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Black-Owned Toy Start-Up (Purpose Toys) Unveiled New Naturalistas Pixie Puff Collection

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Purpose Toys recently announced their new forthcoming Tightly-Coiled Natural-Hair Fashion Doll line, Pixie Puff Collection, a celebration of short and chic natural hair styles, this past National CROWN Day on their Instagram @MyNaturalistas.

PHILADELPHIA /PRNewswire/ — Purpose Toys, one of the largest Black-owned toy start-ups, announced their new forthcoming Tightly-Coiled Natural-Hair Fashion Doll line, Pixie Puff Collection, a celebration of short and chic natural hair styles, this past National CROWN Day on Instagram @MyNaturalistas.

CROWN Day is holiday that celebrates the first signing of the CROWN Act into legislation in California, on July 3, 2019. The CROWN Act is legislation aimed to outlaw Natural-Hair discrimination in schools and the workplace.

Naturalistas is a line of ultra-glam, contemporary Natural Hair Fashion Dolls, created to celebrate children with coily, curly and naturally textured hair. With the announcement of the Pixie Puff Collection, the Naturalistas brand continues to grow by bringing the first culture-driven fashion doll line that centers around and celebrates children with coily “4-textured” hair, one of the most common hair types found across the African American community. Working with Just Play and Kidfinity Inc. (a Just Play affiliate company), the line will be sold and distributed by Purpose Toys at Walmart beginning in September 2022.

“Whereas there is an over-representation of long straight hair and long loose curls across the Black doll category, the reality is that many African American children actually have gorgeous tightly coiled hair,” said Purpose Toys CEO, DeeDee Wright-Ward. “From the standpoint of authentically representing distinctively Black characteristics, most doll products marketed to Black children don’t often reflect their beautiful pixie coils, which can inadvertently send a message that hair that looks like theirs isn’t equally valued…no matter the intent of the manufacturer.”

“A Celebration of Short Hair and Chic Style,” Pixie Puff dolls (SRP $12.97) are the beautiful girl-next-door addition to glamour-driven core Naturalistas product. The Pixie Puff Collection features characters Peety and Penny – both of whom come with beautiful cropped (coily) “4C” textured hairstyles, varying custom skin tones, modern contemporary fashions, and character profiles that speak to their pride and commitment to their healthy, unique natural tresses.

Lisa Whitaker, Co-President of Kidfinity states, “We are honored to support DeeDee and Purpose Toys on a brand that is centered on delivering accurate representation through beautiful dolls that will uplift and celebrate children everywhere.”

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With legislation, such as the CROWN Act in place to protect against Natural Hair discrimination in schools and in the workplace, Naturalistas and the Pixie Puff Collection hope to do their small part in supporting the self-esteem and confidence of children who may face contrasting messaging at a young age about their perfect coils.

DeeDee adds, “Our tagline across all Naturalistas brands is ‘Be Proud of Your Crown,’ and on National Crown Day and always, we will continue to support the healthy emotional development of children who wear their Natural Hair through our nuanced, culture-driven product. It goes without saying that Purpose Toys is grateful for the support of Just Play and Walmart in bringing celebratory, uplifting ‘dolls-of-culture’ to toy aisles.”

Purpose Toys

About Purpose Toys

“A Supportive Community of Black Founders”, Purpose Toys’ mission is to partner with and uplift burgeoning toy entrepreneurs, by providing the infrastructure and resources necessary to succeed. Additionally, their mission is to also provide authentic “Product with a Purpose,” that perfectly aligns with the modern Black experience which we hope to deliver with contemporary brands, Naturalistas and “Pixie Puff Collection.” Purpose Toys’ products will be available coming Fall 2022 across the U.S. For more information, please email Marketing@MyNaturalistas.com or visit MyNaturalistas.com and follow social channels @mynaturalistas via InstagramTikTok, and YouTube.

About Just Play, LLC

Just Play is a passionate toy company and global leader across a broad range of children’s consumer goods including figures, playsets, dolls, plush, role-play and dress-up. They create unique and innovative proprietary lines, as well as award-winning products based on popular children’s entertainment brands with best-in-class licensing partners. Just Play was founded by two toy industry veterans, Charlie Emby and Geoffrey Greenberg, in 2010 and has risen to a top 10 toy company according to NPD for the past 5 years. To learn more about Just Play’s products, please visit www.justplayproducts.com or follow the company on Instagram (@JustPlayProducts) or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/JustPlay).

