Training self-assessment and task-selection skills to foster self-regulated learning: Do trained skills transfer across domains?

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Raaijmakers, Steven F; Baars, Martine; Paas, Fred; van Merriënboer, Jeroen J G; van Gog, Tamara

2018-01-01

Students' ability to accurately self-assess their performance and select a suitable subsequent learning task in response is imperative for effective self-regulated learning. Video modeling examples have proven effective for training self-assessment and task-selection skills, and-importantly-such training fostered self-regulated learning outcomes. It is unclear, however, whether trained skills would transfer across domains. We investigated whether skills acquired from training with either a specific, algorithmic task-selection rule or a more general heuristic task-selection rule in biology would transfer to self-regulated learning in math. A manipulation check performed after the training confirmed that both algorithmic and heuristic training improved task-selection skills on the biology problems compared with the control condition. However, we found no evidence that students subsequently applied the acquired skills during self-regulated learning in math. Future research should investigate how to support transfer of task-selection skills across domains.

Fine motor skills in adult Tourette patients are task-dependent

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Neuner Irene

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Tourette syndrome is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and phonic tics. Deficient motor inhibition underlying tics is one of the main hypotheses in its pathophysiology. Therefore the question arises whether this supposed deficient motor inhibition affects also voluntary movements. Despite severe motor tics, different personalities who suffer from Tourette perform successfully as neurosurgeon, pilot or professional basketball player. Methods For the investigation of fine motor skills we conducted a motor performance test battery in an adult Tourette sample and an age matched group of healthy controls. Results The Tourette patients showed a significant lower performance in the categories steadiness of both hands and aiming of the right hand in comparison to the healthy controls. A comparison of patients’ subgroup without comorbidities or medication and healthy controls revealed a significant difference in the category steadiness of the right hand. Conclusions Our results show that steadiness and visuomotor integration of fine motor skills are altered in our adult sample but not precision and speed of movements. This alteration pattern might be the clinical vignette of complex adaptations in the excitability of the motor system on the basis of altered cortical and subcortical components. The structurally and functionally altered neuronal components could encompass orbitofrontal, ventrolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices, the anterior cingulate, amygdala, primary motor and sensorimotor areas including altered corticospinal projections, the corpus callosum and the basal ganglia.

Towards Self-adaptation for Dependable Service-Oriented Systems

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Cardellini, Valeria; Casalicchio, Emiliano; Grassi, Vincenzo; Lo Presti, Francesco; Mirandola, Raffaela

Increasingly complex information systems operating in dynamic environments ask for management policies able to deal intelligently and autonomously with problems and tasks. An attempt to deal with these aspects can be found in the Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigm that foresees the creation of business applications from independently developed services, where services and applications build up complex dependencies. Therefore the dependability of SOA systems strongly depends on their ability to self-manage and adapt themselves to cope with changes in the operating conditions and to meet the required dependability with a minimum of resources. In this paper we propose a model-based approach to the realization of self-adaptable SOA systems, aimed at the fulfillment of dependability requirements. Specifically, we provide a methodology driving the system adaptation and we discuss the architectural issues related to its implementation. To bring this approach to fruition, we developed a prototype tool and we show the results that can be achieved with a simple example.

Emergence of task-dependent representations in working memory circuits

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Cristina eSavin

2014-05-01

Full Text Available A wealth of experimental evidence suggests that working memory circuits preferentially represent information that is behaviorally relevant. Still, we are missing a mechanistic account of how these representations come about. Here we provide a simple explanation for a range of experimental findings, in light of prefrontal circuits adapting to task constraints by reward-dependent learning. In particular, we model a neural network shaped by reward-modulated spike-timing dependent plasticity (r-STDP and homeostatic plasticity (intrinsic excitability and synaptic scaling. We show that the experimentally-observed neural representations naturally emerge in an initially unstructured circuit as it learns to solve several working memory tasks. These results point to a critical, and previously unappreciated, role for reward-dependent learning in shaping prefrontal cortex activity.

Context-dependent motor skill: perceptual processing in memory-based sequence production

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Ruitenberg, M.F.L.; Abrahamse, E.L.; de Kleine, Elian; Verwey, Willem B.

2012-01-01

Previous studies have shown that motor sequencing skill can benefit from the reinstatement of the learning context—even with respect to features that are formally not required for appropriate task performance. The present study explored whether such context-dependence develops when sequence

Calculation and word problem-solving skills in primary grades - Impact of cognitive abilities and longitudinal interrelations with task-persistent behaviour.

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Jõgi, Anna-Liisa; Kikas, Eve

2016-06-01

Primary school math skills form a basis for academic success down the road. Different math skills have different antecedents and there is a reason to believe that more complex math tasks require better self-regulation. The study aimed to investigate longitudinal interrelations of calculation and problem-solving skills, and task-persistent behaviour in Grade 1 and Grade 3, and the effect of non-verbal intelligence, linguistic abilities, and executive functioning on math skills and task persistence. Participants were 864 students (52.3% boys) from 33 different schools in Estonia. Students were tested twice - at the end of Grade1 and at the end of Grade 3. Calculation and problem-solving skills, and teacher-rated task-persistent behaviour were measured at both time points. Non-verbal intelligence, linguistic abilities, and executive functioning were measured in Grade 1. Cross-lagged structural equation modelling indicated that calculation skills depend on previous math skills and linguistic abilities, while problem-solving skills require also non-verbal intelligence, executive functioning, and task persistence. Task-persistent behaviour in Grade 3 was predicted by previous problem-solving skills, linguistic abilities, and executive functioning. Gender and mother's educational level were added as covariates. The findings indicate that math skills and self-regulation are strongly related in primary grades and that solving complex tasks requires executive functioning and task persistence from children. Findings support the idea that instructional practices might benefit from supporting self-regulation in order to gain domain-specific, complex skill achievement. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Teaching Genetic Counseling Skills: Incorporating a Genetic Counseling Adaptation Continuum Model to Address Psychosocial Complexity.

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Shugar, Andrea

2017-04-01

Genetic counselors are trained health care professionals who effectively integrate both psychosocial counseling and information-giving into their practice. Preparing genetic counseling students for clinical practice is a challenging task, particularly when helping them develop effective and active counseling skills. Resistance to incorporating these skills may stem from decreased confidence, fear of causing harm or a lack of clarity of psycho-social goals. The author reflects on the personal challenges experienced in teaching genetic counselling students to work with psychological and social complexity, and proposes a Genetic Counseling Adaptation Continuum model and methodology to guide students in the use of advanced counseling skills.

Adaptation of manipulation skills in physical contact with the environment to reference force profiles

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Abu-Dakka, Fares J.; Nemec, Bojan; Jørgensen, Jimmy A.

2015-01-01

We propose a new methodology for learning and adaption of manipulation skills that involve physical contact with the environment. Pure position control is unsuitable for such tasks because even small errors in the desired trajectory can cause significant deviations from the desired forces...... and torques. The proposed algorithm takes a reference Cartesian trajectory and force/torque profile as input and adapts the movement so that the resulting forces and torques match the reference profiles. The learning algorithm is based on dynamic movement primitives and quaternion representation...

Group training in interpersonal problem-solving skills for workplace adaptation of adolescents and adults with Asperger syndrome: a preliminary study.

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Bonete, Saray; Calero, María Dolores; Fernández-Parra, Antonio

2015-05-01

Adults with Asperger syndrome show persistent difficulties in social situations which psychosocial treatments may address. Despite the multiple studies focusing on social skills interventions, only some have focused specifically on problem-solving skills and have not targeted workplace adaptation training in the adult population. This study describes preliminary data from a group format manual-based intervention, the Interpersonal Problem-Solving for Workplace Adaptation Programme, aimed at improving the cognitive and metacognitive process of social problem-solving skills focusing on typical social situations in the workplace based on mediation as the main strategy. A total of 50 adults with Asperger syndrome received the programme and were compared with a control group of typical development. The feasibility and effectiveness of the treatment were explored. Participants were assessed at pre-treatment and post-treatment on a task of social problem-solving skills and two secondary measures of socialisation and work profile using self- and caregiver-report. Using a variety of methods, the results showed that scores were significantly higher at post-treatment in the social problem-solving task and socialisation skills based on reports by parents. Differences in comparison to the control group had decreased after treatment. The treatment was acceptable to families and subject adherence was high. The Interpersonal Problem-Solving for Workplace Adaptation Programme appears to be a feasible training programme. © The Author(s) 2014.

Training Self-Regulated Learning Skills with Video Modeling Examples: Do Task-Selection Skills Transfer?

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Raaijmakers, Steven F.; Baars, Martine; Schaap, Lydia; Paas, Fred; van Merriënboer, Jeroen; van Gog, Tamara

2018-01-01

Self-assessment and task-selection skills are crucial in self-regulated learning situations in which students can choose their own tasks. Prior research suggested that training with video modeling examples, in which another person (the model) demonstrates and explains the cyclical process of problem-solving task performance, self-assessment, and…

Motor adaptation capacity as a function of age in carrying out a repetitive assembly task at imposed work paces.

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Gilles, Martine Annie; Guélin, Jean-Charles; Desbrosses, Kévin; Wild, Pascal

2017-10-01

The working population is getting older. Workers must adapt to changing conditions to respond to the efforts required by the tasks they have to perform. In this laboratory-based study, we investigated the capacities of motor adaptation as a function of age and work pace. Two phases were identified in the task performed: a collection phase, involving dominant use of the lower limbs; and an assembly phase, involving bi-manual motor skills. Results showed that senior workers were mainly limited during the collection phase, whereas they had less difficulty completing the assembly phase. However, senior workers did increase the vertical force applied while assembling parts, whatever the work pace. In younger and middle-aged subjects, vertical force was increased only for the faster pace. Older workers could adapt to perform repetitive tasks under different time constraints, but adaptation required greater effort than for younger workers. These results point towards a higher risk of developing musculoskeletal disorders among seniors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of practice schedule and task specificity on the adaptive process of motor learning.

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Barros, João Augusto de Camargo; Tani, Go; Corrêa, Umberto Cesar

2017-10-01

This study investigated the effects of practice schedule and task specificity based on the perspective of adaptive process of motor learning. For this purpose, tasks with temporal and force control learning requirements were manipulated in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Specifically, the task consisted of touching with the dominant hand the three sequential targets with specific movement time or force for each touch. Participants were children (N=120), both boys and girls, with an average age of 11.2years (SD=1.0). The design in both experiments involved four practice groups (constant, random, constant-random, and random-constant) and two phases (stabilisation and adaptation). The dependent variables included measures related to the task goal (accuracy and variability of error of the overall movement and force patterns) and movement pattern (macro- and microstructures). Results revealed a similar error of the overall patterns for all groups in both experiments and that they adapted themselves differently in terms of the macro- and microstructures of movement patterns. The study concludes that the effects of practice schedules on the adaptive process of motor learning were both general and specific to the task. That is, they were general to the task goal performance and specific regarding the movement pattern. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synergy Repetition Training versus Task Repetition Training in Acquiring New Skill.

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Patel, Vrajeshri; Craig, Jamie; Schumacher, Michelle; Burns, Martin K; Florescu, Ionut; Vinjamuri, Ramana

2017-01-01

Traditionally, repetitive practice of a task is used to learn a new skill, exhibiting as immediately improved performance. Research suggests, however, that a more experience-based rather than exposure-based training protocol may allow for better transference of the skill to related tasks. In synergy-based motor control theory, fundamental motor skills, such as hand grasping, are represented with a synergy subspace that captures essential motor patterns. In this study, we propose that motor-skill learning through synergy-based mechanisms may provide advantages over traditional task repetition learning. A new task was designed to highlight the range of motion and dexterity of the human hand. Two separate training strategies were tested in healthy subjects: task repetition training and synergy training versus a control. All three groups showed improvements when retested on the same task. When tested on a similar, but different set of tasks, only the synergy group showed improvements in accuracy (9.27% increase) compared to the repetition (3.24% decline) and control (3.22% decline) groups. A kinematic analysis revealed that although joint angular peak velocities decreased, timing benefits stemmed from the initial feed-forward portion of the task (reaction time). Accuracy improvements may have derived from general improved coordination among the four involved fingers. These preliminary results warrant further investigation of synergy-based motor training in healthy individuals, as well as in individuals undergoing hand-based rehabilitative therapy.

Cerebellar direct current stimulation enhances on-line motor skill acquisition through an effect on accuracy.

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Cantarero, Gabriela; Spampinato, Danny; Reis, Janine; Ajagbe, Loni; Thompson, Tziporah; Kulkarni, Kopal; Celnik, Pablo

2015-02-18

The cerebellum is involved in the update of motor commands during error-dependent learning. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a form of noninvasive brain stimulation, has been shown to increase cerebellar excitability and improve learning in motor adaptation tasks. Although cerebellar involvement has been clearly demonstrated in adaptation paradigms, a type of task that heavily relies on error-dependent motor learning mechanisms, its role during motor skill learning, a behavior that likely involves error-dependent as well as reinforcement and strategic mechanisms, is not completely understood. Here, in humans, we delivered cerebellar tDCS to modulate its activity during novel motor skill training over the course of 3 d and assessed gains during training (on-line effects), between days (off-line effects), and overall improvement. We found that excitatory anodal tDCS applied over the cerebellum increased skill learning relative to sham and cathodal tDCS specifically by increasing on-line rather than off-line learning. Moreover, the larger skill improvement in the anodal group was predominantly mediated by reductions in error rate rather than changes in movement time. These results have important implications for using cerebellar tDCS as an intervention to speed up motor skill acquisition and to improve motor skill accuracy, as well as to further our understanding of cerebellar function. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/353285-06$15.00/0.

Attractive Serial Dependence in the Absence of an Explicit Task.

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Fornaciai, Michele; Park, Joonkoo

2018-03-01

Attractive serial dependence refers to an adaptive change in the representation of sensory information, whereby a current stimulus appears to be similar to a previous one. The nature of this phenomenon is controversial, however, as serial dependence could arise from biased perceptual representations or from biased traces of working memory representation at a decisional stage. Here, we demonstrated a neural signature of serial dependence in numerosity perception emerging early in the visual processing stream even in the absence of an explicit task. Furthermore, a psychophysical experiment revealed that numerosity perception is biased by a previously presented stimulus in an attractive way, not by repulsive adaptation. These results suggest that serial dependence is a perceptual phenomenon starting from early levels of visual processing and occurring independently from a decision process, which is consistent with the view that these biases smooth out noise from neural signals to establish perceptual continuity.

Children's attention to task-relevant information accounts for relations between language and spatial cognition.

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Miller, Hilary E; Simmering, Vanessa R

2018-08-01

Children's spatial language reliably predicts their spatial skills, but the nature of this relation is a source of debate. This investigation examined whether the mechanisms accounting for such relations are specific to language use or reflect a domain-general mechanism of selective attention. Experiment 1 examined whether 4-year-olds' spatial skills were predicted by their selective attention or their adaptive language use. Children completed (a) an attention task assessing attention to task-relevant color, size, and location cues; (b) a description task assessing adaptive language use to describe scenes varying in color, size, and location; and (c) three spatial tasks. There was correspondence between the cue types that children attended to and produced across description and attention tasks. Adaptive language use was predicted by both children's attention and task-related language production, suggesting that selective attention underlies skills in using language adaptively. After controlling for age, gender, receptive vocabulary, and adaptive language use, spatial skills were predicted by children's selective attention. The attention score predicted variance in spatial performance previously accounted for by adaptive language use. Experiment 2 followed up on the attention task (Experiment 2a) and description task (Experiment 2b) from Experiment 1 to assess whether performance in the tasks related to selective attention or task-specific demands. Performance in Experiments 2a and 2b paralleled that in Experiment 1, suggesting that the effects in Experiment 1 reflected children's selective attention skills. These findings show that selective attention is a central factor supporting spatial skill development that could account for many effects previously attributed to children's language use. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Differential Effects of Task Complexity on Domain-Specific and Peer Assessment Skills

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van Zundert, Marjo J.; Sluijsmans, Dominique M. A.; Konings, Karen D.; van Merrienboer, Jeroen J. G.

2012-01-01

In this study the relationship between domain-specific skills and peer assessment skills as a function of task complexity is investigated. We hypothesised that peer assessment skills were superposed on domain-specific skills and will therefore suffer more when higher cognitive load is induced by increased task complexity. In a mixed factorial…

Action recognition and movement direction discrimination tasks are associated with different adaptation patterns

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Stephan eDe La Rosa

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The ability to discriminate between different actions is essential for action recognition and social interaction. Surprisingly previous research has often probed action recognition mechanisms with tasks that did not require participants to discriminate between actions, e.g. left-right direction discrimination tasks. It is not known to what degree visual processes in direction discrimination tasks are also involved in the discrimination of actions, e.g. when telling apart a handshake from a high-five. Here, we examined whether action discrimination is influenced by movement direction and whether direction discrimination depends on the type of action. We used an action adaptation paradigm to target action and direction discrimination specific visual processes. In separate conditions participants visually adapted to forward and backward moving handshake and high-five actions. Participants subsequently either categorized the action or the movement direction of an ambiguous action. The results showed that direction discrimination adaptation effects were modulated by the type of action but action discrimination adaptation effects were unaffected by movement direction. These results suggest that action discrimination and direction categorization rely on partly different visual information. We propose that action discrimination tasks should be considered for the exploration of visual action recognition mechanisms.

Predictors of Career Adaptability Skill among Higher Education Students in Nigeria

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Amos Shaibu Ebenehi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper examined predictors of career adaptability skill among higher  education students in Nigeria. A sample of 603 higher education students randomly selected from six colleges of education in Nigeria participated in this study.  A set of self-reported questionnaire was used for data collection, and multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze the data.  Results indicated that 33.3% of career adaptability skill was explained by the model.  Four out of the five predictor variables significantly predicted career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria.  Among the four predictors, career self-efficacy sources was the most statistically significant predictor of career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria, followed by personal goal orientation, career future concern, and perceived social support respectively.  Vocational identity did not statistically predict career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria.  The study suggested that similar study should be replicated in other parts of the world in view of the importance of career adaptability skill to the smooth transition of graduates from school to the labor market.  The study concluded by requesting stakeholders of higher institutions in Nigeria to provide career exploration database for the students, and encourage career intervention program in order to enhance career adaptability skill among the students.

Everyday executive functioning influences adaptive skills in autism spectrum disorders

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Rachel K. Peterson

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Adaptive skills are often defined as a set of behaviors or constellation of skills that allow for an individual to function independently and meet environmental demands. Adaptive skills have been linked with an array of social and academic outcomes. Executive functions (EF have been defined as a set of “capacities that enable a person to engage successfully in independent, purposive, self-serving behavior”. While the literature has demonstrated some overlap in the definitions of adaptive skills and the purpose of executive functions, little has been done to investigate the relationship between the two. The current study sought to investigate this relationship within Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD, a clinical grouping that has demonstrated a predisposition towards deficits within both of these functional domains. ASD are oftentimes associated with EF deficits, especially in the domains of cognitive flexibility, planning, and working memory. Deficits in adaptive skills have also been commonly reported in relation to ASD, with a wide range of abilities being noted across previous studies. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between adaptive skills and EF in individuals with ASD with the idea that an understanding of such relationships may offer insight into possible focus for intervention.

Feasibility of the adaptive and automatic presentation of tasks (ADAPT system for rehabilitation of upper extremity function post-stroke

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Choi Younggeun

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Current guidelines for rehabilitation of arm and hand function after stroke recommend that motor training focus on realistic tasks that require reaching and manipulation and engage the patient intensively, actively, and adaptively. Here, we investigated the feasibility of a novel robotic task-practice system, ADAPT, designed in accordance with such guidelines. At each trial, ADAPT selects a functional task according to a training schedule and with difficulty based on previous performance. Once the task is selected, the robot picks up and presents the corresponding tool, simulates the dynamics of the tasks, and the patient interacts with the tool to perform the task. Methods Five participants with chronic stroke with mild to moderate impairments (> 9 months post-stroke; Fugl-Meyer arm score 49.2 ± 5.6 practiced four functional tasks (selected out of six in a pre-test with ADAPT for about one and half hour and 144 trials in a pseudo-random schedule of 3-trial blocks per task. Results No adverse events occurred and ADAPT successfully presented the six functional tasks without human intervention for a total of 900 trials. Qualitative analysis of trajectories showed that ADAPT simulated the desired task dynamics adequately, and participants reported good, although not excellent, task fidelity. During training, the adaptive difficulty algorithm progressively increased task difficulty leading towards an optimal challenge point based on performance; difficulty was then continuously adjusted to keep performance around the challenge point. Furthermore, the time to complete all trained tasks decreased significantly from pretest to one-hour post-test. Finally, post-training questionnaires demonstrated positive patient acceptance of ADAPT. Conclusions ADAPT successfully provided adaptive progressive training for multiple functional tasks based on participant's performance. Our encouraging results establish the feasibility of ADAPT; its

Differences in visuo-motor control in skilled vs. novice martial arts athletes during sustained and transient attention tasks: a motor-related cortical potential study.

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Sanchez-Lopez, Javier; Fernandez, Thalia; Silva-Pereyra, Juan; Martinez Mesa, Juan A; Di Russo, Francesco

2014-01-01

Cognitive and motor processes are essential for optimal athletic performance. Individuals trained in different skills and sports may have specialized cognitive abilities and motor strategies related to the characteristics of the activity and the effects of training and expertise. Most studies have investigated differences in motor-related cortical potential (MRCP) during self-paced tasks in athletes but not in stimulus-related tasks. The aim of the present study was to identify the differences in performance and MRCP between skilled and novice martial arts athletes during two different types of tasks: a sustained attention task and a transient attention task. Behavioral and electrophysiological data from twenty-two martial arts athletes were obtained while they performed a continuous performance task (CPT) to measure sustained attention and a cued continuous performance task (c-CPT) to measure transient attention. MRCP components were analyzed and compared between groups. Electrophysiological data in the CPT task indicated larger prefrontal positive activity and greater posterior negativity distribution prior to a motor response in the skilled athletes, while novices showed a significantly larger response-related P3 after a motor response in centro-parietal areas. A different effect occurred in the c-CPT task in which the novice athletes showed strong prefrontal positive activity before a motor response and a large response-related P3, while in skilled athletes, the prefrontal activity was absent. We propose that during the CPT, skilled athletes were able to allocate two different but related processes simultaneously according to CPT demand, which requires controlled attention and controlled motor responses. On the other hand, in the c-CPT, skilled athletes showed better cue facilitation, which permitted a major economy of resources and "automatic" or less controlled responses to relevant stimuli. In conclusion, the present data suggest that motor expertise

Offshoring medium‐skill tasks, low‐skill unemployment and the skill‐wage structure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vallizadeh, Ehssan; Muysken, Joan; Ziesemer, Thomas

2016-01-01

This paper studies the direct and indirect channels through which offshoring affects the domestic skillwage structure and employment opportunities. To identify these channels, we develop a task-based model with unemployment that accounts for skill heterogeneity and endogenous allocation of domestic

Towards Computerized Adaptive Assessment Based on Structured Tasks

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Tvarožek, Jozef; Kravcik, Milos; Bieliková, Mária

2008-01-01

Tvarožek, J., Kravčík, M., & Bieliková, M. (2008). Towards Computerized Adaptive Assessment Based on Structured Tasks. In W. Nejdl et al. (Eds.), Adaptive Hypermedia and Adaptive Web-Based Systems (pp. 224-234). Springer Berlin / Heidelberg.

fMRI BOLD response to the eyes task in offspring from multiplex alcohol dependence families.

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Hill, Shirley Y; Kostelnik, Bryan; Holmes, Brian; Goradia, Dhruman; McDermott, Michael; Diwadkar, Vaibhav; Keshavan, Matcheri

2007-12-01

Increased susceptibility for developing alcohol dependence (AD) may be related to structural and functional differences in brain circuits that influence social cognition and more specifically, theory of mind (ToM). Alcohol dependent individuals have a greater likelihood of having deficits in social skills and greater social alienation. These characteristics may be related to inherited differences in the neuroanatomical network that comprises the social brain. Adolescent/young adult participants from multiplex AD families and controls (n = 16) were matched for gender, age, IQ, education, and handedness and administered the Eyes Task of Baron-Cohen during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). High-risk (HR) subjects showed significantly diminished blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response in comparison with low-risk control young adults in the right middle temporal gyrus (RMTG) and the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG), areas that have previously been implicated in ToM tasks. Offspring from multiplex families for AD may manifest one aspect of their genetic susceptibility by having a diminished BOLD response in brain regions associated with performance of ToM tasks. These results suggest that those at risk for developing AD may have reduced ability to empathize with others' state of mind, possibly resulting in diminished social skill.

The Effect of Cerebellar Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on A Throwing Task Depends on Individual Level of Task Performance.

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Mizuguchi, Nobuaki; Katayama, Takashi; Kanosue, Kazuyuki

2018-02-10

The effect of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on motor performance remains controversial. Some studies suggest that the effect of tDCS depends upon task-difficulty and individual level of task performance. Here, we investigated whether the effect of cerebellar tDCS on the motor performance depends upon the individual's level of performance. Twenty-four naïve participants practiced dart throwing while receiving a 2-mA cerebellar tDCS for 20 min under three stimulus conditions (anodal-, cathodal-, and sham-tDCS) on separate days with a double-blind, counter-balanced cross-over design. Task performance was assessed by measuring the distance between the center of the bull's eye and the dart's position. Although task performance tended to improve throughout the practice under all stimulus conditions, improvement within a given day was not significant as compared to the first no-stimulus block. In addition, improvement did not differ among stimulation conditions. However, the magnitude of improvement was associated with an individual's level of task performance only under cathodal tDCS condition (p performance improvement only for the sub-group of participants with lower performance levels as compared to that with sham-tDCS (p task performance. Thus, cerebellar tDCS would facilitate learning of a complex motor skill task only in a subset of individuals. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Limited interlimb transfer of locomotor adaptations to a velocity-dependent force field during unipedal walking.

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Houldin, Adina; Chua, Romeo; Carpenter, Mark G; Lam, Tania

2012-08-01

Several studies have demonstrated that motor adaptations to a novel task environment can be transferred between limbs. Such interlimb transfer of motor commands is consistent with the notion of centrally driven strategies that can be generalized across different frames of reference. So far, studies of interlimb transfer of locomotor adaptations have yielded disparate results. Here we sought to determine whether locomotor adaptations in one (trained) leg show transfer to the other (test) leg during a unipedal walking task. We hypothesized that adaptation in the test leg to a velocity-dependent force field previously experienced by the trained leg will be faster, as revealed by faster recovery of kinematic errors and earlier onset of aftereffects. Twenty able-bodied adults walked unipedally in the Lokomat robotic gait orthosis, which applied velocity-dependent resistance to the legs. The amount of resistance was scaled to 10% of each individual's maximum voluntary contraction of the hip flexors. Electromyography and kinematics of the lower limb were recorded. All subjects were right-leg dominant and were tested for transfer of motor adaptations from the right leg to the left leg. Catch trials, consisting of unexpected removal of resistance, were presented after the first step with resistance and after a period of adaptation to test for aftereffects. We found no significant differences in the sizes of the aftereffects between the two legs, except for peak hip flexion during swing, or in the rate at which peak hip flexion adapted during steps against resistance between the two legs. Our results indicate that interlimb transfer of these types of locomotor adaptation is not a robust phenomenon. These findings add to our current understanding of motor adaptations and provide further evidence that generalization of adaptations may be dependent on the movement task.

Task performance in astronomical adaptive optics

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Barrett, Harrison H.; Myers, Kyle J.; Devaney, Nicholas; Dainty, J. C.; Caucci, Luca

2006-06-01

In objective or task-based assessment of image quality, figures of merit are defined by the performance of some specific observer on some task of scientific interest. This methodology is well established in medical imaging but is just beginning to be applied in astronomy. In this paper we survey the theory needed to understand the performance of ideal or ideal-linear (Hotelling) observers on detection tasks with adaptive-optical data. The theory is illustrated by discussing its application to detection of exoplanets from a sequence of short-exposure images.

Skills-demands compatibility as a determinant of flow experience in an inductive reasoning task.

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Schiefele, Ulrich; Raabe, Andreas

2011-10-01

The skills-demands fit hypothesis of flow theory was examined. Based on the earlier finding that high demands in a game situation do not reduce the experience of flow, a cognitive task paradigm was used. The effect of skills-demands compatibility on the experience of flow but not of other, similar psychological states (i.e., concentration, negative and positive activation) was also investigated. Participants were 89 undergraduate students who worked on a number of inductive reasoning tasks in four successive trials with or without skills-demands compatibility. The results clearly supported the skills-demands fit hypothesis; concentration and activation were affected only by the tasks' difficulty. Inductive reasoning tasks are a useful tool for the experimental analysis of flow, and skills-demands compatibility is a significant and powerful condition of flow, but not of other, similar psychological states.

Effects of short-term training on behavioral learning and skill acquisition during intraoral fine motor task

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kumar, Abhishek; Grigoriadis, Joannis; Trulsson, Mats

2015-01-01

Sensory information from the orofacial mechanoreceptors are used by the nervous system to optimize the positioning of food, determine the force levels, and force vectors involved in biting of food morsels. Moreover, practice resulting from repetition could be a key to learning and acquiring a motor...... movements. Thirty healthy volunteers were asked to intraorally manipulate and split a chocolate candy, into two equal halves. The participants performed three series (with ten 10 trials) of the task before and after a short-term (approximately 30min) training. The accuracy of the split and vertical jaw...... task induces behavior learning, skill acquisition and optimization of jaw movements in terms of better performance and reduction in the duration of jaw movements, during the task. The finding of the present study provides insights on into how humans learn oral motor behaviors or the kind of adaptation...

Acquisition and production of skilled behavior in dynamic decision-making tasks

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Kirlik, Alex

1990-01-01

Ongoing research investigating perceptual and contextual influences on skilled human performance in dynamic decision making environments is discussed. The research is motivated by two general classes of findings in recent decision making research. First, many studies suggest that the concrete context in which a task is presented has strong influences on the psychological processes used to perform the task and on subsequent performance. Second, studies of skilled behavior in a wide variety of task environments typically implicate the perceptual system as an important contributor to decision-making performance, either in its role as a mediator between the current decision context and stored knowledge, or as a mechanism capable of directly initiating activity through the development of a 'trained eye.' Both contextual and perceptual influences place limits on the ability of traditional utility-theoretic accounts of decision-making to guide display design, as variance in behavior due to contextual factors or the development of a perceptual skill is left unexplained. The author outlines a framework in which to view questions of perceptual and contextual influences on behavior and describe an experimental task and analysis technique which will be used to diagnose the possible role of perception in skilled decision making performance.

Fostering a student's skill for analyzing test items through an authentic task

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Setiawan, Beni; Sabtiawan, Wahyu Budi

2017-08-01

Analyzing test items is a skill that must be mastered by prospective teachers, in order to determine the quality of test questions which have been written. The main aim of this research was to describe the effectiveness of authentic task to foster the student's skill for analyzing test items involving validity, reliability, item discrimination index, level of difficulty, and distractor functioning through the authentic task. The participant of the research is students of science education study program, science and mathematics faculty, Universitas Negeri Surabaya, enrolled for assessment course. The research design was a one-group posttest design. The treatment in this study is that the students were provided an authentic task facilitating the students to develop test items, then they analyze the items like a professional assessor using Microsoft Excel and Anates Software. The data of research obtained were analyzed descriptively, such as the analysis was presented by displaying the data of students' skill, then they were associated with theories or previous empirical studies. The research showed the task facilitated the students to have the skills. Thirty-one students got a perfect score for the analyzing, five students achieved 97% mastery, two students had 92% mastery, and another two students got 89% and 79% of mastery. The implication of the finding was the students who get authentic tasks forcing them to perform like a professional, the possibility of the students for achieving the professional skills will be higher at the end of learning.

Walking-adaptability assessments with the Interactive Walkway: Between-systems agreement and sensitivity to task and subject variations.

Science.gov (United States)

Geerse, Daphne J; Coolen, Bert H; Roerdink, Melvyn

2017-05-01

The ability to adapt walking to environmental circumstances is an important aspect of walking, yet difficult to assess. The Interactive Walkway was developed to assess walking adaptability by augmenting a multi-Kinect-v2 10-m walkway with gait-dependent visual context (stepping targets, obstacles) using real-time processed markerless full-body kinematics. In this study we determined Interactive Walkway's usability for walking-adaptability assessments in terms of between-systems agreement and sensitivity to task and subject variations. Under varying task constraints, 21 healthy subjects performed obstacle-avoidance, sudden-stops-and-starts and goal-directed-stepping tasks. Various continuous walking-adaptability outcome measures were concurrently determined with the Interactive Walkway and a gold-standard motion-registration system: available response time, obstacle-avoidance and sudden-stop margins, step length, stepping accuracy and walking speed. The same holds for dichotomous classifications of success and failure for obstacle-avoidance and sudden-stops tasks and performed short-stride versus long-stride obstacle-avoidance strategies. Continuous walking-adaptability outcome measures generally agreed well between systems (high intraclass correlation coefficients for absolute agreement, low biases and narrow limits of agreement) and were highly sensitive to task and subject variations. Success and failure ratings varied with available response times and obstacle types and agreed between systems for 85-96% of the trials while obstacle-avoidance strategies were always classified correctly. We conclude that Interactive Walkway walking-adaptability outcome measures are reliable and sensitive to task and subject variations, even in high-functioning subjects. We therefore deem Interactive Walkway walking-adaptability assessments usable for obtaining an objective and more task-specific examination of one's ability to walk, which may be feasible for both high

Skill Dependent Audiovisual Integration in the Fusiform Induces Repetition Suppression

Science.gov (United States)

McNorgan, Chris; Booth, James R.

2015-01-01

Learning to read entails mapping existing phonological representations to novel orthographic representations and is thus an ideal context for investigating experience driven audiovisual integration. Because two dominant brain-based theories of reading development hinge on the sensitivity of the visual-object processing stream to phonological information, we were interested in how reading skill relates to audiovisual integration in this area. Thirty-two children between 8 and 13 years of age spanning a range of reading skill participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment. Participants completed a rhyme judgment task to word pairs presented unimodally (auditory- or visual-only) and cross-modally (auditory followed by visual). Skill-dependent sub-additive audiovisual modulation was found in left fusiform gyrus, extending into the putative visual word form area, and was correlated with behavioral orthographic priming. These results suggest learning to read promotes facilitatory audiovisual integration in the ventral visual-object processing stream and may optimize this region for orthographic processing. PMID:25585276

Skill dependent audiovisual integration in the fusiform induces repetition suppression.

Science.gov (United States)

McNorgan, Chris; Booth, James R

2015-02-01

Learning to read entails mapping existing phonological representations to novel orthographic representations and is thus an ideal context for investigating experience driven audiovisual integration. Because two dominant brain-based theories of reading development hinge on the sensitivity of the visual-object processing stream to phonological information, we were interested in how reading skill relates to audiovisual integration in this area. Thirty-two children between 8 and 13 years of age spanning a range of reading skill participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment. Participants completed a rhyme judgment task to word pairs presented unimodally (auditory- or visual-only) and cross-modally (auditory followed by visual). Skill-dependent sub-additive audiovisual modulation was found in left fusiform gyrus, extending into the putative visual word form area, and was correlated with behavioral orthographic priming. These results suggest learning to read promotes facilitatory audiovisual integration in the ventral visual-object processing stream and may optimize this region for orthographic processing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptive Competency Acquisition: Why LPN-to-ADN Career Mobility Education Programs Work.

Science.gov (United States)

Coyle-Rogers, Patricia G.

Adaptive competencies are the skills required to effectively complete a particular task and are the congruencies (balance) between personal skills and task demands. The differences between the adaptive competency acquisition of students in licensed practical nurse (LPN) programs and associate degree nurse (ADN) programs were examined in a…

Designing Preclinical Instruction for Psychomotor Skills (II)--Instructional Engineering: Task Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, G. William; And Others

1994-01-01

The first step in engineering the instruction of dental psychomotor skills, task analysis, is explained. A chart details the procedural, cognitive, desired-criteria, and desired-performance analysis of a single task, occlusal preparation for amalgam restoration with carious lesion. (MSE)

Neuronal Substrates Underlying Performance Variability in Well-Trained Skillful Motor Task in Humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Mizuguchi, Nobuaki; Uehara, Shintaro; Hirose, Satoshi; Yamamoto, Shinji; Naito, Eiichi

2016-01-01

Motor performance fluctuates trial by trial even in a well-trained motor skill. Here we show neural substrates underlying such behavioral fluctuation in humans. We first scanned brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging while healthy participants repeatedly performed a 10 s skillful sequential finger-tapping task. Before starting the experiment, the participants had completed intensive training. We evaluated task performance per trial (number of correct sequences in 10 s) and depicted brain regions where the activity changes in association with the fluctuation of the task performance across trials. We found that the activity in a broader range of frontoparietocerebellar network, including the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), anterior cingulate and anterior insular cortices, and left cerebellar hemisphere, was negatively correlated with the task performance. We further showed in another transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) experiment that task performance deteriorated, when we applied anodal tDCS to the right DLPFC. These results indicate that fluctuation of brain activity in the nonmotor frontoparietocerebellar network may underlie trial-by-trial performance variability even in a well-trained motor skill, and its neuromodulation with tDCS may affect the task performance.

Decision Making in Concurrent Multitasking: Do People Adapt to Task Interference?

Science.gov (United States)

Nijboer, Menno; Taatgen, Niels A.; Brands, Annelies; Borst, Jelmer P.; van Rijn, Hedderik

2013-01-01

While multitasking has received a great deal of attention from researchers, we still know little about how well people adapt their behavior to multitasking demands. In three experiments, participants were presented with a multicolumn subtraction task, which required working memory in half of the trials. This primary task had to be combined with a secondary task requiring either working memory or visual attention, resulting in different types of interference. Before each trial, participants were asked to choose which secondary task they wanted to perform concurrently with the primary task. We predicted that if people seek to maximize performance or minimize effort required to perform the dual task, they choose task combinations that minimize interference. While performance data showed that the predicted optimal task combinations indeed resulted in minimal interference between tasks, the preferential choice data showed that a third of participants did not show any adaptation, and for the remainder it took a considerable number of trials before the optimal task combinations were chosen consistently. On the basis of these results we argue that, while in principle people are able to adapt their behavior according to multitasking demands, selection of the most efficient combination of strategies is not an automatic process. PMID:24244527

Decision making in concurrent multitasking: do people adapt to task interference?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Menno Nijboer

Full Text Available While multitasking has received a great deal of attention from researchers, we still know little about how well people adapt their behavior to multitasking demands. In three experiments, participants were presented with a multicolumn subtraction task, which required working memory in half of the trials. This primary task had to be combined with a secondary task requiring either working memory or visual attention, resulting in different types of interference. Before each trial, participants were asked to choose which secondary task they wanted to perform concurrently with the primary task. We predicted that if people seek to maximize performance or minimize effort required to perform the dual task, they choose task combinations that minimize interference. While performance data showed that the predicted optimal task combinations indeed resulted in minimal interference between tasks, the preferential choice data showed that a third of participants did not show any adaptation, and for the remainder it took a considerable number of trials before the optimal task combinations were chosen consistently. On the basis of these results we argue that, while in principle people are able to adapt their behavior according to multitasking demands, selection of the most efficient combination of strategies is not an automatic process.

Skill Learning and Skill Transfer Mediated by Cooperative Haptic Interaction.

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Avila Mireles, Edwin Johnatan; Zenzeri, Jacopo; Squeri, Valentina; Morasso, Pietro; De Santis, Dalia

2017-07-01

It is known that physical coupling between two subjects may be advantageous in joint tasks. However, little is known about how two people mutually exchange information to exploit the coupling. Therefore, we adopted a reversed, novel perspective to the standard one that focuses on the ability of physically coupled subjects to adapt to cooperative contexts that require negotiating a common plan: we investigated how training in pairs on a novel task affects the development of motor skills of each of the interacting partners. The task involved reaching movements in an unstable dynamic environment using a bilateral non-linear elastic tool that could be used bimanually or dyadically. The main result is that training with an expert leads to the greatest performance in the joint task. However, the performance in the individual test is strongly affected by the initial skill level of the partner. Moreover, practicing with a peer rather than an expert appears to be more advantageous for a naive; and motor skills can be transferred to a bimanual context, after training with an expert, only if the non-expert subject had prior experience of the dynamics of the novel task.

Adapting to the 30-degree visual perspective by emulating the angled laparoscope: a simple and low-cost solution for basic surgical training.

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Daniel, Lorias Espinoza; Tapia, Fernando Montes; Arturo, Minor Martínez; Ricardo, Ordorica Flores

2014-12-01

The ability to handle and adapt to the visual perspectives generated by angled laparoscopes is crucial for skilled laparoscopic surgery. However, the control of the visual work space depends on the ability of the operator of the camera, who is often not the most experienced member of the surgical team. Here, we present a simple, low-cost option for surgical training that challenges the learner with static and dynamic visual perspectives at 30 degrees using a system that emulates the angled laparoscope. A system was developed using a low-cost camera and readily available materials to emulate the angled laparoscope. Nine participants undertook 3 tasks to test spatial adaptation to the static and dynamic visual perspectives at 30 degrees. Completing each task to a predefined satisfactory level ensured precision of execution of the tasks. Associated metrics (time and error rate) were recorded, and the performance of participants were determined. A total of 450 repetitions were performed by 9 residents at various stages of training. All the tasks were performed with a visual perspective of 30 degrees using the system. Junior residents were more proficient than senior residents. This system is a viable and low-cost alternative for developing the basic psychomotor skills necessary for the handling and adaptation to visual perspectives of 30 degrees, without depending on a laparoscopic tower, in junior residents. More advanced skills may then be acquired by other means, such as in the operating theater or through clinical experience.

When feeling skillful impairs coordination in a lottery selection task.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Dorfman

Full Text Available Choosing a major field of study to secure a good job after graduation is a tacit coordination problem that requires considering others' choices. We examine how feeling skillful, either induced (Experiment 1 or measured (Experiment 2, affects coordination in this type of task. In both experiments participants chose between two lotteries, one offering a larger prize than the other. Participants' entry into the chosen lottery was either related or unrelated to their skill, with the final prize allocated randomly to one of the entrants in each lottery. Importantly, across conditions skill was irrelevant to choosing between lotteries. Notwithstanding, when skill was related to determining lottery entrants, participants who felt highly skillful chose the high prize lottery excessively. Results further suggest that this stems from high confidence in self skill, rather than incorrect expectations regarding others.

Adaptive behaviour and motor skills in children with upper limb deficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Mano, Hiroshi; Fujiwara, Sayaka; Haga, Nobuhiko

2018-04-01

The dysfunction of individuals with upper limb deficiencies affects their daily lives and social participation. To clarify the adaptive behaviours and motor skills of children with upper limb deficiencies. Cross-sectional survey. The subjects were 10 children ranging from 1 to 6 years of age with unilateral upper limb deficiencies at the level distal to the elbow who were using only cosmetic or passive prostheses or none at all. To measure their adaptive behaviour and motor skills, the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition was used. They were evaluated on the domains of communication, daily living skills, socialization and motor skills. We also examined the relationship of the scores with age. There were no statistically significant scores for domains or subdomains. The domain standard score of motor skills was significantly lower than the median scores of the domains and was negatively correlated with age. Children with upper limb deficiencies have individual weaknesses in motor skill behaviours, and these weaknesses increase with age. It may be helpful in considering approaches to rehabilitation and the prescription of prostheses to consider the characteristics and course of children's motor skill behaviours. Clinical relevance Even if children with unilateral upper limb deficiencies seem to compensate well for their affected limb function, they have or will experience individual weaknesses in motor skills. We should take this into consideration to develop better strategies for rehabilitation and prostheses prescriptions.

Career-Oriented Performance Tasks in Chemistry: Effects on Students Integrated Science Process Skills

OpenAIRE

Allen A. Espinosa; Sheryl Lyn C. Monterola; Amelia E. Punzalan

2013-01-01

The study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Career-Oriented Performance Task (COPT) approach against the traditional teaching approach (TTA) in enhancing students’ integrated science process skills. Specifically, it sought to find out if students exposed to COPT have higher integrated science process skills than those students exposed to the traditional teaching approach (TTA). Career-Oriented Performance Task (COPT) approach aims to integrate career-oriented examples and inquiry-b...

Optimizing the number of steps in learning tasks for complex skills.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nadolski, Rob; Kirschner, Paul A.; Van Merriënboer, Jeroen

2007-01-01

Background. Carrying out whole tasks is often too difficult for novice learners attempting to acquire complex skills. The common solution is to split up the tasks into a number of smaller steps. The number of steps must be optimised for efficient and effective learning. Aim. The aim of the study is

When Distribution of Tasks and Skills Are Fundamentally Problematic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Matthiesen, Stina; Bjørn, Pernille

2017-01-01

within a global software project, which relied heavily on feedback from mundane project tools utilized for everyday coordination and monitoring. Our study reveals that these tools hid serious issues relating to both the distribution of sociotechnical skills and a discharge of accountability in task...

The perceptual cognitive processes underpinning skilled performance in volleyball: evidence from eye-movements and verbal reports of thinking involving an in situ representative task.

Science.gov (United States)

Afonso, José; Garganta, Jêlio; McRobert, Allistair; Williams, Andrew M; Mesquita, Isabel

2012-01-01

An extensive body of work has focused on the processes underpinning perceptual-cognitive expertise. The majority of researchers have used film-based simulations to capture superior performance. We combined eye movement recording and verbal reports of thinking to explore the processes underpinning skilled performance in a complex, dynamic, and externally paced representative volleyball task involving in situ data collection. Altogether, 27 female volleyball players performed as centre backcourt defenders in simulated sessions while wearing an eye-tracking device. After each sequence, athletes were questioned concerning their perception of the situation. The visual search strategies employed by the highly-skilled players were more exploratory than those used by skilled players, involving more fixations to a greater number of locations. Highly-skilled participants spent more time fixating on functional spaces between two or more display areas, while the skilled participants fixated on the ball trajectory and specific players. Moreover, highly-skilled players generated more condition concepts with higher levels of sophistication than their skilled counterparts. Findings highlight the value of using representative task designs to capture performance in situ. Key pointsDecision-making in complex sports relies deeply on perceptual-cognitive expertise. In turn, the effect of expertise is highly dependent on the nature and complexity of the task.Nonetheless, most researchers use simple tasks in their research designs, risking not capturing performance in a meaningful way. We proposed to use a live action setting with a complex task design, representative of real world situations.We combined eye movement registration with collection of immediate retrospective verbal reports. Although the two data sets are not directly comparable, they may be used in a complementary manner, providing a deeper and fuller understanding of the processes underpinning superior performance.Highly-skilled

Face adaptation does not improve performance on search or discrimination tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Minna; Boynton, Geoffrey M; Fine, Ione

2008-01-04

The face adaptation effect, as described by M. A. Webster and O. H. MacLin (1999), is a robust perceptual shift in the appearance of faces after a brief adaptation period. For example, prolonged exposure to Asian faces causes a Eurasian face to appear distinctly Caucasian. This adaptation effect has been documented for general configural effects, as well as for the facial properties of gender, ethnicity, expression, and identity. We began by replicating the finding that adaptation to ethnicity, gender, and a combination of both features induces selective shifts in category appearance. We then investigated whether this adaptation has perceptual consequences beyond a shift in the perceived category boundary by measuring the effects of adaptation on RSVP, spatial search, and discrimination tasks. Adaptation had no discernable effect on performance for any of these tasks.

Fundamentals of neurosurgery: virtual reality tasks for training and evaluation of technical skills.

