scholarly journals Which time investments in the first 5 years of life matter most for children’s language and behavioural outcomes at school entry?

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 548-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Gialamas ◽  
Dandara G Haag ◽  
Murthy N Mittinty ◽  
John Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Production Function ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
School Entry ◽  
New Production ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
Time Investment ◽  
Problem Behaviours ◽  
Important Time ◽  
Log Linear ◽  
Externalizing Problem

Abstract Background The ways children spend their time is one of the most valuable inputs for healthy child development. It is unknown which time investment yields the greatest return for children’s language and behavioural outcomes at school entry. Methods We used data from the first three waves (2004, 2006, 2008) of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (n = 4253). At every wave, parents completed 24-h time-use diaries on one randomly selected week and one weekend day. The amount of time children spent on 11 activities at ages 0–1, 2–3 and 4–5 years was analysed. Receptive vocabulary was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and externalizing behaviours were measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, completed by parents and teachers at 4–5 years. To identify which time investment in the first 5 years of life mattered most for children’s outcomes, a new production function was developed. This production function was estimated using a log–log linear regression model. Results Relative to other time investments, time spent on educational activities at 2–3 years of age was the most important time investment for receptive vocabulary and behavioural outcomes at school entry. After adjusting for confounding, every 1 h invested in educational activities at 2–3 years was associated with a 0.95% [95% CI (confidence interval): 0.62, 1.28] increase in receptive vocabulary, and a −5.72% (95% CI: −7.71, −3.73) and −9.23% (95% CI: −12.26, −6.20) reduction in parent- and teacher-reported externalizing problem behaviours. Time invested in play was also important to both receptive vocabulary and behaviour. One hour invested in play at 2–3 and 4–5 years was associated with a 0.68% (95% CI: 0.38, 0.98) and 0.71% (95% CI: 0.39, 1.03) increase in children’s receptive vocabulary at school entry. In addition, time invested in play at 2–3 and 4–5 years was associated with reduced problem behaviours at school entry. In contrast, screen time at all ages was associated with poorer parent- and teacher-reported externalizing problem behaviours. Conclusions These results suggest that time invested in educational activities at 2–3 years of age yield the greatest return for children’s receptive vocabulary and behaviour at school entry.

Educational activities on language and behavioural outcomes at school entry are more important for socioeconomically disadvantaged children: a prospective observational study of Australian children

2020 ◽  
pp. jech-2020-213856
Author(s):  
Angela Gialamas ◽  
Dandara G Haag ◽  
Murthy N Mittinty ◽  
John W Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Group ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Self Report ◽  
School Entry ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
Disadvantaged Children ◽  
Lower Income Group ◽  
Effect Measure Modification ◽  
Independent Effects

BackgroundTo investigate whether time spent in educational activities at 2–3 years and developmental outcomes at school entry differ among children from different socioeconomic backgrounds.MethodsParticipants were from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (n=4253). Time spent in educational activities was collected using 24-hour time-use diaries. Income was measured using parent self-report. Receptive vocabulary was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and problem behaviours were measured by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Marginal structural models were used to test whether the effects of educational activities on outcomes differed by income.ResultsChildren exposed to both <30 min/day in educational activities and being in a low-income household were at greater risk of poorer outcomes at school entry than the simple sum of their independent effects. Compared with children who spent ≥30 min/day in educational activities from high-income households, children who experienced <30 min/day in educational activities from low-income households had a 2.30 (95% CI 1.88 to 2.80) higher risk of having a receptive vocabulary score in the lowest quartile at school entry. The Relative Excess Risk due to Interaction of 0.15 (95% CI −0.38 to 0.67) was greater than 0, indicating a super-additive effect measure modification by income. These patterns were similar for behavioural outcomes.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that if there was an intervention of sufficient dose to increase the amount of time spent in educational activities to at least 30 min/day for children in the lower-income group, the risk of children having sub-optimal receptive vocabulary would be reduced by 45% and the risk of teacher-reported conduct and hyperactivity problems reduced by 67% and 70%, respectively.

