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Sample records for underlie savant skills

  1. The savant syndrome: intellectual impairment and exceptional skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, L K

    1999-01-01

    Occasionally, people with developmental disability display skills at a level inconsistent with their general intellectual functioning, so-called "savant" behavior. Studies of savant behavior are reviewed to determine their relevance to notions about the importance of general intellective functions in the development of exceptional skill. It is concluded that (a) the skill exhibited by savants shares many characteristics with that in people without disability, (b) the skill is usually accompanied by normative levels of performance on at least some subtests of standardized measures of cognitive achievement, and (c) it is unclear whether savants have distinctive cognitive strengths or motivational dispositions, though their relative prevalence among people with certain kinds of disability suggests predisposing constraints. The author proposes that these skills typically reflect highly elaborated preconceptual representational systems.

  2. Idiots Savants, Retarded Savants, Talented Aments, Mono-Savants, Autistic Savants, Just Plain Savants, People with Savant Syndrome, and Autistic People Who Are Good at Things: A View from Disability Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Straus

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available People with a particular profile of strengths and weaknesses—typically involving prodigious skill in one area (such as calendar or arithmetical calculation, art, or music and a general “mental deficiency”—have long been categorized as “idiots savants,” or with other, similar labels.  It is the goal of this paper to dismantle this category in all of its terminological manifestations by deconstructing both the “idiocy” and the “savantism” that underpin it.  In its place, I focus instead on people with autism, who typically have special interests and activities they pursue intensively and skillfully: people identified as savants are mostly autistic, and autistic people usually have some sort of special interest or skill.  For the idiot savant, the savant skill is understood to emerge in spite of the general lack of intelligence.  For the autistic person, the special interests or skills arise not in spite of the autism but precisely because of it: autism enables the skill; the skill makes the autism visible.  Instead of enfreaking people as super-crips, I propose to celebrate them in a realistic mode, as autistic people who are good at things. Keywords: Idiot savant, savant syndrome, autism.

  3. Assessing musical skills in autistic children who are not savants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heaton, Pamela

    2009-05-27

    Descriptions of autistic musical savants suggest that they possess extraordinary skills within the domain. However, until recently little was known about the musical skills and potential of individuals with autism who are not savants. The results from these more recent studies investigating music perception, cognition and learning in musically untrained children with autism have revealed a pattern of abilities that are either enhanced or spared. For example, increased sensitivity to musical pitch and timbre is frequently observed, and studies investigating perception of musical structure and emotions have consistently failed to reveal deficits in autism. While the phenomenon of the savant syndrome is of considerable theoretical interest, it may have led to an under-consideration of the potential talents and skills of that vast majority of autistic individuals, who do not meet savant criteria. Data from empirical studies show that many autistic children possess musical potential that can and should be developed.

  4. Savant Syndrome: Clinical and Neuropsychological Features

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ibrahim Durukan

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Savant syndrome defines the people who have severe developmental and mental disabilities but also have extraordinary mental skills which are missing in many people. Although general mental capacity is under average mental level, savant has excessive knowledge about one or more domains. It is accepted that as many as one in 10 persons with autistic disorder have such remarkable abilities in varying degrees, although savant syndrome occurs in other developmental disabilities or in other types of central nervous system injury or disease as well. Males outnumber females by an approximate 6 : 1 ratio in savant syndrome. Savant skills are limited to five general categories. These are music, art, calender calculating, mathematics and mechanical or spatial skills. Savant skills can also be divided into three as savants who have splinter skills, talented savants and prodigious savants. A remarkable memory welds to the special abilities determined in savant syndrome. Savant syndrome can be congenital or it can be acquired. Most often savant skills emerge in childhood, superimposed on some underlying developmental disability present at birth. However, acquired savant skills can also appear, when none were previously present, in neurotypical individuals following brain injury or disease later in infancy, childhood or adult life. Savant skills don’t depend on only rote memory. It is approved that an enhanced or spared ability to represent and manipulate highly organised domain-specific information. Various theoretic models were defined to explain the neuropsychological profile in savant syndrome. Interest in savants has a long history, stretching back to the early 18th century; nevertheless, the savant syndrome remains as much a mystery now as it did when it was first described. Given that many questions about the existence and nature of savant talent remain unanswered, it seems likely that research efforts will continue unabated.

  5. [Neural mechanism underlying autistic savant and acquired savant syndrome].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahata, Keisuke; Kato, Motoichiro

    2008-07-01

    It is well known that the cases with savant syndrome, demonstrate outstanding mental capability despite coexisting severe mental disabilities. In many cases, savant skills are characterized by its domain-specificity, enhanced memory capability, and excessive focus on low-level perceptual processing. In addition, impaired integrative cognitive processing such as social cognition or executive function, restricted interest, and compulsive repetition of the same act are observed in savant individuals. All these are significantly relevant to the behavioral characteristics observed in individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). A neurocognitive model of savant syndrome should explain these cognitive features and the juxtaposition of outstanding talents with cognitive disabilities. In recent neuropsychological studies, Miller (1998) reported clinical cases of "acquired savant," i.e., patients who improved or newly acquired an artistic savant-like skill in the early stage of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Although the relationship between an autistic savant and acquired savant remains to be elucidated, the advent of neuroimaging study of ASD and the clarification of FTD patients with savant-like skills may clarify the shared neural mechanisms of both types of talent. In this review, we classified current cognitive models of savant syndrome into the following 3 categories. (1) A hypermnesic model that suggests that savant skills develop from existing or dormant cognitive functions such as memory. However, recent findings obtained through neuropsychological examinations imply that savant individuals solve problems using a strategy that is fairly different from a non-autistic one. (2) A paradoxical functional facilitation model (Kapur, 1996) that offers possible explanations about how pathological states in the brain lead to development of prodigious skills. This model emphasizes the role of reciprocal inhibitory interaction among adjacent or distant cortical regions

  6. Explaining and inducing savant skills: privileged access to lower level, less-processed information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Allan

    2009-01-01

    I argue that savant skills are latent in us all. My hypothesis is that savants have privileged access to lower level, less-processed information, before it is packaged into holistic concepts and meaningful labels. Owing to a failure in top-down inhibition, they can tap into information that exists in all of our brains, but is normally beyond conscious awareness. This suggests why savant skills might arise spontaneously in otherwise normal people, and why such skills might be artificially induced by low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. It also suggests why autistic savants are atypically literal with a tendency to concentrate more on the parts than on the whole and why this offers advantages for particular classes of problem solving, such as those that necessitate breaking cognitive mindsets. A strategy of building from the parts to the whole could form the basis for the so-called autistic genius. Unlike the healthy mind, which has inbuilt expectations of the world (internal order), the autistic mind must simplify the world by adopting strict routines (external order). PMID:19528023

  7. The Savant Syndrome Registry: A Preliminary Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treffert, Darold A; Rebedew, David L

    2015-08-01

    A registry has been established to document certain characteristics on a sizeable worldwide sample of individuals with savant syndrome, a rare but remarkable condition in which persons with developmental disabilities, brain injury, or brain disease have some spectacular "islands" of skill or ability that stand in jarring, marked contrast to overall handicap. Of the 319 savants included in the registry, 90% are congenital savants, while 10% are acquired savants. The registry includes individuals from 33 countries, with 70% from the United States or Canada. Sex distribution was 79% male vs. 21% female (4:1). This report summarizes the findings in the congenital savant syndrome category of the registry. Among the individuals with congenital savant syndrome, the most common underlying disability was Autistic Spectrum Disorder (75%); various other central nervous system (CNS) disorders were present in the other 25%. Fifty-five percent possessed a single special skill, while 45% had multiple skills. Music was the most frequent principal skill followed by art, memory, mathematics, calendar calculating, language, visual-spatial/mechanical, athletic, computer, extrasensory perception, and other skills.

  8. Toward a better understanding of the savant brain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrigan, Neva M; Richards, Todd L; Treffert, Darold A; Dager, Stephen R

    2012-08-01

    in the parietal lobe. Although examination of brain gross morphometry demonstrated no clinically remarkable abnormalities, utilization of conventional as well as newer MR imaging technologies revealed several atypical structural and chemical features that may be involved in the special skills of this prodigious savant. The multimodal imaging approach presented in this study is suitable for the evaluation of larger samples of savants with a diverse range of talents to investigate common brain features that may underlie the exceptional cognitive capabilities characteristic of savant syndrome. Given the high co-occurrence of the two syndromes, elucidating the underlying neurophysiologic basis of savant syndrome may also lead to a better understanding of autism spectrum disorder. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. An idiot savant calendrical calculator with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome: implications for an understanding of the savant syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moriarty, J; Ring, H A; Robertson, M M

    1993-11-01

    We describe the existence of the savant syndrome in association with Gilles de la Tourette's Syndrome (GTS). The presentation of savant abilities is typical of that previously described. Similarities between autism, the disorder most characteristically associated with savants, and GTS in terms of obsessionality are noted. Previously reported psychological studies of autistic savants are briefly reviewed and, together with evidence from neuroimaging in GTS, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and autism, used to support a model of the underpinnings of savant skills.

  10. Savant Syndrome: Realities, Myths and Misconceptions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treffert, Darold A.

    2014-01-01

    It was 126 years ago that Down first described savant syndrome as a specific condition and 70 years ago that Kanner first described Early Infantile Autism. While as many as one in ten autistic persons have savant abilities, such special skills occur in other CNS conditions as well such that approximately 50% of cases of savant syndrome have autism…

  11. The savant syndrome and autistic disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treffert, D A

    1999-12-01

    Savant syndrome, characterized by remarkable islands of mental ability in otherwise mentally handicapped persons, may occur in autistic as well as nonautistic individuals. Overall, approximately 10% of autistic persons exhibit savant abilities; roughly 50% of those with savant syndrome have autism, and the remaining 50% have other forms of developmental disability. Most commonly, savant syndrome takes the form of extraordinary musical abilities, but may also include calendar-calculation, artistic, mathematical, spatial, mechanical, and memory skills. While savant syndrome was first described more than a century ago, only recently have researchers begun to employ a more uniform nomenclature and more standardized testing in an effort to compare the abilities of savants with those of normal persons. Males show signs of savant syndrome approximately four times more often than females. Along with imaging study findings, this fact suggests the presence of a developmental disorder involving left-brain damage with right-brain compensation.

  12. Savant Syndrome: Clinical and Neuropsychological Features

    OpenAIRE

    Ibrahim Durukan; Tumer Turkbay

    2010-01-01

    Savant syndrome defines the people who have severe developmental and mental disabilities but also have extraordinary mental skills which are missing in many people. Although general mental capacity is under average mental level, savant has excessive knowledge about one or more domains. It is accepted that as many as one in 10 persons with autistic disorder have such remarkable abilities in varying degrees, although savant syndrome occurs in other developmental disabilities or in other types o...

  13. Incidence of Savant Syndrome in Finland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saloviita, T; Ruusila, L; Ruusila, U

    2000-08-01

    The general incidence of Savant Syndrome was assessed in Finland. First, a survey was made of all 583 facilities which served people with mental retardation. Second, letters asking for information regarding people with Savant Syndrome were published in two key Finnish journals of the field. We received reports of 45 cases of Savant Syndrome. This makes an incidence rate of 1.4 per 1,000 people with mental retardation. The most common form of exceptional skills was calendar calculation, followed by feats of memory.

  14. Intelligence and Savant Syndrome: Is the Whole Greater than the Sum of the Fragments?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nettelbeck, Ted; Young, Robyn

    1996-01-01

    It is argued that skills displayed by savants are not intelligent and that H. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences fails by overstating the relevance of savant skills and because it disregards research evidence for a general factor. Intelligence theory must compile a structure that accounts for savant skills and intelligence. (SLD)

  15. Savant syndrome in music at persons with mental disability in Slovenia

    OpenAIRE

    Nadler, Irena

    2017-01-01

    Savant syndrome is a congenital or acquired condition that combines certain inabilities of a person; often a person with intellectual disability, or a person with a cognitive or developmental disorder, but also above-average, outstanding or even brilliant abilities in a particular area are demonstrated. There are three levels of savant syndrome: savants with splinter skills, talented savants and prodigious savants. Even in people with intellectual disability, we can find people with avera...

  16. Autistic savants. [correction of artistic].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, C; Miller, B L; Cummings, J L; Goldberg, M; Mychack, P; Bottino, V; Benson, D F

    2000-01-01

    The objectives of this study were to examine common patterns in the lives and artwork of five artistic savants previously described and to report on the clinical, neuropsychological, and neuroimaging findings from one newly diagnosed artistic savant. The artistic savant syndrome has been recognized for centuries, although its neuroanatomic basis remains a mystery. The cardinal features, strengths, and weaknesses of the work of these six savants were analyzed and compared with those of children with autism in whom artistic talent was absent. An anatomic substrate for these behaviors was considered in the context of newly emerging theories related to paradoxical functional facilitation, visual thinking, and multiple intelligences. The artists had features of "pervasive developmental disorder," including impairment in social interaction and communication as well as restricted repetitive and stereotyped patterns of behavior, interest, and activities. All six demonstrated a strong preference for a single art medium and showed a restricted variation in artistic themes. None understood art theory. Some autistic features contributed to their success, including attention to visual detail, a tendency toward ritualistic compulsive repetition, the ability to focus on one topic at the expense of other interests, and intact memory and visuospatial skills. The artistic savant syndrome remains rare and mysterious in origin. Savants exhibit extraordinary visual talents along with profound linguistic and social impairment. The intense focus on and ability to remember visual detail contributes to the artistic product of the savant. The anatomic substrate for the savant syndrome may involve loss of function in the left temporal lobe with enhanced function of the posterior neocortex.

  17. The savant syndrome: an extraordinary condition. A synopsis: past, present, future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treffert, Darold A

    2009-05-27

    Savant syndrome is a rare, but extraordinary, condition in which persons with serious mental disabilities, including autistic disorder, have some 'island of genius' which stands in marked, incongruous contrast to overall handicap. As many as one in 10 persons with autistic disorder have such remarkable abilities in varying degrees, although savant syndrome occurs in other developmental disabilities or in other types of central nervous system injury or disease as well. Whatever the particular savant skill, it is always linked to massive memory. This paper presents a brief review of the phenomenology of savant skills, the history of the concept and implications for education and future research.

  18. Exploratory subsetting of autism families based on savant skills improves evidence of genetic linkage to 15q11-q13.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nurmi, Erika L; Dowd, Michael; Tadevosyan-Leyfer, Ovsanna; Haines, Jonathan L; Folstein, Susan E; Sutcliffe, James S

    2003-07-01

    Autism displays a remarkably high heritability but a complex genetic etiology. One approach to identifying susceptibility loci under these conditions is to define more homogeneous subsets of families on the basis of genetically relevant phenotypic or biological characteristics that vary from case to case. The authors performed a principal components analysis, using items from the Autism Diagnostic Interview, which resulted in six clusters of variables, five of which showed significant sib-sib correlation. The utility of these phenotypic subsets was tested in an exploratory genetic analysis of the autism candidate region on chromosome 15q11-q13. When the Collaborative Linkage Study of Autism sample was divided, on the basis of mean proband score for the "savant skills" cluster, the heterogeneity logarithm of the odds under a recessive model at D15S511, within the GABRB3 gene, increased from 0.6 to 2.6 in the subset of families in which probands had greater savant skills. These data are consistent with the genetic contribution of a 15q locus to autism susceptibility in a subset of affected individuals exhibiting savant skills. Similar types of skills have been noted in individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome, which results from deletions of this chromosomal region.

  19. The savant syndrome and its possible relationship to epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, John R

    2012-01-01

    The goal of this chapter is to review the Savant syndrome (SS), characterized by outstanding islands of mental ability in otherwise handicapped individuals. Two forms exist: The congenital and acquired form. Among the many examples of the congenital form are the calendar calculators, who can quickly provide the day of the week for any date in the past. Other examples are the musical savants with perfect pitch and the hyperlexics, who (in one case) can read a page in 8 seconds and recall the text later at a 99% level. Other types of talents and artistic skills can be found, involving 3-D drawing, map memory, poetry, painting, sculpturing, including one savant who could recite without error the value of Pi to 22,514 places. The acquired form refers to the development of outstanding skills after some brain injury or disease, usually involving the left fronto-temporal area. This type of injury seems to inhibit the 'tyranny of the left hemisphere', allowing the right hemisphere to develop the savant skills. One other way to inhibit the left fronto-temporal area is to use transcranial magnetic stimulation in normal subjects and nearly one-half of these subjects can then perform new skills during the stimulation that they could not perform before. This type of finding indicates the potentiality in all of us for the development of savant skills under special circumstances. Explanations of the congenital SS include enhanced local connectivity as a compensation for underconnectivity of long-range fibers, but also weak central coherence, replaced by great attention to details, enhanced perceptual functioning and obsessive pre-occupation with specific interests. Neurodegenerative Diseases, edited by Shamim I. Ahmad.

  20. A review of Savant Syndrome and its possible relationship to epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, John R

    2010-02-01

    The goal of this article is to review Savant Syndrome, characterized by outstanding islands of mental ability in otherwise handicapped individuals. Two forms exist: the congenital form and the acquired form. Among the many examples of the congenital form are the calendar calculators, who can quickly provide the day of the week for any date in the past; the musical savants, who have perfect pitch; and the hyperlexics, who (in one case) can read a page in 8s and recall the text later at a 99% level. Other types of talents and artistic skills involving three-dimensional drawing, map memory, poetry, painting, and sculpturing are also observed. One savant could recite without error the value of Pi to 22,514 places. Persons with the acquired form develop outstanding skills after brain injury or disease, usually involving the left frontotemporal area. This type of injury seems to inhibit the "tyranny of the left hemisphere," allowing the right hemisphere to develop the savant skills. Another way to inhibit the left frontotemporal area is to use transcranial magnetic stimulation in normal subjects; nearly one-half of these subjects can then perform new skills during the stimulation that they could not perform before. This type of finding indicates the potential in all of us for the development of savant skills in special circumstances. Explanations of congenital Savant Syndrome include enhanced local connectivity as a compensation for underconnectivity of long-range fibers, but also weak central coherence, replaced by great attention to detail, enhanced perceptual functioning, and obsessive preoccupation with specific interests. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Savant Syndrome: Case Studies, Hypotheses, and Implications for Special Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheatham, Susan Klug; And Others

    1995-01-01

    The concept of savant syndrome, encompassing those individuals historically known as "idiot savants," is reviewed. Case studies demonstrating special abilities in the areas of calendar calculating, musical ability, artistic talent, memorization, mathematical skills, mechanical achievement, and fine sensory discrimination are discussed,…

  2. Do calendrical savants use calculation to answer date questions? A functional magnetic resonance imaging study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cowan, Richard; Frith, Chris

    2009-01-01

    Calendrical savants can name the weekdays for dates from different years with remarkable speed and accuracy. Whether calculation rather than just memory is involved is disputed. Grounds for doubting whether they can calculate are reviewed and criteria for attributing date calculation skills to them are discussed. At least some calendrical savants possess date calculation skills. A behavioural characteristic observed in many calendrical savants is increased response time for questions about more remote years. This may be because more remote years require more calculation or because closer years are more practised. An experiment is reported that used functional magnetic resonance imaging to attempt to discriminate between these explanations. Only two savants could be scanned and excessive head movement corrupted one savant's mental arithmetic data. Nevertheless, there was increased parietal activation during both mental arithmetic and date questions and this region showed increased activity with more remote dates. These results suggest that the calendrical skills observed in savants result from intensive practice with calculations used in solving mental arithmetic problems. The mystery is not how they solve these problems, but why. PMID:19528025

  3. The mind of the mnemonists: an MEG and neuropsychological study of autistic memory savants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Nicola; Dubischar-Krivec, Anna M; Braun, Christoph; Löw, Andreas; Poustka, Fritz; Bölte, Sven; Birbaumer, Niels

    2010-12-20

    About 10% of autistic individuals exhibit some form of islets of abilities in the face of serious intellectual or mental disability ("savant syndrome"). The aim of this study was to investigate brain mechanisms in a sample of autistic subjects with outstanding memory. We investigated seven mnemonist savants with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder and seven matched controls with 151-channel whole-head magnetencephalography in a continuous old-new paradigm. They were presented with 300 pseudowords and 300 shapes and had to indicate by button press, whether the presented stimulus had been shown before. Unexpectedly, mnemonist savants did not perform better than controls, but were outperformed in the recognition of pseudowords. Accordingly, event-related magnetic fields elicited by pseudowords showed widespread old-new effects in controls, but not in savants. A source analysis of its early components revealed right occipital activation in savants, but left parietal activation in controls. This might be related to a visual processing style in mnemonist savants that proved to be inefficient in this task. During the possibly familiarity-based recognition of shapes, there were earlier and more widespread bilateral old-new effects in mnemonist savants, what might reflect their experience with figural material. In a neuropsychological test battery, mnemonist savants performed comparably to autistic people without special memory skills. However, a different factor structure of these tests pointed to a different organization of memory in mnemonist savants compared to controls that is characterized by its relative independence of general intelligence. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. A savant poet.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dowker, A; Hermelin, B; Pring, L

    1996-09-01

    Poems by an individual with a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome were analysed and compared with those of a comparison poet. Though the savant poet performed less efficiently on formal language tests supposed to tap creativity, there were few differences between the two poets in regard to the poems' content and the use of various structural devices. The poems by the savant referred more often to aspects of self-analysis, while descriptions of people not related to the self were less frequent. Both poets made use of similes and metaphors. The results are discussed in terms of different modular domains within the language system.

  5. The idiot savant: a review of the syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Treffert, D A

    1988-05-01

    Since it was first described a century ago, the phenomenon of the idiot savant--the juxtaposition of severe mental handicap and prodigious mental ability--has remained unexplained. The author defines the condition, reviews and summarizes the world literature on this topic since the early reports, describes more recent cases, and catalogs and categorizes idiot savant abilities. Theories to explain the condition are reviewed, newer research findings are highlighted, and the far-reaching implications of the idiot savant syndrome for understanding normal brain function, particularly memory, are outlined.

  6. What the Savant Syndrome Can Tell Us about the Nature and Nurture of Talent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Leon K.

    2005-01-01

    Recent research has begun to illuminate the composition and development of exceptional skills in those with intellectual disability. I argue that this research is relevant to more general discussions of talent. First, it provides a special opportunity to deconstruct talent in different domains. Because savants typically lack the general…

  7. A case study of a multiply talented savant with an autism spectrum disorder: neuropsychological functioning and brain morphometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Gregory L; Happé, Francesca; Giedd, Jay N

    2009-05-27

    Neuropsychological functioning and brain morphometry in a savant (case GW) with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and both calendar calculation and artistic skills are quantified and compared with small groups of neurotypical controls. Good memory, mental calculation and visuospatial processing, as well as (implicit) knowledge of calendar structure and 'weak' central coherence characterized the cognitive profile of case GW. Possibly reflecting his savant skills, the superior parietal region of GW's cortex was the only area thicker (while areas such as the superior and medial prefrontal, middle temporal and motor cortices were thinner) than that of a neurotypical control group. Taken from the perspective of learning/practice-based models, skills in domains (e.g. calendars, art, music) that capitalize upon strengths often associated with ASD, such as detail-focused processing, are probably further enhanced through over-learning and massive exposure, and reflected in atypical brain structure.

  8. Astrocyte mega-domain hypothesis of the autistic savantism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitterauer, Bernhard J

    2013-01-01

    Individuals with autism who show high abilities are called savants. Whereas in their brains a disconnection in and between neural networks has been identified, savantism is yet poorly understood. Focusing on astrocyte domain organization, it is hypothesized that local astrocyte mega-organizations may be responsible for exerting high capabilities in brains of autistic savants. Astrocytes, the dominant glial cell type, modulate synaptic information transmission. Each astrocyte is organized in non-overlapping domains. Formally, each astrocyte contacting n-neurons with m-synapses via its processes generates dynamic domains of synaptic interactions based on qualitative computation criteria, and hereby it structures neuronal information processing. If the number of processes is genetically significantly increased, these astrocytes operate in a mega-domain with a higher complexitiy of computation. From this model savant abilities are deduced. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Savant Genome Browser 2: visualization and analysis for population-scale genomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fiume, Marc; Smith, Eric J M; Brook, Andrew; Strbenac, Dario; Turner, Brian; Mezlini, Aziz M; Robinson, Mark D; Wodak, Shoshana J; Brudno, Michael

    2012-07-01

    High-throughput sequencing (HTS) technologies are providing an unprecedented capacity for data generation, and there is a corresponding need for efficient data exploration and analysis capabilities. Although most existing tools for HTS data analysis are developed for either automated (e.g. genotyping) or visualization (e.g. genome browsing) purposes, such tools are most powerful when combined. For example, integration of visualization and computation allows users to iteratively refine their analyses by updating computational parameters within the visual framework in real-time. Here we introduce the second version of the Savant Genome Browser, a standalone program for visual and computational analysis of HTS data. Savant substantially improves upon its predecessor and existing tools by introducing innovative visualization modes and navigation interfaces for several genomic datatypes, and synergizing visual and automated analyses in a way that is powerful yet easy even for non-expert users. We also present a number of plugins that were developed by the Savant Community, which demonstrate the power of integrating visual and automated analyses using Savant. The Savant Genome Browser is freely available (open source) at www.savantbrowser.com.

  10. Annotation: The Savant Syndrome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heaton, Pamela; Wallace, Gregory L.

    2004-01-01

    Background: Whilst interest has focused on the origin and nature of the savant syndrome for over a century, it is only within the past two decades that empirical group studies have been carried out. Methods: The following annotation briefly reviews relevant research and also attempts to address outstanding issues in this research area.…

  11. The savant syndrome and extrasensory perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMullen, T

    1991-12-01

    D.A. Treffert, following B. Rimland, cited examples which he states show ESP to be occurring in certain autistic savant children. The evidence is questioned on the ground that it is hearsay, uncorroborated by independent scrutiny.

  12. Hypercalculia in savant syndrome: central executive failure?

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Garrido, Andrés Antonio; Ruiz-Sandoval, José Luis; Gómez-Velázquez, Fabiola R; de Alba, José Luis Oropeza; Villaseñor-Cabrera, Teresa

    2002-01-01

    The existence of outstanding cognitive talent in mentally retarded subjects persists as a challenge to present knowledge. We report the case of a 16-year-old male patient with exceptional mental calculation abilities and moderate mental retardation. The patient was clinically evaluated. Data from standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and two 99mTc-ethyl cysteine dimer (ECD)-single photon emission computer tomography (SPECT) (in resting condition and performing a mental calculation task) studies were analyzed. Main neurologic findings were brachycephalia, right-side neurologic soft signs, obsessive personality profile, low color-word interference effect in Stroop test, and diffuse increased cerebral blood flow during calculation task in 99mTc-ECD SPECT. MRI showed anatomical temporal plane inverse asymmetry. Evidence appears to support the hypothesis that savant skill is related to excessive and erroneous use of cognitive processing resources instigated by probable failure in central executive control mechanisms.

  13. The savant syndrome: an extraordinary condition. A synopsis: past, present, future

    OpenAIRE

    Treffert, Darold A.

    2009-01-01

    Savant syndrome is a rare, but extraordinary, condition in which persons with serious mental disabilities, including autistic disorder, have some ‘island of genius’ which stands in marked, incongruous contrast to overall handicap. As many as one in 10 persons with autistic disorder have such remarkable abilities in varying degrees, although savant syndrome occurs in other developmental disabilities or in other types of central nervous system injury or disease as well. Whatever the particular ...

  14. Treating a case of Savant syndrome

    OpenAIRE

    Busuttil, Joseph

    1994-01-01

    Memory and artistic prodigies among the population at large are uncommon; among the mentally retarded, they are rarer still. This article describes the treatment of such a case, technically known as the Savant Syndrome, seen by occupational therapists at Mount Carmel Psychiatric Hospital and treated over a period of 18 years.

  15. Studying Musical Savants: A Commentary on Grundy and Ockelford

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bénédicte Poulin-Charronnat

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available On the basis of the "zygonic" theory of musical understanding (Ockelford, 2006, Grundy and Ockelford (2014 investigated musical expectations evoked during the course of hearing a piece for the first time in a prodigious musical savant (Derek Paravicini. Overall, the results provided by Derek support the principles of the zygonic theory, especially that the higher the implication factor of a note, the more likely Derek would predict its occurrence. In my commentary, I first raise the question of the use of such individuals as musical savants to generalize findings to the general population, and second I address the issue of the task and the stimuli used.

  16. [Savant or idiot savant syndrome].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz-Yunta, J A; Ortiz-Alonso, T; Amo, C; Fernández-Lucas, A; Maestú, F; Palau-Baduell, M

    2003-02-01

    Savant syndrome is currently still very mysterious, yet, thanks to the progress made in neuroimaging studies and especially MSI (Magnetic Source Imaging) techniques, a little more is now known about it. The theory, formulated many years ago, about damage to the left hemisphere of the brain has been supported by functional neuroimaging. Its relation to developmental disorders or to autism spectrum disorders is far more justified today and can be explained on the basis of its neuropathology. We present a study based on a review of the scientific literature concerning the syndrome, from the first time it was described back in 1789 by Benjamin Rush up to the present day. We comment on its epidemiology and positive clinical manifestations, involving brilliant artistic talent and dazzling memory, but also the negative aspects suffered by these autistic patients. The most important theories are discussed together with the clinical coincidence with frontotemporal dementia and the responsibility of the right hemisphere when there are alterations in the contralateral hemisphere. The latest contributions made by Positron Emission Tomography and magnetoencephalography will be discussed and a mini-video of a personal case will be projected.

  17. Enhanced perception in savant syndrome: patterns, structure and creativity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mottron, Laurent; Dawson, Michelle; Soulières, Isabelle

    2009-05-27

    According to the enhanced perceptual functioning (EPF) model, autistic perception is characterized by: enhanced low-level operations; locally oriented processing as a default setting; greater activation of perceptual areas during a range of visuospatial, language, working memory or reasoning tasks; autonomy towards higher processes; and superior involvement in intelligence. EPF has been useful in accounting for autistic relative peaks of ability in the visual and auditory modalities. However, the role played by atypical perceptual mechanisms in the emergence and character of savant abilities remains underdeveloped. We now propose that enhanced detection of patterns, including similarity within and among patterns, is one of the mechanisms responsible for operations on human codes, a type of material with which savants show particular facility. This mechanism would favour an orientation towards material possessing the highest level of internal structure, through the implicit detection of within- and between-code isomorphisms. A second mechanism, related to but exceeding the existing concept of redintegration, involves completion, or filling-in, of missing information in memorized or perceived units or structures. In the context of autistics' enhanced perception, the nature and extent of these two mechanisms, and their possible contribution to the creativity evident in savant performance, are explored.

  18. Savant Sendromu: Klinik ve Nöropsikolojik Özellikleri

    OpenAIRE

    Durukan, İbrahim; Türkbay, Tümer

    2010-01-01

    Savant sendromu, ağır düzeyde gelişimsel ya da zihinsel yetersizliklerin yanında çoğu insanda bulunmayan sıra dışı zihinsel becerileri olan kişileri tanımlamaktadır. Kişinin genel zeka düzeyi ortalamanın altında olmasına karşın bir ya da birden fazla alanda aşırı düzeyde bilgi sahibidir. Savant sendromu olgularının yaklaşık yarısının otistik bozukluğa bağlı, kalan yarısının da diğer tip gelişimsel bozukluklar, zeka geriliği veya merkezi sinir sistemi hastalıkları ya da yaralanmalarına bağlı o...

  19. A case of variant biochemical phenotype of Niemann-Pick disease type C accompanying savant syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamatani, Mio; Jingami, Naoto; Uemura, Kengo; Nakasone, Naoe; Kinoshita, Hisanori; Yamakado, Hodaka; Ninomiya, Haruaki; Takahashi, Ryosuke

    2016-06-22

    A 40-year-old man was referred to our hospital because of vertical supranuclear gaze palsy, frequent sudden loss of muscle tonus and ataxia for several years. He had a history of prolonged neonatal jaundice. He was given a diagnosis of autism in his childhood, followed by a diagnosis of schizophrenia in his teenage. He also developed a savant skill of calendar calculating. (123)I-IMP-SPECT showed decreased cerebral blood flow in the left frontotemporal lobe as often seen in savant syndrome. Although genetic analysis of NPC1 and NPC2 revealed no pathogenic mutation, filipin staining of cultured fibroblasts from his biopsied skin revealed a certain amount of intracellular cholesterol storage pattern, indicating a variant biochemical phenotype of Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC). The diagnosis of adulthood onset NPC is difficult and challenging, especially for neurologists, because the symptoms and signs are not as clear as those in the classical childhood onset NPC and this subtype is not yet widely known. However, the diagnosis can be made by a combination of filipin staining of fibroblast and/or gene analysis. As a disease-specific therapy for NPC has been approved in Japan, the diagnosis of NPC is of significance.

  20. [The case of an adult man with savant syndrome in the course of autism spectrum disorder].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sipowicz, Kasper; Pietras, Tadeusz

    2017-07-21

    The paper reports on a case of 57-year man with autism spectrum disorder and epilepsy with an unusual feature of calendar calculation. Namely, this is the case of savant syndrome, which appears rarely in the course of various neuropsychiatric disorders. Commorbidity of epilepsy and autism particularly predispose to the aforementioned syndrome. In the presented case, apart from the calendar calculation, the man has high language abilities. As previous studies suggest, the extraordinary abilities among persons with savant syndrome works similarly to the language module in healthy persons. Savant syndrome may appear in any patient with neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly in those suffering from autism spectrum disorder with comorbid epilepsy.

  1. Developmental and Psychological Aspects of the Savant Syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wehmeyer, Michael L.

    1992-01-01

    This literature review examines the psychological aspects of the savant syndrome in people with intellectual disabilities, focusing on the means by which such abilities as calendar calculation are accomplished and highlighting variables (such as intense motivation in one area) postulated as important for development of the syndrome. (Author/DB)

  2. [Asperger's syndrome, little teachers: special skills].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Etchepareborda, M C; Díaz-Lucero, A; Pascuale, M J; Abad-Mas, L; Ruiz-Andrés, R

    2007-03-02

    Asperger's syndrome (AS) is characterised by its effects on reciprocal social interaction, verbal and non-verbal communication, difficulty in accepting changes, inflexible thinking and reduced fields of interest, but also by the presentation of special skills. On the occasion of the centenary of the birth of Hans Asperger, we briefly review the history of this researcher and offer a short description of the clinical features of the condition, including social interaction, communication, limited concerns and interests, routines and inflexibility, which are key points when it comes to reaching a diagnosis. Later, we also focus on Savant syndrome, which is a very common subgroup within AS and which is characterised by the patient's outstanding ability is certain special skills, such as hypermnesia, hyperlexia and hypercalculia, in mental feats concerning the perpetual calendar and in several branches of the arts, such as drawing, painting, sculpture and music. We discuss several famous cases of savants and explain some of the theories about its pathophysiology. Having special skills is a distinguishing mark of AS and identifying and facilitating them would provide us with a potential tool with which to accomplish suitable job opportunities.

  3. Normalization of auditory evoked potential and visual evoked potential in patients with idiot savant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, X; Zhang, M; Wang, J; Lou, F; Liang, J

    1999-03-01

    To investigate the variations of auditory evoked potentials (AEP) and visual evoked potentials (VEP) of patients with idiot savant (IS) syndrome. Both AEP and VEP were recorded from 7 patients with IS syndrome, 21 mentally retarded (MR) children without the syndrome and 21 normally age-matched controls, using a Dantec concerto SEEG-16 BEAM instrument. Both AEP and VEP of MR group showed significantly longer latencies (P1 and P2 latencies of AEP, P savant syndrome presented normalized AEP and VEP.

  4. Why did the savant syndrome not spread in the population? A psychiatric example of a developmental constraint.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ploeger, Annemie; van der Maas, Han L J; Raijmakers, Maartje E J; Galis, Frietson

    2009-03-31

    A developmental constraint is a mechanism that limits the possibility of a phenotype to evolve. There is growing evidence for the existence of developmental constraints in the biological literature. We hypothesize that a developmental constraint prevents the savant syndrome, despite its positive aspects, from spreading in the population. Here, the developmental constraint is the result of the high interactivity among body parts in an early stage in embryological development, namely early organogenesis or the phylotypic stage. The interactivity during this stage involves all components of the embryo, and as a result mutations that affect one part of the embryo also affect other parts. We hypothesize that a mutation, which gives rise to the development of the positive aspects of the savant syndrome (e.g., an impressive memory capacity), will virtually always have a deleterious effect on the development of other phenotypic traits (e.g., resulting in autism and/or impaired motor coordination). Thus, our hypothesis states that the savant syndrome cannot spread in the population because of this developmental constraint. The finding that children with savant syndrome often have autism and physical anomalies, which are known to be established during early organogenesis, supports our hypothesis.

  5. La revolution des savants

    CERN Document Server

    Chavanne, A

    1989-01-01

    Premiere cassette : - 1666 : impact de la creation de l'Academie des Sciences par Colbert, trente ans apres le proces de Galile, et au moment des disparitions de Pascal, Descartes et Fermat. Elle dirigee par le hollandais Huyggens jusqu'a sa fuite de France au moment de la revocation de l'Edit de Nantes. - 1750 : l'Encyclopedie (ou "Dictionnaire raisonne des Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers") de Diderot et d'Alembert, soutenus par Malherbes, Buffon, Condorcet et Rousseau. - 1789 : Revolution francaise. - 8 aout 1793 : l'Assemblee, par une declaration de Marat, dissout l'Academie des Sciences. Celle-ci continue cependant ses travaux pour les poids et mesures jusqu'en 1795. - la Terreur : la condamnation a mort, pas au nom d'une "Revolution qui n'a pas besoin de savants" mais pour d'autres raisons, de trois grands hommes de science : Lavoisier, Bailly et Condorcet. - 1793-1794 : Au printemps 93, le Comite de Salut Publique s'inquiete du demi-million de soldats etrangers de toutes les pays frontaliers qui essai...

  6. Veridical mapping in savant abilities, absolute pitch, and synesthesia: An autism case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucie eBouvet

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available An enhanced role and autonomy of perception are prominent in autism. Furthermore, savant abilities, absolute pitch, and synesthesia are all more commonly found in autistic individuals than in the typical population. The mechanism of veridical mapping has been proposed to account for how enhanced perception in autism leads to the high prevalence of these three phenomena and their structural similarity. Veridical mapping entails functional rededication of perceptual brain regions to higher order cognitive operations, allowing the enhanced detection and memorization of isomorphisms between perceptual and non-perceptual structures across multiple scales. In this paper, we present FC, an autistic individual who possesses several savant abilities in addition to both absolute pitch and synesthesia-like associations. The co-occurrence in FC of abilities, some of them rare, which share the same structure, as well as FC’s own accounts of their development, together suggest the importance of veridical mapping in the atypical range and nature of abilities displayed by autistic people.

  7. The Savant Syndrome: A Review of the Literature for the Music Educator

    Science.gov (United States)

    St. Denis, Erika

    2015-01-01

    Though music educators work with students who have a special learning need or a gifted ability on a daily basis, encountering a student who has both can be unexpected. The literature presented here can be used as a basis for information pertaining to terminology, studies and theories that attempt to explain the savant syndrome, how to identify it,…

  8. Síndrome de savant: entre lo genial y lo ingenuo

    OpenAIRE

    Tárraga Mínguez, Raúl; Fernández, Gabriela

    2007-01-01

    El presente trabajo pretende ser una revisión de los hallazgos más significativos del funcionamiento psicológico de los sujetos diagnosticados con el síndromde de Savant, que combina un funcionamiento cognitivo bajo (normalmente retraso mental entre moderado y grave), con una o varias habilidades excepcionales, bien en áreas relativamente comunes, tales como un talento musical sobresaliente, o una habilidad artística excepcional; o bien en áreas extraordinariamente específicas y restringidas,...

  9. Les savants genevois dans l'Europe intellectuelle du XVIIe au milieu du XIXe siècle

    CERN Document Server

    1987-01-01

    Après une introduction sur l'essor de la science genevoise par Jean STAROBINSKI et un chapitre sur l'Europe savante (1700-1850) par Jacques ROGER, sont présentés les travaux et recherches dans les différentes disciplines: l'astronomie par Marcel GOLAY, les mathématiques par Pierre SPEZIALI, la physique par Pierre SPEZIALI, la chimie par Armand BUCHS, la géologie par Albert V. CAROZZI, la zoologie par Marino BUSCAGLIA, la botanique par Jacques NAEF; suivis des biographies des savants genevois par Jean-Michel PICTET, avec petits portraits; notes; index; photos et fac-similés de documents; bibliographies par chapitre. Ouvrage publié par l'Association pour le Musée d'histoire des sciences de Genève, présidé par Jacques TREMBLEY.

  10. Why did the savant syndrome not spread in the population? A psychiatric example of a developmental constraint

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ploeger, A.; van der Maas, H.L.J.; Raijmakers, M.E.J.; Galis, F.

    2009-01-01

    A developmental constraint is a mechanism that limits the possibility of a phenotype to evolve. There is growing evidence for the existence of developmental constraints in the biological literature. We hypothesize that a developmental constraint prevents the savant syndrome, despite its positive

  11. A calendar savant with autism and Tourette syndrome. Response to treatment and thoughts on the interrelationships of these conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, E C; Pribor, E F

    1993-06-01

    A case of a calendar savant with infantile autism and Tourette syndrome is presented. Pharmacotherapy and comorbidity issues are discussed in terms of the interrelationships of these conditions and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

  12. Qualité, portée et incidence de l'édition savante en libre accès en ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Une meilleure compréhension du libre accès aux recherches savantes aidera à déterminer en quoi il contribue à accroître la circulation des connaissances et la diffusion des résultats de recherche en Amérique latine. Le libre accès (le fait de pouvoir consulter, sans restriction aucune, des articles publiés dans des revues ...

  13. What factors underlie children's susceptibility to semantic and phonological false memories? investigating the roles of language skills and auditory short-term memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGeown, Sarah P; Gray, Eleanor A; Robinson, Jamey L; Dewhurst, Stephen A

    2014-06-01

    Two experiments investigated the cognitive skills that underlie children's susceptibility to semantic and phonological false memories in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott procedure (Deese, 1959; Roediger & McDermott, 1995). In Experiment 1, performance on the Verbal Similarities subtest of the British Ability Scales (BAS) II (Elliott, Smith, & McCulloch, 1997) predicted correct and false recall of semantic lures. In Experiment 2, performance on the Yopp-Singer Test of Phonemic Segmentation (Yopp, 1988) did not predict correct recall, but inversely predicted the false recall of phonological lures. Auditory short-term memory was a negative predictor of false recall in Experiment 1, but not in Experiment 2. The findings are discussed in terms of the formation of gist and verbatim traces as proposed by fuzzy trace theory (Reyna & Brainerd, 1998) and the increasing automaticity of associations as proposed by associative activation theory (Howe, Wimmer, Gagnon, & Plumpton, 2009). Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Multiple Skills Underlie Arithmetic Performance: A Large-Scale Structural Equation Modeling Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarit Ashkenazi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Current theoretical approaches point to the importance of several cognitive skills not specific to mathematics for the etiology of mathematics disorders (MD. In the current study, we examined the role of many of these skills, specifically: rapid automatized naming, attention, reading, and visual perception, on mathematics performance among a large group of college students (N = 1,322 with a wide range of arithmetic proficiency. Using factor analysis, we discovered that our data clustered to four latent variables 1 mathematics, 2 perception speed, 3 attention and 4 reading. In subsequent structural equation modeling, we found that the latent variable perception speed had a strong and meaningful effect on mathematics performance. Moreover, sustained attention, independent from the effect of the latent variable perception speed, had a meaningful, direct effect on arithmetic fact retrieval and procedural knowledge. The latent variable reading had a modest effect on mathematics performance. Specifically, reading comprehension, independent from the effect of the latent variable reading, had a meaningful direct effect on mathematics, and particularly on number line knowledge. Attention, tested by the attention network test, had no effect on mathematics, reading or perception speed. These results indicate that multiple factors can affect mathematics performance supporting a heterogeneous approach to mathematics. These results have meaningful implications for the diagnosis and intervention of pure and comorbid learning disorders.

  15. A foundation for savantism? Visuo-spatial synaesthetes present with cognitive benefits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simner, Julia; Mayo, Neil; Spiller, Mary-Jane

    2009-01-01

    Individuals with 'time-space' synaesthesia have conscious awareness of mappings between time and space (e.g., they may see months arranged in an ellipse, or years as columns or spirals). These mappings exist in the 3D space around the body or in a virtual space within the mind's eye. Our study shows that these extra-ordinary mappings derive from, or give rise to, superior abilities in the two domains linked by this cross-modal phenomenon (i.e., abilities relating to time, and visualised space). We tested ten time-space synaesthetes with a battery of temporal and visual/spatial tests. Our temporal battery (the Edinburgh [Public and Autobiographical] Events Battery - EEB) assessed both autobiographical and non-autobiographical memory for events. Our visual/spatial tests assessed the ability to manipulate real or imagined objects in 3D space (the Three Dimensional Constructional Praxis test; Visual Object and Space Perception Battery, University of Southern California Mental Rotation Test) as well as assessing visual memory recall (Visual Patterns Test - VPT). Synaesthetes' performance was superior to the control population in every assessment, but was not superior in tasks that do not draw upon abilities related to their mental calendars. Our paper discusses the implications of this temporal-spatial advantage as it relates to normal processing, synaesthetic processing, and to the savant-like condition of hyperthymestic syndrome (Parker et al., 2006).