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Choudhury, Nusrat; Gélinas-Phaneuf, Nicholas; Delorme, Sébastien; Del Maestro, Rolando

2013-11-01

Technical skills training in neurosurgery is mostly done in the operating room. New educational paradigms are encouraging the development of novel training methods for surgical skills. Simulation could answer some of these needs. This article presents the development of a conceptual training framework for use on a virtual reality neurosurgical simulator. Appropriate tasks were identified by reviewing neurosurgical oncology curricula requirements and performing cognitive task analyses of basic techniques and representative surgeries. The tasks were then elaborated into training modules by including learning objectives, instructions, levels of difficulty, and performance metrics. Surveys and interviews were iteratively conducted with subject matter experts to delimitate, review, discuss, and approve each of the development stages. Five tasks were selected as representative of basic and advanced neurosurgical skill. These tasks were: 1) ventriculostomy, 2) endoscopic nasal navigation, 3) tumor debulking, 4) hemostasis, and 5) microdissection. The complete training modules were structured into easy, intermediate, and advanced settings. Performance metrics were also integrated to provide feedback on outcome, efficiency, and errors. The subject matter experts deemed the proposed modules as pertinent and useful for neurosurgical skills training. The conceptual framework presented here, the Fundamentals of Neurosurgery, represents a first attempt to develop standardized training modules for technical skills acquisition in neurosurgical oncology. The National Research Council Canada is currently developing NeuroTouch, a virtual reality simulator for cranial microneurosurgery. The simulator presently includes the five Fundamentals of Neurosurgery modules at varying stages of completion. A first pilot study has shown that neurosurgical residents obtained higher performance scores on the simulator than medical students. Further work will validate its components and use in a

Task-dependent vestibular feedback responses in reaching.

Science.gov (United States)

Keyser, Johannes; Medendorp, W Pieter; Selen, Luc P J

2017-07-01

When reaching for an earth-fixed object during self-rotation, the motor system should appropriately integrate vestibular signals and sensory predictions to compensate for the intervening motion and its induced inertial forces. While it is well established that this integration occurs rapidly, it is unknown whether vestibular feedback is specifically processed dependent on the behavioral goal. Here, we studied whether vestibular signals evoke fixed responses with the aim to preserve the hand trajectory in space or are processed more flexibly, correcting trajectories only in task-relevant spatial dimensions. We used galvanic vestibular stimulation to perturb reaching movements toward a narrow or a wide target. Results show that the same vestibular stimulation led to smaller trajectory corrections to the wide than the narrow target. We interpret this reduced compensation as a task-dependent modulation of vestibular feedback responses, tuned to minimally intervene with the task-irrelevant dimension of the reach. These task-dependent vestibular feedback corrections are in accordance with a central prediction of optimal feedback control theory and mirror the sophistication seen in feedback responses to mechanical and visual perturbations of the upper limb. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Correcting limb movements for external perturbations is a hallmark of flexible sensorimotor behavior. While visual and mechanical perturbations are corrected in a task-dependent manner, it is unclear whether a vestibular perturbation, naturally arising when the body moves, is selectively processed in reach control. We show, using galvanic vestibular stimulation, that reach corrections to vestibular perturbations are task dependent, consistent with a prediction of optimal feedback control theory. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Psychosocial stress affects the acquisition of cerebellar-dependent sensorimotor adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Gheorghe, Delia A; Panouillères, Muriel T N; Walsh, Nicholas D

2018-03-27

Despite being overlooked in theoretical models of stress-related disorders, differences in cerebellar structure and function are consistently reported in studies of individuals exposed to current and early-life stressors. However, the mediating processes through which stress impacts upon cerebellar function are currently unknown. The aim of the current experiment was to test the effects of experimentally-induced acute stress on cerebellar functioning, using a classic, forward saccadic adaptation paradigm in healthy, young men and women. Stress induction was achieved by employing the Montreal Imaging Stress Task (MIST), a task employing mental arithmetic and negative social feedback to generate significant physiological and endocrine stress responses. Saccadic adaptation was elicited using the double-step target paradigm. In the experiment, 48 participants matched for gender and age were exposed to either a stress (n = 25) or a control (n = 23) condition. Saliva for cortisol analysis was collected before, immediately after, and 10, and 30 min after the MIST. Saccadic adaptation was assessed approximately 10 min after stress induction, when cortisol levels peaked. Participants in the stress group reported significantly more stress symptoms and exhibited greater total cortisol output compared to controls. The stress manipulation was associated with slower learning rates in the stress group, while control participants acquired adaptation faster. Learning rates were negatively associated with cortisol output and mood disturbance. Results suggest that experimentally-induced stress slowed acquisition of cerebellar-dependent saccadic adaptation, related to increases in cortisol output. These 'proof-of-principle' data demonstrate that stress modulates cerebellar-related functions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Acquisition of Skill Proficiency Over Multiple Sessions of a Novel Rover Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, S. L.; DeDios,Y. E.; MacDougall, H. G.; Moore, S. T.; Wood, S. J.

2011-01-01

Following long-duration exploration transits, adaptive changes in sensorimotor function may impair the crew's ability to safely perform manual control tasks such as operating pressurized rovers. Postflight performance will also be influenced by the level of preflight skill proficiency they have attained. The purpose of this study was to characterize the acquisition of skills in a motion-based rover simulation over multiple sessions, and to investigate the effects of varying the simulation scenarios. METHODS: Twenty healthy subjects were tested in 5 sessions, with 1-3 days between sessions. Each session consisted of a serial presentation of 8 discrete tasks to be completed as quickly and accurately as possible. Each task consisted of 1) perspective-taking, using a map that defined a docking target, 2) navigation toward the target around a Martian outpost, and 3) docking a side hatch of the rover to a visually guided target. The simulator utilized a Stewart-type motion base (CKAS, Australia), single-seat cabin with triple scene projection covering 150 deg horizontal by 50 deg vertical, and joystick controller. Subjects were randomly assigned to a control group (tasks identical in the first 4 sessions) or a varied-practice group. The dependent variables for each task included accuracy toward the target and time to completion. RESULTS: The greatest improvements in time to completion occurred during the docking phase. The varied-practice group showed more improvement in perspective-taking accuracy. Perspective-taking accuracy was also affected by the relative orientation of the rover to the docking target. Skill acquisition was correlated with self-ratings of previous gaming experience. DISCUSSION: Varying task selection and difficulty will optimize the preflight acquisition of skills when performing novel operational tasks. Simulation of operational manual control will provide functionally relevant evidence regarding the impact of sensorimotor adaptation on early

Coherent visualization of spatial data adapted to roles, tasks, and hardware

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Boris; Peinsipp-Byma, Elisabeth

2012-06-01

Modern crisis management requires that users with different roles and computer environments have to deal with a high volume of various data from different sources. For this purpose, Fraunhofer IOSB has developed a geographic information system (GIS) which supports the user depending on available data and the task he has to solve. The system provides merging and visualization of spatial data from various civilian and military sources. It supports the most common spatial data standards (OGC, STANAG) as well as some proprietary interfaces, regardless if these are filebased or database-based. To set the visualization rules generic Styled Layer Descriptors (SLDs) are used, which are an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standard. SLDs allow specifying which data are shown, when and how. The defined SLDs consider the users' roles and task requirements. In addition it is possible to use different displays and the visualization also adapts to the individual resolution of the display. Too high or low information density is avoided. Also, our system enables users with different roles to work together simultaneously using the same data base. Every user is provided with the appropriate and coherent spatial data depending on his current task. These so refined spatial data are served via the OGC services Web Map Service (WMS: server-side rendered raster maps), or the Web Map Tile Service - (WMTS: pre-rendered and cached raster maps).

Skill sharing and delegation practice in two Queensland regional allied health cancer care services: a comparison of tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Passfield, Juanine; Nielsen, Ilsa; Brebner, Neil; Johnstone, Cara

2017-07-24

Objective Delegation and skill sharing are emerging service strategies for allied health (AH) professionals working in Queensland regional cancer care services. The aim of the present study was to describe the consistency between two services for the types and frequency of tasks provided and the agreement between teams in the decision to delegate or skill share clinical tasks, thereby determining the potential applicability to other services. Methods Datasets provided by two similar services were collated. Descriptive statistical analyses were used to assess the extent of agreement. Results In all, 214 tasks were identified as being undertaken by the services (92% agreement). Across the services, 70 tasks were identified as high frequency (equal to or more frequently than weekly) and 29 as not high frequency (46% agreement). Of the 68 tasks that were risk assessed, agreement was 66% for delegation and 60% for skill sharing, with high-frequency and intervention tasks more likely to be delegated. Conclusions Strong consistency was apparent for the clinical tasks undertaken by the two cancer care AH teams, with moderate agreement for the frequency of tasks performed. The proportion of tasks considered appropriate for skill sharing and/or delegation was similar, although variation at the task level was apparent. Further research is warranted to examine the range of factors that affect the decision to skill share or delegate. What is known about the topic? There is limited research evidence regarding the use of skill sharing and delegation service models for AH in cancer care services. In particular, the extent to which decisions about task safety and appropriateness for delegation or skill sharing can be generalised across services has not been investigated. What does this paper add? This study investigated the level of clinical task consistency between two similar AH cancer care teams in regional centres. It also examined the level of agreement with regard to

Development of a Computerized Adaptive Test of Children's Gross Motor Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chien-Yu; Tung, Li-Chen; Chou, Yeh-Tai; Wu, Hing-Man; Chen, Kuan-Lin; Hsieh, Ching-Lin

2018-03-01

To (1) develop a computerized adaptive test for gross motor skills (GM-CAT) as a diagnostic test and an outcome measure, using the gross motor skills subscale of the Comprehensive Developmental Inventory for Infants and Toddlers (CDIIT-GM) as the candidate item bank; and (2) examine the psychometric properties and the efficiency of the GM-CAT. Retrospective study. A developmental center of a medical center. Children with and without developmental delay (N=1738). Not applicable. The CDIIT-GM contains 56 universal items on gross motor skills assessing children's antigravity control, locomotion, and body movement coordination. The item bank of the GM-CAT had 44 items that met the dichotomous Rasch model's assumptions. High Rasch person reliabilities were found for each estimated gross motor skill for the GM-CAT (Rasch person reliabilities =.940-.995, SE=.68-2.43). For children aged 6 to 71 months, the GM-CAT had good concurrent validity (r values =.97-.98), adequate to excellent diagnostic accuracy (area under receiver operating characteristics curve =.80-.98), and moderate to large responsiveness (effect size =.65-5.82). The averages of items administered for the GM-CAT were 7 to 11, depending on the age group. The results of this study support the use of the GM-CAT as a diagnostic and outcome measure to estimate children's gross motor skills in both research and clinical settings. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimizing the number of steps in learning tasks for complex skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadolski, Rob J; Kirschner, Paul A; van Merriënboer, Jeroen J G

2005-06-01

Carrying out whole tasks is often too difficult for novice learners attempting to acquire complex skills. The common solution is to split up the tasks into a number of smaller steps. The number of steps must be optimized for efficient and effective learning. The aim of the study is to investigate the relation between the number of steps provided to learners and the quality of their learning of complex skills. It is hypothesized that students receiving an optimized number of steps will learn better than those receiving either the whole task in only one step or those receiving a large number of steps. Participants were 35 sophomore law students studying at Dutch universities, mean age=22.8 years (SD=3.5), 63% were female. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 computer-delivered versions of a multimedia programme on how to prepare and carry out a law plea. The versions differed only in the number of learning steps provided. Videotaped plea-performance results were determined, various related learning measures were acquired and all computer actions were logged and analyzed. Participants exposed to an intermediate (i.e. optimized) number of steps outperformed all others on the compulsory learning task. No differences in performance on a transfer task were found. A high number of steps proved to be less efficient for carrying out the learning task. An intermediate number of steps is the most effective, proving that the number of steps can be optimized for improving learning.

Do young novice drivers overestimate their driving skills?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Craen, S. de Twisk, D.A.M. Hagenzieker, M.P. Elffers, H. & Brookhuis, K.A.

2007-01-01

In this study the authors argue that, in order to sufficiently adapt to task demands in traffic, drivers have to make an assessment of their own driving skills. There are indications that drivers in general, and novice drivers in particular, overestimate their driving skills. The objective of this

A Skill-based Robot Co-worker for Industrial Maintenance Tasks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Koch, Paul Jacob; van Amstel, Marike Koch; Dębska, Patrycja

2017-01-01

This paper investigates the concept of a sensor based robot co-worker working in flexible industrial environments together with and alongside human operators. In this particular work, a realisation of a robot co-worker scenario is developed in order to demonstrate the implementation of a robot co......-worker from the starting point of an autonomous industrial mobile manipulator. The cobot is applied on the industrially relevant task of screwing by the use of a skill-based approach. The technical work on the human-robot interface and the screwing skill is described....

Multiple systems for motor skill learning

OpenAIRE

Clark, Dav; Ivry, Richard B.

2010-01-01

Motor learning is a ubiquitous feature of human competence. This review focuses on two particular classes of model tasks for studying skill acquisition. The serial reaction time (SRT) task is used to probe how people learn sequences of actions, while adaptation in the context of visuomotor or force field perturbations serves to illustrate how preexisting movements are recalibrated in novel environments. These tasks highlight important issues regarding the representational changes that occur d...

Both movement-end and task-end are critical for error feedback in visuomotor adaptation: a behavioral experiment.

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Takumi Ishikawa

Full Text Available An important issue in motor learning/adaptation research is how the brain accepts the error information necessary for maintaining and improving task performance in a changing environment. The present study focuses on the effect of timing of error feedback. Previous research has demonstrated that adaptation to displacement of the visual field by prisms in a manual reaching task is significantly slowed by delayed visual feedback of the endpoint, suggesting that error feedback is most effective when given at the end of a movement. To further elucidate the brain mechanism by which error information is accepted in visuomotor adaptation, we tested whether error acceptance is linked to the end of a given task or to the end of an executed movement. We conducted a behavioral experiment using a virtual shooting task in which subjects controlled their wrist movements to meet a target with a cursor as accurately as possible. We manipulated the timing of visual feedback of the impact position so that it occurred either ahead of or behind the true time of impact. In another condition, the impact timing was explicitly indicated by an additional cue. The magnitude of the aftereffect significantly varied depending on the timing of feedback (p < 0.05, Friedman's Test. Interestingly, two distinct peaks of aftereffect were observed around movement-end and around task-end, irrespective of the existence of the timing cue. However, the peak around task-end was sharper when the timing cue was given. Our results demonstrate that the brain efficiently accepts error information at both movement-end and task-end, suggesting that two different learning mechanisms may underlie visuomotor transformation.

Dynamic balance during walking adaptability tasks in individuals post-stroke.

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Vistamehr, Arian; Balasubramanian, Chitralakshmi K; Clark, David J; Neptune, Richard R; Fox, Emily J

2018-04-24

Maintaining dynamic balance during community ambulation is a major challenge post-stroke. Community ambulation requires performance of steady-state level walking as well as tasks that require walking adaptability. Prior studies on balance control post-stroke have mainly focused on steady-state walking, but walking adaptability tasks have received little attention. The purpose of this study was to quantify and compare dynamic balance requirements during common walking adaptability tasks post-stroke and in healthy adults and identify differences in underlying mechanisms used for maintaining dynamic balance. Kinematic data were collected from fifteen individuals with post-stroke hemiparesis during steady-state forward and backward walking, obstacle negotiation, and step-up tasks. In addition, data from ten healthy adults provided the basis for comparison. Dynamic balance was quantified using the peak-to-peak range of whole-body angular-momentum in each anatomical plane during the paretic, nonparetic and healthy control single-leg-stance phase of the gait cycle. To understand differences in some of the key underlying mechanisms for maintaining dynamic balance, foot placement and plantarflexor muscle activation were examined. Individuals post-stroke had significant dynamic balance deficits in the frontal plane across most tasks, particularly during the paretic single-leg-stance. Frontal plane balance deficits were associated with wider paretic foot placement, elevated body center-of-mass, and lower soleus activity. Further, the obstacle negotiation task imposed a higher balance requirement, particularly during the trailing leg single-stance. Thus, improving paretic foot placement and ankle plantarflexor activity, particularly during obstacle negotiation, may be important rehabilitation targets to enhance dynamic balance during post-stroke community ambulation. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Developing Tests of Visual Dependency

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Kindrat, Alexandra N.

2011-01-01

Astronauts develop neural adaptive responses to microgravity during space flight. Consequently these adaptive responses cause maladaptive disturbances in balance and gait function when astronauts return to Earth and are re-exposed to gravity. Current research in the Neuroscience Laboratories at NASA-JSC is focused on understanding how exposure to space flight produces post-flight disturbances in balance and gait control and developing training programs designed to facilitate the rapid recovery of functional mobility after space flight. In concert with these disturbances, astronauts also often report an increase in their visual dependency during space flight. To better understand this phenomenon, studies were conducted with specially designed training programs focusing on visual dependency with the aim to understand and enhance subjects ability to rapidly adapt to novel sensory situations. The Rod and Frame test (RFT) was used first to assess an individual s visual dependency, using a variety of testing techniques. Once assessed, subjects were asked to perform two novel tasks under transformation (both the Pegboard and Cube Construction tasks). Results indicate that head position cues and initial visual test conditions had no effect on an individual s visual dependency scores. Subjects were also able to adapt to the manual tasks after several trials. Individual visual dependency correlated with ability to adapt manual to a novel visual distortion only for the cube task. Subjects with higher visual dependency showed decreased ability to adapt to this task. Ultimately, it was revealed that the RFT may serve as an effective prediction tool to produce individualized adaptability training prescriptions that target the specific sensory profile of each crewmember.

Association between Subjective School Adaptation and Life Skills in Elementary School Children with Chronic Diseases.

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Aoji, Yurina; Miyai, Nobuyuki

2016-01-01

In this study, we investigated the association between subjective school adaptation and life skills in elementary school children with chronic diseases. A cross-sectional sample of children with chronic diseases (n=76), who were being treated as pediatric outpatients and who were in the 4th to 6th grade of public elementary schools, was selected. The subjects completed a self-administered questionnaire that comprised an Adaptation Scale for School Environments on Six Spheres (ASSESS) and life skills scales for self-management and stress coping strategies. Structural equation modeling was conducted to identify the inter-relationship between subjective school adaptation and life skills. Compared with the gender- and schoolyear-matched healthy controls (n=380), a large number of children with chronic diseases had low scores on the measure of interpersonal relationship in school. From the structural equation modeling, the subscales "friend's support" and "victimized relationship" in interpersonal relationship were two of the factors closely related to subjective adaptation of learning as well as school satisfaction in the children with chronic diseases. Furthermore, the "decision-making" and "goal-setting" components of self-management skills demonstrated positive contributions to the adaptation of learning and interpersonal relationship either directly affected by the skills themselves or through the affirmative effects of stress coping strategies. These results suggest that life skills education, focusing on self-management and stress coping strategies along with support to improve interpersonal relationships, is effective in promoting subjective school adaptation and leads to increased school satisfaction in children with chronic diseases.

Promoting Reasoning through the Magic V Task

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Bragg, Leicha A.; Widjaja, Wanty; Loong, Esther Yook-Kin; Vale, Colleen; Herbert, Sandra

2015-01-01

Reasoning in mathematics plays a critical role in developing mathematical understandings. In this article, Bragg, Loong, Widjaja, Vale & Herbert explore an adaptation of the Magic V Task and how it was used in several classrooms to promote and develop reasoning skills.

Scheduling a maintenance activity under skills constraints to minimize total weighted tardiness and late tasks

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Djalal Hedjazi

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Skill management is a key factor in improving effectiveness of industrial companies, notably their maintenance services. The problem considered in this paper concerns scheduling of maintenance tasks under resource (maintenance teams constraints. This problem is generally known as unrelated parallel machine scheduling. We consider the problem with a both objectives of minimizing total weighted tardiness (TWT and number of tardiness tasks. Our interest is focused particularly on solving this problem under skill constraints, which each resource has a skill level. So, we propose a new efficient heuristic to obtain an approximate solution for this NP-hard problem and demonstrate his effectiveness through computational experiments. This heuristic is designed for implementation in a static maintenance scheduling problem (with unequal release dates, processing times and resource skills, while minimizing objective functions aforementioned.

Physiological Self-Regulation and Adaptive Automation

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Prinzell, Lawrence J.; Pope, Alan T.; Freeman, Frederick G.

2007-01-01

Adaptive automation has been proposed as a solution to current problems of human-automation interaction. Past research has shown the potential of this advanced form of automation to enhance pilot engagement and lower cognitive workload. However, there have been concerns voiced regarding issues, such as automation surprises, associated with the use of adaptive automation. This study examined the use of psychophysiological self-regulation training with adaptive automation that may help pilots deal with these problems through the enhancement of cognitive resource management skills. Eighteen participants were assigned to 3 groups (self-regulation training, false feedback, and control) and performed resource management, monitoring, and tracking tasks from the Multiple Attribute Task Battery. The tracking task was cycled between 3 levels of task difficulty (automatic, adaptive aiding, manual) on the basis of the electroencephalogram-derived engagement index. The other two tasks remained in automatic mode that had a single automation failure. Those participants who had received self-regulation training performed significantly better and reported lower National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index scores than participants in the false feedback and control groups. The theoretical and practical implications of these results for adaptive automation are discussed.

The Relations of Employability Skills to Career Adaptability among Technical School Students

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de Guzman, Allan B.; Choi, Kyoung Ok

2013-01-01

This two pronged study reports the initial validation of the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS) in the context of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the investigation of the relationship between employability skills and career adaptability. Results of the study revealed that CAAS can be a valid and…

Health workforce skill mix and task shifting in low income countries: a review of recent evidence

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Auh Erica

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Health workforce needs-based shortages and skill mix imbalances are significant health workforce challenges. Task shifting, defined as delegating tasks to existing or new cadres with either less training or narrowly tailored training, is a potential strategy to address these challenges. This study uses an economics perspective to review the skill mix literature to determine its strength of the evidence, identify gaps in the evidence, and to propose a research agenda. Methods Studies primarily from low-income countries published between 2006 and September 2010 were found using Google Scholar and PubMed. Keywords included terms such as skill mix, task shifting, assistant medical officer, assistant clinical officer, assistant nurse, assistant pharmacist, and community health worker. Thirty-one studies were selected to analyze, based on the strength of evidence. Results First, the studies provide substantial evidence that task shifting is an important policy option to help alleviate workforce shortages and skill mix imbalances. For example, in Mozambique, surgically trained assistant medical officers, who were the key providers in district hospitals, produced similar patient outcomes at a significantly lower cost as compared to physician obstetricians and gynaecologists. Second, although task shifting is promising, it can present its own challenges. For example, a study analyzing task shifting in HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa noted quality and safety concerns, professional and institutional resistance, and the need to sustain motivation and performance. Third, most task shifting studies compare the results of the new cadre with the traditional cadre. Studies also need to compare the new cadre's results to the results from the care that would have been provided--if any care at all--had task shifting not occurred. Conclusions Task shifting is a promising policy option to increase the productive efficiency of the delivery of health

Adaptive Cost-Based Task Scheduling in Cloud Environment

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Mohammed A. S. Mosleh

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Task execution in cloud computing requires obtaining stored data from remote data centers. Though this storage process reduces the memory constraints of the user’s computer, the time deadline is a serious concern. In this paper, Adaptive Cost-based Task Scheduling (ACTS is proposed to provide data access to the virtual machines (VMs within the deadline without increasing the cost. ACTS considers the data access completion time for selecting the cost effective path to access the data. To allocate data access paths, the data access completion time is computed by considering the mean and variance of the network service time and the arrival rate of network input/output requests. Then the task priority is assigned to the removed tasks based data access time. Finally, the cost of data paths are analyzed and allocated based on the task priority. Minimum cost path is allocated to the low priority tasks and fast access path are allocated to high priority tasks as to meet the time deadline. Thus efficient task scheduling can be achieved by using ACTS. The experimental results conducted in terms of execution time, computation cost, communication cost, bandwidth, and CPU utilization prove that the proposed algorithm provides better performance than the state-of-the-art methods.

Figure-background in dichotic task and their relation to skills untrained.

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Cibian, Aline Priscila; Pereira, Liliane Desgualdo

2015-01-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of auditory training in dichotic task and to compare the responses of trained skills with the responses of untrained skills, after 4-8 weeks. Nineteen subjects, aged 12-15 years, underwent an auditory training based on dichotic interaural intensity difference (DIID), organized in eight sessions, each lasting 50 min. The assessment of auditory processing was conducted in three stages: before the intervention, after the intervention, and in the middle and at the end of the training. Data from this evaluation were analyzed as per group of disorder, according to the changes in the auditory processes evaluated: selective attention and temporal processing. Each of them was named selective attention group (SAG) and temporal processing group (TPG), and, for both the processes, selective attention and temporal processing group (SATPG). The training improved both the trained and untrained closing skill, normalizing all individuals. Untrained solving and temporal ordering skills did not reach normality for SATPG and TPG. Individuals reached normality for the trained figure-ground skill and for the untrained closing skill. The untrained solving and temporal ordering skills improved in some individuals but failed to reach normality.

Sleep-Dependent Reactivation of Ensembles in Motor Cortex Promotes Skill Consolidation.

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Dhakshin S Ramanathan

Full Text Available Despite many prior studies demonstrating offline behavioral gains in motor skills after sleep, the underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. To investigate the neurophysiological basis for offline gains, we performed single-unit recordings in motor cortex as rats learned a skilled upper-limb task. We found that sleep improved movement speed with preservation of accuracy. These offline improvements were linked to both replay of task-related ensembles during non-rapid eye movement (NREM sleep and temporal shifts that more tightly bound motor cortical ensembles to movements; such offline gains and temporal shifts were not evident with sleep restriction. Interestingly, replay was linked to the coincidence of slow-wave events and bursts of spindle activity. Neurons that experienced the most consistent replay also underwent the most significant temporal shift and binding to the motor task. Significantly, replay and the associated performance gains after sleep only occurred when animals first learned the skill; continued practice during later stages of learning (i.e., after motor kinematics had stabilized did not show evidence of replay. Our results highlight how replay of synchronous neural activity during sleep mediates large-scale neural plasticity and stabilizes kinematics during early motor learning.

Testing the social dog hypothesis: are dogs also more skilled than chimpanzees in non-communicative social tasks?

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Wobber, Victoria; Hare, Brian

2009-07-01

Relative to non-human primates, domestic dogs possess a number of social skills that seem exceptional-particularly in solving problems involving cooperation and communication with humans. However, the degree to which dogs' unusual skills are contextually specialized is still unclear. Here, we presented dogs with a social problem that did not require them to use cooperative-communicative cues and compared their performance to that of chimpanzees to assess the extent of dogs' capabilities relative to those of non-human primates. We tested the abilities of dogs and chimpanzees to inhibit previously learned responses by using a social and a non-social version of a reversal learning task. In contrast to previous findings in cooperative-communicative social tasks, dogs were not more skilled on the social task than the non-social task, while chimpanzees were significantly better in the social paradigm. Chimpanzees were able to inhibit their prior learning better and more quickly in the social paradigm than they were in the non-social paradigm, while dogs took more time to inhibit what they had learned in both versions of the task. These results suggest that the dogs' sophisticated social skills in using human social cues may be relatively specialized as a result of domestication.

The Protective Effects of Adaptability, Study Skills, and Social Skills on Externalizing Student-Teacher Relationships

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Fisher, Sycarah D.; Reynolds, Jennifer L.; Sheehan, Chelsea E.

2016-01-01

Although students with externalizing behaviors inherently exhibit behaviors that contribute to poor teacher relationships, little research has examined the positive characteristics these students may possess that serve to facilitate positive teacher relationships. This study explores the moderating effects of adaptability, social skills, and study…

Classroom Performance and Adaptive Skills in Children with Epilepsy.

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Huberty, Thomas J.; And Others

1992-01-01

Studied relationships of age at onset, seizure syndrome, seizure type, and seizure frequency to classroom performance and adaptive skills of 131 children with epilepsy. Epilepsy syndrome and frequency of seizures significantly related to some analyses. Results suggest that seizure disorder associated with diffuse or multifocal brain insult can…

Adaptive Incremental Genetic Algorithm for Task Scheduling in Cloud Environments

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Kairong Duan

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Cloud computing is a new commercial model that enables customers to acquire large amounts of virtual resources on demand. Resources including hardware and software can be delivered as services and measured by specific usage of storage, processing, bandwidth, etc. In Cloud computing, task scheduling is a process of mapping cloud tasks to Virtual Machines (VMs. When binding the tasks to VMs, the scheduling strategy has an important influence on the efficiency of datacenter and related energy consumption. Although many traditional scheduling algorithms have been applied in various platforms, they may not work efficiently due to the large number of user requests, the variety of computation resources and complexity of Cloud environment. In this paper, we tackle the task scheduling problem which aims to minimize makespan by Genetic Algorithm (GA. We propose an incremental GA which has adaptive probabilities of crossover and mutation. The mutation and crossover rates change according to generations and also vary between individuals. Large numbers of tasks are randomly generated to simulate various scales of task scheduling problem in Cloud environment. Based on the instance types of Amazon EC2, we implemented virtual machines with different computing capacity on CloudSim. We compared the performance of the adaptive incremental GA with that of Standard GA, Min-Min, Max-Min , Simulated Annealing and Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm in finding the optimal scheme. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve feasible solutions which have acceptable makespan with less computation time.

Organizational Adaptative Behavior: The Complex Perspective of Individuals-Tasks Interaction

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Wu, Jiang; Sun, Duoyong; Hu, Bin; Zhang, Yu

Organizations with different organizational structures have different organizational behaviors when responding environmental changes. In this paper, we use a computational model to examine organizational adaptation on four dimensions: Agility, Robustness, Resilience, and Survivability. We analyze the dynamics of organizational adaptation by a simulation study from a complex perspective of the interaction between tasks and individuals in a sales enterprise. The simulation studies in different scenarios show that more flexible communication between employees and less hierarchy level with the suitable centralization can improve organizational adaptation.

The influence of time management skill on the curvilinear relationship between organizational citizenship behavior and task performance.

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Rapp, Adam A; Bachrach, Daniel G; Rapp, Tammy L

2013-07-01

In this research we integrate resource allocation and social exchange perspectives to build and test theory focusing on the moderating role of time management skill in the nonmonotonic relationship between organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and task performance. Results from matching survey data collected from 212 employees and 41 supervisors and from task performance metrics collected several months later indicate that the curvilinear association between OCB and task performance is significantly moderated by employees' time management skill. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Context-dependent motor skill: perceptual processing in memory-based sequence production.

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Ruitenberg, Marit F L; Abrahamse, Elger L; De Kleine, Elian; Verwey, Willem B

2012-10-01

Previous studies have shown that motor sequencing skill can benefit from the reinstatement of the learning context-even with respect to features that are formally not required for appropriate task performance. The present study explored whether such context-dependence develops when sequence execution is fully memory-based-and thus no longer assisted by stimulus-response translations. Specifically, we aimed to distinguish between preparation and execution processes. Participants performed two keying sequences in a go/no-go version of the discrete sequence production task in which the context consisted of the color in which the target keys of a particular sequence were displayed. In a subsequent test phase, these colors either were the same as during practice, were reversed for the two sequences or were novel. Results showed that, irrespective of the amount of practice, performance across all key presses in the reversed context condition was impaired relative to performance in the same and novel contexts. This suggests that the online preparation and/or execution of single key presses of the sequence is context-dependent. We propose that a cognitive processor is responsible both for these online processes and for advance sequence preparation and that combined findings from the current and previous studies build toward the notion that the cognitive processor is highly sensitive to changes in context across the various roles that it performs.

Discordant tasks and motor adjustments affect interactions between adaptations to altered kinematics and dynamics

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Fritzie Arce

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Motor control and adaptation are multi-determinate processes with complex interactions. This is reflected for example in the ambiguous nature of interactions during sequential adaptation of reaching under kinematics and dynamics perturbations. It has been suggested that perturbations based on the same kinematic parameter interfere. Others posited that opposing motor adjustments underlie interference. Here, we examined the influence of discordances in task and in motor adjustments on sequential adaptations to visuomotor rotation and viscous force field perturbations. These two factors – perturbation direction and task discordance – have been examined separately by previous studies, thus the inherent difficulty to identify the roots of interference. Forty-eight human subjects adapted sequentially to one or two types of perturbations, of matched or conflicting directions. We found a gradient of interaction effects based on perturbation direction and task discordance. Perturbations of matched directions showed facilitation while perturbations of opposite directions, which required opposing motor adjustments, interfered with each other. Further, interaction effects increased with greater task discordance. We also found that force field and visuomotor rotation had mutual anterograde and retrograde effects. However, we found independence between anterograde and retrograde interferences between similar tasks. The results suggest that the newly acquired internal models of kinematic and dynamic perturbations are not independent but they share common neuronal resources and interact between them. Such overlap does not necessarily imply competition of resources. Rather, our results point to an additional principle of sensorimotor adaptation allowing the system to tap or harness common features across diverse sensory inputs and task contexts whenever available.

The effect of haptic guidance and visual feedback on learning a complex tennis task.

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Marchal-Crespo, Laura; van Raai, Mark; Rauter, Georg; Wolf, Peter; Riener, Robert

2013-11-01

While haptic guidance can improve ongoing performance of a motor task, several studies have found that it ultimately impairs motor learning. However, some recent studies suggest that the haptic demonstration of optimal timing, rather than movement magnitude, enhances learning in subjects trained with haptic guidance. Timing of an action plays a crucial role in the proper accomplishment of many motor skills, such as hitting a moving object (discrete timing task) or learning a velocity profile (time-critical tracking task). The aim of the present study is to evaluate which feedback conditions-visual or haptic guidance-optimize learning of the discrete and continuous elements of a timing task. The experiment consisted in performing a fast tennis forehand stroke in a virtual environment. A tendon-based parallel robot connected to the end of a racket was used to apply haptic guidance during training. In two different experiments, we evaluated which feedback condition was more adequate for learning: (1) a time-dependent discrete task-learning to start a tennis stroke and (2) a tracking task-learning to follow a velocity profile. The effect that the task difficulty and subject's initial skill level have on the selection of the optimal training condition was further evaluated. Results showed that the training condition that maximizes learning of the discrete time-dependent motor task depends on the subjects' initial skill level. Haptic guidance was especially suitable for less-skilled subjects and in especially difficult discrete tasks, while visual feedback seems to benefit more skilled subjects. Additionally, haptic guidance seemed to promote learning in a time-critical tracking task, while visual feedback tended to deteriorate the performance independently of the task difficulty and subjects' initial skill level. Haptic guidance outperformed visual feedback, although additional studies are needed to further analyze the effect of other types of feedback visualization on

Design and Validation of an Open-Source, Partial Task Trainer for Endonasal Neuro-Endoscopic Skills Development: Indian Experience.

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Singh, Ramandeep; Baby, Britty; Damodaran, Natesan; Srivastav, Vinkle; Suri, Ashish; Banerjee, Subhashis; Kumar, Subodh; Kalra, Prem; Prasad, Sanjiva; Paul, Kolin; Anand, Sneh; Kumar, Sanjeev; Dhiman, Varun; Ben-Israel, David; Kapoor, Kulwant Singh

2016-02-01

Box trainers are ideal simulators, given they are inexpensive, accessible, and use appropriate fidelity. The development and validation of an open-source, partial task simulator that teaches the fundamental skills necessary for endonasal skull-base neuro-endoscopic surgery. We defined the Neuro-Endo-Trainer (NET) SkullBase-Task-GraspPickPlace with an activity area by analyzing the computed tomography scans of 15 adult patients with sellar suprasellar parasellar tumors. Four groups of participants (Group E, n = 4: expert neuroendoscopists; Group N, n =19: novice neurosurgeons; Group R, n = 11: neurosurgery residents with multiple iterations; and Group T, n = 27: neurosurgery residents with single iteration) performed grasp, pick, and place tasks using NET and were graded on task completion time and skills assessment scale score. Group E had lower task completion times and greater skills assessment scale scores than both Group N and R (P ≤ 0.03, 0.001). The performance of Groups N and R was found to be equivalent; in self-assessing neuro-endoscopic skill, the participants in these groups were found to have equally low pretraining scores (4/10) with significant improvement shown after NET simulation (6, 7 respectively). Angled scopes resulted in decreased scores with tilted plates compared with straight plates (30° P ≤ 0.04, 45° P ≤ 0.001). With tilted plates, decreased scores were observed when we compared the 0° with 45° endoscope (right, P ≤ 0.008; left, P ≤ 0.002). The NET, a face and construct valid open-source partial task neuroendoscopic trainer, was designed. Presimulation novice neurosurgeons and neurosurgical residents were described as having insufficient skills and preparation to practice neuro-endoscopy. Plate tilt and endoscope angle were shown to be important factors in participant performance. The NET was found to be a useful partial-task trainer for skill building in neuro-endoscopy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhancing perceptual and attentional skills requires common demands between the action video games and transfer tasks

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Oei, Adam C.; Patterson, Michael D.

2015-01-01

Despite increasing evidence that shows action video game play improves perceptual and cognitive skills, the mechanisms of transfer are not well-understood. In line with previous work, we suggest that transfer is dependent upon common demands between the game and transfer task. In the current study, participants played one of four action games with varying speed, visual, and attentional demands for 20 h. We examined whether training enhanced performance for attentional blink, selective attention, attending to multiple items, visual search and auditory detection. Non-gamers who played the game (Modern Combat) with the highest demands showed transfer to tasks of attentional blink and attending to multiple items. The game (MGS Touch) with fewer attentional demands also decreased attentional blink, but to a lesser degree. Other games failed to show transfer, despite having many action game characteristics but at a reduced intensity. The results support the common demands hypothesis. PMID:25713551

Enhancing perceptual and attentional skills requires common demands between the action video games and transfer tasks.

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Oei, Adam C; Patterson, Michael D

2015-01-01

Despite increasing evidence that shows action video game play improves perceptual and cognitive skills, the mechanisms of transfer are not well-understood. In line with previous work, we suggest that transfer is dependent upon common demands between the game and transfer task. In the current study, participants played one of four action games with varying speed, visual, and attentional demands for 20 h. We examined whether training enhanced performance for attentional blink, selective attention, attending to multiple items, visual search and auditory detection. Non-gamers who played the game (Modern Combat) with the highest demands showed transfer to tasks of attentional blink and attending to multiple items. The game (MGS Touch) with fewer attentional demands also decreased attentional blink, but to a lesser degree. Other games failed to show transfer, despite having many action game characteristics but at a reduced intensity. The results support the common demands hypothesis.

Enhancing perceptual and attentional skills requires common demands between the action video games and transfer tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam C Oei

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Despite increasing evidence that shows action video game play improves perceptual and cognitive skills, the mechanisms of transfer are not well understood. In line with previous work, we suggest that transfer is dependent upon common demands between the game and transfer task. In the current study, participants played one of four action games with varying speed, visual, and attentional demands for twenty hours. We examined whether training enhanced performance for attentional blink, selective attention, attending to multiple items, visual search and auditory detection. Non-gamers who played the game (Modern Combat with the highest demands showed transfer to tasks of attentional blink and attending to multiple items. The game (MGS Touch with fewer attentional demands also decreased attentional blink, but to a lesser degree. Other games failed to show transfer, despite having many action game characteristics but at a reduced intensity. The results support the common demands hypothesis

Strategic Adaptation to Task Characteristics, Incentives, and Individual Differences in Dual-Tasking.

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Christian P Janssen

Full Text Available We investigate how good people are at multitasking by comparing behavior to a prediction of the optimal strategy for dividing attention between two concurrent tasks. In our experiment, 24 participants had to interleave entering digits on a keyboard with controlling a randomly moving cursor with a joystick. The difficulty of the tracking task was systematically varied as a within-subjects factor. Participants were also exposed to different explicit reward functions that varied the relative importance of the tracking task relative to the typing task (between-subjects. Results demonstrate that these changes in task characteristics and monetary incentives, together with individual differences in typing ability, influenced how participants choose to interleave tasks. This change in strategy then affected their performance on each task. A computational cognitive model was used to predict performance for a wide set of alternative strategies for how participants might have possibly interleaved tasks. This allowed for predictions of optimal performance to be derived, given the constraints placed on performance by the task and cognition. A comparison of human behavior with the predicted optimal strategy shows that participants behaved near optimally. Our findings have implications for the design and evaluation of technology for multitasking situations, as consideration should be given to the characteristics of the task, but also to how different users might use technology depending on their individual characteristics and their priorities.

The Effects of Authentic Tasks on Preservice Teachers' Attitudes towards Classes and Problem Solving Skills

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Kocyigit, Sinan; Zembat, Rengin

2013-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the effects of authentic tasks on preschool preservice teachers' attitudes towards the course and problem solving skills. The study was designed in accordance with the pretest-posttest control group model. The data were collected by using the "Problem Solving Skills Inventory", the "Course Attitude…

75 FR 62309 - Establishing a Task Force on Skills for America's Future

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-08

... reward excellent outcomes and true innovation that meets the needs of entrepreneurs and other employers... task force to develop skills for America's future by identifying, developing, and increasing the scale... credentials and degrees; (b) identification of opportunities to amplify, accelerate, or increase the scale of...

Adapting to an initial self-regulatory task cancels the ego depletion effect.

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Dang, Junhua; Dewitte, Siegfried; Mao, Lihua; Xiao, Shanshan; Shi, Yucai

2013-09-01

The resource-based model of self-regulation provides a pessimistic view of self-regulation that people are destined to lose their self-control after having engaged in any act of self-regulation because these acts deplete the limited resource that people need for successful self-regulation. The cognitive control theory, however, offers an alternative explanation and suggests that the depletion effect reflects switch costs between different cognitive control processes recruited to deal with demanding tasks. This account implies that the depletion effect will not occur once people have had the opportunity to adapt to the self-regulatory task initially engaged in. Consistent with this idea, the present study showed that engaging in a demanding task led to performance deficits on a subsequent self-regulatory task (i.e. the depletion effect) only when the initial demanding task was relatively short but not when it was long enough for participants to adapt. Our results were unrelated to self-efficacy, mood, and motivation. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptation and Retention of a Perceptual-Motor Task in Children: Effects of a Single Bout of Intense Endurance Exercise.

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Ferrer-Uris, Blai; Busquets, Albert; Angulo-Barroso, Rosa

2018-02-01

We assessed the effect of an acute intense exercise bout on the adaptation and consolidation of a visuomotor adaptation task in children. We also sought to assess if exercise and learning task presentation order could affect task consolidation. Thirty-three children were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (a) exercise before the learning task, (b) exercise after the learning task, and (c) only learning task. Baseline performance was assessed by practicing the learning task in a 0° rotation condition. Afterward, a 60° rotation-adaptation set was applied followed by three rotated retention sets after 1 hr, 24 hr, and 7 days. For the exercise groups, exercise was presented before or after the motor adaptation. Results showed no group differences during the motor adaptation while exercise seemed to enhance motor consolidation. Greater consolidation enhancement was found in participants who exercised before the learning task. Our data support the importance of exercise to improve motor-memory consolidation in children.

Effects of skill dissimilarity and task interdependence on helping in work teams

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Vegt, G.S.; Van de Vliert, E.

This study examined the effects of perceived skill dissimilarity and task interdependence on individual team members' helping behavior in a panel study of senior business students enrolled in a management game. The students were randomly assigned to 20 teams and functioned as a firm's top management

Patterned-string tasks: relation between fine motor skills and visual-spatial abilities in parrots.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anastasia Krasheninnikova

Full Text Available String-pulling and patterned-string tasks are often used to analyse perceptual and cognitive abilities in animals. In addition, the paradigm can be used to test the interrelation between visual-spatial and motor performance. Two Australian parrot species, the galah (Eolophus roseicapilla and the cockatiel (Nymphicus hollandicus, forage on the ground, but only the galah uses its feet to manipulate food. I used a set of string pulling and patterned-string tasks to test whether usage of the feet during foraging is a prerequisite for solving the vertical string pulling problem. Indeed, the two species used techniques that clearly differed in the extent of beak-foot coordination but did not differ in terms of their success in solving the string pulling task. However, when the visual-spatial skills of the subjects were tested, the galahs outperformed the cockatiels. This supports the hypothesis that the fine motor skills needed for advanced beak-foot coordination may be interrelated with certain visual-spatial abilities needed for solving patterned-string tasks. This pattern was also found within each of the two species on the individual level: higher motor abilities positively correlated with performance in patterned-string tasks. This is the first evidence of an interrelation between visual-spatial and motor abilities in non-mammalian animals.

Anti-hebbian spike-timing-dependent plasticity and adaptive sensory processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Patrick D; Leen, Todd K

2010-01-01

Adaptive sensory processing influences the central nervous system's interpretation of incoming sensory information. One of the functions of this adaptive sensory processing is to allow the nervous system to ignore predictable sensory information so that it may focus on important novel information needed to improve performance of specific tasks. The mechanism of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) has proven to be intriguing in this context because of its dual role in long-term memory and ongoing adaptation to maintain optimal tuning of neural responses. Some of the clearest links between STDP and adaptive sensory processing have come from in vitro, in vivo, and modeling studies of the electrosensory systems of weakly electric fish. Plasticity in these systems is anti-Hebbian, so that presynaptic inputs that repeatedly precede, and possibly could contribute to, a postsynaptic neuron's firing are weakened. The learning dynamics of anti-Hebbian STDP learning rules are stable if the timing relations obey strict constraints. The stability of these learning rules leads to clear predictions of how functional consequences can arise from the detailed structure of the plasticity. Here we review the connection between theoretical predictions and functional consequences of anti-Hebbian STDP, focusing on adaptive processing in the electrosensory system of weakly electric fish. After introducing electrosensory adaptive processing and the dynamics of anti-Hebbian STDP learning rules, we address issues of predictive sensory cancelation and novelty detection, descending control of plasticity, synaptic scaling, and optimal sensory tuning. We conclude with examples in other systems where these principles may apply.

Anti-Hebbian Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity and Adaptive Sensory Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick D Roberts

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Adaptive processing influences the central nervous system's interpretation of incoming sensory information. One of the functions of this adaptative sensory processing is to allow the nervous system to ignore predictable sensory information so that it may focus on important new information needed to improve performance of specific tasks. The mechanism of spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP has proven to be intriguing in this context because of its dual role in long-term memory and ongoing adaptation to maintain optimal tuning of neural responses. Some of the clearest links between STDP and adaptive sensory processing have come from in vitro, in vivo, and modeling studies of the electrosensory systems of fish. Plasticity in such systems is anti-Hebbian, i.e. presynaptic inputs that repeatedly precede and hence could contribute to a postsynaptic neuron’s firing are weakened. The learning dynamics of anti-Hebbian STDP learning rules are stable if the timing relations obey strict constraints. The stability of these learning rules leads to clear predictions of how functional consequences can arise from the detailed structure of the plasticity. Here we review the connection between theoretical predictions and functional consequences of anti-Hebbian STDP, focusing on adaptive processing in the electrosensory system of weakly electric fish. After introducing electrosensory adaptive processing and the dynamics of anti-Hebbian STDP learning rules, we address issues of predictive sensory cancellation and novelty detection, descending control of plasticity, synaptic scaling, and optimal sensory tuning. We conclude with examples in other systems where these principles may apply.

Approaching neuropsychological tasks through adaptive neurorobots

Science.gov (United States)

Gigliotta, Onofrio; Bartolomeo, Paolo; Miglino, Orazio

2015-04-01

Neuropsychological phenomena have been modelized mainly, by the mainstream approach, by attempting to reproduce their neural substrate whereas sensory-motor contingencies have attracted less attention. In this work, we introduce a simulator based on the evolutionary robotics platform Evorobot* in order to setting up in silico neuropsychological tasks. Moreover, in this study we trained artificial embodied neurorobotic agents equipped with a pan/tilt camera, provided with different neural and motor capabilities, to solve a well-known neuropsychological test: the cancellation task in which an individual is asked to cancel target stimuli surrounded by distractors. Results showed that embodied agents provided with additional motor capabilities (a zooming/attentional actuator) outperformed simple pan/tilt agents, even those equipped with more complex neural controllers and that the zooming ability is exploited to correctly categorising presented stimuli. We conclude that since the sole neural computational power cannot explain the (artificial) cognition which emerged throughout the adaptive process, such kind of modelling approach can be fruitful in neuropsychological modelling where the importance of having a body is often neglected.