About Kidfinity Inc

Kidfinity is a new company formed by industry veterans Lisa Whitaker, Darryl Wizenberg and Tolly Wizenberg. Kidfinity is closely aligned with Just Play and works together with its team to create new and innovative toys and consumer products outside of traditional toy lines.

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SOURCE Purpose Toys Last Chance to Save Up to 80% OFF @tomtop.com

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  • Rod Washington

    Rod: A creative force, blending words, images, and flavors. Blogger, writer, filmmaker, and photographer. Cooking enthusiast with a sci-fi vision. Passionate about his upcoming series and dedicated to TNC Network. Partnered with Rebecca Washington for a shared journey of love and art. View all posts


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Rod: A creative force, blending words, images, and flavors. Blogger, writer, filmmaker, and photographer. Cooking enthusiast with a sci-fi vision. Passionate about his upcoming series and dedicated to TNC Network. Partnered with Rebecca Washington for a shared journey of love and art.

The Bridge

An upward spiral – how small acts of kindness and connection really can change the world, according to psychology research

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Strengthening relationships strengthens communities, which influences societies. Charles Gullung/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Liza M. Hinchey, Wayne State University

Political chasms, wars, oppression … it’s easy to feel hopeless and helpless watching these dark forces play out. Could any of us ever really make a meaningful difference in the face of so much devastation?

Given the scale of the world’s problems, it might feel like the small acts of human connection and solidarity that you do have control over are like putting Band-Aids on bullet wounds. It can feel naive to imagine that small acts could make any global difference.

As a psychologist, human connection researcher and audience member, I was inspired to hear musician Hozier offer a counterpoint at a performance this year. “The little acts of love and solidarity that we offer each other can have powerful impact … ” he told the crowd. “I believe the core of people on the whole is good – I genuinely do. I’ll die on that hill.”

I’m happy to report that the science agrees with him.

Research shows that individual acts of kindness and connection can have a real impact on global change when these acts are collective. This is true at multiple levels: between individuals, between people and institutions, and between cultures.

This relational micro-activism is a powerful force for change – and serves as an antidote to hopelessness because unlike global-scale issues, these small acts are within individuals’ control.

two young men in conversation, seated at a table
A personal connection makes you more willing to find common ground. Hinterhaus Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Abstract becomes real through relationships

Theoretically, the idea that small, interpersonal acts have large-scale impact is explained by what psychologists call cognitive dissonance: the discomfort you feel when your actions and beliefs don’t line up.

For example, imagine two people who like each other. One believes that fighting climate change is crucial, and the other believes that climate change is a political ruse. Cognitive dissonance occurs: They like each other, but they disagree. People crave cognitive balance, so the more these two like each other, the more motivated they will be to hear each other out.

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According to this model, then, the more you strengthen your relationships through acts of connection, the more likely you’ll be to empathize with those other individual perspectives. When these efforts are collective, they can increase understanding, compassion and community in society at large. Issues like war and oppression can feel overwhelming and abstract, but the abstract becomes real when you connect to someone you care about.

So, does this theory hold up when it comes to real-world data?

Small acts of connection shift attitudes

Numerous studies support the power of individual acts of connection to drive larger-scale change.

For instance, researchers studying the political divide in the U.S. found that participants self-identifying as Democrats or Republicans “didn’t like” people in the other group largely due to negative assumptions about the other person’s morals. People also said they valued morals like fairness, respect, loyalty and a desire to prevent harm to others.

I’m intentionally leaving out which political group preferred which traits – they all sound like positive attributes, don’t they? Even though participants thought they didn’t like each other based on politics, they also all valued traits that benefit relationships.

One interpretation of these findings is that the more people demonstrate to each other, act by act, that they are loyal friends and community members who want to prevent harm to others, the more they might soften large-scale social and political disagreements.

Even more convincingly, another study found that Hungarian and Romanian students – people from ethnic groups with a history of social tensions – who said they had strong friendships with each other also reported improved attitudes toward the other group. Having a rocky friendship with someone from the other group actually damaged attitudes toward the other ethnic group as a whole. Again, nurturing the quality of relationships, even on an objectively small scale, had powerful implications for reducing large-scale tensions.

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In another study, researchers examined prejudice toward what psychologists call an out-group: a group that you don’t belong to, whether based on ethnicity, political affiliation or just preference for dogs versus cats.

They asked participants to reflect on the positive qualities of someone they knew, or on their own positive characteristics. When participants wrote about the positive qualities of someone else, rather than themselves, they later reported lower levels of prejudice toward an out-group – even if the person they wrote about had no connection to that out-group. Here, moving toward appreciation of the other, rather than away from prejudice, was an effective way to transform preconceived beliefs.