  16. Problem-Solving Training: Effects on the Problem-Solving Skills and Self-Efficacy of Nursing Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ancel, Gulsum

    2016-01-01

    Problem Statement: Problem-Solving (PS) skills have been determined to be an internationally useful strategy for better nursing. That is why PS skills underlie all nursing practice, teamwork, and health care management, and are a main topic in undergraduate nursing education. Thus, there is a need to develop effective methods to teach…

  17. Savant memory for digits in a case of synaesthesia and Asperger syndrome is related to hyperactivity in the lateral prefrontal cortex.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bor, Daniel; Billington, Jac; Baron-Cohen, Simon

    2007-10-01

    SINGLE CASE: DT is a savant with exceptional abilities in numerical memory and mathematical calculations. DT also has an elaborate form of synaesthesia for visually presented digits. Further more, DT also has Asperger syndrome (AS). We carried out two preliminary investigations to establish whether these conditions may contribute to his savant abilities. In an fMRI digit span study, DT showed hyperactivity in lateral prefrontal cortex when encoding digits, compared with controls. In addition, while controls showed raised lateral prefrontal activation in response to structured (compared to unstructured) sequences of digits, DT's neural activity did not differ between these two conditions. In addition, controls showed a significant performance advantage for structured, compared with unstructured sequences whereas no such pattern was found for DT. We suggest that this performance pattern reflects that DT focuses less on external mathematical structure, since for him all digit sequences have internal structure linked to his synaesthesia. Finally, DT did not activate extra-striate regions normally associated with synaesthesia, suggesting that he has an unusual and more abstract and conceptual form of synaesthesia. This appears to generate structured, highly-chunked content that enhances encoding of digits and aids both recall and calculation. People with AS preferentially attend to local features of stimuli. To test this in DT, we administered the Navon task. Relative to controls, DT was faster at finding a target at the local level, and was less distracted by interference from the global level. The propensity to focus on local detail, in concert with a form of synaesthesia that provides structure to all digits, may account for DT's exceptional numerical memory and calculation ability. This neural and cognitive pattern needs to be tested in a series of similar cases, and with more constrained control groups, to confirm the significance of this association.

  18. Les communautés savantes européennes à la fin du siècle des Lumières

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    René Sigrist

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Le présent article traite de la localisation des savants européens à la fin du XVIIIe siècle. Une première méthode consiste à cartographier la «République des sciences» à partir de la Liste des astronomes connus actuellement vivants établie par Jean III Bernoulli entre 1776 et 1779. Une seconde méthode localise les membres et correspondants des six principales académies scientifiques de l'époque, soit celles de Paris, Londres, Berlin, St-Pétersbourg, Stockholm et Bologne. Dans le cas particulier de la France, la recherche met en évidence l'articulation spatiale entre la communauté académique de la capitale, les villes de province et les centres étrangers.

  19. Problem-Solving Training: Effects on the Problem-Solving Skills and Self-Efficacy of Nursing Students

    OpenAIRE

    Ancel, Gulsum

    2016-01-01

    Problem Statement: Problem-Solving (PS) skills have been determined to be an internationally useful strategy for better nursing. That is why PS skills underlie all nursing practice, teamwork, and health care management, and are a main topic in undergraduate nursing education. Thus, there is a need to develop effective methods to teach problem-solving skills. The present study, as a first study in Turkey, may provide valuable insight for nurse academicians employed at üniversities. Purpose of ...

  20. Veridical mapping in the development of exceptional autistic abilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mottron, Laurent; Bouvet, Lucie; Bonnel, Anna; Samson, Fabienne; Burack, Jacob A; Dawson, Michelle; Heaton, Pamela

    2013-02-01

    Superior perception, peaks of ability, and savant skills are often observed in the autistic phenotype. The enhanced perceptual functioning model (Mottron et al., 2006a) emphasizes the increased role and autonomy of perceptual information processing in autistic cognition. Autistic abilities also involve enhanced pattern detection, which may develop through veridical mapping across isomorphic perceptual and non-perceptual structures (Mottron et al., 2009). In this paper, we elaborate veridical mapping as a specific mechanism which can explain the higher incidence of savant abilities, as well as other related phenomena, in autism. We contend that savant abilities such as hyperlexia, but also absolute pitch and synaesthesia, involve similar neurocognitive components, share the same structure and developmental course, and represent related ways by which the perceptual brain deals with objective structures under different conditions. Plausibly, these apparently different phenomena develop through a veridical mapping mechanism whereby perceptual information is coupled with homological data drawn from within or across isomorphic structures. The atypical neural connectivity characteristic of autism is consistent with a developmental predisposition to veridical mapping and the resulting high prevalence of savant abilities, absolute pitch, and synaesthesia in autism. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Population-level associations between preschool vulnerability and grade-four basic skills.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amedeo D'Angiulli

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available This is a predictive validity study examining the extent to which developmental vulnerability at kindergarten entry (as measured by the Early Development Instrument, EDI is associated with children's basic skills in 4th grade (as measured by the Foundation Skills Assessment, FSA.Relative risk analysis was performed on a large database linking individual-level EDI ratings to the scores the same children obtained on a provincial assessment of academic skills (FSA--Foundation Skills Assessment four years later. We found that early vulnerability in kindergarten is associated with the basic skills that underlie populations of children's academic achievement in reading, writing and math, indicating that the Early Development Instrument permits to predict achievement-related skills four years in advance.The EDI can be used to predict children's educational trends at the population level and can help select early prevention and intervention programs targeting pre-school populations at minimum cost.

  2. The 1988 Jansson memorial lecture. The performance of the 'idiot-savant': implicit and explicit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, N

    1989-04-01

    'Idiots-savants' are people of low intelligence who have one or two outstanding talents such as calendrical calculation, drawing or musical performance. Such people are mostly male and occur with high frequency among the autistic population. Do they perform their amazing feats because of an outstanding memory or do they draw on some faculty of reasoning to help them? Although they cannot easily make clear how they carry out their tasks by using speech, experiments reveal that they follow simple rules which they use to aid them in recalling correct dates and sequences in classical music. It has been said that they cannot abstract but this turns out not to be true: all can abstract to some degree and some are more at home with abstract than with concrete material. Whatever else is true of these handicapped but gifted people their gift becomes apparent at an early age and is apparently not improved by practice. Perhaps the most important conclusion from work with these groups is that their gifts force us to think again about the concept of general intelligence. How far is it possible to have low intelligence and yet be an outstanding musician or artist? Speculation on this idea may force us to revise our concepts of intelligence, neuropsychology and handicap.

  3. Building the blocks of executive functioning: differentiating early developing processes contributing to executive functioning skills

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mandell, D.J.; Ward, S.E.

    2011-01-01

    The neural processes that underlie executive function begin to develop in infancy. However, it is unclear how the behavior manifested by these processes are related or if they can be differentiated early in development. This study seeks to examine early emerging executive functioning skills in

  4. Neural mechanisms of savant calendar calculating in autism: an MEG-study of few single cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubischar-Krivec, Anna Milena; Bölte, Sven; Braun, Christoph; Poustka, Fritz; Birbaumer, Niels; Neumann, Nicola

    2014-10-01

    This study contrasted the neurological correlates of calendar calculating (CC) between those individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing individuals. CC is the ability to correctly and quickly state the day of the week of a given date. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we presented 126 calendar tasks with dates of the present, past, and future. Event-related magnetic fields (ERF) of 3000ms duration and brain activation patterns were compared in three savant calendar calculators with ASD (ASDCC) and three typically developing calendar calculators (TYPCC). ASDCC outperformed TYPCC in correct responses, but not in answering speed. Comparing amplitudes of their ERFs, there was a main effect of group between 1000 and 3000ms, but no further effects of hemisphere or sensor location. We conducted CLARA source analysis across the entire CC period in each individual. Both ASDCC and TYPCC exhibited activation maxima in prefrontal areas including the insulae and the left superior temporal gyrus. This is in accordance with verbal fact retrieval and working memory as well as monitoring and coordination processes. In ASDCC, additional activation sites at the right superior occipital gyrus, the right precuneus, and the right putamen point to visual-spatial strategies and are in line with the preference of autistic individuals for engaging posterior regions relatively more strongly in various reasoning and problem solving tasks. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Motor cortex is required for learning but not executing a motor skill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Risa; Markman, Timothy; Poddar, Rajesh; Ko, Raymond; Fantana, Antoniu; Dhawale, Ashesh; Kampff, Adam R.; Ölveczky, Bence P.

    2018-01-01

    Motor cortex is widely believed to underlie the acquisition and execution of motor skills, yet its contributions to these processes are not fully understood. One reason is that studies on motor skills often conflate motor cortex’s established role in dexterous control with roles in learning and producing task-specific motor sequences. To dissociate these aspects, we developed a motor task for rats that trains spatiotemporally precise movement patterns without requirements for dexterity. Remarkably, motor cortex lesions had no discernible effect on the acquired skills, which were expressed in their distinct pre-lesion forms on the very first day of post-lesion training. Motor cortex lesions prior to training, however, rendered rats unable to acquire the stereotyped motor sequences required for the task. These results suggest a remarkable capacity of subcortical motor circuits to execute learned skills and a previously unappreciated role for motor cortex in ‘tutoring’ these circuits during learning. PMID:25892304

  6. Motor cortex is required for learning but not for executing a motor skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawai, Risa; Markman, Timothy; Poddar, Rajesh; Ko, Raymond; Fantana, Antoniu L; Dhawale, Ashesh K; Kampff, Adam R; Ölveczky, Bence P

    2015-05-06

    Motor cortex is widely believed to underlie the acquisition and execution of motor skills, but its contributions to these processes are not fully understood. One reason is that studies on motor skills often conflate motor cortex's established role in dexterous control with roles in learning and producing task-specific motor sequences. To dissociate these aspects, we developed a motor task for rats that trains spatiotemporally precise movement patterns without requirements for dexterity. Remarkably, motor cortex lesions had no discernible effect on the acquired skills, which were expressed in their distinct pre-lesion forms on the very first day of post-lesion training. Motor cortex lesions prior to training, however, rendered rats unable to acquire the stereotyped motor sequences required for the task. These results suggest a remarkable capacity of subcortical motor circuits to execute learned skills and a previously unappreciated role for motor cortex in "tutoring" these circuits during learning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Parallel, but Dissociable, Processing in Discrete Corticostriatal Inputs Encodes Skill Learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kupferschmidt, David A; Juczewski, Konrad; Cui, Guohong; Johnson, Kari A; Lovinger, David M

    2017-10-11

    Changes in cortical and striatal function underlie the transition from novel actions to refined motor skills. How discrete, anatomically defined corticostriatal projections function in vivo to encode skill learning remains unclear. Using novel fiber photometry approaches to assess real-time activity of associative inputs from medial prefrontal cortex to dorsomedial striatum and sensorimotor inputs from motor cortex to dorsolateral striatum, we show that associative and sensorimotor inputs co-engage early in action learning and disengage in a dissociable manner as actions are refined. Disengagement of associative, but not sensorimotor, inputs predicts individual differences in subsequent skill learning. Divergent somatic and presynaptic engagement in both projections during early action learning suggests potential learning-related in vivo modulation of presynaptic corticostriatal function. These findings reveal parallel processing within associative and sensorimotor circuits that challenges and refines existing views of corticostriatal function and expose neuronal projection- and compartment-specific activity dynamics that encode and predict action learning. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  8. Expectations Evoked on Hearing a Piece of Music for the First Time: Evidence from a Musical Savant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth Grundy

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to investigate a hitherto unresearched feature of the “zygonic” model of implication and expectation in music: in particular, the projections that stem from recently appearing groups of notes (Ockelford, 2006. Using an innovative approach, data were gathered from a prodigious musical savant (Derek Paravicini, who attempted to reproduce a novel composition on the piano at the same time as hearing it. The piece was designed to minimise the impact of expectations that may arise from patterns within groups of notes and those that may be perceived as a consequence of tonality, whereby different pitch transitions are felt to occur with different probabilities according to their level of past exposure. The design of the study was informed by zygonic theory (Ockelford, 2009, 2012b, which holds that expectation in music is attributable to the capacity of structural regularities to suggest future continuations, whose perceived likelihood of occurrence, it is believed, is proportional to the number of ways in which their existence is implied in what has gone before. Using this principle, a “strength of implication” factor was calculated for each note of the stimulus piece (following the first. It was hypothesised that the higher the implication factor, the more likely Derek would predict its occurrence (and therefore play it correctly at the appropriate point in time. Data gathered from Derek’s performance support the underlying principles of the zygonic model, although they also suggest certain refinements.

  9. La science comme pratique d’intégration dans la société des princes. Les Grimaldi de Monaco et la curiosité savante (xviie–xviiie siècle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Fouilleron

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Jusque-là seigneur de Monaco, Honoré II (1597-1662 prend, en 1612, le titre de prince. En 1641, il se place sous la protection du roi de France qui confirme, par le traité de Péronne, sa souveraineté. Parallèlement à son effort d’affirmation politique, il s’attache à intégrer la société européenne des princes en adoptant les pratiques culturelles de la distinction monarchique.Souverains à Monaco et grands aristocrates en France, les Grimaldi constituent, au xviie siècle, des cabinets de curiosités. Miroirs de souveraineté, substituts de regalia ou de mirabilia, ces objets rares et précieux publient l’éminence de la dynastie aux yeux des visiteurs de leurs palais, en particulier des voyageurs savants en route vers l’Italie. La qualité de ces derniers en fait des hôtes choyés par les princes. Même si certains, comme le mathématicien Bernouilli ou l’astronome Cassini, n’ont qu’une vision rapide et lointaine de la Principauté, d’autres, comme le géologue Saussure, le naturaliste Millin ou le médecin botaniste Fodéré, usent de leur regard de spécialistes pour décrire les spécificités du petit État dans leur discipline. Certains s’arrêtent, comme le père jésuite Laval, en 1719, pour faire des expérimentations devant le prince Antoine Ier (1661-1731, qui, dans sa bibliothèque, conserve des outils de géométrie. Amateur d’art et esprit éclairé, Jacques Ier (1689-1751 achète, quant à lui, des instruments du cabinet de Bonnier de La Mosson. La provenance prestigieuse de ces objets distingue et sanctionne sa curiosité. À la fin du xviiie siècle, la science devient « utile » et objet de gouvernement. Honoré III (1720-1795 commande des mémoires sur la culture du mûrier. Il fait venir de façon précoce des chevaux anglais pour améliorer la race normande et recourt à l’expertise d’un agronome d’outre-Manche pour mettre en valeur ses terres. À Monaco, il fait évaluer par

  10. Adolescent Loneliness and Social Skills: Agreement and Discrepancies Between Self-, Meta-, and Peer-Evaluations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lodder, G M A; Goossens, L; Scholte, R H J; Engels, R C M E; Verhagen, M

    2016-12-01

    Lonely adolescents report that they have poor social skills, but it is unknown whether this is due to an accurate perception of a social skills deficit, or a biased negative perception. This is an important distinction, as actual social skills deficits require different treatments than biased negative perceptions. In this study, we compared self-reported social skills evaluations with peer-reported social skills and meta-evaluations of social skills (i.e., adolescents' perceptions of how they believe their classmates evaluate them). Based on the social skills view, we expected negative relations between loneliness and these three forms of social skills evaluations. Based on the bias view, we expected lonely adolescents to have more negative self- and meta-evaluations compared to peer-evaluations of social skills. Participants were 1342 adolescents (48.64 % male, M age  = 13.95, SD = .54). All classmates rated each other in a round-robin design to obtain peer-evaluations. Self- and meta-evaluations were obtained using self-reports. Data were analyzed using polynomial regression analyses and response surface modeling. The results indicated that, when self-, peer- and meta-evaluations were similar, a greater sense of loneliness was related to poorer social skills. Loneliness was also related to larger discrepancies between self- and peer-evaluations of loneliness, but not related to the direction of these discrepancies. Thus, for some lonely adolescents, loneliness may be related to an actual social skills deficit, whereas for others a biased negative perception of one's own social skills or a mismatch with the environment may be related to their loneliness. This implies that different mechanisms may underlie loneliness, which has implications for interventions.

  11. Children's science learning: A core skills approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tolmie, Andrew K; Ghazali, Zayba; Morris, Suzanne

    2016-09-01

    Research has identified the core skills that predict success during primary school in reading and arithmetic, and this knowledge increasingly informs teaching. However, there has been no comparable work that pinpoints the core skills that underlie success in science. The present paper attempts to redress this by examining candidate skills and considering what is known about the way in which they emerge, how they relate to each other and to other abilities, how they change with age, and how their growth may vary between topic areas. There is growing evidence that early-emerging tacit awareness of causal associations is initially separated from language-based causal knowledge, which is acquired in part from everyday conversation and shows inaccuracies not evident in tacit knowledge. Mapping of descriptive and explanatory language onto causal awareness appears therefore to be a key development, which promotes unified conceptual and procedural understanding. This account suggests that the core components of initial science learning are (1) accurate observation, (2) the ability to extract and reason explicitly about causal connections, and (3) knowledge of mechanisms that explain these connections. Observational ability is educationally inaccessible until integrated with verbal description and explanation, for instance, via collaborative group work tasks that require explicit reasoning with respect to joint observations. Descriptive ability and explanatory ability are further promoted by managed exposure to scientific vocabulary and use of scientific language. Scientific reasoning and hypothesis testing are later acquisitions that depend on this integration of systems and improved executive control. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

  12. 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.

  13. Neuropsychological predictors of performance-based measures of functional capacity and social skills in individuals with severe mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmood, Zanjbeel; Burton, Cynthia Z; Vella, Lea; Twamley, Elizabeth W

    2018-04-13

    Neuropsychological abilities may underlie successful performance of everyday functioning and social skills. We aimed to determine the strongest neuropsychological predictors of performance-based functional capacity and social skills performance across the spectrum of severe mental illness (SMI). Unemployed outpatients with SMI (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or major depression; n = 151) were administered neuropsychological (expanded MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery), functional capacity (UCSD Performance-Based Skills Assessment-Brief; UPSA-B), and social skills (Social Skills Performance Assessment; SSPA) assessments. Bivariate correlations between neuropsychological performance and UPSA-B and SSPA total scores showed that most neuropsychological tests were significantly associated with each performance-based measure. Forward entry stepwise regression analyses were conducted entering education, diagnosis, symptom severity, and neuropsychological performance as predictors of functional capacity and social skills. Diagnosis, working memory, sustained attention, and category and letter fluency emerged as significant predictors of functional capacity, in a model that explained 43% of the variance. Negative symptoms, sustained attention, and letter fluency were significant predictors of social skill performance, in a model explaining 35% of the variance. Functional capacity is positively associated with neuropsychological functioning, but diagnosis remains strongly influential, with mood disorder participants outperforming those with psychosis. Social skill performance appears to be positively associated with sustained attention and verbal fluency regardless of diagnosis; however, negative symptom severity strongly predicts social skills performance. Improving neuropsychological functioning may improve psychosocial functioning in people with SMI. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  14. Neuropsychological functioning of an Asperger child with exceptional skill in arranging picture stories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conson, Massimiliano; Salzano, Sara; Grossi, Dario

    2011-08-01

    A striking special ability in arranging picture stories was reported in an Asperger child (C.M.) showing an exceptional performance on Wechsler picture arrangement subtest. Neuropsychological examination did not disclose visuoperceptual and spatial defects, or working memory, attention and executive disorders, but revealed an attentional bias towards local details of complex structures. A specific assessment of C.M.'s understanding of picture stories demonstrated that, with respect to normal controls, he showed an enhanced ability to detect causal links among elements of a story. These findings provide support to the hypothesis that savantism can be related to strong systemizing in autism.

  15. White matter microstructure changes induced by motor skill learning utilizing a body machine interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xue; Casadio, Maura; Weber, Kenneth A; Mussa-Ivaldi, Ferdinando A; Parrish, Todd B

    2014-03-01

    The purpose of this study is to identify white matter microstructure changes following bilateral upper extremity motor skill training to increase our understanding of learning-induced structural plasticity and enhance clinical strategies in physical rehabilitation. Eleven healthy subjects performed two visuo-spatial motor training tasks over 9 sessions (2-3 sessions per week). Subjects controlled a cursor with bilateral simultaneous movements of the shoulders and upper arms using a body machine interface. Before the start and within 2days of the completion of training, whole brain diffusion tensor MR imaging data were acquired. Motor training increased fractional anisotropy (FA) values in the posterior and anterior limbs of the internal capsule, the corona radiata, and the body of the corpus callosum by 4.19% on average indicating white matter microstructure changes induced by activity-dependent modulation of axon number, axon diameter, or myelin thickness. These changes may underlie the functional reorganization associated with motor skill learning. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Narrowing the Early Mathematics Gap: A Play-Based Intervention to Promote Low-Income Preschoolers’ Number Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicole R. Scalise

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Preschoolers from low-income households lag behind preschoolers from middle-income households on numerical skills that underlie later mathematics achievement. However, it is unknown whether these gaps exist on parallel measures of symbolic and non-symbolic numerical skills. Experiment 1 indicated preschoolers from low-income backgrounds were less accurate than peers from middle-income backgrounds on a measure of symbolic magnitude comparison, but they performed equivalently on a measure of non-symbolic magnitude comparison. This suggests activities linking non-symbolic and symbolic number representations may be used to support children’s numerical knowledge. Experiment 2 randomly assigned low-income preschoolers (Mean Age = 4.7 years to play either a numerical magnitude comparison or a numerical matching card game across four 15 min sessions over a 3-week period. The magnitude comparison card game led to significant improvements in participants’ symbolic magnitude comparison skills in an immediate posttest assessment. Following the intervention, low-income participants performed equivalently to an age- and gender-matched sample of middle-income preschoolers in symbolic magnitude comparison. These results suggest a brief intervention that combines non-symbolic and symbolic magnitude representations can support low-income preschoolers’ early numerical knowledge.

  17. The effect of skill mix in non-nursing assistants on work engagements among home visiting nurses in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naruse, Takashi; Taguchi, Atsuko; Kuwahara, Yuki; Nagata, Satoko; Sakai, Mahiro; Watai, Izumi; Murashima, Sachiyo

    2015-05-01

    This study evaluated the effect of a skill-mix programme intervention on work engagement in home visiting nurses. A skill-mix programme in which home visiting nurses are assisted by non-nursing workers is assumed to foster home visiting nurses' work engagement. Pre- and post-intervention evaluations of work engagement were conducted using self-administered questionnaires. A skill-mix programme was introduced in the intervention group of home visiting nurses. After 6 months, their pre- and post-intervention work engagement ratings were compared with those of a control group. Baseline questionnaires were returned by 174 home visiting nurses (44 in the intervention group, 130 in the control group). Post-intervention questionnaires were returned by 38 and 97 home visiting nurses from each group. The intervention group's average work engagement scores were 2.2 at baseline and 2.3 at post-intervention; the control group's were 3.3 and 2.6. Generalised linear regression showed significant between-group differences in score changes. The skill-mix programme might foster home visiting nurses' work engagement by improving the quality of care for each client. Future research is needed to explain the exact mechanisms that underlie its effectiveness. In order to improve the efficiency of services provided by home visiting nurses and foster their work engagement, skill-mix programmes might be beneficial. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Structure Building Predicts Grades in College Psychology and Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Kathleen M.; Daniel, David B.; Jensen, Jamie L.; McDaniel, Mark A.; Marsh, Elizabeth J.

    2016-01-01

    Knowing what skills underlie college success can allow students, teachers, and universities to identify and to help at-risk students. One skill that may underlie success across a variety of subject areas is structure building, the ability to create mental representations of narratives (Gernsbacher, Varner, & Faust, 1990). We tested if…

  19. Recreational stimulants, herbal, and spice cannabis: The core psychobiological processes that underlie their damaging effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parrott, Andrew C; Hayley, Amie C; Downey, Luke A

    2017-05-01

    Recreational drugs are taken for their positive mood effects, yet their regular usage damages well-being. The psychobiological mechanisms underlying these damaging effects will be debated. The empirical literature on recreational cannabinoids and stimulant drugs is reviewed. A theoretical explanation for how they cause similar types of damage is outlined. All psychoactive drugs cause moods and psychological states to fluctuate. The acute mood gains underlie their recreational usage, while the mood deficits on withdrawal explain their addictiveness. Cyclical mood changes are found with every central nervous system stimulant and also occur with cannabis. These mood state changes provide a surface index for more profound psychobiological fluctuations. Homeostatic balance is altered, with repetitive disturbances of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and disrupted cortisol-neurohormonal secretions. Hence, these drugs cause increased stress, disturbed sleep, neurocognitive impairments, altered brain activity, and psychiatric vulnerability. Equivalent deficits occur with novel psychoactive stimulants such as mephedrone and artificial "spice" cannabinoids. These psychobiological fluctuations underlie drug dependency and make cessation difficult. Psychobiological stability and homeostatic balance are optimally restored by quitting psychoactive drugs. Recreational stimulants such as cocaine or MDMA (3.4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine) and sedative drugs such as cannabis damage human homeostasis and well-being through similar core psychobiological mechanisms. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Long-Term Synaptic Changes in Two Input Pathways into the Lateral Nucleus of the Amygdala Underlie Fear Extinction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Junchol; Choi, June-Seek

    2010-01-01

    Plasticity in two input pathways into the lateral nucleus of the amygdala (LA), the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the sensory thalamus, have been suggested to underlie extinction, suppression of a previously acquired conditioned response (CR) following repeated presentations of the conditioned stimulus (CS). However, little is known about…

  1. Sensorimotor simulations underlie conceptual representations: modality-specific effects of prior activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pecher, Diane; Zeelenberg, René; Barsalou, Lawrence W

    2004-02-01

    According to the perceptual symbols theory (Barsalou, 1999), sensorimotor simulations underlie the representation of concepts. Simulations are componential in the sense that they vary with the context in which the concept is presented. In the present study, we investigated whether representations are affected by recent experiences with a concept. Concept names (e.g., APPLE) were presented twice in a property verification task with a different property on each occasion. The two properties were either from the same perceptual modality (e.g., green, shiny) or from different modalities (e.g., tart, shiny). All stimuli were words. There was a lag of several intervening trials between the first and second presentation. Verification times and error rates for the second presentation of the concept were higher if the properties were from different modalities than if they were from the same modality.

  2. Blood flow patterns underlie developmental heart defects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Midgett, Madeline; Thornburg, Kent; Rugonyi, Sandra

    2017-03-01

    Although cardiac malformations at birth are typically associated with genetic anomalies, blood flow dynamics also play a crucial role in heart formation. However, the relationship between blood flow patterns in the early embryo and later cardiovascular malformation has not been determined. We used the chicken embryo model to quantify the extent to which anomalous blood flow patterns predict cardiac defects that resemble those in humans and found that restricting either the inflow to the heart or the outflow led to reproducible abnormalities with a dose-response type relationship between blood flow stimuli and the expression of cardiac phenotypes. Constricting the outflow tract by 10-35% led predominantly to ventricular septal defects, whereas constricting by 35-60% most often led to double outlet right ventricle. Ligation of the vitelline vein caused mostly pharyngeal arch artery malformations. We show that both cardiac inflow reduction and graded outflow constriction strongly influence the development of specific and persistent abnormal cardiac structure and function. Moreover, the hemodynamic-associated cardiac defects recapitulate those caused by genetic disorders. Thus our data demonstrate the importance of investigating embryonic blood flow conditions to understand the root causes of congenital heart disease as a prerequisite to future prevention and treatment. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Congenital heart defects result from genetic anomalies, teratogen exposure, and altered blood flow during embryonic development. We show here a novel "dose-response" type relationship between the level of blood flow alteration and manifestation of specific cardiac phenotypes. We speculate that abnormal blood flow may frequently underlie congenital heart defects. Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

  3. Sleep spindles: a physiological marker of age-related changes in gray matter in brain regions supporting motor skill memory consolidation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fogel, Stuart; Vien, Catherine; Karni, Avi; Benali, Habib; Carrier, Julie; Doyon, Julien

    2017-01-01

    Sleep is necessary for the optimal consolidation of procedural learning, and in particular, for motor sequential skills. Motor sequence learning remains intact with age, but sleep-dependent consolidation is impaired, suggesting that memory deficits for procedural skills are specifically impacted by age-related changes in sleep. Age-related changes in spindles may be responsible for impaired motor sequence learning consolidation, but the morphological basis for this deficit is unknown. Here, we found that gray matter in the hippocampus and cerebellum was positively correlated with both sleep spindles and offline improvements in performance in young participants but not in older participants. These results suggest that age-related changes in gray matter in the hippocampus relate to spindles and may underlie age-related deficits in sleep-related motor sequence memory consolidation. In this way, spindles can serve as a biological marker for structural brain changes and the related memory deficits in older adults. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Research note: exceptional absolute pitch perception for spoken words in an able adult with autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heaton, Pamela; Davis, Robert E; Happé, Francesca G E

    2008-01-01

    Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterised by deficits in socialisation and communication, with repetitive and stereotyped behaviours [American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual for mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: APA]. Whilst intellectual and language impairment is observed in a significant proportion of diagnosed individuals [Gillberg, C., & Coleman, M. (2000). The biology of the autistic syndromes (3rd ed.). London: Mac Keith Press; Klinger, L., Dawson, G., & Renner, P. (2002). Autistic disorder. In E. Masn, & R. Barkley (Eds.), Child pyschopathology (2nd ed., pp. 409-454). New York: Guildford Press], the disorder is also strongly associated with the presence of highly developed, idiosyncratic, or savant skills [Heaton, P., & Wallace, G. (2004) Annotation: The savant syndrome. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45 (5), 899-911]. We tested identification of fundamental pitch frequencies in complex tones, sine tones and words in AC, an intellectually able man with autism and absolute pitch (AP) and a group of healthy controls with self-reported AP. The analysis showed that AC's naming of speech pitch was highly superior in comparison to controls. The results suggest that explicit access to perceptual information in speech is retained to a significantly higher degree in autism.

  5. Opponent appetitive-aversive neural processes underlie predictive learning of pain relief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seymour, Ben; O'Doherty, John P; Koltzenburg, Martin; Wiech, Katja; Frackowiak, Richard; Friston, Karl; Dolan, Raymond

    2005-09-01

    Termination of a painful or unpleasant event can be rewarding. However, whether the brain treats relief in a similar way as it treats natural reward is unclear, and the neural processes that underlie its representation as a motivational goal remain poorly understood. We used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) to investigate how humans learn to generate expectations of pain relief. Using a pavlovian conditioning procedure, we show that subjects experiencing prolonged experimentally induced pain can be conditioned to predict pain relief. This proceeds in a manner consistent with contemporary reward-learning theory (average reward/loss reinforcement learning), reflected by neural activity in the amygdala and midbrain. Furthermore, these reward-like learning signals are mirrored by opposite aversion-like signals in lateral orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. This dual coding has parallels to 'opponent process' theories in psychology and promotes a formal account of prediction and expectation during pain.

  6. Hip mechanics underlie lower extremity power training-induced increase in old adults' fast gait velocity : The Potsdam Gait Study (POGS)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beijersbergen, Chantal M. I.; Granacher, Urs; Gäbler, Martijn; DeVita, Paul; Hortobagyi, Tibor

    Background: Aging is associated with slowed gait and old compared with young adults generally walk with greater positive hip work (H1) and reduced positive ankle work (A2). The role of exercise interventions on old adults' gait mechanics that underlie training-induced improvements in gait velocity

  7. Personal Skills. Facilitator's Skill Packets 1-7. Social Skills Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Model Classrooms, Bellevue, WA.

    This document contains the following seven facilitators' skill packets on personal skills: (1) personal hygiene; (2) personal appearance; (3) locker hygiene; (4) dorm cleanliness; (5) punctuality and attendance; (6) responding to supervision; and (7) teamwork. Each packet contains the following sections: definition of personal skills; objective;…

  8. Soft skills, hard skills, and individual innovativeness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hendarman, Achmad Fajar; Cantner, Uwe

    2018-01-01

    of Indonesian firms from different industries are used from an online survey on manager and worker perceptions related to individual innovation performance on the one hand and individual skills on the other hand. The results show that soft skills and hard skills are significantly and positively associated...... with individual level innovativeness. However, no complementarity (positive interaction effect) is found between soft skills and hard skills....

  9. Mathematical Skills and Motor Life Skills in Toddlers: Do Differences in Mathematical Skills Reflect Differences in Motor Skills?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reikerås, Elin; Moser, Thomas; Tønnessen, Finn Egil

    2017-01-01

    This study examines possible relations between early mathematical skills and motor life skills in 450 toddlers aged two years and nine months. The study employs baseline data from the longitudinal Stavanger Project--The Learning Child. The children's mathematical skills and motor life skills were assessed by structured observation in the natural…

  10. Optimal skill distribution under convex skill costs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tin Cheuk Leung

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies optimal distribution of skills in an optimal income tax framework with convex skill constraints. The problem is cast as a social planning problem where a redistributive planner chooses how to distribute a given amount of aggregate skills across people. We find that optimal skill distribution is either perfectly equal or perfectly unequal, but an interior level of skill inequality is never optimal.

  11. Open knot-tying skills: residents skills assessed

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Empel, P.J.; Verdam, M.G.E.; Huirne, J.A.; Bonjer, H.J.; Meijerink, W.J.; Scheele, F.

    2013-01-01

    Aim: Open knot-tying and suturing skills are fundamental surgical skills, founding many alternative knot-tying techniques. It is therefore mandatory for residents to possess adequate basic open knot-tying skills. The aim of this study was to compare an objective assessment of open knot-tying skills

  12. Hard skills or soft skills? Findings about importance of various skills in work

    OpenAIRE

    Niva, Anu

    2016-01-01

    Getting a job requires many things: hard skills, soft skills, the right attitude and motivation. To develop the degree programme in Business Information Systems in Oulu university of Applied Sciences (Oulu UAS), three surveys were conducted, to study importance of skills and knowledge in professional life: a graduate career survey in 2013, an employer survey in 2014, and a student survey in 2015. According to the results, readiness for change, learning skills and basic ICT skills seem to be t...

  13. Use of relaxation skills in differentially skilled athletes.

    OpenAIRE

    Kudlackova, K.; Eccles, D. W.; Dieffenbach, K.

    2013-01-01

    Objectives: To examine the use of relaxation skills by differentially skilled athletes in relation to the deliberate practice framework. Design: Differentially skilled athletes completed a survey about their use of relaxation skills. Method: 150 athletes representing three skill levels (recreational, college, and professional) completed the deliberate relaxation for sport survey, which assessed relaxation on three deliberate practice dimensions (relevancy, concentration, and ...

  14. Protecting the Innocence of Youth: Moral Sanctity Values Underlie Censorship From Young Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Rajen A; Masicampo, E J

    2017-11-01

    Three studies examined the relationship between people's moral values (drawing on moral foundations theory) and their willingness to censor immoral acts from children. Results revealed that diverse moral values did not predict censorship judgments. It was not the case that participants who valued loyalty and authority, respectively, sought to censor depictions of disloyal and disobedient acts. Rather, censorship intentions were predicted by a single moral value-sanctity. The more people valued sanctity, the more willing they were to censor from children, regardless of the types of violations depicted (impurity, disloyalty, disobedience, etc.). Furthermore, people who valued sanctity objected to indecent exposure only to apparently innocent and pure children-those who were relatively young and who had not been previously exposed to immoral acts. These data suggest that sanctity, purity, and the preservation of innocence underlie intentions to censor from young children.

  15. Planning-related motor processes underlie mental practice and imitation learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bach, Patric; Allami, Bassem Khalaf; Tucker, Mike; Ellis, Rob

    2014-06-01

    It is still controversial whether mental practice-the internal rehearsal of movements to improve later performance-relies on processes engaged during physical motor performance and, if so, which processes these are. We report data from 5 experiments, in which participants mentally practiced complex rhythms with either feet or hands while using the same or different body parts to respond to unrelated sounds. We found that responses were impaired for those body parts that were concurrently used in mental practice, suggesting a binding of body-part-specific motor processes to action plans. This result was found when participants mentally trained to memorize the rhythms, to merely improve their performance, when mental practice and execution directly followed one another and when separated by a different task. Finally, it was found irrespective of whether participants practiced on the basis of a symbolic rhythm description and when they practiced by watching somebody perform the rhythms (imitation learning). The effect was eliminated only when the requirement for mental practice was eliminated from the task while keeping visual stimulation identical. These data link mental practice not to execution but planning related motor processes and reveal that these planning processes underlie both mental practice and imitation learning. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

  16. Let your communication skills equal your clinical skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demarais, Ann; Baum, Neil

    2012-01-01

    Relating effectively with patients is among the most valued skills of clinical care. Honing your communication skills is an art that every physician needs to learn and understand. In this era of increased volume of patients there is a tendency to lose sight of the importance of having good communication skills. This article will review 11 suggestions for letting your communication skills equal your clinical skills.

  17. Wages and Skills Utilization: Effect of Broad Skills and Generic Skills on Wages in Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Catherine R.; Ng, Michael Chi Man; Sung, Johnny; Loke, Fiona

    2013-01-01

    Many people go for training to upgrade their skills which is hoped to pave the way for better pay. But what are the kinds of skills that really affect wages? Employers have emphasized the value of generic skills such as interpersonal and communication skills, teamwork and problem solving. Does possession of these skills translate to at least the…

  18. Contribution of Oral Language Skills, Linguistic Skills, and Transcription Skills to Chinese Written Composition among Fourth-Grade Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeung, Pui-sze; Ho, Connie Suk-han; Chan, David Wai-ock; Chung, Kevin Kien-hoa

    2013-01-01

    The present study aimed to investigate the contribution of oral language skills, linguistic skills, and transcription skills to Chinese written composition among Grade 4 students in Hong Kong. Measures assessing verbal working memory, oral language skills, linguistic skills (i.e., syntactic skills and discourse skills), transcription skills (i.e.,…

  19. Activity of the anterior cingulate cortex and ventral hippocampus underlie increases in contextual fear generalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cullen, Patrick K; Gilman, T Lee; Winiecki, Patrick; Riccio, David C; Jasnow, Aaron M

    2015-10-01

    Memories for context become less specific with time resulting in animals generalizing fear from training contexts to novel contexts. Though much attention has been given to the neural structures that underlie the long-term consolidation of a context fear memory, very little is known about the mechanisms responsible for the increase in fear generalization that occurs as the memory ages. Here, we examine the neural pattern of activation underlying the expression of a generalized context fear memory in male C57BL/6J mice. Animals were context fear conditioned and tested for fear in either the training context or a novel context at recent and remote time points. Animals were sacrificed and fluorescent in situ hybridization was performed to assay neural activation. Our results demonstrate activity of the prelimbic, infralimbic, and anterior cingulate (ACC) cortices as well as the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) underlie expression of a generalized fear memory. To verify the involvement of the ACC and vHPC in the expression of a generalized fear memory, animals were context fear conditioned and infused with 4% lidocaine into the ACC, dHPC, or vHPC prior to retrieval to temporarily inactivate these structures. The results demonstrate that activity of the ACC and vHPC is required for the expression of a generalized fear memory, as inactivation of these regions returned the memory to a contextually precise form. Current theories of time-dependent generalization of contextual memories do not predict involvement of the vHPC. Our data suggest a novel role of this region in generalized memory, which should be incorporated into current theories of time-dependent memory generalization. We also show that the dorsal hippocampus plays a prolonged role in contextually precise memories. Our findings suggest a possible interaction between the ACC and vHPC controls the expression of fear generalization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Defense behavior and coping in an autistic savant: the story of Temple Grandin, PhD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ratey, J J; Grandin, T; Miller, A

    1992-11-01

    The causal factors in the behaviorally defined syndrome of autism remain unclear, although the past decade has brought to bear two significant developments that shape our view of the disorder. The first of these developments is a growing body of biomedical research that indicates there are multiple etiologies associated with the disorder. This research has allowed for the formation of subgroups based upon neuroanatomical, neurobiological, and neurophysiological abnormalities (Damasio 1984; Piggot 1979; Ritvo et al. 1990). The second is neuropsychological research indicating that the socioemotional deficits are primary to the disorder and may underlie much of the behavioral symptomatology (Fein et al. 1986). These areas of concern undoubtedly have enhanced our understanding of the disorder, yet in their achievements they may too easily absorb what we know about autistics who experience a chronic state of physiological hyperarousal, evidence of which has been found in neurophysiological studies (Delius 1967; Hutt et al. 1965), neurochemical studies (Lake et al. 1977), psychopharmacologic studies (Ratey et al. 1987a), and behavioral studies (Kinsbourne 1980; Kootz et al. 1982; Tinbergen and Tinbergen 1972; Zentall and Zentall 1983). These individuals, perhaps constituting a subgroup of their own, experience an inner state of disorganization that markedly impairs their functioning (Sands and Ratey 1986).

  1. 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,…

  2. Genetic Defects Underlie the Non-syndromic Autosomal Recessive Intellectual Disability (NS-ARID

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saleha Shamim

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Intellectual disability (ID is a neurodevelopmental disorder which appears frequently as the result of genetic mutations and may be syndromic (S-ID or non-syndromic (NS-ID. ID causes an important economic burden, for patient's family, health systems, and society. Identifying genes that cause S-ID can easily be evaluated due to the clinical symptoms or physical anomalies. However, in the case of NS-ID due to the absence of co-morbid features, the latest molecular genetic techniques can be used to understand the genetic defects that underlie it. Recent studies have shown that non-syndromic autosomal recessive (NS-ARID is extremely heterogeneous and contributes much more than X-linked ID. However, very little is known about the genes and loci involved in NS-ARID relative to X-linked ID, and whose complete genetic etiology remains obscure. In this review article, the known genetic etiology of NS-ARID and possible relationships between genes and the associated molecular pathways of their encoded proteins has been reviewed which will enhance our understanding about the underlying genes and mechanisms in NS-ARID.

  3. Skill effort: A new theoretical perspective on the relation between skills, skill use, mismatches, and wages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Velden, Rolf; Bijlsma, Ineke

    2017-01-01

    Mismatches between workers’ skills and job demands have large negative effects on productivity, job satisfaction, and other outcomes. Current approaches to measure the impact of skills and skill mismatches on wages fail to specify the mechanism through which skills and mismatches may affect

  4. PENGEMBANGAN MODEL PEMBELAJARAN SOFT SKILLS DAN HARD SKILLS UNTUK SISWA SMK

    OpenAIRE

    Widarto Noto Widodo, Pardjono

    2013-01-01

    Abstrak: Pengembangan Model Pembelajaran Soft Skills dan Hard Skills untuk Siswa SMK. Era global menuntut sumber daya manusia yang memiliki daya saing, adaptif dan antisipatif, mampu belajar, terampil, mudah beradaptasi dengan teknologi baru. Profil tenaga kerja yang dibutuhkan pasar adalah yang kuat pada aspek soft skills dan hard skills. Ada tiga alternatif model pendidikan yang memadukan hard skills dan soft skills, yaitu (1) aspek soft skills dan hard skills dilaksanakan di sekolah; (2) a...

  5. Le couteau de Bohémond et la thériaque à vilain. La vénénologie savante face aux remèdes “merveilleux” ou “populaires”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Collard, Franck

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Originating in the western world at the end of the 13th century, treatises about poisoning aim to protect patients against poisons or to heal the poisoned. They must be considered as medical writings belonging to scholasticism. But the subject of toxicatio leads the authors to speak about antidotes that seem, at fi rst sight, far from the world of learned medicine because they are linked with “marvels of nature” or with popular culture. After listing those things mentioned by doctors, the paper will try to show why and how they were intellectually integrated in the scientia venenorum.[fr] Éclos en Occident à la fin du XIIIe siècle, les traités des poisons visent à protéger ou soigner les patients des périls ou des effets du poison. Ils se rangent parmi les écritures médicales scolastiques. Mais le domaine de la toxicatio conduit les auteurs à traiter d’antidotes à première vue éloignés des sphères de la médecine savante, soit qu’ils se rattachent aux “merveilles de la nature”, soit qu’ils proviennent de la culture vulgaire. Après avoir inventorié ces anti-poisons mentionnés par les docteurs, l’article s’attachera à montrer pourquoi et comment ils sont intellectuellement intégrés à la scientia venenorum.

  6. Correlations between technical skills and behavioral skills in simulated neonatal resuscitations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawyer, T; Leonard, D; Sierocka-Castaneda, A; Chan, D; Thompson, M

    2014-10-01

    Neonatal resuscitation requires both technical and behavioral skills. Key behavioral skills in neonatal resuscitation have been identified by the Neonatal Resuscitation Program. Correlations and interactions between technical skills and behavioral skills in neonatal resuscitation were investigated. Behavioral skills were evaluated via blinded video review of 45 simulated neonatal resuscitations using a validated assessment tool. These were statistically correlated with previously obtained technical skill performance data. Technical skills and behavioral skills were strongly correlated (ρ=0.48; P=0.001). The strongest correlations were seen in distribution of workload (ρ=0.60; P=0.01), utilization of information (ρ=0.55; P=0.03) and utilization of resources (ρ=0.61; P=0.01). Teams with superior behavioral skills also demonstrated superior technical skills, and vice versa. Technical and behavioral skills were highly correlated during simulated neonatal resuscitations. Individual behavioral skill correlations are likely dependent on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

  7. Employment Social Skills: What Skills Are Really Valued?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agran, Martin; Hughes, Carolyn; Thoma, Colleen A.; Scott, LaRon A.

    2016-01-01

    Although social skills have long been recognized as essential in promoting employees' employability (e.g., maintaining employment), there has been little research about work-related social skills for the last two decades. A systematic replication of Salzberg, Agran, and Lignugaris/Kraft's investigation of critical social skills was conducted.…

  8. Parent-Implemented Behavioral Skills Training of Social Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dogan, Rebecca K.; King, Melissa L.; Fischetti, Anthony T.; Lake, Candice M.; Mathews, Therese L.; Warzak, William J.