Children with cochlear implants: cognitive skills, adaptive behaviors, social and emotional skills.

Science.gov (United States)

De Giacomo, Andrea; Craig, Francesco; D'Elia, Alessandra; Giagnotti, Francesca; Matera, Emilia; Quaranta, Nicola

2013-12-01

The aim of this study is to examine cognitive skills, adaptive behavior, social and emotional skills in deaf children with cochlear implant (CI) compared to normal hearing children. The study included twenty children affected by profound hearing loss implanted with a CI compared to 20 healthy children matched to chronological age and gender. Results of this study indicated that 55% of children with CI showed a score in the normal range of nonverbal intelligence (IQ > 84), 40% in the borderline range (71 differences were found after comparison with normal hearing children.Children with CI reported more abnormalities in emotional symptoms (p = .018) and peer problems(p = .037) than children with normal hearing. Age of CI was negatively correlated with IQ (p = .002),positively correlated with emotional symptoms (p = .04) and with peer problems (p = .02). CI has a positive effect on the lives of deaf children, especially if it is implanted in much earlier ages.

Enhancing students’ mathematical problem posing skill through writing in performance tasks strategy

Science.gov (United States)

Kadir; Adelina, R.; Fatma, M.

2018-01-01

Many researchers have studied the Writing in Performance Task (WiPT) strategy in learning, but only a few paid attention on its relation to the problem-posing skill in mathematics. The problem-posing skill in mathematics covers problem reformulation, reconstruction, and imitation. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of WiPT strategy on students’ mathematical problem-posing skill. The research was conducted at a Public Junior Secondary School in Tangerang Selatan. It used a quasi-experimental method with randomized control group post-test. The samples were 64 students consists of 32 students of the experiment group and 32 students of the control. A cluster random sampling technique was used for sampling. The research data were obtained by testing. The research shows that the problem-posing skill of students taught by WiPT strategy is higher than students taught by a conventional strategy. The research concludes that the WiPT strategy is more effective in enhancing the students’ mathematical problem-posing skill compared to the conventional strategy.

Computerization and skill bifurcation: the role of of task complexity in creating skill gains and losses

OpenAIRE

Ben-Ner, Avner; Urtasun Alonso, Ainhoa

2013-01-01

Does computerization increase or reduce the extent of skills that workers are required to have? Autor, Levy and Murnane (2003) show empirically that adoption of computer-based technologies (CBT) was greater in industries historically intensive in routine tasks, and that computerization increased complex problem-solving and communication activities and reduced routine cognitive and manual activities. We extend this argument and argue that the effects of CBT are neither universal nor uniform, b...

How asymmetrical task dependence and task interdependence interact:an individual level study into the effects on affective reactions

OpenAIRE

Jong, Simon B. De; Bal, P. Matthijs

2014-01-01

Purpose – This study investigates whether research and practice on task design and work teams could benefit from a more nuanced perspective on task (inter)dependencies among team members. Prior research often overlooked that task interdependence captures the average exchange of resources, while asymmetrical task dependence captures the inequalities within an individual's work relationships. To date, no study on work teams has combined the two aspects. Design/methodology/approach – Data was ob...

Context-dependent decay of motor memories during skill acquisition.

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Ingram, James N; Flanagan, J Randall; Wolpert, Daniel M

2013-06-17

Current models of motor learning posit that skill acquisition involves both the formation and decay of multiple motor memories that can be engaged in different contexts. Memory formation is assumed to be context dependent, so that errors most strongly update motor memories associated with the current context. In contrast, memory decay is assumed to be context independent, so that movement in any context leads to uniform decay across all contexts. We demonstrate that for both object manipulation and force-field adaptation, contrary to previous models, memory decay is highly context dependent. We show that the decay of memory associated with a given context is greatest for movements made in that context, with more distant contexts showing markedly reduced decay. Thus, both memory formation and decay are strongest for the current context. We propose that this apparently paradoxical organization provides a mechanism for optimizing performance. While memory decay tends to reduce force output, memory formation can correct for any errors that arise, allowing the motor system to regulate force output so as to both minimize errors and avoid unnecessary energy expenditure. The motor commands for any given context thus result from a balance between memory formation and decay, while memories for other contexts are preserved. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptation to Recent Conflict in the Classical Color-Word Stroop-Task Mainly Involves Facilitation of Processing of Task-Relevant Information

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Sascha ePurmann

2015-03-01

Full Text Available To process information selectively and to continuously fine-tune selectivity of information processing are important abilities for successful goal-directed behavior. One phenomenon thought to represent this fine-tuning are conflict adaptation effects in interference tasks, i.e. reduction of interference after an incompatible trial and when incompatible trials are frequent. The neurocognitive mechanisms of these effects are currently only partly understood and results from brainimaging studies so far are mixed. In our study we validate and extend recent findings by examining adaption to recent conflict in the classical Stroop task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Consistent with previous research we found increased activity in a fronto-parietal network comprising the medial prefrontal cortex, ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex when contrasting incompatible with compatible trials. These areas have been associated with attentional processes and might reflect increased cognitive conflict and resolution thereof during incompatible trials. While carefully controlling for non-attentional sequential effects we found smaller Stroop interference after an incompatible trial (conflict adaptation effect. These behavioral conflict adaptation effects were accompanied by changes in activity in visual color-selective areas (V4, V4α, while there was no modulation by previous trial compatibility in a visual word-selective area (VWFA. Our results provide further evidence for the notion, that adaptation to recent conflict seems to be based mainly on enhancement of processing of the task-relevant information.

Adaptation to recent conflict in the classical color-word Stroop-task mainly involves facilitation of processing of task-relevant information.

Science.gov (United States)

Purmann, Sascha; Pollmann, Stefan

2015-01-01

To process information selectively and to continuously fine-tune selectivity of information processing are important abilities for successful goal-directed behavior. One phenomenon thought to represent this fine-tuning are conflict adaptation effects in interference tasks, i.e., reduction of interference after an incompatible trial and when incompatible trials are frequent. The neurocognitive mechanisms of these effects are currently only partly understood and results from brainimaging studies so far are mixed. In our study we validate and extend recent findings by examining adaption to recent conflict in the classical Stroop task using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Consistent with previous research we found increased activity in a fronto-parietal network comprising the medial prefrontal cortex, ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex, and posterior parietal cortex when contrasting incompatible with compatible trials. These areas have been associated with attentional processes and might reflect increased cognitive conflict and resolution thereof during incompatible trials. While carefully controlling for non-attentional sequential effects we found smaller Stroop interference after an incompatible trial (conflict adaptation effect). These behavioral conflict adaptation effects were accompanied by changes in activity in visual color-selective areas (V4, V4α), while there was no modulation by previous trial compatibility in a visual word-selective area (VWFA). Our results provide further evidence for the notion, that adaptation to recent conflict seems to be based mainly on enhancement of processing of the task-relevant information.

Combining environment-driven adaptation and task-driven optimisation in evolutionary robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Haasdijk, Evert; Bredeche, Nicolas; Eiben, A E

2014-01-01

Embodied evolutionary robotics is a sub-field of evolutionary robotics that employs evolutionary algorithms on the robotic hardware itself, during the operational period, i.e., in an on-line fashion. This enables robotic systems that continuously adapt, and are therefore capable of (re-)adjusting themselves to previously unknown or dynamically changing conditions autonomously, without human oversight. This paper addresses one of the major challenges that such systems face, viz. that the robots must satisfy two sets of requirements. Firstly, they must continue to operate reliably in their environment (viability), and secondly they must competently perform user-specified tasks (usefulness). The solution we propose exploits the fact that evolutionary methods have two basic selection mechanisms-survivor selection and parent selection. This allows evolution to tackle the two sets of requirements separately: survivor selection is driven by the environment and parent selection is based on task-performance. This idea is elaborated in the Multi-Objective aNd open-Ended Evolution (monee) framework, which we experimentally validate. Experiments with robotic swarms of 100 simulated e-pucks show that monee does indeed promote task-driven behaviour without compromising environmental adaptation. We also investigate an extension of the parent selection process with a 'market mechanism' that can ensure equitable distribution of effort over multiple tasks, a particularly pressing issue if the environment promotes specialisation in single tasks.

Combining environment-driven adaptation and task-driven optimisation in evolutionary robotics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evert Haasdijk

Full Text Available Embodied evolutionary robotics is a sub-field of evolutionary robotics that employs evolutionary algorithms on the robotic hardware itself, during the operational period, i.e., in an on-line fashion. This enables robotic systems that continuously adapt, and are therefore capable of (re-adjusting themselves to previously unknown or dynamically changing conditions autonomously, without human oversight. This paper addresses one of the major challenges that such systems face, viz. that the robots must satisfy two sets of requirements. Firstly, they must continue to operate reliably in their environment (viability, and secondly they must competently perform user-specified tasks (usefulness. The solution we propose exploits the fact that evolutionary methods have two basic selection mechanisms-survivor selection and parent selection. This allows evolution to tackle the two sets of requirements separately: survivor selection is driven by the environment and parent selection is based on task-performance. This idea is elaborated in the Multi-Objective aNd open-Ended Evolution (monee framework, which we experimentally validate. Experiments with robotic swarms of 100 simulated e-pucks show that monee does indeed promote task-driven behaviour without compromising environmental adaptation. We also investigate an extension of the parent selection process with a 'market mechanism' that can ensure equitable distribution of effort over multiple tasks, a particularly pressing issue if the environment promotes specialisation in single tasks.

The Cross-Lagged Relations between Children's Academic Skill Development, Task-Avoidance, and Parental Beliefs about Success

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Magi, Katrin; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija; Rasku-Puttonen, Helena; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2011-01-01

This longitudinal study investigated the cross-lagged associations between children's academic skill development, task-avoidant behaviour in the context of homework, and parental beliefs about their child's success from kindergarten to Grade 2. The participants were 1267 children. The children's pre-skills were assessed at the end of the…

The Impact of Adaptive Complex Assessment on the HOT Skill Development of Students

Science.gov (United States)

Raiyn, Jamal; Tilchin, Oleg

2016-01-01

In this paper we propose a method for the adaptive complex assessment (ACA) of the higher-order thinking (HOT) skills needed by students for problem solving, and we examine the impact of the method on the development of HOT skills in a problem-based learning (PBL) environment. Complexity in the assessment is provided by initial, formative, and…

Adapting a generic coping skills programme for adolescents with type 1 diabetes: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Serlachius, A; Northam, E; Frydenberg, E; Cameron, F

2012-04-01

Few qualitative studies have examined the views of adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) regarding psychosocial programme development and content. We conducted focus groups with 13 adolescents with T1DM to explore stressors and gain feedback on adapting a generic coping skills programme. The following prevalent stressors were identified: parental/adolescent conflict, balancing self-management and daily life, and health concerns. Prevalent views on programme adaptation included enhancing social support and adding diabetes-specific information and skills. Based on these data, the programme was adapted to address stressors and support self-management, thus better meeting the needs of, and appeal to, adolescents with T1DM.

Perceptions and Practices of Adapted Physical Educators on the Teaching of Social Skills

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Samalot-Rivera, Amaury; Porretta, David L.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to determine adapted physical educators' perceptions and practices about teaching social skills to students with disabilities. A questionnaire based on Bandura's social learning theory concept of modeling was developed and mailed to an entire frame of 426 adapted physical education teachers in the state of Ohio. Face…

Task-dependent modulation of oscillatory neural activity during movements

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herz, D. M.; Christensen, M. S.; Reck, C.

2011-01-01

connectivity was strongest between central and cerebellar regions. Our results show that neural coupling within motor networks is modulated in distinct frequency bands depending on the motor task. They provide evidence that dynamic causal modeling in combination with EEG source analysis is a valuable tool......Neural oscillations in different frequency bands have been observed in a range of sensorimotor tasks and have been linked to coupling of spatially distinct neurons. The goal of this study was to detect a general motor network that is activated during phasic and tonic movements and to study the task......-dependent modulation of frequency coupling within this network. To this end we recorded 122-multichannel EEG in 13 healthy subjects while they performed three simple motor tasks. EEG data source modeling using individual MR images was carried out with a multiple source beamformer approach. A bilateral motor network...

Sympathetic nervous system activity measured by skin conductance quantifies the challenge of walking adaptability tasks after stroke.

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Clark, David J; Chatterjee, Sudeshna A; McGuirk, Theresa E; Porges, Eric C; Fox, Emily J; Balasubramanian, Chitralakshmi K

2018-02-01

Walking adaptability tasks are challenging for people with motor impairments. The construct of perceived challenge is typically measured by self-report assessments, which are susceptible to subjective measurement error. The development of an objective physiologically-based measure of challenge may help to improve the ability to assess this important aspect of mobility function. The objective of this study to investigate the use of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity measured by skin conductance to gauge the physiological stress response to challenging walking adaptability tasks in people post-stroke. Thirty adults with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis performed a battery of seventeen walking adaptability tasks. SNS activity was measured by skin conductance from the palmar surface of each hand. The primary outcome variable was the percent change in skin conductance level (ΔSCL) between the baseline resting and walking phases of each task. Task difficulty was measured by performance speed and by physical therapist scoring of performance. Walking function and balance confidence were measured by preferred walking speed and the Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale, respectively. There was a statistically significant negative association between ΔSCL and task performance speed and between ΔSCL and clinical score, indicating that tasks with greater SNS activity had slower performance speed and poorer clinical scores. ΔSCL was significantly greater for low functioning participants versus high functioning participants, particularly during the most challenging walking adaptability tasks. This study supports the use of SNS activity measured by skin conductance as a valuable approach for objectively quantifying the perceived challenge of walking adaptability tasks in people post-stroke. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Cross-lagged relations between teacher and parent ratings of children's task avoidance and different literacy skills.

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Georgiou, George K; Hirvonen, Riikka; Manolitsis, George; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

2017-09-01

Task avoidance is a significant predictor of literacy skills. However, it remains unclear whether the relation between the two is reciprocal and whether it is affected by the type of literacy outcome, who is rating children's task avoidance, and the children's gender. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the cross-lagged relations between teacher and parent ratings of children's task avoidance and different literacy skills. One hundred and seventy-two Greek children (91 girls, 81 boys) were followed from Grade 1 to Grade 3. Children were assessed on reading accuracy, reading fluency, and spelling to dictation. Parents and teachers rated the children's task-avoidant behaviour. Results of structural equation modelling showed that the cross-lagged relations varied as a function of the literacy outcome, who rated the children's task avoidance, and children's gender. Earlier reading and spelling performance predicted subsequent parent-rated task avoidance, but parent-rated task avoidance did not predict subsequent reading and spelling performance (with the exception of spelling in Grade 3). Teacher-rated task avoidance and reading fluency/spelling had a reciprocal relationship over time. In addition, the effects of teacher-rated task avoidance on future spelling were significantly stronger in boys than in girls. This suggests that poor reading and spelling performance can lead to subsequent task avoidance in both classroom and home situations. The fact that task avoidance permeates across different learning environments is alarming and calls for joint action from both parents and teachers to mitigate its negative impact on learning. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

What Do Children Do in the Rime-Analogy Task? An Examination of the Skills and Strategies Used by Early Readers.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Lynne; McDougall, Sine

2003-01-01

This study contrasted and compared the extent to which phoneme and rhyme-based skills and letter-sound knowledge predicted 4- and 5-year-olds' performance in the analogy task and in a test of single work reading. Findings suggested that the balance of skills that children drew upon was determined by the demands of the task. Findings pose…

Brazilian adaptation of the Hotel Task: A tool for the ecological assessment of executive functions

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Caroline de Oliveira; Zimmermann, Nicolle; Paraná, Camila Borges; Gindri, Gigiane; de Pereira, Ana Paula Almeida; Fonseca, Rochele Paz

2015-01-01

Over recent years, neuropsychological research has been increasingly concerned with the need to develop more ecologically valid instruments for the assessment of executive functions. The Hotel Task is one of the most widely used ecological measures of executive functioning, and provides an assessment of planning, organization, self-monitoring and cognitive flexibility. Objective The goal of this study was to adapt the Hotel Task for use in the Brazilian population. Methods The sample comprised 27 participants (three translators, six expert judges, seven healthy adults, ten patients with traumatic brain injuries and one hotel manager). The adaptation process consisted of five steps, which were repeated until a satisfactory version of the task was produced. The steps were as follows: (1) Translation; (2) Development of new stimuli and brainstorming among the authors; (3) Analysis by expert judges; (4) Pilot studies; (5) Assessment by an expert in business administration and hotel management. Results The adapted version proved adequate and valid for the assessment of executive functions. However, further research must be conducted to obtain evidence of the reliability, as well as the construct and criterion validity, sensitivity and specificity, of the Hotel Task. Conclusion Many neurological and/or psychiatric populations may benefit from the adapted task, since it may make significant contributions to the assessment of dysexecutive syndromes and their impact on patient functioning. PMID:29213957

Brazilian adaptation of the Hotel Task: A tool for the ecological assessment of executive functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Caroline de Oliveira; Zimmermann, Nicolle; Paraná, Camila Borges; Gindri, Gigiane; de Pereira, Ana Paula Almeida; Fonseca, Rochele Paz

2015-01-01

Over recent years, neuropsychological research has been increasingly concerned with the need to develop more ecologically valid instruments for the assessment of executive functions. The Hotel Task is one of the most widely used ecological measures of executive functioning, and provides an assessment of planning, organization, self-monitoring and cognitive flexibility. The goal of this study was to adapt the Hotel Task for use in the Brazilian population. The sample comprised 27 participants (three translators, six expert judges, seven healthy adults, ten patients with traumatic brain injuries and one hotel manager). The adaptation process consisted of five steps, which were repeated until a satisfactory version of the task was produced. The steps were as follows:(1) Translation;(2) Development of new stimuli and brainstorming among the authors;(3) Analysis by expert judges;(4) Pilot studies;(5) Assessment by an expert in business administration and hotel management. The adapted version proved adequate and valid for the assessment of executive functions. However, further research must be conducted to obtain evidence of the reliability, as well as the construct and criterion validity, sensitivity and specificity, of the Hotel Task. Many neurological and/or psychiatric populations may benefit from the adapted task, since it may make significant contributions to the assessment of dysexecutive syndromes and their impact on patient functioning.

Adaption and Standardization of the Test of Visual-Motor Skills Revised

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mozhgan Farahbod

2004-06-01

Full Text Available Objective: This research has been carried out with the aim of adaptation, standardization and finding the validity and reliability of Visual-Motor Skills-revised Test for children. Materials & Methods: A multi-stage sampling from the children of the city of Tehran resulted in a sample of 1281 subjects, ages 2,11 through 13,11.the test consisted of 23 geometric designs and each of the designs was assessed through a definite criteria and was scored as errors(weakness and accuracies(strength.For adaptation and standardization of this test, at first step the examiner`s manual and the test items were translated into Farsi. The final form of the test was obtained after performing the pre-tryout and tryout stages, and doing the data analysis by classic model of reliability. Internal consistency coefficients of the subtests were obtained by Cronbach`s Alpha time consistency of the subtests and compound scores were obtained by test-retest. Alpha coefficients for the compound scores were obtained by Guilford formula, which is designed for estimating the compound scores. To obtain the content validity, criterion-related validity and construct validity of the subtests and compound scores, appropriate methods were used. Results: The results obtained ensure the applicability of this test for the evaluation of visual-motor skills of children of Tehran. Conclusion: According to the findings, this test can be used for the disorders in eye-hand coordination, the identification of children with disorders in visual – motor skills. It can also be used for the documentation of the development of fine – motor skills specially in visual – motor skills in 3-14 years – old children.

Maturation of social attribution skills in typically developing children: an investigation using the social attribution task.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Zhouyi; Chan, Raymond C K; McAlonan, Grainne M

2010-02-03

The assessment of social attribution skills in children can potentially identify and quantify developmental difficulties related to autism spectrum disorders and related conditions. However, relatively little is known about how these skills develop in typically developing children. Therefore the present study aimed to map the trajectory of social attribution skill acquisition in typically developing children from a young age. In the conventional social attribution task (SAT) participants ascribe feelings to moving shapes and describe their interaction in social terms. However, this format requires that participants understand both, that an inanimate shape is symbolic, and that its action is social in nature. This may be challenging for young children, and may be a potential confounder in studies of children with developmental disorders. Therefore we developed a modified SAT (mSAT) using animate figures (e.g. animals) to simplify the task. We used the SAT and mSAT to examine social attribution skill development in 154 healthy children (76 boys, 78 girls), ranging in age from 6 to 13 years and investigated the relationship between social attribution ability and executive function. The mSAT revealed a steady improvement in social attribution skills from the age of 6 years, and a significant advantage for girls compared to boys. In contrast, children under the age of 9 years performed at baseline on the conventional format and there were no gender differences apparent. Performance on neither task correlated with executive function after controlling for age and verbal IQ, suggesting that social attribution ability is independent of cognitive functioning. The present findings indicate that the mSAT is a sensitive measure of social attribution skills from a young age. This should be carefully considered when choosing assessments for young children and those with developmental disorders.

Maturation of social attribution skills in typically developing children: an investigation using the social attribution task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chan Raymond CK

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The assessment of social attribution skills in children can potentially identify and quantify developmental difficulties related to autism spectrum disorders and related conditions. However, relatively little is known about how these skills develop in typically developing children. Therefore the present study aimed to map the trajectory of social attribution skill acquisition in typically developing children from a young age. Methods In the conventional social attribution task (SAT participants ascribe feelings to moving shapes and describe their interaction in social terms. However, this format requires that participants understand both, that an inanimate shape is symbolic, and that its action is social in nature. This may be challenging for young children, and may be a potential confounder in studies of children with developmental disorders. Therefore we developed a modified SAT (mSAT using animate figures (e.g. animals to simplify the task. We used the SAT and mSAT to examine social attribution skill development in 154 healthy children (76 boys, 78 girls, ranging in age from 6 to 13 years and investigated the relationship between social attribution ability and executive function. Results The mSAT revealed a steady improvement in social attribution skills from the age of 6 years, and a significant advantage for girls compared to boys. In contrast, children under the age of 9 years performed at baseline on the conventional format and there were no gender differences apparent. Performance on neither task correlated with executive function after controlling for age and verbal IQ, suggesting that social attribution ability is independent of cognitive functioning. The present findings indicate that the mSAT is a sensitive measure of social attribution skills from a young age. This should be carefully considered when choosing assessments for young children and those with developmental disorders.

Adaptation of a tool to assess non-technical skills of scrub practitioners in Denmark.

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Mundt, Anna Sofie; Spanager, Lene; Lyk-Jensen, Helle Teglgaard; Østergaard, Doris

2017-09-01

The aim of this study was to adapt the Scottish tool, Scrub Practitioners List of Intraoperative Non-Technical Skills, to Danish organisation and culture. With an explorative and qualitative approach, four group interviews with scrub practitioners, surgeons and anaesthesia staff were conducted. The main differences found were related to communication and teamwork regarding scrub practitioners focus on the team and speaking up. Differences in the non-technical skills described in the behavioural markers are perhaps explained by cultural differences between Scotland and Denmark. A new tool for scrub practitioners in Denmark was adapted. Copyright the Association for Perioperative Practice.

The reliability of a VISION COACH task as a measure of psychomotor skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Xi, Yubin; Rosopa, Patrick J; Mossey, Mary; Crisler, Matthew C; Drouin, Nathalie; Kopera, Kevin; Brooks, Johnell O

2014-10-01

The VISION COACH™ interactive light board is designed to test and enhance participants' psychomotor skills. The primary goal of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability of the Full Field 120 VISION COACH task. One hundred eleven male and 131 female adult participants completed six trials where they responded to 120 randomly distributed lights displayed on the VISION COACH interactive light board. The mean time required for a participant to complete a trial was 101 seconds. Intraclass correlation coefficients, ranging from 0.962 to 0.987 suggest the VISION COACH Full Field 120 task was a reliable task. Cohen's d's of adjacent pairs of trials suggest learning effects did not negatively affect reliability after the third trial.

Functional Task Test: 3. Skeletal Muscle Performance Adaptations to Space Flight

Science.gov (United States)

Ryder, Jeffrey W.; Wickwire, P. J.; Buxton, R. E.; Bloomberg, J. J.; Ploutz-Snyder, L.

2011-01-01

The functional task test is a multi-disciplinary study investigating how space-flight induced changes to physiological systems impacts functional task performance. Impairment of neuromuscular function would be expected to negatively affect functional performance of crewmembers following exposure to microgravity. This presentation reports the results for muscle performance testing in crewmembers. Functional task performance will be presented in the abstract "Functional Task Test 1: sensory motor adaptations associated with postflight alternations in astronaut functional task performance." METHODS: Muscle performance measures were obtained in crewmembers before and after short-duration space flight aboard the Space Shuttle and long-duration International Space Station (ISS) missions. The battery of muscle performance tests included leg press and bench press measures of isometric force, isotonic power and total work. Knee extension was used for the measurement of central activation and maximal isometric force. Upper and lower body force steadiness control were measured on the bench press and knee extension machine, respectively. Tests were implemented 60 and 30 days before launch, on landing day (Shuttle crew only), and 6, 10 and 30 days after landing. Seven Space Shuttle crew and four ISS crew have completed the muscle performance testing to date. RESULTS: Preliminary results for Space Shuttle crew reveal significant reductions in the leg press performance metrics of maximal isometric force, power and total work on R+0 (pperformance metrics were observed in returning Shuttle crew and these adaptations are likely contributors to impaired functional tasks that are ambulatory in nature (See abstract Functional Task Test: 1). Interestingly, no significant changes in central activation capacity were detected. Therefore, impairments in muscle function in response to short-duration space flight are likely myocellular rather than neuromotor in nature.

Enhancing the Strategic Capability of the Army: An Investigation of Strategic Thinking Tasks, Skills, and Development

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-01

Army assignments. Teaching can also help develop visualization skills and innovative thinking through the use of certain teaching methods...required. Some of the specific strategic thinking KSAs built through exposure to complex problems that were mentioned in the interviews were visualization ...Research Report 1995 Enhancing the Strategic Capability of the Army: An Investigation of Strategic Thinking Tasks, Skills

Task Persistence Mediates the Effect of Children's Literacy Skills on Mothers' Academic Help

Science.gov (United States)

Kikas, Eve; Silinskas, Gintautas

2016-01-01

This longitudinal study aimed at examining the relationship between children's task persistence, mothers' academic help, and the development of children's literacy skills (reading and spelling) at the beginning of primary school. The participants were 870 children, 682 mothers, and 53 class teachers. Data were collected three times--at the…

Increased Complexities in Visual Search Behavior in Skilled Players for a Self-Paced Aiming Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingyi S. Chia

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The badminton serve is an important shot for winning a rally in a match. It combines good technique with the ability to accurately integrate visual information from the shuttle, racket, opponent, and intended landing point. Despite its importance and repercussive nature, to date no study has looked at the visual search behaviors during badminton service in the singles discipline. Unlike anticipatory tasks (e.g., shot returns, the serve presents an opportunity to explore the role of visual search behaviors in movement control for self-paced tasks. Accordingly, this study examined skill-related differences in visual behavior during the badminton singles serve. Skilled (n = 12 and less skilled (n = 12 participants performed 30 serves to a live opponent, while real-time eye movements were captured using a mobile gaze registration system. Frame-by-frame analyses of 662 serves were made and the skilled players took a longer preparatory time before serving. Visual behavior of the skilled players was characterized by significantly greater number of fixations on more areas of interest per trial than the less skilled. In addition, the skilled players spent a significantly longer time fixating on the court and net, whereas the less skilled players found the shuttle to be more informative. Quiet eye (QE duration (indicative of superior sports performance however, did not differ significantly between groups which has implications on the perceived importance of QE in the badminton serve. Moreover, while visual behavior differed by skill level, considerable individual differences were also observed especially within the skilled players. This augments the need for not just group-level analyses, but individualized analysis for a more accurate representation of visual behavior. Findings from this study thus provide an insight to the possible visual search strategies as players serve in net-barrier games. Moreover, this study highlighted an important aspect of

Can cardiovascular indices be used to adapt the ambulance dispatch worker’s task?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Waard, D.; Mulder, L.J.M.; Pikaar, R N; Koningsveld, E A P; Settels, P J M

2006-01-01

Adaptive automation is currently seen as a good way to keep an operator optimally motivated, involved, and able to perform a task. It certainly is better than rigid automation where tasks are taken over while the operator is taken out of the loop to supervise the process. Ideally, automation can be

Improving the utility of the fine motor skills subscale of the comprehensive developmental inventory for infants and toddlers: a computerized adaptive test.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chien-Yu; Tung, Li-Chen; Chou, Yeh-Tai; Chou, Willy; Chen, Kuan-Lin; Hsieh, Ching-Lin

2017-07-27

This study aimed at improving the utility of the fine motor subscale of the comprehensive developmental inventory for infants and toddlers (CDIIT) by developing a computerized adaptive test of fine motor skills. We built an item bank for the computerized adaptive test of fine motor skills using the fine motor subscale of the CDIIT items fitting the Rasch model. We also examined the psychometric properties and efficiency of the computerized adaptive test of fine motor skills with simulated computerized adaptive tests. Data from 1742 children with suspected developmental delays were retrieved. The mean scores of the fine motor subscale of the CDIIT increased along with age groups (mean scores = 1.36-36.97). The computerized adaptive test of fine motor skills contains 31 items meeting the Rasch model's assumptions (infit mean square = 0.57-1.21, outfit mean square = 0.11-1.17). For children of 6-71 months, the computerized adaptive test of fine motor skills had high Rasch person reliability (average reliability >0.90), high concurrent validity (rs = 0.67-0.99), adequate to excellent diagnostic accuracy (area under receiver operating characteristic = 0.71-1.00), and large responsiveness (effect size = 1.05-3.93). The computerized adaptive test of fine motor skills used 48-84% fewer items than the fine motor subscale of the CDIIT. The computerized adaptive test of fine motor skills used fewer items for assessment but was as reliable and valid as the fine motor subscale of the CDIIT. Implications for Rehabilitation We developed a computerized adaptive test based on the comprehensive developmental inventory for infants and toddlers (CDIIT) for assessing fine motor skills. The computerized adaptive test has been shown to be efficient because it uses fewer items than the original measure and automatically presents the results right after the test is completed. The computerized adaptive test is as reliable and valid as the CDIIT.

Unleashing Creativity in Linguistic Discourses through Advertising Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Suneetha, Y.

2015-01-01

Creative fluency is positively correlated with the quantity and quality of talk as well. The fluency gives an indication of the learner's ability to cope with real-time communication. This paper makes a correlative study on nurturing narrative tasks through advertising skills. English advertising exploits from the high adaptability of the English…

Time-adaptive and history-adaptive multicriterion routing in stochastic, time-dependent networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pretolani, Daniele; Nielsen, Lars Relund; Andersen, Kim Allan

2009-01-01

We compare two different models for multicriterion routing in stochastic time-dependent networks: the classic "time-adaptive'' model and the more flexible "history-adaptive'' one. We point out several properties of the sets of efficient solutions found under the two models. We also devise a method...

Whisker and Nose Tactile Sense Guide Rat Behavior in a Skilled Reaching Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierantonio Parmiani

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Skilled reaching is a complex movement in which a forelimb is extended to grasp food for eating. Video-recordings analysis of control rats enables us to distinguish several components of skilled reaching: Orient, approaching the front wall of the reaching box and poking the nose into the slot to locate the food pellet; Transport, advancing the forelimb through the slot to reach-grasp the pellet; and Withdrawal of the grasped food to eat. Although food location and skilled reaching is guided by olfaction, the importance of whisker/nose tactile sense in rats suggests that this too could play a role in reaching behavior. To test this hypothesis, we studied skilled reaching in rats trained in a single-pellet reaching task before and after bilateral whisker trimming and bilateral infraorbital nerve (ION severing. During the task, bilaterally trimmed rats showed impaired Orient with respect to controls. Specifically, they detected the presence of the wall by hitting it with their nose (rather than their whiskers, and then located the slot through repetitive nose touches. The number of nose touches preceding poking was significantly higher in comparison to controls. On the other hand, macrovibrissae trimming resulted in no change in reaching/grasping or withdrawal components of skilled reaching. Bilaterally ION-severed rats, displayed a marked change in the structure of their skilled reaching. With respect to controls, in ION-severed rats: (a approaches to the front wall were significantly reduced at 3–5 and 6–8 days; (b nose pokes were significantly reduced at 3–5 days, and the slot was only located after many repetitive nose touches; (c the reaching-grasping-retracting movement never appeared at 3–5 days; (d explorative paw movements, equal to zero in controls, reached significance at 9–11 days; and (e the restored reaching-grasping-retracting sequence was globally slower than in controls, but the success rate was the same. These findings

One-year retention of general and sequence-specific skills in a probabilistic, serial reaction time task.

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Romano, Jennifer C; Howard, James H; Howard, Darlene V

2010-05-01

Procedural skills such as riding a bicycle and playing a musical instrument play a central role in daily life. Such skills are learned gradually and are retained throughout life. The present study investigated 1-year retention of procedural skill in a version of the widely used serial reaction time task (SRTT) in young and older motor-skill experts and older controls in two experiments. The young experts were college-age piano and action video-game players, and the older experts were piano players. Previous studies have reported sequence-specific skill retention in the SRTT as long as 2 weeks but not at 1 year. Results indicated that both young and older experts and older non-experts revealed sequence-specific skill retention after 1 year with some evidence that general motor skill was retained as well. These findings are consistent with theoretical accounts of procedural skill learning such as the procedural reinstatement theory as well as with previous studies of retention of other motor skills.

Assessing Nurse Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills in the operating room.

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Lyk-Jensen, H T; Jepsen, R M H G; Spanager, L; Dieckmann, P; Østergaard, D

2014-08-01

Incident reporting and fieldwork in operating rooms have shown that some of the errors that arise in anaesthesia relate to inadequate use of non-technical skills. To provide a tool for training and feedback on nurse anaesthetists' non-technical skills, this study aimed to adapt the Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills (ANTS) as a behavioural marker system for the formative assessment of nurse anaesthetists' non-technical skills in the operating room. A qualitative approach with focus group interviews was used to identify the non-technical skills of nurse anaesthetists in the operating room. The interview data were transcribed verbatim. Directed content analysis was used to code and sort data deductively into the ANTS categories: task management, team working, situation awareness and decision making. The prototype named Nurse Anaesthetists' Non-Technical Skills (N-ANTS) was presented and discussed in a group of subject matter experts to ensure face validity. The N-ANTS system consists of the same four categories as ANTS and 15 underlying elements. Three to five good and poor behavioural markers for each element were identified. The headings and definitions of the categories and elements were adjusted to encompass the behavioural markers in N-ANTS. The differences that emerged mainly reflected statements regarding the establishment of role, competence, and task delegation. A behavioural marker system, N-ANTS, for nurse anaesthetists was adapted from a behavioural marker system, ANTS, for anaesthesiologists. © 2014 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effect of adaptive skill acquisition on youth development in the Niger ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper examines the effect of adaptive skill acquisition on youth development in the Niger delta area of Nigeria with emphasis on Bayelsa State. A structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant information from 99 respondents, which cut across four stakeholder institutions in the study area. Data analysis was by ...

Adaptive strategy changes as a function of task demands : a study of car drivers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cnossen, Fokie; Meijman, Theo; Rothengatter, Talib

2004-01-01

When drivers perform additional tasks while driving, research shows conflicting results: primary driving performance may deteriorate but adaptive changes such as reducing driving speed have also been noted. We hypothesized that the nature of the secondary task may be important: drivers may give more

The dependence of human reliability upon task information content

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hermanson, E.M.; Golay, M.W.

1994-09-01

The role of human error in safety mishaps is an important factor in system design. As systems become increasingly complex the capacity of the human to deal with the added complexity is diminished. It is therefore crucial to understand the relationship between system complexity and human reliability so that systems may be built in such a way as to minimize human error. One way of understanding this relationship is to quantify system complexity and then measure the human reaction in response to situations of varying complexity. The quantification of system complexity may be performed by determining the information content present in the tasks that the human must execute. The purpose of this work is therefore to build and perform a consistent experiment which will determine the extent to which human reliability depends upon task information content. Two main conclusions may be drawn from this work. The first is that human reliability depends upon task information content. Specifically, as the information content contained in a task increases, the capacity of a human to deal successfully with the task decreases monotonically. Here the definition of total success is the ability to complete the task at hand fully and correctly. Furthermore, there exists a value of information content below which a human can deal with the task successfully, but above which the success of an individual decreases monotonically with increasing information. These ideas should be generalizable to any model where system complexity can be clearly and consistently defined

Adaptation to Chronic Nutritional Stress Leads to Reduced Dependence on Microbiota in Drosophila melanogaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Erkosar, Berra; Kolly, Sylvain; van der Meer, Jan R; Kawecki, Tadeusz J

2017-10-24

Numerous studies have shown that animal nutrition is tightly linked to gut microbiota, especially under nutritional stress. In Drosophila melanogaster , microbiota are known to promote juvenile growth, development, and survival on poor diets, mainly through enhanced digestion leading to changes in hormonal signaling. Here, we show that this reliance on microbiota is greatly reduced in replicated Drosophila populations that became genetically adapted to a poor larval diet in the course of over 170 generations of experimental evolution. Protein and polysaccharide digestion in these poor-diet-adapted populations became much less dependent on colonization with microbiota. This was accompanied by changes in expression levels of dFOXO transcription factor, a key regulator of cell growth and survival, and many of its targets. These evolutionary changes in the expression of dFOXO targets to a large degree mimic the response of the same genes to microbiota, suggesting that the evolutionary adaptation to poor diet acted on mechanisms that normally mediate the response to microbiota. Our study suggests that some metazoans have retained the evolutionary potential to adapt their physiology such that association with microbiota may become optional rather than essential. IMPORTANCE Animals depend on gut microbiota for various metabolic tasks, particularly under conditions of nutritional stress, a relationship usually regarded as an inherent aspect of animal physiology. Here, we use experimental evolution in fly populations to show that the degree of host dependence on microbiota can substantially and rapidly change as the host population evolves in response to poor diet. Our results suggest that, although microbiota may initially greatly facilitate coping with suboptimal diets, chronic nutritional stress experienced over multiple generations leads to evolutionary adaptation in physiology and gut digestive properties that reduces dependence on the microbiota for growth and

Application of Physiological Self-Regulation and Adaptive Task Allocation Techniques for Controlling Operator Hazardous States of Awareness

Science.gov (United States)

Prinzel, Lawrence J., III; Pope, Alan T.; Freeman, Frederick G.

2001-01-01

Prinzel, Hadley, Freeman, and Mikulka found that adaptive task allocation significantly enhanced performance only when used at the endpoints of the task workload continuum (i.e., very low or high workload), but that the technique degraded performance if invoked during other levels of task demand. These researchers suggested that other techniques should be used in conjunction with adaptive automation to help minimize the onset of hazardous states of awareness (HSA) and keep the operator 'in-the-loop.' The paper reports on such a technique that uses psychophysiological self-regulation to modulate the level of task engagement. Eighteen participants were assigned to three groups (self-regulation, false feedback, and control) and performed a compensatory tracking task that was cycled between three levels of task difficulty on the basis of the electroencephalogram (EEG) record. Those participants who had received self-regulation training performed significantly better and reported lower NASA-TLX scores than participants in the false feedback and control groups. Furthermore, the false feedback and control groups had significantly more task allocations resulting in return-to-manual performance decrements and higher EEG difference scores. Theoretical and practical implications of these results for adaptive automation are discussed.

Resident Ratings of Communication Skills Using the Kalamazoo Adapted Checklist.

Science.gov (United States)

Porcerelli, John H; Brennan, Simone; Carty, Jennifer; Ziadni, Maisa; Markova, Tsveti

2015-09-01

The Kalamazoo Essential Elements Communication Checklist-Adapted (KEECC-A) is a well-regarded instrument for evaluating communication and interpersonal skills. To date, little research has been conducted that assesses the accuracy of resident self-ratings of their communication skills. To assess whether residents can accurately self-rate communication skills, using the KEECC-A, during an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). A group of 104 residents from 8 specialties completed a multistation OSCE as part of an institutional communication skills curriculum conducted at a single institution. Standardized patients (SPs) and observers were trained in rating communication skills using the KEECC-A. Standardized patient ratings and resident self-ratings were completed immediately following each OSCE encounter, and trained observers rated archived videotapes of the encounters. Resident self-ratings and SP ratings using the KEECC-A were significantly correlated (r104  = 0.238, P = .02), as were resident self-ratings and observer ratings (r104  = 0.284, P = .004). The correlation between the SP ratings and observer (r104  = 0.378, P = .001) ratings were larger in magnitude, but not significantly different (P > .05) from resident/SP or resident/observer correlations. The results suggest that residents, with a modicum of training using the KEECC-A, can accurately rate their own communication and interpersonal skills during an OSCE. Using trained observers to rate resident communication skills provides a unique opportunity for evaluating SP and resident self-ratings. Our findings also lend further support for the reliability and validity of the KEECC-A.

Hard Real-Time Task Scheduling in Cloud Computing Using an Adaptive Genetic Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amjad Mahmood

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In the Infrastructure-as-a-Service cloud computing model, virtualized computing resources in the form of virtual machines are provided over the Internet. A user can rent an arbitrary number of computing resources to meet their requirements, making cloud computing an attractive choice for executing real-time tasks. Economical task allocation and scheduling on a set of leased virtual machines is an important problem in the cloud computing environment. This paper proposes a greedy and a genetic algorithm with an adaptive selection of suitable crossover and mutation operations (named as AGA to allocate and schedule real-time tasks with precedence constraint on heterogamous virtual machines. A comprehensive simulation study has been done to evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithms in terms of their solution quality and efficiency. The simulation results show that AGA outperforms the greedy algorithm and non-adaptive genetic algorithm in terms of solution quality.

Predictors of Career Adaptability Skill among Higher Education Students in Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Ebenehi, Amos Shaibu; Rashid, Abdullah Mat; Bakar, Ab Rahim

2016-01-01

This paper examined predictors of career adaptability skill among higher education students in Nigeria. A sample of 603 higher education students randomly selected from six colleges of education in Nigeria participated in this study. A set of self-reported questionnaire was used for data collection, and multiple linear regression analysis was used…

Decision Making in Concurrent Multitasking : Do People Adapt to Task Interference?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijboer, Menno; Taatgen, Niels A.; Brands, Annelies; Borst, Jelmer P.; van Rijn, Hedderik

2013-01-01

While multitasking has received a great deal of attention from researchers, we still know little about how well people adapt their behavior to multitasking demands. In three experiments, participants were presented with a multicolumn subtraction task, which required working memory in half of the

Learning-induced Dependence of Neuronal Activity in Primary Motor Cortex on Motor Task Condition.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, X; Shimansky, Y; He, Jiping

2005-01-01

A brain-computer interface (BCI) system such as a cortically controlled robotic arm must have a capacity of adjusting its function to a specific environmental condition. We studied this capacity in non-human primates based on chronic multi-electrode recording from the primary motor cortex of a monkey during the animal's performance of a center-out 3D reaching task and adaptation to external force perturbations. The main condition-related feature of motor cortical activity observed before the onset of force perturbation was a phasic raise of activity immediately before the perturbation onset. This feature was observed during a series of perturbation trials, but were absent under no perturbations. After adaptation has been completed, it usually was taking the subject only one trial to recognize a change in the condition to switch the neuronal activity accordingly. These condition-dependent features of neuronal activity can be used by a BCI for recognizing a change in the environmental condition and making corresponding adjustments, which requires that the BCI-based control system possess such advanced properties of the neural motor control system as capacity to learn and adapt.

The impact of diurnal sleep on the consolidation of a complex gross motor adaptation task

Science.gov (United States)

Hoedlmoser, Kerstin; Birklbauer, Juergen; Schabus, Manuel; Eibenberger, Patrick; Rigler, Sandra; Mueller, Erich

2015-01-01

Diurnal sleep effects on consolidation of a complex, ecological valid gross motor adaptation task were examined using a bicycle with an inverse steering device. We tested 24 male subjects aged between 20 and 29 years using a between-subjects design. Participants were trained to adapt to the inverse steering bicycle during 45 min. Performance was tested before (TEST1) and after (TEST2) training, as well as after a 2 h retention interval (TEST3). During retention, participants either slept or remained awake. To assess gross motor performance, subjects had to ride the inverse steering bicycle 3 × 30 m straight-line and 3 × 30 m through a slalom. Beyond riding time, we sophisticatedly measured performance accuracy (standard deviation of steering angle) in both conditions using a rotatory potentiometer. A significant decrease of accuracy during straight-line riding after nap and wakefulness was shown. Accuracy during slalom riding remained stable after wakefulness but was reduced after sleep. We found that the duration of rapid eye movement sleep as well as sleep spindle activity are negatively related with gross motor performance changes over sleep. Together these findings suggest that the consolidation of adaptation to a new steering device does not benefit from a 2 h midday nap. We speculate that in case of strongly overlearned motor patterns such as normal cycling, diurnal sleep spindles and rapid eye movement sleep might even help to protect everyday needed skills, and to rapidly forget newly acquired, interfering and irrelevant material. PMID:25256866

Brain activations during bimodal dual tasks depend on the nature and combination of component tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emma eSalo

2015-02-01

Full Text Available We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate brain activations during nine different dual tasks in which the participants were required to simultaneously attend to concurrent streams of spoken syllables and written letters. They performed a phonological, spatial or simple (speaker-gender or font-shade discrimination task within each modality. We expected to find activations associated specifically with dual tasking especially in the frontal and parietal cortices. However, no brain areas showed systematic dual task enhancements common for all dual tasks. Further analysis revealed that dual tasks including component tasks that were according to Baddeley’s model modality atypical, that is, the auditory spatial task or the visual phonological task, were not associated with enhanced frontal activity. In contrast, for other dual tasks, activity specifically associated with dual tasking was found in the left or bilateral frontal cortices. Enhanced activation in parietal areas, however, appeared not to be specifically associated with dual tasking per se, but rather with intermodal attention switching. We also expected effects of dual tasking in left frontal supramodal phonological processing areas when both component tasks required phonological processing and in right parietal supramodal spatial processing areas when both tasks required spatial processing. However, no such effects were found during these dual tasks compared with their component tasks performed separately. Taken together, the current results indicate that activations during dual tasks depend in a complex manner on specific demands of component tasks.

Baseline performance and learning rate of conceptual and perceptual skill-learning tasks: the effect of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.

Science.gov (United States)

Vakil, Eli; Lev-Ran Galon, Carmit

2014-01-01

Existing literature presents a complex and inconsistent picture of the specific deficiencies involved in skill learning following traumatic brain injury (TBI). In an attempt to address this difficulty, individuals with moderate to severe TBI (n = 29) and a control group (n = 29) were tested with two different skill-learning tasks: conceptual (i.e., Tower of Hanoi Puzzle, TOHP) and perceptual (i.e., mirror reading, MR). Based on previous studies of the effect of divided attention on these tasks and findings regarding the effect of TBI on conceptual and perceptual priming tasks, it was predicted that the group with TBI would show impaired baseline performance compared to controls in the TOHP task though their learning rate would be maintained, while both baseline performance and learning rate on the MR task would be maintained. Consistent with our predictions, overall baseline performance of the group with TBI was impaired in the TOHP test, while the learning rate was not. The learning rate on the MR task was preserved but, contrary to our prediction, response time of the group with TBI was slower than that of controls. The pattern of results observed in the present study was interpreted to possibly reflect an impairment of both the frontal lobes as well as that of diffuse axonal injury, which is well documented as being affected by TBI. The former impairment affects baseline performance of the conceptual learning skill, while the latter affects the overall slower performance of the perceptual learning skill.

