveted. Not only that, but the advancements in tech also make gaming more enticing, with keen gamers seeking new consoles and exclusive games to immerse themselves in. Therefore, it's fair to say that consoles and gaming are here to stay, so parents and caretakers must ensure safe usage, rather than restrict access.

Security Concerns of Video Gaming

Amid all the discourse surrounding video games and their influence on children's behavior, it cannot be denied that they can, if moderated and monitored appropriately, can have educational and social benefits. However, one thing that remains constant is the level of risk that lies with such proficient online gaming. Consoles introduce risks, ranging from interconnectivity with strangers in online, often 'lawless' chatrooms and forums, to a plethora of other cyber security risks and privacy breaches.

Providers and network administrators have their part to play in ensuring the robustness of their infrastructure. They can use mechanisms like vulnerability patching and penetration testing for weaknesses, although each user has to exercise vigilance. Console developers, meanwhile, are often tasked with rigorously securing networks and infrastructure, yet bad actors can still slip through the cracks. Sony recently suffered a series of hacks and security breaches which compromised user data, thus emphasizing the need for bolstering defenses.

Risks and Threats Associated with Gaming Devices

Games consoles introduce a range of potential cyber risks which can be concerning for parents. These include but are not limited to the following:

Personal data collection - Like all internet-connected devices, consoles and games can collect and transmit large amounts of user data. From usernames and passwords to usage data and communications, this information needs safeguarding with precision to prevent it from being used fraudulently or maliciously.

Device takeovers - Unwarranted hacks can give attackers full control over the console and any other connected devices. Remote hackers can compromise a device and expose users to unauthorized or inappropriate content.

Account takeovers - Attackers with stolen login credentials can access user accounts, steal personal information, make fraudulent purchases with saved payment cards, exploit associated email accounts, and much more.

Communication platforms - Instant messaging, and voice chat features can expose vulnerable children to bullying and harassment. If not supervised, kids can become victims of exploitative cyberbullying and social engineering attacks.

Malware risks - Viruses, spyware, and other malware can 'brick' games and consoles or render them inaccessible. These can often materialize innocuously without arousing suspicion from users.

Network risks - Gaming on public Wi-Fi networks - or those with poor, weak network security - leaves consoles vulnerable to eavesdropping and MitM (man-in-the-middle) cyber attacks.

This year alone we have seen the aforementioned attacks on the PlayStation Network, as well as a large-scale data leak on the Xbox servers. As these are two of the industry's most recognizable brands, it only proves that as consoles grow in popularity, they can become more appealing targets for cybercriminals. Therefore, personal safety and security is essential.

Securing Gaming Devices and Accounts

While there are undoubtedly risks when using gaming consoles, they are, fundamentally, no different than those that exist when using the Internet. This type of technology is increasingly available and beneficial, so the steps that parents can take to minimize threats bear many similarities to moderating children's Internet usage and access.

As a baseline level, consider implementing these controls to keep your kids safer when using online game consoles.

Use Strong Passwords and MFA

Establishing strong, unique passwords - using undecipherable, random strings of letters, numbers, symbols and capitalizations - will make initial barriers harder to break. Avoid using birthdays, pet names, or other easy-to-guess information in passwords.

Keep this data safe and bolster it by allowing multi-factor authentication (MFA) to validate login attempts. It might seem overly protective, but this will prevent usernames and passwords from being compromised.

Limit Personal Info

When setting up accounts, make sure that only essential information is provided. Consider leaving phone numbers, locations, school names, and other identifiable information fields blank, and restricting the access that third-party applications have to this data. Consider also masking real names on user profiles to avoid being targeted or identified.

Monitor Friends and Chats

If your child interacts with friends online, there's a good chance that, over time, they may encounter mutual friends and broaden their friendship circle online. However, listen carefully to what they say. Take a fervent interest in what they talk about and the interactions they mention in conversation.

If they seem 'off' or dissociate, it could indicate that they are interacting with someone anonymous who is worrying or stressing them. Cyberbullies and predators lurk in gaming comms channels, so pay close attention. If necessary, step in and enable parental controls and enhance privacy settings.

Patch Networks and Consoles

Ensure your home Wi-Fi uses modern WPA2 or WPA3 encryption protocols and a long, complicated pre-shared key (password). If relevant, consider installing a separate VPN to offer more robust, controlled connections.

Keep firmware updated on the console itself as well as routers and other network devices, applying all new security patches and revisions when prompted.

Disable remote administration capabilities and UPnP on routers, and, where possible, connect consoles to routers using ethernet cables. This stabilizes the connection between the console and the Internet.

Beware of Social Engineering

Kids may instinctively try to keep their gaming activities secret from parents, particularly if they find it to be an immersive escape from daily life. However, it's important to bridge that gap where possible and educate them - not forcefully but, rather, openly - on attempts to manipulate them.

Teach them ways to identify attempts to steal login credentials or sensitive data, and emphasize that divulging this could pose a security risk. Phishing emails, notifications, and links can be dangerous, so they should take time to assess their legitimacy before clicking them.

It will help exponentially if your child feels comfortable maintaining autonomy when using their console but flagging up any suspicions to you with confidence, at which point you can intervene without reprimanding them.

While no gaming console security is foolproof, combining the security steps outlined above will significantly reduce the attack surface. Parents must manage and monitor console usage carefully but not to the point where it becomes disruptive or invasive to their child's enjoyment. Stay alert for new threats and make cyber safety an ongoing conversation with your young gamer(s), as they should feel empowered to enjoy the gaming experience without becoming desensitized to it because of security concerns.

If your kids want to find their own solutions to any challenging parts of the games they are playing, you can support them to navigate the web safely by using Safe Search Kids. Using Safe Search Kids means that you don't have to worry about your kids stumbling upon content that isn't appropriate for them.

15 Heartfelt and Affordable Gifts for Mum-to-Be

Welcoming a new life into the world is exciting, especially for expectant mothers. It's a period filled with anticipation, joy, and, of course, a bit of anxiety. During this time, celebrating a mum-to-be with thoughtful gifts can add a sparkle to her journey.

But here's the thing - these gifts don't have to break the bank. In this guide, we'll explore some heartfelt yet affordable gift ideas, perfect for showing love and support without stretching your wallet.

Why Affordable Gifts Matter for Mum-to-Be

In an age where the cost of living and raising a child is ever-increasing, being budget-conscious is more critical than ever. But let's not confuse affordable with less meaningful. The value of a gift lies in its thoughtfulness, not its price tag. Cheap presents can be practical and emotionally gratifying, offering a way to show care without financial strain. Considering the expenses awaiting new parents, a budget-friendly gift can be a considerate choice.

The Joy of Gifting: What Expectant Moms Appreciate

What do expectant moms cherish the most? It's the thought and love put into a gift. These soon-to-be mothers are embarking on one of life's most beautiful journeys, and a gift that acknowledges their emotional and physical needs during this time can be significant. Whether it offers relaxation, celebrates the upcoming arrival, or makes their day-to-day a bit easier, the sentiment behind the gift truly counts. So, when considering gifts for mum to be, remember that love and care matter most.

Thoughtful and Affordable Gifts for Mum-to-Be

Personalised Gifts

Personalised Baby Name Keychain: More than just a keychain, it's a daily reminder of the new life about to be welcomed. This charming gift can accompany her everywhere as a token of the joyous future.

Customised Photo Frame: Ideal for those first sonogram images or newborn pictures, this frame becomes a cherished family heirloom, capturing a moment in time that's forever precious.

Handmade Greeting Card: Crafted with care, a handmade card can express sentiments that store-bought ones cannot. It's a unique way to convey your excitement and best wishes for her journey into motherhood.