Time spent in different types of childcare and children's development at school entry: an Australian longitudinal study

2014 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Gialamas ◽  
Murthy N Mittinty ◽  
Michael G Sawyer ◽  
Stephen R Zubrick ◽  
John Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
School Entry ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Regular Time ◽  
Problem Behaviours ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Parental Reports ◽  
Internalising Behaviours

ObjectiveTo investigate whether the total amount of time in childcare through the first 3 years of life was associated with children's receptive vocabulary, externalising and internalising problem behaviours at age 4–5 years, and whether this association varied for different types of childcare.MethodsWe used data from the prospective, population-based Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (n=3208–4066, depending on outcome). Parental reports of the time spent in different types of childcare were collected at face-to-face interviews at age 0–1years and at age 2–3 years. Children's receptive vocabulary was directly assessed in the child's home, and externalising and internalising behaviours were measured by questionnaire, completed by parents and teachers at age 4–5 years.ResultsAt 3 years of age, 75% of the sample spent regular time in the care of someone other than the parent. After adjustment, more time in childcare was not associated with children's receptive vocabulary ability but was associated with higher levels of parent-reported (β=0.10 (95% CI 0.00 to 0.21)) and teacher-reported (β=0.31 (0.19 to 0.44)) externalising problem behaviours and lower levels of parent-reported internalising problem behaviours (β=−0.08 (−0.15 to −0.00)). Compared with children who did not attend any type of childcare, children in centre-based care had higher parent-reported and teacher-reported externalising and lower internalising problem behaviours.ConclusionsMore time in centre-based childcare (but not other types of care) through the first 3 years of life was associated with higher parent-reported and teacher-reported externalising problem behaviours, and lower parent-reported internalising problem behaviours but not with children's receptive vocabulary ability at school entry.

Parent and child personality characteristics as predictors of negative discipline and externalizing problem behaviour in children

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Prinzie ◽  
P. Onghena ◽  
W. Hellinckx ◽  
H. Grietens ◽  
P. Ghesquière ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Population Sample ◽  
Personality Characteristics ◽  
Problem Behaviour ◽  
Problem Behaviours ◽  
Child Personality ◽  
Externalizing Behaviour ◽  
Externalizing Problem ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Externalizing Problem Behaviour

Negative discipline has been linked to childhood externalizing behaviour. However, relatively little attention has been given to the potential effect of individual personality characteristics of children and parents. Using the Five Factor Model, we examined the extent to which parents' and children's personality characteristics were related to parenting and children's externalizing behaviour in a proportional stratified general population sample (N=599) of elementary‐school‐aged children. Based on Patterson's macromodel of parenting, an initial model was built, hypothesizing that the impact of parents' and child's personality dimensions on externalizing problems was fully mediated by negative discipline. Results supported a modified model that added direct pathways between parent and child personality characteristics and externalizing problem behaviour. For the mother data, as well as for the father data, children's Extraversion and Imagination were positively related to children's externalizing problem behaviours. Children's Benevolence and Conscientiousness and parents' Emotional Stability were negatively related to externalizing problem behaviours. For the mother data, maternal Agreeableness was positively related to externalizing problem behaviours too. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Minority Migrations and the Diffusion of Technology

1951 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 347-360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Warren C. Scoville
Keyword(s):  
Production Function ◽  
Model Building ◽  
Semiautomatic Machine ◽  
New Production ◽  
Foreign Markets ◽  
Diffusion Of Technology ◽  
Building Activities ◽  
Innovation And Diffusion ◽  
First Time ◽  
And Diffusion

The process of technical change from the economist's viewpoint may be broken down into three phases: invention, innovation, and diffusion. Invention, or the increase in technological possibilities, is the discovery or perception of new configurations of technical processes or principles that alter the array of possible production functions. An innovation consists of using any given production function for the “first” time. Diffusion is basically imitative and involves the gradual replacement of old methods by the new. One example will suffice to illustrate these distinctions. The invention of the automatic bottle machine consisted of the conception, experimentation, and model-building activities of Michael J. Owens; the pioneering efforts of the entrepreneurs at Toledo, Ohio, to demonstrate that the new production function was both practical and economically feasible constituted the innovational phase; and the gradual replacement of hand-blown and semiautomatic machine methods by the new process in both American and foreign markets involved diffusion.

scholarly journals Mathematical model of transition of a production enterprise to a circular economy

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-156
Author(s):  
Leonid A. Saraev ◽  
Marina E. Тalikina
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Production Function ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Fixed Capital ◽  
Production Factor ◽  
New Production ◽  
Manufacturing Enterprise ◽  
First Case ◽  
Production Activity ◽  
Labor Resources

In the published article, a mathematical model of an enterprise is proposed, the production activity of which is described by two production functions. The main production function converts resources into the products of an enterprise, the additional production function turns resources into its waste, which are usually included in costs. Enterprises of a waste-free circular economy organize their own production so that the waste of an enterprise becomes new production factors and is completely converted into additional useful products. The process of transition in time of an enterprise of an ordinary economy to an enterprise of a waste-free circular economy is described using a special dimensionless transformation function, which varies from zero to one. Two variants of the peculiarities of changes in the economic indicators of an enterprise that arise during the transition to waste-free production are considered. In the first case, a one-factor manufacturing enterprise was investigated, which in its production activity uses only one resource, which integrates the volumes of factors of production consisting of fixed capital, production assets involved in the production of labor resources, used in the production of materials, applied technologies, of various kinds innovation. In the second case, a two-factor manufacturing enterprise has been investigated, which in its production activity uses two resources, the first of which is fixed capital and production assets, the second production factor includes labor resources involved in production. Regularities have been established for changes in the time of production, waste, profits and costs of an enterprise when introducing waste-free technologies for the case of one-factor production. Anumerical analysis of the obtained economic and mathematical model shows that the maximum value of the enterprise's profit changes over time and corresponds to the level of the introduced circular technologies.