Training self-assessment and task-selection skills: A cognitive approach to improving self-regulated learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kostons, Danny; Van Gog, Tamara; Paas, Fred

2012-01-01

Kostons, D., Van Gog, T., & Paas, F. (2012). Training self-assessment and task-selection skills: A cognitive approach to improving self-regulated learning. Learning and Instruction, 22(2), 121-132. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2011.08.004

'Skills for growing up': supporting autonomy in young people with kidney disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dr. A.L. van Staa; MSc M.A.C. Peeters; Dr. J.N.T. Sattoe; Dr. S.R. Hilberink

2014-01-01

End-stage kidney disease (ESKD) may interfere with children’s developmental task of acquiringautonomy and participation. The Skills for Growing Up tool encourages normal development towards independence andautonomy during paediatric rehabilitation. This study aimed to adapt this self-management tool

Region and task-specific activation of Arc in primary motor cortex of rats following motor skill learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosp, J A; Mann, S; Wegenast-Braun, B M; Calhoun, M E; Luft, A R

2013-10-10

Motor learning requires protein synthesis within the primary motor cortex (M1). Here, we show that the immediate early gene Arc/Arg3.1 is specifically induced in M1 by learning a motor skill. Arc mRNA was quantified using a fluorescent in situ hybridization assay in adult Long-Evans rats learning a skilled reaching task (SRT), in rats performing reaching-like forelimb movement without learning (ACT) and in rats that were trained in the operant but not the motor elements of the task (controls). Apart from M1, Arc expression was assessed within the rostral motor area (RMA), primary somatosensory cortex (S1), striatum (ST) and cerebellum. In SRT animals, Arc mRNA levels in M1 contralateral to the trained limb were 31% higher than ipsilateral (pmotor skill learning in rats. Copyright © 2013 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Calculation and Word Problem-Solving Skills in Primary Grades--Impact of Cognitive Abilities and Longitudinal Interrelations with Task-persistent Behaviour

Science.gov (United States)

Jõgi, Anna-Liisa; Kikas, Eve

2016-01-01

Background: Primary school math skills form a basis for academic success down the road. Different math skills have different antecedents and there is a reason to believe that more complex math tasks require better self-regulation. Aims: The study aimed to investigate longitudinal interrelations of calculation and problem-solving skills, and…

Does skill retention benefit from retentivity and symbolic rehearsal? - two studies with a simulated process control task.

Science.gov (United States)

Kluge, Annette; Frank, Barbara; Maafi, Sanaz; Kuzmanovska, Aleksandra

2016-05-01

Two experiments were designed to compare two symbolic rehearsal refresher interventions (imaginary practice, a hidden introspective process) and investigate the role of retentivity in skill retention. Retentivity is investigated as the ability to memorise and reproduce information and associations that were learned a short time ago. Both experiments comprised initial training (week 1), a symbolic rehearsal for the experimental group (week 2) and a retention assessment (week 3). In the first study, the experimental group received a symbolic rehearsal, while the control group received no rehearsal. In the second study, the experimental group received the same symbolic rehearsal used in study 1, enhanced with rehearsal tasks addressing human-computer interaction. The results showed that both symbolic rehearsal interventions were equally likely to mitigate skill decay. The retentivity showed medium to high correlations with skill retention in both studies, and the results suggest that subjects high in retentivity benefit more from a symbolic rehearsal refresher intervention. Practitioner Summary: Skill decay becomes a problem in situations in which jobs require the correct mastery of non-routine situations. Two experimental studies with simulated process control tasks showed that symbolic rehearsal and retentivity can significantly mitigate skill decay and that subjects higher in retentivity benefit more from refresher interventions.

Do young novice drivers overestimate their driving skills more than experienced drivers? : different methods lead to different conclusions.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Craen, S. de Twisk, D.A.M. Hagenzieker, M.P. Elffers, H. & Brookhuis, K.A.

2011-01-01

In this study the authors argue that drivers have to make an assessment of their own driving skills, in order to sufficiently adapt to their task demands in traffic. There are indications that drivers in general, but novice drivers in particular, overestimate their driving skills. However, study

Sport Skill-Specific Expertise Biases Sensory Integration for Spatial Referencing and Postural Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Thalassinos, Michalis; Fotiadis, Giorgos; Arabatzi, Fotini; Isableu, Brice; Hatzitaki, Vassilia

2017-09-15

The authors asked how sport expertise modulates visual field dependence and sensory reweighting for controlling posture. Experienced soccer athletes, ballet dancers, and nonathletes performed (a) a Rod and Frame test and (b) a 100-s bipedal stance task during which vision and proprioception were successively or concurrently disrupted in 20-s blocks. Postural adaptation was assessed in the mean center of pressure displacement, root mean square of center of pressure velocity and ankle muscles integrated electromyography activity. Soccer athletes were more field dependent than were nonathletes. During standing, dancers were more destabilized by vibration and required more time to reweigh sensory information compared with the other 2 groups. These findings reveal a sport skill-specific bias in the reweighing of sensory inputs for spatial orientation and postural control.

Algorithm-Dependent Generalization Bounds for Multi-Task Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Tongliang; Tao, Dacheng; Song, Mingli; Maybank, Stephen J

2017-02-01

Often, tasks are collected for multi-task learning (MTL) because they share similar feature structures. Based on this observation, in this paper, we present novel algorithm-dependent generalization bounds for MTL by exploiting the notion of algorithmic stability. We focus on the performance of one particular task and the average performance over multiple tasks by analyzing the generalization ability of a common parameter that is shared in MTL. When focusing on one particular task, with the help of a mild assumption on the feature structures, we interpret the function of the other tasks as a regularizer that produces a specific inductive bias. The algorithm for learning the common parameter, as well as the predictor, is thereby uniformly stable with respect to the domain of the particular task and has a generalization bound with a fast convergence rate of order O(1/n), where n is the sample size of the particular task. When focusing on the average performance over multiple tasks, we prove that a similar inductive bias exists under certain conditions on the feature structures. Thus, the corresponding algorithm for learning the common parameter is also uniformly stable with respect to the domains of the multiple tasks, and its generalization bound is of the order O(1/T), where T is the number of tasks. These theoretical analyses naturally show that the similarity of feature structures in MTL will lead to specific regularizations for predicting, which enables the learning algorithms to generalize fast and correctly from a few examples.

Staying Sharp: Retention of Military Knowledge and Skills

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Wisher, Robert

1999-01-01

.... Memory for psychomotor skills varies, depending on whether the task is continuous, such as riding a bicycle, or discrete, such as executing the separate performance steps involved in disassembling a rifle...

Mirror Visual Feedback Training Improves Intermanual Transfer in a Sport-Specific Task: A Comparison between Different Skill Levels

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabian Steinberg

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Mirror training therapy is a promising tool to initiate neural plasticity and facilitate the recovery process of motor skills after diseases such as stroke or hemiparesis by improving the intermanual transfer of fine motor skills in healthy people as well as in patients. This study evaluated whether these augmented performance improvements by mirror visual feedback (MVF could be used for learning a sport-specific skill and if the effects are modulated by skill level. A sample of 39 young, healthy, and experienced basketball and handball players and 41 novices performed a stationary basketball dribble task at a mirror box in a standing position and received either MVF or direct feedback. After four training days using only the right hand, performance of both hands improved from pre- to posttest measurements. Only the left hand (untrained performance of the experienced participants receiving MVF was more pronounced than for the control group. This indicates that intermanual motor transfer can be improved by MVF in a sport-specific task. However, this effect cannot be generalized to motor learning per se since it is modulated by individuals’ skill level, a factor that might be considered in mirror therapy research.

Design of a virtual reality based adaptive response technology for children with autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Lahiri, Uttama; Bekele, Esubalew; Dohrmann, Elizabeth; Warren, Zachary; Sarkar, Nilanjan

2013-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate potent impairments in social communication skills including atypical viewing patterns during social interactions. Recently, several assistive technologies, particularly virtual reality (VR), have been investigated to address specific social deficits in this population. Some studies have coupled eye-gaze monitoring mechanisms to design intervention strategies. However, presently available systems are designed to primarily chain learning via aspects of one's performance only which affords restricted range of individualization. The presented work seeks to bridge this gap by developing a novel VR-based interactive system with Gaze-sensitive adaptive response technology that can seamlessly integrate VR-based tasks with eye-tracking techniques to intelligently facilitate engagement in tasks relevant to advancing social communication skills. Specifically, such a system is capable of objectively identifying and quantifying one's engagement level by measuring real-time viewing patterns, subtle changes in eye physiological responses, as well as performance metrics in order to adaptively respond in an individualized manner to foster improved social communication skills among the participants. The developed system was tested through a usability study with eight adolescents with ASD. The results indicate the potential of the system to promote improved social task performance along with socially-appropriate mechanisms during VR-based social conversation tasks.

Biobehavioral Insights into Adaptive Behavior in Complex and Dynamic Operational Settings: Lessons learned from the Soldier Performance and Effective, Adaptable Response Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy J. Haufler

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to explore the biobehavioral correlates of adaptive behavior in the context of a standardized laboratory-based mission-relevant challenge [the Soldier Performance and Effective, Adaptable Response (SPEAR task]. Participants were 26 healthy male volunteers (M = 34.85 years, SD = 4.12 with active military duty and leadership experience within the last 5 years (i.e., multiple leadership positions, operational deployments in combat, interactions with civilians and partner nation forces on the battlefield, experience making decisions under fire. The SPEAR task simultaneously engages perception, cognition, and action aspects of human performance demands similar to those encountered in the operational setting. Participants must engage with military-relevant text, visual, and auditory stimuli, interpret new information, and retain the commander’s intent in working memory to create a new plan of action for mission success. Time-domain measures of heart period and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA were quantified, and saliva was sampled [later assayed for cortisol and alpha-amylase (sAA] before-, during-, and post-SPEAR. Results revealed a predictable pattern of withdraw and recovery of the cardiac vagal tone during repeated presentation of battlefield challenges. Recovery of vagal inhibition following executive function challenge was strongly linked to better task-related performance. Rate of RSA recovery was also associated with better recall of the commander’s intent. Decreasing magnitude in the skin conductance response prior to the task was positively associated with better overall task-related performance. Lower levels of RSA were observed in participants who reported higher rates of combat deployments, and reduced RSA flexibility was associated with higher rates of casualty exposure. Greater RSA flexibility during SPEAR was associated with greater self-reported resilience. There was no consistent

The Link between Higher Order Thinking Skills, Representation and Concepts in Enhancing TIMSS Tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nor’ain Mohd. Tajudin

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Students’ performances in TIMSS have featured strongly in recent discussions and debates about the quality of mathematical learning outcomes both from teachers and policy makers. Findings of TIMSS trends showed that most high school students in Malaysia continue to perform at less than satisfactory levels, particularly, in tasks that are cognitively demanding. In this article, we present a critical analysis of selected TIMSS Tasks and demonstrate how to support students better in the use of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS in making progress with such tasks. In so doing we present analyses of TIMSS tasks and a model of these tasks that relate HOTS, representation and concepts which can be utilised by teachers to understand the role of HOTS better in empowering students shift to higher levels of cognitive funtioning in the context of tackling TIMSS and similarly demanding tasks. Our analyses and model provide an important starting point for the design of future professional development programs for Malaysian mathematics teachers in reconceptualising HOTS and implementing them in regular classrooms.

Empowering Children with Adaptive Technology Skills: Careful Engagement in the Digital Information Age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miftachul HUDA

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The technological advancement occurring in the world today has a potency to create positive and negative side effects especially on children. The positive side may entail increased empathy and acceptance of diversity through modelling the prosocial behaviours, while the negative can be manifest in aggressive behaviour, risky sexual behaviour, and substance abuse. These challenges pose a need to draw a particular attention to children’s rights of protection and care in relation to the use of technology. This paper sought to critically explore the way in which children adapt technology skills and the way they respond towards media influences. The findings revealed that the adaptive technology skills are needed in providing a considerable guidance for child protection and careful engagement towards digital information as part of their rights to natural growth and development.

Coupling internal cerebellar models enhances online adaptation and supports offline consolidation in sensorimotor tasks.

Science.gov (United States)

Passot, Jean-Baptiste; Luque, Niceto R; Arleo, Angelo

2013-01-01

The cerebellum is thought to mediate sensorimotor adaptation through the acquisition of internal models of the body-environment interaction. These representations can be of two types, identified as forward and inverse models. The first predicts the sensory consequences of actions, while the second provides the correct commands to achieve desired state transitions. In this paper, we propose a composite architecture consisting of multiple cerebellar internal models to account for the adaptation performance of humans during sensorimotor learning. The proposed model takes inspiration from the cerebellar microcomplex circuit, and employs spiking neurons to process information. We investigate the intrinsic properties of the cerebellar circuitry subserving efficient adaptation properties, and we assess the complementary contributions of internal representations by simulating our model in a procedural adaptation task. Our simulation results suggest that the coupling of internal models enhances learning performance significantly (compared with independent forward and inverse models), and it allows for the reproduction of human adaptation capabilities. Furthermore, we provide a computational explanation for the performance improvement observed after one night of sleep in a wide range of sensorimotor tasks. We predict that internal model coupling is a necessary condition for the offline consolidation of procedural memories.

Coupling internal cerebellar models enhances online adaptation and supports offline consolidation in sensorimotor tasks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Baptiste ePassot

2013-07-01

Full Text Available The cerebellum is thought to mediate sensorimotor adaptation through the acquisition of internal models of the body–environment interaction. These representations can be of two types, identified as forward and inverse models. The first predicts the sensory consequences of actions, while the second provides the correct commands to achieve desired state transitions. In this paper, we propose a composite architecture consisting of multiple cerebellar internal models to account for the adaptation performance of humans during sensorimotor learning. The proposed model takes inspiration from the cerebellar microcomplex circuit, and employs spiking neurons to process information. We investigate the intrinsic properties of the cerebellar circuitry subserving efficient adaptation properties, and we assess the complementary contributions of internal representations by simulating our model in a procedural adaptation task. Our simulation results suggest that the coupling of internal models enhances learning performance significantly (compared with independent forward and inverse models, and it allows for the reproduction of human adaptation capabilities. Furthermore, we provide a computational explanation for the performance improvement observed after one night of sleep in a wide range of sensorimotor tasks. We predict that internal model coupling is a necessary condition for the offline consolidation of procedural memories.

TAPS: an automated tool for identification of skills, knowledges, and abilities using natural language task description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jorgensen, C.C.; Carter, R.J.

1986-01-01

A prototype, computer-based tool (TAPS) has been developed to aid training system developers in identifying skills, knowledges, and abilities (SKAs) during task analysis. TAPS uses concepts of flexible pattern matching to evaluate English descriptions of job behaviors and to recode them as SKA lists. This paper addresses the rationale for TAPS and describes its design including SKA definitions and task analysis logic. It also presents examples of TAPS's application

TAPS - An automated tool for identification of skills, knowledges, and abilities using natural language task description

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jorgensen, C.C.; Carter, R.J.

1986-01-01

A prototype, computer-based tool (TAPS) has been developed to aid training system developers in identifying skills, knowledges, and abilities (SKAs) during task analysis. TAPS uses concepts of flexible pattern matching to evaluate English descriptions of job behaviors and to recode them as SKA lists. This paper addresses the rationale for TAPS and describes its design including SKA definitions and task analysis logic. It also presents examples of TAPS's application

Transfer of skill engendered by complex task training under conditions of variable priority.

Science.gov (United States)

Boot, Walter R; Basak, Chandramallika; Erickson, Kirk I; Neider, Mark; Simons, Daniel J; Fabiani, Monica; Gratton, Gabriele; Voss, Michelle W; Prakash, Ruchika; Lee, HyunKyu; Low, Kathy A; Kramer, Arthur F

2010-11-01

We explored the theoretical underpinnings of a commonly used training strategy by examining issues of training and transfer of skill in the context of a complex video game (Space Fortress, Donchin, 1989). Participants trained using one of two training regimens: Full Emphasis Training (FET) or Variable Priority Training (VPT). Transfer of training was assessed with a large battery of cognitive and psychomotor tasks ranging from basic laboratory paradigms measuring reasoning, memory, and attention to complex real-world simulations. Consistent with previous studies, VPT accelerated learning and maximized task mastery. However, the hypothesis that VPT would result in broader transfer of training received limited support. Rather, transfer was most evident in tasks that were most similar to the Space Fortress game itself. Results are discussed in terms of potential limitations of the VPT approach. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Reliability and validity of the adapted Resistance Training Skills Battery for Children.

Science.gov (United States)

Furzer, Bonnie J; Bebich-Philip, Marc D; Wright, Kemi E; Reid, Siobhan L; Thornton, Ashleigh L

2017-12-29

Resistance training (RT) is emerging as a training modality to improve motor function and facilitate physical activity participation in children across the motor proficiency spectrum. Although RT competency assessments have been established and validated among adolescent cohorts, the extent to which these methods are suitable for assessing children's RT skills is unknown. This project aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the adapted Resistance Training Skills Battery for Children (RTSBc), in children with varying motor proficiency. Repeated measures design with 40 participants (M age=8.2±1.7years) displaying varying levels of motor proficiency. Participants performed the adapted RTSBc on two occasions, receiving a score for their execution of each component, in addition to an overall RT skill quotient child (RTSQc). Cronbach's alpha, intra-class correlation (ICC), Bland-Altman analysis, and typical error were used to assess test-retest reliability. To examine construct validity, exploratory factor analysis was performed alongside computing correlations between participants' muscle strength, motor proficiency, age, lean muscle mass, and RTSQc. The RTSBc displayed an acceptable level of internal consistency (alpha=0.86) and test-retest reliability (ICC range=0.86-0.99). Exploratory factor analysis supported internal test structure, with all six RT skills loading strongly on a single factor (range 0.56-0.89). Analyses of structural validity revealed positive correlations for RTSQc in relation to motor proficiency (r=0.52, preliability of the RTSBc, providing preliminary evidence that the RTSBc is appropriate for use in the assessment of children's RT competency. Copyright © 2018 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive Algorithm For Identification Of The Environment Parameters In Contact Tasks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tuneski, Atanasko; Babunski, Darko [Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, ' St. Cyril and Methodius' University, Skopje (Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of)

2003-07-01

An adaptive algorithm for identification of the unknown parameters of the dynamic environment in contact tasks is proposed in this paper using the augmented least square estimation method. An approximate environment digital simulator for the continuous environment dynamics is derived, i.e. a discrete transfer function which has the approximately the same characteristics as the continuous environment dynamics is found. For solving this task a method named hold equivalence is used. The general model of the environment dynamics is given and the case when the environment dynamics is represented by second order models with parameter uncertainties is considered. (Author)

Adaptive Algorithm For Identification Of The Environment Parameters In Contact Tasks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tuneski, Atanasko; Babunski, Darko

2003-01-01

An adaptive algorithm for identification of the unknown parameters of the dynamic environment in contact tasks is proposed in this paper using the augmented least square estimation method. An approximate environment digital simulator for the continuous environment dynamics is derived, i.e. a discrete transfer function which has the approximately the same characteristics as the continuous environment dynamics is found. For solving this task a method named hold equivalence is used. The general model of the environment dynamics is given and the case when the environment dynamics is represented by second order models with parameter uncertainties is considered. (Author)

Generic cognitive adaptations to task interference in task switching

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Poljac, E.; Bekkering, H.

2009-01-01

The present study investigated how the activation of previous tasks interferes with the execution of future tasks as a result of temporal manipulations. Color and shape matching tasks were organized in runs of two trials each. The tasks were specified by a cue presented before a task run, cueing

Differences in learning volitional (manual and non-volitional (posture aspects of a complex motor skill in young adult dyslexic and skilled readers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Itamar Sela

Full Text Available The 'Cerebellar Deficit Theory' of developmental dyslexia proposes that a subtle developmental cerebellar dysfunction leads to deficits in attaining 'automatic' procedures and therefore manifests as subtle motor impairments (e.g., balance control, motor skill learning in addition to the reading and phonological difficulties. A more recent version of the theory suggests a core deficit in motor skill acquisition. This study was undertaken to compare the time-course and the nature of practice-related changes in volitional (manual and non-volitional (posture motor performance in dyslexic and typical readers while learning a new movement sequence. Seventeen dyslexic and 26 skilled young adult readers underwent a three-session training program in which they practiced a novel sequence of manual movements while standing in a quiet stance position. Both groups exhibited robust and well-retained gains in speed, with no loss of accuracy, on the volitional, manual, aspects of the task, with a time-course characteristic of procedural learning. However, the dyslexic readers exhibited a pervasive slowness in the initiation of volitional performance. In addition, while typical readers showed clear and well-retained task-related adaptation of the balance and posture control system, the dyslexic readers had significantly larger sway and variance of sway throughout the three sessions and were less efficient in adapting the posture control system to support the acquisition of the novel movement sequence. These results support the notion of a non-language-related deficit in developmental dyslexia, one related to the recruitment of motor systems for effective task performance rather than to a general motor learning disability.

Disparity in Frontal Lobe Connectivity on a Complex Bimanual Motor Task Aids in Classification of Operator Skill Level.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreu-Perez, Javier; Leff, Daniel Richard; Shetty, Kunal; Darzi, Ara; Yang, Guang-Zhong

2016-06-01

Objective metrics of technical performance (e.g., dexterity, time, and path length) are insufficient to fully characterize operator skill level, which may be encoded deep within neural function. Unlike reports that capture plasticity across days or weeks, this articles studies long-term plasticity in functional connectivity that occurs over years of professional task practice. Optical neuroimaging data are acquired from professional surgeons of varying experience on a complex bimanual coordination task with the aim of investigating learning-related disparity in frontal lobe functional connectivity that arises as a consequence of motor skill level. The results suggest that prefrontal and premotor seed connectivity is more critical during naïve versus expert performance. Given learning-related differences in connectivity, a least-squares support vector machine with a radial basis function kernel is employed to evaluate skill level using connectivity data. The results demonstrate discrimination of operator skill level with accuracy ≥0.82 and Multiclass Matthew's Correlation Coefficient ≥0.70. Furthermore, these indices are improved when local (i.e., within-region) rather than inter-regional (i.e., between-region) frontal connectivity is considered (p = 0.002). The results suggest that it is possible to classify operator skill level with good accuracy from functional connectivity data, upon which objective assessment and neurofeedback may be used to improve operator performance during technical skill training.

TAPS: an automated tool for identification of skills, knowledges, and abilities using natural language task description

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jorgensen, C.C.; Carter, R.J.

1986-01-01

A prototype, computer-based tool (TAPS) has been developed to aid training system developers in identifying skills, knowledges, and abilities (SKAs) during task analysis. TAPS uses concepts of flexible pattern matching to evaluate English descriptions of job behaviors and to recode them as SKA lists. This paper addresses the rationale for TAPS and describes its design including SKA definitions and task analysis logic. It also presents examples of TAPS's application.

A Multilevel Modeling Approach to Examining Individual Differences in Skill Acquisition for a Computer-Based Task

OpenAIRE

Nair, Sankaran N.; Czaja, Sara J.; Sharit, Joseph

2007-01-01

This article explores the role of age, cognitive abilities, prior experience, and knowledge in skill acquisition for a computer-based simulated customer service task. Fifty-two participants aged 50–80 performed the task over 4 consecutive days following training. They also completed a battery that assessed prior computer experience and cognitive abilities. The data indicated that overall quality and efficiency of performance improved with practice. The predictors of initial level of performan...

Acquiring a cognitive skill with a new repeating version of the Tower of London task.

Science.gov (United States)

Ouellet, Marie-Christine; Beauchamp, Miriam H; Owen, Adrian M; Doyon, Julien

2004-12-01

A computerized version of the Tower of London task was used to investigate cognitive skill learning. Thirty-six healthy volunteers were assigned to either a random condition (nonrecurring problems), or to a sequence condition in which, unbeknownst to the subjects, a repeating sequence of three problems was presented. Indices of execution, planning, and total time, as well as number of moves performed, were used to measure behavioural change. Subjects' performance improved in both conditions across blocks of practice. A distinct learning effect related to the repeating sequence was also observed. This suggests that a specific skill that reflects procedural learning of the strategies, rules, and procedures pertaining to repeating problems can develop over and above a more general skill at solving cognitive planning problems with practice.

Predicting Growth in Word Level Reading Skills in Children With Developmental Dyslexia Using an Object Rhyming Functional Neuroimaging Task.

Science.gov (United States)

Farris, Emily A; Ring, Jeremiah; Black, Jeffrey; Lyon, G Reid; Odegard, Timothy N

2016-04-01

An object rhyming task that does not require text reading and is suitable for younger children was used to predict gains in word level reading skills following an intensive 2-year reading intervention for children with developmental dyslexia. The task evoked activation in bilateral inferior frontal regions. Growth in untimed pseudoword reading was associated with increased pre-intervention activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus, and growth in timed word reading was associated with pre-intervention activation of the left and right inferior frontal gyri. These analyses help identify pre-intervention factors that facilitate reading skill improvements in children with developmental dyslexia.

Relation between paralinguistic skills and social skills in adults with mild and moderate intellectual disability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đorđević Mirjana

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Facial expressions and prosodic acoustic characteristics jointly present paralinguistic features of communication. By analyzing literature, we observe that respondents with intellectual disabilities manifest emphasized difficulties in detecting emotions in tasks of facial and vocal expression. However, we do not know if there are data on how paralinguistic abilities correlate with social skills in adults with intellectual disabilities. This research was conducted in order to determine the relation between the ability of paralinguistic production and paralinguistic understanding, on one side, and social skills on the other side. The sample consisted of 44 adults of both genders with mild (N=22 and moderate intellectual disabilities (N=22, aged between 20 and 50 (M=32.41, SD=9.36. The Paralinguistic scale from the battery for the assessment of communication (The Assessment Battery for Communication, Abaco, Sacco et al., 2008 was used for the assessment of paralinguistic skills, and three subscales of Vineland adaptive behavior scale - teaching form (Sparrow, Cicchetti & Balla, 2006 were used for the assessment of social skills. The results show that the achievement on subscales of Playing and leisure time positively correlated with the ability to understand emotions in communication (r = 0.486, p < 0.05 in respondents with mild intellectual disability. Achievements on the subscales Skills of adapting had a moderate and positive correlation with the ability to understand emotions in communication (r=0.522, p<0.05 in subjects with mild intellectual disability. Statistically significant correlations between the examined variables were not observed in the group of respondents with moderate intellectual disability. We can conclude that in adults with mild intellectual disability the ability to understand emotional paralinguistic elements significantly correlates with the ability to organize social activities and to adapt behavior in social interactions.

Linking subordinate political skill to supervisor dependence and reward recommendations: a moderated mediation model.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Junqi; Johnson, Russell E; Liu, Yihao; Wang, Mo

2013-03-01

In this study, we examined the relations of subordinate political skill with supervisor's dependence on the subordinate and supervisor reward recommendation, as well as mediating (interaction frequency with supervisor) and moderating (supervisor political behavior) variables of these relations. Our theoretical model was tested using data collected from employees in a company that specialized in construction management. Analyses of multisource and lagged data from 53 construction management team supervisors and 296 subordinates indicated that subordinate political skill was positively related to supervisor reward recommendation via subordinate's interaction frequency with supervisor. Although interaction frequency with a supervisor was also positively related to the supervisor's dependence on the subordinate, the indirect effect of subordinate political skill on dependence was not significant. Further, both the relationship between subordinate political skill and interaction frequency with a supervisor and the indirect relationships between subordinate political skill and supervisor reward recommendation were stronger when supervisors exhibited more political behavior.

A task dependent change in the medium latency component of the soleus stretch reflex

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grey, Michael James; Larsen, Birgit; Sinkjær, Thomas

2002-01-01

In comparison to the H-reflex, the task dependency of the human stretch reflex during locomotive and postural tasks has not received a great deal of attention in the literature. The few studies on reflex task dependency that have been performed to date have concentrated on either the group Ia...

Implicit perceptual-motor skill learning in mild cognitive impairment and Parkinson's disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gobel, Eric W; Blomeke, Kelsey; Zadikoff, Cindy; Simuni, Tanya; Weintraub, Sandra; Reber, Paul J

2013-05-01

Implicit skill learning is hypothesized to depend on nondeclarative memory that operates independent of the medial temporal lobe (MTL) memory system and instead depends on cortico striatal circuits between the basal ganglia and cortical areas supporting motor function and planning. Research with the Serial Reaction Time (SRT) task suggests that patients with memory disorders due to MTL damage exhibit normal implicit sequence learning. However, reports of intact learning rely on observations of no group differences, leading to speculation as to whether implicit sequence learning is fully intact in these patients. Patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) often exhibit impaired sequence learning, but this impairment is not universally observed. Implicit perceptual-motor sequence learning was examined using the Serial Interception Sequence Learning (SISL) task in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI; n = 11) and patients with PD (n = 15). Sequence learning in SISL is resistant to explicit learning and individually adapted task difficulty controls for baseline performance differences. Patients with MCI exhibited robust sequence learning, equivalent to healthy older adults (n = 20), supporting the hypothesis that the MTL does not contribute to learning in this task. In contrast, the majority of patients with PD exhibited no sequence-specific learning in spite of matched overall task performance. Two patients with PD exhibited performance indicative of an explicit compensatory strategy suggesting that impaired implicit learning may lead to greater reliance on explicit memory in some individuals. The differences in learning between patient groups provides strong evidence in favor of implicit sequence learning depending solely on intact basal ganglia function with no contribution from the MTL memory system.

Assessing family planning service-delivery skills in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Valadez, J J; Transgrud, R; Mbugua, M; Smith, T

1997-06-01

This report demonstrates the use of Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) to evaluate the technical competence of two cohorts of family planning service providers in Kenya trained with a new curriculum. One cohort had just finished training within two months of the study. The other cohort was the first group trained with the new curriculum about one year before the study. LQAS was adapted from industrial and other public health applications to assess both the individual competence of 30 service providers and the competence of each cohort. Results show that Cohorts One and Two did not differ markedly in the number of tasks needing improvement. However, both cohorts exhibited more tasks needing improvement in counseling skills as compared with physical examination skills or with all other skills. Care-givers who were not currently providing services accounted for most service-delivery problems. This result suggests that providers' use of their skills explains their ability to retain service-delivery skills learned in training to a greater degree than does the amount of time elapsed since they were trained. LQAS proved to be a rapid, easy-to-use empirical method for management decisionmaking for improvement of a family planning training curriculum and services.

Effects of the amount and schedule of varied practice after constant practice on the adaptive process of motor learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Umberto Cesar Corrêa

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the effects of different amounts and schedules of varied practice, after constant practice, on the adaptive process of motor learning. Participants were one hundred and seven children with a mean age of 11.1 ± 0.9 years. Three experiments were carried out using a complex anticipatory timing task manipulating the following components in the varied practice: visual stimulus speed (experiment 1; sequential response pattern (experiment 2; and visual stimulus speed plus sequential response pattern (experiment 3. In all experiments the design involved three amounts (18, 36, and 63 trials, and two schedules (random and blocked of varied practice. The experiments also involved two learning phases: stabilization and adaptation. The dependent variables were the absolute, variable, and constant errors related to the task goal, and the relative timing of the sequential response. Results showed that all groups worsened the performances in the adaptation phase, and no difference was observed between them. Altogether, the results of the three experiments allow the conclusion that the amounts of trials manipulated in the random and blocked practices did not promote the diversification of the skill since no adaptation was observed.

Motor Skill Learning and Corticospinal Excitability

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Lasse

Background Motor skill learning (MSL) is the persistent increase in performance of a skill obtained through practice. This process is associated with changes throughout the central nervous system. One of these is a change in corticospinal excitability (CSE) assessable with Transcranial Magnetic...... a novel visuomotor skill. I hypothesized that changes in CSE accompanying long-term motor practice relate to the process of learning rather than repetitive practice on an acquired skill and investigated this by incrementally increasing task difficulty and thus postponing saturation of learning....... Furthermore, we aimed to investigate the feasibility of applying paired associative stimulation to the investigation of learning-dependent motor cortical plasticity by comparing the transient increase in CSE accompanying motor skill learning to the associative plasticity induced by pairing electrical motor...

Structural Correlates of Skilled Performance on a Motor Sequence Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher J Steele

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The brain regions functionally engaged in motor sequence performance are well established, but the structural characteristics of these regions and the fibre pathways involved have been less well studied. In addition, relatively few studies have combined multiple magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and behavioural performance measures in the same sample. Therefore, the current study used diffusion tensor imaging, probabilistic tractography, and voxel-based morphometry to determine the structural correlates of skilled motor performance. Further, we compared these findings with fMRI results in the same sample. We correlated final performance and rate of improvement measures on a temporal motor sequence task with skeletonised fractional anisotropy (FA and whole brain grey matter (GM volume. Final synchronisation performance was negatively correlated with FA in white matter underlying bilateral sensorimotor cortex – an effect that was mediated by a positive correlation with radial diffusivity. Multi-fibre tractography indicated that this region contained crossing fibres from the corticospinal tract and superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF. The identified SLF pathway linked parietal and auditory cortical regions that have been shown to be functionally engaged in this task. Thus, we hypothesise that enhanced synchronisation performance on this task may be related to greater fibre integrity of the SLF. Rate of improvement on synchronisation was positively correlated with GM volume in cerebellar lobules HVI and V – regions that showed training-related decreases in activity in the same sample. Taken together, our results link individual differences in brain structure and function to motor sequence performance on the same task. Further, our study illustrates the utility of using multiple MR measures and analysis techniques to specify the interpretation of structural findings.

Empowering children with adaptive technology skills: Careful engagement in the digital ınformation age

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Miftachul Huda

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The technological advancement occurring in the world today has a potency to create positive and negative side effects especially on children. The positive side may entail increased empathy and acceptance of diversity through modelling the prosocial behaviours, while the negative can be manifest in aggressive behaviour, risky sexual behaviour, and substance abuse. These challenges pose a need to draw a particular attention to children’s rights of protection and care in relation to the use of technology. This paper sought to critically explore the way in which children adapt technology skills and the way they respond towards media influences. The findings revealed that the adaptive technology skills are needed in providing a considerable guidance for child protection and careful engagement towards digital information as part of their rights to natural growth and development.

Does conflict help or hurt cognitive control? Initial evidence for an inverted U-shape relationship between perceived task difficulty and conflict adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

van Steenbergen, Henk; Band, Guido P H; Hommel, Bernhard

2015-01-01

Sequential modulation of congruency effects in conflict tasks indicates that cognitive control quickly adapts to changing task demands. We investigated in four experiments how this behavioral congruency-sequence effect relates to different levels of perceived task difficulty in a flanker and a Stroop task. In addition, online measures of pupil diameter were used as a physiological index of effort mobilization. Consistent with motivational accounts predicting that increased levels of perceived task difficulty will increase effort mobilization only up to a certain limit, reliable dynamic conflict-driven adjustment in cognitive control was only observed when task difficulty was relatively low. Instead, tasks tentatively associated with high levels of difficulty showed no or reversed conflict adaptation. Although the effects could not be linked consistently to effects in self-reported task difficulty in all experiments, regression analyses showed associations between perceived task difficulty and conflict adaptation in some of the experiments, which provides some initial evidence for an inverted U-shape relationship between perceived difficulty and adaptations in cognitive control. Furthermore, high levels of task difficulty were associated with a conflict-driven reduction in pupil dilation, suggesting that pupil dilation can be used as a physiological marker of mental overload. Our findings underscore the importance of developing models that are grounded in motivational accounts of cognitive control.

A new adaptive videogame for training attention and executive functions: design principles and initial validation.

Science.gov (United States)

Montani, Veronica; De Filippo De Grazia, Michele; Zorzi, Marco

2014-01-01

A growing body of evidence suggests that action videogames could enhance a variety of cognitive skills and more specifically attention skills. The aim of this study was to develop a novel adaptive videogame to support the rehabilitation of the most common consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI), that is the impairment of attention and executive functions. TBI patients can be affected by psychomotor slowness and by difficulties in dealing with distraction, maintain a cognitive set for a long time, processing different simultaneously presented stimuli, and planning purposeful behavior. Accordingly, we designed a videogame that was specifically conceived to activate those functions. Playing involves visuospatial planning and selective attention, active maintenance of the cognitive set representing the goal, and error monitoring. Moreover, different game trials require to alternate between two tasks (i.e., task switching) or to perform the two tasks simultaneously (i.e., divided attention/dual-tasking). The videogame is controlled by a multidimensional adaptive algorithm that calibrates task difficulty on-line based on a model of user performance that is updated on a trial-by-trial basis. We report simulations of user performance designed to test the adaptive game as well as a validation study with healthy participants engaged in a training protocol. The results confirmed the involvement of the cognitive abilities that the game is supposed to enhance and suggested that training improved attentional control during play.

A new adaptive videogame for training attention and executive functions: design principles and initial validation

Science.gov (United States)

Montani, Veronica; De Filippo De Grazia, Michele; Zorzi, Marco

2014-01-01

A growing body of evidence suggests that action videogames could enhance a variety of cognitive skills and more specifically attention skills. The aim of this study was to develop a novel adaptive videogame to support the rehabilitation of the most common consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI), that is the impairment of attention and executive functions. TBI patients can be affected by psychomotor slowness and by difficulties in dealing with distraction, maintain a cognitive set for a long time, processing different simultaneously presented stimuli, and planning purposeful behavior. Accordingly, we designed a videogame that was specifically conceived to activate those functions. Playing involves visuospatial planning and selective attention, active maintenance of the cognitive set representing the goal, and error monitoring. Moreover, different game trials require to alternate between two tasks (i.e., task switching) or to perform the two tasks simultaneously (i.e., divided attention/dual-tasking). The videogame is controlled by a multidimensional adaptive algorithm that calibrates task difficulty on-line based on a model of user performance that is updated on a trial-by-trial basis. We report simulations of user performance designed to test the adaptive game as well as a validation study with healthy participants engaged in a training protocol. The results confirmed the involvement of the cognitive abilities that the game is supposed to enhance and suggested that training improved attentional control during play. PMID:24860529

A Developmental Perspective in Learning the Mirror-Drawing Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mona Sharon Julius

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Is there late maturation of skill learning? This notion has been raised to explain an adult advantage in learning a variety of tasks, such as auditory temporal-interval discrimination, locomotion adaptation, and drawing visually-distorted spatial patterns (mirror-drawing. Here, we test this assertion by following the practice of the mirror-drawing task in two 5 min daily sessions separated by a 10 min break, over the course of two days, in 5–6-year-old kindergarten children, 7–8-year-old second-graders, and young adults. In the mirror-drawing task, participants were required to trace a square while looking at their hand only as a reflection in a mirror. Kindergarteners did not show learning of the visual-motor mapping, and on average, did not produce even one full side of a square correctly. Second-graders showed increased online movement control with longer strokes, and robust learning of the visual-motor mapping, resulting in a between-day increase in the number of correctly drawn sides with no loss in accuracy. Overall, kindergarteners and second-graders producing at least one correct polygon-side on Day 1 were more likely to improve their performance between days. Adults showed better performance with greater improvements in the number of correctly drawn sides between- and within-days, and in accuracy between days. It has been suggested that 5-year-olds cannot learn the task due to their inability to detect and encapsulate previously produced accurate movements. Our findings suggest, instead, that these children did not have initial, accurate performance that could be enhanced through training. Recently, it has been shown that in a simple grapho-motor task the three age-groups improved their speed of performance within a session and between-days, while maintaining accuracy scores. Taken together, these data suggest that children's motor skill learning depends on the task’s characteristics and their adopting an efficient performance

Effects of tDCS on Bimanual Motor Skills: A Brief Review.

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Pixa, Nils H; Pollok, Bettina

2018-01-01

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that allows the modulation of cortical excitability as well as neuroplastic reorganization using a weak constant current applied through the skull on the cerebral cortex. TDCS has been found to improve motor performance in general and motor learning in particular. However, these effects have been reported almost exclusively for unimanual motor tasks such as serial reaction time tasks, adaptation tasks, or visuo-motor tracking. Despite the importance of bimanual actions in most activities of daily living, only few studies have investigated the effects of tDCS on bimanual motor skills. The objectives of this review article are: (i) to provide a concise overview of the few existing studies in this area; and (ii) to discuss the effects of tDCS on bimanual motor skills in healthy volunteers and patients suffering from neurological diseases. Despite considerable variations in stimulation protocols, the bimanual tasks employed, and study designs, the data suggest that tDCS has the potential to enhance bimanual motor skills. The findings imply that the effects of tDCS vary with task demands, such as complexity and the level of expertise of the participating volunteers. Nevertheless, optimized stimulation protocols tailored to bimanual tasks and individual performance considering the underlying neural substrates of task execution are required in order to probe the effectiveness of tDCS in greater detail, thus creating an opportunity to support motor recovery in neuro-rehabilitation.

Brief periods of NREM sleep do not promote early offline gains but subsequent on-task performance in motor skill learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Maier, Jonathan G; Piosczyk, Hannah; Holz, Johannes; Landmann, Nina; Deschler, Christoph; Frase, Lukas; Kuhn, Marion; Klöppel, Stefan; Spiegelhalder, Kai; Sterr, Annette; Riemann, Dieter; Feige, Bernd; Voderholzer, Ulrich; Nissen, Christoph

2017-11-01

Sleep modulates motor learning, but its detailed impact on performance curves remains to be fully characterized. This study aimed to further determine the impact of brief daytime periods of NREM sleep on 'offline' (task discontinuation after initial training) and 'on-task' (performance within the test session) changes in motor skill performance (finger tapping task). In a mixed design (combined parallel group and repeated measures) sleep laboratory study (n=17 'active' wake vs. sleep, n=19 'passive' wake vs. sleep), performance curves were assessed prior to and after a 90min period containing either sleep, active or passive wakefulness. We observed a highly significant, but state- (that is, sleep/wake)-independent early offline gain and improved on-task performance after sleep in comparison to wakefulness. Exploratory curve fitting suggested that the observed sleep effect most likely emerged from an interaction of training-induced improvement and detrimental 'time-on-task' processes, such as fatigue. Our results indicate that brief periods of NREM sleep do not promote early offline gains but subsequent on-task performance in motor skill learning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Personalized Video Feedback and Repeated Task Practice Improve Laparoscopic Knot-Tying Skills: Two Controlled Trials.

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Abbott, Eduardo F; Thompson, Whitney; Pandian, T K; Zendejas, Benjamin; Farley, David R; Cook, David A

2017-11-01

Compare the effect of personalized feedback (PF) vs. task demonstration (TD), both delivered via video, on laparoscopic knot-tying skills and perceived workload; and evaluate the effect of repeated practice. General surgery interns and research fellows completed four repetitions of a simulated laparoscopic knot-tying task at one-month intervals. Midway between repetitions, participants received via e-mail either a TD video (demonstration by an expert) or a PF video (video of their own performance with voiceover from a blinded senior surgeon). Each participant received at least one video per format, with sequence randomly assigned. Outcomes included performance scores and NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) scores. To evaluate the effectiveness of repeated practice, scores from these trainees on a separate delayed retention test were compared against historical controls who did not have scheduled repetitions. Twenty-one trainees completed the randomized study. Mean change in performance scores was significantly greater for those receiving PF (difference = 23.1 of 150 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0, 46.2], P = .05). Perceived workload was also significantly reduced (difference = -3.0 of 20 [95% CI: -5.8, -0.3], P = .04). Compared with historical controls (N = 93), the 21 with scheduled repeated practice had higher scores on the laparoscopic knot-tying assessment two weeks after the final repetition (difference = 1.5 of 10 [95% CI: 0.2, 2.8], P = .02). Personalized video feedback improves trainees' procedural performance and perceived workload compared with a task demonstration video. Brief monthly practice sessions support skill acquisition and retention.

A single-rate context-dependent learning process underlies rapid adaptation to familiar object dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingram, James N; Howard, Ian S; Flanagan, J Randall; Wolpert, Daniel M

2011-09-01

Motor learning has been extensively studied using dynamic (force-field) perturbations. These induce movement errors that result in adaptive changes to the motor commands. Several state-space models have been developed to explain how trial-by-trial errors drive the progressive adaptation observed in such studies. These models have been applied to adaptation involving novel dynamics, which typically occurs over tens to hundreds of trials, and which appears to be mediated by a dual-rate adaptation process. In contrast, when manipulating objects with familiar dynamics, subjects adapt rapidly within a few trials. Here, we apply state-space models to familiar dynamics, asking whether adaptation is mediated by a single-rate or dual-rate process. Previously, we reported a task in which subjects rotate an object with known dynamics. By presenting the object at different visual orientations, adaptation was shown to be context-specific, with limited generalization to novel orientations. Here we show that a multiple-context state-space model, with a generalization function tuned to visual object orientation, can reproduce the time-course of adaptation and de-adaptation as well as the observed context-dependent behavior. In contrast to the dual-rate process associated with novel dynamics, we show that a single-rate process mediates adaptation to familiar object dynamics. The model predicts that during exposure to the object across multiple orientations, there will be a degree of independence for adaptation and de-adaptation within each context, and that the states associated with all contexts will slowly de-adapt during exposure in one particular context. We confirm these predictions in two new experiments. Results of the current study thus highlight similarities and differences in the processes engaged during exposure to novel versus familiar dynamics. In both cases, adaptation is mediated by multiple context-specific representations. In the case of familiar object dynamics

A single-rate context-dependent learning process underlies rapid adaptation to familiar object dynamics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James N Ingram

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Motor learning has been extensively studied using dynamic (force-field perturbations. These induce movement errors that result in adaptive changes to the motor commands. Several state-space models have been developed to explain how trial-by-trial errors drive the progressive adaptation observed in such studies. These models have been applied to adaptation involving novel dynamics, which typically occurs over tens to hundreds of trials, and which appears to be mediated by a dual-rate adaptation process. In contrast, when manipulating objects with familiar dynamics, subjects adapt rapidly within a few trials. Here, we apply state-space models to familiar dynamics, asking whether adaptation is mediated by a single-rate or dual-rate process. Previously, we reported a task in which subjects rotate an object with known dynamics. By presenting the object at different visual orientations, adaptation was shown to be context-specific, with limited generalization to novel orientations. Here we show that a multiple-context state-space model, with a generalization function tuned to visual object orientation, can reproduce the time-course of adaptation and de-adaptation as well as the observed context-dependent behavior. In contrast to the dual-rate process associated with novel dynamics, we show that a single-rate process mediates adaptation to familiar object dynamics. The model predicts that during exposure to the object across multiple orientations, there will be a degree of independence for adaptation and de-adaptation within each context, and that the states associated with all contexts will slowly de-adapt during exposure in one particular context. We confirm these predictions in two new experiments. Results of the current study thus highlight similarities and differences in the processes engaged during exposure to novel versus familiar dynamics. In both cases, adaptation is mediated by multiple context-specific representations. In the case of familiar

Perceiving patterns of play in dynamic sport tasks: investigating the essential information underlying skilled performance.

