OBJECTIVE To describe our experience with the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) program as a teaching and assessment tool for basic laparoscopic competency among gynecology residents. METHODS A prospective observational study was conducted at a single academic institution. Before the FLS program was introduced, baseline FLS testing was offered to residents and gynecology division dir...

Rhythmic skills are natural and widespread in the general population. The majority can track the beat of music and move along with it. These abilities are meaningful from a cognitive standpoint given their tight links with prominent motor and cognitive functions such as language and memory. When rhythmic skills are challenged by brain damage or neurodevelopmental disorders, remediation strategi...

Unemployment Persistence: How Important Are Non-Cognitive Skills? Using a random effects dynamic panel data model and the 2000-2008 waves of the German SOEP this paper shows that non-cognitive skills have a predictive power on unemployment transitions. JEL Classification: C33, J64

Software development does not consist only of technical activities, as it usually regarded. It also involves social and cognitive activities that are particularly important in complex projects. To make a software development project successful the staff involved should possess the necessary social and cognitive skills. The significance of such skills increases if some novel, advanced techniques...

The formation of human capital is important for a society's welfare and economic success. Recent literature shows that child health can provide an important explanation for disparities in children’s human capital development across different socio-economic groups. While this literature focuses on cognitive skills as determinants of human capital, it neglects non-cognitive skills. We analyze dat...

The current study sought to evaluate the effectiveness of an Australian centre-based early intervention program for children with autism. Outcomes for 10 children with autistic disorder aged between 32 and 65 months of age participating in the AEIOU early intervention program were investigated. Measures of educational, cognitive, and adaptive skills as well as autism symptoms were administered....

The focus on human capital as a driver of economic growth for developing countries has led to undue attention on school attainment. Developing countries have made considerable progress in closing the gap with developed countries in terms of school attainment, but recent research has underscored the importance of cognitive skills for economic growth. This result shifts attention to issues of sch...

Expertise is a ubiquitous pre-requisite for modern life, but little is known about what neural mechanisms underpin the acquisition or employment of such skills. Recent evidence from functional magnetic imaging studies suggests that a network of frontal and parietal regions plays a crucial role.

The Effect of Schooling on Cognitive Skills How schooling affects cognitive skills is a fundamental question for studies of human capital and labor markets. While scores on cognitive ability tests are positively associated with schooling, it has proven difficult to ascertain whether this relationship is causal. Moreover, the effect of schooling is difficult to separate from the confounding fact...

Spatial skills are critical for robot teleoperation. For example, in order to make a judgment of relative direction when operating a robot remotely, one must take different perspectives and make decisions based on available spatial information. Training spatial skills is thus critical for robot teleoperation, yet, current training programs focus primarily on psycho-motoric skills of the task, a...