New joystick products from Active Music Joystick

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Active Music Joystick

Active Music Joystick is currently promoting its brand new products, which are designed to assist young people, particularly those suffering from autism or disabilities.

The joysticks are part of the musical instruments in that their button combinations and functions allow for musical sounds to be played, and when connected to a laptop through software programming, they control music on the computer itself by playing songs, their own inventions or existing tunes. The joysticks act as controllers, which boast two axes, a turn-stick, flexible levers and a range of face buttons.

The Thrustmaster and MADCATZ joysticks have similar functions to create notes, adjust volume and change the pitch of tunes, but possess physical differences based on a user's preferences.

The Thrustmaster is a high-resolution joystick made of solid material and has two large button fields. Its functions alternate between those who are right-handed and those who are left-handed, and it lights up when the stick passes the centre-point.

The MADCATZ is a two-levered joystick which can be dismantled for travel, and has several functions for the thumb to perform at the same time, whilst its head is designed as a wheel.

Other features of the instrument include the use of the sine wave, a special and simple sound created within the computer; the software providing an understanding of scales, in particular the harmonic scale; and allowing a chance to look at pitches as frequency numbers. In addition, each joystick comes with a tutorial CD to introduce users to the product and allow them to quickly learn its functions.

Young children will enjoy the opportunity to practice using computer equipment in an easy-to-handle, straightforward and clear fashion given the design of the buttons and the flexible nature of the joystick. Previous experiments have found that children enjoy how soothing the music is to the ear; they can be creative, or play different tunes. There is variety as the genres covered include folk, Christmas and pop.

But the joysticks are of even greater benefit to autistic children, and those with learning difficulties. Users can feel and touch the joysticks, and make music with their hands and their arms. There is the chance to play their own melody or to replay tunes from their memories. They can understand and practice how to play notes in time, understand and play different characters of colour and wave structures, try out musical phrases, and learn about articulation. The tutorial nature and the overall set-up mean that there is no such thing as a wrong piece of music with this device, and it assists users in becoming a part of the digital society.

Most importantly, the joysticks allow users to recognise and play tunes which, with further use and training, could open the door for kids to lead a singing group or participate in a small orchestra. Music is easily detectable, and the joysticks act as a medium to express one's inner feeling.

As for existing musicians and technicians, the ability to change tunes and adapt one's singing to music makes the joysticks a good training device for any budding choir singers, and those who aspire to work in a technical role within the music industry. So, the joysticks are beneficial to a wide range of people and skill sets.

Both the Thrustmaster and MADCATZ joysticks and the associated software are now available online for £32.00 each at www.forumliverpool.net.

To find out more about Active Music Joystick or to purchase any of the products, you can get in touch by calling 0151 280 1080 or by emailing fuchsjoystick@forumliverpool.net.

Brabners pledges support to Crisis for 2016

L-R: Hayley Watson, Rebecca
Benbow, Lucie Osborne, Laura Kent,
Rupert Jackson, Amanda Morris,
Alis Fray (Crisis), Jayne Croft
and Lorraine Turner

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Brabners

Commercial law firm Brabners has nominated Crisis, the national charity for single homeless people, as its chosen charity for 2016.

The charity works to end homelessness by delivering life-changing services and campaigning for change.

Crisis was chosen by employees following a vote; Brabners has a dedicated charity committee who will organise fundraising events over the coming year, although fundraising began before Christmas, when staff raised over £3,550 to support the Crisis at Christmas campaign.

Forthcoming events in the calendar include the Charity Challenge, an action-packed weekend of canoeing, cycling and hill climbing in the Lake District where teams from different companies across the North West compete to finish the course in the fastest time.

There is also the return of ‘The Big Idea’, an apprentice-style contest involving one team from each of the firm’s offices competing against each other to raise money for the charity. Staff will also be encouraged to volunteer and participate in charity collections and events.

Mark Brandwood, Managing Partner at Brabners, commented: “We are delighted to be working with Crisis during 2016. Our CSR programme is thriving – all at Brabners are very keen to support charitable endeavours. We are looking forward to getting involved in a wide range of volunteering and fundraising activities to raise both money and the profile of the charity across the region.”

Crisis helps people rebuild their lives through housing, health, education and employment services and works with thousands of homeless people across the UK.

Kate Farrell, Director of Crisis Skylight Merseyside, added: “We are delighted to have been chosen as Brabners’ Charity of the Year for 2016. With their help, thousands of homeless people will come to Crisis to learn, find jobs and build confidence; helping them to leave homelessness behind for good. We would like to thank everyone at Brabners for their generous support and we look forward to working with them throughout the year.”

Last year, the firm raised over £24,800 for its chosen charity for 2015, Alder Hey Children’s Charity.

Radwraps are 118% more efficient

James Maddocks, director at
Radwraps, and John Maddocks,
owner of Radwraps.

Written By: Mark Armstrong

Provided By: Radwraps

Recent research by Liverpool John Moores University has found that using a Radwraps radiator cover instead of a wooden cover could improve the efficiency of the radiator by up to 118%, more than double the wooden cover efficiency, thus having a significant impact on heating bills.

Radwraps provides a range of radiator covers which can be fitted within seconds and brighten up a room, as well as blending in with wallpaper. In addition, they act as a safe method of preventing burns, as they cover the hot surfaces of the radiator framework.

And thanks to this study, held in conjunction with LJMU and funded via the European Regional Development Fund, it has now been proven how effective they are in reducing heat consumption.

With the assistance of Jacqueline Gilroy at Liverpool Vision, Radwraps approached the Low Carbon Hub at LJMU with the idea of holding simulations using its decorative radiator covers to determine how big of a difference their products make. To do so, a domestic central heating system was created whereby the tests could be conducted in specific and fair conditions. This included keeping the external room temperature at 20ºC, and using double panel radiators with a length and width of 600mm.

The Radwraps team wanted to get a heat comparison between radiators that were using a Radwrap cover and a wooden cover. The results showed that, when using a Radwrap, the efficiency of the radiator heating system can reach up to 68%, whereas for a wooden cover, it could only reach 31% for a certain water flow rate, far outweighing the predictions made beforehand.

James Maddocks, director at Radwraps, commented: “This figure is huge, something we could have only imagined when we started, and it could have major implications towards lowering our carbon emissions.”

And given the outcome of the study, James has calculated that the country could make a massive financial saving by using Radwraps, along with a potential saving of over £1 billion in Europe as a whole:

“If every home in the UK which has wooden covers fitted were to replace one of them with a Radwrap, the country could save up to £75 million a year in energy costs. And if every home in Europe did the same thing, the result would be a huge saving of up to £1.5 billion in energy costs.”

Radwraps have been operating for almost three years after many years of research and development, and they are growing in prominence as more and more people discover the benefits of its radiator covers, both from the savings in energy output (the reduction of heat output) and the opportunity to make the radiators look fantastic and aesthetically pleasing, to the point of perhaps becoming a focal point in a home environment.

James added: “Radwraps are already being utilised in nurseries, schools, nursing homes and houses in general across the UK as we speak. Savings are being made and emissions are being cut, which are helping to lower our carbon emissions for this generation and for generations to come, not to mention that they look amazing with any image or design.”

You can learn more about the Radwraps products by visiting www.radwraps.co.uk.