Self-Care and Relaxation

Scented Candles: These candles don't just light up a room; they offer a serene ambience, perfect for moments of reflection and calm amid a busy prenatal period.

Herbal Tea Assortment: Carefully selected for safety and comfort during pregnancy, these teas provide a comforting and warm ritual that can soothe both body and mind.

DIY Bath Salts Kit: A DIY kit isn't just a gift; it's an experience. Mixing her bath salts adds a personal touch to her relaxation routine, making it all the more special.

Practical Baby Essentials

Baby Bibs: These aren't just practical; they come in various fun designs and colours, adding a bit of joy to everyday baby care.

Baby Socks: Keeping those tiny toes warm is crucial, and with an array of cute patterns, they're a delightful addition to any baby's wardrobe.

Baby Washcloths: Gentle on the baby's skin and indispensable during bath time, these washcloths are a must-have for any new parent, blending functionality with comfort.

Books for Parenting and Pregnancy

Pregnancy Journal: This journal offers a space to document thoughts, feelings, and experiences, creating a priceless memoir of her pregnancy journey.

Parenting Advice Book: Packed with practical advice, these books are a great resource, offering reassurance and guidance through the early stages of parenthood.

Children's Bedtime Storybook: It's more than just a book; it's the beginning of many nights of bedtime stories, fostering a love for reading and bonding time between parent and child.

Homemade Treats

Hand-baked Cookies or Muffins: These treats, made from the heart, are a sweet gesture of care and provide a comforting, home-cooked taste that's hard to beat.

Fruit Basket: A basket of fresh, hand-picked fruits looks beautiful and offers a healthy snack full of vitamins and nutrients.

Homemade Pregnancy-safe Face Mask: Using natural ingredients, this face mask is a thoughtful way to encourage her to take some time for herself, ensuring it's safe and soothing for her skin during pregnancy.

Where to Find Budget-Friendly Mum-to-Be Gifts

Image by gpointstudio on Freepik

There are several places where you can find these gems. Online marketplaces often offer personalised items at low costs. Local thrift stores or second-hand shops are treasure troves for unique finds. For crafty people, DIY and crafting stores are your go-to materials to make your gifts. And remember community groups and online forums, where you can often find gently used items perfect for gifting.

Tips for Selecting the Perfect Affordable Gift

When choosing an affordable gift for a mom-to-be, consider her style, needs, and allergies to make it meaningful and suitable. Please pay attention to skincare or edible items to ensure her comfort.

Your relationship with the expectant mother matters. For close bonds, go for customised or sentimental gifts; opt for universally appealing and practical items for more formal relationships. Balancing these factors enhances the gift's value.

Creative Presentation Ideas

The presentation of your gift can elevate its perceived value and show the care you've put into it:

DIY Gift Wrapping: Personalise your gift with handmade wrapping paper or decorate a plain gift box with drawings, stickers, or ribbons. This adds a unique touch and shows the extra effort you've put into the gift.

Gift Baskets: Assemble a themed gift basket with small items. For instance, a self-care basket with herbal teas, scented candles, and a homemade face mask can be charming and helpful.

Handwritten Note: Including a handwritten note with your gift adds a deeply personal touch. It's a chance to express your excitement and well-wishes for her journey into motherhood, making the gift even more memorable.

You're All Set!

Celebrating a mum-to-be with thoughtful, affordable gifts is a beautiful way to share the joy and anticipation of the new arrival. Each gift idea we've explored offers a blend of practicality, sentiment, and care, proving that it's not about how much you spend but the thoughtfulness you put into the gift.

Now, it's your turn to spread the joy. Take these ideas, find the perfect gift that resonates with the expectant mother in your life, and tell her how much she appreciates it. Whether it's a handmade card, a personalised keepsake, or a soothing self-care item, your gift will surely bring a smile and warmth to her heart.

Remember, the best gifts come from the heart, not the wallet. So make a mum-to-be's day special, and enjoy the happiness of giving.

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Safe Search Kids | Filtering Enhanced by Google for Safer Search

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The Kids' Search Engine that ensures Google safe search in school and at home on all devices. We filter the internet and provide educational resources.

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Humans can impact animals in a negative and positive way. 

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Humans can impact animals in a negative and positive way. 

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Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute

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Red pandas can be easily identified by their unique ruddy coat color, which acts like camouflage within the canopy of fir trees where branches are covered with clumps of reddish-brown moss and white lichens.

They have large, round heads and short snouts with big, pointed ears. Their faces are white with reddish-brown "tear" marks that extend from the eyes to the corner of the mouth. These markings could have evolved to help keep the sun out of their eyes. Their tails are marked with alternating red and buff rings.

Red pandas have a soft, dense woolly undercoat covered by long, coarse guard hairs. Long, bushy tails help these arboreal animals maintain balance and protect them from harsh cold and winds. Dense fur completely covers their feet which have five, widely separated toes and semi-retractable claws.

Red pandas scent-mark territories using anal glands and urine, as well as scent glands located between their footpads. These scent glands on the bottom of red pandas' feet exude a colorless liquid that is odorless to humans. The red panda tests odors using the underside of its tongue, which has a cone-like structure for collecting liquid and bringing it close to a gland inside its mouth. It is the only carnivore with this adaptation.

Red pandas are skilled climbers, using trees for shelter, to escape predators and to sunbathe in the winter. Their ankles are extremely flexible, and the fibula and tibia are attached in such a way as to allow the fibula to rotate about its axis. These features make it possible for red pandas to adeptly climb headfirst down tree trunks.

In contrast with other carnivores their size, red pandas have extremely robust dentition. They also have a simple carnivore stomach, despite their predominantly leaf-based diet. Red pandas share the giant panda's pseudo-thumb, a modified wrist bone used to grasp bamboo when feeding.

Red pandas are the only living member of the Ailuridae family, and their taxonomic position has long been a subject of scientific debate. They were first described as members of the raccoon family ( Procyonidae) - a controversial classification - in 1825, because of ecological characteristics and morphological similarities of the head, dentition and ringed tail. Later, due to some agreements in DNA, they were assigned to the bear family ( Ursidae).

Most recent genetic research, however, places red pandas in their own, independent family: Ailuridae. Molecular phylogenetic studies show that red pandas are an ancient species in the order Carnivora (superfamily Musteloidea) and are probably most closely related to the group that includes skunks, raccoons and weasels.

While originally thought to be two subspecies, new genetic studies suggest that there are two distinct species of red panda: Ailurus fulgens fulgens and Ailurus fulgens styani (also known as Ailurus fulgens refulgens). The latter tends to be larger and deeper red in color than the former.

Adult red pandas typically weigh between 8 and 17 pounds (3.6 and 7.7 kilograms) and are 22 to 24.6 inches (56 to 62.5 centimeters) long, plus a tail of 14.6 to 18.6 inches (37 to 47.2 centimeters).

Red pandas live in high-altitude, temperate forests with bamboo understories in the Himalayas and other high mountains. They range from northern Myanmar (Burma) to the west Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces of China. They are also found in suitable habitat in Nepal, India and Tibet. Ailurus fulgens fulgens lives predominantly in Nepal and can also be found in India and Bhutan. Ailurus fulgens styani (or Ailurus fulgens refulgens) is primarily found in China and Myanmar.

Red pandas may live as long as 23 years. They show symptoms of age at around 12 to 14 years old. While females do not breed after age 12, males continue to be reproductively capable.