scholarly journals 511Effects of educational activities prior to school entry are more important for socioeconomically disadvantaged children

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Gialamas ◽  
Dandara Haag ◽  
Murthy Mittinty ◽  
John Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Income Group ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Self Report ◽  
School Entry ◽  
Lower Income ◽  
Educational Activities ◽  
Disadvantaged Children ◽  
Lower Income Group ◽  
Effect Measure Modification

Abstract Background We examined whether time in educational activities at 2-3 years and language ability at school entry differed among children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Methods Data were drawn from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (n = 4253). Educational activities were collected using time-use diaries. Household income was measured using parent self-report. Language ability was assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Marginal structural models with inverse probability of treatment weights were used to assess modification of the effect of time spent in educational activities on language ability by income. Results Children exposed to both &lt;30 minutes/day in educational activities and being in a low-income household were at greater risk of poorer outcomes than the simple sum of their independent effects. Compared with children who spent ≥30 minutes/day in educational activities and from higher-income households, children who experienced &lt;30 minutes/day from low-income households had a 2.30 (95% CI: 1.88, 2.80) higher risk of having lower language ability. The Relative Excess Risk Due to Interaction of 0.15 (95% CI:-0.15, 0.67) was greater than zero indicating a super-additive effect measure modification by income. Conclusions Our results suggest that boosting time in educational activities to 30 minutes/day would benefit the lower-income group relatively more than the higher-income group. Key messages If there was an intervention of sufficient dose to increase the amount of time spent in educational activities to 30 minutes/day for children in the lower-income group, the risk of children having lower language ability at school entry could be reduced by 45%.

Scrutinizing reference: how gesture and speech are coordinated in mother-child interaction

1996 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris L. Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Linear Frequency ◽  
Follow Up Study ◽  
Child Interaction ◽  
Maternal Input ◽  
Log Linear

ABSTRACTMaternal estensive naming was investigated in a cross-sectional study of 12 children aged 0;10, 1;3 and 1;6, and a follow-up study of four children aged 1;3. Display, demonstration and pointing were coded with regard to whether and how co-occurring speech referred to gesture focus. Multivariate log-linear frequency analyses found that mothers' coordination of speech with gesture varied with age and the gesture used. Maternal naming of objects was most frequent with children aged 0; 10. Maternal gesture-speech coordination with children aged 1;3 and 1;6 differed in two related ways: (1) actions were named more frequently than objects; and (2) mothers often combined gesture with complementary speech referring, not to gesture focus, but to an action to be performed with the object indicated. At all ages, pointing was rarely used to name ostensively, and occurred most often in combination with complementary reference. Maternal input was found to be significantly correlated with children's reported receptive vocabulary.

Value creation through intellectual capital in developed European markets

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Shakina ◽  
Angel Barajas
Keyword(s):  
Production Function ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Intangible Capital ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Log Linear ◽  
European Markets ◽  
Hedonic Approach

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the production function of firms based on the use of intellectual capital. The authors come up with this problem since believe that the new economy conditions require an adjustment and a development of classical firm theory. Design/methodology/approach – The research question addressed in this study is mainly related to the empirical validation of the function based on companies' intangibles in the Cobb-Douglas framework. This model enables the authors to advocate the idea of the complementarity of intellectual resources as well as simplifies the analysis of intellectual capital features. To accomplish the purpose of the research, the authors design a log-linear model and estimate it on a sample of more than 400 European and American companies. Findings – Application of Cobb-Douglas framework allowed designing a production function based on intellectual capital. The complementarity of intellectual capital components is justified on the empirical results obtained in this research. The increasing return to scale for intellectual capital was established for the sample examined in this study. Research limitations/implications – The main shortcoming of the approach implemented in this study is related to the proxy indicators of intellectual capital. Nevertheless, the authors statistically validate the chosen indicators applying hedonic approach. Practical implications – Practical accomplishment of this research is mainly associated with the conclusion about an increasing return to scale of intellectual capital. This phenomenon appears to be of a particular importance for investment decisions. Originality/value – The findings of this paper provide a new insight into intellectual resources interrelation that enhances companies' value creation. The authors also hope to assist future research attempts in application of the theory of company's growth driven by its intangible capital.

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