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Willams, A Mark; Hodges, Nicola J; North, Jamie S; Barton, Gabor

2006-01-01

The perceptual-cognitive information used to support pattern-recognition skill in soccer was examined. In experiment 1, skilled players were quicker and more accurate than less-skilled players at recognising familiar and unfamiliar soccer action sequences presented on film. In experiment 2, these action sequences were converted into point-light displays, with superficial display features removed and the positions of players and the relational information between them made more salient. Skilled players were more accurate than less-skilled players in recognising sequences presented in point-light form, implying that each pattern of play can be defined by the unique relations between players. In experiment 3, various offensive and defensive players were occluded for the duration of each trial in an attempt to identify the most important sources of information underpinning successful performance. A decrease in response accuracy was observed under occluded compared with non-occluded conditions and the expertise effect was no longer observed. The relational information between certain key players, team-mates and their defensive counterparts may provide the essential information for effective pattern-recognition skill in soccer. Structural feature analysis, temporal phase relations, and knowledge-based information are effectively integrated to facilitate pattern recognition in dynamic sport tasks.

Adaptation of a tool to assess non-technical skills of scrub practitioners in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mundt, Anna Sofie; Spanager, Lene; Lyk-Jensen, Helle Teglgaard

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to adapt the Scottish tool, Scrub Practitioners List of Intraoperative Non-Technical Skills, to Danish organisation and culture. With an explorative and qualitative approach, four group interviews with scrub practitioners, surgeons and anaesthesia staff were conducted....... The main differences found were related to communication and teamwork regarding scrub practitioners focus on the team and speaking up. Differences in the non-technical skills described in the behavioural markers are perhaps explained by cultural differences between Scotland and Denmark. A new tool...

Adapting the helpful responses questionnaire to assess communication skills involved in delivering contingency management: preliminary psychometrics.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartzler, Bryan

2015-08-01

A paper/pencil instrument, adapted from Miller and colleagues' (1991) Helpful Responses Questionnaire (HRQ), was developed to assess clinician skill with core communicative aspects involved in delivering contingency management (CM). The instrument presents a single vignette consisting of six points of client dialogue to which respondents write 'what they would say next.' In the context of an implementation/effectiveness hybrid trial, 19 staff clinicians at an opiate treatment program completed serial training outcome assessments before, following, and three months after CM training. Assessments included this adaptation of the HRQ, a multiple-choice CM knowledge test, and a recorded standardized patient encounter scored for CM skillfulness. Study results reveal promising psychometric properties for the instrument, including strong scoring reliability, internal consistency, concurrent and predictive validity, test-retest reliability and sensitivity to training effects. These preliminary findings suggest the instrument is a viable, practical method to assess clinician skill in communicative aspects of CM delivery. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment Training Effects on Student Assessment Skills and Task Performance in a Technology-Facilitated Peer Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiongyi; Li, Lan

2014-01-01

This study examines the impact of an assessment training module on student assessment skills and task performance in a technology-facilitated peer assessment. Seventy-eight undergraduate students participated in the study. The participants completed an assessment training exercise, prior to engaging in peer-assessment activities. During the…

Does conflict help or hurt cognitive control? Initial evidence for an inverted U-shape relationship between perceived task difficulty and conflict adaptation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henk eVan Steenbergen

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Sequential modulation of congruency effects in conflict tasks indicates that cognitive control quickly adapts to changing task demands. We investigated in four experiments how this behavioral congruency-sequence effect relates to different levels of perceived task difficulty in a flanker and a Stroop task. In addition, online measures of pupil diameter were used as a physiological index of effort mobilization. Consistent with motivational accounts predicting that increased levels of perceived task difficulty will increase effort mobilization only up to a certain limit, reliable dynamic conflict-driven adjustment in cognitive control was only observed when task difficulty was relatively low. Instead, tasks tentatively associated with high levels of difficulty showed no or reversed conflict adaptation. Although the effects could not be linked consistently to effects in self-reported task difficulty in all experiments, regression analyses showed associations between perceived task difficulty and conflict adaptation in some of the experiments, which provides some initial evidence for an inverted U-shape relationship between perceived difficulty and adaptations in cognitive control. Furthermore, high levels of task difficulty were associated with a conflict-driven reduction in pupil dilation, suggesting that pupil dilation can be used as a physiological marker of mental overload. Our findings underscore the importance of developing models that are grounded in motivational accounts of cognitive control.

Robustness of non-interdependent and interdependent networks against dependent and adaptive attacks

Science.gov (United States)

Tyra, Adam; Li, Jingtao; Shang, Yilun; Jiang, Shuo; Zhao, Yanjun; Xu, Shouhuai

2017-09-01

Robustness of complex networks has been extensively studied via the notion of site percolation, which typically models independent and non-adaptive attacks (or disruptions). However, real-life attacks are often dependent and/or adaptive. This motivates us to characterize the robustness of complex networks, including non-interdependent and interdependent ones, against dependent and adaptive attacks. For this purpose, dependent attacks are accommodated by L-hop percolation where the nodes within some L-hop (L ≥ 0) distance of a chosen node are all deleted during one attack (with L = 0 degenerating to site percolation). Whereas, adaptive attacks are launched by attackers who can make node-selection decisions based on the network state in the beginning of each attack. The resulting characterization enriches the body of knowledge with new insights, such as: (i) the Achilles' Heel phenomenon is only valid for independent attacks, but not for dependent attacks; (ii) powerful attack strategies (e.g., targeted attacks and dependent attacks, dependent attacks and adaptive attacks) are not compatible and cannot help the attacker when used collectively. Our results shed some light on the design of robust complex networks.

Integration of the information problem-solving skill in an educational programme: The effects of learning with authentic tasks.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brand-Gruwel, Saskia; Wopereis, Iwan

2008-01-01

Brand-Gruwel, S., & Wopereis, I. (2006). Integration of the information problem-solving skill in an educational programme: The effects of learning with authentic tasks. Technology, Instruction, Cognition, and Learning, 4, 243-263.

The assessment of knowledge and learning in competence spaces: The gain-loss model for dependent skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Anselmi, Pasquale; Stefanutti, Luca; de Chiusole, Debora; Robusto, Egidio

2017-11-01

The gain-loss model (GaLoM) is a formal model for assessing knowledge and learning. In its original formulation, the GaLoM assumes independence among the skills. Such an assumption is not reasonable in several domains, in which some preliminary knowledge is the foundation for other knowledge. This paper presents an extension of the GaLoM to the case in which the skills are not independent, and the dependence relation among them is described by a well-graded competence space. The probability of mastering skill s at the pretest is conditional on the presence of all skills on which s depends. The probabilities of gaining or losing skill s when moving from pretest to posttest are conditional on the mastery of s at the pretest, and on the presence at the posttest of all skills on which s depends. Two formulations of the model are presented, in which the learning path is allowed to change from pretest to posttest or not. A simulation study shows that models based on the true competence space obtain a better fit than models based on false competence spaces, and are also characterized by a higher assessment accuracy. An empirical application shows that models based on pedagogically sound assumptions about the dependencies among the skills obtain a better fit than models assuming independence among the skills. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

Exploring students’ adaptive reasoning skills and van Hiele levels of geometric thinking: a case study in geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Rizki, H. T. N.; Frentika, D.; Wijaya, A.

2018-03-01

This study aims to explore junior high school students’ adaptive reasoning and the Van Hiele level of geometric thinking. The present study was a quasi-experiment with the non-equivalent control group design. The participants of the study were 34 seventh graders and 35 eighth graders in the experiment classes and 34 seventh graders and 34 eighth graders in the control classes. The students in the experiment classes learned geometry under the circumstances of a Knisley mathematical learning. The data were analyzed quantitatively by using inferential statistics. The results of data analysis show an improvement of adaptive reasoning skills both in the grade seven and grade eight. An improvement was also found for the Van Hiele level of geometric thinking. These results indicate the positive impact of Knisley learning model on students’ adaptive reasoning skills and Van Hiele level of geometric thinking.

Active listening: task-dependent plasticity of spectrotemporal receptive fields in primary auditory cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Fritz, Jonathan; Elhilali, Mounya; Shamma, Shihab

2005-08-01

Listening is an active process in which attentive focus on salient acoustic features in auditory tasks can influence receptive field properties of cortical neurons. Recent studies showing rapid task-related changes in neuronal spectrotemporal receptive fields (STRFs) in primary auditory cortex of the behaving ferret are reviewed in the context of current research on cortical plasticity. Ferrets were trained on spectral tasks, including tone detection and two-tone discrimination, and on temporal tasks, including gap detection and click-rate discrimination. STRF changes could be measured on-line during task performance and occurred within minutes of task onset. During spectral tasks, there were specific spectral changes (enhanced response to tonal target frequency in tone detection and discrimination, suppressed response to tonal reference frequency in tone discrimination). However, only in the temporal tasks, the STRF was changed along the temporal dimension by sharpening temporal dynamics. In ferrets trained on multiple tasks, distinctive and task-specific STRF changes could be observed in the same cortical neurons in successive behavioral sessions. These results suggest that rapid task-related plasticity is an ongoing process that occurs at a network and single unit level as the animal switches between different tasks and dynamically adapts cortical STRFs in response to changing acoustic demands.

Inhibitory control as a factor of adaptive functioning of children with mild intellectual disability

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gligorović Milica

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Bearing in mind that the adaptive behaviour is one of the defining parameters of intellectual disability, determining of the influence of inhibitory control on adaptive functioning in children with mild intellectual disability was defined as a basic aim of this research. The sample covered 95 children with mild intellectual disability (MID, of both genders, from 10 to 14 years of age. By analysis of the data of schools' pedagogical-psychological departments, data on age and intellectual abilities of participants were collected. Inhibitory control was estimated by Go no Go task, consisted of Conflict Response and Response Delay sets. Adaptive skills data were gained on the basis of a standardized interview with special education teachers, by applying of AAMR Scale of adaptive functioning. On the basis of factor analysis, Scale scores were grouped in five factors: Personal independence, Social Independence, Personal and Social Responsibility, Social Adaptability and Personal Adaptability. Significance of relations among the observed variables was established by Pearson's correlation coefficient, by partial correlation coefficient and multifactorial variance analysis. Based on the analysis of results a statistically significant relationship between errors in the execution of tasks that belong to the set of conflict motor responses and adaptive functioning (p≤0.000 was established. The relationship between errors that belong to the set of the response delay, and adaptive functioning is not statistically significant (p=0.324. Inhibition of the interference response is a significant factor of practical (partial η2=0.227, conceptual (partial η2=0.341 and social (partial η2=0.131 adaptive skills, while the response delay is significantly associated with the conceptual skills (p=0.029 only. Inhibitory control did not prove itself a significant factor in behaviour problems of externalizing and internalized type.

Multisensory perceptual learning is dependent upon task difficulty.

Science.gov (United States)

De Niear, Matthew A; Koo, Bonhwang; Wallace, Mark T

2016-11-01

There has been a growing interest in developing behavioral tasks to enhance temporal acuity as recent findings have demonstrated changes in temporal processing in a number of clinical conditions. Prior research has demonstrated that perceptual training can enhance temporal acuity both within and across different sensory modalities. Although certain forms of unisensory perceptual learning have been shown to be dependent upon task difficulty, this relationship has not been explored for multisensory learning. The present study sought to determine the effects of task difficulty on multisensory perceptual learning. Prior to and following a single training session, participants completed a simultaneity judgment (SJ) task, which required them to judge whether a visual stimulus (flash) and auditory stimulus (beep) presented in synchrony or at various stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) occurred synchronously or asynchronously. During the training session, participants completed the same SJ task but received feedback regarding the accuracy of their responses. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three levels of difficulty during training: easy, moderate, and hard, which were distinguished based on the SOAs used during training. We report that only the most difficult (i.e., hard) training protocol enhanced temporal acuity. We conclude that perceptual training protocols for enhancing multisensory temporal acuity may be optimized by employing audiovisual stimuli for which it is difficult to discriminate temporal synchrony from asynchrony.

Leadership Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchison, Cathleen; And Others

1988-01-01

Lists skills identified by the Leadership Development Task Force as being critical skills for a leader. Discussion focuses on information managing skills, including problem solving, decision making, setting goals and objectives; project management; and people managing skills, including interpersonal communications, conflict management, motivation,…

The own-age face recognition bias is task dependent.

Science.gov (United States)

Proietti, Valentina; Macchi Cassia, Viola; Mondloch, Catherine J

2015-08-01

The own-age bias (OAB) in face recognition (more accurate recognition of own-age than other-age faces) is robust among young adults but not older adults. We investigated the OAB under two different task conditions. In Experiment 1 young and older adults (who reported more recent experience with own than other-age faces) completed a match-to-sample task with young and older adult faces; only young adults showed an OAB. In Experiment 2 young and older adults completed an identity detection task in which we manipulated the identity strength of target and distracter identities by morphing each face with an average face in 20% steps. Accuracy increased with identity strength and facial age influenced older adults' (but not younger adults') strategy, but there was no evidence of an OAB. Collectively, these results suggest that the OAB depends on task demands and may be absent when searching for one identity. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

A Model for the Transfer of Perceptual-Motor Skill Learning in Human Behaviors

Science.gov (United States)

Rosalie, Simon M.; Muller, Sean

2012-01-01

This paper presents a preliminary model that outlines the mechanisms underlying the transfer of perceptual-motor skill learning in sport and everyday tasks. Perceptual-motor behavior is motivated by performance demands and evolves over time to increase the probability of success through adaptation. Performance demands at the time of an event…

Time- and task-dependent non-neural effects of real and sham TMS.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Felix Duecker

Full Text Available Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS is widely used in experimental brain research to manipulate brain activity in humans. Next to the intended neural effects, every TMS pulse produces a distinct clicking sound and sensation on the head which can also influence task performance. This necessitates careful consideration of control conditions in order to ensure that behavioral effects of interest can be attributed to the neural consequences of TMS and not to non-neural effects of a TMS pulse. Surprisingly, even though these non-neural effects of TMS are largely unknown, they are often assumed to be unspecific, i.e. not dependent on TMS parameters. This assumption is inherent to many control strategies in TMS research but has recently been challenged on empirical grounds. Here, we further develop the empirical basis of control strategies in TMS research. We investigated the time-dependence and task-dependence of the non-neural effects of TMS and compared real and sham TMS over vertex. Critically, we show that non-neural TMS effects depend on a complex interplay of these factors. Although TMS had no direct neural effects, both pre- and post-stimulus TMS time windows modulated task performance on both a sensory detection task and a cognitive angle judgment task. For the most part, these effects were quantitatively similar across tasks but effect sizes were clearly different. Moreover, the effects of real and sham TMS were almost identical with interesting exceptions that shed light on the relative contribution of auditory and somato-sensory aspects of a TMS pulse. Knowledge of such effects is of critical importance for the interpretation of TMS experiments and helps deciding what constitutes an appropriate control condition. Our results broaden the empirical basis of control strategies in TMS research and point at potential pitfalls that should be avoided.

Adaptation of the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) to dental students.

Science.gov (United States)

Laurence, Brian; Bertera, Elizabeth M; Feimster, Tawana; Hollander, Roberta; Stroman, Carolyn

2012-12-01

The purpose of this study was to adapt the twenty-six-item Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) developed for medical students for use among dental students and to test the psychometric properties of the modified instrument. The sample consisted of 250 students (an 80.1 percent response rate) in years D1 to D4 at a dental school in Washington, DC. The mean age of participants was 26.6 years with a range from twenty-one to forty-two years. Slightly more than half of the participants were female (52.4 percent) and were African American or of African descent (51.7 percent). Principal components analysis was used to test the psychometric properties of the instrument. The index that resulted measured both positive and negative attitudes toward learning communications skills. The final twenty-four-item scale had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.87), and the study obtained four important factors-Learning, Importance, Quality, and Success-that explained a significant portion of the variance (49.1 percent). Stratified analysis by demographic variables suggested that there may be gender and ethnic differences in the students' attitudes towards learning communication skills. The authors conclude that the CSAS modified for dental students, or DCSAS, is a useful tool to assess attitudes towards learning communication skills among dental students.

Impedance learning for robotic contact tasks using natural actor-critic algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Byungchan; Park, Jooyoung; Park, Shinsuk; Kang, Sungchul

2010-04-01

Compared with their robotic counterparts, humans excel at various tasks by using their ability to adaptively modulate arm impedance parameters. This ability allows us to successfully perform contact tasks even in uncertain environments. This paper considers a learning strategy of motor skill for robotic contact tasks based on a human motor control theory and machine learning schemes. Our robot learning method employs impedance control based on the equilibrium point control theory and reinforcement learning to determine the impedance parameters for contact tasks. A recursive least-square filter-based episodic natural actor-critic algorithm is used to find the optimal impedance parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed method was tested through dynamic simulations of various contact tasks. The simulation results demonstrated that the proposed method optimizes the performance of the contact tasks in uncertain conditions of the environment.

Brain Activity Stimulated by Prism Adaptation Tasks Utilized for the Treatment of Unilateral Spatial Neglect: A Study with fNIRS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroshi Taniguchi

2012-01-01

Full Text Available We investigated the neurological basis for efficacy of prism adaptation therapy, which is used for the treatment of poststroke unilateral spatial neglect (USN. Study subjects were 6 USN-positive (+, 6 USN-negative patients, and 6 healthy volunteer control subjects. USN was identified by the Behavioural Inattention Test (BIT. During the tasks, brain activity was assessed with fNIRS via changes in oxyHb concentration per unit length. There was no significant difference in the number of errors in the task between the 3 groups. However, in the USN(+ group there was a significantly greater reduction in oxyHb levels in the right parietal association cortex during the prism adaptation task than in the other 2 groups (<0.05. There was an immediate improvement in USN symptoms as well as a significant increase in oxyHb levels during the prism adaptation in the channels covering the right frontal and parietal lobes in 2 patients in the USN(+ group (<0.05. This result suggested that decreased activity in the right parietal association cortex, which is related to spatial perception, during the prism adaptation task and task-induced reorganization of the right frontal and parietal areas were involved in improvement in USN symptoms.

The cerebellum does more than sensory prediction error-based learning in sensorimotor adaptation tasks.

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Butcher, Peter A; Ivry, Richard B; Kuo, Sheng-Han; Rydz, David; Krakauer, John W; Taylor, Jordan A

2017-09-01

Individuals with damage to the cerebellum perform poorly in sensorimotor adaptation paradigms. This deficit has been attributed to impairment in sensory prediction error-based updating of an internal forward model, a form of implicit learning. These individuals can, however, successfully counter a perturbation when instructed with an explicit aiming strategy. This successful use of an instructed aiming strategy presents a paradox: In adaptation tasks, why do individuals with cerebellar damage not come up with an aiming solution on their own to compensate for their implicit learning deficit? To explore this question, we employed a variant of a visuomotor rotation task in which, before executing a movement on each trial, the participants verbally reported their intended aiming location. Compared with healthy control participants, participants with spinocerebellar ataxia displayed impairments in both implicit learning and aiming. This was observed when the visuomotor rotation was introduced abruptly ( experiment 1 ) or gradually ( experiment 2 ). This dual deficit does not appear to be related to the increased movement variance associated with ataxia: Healthy undergraduates showed little change in implicit learning or aiming when their movement feedback was artificially manipulated to produce similar levels of variability ( experiment 3 ). Taken together the results indicate that a consequence of cerebellar dysfunction is not only impaired sensory prediction error-based learning but also a difficulty in developing and/or maintaining an aiming solution in response to a visuomotor perturbation. We suggest that this dual deficit can be explained by the cerebellum forming part of a network that learns and maintains action-outcome associations across trials. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Individuals with cerebellar pathology are impaired in sensorimotor adaptation. This deficit has been attributed to an impairment in error-based learning, specifically, from a deficit in using sensory

The Attentional Dependence of Emotion Cognition is Variable with the Competing Task

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Cheng Chen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The relationship between emotion and attention has fascinated researchers for decades. Many previous studies have used eye-tracking, ERP, MEG and fMRI to explore this issue but have reached different conclusions: some researchers hold that emotion cognition is an automatic process and independent of attention, while some others believed that emotion cognition is modulated by attentional resources and is a type of controlled processing. The present research aimed to investigate this controversy, and we hypothesized that the attentional dependence of emotion cognition is variable with the competing task. Eye-tracking technology and a dual-task paradigm were adopted, and subjects’ attention was manipulated to fixate at the central task to investigate whether subjects could detect the emotional faces presented in the peripheral area with a decrease or near-absence of attention. The results revealed that when the peripheral task was emotional face discrimination but the central attention-demanding task was different, subjects performed well in the peripheral task, which means that emotional information can be processed in parallel with other stimuli, and there may be a specific channel in the human brain for processing emotional information. However, when the central and peripheral tasks were both emotional face discrimination, subjects could not perform well in the peripheral task, indicating that the processing of emotional information required attentional resources and that it is a type of controlled processing. Therefore, we concluded that the attentional dependence of emotion cognition varied with the competing task.

A new adaptive videogame for training attention and executive functions: Design principles and initial validation

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Veronica eMontani

2014-05-01

Full Text Available A growing body of evidence suggests that action videogames could enhance a variety of cognitive skills and more specifically attention skills. The aim of this study was to develop a novel adaptive videogame to support the rehabilitation of the most common consequences of traumatic brain injury (TBI, that is the impairment of attention and executive functions. TBI patients can be affected by psychomotor slowness and by difficulties in dealing with distraction, maintain a cognitive set for a long time, processing different simultaneously presented stimuli, and planning purposeful behaviour. Accordingly, we designed a videogame that was specifically conceived to activate those functions. Playing involves visuospatial planning and selective attention, active maintenance of the cognitive set representing the goal, and error monitoring. Moreover, different game trials require to alternate between two tasks (i.e., task switching or to perform the two tasks simultaneously (i.e., divided attention / dual-tasking. The videogame is controlled by a multidimensional adaptive algorithm that calibrates task difficulty on-line based on a model of user performance that is updated on a trial-by-trial basis. We report simulations of user performance designed to test the adaptive game as well as a validation study with healthy participants engaged in a training protocol. The results confirmed the involvement of the cognitive abilities that the game is supposed to enhance and suggested that training improved attentional control during play.

Training Peer-Feedback Skills on Geometric Construction Tasks: Role of Domain Knowledge and Peer-Feedback Levels

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Alqassab, Maryam; Strijbos, Jan-Willem; Ufer, Stefan

2018-01-01

Peer feedback is widely used to train assessment skills and to support collaborative learning of various learning tasks, but research on peer feedback in the domain of mathematics is limited. Although domain knowledge seems to be a prerequisite for peer-feedback provision, it only recently received attention in the peer-feedback literature. In…

Automated acoustic analysis of task dependency in adductor spasmodic dysphonia versus muscle tension dysphonia.

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Roy, Nelson; Mazin, Alqhazo; Awan, Shaheen N

2014-03-01

Distinguishing muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) from adductor spasmodic dysphonia (ADSD) can be difficult. Unlike MTD, ADSD is described as "task-dependent," implying that dysphonia severity varies depending upon the demands of the vocal task, with connected speech thought to be more symptomatic than sustained vowels. This study used an acoustic index of dysphonia severity (i.e., the Cepstral Spectral Index of Dysphonia [CSID]) to: 1) assess the value of "task dependency" to distinguish ADSD from MTD, and to 2) examine associations between the CSID and listener ratings. Case-Control Study. CSID estimates of dysphonia severity for connected speech and sustained vowels of patients with ADSD (n = 36) and MTD (n = 45) were compared. The diagnostic precision of task dependency (as evidenced by differences in CSID-estimated dysphonia severity between connected speech and sustained vowels) was examined. In ADSD, CSID-estimated severity for connected speech (M = 39. 2, SD = 22.0) was significantly worse than for sustained vowels (M = 29.3, SD = 21.9), [P = .020]. Whereas in MTD, no significant difference in CSID-estimated severity was observed between connected speech (M = 55.1, SD = 23.8) and sustained vowels (M = 50.0, SD = 27.4), [P = .177]. CSID evidence of task dependency correctly identified 66.7% of ADSD cases (sensitivity) and 64.4% of MTD cases (specificity). CSID and listener ratings were significantly correlated. Task dependency in ADSD, as revealed by differences in acoustically-derived estimates of dysphonia severity between connected speech and sustained vowel production, is a potentially valuable diagnostic marker. © 2013 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

Task-dependent output of human parasternal intercostal motor units across spinal levels.

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Hudson, Anna L; Gandevia, Simon C; Butler, Jane E

2017-12-01

During breathing, there is differential activity in the human parasternal intercostal muscles and the activity is tightly coupled to the known mechanical advantages for inspiration of the same regions of muscles. It is not known whether differential activity is preserved for the non-respiratory task of ipsilateral trunk rotation. In the present study, we compared single motor units during resting breathing and axial rotation of the trunk during apnoea. We not only confirmed non-uniform recruitment of motor units across parasternal intercostal muscles in breathing, but also demonstrated that the same motor units show an altered pattern of recruitment in the non-respiratory task of trunk rotation. The output of parasternal intercostal motoneurones is modulated differently across spinal levels depending on the task and these results help us understand the mechanisms that may govern task-dependent differences in motoneurone output. During inspiration, there is differential activity in the human parasternal intercostal muscles across interspaces. We investigated whether the earlier recruitment of motor units in the rostral interspaces compared to more caudal spaces during inspiration is preserved for the non-respiratory task of ipsilateral trunk rotation. Single motor unit activity (SMU) was recorded from the first, second and fourth parasternal interspaces on the right side in five participants in two tasks: resting breathing and 'isometric' axial rotation of the trunk during apnoea. Recruitment of the same SMUs was compared between tasks (n = 123). During resting breathing, differential activity was indicated by earlier recruitment of SMUs in the first and second interspaces compared to the fourth space in inspiration (P motor units showed an altered pattern of recruitment because SMUs in the first interspace were recruited later and at a higher rotation torque than those in the second and fourth interspaces (P recruitment measures, was good-excellent [intraclass

Do pattern recognition skills transfer across sports? A preliminary analysis.

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Smeeton, Nicholas J; Ward, Paul; Williams, A Mark

2004-02-01

The ability to recognize patterns of play is fundamental to performance in team sports. While typically assumed to be domain-specific, pattern recognition skills may transfer from one sport to another if similarities exist in the perceptual features and their relations and/or the strategies used to encode and retrieve relevant information. A transfer paradigm was employed to compare skilled and less skilled soccer, field hockey and volleyball players' pattern recognition skills. Participants viewed structured and unstructured action sequences from each sport, half of which were randomly represented with clips not previously seen. The task was to identify previously viewed action sequences quickly and accurately. Transfer of pattern recognition skill was dependent on the participant's skill, sport practised, nature of the task and degree of structure. The skilled soccer and hockey players were quicker than the skilled volleyball players at recognizing structured soccer and hockey action sequences. Performance differences were not observed on the structured volleyball trials between the skilled soccer, field hockey and volleyball players. The skilled field hockey and soccer players were able to transfer perceptual information or strategies between their respective sports. The less skilled participants' results were less clear. Implications for domain-specific expertise, transfer and diversity across domains are discussed.

Task Migration for Fault-Tolerance in Mixed-Criticality Embedded Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saraswat, Prabhat Kumar; Pop, Paul; Madsen, Jan

2009-01-01

In this paper we are interested in mixed-criticality embedded applications implemented on distributed architectures. Depending on their time-criticality, tasks can be hard or soft real-time and regarding safety-criticality, tasks can be fault-tolerant to transient faults, permanent faults, or have...... processors, such that the faults are tolerated, the deadlines for the hard real-time tasks are satisfied and the QoS for soft tasks is maximized. The proposed online adaptive approach has been evaluated using several synthetic benchmarks and a real-life case study....... no dependability requirements. We use Earliest Deadline First (EDF) scheduling for the hard tasks and the Constant Bandwidth Server (CBS) for the soft tasks. The CBS parameters determine the quality of service (QoS) of soft tasks. Transient faults are tolerated using checkpointing with roll- back recovery...

Psychological and socio-cultural adaptation of international journalism students in Russia: The role of communication skills in the adaptation process

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Gladkova A.A.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background. The study of both Russian and international publications issued in the last twenty years revealed a significant gap in the number of studies examining adaptation (general living, psychological, socio-cultural, etc. in general, i.e., without regard to specific characteristics of the audience, and those describing adaptation of a particular group of people (specific age, ethnic, professional groups, etc.. Objective. The current paper aims to overcome this gap by offering a closer look at the adaptation processes of international journalism students at Russian universities, in particular, their psychological and socio-cultural types of adaptation. The question that interests us the most is how psychological and socio-cultural adaptation of international journalists to-be can be made easier and whether communication-oriented techniques can somehow facilitate this process. Design. In this paper, we provide an overview of current research analyzing adaptation from different angles, which is essential for creating a context for further narrower studies. Results. We discuss adaptation of journalism students in Russia, suggesting ways to make their adaptation in a host country easier and arguing that the development of communication skills can be important for successful adaptation to new living and learning conditions. Conclusion. We argue that there is a need for more detailed, narrow-focused research discussing the specifics of adaptation of different groups of people to a new environment (since we believe different people tend to adapt to new conditions in different ways as well as research outlining the role of communication competences in their adaptation processes.

Task-specific compensation and recovery following focal motor cortex lesion in stressed rats.

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Kirkland, Scott W; Smith, Lori K; Metz, Gerlinde A

2012-03-01

One reason for the difficulty to develop effective therapies for stroke is that intrinsic factors, such as stress, may critically influence pathological mechanisms and recovery. In cognitive tasks, stress can both exaggerate and alleviate functional loss after focal ischemia in rodents. Using a comprehensive motor assessment in rats, this study examined if chronic stress and corticosterone treatment affect skill recovery and compensation in a task-specific manner. Groups of rats received daily restraint stress or oral corticosterone supplementation for two weeks prior to a focal motor cortex lesion. After lesion, stress and corticosterone treatments continued for three weeks. Motor performance was assessed in two skilled reaching tasks, skilled walking, forelimb inhibition, forelimb asymmetry and open field behavior. The results revealed that persistent stress and elevated corticosterone levels mainly limit motor recovery. Treated animals dropped larger amounts of food in successful reaches and showed exaggerated loss of forelimb inhibition early after lesion. Stress also caused a moderate, but non-significant increase in infarct size. By contrast, stress and corticosterone treatments promoted reaching success and other quantitative measures in the tray reaching task. Comparative analysis revealed that improvements are due to task-specific development of compensatory strategies. These findings suggest that stress and stress hormones may partially facilitate task-specific and adaptive compensatory movement strategies. The observations support the notion that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation may be a key determinant of recovery and motor system plasticity after ischemic stroke.

Selection of spatial reference frames depends on task's demands

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Greeshma Sharma

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Spatial reference frames (SRF are the means of representing spatial relations or locations either in an egocentric coordinate system (centred on navigator or in an allocentric coordinate system (Centred on object. It is necessary to understand when and how spatial representation switches between allocentric and egocentric reference frames in context to spatial tasks. The objective of this study was to explore if the elementary spatial representation does exist, whether it would remain consistent or change under the influence of a task's demand. Also, we explored how the SRF would assist if the environment is enriched with landmarks, having multiple routes for wayfinding. The results showed that the switching of SRF depends not only on the default representation but also on a task's demand. They also demonstrated that participants who were using allocentric representation performed better in the presence of landmarks.

Automatically rating trainee skill at a pediatric laparoscopic suturing task.

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Oquendo, Yousi A; Riddle, Elijah W; Hiller, Dennis; Blinman, Thane A; Kuchenbecker, Katherine J

2018-04-01

Minimally invasive surgeons must acquire complex technical skills while minimizing patient risk, a challenge that is magnified in pediatric surgery. Trainees need realistic practice with frequent detailed feedback, but human grading is tedious and subjective. We aim to validate a novel motion-tracking system and algorithms that automatically evaluate trainee performance of a pediatric laparoscopic suturing task. Subjects (n = 32) ranging from medical students to fellows performed two trials of intracorporeal suturing in a custom pediatric laparoscopic box trainer after watching a video of ideal performance. The motions of the tools and endoscope were recorded over time using a magnetic sensing system, and both tool grip angles were recorded using handle-mounted flex sensors. An expert rated the 63 trial videos on five domains from the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill (OSATS), yielding summed scores from 5 to 20. Motion data from each trial were processed to calculate 280 features. We used regularized least squares regression to identify the most predictive features from different subsets of the motion data and then built six regression tree models that predict summed OSATS score. Model accuracy was evaluated via leave-one-subject-out cross-validation. The model that used all sensor data streams performed best, achieving 71% accuracy at predicting summed scores within 2 points, 89% accuracy within 4, and a correlation of 0.85 with human ratings. 59% of the rounded average OSATS score predictions were perfect, and 100% were within 1 point. This model employed 87 features, including none based on completion time, 77 from tool tip motion, 3 from tool tip visibility, and 7 from grip angle. Our novel hardware and software automatically rated previously unseen trials with summed OSATS scores that closely match human expert ratings. Such a system facilitates more feedback-intensive surgical training and may yield insights into the fundamental

Task Complexity Modulates Sleep-Related Offline Learning in Sequential Motor Skills

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Klaus Blischke

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Recently, a number of authors have advocated the introduction of gross motor tasks into research on sleep-related motor offline learning. Such tasks are often designed to be more complex than traditional key-pressing tasks. However, until now, little effort has been undertaken to scrutinize the role of task complexity in any systematic way. Therefore, the effect of task complexity on the consolidation of gross motor sequence memory was examined by our group in a series of three experiments. Criterion tasks always required participants to produce unrestrained arm movement sequences by successively fitting a small peg into target holes on a pegboard. The sequences always followed a certain spatial pattern in the horizontal plane. The targets were visualized prior to each transport movement on a computer screen. The tasks differed with respect to sequence length and structural complexity. In each experiment, half of the participants initially learned the task in the morning and were retested 12 h later following a wake retention interval. The other half of the subjects underwent practice in the evening and was retested 12 h later following a night of sleep. The dependent variables were the error rate and total sequence execution time (inverse to the sequence execution speed. Performance generally improved during acquisition. The error rate was always low and remained stable during retention. The sequence execution time significantly decreased again following sleep but not after waking when the sequence length was long and structural complexity was high. However, sleep-related offline improvements were absent when the sequence length was short or when subjects performed a highly regular movement pattern. It is assumed that the occurrence of sleep-related offline performance improvements in sequential motor tasks is associated with a sufficient amount of motor task complexity.

Learning motor skills from algorithms to robot experiments

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Kober, Jens

2014-01-01

This book presents the state of the art in reinforcement learning applied to robotics both in terms of novel algorithms and applications. It discusses recent approaches that allow robots to learn motor skills and presents tasks that need to take into account the dynamic behavior of the robot and its environment, where a kinematic movement plan is not sufficient. The book illustrates a method that learns to generalize parameterized motor plans which is obtained by imitation or reinforcement learning, by adapting a small set of global parameters, and appropriate kernel-based reinforcement learning algorithms. The presented applications explore highly dynamic tasks and exhibit a very efficient learning process. All proposed approaches have been extensively validated with benchmarks tasks, in simulation, and on real robots. These tasks correspond to sports and games but the presented techniques are also applicable to more mundane household tasks. The book is based on the first author’s doctoral thesis, which wo...

Differences in the cognitive skills of bonobos and chimpanzees.

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Esther Herrmann

Full Text Available While bonobos and chimpanzees are both genetically and behaviorally very similar, they also differ in significant ways. Bonobos are more cautious and socially tolerant while chimpanzees are more dependent on extractive foraging, which requires tools. The similarities suggest the two species should be cognitively similar while the behavioral differences predict where the two species should differ cognitively. We compared both species on a wide range of cognitive problems testing their understanding of the physical and social world. Bonobos were more skilled at solving tasks related to theory of mind or an understanding of social causality, while chimpanzees were more skilled at tasks requiring the use of tools and an understanding of physical causality. These species differences support the role of ecological and socio-ecological pressures in shaping cognitive skills over relatively short periods of evolutionary time.

The effectiveness of robotic training depends on motor task characteristics.

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Marchal-Crespo, Laura; Rappo, Nicole; Riener, Robert

2017-12-01

Previous research suggests that the effectiveness of robotic training depends on the motor task to be learned. However, it is still an open question which specific task's characteristics influence the efficacy of error-modulating training strategies. Motor tasks can be classified based on the time characteristics of the task, in particular the task's duration (discrete vs. continuous). Continuous tasks require movements without distinct beginning or end. Discrete tasks require fast movements that include well-defined postures at the beginning and the end. We developed two games, one that requires a continuous movement-a tracking task-and one that requires discrete movements-a fast reaching task. We conducted an experiment with thirty healthy subjects to evaluate the effectiveness of three error-modulating training strategies-no guidance, error amplification (i.e., repulsive forces proportional to errors) and haptic guidance-on self-reported motivation and learning of the continuous and discrete games. Training with error amplification resulted in better motor learning than haptic guidance, besides the fact that error amplification reduced subjects' interest/enjoyment and perceived competence during training. Only subjects trained with error amplification improved their performance after training the discrete game. In fact, subjects trained without guidance improved the performance in the continuous game significantly more than in the discrete game, probably because the continuous task required greater attentional levels. Error-amplifying training strategies have a great potential to provoke better motor learning in continuous and discrete tasks. However, their long-lasting negative effects on motivation might limit their applicability in intense neurorehabilitation programs.

Argentinean adaptation of the Social Skills Inventory IHS-Del-Prette.

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Olaz, Fabián Orlando; Medrano, Leonardo; Greco, María Eugenia; Del Prette, Zilda Aparecida Pereira

2009-11-01

We present the results of the adaptation of the IHS-Del-Prette (Inventario de Habilidades Sociales, in English, Social Skills Inventory) to a sample of Argentinean college students. Firstly, we addressed the backward translation and carried out an equivalence study of the Portuguese and Spanish versions of the scale. The results showed the two versions were equivalent, as we obtained correlations lower than .50 in only 5 items. Secondly, we performed item analysis by calculating discrimination indexes and item-total correlations. Results indicated that the items are sensitive to differentiate between high and low social-skill groups. Exploratory factor analysis carried out with a sample of 602 college students yielded five factors that explained 26.5% of the total variance, although our data did not completely match the original factor structure. We also obtained moderate alpha values for the subscales, but high reliability for the total scale. Lastly, group differences between males and females are presented to provide evidence of validity. We discuss the implications of the results and present future lines of inquiry.

An Ad-Hoc Adaptive Pilot Model for Pitch Axis Gross Acquisition Tasks

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Hanson, Curtis E.

2012-01-01

An ad-hoc algorithm is presented for real-time adaptation of the well-known crossover pilot model and applied to pitch axis gross acquisition tasks in a generic fighter aircraft. Off-line tuning of the crossover model to human pilot data gathered in a fixed-based high fidelity simulation is first accomplished for a series of changes in aircraft dynamics to provide expected values for model parameters. It is shown that in most cases, for this application, the traditional crossover model can be reduced to a gain and a time delay. The ad-hoc adaptive pilot gain algorithm is shown to have desirable convergence properties for most types of changes in aircraft dynamics.

Design of an Adaptive Human-Machine System Based on Dynamical Pattern Recognition of Cognitive Task-Load.

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Zhang, Jianhua; Yin, Zhong; Wang, Rubin

2017-01-01

This paper developed a cognitive task-load (CTL) classification algorithm and allocation strategy to sustain the optimal operator CTL levels over time in safety-critical human-machine integrated systems. An adaptive human-machine system is designed based on a non-linear dynamic CTL classifier, which maps a set of electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) related features to a few CTL classes. The least-squares support vector machine (LSSVM) is used as dynamic pattern classifier. A series of electrophysiological and performance data acquisition experiments were performed on seven volunteer participants under a simulated process control task environment. The participant-specific dynamic LSSVM model is constructed to classify the instantaneous CTL into five classes at each time instant. The initial feature set, comprising 56 EEG and ECG related features, is reduced to a set of 12 salient features (including 11 EEG-related features) by using the locality preserving projection (LPP) technique. An overall correct classification rate of about 80% is achieved for the 5-class CTL classification problem. Then the predicted CTL is used to adaptively allocate the number of process control tasks between operator and computer-based controller. Simulation results showed that the overall performance of the human-machine system can be improved by using the adaptive automation strategy proposed.

Dreaming of a Learning Task is Associated with Enhanced Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation

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Wamsley, Erin J.; Tucker, Matthew; Payne, Jessica D.; Benavides, Joseph; Stickgold, Robert

2010-01-01

Summary It is now well established that post-learning sleep is beneficial for human memory performance [1–5]. Meanwhile, human and animal studies demonstrate that learning-related neural activity is re-expressed during post-training non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) [6–9]. NREM sleep processes appear to be particularly beneficial for hippocampus-dependent forms of memory [1–3, 10]. These observations suggest that learning triggers the reactivation and reorganization of memory traces during sleep, a systems-level process that in turn enhances behavioral performance. Here, we hypothesized that dreaming about a learning experience during NREM sleep would be associated with improved performance on a hippocampus-dependent spatial memory task. Subjects (n=99) were trained on a virtual navigation task, and then retested on the same task 5 hours after initial training. Improved performance at retest was strongly associated with task-related dream imagery during an intervening afternoon nap. Task-related thoughts during wakefulness, in contrast, did not predict improved performance. These observations suggest that sleep-dependent memory consolidation in humans is facilitated by the offline reactivation of recently formed memories, and furthermore, that dream experiences reflect this memory processing. That similar effects were not seen during wakefulness suggests that these mnemonic processes are specific to the sleep state. PMID:20417102

The Effects of Reflective Activities on Skill Adaptation in a Work-Related Instrumental Learning Setting

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Roessger, Kevin M.

2014-01-01

In work-related instrumental learning contexts, the role of reflective activities is unclear. Kolb's experiential learning theory and Mezirow's transformative learning theory predict skill adaptation as an outcome. This prediction was tested by manipulating reflective activities and assessing participants' response and error rates during novel…

Instrument adaptation and validation to evaluate psychosocial skills and healthy habits in schoolchildren

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Lucila Niño-Bautista

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To adapt and validate an evaluation tool on psychosocial skills for life and healthy habits in Schoolchildren from a locality in Bogota, Colombia. Materials and methods: This quantitative transversal with empirical analytical non-experimental approach study evaluated responses of schoolchildren in third and fourth grade of primary school with the instrument adapted and reconstructed to establish technical quality of items, reliability and validity of it. The instrument (18 psychosocial skills and 19 healthy habits, plus 4 identification items was self-diligence with Yes, No dichotomous answer option. It had evidence of apparent validity with schoolchildren from other peer institutions and was tested at 32 Public schools and analyzed using the Rasch model. Results: 1,066 schoolchildren participated in total. The items of the two constructs showed a good fit to the Rasch model as well as unidimensionality, reliability and separation measures above the recommended values. There was no differential functioning of the item by sex. Conclusion: The instrument of 37 items presented good properties of validity, reliability and adjustment to Rasch; although it does not have enough items of high difficulty level, which can be corrected in future applications.

Does water temperature influence the performance of key survival skills?

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Schnitzler, C; Button, C; Seifert, L; Armbrust, G; Croft, J L

2018-03-01

Aquatic survival skills may be compromised in cold water thereby increasing the likelihood of drowning. This study compared physiological, psychological, and behavioral responses of humans treading water and swimming in cold and temperate water. Thirty-eight participants were classified as inexperienced (n = 9), recreational (n = 15), or skilled (n = 10) swimmers. They performed 3 tasks: treading water (120 seconds), swim at "comfortable" pace, and swim at "fast" pace in 2 water conditions (28°C vs 10°C). Heart rate, oxygen uptake, psychometric variables, spatio-temporal (swim speed, stroke rate, and stroke length), and coordination type were examined as a function of expertise. Tasks performed in cold water-generated higher cardiorespiratory responses (HR = 145 ± 16 vs 127 ± 21 bpm) and were perceived about 2 points more strenuous on the Borg scale on average (RPE = 14.9 ± 2.8 vs 13.0 ± 2.0). The voluntary durations of both treading water (60 ± 32 vs 91 ± 33 seconds) and swimming at a comfortable pace (66 ± 22 vs 103 ± 34 seconds) were significantly reduced in cold water. However, no systematic changes in movement pattern type could be determined in either the treading water task or the swimming tasks. Water temperature influences the physical demands of these aquatic skills but not necessarily the behavior. Training treading water and swimming skills in temperate water seems to transfer to cold water, but we recommend training these skills in a range of water conditions to help adapt to the initial "cold-shock" response. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Dissociable effects of practice variability on learning motor and timing skills.

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Caramiaux, Baptiste; Bevilacqua, Frédéric; Wanderley, Marcelo M; Palmer, Caroline

2018-01-01

Motor skill acquisition inherently depends on the way one practices the motor task. The amount of motor task variability during practice has been shown to foster transfer of the learned skill to other similar motor tasks. In addition, variability in a learning schedule, in which a task and its variations are interweaved during practice, has been shown to help the transfer of learning in motor skill acquisition. However, there is little evidence on how motor task variations and variability schedules during practice act on the acquisition of complex motor skills such as music performance, in which a performer learns both the right movements (motor skill) and the right time to perform them (timing skill). This study investigated the impact of rate (tempo) variability and the schedule of tempo change during practice on timing and motor skill acquisition. Complete novices, with no musical training, practiced a simple musical sequence on a piano keyboard at different rates. Each novice was assigned to one of four learning conditions designed to manipulate the amount of tempo variability across trials (large or small tempo set) and the schedule of tempo change (randomized or non-randomized order) during practice. At test, the novices performed the same musical sequence at a familiar tempo and at novel tempi (testing tempo transfer), as well as two novel (but related) sequences at a familiar tempo (testing spatial transfer). We found that practice conditions had little effect on learning and transfer performance of timing skill. Interestingly, practice conditions influenced motor skill learning (reduction of movement variability): lower temporal variability during practice facilitated transfer to new tempi and new sequences; non-randomized learning schedule improved transfer to new tempi and new sequences. Tempo (rate) and the sequence difficulty (spatial manipulation) affected performance variability in both timing and movement. These findings suggest that there is a

Knowledge structures and the acquisition of a complex skill.

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Day, E A; Arthur, W; Gettman, D

2001-10-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the viability of knowledge structures as an operationalization of learning in the context of a task that required a high degree of skill. Over the course of 3 days, 86 men participated in 9 training sessions and learned a complex video game. At the end of acquisition, participants' knowledge structures were assessed. After a 4-day nonpractice interval, trainees completed tests of skill retention and skill transfer. Findings indicated that the similarity of trainees' knowledge structures to an expert structure was correlated with skill acquisition and was predictive of skill retention and skill transfer. However, the magnitude of these effects was dependent on the method used to derive the expert referent structure. Moreover, knowledge structures mediated the relationship between general cognitive ability and skill-based performance.

Brief Report: The Relationship between Language Skills, Adaptive Behavior, and Emotional and Behavior Problems in Pre-Schoolers with Autism

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Park, Carlie J.; Yelland, Gregory W.; Taffe, John R.; Gray, Kylie M.

2012-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between structural language skills, and communication skills, adaptive behavior, and emotional and behavior problems in pre-school children with autism. Participants were aged 3-5 years with autism (n = 27), and two comparison groups of children with developmental delay without autism (n = 12) and typically…

Are factors related to dual-task performance in people with Parkinson's disease dependent on the type of dual task?

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Strouwen, Carolien; Molenaar, Esther A L M; Keus, Samyra H J; Münks, Liesbeth; Heremans, Elke; Vandenberghe, Wim; Bloem, Bastiaan R; Nieuwboer, Alice

2016-02-01

Impaired dual-task performance significantly impacts upon functional mobility in people with Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to identify determinants of dual-task performance in people with PD in three different dual tasks to assess their possible task-dependency. We recruited 121 home-dwelling patients with PD (mean age 65.93 years; mean disease duration 8.67 years) whom we subjected to regular walking (control condition) and to three dual-task conditions: walking combined with a backwards Digit Span task, an auditory Stroop task and a Mobile Phone task. We measured dual-task gait velocity using the GAITRite mat and dual-task reaction times and errors on the concurrent tasks as outcomes. Motor, cognitive and descriptive variables which correlated to dual-task performance (p task gait velocity and executive function, tested by the alternating intake test, was significantly associated with gait velocity during the Digit Span (R(2) = 0.65; p task (R(2) = 0.62; p task. Age was a surplus determinant of gait velocity while using a mobile phone. Single-task gait velocity and executive function as measured by a verbal fluency switching task were independent determinants of dual-task gait performance in people with PD. In contrast to expectation, these factors were the same across different tasks, supporting the robustness of the findings. Future study needs to determine whether these factors predict dual-task abnormalities prospectively. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive increase in force variance during fatigue in tasks with low redundancy.

