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Behaving in a socially competent manner (i.e., interacting with other social actors in an effective manner by adjusting one’s goals and behaviours according to the demands of various social situations) is a complex process that requires various cognitive skills. The purpose of the current study was to determine the unique contributions of executive functions, theory of mind and verbal skills to socially competent behaviours in either a cooperative or a competitive context. The impact of manipulating children’s perspective-taking (e.g., taking the perspective of another person) on their socially appropriate behaviours was also investigated. Pairs of children completed a cooperative and a competitive social task together and were assigned to either focus on their own or another’s perspective. Children then completed measures of executive functioning, theory of mind, and verbal skills. Results revealed that executive functioning was related to more appropriate social behaviours in the cooperative task, even when controlling for theory of mind and verbal skills; however, this relation was not found in the competitive task. Furthermore, there was no significant effect of the manipulation of perspective-taking on children’s behaviours. These findings indicate that executive functions make a unique contribution to children’s socially competent behaviours in a cooperative social context.

Behaving in a socially competent manner (i.e., interacting with other social actors in an effective manner by adjusting one’s goals and behaviours according to the demands of various social situations) is a complex process that requires various cognitive skills. The purpose of the current study was to determine the unique contributions of executive functions, theory of mind and verbal skills to socially competent behaviours in either a cooperative or a competitive context. The impact of manipulating children’s perspective-taking (e.g., taking the perspective of another person) on their socially appropriate behaviours was also investigated. Pairs of children completed a cooperative and a competitive social task together and were assigned to either focus on their own or another’s perspective. Children then completed measures of executive functioning, theory of mind, and verbal skills. Results revealed that executive functioning was related to more appropriate social behaviours in the cooperative task, even when controlling for theory of mind and verbal skills; however, this relation was not found in the competitive task. Furthermore, there was no significant effect of the manipulation of perspective-taking on children’s behaviours. These findings indicate that executive functions make a unique contribution to children’s socially competent behaviours in a cooperative social context.

The purpose of the present research study was to produce a global, cumulative model of number concept development for children between the ages of two and eight years old. The theoretical and methodological orientation of this study was greatly influenced by Richard Young's production system analysis of seriation by young children (Young, 1971, 1976) and by Newell's (1973) seminal paper, ‘You can't play twenty questions with nature and win’. The methodology used in this investigation thus was as follows. A series of complex number tasks encompassing many aspects of the concept of number were developed. Five children aged between three and seven years then were videotaped while performing some of these complex number tasks. From a detailed protocol analysis of the video-recordings, computer simulation models written in the production system language PSS3 (Ohlsson, 1979) were produced. Specific production system models were produced for each of following aspects of the children's number knowledge: (i) sharing of discrete quantities; (ii) comparison of shares; and (iii) conservation/addition/subtraction of number. These domain-specific models were based on the converging experimental evidence obtained from each of the children’s responses to variants of the complex number tasks. Each child thus received a different set of problems which were chosen systematically in order to clarify particular features of the child's abilities. After a production system model for each child had been produced within a domain, these models were compared and contrasted. From this analysis, developmental trends within the domain were identified and discussed. The research and educational implications of these developmental trends then were discussed. In the concluding parts of this study, the children's domain-specific production system models were cumulated into global, comprehensive models which accurately represented their behaviour in a variety of number tasks. These comprehensive models were compared and contrasted and general developmental trends in young children's number knowledge were identified and discussed.

Background: Parents of children with developmental disorders (DD) or disabilities report greater parenting stress than parents of typically developing children. To minimise this stress, stressful factors need to be known and stress needs to be recognised early. The present cross-sectional study aims to systematically assess and compare parenting stress in families of children with various types of disabilities. In addition, the assessment of parenting stress by attending paediatricians will be evaluated. Methods: We surveyed 611 parents about their parenting stress at the Children's Development Center (CDC). Three questionnaires, including the German versions of the Parenting Stress Index (PSI) and Impact on Family Scale (IOFS), were used to evaluate parenting stress. Furthermore, attending paediatricians assessed of the child's type of disability and their perception of parenting stress in a separate questionnaire. Results: Fifty-five percent of all parents reported stress at a clinically relevant level, 65% in the child domain and 39% in the parent domain of the PSI. Parenting stress differed significantly across diagnostic categories (p < 0.01) and was associated with childhood disability related issues of behaviour, sleep or feeding issues. Parenting stress was often underestimated by the paediatricians, especially when the children had disabilities perceived as less severe. In one-third of parents with clinically relevant total stress, paediatricians reported low stress levels. Parent-reported financial problems, social isolation, and partnership conflicts were not suspected by paediatricians in ≥85% of cases. Conclusions: Clinically relevant parenting stress was found more often than in comparable studies. An assessment of parenting stress by paediatricians may be complicated by time constraints in medical appointments, the mainly child-centred consultation, or restricted expression of parents' stress. Paediatricians should move from a purely child-centred to a holistic, family-centred approach to treatment. Routine screening of parenting stress using standardised questionnaires could be helpful to identify affected families.

