Causal Coherence in the Oral Narratives of Spanish-Speaking Children

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera F. Gutierrez-Clellen ◽  
Aquiles Iglesias
Keyword(s):  
Mental State ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Silent Film ◽  
Oral Narratives ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Children's Narratives ◽  
Causal Coherence

Forty-six Spanish-speaking children distributed among three age groups (4:0–4:11, 6:0–6:11, and 8:0–8:11 years) were shown a short silent film and asked to tell the investigator what happened in the movie. All narratives were audiotaped and transcribed for analysis. The stories of older children contained more narrative actions and included more mental state/goal causes than those of younger children. With increasing age, children's narratives showed a decrease in the use of two-clause causal sequences, an increase in the use of three-clause causal sequences, and a decrease in the proportion of unrelated statements. The variability in the types of causal links manifested in the stories suggests that absence of certain types of interclausal connections should not be interpreted as reflecting cognitive or comprehension deficits.

scholarly journals Mental State Talk Structure in Children’s Narratives: A Cluster Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliana Pinto ◽  
Caterina Primi ◽  
Christian Tarchi ◽  
Lucia Bigozzi
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Oral Narratives ◽  
Underlying Structure ◽  
Affective States ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
School Year ◽  
Children's Narratives ◽  
Mental State Talk

This study analysed children’s Theory of Mind (ToM) as assessed by mental state talk in oral narratives. We hypothesized that the children’s mental state talk in narratives has an underlying structure, with specific terms organized in clusters. Ninety-eight children attending the last year of kindergarten were asked to tell a story twice, at the beginning and at the end of the school year. Mental state talk was analysed by identifying terms and expressions referring to perceptual, physiological, emotional, willingness, cognitive, moral, and sociorelational states. The cluster analysis showed that children’s mental state talk is organized in two main clusters: perceptual states and affective states. Results from the study confirm the feasibility of narratives as an outlet to inquire mental state talk and offer a more fine-grained analysis of mental state talk structure.

scholarly journals Narrative skills in preschool and first grade children

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Athansiou Kanellou ◽  
Eugenia Athansiou Korvesi ◽  
Asimina Ralli ◽  
Aggeliki Mouzaki ◽  
Fay Antoniou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
First Grade ◽  
Primary School Children ◽  
Production Test ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Lexical Cohesion ◽  
Narrative Skills ◽  
Children's Narratives ◽  
Narrative Production

The aim of the study was to investigate the developmental path of narrative skills of preschool and primary school children. Two hundred thirty seven Greek-speaking children from various regions of Greece participated in the study. They were separated in three age groups: 4-5, 5-6 and 6-7 years old. Retelling and narrative production skills were evaluated. Correlations between the two narrative skills were investigated. Four illustrated stories were used (two stories for retelling and two stories for narrative production).Children’s narratives were collected and transcribed from the recordings. Then, narratives were coded and assessed according to certain criteria: microstructure/ cohesion (conjunction and lexical cohesion) and macrostructure/ coherence (story grammar and temporal sequencing of actions and events). The findings revealed that narratives of older children tended to be better according to the story structure criteria in comparison to narratives produced by younger children. In addition, the qualitative analysis of children’s narratives demonstrated the different narrative levels (labeling, listing, connecting, sequencing and narrating) proposed by Stadler and Ward (2005). Children of all age groups performed better in retelling test compared to narrative production test. The results also revealed differences in performance in relation to gender (girls performed better than boys). Finally, a statistically significant correlation between children’s performance in retelling and narrative production skills was found. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical models of narrative abilities. Implications for research, theory and educational purposes are also discussed.

scholarly journals Narrative of bilingual children: general productivity and lexical diversity

2015 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Agnė Blažienė
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Lexical Diversity ◽  
Story Generation ◽  
Children's Narratives ◽  
Language Schools ◽  
Language Environment ◽  
Mean Length Of Utterance ◽  
Middle Class Families

The paper deals with the narrative production of developing Lithuanian bilingual children (L1 – Lithuanian, L2 – English). The material was collected in four Lithuanian language schools based in London. The study employs the method of story generation. During the experiment, the participants were asked to tell a story according to a 6 picture sequence Cat Story (Hickmann 2003; Gagarina et al. 2012). There were 100 Lithuanian bilingual children (4-10 years old) from middle-class families involved in the experiment. They all lived in London and attended private Lithuanian schools (~3-6 hours per week). The narratives were recorded, transcribed and morphologically annotated for an automatic analysis of narrative language using CHILDES software. During the analysis, the general productivity and lexical diversity (the number of words, the number of utterances, mean length of utterance, type/token ratio) of the narratives were investigated.The results obtained demonstrate significant differences in productivity and lexical diversity among six age groups. The narratives of older children have been found to be longer; they also include more words, consist of more utterances, which on average are longer. A comparison of bilingual and monolingual children's narratives has revealed that bilingual children are capable of producing more words, while the lexical diversity of nouns, verbs and adjectives is similar in bilingual and monolingual children’s narratives or, in some cases, higher in the narratives of monolingual children. These indicators of productivity and lexical diversity suggest that the native Lithuanian language acquired in a bilingual environment is similar to the Lithuanian language acquired in a monolingual language environment.