    2017-01-01

    Impairment in social skills is a primary feature of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Research indicates that social skills are intimately tied to social development and negative social consequences can persist if specific social behaviors are not acquired. The present study evaluated the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on teaching…

  9. Neural Tuning Functions Underlie Both Generalization and Interference.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian S Howard

    Full Text Available In sports, the role of backswing is considered critical for generating a good shot, even though it plays no direct role in hitting the ball. We recently demonstrated the scientific basis of this phenomenon by showing that immediate past movement affects the learning and recall of motor memories. This effect occurred regardless of whether the past contextual movement was performed actively, passively, or shown visually. In force field studies, it has been shown that motor memories generalize locally and that the level of compensation decays as a function of movement angle away from the trained movement. Here we examine if the contextual effect of past movement exhibits similar patterns of generalization and whether it can explain behavior seen in interference studies. Using a single force-field learning task, the directional tuning curves of both the prior contextual movement and the subsequent force field adaptive movements were measured. The adaptation movement direction showed strong directional tuning, decaying to zero by 90° relative to the training direction. The contextual movement direction exhibited a similar directional tuning, although the effect was always above 60%. We then investigated the directional tuning of the passive contextual movement using interference tasks, where the contextual movements that uniquely specified the force field direction were separated by ±15° or ±45°. Both groups showed a pronounced tuning effect, which could be well explained by the directional tuning functions for single force fields. Our results show that contextual effect of past movement influences predictive force compensation, even when adaptation does not require contextual information. However, when such past movement contextual information is crucial to the task, such as in an interference study, it plays a strong role in motor memory learning and recall. This work demonstrates that similar tuning responses underlie both generalization of

  10. Interpersonal Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barakat NG

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTIONInterpersonal skills are becoming more and more a necessity in the medical profession. The expectation from health care professionals is beyond just knowledge of the medical facts. To practice medicine effectively, doctors need to develop interpersonal skills in communication, leadership, management, teaching and time management. All of these are vital tools and are becoming increasingly essential subjects in teaching both undergraduate students and postgraduate doctors. However, a degree of self-motivation and personal initiative is needed to develop these skills. In this article, I will give an overview on interpersonal skills and will be follow this by a series of articles, in future issues, dealing with these skills.

  11. Building Skills for All in Australia: Policy Insights from the Survey of Adult Skills. OECD Skills Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    OECD Publishing, 2017

    2017-01-01

    Australia's overall performance in the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC) ranges from average to very good. However, three million adults, representing one-fifth of the working age population, have low literacy and/or numeracy skills. Building Skills for All in Australia describes the characteristics of the low-skilled and discusses the consequences…

  12. Fine and gross motor skills: The effects on skill-focused dual-tasks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raisbeck, Louisa D; Diekfuss, Jed A

    2015-10-01

    Dual-task methodology often directs participants' attention towards a gross motor skill involved in the execution of a skill, but researchers have not investigated the comparative effects of attention on fine motor skill tasks. Furthermore, there is limited information about participants' subjective perception of workload with respect to task performance. To examine this, the current study administered the NASA-Task Load Index following a simulated shooting dual-task. The task required participants to stand 15 feet from a projector screen which depicted virtual targets and fire a modified Glock 17 handgun equipped with an infrared laser. Participants performed the primary shooting task alone (control), or were also instructed to focus their attention on a gross motor skill relevant to task execution (gross skill-focused) and a fine motor skill relevant to task execution (fine skill-focused). Results revealed that workload was significantly greater during the fine skill-focused task for both skill levels, but performance was only affected for the lesser-skilled participants. Shooting performance for the lesser-skilled participants was greater during the gross skill-focused condition compared to the fine skill-focused condition. Correlational analyses also demonstrated a significant negative relationship between shooting performance and workload during the gross skill-focused task for the higher-skilled participants. A discussion of the relationship between skill type, workload, skill level, and performance in dual-task paradigms is presented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Sustained attention in skilled and novice martial arts athletes: a study of event-related potentials and current sources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez-Lopez, Javier; Silva-Pereyra, Juan; Fernandez, Thalia

    2016-01-01

    . Discussion. These results are supported by previous findings regarding activation of neural structures that underlie sustained attention. Our findings may indicate a better-controlled attention in skilled athletes, which suggests that expertise can improve effectiveness in allocation of attentional resources during the first stages of cognitive processing during combat.

  14. Associations between skill perceptions and young children's actual fundamental movement skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liong, Grace H E; Ridgers, Nicola D; Barnett, Lisa M

    2015-04-01

    Given that children with low movement skill competence engage in less physical activity, it is important to understand how children's perceptions relate to actual movement competence. This study examined relationships between (i) children's self-perception and objective assessments of their movement skills (object control and locomotor) and (ii) parents' perceptions of the children's movement skills and objective assessment. Children's skill perceptions were assessed using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children. Parent perceptions of their child's skills were assessed using a modified version of this instrument. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd edition assessed children's skills objectively. Participants were 136 Australian children (51% boys; M=6.5 yr., SD=1.1) and 133 parents. Regression analyses (by sex) examined the relationship between perceptions and children's scores for actual skilled performance. Boys' perceptions were associated with their actual object control ability. Parents accurately perceived boys' object control ability and girls' locomotor ability, but not the reverse. This suggests interventions aiming to improve children's movement skills could target parents and be designed to teach parents how to recognize good and poor skill performance in their children.

  15. A Problem in Online Interpersonal Skills Training: Do Learners Practice Skills?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doo, Min Young

    2006-01-01

    One problem found when teaching interpersonal skills online is learners' lack of opportunity for skill practice. The online learning environment is deficient in face-to-face interaction, and opportunities for self-regulation make it difficult to ensure learners practice skills despite the positive effects of such practice on skill improvement. The…

  16. Distinct neural and neuromuscular strategies underlie independent evolution of simplified advertisement calls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leininger, Elizabeth C; Kelley, Darcy B

    2013-04-07

    Independent or convergent evolution can underlie phenotypic similarity of derived behavioural characters. Determining the underlying neural and neuromuscular mechanisms sheds light on how these characters arose. One example of evolutionarily derived characters is a temporally simple advertisement call of male African clawed frogs (Xenopus) that arose at least twice independently from a more complex ancestral pattern. How did simplification occur in the vocal circuit? To distinguish shared from divergent mechanisms, we examined activity from the calling brain and vocal organ (larynx) in two species that independently evolved simplified calls. We find that each species uses distinct neural and neuromuscular strategies to produce the simplified calls. Isolated Xenopus borealis brains produce fictive vocal patterns that match temporal patterns of actual male calls; the larynx converts nerve activity faithfully into muscle contractions and single clicks. In contrast, fictive patterns from isolated Xenopus boumbaensis brains are short bursts of nerve activity; the isolated larynx requires stimulus bursts to produce a single click of sound. Thus, unlike X. borealis, the output of the X. boumbaensis hindbrain vocal pattern generator is an ancestral burst-type pattern, transformed by the larynx into single clicks. Temporally simple advertisement calls in genetically distant species of Xenopus have thus arisen independently via reconfigurations of central and peripheral vocal neuroeffectors.

  17. Skills and Competencies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nasios Orinos

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available This article presents the results of a study aimed to investigate the requirements of the business sector in light of the skills and competencies students should have in order to be recruited. In this fashion, the study intended to measure the importance of the skills and competencies sought by the business world, revealing ways through which students can develop such skills. This project portrayed that, some of the required classes will certainly give students a strong theoretical background but they will neither completely prepare this student with all possible skills or competencies nor provide the student with any practical experience that will enable him/her to be more competitive when entering the business market. In some classes, however, like Public Speaking, which is designed to teach presentation skills, successful students are able to build good communication and interpersonal skills. Additionally, an English writing class will certainly attempt to provide them with strong writing skills, and a business class will possibly demand reading skills. Moreover, a calculus and a statistics class will provide basic arithmetic/mathematical skills. However, through this project it is proven that all of these classes will neglect the indoctrination of creative thinking in students, or make students believe in their own self-worth (self-esteem skills; the courses will also fail to develop the sense of urgency, drive and determination that students should possess not just to compete but also to survive in a business world.

  18. Valuing skill differences : Perceived skill complementary and dyadic helping behavior in teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oosterhof, A.; van der Vegt, G.S.; Van de Vliert, E.; Sanders, K.

    2009-01-01

    This article reports effects of perceived skill dissimilarity and perceived skill complementarity on dyadic helping behavior using a cross-lagged panel study. Specifically, the authors hypothesize that perceived skill dissimilarity is negatively related, whereas perceived skill complementarity is

  19. Valuing Skill Differences: Perceived Skill Complementarity and Dyadic Helping Behavior in Teams

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Oosterhof, Aad; van der Vegt, Gerben S.; van de Vliert, Evert; Sanders, Karin

    2009-01-01

    This article reports effects of perceived skill dissimilarity and perceived skill complementarity on dyadic helping behavior using a cross-lagged panel study. Specifically, the authors hypothesize that perceived skill dissimilarity is negatively related, whereas perceived skill complementarity is

  20. Co-Option and De Novo Gene Evolution Underlie Molluscan Shell Diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguilera, Felipe; McDougall, Carmel

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Molluscs fabricate shells of incredible diversity and complexity by localized secretions from the dorsal epithelium of the mantle. Although distantly related molluscs express remarkably different secreted gene products, it remains unclear if the evolution of shell structure and pattern is underpinned by the differential co-option of conserved genes or the integration of lineage-specific genes into the mantle regulatory program. To address this, we compare the mantle transcriptomes of 11 bivalves and gastropods of varying relatedness. We find that each species, including four Pinctada (pearl oyster) species that diverged within the last 20 Ma, expresses a unique mantle secretome. Lineage- or species-specific genes comprise a large proportion of each species’ mantle secretome. A majority of these secreted proteins have unique domain architectures that include repetitive, low complexity domains (RLCDs), which evolve rapidly, and have a proclivity to expand, contract and rearrange in the genome. There are also a large number of secretome genes expressed in the mantle that arose before the origin of gastropods and bivalves. Each species expresses a unique set of these more ancient genes consistent with their independent co-option into these mantle gene regulatory networks. From this analysis, we infer lineage-specific secretomes underlie shell diversity, and include both rapidly evolving RLCD-containing proteins, and the continual recruitment and loss of both ancient and recently evolved genes into the periphery of the regulatory network controlling gene expression in the mantle epithelium. PMID:28053006

  1. Psychomotor skills in medical ultrasound imaging: an analysis of the core skill set.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholls, Delwyn; Sweet, Linda; Hyett, Jon

    2014-08-01

    Sonographers use psychomotor skills to perform medical ultrasound examinations. Psychomotor skills describe voluntary movements of the limb, joints, and muscles in response to sensory stimuli and are regulated by the motor neural cortex in the brain. We define a psychomotor skill in relation to medical ultrasound imaging as "the unique mental and motor activities required to execute a manual task safely and efficiently for each clinical situation." Skills in clinical ultrasound practice may be open or closed; most skills used in medical ultrasound imaging are open. Open skills are both complex and multidimensional. Visuomotor and visuospatial psychomotor skills are central components of medical ultrasound imaging. Both types of skills rely on learners having a visual exemplar or standard of performance with which to reference their skill performance and evaluate anatomic structures. These are imperative instructional design principles when teaching psychomotor skills. © 2014 by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.

  2. Not-so-Soft Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curran, Mary

    2010-01-01

    Much recent discussion about the skills needed to secure Britain's economic recovery has focused on skills for employability. However, too often, these fundamental skills are understood in narrow functional or vocational terms. So-called "soft skills", what Penelope Tobin, in her 2008 paper "Soft Skills: the hard facts", terms "traits and…

  3. Brief Report: Autism-Like Traits Are Associated with Enhanced Ability to Disembed Visual Forms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabatino DiCriscio, Antoinette; Troiani, Vanessa

    2017-01-01

    Atypical visual perceptual skills are thought to underlie unusual visual attention in autism spectrum disorders. We assessed whether individual differences in visual processing skills scaled with quantitative traits associated with the broader autism phenotype (BAP). Visual perception was assessed using the Figure-ground subtest of the Test of…

  4. 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…

  5. Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills. OECD Skills Studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kankaraš, Miloš; Montt, Guillermo; Paccagnella, Marco; Quintini, Glenda; Thorn, William

    2016-01-01

    In the wake of the technological revolution that began in the last decades of the 20th century, labour market demand for information-processing and other high-level cognitive and interpersonal skills is growing substantially. The "Survey of Adult Skills," a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult…

  6. What Predicts Skill in Lecture Note Taking?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peverly, Stephen T.; Ramaswamy, Vivek; Brown, Cindy; Sumowski, James; Alidoost, Moona; Garner, Joanna

    2007-01-01

    Despite the importance of good lecture notes to test performance, very little is known about the cognitive processes that underlie effective lecture note taking. The primary purpose of the 2 studies reported (a pilot study and Study 1) was to investigate 3 processes hypothesized to be significantly related to quality of notes: transcription…

  7. PSYCHOLINGUISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF AUTISTS AND THEIR PROTOTYPES IN AMERICAN CINEMA DISCOURSE (BASED ON THE FILMS RAIN MAN AND THE REAL RAIN MAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L.M. Ikalyuk

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The article focuses on the study of the main characteristics of people with autistic spectrum disorders. The comparison between the famous American savant, Kim Peek, and his prototype in the American cinema discourse has been made on the basis of the films Rain Man and The Real Rain Man. With the help of psychographological analysis, the speech of the man and his fictional prototype has been examined. The analysis showed that the difference between the two persons is indubitable, which can be explained by the fact that the savant syndrome was caused by different disorders.

  8. Skill mismatch and skill use in developed countries: Evidence from the PIAAC study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Allen, J.P.; Levels, M.; van der Velden, R.K.W.

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we develop and test a new set of measures of skill mismatches, based on data on skill levels and skill use in the domains of literacy and numeracy from the PIAAC project. The measures we develop represent the extent of skill use relative to one’s own skill level. We test the measures

  9. Elments constintute teachers’ teaching skills

    OpenAIRE

    Hoa, H.; Lам, P.

    2014-01-01

    Teachers’ pedagogical activities are constituted by many skills such as teaching skills, education skills, and skills of performing varied pedagogical ac- tivities. Each skill is formed from a variety of specifi c skills. Approaching teachers’ teaching skills based on pedagogical operation base can help us establish methods and develop skills for teachers. By doing so, we can assist teachers to enhance their teaching competence contributing to teaching quality improvement in schools

  10. Europe's Skill Challenge: Lagging Skill Demand Increases Risks of Skill Mismatch. Briefing Note

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cedefop - European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, 2012

    2012-01-01

    The main findings of Cedefop's latest skill demand and supply forecast for the European Union (EU) for 2010-20, indicate that although further economic troubles will affect the projected number of job opportunities, the major trends, including a shift to more skill-intensive jobs and more jobs in services, will continue. Between 2008 and 2010…

  11. Abnormal Brain Dynamics Underlie Speech Production in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, Elizabeth W; Valica, Tatiana; MacDonald, Matt J; Taylor, Margot J; Brian, Jessica; Lerch, Jason P; Anagnostou, Evdokia

    2016-02-01

    A large proportion of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have speech and/or language difficulties. While a number of structural and functional neuroimaging methods have been used to explore the brain differences in ASD with regards to speech and language comprehension and production, the neurobiology of basic speech function in ASD has not been examined. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a neuroimaging modality with high spatial and temporal resolution that can be applied to the examination of brain dynamics underlying speech as it can capture the fast responses fundamental to this function. We acquired MEG from 21 children with high-functioning autism (mean age: 11.43 years) and 21 age- and sex-matched controls as they performed a simple oromotor task, a phoneme production task and a phonemic sequencing task. Results showed significant differences in activation magnitude and peak latencies in primary motor cortex (Brodmann Area 4), motor planning areas (BA 6), temporal sequencing and sensorimotor integration areas (BA 22/13) and executive control areas (BA 9). Our findings of significant functional brain differences between these two groups on these simple oromotor and phonemic tasks suggest that these deficits may be foundational and could underlie the language deficits seen in ASD. © 2015 The Authors Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Autism Research.

  12. OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    OECD Publishing, 2013

    2013-01-01

    This first "OECD Skills Outlook" presents the initial results of the Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), which evaluates the skills of adults in 22 OECD member countries and two partner countries. The PIAAC survey was designed to provide insights into the availability of some key skills and how they are used at work and at home through the…

  13. Urban College Graduates: Their Investments in and Returns for Strong Quantitative Skills, Social Capital Skills, and Soft Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haynes, Marie Ellen

    2010-01-01

    This case study examined strong quantitative skills, social capital skills, and soft skills of urban college graduates using data from the Multi-City Study of Urban Inequality Household Survey. The urban college graduates lived in Atlanta, Boston, or Los Angeles and had bachelor's, master's, PhD, and professional degrees. Among the three skills…

  14. Soft skills and dental education

    OpenAIRE

    Gonzalez, M. A. G.; Abu Kasim, N. H.; Naimie, Z.

    2014-01-01

    Soft skills and hard skills are essential in the practice of dentistry. While hard skills deal with technical proficiency, soft skills relate to a personal values and interpersonal skills that determine a person's ability to fit in a particular situation. These skills contribute to the success of organisations that deal face-to-face with clients. Effective soft skills benefit the dental practice. However, the teaching of soft skills remains a challenge to dental schools. This paper discusses ...

  15. Potential predictability and forecast skill in ensemble climate forecast: a skill-persistence rule

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Yishuai; Rong, Xinyao; Liu, Zhengyu

    2017-12-01

    This study investigates the factors relationship between the forecast skills for the real world (actual skill) and perfect model (perfect skill) in ensemble climate model forecast with a series of fully coupled general circulation model forecast experiments. It is found that the actual skill for sea surface temperature (SST) in seasonal forecast is substantially higher than the perfect skill on a large part of the tropical oceans, especially the tropical Indian Ocean and the central-eastern Pacific Ocean. The higher actual skill is found to be related to the higher observational SST persistence, suggesting a skill-persistence rule: a higher SST persistence in the real world than in the model could overwhelm the model bias to produce a higher forecast skill for the real world than for the perfect model. The relation between forecast skill and persistence is further proved using a first-order autoregressive model (AR1) analytically for theoretical solutions and numerically for analogue experiments. The AR1 model study shows that the skill-persistence rule is strictly valid in the case of infinite ensemble size, but could be distorted by sampling errors and non-AR1 processes. This study suggests that the so called "perfect skill" is model dependent and cannot serve as an accurate estimate of the true upper limit of real world prediction skill, unless the model can capture at least the persistence property of the observation.

  16. Potential predictability and forecast skill in ensemble climate forecast: the skill-persistence rule

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Y.; Rong, X.; Liu, Z.

    2017-12-01

    This study investigates the factors that impact the forecast skill for the real world (actual skill) and perfect model (perfect skill) in ensemble climate model forecast with a series of fully coupled general circulation model forecast experiments. It is found that the actual skill of sea surface temperature (SST) in seasonal forecast is substantially higher than the perfect skill on a large part of the tropical oceans, especially the tropical Indian Ocean and the central-eastern Pacific Ocean. The higher actual skill is found to be related to the higher observational SST persistence, suggesting a skill-persistence rule: a higher SST persistence in the real world than in the model could overwhelm the model bias to produce a higher forecast skill for the real world than for the perfect model. The relation between forecast skill and persistence is further examined using a first-order autoregressive model (AR1) analytically for theoretical solutions and numerically for analogue experiments. The AR1 model study shows that the skill-persistence rule is strictly valid in the case of infinite ensemble size, but can be distorted by the sampling error and non-AR1 processes.

  17. Peer Assessment of Soft Skills and Hard Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Aimao

    2012-01-01

    Both the information technology (IT) industry and the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) demand soft-skill training in higher education and require IT graduates to demonstrate competence in interpersonal communication, teamwork, and conflict management. Group projects provide teamwork environment for soft-skill training, but…

  18. Counting on fine motor skills: links between preschool finger dexterity and numerical skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Ursula; Suggate, Sebastian P; Schmirl, Judith; Stoeger, Heidrun

    2017-10-26

    Finger counting is widely considered an important step in children's early mathematical development. Presumably, children's ability to move their fingers during early counting experiences to aid number representation depends in part on their early fine motor skills (FMS). Specifically, FMS should link to children's procedural counting skills through consistent repetition of finger-counting procedures. Accordingly, we hypothesized that (a) FMS are linked to early counting skills, and (b) greater FMS relate to conceptual counting knowledge (e.g., cardinality, abstraction, order irrelevance) via procedural counting skills (i.e., one-one correspondence and correctness of verbal counting). Preschool children (N = 177) were administered measures of procedural counting skills, conceptual counting knowledge, FMS, and general cognitive skills along with parent questionnaires on home mathematics and fine motor environment. FMS correlated with procedural counting skills and conceptual counting knowledge after controlling for cognitive skills, chronological age, home mathematics and FMS environments. Moreover, the relationship between FMS and conceptual counting knowledge was mediated by procedural counting skills. Findings suggest that FMS play a role in early counting and therewith conceptual counting knowledge. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Implementation of science process skills using ICT-based approach to facilitate student life skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahayu, Y. S.; Yuliani; Wijaya, B. R.

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to describe the results of the implementation of a teaching-learning package in Plant Physiology courses to improve the student’s life skills using the science process skills-based approach ICT. This research used 15 students of Biology Education of Undergraduate International Class who are in the Plant Physiology course. This study consists of two phases items, namely the development phase and implementation phase by using a one-shot case study design. Research parameters were the feasibility of lesson plans, student achievement, Including academic skills, thinking skills, and social skills. Data were descriptively Analyzed According to the characteristics of the existing data. The result shows that the feasibility of a lesson plan is very satisfied and can be improvements in student’s life skills, especially with regards to student’s thinking skills and scientific thinking skills. The results indicate that the science process skills using ICT-based approach can be effective methods to improve student’s life skills.

  20. Extensive molecular differences between anterior- and posterior-half-sclerotomes underlie somite polarity and spinal nerve segmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Keynes Roger J

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The polarization of somite-derived sclerotomes into anterior and posterior halves underlies vertebral morphogenesis and spinal nerve segmentation. To characterize the full extent of molecular differences that underlie this polarity, we have undertaken a systematic comparison of gene expression between the two sclerotome halves in the mouse embryo. Results Several hundred genes are differentially-expressed between the two sclerotome halves, showing that a marked degree of molecular heterogeneity underpins the development of somite polarity. Conclusion We have identified a set of genes that warrant further investigation as regulators of somite polarity and vertebral morphogenesis, as well as repellents of spinal axon growth. Moreover the results indicate that, unlike the posterior half-sclerotome, the central region of the anterior-half-sclerotome does not contribute bone and cartilage to the vertebral column, being associated instead with the development of the segmented spinal nerves.

  1. The Effect of Social Skills Training on Socialization Skills in Children with Down Syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hajar Barati

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The development of social skills, especially skills in relating to peers, is an important capacity that provides the foundations for lifelong success. Some children with disabilities need to learn social skills more directly. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of social skills training on socialization skills development in children with Down syndrome. Methods: This study was a semi-experimental conducted on thirty-seven student with Down syndrome, 8-12 years old with IQ 55–75. Subjects were divided randomly in two groups (n=18 and control group (n=19. Initially, each of the subjects was assessed by the list of social skills, and then social skill training was performed for 60 minutes, two times weekly, for two months in intervention group, and the socialization skills was evaluated after intervention and 2 months later in the two groups. Results: A significant (P<0.05 improvement in socialization skills was occurred. Follow-up study also showed, improvement of socialization skills were maintained 2 months after the end of training in intervention group (P<0.05. Discussion: It’s seems that training of social skills can improve the socialization skills of children with Down's syndrome.

  2. Two Reading Assessments for Youth in Alternative Basic Skills and Livelihood Skills Training Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comings, John P.; Strucker, John; Bell, Brenda

    2017-01-01

    This article describes two assessment tools that have been used to assess the reading skills of youth participating in alternative basic skills and livelihood skills training programs. The Rapid Assessment of Reading Skills (RARS) was developed to identify potential participants who needed to improve their reading skills before beginning training…

  3. What aspects of autism predispose to talent?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Happé, Francesca; Vital, Pedro

    2009-05-27

    In this paper, we explore the question, why are striking special skills so much more common in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) than in other groups? Current cognitive accounts of ASC are briefly reviewed in relation to special skills. Difficulties in 'theory of mind' may contribute to originality in ASC, since individuals who do not automatically 'read other minds' may be better able to think outside prevailing fashions and popular theories. However, originality alone does not confer talent. Executive dysfunction has been suggested as the 'releasing' mechanism for special skills in ASC, but other groups with executive difficulties do not show raised incidence of talents. Detail-focused processing bias ('weak coherence', 'enhanced perceptual functioning') appears to be the most promising predisposing characteristic, or 'starting engine', for talent development. In support of this notion, we summarize data from a population-based twin study in which parents reported on their 8-year-olds' talents and their ASC-like traits. Across the whole sample, ASC-like traits, and specifically 'restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests' related to detail focus, were more pronounced in children reported to have talents outstripping older children. We suggest that detail-focused cognitive style predisposes to talent in savant domains in, and beyond, autism spectrum disorders.

  4. Teaching Organizational Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakunas, Boris; Holley, William

    2004-01-01

    Kerr and Zigmond (1986) found that 67 percent of all high school teachers surveyed viewed organizational skills as crucial for student success in school. How can teachers get their students to agree? One way is to teach organizational skills just as they would teach writing or computation skills. Explain and demonstrate what students are to do,…

  5. Soft skills and dental education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez, M A G; Abu Kasim, N H; Naimie, Z

    2013-05-01

    Soft skills and hard skills are essential in the practice of dentistry. While hard skills deal with technical proficiency, soft skills relate to a personal values and interpersonal skills that determine a person's ability to fit in a particular situation. These skills contribute to the success of organisations that deal face-to-face with clients. Effective soft skills benefit the dental practice. However, the teaching of soft skills remains a challenge to dental schools. This paper discusses the different soft skills, how they are taught and assessed and the issues that need to be addressed in their teaching and assessment. The use of the module by the Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya for development of soft skills for institutions of higher learning introduced by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  6. Lecturing skills as predictors of tutoring skills in a problem-based medical curriculum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kassab, Salah Eldin; Hassan, Nahla; Abu-Hijleh, Marwan F; Sequeira, Reginald P

    2016-01-01

    Recruitment of tutors to work in problem-based learning (PBL) programs is challenging, especially in that most of them are graduated from discipline-based programs. Therefore, this study aims at examining whether lecturing skills of faculty could predict their PBL tutoring skills. This study included evaluation of faculty (n=69) who participated in both tutoring and lecturing within particular PBL units at the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences (CMMS), Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain. Each faculty was evaluated by medical students (n=45±8 for lecturing and 8±2 for PBL tutoring) using structured evaluation forms based on a Likert-type scale (poor to excellent). The prediction of tutoring skills using lecturing skills was statistically analyzed using stepwise linear regression. Among the parameters used to judge lecturing skills, the most important predictor for tutoring skills was subject matter mastery in the lecture by explaining difficult concepts and responding effectively to students' questions. Subject matter mastery in the lecture positively predicted five tutoring skills and accounted for 25% of the variance in overall effectiveness of the PBL tutors (F=22.39, P=0.000). Other important predictors for tutoring skills were providing a relaxed class atmosphere and effective use of audiovisual aids in the lecture. Predicting the tutoring skills based on lecturing skills could have implications for recruiting tutors in PBL medical programs and for tutor training initiatives.

  7. Ageing and skills

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Desjardins, Richard; Warnke, Arne Jonas

    The relationship between ageing and skills is becoming an important policy issue, not least in the context of population ageing. Data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) will potentially add considerably to the understanding of the relationship between...... ageing and foundation skills. In particular, the fact that data from the 1994-1998 International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) and the 2003-2007 Adult Literacy and Lifeskills Survey (ALL) will be linked with PIAAC offers a unique opportunity to examine trends over time at the cohort level for a wide range...... of countries. Specifically, repeated measures will enable an analysis of whether there is skill gain and skill loss over the lifespan of cohorts and overtime between cohorts. This is especially important because age-skill profiles observed on the basis of a single cross-section are difficult to interpret...

  8. Finger-Based Numerical Skills Link Fine Motor Skills to Numerical Development in Preschoolers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suggate, Sebastian; Stoeger, Heidrun; Fischer, Ursula

    2017-12-01

    Previous studies investigating the association between fine-motor skills (FMS) and mathematical skills have lacked specificity. In this study, we test whether an FMS link to numerical skills is due to the involvement of finger representations in early mathematics. We gave 81 pre-schoolers (mean age of 4 years, 9 months) a set of FMS measures and numerical tasks with and without a specific finger focus. Additionally, we used receptive vocabulary and chronological age as control measures. FMS linked more closely to finger-based than to nonfinger-based numerical skills even after accounting for the control variables. Moreover, the relationship between FMS and numerical skill was entirely mediated by finger-based numerical skills. We concluded that FMS are closely related to early numerical skill development through finger-based numerical counting that aids the acquisition of mathematical mental representations.

  9. Lecturing skills as predictors of tutoring skills in a problem-based medical curriculum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kassab SE

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Salah Eldin Kassab,1 Nahla Hassan,1 Marwan F Abu-Hijleh,2 Reginald P Sequeira3 1Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt; 2College of Medicine, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar; 3College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain Purpose: Recruitment of tutors to work in problem-based learning (PBL programs is challenging, especially in that most of them are graduated from discipline-based programs. Therefore, this study aims at examining whether lecturing skills of faculty could predict their PBL tutoring skills. Methods: This study included evaluation of faculty (n=69 who participated in both tutoring and lecturing within particular PBL units at the College of Medicine and Medical Sciences (CMMS, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain. Each faculty was evaluated by medical students (n=45±8 for lecturing and 8±2 for PBL tutoring using structured evaluation forms based on a Likert-type scale (poor to excellent. The prediction of tutoring skills using lecturing skills was statistically analyzed using stepwise linear regression. Results: Among the parameters used to judge lecturing skills, the most important predictor for tutoring skills was subject matter mastery in the lecture by explaining difficult concepts and responding effectively to students' questions. Subject matter mastery in the lecture positively predicted five tutoring skills and accounted for 25% of the variance in overall effectiveness of the PBL tutors (F=22.39, P=0.000. Other important predictors for tutoring skills were providing a relaxed class atmosphere and effective use of audiovisual aids in the lecture. Conclusion: Predicting the tutoring skills based on lecturing skills could have implications for recruiting tutors in PBL medical programs and for tutor training initiatives. Keywords: PBL, tutor, tutoring skills, lecturing skills

  10. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... ACS Careers at ACS About ACS Career Types Working at ACS ... Education Patients and Family Skills Programs Ostomy Home Skills Program Ostomy Home Skills Program Adult Ostomy ...

  11. Improving the interview skills of college students using behavioral skills training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stocco, Corey S; Thompson, Rachel H; Hart, John M; Soriano, Heidi L

    2017-07-01

    Obtaining a job as a college graduate is partly dependent on interview performance. We used a multiple baseline design across skills to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training with self-evaluation for five college students. Training effects were evaluated using simulated interviews as baseline and posttraining assessments. All participants acquired targeted skills, but we observed some individual differences. Participants were satisfied with training outcomes and rated the procedures as acceptable. Furthermore, ratings from university staff who provide interview training indicated that training improved performance across several skills for the majority of participants. © 2017 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

  12. Floorball game skills (evaluation criteria)

    OpenAIRE

    Chlumský, Marek

    2013-01-01

    Title: Playing skills in floorball (evaluation criteria). Target: To create a list of playing skills which an ideal player should demonstrate. Find and verify the evaluation criteria of these skills and inspire trainers to develop these skills in the best way. Methods: Informal interviews, individually structured interviews, analysis and verification of data, pilot testing. Results: Defined playing skills in floorball, developed scale of values of floorball playing skills, creation of exercis...

  13. IMPLEMENTASI TQM BERORIENTASI HARD SKILL DAN SOFT SKILL DALAM PEMBELAJARAN SEJARAH SMA DI KOTA SEMARANG

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cahyo Budi Utomo

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to introduce the implementation of hardskill and softskill oriented TQM in teacher’s learning of history in Senior High School in Semarang. The research model are structural fit model and significance of relationship between TQM implementation model, PDSA cycle, the model analysis of fish bone, continuous improvement , hard skills and soft skills and qualified history learning is the main target of research. Data was obtained from field studies using Likert scale questionnaire developed from the constructs and theoretical construct indicator. Analysis performed using software models SmartPLS. Implementation of PDSA cycle correlated 0879 to the implementation of fish bone analysis, correlates 0830 PDSA cycle to continuously improvement , while continuously improvement  correlated 0441 and 0749 against the hard skills to soft skills. Soft skills to hard skills correlate of 0329, while the correlation of hard skills to qualified history learning is at 0673. The developed qualityfied history learning need support from  the realization of the continuous (continuously improvement and optimal orientation of hard skills. Keywords: model, TQM, PDSA, the analysis of fish bone, hard skills, soft skills, learning the history of quality  Kajian ini bertujuan mengenalkan model implementasi TQM yang berorientasi pada hardskill dan softskill dalam pembelajaran sejarah di sekolah atas Semarang pada para guru. Sebagai model penelitian, model struktural fit dan signifikasi  dari korelasi antara model implementasi TQM, siklus PDSA, model analisis tulang ikan, perbaikan terus-menerus, hard skill dan soft skill, dan pembelajaran sejarah bermutu (PSB menjadi target utama penelitian. Data didapatkan dari studi lapangan menggunakan angket skala Likert yang dikembangkan dari konstruk dan indicator konstruk teoretis. Analisis menggunakan program SmartPLS. Implementasi siklus PDSA berkorelasi 0879 terhadap implementasi model analisis

  14. Evaluating Behavioral Skills Training to Teach Safe Tackling Skills to Youth Football Players

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tai, Sharayah S. M.; Miltenberger, Raymond G.

    2017-01-01

    With concussion rates on the rise for football players, there is a need for further research to increase skills and decrease injuries. Behavioral skills training is effective in teaching a wide variety of skills but has yet to be studied in the sports setting. We evaluated behavioral skills training to teach safer tackling techniques to six…

  15. Is There a Moral Skill?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gotz, Ignacio L.

    1989-01-01

    The nature of skill, distinguished from habit, is sketched. Moral skill is defined as the skill, born of genetically rooted talent, which masterminds subsidiary skills into moral action (action conforming to certain moral principles). Training this skill is possible, but results will be uneven because talent varies. (IAH)

  16. Communication skills of heads of departments: verbal, listening, and feedback skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamidi, Yadollah; Barati, Majid

    2011-11-04

    Managers' communication skills are one of the most important topics in educational sector of universities of medical sciences and may have considerable effect on faculty members and employees. This study was per-formed to determine the level of communication skills (verbal, listening, feed-back) of the heads of department of faculties and its relation with some demo-graphic variables. This cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2009 to January 2010. We enrolled all of the heads of departments (N=60) in Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, western Iran. The participants received a self-administered 24-item questionnaire in Likert format (six general items and 18 items related to communication skills). Data were analyzed with SPSS software using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. The average scores of verbal, listening and feedback communication were 22.5, 16.1 and 21.1, respectively. Accordingly, 78.3% of participants in verbal communication, 16.7% in listening communication and 73.3% in feedback communication had high status. There were significant differences between the average score of listening skills and age (P=0.013) as well as gender (P=0.042). In addition, there was a significant statistical difference between verbal skills and gender (P=0.021). The overall communication skills of more than half of the heads of departments were moderate. This needs designing some programs for improving department managers' communication skills.

  17. Cognitive Skill in Medicine: An Introduction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cnossen, Fokie; Lanzer, Peter

    2015-01-01

    Cognition encompasses all processes from perception to action including attention and memory, reasoning, and decision making. Therefore, all skills (perceptual skills, motor skills, diagnosing skill, medical skills) are cognitive skills. Cognitive skills are supported by two types of knowledge:

  18. Autonomous and Non-autonomous Defects Underlie Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in BRAF-Mutant hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Josowitz

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Germline mutations in BRAF cause cardio-facio-cutaneous syndrome (CFCS, whereby 40% of patients develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM. As the role of the RAS/MAPK pathway in HCM pathogenesis is unclear, we generated a human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC model for CFCS from three patients with activating BRAF mutations. By cell sorting for SIRPα and CD90, we generated a method to examine hiPSC-derived cell type-specific phenotypes and cellular interactions underpinning HCM. BRAF-mutant SIRPα+/CD90− cardiomyocytes displayed cellular hypertrophy, pro-hypertrophic gene expression, and intrinsic calcium-handling defects. BRAF-mutant SIRPα−/CD90+ cells, which were fibroblast-like, exhibited a pro-fibrotic phenotype and partially modulated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy through transforming growth factor β (TGFβ paracrine signaling. Inhibition of TGFβ or RAS/MAPK signaling rescued the hypertrophic phenotype. Thus, cell autonomous and non-autonomous defects underlie HCM due to BRAF mutations. TGFβ inhibition may be a useful therapeutic option for patients with HCM due to RASopathies or other etiologies.

  19. Mutation mechanisms that underlie turnover of a human telomere-adjacent segmental duplication containing an unstable minisatellite.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hills, Mark; Jeyapalan, Jennie N; Foxon, Jennifer L; Royle, Nicola J

    2007-04-01

    Subterminal regions, juxtaposed to telomeres on human chromosomes, contain a high density of segmental duplications, but relatively little is known about the evolutionary processes that underlie sequence turnover in these regions. We have characterized a segmental duplication adjacent to the Xp/Yp telomere, each copy containing a hypervariable array of the DXYS14 minisatellite. Both DXYS14 repeat arrays mutate at a high rate (0.3 and 0.2% per gamete) but linkage disequilibrium analysis across 27 SNPs and a direct crossover assay show that recombination during meiosis is suppressed. Therefore instability at DXYS14a and b is dominated by intra-allelic processes or possibly conversion limited to the repeat arrays. Furthermore some chromosomes (14%) carry only one copy of the duplicon, including one DXYS14 repeat array that is also highly mutable (1.2% per gamete). To explain these and other observations, we propose there is another low-rate mutation process that causes copy number change in part or all of the duplicon.

  20. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Careers at ACS Careers at ACS About ACS Career Types Working at ACS ... American College of Surgeons Education Patients and Family Skills Programs Ostomy Home Skills Program Ostomy Home Skills ...

  1. Fundamental Movement Skills Are More than Run, Throw and Catch: The Role of Stability Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudd, James R.; Barnett, Lisa M.; Butson, Michael L.; Farrow, Damian; Berry, Jason; Polman, Remco C. J.

    2015-01-01

    Introduction In motor development literature fundamental movement skills are divided into three constructs: locomotive, object control and stability skills. Most fundamental movement skills research has focused on children’s competency in locomotor and object control skills. The first aim of this study was to validate a test battery to assess the construct of stability skills, in children aged 6 to 10 (M age = 8.2, SD = 1.2). Secondly we assessed how the stability skills construct fitted into a model of fundamental movement skill. Method The Delphi method was used to select the stability skill battery. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess if the skills loaded onto the same construct and a new model of FMS was developed using structural equation modelling. Results Three postural control tasks were selected (the log roll, rock and back support) because they had good face and content validity. These skills also demonstrated good predictive validity with gymnasts scoring significantly better than children without gymnastic training and children from a high SES school performing better than those from a mid and low SES schools and the mid SES children scored better than the low SES children (all p < .05). Inter rater reliability tests were excellent for all three skills (ICC = 0.81, 0.87, 0.87) as was test re-test reliability (ICC 0.87–0.95). CFA provided good construct validity, and structural equation modelling revealed stability skills to be an independent factor in an overall FMS model which included locomotor (r = .88), object control (r = .76) and stability skills (r = .81). Discussion This study provides a rationale for the inclusion of stability skills in FMS assessment. The stability skills could be used alongside other FMS assessment tools to provide a holistic assessment of children’s fundamental movement skills. PMID:26468644

  2. Fundamental Movement Skills Are More than Run, Throw and Catch: The Role of Stability Skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudd, James R; Barnett, Lisa M; Butson, Michael L; Farrow, Damian; Berry, Jason; Polman, Remco C J

    2015-01-01

    In motor development literature fundamental movement skills are divided into three constructs: locomotive, object control and stability skills. Most fundamental movement skills research has focused on children's competency in locomotor and object control skills. The first aim of this study was to validate a test battery to assess the construct of stability skills, in children aged 6 to 10 (M age = 8.2, SD = 1.2). Secondly we assessed how the stability skills construct fitted into a model of fundamental movement skill. The Delphi method was used to select the stability skill battery. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to assess if the skills loaded onto the same construct and a new model of FMS was developed using structural equation modelling. Three postural control tasks were selected (the log roll, rock and back support) because they had good face and content validity. These skills also demonstrated good predictive validity with gymnasts scoring significantly better than children without gymnastic training and children from a high SES school performing better than those from a mid and low SES schools and the mid SES children scored better than the low SES children (all p skills (ICC = 0.81, 0.87, 0.87) as was test re-test reliability (ICC 0.87-0.95). CFA provided good construct validity, and structural equation modelling revealed stability skills to be an independent factor in an overall FMS model which included locomotor (r = .88), object control (r = .76) and stability skills (r = .81). This study provides a rationale for the inclusion of stability skills in FMS assessment. The stability skills could be used alongside other FMS assessment tools to provide a holistic assessment of children's fundamental movement skills.

  3. Fundamental Movement Skills Are More than Run, Throw and Catch: The Role of Stability Skills.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James R Rudd

    Full Text Available In motor development literature fundamental movement skills are divided into three constructs: locomotive, object control and stability skills. Most fundamental movement skills research has focused on children's competency in locomotor and object control skills. The first aim of this study was to validate a test battery to assess the construct of stability skills, in children aged 6 to 10 (M age = 8.2, SD = 1.2. Secondly we assessed how the stability skills construct fitted into a model of fundamental movement skill.The Delphi method was used to select the stability skill battery. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA was used to assess if the skills loaded onto the same construct and a new model of FMS was developed using structural equation modelling.Three postural control tasks were selected (the log roll, rock and back support because they had good face and content validity. These skills also demonstrated good predictive validity with gymnasts scoring significantly better than children without gymnastic training and children from a high SES school performing better than those from a mid and low SES schools and the mid SES children scored better than the low SES children (all p < .05. Inter rater reliability tests were excellent for all three skills (ICC = 0.81, 0.87, 0.87 as was test re-test reliability (ICC 0.87-0.95. CFA provided good construct validity, and structural equation modelling revealed stability skills to be an independent factor in an overall FMS model which included locomotor (r = .88, object control (r = .76 and stability skills (r = .81.This study provides a rationale for the inclusion of stability skills in FMS assessment. The stability skills could be used alongside other FMS assessment tools to provide a holistic assessment of children's fundamental movement skills.

  4. Two Thinking Skills Assessment Approaches: "Assessment of Pupils' Thinking Skills" and "Individual Thinking Skills Assessments"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burke, Lynsey A.; Williams, Joanne M.

    2012-01-01

    This paper is linked to a previous paper outlining an evaluation of a thinking skills intervention (Burke & Williams, 2008). Following extensive requests for the assessment tools used in the intervention, this short paper presents the development and potential uses of two thinking skills assessment tools. The aim of the paper is simply to make…

  5. The nature, extent and effect of skills shortages on skills migration in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatima Rasool

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: South Africa is currently experiencing a serious shortage of skilled workers. It has a negative effect on South Africa’s economic prospects and on global participation in South Africa (SA. This skills shortage severely affects socioeconomic growth and development in SA. Research purpose: This study focuses on the causes and effects of the skills shortages in South Africa. Motivation for the study: The researchers undertook this study to highlight the role that skilled foreign workers can play in supplementing the shortage of skilled workers in South Africa. The shortage is partly because of the failure of the national education and training system to supply the economy with much-needed skills. Research design, approach and method: The researchers undertook a literature study to identify the nature, extent and effect of skills shortages in South Africa. They consulted a wide range of primary and secondary resources in order to acquire an in-depth understanding of the problem. The article explains the research approach and method comprehensively. It also outlines the research method the researchers used. Main findings: This study shows that several factors cause serious skills shortages in SA. Practical/managerial implications: The researchers mention only two significant implications. Firstly, this article provides a logical description of the nature, extent and effect of skills shortages on the economy. Secondly, it indicates clearly the implications of skills shortages for immigration policy. Contribution/value-add: This study confirms the findings of similar studies the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE conducted. Opening the doors to highly skilled immigrants can broaden the skills pool.

  6. The Role of Higher Order Thinking Skills in Green Skill Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heong Yee Mei

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In the era of rapid development, industries sector will bring negative effect of environment. Therefore, green technologies should be exposed in education system for transforming economy model to greener economy modal. HOTS should be applied in green skill development in order to solve problems, generate new products and ideas. The application of HOTS can enhance someone in processing new information for various alternatives, ideas, actions, and design solutions to solve a problemIn this regard, a study on the role of Marzano HOTS in green skill development has been designed for the above purpose. This article suggests an initial idea of the study. The key elements identified in green skills development include green economy, green industry and green skills. Meanwhile, elements related to the Marzano HOTS is comparing, classifying, induction, deduction, error analysis, constructing support, abstracting and analyzing perspectives. As conclucion, HOTS requires someone to critically evaluate information, make inferences, and make generalizations. With HOTS, we enable to apply knowledge, skills and values to make reasoning and reflection to solve problems, make decisions, innovate and strive to create something in green skills development.

  7. Meningkatkan Hard Skills dan Soft Skills Siswa melalui Model Pembelajaran Koooperatif Tipe Stad

    OpenAIRE

    Alfiansyah, Muhammad; Jamal, M. Arifuddin; An'nur, Syubhan

    2014-01-01

    Penelitian ini secara umum bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan keefektifan model pembelajaran kooperatif tipe STAD dalam meningkatkan hard skills dan soft skills siswa SMAN 8 Barabai pada pokok bahasan fluida statis. Secara khusus untuk mendeskripsikan keterlaksanaan RPP model kooperatif tipe STAD, hard skills siswa, soft skills siswa dan respon siswa. Metode penelitian yang digunakan merupakan penelitian tindakan kelas model Kemmis dan Mc Taggart. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terjadi pen...

  8. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Overview The skills kit contains: A booklet with information on the operation, home skills such as emptying and changing a pouch, problem solving, and home management. A DVD with demonstration of each skill Stoma ...

  9. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Medical Student Core Curriculum ACS/ASE Medical Student Simulation-Based Surgical Skills Curriculum Cancer Education Cancer Education ... Home Skills Kit supports patients with educational and simulation materials to learn and practice the skills needed ...