Red pandas are generally quiet, but subtle vocalizations-such as squeals, twitters and huff-quacks-can be heard at close proximity. They may also hiss or grunt, and young cubs use a whistle, or high-pitched bleat, to signal distress. Red pandas will climb trees and rocks to escape predators, such as leopards and jackals.

Bamboo constitutes about 95% of the red panda's diet. Unlike giant pandas that feed on nearly every above-ground portion of bamboo (including the culm, or woody stem), red pandas feed selectively on the most nutritious leaf tips and, when available, tender shoots.

Like giant pandas, red pandas grasp plant stems using their forepaws and shear selected leaves off with their mouths. Because red pandas are obligate bamboo eaters, they are on a tight energy budget for much of the year. They may also forage for roots, succulent grasses, fruits, insects and grubs, and are known to occasionally kill and eat birds and small mammals.

At the Smithsonian's National Zoo, red pandas eat bamboo, bamboo shoots (when in season) and leafeater biscuits. They are receive enrichment treats, such as apples, grapes, bananas, blueberries and other produce.

In human care, red pandas can be active at any time of day but are primarily crepuscular, or most active at dawn and dusk. On average, they spend about 45 percent of the day awake and tend to be more active in cooler weather, especially during the winter mating season.

In significantly cold temperatures, red pandas can become dormant, lowering their metabolic rate and raising it every few hours as they wake up to look for food.

This adaptation allows red pandas to spend nearly as little energy as sloths, which is very beneficial considering the low nutrition content of their diet. They also exhibit temperature-regulating behaviors, such as curling into a tight ball to conserve body heat and energy expenditure in the cold. Conversely, when temperatures are warm, red pandas stretch out on branches and pant to lower their body temperature.

Red pandas are solitary except during the breeding season. In human care, most breeding pairs live together year-round. In the wild, the home range of one animal is about 1 square mile.

In the Northern Hemisphere, red pandas breed from January through March. In the Southern Hemisphere, breeding season extends from June through August. The rapid change in photoperiod, or day length, after the winter solstice initiates this breeding season.

Mating occurs on the ground, and gestation appears to include a period of delayed implantation, which may be as short as 93 days or as long as 156 days. Reproduction expends a great deal of energy, so it is believed that a long gestation period may be the result of a slow metabolic rate. Late spring births also coincide with the emergence of the most tender and digestible bamboo shoots and leaves.

Females create a nest in tree holes, hollow stumps, tree roots or bamboo thickets and line the nest with moss, leaves and other soft plant material. Litters typically consist of two cubs born between May and July in the Northern Hemisphere.

Red pandas are born completely covered in fur to protect them from the cold environment. Newborns of the species Ailurus fulgens fulgens weigh 3-4 ounces (about 90-110 grams). The offspring stay with the mother for about one year, which is about when they are full-grown. Red pandas reach sexual maturity at around 18 months of age.

Red pandas are endangered and are legally protected in India, Bhutan, China, Nepal and Myanmar. Their primary threats are habitat loss and degradation, human interference and poaching.

Researchers believe that the total population of red pandas has declined by 40 percent over the past two decades. It is probable that this decline will continue in the coming years. Red pandas are present in some protected areas throughout their range, including parks in Myanmar, Bhutan, India, Nepal and China. Despite regulations, livestock grazing, hunting and logging still occur throughout many of these protected areas.

Habitat loss is primarily attributed to logging, grazing livestock, demand for firewood, human encroachment and farming. The decrease in suitable habitat for red pandas has coincided with the increase in human populations throughout Asia; with human encroachment comes livestock, agriculture and dogs, all of which produce different threats to this species.

Herds of livestock can compete with red pandas for available bamboo leaves and degrade their habitat. Clearing land to make way for crops reduces available food and shelter. And domestic dogs can hunt or transmit disease, such as canine distemper, to red pandas. Additionally, fragmentation resulting from habitat loss has resulted in inbreeding, as red panda populations become increasingly isolated.

The illegal pet trade has reportedly been on the rise throughout Asia. However, poaching and the illegal trade of red panda pelts, meat and other products has decreased.

These threats to red pandas are compounded by climate change and natural disasters, inadequate enforcement of laws and regulations, and limited investment in red panda conservation by local governments. Red pandas have bred with some reliability in zoos throughout North America, Europe and Asia. As they decline in the wild, growing and maintaining self-sustaining populations in zoos is a high priority as a hedge against extinction and to learn more about species biology.

Part of the difficulty in conserving red pandas relates to their unique habitat. These animals require a specific set of circumstances to optimize survival, including proximity to water sources, appropriate forest cover and altitude, and sufficient bamboo. As human encroachment continues to grow, these ideal habitats become increasingly more difficult to find. Bamboo grows unreliably in degraded habitats, which adds additional stress to the situation.

The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute has been at the forefront of red panda conservation, with more than 100 surviving cubs born since 1962.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature has prioritized four major categories of action for conserving red pandas: protect against habitat loss, reduce habitat degradation, reduce deaths of red pandas (through poaching and removing man-made threats) and improve awareness.

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Always free of charge, the Smithsonian's National Zoo is one of Washington D.C.'s, and the Smithsonian's, most popular tourist destinations, with more than 2 million visitors from all over the world each year. The Zoo instills a lifelong commitment to conservation through engaging experiences with animals and the people working to save them.

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Knowing about spider venom can help human lives

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Knowing about spider venom can help human lives

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1.) What is spider venom? Where do we get spider venom from?

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1.) What is spider venom? Where do we get spider venom from?

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Spider venoms are a cocktail of many chemicals. 

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Human activity can accelerate natural processes. (Coastal Erosion).

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Human activity can accelerate natural processes. (Coastal Erosion).

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Edpuzzle video lesson. Make any video your lesson. Take a video and crop it, add your voice or embed questions at any point.

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Deforestation affects the environment and animals.

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Deforestation affects the environment and animals.

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Deforestation is when humans remove or clear large areas of forest lands and related ecosystems for non-forest use. These include clearing for farming purposes, ranching, and urban use. In these cases, trees are never re-planted.

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Learn about the meaning of acting and its significance to actors and audiences.

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2.)  What is the effect of humans on whales? What causes whale behavior to change?

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2.)  What is the effect of humans on whales? What causes whale behavior to change?

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The human respiratory system is vital to take care of to have a healthy life
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The human respiratory system is vital to take care of to have a healthy life
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1.) What is the Human Respiratory system?

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1.) What is the Human Respiratory system?

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Edpuzzle video lesson. Make any video your lesson. Take a video and crop it, add your voice or embed questions at any point.

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Over time technology can change sports and the way we play the game making it more efficient. 

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Over time technology can change sports and the way we play the game making it more efficient. 

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1.) What is baseball? What equipment do you need to play baseball?

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1.) What is baseball? What equipment do you need to play baseball?

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Baseball & The Tenth Inning | Ken Burns | PBS

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Introduction

Baseball is a game played between two teams of nine players each. The game is divided into nine innings, each divided into two halves. In the top half of the inning, the players of one team successively come to bat and attempt to score runs, while the other team plays in the field and attempts to stop the offensive team from scoring. In the bottom half, the teams swap places. The team with more runs at the end of nine innings is the winner of the game.

The game is played on a diamond-shaped playing field, the four corners of the diamond being formed by home plate, first base, second base and third base. In the middle of the infield is the pitcher's mound, where the pitcher stands to pitch the ball to the batter. The area beyond the infield, bordered by the first and third baselines, is called the outfield.