scholarly journals Assessing an Eliciting Narrative Tool Used for Studying the Development of Persian-speaking Children’s Narrative Discourse Skills

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-68
Author(s):  
Setareh Mojahedi Rezaeian ◽  
Abbas Ali Ahangar ◽  
Peyman Hashemian ◽  
Mehrdad Mazaheri
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Narrative Discourse ◽  
Oral Narratives ◽  
Children's Narratives ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Picture Story

Introduction: Developing children’s skills in producing oral narratives can reflect their linguistic and cognitive abilities. However, to evaluate these abilities appropriately, it is necessary to find and apply an efficient narrative assessment tool. This study primarily aimed to assess the reliability and validity of a picture story, as a narrative eliciting tool, based on Persian-speaking children’s narratives. This assessment is going to be done at the microstructure and macrostructure levels. Furthermore, to evaluate the power of the assessment tool, we explored the effect of age and gender variables on using different narrative elements at the microstructure and macrostructure levels. Materials and Methods: We used a picture story, “Frog, where are you?” to elicit oral narratives in 48 subjects, including 7-, 9-, and 11-year-old boys and girls. The reliability and validity of the tool were respectively assessed by test-retest and factor analysis. Results: The findings indicated a significantly high correlation between the evaluated features based on test-retest. Besides, factor analysis revealed four categories: sentence structures, references, conjunctions, measures of story length. They were valid indicators for assessing Persian-speaking children’s narratives. The results also showed a statistically significant difference among different age groups, but an insignificant effect of gender on using discursive features in the tales.Conclusion: The picture story “Frog, where are you?” can be used as a reliable and valid narrative eliciting tool for Persian data at the microstructure and macrostructure levels. Also, the age factor, but not the gender one, affects the stories recited by Persian children.

RTS,S/AS01, a vaccine targeting pre-erythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (6) ◽  
pp. 533-537
Author(s):  
Lorenz von Seidlein ◽  
Borimas Hanboonkunupakarn ◽  
Podjanee Jittmala ◽  
Sasithon Pukrittayakamee
Keyword(s):  
Protective Efficacy ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Phase Iii ◽  
European Medicines Agency ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Pivotal Phase ◽  
Malaria Epidemiology ◽  
Maximum Benefit ◽  
Sub Saharan

RTS,S/AS01 is the most advanced vaccine to prevent malaria. It is safe and moderately effective. A large pivotal phase III trial in over 15 000 young children in sub-Saharan Africa completed in 2014 showed that the vaccine could protect around one-third of children (aged 5–17 months) and one-fourth of infants (aged 6–12 weeks) from uncomplicated falciparum malaria. The European Medicines Agency approved licensing and programmatic roll-out of the RTSS vaccine in malaria endemic countries in sub-Saharan Africa. WHO is planning further studies in a large Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme, in more than 400 000 young African children. With the changing malaria epidemiology in Africa resulting in older children at risk, alternative modes of employment are under evaluation, for example the use of RTS,S/AS01 in older children as part of seasonal malaria prophylaxis. Another strategy is combining mass drug administrations with mass vaccine campaigns for all age groups in regional malaria elimination campaigns. A phase II trial is ongoing to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the RTSS in combination with antimalarial drugs in Thailand. Such novel approaches aim to extract the maximum benefit from the well-documented, short-lasting protective efficacy of RTS,S/AS01.

scholarly journals Incidence of childhood injuries and modifiable household risk factors in rural Ghana: a multistage, cluster-randomised, population-based, household survey

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e039243
Author(s):  
Adam Gyedu ◽  
Barclay T Stewart ◽  
Easmon Otupiri ◽  
Kajal Mehta ◽  
Peter Donkor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Protective Factor ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Sampling Weights ◽  
Effective Prevention ◽  
Childhood Injuries ◽  
Rural Ghana

ObjectiveWe aimed to describe the incidence of childhood household injuries and prevalence of modifiable household risk factors in rural Ghana to inform prevention initiatives.Setting357 randomly selected households in rural Ghana.ParticipantsCaregivers of children aged <5 years.Primary and secondary outcome measuresChildhood injuries that occurred within 6 months and 200 metres of the home that resulted in missed school/work, hospitalisation and/or death. Sampling weights were applied, injuries were described and multilevel regression was used to identify risk factors.ResultsCaregivers from 357 households had a mean age of 35 years (SD 12.8) and often supervised ≥2 children (51%). Households typically used biomass fuels (84%) on a cookstove outside the home (79%). Cookstoves were commonly <1 metre of the ground (95%). Weighted incidence of childhood injury was 542 per 1000 child-years. Falls (37%), lacerations (24%), burns (12%) and violence (12%) were common mechanisms. There were differences in mechanism across age groups (p<0.01), but no gender differences (p=0.25). Presence of older children in the home (OR 0.15, 95% CI 0.09 to 0.24; adjusted OR (aOR) 0.26, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.54) and cooking outside the home (OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.42; aOR 0.25, 95% CI 0.13 to 0.49) were protective against injury, but other common modifiable risk factors (eg, stove height, fuel type, secured cabinets) were not.ConclusionsChildhood injuries occurred frequently in rural Ghana. Several common modifiable household risk factors were not associated with an increase in household injuries. Presence of older children was a protective factor, suggesting that efforts to improve supervision of younger children might be effective prevention strategies.

