Acquiring a new skill requires learning multiple aspects of a task simultaneously. For example, learning a piano sonata requires learning the musical notes and being able to implement this goal by learning the appropriate sequence of finger movements. After practice, skill continues to develop off-line during a period of consolidation. Here we show that different aspects of a procedural memory ...

In their analysis of complex motor skill learning, Shea, Wulf, Whitacre, and Park (2001) have overlooked one of the most robust conclusions of the experimental studies on implicit learning conducted during the last decade--namely that participants usually learn things that are different from those that the experimenter expected them to learn. We show that the available literature on implicit le...

Tool-related knowledge and skills are supported by a complex set of memory processes that are not well understood. Some aspects of tools are mediated by either declarative or procedural memory, while other aspects may rely on an interaction of both systems. Although motor skill learning is believed to be primarily supported by procedural memory, there is debate in the current literature regardi...

The importance of relative motion information when modelling a novel motor skill was examined. Participants were assigned to one of four groups. Groups 1 and 2 viewed demonstrations of a skilled cricket bowler presented in either 'video' or 'point light' format. Group 3 observed a single point of light pertaining to the 'wrist' of the skilled bowler only. Participants in Group 4 did not receive...

Performance of the conventional narrowband active noise control (NANC) system may degrade severely when the uncorrelated narrowband disturbance noise is present in the system. In this paper, we propose a new hybrid NANC system capable of reducing the primary noise and the uncorrelated disturbance simultaneously. First, some simple analysis is used to show why the NANC system may indicate poor p...

The ∆-operator of the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism is the Hamiltonian BRST charge of Abelian shift transformations in the ghost momentum representation. We generalize this ∆-operator, and its associated hierarchy of antibrackets, to that of an arbitrary non-Abelian and possibly open algebra of any rank. We comment on the possible application of this formalism to closed string field theory. NBI-...

It has long been accepted that communication is of central importance in healthcare, and a core aspect of clinical competence. Many educational institutions and Royal Colleges now reflect this and consider communication skills a priority in postgraduate examination. The new examination "Practical Assessment of Clinical and Examination Skills" has replaced the Royal College of Physicians MRCP pa...

A number of studies have shown that mastery experiences strengthen self-efficacy expectancies that are specific to the mastery situation. In this study I assessed the effects of cognitive-behavioral coping skills training on generalized expectancies concerning self-efficacy and locus of control in test-anxious college students. Compared with a waiting-list control group, the trained subjects ex...

OBJECTIVES To develop a communication skills training (CST) module for health care professionals, particularly in the area of oncology, on how to conduct interviews using interpreters and to evaluate the module in terms of participant's self-efficacy and satisfaction. METHODS Forty-seven multi-specialty health care providers from the New York Metropolitan Area attended a communication skills ...

Background The communication skills of physicians is an effective step of making effective relationship between doctor and patient. It plays essential role through diagnosis and treatment processes. This current study was performed to investigate the impact of communication skillfulness of physicians on patients' satisfaction. Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was done to determine ...