  10. Promoting skill building and confidence in freshman nursing students with a "Skills-a-Thon".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Susan T; Vignato, Julie A; Moore, Joan L; Madden, Carol A

    2009-08-01

    Freshman nursing students returning for their second semester after summer break benefited by reviewing previously learned clinical skills presented in a Skills-a-Thon. Skills stations were established and facilitated by faculty and senior students. Senior students were first trained in mentoring and specific steps in skills competencies. Freshman students demonstrated skills in various mock clinical situations including catheter insertion, sterile dressings, medications, and physical assessment. The strategy reinforced learning and provided an opportunity for students to experience risk-free skills performance among peers. Freshman students gained proficiency and appreciated guidance by senior students without the pressures of testing. Seniors benefited from a condensed version of the program to review their own skills prior to the event. Responses were positive, with students reporting improved performance and confidence with hands-on application in a non-threatening environment. Nursing faculty observed improvement in skill performance and competence, and plan to offer future events. Copyright 2009, SLACK Incorporated.

  11. The Effect of Communication Skills and Interpersonal Problem Solving Skills on Social Self-Efficacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erozkan, Atilgan

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine communication skills, interpersonal problem solving skills, and social self-efficacy perception of adolescents and the predictive role of communication skills and interpersonal problem solving skills on social self-efficacy. This study is a quantitative and relational study aimed at examining the…

  12. Perspectives of employability skills

    OpenAIRE

    ANNE LOUISE NEWTON

    2017-01-01

    The study investigated the different perspectives held by young people, employers and policy makers around Employability Skills and it examined how young people learnt these skills. This study draws young peoples’ perspectives into the research around Employability Skills and highlights the way in which social and cultural capital mediate their development. The research points to a model to re-vision employability skills which recognises the many ways in which they are learnt, over time a...

  13. Generic ICT Skills Profiles: Future Skills for Tomorrow's World.

    Science.gov (United States)

    International Co-operation Europe Ltd. (ICEL), Brussels, Belgium.

    This document describes generic skills profiles relevant to key jobs in information and communications technology (ICT). The profiles cover the main job areas for which the ICT industry is experiencing skills shortages. These types of information are provided for 18 generic job profiles: job description (vision, role, lifestyle); examples of job…

  14. Getting Skills Right: Assessing and Anticipating Changing Skill Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    OECD Publishing, 2016

    2016-01-01

    Digitalisation, globalisation, demographic shifts and other changes in work organisation are constantly reshaping skill needs. This can lead to persistent skill shortages and mismatch which are costly for individuals, firms and society in terms of lost wages and lower productivity and growth. These costs can be reduced through better assessment…

  15. Cognitive Skills in Medicine: An Introduction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cnossen, Fokie

    2015-01-01

    Cognition encompasses all processes from perception to action including attention and memory, reasoning, and decision making. Therefore, all skills (perceptual skills, motor skills, diagnosing skill, medical skills) are cognitiveskills. Cognitive skills are supported by two types of knowledge:

  16. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Ostomy Home Skills Program Ostomy Home Skills Program Adult Ostomy Pediatric Ostomy Programa de Destrezas para manejo Doméstico de Ostomía Ostomy Home Skills Program Adult Ostomy Pediatric Ostomy Programa de Destrezas para manejo ...

  17. The development and validation of measures to assess cooking skills and food skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavelle, Fiona; McGowan, Laura; Hollywood, Lynsey; Surgenor, Dawn; McCloat, Amanda; Mooney, Elaine; Caraher, Martin; Raats, Monique; Dean, Moira

    2017-09-02

    With the increase use of convenience food and eating outside the home environment being linked to the obesity epidemic, the need to assess and monitor individuals cooking and food skills is key to help intervene where necessary to promote the usage of these skills. Therefore, this research aimed to develop and validate a measure for cooking skills and one for food skills, that are clearly described, relatable, user-friendly, suitable for different types of studies, and applicable across all sociodemographic levels. Two measures were developed in light of the literature and expert opinion and piloted for clarity and ease of use. Following this, four studies were undertaken across different cohorts (including a sample of students, both 'Food preparation novices' and 'Experienced food preparers', and a nationally representative sample) to assess temporal stability, psychometrics, internal consistency reliability and construct validity of both measures. Analysis included T-tests, Pearson's correlations, factor analysis, and Cronbach's alphas, with a significance level of 0.05. Both measures were found to have a significant level of temporal stability (P cooking skills confidence measure ranged from 0.78 to 0.93 across all cohorts. The food skills confidence measure's Cronbach's alpha's ranged from 0.85 to 0.94. The two measures also showed a high discriminate validity as there were significant differences (P cooking skills confidence and P cooking skills confidence measure and the food skills confidence measure have been shown to have a very satisfactory reliability, validity and are consistent over time. Their user-friendly applicability make both measures highly suitable for large scale cross-sectional, longitudinal and intervention studies to assess or monitor cooking and food skills levels and confidence.

  18. Communication skills in palliative surgery: skill and effort are key.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miner, Thomas J

    2011-04-01

    Excellence as a surgeon requires not only the technical and intellectual ability to effectively take care of surgical disease but also an ability to respond to the needs and questions of patients. This article provides an overview of the importance of communication skills in optimal surgical palliation and offers suggestions for a multidisciplinary team approach, using the palliative triangle as the ideal model of communication and interpersonal skills. This article also discusses guidelines for advanced surgical decision making and outlines methods to improve communication skills. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Improved staff procedure skills lead to improved managment skills: an observational study in an educational setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rüter, Anders; Vikstrom, Tore

    2009-01-01

    Good staff procedure skills in a management group during incidents and disasters are believed to be a prerequisite for good management of the situation. However, this has not been demonstrated scientifically. Templates for evaluation results from performance indicators during simulation exercises have previously been tested. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the possibility that these indicators can be used as a tool for studying the relationship between good management skills and good staff procedure skills. Good and structured work (staff procedure skills) in a hospital management group during simulation exercises in disaster medicine is related to good and timely decisions (good management skills). Results from 29 consecutive simulation exercises in which staff procedure skills and management skills were evaluated using quantitative measurements were included. The statistical analysis method used was simple linear regression with staff procedure skills as the response variable and management skills as the predictor variable. An overall significant relationship was identified between staff procedure skills and management skills (p(2)0.05). This study suggests that there is a relationship between staff procedure skills and management skills in the educational setting used. Future studies are needed to demonstrate if this also can be observed during actual incidents.

  20. Empowering Engineering Students through Employability Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urvashi Kaushal

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available A professional course like engineering strives to get maximum number of its students placed through campus interviews. While communication skills have been added in all the engineering courses with the aim to improve their performance in placement, the syllabus mostly concentrates on the development of four language skills. The students are not made aware of the employability skills and their significance. the increasing competition makes it imperative that apart from a regular degree certain skills are required by engineers. Industries while advertising for various posts even mention essential skills required along with the essential qualification. However skills and the significance of skills while applying for jobs or while facing interviews is a topic which is rarely given consideration while preparing for job interviews or while entering the job market. This paper intends to enlist the importance of skills and why students need to be aware of the skills they possess and how they can work on packaging their candidature around a few skills.  Different profession requires different skills and if students identify their skills or acquire certain skills they can unquestionably have an added advantage in the interview and placement. Hence, this paper intends to enlist the skills, the importance of skills, ways to create awareness of individual skills specifically in engineering students who will step into the industry in near future.

  1. 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)

  2. IMPROVING THE HARD SKILLS AND SOFT SKILLS OF MADRASAH TEACHERS FOR DEALING ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (AEC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laely Mahmudah

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available ASEAN Economic Community (AEC has been started rolling. Market competition, industry, and skilled workers, especially in the field of education are becoming increasingly stringent. Madrasah teachers as the front liners in the education process should improve the quality of human resources. Hard skills and soft skills of madrasah teachers must be improved to deal with the Asean Economic Community (AEC. Hard skills are academic skills that include pedagogic competence and professional competence. How to improve the hard skills is to meet the pedagogic competence (ability to manage learning students and professional competence (the ability to master the learning material is broad and deep. Soft skills is the ability to organize themselves (intrapersonal skills, such as creativity, motivation, and self-contained and the ability to interact with others (interpersonal skills, such as communication, team building and adaptation to maximize performance. Soft skills include personal competence and social competence. Madrasah teachers should be able to change the mindset of a passenger became good driver. Professional madrasah teachers are teachers who have the balanced hard skills and soft skills, which can compete healthily in AEC era.

  3. Team skills training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coe, R.P.; Carl, D.R.

    1991-01-01

    Numerous reports and articles have been written recently on the importance of team skills training for nuclear reactor operators, but little has appeared on the practical application of this theoretical guidance. This paper describes the activities of the Training and Education Department at GPU Nuclear (GPUN). In 1987, GPUN undertook a significant initiative in its licensed operator training programs to design and develop initial and requalification team skills training. Prior to that time, human interaction skills training (communication, stress management, supervisory skills, etc.) focused more on the individual rather than a group. Today, GPU Nuclear conducts team training at both its Three Mile Island (YMI), PA and Oyster Creek (OC), NJ generating stations. Videotaped feedback is sued extensively to critique and reinforce targeted behaviors. In fact, the TMI simulator trainer has a built-in, four camera system specifically designed for team training. Evaluations conducted on this training indicated these newly acquired skills are being carried over to the work environment. Team training is now an important and on-going part of GPUN operator training

  4. Effect of a ball skill intervention on children's ball skills and cognitive functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westendorp, Marieke; Houwen, Suzanne; Hartman, Esther; Mombarg, Remo; Smith, Joanne; Visscher, Chris

    2014-02-01

    This study examined the effect of a 16-wk ball skill intervention on the ball skills, executive functioning (in terms of problem solving and cognitive flexibility), and in how far improved executive functioning leads to improved reading and mathematics performance of children with learning disorders. Ninety-one children with learning disorders (age 7-11 yr old) were recruited from six classes in a Dutch special-needs primary school. The six classes were assigned randomly either to the intervention or to the control group. The control group received the school's regular physical education lessons. In the intervention group, ball skills were practiced in relative static, simple settings as well as in more dynamic and cognitive demanding settings. Both groups received two 40-min lessons per week. Children's scores on the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 (ball skills), Tower of London (problem solving), Trail Making Test (cognitive flexibility), Dutch Analysis of Individual Word Forms (reading), and the Dutch World in Numbers test (mathematics) at pretest, posttest, and retention test were used to examine intervention effects. The results showed that the intervention group significantly improved their ball skills, whereas the control group did not. No intervention effects were found on the cognitive parameters. However, within the intervention group, a positive relationship (r = 0.41, P = 0.007) was found between the change in ball skill performance and the change in problem solving: the larger children's improvement in ball skills, the larger their improvement in problem solving. The present ball skill intervention is an effective instrument to improve the ball skills of children with learning disorders. Further research is needed to examine the effect of the ball skill intervention on the cognitive parameters in this population.

  5. The Effect of Training Problem-Solving Skills on Coping Skills of Depressed Nursing and Midwifery Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebrahimi, Hossein; Barzanjeh Atri, Shirin; Ghavipanjeh, Somayeh; Farnam, Alireza; Gholizadeh, Leyla

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: Nurses have a considerable role in caring and health promotion. Depressed nurses are deficient in their coping skills that are important in mental health. This study evaluated the effectiveness of training problem-solving skills on coping skills of depressed nursing and midwifery students. Methods: The Beck Depression Scale and coping skills questionnaire were administered in Tabriz and Urmia nursing and midwifery schools. 92 students, who had achieved a score above 10 on the Beck Depression Scale, were selected. 46 students as study group and 46 students as control group were selected randomly. The intervention group received six sessions of problem-solving training within three weeks. Finally, after the end of sessions, coping skills and depression scales were administered and analyzed for both groups. Results: Comparing the mean coping skills showed that before the intervention there were no significant differences between the control and study groups. However, after the intervention, a significant difference was observed between the control group and the study group. By comparing the mean coping skills before and after the intervention, a significant difference was observed in the study group. Conclusion: Training problem-solving skills increased the coping skills of depressed students. According to the role of coping skills in people's mental health, increasing coping skills can promote mental health, provide the basis for caring skills, and improve the quality of nurses’ caring skills. PMID:25276704

  6. The effect of training problem-solving skills on coping skills of depressed nursing and midwifery students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebrahimi, Hossein; Barzanjeh Atri, Shirin; Ghavipanjeh, Somayeh; Farnam, Alireza; Gholizadeh, Leyla

    2013-03-01

    Nurses have a considerable role in caring and health promotion. Depressed nurses are deficient in their coping skills that are important in mental health. This study evaluated the effectiveness of training problem-solving skills on coping skills of depressed nursing and midwifery students. The Beck Depression Scale and coping skills questionnaire were administered in Tabriz and Urmia nursing and midwifery schools. 92 students, who had achieved a score above 10 on the Beck Depression Scale, were selected. 46 students as study group and 46 students as control group were selected randomly. The intervention group received six sessions of problem-solving training within three weeks. Finally, after the end of sessions, coping skills and depression scales were administered and analyzed for both groups. Comparing the mean coping skills showed that before the intervention there were no significant differences between the control and study groups. However, after the intervention, a significant difference was observed between the control group and the study group. By comparing the mean coping skills before and after the intervention, a significant difference was observed in the study group. Training problem-solving skills increased the coping skills of depressed students. According to the role of coping skills in people's mental health, increasing coping skills can promote mental health, provide the basis for caring skills, and improve the quality of nurses' caring skills.

  7. Savoirs mondains, savoirs savants : les femmes et leurs cabinets de curiosités au siècle des Lumières

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adeline Gargam

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Dans la France des Lumières, la culture de la curiosité est un phénomène de mode mais surtout un jeu social et intellectuel. La présente étude entend retracer l’histoire d’une trentaine de cabinets féminins de curiosité tenus à cette époque. Des femmes fortunées de l’aristocratie et de la bourgeoisie parisienne et provinciale ont alors constitué sous l’emprise de leur libido sciendi des cabinets d’alchimie, de minéralogie, de physique‑chimie, d’histoire naturelle et d’anatomie naturelle et artificielle. Ces cabinets obéissent à une typologie particulière. Il en existe deux catégories : les cabinets d’amateurs, constitués pour la parade et le spectacle des visiteurs et fonctionnant comme de véritables écoles de plaisirs intellectuels et éducatifs ; les cabinets à finalité scientifique et didactique, formés par des savantes expérimentées qui se livrent dans leurs laboratoires à des recherches personnelles et expérimentales au nom des progrès de la science médicale et de l’instruction publique. La réflexion porte aussi sur le fonctionnement de ces cabinets privés de curiosité, particulièrement sur leur mode de constitution, leur décor intérieur ainsi que sur le contenu des collections qui nécessitaient certaines techniques d’organisation, d’acquisition et de conservation communes à celles de leurs homologues masculins.During the Enlightenment in France, curiosity culture constituted both a fashion and an intellectual and social game.  This article explores thirty cabinets of  curiosities run by women during this period. Wealthy women from the Parisiain and provincial aristocracy and middle classes organized cabinets in alchemy, mineralogy, physics and chemistry, natural history and biology studies. These cabinets can be divided into two distinct categories. The first represented amateur interests; they were developed for show and served as schools for intellectual and

  8. X-y interactions underlie sperm head abnormality in hybrid male house mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Polly; Nachman, Michael W

    2014-04-01

    The genetic basis of hybrid male sterility in house mice is complex, highly polygenic, and strongly X linked. Previous work suggested that there might be interactions between the Mus musculus musculus X and the M. m. domesticus Y with a large negative effect on sperm head morphology in hybrid males with an F1 autosomal background. To test this, we introgressed the M. m. domesticus Y onto a M. m. musculus background and measured the change in sperm morphology, testis weight, and sperm count across early backcross generations and in 11th generation backcross males in which the opportunity for X-autosome incompatibilities is effectively eliminated. We found that abnormality in sperm morphology persists in M. m. domesticus Y introgression males, and that this phenotype is rescued by M. m. domesticus introgressions on the X chromosome. In contrast, the severe reductions in testis weight and sperm count that characterize F1 males were eliminated after one generation of backcrossing. These results indicate that X-Y incompatibilities contribute specifically to sperm morphology. In contrast, X-autosome incompatibilities contribute to low testis weight, low sperm count, and sperm morphology. Restoration of normal testis weight and sperm count in first generation backcross males suggests that a small number of complex incompatibilities between loci on the M. m. musculus X and the M. m. domesticus autosomes underlie F1 male sterility. Together, these results provide insight into the genetic architecture of F1 male sterility and help to explain genome-wide patterns of introgression across the house mouse hybrid zone.

  9. From the general managerial skills to the school manager’s skills

    OpenAIRE

    Stan, Cristina

    2016-01-01

    Training and skill development represents a process in progress during the whole career and involves specialized training both within the organization and throughout the professional and social environment. Notion of skill/ com-petence has been the object of investigation for many sciences. Clarification of notion of competence/skill is necessary for those who want to deal with compe-tences, no matter is about their competences or of the others. In cognitive psychology and in educational scie...

  10. Different evolutionary pathways underlie the morphology of wrist bones in hominoids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kivell, Tracy L; Barros, Anna P; Smaers, Jeroen B

    2013-10-23

    The hominoid wrist has been a focus of numerous morphological analyses that aim to better understand long-standing questions about the evolution of human and hominoid hand use. However, these same analyses also suggest various scenarios of complex and mosaic patterns of morphological evolution within the wrist and potentially multiple instances of homoplasy that would benefit from require formal analysis within a phylogenetic context.We identify morphological features that principally characterize primate - and, in particular, hominoid (apes, including humans) - wrist evolution and reveal the rate, process and evolutionary timing of patterns of morphological change on individual branches of the primate tree of life. Linear morphological variables of five wrist bones - the scaphoid, lunate, triquetrum, capitate and hamate - are analyzed in a diverse sample of extant hominoids (12 species, 332 specimens), Old World (8 species, 43 specimens) and New World (4 species, 26 specimens) monkeys, fossil Miocene apes (8 species, 20 specimens) and Plio-Pleistocene hominins (8 species, 18 specimens). Results reveal a combination of parallel and synapomorphic morphology within haplorrhines, and especially within hominoids, across individual wrist bones. Similar morphology of some wrist bones reflects locomotor behaviour shared between clades (scaphoid, triquetrum and capitate) while others (lunate and hamate) indicate clade-specific synapomorphic morphology. Overall, hominoids show increased variation in wrist bone morphology compared with other primate clades, supporting previous analyses, and demonstrate several occurrences of parallel evolution, particularly between orangutans and hylobatids, and among hominines (extant African apes, humans and fossil hominins). Our analyses indicate that different evolutionary processes can underlie the evolution of a single anatomical unit (the wrist) to produce diversity in functional and morphological adaptations across individual wrist

  11. TEACHING INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersson, Niclas

    2009-01-01

    of the examination. This study aims at presenting and reviewing a practical approach to teaching of interpersonal skills, referred to as the Social Risk Analysis, which has been applied and integrated into the curriculum of two engineering courses. The Social Risk Analysis encourages and imposes a critical review......In addition to the traditional learning outcomes for technical disciplinary knowledge, the CDIO-syllabus also specifies personal and interpersonal learning outcomes. The argument for teaching interpersonal skills rest upon the team-based working environment that is typical for engineers, where...... knowledge and skills in teamwork, leadership, and communications are highly required. Thus, the practice of interpersonal skills need to be implemented in engineering teaching, not only in terms of learning objectives, but realised in practical teaching activities and as an integrated part...

  12. Employability Skills Assessment Tool Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasul, Mohamad Sattar; Rauf, Rose Amnah Abd; Mansor, Azlin Norhaini; Puvanasvaran, A. P.

    2012-01-01

    Research nationally and internationally found that technical graduates are lacking in employability skills. As employability skills are crucial in outcome-based education, the main goal of this research is to develop an Employability Skill Assessment Tool to help students and lecturers produce competent graduates in employability skills needed by…

  13. Rat hippocampal alterations could underlie behavioral abnormalities induced by exposure to moderate noise levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uran, S L; Aon-Bertolino, M L; Caceres, L G; Capani, F; Guelman, L R

    2012-08-30

    Noise exposure is known to affect auditory structures in living organisms. However, it should not be ignored that many of the effects of noise are extra-auditory. Previous findings of our laboratory demonstrated that noise was able to induce behavioral alterations that are mainly related to the cerebellum (CE) and the hippocampus (HC). Therefore, the aim of this work was to reveal new data about the vulnerability of developing rat HC to moderate noise levels through the assessment of potential histological changes and hippocampal-related behavioral alterations. Male Wistar rats were exposed to noise (95-97 dB SPL, 2h daily) either for 1 day (acute noise exposure, ANE) or between postnatal days 15 and 30 (sub-acute noise exposure, SANE). Hippocampal histological evaluation as well as short (ST) and long term (LT) habituation and recognition memory assessments were performed. Results showed a mild disruption in the different hippocampal regions after ANE and SANE schemes, along with significant behavioral abnormalities. These data suggest that exposure of developing rats to noise levels of moderate intensity is able to trigger changes in the HC, an extra-auditory structure of the Central Nervous System (CNS), that could underlie the observed behavioral effects. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Soft Skill Competencies, Hard Skill Competencies, and Intention to Become Entrepreneur of Vocational Graduates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benedicta Prihatin Dwi Riyanti

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to determine the effect of soft skill competencies and hard skill competencies to the intention to become entrepreneur in the vocational school graduates. Hard skill entrepreneurial competencies are competencies that are needed to running business. Meanwhile for soft skill competencies are competencies related to aspects of personality and cognitive style. Population in this research is vocational graduates in Jakarta and Jogjakarta. The sampling technique used is incidental sampling. We used measuring instruments as follow: the intention to become entrepreneur of Shapero & Sokol (in Riyanti, 2009. soft skill competencies of Spencer & Spencer (1993 and hard skill competencies of Chou. Shen. Hsiou & Chen. 2010. The regression analysis of the 258 respondents showed significant effect of soft skill competencies (initiative. self-confidence and assertiveness to the intention to become entrepreneur in the vocational school graduates. There are significant effect hard skill competencies (human resources capability competency and production capability competency to the intention to be entrepreneur. Based on the results. we suggested that the learning process should be more emphasis on direct practice so that more competencies can be formed on vocational school graduates.

  15. Digital literacy and safety skills

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sonck, N.; Livingstone, S.; Kuiper, E.; de Haan, J.

    2011-01-01

    Children’s digital skills were assessed by asking 25,000 European 9-16 year old internet users about their online activities, skills and self-efficacy. The range of digital skills and online activities are linked. But many younger (11-13 year old) children lack key critical and safety skills. Also,

  16. School Leadership Skill Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weigel, Richard A.

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between what is currently understood about skills for school leadership and the need for a greater understanding of those skills. The importance of developing leadership skills to improve school performance and effectiveness is great. In the field of school leadership, most leaders…

  17. Teaching Soft Skills Employers Need

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellis, Maureen; Kisling, Eric; Hackworth, Robbie G.

    2014-01-01

    This study identifies the soft skills community colleges teach in an office technology course and determines whether the skills taught are congruent with the soft skills employers require in today's entry-level office work. A qualitative content analysis of a community college office technology soft skills course was performed using 23 soft skills…

  18. The relationship of motor skills and social communicative skills in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, Megan; Lord, Catherine; Ulrich, Dale A

    2013-07-01

    Motor skill deficits are present and persist in school-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD; Staples & Reid, 2010). Yet the focus of intervention is on core impairments, which are part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD, deficits in social communication skills. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the functional motor skills, of 6- to 15-year-old children with high-functioning ASD, predict success in standardized social communicative skills. It is hypothesized that children with better motor skills will have better social communicative skills. A total of 35 children with ASD between the ages of 6-15 years participated in this study. The univariate GLM (general linear model) tested the relationship of motor skills on social communicative skills holding constant age, IQ, ethnicity, gender, and clinical ASD diagnosis. Object-control motor skills significantly predicted calibrated ASD severity (p skills have greater social communicative skill deficits. How this relationship exists behaviorally, needs to be explored further.

  19. Skills, earnings, and employment: exploring causality in the estimation of returns to skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franziska Hampf

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Ample evidence indicates that a person’s human capital is important for success on the labor market in terms of both wages and employment prospects. However, unlike the efforts to identify the impact of school attainment on labor-market outcomes, the literature on returns to cognitive skills has not yet provided convincing evidence that the estimated returns can be causally interpreted. Using the PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills, this paper explores several approaches that aim to address potential threats to causal identification of returns to skills, in terms of both higher wages and better employment chances. We address measurement error by exploiting the fact that PIAAC measures skills in several domains. Furthermore, we estimate instrumental-variable models that use skill variation stemming from school attainment and parental education to circumvent reverse causation. Results show a strikingly similar pattern across the diverse set of countries in our sample. In fact, the instrumental-variable estimates are consistently larger than those found in standard least-squares estimations. The same is true in two “natural experiments,” one of which exploits variation in skills from changes in compulsory-schooling laws across U.S. states. The other one identifies technologically induced variation in broadband Internet availability that gives rise to variation in ICT skills across German municipalities. Together, the results suggest that least-squares estimates may provide a lower bound of the true returns to skills in the labor market.

  20. Soft Skill Competencies, Hard Skill Competencies, and Intention to Become Entrepreneur of Vocational Graduates

    OpenAIRE

    Benedicta Prihatin Dwi Riyanti; Christine Winstinindah Sandroto; M. Tri Warmiyati D.W

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to determine the effect of soft skill competencies and hard skill competencies to the intention to become entrepreneur in the vocational school graduates. Hard skill entrepreneurial competencies are competencies that are needed to running business. Meanwhile for soft skill competencies are competencies related to aspects of personality and cognitive style. Population in this research is vocational graduates in Jakarta and Jogjakarta. The sampling technique used is incidental ...

  1. Rethinking generic skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roy Canning

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The paper provides a critical analysis of the notion of generic or transversal skillscontained with European Union policy discourses. The author presents a conceptualframework that challenges the idea that generic skills are universal, transferable andautonomous. An alternative analysis is put forward that argues the case forcontextualising skills and knowledge within particular understandings and cultures thatare more collective than individualistic in nature. The arguments are framed withinwider cross-disciplinary debates in linguistics, geosemiotics and social-cultural theoryand build upon an earlier paper exploring core skills in the UK (Canning, 2007.

  2. The role of visual skills and its impact on skill performance of cricket ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of this study was to determine the role and the impact of a visual skills training programme on the skills performance of cricket players, and whether visual training programmes are beneficial to competitive sports performance. Highly skilled cricket players (n=13) who were actively participating at a provincial level of ...

  3. What Skills Can Buy: Transmission of advantage through cognitive and noncognitive skills

    OpenAIRE

    Doren, Catherine; Grodsky, Eric

    2016-01-01

    Parental income and wealth contribute to children’s success but are at least partly endogenous to parents’ cognitive and noncognitive skills. We estimate the degree to which mothers’ skills measured in early adulthood confound the relationship between their economic resources and their children’s postsecondary education outcomes. Analyses of NLSY79 suggest that maternal cognitive and noncognitive skills attenuate half of parental income’s association with child baccalaureate college attendanc...

  4. Interpersonal skills for effective library management

    OpenAIRE

    Koganuramath, M. M.; Angadi, Mallikarjun

    2000-01-01

    This paper intends to reveal various facets of interpersonal skills and also the importance of public relations skills, including librarian's own skills, that helps the users to cultivate interpersonal skills as a positive reference service. Surveys of professional librarians show a high need for the skills for professional competencies, management, networking and teamwork. The perceived need for skills in these areas may reflect the increasing interdependence of library workers and relianc...

  5. Measuring internet skills

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Deursen, Alexander Johannes Aloysius Maria; van Dijk, Johannes A.G.M.

    2010-01-01

    Research that considers Internet skills often lacks theoretical justifications and does not go beyond basic button knowledge. There is a strong need for a measurement framework that can guide future research. In this article, operational definitions for measuring Internet skills are proposed,

  6. The Effects of Basketball Basic Skills Training on Gross Motor Skills Development of Female Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayazit, Betul

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of basketball basic skills training on gross motor skills development of female children in Turkey. For that purpose, 40 female children took part in the study voluntarily. Basketball basic skills test was used to improve the gross motor skills of the female children in the study. Also,…

  7. Especial Skills in Experienced Archers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nabavinik, Mahdi; Abaszadeh, Ali; Mehranmanesh, Mehrab; Rosenbaum, David A

    2017-09-05

    Especial skills are skills that are distinctive by virtue of massive practice within the narrow contexts in which they are expressed. In the first demonstration of especial skills, Keetch, Schmidt, Lee, and Young (2005) showed that experienced basketball players are better at shooting baskets from the foul line, where they had massive amounts of practice, than would expected from their success at other locations closer to or farther from the basket. Similar results were obtained for baseball throwing. The authors asked whether especial skills hold in archery, a sport requiring less movement. If the emergence of especial skills depends on large-scale movement, one would expect archery to escape so-called especialism. But if the emergence of especial skills reflects a more general tendency for highly specific learning, experienced archers should show especial skills. The authors obtained evidence consistent with the latter prediction. The expert archers did much better at their most highly practiced distance than would be expected by looking at the overall function relating shooting score to distance. We offer a mathematical model to account for this result. The findings attest to the generality of the especial skills phenomenon.

  8. Life Skills – Key to Success

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beena Johnson

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Life skills are the abilities for adaptive and positive behavior which enable the individuals to deal effectively with the challenges and stress of everyday life. Cognitive skills are used for analyzing information, personal skills help in self-management and inter-personal skills are needed for good communication and effective social interaction. These skills can be developed through scientific professional training. Life skills empower the adolescents to choose the best values and behaviors which are essential for positive health. Students who acquire life skills become better adjusted to the school environment and their academic performance will definitely improve. Their self esteem increases and they become capable of coping with the demands and challenges of daily life. Through repeated practicing, individuals can develop mastery over these skills. They learn to apply life skills in all problematic situations in real life and gain control over stressful situations easily.

  9. Skills core

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawson, Laura

    Constantly changing technology and increasing competition mean that private companies are aggressively seeking new employees with high levels of technological literacy, good judgment, and communication and team-building skills. Industry also needs workers educated in science, math, engineering, and technology. But which of these skills are most important? Researchers at Indian River Community College at Fort Pierce, Fla., will attempt to answer that question with an NSF grant of nearly $1 million.

  10. Evaluating a Skills Centre: The Acquisition of Psychomotor Skills in Nursing--A Review of the Literature. [and] Evaluating a Skills Centre: The Acquisition of Psychomotor Skills in Nursing--A Review of the Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knight, Carolyn M.

    1998-01-01

    Article 1 reviews literature on psychomotor skill acquisition, finding inconclusive research based on a positivist approach. Article 2 reviews theories of skill acquisition. Both reviews will be used to evaluate a skills center for nurses that is based on a constructivist approach. (SK)

  11. Approach to team skills training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koontz, J.L.; Roe, M.L.; Gaddy, C.D.

    1987-01-01

    The US commercial nuclear power industry has recognized the importance of team skills in control room operation. The desire to combine training of team interaction skills, like communications, with technical knowledge of reactor operations requires a unique approach to training. An NRC-sponsored study identified a five-phase approach to team skills training designed to be consistent with the systems approach to training currently endorsed by the NRC Policy Statement on Training and Qualification. This paper describes an approach to team skills training with emphasis on the nuclear power plant control room crew. An approach to team skills training

  12. YOUTH EMPLOYMENT AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Apusigah

    enterprise development, community development ... estimates that by the year 2015 there will be three billion people in the world who .... skills such as technical skills and business management skills (Hisrich and .... Technical/Vocational 12.

  13. IMPROVING THE HARD SKILLS AND SOFT SKILLS OF MADRASAH TEACHERS FOR DEALING ASEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY (AEC)

    OpenAIRE

    Laely Mahmudah

    2016-01-01

    ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has been started rolling. Market competition, industry, and skilled workers, especially in the field of education are becoming increasingly stringent. Madrasah teachers as the front liners in the education process should improve the quality of human resources. Hard skills and soft skills of madrasah teachers must be improved to deal with the Asean Economic Community (AEC). Hard skills are academic skills that include pedagogic competence and professional compete...

  14. Improving The Hard Skills And Soft Skills Of Madrasah Teachers For Dealing ASEAN Economic Community (Aec)

    OpenAIRE

    Mahmudah, Laely

    2016-01-01

    ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) has been started rolling. Market competition, industry, and skilled workers, especially in the field of education are becoming increasingly stringent. Madrasah teachers as the front liners in the education process should improve the quality of human resources. Hard skills and soft skills of madrasah teachers must be improved to deal with the Asean Economic Community (AEC). Hard skills are academic skills that include pedagogic competence and professional compete...

  15. Promoting a skills-based agenda in Olympic sports: the role of skill-acquisition specialists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, A Mark; Ford, Paul R

    2009-11-01

    We highlight the importance of promoting a skills-based agenda in the development and preparation of Olympic athletes. The role that specialists with a background in skill acquisition can play is illustrated and the need to move towards a culture where evidence-based practice permeates all aspects of this process reiterated. We provide examples from contemporary research to illustrate how skill-acquisition theory and practice can help inform and guide practitioners, coaches, and administrators in their quest to develop Olympic athletes. Although the acquisition and refinement of skills are essential to performance in most Olympic sports, paradoxically the area of skill acquisition has not impacted in a concerted and meaningful way on this agenda. Skill-acquisition specialists need to be more proactive in forging links with elite sport, whereas practitioners, coaches, and administrators need to appreciate the important role that sports scientists with a background in this area can play in helping to develop future generations of podium athletes.

  16. Communication skills training in orthopaedics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lundine, Kristopher; Buckley, Richard; Hutchison, Carol; Lockyer, Jocelyn

    2008-06-01

    Communication skills play a key role in many aspects of both medical education and clinical patient care. The objectives of this study were to identify the key components of communication skills from the perspectives of both orthopaedic residents and their program directors and to understand how these skills are currently taught. This study utilized a mixed methods design. Quantitative data were collected with use of a thirty-item questionnaire distributed to all Canadian orthopaedic residents. Qualitative data were collected through focus groups with orthopaedic residents and semistructured interviews with orthopaedic program directors. One hundred and nineteen (37%) of 325 questionnaires were completed, twelve residents participated in two focus groups, and nine of sixteen program directors from across the country were interviewed. Both program directors and residents identified communication skills as being the accurate and appropriate use of language (i.e., content skills), not how the communication was presented (i.e., process skills). Perceived barriers to effective communication included time constraints and the need to adapt to the many personalities and types of people encountered daily in the hospital. Residents rarely have explicit training in communication skills. They rely on communication training implicitly taught through observation of their preceptors and clinical experience interacting with patients, peers, and other health-care professionals. Orthopaedic residents and program directors focus on content and flexibility within communication skills as well as on the importance of being concise. They value the development of communication skills in the clinical environment through experiential learning and role modeling. Education should focus on developing residents' process skills in communication. Care should be taken to avoid large-group didactic teaching sessions, which are perceived as ineffective.

  17. Brief Report: Using Behavioral Skills Training to Teach Skateboarding Skills to a Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Benjamin R.; Lafasakis, Michael; Spector, Vicki

    2016-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of behavioral skills training (BST) on the skateboarding skills of an 11-year-old male with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). BST was used in a multiple-probe across skills design to teach five target skateboarding skills. Imitation of an additional skill was also assessed outside of BST sessions.…

  18. Relationship between the Phonological Awareness Skills and Writing Skills of the First Year Students at Primary School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdogan, Ozge

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the phonological awareness skills and writing skills of the first year students at primary school. In the study, the phonological awareness skills and writing skills of the students were measured at the beginning of the term. Students' writing skills were measured in the middle of…

  19. Evidence for Multiple Rhythmic Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tierney, Adam; Kraus, Nina

    2015-01-01

    Rhythms, or patterns in time, play a vital role in both speech and music. Proficiency in a number of rhythm skills has been linked to language ability, suggesting that certain rhythmic processes in music and language rely on overlapping resources. However, a lack of understanding about how rhythm skills relate to each other has impeded progress in understanding how language relies on rhythm processing. In particular, it is unknown whether all rhythm skills are linked together, forming a single broad rhythmic competence, or whether there are multiple dissociable rhythm skills. We hypothesized that beat tapping and rhythm memory/sequencing form two separate clusters of rhythm skills. This hypothesis was tested with a battery of two beat tapping and two rhythm memory tests. Here we show that tapping to a metronome and the ability to adjust to a changing tempo while tapping to a metronome are related skills. The ability to remember rhythms and to drum along to repeating rhythmic sequences are also related. However, we found no relationship between beat tapping skills and rhythm memory skills. Thus, beat tapping and rhythm memory are dissociable rhythmic aptitudes. This discovery may inform future research disambiguating how distinct rhythm competencies track with specific language functions. PMID:26376489

  20. Evidence for Multiple Rhythmic Skills.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam Tierney

    Full Text Available Rhythms, or patterns in time, play a vital role in both speech and music. Proficiency in a number of rhythm skills has been linked to language ability, suggesting that certain rhythmic processes in music and language rely on overlapping resources. However, a lack of understanding about how rhythm skills relate to each other has impeded progress in understanding how language relies on rhythm processing. In particular, it is unknown whether all rhythm skills are linked together, forming a single broad rhythmic competence, or whether there are multiple dissociable rhythm skills. We hypothesized that beat tapping and rhythm memory/sequencing form two separate clusters of rhythm skills. This hypothesis was tested with a battery of two beat tapping and two rhythm memory tests. Here we show that tapping to a metronome and the ability to adjust to a changing tempo while tapping to a metronome are related skills. The ability to remember rhythms and to drum along to repeating rhythmic sequences are also related. However, we found no relationship between beat tapping skills and rhythm memory skills. Thus, beat tapping and rhythm memory are dissociable rhythmic aptitudes. This discovery may inform future research disambiguating how distinct rhythm competencies track with specific language functions.

  1. Skills, Franchise and Industrialization

    OpenAIRE

    Boschini, Anne

    2003-01-01

    In this paper the skill distribution is proposed as being fundamental for technological transitions, besides the economic and political variables normally considered. The setting is an endogenous growth model with non-overlapping generations, where agents are heterogeneous with respect to wealth, skills and political power. It is shown that the skill distributionis as imporant as the initial wealth distribution and the type of political regime in determining the subsequent economic developmen...

  2. Evaluating a Skills Management System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Largier, A.

    2013-01-01

    In order to anticipate the large number of people due to retire in the next few years, and to optimize the workforce contribution, IRSN (Institute for radiation protection and nuclear safety) is setting up skill management. This poster presents the IRSN's skill management system. The skill management system is based on a 4 step approach: -) identifying and listing the necessary skills, -) assessing the skills available, -) defining and setting up solutions: training, recruitment, out-sourcing), and -) feedback about the efficiency of the system. It appears that it is important to take into account the way the organization considers individual ability in order to favour collective proficiency

  3. Linking Cellular Mechanisms to Behavior: Entorhinal Persistent Spiking and Membrane Potential Oscillations May Underlie Path Integration, Grid Cell Firing, and Episodic Memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael E. Hasselmo

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available The entorhinal cortex plays an important role in spatial memory and episodic memory functions. These functions may result from cellular mechanisms for integration of the afferent input to entorhinal cortex. This article reviews physiological data on persistent spiking and membrane potential oscillations in entorhinal cortex then presents models showing how both these cellular mechanisms could contribute to properties observed during unit recording, including grid cell firing, and how they could underlie behavioural functions including path integration. The interaction of oscillations and persistent firing could contribute to encoding and retrieval of trajectories through space and time as a mechanism relevant to episodic memory.

  4. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma Advanced Trauma Life Support Advanced Trauma Operative Management Basic Endovascular Skills for Trauma Disaster Management and Emergency ...

  5. The Enhancement of Communication Skill and Prediction Skill in Colloidal Concept by Problem Solving Learning

    OpenAIRE

    Anggraini, Agita Dzulhajh; Fadiawati, Noor; Diawati, Chansyanah

    2012-01-01

    Accuracy educators in selecting and implementing learning models influence students' science process skills. Models of learning that can be applied to improve science process skills and tend constructivist among athers learning model of problem solving. This research was conducted to describe the effectiveness of the learning model of problem solving in improving communication skills and prediction skills. Subjects in this research were students of high school YP Unila Bandar Lampung Even ...

  6. Coding Bootcamps : Building Future-Proof Skills through Rapid Skills Training

    OpenAIRE

    World Bank

    2017-01-01

    This report studies coding bootcamps. A new kind of rapid skills training program for the digital age. Coding bootcamps are typically short-term (three to six months), intensive and applied training courses provided by a third party that crowdsources the demand for low-skills tech talent. Coding bootcamps aim at low-entry level tech employability (for example, junior developer), providing a ...

  7. Teaching basic lung isolation skills on human anatomy simulator: attainment and retention of lung isolation skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latif, Rana K; VanHorne, Edgar M; Kandadai, Sunitha Kanchi; Bautista, Alexander F; Neamtu, Aurel; Wadhwa, Anupama; Carter, Mary B; Ziegler, Craig H; Memon, Mohammed Faisal; Akça, Ozan

    2016-01-20

    Lung isolation skills, such as correct insertion of double lumen endobronchial tube and bronchial blocker, are essential in anesthesia training; however, how to teach novices these skills is underexplored. Our aims were to determine (1) if novices can be trained to a basic proficiency level of lung isolation skills, (2) whether video-didactic and simulation-based trainings are comparable in teaching lung isolation basic skills, and (3) whether novice learners' lung isolation skills decay over time without practice. First, five board certified anesthesiologist with experience of more than 100 successful lung isolations were tested on Human Airway Anatomy Simulator (HAAS) to establish Expert proficiency skill level. Thirty senior medical students, who were naive to bronchoscopy and lung isolation techniques (Novice) were randomized to video-didactic and simulation-based trainings to learn lung isolation skills. Before and after training, Novices' performances were scored for correct placement using pass/fail scoring and a 5-point Global Rating Scale (GRS); and time of insertion was recorded. Fourteen novices were retested 2 months later to assess skill decay. Experts' and novices' double lumen endobronchial tube and bronchial blocker passing rates showed similar success rates after training (P >0.99). There were no differences between the video-didactic and simulation-based methods. Novices' time of insertion decayed within 2 months without practice. Novices could be trained to basic skill proficiency level of lung isolation. Video-didactic and simulation-based methods we utilized were found equally successful in training novices for lung isolation skills. Acquired skills partially decayed without practice.

  8. Enhancing clinical skills education: University of Virginia School of Medicine's Clerkship Clinical Skills Workshop Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corbett, Eugene C; Payne, Nancy J; Bradley, Elizabeth B; Maughan, Karen L; Heald, Evan B; Wang, Xin Qun

    2007-07-01

    In 1993, the University of Virginia School of Medicine began a clinical skills workshop program in an effort to improve the preparation of all clerkship students to participate in clinical care. This program involved the teaching of selected basic clinical skills by interested faculty to small groups of third-year medical students. Over the past 14 years, the number of workshops has increased from 11 to 31, and they now involve clerkship faculty from family medicine, internal medicine, and pediatrics. Workshops include a variety of common skills from the communication, physical examination, and clinical test and procedure domains such as pediatric phone triage, shoulder examination, ECG interpretation, and suturing. Workshop sessions allow students to practice skills on each other, with standardized patients, or with models, with the goal of improving competence and confidence in the performance of basic clinical skills. Students receive direct feedback from faculty on their skill performance. The style and content of these workshops are guided by an explicit set of educational criteria.A formal evaluation process ensures that faculty receive regular feedback from student evaluation comments so that adherence to workshop criteria is continuously reinforced. Student evaluations confirm that these workshops meet their skill-learning needs. Preliminary outcome measures suggest that workshop teaching can be linked to student assessment data and may improve students' skill performance. This program represents a work-in-progress toward the goal of providing a more comprehensive and developmental clinical skills curriculum in the school of medicine.

  9. A Procedural Skills OSCE: Assessing Technical and Non-Technical Skills of Internal Medicine Residents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pugh, Debra; Hamstra, Stanley J.; Wood, Timothy J.; Humphrey-Murto, Susan; Touchie, Claire; Yudkowsky, Rachel; Bordage, Georges

    2015-01-01

    Internists are required to perform a number of procedures that require mastery of technical and non-technical skills, however, formal assessment of these skills is often lacking. The purpose of this study was to develop, implement, and gather validity evidence for a procedural skills objective structured clinical examination (PS-OSCE) for internal…

  10. Low-Skilled Workers and Adult Vocational Skills-Upgrading Strategies in Denmark and South Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gvaramadze, Irakli

    2010-01-01

    The main objective of the paper was to address the relevance of adult vocational skills-upgrading strategies for low-skilled workers. The research was based on an identification of core elements such as time, cost and access which define and impact on formulation and implementation of adult vocational skills-upgrading strategies. The literature…

  11. Going beyond Language: Soft Skill-ing Cultural Difference and Immigrant Integration in Toronto, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, Kori

    2016-01-01

    This article traces how a language and soft skills training approach to Canadian immigrant integration emerged with Canada's shift towards a post-industrial tertiary economy. In this economy, soft skills index characteristics of ideal workers that fit the needs of Canada's post-Fordist labour regime. It examines how skills' training is not viewed…

  12. Does teaching non-technical skills to medical students improve those skills and simulated patient outcome?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagemann, Vera; Herbstreit, Frank; Kehren, Clemens; Chittamadathil, Jilson; Wolfertz, Sandra; Dirkmann, Daniel; Kluge, Annette; Peters, Jürgen

    2017-03-29

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of a tailor-made, non-technical skills seminar on medical student's behaviour, attitudes, and performance during simulated patient treatment. Seventy-seven students were randomized to either a non-technical skills seminar (NTS group, n=43) or a medical seminar (control group, n=34). The human patient simulation was used as an evaluation tool. Before the seminars, all students performed the same simulated emergency scenario to provide baseline measurements. After the seminars, all students were exposed to a second scenario, and behavioural markers for evaluating their non-technical skills were rated. Furthermore, teamwork-relevant attitudes were measured before and after the scenarios, and perceived stress was measured following each simulation. All simulations were also evaluated for various medical endpoints. Non-technical skills concerning situation awareness (ptechnical skills to improve student's non-technical skills. In a next step, to improve student's handling of emergencies and patient outcomes, non-technical skills seminars should be accompanied by exercises and more broadly embedded in the medical school curriculum.

