This week, we?re taking a look at one of 3DS?s first big successes. This entry in the much-loved karting series retains all the shell flinging, banana dropping pandemonium that has made the games so popular. This is a given, of course, but there have also been some tweaks and new additions to prevent any stagnation of this magic formula.
My favourite of these is the concept of kart customisation. After selecting a character, you will move on to a garage of sorts. Here, you create your vehicle by choosing a kart body, set of wheels, and a glider. You start the game with a small selection of these, earning more options by collecting the coins that have returned to the racetracks. There isn?t an extensive range on offer, but certainly enough for some experimentation. As ever, the racers are divided into weight classes, which have a natural effect on their statistics. With the customisation mechanic, you can enhance these abilities, or offset weaknesses. All in all, this is a great way to inject a subtle layer of strategy to proceedings.
The tracks themselves have undergone changes too. Gliding sections and underwater sections make their much-publicised debut. When passing over a special type of turbo pad, your glider will emerge. You?ll float back down to earth, adjusting your descent as you go for extra speed. Diving underwater, meanwhile, sprouts a small propeller from the back of your kart. The action slows a little in this state, but not so much as to be jarring for the player. Both of these changes begin and end automatically, and hardly prove to be the intrusive misstep some feared. Indeed, one of my highlights of the game comes from gliding around some of the new tracks. Control feels great here, and some of the visuals from on high are a treat. Providing, of course, that you get a second to enjoy the scenery. This is particularly apparent in Rainbow Road.
The online system is quite impressive too, for Nintendo?s tentative approach. It?s based on Mario Kart Wii?s system, with a great degree of extra connectivity and functionality. There are time trial ghosts from around the world to compete against, with a full complement of seven at once available. Also, a streetpass encounter with another player enables you to later join their online races effortlessly. Such improvements are great to see in a series like this, where the majority of players will spend most of their time online. I?m hoping for further refinements in the inevitable Wii U installment.
As a long-time fan of the series, I preferred Mario Kart 7 to any of the previous entries. The core gameplay is as enjoyable as ever. The new air and sea mechanics fit seamlessly into the experience. Furthermore, these two factors are backed up by some great new tracks and returning favourites. I do share some player?s gripes about the cast of unlockable characters, but with a polished package like this it seems churlish to let such a minor issue mar the experience.
Hollywood has always had its fingers on the pulse of popular culture, so when video games began to blossom during the ?80s, Tinseltown saw an opportunity to expand. Within a few years, the gaming market was awash with titles featuring A-list actors, iconic athletes, and all manner of celebrity in-between. It?s hard to imagine a time when star-power had such sway in video games, especially when you consider that the concept of celebrity has devolved over the past decade into anyone who?s willing to share their messy existence of a life in front of a Bravo TV camera. The number of actors, musicians and athletes who lent their likenesses to video games throughout the ?90s is absolutely staggering. There?s no way we could go through all the instances where the player could interact with a celebrity, so we narrowed the list down to a select few games that represent the vast scope of this strange trend.
Actors
Privateer 2: The Darkening - PC ?96
In all honesty, this list could?ve been populated purely by installments of Wing Commander, but for the sake of our collective sanity, I?ve pared it down to arguably the most star-studded entry in the series. 1996?s Privateer 2: The Darkening starred a fresh Clive Owen long before his fortune turned around with roles in Sin City and Children of Men. It also featured the talents of fabled thespian John Hurt, who won an Oscar for his work in The Elephant Man as well as the my personal award for Best Cinematic Death in Alien. While his role as a deranged bartender may have been slightly below his pay grade, you can?t help but notice how much fun he was having the whole time. But throughout the years, Privateer 2 has become synonymous with one name in general. Christopher Walken lends his strangely hypnotic talents to the game, and in typical Walken fashion, seems very confused with his presence in the universe. Walken is one of those actors who?s such an iconic figure, that his mere presence in a role pulls the audience out of the experience and causes them to focus on the strange and unnatural world that is his life.
