The aim of this thesis is to examine the early vocabulary development of a sample of Swedish children in relation to parental input and early communicative skills. Three studies are situated in an overall description of early language development in children. The data analyzed in the thesis was collected within a larger project at Stockholm University (SPRINT- “Effects of enhanced parental input on young children’s vocabulary development and subsequent literacy development” [VR 2008-5094]). Data analysis was based on parental report via SECDI, the Swedish version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, and audio recordings. One study examined parental verbal interaction characteristics in three groups of children with varying vocabulary size at 18 months. The stability of vocabulary development at 18 and 24 months was investigated in a larger study, with focus on children’s vocabulary composition and grammatical abilities. The third study examined interrelations among early gestures, receptive and productive vocabulary, and grammar measured with M3L, i.e. three longest utterances, from 12 to 30 months. Overall results of the thesis highlight the importance of early language development. Variability in different characteristics in parental input is associated with variability in child vocabulary size. Children with large early vocabularies exhibit the most stability in vocabulary composition and the earliest grammatical development. Children’s vocabulary composition may reflect individual stylistic variation. Use of early gestures is associated differentially with receptive and productive vocabulary. Results of the thesis have implications for parents, child- and healthcare personnel, as well as researchers and educational practitioners. The results underscore the importance of high quality in adult-child interaction, with rich input fine-tuned to children’s developmental levels and age, together with high awareness of early language development. / SPRINT project

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The aim of this thesis is to examine the early vocabulary development of a sample of Swedish children in relation to parental input and early communicative skills. Three studies are situated in an overall description of early language development in children. The data analyzed in the thesis was collected within a larger project at Stockholm University (SPRINT- “Effects of enhanced parental input on young children’s vocabulary development and subsequent literacy development” [VR 2008-5094]). Data analysis was based on parental report via SECDI, the Swedish version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, and audio recordings. One study examined parental verbal interaction characteristics in three groups of children with varying vocabulary size at 18 months. The stability of vocabulary development at 18 and 24 months was investigated in a larger study, with focus on children’s vocabulary composition and grammatical abilities. The third study examined interrelations among early gestures, receptive and productive vocabulary, and grammar measured with M3L, i.e. three longest utterances, from 12 to 30 months. Overall results of the thesis highlight the importance of early language development. Variability in different characteristics in parental input is associated with variability in child vocabulary size. Children with large early vocabularies exhibit the most stability in vocabulary composition and the earliest grammatical development. Children’s vocabulary composition may reflect individual stylistic variation. Use of early gestures is associated differentially with receptive and productive vocabulary. Results of the thesis have implications for parents, child- and healthcare personnel, as well as researchers and educational practitioners. The results underscore the importance of high quality in adult-child interaction, with rich input fine-tuned to children’s developmental levels and age, together with high awareness of early language development. / SPRINT project

Labour Migration of the Hawan Ha Clan Mongghul to Aksu in Xinjiang Abstract: The current work focuses on the ongoing labour migration of the Mongghul Ha Clan from Hawan, Gansu Province to Aksu in southern Xinjiang. It presents the motivation for the migration, and examines the social, economic and cultural changes the migration has catalyzed. Impacts on local Uyghur engendered by in-migrants are discussed. The work also features an overview and a generalization of the contemporary labour migration in China and Xinjiang in particular. Interviews with migrants are transcribed in Mongghul and translated to English and serve as an important source for the work.

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Background Modern capitalist societies have consumption at the core of their social and economic activities. This is one of the underlying problems that sustainability is facing. In need of solutions and avenues for limiting our footprint and consumption, we turn towards alternative solutions such as coliving as a potential for facilitating sustainable lifestyles in their residents.   Objectives The overall purpose of this thesis is to investigate coliving impacts on the sustainability practices of residents within the Swedish urban environment. To do this effectively, the theoretical framework of this thesis will primarily utilize practice theory, as well as institutional theory and clan control theory to a secondary degree, to explore their interactions between coliving social structures and residential agents in terms of following sustainable activities and compare those with a single living household. Through conducting interviews with the residents of the Coliving and single living in line with these frameworks, this thesis aims to explore to a greater degree how the coliving housing model can contribute to more sustainable lifestyles.   Methods A qualitative research strategy was chosen for the study with a two-case comparative study design. To further explore the complexity of the interactions between agents and properties of social structures, data collection methods were utilized, such as semi-structured interviews with residents of coliving and single-living. The analytical approach was conducted through a thematic data analysis method.   Results The Coliving initiative stimulates sustainable lifestyles by creating a set of social structures and cultural rules that promotes interaction, diversity, and sustainable lifestyles. The design of the Coliving initiative activated the most evident and impactful change mechanisms. Specifically, the built environment that is diverse and flexible and facilitates variations of facilities and immense recourses accessible for the residents to interact and use for different moods and behaviors. The recruitment process facilitates a foundation of balance between diversity and like-minded individuals for learning potentials and collaboration. The governance structure of the community-based organization is nonhierarchical participatory, and consensus-based, and the community is self-organized. These features have shown to promote collaboration and interaction between individuals and stimulate sustainable practices. Last, the cultural rules of the community also promote interactions and collaboration, as well as many of the social sustainability principles and anti-consumption practices.   Conclusions The coliving, compared to the single-living, has much more quantitive, qualitative, and diverse set of structures with sustainable properties that brings the residents more or less into the situation where a greening of their corresponding lifestyles becomes a very convenient option.