  13. Physical Attractiveness and Counseling Skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vargas, Alice M.; Borkowski, John G.

    1982-01-01

    Searched for interaction between quality of counseling skills (presence or absence of empathy, genuineness, and positive regard) and physical attractiveness as determinants of counseling effectiveness. Attractiveness influenced perceived effectiveness of counselor's skill. Analyses of expectancy data revealed that only with good skills did…

  14. Measuring Science Inquiry Skills in Youth Development Programs: The Science Process Skills Inventory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary E. Arnold

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available In recent years there has been an increased emphasis on science learning in 4-H and other youth development programs. In an effort to increase science capacity in youth, it is easy to focus only on developing the concrete skills and knowledge that a trained scientist must possess. However, when science learning is presented in a youth-development setting, the context of the program also matters. This paper reports the development and testing of the Science Process Skills Inventory (SPSI and its usefulness for measuring science inquiry skill development in youth development science programs. The results of the psychometric testing of the SPSI indicated the instrument is reliable and measures a cohesive construct called science process skills, as reflected in the 11 items that make up this group of skills. The 11 items themselves are based on the cycle of science inquiry, and represent the important steps of the complete inquiry process.

  15. Pour en finir avec les libertins

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alain Mothu

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Le « libertinage » et les « libertins », notamment « érudits » ou savants, occupent une place de choix dans la production savante actuelle sur la littérature et la culture du xviie siècle. Livres, articles, éditions de textes, anthologies à leur sujet paraissent en grand nombre, y compris dans la prestigieuse « Bibliothèque de la Pléiade » ; ils font l’objet de thèses universitaires, de colloques et de séminaires ; on les trouve même à l’agrégation de Lettres et une revue spécialisée leur est...

  16. Enhanced perceptual functioning in autism: an update, and eight principles of autistic perception.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mottron, Laurent; Dawson, Michelle; Soulières, Isabelle; Hubert, Benedicte; Burack, Jake

    2006-01-01

    We propose an "Enhanced Perceptual Functioning" model encompassing the main differences between autistic and non-autistic social and non-social perceptual processing: locally oriented visual and auditory perception, enhanced low-level discrimination, use of a more posterior network in "complex" visual tasks, enhanced perception of first order static stimuli, diminished perception of complex movement, autonomy of low-level information processing toward higher-order operations, and differential relation between perception and general intelligence. Increased perceptual expertise may be implicated in the choice of special ability in savant autistics, and in the variability of apparent presentations within PDD (autism with and without typical speech, Asperger syndrome) in non-savant autistics. The overfunctioning of brain regions typically involved in primary perceptual functions may explain the autistic perceptual endophenotype.

  17. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... ACS ACS and Veterans Diversity at ACS Benefits ... Profile Shop ( 0 ) Cart Donate American College of Surgeons Education Patients and Family Skills Programs Ostomy Home Skills ...

  18. Hard evidence on soft skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heckman, James J; Kautz, Tim

    2012-08-01

    This paper summarizes recent evidence on what achievement tests measure; how achievement tests relate to other measures of "cognitive ability" like IQ and grades; the important skills that achievement tests miss or mismeasure, and how much these skills matter in life. Achievement tests miss, or perhaps more accurately, do not adequately capture, soft skills -personality traits, goals, motivations, and preferences that are valued in the labor market, in school, and in many other domains. The larger message of this paper is that soft skills predict success in life, that they causally produce that success, and that programs that enhance soft skills have an important place in an effective portfolio of public policies.

  19. Effectiveness and safety of wheelchair skills training program in improving the wheelchair skills capacity: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tu, Chun-Jing; Liu, Lin; Wang, Wei; Du, He-Ping; Wang, Yu-Ming; Xu, Yan-Bing; Li, Ping

    2017-12-01

    To comprehensively assess the effectiveness and safety of wheelchair skills training program in improving wheelchair skills capacity. PubMed, OVID, EBSCO, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, and China Knowledge Resource Integrated Database were searched up to March 2017. Controlled clinical trials that compared a wheelchair skills training program with a control group that received other interventions and used the wheelchair skills test scores to evaluate wheelchair skills capacity were included. Two authors independently screened articles, extracted data, and assessed the methodological quality using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool in randomized controlled trial (RCT) and methodological index for non-randomized studies. The data results of wheelchair skills test scores were extracted. Data from 455 individuals in 10 RCTs and from 140 participants in seven non-randomized studies were included for meta-analysis using Stata version 12.0 (Stata Corporation, College Station, TX, USA). In the short term (immediately to one week) post-intervention, relative to a control group, manual wheelchair skills training could increase the total wheelchair skills test scores by 13.26% in RCTs (95% confidence interval (CI), 6.19%-20.34%; P skills training and the long-term (3-12 months) advantage of manual wheelchair skills training ( P = 0.755). The limited evidence suggests that wheelchair skills training program is beneficial in the short term, but its long-term effects remain unclear.

  20. Using Behavioral Skills Training and Video Rehearsal to Teach Blackjack Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Speelman, Ryan C.; Whiting, Seth W.; Dixon, Mark R.

    2015-01-01

    A behavioral skills training procedure that consisted of video instructions, video rehearsal, and video testing was used to teach 4 recreational gamblers a specific skill in playing blackjack (sometimes called "card counting"). A multiple baseline design was used to evaluate intervention effects on card-counting accuracy and chips won or…

  1. TRUNK ROTATION AND WEIGHT TRANSFER PATTERNS BETWEEN SKILLED AND LOW SKILLED GOLFERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isao Okuda

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine trunk rotational patterns and weight transfer patterns that may differentiate swing skill level in golfers. Thirteen skilled golfers (mean handicap = 0.8 ± 2.6 and seventeen low skilled golfers (mean handicap = 30.8 ± 5.5 participated in this study. Kinematic and kinetic data were obtained through high-speed 3-D videography and force plates while the participant performed a full shot golf swing with a driver. Data at six temporal events during the swing were selected for the analysis. The results indicated that significant differences existed between the groups in the multiple events, as the skilled golfers showed the following motion patterns when compared to the low skilled golfers; 1 An earlier trunk horizontal rotation with a rapid weight transfer to the trail foot during the backswing; 2 An earlier pelvic horizontal rotation accompanied with an earlier weight transfer to the lead foot during the downswing motion; and 3 Less upper trunk horizontal rotation and more posterior pelvic rotation at the follow through. Collectively, these finding may be useful for instruction of golfers to improve their swing mechanics on a full shot golf swing

  2. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... login or create account first) Skills Kits Broadcast Rights for Hospitals Ostomy Home Skills Hospital Quality Improvement Package The standardized interactive program has been developed by the ...

  3. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... at ACS ACS and Veterans Diversity at ACS Benefits ... Profile Shop ( 0 ) Cart Donate American College of Surgeons Education Patients and Family Skills Programs Ostomy Home Skills ...

  4. 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.

  5. The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire : A multidimensional instrument of multicultural effectiveness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Zee, KI; Van Oudenhoven, JP

    2000-01-01

    In today's global business environment, executive work is becoming more international in orientation. Several skills and traits may underlie executive success in an inter national environment. The Multicultural Personality Questionnaire was developed as a multidimensional instrument aimed at

  6. The assessment of practical skills

    OpenAIRE

    Reiss, M. J.; Abrahams, I.

    2015-01-01

    Major changes are currently afoot as to how practical work will be assessed in high status examinations (GCSEs for 16 year-olds and ‘A’ levels for 18 year-olds) in England. We explore here how practical skills might best be assessed in school science and introduce two terms: direct assessment of practical skills (DAPS) and indirect assessment of practical skills (IAPS). We conclude that both the direct and indirect assessment of practical skills have their place in effective assessment of sch...

  7. A Closer Look at Social Skills and School Performance: Students' Peer Relations Skills and Assertion Skills as Predictors for Their Written and Oral Performances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jurkowski, Susanne; Hänze, Martin

    2017-01-01

    Students' individual learning is supposed to be based on cognitive and social processes. Therefore, students' social skills are assumed to play an important role for school performance. This study set out to investigate the links between students' peer relations skills and assertion skills and their grades for written performances and oral…

  8. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... skills such as emptying and changing a pouch, problem solving, and home management. A DVD with demonstration of each skill Stoma Practice Model Stoma supplies (measurement guide, marking ...

  9. Communication skills in psychiatry training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ditton-Phare, Philippa; Halpin, Sean; Sandhu, Harsimrat; Kelly, Brian; Vamos, Marina; Outram, Sue; Bylund, Carma L; Levin, Tomer; Kissane, David; Cohen, Martin; Loughland, Carmel

    2015-08-01

    Mental health clinicians can experience problems communicating distressing diagnostic information to patients and their families, especially about severe mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Evidence suggests that interpersonal communication skills can be effectively taught, as has been demonstrated in the specialty of oncology. However, very little literature exists with respect to interpersonal communication skills training for psychiatry. This paper provides an overview of the communication skills training literature. The report reveals significant gaps exist and highlights the need for advanced communication skills training for mental health clinicians, particularly about communicating a diagnosis and/or prognosis of schizophrenia. A new communication skills training framework for psychiatry is described, based on that used in oncology as a model. This model promotes applied skills and processes that are easily adapted for use in psychiatry, providing an effective platform for the development of similar training programs for psychiatric clinical practice. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

  10. PENINGKATAN SOFT SKILLS DAN HARD SKILLS MAHASISWA MELALUI PROJECT-BASED LEARNING PADA MATA KULIAH PERENCANAAN PEMBELAJARAN GEOGRAFI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fitra Delita

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Penelitian ini dilakukan karena masih minimnya kemampuan soft skills dan hard skills mahasiswa. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk meningkatkan soft skills dan hard skills mahasiswa melalui penerapan Project Based Learning pada mata kuliah Perencanaan Pembelajaran Geografi serta untuk mengetahui tanggapan mahasiswa terhadap penerapan Project Based Learning. Penelitian ini tergolong penelitian PTK dengan pengamatan selama 2 siklus. Indikator soft skills yang diamati adalah komunikasi lisan, kejujuran, partisipasi dan kreativitas. Sedangkan indikator hard skills yang digunakan adalah nilai mahasiswa, kemampuan merancang perangkat pembelajaran dan media. Data diperoleh melalui lembar observasi, kuesioner, penilaian product dan hasil tes. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terjadi peningkatan indikator soft skill yaitu komunikasi lisan (0,54, partisipasi (0,92, kejujuran (0,42 dan kreativitas (1,4 Peningkatan jumlah mahasiswa yang mendapat nilai A pada Siklus II yaitu 8 orang (naik 25 % dari total mahasiswa, nilai B meningkat menjadi 2 orang (naik 6 % dari total mahasiswa. Indikator hard skills berupa kemampuan merancang perangkat pembelajaran dan media juga mengalami kenaikan pada Siklus II yaitu 21 orang (68 % kategori sangat baik dan 10 orang (32 % kategori baik. Mahasiswa memberi tanggapan positif terhadap penerapan Project Based Learning pada mata kuliah Perencanaan Pembelajaran Geografi. Kata kunci: Soft Skills, Hard Skills, Project Based Learning

  11. E-Skills of Delivery Managers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schlichter, Bjarne Rerup

    Geographically distributed development of information systems calls for a set of specific skills among middle managers, facilitating outsourced services. With a theoretical point of departure and a resource-based view on strategy, this paper explores the e-skills of a group of so-called ‘Delivery...... Managers’ in this role. The paper contributes with a research model to understand the specific skills needed and points out communicative e-skills as being quite important. The paper concludes with suggestions for how to proceed the research....

  12. Presentation skills for nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foulkes, Mark

    2015-02-20

    This article emphasises the importance of effective presentation skills. Such skills allow nurses to share knowledge and expertise and to communicate clearly in a range of workplace scenarios. Nurses are increasingly being asked to present in formal and informal situations, such as conferences, poster presentations, job interviews, case reports and ward-based teaching. This article explores the principles underpinning the development of these skills, discusses the situations in which they could be applied and demonstrates how nurses might improve and develop as presenters.

  13. Automated social skills training with audiovisual information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Hiroki; Sakti, Sakriani; Neubig, Graham; Negoro, Hideki; Iwasaka, Hidemi; Nakamura, Satoshi

    2016-08-01

    People with social communication difficulties tend to have superior skills using computers, and as a result computer-based social skills training systems are flourishing. Social skills training, performed by human trainers, is a well-established method to obtain appropriate skills in social interaction. Previous works have attempted to automate one or several parts of social skills training through human-computer interaction. However, while previous work on simulating social skills training considered only acoustic and linguistic features, human social skills trainers take into account visual features (e.g. facial expression, posture). In this paper, we create and evaluate a social skills training system that closes this gap by considering audiovisual features regarding ratio of smiling, yaw, and pitch. An experimental evaluation measures the difference in effectiveness of social skill training when using audio features and audiovisual features. Results showed that the visual features were effective to improve users' social skills.

  14. NEW SKILL DEVELOPMENT POLICY ‘SKILL INDIA’ -POSSIBILITY AND ISSUES-

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yukiko Hashimoto

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available In India, the new skill development policy has started and expectations from stakeholders including multi-national companies, non-governmental organizations, and people who suffer from unemployment are mixed towards the training policy ‘Skill India (SI’.The government expects the country to have a drastic change to skilled nation. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR investments in the country tend to shift from philanthropy to create new social values, e.g. skill development and social business (SB promotions with appropriate trainings for young people. The aim of this article is to find out what exactly the tendencies of Indian Corporate Social Responsibility investments regarding the new policy and issues are based on the interview data. And also it tries to find out some possibilities to make the policy work better. The author will explain and analyze the results of the survey conducted to companies and schools who are main actors to carry out the mission and discuss possible solutions based on suggestions made by CSR personnel, student trainees, school teachers, staffs including social workers

  15. From the general managerial skills to the school manager’s skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Stan

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Training and skill development represents a process in progress during the whole career and involves specialized training both within the organization and throughout the professional and social environment. Notion of skill/ com-petence has been the object of investigation for many sciences. Clarification of notion of competence/skill is necessary for those who want to deal with compe-tences, no matter is about their competences or of the others. In cognitive psychology and in educational sciences, in ergonomics and in economy or in human resources management, the concept of skill or competence is situated in the middle of the individual and collective performance and all of us want to develop. In education, the art of management is very important because it better highlights the principle’s/ school manager’s personality and his/ her personal example has an essential role in realizing the established objectives for school. The art of running a school is in fact the art of working with people that means a new, modern and distinct dimension of the one who runs the education institution.

  16. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... kit contains: A booklet with information on the operation, home skills such as emptying and changing a pouch, problem solving, and home management. A DVD with demonstration of each skill Stoma ...

  17. Parent-Adolescent Informant Discrepancies of Social Skill Importance and Social Skill Engagement for Higher-Functioning Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahon, Camilla M.; Solomon, Marjorie

    2015-01-01

    Parent- and adolescent-report of social skill importance and social skill engagement on the Social Skills Rating System (Gresham & Elliott, 1990) were assessed in higher-functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Compared to parents, adolescents reported that social skills were less important. Additionally, adolescents reported that they engaged in social skills more frequently than parents reported them to be engaging in social skills. Parents, but not adolescents, reported a discrepancy between importance and engagement, such that the importance of social skills was rated higher than the frequency of adolescent engagement in social skills. These results suggest that social skills interventions for individuals with ASD may need to target awareness of social skill importance and accurate monitoring of social skill engagement. PMID:26077952

  18. Development of emergency response training focusing on non-technical skills. (2) Extraction of non-technical skills

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsui, Yuko; Hikono, Masaru; Iwasaki, Mari; Morita, Mizuho

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed at characterizing a non-technical skill exercise for on-site managers in charge of initial response at an emergency response center by extracting and clarifying the behavior examples of non-technical skills shown in the exercise scenario. From video observations, the non-technical skill examples were identified from seven of the eight nontechnical skill categories which had been defined when the training program was developed. Especially, they included many skills of 'Communication', 'Situation Understanding' and 'Organizational management'. At the same time, the limitation when extracting the cases by observations was identified. The extracted non-technical skill cases are expected to be used for characterizing exercise scenarios, as well as provide knowledge to raise the awareness of exercise participants. (author)

  19. Changes in the Nature and Structure of Work: Implications for Skill Requirements and Skill Formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bailey, Thomas

    Changes in the economy and the workplace are changing job skill requirements and the process of skill acquisition. A study analyzed occupational trends and projections, performed case studies of four industry sectors (apparel and textile, accounting, management consulting, and software development), and reviewed research on changing skill demands…

  20. Ostomy Home Skills Program

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    Full Text Available ... JACS Jobs Events Find a Surgeon Patients and Family Contact My Profile Shop ( 0 ) Cart Donate American College of Surgeons Education Patients and Family Skills Programs Ostomy Home Skills Program Ostomy Home ...

  1. Wanted: Soft Skills for Today's Jobs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirsch, Barton J.

    2017-01-01

    Educating high school students for both college and career is difficult. Teaching trade skills seems alien to the academic culture. But new research indicates that soft skills are quite important to judgments of employability and that youth learn many soft skills in traditional academic subjects (e.g., literature). A focus on soft skills allows…

  2. Skills Development and Transfer Strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mutshena, M.T.; Nkuna, K.K. [Pebble Bed Modular Reactor Pty (Ltd), P O Box 9394, Centurion, 0046 (South Africa); South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (South Africa); Thugwane, S.J. [South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (South Africa); Rasweswe, M.A. [South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (South Africa); Nuclear Energy Cooperation of South Africa, P O Box 582, PRETORIA 0001 (South Africa)

    2008-07-01

    South Africa as a developing country is faced with numerous challenges amongst them is the shortage of skills in the working environment. Skills shortage has been aggravated by the retirement of the ageing skilled workforce and emigration of most experienced professionals to first world countries. Some professionals once they acquire the experience they opt out for a consultative business. This leaves a gap or void in the industries which can results into poor performance and quality, lessening of business standards and loosing competition. This challenge need to be attended to, because it will lead to hiring of consultants in most jobs or having many young and less experienced professionals and new graduates filling these gaps. The South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (SAYNPS) has developed a strategic plan to serve as a guideline on how these challenges mentioned above can be addressed [1]. The proposed strategy will be aligned with skills development in the line of work and should get support from the nuclear Industry. Young professionals and recent graduates are the most affected people who lack skills and shall benefit from these programmes. In order for skill development and transfer to be accomplished there should be a Skill Development and Transfer Strategy and procedures to be followed. (authors)

  3. Skills Development and Transfer Strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mutshena, M.T.; Nkuna, K.K.; Thugwane, S.J.; Rasweswe, M.A.

    2008-01-01

    South Africa as a developing country is faced with numerous challenges amongst them is the shortage of skills in the working environment. Skills shortage has been aggravated by the retirement of the ageing skilled workforce and emigration of most experienced professionals to first world countries. Some professionals once they acquire the experience they opt out for a consultative business. This leaves a gap or void in the industries which can results into poor performance and quality, lessening of business standards and loosing competition. This challenge need to be attended to, because it will lead to hiring of consultants in most jobs or having many young and less experienced professionals and new graduates filling these gaps. The South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (SAYNPS) has developed a strategic plan to serve as a guideline on how these challenges mentioned above can be addressed [1]. The proposed strategy will be aligned with skills development in the line of work and should get support from the nuclear Industry. Young professionals and recent graduates are the most affected people who lack skills and shall benefit from these programmes. In order for skill development and transfer to be accomplished there should be a Skill Development and Transfer Strategy and procedures to be followed. (authors)

  4. Skill development in experimental courses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Héctor Bagán

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Experimental courses offer a good opportunity to work with competences, promoting the incorporation of strategies oriented towards motivating students to actively involve in the learning process, promoting reflexive learning and developing generic skills. This study presents different ways of developing and evaluating some important general skills, settle on four specific objectives: 1. To increase student motivation using samples of potential interest to students and explaining real-live application of their samples analyses; 2. To assist students’ self-regulation and learning autonomy by using the portfolio; 3. To promote group work through experiments in pairs and small-group discussions; 4. To develop communication skills through small-group discussions and oral presentations. Results show that the type of sample used and real-life application has important influence on motivation. The portfolio is a good tool to promote reflection and to evaluate both specific and generic skills in experimental courses, the dynamics of a laboratory course permit students to develop their group-work and communicative skills, and peer evaluations both improve students’ communication skills and promote metacognitive reflection. Finally, the project demonstrates that it is possible to train students in general skills using the specific course content and that the incorporation of participatory methodologies encourages students to become actively involved in the teaching-learning process.

  5. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Surgeon Specific Registry Trauma Education Trauma Education Trauma Education Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma Advanced Trauma Life Support Advanced Trauma Operative Management Basic Endovascular Skills for Trauma Disaster Management and Emergency ...

  6. Ostomy Home Skills Program

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    Full Text Available ... Education Trauma Education Achieving Zero Preventable Deaths Trauma Systems Conference Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma Advanced Trauma Life Support Advanced Trauma Operative Management Basic Endovascular Skills for Trauma Disaster Management and ...

  7. Government services: sector skills assessment 2012

    OpenAIRE

    Parry, Jon; Ojo, Adegbola

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this report is to provide authoritative labour market intelligence (LMI) for the Government Services sector to inform the strategic decision making of national governments in the development of employment and skills policy. It is one of 15 UK Sector Skills Assessment (SSA) reports produced by Sector Skills Councils and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

  8. Helpful Entry Level Skills Checklist--Revised Manual [and] Helpful Entry Level Skill Checklist--Revised Edition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Child Development Centers of the Bluegrass, Lexington, KY.

    The Helpful Entry Level Skills Checklist was designed to assist preschool teachers in selecting functional skills that children (including children with disabilities) may need to make a successful transition into the public schools. These skills, for the most part, deal with attending, compliance, ability to follow directions, turn taking, ability…

  9. Building nuclear skills in Australia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cameron, R.

    2007-01-01

    Demand for nuclear skills in Australia has traditionally been met by recruitment but as the nuclear industry grows worldwide, such skills are in demand. This paper discusses he likely numbers of skilled people needed for a nuclear industry in Australia and what initiatives have been, or could be in, taken to address the needs

  10. Investigating the Contextual Interference Effect Using Combination Sports Skills in Open and Closed Skill Environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheong, Jadeera P G; Lay, Brendan; Razman, Rizal

    2016-03-01

    This study attempted to present conditions that were closer to the real-world setting of team sports. The primary purpose was to examine the effects of blocked, random and game-based training practice schedules on the learning of the field hockey trap, close dribble and push pass that were practiced in combination. The secondary purpose was to investigate the effects of predictability of the environment on the learning of field hockey sport skills according to different practice schedules. A game-based training protocol represented a form of random practice in an unstable environment and was compared against a blocked and a traditional random practice schedule. In general, all groups improved dribble and push accuracy performance during the acquisition phase when assessed in a closed environment. In the retention phase, there were no differences between the three groups. When assessed in an open skills environment, all groups improved their percentage of successful executions for trapping and passing execution, and improved total number of attempts and total number of successful executions for both dribbling and shooting execution. Between-group differences were detected for dribbling execution with the game-based group scoring a higher number of dribbling successes. The CI effect did not emerge when practicing and assessing multiple sport skills in a closed skill environment, even when the skills were practiced in combination. However, when skill assessment was conducted in a real-world situation, there appeared to be some support for the CI effect. Key pointsThe contextual interference effect was not supported when practicing several skills in combination when the sports skills were assessed in a closed skill environment.There appeared to be some support for the contextual interference effect when sports skills were assessed in an open skill environment, which were similar to a real game situation.A game-based training schedule can be used as an alternative

  11. Ostomy Home Skills Program

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    Full Text Available ... Congress Educational Program Events and Special Activities Resources Housing and Travel Exhibitors Media Information Clinical Congress 2017 ... Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma Advanced Trauma Life Support Advanced Trauma Operative Management Basic Endovascular Skills ...

  12. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Mentoring for Excellence in Trauma Surgery Advanced Trauma Life Support Verification, Review, and Consultation Program for Hospitals ... Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma Advanced Trauma Life Support Advanced Trauma Operative Management Basic Endovascular Skills ...

  13. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Specific Registry Surgeon Specific Registry News and Updates Account Setup Resources and FAQs Features of the SSR ... Today Ostomy Home Skills Kit (login or create account first) Skills Kits Broadcast Rights for Hospitals Ostomy ...

  14. 76 FR 53489 - Agency Information Collection Agencies: New Collection; Comments Requested, Census of Problem...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-26

    ... ongoing social and/or psychological conditions that underlie their repeated contact with the criminal...), and general supportive services (e.g., life skills) d. Participant participation i. Participant... program participants by age, gender, racial classification, ii. Housing status iii. Employment status h...

  15. Undergraduate basic surgical skills education: impact on attitudes to a career in surgery and surgical skills acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAnena, P F; O'Halloran, N; Moloney, B M; Courtney, D; Waldron, R M; Flaherty, G; Kerin, M J

    2018-05-01

    Basic surgical skills modules in medical education are effective in teaching skills and increasing confidence among students approaching surgery. However, these modules are not delivered universally and their effect on the professional development of graduates has not been established. We aimed to assess the impact of a 10-week basic surgical skills module on attitudes and technical skills of first year medical students compared to interns. Eighteen students participated and were assessed using a 4-part questionnaire. Technical skills were assessed by observing students perform a basic interrupted suture, using the objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS) tool. Fourteen interns were recruited. Students were more confident in surgical scrubbing (mean score 4.0 vs. 2.86, p = 0.001), and performing a basic suture (4.05 vs. 1.93, p = 0.000), more enthusiastic about assisting with an operation (4.5 vs. 3.0, p = 0.001) and more likely to consider a career in surgery (4.16 vs. 2.28, p = 0.000). Technical skills were greater in the student group (mean score 30.8 vs. 19.6, p = 0.001). Five interns had taken part in surgical skills modules as undergraduates. Their technical skills were significantly higher compared to interns who had not (n = 9) (28.8 vs. 14.5, p = 0.006), and they were more likely to consider a career in surgery (3.6 vs. 1.5, p = 0.036). The introduction of surgical skills teaching to the undergraduate medical curriculum has a positive impact on students' attitudes towards surgery and accelerates basic technical skills development. Consideration should be given to development of a standardised undergraduate core curriculum in basic surgical skills teaching.

  16. Integration of a Social Skills Training: A Case Study of Children with Low Social Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Dong Hwa; Md-Yunus, Sham'ah

    2011-01-01

    This study explores changes in children's social skills after a cognitive-social skills model intervention. The intervention was conducted over a period of 12 weeks within a regular preschool setting. Sixteen children including four considered to have low social skills participated in the study. Data analysis revealed that the four children with…

  17. Employability Skills. At a Glance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wibrow, Bridget

    2011-01-01

    In a competitive workforce it is not just having the right qualification or technical skills that will land an individual a job; it could very well be their interpersonal skills. How someone communicates is often the first impression an employer has of a possible worker. Yet, it is precisely communication skills that employers feel applicants are…

  18. Hard Thinking about Soft Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claxton, Guy; Costa, Arthur L.; Kallick, Bena

    2016-01-01

    People use various terms to refer to traits and tendencies connected to social-emotional behavior and ways of thinking or approaching problems--from 21st century skills to mindsets to habits of mind. Such traits are also often called soft skills or non-cognitive skills. The authors contend that these latter terms imply that these traits and…

  19. 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....

  20. Skill-Biased Technological Change in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Malchow-Møller, Nikolaj; Rose Skaksen, Jan

    2003-01-01

    Skill-Biased Technological Change in Denmark:A Disaggregate Perspective@*In this paper, we provide an industry-level analysis of skill-biased technological change(SBTC) in Denmark over the last two decades. The analysis shows that SBTC has variedconsiderably across industries, and traditionally...... large Danish industries have experiencedrelatively less SBTC. This may partly explain why wage inequality between skilled and lessskilled has risen less in Denmark than in other countries. We also find that SBTC has beenconcentrated in already skill-intensive industries. This contains important...... information aboutfuture labour requirements, as the relative importance of these industries must be expectedto grow, thereby reinforcing the shift in demand for skilled labour.JEL Classification: J24, J31, L6Keywords: skill-biased technological change, Danish industries...

  1. Attitudes towards transferable skills in medical undergraduates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whittle, S R; Eaton, D G

    2001-02-01

    Changes to the style of medical teaching will place a greater responsibility on individual medical students to manage their own learning, highlighting the need for students to develop good so-called 'transferable' skills at an early stage in their undergraduate career. To assess the attitudes of first year undergraduates towards transferable skills, and investigate the gender difference in these attitudes. To assess the contribution of their first year course to skills development. First year students, enrolled on a traditional-style course. A questionnaire asking the students to consider: (a) the importance of named transferable skills for medicine; (b) their own ability in these areas; and (c) the influence of their first year course. All students, irrespective of gender, regarded transferable skills as very important to medicine, rating organizational skills and self-learning skills as most important. Overall, students have a high level of confidence in their own skills. Male students rated their overall level of skills more highly than women. In particular they rated their information handling, managing self-learning and technical skills more highly. Students feel that their first year course has enhanced their skills in most areas. Our results suggest that students will feel equipped to succeed in a learning system which places the onus on them to take responsibility for their own learning. They clearly believe that they have the necessary skills for independent learning. The study highlights the need to enhance students' self-evaluation skills.

  2. Ostomy Home Skills Program

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    Full Text Available ... Stay Up to Date with ACS Association Management Jobs Events Find a Surgeon Patients and Family Contact My Profile Shop ( 0 ) Cart Donate American College of Surgeons Education Patients and Family Skills Programs Ostomy Home Skills ...

  3. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Up to Date with ACS Association Management JACS Jobs Events Find a Surgeon Patients and Family Contact My Profile Shop ( 0 ) Cart Donate American College of Surgeons Education Patients and Family Skills Programs Ostomy Home Skills ...

  4. Epilepsy, language, and social skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caplan, Rochelle

    2017-10-04

    Language and social skills are essential for intrapersonal and interpersonal functioning and quality of life. Since epilepsy impacts these important domains of individuals' functioning, understanding the psychosocial and biological factors involved in the relationship among epilepsy, language, and social skills has important theoretical and clinical implications. This review first describes the psychosocial and biological factors involved in the association between language and social behavior in children and in adults and their relevance for epilepsy. It reviews the findings of studies of social skills and the few studies conducted on the inter-relationship of language and social skills in pediatric and adult epilepsy. The paper concludes with suggested future research and clinical directions that will enhance early identification and treatment of epilepsy patients at risk for impaired language and social skills. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Relationships between Time-Management Skills, Facebook Interpersonal Skills and Academic Achievement among Junior High School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Hsien-Chang; Liu, Shih-Hsiung

    2015-01-01

    Effective time-management skills and interpersonal interactions with familiar friends for learning matters on Facebook are desired characteristics for adolescents attempting to improve their academic achievements. This study identifies the relationships between time-management skills and Facebook interpersonal skills with the academic achievement…

  6. Neural modularity helps organisms evolve to learn new skills without forgetting old skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellefsen, Kai Olav; Mouret, Jean-Baptiste; Clune, Jeff

    2015-04-01

    A long-standing goal in artificial intelligence is creating agents that can learn a variety of different skills for different problems. In the artificial intelligence subfield of neural networks, a barrier to that goal is that when agents learn a new skill they typically do so by losing previously acquired skills, a problem called catastrophic forgetting. That occurs because, to learn the new task, neural learning algorithms change connections that encode previously acquired skills. How networks are organized critically affects their learning dynamics. In this paper, we test whether catastrophic forgetting can be reduced by evolving modular neural networks. Modularity intuitively should reduce learning interference between tasks by separating functionality into physically distinct modules in which learning can be selectively turned on or off. Modularity can further improve learning by having a reinforcement learning module separate from sensory processing modules, allowing learning to happen only in response to a positive or negative reward. In this paper, learning takes place via neuromodulation, which allows agents to selectively change the rate of learning for each neural connection based on environmental stimuli (e.g. to alter learning in specific locations based on the task at hand). To produce modularity, we evolve neural networks with a cost for neural connections. We show that this connection cost technique causes modularity, confirming a previous result, and that such sparsely connected, modular networks have higher overall performance because they learn new skills faster while retaining old skills more and because they have a separate reinforcement learning module. Our results suggest (1) that encouraging modularity in neural networks may help us overcome the long-standing barrier of networks that cannot learn new skills without forgetting old ones, and (2) that one benefit of the modularity ubiquitous in the brains of natural animals might be to

  7. Neural modularity helps organisms evolve to learn new skills without forgetting old skills.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Olav Ellefsen

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available A long-standing goal in artificial intelligence is creating agents that can learn a variety of different skills for different problems. In the artificial intelligence subfield of neural networks, a barrier to that goal is that when agents learn a new skill they typically do so by losing previously acquired skills, a problem called catastrophic forgetting. That occurs because, to learn the new task, neural learning algorithms change connections that encode previously acquired skills. How networks are organized critically affects their learning dynamics. In this paper, we test whether catastrophic forgetting can be reduced by evolving modular neural networks. Modularity intuitively should reduce learning interference between tasks by separating functionality into physically distinct modules in which learning can be selectively turned on or off. Modularity can further improve learning by having a reinforcement learning module separate from sensory processing modules, allowing learning to happen only in response to a positive or negative reward. In this paper, learning takes place via neuromodulation, which allows agents to selectively change the rate of learning for each neural connection based on environmental stimuli (e.g. to alter learning in specific locations based on the task at hand. To produce modularity, we evolve neural networks with a cost for neural connections. We show that this connection cost technique causes modularity, confirming a previous result, and that such sparsely connected, modular networks have higher overall performance because they learn new skills faster while retaining old skills more and because they have a separate reinforcement learning module. Our results suggest (1 that encouraging modularity in neural networks may help us overcome the long-standing barrier of networks that cannot learn new skills without forgetting old ones, and (2 that one benefit of the modularity ubiquitous in the brains of natural animals

  8. Neural Modularity Helps Organisms Evolve to Learn New Skills without Forgetting Old Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellefsen, Kai Olav; Mouret, Jean-Baptiste; Clune, Jeff

    2015-01-01

    A long-standing goal in artificial intelligence is creating agents that can learn a variety of different skills for different problems. In the artificial intelligence subfield of neural networks, a barrier to that goal is that when agents learn a new skill they typically do so by losing previously acquired skills, a problem called catastrophic forgetting. That occurs because, to learn the new task, neural learning algorithms change connections that encode previously acquired skills. How networks are organized critically affects their learning dynamics. In this paper, we test whether catastrophic forgetting can be reduced by evolving modular neural networks. Modularity intuitively should reduce learning interference between tasks by separating functionality into physically distinct modules in which learning can be selectively turned on or off. Modularity can further improve learning by having a reinforcement learning module separate from sensory processing modules, allowing learning to happen only in response to a positive or negative reward. In this paper, learning takes place via neuromodulation, which allows agents to selectively change the rate of learning for each neural connection based on environmental stimuli (e.g. to alter learning in specific locations based on the task at hand). To produce modularity, we evolve neural networks with a cost for neural connections. We show that this connection cost technique causes modularity, confirming a previous result, and that such sparsely connected, modular networks have higher overall performance because they learn new skills faster while retaining old skills more and because they have a separate reinforcement learning module. Our results suggest (1) that encouraging modularity in neural networks may help us overcome the long-standing barrier of networks that cannot learn new skills without forgetting old ones, and (2) that one benefit of the modularity ubiquitous in the brains of natural animals might be to

  9. Communicative Discourse in Second Language Classrooms: From Building Skills to Becoming Skillful

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suleiman, Mahmoud

    2013-01-01

    The dynamics of the communicative discourse is a natural process that requires an application of a wide range of skills and strategies. In particular, linguistic discourse and the interaction process have a huge impact on promoting literacy and academic skills in all students especially English language learners (ELLs). Using interactive…

  10. The role of skill in sport

    OpenAIRE

    Breivik, Gunnar

    2016-01-01

    Skill is obviously a central part of sports and should therefore be central in sport philosophic studies. My aim in this paper is to try to place skill in a wider context and thus give skill the place it deserves. I will do this by taking up four points. I first try to place the concept of skill in relation to concepts like ability and know how. I argue that ability is something one has as part of a natural endowment, but skill is something one must acquire. ‘Knowing how’ seems to a greater e...

  11. The Gravity of High-Skilled Migration Policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Czaika, Mathias; Parsons, Christopher R

    2017-04-01

    Combining unique, annual, bilateral data on labor flows of highly skilled immigrants for 10 OECD destinations between 2000 and 2012, with new databases comprising both unilateral and bilateral policy instruments, we present the first judicious cross-country assessment of policies aimed to attract and select high-skilled workers. Points-based systems are much more effective in attracting and selecting high-skilled migrants than requiring a job offer, labor market tests, and shortage lists. Offers of permanent residency, while attracting the highly skilled, overall reduce the human capital content of labor flows because they prove more attractive to non-high-skilled workers. Bilateral recognition of diploma and social security agreements foster greater flows of high-skilled workers and improve the skill selectivity of immigrant flows. Conversely, double taxation agreements deter high-skilled migrants, although they do not alter overall skill selectivity. Our results are robust to a variety of empirical specifications that account for destination-specific amenities, multilateral resistance to migration, and the endogeneity of immigration policies.

  12. Analysis and training of cognitive skills

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mumaw, R.J.

    1991-01-01

    Cognitive skills (e.g., decision making, problem solving) are critical to many jobs in the nuclear power industry, and yet the standard approach to training development does not always train these skills most effectively. In most cases, these skills are not described in sufficient detail, and training programs fail to address them explicitly. Cognitive psychologists have developed a set of techniques, based on analysis of expertise, for describing cognitive skills in more detail. These techniques incorporate a diverse set of human performance measures. An example is given to illustrate a method for determining how experts represent problems mentally. Cognitive psychologists have also established a set of empirical findings concerning skill acquisition. These findings can be used to provide some general rules for structuring the training of cognitive skills

  13. The relationship of motor skills and adaptive behavior skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, Megan; Lord, Catherine; Ulrich, Dale

    2013-11-01

    To determine the relationship of motor skills and the core behaviors of young children with autism, social affective skills and repetitive behaviors, as indicated through the calibrated autism severity scores. The univariate GLM tested the relationship of gross and fine motor skills measured by the gross motor scale and the fine motor scale of the MSEL with autism symptomology as measured by calibrated autism severity scores. Majority of the data collected took place in an autism clinic. A cohort of 159 young children with ASD (n=110), PDD-NOS (n=26) and non-ASD (developmental delay, n=23) between the ages of 12-33 months were recruited from early intervention studies and clinical referrals. Children with non-ASD (developmental delay) were included in this study to provide a range of scores indicted through calibrated autism severity. Not applicable. The primary outcome measures in this study were calibrated autism severity scores. Fine motor skills and gross motor skills significantly predicted calibrated autism severity (p motor skills displayed higher levels of calibrated autism severity. The fine and gross motor skills are significantly related to autism symptomology. There is more to focus on and new avenues to explore in the realm of discovering how to implement early intervention and rehabilitation for young children with autism and motor skills need to be a part of the discussion.

  14. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Workforce Trauma and EMS Cancer and Research Health Information Technology Scope of Practice Pediatric Issues Other Federal Legislative ... Overview The skills kit contains: A booklet with information on the ... and home management. A DVD with demonstration of each skill Stoma ...

  15. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... The Ostomy Home Skills Kit supports patients with educational and simulation materials to learn and practice the skills needed for optimal postoperative recovery. The kit supports the entire surgical team with quality, comprehensive education. The standardized interactive program has been ...

  16. Social skills programmes for schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almerie, Muhammad Qutayba; Okba Al Marhi, Muhammad; Jawoosh, Muhammad; Alsabbagh, Mohamad; Matar, Hosam E; Maayan, Nicola; Bergman, Hanna

    2015-06-09

    Social skills programmes (SSP) are treatment strategies aimed at enhancing the social performance and reducing the distress and difficulty experienced by people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and can be incorporated as part of the rehabilitation package for people with schizophrenia. The primary objective is to investigate the effects of social skills training programmes, compared to standard care, for people with schizophrenia. We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group's Trials Register (November 2006 and December 2011) which is based on regular searches of CINAHL, BIOSIS, AMED, EMBASE, PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and registries of clinical trials. We inspected references of all identified studies for further trials.A further search for studies has been conducted by the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group in 2015, 37 citations have been found and are currently being assessed by review authors. We included all relevant randomised controlled trials for social skills programmes versus standard care involving people with serious mental illnesses. We extracted data independently. For dichotomous data we calculated risk ratios (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis. For continuous data, we calculated mean differences (MD) and 95% CIs. We included 13 randomised trials (975 participants). These evaluated social skills programmes versus standard care, or discussion group. We found evidence in favour of social skills programmes compared to standard care on all measures of social functioning. We also found that rates of relapse and rehospitalisation were lower for social skills compared to standard care (relapse: 2 RCTs, n = 263, RR 0.52 CI 0.34 to 0.79, very low quality evidence), (rehospitalisation: 1 RCT, n = 143, RR 0.53 CI 0.30 to 0.93, very low quality evidence) and participants' mental state results (1 RCT, n = 91, MD -4.01 CI -7.52 to -0.50, very low quality evidence) were better in the group receiving social skill programmes

  17. The effectiveness of the Geritalk communication skills course: a real-time assessment of skill acquisition and deliberate practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gelfman, Laura P; Lindenberger, Elizabeth; Fernandez, Helen; Goldberg, Gabrielle R; Lim, Betty B; Litrivis, Evgenia; O'Neill, Lynn; Smith, Cardinale B; Kelley, Amy S

    2014-10-01

    Communication skills are critical in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine because these patients confront complex clinical scenarios. We evaluated the effectiveness of the Geritalk communication skills course by comparing pre- and post-course real-time assessment of the participants leading family meetings. We also evaluated the participants' sustained skills practice. We compare the participants' skill acquisition before and after Geritalk using a direct observation Family Meeting Communication Assessment Tool and assess their deliberate practice at follow-up. First-year Geriatrics or Palliative Medicine fellows at Mount Sinai Medical Center and the James J. Peters Bronx VA Medical Center participated in Geritalk. Pre- and post-course family meeting assessments were compared. An average net gain of 6.8 skills represented a greater than 20% improvement in use of applicable skills. At two month follow-up, most participants reported deliberate practice of fundamental and advanced skills. This intensive training and family meeting assessment offers evidence-based communication skills training. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  18. Soft Skill Competencies, Hard Skill Competencies, and Intention to Become Entrepreneur of Vocational Graduates (P.119-132

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benedicta Prihatin Dwi Riyanti

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to determine the effect of soft skill competencies and hard skill competencies to the intention to become entrepreneur in the vocational school graduates. Hard skill entrepreneurial competencies are competencies that are needed to running business. Meanwhile for soft skill competencies are competencies related to aspects of personality and cognitive style. Population in this research is vocational graduates in Jakarta and Jogjakarta. The sampling technique used is incidental sampling. We used measuring instruments as follow:  the intention to become entrepreneur of Shapero & Sokol (in Riyanti, 2009. soft skill competencies of Spencer & Spencer (1993 and hard skill competencies of Chou. Shen. Hsiou & Chen. 2010. The regression analysis of the 258 respondents showed significant effect of soft skill competencies (initiative. self-confidence and assertiveness to the intention to become entrepreneur in the vocational school graduates. There are significant effect hard skill competencies (human resources capability competency and production capability competency to the intention to be entrepreneur. Based on the results. we suggested that the learning process should be more emphasis on direct practice so that more competencies can be formed on vocational school graduates.Keywords: entrepreneur,competency,intention

  19. A prospective study evaluating cochlear implant management skills: development and validation of the Cochlear Implant Management Skills survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, R J; Jayakody, D M P; Eikelboom, R H; Taljaard, D S; Atlas, M D

    2016-02-01

    To investigate the ability of cochlear implant (CI) recipients to physically handle and care for their hearing implant device(s) and to identify factors that may influence skills. To assess device management skills, a clinical survey was developed and validated on a clinical cohort of CI recipients. Survey development and validation. A prospective convenience cohort design study. Specialist hearing implant clinic. Forty-nine post-lingually deafened, adult CI recipients, at least 12 months postoperative. Survey test-retest reliability, interobserver reliability and responsiveness. Correlations between management skills and participant demographic, audiometric, clinical outcomes and device factors. The Cochlear Implant Management Skills survey was developed, demonstrating high test-retest reliability (0.878), interobserver reliability (0.972) and responsiveness to intervention (skills training) [t(20) = -3.913, P = 0.001]. Cochlear Implant Management Skills survey scores range from 54.69% to 100% (mean: 83.45%, sd: 12.47). No associations were found between handling skills and participant factors. This is the first study to demonstrate a range in cochlear implant device handling skills in CI recipients and offers clinicians and researchers a tool to systematically and objectively identify shortcomings in CI recipients' device handling skills. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Contact My Profile Shop ( 0 ) Cart Donate American College of Surgeons Education Patients and Family Skills Programs Ostomy Home Skills ... facs.org Copyright © 1996-2018 by the American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL 60611-3295 | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

  1. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... de Destrezas para manejo Doméstico de Ostomía Ostomy Home Skills Program Adult Ostomy Pediatric Ostomy Programa de Destrezas para manejo Doméstico de Ostomía The Ostomy Home Skills Kit supports patients with educational and simulation ...

  2. Determinants of success in native and non-native listening comprehension: an individual differences approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Andringa, S.; Olsthoorn, N.; van Beuningen, C.; Schoonen, R.; Hulstijn, J.