Apocalypse - PSX ?98
It really seems like Apocalypse was originally conceived as a film, but ultimately transformed into a piece of interactive entertainment. The 1998 PSX title famously plastered Bruce Willis? name and mug on every single piece of promotional art imaginable. The action icon lent his voice and likeness as Trey Kincaid, a wise-cracking meat-head who just so happens to be the only thing that stands between us and armageddon. If you look past the clunky action and dated visuals, you?ll find an interesting piece of video game history that featured one of the strongest attempts by Hollywood to create a game that was cinematic not from a mechanical perspective, but rather in terms of how the product was marketed. The phrase ?Starring Bruce Willis? accompanied the title whenever it was mentioned. While the game itself is sadly forgettable, its legacy lives on in the fact that developer Neversoft?s next project would be the immensely popular Tony Hawk?s Pro Skater.
Musicians
Revolution X ? Arcade ?94
It might?ve taken them nearly 25 years to reach the peak of their popularity, but Aerosmith was smart to capitalize outside the world of music while on this precipice. One of these non-musical ventures was Revolution X, an arcade light gun shooter that later got ported to most home consoles of the mid-?90s. The game presented a dystopian future where the world government declared war on this planet?s unfortunate youth. Lucky for us youngins, Steven Tyler and friends were on hand to lend their support during our uprising. Most of the band was nearing their 50s by the time the game was released, which makes me question which side of this conflict they would really support. The game culminated in a final battle at London?s legendary Wembley Stadium ? why the war ended here was never quite explained, but many theorize that Aerosmith was still bitter over being snubbed from 1985?s Live Aid. Still, no matter how cheesy the idea of an aging rock band leading a Gen-X revolution is, Aerosmith can still rest easy knowing that they were never subjected to a Make My Video title for Sega CD; Mark Wahlberg is still trying to live that one down.
Find similar article at: http://www.1up.com/news/hollywood-video-game-invasion-90s
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10 hrs.
Sean Fallon, Nerd Approved
Chances are, you recently saw a video of a man who appeared to fly using a contraption that allowed to him to flap his wings like a bird. That video turned out to be a hoax, but there are definitely some real flying machines out there that are just as crazy.
Giant paper airplane Tucson?s Pima Air and Space Museum created this massive Arturo Desert paper airplane, which weighs 800 pounds and has a wingspan of 24 feet. Recently, the plane was hauled by a helicopter to an altitude of about 4,000 feet before being released ? resulting in a six-second flight that reached speeds of 98 mph. No word yet on whether or not the military plans to weaponize it as a means of inflicting catastrophic papercuts on enemy forces. Cubiclebot
Back to the Future flying DeLorean YouTuber native118 created this awesome custom-built flying quadrocopter modeled after Doc Brown?s DeLorean from "Back to the Future." Besides sporting LED lighting effects and intricate detail right down to a tiny Mr. Fusion, the model features stabilization control powered by MultiWii, a HobbyKing 12A BlueSeries speed controller, and Turnigy 2204-14T motors. Unfortunately, this isn't a commercial product, so you won't be able to send your action figures back in time on a mission to tell your mom not to throw away all of your original Star Wars toys. Nerd Approved
Hoverbike Australian Chris Malloy has made himself an actual hoverbike that he claims can achieve speeds of 173 mph and altitudes in excess of 10,000 feet. Of course, the prototype falls a bit short of that mark, having only gone so far as to hover 3 feet while tethered to the ground. So don't expect to be blazing through the forests of Endor anytime soon ??or, as Malloy suggests, using it for "aerial cattle mustering." Still, I have confidence that flying cowboys will one day roam the plains. Hoverbike via Nerd Approved
Tacocopter The company behind the Tacocopter has a simple dream ??to allow customers to order tacos via their smart phone, and have said tacos delivered via an unmanned drone helicopter. But before you get excited about the prospect of flying tacos delivered straight to your door, the plan has a few major obstacles to overcome. For one thing, the government does not currently allow UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) to be used for commercial purposes. In addition, there would be a number of logistical hurdles, including avoiding birds, balconies, telephone wires, delivering food to people indoors, delivering food to the right person and protecting the Tacocopters from being attacked by animals and hungry, impoverished college students. Tacocopter via That's Nerdalicious
Remote-controlled flying shark Needless to say, the lifeguards at your beach are completely unprepared to handle a predator of this magnitude. The flying shark is the deadliest creature on land and sea and air. And you can purchase one to do your evil bidding for only $99.?Nitroplanes