So, small acts of connection can shift personal attitudes. But can they really affect societies?

From one-on-one to society-wide

Every human being is embedded in their own network with the people and world around them, what psychologists call their social ecology. Compassionate change at any level of someone’s social ecology – internally, interpersonally or structurally – can affect all the other levels, in a kind of positive feedback loop, or upward spiral.

For instance, both system-level anti-discrimination programming in schools and interpersonal support between students act reciprocally to shape school environments for students from historically marginalized groups. Again, individual acts play a key role in these positive domino effects.

a chain of colorful dominos falling one by one
Small positive steps can build off each other in a chain reaction. bee32/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Even as a human connection researcher, I’ve been surprised by how much I and others have progressed toward mutual understanding by simply caring about each other. But what are small acts of connection, after all, but acts of strengthening relationships, which strengthen communities, which influence societies?

In much of my clinical work, I use a model called social practice — or “intentional community-building” – as a form of therapy for people recovering from serious mental illnesses, like schizophrenia. And if intentional community-building can address some of the most debilitating states of the human psyche, I believe it follows that, writ large, it could help address the most debilitating states of human societies as well.

Simply put, science supports the idea that moving toward each other in small ways can be transformational. I’ll die on that hill too.

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Liza M. Hinchey, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Psychology, Wayne State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The Bridge is a section of the STM Daily News Blog meant for diversity, offering real news stories about bona fide community efforts to perpetuate a greater good. The purpose of The Bridge is to connect the divides that separate us, fostering understanding and empathy among different groups. By highlighting positive initiatives and inspirational actions, The Bridge aims to create a sense of unity and shared purpose. This section brings to light stories of individuals and organizations working tirelessly to promote inclusivity, equality, and mutual respect. Through these narratives, readers are encouraged to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives and to participate actively in building stronger, more cohesive communities.

https://stmdailynews.com/the-bridge


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Moana 2: dazzling sequel redefines the Disney princess with strength, independence and leadership

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Moana 2/ Disney Studio

Laura O’Flanagan, Dublin City University

Moana 2

Moana isn’t a typical Disney heroine, stating quite clearly in the latest instalment, Moana 2, that she is not a princess. Her friend Maui’s response – “Well, a lot of people think you are” – elicited knowing laughter from the audience when I saw the film. This shows just how much Moana has redefined what it means to be a Disney princess.

Unconcerned with traditional tropes like ballgowns and romance, Moana embodies strength, independence and a deep commitment to environmental stewardship. She powerfully demonstrates how human action can effect real environmental healing and transformation; through collaborating with the forces of nature, the world can be saved from environmental catastrophe.

In Moana 2, her commitment to protecting the Earth again takes centre stage – but this time going even further to deliver a powerful call for collective action, to restore environmental harmony and strengthen human interconnectedness. Answering the call of her ancestors, Moana sets out on a treacherous ocean voyage to ensure the survival of her island against the wishes of Nalo, a powerful storm god who is determined that humans should remain isolated from one another.


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Moana, of course, shares several traits with earlier Disney princesses. Like Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Jasmine from Aladdin, she dreams of a life beyond the confines of her immediate world. Similar to Ariel from The Little Mermaid and Mulan, she sets off on a dangerous adventure far from home. And like all the princesses before her, Moana has animal companions – Pua the pig and Hei-Hei the chicken. But what sets Moana apart is how her connection to nature is portrayed.

Disney has a long legacy of linking its princesses with nature, from Snow White and Cinderella, who recruit small animals to assist with their domestic chores, to Elsa in Frozen who can magically control ice and snow. But Moana’s relationship with the natural world is more than just symbolic interaction. Her bond with nature is an active, collaborative partnership. https://www.youtube.com/embed/qkgkUCqEum4?wmode=transparent&start=0

This is not a typical Disney princess story of self-discovery, but of active engagement with the world around her. In the first film, Moana embarks on a dangerous oceanic journey to “restore the heart of Te Fiti” – that is, repair the environmental damage caused by the trickster demi-god Maui and restore harmony to the natural world. In doing so, she sets her island and the Disney princess in a new direction.

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In the sequel, Moana is more mature, more experienced as a wayfinder, and is a highly respected member of her island community. This new story sees her lead a group of fellow islanders on a voyage to find the lost island of Motufetu and reconnect isolated island communities across the ocean. Through this, she demonstrates the power of collective action. She partners with human and non-human entities in pursuit of these goals, which will lead to better environmental outcomes and greater human connection.

