The role of cognitive abilities in laparoscopic simulator training

Learning minimally invasive surgery (MIS) differs substantially from learning open surgery and trainees differ in their ability to learn MIS. Previous studies mainly focused on the role of visuo-spatial ability (VSA) on the learning curve for MIS. In the current study, the relationship between spatial memory, perceptual speed, and general reasoning ability, in addition to VSA, and performance on a MIS simulator is examined. Fifty-three laparoscopic novices were tested for cognitive aptitude. Laparoscopic performance was assessed with the LapSim simulator (Surgical Science Ltd., Gothenburg, Sweden). Participants trained multiple sessions on the simulator until proficiency was reached. Participants showed significant improvement on the time to complete the task and efficiency of movement. Performance was related to different cognitive abilities, depending on the performance measure and type of cognitive ability. No relationship between cognitive aptitude and duration of training or steepness of the learning curve was found. Cognitive aptitude mediates certain aspects of performance during training on a laparoscopic simulator. Based on the current study, we conclude that cognitive aptitude tests cannot be used for resident selection but are potentially useful for developing individualized training programs. More research will be performed to examine how cognitive aptitude testing can be used to design training programs

Breaking down anonymity: digital surveillance of irregular migrants in Germany and the Netherlands

Because borders alone cannot stop irregular migration, the European Union is turning more and more to internal control measures. Through surveillance, member states aim to exclude irregular migrants from societal institutions, thereby discouraging their stay or deporting those who are apprehended. And yet, states cannot expel immigrants who remain anonymous. Identification has thus become key. Breaking Down Anonymity shows how digital surveillance is becoming a prime instrument of identification and exclusion policies towards irregular migrants. To support this claim, the study charts policy developments in Germany and the Netherlands. It analyses both countries' labour market controls as well as their detention and expulsion practices. Also examined is the development of several new EU migration databases. Spanning the Continent, these information systems create a new European Union frontier - one that is digital, biometric and ever-strengthening.Deze studie onderzoekt de hypothese dat digitale surveillance een steeds belangrijker instrument wordt voor de identificatie en uitsluiting van illegalen. Het onderzoek richt zich op de beleidsontwikkelingen in Nederland en Duitsland op de arbeidsmarkt, in de vreemdelingendetentie en het uitzettingsbeleid en analyseert de nieuwe biometrische migratie databanken van de EU

Towards automated visual flexible endoscope navigation

Background:\ud The design of flexible endoscopes has not changed significantly in the past 50 years. A trend is observed towards a wider application of flexible endoscopes with an increasing role in complex intraluminal therapeutic procedures. The nonintuitive and nonergonomical steering mechanism now forms a barrier in the extension of flexible endoscope applications. Automating the navigation of endoscopes could be a solution for this problem. This paper summarizes the current state of the art in image-based navigation algorithms. The objectives are to find the most promising navigation system(s) to date and to indicate fields for further research.\ud Methods:\ud A systematic literature search was performed using three general search terms in two medical–technological literature databases. Papers were included according to the inclusion criteria. A total of 135 papers were analyzed. Ultimately, 26 were included.\ud Results:\ud Navigation often is based on visual information, which means steering the endoscope using the images that the endoscope produces. Two main techniques are described: lumen centralization and visual odometry. Although the research results are promising, no successful, commercially available automated flexible endoscopy system exists to date.\ud Conclusions:\ud Automated systems that employ conventional flexible endoscopes show the most promising prospects in terms of cost and applicability. To produce such a system, the research focus should lie on finding low-cost mechatronics and technologically robust steering algorithms. Additional functionality and increased efficiency can be obtained through software development. The first priority is to find real-time, robust steering algorithms. These algorithms need to handle bubbles, motion blur, and other image artifacts without disrupting the steering process

Breaking Down Anonymity

Because borders alone cannot stop irregular migration, the European Union is turning more and more to internal control measures. Through surveillance, member states aim to exclude irregular migrants from societal institutions, thereby discouraging their stay or deporting those who are apprehended. And yet, states cannot expel immigrants who remain anonymous. Identification has thus become key. Breaking Down Anonymity shows how digital surveillance is becoming a prime instrument of identification and exclusion policies towards irregular migrants. To support this claim, the study charts policy developments in Germany and the Netherlands. It analyses both countries' labour market controls as well as their detention and expulsion practices. Also examined is the development of several new EU migration databases. Spanning the Continent, these information systems create a new European Union frontier - one that is digital, biometric and ever-strengthening

Pension funds. asset allocation and participant age: a test of the life-cycle model

This paper examines the impact of participants. age distribution on the asset allocation of Dutch pension funds, using a unique data set of pension fund investment plans for 2007. Theory predicts a negative effect of age on (strategic) equity exposures. We observe that pension funds do indeed take the average age of their participants into account. However, the average age of active participants has been incorporated much more strongly in investment behaviour than the average ages of retired or dormant participants. This suggests that both employers and employees, who dominate pension fund boards, tend to show more interest in active participants. A one-year higher average age in active participants leads to a significant and robust reduction in the strategic equity exposure by around 0.5 percentage point. Larger pension funds show a stronger age-equity exposure effect than smaller pension funds. This age-dependent asset allocation of pension funds aligns with the original life-cycle model by which young workers should invest more in equity than older workers because of their larger human capital. Other factors, viz. fund size, funding ratio, and average pension wealth of participants, influence equity exposure positively and significantly, in line with theory. Pension plan type and pension fund type have no significant impact.Pension funds, strategic equity allocation, lifecycle saving and investing

The Public Core of the Internet: An international Agenda for Internet Governance

The growth and health of our digital economies and societies depend on the core protocols and infrastructure of the Internet. This technical and logical substructure of our digital existence is now in need of protection against unwarranted interference in order to sustain the growth and the integrity of the global Internet. The Internet's key protocols and infrastructure can be considered a global public good that provides benefits to everyone in the world. Countering the growing state interference with this 'public core of the Internet' requires a new international agenda for Internet governance that departs from the notion of a global public good. Core ingredients of this strategy are: - To establish and disseminate an international norm stipulating that the Internet's public core - its main protocols and infrastructure- should be considered a neutral zone, safeguarded against unwarranted intervention by governments. - To advocate efforts to clearly differentiate at the national and international level between Internet security (security of the Internet infrastructure) and national security (security through the Internet). - To broaden the arena for cyber diplomacy to include new coalitions of states (including the so called 'swing states') and private companies, including the large Internet companies as well as Internet intermediaries such as Internet Service Providers