More craziness from Nerd Approved:
e-volo multicopter It looks like something straight out of the margins of one of da Vinci's notebooks, but this German-designed e-volo multicopter is touted as the possible future of flight?? a device that can be piloted "as simple as a car." ?The aircraft is equipped with 16 tiny propellers driven by independent electric motors, and the lithium batteries would allow for 10 to 30 minutes of flight depending on payload and battery capacity ??expending roughly $10 worth of electricity in the process. It's also purported to be fairly safe, and can land even if four of its motors fail. There's also an option of installing a safety parachute. ?e-volo via Nerd Approved
Breakthrough Quadrocopter Mark Cutler and Jonathan P. Howe have developed the first quadrotor drone with variable-pitch propellers, making it possible to do all kinds of aggressive acrobatics. Full-size helicopters have this capability, too, but are not able to match this kind of precise performance. That is, unless you have a pilot with a ridiculous amount of skill. The real action in the video begins at around 1:20.? Hack A Day
Flyboard jetpack We seen all kinds of jetpacks in the past, but not one that essentially turns you into human dolphin. On this jetpack, the engines are attached to your feet with a steering mechanism on your hands Iron Man style ??making it possible to perform crazy maneuvers like diving in and out of the water. But the best news is that you won't need Tony Stark money to enjoy it as the basic Flyboard will set you back around $6600. Zapata Racing
RC superheroes Earlier this year, in order to promote the superhero flick "Chronicle," 20th Century Fox teamed up with viral advertising firm Thinkmodo and launched three human-shaped RC aircraft into the skies in an attempt to troll NYC. In the end, though, witnesses to the event probably thought immediately about the Superman reboot (or preparing for an alien invasion). Still, it's a clever idea. Nerd Approved
Terrafugia Flying Car In the never-ending quest to develop a flying car, we have resorted to folding up an airplane until it becomes street legal. Still, the Terrafugia Transition has been approved by the FAA (with a special exemption) and pre-orders are currently being accepted. In order to pilot one, you'll need $279,000 and 20 hours of flying time to get your light sport aircraft license. It also has no airbags, crumple zones or roll cage ??no safety features in general. What could go wrong? Terrafugia via CubicleBot
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Decatur?s Bhojanic Restaurant has announced plans for expansion to Buckhead.?Bhojanic is known for its home-style Northern Indian cuisine.
Owner Archna Becker will open the second Bhojanic location this summer at the Shops Around Lenox. In a press release, Becker explained the location, ??Buckhead has always been a great market for our customers and we are looking forward to being closer to them with an exciting new project.?
This new 135 seat spot is being designed by ASD, who has designed spaces for Cypress Street Pint & Plate and Lobby and Room at Twelve. It will feature a full bar, outdoor seating and a private event area.
Becker also announced that Charles Marvil will join the team as Director of Operations. Marvil has worked with Prime, Woodfire Grill and both Atlanta Ritz-Carlton locations.
The Buckhead location will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
John Fisher probably figured he'd gotten away with inappropriately touching that 10-year old girl. That is, until police showed him the photos his victim took of him mid-molestation on her Nintendo DS. More »
As spring fever hits and productivity plummets due to March Madness, you can be on the winning team by staying focused when others aren?t. Here is our biggest carnival yet!
Portfolio Management
Tim at Faith and Finance give us ?5 Business Lessons Learned from Monopoly?. Monopoly is good family fun and all, but it?s also a crash course in business. Here are 5 business takeaways you can learn from the old game Monopoly.
Miranda at Investor Junkie presents ?7 Great Apps from Online Brokers?. If you have a mobile device, you can trade from wherever you are?as long as you have access to your online brokers.
Kurt Fischer at Money Counselor writes ?Retire Stock-Less? Blasphemy!?. The conventional wisdom has become that a secure retirement requires investing in stocks. But do small investors understand the risks of owning equities?
J.P. at Novel Investor submitted ?Beware: ETFs Should Come With a Warning Label?. The continued growth of ETFs isn?t going to stop anytime soon. Now anyone can be a trader for a day and the growing number of exotic and specialized ETFs just makes it easier. Therein lies the dilemma.
Darrow Kirkpatrick at Can I Retire Yet? Presents ?Is Rebalancing the Achilles Heel of Passive Investing?? Rebalancing ? periodically adjusting your asset allocation towards some predefined target ? may be the weak link in passive investing. ?