Instead of simply reacting to or passively experiencing nature, as many of her Disney predecessors have, Moana works with forces of nature including the ocean, which is a key character in both films. Unlike typical 3D animation processes, where water is created through automated particle simulations, Disney artists have animated the ocean in Moana as a character, giving it more human-like movement and personality.

This approach allows the ocean to become a true partner in Moana’s journey, guiding her and actively engaging with her in meaningful ways as she restores balance to the environment and connects isolated island communities.

This is a visually stunning sequel that recaptures and builds on the magic of the first film, and should be seen on a large screen. Dazzling artistry fills every frame – in particular, bioluminescent sea life is spectacularly rendered. Polynesian culture is represented in more detail, with traditional rituals, dancing, artwork and singing giving the film a weightier authenticity.

As a musical, the songs are not initially quite as catchy as in the first film, but time will tell if they resonate with audiences. The characters have grown since we last encountered them. Moana flourishes in her role as both a leader and a protector of the Earth. We also see her develop into the role of “big sister” – to her younger sibling Simea and, symbolically, to all who she encounters.

There are heartfelt callbacks to the first film as we see Moana share her knowledge of the ocean and pass on the wisdom she has received from her grandmother, now in spirit, who is portrayed beautifully onscreen in human form and as a manta ray. Moana’s relationship with the egotistical Maui is again a source of comedy, but now contains an emotional depth that comes from a platonic friendship with roots.

Through Moana, we have moved into a new era of the Disney princess. Physically strong and fit, a skilled navigator and blossoming leader, she is a heroine on screen and in the world of the film, where she is depicted on decorative tapa cloths alongside gods and myths. She announces herself as “Moana of the land and of the sea”.

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In her seminal work Feminism and The Mastery of Nature, ecofeminist and environmental philosopher Val Plumwood wrote:

If we are to survive into a liveable future, we must take into our own hands the power to create, restore and explore different stories, with new main characters, better plots, and at least the possibility of some happy endings.

Through stories of human interconnectedness, ecological harmony and respect for the natural world, Disney’s Moana 2 appears to be doing just that.

Laura O’Flanagan, PhD Candidate in the School of English, Dublin City University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Looking for an entertainment experience that transcends the ordinary? Look no further than STM Daily News Blog’s vibrant Entertainment section. Immerse yourself in the captivating world of indie films, streaming and podcasts, movie reviews, music, expos, venues, and theme and amusement parks. Discover hidden cinematic gems, binge-worthy series and addictive podcasts, gain insights into the latest releases with our movie reviews, explore the latest trends in music, dive into the vibrant atmosphere of expos, and embark on thrilling adventures in breathtaking venues and theme parks. Join us at STM Entertainment and let your entertainment journey begin! https://stmdailynews.com/category/entertainment/

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Poor teacher training partly to blame for stalled engineering diversity goals

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Teacher training is important. Black students remain significantly underrepresented in engineering. Tara Moore/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Lisa Bosman, Purdue University

Diversifying the science, technology, engineering and math fields has long been a top priority of many universities and tech companies. It’s also a goal of the National Science Foundation, the biggest funder of university-led research and development in the U.S.

But in the field of engineering, at least, there hasn’t been a lot of progress in diversifying the academic pipeline beyond white men.

The share of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to Black students has barely budged over the past decade. Women and Hispanic students fared better, but their respective percentages are still well below their shares of the population as a whole. The shares of engineering professors who are Black or Hispanic are also little changed and remain in the low single digits.

Many reasons have been cited for this lack of progress, including stereotypes, lack of exposure, limited role models and the recent backlash against so-called woke policies that emphasize diverse hiring policies. But, as a scholar of STEM education accessibility, I believe there’s another culprit: poorly prepared professors. Unlike the other challenges, it happens to be a much easier problem for universities themselves to remedy.

Some progress – but not a lot

A quick look at the numbers shows there hasn’t been much to show for all the efforts to improve diversity of the engineering field.

For example, in 2011, 4.2% of engineering bachelor’s degrees were awarded to African American students. A decade later, 4.7% of degrees went to African American students.

Progress was better for women and Hispanic students, but the numbers are still far from proportional to demographics. In 2011, Hispanic students earned 8.5% of engineering degrees. That rose to 13.6% in 2021 – versus the group’s 20% share of the U.S. population.

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Women similarly saw gains over the years, going from 18% to 24%. But 6 percentage points in 10 years doesn’t look as good when you consider that women make up over half of the population.

The situation is worse when you look at the share who become professors. In 2020, 2.5% of engineering professors were African American, the same share as 10 years earlier. The share of Hispanic engineering professors edged up to 3.9% from 3.7%.