    2012-01-01

    The goal of this study was to explain individual differences in both native and non-native listening comprehension; 121 native and 113 non-native speakers of Dutch were tested on various linguistic and nonlinguistic cognitive skills thought to underlie listening comprehension. Structural equation

  3. Brain mechanisms that underlie the effects of motivational audiovisual stimuli on psychophysiological responses during exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigliassi, Marcelo; Silva, Vinícius B; Karageorghis, Costas I; Bird, Jonathan M; Santos, Priscila C; Altimari, Leandro R

    2016-05-01

    Motivational audiovisual stimuli such as music and video have been widely used in the realm of exercise and sport as a means by which to increase situational motivation and enhance performance. The present study addressed the mechanisms that underlie the effects of motivational stimuli on psychophysiological responses and exercise performance. Twenty-two participants completed fatiguing isometric handgrip-squeezing tasks under two experimental conditions (motivational audiovisual condition and neutral audiovisual condition) and a control condition. Electrical activity in the brain and working muscles was analyzed by use of electroencephalography and electromyography, respectively. Participants were asked to squeeze the dynamometer maximally for 30s. A single-item motivation scale was administered after each squeeze. Results indicated that task performance and situational motivational were superior under the influence of motivational stimuli when compared to the other two conditions (~20% and ~25%, respectively). The motivational stimulus downregulated the predominance of low-frequency waves (theta) in the right frontal regions of the cortex (F8), and upregulated high-frequency waves (beta) in the central areas (C3 and C4). It is suggested that motivational sensory cues serve to readjust electrical activity in the brain; a mechanism by which the detrimental effects of fatigue on the efferent control of working muscles is ameliorated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Improve your communication skills

    CERN Document Server

    Barker, Alan

    2016-01-01

    Excellent communication skills are vital in today's workplace. Whether keeping the interest of a large audience, impressing a potential employer or simply winning the argument at an important meeting, sounding the part is key. This fourth edition of Improve Your Communication Skills is full of practical advice on all aspects of verbal and non-verbal communication. It gives vital tips on improving conversations and building rapport with colleagues, learning the skills of persuasion, and writing effective emails, letters and reports. This editionincludes new information focusing on communicating across borders and virtual teams and a new chapter on managing difficult conversations."

  5. Critical Thinking Skills Of Junior High School Female Students With High Mathematical Skills In Solving Contextual And Formal Mathematical Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ismail; Suwarsono, St.; Lukito, A.

    2018-01-01

    Critical thinking is one of the most important skills of the 21st century in addition to other learning skills such as creative thinking, communication skills and collaborative skills. This is what makes researchers feel the need to conduct research on critical thinking skills in junior high school students. The purpose of this study is to describe the critical thinking skills of junior high school female students with high mathematical skills in solving contextual and formal mathematical problems. To achieve this is used qualitative research. The subject of the study was a female student of eight grade junior high school. The students’ critical thinking skills are derived from in-depth problem-based interviews using interview guidelines. Interviews conducted in this study are problem-based interviews, which are done by the subject given a written assignment and given time to complete. The results show that critical thinking skills of female high school students with high math skills are as follows: In solving the problem at the stage of understanding the problem used interpretation skills with sub-indicators: categorization, decode, and clarify meaning. At the planning stage of the problem-solving strategy is used analytical skills with sub-indicators: idea checking, argument identification and argument analysis and evaluation skills with sub indicators: assessing the argument. In the implementation phase of problem solving, inference skills are used with subindicators: drawing conclusions, and problem solving and explanatory skills with sub-indicators: problem presentation, justification procedures, and argument articulation. At the re-checking stage all steps have been employed self-regulatory skills with sub-indicators: self-correction and selfstudy.

  6. Teaching communication skills: beyond wishful thinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junod Perron, Noelle; Sommer, Johanna; Louis-Simonet, Martine; Nendaz, Mathieu

    2015-01-01

    Communication skills tend to decline with time unless they are regularly recalled and practiced. However, most medical schools still deliver clinical communication training only during pre-clinical years although the clinical environment is considered to be ideal for acquiring and teaching clinical communication. The aim of this article is to review the barriers that prevent communication skills teaching and training from occurring in clinical practice and describe strategies that may help enhance such activities. Barriers occur at several levels: students, junior doctors and clinical supervisors sometimes have negative attitudes towards communication training; structured training in communication skills is often insufficient; clinical supervisors behave as poor role models and lack effective communication and teaching skills; finally, there are organisational constraints such as lack of time, competing priorities, weak hierarchy support and lack of positive incentives for using, training or teaching good communication skills in clinical practice. Given the difficulty of assessing transfer of communication skills in practice, only few studies describe successful educational interventions. In order to optimise communication skills learning in practice, there is need to: (1.) modify the climate and structure of the working environment so that that use, training and teaching of good communication skills in clinical practice becomes valued, supported and rewarded; (2.) extend communication skills training to any field of medicine; (3.) provide regular structured trainings and tailor them to trainees' needs. Practical implications of such findings are discussed at the end of this review.

  7. Teaching Independent Community Social Skills to the Multihandicapped.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beaulac, Pauline F.

    Ten multihandicapped high-school students in the Dayton (Ohio) Public Schools were trained using a curriculum of independent community social skills, focusing specifically on restaurant skills, travel skills, shopping skills, self-care skills, and skills for visiting a business or government agency. The students made weekly trips into the…

  8. Social skills training with early adolescents : Effects on social skills, well-being, self-esteem and coping

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bijstra, J.O.; Jackson, A.E.

    1998-01-01

    This study discusses the educational effects of a social skills training on adolescents' social skills, self-esteem, well-being and coping. A group of 14- to 16-year-old normal adolescents followed a social skills training based on social learning principles. A pre-tear experiment - post-test design

  9. Self-Monitoring and Counseling Skills Skills-Based Versus Interpersonal Process Recall Training

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crews, Judith; Smith, Michael R.; Smaby, Marlowe H.; Maddux, Cleborne D.; Torres-Rivera, Edil; Casey, John A.; Urbani, Steve

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of personality traits of counselors-in-training with regard to counseling performance. There were no differences in pretest or posttest scores on the Skilled Counseling Scale (SCS) of high and low self-monitoring counselors-in-training. Skill attainment may have more effect on personality…

  10. The Management Skills of SALL Managers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Gardner

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper looks at the management skills of SALL managers. It is based on data collected using quantitative and qualitative instruments with six SALL managers in tertiary contexts in Hong Kong. With reference to the literature in the field of management, the paper reviews the data in terms of identifiable management skills. This provides a picture of the skills possessed by these managers and also identifies gaps in their skill-sets. The paper provides a checklist of skills relevant to SALL management which individual managers may find useful, and also discusses the 4 key management areas of leadership, scope, expectations and evaluation.

  11. Portability of Technical Skills Across Occupations

    OpenAIRE

    Mukuni, Joseph Siloka

    2012-01-01

    In the literature, much has been reported about skill shortages in the labor market and many solutions have been suggested but most of them do not appear to work well for developing countries. This study investigated the place of portable technical skills as an option for addressing skill shortages, particularly in developing countries. The objective of the study was to determine whether different occupations have portable technical skills, which graduates of workforce development programs ca...

  12. The Effect of the Cherry Hill Study Skills Program on Eighth Grade Students' Reading Comprehension and Study Skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Marca, Marilyn Tierney

    A study was conducted to determine the effects of the "Cherry Hill Study Skills Program" on eighth grade students' reading comprehension and study skills. The "Cherry Hill Study Skills Program" is a process oriented course dealing with the sequential development of nine specific skills deemed essential to the retrieval and retention of information…

  13. Soft Skill Competencies, Hard Skill Competencies, and Intention to Become Entrepreneur of Vocational Graduates (P.119-132)

    OpenAIRE

    Benedicta Prihatin Dwi Riyanti; Christine Winstinindah Sandroto; M. Tri Warmiyati D.W

    2017-01-01

    This study aimed to determine the effect of soft skill competencies and hard skill competencies to the intention to become entrepreneur in the vocational school graduates. Hard skill entrepreneurial competencies are competencies that are needed to running business. Meanwhile for soft skill competencies are competencies related to aspects of personality and cognitive style. Population in this research is vocational graduates in Jakarta and Jogjakarta. The sampling technique used is incidental ...

  14. The relationship between motor skills and cognitive skills in 4-16 year old typically developing children: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Fels, Irene M J; Te Wierike, Sanne C M; Hartman, Esther; Elferink-Gemser, Marije T; Smith, Joanne; Visscher, Chris

    2015-11-01

    This review aims to give an overview of studies providing evidence for a relationship between motor and cognitive skills in typically developing children. A systematic review. PubMed, Web of Science, and PsychINFO were searched for relevant articles. A total of 21 articles were included in this study. Methodological quality was independently assessed by two reviewers. Motor and cognitive skills were divided into six categories. There was either no correlation in the literature, or insufficient evidence for or against many correlations between motor skills and cognitive skills. However, weak-to-strong evidence was found for some correlations between underlying categories of motor and cognitive skills, including complex motor skills and higher order cognitive skills. Furthermore, a stronger relationship between underlying categories of motor and cognitive skills was found in pre-pubertal children compared to pubertal children (older than 13 years). Weak-to-strong relations were found between some motor and cognitive skills. The results suggest that complex motor intervention programs can be used to stimulate both motor and higher order cognitive skills in pre-pubertal children. Copyright © 2014 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Teaching the "Soft Skills": A Professional Development Curriculum to Enhance the Employability Skills of Business Graduates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winstead, Ann S.; Adams, Barbara L.; Sillah, Marion Rogers

    2009-01-01

    Today's business climate requires that management recruits not only know the technical aspects of their jobs, but also possess communication, teambuilding and leadership skills. Most business school curricula, however, focus only on technical skills, and do not address the "soft skills" in a formal setting or on a consistent basis. As…

  16. Measurement of Employability Skills on Teaching Factory Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subekti, S.; Ana, A.

    2018-02-01

    Vocational High Schools as one of the educational institutions that has the responsibility in preparing skilled labors has a challenge to improve the quality of human resources as a candidate for skilled labors, to compete and survive in a changing climate of work. BPS noted an increase in the number of non-worker population (BAK) in 2015-2017 on vocational graduates as many as 564,272 people. The ability to adapt and maintain jobs in a variety of conditions is called employability skills. This study purpose to measure the development of employability skills of communication skills, problem-solving skills and teamwork skills on the implementation of teaching factory learning in SMK Negeri 1 Cibadak, THPH Skills Program on bakery competency. This research uses mixed method, with concurrent triangulation mix methods research design. Data collection techniques used interviews and questionnaires. The result shows that there are increasing students’ employability skills in communication skills, problem solving skills, and teamwork skills in teaching factory learning. Principles of learning that apply learning by doing student centering and learning arrangements such as situations and conditions in the workplace have an impact on improving student employability skills.

  17. Acquiring minimally invasive surgical skills

    OpenAIRE

    Hiemstra, Ellen

    2012-01-01

    Many topics in surgical skills education have been implemented without a solid scientific basis. For that reason we have tried to find this scientific basis. We have focused on training and evaluation of minimally invasive surgical skills in a training setting and in practice in the operating room. This thesis has led to an enlarged insight in the organization of surgical skills training during residency training of surgical medical specialists.

  18. Mindful movement and skilled attention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Dav; Schumann, Frank; Mostofsky, Stewart H.

    2015-01-01

    Bodily movement has long been employed as a foundation for cultivating mental skills such as attention, self-control or mindfulness, with recent studies documenting the positive impacts of mindful movement training, such as yoga and tai chi. A parallel “mind-body connection” has also been observed in many developmental disorders. We elaborate a spectrum of mindfulness by considering ADHD, in which deficient motor control correlates with impaired (disinhibited) behavioral control contributing to defining features of excessive distractibility and impulsivity. These data provide evidence for an important axis of variation for wellbeing, in which skillful cognitive control covaries with a capacity for skillful movement. We review empirical and theoretical literature on attention, cognitive control, mind wandering, mindfulness and skill learning, endorsing a model of skilled attention in which motor plans, attention, and executive goals are seen as mutually co-defining aspects of skilled behavior that are linked by reciprocal inhibitory and excitatory connections. Thus, any movement training should engage “higher-order” inhibition and selection and develop a repertoire of rehearsed procedures that coordinate goals, attention and motor plans. However, we propose that mindful movement practice may improve the functional quality of rehearsed procedures, cultivating a transferrable skill of attention. We adopt Langer’s spectrum of mindful learning that spans from “mindlessness” to engagement with the details of the present task and contrast this with the mental attitudes cultivated in standard mindfulness meditation. We particularly follow Feldenkrais’ suggestion that mindful learning of skills for organizing the body in movement might transfer to other forms of mental activity. The results of mindful movement training should be observed in multiple complementary measures, and may have tremendous potential benefit for individuals with ADHD and other

  19. Mindful Movement and Skilled Attention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dav eClark

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Bodily movement has long been employed as a foundation for cultivating mental skills such as attention, self-control or mindfulness, with recent studies documenting the positive impacts of mindful movement training, such as yoga and tai chi. A parallel mind-body connection has also been observed in many developmental disorders. We elaborate a spectrum of mindfulness by considering ADHD, in which deficient motor control correlates with impaired (disinhibited behavioral control contributing to defining features of excessive distractibility and impulsivity. These data provide evidence for an important axis of variation for wellbeing, in which skillful cognitive control covaries with a capacity for skillful movement. We review empirical and theoretical literature on attention, cognitive control, mind wandering, mindfulness and skill learning, endorsing a model of skilled attention in which motor plans, attention, and executive goals are seen as mutually co-defining aspects of skilled behavior that are linked by reciprocal inhibitory and excitatory connections. Thus, any movement training should engage higher-order inhibition and selection and develop a repertoire of rehearsed procedures that coordinate goals, attention and motor plans. However, we propose that mindful movement practice may improve the functional quality of rehearsed procedures, cultivating a transferrable skill of attention. We adopt Langer’s spectrum of mindful learning that spans from mindlessness to engagement with the details of the present task and contrast this with the mental attitudes cultivated in standard mindfulness meditation. We particularly follow Feldenkrais’ suggestion that mindful learning of skills for organizing the body in movement might transfer to other forms of mental activity. The results of mindful movement training should be observed in multiple complementary measures, and may have tremendous potential benefit for individuals with ADHD and other

  20. Effect of a ball skill intervention on children's ball skills and cognitive functions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Westendorp-Haverdings, Marieke; Houwen, Suzanne; Hartman, Esther; Mombarg, Remo; Smith, Joanne; Visscher, Chris

    Purpose: This study examined the effect of a 16-wk ball skill intervention on the ball skills, executive functioning (in terms of problem solving and cognitive flexibility), and in how far improved executive functioning leads to improved reading and mathematics performance of children with learning

  1. Parent-Adolescent Informant Discrepancies of Social Skill Importance and Social Skill Engagement for Higher-Functioning Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

    OpenAIRE

    McMahon, Camilla M.; Solomon, Marjorie

    2015-01-01

    Parent- and adolescent-report of social skill importance and social skill engagement on the Social Skills Rating System (Gresham & Elliott, 1990) were assessed in higher-functioning adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Compared to parents, adolescents reported that social skills were less important. Additionally, adolescents reported that they engaged in social skills more frequently than parents reported them to be engaging in social skills. Parents, but not adolescents, reported...

  2. Capital-Skill Complementarity and Rigid Relative Wages

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rose Skaksen, Jan; Sørensen, Anders

    2004-01-01

    be countercyclical. The labor market is competitivein the United States and therefore relative wages of skilled labor are expected to becountercyclical. We find that the business cycle development of the two economiesis consistent with capital-skill complementarity.Keywords: capital-skill complementarity, relative......The relative demand for skills has increased considerably in many OECD countriesduring recent decades. This development is potentially explained by capital-skillcomplementarity and high growth rates of capital equipment. When productionfunctions are characterized by capital-skill complementarity......, relative wages and employmentof skilled labor are countercyclical because capital equipment is a quasi-fixed factor in the short run. The exact behavior of the two variables depends onrelative wage flexibility. Relative wages are rigid in Denmark, implying that the employmentshare of skills should...

  3. SPECIFIC SKILLS AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    APPELO, MT; WOONINGS, FMJ; VANNIEUWENHUIZEN, CJ; EMMELKAMP, PMG; SLOOFF, CJ; LOUWERENS, JW

    Generalization of skills is a major problem in social skills training for schizophrenic patients. Assessment of skills is mostly not based on objective indices of specific skill deficits. The results of this study show that global competence of schizophrenics can be differentiated from specific

  4. Specific skills and social competence in schizophrenia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Appelo, M.T.; van Nieuwenhuizen, C.J.; Emmelkamp, P.M.G.; Slooff, C.J.; Louwerens, J.W.

    1992-01-01

    Generalization of skills is a major problem in social skills training for schizophrenic patients. Assessment of skills is mostly not based on objective indices of specific skill deficits. The results of this study show that global competence of schizophrenics can be differentiated from specific

  5. The Skill Development Processes of Apprenticeship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolek, Francis W.

    1999-01-01

    Case studies of apprenticeship in the Japanese tea ceremony, traditional crafts, and strategic thinking illustrate novices' growth in internal knowledge through reflective practice of skilled processes. As skilled experts, adult educators are engaged in continually improving the skilled processes they model. (SK)

  6. Neuroplasticity-based Cognitive and Linguistic Skills Training Improves Reading and Writing Skills in College Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beth eRogowsky

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available This study reports an evaluation of the effect of computer-based cognitive and linguistic training on college students’ reading and writing skills. The computer-based training included a series of increasingly challenging software programs that were designed to strengthen students’ foundational cognitive skills (memory, attention span, processing speed, and sequencing in the context of listening and higher level reading tasks. Twenty-five college students (12 native English language; 13 English Second Language who demonstrated poor writing skills participated in the training group. The training group received daily training during the spring semester (11 weeks with the Fast ForWord Literacy (FFW-L and upper levels of the Fast ForWord Reading series (Levels 3, 4 and 5. The comparison group (n=28 selected from the general college population did not receive training. Both the training and comparison groups attended the same university. All students took the Gates MacGinitie Reading Test (GMRT and the Oral and Written Language Scales (OWLS Written Expression Scale at the beginning (Time 1 and end (Time 2 of the spring college semester. Results from this study showed that the training group made a statistically greater improvement from Time 1 to Time 2 in both their reading skills and their writing skills than the comparison group. The group who received training began with statistically lower writing skills before training, but exceeded the writing skills of the comparison group after training.

  7. learning and soft skills

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Lauge Baungaard

    2000-01-01

    Learning of soft skills are becoming more and more necessary due to the complexe development of modern companies and their environments. However, there seems to be a 'gap' between intentions and reality regarding need of soft skills and the possiblities to be educated in this subject in particular...

  8. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Use Patient Opioid Use Position Statements and Task Force Patient Education Initiatives Advocacy and Health Policy Updates Selected Research ... at ACS ACS and Veterans Diversity at ACS Benefits ... Profile Shop ( 0 ) Cart Donate American College of Surgeons Education Patients and Family Skills Programs Ostomy Home Skills ...

  9. Discussion of skill improvement in marine ecosystem dynamic models based on parameter optimization and skill assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Chengcheng; Shi, Honghua; Liu, Yongzhi; Li, Fen; Ding, Dewen

    2016-07-01

    Marine ecosystem dynamic models (MEDMs) are important tools for the simulation and prediction of marine ecosystems. This article summarizes the methods and strategies used for the improvement and assessment of MEDM skill, and it attempts to establish a technical framework to inspire further ideas concerning MEDM skill improvement. The skill of MEDMs can be improved by parameter optimization (PO), which is an important step in model calibration. An efficient approach to solve the problem of PO constrained by MEDMs is the global treatment of both sensitivity analysis and PO. Model validation is an essential step following PO, which validates the efficiency of model calibration by analyzing and estimating the goodness-of-fit of the optimized model. Additionally, by focusing on the degree of impact of various factors on model skill, model uncertainty analysis can supply model users with a quantitative assessment of model confidence. Research on MEDMs is ongoing; however, improvement in model skill still lacks global treatments and its assessment is not integrated. Thus, the predictive performance of MEDMs is not strong and model uncertainties lack quantitative descriptions, limiting their application. Therefore, a large number of case studies concerning model skill should be performed to promote the development of a scientific and normative technical framework for the improvement of MEDM skill.

  10. Workplace skills and the skills gaps related to employee critical thinking ability and science education curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alexander, William A.

    In recent years, business and industry have been vocal critics of education. Critics complain the American workforce, particularly young people, are deficient in workplace skills. A survey of 500 randomly selected Ohio businesses was used to determine opinions of respondents related to workplace skills gaps, rising skill levels, and level and type of critical thinking used on the job by all employees and entry-level employees. Four of 18 science outcomes promoted by the Ohio Department of Education had an application in business and these required critical-thinking skills to complete. These four formed the foundation in the survey because they provided a connection between thinking skills required on the Ohio 12 th Grade Proficiency Test and those required on the job. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to identify correlation between responses. The alpha level was p ≤ .05. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify significant (p ≤ .05) relationships between variables as represented by responses. In addition, one version of the Science Section of the Ohio 12th Grade Proficiency Test was analyzed for use of critical thinking using the SCAN's critical-thinking attributes as a standard. There were several findings related to workplace skills and critical thinking. Only 17.1% of respondents indicated dissatisfaction with the basic academic skill level of their employees. A majority (71.1%) of responding businesses perceived a lack of work ethic as more important than deficient academic skills. Only 17.1% of respondents reported the skill level of their entry-level employees was rising. Approximately 1/3 of responding businesses required no critical thinking at all from their entry-level employees. Small businesses were significantly more likely to require higher levels of critical thinking from their entry level employees than larger businesses. Employers who reported rising skill levels in entry-level employees required all of

  11. Employability Skills: The Demands of the Workplace.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leroux, Janice A.; Lafleur, Susan

    1995-01-01

    The Employability Skills Profile, critical work abilities identified by Canadian employers, was rated by 24 secondary teachers in Ontario. Personal management skills were rated most important, followed by academic and teamwork skills. Teaching of these skills was informal--absorbed through classroom policies and management practices. (SK)

  12. [Generation Y healthcare students’ expectations: hard skills but also soft skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engels, Cynthia

    2017-12-01

    Generation Y’s (born between 1981 and 1999) educational approach in healthcare studies raises questions about their expectations and which teaching methods to use with this generation. The study involved third year students of occupational therapy. One hundred and twelve students were consulted in September 2012 and September 2013 about their expectations regarding the courses and the teaching methods which were offered. Results allowed to highlight firstly the importance of the usefulness of the course and secondly expectations regarding the teachers’ soft skills. If the link between soft skills and success was pointed out in many studies, only a few studies focus on the teachers’ own soft skills development in order to respond to students’ expectations in higher education. This is the topic of this article, which main interest could be the means to develop teaching methods adapted to this students’ generation.

  13. Consumption Skill Acquisition in Ski Schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Woermann, Niklas; Wieser, Verena

    2016-01-01

    Remedying the absence of a cultural theory of consumption skill acquisition, we use video data to explore how consumers learn in ski schools. We identify six modes of skill acquisition and theorize the interplay between the sensori-motor system, the conscious state of skillful coping...

  14. The effect of fine and grapho-motor skill demands on preschoolers' decoding skill.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suggate, Sebastian; Pufke, Eva; Stoeger, Heidrun

    2016-01-01

    Previous correlational research has found indications that fine motor skills (FMS) link to early reading development, but the work has not demonstrated causality. We manipulated 51 preschoolers' FMS while children learned to decode letters and nonsense words in a within-participants, randomized, and counterbalanced single-factor design with pre- and posttesting. In two conditions, children wrote with a pencil that had a conical shape fitted to the end filled with either steel (impaired writing condition) or polystyrene (normal writing condition). In a third control condition, children simply pointed at the letters with the light pencil as they learned to read the words (pointing condition). Results indicate that children learned the most decoding skills in the normal writing condition, followed by the pointing and impaired writing conditions. In addition, working memory, phonemic awareness, and grapho-motor skills were generally predictors of decoding skill development. The findings provide experimental evidence that having lower FMS is disadvantageous for reading development. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Comparability of the Social Skills Improvement System to the Social Skills Rating System: A Norwegian Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamst-Klaussen, Thor; Rasmussen, Lene-Mari P.; Svartdal, Frode; Strømgren, Børge

    2016-01-01

    The Social Skills Improvement System-Rating Scales (SSIS-RS) is a multi-informant instrument assessing social skills and problem behavior in children and adolescents. It is a revised version of the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS). A Norwegian translation of the SSRS has been validated, but this has not yet been done for the Norwegian…

  16. COGNITIVE SKILLS: A Modest Way of Learning through Technology

    OpenAIRE

    Satya Sundar SETHY

    2012-01-01

    Learning is an ever-present phenomenon. It takes place irrespective of time and place. It engages learners in their interested topic/content. Learning absorbs many skills, such as; reading skills, writing skills, technological skills, emotional skills, behavioral skills, cognitive skills, and language skills. Out of all these, cognitive skills play significant role for apprehending a concept and comprehending a discussion. In the context of distance education (DE), learning never restrains to...

  17. Soft skills and Moodle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanova Veronica

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available At present, technical university graduates are expected to acquire a set of not only hard skills but soft ones as well, which are in the first instance communication skills that can be developed through active and interactive methods during in-class learning. The issue related to communicative skills development is being discussed in different countries throughout the world. This problem is faced by university graduates from Europe, the US and Russia, and in the East. The learning process exploits a variety of electronic platforms, which, on the one hand, significantly increase the pool of students, but, on the other hand, hinder the development of communicative skills. This poses the question about blended learning which combines active and interactive teaching methods with e-learning. Consider a good example of these two types of combined student activity obtained using interactive methods in the Moodle course “Professional training in English” designed for the Bachelor's Degree Programs, Tomsk Polytechnic University (Tomsk, Russia. This paper considers the main types of tasks used in the e-course. It is shown that the teacher’s first aim is to be not a scientific knowledge translator, but to foster a creative educational environment by selecting an optimal teaching strategy through modern educational technology; an e-course is a good teaching aid to build hard and soft skills.

  18. 49 CFR 383.113 - Required skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... signals, speed control for weather and traffic conditions, and ability to position the motor vehicle... vehicle control skills. All applicants for a CDL must possess and demonstrate basic motor vehicle control skills for each vehicle group which the driver operates or expects to operate. These skills should...

  19. Information Skills for an Information Age?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gawith, Gwen

    1986-01-01

    Although information skills are the most basic of skills, the tendency is to teach strategies related to educational projects, erroneously assuming that these "information skills" are applicable to everyday decision-making. Educated imaginations are needed for today's variety of lifelong creative information situations. (17 references)…

  20. Work-related learning and skill development in Europe: Does initial skill mismatch matter?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ferreira Sequeda, Maria; Künn-Nelen, Annemarie; de Grip, Andries

    2017-01-01

    This paper provides more insight into the assumption of human capital theory that the productivity of job-related training is driven by the improvement of workers’ skills. We analyze the extent to which training and informal learning on the job are related to employee skill development and consider

  1. Work-related learning and skill development in Europe: Does initial skill mismatch matter?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ferreira Sequeda, Maria; Künn, Annemarie; de Grip, Andries

    2016-01-01

    This paper provides more insight into the relevance of the assumption of human capital theory that the productivity of job-related training is driven by the improvement of workers’ skills. We analyse the extent to which training and informal learning on the job are related to employee skill

  2. Let's Burn Them All: Reflections on the Learning-Inhibitory Nature of Introduction to Management and Introduction to Organizational Behavior Textbooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Robert A.

    2014-01-01

    This essay provides evidence from the neurosciences that standard Introduction to Management and "Introduction to Organizational Behavior" textbooks may inhibit, rather than facilitate, learning of the basic concepts and the rudimentary knowledge-basis that underlie the complex skills business students should learn in subsequent…

  3. Communication behaviours of skilled and less skilled oncologists: a validation study of the Medical Interaction Process System (MIPS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Sarah; Hall, Angela

    2004-09-01

    The Medical Interaction Process System (MIPS) was originally developed in order to create a reliable observation tool for analysing doctor-patient encounters in the oncology setting. This paper reports a series of analyses carried out to establish whether the behaviour categories of the MIPS can discriminate between skilled and less skilled communicators. This involved the use of MIPS coded cancer consultations to compare the MIPS indices of 10 clinicians evaluated by an independent professional as skilled communicators with 10 who were considered less skilled. Eleven out of the 15 MIPS variables tested were able to distinguish the skilled from the less skilled group. Although limitations to the study are discussed, the results indicate that the MIPS has satisfactory discriminatory power and the results provide validity data that meet key objectives for developing the system. There is an ever-increasing need for reliable methods of assessing doctors' communication skills and evaluating medical interview teaching programmes. Copyright 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  4. Elementary TIG Welding Skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierson, John E., III

    The text was prepared to help deaf students develop the skills needed by an employed welder. It uses simplified language and illustrations to present concepts which should be reinforced by practical experience with welding skills. Each of the 12 lessons contains: (1) an information section with many illustrations which presents a concept or…

  5. Strategic leadership: the essential skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoemaker, Paul J H; Krupp, Steve; Howland, Samantha

    2013-01-01

    The more uncertain your environment, the greater the opportunity--if you have the leadership skills to capitalize on it. Research at the Wharton school and at the authors' consulting firm, involving more than 20,000 executives to date, has identified six skills that, when mastered and used in concert, allow leaders to think strategically and navigate the unknown effectively. They are the abilities to anticipate, challenge, interpret, decide, align, and learn. This article describes the six skills in detail and includes a self-assessment that will enable you to identify the ones that most need your attention. The authors have found that strength in one skill cannot easily compensate for a deficit in another. An adaptive strategic leader has learned to apply all six at once.

  6. Construction of a Physician Skills Inventory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richard, George V.; Zarconi, Joseph; Savickas, Mark L.

    2012-01-01

    The current study applied Holland's RIASEC typology to develop a "Physician Skills Inventory". We identified the transferable skills and abilities that are critical to effective performance in medicine and had 140 physicians in 25 different specialties rate the importance of those skills. Principal component analysis of their responses produced…

  7. Is Farm Management Skill Persistent?

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Xin; Paulson, Nicholas

    2014-01-01

    Farm management skills can affect farm managers' performance. In this article, farm management performance is analyzed based on yearly Illinois Farm Business Farm Management (FBFM) panel data across 6,760 farms from 1996 through 2011. Two out-of-sample measures of skill are used to analyze the ability of farm managers that consistently perform well over yearly and longer time horizons. Persistence tests show management skills are consistent and predictable. Results also suggest that the most ...

  8. STRESS COPING SKILLS IN ADDICTS

    OpenAIRE

    A EBRAHIMI; SG MOOSAVI; R SAMOOEIE; A ,HASAN ZADEH

    2002-01-01

    Introduction. Stress coping skills is one of the most important factors in prediction of addictive behavior. The purpose of this study was to determine this pattern and to compare them with those of non-addicts. Methods. One hundred subjects with substance dependency and 100 non-addict subjects were selected. Both groups were matched on the basis of their socioeconomic state. Stress coping skills of study participants were examined using CS-R scale. Results. Stress coping skills in ...

  9. Cognitive Load in Mastoidectomy Skills Training

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Steven Arild Wuyts; Mikkelsen, Peter Trier; Konge, Lars

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The cognitive load (CL) theoretical framework suggests that working memory is limited, which has implications for learning and skills acquisition. Complex learning situations such as surgical skills training can potentially induce a cognitive overload, inhibiting learning. This study...... aims to compare CL in traditional cadaveric dissection training and virtual reality (VR) simulation training of mastoidectomy. DESIGN: A prospective, crossover study. Participants performed cadaveric dissection before VR simulation of the procedure or vice versa. CL was estimated by secondary...... surgical skills can be a challenge for the novice and mastoidectomy skills training could potentially be optimized by employing VR simulation training first because of the lower CL. Traditional dissection training could then be used to supplement skills training after basic competencies have been acquired...

  10. 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...

  11. Has the inclusion of a longitudinally integrated communication skills program improved consultation skills in medical students? A pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Sameena; Andrades, Marie; Basir, Fasia; Jaleel, Anila; Azam, Iqbal; Islam, Muhammad; Ahmed, Rashida

    2016-01-01

    Evidence highlights a lack of communication skills in doctors leading to dysfunctional consultations. To address this deficit, a private medical college instituted curricular reforms with inclusion of a longitudinal communication skills program. A pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of this program by comparing the consultation skills of medical students of this college with a medical college without a communication skills program. A 4-station Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) was conducted in the third and final year. Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the difference in the distribution between OSCE stations total and construct scores. At the end of the third year, 21 (31.34%), students of the study site (medical college 1 [college with integrated longitudinal communication skills program]) and 31 (46.26%) students from the comparison site (medical college 2 [comparable college without communication skills program]) consented. Medical college 1 achieved a significantly higher overall mean total station score of 68.0% (standard deviation [SD] =13.5) versus 57.2% (SD = 15.4) (P skills in an undergraduate curriculum positively impacted consultation skills. Community-based training and faculty development are required to develop effective patient-centered consultation skills.

  12. "Soft Skills": A Phrase in Search of Meaning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matteson, Miriam L.; Anderson, Lorien; Boyden, Cynthia

    2016-01-01

    Soft skills are a collection of people management skills, important to many professions and job positions, including academic librarianship. Yet the concept of soft skills lacks definition, scope, instrumentation, and systematic education and training. This literature review explores the definition of "soft skills"; contrasts skills with…

  13. The Risks and Opportunities Associated with Weak Arithmatic Skills of Accounting Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Stephen; Krull, George

    2017-01-01

    This paper explored the authors' concerns about students enrolled in their introductory accounting course. Anecdotal evidence suggested that students struggle with basic arithmetic concepts that underlie basic business transactions even though their math placement and ACT scores are high. A survey of 125 students in a first accounting course was…

  14. Language-specific skills in intercultural healthcare communication: Comparing perceived preparedness and skills in nurses' first and second languages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gasiorek, Jessica; van de Poel, Kris

    2018-02-01

    Interactions between people from different cultures are becoming increasingly commonplace in contemporary healthcare settings. To date, most research evaluating cross-cultural preparedness has assumed that medical professionals are speaking their first language (L1). However, as healthcare workers are increasingly mobile and patient populations are increasingly diverse, more and more interactions are likely to occur in a professional's non-native language (L2). This study assessed and compared nurses' perceived cross-cultural preparedness and skillfulness in their interactions with patients from other cultures when speaking both their L1 and L2. The goal of this project was to inform the creation of a communication skills training program. Nurses reported their perceived cross-cultural preparedness and skillfulness (scales adapted from Park et al., 2009) in their L1 and L2 via an online questionnaire. This questionnaire was distributed among nurses working in Vienna, Austria, through the Vienna Hospital Association (VHA). Nurses and nurses-in-training working in VHA hospitals participated. Most participants who provided demographic information were currently nurses (n=179) with an average of 16.88years (SD=11.50) of professional experience (range: 0-40); n=40 were nurses-in-training with an average of 2.13years (SD=0.88) of experience (range: 1-5). Descriptive statistics for each cross-cultural preparedness and skillfulness (in each language) are reported; comparisons between L1 and L2 responses were also conducted. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify predictors of preparedness and L1/L2 skillfulness. Nurses reported feeling significantly less confident in their skills when working in an L2, across a range of culture-related issues. Having had previous communication skills training predicted (better) self-reported L2 skillfulness, although it did not predict L1 skillfulness. These results indicate that there is a language-specific component to cross

  15. Skills methods to prevent smoking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schinke, S P; Gilchrist, L D; Schilling, R F; Snow, W H; Bobo, J K

    1986-01-01

    School health educators have devoted much attention to cigarette smoking. Recent years have seen the testing of interventions to prevent smoking. To date, controlled studies have not evaluated the added value of skills methods for preventing smoking. This article describes such an evaluation with sixth-grade students from two schools. Subjects were pretested and randomly assigned to receive conventional health education methods or to receive skills intervention. Both conditions included films, peer testimonials, discussions, and homework. Health education condition subjects additionally participated in oral quizzes, games, and debates. Skills condition subjects additionally learned problem-solving, self-instruction, and interpersonal communication methods. At postintervention, skills condition subjects, more than health education condition subjects, had better scores on measures of smoking-related knowledge, attitudes, and intentions. In addition, reported cigarette use, validated by biochemical data collection, was lower in the skills condition than in the health education condition at all postintervention measurements, including a 24-month follow-up. The article discusses the strengths, limits, and implications of the study for other smoking prevention efforts in schools.

  16. Feedforward self-modeling enhances skill acquisition in children learning trampoline skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ste-Marie, Diane M; Vertes, Kelly; Rymal, Amanda M; Martini, Rose

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this research was to examine whether children would benefit from a feedforward self-modeling (FSM) video and to explore possible explanatory mechanisms for the potential benefits, using a self-regulation framework. To this end, children were involved in learning two five-skill trampoline routines. For one of the routines, a FSM video was provided during acquisition, whereas only verbal instructions were provided for the alternate routine. The FSM involved editing video footage such that it showed the learner performing the trampoline routine at a higher skill level than their current capability. Analyses of the data showed that while physical performance benefits were observed for the routine that was learned with the FSM video, no differences were obtained in relation to the self-regulatory measures. Thus, the FSM video enhanced motor skill acquisition, but this could not be explained by changes to the varied self-regulatory processes examined.

  17. Enhancing Systems-Thinking Skills with Modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Woei

    2008-01-01

    Systems thinking is an essential cognitive skill that enables individuals to develop an integrative understanding of a given subject at the conceptual and systemic level. Yet, systems thinking is not usually an innate skill. Helping students develop systems-thinking skills warrants attention from educators. This paper describes a study examining…

  18. Potret interpersonal communication skill mahasiswa calon konselor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dian Ari Widyastuti

    2018-05-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the interpersonal communication skill level of the counselor candidate students. This study is a quantitative descriptive study with data collection instrument in the form of Interpersonal Communication Skill (ICS scale. The subjects of the study were 105 students of Guidance and Counseling Study Program in one of the universities in Yogyakarta City which was taken by random sampling technique. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis, where the criteria were calculated using standard deviation and mean formulas. The results showed that as many as 14.29% of students are in the criteria of interpersonal communication skill is very high, 23.81% of students are in interpersonal communication skill criteria high, 37.14% of students are on interpersonal communication skill criteria are, 20% sinterpersonal communication skills criteria are low, and 4.76% of students are in very low interpersonal communication skill criteria. The results of this study can be used as a reference in an effort to develop interpersonal communication skill prospective student counselor

  19. The relation between 21st-century skills and digital skills: A systematic literature review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Laar, Ester; van Deursen, Alexander Johannes Aloysius Maria; van Dijk, Johannes A.G.M.; de Haan, Jos

    2017-01-01

    Innovation starts with people, making the human capital within the workforce decisive. In a fast-changing knowledge economy, 21st-century digital skills drive organizations' competitiveness and innovation capacity. Although such skills are seen as crucial, the digital aspect integrated with

  20. The relation between 21st-century skills and digital skills : A systematic literature review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Laar, Ester; van Deursen, Alexander Johannes Aloysius Maria; van Dijk, Johannes A.G.M.; de Haan, Jos

    2017-01-01

    Innovation starts with people, making the human capital within the workforce decisive. In a fast-changing knowledge economy, 21st-century digital skills drive organizations' competitiveness and innovation capacity. Although such skills are seen as crucial, the digital aspect integrated with

  1. Organisational skills and tools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wicker, Paul

    2009-04-01

    While this article mainly applies to practitioners who have responsibilities for leading teams or supervising practitioners, many of the skills and tools described here may also apply to students or junior practitioners. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the main points about organisation, some of the organisational skills and tools that are available, and some examples of how these skills and tools can be used to make practitioners more effective at organising their workload. It is important to realise that organising work and doing work are two completely different things and shouldn't be mixed up. For example, it would be very difficult to start organising work in the middle of a busy operating list: the organisation of the work must come before the work starts and therefore preparation is often an important first step in organising work. As such, some of the tools and skills described in this article may need to be used hours or even days prior to the actual work taking place.

  2. Ten essential skills for electrical engineers

    CERN Document Server

    Dorr, Barry

    2014-01-01

    Engineers know that, as in any other discipline, getting a good job requires practical, up-to-date skills. An engineering degree provides a broad set of fundamentals. Ten Essential Skills applies those fundamentals to practical tasks required by employers. Written in a user-friendly, no-nonsense format, the book reviews practical skills using the latest tools and techniques, and features a companion website with interview practice problems and advanced material for readers wishing to pursue additional skills. With this book, aspiring and current engineers may approach job interviews confident

  3. The Relationship between Parents' Literacy Skills and Their Preschool Children's Emergent Literacy Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Nicole A.; Greenberg, Daphne; Terry, Nicole Patton

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlational and predictive relationships between parents with low literacy skills (n = 96) and their 3-5 year old children's emergent literacy skills (n = 96). In the study parents were assessed on measures of reading comprehension, decoding, fluency, oral vocabulary, and word identification,…

  4. Employability Skills Examined: Ten Key Messages from LSN's Quest to Understand Employability Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lanning, Jill; Martin, Rob; Villeneuve-Smith, Frank

    2008-01-01

    As the phrase "Employability Skills" increasingly cropped up in speeches from august platforms, appeared in titles of conferences, peppers publications exhorting more effort for and by UK plc and formed the title of an increasing number of qualifications, Learning and Skills Network (LSN) has been intrigued to find out more about this…

  5. 21st Century-Based Soft Skills: Spotlight on Non-Cognitive Skills in a Cognitive-Laden Dentistry Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quieng, Marjorie C.; Lim, Pearly P.; Lucas, Maria Rita D.

    2015-01-01

    Teaching and learning in the 21st century aims to produce students proficient in content knowledge, specific abilities, literacy, numeracy, and technology uses. From these 21st century skills, soft skills were delineated from these learning outcomes; and defined as intra- and interpersonal skills vital for personal development, social…

  6. Critical Learning Skills for Business Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jance, Marsha; Morgan, Anita

    2013-01-01

    A survey addressing critical skills for business students was developed and disseminated. Sixteen critical skills (such as critical thinking and time management) were identified as skills that need to be acquired in order for business students to be successful in their advanced courses and careers. The survey was disseminated and taken by several…

  7. On Range of Skill

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Thomas Dueholm; Miltersen, Peter Bro; Sørensen, Troels Bjerre

    2008-01-01

    size (and doubly exponential in its depth). We also provide techniques that yield concrete bounds for unbalanced game trees and apply these to estimate the Range of Skill of Tic-Tac-Toe and Heads-Up Limit Texas Hold'em Poker. In particular, we show that the Range of Skill of Tic-Tac-Toe is more than...

  8. Skilled nursing or rehabilitation facilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... ency/patientinstructions/000435.htm Skilled nursing or rehabilitation facilities To use the sharing features on this page, ... to go to a Skilled Nursing or Rehabilitation Facility? Your health care provider may determine that you ...

  9. Hands-On Skills for Caregivers

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... A + A You are here Home Hands-On Skills for Caregivers Printer-friendly version When you’re ... therapist who can help you develop your transferring skills. Allow for their reality Remember to accept your ...

  10. Skill-Based and Planned Active Play Versus Free-Play Effects on Fundamental Movement Skills in Preschoolers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roach, Lindsay; Keats, Melanie

    2018-01-01

    Fundamental movement skill interventions are important for promoting physical activity, but the optimal intervention model for preschool children remains unclear. We compared two 8-week interventions, a structured skill-station and a planned active play approach, to a free-play control condition on pre- and postintervention fundamental movement skills. We also collected data regarding program attendance and perceived enjoyment. We found a significant interaction effect between intervention type and time. A Tukey honest significant difference analysis supported a positive intervention effect showing a significant difference between both interventions and the free-play control condition. There was a significant between-group difference in group attendance such that mean attendance was higher for both the free-play and planned active play groups relative to the structured skill-based approach. There were no differences in attendance between free-play and planned active play groups, and there were no differences in enjoyment ratings between the two intervention groups. In sum, while both interventions led to improved fundamental movement skills, the active play approach offered several logistical advantages. Although these findings should be replicated, they can guide feasible and sustainable fundamental movement skill programs within day care settings.

  11. Multi-informant assessment of transition-related skills and skill importance in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hume, Kara; Dykstra Steinbrenner, Jessica; Sideris, John; Smith, Leann; Kucharczyk, Suzanne; Szidon, Kate

    2018-01-01

    Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder have limited participation in the transition planning process, despite the link between active participation and an improvement in postsecondary education and employment outcomes. The Secondary School Success Checklist was designed to support transition planning for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder by incorporating their own assessments of strengths, skill deficits, and prioritization for instruction along with those of their parents and teachers across multiple skill domains. Findings from more than 500 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder across the United States indicate discrepancies between adolescent, teacher, and parent ratings of skills highlighting the importance of the inclusion of multiple perspectives in transition planning. Although ratings varied, agreement between adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, parents, and teachers across the highest and lowest rated skills suggests the need to broaden the focus on critical transition skills to include problem-solving, planning for life after high school, and self-advocacy.

  12. CHILDREN'S MOVEMENT SKILLS WHEN PLAYING ACTIVE VIDEO GAMES.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulteen, Ryan M; Johnson, Tara M; Ridgers, Nicola D; Mellecker, Robin R; Barnett, Lisa M

    2015-12-01

    Active video games (AVGs) may be useful for movement skill practice. This study examined children's skill execution while playing Xbox Kinect™ and during movement skill assessment. Nineteen children (10 boys, 9 girls; M age=7.9 yr., SD=1.4) had their skills assessed before AVG play and then were observed once a week for 6 wk. while playing AVGs for 50 min. While AVG play showed evidence of correct skill performance (at least 30-50% of the time when playing table tennis, tennis, and baseball), nearly all skills were more correctly performed during skill assessment (generally more than 50% of the time). This study may help researchers to better understand the role AVGs could play in enhancing real life movement skills.

  13. Academic & Technical Skills + Life/Work Skills + Career Information & Guidance = Success in Career Building.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarvis, Phillip S.