Risk Management
Roger Wohlner at Chicago Financial Planner submitted ?Risk, Reward, and Payton Manning?. Peyton Manning is a certain Hall of Famer and undoubtedly one of the true ?class acts? in the world of professional sports. The decision by the Colts to release him and the sweepstakes to sign him by a reported 12 NFL teams provides some great examples of assessing risk and reward that are applicable to investing as well.
Asset Allocation and Diversification
Dan at High Yield Edge gives us ?401(k) Annuities as a New Retirement Option?. The administration just loosened rules for new 401(k) annuity options for workers. Check out the rules, pros and cons, and how this may be used to supplement your retirement.
Specific Investment Ideas
Dividend Growth Investor submitted ?Dividend Achievers Additions for 2012?. The new additions to the Dividend Achievers Index were announced a few weeks ago by Mergent. Dividend achievers are US companies with at least ten consecutive years of increasing regular dividends.
Dan at ETF Base writes ?5 Lowest Cost ETFs on Earth?. Want to know what the 5 lowest cost ETFs on Earth are? Come check them out, since cost matters more than strategy when it comes to passive investing.
Roger at The Amateur Financier presents ?Funds Beat Actively Managed; Now What?? Commentary on how to invest in light of actively-managed mutual funds doing worse than index funds. (Hint: it?s usually best to stick with index funds.)
Investment Planning Strategies
Madison at My Dollar Plan gives us ?Unveiling The Retirement Myth: Book Review?.? The book Unveiling the Retirement Myth by Jim Otar does a great job on explaining the distribution stage, in detail, with actual numbers.
Boomer at Boomer and Echo submitted ?The Best Time To Start Saving Is Now?. This story demonstrates an important lesson in building wealth ? the sooner you start saving, the more you will accumulate.
Glen Craig at Free From Broke writes ?Grow your Nest Egg with Automatic Retirement Contributions?. A great way to grow your nest, or your retirement fund, is to set up automatic retirement contributions. See some ways that you do this to get on track to retiring. ?
Rob Bennett for Out of Your Rut presents ?It?s Because Investing Is So Important That We Get it So Wrong?. Video game players share their knowledge with each other. Stock investors do not. Why not? Because no one want to mess up when it comes to stock investing.
Bob at Christian Personal Finance gives us ?What is a Charitable Remainder Trust & Why Should You Care?? A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is an ?arrangement under which a donor receives income (for a fixed period or during a donor?s lifetime) from an asset donated to a qualified charitable organization. It is one of the ways you can give. Upon the termination of the trust, the asset reverts to the charitable organization.
Money Cone submitted ?Handling Royalty Trusts In Turbo Tax?. Handling Royalty Trusts can be challenging come tax time. If you use TurboTax to do your taxes, entering your Royalty Trust data can be a little confusing. In this HOW TO post, I?ll walk through the steps to handle Royalty Trusts.
My Money Design writes Would Dollar Cost Averaging Have Saved You From ?The Lost Decade?? The S&P 500 decreased by 23% during ?The Lost Decade?. Would the strategy of dollar cost averaging have saved your investment portfolio from being reduced by this much? Let?s crunch the numbers and find out for ourselves.
Darwin at Darwin?s Money presents ?Internal Rate of Return Equation Reviewed?. Here?s a primer on how to calculate the Internal Rate of Return in excel, which is a great tool that everyone should understand.
Miss T at Prairie Eco Thrifter submitted ?Financial Advisor or Discount Broker?? Should you hire a financial advisor or financial planner? Or maybe you know enough about stocks to pick your own and you are considering just going it alone and buy stocks with a discount broker instead? Let?s take a look at some of the pros and cons of each decision.
Thomas Jensen at Penge Snak! submitted ?Dividend Investing 101: Dividend Basics?. Dividends can be an important part of creating a passive stream of income for the investor. Your dividend-paying companies will, hopefully, pay a steady stream of income with the potential for growth over time.
Matt at RamblingFever Money gives us ?Mutual Funds Explained for Dummies?. If you have a 401k through your employer, you probably have money invested in mutual funds. Whether you knew it or not, you are mutually funding an investment that is managed by somebody else. Many believe mutual fund investing to be the safest and most secure way to invest in the stock market.