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Singh, Tarkeshwar; S K M, Varadhan; Zatsiorsky, Vladimir M; Latash, Mark L

2010-11-26

We tested a hypothesis that fatigue of an element (a finger) leads to an adaptive neural strategy that involves an increase in force variability in the other finger(s) and an increase in co-variation of commands to fingers to keep total force variability relatively unchanged. We tested this hypothesis using a system with small redundancy (two fingers) and a marginally redundant system (with an additional constraint related to the total moment of force produced by the fingers, unstable condition). The subjects performed isometric accurate rhythmic force production tasks by the index (I) finger and two fingers (I and middle, M) pressing together before and after a fatiguing exercise by the I finger. Fatigue led to a large increase in force variance in the I-finger task and a smaller increase in the IM-task. We quantified two components of variance in the space of hypothetical commands to fingers, finger modes. Under both stable and unstable conditions, there was a large increase in the variance component that did not affect total force and a much smaller increase in the component that did. This resulted in an increase in an index of the force-stabilizing synergy. These results indicate that marginal redundancy is sufficient to allow the central nervous system to use adaptive increase in variability to shield important variables from effects of fatigue. We offer an interpretation of these results based on a recent development of the equilibrium-point hypothesis known as the referent configuration hypothesis. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Software Environment for an Adaptive Human-Aware Software Agent Supporting Attention-Demanding Tasks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosse, T.; Memon, Z.A.; Oorburg, R.; Umair, M.; Treur, J.; de Vos, M.

2011-01-01

This paper presents a software environment providing human-aware ambient support for a human performing a task that demands substantial amounts of attention. The agent obtains human attention-awareness in an adaptive manner by use of a dynamical model of human attention, gaze sensoring by an

When global rule reversal meets local task switching: The neural mechanisms of coordinated behavioral adaptation to instructed multi-level demand changes.

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Shi, Yiquan; Wolfensteller, Uta; Schubert, Torsten; Ruge, Hannes

2018-02-01

Cognitive flexibility is essential to cope with changing task demands and often it is necessary to adapt to combined changes in a coordinated manner. The present fMRI study examined how the brain implements such multi-level adaptation processes. Specifically, on a "local," hierarchically lower level, switching between two tasks was required across trials while the rules of each task remained unchanged for blocks of trials. On a "global" level regarding blocks of twelve trials, the task rules could reverse or remain the same. The current task was cued at the start of each trial while the current task rules were instructed before the start of a new block. We found that partly overlapping and partly segregated neural networks play different roles when coping with the combination of global rule reversal and local task switching. The fronto-parietal control network (FPN) supported the encoding of reversed rules at the time of explicit rule instruction. The same regions subsequently supported local task switching processes during actual implementation trials, irrespective of rule reversal condition. By contrast, a cortico-striatal network (CSN) including supplementary motor area and putamen was increasingly engaged across implementation trials and more so for rule reversal than for nonreversal blocks, irrespective of task switching condition. Together, these findings suggest that the brain accomplishes the coordinated adaptation to multi-level demand changes by distributing processing resources either across time (FPN for reversed rule encoding and later for task switching) or across regions (CSN for reversed rule implementation and FPN for concurrent task switching). © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Wavelet and adaptive methods for time dependent problems and applications in aerosol dynamics

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Guo, Qiang

Time dependent partial differential equations (PDEs) are widely used as mathematical models of environmental problems. Aerosols are now clearly identified as an important factor in many environmental aspects of climate and radiative forcing processes, as well as in the health effects of air quality. The mathematical models for the aerosol dynamics with respect to size distribution are nonlinear partial differential and integral equations, which describe processes of condensation, coagulation and deposition. Simulating the general aerosol dynamic equations on time, particle size and space exhibits serious difficulties because the size dimension ranges from a few nanometer to several micrometer while the spatial dimension is usually described with kilometers. Therefore, it is an important and challenging task to develop efficient techniques for solving time dependent dynamic equations. In this thesis, we develop and analyze efficient wavelet and adaptive methods for the time dependent dynamic equations on particle size and further apply them to the spatial aerosol dynamic systems. Wavelet Galerkin method is proposed to solve the aerosol dynamic equations on time and particle size due to the fact that aerosol distribution changes strongly along size direction and the wavelet technique can solve it very efficiently. Daubechies' wavelets are considered in the study due to the fact that they possess useful properties like orthogonality, compact support, exact representation of polynomials to a certain degree. Another problem encountered in the solution of the aerosol dynamic equations results from the hyperbolic form due to the condensation growth term. We propose a new characteristic-based fully adaptive multiresolution numerical scheme for solving the aerosol dynamic equation, which combines the attractive advantages of adaptive multiresolution technique and the characteristics method. On the aspect of theoretical analysis, the global existence and uniqueness of

Functional relationship between cognitive representations of movement directions and visuomotor adaptation performance.

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Lex, Heiko; Weigelt, Matthias; Knoblauch, Andreas; Schack, Thomas

2012-12-01

The aim of our study was to explore whether or not different types of learners in a sensorimotor task possess characteristically different cognitive representations. Participants' sensorimotor adaptation performance was measured with a pointing paradigm which used a distortion of the visual feedback in terms of a left-right reversal. The structure of cognitive representations was assessed using a newly established experimental method, the Cognitive Measurement of Represented Directions. A post hoc analysis revealed inter-individual differences in participants' adaptation performance, and three different skill levels (skilled, average, and poor adapters) have been defined. These differences in performance were correlated with the structure of participants' cognitive representations of movement directions. Analysis of these cognitive representations revealed performance advantages for participants possessing a global cognitive representation of movement directions (aligned to cardinal movement axes), rather than a local representation (aligned to each neighboring direction). Our findings are evidence that cognitive representation structures play a functional role in adaptation performance.

Motor skill changes and neurophysiologic adaptation to recovery-oriented virtual rehabilitation of hand function in a person with subacute stroke: a case study.

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Fluet, Gerard G; Patel, Jigna; Qiu, Qinyin; Yarossi, Matthew; Massood, Supriya; Adamovich, Sergei V; Tunik, Eugene; Merians, Alma S

2017-07-01

The complexity of upper extremity (UE) behavior requires recovery of near normal neuromuscular function to minimize residual disability following a stroke. This requirement places a premium on spontaneous recovery and neuroplastic adaptation to rehabilitation by the lesioned hemisphere. Motor skill learning is frequently cited as a requirement for neuroplasticity. Studies examining the links between training, motor learning, neuroplasticity, and improvements in hand motor function are indicated. This case study describes a patient with slow recovering hand and finger movement (Total Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer examination score = 25/66, Wrist and Hand items = 2/24 on poststroke day 37) following a stroke. The patient received an intensive eight-session intervention utilizing simulated activities that focused on the recovery of finger extension, finger individuation, and pinch-grasp force modulation. Over the eight sessions, the patient demonstrated improvements on untrained transfer tasks, which suggest that motor learning had occurred, as well a dramatic increase in hand function and corresponding expansion of the cortical motor map area representing several key muscles of the paretic hand. Recovery of hand function and motor map expansion continued after discharge through the three-month retention testing. This case study describes a neuroplasticity based intervention for UE hemiparesis and a model for examining the relationship between training, motor skill acquisition, neuroplasticity, and motor function changes. Implications for rehabilitation Intensive hand and finger rehabilitation activities can be added to an in-patient rehabilitation program for persons with subacute stroke. Targeted training of the thumb may have an impact on activity level function in persons with upper extremity hemiparesis. Untrained transfer tasks can be utilized to confirm that training tasks have elicited motor learning. Changes in cortical motor maps can be used to document

Accounting for sequential trial effects in the flanker task: conflict adaptation or associative priming?

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Nieuwenhuis, Sander; Stins, John F; Posthuma, Danielle; Polderman, Tinca J C; Boomsma, Dorret I; de Geus, Eco J

2006-09-01

The conflict-control loop theory proposes that the detection of conflict in information processing triggers an increase in cognitive control, resulting in improved performance on the subsequent trial. This theory seems consistent with the robust finding that conflict susceptibility is reduced following correct trials associated with high conflict: the conflict adaptation effect. However, despite providing favorable conditions for eliciting and detecting conflict-triggered performance adjustments, none of the five experiments reported here provide unequivocal evidence of such adjustments. Instead, the results corroborate and extend earlier findings by demonstrating that the conflict adaptation effect, at least in the flanker task, is only present for a specific subset of trial sequences that is characterized by a response repetition. This pattern of results provides strong evidence that the conflict adaptation effect reflects associative stimulus-response priming instead of conflict-driven adaptations in cognitive control.

Enhancing Students' Confidence in Employability Skills through the Practice of "Recall, Adapt and Apply"

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Sinclair, Alison J.

2017-01-01

The ability to apply prior knowledge to new challenges is a skill that is highly valued by employers, but the confidence to achieve this does not come naturally to all students. An essential step to becoming an independent researcher requires a transition between simply following a fail-safe set of instructions to being able to adapt a known…

Utilization of Skills in the Care of Patients with Deviations in Psychosocial Adaptation (NS 207): Competency-Based Course Syllabus.

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Tanya G.

"Utilization of Skills in the Care of Patients with Deviations in Psychosocial Adaptation" (NS 207) is an associate degree nursing course offered at Chattanooga State Technical Community College. The course stresses the individual as a system in his/her psychosocial adaptation to internal and external stressors, and highlights the…

Group Training in Interpersonal Problem-Solving Skills for Workplace Adaptation of Adolescents and Adults with Asperger Syndrome: A Preliminary Study

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Bonete, Saray; Calero, María Dolores; Fernández-Parra, Antonio

2015-01-01

Adults with Asperger syndrome show persistent difficulties in social situations which psychosocial treatments may address. Despite the multiple studies focusing on social skills interventions, only some have focused specifically on problem-solving skills and have not targeted workplace adaptation training in the adult population. This study…

Multiple systems for motor skill learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Dav; Ivry, Richard B

2010-07-01

Motor learning is a ubiquitous feature of human competence. This review focuses on two particular classes of model tasks for studying skill acquisition. The serial reaction time (SRT) task is used to probe how people learn sequences of actions, while adaptation in the context of visuomotor or force field perturbations serves to illustrate how preexisting movements are recalibrated in novel environments. These tasks highlight important issues regarding the representational changes that occur during the course of motor learning. One important theme is that distinct mechanisms vary in their information processing costs during learning and performance. Fast learning processes may require few trials to produce large changes in performance but impose demands on cognitive resources. Slower processes are limited in their ability to integrate complex information but minimally demanding in terms of attention or processing resources. The representations derived from fast systems may be accessible to conscious processing and provide a relatively greater measure of flexibility, while the representations derived from slower systems are more inflexible and automatic in their behavior. In exploring these issues, we focus on how multiple neural systems may interact and compete during the acquisition and consolidation of new behaviors. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article is categorized under: Psychology > Motor Skill and Performance. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Short-Term Memory Skills in Children with Specific Language Impairment: The Effect of Verbal and Nonverbal Task Content

Science.gov (United States)

Botting, Nicola; Psarou, Popi; Caplin, Tamara; Nevin, Laura

2013-01-01

Background and Design: In recent years, evidence has emerged that suggests specific language impairment (SLI) does not exclusively affect linguistic skill. Studies have revealed memory difficulties, including those measured using nonverbal tasks. However, there has been relatively little research into the nature of the verbal/nonverbal boundaries…

The Parent Version of the Preschool Social Skills Rating System: Psychometric Analysis and Adaptation with a German Preschool Sample

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Markus; Scheithauer, Herbert; Kleiber, Dieter; Wille, Nora; Erhart, Michael; Ravens-Sieberer, Ulrike

2014-01-01

The Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) developed by Gresham and Elliott (1990) is a multirater, norm-referenced instrument measuring social skills and adaptive behavior in preschool children. The aims of the present study were (a) to test the factorial structure of the Parent Form of the SSRS for the first time with a German preschool sample (391…

Adapting Cognitive Task Analysis to Investigate Clinical Decision Making and Medication Safety Incidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Russ, Alissa L; Militello, Laura G; Glassman, Peter A; Arthur, Karen J; Zillich, Alan J; Weiner, Michael

2017-05-03

Cognitive task analysis (CTA) can yield valuable insights into healthcare professionals' cognition and inform system design to promote safe, quality care. Our objective was to adapt CTA-the critical decision method, specifically-to investigate patient safety incidents, overcome barriers to implementing this method, and facilitate more widespread use of cognitive task analysis in healthcare. We adapted CTA to facilitate recruitment of healthcare professionals and developed a data collection tool to capture incidents as they occurred. We also leveraged the electronic health record (EHR) to expand data capture and used EHR-stimulated recall to aid reconstruction of safety incidents. We investigated 3 categories of medication-related incidents: adverse drug reactions, drug-drug interactions, and drug-disease interactions. Healthcare professionals submitted incidents, and a subset of incidents was selected for CTA. We analyzed several outcomes to characterize incident capture and completed CTA interviews. We captured 101 incidents. Eighty incidents (79%) met eligibility criteria. We completed 60 CTA interviews, 20 for each incident category. Capturing incidents before interviews allowed us to shorten the interview duration and reduced reliance on healthcare professionals' recall. Incorporating the EHR into CTA enriched data collection. The adapted CTA technique was successful in capturing specific categories of safety incidents. Our approach may be especially useful for investigating safety incidents that healthcare professionals "fix and forget." Our innovations to CTA are expected to expand the application of this method in healthcare and inform a wide range of studies on clinical decision making and patient safety.

Adaptation behavior of skilled infant bouncers to different spring frequencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olinda Habib Perez

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Infants explore their environments through repetitive movements that are constrained or facilitated by the environmental context. In this study, we evaluated how skilled bouncers adapted to bouncing in systems with four different spring conditions (natural frequencies of 0.9, 1.15, 1.27 and 1.56 Hz. Trunk kinematics and vertical ground reaction forces (VGRFs were recorded from three pre-walking infants (mean age 10.6 ±0.9 months. Bounce frequency, trunk displacement, peak VGRF, percent of time on the ground and time to peak force as a function of time on the ground were analyzed. In addition, infant bounce frequencies were compared to measured oscillations of an inert mass equivalent to each infant’s mass. All infants bounced above the natural frequency of the spring system in all conditions suggesting that they did not behave solely like mass-spring systems. Infants produced asymmetrical VGRF loading patterns suggesting that a timing component, such as bounce frequency, was regulated. Skilled infants consistently increased their bounce frequency as their vertical trunk displacement decreased; however, the mode for regulating bounce frequency differed from infant to infant.

Implementing Task-Based Language Teaching to Integrate Language Skills in an EFL Program at a Colombian University

Science.gov (United States)

Córdoba Zúñiga, Eulices

2016-01-01

This article reports the findings of a qualitative research study conducted with six first semester students of an English as a foreign language program in a public university in Colombia. The aim of the study was to implement task-based language teaching as a way to integrate language skills and help learners to improve their communicative…

An Adaptive Regulator for Space Teleoperation System in Task Space

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Chao Ge

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The problem of the gravity information which can not be obtained in advance for bilateral teleoperation is studied. In outer space exploration, the gravity term changes with the position changing of the slave manipulator. So it is necessary to design an adaptive regulator controller to compensate for the unknown gravity signal. Moreover, to get a more accurate position tracking performance, the controller is designed in the task space instead of the joint space. Additionally, the time delay considered in this paper is not only time varying but also unsymmetrical. Finally, simulations are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Failure to utilize feedback during explicit decision-making task in alcohol-dependent patients

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B N Roopesh

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Patients who are diagnosed with alcohol-dependent syndrome (ADS are shown to have neuropsychological deficits, especially executive function (EF deficits. Among the EFs, decision-making is one such function which has consistently been shown to be impaired in people who are dependent on alcohol, compared to controls. Decision-making in this population is usually assessed with gambling-type tasks. However, some of these tasks are ambiguous, work on chance factors, rarely match with real-life gambling situations, and/or involve nonconscious mechanisms. Materials and Methods: The current study compared 26 male patients with ADS (P-ADS with equal number of their nonalcohol-dependent male siblings on sensation seeking and explicit gambling task (EGT. EGT is similar to the Iowa gambling task in administration, but varies from it as it involves a single outcome and provides unambiguous, explicit, and continuous feedback for the participants. Results and Conclusion: The results did not show any significant relationship between decision-making variables and sensation seeking. However, despite unambiguous, explicit, and continuous feedback, patients showed significantly poor decision-making as compared to the siblings of the P-ADS group. This study throws light on why people who are addicted to alcohol have difficulties in decision-making, despite knowing the adverse effects.

Hybrid and dependent task scheduling algorithm for on-board system software

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

魏振华; 洪炳熔; 乔永强; 蔡则苏; 彭俊杰

2003-01-01

In order to solve the hybrid and dependent task scheduling and critical source allocation problems, atask scheduling algorithm has been developed by first presenting the tasks, and then describing the hybrid anddependent scheduling algorithm and deriving the predictable schedulability condition. The performance of thisagorithm was evaluated through simulation, and it is concluded from the evaluation results that the hybrid taskscheduling subalgorithm based on the comparison factor can be used to solve the problem of aperiodic task beingblocked by periodic task in the traditional operating system for a very long time, which results in poor schedu-ling predictability; and the resource allocation subalgorithm based on schedulability analysis can be used tosolve the problems of critical section conflict, ceiling blocking and priority inversion; and the scheduling algo-rithm is nearest optimal when the abortable critical section is 0.6.

Inclusion of task dependence in human reliability analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su, Xiaoyan; Mahadevan, Sankaran; Xu, Peida; Deng, Yong

2014-01-01

Dependence assessment among human errors in human reliability analysis (HRA) is an important issue, which includes the evaluation of the dependence among human tasks and the effect of the dependence on the final human error probability (HEP). This paper represents a computational model to handle dependence in human reliability analysis. The aim of the study is to automatically provide conclusions on the overall degree of dependence and calculate the conditional human error probability (CHEP) once the judgments of the input factors are given. The dependence influencing factors are first identified by the experts and the priorities of these factors are also taken into consideration. Anchors and qualitative labels are provided as guidance for the HRA analyst's judgment of the input factors. The overall degree of dependence between human failure events is calculated based on the input values and the weights of the input factors. Finally, the CHEP is obtained according to a computing formula derived from the technique for human error rate prediction (THERP) method. The proposed method is able to quantify the subjective judgment from the experts and improve the transparency in the HEP evaluation process. Two examples are illustrated to show the effectiveness and the flexibility of the proposed method. - Highlights: • We propose a computational model to handle dependence in human reliability analysis. • The priorities of the dependence influencing factors are taken into consideration. • The overall dependence degree is determined by input judgments and the weights of factors. • The CHEP is obtained according to a computing formula derived from THERP

Multivariate analyses of individual variation in soccer skill as a tool for talent identification and development: utilising evolutionary theory in sports science.

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Wilson, Robbie S; James, Rob S; David, Gwendolyn; Hermann, Ecki; Morgan, Oliver J; Niehaus, Amanda C; Hunter, Andrew; Thake, Doug; Smith, Michelle D

2016-11-01

The development of a comprehensive protocol for quantifying soccer-specific skill could markedly improve both talent identification and development. Surprisingly, most protocols for talent identification in soccer still focus on the more generic athletic attributes of team sports, such as speed, strength, agility and endurance, rather than on a player's technical skills. We used a multivariate methodology borrowed from evolutionary analyses of adaptation to develop our quantitative assessment of individual soccer-specific skill. We tested the performance of 40 individual academy-level players in eight different soccer-specific tasks across an age range of 13-18 years old. We first quantified the repeatability of each skill performance then explored the effects of age on soccer-specific skill, correlations between each of the pairs of skill tasks independent of age, and finally developed an individual metric of overall skill performance that could be easily used by coaches. All of our measured traits were highly repeatable when assessed over a short period and we found that an individual's overall skill - as well as their performance in their best task - was strongly positively correlated with age. Most importantly, our study established a simple but comprehensive methodology for assessing skill performance in soccer players, thus allowing coaches to rapidly assess the relative abilities of their players, identify promising youths and work on eliminating skill deficits in players.

A framework for cognitive task analysis in systems design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmussen, J.

1985-08-01

The present rapid development if advanced information technology and its use for support of operators of complex technical systems are changing the content of task analysis towards the analysis of mental activities in decision making. Automation removes the humans from routine tasks, and operators are left with disturbance control and critical diagnostic tasks, for which computers are suitable for support, if it is possible to match the computer strategies and interface formats dynamically to the requirements of the current task by means of an analysis of the cognitive task. Such a cognitive task analysis will not aim at a description of the information processes suited for particular control situations. It will rather aim at an analysis in order to identify the requirements to be considered along various dimensions of the decision tasks, in order to give the user - i.e. a decision maker - the freedom to adapt his performance to system requirements in a way which matches his process resources and subjective preferences. To serve this purpose, a number of analyses at various levels are needed to relate the control requirements of the system to the information processes and to the processing resources offered by computers and humans. The paper discusses the cognitive task analysis in terms of the following domains: The problem domain, which is a representation of the functional properties of the system giving a consistent framework for identification of the control requirements of the system; the decision sequences required for typical situations; the mental strategies and heuristics which are effective and acceptable for the different decision functions; and the cognitive control mechanisms used, depending upon the level of skill which can/will be applied. Finally, the end-users' criteria for choice of mental strategies in the actual situation are considered, and the need for development of criteria for judging the ultimate user acceptance of computer support is

Auto-adaptative Robot-aided Therapy based in 3D Virtual Tasks controlled by a Supervised and Dynamic Neuro-Fuzzy System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Daniel Lledó

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an application formed by a classification method based on the architecture of ART neural network (Adaptive Resonance Theory and the Fuzzy Set Theory to classify physiological reactions in order to automatically and dynamically adapt a robot-assisted rehabilitation therapy to the patient needs, using a three-dimensional task in a virtual reality system. Firstly, the mathematical and structural model of the neuro-fuzzy classification method is described together with the signal and training data acquisition. Then, the virtual designed task with physics behavior and its development procedure are explained. Finally, the general architecture of the experimentation for the auto-adaptive therapy is presented using the classification method with the virtual reality exercise.

Interacting Learning Processes during Skill Acquisition: Learning to control with gradually changing system dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ludolph, Nicolas; Giese, Martin A; Ilg, Winfried

2017-10-16

There is increasing evidence that sensorimotor learning under real-life conditions relies on a composition of several learning processes. Nevertheless, most studies examine learning behaviour in relation to one specific learning mechanism. In this study, we examined the interaction between reward-based skill acquisition and motor adaptation to changes of object dynamics. Thirty healthy subjects, split into two groups, acquired the skill of balancing a pole on a cart in virtual reality. In one group, we gradually increased the gravity, making the task easier in the beginning and more difficult towards the end. In the second group, subjects had to acquire the skill on the maximum, most difficult gravity level. We hypothesized that the gradual increase in gravity during skill acquisition supports learning despite the necessary adjustments to changes in cart-pole dynamics. We found that the gradual group benefits from the slow increment, although overall improvement was interrupted by the changes in gravity and resulting system dynamics, which caused short-term degradations in performance and timing of actions. In conclusion, our results deliver evidence for an interaction of reward-based skill acquisition and motor adaptation processes, which indicates the importance of both processes for the development of optimized skill acquisition schedules.

Retention of Mastoidectomy Skills After Virtual Reality Simulation Training

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Steven Arild Wuyts; Konge, Lars; Cayé-Thomasen, Per

2016-01-01

IMPORTANCE: The ultimate goal of surgical training is consolidated skills with a consistently high performance. However, surgical skills are heterogeneously retained and depend on a variety of factors, including the task, cognitive demands, and organization of practice. Virtual reality (VR......) simulation is increasingly being used in surgical skills training, including temporal bone surgery, but there is a gap in knowledge on the retention of mastoidectomy skills after VR simulation training. OBJECTIVES: To determine the retention of mastoidectomy skills after VR simulation training...... with distributed and massed practice and to investigate participants' cognitive load during retention procedures. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A prospective 3-month follow-up study of a VR simulation trial was conducted from February 6 to September 19, 2014, at an academic teaching hospital among 36 medical...

Collaborative learning of clinical skills in health professions education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tolsgaard, Martin G.; Kulasegaram, Kulamakan M.; Ringsted, Charlotte V

2016-01-01

Objectives: This study is designed to provide an overview of why, how, when and for whom collaborative learning of clinical skills may work in health professions education. Why: Collaborative learning of clinical skills may influence learning positively according to the non-medical literature...... suggests that learning is dependent on cognitive co-construction, shared knowledge and reduced cognitive load. When and for whom: The literature on the collaborative learning of clinical skills in health science education is reviewed to support or contradict the hypotheses provided by the theories outlined...... above. Collaborative learning of clinical skills leads to improvements in self-efficacy, confidence and performance when task processing is observable or communicable. However, the effects of collaborative learning of clinical skills may decrease over time as benefits in terms of shared cognition...

Rational Adaptation under Task and Processing Constraints: Implications for Testing Theories of Cognition and Action

Science.gov (United States)

Howes, Andrew; Lewis, Richard L.; Vera, Alonso

2009-01-01

The authors assume that individuals adapt rationally to a utility function given constraints imposed by their cognitive architecture and the local task environment. This assumption underlies a new approach to modeling and understanding cognition--cognitively bounded rational analysis--that sharpens the predictive acuity of general, integrated…

The predictive value of general movement tasks in assessing occupational task performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Frost, David M; Beach, Tyson A C; McGill, Stuart M; Callaghan, Jack P

2015-01-01

Within the context of evaluating individuals' movement behavior it is generally assumed that the tasks chosen will predict their competency to perform activities relevant to their occupation. This study sought to examine whether a battery of general tasks could be used to predict the movement patterns employed by firefighters to perform select job-specific skills. Fifty-two firefighters performed a battery of general and occupation-specific tasks that simulated the demands of firefighting. Participants' peak lumbar spine and frontal plane knee motion were compared across tasks. During 85% of all comparisons, the magnitude of spine and knee motion was greater during the general movement tasks than observed during the firefighting skills. Certain features of a worker's movement behavior may be exhibited across a range of tasks. Therefore, provided that a movement screen's tasks expose the motions of relevance for the population being tested, general evaluations could offer valuable insight into workers' movement competency or facilitate an opportunity to establish an evidence-informed intervention.

Which is the best intrinsic motivation signal for learning multiple skills?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vieri Giuliano Santucci

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Humans and other biological agents are able to autonomously learn and cache different skills in the absence of any biological pressure or any assigned task. In this respect, Intrinsic Motivations (i.e. motivations not connected to reward-related stimuli play a cardinal role in animal learning, and can be considered as a fundamental tool for developing more autonomous and more adaptive artificial agents. In this work, we provide an exhaustive analysis of a scarcely investigated problem: which kind of IM reinforcement signal is the most suitable for driving the acquisition of multiple skills in the shortest time? To this purpose we implemented an artificial agent with a hierarchical architecture that allows to learn and cache different skills. We tested the system in a setup with continuous states and actions, in particular, with a cinematic robotic arm that has to learn different reaching tasks. We compare the results of different versions of the system driven by several different intrinsic motivation signals. The results show a that intrinsic reinforcements purely based on the knowledge of the system are not appropriate to guide the acquisition of multiple skills, and b that the stronger the link between the IM signal and the competence of the system, the better the performance.

Learning-induced uncertainty reduction in perceptual decisions is task-dependent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Feitong eYang

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Perceptual decision making in which decisions are reached primarily from extracting and evaluating sensory information requires close interactions between the sensory system and decision-related networks in the brain. Uncertainty pervades every aspect of this process and can be considered related to either the stimulus signal or decision criterion. Here, we investigated the learning-induced reduction of both the signal and criterion uncertainty in two perceptual decision tasks based on two Glass pattern stimulus sets. This was achieved by manipulating spiral angle and signal level of radial and concentric Glass patterns. The behavioral results showed that the participants trained with a task based on criterion comparison improved their categorization accuracy for both tasks, whereas the participants who were trained on a task based on signal detection improved their categorization accuracy only on their trained task. We fitted the behavioral data with a computational model that can dissociate the contribution of the signal and criterion uncertainties. The modeling results indicated that the participants trained on the criterion comparison task reduced both the criterion and signal uncertainty. By contrast, the participants who were trained on the signal detection task only reduced their signal uncertainty after training. Our results suggest that the signal uncertainty can be resolved by training participants to extract signals from noisy environments and to discriminate between clear signals, which are evidenced by reduced perception variance after both training procedures. Conversely, the criterion uncertainty can only be resolved by the training of fine discrimination. These findings demonstrate that uncertainty in perceptual decision-making can be reduced with training but that the reduction of different types of uncertainty is task-dependent.

Preschool Children's Interest, Social-Emotional Skills, and Emergent Mathematics Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Doctoroff, Greta L.; Fisher, Paige H.; Burrows, Bethany M.; Edman, Maria Tsepilovan

2016-01-01

This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between interest, social-emotional skills, and early math skills in preschool children. Math-specific interest and global interest in learning were measured using teacher report and a play-based observation task. Math skills were assessed with a test of math achievement, and social-emotional…

Histogram Equalization to Model Adaptation for Robust Speech Recognition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suh Youngjoo

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a new model adaptation method based on the histogram equalization technique for providing robustness in noisy environments. The trained acoustic mean models of a speech recognizer are adapted into environmentally matched conditions by using the histogram equalization algorithm on a single utterance basis. For more robust speech recognition in the heavily noisy conditions, trained acoustic covariance models are efficiently adapted by the signal-to-noise ratio-dependent linear interpolation between trained covariance models and utterance-level sample covariance models. Speech recognition experiments on both the digit-based Aurora2 task and the large vocabulary-based task showed that the proposed model adaptation approach provides significant performance improvements compared to the baseline speech recognizer trained on the clean speech data.

Effects of training peer tutors in content knowledge versus tutoring skills on giving feedback to help tutees’ complex tasks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hsiao, Amy; Brouns, Francis; Van Bruggen, Jan; Sloep, Peter

2015-01-01

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of training tutors in content knowledge of a particular domain versus training them in tutoring skills of pedagogical knowledge when tutoring on a complex tutee task. Forty-seven tutor-tutee pairs of fourth year secondary school students were created

Students creative thinking skills in solving two dimensional arithmetic series through research-based learning

Science.gov (United States)

Tohir, M.; Abidin, Z.; Dafik; Hobri

2018-04-01

Arithmetics is one of the topics in Mathematics, which deals with logic and detailed process upon generalizing formula. Creativity and flexibility are needed in generalizing formula of arithmetics series. This research aimed at analyzing students creative thinking skills in generalizing arithmetic series. The triangulation method and research-based learning was used in this research. The subjects were students of the Master Program of Mathematics Education in Faculty of Teacher Training and Education at Jember University. The data was collected by giving assignments to the students. The data collection was done by giving open problem-solving task and documentation study to the students to arrange generalization pattern based on the dependent function formula i and the function depend on i and j. Then, the students finished the next problem-solving task to construct arithmetic generalization patterns based on the function formula which depends on i and i + n and the sum formula of functions dependent on i and j of the arithmetic compiled. The data analysis techniques operative in this study was Miles and Huberman analysis model. Based on the result of data analysis on task 1, the levels of students creative thinking skill were classified as follows; 22,22% of the students categorized as “not creative” 38.89% of the students categorized as “less creative” category; 22.22% of the students categorized as “sufficiently creative” and 16.67% of the students categorized as “creative”. By contrast, the results of data analysis on task 2 found that the levels of students creative thinking skills were classified as follows; 22.22% of the students categorized as “sufficiently creative”, 44.44% of the students categorized as “creative” and 33.33% of the students categorized as “very creative”. This analysis result can set the basis for teaching references and actualizing a better teaching model in order to increase students creative thinking skills.

Context-Dependent Decay of Motor Memories during Skill Acquisition

OpenAIRE

Ingram, James?N.; Flanagan, J.?Randall; Wolpert, Daniel?M.

2013-01-01

Summary Current models of motor learning posit that skill acquisition involves both the formation and decay of multiple motor memories that can be engaged in different contexts [1?9]. Memory formation is assumed to be context dependent, so that errors most strongly update motor memories associated with the current context. In contrast, memory decay is assumed to be context independent, so that movement in any context leads to uniform decay across all contexts. We demonstrate that for both obj...

Brain-Behavior Mechanisms for the Transfer of Neuromuscular Training Adaptions to Simulated Sport: Initial Findings from the Train the Brain Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Grooms, Dustin R; Kiefer, Adam W; Riley, Michael A; Ellis, Jonathan D; Thomas, Staci; Kitchen, Katie; DiCesare, Christopher; Bonnette, Scott; Gadd, Brooke; Barber Foss, Kim D; Yuan, Weihong; Silva, Paula; Galloway, Ryan; Diekfuss, Jed; Leach, James; Berz, Kate; Myer, Gregory D

2018-03-27

A limiting factor for reducing anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk is ensuring that the movement adaptions made during the prevention program transfer to sport-specific activity. Virtual reality provides a mechanism to assess transferability and neuroimaging provides a means to assay the neural processes allowing for such skill transfer. To determine the neural mechanisms for injury risk reducing biomechanics transfer to sport after ACL injury prevention training. Cohort study Setting: Research laboratory Participants: Four healthy high school soccer athletes. Participants completed augmented neuromuscular training utilizing real-time visual feedback. An unloaded knee extension task and a loaded leg-press task was completed with neuroimaging before and after training. A virtual reality soccer specific landing task was also competed following training to assess transfer of movement mechanics. Landing mechanics during the virtual reality soccer task and blood oxygen level dependent signal change during neuroimaging. Increased motor planning, sensory and visual region activity during unloaded knee extension and decreased motor cortex activity during loaded leg-press were highly correlated with improvements in landing mechanics (decreased hip adduction and knee rotation). Changes in brain activity may underlie adaptation and transfer of injury risk reducing movement mechanics to sport activity. Clinicians may be able to target these specific brain processes with adjunctive therapy to facilitate intervention improvements transferring to sport.

Countermeasures to Enhance Sensorimotor Adaptability

Science.gov (United States)

Bloomberg, J. J.; Peters, B. T.; Mulavara, A. P.; Brady, R. A.; Batson, C. C.; Miller, C. A.; Cohen, H. S.

2011-01-01

During exploration-class missions, sensorimotor disturbances may lead to disruption in the ability to ambulate and perform functional tasks during the initial introduction to a novel gravitational environment following a landing on a planetary surface. The goal of our current project is to develop a sensorimotor adaptability (SA) training program to facilitate rapid adaptation to novel gravitational environments. We have developed a unique training system comprised of a treadmill placed on a motion-base facing a virtual visual scene that provides an unstable walking surface combined with incongruent visual flow designed to enhance sensorimotor adaptability. We have conducted a series of studies that have shown: Training using a combination of modified visual flow and support surface motion during treadmill walking enhances locomotor adaptability to a novel sensorimotor environment. Trained individuals become more proficient at performing multiple competing tasks while walking during adaptation to novel discordant sensorimotor conditions. Trained subjects can retain their increased level of adaptability over a six months period. SA training is effective in producing increased adaptability in a more complex over-ground ambulatory task on an obstacle course. This confirms that for a complex task like walking, treadmill training contains enough of the critical features of overground walking to be an effective training modality. The structure of individual training sessions can be optimized to promote fast/strategic motor learning. Training sessions that each contain short-duration exposures to multiple perturbation stimuli allows subjects to acquire a greater ability to rapidly reorganize appropriate response strategies when encountering a novel sensory environment. Individual sensory biases (i.e. increased visual dependency) can predict adaptive responses to novel sensory environments suggesting that customized training prescriptions can be developed to enhance

Gaze training enhances laparoscopic technical skill acquisition and multi-tasking performance: a randomized, controlled study.

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Wilson, Mark R; Vine, Samuel J; Bright, Elizabeth; Masters, Rich S W; Defriend, David; McGrath, John S

2011-12-01

The operating room environment is replete with stressors and distractions that increase the attention demands of what are already complex psychomotor procedures. Contemporary research in other fields (e.g., sport) has revealed that gaze training interventions may support the development of robust movement skills. This current study was designed to examine the utility of gaze training for technical laparoscopic skills and to test performance under multitasking conditions. Thirty medical trainees with no laparoscopic experience were divided randomly into one of three treatment groups: gaze trained (GAZE), movement trained (MOVE), and discovery learning/control (DISCOVERY). Participants were fitted with a Mobile Eye gaze registration system, which measures eye-line of gaze at 25 Hz. Training consisted of ten repetitions of the "eye-hand coordination" task from the LAP Mentor VR laparoscopic surgical simulator while receiving instruction and video feedback (specific to each treatment condition). After training, all participants completed a control test (designed to assess learning) and a multitasking transfer test, in which they completed the procedure while performing a concurrent tone counting task. Not only did the GAZE group learn more quickly than the MOVE and DISCOVERY groups (faster completion times in the control test), but the performance difference was even more pronounced when multitasking. Differences in gaze control (target locking fixations), rather than tool movement measures (tool path length), underpinned this performance advantage for GAZE training. These results suggest that although the GAZE intervention focused on training gaze behavior only, there were indirect benefits for movement behaviors and performance efficiency. Additionally, focusing on a single external target when learning, rather than on complex movement patterns, may have freed-up attentional resources that could be applied to concurrent cognitive tasks.

Optimizing learning of a locomotor task: amplifying errors as needed.

Science.gov (United States)

Marchal-Crespo, Laura; López-Olóriz, Jorge; Jaeger, Lukas; Riener, Robert

2014-01-01

Research on motor learning has emphasized that errors drive motor adaptation. Thereby, several researchers have proposed robotic training strategies that amplify movement errors rather than decrease them. In this study, the effect of different robotic training strategies that amplify errors on learning a complex locomotor task was investigated. The experiment was conducted with a one degree-of freedom robotic stepper (MARCOS). Subjects were requested to actively coordinate their legs in a desired gait-like pattern in order to track a Lissajous figure presented on a visual display. Learning with three different training strategies was evaluated: (i) No perturbation: the robot follows the subjects' movement without applying any perturbation, (ii) Error amplification: existing errors were amplified with repulsive forces proportional to errors, (iii) Noise disturbance: errors were evoked with a randomly-varying force disturbance. Results showed that training without perturbations was especially suitable for a subset of initially less-skilled subjects, while error amplification seemed to benefit more skilled subjects. Training with error amplification, however, limited transfer of learning. Random disturbing forces benefited learning and promoted transfer in all subjects, probably because it increased attention. These results suggest that learning a locomotor task can be optimized when errors are randomly evoked or amplified based on subjects' initial skill level.

Assessment of lexical semantic judgment abilities in alcohol-dependent subjects: an fMRI study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagga, D; Singh, N; Modi, S; Kumar, P; Bhattacharya, D; Garg, M L; Khushu, S

2013-12-01

Neuropsychological studies have shown that alcohol dependence is associated with neurocognitive deficits in tasks requiring memory, perceptual motor skills, abstraction and problem solving, whereas language skills are relatively spared in alcoholics despite structural abnormalities in the language-related brain regions. To investigate the preserved mechanisms of language processing in alcohol-dependents, functional brain imaging was undertaken in healthy controls (n=18) and alcohol-dependents (n=16) while completing a lexical semantic judgment task in a 3 T MR scanner. Behavioural data indicated that alcohol-dependents took more time than controls for performing the task but there was no significant difference in their response accuracy. fMRI data analysis revealed that while performing the task, the alcoholics showed enhanced activations in left supramarginal gyrus, precuneus bilaterally, left angular gyrus, and left middle temporal gyrus as compared to control subjects. The extensive activations observed in alcoholics as compared to controls suggest that alcoholics recruit additional brain areas to meet the behavioural demands for equivalent task performance. The results are consistent with previous fMRI studies suggesting compensatory mechanisms for the execution of task for showing an equivalent performance or decreased neural efficiency of relevant brain networks. However, on direct comparison of the two groups, the results did not survive correction for multiple comparisons; therefore, the present findings need further exploration.

Task sharing in rural Haiti: Qualitative assessment of a brief, structured training with and without apprenticeship supervision for community health workers

Science.gov (United States)

McLean, Kristen E; Kaiser, Bonnie N; Hagaman, Ashley K; Wagenaar, Bradley H; Therosme, Tatiana P; Kohrt, Brandon A

2015-01-01

Despite growing support for supervision after task sharing trainings in humanitarian settings, there is limited research on the experience of trainees in apprenticeship and other supervision approaches. Studying apprenticeships from trainees’ perspectives is crucial to refine supervision and enhance motivation for service implementation. The authors implemented a multi-stage, transcultural adaptation for a pilot task sharing training in Haiti entailing three phases: 1) literature review and qualitative research to adapt a mental health and psychosocial support training; 2) implementation and qualitative process evaluation of a brief, structured group training; and 3) implementation and qualitative evaluation of an apprenticeship training, including a two year follow-up of trainees. Structured group training revealed limited knowledge acquisition, low motivation, time and resource constraints on mastery, and limited incorporation of skills into practice. Adding an apprenticeship component was associated with subjective clinical competency, increased confidence regarding utilising skills, and career advancement. Qualitative findings support the added value of apprenticeship according to trainees. PMID:26190953

Integrating fundamental movement skills in late childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Gimenez, Roberto; Manoel, Edison de J; de Oliveira, Dalton Lustosa; Dantas, Luiz; Marques, Inara

2012-04-01

The study examined how children of different ages integrate fundamental movement skills, such as running and throwing, and whether their developmental status was related to the combination of these skills. Thirty children were divided into three groups (G1 = 6-year-olds, G2 = 9-year-olds, and G3 = 12-year-olds) and filmed performing three tasks: running, overarm throwing, and the combined task. Patterns were identified and described, and the efficiency of integration was calculated (distance differences of the ball thrown in two tasks, overarm throwing and combined task). Differences in integration were related to age: the 6-year-olds were less efficient in combining the two skills than the 9- and 12-year-olds. These differences may be indicative of a phase of integrating fundamental movement skills in the developmental sequence. This developmental status, particularly throwing, seems to be related to the competence to integrate skills, which suggests that fundamental movement skills may be developmental modules.

Adaptation of non-technical skills behavioural markers for delivery room simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bracco, Fabrizio; Masini, Michele; De Tonetti, Gabriele; Brogioni, Francesca; Amidani, Arianna; Monichino, Sara; Maltoni, Alessandra; Dato, Andrea; Grattarola, Claudia; Cordone, Massimo; Torre, Giancarlo; Launo, Claudio; Chiorri, Carlo; Celleno, Danilo

2017-03-17

Simulation in healthcare has proved to be a useful method in improving skills and increasing the safety of clinical operations. The debriefing session, after the simulated scenario, is the core of the simulation, since it allows participants to integrate the experience with the theoretical frameworks and the procedural guidelines. There is consistent evidence for the relevance of non-technical skills (NTS) for the safe and efficient accomplishment of operations. However, the observation, assessment and feedback on these skills is particularly complex, because the process needs expert observers and the feedback is often provided in judgmental and ineffective ways. The aim of this study was therefore to develop and test a set of observation and rating forms for the NTS behavioural markers of multi-professional teams involved in delivery room emergency simulations (MINTS-DR, Multi-professional Inventory for Non-Technical Skills in the Delivery Room). The MINTS-DR was developed by adapting the existing tools and, when needed, by designing new tools according to the literature. We followed a bottom-up process accompanied by interviews and co-design between practitioners and psychology experts. The forms were specific for anaesthetists, gynaecologists, nurses/midwives, assistants, plus a global team assessment tool. We administered the tools in five editions of a simulation training course that involved 48 practitioners. Ratings on usability and usefulness were collected. The mean ratings of the usability and usefulness of the tools were not statistically different to or higher than 4 on a 5-point rating scale. In either case no significant differences were found across professional categories. The MINTS-DR is quick and easy to administer. It is judged to be a useful asset in maximising the learning experience that is provided by the simulation.

Investigating the Impact of Formal Reflective Activities on Skill Adaptation in a Work-Related Instrumental Learning Setting

Science.gov (United States)

Roessger, Kevin M.

2013-01-01

In work-related, instrumental learning contexts the role of reflective activities is unclear. Kolb's (1985) experiential learning theory and Mezirow's transformative learning theory (2000) predict skill-adaptation as a possible outcome. This prediction was experimentally explored by manipulating reflective activities and assessing participants'…

Search strategies in practice: Influence of information and task constraints.

Science.gov (United States)

Pacheco, Matheus M; Newell, Karl M

2018-01-01

The practice of a motor task has been conceptualized as a process of search through a perceptual-motor workspace. The present study investigated the influence of information and task constraints on the search strategy as reflected in the sequential relations of the outcome in a discrete movement virtual projectile task. The results showed that the relation between the changes of trial-to-trial movement outcome to performance level was dependent on the landscape of the task dynamics and the influence of inherent variability. Furthermore, the search was in a constrained parameter region of the perceptual-motor workspace that depended on the task constraints. These findings show that there is not a single function of trial-to-trial change over practice but rather that local search strategies (proportional, discontinuous, constant) adapt to the level of performance and the confluence of constraints to action. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Examining neural correlates of skill acquisition in a complex videogame training program

OpenAIRE

Prakash, Ruchika S.; De Leon, Angeline A.; Mourany, Lyla; Lee, Hyunkyu; Voss, Michelle W.; Boot, Walter R.; Basak, Chandramallika; Fabiani, Monica; Gratton, Gabriele; Kramer, Arthur F.

2012-01-01

Acquisition of complex skills is a universal feature of human behavior that has been conceptualized as a process that starts with intense resource dependency, requires effortful cognitive control, and ends in relative automaticity on the multi-faceted task. The present study examined the effects of different theoretically based training strategies on cortical recruitment during acquisition of complex video game skills. Seventy-five participants were recruited and assigned to one of three trai...

Offshoring of medium-skill jobs, polarization, and productivity effect: Implications for wages and low-skill unemployment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vallizadeh, E.; Muysken, J.; Ziesemer, T.H.W.

2015-01-01

We examine the effects of endogenous offshoring on cost-efficiency, wages and unemployment in a task assignment model with skill heterogeneity. Exact conditions for the following insights are derived. The distributional effect of offshoring (high-) low-skill-intensive tasks is similar to

Gait Adaptability Training Improves Both Postural Stability and Dual-Tasking Ability

Science.gov (United States)

Brady, Rachel A.; Batson, Crystal D.; Peters, Brian T.; Ploutz-Snyder, Robert J.; Mulavara, Ajitkumar P.; Bloomberg, Jacob J.

2010-01-01

After spaceflight, the process of readapting to Earth's gravity commonly presents crewmembers with a variety of locomotor challenges. Our recent work has shown that the ability to adapt to a novel discordant sensorimotor environment can be increased through preflight training, so one focus of our laboratory has been the development of a gait training countermeasure to expedite the return of normal locomotor function after spaceflight. We used a training system comprising a treadmill mounted on a motion base facing a virtual visual scene that provided a variety of sensory challenges. As part of their participation in a larger retention study, 10 healthy adults completed 3 training sessions during which they walked on a treadmill at 1.1 m/s while receiving discordant support-surface and visual manipulations. After a single training session, subjects stride frequencies improved, and after 2 training sessions their auditory reaction times improved, where improvement was indicated by a return toward baseline values. Interestingly, improvements in reaction time came after stride frequency improvements plateaued. This finding suggests that postural stability was given a higher priority than a competing cognitive task. Further, it demonstrates that improvement in both postural stability and dual-tasking can be achieved with multiple training exposures. We conclude that, with training, individuals become more proficient at walking in discordant sensorimotor conditions and are able to devote more attention to competing tasks.

