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回顧星期天LBS - 玩具相關時事趣聞 All about toys

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Topic: Traditional Toys May Beat Gadgets in Language Development

嬰兒筆電,嬰兒手機,交談農場,這些都是當前推出快速又先進的玩具,許多被當成激發嬰兒語言技能的工具行銷。

Baby laptops, baby cellphones, talking farms — these are the whirring, whiz-bang toys of the moment, many of them marketed as tools to encourage babies' language skills.

不過,新研究報告質疑這類電子玩具是否會使嬰兒跟父母的口頭交流減少,這種交流對認知發展極其重要。

But a new study raises questions about whether such electronic playthings make it less likely that babies will engage in the verbal give-and-take with their parents that is so crucial to cognitive development.

發表於「美國醫學會小兒科學期刊」的該研究報告發現,嬰兒與父母玩廣告中特別宣傳能促進語言發展的電子玩具時,父母說話及對嬰兒發聲的回應,要比玩傳統玩具如積木或閱讀硬頁書時來得少。嬰兒玩電子玩具時發聲也較少。

The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, found that when babies and parents played with electronic toys that are specifically advertised as language-promoters, parents spoke less and responded less to baby babbling than when they played with traditional toys like blocks or read board books. Babies also vocalized less when playing with electronic toys.

帶領研究的弗拉格斯塔夫北亞利桑納大學傳播科學與溝通障礙副教授安娜.索沙說:「我的直覺是,他們讓嬰兒跟玩具互動,自己退居一邊。」

"My hunch is that they were letting the baby interact with the toy and they were on the sidelines," said Anna V. Sosa, an associate professor of communications science and disorders at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, who led the study.

這項研究建立在日漸增多的一些研究結果之上,既有結果顯示電子玩具和電子書可能使父母較少與小孩進行最有意義類型的口語交流。

天普大學心理學教授凱西.赫許帕塞克說:「當使用這類工具與裝置時,父母們就會閉口。你做的是更多行為規範,像是『別碰那』或『做這個』,甚至啥也不做,因為電子書與玩具已代勞了。」赫許帕塞克未參加上述研究,但此前對電子書跟電子形狀分類盒的研究有類似發現。

The study builds on a growing body of research suggesting that electronic toys and e-books can make parents less likely to have the most meaningful kinds of verbal exchanges with their children.

"When you put the gadgets and gizmos in, the parents stop talking," said Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University who was not involved in the new study, but who has found similar effects with e-books and electronic shape-sorters. "What you get is more behavioral regulation stuff, like 'don't touch that' or 'do this,' or nothing because the books and toys take it over for you."

她並補充道:「玩玩具應是玩具只占10%,90%由小孩做主,許多這些電子玩具卻是玩具占了90%以上,小孩只能補白。」

索沙說,她對結果感到驚訝。她原本預期一些父母嬰兒組玩某種玩具時說話較多,而其他組則是在玩另種玩具時說較多話。

She added, "A toy should be 10 percent toy and 90 percent child, and with a lot of these electronic toys the toy takes over 90 percent and the child just fills in the blank."

Sosa said she was surprised by the results. She had expected some parent-baby pairs would talk more with one type of toy, while others would talk more with another.

然而,結果卻幾乎一致。玩電子玩具時父母平均每分鐘說40字,少於玩傳統玩具的56字,及讀書時的67字。

But the results were consistent almost across the board. When electronic toys were being used, parents said about 40 words per minute, on average, compared with 56 words per minute for traditional toys and 67 words per minute with books.

這是個小型研究,共26個家庭參與,多為受過良好教育的白人家庭。因此研究人員說,若以更大、更多樣化的群體為研究對象,結果可能不同,但這個研究仍值得注意,因為它盡力捕捉現實世界中無研究人員觀看下的居家親子遊戲時間。

The study was small — 26 families — and most were white and educated. So the researchers say the results might be different with a larger and more diverse group. But the study is notable because it sought to capture real world parent-child playtime in their homes without researchers watching.