(Editor?s Note: I disagree with Matt and have left a comment on his post)
Pat Huddleston at Investor?s Watchblog submitted ?For the Love of God, Do Not Let Your Broker Choose Your Investment Objectives! Warning to all investors?you will see that paperwork again when the broker has drained your account through horribly risky investments that paid the broker huge commissions. ?
The AAAMP Blog submits ?Planning Investment Accounts for Retirement?. The benefits offered by retirement investment accounts make them an important foundation for retirement planning. Here are the major investment accounts for retirement.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) ? More than 1,000 private abortion records from a defunct clinic have been found discarded in a recycling bin outside an elementary school near Kansas City, Kan., prompting a police investigation and outrage from people on both sides of the abortion debate.
The patient records found Saturday came from Affordable Medical and Surgical Services in Kansas City, Kan., which closed after its doctor, Krishna Rajanna, lost his medical license in 2005. The records detail names, birth dates, telephone numbers, Social Security numbers and the patients' health history, including if any abortions were performed, The Kansas City Star reported (http://bit.ly/GVUz7Z ). They included patients from almost every county in the Kansas City area and beyond, from Topeka to Freeman, Mo.
Between 2000 and 2005, Rajanna was either fined or disciplined four times by the Kansas Board of Healing Arts and inspectors who visited his clinic in 2005 and reported it was not clean.
Rajanna said he threw the personal documents into recycling bins at Brookridge Elementary School on Friday.
"I was under the impression that these would not be seen by anyone," said Rajanna. "I thought that these would be recycled away just like any other papers."
The daughter of the woman who found the records contacted the Kansas City Star after Overland Park police initially declined to respond to her call ? a decision Capt. Erik Hulse later conceded was a mistake. The women did not want their names released.
Overland Park police were investigating and other agencies, including the Johnson County district attorney's office and the Kansas Board of Healing Arts, were seeking information about the handling of the documents.
Kansas law requires that all medical records be kept a minimum of 10 years. Hundreds of the discarded records were dated after March 2002, The Star said. Rajanna said he dumped the records because they were "old records that are out of date" and that he thought they would be picked up quickly. The bins are emptied monthly.
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, makes it a federal violation to release private medical information without patient permission or other authorization. The law does not dictate exactly how medical records should be destroyed but it specifically prohibits discarding records in public dumpsters unless they have been made unreadable.
"This is a particularly egregious matter to have abortion records treated in this fashion," said Susan McAndrew, a deputy director in U.S. Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights. "I'm glad this man is no longer practicing."
Mary Kay Culp, executive director of the anti-abortion group Kansans for Life, said it was another example of how abortion providers don't really care about women.
"This shows they don't have any real concern about women's privacy," Culp said. "What they have concern about is their own bottom line and distracting the public about privacy issues in order to avoid genuine investigations."
Peter Brownlie, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri, called the dumping of the records "awful."
"What a gross violation of a woman's privacy," he said. "I've never heard anything quite like it."
Brownlie said that his organization retains abortion records in secure long-term storage "forever."
It is unclear what actions might be taken against Rajanna. Medical providers that don't transmit payment or other information to third-party payers electronically are not subject to HIPAA regulations. On Monday, Rajanna said his clinic was cash-only, although some of the retrieved records clearly showed photocopies of insurance cards on the back page, The Star reported.
McAndrew said that the HHS office in Kansas City would have to determine whether to investigate.
"It does get tricky because he is no longer practicing and the clinic is no longer in existence," McAndrew said. "Even fining him, it could end up being an empty enforcement action. I'm not even sure what kind of assets he might have."
___
Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com
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EFT Tapping for Creative Writing: 7 Days to Unlock Creativity to Become a Better Writer
1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More
Writing for change, journaling and reflecting through creative writing
Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief
Creative Writing?And How To Do It.