Genetic Algorithms for Case Adaptation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salem, A M [Computer Science Dept, Faculty of Computer and Information Sciences, Ain Shams University, Cairo (Egypt); Mohamed, A H [Solid State Dept., (NCRRT), Cairo (Egypt)

2008-07-01

Case based reasoning (CBR) paradigm has been widely used to provide computer support for recalling and adapting known cases to novel situations. Case adaptation algorithms generally rely on knowledge based and heuristics in order to change the past solutions to solve new problems. However, case adaptation has always been a difficult process to engineers within (CBR) cycle. Its difficulties can be referred to its domain dependency; and computational cost. In an effort to solve this problem, this research explores a general-purpose method that applying a genetic algorithm (GA) to CBR adaptation. Therefore, it can decrease the computational complexity of the search space in the problems having a great dependency on their domain knowledge. The proposed model can be used to perform a variety of design tasks on a broad set of application domains. However, it has been implemented for the tablet formulation as a domain of application. The proposed system has improved the performance of the CBR design systems.

Genetic Algorithms for Case Adaptation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salem, A.M.; Mohamed, A.H.

2008-01-01

Case based reasoning (CBR) paradigm has been widely used to provide computer support for recalling and adapting known cases to novel situations. Case adaptation algorithms generally rely on knowledge based and heuristics in order to change the past solutions to solve new problems. However, case adaptation has always been a difficult process to engineers within (CBR) cycle. Its difficulties can be referred to its domain dependency; and computational cost. In an effort to solve this problem, this research explores a general-purpose method that applying a genetic algorithm (GA) to CBR adaptation. Therefore, it can decrease the computational complexity of the search space in the problems having a great dependency on their domain knowledge. The proposed model can be used to perform a variety of design tasks on a broad set of application domains. However, it has been implemented for the tablet formulation as a domain of application. The proposed system has improved the performance of the CBR design systems

View-Dependent Adaptive Cloth Simulation with Buckling Compensation.

Science.gov (United States)

Koh, Woojong; Narain, Rahul; O'Brien, James F

2015-10-01

This paper describes a method for view-dependent cloth simulation using dynamically adaptive mesh refinement and coarsening. Given a prescribed camera motion, the method adjusts the criteria controlling refinement to account for visibility and apparent size in the camera's view. Objectionable dynamic artifacts are avoided by anticipative refinement and smoothed coarsening, while locking in extremely coarsened regions is inhibited by modifying the material model to compensate for unresolved sub-element buckling. This approach preserves the appearance of detailed cloth throughout the animation while avoiding the wasted effort of simulating details that would not be discernible to the viewer. The computational savings realized by this method increase as scene complexity grows. The approach produces a 2× speed-up for a single character and more than 4× for a small group as compared to view-independent adaptive simulations, and respectively 5× and 9× speed-ups as compared to non-adaptive simulations.

A dual phosphorylation switch controls 14-3-3-dependent cell surface expression of TASK-1

Science.gov (United States)

Kilisch, Markus; Lytovchenko, Olga; Arakel, Eric C.; Bertinetti, Daniela; Schwappach, Blanche

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT The transport of the K+ channels TASK-1 and TASK-3 (also known as KCNK3 and KCNK9, respectively) to the cell surface is controlled by the binding of 14-3-3 proteins to a trafficking control region at the extreme C-terminus of the channels. The current model proposes that phosphorylation-dependent binding of 14-3-3 sterically masks a COPI-binding motif. However, the direct effects of phosphorylation on COPI binding and on the binding parameters of 14-3-3 isoforms are still unknown. We find that phosphorylation of the trafficking control region prevents COPI binding even in the absence of 14-3-3, and we present a quantitative analysis of the binding of all human 14-3-3 isoforms to the trafficking control regions of TASK-1 and TASK-3. Surprisingly, the affinities of 14-3-3 proteins for TASK-1 are two orders of magnitude lower than for TASK-3. Furthermore, we find that phosphorylation of a second serine residue in the C-terminus of TASK-1 inhibits 14-3-3 binding. Thus, phosphorylation of the trafficking control region can stimulate or inhibit transport of TASK-1 to the cell surface depending on the target serine residue. Our findings indicate that control of TASK-1 trafficking by COPI, kinases, phosphatases and 14-3-3 proteins is highly dynamic. PMID:26743085

Neural correlates of skill acquisition: decreased cortical activity during a serial interception sequence learning task.

Science.gov (United States)

Gobel, Eric W; Parrish, Todd B; Reber, Paul J

2011-10-15

Learning of complex motor skills requires learning of component movements as well as the sequential structure of their order and timing. Using a Serial Interception Sequence Learning (SISL) task, participants learned a sequence of precisely timed interception responses through training with a repeating sequence. Following initial implicit learning of the repeating sequence, functional MRI data were collected during performance of that known sequence and compared with activity evoked during novel sequences of actions, novel timing patterns, or both. Reduced activity was observed during the practiced sequence in a distributed bilateral network including extrastriate occipital, parietal, and premotor cortical regions. These reductions in evoked activity likely reflect improved efficiency in visuospatial processing, spatio-motor integration, motor planning, and motor execution for the trained sequence, which is likely supported by nondeclarative skill learning. In addition, the practiced sequence evoked increased activity in the left ventral striatum and medial prefrontal cortex, while the posterior cingulate was more active during periods of better performance. Many prior studies of perceptual-motor skill learning have found increased activity in motor areas of the frontal cortex (e.g., motor and premotor cortex, SMA) and striatal areas (e.g., the putamen). The change in activity observed here (i.e., decreased activity across a cortical network) may reflect skill learning that is predominantly expressed through more accurate performance rather than decreased reaction time. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adaptive behavior of children with visual impairment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anđelković Marija

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Adaptive behavior includes a wide range of skills necessary for independent, safe and adequate performance of everyday activities. Practical, social and conceptual skills make the concept of adaptive behavior. The aim of this paper is to provide an insight into the existing studies of adaptive behavior in persons with visual impairment. The paper mainly focuses on the research on adaptive behavior in children with visual impairment. The results show that the acquisition of adaptive skills is mainly low or moderately low in children and youth with visual impairment. Children with visual impairment achieve the worst results in social skills and everyday life skills, while the most acquired are communication skills. Apart from the degree of visual impairment, difficulties in motor development also significantly influence the acquisition of practical and social skills of blind persons and persons with low vision.

Acquiring Psychomotor Skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Padelford, Harold E.

1984-01-01

The author discusses levels of psychomotor skill acquisition: perceiving, motivating, imitating, performing, adapting, and innovating. How these skills interact and how they affect the learner's ability to learn are examined. (CT)

Transfer of Skill from a Virtual Reality Trainer to Real Juggling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gopher Daniel

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate transfer of training from a virtual reality environment that captures visual and temporal-spatial aspects of juggling, but not the motor demands of juggling. Transfer of skill to real juggling was examined by comparing juggling performance of novices that either experienced both the virtual training protocol and real juggling practice, or only practiced real juggling. After ten days of training, participants who have alternated between real and virtual training demonstrated comparable performance to those who only practiced real juggling. Moreover, they adapted better to instructed changes in temporal-spatial constraints. These results imply that juggling relevant skill subcomponents can be trained in the virtual environment, and support the notion that cognitive aspects of a skill can be separately trained to enhance the acquisition of a complex perceptual-motor task. This study was performed within the SKILLS integrated project of the EC 6th framework.

Closed-Loop Task Difficulty Adaptation during Virtual Reality Reach-to-Grasp Training Assisted with an Exoskeleton for Stroke Rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Grimm, Florian; Naros, Georgios; Gharabaghi, Alireza

2016-01-01

Stroke patients with severe motor deficits of the upper extremity may practice rehabilitation exercises with the assistance of a multi-joint exoskeleton. Although this technology enables intensive task-oriented training, it may also lead to slacking when the assistance is too supportive. Preserving the engagement of the patients while providing "assistance-as-needed" during the exercises, therefore remains an ongoing challenge. We applied a commercially available seven degree-of-freedom arm exoskeleton to provide passive gravity compensation during task-oriented training in a virtual environment. During this 4-week pilot study, five severely affected chronic stroke patients performed reach-to-grasp exercises resembling activities of daily living. The subjects received virtual reality feedback from their three-dimensional movements. The level of difficulty for the exercise was adjusted by a performance-dependent real-time adaptation algorithm. The goal of this algorithm was the automated improvement of the range of motion. In the course of 20 training and feedback sessions, this unsupervised adaptive training concept led to a progressive increase of the virtual training space ( p learning curve was paralleled by a concurrent improvement of real world kinematic parameters, i.e., range of motion ( p = 0.008), accuracy of movement ( p = 0.01), and movement velocity ( p virtual reality provides customized rehabilitation environments for severely affected stroke patients. This approach may facilitate motor learning by progressively challenging the subject in accordance with the individual capacity for functional restoration. It might be necessary to apply concurrent restorative interventions to translate these improvements into relevant functional gains of severely motor impaired patients in activities of daily living.

Cognitive flexibility in young children: General or task-specific capacity?

Science.gov (United States)

Deák, Gedeon O; Wiseheart, Melody

2015-10-01

Cognitive flexibility is the ability to adapt to changing tasks or problems. To test whether cognitive flexibility is a coherent cognitive capacity in young children, we tested 3- to 5-year-olds' performance on two forms of task switching, rule-based (Three Dimension Changes Card Sorting, 3DCCS) and inductive (Flexible Induction of Meaning-Animates and Objects, FIM-Ob and FIM-An), as well as tests of response speed, verbal working memory, inhibition, and reasoning. Results suggest that cognitive flexibility is not a globally coherent trait; only the two inductive word-meaning (FIM) tests showed high inter-test coherence. Task- and knowledge-specific factors also determine children's flexibility in a given test. Response speed, vocabulary size, and causal reasoning skills further predicted individual and age differences in flexibility, although they did not have the same predictive relation with all three flexibility tests. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Generic skills in medical education: developing the tools for successful lifelong learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Murdoch-Eaton, Deborah; Whittle, Sue

2012-01-01

Higher education has invested in defining the role of generic skills in developing effective, adaptable graduates fit for a changing workplace. Research confirms that the development of generic skills that underpin effectiveness and adaptability in graduates is highly context-dependent and is shaped by the discipline within which these skills are conceptualised, valued and taught. This places the responsibility for generic skills enhancement clearly within the remit of global medical education. Many factors will influence the skill set with which students begin their medical training and experience at entry needs to be taken into account. Learning and teaching environments enhance effective skill development through active learning, teaching for understanding, feedback, and teacher-student and student-student interaction. Medical curricula need to provide students with opportunities to practise and develop their generic skills in a range of discipline-specific contexts. Curricular design should include explicit and integrated generic skills objectives against which students' progress can be monitored. Assessment and feedback serve as valuable reinforcements of the professed importance of generic skills to both learner and teacher, and will encourage students to self-evaluate and take responsibility for their own skill development. The continual need for students to modify their practice in response to changes in their environment and the requirements of their roles will help students to develop the ability to transfer these skills at transition points in their training and future careers. If they are to take their place in an ever-changing profession, medical students need to be competent in the skills that underpin lifelong learning. Only then will the doctors of the future be well placed to adapt to changes in knowledge, update their practice in line with the changing evidence base, and continue to contribute effectively as societal needs change. © Blackwell

Evaluation of modular robot system for maintenance tasks in hot cell

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pagala, Prithvi Sekhar, E-mail: ps.pagala@upm.es [Centre for Automation and Robotics UPM-CSIC (Spain); Ferre, Manuel, E-mail: m.ferre@upm.es [Centre for Automation and Robotics UPM-CSIC (Spain); Orona, Luis, E-mail: l.orona@gsi.de [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung (Germany)

2014-10-15

Highlights: •Modular robot deployment inside hot cell for remote manipulation evaluated. •Flexible and adaptable system for variety of tasks presented. •Uses in large workspaces and evolving requirements shown. -- Abstract: This work assesses the use of a modular robot system to perform maintenance and inspection tasks such as, remote flexible inspection, manipulation and cooperation with deployed systems inside the hot cell. A flexible modular solution for the inclusion in maintenance operations is presented. The proposed heterogeneous modular robotic system is evaluated using simulations of the prototype across selected robot configuration to perform tasks. Results obtained show the advantages and ability of the modular robot to perform the necessary tasks as well as its ability to adapt and evolve depending on the need. The simulation test case inside hot cell shows modular robot configuration, a two modular arm to perform tele-operation tasks in the workspace and a wheeled platform for inspection collaborating to perform tasks. The advantage of using re-configurable modular robot over conventional robot platforms is shown.

Basal ganglia-dependent processes in recalling learned visual-motor adaptations.

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Bédard, Patrick; Sanes, Jerome N

2011-03-01

Humans learn and remember motor skills to permit adaptation to a changing environment. During adaptation, the brain develops new sensory-motor relationships that become stored in an internal model (IM) that may be retained for extended periods. How the brain learns new IMs and transforms them into long-term memory remains incompletely understood since prior work has mostly focused on the learning process. A current model suggests that basal ganglia, cerebellum, and their neocortical targets actively participate in forming new IMs but that a cerebellar cortical network would mediate automatization. However, a recent study (Marinelli et al. 2009) reported that patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), who have basal ganglia dysfunction, had similar adaptation rates as controls but demonstrated no savings at recall tests (24 and 48 h). Here, we assessed whether a longer training session, a feature known to increase long-term retention of IM in healthy individuals, could allow PD patients to demonstrate savings. We recruited PD patients and age-matched healthy adults and used a visual-motor adaptation paradigm similar to the study by Marinelli et al. (2009), doubling the number of training trials and assessed recall after a short and a 24-h delay. We hypothesized that a longer training session would allow PD patients to develop an enhanced representation of the IM as demonstrated by savings at the recall tests. Our results showed that PD patients had similar adaptation rates as controls but did not demonstrate savings at both recall tests. We interpret these results as evidence that fronto-striatal networks have involvement in the early to late phase of motor memory formation, but not during initial learning.

Designing Training for Temporal and Adaptive Transfer: A Comparative Evaluation of Three Training Methods for Process Control Tasks

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Kluge, Annette; Sauer, Juergen; Burkolter, Dina; Ritzmann, Sandrina

2010-01-01

Training in process control environments requires operators to be prepared for temporal and adaptive transfer of skill. Three training methods were compared with regard to their effectiveness in supporting transfer: Drill & Practice (D&P), Error Training (ET), and procedure-based and error heuristics training (PHT). Communication…

Effects of Training Peer Tutors in Content Knowledge versus Tutoring Skills on Giving Feedback to Help Tutees' Complex Tasks

Science.gov (United States)

Hsiao, Ya Ping; Brouns, Francis; van Bruggen, Jan; Sloep, Peter B.

2015-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of training tutors in content knowledge of a particular domain versus training them in tutoring skills of pedagogical knowledge when tutoring on a complex tutee task. Forty-seven tutor--tutee pairs of fourth-year secondary school students were created and assigned to one of the two treatments.…

Towards Machine Learning of Motor Skills

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Jan; Schaal, Stefan; Schölkopf, Bernhard

Autonomous robots that can adapt to novel situations has been a long standing vision of robotics, artificial intelligence, and cognitive sciences. Early approaches to this goal during the heydays of artificial intelligence research in the late 1980s, however, made it clear that an approach purely based on reasoning or human insights would not be able to model all the perceptuomotor tasks that a robot should fulfill. Instead, new hope was put in the growing wake of machine learning that promised fully adaptive control algorithms which learn both by observation and trial-and-error. However, to date, learning techniques have yet to fulfill this promise as only few methods manage to scale into the high-dimensional domains of manipulator robotics, or even the new upcoming trend of humanoid robotics, and usually scaling was only achieved in precisely pre-structured domains. In this paper, we investigate the ingredients for a general approach to motor skill learning in order to get one step closer towards human-like performance. For doing so, we study two major components for such an approach, i.e., firstly, a theoretically well-founded general approach to representing the required control structures for task representation and execution and, secondly, appropriate learning algorithms which can be applied in this setting.

Teaching "Yes, And" … Improv in Sales Classes: Enhancing Student Adaptive Selling Skills, Sales Performance, and Teaching Evaluations

Science.gov (United States)

Rocco, Richard A.; Whalen, D. Joel

2014-01-01

In an application of experiential learning, assessment, and career development, this article reports a field experiment of teaching sales students adaptive selling skills via an "Improvisational (Improv) Comedy" technique: "Yes, And." Students learn this well-established theatrical improv method via classroom lecture,…

Can the learning of laparoscopic skills be quantified by the measurements of skill parameters performed in a virtual reality simulator?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natascha Silva Sandy

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose To ensure patient safety and surgical efficiency, much emphasis has been placed on the training of laparoscopic skills using virtual reality simulators. The purpose of this study was to determine whether laparoscopic skills can be objectively quantified by measuring specific skill parameters during training in a virtual reality surgical simulator (VRSS. Materials and Methods Ten medical students (with no laparoscopic experience and ten urology residents (PGY3-5 with limited laparoscopic experience were recruited to participate in a ten-week training course in basic laparoscopic skills (camera, cutting, peg transfer and clipping skills on a VRSS. Data were collected from the training sessions. The time that individuals took to complete each task and the errors that they made were analyzed independently. Results The mean time that individuals took to complete tasks was significantly different between the groups (p < 0.05, with the residents being faster than the medical students. The residents' group also completed the tasks with fewer errors. The majority of the subjects in both groups exhibited a significant improvement in their task completion time and error rate. Conclusion The findings in this study demonstrate that laparoscopic skills can be objectively measured in a VRSS based on quantified skill parameters, including the time spent to complete skill tasks and the associated error rate. We conclude that a VRSS is a feasible tool for training and assessing basic laparoscopic skills.

The feasibility of adapted group-based interpersonal therapy (IPT) for the treatment of depression by community health workers within the context of task shifting in South Africa.

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Petersen, I; Bhana, A; Baillie, K

2012-06-01

Within the context of a large treatment gap for depression and a scarcity of specialist resources, there is a need for task shifting to scale up mental health services to address this gap in South Africa. This study assessed the feasibility of an adapted manualized version of grouped based Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) for use by supervised community health workers through a pilot study on 60 primary health care clinic users screened as having moderate to severe depression. Retention was good and participants in the group-based IPT intervention showed significant reduction in depressive symptoms on completion of the 12-week intervention as well as 24 weeks post baseline compared to the control group. Qualitative process evaluation suggests that improved social support, individual coping skills and improved personal agency assisted in the reduction of depressive symptoms.

Effects of training on short- and long-term skill retention in a complex multiple-task environment.

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Sauer, J; Hockey, G R; Wastell, D G

2000-12-01

The paper reports the results of an experiment on the performance and retention of a complex task. This was a computer-based simulation of the essential elements of a spacecraft's life support system. It allowed the authors to take a range of measures, including primary and secondary task performance, system intervention and information sampling strategies, mental model structure, and subjective operator state. The study compared the effectiveness of two methods of training, based on low level (procedure-based) and high level (system-based) understanding. Twenty-five participants were trained extensively on the task, then given a 1-h testing session. A second testing session was carried out 8 months after the first (with no intervening practice) with 17 of the original participants. While training had little effect on control performance, there were considerable effects on system management strategies, as well as in structure of operator's mental model. In the second testing session, the anticipated general performance decrement did not occur, though for complex faults there was an increase in selectivity towards the primary control task. The relevance of the findings for training and skill retention in real work environments is discussed in the context of a model of compensatory control.

Outcomes and Experiences of an Adapted Dialectic Behaviour Therapy Skills Training Group for People with Intellectual Disabilities

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Crossland, Tom; Hewitt, Olivia; Walden, Sarah

2017-01-01

Background: A growing body of evidence supports the use of Dialectic Behaviour Therapy with people with an intellectual disability. Various adaptation have been used in studies exploring the efficacy of this intervention. Method: A Dialectic Behaviour Therapy DBT skills training group was attended by people with an intellectual disability and…

Interest level in 2-year-olds with autism spectrum disorder predicts rate of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill acquisition

OpenAIRE

Klintwall, Lars; Macari, Suzanne; Eikeseth, Svein; Chawarska, Katarzyna

2014-01-01

Recent studies have suggested that skill acquisition rates for children with autism spectrum disorders receiving early interventions can be predicted by child motivation. We examined whether level of interest during an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule assessment at 2 years predicts subsequent rates of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill acquisition to the age of 3 years. A total of 70 toddlers with autism spectrum disorder, mean age of 21.9 months, were scored using Interest Level Sco...

Communication skills training: describing a new conceptual model.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Richard F; Bylund, Carma L

2008-01-01

Current research in communication in physician-patient consultations is multidisciplinary and multimethodological. As this research has progressed, a considerable body of evidence on the best practices in physician-patient communication has been amassed. This evidence provides a foundation for communication skills training (CST) at all levels of medical education. Although the CST literature has demonstrated that communication skills can be taught, one critique of this literature is that it is not always clear which skills are being taught and whether those skills are matched with those being assessed. The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Comskil Model for CST seeks to answer those critiques by explicitly defining the important components of a consultation, based on Goals, Plans, and Actions theories and sociolinguistic theory. Sequenced guidelines as a mechanism for teaching about particular communication challenges are adapted from these other methods. The authors propose that consultation communication can be guided by an overarching goal, which is achieved through the use of a set of predetermined strategies. Strategies are common in CST; however, strategies often contain embedded communication skills. These skills can exist across strategies, and the Comskil Model seeks to make them explicit in these contexts. Separate from the skills are process tasks and cognitive appraisals that need to be addressed in teaching. The authors also describe how assessment practices foster concordance between skills taught and those assessed through careful coding of trainees' communication encounters and direct feedback.

Task oriented evaluation system for maintenance robots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asame, Hajime; Endo, Isao; Kotosaka, Shin-ya; Takata, Shozo; Hiraoka, Hiroyuki; Kohda, Takehisa; Matsumoto, Akihiro; Yamagishi, Kiichiro.

1994-01-01

The adaptability evaluation of maintenance robots to autonomous plants has been discussed. In this paper, a new concept of autonomous plant with maintenance robots are introduced, and a framework of autonomous maintenance system is proposed. Then, task-oriented evaluation of robot arms is discussed for evaluating their adaptability to maintenance tasks, and a new criterion called operability is proposed for adaptability evaluation. The task-oriented evaluation system is implemented and applied to structural design of robot arms. Using genetic algorithm, an optimal structure adaptable to a pump disassembly task is obtained. (author)

Climate-Adapted Soil Cultivation as an Aspect for Sustainable Farming – Task-Technology-Fit of a Decision Support System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Welf Guenther-Lübbers

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Due to global climate change and its impact on local weather conditions, decision support systems are becoming more important in agriculture. Such systems allow farmers to adapt more effectively to the complex changes affecting their farms. Marginal production sites must apply new tillage strategies adapted to new climatic conditions. Information about proper strategy adjustments is often disseminated through agricultural extension services and journals. A new internet information platform, KlimaBob, which focuses on climate-flexible tillage, was established under the auspices of the Innovation Network of Climate Change Adaptation Brandenburg Berlin. Successful and permanent introduction of such a system requires analysis and verification of its acceptance among individual farmers. This study addresses this need by applying the established task-technology fit approach. A survey was conducted among farmers in the Brandenburg region. The resulting data provided the basis for a structural equation model that explains and evaluates the task-technology fit of the KlimaBob platform. The results indicate that the performance spectrum of the system exerts a strong influence on the task-technology fit when assessed by both the name characteristics of KlimaBob and the individual characteristics of users (for example, time management, technology affinity and risk attitude.

Effects of Task Complexity, Task Conditions, and Task Difficulty on the Grammatical Accuracy of EFL Learners in Written Discourse

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeideh Ahangari

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Different methods of language teaching have tried to help EFL learners to develop good language skills based on their various perspectives. Research findings have underscored the effect of using task types in promoting language skills in terms of accuracy in written discourse. Therefore, this study set out to investigate whether there is an evidence of correct use of simple past tense (Accuracy based on Task Complexity (Task type :Here-and now & There-and-then,Task Conditions (Gender: Male & Female, and Task Difficulty (Proficiency: Lower-intermediate & Intermediate. Sixty Iranian English learners in a language institute participated in the study and were assigned to four groups of lower-intermediate male, lower-intermediate female, intermediate male and intermediate female. Initial homogeneity of the groups was verified using two general proficiency tests; KET for lower-intermediate and PET for intermediate. All groups in here-and-now task type were asked to write a story using simple past based on a picture strip while for there-and-then task type the participants were supposed to write about their last birthday. The results from paired samples t-test, independent samples t-test and two-way ANOVA analysis of the written data revealed significant differences in performing task types, at different proficiency levels and interaction between them. The findings have significant pedagogical implications for EFL learners to understand the relationship among Task Complexity,Task Conditions, Task Difficulty and L2 written production leading to various degrees of Accuracy.

Better dual-task processing in simultaneous interpreters

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Strobach, Tilo; Becker, Maxi; Schubert, Torsten; Kühn, Simone

2015-01-01

Simultaneous interpreting (SI) is a highly complex activity and requires the performance and coordination of multiple, simultaneous tasks: analysis and understanding of the discourse in a first language, reformulating linguistic material, storing of intermediate processing steps, and language production in a second language among others. It is, however, an open issue whether persons with experience in SI possess superior skills in coordination of multiple tasks and whether they are able to transfer these skills to lab-based dual-task situations. Within the present study, we set out to explore whether interpreting experience is associated with related higher-order executive functioning in the context of dual-task situations of the Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) type. In this PRP situation, we found faster reactions times in participants with experience in simultaneous interpretation in contrast to control participants without such experience. Thus, simultaneous interpreters possess superior skills in coordination of multiple tasks in lab-based dual-task situations. PMID:26528232

Semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not vary with reading ability.

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Piai, Vitória; Roelofs, Ardi; Roete, Ingeborg

2015-01-01

Previous dual-task studies examining the locus of semantic interference of distractor words in picture naming have obtained diverging results. In these studies, participants manually responded to tones and named pictures while ignoring distractor words (picture-word interference, PWI) with varying stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) between tone and PWI stimulus. Whereas some studies observed no semantic interference at short SOAs, other studies observed effects of similar magnitude at short and long SOAs. The absence of semantic interference in some studies may perhaps be due to better reading skill of participants in these than in the other studies. According to such a reading-ability account, participants' reading skill should be predictive of the magnitude of their interference effect at short SOAs. To test this account, we conducted a dual-task study with tone discrimination and PWI tasks and measured participants' reading ability. The semantic interference effect was of similar magnitude at both short and long SOAs. Participants' reading ability was predictive of their naming speed but not of their semantic interference effect, contrary to the reading ability account. We conclude that the magnitude of semantic interference in picture naming during dual-task performance does not depend on reading skill.

A multilevel modeling approach to examining individual differences in skill acquisition for a computer-based task.

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Nair, Sankaran N; Czaja, Sara J; Sharit, Joseph

2007-06-01

This article explores the role of age, cognitive abilities, prior experience, and knowledge in skill acquisition for a computer-based simulated customer service task. Fifty-two participants aged 50-80 performed the task over 4 consecutive days following training. They also completed a battery that assessed prior computer experience and cognitive abilities. The data indicated that overall quality and efficiency of performance improved with practice. The predictors of initial level of performance and rate of change in performance varied according to the performance parameter assessed. Age and fluid intelligence predicted initial level and rate of improvement in overall quality, whereas crystallized intelligence and age predicted initial e-mail processing time, and crystallized intelligence predicted rate of change in e-mail processing time over days. We discuss the implications of these findings for the design of intervention strategies.

Protein Synthesis Inhibition Blocks Consolidation of an Acrobatic Motor Skill

Science.gov (United States)

Kaelin-Lang, Alain; Dichgans, Johannes; Schulz, Jorg B.; Luft, Andreas R.; Buitrago, Manuel M.

2004-01-01

To investigate whether motor skill learning depends on de novo protein synthesis, adult rats were trained in an acrobatic locomotor task (accelerating rotarod) for 7 d. Animals were systemically injected with cycloheximide (CHX, 0.5 mg/kg, i.p.) 1 h before sessions 1 and 2 or sessions 2 and 3. Control rats received vehicle injections before…

Assistive technology for promoting adaptive skills of children with cerebral palsy: ten cases evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Stasolla, Fabrizio; Caffò, Alessandro O; Perilli, Viviana; Boccasini, Adele; Damiani, Rita; D'Amico, Fiora

2018-05-06

To extend the use of assistive technology for promoting adaptive skills of children with cerebral palsy. To assess its effects on positive participation of ten participants involved. To carry out a social validation recruiting parents, physiotherapists and support teachers as external raters. A multiple probe design was implemented for Studies I and II. Study I involved five participants exposed to a combined program aimed at enhancing choice process of preferred items and locomotion fluency. Study II involved five further children for a combined intervention finalized at ensuring them with literacy access and ambulation responses. Study III recruited 60 external raters for a social validation assessment. All participants improved their performance, although differences among children occurred. Indices of positive participation increased as well. Social raters favorably scored the use of both technology and programs. Assistive technology-based programs were effective for promoting independence of children with cerebral palsy. Implications for Rehabilitation A basic form of assistive technology such as a microswitch-based program may be useful and helpful for supporting adaptive skills of children with cerebral palsy and different levels of functioning. The same program may improve the participants' indices of positive participation and constructive engagement with beneficial effects on their quality of life. The positive social rating provided by external experts sensitive to the matter may recommend a favorable acceptance and implementation of the program in daily settings.

Learned helplessness in chess players: the importance of task similarity and the role of skill.

Science.gov (United States)

Gobet, F R

1992-01-01

The effects of noncontingency between subjects' responses and outcomes were examined with respect to treatment-and-posttest similarity and skill in the task. The experimental design consisted of three groups. The first group had to solve chess problems with objective solutions and received veridical feedback; each member of the second group faced problems with no objective solutions, and received the same feedback as the member of the first group he was yoked with, but without any control on it; the control group received a waiting task. It was found at the end of the experiment that the group with unsolvable problems was more depressed than the two other groups. The mid-strength players were the most sensitive to the manipulation, and the weakest players showed little effect of learned helplessness. It was also found that the effects were proportional to the degree of similarity between the treatment and the posttest. The results limit the domain of applicability of the learned-helplessness model.

Assessment of sensorimotor cortical representation asymmetries and motor skills in violin players.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwenkreis, Peter; El Tom, Susan; Ragert, Patrick; Pleger, Burkhard; Tegenthoff, Martin; Dinse, Hubert R

2007-12-01

As a model for use-dependent plasticity, the brains of professional musicians have been extensively studied to examine structural and functional adaptation to unique requirements of skilled performance. Here we provide a combination of data on motor performance and hand representation in the primary motor and somatosensory cortex of professional violin players, with the aim of assessing possible behavioural consequences of sensorimotor cortical asymmetries. We studied 15 healthy right-handed professional violin players and 35 healthy nonmusician controls. Motor and somatosensory cortex asymmetry was assessed by recording the motor output map after transcranial magnetic stimulation from a small hand muscle, and by dipole source localization of somatosensory evoked potentials after electrical stimulation of the median and ulnar nerves. Motor performance was examined using a series of standardized motor tasks covering different aspects of hand function. Violin players showed a significant right-larger-than-left asymmetry of the motor and somatosensory cortex, whereas nonmusician controls showed no significant interhemispheric difference. The amount of asymmetry in the motor and somatosensory cortices of musicians was significantly correlated. At the behavioural level, motor performance did not significantly differ between musicians and nonmusicians. The results support a use-dependent enlargement of the left hand representation in the sensorimotor cortex of violin players. However, these cortical asymmetries were not paralleled by accompanying altered asymmetries at a behavioural level, suggesting that the reorganisation might be task-specific and does not lead to improved motor abilities in general.

From dysfunction to adaptation: an interactionist model of dependency.

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Bornstein, Robert F

2012-01-01

Contrary to clinical lore, a dependent personality style is associated with active as well as passive behavior and may be adaptive in certain contexts (e.g., in fostering compliance with medical and psychotherapeutic treatment regimens). The cognitive/interactionist model conceptualizes dependency-related responding in terms of four components: (a) motivational (a marked need for guidance, support, and approval from others); (b) cognitive (a perception of oneself as powerless and ineffectual); (c) affective (a tendency to become anxious when required to function autonomously); and (d) behavioral (use of diverse self-presentation strategies to strengthen ties to potential caregivers). Clinicians' understanding of the etiology and dynamics of dependency has improved substantially in recent years; current challenges include delineating useful subtypes of dependency, developing valid symptom criteria for Dependent Personality Disorder in DSM-5 and beyond, and working effectively with dependent patients in the age of managed care.

Australasian emergency physicians: a learning and educational needs analysis. Part two: confidence of FACEM for tasks and skills.

Science.gov (United States)

Paltridge, Debbie; Dent, Andrew W; Weiland, Tracey J

2008-02-01

To determine the degree of confidence perceived by Fellows of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine for a variety of procedural, patient management, educational and research skills, and tasks that may be required of them. Mailed survey with Likert scales and grouped qualitative responses. More than 90% of emergency physicians (EP) feel usually or always confident of their skills for peripheral vascular access, procedural sedation, fluid resuscitation, tube thoracostomy, managing patients with altered conscious state, cardiac emergencies, behavioural disturbance, and interpreting acid base and other blood tests. Less than 50% felt confident performing surgical airways, ED ultrasound, managing neonatal emergencies or interpreting MRI. Of non-clinical skills, while most EP were confident of their ability to write references, debrief staff, lead group tutorials and prepare slides, a minority felt usually or always confident about budgeting and finance, preparing submissions, dealing with the media, appearing in court or marking examination papers. Whilst nearly 75% were confident about the information technology skills required of them for clinical practice, less than 25% of EP felt confident about conducting research and less than 15% were confident applying or interpreting statistics. This information may assist in the planning of future educational interventions for EP.

Adaptive behavior of children with visual impairment

OpenAIRE

Anđelković Marija

2014-01-01

Adaptive behavior includes a wide range of skills necessary for independent, safe and adequate performance of everyday activities. Practical, social and conceptual skills make the concept of adaptive behavior. The aim of this paper is to provide an insight into the existing studies of adaptive behavior in persons with visual impairment. The paper mainly focuses on the research on adaptive behavior in children with visual impairment. The results show that the acquisition of adaptive skills is ...

Preschool children adapt grasping movements to upcoming object manipulations: Evidence from a dial rotation task.

Science.gov (United States)

Herbort, Oliver; Büschelberger, Juliane; Janczyk, Markus

2018-03-01

In adults, the motor plans for object-directed grasping movements reflects the anticipated requirements of intended future object manipulations. This prospective mode of planning has been termed second-order planning. Surprisingly, second-order planning is thought to be fully developed only by 10 years of age, when children master seemingly more complex motor skills. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that already 5- and 6-year-old children consistently use second-order planning but that this ability does not become apparent in tasks that are traditionally used to probe it. We asked 5- and 6-year-olds and adults to grasp and rotate a circular dial in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Although children's grasp selections were less consistent on an intra- and inter-individual level than adults' grasp selections, all children adjusted their grasps to the upcoming dial rotations. By contrast, in an also administered bar rotation task, only a subset of children adjusted their grasps to different bar rotations, thereby replicating previous results. The results indicate that 5- and 6-year-olds consistently use second-order planning in a dial rotation task, although this ability does not become apparent in bar rotation tasks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structural similarity causes different category-effects depending on task characteristics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gerlach, Christian

2001-01-01

difference was found on easy object decision tasks. In experiment 2 an advantage for natural objects was found during object decisions performed under degraded viewing conditions (lateralized stimulus presentation). It is argued that these findings can be accounted for by assuming that natural objects...... it is in difficult object decision tasks). However, when viewing conditions are degraded and performance tends to depend on global shape information (carried by low spatial frequency components), natural objects may fare better than artefacts because the global shape of natural objects reveals more of their identity......It has been suggested that category-specific impairments for natural objects may reflect that natural objects are more globally visually similar than artefacts and therefore more difficult to recognize following brain damage [Aphasiology 13 (1992) 169]. This account has been challenged...

Individualized tracking of self-directed motor learning in group-housed mice performing a skilled lever positioning task in the home cage.

Science.gov (United States)

Silasi, Gergely; Boyd, Jamie D; Bolanos, Federico; LeDue, Jeff M; Scott, Stephen H; Murphy, Timothy H

2018-01-01

Skilled forelimb function in mice is traditionally studied through behavioral paradigms that require extensive training by investigators and are limited by the number of trials individual animals are able to perform within a supervised session. We developed a skilled lever positioning task that mice can perform within their home cage. The task requires mice to use their forelimb to precisely hold a lever mounted on a rotary encoder within a rewarded position to dispense a water reward. A Raspberry Pi microcomputer is used to record lever position during trials and to control task parameters, thus making this low-footprint apparatus ideal for use within animal housing facilities. Custom Python software automatically increments task difficulty by requiring a longer hold duration, or a more accurate hold position, to dispense a reward. The performance of individual animals within group-housed mice is tracked through radio-frequency identification implants, and data stored on the microcomputer may be accessed remotely through an active internet connection. Mice continuously engage in the task for over 2.5 mo and perform ~500 trials/24 h. Mice required ~15,000 trials to learn to hold the lever within a 10° range for 1.5 s and were able to further refine movement accuracy by limiting their error to a 5° range within each trial. These results demonstrate the feasibility of autonomously training group-housed mice on a forelimb motor task. This paradigm may be used in the future to assess functional recovery after injury or cortical reorganization induced by self-directed motor learning. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We developed a low-cost system for fully autonomous training of group-housed mice on a forelimb motor task. We demonstrate the feasibility of tracking both end-point, as well as kinematic performance of individual mice, with each performing thousands of trials over 2.5 mo. The task is run and controlled by a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, which allows for cages to be

Brain noise is task dependent and region specific.

Science.gov (United States)

Misić, Bratislav; Mills, Travis; Taylor, Margot J; McIntosh, Anthony R

2010-11-01

The emerging organization of anatomical and functional connections during human brain development is thought to facilitate global integration of information. Recent empirical and computational studies have shown that this enhanced capacity for information processing enables a diversified dynamic repertoire that manifests in neural activity as irregularity and noise. However, transient functional networks unfold over multiple time, scales and the embedding of a particular region depends not only on development, but also on the manner in which sensory and cognitive systems are engaged. Here we show that noise is a facet of neural activity that is also sensitive to the task context and is highly region specific. Children (6-16 yr) and adults (20-41 yr) performed a one-back face recognition task with inverted and upright faces. Neuromagnetic activity was estimated at several hundred sources in the brain by applying a beamforming technique to the magnetoencephalogram (MEG). During development, neural activity became more variable across the whole brain, with most robust increases in medial parietal regions, such as the precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex. For young children and adults, activity evoked by upright faces was more variable and noisy compared with inverted faces, and this effect was reliable only in the right fusiform gyrus. These results are consistent with the notion that upright faces engender a variety of integrative neural computations, such as the relations among facial features and their holistic constitution. This study shows that transient changes in functional integration modulated by task demand are evident in the variability of regional neural activity.

Dual learning processes in interactive skill acquisition.

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Wai-Tat; Anderson, John R

2008-06-01

Acquisition of interactive skills involves the use of internal and external cues. Experiment 1 showed that when actions were interdependent, learning was effective with and without external cues in the single-task condition but was effective only with the presence of external cues in the dual-task condition. In the dual-task condition, actions closer to the feedback were learned faster than actions farther away but this difference was reversed in the single-task condition. Experiment 2 tested how knowledge acquired in single and dual-task conditions would transfer to a new reward structure. Results confirmed the two forms of learning mediated by the secondary task: A declarative memory encoding process that simultaneously assigned credits to actions and a reinforcement-learning process that slowly propagated credits backward from the feedback. The results showed that both forms of learning were engaged during training, but only at the response selection stage, one form of knowledge may dominate over the other depending on the availability of attentional resources. (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved

Task-specific gross motor skills training for ambulant school-aged children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Toovey, Rachel; Bernie, Charmaine; Harvey, Adrienne R; McGinley, Jennifer L; Spittle, Alicia J

2017-01-01

The primary objective is to systematically evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of task-specific training (TST) of gross motor skills for improving activity and/or participation outcomes in ambulant school-aged children with cerebral palsy (CP). The secondary objective is to identify motor learning strategies reported within TST and assess relationship to outcome. Systematic review. Relevant databases were searched for studies including: children with CP (mean age >4 years and >60% of the sample ambulant); TST targeting gross motor skills and activity (skill performance, gross motor function and functional skills) and/or participation-related outcomes. Quality of included studies was assessed using standardised tools for risk of bias, study design and quality of evidence across outcomes. Continuous data were summarised for each study using standardised mean difference (SMD) and 95% CIs. Thirteen studies met inclusion criteria: eight randomised controlled trials (RCTs), three comparative studies, one repeated-measures study and one single-subject design study. Risk of bias was moderate across studies. Components of TST varied and were often poorly reported. Within-group effects of TST were positive across all outcomes of interest in 11 studies. In RCTs, between-group effects were conflicting for skill performance and functional skills, positive for participation-related outcomes (one study: Life-HABITS performance SMD=1.19, 95% CI 0.3 to 2.07, pmotor function. The quality of evidence was low-to-moderate overall. Variability and poor reporting of motor learning strategies limited assessment of relationship to outcome. Limited evidence for TST for gross motor skills in ambulant children with CP exists for improving activity and participation-related outcomes and recommendations for use over other interventions are limited by poor study methodology and heterogeneous interventions. PROSPERO ID42016036727.

Closed-loop task difficulty adaptation during virtual reality reach-to-grasp training assisted with an exoskeleton for stroke rehabilitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Florian Grimm

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Stroke patients with severe motor deficits of the upper extremity may practice rehabilitation exercises with the assistance of a multi-joint exoskeleton. Although this technology enables intensive task-oriented training, it may also lead to slacking when the assistance is too supportive. Preserving the engagement of the patients while providing assistance-as-needed during the exercises, therefore remains an ongoing challenge.We applied a commercially available seven degree-of-freedom arm exoskeleton to provide passive gravity compensation during task-oriented training in a virtual environment. During this four-week pilot study, five severely affected chronic stroke patients performed reach-to-grasp exercises resembling activities of daily living. The subjects received virtual reality feedback from their three-dimensional movements. The level of difficulty for the exercise was adjusted by a performance-dependent real-time adaptation algorithm. The goal of this algorithm was the automated improvement of the range of motion. In the course of 20 training and feedback sessions, this unsupervised adaptive training concept led to a progressive increase of the virtual training space (p<0.001 in accordance with the subjects’ abilities. This learning curve was paralleled by a concurrent improvement of real world kinematic parameters, i.e., range of motion (p=0.008, accuracy of movement (p=0.01, and movement velocity (p<0.001. Notably, these kinematic gains were paralleled by motor improvements such as increased elbow movement (p=0.001, grip force (p<0.001, and upper extremity Fugl-Meyer-Assessment score from 14.3 ± 5 to 16.9 ± 6.1 (p=0.026.Combining gravity-compensating assistance with adaptive closed-loop feedback in virtual reality provides customized rehabilitation environments for severely affected stroke patients. This approach may facilitate motor learning by progressively challenging the subject in accordance with the individual capacity for

High-dependency care: experiences of the psychosocial work environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Hanif Abdul; Naing, Lin; Abdul-Mumin, Khadizah

2017-11-23

to explore high-dependency care nurses' experiences of their psychosocial work environment. four focus groups were conducted with 23 emergency and critical care hospital nurses in Brunei. All sessions were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive-approach thematic analysis. three major themes were identified. 'Specialisation/specific skills' explained a fundamental requirement for the high-dependency care nurses to work effectively and efficiently in their workplace. 'Task completion' narrated the pressure they experienced to complete their tasks within time constraints exacerbated by a reduced number of staff. 'Acknowledgement' signified their need for fair and adequate reward for their hard work through career progression and promotion. this study facilitates the design of future interventions and policies that promote a healthy psychosocial work environment by ensuring nurses working in these areas have the required specialisation skills, there is a balance of workload and nurse-to-patient ratios, and they are offered fairness and equity in career progression and promotion.

Farsi version of social skills rating system-secondary student form: cultural adaptation, reliability and construct validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Eslami, Ahmad Ali; Amidi Mazaheri, Maryam; Mostafavi, Firoozeh; Abbasi, Mohamad Hadi; Noroozi, Ensieh

2014-01-01

Assessment of social skills is a necessary requirement to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive and behavioral interventions. This paper reports the cultural adaptation and psychometric properties of the Farsi version of the social skills rating system-secondary students form (SSRS-SS) questionnaire (Gresham and Elliot, 1990), in a normative sample of secondary school students. A two-phase design was used that phase 1 consisted of the linguistic adaptation and in phase 2, using cross-sectional sample survey data, the construct validity and reliability of the Farsi version of the SSRS-SS were examined in a sample of 724 adolescents aged from 13 to 19 years. Content validity index was excellent, and the floor/ceiling effects were low. After deleting five of the original SSRS-SS items, the findings gave support for the item convergent and divergent validity. Factor analysis revealed four subscales. RESULTS showed good internal consistency (0.89) and temporal stability (0.91) for the total scale score. Findings demonstrated support for the use of the 27-item Farsi version in the school setting. Directions for future research regarding the applicability of the scale in other settings and populations of adolescents are discussed.

Battle of the bots: a comparison of the standard da Vinci and the da Vinci Surgical Skills Simulator in surgical skills acquisition.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Kevin; Mosley, Natalie; Tierney, James

2017-06-01

Virtual reality simulators are increasingly used to gain robotic surgical skills. This study compared use of the da Vinci Surgical Skills Simulator (dVSSS) to the standard da Vinci (SdV) robot for skills acquisition in a prospective randomized study. Residents from urology, gynecology, and general surgery programs performed three virtual reality tasks (thread the ring, ring rail, and tubes) on the dvSSS. Participants were then randomized to one of the two study groups (dVSSS and SdV). Each participant then practiced on either the dVSSS or the SdV (depending on randomization) for 30 min per week over a 4-week time period. The dVSSS arm was not permitted to practice ring rail (due to no similar practice scenario available for the SdV group). Following 4 weeks of practice, participants performed the same three virtual reality tasks and the results were recorded and compared to baseline. Overall and percent improvement were recorded for all participants from pre-test to post-test. Two-way ANOVA analyses were used to compare the dVSSS and SdV groups and three tasks. Initially, 30 participants were identified and enrolled in the study. Randomization resulted in 15 participants in each arm. During the course of the study, four participants were unable to complete all tasks and practice sessions and were, therefore, excluded. This resulted in a total of 26 participants (15 in the dVSSS group and 11 in the SdV group) who completed the study. Overall total improvement score was found to be 23.23 and 23.48 for the SdV and dVSSS groups, respectively (p = 0.9245). The percent improvement was 60 and 47 % for the SdV and dVSSS groups respectively, which was a statistically significant difference between the two groups and three tasks. Practicing on the standard da Vinci is comparable to practicing on the da Vinci simulator for acquiring robotic surgical skills. In spite of several potential advantages, the dVSSS arm performed no better than the SdV arm in the final

The relationships among asymmetry in task dependence, perceived helping behavior, and trust

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Jong, Simon B.; Van der Vegt, Gerben S.; Molleman, Eric

Social relations analyses involving 132 working relationships among 60 individuals from 29 teams revealed that an increase in a team member's task dependence on another team member was associated with higher levels of perceived help from and interpersonal trust in that specific team member, provided

Within-person relationship between self-efficacy and performance across trials. Effect of task objective and task type.