Denna uppsats har sin utgångspunkt i hållbar stadsutveckling - med särskild inriktning på socialhållbarhet - och studerar konsekvenser av den segregerade staden Malmö. I fokus stårbostadsområdet Almgården och dess betydelse som kontext för barns identitetsarbete ochsocialisering. Med utgångspunkt i teorier om socialt hållbar stadsutveckling, boendesegregation,grannskapseffekter, samt barns socialisering och identitetsarbete ges en förståelse förbostadsområdets betydelse för barns uppväxtvillkor. Uppsatsen innehåller en nulägesbeskrivning ochhållbarhetsanalys av Almgården som kontext, baserad huvudsakligen på intervjuer med boende ocholika företrädare för den kommunala verksamheten i området. Sammantaget indikerar situationenpå Almgården sämre förutsättningar för god hälsa och välfärd och medför faktorer som kan påverkabarns uppväxtvillkor negativt. Ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv är den centrala utmaningen på Almgårdenatt motverka brister i jämlikhet och delaktighet. I uppsatsen görs bedömningen att så kan ske genomatt stärka individer och deras anknytning till området och genom att stärka tilliten och förtroendetinom bostadsområdet och gentemot det omgivande samhället och därmed stärka den kollektivaförmågan. En del av uppsatsen är en förstudie till ett projekt, som är tänkt att bidra till ökad socialhållbarhet i Almgården. För att ta vara på barnens perspektiv på Almgården, på barns villkor, och påett sätt som samtidigt stärker barnen föreslås projektet Communityteater Almgården. Projektet kanbidra ytterligare till förståelsen av bostadsområdets betydelse för barn och ungdomarsförutsättningar samtidigt som det har en gynnsam effekt för den sociala hållbarheten på Almgården. / The focus of this master’s thesis is socially sustainable urban development and investigates theimplications of segregation in the city of Malmö. It focuses on the neighborhood of Almgården andits significance as a context for children's identity and socialization. Theories of socially sustainableurban development, housing segregation, neighborhood effects and children’s socialization andidentity making contribute to enhance our understanding of the neighborhood’s importance forchildren's living conditions. The thesis includes a presentation and a sustainability analysis of thecurrent situation in Almgården, mainly based on interviews with residents of Almgården andrepresentatives of the municipal administration. Overall the situation in Almgården indicatesrelatively poor conditions for good health and well-being which may affect children's living conditionsand development in a negative way. From a sustainability perspective, the key challenges inAlmgården would include promoting equality and inclusion, for example by strengthening theindividuals and their identification with the neighborhood, and promoting the collective efficacy bybuilding trust and confidence among neighbors and towards citizens in adjacent neighborhoods aswell as towards the municipal administration and its staff. The thesis also includes a feasibility studyproposing the project Community Theatre Almgården. While giving voice to the children ofAlmgården and supporting a socially sustainable development of the neighborhood, the project mayalso contribute to improve our knowledge of neighborhood effects on children’s living conditions.

The thesis deals with the developmental period of preschool-aged and early school- aged children and their drawing of a figure. The theoretical part describes the children's development at this time and also their developmental oddities and determinants that influence the development. It follows up the children's drawing, its developmental stages and especially the drawing of a human figure. The practical part focuses on the drawing of a human figure created by children in kindergartens and elementary schools. It's divided into two stages. At the first stage there is the drawing evaluated according to the Draw-a-person Test written in 1982 by J. Šturm and M. Vágnerová. The discovered values are interpreted from the qualitative and quantitative point of view. The attention is paid to remarkable events at the second stage. The practical part validates or disproves given hypotheses. The whole dissertation, its contribution to research and use for pedagogical workers are summarized in the conclusion. Key words: Preschool-age, early school-age, children's development, development of a drawing, drawing of a human figure, draw-a-person test, evaluation, case study

We live in a digital age . This means that information technology affects our lives in all its forms. Information technology has become an important cultural, intellectual and physical tool in our society and now form the interaction between people. The use of information technology is an everyday activity in children and young people's lives today. Children in the Digital Age play , read, write , learn and communicate with others using information technology . Childhood has , thanks to information technology and new media habits, become different in both form and meaning. This applies for children’s libraries aswell. The children's library has in its mission to promote language development, encourage reading and provide literature based on children’s and young people's needs and circumstances. This paper examines how children's development is influenced by information technology. How information technology can help children in their development and learning. If information technology has the potential to influence children's development positively and how children's libraries can use information technology to inaugurate children and adolescents in the literature and culture with greater account of children's new media habits . What can children's libraries provide children and young people through information technology ? Can children's libraries reach children and young people through the children's own media habits in order to fulfill its mission?