During an inning, the pitcher of the defensive team throws the ball toward member of the offensive team currently in batting position at home plate. The batter attempts to hit the ball with the bat to a location out of the reach of the defensive players in the field and run around the bases. If he is able to round the bases and return to home plate, he scores a run. But if the ball is caught, or can be thrown to first base before he arrives at the base, then the batter is out. A batter is also put out if he strikes out, or fails to hit the baseball three times after three good pitches. The offensive team's time at bat is over when it gets three outs.

Baseball Stats

Baseball isn't statistics. Baseball is DiMaggio rounding second. - Jimmy Cannon

Unlike most other sports, baseball exists outside of time - there is no clock to control game play or judge a player's performance. Nevertheless, a dizzying array of statistics record nearly every aspect of the game in amazing detail, and allow fans (and team managers!) to compare the performance of one player against another.

Here are a few common player statistics.

Offensive Statistics:

Batting Average (AVG): The number of base hits per at bat.

Games Played (G): The number of games the player has played in.

At Bats (AB): The official number of times the player as taken the plate as a batter, not counting walks or sacrifices.

Runs (R): The number of times a batter has crossed home plate.

Hits (H): The number of times a batter has safely reached a base, not including walks or sacrifices.

Doubles (2B): The number of hits that resulted in the batter hitting second base.

Triples (3B): The number of hits that resulted in the batter hitting third base.

Home Runs (HR): The number of hits that resulted in a home run.

Runs Batted In (RBI): The number of times a batter has made it possible for his teammates to score. Does not include hits resulting in a double play or runs scored because of an error.

Stolen Bases (SB): The number of times a base runner has successfully advanced to the next base without the help of the hitter.

Base on Balls (BB): The number of times a batter has been awarded first base as a result of four balls being pitched outside the strike zone. Also known as walks.

Strikeouts (SO): The number of times a batter has swung and missed on three pitches.

Pitching Statistics:

Games Pitched (GP): The cumulative total number of games in which a player has pitched.

Innings Pitched (IP): The cumulative total number of innings pitched by a player.

Wins (W): The number of games won. A starting pitcher will be credited with a win if he pitches at least 5 complete innings, his team is in the lead when he leaves the game and his team continues to maintain the lead for the rest of the game.

Losses (L): The number of games lost.

Win/Loss Percentage (PCT): The total number of wins divided by the sum of wins and losses.

Saves: The number of times a relief pitcher finishes a game where the potential tying or winning run is on base, at bat or on deck.

Hits Allowed (H): The number of hits given up while pitching.

Base on Balls (BB): The number of times a pitcher has thrown four balls, allowing the batter to be awarded first base.

Strikeouts (SO): The number of times a pitcher retires a batter after three strikes.

Earned Run Average (ERA): Earned Run Average The number of Earned Runs (scored without an error) that pitcher allows every nine innings. Computed by multiplying the total number of earned runs by nine and dividing by the number of innings pitched.

Baseball Glossary

Balk: An illegal motion by the pitcher with one or more runners on base, entitling all runners to advance one base. A balk can be one of a number of movements related to the pitching motion but the intention is to catch the runners off balance.A pitch which does not enter the strike zone and is not struck at by the batter. The four points of the baseball diamond (first through third bases and home plate) that must be touched by a runner in order to score a run.The offensive player who is currently positioned in the batter's box. Either of the areas next to home plate where the batter stands during his time at bat.The second half of an inning.A legally batted ball, not swung at but intentionally met with the bat and tapped within the infield.The act of a fielder in getting secure possession in his hand or glove of a ball in flight and firmly holding it.The defensive player whose position is directly behind home plate.The team currently in the field.A player who may be designated to bat instead of the pitcher. A play in which the batter makes it safely to second base without stopping.Two games played in immediate succession. A defensive play in which two offensive players are put out as a result of one continuous action.The seating area for team members not currently on the playing field. A legally batted ball that settles on or over fair territory.That part of the playing field within and including the first base and third base lines, from home plate to the playing field fence and perpendicularly upwards.One of the nine defensive players, including pitcher, catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, left fielder, center fielder and right fielder.The act of a fielder who handles a fair grounder and, instead of throwing to first base to put out the batter runner, throws to another base in an attempt to put out a preceding runner. A ball which goes high in the air when batted. A play in which a runner loses his right to occupy a base when the current batter becomes a runner.A game declared ended by the umpire for violation of the rules, and awarded to the offended team. A batted ball that lands on foul territory between home plate and first base or third base, bounds past first or third base on or over third territory, first touches foul territory beyond first or third base, or touches a player, umpire or any object not part of the playing field while over foul territory.That part of the playing field outside the first and third base lines extended to the outfield fence and perpendicularly upwards. A batted ball which rolls along the ground. When a line drive bounces on the field and over the wall in fair territory the hit is scored as a ground rule double and the batter advances to second base.The base over which an offensive player bats, and to which he must return after touching all three bases in order to score a run. A play in which the batter makes it safely around all bases and back to home plate without stopping.The team on whose field the game is played. If the game is played on neutral grounds, the home team shall be designated by mutual agreement. The diamond-shaped portion of the playing field bordered by the four bases.A fielder who occupies a position in the infield.A fair fly ball which can be caught by an infielder with ordinary effort, which first and second, or first, second and third bases are occupied before the second out. Infield Fly Rule: On the infield fly rule the umpire is to rule whether the ball could ordinarily have been handled by an infielder not by some arbitrary limitation such as the grass, or the base lines. The umpire's judgment must govern, and the decision should be made immediately. When an infield fly rule is called, runners may advance at their own risk. If on an infield fly rule, the infielder intentionally drops a fair ball, the ball remains in play. That portion of the game within which the teams alternate on offense and defense and in which there are three outs for each team. Each team's time at bat is a half-inning.A ball which is batted directly to a fielder without touching the ground. The team currently at bat. A declaration by the umpire that a player who is trying for a base is not entitled to that base.The portion of the playing field that extends beyond the infield and is bordered by the first and third baselines. A fielder who occupies a position in the outfield.The ball delivered by the pitcher to the batter.The fielder designated to pitch the ball to the batter. An illegal pitch, made with obvious intent to catch the batter off balance. The score made by an offensive player who has rounded the bases and returned to home plate. An offensive player who is advancing toward, touching or returning to any base.A declaration by the umpire that a runner who is trying for a base has not been tagged or forced out, and is therefore entitled to that base. A play in which the batter safely makes it to first base.A legal pitch when so called by the umpire, which:

1. Is struck at by the batter and missed;

2. Is not struck at, if the ball passes through the strike zone;

3. Is fouled by the batter when he has less than two strikes;

4. Is bunted foul;

5. Touches the batter as he strikes at it;

6. Touches the batter in flight in the strike zone; or

7. After being batted, travels directly from the bat to the catcher's hands and is legally caught by the catcher (foul tip).

Strike Zone: An area directly over home plate, from the bottom of the batter's kneecaps to the midpoint between the top of the batter's shoulders and the top of the batter's uniform pants. The action of a fielder in touching a base with his body while holding the ball, or touching a runner with the ball, or with his hand or glove while holding the ball.The act of propelling the ball toward a given objective, usually a teammate. A pitch is not a throw.The first half of an inning.A play in which the batter makes it safely to third base without stopping.A defensive play in which three offensive players are put out as a result of one action.The official who judges the legality of individual plays and who otherwise enforces the rules of the game.

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Baseball is a game played between two teams of nine players each. The game is divided into nine innings, each divided into two halves. In the top half of the inning, the players of one team successively come to bat and attempt to score runs, while the other team plays in the field and attempts to...

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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1.) What are microplastics? Microplastics and health. 

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1.) What are microplastics? Microplastics and health. 

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Was ist Mikroplastik? Mikroplastik und Gesundheit.

