Research in the developed world that is spoken of is Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) that presents itself as the most recent knowledge about children. However, this research is only from the US and does not take into account any cultural values and perceptions of other groups of children. DAP's outlook is 'age and stage' and strongly promotes play that is self directed and initiated. However, it doesn't look at cultural and lifestyle issues as well as socio-economic factors (Smidt, 2006). DAP mentions the declining state of imaginary play as children are being led into more adult driven activities and media use and state that, "Active scaffolding of imaginative play is needed in early childhood settings if children are to develop the sustained, mature dramatic play that contributes significantly to their self-regulation and other cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional benefits." (p. 15). DAP also suggest that, "Rather than detracting from academic learning, play appears to support the abilities that underlie such learning and thus to promote school success" (p. 15).