    There has been a renaissance in the thinking about career development. It is becoming accepted that information is not enough; in addition to academic and technical skills, youth and adults need to learn life/work designing and building skills to become healthy, productive, and self-reliant citizens. Despite the fact that Canadian students have…

  14. Studying three management skills among midwifery managers of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Results: The results of this study showed that in the field of knowledge, managers prioritized the skills as follows: the human-communicational skills (MR =69.05), technical skills (MR =50.31) and theoretical-cognitive skills (MR =47.57). Also prioritization of skills from the perspective of the study population in the field of ...

  15. ANALYSIS OF STUDENT CREATIVE THINKING SKILLS IN SOLVING PROBLEM PATTERN NUMBERS WITH PARTITION TECHNIQUES BASED ON METACOGNITION SKILLS

    OpenAIRE

    Nila Herawati1, Dafik 2,3 & I Made Tirta4

    2018-01-01

    High-order thinking or Higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) is one of the most needed thinking skills in a person's life. Creative thinking is the highest level of thinking skills. Creative thinking skills in students have the characteristics of fluency (fluency), flexibility (flexibility), elaboration and originality (originality). Metacognition is the ability of one's thinking in using strategies to produce problem solving in their learning. This ability helps students get personal feedback a...

  16. Mirror Me: Imitative Responses in Adults with Autism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schunke, Odette; Schöttle, Daniel; Vettorazzi, Eik; Brandt, Valerie; Kahl, Ursula; Bäumer, Tobias; Ganos, Christos; David, Nicole; Peiker, Ina; Engel, Andreas K; Brass, Marcel; Münchau, Alexander

    2016-01-01

    Dysfunctions of the human mirror neuron system have been postulated to underlie some deficits in autism spectrum disorders including poor imitative performance and impaired social skills. Using three reaction time experiments addressing mirror neuron system functions under simple and complex conditions, we examined 20 adult autism spectrum…

  17. Theory of mind, insecure attachment and paranoia in adolescents with early psychosis and healthy controls

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Korver-Nieberg, Nikie; Fett, Anne-Kathrin J.; Meijer, Carin J.; Koeter, Maarten W. J.; Shergill, Sukhi S.; de Haan, Lieuwe; Krabbendam, Lydia

    2013-01-01

    Impaired Theory of Mind (ToM) is found in adults with schizophrenia and is associated with paranoid symptoms. Insecure attachment is proposed to underlie impaired ToM as well as paranoia. Insight into associations between insecure attachment and impaired ToM skills may help clinicians and patients

  18. Feedforward self-modeling enhances skill acquisition in children learning trampoline skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diane M. Ste-Marie

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to examine whether children would benefit from a feedforward self-modeling (FSM video and to explore possible explanatory mechanisms for the potential benefits, using a self-regulation framework. To this end, children were involved in learning two five-skill trampoline routines. For one of the routines, a FSM video was provided during acquisition, whereas only verbal instructions were provided for the alternate routine. The FSM involved editing video footage such that it showed the learner performing the trampoline routine at a higher skill level than their current capability. Analyses of the data showed that while physical performance benefits were observed for the routine that was learned with the FSM video, no differences were obtained in relation to the self-regulatory measures. Thus, the FSM video enhanced motor skill acquisition, but this could not be explained by changes to the varied self-regulatory processes examined.

  19. Technology and skill demand in Mexico

    OpenAIRE

    Lopez-Acevedo, Gladys

    2002-01-01

    The author investigates the effects of technology on the employment and wages of differently skilled Mexican manufacturing workers using firm panel data from 1992-99. She analyzes the relationship between technology and skill demand. Findings support the skill-biased technical change hypothesis. She then examines the temporal relationship of technology adoption to firm productivity and wor...

  20. Generic Skills from Qur'anic Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siddig Ahmad

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Generic skills are defined as a set of skills that are directly related and needed for the working environment. Employers prefer to recruit officials who are competent in interpersonal communication, leadership skill, team work, oral and written skills. They are reluctant to employ graduates lacking certain necessary skills. This reveals the fact that there is a serious gap between the skills that are required by the employers and the skills that the graduates possess. Therefore, this research is focused on five aspects of generic skills namely; communication, team work, problem solving, lifelong learning and self-esteem. From Qur’anic perspective, the same terms have been used except minor differences in using various terms. The thematic approach is used when discussing these aspects from the Qur’an. The findings showed that the ways of effective communication are represented by terms of qawl sadid, qawl ma`ruf, qawl baligh, qawl maysur, qawl karim and qawl layyin. For collective work, ta`aruf and tafahum, as the pre-requisites, should be practiced via ta`awun and takaful. For problem solving, four methods are adapted from the Qur’an such as reflection of the past, observation, demonstration and asking questions. For lifelong learning, the establishment of learning institutions and the self-motivation of learners are two pre-requisites that should be undertaken for its accomplishment. They could be practiced through open learning system, consultation and hands-on learning. Last but not least, for personality development could be built up through physical training, spiritual training and mental training.

  1. Large-Scale Occupational Skills Normalization for Online Recruitment

    OpenAIRE

    Hoang, Phuong; Mahoney, Thomas; Javed, Faizan; McNair, Matt

    2018-01-01

    Job openings often go unfulfilled despite a surfeit of unemployed or underemployed workers. One of the main reasons for this is a mismatch between the skills required by employers and the skills that workers possess. This mismatch, also known as the skills gap, can pose socioeconomic challenges for an economy. A first step in alleviating the skills gap is to accurately detect skills in human capital data such as resumes and job ads. Comprehensive and accurate detection of skills facilitates a...

  2. Students' Competence in some Problem Solving Skills throughout ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Students' Competence in some Problem Solving Skills throughout their B.Sc. Course. ... there is a need for explicitly identifying important cognitive skills and strategies and ... Keywords: Cognitive skills, thinking skills, problem solving, students' ...

  3. Training Adaptability in Digital Skills

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Hess-Kosa, Kathleen

    2001-01-01

    .... As outlined in this Phase I report, Aptima and the Group for Organizational Effectiveness (gOE) have lain the groundwork for an innovative, computer-based, digital-skills training package designed to increase the adaptability of digital skills...

  4. Soft Skills at the Malaysian Institutes of Higher Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shakir, Roselina

    2009-01-01

    This article discusses human capital development through the seven soft skills elements which comprise communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving skills, team work, lifelong learning and information management skills, entrepreneurship skills, ethics, and professional moral and leadership skills. The Ministry of Higher Education,…

  5. Skill networks and measures of complex human capital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Katharine A

    2017-11-28

    We propose a network-based method for measuring worker skills. We illustrate the method using data from an online freelance website. Using the tools of network analysis, we divide skills into endogenous categories based on their relationship with other skills in the market. Workers who specialize in these different areas earn dramatically different wages. We then show that, in this market, network-based measures of human capital provide additional insight into wages beyond traditional measures. In particular, we show that workers with diverse skills earn higher wages than those with more specialized skills. Moreover, we can distinguish between two different types of workers benefiting from skill diversity: jacks-of-all-trades, whose skills can be applied independently on a wide range of jobs, and synergistic workers, whose skills are useful in combination and fill a hole in the labor market. On average, workers whose skills are synergistic earn more than jacks-of-all-trades. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

  6. Your skills are important

    CERN Document Server

    2004-01-01

    An ambitious project to compile a skills database, known as the Skills and Talents Inventory (STI), was launched at the beginning of this year. The STI is a vital tool for various aspects of human resources management. The Weekly Bulletin has interviewed Mr Andre John Naudi, CERN's Director of Finance and Human Resources, who was the initiator of the project.

  7. Using dummies for surgical skills training

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Langebæk, Rikke

    2011-01-01

    Effective acquisition of a skill requires practise. Therefore it is of great importance to provide veterinary students with opportunities to practice their surgical skills before carrying out surgical procedures on live patients. Some veterinary schools let students perform entire surgical...... procedures on research animals, in order to learn the basic skills along the way. From an ethical point of view it is questionable however to use live research animals for the sole purpose of practising surgery, and also, research animals are very costly. It is therefore necessary to identify alternative...... teaching methods for veterinary surgical training. At the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, a number of low fidelity, stuffed toy animal dummies was developed for the Surgical Skills Lab in order to teach 4th year students the basic surgical skills. In the Surgical...

  8. Identification of Essential Food Skills for Skill-Based Healthful Eating Programs in Secondary Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fordyce-Voorham, Sandra

    2011-01-01

    Objective: To identify the food skills deemed essential to include in skill-based healthful eating programs in secondary schools. Methods: Fifty-one food experts including home economics educators, chefs, nutritionists and dietitians, community educators, homemakers, and young people were recruited by invitation, mail, and advertising. Data were…

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  10. Student-Directed Video Validation of Psychomotor Skills Performance: A Strategy to Facilitate Deliberate Practice, Peer Review, and Team Skill Sets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeBourgh, Gregory A; Prion, Susan K

    2017-03-22

    Background Essential nursing skills for safe practice are not limited to technical skills, but include abilities for determining salience among clinical data within dynamic practice environments, demonstrating clinical judgment and reasoning, problem-solving abilities, and teamwork competence. Effective instructional methods are needed to prepare new nurses for entry-to-practice in contemporary healthcare settings. Method This mixed-methods descriptive study explored self-reported perceptions of a process to self-record videos for psychomotor skill performance evaluation in a convenience sample of 102 pre-licensure students. Results Students reported gains in confidence and skill acquisition using team skills to record individual videos of skill performance, and described the importance of teamwork, peer support, and deliberate practice. Conclusion Although time consuming, the production of student-directed video validations of psychomotor skill performance is an authentic task with meaningful accountabilities that is well-received by students as an effective, satisfying learner experience to increase confidence and competence in performing psychomotor skills.

  11. Recommended observational skills training for IAEA safeguards inspections. Final report: Recommended observational skills training for IAEA safeguards inspections

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toquam, J.L.; Morris, F.A.

    1994-09-01

    This is the second of two reports prepared to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA or Agency) in enhancing the effectiveness of its international safeguards inspections through inspector training in {open_quotes}Observational Skills{close_quotes}. The first (Phase 1) report was essentially exploratory. It defined Observational Skills broadly to include all appropriate cognitive, communications, and interpersonal techniques that have the potential to help IAEA safeguards inspectors function more effectively. It identified 10 specific Observational Skills components, analyzed their relevance to IAEA safeguards inspections, and reviewed a variety of inspection programs in the public and private sectors that provide training in one or more of these components. The report concluded that while it should be possible to draw upon these other programs in developing Observational Skills training for IAEA inspectors, the approaches utilized in these programs will likely require significant adaption to support the specific job requirements, policies, and practices that define the IAEA inspector`s job. The overall objective of this second (Phase 2) report is to provide a basis for the actual design and delivery of Observational Skills training to IAEA inspectors. The more specific purposes of this report are to convey a fuller understanding of the potential application of Observational Skills to the inspector`s job, describe inspector perspectives on the relevance and importance of particular Observational Skills, identify the specific Observational Skill components that are most important and relevant to enhancing safeguards inspections, and make recommendations as to Observational Skills training for the IAEA`s consideration in further developing its Safeguards training program.

  12. Essential Skills for Project Stakeholders Identification: Sustainability Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Md. Mashiur Rahman

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In every life cycle of the project there are numerous people or organizations involved either directly or indirectly. While these type of people and organizations involved are called stakeholders and these may include the project team, client or customer, community, environment, suppliers, government. Stakeholders contribute and share their experiences, knowledge, and insights to support the project throughout its life cycle and therefore it is crucial to capture their input. However, before initiation of the project, stakeholders need to be identified. Following the fact that there are strategies and processes for stakeholder identification, it is not clear what skills are needed to employ those strategies for stakeholder identification. These skills are exceedingly important to have because in today's corporate world, the project team must be flexible in every aspect of their job and be able to complement their skills for the success of stakeholder identification. Using literature review, this paper seeks to describe the skills of project leader needed to identify the project team and the external stakeholders. Inductive approach was followed in this study and data was collected qualitatively using secondary sources. There are two essential skills i.e. relationship building skills and communication skills for internal stakeholders and four major skills i.e. communication skills, people skills, intellectual skills and conceptual skills for external stakeholders are identified for the identification of project stakeholders through literature review considering the sustainability issues in the project management.

  13. Overcoming Hurdles Implementing Multi-skilling Policies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-26

    skilled workforce? Chapter II will communicate important concepts found in the literature on skill proficiency topics. These topics include skill...training methods that might improve learning and retention during the acquisition phase. 10 The active interlock modeling (AIM) protocol is a dyadic ...retention, as found in 43 Chapter 2. These techniques include dyadic training methods, overlearning, feedback, peer support, and managerial support

  14. Personality, political skill, and job performance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blickle, G.; Meurs, J.A.; Zettler, Ingo

    2008-01-01

    constructs of agreeableness and conscientiousness with political skill predict job performance. Our results supported our hypothesis for the agreeableness-political skill interaction. Additionally, after correcting for the unreliability and restricted range of conscientiousness, we found that its interaction...... with political skill also significantly predicted job performance, although not precisely as hypothesized. Implications of the results and directions for future research are provided....

  15. Teamwork, Soft Skills, and Research Training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibert, Anaïs; Tozer, Wade C; Westoby, Mark

    2017-02-01

    We provide a list of soft skills that are important for collaboration and teamwork, based on our own experience and from an opinion survey of team leaders. Each skill can be learned to some extent. We also outline workable short courses for graduate schools to strengthen teamwork and collaboration skills among research students. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Collaborating To Teach Prosocial Skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allsopp, David H.; Santos, Karen E.; Linn, Reid

    2000-01-01

    This article describes a collaborative prosocial skills program. Steps of the intervention include forming teams of educators, targeting necessary prosocial skills, developing an instructional plan, determining the setting and collaborative roles, delivery instruction, and providing opportunities for student practice, reinforcement, and…

  17. Securing the skills for a nuclear future

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonser, D.R.

    2004-01-01

    There is a growing concern regarding the loss of skills in some countries. There is also a negative trend in university entrants studying science and engineering. The labour market can respond to skills shortage. But we should not invent jobs just to retain skills. Capture and retention of knowledge is the key. We need to be able to explain clean-up as exciting and demanding of nuclear skills

  18. Zur Dialektik von Soft Skills und fachlicher Kompetenz

    OpenAIRE

    Jendrowiak, Hans-Werner

    2010-01-01

    [Der Autor stellt folgende Thesen zur Dialektik von Soft Skills und fachlicher Bildung auf:] 1. Soft Skills sind normale Bildungskategorien und Teil einer Allgemeinen Bildung. […] 2. Soft Skills sind als personalgebundene Kriterien auch immer schon Gegenstand bildungstheoretischer Debatten. […] 3. Soft Skills ist eine trendorientierte Bezeichnung für Bildung. […] 4. Soft Skills sind Ausdruck von Vorstellungen, Ideen und Theorien (Schulkultur, Unternehmenskultur, Unternehmensphilosophie). 5. S...

  19. Early language and executive skills predict variations in number and arithmetic skills in children at family-risk of dyslexia and typically developing controls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moll, Kristina; Snowling, Margaret J; Göbel, Silke M; Hulme, Charles

    2015-08-01

    Two important foundations for learning are language and executive skills. Data from a longitudinal study tracking the development of 93 children at family-risk of dyslexia and 76 controls was used to investigate the influence of these skills on the development of arithmetic. A two-group longitudinal path model assessed the relationships between language and executive skills at 3-4 years, verbal number skills (counting and number knowledge) and phonological processing skills at 4-5 years, and written arithmetic in primary school. The same cognitive processes accounted for variability in arithmetic skills in both groups. Early language and executive skills predicted variations in preschool verbal number skills, which in turn, predicted arithmetic skills in school. In contrast, phonological awareness was not a predictor of later arithmetic skills. These results suggest that verbal and executive processes provide the foundation for verbal number skills, which in turn influence the development of formal arithmetic skills. Problems in early language development may explain the comorbidity between reading and mathematics disorder.

  20. Investigating the Contextual Interference Effect Using Combination Sports Skills in Open and Closed Skill Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jadeera P.G. Cheong, Brendan Lay, Rizal Razman

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This study attempted to present conditions that were closer to the real-world setting of team sports. The primary purpose was to examine the effects of blocked, random and game-based training practice schedules on the learning of the field hockey trap, close dribble and push pass that were practiced in combination. The secondary purpose was to investigate the effects of predictability of the environment on the learning of field hockey sport skills according to different practice schedules. A game-based training protocol represented a form of random practice in an unstable environment and was compared against a blocked and a traditional random practice schedule. In general, all groups improved dribble and push accuracy performance during the acquisition phase when assessed in a closed environment. In the retention phase, there were no differences between the three groups. When assessed in an open skills environment, all groups improved their percentage of successful executions for trapping and passing execution, and improved total number of attempts and total number of successful executions for both dribbling and shooting execution. Between-group differences were detected for dribbling execution with the game-based group scoring a higher number of dribbling successes. The CI effect did not emerge when practicing and assessing multiple sport skills in a closed skill environment, even when the skills were practiced in combination. However, when skill assessment was conducted in a real-world situation, there appeared to be some support for the CI effect.

  1. Teaching Communication Skills to Radiology Residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itri, Jason N; Yacob, Sammy; Mithqal, Ayman

    The transition of health care in the United States from volume to value requires a systems-based approach aligning clinical services across the continuum of care. The ability to communicate effectively and resolve conflict is a critical skill within the systems-based model. Recognizing the essential role of communication in medicine, the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education has designated interpersonal and communication skills a core competency for all residents regardless of specialty. Yet, communication skills are often developed through on-the-job training or not at all. Traditional educational curricula use a predominantly didactic approach without opportunities for trainees to observe, actively experiment, or reflect on what is learned as a part of the learning process. In this article, we describe a 1-day experiential communication skills workshop customized for radiology residents that consists of Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and conflict management sessions designed to develop interpersonal, communication, and conflict management skills through group discussion, role-play, and simulation. The purpose of this educational initiative was to determine the perceived value of an experiential communication skills workshop designed for radiology trainees. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Learning tactile skills through curious exploration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leo ePape

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available We present curiosity-driven, autonomous acquisition of tactile exploratory skills on a biomimetic robot finger equipped with an array of microelectromechanical touch sensors. Instead of building tailored algorithms for solving a specific tactile task, we employ a more general curiosity-driven reinforcement learning approach that autonomously learns a set of motor skills in absence of an explicit teacher signal. In this approach, the acquisition of skills is driven by the information content of the sensory input signals relative to a learner that aims at representing sensory inputs using fewer and fewer computational resources. We show that, from initially random exploration of its environment, the robotic system autonomously develops a small set of basic motor skills that lead to different kinds of tactile input. Next, the system learns how to exploit the learned motor skills to solve supervised texture classification tasks. Our approach demonstrates the feasibility of autonomous acquisition of tactile skills on physical robotic platforms through curiosity-driven reinforcement learning, overcomes typical difficulties of engineered solutions for active tactile exploration and underactuated control, and provides a basis for studying developmental learning through intrinsic motivation in robots.

  3. Predictors of employer satisfaction: technical and non-technical skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danielson, Jared A; Wu, Tsui-Feng; Fales-Williams, Amanda J; Kirk, Ryan A; Preast, Vanessa A

    2012-01-01

    Employers of 2007-2009 graduates from Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine were asked to respond to a survey regarding their overall satisfaction with their new employees as well as their new employees' preparation in several technical and non-technical skill areas. Seventy-five responses contained complete data and were used in the analysis. Four technical skill areas (data collection, data interpretation, planning, and taking action) and five non-technical skill areas (interpersonal skills, ability to deal with legal issues, business skills, making referrals, and problem solving) were identified. All of the skill area subscales listed above had appropriate reliability (Cronbach's alpha>0.70) and were positively and significantly correlated with overall employer satisfaction. Results of two simultaneous regression analyses indicated that of the four technical skill areas, taking action is the most salient predictor of employer satisfaction. Of the five non-technical skill areas, interpersonal skills, business skills, making referrals, and problem solving were the most important skills in predicting employer satisfaction. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that all technical skills explained 25% of the variation in employer satisfaction; non-technical skills explained an additional 42% of the variation in employer satisfaction.

  4. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Workforce Trauma and EMS Cancer and Research Health Information Technology Scope of Practice Pediatric Issues Other Federal Legislative Issues Regulatory Issues Regulatory Issues Regulatory Issues Stop Overregulating My OR ... American Urological Association (AUA), Certified Enterostomal Therapy Nurses (CETN), and the United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA). Program Overview The skills kit contains: A booklet with information on the operation, home skills such as emptying ...

  5. Decomposing Cross-Country Differences in Skills:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Albæk, Karsten; Rosdahl, Anders

    2017-01-01

    This paper performs multivariate analysis of skill differences in the Nordic countries as assessed by OECD’s PIACC survey of adults aged 16-65. We decompose the differences in average skills between Finland and each of the three Scandinavian countries into a component that is due to different skill...... levels in subgroups of the population and a component that is due to differences in the composition of subgroups. The decompositions show that the high Finnish average skill level compared to the three Scandinavian countries can be attributed the low share of immigrants in Finland and to high scores...... among Finns with high school and less than high school education. The Finnish average score is pulled substantially downwards as a consequence of the low numeracy skill level among older Finns, which is consistent with an increase in the quantity or quality of Finnish education over time, relative...

  6. Employability Skills among Students and Employers’ Perceptions: An Assessment of Levels of Employability Skills Acquired by Business Students at Ishik University

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fayeq Ali Ali

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Skills are prerequisite for managers and employees success, especially for newly graduate students. This study is to evaluate the employability skills of business students at Ishik University and to assess how employability skills are perceived by potential employers. Three sets of employability skills have been used in this study such as basic academic skills, high-order thinking, and personal qualities. A questionnaire has been developed which included above dimensions and was distributed among students in the faculty of administrative sciences and economics at Ishik University, Kurdistan Region. Respondents’ opinions were assessed using a Likert scale analysis that shows divergent opinions between two extremes of levels of agreement and disagreement. Another technique of an open-ended questionnaire was used when conducting interviews with a few of the potential employers in some private sector companies. Study focuses on the common employability skills of business graduates by evaluating the faculty of administrative sciences and economics courses. Study find out that communication skills, team working skills, computer skills, and critical thinking were among the employability skills which are expected by potential employers. The paper concludes that business graduates have developed an adequate level of employability skill through their years of academic training at business department in Ishik University. Thus, the curriculum of business department at Ishik University is adequately developed to prompt the employability skills that are sought by potential employers that every business student should acquire to stand out in the aggressively competitive job market.

  7. Skill Learning and Skill Transfer Mediated by Cooperative Haptic Interaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    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.

  8. Work-readiness skills in the Fasset Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melandi Raftopoulos

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the study was to determine the work -readiness skills that are regarded as important by employers and graduates in the Fasset Sector of South Africa. A cross-sectional survey design was  used  to  achieve  this  objective.  Two  convenience  samples, namely  24  employers  and  333 graduates, completed  the Work Readiness Skills Scale. This scale was validated as a one-factor model with  an  alpha  coeffcient of  0.88. Oral  and written  communication,  self-discipline,  time management, interpersonal skills and teamwork, problem-solving skills and positive work ethic were rated as important skills for securing employment in this sector by employers and graduates alike. In addition, employers valued numeracy skills and motivation, whereas graduates regarded confidence and  leadership skills as  important. The results have implications for the curriculum design of the Fasset Work Readiness Programme presented to graduates in this industry.

  9. Non-technical skills in histopathology: definition and discussion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Peter W; Fioratou, Evie; Flin, Rhona

    2011-09-01

    Health care is a high-risk industry, with most documented adverse incidents being associated with 'human factors' including cognitive and social skills termed 'non-technical skills'. Non-technical skills complement the diagnostic and specialist skills and professional attributes required by medical practitioners, including histopathologists, and can enhance the quality of practice and delivery of health-care services and thus contribute to patient safety. This review aims to introduce histopathologists to non-technical skills and how these pertain to everyday histopathological practice. Drawing from other domains in medicine, specifically anaesthesia and surgery, a variety of non-technical skills are identified and described in the context of histopathology to illustrate the role each plays, often collectively, in daily practice. The generic non-technical skills are defined as situation awareness, decision-making, communication, teamwork, leadership, managing stress and coping with fatigue. Example scenarios from histopathology are presented and the contributions to outcomes made by non-technical skills are explained. Consideration of these specific non-technical skills as a component in histopathology training may benefit practitioners as well as assuring patient safety. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Limited.

  10. Life skills and children's characterstrengths

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ledertoug, Mette Marie; Linder, Anne

    Psychologist Anne Linder and Psychologist and PhDstudent Mette Marie Ledertoug focus in ‘Life skills and Childrens’ Character Strengths’ on improving life skills for children and adolescents by adopting a strengths-based approach combining a theoretical foundation based on VIA strengths...

  11. Empowering students by enhancing their\\ud employability skills

    OpenAIRE

    Scott, Fraser J.; Connell, Pauline; Thomson, Linda A.; Willison, Debra

    2017-01-01

    Recognising the importance of graduates being equipped with appropriate employability skills alongside their subject-specific skills, we have had transferable skills training embedded throughout our degree programmes for 30 years. More recently, a specific employability skills module for final-year honours students has been created. This module consists of a programme of\\ud activities supporting employability skills, which was delivered to final-year undergraduate students from 2012 to 2015. ...

  12. The Use of Skilled Strategies in Social Interactions by Groups High and Low in Self-Reported Social Skill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Channon, Shelley; Collins, Ruth; Swain, Eleanor; Young, Mary-Beth; Fitzpatrick, Sian

    2012-01-01

    Individuals high or low in self-reported social skill were recruited opportunistically. When presented with everyday social scenarios ending with an awkward request or offer, the high social skill participants more often used sophisticated strategies that showed greater consideration for all parties. By contrast, the low skill participants were…

  13. The Assessment of Rational Thinking: IQ ? RQ

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanovich, Keith E.; West, Richard F.

    2014-01-01

    In this article the authors argue that distinguishing between rationality and intelligence helps explain how people can be, at the same time, intelligent and irrational (Stanovich, 2009). As such, researchers need to study separately the individual differences in cognitive skills that underlie intelligence and the individual differences in…

  14. Supporting and Developing Self-Regulatory Behaviours in Early Childhood in Young Children with High Levels of Impulsive Behaviour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dan, Aviva

    2016-01-01

    Deficits in self-regulatory skills underlie or contribute to a range of adverse developmental problems and disorders, including ADHD (Barkley, 1997), eating disorders (Attie & Brooks-Gunn, 1995) and risk -taking behaviour (Cantor & Sanderson 1998; Eisenberg et al., 2005). Self-regulation has been recognised as an important factor in aiding…

  15. Assessors for communication skills: SPs or healthcare professionals?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liew, Siaw-Cheok; Dutta, Susmita; Sidhu, Jagmohni Kaur; De-Alwis, Ranjit; Chen, Nicole; Sow, Chew-Fei; Barua, Ankur

    2014-07-01

    The complexity of modern medicine creates more challenges for teaching and assessment of communication skills in undergraduate medical programme. This research was conducted to study the level of communication skills among undergraduate medical students and to determine the difference between simulated patients and clinical instructors' assessment of communication skills. This comparative study was conducted for three months at the Clinical Skills and Simulation Centre of the International Medical University in Malaysia. The modified Calgary-Cambridge checklist was used to assess the communication skills of 50 first year and 50 second year medical students (five-minutes pre-recorded interview videos on the scenario of sore throat). These videos were reviewed and scored by simulated patients (SPs), communication skills instructors (CSIs) and non-communication skills instructors (non-CSIs). Better performance was observed among the undergraduate medical students, who had formal training in communication skills with a significant difference in overall scores detected among the first and second year medical students (p = 0.0008). A non-significant difference existed between the scores of SPs and CSIs for Year 1 (p = 0.151). The SPs could be trained and involved in assessment of communication skills. Formal training in communication skills is necessary in the undergraduate medical programme.

  16. Enhancing social skills through cooperative learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M J Booysen

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available The National Curriculum Statement of South Africa envisages qualified and competent teachers to deal with the diversity of learners and their needs in the classroom. One of the needs refers to all learners (Gr R-12 who need to acquire the necessary social skills to enable them to work effectively with others as members of a team, group, organization and community. These skills refer inter alia to: learning to work with others, listening to others, giving attention, asking clarifying questions, learning how to evaluate, and to praise others, handling conflict, reflecting on group work and allowing all group members to participate. The most obvious place to deal purposefully with the development of social skills is the classroom. This implies that alternative ways and methods of teaching must be introduced to develop the necessary social skills. This article reports on the findings obtained from a combined quantitative and qualitative study that set out to determine the levels of social competence achieved by a group of Grade 2 learners, and the possible association of a cooperative teaching and learning intervention programme for enhancing the social skills of these learners. The results revealed the latent potential of cooperative learning to enhance the social skills of Grade 2 learners. The significance of this research lies in the contribution it makes to establish the social competence of a group of Grade 2 learners and to determine the possibilities for enhancing their social skills through cooperative learning.

  17. Differential Role of CBT Skills, DBT Skills and Psychological Flexibility in Predicting Depressive versus Anxiety Symptom Improvement

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Christian A.; Beard, Courtney; Kertz, Sarah J.; Hsu, Kean; Björgvinsson, Thröstur

    2016-01-01

    Objective Studies have reported associations between cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skill use and symptom improvement in depressed outpatient samples. However, little is known regarding the temporal relationship between different subsets of therapeutic skills and symptom change among relatively severely depressed patients receiving treatment in psychiatric hospital settings. Method Adult patients with major depression (N=173) receiving combined psychotherapeutic and pharmacological treatment at a psychiatric hospital completed repeated assessments of traditional CBT skills, DBT skills and psychological flexibility, as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms. Results Results indicated that only use of behavioral activation (BA) strategies significantly predicted depressive symptom improvement in this sample; whereas DBT skills and psychological flexibility predicted anxiety symptom change. In addition, a baseline symptom severity X BA strategies interaction emerged indicating that those patients with higher pretreatment depression severity exhibited the strongest association between use of BA strategies and depressive symptom improvement. Conclusions Findings suggest the importance of emphasizing the acquisition and regular use of BA strategies with severely depressed patients in short-term psychiatric settings. In contrast, an emphasis on the development of DBT skills and the cultivation of psychological flexibility may prove beneficial for the amelioration of anxiety symptoms. PMID:27057997

  18. Early language and executive skills predict variations in number and arithmetic skills in children at family-risk of dyslexia and typically developing controls

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moll, Kristina; Snowling, Margaret J.; Göbel, Silke M.; Hulme, Charles

    2015-01-01

    Two important foundations for learning are language and executive skills. Data from a longitudinal study tracking the development of 93 children at family-risk of dyslexia and 76 controls was used to investigate the influence of these skills on the development of arithmetic. A two-group longitudinal path model assessed the relationships between language and executive skills at 3–4 years, verbal number skills (counting and number knowledge) and phonological processing skills at 4–5 years, and written arithmetic in primary school. The same cognitive processes accounted for variability in arithmetic skills in both groups. Early language and executive skills predicted variations in preschool verbal number skills, which in turn, predicted arithmetic skills in school. In contrast, phonological awareness was not a predictor of later arithmetic skills. These results suggest that verbal and executive processes provide the foundation for verbal number skills, which in turn influence the development of formal arithmetic skills. Problems in early language development may explain the comorbidity between reading and mathematics disorder. PMID:26412946

  19. New Skills, New Jobs: Return Migration, Skill Transfers, and Business Formation in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagan, Jacqueline Maria; Wassink, Joshua

    2016-11-01

    Numerous studies have documented a high propensity for self-employment and business formation among return migrants relative to non-migrants. The literature points to the importance of remitted savings, migration duration, and number and types of jobs abroad for business formation upon return. Implicit in this scholarship is the assumption that migrants acquire not only financial capital, but also human capital, which expands their opportunities upon return. Empirical work has demonstrated how the transfer of formal human capital, such as language skills and professional credentials, influences the mobility pathways of professional return migrants. More recent research has also found that the transfer of informal human capital, such as social and technical skills learned on the job, shape the mobility pathways of return migrants with little schooling. Absent from this scholarship, however, are studies that directly test the relationship between the transfer of informal human capital and the odds of business formation among return migrants. In this paper, we address this gap. Using a multidimensional skills variable, which includes social, technical, and English language competences, we measure and test the relationship between skill acquisition and transfer and business formation among return migrants. Drawing on findings from a survey of 200 return migrants and 200 non-migrants in Mexico, we show that return migrants who successfully acquire and transfer new skills across the migratory circuit often leverage their new knowledge to launch businesses. Our findings have wide implications for how social scientists conceptualize and measure human capital formation across the migratory circuit.

  20. Cross-Country Variation in Adult Skills Inequality: Why Are Skill Levels and Opportunities so Unequal in Anglophone Countries?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Andy; Green, Francis; Pensiero, Nicola

    2015-01-01

    This article examines cross-country variations in adult skills inequality and asks why skills in Anglophone countries are so unequal. Drawing on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's recent Survey of Adult Skills and other surveys, it investigates the differences across countries and country groups in inequality in both…

  1. Risk, Balanced Skills and Entrepreneurship

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hsieh, C.; Parker, S.C.; van Praag, C.M.

    2016-01-01

    This paper proposes that risk aversion encourages individuals to invest in balanced skill profiles, making them more likely to become entrepreneurs. By not taking this possible linkage into account, previous research has underestimated the impacts of both risk aversion and balanced skills on the

  2. Enhancing Literacy Skills through Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sistek-Chandler, Cynthia

    2003-01-01

    Discusses how to use technology to enhance literacy skills. Highlights include defining literacy, including information literacy; research to support reading and writing instruction; literacy software; thinking skills; organizational strategies for writing and reading; how technology can individualize literacy instruction; and a new genre of…

  3. Business Financial Occupations: Skill Standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vocational Technical Education Consortium of States, Decatur, GA.

    This report organizes the information provided by 71 individuals in finance-related occupations in 11 states into skills inventories for persons in these jobs. The skills inventories contain the following sections: (1) occupation-specific knowledge (communication, mathematics, science); (2) workplace behaviors (work ethics, interpersonal…

  4. Employability Skill Acquisition among Malaysian Community College Students

    OpenAIRE

    M. K. Omar; A. R. Bakar; A. Mat Rashid

    2012-01-01

    The objective of this study was to assess the acquisition of employability skills among Malaysian community college students. The sample size of the present study 325 students selected randomly. Employability skills were measured using an instrument developed by the Secretaryâs Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS). The overall mean of employability skills among community college students was 3.63 (S.D. = 0.47). Thus, we consider the employability skills of community college studen...

  5. The Skill-Biased Effects of Exchange Rate Fluctuations

    OpenAIRE

    Boris Kaiser; Michael Siegenthaler

    2015-01-01

    This paper examines the linkages between real exchange rate movements and firms' skill demand. Real exchange rate movements may affect unskilled workers differently than skilled workers because of skill-specific adjustment costs, or because exchange rates lead to changes in relative factor prices and firms' competition intensity. Using panel data on Swiss manufacturers, we find that an appreciation increases high-skilled and reduces low-skilled employment in most firms, while total employment...

  6. Can virtual science foster real skills? A study of inquiry skills in a virtual world

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodds, Heather E.

    Online education has grown into a part of the educational market answering the demand for learning at the learner's choice of time and place. Inquiry skills such as observing, questioning, collecting data, and devising fair experiments are an essential element of 21st-century online science coursework. Virtual immersive worlds such as Second Life are being used as new frontiers in science education. There have been few studies looking specifically at science education in virtual worlds that foster inquiry skills. This quantitative quasi-experimental nonrandomized control group pretest and posttest study explored what affect a virtual world experience had on inquiry skills as measured by the TIPS (Test of Integrated Process Skills) and TIPS II (Integrated Process Skills Test II) instruments. Participants between the ages of 18 and 65 were recruited from educator mailing lists and Second Life discussion boards and then sorted into the experimental group, which received instructions to utilize several displays in Mendelian genetics at the Genome Island location within Second Life, or the control group, which received text-based PDF documents of the same genetics course content. All participants, in the form of avatars, were experienced Second Life residents to reduce any novelty effect. This study found a greater increase in inquiry skills in the experimental group interacting using a virtual world to learn science content (0.90 points) than a control group that is presented only with online text-based content (0.87 points). Using a mixed between-within ANOVA (analysis of variance), with an alpha level of 0.05, there was no significant interaction between the control or experimental groups and inquiry skills, F (1, 58) = .783, p = .380, partial eta squared = .013, at the specified .05 alpha level suggesting no significant difference as a result of the virtual world exercise. However, there is not enough evidence to state that there was no effect because there was a

  7. MOVEMENT SKILL ASSESSMENT OF TYPICALLY DEVELOPING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: A REVIEW OF SEVEN MOVEMENT SKILL ASSESSMENT TOOLS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wouter Cools

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The importance of movement is often overlooked because it is such a natural part of human life. It is, however, crucial for a child's physical, cognitive and social development. In addition, experiences support learning and development of fundamental movement skills. The foundations of those skills are laid in early childhood and essential to encourage a physically active lifestyle. Fundamental movement skill performance can be examined with several assessment tools. The choice of a test will depend on the context in which the assessment is planned. This article compares seven assessment tools which are often referred to in European or international context. It discusses the tools' usefulness for the assessment of movement skill development in general population samples. After a brief description of each assessment tool the article focuses on contents, reliability, validity and normative data. A conclusion outline of strengths and weaknesses of all reviewed assessment tools focusing on their use in educational research settings is provided and stresses the importance of regular data collection of fundamental movement skill development among preschool children.

  8. Assessment of technical and nontechnical skills in surgical residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ponton-Carss, Alicia; Kortbeek, John B; Ma, Irene W Y

    2016-11-01

    Surgical competence encompasses both technical and nontechnical skills. This study seeks to evaluate the validity evidence for a comprehensive surgical skills examination and to examine the relationship between technical and nontechnical skills. Six examination stations assessing both technical and nontechnical skills, conducted yearly for surgical trainees (n = 120) between 2010 and 2014 are included. The assessment tools demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. Interstation reliability for technical skills was low (alpha = .39). Interstation reliability for the nontechnical skills was lower (alpha range -.05 to .31). Nontechnical skills domains were strongly correlated, ranging from r = .65, P skills were inconsistent, ranging from poor (r = -.06; P = .54) to moderate (r = .45; P skills are necessary to assess overall surgical competency. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Improving Test-Taking Skills of LD Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Markel, Geraldine

    1981-01-01

    A multicomponent model to improve test taking skills of learning disabled (LD) adolescents is proposed to encourage anxiety management, problem solving skills, assertiveness, study skills, and student confidence and control. The role of the LD consultant in this process is described. (CL)

  10. Managerial Skills Teaching: Ten Questions and Answers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEnrue, Mary Pat

    2002-01-01

    Presents considerations for design and delivery of management skills courses as sets of questions in three categories: (1) preteaching (understanding and teaching skills, teacher qualities); (2) class (skills learning, learning barriers, cultural elements, learning assessment); and application/evaluation (lifelong learning, course evaluation,…

  11. Obesity and Skill Attainment in Early Childhood

    OpenAIRE

    John Cawley; C. Katharina Spiess

    2008-01-01

    This paper investigates the association between obesity and skill attainment in early childhood (aged 2-4 years). Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study are used to estimate models of developmental functioning in four critical areas (verbal skills, activities of daily living, motor skills, and social skills) as a function of various measures of weight (including body mass index and obesity) controlling for a rich set of child, parent, and family characteristics. The findings indicate...

  12. Ostomy Home Skills Program

    Medline Plus

    Full Text Available ... Workforce Trauma and EMS Cancer and Research Health Information Technology Scope of Practice Pediatric Issues Other Federal Legislative Issues Regulatory Issues Regulatory Issues Regulatory Issues Stop Overregulating My OR ... Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS), American Urological Association (AUA), Certified Enterostomal Therapy Nurses (CETN), and the United Ostomy Associations of America (UOAA). The skills kit contains: A booklet with information on the operation, home skills such as emptying ...

  13. The Colour of Skill: Contesting a Racialised Regime of Skill from the Experience of Recent Immigrants in Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Shibao

    2015-01-01

    This article contests a racialised skills regime in Canada. Canadian studies of the labour market transitions of skilled immigrants are analysed through the lens of critical race theory. The analysis shows that knowledge and skills of recent immigrants in Canada are racialised and materialised on the basis of ethnic and national origins. Skin…

  14. Cognitive Skill, Skill Demands of Jobs, and Earnings among Young European American, African American, and Mexican American Workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farkas, George; And Others

    1997-01-01

    Analyses of National Longitudinal Survey data indicate that cognitive skill level affects access to high-skill occupations and earnings. Lower cognitive skill levels for African Americans and U.S.-born Mexican Americans explain a substantial proportion of income differences between these groups and European Americans but not the gender gap in pay…

  15. Coping skills of olympic developmental soccer athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyers, M C; Stewart, C C; Laurent, C M; Leunes, A D; Bourgeois, A E

    2008-12-01

    Athletes at Olympic Developmental Program (ODP) camps experience unusually high levels of expectations and inherent mental and physical challenges within such a short span of time. With the increasing emphasis on talent development, there has been consensus by the ODP staff to more clearly define present levels of coping skills, in order to enhance athletic prediction, maximize training efforts, identify the predisposition to injury, and focus on areas pertinent to successful performance. This study examined athletic and pain coping skills of U. S. ODP soccer athletes not previously investigated. Following written informed consent, 70 males completed the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory and the Sports Inventory for Pain. Data were analyzed by competitive level (U-14, U-15), and skill position (goalkeeper/defense, midfield/foward). MANOVA indicated a significant main effect across competitive level (Wilks' Lambda F(12,57) = 2.27; p = 0.02; n-beta = 0.915) but no significant effect by skill position (Wilks' Lambda F(12,57) = 0.931; p = 0.523; n-beta = 0.457). Post hoc analyses indicated that U-15 athletes scored significantly higher in concentration (p = 0.01) and body awareness (p = 0.03), but lower in avoidance (p = 0.01) than U-14 competitors. In conclusion, older, more experienced athletes revealed more positive athletic and pain coping skills than younger, less experienced athletes, although athletes in skill positions requiring spontaneous decision-making skills and split-second adjustment in a constantly changing sport environment (forwards, midfielders) did not exhibit more positive athletic and pain coping skills than those positions requiring reaction and protection (defenders, goalkeepers).

  16. PENINGKATAN SOFT SKILLS SISWA SMP MELALUI PEMBELAJARAN GENERATIF

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    La Moma

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstrak: Soft skills merupakan faktor yang turut menunjang kesuksesan siswa belajar matematika. Perlu ada upaya untuk menerapkan suatu model pembelajaran yang dapat memicu peningkatan soft skills siswa dalam matematika. Penelitian ini menerapkan model pembelajaran generatif sebagai alternatif pembelajaran yang diperkirakan akan memicu peningkatan ketiga kemampuan tersebut. Tujuan penelitian untuk mengetahui seberapa besar kontribusi penerapan model tersebut terhadap peningkatan kemampuan soft skills pada level sekolah (tinggi, sedang dan rendah. Penelitian menerapkan desain kuasi eksperimen. Sampel terdiri atas 191 orang siswa kelas VIII pada tiga SMP Negeri di Kota Yogyakarta yang mewakili level sekolah. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan teknik tes (pretes dan postes, sedang analisis data menggunakan statistik uji-t dan anova dua jalur. Dari hasil analisis data ditemukan bahwa (1 ada perbedaan pencapaian, peningkatan soft skills siswa antara kelas eksperimen dan kelas kontrol; (2 tidak terdapat interaksi antara pembelajaran dan level sekolah terhadap peningkatan soft skills. Kata Kunci: kemampuan soft skills, pembelajaran generatif THE ENHANCEMENT OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS SOFT SKILLS THROUGH GENERATIVE LEARNING Abstract: Soft skills are factors that support students success in learning mathematics. The importance of the students soft skills, unfortunately, are not in line with at the students abilities in these competence. Therefore, we have to implemented a learning model that is expected to lead development soft skills of the students in mathematics. Generative learning model is applied in this study as an alternative learning is predicted to stimulate development soft skills of the students. This study is aimed at determining the contribution of generative learning model of the enhancement of soft skills for difference school levels (high, medium, low.This study is quasi-experimental research involving 191 students of eight

  17. Building that Bridge over the Skills Gap

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janani Ramanathan

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Employers worldwide are seeking and failing to find in new recruits many skills that are critical for success. Skills that enable employees to work as part of a team, communicate effectively, take decisions, lead, adapt to change and solve problems creatively are not often found in fresh graduates. Education does not impart these skills as efficiently as it does academic knowledge and subject-specific skills. A change in the pedagogy and content of education is required to bridge the increasing skills gap we face today. The World University Consortium has identified themes that must be part of our future education, and this article highlights methods and strategies that can implement these ideas.

  18. The Challenges of Skill Development in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kajari MUKHERJEE

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available India’s demographic dividend has been a matter of anticipation, aspirations, and ridicule, all at the same time. The government of India has been trying hard for over a decade now to enhance the skill level of this demographic bulge. The present paper is an attempt to evaluate all such attempts critically. After taking stock of the skill situation of India, the paper asserts that skilling initiatives in India have more to do with the number of people trained rather than quality and relevance of training. The paper cites relevant data to prove that vocational skilling initiatives have failed to meet the objectives. The scope of this paper is limited to skill creation for wage employment

  19. Motor-independent Visual Perception Skill Indexes are Related with Reading Skills in Children with Cerebral Palsy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vahid Reza Khodabandeh

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Cerebral palsy is one of the most common causes of physical disability in childhood that lead to various difficulties for children. These children may have abnormalities in visual perception. Visual perception plays an important role in learning of basic childhood’s skills. This research was designed to study the relation between each of subtests of visual perception with accuracy and speed components of reading skills in school-aged cerebral palsy children. Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 24 spastic cerebral palsy students in second grade (10 girls and 14 boy were selected be available as from Tehran’s rehabilitation clinics. Visual perception and Reading skills were evaluated with the Test of Visual Perceptual Skill-revised (TVPS-R and Diagnostic Reading Test. Results: The results showed that between standard score of visual perception with accuracy and speed components of reading skills of cerebral palsy student were significantly correlated. Visual Discrimination with accuracy (P<0.001 and with speed (P<0.001, Visual Memory with accuracy  (P=0.002 and with speed (P=0.004, Visual-Spatial with accuracy (P<0.001 and with speed (P<0.001, Form Constancy with accuracy (P=0.003 and with speed (p<0.001, Visual Sequential Memory with accuracy (P=0.023 and with speed (P<0.028, Figure Ground Discrimination with accuracy (P=0.010 and with speed (P<0.011, Visual Closure with accuracy (p=0.009 and with speed (P<0.009 Conclusion: In general we can say that the relationship between visual perception skills with reading skills in first and second grade students with cerebral palsy is evident.