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Welcome to Britannica School, a safe, up-to-date, and age-appropriate information resource for Elementary, Middle, and High School.

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Microplastics effect living things and our environment.

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Microplastics effect living things and our environment.

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Was ist Mikroplastik?

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Abstract

Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic that result from the breakdown of larger plastic objects, such as water bottles, shopping bags, food containers, and many other types of waste. Microplastics can be as small as a bacterial cell or as big as a grain of rice. Microplastics exist in many different shapes: some are round and smooth while others are in the shape of fibers or fragments. Scientists have known about microplastics in nature since the 1970s, but lately they are finding these tiny plastics almost everywhere they look-in the air, lakes, rivers, oceans, on land, and even in remote places like Arctic lakes and snow! In this article, we will show you the hidden universe of microplastics, cool tools scientist use to analyze them, and show how you can do your own experiment to analyze microplastics from a nearby beach.

What are Microplastics and Where Do They Come From?

In the 1950s, a super strong and versatile new material was discovered. This material is known as plastic, and it is most often made from fossil fuels. It is more accurate to say "plastics" because there are many kinds of plastic. Since their discovery, plastics have been used worldwide for many things such as packaging, bottles, fishing nets, construction, medical equipment, tires, and even clothes ( Figures 1A, B).

Figure 1 - (A) Microplastics come from multiple sources, including tyres, soap tablets, plastic bags, synthetic clothes, paints, and maritime transportation.

(B) Examples of plastic products contaminating the environment. (C) Microplastics exist in various shapes (source of the image: own source, with icons from https://ian.umces.edu/media-library/ and some other from https://www.flaticon.es/).

Sometimes plastics end up in nature, usually because they are not thrown into the trash bin (or maybe there was no bin around to start with). Once in nature, interaction with sunlight causes plastic objects break down into smaller plastic particles called microplastics. Microplastics can be as small as 1 micrometer (invisible to human eye, the size of a bacterial cell) and as "big" as 5 millimeters (about 0.2 inches, slightly smaller than a grain of rice and visible to human eye) []. This breakdown happens to any type of plastic waste, such as drinking bottles, fishing nets, or birthday balloons. Additionally, tiny plastic fragments come from car and truck tires as they wear down from friction with the road surface. Rainfall transports these small tire particles into rivers that end up in ocean waters. Microplastics also come from our households. For example, when we wash our clothes, as many as 700,000 tiny microfibers can sneak out and find their way into the ocean through rivers []. All these tiny microplastics coming from various sources have different shapes ( Figure 1C), different colors, and are made from different types of plastic materials with names like polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Why Should We Care About Microplastics?

Microplastics are a global concern since they are released into nature, causing pollution of water, soil, and the atmosphere. Most microplastics are carried to the ocean by flooding, by rivers, and by windy weather. Scientists have found microplastics in many places like farmers' soils, deep ocean sediments, Arctic lakes, and even in snow. Some studies also report that animals, like birds, dolphins, and whales, also accidentally eat microplastics [].

Understanding how common microplastics are in nature is important for figuring out how harmful these tiny plastics are to us. Microplastics can have various effects on the human body. These tiny particles may enter the bloodstream, with some studies suggesting they may increase the risk of heart disease []. Additionally, certain chemicals associated with microplastics, such as bisphenol A and phthalates, might interact with our hormones. This interaction could influence factors like weight regulation and overall health [].

Cool Tools to Find and Study Microplastics

Detecting microplastics in nature, especially the really tiny ones, is not easy because they are not visible to the eyes. Scientists are like detectives trying to find microplastics in nature. They use various tools to extract microplastics from water, air, and soil to further study them []. Microscopy, especially using a powerful microscope called an electron microscope, helps to visually identify and measure tiny microplastics. Under different kind of microscope, microplastics stained with a dye called Nile red light up, making them easy to spot. Spectroscopy detects different microplastics by analyzing the light they reflect, helping to identify the type of plastic by its unique light "fingerprint". Chemical analysis can also be used to identify the chemical compounds each type of microplastic is made from. To do this, microplastics are heated in an oven and broken down into smaller compounds. The components move through a special tube at different rates, and, at the end, another scientific tool takes a "photo" of each component to figure out what it is made of. The name of this technique is pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Analysis using any of these cool tools is generally repeated multiple times, to check that the results are reliable and trustworthy. Scientists also use multiple methods to double-check their findings, ensuring they get the best information possible.

Adventure Time: Detecting Microplastics on the Beach

If you want to be an environmental detective and collect your own data about microplastics on the beach, you can! Just follow this simple procedure [ 6].

For collecting the samples, you will need the following materials ( Figure 2A):

Figure 2 - Materials needed for (A) the collection of your sample, and (B) the "laboratory" analysis of microplastics that you can perform.

(C) An example of a filter with microplastics obtained from a sample.

* A 50-cm ruler

* A metal spatula or spoon

* A glass or metal container

Go to the beach and follow these steps:

1. Mark a square of 50 × 50 cm on the sand with the spatula.

2. Scrape the area marked with the spatula, up to a depth of ~1 cm.

3. Collect all the sand and, with the spatula or spoon, place it in the glass or metal container.

When collecting samples, avoid using plastic tools. Instead, opt for glass or metal containers. Wear cotton clothes during the collection and analysis process.

For the analysis in your "lab" you will need the following material ( Figure 2B):

* The container with the sample you collected

* A scale

* A glass bottle with one liter of water

* 400 g of salt

* A metal sieve with the finest possible mesh you have (like the one in your kitchen). If you can, try to measure how big the holes in your sieve are (likely a few millimeters or so)

* A smartphone or a camera to take photographs

* A homemade filter paper that you can make by cutting a circle from a piece of paper

Here are the steps to follow for analyzing the microplastics in your sample:

1. Let the sand dry for 2-3 days, until it is completely dried. If the sample has some branches or leaves from plants, remove them with the spoon, very gently. Weigh the sample and write down the result in grams.

* Using the metal sieve, separate the sample into two parts (smaller and bigger than the mesh size of your sieve). You will only analyze the large particles. To analyze the small ones, you would need a microscope.

2. Mix 400 g of salt in 1 L of water. Mix it vigorously, shaking the bottle or stirring with a metal spoon. If there is a cap on the bottle, make sure it is metal, not plastic. If it is plastic, add aluminum foil between the cap and the bottle.

* After mixing, put your sample into the bottle of salty water.

* Mix vigorously again and leave this mixture for 24 h. The next day, very gently pour the upper part of the water (about 5 cm or 1.97 inches) through the same sieve again, this time with the paper filter positioned inside the sieve.

* Leave the filter paper to dry for another 24 h. You can use a magnifier to inspect what you have on the filter paper, or you could use your smartphone to take a photograph of the sample. If you want to be very precise, you could take a photo of the filter paper before filtering the water sample. This will help you to detect what came from the sample you filtered vs. what may have been stuck on the filter paper to start with.

3. Count the number of particles obtained. Many of them will be plastic particles ( Figure 2C).

Now you can do some scientific calculations:

To figure out the amount of microplastic pollution in your sample, divide the number of plastic particles obtained by the weight of the sample you wrote down at the beginning. This will give you microplastic particles number per gram of sand. Now you can compare the results for different sands and determine which sample has the highest number of MPs.

Any type of laboratory work like this requires an organized, clean workspace. When studying microplastics, you should never use plastic materials because they could add plastic to your sample. So, cotton clothes and latex gloves should be worn. All materials should be glass or metal.

