My case of study video

Through all the presencial classes in the university plus the previous entries presented here in this blog, we have been studying about the different stages of childhood and some of the problems that can come with the growing of kids in any of the three areas that have been the center of our discussions (physical, cognitive and pyshosocial development). Now, it is time to apply all the information processed in our mind and put it into practice. In this manner, this entry will address all the processes that were the mainstays of a real case of study video that I carried out with the intention of comparing all the theories studied with the reality of Salvadorian kids.

This video project compares the theories that some experts such as, Jean Piaget and Vigotsky have said about all the processes that appear during the stages of childhood, so for this opportunity the subjects of study will be:

Ø Andre Gabriel Ramos Sandoval              (toddlerhood - 1 year old.)

Ø Carlos Enrique Enriquez Garcia               (early childhood - 3 years old)

Ø Jefferson Alejandro Zelada Blanco         (middle childhood - 7 years old)

    Every childhood stage like: toddlerhood for example, will address the physical, cognitive and psychosocial parameters that belong to that specific stage.

Steps taken for the realization of the video:

ü Before creating the video:

ü I gathered all the information I could about the three stages of childhood that I was going to analyze.  For this task, I used many sources such as: books, and web pages that are cited at the end of this entry.

ü Then, the kids were selected according to their ages. 

ü Finally, once I had all the information needed, and the tasks that I wanted the kids to perform, I proceeded to the real contact with the kids.

During the video:

ü I analyzed one child at a time.

ü Every child was asked with different tasks that are mentioned in the video.

ü The kids were not told about the creation of the video so that they could not overreact or change their behavior. This applies in the case of Jefferson which is the only one that could be affected by the camera since the other two kids are two young to be conscious about the video project.

After the video:

ü All the data collected was classified and arranged into the stage in which it belonged.

ü The video was edited.

• About the findings:  

Toddlerhood. Andre Gabriel Ramos  1 year-old


Physical development 

This includes the growth of the body and brain, sensory capacity, motor skills, and health. In this stage, children height increases a lot during the first year of age. Of course this can very depending on the familiar patterns. For example here in el Salvador most people are either normal or short, but few people are very tall as Americans are.  

At this stage, babies are supposed to: Walk with support by 14 months, up steps by 22 months and run by 2 years. And effectively, In the case of Gabriel, he is able to walk with support of walls, furniture, and people. They also eat small amounts, eat frequently and they drink from a cup. All these activities are perfectly done by Gabriel. Toddlers can scribble, however according to papalia, this activity starts at the age of two, and that is the reason why gabriel is not able to scribble already since he is just one year. Moreover, toddlers Throw and kick balls, and this is one of gabriel’s favorite activities, there several the things that toddlers start to explore at this stage and this is the period more active than at any other point in their lives.

cognitive development

Here we have many theories such as Piagets’ theory that starts at 2 years of age in which babies are under the Preoperational stage in which the child begins to represent the world with words and images. On the other hand, we have Vigotsky’s theory. For Vigotsky, cognitive development occurs as a result of social interactions. In social interactions, children work with others to make decisions and solve problems. Therefore, their cognitive abilities increase and eventually they gain the ability to function intellectually on their own.  Subsequently, at this toddler stage, kids start to Point to objects they want, and can use them for their intended purpose. For example, Gabriel points out to dishes when he wants to eat; he even takes them and licks them when they are empty. They are also able to name familiar people and objects. In the case of Gabriel, he has problem producing names he is just able to say mom and dad, but no other names, this may be because he is just starting this toddler stage or because he needs more scaffolding from his parents, understanding by scaffolding to temporary support that parents, teachers, and more-skilled peers give a child to do a task until the child can do it alone.  According to papalia 2007. At this age, babies are also able to follow simple directions to play, or to do something. For example, if you tell Gabriel to show you his molars, he will surely show you his molars.

Psychosocial development 

At this stage, toddlers Are self-centered, possessive and have difficulty sharing toys. In the case of Gabriel, sometimes  he is willing to share his toys but not all the time, most of the time we would not share anything that is interesting for him. They also enjoy playing by themselves and or next to other children. Gabriel is still not that ready to play with other children, this is because we are considering toddlers since 1-3 years old and he is just one, so at this point he does not pay much attention to the fact of playing together with other children. Furthermore, babies show increasing fears and may ask for parents continually. This is what we call in Spanish niños uraños. This is completely true with Gabriel, he is fine just when his mother in near to him, if she gets away he cries a lot. 