The Word Weaver?s Grimoire (Creative Writing Tips and Tricks)
Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide from New York?s Acclaimed Creative Writing School
Portable MFA in Creative Writing (New York Writers Workshop)
Rip the Page!: Adventures in Creative Writing
The Making of a Story: A Norton Guide to Creative Writing
The Practice of Creative Writing: A Guide for Students
The Complete Idiot?s Guide to Creative Writing, 2nd Edition
The Everything Creative Writing Book: All You Need to Know to Write a Novel, Play, Short Story, Screenplay, Poem, or Article (Everything (Language & Writing))
Creative Writing Mfa Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Graduate Students (Revised & Updated)
Crossroads: Creative Writing in Four Genres
How To Make Money Writing: Your Guide on How To Get Paid To Write Including How To Score Creative Writing Jobs, Article Writing Jobs, Content Writing Jobs, Technical Writing Jobs
The College Handbook of Creative Writing
The Creative Writing Guide: A Path to Poetry, Nonfiction, and Drama
On Creative Writing
Just About Write: How To Master Creative Writing
The Everything Creative Writing Book: All you need to know to write novels, plays, short stories, screenplays, poems, articles, or blogs (Everything Series)
The Writing Experiment: Strategies for Innovative Creative Writing
Rating:?
Amazon Price:$24.95 $16.30 You save: $8.65 (35%). (as of March 25, 2012 10:23 am ? Details). Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on the Amazon site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
This demystifying guide to creative writing shows that successful work arises not from talent or inspiration alone but from several stages of development within a systematic strategy. Recommending an exploratory approach to writing, this book offers practical exercises that bring exceptional creative writing within reach. Each chapter is illustrated with extensive examples of student work and published writing including fiction, poetry, plays, performance, and new media.
Product Details
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Allen & Unwin (October 28, 2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1741140153
ISBN-13: 978-1741140156
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
Customer Reviews
Fantastic for stimulating creative ideas
?September 9, 2007
By K. McCulloch "www.kayoz.com"
I love this book. I haven?t worked through the whole of it yet, but I keep coming back to it each time I get stuck or slowed down in my writing.
The title may sound intimidating to some, but Smith breaks the exercises down into easy to manage parts and then builds them back up, providing numerous examples from both students? and published authors? writing.
Her exercises are very different to the stock exercises of other writing books, great for stimulating new ideas, and she?s not afraid to take issue with standard writing advice where she feels it?s necessary.
Creative Writing Course Guide
?April 17, 2007
By Scribblyfish
Great course book for beginners and advanced students. A book you?d browse through again and again to keep your mind sharp. I?ll definitely keep this one close by.
Coming Soon ? Get Help with Your Writing Project
This is where you will be able to ask WWP Users for help with any aspect of the Write, Publish, Promote process.
For now, we've included a list of available writing gigs from a selection of freelancing sites.
Coming Soon ? Promote Your Book or Services
Here your will be able to post gigs offering your services to other users, so if you're great at graphics but not so hot on grammar, you can buy a gig over on the left to help you straighten out your English, and pay for it by helping others out with eBook covers, WP Themes or other promotional stuff for their books.
For now though, we've included a links to jobs poseted in freelancing sites under the writing sections.
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SIDNEY (EFE Dow Jones)--El acuerdo de canje de divisas de Australia con el banco central de China podr?a ayudar al yuan a convertirse en la principal divisa de comercio de China en los dos pr?ximos a?os, dijo el viernes el jefe de ventas y producto de ANZ Bank, Steve Kelly.
Kelly dijo que el acuerdo de 30.000 millones de d?lares australianos firmado entre el Banco de la Reserva de Australia y el Banco Popular de China es "un importante paso" para reforzar los lazos comerciales entre los dos pa?ses.
"Importar y exportar en moneda local ofrece a nuestros clientes una ventaja competitiva", declar? a Dow Jones Newswires en una entrevista. "Si es usted un inversor en China y lee en el peri?dico que el Banco Popular de China ha firmado un acuerdo de divisas con Australia, eso le va a hacer sentirse un poco m?s animado".
El valor total del acuerdo bilateral entre Australia y China asciende a en torno 106.000 millones de d?lares australianos en el a?o fiscal 2010-2011 y los dos pa?ses est?n negociando un acuerdo de libre comercio. China es el mayor socio comercial de Australia y su demanda de exportaciones de recursos, como el carb?n y el mineral de hierro, ha sido decisiva en el fortalecimiento de las fortunas econ?micas de Australia.
El acuerdo de esta semana se produce despu?s de que las autoridades chinas permitieran la convertibilidad entre los d?lares australianos y el yuan en el mercado interbancario.
"Confiamos en que el yuan se convierta en la divisa para el comercio chino en los pr?ximos dos a cinco a?os", dijo Kelly. "Hay potencial para que se mueva muy r?pido".