Largely based on material recorded during an internationally sponsored inter-university research tour through the Sesotho speaking area of southern Africa in August 2000, this thesis explores the state of the Basotho oral poetry, the dithoko `praise poems', the difela `mine workers' chants' and the diboko `family odes' at the beginning of the 21st century. Unlike the classical dithoko which were inspired by the wars or the battles in which the Basotho fought as well as cannibalism, those composed at the beginning of the 21st century are inspired by socio-economic and political situations of the poets. Lack of wars has resulted in the poets turning the praising to their chiefs and themselves. Changing socio-economic conditions inspired the difela compositions. The diboko though still a living tradition among the rural Basotho are not adhered to by some who are affected by modernism. Performance of the three oral genres has shifted from the natural settings such as the battlefield, working parties, traditional courts, assemblies, etc., to organized annual festivals such as Morija Arts & Cultural Festival which constitute the Basotho's `popular culture'. The subject-matter and themes of the dithoko have shifted from warfare to traditional chiefs, current heroic deeds of the poets, current political situations and religion. The difela are characterized by inclusion of new subject-matter. The diboko still play an important function as carriers of the names of the ancestors, the tribal idiosyncrasy of the clan and the history associated with the clan's establishment. The three Basotho oral genres demonstrate an emergence of a new phenomenon whereby one genre penetrates another, a phenomenon which may be called `migration of texts'. The last chapter explores the insights emanating from the entire research, and discusses suggestions on what should be done to ensure that the Basotho oral genres are maintained and improved. The video footage of the poets recorded at various places of the Free State and Lesotho have contributed to the success of the research. The thesis serves as a contribution to the Basotho's dynamic oral poetry on which scholars will hopefully do further research in the near future. / African Languages / D. Litt et Phil. (African Languages)

Largely based on material recorded during an internationally sponsored inter-university research tour through the Sesotho speaking area of southern Africa in August 2000, this thesis explores the state of the Basotho oral poetry, the dithoko `praise poems', the difela `mine workers' chants' and the diboko `family odes' at the beginning of the 21st century. Unlike the classical dithoko which were inspired by the wars or the battles in which the Basotho fought as well as cannibalism, those composed at the beginning of the 21st century are inspired by socio-economic and political situations of the poets. Lack of wars has resulted in the poets turning the praising to their chiefs and themselves. Changing socio-economic conditions inspired the difela compositions. The diboko though still a living tradition among the rural Basotho are not adhered to by some who are affected by modernism. Performance of the three oral genres has shifted from the natural settings such as the battlefield, working parties, traditional courts, assemblies, etc., to organized annual festivals such as Morija Arts & Cultural Festival which constitute the Basotho's `popular culture'. The subject-matter and themes of the dithoko have shifted from warfare to traditional chiefs, current heroic deeds of the poets, current political situations and religion. The difela are characterized by inclusion of new subject-matter. The diboko still play an important function as carriers of the names of the ancestors, the tribal idiosyncrasy of the clan and the history associated with the clan's establishment. The three Basotho oral genres demonstrate an emergence of a new phenomenon whereby one genre penetrates another, a phenomenon which may be called `migration of texts'. The last chapter explores the insights emanating from the entire research, and discusses suggestions on what should be done to ensure that the Basotho oral genres are maintained and improved. The video footage of the poets recorded at various places of the Free State and Lesotho have contributed to the success of the research. The thesis serves as a contribution to the Basotho's dynamic oral poetry on which scholars will hopefully do further research in the near future. / African Languages / D. Litt et Phil. (African Languages)

No description available.

A variety of tools have been developed to assist in the quantification and analysis of naturalistic language samples. In recent years, computer technology has been employed in language sample analysis. This study compares a new automated index, Scoring Sentences Developmentally (SSD), to two existing measures. Eighty samples from three corpora were manually analyzed using DSS and MLU and the processed by the automated software. Results show all three indices to be highly correlated, with correlations ranging from .62 to .98. The high correlations among scores support further investigation of the psychometric characteristics of the SSD software to determine its clinical validity and reliability. Results of this study suggest that SSD has the potential to compliment other analysis procedures in assessing the language development of young children.