• Early childhood 
• Carlos Enrique Enriquez Garcia 3 years old

Physical development 

He has a younger brother who is 6 months old. And his grandmother takes care of him because his parents have to work the whole day and sometimes even at night, so his childcare has been completely granted to his grandmother. So regarding the physical changes: it can be said that at this stage, kids are able to run, jump,and  balance one foot for up to 5 seconds. Carlos is able to o all these activities. Kids can also pedal and steer a small tricycles. 

Cognitive development

 Advances of understanding categorization, numbers, space and identities are seen in this stage. Kids are able to correctly name some colors, and know some numbers. However, carlitos is still not good at colors or numbers. Nevertherless the problem with him is the lack of scaffolding that the baby has because his parents are not that present in his life, and his grandmother cannot even read properly so she does not teach anything to carlitos, and this is why he might be presenting some kind of delay in his learning. 

Psychosocial changes. 

At this point, they start understanding themselves, their emotions, their gender and they start acquiring the traditional masculine or feminine role they should assume according to the society. At this ages, they cooperate with other children, they play together, they are more likely to follow rules, they show concern for others feeling and start expressing the feelings of being sorry. In the case of carlitos, he is good at playing with other kids, and he is able to follow rules about what to do or what not to do. For example, he has been taught not to cross the street because it is dangerous. He might not understand completely the meaning of dangerous but he obeys and does not cross the street.

• Middle childhood

Jefferson Alejandro Zelada Blanco  7 years-old.


Physical changes 

In this stage, by age 6 the brain has reached about 95 percent of its adult volume according to papalia 2006. At this period, kids should be able to ride a two-heeler bicycle, however jeferson is not able to ride a bicycle because he does not have one, and not because his body it is not ready to do so. They are able to throw and catch a ball as it can be observed in the video. He has already mastered all kinds of movements and he can coordinate them as he prefers.

cognitive development…

In this stage,  kids start reasoning and they bombard their parent’s with plenty of questions. From 7 years old and on, kids can pass Piaget’s class inclusion problem This indicates greater awareness of classification hierarchies. They can focus on relations between a general category and two specific categories at the same time That is, on three relationships at once

Ex. Children can now understand that there are more “flowers” than “yellow flowers” because both blue and yellow flowers fall under the category of flowers.

—  

Jefferson was asked with this simple example of Piaget’s class inclusion problem and he effectively answered that there were more yellow flowers that blue flowers. During this stage kids start learning how to write and read. However, Jefferson still has problems with his reading and writing because he has some learning problems. And in  comparison with the US government that has tried to break poverty education and kids’ learning problems with different programs, El Salvador lacks programs that can help kids that have learning problems. There is also of vital importance the fact that Jefferson assists to a public school where there around fifty kids in his classroom.

Psychosocial development. 

There is a big emotional growth in this stage. Kids are more aware of their own and others’ feelings, they understand conflicting emotions, they are Aware of culture’s “rules” for emotional expressions, Emotional self-regulation and Control of emotions, attention, and behavior. Jefferson was asked what he does or what he feels when his older brother hits him, he said that he would feel sad, but he would not react violently. This is partially correct because, it is true that he would feel sad, but it is not true that would not react violently, actually he is the one who fights and hits his older brother, so this just confirm that at this stage they are also excellent to tell lies.

Conclusion: 

It is impressive to realize that all the theories studied during this period really come true in the development of Salvadorian kids. Starting from physical changes, the three kids of my study did meet all the expectations about their growth and the activities that they are supposed to do at the stage in which they are. The toddler Andre is almost able to walk, Carlos is already able to walk and run and Jefferson has already mastered whatever movement that he desires to do with his body. This confirms that physical development is going well in the life of these three kids. Now, about cognitive changes, I found some deficiencies in the three kids; Andre is still not able to produce familiar names, something that he should already do, and Carlos does not know about some colors or numbers; nonetheless, the problems found in Andre and Carlos are not due to some internal cognitive problems or lack of development in their brains, but rather, because their parents are not scaffolding them enough so that they can extend their cognitive abilities, however, in the case of Jefferson, he has been diagnosed with dyslexia (Dyslexia is characterized by difficulty with learning to read fluently and with accurate comprehension despite normal intelligence.) and this is the reason why he has some problems in his reading and writing learning. Finally, talking about psychosocial development, the three kids show normal features that are compatible with their ages. Thus, it can be said that theories about children development are reliable and also consistent in relation to Salvadorian children.