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by Josh Wigler and Kevin P. Sullivan When a high profile literary adaptation as big as "The Hunger Games" hits theaters, the quality of the actual movie can be a secondary detail. Luckily, a talented cast and a skilled director have not only put together a faithful adaptation, but one that doesn't suck, at all. [...]
Getting in rhythm helps children grasp fractions, study findsPublic release date: 22-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Elaine Bible ebible@sfsu.edu 415-405-3606 San Francisco State University
Tapping out a beat may help children learn difficult fraction concepts, according to new findings due to be published in the journal Educational Studies in Mathematics. An innovative curriculum uses rhythm to teach fractions at a California school where students in a music-based program scored significantly higher on math tests than their peers who received regular instruction.
"Academic Music" is a hands-on curriculum that uses music notation, clapping, drumming and chanting to introduce third-grade students to fractions. The program, co-designed by San Francisco State University researchers, addresses one of the most difficult -- and important -- topics in the elementary mathematics curriculum.
"If students don't understand fractions early on, they often struggle with algebra and mathematical reasoning later in their schooling," said Susan Courey, assistant professor of special education at San Francisco State University. "We have designed a method that uses gestures and symbols to help children understand parts of a whole and learn the academic language of math."
The program has shown tangible results at Hoover Elementary School in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Courey's study included 67 students. Half the group participated in a six-week Academic Music curriculum and the rest received the school's regular math instruction.
Students in the music-based program scored 50 percent higher on a fraction test, taken at the end of the study, compared to students in the regular math class.
Significant gains were made by students who struggle with academics. The researchers compared the test scores of lower-performing students in both groups and found that those who were taught the experimental music curriculum scored 40 percent higher on the final fractions test compared to their lower performing peers in the regular math class.
"Students who started out with less fraction knowledge achieved final test scores similar to their higher-achieving peers," Courey said. "Lower-performing students might find it hard to grasp the idea of fractions from a diagram or textbook, but when you add music and multiple ways of learning, fractions become second nature to them."
Courey devised Academic Music with music teacher Endre Balogh. They borrowed aspects from the Kodaly method, a Hungarian approach to music education that incudes movement, songs and nicknames for musical notes, such as "ta-ah" for a half note.
The curriculum helps children connect the value of musical notes, such as half notes and eighth notes, to their equivalent fraction size. By clapping and drumming rhythms and chanting each note's Kodaly names, students learn the time value of musical notes. Students learn to add and subtract fractions by completing work sheets, in which they draw musical notes on sheet music, ensuring the notes add up to four beats in each bar or measure.
The program has also proven itself at Allen Elementary School, a San Bruno public school -- not included in the study -- that has been using the Academic Music program since 2007.
"Academic Music brings music into the classroom and gets children to learn math in a different way that's symbolic and not dependent on language," said Kit Cosgriff, principal at Allen Elementary School, who introduced the program to help the schools' diverse student body learn math in ways that are not language-based. The school serves many students from low-income families, and 60 percent of students don't speak English as their first language.
"In every lesson I've observed, the children have been excited and enthusiastic about learning fractions," Cosgriff said. "It's a picture of what you would like every class to look like."
Cosgriff believes the school's recent jump in standardized test scores reflects the impact of Academic Music. Since implementing the program for all third-grade math classes, the percentage of third-graders who scored proficient or above on the California Standards Test for math increased from 63 percent in 2006 to 70 percent in 2007 and 75 percent in 2008. On the California Achievement Test (CAT/6) for mathematics, the percentage of third graders who scored at or above the national average increased from 51 percent in 2006 to 72 percent in 2007 and 75 percent in 2008.
Academic Music is a 12-lesson program that is designed to be taught by regular classroom teachers without the help of a music teacher. Courey's next step is to publish curriculum materials for teachers.
"We're suggesting that teachers put music in their arsenal of tools for teaching math." Courey said.
"It's fun, it doesn't cost a lot, and it keeps music in the classroom."
"Academic Music: Music Instruction to Engage Third Grade Students in Learning Basic Fraction Concepts" has been accepted for press in the journal Educational Studies in Mathematics and will be published online next week.