Women fared slightly better, rising to 18.6% from 13.8%, but as noted, that’s still a pretty poor result from all those efforts to diversity the academy.

More broadly, there’s a deeper problem in engineering schools. Just 56% of engineering students complete their bachelor’s degree in six years, according to a 2021 report by the American Society for Engineering Education. That compares with 64% for all fields. A National Science Foundation survey from the same year found that only 65% of science and engineering college graduates were working in a field related to their degree.

In other words, roughly a third of engineering students aren’t getting their degrees, and among those who do, around a third are switching careers – despite investing a lot of money on their education. While there’s limited data available on women or specific racial groups, I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to argue that the numbers for them look even worse.

Engineering teachers lack much teacher training

Among the reasons cited for this, I believe that the roles of teaching and learning haven’t received enough attention.

A growing body of research suggests that the quality of teaching needs to improve to reverse trends of lower graduation rates and properly teach an increasingly diverse student body. And I believe this is especially true in STEM disciplines like engineering.

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Engineering professors commonly have training in advanced technical areas, but few receive training in teaching and learning. This challenge of poor teaching preparedness is not limited to the engineering discipline, but the consequences are much worse, especially given the push to diversify STEM.

Effective teaching enhances retention and completion rates by promoting better understanding of the material and creating more student involvement in the learning process. When students are actively engaged, supported and motivated to learn, they are more likely to persist and complete their educational goals.

Teacher training for universities is starkly different than K-12 training. Most school districts require that teachers have a four-year bachelor’s degree in teacher education. The focus is less on content and more on implementing effective teaching practices. K-12 training includes lesson planning, differentiated instruction and best practices for classroom management. There is also often a strong emphasis on social, emotional and behavioral well-being.

Although some engineering doctoral students might gain teaching exposure through a graduate teaching assistantship, this experience is commonly limited to grading assignments and rarely includes course design and development.

To teach as a professor in colleges and universities, most accreditation boards simply require a minimum of 18 graduate credits – or about two semesters – in the topic area. Here, the focus is strictly on research content. No prior teaching experience or training is required.

As a result, newly minted doctoral graduates are thrown into the lion’s den of teaching unprepared. If they are lucky, they are provided with the latest available syllabus. However, new professors are typically unprepared to accommodate students with disabilities, teach Black and Hispanic students, work with remedial students or navigate sensitive topics. They are generally anxious about teaching.

The field of K-12 teacher education has strategies to deal with these challenges. Continuing education and ongoing professional development keep both experienced and inexperienced teachers up to date on inclusive teaching practices. These can include sharing gender pronouns, ensuring media is accessible, using inclusive language and offering diverse perspectives in teaching resources. And yet, keeping up with these changes can be daunting for new professors.

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children in classroom sit at desks with teacher standing in background
Some professors can learn a thing or two from K-12 teachers. AP Photo/AJ Mast

Teaching teachers to teach

But there is a solution: treating college-level teaching as a professional development opportunity.

Most colleges and universities offer professional development training for professors and other instructors who want to opt in to teacher training, but the programs often have limited scope and responsibility at a level to make a substantial positive impact on student learning and engagement.

One way to change this is to invest in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning programs. This is a scholarly approach in which educators systematically study their teaching practices, student learning outcomes and the effectiveness of various teaching methods and strategies.

At Purdue University, we created a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Accelerator program to help engineering graduate students around the world improve their teaching methods and share what they learned with others. In 2024, we published a peer-reviewed article that reports the process and what we learned.

By providing comprehensive professional development opportunities tailored to the needs of engineering instructors, institutions can support their ongoing growth and development as effective educators, ultimately enhancing the quality of engineering education and preparing students for success in their future career.

And in turn, better-trained teachers will be better equipped to support students from diverse backgrounds and help those traditionally underrepresented in STEM.

Lisa Bosman, Associate Professor of Technology Leadership and Innovation, Purdue University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The Bridge is a section of the STM Daily News Blog meant for diversity, offering real news stories about bona fide community efforts to perpetuate a greater good. The purpose of The Bridge is to connect the divides that separate us, fostering understanding and empathy among different groups. By highlighting positive initiatives and inspirational actions, The Bridge aims to create a sense of unity and shared purpose. This section brings to light stories of individuals and organizations working tirelessly to promote inclusivity, equality, and mutual respect. Through these narratives, readers are encouraged to appreciate the richness of diverse perspectives and to participate actively in building stronger, more cohesive communities.

https://stmdailynews.com/the-bridge


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