Finally, here you are my case of study video…I hope you can find it interesting.

References:

v “Ages and Stages”, the University of Illinois Extension, 2008 

(www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/BABYSITTING/age-toddler.html).

v Papalia, D, et al. A child’s world. Mc Graw Hill, USA, 2006.

v Papalia, D. E., Olds, S. W., & Feldma R. D. 2007. Human development. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill.

 “Understanding Children: Disciplining your toddler”, Ohio State University Extension,HDFS-1529c-02 

Attention deficit disorder (ADD)

It is normal that sometimes we might forget about things we have to do such as, take some pills, call someone, and do any task. However, this problem does not occur just to adults; kids can forget about things they must do like their homework. Nevertheless, until what point is it this situation acceptable? Forgetting about things it is just one of many symptoms that kids with attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD), present. Inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are also signs of this disorder which can affect children’s ability to learn and get along with others. In such a case, it is indispensable for parents and teachers to know how to recognize the signs and symptoms so that kids with this deficit attention can be treated.

To continue with this topic, it is significant to know what deficit attention disorder (ADD/ADHD) is, so let’s look at this brief explanation:

                                                                                     

v Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder that appears in early childhood characterized by the presence of impaired attention associated with hyperactive and impulsive behavior. According to Hernando Ruiz and Ana Rosa M.A.

The presence of this disorder in kids entails to alterations in cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes.

According to Jesus J. de la Gándara Martín this deficit is a heterogeneous behavioral disorder that may respond to possible environmental etiologies, lesion brain, genetic and neuroanatomical-neurochemistry.

Now, knowing what ADD/ADHD is; it is important to identify whether the behaviors that a kid presents are really ADD symptoms or just some normal kids’ behavior. The signs and symptoms of this disorder typically appear before the age of seven. However, it can be difficult to distinguish between attention deficit disorder and normal “kid behavior.” If there is a kid that presents some hyperactivity or inattention, but these symptoms just occur sometimes; it may not be attention deficit disorder, nonetheless, if the symptoms are showed very often and in every environment such as, at home, school, and any other frequent environment. It becomes really important to start analyzing the kid to determine whether he or she is really having ADD problems.

The primary characteristics of ADD / ADHD

When many people think of attention deficit disorder, they picture an out-of-control kid in constant motion, bouncing off the walls and disrupting everyone around. But this is not the only possible picture.
Some children with ADD/ADHD are hyperactive, while others sit quietly—with their attention miles away. Some put too much focus on a task and have trouble shifting it to something else. Others are only mildly inattentive, but overly impulsive.

The three primary characteristics of ADD / ADHD

The three primary characteristics of ADD/ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. The signs and symptoms a child with attention deficit disorder has depends on which characteristics predominate.

Children with ADD/ADHD may be:

§  Inattentive, but not hyperactive or impulsive.

§  Hyperactive and impulsive, but able to pay attention.

§  Inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive (the most common form of ADD/ADHD).

A formal diagnosis is advisable to carry it out from six years-old and on. This is because at this stage, most kids start to assist to school, and once they are pressure with educational tasks, the deficit attention problem will become more noticeable.

The diagnosis is realized by a specialist (doctors and psychologists) with the information that comes from parents, teachers, and the direct observation of the kid. Strong basis of the disorder’s symptoms should be seen at least in two different environments such as, at home and at school.