Source article: https://paper.udn.com/udnpaper/POH0067/292769/web/

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Topic: Boffin Barbie- toy creator honors vaccine co-creator

Toy giant Mattel said Wednesday last week it hoped to “inspire the next generation” after creating a model of its iconic Barbie doll in honor of Sarah Gilbert, co-creator of the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.

玩具大廠美泰兒公司上週三表示,為表彰牛津/阿斯捷利康冠狀病毒疫苗之共同發明人莎拉‧吉伯特,該公司為其著名產品芭比娃娃開發了新款,希望能「鼓舞下一代」。

Gilbert said she found the news “very strange” but hoped “children who see my Barbie will realize how vital careers in science are to help the world around us.”

吉伯特聽聞此消息,說她覺得「挺怪的」,但希望「看到我的芭比娃娃的孩子們會了解,科學職業對幫助我們周遭的世界是多麼重要」。

“My wish is that my doll will show children careers they may not be aware of, like a vaccinologist.”

The toy company created models in honor of five other women in the sciences: US healthcare workers Amy O’Sullivan and Audrey Cruz, Canadian campaigner Chika Stacy Oriuwa, Brazilian researcher Jaqueline Goes de Jesus and Australian medic Kirby White.

「希望我的玩偶會向孩子們展示他們可能不知道的職業,比如說疫苗學家」。

這家玩具公司也設計了其他款式,來表彰五位科學界的女性:美國醫護人員艾米‧奧沙利文及奧黛莉‧克魯茲、加拿大活動人士奇卡‧史岱西‧奧里瓦、巴西研究人員賈克琳‧戈耶思‧德‧杰索斯,以及澳洲醫師克兒比‧懷特。

“Barbie recognizes that all frontline workers have made tremendous sacrifices when confronting the pandemic and the challenges it heightened,” said Lisa McKnight, senior vice president of Barbie and dolls at Mattel.

美泰兒公司芭比娃娃及玩偶部門高級副總裁麗莎‧麥克奈特表示:「芭比肯定所有前線工作人員,在面對疫情大流行及加劇的挑戰時,都做出了巨大犧牲」。

“To shine a light on their efforts, we are sharing their stories and leveraging Barbie’s platform to inspire the next generation to take after these heroes and give back.”

“Our hope is to nurture and ignite the imaginations of children playing out their own storyline as heroes.”

「為彰顯其努力,我們分享他們的故事,並利用芭比娃娃這平台,來激勵下一代追隨這些英雄並做出回饋」。「我們希望培養及點燃孩子的想像力,讓他們在遊戲扮演角色時,有自己的英雄故事」。Source article: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2021/08/09/2003762257

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Topic: Giant Japanese robot spurs hopes for tourism after virus hit 受病毒衝擊後 巨大的日本機器人為觀光業燃起希望

An 18-metre “Gundam” robot that can walk and move its arms was unveiled in Japan on Monday amid hopes that it will help invigorate tourism hit by COVID-19.

一個18公尺、可以走動及移動手臂的「鋼彈」機器人週一在日本亮相,希望它能幫忙振興受到2019冠狀病毒疾病衝擊的觀光業。

The robot is modelled after a figure in “Mobile Suit Gundam”, a Japanese cartoon first launched in the late 1970s about enormous battle robots piloted by humans. The series spawned multiple spin-offs and toys and gained a worldwide following.

這個機器人仿照「機動戰士鋼彈」其中一款打造,這部日本卡通於1970年代晚期首度發表,描述了由人類操控之大型戰鬥機器人。一系列漫畫催生出多項衍生產品與玩具,並獲得全球關注。

It will be the centrepiece of the Gundam Factory Yokohama, a tourist attraction that opens on Dec. 19 in the port city.

它將是12月19日於橫濱這個港市開張的觀光景點「橫濱鋼彈工廠」最引人入勝的核心。

“I hope this will lead to stimulating tourism demand and revitalising local areas,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told a news conference.

內閣官房長官加藤勝信在記者會說,「我希望這會帶動刺激觀光需求並振興當地。」

Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1417730