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The Janus-III system translates spoken languages in limiteddomains. The current research focus is on expanding beyond tasksinvolving a single limited semantic domain to significantly broaderand richer domains. To achieve this goal, The MT components of oursystem have been engineered to build and manipulate multi-domain parselattices that are based on modular grammars for multiple semanticdomains. This approach yields solutions to several problems includingmulti-domain disambiguation, segmentation of spoken utterances intosentence units, modularity of system design, and re-use of earliersystems with incompatible output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a guide for teachers in conducting a creative hands-on activity to study the role of northern casemaker caddisfly Limnephilidae in the food web of a stream. The teacher must explain to the students the background information about the insect. The teacher must also ask students to comment on the questions provided. The teacher must then provide each student with a photocopy of the caddisfly larva drawing and explain to them its role in the food web of the stream ecosystem. The project must start with the students listing the materials that are available to a caddisfly larva for case making.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including workplace violence in healthcare settings particularly coworker violence, bullying against nurses, and workplace violence enacted by visitors and patients.

Abstract: This randomized clinical trial tested the effectiveness of a single-session of motivational interviewing (MI) to decrease alcohol use during pregnancy, while examining theory-based mechanisms of the intervention. Eligible pregnant women who drank any amount of alcohol in the previous year (n =122) were randomized to an intervention or comparison group. Drinking behaviors, basic psychological need satisfaction, and autonomous motivation to decrease prenatal alcohol use were measured at baseline, 30day postbaseline, and 30day postpartum follow-ups. Poisson and linear regression with generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate treatment effects over time. Although MI was not found effective in decreasing alcohol use, low levels of reported alcohol use by the women at baseline left little room for improvement due to the intervention. To prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, future studies will use self-report and biomarkers to more accurately identify women in need of interventions to reduce their risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of a comprehensive program to reduce the incidence of workplace violence (WPV) against ED providers by patients and visitors., Methods: An intervention study was conducted with 3 intervention and 3 comparison emergency departments. Participants completed monthly surveys during an 18-month period to measure violent event rates before and after the WPV intervention implementation. Descriptive statistics were used to describe violent events. Analysis of variance was used to assess if the emergency departments participating in the WPV intervention experienced a significant reduction in violence rates compared with nonintervention emergency departments., Results: On average, participants experienced more than 6 incidents of violence during the 18-month study period. Although the study hypothesis was not supported, 2 intervention sites had a significant decrease in violence., Discussion: This study emphasizes the risk of WPV to ED workers and highlights the need for prevention programs. Future research needs to be conducted to test additional comprehensive WPV prevention interventions., (Copyright © 2014 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Violence against healthcare employees is a profound problem in the emergency department worldwide. One strategy to reduce the risk of violence is prevention focused education. The purpose of this paper was to report the learning outcomes of a workplace violence educational prevention program tailored to the needs of emergency department employees. A quasi-experimental design was used to determine the knowledge retention of program content following a hybrid (online and classroom) educational intervention. One hundred twenty emergency department employees that completed the workplace violence prevention program participated in the study. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was conducted to determine if individual test scores increased significantly between baseline, posttest, and six month posttest periods. The results indicated a significant time effect, Wilk's Λ = .390, F (2, 118) = 26.554, p < .001, η2 = .310. Follow-up polynomial contrasts indicated a significant linear effect with means increasing over time, F (1, 119) = 53.454, p < .001, η2 = .310, while individual test scores became significantly higher over time. It was concluded that the use of a hybrid modality increases the probability that significant learning outcomes and retention will be achieved., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aggression exposure is a critical health issue facing adolescents in the United States. Exposure occurs in various settings including home, school, and the community. An emerging context for aggression exposure is in the workplace. Thirty adolescent employees age 16-18 participated in a qualitative study exploring proposed responses to future workplace aggression. Semistructured interviews were used to gather participants' proposed responses to a series of hypothetical aggressive incidents in the workplace. Conventional content analysis identified patterns and themes among the participants' responses. Results indicated adolescent employees' proposed responses to workplace aggression are similar to other forms of aggression such as peer-bullying and teen dating violence. Education and training are needed within the school setting to promote appropriate responses to various forms of aggression encountered by adolescents. Implications for school health professionals' involvement in addressing responses to such aggression and further research opportunities are explored.