Now that we know a little bit more about Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), it is important that we as teachers and parents pay the attention needed to some irregular behaviors that our kids can have so that we can proceed to look for the necessary treatment that the affected children need, and it this manner we contribute to the good education that all these kids call for.

v References: “Adquisicion de una lengua en niños con TDAH: Estudio de dos casos”  Hernando Ruiz y Ana Rosa. M.A. 

v  http://www.helpguide.org/mental/adhd_add_signs_symptoms.htm

The Main Behavioral and Cognitive Differences between Boys and Girls (Middle Ghildhood)

It is evident that boys and girls have many physical differences since they are born. Everybody can distinguish between a girl and a boy physical appearance, however, do girls and boys differ on behavior and intellectual aspects? The answer to this question is yes. Girls and boys are different from each other in the way they behave and think since they are kids, and not until they get a more mature age, as more people think. Thus, this entry will lecture a little about the main behavioral and cognitive differences between boys and girls during middle childhood.Each person is unique and different from others. Thus, there are some specific behaviors and ways of thinking that can be grouped into girls and boys normal or common behaviors and thoughts at specific ages. These differences in cognitive and behaviors between girls and boys arise from biological or psychosocial basis, and as they grow older; kids start assuming behaviors that are unique to their gender. In this case, we will consider kinds in middle childhood (6-9 years-old).

Cognitive differences:

Ø Recent studies indicate that there are differences in the brain development of boys and girls, beginning as young as 5 to 7 years of age. Girls develop faster and often perform better in school than boys. Some research  even suggests that girls have a better sense of hearing than boys, which could, in part,  explain girls’ higher academic performance

Ø . Research shows that males are more likely to use one side of the brain for a given task, while females use both sides of the brain. Because girls access both the thinking and feeling functions of the brain at the same time, they process information best when it is presented in a larger context. In general, boys prefer information presented in an objective and fact-oriented manner.

Behavioral differences:

Ø Girls and boys have different standards and evaluate themselves differently. Although girls typically do better in school than boys, they are less confident and more likely to be critical of their own academic performance. Boys, on the other hand, tend to have unrealistically high views of their own academic abilities and accomplishments. Some girls may even hold back in school as they try to fit in with peers and avoid surpassing boys.

Ø Girls and boys have different internal motivations. Some girls may be motivated by paying attention to the needs of others, while boys might find motivation in doing what is fair or right. Girls at all ages may think more of other people when they make a decision. They also may be reluctant to judge right and wrong because they were raised to be nurturing and nonjudgmental. Often, girls place more emphasis on compassion and care, and boys are more concerned with honor and justice.

Now, it is clear for all of us why boys and girls react differently to singular situations in life. Most of the time, we compare girls’ and boys’ behaviors and we would like them to act in the same way without thinking that they differences arise from biological aspects and not because they want to be in that way.   

In conclusion, all this information can be useful for parents and teachers to realize the different needs that boy and girls have so that we as adults can really fulfill and understand our kids. 

I

           

    v References: 

       “Understanding Children and Adolescents,” of Program Basics: The Definitive Program Resource for Boys & Girls Clubs (Atlanta, Ga.: Boys & Girls Clubs of America, 1999). 

Gross and Fine Motor Skills that Children Develop During Early and Middle Childhood

Gross and fine motor skills refer to the physical changes that occur through someone’s life span.

·      

  Gross motor skills: involve the large muscles of the body that enable such functions as walking, kicking, sitting upright, lifting, and throwing a ball. 

·    

    Fine motor skills: involve the small muscles of the body that enable such functions as writing, grasping small objects, and fastening clothing.

Gross motor skills:

3-4 years:

-they can climb stairs using their own method.

-jump.

-run.

-pedal a small tricycle.

-catch and throw balls and objects.

4-5 years:

-kids can down and up the stairs alone.

-their running continues to smooth and increase in speed.

-they master some activities they could already perform, but with difficulty like: driving their bicycles faster.

5-6 years:

-they continue refining earlier skills.

-they start playing sports more organized such as: soccer, football, baseball, swimming, among others.

From 7 years old and on:

-they continue mastering the abilities they have already gotten.

Fine motor skills:

3-4 years:

-kids start manipulating clothing fasteners, like zippers and snaps.

-have more independent in dressing themselves.

-they start using scissors.

-can use utensils like forks and spoons.

-kids can use crayons, pencils, and pen. At this stage they may not use them properly, but they do use them.

4-5 years:

-they can button and unbutton their clothes by themselves.

- They artistic skills get better.

-they can draw more complex figures.

5-7 years:

-kids improve their use of pens, crayons and all tools related to writing.