Missing Pieces in the Microplastics Puzzle

While scientists have made amazing discoveries, there are still many missing pieces in the microplastics puzzle. Imagine trying to solve a puzzle with different-shaped pieces that do not quite fit together. That is a bit like how scientists face challenges with different ways of measuring microplastics. We need common rules or tools everyone can use. This way, we can all understand and compare findings better. Scientists worldwide, including our group of researchers, are teaming up through collaborative research networks called Cooperations of Science and Technology (COST). These groups bring together experts from different countries to work on specific challenges, like understanding microplastics! By sharing data and ideas, these collaborations on various topics ( Figure 3) supercharge our efforts in solving the microplastics puzzle [].

Figure 3 - Worldwide scientific efforts are being taken to solve the microplastics puzzle, to keep humans and our planet healthy.

Remember, every small action counts-whether it is reducing plastic use and recycling properly, supporting rules that encourage ecofriendly materials, improving filters in washing machines and wastewater plants, sharing knowledge, or sparking conversations about protecting our planet. By doing all these things together, we can make progress in solving the microplastics problem and help to keep our planet clean. Besides using fewer plastic products and disposing of them properly, one of the most important things you can do is to keep exploring and keep asking questions!

Glossary

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

This article is based upon work from COST Action CA20101 Plastics monitoring detectiOn RemedIaTion recovery-PRIORITY, supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology, https://www.cost.eu). MV acknowledges EU-funded project MS4Plastics (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020-Grant Agreement No. 101023205). IZ gratefully acknowledges the funding from projects SARASWATI 2, PLTKTARENG5, PLTKTARENG73, NANAQUA, and NEUTEN "Identifying best available technologies for decentralized wastewater treatment and resource recovery for India" and SLTKT20427 "Sewage sludge treatment from heavy metals, emerging pollutants and recovery of metals by fungi", by University of Tartu Development fund PLTKT ARENG5 and by project funded by EU Commission INTERREG "Improving quality of BSR waters by advanced treatment processes", " In-situ catalytic bioconversion of pharmaceutically active compounds in wastewater" by CELSA funding, "Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the wastewater treatment sector by autotrophic nitrogen removal as an alternative to heterotrophic processes" by EIC funding and by COST actions: CA20127, CA20138, CA22102, CA22110, CA22123, CA22162, CA22146. TS and JC were supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of the Spanish Government through Grant PID2021-123860OB-I00.

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Exploring the Tiny World of Microplastics in Your Own "Lab"

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Microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic that result from the breakdown of larger plastic objects, such as water bottles, shopping bags, food containers, and many other types of waste. Microplastics can be as small as a bacterial cell or as big as a grain of rice.

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Edpuzzle video lesson. Make any video your lesson. Take a video and crop it, add your voice or embed questions at any point.

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Sport Science- The physics of hitting a baseball

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Edpuzzle video lesson. Make any video your lesson. Take a video and crop it, add your voice or embed questions at any point.

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Game design is a part of our everyday life.

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Game design is a part of our everyday life.

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Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in the form of gamification. Game designer and developer Robert Zubek defines game design by breaking it down to its elements, which he says are the following:

Mechanics and systems, which are the rules and objects in the game

Gameplay, which is the interaction between the player and the mechanics and systems

Player experience, which is how users feel when they're playing the game

Games such as board games, card games, dice games, casino games, role-playing games, sports, video games, war games, or simulation games benefit from the principles of game design.

Academically, game design is part of game studies, while game theory studies strategic decision making (primarily in non-game situations). Games have historically inspired seminal research in the fields of probability, artificial intelligence, economics, and optimization theory. Applying game design to itself is a current research topic in metadesign.

Sports (see history of sports), gambling, and board games are known, respectively, to have existed for at least nine thousand, six thousand, and four thousand years.

Folk process

Tabletop games played today whose descent can be traced from ancient times include chess, go, pachisi, backgammon, mahjong, mancala, and pick-up sticks. The rules of these games were not codified until early modern times and their features gradually evolved and changed over time, through the folk process. Given this, these games are not considered to have had a designer or been the result of a design process in the modern sense.

After the rise of commercial game publishing in the late 19th century, many games that had formerly evolved via folk processes became commercial properties, often with custom scoring pads or preprepared material. For example, the similar public domain games Generala, Yacht, and Yatzy led to the commercial game Yahtzee in the mid-1950s.

Today, many commercial games, such as Taboo, Balderdash, Pictionary, or Time's Up!, are descended from traditional parlour games. Adapting traditional games to become commercial properties is an example of game design.

Similarly, many sports, such as soccer and baseball, are the result of folk processes, while others were designed, such as basketball, invented in 1891 by James Naismith.

Technological advances have provided new media for games throughout history.

The printing press allowed packs of playing cards, adapted from Mahjong tiles, to be mass-produced, leading to many new card games. Accurate topographic maps produced as lithographs and provided free to Prussian officers helped popularize wargaming. Cheap bookbinding (printed labels wrapped around cardboard) led to mass-produced board games with custom boards. Inexpensive (hollow) lead figurine casting contributed to the development of miniature wargaming. Cheap custom dice led to poker dice. Flying discs led to disc golf and Ultimate. Personal computers contributed to the popularity of computer games, leading to the wide availability of video game consoles and video games. Smart phones have led to a proliferation of mobile games.

The first games in a new medium are frequently adaptations of older games. Pong, one of the first widely disseminated video games, adapted table tennis. Later games will often exploit distinctive properties of a new medium. Adapting older games and creating original games for new media are both examples of game design.

Design elements

Games can be characterized by "what the player does" and what the player experiences. This is often referred to as gameplay. Major key elements identified in this context are tools and rules that define the overall context of game.

Tools of play

Games are often classified by the components required to play them (e.g. miniatures, a ball, cards, a board and pieces, or a computer). In places where the use of leather is well established, the ball has been a popular game piece throughout recorded history, resulting in a worldwide popularity of ball games such as rugby, basketball, football, cricket, tennis, and volleyball. Other tools are more idiosyncratic to a certain region. Many countries in Europe, for instance, have unique standard decks of playing cards. Other games such as chess may be traced primarily through the development and evolution of its game pieces.

Many game tools are tokens, meant to represent other things. A token may be a pawn on a board, play money, or an intangible item such as a point scored.

Games such as hide-and-seek or tag do not utilise any obvious tool; rather, their interactivity is defined by the environment. Games with the same or similar rules may have different gameplay if the environment is altered. For example, hide-and-seek in a school building differs from the same game in a park; an auto race can be radically different depending on the track or street course, even with the same cars.

Rule development

Whereas games are often characterized by their tools, they are often defined by their rules. While rules are subject to variations and changes, enough change in the rules usually results in a "new" game. There are exceptions to this in that some games deliberately involve the changing of their own rules, but even then there are often immutable meta-rules.

Rules generally determine turn order, the rights and responsibilities of the players, each player's goals, and how game components interact with each other to produce changes in a game's state. Player rights may include when they may spend resources or move tokens.

Victory conditions

Common win conditions are being first to amass a certain quota of points or tokens (as in Settlers of Catan), having the greatest number of tokens at the end of the game (as in Monopoly), some relationship of one's game tokens to those of one's opponent (as in chess's checkmate), or reaching a certain point in a storyline (as in most roleplay-games).

Single or multiplayer

Most games require multiple players. Single-player games are unique in respect to the type of challenges a player faces. Unlike a game with multiple players competing with or against each other to reach the game's goal, a single-player game is against an element of the environment, against one's own skills, against time, or against chance. This is also true of cooperative games, in which multiple players share a common goal and win or lose together.