scholarly journals Infant Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Unique Clinical and Biological Entity

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 777
Author(s):  
Charlotte Calvo ◽  
Odile Fenneteau ◽  
Guy Leverger ◽  
Arnaud Petit ◽  
André Baruchel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acute Myeloid Leukemia ◽  
Myeloid Leukemia ◽  
Lymphoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Biological Entity ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Megakaryoblastic Leukemia ◽  
Acute Myeloid

Infant acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a rare subgroup of AML of children <2 years of age. It is as frequent as infant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) but not clearly distinguished by study groups. However, infant AML demonstrates peculiar clinical and biological characteristics, and its prognosis differs from AML in older children. Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL) is very frequent in this age group and has raised growing interest. Thus, AMKL is a dominant topic in this review. Recent genomic sequencing has contributed to our understanding of infant AML. These data demonstrated striking features of infant AML: fusion genes are able to induce AML transformation without additional cooperation, and unlike AML in older age groups there is a paucity of associated mutations. Mice modeling of these fusions showed the essential role of ontogeny in the infant leukemia phenotype compared to older children and adults. Understanding leukemogenesis may help in developing new targeted treatments to improve outcomes that are often very poor in this age group. A specific diagnostic and therapeutic approach for this age group should be investigated.

scholarly journals Trends in the burden of varicella in UK general practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 145 (13) ◽  
pp. 2678-2682 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. WALKER ◽  
N. J. ANDREWS ◽  
R. MATHUR ◽  
L. SMEETH ◽  
S. L. THOMAS
Keyword(s):  
General Practice ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Healthcare Utilisation ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Varicella Vaccination ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Clinical Practice Research Datalink ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Asian Ethnicity ◽  
Black African

SUMMARYChildhood varicella vaccination has not yet been introduced in the UK. To inform decision-making about future vaccine programmes, data on the burden of varicella in general practice over a 10-year period (01/01/2005–31/12/2014) was calculated by age and ethnicity, using anonymised data from >8 million individuals in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Varicella consultations peaked at 20 603 in 2007, then decreased annually in all age groups to 11 243 in 2014. Each year, consultation rates were common among infants, were highest among 1–3 year olds (61·2 consultations/1000 person-years in 2007, 39·7/1000 person-years in 2014) and then fell with increasing age to <1·0/1000 person-years at ages ⩾20 years. Varicella acquisition appeared to be delayed in some ethnic groups, with lower consultation rates for children aged <3 years but increased rates for older children and adults aged ⩽40 years among those of black African, Afro-Caribbean, South Asian or other Asian ethnicity. Decreasing general practice consultation rates over time could reflect changes in healthcare utilisation, with patients seeking care in alternative settings such as Accident and Emergency Departments, although current data prevent full assessment of this. Availability of data on varicella diagnoses across all health settings would enable estimation of the total healthcare burden due to varicella and the cost-effectiveness of introducing varicella vaccination.

scholarly journals Foreign Body Aspiration in Infants and Older Children: A Comparative Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shorook Na’ara ◽  
Igor Vainer ◽  
Moran Amit ◽  
Arie Gordin
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Body ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Signs And Symptoms ◽  
Foreign Body Aspiration ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Small Airways ◽  
Older Children ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Young Infants

Background: Foreign body aspiration (FBA) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children. It is a preventable event that predominates in preschool age. The signs and symptoms mimic respiratory diseases common in the same age-group. We compared FBA in infants to FBA in older children. Methods: Retrospective analysis of all the cases of suspected FBA of children under the age of 18 years hospitalized at one medical center during 2002 to 2016. We analyzed the data according to age: up to 1 year (infants) and 1 to 18 years. Results: One hundred seventy-five children with suspected FBA were admitted; of whom, 27 (15%) were infants and 148 (85%) were older children (age 1-18 years). For the 2 age groups, adults witnessed 85% and 73%, respectively, of the incidents ( P = .4). In the neonate group, 48% presented with normal X-ray findings compared to only 20% in the older group; 15% of the older group had a positive chest X-ray for a foreign body, while none had such in the infants’ group ( P = .01). For the 2 age groups, the majority of the FBs found were from organic origin. About half of the patients were diagnosed and managed within 24 hours of the aspiration event. In 10%, repeated bronchoscopy was performed due to a retained FB remnant. In a multivariate analysis, signs and symptoms ( P < .05), location of the FB ( P < .001), and witnessed aspiration ( P < .001) were independent prognostic factors for the length of hospitalization. Conclusion: Foreign body aspiration is not uncommon in young infants; the management is challenging due to small airways, the need to use smaller bronchoscopes, and the lack of working channel forces in pediatric bronchoscopes.

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