Introduction: Although there are numerous studies that show that emergency department (ED) violence is a prevalent and serious problem for healthcare workers, there is a lack of published evaluations of interventions aimed at reducing this alarming trend. Using an action research model, the authors partnered with six hospitals to plan, implement and evaluate a violence prevention and management intervention. Phase one of this project involved gathering information from employees, managers and patients using focus groups., Methods: Ninety-seven persons participated in one of twelve focus groups. The Haddon matrix was used to develop focus group questions aimed at gathering data about the pre-assault, during assault, and post-assault time frames and to compare these findings to planned strategies. Analysis consisted of identification of themes related to intervention strategies for patients/visitors, employees, managers, and the work environment., Results: Thematic analysis results supported the relevance, feasibility, and saliency of the planned intervention strategies. With the exception of a few items, employees and managers from the different occupational groups agreed on the interventions needed to prevent and manage violence against ED workers. Patients focused on improved staff communication and comfort measures., Discussion: Results support that violence in the emergency department is increasing, that violence is a major concern for those who work in and visit emergency departments, and that interventions are needed to reduce workplace violence. The Haddon matrix along with an action research method was useful to identify intervention strategies most likely to be successfully implemented and sustained by the emergency departments., (Copyright © 2011 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To examine whether obesity is associated with increased presenteeism (health-related limitations at work)., Methods: Randomly selected manufacturing employees (n = 341) were assessed via height and weight measures, demographic survey, wage data, and the Work Limitations Questionnaire. The Work Limitations Questionnaire measures productivity on four dimensions. Analyses of variance and analyses of covariance were computed to identify productivity differences based on body mass index (BMI)., Results: Moderately or extremely obese workers (BMI > or =35) experienced the greatest health-related work limitations, specifically regarding time needed to complete tasks and ability to perform physical job demands. These workers experienced a 4.2% health-related loss in productivity, 1.18% more than all other employees, which equates to an additional $506 annually in lost productivity per worker., Conclusions: The relationship between BMI and presenteeism is characterized by a threshold effect, where extremely or moderately obese workers are significantly less productive than mildly obese workers.

Northern Kentucky is the first NACCHO demonstration site in the nation to utilize the Mobilizing for Action through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) tool as one element in the development of a comprehensive community health plan. The Northern Kentucky Independent District Health Department utilized several strategies to integrate MAPP and a variety of assessment tools into a continuous and seamless planning process that resulted in the Master Health Plan for Northern Kentucky 2005. These strategies were developed from using many of the assessment and planning tools developed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials including MAPP, the Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health, and the Assessment Protocol for Excellence in Public Health. Strategies included maintaining a consistent committee structure, integrating other processes into the MAPP process, combining community objectives and strategies into a Master Health Plan, and developing a unified evaluation plan.

Recent health care system changes have required the food and nutrition services workforce to learn new job skills, and to work with significantly less supervision. At Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care (892 beds), the Food and Nutrition and the Education and Organizational Development Departments collaborated to budget for, plan, and implement an educational program to transform a traditional food service workforce into an effective self-managing team. The workforce actively participated in a needs assessment process to identify the skills and behaviours requiring change. Clear behavioural objectives were developed. Training sessions involved realistic video modelling, role-playing, and discussion. Crucial to the success of the training were overcoming negative attitudes and promoting positive anticipation. Indicators, such as an incident audit sheet, were developed to evaluate program effectiveness. After taking the educational program, staff are more willing to identify and solve problems requiring intervention, and are better able to discuss change and suggest options. When problem-solving, work teams focus on the issue, rather than on accusing others or being defensive. This training process is ongoing and requires continual coaching and application. If follow-up training sessions are deferred, benefits may soon be lost.