Science.gov (United States)

Hepler, Teri J; Ritchie, Jason; Hill, Christopher R

2017-07-05

Self-efficacy has been shown to be a consistent, positive predictor of between-persons performance in sport. However, there have been equivocal results regarding the influence of self-efficacy on a person's performance over time. This study investigated the influence of self-efficacy on motor skill performance across trials with respect to two different task objectives and task types. Participants (N=84) performed 4 blocks of 10 trials of a dart throwing (closed skill) and a hitting (open skill) task under 2 different task objectives: competitive and goal-striving. For the goal-striving condition, success was defined as reaching a pre-determined performance level. The competitive condition involved competing against an opponent. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the influence of past performance and self-efficacy on the within-person performance across multiple trials. Previous performance was negatively related with subsequent performance on all conditions. Self-efficacy was not a significant predictor of performance on any of the conditions. While task objective and task type did not moderate the efficacy-performance relationship in the current study, it is important to consider the role of other moderators in future research.

Tuning of gravity-dependent and gravity-independent vertical angular VOR gain changes by frequency of adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Yakushin, Sergei B

2012-06-01

The gain of the vertical angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (aVOR) was adaptively increased and decreased in a side-down head orientation for 4 h in two cynomolgus monkeys. Adaptation was performed at 0.25, 1, 2, or 4 Hz. The gravity-dependent and -independent gain changes were determined over a range of head orientations from left-side-down to right-side-down at frequencies from 0.25 to 10 Hz, before and after adaptation. Gain changes vs. frequency data were fit with a Gaussian to determine the frequency at which the peak gain change occurred, as well as the tuning width. The frequency at which the peak gravity-dependent gain change occurred was approximately equal to the frequency of adaptation, and the width increased monotonically with increases in the frequency of adaptation. The gravity-independent component was tuned to the adaptive frequency of 0.25 Hz but was uniformly distributed over all frequencies when the adaptation frequency was 1-4 Hz. The amplitude of the gravity-independent gain changes was larger after the aVOR gain decrease than after the gain increase across all tested frequencies. For the aVOR gain decrease, the phase lagged about 4° for frequencies below the adaptation frequency and led for frequencies above the adaptation frequency. For gain increases, the phase relationship as a function of frequency was inverted. This study demonstrates that the previously described dependence of aVOR gain adaptation on frequency is a property of the gravity-dependent component of the aVOR only. The gravity-independent component of the aVOR had a substantial tuning curve only at an adaptation frequency of 0.25 Hz.

An Evaluation of Social and Adaptive Skills in Adults with Bipolar Disorder and Severe/Profound Intellectual Disability

Science.gov (United States)

Matson, Johnny L.; Terlonge, Cindy; Gonzalez, Melissa L.; Rivet, Tessa

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the interrelationship of social and adaptive skills in adults with bipolar disorder and severe or profound intellectual disability. A bipolar group (N=14), a severe psychopathology group without bipolar disorder (N=14), and a control group with no DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis (N=14) were compared on the…

Multiple bottlenecks in hierarchical control of action sequences: what does "response selection" select in skilled typewriting?

Science.gov (United States)

Yamaguchi, Motonori; Logan, Gordon D; Li, Vanessa

2013-08-01

Does response selection select words or letters in skilled typewriting? Typing performance involves hierarchically organized control processes: an outer loop that controls word level processing, and an inner loop that controls letter (or keystroke) level processing. The present study addressed whether response selection occurs in the outer loop or the inner loop by using the psychological refractory period (PRP) paradigm in which Task1 required typing single words and Task2 required vocal responses to tones. The number of letters (string length) in the words was manipulated to discriminate selection of words from selection of keystrokes. In Experiment 1, the PRP effect depended on string length of words in Task1, suggesting that response selection occurs in the inner loop. To assess contributions of the outer loop, the influence of string length was examined in a lexical-decision task that also involves word encoding and lexical access (Experiment 2), or to-be-typed words were preexposed so outer-loop processing could finish before typing started (Experiment 3). Response time for Task2 (RT2) did not depend on string length with lexical decision, and RT2 still depended on string length with typing preexposed strings. These results support the inner-loop locus of the PRP effect. In Experiment 4, typing was performed as Task2, and the effect of string length on typing RT interacted with stimulus onset asynchrony superadditively, implying that another bottleneck also exists in the outer loop. We conclude that there are at least two bottleneck processes in skilled typewriting. 2013 APA, all rights reserved

Perfecting social skills a guide to interpersonal behavior development

CERN Document Server

Eisler, Richard M

1980-01-01

That man is a social being is almost axiomatic. Our interpersonal relation­ ships can be sources of the most rewarding or the most painful of human experiences. To a large measure our accomplishments in life depend on the facility with which we interact with others-our social skill. The acquisition of social skills is, of course, a natural part of the overall socialization process. However, in many instances it becomes necessary or desirable to develop further an individual's social facilities. Such skill development is the topic of this book. Two major goals were kept in mind in the writing of this book. The first was to provide a conceptual framework within which to view social skills. Such a framework allows one to understand why it is important to develop social skills, and the effects that such skill development should have. If the reader has a thorough understanding of the concept of social skills and their development, it becomes possible to make appropriate innovations and adaptions to his or her own...

Incremental Learning of Skill Collections based on Intrinsic Motivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Hendrik Metzen

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Life-long learning of reusable, versatile skills is a key prerequisite forembodied agents that act in a complex, dynamic environment and are faced withdifferent tasks over their lifetime. We address the question of how an agentcan learn useful skills efficiently during a developmental period,i.e., when no task is imposed on him and no external reward signal is provided.Learning of skills in a developmental period needs to be incremental andself-motivated. We propose a new incremental, task-independent skill discoveryapproach that is suited for continuous domains. Furthermore, the agent learnsspecific skills based on intrinsic motivation mechanisms thatdetermine on which skills learning is focused at a given point in time. Weevaluate the approach in a reinforcement learning setup in two continuousdomains with complex dynamics. We show that an intrinsically motivated, skilllearning agent outperforms an agent which learns task solutions from scratch.Furthermore, we compare different intrinsic motivation mechanisms and howefficiently they make use of the agent's developmental period.

Non-technical skills evaluation in the critical care air ambulance environment: introduction of an adapted rating instrument--an observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Julia A; Powell, David M C; Psirides, Alex; Hathaway, Karyn; Aldington, Sarah; Haney, Michael F

2016-03-08

In the isolated and dynamic health-care setting of critical care air ambulance transport, the quality of clinical care is strongly influenced by non-technical skills such as anticipating, recognising and understanding, decision making, and teamwork. However there are no published reports identifying or applying a non-technical skills framework specific to an intensive care air ambulance setting. The objective of this study was to adapt and evaluate a non-technical skills rating framework for the air ambulance clinical environment. In the first phase of the project the anaesthetists' non-technical skills (ANTS) framework was adapted to the air ambulance setting, using data collected directly from clinician groups, published literature, and field observation. In the second phase experienced and inexperienced inter-hospital transport clinicians completed a simulated critical care air transport scenario, and their non-technical skills performance was independently rated by two blinded assessors. Observed and self-rated general clinical performance ratings were also collected. Rank-based statistical tests were used to examine differences in the performance of experienced and inexperienced clinicians, and relationships between different assessment approaches and assessors. The framework developed during phase one was referred to as an aeromedical non-technical skills framework, or AeroNOTS. During phase two 16 physicians from speciality training programmes in intensive care, emergency medicine and anaesthesia took part in the clinical simulation study. Clinicians with inter-hospital transport experience performed more highly than those without experience, according to both AeroNOTS non-technical skills ratings (p = 0.001) and general performance ratings (p = 0.003). Self-ratings did not distinguish experienced from inexperienced transport clinicians (p = 0.32) and were not strongly associated with either observed general performance (r(s) = 0.4, p = 0

Adapting Morphology to Multiple Tasks in Evolved Virtual Creatures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lessin, Dan; Fussell, Don; Miikkulainen, Risto

2014-01-01

The ESP method for evolving virtual creatures (Lessin et al., 2013) consisted of an encapsulation mechanism to preserve learned skills, a human-designed syllabus to build higherlevel skills by combining lower-level skills systematically, and a pandemonium mechanism to resolve conflicts between...

The self in conflict: Actors and agency in the mediated sequential Simon Task

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michiel M. Spapé

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Executive control refers to the ability to withstand interference in order to achieve task goals. The effect of conflict adaptation describes that after experiencing interference, subsequent conflict effects are weaker. However, changes in the source of conflict have been found to disrupt conflict adaptation. Previous studies indicated that this specificity is determined by the degree to which one source causes episodic retrieval of a previous source. A virtual reality version of the Simon task was employed to investigate whether changes in a visual representation of the self would similarly affect conflict adaptation. Participants engaged in a mediated Simon task via 3D avatar models that either mirrored the participants’ movements, or were presented statically. A retrieval cue was implemented as the identity of the avatar: switching it from a male to a female avatar was expected to disrupt the conflict adaptation effect. The results show that only in static conditions did the conflict adaptation effect depend on the avatar identity, while in dynamic conditions, changes did not cause disruption. We also explored the effect of conflict and adaptation on the degree of movement made with the task-irrelevant hand and replicated the reaction time pattern. The findings add to earlier studies of source-specific conflict adaptation by showing that a visual representation of the self in action can provide a cue that determines episodic retrieval. Furthermore, the novel paradigm is made openly available to the scientific community and is described in its significance for studies of social cognition, cognitive psychology and human-computer interaction.

Incremental learning of skill collections based on intrinsic motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Metzen, Jan H.; Kirchner, Frank

2013-01-01

Life-long learning of reusable, versatile skills is a key prerequisite for embodied agents that act in a complex, dynamic environment and are faced with different tasks over their lifetime. We address the question of how an agent can learn useful skills efficiently during a developmental period, i.e., when no task is imposed on him and no external reward signal is provided. Learning of skills in a developmental period needs to be incremental and self-motivated. We propose a new incremental, task-independent skill discovery approach that is suited for continuous domains. Furthermore, the agent learns specific skills based on intrinsic motivation mechanisms that determine on which skills learning is focused at a given point in time. We evaluate the approach in a reinforcement learning setup in two continuous domains with complex dynamics. We show that an intrinsically motivated, skill learning agent outperforms an agent which learns task solutions from scratch. Furthermore, we compare different intrinsic motivation mechanisms and how efficiently they make use of the agent's developmental period. PMID:23898265

Do resident's leadership skills relate to ratings of technical skill?

Science.gov (United States)

Gannon, Samantha J; Law, Katherine E; Ray, Rebecca D; Nathwani, Jay N; DiMarco, Shannon M; D'Angelo, Anne-Lise D; Pugh, Carla M

2016-12-01

This study sought to compare general surgery research residents' survey information regarding self-efficacy ratings to their observed performance during a simulated small bowel repair. Their observed performance ratings were based on their leadership skills in directing their assistant. Participants were given 15 min to perform a bowel repair using bovine intestines with standardized injuries. Operative assistants were assigned to help assist with the repair. Before the procedure, participants were asked to rate their expected skills decay, task difficulty, and confidence in addressing the small bowel injury. Interactions were coded to identify the number of instructions given by the participants to the assistant during the repair. Statistical analyses assessed the relationship between the number of directional instructions and participants' perceptions self-efficacy measures. Directional instructions were defined as any dialog by the participant who guided the assistant to perform an action. Thirty-six residents (58.3% female) participated in the study. Participants who rated lower levels of decay in their intraoperative decision-making and small bowel repair skills were noted to use their assistant more by giving more instructions. Similarly, a higher number of instructions correlated with lower perceived difficulty in selecting the correct suture, suture pattern, and completing the entire surgical task. General surgery research residents' intraoperative leadership skills showed significant correlations to their perceptions of skill decay and task difficulty during a bowel repair. Evaluating resident's directional instructions may provide an additional individualized intraoperative assessment metric. Further evaluation relating to operative performance outcomes is warranted. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Motivational state, reward value, and Pavlovian cues differentially affect skilled forelimb grasping in rats

Science.gov (United States)

de Clauser, Larissa; Kasper, Hansjörg; Schwab, Martin E.

2016-01-01

Motor skills represent high-precision movements performed at optimal speed and accuracy. Such motor skills are learned with practice over time. Besides practice, effects of motivation have also been shown to influence speed and accuracy of movements, suggesting that fast movements are performed to maximize gained reward over time as noted in previous studies. In rodents, skilled motor performance has been successfully modeled with the skilled grasping task, in which animals use their forepaw to grasp for sugar pellet rewards through a narrow window. Using sugar pellets, the skilled grasping task is inherently tied to motivation processes. In the present study, we performed three experiments modulating animals’ motivation during skilled grasping by changing the motivational state, presenting different reward value ratios, and displaying Pavlovian stimuli. We found in all three studies that motivation affected the speed of skilled grasping movements, with the strongest effects seen due to motivational state and reward value. Furthermore, accuracy of the movement, measured in success rate, showed a strong dependence on motivational state as well. Pavlovian cues had only minor effects on skilled grasping, but results indicate an inverse Pavlovian-instrumental transfer effect on movement speed. These findings have broad implications considering the increasing use of skilled grasping in studies of motor system structure, function, and recovery after injuries. PMID:27194796

Meta-analysis of age and skill effects on recalling chess positions and selecting the best move.

Science.gov (United States)

Moxley, Jerad H; Charness, Neil

2013-10-01

A meta-analysis was conducted of studies that measured the effects of both age and skill in chess on the tasks of selecting the best move for chess positions (the best move task) as well as recalling chess game positions (the recall task). Despite a small sample of studies, we demonstrated that there are age and skill effects on both tasks: age being negatively associated with performance on both tasks and skill being positively associated with performance on both tasks. On the best move task, we found that skill was the dominant effect, while on the recall task, skill and age were approximately equally strong effects. We also found that skill was best measured by the best move task. In the case of the best move task, this result is consistent with the argument that it accurately replicates expert performance (Ericsson & Smith, 1991). Results for the recall task argue that this task captures effects related to skill, but also effects likely due to a general aging process. Implications for our understanding of aging in skilled domains are also discussed.

Robot skills for manufacturing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Mikkel Rath; Nalpantidis, Lazaros; Andersen, Rasmus Skovgaard

2016-01-01

-asserting robot skills for manufacturing. We show how a relatively small set of skills are derived from current factory worker instructions, and how these can be transferred to industrial mobile manipulators. General robot skills can not only be implemented on these robots, but also be intuitively concatenated...... products are introduced by manufacturers. In order to compete on global markets, the factories of tomorrow need complete production lines, including automation technologies that can effortlessly be reconfigured or repurposed, when the need arises. In this paper we present the concept of general, self...... in running production facilities at an industrial partner. It follows from these experiments that the use of robot skills, and associated task-level programming framework, is a viable solution to introducing robots that can intuitively and on the fly be programmed to perform new tasks by factory workers....

Board Task Performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Minichilli, Alessandro; Zattoni, Alessandro; Nielsen, Sabina

2012-01-01

identify three board processes as micro-level determinants of board effectiveness. Specifically, we focus on effort norms, cognitive conflicts and the use of knowledge and skills as determinants of board control and advisory task performance. Further, we consider how two different institutional settings....... The findings show that: (i) Board processes have a larger potential than demographic variables to explain board task performance; (ii) board task performance differs significantly between boards operating in different contexts; and (iii) national context moderates the relationships between board processes...... and board task performance....

Transfer of motor and perceptual skills from basketball to darts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca eRienhoff

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The quiet eye is a perceptual skill associated with expertise and superior performance; however, little is known about the transfer of quiet eye across domains. We attempted to replicate previous skill-based differences in quiet eye and investigated whether transfer of motor and perceptual skills occurs between similar tasks. Throwing accuracy and quiet eye duration for skilled and less-skilled basketball players were examined in basketball free throw shooting and the transfer task of dart throwing. Skilled basketball players showed significantly higher throwing accuracy and longer quiet eye duration in the basketball free throw task compared to their less-skilled counterparts. Further, skilled basketball players showed positive transfer from basketball to dart throwing in accuracy but not in quiet eye duration. Our results raise interesting questions regarding the measurement of transfer between skills.

Developing CORE model-based worksheet with recitation task to facilitate students’ mathematical communication skills in linear algebra course

Science.gov (United States)

Risnawati; Khairinnisa, S.; Darwis, A. H.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study was to develop a CORE model-based worksheet with recitation task that were valid and practical and could facilitate students’ communication skills in Linear Algebra course. This study was conducted in mathematics education department of one public university in Riau, Indonesia. Participants of the study were media and subject matter experts as validators as well as students from mathematics education department. The objects of this study are students’ worksheet and students’ mathematical communication skills. The results of study showed that: (1) based on validation of the experts, the developed students’ worksheet was valid and could be applied for students in Linear Algebra courses; (2) based on the group trial, the practicality percentage was 92.14% in small group and 90.19% in large group, so the worksheet was very practical and could attract students to learn; and (3) based on the post test, the average percentage of ideals was 87.83%. In addition, the results showed that the students’ worksheet was able to facilitate students’ mathematical communication skills in linear algebra course.

Distributed control of multi-robot teams: Cooperative baton passing task

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parker, L.E.

1998-11-01

This research addresses the problem of achieving fault tolerant cooperation within small- to medium-sized teams of heterogeneous mobile robots. The author describes a novel behavior-based, fully distributed architecture, called ALLIANCE, that utilizes adaptive action selection to achieve fault tolerant cooperative control. The robots in this architecture possess a variety of high-level functions that they can perform during a mission, and must at all times select an appropriate action based on the requirements of the mission, the activities of other robots, the current environmental conditions, and their own internal states. Since such cooperative teams often work in dynamic and unpredictable environments, the software architecture allows the team members to respond robustly and reliably to unexpected environmental changes and modifications in the robot team that may occur due to mechanical failure, the learning of new skills, or the addition or removal of robots from the team by human intervention. After presenting ALLIANCE, they describe the implementation of this architecture on a team of physical mobile robots performing a cooperative baton passing task. These experiments illustrate the ability of ALLIANCE to achieve adaptive, fault-tolerant cooperative control amidst dynamic changes during the task.

An Empirical Determination of Tasks Essential to Successful Performance as an Animal Health Assistant. Determination of a Common Core of Basic Skills in Agribusiness and Natural Resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooke, Fred C.; And Others

To improve vocational educational programs in agriculture, occupational information on a common core of basic skills within the occupational area of the animal health assistant is presented in the revised task inventory survey. The purpose of the occupational survey was to identify a common core of basic skills which are performed and are…

Adaptation

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

building skills, knowledge or networks on adaptation, ... the African partners leading the AfricaAdapt network, together with the UK-based Institute of Development Studies; and ... UNCCD Secretariat, Regional Coordination Unit for Africa, Tunis, Tunisia .... 26 Rural–urban Cooperation on Water Management in the Context of.

Human-robot skills transfer interfaces for a flexible surgical robot.

Science.gov (United States)

Calinon, Sylvain; Bruno, Danilo; Malekzadeh, Milad S; Nanayakkara, Thrishantha; Caldwell, Darwin G

2014-09-01

In minimally invasive surgery, tools go through narrow openings and manipulate soft organs to perform surgical tasks. There are limitations in current robot-assisted surgical systems due to the rigidity of robot tools. The aim of the STIFF-FLOP European project is to develop a soft robotic arm to perform surgical tasks. The flexibility of the robot allows the surgeon to move within organs to reach remote areas inside the body and perform challenging procedures in laparoscopy. This article addresses the problem of designing learning interfaces enabling the transfer of skills from human demonstration. Robot programming by demonstration encompasses a wide range of learning strategies, from simple mimicking of the demonstrator's actions to the higher level imitation of the underlying intent extracted from the demonstrations. By focusing on this last form, we study the problem of extracting an objective function explaining the demonstrations from an over-specified set of candidate reward functions, and using this information for self-refinement of the skill. In contrast to inverse reinforcement learning strategies that attempt to explain the observations with reward functions defined for the entire task (or a set of pre-defined reward profiles active for different parts of the task), the proposed approach is based on context-dependent reward-weighted learning, where the robot can learn the relevance of candidate objective functions with respect to the current phase of the task or encountered situation. The robot then exploits this information for skills refinement in the policy parameters space. The proposed approach is tested in simulation with a cutting task performed by the STIFF-FLOP flexible robot, using kinesthetic demonstrations from a Barrett WAM manipulator. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated surgical skill assessment in RMIS training.

Science.gov (United States)

Zia, Aneeq; Essa, Irfan

2018-05-01

Manual feedback in basic robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS) training can consume a significant amount of time from expert surgeons' schedule and is prone to subjectivity. In this paper, we explore the usage of different holistic features for automated skill assessment using only robot kinematic data and propose a weighted feature fusion technique for improving score prediction performance. Moreover, we also propose a method for generating 'task highlights' which can give surgeons a more directed feedback regarding which segments had the most effect on the final skill score. We perform our experiments on the publicly available JHU-ISI Gesture and Skill Assessment Working Set (JIGSAWS) and evaluate four different types of holistic features from robot kinematic data-sequential motion texture (SMT), discrete Fourier transform (DFT), discrete cosine transform (DCT) and approximate entropy (ApEn). The features are then used for skill classification and exact skill score prediction. Along with using these features individually, we also evaluate the performance using our proposed weighted combination technique. The task highlights are produced using DCT features. Our results demonstrate that these holistic features outperform all previous Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based state-of-the-art methods for skill classification on the JIGSAWS dataset. Also, our proposed feature fusion strategy significantly improves performance for skill score predictions achieving up to 0.61 average spearman correlation coefficient. Moreover, we provide an analysis on how the proposed task highlights can relate to different surgical gestures within a task. Holistic features capturing global information from robot kinematic data can successfully be used for evaluating surgeon skill in basic surgical tasks on the da Vinci robot. Using the framework presented can potentially allow for real-time score feedback in RMIS training and help surgical trainees have more focused training.

Context-dependent adaptation of visually-guided arm movements and vestibular eye movements: role of the cerebellum

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Richard F.

2003-01-01

Accurate motor control requires adaptive processes that correct for gradual and rapid perturbations in the properties of the controlled object. The ability to quickly switch between different movement synergies using sensory cues, referred to as context-dependent adaptation, is a subject of considerable interest at present. The potential function of the cerebellum in context-dependent adaptation remains uncertain, but the data reviewed below suggest that it may play a fundamental role in this process.

Cardiac adaptivity to attention-demanding tasks in children with a pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Althaus, M; Aarnoudse, CC; Minderaa, RB; Mulder, Gysbertus; Mulder, Lambertus

1999-01-01

Background: Decreases in heart rate variability (HRV) have been repeatedly demonstrated to be an index of effort allocation to attention-demanding tasks. Children with autistic-type problems in social interaction and in adapting to unfamiliar situations (DSM-IV: PDD-NOS) have been shown to have

Internet skills performance tests: are people ready for eHealth?

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van Deursen, Alexander J A M; van Dijk, Jan A G M

2011-04-29

Despite the amount of online health information, there are several barriers that limit the Internet's adoption as a source of health information. One of these barriers is highlighted in conceptualizations of the digital divide which include the differential possession of Internet skills, or "eHealth literacy". Most measures of Internet skills among populations at large use self-assessments. The research discussed here applies a multifaceted definition of Internet skills and uses actual performance tests. The purpose of this study was to assess how ready a sample of the general population is for eHealth. More specifically, four types of Internet skills were measured in a performance test in which subjects had to complete health-related assignments on the Internet. From November 1, 2009, through February 28, 2010, 88 subjects participated in the study. Subjects were randomly selected from a telephone directory. A selective quota sample was used divided over equal subsamples of gender, age, and education. Each subject had to accomplish assignments on the Internet. The Internet skills accounted for were categorized as operational (basic skills to use the Internet), formal (navigation and orientation), information (finding information), and strategic (using the information for personal benefits). The tests took approximately 1.5 hours and were conducted in a University office, making the setting equally new for all. Successful completion and time spent on the assignments-the two main outcomes-were directly measured by the test leader. The subjects successfully completed an average of 73% (5.8/8) of the operational Internet skill tasks and an average of 73% (2.9/4) of the formal Internet skill tasks. Of the information Internet skills tasks, an average of 50% (1.5/3) was completed successfully and, of the strategic Internet skills tasks, 35% (0.7/2). Only 28% (25/88) of the subjects were able to successfully complete all operational skills tasks, 39% (34/88), all formal

Internet Skills Performance Tests: Are People Ready for eHealth?

Science.gov (United States)

van Dijk, Jan A G M

2011-01-01

Background Despite the amount of online health information, there are several barriers that limit the Internet’s adoption as a source of health information. One of these barriers is highlighted in conceptualizations of the digital divide which include the differential possession of Internet skills, or “eHealth literacy”. Most measures of Internet skills among populations at large use self-assessments. The research discussed here applies a multifaceted definition of Internet skills and uses actual performance tests. Objective The purpose of this study was to assess how ready a sample of the general population is for eHealth. More specifically, four types of Internet skills were measured in a performance test in which subjects had to complete health-related assignments on the Internet. Methods From November 1, 2009, through February 28, 2010, 88 subjects participated in the study. Subjects were randomly selected from a telephone directory. A selective quota sample was used divided over equal subsamples of gender, age, and education. Each subject had to accomplish assignments on the Internet. The Internet skills accounted for were categorized as operational (basic skills to use the Internet), formal (navigation and orientation), information (finding information), and strategic (using the information for personal benefits). The tests took approximately 1.5 hours and were conducted in a University office, making the setting equally new for all. Successful completion and time spent on the assignments—the two main outcomes—were directly measured by the test leader. Results The subjects successfully completed an average of 73% (5.8/8) of the operational Internet skill tasks and an average of 73% (2.9/4) of the formal Internet skill tasks. Of the information Internet skills tasks, an average of 50% (1.5/3) was completed successfully and, of the strategic Internet skills tasks, 35% (0.7/2). Only 28% (25/88) of the subjects were able to successfully complete all

Task-oriented quality assessment and adaptation in real-time mission critical video streaming applications

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Nightingale, James; Wang, Qi; Grecos, Christos

2015-02-01

In recent years video traffic has become the dominant application on the Internet with global year-on-year increases in video-oriented consumer services. Driven by improved bandwidth in both mobile and fixed networks, steadily reducing hardware costs and the development of new technologies, many existing and new classes of commercial and industrial video applications are now being upgraded or emerging. Some of the use cases for these applications include areas such as public and private security monitoring for loss prevention or intruder detection, industrial process monitoring and critical infrastructure monitoring. The use of video is becoming commonplace in defence, security, commercial, industrial, educational and health contexts. Towards optimal performances, the design or optimisation in each of these applications should be context aware and task oriented with the characteristics of the video stream (frame rate, spatial resolution, bandwidth etc.) chosen to match the use case requirements. For example, in the security domain, a task-oriented consideration may be that higher resolution video would be required to identify an intruder than to simply detect his presence. Whilst in the same case, contextual factors such as the requirement to transmit over a resource-limited wireless link, may impose constraints on the selection of optimum task-oriented parameters. This paper presents a novel, conceptually simple and easily implemented method of assessing video quality relative to its suitability for a particular task and dynamically adapting videos streams during transmission to ensure that the task can be successfully completed. Firstly we defined two principle classes of tasks: recognition tasks and event detection tasks. These task classes are further subdivided into a set of task-related profiles, each of which is associated with a set of taskoriented attributes (minimum spatial resolution, minimum frame rate etc.). For example, in the detection class

Surface feature congruency effects in the object-reviewing paradigm are dependent on task memory demands.

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Kimchi, Ruth; Pirkner, Yossef

2014-08-01

Perception of object continuity depends on establishing correspondence between objects viewed across disruptions in visual information. The role of spatiotemporal information in guiding object continuity is well documented; the role of surface features, however, is controversial. Some researchers have shown an object-specific preview benefit (OSPB)-a standard index of object continuity-only when correspondence could be based on an object's spatiotemporal information, whereas others have found color-based OSPB, suggesting that surface features can also guide object continuity. This study shows that surface feature-based OSPB is dependent on the task memory demands. When the task involved letters and matching just one target letter to the preview ones, no color congruency effect was found under spatiotemporal discontinuity and spatiotemporal ambiguity (Experiments 1-3), indicating that the absence of feature-based OSPB cannot be accounted for by salient spatiotemporal discontinuity. When the task involved complex shapes and matching two target shapes to the preview ones, color-based OSPB was obtained. Critically, however, when a visual working memory task was performed concurrently with the matching task, the presence of a nonspatial (but not a spatial) working memory load eliminated the color-based OSPB (Experiments 4 and 5). These results suggest that the surface feature congruency effects that are observed in the object-reviewing paradigm (with the matching task) reflect memory-based strategies that participants use to solve a memory-demanding task; therefore, they are not reliable measures of online object continuity and cannot be taken as evidence for the role of surface features in establishing object correspondence.

Time dependency of the prediction skill for the North Atlantic subpolar gyre in initialized decadal hindcasts

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Brune, Sebastian; Düsterhus, André; Pohlmann, Holger; Müller, Wolfgang A.; Baehr, Johanna

2017-11-01

We analyze the time dependency of decadal hindcast skill in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre within the time period 1961-2013. We compare anomaly correlation coefficients and temporal interquartile ranges of total upper ocean heat content and sea surface temperature for three differently initialized sets of hindcast simulations with the global coupled model MPI-ESM. All initializations use weakly coupled assimilation with the same full value nudging in the atmospheric component and different assimilation techniques for oceanic temperature and salinity: (1) ensemble Kalman filter assimilating EN4 observations and HadISST data, (2) nudging of anomalies to ORAS4 reanalysis, (3) nudging of full values to ORAS4 reanalysis. We find that hindcast skill depends strongly on the evaluation time period, with higher hindcast skill during strong multiyear trends, especially during the warming in the 1990s and lower hindcast skill in the absence of such trends. Differences between the prediction systems are more pronounced when investigating any 20-year subperiod within the entire hindcast period. In the ensemble Kalman filter initialized hindcasts, we find significant correlation skill for up to 5-8 lead years, albeit along with an overestimation of the temporal interquartile range. In the hindcasts initialized by anomaly nudging, significant correlation skill for lead years greater than two is only found in the 1980s and 1990s. In the hindcasts initialized by full value nudging, correlation skill is consistently lower than in the hindcasts initialized by anomaly nudging in the first lead years with re-emerging skill thereafter. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation reacts on the density changes introduced by oceanic nudging, this limits the predictability in the subpolar gyre in the first lead years. Overall, we find that a model-consistent assimilation technique can improve hindcast skill. Further, the evaluation of 20 year subperiods within the full hindcast period

Dopamine systems adaptation during acquisition and consolidation of a skill

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Wolfgang H Sommer

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The striatum plays a key role in motor learning. Striatal function depends strongly on dopaminergic neurotransmission, but little is known about neuroadaptions of the dopamine system during striatal learning. Using an established task that allows differentiation between acquisition and consolidation of motor learning, we here investigate D1 and D2-like receptor binding and transcriptional levels after initial and long-term training of mice. We found profound reduction in D1 binding within the dorsomedial striatum (DMS after the first training session on the accelerated rotarod and a progressive reduction in D2-like binding within the dorsolateral striatum (DLS after extended training. Given that similar phase- and region-specific striatal neuroadaptations have been found also during learning of complex procedural tasks including habit formation and automatic responding, the here observed neurochemical alterations are important for our understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders that show a dysbalance in the function of striatal circuits, such as in addictive behaviours.

Language and communication skills in preschool children with autism spectrum disorders: contribution of cognition, severity of autism symptoms, and adaptive functioning to the variability.

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Kjellmer, Liselotte; Hedvall, Åsa; Fernell, Elisabeth; Gillberg, Christopher; Norrelgen, Fritjof

2012-01-01

This study examined the contribution of cognitive function, severity of autism, and adaptive functioning to the variability in language and communication skills in 129 preschool children (aged 24-63 months) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were selected from a representative research cohort of 208 preschool children on the basis of caregiver completion of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI). The children were classified into three cognitive groups: (a) Normal intelligence; (b) Developmental delay; and (c) Intellectual disability. Autism symptom severity was measured by the Autistic Behavior Checklist (ABC), and adaptive functioning by the Daily Living Skills (DLS) and Socialization (Soc) subscales from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. For each of five CDI variables (Phrases understood, Words understood, Words produced, Gestures and actions, and Language use), the contribution of cognition, severity of autism symptoms, and adaptive functioning to the variability was examined. Cognition and age explained about half or more of the variance in the four verbal language CDI variables, but only about one fourth of the variance in the non-verbal communication variable Gestures and actions. Severity of autism symptoms and the two adaptive measures (DLS and Soc) each only accounted for a few percent more of the variance in the four CDI language variables; however, for Gestures and actions, an additional 11-21% of the variance was accounted for. In conclusion, for children with ASD, receptive and expressive language is mainly related to cognitive level, whereas non-verbal communication skills seem to also be related to severity of autism symptoms and adaptive functioning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Effectiveness of Matrix Model in Relapse Prevention and Coping Skills Enhancement in Participants with Substance Dependency

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Ali Farnam

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Matrix model in relapse prevention and enhancement of coping skills in participants with opiate substance dependency. Method: In a semi-experimental study, 23 participants with diagnosis of opiate dependency who successfully detoxified, selected by cluster random sampling and they were divided into two experimental and control groups. The experimental group received 32 sessions of Matrix model training and the control group did not receive any treatment. All subjects were assessed by alcohol abuse coping response inventory (AACRI and Morphine test before treatment, randomly during treatment, after treatment, and after 3-months follow up stage. Results: The results showed that experimental and control groups had a significant differed in relapse rates. In addition, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA showed a significant difference between two groups in coping skills enhancement at periods of post test and follow up. Conclusion: With consideration of the results of the present study indicated that matrix model is effective in relapse prevention and coping skills enhancement in people with opiate substance dependency.

Interest Level in 2-Year-Olds with Autism Spectrum Disorder Predicts Rate of Verbal, Nonverbal, and Adaptive Skill Acquisition

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Klintwall, Lars; Macari, Suzanne; Eikeseth, Svein; Chawarska, Katarzyna

2015-01-01

Recent studies have suggested that skill acquisition rates for children with autism spectrum disorders receiving early interventions can be predicted by child motivation. We examined whether level of interest during an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule assessment at 2?years predicts subsequent rates of verbal, nonverbal, and adaptive skill…

Development of Critical Thinking Skills through Writing Tasks: Challenges Facing Maritime English Students at Aqaba College, AlBalqa Applied University, Jordan

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Alidmat, Ali Odeh Hammoud; Ayassrah, Mohamed Ayed

2017-01-01

Teaching English for Special Purposes (ESP) in a context where English is taught as a Foreign Language (EFL) is no easy task. There is in fact extensive research reporting on challenges facing both teacher and student in the Foreign Language classroom where language skills must be learnt outside their usual context. Even more challenging is…

The self in conflict: actors and agency in the mediated sequential Simon task.

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Spapé, Michiel M; Ahmed, Imtiaj; Jacucci, Giulio; Ravaja, Niklas

2015-01-01

Executive control refers to the ability to withstand interference in order to achieve task goals. The effect of conflict adaptation describes that after experiencing interference, subsequent conflict effects are weaker. However, changes in the source of conflict have been found to disrupt conflict adaptation. Previous studies indicated that this specificity is determined by the degree to which one source causes episodic retrieval of a previous source. A virtual reality version of the Simon task was employed to investigate whether changes in a visual representation of the self would similarly affect conflict adaptation. Participants engaged in a mediated Simon task via 3D "avatar" models that either mirrored the participants' movements, or were presented statically. A retrieval cue was implemented as the identity of the avatar: switching it from a male to a female avatar was expected to disrupt the conflict adaptation effect (CAE). The results show that only in static conditions did the CAE depend on the avatar identity, while in dynamic conditions, changes did not cause disruption. We also explored the effect of conflict and adaptation on the degree of movement made with the task-irrelevant hand and replicated the reaction time pattern. The findings add to earlier studies of source-specific conflict adaptation by showing that a visual representation of the self in action can provide a cue that determines episodic retrieval. Furthermore, the novel paradigm is made openly available to the scientific community and is described in its significance for studies of social cognition, cognitive psychology, and human-computer interaction.

Adaptive coordination in surgical teams: an interview study.

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Bogdanovic, Jasmina; Perry, Juliana; Guggenheim, Merlin; Manser, Tanja

2015-04-01

Effective teamwork has been recognised as a major contributor to safe patient care in surgery. Previous research has highlighted the importance of adaptive coordination for effective performance in acute care settings. Expanding this line of research this study explores the coordination behaviours and adaptive coordination strategies employed by surgical teams and identifies relevant situational characteristics influencing those coordination processes. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of semi-structured interviews with 33 surgical team members (nurses and physicians) from different specialties and hospitals. We identified coordination behaviours (i.e. task management, information management, teaching and leadership) and adaptive coordination strategies triggered by varying requirements due to non-routine events, intraoperative complications and differing level of experience among operating room staff. Interviewees highlighted the importance of effectively managing challenging moments and the supporting effect of positive climate on teamwork. This study complements previous research on the non-technical skills underpinning safe performance in surgical teams. It highlights the central role of coordination and points out the ways in which situational variability requires the team to behave adaptively.

Embodied simulation as part of affective evaluation processes: task dependence of valence concordant EMG activity.

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Weinreich, André; Funcke, Jakob Maria

2014-01-01

Drawing on recent findings, this study examines whether valence concordant electromyography (EMG) responses can be explained as an unconditional effect of mere stimulus processing or as somatosensory simulation driven by task-dependent processing strategies. While facial EMG over the Corrugator supercilii and the Zygomaticus major was measured, each participant performed two tasks with pictures of album covers. One task was an affective evaluation task and the other was to attribute the album covers to one of five decades. The Embodied Emotion Account predicts that valence concordant EMG is more likely to occur if the task necessitates a somatosensory simulation of the evaluative meaning of stimuli. Results support this prediction with regard to Corrugator supercilii in that valence concordant EMG activity was only present in the affective evaluation task but not in the non-evaluative task. Results for the Zygomaticus major were ambiguous. Our findings are in line with the view that EMG activity is an embodied part of the evaluation process and not a mere physical outcome.

Neuropsychological presentation and adaptive skills in high-functioning adolescents with visual impairment: A preliminary investigation.

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Greenaway, R; Pring, L; Schepers, A; Isaacs, D P; Dale, N J

2017-01-01

Studies in infants and young children with congenital visual impairment (VI) have indicated early developmental vulnerabilities, conversely research with older children and adults have highlighted areas of cognitive strength. A minimal amount is known, however, about the possible combination of strengths and weaknesses in adolescence, and this present study therefore aims to explore the neuropsychological presentation and adaptive behavior profile in high-functioning adolescents with congenital VI. Participants completed a battery of commonly used neuropsychological measures assessing memory, executive function, and attention. The measures utilized focused on auditory neuropsychological function, because only subtests that could be completed with auditory administration were suitable for this sample. Parents completed standardized measures of adaptive behavior, executive function, and social communication. Compared to aged-based norms for normal sight, adolescents with VI demonstrated strengths in aspects of working memory and verbal memory. Furthermore, performance across the neuropsychological battery was within or above the average range for the majority of the sample. In contrast, parent-report measures indicated areas of weakness in adaptive functioning, social communication, and behavioral executive functioning. Overall, this study provides preliminary evidence that relative to fully sighted peers, high-functioning adolescents with VI present with an uneven profile of cognitive and adaptive skills, which has important implications for assessment and intervention.

Heuristic for Task-Worker Assignment with Varying Learning Slopes

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Wipawee Tharmmaphornphilas

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Fashion industry has variety products, so the multi-skilled workers are required to improve flexibility in production and assignment. Generally the supervisor will assign task to the workers based on skill and skill levels of worker. Since in fashion industry new product styles are launched more frequently and the order size tends to be smaller, the workers always learn when the raw material and the production process changes. Consequently they require less time to produce the succeeding units of a task based on their learning ability. Since the workers have both experience and inexperience workers, so each worker has different skill level and learning ability. Consequently, the assignment which assumed constant skill level is not proper to use. This paper proposes a task-worker assignment considering worker skill levels and learning abilities. Processing time of each worker changes along production period due to a worker learning ability. We focus on a task-worker assignment in a fashion industry where tasks are ordered in series; the number of tasks is greater than the number of workers. Therefore, workers can perform multiple assignments followed the precedence restriction as an assembly line balancing problem. The problem is formulated in an integer linear programming model with objective to minimize makespan. A heuristic is proposed to determine the lower bound (LB and the upper bound (UB of the problem and the best assignment is determined. The performance of the heuristic method is tested by comparing quality of solution and computational time to optimal solutions.

Teaching the skills that enable employees to manage change at Syncrude Canada Ltd. : case study March 2005

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Kitagawa, K.

2005-03-01

Details of Syncrude's Effective Reading in Context (ERIC) workplace literacy program were presented as part of a series of case studies addressing best practices in the development of essential skills in the workplace. ERIC was designed to enhance supervisors' key essential skills, including reading comprehension, writing and the ability to deal with organizational changes and technological advances. Due to its success, Syncrude now offers ERIC to all of its employees and has made it available to a variety of businesses and institutions across Canada. ERIC was implemented due to a shortage of skilled workers, and concerns that a lack of essential skills in the workforce was affecting productivity. ERIC is delivered in 2 phases: a curriculum adaptation phase and a pilot workshop phase where the skills of all participants are assessed individually. Participants are given samples of printed materials they regularly encounter in their jobs. They are then assessed on how well they can generalize, synthesize and analyze the material. Program evaluations are reviewed to ensure that participants can transfer learned skills into new areas, including work tasks. It costs between $6000 and $12,000 to adapt ERIC for a specific workplace. Details of instructor training methods and course manuals were presented. Over the past 16 years, 6 large industry partners and 9 educational partners have been involved in the delivery of ERIC, which has been adapted to a variety of settings, including an Aboriginal pre-trades program at Keyano College. It was concluded that the implementation of ERIC in organizations has led to increased productivity and a decrease in work-related incidents. The Syncrude Essential Skills training program has now been expanded to include a math and writing component.

A Dynamic Intelligent Decision Approach to Dependency Modeling of Project Tasks in Complex Engineering System Optimization

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Tinggui Chen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Complex engineering system optimization usually involves multiple projects or tasks. On the one hand, dependency modeling among projects or tasks highlights structures in systems and their environments which can help to understand the implications of connectivity on different aspects of system performance and also assist in designing, optimizing, and maintaining complex systems. On the other hand, multiple projects or tasks are either happening at the same time or scheduled into a sequence in order to use common resources. In this paper, we propose a dynamic intelligent decision approach to dependency modeling of project tasks in complex engineering system optimization. The approach takes this decision process as a two-stage decision-making problem. In the first stage, a task clustering approach based on modularization is proposed so as to find out a suitable decomposition scheme for a large-scale project. In the second stage, according to the decomposition result, a discrete artificial bee colony (ABC algorithm inspired by the intelligent foraging behavior of honeybees is developed for the resource constrained multiproject scheduling problem. Finally, a certain case from an engineering design of a chemical processing system is utilized to help to understand the proposed approach.

Age-dependent and coordinated shift in performance between implicit and explicit skill learning

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Dezso eNemeth

2013-10-01

Full Text Available It has been reported recently that while general sequence learning across ages conforms to the typical inverted-U shape pattern, with best performance in early adulthood, surprisingly, the basic ability of picking up in an implicit manner triplets that occur with high vs. low probability in the sequence is best before 12 years of age and it significantly weakens afterwards. Based on these findings, it has been hypothesized that the cognitively controlled processes coming online at around 12 are useful for more targeted explicit learning at the cost of becoming relatively less sensitive to raw probabilities of events. To test this hypothesis, we collected data in a sequence learning task using probabilistic sequences in five age groups from 11 to 39 years of age (N=288, replicating the original implicit learning paradigm in an explicit task setting where subjects were guided to find repeating sequences. We found that in contrast to the implicit results, performance with the high- vs. low-probability triplets was at the same level in all age groups when subjects sought patterns in the sequence explicitly. Importantly, measurements of explicit knowledge about the identity of the sequences revealed a significant increase in ability to explicitly access the true sequences exactly around the age where the earlier study found the significant drop in ability to learn implicitly raw probabilities. These findings support the conjecture that the gradually increasing involvement of more complex internal models optimizes our skill learning abilities by compensating for the performance loss due to down-weighting the raw probabilities of the sensory input, while expanding our ability to acquire more sophisticated skills.

Age-dependent and coordinated shift in performance between implicit and explicit skill learning.

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Nemeth, Dezso; Janacsek, Karolina; Fiser, József

2013-01-01

It has been reported recently that while general sequence learning across ages conforms to the typical inverted-U shape pattern, with best performance in early adulthood, surprisingly, the basic ability of picking up in an implicit manner triplets that occur with high vs. low probability in the sequence is best before 12 years of age and it significantly weakens afterwards. Based on these findings, it has been hypothesized that the cognitively controlled processes coming online at around 12 are useful for more targeted explicit learning at the cost of becoming relatively less sensitive to raw probabilities of events. To test this hypothesis, we collected data in a sequence learning task using probabilistic sequences in five age groups from 11 to 39 years of age (N = 288), replicating the original implicit learning paradigm in an explicit task setting where subjects were guided to find repeating sequences. We found that in contrast to the implicit results, performance with the high- vs. low-probability triplets was at the same level in all age groups when subjects sought patterns in the sequence explicitly. Importantly, measurements of explicit knowledge about the identity of the sequences revealed a significant increase in ability to explicitly access the true sequences exactly around the age where the earlier study found the significant drop in ability to learn implicitly raw probabilities. These findings support the conjecture that the gradually increasing involvement of more complex internal models optimizes our skill learning abilities by compensating for the performance loss due to down-weighting the raw probabilities of the sensory input, while expanding our ability to acquire more sophisticated skills.

Retention of Mastoidectomy Skills After Virtual Reality Simulation Training.

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Andersen, Steven Arild Wuyts; Konge, Lars; Cayé-Thomasen, Per; Sørensen, Mads Sølvsten

2016-07-01

The ultimate goal of surgical training is consolidated skills with a consistently high performance. However, surgical skills are heterogeneously retained and depend on a variety of factors, including the task, cognitive demands, and organization of practice. Virtual reality (VR) simulation is increasingly being used in surgical skills training, including temporal bone surgery, but there is a gap in knowledge on the retention of mastoidectomy skills after VR simulation training. To determine the retention of mastoidectomy skills after VR simulation training with distributed and massed practice and to investigate participants' cognitive load during retention procedures. A prospective 3-month follow-up study of a VR simulation trial was conducted from February 6 to September 19, 2014, at an academic teaching hospital among 36 medical students: 19 from a cohort trained with distributed practice and 17 from a cohort trained with massed practice. Participants performed 2 virtual mastoidectomies in a VR simulator a mean of 3.2 months (range, 2.4-5.0 months) after completing initial training with 12 repeated procedures. Practice blocks were spaced apart in time (distributed), or all procedures were performed in 1 day (massed). Performance of the virtual mastoidectomy as assessed by 2 masked senior otologists using a modified Welling scale, as well as cognitive load as estimated by reaction time to perform a secondary task. Among 36 participants, mastoidectomy final-product skills were largely retained at 3 months (mean change in score, 0.1 points; P = .89) regardless of practice schedule, but the group trained with massed practice took more time to complete the task. The performance of the massed practice group increased significantly from the first to the second retention procedure (mean change, 1.8 points; P = .001), reflecting that skills were less consolidated. For both groups, increases in reaction times in the secondary task (distributed practice group: mean

The activation of visual memory for facial identity is task-dependent: evidence from human electrophysiology.

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Zimmermann, Friederike G S; Eimer, Martin

2014-05-01