Many games described as "single-player" or "cooperative" could alternatively be described as puzzles or recreations, in that they do not involve strategic behavior (as defined by game theory), in which the expected reaction of an opponent to a possible move becomes a factor in choosing which move to make.

Games against opponents simulated with artificial intelligence differ from other single-player games in that the algorithms used usually do incorporate strategic behavior.

Storyline and plot

Stories told in games may focus on narrative elements that can be communicated through the use of mechanics and player choice. Narrative plots in games generally have a clearly defined and simplistic structure. Mechanical choices on the part of the designer(s) often drastically effect narrative elements in the game. However, due to a lack of unified and standardized teaching and understanding of narrative elements in games, individual interpretations, methods, and terminology vary wildly. Because of this, most narrative elements in games are created unconsciously and intuitively. However, as a general rule, game narratives increase in complexity and scale as player choice or game mechanics increase in complexity and scale. One example of this is removing a players ability to directly affect the plot for a limited time. This lack of player choice necessitates an increase in mechanical complexity, and could be used as a metaphor to symbolize depression that is felt by a character in the narrative.

Luck and strategy

A game's tools and rules will result in its requiring skill, strategy, luck, or a combination thereof, and are classified accordingly.

Games of skill include games of physical skill, such as wrestling, tug of war, hopscotch, target shooting, and horseshoes, and games of mental skill such as checkers and chess. Games of strategy include checkers, chess, go, arimaa, and tic-tac-toe, and often require special equipment to play them. Games of chance include gambling games ( blackjack, mah-jongg, roulette, etc.), as well as snakes and ladders and rock, paper, scissors; most require equipment such as cards or dice.

Most games contain two or all three of these elements. For example, American football and baseball involve both physical skill and strategy while tiddlywinks, poker, and Monopoly combine strategy and chance. Many card and board games combine all three; most trick-taking games involve mental skill, strategy, and an element of chance, as do many strategic board games such as Risk, Settlers of Catan, and Carcassonne.

Use as educational tool

By learning through play children can develop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain the self-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments. Key ways that young children learn include playing, being with other people, being active, exploring and new experiences, talking to themselves, communication with others, meeting physical and mental challenges, being shown how to do new things, practicing and repeating skills and having fun.

Play develops children's content knowledge and provides children the opportunity to develop social skills, competences and disposition to learn. Play-based learning is based on a Vygotskian model of scaffolding where the teacher pays attention on specific elements of the play activity and provides encouragement and feedback on children's learning. When children engage in real-life and imaginary activities, play can be challenging in children's thinking. To extend the learning process, sensitive intervention can be provided with adult support when necessary during play-based learning.

Development process

Game design is part of a game's development from concept to its final form. Typically, the development process is an iterative process, with repeated phases of testing and revision. During revision, additional design or re-design may be needed.

Development team

Game designer

A game designer (or inventor) is the person who invents a game's concept, its central mechanisms, and its rules.

Often, the game designer also invents the game's title and, if the game isn't abstract, its theme. Sometimes these activities are done by the game publisher, not the designer, or may be dictated by a licensed property (such as when designing a game based on a film).

Game developer

A game developer is the person who fleshes out the details of a game's design, oversees its testing, and revises the game in response to player feedback.

Often the game designer is also its developer, although some publishers do extensive development of games to suit their particular target audience after licensing a game from a designer. For larger games, such as collectible card games and most video games, a team is used and the designer and developer roles are usually split among multiple people.

Game artist

A game artist is an artist who creates art for one or more types of games.

Many graphic elements of games are created by the designer when producing a prototype of the game, revised by the developer based on testing, and then further refined by the artist and combined with artwork as a game is prepared for publication or release.

For video games, game artists are responsible for all of the aspects of game development that call for visual art. Game artists are often vital to and credited in role-playing games, collectible card games and video games.

A game concept is an idea for a game, briefly describing its core play mechanisms, who the players represent, and how they win or lose.

A game concept may be "pitched" to a game publisher in a similar manner as film ideas are pitched to potential film producers. Alternatively, game publishers holding a game license to intellectual property in other media may solicit game concepts from several designers before picking one to design a game, typically paying the designer in advance against future royalties.

During design, a game concept is fleshed out. Mechanisms are specified in terms of components (boards, cards, on-screen entities, etc.) and rules. The play sequence and possible player actions are defined, as well as how the game starts, ends, and what is its winning condition. In video games, storyboards and screen mockups may be created.

A game prototype is a draft version of a game used for testing. Typically, creating a prototype marks the shift from game design to game development and testing. Although prototyping in regards to human-computer interaction and interaction design are both studied, the use of prototyping in game design has remained relatively unexplored. It's known that game design has clear benefits from prototyping, such as exploring new game design possibilities and technologies, the field of game design has different characteristics than other types of software industries that considers prototyping in game design in a different category and need a new perspective

Game testing is a major part of game development. During testing, players play the game and provide feedback on its gameplay, the usability of its components or screen elements, the clarity of its goals and rules, ease of learning, and enjoyment to the game developer. The developer then revises the design, its components, presentation, and rules before testing it again. Later testing may take place with focus groups to test consumer reactions before publication.

During testing, various balance issues may be identified, requiring changes to the game's design.

Video game testing is a software testing process for quality control of video games. The primary function of game testing is the discovery and documentation of software defects (aka bugs). Interactive entertainment software testing is a highly technical field requiring computing expertise, analytic competence, critical evaluation skills, and endurance.

Different types of games pose different game design issues.

Board games

Board game design is the development of rules and presentational aspects of a board game. When a player takes part in a game, it is the player's self-subjection to the rules that creates a sense of purpose for the duration of the game. Maintaining the players' interest throughout the gameplay experience is the goal of board game design. To achieve this, board game designers emphasize different aspects such as social interaction, strategy, and competition, and target players of differing needs by providing for short versus long-play, and luck versus skill. Beyond this, board game design reflects the culture in which the board game is produced.

The most ancient board games known today are over 5000 years old. They are frequently abstract in character and their design is primarily focused on a core set of simple rules. Of those that are still played today, games like go (c.400BC), mancala (c.700AD), and chess (c.600AD) have gone through many presentational and/or rule variations. In the case of chess, for example, new variants are developed constantly, to focus on certain aspects of the game, or just for variation's sake.

Traditional board games date from the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Whereas ancient board game design was primarily focused on rules alone, traditional board games were often influenced by Victorian mores. Academic (e.g. history and geography) and moral didacticism were important design features for traditional games, and Puritan associations between dice and the Devil meant that early American game designers eschewed their use in board games entirely. Even traditional games that did use dice, like (based on the 1906 The Landlord's Game), were rooted in educational efforts to explain political concepts to the masses. By the 1930s and 1940s, board game design began to emphasize amusement over education, and characters from comic strips, radio programmes, and (in the 1950s) television shows began to be featured in board game adaptations.

Recent developments in modern board game design can be traced to the 1980s in Germany, and have led to increased popularity of "German-style board games" (also known as "Eurogames" or "designer games"). The design emphasis of these board games is to give players meaningful choices. This is manifested by eliminating elements like randomness and luck to be replaced by skill, strategy, and resource competition, by removing the potential for players to fall irreversibly behind in the early stages of a game, and by reducing the number of rules and possible player options to produce what Alan R. Moon has described as "elegant game design". The concept of elegant game design has been identified by The Boston Globe's Leon Neyfakh as related to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept of " flow" from his 1990 book, "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience".

Modern technological advances have had a democratizing effect on board game production, with services like Kickstarter providing designers with essential startup capital and tools like 3D printers facilitating the production of game pieces and board game prototypes. A modern adaptation of figure games are miniature wargames like Warhammer 40,000.