-they can brush their teeth and hair.

-they can also feed themselves without any adult supervision.

It is of vital importance that adults encourage and help kids build up their gross and fine motor skills so that their physical development does not show any sight of delay. Parents should teach every activity that has been mentioned above with the intention that kids can extend their innate gross and fine abilities because most of the delays that kids present in their physical development are due to lack of teaching from their parents and not because natural disabilities. In such a case, parents and caregivers play an important role in their children good or bad development of gross and fine motor skills.

 

References:

v Papalia, D, et al. A child’s world. Mc Graw Hill, USA, 2006.

v (http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=12755&cn=462)

Different Stages of Childhood

     We all see children as little people who do not understand the world as we as adults do. This is because we know very little about the different stages or things that kids go through before becoming in teens. In such a case, it is of vital importance that we as teachers, parents, relatives and everyone who has to deal with children everyday know more about the different changes, fears, and in general all aspects that make of a kid be a kid. Thus, this entry will address the three different stages of childhood: toddlerhood, early childhood and middle childhood. (according to papalia 2006).

Ø TODDLERHOOD (1-3 years old)

Physical development:

Physical development includes the growth of the body and brain, sensory capacity, motor skills, and health.

To continue discussing about physical development, it is necessary to have a look at the concepts of “Gross and fine motor skills”.

·        Gross motor skills: involve the large muscles of the body that enable such functions as walking, kicking, sitting upright, lifting, and throwing a ball. 

·        Fine motor skills: involve the small muscles of the body that enable such functions as writing, grasping small objects, and fastening clothing. 

At this stage, some advances in motor skills are seen. Kids start walking around 12-15 months of age.  After this amazing step in the babies lives when they are already able to walk, toddlers begin to show a multitude of advanced abilities including walking backwards, throwing a ball, jumping in place, and riding a tricycle. Toddlers also become more experts at activities that require fine motor movements such as scribbling, stacking blocks, using a spoon, and drinking from a cup.

Cognitive development:

Cognitive development refers to the changes and stability in mental abilities, such as learning, attention, memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity. According to papalia 2007.

Here we have many theories that analyze cognitive development since the toodlerhood stage to then move to other stages. First we have Piagets’ theory that starts at 2 years of age in which babies are under the preoperational stage in which The child begins to represent the world with words and images. On the other hand, we have vigotsky’s theory. For Vygotsky, cognitive development occurs as a result of social interactions. In social interaction, children work with others to make decisions and solve problems.

In my personal opinion, I think that both experts are right and if we combine the two theories we can generate more ideas to help our babies in their cognitive development. As it is mentioned above, piaget’s assumption in cognitive development says that every child is born with a basic mental structure and all subsequent learning finds its mainstays on that structure. This is completely true; kids can reason since they are born, however, they just do it in a different way. Toddlers start from a very basic reasoning until moving on to a more complex and advanced way of thinking. Nevertheless, these advances come when we as adults start scaffolding our kids understanding by scaffolding to temporary support that parents, teachers, and more-skilled peers give a child to do a task until the child can do it alone according to papalia 2007. By scaffolding kids, we agree with vigotski’s ideas about social interaction, and that kids learn through interactions and also our help. In conclusion, both theories give a good contribution to the understanding and progress of the cognitive development in kids so that we can look for useful techniques to help toddlers in their intellectual development.

Psychosocial development

Understanding by psychosocial development to the changes and stability in emotions, personality, and social relationship, according to papalia 2007.

At this stage, toddlers Are self-centered, possessive and have difficulty sharing toys. However, not all the kids are the same. There are some kids that are willing to share toys. This can depend on the influences from their parents. If parents teach their kids to share their toys with other kids, toddlers will surely learn to share their toys.

Ø Early childhood (3-5 years old)

Physical changes:

The average child grows 2 ½ inches in height and gains between 5 and 7 pounds a year during early childhood. At this stage, kids are able to run, jump, balance one foot for up to 5 seconds. They can also pedal a small tricycle.

