This study examines space–time characteristics of seasonal rainfall predictability in a tropical region by analyzing observed data and model simulations over Senegal. Predictability is analyzed in terms of the spatial coherence of observed interannual variability at the station scale, and within-ensemble coherence of general circulation model (GCM) simulations with observed sea surface temperat...

We offer a unified analysis of the growth of low-skill service occupations between 1980 and 2005 and the concurrent polarization of US employment and wages. We hypothesize that polarization stems from the interaction between consumer preferences, which favor variety over specialization, and the falling cost of automating routine, codifiable job tasks. Applying a spatial equilibrium model, we co...

Learning to perform a complex motor task requires the optimization of specific behavioral features to cope with task constraints. We show that when mice learn a novel motor paradigm they differentially refine specific behavioral features. Animals trained to perform progressively faster sequences of lever presses to obtain reinforcement reduced variability in sequence frequency, but increased va...

This paper describes a multi-methodology approach used to reveal feedback dynamics operating in supply of, and demand for, skilled information and communications technology (ICT) employees. It describes how a large public service organization has had difficulty in adapting to rapid technological change, and how this has been exacerbated by employee shortages. The impacts of changing demographic...

The GMA committee for dentistry of the German Society for Medical Education (GMA) considers its' main purpose the representation and interconnection of all aspects of dentistry with and within the GMA. Teaching and assessing practical skills during training is traditionally of great importance in dental education. This is also reflected in the National Competence Based Catalogue of Learning Obj...

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 a...

Abstract: This paper describes the architecture of a scalable Internet-based teaching and learning system (SKILL) currently developed at the University of Essen, Germany. The system will be developed first with the focus to the department Information Systems and Software Technologies, but is designed as a scalable architecture for a much wider scope. The primary objective of SKILL is to provide...

AIMS The aim was to examine whether specific skills required for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could be taught using a computerised training paradigm with people who have intellectual disabilities (IDs). Training aimed to improve: a) ability to link pairs of situations and mediating beliefs to emotions, and b) ability to link pairs of situations and emotions to mediating beliefs. METHOD...

Motor skill learning involves a practice-induced improvement in the speed and/or accuracy of a discrete movement. It is often thought that paradigms involving repetitive practice of discrete movements performed in a fixed sequence result in a further enhancement of skill beyond practice of the individual movements in a random order. Sequence-specific performance improvements could, however, ari...

Recent years have seen significant progress in our understanding of the neural substrates of motor skill learning. Advances in neuroimaging provide new insight into functional reorganization associated with the acquisition, consolidation, and retention of motor skills. Plastic changes involving structural reorganization in gray and white matter architecture that occur over shorter time periods ...