Card games include games with cards that are custom-tailored to the game, as in many modern games, as well as those whose design is constricted by the type of the deck of cards, like Tarot or the four-suited Latin decks. Card games can be played for fun, such as Go Fish, or as gambling games, such as Poker.

In Asian cultures, special sets of tiles can serve the same function as cards, as in mahjong, a game similar to (and thought to be the distant ancestor of) the Western card game rummy. Western dominoes games are believed to have developed from Asian tile games in the 18th century.

Magic: The Gathering was the first collectible card game (or "trading card game") in 1993.

The line between card and board games is not clear-cut, as many card games, such as solitaire, involve playing cards to form a "tableau", a spatial layout or board. Many board games, in turn, uses specialized cards to provide random events, such as the Chance cards of Monopoly (game), or as the central mechanism driving play, as in many card-driven wargames.

As cards are typically shuffled and revealed gradually during play, most card games involve randomness, either initially or during play, and hidden information, such as the cards in a player's hand. This is in contrast to many board games, in which most of the game's current state is visible to all participants, even though players may also have a small amount of private information, such as the letter tiles on each player's rack during Scrabble.

How players play their cards, revealing information and interacting with previous plays as they do so, is central to card game design. In partnership card games, such as Bridge, rules limiting communication between players on the same team become an important part of the game design. This idea of limited communication has been extended to cooperative card games, such as Hanabi.

Dice games are among the oldest known games and have often been associated with gambling. Non-gambling dice games, such as Yatzy, Poker dice, or Yahtzee became popular in the mid-20th century.

The line between dice and board games is not clear-cut, as dice are often used as randomization devices in board games, such as Monopoly or Risk, while serving as the central drivers of play in games such as Backgammon or Pachisi.

Dice games differ from card games in that each throw of the dice is an independent event, whereas the odds of a given card being drawn is affected by all the previous cards drawn or revealed from a deck. Dice game design often centers around forming scoring combinations and managing re-rolls, either by limiting their number, as in Yahtzee, or by introducing a press-your-luck element, as in Can't Stop.

Role-playing games

The design of role-playing games requires the establishment of setting, characters, and basic gameplay rules or mechanics. After a role-playing game is produced, additional design elements are often devised by the players themselves. In many instances, for example, character creation is left to the players. Likewise, the progression of a role-playing game is determined in large part by the gamemaster whose individual campaign design may be directed by one of several role-playing game theories.

There is no central core for tabletop role-playing game theory because different people want such different things out of the games. Probably the most famous category of RPG theory, GNS Theory assumes that people want one of three things out of the game - a better, more interestingly challenging game, to create a more interesting story, or a better simulation - in other words better rules to support worldbuilding. GNS Theory has been abandoned by its creator, partly because it neglects emotional investment, and partly because it just didn't work properly. There are techniques that people use (such as dice pools) to better create the game they want - but with no consistent goal or agreement for what makes for a good game there's no overarching theory generally agreed on.

Video games

Video game design is a process that takes place in the pre-production phase of video game development. In the video game industry, game design describes the creation of the content and rules of a video game. The goal of this process for the game designer is to provide players with the opportunity to make meaningful decisions in relation to playing the game. Elements of video game design such as the establishment of fundamental gameplay rules provide a framework within which players will operate, while the addition of narrative structures provide players with a reason to care about playing the game. To establish the rules and narrative, an internally consistent game world is created, requiring visual, audio, and programming development for world, character, and level design. The amount of work that is required to accomplish this often demands the use of a design team which may be divided into smaller game design disciplines. In order to maintain internal consistency between the teams, a specialized software design document known as a "game design document" (and sometimes an even broader scope "game bible" document) provides overall contextual guidance on ambient mood, appropriate tone, and other less tangible aspects of the game world.

Important aspects of video game design are human-computer interaction and game feel.

The first military war games, or Kriegsspiel, were designed in Prussia in the 19th century to train staff officers. They are also played as a hobby for entertainment.

Modern war games are designed to test doctrines, strategies and tactics in full scale exercises with opposing forces at venues like the NTC, JRTC and the JMRC, involving NATO countries.

Images for kids

All casino games are designed to mathematically favor the house. The house edge for a slot machine can range widely between 2 and 15 percent.

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Game design is the art of applying design and aesthetics to create a game for entertainment or for educational, exercise, or experimental purposes. Increasingly, elements and principles of game design are also applied to other interactions, in the form of gamification.

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Overfishing affects marine life and we have a responsibility to use marine resources wisely.

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Overfishing affects marine life and we have a responsibility to use marine resources wisely.

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Human behaviour can have a positive or negative effect on animals.   

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Human behaviour can have a positive or negative effect on animals.   

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People have responsibility to care for their pet’s health. 

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People have responsibility to care for their pet’s health. 

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1.) What human behavior affects whales? How do people affect whales? 

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1.) What human behavior affects whales? How do people affect whales? 

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How does marine noise pollution affect whales and dolphins?

Water is a much denser medium than air, presenting a range of challenges that terrestrial organisms don't have to face. This has forced underwater life to adapt their senses to take advantage of the different properties of the marine environment.

Compared to life on land, sight is less important as a sense because light is quickly absorbed by water meaning that below 100 metres 99% of all light entering the water has been absorbed. This has led to marine organisms developing their other senses, of which sound is one of the most important.

As water molecules are clustered more tightly together than the gases in air, sound can travel more rapidly and over greater distances. Whales and dolphins in particular make use of this feature for echolocation and vocal communication.

Some species, such as the humpback whale, can produce calls that can be heard hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from the whale which made them. While these calls can reach volumes of over 180 decibels, louder than a jet taking off, they are directed away from the body and are only temporary.

This is unlike anthropogenic noise pollution. Chronic sounds, such as the noise of a super tanker cargo vessel as it moves through the ocean, can last for over an hour and reach volumes of up to 200 decibels.

'Noise pollution is everywhere, but it's something of a hidden polluter as it's not necessarily that obvious to us,' Richard explains. 'While we're used to living with background noise, it's not that simple for cetaceans and many other marine organisms.'

'Sound is absolutely critical for many of these species, and so it presents a massive problem for them. It affects almost everything they do, because the use of sound has become such an important sense for these species that has been developed over millions of years.'

Anthropogenic noise can change a whale's behaviour, such as causing the marine mammals to feed less or to produce fewer calls. Shipping noise also cause whales to become stressed, with the build-up of stress related chemicals linked to growth suppression, lower fertility and poor immune system function.

Acute noise pollution can prove even more damaging. Military sonar can reach volumes of more than 200 decibels, while seismic air guns can reach up to 250 decibels - louder than the largest rocket ever built taking off.

At this level, the force of the vibrations is enough to kill zooplankton, with the number of dead plankton tripling within the surrounding kilometre of ocean. While larger animals are not killed directly by the sound waves, anti-submarine sonar has been linked to whale deaths caused by strandings and decompression sickness, which is caused by the animals surfacing too quickly.

The recent study reveals how cetaceans are affected in the moments immediately after a high-intensity sound burst.

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Underwater noise pollution is risking the lives of whales and dolphins

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Loud sound bursts throwing cetaceans out of balance and risk their health, amid growing concern over the impacts of anthropogenic noise pollution.

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3.) in what way is the mood of the dance influenced by music ?How does the dance impact the audience?

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2.) What is the effect of humans on whales? What causes whale behavior to change?

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US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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A hydrophone is an underwater device that measures ocean sounds from all directions.

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2.) What is the effect of humans on whales? What causes whale behavior to change?

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Rap music is a way of expressing your feelings (or life). 

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Class code: swd2140

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