On Generating Combilex Pronunciations via Morphological Analysis

Combilex is a high-quality lexicon that has been developed specifically for speech technology purposes and recently released by CSTR. Combilex benefits from many advanced features. This paper explores one of these: the ability to generate fully-specified transcriptions for morphologically derived words automatically. This functionality was originally implemented to encode the pronunciations of derived words in terms of their constituent morphemes, thus accelerating lexicon development and ensuring a high level of consistency. In this paper, we propose this method of modelling pronunciations can be exploited further by combining it with a morphological parser, thus yielding a method to generate full transcriptions for unknown derived words. Not only could this accelerate adding new derived words to Combilex, but it could also serve as an alternative to conventional letter-to-sound rules. This paper presents preliminary work indicating this is a promising direction

The Lived Expereinces of Immigrant Families Who Have a Child With a Disability: A Hermeneutic Phenomenology

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences for immigrant families in the United States who have a child with disabilities. The central question guiding this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study is: What is the lived experience of immigrant families who have a child with disabilities? The theory guiding this study is Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory as it provides a lens to examine the influence and impact the ecological systems have on immigrant families\u27 perceptions of raising a child with disabilities. This study included ten participants who immigrated to the United States from around the world. Data was collected through individual interviews, creation of timelines, and through collecting questionnaires to create triangulation. Coding was used to analyze the data in an organizational analysis to look for patterns and themes to emerge from the data. Qualitative data analysis resulted in the development of four main themes: the value of connection, parent perspective and experiences, the advocacy process, and challenges and barriers faced by immigrant parents. The significance of this study was found to be the importance of connection and education in developing a collaborative partnership with schools. Future research is recommended to examine the views and perspectives of both immigrant parents and special education teachers in building a collaborative partnership

The Lived Experiences of Immigrant Families Who Have a Child With a Disability

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to understand the lived experiences of immigrant families in the United States who have a child with disabilities. The central question guiding this qualitative hermeneutic phenomenological study is: What are the lived experiences of immigrant families who have a child with disabilities? The theory guiding this study is Bronfenbrenner\u27s bioecological theory, as it provides a lens to examine the influence and impact the ecological systems have on immigrant families\u27 perceptions of raising a child with disabilities. The barriers faced by immigrant families in navigating a new country, culture, and language have also created barriers in family-professional relationships. This study included ten participants from around the world. Data was collected through individual interviews, the creation of timelines, and the collection of questionnaires to create triangulation. Coding was used to analyze the data in an organizational analysis to look for patterns and themes to emerge from the data. Qualitative data analysis resulted in the development of four main themes: the value of connection, parent perspective and experiences, the advocacy process, and challenges and barriers immigrant parents face. The significance of this study was found to be the importance of connection and education in developing a collaborative partnership with schools. Future research is recommended to examine the views and perspectives of both immigrant parents and special education teachers in building a collaborative partnership

GOAL SETTING AND UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR: IMPLICATIONS FOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH AND THE SAFETY INCENTIVE PROGRAM

Goal setting is a popular and often beneficial tool used to motivate workers worldwide. Recent research has revealed that negative side-effects including unethical behavior are associated with goal setting. In occupational safety and health (OSH), injury reduction goals are regularly used within safety incentive programs (SIP) or as standalone practice. Unethical behavior in the form of failing to report injury or illness is possible and its consequences severe: inaccurate data leads to incorrect allocation of resources for worker protection and in turn, more injury and illness. To investigate any link between OSH goal setting and injury reporting, anonymous surveys and interviews collecting worker experiences were compiled within various industries. An analysis of 31 responses using Fisher's Exact Test revealed statistically significant associations: participants whose organizations used injury-reduction goals reported that coworkers failed to report injuries more often than workers whose organizations did not use such goals. Instances of non-reporting due to incentives, coworker or supervisor disapproval as well as informal disciplinary action were associated more strongly with organizations that used goal setting than those that did not. More research into why these specific factors discourage injury reporting in the presence of goal setting is needed in order to potentially mitigate their effects

Evaluating The Resistome And Microbial Composition During Food Waste Feeding And Composting On A Vermont Poultry Farm

While commonly thought of as a waste product, food scraps and residuals represent an important opportunity for energy and nutrient recapture within the food system. As demands on production continue to increase, conservation of these valuable resources has become a priority area. In the wake of new legislation in Vermont, Act 148, the Universal Recycling Law, the fate of microbial species in food waste, scraps and residuals is increasingly important. The presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in all types of foods calls for an increased need to estimate risk of antibiotic resistance transfer and maintenance across all segments of food production and distribution systems, from farm to fork. Specifically, the fate of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in these co-mingled food wastes has not been sufficiently characterized; as legislative programs increase in popularity, surveillance of these materials is pressing and should be documented to assess the risk and potential measures for mitigation and management as we approach commercial scales of implementation Previous studies have relied on a combination of targeted techniques, such as 16S rRNA sequencing and qPCR on a specific subset of ARGs; however, these may not cover the full extent of resistance or microorganisms of concern in any given sample. As sequencing technologies improve and costs continue to drop, more comprehensive tools, such as shotgun metagenomic sequencing, can be applied to these problems for both surveillance and novel gene discovery. In this study, we leveraged the increased screening power of the Illumina HiSeq and shotgun metagenomic sequencing to identify and characterize ARGs, microbial communities, and associated virulence factors of food scraps, on-farm composts, and several consumer products. Isolates were also screened for antibiotic resistance to demonstrate the functionality of ARGs identified. The resistome, microbiome, and virulence genes were characterized in all samples. Fifty unique ARGs were identified that spanned 8 major drug classes. Most frequently found were genes related to aminoglycoside, macrolide, and tetracycline resistance. Additionally, 54 distinct virulence factors and 495 bacterial species were identified. Virulence factors were present across the farm setting and mainly included gene transfer mechanisms, while bacteria clustered distinctly into site and farm, as well as separate on farm niches. The relationship between these categories was also assessed by both Pearson correlation and co-inertia analysis, with the most significant relationship being between ARGs and virulence factors (P = 0.05, RV = 0.67). While limited in this study, these patterns reinforce the finding that spread of antibiotic resistance genes may be dependent on the virulence factors present enabling transfer, rather than total microbial community composition