###
Courey co-authored the paper with Endre Balogh, director and lead music teacher at Toones Academic Music, and a graduate of SF State's music education program (B.A. '06). Other co-authors included Jae Paik, associate professor of psychology at SF State, and Jody R. Siker, a graduate student in the SF State-UC, Berkeley joint doctoral program in special education.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Getting in rhythm helps children grasp fractions, study findsPublic release date: 22-Mar-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Elaine Bible ebible@sfsu.edu 415-405-3606 San Francisco State University
Tapping out a beat may help children learn difficult fraction concepts, according to new findings due to be published in the journal Educational Studies in Mathematics. An innovative curriculum uses rhythm to teach fractions at a California school where students in a music-based program scored significantly higher on math tests than their peers who received regular instruction.
"Academic Music" is a hands-on curriculum that uses music notation, clapping, drumming and chanting to introduce third-grade students to fractions. The program, co-designed by San Francisco State University researchers, addresses one of the most difficult -- and important -- topics in the elementary mathematics curriculum.
"If students don't understand fractions early on, they often struggle with algebra and mathematical reasoning later in their schooling," said Susan Courey, assistant professor of special education at San Francisco State University. "We have designed a method that uses gestures and symbols to help children understand parts of a whole and learn the academic language of math."
The program has shown tangible results at Hoover Elementary School in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Courey's study included 67 students. Half the group participated in a six-week Academic Music curriculum and the rest received the school's regular math instruction.
Students in the music-based program scored 50 percent higher on a fraction test, taken at the end of the study, compared to students in the regular math class.
Significant gains were made by students who struggle with academics. The researchers compared the test scores of lower-performing students in both groups and found that those who were taught the experimental music curriculum scored 40 percent higher on the final fractions test compared to their lower performing peers in the regular math class.
"Students who started out with less fraction knowledge achieved final test scores similar to their higher-achieving peers," Courey said. "Lower-performing students might find it hard to grasp the idea of fractions from a diagram or textbook, but when you add music and multiple ways of learning, fractions become second nature to them."
Courey devised Academic Music with music teacher Endre Balogh. They borrowed aspects from the Kodaly method, a Hungarian approach to music education that incudes movement, songs and nicknames for musical notes, such as "ta-ah" for a half note.
The curriculum helps children connect the value of musical notes, such as half notes and eighth notes, to their equivalent fraction size. By clapping and drumming rhythms and chanting each note's Kodaly names, students learn the time value of musical notes. Students learn to add and subtract fractions by completing work sheets, in which they draw musical notes on sheet music, ensuring the notes add up to four beats in each bar or measure.
The program has also proven itself at Allen Elementary School, a San Bruno public school -- not included in the study -- that has been using the Academic Music program since 2007.
"Academic Music brings music into the classroom and gets children to learn math in a different way that's symbolic and not dependent on language," said Kit Cosgriff, principal at Allen Elementary School, who introduced the program to help the schools' diverse student body learn math in ways that are not language-based. The school serves many students from low-income families, and 60 percent of students don't speak English as their first language.
"In every lesson I've observed, the children have been excited and enthusiastic about learning fractions," Cosgriff said. "It's a picture of what you would like every class to look like."
Cosgriff believes the school's recent jump in standardized test scores reflects the impact of Academic Music. Since implementing the program for all third-grade math classes, the percentage of third-graders who scored proficient or above on the California Standards Test for math increased from 63 percent in 2006 to 70 percent in 2007 and 75 percent in 2008. On the California Achievement Test (CAT/6) for mathematics, the percentage of third graders who scored at or above the national average increased from 51 percent in 2006 to 72 percent in 2007 and 75 percent in 2008.
Academic Music is a 12-lesson program that is designed to be taught by regular classroom teachers without the help of a music teacher. Courey's next step is to publish curriculum materials for teachers.
"We're suggesting that teachers put music in their arsenal of tools for teaching math." Courey said.
"It's fun, it doesn't cost a lot, and it keeps music in the classroom."
"Academic Music: Music Instruction to Engage Third Grade Students in Learning Basic Fraction Concepts" has been accepted for press in the journal Educational Studies in Mathematics and will be published online next week.
###
Courey co-authored the paper with Endre Balogh, director and lead music teacher at Toones Academic Music, and a graduate of SF State's music education program (B.A. '06). Other co-authors included Jae Paik, associate professor of psychology at SF State, and Jody R. Siker, a graduate student in the SF State-UC, Berkeley joint doctoral program in special education.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
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Public release date: 22-Mar-2012
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