  20. PIAAC Skills and Economic Inequality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pena, Anita Alves

    2016-01-01

    Mixed findings characterize the literature on skills and economic distributions within and across countries. The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) offers new, internationally comparable data on literacy, numeracy, and digital problem-solving skills that can be combined with wage information. This paper…

  1. Skills Methods to Prevent Smoking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schinke, Steven Paul; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Describes an evaluation of the added value of skills methods for preventing smoking with sixth-grade students from two schools. Skills conditions subjects learned problem-solving, self-instruction, and interpersonal communication methods. The article discusses the strengths, limits, and implications of the study for other smoking prevention…

  2. Instruction of Competent Psychomotor Skill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olson, Valerie Dong

    2008-01-01

    Instruction of competent psychomotor skill necessitates an eclectic approach. The principles of learning, complemented with learning styles and sensory modalities preferences, provide a background for teaching physical skills. The use of the psychomotor domain of Bloom's Taxonomy as a map and corresponding behavioral objectives foster the mastery…

  3. Closing the Cybersecurity Skills Gap

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Vogel

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The current consensus is that there is a worldwide gap in skills needed for a competent cybersecurity workforce. This skills gap has implications for the national security sector, both public and private. Although the view is that this will take a concerted effort to rectify, it presents an opportunity for IT professionals, university students, and aspirants to take-up jobs in national security national intelligence as well military and law enforcement intelligence. This paper examines context of the issue, the nature of the cybersecurity skills gap, and some key responses by governments to address the problem. The paper also examines the emerging employment trends, some of the employment challenges, and what these might mean for practice. The paper argues that the imperative is to close the cyber skills gap by taking advantage of the window of opportunity, allowing individuals interested in moving into the cybersecurity field to do so via education and training.

  4. Developing nurses' transformational leadership skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fischer, Shelly Ann

    2017-08-16

    Healthcare is a complex area with significant potential for service improvement despite the effects of increasing economic and social pressures on the quality and safety of patient care. As the largest group of healthcare professionals in direct contact with patients, nurses are well positioned to contribute to improvements in healthcare services and to the development of new policies. To influence healthcare improvements and policies effectively, nurses require leadership skills. Historically, it was thought that only nurses in management roles required leadership skills; however, the ability to influence change is a requirement at all levels of clinical practice. Transformational leadership competencies provide nurses with the skills to contribute to improvements in the quality and safety of patient care, while enhancing their career satisfaction. This article examines how nurses can apply transformational leadership to their practice. It also informs nurses how to conduct an initial self-assessment of their leadership skills and to formulate a transformational leadership development plan.

  5. How Volunteering Helps Students to Develop Soft Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khasanzyanova, Albina

    2017-01-01

    It is widely recognised that tertiary education does not provide all of the knowledge and skills required to succeed in modern societies. Personal and interpersonal skills--so-called "soft skills"--are also needed to complement professional skills and expertise, and become an essential part of an individual's personality. One way of…

  6. Instructional skills evaluation in nuclear industry training

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mazour, T.J.; Ball, F.M.

    1985-11-01

    This report provides information to nuclear power plant training managers and their staffs concerning the job performance requirements of instructional personnel to implement prformance-based training programs (also referred to as the Systems Approach Training). The information presented in this report is a compilation of information and lessons learned in the nuclear power industry and in other industries using performance-based training programs. The job performance requirements in this report are presented as instructional skills objectives. The process used to develop the instructional skills objectives is described. Each objective includes an Instructional Skills Statement describing the behavior that is expected and an Instructional Skills Standard describing the skills/knowledge that the individual should possess in order to have achieved mastery. The instructional skills objectives are organized according to the essential elements of the Systems Approach to Training and are cross-referenced to three categories of instructional personnel: developers of instruction, instructors, and instructional managers/supervisors. Use of the instructional skills objectives is demonstrated for reviewing instructional staff training and qualification programs, developing criterion-tests, and reviewing the performance and work products of individual staff members. 22 refs

  7. Ambulatory Care Skills: Do Residents Feel Prepared?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denise Bonds

    2002-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To determine resident comfort and skill in performing ambulatory care skills. Methods: Descriptive survey of common ambulatory care skills administered to internal medicine faculty and residents at one academic medical center. Respondents were asked to rate their ability to perform 12 physical exam skills and 6 procedures, and their comfort in performing 7 types of counseling, and obtaining 6 types of patient history (4 point Likert scale for each. Self-rated ability or comfort was compared by gender, status (year of residency, faculty, and future predicted frequency of use of the skill. Results: Residents reported high ability levels for physical exam skills common to both the ambulatory and hospital setting. Fewer felt able to perform musculoskeletal, neurologic or eye exams easily alone. Procedures generally received low ability ratings. Similarly, residents’ comfort in performing common outpatient counseling was also low. More residents reported feeling very comfortable in obtaining history from patients. We found little variation by gender, year of training, or predicted frequency of use. Conclusion: Self-reported ability and comfort for many common ambulatory care skills is low. Further evaluation of this finding in other training programs is warranted.

  8. Soft And Hard Skills of Social Worker

    OpenAIRE

    HANTOVÁ, Libuše

    2011-01-01

    The work deals with soft and hard skills relevant to the profession of social worker. The theoretical part at first evaluates and analyzes important soft and hard skills necessary for people working in the field of social work. Then these skills are compared. The practical part illustrates the use of soft and hard skills in practice by means of model scenes and deals with the preferences in three groups of people ? students of social work, social workers and people outside the sphere, namely ...

  9. EMBODIMENT OF CAPOEIRA SKILLS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Urska Habjan

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available This article is the result of twenty-one months of fieldwork among the capoeiristas in Brazil, primarily in the city of Salvador, between 2003 and 2013. The fieldwork methodology was based on participant observation. It also included conducting interviews and informal conversations, listening to life stories of locals, and writing a diary. My personal experiences within capoeira and the improvement of my own skills enabled me to better grasp what capoeira is about. By participating, I more fully understood the corporeal strain and pleasure involved in this particular embodied practice. The socio-economic situation of Brazilian society based on racial and gender discrimination enhances the cultivation of capoeiristic habitus and dictates the need for the acquisition of capoeiristic skills and attitudes in order to cope with, understand, and live within an unequal world. Capoeiristic habitus consists of knowledge, attitudes and skills enabling capoeiristas to stay in tune with the environment of lurking danger, to face with an ambiguous, unstable and uncertain environment. Capoeiristic habitus can be embodied early in life or learnt and acquired as a by-product of capoeira training. But it remains important whether the environment in which a capoeirista practises tolerates or inhibits the cultivation of capoeiristic skills.

  10. Importance of cooking skills for balanced food choices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartmann, Christina; Dohle, Simone; Siegrist, Michael

    2013-06-01

    A cooking skill scale was developed to measure cooking skills in a European adult population, and the relationship between cooking skills and the frequency of consumption of various food groups were examined. Moreover, it was determined which sociodemographic and psychological variables predict cooking skills. The data used in the present study are based on the first (2010) and second (2011) surveys of a yearly paper-and-pencil questionnaire (Swiss Food Panel). Data from 4436 participants (47.2% males) with a mean age of 55.5 years (SD=14.6, range 21-99) were available for analysis. The cooking skills scale was validated using a test-retest analysis, confirming that this new scale is a reliable and consistent instrument. Cooking enjoyment was the most important predictor for cooking skills, especially for men. Women had higher cooking skills in all age groups. Cooking skills correlated positively with weekly vegetable consumption, but negatively with weekly convenience food consumption frequency, even while holding the effect of health consciousness related to eating constant. In summary, cooking skills may help people to meet nutrition guidelines in their daily nutrition supply. They allow people to make healthier food choices. It is, therefore, important to teach children and teenagers how to cook and to encourage them to develop their cooking skills. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Crowd-sourced assessment of technical skills: an opportunity for improvement in the assessment of laparoscopic surgical skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deal, Shanley B; Lendvay, Thomas S; Haque, Mohamad I; Brand, Timothy; Comstock, Bryan; Warren, Justin; Alseidi, Adnan

    2016-02-01

    Objective, unbiased assessment of surgical skills remains a challenge in surgical education. We sought to evaluate the feasibility and reliability of Crowd-Sourced Assessment of Technical Skills. Seven volunteer general surgery interns were given time for training and then testing, on laparoscopic peg transfer, precision cutting, and intracorporeal knot-tying. Six faculty experts (FEs) and 203 Amazon.com Mechanical Turk crowd workers (CWs) evaluated 21 deidentified video clips using the Global Objective Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills validated rating instrument. Within 19 hours and 15 minutes we received 662 eligible ratings from 203 CWs and 126 ratings from 6 FEs over 10 days. FE video ratings were of borderline internal consistency (Krippendorff's alpha = .55). FE ratings were highly correlated with CW ratings (Pearson's correlation coefficient = .78, P Assessment of Technical Skills as a reliable, basic tool to standardize the evaluation of technical skills in general surgery. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Identification of green skills acquisition in Indonesian TVET curricula

    Science.gov (United States)

    Setiawan, Agus

    2017-09-01

    Recently, many countries have put the focus on green growth which specifically aims at achieving a resilient, low-carbon, and resource-efficient economy model that leads to higher quality of life. Environmental pollution and climate change are negatively affecting the sustainability of various economical activities across the world, with Indonesia being one of them. To mitigate the environmental problems, the existing economy should be shifted to a greener economy model which will create green jobs and greening the existing occupation in the industries. Green jobs require workers with green skills. Therefore, development of green skills in TVET institutions is urgently needed. By referencing the existing green skills frame work, green skills acquisition has not been clearly integrated into the existing Indonesian TVET curriculum. However, approach to integrate green skills into TVET curriculum can be carried out through the development of hard skills and soft skills in the domain of knowledge, abilities, and attitudes where green skills is an imparting of both hard skills and soft skills.

  13. Improving Dictionary Skills in Ndebele

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    rbr

    Abstract: This article proposes ways of improving dictionary skills amongst the Ndebele. One way of accomplishing this is incorporating the teaching of dictionary skills into teacher training syllabi. Teachers can impart their knowledge to students and a dictionary culture can develop for enhancing effective use of current ...

  14. Acquiring minimally invasive surgical skills

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hiemstra, Ellen

    2012-01-01

    Many topics in surgical skills education have been implemented without a solid scientific basis. For that reason we have tried to find this scientific basis. We have focused on training and evaluation of minimally invasive surgical skills in a training setting and in practice in the operating room.

  15. Development of fine motor skills in preterm infants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, Arend F.; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N. J. A.; Hitzert, Marrit M.; Tanis, Jozien C.; Roze, Elise

    2013-01-01

    Fine motor skills are related to functioning in daily life and at school. We reviewed the status of knowledge, in preterm children, on the development of fine motor skills, the relation with gross motor skills, and risk factors for impaired fine motor skills. We searched the past 15 years in PubMed,

  16. Paramedics' non-technical skills: a literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Allan; Flin, Rhona

    2013-05-01

    Healthcare organisations have started to examine the impact that the human worker has on patient safety. Adopting the Crew Resource Management (CRM) approach, used in aviation, the CRM or non-technical skills of anaesthetists, surgeons, scrub practitioners and emergency physicians have recently been identified to assist in their training and assessment. Paramedics are exposed to dynamic and dangerous situations where patients have to be managed, often with life-threatening injuries or illness. As in other safety-critical domains, the technical skills of paramedics are complemented by effective non-technical skills. The aim of this paper was to review the literature on the non-technical (social and cognitive) skills used by paramedics. This review was undertaken as part of a task analysis to identify the non-technical skills used by paramedics. Of the seven papers reviewed, the results have shown very little research on this topic and so reveal a gap in the understanding of paramedic non-technical skills.

  17. 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.

  18. Project Management: Essential Skill of Nurse Informaticists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sipes, Carolyn

    2016-01-01

    With the evolution of nursing informatics (NI), the list of skills has advanced from the original definition that included 21 competencies to 168 basic competencies identified in the TIGER-based Assessment of Nursing Informatics Competencies (TANIC) and 178 advanced skills in the Nursing Informatics Competency Assessment (NICA) L3/L4 developed by Chamberlain College of Nursing, Nursing Informatics Research Team (NIRT). Of these competencies, project management is one of the most important essentials identified since it impacts all areas of NI skills and provides an organizing framework for processes and projects including skills such as design, planning, implementation, follow-up and evaluation. Examples of job roles that specifically require project management skills as an essential part of the NI functions include management, administration, leadership, faculty, graduate level master's and doctorate practicum courses. But first, better understanding of the NI essential skills is vital before adequate education and training programs can be developed.

  19. Non-technical skills for scrub practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClelland, Guy

    2012-12-01

    The non-technical skills of situational awareness and the formation of effective interpersonal relationships are essential to enhance surgical outcomes. However, most scrub practitioners demonstrate only tacit awareness of these skills and develop such qualities on an informal basis. Application of non-technical skills may be assessed formally, using a structured framework, to transform normative behaviour and to strengthen barriers against the latent threats that may result from fallible humans working in inadequate organisational systems.

  20. Implementing Organizational Skills in the Classroom

    OpenAIRE

    Debora, Marisi

    2015-01-01

    This article presents the writer's experience in the classroom in implementing the organizational skills. The article also discuss the reason for teaching organizational skills in the classroom, materials needed for the teaching and the implementation of the organizational skills in the classroom. The materials can be adjusted to the availability in the class and the students' own stationery. The two stages of implementation later build the students' independence which is the goal of teaching...

  1. Profil Teamwork Skill sebagai Gambaran Kemampuan Kompetitif Mahasiswa

    OpenAIRE

    Chayati, Ichda; Purwanti, Sutriyati; Nugraheni, Mutiara

    2014-01-01

    The objectives of the study were: 1) to identify the profile of the Hospitality Engineering Education students’ teamwork skills, 2) to identify the profile of the Hospitality Engineering Students’ teamwork skills, 3) to describe the general overview of the students’ teamwork skills, 4) to identify the group of Bachelor program with the highest and the lowest teamwork skills, 5) to identify the group of the Associate program with the highest and the lowest teamwork skills. This study was a des...

  2. LESS SKILLED READERS HAVE LESS EFFICIENT SUPPRESSION MECHANISMS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gernsbacher, Morton Ann

    1993-09-01

    One approach to understanding the component processes and mechanisms underlying adult reading skill is to compare the performance of more skilled and less skilled readers on laboratory experiments. The results of some recent experiments employing this approach demonstrate that less skilled adult readers suppress less efficiently the inappropriate meanings of ambiguous words (e.g., the playing card vs. garden tool meanings of spade ), the incorrect forms of homophones (e.g., patients vs. patience ), the typical-but-absent members of scenes (e.g., a tractor in a farm scene), and words superimposed on pictures. Less skilled readers are not less efficient in activating contextually appropriate information; in fact, they activate contextually appropriate information more strongly than more skilled readers do. Therefore, one conclusion that can be drawn from these experiments is that less skilled adult readers suffer from less efficient suppression mechanisms.

  3. The Nature of Employability Skills: Empirical Evidence from Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sung, Johnny; Ng, Michael Chi Man; Loke, Fiona; Ramos, Catherine

    2013-01-01

    This paper concerns the changing nature of employability skills, moving from the original life skills or basic skills concepts to the increasingly work-oriented interpretation. The early concept of employability skills linked employability skills to job readiness and holding down employment. However, the work-oriented focus is increasingly linking…

  4. Skill ontogeny among Tsimane forager-horticulturalists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schniter, Eric; Gurven, Michael; Kaplan, Hillard S; Wilcox, Nathaniel T; Hooper, Paul L

    2015-09-01

    We investigate whether age profiles of Tsimane forager-horticulturalists' reported skill development are consistent with predictions derived from life history theory about the timing of productivity and reproduction. Previous studies of forager skill development have often focused on a few abilities (e.g. hunting), and neglected the broad range of skills and services typical of forager economies (e.g. childcare, craft production, music performance, story-telling). By systematically examining age patterns in reported acquisition, proficiency, and expertise across a broad range of activities including food production, childcare, and other services, we provide the most complete skill development study of a traditional subsistence society to date. Our results show that: (1) most essential skills are acquired prior to first reproduction, then developed further so that their productive returns meet the increasing demands of dependent offspring during adulthood; (2) as postreproductive adults age beyond earlier years of peak performance, they report developing additional conceptual and procedural proficiency, and despite greater physical frailty than younger adults, are consensually regarded as the most expert (especially in music and storytelling), consistent with their roles as providers and educators. We find that adults have accurate understandings of their skillsets and skill levels -an important awareness for social exchange, comparison, learning, and pedagogy. These findings extend our understanding of the evolved human life history by illustrating how changes in embodied capital and the needs of dependent offspring predict the development of complementary skills and services in a forager-horticulturalist economy. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Examination of the PISA 2009 Reading Skills and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Use Skills of Turkish Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acar, Tülin

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to determine relation between PISA Reading Skills and ICT use skills of Turkish students. In this study are four variables such as joy/like Reading, use of Libraries, Online Reading and Plausible value in reading which are dealt with as indications of reading skills. It constitutes six variables such as attitude towards…

  6. Recommended observational skills training for IAEA safeguards inspections. Final report: Recommended observational skills training for IAEA safeguards inspections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toquam, J.L.; Morris, F.A.

    1994-09-01

    This is the second of two reports prepared to assist the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA or Agency) in enhancing the effectiveness of its international safeguards inspections through inspector training in open-quotes Observational Skillsclose quotes. The first (Phase 1) report was essentially exploratory. It defined Observational Skills broadly to include all appropriate cognitive, communications, and interpersonal techniques that have the potential to help IAEA safeguards inspectors function more effectively. It identified 10 specific Observational Skills components, analyzed their relevance to IAEA safeguards inspections, and reviewed a variety of inspection programs in the public and private sectors that provide training in one or more of these components. The report concluded that while it should be possible to draw upon these other programs in developing Observational Skills training for IAEA inspectors, the approaches utilized in these programs will likely require significant adaption to support the specific job requirements, policies, and practices that define the IAEA inspector's job. The overall objective of this second (Phase 2) report is to provide a basis for the actual design and delivery of Observational Skills training to IAEA inspectors. The more specific purposes of this report are to convey a fuller understanding of the potential application of Observational Skills to the inspector's job, describe inspector perspectives on the relevance and importance of particular Observational Skills, identify the specific Observational Skill components that are most important and relevant to enhancing safeguards inspections, and make recommendations as to Observational Skills training for the IAEA's consideration in further developing its Safeguards training program

  7. The Critical Care Communication project: improving fellows' communication skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Robert M; Back, Anthony L; Barnato, Amber E; Prendergast, Thomas J; Emlet, Lillian L; Karpov, Irina; White, Patrick H; Nelson, Judith E

    2015-04-01

    The aim of this study was to develop an evidence-based communication skills training workshop to improve the communication skills of critical care fellows. Pulmonary and critical care fellows (N = 38) participated in a 3-day communication skills workshop between 2008 and 2010 involving brief didactic talks, faculty demonstration of skills, and faculty-supervised small group skills practice sessions with simulated families. Skills included the following: giving bad news, achieving consensus on goals of therapy, and discussing the limitations of life-sustaining treatment. Participants rated their skill levels in a pre-post survey in 11 core communication tasks using a 5-point Likert scale. Of 38 fellows, 36 (95%) completed all 3 days of the workshop. We compared pre and post scores using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Overall, self-rated skills increased for all 11 tasks. In analyses by participant, 95% reported improvement in at least 1 skill; with improvement in a median of 10 of 11 skills. Ninety-two percent rated the course as either very good/excellent, and 80% recommended that it be mandatory for future fellows. This 3-day communication skills training program increased critical care fellows' self-reported family meeting communication skills. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Managers' perceptions of radiographers' skills: current and future needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akroyd, D; Wold, B

    1996-01-01

    As the healthcare delivery system changes, it is imperative to assess the skills of practitioners to ensure consistency between educational preparation and work place needs. The purpose of this study was to examine radiology managers' perception of selected workplace skills and new radiography graduates' ability to perform them. A random sample of 1,932 members of the American Healthcare Radiology Administrators (AHRA) received a questionnaire containing 35 skills categorized as basic, intermediate or advanced. Skills were ranked by the magnitude of the difference between managers' rating of importance of each skill and their rating of graduates' ability to perform that skill satisfactorily. In the basic skill area, the four top-ranked skills represented problem-solving ability or critical thinking. Of the five highest-ranked intermediate skills, the top three were patient care skills: venipuncture, taking vital signs and monitoring patient equipment. In the advanced skill area, six skills exhibited high values for the difference between importance and ability. Two of those related to patient care, three were non-technical and the sixth was the ability to perform CT in addition to basic radiography. Employers and educators should work together to seek educational methods that produce radiographers who are better prepared for the fast-changing workplace.

  9. Development of fine motor skills in preterm infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bos, Arend F; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N J A; Hitzert, Marrit M; Tanis, Jozien C; Roze, Elise

    2013-11-01

    Fine motor skills are related to functioning in daily life and at school. We reviewed the status of knowledge, in preterm children, on the development of fine motor skills, the relation with gross motor skills, and risk factors for impaired fine motor skills. We searched the past 15 years in PubMed, using ['motor skills' or 'fine motor function' and 'preterm infant'] as the search string. Impaired gross and fine motor skills are among the most frequently occurring problems encountered by preterm children who do not develop cerebral palsy. The prevalence is around 40% for mild to moderate impairment and 20% for moderate impairment. Fine motor skill scores on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children are about 0.62 of a standard deviation lower compared with term children. Risk factors for fine motor impairments include moderately preterm birth (odds ratio [OR] 2.0) and, among very preterm children (development of and recovery from brain injury could guide future intervention attempts aimed at improving fine motor skills of preterm children. © The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology © 2013 Mac Keith Press.

  10. To what extent are medical interviewing skills teachable?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kraan, H F; Crijnen, A A; de Vries, M W; Zuidweg, J; Imbos, T; Van der Vleuten, C P

    1990-01-01

    Growth patterns of medical interviewing skills during a 6-year undergraduate curriculum are assessed by studying 563 medical students taken from five year-groups, interviewing simulated patients. In a cross-sectional, quasi-experimental design their skills are rated by means of the Maastricht History-taking and Advice Checklist (MAAS), an observation instrument which measures five categories of interviewing skills pertaining to initial medical consultations. The findings suggest that the skills for 'history-taking', 'presenting solutions' and 'structuring of the interview' are effectively learned. These learning effects result from a continuous small group teaching program with expert and peer review of videotaped encounters with simulated patients. The teaching effects of this program seem less for the skills pertinent to the phase of 'exploring the reasons for encounter' and to the 'basic interviewing skills', because the students' growing medical knowledge and the increasing ability to solve medical problems exert a counteracting influence on the acquisition of these easily deteriorating skills. The results might be helpful to curriculum planners in order to make their programs for medical interviewing skills more effective.

  11. Ineffective ADL skills in women with fibromyalgia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Von Bülow, Cecilie; Amris, Kirstine; la Cour, Karen

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Subgroups of women with fibromyalgia likely show different activity of daily living (ADL) skill deficits. Identifying ineffective ADL skills of significance in the 'typical' woman with fibromyalgia will promote the planning of targeted occupational therapy interventions aiming...... at improving ADL ability. OBJECTIVE: To identify frequently reported ADL skill deficits of significance in subgroups of women with fibromyalgia who have decreased ADL motor ability in combination with decreased or competent ADL process ability. METHOD: Women with fibromyalgia were evaluated with the Assessment...... of Motor and Process Skills (AMPS). If they demonstrated decreased ADL motor ability, the calibrated AMPS raters identified and reported ineffective ADL skills of significance. Descriptive comparisons were made between subgroups displaying either decreased or competent ADL process ability. RESULTS: Moves...

  12. An interprofessional approach to teaching communication skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sargeant, Joan; MacLeod, Tanya; Murray, Anne

    2011-01-01

    Recent research suggests that effective interprofessional communication and collaboration can positively influence patient satisfaction and outcomes. Health professional communication skills do not necessarily improve over time but can improve with formal communication skills training (CST). This article describes the development, evaluation, and lessons learned for a novel theater-based role-play CST program designed to improve community cancer care for patients and families by enhancing health care professionals' communication skills. Four 2-hour interprofessional communication skills workshops for Nova Scotia health professionals were developed. Topics were (1) Essential Communication Skills, (2) Delivering Difficult News and Providing Support, (3) When Patients and Families Are Angry, and (4) Managing Conflict in the Workplace. Strategies for enhancing communication skills based on the science (evidence-based practice and teaching) and the art (interactive theater) of communication skills were included. Facilitators included professional actors, communication skills facilitators, and trained health professionals. We used a mixed-methods evaluation design assessing 4 levels of educational outcomes at 3 points: pre- and post-workshop and follow-up. Five hundred eighteen professionals representing over 20 health professions attended 17 workshops. Data showed the workshops were well received, despite some discomfort with role-playing. Pre/post paired t-tests of self-reported communication skills showed significant improvement after all workshops (p ≤ 0.05); 92% indicated intended changes to their communication practice immediately following the workshops. Of 68 respondents to the follow-up, 59 (87%) reported positive changes in the responses of their patients. Both positive and negative lessons learned are described. Copyright © 2011 The Alliance for Continuing Medical Education, the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME

  13. Training of leadership skills in medical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiesewetter, Jan; Schmidt-Huber, Marion; Netzel, Janine; Krohn, Alexandra C; Angstwurm, Matthias; Fischer, Martin R

    2013-01-01

    Effective team performance is essential in the delivery of high-quality health-care. Leadership skills therefore are an important part of physicians' everyday clinical life. To date, the development of leadership skills are underrepresented in medical curricula. Appropriate training methods for equipping doctors with these leadership skills are highly desirable. The review aims to summarize the findings in the current literature regarding training in leadership skills in medicine and tries to integrate the findings to guide future research and training development. The PubMED, ERIC, and PsycArticles, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX and Academic search complete of EBSCOhost were searched for training of leadership skills in medicine in German and English. Relevant articles were identified and findings were integrated and consolidated regarding the leadership principles, target group of training and number of participants, temporal resources of the training, training content and methods, the evaluation design and trainings effects. Eight studies met all inclusion criteria and no exclusion criteria. The range of training programs is very broad and leadership skill components are diverse. Training designs implied theoretical reflections of leadership phenomena as well as discussions of case studies from practice. The duration of training ranged from several hours to years. Reactions of participants to trainings were positive, yet no behavioral changes through training were examined. More research is needed to understand the factors critical to success in the development of leadership skills in medical education and to adapt goal-oriented training methods. Requirements analysis might help to gain knowledge about the nature of leadership skills in medicine. The authors propose a stronger focus on behavioral training methods like simulation-based training for leadership skills in medical education.

  14. Life skills programmes for chronic mental illnesses

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tungpunkom, Patraporn; Maayan, Nicola; Soares-Weiser, Karla

    2014-01-01

    Background Most people with schizophrenia have a cyclical pattern of illness characterised by remission and relapses. The illness can reduce the ability of self-care and functioning and can lead to the illness becoming disabling. Life skills programmes, emphasising the needs associated with independent functioning, are often a part of the rehabilitation process. These programmes have been developed to enhance independent living and quality of life for people with schizophrenia. Objectives To review the effects of life skills programmes compared with standard care or other comparable therapies for people with chronic mental health problems. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (June 2010). We supplemented this process with handsearching and scrutiny of references. We inspected references of all included studies for further trials. Selection criteria We included all relevant randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials for life skills programmes versus other comparable therapies or standard care involving people with serious mental illnesses. Data collection and analysis We extracted data independently. For dichotomous data we calculated relative risks (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis, based on a random-effects model. For continuous data, we calculated mean differences (MD), again based on a random-effects model. Main results We included seven randomised controlled trials with a total of 483 participants. These evaluated life skills programmes versus standard care, or support group. We found no significant difference in life skills performance between people given life skills training and standard care (1 RCT, n = 32, MD −1.10; 95% CI −7.82 to 5.62). Life skills training did not improve or worsen study retention (5 RCTs, n = 345, RR 1.16; 95% CI 0.40 to 3.36). We found no significant difference in PANSS positive, negative or total scores between life skills intervention and

  15. Using the Interpersonal Skills tool to assess interpersonal skills of internationally educated nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Jay J; Xu, Yu; Staples, Shelley; Bolstad, Anne L

    2014-07-01

    To assess interpersonal skills of internationally educated nurses (IEN) while interacting with standardized patients. Participants included 52 IEN at two community hospitals in the southwestern region of the USA. Standardized patients were used to create patient-nurse encounter. Seventeen items in four domains ("skills in interviewing and collecting information"; "skills in counseling and delivering information"; "rapport"; and "personal manner") in an Interpersonal Skills (IPS) instrument were measured by a Likert scale 1-4 with 4 indicating the best performance. The average composite score per domain and scores of the 17 items were compared across the domains. On 10 of the 17 items, the nurses received scores under 3. Counseling with an average score of 2.10 and closure with an average score of 2.44 in domain 2, small talk with an average score of 2.06 in domain 3, and physical exam with average score of 2.21 in domain 4 were below 2.5. The average composite score of domain 1 was 3.54, significantly higher than those of domains 2-4 (2.77, 2.81, and 2.71, respectively). Age was moderately related to the average score per domain with every 10 year increase in age resulting in a 0.1 increase in the average score. Sex and country of origin showed mixed results. The interpersonal skills of IEN in three of the four domains need improvement. Well-designed educational programs may facilitate the improvement, especially in areas of small talk, counseling, closure, and physical exam. Future research should examine relationships between the IPS and demographics factors. © 2013 The Authors. Japan Journal of Nursing Science © 2013 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

  16. Clinical Skills Assessment in the Twenty-First Century.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elder, Andrew

    2018-05-01

    Clinical skills remain fundamental to the practice of medicine and form a core component of the professional identity of the physician. However, evidence exists to suggest that the practice of some clinical skills is declining, particularly in the United States. A decline in practice of any skill can lead to a decline in its teaching and assessment, with further decline in practice as a result. Consequently, assessment not only drives learning of clinical skills, but their practice. This article summarizes contemporary approaches to clinical skills assessment that, if more widely adopted, could support the maintenance and reinvigoration of bedside clinical skills. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Hard Lessons: Why Rational Number Arithmetic Is so Difficult for so Many People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegler, Robert S.; Lortie-Forgues, Hugues

    2017-01-01

    Fraction and decimal arithmetic pose large difficulties for many children and adults. This is a serious problem, because proficiency with these skills is crucial for learning more advanced mathematics and science and for success in many occupations. This review identifies two main classes of difficulties that underlie poor understanding of…

  18. Determinants of Success in Native and Non-Native Listening Comprehension: An Individual Differences Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andringa, Sible; Olsthoorn, Nomi; van Beuningen, Catherine; Schoonen, Rob; Hulstijn, Jan

    2012-01-01

    The goal of this study was to explain individual differences in both native and non-native listening comprehension; 121 native and 113 non-native speakers of Dutch were tested on various linguistic and nonlinguistic cognitive skills thought to underlie listening comprehension. Structural equation modeling was used to identify the predictors of…

  19. How Does Parental Reading Influence Children's Reading? A Study of Cognitive Mediation

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Bergen, Elsje; Bishop, Dorothy; van Zuijen, Titia; de Jong, Peter F.

    2015-01-01

    Cognitive processes underlying a behavioural outcome (like reading ability) and the impact of familial risk (e.g., for dyslexia) have been studied in isolation. We present a novel design, linking the two avenues. How do familial influences impact on children's cognitive skills, which subsequently underlie reading development? Participants from the…

  20. Methods to Find the Number of Latent Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beheshti, Behzad; Desmarais, Michel C.; Naceur, Rhouma

    2012-01-01

    Identifying the skills that determine the success or failure to exercises and question items is a difficult task. Multiple skills may be involved at various degree of importance, and skills may overlap and correlate. In an effort towards the goal of finding the skills behind a set of items, we investigate two techniques to determine the number of…

  1. SOFT SKILLS COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL TEACHER CANDIDATES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Made Sudana

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Vocational education curriculum 2013 that applied nationally in the academic year 2014/2015 mandated that religious subject added character educational in which contactwith aspects of soft skills. This needs to be addressed by LPTK as producer vocational teacher candidate, so that future graduates are able to fulfill the mandate of the curriculum. Curriculum vocational teacher candidates who applied seems also still focused on providing hard skills competencies, so that graduates do not have adequate soft skills competence. On the other hand in the world of work has been going on trend shift in terms of hard skills to soft skills.Research and development is designed to go through stages and multiyear to produce soft skills development strategy for prospective teachers of vocational school. Development strategy departs from theoretical studies and mapping needs soft skills aspects of relevant research, analysis and LPTK vocational curriculum, soft skills needs and job requirements of future trends, soft skills required by vocational teachers, teaching soft skills already there, done to map the needs and later for further development until the hypothetical model generated Late models. Subjects were LPTK lecturers, teachers of vocational productive industrials. Data were obtained by observation and interviews, review of documents that the results were analyzed with descriptive qualitative and quantitative techniques. There are several aspects of the soft skills required candidates vocational school teachers, among others: (1 self-discipline, (2 responsibility, (3 the spirit of the work, (4 problem solving, (5 collaboration, (6 the ability of communication, (7 personality, (8 social attitudes, (9 critical thinking, (10 creative thinking and innovative, (11 confidence and (12 self-motivation. Soft skills development strategy skills prospective teachers through extra-curricular with gradual pattern through four stages, namely: (1 the development of

  2. Graduate Information Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niall McSweeney

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available It is one of six modules within the SIF (Strategic Innovative Fund funded Generic Skills Project for PHDS. The Generic Skills Project itself was just one strand within others Supporting the development of 4th level education in Ireland. The Graduate Information Skills module is a collaborative project led by NUI Galway with partners Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork. It is aimed at PHDS but Masters Research and post-docs will find the module of benefit too. The module is developed to offer both an online and face-to-face environment and be customizable with eLearning environments. Project launched in 2007 and has a three year cycle. We agreed to outsource online development and after a tendering process a company called eMedia were awarded the contract. We have piloted full content to PHDS in the three institutions involved and have reviewed feed-back received from attendees. We have also met with module presenters and authors to review their feed-back. The initial content while generic to all PHDS has Science Technology Medicine specific examples. We have complete Online content and module is being offered locally for face-to-face credited teaching. The module has in all units Learning Outcomes and is intended to be fully credited and evaluated for module completion. Funds allowing we would hope to develop Humanities specific content, add units such as on Writing Skills etc. We feel the module has created very good blended learning opportunities and is offered to students in a very contemporary design format. In an Irish context we feel the module offers a national resource that could be used by other institutions.

  3. 5 CFR 9701.361 - Special skills payments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... RESOURCES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Pay and Pay Administration Special Payments § 9701.361 Special skills payments... at the same time as basic pay or in periodic lump-sum payments. Special skills payments are not basic... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Special skills payments. 9701.361 Section...

  4. Writing Self-Efficacy and Written Communication Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mascle, Deanna DeBrine

    2013-01-01

    Writing is an essential professional skill. The goal of writing instruction in business communication classes is to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully meet future writing challenges. However, many writers struggle to transfer skills and knowledge from one context to another. The primary reason for this struggle is that…

  5. The Skill Bias of World Trade

    OpenAIRE

    Paolo Epifani; Gino Gancia

    2004-01-01

    We argue that, with an elasticity of substitution in consumption greater than one and higher scale economies in the skill-intensive sectors, the entire volume of world trade matters for wage inequality. This implies that trade intergration, even among identical countries, is likely to increase the skill premium. This result can also explain the increase in skill premia in developing countries that have experienced drastic trade liberalizations. Further, we argue that evidence of a falling rel...

  6. Role of linguistic skills in fifth-grade mathematics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleemans, Tijs; Segers, Eliane; Verhoeven, Ludo

    2018-03-01

    The current study investigated the direct and indirect relations between basic linguistic skills (i.e., phonological skills and grammatical ability) and advanced linguistic skills (i.e., academic vocabulary and verbal reasoning), on the one hand, and fifth-grade mathematics (i.e., arithmetic, geometry, and fractions), on the other, taking working memory and general intelligence into account and controlling for socioeconomic status, age, and gender. The results showed the basic linguistic representations of 167 fifth graders to be indirectly related to their geometric and fraction skills via arithmetic. Furthermore, advanced linguistic skills were found to be directly related to geometry and fractions after controlling for arithmetic. It can be concluded that linguistic skills directly and indirectly relate to mathematical ability in the upper grades of primary education, which highlights the importance of paying attention to such skills in the school curriculum. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Ekspertyza dokumentu „Skills Development and Employability in Europe: The New Skills Agenda”

    OpenAIRE

    Przyszczypkowski, Kazimierz; Cytlak, Izabela; Jarmużek, Joanna; Pawłowski, Roman; Szafran, Joanna

    2017-01-01

    This article is a critical analysis of the "Skills Development and Employability in Europe: The New Skills Agenda" document. The purpose of the discussion is to analyze the 10 problem areas identified and formulated in the document, paying particular attention to the perception and implementation of these issues from the perspective of European countries. The recommendations presented for each of the issues may provide important guidance for developing a vision of vocational education targeti...

  8. Honing your knowledge skills a route map

    CERN Document Server

    Funes, Mariana

    1998-01-01

    New technology and organizational structures are transforming the workplace, but management skills have not yet caught up. Harnessing knowledge and using it as a competitive advantage is one of the key priorities of organizations today. Honing Your Knowledge Skills looks at how to define knowledge working and identifies the practical skills of knowledge management needed by line managers. This book shows you how to *handle information overload *become an expert *harness new ideas *turn knowledge into action * keep knowledge skills fresh. * understand IT resources and knowledge based systems.

  9. Delegation skills and nurse job satisfaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parsons, L C

    1998-01-01

    In this study, the mean age was 41 and these nurses had been out of school for approximately 13 years. Over half of these RNs had never been taught delegation skills in nursing school. Of those who were exposed to the concept of delegation, their skills were not adequate to meet the patient care demands in the restructured health care system. During these challenging periods in health care, it is imperative that nursing service administrators provide RNs with the continuing education necessary to develop delegation strategies to adapt to their evolving professional roles. Continuing education classes on delegation skills are requisite for RNs practicing in a competitive managed care environment. As we approach the year 2000, the economic climate will dictate that RNs be skilled not only as clinicians, but also as leaders of the health care team. The findings of this study support that delegation decision-making skills enhance job satisfaction in the areas of decision making and promotional opportunity. Delegation knowledge is crucial to the successful direction of the health care team in the managed care environment.

  10. Non-technical skills assessment in surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Bharat; Mishra, Amit; Aggarwal, Rajesh; Grantcharov, Teodor P

    2011-09-01

    Adverse events in surgery have highlighted the importance of non-technical skills, such as communication, decision-making, teamwork, situational awareness and leadership, to effective organizational performance. These skills carry particular importance to surgical oncology, as members of a multidisciplinary team must work cohesively to formulate effective patient care plans. Several non-technical skills evaluation tools have been developed for use in surgery, without adequate comparison and consensus on which should be standard for training. Eleven articles describing the use of three non-technical evaluation tools related to surgery: NOTSS (Non Technical Skills for Surgeons), NOTECHS (Non Technical Skills) and OTAS (Observational Teamwork Assessment for Surgery) were analyzed with respect to scale formulation, validity, reliability and feasibility. Furthermore, their use in training thus far and the future of non-technical rating scales in surgical curricula was discussed. Future work should focus on incorporating these assessment tools into training and into a real operating room setting to provide formative evaluations for surgical residents. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Surgical simulation in orthopaedic skills training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atesok, Kivanc; Mabrey, Jay D; Jazrawi, Laith M; Egol, Kenneth A

    2012-07-01

    Mastering rapidly evolving orthopaedic surgical techniques requires a lengthy period of training. Current work-hour restrictions and cost pressures force trainees to face the challenge of acquiring more complex surgical skills in a shorter amount of time. As a result, alternative methods to improve the surgical skills of orthopaedic trainees outside the operating room have been developed. These methods include hands-on training in a laboratory setting using synthetic bones or cadaver models as well as software tools and computerized simulators that enable trainees to plan and simulate orthopaedic operations in a three-dimensional virtual environment. Laboratory-based training offers potential benefits in the development of basic surgical skills, such as using surgical tools and implants appropriately, achieving competency in procedures that have a steep learning curve, and assessing already acquired skills while minimizing concerns for patient safety, operating room time, and financial constraints. Current evidence supporting the educational advantages of surgical simulation in orthopaedic skills training is limited. Despite this, positive effects on the overall education of orthopaedic residents, and on maintaining the proficiency of practicing orthopaedic surgeons, are anticipated.

  12. Expectations of Graduate Communication Skills in Professional Veterinary Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haldane, Sarah; Hinchcliff, Kenneth; Mansell, Peter; Baik, Chi

    Good communication skills are an important entry-level attribute of graduates of professional degrees. The inclusion of communication training within the curriculum can be problematic, particularly in programs with a high content load, such as veterinary science. This study examined the differences between the perceptions of students and qualified veterinarians with regards to the entry-level communication skills required of new graduates in clinical practice. Surveys were distributed to students in each of the four year levels of the veterinary science degree at the University of Melbourne and to recent graduates and experienced veterinarians registered in Victoria, Australia. Respondents were asked to rank the relative importance of six different skill sets: knowledge base; medical and technical skills; surgical skills; verbal communication and interpersonal skills; written communication skills; and critical thinking and problem solving. They were then asked to rate the importance of specific communication skills for new graduate veterinarians. Veterinarians and students ranked verbal communication and interpersonal skills as the most important skill set for an entry-level veterinarian. Veterinarians considered many new graduates to be deficient in these skills. Students often felt they lacked confidence in this area. This has important implications for veterinary educators in terms of managing the expectations of students and improving the delivery of communication skills courses within the veterinary curriculum.

  13. Interrelating Office Skills Leads to Vocational Success

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynch, Claire

    1974-01-01

    The here-and-there approach to teaching and evaluating business and office skills will teach the skills, but training the totally competent office employee can best be accomplished by integrating and evaluating those skills as the business and office graduate will find them on the job--as a total performance. (Author/BP)

  14. Social Emotional Learning Skills and Educational Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çelik, Ismail

    2013-01-01

    The basic aim of this research is to examine the predicting role of social emotional learning skills in educational stress. The participants were 238 adolescents at high school. In this study, the Social Emotional Learning Skills Scale and the Educational Stress Scale were used. The relationships between social emotional learning skills and…

  15. Basic Employability Skills: A Triangular Design Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenberg, Stuart; Heimler, Ronald; Morote, Elsa-Sofia

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: This paper seeks to examine the basic employability skills needed for job performance, the reception of these skills in college, and the need for additional training in these skills after graduation. Design/methodology/approach: The research was based on a triangular design approach, in which the attitudes of three distinct groups--recent…

  16. Ecosystem Model Skill Assessment. Yes We Can!

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsen, Erik; Fay, Gavin; Gaichas, Sarah; Gamble, Robert; Lucey, Sean; Link, Jason S

    2016-01-01

    Accelerated changes to global ecosystems call for holistic and integrated analyses of past, present and future states under various pressures to adequately understand current and projected future system states. Ecosystem models can inform management of human activities in a complex and changing environment, but are these models reliable? Ensuring that models are reliable for addressing management questions requires evaluating their skill in representing real-world processes and dynamics. Skill has been evaluated for just a limited set of some biophysical models. A range of skill assessment methods have been reviewed but skill assessment of full marine ecosystem models has not yet been attempted. We assessed the skill of the Northeast U.S. (NEUS) Atlantis marine ecosystem model by comparing 10-year model forecasts with observed data. Model forecast performance was compared to that obtained from a 40-year hindcast. Multiple metrics (average absolute error, root mean squared error, modeling efficiency, and Spearman rank correlation), and a suite of time-series (species biomass, fisheries landings, and ecosystem indicators) were used to adequately measure model skill. Overall, the NEUS model performed above average and thus better than expected for the key species that had been the focus of the model tuning. Model forecast skill was comparable to the hindcast skill, showing that model performance does not degenerate in a 10-year forecast mode, an important characteristic for an end-to-end ecosystem model to be useful for strategic management purposes. We identify best-practice approaches for end-to-end ecosystem model skill assessment that would improve both operational use of other ecosystem models and future model development. We show that it is possible to not only assess the skill of a complicated marine ecosystem model, but that it is necessary do so to instill confidence in model results and encourage their use for strategic management. Our methods are applicable

  17. A Short Take on: Teaching Strategies for Workplace Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desai, Raj

    2006-01-01

    The American workplace needs a workforce competent in a trade area and proficient in communication skills, group interaction skills, computer skills, and critical thinking skills. Many may argue that it is not possible to teach a technician all these skills in just two years--hence the need for new teaching strategies. Thus, in this article, the…

  18. Teaching Striking Skills in Elementary Physical Education Using Woodball

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Seung Ho; Lee, Jihyun

    2017-01-01

    Object control (OC) skills are a part of fundamental motor skills and basic functional skills, which work as a prerequisite to becoming a skilled performer in many sports. Of various OC skills, striking is one of the most difficult to master due to a variety of interrelated movement components. A form of vertical or underarm striking is a more…

  19. 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.

  20. 42 CFR 413.350 - Periodic interim payments for skilled nursing facilities receiving payment under the skilled...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... facilities receiving payment under the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system for Part A... nursing facilities receiving payment under the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system for... SNF receiving payment under the prospective payment system may receive periodic interim payments (PIP...