As their bodies grow more, gross and fine motor skills continue to expand. Children will be able to:

ü dance 

ü move all their muscles

ü follow a routine of exercises

ü scribble

Cognitive changes:

Advances of understanding categorization, numbers, space and identities are seen in this stage. Kids are able to correctly name some colors, and know some numbers. However, all these activities need to be taught to kids. It would be almost impossible to pretend children to know how to count, if we do not teach them how to do it. Every stage that kids go through needs the support of the adults, the more we help them, the more they learn, and cognitive advances are the skills that need more support to develop.

Psychosocial development: 

At this point, kids start understanding themselves, their emotions, their gender and they start acquiring the traditional masculine or feminine role they should assume according to the society. At this ages, they cooperate with other children, they play together, they are more likely to follow rules, they show concern for others feeling and start expressing the feelings of being sorry.

There is a specific theory created by Erick Erickson about psychosocial development in early childhood.  This theory elucidates different stages regarding the psychosocial changes that kids go through. However, there is one specific stage concerning early childhood which is initiative versus guilt. In this stage, Erickson enlightens the point in the life of kids when they start interacting with the world and reasoning about the appropriate way to control the world. They start planning activities, achieving goals of certain tasks, and exploring the earth.  Kids should start making choices and decisions at this period. They initiative must be encouraged by their parents so that their own decisions can end up in a successful sense of purpose while dismissive parents can make their own children feel embarrassed or kids may experiment a sense of guilt.

Taking into consideration that kids are independent little people, caregivers should allow children to experiment the world with their own ideas, just as Erickson explains in his initiative versus guilt theory.  This is why, I could not agree more with Erick Erickson and his ideas about letting kids have the freedom they need to make their own choices, of course, with the supervision of adults. 

Ø  Middle childhood (6-9 years old)

Physical changes:

Just right before puberty, we find middle childhood. In this stage, kids have already grown and mastered all kind of movements using their bodies. They are able to do plenty of routine exercises, they can also swim, dance, run, jump, play any game, ride a bicycle and some other activities.

In this stage as in others, kids’ nutrition is very important since this care will help children to develop all their parts of their bodies and will keep them health to perform any voluntary or requested task.

Cognitive changes:

At this point, kids are so curious about life and the world itself that they start reasoning about every occurrence that comes to their lives. Children may start attacking their parents with hundred of questions about things they see or live.

During middle childhood most children start going to school and to learn new things such as, reading, writing, calculating numbers, among other skills.

At this point, we can observe Jean Piaget’s concrete operational phase that consists on using logical operations to demonstrate cognitive understanding of logical mathematical, more abstract classification order, flexible thinking, among other logical operations.

To have a better understanding of this Piaget’s concrete operational phase, let’s have a look at this video that will clarify this so famous cognitive theory for us.

Psychosocial development: 

There is a big emotional growth in this stage. Kids are more aware of their own and others’ feelings, they understand conflicting emotions, they are Aware of culture’s “rules” for emotional expressions, emotional self-regulation and control of emotions, attention, and behavior.

It is very impressive to see how kids are able to reason at this stage, their intellectual improved in a way that kids in middle childhood are able to understand emotions, and feelings. They are not self centered anymore and they can think about how others can feel in different situations.

It is very important to pay attention to how kids develop their own self. This can be influenced by parents, teaches, peers, and also the society. Kids absorb everything they see, everything they are told they are, and this can be very crucial in a kid’s life. Thus, the fact of encouraging kids by labeling them with good adjectives such as: Smart or intelligent can mark positively children lives forever as well as bad adjectives like: stupid or troublemaker can mark them negatively.

In conclusion, every stage in the life of a kid is important, and every person who is in charge of kids most show interest not only in learning more about kids, but also in how to assure them a good physical, cognitive and psychosocial development that can contribute them to have better lives in the future. This is way this entry has tried to encompasses some of the most relevant aspects in the different stages of childhood.  

References:

v “Ages and Stages”, the University of Illinois Extension, 2008 (www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/BABYSITTING/age-toddler.html).

v Papalia, D, et al. A child’s world. Mc Graw Hill, USA, 2006.

v Papalia, D. E., Olds, S. W., & Feldma R. D. 2007. Human development. 10th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill.

v  “Understanding Children: Disciplining your toddler”, Ohio State University Extension,HDFS-1529c-02 (http://ohioline.osu.edu/uc/pdf/1529c.pdf).